A/N: Hey guys sorry about the longer than usual delay, a fanfiction, The Child of the Storm, introduced me to the Dresden Files and I was intrigued enough to read it and once I started I couldn't stop reading. So the last month has been spent reading the entire 15 book series of Jim Butchers masterful work, for anyone interested in Adventure and Fantasy novels telling a story about a noir detective/wizard operating in present day Chicago with an amazing and scary supernatural world to boot then you might not want to miss out on this series. The ebooks are a definite read but if you can get your hands on it then the audiobooks narrated by James Marsters are probably the best auditory experience you could ask for. Expect some Dresden Files fanfiction in the future from me. Also if you're interested in reading The Child of the Storm, a massive crossover fanfiction with the two main universes being the MCU and Harry Potter then that is over at definitely recommended. Now after that ridiculously long note on to the chapter...
Previously:
"Jane listen to me!" he nearly yelled his heart rate spiking once more. "Whatever he's told you is a lie, Steve met Bucky Barnes during the fall of SHIELD, Jane he was working for HYDRA it's him Jane! Bucky Barnes is the Winter Soldier."
Jane felt the phone drop from her grasp as she turned towards the room she had come from and realized that she had just left her best friend alone in the room with a killer.
Tony watched as Peggy held the phone to her ear and spoke. "H-Hello? Steve? Hi... uh... it's... uh... it's me," she said in a shaky voice and then she gasped covering her mouth with her hand as tears filled her eyes and she pulled the phone away from her ear and handed it to him. "I can't... Tony please." and Tony nodded taking the phone from her, he understood, it was only a few weeks ago that he had seen Pepper fall to her death. Losing the person you love most in the world is devastating but the overwhelming relief at finding out that that person is still alive is even more powerful, it takes a while to really sink in.
He put the phone to his ear and spoke. "Cap, it's Tony," he said briskly.
"Stark? If this is some sick idea of joke... " came the reply and Tony immediately cut him off.
"Cap, I may be a lot of things but cruel isn't one of them," his tone was a little heated at Caps insinuation.
Peggy, surprisingly, put a calming hand on his upper arm and he nodded to her reigning in his ire.
"So it really is her?" came Caps voice laced with wonder and disbelief.
"Yes it is," replied Tony. "I woke up and found her unconscious on my landing pad, she said that the last thing she remembers is," and Tony paused realizing that Peggy hadn't actually mentioned the last thing she remembered before being transported into the future, he resisted the urge to slap himself upside the head, that was time travel 101 and he had forgotten about it.
Peggy nodded at Tony's pointed look and took a deep breath. "Tell him the last thing I remember is coming back from The Stork Club, my date was a no show," she said her voice steady despite the anguish he could see in her eyes. "Then I woke up in your penthouse."
Tony relayed all of this information to Steve and listened as his breath caught. "Oh my god," said Steve. "Tony tell her I'm on my way." And he disconnected.
Tony looked at the phone for a moment and then shared an amused look with Pepper who had observed the whole altercation while checking up on Stark Industries portfolios, he frowned at that; they were supposed to be on vacation. But before he could say anything to Pepper, or Peggy for that matter, JARVIS piped up.
'Sir, Dr Banner requests your presence in the lab, he is most distraught.'
His eyes widened as did Peppers; Bruce distraught was not a trivial thing, but before they could take one step towards the lab Bruce burst into the room looking frantic, Tony and Pepper immediately went into damage control; getting close enough to him to console him but not close enough to touch, they found out that was a bad idea the hard way.
"Bruce," said Pepper in a calm voice. "Bruce what's wrong?"
Bruce closed his eyes, took in three long deep breaths and the beeping from his heart monitor stopped. He opened his eyes and said, "I'm fine, fine."
Tony nodded and looked to Pepper who was the best at talking to Bruce when he was under pressure. Pepper took the hint and moved to his right taking his hand she guided him to one of the sofas sitting beside him and rubbing his back. "What's going on Bruce?" she asked softly.
"The," he swallowed and then powered through. "The Winter Soldier, he's in New Mexico with Jane Foster..."
Tony snapped to attention. "JARVIS."
'At once, sir.'
"Bruce you up for this?" he asked the biochemist. "The Soldier can match Cap blow for blow but he'll have a hard time fighting you."
