Frozen in Time
by: Shadow Chaser
Disclaimer:
All Marvel characters do not belong to me, they belong to Marvel Entertainment and Marvel Comics.
Story:
Chapter 12
"There was only so much you could have done Tony," Bruce said his head swiveling back and forth as Tony paced of the general length of penthouse area. Steve also watched Tony pace as he sat in one of the couches. He caught Bruce's look of resignation as he leaned against the bar, a deterrent against Tony trying to grab a few drinks for himself at the latest news. "They would have found me sooner or later after HYDRA took down SHIELD, you know..."
"Don't care," Tony's voice sounded like he was singing the words, but everyone heard the edge in it, "I'll get my lawyers to help fight this one-"
"Tony-"
"-Though they can probably navigate military tribunals or congressional subpoenas much easier than-"
"Tony-"
"-me, but don't worry, I'll handle this, you're an employee of Stark Industries-"
"Tony!" Bruce voice finally broke through his rambling and shut him up as he turned to stare at him from his pacing.
"What?" Tony's eyes had narrowed, annoyed with the interruption, "I'm trying to-"
"-yeah, save me from being carted off by Ross to god-knows where and probably locked up to be experimented on, but I'll be fine."
Tony stopped pacing and shook his head, "Fine? Really? Emergency field hearing and you're fine?! That's bullshit and we all know that. No, Bruce, this is not fine, and you're not facing this alone."
"What Mr. Stark is saying," Maria quickly and smoothly cut in from where she perched on top of another couch that Sharon was sitting in across from Steve with a glare to Tony, "is that General Ross more than likely took a shot in the dark that you're here and happened to score. In the past few years since SHIELD had tailed you, Bruce, we've managed to fend off his requests as well as ones he made internationally for your extradition from the countries you were in. Fury wrote a secret roster for the Avengers Initiative with members that we wanted to recruit, but were not able to, members like you. He sent it to General Ross after Tony here talked to him about making sure the Abomination stayed where he was under lock and key."
"How come I didn't see this list? I thought I was your consultant-"
"Handing you all of the potential personal profiles wasn't on your contract, Stark," Maria shot him a dry look, "not until the Chitauri invaded anyways."
"And how about the others-"
"We can't protect them anymore," Maria's dry tone became a little sharper and more brittle and Tony managed to look a little chagrined. She cleared her throat and looked at Bruce once more, "What I'm saying is that I'll be going with you to the field hearing. Bit of experience dealing with Congress recently and also ensuring that you are Stark Industries personnel, a highly valued and visible member of the Avengers and so forth. They are not going to lead you out of the hearing in chains, Doctor."
"Exactly which is why JARVIS, call the lawyers in town-"
"No lawyers, Tony," Hill shook her head, "you send in your army of lawyers and the people at the hearing will get defensive. They will think you have something to hide and that's not the image I want to present to them."
"But-"
"I'm not the best lawyer, but I've had recent experience with Congressional panels and their questions. They want the truth, or at least a version of it and while I'm sure General Ross will be on the panel and may stack it in his favor, there's always one or two members in there who are the dissenting opinion or have not formed one at all. These are the ones who try to ask the different questions-"
"Didn't seem to go that way when I got my subpoena and Stern was an asshole," Tony groused under his breath and Hill shook her head again, a crooked smile on her lips.
"You're your own lawyer, Stark," she said and Steve had to agree with the sentiment. After Senator Stern had been arrested for being a member of HYDRA, the news outlets had shown multiple showings of Tony's congressional hearing with the Senator where he had all but shown up the ex-Senator and ex-weapons developer Justin Hammer. It was pretty impressive bravado that Steve had expected when someone angered Tony.
"As I was saying," Hill continued, "the questions will be pointed and direct, but it'll be up to the two of us to spin this for the media's benefit. It's the media and public you're going to convince. Not General Ross, not anyone else on the panel. If some of them are convinced, then that's fine, but currently public opinion of the Avengers is pretty high and some General trying to take out one of the members is not going to play well."
"Oh, I can do press release-"
"No Stark," Hill shook her head, "not to the American media. Overseas, yes, but not here."
Steve immediately realized what Maria's angle was in all of this. At the same time he also realized she had learned a lot being Director Fury's second-in-command and sneakiness did not even begin to cover what she was capable of. He understood what she was saying and hated the implications in her plan, but at the same time also knew that he needed to give Bucky some distance, especially after what he had seen from the archival footage.
"What...?" Tony looked a little confused before Steve spoke up quietly.
"Baron von Strucker," he said and the confusion melted from Tony's face. "We need to get Strucker before Bucky takes him out."
Maria nodded once confirming his words, "Coulson's got a tentative plan forming. The business conference ends with an extravagant gala of sorts, not exactly invite only, but a good place for deals to be sealed and alliances formed."
"Maybe I shouldn't have given Barnes the passport and money?" Tony scratched the back of his head.
