With everything going on in the world I just wanna say one thing. STAY HOME! Stay home, just stay home. Please for the love of God stay home. It's not that hard. As an essential worker I need to go to work. Hell my whole family are classified as essential workers so that's even worse as it's five times more of a chance that the whole family, plus two kids under the age of ten, can get sick. STAY HOME.

Now that that is out of the way, here we are. Finally the third chapter of Lighthouse. But I try to post both Ascension and Lighthouse at the same time with the same numbered chapter so this took a bit. Some people to thank: deathwatch and kaia the guest. ALSO: Mention of suicide. You have been warned. Let's go.


Steve could be honest and say he had been relieved to see Tony pull up to the Compound. As much as he loved Bruce he knew they would have floundered for months trying to figure out both the quantum realm and how to use it to time travel. And while it was true Tony's genius was unparalleled and desperately needed, the Brooklynite was also just happy to see, be around, and work with his, hopefully, friend again.

But at this moment, driving through the Vermont countryside with Tony in the passenger, he was apprehensive. When the other man had shown up and asked if they were getting a whole team they had actually been ahead of him. Nebula and Rocket were inbound and upon arrival Rocket and Bruce were gonna head over to New Asgard. Rhodey was already on his way to the Compound and Natasha had also just left, piloting a quinjet to Japan.

As for Steve, he had already been set to take this trip but he figured it'd be best for Tony to come with. To get it out of the way. He hoped he was right.

"So who are we seeing?" asked Tony when Steve stopped the car in the long drive way leading to the large farm house in the distance, not unlike Clint's old home when they had to hide from Ultron. It was faded white, three stories with a covered porch, and dark green roofing. A very typical New England country home.

The genius glanced over at him as the pair stepped out of the car. "You're being very secret-squirrelly about this. Seriously who lives up here?"

Before Steve could answer their possible recruit suddenly appeared at the front bumper, studying them.

Blue eyes took in the super soldier. "Steve." Those same irises glanced over to the silent man on the passenger side. The blond watched the tense stand off between the pair, knowing that according to the others the two hadn't left off on the best of terms last time they saw each other. Steve wasn't one to hold onto grudges much but he knew that wasn't the case for everyone, especially the younger man before them.

At last the white-haired man gave a nod. "Hello Tony."

His voice seemed to shake the elder out of his stupor, sending a nod back along with an awkward wave. "Hey Pietro."

The Sokovian gave the faintest of smiles before looking to Steve again, shifting to wariness. "Your phone call, you said you wanted to talk. About what?"

"Probably be better to sit down somewhere, it's a long story."

Pietro's eyes turned hard, crossing his arms. "Then give me short story. Only then will I decide if you come inside for long story."

Steve could see Tony glancing back and forth between them, no doubt reading the tension between him and Pietro. As far as Tony knew the pair were friendly toward each other but things had changed.

Steve let out a small sigh. "We might have figured out a way to bring everyone back-"

"Like last time." Pietro's voice was steel, accent heighten with sharp edges, matching the glare now directed at the super soldier.

"No." Steve tried to placate. "This one is tangible. Real."

Pietro was quiet, studying Steve before he spoke again, instead turning to the genius. "Tony, you are here which means you know what the plan is and are making whatever might be needed. Can it work?"

Tony hesitated for a moment, probably still put off by Pietro but he ended up nodding. "I'm not gonna sugarcoat it. I can make what we need but whether the actual plan works is something else entirely. Just…hear us out."

Pietro's face was stone, his eyes glancing back and forth between them. Finally he gave a short nod. "Come up to the house, make sure to wipe your feet at the door."

And then he was gone.

Tony looked over at Steve, his arms up in the air. "You couldn't have mentioned him during the drive?"

