May 3rd, 2015 - Avengers Tower - New York
Steve held the tablet in his hand tight, trying hard not to break it with the force he was using. He couldn't help it -- he was furious. Tony, once again, had kept things from the team and now they were at war with a very pissed off AI who was bent on ending them...or the world. He didn't know if Ultron had made up his mind yet. And now Strucker was dead. When he walked into the room, he saw AJ standing between Thor and Stark, looking over Natasha's shoulder at the footage she was pulling up of possible Ultron sightings. He handed the tablet to Thor, making Tony look over at him with a raised brow.
"What's this?" He asked, trying to peep a look at the screen only to have Thor's large hand shove it against his chest roughly.
"A message." Steve told him. "Ultron killed Strucker."
Tony looked at the screen. "And he did a Banksy at the crime scene, just for us." He remarked.
"This is a smoke screen." Natasha told them. "Why send a message when you've just given a speech?"
"Dramatic flare?" Andrew suggested, moving to stand next to AJ who shook her head, probably thinking the same thing as Steve.
"Strucker knew something that Ultron wanted us to miss." He said, looking over to AJ.
"But what?" She asked.
"I bet he," Natasha started to say only to pause when the computer made an angry noise at her. Steve looked to the screen to see a message letting them know that their files were being deleted. Natasha scoffed in annoyance. "Yup. Everything we had on Strucker has just been erased."
"Not everything." Steve said. Tony looked at him skeptically.
That's when AJ stepped in. "Time to go old school, team." She said, lifting a manila folder. "I'm sure Hill has catalogued all the information we previously had at a click of a button into the regular old filing system that we used in, as Tony as once referred to the time as, the dark ages." She said with a smirk.
"Ugh," Tony scoffed. "Do you know how long that will take, Adelyn?"
AJ narrowed her eyes at Tony's complaining. "Uh, yeah, Tony. I was an SSR agent in the 40's and that is how we handled things, so I have a pretty good idea."
Tony raised his hands in the air in mock surrender. "I apologize mee-maw, I know you get testy about your age."
She didn't reply; she only looked to Andrew and gave him a look which caused him to nod and leave the room. Steve smiled, seeing how close AJ had become with her nephew. They didn't even need to speak to know what the other was thinking. Then again, Steve knew what AJ wanted as well. She wanted Andrew to go find Hill and to bring back the files for them to go over. Which they did, with the added help of Kai Palani. Steve just wished he hadn't sent Sam on another mission to find Bucky, because he wouldn't mind using his eyes as well.
"Known associates." Steve read off as he walked over to the table and set down a box of files on Strucker. He shook his head as he lifted the lid and saw the mass amount of files they'd be going through. "Baron Strucker had a lot of friends."
"Well, these people are all horrible." Bruce said, moving his glasses up his nose as he read a file making a face while doing so.
"Wait," Tony said as he pointed to the file Bruce was reading. "I know this guy." He said, "From back in the day," He said, sounding somewhat remorseful. "He operates off of the African Coast. Black market arms." Tony, already expecting a look from Steve had a defense ready for himself. "There are conventions. Alright? You meet people. I didn't sell him anything." He glared at Steve.
"No one said you did, Tony." AJ said with a soft smile, only to give Steve a hard glare that caused him to look away.
"He was talking about finding something new," Tony told them. "A game-changer. It was all very Ahab." Steve felt a gentle touch to his forearm and knew instantly it was AJ, who came over to get a better look at the paper. It had pictures of the man, Ulysses Klaue. He was surrounded by men with guns and had a tattoo that went from the back of his neck to behind his ear. He looked like scum. But there was a mark on his neck that didn't look like any kind of tattoo ink Steve had seen in this century.
"This?" Thor pointed to the picture of Klaue, more importantly, what was under the tattoo.
"Uh," Tony looked at the picture. "It's a tattoo - I don't think he had it,"
Thor interrupted Tony. " Those are tattoos," He told Tony, pointing to Klaue's various others.
"-This is a brand."
"Here," AJ pulled out her phone and took a picture of the brand on Klaue's neck, moving over to Bruce who stayed by the computer, anticipating her next move and took the phone from her, plugging it into the USB drive and uploading it to the internet to see if anything similar popped up.
