Chapter Text
"It'll only be for a little while"
The corners of Bob's eyes began to twitch involuntarily. It was subtle. But it was there. Yelena watched him carefully.
"A little while" Bob hummed, eyes down cast.
"Just until we can find some sort of... balance" Doctor Dyer encouraged, trying to lift his patient's gaze.
"Balance...yes" Bob repeated.
He had been here before. Done this before. Failed before. How would this be any different?
"Thank you, Doctor" Yelena chimed in, gently placing a palm in the center of Bob's back.
The vacuum in the small room seemed to dissipate at her touch, the environment of the doctors’ office seeming a little less sterile, a little more lived in. Bob cast his gaze back to Doctor Dyer, a faint smile gracing his lips.
"Thanks" he echoed meekly.
Doctor Dyer smiled graciously, extending a hand.
He truly did want to help, Bob noted, taking the doctor's hand as they both stood. The doctor had done his part...the outcome was all up to him now.
Dyer gave Bob a short clap on the shoulder signaling the end of the handshake. Yelena gave a wan smile, stepping back from her chair as she moved to the door. Bob followed quietly, his large frame seeming to occupy less space somehow. As the door clicked shut behind them, a simultaneous breath of relief echoed out into the hall. Yelena was the first to regain composure, gloved hands coming together in a clap.
"I think that went well" she tried, optimistically.
It wasn't lost on Bob that one of her eyebrows was raised in question.
She wasn't sure how that went...
"Oh...yeah...that was..." Bob fumbled, "Good"
Yelena smiled tightly, searching Bob's features. Bob let her. He had nothing to hide. When it seemed she had found what she was looking for, she nodded her head towards the exit.
"Shall we go?"
A real smile crept into Bob's cheeks, "Please"
Within minutes, they were at the end of the hall. Another few, and they were in the elevator. It was quiet, but not uncomfortable. Different but familiar. As the doors slid closed, Yelena took a moment to review.
This wasn't a place she would ever want to stay in. Would ever want to visit. The air was too clean, the lights too bright. There was sound here but it was muted. Like the colours on the wall, everything was meant to subdue. But she would persist through it.
For Bob.
They had found a happy medium in the Thunderbolts tower. A place to call home, a place to find family, or familiarity. But Bob needed something more.
It wasn't up to him when the crashes came...when the darkness returned. And try as they might to keep him safe, to take him out of harms way, there would always come a time when Bob would have to be alone... with his thoughts.
And on those days, with those thoughts...
Yelena just didn't want to see him suffer any more. Hopefully this would bring some balance, or at least for the meantime until they figured something else out.
Yelena cast her eyes up to Bob, noting how his eyes were rooted back on the bag in his hands.
The "balance," aka, the medication.
"Hey"
Bob broke free from his thoughts, looking up to Yelena through his brows, his body bowed inward protectively.
"It will be okay" Yelena promised, brows knitting together in a determined look.
"Okay" Bob whispered.
"I am with you, remember"
Bob shook his head, eyes returning to the bag, "Y- yeah"
"You won't be doing this alone" Yelena stood firm.
The ping of the elevator doors signaled the end of the ride as the duo met the ground floor, sliding open to the lobby. Bob let out a shaky breath and took the lead, Yelena following closely behind.
"You want, we should go back to the tower?" Yelena inquired, pushing through the revolving doors to the street beyond.
The cacophony of New York embraced their senses in an instant. From the beeping of yellow taxis, to the thrum of a thousand feet on the sidewalk, New York was alive and well.
The alluring scent of a hotdog vendor immediately came to the forefront of the scene, just as the whoosh of air from the subway startled pigeons into the air, the sound of beating wings completing the city scape. It was nothing like the clean, sharpened doctor's office. Bob smiled, closing his eyes for a moment to drink it all in.
"Bob?"
Oh, right-
Bob snapped out of it, turning his full attention back to his friend, "Oh, uh, sorry, i was just-"
Yelena cast a hand, dismissing his need for apology, "Where would you like to go?"
She was giving him a choice. The fact that he had a choice, gave him moment for pause.
It was new. It was nice.
"Hotdogs?"
Yelena scoffed, "Hotdogs?"
Bob fingers began to pick at each other subconsciously, giving a half hearted shrug, "Yeah?"
Yelena turned to spy a hotdog vendor down the block, "When in Rome," she conceded.
Normally, Yelena wouldn't consider herself much of the hotdog type, but today... for Bob...
"Two hotdogs" Yelena instructed, fingers forking the bill over to the vendor.
Within moments, hotdogs were in hand and Yelena proceeded to the next mission.
"Is good?" Yelena inquired, hotdog still palmed in her hand as they began to walk and Bob began to devour his.
"Mmhm" Bob mumbled, smiling sheepishly from around his hotdog.
The light was back in his eyes now, and for that Yelena would buy Bob all the hotdogs he desired.
"Good"
They walked a few more minutes in silence, or as relative as you could in the city.
"Where next, Bob?"
Bob thought for a moment, somewhat distracted by the food, "Home?"
Yelena cast a glance, "You sure?"
Bob met her gaze inquisitively, "Where else?"
"Okay Bob, we will go home"
And so they did.
Chapter 2
Notes:
This chapter is more team centric but still has a focus on Bob/Sentry. It was written originally as two separate chapters, but i find it flows much better as one. Because i posted in advance it may take me longer to post the third chapter, but hopefully the wait will be worth it. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy :)
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
“How’d it go?” Bucky inquired, voice low as he carefully watched Bob from across the room.
Yelena gave a quick glance to Bob who had returned to his little book corner in the Watchtower lobby.
He seemed content.
“It was good,” she replied simply, eyes searching the kitchen drawers for a knife.
Bucky cast a glance back to the widow, measuring her carefully as she attempted to downplay the situation.
“Just good?”
Yelena slid open another drawer, huffing in frustration as it turned up empty, “You act like that is problem”
Bucky propped his metallic shoulder against the wall, casting his eyes back to the room, never fully at ease.
“Enforced medication is never without its problems” Bucky challenged, holding Yelena's firm gaze.
Bucky had never been on board with this whole plan. Given his past experience with Hydra and the battery of drugs he'd been subservient to…Yelena wasn't surprised.
But they had tried the path without…and that had led to void.
If Bob wanted to be a part of the team or even if he just wanted to leave and live his own life, some manner of control had to be put in place.
“Are we whispering about Bob?” John Walker suddenly interrupted, his unexpected presence causing Yelena to jump.
Yelena gave him an unimpressed scowl, to which John grinned.
“Can I join?”
Bucky pursed his lips in disapproval while Yelena rolled her eyes.
“There is nothing to discuss” she insisted, curtly.
“Then why are we whispering?” John prodded.
“You know, it's not very nice to gossip” Ava Starr chimed in, appearing out of thin air.
This time, Bucky flinched.
“We are not gossiping” Yelena persisted, giving up her search for the knife to level each team mate with a stare.
Nobody budged.
Yelena let out a sigh, casting her eyes back to Bob, who it seemed was blissfully unaware of their conversation.
“It was just small meeting” Yelena relented, eyeing them each in turn, “They prescribed medications for mood. Help Bob with stability”
“What kind of medications?” Bucky pressed, noticing the small bag on the far end of the counter.
“New ones. Strong ones” Yelena summarized, eyeing the bag with some caution.
“Does not have to be permanent” Yelena directed at Bucky. His eyes narrowed with interpretation, searching her gaze for meaning.
“Just until we find the right…balance” she concluded.
She hated to say it…hated repeating the clinical terminology presented to her…it felt like she was treating Bob like a red room subject: take the drugs, complete the task, no room for errors…
But then she remembered the void.
And she knew…they had to explore this. If it could help Bob, they had to try.
Ava, John and Bucky took the information in stride, trading glances with one another and then with Yelena.
Heavy footsteps broke the silence as the remaining Thunderbolts member took the stairs down to the lobby, his path leading him straight over to Bob.
The Red Guardian cast a glance over to the members in the kitchen, noting how they watched him, and then Bob.
He turned his gaze to the man in question, now dressed in sweatpants and a loose sweater, partially buried in a bean bag with a book in his lap.
“Bob”
Bob looked up to the large Russian, his big brown eyes warming with genuine appreciation at his teammates' company.
“Hey,” Bob greeted, lowering his book, “Coming to join me?”
“Ah, not to read-” Alexie scratched the stubble on his jaw awkwardly, “-but for company, yis”
Spying a solid chair that looked strong enough, he swung it around and sat on it backwards.
“You like to read lots?” Alexie inquired, not recognizing the title of Bob's book.
Bob gave a sheepish grin, “Yeah, I guess…Feels like I'm not even here when I'm caught up in the pages”
Interpreting the deeper meaning there, Alexie chose only to nod and then changed the subject.
“How was appointment?”
While some may perceive the guardian as a simple, straight shooting fighter, Bob's subtle display of pain was not lost on Alexie.
After a pause Bob answered, “T’was okay” he mumbled, eyes losing his friend as he picked at the pages of his book.
Alexie rolled with the change of pace, “Okay is good” he encouraged, “Okay still counts”
Bob huffed a small laugh, “Okay”
Alexie pursed his lips, casting his gaze over to the team still in the kitchen.
With all this silence, he was catching snippets of their words…
Words that Bob shouldn't be hearing.
“Symptoms”... “Careful”... “Monitor”... “Patience”
Alexie winced, turning back to his friend. He was surprised to find Bob watching them too.
“I think they forget I have super senses too” he murmured, his tone sounding almost as if to himself.
“Bob-” Alexie steadied, “You know they mean-”
“Yeah, everyone means well” Bob finished turning back to his friend, “It's okay…I'm used to it.”
The Red Guardian frowned.
This was not something his friend should need to get used to. The appointment was nothing to be ashamed of. There was nothing to hide.
He began to say as much when suddenly Bob snapped his book closed and got to his feet. He watched carefully as Bob purposefully strode over to the kitchen counter, the sound of his bare feet slapping the marble floor alerting the others to a hush.
The crinkle of the paper bag and the pill bottles within took up most of the silence for the next few seconds.
Then Yelena stepped in.
“You need to take with food, Bob” she encouraged, tossing him an apple.
Bob palmed the apple single handedly, a quick reminder of what lay inside.
“Thanks” he mumbled, taking a bite as he cracked open a container and tossed two back.
When he was done he set it all back on the counter. For a split moment, his gaze crossed everyone in the kitchen, reading, stating and finishing a conversation that never took place.
He then turned quietly, and headed for his room down the hall.
Notes:
Please leave a comment to let me know what you think and if you have ideas where this is going :)
Chapter 3
Notes:
It wasn't discussed beyond vague terms but Bob's medication consists of mood regulators, anxiety inhibitors and antipsychotic mediators. There can be a range of symptoms associated with these 3 and some overlap. I chose the most prevalent ones to make the process as realistic as possible.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
The next few days for Bob passed in much the same way. Awkward moments with awkward conversations, more pills and more time to observe.
It was on the fourth day that Bob started to feel...different.
It was subtle at first, after all, how can you compare clumsy to extra clumsy. But Bob noticed.
Every time he moved, it was as if his body was floating, almost as if he had rebound from a trampoline and rendered weightless.
It made him dizzy.
But he could handle it.
Bob was confident.
The medication is meant to help me…make me stronger. Not make me more of a burden…
Bob continued to repeat the mantra, doing his best to adapt to each symptom…and dissuade his team that he was becoming any sort of a liability.
Dizzy? Lean on a wall. Bucky does it. You'll totally look normal…
Tired? Take a shower
Itchy? Apply some cream
Twitchy? Put on some music.
Restless?
He hadn't figured that one out yet…
But he would, given time.
“How are you feeling?”
Bob twitched. Yelena had snuck up on him somehow.
“F-fine” Bob smiled tightly, clearing his throat to try again, “I feel fine”
Yelena resisted the urge to narrow her eyes.
Bob was really trying to make this work.
Sure, she had noticed some new odd habits…like applying thick creams to his face and arms…and guiding his hands along every wall in the tower…
But who was she to call him out for trying?
Yelena returned Bob's tight smile, “Good to hear, Bob…That's good”
Yelena took a seat on the edge of Bob's bed, sinking into the soft fabric.
Bob twitched again and broke eye contact, wanting to escape the focus.
“How are they taking it?” he inquired.
Yelena almost bluffed his question, wanting to feign that everyone hadn't noticed.
But if it was already obvious to Bob-
“You don't have to worry about them Bob”
Bob gave her a flat stare, “I'm not worried… It's just-”
A knock sounded against Bob's bedroom door. It was Bucky.
“Am I interrupting?”
Yelena looked to Bob, who pretended not to notice her inquiring gaze.
“S'fine” Bob dismissed, “Come in”
Bucky bowed his head graciously and got straight to the point, “Valentina called”
Yelena slowly got to her feet, her frame stiffening back into professional mode.
“And?”
“She wants to see us. Tomorrow. 0600”
Yelena rested her hands on her hips, “Did she say why?”
Bucky gave her a half lidded stare, “That's not exactly her style”
“Ah”
“Can I come?” Bob interjected, tone sounding hopeful.
Yelena and Bucky traded a gaze.
“-I'll just sit in the back and listen” Bob added.
Yelena's blue eyes softened hearing the eagerness in his voice, and it appeared to pierce through Bucky's hard shell too.
After a moment more, Bucky sighed.
“Sure” he relented.
Yelena gave Bob a warm smile, then turned back to Bucky.
“We'll be there. 0600” she confirmed.
Bucky gave a short nod, then departed back down the hall, likely to share the instructions with the others.
“Y’know, Bob-” his eyes met hers, “This means you actually have to sleep tonight”
Bob scoffed, “Sleeping is like…my favourite thing to do”
Yelena shook her head, “Good. I'll leave you to it then.”
She crossed back through Bob's room and over to the door, holding it open for a moment as she turned back to her friend.
Bob was still smiling, happy to finally have something to look forward to.
“Good night, Bob” she hummed gently.
Bob gave a short nod of acknowledgement, “Good night, Yelena”
Notes:
I tried to end this one on a good note...next chapter we will start getting into new territory. Let me know what you guys think so far :)
Chapter 4
Notes:
This chapter is a bit more tense but it was fun to write. Hope it's just as fun to read!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Bob didn't know what time it was when he slowly drifted into consciousness, only that his room was still dark.
He couldn't hear movement, nor voices, so it must be very late or very early.
The quiet was peaceful, his bed was warm, and there was a soft amber glow illuminating the door to his room.
Bob squinted at the light outlining the frame of his door, noting the thin glimmers of gold that fell across the carpet.
He traced the line lazily, following it across the floor, onto his bed and then across the shoulders of the figure sitting on the end of his bed.
Wait. What.
Bob startled, shimmying up from his covers and against the head board.
It was trickier than he expected, his body moving like molasses in the half-woken, half-induced state. But he managed.
The figure hadn't reacted to his movements, it's back was to him, and seemingly unaware.
Had Yelena returned? Was she keeping an eye on him and fell asleep?
Bob mustered up the courage to investigate.
“Um…hello?”
The dark figure turned it's head to the side in acknowledgment, dark strands of hair now shrouding the face, blocking Bob's view.
It suddenly felt too quiet, as if the silence was suffocating him.
“Yelena?”
“Guess again”
The voice in the darkness was ice cold. Biting.
Bob felt as if a boulder had just been placed in his gut. He swallowed hard.
He knew that voice.
“Aren't you pleased to see me, Bobby?” the Void taunted, the deep dark silhouette rising to it's feet.
“Y-y-you can't be here” Bob stammered, “Leave. Now” he commanded.
“But I just got here” the Void argued, it's silky tone steeped in venom.
Bob could see the twinkle in the Voids’ eyes, hear the glee in its’ words. The air always felt electrified in it's presence.
“I don't need you any more” Bob snapped, trying to sound braver than he felt.
The Void eyed Bob like a wolf would eye a lamb.
Easy prey.
“You think you can stop me?” The Void snickered, taking a step closer.
