Chapter 74

She pinched her nose as Ross stalked off and immediately pulled out her phone as she ducked into a conference room. She began typing a few things, disabling any devices near by that could be listening in on anything she could have to say, before dialing Steve's number.

The phone rang exactly three times before Steve picked up the phone.

"Steve?" she asked him, wanting to make sure before she said anything else.

"It's me," Steve confirmed.

"Are you alone?" she asked him carefully.

"I'm with Bucky and Sam," Steve said, "We're alone."

"You got him back?" she said, a little relieved. "How did that happen?"

"We snapped him out of the conditioning," Steve said, a little vaguely. "A little cognitive recalibration."

"Steve knocked Bucky out," Sam supplied, helpfully, "When he woke up he was Bucky again."

"Hurt like a mother-" Bucky started.

"Language," Steve said, and she could practically hear the glare.

"Are you okay?" she asked them all. "None of you are hurt?"

"We're fine," Steve promised her, "How are things there?"

"Ross wants your heads," she sighed, "I'm trying to do damage control but it's going to be a little harder than what I thought initially. I'm asking Pepper to put out some press releases, but the sooner you guys get back here the sooner we can confirm what that psychiatrist did to you, Bucky. I'm going to see if any of the footage can be recovered from the room."

"We can't come back, Toni," Steve said to her, "Not yet anyways. One of the things that man, Broussard asked him about, it triggered some memories."

"What was he asking about?" Toni asked, concerned.

"December 16th, 1991," Steve said, and her breath hitched. "He wanted to know the full mission report from that day. It was why he triggered the Winter Solider. Because he knew something Bucky didn't."

"Which is?" she demanded.

"The hit on Howard and Maria wasn't just because your father was a threat to HYDRA," Steve told her, "He had recreated the super soldier serum."

"That was why he had to stop at the Pentagon," she whispered. "To hand them the serum. But he never made it to the Pentagon."

"HYDRA took it," Steve confirmed, "And made five new Winter Soliders. Bucky's memories are still a little hazy, but the soldiers were kept in Siberia by HYDRA, and I think Broussard is heading there now."

"Oh Bohr," she breathed out. "I take it you're heading there now?"

"Yes," he confirmed, "I've asked Nat, Harry, Jim, Vision, and the twins to meet us there. I know we didn't want to bring Wanda and Pietro on any more missions but if we're up against super soldiers we may need all the help we can get. Wilson said he knows a guy and he's on his way. Should be here within two hours on a quinjet."

"Okay," she said. "Let me go talk to Peter and tell him that we need to head out. He's not going to be happy but I'm going to ask Happy to stay with him for a bit. I don't want him getting caught up in this. I need to make a few other arrangements too, so I'll meet you when we're ready."

"See you then," Steve said with a promise, and she ended the call.

"Miss," JARVIS said over her head piece. "There's something you need to know. The Accords Council went to Dr Broussard's room to see if they could learn anything more about what happened and found a dead body that they identified to be Dr Broussard. It seems that he's been dead for over twenty-four hours."

"So who interviewed Bucky then?" she asked.

"I've run facial recognition on anyone Dr Broussard interacted with and found a hit to a Sokovian individual. I got a match on one Helmut Zemo. He was former Colonel with the Sokovian Armed Forces and the commander for their EKO Scorpion. But after the Battle of Sokovia he dropped off the map. He picked with Dr Broussard from the airport and the two of them made their way to Dr Broussard's hotel room."

"Where Zemo murdered him," she said, closing her eyes. "Okay. Whatever this Zemo wants with the Winter Soldiers cannot be good."

She left the room immediately, looking for Everett Ross. She sighed to herself; why were things never simple?"

She spotted him a little up ahead, talking to the Wakandan delegation.

"Mr Ross," she said, nodding at them, "Prince T'Challa. Would you mind if I borrowed Mr Ross for a few minutes? There is something urgent that I must speak to you about."

