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missmara13Sorry this one is late today was... crazy.
I work the front desk at a motel, but I had today off and went into the nearest big town to do some final Christmas shopping. I'm in line to check out at a crafts store when my phone rings... it's one of the maids at the motel, telling me that a guest DIED in a room the night before. All 3 maids are unable to clean the room for religious reasons, so guess who gets to spend her other day off, the day before she works from 9am to 10pm (on Tuesday), steam cleaning a room where a guy died? If you guessed me, you're right! Good news is, my boss feels bad for asking me, so she's giving me an extra $50 on top of my regularly hourly pay for however long it takes... but I stopped by the motel to get an idea of the situation (the body was removed already), and it smells BAD... so... ugh...
Bucky knew as soon as they stopped outside the factory, and told Ryan to move downstairs, near the second door, so he could get out quick if he had to. When Steve and the redhead walked in, Bucky went to greet them. Unable to help smiling when he saw that same brilliant beaming smile on Steve's face. "Long time no see, Steve," he said before looking at the redhead, Natasha Romanoff, his mind supplied. "Sorry I shot you."
"Sorry I tried to cut your throat with a wire," Romanoff replied, shrugging off his apology.
"Don't worry about it."
"Are you okay?" Steve asked.
"I'm fine. It took me a while to... come back to myself, but I am definitely more Bucky than Winter Soldier now. Get me in a fight with Hydra and the Soldier's back, but once I'm done... I'm solidly Bucky."
"Good," Steve said. "That's... really good."
"How did you hack the electronic billboard?" Romanoff asked. "The files we got on you say the extent of your computer skills are pretty much throw, smash, and crush."
"I have a friend. He's good at computers. And he hates Mikhailovich as much as I do."
"Anyone who targets kids deserves to be hated," Romanoff said, and Bucky found himself liking her, trusting her not to hurt Ryan.
"Come on out," he called over his shoulder.
"Figured you'd say that," Ryan said as he slipped out from behind one of the industrial washers.
"Steve, Romanoff, this is Ryan, the one who hacked Times Square."
"You're the kid from the picture," Steve said. "The one that had 'targeted' on your side of it."
"Yup," Ryan said. "Mikhailovich killed my brother. Trey was useless to Hydra, and they knew he would kill me before he let them turn me into their weapon. So they killed him first, and I promptly crashed their local servers and ran."
"And then got cornered in an alley," Bucky said.
"Two weeks later. I stayed under the radar for two weeks. But it's a little hard for a fourteen year-old to get out of LA on their own."
"Fourteen?" Steve said, horrified.
"Fifteen now," Ryan said. "Bucky saved me in the alley, and then decided to be creepy and follow me."
"Good thing I did."
"Mikhailovich and a team tracked me down again, and Bucky saved me, again. Then we decided to take down Hydra. It's fun."
"Fun," Steve said, doubtfully.
"Fun," Romanoff agreed, nodding with a smile. "You're keeping the kid safe?" she asked Bucky.
"If I thought he was in danger from anyone, I'd crush their heads in my hand," Bucky said all humor and friendliness gone from his face and voice, replaced by the coldness of the Winter Soldier.
"She wasn't doubting, just asking," Steve said gently.
"No head crushing needed just yet," Ryan added, shifting until he was in Bucky's field of vision instead of standing behind him. "You asked him to come, and you picked her to come with him, so even a punch would just be really rude. So just calm down, breathe, and don't kill."
Bucky turned his head to look at Ryan, distinctly unimpressed with the speech. "I haven't randomly punched anything in weeks," he pointed out.
"Yes, and I still feel sorry for the poor real estate agent who tries to sell that house."
"Don't, I was in Nazi prison camps nicer than that dump, the holes in the walls are an improvement," Bucky said.
"That good, huh?" Steve said, clearly trying to lighten the mood slightly.
"This is a mansion," Bucky replied dryly, but he returned Steve's hesitant smile with a genuine one of his own.
"I lived in worse when I wasn't on the run," Ryan put in.
"That's... sad," Steve said.
"Don't I know it," Ryan agreed.
"What can we do to help?" Steve asked. "Against Hydra, or... or anything."