Bob tensed up, prepared to fight if he had to.
“You think that the pills that they give you will come between us?”
Bob reflexively shot a hand out towards his night stand where the pill bottles stood. But a mere flick of Void's wrist and the bottles were sent flying out of reach.
The Void took a step closer, crackling with energy, “I will always be with you”
“NO!” Bob roared, casting his hands out.
The ferocity with which Bob cast his hands swept the Void off his feet and split the wall behind him, sending cracks into the ceiling above.
A shower of dust rained down as the concrete shifted, small crumbles of rubble bouncing across the carpet to lie by the golden crack in the door.
Bob blinked through the haze, scanning for the Void.
He couldn't see. Couldn't breathe. Bob tensed up and his heart beat climbed into his throat.
A light creak sounded to his immediate left and suddenly the Void was at his ear.
“Always”
Bob fell out of bed, his limbs flailing wildly as they caught up in the sheets.
He writhed on the floor for a moment, tearing himself free and shooting to his feet in an instant, prepared to fight the Void.
He was gone.
So too was the split in the wall, the crack in the ceiling and the debris on the floor.
It was just a nightmare…
Bob let out all the air he hadn't realized he'd been holding and placed his hands on his knees, still quaking with adrenaline.
A sudden knock at his door snapped Bob back to attention.
“Hey Bob, you up?”
It was Walker.
“Y-” Bob's voice cracked before he could answer, he cleared it with a cough, “Yeah!”
There was a pause.
“You good in there?”
Bob surveyed his room once more, making sure he was the only occupant.
Satisfied, he turned back to the door.
“I'm good” he called back.
Another pause.
“-kay…well you got 10 minutes to prep, then we're leaving” Walker warned.
Crap. It was morning already?
Bob took note of the brightness that had somehow alluded him until this moment.
Guess so…
“Got it” Bob obliged, “Thanks”
He heard Walker's boots leave his door and the room returned to silence.
Bob let out a shakey breath, then took to the mission at hand. He fumbled about his room, hunting for comfy clothes, tripping over himself numerous times until the task was complete.
By the end of it, he'd already worked up a slight sheen of sweat…or maybe that was the nightmare.
Either way, he swiped at his brow and slicked back his hair, taking note of his appearance in the mirror.
Good enough.
As he turned to leave, his eyes caught the pill bottles standing on his night stand.
Bob's fingers twitched. A prickling sensation began to climb up the back of his neck.
Bob shook it off and crossed the room, swiping up the bottle and tipping 2 pills out.
He knocked them back with a glass of water and stood there for a moment.
He looked back to the container, scrutinizing the pills inside.
One more wouldn't hurt, right?
He was supposed to take them all eventually anyway…
Bob scooped out another pill and knocked it back, taking another sip of water.
The Void wouldn't be making any more visits if he could help it.
Bob set down the glass and the pills and paced out of his room with determination.
As he swept down the adjoining hall, it almost appeared as though his shadow was walking faster than he was.
He stopped for a moment, scrutinizing the outline carefully.
It was just his shadow.
Bob sighed.
It was only a nightmare.
He took a mental note to keep an eye on it anyway and left the issue at that.
As he graced the lobby, the rest of the team turned to greet him.
“We ready?” Walker demanded, hand itching at the elevator button.
The team nodded in unison, filing into the tight space.
Bob could feel Bucky watching him carefully. Nothing escaped the old man, and certainly nothing escaped the soldier.
He rolled his head around his neck and tried to let the stress of the morning wash off of him.
Today would be a good day. A day of possibility, of opportunity. Or at least a day of intrigue.
The elevator doors slid closed and Walker punched the button for the ground floor.
Whatever the day brought, they were on their way.
Notes:
Any ideas what Valentina wants with them? Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, leave a comment and let me know :)
Chapter 5
Notes:
This section is actually two chapters in one, as I felt it would be unfair to keep leaving you guys on cliffhangers. (Can I get some brownie points?)
The chapter(s) really set up the next few sequences and also sets the tone of how everyone is feeling and dealing.
Hope you guys enjoy :)
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
They made it to Valentina's private office in no time, filing into the grandiose room, one by one and choosing their seats at the long oak table.
Bob took his seat at the further end of the table near Yelena, dropping into the chair with a heavy thump, as if his legs couldn't wait to sit down again.
Yelena gave him a look then redirected to the big fish in the room.
At the far end, facing a large, floor to ceiling window, sat Valentina. She was in a sleek, black cocktail dress, with light stocking and black heels, her legs crossed at the knee. She was wearing shades, which reflected the city scape before her.
She didn't acknowledge the team as they came in, simply waiting.
Bob shuddered.
She reminded him of a vulture, looking for the next opportunity.
“You wanted to see us?” Yelena interrupted, not one to beat around the bush.
Valentina paused for a moment longer, keeping the ball in her court.
She swiveled slowly to meet them, looking over her shades as they brightened to the room before her.
“Ever heard of Belaraine?”
Valentina's tone held a mixture of sass and impatience, prickling the team right from the get go.
“Should we have?” Yelena shot back.
Valentina clicked a button on a remote just out of view, and suddenly, a projection of a map appeared on the far wall.
“This” Valentina announced, “Is Belaraine…A small forgotten land, wedged beside the largest embarrassment in the East-”
Bucky narrowed his eyes, while Yelena gave Valentina a dead stare. Alexie began to stand, but two firm hands from John and Ava discouraged him.
Bob just scowled.
He could see how her insults cut into his Russian team mates, how they struggled to resist their natural inclinations.
If the government hadn't sanctioned their very public union, Valentina likely wouldn't have lived this long.
Valentina continued without batting an eye, zooming into the far east quadrant where a large hangar stood, surrounded by an air strip and several smaller buildings within a fenced compound.
“Intelligence reports that this site has shown increased military activity over the past few months-” Valentina began flipping through more photos.
There were combat figures, clad in covert black, loaded with lethal gear.
The next photo revealed these commandos escorting individuals in white lab coats.
Snippets of heavy machinery, radioactive vials, armaments and the like passed over the Thunderbolts in quick succession, their faces illuminated by the jarring mix of increasingly concerning evidence.
“With a steady supply of rubles and enough arms to pack Fury's Helicarrier, we believe Belaraine will be able to mobilize their intentions within the next 8 weeks or so”
Bucky turned to Valentina, crossing his arms over his chest, “And you want us to-?”
Valentina pursed her lips into a tight smile, “Bucky, I want you to lead your rebel, rag tag crew-” she gestured dismissively to the others, “- into this base, obtain their schematics, and then destroy any means they have of mobilizing”
Bucky frowned, “You want us to-”
“Ah ah ah-” Valentina wagged a finger, “- I'm not done”
“неблагодарная ведьма” Alexie muttered.
Valentina's eyes flickered over to him briefly, the ice within warning of the danger she held.
She paused for a moment, straightening her skirt and resuming her smile, “The importance I must impart to you, is this”
“You were never there”
The team cast some glances among themselves, discussing her absurd parameters without words.
“The American people do not need World War 3 in their backyards this summer” Valentina commanded, “-Especially given that the last 3 summers have kept them occupied with alien encounters, teleporting wizardry, and an inexplicable blackout that rendered the largest city on the east coast to its knees”
Valentina gave a pointed look over to Bob who shuffled in his chair uncomfortably.
“Infiltrate. Obtain. Destroy. Disappear” Valentina instructed.
The Thunderbolts remained silent for a moment more.
Then a flurry of questions.
“Why us?”
“With what means?”
“Without back up?”
“When?”
“Can I come?”
The last question caused Valentina to falter in her tracks, she blinked a few times and scanned the crowd.
“Excuse me?”
Bob swallowed thickly, eyes darting around under her scrutiny. She'd never been a good friend or mentor, despite their time together.
“Can I come?” Bob repeated, hating the weakness that had crept into his voice.
Valentina scoffed, “You must be higher than I thought” turning back to the fray.
Bob flinched, her words hitting a nerve.
The lights flickered slightly, Bob's left eye betraying a slight twitch.
Valentina's gaze darted back to Bob, her jaw slackening ever so slightly.
Not allowing her to ponder, Yelena stepped in, “You can't expect us to leave no trace. There are too many players”
Valentina returned her focus to Yelena, “Well of course we're going to equip you with some goodies”
Bucky frowned. Alexie grinned. John and Ava exchanged a look.
Valentina didn't hear any more complaints.
She nodded.
“Good” Valentina pressed the button on the remote, returning the office to its former glory.
“Your flight leaves tomorrow from the usual outpost at 1800 hours” she directed, making sure someone was taking notes.
“You should arrive at your destination at 0300, covered by the assist of nightfall” she added for Yelena.
“You will be expected to check in once you arrive” she turned to John. “The rest will be up to you” she ended on Ava.
Silence.
Valentina's uneasiness began to grow. She used it to fuel her ferocity.
“Unless you'd rather wait for Belaraine to bring the fight to us?”
The Thunderbolts begrudgingly got to their feet. It wasn't so much the mission that they hated (albeit it wasn't the most foolproof plan), moreso it was Valentina's approach to said plan.
But without an alternative, there wasn't much they could do but run its course.
“We'll be back” Bucky concluded, holding his boss under a stern gaze before turning to the door.
“Okay Schwarzenegger” Valentina mumbled, rolling her eyes.
The team slowly filed out of the office, Bucky leading the way, then Ava, Alexie, John, Bob and Yelena bringing up the rear.
But before she exited, Yelena hung by the door.
“This better not be another set up” she warned, drilling a laser focus into the other woman.
Valentina's mask cracked ever so slightly, but she recovered like a professional.
“Oh honey,” Valentina pouted, sliding her shades back up her nose, “You of all people should know, widows only need to strike once”
“This is true-” Yelena drawled, tilting her head in feigned consideration, “-but Thunderbolts strike twice”
Valentina narrowed her eyes.
“Maybe even three times, who knows?” Yelena shrugged with a smirk, “Nature is an unpredictable beast”
Valentina remained silent, the warning clearly understood.
“See that you return from your mission, Ms. Belova” Valentina replied curtly, twirling her chair back to the window in dismissal.
Yelena bowed her head in ‘subservience’ and closed the door.
The next day, 2 hours pre-flight…
“Has anybody seen my damn shield?” John hollored, tearing through yet another container, tossing the contents across the floor.
“You need a shield?” Alexie inquired, his confusion genuine.
John bristled at the implication, “Not everyone likes to get shot at, red menace”
Alexie scrunched his brows together, not even registering the insult, “I'm just saying, perhaps you do okay without?”
John shook his head, exasperated, as he continued his unwavering search.
Ava had to dodge a ration pack as John tossed it over his shoulder.
“Watch it, Walker” she snapped.
“You watch it” he snapped back.
“Oh come on, what now” Bucky whined, clearly disappointed as soon as he stumbled in through the door, “We're supposed to be prepping, not playing”
John gave the Winter Soldier a murderous look, “Yeah. Well I would be prepped if someone hadn't taco-rized my shield and thrown my new one God knows where”
Bob hugged one arm to his side guiltily.
“I'm sure your thick head will keep you safe without your shield” Yelena intercepted.
John's mouth hung agape, his search ending abruptly.
“And what's that supposed to mean?”
Yelena smirked but didn't answer.
“I can be your shield” Bob offered, catching a number of glances suddenly, “I-if you want, I mean”
There was an awkward silence as the team tried to untap that deep well.
John was the first to break the silence, no longer angry, just disturbed.
“Um, no thanks, Bob” he attempted a smile, coming out as more of a grimace.
Bob shrugged, “Okay well, you can still use my help though, right?”
He cast a searching glance to his team members, looking for some form of answer. Anything.
Yelena sighed, coming over to her friend and holding a supportive hand to his shoulder.
The others took their escape from the conversation, busying themselves with preparation for the mission ahead.
“Look, Bob” Yelena struggled, “We know you want to help…and your offer is much appreciated, really” she smiled lightly, hoping he would too.
Bob just gazed at her, eyes full of hope.
Yelena winced. This was going to be hard.
“But you cannot come on this mission with us”
Bob looked crestfallen.
“But why not?” he argued, “I'm better now” he gestured vaguely to himself, “See”
Yelena gave him a cursory glance, not really sure what he was trying to demonstrate.
“I'm glad you're feeling better, Bob…” she continued, guiding him away from the group, “-But these changes don't just happen overnight”
Bob let his head fall back, staring to the ceiling, exasperated.
“It's already been 5 days” he moaned.
Yelena smiled despite herself, “You're cute, Bob, I'll give you that” watching his gaze return to hers, “But the answer is still no”
Bob hung his head, clearly sore by the refusal but unwilling to argue more.
“Come, Bob” Yelena gestured towards their rooms.
It would be better if he didn't have to see them leave.
Bob mindlessly towed along behind Yelena, no longer listening nor caring to hear the meaning behind her words.
“You do understand, right, Bob?” Yelena finished, sitting on the edge of his bed as he sat down on the opposite corner.
“I'm a liability”
The words stung. That's not at all what she was trying to convey.
“No, Bob” she urged him to meet her eyes, “We don't want you getting hurt. You're not ready”
Bob sighed, exasperated, “Then when?”
Yelena didn't have an answer. No one did.
“I-”
“When it's too late?” Bob cut in, “When you need to be rescued?”
Yelena frowned.
Usually Bob wasn't this confrontational.
This mission must mean a lot more to him than just the average job.
“You don't have to worry about us, Bob” Yelena comforted, placing one hand on his knee.
“Why does everyone keep telling me not to worry?” Bob snapped, removing his knee from her touch.
Yelena withdrew her hand to her own lap, studying her friend carefully, watching as he propped his knees up against his chest and dug the heels of his palms into his eyes.
Containing himself. Containing it.
Yelena allowed Bob to have his own space, in his own moment. When it seemed like his breathing had slowed down to a more natural pace, she continued.
“Some day, you will be ready, Bob” Yelena began, now talking to the mirror on Bob's wall while he consoled himself.
In the mirror, an assassin stared back at her, weary and seasoned but always ready.
“-And on that day, I will be happy to have you fight by my side” she smiled, her eyes fading as her mind grew distant.
“But trust me when i say this, Bob…” she paused as a flood of memories overcame her vision, “You don't want to grow up too fast”
Bob unburied his hands from his sockets as he heard her tone change, and sought her eyes.
They were shrouded in mist, staring at something or someone he couldn't see. He reached a hand back out to her knee, relieved when it appeared to ground her.
They shared a glance.
“Okay, Yelena” Bob relented, trying his best to appreciate what she was saying, “Okay”
Yelena gave a small smile, nodding once before regaining her composure and stretching back up to her feet.
She walked the few paces back to his door before turning back, “We won't be gone long, Bob”
Bob gave a half smile, “I'll be waiting”
Yelena gave a short nod, then gently closed the door.
Notes:
Leave a comment and let me know what you guys think :)
Chapter Text
0300 hours.
The moon was now fully in the sky, basking the land in a cold, blue glow. Shadows stretched out across the fields, casting stripes across the landscape, hiding details, obscuring their descent.
Yelena was the first to land, stumbling to gain her footing as she came in hot, the speed of her arrival carrying her chute overhead until the strings pulled taught.
She resisted the pull, centering her boots in the dirt and grass until the wind died down.
The chute dropped to the earth. Yelena had arrived.
She heaved in a lungful of fresh, cold air, leveling her senses as she adjusted to the cold, dark climate. A snapping of twigs and scuffling of boots alerted her to the right, revealing Alexie stumbling to a halt. He cursed at his straps under his breath, the strings catching on each pocket and loop of his suit.
Yelena ghosted a smile, “You good?”
Alexie cast an unwavering stare her way before pulling a knife against the cords, “This is not the Russian way” he grumbled.
“And falling to your death is?” John taunted, stepping in from the darkness, already unharnessed and ready to go.
Parachute jumps were just another Tuesday for the super soldier. Alexie ignored him.
The smallest sound on her left alerted Yelena to Bucky's presence. Like a cat in the night, his movements were almost imperceptible. The whites of his eyes shone out against the darkness, his dark hair and uniform disappearing into the shadows.
