Author's Notes: Happy New Year, dear readers! Finally getting this fic moving again as I slog through unemployment and job searching. Hope you enjoy and thank you all so much for your support during this incredibly difficult time.

Side Character Notes: As a reminder, all the psychology experts and potential experts are fictional characters. Leonard Samson (the prosecution's expert) is an MCU character from the Hulk series, Ashley Kafka (the defense expert) is a Marvel comics character, and Emil Skoda is from the TV series Law & Order. Two more appear in this chapter who are not from the Marvel-verses, but I doubt anyone will have trouble recognizing them!

Previous Chapter Recap: In the aftermath of Zemo and the remnant's of Hydra's attack, Bucky and Wanda struggled to recover from the catastrophic return of all Bucky's memories, and Tony struggled to come to terms with the capture of a Hydra agent who was involved in his parents' murder. T'Challa and Nakia said goodbye, while Pepper and Tony reunited. Team Avengers asked the International Criminal Court in The Hague to rescind it's edict against Wanda having contact with Bucky, but the Court wants more information, and called Tony to the stand as a witness!

Chapter Forty-Four

As Tony arrived at the Court with Pepper at his side, Clint and Nat kept stealing peeks at the rest of the team on a tablet. Poor Steve was stuck in a conference with the Dutch security officials that afternoon, and had to endure the whole thing while visibly trying not to fidget. The Dutch officials watched the broadcast of Tony's testimony right there in the conference room, giving Steve no opportunity to escape the cameras.

Clint murmured to Nat, "Maybe one of us should tag Cap out, let him get back to Bucky and Wanda."

She shook her head. "Too obvious; he'd be embarrassed. There's nothing to do now but see how it plays out."

Tony had been surprisingly gentle with Bucky that night after the attack, even hinting that he'd finally come to terms with Bucky's conscious role - or lack thereof - in Howard and Maria Stark's deaths. Would that hold true in the light of day? Clint wondered.

At least Pepper was there to give Tony's hand a squeeze before he took the stand.

"Mr. Stark, the Court understands you are not a psychologist nor an expert in post-traumatic stress disorders, but please describe your observations of Sergeant Barnes' condition after Maksim Dorokhin triggered him."

Tony's eyes were clear, and his voice was steady. "It did seem like he'd been 'triggered' in the more colloquial sense: he panicked and tried to cover his ears and get away, but it was like he'd lost all coordination when he heard those words. But when I, ah, used our failsafe code to knock him out, he started to say thank you."

The judges remained detached, but Fallaci and the American pro-Accords crowd had perked up. There's a failsafe…ohhh, shit, so that's what they want to know about! thought maybe that hadn't been what the judges were after, but it sure got everyone's attention. "When did Sergeant Barnes regain consciousness?"

"I don't know that personally - he was already conscious again when I came back through the window to stop Zemo from murdering him." Tony added, "He was unconscious and completely helpless when a United States Congressman decided to shoot him right there on the floor, just in case anyone's forgotten."

"Objection, relevance!" exclaimed Fallaci.

"Sustained - Mr. Stark, the Court will deal with Congressman Wallace," said Judge Ginsburg. "This hearing concerns Sergeant Barnes' condition and ability to assist in his own defense."

"Sorry."

"What was his condition when you...returned?"

"When Zemo tried to shoot him? He was conscious, but more or less catatonic. His lawyers were trying to get him to cover, but he wasn't even on his feet. He didn't seem really aware of anything going on. When I got closer, the only thing he said was 'please kill me' in Russian. I've turned over my suit's recordings on his vitals and brainwaves."

"Did he struggle when you transported him to the safe house?"

"Ah...no, he wasn't awake. I - uh - thought that was the best option."

The judges stared, but to the relief of everyone on Team Avengers, they didn't press for details on how Bucky wound up unconscious again. "When did he regain consciousness?"

"Less than five minutes after we arrived in the safe house. He was terrified, jumped and flinched at every sound - I'd put him in the panic room in case he, y'know, panicked, but the emergency announcements still play in there. All he did was curl up into a ball and beg me to kill him. I'm not sure he knew who I was."

