20. Did you know?
After three hours of Becca stitching up her mother's back, Mary is attempting to sleep in the safety and comfort of her husband's arms. The wife was trying to sleep, but the pain in her back from the alcohol kept waking her up from the light daze she was in. The daughter was putting away the left over gauze when her father turns to look over his wife. His eyes never leaving Mary as she tries to sleep before they face the psychiatrist in Siberia. Where her husband was kept most of his life when he was with Hydra. Mary shifts on Bucky's lap, hissing at the pain spiking through her back briefly. Bucky attempts to calm her down, "You're okay, doll." He mumbles, soothing her. His flesh hand smoothing her hair down carefully.
Becca returns with a brush in her hand and she sits down facing her mother's back, "Mama's hair is so long, it might hurt her back." She says, "I can do her hair."
Bucky looks over at his daughter, nodding slowly. As Becca begins to brush her mother's hair gently, Bucky looks up at the back of his brother in law's head, "What's gonna happen to your friends?" He asks quietly.
A long pause is held between the two brothers until Steve sighs out a breath, "Whatever it is, we'll deal with it." He answers coldly, referencing his sister as well as himself. Mary was hurt, badly, because Tony was too stubborn to see the other side of all of this.
The husband watches his daughter intricately braid her mother's hair, he lets out the air he didn't know he was holding with a sigh. "I don't know if i'm worth all of this, Steve." He murmurs and the crystal blue eyes of his daughter snap up to meet his own.
"Papa.."
"Mary was hurt because of this. Is it really worth it?"
Mary slowly blinks her hazel eyes open. She musters up what little strength she has at the moment to place her small, delicate hand on her husband's bearded cheek, "You've always been worth it." She tells him softly.
The brother hesitates, his head turning back to semi look over at his family, "What you did all those years. It wasn't you. You didn't have a choice." Steve tries to reassure his brother in law.
"I know." Bucky says as he peels his eyes off of his wife and daughter, looking out the window of the quinjet. "But i did it." He reminds them all as he looks back directly at his brother.
"Winter did those horrible acts. Not James." Mary points out, "He isn't you. And you aren't him." She adds as she gathers more energy as Becca finishes the braid. Her hand places itself on her daughter's cheek, "Thank you, Baby."
Becca leans into her mother's touch, smiling softly, "Of course, Mama."
Bucky looks at his wife, his crystal blue eyes meeting her hazel ones. "But it was still me that killed all those people for Hydra. It was still my hand that pulled the trigger. That wrapped my hands around their throats." Mary is stunned into silence as she leans into her husband, not knowing what to say in response.
Two more hours later, Steve is landing the quinjet outside of a cave in Siberia. Mary is on her feet for the first time in five hours, she's weak, but not out of the game yet. What Becca did in patching her up helped. The mother and daughter walk over to Bucky as he opens a panel containing rifles. He picks the one he thinks is the most useful, then turns to Becca. "Which one do you want?"
The daughter steps over beside her father, looking at the different guns and rifles. She then grabs the one she thinks will work the best. "Hopefully the training i got can come in handy taking the doctor down." She mumbles.
Mary smiles softly, "It will." She reassures her daughter as Steve opens the door to the quinjet. The father, mother and daughter trio walk up along side the Captain as they all stare out into the heavily snowing Siberian mountain range.
Steve looks over at his brother and sister, "You remember that time we had to ride back from Rockaway beach in the back of that freezer truck?" Steve asks them. Becca smiles a little as she likes listening to stories of her parents and Uncle before the war started.
Mary laughs in remembering what Steve is talking about. Bucky smirks slightly, "Was that the time we used our train money to buy hot dogs?" The husband replies
"You blew three bucks trying to win that stuffed bear for me." Mary teases, "Despite me telling you i didn't need it." She points out with a smile on her lips as her fingers intertwine with her husband's fingers.
"And it was completely worth it. What did you name him?" Bucky teases back.
"Mr Stuffington." Steve quips before Mary could. All the sister can do in that moment is laugh with a twinkle in her eyes that had long since faded.
Becca gasps, "That- That's the bear i had growing up." She states to her parents and uncle. Mary's hazel eyes widen, nodding.
"I saved him, i can't believe i forgot that." The mother says softly. Bucky and Steve grin slightly, "I put him in your nursery before you were born. He was your favorite thing." The father can't believe what he's hearing as his wife talks about the bear that he had won for her when they were teenagers. He thought that silly little stuffed bear had been long gone and forgotten. When in reality it lasted to be the bear his daughter loved the most as a baby.
Becca giggles slightly, "He's probably a hundred years old now." She mumbles.
Steve chuckles, placing his hand on Becca's shoulder, "So are we, B."
Soon the family of four step out from the quinjet and walk cautiously towards the entrance to the cave. "He can't have been here more than a few hours." Steve states, taking in their surroundings slowly.
