Bucky flexes the metal fingers. Still painful. He's still getting used to the weight. But he knows he'll want both arms for this. So he ignores it.
The plane jolts and he grips the armrest. He hates planes.
Natasha grabs his other hand. Her flesh meets his and he calms a little.
"We'll be there soon."
"I know. You think she was able to catch him at the airport?"
"Lydia was always one of the best of us. She could get in anywhere without people noticing. She'll catch him. We'll land in Heathrow in an hour. He'll be there."
He nods. Closing his eyes and leaning his head back.
—
12 hours ago - DC - Bunker
"You won't believe it." Tony says as he walks into the bunker, phone in hand.
"What?"
"Rogers made it to JFK airport before facial recognition was able to pick him up on security cameras."
Bucky stares at Tony. "JFK… as in… NEW YORK?"
Tony winces, "yep. Guy knew how to avoid a camera."
"He's there now?"
Tony winces again. Bucky wants to sock him. But he doesn't. He's being helpful. Really helpful. Bucky takes a deep breath. "Okay, where is he now?"
"We're still working on that. He's obviously under a fake name, but the footage can't see his ID. So I'm waiting on a call back from my guy at the airport. Then we'll know. But you need to come to New York anyways."
"Why?"
Tony gestures to the stump that is his left arm. "Got something for that at my lab."
Bucky looks at him incredulously, "What do you mean you 'have' something for that?"
"I worked up some prototypes when I heard, they're being fabricating in my lab while I've been here."
"Tony… I haven't had an arm for like a week. How could you do that so quickly?"
Tony laughs. "You don't know me at all do you?"
The simpleness of that phrase cuts through Bucky. "No, Tony, I don't. And I'm sorry. Thank you."
"No problem, Barnes." He looks at his watch. "Quinjet is here. Let's go."
—-
6 hours ago - New York - Tony's Lab
"London, then to Moscow."
Natasha stiffens. "What?" Bucky asks her.
"Moscow."
"Yeah, what about it?"
"The Red Room is in Russia. So is the base he was kept in. He's going back."
"WHAT!" Bucky shouts, his metal arm flexing and causing him to flinch at the sudden pull on his shoulder. "Ah— Ow, f—" he huffs as Tony holds it steady.
Natasha pulls out her phone and is dialing a number.
"Lydia?" Natasha moves far enough away that he can't hear the other side of the conversation. "Yeah, it's me. Listen, are you still in London?" A pause. "Yeah, I need your help. Can you get into Heathrow?—- Yeah, I need you to intercept someone. He's coming in on flight—- Yeah, I'll send the details. And Lydia? He worked in the Red Room, he was a Hydra agent and— I don't know, he—Yeah, yeah, he calls himself the Asset— you knew him?" Bucky's eyes whip to hers and she's staring back at him, "yeah, yeah, catch him, we're on the next flight out. I'd tell you to be careful but— I know. I know. Okay, see you soon."
"Tickets are booked." Tony says seconds after setting his phone down.
"You're coming with us?" Bucky asks surprised.
"Yeah, Barnes. I'm coming. My dad would roll over in his grave if he knew I turned down a chance to help Captain America."
"I thought you hated your dad."
Tony looks sharply at him, "So?"
"Okay then. Let's go."
"Romanoff, call Barton. He has a ticket too." She nods and is dialing again.
—
Bucky wakes up on the bumpy landing. He blinks and feels her hand squeeze his. "I'm glad you were able to sleep some."
He stretches, his shoulder aching. "Me too." She's already pulling out her phone. She turns airplane mode off and waits.
A voice message dings through. Her eyes flit to his as she presses play.
Hey Nat, it's me, uh, you were right. It's him. This is the guy. I tried to get him to stay in London but he refused.
Bucky's hands clench at his jeans
He's got something major going on. He needs medical attention, he's got shrapnel sticking out the back of his head. It's hidden by his hair.
Bucky's breath hitches and Natasha lays a hand on his.
He's agreed to get medical attention after we get to Moscow. He was trying to go back to his base for maintenance. He's real confused. But his bag is checked, so he refused to stay here. I'm sorry. We're on a flight to Moscow in another hour or so. I hope you get this message when you land. I'll call you again when we land and tell you where we're headed.
The message ends and Bucky squeezes his eyes shut.
"She's with him, it's going to be okay."
He looks at her, "I have to get to him, he needs help."
"I know."
—
They meet Tony and Barton at the gate.
"Where is he?" Barton asks.
"On a flight to Moscow." Natasha says with a sigh.
"Shit." Tony grumbles.
"Yeah." Bucky agrees.
"You're going to like this less."
"What?"
Tony hands Bucky his phone with a news video playing
What's got the Avengers in a scramble? Reports have the famous fighting group on a flight to London. Whatever for? Sources say that they are in hiding after the document leak by Natasha Romanov. Other sources report that they are trying to do damage control. But why London? We'll keep you updated.
"I mean, it's garbage news." Clint says, "but why is that bad?"
But Bucky understands. "It means eyes everywhere."
"We should have taken the Quinjet." Clint groans.
"Shield isn't really in the place to be letting us use that for cross Atlantic travel." Natasha scowls. "We need to go book new tickets."
