Red, White & Blue | Bucky x Reader

Chapter Nine

"What is Phase 2?" Stark asks Fury as Steve and I walk into Banner's lab.

Steve drops the HYDRA assault weapon on the table with a thud. "Phase 2 is SHIELD uses the Cube to make weapons. Sorry, computer was moving a little slow."

Fury is quick to try and explain himself, "Rogers, we gathered everything related to the Tesseract. That doesn't mean that we're—"

"I'm sorry, Nick," Stark interrupts, turning his computer monitor around and showing us proof that SHIELD plans to build weapons. "What were you lying?"

"I was wrong, Director," Steve states. "The world hasn't changed a bit."

At that moment, Thor and Natasha walk into the lab.

My gaze locks on Natasha, my anger threatening to boil over. "Did you know about this?" Natasha says nothing, and I round on Fury. "I want to know why SHIELD's using the Tesseract to build weapons of mass destruction!"

"Now, Y/l/n," Fury says, trying to calm me down, "I know your angry—"

"Oh, I'm way past angry," I spit back, taking a step toward him as my powers flare up my arms.
Fury and Natasha reach for their guns as the rest flinch back in surprise, but I don't make another move, letting my powers dance around the room in waves of light, weaving in and out of the machinery. "I lost EVERYTHING because of men who tried using the Tesseract for their own gain, and now you tell me that SHIELD, the organization I STARTED, is doing the exact same thing?!"

Steve steps between us, his hands hovering just above my shoulders, not wanting to touch me and risk triggering another flashback in my current state. "Y/n, calm down."

I blink, and my anger disappears instantly, replaced by a soft humming in the back of my mind. I gaze around the room, taking in the shocked and confused faces of the others.

I turn back to Fury. "You need to explain yourself, Director."

Fury drops his hand from his gun and points to Thor. "Because of him."

Thor squints in confusion. "Me?"

"Last year, Earth had a visitor from another planet who had a grudge match that leveled a small town," Fury explains. "We learned that not only are we not alone, but we are hopelessly, hilariously, outgunned."

"My people want nothing but peace with your planet," Thor assures him.

"But you're not the only people out there, are you?" Fury argues. "And you're not the only threat. The world's filling up with people who can't be matched, that can't be controlled."

"Like you controlled the Cube?" Steve demands.

"Your work with the Tesseract is what drew Loki to it, and his allies," Thor adds. "It is the signal to all realms that the Earth is ready for a higher form of war."

"A higher form?" Steve questions.

"You forced our hand," Fury informs Thor. "We had to come up with something."

"Nuclear deterrent," Stark chimes in. "Because that always calms everything right down."

"Remind me again how you made your fortune, Stark?" Fury asks.

"I'm sure if he still made weapons," Steve adds, "Stark would be neck-deep—"

"Wait, wait," Stark interrupts. "Hold on. How is this now about me?"

"I'm sorry," Steve mocks. "Isn't everything?"

As the team continues to argue, the humming in the back of my head grows stronger, trying to pull my anger and distrust forward. I glance around the room, trying to find the source of this strange pulse, and I see that the blue gem of Loki's sceptre is glowing brightly.

Stark gestures to me. "How is no one talking about the fact that she just created Aurora Borealis in here?"

I stare at Stark. "I have powers, so what? You don't need to know everything about me."

"That's just it. We know nothing about you," Stark states. "You claim to be a SHIELD agent, but your SHIELD file is conveniently empty. And after your little lightshow, I'm beginning to think SHIELD isn't the only one hiding something."

"God, this is exactly why I didn't want to be part of this team in the first place," I say with an exasperated laugh. "Why can't you mind your own goddamn business, Stark?"

"You need to back off," Steve orders him, coming to my rescue once again.

Stark turns to face Steve. "Oh, I'm starting to want you to make me."

"Yeah. Big man in a suit of armor," Steve states. "Take that off, what are you?"

"Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist," Stark responds.

"I know guys with none of that worth ten of you," Steve states. "I've seen the footage. The only thing you really fight for is yourself. You're not the guy to make the sacrifice play, to lay down on a wire and let the other guy crawl over you."

"I think I would just cut the wire," Stark remarks.

Steve smirks. "Always a way out. You know, you may not be a threat, but you better stop pretending to be a hero."

Stark goes still as Steve's remark hits home. "A hero? Like you? You're a laboratory experiment, Rogers. Everything special about you came out of a bottle."

I take a step forward, squaring up with him. "You're wrong, Stark. The serum didn't make Steve special, his morals did. He understood the value of having power long before it was given to him, and he chose to use it to fight for others, to fight for the people who can't fight for themselves. That is what makes him special."

"And what about you, huh?" Stark demands. "Who do you fight for? If we're expected to be a team, how are we supposed to trust you when we don't know a single thing about you?"

"You can't trust me!" I spit back. "You can't trust me because I can't even trust myself."

The room goes quiet as all arguments cease, waiting for me to continue.

"I can't control my powers," I state, glancing down at my hand. "After the war, there was an incident... I got angry, and I lost control. And it's not just anger... If I experience a strong enough emotion, like fear, or grief, I lose control... So, I chose to go into cryofreeze. However, on occasion, SHIELD needed me to complete a mission that no one else could, and because of the rising tensions of the time, my activities were kept off SHIELD's records and I preferred it that way, I didn't want to be in the public eye... I completed mission after mission, becoming more and more ruthless as my powers grew, and I felt myself slipping further and further away... I let my anger fuel me, and that terrifies me more than my own powers do... So, Mr. Stark, does that answer your question?"

Stark wracks his brain for a reply, taking in the information I gave him.

"Yes," he finally answers. "Like I said before, I can't do the equation without all the variables, but now I have them all, maybe I can find a way to trust you... And please, call me Tony. Mr. Stark was my father."

I offer him a small smile, but before I can say anything more, the computer beeps. Banner walks over to the monitor.

"You located the Tesseract?" Thor asks.

"I can get there fastest," Tony states.

"The Tesseract belongs on Asgard." Thor claims. "No human is a match for it."

"Except for her, apparently," Tony argues, pointing to me before turning to leave.

Steve stops him. "You're not going alone!"

"You gonna stop me?" Tony asks.

At that moment, an explosion envelops the room, throwing us in every direction.