Note: Hi! This is Juulna here, but this fic is co-written with the lovely and gracious Annaelle. She's my long-suffering beta, and agreed to put up with me even more just to co-write this with me. I'm so excited to collaborate on this with her (vs me writing the bulk and her bailing me out when I get stuck) and I don't think it'll be too long before we have another chapter for you!

This fic is a holiday promise I made to one of my best friends, kocuria, back in December. It's a gift for her, and she wanted something Shrunkyclunks + political + arranged marriage, and boy did I have fun figuring out what to do with this prompt! I hope you like it, my lovely friend. Know that whatever we might go through, I'll always be there for and love you, ko. Much, much love, you beautiful soul.

~by Juulna & Cuthian~
~for kocuria~

"[He] was like twirling a lit firecracker between your fingers.
You kind of knew it was going to hurt when it exploded, but playing with it made your heart race with excitement."
― Cynthia D'Alba

'The Rising Role of Children in Presidential Elections' by M.S. Bloom, The New York Times, August 29th, 2008

In the wake of yesterday's Democratic National Convention, the easy thing to do would be to write about Winifred Barnes' historic nomination as the 2008 Democratic Party candidate. Our very own two-term New York Governor.

But articles such as that are a dime a dozen today.

No, instead I find myself wanting to write about James Barnes, Governor Barnes' only child. Throughout the campaign trail, he has stood staunchly by his mother's side—even when separated physically due to his career—to the point where we as a people have become used to seeing him everywhere she can be found. We have heard it all before, and so, in a way, that makes us more likely to not know who exactly James Buchanan Barnes is, much as that might seem inconceivable for the son of a presidential candidate. It has reached the saturation point where we think we know all there is to know, and yet, truly, we do not. So thus I have chosen to delve deep and offer the facts—and yes, some opinions—on this steadfast man, so that we all may better know who it is that has our Presidential hopeful's ear—and heart.

Now bear with me, faithful column readers, as I repeat what we all 'know'.

James Buchanan Barnes, often called "Bucky" by this younger generation, is the only son of Winifred Hubbard and her husband, Captain George Barnes, who was lost while serving as part of the Lebanon Peacekeeping mission shortly after James' birth on March 10th, 1982.

Winifred Barnes dedicated her fortune, left to her by two generations of Hubbards and Barneses both, to the continuation of the Omega Rights Movement her own mother had helped to kickstart in the years immediately after WWII.

Bucky, an Omega like his mother and her mother before her, was expected to follow in her footsteps, to help advocate for the minority group which comprises less than 1% of our worldwide population (and shrinking, with alphas sitting at 3.5% and also shrinking). However, Winifred Barnes' sudden—and happy, for Omegas everywhere—decision to run for Governor (and from there to the Democratic Presidential Nomination and, dare we hope for too much, the White House) in 1996 altered what may have been simply another generation of philanthropic 'nouveau riche' Barneses and Hubbards.

No, instead James "Bucky" Barnes became… something more (or less, in some eyes).

This is where we delve into what is very likely unknown to you. I must admit, even now, after years of research and Freedom of Information Act requests (and more requests denied than fulfilled), and two Pullitzers under this investigative reporter's belt, that even I have found more holes than cloth in this story I will weave for you.

In 1999, straight out of high school, Bucky startled many with his decision to join the marines—though perhaps it should not have been so surprising for a young man to seek to be closer to the father he never knew. Whatever the reason, sentimental or not, his records become a touch hazy after that. It has always been hard to track the comings and goings of the military, especially in these years post Patriot Act, but for the two years pre-9/11, we at least know that he attended MIT—a very odd choice for a young commissioned officer, even at the dawn of the new millennium.

The last known information we have pre-9/11 is that Bucky was granted the rank of major, a move almost unprecedented during peacetime for one so young—and which has given much ammunition to many a 'Truther' as, and I quote, "definitive proof that the Towers were an inside job and that the administration planned it with the help of that Omega bitch's bastard cub."

Charming.

In the wake of his mother's declaration to run for candidacy—and now, finally, for office—the Pentagon released a select few files from Major Barnes' military record. As Governor Barnes swept closer and closer to the nomination, those files have been picked over in further detail. It only makes sense that we wish to get a true grasp of who is at the elbow of someone who could very well become the most powerful woman, let alone the most powerful Omega in the world—and that still feels like a fever dream to us Omegas; one we don't wish to wake from.

And he is by her side. He is fully and completely in Governor Barnes' corner, even though, if things had played out differently, he may not have been—whether that means he might be dead right now (hello to you too, NSA, don't tell me I wasn't already on your automatic watchlist) or if he might have remained in the field.

Because Bucky Barnes did not come home willingly, that is for sure, no matter how much he loves and supports his mother.

And yes, I said field.

Because everything points to the idea that Major Barnes was a CIA operative. And he may still be, for all we know, despite his 'official' honorable discharge. The holes in his record; the fast-tracking to officer status; his nuclear and mechanical engineering degrees from MIT, paid for by the Pentagon; the few 'postings' we know of which don't read quite right; even—perhaps especially—his closeness to the Stark heiress, Antonia Stark, who was recently revealed to be both an Omega and the armored Iron Man, shortly after she was kidnapped and tortured for three months in Afghanistan this past spring.

They may not have received their injuries at the same time, or in the same place—if Major Barnes' took place where and how it was detailed in his records; in a purportedly brief stint as a prisoner of Chechen rebels in Russia one year ago, even while his mother was gunning strongly for this very nomination—but there are many things that simply do not add up.

However, I am 95% sure that this is a good thing.

The masses like mystery and intrigue, and the thought of the dashing Omega being a CIA officer working tirelessly towards the greater good, thwarting terrorists and preventing (or perhaps helping to instigate) war left and right, is something that appeals. All while being an Omega, a class in our society which has, for thousands of years, been seen as lesser.

And here is one—three, if one counts Toni Stark and Governor Barnes, whom we absolutely should... Here are three Omegas who have already indelibly affected the world, even if one was not Iron Man, even if one does not become President, even if one is not a spy.

This (possible) spy, no matter if his face is known everywhere now, is one who might just help his mother—an undeniably formidable woman and Omega in her own right, do not get me wrong—cinch one of the most powerful seats in the known universe.

To the benefit of us all.

[Continued on Page A2]

Note: This article is from 2008, but the story itself will be taking place in 2012, post-Battle of Manhattan. We hope to see you soon! :D