Absolution
Hello everyone! Sorry for the slightly late upload- I just got back from an international flight! Enjoy!
DarylDixon'sLover: Thanks! I had to make up for all the time lost between them!
A**b****67: Haha yeah, I like to keep it clean here. And yes, Steve is all of us!
BabyiG: Aww, hope they were happy tears!
chimpnsocks: Yes, I hope the cuteness overload made up for them being apart!
guadalupe1992: Indeed it was a long chapter! I realized recently that you guys will actually get a bonus chapter in this story- I usually write 30 chapters, but I accidentally wrote 31!
NightWish373: Me too! Just wanted you guys to sweat out the wait a bit lol.
Aurro sister of Morro: Awww is the right answer!
Rohirrim Girl 2187: You shall receive answers soon, I promise.
MissAmieB: Welcome aboard! We're near the end of our journey, but I'm glad you've enjoyed it! PM me when you start writing your own Bucky/OC- I'd like to read a story where I don't know how it ends.
"I love you," I reminded him when we parted. "And I accept you no matter what."
James nodded silently, and by the glassy look of his eyes, I knew that if he'd tried to speak, his voice wouldn't have worked. I pulled him into an embrace, and he rolled us onto our sides.
There it was again— that feeling of peace. The sunlight struck his eyes. They sparkled beautifully, and a contented smile came onto my face. We were home.
"I can do it."
My wide eyes stared at the people in front of me. "Are you sure?"
Wanda and Vision shared a look. He nodded. "We can handle it," he amended. "During our rescue of Sargent Barnes, my assisting Wanda seemed to…unlock something. As you know, her powers are influenced heavily by her emotions, thus if she is overwhelmed, they are less controlled. When we combined our strengths, however, my lack of emotion seemed to give her a greater ability to focus."
"Don't say it like that, you have emotions," Wanda chided softly.
Vision cast her a knowing look. "Yes, but it it easiest to explain it as such. We cannot deny the effect that experience caused."
I cleared my throat to bring the couple's little disagreement to an end. "Have you been able to reproduce such effects?"
Wanda nodded quickly. "We've been working with it ever since we got back," she said. "We didn't want to rush into it, and I didn't want to give you false hope, so we kept it from you."
"Mr. Stark was aware of our experiments," Vision continued. "In order to fully test our theory, he briefly reanimated an old clone of Ultron. We were able to rewrite its program entirely."
My heart skipped a beat. "And this was—"
"Yesterday," they responded in sync.
I took a moment to sink back into my chair. What they were offering was obvious— a final solution to get the words out of James' head.
It seemed so simple, so easy, like I could almost see it in front of me…but I felt fear come over me. I didn't want to risk it all again. I couldn't bear seeing him in pain again. We'd been back for less than a week, and every day, he still apologized multiple times.
…but what if it worked this time? What if he could finally be free? Wasn't that worth the risk?
Whether she saw the conflict on my face or heard it in my mind, Wanda reached out a hand. "Elizabeth, do not think that I have forgotten what you did for me," she said. "You brought Pietro back to me. Not in a physical sense, but because of your help, I was able to have the memory of him again, without pain. Let me help you, now."
I looked up and saw their faces. They were solemn, sincere. They truly believed this had a chance of working.
Slowly, I nodded. "Let me…I'll talk with James about it."
Vision's eyes filled with understanding. "Take all the time you need, Miss Elizabeth."
I managed a small smile.
"If you would, Sargent Barnes, we need you to clear your mind."
"I'm trying, but it's a bit difficult with a beautiful woman in front of me."
I shook my head adoringly at his comment, especially when he winked at me.
"Focus, James," I chided with a laugh.
He sighed dramatically and rolled his eyes. "Yes, ma'am."
We were sat across from each other, our hands intertwined on the table between us. Wanda and Vision stood behind James, and Bruce watched from the corner of the operation room. It had been difficult to get permission to do this— practically everyone had been against it. But after a few votes from the senior members of the Avengers (namely, Tony and Steve), the date was set.
"He needs to slow down his mind," Wanda instructed, her eyes closed, but her hands glowing. "It's going so fast I can't see anything."
"You also need to temporarily activate the neural pathway," Vision added on.
James' eyes filled with worry, and I smoothed a thumb over his hand. "It's going to be okay," I reassured him. "So, what were you looking at earlier this morning, honey?"
Suddenly, his face flushed. "Oh, nothing."
"Mmhm," I hummed innocently. "Because if my memory serves me right, I saw you searching properties nearby."
A mischievous grin appeared on his lips, and he shrugged. "And what if I was, dear?" I knew by his expression that he'd figured out the game I was playing, and that would keep him distracted enough.
I tsked, "All I wanna know is how big the lots are. I did want at least five acres, remember?"
"Oh did you?" he teased.