"It didn't matter. Either way, Sergeant Barnes would have figured it out sooner or later when Steve finished the sketch," Hill looked nonplussed, "but if Tony Stark were to attend the gala-"
"-saying how great Dr. Bruce Banner's contributions to society are during the red carpet walk – there's a red carpet right?"
"Red carpet," Maria confirmed dryly.
"-and maybe drop hints that Strucker is the asshole behind the camera and some HYDRA brainwashing that we don't really know about-"
"The public will be more focused on Strucker than on Dr. Banner and either way, won't care about the General's attempt lynch Doc Banner here," Sam finished for her, perched on the spine of the couch Steve was sitting on. He whistled, "Geez Agent Hill, that's...pretty sharp. And scary. Mostly sharp, but still scary."
"And what if Sergeant Barnes assassinates the Baron?" Sharon asked, her voice hard and Steve winced at the harshness of her tone. He knew that she did not like Bucky, did not like the Winter Soldier, but at the same time tried to force himself not to react defensively to her biting tone.
"It will at least give some media exposure to Bucky that he's a victim of HYDRA's machinations," Steve replied quietly, staring at mostly nothing, but noting out of the corner of his eyes that everyone had turned to stare at him.
"Steve, you can't believe-"
"Playing all the angles, right?" he grimaced as he stared at Maria who nodded solemnly before looking at the others, "USO days..." He left it at that as he fell silent, hating what he had just said, and mostly himself for saying it. But he also knew that it had to be said.
It was after Peggy had asked if he only had two options to be a lab rat or a performing monkey that he began to see the different angles in the war. Senator Brandt's offering of him becoming a chorus girl, so to speak, was one angle, one where there was money being raised for the troops by selling war bonds, yes, but that money was still rationed heavily and troops out on the front lines barely saw some of the finer equipment developed and had to make do with what they had or scrounge for field equipment. He thought he had understood what it meant to be a symbol, to be Captain America, but after rescuing the 107th, Bucky, and others from the HYDRA facility and forming the Commandos, he had really understood what it meant – playing yet another angle. Granted, it was not as sinister or morally grey as the angles SHIELD played, more morale inspiring and the like, it was still an angle, a grey area that he had learned very well during the war and after he had woken up from the ice.
"But Bucky isn't a victim, he's a survivor," he finished more softly, "like all of us." While the media mostly left them alone while they inhabited the Tower, Steve knew that he was always filmed whenever he went out in public, even for his jogs. In the day and age of smartphone technology and blurry lines of what it meant to be in the media, or even a journalist, the actions of a famous person would sooner make headlines before the action was even completed. He had never done a search for himself on any of the social media sites, and really did not want to, but he had no doubts that his morning jog, or even some of the Avengers' fights were on youtube or Vine, or whatever the young crowd these days took in their news.
Bucky coming to the Tower had been a calculated risk and Steve knew that sooner or later, even without HYDRA coming after him, his best friend's face was going to end up plastered on some website, especially with his distinctive arm. Perhaps that was why HYDRA had created the arm to be bright, silver, and have a red star – to show to anyone and everyone who survived his attacks that he was the most visible ghost of an assassin. The news chopper hovering over their brief fight on the causeway of D.C. a little over a year ago must have shown some inkling of the Winter Soldier, of his distinctive silvery arm.
Steve was not naïve to know that when, not if, but when the Winter Soldier was revealed to the public, there would be governments, countries, everyone that he had killed in that folder of (24) confirmed kills – and not counting collateral damage – demanding his head. Judging by what he knew of the media, and a little bit of how Brock Rumlow had paused in executing him, Natasha, and Sam in broad daylight a little over a year ago on the causeway; putting Strucker in the spotlight and showing that Bucky had been manipulated to take lives, maybe, maybe it would garner a bit of sympathy in the public eye. Bucky's war hero status as a Commando would help, and public opinion on the Avengers was high. If the American public was persuaded to help a war vet, maybe it could tie up some of the legal extradition laws if the other countries went after Bucky. It would certainly continue to expose HYDRA for the murderous organization it was-
He grimaced and shook his head. He was being selfish, wanting to make sure Bucky was not put in prison or even arrested for his crimes – and noted the irony of his thoughts running parallel to the lack of punishment Loki had received after what he had done in New York and New Mexico.
But this was Bucky. This was his best friend.
"So then why not go to Austria if we know now that Strucker is the guy?" Tony was asking as he focused back on the discussion.
"We don't know that," Sam spoke up from where he sat, shaking his head, "we only know that Barnes here has waking dreams about him. Who or what Strucker is to HYDRA and to him is still an unknown quantity. The fact that he had an adverse reaction to his face does show that there is something hostile involved, but we don't know much aside from what files we were able to dig up about Strucker. Maybe he was a middle man and had given Barnes to Pierce way back when, maybe it was a negotiation thing with Pierce after we were supposed to be dead. We know he's a businessman, and we know there's a few offices in Austria, but we don't have the intel we need to go there."
"What kind of business?" Tony glanced over to Maria who folded her arms across her chest.
