September, 2005
Rumlow led a young Brooklyn Hayes to a secure facility about an hour outside of D.C. The brunette looked around nervously but followed her team leader without question as he led her deep into the underground containment unit to receive their newest asset. He looked over his shoulder, then told Brooklyn to stand by the door and await instructions.
"Yes, Sir." She said quietly, raising her chin bravely as Rumlow left to speak with Secretary Pierce. Brooklyn hadn't met the man, but she'd heard of him. He was important. He was the highest-ranking Hydra operative hiding within SHIELD. Rumlow said if Brooklyn wanted to get far and get her revenge on Fury, Pierce was going to be the best way to reach her goal.
When she heard Rumlow clear his throat loudly, Brooklyn raised her head and saw him motioning her over moments before the massive garage door behind her opened and a fork-lift brought in a metal shipping container. She watched as they carefully lowered the container and several armed guards surrounded it as one of the movers carefully opened the container. Brooklyn stared at it as steam poured out of it, and she whispered to Brock, "What is this?"
"The asset." Pierce said simply, looking Brooklyn up and down as the shipping container was taken apart piece by piece, until its contents were revealed.
A man leaned against a straight board, trapped inside a glass tube. It was the steam inside the chamber that Brooklyn had seen escaping the crate, and it appeared to keep the man frozen solid inside his prison.
"This is the asset? He's in cryostasis." Brooklyn said under her breath, and Rumlow grunted in response. When she looked up though, she noted Pierce's curious expression and ducked her head, "I'm sorry for speaking out of turn."
"You're the woman from Tallinn?" Pierce questioned, and Brooklyn nodded, wondering if the Secretary was impressed with her ability to hide and survive or annoyed that he hadn't been able to get Rumlow out of SHIELD because of her determination. After a moment, he nodded towards the asset, "Wake him up."
Brooklyn's brows drew in confusion as she looked to Rumlow, seeing the expression on his face as one of pity, and she realized she'd made a grave error, "Sir?"
"Wake him up. We need to see what kind of condition he's in, and if we need to wipe his memories again."
"Why do we need to wipe his memories?" Brooklyn asked, looking over her shoulder as one of the Hydra agents connected a long tube to the asset's cage, pumping in more steam. It was then Brooklyn realized they weren't keeping him frozen; they were thawing him out, and they wanted her to be the first person he saw. "Who is he?"
"The Winter Soldier." Pierce said, nodding forward as he crossed his arms. "That's all you need to know. The code is nineteen-forty-five. Good luck, Agent."
The armed guards took a step back as Rumlow raised his gun to Brooklyn, using his free hand to gesture towards the asset, "Prove your worth, Hayes. It's not too late to kill you and your pretty little sister. It's her sweet sixteen next month, right? You'd hate for her to miss it."
"Alright! I'm going." Brooklyn hissed as she tentatively stepped closer and closer to the asset, locking her hazel eyes onto his thawing form. She reached for the pad with a shaking hand, hitting the numbers slowly until the front panel of glass slide to the side. She shifted from foot to foot, unsure what was about to happen, but suddenly, a metal arm jutted out from the steam and grabbed her by the neck, lifting her off the ground.
"Whoa, whoa!" The guards yelled as they aimed their guns at the asset, but he took a step forward, never loosening his grip on Brooklyn as she clung to the metal. She managed to get enough leverage against his arm to throw her legs forward, smacking her heeled boots against the thick fabric of his black vest. The Winter Soldier glared at her, then squeezed a little tighter as she squirmed.
"Brooklyn!" Rumlow yelled, taking a step forward with his gun pointed towards the asset, but at the sound of her name, the Winter Soldier loosened her grip and snapped his gaze onto the woman. She pulled in a shaky breath as Rumlow called her name again, and the asset set her down, his furious expression morphing into one of panic and confusion.
She grabbed her neck as she gagged, taking a step back until the Winter Soldier grabbed her arm. Brooklyn quivered in his sights as he narrowed his piercing blue eyes at her, his voice gravely as he spoke, "Who are you?"
"Brooklyn Hayes." She answered nervously, looking over her shoulder to see Rumlow and Pierce staring at her in shock, but the Winter Soldier tightened his grip on her arm, and she whimpered as she turned back to him, "Please don't kill me."