I nodded. "Yes, yes I did. But what I want to know is what you're longing for."
He made to reply, but then Wanda said, "Found it!"
Vision gave me an appreciative nod. "Thank you, Miss Elizabeth."
"You're welcome," I replied easily.
James blinked, then shook his head. "You snuck that word right in there," he chuckled.
I gave an apologetic grin. "Sorry. In order to find the right pathway, it had to be activated."
He smiled softly. "It's okay. No need to apologize. Any more questions about the places I was looking at, or do you want to save the Google search for later?"
I glanced up at Vision, who mouthed, "Keep him distracted."
Nodding, I looked back at James and quirked my head to the side. "What area of town were you looking at?"
And thus, the operation went on. James told me about the lots he'd picked out— there were three, right now, that he really liked, and one in particularly had a view of the Hudson, but that was the furthest away from base, and he just wasn't so sure if he liked being so far.
I got so caught up in listening to him talk, that I honestly forgot what was going on until Wanda cleared her throat.
"We're done," she said decidedly.
James and I shared a look. "How…how do you feel?" I asked tentatively.
He closed his eyes to focus. "I don't…I can't tell," he admitted.
I took in a sharp breath, then looked over at Bruce. He gave the nod.
Swallowing, I squeezed James' hands. "We have to test it—"
"I know," he chuckled. "Trust me, I know how this all works by now."
I smiled sadly. "We don't have to if you don't want to."
James' eyes gazed into mine, and I knew he was weighing his options. "…I'll do it if you're out of the room."
My heart broke a bit, but I conceded. I knew he was scared for my safety, and he had every right to be. If this was what it took, then I would happily step out.
I rose up from my chair and came around to kiss his temple. "I'll see you on the other side," I murmured.
He gave me a calm smile, and that gave me the push to leave. I walked out, not looking back even as Bruce trailed behind me. The door shut, and I took in a deep breath as we watched through the glass.
Vision and Wanda took a position on each side of James, prepared to stop him if needed. I could practically hear the instructions all over again as Vision went through the usual steps. James closed his eyes and sat back in his chair. I tried to calm my anxious heart.
One by one, Vision began to go through the list of words.
And for the first time since 1943, nothing happened.
When they were done, James' eyes blinked open in shock. I saw him say something to the pair before his head whipped around to look at me. He grinned, and I wasted no time rushing back into the room and throwing my arms around his neck.
Tears were streaming down my face as we embraced, and I felt him let out a sob as he tightened his grip on me.
"They're gone, Eliza, they're gone," he choked out. "They don't effect me anymore."
I looked up at Vision and Wanda, who were smiling warmly at us. "Thank you," I mouthed. They simply nodded.
I couldn't keep a smile off my face as Bruce and I milled around the old experimentation chamber. We'd been told to clear it out— after all, there wasn't a need for it anymore, and the space was going to be repurposed for file storage.
My hands dropped another stack of papers into a box, and I hummed a little tune.
"It's good to see you back to your normal self again," Bruce commented idly from across our work station.
I let out a happy sigh. "I'm just glad it's all over," I told him, turning around to sort through a pile of miscellaneous things. "Oh, that reminds me— is Tony done with my lab results yet?"
My eyes scanned the stuff before me, and I began to sort them out, but then I paused. It took me a moment to realize that I hadn't yet received a reply. Instead, there was just dead silence.
I turned back around and tilted my head. "Bruce?"
The doctor seemed to shake himself out of a daze. "S-Sorry, yeah, what was it?"
"I was asking about my lab results," I repeated slowly.
He gave a little laugh. "Oh yeah, sorry, I— I spaced out for a, uh, moment…" he trailed off, scratching the back of his head. "They were fine, completely fine."
My hands gave a little sting, and I felt inclined to disagree, but I was more worried about how Bruce was acting. "And what about you? Are you okay?"
Bruce's eyes met mine, acknowledging that I had picked up on his odd behavior. He opened his mouth to speak, but then he let out a sigh. "It's just, well…these…experiments, they—" he swallowed, "—they haven't been good for my stress levels. I might need to take some time off, you know, to…to get back to normal."
My heart gave a little twist. "I'm so sorry, Bruce, I didn't think—"
He waved a hand. "It's fine, Eliza, don't worry about it. The big guy always needs me to take a vacation every now and then anyways," he chuckled bitterly. "Maybe Tony can get me back to that island we visited in February."
I nodded. "Do what you need to feel better, okay?"
Bruce gave me a wry grin. "Thanks, Eliza. You're as caring a friend as they come."
Smiling, I picked up a box and began to make my way out of the room, bumping his shoulder amiably as I went. "And so are you, doctor!" I joked.
He gave a little laugh, and I walked out. I missed the way his smile fell into a frown the second I left.
