Author's Notes: Many thanks as always for the great feedback and discussion! This fic envisions a more complicated treatment procedure than the hand-wavy one we got from our favorite Wakandan genius princess in Black Panther. All of our heroes are forced to slow down and do something hard thinking.
Chapter Twenty-One
ROYAL PALACE, BIRNIN ZANA, WAKANDA
By all reports, it was nearly a week before Barnes was fully alert.
"That doesn't make any sense," said Tony. "Hydra wouldn't wait a week for their gunman to be capable of deployment."
The Wakandans all frowned - evidently even T'Challa and his princess sister were now the Winter Soldier's biggest fans - but it was Natasha answered sarcastically, "No, Stark, they didn't. They dragged him out of cryo, pumped him full of adrenaline and ran electricity into his brain. It was very efficient, took just a few hours."
Now everyone was glaring at Tony, as if it hadn't been a natural question.
"May I see him now?" asked Wanda.
T'Challa nodded. "Yes, Dr. Kelile is - at last - satisfied that he's recovered from stasis enough for visitors." Then he gave Tony a look. "She tells me that Sergeant Barnes' recovery was different from most patients, and she doesn't believe this is merely due to the serum. The opposite should be true; he should have recovered more quickly. Hydra's crudeness with the technology and their complete disregard for his health and safety caused lasting physical and mental damage."
There is... absolutely nothing I can say to that.
In the end, the entire rest of the team went scampering off to welcome Barnes back to the land of the living, and Tony trailed after them. That earned him an escort of T'Challa and his hot bodyguards, but T'Challa didn't stop him.
Somebody must have warned Barnes that Tony and Natasha were in Wakanda, because Barnes didn't freak out at the sight of them, though he did stare. Wanda distracted him with a fierce hug, talking a mile a minute in Sokovian as if Barnes had become some kind of stand-in for her dead brother. Hm. The more Tony watched their interactions, the more he wondered if that wasn't exactly what'd happened. Barnes accepted her embrace with a warm smile and didn't look the least bit alarmed, and for several minutes nobody in the room could follow their conversation. (Except maybe Romanoff. Tony still wasn't sure how many languages she knew.)
It was warm handshakes for T'Challa, Barton, and Lang - and a weird, sort-of sly half-grin for Wilson. Tony had no idea what that was about. Then Barnes met Tony's eyes, and awkwardest...silence...ever ensued, so Tony just turned and left. He'd seen whatever the hell it was he came to see: his parents' killer alive and well, smiling and welcomed by people Tony had once called friends.
Okay, yeah, it was more complicated than that. But sometimes even Tony Stark's brain got really tired of complicated.
There's this guy who looks even more tired than Rogers, not dressed like last time I saw him and wanted him dead, not like in that video the night he... Now he wore a light shirt with the fabric of a sleeve hanging empty while he patted Wanda's shoulder and talked softly with the team. My team. They were mine once.
That thought should've pissed Tony off. Hell, he wanted it to piss him off, to remind him that this good-looking pseudo-supersoldier being fussed over here in this hospital-cum-luxury-hotel hadn't just taken Tony's parents, he'd also managed to sway damn near everybody Tony'd once trusted.
Tony wanted to burn with rage at that awareness, but...couldn't.
It was all too damn complicated.
Distraction came - at last - in the form of one of the other Wakandan researchers. "Mr. Stark, I am Dr. Dahab. I am a specialist in medical technology research. My king has advised that you are developing technological solutions for Colonel Rhodes' spinal injuries, and asks that I offer our assistance, as our vibranium may be of use to you."
It took Tony a few seconds to process that. "What...uh...yeah!"
Tony would say this for T'Challa of Wakanda...he made up for all the awkwardness by giving Tony a ticket to Candyland.
And the Wakandans had made major strides in treating paralysis due to spinal trauma. "Sadly, even an element as versatile as vibranium can't treat some conditions. Injuries to adults in the bones, cartilage, or nervous systems can have a good prognosis. The process takes longer for children, but they also recover well. However, congenital disorders and defects at birth, we're still struggling to treat."
Tony studied the tiny vibranium implants that would feed new signals through the damaged spinal cord. They looked a little like something from an alien movie that would promptly turn all the patients into bionic zombies. "How much mobility is restored, for adult paraplegics?"