The judges' expressions were gratifyingly dismayed. Judge Jibril asked, "What about Wanda Maximoff? Why did she go there rather than return to her own housing?"

"That was my fault," Tony said. "I've got no idea how to treat...anybody's PTSD episodes, and didn't know where the treating docs were. Wanda's helped him a lot in the past, and she was in the field, so I called her for help. It didn't occur to me his condition would bleed into her telepathically."

"How did that happen?" asked Judge Ginsburg, looking baffled.

"I don't know. She came through the doors talking to me, then she just...stopped. Completely distracted. She got the same look on her face that he had - scared out of her mind, trapped - and when I tried to pull her back outside, she threw me into the wall. She could talk to me a little, but it was like...I was just one voice in a crowd and she couldn't focus. She was shaking, crying. She could barely walk." Tony eyed the judges and pressed, "I know how many cameras are in that house. You have the footage. All she could tell us was that he remembered everything now."

Out of the corner of his eye, Clint could see Nat frowning. Yeah, where the hell was Tony "take nothing seriously and be as flippant as possible in a formal setting" Stark? Where was Tony "fuck with a Congressional subcommittee in front of the whole world" Stark? Clint shifted a few inches forward to check out Pepper's reaction. She looked worried too.

But Tony resumed his usual devil-may-care demeanor once Matt had finished his follow-up questions…and to the shock of all, Fallaci had no questions.

Why the hell wouldn't he want to know about those code words? Fallaci might be a jackass, but he wasn't an idiot. Clint didn't like the implication that the prosecution had some new gambit to play in the future.

Judge Ginsburg announced, "We will recess for the afternoon and hand down our decision by the end of the day."

"Predictions?" Pepper asked.

Tony rubbed his eyes. "We're gonna win it this time. They won't drag Wanda away from Bucky."

Nat nodded. "On the other hand, the U.S. government is taking notes for when they eventually get Barnes and Wanda." She cast intense eyes on Clint and Tony. "And Steve."

"Shit," Tony muttered.

But for the moment at least, the predictions were sound. The Court "modified" their previous ruling about Bucky and Wanda.

November 27, 2019

ICC: Maximoff and Barnes Can Stay Together Under Supervision of Telepath Interpol Agent Braddock!

After Wanda Maximoff and James Buchanan Barnes reportedly suffered mental injuries during the terrorist attack on Thursday, the International Criminal Court withdrew its earlier edict requiring Maximoff to be physically separated from Barnes. Barnes is required to be questioned alone by the experts from both sides and the Court under the supervision of Interpol Agent Elizabeth Braddock, a confirmed telepath who has assisted in his treatment. Braddock agreed to the Court's instruction that she report on any telepathic discussion by Maximoff regarding her questioning, particularly with Barnes, and any other efforts at extrasensory intervention in either witness's examination.

The psychologists and psychiatrists retained by both sides and the Court are expected to complete their follow-up examination of Barnes by the end of this week, and their highly-anticipated reports are due next Wednesday. CNN's experts believe those reports will be the strongest-possible litmus test of whether Barnes will be held personally responsible for actions taken under Hydra's control as the Winter Soldier.

Betsy agreed to the conditions the Court set: Bucky and Wanda could only be in the same room with her supervision, and she would report if Wanda tried to advise him on responding to questions. Steve managed not to scoff; Bucky and Wanda were still too out of it to think that strategically.

Dr. Jean Grey came back from the U.S. at Betsy's urging, with Steve and Rhodey's cautious approval, to work with Wanda. "Jean, unlike me, has experienced catastrophic collapse of telepathic shields."

Steve spent every free second at the safe house while the experts' questioning was going on, anticipating having to distract Bucky before and afterward. He was only half-right. Bucky was all too easily distracted – just by the endless cacophony and array of memories now filling his mind to the breaking point.

"You're like a child who can't stop picking at a scab," Betsy scolded him.

"Sorry," Bucky murmured, not looking at her or anything else in the room. He leaned into Steve, and all Steve could do was keep an arm around him as his mind wandered through the past. "'s not all bad, y'know. I remember…" He trailed off. He did that a lot now. Steve bit his tongue to keep from trying to prompt Bucky.