"Oh, yeah." Bruce nodded his head as more images popped up. " It's a word in African dialect meaning; thief in a much less friendly way"
"What dialect?" Steve asked.
"Wakanada." Bruce stammered as he tried to pronounce the word.
"Wakanda." AJ corrected him, both her and Steve recognizing it. Vibranium. It's what Howard used to make Steve's shield.
Steve shook his head and looked to Tony again.
"If this guy got out of Wakanda with some of their trade goods," Tony said, only to have Steve interrupt him.
"I thought your father said he got the last of it."
Bruce got up and walked over to Steve and Tony. "I don't follow. What comes out of Wakanda?"
AJ moved to stand next to Bruce. "The strongest metal on Earth." Tony said. Steve looked behind him to where his shield was pressed against a desk.
"It's the material that Howard used to make Steve's shield." AJ explained to Bruce. "We tested a bunch of different types of metals and irons -- but nothing compared to Vibranium. If Ultron gets to Klaue...he'll be indestructible."
Steve looked back to Tony. "Where is this guy now?"
"He usually hangs in salvage yards off the African coast." Tony told them. "I'm betting Ultron's paying him a visit right now."
"Everyone," Steve looked to the team. "Suit up."
"Me too?" Andrew asked, Kai moving to stand next to him with the same question in his eyes. Steve looked at AJ briefly who gave him a nod of approval.
"We leave in 5." Steve told them all, listening as Kai letting out a 'whoop' and the two ran off to grab their gear. He watched as AJ wrung her hands. "I can have him stay behind." Steve said softly.
"It's not that." AJ said, just as quiet. "Iron Legion had on the wrist bands the team uses to not be affected by my cold." She looked up at Steve, her green eyes showing nothing but worry. "If Ultron found a way to recreate them and gets the vibranium...I'm useless. There's nothing I can do to stop him."
"Hey," Steve rested his hands on AJ's shoulders. "You're not useless." She gave him a skeptical look. "You aren't." He said again. "You can still fight -- unless you're getting rusty?"
"Har-har." AJ playfully rolled her eyes. "I've just," She sighed. "I've been relying on my powers full time since," She stopped and swallowed hard.
Since D.C. Since Bucky. After the public became fully aware of AJ's powers, there was no reason not to use them -- no need to hide them. And Steve saw how she began to rely on them more and more. Now with the threat of not being able to stop an enemy with them? He understood how she felt. Steve was sure he'd feel the same way if he woke up one morning without the serum in his system. He'd feel defenseless. But AJ wasn't useless. He was going to make damn sure she knew that.
"You have a pretty good advantage though." Steve told AJ, causing her to raise her brow at him skeptically. "You and Howard spent hours testing what does and doesn't affect Vibranium. Remember? You were pissed off at Bucky for not kissing you and you took it out on Howard."
AJ smiled, closing her eyes as she nodded her head. "Too bad there wasn't a material that even put a dent in your shield." AJ reminded him. "I'm sure you remember Peggy shooting at it while you were holding it."
Steve chuckled. "Don't remind me." He then remembered hearing the conversation he had walked into on Clint. "Hey -- you never told me Clint had a girlfriend."
AJ looked down at the ground and shrugged, smiling a little. "You know I'm not a gossip, Steve." She said before looking down at the clock on her phone. "Get suited up -- you have less than two minutes now to squeeze into your suit."
Steve grinned and they both went their separate ways to change before leaving to find Klaue. There was something AJ wasn't telling Steve about Clint. But Steve also knew that AJ would never keep information from him if it affected the team. He trusted her. More than anyone else on this planet.
_
South Africa
"You okay?"
AJ looked up from reading the twin's files that Maria had compiled together and saw Clint standing in front of her. She smiled and nodded, motioning to the file. "They're just kids who were born into a war they never asked to be a part of and did what they needed to do to survive." She sighed and Clint frowned.
"War flashbacks?" He asked, taking a seat next to AJ and nudging her arm a bit.
AJ chuckled. "Steve flashbacks." She joked, causing Clint to raise his brow. "I understand why they did it, because my best friend did the very same thing. They believed that it was the right thing. That it was their duty to stand up for their country and fight."
