Several months passed, and Anna had vanished from the radar. HYDRA had been on the low as well, but they popped up from time to time.
Steve had returned to the Avengers, and he and Bucky had moved into the Avengers Tower. Sam Wilson visited them every once in a while because even though he lived in DC, the three had become great friends.
In between missions, they kept a close eye on the news and the internet to see if they could find any trace of Anna, and where she might be, Bucky most of all. He had spent countless nights doing research and running tracers. Nothing. No sign of her. It was as if she had never existed.
The Avengers had just returned from a mission in Sokovia, and to celebrate their victory on retrieving the Scepter that Loki had once used back in 2012, Tony Stark did what Tony Stark did best: Throwing a party.
They had invited everyone they could think of, and Steve hadn't hesitated to shoot Sam a message, inviting him to the party. He said he'd be there, and he hadn't lied. He showed up half an hour after the party had started, considering he lived four hours away from New York after all.
At the moment, Steve and Sam were caught up in a game of pool while Bucky chatted with Natasha and James Rhodes, Tony Stark's best friend.
"So it was the six of us against an entire fort of HYDRA soldiers. Piece of cake." Steve shrugged as he fully missed the ball he was aiming for.
Sam chuckled. "Yeah, I bet," he said, skillfully shooting the black ball into the hole in the corner.
Steve held up his hands. "Good game," he admitted, and the two shook hands. "Let's get a drink."
"Sounds like one hell of a fight. Sorry I missed it," Sam said as they walked to the bar. Two drinks were placed in front of them.
"If I had known it was a firefight, I absolutely would have called," Steve replied.
"No, no," Sam scoffed. "I'm not actually sorry. I'm just trying to sound tough. I'm very happy chasing cold leads on our missing person case," he said. "Avenging is your world. Your world is crazy."
"Be it ever so humble," Steve said.
"You find a place in Brooklyn yet?" asked Sam.
"I don't think I can afford a place in Brooklyn," Steve answered.
"Well, home is home, you know?" Sam shrugged. Steve smiled, nodding. "I'm gonna find Bucky." Sam patted Steve's shoulder before walking off.
Steve sauntered through the tower and ended up at the bar with Thor. The god fished out a small bottle from his pocket and held it up.
"I gotta have some of that," one of the elderly men said.
"Oh, no, no, no," said Thor. "See this... This was aged for a thousand years." He poured some in a glass and handed it to Steve, who held it to his nose. He expected it to smell very strong, but it actually wasn't so bad. "In the barrels built from the wreck of Grunhel's fleet. It's not meant for mortal men."
"Neither was Omaha Beach, Blondie," said another man. "Stop trying to scare us. Come on."
Thor glanced at Steve with amusement, and the supersoldier shrugged. "All right," Thor agreed, adding a tiny amount to the man's drink.
"So, nothing?" Sam asked, sitting across from Bucky, handing him a beer.
Bucky shook his head. "Absolutely nothing. I constantly end up on some blog that posted about the Triskelion. They took pictures, but they keep getting deleted. You can't even see her face, so it could be anyone," he answered.
"I'm sorry, man. I know how much you want to find her," Sam said sympathetically.
"I was talking to Tony the other day, and he got me thinking. What if she managed to leave the US? What if she travelled to a country where it's a lot easier to remain hidden. Like, somewhere in Europe," Bucky said, twisting the bottle in his hands.
"What are you saying?" asked Sam.
"I think I'm going to Europe, Sam," Bucky confessed, taking a sip of beer.
"Are you sure? Have you talked to Steve about it?" Sam frowned.
"Yeah, he agrees with me. He is busy with avenging while I am cooped up here looking for someone who never leaves a trace," Bucky said. "She obviously doesn't want to be found, but I can't help but think she's scared out of her mind. I need to find her."
"I get it, you don't have to explain yourself. It's just, what if she's dangerous?" Sam asked softly. "She killed 50 people, probably even more."
"I know, but I can't live with myself knowing she's out there on her own without knowing who she is," Bucky said. "I'm leaving tomorrow morning. I'm starting in the Czech Republic and I'm going to work my way down."
"That's gonna take months if not years," Sam stated.
Bucky sighed, lowering his head.