The super soldier starting walking down the gravel road toward the house. Pietro wasn't the reason for his silence.

~~~Lighthouse~~~

Tony wasn't sure what he was expecting when he suddenly found himself at Pietro's home but the Dora Milaje who answered the door definitely wasn't it. Especially the curly-haired child strapped to her back by a blanket. Steve greeted them both by the names Nceba and Luka while Tony could only manage a small wave.

She nodded at them both and beckoned them to follow through the house. Tony trailed behind Steve, and maybe because he was a father now, but he couldn't help watch Luka. The toddler, no more than possibly two years old with blue eyes, was turned around and looking at the pair. Or really looking at Tony.

He had given the soldier a smile when they saw each other, which meant chances were that Luka knew him well and was use to the blond's presence but he'd never met Tony. Which explained the stare down the older man was getting.

They turned down a hallway off the living room, bypassing a couple closed doors before stepping through an opened doorway, a mix of an office and library, where they were met with four other kids reading, all in various ages and races. Tony quirked an eyebrow as Nceba gave a few words that scattered the children, leaving the adults alone.

"Wait just a moment." Nceba gave them both nods before leaving, little Luka flashing a quick wave. The click of the door closing was loud in the room.

"Okay, what just happened?" Tony asked, walking over to the shelves of photos to investigate further.

From behind him Steve's voice floated through the room. "In the beginning, after Thanos, a lot of kids orphaned. Pietro and Nat started rounding up the ones that had no extended family or nowhere to go. They found this place, set everything up. It got harder for Natasha to do this and Avenging so Pietro took over, with some help from a few others."

Made sense, at the time Pietro probably had the most experience taking care of children behind Clint. A picture of Nceba and Pietro caught Tony's attention. They were somewhere tropical, Wakanda no doubt, and both had on smiles with the speedster's arm wrapped around the woman's waist. The next photo of them was much more subdued, probably after Thanos, the smiles not as bright but still happy considering Nceba's swollen stomach.

"Her and Pietro huh? They get married?"

"Yeah. Been a few years now."

Shit, he was so far out of the loop he didn't even know when a former teammate had gotten married and had a kid.

Another photo, this one candid, had only Pietro but this time he was holding a swaddled baby, gazing down at the newborn with what could only be wonder. Tony remembered those moments holding Morgan at that age. "And Luka, how old is he?"

"He turned two last month."

Tony caught a few more pictures, of Pietro and his family, a few of Nceba and various children, from the orphanage he was sure. He froze on one particular picture.

It was Wanda and Jamie. Both wore large identical smiles and blue hats, cuddled close in the photo. God, when was the last time he had seen Jamie? The week of the Accords? She'd been younger than even Luka though her enhancements had always made her seem older. In the picture she was around three or four, which meant… There was a lump in Tony's throat. She would have been around the same age as Morgan when she'd been taken.

Ignoring the burn in his eyes, he kept going, seeing a snapshot of Pietro mid laugh with Jamie hanging off his neck. Wanda and Jamie asleep, the little girl sprawled on top of her mother. Another picture of Wanda and…

Tony took a step closer, because he had to be wrong. But even the shortened distance couldn't change what he was seeing.

Holy shit. He was looking at a picture of Wanda and Barnes. What the hell. She was smiling, they both were, and they looked happy. They looked…like a couple?! Barnes, quirked smile, was sitting down on a couch with a grinning Wanda side-cuddling innocently on his lap, the soldier's hands lightly clutching her waist and thighs. And was one of those hands flesh?

Tony kept looking, eyes greedy as he took it all in. Another photo, this one a close up with their heads tilted together, both doing goofy faces to the camera. One photo with the Maximoff twins, Nceba, and Barnes all sitting on benches with a large dog at their feet and a lake in the background during what looked like a barbeque somewhere tropical. Wakanda again?

Then he saw a picture of a smirking Barnes holding an equaling smirking Jamie.

Tony was so sure even Steve could hear the synapses firing off in his brain. He knew he practically could. The color of the eyes, the shape and curve of the lopsided smirk. Suddenly it was like the floor had disappeared beneath his feet, remembering all the little pieces that were now sliding into place.

The matching slate blue eyes. Their glares identical. Tony remembered Barnes' stony expression in Berlin and he pulled up the various memories of Jamie's own glower, like when Clint smeared her face with frosting or, more abundantly, the scowl she always directed at Vision.

The toddler's accelerated development that Tony was now certain had nothing to do with Wanda's stone-given enhancements and everything to do with Barnes' Hydra serum.

Not only that, Tony had studied Barnes' file repeatedly. There had been a hole spanning a couple of months at the beginning of two-thousand fourteen, right up until just a few days before the whole Shieldra mess, when Wanda and Pietro had already been embroiled with the organization. He'd just thought Hydra had him in storage but apparently not. Jamie had been about four months old when they met her which would have put her conception…just before the Shield exposure.