"Or you could sign up with us," Romanoff said. "SHIELD doesn't exist anymore, Avengers are independent, so you don't have to worry about getting locked up somewhere. And we've got room."
"At Stark Towers, which blew up a few days ago?" Ryan asked.
"Tony Stark's excited to rebuild, with each of us having our own floor to ourselves," Steve said, and Bucky recognized the mix of affection, amusement, and annoyance. "There'll be enough room on my floor if you wanted. Or on your own floor. Or..."
"I won't leave Ryan," Bucky said firmly.
"Of course not," Steve agreed quickly. "I mean, there'd be room for him, too."
"And it could be fun, having someone else around willing and able to snark at Tony," Romanoff pointed out with a grin. "And possibly out smart him."
"Not 'possibly'," Bucky said. "Definitely."
Before anything else could be said, an alarm sounded from the office and Ryan swore as he took off up the stairs. "Someone's tracking my hack," he called over his shoulder.
Bucky was right behind him, Steve and Romanoff just steps behind him, but by the time they arrived Ryan's hands were already flying through the air, flinging windows around on his holographic screen as he tried to redirect the trace. "How long?"
"I'm trying to send them..."
"How long before they get here?" Bucky asked again, his voice firm and icy.
"Maybe ten minutes," Ryan finally said, shaking his head. "I can't... I don't know how they found my back door, let alone traced it... I don't... they just aren't that smart! Unless... they got one of the others on the list."
"The list?" Steve asked.
"Hydra has a list of people they want to make assets. I was on it, and there's a handful of other hackers. If they got one of the Donovans, or Smoak or McKay... maybe Sheppard... or god help me, Garcia... they could trace me," Ryan said. "I think I can buy us an extra couple of minutes... or I could... oh, that's good..."
"What?" Steve asked.
"He's rerouting their search back to their own point of origin," Romanoff said, a wicked grin on her face. "I like this kid."
"You see why I keep him around," Bucky said.
"I am not a stray puppy," Ryan commented.
"I found you in an alley," Bucky replied. "And when I decided to keep you, you looked a little like a drowned rat."
"Pretty sure I decided to keep you," Ryan countered, tapping a few more keys before stopping and rapidly shutting down his entire system and shoving the pieces of it into a bag. "They'll still be able to find this spot, but we've got more like twenty minutes now."
"Pack up, leave them a few surprises," Bucky said.
"I like surprises," Ryan said coldly.
"Are we splitting up or are you two coming with us?" Romanoff asked.
Bucky hesitated, looking from Steve's hopefully expression, to Ryan's quick and efficient packing up of his gear. The part of him that was Bucky, entirely Bucky without all the trauma's tainting him, wanted nothing but to get Ryan somewhere safe, with safe people, and then leave so that the tainted part of him, the Winter Soldier part, wouldn't destroy Ryan in the long run. But he remembered the time a few weeks earlier, when he'd made to slip away in the night only to have Ryan follow him and remind him that Bucky was all he had, the only person he trusted.
Ryan understood that Bucky was dangerous, and that The Winter Soldier was even more dangerous, but he wasn't afraid of either of them. He knew that no matter which one was front and center, they would protect him. That kept Bucky grounded even as the Soldier, he declared protecting Ryan as his mission, and he would fulfill it at all costs.
"Buck?" Steve asked.
"What do you think?" Bucky asked Ryan, who was looking through his bag of tricks for the right surprise to leave.
"Even a half destroyed tower is probably nice than an abandoned house or factory," Ryan said. "And I'm betting the food's better."
"Practically gourmet," Steve said.
"I'm good with whatever you pick, Bucky. But don't even think of ditching me because I will hunt you down and you know it."
"I do," Bucky agreed with a smile. "We're coming with you."
The End
Yes, the list of people Hydra wants to make assets are more crossover characters. Zane Donovan from Eureka, Claudia Donovan from Warehouse 13, Mckay and Sheppard are both from the Stargate franchise, and Smoak is Felicity Smoak from Arrow, because yes, DC and Marvel are different, but omfg even though I could never bring myself to ship Ryan/Kaitlin (they are family, damn it!), I can totally ship Ryan and Thea like fire... especially bad ass trained by the Winter Soldier Ryan and bad ass sidekick to Arrow Thea.... lol...
