Chapter 15 – Reconciliation
I walked with Natasha to the door and sighed. This was it, I was going on our first mission and I was shaking. Nat and Clint had been training me for the past month and I was getting better but I was still nervous about being out in the field.
"You'll be fine" Nat said and I looked over, Nat was smiling at me and Clint pat my shoulder.
"Was I sending out my emotions?" I asked.
"No, I just know that look" Nat told me and I nodded. "We're a team. Just keep that in mind if you get into trouble." I nodded again and looked to Tony who was suited up in his Iron Man suit. I hoped that Tony believed that I was part of the team.
"I really hope that's true" I said quietly. Tony turned around and opened the mask of his suit.
"Was that aimed at me?" he asked.
"No" I said quickly. "Yes. Maybe" I continued. "You're my nephew and you hate me for something that happened almost seventy years ago" I explained and Tony went silent. Everyone was looking at us and I could see that Steve wanted to interject and defend me, but I put my hand up to stop him.
"You abandoned your family so you could go chasing after a dead man. Who, apparently isn't even dead" Tony yelled.
"Yes, I did. But I didn't think it would be like that, I thought I would see him and be home in time for dinner" I explained. "I didn't think I'd end up kidnapped and experimented on." He wasn't giving up though.
"You chose to leave. My father spent the better part of two decades looking for you before he met my mother and she convinced him that you were most likely dead. Then he would hide away every day, so focussed on his work, because he couldn't handle the loss of his baby sister" Tony yelled and I opened my mouth to reply but I had no argument. I had left my brother, the man who had always been there for me, and I never even thought about his wellbeing and what would happen if I disappeared. He was my protector, my inspiration and my hero, but what was I to him? I never thought about that.
"She didn't want to hurt Howard" Steve said and Tony glared at him.
"You don't get to say his name" Tony snapped before focussing on me again. "But you destroyed him" he accused me.
"I know" I whispered. The realisation of what I'd left behind, who I'd left behind, hit me like a tonne of bricks.
"What was that?" Tony asked.
"I said I know" I said louder and looked him in the eye. "I know I acted like a spoiled bitch and that I abandoned my family. I know that" I snapped. "I'm a horrible person for following my heart and I know you hate me, that's very clear. But I'm not the same girl who ran off to find true love back in 1945" I yelled.
"Maddie-"
"No Steve. Maddie Stark deserved this treatment for being a stupid, lovesick puppy. But I am not Maddie, I'm Lanie, and I have changed in the past few decades" I told the Avengers before walking over to a corner and facing away from the team. I heard footsteps before Steve came and sat down beside me.

"You didn't deserve that" Steve told me. I looked up and sighed, letting his concern rush over me. His love and kindness, his goodness, was freeing.
"I did do what he said I did though, and my brother suffered for it" I said. Steve wrapped an arm around me and I rested my head on his shoulder.
"You suffered too. You were tortured and used by HYDRA just as much as Bucky was" Steve said a=into my hair before he kissed my head.
"I know."
"Then don't punish yourself like this, and don't let Tony punish you either. He's a jerk, he thinks he owns everyone because he's a billionaire."
"I know where Bucky went" I said suddenly and Steve turned to me.
"What?"
"I lied earlier, when I said I hadn't seen him. I saw him at the Smithsonian, at the Bucky Barnes tribute" I explained and Steve was looking at me for answers.
"Where is he?"
"He asked me not to tell, I promised him that I wouldn't. But I thought that you might want to know that he's okay and that he's figuring himself out on his own" I explained. Steve nodded and then smiled at me.
"Thank you" Steve said.
"He's your best friend" I smiled.
"And you're his Lanie-bug." I laughed at the statement.
"Yeah, always" I said as I leant back into Steve's shoulder.

We all made our way off the quinjet and headed towards the HYDRA base, the soldiers came at us in full-force though. I fought alongside Natasha and Clint and we got through about half of the truckload before I had to use my telepathy to temporarily blind the soldiers.
"Thanks" Clint said and then continued on. I decided to sneak away after that and found Tony struggling against a group of ten soldiers. I snuck up between two of them and blinded them before knocking them unconscious before Tony took out the rest.
"I had it under control." I rolled my eyes and smiled.
"That's what they all say" I told him and ran over to find Steve and help him and Thor. When I saw the teamwork between Thor and Steve it reminded me of Steve and Bucky before the train. I ran over to them once the soldiers were down and then had to catch my breath.
"You good?" Steve asked.
"Yeah" I nodded and stood up straight again.
"Once we get inside the building, we have to locate the sceptre. If it's not here then we're at least destroying one of HYDRA's facilities" Steve told me and I nodded again.
"Knock them down one-by-one" I said in agreement.
"Are you able to continue?" Thor asked me.
"I'm good" I assured him and then followed them closer to the building but Tony stopped in front of me.
"No" he said. "Maddie goes back to the jet, I don't want her to be killed in there" he told Thor and Steve. I shook my head.
"I can do this" I told him and he finally looked me in the eye.
"You've proven that, but I don't want to lose the last family member I have left" he said and I smiled.
"This is a change of heart" Steve noted and Tony shrugged.
"You were right, she's suffered enough" Tony said and I smiled.
"I'm not going back to the jet, but I do appreciate your concern. I'm older than you and I say that I'm going in there with you" I told him and he sighed.
"Stubborn" he mumbled to himself.
"Runs in the family" I smirked and then let Steve lead us into the base.
"I can't believe you two decided to patch things up on the battlefield. You do realise that we were all exposed and vulnerable for an attack while you two were having your little family reunion?" Natasha commented when she and Clint caught up.
"You're alive" Tony said with a shrug and Clint nodded.
"Fair enough, let's go" Clint said and we continued the fight inside the base against HYDRA.

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x3sunnydaay: Thanks for your review! I'm glad you are enjoying this story, although chapters will come slower as time progresses due to my job and studies. Have an awesome day/afternoon/night!