Betsy nodded to him. He wants to navigate his returned memories on his own, and wherever possible, we must try to let him. I'll know when intervention is needed. So will Wanda.

What are those court experts making of it? He must be zoning out in front of them too, Steve thought at her.

That's confidential, Steve. Dr. Kafka will tell us her thoughts when they're finished.

Matt and Foggy were cautiously optimistic. "Fallaci is pushing Leonard Samson to try to show Bucky's faking his condition, but Samson's being less and less cooperative. I think Skoda knows this isn't a performance."

"I know Emil Skoda," said Dr. Grey. "He's a hard skeptic when it comes to claims of insanity or diminished capacity, but not out of prejudice towards anyone. He wants hard evidence – and he has it in spades in Bucky's case. He'll make the right call."

"You think Samson might be starting to see the evidence too, or is he just pissed off at Fallaci trying to tell him how to do his job?" asked Sam.

"I'm not sure at this point. Neither of us are going out of our way to interact with the psychological experts, and even if we did, we'd be breaching any number of rules and orders by saying what we sensed," Betsy said sternly.

Sam raised his hands. "I wasn't suggesting anything like that."

The day after Bucky's questioning by the headshrinking experts finally ended, he and Wanda slept nearly all day. The two of them felt so very alike now in Betsy's mind's eye – haunted by memories of decades of suffering beyond all human endurance, constantly lost in memories of an older past, a childhood and youth before war that had been stolen as well.

Wanda was resisting Betsy and Jean's efforts to help her strengthen her mental filters from the emotions that came from those memories. She thought she needed them to truly help Bucky, and Bucky was in no condition yet to explain to her how badly he needed her to not have them. Telling the experts about such grueling events had taken all the energy and attention he could manage.

Luckily, the Court was in recess for nearly a week while the experts prepared their reports. Dr. Kafka was more fiercely convinced than ever that Bucky'd had zero capacity to understand the difference between right and wrong or to even have a concept of such things while he was in Hydra's hands. "The Winter Soldier himself could never have stood trial for these crimes," she told Team Avengers. "There was no capacity whatsoever to understand the concept of legality or morality – his ability to control his actions was actively destroyed by Hydra. He's a textbook case of lack of criminal responsibility. Any ruling to the contrary will completely obliterate that defense by making the standard impossible to meet."

"Any thoughts on Skoda or Samson?" Steve's voice, as calm as his expression, was belied for any telepath by the turmoil surging through his mind. He burned with anxiety and distress, desperate fear of a rapidly-approaching future where Bucky's fate would be completely out of his hands, and worry for whether Wanda had been irreversibly injured by witnessing Bucky's treatment in her own mind.

Anyone with any compassion or logic would realize the agony Captain America must feel at being unable to ensure the health and safety of his team – recognizing that his team consists of all his dearest friends, Betsy mused. From the corner of her eye, Jean gave her a sad smile.

Tony Stark now paid regular visits to the safe house. To Betsy and Jean's private amusement, Tony still pretended as though his visits were out of concern for Wanda alone. Even Wanda, as distracted as she was, had realized the truth.

While Team Avengers' lawyers and Dr. Kafka were preparing her report, all hell reportedly broke loose on the prosecution side. "I dunno what's going on, but there was a security alert," said Rhodey. "A 'disturbance' in the conference rooms where Fallaci and his team are set up."

Everyone froze. "What kind of disturbance?" demanded Steve, reaching for his shield.

"One moment." Vision stared into the distance as the rest of the team waited, then relaxed. "We can stand down. I believe the incident was no concern. Apparently Mr. Fallaci has a loud and violent temper, and his shouting and throwing items alarmed Court security."

Rhodey whistled, and they all started to grin. "He does have a reputation," said Matt. "He goes through staff and junior attorneys like a revolving door. The longer they stay, the more therapy they need."

"Serves 'em right," muttered Clint, but Foggy shook his head.

