BuffyL Fanfiction

Chapter 16

Buffy sat in the third row with Sam at the cathedral in London.  Steve was one of the pallbearers for Peggy’s Union Jack adorned casket.  There were beautiful flowers everywhere and pictures of her throughout her life, including one of her and Steve together.  Tony had given them his private jet to attend the funeral to give them privacy to grieve.  Sam had come with them as support for Buffy.  He knew that while Buffy was sad over Peggy’s passing, she wasn’t going to take the time to take care of herself.  She would be anything Steve needed her to be without question or hesitation.  Peggy had been one of the last ties to his old life, a life that Steve missed dearly despite having Buffy and Sam in his life now. 

Sam had to admit that Buffy was doing an incredible job of being Steve’s other half and anticipating everything he could possibly need, but he could see the strain.  She was already stressed over the wedding and being one of the heads of the Avengers and now she had the Sokovia Accords to worry about.  He wasn’t sure she knew, but he’d heard her throwing up that morning.

Sam reached over and took Buffy’s hand and she looked at him gratefully, leaning on him for support.  Steve placed the casket in its place in front of the stairs leading to the alter and joined Buffy and Sam.  Without missing a beat, Buffy released Sam’s hand and took both of Steve’s in hers.  He squeezed tightly and didn’t let up as the priest began the ceremony.  Buffy didn’t hear anything he said.  She was focused on Steve.  He didn’t look up from their clasped hands and she felt tears hit her skin every so often.

“I would now like to invite Sharon Carter up to come and say a few words.” The priest said.

A moment later Sam nudged her and Buffy looked up to see the woman that had been spying on her and Steve when they lived in DC.  She’d pretended to be a nurse that lived in the third apartment on their floor and when Fury and Buffy had been shot, she’d been the first on the scene and revealed herself as an undercover S.H.I.E.L.D. agent placed there by Fury.  They hadn’t seen her since that night, but they’d heard that she’d helped them out during the incident at the Triskelion.

“Steve.” She said quietly.  He looked up and she gestured at the podium.  Steve’s eyes widened when he saw who was standing there.

Sharon spotted them and nodded slightly before beginning her speech. “Margaret Carter was known to most as the founder of S.H.I.E.L.D., but I just knew her as aunt Peggy.  She had a photograph in her office.  Aunt Peggy standing next to JFK.  To a kid, that was pretty cool, but it was a lot to live up to.  Which is why I never told anyone we were related.” She directed that last comment at Steve. “I asked her once how she managed to balance diplomacy and espionage in a time when no one wanted to see a woman succeed at either.  She said, ‘compromise where you can.  Where you can’t, don’t.  Even if everyone is telling you that something wrong is something right.  Even if the whole world is telling you, it is your duty to plant yourself like a tree, look them in the eye, and say no.  You move.” Sharon made eye contact with them one last time before leaving the podium.

The rest of the funeral went by in a haze.  Steve helped take the casket out to the hearse, but decided he couldn’t go to the burial.  Buffy stayed in the church until he came back inside.  Everyone was gone by that point.  Sam had gone back to the hotel to get changed out of his suit after a lot of insisting by Buffy that she was ok.

“When I came out of the ice,” Steve said, sitting down next to her. “I thought everyone I knew was gone.  Then I found out she was alive…. I was just lucky to have her.”

“She had you back, too.” Buffy said. 

“I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“For making you deal with me.  I’ve been so engrossed in losing her….”

“Steve,” She turned his face to look at her. “Don’t ever apologize for that.  I completely understand what you’re feeling.  She was your first love.  I may be with you, but if anything happened to Angel…. I’d be just as lost and upset as you.  And I know that you would have my back the same as I’ve got yours now.”

“Thank you.” He pulled her to him and held her tightly. “I love you, you know that, right?”

“I love you, too.” She spotted Natasha walking up to them out of the corner of her eye and shifted around to look at her. “Who all signed it?”

“Tony, Rhodey, Willow, Vision.” Natasha said.

“Clint?” Steve asked.

