"Rogers! You've got a visitor," the prison guard announced, unlocking Steve's cell.
The prison staff in that facility did not respect him. Thanks to Tony Stark, they no longer feared him either. The genius had created those strange bracelets that nullified all of Steve's enhancements. His superhuman strength was gone, the fast healing too. Steve's only remaining asset was his stature. He had to learn that new reality the hard way when put in the general population area. It was as if he had reverted to being the scrawny, sickly Steve, the boy who had been beaten countless times for standing up to bullies.
Bucky had finally decided to pay him a visit. Who else could it be? Steve suspected that government officials, with their own agendas, had tried their best to prevent Bucky from coming to see him. After all, the Sergeant had been declared innocent of the crimes committed as the Winter Soldier. Wakanda, with Tony Stark's involvement, was now focused on rehabilitating his mental health. Steve wasn't thrilled about the situation, but it seemed that nobody cared much about his opinions anymore, even if they ultimately proved to be right.
"Sharon?" Steve said, clearly surprised. "You shouldn't be here. They will not hesitate to lock you up as well."
With a small motion of her hand and a smile, the spy urged him to sit. Steve did as he was told. Sharon had always been resourceful, and he hoped she had found a way to help him escape. If necessary, they might have to fight their way out, and he wasn't at his best. Hopefully, she had a solution for the bracelets. Steve was ready to do whatever it took to assist her. Loyalty should be rewarded, after all.
"I'm here to talk about a few things," Sharon began.
"Of course, Sharon, whatever you want," Steve replied, his curiosity piqued, eager to learn more about her plan to get free of that jail.
"You are aware of Peggy Carter. She was my aunt. She was also Tony Stark's godmother, did you know that?" Sharon began explaining, not pausing for Steve to respond. "Howard kept in touch with her after you disappeared. They worked together to create Shield. I remember some Christmas parties and other gatherings where we all went together. I never liked Howard really, but Tony, even if he was older than me, he made the effort to entertain me. He is very funny and incredibly patient with children. Those reunions can be so boring, you know."
"I had no idea. Why are you telling me all of this?" Patience had never been something Steve was really good at. Still, he was curious where she was going with that.
Sharon leaned in slightly, her voice lowering as if sharing a secret. "Getting there. We grew up seeing each other at least once a year, and then Tony's parents died. You know a bit about that, don't you?"
Steve winced at the mention of Howard and Maria Stark's deaths. Bucky was completely innocent, and anyway it happened a long time ago. It was becoming grating that everyone was still talking about it. Stark wasn't the only person who had lost his parents at a young age. Steve himself had experienced the loss of his father during the first World War, and his mother had succumbed to tuberculosis not long after. Yet, he wasn't constantly whining about it. Life was often filled with such terrible events.
"Tony didn't really care about Howard, but he was really close to his mother," Sharon continued. "Things were really hard for him after that. He would be the first one to say that he was being stupid at the time. He always made time for me, though. Anytime I needed something or even just for a talk, he was there for me. And then, Afghanistan happened. You know about that."
When they had met, Natasha had told him that Stark had been kidnapped during a weapon demonstration and in order to escape, Stark had built the first Iron Man armour. So the so-called genius had to go through a couple of days of hardship. Big deal. For once, he had put his resourcefulness to good use. This was a rare occurrence.