Bruce nodded and got up about to head for the door when he was stopped by Peggy.
Tony had seen Peggy observe all the commotion caused by Bruce and his apparent freak out silently and he knew that there were probably a lot of things that had confused her but he didn't think now was the time to explain the Hulk to her.
"Aunt Peg," he said as Bruce just stared at her.
"Tony," said Peggy in a patient voice that reminded him of when she used to reprimand him when he was being particularly difficult. "The man obviously couldn't handle the news of this 'Soldier' near this Jane, he was so distraught, and now you expect him to fight a man who you said is just as powerful as Steve?"
Bruce looked at Tony amused for a second and then sidestepped Peggy and walked out. Tony took Peggy by the elbow and directed her to sit. "I said the Soldier could match Cap blow for blow but what I didn't say is that the Soldier has been through rigorous and inhumane training, he's a killing machine and in a fair fight he would most probably flatten Cap and that's without counting his bionic arm that has a few tricks of its own. But you don't know Bruce and I don't have time to explain him to you, I'll leave that to Pepper and when we get back I'll answer any questions you have. For now though... " he looked at the ceiling. "JARVIS?"
'Ready, sir.'
Tony nodded. "Deploy."
The door to the landing pad opened and he stepped out looking back at Pepper. "Honey," he said and Pepper walked up to him to plant a soft kiss on his lips.
"Come back in one piece Tony," she said smiling wistfully.
"I promise I'll try," he said solemnly. "Keep Aunt Peg company, I'm going to have to head Cap off at the entrance, we need him for this one; he's the only one that can get through to the Soldier to some extent."
Pepper nodded and stepped back. They didn't do bold declarations of love, that seemed too much like goodbye and a little corny so they kept to slight touches and meaningful glances.
Tony walked forward and stepped into the boots and walked up the ramp as the suit assembled around him and as he turned around on the pad to look at them again he couldn't help but smirk at the look of awe on Peggy's face.
"Tell Hill to get a Quinjet ready and pick up Banner, I'll bring Cap aboard," at Peppers nod he activated thrusters and shot into the air and then straight down the side of his building landing on one knee with a fist on the ground in front of a hasty Captain America.
"Tony," said Cap approaching him. "Where is she?"
His face was alight with joy and he was dressed in slacks and a plaid shirt with his classic brown leather jacket, he was holding in his hand a bouquet of roses and a bunch of letters in the other, he looked like he was holding back a wide unrestrained grin, Tony had never seen the man so happy and he hated himself for doing this.
"She's in the penthouse with Pepper," Tony said lifting his visor to talk to him, Cap nodded and walked to move past him but Tony put a hand on his chest to stop him. "Wait a minute Cap, there's something we've got to do first."
Cap's smile lost its color. "Tony if Peggy is in there then I need to be there, I haven't seen her in over two years, nothing is more important right now than me being in the same room as her," he shoved Tony's metal arm aside and walked up to the front entrance, Tony didn't turn around.
"Even Barnes?" he asked, engaging his rear camera to gauge his reaction. Cap had frozen, his hand on the door handle.
"What?" he said.
"Barnes, the Winter Soldier," he clarified. "Is meeting her more important than getting Barnes? Because we just found out that he is alone in a SHIELD lab in New Mexico with two defenseless civilians, one of who is Point Breaks girlfriend."
"Jane Foster?" Cap like Tony had heard enough of the beautiful Lady Jane from Thor to last them a lifetime.
"Uh huh," Tony said turning around.
"My intel puts him nowhere near New Mexico," Cap said facing him.
Tony gave him a look. "Your intel also doesn't put him anywhere else on the planet either does it?"
Cap reluctantly nodded. "We need you on this, Cap. If anyone can get through to Barnes it's you." Tony felt like shit when he saw Cap's shoulders slump but it was also the go ahead he needed to call Hill.
"JARVIS, get me Hill."
'Yes sir.'
"And have someone come out and take Captain Rogers gifts up to the Penthouse," he said as an after thought.
'Of course, sir.'
Tony walked up to Cap and stood beside him watching as he handed over the roses and the letters and turned back to him. Two handles moved out of the suit on either side of Tony's shoulder blades and Cap grabbed on while Tony kicked in the thrusters and they flew to the roof where Hill was waiting in the pilot seat of the Quinjet with Bruce at the ramp waiting for them.