Bucky shakes his head, "Long enough to wake them up." He reminds them as he ushers his wife behind him when they step closer to the opened door of the cave. The two assassins in the family have their arms poised with their rifles just in case someone sneaks up on them. Not long after entering, the family find an elevator. Riding it down to where Bucky scarcely remembers is the way to the cryochamber room. The silence in the elevator is deafening but the family nod to each other in reassurance. Mary messes with her repulser gloves. Her heart aching as she's reminded of her son when she looks at them. The gloves he made for her, as well as the boots she wears.
When the elevator jerks to a stop, the doors open and Steve lifts the secondary door. Bucky steps out first with his rifle raised, Steve is behind him with his shield raised. Mary is behind her brother with her repulsers ready and Becca aims with her own rifle behind her mother, taking up the back. They walk along side a wall before their reach stairs. As the four step onto the stairs, a loud thud can be heard from behind them. Bucky quickly guides his wife behind him on the stairs as he aims his rifle at where the noice came from. Steve lowers himself as he raises his shield as well. Becca doing the same with her rifle.
The elevator doors creak loudly, the family in position to fire if they find out it's who they think it is. The assassins or the doctor. They're here in Siberia for the sole purpose of taking him down and stopping the other winter soldiers from escaping. When the doors open, the family is met with the glowing eyes of the Iron Man suit. Becca sighs in relief as she smiles softly, she starts to lower her rifle but Steve stops her, motioning her to keep it raised.
"But- It's Buddy.." Becca whispers, but nods nonetheless, understanding why her uncle and parents are cautious. Tony reveals his head when the Iron Man mask retracts and he steps forward.
"You seem a little defensive." Tony quips as he looks around the empty corridor they're in. Mary sighs a little in relief but she's still on edge from the fight in Germany. They all are.
Steve and Becca step forward to meet with Tony while Bucky still has his rifle raised and Mary positioned behind him, "It's been a long day." The Captain comments.
"At ease solider. I'm not currently after you." Tony comments to Steve, then looks at Becca, "Hi Little Miss." He greets his sister softly with a small smile to ease the tension in her.
"Then why are you here?" Steve asks confusedly. He doesn't understand why Tony is here if he's not after Bucky and his family.
"Could be your story's not so crazy." Tony mutters in return as Becca walks beside her brother, taking his metal covered hand. The older brother smiles softly as he kisses the top of his sister's head in return.
Steve is hesitant as he watches Becca openly trust Tony, "Maybe."
"Ross has no idea i'm here. I'd like to keep it that way. Otherwise i gotta arrest myself." Tony explains, his eyes trailing up to see his mom with her husband.
Steve still has his shield raised as he says, "Well, that sounds like a lot of paper work." Tony scoffs as Steve lowers his shield, "It's good to see you, Tony."
"You too, Cap." Tony mutters, then turns back to his mom and Bucky, "Hey, Manchurian Candidate, you're killing me here. There's a truce here. You can drop the stance." He gripes at Mary's husband, earning a snicker from the woman behind her husband.
Bucky slowly lowers his rifle as he glances back at Mary, "This is your godson?" He questions.
Mary nods, "Raised him myself." She states proudly as the couple descend the stairs to be with the three on the main level. The mother walks up to her son, "Hi, T." She mutters, Tony pulls her into a hug despite the protesting of her three biological family members. The mother yelps in pain when Tony's arms come in contact with her injured back.
"Mom? What's wrong?" Tony jerks away quickly, "Friday, scan Mom." He instructs his A.I.
Mary can over hear slightly Friday telling Tony that she has claw marks down her back from T'Challa's vibranium claws. "I'll live, they hurt right now because it's still fresh." She states, waving her hand to dismiss the subject.
Her son doesn't believe what she's saying but he doesn't push the subject further when the family of five begin to walk to continue their search of the other winter soldiers and the psychiatrist. As they reach the Cryochamber room Tony speaks up, "I'm getting heat signatures."
"How many?" Mary asks.
"Uh, one." Her son replies unsure of his surroundings. Soon the family of five step completely into the Cyrochamber room and the lights of the chambers turn on. Mary notices that only one is open. Her husband's chamber.
"This was where you were kept?" Mary asks Bucky quietly.
The spouse nods solemnly, not wanting to speak. Despite the psychiatrist being fake, one thing that he had said that remained true to Bucky. That if he started speaking about his past traumas, the horrors would never stop.
Steve steps forward in front of his sister as a voice comes over the speakers, "If it's any comfort, they died in their sleep." The family of five continue to walk past the chambers, seeing bullet wounds in each of the other winter soldiers skulls.
Bucky raises his rifle and Becca follows in suit as the voice speaks again, "Did you really think i wanted more of you?"
"What the hell." Bucky mumbles in disbelief. Their whole thought process of the doctor wanting the other assassins was completely thrown out the window with them dead.