Ross looked confused but excused himself as the Prince walked away. She waited til she was sure he was out of earshot. "I know you found Dr Boussard's body. The man who questioned James Barnes in his place was known as Helmut Zemo. Sokovian Armed Forces. And if he impersonated Boussard I'll bet my life he also impersonated Barnes planting the bomb."

"We'll look into it immediately," Ross said, eyes widening.

"That's not all," she said. "I need to request emergency clearance for the Avengers to take on a mission. Section 132D cites that if the world is facing an immediate threat that could be catastrophic and if lives are immediate danger, that the Avengers may act without the Accords Council convening first as long as one member can approve the mission. HYDRA has five more Winter Soldiers in a base in Siberia. And if Zemo gets to them first, given that he was able to trigger James Barnes, an unwilling soldier who had been in the process of treatment for his affliction then-"

"Who knows what he would do to five other Winter Soldier and what their mental states are?" Ross finished her statement.

"Yes," she said. "So I'm asking you as a member of the Accords Council to grant us permission to go to Siberia and apprehend Zemo before he gets to the Winter Soldiers. He has a bit of a head start already, so time is of the essence."

"Okay," Ross told her with a nod, "We'll need to verify Zemo's identity for ourselves. And well, if you're wrong-"

"I'll face full consequences if so," she said in agreement.

"Go," Ross told her. "I'll talk to the other Council members so they're in the loop as well, but I'll grant your request. The last thing anyone needs is more Winter Soldiers on the loose"

"Thank you," she said with a nod, as she began walking away, trying to wrap up everything else they would need in order to handle the mission.

"Mrs Stark-Rogers," the Prince of Wakanda said as he approached her then.

"Prince T'Challa," she said with a nod, "Pardon me, but I do need to head out. Something of the utmost importance has come up."

"The Winter Soldiers," the prince said with a nod. "I am aware."

"Did you plant a bug on Ross?" she asked, eyes narrowing.

"Forgive me," he said slightly sheepish. "However I needed to keep tabs on the investigation into my father's death. I need answers. And I heard your conversation with Ross. I want to help. I want to bring the man who killed my father to justice."

"No offense, your Highness," she said, "But how do you plan on doing that? You're a baseline human against a Super Solider. And not to mention you're next in line to the throne to Wakanda. We can't risk your life."

"You're right about one of those things," he agreed with her. "However I am not a baseline human. Not in the traditional sense. Let's just say Wakanda takes the protection of its people very seriously, and the ruler's job is to not only serve but to protect. I cannot give you all the details, but I have a suit. I can fight."

She looked at him warily.

"Have you ever done anything like this before?" she asked finally.

"I've fought for my people when needed," he told her simply. "I can handle my own in a fight."

She looked over the young prince, "Fine. But if you think it's getting to be too much, tap out. No one will hold it against you, and I'd rather you be alive than torn to pieces. Promise me."

"I will step back if I think I cannot hold my own," the Prince told her strongly in a tone that suggested he was confident in his abilities. "I will be fine, Toni."

"Okay," she sighed. "I need to go see my son first. But then we're heading to the Airport. Grab your things."

He gave her a nod of acknowledgement, "I shall make my arrangements here then until then."

He walked off then, and she headed to the parking garage as she grabbed the car she'd arrived in. It had only been a few hours, but it felt like so much longer.

The ride back to the hotel room was silent, as she couldn't bring herself to play any music as she usually did. She parked the car as she made her way towards her room, multitasking on her phone until she reached the door.

She placed the key into the slot as she opened the door.

"Mom?" Peter asked, ask he immediately ran over to where she was, "What's happening? Where's Dad? Is he okay? What about Bucky? Did you guys figure out what happened to him?"

"Peter we need to talk," she said, as she led him towards the couch. "Something happened. We know who set of the bomb. It's the same man who triggered Bucky. Your father and I need to go after them. He's going to release five Winter Soldiers if we don't. I'm going to ask Happy to take you home, okay?"

