Shorter one today!
West Sokovia
There'd been a crisis management centre built in the small town where the Helicarrier had eventually landed, on the border of Sokovia and the Czech Republic. SHIELD and Damage Control and the UN and a dozen other crisis agencies descended on the town, and it had become a bustling hub. The entire area around Novi Grad had been completely evacuated, for fear of further geological problems around the massive crater in the ground.
The Avengers were run ragged between cleanup and recovery and liaising with the various agencies, half of whom seemed inclined to arrest them.
Bucky remained anonymous in his nondescript tactical gear, happy to let everyone assume he was just another SHIELD agent who didn't want to take off his helmet. After hours of calls and organizing and resource allocation, Maggie found him in one of the many medical centers, having his right arm swaddled into a sling by one of SHIELD's most trustworthy doctors.
"How's the arm?" she asked tiredly as he thanked the doctor and came to join her in the doorway. She'd seen the bulletwounds when they were fresh, and they had looked nasty.
"It'll heal," he said, voice tight with pain. He'd refused anaesthetics, knowing they'd burn through his system too fast. "Which is good, since I haven't exactly got any more arms to spare. Doc says I can't move it for a while."
They strode out of the med bay and down a corridor packed with people in all kinds of uniforms and clothes, all striding along at a brisk pace and talking loudly to be heard over the din. Maggie was still in her underarmor, which had dried out but smelled awful, and Bucky's uniform was caked in blood and dust.
As they tried to navigate the crisis centre, Maggie and Bucky passed a doorway concealed by a thick plastic sheet just as a medic pushed through it, revealing the room inside. Maggie stopped in her tracks, and Bucky stopped a half second later. The medic pushed past them down the corridor, and the plastic sheet covering the room's entrance fell back - but left a gap a few inches wide to see through.
The room beyond was filled with the dead. Roughly thirty bodies were laid out on canvas stretchers a few feet apart, covered in sheets. Maggie knew this was not the only room like this in the center, and she knew that they would find yet more as the search and recovery went on, as more people died of their injuries.
Some of the bodies were alone, but many were surrounded by families; some crying and clutching each other, some blank faced, some holding bandages to wounds of their own.
Maggie sagged, hardly able to stay upright under the sudden crushing weight. I did this.
"You learn to carry it," Bucky murmured from beside her. She looked to him. She couldn't see his face through the helmet, but she could feel the stillness radiating from him. "Even if you can't tell yourself it's not your fault… you learn to carry it."
Maggie looked back into the room and her eyes burned. So many dead. A city shattered. A country most likely destroyed. Whatever he had made of himself with his own independence, Ultron was her creation. And all this pain was her creation too.
She touched her chest, as if that would stop the sharp ache there. "I… I don't know how I can…"
"Fix this?" Bucky finished. "You don't. But you can do your best to make amends." He sounded troubled, and Maggie wondered how he planned to make amends for what he had done.
She nodded. She could already think of so many ideas: funding burial and medical costs, repairs, shelter, rebuilding. But there was so much more that couldn't be repaired. She couldn't put a country back together. She couldn't bring back the dead. But she could do her best to put the systems in place to support people. Systems, at least, she understood. Grief, and loss? She didn't think she'd ever understand those. She was still formulating ideas when a radiant silence from inside the room drew her eye.
Almost subconsciously, she swept the plastic sheet aside and stepped through, followed by Bucky.
Pietro.
Maggie had been told, but she wasn't prepared for the bloody mess of his body. There was no sheet to cover him, so the holes that had been ripped through him remained exposed and bright with blood. The uniform he had worn was dusty, and there was dust in his blonde-silver hair as well. His pale eyes stared upward, an almost serious look in his eyes. His lips were parted. The soles of his shoes were nearly worn through.
Wanda knelt beside the canvas stretcher, hunched over her brother. Her face was stained with tears but she was no longer crying; her teeth were clenched so hard it looked like it had to hurt and her eyes were squeezed shut, as if she were in physical pain. Her face made Maggie's heart stutter.