"To work at the ICC is a hugely sought-after job, bro. Lawyers, law students, paralegals, legal assistants - this is a pinnacle to them, something some of them have worked their whole lives for: the International Criminal Court, prosecuting crimes against humanity. Can you imagine all that effort only to wind up with a boss who's abusive while all your peers are saying you should be grateful and consider yourself lucky?"

"Speaking as one who knows?" Sam asked.

"Not firsthand, but I've seen enough of it in New York. You think your profession's got issues." Foggy made a face, and they all chuckled.

Rumors of chaos on the prosecution side continued to leak thanks to the extremely-loud voice of Damian Federico Fallaci (reportedly nicknamed "Damian Fucking Fallaci" by a number of his team). One of his junior attorneys was admitted to the hospital from a massive panic attack and ended up quitting.

The legal team for Team Avengers worked through the weekend on Dr. Kafka's expert report, but it was clear that something had gone very wrong for the prosecution in preparing their own.

Finally, on Monday morning, they got their answer: "Fallaci's filed an emergency motion for a continuance - he needs a new prosecution expert!" Foggy exclaimed.

The lawyers, Tony, Sam, and Nat looked delighted, but Clint and the rest were just confused. "Can he...do that?" asked Steve. "Did Samson quit?"

"Fallaci is firing him," said Matt, grinning broadly. "Which can mean only one thing: Samson's got some serious integrity. He believes Bucky and can't support the result the prosecution wants. So Fallaci has two choices: turn in a report from an expert with the opposite of the prosecution's position, or try to replace Samson at the eleventh hour."

"What happens now?" asked Steve. Bucky, as usual, wasn't quite paying attention.

"Fallaci throws himself on the Court's mercy to try to get time to find a new expert and start the whole evaluation process over again - which we're going to fight. At best, I predict he gets time to find a new expert to watch the video recordings of your questioning and read the documents."

Matt predicted correctly. The judges were less than impressed (again), but allowed Fallaci two weeks to find a new expert who could review multiple weeks of material and prepare a report, but warned him there'd be no more chances. "This Court cannot leave victims and the defendant in limbo indefinitely while the prosecution shops for new experts, Mr. Fallaci," Judge Ginsburg told him. "If you have no provided a report at the end of this extension period, you will have to proceed without one."

Fallaci was disappointingly composed during the hearing, but Clint was a very naughty boy and turned his Stark-enhanced hearing aids up all the way while passing the prosecution's meeting rooms.

"THAT MOTHERFUCKER BETRAYED ME! NINETY-EIGHT THOUSAND BUCKS I'VE SPENT ON HIM, NOW I'M STANDING THERE WITH MY DICK IN MY HAND!"

Clint barely held back a guffaw, and it was all he could do not to immediately repeat it to the whole team. He managed (barely) to control himself. No good would result if he was caught eavesdropping on the prosecutor.

However, when he got back to the safe house to check up on Bucky and Wanda, Betsy and Jean did meet his eyes and grin.

Matt and Foggy promptly fired off motions to allow them to retain Dr. Samson as another defense expert, which sent Fallaci nearly around the bend. He argued Samson's work for the prosecution was confidential, but the Court responded, "This is not civil litigation, Mr. Fallaci. The prosecution has been working towards a report on the mental state of the defendant. The only privileges you can claim are your own work product - not the analysis of Dr. Samson."

Fallaci actually muttered, "So justice for the Winter Soldier's victims doesn't even matter."

"Watch. Your. Tongue, Mr. Fallaci. You are pushing our patience," Judge Ginsburg growled.

"This guy's going off the rails," Rhodey muttered.

Amid all the expert witness drama, Matt and Foggy wanted to put Bucky back on the stand. Steve managed to temper his reaction. "Are you...sure about that? He's still - uh - having trouble focusing."

"At risk of being indelicate, that's the point," Foggy admitted.

Steve stiffened, but Betsy nodded. "The Court - and the public - should see him now. I know it's uncomfortable, but at this point, we need to use every weapon in our arsenal, and that includes forcing both the courts and the general population to recognize what has been done to Bucky and what he's still going through."

"Doesn't he get to keep his dignity?" Tony surprised Steve by asking.