He held his breath.
"All of it."
He let it out. Rhodey…Always in such good spirits when they were up and about, but Tony knew he missed running and walking without pain, moving without stiffness, being able to bend and stand.
"There is some pain involved early in the process, as the lower nervous system and major muscle groups must re-learn to process the signals," said Dr. Dahab. "The first few weeks can be difficult and require substantial pain medication, but also physical therapy. Since we perfected the implants eighteen years ago, over ninety percent of adult trauma patients have restored all mobility, with pain at a level that does not hamper their daily activities."
Something shot through Tony, some combination of elation, anxiety, and...well, irritation. "You've had this tech for eighteen years, but you haven't used it outside Wakanda?" Goddamnit, Stark, the stakes are kind of high here, so why can't you keep your big mouth shut for once?! "I- sorry - I didn't mean - "
Dr. Dahab didn't look too offended. "I'm sure that seems very greedy of us. However, the more the versatility of vibranium is known, the more danger to our borders. You've already seen how stolen vibranium is put to use. Protecting it - and everyone who benefits from it - that isn't easy. Raw vibranium is highly toxic. Do you know how many men and women have died trying to access the mound directly in the past ten years? Over nine hundred, all of them foreigners. The ringleaders and commanders of such intrusions never come in person. They send the poor and the desperate to do their dirty work."
Something pricked Tony's mind: the picture of that Klaue character. "That's why you brand them when you catch them."
"Harsh, I know. Enough terrorists are already interested in vibranium as a resource for weapons. If they knew its use as a bioweapon, the ramifications are even worse. So we move very quietly in introducing its benefits outside our borders. Some foreign experts have been entrusted with its secrets. The most recent is someone you know."
Tony blinked, then frowned to himself as he thought. "Helen Cho."
"Yes. She was known to us before, but the clearance process is a long one. After the events in Seoul and Sokovia, she was among the witnesses who spoke very frankly with our late king without seeking any accommodation for herself. We admire that candor. So we're sharing our work as she is sharing hers; her regeneration technology promises to be groundbreaking even by our standards. We hope it will lead to new breakthroughs when combined with the properties of vibranium."
The implants glowed in the bluish light of their tank. "T'Ch - the king, he'd let you do this for Rhodes?"
"Of course. Colonel Rhodes is an Avenger, as is my king. He has great hopes to distribute vibranium medical technology more widely, if as discreetly as possible."
The whole conversation did a lot for Tony's mood - right up until he was about to leave, and spied a diagram on a screen that another group of techs were working on.
It was an arm, a prosthetic arm, meant for someone pretty big and muscular...oh.
The techs looked over their shoulders and saw Tony staring, and the hisses of alarm as the screen went dark told the tale. "So," Tony murmured, insides churning. "You're making him a new one."
Dahab didn't deny it. "My king feels partly responsible for the loss of the one he had. He wishes to replace it for the same reason my colleagues and I are working to undo Hydra's damage to Sergeant Barnes' brain."
Tony kept staring at the screen and the bemused technicians until he heard the door open behind him. Rather than wait for security to kick him out, he turned and left on his own.
Dr. Kelile allowed Wanda to be there when she explained her treatment plan to Bucky, since Wanda would be part of that treatment. Bucky betrayed very little reaction - optimistic or pessimistic - as he studied the written plan and listened to what Dr. Kelile had to say.
"I'm assuming you wouldn't have brought me out if you didn't think it'll work."
"Precisely." Noticing how he stared at the diagrams of the equipment, she added, "We've gone to great effort to ensure the devices don't resemble the ones employed by Hydra in any way."
Bucky frowned. "You'll need a chair."
"The procedure can be performed in a bed."
"But a bed can't restrain me as well." Bucky looked up as she scowled. "Be realistic. You'll need..." He sighed as she visibly prepared to argue. "You'll need to at least be able to restrain me, if something happens."
"If something happens, I can do that better than any handcuffs," Wanda pointed out. "And without hurting you."
"You don't know that. God only knows what kind of failsafes they buried in me in case their conditioning starts to fail."
Steve thumped him gently. "Their conditioning started failing back on the helicarrier. You tell us. Did you run into any failsafes you haven't already told us about?"