He looked past Brooklyn to all the guns trained on him and let go of her arm. He breathed heavily and looked down at his metal hand before looking to the woman in fear, "Brooklyn?"
"Extract her." Pierce ordered, and before Brooklyn could realize what was happening, she was yanked away by Rumlow as the guards surged towards the Winter Soldier. The door was slammed closed and Brooklyn panted as she looked up at the setting sun.
She knelt down and placed her face in her hands, shaking as she replayed what had happened, but none of it made sense. She felt Rumlow grab her shoulder and squeeze, "You alright?"
"What the hell was that?" Brooklyn growled, finally meeting his gaze, "Who is he? And why did he react like that? Why is he frozen and why does he look so scared?"
Rumlow looked up at Pierce appeared, taking a step back to allow the Secretary to speak to Hayes, "I think he likes you."
"Can't say the same." Brooklyn snapped back, and Pierce chuckled, "I think I like you, too. I want to see what happens if you work with him again."
Brooklyn pursed her lips and looked from the Secretary to Rumlow, "I'm not sure I want to. He tried to kill me."
"The fact that he didn't snap your neck immediately means something, and that's something I want to explore." Pierce looked to his left as a woman handed him a cardboard box, which he promptly shoved at Brooklyn, "Here's all you need to know about your new asset. Consider this a promotion."
"And if I don't want it?"
"Then you'll be the Winter Soldier's first kill since being transferred to our care." Pierce's wicked grin made Brooklyn's stomach churn. "Good luck, Agent Hayes. We'll be in touch."
"This just in, a mere three weeks after battling evil robots in the war-torn country of Sokovia, the Avengers are seen at Disney World of all places."
"That's right, Christine, less than a month after the battle with the robot called Ultron, Tony Stark seems to have packed up his team of superheroes and flown them all to Orlando. A couple of heavy hitters have come up missing though- fans won't see Thor summoning lightning from Cinderella Castle or Hulk challenging the yeti to a dual, as the two haven't been seen since the incident in Sokovia. Sources claim to have seen the group around the Wilderness Lodge Resort, as well as a western-themed dinner show last night where the newest member of the Avengers was recorded levitating above the stage as part of an audience participation segment. This appears to be the first public activity Captain America has done with his young daughter since he admitted to being a father last summer."
"That's all fine and dandy, Jim, but the bigger question is this: should the Avengers be celebrating a win that cost so many lives? With over one hundred and fifty civilian casualties in Sokovia alone, along with dozens more killed in Johannesburg and Seoul due to their battles, shouldn't the Avengers be showing a little more decorum than going on a family vacation after causing so much death and destruction? Sure, they saved the world, but at what cost? Just because they get to go home to their families, doesn't mean everybody else did."
Natasha pushed a chunk of fiery red curls behind her ear and sighed as she turned off the tablet and picked up her black coffee to sip it slowly. Their villa overlooked the lake, and it was peaceful at seven in the morning since most of the others were still asleep. Even little Denver with her endless energy, who had laughed and danced her way through the Hoop Dee Doo Revue at the resort next door, had fallen asleep before the boat had dropped them back off at their destination, and hadn't woken up yet.
The peace wouldn't last with eleven people in one hotel suite, but Natasha was growing weary of the peace anyway.
The sliding door opened behind her, and Natasha looked back to see Dallas appear with a mug of steaming liquid for herself. She sat in the chair beside Nat and looked out over the water, "Denny's awake. Bucky is making her breakfast while Steve showers. According to Tony's itinerary, we're due at the boat dock in forty-five minutes to head to Magic Kingdom."
Nat nodded, tipping back her cup to finish her coffee before asking, "How are the twins?"
"Still sleeping. Sam's up though. He's very excited." Dallas smirked, tossing her head to the side to get her side-swept bangs out of her face, "He hasn't outright said anything, but he's definitely been here before."
"Yeah, he kind of gave that away when he convinced Vision to go up onstage at the show last night." Natasha replied, looking over her shoulder to see Denver jumping around as she followed Bucky through the kitchen, chattering away as he cooked, "I can't believe the Winter Soldier babysits and cooks."
"And he's great in the sack." Dallas hummed into her coffee, keeping her eyes ahead on the water as a boat horn was heard in the distance, "But that's neither here nor there, is it?"