Clint took the file from AJ and looked at the picture of the young man: Pietro Maximoff. "This one is a little punk."
"So was Steve." AJ said with a grin. "Still is, if we're being honest." Clint chuckled at her dry tone. "-Y'know, he didn't even know that I was a part of making the serum -- he didn't know anything about it. He just knew that it'd help him get overseas to join the fight."
She hadn't talked about this part of her life with many people. Not Fury, Not Clint, not Natasha; only a little with Phil just because he was such a huge fan of Cap -- but it had been too painful to rehash her time working with Howard and Erskine, and even harder was talking about her time with Steve. It was hard talking about Steve because he was such a reminder of Bucky. It was hard because Steve was the greatest friend AJ ever had and for the last few months of her time with him; she had been so sick with grief over losing Bucky that she took her anger out on him. They had only started to heal when they both ended up on ice (Steve more literally). And waking up knowing that she wasted those few months they had together being sore at him? It was one of her biggest regrets.
It hurt to talk about how they had lost Erskine the day of the serum injection and how Howard was gone now too. The only surviving members of the project were herself and Peggy, and slowly even her memory was fading away. Even with Steve back, AJ didn't like talking about her part in the serum because all the friends she had made along the way weren't standing there with her.
"Tell me if I'm wrong but...didn't you say you were working on a polio vaccine?" Clint asked with a sly smile, already knowing the answer. It was one of the things AJ had drunkenly confessed while out with Natasha and Clint when they first became friends.
AJ winced and then chuckled. "It was the first thing that came to my mind." She said innocently. "And how was I supposed to know people would actually be thrilled about it?" AJ shrugged lamely, making Clint laugh loudly.
"It was the 40's, Jay! Even the president had Polio!"
"Shut it," AJ said, nudging him with her elbow while laughing. "I told my boyfriend at the time we were working on a Polio vaccine, too, when he dropped me off at my place and Howard showed up. He was actually in the middle of asking me to go steady."
"A Stark ruining a moment? Wow." Clint said in a dry tone. AJ grinned. Her friend then frowned. "Sometimes I forget that there is so much about your life I don't know."
AJ raised her brow at his words and leaned in, forehead nearly touching his. "I think most of the team could say the same thing about you." She said in a whisper that even Steve couldn't detect. "Steve asked me about your girlfriend before we left the tower." AJ pulled away from Clint and gave him a soft smile when he sighed. "We all keep things about ourselves hidden for various different reasons. You should know that better than anyone."
"We're landing." Tony said over the comm. AJ gave Clint a look and inhaled deeply before getting up.
She began to wring her hands again as she tried to go over as many battle strategies as possible that would keep her from getting killed. "Nervous?" Clint asked, moving to stand next to her.
Clint couldn't know that she didn't feel confident, that she was doubting herself. He'd want her to stay back. So she played it off with a shrug. "Of jumping out of an airplane?" AJ smirked. "Honey, I've been doing this since the 40's." She said before following after Steve who was the first to jump from the back of the plane.
Thor caught her before they landed on the shipping container. AJ looked up at him and smiled softly, thankful for his help even if she could have landed the fall easily. She stayed sandwiched between Steve and Thor as they made their way down the piece of junk, hearing Ultron growing angrier and angrier by the second after being compared to Tony.
"Ah, Junior." Tony said once they were standing behind Ultron. Steve kept his shield up to block both he and AJ as Tony landed right in front of them. "You're going to break your old man's heart."
AJ looked passed Tony to the two enhanced making their way to stand next to Ultron. The girl certainly wasn't dressed from battle. No, she wore a sundress paired with a leather jacket and a black pair of ankle boots that would not do her well in a fight. But AJ noticed something -- neither of them wore the bracelets that the team wore to shield them from her powers. She grinned, feeling triumphant.
"If I have to," Ultron replied to Tony.
"Nobody has to break anything." Thor said.
Natasha and Clint were coming in from behind the twins, wanting to catch them off guard.
"Clearly you've never made an omelette." Ultron said and Tony sighed.
"He beat me by one second."