Vision and Clint stood against the wall behind her, giving her space. A medic stood nearby with a sheet in his arms, his eyes darting between Pietro's body and the young woman hunched over him. Maggie understood why he kept his distance; Wanda's grief was a physical force in the air. Maggie wasn't sure if it was magic or just her pure, heartrending pain.
Maggie remembered each time she thought Tony had died. Afghanistan, the Chitauri wormhole, the Palladium poisoning, the explosion in Malibu. She remembered how the world had dissolved each time, how her heart had stopped and everything else ceased to matter. She remembered how pain could make a shell out of you.
She felt Bucky by her side, and sensed unsaid words hovering about him.
"What," she said, looking at him.
"She lost her brother," he said solemnly. His throat bobbed as he swallowed, and she remembered that he had sisters who must have grieved for him. He looked back at her, a blank helmet. "You have me a second chance," he said simply.
Maggie looked back at Wanda, absorbing the words. Then she stepped forward.
She had to hold her breath as she stepped into the oppressive cloud of Wanda's pain, but she did not falter. She knelt down beside the stretcher, and laid her hand over Wanda's where it lay on Pietro's still chest.
Wanda seemed so surprised by the contact that she didn't snatch her hand back. She opened her eyes and looked up at Maggie. Her eyes were bloodshot.
"It won't ever be okay," Maggie murmured. Wanda's face crumpled. "This will always hurt, and this will always be a piece of your heart missing." She squeezed Wanda's hand. "But you aren't alone."
Wanda looked up. Bucky stood behind Maggie, and Vision and Clint stepped forward, and together they waited for her to pull away from her brother's body.
She finally did, sagging against Clint, who helped her up and supported her on her way out of the room. Vision followed, his face grave. The medic came forward with the sheet to cover Pietro's body. Maggie took a moment to look into Pietro's lifeless eyes.
"Thank you, kid," Bucky said. And he reached down to close Pietro's eyes.
It took about a week, but eventually the Avengers all ended up back in the States - except for Pietro, who had been buried near Novi Grad, and Bruce, who was still missing. Maggie kept expecting him to return at any time, but as the days stretched on… she began to feel as if she might have lost another friend. Bucky seemed unusually disturbed by Bruce's disappearance.
They returned to the Tower temporarily, though it was still damaged and completely empty except for them. It didn't really feel like their home anymore, after everything that had happened. Plus there were the new faces, too: Vision in all his strange android glory, and the withdrawn and grieving Wanda. They used the Tower as a base to coordinate the cleanup for Sokovia, and to plan their next steps.
Bucky mostly kept to his room, healing, but on a whim one evening Maggie went down to the common room. The furniture had been mostly cleared away, several windows were covered up with plastic sheeting, but sure enough there he was: Bucky stood by the windows overlooking the glittering galaxy of the city, and he was not alone.
Vision stood by Bucky's side, a few inches taller than him, wearing his strange muted uniform over his maroon skin. Only the shimmery golden cape was missing. Maggie could see the reflection of the glowing stone in his forehead in the window.
She'd barely taken a step into the room, and she hadn't made a sound, but Vision turned his head.
"Hello, Ms Stark." His J.A.R.V.I.S.-voice still took her by surprise.
Bucky looked over as well, a little startled. He hadn't noticed her yet. His arm was still in a sling, but he was able to move it more these days.
"Sorry," Maggie said, her hand on the doorway. "I didn't mean to interrupt, I'll-"
"No, you're fine," Bucky said. Vision inclined his head, so with only a moment for hesitation Maggie let go of the doorway and padded over. She still ached from the battle in Sokovia, so her progress was a little slower than usual. Bucky cleared his throat. "Vision was just saying… what were you saying?" He looked across at the android.
"I have been reviewing the electronic data from the battles against Ultron," Vision continued. "And I have purged all trace references to yourself from the Internet."
Bucky stilled.
"There was not much," Vision acknowledged. "Merely a few snippets of footage of a helmeted figure, and a few mentions in police reports. They are gone now."