I work the front desk at a motel, but I had today off and went into the nearest big town to do some final Christmas shopping. I'm in line to check out at a crafts store when my phone rings... it's one of the maids at the motel, telling me that a guest DIED in a room the night before. All 3 maids are unable to clean the room for religious reasons, so guess who gets to spend her other day off, the day before she works from 9am to 10pm (on Tuesday), steam cleaning a room where a guy died? If you guessed me, you're right! Good news is, my boss feels bad for asking me, so she's giving me an extra $50 on top of my regularly hourly pay for however long it takes... but I stopped by the motel to get an idea of the situation (the body was removed already), and it smells BAD... so... ugh...
Bucky knew as soon as they stopped outside the factory, and told Ryan to move downstairs, near the second door, so he could get out quick if he had to. When Steve and the redhead walked in, Bucky went to greet them. Unable to help smiling when he saw that same brilliant beaming smile on Steve's face. "Long time no see, Steve," he said before looking at the redhead, Natasha Romanoff, his mind supplied. "Sorry I shot you."
"Sorry I tried to cut your throat with a wire," Romanoff replied, shrugging off his apology.
"Don't worry about it."
"Are you okay?" Steve asked.
"I'm fine. It took me a while to... come back to myself, but I am definitely more Bucky than Winter Soldier now. Get me in a fight with Hydra and the Soldier's back, but once I'm done... I'm solidly Bucky."
"Good," Steve said. "That's... really good."
"How did you hack the electronic billboard?" Romanoff asked. "The files we got on you say the extent of your computer skills are pretty much throw, smash, and crush."
"I have a friend. He's good at computers. And he hates Mikhailovich as much as I do."
"Anyone who targets kids deserves to be hated," Romanoff said, and Bucky found himself liking her, trusting her not to hurt Ryan.
"Come on out," he called over his shoulder.
"Figured you'd say that," Ryan said as he slipped out from behind one of the industrial washers.
"Steve, Romanoff, this is Ryan, the one who hacked Times Square."
"You're the kid from the picture," Steve said. "The one that had 'targeted' on your side of it."
"Yup," Ryan said. "Mikhailovich killed my brother. Trey was useless to Hydra, and they knew he would kill me before he let them turn me into their weapon. So they killed him first, and I promptly crashed their local servers and ran."
"And then got cornered in an alley," Bucky said.
"Two weeks later. I stayed under the radar for two weeks. But it's a little hard for a fourteen year-old to get out of LA on their own."
"Fourteen?" Steve said, horrified.
"Fifteen now," Ryan said. "Bucky saved me in the alley, and then decided to be creepy and follow me."
"Good thing I did."
"Mikhailovich and a team tracked me down again, and Bucky saved me, again. Then we decided to take down Hydra. It's fun."
"Fun," Steve said, doubtfully.
"Fun," Romanoff agreed, nodding with a smile. "You're keeping the kid safe?" she asked Bucky.
"If I thought he was in danger from anyone, I'd crush their heads in my hand," Bucky said all humor and friendliness gone from his face and voice, replaced by the coldness of the Winter Soldier.
"She wasn't doubting, just asking," Steve said gently.
"No head crushing needed just yet," Ryan added, shifting until he was in Bucky's field of vision instead of standing behind him. "You asked him to come, and you picked her to come with him, so even a punch would just be really rude. So just calm down, breathe, and don't kill."
Bucky turned his head to look at Ryan, distinctly unimpressed with the speech. "I haven't randomly punched anything in weeks," he pointed out.
"Yes, and I still feel sorry for the poor real estate agent who tries to sell that house."
"Don't, I was in Nazi prison camps nicer than that dump, the holes in the walls are an improvement," Bucky said.
"That good, huh?" Steve said, clearly trying to lighten the mood slightly.
"This is a mansion," Bucky replied dryly, but he returned Steve's hesitant smile with a genuine one of his own.
"I lived in worse when I wasn't on the run," Ryan put in.
"That's... sad," Steve said.
"Don't I know it," Ryan agreed.
"What can we do to help?" Steve asked. "Against Hydra, or... or anything."