"He's more than dignified," Nat countered. "Yes, he's zoning out more and takes longer to figure out the answer to questions. But the world's already seen him brutalized to the point of near-death and subjected to every form of indignity and sadism that the worst of humanity can dream up. They should see the result as it really is."

Bucky wasn't that zoned out. To Steve's embarrassment (and further surprise), he spoke up quietly. "They're right, Steve."

Steve sat down beside him. "You don't think it'll be hard on you?"

Bucky snorted, sounding a little like his old self. "Right now, everything is. Harder, anyway. I...I...think it'll get easier. Betsy said...I believe it."

Steve couldn't very well argue. So the next day, Bucky was back in court. Clint stayed at the safe house with Wanda, since she was still barred from being in the same room as the judges. Wanda had insisted that Vision go to the courtroom to monitor for any new potential threats to Bucky. Jean Grey stayed at the house while Betsy joined the Avengers in the gallery. T'Challa and Storm from the X-Men even came.

The media were beside themselves at seeing the first row of the gallery filled with superheroes, Avengers and X-Men side-by-side for the first time outside of a full-blown crisis. Steve could only hope they'd focus more than that than on figuratively dissecting Bucky.

January 3, 2020

BARNES RETAKES THE STAND!

Six weeks after Hydra allegedly triggered a massive return of the former Winter Soldier's memories, James Buchanan Barnes testified again of his knowledge of his actions as the Winter Soldier.

ICC Prosecutor Damian Fallaci is reportedly throwing up his hands in his efforts to find a new psychiatric and psychological effort after firing Dr. Leonard Samson. The defense intends to put Samson on the stand to testify on his reported conclusion that James Barnes is not legally responsible for the actions of the Winter Soldier. This about-face after a long examination of Barnes and others' testimony and the massive documentary evidence is a devastating blow for the prosecution.

Amid this turmoil on the prosecution side, worsened by the Court's ban of United States Congressman and two-star General Dixon Wallace from entry to the courthouse, both sides are taking their last chance to elicit testimony from Barnes about his memory of his actions.

CNN's experts say the impact of Maksim Dorokhin's attempt at triggering Barnes is visible and hard to debunk as feigned. Barnes appears distracted and unfocused, lapsing more frequently into silence and confusion than before the attack that claimed 99 lives in The Hague.

After nine days of Barnes' testimony, both sides and the Court have concluded their pretrial examination, while the prosecution is reportedly in negotiation with Dr. Hannibal Lecter and former FBI Behavioral Science expert Fox Mulder to step in as emergency replacement experts. They have five days left.

Former FBI Agent Fox Mulder reportedly refused, so Dr. Hannibal Lecter became the prosecution's final Hail Mary pass. Sam was nervous at first. The venerable Dr. Lecter had one hell of a reputation as a forensic psychiatrist. However, forensic psychiatry wasn't exactly what this case needed. They didn't need a profile of the Winter Soldier; there were plenty of those from a variety of venerable experts. They needed a profile of Bucky Barnes and his ability to understand whether the things Hydra ordered him to do were wrong and whether Hydra had deliberately destroyed that ability.

Dr. Lecter was impressive and dignified on the stand, maybe more than Leonard Samson would have been, but Matt and Foggy tore him apart. In the end, Lecter coolly admitted that he was not qualified by experience or credentials to determine James Buchanan Barnes' understanding of his actions while in Hydra's hands.

The prosecution's final bid for an expert against Bucky Barnes had thus blown up on the launch pad. The judges unanimously found Dr. Lecter unqualified and refused to allow his testimony or report.

Another blow to the prosecution followed: the Court allowed the defense to briefly put Dr. Leonard Samson on the stand to announce his conclusions and the reason he could not proceed as the prosecution's expert. "Upon exhaustive examination of the defendant, of the testimony of all the witnesses to date, of the video and documentary evidence, I can only conclude that Hydra actively and repeatedly destroyed the ability of James Buchanan Barnes to understand that his actions as the Winter Soldier were unlawful."

"How many such examinations and reports have you conducted on criminal defendants, Dr. Samson?" asked Foggy.

"In nineteen years, forty-six."