"I… why?" Bucky breathed.
"It is… a gift," Vision said. "You are not ready to share yourself with the world yet, I don't think."
Maggie leaned against one of the metal supports by the windows, her eyebrows high. She didn't think she could have done that. Bucky looked astounded.
"Thank you," he said.
"But…" Maggie hesitated, and they both looked over at her. "I wanted to say, regardless of what you share with the world… you fought," she said, looking right at Bucky. "You helped to stop Ultron. You both did." Her gaze shifted to Vision, and then back. "And that makes you Avengers."
Vision appeared to accept the words with calm, but Bucky looked cornered.
"I'm not-"
"It doesn't mean you have to do anything else," she said quickly. "I'm not expecting you to start going on missions. It's just… it's like Steve said to me a while back. Whether you're out in the field, or safe at home out of the fight, you're one of us. And that means you're an Avenger, always."
Bucky swallowed, his eyes not quite on hers. She could see he didn't really believe it, or didn't want to accept it, but she decided to drop it. For now.
There were a few moments of silence, and then Bucky looked back up at Vision, his jaw working. "I… I know it's rude to ask for a gift on top of a gift, but… you wouldn't have any idea how to fix this, would you?" He tapped the side of his head. The LED on the Manacle on his wrist glowed green - he'd asked for a replacement controlled by F.R.I.D.A.Y. as soon as they'd returned.
Vision's eyebrows contracted. "I am not all knowing, I am afraid." Maggie looked down. "But I will put my powers to finding out more to help you, Sergeant Barnes. And I have also removed all trace references to your trigger words on the internet. I know more than most the importance of controlling your own destiny."
Bucky nodded, his brows furrowed. "Thanks. And… you can call me Bucky."
"Nicknames," Vision said thoughtfully. "Does that make us… friends?"
Bucky cocked his head, considering Vision.
What a strange mind he must have, Maggie thought as she watched Vision. This being who stepped right out of the pages of a sci-fi novel.
"Sure," Bucky said, with a darting glance at Maggie. "Don't know if I remember much about how to be friends, but I'll give it my best shot."
"It will be my first attempt, so I shall do my best as well," Vision smiled, and Maggie wondered at the twist of pride she felt. "How is your arm?"
Maggie had to hide her smile at the idea that Vision had looked up what to do with friends in his head and found ask about their health in answer. It reminded her so much of how she had learned about the world as a child.
"Healing," Bucky said with a shrug. "Hurts like a sonofabitch, you're lucky you can't feel pain."
"Oh I can," Vision said, and Bucky blinked in surprise. Vision turned his gaze to Maggie. "Helen Cho's Cradle did not know how to create a body without nerve endings. Pain is an electrical impulse, after all. I feel, and I sense, and I hurt."
"Oh," Bucky said, a little awed.
"Are you…" they both looked over as Maggie spoke. She wrapped her arms around herself as she considered Vision. "Are you glad to be alive?" She nearly winced at the question, but she'd been wondering about it for a week now. How irresponsible it is to inflict life on a creature.
Vision tilted his head, peering at her as if he could hear her thoughts. "You are wondering if you made the right choice, in creating me."
Maggie rubbed her arm. "That's not it exactly. I'm not asking for me. I'm asking… for you. You're unique in the world. Are you…" she let out a sigh. "Are you happy?"
Vision bowed his head in acknowledgement of her question, clearly thinking about it. Bucky watched, fascinated. Finally, Vision looked up.
"Emotions are… still a new experience for me. One can not entirely learn to navigate them through research, I am learning. But I… I have felt sorrow, I believe, and frustration, and pain, and boredom, and respect, and anxiety, and… yes, I believe. Happiness." His strange face shifted into a smile. "I am privileged to be a part of this world, to experience humanity in all its triumphs and failures. I am privileged to learn… what it is to be what I am."
"You're learning to be a person," Bucky said.
Vision looked to him. "Yes, I suppose I am."
