A/N: Sorry for the delay! I'm back home now and back to writing. Please continue to leave your constructive criticism. Every comment and follow is appreciated
Bucky had long since gotten used to the sound of someone on his balcony. The princess Shuri was not overly fond of doors, and he suspected she wanted to keep her many visits to him somewhat discreet. There had been a time where a woman sneaking into his room in the early hours of the morning would have been scandalous, or possibly even excited him. As it stood now, it was so common that he left the sliding door open a crack when he went through his morning routine. He had just finished his exercises and was enjoying a cup of coffee. He didn't need the caffeine anymore, but after years of war and government issued black joe, this new world of espressos and macchiato had its appeal. He was seated at the table in his room, flipping through one of the comic books that Steve had given him when he heard her.
"Good morning," he greeted without looking up.
"Well hey there, soldier," he nearly choked on his coffee as he recognized a completely different, and completely unexpected voice.
Bucky jumped to his feet and turned to look as the Black Widow smirked back at him from just inside his balcony.
"You know, you really shouldn't leave your door unlocked," she crossed towards him with her trademark confidence. "You're a wanted man." She glanced down at the comic book he was reading and raised a brow. "Or so they tell me."
Bucky wasn't sure whether to take the defensive or not. He had tried to kill the Widow on no less than three occasions. He knew she was a close friend of Steve's but he assumed continuously strangling a woman might have left her with a grudge.
"Relax, big guy," she rolled her large blue eyes as she continued her approach. "Steve called me." She smirked again.
"Sorry about trying to kill you." Bucky relaxed just a fraction. She had certainly earned a free hit, if that's what she was here for.
"Which time?" she apparently recalled the incidents as vividly as he did.
"All three," he said.
"So you do remember," she sounded impressed as she took a seat at his table. "Got anymore coffee?" she asked.
He poured her a cup from the fancy silver machine on his counter. "I remember all of them," he told her, sliding over the warm mug.
She took a sip. "So do I," she admitted. Her ginger hair was longer now, curling over her shoulders. She looked healthy and well- rested.
"Where have you been?" He asked her, taking a seat across from her.
"That's classified, soldier," she smiled at him over her cup. "But I'm back now. I heard you boys have a problem."
"Ran into Klaue," Bucky stood up and went to the refrigerator in his room to retrieve a plate of Wakandan cookies.
"Oh," Black Widow exclaimed, "You do spoil a girl," she reached for the miniature pastry. Her every movement smacked of seduction as she took a delicate bite then another sip.
"They're courtesy of the king," Buck sat back down and tossed one in his mouth. Each cookie was small and imperfectly round, sweetened with cocoa powder. The milk chocolate that had always come with his GI dinners had been too sweet for Bucky's taste, but he savored the tangy richness of these little delights. He wasn't sure who had noticed that they had become his favorite, but his room was never without a plate of them now.
"And how is T'Challa?" Black Widow popped the rest of the treat into her mouth.
"You should go ask him," Bucky started in on his second cookie.
"Don't trust me?" she read him easily.
"We don't really know each other," he admitted.
"Oh come on now, we've met a few times. I think I've even ended up sitting on your face a time or two," the implication was overtly sexual. Steve would have blushed but Bucky just shrugged.
"It was never really me when we met," he hoped she understood that.
"I know," her tone leveled out into something gentler. "Steve told me. He loves you, you know."
Bucky took another gulp of coffee. "He's my brother. I'd do anything for him."
"I'm glad to hear that." Widow drained the rest of her cup. "We've got some rough road ahead of us, soldier."
"Bucky," he told her.
"Natasha," she extended a hand. Bucky shook it. "You've got a new arm," she observed.
"Let the old one with Stark. It wasn't really my thing," he withdrew his hand. Even though Widow had defected to Steve's side in the end, Bucky knew she and Stark had been close. She could be working for him even now.
"It suits you." She stood up. "I'll let you finish up breakfast. I'm sure I'll see you soon, soldier."
Natasha used the door this time. Bucky watched her go. Nearly the moment the latch had clicked behind her, he heard the familiar rustle from the balcony.
"My brother spoke very highly of her," Princess Shuri entered the room behind him. "I am glad we were able to locate her."
"Steve says there isn't a better spy," Bucky turned around.
"Did she surprise you?" Shuri was eyeing the plate of cookies.
"Caught me a little off guard," he confessed, lifting the plate to offer her some.
"We can use all of the help we can get right now." Shuri selected the largest sweet from the plate. "It is only a matter of time."
The team had been on high alert since last week, when Steve, Bucky and Shuri had rushed back to the palace, smelling like smoke and soot, the latter nursing more than a few wounds. T'Challa had been waiting for them, a look of grave concern etched on his handsome features.
The vibranium hand had landed on the ebony table with a resounding thud. Several people around the table jumped despite themselves, including Sam.
