"You good with sharing a floor with Capsicle, Barnes?"
Barnes blinks in surprise at being asked. Someone cares about what he wants? Since when does anyone care about his wants? Still, he nods and Steve smiles, placing a hand on his shoulder.
Stark claps his hands together and continues, "Great! You can leave your backpack in the guest bedroom there then—"
"No," Barnes says firmly. His metal fist closes tightly around one of the backpack's straps, the backpack itself resting at his feet. "No, it's staying with me."
Stark tilts his head in confusion but raises his hands, "Alright, Snowflake. Can I ask why?"
"Memories," is all the explanation Barnes gives.
Stark and the others still look confused but Barnes doesn't elaborate. Stark shrugs and goes on:
"Then let's head up to my lab. I want to get a look at that arm, be sure there's no tracking devices or anything that could hurt you or us. Bruce?"
The other man nods and stands to join Stark. Barnes' brows furrowed as he pictures being poked and prodded and while he doesn't like it, he nods. They need to be sure HYDRA can't track him. Barnes stands and slips his arms through the backpack straps. Steve stands with him and follows as Stark leads their group towards the elevator.
"Will you guys do some more research?" Steve suggests hopefully to the other three Avengers.
Romanoff nods, "We'll find what we can."
Steve smiles and then they're gone. Stark whistles happily as the elevator moves. Banner gives a sheepish smile to Barnes and it confuses him. Why would someone smile at him? Don't they know what he's done? He's murdered so many people. Steve stands next to Barnes, a quiet, reassuring presence.
It takes a minute or two until the elevator doors slide open and they're in what must be Stark's lab. It's a large place, blue screen and holograms filling the space, along with work tables with various projects placed on them. Iron Man armour, some sort of bow and arrow, a strange, futuristic-looking gun. There's a TV mounted on one wall and tall, blacked-out windows along another. There's a small room just outside the elevator with a glass door to get into the lab itself with a small, high-tech keypad next to it.
Stark leads them out of the elevator and into the lab. He waves a hand to a few of the projects and explains them before settling near the center of the lab at an empty workbench.
"Have a seat, Snowflake," Stark says, gesturing to the stool nearby.
Barnes glances at Steve and sits down. He looks around again, spots various escape routes, before tuning back in to Stark's words.
"Alright, can you at least roll up your sleeve so I can see the entire arm?"
In response, Barnes sets his backpack down between his feet, shrugs his sweater off and pulls his shirt over his head. He folds the clothes neatly and places them next to him on the steel workbench. He falls back into the still posture HYDRA doctors demanded of him, metal arm at his side until ready to be worked on.
"Wow," Banner muses. He doesn't step closer but Barnes can feel his intense gaze. "It binds right into your skin… I didn't think it went so far over your shoulder… And is that scar tissue at the edge there?"
Stark hums, his voice tense as he speaks, "It looks like scratch marks, like he tried to claw the arm off at some point."
Steve makes a sort of choked noise from his position a few feet away from Barnes. Barnes looks at him to see the pain in Steve's eyes and he automatically wants to reassure him, to comfort him, but he doesn't know how. Steve is seeing just how tortured he was for decades. How can you ease that kind of pain? By saying it's alright? It wasn't. By saying he's fine? He's not.
"Steve," Barnes murmurs quietly.
The man blinks and something in Barnes' gaze must reassure him because the blond swallows tightly and releases a shuddering breath, his tense stance loosening ever so slightly.
Stark gives a small hum and moves a step closer. "Alright, Sergeant, I'm going to come closer to get a look at the arm."
Barnes nods. He doesn't feel uncomfortable but he's not exactly happy. Stark isn't like HYDRA but Barnes doesn't like being examined. Not after all the uncaring sessions he's endured, where all that mattered was getting it done and done correctly. Still, he makes a series of gestures with his metal fingers, a series of finger positions and signs, and the arm becomes limp, two plates in the bicep sliding open into two separate compartments.
"Ready for examination," Barnes mumbles, staring ahead of him. Then he blinks and lets out a huff, dragging his mind away from the familiar path of hiding away in his few thoughts and letting himself be poked and prodded. He shakes his head and looks at Stark to explain, "It won't move until you press this button inside."
Barnes used his flesh hand to point to a small red button in the smaller of the newly opened compartments. From the larger one, he pulls out a small multi-tool and holds it out for the billionaire.
