A/N: Three
Bucky stared at her with a confused expression it turned into a glare. "If he's your son, how in the hell do you not know who the father is? Honestly Vanessa, for a moment I believed you."
"I'm telling you the truth," She protested as she stood to meet him but he backed away causing her to stop.
"That makes no sense!"
"James, please."
"Stop Vanessa!"
The woman stopped talking and stood there watching as the man before her shook his head. "Explain it to me then."
"It's a long story."
"I've got all day."
"No you don't. Your friends are probably looking for you right now. What do you think is going to happen to me if they find out I'm the one who took you." Bucky remained quiet, no doubt secretly agreeing with her. "I'll explain everything, but first you have to get the file from Spiderman. See that I'm telling you the truth."
"That's not how that works."
"If I tell you now, you won't listen because you think I'm lying. Get proof and then we can talk."
"Why don't you come back with me and you can explain it all to SHIELD."
Vanessa released an exasperated sigh. "I just told you. SHIELD cannot be trusted. Besides you owe me. I saved your life."
Bucky watched her for a moment before nodding. "Fine."
Vanessa released a sigh of relief before she plopped back down in the chair. Bucky looked out the window. "I'm going now. I'll come back when I have proof."
"Don't tell anyone that I'm here, please. I'm on the run."
Bucky nodded as he stepped towards the door. "Thank you," Vanessa called out. He gave her a nod as he threw one final look towards the wall of the cabin where his picture and the picture of his friend sat. Curiosity burned in his veins as he ducked out of the door and was swallowed by the woods.
Frank had never been good at snooping, or at least that's what his friends at the Hydra base told him. He always made too much noise, alerting his target of his presence, always giving away his position. When he was a kid, and he ran through tests and training, that was the one thing he never passed on. To say his parents were disappointed in him was an understatement. Now, Frank could say his snooping was at his advantage. Crouched under the window of the cabin, he listened to the voices inside.
At first the voices were low, and hard to make out but eventually they became loud enough for him to hear.
"James?"
Someone snorted inside. "Haven't heard that name in a while."
"Right they call you Bucky now don't they."
"Yeah."
Bucky? What kind of name is that? Frank frowned. He tried to mouth the words but they felt foreign. A squirrel scampered past him causing him to jump and a branch under his foot to break. All talking inside came to a halt. He held his breath as he waited. Turning his head, he expected to see one of them come out and catch him but after a few moments, the talking picked up. The sound of his name caught his attention.
"He mentioned that Spiderman was with a woman who was currently on Hydra's list. He said he didn't know who she was, but I have a feeling he was lying. It was you, wasn't it?" his target asked causing Frank to silently curse himself. He thought he had gotten away with it.
Something else to work on, his brain scolded.
Shaking his head, he remained quiet listening to the conversation. Eventually the quiet talking grew into yelling. But it wasn't the volume of their voices that caught his attention. It was the surprising revelation that sprang from Vanessa's lips.
"Peter is my son."
Every atom in Frank's body wanted to jump up and demand to know what she meant. But all he could do was wait. He knew where she was staying so he could always come back and demand answers. Right now, he had a mission. One that he would not fail.
After what seemed like forever, Frank listened as the conversation closed. The front door opened, and a quick peek around the corner told him it was his former friend. He waited as the man stood on the porch breathing before he started deeper into the woods. Frank made a move to follow him but the gut wrenching sound of Vanessa crying stopped him. He looked to the window as his brain and his heart began a battle of wills. Finally his brain won and he started following the former Hydra agent.
They had long left the woods and entered into the city. It was at the edge of the city that Frank stopped and hid. Realizing he was exposed to possibly getting caught he did the only thing he could do. He grabbed a woman closest to him and kissed her on the lips. His back was towards his target so there is no way of getting caught. Risking a glance at the window next to him, he saw his former friend walking into a path not far from where he was standing. Once the man was out of sight, he released the woman only to receive a slap to the face for his troubles.
"Sorry," he gasped as he held his face. Turning he rushed away as he saw a man with muscles that seemed bigger than the Hulk walking over, a scowl on his face.
Frank entered the path and immediately spotted his target. Staying in the surrounding trees he remained hidden as he followed. The path seemed to go on forever with a few twists and turns before it broke into a large field. Staying behind a tree, he watched as Asset jogged towards a building that sat in the middle.
Once he was out of sight, Frank took a moment to survey his surroundings but the large A on the side of the building that caught his attention. "Holy crap," Frank sputtered as he stared up at the building. "I actually found the Avengers hideout."
