As the sun rose in the nation's capital James left his safe house, an apartment he and Natasha had bought as one of their many covers. He had spent the majority of the flight to DC and the first night at the safe house going over the information Jarvis had found on Sam Wilson. The importance of this task of weighing heavily on James' shoulders, but the insanity behind it was also pulling at his mind. James had absolutely no idea how this Wilson person would be able to help Steve, let alone be convinced to come back to New York to try.
Wilson had just finished his tours in the Middle East, after having lost his partner to enemy gunfire. The para-rescuer was a constant figure at the VA, working on earning his counseling certificate and starting a psychiatrist's degree. The counseling certificate was almost complete, and Wilson was making himself well known with the members of the VA as both a fellow soldier trying to heal and a good ear to listen to when things become too much.
The vet began his day with a run around the monuments of the national park, which was becoming more and more routine. He ended up finishing after a half hour with a solid pace that left him feeling energized and ready to face the day. Sam headed back to his house for breakfast and a shower then made his way to the VA to sit in on his group's meeting. Lunch was at a small café close to Wilson's home, then the afternoon was spent working on the counseling certification. Dinner was a quiet affair with Chinese take out and some channel surfing, followed by a night full of unrest and terrors. The whole process continued for another two days before James felt confident enough to try to engage Wilson.
On the morning of James' fourth day in DC, the ex-soviet figured he had enough intel to approach Wilson with the insanity that Steve was proposing. As Wilson was working his way around the monuments at the national park, James began a run of his own. Lapping Wilson a few times and calling out a friendly, "on your left," as he passed. Wilson of course took the bait and attempted to keep up on his last lap, sprinting the last few hundred yards before giving up and slowing down to cool off under a tree. James finished that lap and made his way around to where Wilson was relaxing, hoping to get him involved in a conversation. "Should I be calling an ambulance for you? You kinda sound like an old friend of mine."
Sure enough, the vet was willing to start a conversation with James, mostly needling him about the run, but always a good way to get the ball rolling. "Nah, just a new set of lungs. You realize you just ran like 13 miles in like half an hour, right?"
"Huh," said James with a smirk, "I musta got a late start."
"Yeah, well you should be ashamed of yourself. Should take another lap. Seriously, did you finish it already? I must've blinked and missed it."
James rolled his eyes. Steve and Wilson would get along like white on rice. Of that he was sure. The ex-soviet nodded towards the logo on Sam's shirt, "So, what unit were you with?"
James already knew the answer, but thought it would be a good conversation opener, a way to ease into the crazy that was apparently Steve. "58th Pararescue. But now I'm working down at the VA."
Sam held out a hand, "Sam Wilson," James helped him up, "James Barnes. My friends call me Bucky."
"I figured as much. What with everything that just happened in New York. That was some crazy shit man, I'm glad you guys were able to put a stop to it. I got some family living in Harlem, but they were thankfully down in Florida when shit hit the fan. That must've freaked you out after everything that happened and how they found you frozen like that." Shield had put together a statement when they found Steve's shield about how they had found "Captain America" frozen in the plane he had flown into the Arctic to keep America safe. It was only Shield itself that knew the truth about him, and James planned to keep it that way.
James hummed and nodded, "Yeah that was a bit of a shock. Kinda a weird way to be reintroduced back into the world. But I was always a bit of a sci-fi fan as a kid, so it was easier to roll with. Kinda disappointed about the lack of flying cars though. I'll be honest. How long have you been with the VA?"
"I've only been there a couple months now. I started out as one of the guys sitting in the back and slowly found my way to the front of the groups. It helps sometimes. To talk things out." Was Wilson's response. The vet was eying James with a slightly unreadable expression, but the ex-soviet wasn't quite sure why. /Natasha would've had him eating out of her hand already/ James thought ruefully.
"Nah, I'm personally not much of a talker these days. Kinda hard finding people with shared life experiences and all that." James tried to keep to partial truths, knowing that would be his best bet. He thought he might let Wilson get back to his routine soon, not wanting to overstep on their first meeting. With his words though, the air around the pair got a little awkward. /Perhaps I should head out and try again later. I don't think I'm ready to bring up the reasons for talking with him yet. /
James turned like he was going to leave when Sam spoke up from behind him, "It's your bed right?"
Intrigued James turned again, the pleasant goodbye dying on his tongue before it could even form. "What?"
"Your bed. It's too soft. Feels like a marshmallow is going to swallow you whole, or a bed of feathers that could smother you at any moment. The guys, we always used to sleep with rocks for pillows like cavemen. Sometimes it's hard to readjust to the simple things." Sam had a knowing look in his eye as he nodded towards James.