"Ah, yes." The male twin said. Pietro. "He's funny. Mr. Stark," He walked forward. "It's what? Comfortable? Like old times?" He motioned down to the bombs below them.
If she could get to them before he did, AJ could freeze them to a point that they'd never explode. But this guy had speed, according to all the files she read of him -- and Clint. AJ needed Romanoff and Barton to take him out beforehand so there wouldn't be any trouble on her end. Kai and Andrew were waiting near the roof waiting for their queue.
Her job was to take out the missiles. Make them unusable. Freeze them with all the strength she had until they shattered like glass and became useless. Kai and Andrew would jump in and take out the guards who were sure to come and rescue Klaue -- but the last she saw him was down a staircase with a missing lower arm. When she was done with the missiles, she was going to make it her mission to go after Klaue with Kai or Andrew as her back up. They couldn't lose him. He needed to be locked away forever. Losing his arm wasn't enough punishment for what he did -- Klaue needed to pay for his crimes.
"This was never my life." Tony told Pietro and AJ heard the sigh the escaped as well. Tony still felt guilt. Everyone seemed to forget that -- Tony was only following orders of someone he shouldn't have trusted when he made those weapons for the government, weapons that were stolen and traded around the world to be used in places like where the twins came from, Sokovia.
"You two can still walk away from this." Steve told them.
"Oh, we will." The girl told him. Wanda. She seemed rather sure of herself.
"I know you've suffered." Steve tried to say only to have Ultron let out a loud scoff at his words.
He then chuckled, "Captain America. God's righteous man. Pretending you could live without a war." Ultron said. "I can't physically throw up in my mouth, but-"
"-If you believe in peace then let us keep it." Thor interrupted him as the air grew colder. He knew that AJ was getting angry and her powers were starting to show.
She inhaled deeply, trying to calm herself down. But when someone insulted Steve it was like a ticking bomb waiting to go off.
"I think you're confusing peace with quiet," Ultron said to Thor.
"Uh-hu," Tony cut off Ultron, sounding bored. "What's the vibranium for?"
If Ultron was capable of smiling, it seemed like now would have been the perfect moment. "I'm glad you asked that, because I wanted to take this time to explain my evil plan."
AJ was thrown back by both Thor and Steve, both of them shielding her as she listened to the sound of Tony struggling. Before they had stepped in front of her, she had watched as Ultron did something to Tony's suit. Or, the power source that made it possible for the suit to even work. She had just barely been moved out of the way before Tony was being thrown into the door behind them.
When Tony got up, more suits came at them. Steve looked to AJ. "Focus on your mission." He said before getting knocked down by a suit. AJ huffed in frustration but jumped off the bridge and down to where the missiles were.
She briefly saw Kai jumping from the roof and taking out a few guards, along with Andrew, who was moving faster than she had seen him move yet, taking out more men than Kai did, the two back to back as they took out more men.
The sound of bullets ricocheting through the air got AJ's blood pumping, her heart beating loudly in her ears as she climbed down more ladders to get to the missles. She created a cold mist around her to keep the men coming for her blinded. Clint, from above, was making sure that no one was able to hit her, firing his arrows at anyone who got too close. AJ got to the floor and hurried over to the weapons, only to jump back at the sound of Thor's hammer making it's way over to her, dragging along a very confused Pietro Maximoff. Thor's hammer returned and Pietro's met her eyes.
"I have seen you on TV." Pietro said, getting up and cocking his head to the side as he took her in. "You're much prettier in person." He smirked, confusing AJ.
"You do realize we're fighting on opposite teams, right?" She said, letting cold mist leave her fingers, creating a cloud around her feet.
Pietro shrugged his shoulders. "Eh, perhaps you'll see things differently." He told her. AJ felt her body freeze in place, her breathing growing rigid as everything around her turned a shade of red. She closed her eyes and when she blinked, Pietro was no longer with her. In fact, she wasn't anywhere near where she had last been.
"Steve?" She called out, walking forward, only to step forward into a completely different time. Her eyes blurred as Bucky appeared in front of her, holding out his hand for her to grab. They were back at the bar in London -- it was their first dance together. She smiled and moved her hand to rest in his, letting him tug her closer until they were swaying together as the bartender played the piano for them.
