This is a fan made story. I don't own the rights to Captain America, any of its characters or any characters within the MCU… Much to my disappointment. This will have some violent content and possible triggers. Steve/Bucky Established Relationship. Constructive criticism is welcome but if you don't like it simply because you don't like the line of thinking, please don't attack me for it.
Chapter 13: Darker Discussions
Tony and Natalia didn't rejoin the group for most of the rest of the day. In the end, Steve brought food down for the two. FRIDAY was talking the little red-head through how to assemble a miniature transmission to go with the mini engine of her toy car. Tony was working through the kinks in a schematic for the Iron Kid suit as it was labeled above the actual design. Natalia willingly ate but Tony barely acknowledge Steve before he left. FRIDAY was requested to keep an eye on them both but they all figured that Tony needed to work out the emotions in his own way.
Steve and Laura had already found themselves buried neck deep in work for their new jobs as Tony's PAs. The amount of paperwork that needed Tony's 'approval', aka their own, before it could occur was rather astounding but fortunately the pair quickly found a rhythm for figuring out who should deal with what issues and approve them and which needed Tony's approval. Those were sent to Tony via FRIDAY. Bucky spent a small amount of time looking over Steve's shoulder while he reviewed shares numbers and then went over to Bruce and Helen who were reviewing suggested and in progress research projects. Some of the ideas presented were beyond baffling to Bucky, like a new advanced holographic portable computer system. Bucky eventually shrugged and talked Natasha into walking him through how to work a Stark Tablet before beginning to study up on the history that his missed, even though he had been a part of writing some of it.
Eventually, Bucky collected Rebecca and began making supper with the girl, walking her through another simple recipe from Sarah Rogers's cook book. When he finished, Steve and Laura looked like they had headaches building. Surprisingly, Helen and Bruce didn't seem too stressed at all, despite having to filter through masses of technical jargon.
"You all right Steve?" Natasha asked as she set the table with Rebecca's help.
"Sure, Tony won't be when Laura and I tell him what we found when we got to work though," Steve groaned as Bucky placed a healthy serving of Shepard's Pie in front of him. A small pie had been made for Bruce with tofu rather than beef when Bruce had explained that he didn't eat meat.
"Why? What was wrong?" Helen asked, the question seconded by Maria quickly.
"Pepper hasn't actually been doing her job for a month now. The sheer volume is beyond ridiculous. How she got way without anyone noticing is beyond my comprehension. There must have been neglect on several levels for her to have managed it," Laura growled out. "That bi-… never mind what she is… is lucky she quit because if she hadn't, Tony would have fired her spectacularly once he realized what she was doing. It is like she was attempting to run Stark Industries into the ground. He might want to sue her, actually."
"Yeah, the stocks were only just starting to dip though, so if we can get it sorted out quickly enough, people might think that it was just a result of the power transitioning from Potts back to Tony. Natasha, I hate to say it but we will probably need your help sorting this all out. You did say that you acted as Tony's PA before," Steve remarked as he began to eat.
"Sure. My daughter's inheritance is at stake. I might only be able to really organize stuff but that will likely help a lot I suspect," Natasha agreed readily.
"Lucky you, I get to spend tomorrow sorting through the massive influx of applications for the tutor and nanny positions available. The preliminary background checks are going to be a mess. Anyone want to volunteer to help?" Maria asked between bites. She had spent the day supervising the packing of the Barton Farm and instruct personnel in the methods of deactivation and removal of the traps on the farm all day.
"I guess I could, not much else I have to do right now anyways," Clint offered.
"Pietro and I can help too. We had a lot of contact with various Hydra agents while they were experimenting on us. We can point out any that we recognize, plus when you get to the interview stage, I can use my mind reading to see if they are nefarious or incompetent," Wanda offered.
"Yes, to all that. And Steve, Laura, how bad is the damage?" Tony asked, drawing everyone's attention to him as he stood nearby with Natalia in his arms.
"It's mostly important stuff over the past month that really should have sent up red flags on several levels of your organization Tony. Things like ignoring new, innovative projects that would have likely made you gleeful at the idea of commercialization of. One was paperwork for the commercialized of your holographic computer system that you had expressed a desire to do last month. Another was the specifics of the grant program you wanted to go forward," Steve listed a few examples, but he wasn't certain how Tony was going to react.