James froze with the force of clarity that hit him. /Of course! THAT's why Steve stays on the floors and away from the bed and furniture…/ It had been so long since James had had a similar problem that he completely forgot that something so small would actually be a huge hurdle for Steve. Suddenly all his struggles after cryo came flooding back to him and he began to understand his friend with a new level of understanding.
The look on James' face must've shown his internal struggle, because Sam was next to him in an instant, the tired look replaced with one of concern. "Hey man, I get it. Really. You were probably under for a long time and then everything hit the fan in New York. You probably haven't had a chance to adjust. Get to know the city again. But see, all of us coming back from overseas, we are faced with similar problems. Not on the scale of aliens attacking the states, or even the changes that musta happened in the last sixty plus years, but the beds, and sounds that you're so used to hearing suddenly not there or creeping up on you suddenly at odd times. Trust me. I totally get it. And you're really not alone."
James was silent for another minute processing everything. Finally, his mouth started running before his brain had a chance to catch up. "I- you wouldn't be willing to come back to New York with me, would you? I have this friend who could really use your help."
The sentence sounded lame even to James as he said it, but by the time his brain had caught up with his mouth it was too late. Sam was shaking his head in the negative, hardly believing the "friend" story that James was feeding him. He'd seen it a hundred times before. "Nah man. I have a lot to do down here. I'm working on getting my counseling certification and looking into classes to take. But your friend is always welcome to come down to DC, or they could visit the VA up in New York. I started there when I first got back from overseas. Maybe I could make some calls for you…"
James shook his head, "That's alright-" He was going to elaborate when both of their phones beeped almost at the same time. Sam pulled his out- it was a reminder to bring some snacks for the next group meeting over at the VA, while James' was a text from Clint. The pair held up their phones, a slight apology for needing to head off before they both cracked a small smile and nodded to each other in a see you later kind of way.
"See ya around man!" Said Sam as he turned to jog towards his car.
"Yeah, definitely," came James' quiet reply as the vet jogged off. Clearly James was going to need to show him that paper from Steve in order to get him to agree to come, if even for a few days.
The soldier looked back down at his phone, concern etched onto his features as he made his way back to his own car. The cryptic /there's a code/ text from Clint was a little confusing, but James wanted to be in a secure location before calling. He shot back a quick /need 7/ before getting into his car and heading for his apartment.
Just as James was pulling the door closed to his apartment his phone was ringing, Clint's name flashing on the caller ID. "Hey hon, just got home. What's up?"
The code flowed flawlessly from James' mouth. Basically, he had just gotten back to the apartment and needed to do a sweep before he could respond properly. That would give Clint a chance to elaborate on his text, but also give him an update on his friend's status.
"That finger-tapping thing that your friend Rogers does. It's not a nervous tick. It's a code. He's communicating with Loki, like a weird sort of Morse code. I've been keeping an eye on the two of them and while Tony is convinced there is some kind of telepathy thing going on, I don't think that's the case. If he had the ability to communicate telepathically why didn't he do that with you?"
James paused for a moment in his surveillance search of the apartment. That actually made sense. Seeing as how Steve couldn't talk and he had a mouth that he couldn't ever keep shut… not when it mattered most. "Son of a bitch!"
Clint gave James a moment to process that before continuing. "I'm going to speak to Loki in a little bit. See if he will shed some light on this tapping code. Did you have any success with your mission?"
James finished the sweep, "Not too much luck. I just spoke with him this morning, but I didn't get to far. I'm wondering which would be worse- knocking him out and dragging him to the city OR giving him the paper that Steve seems to think will get him to show up on his own."
"Huh… so a normal Tuesday then?" Clint's amused tone helped James calm down a little. He was starting to feel tense thinking about how to get Sam Wilson to come to New York, but that made sense.
"Yep." James rolled his eyes before sobering up a moment to ask about Steve, "How is he doing anyway?"
Clint hesitated a moment before answering- something James knew to mean everything wasn't as right as it could be. "He's still refusing medical care from Bruce. But he's interacting through the StarkPad and speaking with Loki all the time. He tends to ignore Thor and Sif though; he seems to be following Loki's lead on that front."
James knew Clint was leaving out information and he debated whether he wanted to know now or after trying to get Wilson to agree to come with him. Apparently, his mouth was running off again without his brain's permission, "What aren't you telling me."
There was another hesitation, "The smoothie things that Bruce is having him drink aren't enough. It's helping a little, but his physical condition keeps deteriorating. It's getting worse each day and he refuses to let Bruce treat him in anyway other than what he's already done."