"You have this inside the arm?" Stark asks, taking the multi-tool curiously. He fiddles a bit with it, opening the various tools, "I haven't seen anything like this…"
"It's made specifically for my arm," Barnes replies, his voice soft. He never seems to be able to speak any louder. "Just in case it needs fixing while on a mission. I know enough to be able to fix it and keep it working until the handlers can get it fixed."
"Neat," Stark muses.
"Does it need fixing often?" Banner asks, now looking at the silver multi-tool that Stark had handed to him.
Barnes shrugs. "Sometimes unfreezing makes something go wrong. The wires or the joints. Missions sometimes break it, like a thin knife in just the right place. Or someone slams their unbreakable shield into it and dislodges a few plates."
Steve gives a small snort, just what Barnes was looking for and he finds a small grin crawling up his lips.
"To be fair," Steve retorts, "You were trying to stab me with your fancy knife tricks."
Barnes' grin widens and a small chuckle passes his lips. It's a strange sound, a foreign feeling, but welcome all the same. It feels so good to be free enough to laugh again, to joke with someone who feels so familiar.
Stark, having walked off to grab the proper tools, returns and stops next to Barnes. He places a set of things on the workbench before beginning to examine the metal limb.
"So those gestures just put this baby to sleep until the button's pressed?" Stark confirms. Barnes nods so Stark, making sure Barnes can see his movements and intentions, lifts the arm slightly then lets it drop back down. "So there's some sort of trigger in those movements… Anything else? Any other hidden compartments?"
"No. But all the plates can slide apart for interior access and there is a way to open the multi-tool compartment without making the arm sleep. The doctors didn't like having it active when checking it though."
"I can see why," Stark says with a grin, "This thing is amazing. Attached right into your nervous system and fully functional. And to be from seventy years ago? It's incredible."
"But you could do better," Banner adds on, sounding like he knows those words are coming.
Stark's grin turns to a smirk. "Of course. And I'm going to do better."
"What do you mean, Tony?" Steve asks apprehensively.
"I'm gonna make a better one, Capsicle," Stark replies with a roll of his eyes. "Tracking devices or not, I'm replacing this old thing, no matter how shiny it is. I'm thinking a shoulder joint that can rotate three hundred and sixty degrees, I'm sure I could get even more power into that grip and a little computer in the forearm—"
"Why?"
Stark stops at Barnes' voice. "Why not?"
Barnes looks at him, his brows furrowed and a frown on his lips. "Why would you want to replace it? Why do something so hard for someone like me? You can't trust me."
Stark's confusion melts into a surprisingly gentle look and his voice is much less action and anticipation filled as he replies, "Because, Snowflake, you need a fresh start. And maybe because I want to make something as cool as this and see it be put to good use." Barnes doesn't say anything and Stark sighs, "Look, my dad would tell me stories about you and Cap. Maybe you're not that guy anymore, but I can't just let you walk around with something that's bound to give you nightmares attached to your body. I'm an asshole but I'm not that much of an asshole."
Barnes frowns, still lost as to why Stark would do this. "I killed your parents…"
Instead of looking furious like Barnes expected—maybe like he hoped—Stark only huffs, rolls his eyes and retorts:
"Geez, Snowflake, don't remind me. Doesn't change anything, you're getting a new arm."
Barnes' frown and confusion both deepen. He looks at Steve and Banner but Steve looks just as confused and Banner shrugs.
"Tony's right," he says. "It's best to replace it, to get rid of HYDRA's weapon and replace it with something not associated with HYDRA at all."
Slowly, Barnes nods, deciding that makes sense. Stark has already begun to examine the arm, placing it up on the workbench to poke around and try to get the plates to open.
"What about midnight blue?" He chatters, not really expecting an answer as he goes. "I think you're a midnight blue kind of guy. Maybe some nice silver or gold highlights. I'll have to see what metal this is… JARVIS, you think we have enough vibranium?"
Barnes' head snaps up, "You can't use—"
"Yes, I damn well can," Stark cuts him off. "It's been sitting in the Stark stores for ages, left over from Capsicle's shield. Never had a project small enough to not need any other metal or good enough to use it for. I never felt the spark of 'this is important enough to use it' until now. Just think, unbreakable shield and unbreakable arm. Perfect."
"There should be just enough vibranium, sir," JARVIS says and the smile in his voice is clear. "May I recommend the midnight iridescent paint along with silver highlights?"