“You're almost more of a ghost than Ghost is” Yelena commented, keeping her tone low.
Bucky acknowledged what he supposed was a compliment, then began seeing to his equipment.
“I heard that” Ava chimed in, shimmering into the foreground as appeared from thin air, eyeing Yelena playfully.
Yelena gave a noncommittal expression and took to her own gear.
They then huddled into a small circle.
“We have about 300 yards to cross before we reach our first building-” Bucky began.
“Yelena, you and John take the left-” he gestured with his hands, “Ava, you and I will take the right”
Alexie frowned, ready to protest but Bucky intercepted.
“Alexie, I want you to circle around and come in from the back”
John snickered, Bucky gave him a dirty look.
“This, I can do” Alexie confirmed. excited for the solo challenge.
“Remember, we're here to stash, grab and destroy” Bucky instructed, “Incapacitate those that you need to, but don't kill”
The team remained silent but a round of nods shared their agreement. There was no need for killing any more...they were agents, sure, but murderers? Not so much. The training would always be there. The memories, forever. But now that they had a choice…incapacitation worked just fine.
The group settled into silence.
“See you guys on the other side”
The team split up, staying low and covering ground with impressive speed. In a matter of minutes they had reached the edge of the compound. A few soldiers were still on duty, their moonlit bodies clad with tactical gear, Kevlar, a single AK-47 held upright against one arm, and who-only-knows-what kind of weaponry, underneath.
They seemed at ease. A lack of action and months of repetition lowering their guard to almost nil.
Yelena used some pliers against the fence, snipping each metal strand to create a gap they could push through.
“A little faster perhaps?” John bit out under his breath, itching to find cover.
“I'm going as fast as I can” Yelena retorted.
John spied a few guards at one end of the fence, slowly moving his way but still unaware.
“We're about to have company-” he muttered, tensing against his shield.
“Yeah, yeah, whatever” Yelena cast off, continuing to snip.
The soldiers grew nearer, their flashlights slowly illuminating the ground before them.
“They're getting closer-” John prodded, balling his hands into fists and cracking his neck.
“Almost there” Yelena drawled idly.
Snip. Snip. Snip. The pliers were old but sharp, more than good enough to get them into this compound. All of a sudden the task was complete; the gap in the fence bowed inwards slightly, allowing just enough room for the duo to pass through.
“There”
In seconds, they were in, another few and they were pressed up against the side of a nearby building.
The guards walked along the fence, the slit up the fence blending in as if solid unless a trained eye were to stare directly at it.
They passed by, unnoticed.
John let out the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding, twisting back around the wall and leaning into its cold touch.
Yelena settled him with a raised eyebrow, fixing the shocks on her wrists as she prepared for the next step.
“What?” John snapped, seeing her staring.
Yelena averted her gaze, “Oh, nothing” she lilted, “Just you seem a little rusty is all”
“A little rusty ?” John glowered, stabbing a finger in her direction, “Next time we have to breach a complex, I'm using a tool made after 1949”
Yelena rolled her eyes, edging back to the corner to check the building, “Pfft, please. Like you have any tools besides fists”
She could hear Walker sputtering behind her as they took a single file approach along the building's edge, dancing closer to the entrance before slipping inside.
A guard immediately spotted Yelena, turning in alarm as he aimed his weapon.
Yelena dropped into a forward roll, untucking as she came back to her feet with a violent uppercut to the guard's chin. The contact was hard enough to send his helmet flying.
John winced as the guard crumpled to the ground.
“What-”
John turned to find another guard at his back, having witnessed the whole thing.
He quickly grabbed the man by the collar, burying a fist into his gut, creasing the guard in half, then bringing him upright as he drove his head into the man's nose.
An audible crack broke the silence as blood began to spurt everywhere. As the guard fumbled for his nose John followed up with a mean right hook that sent the opponent to the dirt. He no longer moved.
He turned back to Yelena triumphantly.
But she had already moved on.
“Hey-”
John skirted around the edge of the crates toward the interior.
He spied Yelena standing at a desk in the far corner, prying through cabinets and drawers, rifling with paperwork and taking pictures of others.
He crossed the room quietly, scanning the fighter jet sitting in the middle. It was midnight black, sharp flares cutting the edges of the body, two missiles hanging up under the wings. Designed to evade and kill.
He thumbed at it, “You got any explosives for that?”
Yelena didn't break her concentration, “Post 1949? No”
John rolled his eyes, coming to her side, “Y'know, you have a lot of attitude for an assassin”
Yelena halted her search for a moment, measuring John's expression.
“And you have a lot of brains for an ape. Can we focus now? Hm?” she turned back to her search.
“Jeez” John breathed, turning back to the fighter jet, “Fine, I'll do it myself”
He searched his packs for the sticky putty, finding it eventually and prying it out. He began sectioning it into chunks, placing them in numerous areas on the jet: under the fuselage, in both turbines, on the tail, and hopped up to smack on to the glass cockpit.
He fiddled with a device for a moment, programming the timer and nestling it into the putty.
“10 minutes ought to do it”
“Come on” Yelena interrupted, shoving some paperwork into his chest, he caught them unceremoniously as she passed by, “Let's move to the next” she instructed, crossing over to the back door.
John sighed, scrunched the papers up into balls and stuffing them into as many pouches and pockets as he could manage.
“How come I have to hold all this?”
“You have all the gear, right?”
John rolled his eyes. She was never going to let his comment go.
“Whatever. Let's just get out of here”
Yelena slipped through the door after checking the coast was clear, John following backwards to protect their six.
Notes:
I hope you guys enjoyed my attempt at writing some action, I don't do it often but in this genre action is like breathing; it is made more entertaining by the fact that some of our seasoned heroes would have a fighting style whereas others just go in swinging. I'll let you figure out who is who. Bucky, Ava and Alexie are up next!
P.s. I am going out of town for 10 days so my posting for the next while will depend on when I have access to wifi, I'll do my best to update in the middle of the week :)
Feel free to leave a comment, I'd love to hear what you guys think so far, what you do or don't like, interested to see or where things are going. Let me know :)
Chapter 7
Notes:
Thanks for your patience, here's part two of the mission :)
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
“I wonder how they're doing,” Ava mused, removing the sights from her eyes as she glanced down to Bucky who lay on his stomach, one eye focused down the long barrel scope as he surveyed their side of the yard.
“About as good as you'd expect” Bucky replied, sights counting at least 6 guards on their side of the compound.
“It's nice to be partnered with someone who actually knows what they're doing” Ava continued, packing the sights and returning her helmet to her face.
“Likewise” Bucky murmured, shuffling back from prone to unpack his rifle.
“Let's head in” he instructed.
They moved in silence, their footfalls barely leaving prints as they crossed to the fence.
Ava pressed a hand lightly to Bucky's shoulder, then phased through the fence, taking him with her.
Bucky shook his head, clearing his senses from the sensation. They both lowered to a crouch, Bucky gesturing towards the first duo of guards near the building they needed entrance to.
Ava took left, Bucky went right.
With a sharp sweep of her leg, Ava knocked the first guard to the ground, she followed him up with a chop to the neck, rendering him unconscious.
Bucky snagged his guard by the arm, pulling him back so violently that his boots left the floor. He then swung him back like a yo-yo, simultaneously raising his prosthetic arm to clothesline the man.
The guard went down without a sound.
Ava and Bucky shared an appreciative glance.
Clean. Quiet. The way it should be.
They moved forward as one, slinking into the building and laying charges as they went.
Two more guards met their rest as the duo crossed their paths, one folding over a railing and dropping to a pit and the other falling flat on his back with a cloud of dust enveloping him in his dreams.
“Take a look at this” Ava urged after a moment, referring Bucky to a particular page in the black binder.
Bucky saw the five letter word before he observed anything else.
Hydra .
The sense of dread that coiled in his gut didn't begin to describe how Hydra made Bucky feel.
His pulse quickened, his mouth suddenly felt like he'd eaten a bucket of sand. A slight tingle of fire danced at the edge of his fingertips, leading them to twitch in discomfort.
Ava noticed the change, lowering the papers momentarily.
“Are you okay?” She inquired, real concern in her voice.
Bucky blinked away the fever, looking back to the papers, “Yeah. I'm fine”
They continued to take pictures, stashing anything that looked remotely important before spraying the remainder of the desk in kerosene.
“That should do it” Ava concluded, gliding towards the far exit, Bucky dropping a match as he made his exit.
The process continued much like this over the next few minutes.
More guards. More bodies. More papers. More fires.
The teams worked their way up the flanks of the compound until they reached Alexie at the far side.
By the time they got to him, every inch of his outfit was flecked with someone's blood. Despite this, a toothy grin was spread widely across his moustached face.
Yelena gave him an ‘ick’ expression.
“That's gross, dad”
Alexie shrugged, “What? You have to get little dirty in this line of work” he smiled, “Is part of the fun”
Ava gave a flat stare, Bucky didn't respond and John just looked done with the whole ordeal.
“My timer is still counting down” he reminded casually, peeling back his sleeve to check his watch.
5 minutes.
“This is the last building” Bucky informed, “Go in. Get the evidence. Lay your charges. Get out”
Everyone nodded.
He let out a quick breath, settling himself as he walked up to the door.
“Here goes nothing”
He turned the handle on the door and swung it wide, diving quickly to the left as he followed the hallway inside the compound.
A hushed echo of boots followed quickly behind him, gear rattling quietly against their suits as the armory on wheels neared the center.
As they rounded the corner, the hallway gave way to reveal an expansive room, with high ceilings, large banners on the walls and numerous free standing test tubes that looked suspiciously body sized.
Yelena noticed quickly, none of them were occupied.
Because they were all roaming around freely .
All 40 of them.
The idle chatter, ruffling of papers and clinking of metallic tools slowly came to a halt as one, two, then three occupants stopped to notice strangers at their door.
The ripple quickly overcame the sea of occupants, each one stopping to inquire on their counterpart before also coming to realize the intruders.
A mixture of scientists, guards and what can only be described as weaponized test subjects, slowed to a halt, all turning simultaneously to the Thunderbolts.
“You got a plan B?” John whispered nervously to Bucky, securing a gun from his holster.
The team stiffened as time came to a stand still.
“Don't die” Bucky instructed, leaping into action as he made the first strike against the closest guard.
John shrugged, sharing a mixed glance with Alexie while Ava and Yelena took off running.
“You heard the man”
The scientists were easy, one hit and they went down.
The guards were two hits, the larger ones sustaining three for good measure.
But the test subjects?
They were on a whole different level of difficulty.
Bucky found this out the hard way when he moved to strike out at his opponent's head, only to find the man's head was no longer there.
He was fast.
A solid punch found its way into Bucky's ribs, knocking him sideways into a desk and tossing the contents onto the floor
He moaned, that had actually hurt.
Another fist came sweeping towards his head, he dodged it by a hair, leaning to one side and aiming a hook at the man's head again.
This time the hit landed.
That's when Bucky registered just how hard the man's head was.
He shook his knuckles out, dodging to the other side as the man put his fist through the desk.
“What'd you eat for breakfast? Nails?” Bucky quipped, landing two hard shots to the man's interior, then leaning back on the table to kick him back.
The man went crashing backwards, tripping and then tumbling, he caught himself at the last moment.
Before he could reassemble, Bucky swept over to him, swinging his metal arm wide and driving it down against his jaw.
There was a cracking sound as the man's head whipped around, his body following suit as he twirled back to the floor, bouncing once before laying still.
He stayed down.
Bucky didn't have any time to reassess as Ava's body took flight, her opponent casually flinging her off her feet to collide with Bucky some 10 feet away. They collapsed in a pile, struggling to get to their feet quickly.
Yelena took a step back to avoid a haymaker and let out a hiss as her opponent accidentally stepped on her foot. She backhanded him harshly, following up with an electrified buzz to his neck.
The man stumbled, snatching at her wrist and yanking it away.
Yelena followed his fluid like movements, better to dance along than allow her arm to be snapped.
As he held her at arms length, Yelena used her his grasp against him, relying on his hold to lean back and walk up his body, aiming a sharp kick to his face.
The man crashed backwards, a spray of blood salting the air.
Yelena landed like a cat, pouncing back up and following her target, she swept at his legs while he clutched at his face, driving him to the floor and following with a sharp drive to his neck, choking and disarming him in one.
Before she'd drawn back to her feet, another dance partner had already signed up. He snatched at her hair, missing by inches, then followed up with a sharp jab.
Yelena blocked it, stumbling back slightly as she tripped over the first man's leg.
Her new opponent didn't wait, following with a flurry of heavy hits.
Although she was able to block them, her concern for his speed and accuracy was becoming a new threat factor. She couldn't quite hide the alarm in her eyes as he kept adapting to her tactics; if she blocked, he copied, if she dodged, he would use legs, if she aimed high, he would go low.
Perfect for sparring, terrible for the real deal.
She dodged another hit aimed for her face but missed the block against a knee that found its way into her solar plexus.
Yelena gasped, the air driving itself from her lungs as she dropped to a knee. She blocked an overhead hit with an arm and deflected a second to her head.
He was becoming too quick to keep up with, even with her standards.
“Yelena!”
It was Alexie.
She spared a glance at his call, but noticed he wasn't in trouble. Instead, he was coming her way.
Unfortunately, her moment of pause cost her a strike to the face and she rolled away with the punch, gathering her bearings and she prepared for another attack.
But the man never got that far.
Alexie was on him in an instant, the pure strength and raw anger knocking the man off his feet and driving him against the concrete as the Red Guardian serum worked its magic.
Before he could deflect, four solid hits had landed against the man's head. He was starting to lose his ground.
“Oh, so that's what team mates are for” John muttered in frustration, ducking to evade another swing from his opponent and landing one fist to the stomach, the other to the ribs.
He heard a crack from the man as something gave beneath his fist, but somehow it didn't slow him.
If anything it fueled him further.
John dodged another cut to the neck, stepped back from a swipe, and weaved around another fist.
With his torso wide open, John brought a knee up, folding the man in half. He grimaced as he felt more give there, like a bag of jelly mixed with bones.
How was he still standing?
John stood the man back up, griping a hand against his shirt to keep him upright as he landed three mean hooks from the left.
The man was bloodied and bruised but his sight remained unwavering.
“Just tap out” John encouraged, shoving the man back against a post. As he moved to swing right, the man drove down, knocking John off his feet and sending them both back towards a cabinet.
The cabinet splintered against the force, collapsing in on itself.
John evaded a few more well aimed hits, blocking two and redirecting one.
He wasn't expecting the leg though.
Falling down with a crash, the man was on him in an instant. John held fists over his face, protecting his sights from the attack. He caught a few mean jabs in the center and another snuck up to his jaw, dazing him for a moment.
The man pulled him to his feet, as if it was no trouble to drag him around.
John clawed at the man's grasp but it was futile. In the next moment he found himself airborne, a concrete post catching his head on the way down.
He had few complaints after that.
“John!”
Yelena was over in an instant, guarding her downed comrade, she used all her tricks to defend against John's opponent, then fired him up with enough jolts to leave steam trickling from the collar of his suit.
He seemed to falter slightly. Yelena pushed on, tripping him backwards, then Alexie body checked him into the wall.
The strike left a sizable crater, the man peeling off the wall like a fly and dropping to the ground to move no more
A gunshot interrupted the brief victory, a shriek of pain following. All eyes found their way to the man with the smoking gun, pointed at Ava.
She stumbled and fell, a look of surprise on her face.
“No!”
Bucky, who was nearest, whipped a knife at the man, knocking him back with the force just as he pounced on top, driving him to the floor with his knees.
He pressed the knife to the hilt, ceasing any struggle and ensuring he would hurt no one else.
Casualties be damned.
As Yelena and Alexie focused on dealing with the remaining 3 opponents, Bucky rushed to Ava's side.
She was flat on her back now, her helmet removed and her breathing laboured.
He scanned her carefully, his hands gentle as he sought the wound.
