The Curse of Dr. Zola

Chapter 21

"And then there was this capsule thing, but she wouldn't let me take it and bring it back here to Stark Tower for a thorough analysis."

Pepper looked at Tony with a skeptical expression. "And so…?'

"I'm going to bring some stuff there."

"How long is this going to take?"

"Well, that's the thing. I kind of booked us there for the week, and…"

"Us? You agreed to this without even asking me?"

"Well, it's a little place, the kind you'd like, but they've agreed on us staying for a visit. When I suggested you come along, Mary seemed delighted to have another girl in the house while us men do all the technical boring stuff."

"I see, and when were you going to tell me?"

"Well, I thought I just did."

Pepper sighed, the frustration she felt with Tony visible on her face.

"I think you'd like her. She makes homemade cookies."

Pepper broke into a smile and shook her head. "Fine, I'll go along. When are we leaving?"

"Friday."

"That's tomorrow!"

"Oh, so it is. I've got a couple things to do before we leave, so I better do them. I'll see you later." And true to form, Tony left her in the room wondering how she was going to get everything done in time.

"Ok guys, don't forget, Tony and Pepper will be here this afternoon. I've got to go shopping for dinner. Any suggestions on what I should cook?"

"I get the feeling unless you have a chef cater to us all week he won't like anything, so make whatever you like."

"You're so helpful sometimes, Bucky."

Steve looked down to hide his smile. They sounded like a married couple all right. Steve had always envisioned Bucky coming back from the war, settling down with the right girl, having a family, maybe getting a house in the more residential section of Brooklyn. He himself had fallen in love with Agent Peggy Carter, but he was too afraid to tell her how he felt until it was too late. He had wanted a family too, but now, without Peggy, it seemed just another dream of his had been pushed aside.

"What about chicken? Everyone likes chicken, right?" Steve submitted helpfully.

"I was kinda leaning that way, but I haven't decided how I want to prepare it."

Bucky came over to put his arms around her shoulders from behind her and leaned down to kiss her ear. "I'm sure no one will mind whatever you fix."

A big smile spread across her face accompanied by a pink blush as Bucky nibbled her ear. "If you don't stop, I'll never get to the market."

"And what would be wrong with that?" He nibbled a little more.

Her blush deepened and even Steve blushed in response and looked at the floor.

She gently elbowed him to loosen his grip, but he turned her around. "Oh no you don't." And then he pulled her into a kiss.

At first she tried to fight him, but succumbed to the kiss eventually. "Ooh, you you, make me so mad sometimes!"

Bucky laughed at her mock anger. It was a little game they played.

She shook her head at him and sighed. "I can never stay mad at you." She gave him a quick kiss on the lips. "But I really do have to go to the market. I'll be back in an hour. Could you boys just please keep the house neat until I get back?"

"Well, sorry Steve, I guess our living room wrestling match is canceled."

She turned around and shook her finger at him. "Keep it up and you'll be sleeping on the couch mister."

Bucky flattened his hands on his chest, staggered around like he was dying, and moaned. He fell to his knees. "Oh no, Not the couch!"

"See if you can talk to him while I'm gone, please Steve?"

Steve laughed. "I will, but I doubt it'll help."

Tony's Maserati bumped along the dirt driveway.

"Where are we going? Is this even a road?" Pepper asked.

Behind them, a box truck and another car bumbled along as well.

"This is where they live."

"You've got to be kidding!"

Pepper's consternation changed to delight as the charming house came into view.

He parked on the outside my Mary's pick-up, and directed the box truck to back up in front of the archway for unloading.

Mary came out first, wiping her hands on the kitchen towel she carried. Bucky and Steve followed.

"You must be Pepper, welcome." Mary extended her hand. Pepper took it graciously. "You must be Mary. Thanks for having us."

Mary's eyes glanced away to look at the equipment in the truck. Pepper turned to follow her gaze.

"There goes my neat and tidy house…."

"I'll make sure Tony cleans up after."

Meanwhile, she introduced Bucky and Steve before they went to help unload.

"I don't want to see. Let's go to the kitchen. Would you like some coffee?" They left to go inside.

Tony talked to the driver who then got in the car that tagged along. Steve watched them drive off.

"I take it they are coming back to pick all this stuff up?"

"Yup." Tony didn't even spare a glance at Steve; his focus was solely on the equipment.

After many trips down the stairs, they convened in the living room and shared the lemonade Mary had freshly made.

"So, Steve has offered you the use of his room downstairs, or you can have the ground floor room; the choice is yours."

Tony shrugged, but Pepper was a little more gracious. "We wouldn't want to put you out Steve; the room upstairs is fine, closer to the coffee."

Tony kept inputting data into his hand held device. Pepper elbowed him. "Huh? What? Yeah, whatever.'

Pepper just shook her head.

Dinner turned out informal but delicious, according to Pepper, who helped load the dishwasher while all the boys disappeared downstairs.

Any free space in the basement was consumed by Tony's equipment. Steve and Bucky had to walk sideways to squeeze in between and even then, it was a tight fit.

"Should I ask what some of this stuff does?" Bucky asked, looking doubtful.

"You wouldn't understand it anyway."

Bucky looked at Steve, who shrugged.

Tony kept working until the women came down with coffee, only then did Tony take a break.

"I've gone thru as much of my father's old war stuff as I could, but this stuff is beyond what he was working on at the time. Fortunately, it is well preserved, so I should be able to come up with some answers for you. I really wish you'd let me take it back to my lab tho."

Mary shook her head. "I've already given you my answer on that. It's hooked up to the house…"

"And it powers everything, I know! You're living in a totally self-sufficient house! It's amazing! I'm actually working on the same thing right now for Stark Tower. It'll be a beacon of self-sustainability."

"Based on the thing that powers your suit?"

"Yes, my arc reactor, but this thing here runs on something I've never seen before." He tapped it with his toe. "And you came out of this thing here?" Tony turned to the capsule.

"They put me in there in 1944 and when Mary pushed the buttons, it was 63 years later." Bucky looked at the metal capsule with apprehension. "It kept me alive, if you want to consider that living, but I was a prisoner in it. When I came out of it, the whole world had changed, I'd lost my best friend, and I was alone. I don't even know how they got me out of Germany in this thing!"

"That's what I'd like to know too. According to my mother, her mom brought them to the US when she was 4 from Canada. How they got across the ocean with Bucky in tow is anyone's guess."

Steve crossed his ankles and shifted his weight. "What about that journal? Any clues in there?"

"Some of it gives vague references, but not the whole story."

"Maybe it's not as vague as you think. It might be time to re-read it."