“Says he’s retired.”

“Wanda?” Buffy asked.

“TBD.  I’m off to Vienna for the signing of the accords.  There’s plenty of room on the jet.” Buffy and Steve exchanged glances. “Just because it’s the path of least resistance doesn’t mean it isn’t the right path.  Staying together is more important than how we stay together.”

Steve made a sound in his throat and looked at Buffy.  He already knew her answer, though. “I’m sorry, Nat.  We can’t sign it.” He said.

“I know.”

“Then what are you doing here?”

“I wanted to make sure my friends were ok.”

________________________________________________________________

Buffy and Steve walked with Sharon into their hotel.  She had met them at a coffee shop to talk about Peggy and answer some of their questions. “My mom tried to talk me out of enlisting.” Sharon said. “But, um, not aunt Peggy.  She bought me my first thigh holster.”

“Very practical.” Steve said.

“And stylish.”

“So the CIA has you stationed over here now?” Buffy asked.

“I’m in Berlin.  Joint terrorism task force.”

“That sounds like buckets of fun.”

“Don’t be jealous.” Sharon smiled at Buffy.  As Sharon the nurse, she and Buffy had had brief conversations in the hallway of their apartment building that could’ve led to friendship if she hadn’t been lying about who she really was.

“I’ve been meaning to ask you,” Steve said. “When you were spying on us from across the hall….”

“You mean when I was doing my job?”

“Did Peggy know?”

“She kept so many secrets.  I didn’t want her to have one from you.”

Sam stopped them before they made it to the elevator banks. “There’s something you’ve got to see.” He said.

Sam led them upstairs to their room and as soon as they were in, he turned on the TV.  The UN conference to ratify the accords had been bombed.  A lot of people had been killed, including the Wakandan king.  Their prime suspect was James Buchannan Barnes.  There was a surveillance video of him leaving the scene.  Sharon, who had been on the phone, stepped up and said she had to leave.

As soon as she was gone, Buffy looked at Steve. “We need to find him before anyone else does.”

“How are we supposed to do that?” Sam asked. “We’ve been looking for over a year.”

“One of my girls saw him in Bucharest the other night.  We need to go there and track him down.”

“But he was just in Vienna.”

Buffy shook her head. “I don’t think he was.  Camera images can be manipulated.  This is too convenient.  We don’t sign the accords and suddenly the one person we’ve been looking for, for months and months just shows up and sets a bomb off at the UN conference?  I don’t buy it.”

“She’s got a point.” Steve said.

“Of course she does.” Sam said. “She’s the smart one.”

“So let’s get changed and get going.” Buffy said, moving towards her suitcase. “We’ve got work to do.”

“You brought your suit to a funeral?” Sam asked, looking over her shoulder.

“I seem get shot a lot, so…. I bring it as a precaution whenever I travel.” She grabbed a pair of jeans and a green sweater before heading into the bathroom to change.  After hanging her black dress up, she grabbed her phone, remembering that Natasha was at that conference.

“Yeah?” Natasha said.

“You ok?” Buffy asked.

“Uh, yeah.  Thanks.  I got lucky.” Natasha was silent for a moment. “I know how much Barnes means to Steve, but I need you two to stay home.  You’ll only make this worse for all of us.  Please.”

“Are you saying you’ll arrest us?”

“No.  But someone will.  If you interfere, that’s how it works now.”

“It’s that far gone, now, huh?  Steve and I should be the ones to bring Bucky in.”

“Why?”

“Because we’re the ones least likely to die trying.  Stay safe, Nat.” Buffy hung up the phone and threw the rest of her clothes on.  She walked out and grabbed a pair of boots to slip on.

“She tell us to stay out of it?” Steve asked, somehow knowing who she’d been talking to.  He’d changed into jeans, a t-shirt, and was putting on a leather jacket.

“She might have a point.” Sam said.

“He’d do it for me.”

“In 1945 maybe.  I just want to make sure we consider all our options.  People that shoot at you two, usually wind up shooting at me.”

