Sorry this is a day late my loves! I've been moving and it's knocked me out. Enjoy!
Maggie had not stopped going out after the night Bucky had seen her drunkenly trip in the common room, but she did it less. The first bad night she had, when she knew she couldn't stand to stay in her room, she murmured to J.A.R.V.I.S. as she sat on the end of her bed, rubbing her face.
"Shall I prepare the common area for you, Ms Stark?"
She looked up, knowing that he meant should I ask Sergeant Barnes to leave the common area? "You can let him know I'm coming down, but he doesn't have to leave," she finally said.
When she got down there Bucky was sitting on one of the low couches by the window, an open notebook propped on his knee. He looked up as she entered, merely to acknowledge her, then went back to his book. He was writing something.
Maggie headed to the bar to fetch a drink - just lime and soda - then went down a floor to walk out onto the flight deck. When she looked back up to the common room window she could see Bucky on his couch, still writing.
Maggie sat on the edge of the deck, shivering, and watched the sun come up.
It became another of their unspoken routines. Sometimes, they would share the common room in silence. Other times they passed each other in the dimly lit corridors at unspeakable hours. Bucky preferred the upper level of the common room, Maggie the flight deck, but not always. They both became ghosts that haunted the Tower at night.
July, 2014
On a Wednesday, Maria Hill was informed that a team of CIA agents would be coming in to talk with the Avengers.
"Kind of rude not to make an appointment," Maggie said when J.A.R.V.I.S. passed on the message from Hill.
"They're the CIA," Tony shrugged as he watched the coffee machine dispense his third cup of the day. "It's kind of their thing to be dicks."
"I'd appreciate your support in there," Steve said from by the door, a furrow in his brow. "I assume they'll want to talk about our HYDRA response, and you two know a lot more about the data analysis than me."
"Sure thing," Maggie nodded.
"Barnes had better stick to his room just in case," Tony suggested.
Steve nodded. "Already done."
The three of them made their way down to the meeting room several floors below fifteen minutes after the CIA team arrived. The CIA might decide to show up whenever they liked, but this was Avengers Tower, and the Avengers could make unwanted visitors wait as long as they liked. They were in their business wear - Tony and Maggie in suits, and Steve in a smart shirt and trousers.
Maggie followed Tony into the sleek corporate conference room, her eyes sweeping over the five agents who had already taken their seats at the shiny black table: three men and two women, all in dark suits with no identification. Maggie guessed that the man sitting closest to the floor-to-ceiling window was in charge; he was older, with an air of command about him. Two of the other agents glanced to him when the Avengers walked into the room.
Maggie opened her mouth to welcome the newcomers, but paused when she felt Steve start behind her.
"Sharon," he blurted in surprise.
Maggie's eyebrows flew up and she glanced at him, then followed his gaze to the young blonde agent sitting beside the man in charge. She had dark brows and eyes, a quiet air, and wore a dark blue suit.
"I see you've learned my name," the agent named Sharon said with a hint of a smile. "It's good to see you again, Captain Rogers."
"You two know each other?" Maggie asked at the same time as Tony blurted:
"You know a woman?"
Steve didn't go pink, but Maggie could tell it was a near thing. He didn't take his eyes off the young woman, who sat with her fingers laced together on the desk.
"I was a former agent at SHIELD," Sharon explained, and in the same moment, Hill walked in and cast a cursory glance around at them all.
"Agent 13," she greeted as she leaned over the table, and she and Sharon shared a quick handshake. Hill sat down, placing her ever-present StarkTablet on the table, and looked up. "Shall we get started?"
Tony and Maggie shared a look, then dragged out a pair of seats and sat down. Steve followed suit a moment later.
"So," Steve said after the introductions, visibly collecting himself. "I assume you're here about HYDRA."
"In a sense," said an agent who'd introduced herself as Lowell. She had a firm set to her mouth. "On a larger scale, no. We've spoken with our colleagues at the FBI and in the Armed Forces, and our agency is satisfied to form a similar jurisdictional agreement as you hold with them. We will continue running our own internal investigations into HYDRA, but will leaved armed negotiations to your team."
Maggie mouthed armed negotiations to Tony, and he scrunched his nose.
Hill set down her tablet and frowned. "So why the visit? That could have been a phone call. Or an email."
"Well," said the most senior agent, Hitchcock. "We're actually working in collaboration with the Joint Terrorism Task Force, with your former agent working point," he nodded at Sharon. "We're here on enquiries about an open manhunt."
Maggie went still.
"The Winter Soldier," Sharon said, her eyes on Steve.
There was a long silence.
"Right," Hill said evenly. "And the CIA is aware of Captain Rogers's… connection to the fugitive."