"Dr Banner," Cap said and Tony knew he was fully aware that Peggy was sitting waiting for him just a floor below and yet he walked into the plane resolutely greeting Hill as he went.
"Captain," said Hill and then looked to Tony. "Sir, once this is over I have some confusing communications from Agent Romanoff that I need to run by you."
Tony nodded, Romanoff sending weird messages was nothing new, the Winter Soldier in a SHIELD lab with two defenseless civilians, that took precedence. On that note he decided to fill everybody in or have Bruce fill them in seeing as he himself had no idea what the hell was going on.
"And his hand shot up to hold the Hammer and the sky begin to darken," came Darcy's excited voice as Jane walked back into the room, she saw Darcy glance at her absently and turn her attention back to James whose attention never wavered from Darcy's animated face. Jane faltered; he didn't look like a killer, she had no illusions that he had killed people in the war but he just didn't feel like the assassin she had heard stories about, the Winter Soldier.
"You had to be there," Darcy was saying. "Muscles stood up Mew Mew in his hand and out of nowhere these pieces of metal, his armor, started assembling on his hands..."
Jane shook her head, whether he looked it or not she wasn't going to take chances with Darcy's life. She approached the table where the SHIELD lockbox sat open and faced it turning her back to them and picking up one of the pistols, she hesitated over the choice of magazines and noticed that Darcy had stopped speaking.
"Jane?" she asked her. "What did Dr Banner say?" Jane closed her eyes for a moment and seriously considered picking up the lethal bullets but recognized that she wouldn't have the nerve to pull the trigger if she loaded that magazine, she lifted up the ICER magazine and loaded it the click of the magazine locking registered loudly in the silent room, she could feel the tension settle over them.
"Jane?" Darcy asked again as Jane clicked off the safety and closed the lock box turning the key to lock it and turning around the gun raised.
"Jane!" yelled out Darcy leaping to her feet with Barnes the photos in their laps fluttering to the ground as they stood. "What the hell!"
"Darcy get behind me," she said in a tense whisper as she leveled the gun at Barnes.
"I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what the hell is in your head," said Darcy defiantly. Jane watched with increasing incredulity as she stepped in front of Barnes her hands crossed under her breasts.
Barnes' voice rang out in slight panic. "Darcy," he said. "what are you doing?"
Darcy didn't look back at him. "What does it look like I'm doing?" she shot back and glared at Jane.
"He's dangerous Darcy," Jane said her voice anxious, she didn't want to shoot Darcy but Barnes was behind her and he could any moment decide to hurt her. "If you had heard what Bruce said to me about him..."
"Then tell us what he said," Darcy said refusing to budge even as Barnes tried to push her out of the way. "instead of trying to shoot him."
"Darcy you've only known him for a few hours," said Jane exasperated. "You can't trust him."
"Uh, yes I can," she replied. "He's given us no reason to distrust him, he could have tased me back there easy, he could have taken out both of us but he didn't, that gun that you pulled on us has been lying open in full view of him for ages but he didn't make a grab for it he's been sitting beside me listening to me blab on and on and I didn't feel threatened not once, whatever Banner told you Jane it's wrong, Buckys not dangerous."
Jane shook her head. "He's the Winter Soldier Darcy," Jane almost yelled her hand shaking at the idea of how much danger they really were in right now. "Do you get that? He's a HYDRA assassin."
Darcy raised her eyebrows at that. "Okay, Jane I think you've finally gone round the bend," she said rolling her eyes. "You know how stupid that sounds? Captain America's best friend a HYDRA assassin?"
Jane's eyes widened as, in a sudden movement, Barnes was in front of Darcy essentially switching positions. Now he was the one protecting her, his arm was raised in a surrendering gesture and he easily blocked Darcy from view.
"Jane," he spoke clearly his eyes imploring. "I don't know who the Winter Soldier is but I know I'm not a HYDRA assassin, I don't know what Dr Banner said about me but I will not let Darcy come to harm because of me. If you want to shoot me then go ahead but you and Dr Banner are both mistaken."