"Not weapons tech," she shook her head, "found some of the older takeover forms you had drafted up to absorb whatever Extremis tech and AIM tech. Used to have sub-contracts with AIM, which is why he's at the conference. When you took out Killian, his company nearly went under. I'm guessing they're still recovering."
Tony shrugged, "Fair enough."
"Something to do with biomechanics," Maria continued, "I'll forward the details to you before you arrive in London."
"I take it quinjet is probably a no then," Tony looked thoughtful, "well, at least Pepper'll be happy that the private jet is getting some mileage."
"Steve," Maria turned to him, "unfortunately at this stage of planning for the op, your presence there is going to provoke Strucker, especially with Tony there already, so you're going to have to play support-"
"Actually," Steve interrupted, "I was thinking of going to the field hearing with Bruce." He had realized that even if he wanted Bucky to not be imprisoned for all that he had done as the Winter Soldier, he could not be hypocritical and not extend the same courtesy to his teammates, especially since Bruce had not even asked for anything in return since Bucky's arrival. Natasha's hearing with Congress had been effective, given her reputation, but he knew that Bruce' hearing was going to be a little more tricky. The emergency field hearing was in New York and the last time Bruce had been in New York, he had in his own words, 'broke Harlem.' Ross was more than likely thinking of how public opinion, especially in the most populous city in the United States was going to go against Bruce.
Captain America's presence would counter that.
"Uh, Steve-"
"I'm your commanding officer, son," he gave Bruce the full-force of his stern look for a few seconds and saw the other man blink in surprise before sheepishly nodding.
"Wow, remind me never to get you pissed, Cap," Tony grinned from where he was and Steve rolled his eyes at the remark.
"He does that, you know," Sam looked liked he was trying to hide a smile behind his crossed arms, but utterly failed at it, "don't argue with Cap. He'll win any argument, Doc. Oh, and I'll probably head over with you Tony, if that's fine. At least I be your backup in case Strucker gets spooked and runs for it during the op. Got a few more vacation days I can use up from the VA."
"I'll coordinate logistics from here while you are at the hearing if you don't mind, Agent Hill?" Sharon spoke up before shrugging, "CIA didn't like me going off-site and reappearing in New York. I'm kind of stuck in the city until someone decides whether I get an official transfer or not."
"Sorry," Steve dropped the look he had given Bruce and frowned,
but Sharon shook her head.
"You don't get to say 'sorry'. I chose to help," she chided him gently, "besides, now they know I work with the Avengers. Don't worry your secret of snoring into a plush teddy bear is safe with me Mr. Stark, CIA will never know that."
"Hey, that bear is a keepsake..." Tony sounded offended, but grinned at her joke, "all right, JARVIS, set up all of the usual bells and whistles about going to London for this business conference. Let Pepper know it's about Strucker so she can spin it in our favor when we land and...let's see, about 6am, traffic's going to be hell...whatever, gonna fly to the airport in the suit. Falcon, let's put those wings of yours to the test-"
"Clothing-"
"Don't worry, I've got a flat in London, Paddington area, really nice, and I'll have JARVIS order a few items for you. Just grab your passport, phone..." Tony stood up and started to walk away with Sam reluctantly following behind him as he made plans to head out to London. The others took it as their cue to disperse and Steve saw Bruce walk over from where he had been leaning against the bar. Sharon and Maria headed towards the elevator, no doubt for Maria to explain what Sharon would be doing while she helped on the logistical side.
"Thanks, Steve," Bruce said, his voice quiet, almost shy and Steve smiled.
"Like I said, I'm your commanding officer and I certainly won't let some hell-bent General take apart my team," he shrugged before adding even more quietly, "and it's the least I could do for all that you've done for Bucky."
"No, you don't get to make me feel guilty or anything," Bruce laughed lightly, "and no, Bucky does not become part of the equation. I would have helped him in any way I can no questions asked. He'll come back, Steve. Even though he's gone after Strucker, he'll come back, after all of this is over. I talked with him and he's definitely remembering bits and pieces. He's fighting the programming and he wants to know why they did what they did to him."
Steve nodded; the unspoken 'I know' hung in the air as he squared his shoulders and took a deep breath and let it out. "I'll follow him, but right now, we've got a record to set straight."
"I feel like I should have joined the army or something, 'oo-rah,' something like that," Bruce said as the two of them headed towards the elevators and downstairs to Maria's floor.
Steve's laugh was long, loud, and contained a lot of needed relief in it.
He could see the TSA officer looking him with something akin to dubiousness in his gaze, but ignored it as he took back the planet ticket, passport, and medical forms he had handed over. The officer's gaze had lingered on his covered metal arm, the only hints that it was metal shown in fingerless gloves he had found in the room he was in at Stark Tower. He also knew that he was wearing a long-sleeved hoodie when it was a bit humid from the warm air blowing in from the constantly opening and closing doors of the Arrival section of the airport. Almost everyone else in the security line was wearing a form of short sleeves, though most still wore long pants.
