CHAPTER 4
Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters except my own. The characters belong to MARVEL.
CHAPTER 4 Team up
Hel calmed down quicker than expected. Or maybe she just shut her emotions out. Bucky wasn't quite sure. I'll just keep an eye on her from now on. If she told the truth, then she bottled up these emotions of betrayal for far longer than I can imagine.
He looked back at Loki, the cause of many problems. The god of mischief stood back, observing the room, taking in everything he could see. It made Bucky's senses flare. Something about him just scratched him the wrong way. And it wasn't just his attack on New York, which injured Steve more than he let on. Loki's treatment of Hel and her anger against him set Bucky on edge as to what this god aimed at.
"Down, boy." Loki shot Bucky a secretive grin. Bucky's scowl only deepened, which in turn seemed to delight Loki.
Hel stepped forward, facing the crowd, still eyeing her father with distrust. "Listen. I know the start of this wasn't exactly ideal." Her eyes flitted to Wanda. "But we need to put our differences aside, if we want to make this work. If we want to defeat Thanos and help the forces on Midgard as equal allies, we need to make an effort to become a single unit."
"What the hell is Midgard?" Quill wondered. He shifted his weight to the other side, hands coming to rest on his hips, as if he was about to initiate some strange dance Bucky had seen during his recovery.
"Midgard is their name for Earth," Doctor explained. He sounded exasperated. As if anything going on at the moment was far below his standards.
"Well, I'm from Missouri."
Spider-boy frowned. "But… Missouri is on Earth. Didn't we clear that up before?" He looked utterly confused, which summarised Bucky's overall impression of a lot of things perfectly. Especially anything he had been faced with since his escape from HYDRA.
An involuntary shudder ran down his spine.
"Everything okay, man?" Sam's voice was soft. Still, Bucky jumped. Only his months in Wakanda and a good portion of self-control kept him from tackling Sam to the ground.
"Don't creep up on me like that," he grumbled.
Sam merely grinned his trademark smirk. Bucky rolled his eyes. "Hasn't been okay for a long time. Slowly working my way there. You?" Might as well give him the courtesy of asking about his feelings when I'm at it. Sam usually pays more attention to others than his own wellbeing.
"Dunno. It's all very strange. I mean: We're here with a couple aliens, a magician, spider-boy, some random people, the King of Wakanda, Fury and Hill and two gods. Whatever can you count as normal anyways?" Sam shrugged, as if that explained anything. Bucky didn't question any further. To be honest, he didn't know how. He wasn't good at this kind of thing these days. Once upon a time he might have been analysing and devising a plan to best help them all, but lately…
"Bucky, Falcon, are you coming?" Hel called. She and the rest of their illustrious gathering waited by the door towards some unmarked hallway. Loki held the door for everyone to go through. Wanda made up the rear looking back over her shoulder at the team members she spent most of her time with over the past few years. "It can't be worse than already," she told them, her accent lending a gentle sway to her words.
Hel didn't comment, merely raised her brows at the two men.
With a nod, Bucky started towards the door, following the others, Sam and then also Wanda close at his heels.
"So how do you know her?" she whispered as soon as Loki closed the door behind them. Bucky felt a sense of unease settle over him, sharpening his senses, especially towards the god. I bet he knows the story. If he knows, who I am then Loki has to know the story of how Hel found me… His eyes wandered to the groups of people, still not really intermingling, walking in front of them. And I bet they are listening for my answer as well…
He took a deep breath against the rising unease. "How much of Steve's history do you know?"
Wanda thought for a moment. Sam considered his question as well. They both knew Steve as he presented himself nowadays. But did they try to find out anything about past beyond what documentaries, museums and history books tell them?
In front of them, Spider-boy tilted his head. I have at least one extra attentive listener.Bucky almost grinned. Somehow this kid reminded him a lot of his Stevie. The tiny, asthmatic one he had to get out of whatever dangerous situation he managed to get himself into. The Steve that wanted to serve his country whatever the cost may be.
"He's never looked like that before," Loki sneered. "What's the matter soldier? Caught up in memories?"
Bucky's head snapped up. The little smile vanished as if it had never existed at all. Suddenly he was back in one of the labs, staring up at the menacing face of a man in white, probing at his arm. The stump of his arm. "Does it bring back memories, Sergeant?" an oily voice crooned somewhere to the left.
A sudden panic exploded in his stomach, clawing its way up into his chest, his lungs, his heart. The metal arm whirred softly as he readjusted his stance. Muscles clenched, ready to fight should he have to.