He waited as Darcy tried to push past him but he wasn't going to be easily moved. Jane so badly wanted to believe him, his eyes seemed so honest but she looked from Darcy's stricken face to Barnes imploring one and steeled herself. "I'm sorry," she said genuinely apologetic. "But I can't take the risk."
Barnes nodded once resigned and their was a horrified scream from Darcy but Jane had already pulled the trigger. Two shots hit Barnes; one to the chest another to the head and he went down in a heap with Darcy rushing to him and falling to her knees.
"Oh my god Jane," she screeched. "What did you do?!"
Jane walked up to them the gun at her side and her knees weak. "He's not dead Darcy," she said as she collapsed on the couch her head in her hands at the thought of what she just did. "I hit him with ICERs."
"Twice," said Darcy as she checked his pulse. "You shot him twice Jane, that's an almost lethal dose."
"He's a super soldier," she said her voice shaky. "He wasn't going to die."
Darcy's eyes flashed. "You didn't know that for sure Jane." she looked down at the weapon still in Jane's hand and raised an eyebrow at her. "What you're going to shoot me too?"
Jane looked up horrified. "Darcy no, I - I would never," she stuttered shaking her head.
Darcy gave her a skeptical look. "Then throw that gun away," she said. "You've done enough damage with it."
Jane flinched at her tone but didn't toss the weapon. "H-He could still wake up," said Jane warily, the look in Darcy's eyes unsettle her, she recognized hurt and disbelief there and felt her gut twist.
"Toss. The gun. Now." said Darcy enunciating each word.
Jane realized that her actions now would decide the future of their friendship and decided to do as she said; switching on the safety tossing the gun away from them.
"I'm sorry, Darcy. I'm sorry I had to shoot him," she said desperately. "but Bruce said..."
"I heard what Bruce said," snapped Darcy her voice sharp, Jane had never seen Darcy assert herself like this before. "What I don't get is why you didn't stop when I said he wasn't dangerous."
Jane sighed. "Darcy," she said slowly choosing her words carefully. "It's a little obvious that you were..." she trailed off not wanting to say it.
Darcy scowled. "That I was what?" she asked testily. "That I was crushing on him?" she snorted. "That's funny because I remember when you were willing to open a portal to another realm for the man that you were crushing on and not once did I say that you were mad, that this was a fools errand like Erik so often said, I stood by you Jane because I trusted you, but I guess I'm just too dumb to know right from wrong next to the 'Great Dr Foster', am I?"
Jane watched as tears spilled down Darcy's cheeks as she looked away from Jane and down at Barnes swiping her hand at them and sniffling, Jane's stomach fell out from under her and she dropped down next to Darcy and took her hand that wasn't on Barnes' chest in hers. "Darcy no!" she said. "You have no idea how much you mean to me, I... I... all I could think about when Bruce told me about James, was that I had left you in the room alone with a killer, Darcy I swear everything I did was to make sure you didn't get hurt! I was terrified that that was a possibility and I... I," Jane struggled for the words, she wasn't good at making her feelings clear, science and theories were fine but saying what was in her heart was difficult but she had to power through; her relationship with Darcy wasn't one she was willing to risk because of her lack of social skills.
Darcy had stopped sniffling and was looking at Jane with a closed off expression which grew to surprise as Jane reached up her hand and wiped her tears saying. "Darcy I love you like a sister, and I couldn't stand the thought of you being in danger like that. Bruce said that Captain Rogers had met Bucky Barnes during the fall of SHIELD, he said that Barnes was working for HYDRA, that he had been the Winter Soldier and all I could think about was your safety."
Darcy frowned. "Why didn't you just say that instead of pulling the gun on us?"
"I couldn't take the risk, if he thought he was cornered; Darcy you have no idea how many deaths have been attributed to the Winter Soldier, he makes what Loki did in New York feel like a child's tantrum, I couldn't risk you life. I'm sorry if you thought I didn't trust you but if the alternative of you being angry with me is your death then I'll take your anger any day, you're too important to me to lose Darcy."
Darcy tried to stay angry at Jane but dammit she had long ago given up on having the kind of affection she held for the single minded astrophysicist be reciprocated that she couldn't help but feel elated at the revelation that Jane actually did care about her more than just an assistant or intern. And she was right; Darcy could feel Buckys steady heartbeat under her palm, he wasn't hurt just unconscious.