Maggie blew out a breath. "People… people have friends." She stuck out her hand. "I'm Maggie. I'm hoping to be able to set aside the whole me-programming-your-brain thing and to get to know you."
Vision smiled in earnest, and reached out to clasp her hand. She was once more startled by the warmth in him. "Maggie. Please call me Vision."
"Vision." She cocked her head. "You ever thought about a change of clothes?"
Vision left them some time later, apparently curious about the idea of wearing regular human clothes, and with a promise to come ask Bucky or Maggie if he ever had any questions about person-things.
Bucky and Maggie ended up alone at the wide windows looking out over New York City, where the piano used to be. Maggie couldn't shake off the thought that this was the last time they would stand here like this, watching the city. She drank in the galaxy of lights below.
"So," Bucky said, itching his shoulder under his sling. "What now?"
She knew he didn't just mean tonight. He'd been secluded, but he couldn't have missed the air of planning and preparation around the tower.
Maggie rubbed her hands together. "Steve hasn't said anything?"
"Not about what's happening next. He's been busy."
She nodded. "Well. Things are changing, and I… well, you've got options."
His brow lowered.
"You can choose to stay wherever you like," she said, her gaze out the window. "We still own the Tower, which will mostly be used for SI stuff now, so you can keep a room here if you like. Or we can get you a private residence off the grid, fit you out with all the security you need."
He looked down. "And where are all of you going?"
"That's a conversation that's still happening, but… Tony and Steve and Hill and I have been talking. There's an old SI warehouse upstate, middle of nowhere, plenty of space. We've already started construction there." She scratched the back of her neck. "We're going to build an Avengers base. The Tower was good, but we need a proper military installation, with space for training and R&D and press and all that. As well as a location that won't put civilian centers in danger. So… that's where we'll be." She looked down. "And there'll be space for you there, if you want it."
She heard him look up, but she didn't meet his eyes just yet.
"You'd have to be careful, because parts of this base are going to be accessible by the public, and we're going to have to hire plenty of staff, but… we're designing a private accommodation wing, so you'd be undisturbed there. But of course I understand if-"
"I'm coming."
She looked up. Bucky's sea-grey eyes searched hers, and after the suddenness of his words he appeared to hesitate.
"If you'll have me."
She cleared her throat. "Of course. I'll go over specifications for your suite with you soon." She cocked her head. "I wasn't sure if you'd want to stay on with us. So much has changed since you first came here…"
He nodded. "I… I've still got a lot to figure out." He rubbed his forehead. "Being in Seoul, and then Sokovia, it brought up a lot of old memories." She frowned. "I need to dig deeper, remember everything I've done, so I can make amends. And I need to work on making myself safe. So… a place at a facility where I can live quietly and do my own research… that sounds perfect."
"Okay." She nodded.
He looked at her. "What about you? Living on a military base, being one of the faces of the Avengers after everything that just went down… that doesn't sound like the quiet life."
"No. But… it's like you said. I need to make amends."
And so, as the world reacted to the disaster in Sokovia and the aftermath of Ultron's global impact, the old storage facility in upstate New York gained a new life.
The Avengers were rarely in the same space throughout the month. Natasha was quiet after Bruce's disappearance, but strong as titanium. Steve was driven and grim, his whole focus on the new facility and the future structure of the Avengers. Thor was distracted, constantly talking about Infinity Stones and pulling Vision aside for long conversations. Wanda was absorbed in her grief, though not, as Maggie had feared, drowning in it. She seemed to take heart from Steve's drive, and confessed that she wanted to help rebuild the things she had helped to break. Pietro would want that, she said with sorrow in her big, dark eyes.
Vision got to know the world, startling others and being surprised by the strangest things, like why their coffee orders were all different. The concept of personal taste and choice was still one he had yet to grasp, and it reminded Maggie a little of how Bucky had been in the early days.
The search continued for Bruce and the missing Quinjet.
Clint had gone straight back home after announcing his retirement, and on the 24th of May his son, Nathaniel Pietro, was born. Maggie greeted the baby and the new parents over a video call, delighted to be included in this part of Clint's life. She had an electric self-rocking cradle worth several thousand dollars delivered to their house.