He saw Sam and Wanda looking at him. Worry written all over their faces. Sam said something. The words slurred together as if Bucky was underwater. The sounds just didn't make any sense. What is he saying? Why can't I hear his words? Steve. Steve is all alone. Always alone. I left him again. They're staring. No. Not a lab rat. Never. Why are we here?
Someone pushed through the crowd towards him.
Bucky reared backwards, almost tumbling over his own feet. Need to get out. Yes, out. Just out. Why can't I hear the words? Stevie.
"Don't let them make me hurt him!" Bucky stared into nothing with wide eyes. "I don't want to hurt him!" His ears were filled with static. Not underwater. Were? Where am I?
"I saved him. I saved him the same way I saved you." The words broke through the haze. Bucky couldn't make sense of them, but they sounded familiar.Repeated? Before? Do I know them?
"You are the bravest soldier I ever knew. You are my soldier. And I promise to be there for you until you can believe that yourself. You're stronger than any other Midgardian I encountered." The words echoed in his head. Bucky couldn't pin point, if it was an old memory or someone speaking to him at this exact moment. Who said it? When? Why did I hear that? I'm not a lab rat.
"Where are you?"
Bucky shook his head. "Cold. Alone. Dark. Why is it cold?" His voice sounded frightened. He didn't like being frightened. No. Frightened was bad. Frightened meant pain. Bucky shifted his stance. His arm whirred again. It irritated him. The sound grated on his ears, but it belonged to him, didn't it? It had to.
Something crunched in front of him. With the reflexes of a wild cat, the noisy arm shot out and grabbed. Someone snarled. Did I snarl?
More noises. Gasps, his mind delivered belatedly.
"Bucky," someone said. They sounded slightly strained. Bucky followed the voice. It belonged to a female. Young. Dark hair and bright eyes. A metal hand was clenching around her neck. That explains why she sounds so strange…
"Bucky," she said again. Why does she call me that? Is that my name? "Find yourself," she went on calmly. "You are James Buchanan Barnes. Your best friend's name is Steve. You love plums." Her green eyes bore into his. Demanding him to remember. He squeezed his eyes shut.
Hel.
Her name is Hel.
Hel didn't let his lack of response deter her in the slightest.
"Five things you can see," she instructed him. Bucky kept his eyes closed. Only his twitching fingers betrayed his counting of things to see.
"Four things you can touch," Hel went on. His eyes slipped open. Everyone stared at him, but Hel didn't allow him to concentrate on that.
"Four things you can touch," she repeated insistently.
Bucky's eyes still didn't linger on things too long, his feet spread, ready to move in any direction. Ready to run or attack.
"Three things you can hear," Hel said. After that, she kept her breathing slightly louder than before. Just steady calm breaths for him to count along. Four seconds in, hold for seven seconds, out for eight seconds. And slowly but surely his breathing pattern matched hers. Calm and steady. Four seconds in, hold for seven seconds, out for eight seconds. The hand around Hel's neck unclenched, fell back to his side.
"Two things you can smell."
Bucky closed his eyes, concentrating. He could smell leather. Probably either Loki or Quill. Both had a thing for the fabric. As uncomfortable and unwieldy as it might be. Something else struck his nerves. A smell he didn't know how to sort. Exotic. His eyes fell on Wanda.
"One thing you can taste." Plums.
His eyes snapped back to Hel. She watched him with passive eyes, awaiting Bucky to acknowledge her. He gave her a tiny nod. Hel returned the gesture with a soft smile. "Well done, brave soldier mine," she praised quietly. "You did well for me. You are loved. Cared for. No one can harm you now. You're yours."
"I hurt you."
"No, you didn't." Hel lifted her chin. Her neck was perfectly even. No scratch or marks where he had grabbed her. "I'm not a mortal. You cannot hurt me." The scar on her cheek seemed to glow softly. The hard glint in her eyes was the only indication how much Hel hated Hela for inflicting it.
"Now that we have all seen you two reconnect so prettily, would you mind, if we moved on?" Loki drawled. He leaned against a wall, inspecting his nails. Everything about his posture conveyed boredom. Still, Bucky had a feeling, the god had seen more than anyone else.
The older woman approached him slowly. "Would you mind if I gave you a bit of energy?" She held the palms of her hands out as if that explained anything. Bucky frowned. His eyes wandered between the woman and her hands.
"I was stuck in the Quantum Realm for over thirty years," the woman finally explained. "Janet Van Dyne. I just want to help you get over the energy loss."