Tony nodded slowly and settled Natalia into her high chair, "Right, so were most of it things that I expressed a desire to have go forward as the President of the company?"
Steve sighed before nodding, "Yeah, it's like if you came up with the idea, she ignored it."
"Well, Laura was right about one thing, she's lucky she quit before I could fire her. Would the board have noticed?" Tony glanced between the two before sitting in the empty seat left for him and serving himself food.
"The next board meeting is next week, it would have likely been noticed then, when they did a review of her management. It's likely that she was going to resign before then either way and hope to make a clean break," Laura remarked. "We've been sorting through the files today. If you have time you should send all the approvals for the patent requests in tomorrow. If she had access to patents, then it is likely that she could have taken the schematics with her and try to sell them to the highest bidder."
"That does explain a few anomalies we were finding with R&D too. We had a bunch of emails requesting an update of their patent requests or idea approvals," Bruce sighed.
"Alright. Steve, Laura send me those files so that I can review them tonight and they can get sent to the patent office tomorrow. Natasha, thank you for agreeing to help. I hope that your experience in espionage can be used to prevent this from becoming a downward spiral due to corporate espionage. Bruce, have FRIDAY assess the emails and compare the information there with the patent requests we have waiting. Hopefully, we'll be able to give some people some answers before the Board of Directors meeting next week," Tony was serious as he spoke. He ate quickly to finish when Steve did and then dragged the super soldier off to get the files sent over to him.
"Ok, sober Tony is unnerving. I was expecting an outburst and instead he was all business like. He didn't even give the press much of a rise when he was provoked this morning," Clint remarked one the billionaire had left.
"He might just be burying himself in work to avoid the fact that Pepper had no real intention of getting back together with him, even as she tried to manipulate him, meaning that she was only trying to hurt him as much as possible. It is a ridiculous and petty revenge. It also makes me wonder about how much the relationship was about being with Tony and how much was about his money," Natasha growled the last bit. All the adults grew a little darker in expression at the thought. The idea of Pepper being a gold digger was shocking but in hind sight not as shocking as it should have been.
"Well, we know where she stands now. I am going to have a little chat with the head of building security. Her behavior means that we don't want her to have any access to Stark Tower or Stark Industries," Laura looked at the others with a hard expression. With this, she stood and headed for the elevators.
"I'll contact Happy. He likely saw the press conference but I want him to know Ms. Potts's security clearance is completely revoked from all Stark Industries properties and affiliates. I will go into detail if I have too," Natasha nodded towards the others. "Can you watch Natalia for a while?"
"Yeah, sure. Take however much time you need," Bruce nodded and Bucky seconded it. Wanda shrugged and collected Natalia from her high chair as she finished eating.
Once she saw the situation well in hand, she also exited to get into contact with the head of security for the West Coast offices of Stark Industries. He would likely be confused but Tony was his friend and employer, not Pepper. However, Happy liked Potts and the news of such a deep betrayal would likely hurt him. Thus, it was best coming from someone that the man knew. Natasha collected her tablet and sent an immediate video call to Happy.
He answered almost immediately, clearly agitated, "Natasha, what the hell is going on?! Tony and Pepper broke up? And he fired Pepper?" His voice was stunned.
"Are you sitting down, Happy?" Natasha asked the long-time bodyguard.
"Yes, what is going on?" Happy urged.
"Tony and Pepper were already taking a break before this weekend. When Tony found out that he had a daughter, he called Pepper here to tell her in person about it. Pepper's reaction was… nasty is the best word for it. She told Tony he would be a horrible parent, that she never wanted kids and that even if he insisted on kids that it would only have been one with lots of delegated child care. Tony was reasonably pissed since he didn't want Natalia to grow up like he had. He told her that since she didn't want kids he couldn't be with her," Natasha began before going over the rest of the encounter and the discoveries from the day. Happy looked like he was ready to lose it.