"Yes," Sharon said. "That, and the fact that we believe Captain Rogers is searching for the Winter Soldier, perhaps with the help of the Avengers, is why we're here. We'd like to interview Captain Rogers and anyone else who came into contact with the Winter Soldier during the events at the Triskelion" - her gaze flicked to Maggie - "to further our search. We would also appreciate a sharing of resources when it comes to your investigation into the Soldier."
Steve's face had gone as still as stone, so Maggie cleared her throat. They'd prepared for this.
"I never saw the Winter Soldier at the Triskelion," she said honestly. "But I'll gladly share the details of the digital investigation I've done. Though I imagine you guys have been about as successful as I have."
She had compiled a file with an amalgamation of stuff that was released in the HYDRA data leak, as well as some leads - some real, some fabrication - on where the Winter Soldier had 'escaped' to. Her last 'lead' was blurry CCTV still of a man in Macau with a vaguely shiny left hand.
"We'd appreciate that," said an agent who hadn't spoken yet. "Captain Rogers, we're aware you've been running your own search for the fugitive. Are you open to collaborating with us?"
Steve's jaw clenched, and Maggie resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "What would happen to Bucky if you guys brought him in?"
No one blinked at his use of the nickname.
"Well," Lowell said, "Secretary Ross is looking to make examples of enhanced criminals these days. It's likely he'd end up at trial for his crimes." Seeing the incensed look on Steve's face, she added: "A fair trial, with judgement from a jury of his peers. The CIA has faith in the justice system."
Maggie didn't believe that for a second.
Steve's face only darkened. "Trialled for crimes he committed under HYDRA's influence? If you're half as good at your job as I think you are," he said, mostly to Sharon, "you'll have worked out they had him under mind control."
Sharon met his gaze steadily. "My job is to gather all the information, and to find a wanted and dangerous man."
"I didn't see you sticking to your job back at the Triskelion," Steve challenged.
"Perhaps we should all try to keep calm," Lowell said dryly.
Maggie listened to them argue, but was preoccupied with her own thoughts. Clearly the Avengers had made the right decision by keeping Bucky hidden, if this hypothetical was enough to make sparks fly with the CIA. But she wondered what the future might look like for Bucky. She made a mental note to do some study into the law.
She half-listened as the CIA agents continued to talk, trying to wheedle Steve into cooperating. They threatened to track down Sam and interview him, which just made Steve look more incensed. Hill interjected from time to time and Maggie and Tony sat there, doing their best to look empathetic but impartial.
After a few minutes, Sharon noticed their relative silence and turned to face them. "I'm surprised you aren't more motivated to track Barnes down."
They both stiffened. "Why?"
She shot them a strange look. "Wasn't he friends with your father?"
Tony visibly relaxed, and Maggie tried not to look irritated with him.
"I guess so?" she said. "I don't know how that will help us find him any faster, though." She looked to the rest of the agents, one of whom was trying to explain something about international terrorism laws to Steve. Maggie raised her voice. "And what about HYDRA?"
That gave them pause. Hitchcock looked annoyed. "As we said-"
"No, I mean… is your agency planning to publish your internal investigation into HYDRA? Tell the public what exactly has been going on?"
Hitchcock's expression didn't change, but the others looked faintly surprised by her suggestion.
Lowell cleared her throat. "I think the Black Widow has done enough exposing for a lifetime."
Maggie frowned. "Of the raw SHIELD data, yes. But a lot of that has been re-encrypted, and most of it is inaccessible to a layman. I would think that the public need a trusted third party to publish an investigation, to explain what all happened and what HYDRA was up to."
"We're still trying to understand that ourselves, Ms Stark," Hitchcock said. "We've got quite enough to be getting on with, cleaning up the mess left by" - his eyes flicked to Steve - "the destruction of SHIELD."
Maggie sat back, frowning.
They fell back into arguing with Steve, but five minutes later hadn't reached any sort of resolution. The CIA had extracted a promise from Steve that he would share the details of his search with them, with Sam's cooperation, and that he would alert them if he became aware of any threats to the public posed by the Winter Soldier. But he had not promised that if he knew the Soldier's location, he would share it with the CIA. In turn, the CIA had not promised Steve that they would not arrest the Winter Soldier and turn him over to the Justice Department the second they knew where he was.
Things were tense as they all got to their feet and headed for the door. Hill escorted the CIA agents out, promising to email them a jurisdictional agreement about the hunt for HYDRA.
Tony paused Maggie on her way out the door. They were the last two left in the room. "What was that about?" he questioned. "With the investigation?"
She shook her head. "I asked the Armed Forces, too. Other than a few daring and well-resourced newspapers, no one's really broken down the HYDRA leak in detail, in simple terms. The Senate Hearing was focused mainly on SHIELD's failures and its downfall, not on what HYDRA's been doing for the last seven decades." Tony's eyes shadowed as she spoke. "I know what Steve meant to do, when he exposed HYDRA and shut down SHIELD, but it's all become so muddied up with encryptions and politics and secret agencies again."