"Never thought this day would happen, Frosty." Bucky said as she moved her cheek to rest against his shoulder.
"What day?" She asked, smiling at his tone. "The day I let you dance with me?" She teased. "Or the day I actually agreed to go on a date with you."
"Both, I suppose." Bucky chuckled. "But here we are."
She giggled. "It is quite impressive, Buck." She complimented, inhaling his scent deeply, feeling lost in the moment. He pulled back a bit and spun AJ, making her laugh, only to have her spin into a completely different day. "Bucky?" She called out for him.
"I'm not sleeping." She heard him grumble and when she looked down to the voice, he was leaning against their tree at Camp McCoy, head slumped down with his eyes closed and a straw of grass between his lips.
AJ chuckled, sitting next to him and snatching the piece of grass from between his lips. "Oh really?" She challenged him.
"Just checkin' my eyelids for cracks." He opened his eyes but remained slumped against the tree.
"And the snoring?" AJ asked with a smirk when he looked over at her.
He waved his hand to brush off her comment. "You're imagining things, Frosty."
AJ frowned. "I think I am." She said, realizing now that this wasn't possible. "Bucky," she turned her body to face his only to see she was alone once again, but this time she was in the hallway of her private quarters. Bucky was at the other end of the hallway, pressing his hand to his heart and mouthing the words I love you.
"No, no, Bucky! Wait!" She shouted, trying to chase after him. She pushed herself so hard, but the hallway was getting longer and longer, and Bucky was quickly disappearing. "Bucky, no! Don't go! Don't go!" She yelled, tears streaming down her face. AJ could hardly see through the tears and tripped over something, causing her to fall hard on the ground.
"I got you," Bucky's voice said. A cold hand wrapped around her arm and she was slowly lifted off the ground. She looked up and found Bucky standing before her. But not the Bucky she knew from the 40's. The present day Bucky. "It's okay, Frosty. I remember now. I'm here to protect you." He told her and AJ couldn't help herself. She flung her arms around his neck and pressed her lips to his in a breathtaking kiss, the air getting trapped in her throat as her fingers ran through his long hair.
But then she felt a building pressure against her throat, causing her eyes to fly open. Bucky's eyes were cold, as dark as night, and showed no love in them. She gasped as she was lifted in the air, hands going to her neck where the Winter Soldier's metal hand was gripping her neck tightly. "Bucky," She struggled to get out. "Plea...se, sto...p." Her words came out in a strangled whisper. Then her body fell to the ground as Bucky was thrown across the room. AJ looked up to see Tony in his Iron Man gear. He grabbed her hand, pulling her off the ground.
"Are you okay?" He asked her.
AJ didn't answer his question. "Where's Bucky?"
"Don't worry," Tony told her in a soft tone. "He'll never hurt you again." AJ's eyes caught something else that Tony was now holding up. It was Bucky's mangled metal arm, causing her to let out a gasp. She shoved Tony away and ran to Bucky, finding him lying on the ground, eyes open with blood covering his face.
"Don't worry, Adelyn." Tony moved to stand next to her. "He's gone forever now. I did it. I saved you."
"No!" She screamed.
"Adelyn, wake up!"
The voice didn't belong to Tony.
"Adelyn! Wake up!"
And it wasn't Bucky either.
"Adelyn! Fight this! Wake up!"
Green mist surrounded her and a face appeared. A face she hadn't expected to see. Pale skin, blue eyes, and black hair, a pair of hands shaking her shoulders and shouting at her to WAKE UP! She blinked and he was gone.
Something grabbed onto her shoulder hard, still yanking at her. She was then being forced back into reality. "Jay!" Andrew was kneeling in front of her, looking more scared than she had ever seen him. "It's okay! I got you. You're safe." He told her, holding onto her shoulder. AJ blinked over and over again to make sure that when her eyes opened, that Andrew would still be here, that this wasn't some vision being placed in her head.
Why had she seen...why him?
"Andy?" She whispered, her voice raspier than usual, trying to sit up on her own but her body felt to heavy to move.
Kai walked up to them, an angry scowl creasing his brow. "Come on," He said, grabbing her by the arm and lifting her until she was hoisted onto his shoulder.