Bucky stared at him. To anyone else, his face would seem blank. Steve wondered if Wanda could sense how scared Bucky was. She shot him a warning look in response. Okay, that answers that question.
"You'll have me," Wanda spoke up softly. "You'll have Steve, in case you...react physically. The doctors will have medications that they've made, to work on your systems, and some of King T'Challa's guards will always be there. You won't hurt anyone."
Bucky didn't take his eyes off Steve. It was almost as if he wanted to say something, but couldn't find the words.
"Allow me to show you what we've prepared," Dr. Kelile pressed gently. Bucky nodded.
He seemed to be starting to relax...right until they walked into the room on the highest security upper floor and Bucky set eyes on the bed.
It looked almost nothing like Hydra's chair, though there was a lot of equipment around the bed. There were soft restraints, tucked and stowed carefully around the sides, that made Steve feel queasy. When Bucky brushed past him to study it closer up, Steve felt him trembling.
Bucky put out his hand towards the equipment, touching the device that would slide over his head - then snatched it back as if it burned him. He spun away from it and nearly ran past them. "Let him go," said Dr. Kelile, and the guards opened the doors.
"Steve, wait - " Wanda tried to pull Steve back, but he shook her off. He wouldn't try to stop Bucky, but Steve wouldn't let him go through this alone. So he trailed after, down the stairs to the main floor, mumbling apologies to anyone who got jostled.
The only time Bucky paused in his flight was as he was rushing for the doors, only to nearly plow into Tony Stark.
Steve froze, heart in his throat, a few feet above them on the stairs as the two men stared at each other in shock. Then Bucky recovered, turned away and all but ran outside into the sun. Tony stared after him. Steve couldn't bring himself to meet Tony's eyes as he followed Bucky, but he sensed Tony watching them.
Bucky finally stumbled to a halt a few yards out onto the hospital lawns, leaning against a tree with his right hand as if it was the only thing that would keep him upright anymore. Steve stopped a few paces away and listened to Bucky's ragged breathing.
When he couldn't stand it anymore, he called softly, "Buck?"
Bucky looked over his shoulder, and Steve's heart lurched again. Terror, anguish, confusion...Bucky looked so much like on the helicarrier. "I can't," Bucky gasped out. "I can't."
"Buck..." Steve approached carefully, hoping Bucky would sense it was just to give him space, rather than any fear of Bucky himself. "Talk to me."
Bucky pushed himself off the tree and stumbled against Steve. Steve carefully pulled him into a hug and eased them both down to sit on the grass. Bucky's face was pressed against his neck. "Steve...I can't, can't, it's too dangerous..."
Steve bit his tongue hard to keep from blurting out denials. No, Buck, you're wrong, it'll be okay, you can do it, It'll work, I promise, promise... Don't make promises you can't keep, Rogers. He rubbed slow circles on Bucky's back, groping around for the right thing to say, and finally settled on, "I'm here. No matter what happens, I'm with you. 'till the end of the line, remember?"
"Remember," Bucky murmured, clinging to Steve like a scared kid.
Steve ran fingers through Bucky's hair and used his free hand to wipe furiously at his eyes. "It's your choice," he said, in a whisper so his voice wouldn't betray him. "They won't force you to do anything; neither will I."
"I dunno, I - can't think..."
"Just breathe. Just breathe, Buck. You don't have to make your mind up now." Steve sensed someone watching them and looked up past Bucky's hair. There was Wanda back on the terrace, but she wasn't looking at Steve and Bucky, she was looking at...Tony. Steve stiffened, and Bucky felt it, but Steve murmured some nonsensical reassurance to stop Bucky from looking around. He made himself relax and kept his fingers in Bucky's hair, patting his head.
Tony stood motionless on the terrace, watching them. A few paces away, Wanda watched Tony, as did a few of the hospital guards. When Tony's eyes met Steve, Steve couldn't guess what he was thinking.
Wanda shamelessly read Stark whenever Bucky was in his line of sight, and once Stark took it in his head to follow Bucky out of the research center, Wanda decided to keep an eye on them both.