Wanda had even made Steve Jamie's godfather. Had she know the entire time or did she only find out after becoming an Avenger?

Hell even the girl's name was a give away. Jamie, the fucking feminine form of James. What kind of genius was he? Had Pietro known this entire time? Steve?

If this was five or four years ago Tony would have probably lost it. But now, he wasn't sure what he was feeling. He wanted to be angry but just felt empty. He had been telling the truth when he'd told Steve resentment was corrosive and he hated it. But actual hate, the same he'd had those years back for Barnes, it was just as corrosive and oh so tiring to maintain.

So he pushed back whatever grim feelings were trying to build within him and kept studying the pictures, getting a different perspective of the man he'd once tried to kill.

There were more photos of a smiling Barnes and Jamie that also starred others, most with Wanda but Pietro made a few appearances along with Nceba, Shuri, T'Challa, and even Okoye. Surprisingly he didn't see any of Steve or the rogue Avengers. Unsurprisingly, he knew Steve would have kept himself and the others away if it meant keeping the small family safe.

God only knew what would have happened had Ross found out about Jamie. No doubt she'd be poked, prodded, and torn apart for "science." Pietro's words from all those years ago flashed through his head. Thank God the Accords had gotten abolished. Even then, Tony would have put a repulsor blast through the man before he even touched her.

Oh. Tony froze, his mind churning at his new finding. The photo showed Wanda laying down with a grin while Jamie and Barnes were on the either side of her, kissing the Sokovian's lightly swollen belly. Oh God.

Uneasy Tony jumped from one photo to another, watching as Barnes' smile grew wider and giddier while Wanda's stomach expanded larger and larger. Far larger than even Pepper or how Laura had been those years back. And considering the Maximoff siblings, could only mean…

There it was. Barnes and Wanda were smiling, tired but happy, in the middle of a group that consisted of Jamie, Shuri, Pietro, T'Challa, Queen Ramonda, Nceba, and Okoye. In Queen Ramonda and Pietro's arms was a child each, both wrapped in a vibrantly colored blanket, Shuri on her mother's side looking two seconds from snatching the baby away.

There were other pictures, Barnes smiling and holding both babies in his arms with Jamie hanging around his shoulder as she gazed down at her siblings, Shuri and Ramonda playing with the new twins, the family of five with the others at a clear lake. There was quite a few with the family at what looked like a homestead with a round shaped home, chicken coop, and a goat pen too by the looks of it. Another photo of Jamie and the Barnes twins who seemed to be in the very early walking-running stage, no doubt thanks to the serum coursing through their veins, standing amongst a garden.

But, studying the photos, Tony could see when the ages of the kids stopped. Which could only mean one thing. The genius' next words were hoarse. "The twins too?"

The taller man knew what he was asking. Steve was quiet for a moment before letting out a soft, "Yeah."

"Shit." Tony looked down, trying to gain control. God if he lost Pepper and Morgan.

The door creaked open just then and Tony turned around to face the Maximoff male. "Pietr…"

But he trailed off on whatever he was going to say because the Sokovian wasn't alone. Entering the room behind Pietro was Nceba sans Luka and…Barnes. He was just as large as he last saw him but he seemed more drawn inward, and his hair was cut short, even shorter than the old videos from the war. He wore jeans, a navy t-shirt and, regardless of being inside, a dark jacket. But it was the man's expression that threw Tony.

Blank. That's how he would describe him. The smiling man from the photos was so vastly different, such at odds with who was before him Tony was sure this wasn't even Barnes. It couldn't be. No, this person was who he fought in Berlin. This was the Winter Soldier. What the fuck.

Nceba placed herself by the door, spear in hand while Pietro stood at her side with arms crossed and Barnes, or whoever this was, took the seat behind the desk.

He nodded at Tony, "Stark," and seemed only to just be able to hold back a scowl at Steve. "Rogers."

If the barely veiled hint of hostility from Barnes to his old friend was surprising to the genius then Steve nodding back with a sad expression and greeting him with the name, "Sully," completely threw the elder Stark.

"I'm sorry," Tony lifted a hand. "I'm a bit confused. Why does Ice Bear look like he wants to punch Capsicle and why did you call him Sully?"

Barnes, or Sully or whoever this person was, raised an eyebrow at Steve, lips thinning into a frown and damn if Jamie hadn't used that same expression whenever someone had tried to use baby talk on her.

"Let me guess, you didn't tell him."

Steve let out a sigh. "Kinda hard to explain, especially considering the circumstances."

Sully or Barnes, whatever, let out an almost dismissive hum, turning to Tony. "I'm not Barnes. I technically have no name but I've been called a few names over the years. Asset, Fist of Hydra, Zimniy Soldát-"

Tony stopped him with a sharp wave of his hand. "You-you're the Winter Soldier?"