After his brain kicked into gear, he reached for his cell phone, but as he went to dial a number, the phone was ripped out of his hand. Following the direction of travel, he saw his phone impaled to a tree with an arrow. Looking over his shoulder, he found Asset standing there watching him with an amused expression while two men came and stood by his side.
One had metal wings coming out of his back and a serious look about him. Falcon, his brain reminded him. The other man stood with black clothing and brown hair identified him immediately. Hawkeye. It also helped that he had a bow and arrow aimed at him. Obviously he's the reason for the now useless phone.
Asset walked forward. "You know I caught you miles ago right?"
"Yeah, well if you did, why didn't you stop me. You led me all the way here." Frank argued as he glared.
"Maybe I wanted you here. You have some information I need and what better way than to ask you, personally."
Frank glared at the three men before Falcon walked forward and punched him in the head, sending him into a field of darkness.
Bucky watched as Frank fell to the ground before turning to his teammates. Sam was the first to speak. "Did you think this through? I mean they already hate you. You just gave them fuel to the fire."
"I've got my reasons."
"Care to share?" Clint asked as he put his arrow away.
Bucky pointed to the man laying on the ground. "This is Frank. He's a Hydra agent and-"
"You brought a Hydra agent to our home!" Clint interrupted. "It's official. You have actually lost your mind. I mean more than before."
"Listen!" Bucky snapped. "Hydra is after the Parker kid were supposed to be finding. If we have Frank here we can get information out of him and find out what they know and what we're up against."
Clint and Sam shared a look before turning to the unconscious man on the ground. "Well he's here now anyway. Nothing we can do about it now."
Sam shook his head. "Alright, help me get him to a cell or something."
Clint backed up. "No, Bucky here can help you. I'm going to announce an emergency meeting."
"We need help," Sam objected.
"Nope! Not happening. There is no way I'm putting my fingerprints on this." With that he jogged away leaving the two men alone.
It was moments like this when Steve wondered if in the process of wiping Bucky's brain, the people of Wakanda accidentally wiped some of his common sense. He stared at his friend who stood at the front of the room. The room was silent as everyone absorbed the news about how he brought a Hydra agent to their compound. His eyes traveled to Tony who seemed to be silently seething. The war captain was pretty sure the only reason he had not exploded was because Pepper Potts was now holding his hand and rubbing his back.
Thank God for her, the man thought. Rhodes and Steve shared a look as they communicated the same thing his brain just had. Tony shifted his weight before speaking. His voice was low and full of control. "Let me get this straight. You found out that Hydra was after Peter Parker and Spiderman, so you decided to bring them here where Spiderman is laying defenseless in a hospital bed because they might have answers?"
Bucky opened his mouth to respond but stopped as Tony stood. "Let me try this again. You found out that Hydra was after Peter Parker and Spiderman, so you decided to bring them here where Spiderman is laying defenseless in a hospital bed because they might have answers?"
"I know how it may seem, okay but-"
"You brought a Hydra agent to the Compound." Tony interrupted. "Hold let me say it one more time for the people in the back. You, James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes, brought a Hydra agent to the Avengers Compound!" His voice rose in octaves to the point where he was shouting.
Pepper stepped forward and grabbed the man's hands, pulling him back. She opened her mouth to say something but stopped as Tony turned to Steve. "Please try and justify this. I would love to see you try."
Pepper started whispering to him as Steve turned to his friend. "He's right, Bucky. What were you thinking?"
"Finally there is a God!" Tony huffed as he took a step back.
"I was thinking we could get some answers here."
"Answers to what?" Natasha spoke from her seat where she finally overcame her shock.
"About Peter Parker and what they want with him and Spiderman and-"
"Why don't you start with where the hell were you, because clearly you were not kidnapped by Hydra."
Bucky froze. "I...I can't tell you that, but-"
"You can't tell us? Excuse me? You bring a Hydra agent to my home and now you have the balls to stand there and tell us-"
"Tony, relax." Pepper protested as she placed her hand over the glowing arc reactor. He took a deep breath before backing up.
"Why don't we all just relax and allow for him to explain," Bruce voiced. All eyes landed on him. "Just sayin'."
Bucky captured everyone's attention when he started talking. "I know how it may seem but it's only him. Nobody else was there."
"That you know of," Rhodes scoffed.
Bucky ignored it and continued. "There might be more to the story. Hydra wants Spiderman because he knows where Peter Parker is-"
"We know this," Tony called out.