Finally she relented as she saw Jane start to fidget. "I love you too, you know? But I still don't agree with the way you went about securing my safety," she huffed. "I mean Jane did you forget that Bucky just traveled seventy years into the future and he's already enhanced, it's more than possible that Captain Rogers met the Bucky Barnes from our time who might be a HYDRA Soldier, not this Bucky. Jane trust me this time, Bucky is not a danger to us."
Jane thought about that for moment. "I suppose that's possible but that would mean he somehow stopped aging..."
Darcy shrugged. "Not the first time someone has managed to look the same seventy years later," she said. "Besides if Captain America's best friend was a HYDRA super soldier then that means he was somehow brainwashed into thinking us as the enemy, because even you know that Bucky would never willingly turn, and we already know that Bucky isn't brainwashed, he knows who he is and where he's from, I doubt our world's Bucky knows those things."
She looked to Jane to see her nodding at her theories and then shake her head. "Well it doesn't matter, I mean it does matter if I shot the wrong guy," she amended hastily as Darcy scowled at her again. "but he's going to be knocked out for at least an hour in which time the Avengers will be here to see if James is the Winter Soldier or not."
Darcy's expression looked to be one of half horrified and half fan girlish. "You called the Avengers here?"
Jane shook her head no. "Well I have to assume that Bruce would get news as soon as possible to Stark or Rogers that The Winter Soldier is here and they would have no choice but to come."
"How long do you think...?" Darcy's questions was cut short by a loud knocking on their front door and the electronically amplified voice of Tony Stark blared out.
"James Barnes, we do not want to fight, let Dr Foster and Miss Lewis go and we can talk."
Darcy looked at Jane and rolled her eyes. "You called them, you can handle them, I'm staying with Bucky," and she shifted Bucky's head to her lap combing her fingers gently through his close cropped hair.
She saw Jane get up and stared at the two on the floor for a moment before she turned picking up the ICER pistol and walked toward the front door.
The Quinjet ran at Mach 15 speeds thanks to modifications made by Tony. The trip from New York City to New Mexico, pushing it's maximum speed and traveling just below the Stratosphere, allowed them to make it in just over fifteen minutes, the cloaking activated as they reached 50,000ft and they landed silently behind the lab in Puente Antiguo.
Tony and Cap disembarked the jet while Bruce remained behind in comms waiting to see if he would be needed.
Cap knocked on the door while Tony put his voice on speaker trying to get Barnes to give up. They waited for a minute and just as they were getting ready to breach, the door opened and out walked Dr Jane Foster her hands in the air.
"Hi guys," she said wincing a little at the trained guns and repulsors all pointing at her. "Everything's fine here, Barnes had been neutralized.
Tony saw Caps eyebrows rise. "Neutralized?" he asked Foster. "By who?"
Jane worried her bottom lip for a moment before reaching behind her an pulling out a pistol. Tony tensed before realizing she was pointing the barrel towards the sky. "Umm... by me," she said looking a little sheepish. "I used ICERs though, so he's alive, just... uh... just knocked out."
"JARVIS, check if we're dealing with the real Jane Foster and not an LMD or face mask because this does not sound like the same Jane Foster that told me to go screw myself when I tried to offer her a job."
'Sir, facial and retinal scans revealed 99.98% match to Dr Jane Foster.'
"Well that's that then."
"I think you guys should come in," she said. "If Dr Banner is with you then he should come too, I kind of shot him twice and Darcy's worried."
Almost immediately the ramp lowered and Bruce walked out his medical bag in tow. He passed by Tony and Cap without a word and stopped in front of Jane. "I told you to run." he said succinctly. Jane gave a guilty shrug and Bruce sighed. "Where is he?" Jane entered the lab guiding the doctor to his patient.
Tony glanced at Cap and with a silent agreement they followed.
Steve walked in behind Dr Banner, he was jittery; excited and nervous at the same time, it wasn't long ago that he had seen Bucky but that wasn't Bucky; that was the Winter Soldier and the Winter Soldier scared the bejeezus out of him, he realized early on when facing him that he had no chance. He was just too unpredictable, to emotionless and too good in the worst way, it was only when he was able to get through to Bucky that he got the upper hand, basically he played dirty, exploited The Soldiers one weakness; Bucky.