He found it at her shoulder, just below her collar bone lay a bullet hole.
“This is going to hurt” he warned, slowly sitting her upright.
She muffled a cry of pain and sat through the torment.
Bucky surveyed the back of her shoulder, noting the matching hole.
Good. Through and through.
Bucky lay her back down, “It went straight through” he assured, searching his pouches for some gauze.
Ava nodded mutely, measuring her pain against the facts, “Hurts like hell” she ground out.
“It will” Bucky affirmed, “But you'll live”
“I feel so much better”
A scuffle behind them caught Bucky's attention. It was Yelena, and she had her boot firmly planted on the perpetrator’s throat, his hands flailing about miserably.
They'd have to deal with the not-so-covert fall out later…
These sorts of jobs always get messy one way or another.
A sickening crunch sounded across the room and then there was silence.
“Is everyone else good?” Bucky called over his shoulder, now back to staunching the blood flow.
Ava squirmed at his intrusion, doing her best not to phase through the floor.
“Alexie and I are good” Yelena informed, “Walker took a hit”
Bucky's eyes drifted from his task, grazing the area for John and settling in the far corner of the room where Alexie was trying to prop up a limp form.
“How is he?”
Alexie gave John some not so light taps to the cheek, noting the blood stains on his temple, “He's asleep”
Bucky let out a sigh. Asleep was better than dead. They'd have to deal with that later.
“Alright. Burn the books. Let's get out of here” he instructed, grasping Ava's good hand and pulling her upright.
She let out a gasp of pain, her hand tightening on Bucky's arm.
“Do you think you can stand?” Bucky gave her a hard stare.
Can you manage yourself? -was what those eyes were really asking.
After a pause, Ava nodded, “Go. I'll be fine” she insisted, stabilizing herself on her feet.
Bucky paused for a moment, assessing her. Apparently she sold it pretty well because after a moment he took to their cause.
As Bucky began torching everything around the room and setting the sticky bombs up on the tubes and consoles, Yelena came over to Ava's side.
“Let me help you” she insisted, shouldering one arm.
Ava grimaced, brows tight with pain, “Thanks”
Ava wasn't usually friendly or gracious, her thorny side being her predominant personality. Yelena knew this hit had taken a toll on her if she was being thanked.
“Come, let's get out of here” she encouraged, walking towards the far exit and watching as Alexie saddled John across his shoulders.
They shared a grim look but continued on. They wouldn't stop until the mission was over.
As they exited the building, Yelena spotted a gathering of more soldiers assembling at the far end of the compound.
They couldn't keep fighting like this. They needed to cut their losses and run.
They had the evidence they needed. The buildings were about to blow. There was nothing left to keep fighting for.
“We need to head West!” Yelena called back to Alexie, “I'm going to signal for extraction”
“We're right behind you!” Alexie confirmed, checking over his own shoulder to find Bucky covering their six, rifle in hand, eyes as black as night.
This mission was not going well…
They crossed back through the fence with slight difficulty and started to cross the field on the other side before the gunfire arrived.
Bucky began to camp down in the tall grass, firing off warning shots and clipping others that were getting too close.
Yelena pressed a button on her widow's bite bracelet, hoping that the craft was still nearby.
After a few moments a resounding ping confirmed the extraction request. They just had to hold out for a few more minutes.
“Just hang tight, I'm going to help Bucky, okay?” Yelena eyed Ava, waiting until the glaze in her eyes dissipated enough to form coherence.
Ava nodded.
Yelena walked past Alexie and John on her way to Bucky, now stationed by an old tree on the rise of the hill they had crested.
“How is he?” she pressed, casting a worried glance to John.
Alexie wiped the blood from John's forehead as if he were polishing a new car, “Just a scratch” he assured, “You know he'll be fine”
They shared a tight smile, both willing that answer into existence.
Yelena gave a short nod and continued on to meet Bucky.
“The hover jet should be here any minute”
Bucky nodded without saying a word, cracking off a few more well aimed shots.
Yelena counted herself lucky that she was on this side of the Winter Soldier. He was a formidable ally and a deadly foe.
She lay down beside him, gathering Ava's rifle in her hands as she began locking onto targets of her own.
Time seemed to slow down for the Thunderbolts as they held their position. It was as if they had kicked an ant hill and the ants just kept coming.
Four men down, five would rise.
Yelena knew Valentina hadn't given them the full picture when she'd sent them on this mission. How many more times would she endanger them before someone did something?
The whirring sound of an approaching jet vied for their attention. Bucky and Yelena fired off a few more shots before dragging themselves up from the grass and running like hell after their retreating team.
Alexie hooked John up first, tying the rope around his shoulders and waiting anxiously as he was hoisted into the craft above.
When the rope returned, they did the same for Ava, wincing slightly as she streamed curses of bloody murder all the way up.
Alexie insisted Yelena went next, and with their advantage closing fast, she complied.
Then came Alexie, and finally Bucky.
Once they were finally all boarded, and the craft back in motion, Yelena let out a shaky sigh.
A concussive blast suddenly rocked the jet, sending the instrument clusters into an alarm of noises.
Everyone braced, faces grim as they wondered whether they'd have to survive a crash landing after everything they'd just been through.
But after a minute or so, the jet seemed to stabilize.
The bombs had gone off. Evidence secured. Extraction complete.
Yelena sat back, adrenaline starting to wear off.
“What the hell happened?” she whispered, almost to herself.
Bucky shook his head, clearly livid about the whole ordeal.
Alexie stepped back from John as the attendant took over.
His eyes didn't leave his fallen comrade, John's ashen appearance and blood soaked collar seemed to ignite an anger in the depths of the guardian.
“I think we should have some words with Valentina” he rumbled, for once very serious about matters at hand.
Yelena nodded, her eyes absent but her mind full of ideas.
“And she will listen” Yelena vowed.
Bucky met her eyes, a dark promise dwelling there.
The jet picked up the pace, putting more distance between the team and Beleraine, allowing them some reprieve until they returned home once again.
Notes:
Let me know if you liked this one, it was fun to write! It may be a week to post again as i'm still out in the woods, but i'm still writing offline >:) I'll update you guys soon after!
Chapter 8
Notes:
This chapter takes place at the same time as the previous chapter, giving us insight into what Bob was up to during the team's mission :)
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
It was 3am and Bob was restless.
He couldn't eat. Couldn't sleep. Couldn't stop moving.
It was as if time had turned to molasses since the team had departed, and nothing he did seemed to speed it up for their return.
At first, he had turned to the Thunderbolts' on-site gym, hoping it would help with the restlessness. But when the weights felt like teddy bears and the treadmills felt like a stroll in the sand, Bob gave up.
He then turned to books. He read one. Then another. And another.
Bob sighed.
Maybe he should try food again?
Bob scoured the kitchen, looking for something simple but suitable, opening each drawer to spy on the hidden snacks, favourite foods and feast sized goodies that the Thunderbolt's splurged on. In the end, he had settled on a simple peanut butter and banana sandwich.
Delicious.
Bob sighed.
Now what?
As he walked down the hall, Bob noticed the door to John's room was cracked open ever so slightly, the blue ambient light spilling out from the doorway and drawing him further inside. Despite the often careless attitude of the U.S agent, John's room represented every aspect of the soldier he'd become over the years, his vacant bed topped with clean, neatly folded linens, his night stand holding only the necessities of life: a glass of water, an old wooden lamp and a box of Kleenex. In one corner stood a wooden chair, it's seat upholstered in an army green fabric, still plush as if barely used. Upon it lay a stack of folded gym clothes, prepared for the next day already. Beside the chair stood a small stand, upon which a worn out record player sat...the only personal item in the room which carried itself close to John's heart.
Bob's eyes widened at the possibilities.
You shouldn't be here, his mind hissed, leading Bob to pause, eyes raking the room as if it were a trap.
Silence echoed within, the sound being Bob's soft breathing as he waited for eternity. The sensation made his eyes itch. It was too quiet.
Sorry John...
After fobbing through a few vinyl selections, Bob came across an option he felt was suitable for the mood. He carefully set the record in motion, lowering the pin with the gentlest of nudges, his mind cast back to the attic he'd spent all summer in, playing with records to drown out the noises below. His own little nirvana.
Billy Idol's “Dancing with myself” blasted to life, waking up the tower with its electric beat.
Bob smirked, slowly starting to nod his head along to the pace. He carried the motion out of the room and down the hall, running into a slide and then a twirl. He closed his eyes, really letting the sound envelope him.
“If I had the chance, I'd ask the world to dance” Bob echoed, giving a toothy grin.
To be honest, he felt a little bit goofy, but it also felt good.
Something cold and hard suddenly tapped Bob on the head, forcing his eyes open. He was alarmed to find himself 15 feet in the air, his head grazing the ceiling.
In a panic, Bob let out a yelp, arms flailing as he dropped to the floor.
Frozen and ready for the pain, Bob blinked to find the marble floor a few inches from his face. He reached out to touch it, fingertips brushing the cold surface, grounding him in reality.
He had caught himself. He had controlled an outcome.
Bob laughed out loud, then collapsed.
He quickly dusted himself off and then scrambled back to his feet.
That had felt good.
Bob stared at his hands, wondering what else lay in store.
A chopper abruptly passed by the tower, the large blur of movement mixed with the whirl of the blades, drawing his attention and leading his feet over to the large window.
The city scape illuminated before him, but Bob only had eyes for the chopper. It would've been hard to see the dark, moving outline against the chasms between skyscrapers…But Bob's heat vision picked it out clear as day.
It appeared to be flying erratically, the rudder swinging dangerously close to windows and maintaining enough speed to barely miss others.
Bob frowned.
Someone was going to get hurt.
He cast his eyes inwards, back to the tower, instinctively searching for the Thunderbolts. But there was no one to call on.
Bob's fingers began to twitch, his heart picking up pace in his chest.
I shouldn't help…I can't…
Bob looked back to the city, eyes narrowing as he concentrated. The chopper was out of sight now, but he could still hear it.
He waited.
Nothing.
Perhaps it was fine. People just do crazy things sometimes…
Bob walked back over to the couch, finding the remote and tossing the TV on to find a distraction.
Late night news came up first.
“We are now getting reports of a helicopter flying dangerously below the registered air space-” the anchor stated, “We've been informed that the pilot is not responding and emergency crews have been alerted-”
Bob's eye began to twitch, the lights in the room flickering, like the flame of a candle trying to stay alive.
“Authorities encourage citizens to remain indoors at this time, as we do not know when or where the aircraft may crash”
Crash…
Not land.
Crash.
Bob groaned.
He had to do something.
But what about the rules?
He wasn't supposed to help. He was supposed to be in recovery… He was still a liability. A danger…
Yelena would be disappointed.
Grainy footage of the helicopter suddenly appeared on the screen, a thick band of smoke trailing from the rotor while the craft continued to list dangerously towards the buildings.
It then disappeared from view, the threat implied.
Bob rang out his hands, they were now clammy and cold. His eyes darted between the screen and the window.
What kind of hero sits around listening to crises’ ...and then changes the channel?
Definitely not The Thunderbolts…
Bob rose to his feet, then marched to his room. He appeared moments later, clad in his suit, ready for whatever this night was about to become.
He strolled by the kitchen counter, headed for the door but noticed the small bag sitting on top.
His medication.
Right…
One for the evening, one for the morning, and one for good luck.
Bob swallowed.
He could do this.
I can do this…
He was called, The Sentry, not, The Void.
Bob turned to the window, closing his eyes and concentrating his thoughts.
He took some careful breaths, calming his heart and slowing his breathing.
Bob turned his focus inwards, feeling every fiber of his being coming online, the energy crackling under his skin, his senses sharpening to a point like diamonds, the weight of raw strength sinking from his chest into his gut.
As he opened his eyes, the feeling of weightlessness registered with Bob and he looked down.
He was floating.
The smallest of smiles graced Bob's lips.
With a slight tilt, Bob felt himself drift towards the window.
He stopped about a foot from the glass, looking down.
He exhaled and tensed himself for the next part.
Bob closed his eyes again, trying to quell the rising panic as he began to hum a tune.
He envisioned himself on the other side of the glass, floating, as he was now.
An ice cold vacuum overcame his body, an audible pop registering in his ears.
The next sensation he felt was the wind in his face.
Bob opened his eyes into slits, afraid to find himself falling to his demise.
But he wasn't.
He was floating.
Flying.
Today, he had finally achieved new ground. Control.
Bob.
The Sentry.
He gave a true toothy smile to the night sky, a slight glint of gold flashing behind his eyes.
Bob leaned forward against the wind, then with a pulse of energy, propelled himself forward.
He could already hear the sirens, smell the smoke from the chopper, feel its’ energy as it continued to descend through the city, clipping past buildings and shearing glass off each wall.
Bob tossed aside his fears and pursued it with real intent, now catching up in no time.
As he swept up beside the tail, Bob dug his fists into the side of the chopper, leaving handprints in the metal as he hauled back against the force of the rotors, resisting the downward sweep.
It was almost too easy.
The motors strained against his will, he could hear the cacophony of beeping from the instruments inside.
Bob peered through the craft, finding the silhouette inside the cockpit.
They were alive but slumped over, hands fumbling and arms stiff.
Whatever was going on with them wasn't good, Bob surmised.
Clawing his way along the side of the metal, Bob worked his way to the front and ripped the door free, sticking his head inside.
Spying the pilot, Bob introduced himself.
“Hey there-” Bob interrupted, noting the pilot's confusion and alarm as he jumped in his seat, “I'm the Sentry!”
The pilot's mouth opened and closed like a fish, his breath heaving and eyes glazed.
Bob frowned. It was not the first interaction he was hoping for.
The pilot continued to worsen, moving clumsily against the controls, as if half coherent. Bob resisted the movement easily, keeping the craft suspended.
He held up a hand, attempting to soothe, “I'm going to put you down, gently-”
The pilot turned a shade of green and threw up on the controls.
Sparks of electricity blew out from the dashboard, the instrument cluster going nuts with the inability to process. The pilot pressed forward on the yoke, leading the blades to drag forward and sweep Sentry back to the motor.
As the blades swept across his body, they sheared in half.
The grinding of metal on flesh sounded more like metal on metal as Bob's body remained invulnerable to the attack. If anything, this was inconvenient.
He swept back up to the front and held out the palm of his hand, tearing the controls from the pilot's hands and ripping them free of the cockpit.
"Hang on. I'm going to fix this” Bob promised.
Certain that the pilot wouldn't protest, Bob swept beneath the chopper and embraced the underside. He then continued to lower himself from the sky, sweeping towards an open park. Thankfully, the early morning hours had left the area devoid of activity.
His boots touched the grass in a matter of seconds, then the landing gear of the chopper.
Touchdown. Mission accomplished.
Bob beamed.
“Holy crap!”
Bob whirled around to spy a man across the street, groceries under one arm, dog leash in the other. Probably the last thing he thought he'd see on his morning stroll…
Bob smiled politely, raising a hand, “Hey”
The man just stared.
The sirens began to approach.
“D-did you just catch a helicopter?” the man stammered, seeming to find his words.
Bob looked back to the chopper and shrugged, “Uh, yeah... I guess I did”
“Holy crap” the man repeated.
Bob smiled, a warm feeling melting in his gut.
Is this how it felt to do a good job?
“Who are you?” A new voice interrupted from behind.
Bob spun around to notice a youth on the opposite sidewalk, they had a phone in their hand, already recording.
Bob held up a hand again, innocent and genuine, “Hi, I'm Bob”
The teen looked around the side of her phone, face scrunched up in distaste and confusion, “Just Bob?”
Bob swallowed, somewhat embarrassed, “Uh, actually, it's The Sentry” he corrected quickly.
She turned back to her phone.
Bob spied movement from the opposite corner, the first man had a friend now.
“-and he just caught it out of the sky?” he heard the second man saying.
“Yeah!”
“Holy crap”
“That's what I said!”
Bob clasped his hands together nervously, hoping to appease.