“You don’t have to come, Sam.  I get how dangerous this is.  But he’s in there.” Buffy said. “He saved us.  Now we should at least try do the same for him.”

“Oh, I’m with you.  I said it once and I’ll say it again: Where you two go, so do I.”

“Then we’re going to Bucharest.”

________________________________________________________________

“He’s not home.” Karidad said, showing Buffy and Steve where Bucky was living. “I managed to follow him without him detecting me.”

“Good work, Kari.” Buffy said.

“Buffy, what’s going to happen to us?  I heard about those accords and that the governments want to control us.”

“I don’t know, Kari.  But I want you and the rest of the girls who don’t want to sign them to lay low, ok?  Definitely don’t go back to the compound.  We’ll figure this out.” She squeezed the girl’s upper arm and gave her a reassuring smile.

“What about Faith?”

Buffy shook her head. “I don’t know.  I haven’t seen or heard from Faith in a few years now.  I don’t even know if she’s still alive.” She turned and headed up the fire escape of the apartment building.

“How long has she been a Slayer?” Steve asked as they climbed.

“Since Sunnydale.  She’s good at it.”

“Who’s Faith?”

“Uh, Faith is a very long story.  She and I…. We don’t have a good history.  Nutshell, she was the Slayer that was called when Kendra died and she went evil.  Then she went good again.  Then she tried to take my place as head Slayer, but ended up getting people killed.  She tried to work with us at Slayer HQ in London, but she took off a few months before I met you and I haven’t heard from her since.  I have heard that she pops up every now and then, but I’m not very high on her priority list and she’s not high on mine.” Buffy looked around the small, one roomed apartment as they climbed through the window into Bucky’s apartment.  It had a small kitchen, a couch, a twin bed, and a small bathroom.  It was also kind of messy.  She walked over to the bed and looked under it.  When she stood up, her head spun and she sat down on the bed, taking a deep breath as she put her face in her hands.

 “Heads up, guys.” Sam said in their ears. “German special forces approaching from the south.”

“Understood.” Steve said. “Is she the Slayer that you mentioned tried to kill Angel?”

“Yes.” Buffy didn’t look up from her hands when she felt a presence in front of her. “I feel nauseous again.” She said, thinking it was Steve.  When he didn’t answer or move, she looked up to see Bucky standing there staring intently at her. “Oh.  Hi.”

Steve took a step forward and Bucky’s attention diverted to him. “Do you know me?” He asked Bucky.

“You’re Steve.” Bucky said. “I read about you in a museum.”

“They’ve set the perimeter.” Sam said.

“I know you’re nervous.” Steve said to Bucky. “You’ve got plenty of reason to be.  But you’re lying.”

“I wasn’t in Vienna.  I don’t do that anymore.” Bucky said.

“They’re entering the building.” Sam said.

“We got it, Sam.” Buffy said.  She stood up and looked at Bucky. “The people that think you did are coming here now.  They’re not planning on taking you alive.”

“That’s smart.” Bucky said. “Good strategy.”

“They’re on the roof.” Sam said. “I’m compromised.”

“Then get off the roof.” Buffy said to him.

“This doesn’t have to end in a fight, Buck.” Steve said.

“It always ends in a fight.” Bucky said, pulling off the glove to reveal his metal hand.

“Five seconds, guys!” Sam said.

“You pulled us from the river.” Steve insisted. “Why?”

“I don’t know.” Bucky said.

“Three seconds.” Sam said.

“Yes you do.” Steve said.

“Breech!  Breech!”

Buffy caught the grenade that flew through the window and dropped it to the ground.  Steve turned his shield upside down over it just before it went off.  The shield took the brunt of the explosion as Bucky threw the kitchen table at the door, blocking it from opening.  Buffy was pulled backwards by Bucky just as special force members came flying through the windows.  They both kicked out at the same time, taking on the first two guys through the window.  Steve kicked his shield at the guy that came through the back door.

Bucky was throwing his guy around like a rag doll while Buffy just used one of her tranq darts on hers. “Bucky, stop!” She grabbed his arm and threw another dart at the guy, knocking him out. “You’re going to kill someone.”