"Or you could sign up with us," Romanoff said. "SHIELD doesn't exist anymore, Avengers are independent, so you don't have to worry about getting locked up somewhere. And we've got room."
"At Stark Towers, which blew up a few days ago?" Ryan asked.
"Tony Stark's excited to rebuild, with each of us having our own floor to ourselves," Steve said, and Bucky recognized the mix of affection, amusement, and annoyance. "There'll be enough room on my floor if you wanted. Or on your own floor. Or..."
"I won't leave Ryan," Bucky said firmly.
"Of course not," Steve agreed quickly. "I mean, there'd be room for him, too."
"And it could be fun, having someone else around willing and able to snark at Tony," Romanoff pointed out with a grin. "And possibly out smart him."
"Not 'possibly'," Bucky said. "Definitely."
Before anything else could be said, an alarm sounded from the office and Ryan swore as he took off up the stairs. "Someone's tracking my hack," he called over his shoulder.
Bucky was right behind him, Steve and Romanoff just steps behind him, but by the time they arrived Ryan's hands were already flying through the air, flinging windows around on his holographic screen as he tried to redirect the trace. "How long?"
"I'm trying to send them..."
"How long before they get here?" Bucky asked again, his voice firm and icy.
"Maybe ten minutes," Ryan finally said, shaking his head. "I can't... I don't know how they found my back door, let alone traced it... I don't... they just aren't that smart! Unless... they got one of the others on the list."
"The list?" Steve asked.
"Hydra has a list of people they want to make assets. I was on it, and there's a handful of other hackers. If they got one of the Donovans, or Smoak or McKay... maybe Sheppard... or god help me, Garcia... they could trace me," Ryan said. "I think I can buy us an extra couple of minutes... or I could... oh, that's good..."
"What?" Steve asked.
"He's rerouting their search back to their own point of origin," Romanoff said, a wicked grin on her face. "I like this kid."
"You see why I keep him around," Bucky said.
"I am not a stray puppy," Ryan commented.
"I found you in an alley," Bucky replied. "And when I decided to keep you, you looked a little like a drowned rat."
"Pretty sure I decided to keep you," Ryan countered, tapping a few more keys before stopping and rapidly shutting down his entire system and shoving the pieces of it into a bag. "They'll still be able to find this spot, but we've got more like twenty minutes now."
"Pack up, leave them a few surprises," Bucky said.
"I like surprises," Ryan said coldly.
"Are we splitting up or are you two coming with us?" Romanoff asked.
Bucky hesitated, looking from Steve's hopefully expression, to Ryan's quick and efficient packing up of his gear. The part of him that was Bucky, entirely Bucky without all the trauma's tainting him, wanted nothing but to get Ryan somewhere safe, with safe people, and then leave so that the tainted part of him, the Winter Soldier part, wouldn't destroy Ryan in the long run. But he remembered the time a few weeks earlier, when he'd made to slip away in the night only to have Ryan follow him and remind him that Bucky was all he had, the only person he trusted.
Ryan understood that Bucky was dangerous, and that The Winter Soldier was even more dangerous, but he wasn't afraid of either of them. He knew that no matter which one was front and center, they would protect him. That kept Bucky grounded even as the Soldier, he declared protecting Ryan as his mission, and he would fulfill it at all costs.
"Buck?" Steve asked.
"What do you think?" Bucky asked Ryan, who was looking through his bag of tricks for the right surprise to leave.
"Even a half destroyed tower is probably nice than an abandoned house or factory," Ryan said. "And I'm betting the food's better."
"Practically gourmet," Steve said.
"I'm good with whatever you pick, Bucky. But don't even think of ditching me because I will hunt you down and you know it."
"I do," Bucky agreed with a smile. "We're coming with you."
The End
Yes, the list of people Hydra wants to make assets are more crossover characters. Zane Donovan from Eureka, Claudia Donovan from Warehouse 13, Mckay and Sheppard are both from the Stargate franchise, and Smoak is Felicity Smoak from Arrow, because yes, DC and Marvel are different, but omfg even though I could never bring myself to ship Ryan/Kaitlin (they are family, damn it!), I can totally ship Ryan and Thea like fire... especially bad ass trained by the Winter Soldier Ryan and bad ass sidekick to Arrow Thea.... lol...