A sound from within the chopper alerted his attention, drawing his feet back to the pilot before he knew what he was doing.
He was like a whole new Bob. One with purpose. One with confidence. One who knew what he was doing.
Maybe the medication was working after all…
Bob pushed the thoughts down for now. He had a job to do.
“Are you alright?” Bob inquired, surveying the man, he pressed a hand to the side of the man's head, feeling the sweat there.
This man was unwell.
As the sirens continued to get louder, Bob arrived at an idea.
Within minutes, the authorities arrived. Before they were barely out of their vehicles, Sentry took the sky.
The pilot had been extracted and placed upright on the bench, the smoke from the helicopter extinguished and the citizens safe.
He didn't need to wait around or discuss it any further.
“Hey! You!” he heard an officer yell, “We need to speak with you!”
Sentry found a spotlight on him for a moment, the gold of his suit shimmering out from the darkness.
He waved but kept his distance, then looked to the skies.
It was probably best if he went back home now…
Sentry turned in the air and propelled himself back into the sky, up into the peaceful darkness of the night.
It was around noon when the hover jet entered back into American air space, and around one, before the Thunderbolts touched down. By that time, everyone was thoroughly uncomfortable, jet lagged, and frustrated.
They'd had a lot of time to sit down and think about what had happened…and the more they thought, the worse things got.
The only silver lining was that Walker was mostly back to his old self. The super soldier serum in his veins had provided for most of his recovery on the flight home, other than a dull headache and a bruised ego that is.
As the hover jets' rear door lowered to the tarmac, a med crew rushed in. They had arrived for Ava.
Although she cursed everyone that touched her, the team could tell she was grateful to be home. It would take her longer to heal than the rest of them, but now she would be safe to do so, for as long as she needed to.
Yelena rolled her head around her shoulders, cracking the stiffness away. She peered to Bucky, watching as he stood and checked himself over. He seemed sore and tired but nonetheless motivated.
Yelena caught his attention when she took a step towards.
“Valentina's office-”
“-Now” Bucky concluded.
John and Alexie shared a knowing glance before falling in line, marching at a pace that suggested they were fresh out of bed. With each step towards the CIA headquarters, their determination grew, each foot fall echoing their hive-like mind. This mission had been more than they'd bargained for. Valentina had made it appear straight forward.
Infiltrate. Obtain. Destroy. Escape.
Easy enough.
Oh, but there was that part that she had skipped about a laboratory full of enhanced, super soldiers, who were trained just like them. And also the part about who had given them said serum…and how Valentina had known about it. And why she hadn't told them this mission would be like walking up to a tree and kicking a hornets nest…
Just a tiny indiscretion, sure.
Yelena suspected Valentina had a damn good reason…One that served her agenda much more than it did theirs. Whatever it was, they were going to address it, because lining them up like dominoes for Hydra simply wasn't going to cut it any more.
Yelena pushed through the front doors and bee-lined it to the elevators, a few suits stopping in their tracks to ogle the four, battle-worn, agents stalking through the lobby.
Punching the elevator button with determination, Yelena tried to ease her mind.
She was an assassin. An agent, really. She couldn't go into Valentina's office, guns blazing like she used to.
Sure, she was angry. They all were. The situation held the sting of an eerily familiar set up that had happened not too long ago. But she wouldn't get any answers if she carved a 9mm sized hole in the back of her ex-bosses' head.
She had to stay cool.
They would find their answers. Yelena wasn't leaving without them.
The ping of the elevator drew her attention back to the foreground and she stepped in, the rest of the team filing in around her. They eyed the keypad for a moment, finding the highest number on the board.
John stabbed at it, obviously feeling the same as Yelena.
The doors swung closed and the team began their ascent towards Valentina's office.
Little did they know, she was slightly occupied at the moment, engaged in a special, unscheduled meeting.
A meeting, with Bob.
Notes:
I hope you guys liked this double shot! I wonder what the team is going to walk into when they get to Valentina's office >:3
Chapter 9
Notes:
This next chapter contains darker content than what I've written for so far, so this is your trigger warning. As much as Bob has begun to take the initiative towards healing, i think we all know some cracks are too deep to fill. Enjoy the read :)
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
As it turns out, Bob wasn't the only one watching the news last night.
Valentina had seen it too.
That would've been fine, he supposed, if the news hadn't also included a segment on the Sentry…
Bob swallowed nervously, eyes glued to the floor as he listened to Valentina strumming her fingers against the large oak table. It wasn't often that he was alone with her any more…and after the brief times he had been, he was happy to keep his distance.
“So, Robert ” Valentina began, “I hear you went out on a little stroll last night” her eyes flicked up, like a cat watching a mouse.
Bob tugged at his collar even though it was a loose fit.
Was it hot in here?
“Uh, kind of…I mean…not really, no”
Valentina shook her head in frustration, “What do you mean, not really ?” she snapped.
Bob met her gaze for a moment but averted it when he saw the heat in her gaze.
“Well you see, I wasn't strolling” Bob swallowed, “I was, uh, flying?”
Valentina gave a bitter smile, slowly standing to her feet as she began to pace at one end of the table.
“Well, you may not know this, given your…experience. But actions have consequences, Robert” Valentina clicked a button on the remote and the projector whirred to life, displaying a still of the news, where a witness had apparently recorded and submitted a clip of the Sentry in action.
The teenage girl from the sidelines...shit-
“Now that the whole world has seen Sentry, our little congress cabinet and the justice department are right up my ass again. They're requesting a new hearing with me” Valentina highlighted, each word biting out between clenched teeth.
Bob winced, glancing between the still image of Sentry and the real life one of Valentina, slowly raising his hands in self-defense. As far as he was concerned, she was holding the gun and the sentry within was currently off the clock.
“Th-there was this helicopter-”
Valentina slammed a palm against her desk causing Bob to flinch, “I don't care about the stupid helicopter, Bob,” irritated that he was missing the point, “The Sentry project was shut down. You were erased from existence” she went back to pacing, “-But thanks to your indiscretion, this footage proves to everyone that the Sentry is still alive and operational. And what's more...that what I've been telling them, was a lie”
Bob coughed into his fist, suddenly feeling parched. A bead of sweat slid from his hairline down to his temple, revealing his weakness if it wasn't already evident.
Had someone turned up the heat or was it just him?
Bob swallowed against the dryness, his adam's apple bobbing nervously as Valentina's focus magnified, her intensity mirroring the unforgiving nature of the sun while he sat, merciless, beneath its' haze, like a worm pinned to a desert landscape, cracking against the heat.
He could feel his pulse begin to quicken with the strain of it all, a light wave of vertigo building in his forehead. He was pretty sure if he tried to stand, he wouldn't make it far before his legs gave out.
Why did the symptoms have to come back right now?
“Do you have anything to say for yourself?” Valentina demanded.
“Can I have some water?”
Valentina rolled her eyes, pressing a button on the desk's keypad. A few seconds later, the door whooshed open and a secretary hurriedly crossed the floor to Valentina with a glass pitcher of water and a cup.
Valentina shooed her away, “No, no, it's not for me. It's for him” she pointed at Bob.
The secretary smiled apologetically and turned to Bob, laying the pitcher and glass in front of him.
“Thank-”
But the lady was already rushing back out of the door, bony hands clutching at the handle with all the might of a terrified squirrel, desperate to escape the hound. Bob didn't blame her...he wished he could join...
Valentina placed both palms on the desk as Bob filled his glass and drank, not one, but two pints. He wiped the back of his mouth on his sleeve when he was done, setting the glass down.
“Thanks,” he said sheepishly.
Valentina hung her head in exasperation, thinking her next steps through carefully.
“I wasn't planning on announcing this for a while, given the circumstances of your revival… but since you've already gotten the ball rolling-” Valentina began.
She clicked the remote again. Images of the Sentry project flashed across the screen; from blueprints of his suit, to a list of his capabilities, and some blacked out fail safes.
Bob could hardly take it all in at once, eyes widening with the weight of it all. A tingling sensation began to creep at the corner of his eyes; he hadn't seen this information since Malaysia…and he had tried so hard to suppress most of what had happened there.
“Project Sentry is a Go” Valentina began, “We'll need to monitor your medications-
Bob shuffled to protest but Valentina held up a hand, “-I know Yelena has been a big part of helping you through that process, but now it's mommy's turn”
He shuffled uncomfortably, gripping at the arms on his chair until his knuckles began to turn white.
“We'll also need to set up a training program for you-” she flipped the photo to what looked like a remote, countryside estate with one large building peeking out from the center.
It was a black site…A place that never existed on a map, had no name, and was never mentioned. A place where you could throw away the key and the person with it. Bob had visited a black site once…he’d departed on a gurney.
“-seeing as you're already using those powers you swore you wouldn't touch” Valentina muttered under her breath, “-And we'll have some experts there to facilitate you hitting your milestones-”
Bob scooted his chair forward restlessly, raising a trembling hand.
Valentina noticed and halted her speech, “What?”
“I, uh, I don't think i can do all…this” Bob gestured to the screen, vaguely implying the entirety of her plan.
It was too much.
New meds. New program. New home. New strangers. No friends.
Sure, he was nervous about disagreeing with Valentina, but he wasn't about to be led into a slaughter either.
Not twice anyway.
Valentina rolled her eyes, “Oh, give me a break, Robert. You were the one who started this”
Bob flushed, “That was different…I h-had to help”
Valentina lost whatever patience she had left and crossed the room to stand in front of Bob.
It was too personal, too close, but Bob couldn't move. He was exhausted. He hadn't slept, and on top of that, the pills he was taking were mostly sedative in nature.
“If I remember correctly, you were the one who sought me out in Malaysia. You were the one who requested the trials. And this morning, you were the one who took matters into your own hands”
Bob closed his eyes, shutting her out and retreating within himself where he didn't have to hear it any more. He couldn't take this endless confrontation. But a voice from within wouldn't let the torment end either.
This is all your fault.
Why did you ever think you could help?
All you ever do is make things worse.
And now you won't even look her in the eyes. Do you always want to be a loser?
You're a burden to everyone.
You've waited your whole life to find purpose, to become something more than just a chew toy.
Now that we have the option, we're just going to keep throwing it all away?
Pathetic.
The darkness began to bubble up, licking at the surface of the pool. Bob's eyes flashed open in a panic, running from what he'd seen inside.
Valentina jumped, taking a step back and watching him closely. She could see how he was at war with himself, his eyes darting left and right, brow scrunched in painful consideration.
But damn it, he had started this. There was no undoing it now. Both of their lives were on the line and if she didn't take control now…
He couldn't deny the argument she was making any more than he could deny what he was. He had a responsibility here.
“How are those meds working for you, Bob?”
She wasn't being polite, medication and mental health was her first order of business. He was a mess. And her Sentry wasn't allowed to be a mess.
Bob swallowed, “They're, uh, they make me tired” he came out truthfully, he was too tired to pretend he wasn't.
“We can help with that” Valentina replied confidently, backing off slightly now that there seemed to be progress.
“Are you still having flashbacks?” she prodded, pouring herself a glass of water.
Bob focused on the glass as if it was the only thing in the room, “Y-yeah…sometimes” he murmured.
Valentina swallowed and set the glass down, circling to the far end of the table where her notepad lay.
A ball point pen appeared in her hand, and she clicked it into service.
“Has it all come back?”
Bob swallowed thickly, “Just bits and pieces”
Valentina nodded slowly, pausing in thought.
“Do you still hear your mother's voice?”
Bob twitched involuntarily, his muddled brain conjuring the fog of her voice against his will.
“Bobby, stop! You're making it worse! You always make things worse” her voice echoed throughout the kitchen, the sound of breaking plates chasing her screams.
A broken smile crossed his lips. As much as he'd loved her, she had caused him so much pain.
Bob tightened his grip on the armchair, beginning to bend the frame underneath, “Yes” he whispered.
Valentina scribbled it into her notes, compiling the information he so freely seemed to be giving.
“Have you unlocked the memories of your father?”
The lights in the room began to flicker, a warning sign that Valentina didn't notice. The room was brightly lit by the window at her back, and her nose was now deep in her books, thoughts only for the potential of Sentry...rather than the threat.
“-because we have options, Bobby” Valentina was on a roll. She didn't notice her water starting to boil.
“My team has access to the best therapists in the field. I'm sure I could find someone specializing in the types of abuse he subjected you both to. There's more than a few out there. And a prescription for those voices-”
Bob had stopped listening.
All he could hear now was a high pitched whine that sounded something like a boiling kettle. His heart was beating too fast. He was sweating. He felt simultaneously wired and exhausted. The twitch in his eye had returned.
If he could thread a full thought together he would've stood and ran from the room.
But he couldn't.
The projection on the wall flickered before shutting off completely, the clock on the desk counting its last second before coming to a stop. As a matter of fact, all of the power in the building had come to cease at that moment. Not that Valentina had noticed.
She was still scribbling away in her notebook merrily.
The sound of her pen gliding across the paper sounded like nails on a chalkboard to Bob.
What if the pen just burned through her hand and melted its way through the desk?
Bob's eyes gleamed dangerously.
He just wanted it all to stop.
Notes:
Sorry to leave you all on a bit of a cliffhanger but i was just having too much fun!
Chapter 10
Notes:
Hey guys, I'm back :)
I wanted to take a moment to leave a note somewhere about Valentina before we get into this next chapter too deep: I know I'm taking some liberties with her official job title…spoilers from the movie: we saw it end with a statement from Yelena that the Thunderbolts “own” Valentina now…so maybe in my story, she wouldn't/shouldn't still be the bad guy...But I have a hard time letting go of that opportunity, seeing as she plays the villain so well. I feel like, despite taking a back seat, she would still likely be the orchestrator behind the scenes given the public and the government both regarding her as their director …So when you read interactions between Val and the team, look at the dynamic as: the Thunderbolts have a say…but it's a delicate balancing act. No one wants to go back to square one...
Anyway, enough with the notes...enjoy the chapter!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
15 minutes earlier…
All of a sudden, the elevator carrying the Thunderbolts slammed to a stop, jolting everyone up into the air, and then slamming them back down.
Arms outstretched reflexively, Yelena gathered her bearings. It was somewhat hard to orient herself since the elevator was still encased in darkness, but she did her best.
Odd…why hadn’t the emergency lights come on… Were they broken?
“What the hell was that?” John moaned, from somewhere on the floor.
Yelena shuffled, her boot stepping on something soft.
“OW!”
“Sorry”
“Does anyone have a light?” Bucky's voice rang out, he sounded so dry Yelena could practically taste the sand.
“I have light” Alexie supplied eagerly.
There was a sound of shuffling and then suddenly, a blinding white light appeared. A chorus of groans rang out as everyone shied away from the source, blinking and adjusting to the sudden contrast.
As John's eyes focused, he found himself staring at a Red Guardian search light, courtesy of the New Avengers memorabilia.
He directed a grimace towards Alexie, “ Really ?”
Alexie shrugged, “You want bright, I give you the best and brightest” he challenged, swinging the beam towards the elevator door.
Bucky stepped forward first, sliding his metallic fingers against the door jam and prying. After a few painful squealing sounds the doors began to budge.
Yelena winced as a sudden shift in the elevator caused a horrible sound to echo through the chasm they were suspended in. She closed her eyes, blowing out a calming breath.
Parachutes, she could handle. Bad guys, no problem. Even explosions weren't really that bad. But being dangled like a worm over your doom with no way out?
No thanks.
“Is okay, Lena” Alexie dropped a big hand on her shoulder.
Yelena sighed, “I'm fine, really” she stepped away from the hand.
The grind of protesting gears filled the small space for a moment, then, the door gave way. Bucky let out a breath, a single bead of sweat on his brow as he turned back to the team. While his face was half cast in shadow, they could see the fire in his eyes.
“Everybody out”
He didn't need to ask them twice.
Hauling themselves, one by one, from the suspended box of doom, the Thunderbolts fell out into a darkened hallway. John reflexively glanced up to check the floor they were on, but found no number highlighted as the power remained dead.