"But the truth is out there now, Mags-"
"In broad terms, but not in specifics. Think about it: if you and I weren't in the position we were in - say we were two simple engineers, living in a flat in Manhattan. Would we have even found out about how HYDRA impacted our lives? How would we even understand what HYDRA had wanted, and what they had done to the world?"
Tony tipped his chin up, thinking about it. "Maybe we could reach out to our partners in the other agencies, prompt a public investigation."
Maggie chewed her lip. "They don't want to. No one wants to admit all the ways they failed, for so many years. No one wants to point blame because the blame lies with all of us."
He eyed her. "Sometimes, Maggot, I think you're so much more like mom than I'll ever be." And with that, he touched her arm and walked out of the conference room, leaving her to wonder what he meant by it.
Maggie followed after Tony a moment later, but before she turned right down the corridor toward the stairs, she noticed two figures standing further down the corridor to the left.
Steve and Sharon had lagged behind the rest of the group, who must have been waiting by the elevators around the corner. They stood several feet apart, but their heads were bowed toward each other.
Maggie hovered in the doorway to the conference room.
"I'm sorry, Captain Rogers," Sharon murmured. "I'm just trying to keep people safe."
Maggie expected Steve to dig his heels in again, but to her surprise he merely sighed.
"I know," he replied. "And listen, call me Steve. We lived next door to each other long enough…"
She smiled. "Simpler times."
"I don't think they were," he said wryly. "Listen, I know you can't…" he sighed again. "But if you guys do get a lead, will you… will you let me know?"
"I can't promise anything," Sharon said gently, but it wasn't a rejection. "I'll be seeing you." She dipped her head once in a sort-of-nod, then turned and walked away.
Steve watched her until she disappeared around the corner. He turned back, saw Maggie blatantly eavesdropping from the conference room doorway, and he finally did go pink. He hunched his shoulders and strode back toward her, avoiding her eye.
"Impressive lying, Captain Rogers," she murmured when he approached. She fell in step with him.
"I don't like it," he said dejectedly.
"I know. But you're doing it to keep your friend safe. I don't really see another option."
He glanced at her. "You don't want to turn him in?"
"To them?" she scoffed. "The CIA has always been a political tool, and they'd turn the Winter Soldier into a chesspiece in their game. The most important thing is that he doesn't pose a threat to other people, and that he stays safe. I still believe that here is the best place to do that."
He gave her a faint smile. "I don't know what I'd do without you, sometimes."
"Careful now, we don't want Sharon to hear you talking like that."
The tips of his ears went pink again. "Please don't."
"What? She seems nice."
"Maggie-"
"Alright, alright. I assume Nat knows about this, right?"
"Nat," he said in a suffering tone, "has just made it worse."
Maggie chuckled to herself, before sobering a little. "Hey. Barnes has been giving you intel, hasn't he?" Steve blinked and glanced at her again. "That's where you get those special leads for missions, the insider knowledge. It comes from him, doesn't it?"
Steve's brow furrowed. "I haven't tried to hide it. At least, not from you guys."
"I know, I know. I just… was wondering." She rubbed the side of her neck. "He remembers stuff, does he? About missions?"
Steve's furrowed brow turned into a frown. "You can ask him yourself."
"Alright, touchy."
He huffed a laugh and the frown dissipated. "Sorry. I just… don't know how to navigate it, the two of you. Last time I saw you together you were both bleeding."
Maggie sighed. "I don't want to hurt him, Steve. At least… not outside of a sparring match. You don't need to protect him from me anymore. Nor me from him."
Steve looked doubtful at that, but as they ascended the stairs to the Avengers levels, he said no more on the subject.
Maggie found him in the Avengers library.
Two days had passed since the impromptu CIA visit, and Maggie had spent most of that time holed up in her workshop. She'd missed a couple of meals before she reminded herself not to fall into those old bad habits. She had plenty of work to be getting on with in her workshop, not the least of which was a dark shape taking place in the corner, which she hid under a tarpaulin when others came to visit. She wasn't read to share it just yet. But no, she had spent the last two days on something else. An idea which had been germinating for months, finally peeking through the busy darkness in her mind. Flourishing, taking root. J.A.R.V.I.S. had helped her with a lot of the rough outline for it.
Now she was ready for the idea to spread just that little bit further.
The Avengers library took up about half of one of the upper floors, and didn't share the same sleek, metallic aesthetic as the other floors. It was a warm space, with wood floors, soft lighting, and a scattered collection of couches, benches, and lamps for reading. The shelves were mostly stocked with Maggie, Tony, and Pepper's collections, though some of the other Avengers had begun adding to it. Maggie liked the space because it reminded her of the library in her childhood home, where her mother had, on rare occasions, read to her.