"Lane two and three are open," the officer said, "please keep your medical form out for a pat down and let the officer know that you don't want to remove your outer clothing due to scarring. Next!"
He moved past the TSA agent and headed to the open line, giving the officer standing in between two scatterback machines his passport, medical forms, and ticket. The officer glanced at the forms before waving over another officer before gesturing for him to stand to the side.
"Do you have any bags or carry-ons that are yours?" the officer than approached had a friendly face, but he could tell instantly that this man was very well trained at his job. It was an effort on his part to shake his head a negative and not react to the danger the man exuded. A few of the other TSA officers also exuded the same presence, and he did not blame them. The heightened sense of security that had risen in wake of the fall of SHIELD meant that many in the government more than likely underwent additional training.
His skill set allowed him to blend in easily with crowds whenever he finished with a kill, concealing his highly visible silver arm and so he fell back on it, forcing himself to adopt a nonchalant look.
"You look a little tired, Mr. de Pietro," the officer said as he pointed to his arms to hold them out to a 'T'.
"Early morning," he replied quietly, "coffee is in order."
"Understood," the officer smiled congenially, "I would like to ask you to take your jacket off-"
"Scar tissue," he replied shortly and the officer nodded once.
"I understand," he had a kind voice, but sharp eyes as he started to pat him down, "prototype for Stark Industries?"
"Tony Stark said it was a new line for veterans," the pat down felt intimately invasive, and he tried to suppress the urge to snap the man's neck, but it was hard. He had seen some of the footage of what had been done to him; had watched it like an impartial third party while he had thought he could still feel the phantom pain, the whine of machinery and metal, screams that made him dry swallow so many times- Needles, the cut of a knife-
"Might want to tell your doctor or write a letter to Stark himself that if he wants to make more, don't do it with metal. Gonna have a hell of a time with wounded vets already getting through TSA. Maybe some plastic polymer?" the officer suggested and just when he thought he could not stand the pat-down anymore, the officer stepped away and wiped his gloves on a cotton-like pad. "You can put your arms down. Give me a second to run this through the scanner."
With that the officer left him, and he let out a shaky breath underneath his mild-looking facade. He could still feel eyes on him and looked around, seemingly taking in the vastness of the international terminal for Delta that was beyond the security checkpoint. It was somewhat quiet, many travelers still in the process of waking up or adjusting their sleep schedules. The high pitched giggles of children echoed once or twice only to be shushed immediately by tired or concerned parents.
"You're all set Mr. de Pietro, have a safe flight and thank you for your service," he turned as he heard the officer approaching him again and handed him passport, ticket, and forms. He pocked them immediately, feeling a little odd at those last words before heading away from the security checkpoint and into the terminal proper.
His flight was in roughly an hour boarding began in half an hour. A quick glance at the terminal map pointed him in the direction of a sit-down restaurant and he immediately took a seat at the bar, the most tactical spot in an open floor seating plan. It was near the television, near several long-necked bottles which he could use in lieu of not having any sort of weaponry on him that was bladed or blunted. It also served as a temporary hiding spot should anyone come with guns blazing and most of all, provided a rear-entrance exit into the bowels of JFK.
"What can I get you?" the cheerful voice of the waitress behind the closed bar with the nameplate of [Jen], made him glance down at the sparse morning menu and and pointed wordlessly at one of the choices that at least said eggs in it.
"Good choice, it's one of our more popular ones with international travelers," the waitress smiled a little, "want anything to drink?"
"Coffee," he said before tacking on the belated, "please."
"Sure thing," she replied before leaving to fill his order.
He had eaten just hours ago, a plate of two sandwiches left by his door by probably Rogers, but was feeling hungry again and knew that the sandwiches had burned through him quickly. His food options since he had stayed at the Tower were varied and he had only eaten when his body had pushed at him for the need to eat. Stark had given him free run of the kitchenette in the common area, but he had not been inclined to make or do anything, not exactly sure how most of the fancy gleaming machinery worked. To that end, though, he had taken to drinking the brewed coffee, careful to not completely empty the pot. Rogers, when he was not sketching had sometimes made food and offered it to him, but he had not eaten it. The first two times that had happened it had come with a lecture about their mutually shared super soldier metabolism and caloric intakes with Rogers suspecting that his may have been a bit lower, but still burning at a fast rate. It was how he learned the quickest and easiest protein intake was through eggs.
The pain in his head had dulled to a manageable level, his distance away from Rogers giving him a hint of relief, but also making him feel oddly displaced, like he was missing something from a whole he did not know he had.
"Oh, would you look at that," the waitress returned with a mug, and a plate of the food he had ordered. She set the mug down and poured coffee in it before sliding over a small ceramic square full of different types of sugar. He reached out and took the salt shaker instead and poured a bit into his mug before stirring it.
"Huh, Navy boy?"
"Army," he replied quietly. At least that was what he had gotten from Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes' file in the Smithsonian. The flashes of memories certainly seemed to confirm that he was Barnes, in some way or shape, but the name still did not exactly register with him when others spoke it; exception being when Rogers called him 'Bucky' or when Banner had snapped him out of his fugue state with his insistently eerie calm 'James!'.