“Looks like we're in a blackout” he drawled, none too happy for the inconvenience.
“Thank you Captain Obvious” Yelena quipped, scanning the space for clues.
John rolled his eyes, investigating the area likewise.
“I do not hear storm” Alexie frowned, “This is peculiar"
Bucky stepped towards an office, twisting the door to find a desk, some papers and a laptop inside. It was not occupied.
Everywhere was dark.
Yelena pressed open the emergency exit, peering out into the eerie stairwell. It too, was steeped in a black, inky depth.
But it was still a way out.
“Over here” she called, summoning everyone over.
Bucky stepped through first, scanning the area, then John, then Alexie.
“So, what's the plan?” John asked, following Alexie's flashlight with his gaze.
The stairwell was vacant.
Shouldn't somebody, anybody, be making an attempt to leave? Was it against protocol to exit during a blackout? What exactly did the CIA do in these situations?
John frowned. This didn't feel right.
“We go up” Bucky ordered.
Up? Right…mission first…
“But we don't know what floor we're on” John complained, “How’re we gonna know when we reach Valentina's level?”
“When we run out of floors” Bucky replied flatly, already beginning the climb.
“I hope you're ready for leg day” Alexie teased, slapping his thighs one at a time like an eager sumo wrestler before quickly following Bucky's ascent.
Yelena pinched her brows in embarrassment, “Let's just go” she encouraged.
John let out a sigh, moving ahead begrudgingly as Yelena took up their six.
Twenty-one flights of stairs later and nobody was in a happy mood.
Bucky's footsteps were heavy, Alexie's hands clasped the rail a little tighter, John's movements were sluggish and Yelena's lungs were on fire.
As they rounded the final stairwell, a sensation of relief washed over the foursome. Bucky all but crashed through the final door and tumbled out into the lobby as they arrived on Valentina's floor. Taking a moment to breathe and collect their senses, the Thunderbolts took on the darkness once more.
It was quiet. Unusual for this particular wing of the building. Valentina always had her claws in something, her heels clicking down each hallway with masterful intent. Even her secretaries remained quiet.
It was unsettling.
Yelena's eyes narrowed, sensing that something wasn't right.
“On me” Bucky instructed, taking the lead.
They wound their way down two connecting halls, passing by numerous doors and political posters before they stood at the head of Valentina's office.
Bucky clasped the handle, noting how cold it was to the touch. He frowned, turning the knob nonetheless.
As the door swung wide, the room was revealed in all its murky glory, dark shadows curling up from the floor like smoke to cave the room in with their darkness; the sun standing no chance as it tried to pierce the haze by the far window.
Bob was sitting at the nearby long-table, but hadn’t turned to address them. His shoulders were partially cloaked in darkness, hanging off his torso like a cape made of spiderwebs, sticking him to a throne he certainly hadn’t accepted.
Across from him at the far end of the table sat Valentina, she appeared bolted upright to her chair, her eyes staring ahead towards Bob, unblinking. Despite the darkness of the room, it was easy to make out her ashy complexion, stiffened bony fingers and damp, brown hair.
Bucky stepped carefully into the room, shifting slightly to allow the others to file in after him. They spread out reflexively, covering more ground as they fanned around Bob.
It wasn't like it mattered , he supposed. If Bob had gone to the dark side again, there wasn't much to be done about it.
But Bucky wasn't ready to write that idea off just yet.
He wouldn't go down easy. He would never go down without a fight.
Yelena circled around to the side of Bob's chair wearily, leaving Bucky to stand behind him with precaution.
As much as this scared her, she still found a way to feel hope.
They had made it this far…they hadn't been turned to shadows like the last time. This was already something different.
John and Alexie flanked Bucky, their tiredness forgotten as they looked between Valentina and Bob.
“Bob?” Yelena approached in a hushed tone, reaching out to his hand.
She could see that Bob was trembling now, his hands gripping onto the arm of his chair like a vice. From the front she could now see that his hair was also damp and he was pale, but his eyes…they were locked onto Valentina's, an eerie golden glow studded in their depths.
“Can you hear me, Bob?” Yelena pressed, making contact with his hand.
A snap of electricity crackled at the touch, sending Yelena back with a sharp stab of pain. She hissed, waving her arm out to stop the others.
She didn't hold back her opinions though.
“What the hell, Bob”
“S-sorry”
Yelena blinked.
Had she heard him right?
He was so quiet, barely moving…she couldn't be sure.
“Bob?”
Bob's gaze shifted ever so slightly, not meeting hers but in her direction.
“H-help” he panted.
Yelena dropped to a knee, trying to lean into his vision, to bring him back into the moment.
“What do you mean, Bob?”
Bob's eyes drifted again, this time closer. Yelena felt so vulnerable as his golden stare finally pierced hers. It was so striking, so unsettling. She had seen it once before, twirling in the depths of darkness. But now that she could see his face beneath the shadows, it held a whole other meaning.
“I-I'm s-s-stuck” Bob stammered, words seeming to take a lot of effort.
Yelena sought Bucky's eyes, trading alarm with concern.
“What do you need us to do, Bob?”
Alexie and John tensed, unsure of where this was going. After the day they'd had, they weren't sure if they were ready to go toe to toe with Sentry again.
“S-s-stay” Bob whispered, his voice sounding more like a plea.
Yelena was crushed, but she didn't show it.
She patted Bob on the hand, relieved that he didn't shock her again.
“We can do that, Bob” she assured, dropping to the floor to sit cross legged.
She gestured for Bucky, John and Alexie to do the same. They hesitated, looking to each other for confirmation. Alexie chose to sit first, his trust in his daughter overriding his own need for safety. John gritted his teeth and folded next, his fingers twitching near his holster. He'd been in this place with Bob before, and had encouraged him to fight back. He didn't want to visit there again…but he would if he had to. Bucky chose to kneel last, his guard not fully down, but it was the best that Yelena was going to get.
She gave them a light, thankful smile, turning her attention back to Bob.
His gaze still remained on her but his eyes no longer held that piercing look. They still held the golden hue but the ferocity behind them was gone.
This was different…new…
Yelena took a deep breath and waited, holding his gaze, searching for the Bob she liked and knew.
Slowly, after what felt like a millennia, Bob came back to her. The glow in his eyes began to dim at first, then the darkness began to creep back into the edges of the room.
A flickering light danced against the wall before a projection sprang back to life, images of the Sentry project revealing themselves to the members. Before Yelena could ask him what it all meant, Bob's eyes rolled back into his head and he fell limp in his chair.
Yelena held a tight hand against his, finding it warmer now.
Bob was back.
The clock began to tick on the wall, footsteps could be heard passing by the office door, even the room seemed to hold more air in it now.
Yelena let out a breath, processing what she had just seen before filing it away and getting back to her feet. Bucky was already at attention, stalking over to Valentina who was sputtering back to life. John and Alexie stumbled back to their feet, closing in on Bob to gently pull him back in his chair.
Threat neutralized, Yelena turned her sights back to the real target.
Valentina .
“What the hell-” was all she could muster, she had so many questions. Too many to start with.
She squared up beside Bucky, watching as Valentina wiped away the makeup running from her eyes, casting strands of hair from her face and attempting to straighten her somewhat sodden outfit.
She blinked back whatever memories she had just been subjected to, and finally noticed Bucky and Yelena standing before her.
She didn't seem concerned, despite everything.
She did peer past them to spy Bob however, her hungry eyes drinking him in as her brain started firing at 100 miles a minute.
“What did you do?” Bucky demanded first, rotating Valentina's chair as he leant into her personal space.
She would not escape him. He would get answers.
“What?” she snapped, not yet back to full witty potential.
“Having a field day with Super Soldiers are we?” Bucky reminded, summarizing their day neatly.
“Ah” she paused, crafting her next statement carefully, “You mean making milestones”
John let out a harsh laugh from the back of the room, “A little water boarding never hurt any one” he suggested darkly, unphased when Bucky didn't respond, settling on a glare for Valentina instead.
She just smiled, dazzling white, professional.
It made their skin crawl.
“What did you do to Bob?” Yelena interrupted, swiveling the chair back from Bucky.
“I didn't do anything” Valentina diverted, swiveling her chair back out of Yelena's grasp.
The widow let her, for whatever reason, granting her the right to stand up and find her own space. Despite the physical freedom, all eyes followed Valentina, watching her every move.
This wasn't over yet…and it wouldn't be over until she gave them some sort of answer.
Valentina let out an exasperated sigh, choosing to focus on the easier of their two questions.
“Bob and I had a little…chat” she began, twiddling a pen between her fingers.
“What kind of chat ?” Yelena asked mockingly.
“About the Sentry Project” Valentina admitted openly.
The team bristled.
“You know Bob is not ready for that” Yelena snapped.
How dare she put him in that position. Taking advantage of him while he was alone. And they called Yelena the ruthless one...
Valentina just smirked, finding her remote as she turned back to her best friend, the projector.
As much as she wanted to glare at Valentina for the rest of time, Yelena couldn't help but direct her gaze to the images shown before her.
It was Bob, dressed as the Sentry.
No, that wasn't right.
It was the Sentry, and he was flying…was that here in New York?
Yelena was getting tired of all these questions.
“While you guys were away on your mission,” Valentina paused, eyes flicking to the unconscious form, “Bobby here, went on a little morning adventure”
John and Alexie cast worrying glances to Bob who was still out like a light.
“Explain” Bucky persisted.
Valentina clicked the remote again, allowing the team to watch the news footage of the helicopter spiraling, followed by the entrance of the Sentry, and then his heroic save.
They each took a moment to digest the information in their own way before setting their attention back on their terrible boss.
“The world now knows about Sentry” Valentina explained plainly, “There's no amount of talking that will undo that now”
A mix of calculating looks flitted across the team, each trying to find a solution for this problem.
“He's still not ready,” Yelena insisted.
Valentina gave her a tired look, “Were you not just a witness?”
Yelena drew a blank, reviewing how they had just stumbled across their catatonic bodies, “Witness to… a hostage situation?”
Valentina scoffed, “You're missing the point”
Alexie scoffed back, “I think you are the one who's sight is missing”
Valentina gave him an unimpressed stare but continued.
“Hello? Can everybody see me right now?” she gestured to herself, “Walking. Talking…Not trapped in a shadow realm with my worst nightmare?” she whined, incredulously.
“Boy, you guys are dumb” she mumbled, flipping the projector off to demand their full attention.
“Robert is gaining control” Valentina spelt out.
Bucky cracked a laugh, Yelena scowled and John and Alexie grimaced.
“You've all seen what he can do. I know what he is capable of” Valentina claimed boldly, as if proud.
“This morning he saved a life” Valentina persevered, “And now, he demonstrated restraint”
Yelena's brows began knitting together, surprised by Valentina's interpretation of restraint.
“Whether it's the drugs or whether it's the family dynamic, I really don't care which-” Valentina laid it all out, “Robert is overcoming his dark side. He is becoming, The Sentry”
The room came to a stand still, digesting the substantial leaps Valentina was taking, and the implications that came with them.
“He will progress in his recovery” she said assuredly, “He will have access to every resource available. And he will fulfill his duties as he promised”
Bucky didn't like the sound of that. It was too familiar. She was taking liberties with this Sentry business, publicity be damned. Bob was still dangerous.
Yelena didn't want to agree with Valentina, but it was hard to deny the changes she had seen in Bob. The way Bob had allowed Yelena to get so close to him, to see him under the mask, to hold back from the darkness this time and find his way back to her.
Something had changed in him…hopefully, for the better.
“I'm setting up a program for Robert within the next few days” Valentina revealed finally.
Yelena blinked, a knot curling in her stomach.
A program just for Bob…The Sentry Program.
It sounded like the Red Room, minus a few steps…
Yelena’s first inclination was to throw a fist at Valentina, to slap some sense into that big, air-tight head of hers, and let her know just how inconsiderate she was being. The Sentry Project was still a failure, despite the walking-talking product that had survived all of the trials.
But then she thought about Bob. Thought about the quaking in his hands, and the nervous twitch in his eyes. Thought about how he had tried to hide his odd habits from them as he proceeded in the medical program they had placed him on, and how he’d really, truly tried to take the symptoms in stride, knowing he couldn’t complain, seeing as there was no alternative.
Yelena reigned in her temper.
This wasn't about her…this was about Bob…
Maybe the Sentry program had been shit…worse than shit…the layer under the layers…
But maybe it could be more than that this time…Bob didn’t have to be alone this time, and the team could have a say in what happened. Maybe this was the opportunity that Bob needed…Support…Around the clock care…Something that she, that they, couldn't fully provide for him. Bob deserved a second chance, and if this was it, could she stand in the way?
Valentina held Yelena’s sharp glare, practically feeling the gears turning behind that messy mop of blonde hair. As far as she was concerned, this was not a negotiation, Sentry was her product and she would use it as she saw fit.
It wasn't like the Thunderbolts would be able to babysit a nuclear weapon...He was better off with someone who knew what they were doing, who had a plan and the means to execute it.
“What program?” Yelena demanded, arms crossed, apprehensive.
“Are you his guardian?” Valentina scoffed, Yelena flinched, no comment, “Yeah, I didn't think so”
“What about Belaraine?” Bucky cut in, turning the topic back.
“What about it?” Valentina snapped back.
“There were soldiers-” Alexie stepped in, placing a dog in the fight.
Valentina rolled her eyes, “It was a military compound, Red” she explained tiredly, as if to a toddler.
“ Super soldiers” John elaborated, hands balling to fists by his side.
Valentina paused, knowing she couldn't evade the confrontation any longer.
“Well you're all super” she congratulated, “But did that stop you guys?”
If looks could kill….
“Ava got shot”
“I blacked out”
“You set us up”
“ They were Hydra”
The Thunderbolts stood their ground, imparting each mission highlight, or lowlight rather.
Valentina clasped her hands together tightly, choosing to acknowledge the last statement, “Well, yes. They are still operational in some regions” she divulged carefully.
Bucky cracked his neck to one side, a warning.
“If I'd told you who was fronting their cause, would you have accepted this mission?” she snared, expertly.
Bucky gnashed his teeth together, fingers flexing as he longed to demonstrate just how involved Hydra had been in his life.
Yelena cast a gaze to Bucky, trying to hide her concern.
The room grew quiet.
“Hydra has been and will always be alive and well” Valentina promised, breaking her death stare with the Winter Soldier, “But that does not mean our agents will allow them to operate unchecked”
Yelena lowered her gaze, seeing where this was going. As sticky and irritating as Valentina was, she was undoubtedly a master when it came to getting out of tricky situations and weaving the fabrics back towards her own agenda. Her comment was undeniable. Hydra would always be there to do damage. As their boss, it was her duty to send the Thunderbolts on missions like these, to intervene or subdue a given target. Hydra couldn't be the exception, no matter how much history they had.
It would've just been nice to have a warning first.
When Bucky remained mute, Yelena stepped in.
“What happens now?”
Valentina's expression softened, a light smirk tilting the corner of her lips.
She had won.
They had stood down.
Valentina enjoyed the sensation for a moment before turning her full attention back to her agent.
“There will be a debrief at 1700 hours” Valentina instructed, directing her gaze back to each member, “That should give you each enough time to change, reflect, and explain why the stealth element for this mission was completely disregarded”
A sizzling heat burned through her icy blue gaze, warring with the frustrations of the Thunderbolts.
Feelings be damned, they'd had a job to do. They were professionals. So what if Hydra had taken them by surprise, the parameters remained the same.
Not only had she woken up to calls from congress and the justice department about her Sentry being alive, ‘operational’ and public, she then, had to address calls from the United Nations, NATO and covert foreign branches in regards to the unsanctioned, highly explosive American forces that had infiltrated a dangerous Hydra compound and nearly blown Belaraine off the map.
Valentina popped an Advil, swallowed some water and continued.
“ Then, you may stand down and return to the Watch Tower until further notice” Valentina finished, slipping back into her chair and turning to her notes.
End of discussion.
They heard her loud and clear.
