"Well, the Vision's artificial intelligence." Steve pointed out, keeping in step with Thor and Tony. They continued their walk down the rather long outside hallway that led to the exit.
He and Thor were the only two in their quote-unquote uniforms, having just finished another talk with a few government officials about the future of the Avengers. Not everyone was happy with what they had to say - what with Tony, Thor and Clint leaving, and Bruce missing, but assurances were made that there were already replacements being trained to fill in where needed. Steve was leading an introductory training day with Nat a little bit later in the morning. For now, he was walking his friends out of the compound, having one last conversation with them until the time came where they were all together again. He wasn't sure when that was going to be.
"A machine." Tony clarified with a small gesture of his arms.
"So, it doesn't count?" he asked, looking past Thor, who had been quietly listening to the other two discuss how the Vision could lift the Mjölnir. An almost childish conversation to be having between two superheroes, but an amusing one nonetheless. Especially with how seriously they were taking it.
"No, it's not like a person lifting the hammer." Tony explained plainly, shrugging his shoulders as he did.
"Right," he swung his hand out to point across Tony, agreeing with him, "different rules for us." Steve settled on with a point back to himself.
"Nice guy. Artificial." he summed it up plainly, hearing Steve's soft thanks before Thor butted in,
"He can wield the hammer, he can keep the Mind Stone." they stopped walking for a moment, Tony and Thor sharing a look before he continued, "It's safe with the Vision. And these days, safe is in short supply." there was a beat of heavy silence that came after, letting the three think about what had happened over the past few weeks.
"But if you put the hammer in an elevator…" Steve broke the quiet, still focused on the details behind how the Mjölnir worked.
"It would still go up." Tony gestured to Steve in agreement.
"Elevator's not worthy." he raised his eyebrows and shook his head slightly, staring at a spot on the floor. During his vacation with Q, he had told the story of how he had tried - and almost managed to lift the hammer. Much to her amusement, of course, but it then delved into a discussion about what determined your worthiness and if it applied to everything or just humans. After this conversation, he'd have to give her an update.
"I'm gonna miss these little talks of ours." Thor grinned at his friends, reaching out to gently shake Tony's shoulder.
"Not if you don't leave." he answered, raising his eyebrows. As if he had any room to talk. Though Tony had stated that even though he'd be out of the Avengers, he'd still be around. Keeping an eye on things and looking for new potential additions to the team itself. After finding Wanda and Pietro, and discovering the Vision, it was clear that a whole new world was opening up around them. One that produced people who could be additions to the team, but also ones that could be potential threats. It would be smart to know who was on what side.
"I have no choice." Thor responded as he started walking toward the exit of the compound, "The Mind Stone is the fourth of the Infinity Stones to show up in the last few years. It's not a coincidence." he summarized what they had already talked about earlier when the Vision was created, "Someone has been playing an intricate game and has made pawns of us. And once all these pieces are in position…" he trailed off ominously as they stepped out into the warm spring day.
"Triple Yahtzee." Tony supplied as an answer. Even if Thor didn't understand the reference, Steve did. Whoever had the stones would win. And even if he didn't know what that meant, he knew it wouldn't be good.
"You think you can find out what's coming?" he asked, getting Thor's attention.
"I do." he answered seriously, "Besides this one," he reached out to pat Tony's chest where the arc reactor lay, "there's nothing that can't be explained." he gave them both a nod of regard before spinning his hammer and calling for the bright light that transported him back to Asgard.
"That man has no regard for lawn maintenance." Tony commented after Thor disappeared, leaving nothing but an intricate design burned into the grass where he once stood. The remaining two continued to walk away from the compound, heading to the driveway that was used to exit and enter the compound."I'm gonna miss him, though. And you're gonna miss me." he called Steve out with a point, reminding him that this was the part where they went their separate ways. Like they had in New York. Going off to take care of their own lives before the next attack came that forced them all together again. From the way Tony talked, it seemed like there wouldn't be another time they would all be forced together again.