"-but what you don't know is, why Spiderman was so inclined to help us."
Tony looked up at that. "What does that have to do with the Hydra agent?"
"I can't tell you how but I found out that the reason Spiderman was so willing to help is because SHIELD caught him breaking into the building and stealing a file."
All eyes stayed on him before Clint responded. "Okay what's the punchline?"
"There is no punchline." Bucky said in exasperation.
"There has to be. I mean Spiderman is only a kid. How in the hell would he be able to break into a heavily guarded facility and steal a file?"
"I...I don't know."
"And once again, what does this have to do with the Hydra agent you lead to our beds?" Tony voiced.
Bucky ran a hand over his face causing Bruce to speak up. "Let him finish."
With a nod from Bruce the man at the front continued. "The file that was stolen belonged to Peter Parker."
Natasha shook her head. "No, we all saw the file on Parker."
"Yeah and it was thin as hell. You mean to tell me that this kid has been alive for fifteen years and SHIELD has only a few sheets of paper on him? I mean think about it. If he's as important to them as they claim, then why don't they have more information on him? Why is there reason for wanting us to find him so secretive?"
Mind started rolling. "Okay, but what does this-"
"Tony enough," Steve called out, causing the man to look at him. Tension filled the room faster than a pool. "Let him finish."
"Frank is a Hydra agent and-"
"Wait," Rhodes called as he held up a hand. "Frank? Who is that?"
"The Hydra agent."
"You know this guy?"
"Yes, he worked in the same facility that I was being held in when Hydra had me."
Everyone froze. "I thought you said they wiped his memory," Natasha spoke.
"They did," Steve answered.
"Will you focus on the topic at hand. We can talk about my memories later."
"Fine, continue."
Sam held up his hand. "No, wait. How do you know him. I know what you just said but you are on a first name basis with the guy. That seems a little more friendly than just another worker bee."
"Okay," Bucky said as he released a breath. He rocked on his feet as if he had been standing all day. "Frank is a high ranking Hydra agent. Before that, when he was in training, he found out where they were keeping me and snuck me food and stuff. He basically took care of me. Made sure I ate and that I always came back when they turned me into Asset."
Silence filled the room before Tony broke it. "Okay, so he's a regular old Mary Poppins. Is that the reason you brought him here?"
"No, I brought him here because he may have information that we could use. Names. Locations. Everything. We can find out what is so special about this Parker kid. From what I've been told. The files we have on Parker are probably incorrect."
"Like what?"
"The fact that Richard and Mary Parker are not his biological parents."
Silence greeted them once again as everyone seemed to think about the news that was just shared. Steve looked around the room as each member of his team thought it over. He could easily see that some were considering. "While I do think that some of this story is a little far fetched, you have to admit. It does feel like we are only getting part of the story from Fury." Sam announced.
"Yeah. Why would SHIELD and Hydra be interested in a fifteen year old boy. Let alone an orphan one at that," Clint added.
"Okay, say we believe you. Do you have any proof?"
"Not yet, but," he said, cutting Tony off. "I need to see Spiderman."
"I say no," a new voice called out causing everyone to turn. Scott stood against the wall. His face held a look of disbelief. "While you were away, I just got the kid to agree to give us the location of Peter Parker. If we go in there and throw these accusations at him, what's to say he won't clam up and not tell us. The moment he is healed he will be out of here and we might lose not only him but Peter as well."
Bucky froze. "What?"
"Yes, while you were having a little holiday, Spiderman agreed to give us Peter Parker. We have to wait a few days until the kid is healed but then he's all ours." Tony said catching the other man up to speed. Bucky froze before he looked to Steve as if he didn't believe a word of what the billionaire was saying. Steve nodded in agreeance.
"This is great."
"And not to mention, if you go in there and throw around those accusations, Spiderman is going to want to know how you know. Then you'll have to tell him everything, including how you allowed for a Hydra agent to come here. That's not safe. Then he really won't let us near Parker," Scott added.
"Not to mention, even if you don't tell him all this, I wouldn't feel comfortable with Peter here while the agent is also here," Pepper voiced. Bucky raised an eyebrow at her causing Tony to stand to his full height.
"Part of the agreement Scott has with Spiderman is, if he lets us have the kid, then Scott and Pepper are responsible for him," Natasha said, filling in the other man. Bucky looked between all of them before opening his mouth but it closed immediately after. "So now, do we tell the kid and prove or disprove Bucky's story and possibly lose our chance to get Parker or do we not say anything and risk bringing the kid here?"