Alexie and John moved first, gently hooking Bob under the shoulders and releasing him from the crippled chair.
Alexie drew Bob up and over his shoulders like a loose bag of potatoes. John crossed the room back to the door, holding it open for the guardian so he could exit.
John cast a glance back to his team mates, noting how Yelena seemed to conclude her interpretation of events and crossed over to Bucky.
Despite the light touch on the shoulder, Bucky flinched, holding up a hand.
Stay away.
Yelena stood back.
After burning a few more meters into Valentina's forehead, Bucky took his leave, storming out of the room, trailing a blaze of intensity behind him.
Yelena gave John a grateful nod as he continued to hold the door for her, closing it once they were on the other side.
“Well that was bullshit” John sighed, shaking his head as they walked in tandem over to the elevator.
Yelena frowned, her thoughts and feelings internalized as she glanced at Bob, “What can we do but comply” she sighed.
Bucky gave Yelena a dark look as the elevator doors swung open, crossing the gap first and settling into a corner. It was obvious he strongly disagreed but perhaps now was not the time for more arguments.
Alexie shuffled for position, ensuring Bob did not slip from his grasp.
“I will make hot tea, Lena” he grumbled softly, watching their reflection in the silver doors as they swung closed, “Tea feels good for bad days”
Yelena didn't let herself crumble but she could feel it inside. Alexie was the more optimistic of all of them, and even he couldn't deny their losses.
Yelena just wanted to go to bed.
She closed her eyes and turned inwards, relishing the weightless feeling as the elevator descended to the ground floor.
She couldn't wait to get home.
Notes:
I hope you guys enjoyed this longer chapter, I couldn't bring myself to chop it into pieces. I'm really enjoying the contrast of feelings around Bob as we progress, and i'm curious who you guys are siding with? Is Bucky right? Is Yelena? Does Val have a point in all this? Let me know what you guys think :D
Chapter 11
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
A soft grey fabric, scented with lilac was the first thing to grace Bob's awareness as he drifted back to consciousness.
His memory of the last while was still hazy, but he did know that his body ached for some reason and his senses hadn't come to themselves just yet.
Bob chose to be ‘asleep’ just a little while longer, relishing in the weighted cotton, pretending it was an embrace. Muffled noises slowly trickled into his ears, signaling that he was not alone. The sharp brash tone, the husky firm one, the gruff one, the one with the heavy accent.
A light smile quirked his lips. He was hearing the Thunderbolts, his teammates. His family.
A warmth began to blossom in his gut as his mind began to puzzle the pieces together. If his teammates were back, that meant their mission was over, they had succeeded, they were safe.
It also meant Bob didn't have to deal with Valentina.
A recent memory sparked to the foreground as Bob recalled sitting in her office, the room cloaked in darkness, his stare boring into hers. His gut tightened with dread, a shiver creeping up his spine.
What had happened?
Bob tried to quell the rising panic, clawing onto the here and now as he'd been instructed to do, calling upon his senses to ground himself.
First, there was cotton, it was cool and soft and heavily draped. Then, there was the sweet scent of lilacs, strong but refreshing, filling his lungs with their healthy balm. The warmth of the sun had laid its kisses onto his skin, flecking spots of brown onto ivory as it danced across his shoulders and made its way up to his hair, highlighting each strand in a golden glow. He noticed a softness beneath him next, cushioning his body but remaining firm enough to cradle him there. He must be lying on the couch, his favoured place of sanctuary.
Bob focused in on that, coming to realize that he must be back in the WatchTower, where they had laid him face down on the sofa, in the lobby, and tucked him into his favourite blanket like a burrito.
He felt his breathing slowing down again, his muscles releasing their tension as his cheek remained smushed into the softness below. The cold that had lingered in his bones, now sank back into the shadows, his heart beating slow, pounding out a steady rhythm to the sound of their voices.
Whatever had happened, whatever he had done, it was over now. If he was here and they were there, it couldn't be that bad…
Everything was going to be okay. He was safe now. They were safe. Nothing else mattered.
Bucky snarled, slamming a fist against the counter. The others flinched, but not Yelena.
“Say what you need to say”
“I don't trust her” Bucky ground out, his position resolute.
Yelena cast a glance over to Bob, watching how he lay there peacefully, hair tousled across his face, not a care in the world.
She gestured to him, “I trust Bob”
Bucky glanced at the sleeping Sentry, expression souring into a frown as he counted the number of outcomes waiting there.
Try as he might, Bucky could never fully comprehend Bob. He'd read the pamphlet, seen it in first person, and still.
Arming a person with 10x the super soldier serum as Steve and tacking on the explosive power of the sun, flight, teleportation, telekinesis, heat vision, reality warping, and God knows what else…not to forget, tossing in a hefty dose of the Void's unexpected and unpredictable presence…oh and past meth usage…
Bucky liked to think he was good at adapting, considering everything he'd been through in the last 110 years…but if she expected him to sit back and take the stabilizers off this particular bike, she was crazier than Bob was.
“Bob can't even trust himself” Bucky sighed, his tone wasn't as sharp this time, he wasn't trying to offend or argue, it was just a simple fact to him.
Yelena shook her head, breaking her stance and crossing over to the fridge. It wasn't that she was hungry, she was restless. Agitated. She needed to busy her hands with something so she didn't lay hands on someone.
Securing a jar of peanut butter from the fridge, Yelena pulled out a spoon and dove in. Bucky waited, he could wait all day if that's what it took.
Out of respect, he was having this conversation with Yelena face to face. He could just as easily bring it to Valentina and tell her what they would and would not be agreeing to.
But they were a team now, teams were supposed to work together. If they started sneaking things past each other and calling the shots, who's to say they wouldn't flip the script on him whenever it was convenient to do so.
So Bucky watched patiently as Yelena scooped a generous amount of peanut butter onto a spoon and stuck it in her mouth.
John scoffed, his length of patience nowhere near as long as the Winter Soldier's, “The last time Valentina had Bob, things didn't end so well” he reminded, scanning the crowd for agreement.
Alexie rolled his shoulders in discomfort, looking between Bucky and Yelena, both still holding their own.
Yelena shrugged off John's insinuation, “We worked for Valentina last time…” she drawled, finishing the peanut butter, “Now, she works with us”
Bucky threw up his hands in exasperation, turning away to pace the short length of the kitchen before returning to square off, hands resting on his hips, an incredulous expression on his face, “Is that how you'd describe our last mission?” he contested, unable to keep the heat from his voice, “Working with us”
Yelena brought the spoon to the sink, washing it generously, her eyes averted but senses ever weary of the threat at her back.
She kept her tone steady as she answered Bucky next.
“Valentina has the resources” Yelena redirected, turning back to meet his stormy gaze, hoping her own didn't appear as fierce.
She wanted him to understand her point of view, not argue with it.
“Hydra is not a resource worth acquiring” Bucky snapped, “We walked in there blind, Yelena. Ava got shot” he stabbed a finger towards Ava's bedroom where she remained resting.
John raised his hand from the sidelines, “Head injury” he added.
Alexie nodded mutely, his eyes hollowed out with the images of his friend's blood.
Yelena sighed heavily, feeling outnumbered and frustrated.
She snapped back up, a firm hand halting them in their tracks, “Look, I don't trust Valentina either” she relinquished, “-I’m not excusing what happened in Belaraine”
She skirted out from behind the counter, slowly walking towards Bob but stopping half way. The team didn't follow but had turned to face her, captivated by the potential in her next words.
“You all know where I came from, da?” Yelena inquired, eyes resting briefly on Bucky, then John, she knew that Alexie had been there.
“The Red Room…” John supplied, unsure what this had to do with anything.
Yelena averted her gaze somewhat, securing the strength for the admissions ahead.
“I did terrible things while I was there…Things you cannot imagine…unforgivable things” the echo of screams still rang in her ears, the snapping of twigs, the dirt flung up against her face, the bite of cold in the air, the spray of blood.
Yelena closed her eyes and breathed.
The team waited patiently.
“I'm here because I was given a second chance” Yelena continued, her tone husky but firm.
She glanced up to meet their eyes again, noting the mixture of expressions her words had brought.
“If you're asking me to give Valentina a second chance-” Bucky challenged, arms folded across his chest in defiance.
“No” Yelena relented, “Not for her” she cast a glance back to Bob, “For him”
Bucky followed her gaze, the soldier and the savior warring within him.
Yelena continued through their silence, “We won't always be here for Bob…Words and pills and tea can only do so much”
A knot tightened in her stomach, heat rising to her face. She hated to admit it, to say it out loud felt like giving up, but she had to.
“Valentina has the resources” Yelena repeated, this time holding more gravitas than the last.
John shuffled his weight from boot to boot nervously, looking to his comrades for their impression. Bucky's jaw was wound tight, his arms still folded, his stormy eyes betraying the emotion there.
Alexie had a sad smile on his face, his eyes hovering over his daughter as visions of her feats flitted through his mind. Since she was a girl, he'd been witness to her selflessness, observing time and again how she had yearned to put others first. A born protector.
Now that she was older, her character remained the same…Bob was just the latest victim that had found his way to her door… and Alexie knew without a doubt, Yelena wouldn't give up on him until it was over.
“I stand with you” Alexie vowed, blinking the shine away as he met her gaze.
She gave him a small nod, grateful for his support.
Bucky's shoulders relaxed an inch, “I can't…” he sighed, almost sounding apologetic as he unfolded his arms and shook his head, “-He’s easily corruptible”
Yelena wasn't sure to whom Bucky was referring, Valentina or Bob.
She rolled with the punches, stepping closer, “Then wait” she compromised, “Keep tabs on Valentina, put a tracker on Bob” she suggested, “Do what you must…but give us the time to see this through”
Yelena didn't like the sound of pleading, it was messy and weak and felt sour in her mouth. But she would sacrifice her pride before she gave up on her cause.
Bucky chewed on the idea, clearly not too keen on playing along but unable to deny her the sympathy she wrought.
“This is a bad idea” Bucky warned, pinching his brow as he relented.
John nodded slowly, “I'm with you on that one”
Yelena gave John a side eye but didn't comment, drawing towards the counter just as Ava appeared from the hall.
The mood shift was sudden as everyone brightened at her arrival.
Not used to the warmth, Ava shied back a bit, one hand raised while the other remained in a cast suspended from her shoulder.
“What's gotten into you lot?” Ava complained, dancing between the crowd to escape to the other side, keeping the counter between them.
“You should be resting” Bucky replied, words firm but tone warm. He was happy to see her up and about.
“Yeah, well it's kind of hard to with all this racket going on” Ava argued, sarcasm clear.
“You heard us?” Yelena worried, casting a gaze back to Bob.
Yelena narrowed her eyes, monitoring the rise and fall of his chest, hoping he hadn't heard them.
“Hard not to,” Ava quipped back, eyeing the open peanut butter jar wearily.
John gave her a soft punch on the opposite shoulder, his bedside manner akin to a teenage muppet, “Enough rest, sleeping beauty?”
Ava socked John in the arm, biting back a smile as he clutched at his shoulder, regretting his chances, “If you didn't snore, maybe”
Alexie placed a large warm hand on her back, and for once, Ava allowed it to stay there. “Would you like some tea?” he offered, sweeping a hand towards the kitchen counter.
Ava bowed her head graciously, although Yelena felt it had something more to do with being spiteful to John, “That would be lovely” Ava replied.
Bucky watched carefully as Ava took up a stool in waiting, John circled back to the fridge and Yelena crossed the room back to Bob, perching herself in the space between his body and the edge of the sofa.
He woke almost immediately to her touch, giving Yelena pause to whether he truly had been asleep or not.
Blue bleary eyes blinked up to her, a light smile ghosting his lips, removing her worries for a moment.
“Oh, hey” Bob greeted in a small voice, eyes roaming over her familiar features with the warmth of a golden retriever.
Yelena returned the light smile, “Hey Bob… Did you sleep well?”
Bob scrunched his body to the side, stretching his legs out and casting his arms open wide.
Yelena immediately banished the natural inclination to tuck herself into the space between his arms, blinking away the absurdity of the thought.
She was just tired. So very, very tired.
“Kinda” Bob replied, searching her features to ask when he'd fallen asleep exactly, “-It's all sort of… foggy”
He gave her that sheepish smile she knew so well, the dimples accenting his jaw, the flecks of sapphire dancing in his eyes.
Yelena nodded in understanding, “Food might help you with that” she suggested, there was no pressure there, just an open ended invitation.
Bob scanned the kitchen across the room, taking note of Bucky, John, Alexie and Ava standing around chatting.
“It's nice to see everybody together again” Bob murmured, words leaving his mouth before he planned whether to say them.
It had only been one mission…but so much had happened since then…
Yelena felt her gut coil in guilt.
Did Bob remember?
Had he heard what they'd said about him?
What exactly had happened between Valentina and Bob before they'd arrived?
Yelena didn’t have the answers, but she knew how to find out.
Unlike the others, Bob had no issue with honesty, he was as blunt as you could get, sometimes painfully so. Yelena knew if she asked Bob the truth, or wanted to discuss his options ahead, he would be an open book about it all.
Yelena lay a soft palm on his leg, redirecting his attention, “Let’s say we make some sandwiches, and then you and I spend a little time together”
Bob blinked up at Yelena, a few small nods of agreement serving as the only encouragement she needed to proceed with her mission.
Notes:
Seems like the team is splitting up in what to do with Bob, Yelena and Alexie versus Bucky and John. I wonder where Ava stands in all of this? Things will get increasingly bumpy from here on out, with the chapters getting longer and the territory getting less and less familiar. Where do you guys think it's all headed? Who do you think is taking the right approach to the Sentry Program, or do they each have a solid stake in the argument? Let me know what you guys think ;)
Chapter 12
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Bob knew Yelena’s impromptu hangout had never been about sandwiches. Sure, they’d hung out numerous times before, playing tick tack toe, watching movies, learning how not to burn food and generally just shooting the shit.
But this felt different.
Bob had been subject to enough informal meetings that he knew one when he saw one. Given what he’d heard the team discussing, the snippets of memory from Valentina’s office and the uncomfortable feeling in his gut, Bob assumed it had something to do with the Sentry. Any time something went wrong it was either a Bob problem, a Sentry problem, or a Void problem. Sometimes, it was all three.
Bob swallowed the sour feeling of disappointment and hid his expression behind the glass of water Yelena handed to him, knocking back his medication and shivering as they went down slowly.
He tried to smile, but it came out as more of a grimace.
Yelena smiled for him, in good nature.
Bob bit into the sandwich she had made for him, grateful. He could’ve counted on one hand how many times and how many people had made him a sandwich, having heard it was a regular thing for school kids had always made him burn with envy. Now that Yelena was here, he received at least two sandwiches a week.
Bob hummed as the mustard hit his taste buds, hoping Yelena knew how much he appreciated it.
Instead, he could feel her studious eyes on him, waiting patiently, not really touching her own prop sandwich.
Bob sighed inwardly, lowering his sandwich.
“What’s up?” Bob initiated, hoping to bite the bullet rather than wait for it to land.
Yelena paused, measuring Bob carefully.
“So…I heard you left the tower this morning” she began carefully, picking at the corners of her sandwich.
Bob gave a one shoulder shrug, speaking to her sandwich instead of her gaze, “Uh, yeah, that was, uh, improvised” he admitted awkwardly, feeling the heat rise to his cheeks.
Yelena titled her head to one side, following his gaze and finding his question there.
Was she mad at him for breaking the rules? Is that why they were having this talk? Is that why she wasn’t eating the sandwich?
Yelena brought the sandwich to her mouth and took a big bite, eyes locking with Bob’s a second after. His shoulders sagged ever so slightly in relief, his chewing increasing as his optimism soared back up.
"How’d it go?” Yelena asked, her tone genuine. It was the Sentry’s first real interaction with the public after all, regardless of how it had occurred.
Bob twitched slightly, but there was sunshine in his eyes still, “No one’s asked me that yet” he muttered, eyes barely holding hers in a shy way.