"Well, thank you for your service, sir," the waitress smiled before looking back up at the television, "wish I could say the same to Captain America himself because the guy really deserves that thanks, but hey, he's on screen right now-what? Senatorial emergency field hearing for Dr. Banner – hey Nancy! Your favorite Avenger's just made the morning headlines!"
He glanced up at the television and felt the brief spike of pain at the image of Agent Hill, the targ-Rogers, and Banner all walking up what looked like the stairs to the New York City Supreme Court across from Foley Square on Centre Street. He also noted the abrupt rise in volume at the other patrons and those walking in the terminals as some started to crowded around television and read the topical headline scrolling across the screen. [Avengers Subpoenaed To Appear In Court] The secondary headline on the bottom of the topic bar said [Emergency Congressional Field Hearing Called To Discuss Safety of Hulk].
"Hulk's not a threat, that's bullshit," another woman's voice spoke up near him and out of the corner of his eye, he made note that the new waitress' nameplate said [Nancy]. "Yeah, sure he kind of rolled on Harlem, but he totally trashed the aliens along with Cap himself! Cap saved me even while we had been trapped in the atrium on 42nd and Madison."
He noted that she was looking around at the rest of the restaurant, almost daring anyone to contradict what she was saying, but more than a few nodded as his waitress, Jen, reached for a remote to turn the volume up a little. He absently started into his food and ate while listening to the clinical report being said on the television.
"-again, breaking news; media sources are reporting that this emergency congressional field hearing is being held due to what has happened in Washington D.C. a few nights ago. As you may remember, we received grainy footage of what appeared to be a fight involving some of the Avengers at a local bank near Dupont Circle where five civilians were critically wounded and at least eight responding officers killed."
A side-by-side live footage of Rogers, Hill, and Banner walking up the steps, pushing the throng of media away as Rogers and Hill kept Banner in the middle was interposed with grainy mobile phone video of the battle in the D.C. Bank. It showed Iron Man flying in the air firing several repulsor shots before the image showed the blur of Rogers in his red-white-blue uniform fighting someone with flashes of silver before he tackled him to the ground as the Hulk burst out from the bank and roared, making the camera shake.
"We have received unconfirmed reports that General Thaddeus Ross was the one who asked for this emergency field hearing. As you may know, General Ross was once the head of an attempt to bring about the super soldier program. We are trying to get a statement from Captain Rogers himself on his opinion of another super soldier program that failed-"
Rogers, dressed in full uniform was shown taking his shield off to give to a security officer before allowing himself to be scanned quickly by a handheld metal detector and waved through. The guard that had held onto his shield looked a little nervous, unsure if he should keep the shield or hand it back, but seemed to have decided to hand it over to Rogers with some whispered words and a quick salute to which Rogers returned with a kind smile.
He marveled at how Steve boosted morale each time their unit was sent to work with others out on the field. The others in the Commandos had joking first referred it to Steve's showgirling abilities, but he knew better. Steve was a born leader and it was times like these that he knew he would follow him to hell and back. His best friend had an understated kindness as he always took the time to talk to the other men, even those wounded. He could see the change in their eyes, their willingness to keep hope when they had all been downtrodden and bitter at how the war was going.
The cameras had focused on the guard who Rogers had talked to and one or two microphones had been shoved into his face, but the guard had shaken his head before stepping back, declining to comment, as Agent Hill and Dr. Banner were waved through. And somehow, he knew that it was what Rogers always did; personal words spoken in privacy and the recipient unwilling to share or confide those words.
"We'll get back to the hearing after we have our cameras in there, but for now we have our political analyst here to discuss what this means for the Avengers, for former members of SHIELD like Maria Hill working for the Avengers-"
He tuned out the analyst segment as he continued to eat, pretty certain the foreign feeling that felt a little like pride, or something close to it, not from the coffee or hot food.
Steve lowered his right hand as he, Bruce, and Maria finished swearing into the session and took his seat, setting his helmet to his left as the two of them flanked Bruce at the table before the field hearing committee. His shield sat next to him, leaning against the table. General Ross was not quite sitting in the middle, but nor was he sitting at the edges. A hard-nosed Senator name Brandt sat in the middle and he vaguely wondered if this Brandt was related to the same Brandt who had drafted him to work on the USO tours. There were a few other military personnel, one at least from the other branches of service, but a majority of them were Army. Filling out the rest of the panel were senators whom Steve did not recognize.
If there was one thing he had been immensely grateful for, it was that Fury had kept away all of the political personnel from him since he had woken up from the ice. Granted he had to shake hands on occasion and had to meet a few when he officially got his honorable discharge papers after joining SHIELD proper – still unofficially retaining his rank in SHIELD's databases – but Fury kept a majority of them away from him.
"This hearing was brought forth by General Thaddeus Ross to investigate the illegal seizure of government property by Stark Industries-"
"Pardon my interruption Senator, but there was no such notation on the subpoena handed to our offices this morning of such seizure," Maria cut in smoothly and professionally.