"You tell him you love him yet?"
"No." Dallas answered quickly, ducking her head to stare at her coffee like it was the most interesting thing in the world, "I should have, after the whole Ultron thing. But I'm scared of admitting my feelings, because if I say it, then I have to mean it, and then I have to let him in. It's easier to just keep it casual. Exclusivity is nice, but it doesn't have to be serious, you know? Can't get hurt if I don't let anybody in."
"Your sister was like that." Dallas looked up to meet Nat's piercing eyes as the Black Widow continued, "She kept pushing Steve away, despite having obvious feelings for him. It was aggravating for all of us around them."
"She knew Hydra would try to kill him."
"She was scared. As are you." Natasha stood and placed her leg up on the banister, bending her body in half to stretch her back, "It's really not that complicated, Dee. If you don't love him, don't tell him you do. If you do love him, he should know. It isn't a matter of saying the thing, it's a matter of feeling it, and only you can decide if you're open to it. Barnes is patient, he's willing to wait if you're willing to try." After a moment, Nat smirked down at Dallas's black boot, "You sure you're gonna make without a wheelchair or something?"
"I'll be fine. It's almost healed." Dallas argued, flinching when Nat gently tapped her bare foot against her broken foot, "I'll take it easy and slow. I promise."
"You better." Natasha teased before heading back into the villa, leaving Dallas alone with her thoughts for a while as everybody inside scurried about to get ready for their big day.
An hour and a half later, the eleven Avengers stood in front of Cinderella Castle, gazing up at it with various levels of wonder.
"It looked so much smaller on the Full House." Pietro said as he squinted in the Florida sun, "And much less crowded."
"Well, reality isn't like a tv show." Tony said, looking to his right to see Rhodey taking a photo of Sam beaming in front of the castle while giving a thumbs up, "Wilson, what are you doing?"
"Sending a picture to my mom." He answered as he took his phone back, drawing his brows and shaking his head, "Don't you have people who care about where you go and what you do? Maybe send a photo to Pepper since she couldn't come."
Tony scoffed at the idea, shoving his hands into his pockets and looking back up at the golden spires of the castle, "Naw, that's fine. She's busy opening our building in Tokyo."
Bucky clenched Dallas's hand for dear life. She looked down at their entwined hands, then up at her boyfriend, "You okay, James?"
"It's just a lot," he admitted softly, "I'm not used to being around so many people. So many sounds and smells. And people. It's all intense for me."
"Steve's doing just fine." Dallas argued, pointing to the super soldier who had Denver on his shoulders with her arms thrown out to the sides while Wanda took their photo in front of the castle as Vision lingered nearby. Disguised as a human, he looked as uncomfortable as Bucky, but his expression held more intrigue than panic. Dallas saw the wheels in Bucky's head turning as he looked around at all the paths leading away, "You looking for escape routes?"
"Force of habit."
"Aunt Dallas, can we go in the castle?" Denver asked excitedly as Steve put her down and she sprinted to her aunt. The woman looked at the castle, twisting her lips thoughtfully, "I'm not sure. I've never been to this park, only the one in California. We can go in that castle, but this one I'm not sure."
"We're getting dinner with the princesses for Denny, so we'll go up in it tonight." Tony explained, flipping through his well-planned itinerary on his phone, "Alright, there's a lot of us, and a lot of different tastes in fun. My taste in fun is wherever I can get away from you all, so I'm going to take a nap in a chair on Tom Sawyer's Island, and we'll all meet up later, okay?"
Steve squatted in front of his daughter as Tony and Rhodey left, grabbing her shoulders as she bounced up and down on the balls of her feet excitedly, "Denny, you need to listen carefully, there's a lot of people here, and I don't want you to get lost, okay?"
"Oh my gosh, are those the Avengers?" Someone squawked loudly as they walked by, but Steve ignored them, even when his young daughter looked up at the words.
"If you get lost, you gotta find one of the workers, okay? And tell them your Daddy is Captain America. We're pretty hard to miss." Steve said as he brushed back Denver's blonde hair that fell below her shoulders. He wasn't sure when his little girl had gotten so big, but she was growing up too fast. "Denny, do you understand? You need to always have a buddy. Who is going to be your buddy today?"
