Ace walked into the gym and picked up the picture like always staring at the face of Bucky, next to the captain.
"You keep staring at that photo like that and I'm going to start thinking that you're falling in love with a memory." Steve called, coming out of the locker room.
"What do you do when it's over, Steve?" She asked. He looked at her confused. "When the fight is over and all that's left are the pieces what do you do?"
"I'm not sure, the fight wasn't over when I went under. I suppose you pick up the pieces and try to live your life as normal as possible."
"Where do you start?" Since the battle in New York Ace had felt strange. It was akin to the feeling someone gets after finishing a really good book, a sort of displaced feeling, like they're seeing everything around them differently and don't know what to do with themselves.
"How about we start by helping clean up the city." Steve suggested, and Ace nodded she could do that. They left the gym, getting on his motorcycle and heading to the city to help with the clean up. While they were helping sweep up debris a news reporter walked up to them, gaining their attention.
"Excuse me, what do you think about these "super heros"?" She asked.
"I'm glad they're here." Ace told the reporter. "I saw what happened that day. This mess we're cleaning up could be a whole lot worse if they hadn't contained it to these few blocks."
"Don't you think they should be helping clean it up though? Taking responsibility for their mess?"
"Who's to say their not? There were seven people out here that day, how do you know you haven't already talked to at least one of the heros? I think the big question you should be asking is about the aliens that attacked us." With that Ace turned away from the reporter smirking at the captain who just smiled back.
"He really would have loved you." He said, and this time she looked at him confused. "Bucky."
"Why because I'm so young and this smart?" She asked, recalling his words from the last time they had a conversation very similar to this.
"No that would have drawn him to you, it draws everyone to you. He would have loved you for your fearlessness, and your passion and your honor."
"What was he like?" Ace couldn't help but ask. This was the most she'd ever heard him speak of before he was frozen.
"He was the same, fearless, passionate, honorable. Tried to talk me out of joining the army because he was afraid I'd get arrested for falsifying my papers. He was a bit of a ladies man too, he loved the dames I don't doubt though that for the right one he would have ignored all the others." Ace smiled listening as the captain told her the story, of his trying to join the army, and being chosen for the SSR project. How he hated doing the war bond skit, how when he made it over seas to talk to the troops he found out about Bucky being behind enemy lines, that he fought his way to his friend and that was where he saw Red Skull. He told her how he and several of those he helped escape formed a team. He haltingly told her about the train, where Bucky died saving him. He told her about his battle with Red Skull and the power he glanced from the Tesseract. What caught her attention the most though was when he spoke of Peggy Carter, the affection that was in his voice as he spoke of the woman that was by his side from the moment he joined the army.
Since the helicarrier was being repaired those that had been stationed on board were back at S.H.I.E.L.D.'s main base, and when Ace returned she used her skills with a computer to track down Peggy for Steve and couldn't help but smile when she saw that the woman was still alive. While she was at it she pulled up all she could find on Bucky, making a copy of the picture they had of him.
"Ace what are you doing?" Clint asked, walking into the room.
"Some digging for Steve." She replied. Ace went to search for something else, but he quickly grabbed her hands and pulled her to her feet,
"Nope. I'm not about to let you retreat back into your world of wires and monitors." He informed, as he tugged her out of the room.
Ace found that Steve Rogers otherwise known as Captain America was right. Once you start picking up the pieces life seems to fall back into place. He was speechless when she presented him with the information on Peggy and the picture of Bucky. Clint and Natasha took her out to socialize whenever any of them were off mission, and she found that a life away from machines wasn't so terrible.
Ace Le Beau will return.