"Maybe I should take a page out of Barton's book." Tony continued, "Build Pepper a farm, hope nobody blows it up." he clicked a button on his key fob, having his bright orange car roll up beside them.
"The simple life." he summarized for his friend. The simple life was something he had twice longed for. Once in the past with Peggy, then again with Q.
"You'll get there one day." Tony assured him, "Who knows, maybe Office Max'll come to her senses." he used one of the better nicknames he had for Q in reference to her, "You two can go live on a hill in the middle of nowhere together." he gave him an encouraging smile. Steve let out a slight laugh at the imagery.
"I'd like that." he agreed with a small nod. Living somewhere far away from the title that was bestowed upon him and not required to adhere to the rules that came with it, the responsibilities that he had been forced to take on because of it. With the woman he didn't know he was going to fall in love with, but when he did, it was almost natural to. And to have a family with her, stability. Something he had wanted before he went into the ice seventy-five years ago. Something he had lost the desire for for a few years because he thought he missed his chance. Was comfortable with the fact that he would be nothing but a lonely soldier for the rest of his life. Until he found someone who made him think that maybe he could have it again. And, God, he wanted it. He just didn't know if she wanted it with him.
"You can tap out whenever you need to, you know that, right?" Tony asked, eyes serious, "Go back to Croatia, live your life with that weird, little analyst of yours." he made it clear that he knew where Steve had gone off to after Sokovia, but not in a way that would make him defensive, just acknowledging a fact. Steve took in a deep breath and then nodded, hands settling on his belt buckle as his eyes wandered around the compound they were standing in front of.
"I know." his eyes returned to Tony's, "But there's work to be done." he added, reminding both of them of what still lay ahead. The Infinity Stones were one thing, but what mattered to him was strengthening another team to be ready for whatever came next. That way he really could "tap out" and not have any guilt around his choice.
Tony looked at him for a moment more, fiddling with his keys as he debated with himself to say something or not. Then he took in a sigh, gaze dropping and hand coming up to clasp Steve's shoulder.
"Well, have fun." he shook Steve's shoulder slightly, "Don't go too hard on the newbies. This isn't a frat house at Penn State." he reminded him with a final pat on Steve's shoulder.
"I'll keep it in mind." he nodded at his friend, then let him step by. He watched Tony climb into his car and drive away, leaving him at the compound.
A little while after, he found Natasha on one of the upper, inside decks of the compound. Her back was turned and she was clearly staring at the wall in front of her, lost in her own head. When the meeting with the government officials ended, she had slipped away and excused herself from the manly goodbyes between Thor, Tony and Steve. Quite possibly because she didn't do goodbyes; she was Russian after all.
"You wanna keep staring at the wall, or do you wanna go to work?" he called out, getting her attention. She glanced over her shoulder at him, arms crossed over her chest, "I mean, it's a pretty interesting wall." he complimented the wall in front of them, letting his eyes travel over the woodwork for a moment.
"I thought you and Tony were still gazing into each other's eyes." Nat shot back, walking over to him and clearly shaking off whatever had been plaguing her mind moments prior, "How do we look?" she asked as she fell into step next to him. He handed over the tablet Maria Hill had loaded with the profiles of the new recruits.
In all honesty, the people they had chosen to replace those who had left were complimentary to their predecessors. Rhodey, a respected servicemen, and pilot of the War Machine Armor, was almost a direct parallel to Tony. Sam, with his Falcon suit and being a known pararescue, who used evasive maneuvers to take out hostiles, was similar to Clint. The Vision, even though he was an android, harnessed the magical power of an Infinity Stone, was almost akin to Bruce in his Hulk form what with the physical durability. And of course, Wanda, with her enhanced abilities from the stone itself, made her equivalent to Thor and his godly powers.
"Well, we're not the '20s Dodgers." Steve commented, giving a reference she would hopefully understand.
"We got some hitters." she mused, swiping through the profiles as they walked to the main training area.
"They're good. They're not a team." he responded with a slight head tilt.
