Hours after Gwen finally calmed Bucky and Tony down and helped the team put the lab back together, Bucky was back in Tony's chair, with supervision from Steve and Sam. Bruce and Gwen were back in their own corner with Bruce running new tests with Gwen's newfound abilities.
"How did you figure out how to do that?"
"I didn't, honestly. Watching the two go at made me panic. I didn't want my friends fighting, it worried me that one of them would get severely hurt. The overwhelming feeling made me feel like I could burst, so I screamed at them to stop. That's when the pink rope-like beams shot out of my hands." She answered and then asked a question of her own, "How did you know that one word would make me the one to control the soldier?"
"Hydra's notes. Tony has them now, all I did was read through them as fast as I could. Luckily, Jarvis was able to translate Russian for me."
"So, whoever speaks that last word controls him?"
"I didn't even know that." Bucky added. "It's only ever been one person to speak the entire activation. Never has more than one person tried. Thank you, Bruce, for thinking to try."
Bruce smiled at Bucky, "We're going to get those trigger words out of you, just be patient with Tony."
Hearing his name pulled him from his concentration.
"What Hydra did is very extensive. You said they wiped you over and over?" Tony asked.
"Yeah. They'd wipe me, give me a mission, wipe me again and freeze me."
"I'm seeing why it took so long for them to gain control." Tony was poking around in a hologram model of Bucky's brain.
"What's that?" Bucky asked, watching Tony.
"Your resistance to the mind control was so high because of the serum. Its regenerative properties were causing the damage the machines were doing to you to heal faster than I'm sure they thought they would. I'm thinking that's how Gwen pulled you out the first time."
"What do you mean?" Steve asked.
"Well, Hydra used that damn chair for electroconvulsive therapy. Only, this wasn't therapy. It was torture. The amount of voltage used on him should have killed him instantly. It burned away at the pathways to his personal memories. Not only was it wiping his memories, it was preparing his brain for the brainwashing process. They'd wipe, freeze, wipe, freeze, wipe and then work on implanting the trigger words."
"That tells us nothing about Gwen pulling him out, Tony." Sam mumbled.
Rolling his eyes, Tony glared at Sam as he continued, "There's only so much the brain can withstand. Somewhere, somehow, he held onto Gwen and Steve. It took longer than anyone would have liked, but if Hydra truly wiped him, she never would have pulled him out. Maybe you were right about the connection the three of you have."
Tony nodded to himself then turned back to his holograms.
Bruce took the silence as his change to get back to Gwen. He continued with his tests, "From what I witnessed when walking back down the stairs with everyone, it looked as if you created a protective barrier, a force shield to be frank. It seemed to have electromagnetic particles. If you don't mind, I'd like to take you outside and see what else you think you can do. Would you be up for that?"
"Sir, do you think that's safe?" Peter asked grabbing the attention of Gwen and Bruce. He didn't want to chance her getting hurt.
Gwen smiled and reached out for him to come closer. Standing next to Gwen, she smiled up at him from her seat, "Sooner or later I have to know what this serum did to me. Banner is the best person, besides Tony, to do that for me. For the team. If there are other things I can do, I need to learn to control them. I don't want to hurt any of you." She explained.
Nodding, Peter smiled, placing his hand over hers where it rested on the armrest. "I just don't want you to get hurt."
"As long as we don't push her to extreme right from the beginning, I think everything will be ok. This is going to take time. It's going to be an extensive process." Bruce added to the conversation.
Gwen could tell Peter was apprehensive, but he was trying to hide it from her.
"How about this," she began, "what if you and a few of the others come outside with us? That way if something goes wrong, Banner isn't left to deal with me on his own." Glancing quickly at Bruce, she added, "Not that I think you're incapable of handling this."
Her quick save caused Bruce to smile in amusement, "No. I think it's a good idea, actually. Better safe than sorry."
"Right. Peter, do you mind grabbing Thor and Nat?"
"What about Steve? Wouldn't you want him there?"
"Yes. But he's busy helping Tony right now. He needs to be there for Bucky."
"You could take Sam with you." Bucky's voice chimed in.
Gwen glanced up at Bucky noting the annoyed glare he was giving Sam. Sam returned his glare, refusing to back down.
"Boys, play nice." Gwen scolded.