"I should-" James started to say but Clint cut him off, "No. He asked you to do this. You need to finish it. There is nothing you can do here that Bruce isn't already doing and aside from worrying about him in person, I doubt you will be able to change his mind. He apparently needs something from this Wilson guy, and you are the only one he trusts enough to make that happen."
His fellow sniper's words made sense to James. But a part of him wanted to say screw what Steve wanted and go back to New York to mother hen him in person. Clint seemed to pick up on his line of thought though, "Look man. You might think this is crazy. And maybe it is. But Rogers somehow knows something related to this Wilson guy and whatever it is, he seems to think it's important. Really important for him to send you all the way to DC to bring him back here. I will keep an eye out here and you can mother hen him until the cows come home when you get back with a completed mission, alright? I may not fully trust Loki, but Rogers seems to grow on you- you know?"
"Yeah, like a fungus sometimes," said James sourly.
"Look try the "magic paper" thing first and if that doesn't work, then knock him out and drag his ass here, okay? Then you can take out your frustrations on Rogers when you get back. I'm gonna go have that talk with Loki, okay? Just stay focused and be your usual charming self." Clint hung up before James could come back with a response of his own, other than an eye roll.
James decided to get some lunch and head over to the VA. He would make one more attempt at getting Wilson to come to New York and if that didn't work, he would weigh the consequences of knocking him out and dragging him there.
/Lunch first. Kidnapping later… that's usually done better with a full stomach. / James joked with himself as he made his way out of the apartment, taking his small bag with him and knowing he wouldn't be back there again for a while.
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A couple hours later when James walked into the VA, he heard a meeting happening at one of the smaller rooms. He poked his head in and ended up leaning against the door as he watched the interactions of the returned vets and the counselor leading the session. It wasn't Sam, but James could definitely picture the ex-soldier up there leading a session and helping the soldiers who were trying to find their way in a world that no longer made sense.
"Well look what the cat dragged in," James turned when he heard Wilson's voice come up next to him.
He nodded in greeting, "Just thought I'd pop my head in and see if you had a free minute this afternoon? I was hoping to maybe finish the conversation we were having earlier today."
Sam nodded towards the hall he had just come from, "I share an office with my mentor, but I think I could persuade him to give us a little time to chat uninterrupted. It might cost you an autograph though, just warning you now."
Fifteen minutes later, James had indeed signed an autograph, but the pair were guaranteed an uninterrupted afternoon for a conversation. Something James was thankful for. As Sam's mentor left the room, a retired combat soldier who nodded respectfully at James and muttered a "thank you for your service," James did a quick visual sweep of the room. When the door closed, he went up to it, waited a beat and turned the lock. He then positioned his chair in a corner where he could see both the sole window, and door at the same time before sitting down.
Sam raised a steady eyebrow at what James was doing but didn't outwardly protest. Though he did eye the door with a certain level of skepticism. It wasn't a hard lock to get through though if he needed to, just the little ones of the knob that would stop people coming in unannounced and give them some warning if someone was there. Sam ended up pulling his chair away from the desk so he could sit facing James but also in a way, so his back was away from the window and door. Something about the way James was acting was setting off an alarm in his head and he wanted to be prepared for whatever it was. "So which part of this morning's conversation did you want to continue?"
Sam figured it would be good to let James take the lead for this to help ease his mind a little. Before speaking though, James pulled a small device out of his pocket and placed it on the edge of the closest table, turning it on in the process. "This device will cancel out any bugs or surveillance equipment currently being used in this office. It will also scramble your phone while it's in range so nothing can be used on it remotely. As for why I'm here, I really do have a friend in New York that I would like for you to come see. I realize that sounds like I'm feeding you a line, but I'm not. This friend of mine is in a bad way and for whatever reason refuses to talk with the shrinks we are trying to get him to speak with. He said he would only speak with you and no one else."
Sam crossed his arms and sat back a little in his chair. "Alright. Let's say I believe you for a moment. Why would he want to speak with me of all people? I'm not even a fully certified counselor yet and I haven't even started my psych degree."
"That's just the thing. I don't know why he wants you. Just that those are the terms he is laying out on the table." James ran a hand through his hair, his frustration with the situation starting to shine through a little.
"Alright, why don't you start with a name? Maybe I know this friend from somewhere and helped him through something before?" Sam, despite his skepticism, was starting to get curious. It's not every day a friend of Captain America's knew him and needed his help with something.