"Let's beat them into shape." she smirked at him before they walked through the double doors.
At their entrance, all eyes were on them. The new Avengers were all dressed in what would come to be their standard uniforms, having fittings while Steve and Nat were talking with the government officials. Rhodey let his face mask flip up so they could see his eyes. The Vision turned, his cape somehow fluttering out behind him even though there was no wind in the room. Sam came down from the rafts above, folding his wings into the jetpack on his back with ease while Wanda landed gently beside him, tendrils of red disappearing as she settled. Steve let his eyes flit from person to person, seeing how almost giddy Sam was, how determined Wanda and Rhodey were and how interested the Vision was at what was to come.
Letting out a slow breath, Steve let his Captain Voice come out, commanding the room easily.
"Avengers…" he called out before taking in a deep breath,
"Assembled." Dawson answered Q's question of what the status of their escape packs were, raising a finger up and circling it around in the air, "What about the guns?" he asked, glancing around his work station. They were doing their bi-monthly supplies check. Knowing what they had and what they didn't.
"Cleaned 'em last night." she responded as she walked around the long table they were using as their gun cleaning station. Picking up one, she made sure it was unloaded and the chamber was empty before clicking on the safety. She took two clips and handed them out to Dawson to add to one of the packs, "Can never be too careful." she reminded him, his silent question of wonder hanging in the air.
Since her return to the beach house, things had slowly gone back to normal. Or whatever their new normal was these days. She and Dawson had a long talk about their fight during the events of Sokovia and where they stood on the mission itself. Both were tired of the deadends, getting close to giving up. They wanted to go home. Q's trip to Croatia reminded her what she had given up and what was still, surprisingly, waiting for her. She didn't want to lose any more time.
So they had given themselves a due date of six months. If Bucky didn't turn up in the upcoming six months, then they would pack it in. Return to the States where both would tell Steve and Nat everything. Absolutely everything. Maybe they would help, maybe they knew something Q and Dawson didn't.
That being said, the past three months were the hardest they had ever worked in finding Bucky. The loss of Marina hit them hard; emotionally, mentally and most importantly, they were down a man. It was back to it being just the two of them, just as it had been when they started. And it felt like they were back where they started, with little to no leads at all. They were relying on months old information Q had given him from her brief interaction with Bucky after he saved her from Spencer. Though it seemed that well was drying up.
"We're good on food, good on water. Very good on alcohol." Dawson raised his eyebrows and pointedly looked at the permanently stocked bar cart. Usually Q emptied the cart within a couple weeks in an effort to deal with the mess inside her head, which was why they constantly had to stock up, but she had only gotten a few bottles in since returning from Croatia. It was a well known fact that Dawson was not good at reading people - things needed to be pretty much explicitly pointed out to him, but even he could tell that her rendezvous with Steve had a positive effect on her. And one that fueled her determination to finding Bucky, if only to get her permantanly back to Steve.
Dawson wasn't going to argue with that; the faster they found Bucky, the faster he would be able to go back to Nat. Considering the conversation they had a few months prior, he had some serious apologies to make. Which was something he never liked to do, but would for her. She deserved them. He didn't deserve her forgiveness though, he knew that much. Though it wouldn't stop him from trying to get it. Strange how things changed; before he could care less if anyone forgave him for his actions. Maybe it was the ocean air. Or whatever.
"ECHOnet?" she asked, hands settling on her hips. He glared at her for using the name he usually kept to himself. She ignored him as he moved away from his station and over to his computers, checking in on the system. It had taken a bit to rid the system of Ultron's lingering code. If anything good came from what happened in Sokovia it was Dawson being able to modify the code and use it to build a better search system for their missing person's case.
"Steady." he responded simply, knowing Q wouldn't understand all the details if he got into it. All she needed to know was that it was working. "I think we're good." he made a face, standing up straighter from behind his computer screens. She stepped over to him, walking past and giving him a high five, that turned into a low five behind her back before she stepped away.
