Bucky watched as Natasha led Spiderman out of the room before he squeezed his friend's shoulder. Steve glanced back at him and the other man indicated with his head.
He wanted to talk.
Rhodes patted Tony on the chest, slightly pushing him back. "Why don't we go and figure out how to get Friday back up quicker?"
Tony released a smirk before he followed his friend out of the room with Bruce following behind. Bucky grabbed Steve's arm and pulled him from the room and out into the field that rested outside the doors to the compound. Letting go of the arm, Bucky turned to the other man.
"Okay, what is going on with you?"
"Nothing."
"Bull. You're upset about something and I know it has something to do with me and Vanessa and possibly Hydra. So talk."
"Bucky, we have a mission to be working on."
"No, we don't, we got benched remember?"
Steve glanced at the man out of the corner of his eyes. "I meant, we have to find the kid. Not to mention, we have to convince Spiderman to allow us access to the boy again. Just because we're off the mission doesn't mean that Hydra agents aren't still after him."
"We have a room full of Avengers who can take care of that. You can spare two seconds to talk to me."
"Now is not a good time," Steve announced as he started walking away. Not one to be ignored, Bucky grabbed his arm again and pulled him back. What he didn't expect was for Steve to rip his arm away or the look of anger on his face.
"I said not now James."
Bucky watched as the chest of his friend moved up and down in a slightly quicker fashion than normal. He waited a few seconds as he watched the other man try to calm himself down. Licking his lips, he finally broke the silence. "Like I said, you're not fine. Something is going on with you and if you talked to me about it instead of being so damn stubborn, I might be able to help you."
"I said, I'm fine."
"Right. Keep telling yourself that."
"Is that all you wanted to talk about? Like I said before, we have a kid to find."
"You know you can't avoid this conversation forever."
"Watch me." Steve said evenly as he turned on his heels and walked back inside the building.
Spiderman followed the Black Widow into the darkness of her underground layer. Ever part of his body told him not to scream and to get out of there, even his spidey senses were buzzing at him, as if to warn him that the shadows were watching his every move. It wasn't until a door was opened that the light grabbed him and fought against the darkness. The black widow went in first and looked to the occupant in the cell.
"You have a visitor," she announced as she lifted a hand to wave Spiderman forward. Shuffling, he stepped into the room and allowed for his eyes to immediately land on the other occupant in the room. She sat on a bed, leaning forward as if the loneliness alone was making her sick. She lifted her head and when her eyes fell on the whites of his she sat up taller.
"Spiderman, what are you doing here?"
Spiderman turned his head to the Black Widow who nodded her head at the unspoken request. "I'll be by the door. You have five minutes." With that she turned and started to bleed into the darkness of the shadowy corners. Spiderman turned his head expecting to see the other woman on the bed still but found her walking towards the bar that separated them. Clearing his throat he allowed his eyes to rake over her, unwillingly.
She's your mother, it's only rational for me to want to make sure she's okay, his brain reasoned before he could start to question it. Now hurry up you have five minutes.
He cleared his throat again as it slowly turned to sandpaper. Vanessa dropped her eyebrows. "What are you doing here?"
"I...um...I wanted to show you something...or rather...Peter was-"
"Peter's not here," she interrupted.
"I...I know. He contacted me after he left and I picked him up."
"So, he's safe."
Spider Man nodded. Vanessa breathed a sigh of relief before resting her head on the bars. "Um...anyways Peter wanted me to show you something."
"But first who is A1?"
Vanessa shook her head in confusion. "I don't know anyone named A1."
Vanessa watched as Spiderman reached down the collar of his suit and pulled out a piece of paper. Dropping his voice down to a whisper, he admitted. "Are you sure? We found this in the file. I know I already asked you when we first met but you never really answered."
Vanessa took the paper and studied the lettering carefully. Her eyes immediately recognized the format of a birth certificate. The child's name: Baby Foster. The mother was listed as Vanessa Foster and the father was listed as A1. Vanessa frowned for a while as she studied the paper. Her lips started moving forming the words A1 over and over as her brain tried to process the information that was laid out before her. Spiderman stood by watching her with renewed impatience. He looked to the side and saw Black Widow watching with a critical eye. He was surprised that she had not come over and ripped the paper from their hands yet. No doubt she would ask or demand to see the document after they left.
It was the sudden intake of a breath that drew Spiderman's attention back to the woman in the cell. She stared down at the birth certificate for a moment before looking up at the boy in the suit. Handing back the form, she shook her head. "A1 isn't a person."
"What do you mean? It says it right here," Spiderman asked as he put the birth certificate back in his suit. Vanessa gave him a sad smile as she shook her head once more. She opened her mouth and allowed the words to escape once more. "I know what it says but A1 isn't a person. It's a clue."
If Spiderman didn't know any better he would say that Vanessa sounded disappointed. "A clue to what?"
Shaking her head, she released a chuckle. "That sly bastard. I hate that man but he's good."
"Who?"
"Times up," the Black Widow announced as she stepped forward. "Let's go."
Spiderman's brain screamed at him to demand more answers. "What does it mean?"
The Black Widow stepped up and grabbed his red arm and began pulling him towards that exit.
"Vanessa!"
As if she finally heard him, Vanessa pressed her face to the bars and watched the young boy get dragged away. "Ask him!"
"Ask who?"
"Fury! Ask Nick Fury. He knows more than he's letting on!"
Spiderman allowed the words to enter his ear and stamp his brain as the door slammed behind him, throwing him back in darkness. The Black Widow led him back into the light of the compound before turning to him and holding out her hand. "Alright, hand it over."
"I'm sorry what?"
"The paper that you showed to Vanessa. I need to see it to make sure that it's not anything that will compromise the lives of the Avengers or the compound and SHIELD."
"I need you to trust me when I say it doesn't."
"No can do."
"Come on, from one Spider to another?" The redheaded woman allowed the corners of her mouth to twitch. "I mean it's the least you could do after allowing Peter to escape a heavily guarded facility."
"The team would have my head if they knew that I allowed you to leave and I wasn't able to see what was on that paper."
"Not if you don't tell them."
She regarded him carefully but despite her training and common sense, her gut told her to allow it so she nodded. The boy let out a sigh but it was short lived. "Only if you give us Peter back."
Spiderman froze. "I don't think so. You guys-"
"No. That's the deal. I will trust you when you say that the paper does not hold any secrets if you give us back Peter. It's not up for negotiation."
"You're not getting Peter back," Spiderman said with a sense of finality.
The Black Widow nodded as she held out her hand. "The paper, please."
"What if I tell you what it is? Without you seeing it."
She leveled him with a look of disbelief. "Not a chance."
"I can't show it to you."
"Why?"
"Because it's my birth certificate." Her eyebrows raised at that. "If I show it to you, then that would reveal my identity and that would defeat the purpose of me wearing a mask," Spiderman answered truthfully.
"What does your birth certificate have to do with Vanessa?"
"Well now, that's my business."
She stared at him for a while and it took everything in his will power not to squirm. Finally she spoke and it sent a wave of relief through the boy. "Okay. I won't look at it, but if I find out you're lying to me, I'm going to make you wish you took me up on our original deal." The threat was present in her voice even though the words weren't really spoken.
"Thank you."
She nodded before looking behind her, then back at him. "I take it, you're heading to see Nick Fury?"
Spiderman nodded as she nodded toward the door that sat not too far from them. "Go ahead, before I change my mind and drag you into the room with the others."
Not needing to be told twice, Spiderman ran out the door without a backwards glance.
