The next morning brought new opportunities for good news, in a household that was starving for it. Becca was coming home after being away at Xavier's again, with the new device that everyone was hoping would be the answer they desperately hoped for. If her powers could be held back, or even diluted enough to not affect Bucky and Steve, then she could move back for good without worry. The new concern beyond that was the revelation of your involvement in her fate, and Stephen was worried just enough about her to be there to greet her first as she stepped out from the jet door; he had yet to find out what you were hiding from even him.

"Hello, Becca," he smiled cautiously as he approached. "How are you feeling? Any changes with the new device?"

"Hey, Doc, I wasn't expecting to see you here today," Becca answered. She looked down at the hard, black bracelet that now adorned her left wrist, and that may be there for the rest of her life depending on how today played out. "No, I feel the same so far. I think we did okay, but I suppose we won't know for sure until I see Dad."

"Once I had heard that you were returning today, I wanted to take the opportunity to welcome you home, and to see for myself what you've created with the Professor."

"It's surprisingly comfortable, considering. Have a look."

The sorcerer took her hand readily, lifting it gently so that he could have a closer look at her new jewelry. He felt a sinking weight in his stomach at the sight of it, despair for her situation that was thrust upon her with such dire consequences for her own father. If this didn't work, he almost didn't have the heart to be the one to tell her, though he felt the responsibility to do so given his knowledge of the power she possessed. Beyond all of that, however, her safety still had to be considered first, no matter the outcome for Bucky or Steve; Stephen knew that they would agree without question. "Do you feel any different? Are there side effects?"

"Not yet," she shrugged, "I guess I'll know when I see Dad or Uncle Steve."

"I know that your father is anxious to see you, so let's do that then. I'll join you if it's alright?"

"Sure. If Dad remembers me, of course, or this could be a really fast visit." She slowed her walk towards the building and towards him, her mood dropping with each step. She would never admit to either of her fathers that she was afraid of what she was about to find, but she really was, and the emotions had to come out one way or another. Stephen just happened to be the unwitting target nearest at the time. When she began again, her voice was so soft that he had to lean in closer to hear her. "His memory is getting worse each day from what Brooke's told me. She wasn't supposed to, but she said that she would want to know about her dad if she was gone too. What if he's forgotten me? How am I supposed to act?"

"You talk to him as you would any other time, with kindness and love. He will feel that, even if he doesn't quite understand why."

"I'll do my best."

The duo had reached the doors, Stephen holding one open for the young girl to pass through, but before she could get so much as her toes across the line, Natasha was ready and waiting on the other side with wide-eyed anxiety staring back.

"Hey, guys, have you seen (Y/N) this morning? We're supposed to go dress shopping with Esihle today. There's talk about moving up the wedding by a few months, so we really need to get this done."

"We both just got here, sorry," Becca said. "Did you try to call her?"

"Yeah, but she's not answering, and Steve hasn't talked to her yet either. Guess I'll just keep on looking. It's great to see you home again, Becca. Your dads can't wait to see you."

"Mmm hmm."

"Hey, you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm excited to see them too," she sighed, "but I'm scared that this won't change anything and I'll have to go back to Xavier's anyway."

Nat shared a hesitant glance with Stephen, hoping that Becca didn't pick up on it too readily. "Hey, think positive, alright? Tony has been working night and day on this, and Bruce and Helen are going back to Wakanda with Shuri to do the same. No one is giving up, Becca. That's how we roll here, you know that. No one gives up. Speaking of never giving up...hey, Sam."

"Hey, guys," Sam greeted the group, sweeping his girl into his arms for a hug that she could tell was just a bit too tight. "Buck isn't feeling great today, but he's gonna nap and try to see you a little later. We can grab some lunch in a couple hours and then maybe after that-"

"Is he okay?" Becca interrupted urgently. "What's going on?"

"He's just tired-"

"No, I can tell there's more. Don't hide stuff from me, Dad. I need to know."