"Nailed it." she complimented him. He let out a slight huff of a laugh before returning his attention to the keyboard. They had gotten done their check much faster than before, if only because nothing had really happened in the past three months that would've drained them of any of their supplies.
"Ever think about what we're gonna do when we get back?" he suddenly asked aloud, as if already accepting the fact that they weren't going to find Bucky in the next three months. She knew he had talked to Nat a few months before and wondered if that had anything to do with his thinly veiled impatience at finding Bucky, "Like what's going to happen to us?"
"I don't know." she lied like her brain wasn't offering up a hundred different possibilities. He scoffed at that, knowing she was lying to him, "We'll figure it out." she shrugged, reaching for a soda from the fridge, "We always do." she added.
"Always have. Always will." he sighed in agreement. She grinned at his turned back, popping the tab to her soda.
"You and me, babe." she teased slightly, enjoying the moment of levity between the two of them. These days, those moments were infrequent and didn't always last long. It reminded her of what it was like before anything ever happened. Before Sokovia, before they embarked on their adventure and way, way before Steve even entered her life. Living with Dawson for the past two years had reminded her how much they used to rely on and support each other. And apparently still did, despite what had changed in their lives. Sure they got into fights, said things they didn't mean, but at the end of the day, there wasn't anything the other wouldn't do to protect the other. They were each other's best friends.
Her phone vibrating against the counter got her attention. Stepping over, she flipped open the burner phone to see a text from Steve popping up. A response to the lead she had given him about a mark he and the new Avengers were trying to track down. The mark was also her ex-co-workers-with-benefits, but that was beside the point. During one of their brief phone calls, he had mentioned how Rumlow - now going by Crossbones, had been causing a whole lot of chaos in the wake of what happened at the Triskelion.
No one had been paying much attention to him at first because, one, no one realized he had survived, and two, Ultron had been a much bigger threat. Though it seemed Rumlow had become an independent terrorist, setting out onto his path to make anyone involved in his downfall suffer the pain and loss he endured. As if he had lost anything comparatively to Steve or Q. Thinking back, it was good she had dumped him.
When learning about Rumlow's new identity and new mission in life, a part of her had been a little nervous that he would come after her. After all, she had an intimate relationship with him and then ended it rather abruptly with no warning at all. Her brain was quick to offer up that he never saw her as a threat, and wouldn't in the present either. Plus, he probably had no idea what happened to her after the Congress hearings.
Even if she was technically safe, security measures were doubled on the beach house. Neither of them went anywhere without the other and there was always had a small, trackable device in the sole of their shoes. Just in case. A ping had been set up on ECHOnet to alert with any news that came up on Crossbones - mainstream or otherwise and then passed along to Steve. Some was useful. Most wasn't, considering he hadn't been caught yet.
Texting back a response to Steve, she heard the familiar ting! of an ECHOnet alert come from the terminal Dawson had just vacated moments before. She didn't bother to look up from her phone, thinking it was nothing more than an update or something techy that she wouldn't understand.
"Oh my God." he breathed out, "Q!" he yelled out, making her jump.
"I'm literally standing right behind you." she sighed, gesturing to his turned back, "What?" she crossed over to the terminal, standing over him and looking at the screens.
"We got him." the pride in Dawson's voice couldn't be masked. He tapped his fingers against a few screens and pulled up a map of an unfamiliar city in a country Q had never been to before. Not that it mattered; there was a pulsing red dot in a small section of it, clearly the only thing that did.
"Gotcha, motherfucker." he breathed out with a smirk.
Bucky Barnes was a ghost story no more.
A/N: DUN DUN DUN! You know I love a good cliffhanger haha so hopefully you're okay with this one! I thought it was about time our pals find Bucky lol what do you think? Let me know your thoughts! I always appreciate your reviews so don't hesitate to leave a couple.
Also, FYI, I'll be traveling for the next three weeks so I'll try to update, but I don't know if it'll actually happen. I'm gonna try tho! As always, thank you for reading - I love you all!