"No!" he said, "Mom! If you're going up against five other Super Soldiers you're going to need all the help you can get. Let me help you! I'm Spider-man! I can help you fight against them."

"No!" she said quickly as panic started to fill her, "No. You're not fighting with us and that's final. We're getting back up, so we're going to be okay."

"I can do this!" he argued with her, "I've fought people before! I can hold my own in a fight. Please let me do this with you guys. Mom you know I'm good enough! You guys have trained me in the compound and everything!"

"I know you're perfectly capable of holding your own, Pete," she told him gently. "But against regular humans. You've never truly fought a Super Soldier. And we known know who these soldiers are. We don't know if they're like Bucky with humanity underneath it all or if they were true HYDRA supporters. And I'm willing to bet after all the resistance that Bucky showed, if they got their hands on the serum, they would have chosen candidates who were loyal to their cause. Steve had a hard enough of a time getting through to Bucky, but if there's no humanity under it all, then it'll make our fighting that much more difficult. And you are still my son. I'm not letting you go against HYDRA super soldiers. Not without more training and no time soon. I'm sorry Peter, but I'm not bringing you with me."

He looked dejected at that, and she took his hand in his, "Peter, this isn't about my confidence in you or your abilities. I think what you can do is incredible. But you're still a teenager. And fighting a bunch of Super Soldiers is hardly the safest thing for you to be doing. On top of that Secretary Ross is waiting for any reason to throw us into prison, and I will not have him catch you if anything were to go wrong. It's my job to keep you safe. And I wouldn't be doing a good job of that if I took you straight into danger. So please, stay here? For me?"

"Fine," he sighed, "I still think I can help but if you want me to sit this fight out then I will."

"Thank you," she said, kissing his forehead. "I know this wasn't exactly the vacation we'd hoped for, so I promise after this is all over we'll go somewhere on a real trip, okay? No Avengers, no work, nothing. Just us as a family."

"Okay," he smiled at her.

"I love you, Peter," she said, standing, "I need to go now, okay? But promise me you'll stay safe?"

"I promise, Mom," he told her earnestly, and she gave him a nod before heading out the door.

It was exactly three hours after everything had went down with Bucky getting triggered by Zemo that they found themselves on route to the airport where the quinjet had landed when they'd flown Bucky over earlier, before everything had fallen apart. She hated the pit in her stomach that indicated to her that something wasn't all that right, even with Everett Ross' approval for them to bring in Zemo.

As she got out of the car she headed in towards where they'd parked the jet, with T'Challa behind her, wearing some sort of cat suit, alongside Rhodey and Vision. She saw Steve standing there waiting for her beside Wilson, Harry, Nat, and the twins, and she gave them a nod.

"We don't know when Zemo left Vienna," Steve began, "So we need to assume that he has a couple hours of a head start. We can make up some of the time with the quinjet, but we need to be prepared for the very real chance that he has already gotten to the soldiers and react accordingly. It's time to go."

"Uh, Steve?" Sam said, interrupting, "I thought you said the Avengers were going to be alone in this mission."

"We are," Steve said, looking over at him a bit confused.

"Then why are American Special forces rolling in?" Sam said.

"That's not any unit," Rhodey said as he took a look at them, "That's Ross' unit. He's here for us."

"Are you sure he's not here to help us?" Wanda asked, a little uncertain.

"No," she confirmed, "Thaddeus Ross made it very clear to me that he's going to apprehend us all one way or another. And without Zemo we can't truly prove Bucky's guilt."

"So they're here for me," Bucky said grimly.

"Yes," she said, as she took a step forward, as her suit covered her body.

"Stand aside Stark," Ross said loudly as he marched up in front of his men. "We're here for him."

"I think you may be mistaken, Secretary," she said just as authoritatively, "We have permission from the Accords Council to bring in Zemo, the real culprit for the bombings. You can call them and check. This is an approved mission. So we will not be standing down and letting you take Barnes. There'll be a proper investigation afterwards, but right now, given time is of the essence, we've cited passage 132D in order to apprehend the criminal and stop him from triggering five other enhanced soldiers in HYDRA's possession."