Bucky kept himself scarce in the bustle of activity, busy looking up Eastern European countries and going through all the files Maggie had kept from her hunt for the Winter Soldier.
Tony had been a little distant as they built the new facility, and Maggie had assumed that he was just as busy as she was, heavy with the weight of their guilt and determined to build a new future.
And he was, but… there was something more. She discovered the reason when he asked for a word alone when they toured the rapidly growing construction site upstate.
They went up to the roof of the new build, where they could see the flat, slow-moving river to one side and the endless forest to the other. This building was where they had flown together for fun, over a year ago. Maggie still remembered laughing as she dipped in and out of the clouds, Tony hot on her heels.
Maggie squinted out at the air hangar, then swivelled to take in the different areas of the compound: the carpark and public access buildings, which included their press center, this main building which included the Avengers analysis and military operations wings, as well as the R&D department, and then a little further into the forest the private accommodation area, accessible only by Avengers. She could just see the windows of her personal workshop adjoining the private wing, with a view over both river and forest. There were cranes and trucks over by the press wing, and shipping containers near the military installation where they were stocking up; Maggie thought she saw Steve down there, directing new recruits to the mess hall.
They were ahead of schedule, and she felt a burst of pride in all they'd achieved. They'd start moving in next week.
She stopped her self-indulgent scan of the New Avengers Facility when she realized that Tony was not looking out at the facility, but at her.
She squinted at him, then reached up to subconsciously rub at her face, worried she had cream cheese from breakfast on her cheek or something. "What?"
He shifted, hands in the pockets of his suit trousers. His suit was Versace, but he wore a t-shirt that said I AM IRON MAN under it. "I've been figuring out how to tell you."
Maggie stilled. "What's wrong."
He shook his head. "Nothing's wrong." He rolled his eyes. "You're such a catastrophist, Margarine."
"Gee, I wonder what could have happened in the last month to make my mind turn immediately to catastrophe," she shot back with a mirroring eyeball, even though her heart was still pounding.
Tony sighed. "I need to keep the promise I made to Pepper last Christmas."
"What are you saying?" A cool breeze washed over the rooftop, and Maggie shivered as it chilled her bare shoulders.
"I can't…" Tony shook his head. "I'm not quitting the Avengers, but… I can't keep going into the fight, Mags. I need to work at this with Pepper. She's… I haven't wanted to tell you, but things have been a little rocky recently, and I need to focus on us."
Maggie frowned, her mind working. She hadn't noticed anything, but… yes, she supposed Pepper had been away more often recently, and she hadn't seen Tony and Pepper together as much as she was used to. "Of course, Tony," she said distractedly. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize."
"It'll be okay," he said, tipping his head back to let the sun fall on his face.
"Is there anything I can do to help?"
"Make me into a man who's easier to live with?" he suggested with a note of hysteria.
Maggie sighed and tilted her head. "I don't know if Pepper would want that man." She ran a hand through her hair. "So, what's the plan?"
"I'm… just going to be Tony for a while. Not Iron Man." He looked back at her. "And I think you should give it a try."
"Being Tony? Pass."
He rolled his eyes. "I mean it, Mags. There's new blood now, what with Vision and Wanda, and even Steve's pal coming in for a trial. The fight… it's not good for us. You deserve a life, you deserve to be happy, and successful, and… to have a family. I can't keep seeing you fall." His eyes went dark.
Maggie reached out to grip his arm. "I know what you mean. But I don't fight because it's good for me. I think you understand that." She squeezed his arm. Tony looked defeated, but not surprised. "I'm okay. I think I'm learning how to not… burn myself up in my own anger, I think I've learned how to be an Avenger. So I can't quit now."
He nodded slowly, standing abnormally still on the rooftop.
"Besides," she eventually said in a lighter tone. "Who'd take on the role of smartest Avenger, if I left?"
He snorted and rolled his eyes again, but Maggie seemed to have successfully brought him out of his pensiveness.
