Chapter 22: Avengers Tower - Guest Floor Kitchen
"Excitement is the only appropriate response for what I have accomplished, just so you know." Tony announced as he entered the kitchen for supper. "Miss Inessa, your hand, if you would be so kind?"
She eyed him wearily (and by no means was alone in this, Sam and Bucky were equally suspicious) and tentatively held out her left hand. Only a slight tremor betrayed her. Tony held something up for her to see- a bracelet of unusual design. In the center was a flat silver plate, but the rest of it was a gleaming tube covered in small indentations. Tony slipped it on her wrist and pushed it up just past the joint. He looked her in the eye and smiled, "Deep breath."
Inessa realized what was going on a split second before wire-thin needles shot out from the indentations and burrowed into her skin. She tried to pull away from Tony but he tightened his grip, holding her in place. Sam and Bucky watched, horrified. They didn't have time to get around the kitchen counter before it jolted, then snapped around her wrist tightly. Once it was set, Tony released her and Inessa punched him squarely in the jaw.
"What the hell Tony?" Sam grabbed an icepack from the freezer and went quickly to Inessa. He used a cooking band to temporarily pin the ice to her arm, over the cuff.
"That's just the install patch," Tony assured them, unphased, "once it's done, in a few hours, the majority of the unit will fall away. Only a small port- the square bit- will be left to refill the anti-venom reservoir."
Inessa could still feel the wires moving under her skin and up her arm. It was a painful tingling sensation, like having a limb fall asleep. "So now if she's in trouble what happens?" Bucky was furious, "We cut off her whole damn arm?"
"Stark, you have no right installing that without HER permission," Sam put himself between Inessa and Tony.
"What are you two-" he realized suddenly where his plan had gone awry, not enough explanation, "That's just the anti-venom and vitals monitor, not the comm unit," he held his hands up, "No big honking neck harness, that's all."
Steve wandered in and quickly took stock of the situation, "Stark, what did you do?"
"He plugged Inessa into some experiment without even asking her permission!" Bucky snarled and picked up a steak knife.
From Hydra's experiment to the Avenger's, there's no difference. The thoughts were probably a plant of Pryor, but that didn't make them wrong. "I. Will. Kill. You." Inessa wanted to scream the words, but she was willing to settle for ice cold fury. Bucky had rage already covered, Sam looked about ready to tackle Tony, and Steve was just incredulous.
Their leader shook his head and cleared is throat, "JARVIS, security override A257, take Stark into custody. Lock him down away from computers or electronic devices."
"Now wait one damn second," Tony was confused, "what gives you the right to lock me up in my own building? You get your sorry ass out, tonight. JARVIS, cancel that order!"
Two remote Suits entered. Tony crossed his arms and matched Steve's glare- until the suit folded around him suddenly, securing him.
"My apologies, Master Stark," JARVIS broadcast over Tony's endless stream of curses (some of which he learned from Steve and was only just getting to try out) echoing from inside the Suit, "Avengers protocol 257 superceeds any other commands. Your judgement and perhaps your person have been compromised to the detriment of your teammates."
The Suit with Tony in it left and the second remained, "Miss Inessa, I am capable of interfacing with the device and may retract and release the device, if you so desire. Once installation has been completed it may only be removed by Master Stark."
Something the Suit said sparked in her mind through the rampant fury. Almost got me. She heard JARVIS repeat the question and cut it off halfway through, "No, just- just don't let him near me again." the Suit signaled the affirmative and left to follow its twin.
Your judgement and perhaps your person have been compromised. Tony never handed Inessa something directly. He always let her make the move. He certainly never grabbed her. And the way he carried on like nothing was wrong after she hit him... Bucky was as much on bed rest as she was (and as tired of it), Sam had spent the afternoon in the gym, and Steve was up in his apartment, trying to put the pieces together to figure out who took down the medical suits... Tony was in his workshop- closer than anyone else to the front door. Doctor Pryor must have gotten to him when she arrived. The more Inessa considered it, the more it made sense, and the angrier she got.
"Nessa, are you alright?" Sam crouched down to look at her eyes. She was breathing hard, her eyes flicking side to side- either she was intensely focused on something or she was trapped in another waking nightmare- and that hadn't happened in a couple of weeks now.
She shoved past Sam, marched around Steve, and stormed out of the room. Before she knew where she was headed, she was out on the balcony. Inessa paced like a caged wolf, trying to convince herself it was worth not killing Pryor to see where this plan was going, but the rage was out of control. Was this how Hulk felt?
"Inessa?" Bucky came out to stand a respectful distance from her. She was pacing along the edge of the landing pad- no fence, "Talk to me."
She stopped abruptly and looked out over the city, trying to get command over her emotions. Something else was in control now- probably the work of Pryor or those other creatures she'd seen on Bucky and Steve. The former came up behind her and put a hand on her shoulder to try and get her attention. She turned and grabbed his wrist in a tight grip. Their eyes locked.
All it took was a sweep of the feet, a tip, and Inessa shoved Bucky over the edge of the platform- still holding onto him. The balcony was lined with speakers, but the outside of the building wasn't. Bucky pulled Inessa against him. Steve had survived a fall at the Triskellion- ableit from about a fifth of the height, but he was determined to protect Inessa. He felt everything twist suddenly, the world became a little brighter, and they went flying across a field of sharp, gray stones.
He took the brunt force of the hit and groaned as his still-healing injuries screamed in protest of the violence. Inessa had spun out of his arms. She was cut up, but fine. She panted and jumped to her feet, still unable to break away from the blind rage. Bucky uneasily stood and watched her hesitantly- she was completely feral.