Shaking his head, Steve chuckled and mumbled to himself, "Not even back together a full day and she's already trying to keep us in line."
"I heard that!" Gwen exclaimed as Bruce removed the sticky circles from the sides of her face.
"I think you were meant to," Bucky grinned. He really missed the interaction between the three of them.
Gwen wanted nothing more than to be sitting over there with Steve and Bucky, but she knew it was important to learn what that serum did to her. She knows she feels great, stronger even, but when she began feeling worried for her friends, overwhelmed with panic, she felt that first outburst from her body and felt out of control.
Making her way across the lab to the boys, she stood between Sam and Steve. Holding Bucky's hand, she saw the look of concern in his eyes.
"I'll be fine, Buck. These people are friends. They will fight to make sure I stay safe during this. You can trust them."
Squeezing her hand with a smile, he glanced over to Tony, "You sure about that? I've got a crazy genius over here that is too intrigued with what Hydra did to me, and a bird brain back here making snarky comments."
Nudging Sam's shoulder with hers, he held his hands up in defense, "I'm only calling things as I see them, princess."
"Don't call me that, you know I hate it." She glared. "Please try to get along. You, too, Tony."
Tony glanced up with furrowed brows, "Hey, I'm minding my own business over here."
Narrowing her eyes, she pointed at him as she spoke, "No more experiments on him. You tell him what you're doing before you do it. If he doesn't consent, you don't do it. Simple as that."
Tony watched her walk away with a raised eyebrow, "The sass in that one kills me."
"I mean it, Tony. Don't make me come back down here." She called over her shoulder.
Rolling his eyes, he answered with, "Yes, mother." Causing the guys to chuckle.
Bucky didn't know how to feel about having the right to make decisions on his own again. He spent decades taking orders, being told how to think, and then wiped clean and complying all over again. He was never put in a situation where he was able to make decisions on his behalf, they were only ever made in the best interest of Hydra.
As time passed, Steve took notice of Bucky's seemingly overwhelmed state, "Hey, Tony, let's take a break."
"What? I feel like I'm close to something here. His brain waves are all over the place, but I can see a pattern. If I can just—"
"—Tony, you've been at this for hours. It's been three hours since Gwen went outside, let's take a breather to check on her."
Thinking about it, Tony hadn't realized Gwen had been away that long. Reaching over and unclasping the brain scanner from around Bucky's head, he tugged it off to the side while Steve and Sam removed the sticky pads from his skin.
"Right then, say we meet back here in an hour?"
"It's getting kinda late, man. Why don't you pick up where you left off tomorrow?" Sam suggested.
Making it obvious he was not a fan of the idea, Tony sighed as he tapped the butt of a pen on his table in front of him.
"Fine, but we start at 8:00, and no breaks until I make some type of breakthrough."
"Tony," Steve began to object, he didn't like how hard Tony was pushing Bucky. Bucky literally just snapped out of being the Winter Soldier, twice. He was worried if they pushed too far, it would set him back.
"You want your friend back, right?" Tony interrupted Steve, "I want to make sure the team is safe and there isn't a threat living at the compound. So, let me do what I do."
Diffusing an argument before it happened, Bucky chimed in, "It's fine, Steve. He's giving me the night to rest, I should be ok to come back tomorrow."
"Come back? Where do you think you're going?"
"Well, I can't stay here."
"Yes. You can." Steve argued.
"No, Steve. I want to keep everyone as safe as Tony does, me staying isn't a smart idea until I can at least control this."
"As much as I hate to say this, with the intensity of what I see in your brain, I don't think this can be controlled fully. Not for a while, at least." Tony spoke as he rounded the table.
"I can get by on my own until I need to come back."
Steve shook his head, refusing to let his friend stay anywhere but with them, "That's the thing, Buck. You don't have to. I'm with you 'til the end of the line, pal."
A slight smile tugged at the corners of Bucky's mouth as he nodded. It was nice to be care about again.
Tony walked past them, the three followed him through the broken door and up the stairs.
"Jarvis, schedule someone to come out and replace the glass panes." Tony stated.
"Yes, sir." The A.I. replied.
"I still don't understand how you talk to nothing and he responds out of thin air." Bucky thought out loud as they made their way through the long hallways towards the doors to the open field behind the compound.