"Guys, are you coming? We're gonna play cards." Steve popped his head into the room and Bucky and Sam realised most of the guests had left.
"Nah, I'm gonna head home," Sam said, rising to his feet.
"You can use the quinjet, you know? You could be home in 30 minutes instead of 4 hours," Steve said.
"I know," Sam grinned, patting his friend's shoulder. "I'll see you around." He turned to Bucky. "Good luck out there, and keep us posted."
Bucky smiled. "Of course. It was good to see you, Sam."
An hour later, the group was huddled around the coffee table after finishing a rather intense game of cards. Natasha had won, even though multiple people were sure she had cheated, but no one dared to question it.
"Okay, so only you can lift it?" Bucky questioned Thor, motioning to his hammer, Mjölnir, that stood on the table.
"For as far as we know, only my father and I. No other person is worthy," Thor said.
"But it's a trick!" Clint Barton exclaimed.
"No, no, it's much more than that," Thor said, clanking his beer with Steve's drink.
"Ah, whosoever be he worthy shall haveth the power!" Clint mocked in a deep voice, making the others laugh. "Whatever, man, it's a trick!"
Thor chuckled, pointing at Mjölnir. "Please, be my guest," he said. "Come on."
"Really?" Clint asked.
"Yeah," Thor confirmed.
Clint nodded his head before rising to his feet, dropping the drumsticks he had been holding.
"Oh, this is gonna be beautiful," Rhodey commented.
"Clint, you've had a tough week. We won't hold it against you if you can't get it up," Tony called, earning a round of laughs from the group.
"You know I've seen this before, right?" Clint asked, wrapping his hand around the handle and tugging at it, but the hammer wouldn't budge. Clint grunted as he pulled, but to no avail. "I still don't know how you do it," he said, laughing.
"Smell the silent judgement?" Tony asked.
"Please, Stark, by all means," Clint called.
Tony cleared his throat before standing up. He released the button of his jacket.
"Uh-oh," said Rhodey.
"Never one to shrink from an honest challenge," Tony stated, walking up to the hammer.
"Get after it," Clint said, patting his shoulder before sitting back down.
"It's physics," Tony said, wrapping the leather strap around his wrist. "Right, so, if I lift it, I then rule Asgard?"
"Yes, of course." Thor agreed.
"I will be reinstituting Prima Nocta," he said as he took a tight hold of the hammer's handle. He put his foot on the edge of the table before pulling. Nothing. It didn't even shift. He took off the strap. "Be right back."
Minutes later, he and Rhodey each had the hand of their suits around the handle, pulling with all their might plus extra. And still, Mjölnir seemed to be glued to the table.
Bruce tried as well, along with a dramatic yell, but even the Hulk couldn't lift it.
"Wanna have a try, Steve?" Bucky joked, patting his friend's shoulder.
Steve raised his eyebrows before standing up.
"Go, Cap, no pressure," Tony commented.
Steve rolled up the sleeves of his shirt before wrapping his hands around the handle. He pulled, and to everyone's surprise, the hammer creaked as it moved less than an inch. Thor's amused smile fell and his eyes widened. He had not expected this at all.
Steve pulled again, but the hammer was fully immovable again.
Thor nervously laughed. "Nothing."
Bucky's eyes travelled to Natasha. "Widow?" he asked, grinning boyishly.
"Oh, no, no. That's not a question I need answered," Natasha chuckled, putting her bottle of beer to her lips and taking a sip.
"All deference to the man who wouldn't be king, but it's rigged," Tony commented.
"You bet your ass," Clint said, pointing a finger at Thor.
"Steve, he said a bad language word," Maria Hill said.
Steve sighed deeply, and Bucky laughed. "Did you tell everyone about that?" he asked Tony.
"The handle's imprinted, right?" Tony asked Thor. "Like a security code? 'Whosoever is carrying Thor's fingerprint', is, I think, the literal translation?"
"Yes, it's a very interesting theory," Thor said, standing up. "I have a simpler one." He took Mjölnir from the table without a problem. "You're all not worthy."
Everyone scoffed and laughed at the god before their laughter was cut off by a high-pitched beep that hurt everyone's ears.
"Worthy..." a robotic voice said.