Much as Natasha and Stephen had done, Sam looked to each of them with eyes filled with worry and uncertainty; unlike them, he knew that his daughter had caught onto it immediately. "He's having more memory trouble today than he was yesterday, honey, but it's not his worst morning, at least. Your Aunt (Y/N) has been able to help slow the memory loss down a bit, but she can't stop it. It's probably not best to see him right now, because I'm not sure how he's going to do today. It's worst when he first wakes up, and sweetheart, it's not always him. Sometimes he wakes up...as the bad side of himself that he would never want you to see."

"I don't care, Dad. I can handle it. I want to see him."

"Honey-"

"No, Dad, I'm going," she pressed, straightening her stance and her resolve, pushing through the door past him, with Stephen in tow.

"So," the doctor smirked, "who does she get that from?"

"Don't act like you don't know," Sam huffed, hurrying to catch up to her, "you know that's all (Y/N) genes right there. It's been ten years and we still haven't decided if that's good or bad just yet."

Heavy footsteps carried them to the elevator and then down the lengthy corridor to Sam and Bucky's shared room, none of them caring to mind their volume as they approached even though Bucky was supposed to be sleeping. Becca was far too anxious to see him for herself, and Sam was too worried that he would have to put himself between his girl and the Winter Soldier; he had already seen that persona once this morning and he had no desire to see it again any time soon.

When the doors opened, they stopped dead in their tracks at what they were seeing, but Sam acted as if it were the most common thing for them all to find. You were there, sitting next to Bucky on the side of his bed with your hands resting gently on his head and your eyes closed in concentration. There was that eerie glow from your hands again that you couldn't quite explain, but he was calm, and the Soldier gone, and that was all that mattered.

"What's she doing?" Becca asked as she stepped out to the front.

"Your guess is as good as mine, sweetheart. But it seems to help. She's able to keep some of the old memories out of the way, and it's all we've got right now. She's been the only one who can get the Soldier to back off."

"Remarkable," Stephen whispered to himself. "Sam, how long has she been able to do this?"

"Since Thanos."

Becca's spine stiffened, and she could feel the annoying prickles of hairs standing on end at the back of her neck; she was on immediate alert, beyond her control and beyond her understanding. "Since Thanos? Like me? Wait...is that why I have my power? Is that why I'm hurting Dad? Because she gave it to me when I was born? Is that it?"

"Honey, we can't be sure-"

"Get away from him!" she rushed forward, tearing your hands away and jolting you to attention as the connection was broken. "This is your fault! You gave me this and now it's hurting him! Stay away from my dad! Don't you ever come near us again!"

You found yourself mute under the attack, but even if you were to find your voice, there were no words ready to be spoken anyway. She was right. It was a guilt that you had carried since this all began, but you couldn't bring yourself to make the connection; you couldn't allow yourself to do so, risking any help that you might be able to bring. So long as you were the only one who knew, no one else would have to know either, and you could still work on finding an answer; but now, this girl had just brought your blame into the light, and you couldn't see beyond the blinding glare of it.

All you could do was to nod in agreement, silently leaving the room despite Stephen and Sam's argument for you to stay. All you could do was to find a place to go to keep everyone safe from whatever it was that you had become.

"(Y/N)!" Stephen called out to you, grabbing your arm to hold you there. "Why didn't you come to me with this when it began?"

"Because I didn't want it to be a problem. I was good, and it wasn't anything to worry about."

"I don't feel like that's your judgement to make. You have no idea of the power you might possess."

"I think I have some."

"You're a walking Infinity Stone, (Y/N)."

"I think that's overstating things. But since you haven't seemed to notice, I'm also a human being with insight," you hissed between angrily clenched teeth. "I'm the only thing keeping Bucky's brain from turning into mush, so I think it best that you help keep them off my back until we get an answer to all of this. I'm the only reason there's even that much of her dad left. That's the only help I'm going to ask of you, Strange. Do you accept or not?"

"It would seem that you have left me no choice," he answered angrily, "but it's for that little girl in there, understand? You should know this...if the moment comes when I feel that your power has reached a level that I am uncomfortable with, and if you're putting a single soul in danger, I will not hesitate in stopping you any way that I can."

"Nice," you nodded, giving him an approving slap on the arm, "good moral compass."