Her eyes were an almost startling grey. Wise maybe beyond her age. Or maybe just beyond her time? If she truly was trapped in another realm, then she is just as much out of time as I am. Maybe even more. She lived a different life and her family had to carry on without her.His eyes flickered to the woman and elderly man behind Janet. They both looked solemn. They do seem like a nice family.
"Okay." Bucky placed his hands in Janet's.
A surge of energy flowed from her into him. The hollowness that slowly spread in his gut receded. Like a blanket wrapped around his shoulders. He blinked. That's new. Normally, I'd need to lay down for a bit to recover from my panic attacks. Even minor ones. "Thank you."
Janet gave him a reassuring smile. "You're welcome. Anytime again." She folded her hands in front of her and stepped back. Her husband was by her side immediately, murmuring something. Bucky allowed them their privacy. As much as that was possible in a small corridor with almost twenty people cramped together.
Wanda and Sam came closer to Bucky, ignoring Hel, but eying Janet.
"Are you alright?" Wanda asked quietly. "I'm sorry, if we said something wrong."
"No, you didn't." Bucky shook his head.
Sam looked at him. He probably knows better than anyone else how it feels. Coming back from a war and having to settle back into civilian life.
"I used to drive around plastic bags in the streets," Sam supplied just as quiet as Wanda. "It always takes some time getting used to being back. Civilian life is not cut out for everyone."
"Is that why you threw yourself back into the frame first chance you got?" Hel asked tartly. It was a rude question to ask. To even consider asking someone you didn't know very well. Even more so, since she couldn't tell, how Sam might react to that question. Not even I can, and I've known him for quite some time. Not because I liked him so much, but still.
Sam however, merely gave Death a look. "And how would you know? Been spying?"
"She doesn't need to spy," Loki laughed. He shoved off the wall. The gods exchanged a sour look. "Still, where it used to be?" Hel nodded her head once and let her father pass.
"Actually, take Fury, Hill and his Majesty with you, please. No tricks or traps. Lead them there. They might need the time." Hel called after him. And despite their confused stares, the three were pushed after Loki by a magic wind. "Try to keep up. Father tends to play with others."
"And you don't?" Doctor shot back with an undercurrent of annoyance. "We have been standing around for far longer than necessary. First in that hall and now here. I don't see, how this plan is superior to mine."
Hel gave him a smile as sweet as honey that had the aliens reach for their weapons. "Doctor Stephen Strange. Are you even allowed to call yourself 'doctor' anymore? I heard a whisper you lost control over your hands in a car accident. And suddenly the grand god in white became a helpless man with a beard. If I recall correctly, your ex wasn't even aware you two even had been dating."
Doctor Strange straightened his back, a mask of calm falling over his face. It only made Hel's grin broaden. "Don't tell me I struck a nerve." And then she giggled.
Bucky glanced around. Sam tried to hide an amused smile behind a cough. Obviously unwilling to show his appreciation of her taunting. Spider-Boy on the other hand had no such qualms. His face was an open book. And at the moment he was very surprised and slightly impressed with Hel's nonchalant assessment of the magician.
Without even waiting for a response, Hel brushed past Doctor Strange to the front of their little progression. "We're almost there."
The rest of the way passed away in silence.
Bucky felt Sam and Wanda watching him, keeping an eye out for anything that might upset him. And he found he didn't mind as much as he would have before. They have already seen two of my panic attacks. There's hardly anything that might surprise them now. His brain immediately delivered the image of him shutting down until he was almost back to Winter. Bucky shook his head. That hasn't happened in a while. I was close last time, but ever since Wakanda… Something about Shuri and her understanding of healing has helped me to overcome the persistent fear of turning into Winter without any warning at all.
Their group came to a halt in front of a door. Just an ordinary door with no markings or anything on it. Nothing like Bucky expected. He only knew doors with markings and patterns etched along the frame. Each and every single one a symbol of Hel's heritage as a Norse goddess.
"We walked that far to get to a door?" Quill snorted, crossing his arms over his chest. "Wow. I'm impressed."
"Doors open. There has to be something behind the door," Drax delivered helpfully with the insect-woman nodding along. Her big eyes skipped between Hel and the door in great interest, as if she could sense something no one else could.
"I presume, we are looking for whatever is behind that door," Janet's husband pointed out. "And whatever that is, has to be important to our cause. Otherwise she wouldn't have allowed the other one to take the tacticians on their own."
"Good deductions, professor." Doctor Strange straightened his cloak. In Bucky's eyes he just tried to look important. He reminds me of Stark. Those two do share an awful lot of similarities…
"So why don't we wait with our senseless chatter until she opened the door, hm?" Hel said in a sweet tone and an even sweeter smile. Quill's hands twitched.
