The rest of the team greeted the news with mixed reactions. Everything about the whole ugly truth of the Paris fiasco was out in the open. Wanda cried when she realized innocents had died, Vision did his best to work through the motions of comforting her, keeping his hand on her shoulder, as he would have in the past. Sam pushed his chair back and paced around the room, saying nothing.

Bucky spent most of the time observing the old team, his eyes flitting back and forth between Tony, Natasha, Bruce, and Rhodey, looking toward Steve as if for direction.

The two of them had spent the last few days talking everything out to the point Steve wondered if there were any secrets at all left between them, although Bucky insisted on keeping silent when it came to his relationship with the other Steve, and Steve decided not to press it.

"So you've been holding this back from us, this whole time. So much for being a team!" Sam stopped pacing long enough to cross his arms and face the rest as if taking a stand.

"This was our way of protecting you," Natasha said. "We're sorry." How many times did they have to say they were sorry for things they hadn't done?

"There were little children…" Wanda said. Her eyes were red. "I know you didn't mean to, it was an accident..."

"It wasn't an accident," Bucky spoke up. "This was deliberate plotted deception, meant to stop us, to break us up. I spent years with them, so this doesn't surprise me. We fell into their trap and now they're holding us hostage. So how can we make it right?" Steve noted the slight emphasis on the word we.

"Buck, you stay out of this!" Steve said, trying to be the 'other' Steve as much as possible. "You can't leave…"

"No one else knows them like I do…"

"Agents Romanoff and Barton are familiar with the Consortiums. You would be a liability. Revenge..." Tony said. Steve could tell the words made him uncomfortable. Tony's temporary loss of control in his other life had no bearing here. Steve wouldn't tell Bucky, partly because there was no need but also because it was burying itself. Time felt displaced, it was almost as distant as his memories of World War II.

"Are you saying you don't think I can keep a cool head?" Bucky asked, his voice bringing Steve back to the present. "If anyone knows about keeping cool under pressure, it's me. "

"Oh, you'll keep a cool head, no doubt about that. I'm not planning on losing, but just one slip up, one person recognizing you could jeopardize our plan and decide to zero in on you. After it's over you'll be free to go where you want, do what you want. Hell, I'll give you your own personal armed escort on your travels but this one time... stay... home…." Tony emphasized the last words.

"And what is the plan?" Sam interrupted.

"These, memory problems, the widespread disorientation that's all over, it's affected them. Our intelligence says there is chaos in their ranks. Disrupting the three most powerful branches is our first goal then we pick the rest off. We need to do this before these… mental problems, whatever they are, pass. I'll reactivate Iron Man."

"Will T'Challa help us?" asked Vision.

"Will he want to, after learning what we've kept from him?" Natasha asked. An uncomfortable silence followed.

"He might if I asked him," Bucky said. "If we need to..."

"If we messed up on our own, we should fix it, on our own," Bruce said. "That way people will take us seriously when talk about the other thing."

"What other thing?" Sam asked. "You keeping more secrets from us?"

"This isn't a secret. It's a plan to come to come to an agreement with the governments of the world about how we operate… we haven't written it all up yet and when we do, you'll be the first to see it," Steve said.

Sam sat back down, a scowl still on his face. He exchanged a long meaningful glance with Bucky who after a moment, turned his attention to Steve. Steve wanted to ignore his silent request.

"Computer, show the schematics!" A holographic map appeared, dangling in mid-air over the conference table.

"Hammertech, Strucker, and Pierce. Gathering together at what they think is a secret base in the Virginia countryside, in one week." Images of three familiar men popped up.

"Can we trust this information?" Rhodey asked.

"Yes. Their concern is with keeping their own organizations in check rather than what we're doing here in Wakanda. The threat from space shook them up. They can't seem to reach a consensus about their next move… not when half their people are at the moment, unreliable," Natasha said.

"You should check out a guy name Helmut Zemo," Bucky said. "He works behind the scenes, manipulating people like chess pieces. I've thought… he was playing the long game. If you take out those three, he'll be there ready to fill the gap. You should take him out first." Tony stared at him for a long time, forgetting where he was, then called out the name. It added another image and a bio to the digital display. Zemo was still the handsome, cold-blooded soldier who could manipulate the most intelligent of men.

"You can trust me or not, but believe me, if I had freedom of movement, this is the guy I'd go after first," Bucky said.

"I believe him," Sam offered.

"I would trust his information and it lines up with our intelligence. People have been watching him. A good call," Natasha said. "The big guns would barely notice what would appear to be the loss of a lower tier leader. People are always being taken out at that level, petty rivalries, people jockeying for position…it wouldn't raise any suspicion on their part."

Tony took his time studying the schematics. "Ok," he said after a few minutes. "We'll start from the bottom and work our way up."

"Zemo is our first target," Steve said. "Any local authorities we can trust?"

"No, but there are local resistance groups we could call in," Natasha said. "Clint and I could work getting them to help us out. He has a lot of contacts… and one media guy who's been chasing them for years."

"I have the suit here, had P… Ms. Potts ship it in. Special delivery. I want to give it the once-over. We'll work out the details and who goes with what team… tomorrow we should complete everything and we should be good to go, barring any other obstacles. Everyone with me…?"

One by one everyone around the table nodded in agreement. Sam, still upset by the morning's revelations gave his consent but not before pushing his chair back and walking out of the room.

Bucky sat still biting his lip. He flexed his metal hand, stretching out his robotic arm on the table in front of him. "I'll stay here," he said, after an obvious internal struggle. "For the good of the… mission."

The team broke into their separate groups, everyone deep in conversations about the preparations they would need. Steve rose from the table and made his way to go after Sam, aware that Bucky was following him. He stopped him in the hallway just outside the door.

"Buck, I'm sorry but Tony is right. It's too dangerous," he said.

"When I think about everything they did to me I could go in there and do it all myself, but… it looks like I've been outvoted, " he said. "We should tell Sam…"

It was an ongoing debate ever since Steve had come clean to him about himself. "I want to, Buck, but not now, after it's over, after the big mission, then we'll tell him. I promise. Hey," he said, reaching out to wrap his hands around Bucky's forearms on both his good and metal arm out of pure habit. "Now is just not the right time. He needs to focus on the mission. After it's over. Trust me…"

"Trust you?" Bucky said. His eyes flitted downward to look at where Steve was touching him but didn't push him away. The words sounded stern, but he smiled as he said them. "Come on," he said, throwing an arm around his shoulder. "The farm is waiting. Stuff to do. The kids will wonder where you've gone so you need to have a good story ready." His simple action jogged a long ago memory.

"Your acceptance of all of this," Steve said. "is not the least bit worrying."

"Why would I give you a reason to worry?" This time he gave Steve a full hug which surprised him. Bucky had been keeping his distance since the revelation but maybe this was a signal he finally accepted him and but it was still a cause for concern. Steve could go ahead without worrying about him, but agreeing so to miss out on the action wasn't Bucky's style, at least not the Bucky he knew. He hated to suspect his new old friend, but he filed his misgivings away in a corner of his mind, just in case.

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