“I’m not going to kill anyone.” Bucky insisted as he threw a backpack he pulled from under the floorboards out the window.

Steve was pulled out of the window and onto the balcony by another special forces guy.  His shield was left inside.  Buffy called it to her and pulled Bucky behind it as another guy came in firing his gun. “Go!” Bucky yelled in her ear spinning her around to go help Steve.  She dove out the window, tackling the guy fighting Steve away.  Steve took the shield back and they took on the next wave of guys.  They were concentrating on getting inside the building, though, so the two of them jumped back inside.

Bucky had gone into the stairwell and was taking them on as he made his way down.  Steve took away the radio of one man trying to radio for backup.  Buffy just pushed people out of her way to get to Bucky.  She was small enough that she easily ducked and wove her way through the men, punching and kicking when she needed to.  Suddenly a metal hand pulled her forward and she and Bucky went tumbling over the railing just as a machine gun shot the air where she’d just been.  They fell five stories before Bucky caught the edge of a railing and stopped their fall.

“I’m sorry.” He said to Buffy before turning and jumping out of the window.

She rolled her eyes with a sigh as she realized how far she had to jump. “You’re going to make me chase you out there, aren’t you?  Damn it, Bucky.”

Suddenly a guy dressed in an all black suit attacked Bucky.  He was fast and strong.  Bucky seemed to be having trouble fighting him.  Buffy let out an exasperated sigh before taking a running leap out of the window.  She landed on the rooftop, rolled, and popped to her feet in a run.  The cat man had Bucky on the ground with Bucky holding the cat man’s claws mere inches from his face.  Picking up speed, Buffy tackled the cat man away from Bucky.

“Buffy!” She heard Steve yell somewhere behind her.  She looked up just in time to catch Steve’s shield out of the air and duck behind it as a barrage of bullets from a helicopter rained down at them.  She noticed that the cat man’s suit deflected the bullets without him even flinching. “Oh, how is that fair?” She muttered.

Sam flew in and kicked the helicopter’s back end, knocking it off its axis.  They stopped shooting and Buffy stood up from behind the shield.  The cat man was relentless in his chase after Bucky.  Steve caught up to Buffy as they ran after Bucky and the cat man.

“Any idea who this guy is?” Steve asked.

“None.” She allowed Steve to swing her up on his back as they jumped down the six stories to the street.  They separated just before they hit the ground and both of them rolled to their feet. “But I am getting really tired of people shooting at me.”

Bucky jumped down into the underground street with the cat man not far behind.  Steve and Buffy didn’t hesitate.  They jumped in, too, dodging oncoming cars.  The sound of multiple sirens came from behind them as they ran.  One of the police cars was yelling at them to stand down.

“I’m going to get us a faster ride.” Steve said.  He jumped and curled up on his shield, landing on the windshield of the police SUV.  It pulled to a stop and he yanked the man out before kicking the shattered windshield off.

Buffy dove into the passenger’s seat and Steve hit the gas. “You always make me nervous when you drive at high speeds.”

“Oh, come on, sweetheart.  I’m not that bad.” He wove his way through traffic, grateful for the flashing lights that made people get out of his way.  Suddenly there was a loud crash on the back end of the SUV. “That wasn’t me.”

Buffy looked back to see the cat man clinging to the back side of the SUV. “Nope.  It was our new cat friend.”

“Sam, we can’t shake this guy.” Steve said, side-swiping another police SUV to try and shake the cat man.

“I’m right behind you.” Sam answered back.

Up ahead, police cars flooded their end of the street.  Bucky jumped over to the other side of traffic and Steve didn’t hesitate, barreling through the barricade.  Bucky managed to grab a motorcycle and turned it around in mid air as he jumped on. “Ok, when we catch him, I’m going to need him to teach me that.” Buffy said.