Bucky apparently gravitated toward the quiet space as well, during the day. Maggie had gotten his whereabouts from J.A.R.V.I.S., and once in the library she found him sitting in a plush chair by a lamp, reading what looked like an encyclopedia. His hair was tied back, and he had clearly heard her approach because he was already looking up when she rounded the bookshelf.
"Hi," she said.
He blinked. "Me?"
"Yes, you." Maggie sat on a wooden stool a few feet away. "Listen. You can say no, but I don't think you will."
His eyebrows rose.
Maggie rested her elbows on her knees and met his eyes. "These past six months, I've gotten a lot of answers about my past. And that's helped. But I can't help thinking that there must be so many other people out there with questions that will never be answered. And some of them might not want answers, but I know some sure as hell will."
Bucky shut his book and frowned. "So… what are you suggesting?" They both spoke in low tones, as if fearful of disturbing the peace in the library.
"A database," she explained. "For the public to navigate exactly what HYDRA did to the world. There's the data leak from SHIELD, but a bunch of it has been re-encrypted and it's a slog to get through. It also doesn't have all that much in it, if I'm honest. HYDRA wasn't exactly keeping meticulous records on SHIELD servers. We've been getting more detailed information from interrogations of HYDRA agents, and third party investigations, but a lot of that isn't accessible to the public." She waved a hand. "For a while now I've been thinking about creating… some kind of hub of information so people can understand HYDRA's impact, and potentially find answers for their own questions."
He nodded slowly. "Bring everything they did out into the light."
"Exactly. And… I think you might be able to help."
His brow lowered. "You're asking me to tell you what I remember. About HYDRA."
She nodded. "Obviously we'll have to mask it, so people can't figure out we're getting our information directly from the former Winter Soldier, but I think your knowledge of HYDRA would be invaluable to the database. I know you've already been sharing intel with Steve. I think that if I can combine the data from the SHIELD leak, you, government investigations, and the work of private research organisations, we might be able to get a somewhat clear picture of HYDRA over the years. I want to prioritise identifying victims of HYDRA who've been classified as missing persons, or their deaths recorded as accidents. So if you… if you remember. Anyone."
He looked down and ran his hands through his hair. "Why?" He looked up at her. "Why are you doing this?"
"Who else will?" She swallowed. "But I think I need to. Because I… we failed. The Starks. The Avengers. SHIELD. The Wyvern. HYDRA has always been there, and we didn't see it, not until it was almost too late. Especially me." She broke eye contact. "I was looking right into the shadows where HYDRA lurked, and I was blind to them. Doing this… well, it's partly a way for me to make amends. And also because the people HYDRA hurt need help. They need answers-"
"I know - I understand the desire to do this," Bucky said in a low voice. "But do you really think the harsh truth will help people?"
"We don't get to make the decision about whether or not the truth should see the light of day," Maggie said firmly. She met his sea-grey eyes again. "But you're worried about hurting people, and I get that - but that's the other part of my idea. I'm going to set up a support network of sorts. A compensation scheme for victims of HYDRA and their families, and a collation of counselling services and support forums available to them. The compensation will be funded by me, as well as by a few companies and governments who I plan to guilt into financing it."
She paused for breath. "This is one of the largest and longest terrorist conspiracies the world has ever seen, and there must be hundreds of people suffering right now because of HYDRA. I have the means to help them. So I'm going to. I'm not forcing you to join me, but giving you the option. Because you're a victim too."
Bucky's expression became wrenched, his eyes darkening and his brow knotting.
Maggie swallowed and added in a softer voice: "There's a reason HYDRA wiped your memory over and over with that machine. They didn't want any trace of what they'd done to see the light of day." She held his gaze. "Your memory is the most powerful thing you have."
For a few long moments, they just looked at each other. Maggie leaning forward on her stool, conviction blazing in her eyes, and Bucky sitting hunched over, his face drawn.
Then, finally, light gleamed in his eyes. "I'll do it."
Weeks later, the Manhattan HYDRA Survivor Support Group gathered in their usual rec centre meeting room downtown. There were only seven of them; they'd connected in the comments section of news coverage of the fall of SHIELD at the beginning of the year. They kept their meetings public, at the rec center, in case anyone else wanted to join. To date, no one had.
On this particular Thursday afternoon, they rushed into the room with a fervour that had not been seen in them before. As they took their regular seats they clutched newspapers and waved their phone screens at each other, all of which showed a website with a blue background and a clear, organised format.