"In a way." This was from Pietro who wandered closer to Barnes' side, Nceba looking tense at her post. It struck Tony that they were preparing for a fight. Of course they would be thinking that if his and Barnes' last meeting was anything to go by. But he didn't want to fight.

He tried relaxing his body, speaking causally. "What does that mean?"

"It means that was just what Hydra called me but they're not the ones who made me," spoke the dark haired man. "Barnes did. I'm an alternate personality of his. Sully is the name Jamie gave me."

Alternate personality? Tony wagged a finger at the man behind the desk, motioning to his person. "So this is a Sybil thing?" He got three blank, confused stares for his quip. Tony almost sighed. Why did everyone have atrocious pop knowledge? "A TV show starring Sally Field about a woman with Multiple Personality Disorder. Which is apparently an actual thing."

"They don't call it that any more." Steve spoke up, sounding tired suddenly. "Dissociative Identity Disorder. In an effort to protect himself from what Hydra did to him Bucky's mind broke, shattered. These 'personalities' would take over when things got bad. Sully was one of four."

"Usually people with DID had some kind of trauma, more often than a severe case of physical and-or sexual abuse, as kids and it all manifests when they're older." Barnes, or Sully he supposed, kept eye contact with Tony as he spoke. "But for Barnes it was the war plus all that Hydra did to him. The surgery on the arm, the verbal, physical, and psychological abuse, not to mention who knows how much volts they shot through his brain. All that taking place continuously for twenty years was bound to have an impact."

Tony was quiet, trying to come to terms with the information given to him. He'd read the files back after the fall of Shieldra and Steve coming to him for help. He'd only been able to stomach the first three before he'd had Jarvis scan them and give him the footnotes.

"And the others? The three other personalities?"

"Gone more or less. They merged back with Barnes you could say. They were created before me, at the beginning years of captivity. Maybe even when Hydra first grabbed him back in forty-four. And they did help him. At least for awhile. After nearly twenty years of Hydra's torture even the personalities meant to protect him were in pain and then I was created. I did what it took to keep Barnes and the others safe."

Tony ignored that last statement and instead nodded that he understood. He'd have to research this condition when he got back to the compound.

"Now that story time is over," Sully leaned forward, resting his arms on the desk. "Pietro told me you wanted to talk. So talk."

Tony glanced over at Steve unsure of how to start this conversation, especially considering Pietro's reaction earlier. He wasn't sure how Sully would take it.

"Scott calls it The Time Heist." Steve started, nodding in his direction. "Tony figured out the how-to, so he just needs to make it and test it out. Once that's done, we pick the targets and-"

"You're stalling." Sully was frowning at Steve. "What are you really planning? What's the reason for all this?"

The pair entered a slight stare down, enough tension that Tony couldn't help himself. "We're gonna use time travel to get the infinity stones from other points in history and bring them here so we can use 'em ourselves. To bring the others back."

Tony got a quick glance and a raised eyebrow from Sully before the brunet turned back to Steve, glaring at the other super soldier. "Is he telling the truth? Is that why you're here? You're looking for help?"

Steve paused and Tony could see him tense up. It took another second before the blond spoke. "Yes."

Sully leaned back, his expression more of a grimace. "I can't speak for Pietro or even Nceba, if they wanna go with you to help that's fine." At this Sully stood up, scowling at Steve. "As for me, I don't want anything to do with this."

Tony was startled by the turn of events, hearing the biting tone in Sully's words. Steve took a few steps forward, Nceba matching him with her spear tilting forward but Sully stopped her with a quickly spoken word of Xhosa.

The tall blond, for his part, stayed where he was especially with the way Nceba was glaring at him. "Please Sully. This isn't like last time-"

"This is exactly like last time." The other man growled. "I told you then how bad of an idea it was. Giving him hope, feeding it. And when your plan failed? Well, we all know how that turned out. I was made to protect Barnes and I almost failed because of you."

"Sully-"

Sully jabbed a finger at Steve, growling. "Don't Rogers. I'm not gonna risk it. Not after last time. If Nceba and Pietro want to help I have no problem with that. They don't need my permission but they have my blessing. But like I said, I won't be involved."

The super soldier left, passing the married couple and slamming the office door. Tony's mind was racing. What had happened in the last few years that had led to this?

Steve let out a sign, turning to the couple still in the room. "That went better then I expected."

Nceba quirked an eyebrow. "That was better than expected?"

Steve gave a slight shrug. "He didn't hit me." Pietro nodded in agreement.

"So…" Tony trailed off, looking at the pair. "Whose up for a DeLorean road trip?"

Pietro looked over at Nceba. "Head out to the cars, we'll be a moment."

The two former co-leaders saw themselves out, giving little waves and slight smiles to the numerous children that peered curiously back at them from doorways. They were just reaching the car when Tony couldn't help himself.

"What happened last time?"

Steve turned to him. "Hmm?"