"You?" She said hopefully and he grinned, standing, and taking her hand.
A blue blur whizzed past the group, then Pietro reappeared with several churros, pretzels, and a Dole Whip in his hands. He handed one of each to Denver, then passed the Dole Whip to Dallas with a wink, "I remembered you saying you liked them on the flight."
Bucky glared at the Sokovian man as Dallas gazed at the lemon soft serve lovingly, a fond memory from her distant childhood. "It's nine in the morning." Bucky deadpanned, but Sam grabbed the spoon from the frozen treat before Dallas could and took a big scoop before mumbling, "Never too early for a Dole Whip." Sam handed the spoon back to Dallas, "I'm gonna buy some swag for the rest of the trip, if you need me, I'll be at the Emporium."
Denver squeezed her father's hand tightly and he looked down to see her glaring up at him, clearly impatient to go experience the theme park. Steve looked around, "See you all later."
"Check the group text once in a while!" Dallas called as Steve allowed Denver to drag him towards the ramp leading up to the castle. She looked back at Bucky, finding him rigid and frustrated, "C'mon James, it's fun!" She shoveled a heap of Dole Whip onto her spoon and pushed it towards his face, "Try it, it's good. You're gonna love it."
He begrudgingly ate the soft serve, and his frown turned into a tiny smile as he swallowed it, making Dallas beam in response, "See! I told you! C'mon, I'm gonna show you all my favorites from Disneyland!" She slowly tugged him away towards Adventureland, hobbling on her boot and leaving Natasha, Vision, Wanda, and Pietro to their own devices.
"C'mon, no time to lose!" Pietro scooped up his sister and sped off, and the Vision looked down at Natasha questioningly. She shrugged and nodded in the direction the Maximoff's had gone, "Go with them. They're discovering all this for the first time, too. Just tell him to slow down."
"I doubt it'll do much good, Miss Romanoff." Vision said with a gentle smile, then walked slowly towards Tomorrowland, looking around as he went to find the young Sokovians.
Natasha looked up at the castle and sighed, content in this strange, chaotic place. At least she had her family, and they were safe, and they were happy. What could go wrong?
Rhodey and Tony sat in a couple rocking chairs on Tom Sawyer's Island facing Big Thunder Mountain Railroad across the water. The sound of the trains whooshing by combined with happy screams made it somewhat relaxing, despite the occasional fan who approached for an autograph from Iron Man and War Machine.
"Did you know about this place?" Rhodey finally asked after a while, noting how peaceful Tony looked away from the crowds.
"I had FRIDAY do some research on secluded areas of Disney World." Tony admitted, staring ahead beneath his square sunglasses, "The crowds are a lot, but I wanted to do something nice for the team. And I wanted to get away from the mansion."
Rhodey nodded slowly, already knowing why. Tony hadn't outright said Pepper and he had broken up, but his demeanor was solemn, and the whole Disney World thing was out of character. It was a way for him to distract himself from how lonely he was, while simultaneously bribing the Avengers to stay in his life despite retiring.
"I think they really appreciate it." Rhodey finally said, "And I don't mind the rest. We could go back to the hotel bar and nobody would notice."
"Where's the fun in that? From here I can keep an eye on them." Tony held up his phone and projected a hologram in front of them, where eight little colored symbols moved around a map of the Magic Kingdom. Rhodey watched for a while, picking out the little mind stone as Vision, who trailed behind two blue and red dots symbolizing the Maximoffs in Tomorrowland while a little R2-D2 and snowflake slowly moved through the Jungle Cruise in Adventureland. The Black Widow hourglass stayed stationary in front of the castle, most likely Romanoff just enjoying the atmosphere, and a tiny, animated Falcon wandered through the stores on Main Street. A little American flag moved around Fantasyland at a pace that told Rhodes and Stark that Steve was chasing Denver.
Rhodey narrowed his gaze at the map, then turned to Tony, "You aren't tracking Denny? Isn't she, like, the most likely to get lost?"
"I didn't think Steve would take too kindly to me tracking his daughter without his express permission." Tony said thoughtfully, "Plus, last minute she forgot the Minnie Ears I put the tracking chip in, so I got nothing. Tried to input her DNA code into the tracking map, but there's too many people. She'll be fine. There's ten of us, one of her. Plus, she's smart, she won't run away on purpose."