They try to ignore the eyes and phone cameras that follow them.
"When we land in Moscow? We're wearing disguises." Natasha threatens.
Tony huffs in annoyance but doesn't argue.
They're about to get on the plane when Tony grabs Natasha's arm. "Call that girl. The other widow. She shouldn't take him to a hospital. His blood tests with raise all sorts of questions, and his healing factor too. Tell her to get his stuff, get him somewhere safe, and wait for us. Have her send us their location."
Natasha nods and goes to leave a message.
—
The 6 hour flight to Moscow is pure agony. Every thought about what could go wrong between London and landing flies through Bucky' mind.
The landing is smooth and the air is cold when he steps out onto the jetway.
He grinds his teeth. "I thought Sabrina said he hates the cold." Which Bucky knows. Steve hated the cold before he was turned into a robot.
"I don't think he's acting on his own likes and dislikes right now." Natasha says softly.
Bucky pinches the bridge of his nose and nods.
—
They get their bags and haul off to a hotel. They get to their rooms and change. Then use their skills to disappear. Leaving the TV's on in their room and the Do Not Disturb signs on their doors. It won't fool many, but it gives them time to disappear into the crowd in Moscow.
They wear sunglasses and hats and clothes that they would never be caught dead wearing as their usual selves. Natasha has a wig on and Bucky hates it.
But it's necessary. Her face is more recognizable here. They need all the help they can get.
"Okay," Natasha says, looking at her phone. "Her message says two more blocks south, and then one block west. A small apartment at the top of a building."
"And she hasn't said anything about there being any issues?"
"She said that once he had his bag, he was much calmer. He is now just following her orders."
"Her orders?" Bucky bristles at that.
Natasha touches his shoulder. "He's been being ordered around for the last 30 plus years. It's familiar. She's not ordering him to do anything she wouldn't ask him to do if he was fully with it. She even got him to eat something other than his protein rations."
His deep breath steams the air in front of him and he nods, wrapping his arm around her waist and trudging forward.
—
Tony and Clint are behind them as he and Natasha climb the stairs. Natasha dials the number. "Lydia?" A pause. "Yeah, we're here."
Bucky pretends that the shaking in his hands is because of the cold.
—
A petite woman, who he knows could do some major damage if needed, opens the door.
She motions them to come inside and they step through the door.
Tony and Clint follow closely behind and they stand, unsure.
"Hold on. Recluse?" Bucky's head tilts in question and Lydia laughs. "We were called Black Widows and we called him our Golden Recluse."
Barton looks at her, "isn't it Brown Recluse?"
Lydia looks at him, rolling her eyes. "We didn't care, it matched him better."
There's no sound, only he wasn't standing next to her and now he is.
Steve's eyes land on his and Bucky watches as there's a tremor that runs through Steve's body and he crouches, on the defensive, pushing Lydia behind him and there's a knife that is hurtling in the air towards him.
Bucky uses his new metal arm to knock the knife out of the air just in time, eyes wide as he shoves the other three behind him defensively.
"Hey," Lydia calls. "Hey! They're not your enemies. Recluse, listen, stop!" Steve is still crouched, and somehow there's another knife in his hand ready to be thrown, but Lydia doesn't hesitate. She climbs up onto his back and wraps her arms and legs around his torso. "Stop. Stop, they're with us. Remember?" She whistles. A four note tune, the same one he heard on the phone and then looks at Natasha expectantly, who is peeking out from behind Bucky's shoulder.
Natasha whistles and Steve stiffens hearing it.
Lydia, hands wrap around Steve's neck, her legs around his torso, resting her chin on top of Steve's head. "Calm down. They're not here to hurt you. Remember? I said friends were coming?"
Steve straightens, his eyes never leaving Bucky's face. His arms extended, blocking Lydia from them.
Lydia slides down and tugs his arms down, "at ease, Asset." Steve relaxes and it makes Bucky sick. "Asset, please sit." Lydia gestures to a chair and Steve complies.
"Stop." Bucky rasps. "Stop ordering him to do things."
Lydia looks at him, her eyes flash annoyed. Natasha steps forward. "Don't mind him, he's just protective."
Lydia snorts. "Protective. Yeah."
Bucky bristles. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Lydia turns towards him, her glare fierce. She stands behind Steve, her hands resting on his shoulders as he stares at them. "You know, I never knew who he was. Didn't grow up in American schools, never knew you or your history. Even after they found you in the ice, I still didn't know anything about you. Didn't need to. But then Natasha calls, saying someone I know needs help. So, I help. He saved my life." Her hand runs over Steve's hair, and Bucky watches him blink slowly at the touch. "Then we're getting off the plane in Moscow and he's checking his bag. And I see something." She makes a motion to a bag that's on the couch, and Bucky can see the shield barely poking out of it. His heart clenches. "And I think to myself, I know I've seen that before." She glares at Bucky. "You. You fighting with it in DC on the news. And I started to look you up. Sergeant Barnes. Second in Command to Captain America. I didn't know much about him, but one google image search pulls up a propaganda poster and suddenly my world tips sideways." Her hands gently rest against Steve's chest. And Bucky wants to rip her hands away because Steve can't even choose whether he wants her to touch him or not. But he stands rigid, quiet. He needs her help. Steve's listening to her, they need her. For now. "You woke up from the ice and didn't even go looking for him?"
