Steve flicked the sweat from his brow as he returned his attention back to the bag, the smacks of his bare fists echoing throughout the gym as they punctuated his thoughts.

I have been fighting to bring Bucky back since I got on Howard's plane.

*thud* *thud* *thud*

I'm all he's got left.

*thud* *thud* *thud*

The only one...

*thud*

...who gives a damn about Bucky...

*thud*

...and not just containing the Winter Soldier.

*thud* *thud*

For her to...

*thud* *thud*

I didn't want him to do it...

*thud* *thud*

I didn't want any of this!

The individual strikes blended together as the force and rapidity of each increased until a ripping seam had him straightening from his fighting stance. His hands dropped to his sides and he breathed heavily for reasons that had little to do with exertion. He turned as the door swung open and Sam entered. His friend didn't say anything, and instead just picked up the target pads and joined Steve, his hands raised for him to continue. Steve nodded his thanks and struck out, this time holding back on the force behind it. Sam still grimaced at the contact despite his effort.

"I ran into Darcy not long ago..." Sam started after a few minutes.

Steve just grunted an acknowledgement, keeping his expression neutral.

"She was arguing with one of the guards at the medical ward. Said they wouldn't let her see Jane."

Steve stopped his movements and straightened. "What? Why?"

"Guy said the doctor was worried about a biological weapon and no visitors were allowed."

"I'm pretty sure one of us would have shown effects by now if that were the case."

Sam nodded. "That's what she said but the guard wouldn't let her go. Said he doesn't make the rules, he just enforces them."

"I'll have a word with T'Challa. See if there's something going on that I don't know about."

"Yeah, I asked Darcy why she didn't just go find you in the first place and she said, and I quote, 'I'm not talking to Captain Jackass right now'. Then Natasha told me about Level 13 and I find you down here working on that bag like it owes you money."

Steve sighed and grabbed his towel from the bench before sitting down.

"Do you think putting Bucky back under was right?"

Sam's hands dropped, his shoulders rising and falling heavily. "I understand why he thought it was the best option. And I understand why everyone allowed it."

"Sam."

"What's the end game, Steve? No matter who you hope he'll eventually be, when you wake him up, all the damage is going to be there. Is the plan to freeze him every time he regresses? Subject him to the same thing they did to control him over and over again? Doesn't sound like much of a plan to me."

Steve leaned forward and ran his fingers through his hair before resting his elbows on his knees. "Darcy thinks he needs a psychiatrist, mood stabilizers, and cognitive therapy."

Sam dropped the target mats and sat beside Steve on the bench. "That sounds reasonable."

"The last therapist wasn't so great."

Sam winced, thinking of Zemo and his stolen identity. "I'll talk to T'Challa and I'll vet anyone he recommends first before they even lay eyes on James. It won't happen again."

Steve clapped a hand on Sam's shoulder in a show of thanks before pushing himself up. He was nearly at the door when Sam spoke again.

"Did Lewis study psychology?"

"No, Political Science."

Sam's face screwed up in confusion. "How does she know so much about PTSD then?"

Steve searched his memory for any clues in their conversations but came up empty.

"No clue..." he said and backed toward the exit. "I'll catch you later, Sam. Got some things I've got to discuss with the King."

"Damn it!" hissed Darcy as she rolled her ankle on a particularly ill-timed pass through a portal. She hobbled to the side of the trampoline and flexed her extremity several times, testing to make sure it was okay. It was tender but no swelling.

No permanent damage, she thought.

"You are here awfully early."

Darcy looked up to see Barton enter the gym and she scowled. "Are you disappointed to see I am punishing myself quite fine without any of your help?"

Barton chuckled. "You know, I consider you good practice for when Lila gets to teenage years."

"Sadist," she muttered just loud enough for him to hear before smiling good-naturedly at him. Despite all her grumbling about Barton's love of torture, she was becoming quite fond of the archer and his matter of fact approach to the world.

"I was looking for you. Word's come down that the quarantine has been lifted. Dr. Foster is awake and would like to see you."

Darcy straightened, her ankle forgotten. "Seriously?"

Barton nodded and stepped aside as Darcy flew past him. She paused, her hand still on the door frame. "Hey, I think I'm ready to try this thing large scale," she said with a nod toward the trampoline.

"No problem."

She flashed him a grateful smile and darted down the hallway to the medical ward. She waved to the security guard who had previously barred her entrance, practically skipping into Jane's room. The astrophysicist was already buzzing around the room, pulling on her flannel button up shirt as she held a pen between her teeth.