It was less than polite for them all to be standing there while Bucky huddled only a few dozen yards away, being soothed by Steve through a meltdown. But each time Wanda drew breath to snap at Stark to leave them alone, something stopped her, and in turn, she stopped the doctors and the guards who would've intervened.
Look at him, Stark. He's not a monster. He's a victim. You're too intelligent not to understand, too observant not to see. Face it. He's not the murderer of your parents. He was only the weapon.
Steve and Bucky stayed outside for the remainder of the day. They didn't go far, and occasionally Steve would look back, marking Stark's position. More than once, he met Stark's eyes and slipped a protective arm around Bucky's shoulders. It was a dual purpose. Wanda didn't need telepathy to work that out: both to steer Bucky away and keep him from noticing the potentially-hostile observer, but also a declaration of intent to Stark. He won't let you hurt Bucky. We won't let you. Even if you are that deep in denial, if you try to hurt him in any way, we'll all stop you.
But Stark didn't try to hurt Bucky. He just watched, eyes dark and hooded, brow furrowed as he puzzled.
Wanda didn't want to know what was in Stark's head. But she couldn't always avoid it.
Late in the evening, Bucky had calmed, and he and Steve wandered along the lake that separated most of the research center grounds from the main hospital campus. It was across that lake that Wanda had met young Tesfaye, who'd showed her his memories of his mother and his sister in Lagos.
Stark didn't leave the terrace, but Wanda ambled a little closer to the supersoldiers, and this time Steve looked up and smiled at her. It's okay. She could join them.
Bucky smiled when he saw her coming and greeted her in Sokovian. When she answered, Steve made a huff of irritation that they all knew was feigned, and Bucky started talking to her about the weather (still in Sokovian) just to tease him.
Wanda giggled. "Steve is very tall, isn't he?"
Bucky blinked, then grinned wickedly. "Yes, Steve is very tall. Steve is also getting very flustered."
"Aw, come on, that's not fair!" Steve exclaimed. "What're you saying about me?!"
They burst out laughing. "Never telling," Bucky replied in English, thumping him.
Bucky said yes. But he didn't say it because he honestly expected the plan to work.
Not that he thought Dr. Kelile and Dr. Damaris and their army of specialists were in any way lacking in competence. Bucky just...could bring himself to believe that it could be done. When they wrote it down in layman's terms, they made it sound so simple. He couldn't believe it would be that simple.
Wanda must have known why he said yes. Steve could probably guess it.
I said yes because there aren't any other options. It was a problem that Dr. Kelile would almost certainly prevent him from dying in the attempt.
Wanda shot Bucky a look the first time those thoughts crossed his mind. He glared at her once he was sure Steve wasn't watching. Don't you dare say anything to him. She sighed and lowered her eyes.
Nearly all of them except King T'Challa himself started arguing when Bucky laid out his condition: "You can't do it here in this building; there're too many people. Too many windows. Do it back in that bunker, where I'm less likely to get out if I lose it."
Everyone started arguing at once:
"I cannot put you underground for a process taking weeks, Sergeant Barnes!"
"Buck, c'mon, that's overkill!"
"That's completely inhumane - " Wanda began, but was halted by T'Challa's raised hand.
To Bucky, he asked calmly, "Will you feel safer then?"
Well…shit. Wanda sighed and looked at Steve. Bucky bit his lip, then shifted his gaze from T'Challa to Dr. Kelile and nodded, the entreaty clear. Dr. Kelile sighed too.
"A compromise is possible," said Dr. Damaris. "The procedures themselves will necessarily have to stop for you to rest and eat and recover, along with everyone else involved. The security officers who guard the area are housed close by, and they're free to be outdoors and relax. There are always bungalows available for use."
Dr. Kelile shook her head. "The guards' barracks are hardly appropriate for a guest of the king."
Bucky smiled. "Believe me, they'll be a lot more than I'm used to. I could live with that, so long as it's a long way from civilization."
Dr. Kelile drew breath to argue, but T'Challa interrupted. "Yes." Seeing Steve draw breath, he held up a hand, "Yes, Captain, if you insist on staying with him nearby, you may do so. And Miss Maximoff," he added before Wanda could do more than perk up. Wanda had to grin.
Dr. Kelile huffed faintly. "I do not like to see my patient treated as a prisoner."
