Most of the Avengers had comics made about them at one time or another, so last year they hosted a Comic Con panel with a Q&A and photo opportunity. Steve had his first entirely psychosomatic asthma attack after finding out how much people had to pay for the photos. During the Q&A, a hundred people had to be turned away, and the hall was still filled past capacity. So many people tried to sneak that the fire department shut them down.

Comic Con took up all five million square feet of the Javits Center. Steve kept getting lost. It didn't help that a lot of people were cosplaying as the Avengers. At one point, he was mistaken for a cosplayer, but at least he won the contest.

"Greatest tactical mind of the 20th Century, my ass." Bucky actually laughed, which thrilled Steve, even if it was at his expense. "He only had one tactic, and that was to get into fights with people who were bigger'n him."

"Bucky came up with most of our plans, but he insisted I take credit. Something about how it wouldn't sound so great to the folks back home if the boy sidekick was coming up with the plans."

"Seriously," said Bucky. "Fuck those comics."

"Hey, they probably helped you go incognito on your rip-roaring rampage of revenge," said Tony.

"So he was your tactical mind, your sniper, and his own spotter?" Clint asked. (He had once asked Steve who was spotter for Bucky during the war only for Steve to say, "What's a spotter?")

"And medic," said Bucky. "Sarah taught me nursin' whenever Steve used his only tactic."

"And supply officer," said Steve. "Bucky could sell an Oculus Rift to Helen Keller."

When everyone looked at him, he said, "I don't know what that means. I heard Tony say it."

"So what exactly did you do?" Sam asked him.

"Mascot," Steve and Bucky said in unison.

This year, Bucky had the idea to go incognito. They dressed as each other. To hide their identity, they wore cheap knockoff masks they had picked up on Canal Street (along with a few fake Pashminas for Pepper, because she liked to give them as gifts to her competitors).

Thor went as Steve, and Steve went as Thor. At one point, he was mistaken as Brad Pitt from Troy, but at least he won the contest. Bucky went as Clint, who went as Tony, because "I don't want to dress up as a kid sidekick." (Bucky had kicked him in the side, but in a friendly way.) Natasha went as Sailor Moon, because there wasn't enough female representation in the Avengers, and she'd been growing her hair out.

"I want to kill everyone who ever hurt you," Steve said, with child-like fervor. Bucky had another nightmare, and for once he had talked about it.

Hydra had tried to make him torture someone exactly once, because apparently the Winter Soldier didn't have a clear understanding of how much pain most people could take.

Steve was thinking about calling the whole Comic Con thing off. The whole thing. No one should get to go dress up and have fun when some people's idea of fun was taking electrodes and-

"Steve." Bucky reached out to gently brush a strand of hair back from his eyes. "Ain't nobody got time for that."

On the third day of the con, the Avengers revealed their true identities. They ended up giving a (free) photo session and Q&A and in the middle of the hall floor. It was filled to capacity, and its capacity was much greater than the conferences rooms set aside for panels. The fire department showed up, but they just asked if they could stay.