"Jane, should you be up and moving already?"

Jane rolled her eyes as she twisted her hair into a bun before sticking the pen in to hold it up. "I'm fine. Really, getting knocked out cold is the least exciting thing that's happened to me in the past three years. Did I miss anything while I was out? "

"No, not really, unless you count how I found the Winter Soldier in deep freeze and yelled at Captain America about it."

"Wait, what?"

Darcy sat heavily on the bed. "It's been such a whirlwind since we got here, I hadn't even thought about Barnes and where he could be. I tried to sneak in to see you but missed and ended up on one of the more secure levels and I found him. Captain said Barnes himself asked to be cryogenically frozen until it was safe."

"And you disagreed?"

"The way I see it, there are only two possibilities. Either he willingly did those horrible things and murdered all those people or he didn't. If he did, then he should be in jail. If he didn't, then he deserves help instead of waiting until some magical fix all cure falls out of the sky. The psychological damage he must have endured, seeing what he's seen... he needs real, intense treatment or...he might..." Darcy's voice trailed off and Jane came to sit by her.

"I know it's hard and I know why this is so important to you. I'm proud you spoke up. "

"I think the Captain might hate me now."

"I'm sure he doesn't-"

"He looked so pissed off at me, Jane."

"Well, I can guarantee you weren't the picture of serenity, either. I've seen you argue, Darcy. There's lots of sarcasm and finger waggling."

Darcy buried her face in her palms. "This is not good."

"Did you mean what you told him?"

"Yes."

"Do you still stand by what you said?"

"Of course."

"Well, okay then."

Darcy gave a small smile, remembering the near identical conversation she had with Jane after she had decided to leave Thor. "I'm glad I was your only applicant, too."

Jane rolled her eyes before giving Darcy a friendly bump with her shoulder. "Thanks for your help with that...creature...thing...the other night."

"Any idea why they were after you?"

Jane shrugged. "I'm not even sure that they were, let alone why."

"They looked pretty intent to me."

"I don't know, Darcy," she replied, her voice sounding tense and her face pinched in that way Darcy recognized as Jane being particularly troubled.

Darcy sighed and decided to change the topic for Jane's sake. "I told Barton I was ready to start field testing these portal things. If Thanos is upping the time frame, then I've got to start pushing myself harder and learn everything I can about what I can do."

"When?"

"Sometime in the next few days."

Jane nodded, pulling her notebook from the side table.

"Alright let's get a game plan, then."

"This is not a good look for me," said Darcy as she stared at her reflection. Her hair was pulled up in a frizzy bun and she wore a pair of huge safety goggles that had been borrowed from Sam's flight gear.

"It doesn't matter how you look. They're practical and will keep you from going blind," said Jane looking over Darcy's shoulder at her into the gym mirror.

"I look like Professor Trelawney made a very misguided attempt to switch careers."

"I don't think I know her. Did she teach at Culver?"

"Nevermind, Jane."

"Well, you can't wear that," spoke up Natasha, gesturing to her oversized t-shirt and yoga pants.

"Why not? This is what I workout in."

"You're going to have to wear something form-fitting. It lowers the risk of extraneous material getting caught in equipment or obscuring your view while you're moving through the air."

"Got it. The 'no capes' clause." She looked back at the woman, a thought suddenly occurring to her. "And by form-fitting you don't mean like your uniform, right?" she asked, anxiety creeping into her voice at the thought of wearing something that skin-tight.

"I was thinking more of a flight suit, like jet pilots wear." She started texting rapidly on her phone. "We'll borrow one for today and if you like the look and maneuverability, we can have one made to fit you with vibranium weave. There," She said putting away her phone. "They should be bringing one over shortly. I'm going to go find Wanda and we'll be waiting for you when you're ready."

Darcy lifted her goggles and wrung her hands as she looked back at Jane. "Maybe we should go over it one more time."

"First, you're going to create two portals that face down-"

"I'll go through the one at my feet and use them to gain speed."

"Then, when you're ready, after you leave the higher portal, you'll verse it's direction, aiming it toward the sky."

"I can oscillate between the two, learning how the shifts in gravity will effect me and my proprioception."

"From here, you can move the portals, falling from greater heights and see if you're okay with it. You'll have an earpiece in and be connected to both myself and Wanda's so let her know if you're having any distress or disorientation and she will lower you to he ground."

The door to the gym opened and her flight suit was hand delivered. Darcy inhaled deeply, wiping her clammy palms onto her pants and flicked the goggles back over her face as she moved to the locker room.

"Showtime."