"The address of the subpoena does denote the government property that was seized," Senator Brandt replied testily, "and I ask that you please not further interrupt until asked, Ms. Hill. We are all well aware of your recent hearings in Washington D.C. for SHIELD and this whole HYDRA debacle."
"Understood," Maria replied sweetly, but Steve could see the viper's grin in her smile as she sat back in her chair.
"As I was saying. This hearing is for the illegal seizure of government property and the United States Army's request to retrieve such property for purposes of national security. Now then, Ms. Hill, we understand that Stark Industries has had previous contracts with the United States military and access to some secrets that may have enabled Stark Industries to acquire a few assets on the side to further research. But those contracts have long expired and such government property much be returned."
"I take it you're not talking about Mr. Stark's Iron Man suits, right? Because, well, that kind of didn't go so well for the last Senator who tried to take the suits away. In fact, he got arrested for being a HYDRA mole," Maria said dryly to the chuckles of those in the gallery and Steve managed to keep a stoic expression on his face. He had not know that she had such a dry humorous streak, but he supposed that he had only seen one side of Maria Hill and that was her no-nonsense SHIELD persona.
"Are you implying-" Brandt had gone a bit red-faced while Maria shook her head.
"Not at all, Senator, merely making sure this is not about Tony Stark and is, after all, about a living human being named Dr. Bruce Banner whom you keep insisting as government property like he is some kind of inanimate object."
Steve resolutely kept his face still at the sudden swooping anger that filled him. He had been a little confused at the Senator's opening remarks about government property and the like before Maria's words made him realize that he had been talking about Bruce. And making Bruce sound like something that was to be passed around without a care. It seemed that the rest of the gallery also came to that realization as the rapid clicks of cameras tried to catch photos of everyone's reactions and the people themselves had hushed whispers.
"That statement is true," General Ross took over for the Senator and Steve stared at him, white-haired, bushy mustached, and an angry disposition written all over his face. He had heard that the General had steadily risen his way up the ranks after starting his service in Vietnam before given control of one of the Army's scientific divisions that had tried to replicate the super soldier serum. "Dr. Bruce Banner is government property. His blood is holding highly classified materials and radioactivity that makes him a danger to those around him. He has already killed several civilians and military personnel as well as endangered countless of others in highly volatile situations."
There were a few murmurs of agreement from the gallery behind him, and Steve could see the small satisfied smile on the General's face as well as some of the other military personnel in the room.
Maria nodded before commandeering the microphone, "An apt statement, very much like the files that SHIELD used to have on Dr. Banner. I'm sure a search of those files would say the same thing." The gallery twittered behind them and Steve could imagine a lot of them already accessing their mobile phones – even though hearing rules allowed no cellphones – to search for the SHIELD file dump on that very subject.
"During your time with SHIELD, you brought in Dr. Banner to work for you, am I correct, Ms. Hill?" another senator spoke up and Maria nodded.
"Yes, the emergency crisis with Loki dictated that an expert in gamma radiation be brought in to consult. Dr. Banner proved immensely helpful with the algorithm he created with Mr. Stark. Director Fury promised that SHIELD would not search for the good doctor in the aftermath."
"Surely you had inklings that Dr. Banner was working for Stark Industries after the battle in New York. After all, wasn't Howard Stark one of SHIELD's vaunted founders? Perhaps it was really HYDRA underneath it all-"
"Senator Ryan, I think we are leaving the topic and that is of Dr. Banner," Senator Brandt stepped in and held up a hand to his fellow Senator who nodded and sat back, but the damage was already done. "Ms. Hill, you have anything to add?"
"Yes sir, thank you sir," Maria smiled toothily, but Steve instead paid attention to Brandt. He seemed like a hard-ass in his opinion, but his cutting of the Senator's inflammatory statements and focusing back on the topic at hand seemed like it was to at least moderate the whole field hearing. Maybe he was not as opinionated and set in his ways as he had originally thought.
"Dr. Banner's contributions has been invaluable, both to crises around the world and to the scientific community itself. He is a cautionary tale to those who wish to replicate the super soldier serum, but at the same time an exemplary tale of kindness and understated compassion to those who are less fortunate than himself," Hill stated, "Stark Industries' medical component was able to isolate the health benefits of the Extremis virus instead of turning it into a weaponized component when it was first developed by Advanced Idea Mechanics; something that could not have been done without Dr. Banner's achievements in the field of molecular biochemistry. While there is still much testing to be done, I am proud to say that Dr. Banner thinks Stark Industries would be able to help our fellow veterans regain far greater mobility than current technology within the next few years."
Steve refused to let the surprise show on his face at the news and caught Bruce's eye who minutely shrugged. He instantly realized that it was perhaps a joint effort between him and Tony before seeing two of Bruce's fingers semaphore out the letters 'L-O-K-I' and realized that there were plans; but it was mainly due to the healing stones and whatever poisonous magick Loki had sussed out two years ago for Maria to say what she said.