Bucky replied, "Until I get Hydra out of my head, I'm a prisoner no matter where I am."
It took several days for Dr. Kelile's team to transfer their equipment to the bunker. In the mean time, the security staff set Steve, Bucky, and Wanda up in one of the vacant barracks residences. T'Challa firmly refused Sam's suggestion of going with them. "This process will be difficult for all involved. Better that some of you remain apart from it."
"He's right," Nat told Sam reluctantly. "Barnes'll feel better with as few witnesses as possible, and Steve won't be able to focus on anything except him. We need to stay out of the way."
Stark watched the preparations in what everyone assumed was just sulky, resentful silence, but while they were still working, he abruptly told the doctors, "Wait. I need to get something."
Everyone stared. T'Challa wasn't present at the time, but Princess Shuri was, and she eyed Stark suspiciously. "What?"
Stark ignored the others and said, "You pulled all this together from Hydra's writings, yeah?" Dr. Kelile nodded. "Something else you might want. I'll get it."
Sam watched (okay, spied along with Natasha) from a distance when T'Challa confronted Stark on the airstrip. "What're they saying?" he muttered at her.
Nat was silent for a minute, then murmured, "What you'd expect. T'Challa's reminding him that there'll be consequences if he exposes Bucky."
Stark folded his arms, impatient, and retorted something.
"Stark says he's not going to expose him. There's something in his custody from the Berlin investigation that might be useful. He's going to get it."
T'Challa frowned, studying Stark, and said one word. Sam didn't need Romanoff to read lips for that: "Why?"
Stark looked away and muttered something, and T'Challa let him go. Seeing Sam and Nat, he approached them as Stark flew away. "I attempted to question Stark on his intentions. He says only that he has his reasons."
By the end of the day, Stark was back...and to the complete disbelief of all concerned, he marched up to Dr. Kelile and dropped a backpack at her feet. He walked out again before anybody could muster anything to say.
"That was Bucky's," Sam breathed. "I remember it, in Romania. He tried to take it with him."
When Bucky and Steve arrived, Bucky practically dove for the thing. He pulled it open and started tugging out notebooks, staring at them in shock. Steve was the only one who dared approach him and knelt at his side. "What are these?"
It was several moments before Bucky answered, not taking his eyes off them. "What I remember. Everything that came back. What I didn't want to forget again." As he pushed the books back into the bag and held it to his chest, Sam could see his hand shaking.
What Dr. Kelile and/or Bucky decided to do with the backpack and its contents as they prepped for Bucky's treatment, Sam couldn't guess. Wanda went with them to talk, and this time they kicked Steve out. Steve paced around the waiting area, looking dazed. "You okay, Cap?" Sam asked.
Steve blinked at Sam. "Why...Tony, why did he...?"
"Dunno. Guess that's the million dollar question," Sam admitted.
So Steve hunted Stark down in the tech research section - Stark had been spending a lot of time there, and just waited until Stark emerged. Sam trailed after him, half for moral support, half out of morbid curiosity.
Stark, no surprise, was wary and defensive when Steve finally cornered him. "Why?"
"I can't do the equation unless I have all the variables," Stark replied curtly, and dodged past Steve for the door.
To Be Continued...
Coming Soon: The first steps of treatment of Bucky's Hydra programming or terrifying, but T'Challa's medics have taken great pains to prevent Bucky from experiencing pain. But they soon discover that while not a failsafe, Hydra's damage to Bucky's mind and body as far worse-reaching effects. More news from the outside world leave the Avengers, including Tony and Steve, reeling.
ORIGINAL CHARACTER GUIDE
Dr. Kelile: Senior physician of Wakandan medical research and hospitals, head of the medical research team treating Bucky. Age 50ish, five-foot-one.
Dr. Damaris: Psychologist/psychiatrist keeping an eye on the Avengers at T'Challa's instruction and heading the psychiatric aspects of Bucky's treatment. Mid-40s, has studied both at home and abroad.
Dr. Dahab: Chief of medical technology research, doctor and engineer. Age 50ish, six-foot-three, wears wire-rimmed glasses. Specializes in uses of vibranium for medical purposes (looks like his job is part of what Shuri does in the Black Panther movie and prelude comics.)