"She came here an hour ago, claiming that you and Tony were fooling around behind her back and that was how Natalia was born. Obviously, it would have been impossible to hide something like that though. She wanted to be allowed into the building but I told her that since she wasn't a Stark Industries employee she couldn't go anywhere without an escort. I took her up to her office, watched her clear out her stuff and refused her access to her computer. She pitched a fit over it but I wasn't going to risk it. Everything about her behavior was completely off. Almost maniac really when I escorted her off the premises. It's almost like it wasn't really Pepper, just someone who looked like her," Happy looked deflated once he finished his rant.
"You made the right choice Happy. Under no circumstances is she to be allowed back into any Stark Industries building. If she attempts to enter one, she is to be detained until a police escort can be arranged. Make sure that the entire security staff knows that. Tony is the CEO and President again and Steve and Laura Barton, Clint's wife, are his PAs," Natasha finished.
"I understand. I will pass it along to everyone, thanks for the full update. Also, congratulations on becoming a mom. I hope you are up to the challenge of co-parenting with Tony," Happy added with a weak smile.
"Co-parenting? Please, Tony's already hogging Natalia. He's kept her in his lab with him for most of the day, teaching her how to build a transmission, I think," Natasha smiled for real at that.
"I thought she was three?" Happy looked confused.
"She has a brain bigger than her father's," Natasha shrugged before waving good-bye and ending the face-time.
When she returned to the shared floor, it was to find a group of fascinated children watching a dinosaur documentary. Clint and Bruce were dealing with the dishes and Wanda and Pietro were equally absorbed with the documentary playing. Natasha shrugged and picked up her daughter to clean her up. When Natalia protested, Natasha promised she could continue to watch it when she joined her daddy once she was cleaned up. Natalia seemed to accept this and quieted.
Eventually, Steve and Bucky talked their girls into going to bed as well. Steve barely laid his own head down before falling asleep that night, Bucky snuggled in close and followed suit. However, after a few hours of sleep, Bucky shot up in the bed, having been woken from a horrifying nightmare. Up until now, Wanda's tampering with his mind had only sorted out the memories he had regained beforehand, making it more coherent. This was a new memory though, and one that was disturbing in the extreme. Wanda's work meant that he knew the date, time and location of the mission, one that required him to kill a couple in a car while making it appear to be an accident.
Bucky glanced at Steve and a wave of relief flooded him as he noticed that he was still asleep, exhausted from a day of working on a computer, ironically enough. Bucky carefully slipped out of the bed and went to check on the children, all of whom were also sleeping soundly. Once he was reassured, he found his tablet and pulled up a search program that Tony his AI set up for him earlier that day. It was so that any new memories could be researched based on what he knew. Tony had explained that it was to account for all the people that Hydra had harmed. He hesitated for a moment before punching in the date, December 16, 1991 and the location along with the words couple and accident.
A few articles immediately popped up. The first read, 'Howard and Maria Stark Dead in Car Accident'. The second read, 'Head of Stark Industries, Wife Dead in Tragic Accident'. Both articles gave sparse details, however they matched with what he knew of the event. It didn't take a genius to figure out at this point that he had killed Tony's parents. Bucky hesitated for a minute and looked into each of the bedrooms again to ensure that everyone was still asleep before clutching the tablet close and going to the elevator. Once he entered and the doors closed he spoke, "FRIDAY, is Stark awake?"
"Yes, he is currently in his lab working on the frame of Miss Stark's car. Miss Stark is napping," FRIDAY answered immediately.
Bucky paused a moment before speaking again, "Take me to his lab, please." The AI confirmed his request and the elevator moved. He paced in the elevator as it moved down the levels until it reached the floor with Tony's lab. When the door opened, Bucky was out of the elevator and headed directly for the man with a torch in hand and welding mask on his head. He was, indeed, working on the frame of Natalia's tiny car.
Bucky cleared his throat once he was a good five feet from Tony to alert him of his presence, startling the man. Tony quickly realized that Bucky wasn't there for a visit though, based on the tablet clutched in his hand. The blow torch was turned off and the welding mask was taken off.
"What can I do for you? That program I had FRIDAY make working alright?" Tony asked, as he settled into a chair gesturing for Bucky to take the one opposite him, having noticed the tablet in Bucky's hand.
"It works fine. I'm just not sure you're going to like what my first search pulled up," Bucky sighed. He hesitated before handing over the tablet, figuring that Tony deserved to know.