The cat man moved to the top of the car and made his way forward.  Buffy tried to catch him before he jumped, but she missed when her scythe caught on the center console. Bucky managed to thwart the cat man’s attack and toss him away.  Sam flew in behind them and the cat man caught his ankle.  Bucky threw an explosive up to collapse part of the street above them.

“Get out!” Steve yelled, yanking the wheel to the side. 

Buffy dove out the front of the window and landed on her feet.  She kept running to avoid the collapsing street and the rolling SUV, seeing Steve running right behind her.  The cat man had somehow managed to get ahead of them and was attacking Bucky again.  Steve tackled the cat man away as Buffy helped Bucky to his feet.  They were suddenly surrounded by police cars and War Machine flew in.

“Stand down now.” Rhodes said.  Steve put his shield on his back and put his hands in the air. “Congratulations you two.  You’re criminals.”

Buffy rolled her eyes and put her hands in the air, too. “Wouldn’t be the first time, Rhodey.”

The police swarmed them and began putting them in handcuffs.  Sam chose that moment to make his way into the chaos and they arrested him, too.  The cat man took his helmet off to reveal himself as T’Challa, the new king of Wakanda.

“Your Highness.” Rhodes said, sounding just as surprised as Buffy and Steve felt at seeing the African prince.

________________________________________________________________

They were allowed to change into civilian clothes and then driven to Berlin in a caravan of police vehicles.  The handcuffs were taken off, but Bucky was put in a maximum security containment cell that was placed in an armored vehicle.  In the police van, Sam sat in the back, Steve and Buffy in the middle, and T’Challa in the front.  They were separated from the driver by a partition.

“Awe, this was our first mission together, Steve.” Buffy said.  He shot her a smile that told her he’d been thinking of it, too.

“So you like cats.” Sam said to T’Challa.

“Sam.” Steve warned.

“What?  The dude shows up dressed like a cat and you don’t want to know more?”

Steve sighed and looked at T’Challa. “Your suit, is it vibranium?”

“The Black Panther has been a protector of Wakanda for generations.” T’Challa said. “The Panther passed from warrior to warrior.  But now because your friend murdered my father, I also wear the mantle of king.  Now I ask you as both warrior and king, how long do you think you can keep your friend safe from me?”

They arrived at the facility and were taken underground.  Bucky was unloaded from the armored vehicle.  Steve looked over at him, but Bucky avoided eye contact.  Steve, Buffy, Sam, and T’Challa walked over to where Sharon Carter stood with a short man in a grey suit and a few armed men.

“What’s going to happen?” Steve asked.

“Same things that ought to happen to you.” The short man said. “Psychological evaluation and extradition.”

“This is Everett Ross, the deputy task force commander.” Sharon said.

“What about a lawyer?” Steve asked.

“Lawyer, ha!  See that their weapons are placed in lock up.  We’ll write you a receipt.”

“I better not look out the window and see anybody flying around in that.” Sam said as they marched his wings and suit past him.

Buffy looked longingly at her scythe and sighed as they walked it by her.  Steve took her hand and gave it a squeeze.  They both looked back at Bucky who was staring after them.  He looked away when he caught their eyes.

“You’ll be provided with an office instead of a cell.” Everett said. “And do me a favor, stay in it.”

“I don’t intend on going anywhere.” T’Challa said.

“For the record, this is what making things worse looks like.” Natasha said, falling into step with Steve and Buffy.

“He’s alive.” Steve retorted.  They walked into a room where Tony was talking on the phone.  He was apparently having a heated discussion with whoever was on the other line.

“Try not to break anything while we fix this.” Natasha said.

“Oh, you bet there’ll be consequences.” Tony said. “Well, obviously you can quote me on that because I just said it.  Is there anything else?  Thank you, sir.” He walked up to Buffy, Steve, and Sam.

“Consequences?” Buffy asked.

“Secretary Ross wants you three prosecuted.  I had to give him something.”

“I’m not getting that shield back, am I?” Steve asked.

“Technically, it’s the government’s property.  Wings, too.” Natasha said.

“That’s cold.” Sam said.

“Warmer than jail.” Tony shot back.