"How many times have you reached the conclusion that a criminal defendant met a legal standard for lack of criminal responsibility based on his or her lack of capacity?"

"Counting this one? Four."

Fallaci was almost apoplectic and so unhinged when he cross-examined Samson that he simply dug the prosecution deeper into a hole. "So how much did the defense pay you to switch sides, Dr. Samson?"

"Objection, assumes highly unethical and inflammatory facts not the least bit in evidence!" Matt snapped.

"Mr. Fallaci, do you have any evidence that the defense tampered with your expert?"

"He's here testifying for them when I hired him, isn't that evidence enough?!" Fallaci shot back.

Oh my God, if I'd seen this in a courtroom drama, I'd call bullshit! thought Sam, half gleeful, half nervous.

But where the chief prosecutor was losing his shit (and probably his job) and even Matt and Foggy were getting visibly irate, the judges were keeping their cool. "No, Mr. Fallaci, as you should know, that is not evidence enough. The Court will interject: Mr. Samson, did you receive any money or other incentives to change your position on this defendant's criminal responsibility?"

Eyes flashing, Samson said fiercely, "No. I had no communications with the defense team outside the examinations of the defendant until after the prosecution discharged me based on my unfavorable conclusion."

For a second, Sam thought Fallaci would say something, but one of his junior lawyers honest-to-God elbowed him and hissed in his ear. It's gonna be like Hitler in Downfall on the prosecution side tonight. I should've hung out with Wanda so we could both turn cartwheels back at the safe house!

Bucky, on the other hand, showed almost no reaction. Sam wondered if he was even paying attention.

Everybody was a vibrating mess of tension as they adjourned to the conference rooms to await the Court expert's report. "This is the final wild card," said Matt, having smoothed down his ruffled feathers. "If Dr. Skoda disagrees with Dr. Samson and Dr. Kafka…I can't predict where we'll land."

"What if we get the best case scenario and Skoda agrees?" Steve asked, a hand on Bucky's shoulder.

Matt grinned. "Then it's over."

Wanda was on Skype to the room, talking to Bucky when the messengers came in with copies of Skoda's report to the Court. Steve was flat-out shaking, Sam couldn't deny the knots in his stomach – hell, nearly everyone was shaking… except Bucky. He was just like he'd been through most of this, especially in the past weeks since Dorokhim's attack: quiet and resigned.

Steve gave up on restraining himself and sat in a chair at Bucky's side, both arms around him, his forehead pressed to Bucky's. Both of them had their eyes shut, and Bucky was holding onto Steve's arms, leaning into his friend's touch. He finally looked a little comforted. Sam stood behind Steve with a hand on Steve's shoulder, and more than once, Bucky glanced up and gave Sam a weak smile.

Tony stood at a slight remove with Rhodey – but only a little slight. More than once, Sam saw Tony move, just a step closer.

Clint had one hand on Sam's shoulder, the other on Steve's, and Nat even had one hand on Steve's shoulder with her free hand on Bucky's. Bucky hadn't even jumped when she touched him.

In the safe house, Wanda was breathing hard in Vision's arms, and Dr. Damaris, Betsy, and Jean Grey were with her, murmuring reassurances.

Matt and Foggy's entire staff was there, laptops, tablets, and notepads at the ready, but Sam could hear papers rattling as the court messenger arrived with copies of Skoda's report.

Foggy opened one thick report and Matt opened another prepared in Braille.

They both scanned the front for a summary and statement of the conclusion.

Matt got there first. When he looked up and smiled, Sam's heart slammed into his ribs so hard, he half-expected to find himself on the floor.

"Guys. Bucky. We've won."

There were soft, gasping intakes of breath all through the room, but otherwise silence as Matt approached Bucky. "Dr. Skoda agrees with Ashley and Dr. Samson. Bucky, you had no way of comprehending the nature of your actions when Hydra used you as the Winter Soldier, because Hydra actively destroyed it, again and again, in… 'the most heinous ways imaginable to this expert.' Therefore, you can't be held criminally responsible for any of it. Dr. Emil Skoda is one of the most skeptical and difficult-to-convince psychological experts in the world. He's come down on the defense side only once before now. But he's…not pulling any punches. He agrees you're innocent."