"How do we know Stark Industries isn't going to create Extremis soldiers like AIM did?" one general from the Air Force spoke up, her voice concerned, but not gruff.
"I would think AIM's kidnapping of Stark Industries' CEO would have been a deterrent," Maria shot back a bit dryly, "and this question is better directed to Colonel James Rhodes as he is overseeing this project having first hand knowledge about the Extremis soldiers and was responsible for the arresting of Trevor Slattery as well as the rescuing of President Ellis."
The gallery behind them murmured their approval and Steve suppressed the small smile that threatened to appear on his face. SHIELD knew of Tony's involvement in the kerfuffle with AIM and the true Mandarin, Aldrich Killian, but the public at large only heard that Tony's best friend Rhodey had been involved since Tony had been sort of still declared dead in the aftermath. It was only after his successful surgery to remove the shrapnel from his chest that he had himself not declared dead – using the excuse of surgery for his non-involvement.
"You say he is a cautionary tale against those who wished to replicate the super soldier serum, Ms. Hill," General Ross spoke up, "so even you must know the dangerous qualities of his blood, radioactive and poisonous to anyone who even touches it or gets near it, the constant stressful situations that makes him into...a liability."
There were clicks of cameras as the reporters around them whispered amongst themselves and Steve saw Bruce quirk up a crooked smile sardonically.
"Yes, I do," Maria leaned forward into the microphone, "was there an inquiry to your statement?" Steve willfully suppressed another grin that threatened to appear on his face, especially since Ross frowned.
"Should this not be grounds for containment-"
"Why?" Maria interrupted.
"I believe I am asking the questions here Ms. Hill-"
"If you're asking whether or not Dr. Banner here should be locked up just because his blood can make people sick, that he occasionally sometimes turns into an unstoppable green-rage-monster – you can thank Tony Stark for that name – because of people hunting him like an animal and has literally done nothing to endure the hate and vitriol also because he happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time for an experiment that you, General Ross, sir, approved with federal funding, then no. I do not think he should be contained."
Ross' face turned a little redder, verging on purple before Brandt put a hand on his own to stop him from saying anything and nodded towards Bruce, "Dr. Banner, Ms. Hill has been a valiant champion for you, do you wish to add anything?"
Bruce cleared his throat and sat forward, "Nothing really, except to personally apologize to the General. I know...it's probably not enough, but I'm truly sorry."
The gallery burst into puzzled murmurs as everyone looked at General Ross who looked like he was about to eat his microphone as he visibly grounded his teeth. After what seemed like a minute of consideration the General leaned forward and spit out his next words. "You should have thought of that before all of this."
Bruce only smiled a sad-looking smile and nodded as he accepted the words without flinching. Steve was not too sure about what they were talking about before the memory of a name and pretty face passed through his mind. Dr. Elizabeth 'Betty' Ross. When Fury had given him the packet for Dr. Banner for him to read on his way to the Helicarrier three years ago, he had not exactly paid attention to the notation of Dr. Ross under General Ross' project with Bruce to recreate the super soldier serum. He had only briefly met Dr. Ross two years ago when Loki had warned them of the coterie's plans to attack their loved ones. He had been laid up in the medical ward and had been unable to go with the others on the rescue missions. Even living at the Tower for the past year, Bruce had been very private about his life and Steve was too polite to inquire.
Now, he realized that it was very personal between General Ross and Bruce. That something had happened during the experiment to Dr. Ross that had torn a gaping rift between the two of them. The General was not only after Bruce because of the Hulk, but because of a personal grudge against him.
"Ms. Hill, do you wish to add anything in regards to this hearing?" Senator Brandt spoke up.
"Yes, only one statement: You are making a mistake if you think to arrest Dr. Banner and detain him, and I'm not talking about SHIELD, HYDRA, Stark Industries, or even the Hulk whom you all seem to fear more than the Major Emil Blonsky, better known as the Abomination – who, by the way, really did destroy Harlem, not the Hulk."
"Indeed..." Brandt looked nonplussed, before opening his mouth once more, "then we will adjourn-"
"Sir," Steve spoke up as he realized that Ross and the Senator had already made their decisions. He had also realized that they did not realize how much of an impassioned speech Hill had spoken to turn the tide of the public against them. They wanted to adjourn the inquiry to do some public damage control and he was not about to let them get away with bullying Bruce to the media. "If I may add something before you call this hearing?"
This time there was a more visible and interested reaction behind Steve as he ignored the flash of cameras, the almost hungry-look the reporters covering the hearing looked. Senator Brandt and General Ross both looked flat-footed, but Brandt smiled blandly and nodded, knowing the consequences of denying him the request to speak – he was, after all Captain America. He slowly stood up consciously standing at parade rest, aware that all eyes were on him.
"It was not my intention to speak today, after all, I am here for Dr. Banner's support as his friend, not as his commanding officer," he picked his words carefully, "but it seems to me that you wish to lock him up because he is government property, right?"