"What did Steve say?" she asked.
He looked up. "He doesn't know yet. You're the first person I've told, other than Pepper. I was… hoping you'd help me break it to Steve and Nat."
"They'll understand."
Sure enough, Steve and Nat did understand. They only asked that Tony stayed on long enough to get the new Facility opened, and that he came in from time to time to help them from a consulting standpoint. Steve was staying on as the head of the Avengers, with Natasha as his right hand woman.
For the next few weeks as the construction came to an close they were all busy fitting out the Facility with staff, resources, and day-to-day routines. Maggie and Tony set up the Research and Development wing, and even managed to hire Erik Selvig as their lead Astrophysicist. Maggie did her best to tempt Jane to join them, but Jane said she was too busy with her independent research. Helen Cho agreed to step in to run the medical wing.
Shortly afterward, Thor cornered Maggie in the empty shell of her new workshop and told her that he was planning on leaving.
"I saw a vision of the fate of the universe," he said gravely, the edge of his red cape sweeping the shiny floor. "My own fate lies beyond Midgard now. I need to investigate these Infinity Stones."
"You can't investigate from here?" she asked, fidgeting with an unopened box of machinery. She wasn't surprised by his news, but she was disappointed.
He shook his head, his hair shifting. "There is trouble afoot in the universe, and I intend to meet it head on."
Maggie sighed. "What about Jane?"
His grave face turned troubled. "I… Jane and I are… we have agreed, mutually, to end our companionship." He avoided her eyes.
"Oh, Thor, I'm-"
"It's for the best," he said quickly, and lifted his chin. "Jane does not deserve to be left waiting." Maggie wondered if those were his words, or Jane's. "I was hoping that… if it's no trouble, could you keep an eye on Jane? Make sure that she's… safe."
Maggie reached out to touch Thor's mighty shoulder. "Of course, Thor. I'll make sure she's okay. You just promise me that you'll be okay, too."
Maggie wasn't there when Thor left Earth. They'd already said their goodbyes, and she was far too busy setting up lab equipment for the astrophysicists. She did, however, see the enormous rune Thor had burned into their fresh new lawn, and decided to leave it be.
The Daily Bugle Article, 28th May 2015
GRAND OPENING OF NEW AVENGERS FACILITY
Upstate New York
The New Avengers Facility has officially opened today, to an overall positive reaction from the public and key political figures.
The opening was marked by a ceremony and speeches, and long-time leader of the Avengers Captain Steve Rogers (AKA Captain America) led a selected group of press representatives on a tour of the new facility. Rogers was accompanied by second-in-command Natasha Romanoff, AKA the Black Widow, and Chief of Research and Development, Margaret Stark.
The Avengers have undergone a major shake-up since the events of Ultron last month; Doctor Bruce Banner (AKA the Hulk) has been declared Missing in Action, Tony Stark announced his pull-back from Avengers activities last week, Thor has not been seen in as much time, and there are rumours of newcomers Wanda Maximoff and the android entity 'the Vision' joining the team. Colonel James Rhodes has neither confirmed nor denied that he will be splitting his work in the Air Force with Avengers work.
When asked about the Avengers's recent changes, Captain Rogers was only positive, and when questioned about recent criticism of the 'politically correct diversity push' on the team, quipped: "If I only hired people who looked like me, I wouldn't have made it out of World War Two."
The new facility itself is being heralded as a state of the art military and research installation, an answer to the question posed by the loss of SHIELD last year. Aside from the barracks and training grounds for new Avengers agents, the New Avengers Facility boasts a multi-million dollar research and development wing, isolated from Stark Industries.
"This is going to be a hub for global security and collaboration," said Ms Stark in her introduction to the R&D branch. "We're hoping to invite talent from all over the world to work, share ideas, and develop new strategies and invention to make the world a safer and more fulfilling place to live. We're also, of course, keeping up our strong links with SI, where I'm staying on as a consulting engineer under the wonderful Pepper Potts."