"Wait," She told him, "I saw him."
Andrew sighed. "Jay," He said softly. "They weren't real. You know what Maximoff can do. I'm sorry, you didn't see Bucky."
"No," She disagreed. "I didn't, I saw him, but...I saw," She could faintly hear him ask her what she had seen before her eyes closed again and they were met with darkness.
I saw Loki.
_
"Is she going to be okay?" Kai asked Andrew, who had AJ's head resting in his lap.
Andrew looked down at AJ and then back up at Kai. "I don't know."
"The news is loving you guys." Maria said over comms, her tone dripping with sarcasm. "Nobody else is. There's been no official call for Banner ' s arrest but it's in the air."
"The Stark Relief Foundation?" Tony asked.
"Already on the scene."
Andrew made a face. No cleanup crew could possibly clean up the mess that Tony and Bruce had made fast enough to make people forget the damage that was done.
"How's the team?"
"Everyone's..." Tony started to say but drifted off. "We took a hit. We'll shake it off."
"Palani?"
"I'm good, baby." Kai told Maria.
They heard Maria sigh in relief. "Well, for now, I'd stay in stealth mode...and stay away from here."
"So run and hide?"
"Until we can find Ultron, I don't have a lot else to offer."
Andrew heard Tony sigh quietly. "Neither do we." Tony got up and walked over to Clint. "Hey, you wanna switch out?" He asked.
"No, I'm good." Clint said. Out of them all, Kai, Tony, Clint, and Andrew were the only ones able to function. He wasn't sure what kind of team that made but -- at least they could all look after the others in shifts. "If you wanna get some kip, now's a good time because we're still a few hours out."
"A few hours from where?" Andrew heard Tony ask.
"A safe house."
Tony made his way back to where Andrew was sitting and looked down at AJ, frowning. "How is she?"
Andrew shrugged in reply. "Probably not good."
"Barnes?"
Andrew couldn't help but chuckle. "You think she'd hallucinate anyone else?" He asked. "That Maximoff girl was able to get into her mind and you really think Bucky wasn't on it? He's always on her damn mind."
Tony made a face. "You don't sound too thrilled about that."
Andrew didn't say anything, he just looked down at his aunt. "She loves him. That's what matters to her." He finally replied. "She doesn't care if he's dangerous or about the fact that he could kill her...she won't let go of him. It's going to get her killed."
Tony seemed to nod in agreement. "Well, all we can do is keep her from getting killed." He told Andrew. "Because none of us wants that."
AJ began to stir, letting out a little whine as her hand slowly moved to her head. "Ow." She complained. Then her eyes flew open, head lifting out of Andrews lap as she scrambled away from them.
"Hey, hey," Tony said, trying to calm her down. "It's okay. You're safe."
"Thor!" AJ yelled loudly, surprising them all.
Thor came stomping over, ready to defend AJ. She quickly got to her feet and grabbed his arm. "What's wrong?" He asked, seeing the panic in her eyes.
"I saw him." AJ said, causing Andrew to sigh. "I saw Loki."
Wait, what?
Thor looked down at her strangely. "You saw my brother in your dreams?"
She shook her head. "No." She groaned in frustration. "It's hard to explain but..I think he was the one to pull me out of the hallucinations."
"Adelyn," Thor said her name slowly.
"I know," She shook her head. "He's dead -- but," She moved her hand to her neck and yanked off the necklace. "I'm pretty sure there's still a part of him in this."
Thor took the necklace, watching as it glowed green. He frowned and shook his head. "Loki must have enchanted this when he gave it to our mother...it's how the two of them were able to communicate while he was imprisoned."
"Does that mean that he's still..." AJ didn't finish.
"Alive and creating mischief?" He shook his head. "No...no, I watched him take his last breath."
"Are you sure?" AJ asked him.
"I saw it!" Thor snapped at her, only to sigh when he saw the look on her face. AJ didn't look frightened or sad. She looked pissed off. "Adelyn, there is no way Loki is alive and I don't know it. We're brothers. We may not be blood but...I'd know if he were still alive." She gave him another stern look and Thor looked down at his hands. "I apologize for raising my voice."