This time, it was Steve who broke down and silently began to sob. Sam rubbed Steve's shoulders, and Bucky, looking mostly confused, began brushing his friend's tears away. "Steve, it's – it's not over yet - "

" – Hey, Bucky, seriously. This is your lawyers talking," Foggy said. "It is over. The Court's going to follow the findings of a unanimous group of qualified experts. The United States courts are going to have a really hard time deviating from this. The ones who want your head banked everything on Fallaci's team, and even before his meltdown, their case was failing. There's just too much evidence, too public, too horrific, too much in-your-face proof on a level that most defense attorneys would consider a fucking pipedream."

Bucky let out a single, weak laugh that was closer to a sob. On the video feed, Wanda was sobbing with joy, embraced by Vision, Betsy, and Jean Grey, trying and failing to tell Bucky something in Sokovian.

"How long 'till the Court rules now?" Tony asked.

"Not long."

They were right.

Dr. Skoda's report arrived on a Friday. The Court handed down its ruling on Monday.

Associated Press, January 20, 2020

INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT: JAMES BUCHANAN BARNES CASE DISMISSED!

The ICC reached a stunning decision not to proceed against James Buchanan Barnes, the former Winter Soldier, for war crimes or crimes against humanity.

With the defense expert, the only qualified former prosecution expert, and the Court's expert in agreement that Barnes meets the Rome Statute's standard for lack of criminal responsibility, the Court concluded there is no chance that a reasonable jury could find Barnes guilty of any crimes within the Court's jurisdiction.

In its closing remarks to the prosecution and defense, Judges Irina Ginsburg, Eloise Lagarde, and Salim Jibril were careful not to express any opinions or predictions of Barnes' guilt in other courts or legal venues.

After the decision arrived, all hell broke loose in the Team Avengers' conference rooms. Whoops and cheers and applause and tears surrounded Bucky as he stood in a daze, getting wildly embraced by Wanda and Steve, seeing Foggy and Matt and their team getting hugged and slapped on the back by other Avengers.

Most shocking of all was Tony Stark approaching him, waiting until the chaos died down a little, then holding out a hand. "Congratulations. You deserved this."

Bucky had to blink a few times to convince himself this wasn't a hallucination, then cautiously accepted Stark's handshake. It was real. "It's not over," he murmured.

But Stark actually squeezed his hand. "It will be. We won this one, and we'll win the next one. Whatever General Wallace and the Accords goons try to cook up, we'll take them. We'll beat them in the U.S. too."

"If that's what you want," added T'Challa. They all looked at him. "My asylum for you stands, and it always will, Bucky. You've been through an ordeal here, as has Wanda, and as have all your friends. Say the word, and you can leave the reach of your detractors for as long as you wish."

"I…I…" Bucky shut his eyes. I can't think. Tony stepped away, and Wanda and Steve tightened their arms around him.

"Deep breaths," Betsy urged. "A lot has happened – again – in a very short time. It's all right if you haven't made your mind up – though maybe that's reason enough to take a visit to Wakanda and consider your options under less pressure."

"You're very welcome," T'Challa urged. "My brother and sister are eager to see you again, and the queen mother hopes to meet you. All of you are welcome."

Bucky opened his mouth – and every Avenger's phone started going berserk simultaneous with Everett Ross and Sharon Carter bursting through the door.

"Avengers!"

Everybody except Steve and Bucky groaned.

"Let me guess, Wallace and Company got their shit together and have real extradition papers this time?" spat Rhodey.

"We can be on my shuttle and in Wakandan jurisdiction before they have a chance to serve them," T'Challa said.

"Yeah, but that's not the main problem," Carter growled. "The main problem is the huge fucking spacecraft that just exited the asteroid belt and is on a direct course to Earth!"

"Fuck!" Bucky blurted, and most of the room echoed him in various languages.

"Soooo, ETA two years, right?" Rhodey half-pleaded.

"ETA six days," said Sharon. "No inkling of their intentions."