"...Yes..." Brandt was staring at him shrewdly, picking his own words carefully.
"The first thing said to me by my commanding officer, Colonel Phillips, after I failed to stop the HYDRA spy from killing Dr. Erskine, was that I should be locked up somewhere like a lab rat because I was government property and have tests run on me. He wanted a hundred more of me and I was the only success," it was something he had never seen published, not even spoken by Peggy in the interviews that she had given over the years. It was also something he had suspected Phillips deeply regretted judging by his interviews during the time he was on ice. "A kind Senator, by the name of Thomas Brandt, thought I could have been better serving my country on USO tours instead of being stuck in a lab." He met the Senator's gaze and saw the recognition and slight chagrin on the current Senator Brandt's face and knew that this one was related to the Brandt he had known back in the war.
The hushed murmurs were growing in volume, but no one seemed to want to stop them, all of them hearing the story of how Steve Rogers, right after being super-soldier'ed almost became a lab rat and instead became what they had known in the biographies, a USO showgirl before launching his rescue of the 107th and other battalions.
"So," Steve kept his voice and gaze steady as he stared at both Ross and Brandt, "what I am saying is that even though you have given me an honorable discharge, you may recall me to active service to serve my country. If you truly wish for the super soldier serum, I am willing to serve my country and perform all of the tests you wish me to do. Maybe that will give you your needed results and there won't be anymore people scrambling for the serum."
The room erupted in loud shouts and Steve felt the burning startled gazes of both Bruce and Maria on him.
"Steve-!"
"What the hell are you-"
Senator Brandt immediately started banging a gavel onto the table as the room slowly quieted down before glaring at him. Steve met that glare with an equally placid gaze of his own, keeping his back ramrod straight and standing at attention instead of parade rest. "I don't know what the hell you're playing at Captain, but we have laws against this type of indentured servitude that you seem to think is back from before the Civil War-"
"No sir," he cut the Senator off firmly, "I am volunteering."
"If this is some kind of stunt..."
"No sir," he shook his head once, "this is not a stunt. I was once asked by Dr. Erskine why I volunteered and if it was because I wanted to kill Nazis. I did not want to kill anyone, but I told him I hated bullies."
The Senator's eyes darted around the panel as well as the gallery behind Steve that he could hear was quiet again, all hanging onto his words. No one missed the implications of his words, he was sure of that. He certainly knew that this was going to at least stay on the news for a while. He also knew that he had just told Bucky – if he was watching this at JFK or perhaps already flying in the air – that he would not readily pursue him, but let him do what he needed to do going after Strucker. If General Ross and Senator Brandt did take him up on his volunteerism, reinstated him back to the army to their scientific division, then it was the least he could do for Bruce and for Bucky.
He could feel something uneasy well up within him, watching the unreadable looks on their faces, but refused to let it show and kept his expression passive and firm.
The various other Senators and military personnel were looking at each other, coming to silent conclusions as both Brandt and Ross had stony expressions on their face. There was a few minutes of silent communication before Brandt nodded once, sharp, and cleared his throat. "Your honesty and self-sacrifice is admirable, Captain, but it is the decision of this panel as well as those in the Armed Forces that you have concluded your service to this country." The Senator paused for a moment, seemingly drawing upon his full authority – and perhaps for the nearly silent media crowded around the hearing, trying to salvage the situation. "All charges and inquiries to Dr. Bruce Banner's status will also be dropped in recognition of his service and contributions to the scientific community as well as the Avengers."
The gallery cheered and Steve blinked, feeling a wave of relief as he stoically nodded; almost drowning out the prickling feeling of something not right. Brandt however was not done as he slammed the gavel several more times.
"However, this panel also deems the danger of the Hulk as one of caution. Captain, as you had said, you were here for Dr. Banner as a friend, not as his commanding officer. But you are the Avengers' leader and so the responsibility falls upon you to ensure the safety of civilians and those caught in the crossfire of...bullies...from the Hulk's immeasurable strength and penchant for wanton destruction. I trust you will be discreet or else we will find ourselves back here again and your volunteerism taken in a far more serious matter."
"Yes sir," he automatically snapped off a salute, to which was returned by the military persons on the panel as the gallery cheered again and sat back down.
"This panel is adjourned," the Senator's voice was barely heard over the roar of cheers from the gallery, clicks of camera shutters, and reporters trying to clamor past the gate, to talk to the three of them, but were barely being held back by the security guards.
Steve smiled in relief as he met Bruce and Maria's gaze, but still could not shake the feeling of something not quite right. He looked around, keeping the smile on his face as Bruce and Maria frowned a little.
"Steve what's-"
Bruce never finished what he was saying as in that moment, Steve caught the eye of one of the guards in the far corner of the room, near one of the main exits, glowing a brilliant red, teeth bared in a deathly smile-
Steve immediately grabbed his shield and threw it towards the guard who was deliberately overloading herself from the Extremis virus, and knew it was too late-
The room exploded in a wash of fiery pain and horrific screams as he blacked out.