“So give me back my scythe.  That’s mine.  I King Arthur-ed it out of a rock.” Buffy said.

“Tony signed the accords.  All the technology on it belongs to the government.” Natasha said as she and Tony walked away.

“So take the technology off and give it back.  I don’t need the upgrades.  That scythe belongs to me.” Tony and Natasha disappeared around a corner.  Buffy crossed her arms and pouted slightly. “Pretty sure a government goon isn’t going to be able to feel the power in that thing.  They’d probably just cut an appendage off trying to examine it.”

Sam went off to see where they were hiding his suit while Steve and Buffy were escorted to the glass-walled conference room in the middle of the hub.  They could see the security camera footage of Bucky being installed into a cell.  Buffy sat down heavily and took a deep breath. 

“You ok?” Steve asked, moving over to her side.

“Yeah.  Just…. Dizzy.  And kind of tired.”

He put his hand on her forehead. “You still feel warm.  That’s not normal.”

“All this stress isn’t normal.”

“You sure it’s just stress?  You might be fighting off the flu or something.  Didn’t a couple of the girls have it recently?”

“Yeah.  Maybe all this stress has got my immune system going haywire and it let the flu in.”

“Well, your system’s good at fighting it.  I’m sure you’ll start feeling better soon.”

“I better.  Not sure I want to deal with this crap while I’m fighting off the flu.”

Tony appeared twenty minutes later looking slightly smug. “Hey, you guys want to see something cool?” He asked, holding up a small case. “I pulled this up from dad’s archives.  A little timely.” He set the case down to reveal two old fountain pens in it. “FDR signed the Lend-Lease bill with these in 1941.  It provided support to the Allies when they needed it most.”

“Some would say it brought our country closer to war.” Steve said.

“See if not for these, you wouldn’t be here.  I’m trying to, uh…. What do you call it?  An olive branch.  Is that what you call em?”

“Pepper is better at the olive branch thing.” Buffy said.

“She’s better at a lot of things.”

“What happened, Tony?  You avoid the topic like the plague and Pepper isn’t taking my calls.  She probably thinks I’m trying to talk to her for you.”

Tony sighed. “Few years ago, as you know, I almost lost her, so I trashed all my suits.” Buffy nodded, remembering the incident. “Then we had to mop up HYDRA, and then Ultron…. My fault…. And then, and then, and then I never stopped.  Because the truth is I don’t wanna stop.  I don’t want to lose her.  I thought maybe the Accords could split the difference.  In her defense, I’m a handful.” Tony stood up and sighed. “You know dad was a pain in the ass, but he and mom always made it work.”

“You know, I’m glad Howard got married.” Steve said. “I only knew him when he was young and single.”

“Oh really?  You two knew each other?  He never mentioned that maybe only a thousand times.  God I hated you.”

“Tony.” Buffy scolded.

“We don’t mean to make things difficult.” Steve said.

“I know, because you’re very polite people.” Tony said sarcastically.

“If we see a situation pointing south, we can’t ignore it.  Sometimes I wish we could.”

“No you don’t.”

Steve glanced at Buffy with a small smile. “No.  We don’t.  Sometimes….”

“Sometimes I want to punch you in your perfect teeth.  But I don’t want to see you gone.  Either of you.  We need you.  So far nothing’s happened that can’t be undone if you just sign.  We can make the last 24 hours legit.  Barnes gets transferred to an American psych center instead of a Wakandan prison.”

Steve and Buffy looked at each other and had one of those silent conversations that deeply committed couples are capable of having.  Finally Steve picked up one of the pens and stood up. “We’re not saying it’s impossible, but there would have to be safeguards.”

“Sure.  Once we’ve put out the PR fire, the documents can be amended.  I’d file a motion to have you two and Wanda reinstated.”

“What about Wanda?” Buffy asked.

“She’s fine.  She’s confined to the compound, currently.  Vision’s keeping her company.”

“Oh god, Tony!” Steve said. “Every time.  Every time I think you seen things the right way….”

“It’s 100 acres with a lap pool.  It’s got a screening room.  There’s worse ways to protect people.”