Yelena took another bite, shrugging it off to remove the pressure, “You caught a helicopter”
The statement spoke for itself.
Bob huffed out a quiet laugh, “Yeah, I guess I did”
Yelena shared the smile, keeping it light, “You can add that to your resume, you know”
Bob scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, “Does that mean I’m like you now?”
Yelena faltered, lowering her sandwich as she took a moment to craft her next response.
“Things will be a little different from now on, Bob,” she admitted, eyes taking on that cautious look again.
Bob looked away, hoping he could hide some measure of fear and doubt that always seemed to flow beneath the surface.
“Different how?” he swallowed, putting the sandwich down. He was beginning to feel nauseous…or was that the pills. Either way, he wasn’t interested.
Somewhere from beneath the fog he could recall Valentina saying something about a program, about a bunker, about more pills. But he didn’t want to dig there again. He wanted to hear it from Yelena, his friend.
Bob’s head started to swim and he reached a tentative hand up to his forehead. Before he could get there, he felt a hand grip his bicep, bringing his mind back to a focus, “Bob?”
He smiled awkwardly, straightening himself back up, “Sorry. You were saying?”
Yelena tried to hide her look of worry but she couldn’t bury it beyond skin deep.
She cared about him.
“We’re going to explore another avenue” Yelena tried again, hoping to avoid using any buzz words that might set Bob off again.
“What avenue?”
Yelena smiled despite herself, Ah Bob, always straight to the point.
“Valentina offered to place you under a new program…” Yelena left the statement open-ended on purpose, allowing Bob to draw his own conclusions.
She couldn’t promise him anything before she’d gotten more answers out of Valentina…A new program could mean anything, good, bad, worse…
Yelena still held out hope that it would be better. Logically, it had to be, right? They knew where the mistakes lay in the past, where OXE had overstepped and gone off the deep end. They had set new boundaries since the Thunderbolts had officially become the New Avengers…A new program within these parameters should mean access to the same resources but within the safe confines of the group…
Yelena secretly promised she would acquire the answers for Bob, should he choose to proceed. There would be no threat where he was headed, besides her defensive fists…And there would be absolutely no repeat Voiding if she could help it.
Yelena clasped her hands together with a vested interest, waiting for his response.
Bob focused on her hands, mirroring the motion subconsciously, “What does that mean?”
Yelena placed a hand on his knee, “It means the choice is yours, if you want it, Bob” she surmised gently.
Perhaps that was all that mattered. Not the what, the why or the how…But that he had a choice in the matter.
The nauseous swirling sensation in his stomach began to subside slightly, the breath he hadn’t realized he’d held, flowing out a little more evenly.
Whether Valentina liked it or not, he had a choice.
He just had to make the right one.
Bob flinched. He was abysmal at making decisions…
He instinctively sought her hazel eyes, knowing she would make the right call.
“What do you think I should do?”
Yelena looked surprised at his request for guidance but gave his question serious consideration, brows knitting together as she paused in thought, “I think…you should follow your gut”
Bob nodded, taking the little piece of advice into his vault of important information, “Trust in the force”
Yelena broke into a snort of a laugh, thrown off by the unexpected quote, “Indeed, padawan” she confirmed.
Bob shared her silly smile before turning back to the seriousness of it all. He was quiet for a long time, picking at his sandwich and tracing his eyes across her hands before he spoke next.
“I think I should try”
Yelena nodded in acceptance of his decision, “Then I’ll let Valentina know you’re in…and we can take it from there”
Bob’s eyes snapped up at that comment, “We?”
Yelena hummed as she took another bite of her sandwich, “Of course”
Bob practically hummed with renewed enthusiasm, rocking forward to place a soft hand on hers. Their eyes connected for a moment, warm honey-dripped hazels against deep satin blues, a spark of light dancing there before tensions led them to cast away.
Bob removed his hand tentatively, “Sorry, I, uh-”
Yelena dismissed the apology, scooching closer as a compromise, “You were saying?”
Bob cleared his throat, arms wrapping to hold himself in a sort of hug, “You’re allowed to come with me?” he inquired, tone hopeful and curious.
Yelena scoffed, “I’d like to see them stop me”
Bob nodded slowly, a dark smile splaying his lips, “They can’t stop us”
Yelena gave Bob a playful look but chose to stray from the darkness he poised there.
“I guess we’ll need a new name, hm?” she engaged, “For the meantime, at least”
Bob’s eyes widened at the possibilities, quickly settling on an answer, “The astronauts”
Yelena’s nose scrunched in confusion, “Astronauts, Bob?”
Bob picked at his sleeve, shrugging slights, “Uh, y’know, because we’re exploring new territory?” he tried, meekly.
“But neither of us are from space”
Bob gave a toothy smile, “Apparently, I can, uh, fly that high…and I don't need to, um…breathe” he divulged, enthusiasm fading as he saw the slight tinge of discomfort flash on her features.
Shit, he’d made it awkward again…Way to go, Bob.
“Never mind, you’re right-”
“No…no” Yelena calmed, “You’re on the right track” she insisted, drawing Bob’s hopes back up, “It just needs a little…clarity”
Bob and Yelena sat in comfortable silence for a few moments, letting the hum of their friends’ voices fill the space of the lobby.
“How about, The Lightning Strikes” Bob ventured, “B-because it’s like the Thunderbolts…but this time it’s just the two of us”
Yelena smiled, not set on the idea… but if it made Bob feel more assured, she would adopt it, “Sure, Bob. That sounds good”
Bob smiled, feeling fortunate to find a friend so willing to play along, never one to suspend him for answers or demand a certain standard. Just a, go with the flow, come what may, sunshine or rain kind of friend.
After a brief pause, Yelena gave a short nod, unfolding her legs and leaving the sofa in a shower of crumbs. Bob turned his body to follow her, collecting their plates as he moved to the kitchen, his bare feet on the marble floor announcing their approach.
“Good nap, Bob?” John commented first, earning scowls from the others.
Bob set down the plates, meeting John’s eyes easily, “The best”
He flinched as John clapped him hard on the shoulder in good jest, always threading the needle between a friend and an asshole. It was a delicate balance, but Bob saw through it. John just wanted to be friends, but he couldn’t let you know that. He had to test the waters, push you to the edge, find the truth under all those layers before he trusted anyone to uncover his own.
But Bob was as honest as they came, there was little to hide and even less to push. John appreciated that.
“Ava” Bob smiled, “It’s good to see you”
Ava dipped her head, not dissimilar to a turtle seeking cover, “Thanks”
Bob acknowledged the finality of their conversation, knowing it never lasted longer than a few sentences. But that was alright, there was no pressure, no expectations and no false pretenses between them, just a good, honest comradery.
“How are you feeling, Bob?” Bucky intervened, shoulders squaring off almost imperceptibly.
Bob couldn’t help the twitch that crossed his face, so he threw a hand up as if he meant to pair the strands of hair out of his eyes, “Good” he gulped, feeling the thirst growing there, “Rested”
“Would you like tea?”
Bob’s gaze flickered to Alexie, a soft smile providing an answer, sparking movement under the red guardians boots almost immediately.
Bucky closed in a little tighter than Bob would've appreciated, “We need to talk”
Bob’s eyes flicked up to meet Bucky’s, dancing from one chocolate orb to the other, but finding no warmth. This was the business side of Bucky he was addressing, the man with the plan, the one who cut to the quick and became friendly later.
Bob felt a chill beginning to arch up his spine, setting goosebumps across his arms as he held the soldier’s gaze.
“About what?”
The only sound in the kitchen came from Alexie as he collected a few mugs onto a tray, the soft clinking of white China and the whistling heat from the kettle leaving the space feeling empty despite the number of mercenaries packed into the 10 foot radius.
“About this morning” Bucky continued firmly, “About Sentry”
Bob took a step back reflexively, bumping into Yelena who had been silently waiting at his back, “Couldn’t we do this some-” Yelena began, but Bucky cut her down.
“You were the one who told me to do what I must” Bucky reminded, not giving an inch, keeping eyes only for Bob.
Bob’s brow began to sweat, his fingers twitching with that familiar pinch of static. He buried his hands in his pockets, hoping no one would notice.
“It’s better for everyone if we have this conversation here, and now” Bucky directed at everyone, slowing Alexie’s motions as everything hushed to a standstill.
Bob cast his eyes to the floor, feeling like a pupil who had just wandered blindly into a parent teacher conference…not that he supposed he should know what those were like, his parents had never shown up for anything.
“Bob, I need you to listen to me carefully” Bucky coaxed, settling his hands on Bob’s shoulders.
Bob kept his gaze averted, but that didn’t stop his body going on full alert; his senses dialing to the 10’s as each nerve came alive with an unwanted ferocity.
“We heard about your…arrival as Sentry” Bucky began.
Here it comes, Bob. The inevitable blow. The rise and fall of everything you touch…
“So did Valentina” Bucky steered the ship away from the shore, leaving Bob blinking away the surprise. He focused instead on Bucky’s boots, not a single surface clean for someone who was supposed to be riding as a congressman.
A small part of Bob’s chest tightened with that detail, feeding the anxiety behind the mask of hair that currently served as his shield.
Bucky wasn’t here to be his friend or dance around him with political misdirection's. He was a soldier, a straight shooter. Perhaps everyone else thought of him as a child or a toy, telling him only things he needed to hear, or softening facts to something more malleable. But not Bucky.
Bucky saw the threat before he saw the man. Sometimes, that was a bad thing, but as a survivalist, it had always pulled him through. So triggers be damned, Bob was going to hear what he had to say, take the warning that lay there, and make the right choices, as his own person.
Bob’s eyes rose in Bucky’s silence, finally meeting his weary expression with renewed energy for listening. He owed him that much.
“Valentina is planning to use you for her own devices” Bucky warned, holding Bob’s gaze with a yearning one, “Nothing good has come out of OXE group without a long list of consequences”
Yelena winced at the Sentry implication laying bare, sharing in John’s uncomfortable stance as Alexie looked on and Ava scrutinized Bob’s face for a reaction.
But there was nothing. Just a blank slate.
Bob remained expressionless for once, absorbing the information at face value, noting that nothing in this conversation was personal any more. This was just business.
“If you’re going to enter the program-” Bucky cast a glance to Yelena, including her in the sentiment, “-then you need to be cautious”
Bob nodded slowly, truly hearing the warning for what it was. Not a denial, not a judgment, but a word of safety, because he cared enough to tell them what they needed to hear.
It wasn’t that Bucky had somehow regained his trust, nor had he changed his opinions on Valentina or Sentry…but if they had to embrace the inevitable, it would be better to make sure everyone was on the same page before the ball got rolling. It wasn’t safe, it wasn’t assured, but it was a start on the right foot.
“Don’t forget who’s in charge, Bob,” Bucky concluded, squeezing Bob’s shoulders to emphasize his point before letting go.
Don’t forget who’s in charge…Bob rolled the sentiment over in his mind.
Surely, Valentina was in charge…she was the one leading the program, managing the corporation, handling the Thunderbolts...
Bucky isn’t saying that, you idiot-
The Thunderbolts were in charge now, Valentina was just a front, an accessory. She still had some power, but she was just a gateway, a means to an end, a tool until she was no longer useful.
Or maybe, just maybe…Bucky was saying that he, Bob, was in charge…
In charge of his own actions, in charge of what may come…
Bob swallowed nervously, attempting a smile that he hoped would imply that he had received the message and actively supported it.
“Thanks Bucky” Bob mumbled, noting how the others seemed to relax at his response.
Bucky nodded, his watchful gaze dwindling to the backdrop, “Don’t mention it”
“Here is your tea-” Alexie interrupted, placing the cup between the soldier and the sentry, “Drink while is still hot” he insisted.
Bob let out a whisper of a laugh, breaking away from the serious moment to scoop up the dainty pale cup. In a past life, he would’ve jumped at the scalding temperature, swearing as he dropped the fine China and watched as it shattered into a million pieces. But now, Bob’s skin merely sizzled against the heat, his fingertips lightly fusing to the smooth surface until they met the same temperature.
He marveled at the sight, his skin crawling as he watched the tiny display of power, a constant reminder of his new normal. He supposed it didn’t matter, what were a few blisters when you were adding them to the countless white rings, burnt there from years of cigarettes, or the thin red lines left from the tips of needles, echoes of years past…
Lies-
Bob blinked, taking a closer look at his hands.
They were gone. The burns, the scars, even some of the memories that came with them…erased by the serum which coursed through his veins, leaving his skin bright and unblemished, like a tarp thrown over a rusty car, promising good things while hiding the bad and the ugly.
The serum had given him so much, but it had also thrown the scrapbook of his life into the nearest trashcan.
An intentional cough broke Bob out of his spiraling thoughts, forcing him to meet Alexie’s raised eyebrows, “Is good, yes?” he inquired expectantly, somewhat confused by Bob’s supposed scrutiny of the tea cup.
Bob held back a shudder and took another sip, “Mmm, yeah” he hoped he’d sold that.
Alexie nodded appreciatively, glancing around at his work as the Thunderbolts busied themselves with the cups of tea. It wasn’t that anyone was particularly thirsty, nor was tea usually on the menu but if it detracted from the tension and gave them something to do together, then so be it.
As the slurping subsided, Bucky set down his cup, turning to the others expectantly, “We have an hour before the debriefing” he reminded, glancing to the clock on the far wall, causing a ripple of eyes to follow, “Attend to your priorities, but make sure you arrive-” he looked to each member, “-on time”
John gave Bucky a mock salute, “Aye aye, Captain”
Ava rolled her eyes.
“We shall not miss it” Alexie asserted, his chest puffing out in that way he often did when he felt a task required hero form.
Yelena gave Bucky a silent nod, accepting his request point blank.
The important issues addressed, Bucky turned his back on the team and headed towards the elevator, his posture seemingly less stiff than when he had entered the lobby.
Bob turned back to Yelena, “I guess I’ll stay here…Wait for you guys”
His eyes danced across hers as he needlessly adjusted his fingertips on the scalding-but painless, cup of tea.
Yelena nodded, her tone softening, “I will talk to Valentina about your program” she assured, not quite putting their previous discussion to rest.
Bob’s tight smile began to fade, the grip on his cup wobbling just enough to cause ripples across its surface.
She looked exhausted. The small smile on her face couldn’t hide the dark circles slowly forming under her eyes. She was exhausted.
Of course she was, Bob’s mind hissed, She had just flown to the other side of the world, completed a full combat mission, flown back, then stormed Valentina's office, saved him and now was ready to go back at it…
And he had the gall to give her more homework on top of that…
Look at how you burden her. Are you not ashamed?
“Y-you really don’t h-have-” Bob stammered, trying to sound more confident than he looked.
Yelena gave him a playful shove, forcing Bob out of his stammer, “Consider it done, Bob” she concluded, smiling when he finally gave a light shove back.
“Okay” he breathed, relinquishing.
It’s not like you could stop her anyway-
“You could use the time to pack?” Yelena suggested, “We’ll probably be there for a while”
Bob frowned, puzzling over what kind of items one would bring to a secret facility, versus what few personal items he could actually bring in the first place.
He caught her staring and pretended to look assured, “Y-yeah” Bob stumbled, “I’ll get right on that”
Look at you, pathetic toddler…Must she hold your hand every step of the way?
Bob grimaced. He hoped wherever they were bringing him, they could find a way to tune out the voice in his head, if that was even possible. It was getting a lot bolder and more frequent these days.
Yelena gave him a toothy smile and turned to depart, the others splitting up in a similar fashion as they went to prepare or freshen up before the meeting.
Notes:
Lots of changes are coming on the horizon, I wonder what the team will do if Yelena and Bob aren't around. Do you think Valentina will be as compromising as she claims? Will we see more of the Void? Let me know what you guys think, it inspires me to write more or sometimes even twist the story to incorporate ideas ;) Until next time!
DapperNeptune on Chapter 3 Sat 26 Jul 2025 04:22PM UTC
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GoldenEmbers on Chapter 12 Tue 09 Sep 2025 01:07AM UTC
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