Before Tony took it, he rolled his eyes, "Please, Wanda explained to me what kinds of things they did to you. I'm not going to blame you for whatever they made your mind controlled body do." With that, he took the tablet and immediately froze. He stayed that way for a few minutes before setting the tablet aside and walking across the room and into a separate room.
Once he was in there, he let out his frustration by trashing it before coming out to find a concerned Bucky and a confused and now awake Natalia. The little girl immediately jumped into her father's arms and latched onto him, having a strangely calming effect on the man. Tony hugged Natalia and sat across from Bucky, "So Hydra killed my parents. I'm really wishing I hadn't showed Steve where all the alcohol was or gave FRIDAY all those orders right about now, but it's probably for the best that I did. I would probably drink myself into a coma otherwise."
Bucky looked at Tony in surprise, "You're taking this a lot better than I expected. I mean, I killed your parents." He finally blurted out.
"No. Hydra killed my parents. Like I said before. Wanda explained to me exactly what they did to your head. She said that a lesser man would have become a vegetable with the amount that they scrambled your brain. No one can blame you for what they made you do. It's like blaming a gun for getting fired. It was man who made the gun and he pointed the gun and fired it. The gun doesn't actually get a say in the matter. It is just a tool, a weapon. That is what you were for Hydra. You're trying to make it right now, right?" Tony looked at Bucky expectantly.
"Yeah, I am. Is there anything I can do now?" Bucky asked after a pause.
"Do you know who gave the orders or why?" Tony asked after a minute.
"The why was that they wanted a brief case that Howard had with him. It held an attempt at a recreation of Erskine's serum. I don't know exactly who called the shots though. They only called themselves my handlers and I wasn't exactly allowed to ask questions. I do remember where they kept me though," Bucky added as an afterthought. He immediately punched in coordinates on the tablet before handing it back to Tony.
Tony nodded and, little girl attached to him and all, moved over to a computer that he used to pull up a satellite image, "Snow covered mountain. It doesn't look like anything is there. You sure it's there?"
"It's designed to be concealed from satellites. You can't see it but there is a door right about here. If they haven't changed the codes, I can probably get us in," Bucky offered after pointing to roughly where the door should be located in the side of the mountain.
"Alright, well, the Hydra base will likely still be there tomorrow. You should probably get back to Mrs. Barnes and get what sleep you can, what with the boys waking frequently and all. Super soldier doesn't mean you don't need sleep. I think I will get some shuteye myself. I'm waiting for the rest of the parts I need for what I'm working on anyways," Tony stated before practically forcing Bucky out of the lab.
Bucky sighed, figuring the man probably needed time to fully process all the information and got back into the elevator. He went back up his floor. Steve was wake, feeding George when Bucky arrived and the look of relief on his face spoke volumes.
"Sorry for going missing. I had to talk to Tony about something," Bucky offered lamely as he collected Joseph because he had started to cry as well.
"Yeah, FRIDAY told me. Everything ok?" Steve asked softly.
"I killed Tony's parents," Bucky answered in barely a whisper. "I figured that wasn't something that should be hidden from him."
Steve adjusted George to burp him while he got in close to Bucky who had begun to feed Joseph, "Buck, that wasn't you. That was Hydra. You had no control over your actions. To Hydra, you were just a weapon being pointed in a direction."
Bucky smiled weakly as he looked down at Joseph, "Tony said the same thing. He asked if I knew who called the shots but I don't remember names. I did tell him where they had me working out of though. He said that we would deal with it in the morning."
"He's right. Also, I think I like Sober Tony a bit more than alcoholic Tony. He is much more rational now. Though that could be Natalia. I guess as long as he stays away from the booze we might never know," Steve shrugged as George dropped off to sleep and Bucky switched Joseph to his shoulder to burp.
"He definitely took it better than expected," Bucky commented.
"Good to hear. I guess being a parent has done what nothing else could. Made Tony behave like an adult," Steve smiled as he put George back in his crib. "I guess miracles do happen after all."
"Says the guy who used to struggle to breath but is now a man who is over one hundred but doesn't look a day over thirty," Bucky chuckled, feeling a little more at ease now, settling Joseph next to his brother.
"Hello, pot, meet kettle," Steve teased as he took Bucky's hand and dragged him back to bed for some well deserved rest.