"Before I do that. I need you to realize that what I am about to say is breaking like a million confidentiality laws and will land us both in deep shit if it gets repeated outside of this space." At Sam's weary nod James continued, "You know I am not the original Captain America. However, the story that came out a few months back is also a load of bull. When I went and joined the war effort in the forties, it was because I was drafted. What didn't hit the papers was that my unit, which was captured by the Red Skull and Zola, was experimented on. Zola was trying to create his own serum, and I was one of the test dummies. In fact, I was the only one to survive the tests. A fact that later saved and cursed me when I fell off the train in the Alps."
James paused for a moment, lost in the memories. He could still see Steve's face as he fell to his death. It was one of his most prominent nightmares. The ex-soviet refused to make eye contact for this next part of his tale, "I was captured by the Russians in that ravine and turned into a machine for their use. It took years to break me, but when they finally managed it, I was turned into a machine and I did whatever I was told. Shield never found me frozen at the bottom of the mountain. in the late 90's I somehow managed to deflect from the Russians and made my way back to America, where I met some allies and they helped me get my head on straight. When Shield needed someone to take on the mantle of Captain America, I was the first and only choice. I only did it to honor the memory of my friend, whose body was never found in the wreckage of the Valkyrie last year."
"Man, that is some seriously messed up shit. I'm sorry about what happened to you, and I'm glad you managed to get out. Being a POW is rough, no matter how you look at it but to break yourself out takes a serious amount of inner strength." Sam looked like he wanted to say more, but James cut him off before he could, "My friend. The one I'm here to get you to come see is the original Captain America. It's Steve Rogers."
Sam could feel his jaw as it made its way to the floor and stayed there. This had to be some kind of joke. "-the hell?" was all he could manage to say or process.
James looked him in the eye, "Yeah. I'm not completely clear on the details myself. Just that this invasion that happened was somehow an escape attempt by both Loki and Steve, who had gotten sucked up into space via a portal on the Valkyrie."
The look of shock was so strong on Sam's face that James almost wished he had a camera to show the others, while another part thought he might need medical attention again. With the surveillance scrambler on though, his phone wouldn't work, and he didn't want Wilson to think this was a joke. James timed how long it took for Sam to regain the ability to speak. It was a solid four minutes- James was slightly impressed.
Sam got up and began pacing, "you have to be shitting me?! An Alien Invasion was the best plan they could come up with?! Seriously? My GOD, what about all those people who were at ground zero?! Man, that is some fucked up shit."
James let him pace, then return to his chair, hands cradling his head as he worked through all of the implications of what James just told him. It was another minute and a half before Sam's head shot up again as he started to become a little hysterical, "wait. You're telling me that the original Captain America knows who I am and wants me to counsel him through seventy years of space related trauma?! How in the WORLD would I even BEGIN to be his first choice of mental doctor- this has to be a joke. Captain America is pulling a fast one on me. ME. Okay, jokes over. Who put you up to this?"
The blank face that James was giving him in response had Sam starting to hyperventilate again. The ex-soldier started to mumble through some calming exercises before he completely lost his mind and did something crazy, like punch Captain America. When he thought he could speak with a semi normal tone he did, "you can't be serious."
"Look," said James, "I know this sounds insane. Believe me I KNOW. But I promise it is entirely the truth. I really don't know how he knows you, or knows of you, but he does, and he asked me to bring you back to New York so he could talk to you. He won't talk with anyone else with a degree, so I thought, why the hell not. Take a chance on the guy who Steve is willing to talk to, degree or no degree, and bring him into the fold. I'm leaving right before five to head back to New York. Tony Stark lent me his private helicopter to get down here and I need to get back to the Tower to check on Steve. Make sure he's doing alright." The worry in James' tone seemed to release some of Sam's anger at being played.
"What do you mean knows of me?" Sam narrowed his eyes at the oddity of that wording.
"Steve drew your picture, with almost one hundred percent accuracy. He was an artist before all this Captain America crap." Was James' quick response.
"Did he have a photo to go by? How did he even know who I am? As far as I can tell I've never met the man and I feel like I would remember if I had." Sam had an air of caution around him now. Something wasn't adding up and he couldn't figure out what it was.
"He didn't. At least we never saw a picture, and Loki never used his magic to hide anything, so we have no idea how he knew who you are. It could be he did research before we found him. I don't know. All I do know is he handed me your picture and said he would only talk to you and asked me to bring you back to New York. Which is why I'm here." Sam realized with a start that their meeting that morning hadn't been a chance at all. This whole thing had been orchestrated by the other man, who also seemed to be hesitant about something- was holding something back.