AJ nodded her head and walked over to where Steve was watching her curiously, Andrew following her. "Bucky?" Steve asked AJ.
She nodded her head. "Peggy?" He nodded too. "I know she's just a kid but when I get my hands on that little witc-" She stopped when she saw Andrew was with them. She looked to him and frowned. "Hey, uh," She started to say, but Andrew understood.
"Don't mention it." He said with a shrug, knowing she was trying to thank him for getting her out of her own head.
Steve grabbed her attention away from Andrew. "You saw Bucky and Loki?"
She nodded.
"Together?" Andrew asked.
"No." AJ looked at Andrew briefly and then focused back on Steve. "Loki was...trying to pull me out of the hallucination. Or, some...part of him, or whatever is left of his magic." She rubbed at her neck.
"Are you still feeling the effects of the necklace?" Andrew asked.
"No." AJ said softly, slowly moving her hand away from her throat.
When Andrew looked to Steve, he seemed to see something in AJ that Andrew hadn't. His arms opened and AJ moved to rest her head against his chest. "It was just a dream." Steve told her in a whisper.
"I know," AJ said, her voice breaking. "But it felt real...all of it."
"I know." Steve said back.
Andrew frowned. Why couldn't his aunt fall in love with Steve? Why couldn't she forget Bucky and just...be with Steve? Steve was good for her and Bucky wasn't.
But Andrew had learned early on...it would always be Bucky.
Always.
"Where are we headed?" AJ asked, moving out of Steves hold.
Andrew looked to his aunt, "I don't know. Clint just said it was a safe house."
"Safe house?" She moved past Andrew and went over to where Clint was driving, pushing past Thor and Tony on her way. "Are you?"
Clint only nodded his head. Andrew watched as AJ placed her hand on his shoulder and gave it a squeeze. Andrew looked over at Steve with both brows raised. "Do you know where this safe house is?"
"No clue." Steve answered and walked away.
Andrew sighed and walked back over to where Kai was. The large man chuckled when Andrew sat down beside time. "I know the feeling man."
"What feeling?" Andrew grumbled.
"The feeling of being part of the team but at the same time...not really being part of the team. They don't tell me shit either, brother."
Andrew let his head fall back against the headrest of his chair and wondered what he would have seen if Wanda Maximoff had gotten into his head? Brian? His death? The life he had had before S.H.I.E.L.D? Mom and Dad? Did AJ see Dad? Did she even care? Or was it all just Bucky for her? He scoffed at the thought.
There were more important things in AJ's life to worry about other than Bucky Barnes. He just wished she saw that.
_
May 4th, 2015 - The Barton Family Farm
She could still feel the weight of Bucky's metal arm squeezing her windpipe, could still smell the scent of him from their dance, still feel the straw of grass she had stolen from him between her fingers -- it all still felt real.
And Loki.
It wasn't the first time she had heard his voice -- she had heard it at the party earlier too. When she'd had too much to drink of Thor's Asgardian booze and Clint had caught her before she fell. But it was Loki's voice she had heard. Thor might not want to believe her, but AJ knew deep down that Loki was still alive. Which meant he was still a threat, even if he had been helpful in pulling her out of Wanda Maximoff's hypnosis.
The quinjet landed right on the hill near the farm house, the aircraft surrounded by trees to keep from being detected. Steve kept asking her where they were, and AJ felt guilty not telling him, but it wasn't her secret to share. Clint kept the farm and his family a secret for a reason; it was for their own safety -- if anyone knew about Clint being a husband and father, they'd see it as a weakness and a way to get to him. His family would be at risk, and no matter how much he trusted the people he worked with, his family's safety was more important.
AJ had asked Clint afterwards that if his daughter hadn't been brought into emergency services while he was by chance on a mission with her -- would he have ever told her about his family? No, Clint had told her, saying it was nothing personal. But I am glad it was you I was with. And that you know now. He had said afterwards.
They walked down the hill, Steve's arm circled around AJ's shoulder, still feeling woozy from Wanda's tampering and needing help with his balance. Thor was next to them, sluggishly walking and looking deep in thought. Clint was ahead of them, helping Natasha walk, and Tony was a few paces behind him. Bruce had stayed back a bit with Kai and Andrew at his side.