"Did she bring in a damn hand?" he had whispered incredulously, his eyes trained on the limb sitting in front of the king.
"You found him then?" the king regarded the severed appendage in front of him. Klaue's hand was tinged in a faint crimson stain at the end. Shuri had not been gentle in her reclamation. Off to his left, Clint had stared at the hand with a mixture of fascination and revulsion. Wanda had gone a bit pale and Sharon seemed determined to not look at it any longer than was necessary. Scott seemed hardly awake. He was slumped over in his chair, fighting to keep his head up. Bucky realized with a start that the night was almost over. There were advantages to being a Super Soldier, stamina being among them.
"And lost him," there had been shame in the princesses voice. Bucky knew that tone well.
"He knows we're here," Steve had interjected with this critical bit of information.
"Very well," if this idea concerned T'Challa, he had betrayed no inkling of it. "Did you find anything else out?"
"He had an arsenal," Bucky had added, "But no vibranium."
"None that we could find, save this," Shuri had gestured to the severed hand.
"He wants my arm though," Bucky suddenly remembered.
"Yours?" T'Challa turned his intense gaze on Bucky. "Why?"
"He didn't monologue too much," Steve said. "He was more concerned with blowing us up."
T'Challa looked at their scorched appearances. "The evidence is gone then?"
"Much of it," again, Shuri could not disguise her shame.
T'Challa nodded calmly and turned to one of his guard. "Fetch Ziwadi. Send her and her team to investigate. Bring back all you can find." The guard bowed and headed off.
"So he knows we're all here?" Clint spoke up as a silence settled in the room.
"He's a smart guy. I'm sure he's drawn that conclusion," worry was creeping across Steve's face now.
Bucky felt the tendrils of panic beginning to crawl into him. Bad things happened when he was discovered.
"So what does that mean for us?" Wanda kept her voice level, but her eyes betrayed her concern.
"You will remain here under my protection," T'Challa did not hesitate.
"And when the world finds out?" Sharon asked.
"We will be ready," he answered simply. He turned to his sister and began murmuring in Wakandan. She nodded, whispering back. With a sidelong glance at Bucky, she left the room quickly. Bucky's eyes followed her out, noticing limp she was attempting to disguise.
"First we must discern Klaue's plan," T'Challa announced to the room. "I trust that you are all still willing to fight?"
"Yes," Scott seemed to wake up at last. He sat up too quickly, nearly toppling himself out of his chair. Clint reached out nonchalantly to steady him.
"Then we will continue on," The king graciously ignored Scott's faux pas. "Should politics get involved," T'Challa could not disguise his distaste on the word "politics", "I shall handle them."
"T'Challa—" Steve began.
The king raised a hand. "This was always the risk, Captain. Wakanda is prepared to bare it."
"Then we'll be ready too," Steve agreed, straightening up.
"Rest now. I have guests to attend to. We will reconvene soon." It was a polite dismissal, one that seemed to minimize the situation. Bucky knew that the king was trying to remain calm and objective. Bucky did not feel the same.
"It is time, Bucky," Shuri told him now.
The plan still burned a hole in the pit of his stomach, but in the end, they had agreed it was for the best.
"I'm ready," Bucky took a deep breath.
"I know you are," Shuri smiled at him just a bit. "I wish you all the best of luck," she turned, preparing to leave.
"You know, princess, what happened with Klaue wasn't your fault," he called after her. "Take it from someone who's made a lot of mistakes. You didn't do anything wrong."
Shuri turned back around and grinned at him. "Mr. Barnes, I thought it was I that was supposed to be counseling you. We seem to have reversed roles."
"You did a good job," Bucky smiled back. "I'm almost back to normal." He did feel more like himself than he had in decades. The nightmares might never stop, but he saw the light at the end of the tunnel.
"Then go show the world," she instructed kindly, making her exit.
"Looks like the gang is back together again," Sam's voice echoed in Bucky's earpiece a few hours later. He was soaring above them somewhere up high.
"Almost," Steve kept his voice level, but Bucky knew he was feeling bad about Stark.
"It's nice to have you back, Nat," Clint was making no effort to disguise his delight from his vantage point high up on one of Wakanda's roofs.
"You guys ready to make a statement?" Natasha was hidden in the crowd along with Sharon. The two ladies had the most espionage experience by far.
"Born ready," Scott was in miniature form, strapped onto Sam somewhere above them.
"Wanda, do you see them?" Steve guided the conversation back on track.
"I've got my eye on two of them." Wanda was using a new trick of hers, invisibility. She had tried to explain to Bucky that is wasn't so much that she was invisible, as she was tricking others into not being able to see her, but the result was the same. She was hovering just above the crowd, out of sight to everyone.
"Where's the pink-haired girl?" Sharon asked.
"My guess is she's going with a more conservative color today," Bucky couldn't imagine trying to hide with rose-colored hair.
