I don't own anything except any original/own characters and any original plot.

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Chapter 19 - Cat-Man

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I entered the cathedral a few minutes before Steve. He was one of the few chosen to bring in Peggy's casket. After we received the message, we flew out and booked a hotel. Steve had been really quiet. I understood, and I tried to support him, but seeing him in so much pain hurt me as well.

While I was taking my seat towards the front, I locked eyes with Tony. He was in the farthest back corner. He was obviously trying to be discreet, dressed in an all black suit. I gave him a small nod. He nodded back. We could put aside the tension between us for a few moments.

Once I was settled, another person sat down right next to me. I glanced up at them, sighing with a shake of my head when I saw who it was.

"So this is what it takes for you to show up, huh Fury? Can't even show your face with the Accords going on?"

"She was a founding member of the biggest thing in my life, even if it was corrupt," Fury said quietly, "I'm sorry the Accords are so biased against you. I'm trying to pull some strings but it's difficult right now. You know how the world can be."

"It's alright. I now know what other minorities on Earth feel like. I want to retire, but Steve wants to go against it entirely."

"A lovers quarrel?"

"Not really, I'll stay with him no matter what happens. I'm just afraid that if he make us a target, we might have to, um, well we might have to leave."

The choir off to the side began singing. Fury and I silenced ourselves. The casketbarrers slowly entered the church. I watched Steve closely. He had been crying recently. After the casket was set down up front, Steve slid into the aisle next to me, barely giving Fury a second glance. I grabbed his hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

The service was quick and quaint, highlighting the shining moments in Peggy's life. Although in my eyes, her entire life was a highlight in Earth's history. Once the priest was finished, he invited Sharon up to say a few words.

"Margaret Carter was known to most as a founder of SHIELD, but I just knew her as Aunt Peggy. She had a photo in her office, standing next to JFK. As a kid, that was pretty cool. But it was a lot to live up to. I asked her how she managed to master diplomacy and espionage in a time when no one wanted a woman succeed at either. She said, compromise where you can. Where you can't, don't. Even if they're telling you that something wrong is right. Even if the whole world is telling you to move, it is your duty to plant yourself like a tree, and say 'No, you move.'"

After Sharon's speech, the rest of the service went quite fast. There was a speech or two from other family members, and then the priest directed everyone to a seperate room in the church where lunch would be served. Once that announcement was made, everyone slowly filed out. There were a few stragglers, who stood by her casket and said a prayer before leaving.

Standing in front of the pews, Steve and I were the last ones in the church. He had shaken hands, expressed his sympathy, and said hello to Fury. After that, he just sat in silence. Now he was standing, still silent.

Click, click, click

Nat approached from behind us, the heels on her pumps sending small echoes throughout the cathedral. I didn't realize she was attending the funeral too. But when Nat didn't want to be noticed, she wouldn't be.

"When I came out of the ice, I thought everyone I had known was gone. Then I found out that she was alive. I was just lucky to have her, someone, from back then."

"Who else signed?" I asked, already knowing she did. I was sad, but held no ill will towards her, she was being self preserving.

"Tony. Rhodey. Vision."

"Clint?"

"Says he's retired."

"Wanda?"

"TBD. Just because it's the path of least resistance doesn't mean it's the wrong path. Staying together is more important than how we stay together. (Y/n), I'm ready to fight tooth and nail until they take that section out of the Accords, or add something in about one of us being able to accompany you."

"What are we giving up to do all that?"

Nat didn't have an answer for that question, "I'm off to Vienna for the signing of the Accords. There's plenty of room on the jet..."

"We can't sign Nat," I sighed, "Not just because of the experiments, I could deal with those. But because people are trying to control us. That would never end well. It won't end well. Even if everyone feels like it will."

"After everything with SHIELD, during my little hiatus I went back to Russia. You know, to track down my parents. Two little gravestones in front of a chain link fence. I pulled some weeds, left some flowers. We have what we have when we have it," Nat put a hand on both of our shoulders before she turned and left.

Click, click, click...

~*~

"So you two are retiring then?" Sharon questioned as we walked back to the hotel we had booked near the conference.

After the funeral, we had taken one of the quinjets to Vienna. It was easier to keep tabs on what was going on when we were close. Sharon and Sam rode with us the way there.

"Getting married, we'll have to see about everything else," Steve corrected, "And you enlisted?"

"My mom tried to talk me out of it, but not Aunt Peggy. She bought me my first thigh holster."

"Very practical," I giggled, "So you're stationed over here now?"