"I'm not riding it."
"C'mon Sam, don't be such a baby. A true fan would ride it."
"That's cold, Dallas, insinuating that I'm not a true Disney fan because I don't want to ride the most terrifying ride in existence."
"I've been on the one in California, it can't be that much worse."
"I'd rather stand in the ninety-minute wait for Peter Pan than ride that." Sam pointed disdainfully at the entrance to it's a small world while Dallas sighed and looked to Bucky pleadingly.
He just shrugged, "I don't know any different. I'll ride it with you." Dallas turned to Sam and stuck her lower lip out, but the Falcon just raised his hand and walked away. Bucky tugged Dallas to his chest and leaned around to kiss her cheek, "Don't worry Doll, I'll ride anything and everything with you, no matter how traumatizing it is. What's it about anyway?"
"It's about unity, and how we all live on this Earth and need to share it."
"What's scary about that?"
"It's a bunch of singing dolls."
Bucky drew his brows, looking at the ride nervously, "What?"
"Don't you trust me?" Dallas asked teasingly, but Bucky looked at her sincerely, and she balked, realizing how seriously he took her question. The corner of her red-painted lips pulled up into a small smile and she whispered, "I know you do."
Bucky nodded a little and took her hand, winking as they got in line, "I was experimented on by Nazi's in a torture camp, I doubt anything here can be that bad."
Over in Tomorrowland, Steve was standing behind his daughter as they ascended the moving walkway to the PeopleMover. After twelve runs on Dumbo, and almost getting thrown out of the teacup from Pietro's spinning, Steve needed to ride something that wasn't going to spin. In fact, Steve decided if he never spun again in his life, he'd be fine with it.
"Is this ride fast like the teacups?" Wanda asked nervously from behind Steve, and he turned with a grim expression, having been told by Sam that it was slow moving and relaxing. Part of him wondered if he shouldn't have believed his friend.
"It better be." Steve answered as they reached the top and were guided into a train. Pietro slid in across from Steve and Denver, not realizing that his sister and Vision had been placed on the first car of the next train. Steve saw the young man's panic and explained, "She'll be okay. They're right behind us."
Pietro seemed to consider Steve's words as they began to move faster, and he relaxed a little when he realized he could see them behind Steve's head. He met the soldier's blue eyes and sighed, "We've been through a lot. We've lost our parents, and our home. I just want to make sure she's okay. Wanda is… is fragile." He decided, leaning his arm over the back of the seat, "Plus, I don't trust him, yet. Ultron created him. I don't know his intentions with my sister. She's twice as powerful as she is breakable." Pietro grinned, looking down as they sped past the castle, the breeze blowing his bleached hair, "This is nice, no? Not as great as the teacups, but relaxing."
"We aren't riding the teacups again." Steve said quickly as Denver opened her mouth to beg. "We can go do the Monster show."
"Monsters?" Denver looked to her father with panic in her blue eyes, "I don't wanna see monsters!"
"It's a Monsters Inc. show. Remember Monsters Inc.? Sully?" Steve pressed, looking to Pietro, but the young man didn't offer any help. Steve drew his brows, "Boo and Kitty?"
Denver let out a long 'ohhh', then crawled onto her knees to lean over the side of the car and look below, "Daddy, Sam is trying to crash into Uncle Bucky and Aunt Dallas."
Steve looked over her shoulder to see where she was pointing, realizing Sam was about to ram his car into the back of Dallas and Bucky's on the speedway. Even from thirty feet in the air, Steve heard Dallas's frustrated yell when Sam bashed his car into their, laughing loudly as Natasha sped by in the lane beside them.
When they reached the bottom of the walkway, Tony and Rhodey were standing there waiting to reconvene with the group. Denver ran up to Tony and stuck out her lower lip, "Daddy said we are gonna go see monsters and I don't wanna."
Tony looked to Steve with fake shock and shook his head lightly, "If you don't wanna, you shouldn't have to!"
"We can do something else, Denny." Steve sighed, looking over at Bucky and Sam, "Do you guys wanna see the monsters?"