“Protection, Tony?” Buffy asked. “Is that how you see it?  It’s not protection, it’s imprisonment!”

“She’s not a US citizen and they don’t grant visas to weapons of mass destruction!”

“She’s not a weapon, Tony!  She’s a kid!”

“Give me a break!  I’m doing what has to be done to save us from something worse.”

“You keep telling yourself that.” Steve said.  He set the pen back down in front of the case. “Hate to break up the set.” He walked out and Buffy put her face in her folded arms on the table.

“Buff….” Tony started. “I’m trying to protect you.”

“Why?”

“Don’t you get it?  Everything I’ve done for you over these last few years, you haven’t put it together?  You’re not just my friend.  You’re my family, Summers.  The little sister I never had or knew that I wanted.  I care about you and I don’t want to see you end up in jail or worse.”

“I’ve been worse.  Twice.  It’s not so bad.”

“Don’t talk like that.  Losing Pepper….” He shook his head and reached out to touch her shoulder. “I can’t lose you, too, kid.”

She looked up from her arms. “Please tell me that you at least understand where we’re coming from.”

“Of course I do!  Of course.  You and I?  We’ve talked about the Initiative.  I know about everything they put you through and S.H.I.E.L.D….  But this?  This is different.”
“How?”

“Because we’ll make it different.”

“That’s where you’re wrong.  We won’t be able to make a difference because we’ll be at the mercy of these governments.  If we go against them because we know it’s the right thing to do or they just up and decide one day that we’re too…. Too volatile…. They’ll get rid of us.  One way or another.” Steve walked back in with a glass of water. “Thank you.  I needed that.” She looked back at Tony. “It’s happened before and it will happen again.  These Accords…. They’re just one step away from tattooing numbers on our forearms and tossing anyone who’s different in a camp somewhere and I will be damned if I let that happen to myself or anyone I care about.”

“That’s a bit extreme.”

“History always repeats itself in some form or another.” Buffy reached over and squeezed Tony’s hand. “For the record, I care about you, too and I really do appreciate everything you’ve done for me and Dawn and for Steve.  You’re my family as much as I am yours.” She let go of his hand. “But until we can come to a compromise that works for everyone, we won’t sign those Accords.”

Tony let out an explosive sigh and got up, walking out of the room.  Steve watched him go for a moment before turning back to Buffy. “You ok?”

“Yeah.  Just trying to make a brick wall see reason.”

Sam walked into the conference room and sat down. “So what’s the plan?”

“We don’t have one.” Steve said. “We’ve been too busy arguing with Stark to think of one.” He moved over to watch the monitors, but they couldn’t hear what was being said.  There was a man in the holding cell with Bucky.

Sharon walked in and handed Sam a small stack of papers. “The receipt for your gear.”

“Bird costume?” Sam asked incredulously. “Really?”

“I didn’t write it.” Sharon looked around before stealthily pushing a button.  The monitors inside the room changed to the scene with Bucky and the man and they could hear what was being said.

“I just need to ask you a few questions,” The man said. “Do you know where you are, James?  I can’t help you if you don’t talk to me, James.”

“My name is Bucky.” Bucky said.  Steve’s hand reached out and Buffy took it without even looking.  She was looking at the surveillance photo from the UN bombing.

“Why would the task force even release this photo?” Buffy asked.

“To get the word out?  Involve as many eyes as we can?” Sharon asked.

“Right.  That’s a really good way to flush a guy out of hiding.  Set off a bomb, get your picture taken, and suddenly you’ve got seven billion people looking for the Winter Solider in every nook and cranny of the world.”

“Are you saying someone framed him to find him?”

“We looked for the guy for two years and we found nothing.” Sam said.

“We didn’t bomb the UN.” Steve said, following Buffy’s line of thinking. “That turns a lot of heads.”

“That doesn’t guarantee that whoever framed him would get him.  It guarantees that we would.” Sharon said.

“Exactly.” Buffy looked at the monitor and pointed at the man in the room with Bucky. “Who exactly is that guy?”