"In Berlin, Joint Terrorism Task Force."

"Sounds fun..." Steve trailed off from his obvious lie, "I've been meaning to ask you. When you were spying on us from across the hall-"

"You mean when I was doing my job," Sharon corrected.

"Did Peggy know?"

Sharon sighed, "She kept so many secrets. I didn't want her to have one from you. Thanks for walking with me you two."

Sharon turned around and put one foot in the elevator. When heavy footsteps approached behind us, she stepped back out. Sam was waving his phone in the air, panting as he held it out to us.

"You two gotta see this!" He pressed play on a news video he had pulled up.

"A bomb hidden in a news van ripped through the UN building in Vienna. More than 70 people have been injured. At least 12 are dead, including Wakanda's King T'Chaka. Officials have released a video of a suspect who they have identified as James Buchanan Barnes, the Winter Soldier. The infamous HYDRA agent, linked to numerous acts of terrorism and political assassinations."

"I need to make a call," I pulled my phone out of my pocket, rushing to the lobby of the hotel, "Come on Nat, pick up, pick up."

My eyes were constantly darting to the TV in the corner of the room. It was covering the events that had just gone down at the conference as well. We were so close, so near to all the action, and we hadn't even realized what was going on. How absorbed were we in our own problems? Not only that, but why would Bucky supposedly get back into terrorism?

"I need to go to work," Sharon stated, rushing back out of the hotel through the front.

"It wasn't him Steve," I turned to Steve while I was waiting for Nat to answer. Voicemail. I called again, "He wouldn't do something like this while trying to get his memories back."

"I hope you're right. Because if you aren't, we're gonna have to bring him in."

~*~

"Hey," Nat answered after the fourth time I called, her voice quiet, "Look I know how much Bucky means to Steve, and I know he saved your life, but you two need to stay out of this."

"Are you going to arrest us?" I felt like I was actually hearing Nat's voice. There was a chance I was, given how close I was standing to her.

"No, but someone will. That's how it works now. Stay home. Please?"

"He saved my life Nat, twice. We're the two people least likely to die trying to bring him in."

I ended our call, peeking my head around the pillar I was hiding behind to see her. She buried her head in her hands, phone in her lap. I held back the urge to step out and hug her, to tell her everything was okay. Because it wasn't anymore. After another few seconds, I turned around and entered the cafe Steve and Sam were waiting in.

"She tell you not to get involved?" Sam asked, already knowing the answer.

"He'd do the same for me," Steve mumbled absently.

"In nineteen-forty-five maybe. I just want to make sure we considered all our options. The people that shoot at you usually wind up shooting at me."

Sharon arrived at the cafe, sitting down next to us at the counter. She was wearing a hat and sunglasses as well as Steve and Sam. I had shifted into someone random before we left the hotel.

"Tips have been pouring in since that footage went public. Everybody thinks the Winter Soldier goes to their gym. Most of it's noise. Except for this," she slid a file towards me. I glanced around us before opening, showing it to Steve, "My boss expects a briefing pretty much now, so that's all the head start you're gonna get."

"Thank you."

"You're gonna have to hurry. We have orders to shoot on sight."

Bucharest Romania. That was the location listed on the file Sharon had given to us. After that information, our trio sprinted to the quinjet we had hidden, and took off. Knowing there was no way anything would go right, all of us had the common sense to pack our suits before we left for Vienna in the first place.

"We'll figure something out," I told Steve as I was pulling up the zipper on my uniform, "If worst comes to worst, he can hide out on Orveon. It might be really weird for him, but he'd be safe at the very least."

"Thanks (Y/n), but I'm going to make sure it doesn't come to that."

~*~

I had been to Romania before for a mission, but this section Bucharest was different from the busier parts. The people were lovely and the farmers market looked like it was full of wonderful foods. But we weren't there as tourists, we were there as heroes.

The tip Sharon had given us had led us almost directly to Bucky's apartment. We snuck in through the window- after Steve had jimmied it- and began to look around in Bucky's absence.

"Steve, come look at this," I called quietly, opening up a journal full of fragmented memories, "He's remembering."

The door opened behind us. Steve and I turned around, coming face to face with Bucky. He was calm, but confused.

"Do you know me?" Steve asked him urgently.

"You're Steve. I read about you in a museum."

"They've set the perimeter."

"I wasn't in Vienna. I don't do that anymore."

"Well, the people who think you did are coming here now. And they're not planning on taking you alive."

"That's smart. Good strategy."