"Yes. Obviously." Sam answered, then looked to see Bucky flinch when a stranger bumped into him. "Ya'll can do Carousel of Progress. We'll do something fun."
"Okay, Mr. Smarty Pants, we'll see you after." Dallas snapped, then grabbed Denver's hand, "We're going to do the carousel thing."
Ten minutes later, Dallas was regretting her decision, "I thought this was a carousel?"
"It is. Of progress." Steve hissed loudly and Denver shushed him, staring at the animatronic dog as it tilted its head and barked. Steve looked over at Bucky at his left, seeing his friend's eyes wide and fearful as the theater began to turn and the music played. "You okay, Buck?"
"This reminds me of the Stark Expo. Remember that?"
"I do, it's the night I met Erskine." Steve whispered, wondering if that was what was bothering Bucky so much, "Reminds me a bit of Howard. I saw some old clips, he did several more expos over the years before he died."
"Yeah…" Bucky trailed off, blinking before jumping to his feet and storming out of the theater.
Steve and Dallas looked up at him together as the cast member asked him to take a seat, but he pushed open the door and the theater stopped and the show reset itself. Dallas opened her mouth, stammering for a moment before asking, "What was that about? Is he okay?"
"I don't know, I'll talk to him. Stay with Denny." Steve explained quickly as the era began again, sprinting past the cast member yelling at him to take a seat as he slipped out the door.
Steve found Bucky pacing the outside of the building as it turned, clenching his left hand to his mouth as he stared at the ground, "What's wrong, Bucky? Talk to me."
"I think I killed him."
"Who?" Steve asked, not following his friend's thought. "What are you talking about?"
"I killed Howard." Bucky said quietly, finally looking up to meet Steve's eyes, "I think I killed Tony's dad."
Steve swallowed hard, blinking away his shock as he grabbed Bucky's shoulder, "Are you sure?"
"I remember him. Or… he remembered me. They showed me a clip of him at his expo before they sent me to kill him. He called me Sergeant Barnes, and I bashed his face in."
Rubbing his hand roughly over his face, Steve was unaware that his young daughter had sprinted from the theater and was running up behind them, "And his mom?"
"I killed her, too."
"Daddy!" Denver yelped when she reached them, stretching her arms up as a cast member panted behind her. When the woman saw who had the little girl, she waved awkwardly and ducked back into the building to give them some privacy.
Steve looked back to Bucky and whispered, "We don't mention this to anybody. We'll figure something out, nobody needs to know yet. Not now, not here."
"I killed Tony's parents, Steve, I can't keep this from him." Bucky looked over at the theater as the crowd emerged, led by Dallas as she ran towards them, "We'll talk about this later."
"What the heck was that?" Dallas snapped as she scooped up Denver, "I told you to stay!"
"I wanted to follow Daddy." Denver said matter of factly, looking around, "Where's Auntie Nat?"
"She's with the others at the Monsters Inc. show, the one you didn't want to see." Dallas answered as she glared at Steve and Bucky, "You two okay?"
Steve looked to Bucky, who snapped his jaw shut, unable to lie to his girl. "We're fine," Steve answered slowly, never taking his eyes off of his friend, "Right, Buck?"
Bucky just nodded and smiled weakly as Dallas set Denver down, and the child sprinted into the crowd when she saw the other Avengers emerging from the show. When they reached them, Tony groaned, "They made me That Guy, and said I had to buy everyone churros. So, I guess I'm buying out the nearest churro cart."
"It's charity." Rhodey teased and Pietro rushed off, returning with a cinnamon roll almost as big as his face. "Dude, are you even paying for this stuff?"
"Of course, I am!" Pietro snapped back, looking over at his sister and shaking his head, mouthing, 'No I'm not'.
Steve looked back at Bucky, seeing his friend twitching nervously as he held Dallas's hand as he looked from Tony to Steve to the pathway leading towards the exit, clearly wanting to escape. If Bucky ran though, they'd ask why, and Steve would have to explain in the middle of the Magic Kingdom that Howard and Maria Stark weren't killed in a car accident, but instead murdered by the Winter Soldier, who was spending the week at a theme park on their orphaned son's dollar. Steve chuckled nervously and looked down at Denver, knowing he had to protect the Avengers and his best friend at any cost, "So, where to next?"