The Valley twisted and warped around them as Inessa turned her attention from shadow to shadow at a pace his eyes couldn't match. He stared at her, mouth open, and didn't even notice Nadya approach until she nuzzled his hand. Abruptly the shadows froze, solidified on the winding outline of a tunnel system or underground structure. Bucky knew then what she was doing.
"Inessa, no," he finally went to her and grabbed her with his metal arm, "absolutely not."
"Pryor is one of them," she was staring at the building. Silver mist rolled from her eyes as black smoke trailed down her arms. She hadn't used her power like this since she brought Bucky back. "She's the one who had Tony do this," she held up her arm. The ice pack was still held against it. "I'm done. I'm done being Hydra's toy, I'm done being scared."
Bucky swallowed hard. If she stepped through the shadow he had a feeling he'd never see her again, at least not until his nightmare came to pass. "They used you for seventy years. They used me for seven. I'm not waiting for luck to drop the puppet-master in our laps. I'm getting the information myself. Come if you want." she vanished into the darkness. Nadya looked up at him, then followed her mistress.
He couldn't deny her sentiment. Pryor- it made sense. He'd been trying so hard to not be the Winter Soldier, he forgot to keep his defenses up. The doctor, the kids tailing them. He'd let Hydra make an idiot out of him. Pryor. Same as Aristov. Bucky told himself he was guarding her, that his actions were for her own good, but he felt the bloodlust rising again.
Hydra wanted a weapon when they made him, and he was happy to provide a demonstration of how well their work was done. When the pack entered the shadow, Bucky followed, steak-knife in hand.
Even though Pryor's handiwork was fueling Inessa's rage, she managed to resist opening a door to the most crowded room in the facility, and for that Bucky was grateful. He was in street clothes, not a tactical suit, and one little steak knife wasn't quite enough in a large, open space like a mess hall. When he stepped into the dark corridor behind her all he saw was a blur of black mist and blood.
Everyone saw the fight between Inessa and Natasha, but now- with her powers back- it was something else entirely. She moved around the Hydra agents, diving in and out of shadows so frequently that it was hard to catch a glimpse of the girl. Bucky was so entranced watching her, he almost missed the operative move into position behind him. Almost. The soft scrape of boot on stone captured his attention and he jumped to the side before the gun fired.
"Don't stop moving!" he didn't realize he was shouting in Russian- he was in full Winter Soldier mode now. Bucky spun around, ducked, and ran head first into the man's stomach, simultaneously lifting him and flinging him back so that he hit the concrete floor head first. Bucky didn't wait to see if it dazed him or not. he took his knife and plunged it into the top of the man's head twice.
Bucky searched the body and began looping grenades, smoke bombs, and flash bangs through the loops on his pants. he shoved a couple of spare magazines in a pocket and retrieved the man's gun. He was forced to relinquish his hopes of taking the tactical gear- the man was at least two sizes too small. "Get behind me!" he ordered, still in Russian. Inessa obeyed quickly, "I need the armory." Her eyes went from silver to downright pearly as she scanned the base from the shadows for the weapons room. An alarm suddenly blared, "Sooner rather than later!"
"Go left!" she pointed ahead. Bucky led. Inessa's wolf pack covered them well enough, but it wasn't a small facility, and they were thinning out the horde behind them, not ahead.
When they rounded the turn to see an empty hallway, Inessa broke out from behind. Someone was there, Bucky could sense it, but he couldn't see anything. A chameleon- had Hydra finished a small-form reflective shield? To Inessa it was something else entirely- something blinding. Through Nadya's eyes she saw a pillar of silver- pure, concentrated. She extended her senses to the Valley, for a moment passed into it. There were two silver pillars now- no four, no- seven. Not quite powerful enough to break through, but enough that their presence was known. It was tainted, whatever it was, unfinished. New still.
Inessa pulled her body into the Valley but pushed her mind into Nadya. The wolf grew and changed, and her vision of the person solidified. Within seconds of entering the hallway the Shadow was lunging at its invisible enemy, ripping through him, and continuing on its way. But there was resistance- something tangible.
"Where are you going?" The Shadow shot back the direction they came. Bucky ran after it. The creature lunged through the halls, there wasn't enough time to check intersections in the tunnels. Bucky threw grenades or gas down each one, it was all he had time for. The Shadow vanished twice more and re-emerged in explosions of blood and gore, all that marked whoever Hydra had waiting in the shadows.
A metal bunker door blocked their path- some massive structure with multiple locks and scanners. Bucky counted six different security protocols, and that was just what he could see. A heavy-weapons vault, the Winter Soldier was never allowed in one before. The Shadow didn't hesitate. It tackled Bucky, pulled him into the Valley, and emerged on the other side, ready for a fight.
Only a handful of scientists got in their way, and so Bucky dispatched them with his gun while the Shadow dissolved in the bright lights. Inessa forced open a portal and dropped through, weakened by the effort. Bucky put his metal arm on her back to help hold her up as she panted, "Self destruct," she pointed to a large boxed-in device on the far side of the room, "Use the bodies to arm it... wait for my signal."
"If you destroy this base, you kill everyone," he cautioned, "Everyone on the surface is at risk too. That's innocent people Inessa, you don't kill innocent people."
She swallowed hard, still struggling. Her eyes flashed pearly-white for only a moment, "Injuries, yes, but no one will die. The city is far enough away, they'll be safe. I'll get the prisoners out and come get you... We have to stop them..."
"Who? From what?"
"They weaponized it... Project Helius... We have to stop them," she gave him one last, pleading look before diving back into the Valley, "Blow it straight to Hell."
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