"You may have gotten the council wrapped around your finger, but I see the Avengers for what they truly are," Ross spat out at them. "Terrorists. Freaks with power who have no issues abusing it to get what they want. And I'm going to show the world what you're truly like. I'm going to bring you in and throw you into the bottom of the deepest hole we can dig."

"And then what?" she asked him, "I'm Toni Stark-Rogers, Secretary Ross. Do you think the world wouldn't notice if I disappeared? My company certainly would. Without me, innovation would drop about ninety percent. The world most definitely would notice if we stopped releasing new products that are top of the line, and that would mean my company would suffer. As COO Pepper Potts is in a position to relocate our company as well to another country. Canada perhaps? Or China? Either way, that would be terrible for the American economy. All because the CEO of Stark Industries suddenly vanished, only to last be spotted talking to you."

"We'll erase the footage," Ross said with a shrug.

"You're assuming you're the only ones with access," she laughed, "My AIs are recording this entire interaction, and if anything goes remotely wrong, they'll leak it to the press. Tell me, Mr Secretary. Does the President know you're hindering the Avengers from taking down a terrorist?"

"The President doesn't need to know what doesn't concern him," Ross hissed as he took a step forward. "You may use a lot of pretty words, Stark, but you're just a girl who is standing in my way."

He looked over at his men and nodded at them, giving them some sort of sign off. The men looked a bit uncertain but marched forward towards the Avengers.

"These are baseline humans," Steve said, as they all prepared themselves. "Do not use any lethal means unless necessary. Try to incapacitate. Take away their weapons, knock them out, I don't care. But do not strike to kill unless you have no other options. These are just men following orders."

She nodded, "Avengers, assemble," she gave the order, and together, they rushed forward towards the group of men moving their way, armed to the brink, and aiming their fire at them.

She flew up into the air, Rhodey and Vision beside her, as she had JARVIS run calculations. The Quinjet was about a hundred yards away, and well, they just needed enough men out of the way so they could head towards it and take off without being followed. They could cloak the jet once they were in the air, but still, that was a solid, unhindered five minutes that they would need.

The suits all had the cloaking technology; after Harley had all but teased her over it, how could she not include it? So once the Avengers were safely in the jet, they could take off while the three of them kept Ross' men at bay, until they could cloak themselves as well and catch up.

But that also required coordination.

She noticed a military tank aiming towards Pietro, and she raised her repulsor to shoot at it. It was Hammer tech, so the minute she aimed at the gun, the metal crumpled, rendering it inoperable. It could still move around, but without the gun, it was all but a large metal van.

"Nice shot Stark," Natasha's voice came over comms.

"Stark-Rogers," Steve corrected her, and she beamed.

"You two are absolutely disgusting, did you know that?" Natasha said and she could hear the eye roll through the comms.

"You're telling me?" Rhodey said, "You're not the one who nearly walked in on them a few times."

"That's why the door was closed," Toni protested.

"Guys I don't need to hear this about my cousin," Ava said, voice coming over the line.

"You're telling me?" Harry groaned.

"Enough chatter," Steve said, "We need to focus on the mission at hand.

She scanned the higher up vantage points, as JARVIS focused in on some men on the roof of the airport.

"Guys we have three snipers aiming their guns right at Barnes," Toni said to them.

"On it!" Pietro said, as he raced up to the roof and stripped the men of their weapons.

"Nice job, Son," Steve said to him with a nod, as they heard a commotion start to gather from where the men were.

She felt it in her gut that whatever it was, couldn't be good.

She saw the men begin to suit up, wearing armour that looked similar to hers, even if far less advanced. And well, without the arc reactor to power it, it was really a large paper weight. Especially if it was also made by none other than Justin Hammer, then she could be certain that the suits wouldn't be anything to worry about.

That is, until one of the men shot Pietro with one of the guns in the suit and the speedster fell to the ground, yelping in pain.