Thor walked up to Tony as they made to the house, walking up the small steps that led them to the front porch. "What is this place?" He asked Tony.
"Safe house." Tony replied, still not knowing where they truly were.
"Let's hope." Clint said with a chuckle.
They walked into the home and Clint called out for his wife. "Honey? I'm home."
AJ smiled when she watched Laura walk out of the kitchen, looking confused as to why most of the team was with Clint, but politely smiling nonetheless.
"Company." Clint said with a shrug. "Sorry I didn't call ahead." He said and walked up to her, making Laura smile. She pressed her hands to Clint's cheeks and whispered her hello to him before giving him a quick kiss.
"This is an agent of some kind." Tony said, looking around and trying to figure out what the hell was happening.
AJ moved away from Steve and stood next to Natasha, motioning with her head at Tony. Both the women chuckled as he tried desperately to understand everything.
"Gentlemen," Clint said as he looked to Thor, Steve, Bruce, and Ton. "This is Laura."
Laura smiled, chuckling a little. "I know all your names." She said, sounding a little star-struck.
AJ grinned at the sound of tiny little footsteps approaching.
"Oh, incoming." Clint said and AJ stepped back to stand next to Steve. Lila and Cooper came running into the room, the little girl throwing her arms around her father's shoulders and jumping into his arms, and Cooper followed suit.
"Dad!" They both cheered.
"Hi, sweetheart." He hugged Lila and pulled Cooper to him too, kissing the top of his head. "Hey, buddy! How are you guys doing?"
"There are...smaller agents." Tony told Thor, pointing at the kids.
"Look at your face!" Clint laughed and kissed his daughter's forehead. "Oh my goodness!"
"Did you bring Auntie Nat?" Lila asked. AJ smiled over at Natasha, whom had walked out from behind everyone.
"Why don't you hug her and find out?" Nat called, causing Lila to run over to her, nearly tripping on her own two feet when she saw that AJ was with them as well.
"Auntie Addie is here too?!" She exclaimed happily as she jumped into Natasha arms. AJ chuckled and walked over to where Natasha was holding her, pressing a kiss to the little girl's forehead before mussing with her hair.
"Auntie Addie ?" Andrew asked with a laugh only to have AJ glare at him.
"Don't even think about it, Andy. " She pointed at him.
Steve cleared his throat. "Sorry for barging in on you."
"Yeah," Tony said, arms crossed in irritation. "We would have called ahead, but we were busy having no idea that you existed." He snarked. "Well, most of us." His glare landed on AJ.
"Yeah, well, Fury helped me set this up when I joined." Clint told Tony. "He kept it off S.H.I.E.L.D's files...I'd like to keep it that way. I figure it's a good place to lay low."
AJ looked to her side when she heard the sound of something crunching, seeing Thors foot had destroyed one of Coopers lego houses. He looked at both her and Steve who had noticed as well, kicking it underneath an ottoman and giving them both a look that read; you saw nothing.
AJ rolled her eyes and smiled before walking over to where Natasha was being told that little Natasha was actually little Nathaniel.
"Traitor." Natasha whispered as she got down low to Laura's belly.
"It's so good to see you again, AJ!" Laura said, the hugging onto AJ as best as she could with her round belly in the way. "I didn't know when your next visit would be."
"Next?" Tony asked with a bitter laugh.
"Enough, Stark."
Thor left the room at the sound of bread popping out of a toaster and AJ watched as Steve followed. She heard Steve say his name, but a little while after, the house shook from the vibration of Thor's hammer being swung and she knew that Thor had left.
When AJ found Steve, he was standing on the porch looking into the doorway. "Steve?" She called, only to have him sigh and walk away from her. AJ frowned, deciding not to follow after him. Instead, she went inside and took Laura's offer to shower in the guest bathroom while Natasha took the master.
"Try and get a bit of sleep, too, Adge." Clint told her as she headed up the stairs.
The last thing she wanted was to sleep.
She rather not relive the last thing she saw in her vision.
Bucky.
Dead.
Killed by Tony.
I can't let that happen.