"This is getting old, really fast." Sam rolled his eyes. "After you, oh goddess." He made a show of bowing to Hel, which she at least quitted with an honestly amused smile and a soft "I like you."
Without waiting any longer, she opened the door. Bright light flooded the dim corridor. Bucky had to shield his eyes to avoid getting blinded. Inside he could already hear excited chatter. T'Challa's voice was among them along with Fury and a few words from who he supposed had to be Hill, and –
He moved before he even realised it. Without paying any mind to the other's protests, Bucky pushed to the front of their little group and past Hel.It can't be.
"And then I was like 'Yo, watcha doing?' And she was all like 'Saving you from your death.' And it's a really nice thing to do. So I never actually saw the land of the ancestors like you did. I just came here. Straight from the Snap so to speak."
Bucky stopped and stared. Maybe his mouth was slightly ajar at who he saw in the middle of the room.
Shuri looked up. Her hair was still in her Leia-buns and she was wearing an orange windbreaker with her favourite black tank top painted in Wakandan symbols as well as matching back jeans with chunky boots.
A wide smile lit up her face. Shuri shoved past the other adults, ignoring Fury's frown at being ignored. "White Wolf."
"I told you that's not my name." Bucky returned the smile. I'm so glad she's okay. Or at least as okay as being in the underworld can be.
"Oh, you know you like it." Shuri's eyes sparkled with mischief as she wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug. "I'm glad you're well."
"Yeah, me too." Bucky returned the hug.
"This is amazing!" A voice shouted behind them. Bucky and Shuri turned to find Janet's husband staring around in complete awe with Spider-boy right behind him with a similar expression on his face. Hel leaned against the doorframe with a self-satisfied smirk. Like a cat that got the cream. She'll be insufferable for a while…
Shuri walked around Bucky towards the new people looking around in her new lab. "Welcome to my humble home. I hope you like it. Just don't touch anything that might explode." She broke into a fit of laughter as Spider-Boy quickly put the weapon he had examined back down. He looked sheepish until he heard her laugh. Then he gave an awkward laugh as well.
"So, you're the friendly neighbourhood Spiderman, huh?" Shuri bobbed on the tips of her toes. "I always wanted to meet you. You inspired me to experiment with power enhancement and web liquids myself."
"Um…" The boy rubbed at his wrist. "My name is Peter Parker. And uh," he blinked quickly, "This place is really cool. Is this all yours?"
"On time," Hel chimed in. She effortlessly wove her way through the crowd towards the two teenagers. Bucky didn't miss the charming smile the women exchanged. "I provided Princess Shuri with all the equipment she is accustomed to from home – with a few extras – and she built whatever contraption you can see here."
The rest of the adults looked around the room once more. It was an impressive array of tables and shelves all filled to the brim with tools and screens Bucky couldn't even begin to fathom the use of.
"And why are we all gathered here?" Fury asked. "You didn't just get us here to show off the good in your heart."
"Oh, I like him," Loki purred from where he stood, forgotten. "Always so critical. Suspicious."
"And with good right," Hill fired back immediately. She glared at the god with venom. A surprise, Loki doesn't just burst into flames. There is a lot of bad blood between them. I wonder if Hel will be able to control all these hot heads around one another. Especially, if her father meddles with the process.
A sigh drew all the attention back to Hel. She had her hands on her hips and looked displeased with the behaviour of the three. "Please. You are my guests. My father is, I am well aware, not the easiest man to get along with. No, you cannot comment on that, Dad." Hel fixed Fury with a stare. "You can be suspicious all you want. I appreciate it. It is an honourable trait to have. But I'd like to ask you to dial it down a notch for the sake of our mission. After we beat Thanos you can judge us all you want. Do we have an accord?"
For a moment the lab was filled with deafening silence. No one even dared to breathe too loud as Fury and Hel stared each other down. Neither said a word.
"I'm separating you into groups for optimal preparation for our attack on Thanos." Hel went on, still staring at Fury. "Tacticians, Magic Boot Camp and Science Department, as well as General Combat Training."
"I am Groot?" The tree spoke up for the first time in a long time. He approached Hel with questioning eyes. "I am Groot," Hel responded with a nod.
"She's talking to a tree," Janet's daughter mumbled. "And it's a wonder this is not the strangest thing to happen in the last hours."
"Groot is an elective on Asgard," the insect-woman helpfully delivered. "Thor did know of it as well."
Loki rolled his eyes. "Thor always was such a big softie. It is revolting."
But also helpful. She seems to be the only one capable of communicating with … Groot for the time being. So it's not as useless as Loki makes it out to be.