His breath leaves in a whoosh. "I didn't know he was alive."
Her brow furrows. "He has the same healing factor that you have, right? Stronger even?"
He nods.
"Okay, so… Why didn't you look for him when he fell from the train?"
She stabs him through the heart with that question. Because it's the question he's asked himself now a thousand times since he found out Steve was alive. "I should have." He rasps. "No one thought he could have survived that fall. We should have checked."
"Damn right." Lydia says harshly, "do you even know what he's been through?" Her hands tighten on Steve's shirt and Bucky watches as Steve tenses, reacting to the stress in the room.
"Lydia." Natasha says, "you don't even know the half of it."
She glares at Natasha, "What do you mean?"
Natasha has come prepared. She hands pictures and stills from the videos. Snippets of Steve's body and torture. Lydia flips through them at lightning speed, shoving them back into Natasha's hands.
"So what now?"
Tony steps forward, "My dad had a bunch of notes on the healing factor of the serum. I need to see the shrapnel you're talking about."
Lydia kneels down in front of Steve. Her hand on his cheek. "Asset, lean your head forward. Don't move."
Steve speaks for the first time since they've arrived and it chills Bucky to his bones. "Affirmative." He tilts his head forward and goes deathly still.
Lydia waves Tony over and he steps forward, his hands tucked behind his back.
He stops behind Steve and looks up, a slightly queasy look on his face. "Okay, just about to examine Captain America's skull, no big deal. Nothing abnormal about that."
Bucky tenses as Tony's hands lightly start to separate Steve's hair. "Shit." Is all he says.
"What." Bucky growls, "What is it?"
"Well, other than the back of his skull having glass and shrapnel sticking out like he's a porcupine, I can feel the device, it's been dislodged but it's still attached. Who knows what damage it's caused."
"What device?" Lydia asks, her eyes on Natasha.
"The device they're using to control him."
"What?" Her voice is angry and harsh and Bucky watches Steve flinch. Lydia does as well and turns towards him, pressing her hands to a spot on his torso. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. It's okay. Everything is fine." She turns back to them. "What do you mean by control him?"
"Block his memories. Force him onto missions. Decide his actions."
"But not always." Lydia states, with a worried look on her face.
"What do you mean?"
"They weren't controlling everything all the time, right?"
"As far as we know they were."
"That's not possible."
"Why?"
"Because then he wouldn't have done the things he did with us."
There's a wary look on Clint's face, "what things?"
"He…" she pauses and looks at Steve with such a soft look that Bucky regrets being suspicious of her, "he would draw us, and he would braid our hair, and…" She looks at Steve, "Asset, stand."
Steve stands and she reaches towards his shirt, lifting the hem. "When we went on missions, we would bring him back gifts. He kept them." She presses her hand against a spot and the ridge of something pokes against his skin.
"What the hell is that?" Barton asks.
"It's a coin, from my first mission to London. I brought it back and gave it to him. He kept it."
No one speaks for a minute before Tony looks at her flabbergasted, "kept it… by shoving it into his stomach?"
"They would have killed each one of us if they'd known. So he hid them well I guess."
Her hand rests against his side still and Bucky watches the touch. "He trusts you." He says. "Why?"
"He trained me. We were his spiders. He knows me."
Bucky looks up at his friend. "Steve?"
No response.
He hates himself as he says the next words, "Asset?" Steve's eyes find his. "Will you allow us to help you?"
Steve's eyes flit to Lydia and she nods. "You want their help. I promise." She withdraws her hand and sits him back down. "You said you needed maintenance. Do you still think so?"
"Affirmative. Malfunctions constant."
"What does he mean, 'malfunctions'?" Bucky asks.
"He's having massive headaches." Lydia says simply. "I watched him suffer through one on the flight. I'm sure the shrapnel isn't helping, but what you—" she points to Tony, "said about that device is probably the cause. He's been having it this whole time we've been talking."
"How can you tell?"
She points to his eyes, "see? He doesn't usually hold his eyes this tight, he's not relaxed. He's in major pain." She looks at Bucky. "Isn't he supposed to be your best friend? How can you not tell?"
"Lydia," Natasha cautions.
Lydia scowls, "I'm just saying. He talks more too when he doesn't have a headache. Not much, but a bit more,"
Bucky looks at Steve and can tell that she's right. There is a painful way about the way Stvee's facial expression is held. But he hasn't seen his friend up close, and for this long since that day on the train. "How do we stop them?"
Tony nods. "She's right. We gotta get this thing out."
"How?"
Tony looks at Steve and studies him. "I'm not an expert in neurology, but I can fly someone into Moscow who is and get him set."
Lydia nods. "What happens when the device comes out?"
They glance at each other and then at Tony who shrugs, "no idea."
Steve stares blankly at the floor.
—
Chapters will start being shorter from now on, as I switch back and forth between them quicker! Don't want to be rehashing each characters perspective for half the chapter each time! haha