"He's an A.I."
"And that is?"
"Artificial Intelligence. He's not real, but he is. I created him. He's who runs through all of my little gadgets and robotic helpers." Tony spent the entire walk across the lawn explaining artificial intelligence to Bucky, but it only confused him more.
"You created all of that stuff?"
"Yes. It's the technology I'm using to try and break through the brainwashing you've endured."
Steve and Sam walked a few steps behind Tony and Bucky.
Sam nudged Steve, "Is this not weird to you? They literally were just fighting a few hours ago."
"Oh, it's weird. But Tony is such a technology buff that he will jump at the chance to teach anyone about it, no matter who it is."
"So, do you think this can be a way for these two to actually get along?"
"I'm hoping that's the case. I really want everyone to get along with Bucky. With everything we know about the Winter Soldier, I know he's been through hell and back."
Sam already felt a struggle between him and Bucky, but with it being this important to Steve, he decided to ignore the old brute's attitude.
Bruce and Gwen noticed the group of guys headed their way, the two of them definitely didn't miss how Tony and Bucky were walking in front of Steve and Sam, talking.
"Are you seeing this?" Bruce asked Gwen.
"I am, but I'm not sure what I'm seeing." She replied as she watched the two chattering back and forth. It was evident that Tony was explaining something to Bucky and Bucky was listening to every word.
"Hey, guys." Gwen greeted as they reached her. She couldn't help her eyes lingering on Bucky a moment longer than they should have.
The four smiled at her and Bruce, Tony was the first to talk, "Learning anything out here?"
"She's amazing, Mr. Stark." Peter commented, he was standing off to the side with everyone else.
Smiling as Bruce looked at Gwen proudly, he nodded, "That we are. Gwen here has powers very similar to Miss Maximoff, some other things seem to be holding her back, she can feel things stirring, but she can't grasp them yet. It's pretty chaotic."
"Yeah? Anything you can show us right now?" Sam asked.
Gwen looked from Steve to Bucky, the two of them smiling back at her.
"I'm still pretty unstable, do you think it's safe, Bruce? Have them stand back there with everyone else?"
Bruce stood in thought for a moment, he just wanted to make sure it wasn't too much of a distraction for her. Tony took that as him being unsure, so he held his arms up calling for his suit. Within seconds, the pieces of his suit began flying towards them, connecting themselves to Tony's body. As soon as his helmet was locked in place, he spoke to Jarvis,
"Have Mark IX bring Cap his shield and Falcon his wings."
Bucky's eyes widened as his brow creased as they raised in curiosity, "Wings?"
"You didn't think Falcon was his last name, did you?" Tony snarked.
Movement behind them alerted them to Tony's approaching suit. The suit was carrying Steve's shield and Sam's pack in each hand. Once it landed next to Tony, it held out its arms and handed the items to Tony who then passed them off to their rightful owners.
Sam strapped his pack on his back and extended its wings. In their spreading, the right-wing clipped the Mark IX causing it to clatter to the ground in pieces.
"There's no one in that thing?!" Bucky shouted as he took a step back. "I thought watching Tony suit up in one was out of this world, but one functioning on its own?"
"It's not on its own, Buck," Gwen stepped beside him with a hand on his shoulder. "It's controlled by Jarvis."
Everyone watched Bucky, making sure he calmed before proceeding, Tony laughed internally. At that moment he knew he would enjoy teaching Bucky the ins and outs of modern-day tech.
"I knew Howard was on to some wild things, but I never imagined things could come this far." Bucky was still focused on the suit laying on the ground. He knew of the weapons and Iron Man's flying abilities in his suit, but not a suit without him in it.
"You knew my dad?" Tony's expression was mixed with longing and sadness.
"Howard was your father?" Bucky glanced back at the suit, "This makes so much sense now. Why didn't I put two and two together? You remind me of him."
Clearing his throat uncomfortably, Tony instructed Jarvis to put the empty suit back together and get it back to his lab. He smiled internally at the thought of someone thinking he was like his father.
Everyone faced one another waiting for Bruce to give the clear for Gwen to start showing them what she was capable of. The group stood around watching in shock and awe of their dear friend's new powers. What they didn't realize at that point in time is that she'd become one of their biggest assets.