"HERACLES," whispered Auntie Rabia, whose husband had worked for SHIELD, and who had been found drowned eleven years ago. She couldn't prove it, but she was sure it had been HYDRA. Today, they were about to find proof that Omondi Otieno, her husband, had been murdered by an unnamed HYDRA assassin after Omondi discovered a HYDRA financial channeling scheme in the early 2000s. Omondi had set up a meeting with his superior officer, but had also confided in a fellow agent, a friend, who had turned out to be HYDRA. This friend turned Omondi into HYDRA before he could bring the scheme to his superior officer.
But the Manhattan HYDRA Survivor Support Group hadn't discovered that just yet. They were still trying to wrap their minds around the website that had exploded into existence just a couple of hours ago.
"Look at this," Maureen from the Bronx said, showing them an email she'd received from the HERACLES Foundation. "It says I'm… entitled to compensation. Because I've been impacted by HYDRA." She looked down at her wheelchair, then up at them all with shining eyes. She went back to the email. "And… and it says anyone who believes their life has been impacted by HYDRA can submit a claim through the website, and there's a one week processing time. All of you should submit claims, now!"
"What does this bit mean, at the top of the website?" Bill Hardwick said, pointing to the bar at the top of the screen. His glasses glowed blue from the reflection. "No More Shall Take Its Place?"
"The heads of HYDRA," said Kate, who was only nineteen. The fluorescent overhead lights flickered intermittently. "Cut one off, and two more shall grow in its place, no? That's what Henry was going on about." Kate had only told them her story once. Her cousin had been a HYDRA agent in the State Department. When SHIELD fell, he took his whole family hostage in an attempt to bid for his freedom. Only Kate had made it out alive.
"It's the story of the Hydra," Darla explained, and waved a Wikipedia article at them. "The Hydra was a Greek legend, right? And in the legend its heads kept growing back, until Hercules - or Heracles, as the Greeks called him," she said significantly, "cut off its heads and branded the stumps with a burning sword."
"HERACLES," Aunty Rabia breathed again. On her lap lay this morning's paper, which had a still from Margaret Stark, Captain Rogers and Maria Hill's press conference on it. The HERACLES logo glowed behind their heads. "What did it stand for, Darla?"
"HYDRA Evidence, Research and Analysis Compendium: Linking Education and Support," Darla read out dutifully.
"It's amazing," Hiroto, the one who had first suggested they gather as a support group, had not taken his eyes off his screen since he sat down. "There's three parts to the website. First there's a central archive of all the knowledge, data, and research about HYDRA, completely searchable. You can filter by members, victims, motives, locations, activities, date ranges, and aims. Then there's a database of all the groups and organisations involved in analysing and investigating HYDRA, with contact information for them. And the third part is the part with the compensation scheme and routes for support."
"How could it all be in one place?" Kate questioned. "There's so much information, and it's all blocked-"
"It's done by Margaret Stark," said Elijah, who didn't come to many sessions since he was a single father of four. "With all that fancy AI computer technology, I suppose she's got a bit more processing power than the rest of us."
"And she's used it to do this?"
Hiroto switched to another screen. "There's a basic history of HYDRA, with a timeline and all." He shook his head slowly. "I can't believe the website hasn't crashed yet - there must be millions of people on it, especially after that press conference. I suppose it's thanks to the fancy SI servers."
"We're on the website!" Said Maureen excitedly. "See, on the section labelled Support Groups, Counselling, and Information Services. If you set the location to NYC, then you get our group!"
"No more shall take its place indeed," Bill said, looking overwhelmed. He ran a hand over his silvery hair. "This website, it's… it's giving us all the information we haven't been able to get, and organizing support for the others out there who don't know where to go, and… and an actual honest-to-god compensation package." He shook his head. "We should start researching. All those questions we thought would never be answered…"
"All those angry emails you've been sending to the government must have paid off, Bill," Maureen said with a smile.
"But it isn't them, is it?"
"Why her?" Darla asked distractedly. No one answered.
Auntie Rabia shook her head. The others had already begun searching the archive, marvelling at the filters available and going over their own notes for key words that might glean the right answers. But she looked around at their meeting room in the rec center. It was a big enough space, but they only had eight rusty, fold-out chairs, which were usually stacked under the crash mats used by the karate class that came in on Thursday mornings.
She took a deep breath, absorbing the excited chatter of her fellow group members. Her friends. "I think we're going to need more seats."
HERACLES had taken on a life of its own. It had grown from Maggie, to Bucky, to the rest of the Avengers, and now the world. After the website dropped, Maggie had been up to her eyes in work for the next two weeks, frantically managing compensation applications (though she'd had a team set up for that in conjunction with SI), information requests, queries from news organisations and a few technological glitches.
But HERACLES had become its own creature: it turned out Maggie had not been the only one wanting a central hub for information and support, and dozens of other individuals and organisations had thrown their lot in with HERACLES; researchers, counsellors, lawyers, and politicians. And Maggie had never intended it to be solely her creation. It became more than a website; it became a network.