He entered the room to see Banner looking down at a still form in confusion, the still form in question had his head in the lap of a dark haired girl with a voluptuous figure and a sharp cautious gaze, Steve got the distinct image of a lioness protecting it's cub.
"Miss Lewis," said Banner.
"Dr Banner," Miss Lewis replied her tone neutral until her eyes landed on Steve and widened.
"Holy hell! The Avengers are standing in our living room," she said breathlessly.
"Not all of us," piped up Tony. "How you doing kid."
"As well as can be Mr Stark."
"You two know each other?" Steve asked registering the byplay.
"We've talked over the phone," said Tony. "She has a vast vocabulary some of which is very inventive and colorful, and she apparently makes a very good pillow."
And that was his cue, Steve steeled himself and glanced down at the head in Miss Lewis' lap and frowned; something seemed different about him, he knelt down beside Bucky and reached out hesitating to touch him.
"Jane where is his arm?" said Bruce kneeling down on Bucky's other side and checking his pulse.
That's what seemed different, his bionic arm was missing but it didn't seemed to be all that was different, there was something else.
"I told you over the call," replied Jane. "He was missing an arm when we found him."
Bruce shook his head as he took out a stethoscope. "The Winter Soldier had his left arm replaced with a bionic arm a long time ago Jane, when you said he was missing an arm I assumed that you were talking about his prosthetic."
Bruce glanced at the stump. "Who wrapped him up?"
Miss Lewis raised her hand and Bruce nodded. "Good job," he said. "But I need you to unwrap him now, can you do that while I check his heart?"
She nodded and slowly began to unravel the bandages while Bruce pressed the stethoscope to his lungs and heart listening intently and eventually straightened up.
"He'll be fine," Banner declared shifting around to look at Buck's stump and frowned again.
"This scar tissue looks barely a week old," he murmured in disbelief.
"Actually it's only a few hours old Bruce," said Jane. "It was bleeding when we found him but healing very fast, by the time we got him patched up the wound was more or less healed."
"Dr Banner," said Steve noticing something else. "When I saw the Bucky the last time his bionic arm included his shoulder." Steve nodded to Buckys stump. "His shoulder is still intact."
"And that's what I've been telling Jane!" said Miss Lewis. "What Bucky's been telling us," she looked at Steve. "Cap this Bucky is not your Winter Soldier. Bucky said he ended up in the desert behind our lab after he had awaken from a fall," Steven eyebrows furrowed at that. "A fall from a train," she continued. "A fall of over 500ft." Steve's eyes widened. "Sound familiar?" she asked rhetorically.
"Impossible!" said Steve his eyes taking in Buckys features, even as he said that he realized more and more the differences between the Winter Soldier he had met a couple of weeks ago and the man lying in front of them; Buckys features seems less gaunt than the soldiers, he was also slightly less bulky than the Soldier; the Soldier had been through merciless torture, and intensive training at the hands of HYDRA that this Bucky hadn't.
"Not really," came Tony's voice. He watched as two stabilizing kick-stands extended from just below his calves keeping the suit from falling and the entire suit opened up at the front allowing Tony to step outside dressed in jeans and a t-shirt displaying a tall thin Asian man in a yellow jumpsuit delivering a devastating punch to an unseen enemy.
Miss Lewis raised her eyebrows. "Bruce Lee?" she asked in surprise.
Tony just smirked and shrugged.
"What do you mean, not really?" prompted Steve.
"Just that another impossibility such as this occurred a couple of hours ago back at Stark Tower," he said walking up to stand next to Steve peering down at Bucky. "You might remember it Cap, you were bringing it flowers when I intercepted you earlier."
"You think the two incidences are connected?"
"Hmm, let me see," he said mockingly. "Two people from the 1940s suddenly appear in the year 2014 with no idea how they got there and both of them are somehow connected to you?" he pointed at Steve. "Yes I think they are connected, what about you?"
Steve ignored his snark and nodded. "I think so too," he replied. He looked back down at Bucky and stared. The possibilities; his best friend back with him? Not some damaged weapon of HYDRA, but whole, well mostly whole, the man he trusted more than anyone else, back? And Peggy too? He resisted the urge to pinch himself to make sure this wasn't all a dream instead he looked at Dr Foster. "What did you hit him with?" he asked her softly.