Tony pauses for a moment before his grin widens, "That sounds perfect, JARVIS. Can you pull up a preview for the guys?"
A hologram appears in the space between Barnes, Tony, Steve and Banner. It's a metal arm, much like the one Barnes has now. This one however is black with silver lines winding around it like veins. As the hologram spins slowly, the black seems to shift into dark blue as the lighting angle changes. The arm appears to be detachable at the shoulder joint but the section looks smooth and unseeable when the arm is attached.
Banner nods to himself, inspecting the hologram. "We'll have to figure out the wiring and how it's connected to his body before we can do anything. It's close enough to his heart and lungs that that could be an issue too…"
"Can it work without any problems?" Steve asks, looking stern yet nervous.
"I think so," Banner replies. He gives Barnes a smile, "We'll do our best to make it all quick and painless. I think the sooner that arm is replaced the better. It'll be a new start with a new team. How does that sound, Mr. Barnes?"
Barnes gives him a genuine smile, "It sounds amazing." His smile fades as he remembers, "But we still need to get Theo out of HYDRA."
"And we will." Steve's voice is hard, his expression less Steve and more Captain America. "I'm not going to leave my son in the hands of scum like HYDRA, but until we know more, we'll focus on you, Buck. You're important too."
Barnes can only give him a thankful look, not trusting his voice at the moment. Steve says it with such feeling and passion that Barnes can't doubt in it's truth. He's important. He's important to someone. And not just one person, but a group. He doesn't know the Avengers that well but they care about him and he's grateful.
Run rabbit, run rabbit, run, run, run
Run rabbit, run rabbit, run, run, run
Four heads look up as the song echoes in the room. Tony and Bruce both frown but like Steve, Barnes gets a strange look of nostalgia.
"Theo loved this song," Steve murmurs quietly, so quietly it's almost lost under the music playing over the speakers. "He sang it constantly."
"JARVIS?" Tony asks in confusion, "What's going on?"
"No idea, sir," the AI replies, sounding just as confused. "It wasn't me but we haven't been hacked either. I would say it appears to be a glitch in the system but given the new information regarding the Black Infiltrator, I can't be sure."
Bruce frowns worriedly, "Could he have gotten into the tower's system without JARVIS knowing?"
"Maybe," Tony says, frowning as well. "I've put up every security feature I know, this place should be impossible to hack, but given this sick metal arm from the forties, I'm not so sure HYDRA's beneath me anymore.
"Then we need to be careful," Steve states, crossing his arms. "We need to think like the tower is hacked and watch what we do and say."
Scowling, Tony nods. "Fine. I call dibs on hiring Cap Junior either way."
•••
"Is that true, Reb?" My voice is much weaker than I'd like and I hate it. "Captain America can't be my father, right?"
The camera feed from Stark's lab is still on my computer screen, I can hear them discussing what to do. Rebecca's face is on the monitor beside it, thoughtful and hesitant.
"I think it is, General," she says slowly. "The Avengers have no way of knowing we are watching them, they have no reason to lie. Facial scans show enough similarities between the Captain and yourself for it to be possible. And he knew your song."
"But it makes no sense," I reply in desperation. "Why would I be here? Why would I have been raised by Armin Zola if he wasn't my real father?"
A number of files appear on one of my screens, the camera feed getting pushed to one side. I recognize the files, documents and camera recording of the Winter Soldier. Scenes of him being wiped again and again, and documents of malfunctions, warnings and… capture?
"The Winter Soldier was captured and wiped," Rebecca says, a frown on her face. I can tell she's scanning files and reading out important information. "He was a soldier in what's now known as World War Two. HYDRA captured him and his team and began experiments on him. After he fell from a train, agents used samples collected from Captain America during previous captures in order to recreate the super soldier serum."
"Where were these files?" I ask tightly, my throat becoming dryer. "I don't remember these files."
From Rebecca's look, I know something is wrong. "From a hidden drive," she replies, her voice just as tense. "There are more files that they kept hidden from us, Gen. Files on the Winter Soldier and on you."
These files appear on my screen, a list of documents, experiment observations and records. As my eyes scan over each of them, I can feel my stomach drop.
Forming the Winter Soldier.
Rehabilitation of Theodore Rogers.
Memory suppressant pills.
Keeping the Assets hidden.
The Assets' trigger words.
A low hiss passes my lip, my fingers clenched tight on the edge of my desk. "So it's true then. HYDRA stole me."