Steve kept one hand on Bucky's shoulder, but he was already thinking. "We need to establish a base where we don't have to deal with Accords interference."

Tony threw holograms onto the walls. "I can get us one outside the U.S., but where?"

"India would take us," said Rhodey, "and they have a strong space program. We could set up somewhere underpopulated."

"But India does not have space defenses or vibranium technology," T'Challa reminded them. "Wakanda has both."

Everyone blinked. "Figures," muttered Clint.

"Your highness," Steve looked at Tony. "I don't doubt you for a second, but what about the threat to your country?"

"If that ship is hostile, the threat exists to every country. Better that the Avengers meet it with all of Wakanda's forces and any allies who wish to join us at our strongest point. My people have many ways of taking shelter in seven days. We're very practiced at it." T'Challa stepped towards Steve and held out a hand. "Come with me."

"We'll get back to the States," said Matt. "Do everything we can to keep people calm and get them prepared for…whatever follows."

"Pepper's mobilizing Stark Relief International and putting everyone available on preparedness details," said Tony.

"Thanks." Steve looked quickly at the others. They all nodded. He nodded and shook T'Challa's hand. "We're in this together, your highness. Let's go."

As predicted, news was traveling fast and all hell was breaking loose – again – throughout the courthouse. Worst of all, there came a swaggering Senator Robert Kelly and Senator Ellen Nadeer in the hallway as the Avengers and Bucky came out. "Are you really going to tell me a guy who just swore up and down he's incapable of standing trial is now going to defend the Earth?" Kelly sneered.

Steve…completely blew his top, for the first time in over seventy years. "Jesus!" yelped Sam, and Nat, Tony, and Bucky all had to grab him, but they still didn't stop him from getting right in United States Senator Robert Kelly's face.

"ARE…YOU…SERIOUSLY…FUCKING…TRYING TO MAKE ARRESTS WHEN THERE'S AN ALIEN VESSEL HEADING STRAIGHT FOR THE MOTHERFUCKING PLANET?!"

"Thank you!" someone in the hallway yelled, and people started applauding.

Kelly landed on his ass and started crab-walking backwards. "GET THE HELL AWAY FROM HIM; WE HAVE JOBS TO DO! GET YOUR ASSES BACK HOME AND PREPARE THE AMERICAN PEOPLE!" Steve roared, damn near rattling the windows. He grabbed Bucky by the arm and stormed in the opposite direction.

Most of the Avengers (and Bucky…and the Wakandans…) were too stunned to do more than follow in Captain America's raging wake, but behind them, the sputtering of the Senators was drowned out by cheers and applause.

"Good luck Avengers!"

"You've got this!"

"We love you, Cap!"

"Go get 'em, Iron Man!"

As they all charged out onto the nearest helipad where the Wakandan shuttles and planes awaited, Bucky caught a quick glimpse of several of the judges, including his entire panel. Most were watching Steve and T'Challa, but Judge Ginsburg and Judge Jibril met Bucky's eyes, and ever so briefly, they smiled.

To Be Continued...

Coming Soon: Our heroes scramble to prepare for a potential alien invasion as the world erupts into chaos. Scott rejoins the team in a desperate effort to protect his family, but Wakanda's defenses are swiftly penetrated!

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Original Character Guide

Maksim Dorokhin - a former Hydra operative who worked on the Winter Soldier program, aspiring to great things but never fully succeeding, fell in with Zemo and Monica Rappaccini in an attempt to use bioterrorism and the former Winter Soldier to destroy the Avengers and revitalize Hydra.

Damian Fallaci - a prosecutor with the International Criminal Court, American, still dedicated to the principles of the Sokovia Accords. Mid-40s, anger management issues.

Judge Irina Ginsburg - chief judge of the International Criminal Court's pretrial panel, handling the Avengers' cases. Danish, mid-60s, no relation to another famous and utterly awesome judge by the name of Ginsburg - but possibly named after her. Possibly.

Judge Eloise Lagarde - second judge on the pretrial panel, French, mid-60s.

Judge Salim Jibril - third judge on the pretrial panel, Ugandan, mid-60s.