It was wonderful to see people seeking and finding answers, and contributing answers of their own. It was wonderful to see connections made, and people healing. Not that HERACLES was all good news for everyone; as Bucky had predicted, the information in the archive came as a nasty surprise for some people. Those who'd lost family members in 'accidents' found out that their loved ones had actually been murdered. Others discovered that their loved ones had worked for HYDRA. There was pain, and some anger, but Maggie stood by her choice. HYDRA had wanted the truth suppressed. And she would aid them in it no longer.
She had to admit, as worthwhile as HERACLES was, it did make things harder for her in her own recovery. Mai helped her through the nightmares and the obsessive thoughts over the mountain of data of HYDRA's crimes. You don't have to carry it alone, Mai said more than once. HYDRA is not wholly your responsibility to fix or to catalogue. That's why you brought in help.
Maggie had also seen the toll it had taken on the others: Tony, Steve, and especially Bucky. Tony was supportive of HERACLES, and had helped her on the technological side of things, but she knew he'd rather leave HYDRA in the past. In the end, they'd decided not to put what they knew about the events of December 16, 1991 on HERACLES. That truth was for them, not for the world to pore over and tear apart, wondering salaciously about the details of Howard and Maria's murders.
Steve seemed relieved about the existence of HERACLES, as if it was a completion of what he'd begun at the Triskelion. And Bucky… as quiet as he'd been before, he seemed to retreat into himself further.
His contributions to HERACLES had come in snatches: information he'd shared with Steve, information he passed onto J.A.R.V.I.S., his sessions with Doctor Raynor, and information he shared with Maggie during three separate interviews in the library. They had been long, quiet conversations dripping with pain.
Maggie hadn't said much. Bucky had tried to keep his recounted memories to the bare facts: names, dates, crimes. But his voice shook sometimes, and sometimes he included details that they both knew would never make it into HERACLES: the way a woman had begged for her child's life. The green eyes of a target, turned up toward his and gleaming with unshed tears. A bloody handprint on white plaster. The smell of burning hair.
Each new story settled in Maggie with a sense of pure horror. She thought she'd known what Bucky's life had been like as the Soldier, but hearing him retell the missions he'd been on, hearing him describe the way his mind had worked, cold and mechanical, startled her anew. She listened in silence, hands still in her lap, as he described death after death. Some she had known about, investigated in her hunt. Others had been unknown until they fell from Bucky's lips. She listened to his life of blood and lightning, and it became a part of her story too.
Maggie never thanked him for his memories. They ended each session as his memories failed, or the flare of lightning in his mind grew too sharp for him to continue. And Maggie would let him leave in silence. He left pale and rigid, not quite shaking but near to it, she thought.
Maggie brought his memories to HERACLES, disguised as 'recovered mission reports' or 'witness testimony'. And she shared the real-world impact of Bucky's memories with him: family members who recognized their loved ones in the stories, decades-old cold cases finally being closed.
His memories came and went, he said, in strange orders and sensations. He wrote down what he could recall in his journals, which he then recounted to her or the others. He'd given her everything he could think of, but he warned that he might remember more at any point. That was what he would give to J.A.R.V.I.S., who would parse the data and slot it into the HERACLES archive.
What he'd given them was invaluable. Patchy as his memories were, he remembered enough for them to work out who his victims had been, and in most cases, work out why they had been singled out by HYDRA. Bucky gave them truth, years and sometimes decades after they had died. He gave families answers.
Some of his memories went to the Avengers instead: actionable intel about bases, commanders, and resources.
And no one thanked him for it. Maggie wanted to, but she sensed that Bucky would have found it offensive to be thanked for sharing stories of the violence he'd perpetrated for decades. So she kept her silence.
For the most part, no one in the Tower commented on Maggie and Bucky's newfound truce. Tony seemed to be thankful that she was more or less comfortable in their home again, though he did worry that HERACLES was too much of a burden for her. Steve seemed pleased, if a little anxious. Maggie didn't even know if the others had noticed - she and Bucky didn't speak much in the common areas of the Tower around the others, their HERACLES interviews had been private, and they didn't encounter any other Avengers during their insomniac hours.
Though, of course, Maggie just assumed that Natasha knew everything, as a general rule.
The best word that Maggie could think of for what she and Bucky were to each other was allies. It was a complicated word, and that made sense to her. They were able to exist in the same space without that dangerous crackle of tension now, and talk, though they never really exchanged pleasantries. Whenever they spoke, it always seemed to drive right for the heart of things.
She still felt wary around him sometimes, like when the light glinted off his arm, or he surprised her in the darkness of the Tower at night, but she did not fear him. He still seemed to approach her with caution, but no longer seemed to worry that she would attack him. He had trusted her with his memories, and that meant a lot to them both.