The Facility employs hundreds of staff, sourced from global law enforcement, military, counterintelligence and counterterrorism, and all realms of science.
"And much more to come," said Ms Romanoff when questioned about the future of the facility.
Tony Stark was approached for comment outside Avengers Tower while with long-time girlfriend Pepper Potts, and when asked about the new Avengers lineup said only: "They've got this."
In response to the ongoing controversy after the Sokovian Incident and Ultron, Ms Romanoff said: "We've set up recovery, rebuilding, and support systems in Sokovia, and we are working with several governments and NGOs to support the recovery and investigation process. But we believe, as do most of the world, that the Avengers are the best answer to the questions of global security and protection against today's modern threats." Many will be reassured by this more reasonable tone after her infamous post-Triskelion Senate hearing.
This paper wonders if approval ratings of the Avengers will continue to rise as they cement their new role as Earth's Protectors.
Doctor Raynor cast her eyes around James Barnes's new suite at the New Avengers Facility, with its floor-to-ceiling windows looking out over the river, soft grey walls, and tasteful collections of furniture that Bucky himself had picked out. He had a well-stocked bookshelf on the far side of the room, and Raynor was currently sitting on one of the two firm sofa chairs angled toward a plain wood coffee table, across from James.
"This is a nice space, James. Do you feel comfortable here?"
He shrugged one shoulder. "I got pretty much free reign designing the suite, which was… a lot. But Meg helped whenever I couldn't choose." His eyes flicked to the telescope propped up against the window.
"I see." She straightened her clipboard and then levelled her gaze on James. "So. We've hardly been able to meet since everything that happened with Ultron. I imagine there's a lot to talk about. Where would you like to start?"
His eyes darted back to her and he took a steadying breath, apparently collecting his thoughts. "You will not believe the shit I have been through, doc." He lifted a hand and began listing things off on his fingers. "Ultron got me electrocuted, knew some of my trigger words, then put me on a train about to crash, then dropped me off a falling city. These are all my least favourite things. Also I had more flashbacks when I was in Seoul and Novi Grad, and I think I've got a lot more remembering to do."
Raynor felt a startled expression cross her face. James was rarely this open. She rallied. "What with that and losing your previous home, your safe space, we've got a lot to work through. That's not even to mention that you went back in the field. Although I must say, you seem… strangely chipper about all this, James."
He sighed, dropping his metal hand in his lap. "I guess… I was doing good. And I was with people I… trust."
"You weren't alone."
"I guess so."
Maggie was mid-conversation with Sam when the doors to the air hanger burst open.
The hangar was a huge building, detached from the main Facility, currently with a single Quinjet parked against the far wall. The walls were all mostly windows, letting the sunlight stream in, and the floor was a shiny geometric pattern best designed for moving and anchoring aircraft. And up until now Maggie had been strangely accepting about the strange group of people gatheredinside the hangar. She'd been too busy catching up with Sam, admiring the new uniform she'd built for him.
But the hangar doors opened to reveal Steve in his red, white, and blue uniform, and Natasha silent and keen-eyed by his side, and Maggie realized exactly where she stood. And who she stood with.
Wanda had been hovering a few feet off the ground behind her, red energy at her hands and a hesitantly exhilarated look on her face. Her new red leather uniform made her look almost regal. Vision had been watching Wanda, gold cape rippling from his shoulders, and Rhodey had been testing out the new HUD display in his new suit. But when Steve and Natasha walked in they all turned, looking up and awaiting the next moment in their lives.
In her dark scaled uniform, Maggie straightened.
Steve set his shoulders as he looked out over them, and the hint of a smile played at his mouth. "Avengers."
Reviews
DBZfan45: Sorry for killing Pietro! I'm so glad you liked the Sokovia fight, it was a joy to write. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!
Zariah: Thanks so much, I'm glad you liked the fight scene and of course, Maggie saving Bucky. I think keeping Pietro alive would have changed too much about Wanda's arc, and I wanted to keep that pretty close to canon. If I had kept him alive, I can see him and Bucky having a bit of a bromance!