Natasha started out of the conference room, stopping short before stumbling onto Steve and Bucky's conversation on the other end of the hall. Everyone hated being sidelined for a mission but they could not risk him being recognized or captured again. Even though he was clean, and they trusted him, it was dangerous to zero in on a target when one of their team members was a high-level target himself.
She started to return to the room, not wanting to eavesdrop when she heard "We need to tell Sam." Tell Sam what? She stayed in place, hidden by the shadows. They were standing close, touching each other. After a moment they hugged, coming to some arrangement. The Steve and Bucky she knew always showed signs of affection for each other. No one ever gave them a second thought, but now something pinged in her brain. Steve's mention of Paris, something they never talked about and how it was personal. What were they to each other here? After considering the idea for a moment, she dismissed it. As long as it, whatever it was, didn't affect the team, it was no one's business.
The next few hours comprised of working out details. She contacted the reporter on a secure link her counterpart had set up and told him the full story. He didn't seem to notice anything different about her and admitted he was a little suspicious of the official report about Paris and was ready to help. Conversations through hidden channels with the resistance leaders and a video chat with Clint. Anyone listening in would hear a normal conversation sprinkled with code words. The other Natasha was damn good at her job. As she was about to sign off she realized something she had forgotten.
"So how are things with you and Laura?" she asked, doing her best to sound casual.
"Great, fine, too bad things can't go anywhere," he replied, allowing a deep sigh to escape as his eyes looked into the distance.
"What do you mean?" Damn it. So sloppy. A direct question isn't the way to find things out, and it raises alarms.
It didn't seem to trigger anything. "The rules. Short-term relationships are fine, but nothing permanent. We all agreed to it, wouldn't be fair on the other person…"
How had she missed this? In all her digging this had slipped right by her.
"It's not carved in stone, it's an unwritten thing but…" he continued. He looked sad about it.
That was how.
"Don't call it off just yet," Natasha said, a plan already forming in her head. "Just go with it for once."
"Are you giving me permission to break the rules?" His eyes crinkled. He threw back his head and laughed.
"Who, me? Just… stay with it, ok? And they're not really rules. We'll talk about it when I see you again."
"Sure, enjoy your trip. Wish I could go."
"Yeah, we'll miss you."
The next hour was making travel arrangements, doing an inventory of the gear they would need, double checking everyone's armaments were in working order. Everything should be good to go…
"Houston," Tony's voice interrupted her work. He was standing in the doorway, looking defeated. "We have a problem."
"What kind of problem?" she asked, keeping her eyes on the screen as she looked at her list. They needed a place to hide the Quinjet while the operation was going on, two cars...
"I can't get the suit to work," he said, his voice toneless.
"What do you mean? You built it…" she gave the list another going over before turning to face him.
"No, HE built it and he gave it a neurological interface which means…" he said, his meaning getting through to her.
"You control it by your… brain waves?"
"Simplistic explanation, but yes. He controlled it by his brain waves. My brain waves are… a little different from his." He sat down beside her, his eyes taking in her work on the monitor.
"But… aren't you the same person?" No, not a glitch, not now!
"Close, but not identical. The suit doesn't recognize me. Tried to zap me, it thinks I'm trying to steal it."
"Well, technically, you are. What are you going to do?"
"Not much I can do without my lab and I don't time to fly home and try to fix it. Our time to act is NOW."
"Tell Bruce… and if he no ideas, could the Wakandans could help?" She hesitated with the last suggestion, knowing what his reaction would be.
"And they discover that my brain waves aren't the same as the brain waves that fit the suit. Which might aid them in their ongoing investigation of the recent phenomena which might lead to them finding out…"
"Would that be so bad? Wong didn't tell us not to tell anyone!" Tony didn't answer her question, choosing to shift his gaze to the wall behind her.
"Maybe, if you ask them to borrow some tech, there will be no need for them to examine it themselves. I'm sure they have everything you need. If Bruce is too shy to ask, get Bucky to ask," she suggested.
"I haven't reached the point where I want to ask Bucky for favors and he might ask his own questions." He started toward the door.
"Well, tell Steve to get him to ask," she called after him. "Remember, no time to waste. We're on a deadline.."
"I guess I don't have a choice. Banner should some ideas and if that doesn't pan out, and I'll take it to the Wakandans. I wonder what else is different… about the rest of us." He left her still pondering over his dilemma.
Natasha turned back to her computer, Tony's words ringing in her ears. She continued on with her work but the voice got louder and louder until she could stand the suspense no more. When she had downloaded their information earlier, she had paid little attention to their medical files, assuming that there wouldn't be much of a difference. Her own files tempted her so she looked up her records. Damn it. The same surgery. She didn't know why it bothered her. Children didn't fit into her lifestyle, but she would have liked to have had a say in the matter. Her conscience pricked her. If they were different here, if anyone else on the team had problems or some known weird ailment or something, they should know. Someone with a known allergy to peanuts shouldn't be seen scarfing down a jar of peanut butter.
She skimmed through everyone's files. Not much different except Rhodey had never suffered the terrible injuries he had back in the other life but he had war wounds he should know about. The other Bruce had an allergy to sulfa drugs. Later, after the mission, she would alter these records to fit with the present team.
Skipping down through Steve's files her eyes glossed over lists of enhanced everything until something stopped her cold. She read over it again. No mistake. It was there in black and white. This answered one question but asked another. Was he the same in both worlds? Things fell into place as she pondered over their time together. She opened Bucky's files, skimming over his mistreatment by the Consortium and the way they attached his arm to his shoulder and spine until she found a similar entry. Damn. The records were incomplete, Steve's being old and fragmented and Bucky's was just bits and pieces they had seized from the Consortium that held him. This presented her with a dilemma but she resolved it within a minute.
I don't think they know. I would want to know.