"What's happening?" Mary asks her husband quietly but the voice speaks again.
"I'm grateful to them, though. They brought you here." The voice finishes as a light shines on the psychiatrist. Steve, Tony and Mary all raise their weapons. Steve sends his shield flying towards the glass chamber where the man is but it only bounces off the glass and back to its owner. "Please, Captain. The soviets built this chamber to withstand the launch blast of UR- 100 rockets."
"Betting i could beat that." Tony quips.
"I'm sure you could, Mr. Stark. Given time." The voice responds, "But they would never know why you came."
Steve steps towards the glass, Mary can see that his jaw is clenched tightly. Her brother is pissed. "You killed innocent people in Vienna just to bring us here?"
"What was the point of that?" Mary snaps as she walks along side her brother. "The point of all of this. Getting us here. Why?"
The man behind the glass smirks as the Rogers siblings reach the glass. "I've thought about nothing else for over a year. I studied the two of you. I followed the two you. But now that you're standing here. I just realized, there is a bit of green in the blue of your eyes, Captain. And your eyes are more brown than hazel, Doctor." The man states quietly to the siblings, catching them off guard. The man chuckles, "How nice to find a flaw."
"You're Sokovian." Mary states as she finally hears the accent of the man before them.
"Is that what this is about?" Steve asks, finishing his sister's sentence.
"Sokovia was a failed state long before you blew it to hell. No. I'm here because i made a promise." The man states, clearing some mystery about him, but not much.
Mary and Steve briefly look at each other before they look back at the man, "You lost someone?" The sister asks.
"I lost everyone. And so will you two." The man snaps, then presses a button next to him. Mary and Steve both turn around as they hear an old video begin to play. They step towards the video as the man speaks again, "An empire toppled by its enemies can rise again. But one that crumbles from within? That's dead. Forever."
Tony steps over to the video screen with his sister and he double takes what the footage is showing. Mary's eyes widen in horror and shock, "N- No." She stammers, backing away from the video into her husband who grips her arm.
"What's this?" Becca asks hesitantly to her brother.
"I know that road. Mom and I know that road." Tony mumbles to his sister, then looks over at the glass where Zemo is sitting, "What is this?" The man doesn't answer when Tony turns back to watch the screen.
Mary's hand flies to her mouth in shock as she watches the footage. The date reading, PM 7:01. Dec. 16 1991. The date Howard and Maria Stark died. She remembers the phone call she received late at night as if it had happened yesterday. She remembers the talk she had to have with her son about the death of his parents.
All Mary can do is watch as Howard's car runs into a tree. A motorcycle pulls up along side the crashed car. Tears are beginning to stream down her cheeks as she watches the footage unfold. "James.. What is this." She asks her husband who can only remain silent.
"Uncle Howie?" Becca mumbles, tilting her head as she watches the video closely. Mary's heart break a little when she hears her daughter's voice. "What's Uncle Howie doing in the video?"
Steve only watches Tony as he knows what's happened. Howard Stark's voice can be heard through the video, "Help my wife." He pleaded. Mary nearly crumbles onto her knees had Bucky not been holding her. Her eyes widen when she then sees that the man roughly holding the godfather to her daughter is her husband. Bucky, no, Winter killed Howard and Maria stark. Hazel eyes look up to meet crystal blue. Howard's voice comes through again, "Sergeant Barnes?"
Bucky looks down at his wife, "I'm sorry." He mumbles quietly, for his wife's ears only to hear. His voice is broken as the guilt of the accident eats away at him. His daughter's godfather. Mary's best friend, one who should've lived longer than he did. Bucky killed him and his wife.
Maria's voice can be heard shouting for her husband, Mary breaks down into quiet sobs as she hears her friends being killed by the man she holds closest to her heart. Her beloved Sarge. Out of the corner of her eye, she can see her son looking in disbelief at Bucky. The video shows Winter repeatedly punching Howard in the face. Becca gasps, tears begin to roll down her cheeks.
"What.. Uncle Howie. Papa?" Becca rambles, looking between the video and her father in shock. Mary turns away from watching the video when Bucky's face can be seen clearly as he shoots out the camera. Tony's head snaps up as he attempts to lunge for Bucky. But Mary steps in front of her husband, protecting him.
"Tony, no." Steve states as he grips his friend's armored shoulder.
The disbelief and grief as Tony looks over at Steve shatters Mary's heart, "Did you know?" Tony snaps.
Steve hesitates, briefly looking over at his sister and brother in law, "I didn't know it was him."
"Don't bullsh** me, Rogers. Did you know?" Tony snaps, his jaw is clenched as his own heart breaks. Becca standing beside her brother in disbelief, not wanting to see her brother in so much pain.
The silence in the room is deafening as the tension rises when Steve finally answers truthfully. "Yes."
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