"Pietro!" Wanda screamed out.

"You're not the only one with fancy toys, Stark," Ross barked out. "You're not going to win this fight, so why don't you just back down now, while you still have the chance to do so? Surrender, and we won't kill any of your little friends. Don't, and we'll make sure that every last one of you are brought down to your knees. One way or another. And you really don't want to be responsible for any of their deaths now do you?"

"He's bluffing," Steve said, a little uncertain.

"He's not," Natasha said. "We don't have many choices, Steve. We're wasting time in this fight while Zemo could be unleashing the soldiers."

"What are you proposing?" she asked.

"Go," Rhodey told her. "I've already notified the Accords Council and a task force is in bound to take in Ross and his men. But that doesn't change the fact that until then we're fighting a battle that's only going to result in lost time. Take Barnes and Rogers and go. We'll hold them off so you can get out of here. Don't worry about us, okay? Ross won't get away with this."

"Steve?" she asked and should hear her husband debate it in his head.

"I don't like this," Steve sighed. "We should be in this together, not dividing up because things are a little complicated. But you're right. We're wasting time and we need to go. Before things get much worse than they already are."

She nodded, "Okay, here's what we're going to do. We need a distraction, something big so Steve, Bucky, and I can get away."

"I may have something I can do," an unknown voice said. Ah, so that must have been the Ant-Man she'd heard about. And before she could ask any questions, she saw Lang increase in size until he was a giant. He lifted up a truck and threw it at the men.

Perfect.

"Let's head out," Steve said, and she flew over to where Steve and Bucky were running towards the jet, as she landed. She climbed in after them, as Steve slid into the pilot chair, Bucky beside him as the jet took off into the air.

Ross' men immediately began firing at them, and Vision and Rhodey flew behind them, offering cover for the jet.

"We got this," Rhodey told her, and she stood at the window as she saw the UN Task Force arrive then.

Good. With any luck the rest of the Avengers would be able to get on a plane and follow them.

That is, until one of Ross' men hit Rhodey.

She watched in horror as she saw her brother fall through the air.

Her brother who she'd helped up that day at MIT when she met him. Her brother who invited her to his house when she was all alone and gave her a family. The one who stood by her side when her mother had passed and stopped Stone from taking advantage of her. The one who'd been there for her for the last three decades.

And like Icarus who'd flown too close to the sun, Rhodey had been too close to her.

And like Icarus, Rhodey fell.

She screamed, as she tried to engage her suit, as she watched Vision dive after him, trying to catch him. But neither one of them were fast enough.

"Rhodey!" she screamed through the comms, begging him to respond to her.

"He's unconscious," Vision told her, "But he's alive. My scans are indicating several broken bones. We need to get him to a hospital immediately."

"No," Prince T'Challa said. She couldn't see them anymore, the quinjet was too far away for them to turn around. "No western medicine can save him. Let me take him back to Wakanda. We will be able to cure him."

She didn't say anything, unsure of how to respond to the offer when her only focus was on her brother.

"His spine has been fractured, Ms Stark-Rogers," Vision said to her, "He needs immediate treatment. You are his medical contact. You need to make a decision."

"Toni," Prince T'Challa's voice said in a soft voice, "You were there for me after my father passed. I-I cannot go too much into detail right now, but Wakanda is not as it seems. We have the resources to be able to treat him. It will be as if he was never injured. Let me offer my thanks to you by bringing him to my country and getting help for him."

She wanted to be sceptical. Wakanda was a third world country.

And yet T'Challa seemed at ease with technology in the time she'd known him. His suit was made of complex materials and she'd bet her Tower there was some heavy tech embedded in it.

And he'd given her no reason not to trust him.

"Okay," she said with a sob. "Please take care of him, okay? He's my family."

"Of course," Prince T'Challa said, and she didn't say another word as sobs erupted from her chest. The quinjet continued to fly to Siberia, as they left their friends behind, broken and battered.