"They're on the roof. I'm compromised."

"This doesn't have end in a fight, Bucky," I said gently, walking on eggshells.

"It always ends in a fight."

"Five seconds."

"You pulled her from the water, why?"

"I don't know."

"Three seconds."

"Yes, you do."

"Breach! Breach! Breach!"

Steve hit a gas grenade back out the window as soon as it came flying in. A second rolled in, and this time he put his shield over top of it. Seconds after agents came through the window. I sprinted forwards, kicking one back out and onto the fire escape while Bucky and Steve handled the other two.

Bucky punched a hole in the floor, revealing a 'to go' pack. He chucked it out the window onto a nearby roof. An agent snuck up behind Steve and tackled him onto the balcony. Bucky walked towards the door, ready to open it.

"I'll cover you, if you take them out," I offered. In response, Bucky opened up the door.

I swiped my hands, creating a few shields around Bucky to keep anything but his metal arm from getting shot. Steve soon stumbled into the apartment again, joining us in our fight.

Bucky jumped down a few levels and into another apartment. I cautiously stood on the stairway railing, jumping off of it and grabbing hold of the railing in front of the apartment Bucky had entered. Bucky then jumped over the railing I was hanging onto, escaping the building. I groaned in annoyance.

"You got this?" I yelled over to Steve.

"Go get him!" Steve shouted back in response.

I let go of the railing, stopping myself just short of touching the ground. I walked through the broken doorway in front of me to the next balcony. My eyes widened at the sight in front of me. Bucky was fighting someone dressed as a cat, or maybe a panther. A black panther?

I took a few steps back, getting a running start as I jumped off of the apartment building and onto the roof of the next one. Somersaulting as to not break my legs, I quickly recovered and jumped up.

Neither Bucky nor the cat-person took notice of me. Taking advantage of that, I shifted into an elderly woman, slowly waddling towards them.

"Excuse me," I croaked out, taking a few steps towards the men, "Ah yes, you two look like nice boys. I seem to have misplaced my glasses, and I'm blind without them. Have you seen them anywhere?"

Whether or not they, or rather, the cat person, believed my act was irrelevant. He was distracted. Taking the chance I delivered an uppercut to his jaw, shifting back into my natural form.

"No one ever expects the old lady," I sent Bucky a smug smile.

The man came running at both of us now. I ducked under a potentially fatal slash from his claws, rolling backwards. Bullets came raining down from the sky towards us. I glanced up, rolling my eyes. A helicopter? Really? Sam flew towards it and kicked the tail end, sending it off course.

Bucky slid down the side of the building, the cat-man following after him. I let out a loud groan as Steve jumped down onto the roof. He sent me a curious look.

"Why are we jumping from building to building," I complained, running towards the edge, "All I wanted to do was get married to Captain America. Now I'm chasing a cat-man and ex-assassin through Romania."

I jumped off of the building, summoning the Talismans powers so I could levitate before I hit the ground. Bucky jumped once again, into an underground tunnel highway. Picking up speed, I gently landed on the top of a car, Steve close behind in a 4x4 he had technically stolen.

"Duck," I yelled up to Bucky, directing a blast at the cat-man. He stumbled off of he car he was standing on, into the road. Steve came up beside me, "Go get Bucky, I'm good levitating."

Steve increased his speed, trying to make it to Bucky. But Bucky wasn't entirely helpless. He grabbed onto the handlebars of a motorcycle that was driving next to him, flipping it and the driver off. Bucky took the former driver's place, shooting in between the cars on the highway.

The cat-man leapt up and onto Bucky's motorcycle. Bucky flung him over his head and continued to ride on. I slowed down a bit and dropped down in the passenger seat of the 4x4 Steve was in.

We watched as Sam tried to throw off the cat-man, who was clinging onto his leg. Bucky threw an explosive at the roof of the tunnel, brining the majority of it down. Steve swerved through the rubble, and jumped out of the car. Catching my breath for another few seconds, I followed.

Armed police vehicles surrounded the five of us. Soldiers poured out of the vehicles, guns aimed and ready. Rhodey flew up behind one of the cars, his own weapons drawn

"Congratulations you two, you're criminals."

Cops rushed forward and forced our hands behind around backs. The cat-man retracted his claws and pulled off his mask. I nearly gasped in surprise. It was T'Challa, son of T'Chaka. That explained a lot.

"(Y/n)," Steve glanced over at me as his hands were cuffed, "We might have to push the wedding date back again."

"You think?"