She held up the gun which Stark took removing the magazine and examining the bullets. "ICERs," she said. "Two rounds; one to the chest, one to the head."
Stark shook his head. "These aren't regular Night Night bullets..." he said off handedly.
"Night Night bullets?" asked Steve. "Really."
Stark shrugged. "That's what the SHIELD scientist who developed it calls it," he replied. "You have to admit it's a fitting name considering one of those bullets can knock a man out for hours. As for this," he held up one of the bullets which seemed to have bright blue liquid inside. "this has to have a more potent dendrotoxin to knock out a super soldier, I'd love to meet the person who developed this. However," he looked at Jane. "I would like to know how you have access to such Hi-tech stopping power, Dr Foster."
Jane nodded towards the lock box. "Couple of months back an Asgardian named Lorelei arrived on earth running from prosecution for her crimes, she didn't use the Bifrost so we never registered a reading, a few hours later Lady Sif arrived using the Bifrost which we registered. She, with some help from a SHIELD team, managed to capture Lorelei and take her back to Asgard. In light of those events and my connection to Thor, Agent Hand gave us those weapons in case we ever needed to defend ourselves."
Stark walked over to the lock box and opened it shuffling things around and examining the other magazines. "So these look like standard 9mm rounds," he said picking up the plain magazine, he lifted another magazine this was yellow. "And what about these?" he asked Jane.
"Tracking," she replied. "It releases microscopic trackers that can be absorbed by the human body via nose or mouth or even the skin, it's a just in case kind of a thing."
Stark nodded looking mildly impressed and started thumbing through the files in the box.
"So how long until he wakes?" Steve asked his voice now a little shaky as everything started to sink in.
Miss Lewis looked down at Bucky with a curious expression on her face, Steve's eyes widened a second later as he recognized the look, he resisted the urge to smirk; same old Bucky, charming the ladies wherever he went. "Won't be long now, I think."
"Miss Lewis..." he started to say when she interrupted him.
"Darcy's fine, Captain Rogers," she said a little flustered. "Odin knows I don't need the press learning I make Captain America address me with a title."
"Darcy," he said with a smile, he held out a hand for her to shake. "Steve," he said firmly. "and I don't care what the press says about me." he added an infection on the 'I' and looked at Stark meaningfully causing Darcy to giggle. Steve instantly decided that he liked Darcy especially if he was right about her feelings for Bucky, he had a feeling though that there was more to Darcy Lewis than meets the eye, not anything sinister but like he had a feeling that she would go places much higher up than the lab assistant that she was now.
"Darcy, was Bucky alright when you talked to him?" he asked in a whisper. "I mean he fell of a train and down a ravine..." he shut his eyes as the memory, still fresh years later assaulted his vision.
Darcy's laid a gentle hand on his and squeezed. "He was okay, Steve," she assured. "He wasn't great, he lost his arm and that hit him hard a couple of times, and he was devastated when he thought you all had died but after I told him about you being alive he seemed to brighten up," she nodded her head at the scattered photographs by the couch. "We were looking at photos of the Avengers and I was explaining stuff about you all when Jane here decided to go Robocop on us."
Jane had the decency to blush a little in admittance to her misguided actions.
Before anything else could be said though there was a soft groan that seemed to echo in the suddenly quiet room. The head in Darcy's lap stirred and Bucky opened his eyes to find five set of eyes on him. "Uhh, Hey," he said his voice droopy. He glanced up and Steve could imagine what he saw at close proximity. "This is a nice view," he said to another giggle from Darcy. "So is this what heaven is like?" Bucky asked and the others snorted catching on.
Darcy let out a short laugh and smacked him lightly on his good arm. "Bucky," she said reprovingly. "You're not dead."
As he saw Bucky regain his bearings Steve backed up a bit and watched as he registered the new people standing around him, Buck's eyes zeroed in on him and he whispered. "Hey ya punk." And Steve's vision blurred as he fell to his knees and wept in relief.
End Notes: Hope you enjoyed the update. please don't forget to review, it helps me keep rolling out new updates.