"Keep your judgement to yourself, mortal," Loki hissed under his breath in Bucky's general direction as if sensing his thoughts. But Bucky merely shrugged. He had done nothing wrong.
"So, how do we do this?" Sam wanted to know. "Do we just roll a die who goes in which team or did you figure that out already?"
Hel smiled. "What do you think?"
"Of course, she has a plan ready." Shuri almost bounced with excitement. "Hel can be very helpful when it helps her own aims. And she is surprisingly adept in the arts of invention for an old goddess."
"If she's old, then what am I?" Loki looked less than pleased.
"Ancient," Hel and Shuri retorted in unison and with matching evil grins. Loki stared at them in astonishment, only catching himself when Peter snickered. Then, a scowl slithered over his features, darkening them back to what the public New Yorker image of him was. A dark being not from earth. Dangerous. Unpredictable.
Hel nudged Shuri in the side with another secret grin. Those two must have spent an awful lot of time together to be this close already…Bucky felt a little pang of jealousy.
"Okay, enough with the games. Let's get this party going. I thought about it long and hard, especially considering our very different backgrounds in education on the different fields of combat. Fury, Hill, T'Challa, Sam, Hope and Starlord. You're the tacticians." A magic wind shoved the newly formed team together. Only Quill tried to struggle against it, but found his feet rooted in spot by invisible traps. "Please refrain from changing groups for now," Hel requested. "It only makes things more complicated. Thank you. Tacticians, I need you to help me keep track of the movements of Thanos and organising our own plan of battle, as well as making any additional changes as needed."
Next, she shoved Janet's husband, Peter and Shuri together. "Welcome to the Science Department. Shuri, you introduce the boys to everything around the lab. Concentrate on making weapons fit for each individual in our group. Consider safe testing grounds. Ask for anything you might need in addition. Make it big and make it powerful. We need to knock Thanos down."
Shuri gave Hel a thumbs-up and a wild grin. "Sure thing, Queenie. I'll take them under my wing."
"We'll knock him out." Peter seemed slightly unsure about their success, but he tried his very best to fake it. Considering he stood next to the only person probably more intelligent than Tony Stark himself, he was going to be in good hands.
Only Janet's husband looked slightly dissatisfied. "Why do I have to work with two teenagers?"
"Because teenagers are your future, old man." Shuri gave him a feral grin.
"You'd do good not to underestimate my sister," T'Challa said gravely. "Or you might hit a suit on her request and be busted across the room by her kinetic energy rebound." And if that didn't sound both strange and terrifying then it at least seemed to prove to Janet's husband that Shuri was indeed clever enough to work with him.
Seeing the end of the discussion, Hel turned back to the remaining people. Her eyes swept over each one in consideration. There were Wanda and Bucky, Doctor Strange and Janet as well as the insect-woman, Groot and Drax. And of course, Loki.
"Okay. I need my Magicians. Wanda, Doctor Strange, Groot, Mantis and Janet. Please form a group by the table with the necklaces. Thank you. You are all capable of doing magic of some sort and with differing rates of success." That got her an evil glare from Doctor Strange. "You all need to be able to control your powers as best as possible. And that is why," Hel held out a hand, "You are entering Magic Boot Camp. With the help of my lovely father you will all learn to target and harness your powers according to your needs. Please, assist but don't kill each other more than necessary. I'm no fan of reviving the half-dead."
Bucky found himself frowning. That leaves Drax and me. What could we possibly do? What do we have in common?
"Don't worry, brave soldier mine. You both have very important tasks as well." Hel turned towards Drax first. "Drax, I need you to be in charge of the General Combat Training. You can fight with many different weapons, right?"
Drax visibly perked up. "I can fight with any weapon. No weapon stands a chance against me."
"Sure thing." Hel grinned. "You will spar with anyone who asks you for it. As for the rest of you: Make a plan for a rotating system of weapon's training and hand to hand combat. Go to Drax for any weapon-related fighting and find me for the hand to hand combat."
"Why you?" Peter frowned. "Are you an expert in martial arts?"
Hel shook her head with a fond smile. "No, but my brave soldier is, and he will stay by my side whenever he isn't combating with any of you." Hel looked up at Bucky then. "You promised to be my personal guard. Now let's put you to the test. Personal guard and advisor in one. How does that sound?"
Like too much responsibility. You shouldn't trust me so much.
"Sounds good," Bucky found himself saying with a content smile.
Hel beamed back, the scar on her cheek stretching. "Great. Then it's settled. And on we go. Let's beat Thanos."