Tony waved a hand behind himself, indicating the house. "I must have heard those words at least four, five times. 'Last time. Last time.' And it was damn near always said with some kind of anger. So what's this infamous 'last time'?"

Steve let out another sigh, leaning against the front fender. "Bucky…Bucky had been holding Wanda when she-when it happened. And he immediately spiraled. Tearing at his hair, choking on air, he just wasn't breathing. Started shaking. I tried talking to him, letting him know I was gonna touch his shoulder but he was too far in his head to register. He gave me a good shove. And then suddenly he gasped and took off." The blond paused, his face falling further. Tony had a feeling he knew where this was going. "Wanda and Buck had had Pietro watching the kids back at their place. And when he got there…Pietro was by himself. Jamie. Alec and Stephanie. They were…they…" Steve shook his head.

Son of a bitch. Tony let out a sigh. "Was that the 'last time?'"

"No actually. Last time was right when you got back to Earth. We all decided to go after Thanos, to get the stones from him. Bucky…hadn't been Bucky for awhile. Sully had taken over in the weeks after the first snap. So when I told them the plan, Pietro was all for it but Sully didn't like it. He didn't want to tell Bucky about it but apparently he was just below the surface and he heard what we were planning and managed to take back control. He suited up and joined us. But…" Steve paused, his voice just a bit shaky. "But when we found out Thanos had destroyed the stones? When we lost our chance at getting everyone back? Bucky, he…he uh.."

"He put a gun to his head."

The two men jolted at the new voice, turning to see that Pietro had crept up on them, duffel bag hanging from his hand and eyes glaring at Steve. "That's what you were going to say, weren't you?"

Shit. Shit. Barnes had… Tony was suddenly reminded of Clint. He'd lost his family the same way and he'd gone off the rails. Tony felt shame bloom. He knew what had happened, Natasha had gone to the new house and found it deserted. Tony had been angry, too angry at Steve in the beginning, and Clint had slipped through the cracks. Would Clint have done the same thing? Would he have attempted the same desperate move only to think of the now alternative? Or would Barnes have drifted like Clint had?

"Without Wanda and the children James went mad. And he pulled the trigger." Pietro opened the back passenger door and threw the bag in but stayed put, staring at Tony as he spoke. "Sully tried to take over but James was too desperate, too determined so he did the only thing he could do. He took control of James' hand, managing to move the barrel up just in time. The bullet only grazed him, healing in less than an hour, but the damage was already done. After that James let go and Sully took over. That is 'last time.'"

Pietro flicked his eyes at the blond soldier before ducking down into the car, the door snapping shut. Tony let out a ragged breath, turning to see the quiet devastation on Steve's face before it smoothed over, the only hint of turmoil being the furrowing of his brows.

"When was the last time you actually saw or talked to Barnes?" Tony wasn't sure why he asked. He had a feeling he knew the answer, they pretty much had spelled it out, but he was kinda hoping for a different response.

Steve didn't say anything, staying where he was leaning up against the car, but then he straightened and went to open the driver door. Only to pause. Blue eyes shot up to meet Tony's own.

"Five years. The last time I spoke to or saw Bucky was five years ago." With that Steve got back into the car, leaving Tony by himself as he mulled over all he'd learned in the small amount of time they'd been up here.

Pietro had gotten married and had a kid while Barnes was a bona fide Sybil who just happened to be Jamie's father but also the father of two more kids with Wanda. And he'd gone suicidal when he'd lost them all.

Tony lowered himself in the car, gaze turned out the window as the car began moving, the children's home falling further and further behind.

He thought about Barnes holding Wanda as she disappeared, wondered if she had clung to the man as Peter had clung to him, desperate to stay. A glance at his wedding ring had him thinking of Pepper and Morgan but also the one photo he had spotted in that office.

Wanda and Barnes' positions, smiles on their lips as they gazed at each other, Jamie at their hip, smiling wide. Shuri behind Wanda with a bouquet of wild flowers and a larger man, M'Baku if Tony remembered, at Barnes' back, a little off to the left. T'Challa and Queen Ramonda standing in the middle of the pair, just a bit outside. And everyone was dressed in vibrant yet extravagant attire. Special attire.

Tony clenched his left hand, feeling his ring dig into his flesh. That was one thing he was sure he had in common with Barnes. Would he turn suicidal? The jury was still out on that but lose his mind? No doubt. Tony knew he'd go mad if he lost his wife and child, his family. Like Barnes had lost his.


Writing Tony is very difficult. He's got great quips while I have none. I never what to do that again. Hopefully that'll be the last time. Also came up with some ideas for TFAWS and WandaVision(more likely a one shot as it doesn't match my world) but also at least a couple of fics Post Endgame but also alternate timeline. One fic starring two very special people. Already typing that one up but I can't post it until Lighthouse is finished. Anywho hope everyone liked it. Not sure when I'll post again. Peace out. -Mez