Maggie had recognised how hard their HERACLES interviews had been, but she had only been there to listen. She didn't ask about the toll his memories took on him, too busy ensuring she stayed on top of her own mental health.
She realized her mistake late one evening, when J.A.R.V.I.S.'s calm voice rang out in her workshop.
"Ms Stark, I believe Sergeant Barnes is in need of assistance."
She hesitated, a precision tool buzzing in her hand as she bent over a thin strip of dark metal.
J.A.R.V.I.S. explained: "I have a protocol to follow when Sergeant Barnes requires assistance, but Captain Rogers is out on reconnaissance, Doctor Raynor is currently unavailable, Sergeant Wilson is not in the city, Doctor Banner is not in the country, and you are the next most trusted option. I do not wish to incapacitate him in his current state."
Maggie shut off her precision tool and stood up. "What does he need help with? Where is he?"
"He is just outside his residential area. Ms Stark, please do not make physical contact unless you receive permission."
"Okay…" she hurried out of her workshop and headed upstairs.
Sure enough, she found him in his and Steve's residential corridor, curled up against the wall a little ways down from his suite door, his head between his knees and his hands over his head. She could hear his harsh breathing from the stairs.
For a moment, she hesitated. She remembered seeing Bucky like this in those early days in Cell A, but he hadn't been Bucky then, at least not to her. His muscles were rigid and his chest shook.
"Sergeant Barnes, you are in Avengers Tower. It is the 7th of August, 2014," J.A.R.V.I.S. said, and Maggie suspected it was not the first time he'd said it. "You are safe. You have had a memory episode."
"I'm here," Maggie called in a soft voice, from the top of the stairs at the end of the corridor. Bucky did not move. She realized his hands were shaking.
She padded down the corridor, stopping a good ten feet away from Bucky. She hesitated a moment, then pressed her back to the opposite wall and slid down to a sitting position. She had to shift when her prosthetic leg joint pinched her skin.
She looked back at Bucky. She couldn't see his face. All she had to go on were his harsh, shaking breaths and the tension in his frame.
She swallowed. "I'm… Maggie Stark. You're safe. I'm here because J.A.R.V.I.S. asked me." She realized that that might sound rude, so she tacked on: "Anything you need, let me know. I'm just going to… sit here and… talk, I guess."
He still didn't move. She could see sweat gleaming on his skin. His lanky hair hung around his face.
Maggie realized she didn't know what to say. So she leaned her head back against the wall and looked up at the ceiling. "I've just been in the workshop. Tony and Bruce are out, so - in amongst other things - I'm working on developing Arc Reactor technology to power energy substations, like the ones that supply cities. There's a lot of pushback against it because people think the technology is too expensive, but that's really not the case. It's a big upfront cost, because shutting down preexisting energy stations involves a lot of work, and people are worried about putting so many station employees out of work. But in the long run the Arc Reactor saves so much more money. And Pepper's been working on retraining schemes so that we can get energy station employees trained up to run Arc Reactor technology. Education grants, that sort of thing. On my end, I'm basically trying to make sure the reactors we're developing have all kinds of checks and balances and backup power sources - by the time I'm done there should never be a city blackout ever again. It's a lot of work, but it'll be worth it in the long run."
She looked down along the corridor at him. "Sorry. I have no idea if this is helping."
She heard a long breath. "It's good," came Bucky's croak.
"Oh. That's good. I thought it might be, I usually go find Tony when I'm in a bad spot mentally, he's pretty much a nonstop talking machine and it's nice to have the background noise. So, uh… speaking of which, Tony's been working on…"
She went on to describe Tony's latest project in detail, then explained Bruce's latest work, not really looking at Bucky. But gradually, out of the corner of her eye she saw his head rise and his breathing steady out. He looked awful. There were dark shadows under his eyes and a far-off expression on his face. He rested his wrists on his knees and his hands dangled in empty space.
She eventually fell silent.
"Thank you," Bucky croaked again. "I - J.A.R.V.I.S. isn't supposed to ask you for help, but I guess… this was a bad one."
"I don't mind," she murmured. "What did you remember?"
His face shadowed.
Maggie could only imagine what horror reel he'd seen, after all the memories he'd shared with her. "I get it if you don't want to tell me." She frowned. "I'll… share one of mine." She swallowed, and felt his gaze turn to her. "A couple of nights ago I had a nightmare; sometimes they're memories, sometimes they're made up. But this one was sort of both. I remembered Tony going up into that portal when the Chitauri attacked New York. I don't know if Steve told you-"
"He told me," Bucky murmured. "I saw the footage."