The power went off just then.  Everything went dark before the emergency lights kicked on.  Everyone in the hub outside the conference room moved into action.  Buffy stood up and Steve turned around.

“Sub level five, east wing.” Sharon said.

Steve and Buffy shot out the door with Sam trying to keep up.  By the time they found where they were going, there were bodies laying everywhere.  Some of them were unconscious, others were dead.  The containment cell that Bucky had been in was torn apart and the man that had been in the room with him was laying on the ground calling for help.

Buffy didn’t buy it.  She calmly walked over and hauled him to his feet with one hand before slamming him against the wall. “Who are you and what do you want?”

“To see an empire fall.” The man said.

Sam suddenly went flying past them and Steve ran out to take on Bucky.  Sam lay crumpled on the floor.  The way he’d landed didn’t look so good for him.  Behind her, she heard the sound of metal ripping and looked back to see Bucky throw Steve into the suddenly open elevator shaft. “Steve!” Buffy screamed.  Bucky rushed at her and grabbed her away from the man she was holding.  She was forced to go on the defensive against Bucky.  He managed to knock her off balance and kicked her in the chest.  She skidded across the floor and down into the elevator shaft.  Luckily she managed to catch herself on the edge of the doorway.

“Go after him.” Steve said below her.  The elevator was well above them and the bottom of the shaft was only two floors down.  Buffy hauled herself up to see that Sam had recovered and was chasing after the man posing as a psychiatrist.  Bucky was gone.  She heard the sounds of fighting and followed them.  She found Bucky in the cafeteria area taking on Sharon and Natasha.  Tony was on the ground with a nasty shiner starting.

“You ok?” She asked, pausing only briefly.

“A little late, aren’t you?” Tony quipped.

“Sorry.  I got kicked down an elevator shaft.” She tackled Bucky away from Natasha before he could choke the life out of her.  She got him in a choke hold, pulling him down backwards. “Bucky, stop!  This isn’t you!” He tried to flip her off him, but she wrapped her legs around his waist, clinging tightly and still trying to choke him down.

Suddenly T’Challa tackled both Bucky and Buffy.  She was dislodged from Bucky and rolled painfully to a stop against a wall.  Bucky had landed on one of her ribs.  Natasha came over and checked on her, but Buffy stood up and looked around for Bucky.  She could hear the sounds of fights, some gunfire, and crashing sounds coming from the stairwell.

Buffy launched herself at the stairs, kicking T’Challa across the room.  Steve had somehow already beaten her to the roof.  To her complete surprise, he was holding the helicopter to the building with just his arms.  He was keeping it and Bucky from flying away. 

She didn’t even think about what she was doing next.  Her feet flew on their own and she jumped, landing on the railing of the helicopter, and ripped the door off the helicopter before throwing herself inside.  Her arm went around Bucky’s neck and she resumed her choke hold.  He suddenly swerved the helicopter sideways trying to dislodge her and Steve.  Steve barely missed being severed in half and Buffy tightened her hold on Bucky.  The helicopter came to a stop and it started to tip over the side of the building.

Steve got to his knees and realized that the helicopter holding the two most precious people in his life was about to go over.  Before he could grab it, Bucky’s metal arm lashed out and managed to catch Steve’s neck through the window.  The helicopter went over just as Buffy and Steve caught each other’s eyes.  They fell and when they landed in the water, she felt her head bounce off something.  She saw spots, but refused to give in to the blackness.

Then Steve was there.  He pulled on her and got her out of the door that she’d ripped off.  He pushed her towards the surface as he turned to get Bucky.  Buffy swam towards the surface as best she could, but her vision was going in and out.  Steve came up beside her and she wrapped her arms around his neck.  He pulled both her and Bucky to the surface and Buffy sucked in a deep breath as they broke through the water.

“I’m going to be sick.” Buffy said.

“We’ve got to get out of here first.” Steve said. “Hold onto me.” Holding Bucky and carrying Buffy on his back, he made for the edge of the water.