"So that's it. He just asked you to bring me back to New York?" Sam paused a beat, "How do I know this isn't some kind of kidnapping attempt? Lure me in with crazy stories then throw my body into the Potomac?"
With some muttered Russian, James seemed to deflate, "He also gave me this, which I can't open," James demonstrated trying to pry the paper edges apart before handing it over to Sam, "He said if you saw whatever was on that paper you would be willing to come back to the city with me. Listen, I really don't know what's on that paper- he said it was for your eyes only. And I know that this keeps getting weirder and weirder, but I don't know how else to convince you."
Sam looked between the paper and James twice before turning his attention completely to the folded note. A part of him realized the insanity of what he was about to do, but curiosity finally got the better of him. There was some seriously crazy shit happening and Sam found himself intrigued despite all of it. In his mind he could see this turning out like the stupid horror movies he and Riley used to watch on leave. Where you yelled at the person about to open the door because you know the murder is behind it, but they do it anyway.
The vet unfolded the paper, glanced over it once. Froze. Glanced at it a second time with more intent, and a seriously aghast complexion- he looked like he was seeing a ghost, or the paper was going to swallow him whole any minute.
"Get out." Sam's angry yet quiet words broke the strange atmosphere that had taken over the room.
"What-" James was cut off, "Get. Out. Now." Sam's anger was radiating through his whole body. Without a word James knew this was a lost cause and made a strategic retreat, forgetting to grab the surveillance scrambler in the process. Clearly Steve was wrong about whatever was on that paper- James still didn't know- and it wouldn't be bringing Sam Wilson to New York. He began debating the merits of kidnapping as he plastered a fake smile on his face for the people who were working or visiting the VA that day.
Sam was too caught up in memories to hear the door unlock, open and close again all within the span of a minute. The picture was two-fold. On the one side was him and Riley, in their tent the way it looked before their last mission together. Everything was right where they left it, even down to the socks strung over their boots. There were two air bubbles with parts of their last conversation, where they were again talking about what they would do when they finished that tour. The other side of the paper was a note,
"The dreams we dreamt were huge, and the possibilities endless. Don't give up your dream to live mine. You can do more and be more if you just take this final leap. Keep the wings alive. I've still got your six" – Riley
There was a small picture of them both with the wings under the note, but when Sam looked closer, he saw the subtle differences between the two. His were the same, but Riley's were angel wings. He could almost see the feathers, their clothes, and hair moving with the wind.
Sam was moving before he even realized it was a conscious decision. The vet grabbed the surveillance scrambler, righted the chairs, wrote a quick note/apology and made his way home to grab a quick go bag. He didn't even double check what he put in, just getting a couple things before making his way to the airport. He knew the roads well enough to get there without too much difficulty, and managed to beat James, who had gotten caught in some of the rush hour traffic that started pretty early in DC.
Sam's mentor came into the room a half hour later. Everything was in its place, but there was a note on his desk saying the vet wanted to take a little time to make sure his family was safe from the fiasco that happened in New York. He would send an email with more definite information when he got there and was able to assess his family's home. There was also an apology for the abrupt leaving, but he had gotten a call that worried him from a close friend who was at ground zero, and he'd decided to take that time offered a few days before to help said friend.
In fact, James actually let out a disbelieving curse at the sight of Sam standing next to his car in the lot. It was a private airstrip, but Jarvis had worked his magic, putting Sam on the approved list a few days prior in case he decided to show up.
"Listen, I'm not saying I believe all of that shit you just told me. But I will say this… If it is a load of bull, I will punch you in the face. And whoever else you have in on this little trick of yours." Sam grabbed his bag and made his way towards the helicopter, which was powering up.
James barely had time to nod in confusion before he was also moving to the chopper. The ex-soviet had no idea what had happened between him leaving and Wilson showing up at the airstrip, but he wasn't going to question his luck. Although if he found out Loki had used some kind of mind-altering magic on the paper then Sif would be the least of Loki's worries. James would make sure of that.
The pair made the trip in relative silence. It wasn't until they got close to the City and a strange portal shot up into the sky, originating from Tony's landing pad, that James cursed and urged the pilot to go faster with some not so idle threats.
Something serious was happening at the Tower and no one was communicating to him about what that something was. Which meant they were going in blind. Even Jarvis wasn't responding, which had James even more on edge.
James didn't wait for the chopper to land on the roof, just jumped out when it was about ten feet up. Sam followed his lead, concerned about whatever was upsetting the ex-soviet so badly.
But nothing could've prepared them for the Loki worthy level of chaos happening in the Penthouse.