She avoided his eyes. "I chased him when he went up, you know. I was going to go get him back, no matter what. But this time, the portal closed up, and… he didn't come back." She closed her eyes as the cold press of horror and panic rolled over her again. "I'd failed him. And in my dream, I still didn't give up. I made my own damn spaceship and I left, heading out to that black pit in space to get him back. And I found…" goosebumps rose up on her exposed arms. "I found him. Iron Man. Drifting through pitch blackness, frozen solid. I reached out to get him, and my hand touched his metal suit" - she reached out, mimicking the dream - "but it was so cold that it burned me. And then I woke up."
She opened her eyes and looked over at Bucky. He was watching her with his brows pinched together. A long silence passed.
"I dunno why our brains do that," he said eventually. "The real memories are bad enough, there's no need to make them worse. It's not… not fair. Like my brain's working against me."
"That'll be your PTSD," she said matter-of-factly. He looked up at her suspiciously. "Relax, I haven't been snooping in your medical files. But, and no offence, a high schooler in a psych 101 class would be able to diagnose you."
To her surprise, the corner of his mouth curled up. "I suppose you'd know," he said in that same matter-of-fact tone.
She shrugged. "My psychiatrist recently started me on this, uh… EDM therapy. I mean, I found out about it, but I asked her about it and she thought it was a good idea. It's working well, it mimics REM sleep - which is when your nightmares usually happen - but you're awake, and able to talk everything through. Maybe you should ask your psychiatrist about it."
"I haven't been… really talking to her lately," he said, almost guiltily. "Not about what's happening now, I mean. Just… the past."
Maggie held up her hands. "That's your business. But take it from someone else with a screwed up brain - granted, not as badly as yours - it works. But only when you put the work in."
"You sound like Sam," he said resentfully.
"Sam's a smart man. And hey, if you want to change therapists, or doctors or anything, just talk to me, Steve, or Sam. It's your medical care, you get to choose."
He nodded slowly, his gaze drifting away again. She thought he was contemplating the concept of therapy, so his next words surprised her. "You called yourself Maggie."
She raised an eyebrow. "Did I?"
"You did. You said I'm Maggie Stark." His eyes met hers. "That's your nickname. Maggie."
"To some."
"Steve called you Maggie as well, the other day."
She stayed silent.
"But you want me to call you Meg." He watched her for a few moments, and when it was clear she wasn't going to respond he nodded. "Okay. I've been getting used to Meg anyway."
Strangely, Maggie agreed. The idea of Bucky calling her by the same name everyone else did felt odd.
Bucky shook his head. "I'm sorry, you can go. You must've been busy with that… Arc Reactor stuff."
"I more or less finished it already, I was working on other stuff just now."
"What are you working on?" he asked curiously.
"A secret," she said reflexively, and his face shuttered. "No, not from you. From everyone. I'm not ready to show anyone yet. But soon."
His face went curious again, but he didn't press her further. "Well… thank you." He pushed himself up. "I mean it."
Maggie got to her feet as well. "Anytime." She gave Bucky an awkward sort of nod, then turned and walked away.
Next chapter will be either Saturday or Sunday next weekend, sorry I can't be exact just yet!
Reviews
Aqua: Sorry I didn't get to your review before I posted the last chapter! I'm glad you liked the arm fix scene, Maggie and Bucky are definitely getting more interactions now! And thank you for your kind words, I'm just happy that you enjoy it so much! Hope everything is okay on your end and you're able to relax soon!
Durchy177: I have been planning to write Maggie into TFATWS, but I'm going to hold off on Spider-Man until I see No Way Home! I feel like Maggie would have an interesting dynamic with Quentin Beck tho.
Eennio: I think Maggie and Bucky needed to let off some constructive aggression, I'm glad you liked the sparring!
DBZFAN45: Avengers Tower is certainly an interesting place to be when Maggie and Bucky are in residence! I don't think Maggie and Bucky are quite friends yet, but they're certainly getting there. Allies, maybe. I'm glad you liked the last chapter with all its fighting and dramatic conversations and drunkenness! Hope you're well :)
MsMoe9: I'm glad you liked the fight scene, Maggie's still got her tricks ;) Hope you had a lovely week!
Nina: I'm glad you had fun reading about them having fun together! Thank you so much :)
Shorttrooper: Thank you so much! Last chapter was one of my favourites so I'm really glad you enjoyed it too :) The sparring especially was a scene I've had written for ~months~ so that was fun to finally share! I hope you've had a lovely week, and have another one to come :)
Aqua: I'm so glad you enjoyed the last chapter! We're getting into some juicy character moments now. Maggie is certainly on the right track, as is Bucky :) And I also love the idea of Maggie and Sam as like, schoolyard friends haha, it's very on brand for them. As for Maggie kicking up her feet during Ultron… we shall see what happens ;) Also I'm glad you liked that fight scene! I've had it written for ages and I was so excited to finally share it. Bucky is most certainly a huge dork. Thank you for your lovely lovely review, I hope your week has calmed down a little!