"I've got her," Natasha said suddenly. "Bitch stole my look."
"Oh, that's gotta hurt." Clint laughed. "You're not the only deadly ginger out there, Nat."
"Shut up," you could practically hear the eye roll in Widow's voice.
"So we've got two brunettes and a redhead," Steve instructed.
"Why is it taking all of us, again?" Scott asked. "They're just three ladies."
"Nat, Sharon and Wanda are just three ladies," Sam said. "Do you want to take them on by yourself?"
"Ah, good point," Scott conceded. "My bad."
"Besides," Wanda added. "We're out here making a statement."
"So let's make a big one. Move in team," Steve instructed. "You know what to do."
Natasha was the first to make her move. Without preamble, she marched up to faux redhead, pulled an arm back, and slapped her full across the face. The response was instantaneous. The crowd parted like the red sea as their target's two partners beelined straight for Widow.
"Let the fun begin," Clint said.
"Take them down," Steve was running towards the scene now, drawing massive attention as he moved. T'Challa had styled for him a new Captain America suit. The scarlet, blue and white gleamed bright as he burst out onto the street. They had wanted to make a statement, and they were making it. Bucky leapt into action on his heels. He was also debuting a new outfit, a more colorful variation of his HYDRA uniform. The black had been replaced with a navy blue in the exact same shade as his favorite leather jacket during the 40s. He needed to be recognizable, but different. This is what he and Shuri had settled on.
The shouts went up immediately. It had been almost two years since the world had seen Captain America, and now his entire team was making a most conspicuous appearance. Wanda materialized with great panache, shooting off scarlet beams as she swept down on a member of the trio of assassins. The Serpent Society wasn't thrown off for long. Within seconds, the three targets were locked in combat with the three Avenger ladies.
"You ready, Scott?" Sam was swooping in from above.
"You're sure it's totally cool to hit a girl?" Scott asked.
"They're assassins," Bucky reminded him.
"Unless you want her to hit you first, I'd get over it," Sharon grunted as she threw a punch.
"All right, here we go," Scott leaped down, growing into his normal size as he landed in the middle of the Serpent Society. "Time to show off what I learned," he announced, throwing a kick he'd picked up from T'Challa.
One of the dark haired women stuck back with speed to match her nickname, nearly leveling Scott. He shrunk again in a fraction of a second, and a moment later, the woman went crashing to the ground.
"Nice hit," Bucky complimented as he and Steve arrived at the fight. There was almost nothing left to do at this point; Natasha, Sharon and Wanda had done a thorough job in rounding the enemy up. All that was left was to pull out the handcuffs.
"So, who are we arresting them in the name of?" Sam asked, producing the magnetic cuffs.
Steve and Bucky exchanged a look. They hadn't quite planned that far ahead. "Justice?" Steve answered a bit unsurely.
"For justice!" Scott announced happily, materializing back to his normal size. Cameras were beginning to swarm around them as they took the Serpent Society into custody. The attention was making Bucky incredibly nervous.
"It's for the best," Natasha ensured him quietly.
"I hope so," he murmured back.
The idea had been to reveal themselves to the world before Klaue could expose them. Let them debut again as heroes, not vigilantes in hiding. Bucky had not been completely comfortable with the idea, but Steve had ensured him that it was the best course of action. He'd been on the other side of the law before, and insisted the best defense was the truth.
"So….should we strike a pose?" Wanda swept down, hovering on her red energy.
"I always shift my weight to one leg," Natasha said. "It's slimming."
"Oh…she's right!" Scott copied her trademark stance.
"So the cat's out of the bag now," Clint observed, entering the crowd.
"Team Cap, out in the open," Sam smiled a bit.
"Let's pray this works," Steve gave a little wave to the crowd. "That's enough team. Let's move out."
"Try and run in formation," Sam added. "It looks cooler."
"So what, pretend we're on Baywatch?"
"What?" Bucky looked at Steve confusedly. Steve shrugged.
"Let's just clear out," Natasha's eyes were trained on the direction from which sirens were growing steadily louder.
"Leave the assassins," Steve said. "The police are almost here."
Wanda flew straight up into the air, trailed by Sam, "We'll stand guard," she called down at them.
Steve nodded, leading the retreat.
"You ok?" he asked Bucky quietly as the team filed into their jet.
"We'll see," Bucky's stomach was settling but he knew this was just the beginning.
"The secret's out now," Sam's voice rang in their earpieces. "People seem pretty happy about it out here."
"It's not Wakanda I'm worried about," Bucky had found a home away from home here. Now he was being thrust back into the real world.
"Relax, soldier," Natasha settled into her seat next to Clint. "It's going to be fine."
"It's going to be fine," Steve repeated.
Bucky hoped his smile was convincing enough to fool his friend. In his heart, he knew the fight was just starting.