How To Mend A Broken Soul-Avengers RP

"Tony!" Kerica chirped, bounding over to him, "Red Menace isn't a bad one. Certainly better than your other attempts at a nickname."

"Is he the one who named you Pixie?" Buck asked slowly, walking nearer, but kept a respectable distance.

"He certainly did! He even made me a really awesome uniform, though I haven't had the chance to wear it on the field yet," Kerica grinned and she smacked Bucky's back, shoving him towards the elevator, "Go see Steve! I'm going to go find Natasha. Man, Tony, did you see how she scared that Agent by the way?! He looked like he was going to piss his pants!" she laughed heartily.

Buck knew when he wasn't wanted...not that Kerica didn't want him, per se, but she knew what was more important. Steve was probably losing his mind even with...F.R.I.D.A.Y.'s confirmation of his safety. He stepped to the elevator which swished open and he heard the AI's voice as she let him know which floor they were going to.

When the doors closed, Kerica let out a heaved sigh and was suddenly like a deflated balloon, "Why did /today/ have to be so god damn /humid/? I almost died in those stupid sewers! Thank Odin we were only down there for fifteen minutes, but fuck! Your watch is awesome, by the way. It did work down there. Ugh, I gotta redo my contacts system for my phone again with that EMP blast."

"No worries I can fix it." Tony said waving it aside. "Probably would have to upgrade it after that little stunt. Fury would be expecting it again. Oh, hey Natasha. Nice of you to come in."

"I don't think this was the plan that Steve was going for when he said to me he was going to break out a couple of people." Natasha replied, ignoring Tony. "Gunslinger went silent." She turned to Kerica. "You did wonderful out there. Especially since it was on the spur of the moment."
~
Steve heard the door open before he heard F.R.I.D.A.Y telling him that Bucky was inside. He turned around and quickly approached him, fearfully. "You're not hurt are you? I heard Angelina went off. Is she okay? Did something happen to her? Why isn't she with you?"

Kerica grinned widely, "Thank you! That Agent was terrified of you, it was great. Anyway...You think 'Slinger's okay? Did he say anything before he went quiet?" she asked in concern.

~

"She wasn't in the right frame of mind to leave, as much as I hate to say it," Buck frowned deeply, "Angelina has split personalities, Steve. Embry took over because she had a meltdown. I heard her screaming, and I think I saw her bed was completely torn apart. She took down ten people. No one's dead, but I...could tell it was difficult."

Sighing, he took off his hat and tossed it onto a nearby table, "No...I'm not hurt. Pixie...she did a wonderful job. We got here in record time and she is intuitive. I didn't know Black Widow taught her. That's even more impressive. Though, her asthma acted up. I had to carry her for a little while because she couldn't breathe. I...remembered you. Us. Back then, when we were teenagers, also running...though I don't remember what we were running from. You were pissed at me, but couldn't do a damn thing about it. It was a similar situation. Kinda cute, actually." He was rambling at this point, and he knew it.

He didn't know what to do now. There were four walls, but the were far from white, and much bigger. The table he put his hat on had a /plant/ for crying out loud. He could /breathe/. Yet...after a month being cooped up in there...he shifted, feeling odd. Going from open air and forests to a box and now a much bigger box with multiple levels. It was jarring.

"He said, "I can't believe it" and then just told me to get out." Natasha shrugged. "I don't know if it's the way she fought against the agents, or if it's something else entirely. My money is on the latter."

"Possibly both." Tony frowned. "Who knows what goes on in that crazy cowboy's head? I sure don't."
~
"Hey, hey, breathe." Steve gently grabbed Bucky's shoulder. "You're gonna be okay. Now that you're here, everything's gonna be fine. I'm sorry that Angelina's not doing well. I have a feeling Teresa's going to take over her health, so...I don't think I need to worry too much. I'll /still/ work on getting her back to you though Buck. I swear. Whose Embry though if you don't mind me asking? She never...showed me that side."

"Of course not. Embry Dante is her much more logical side. You could say he's the side of her that's the most 'human'," Buck explained, "He protects her in his own way, and doesn't come out unless he has to. He probably will stay out for a while, even. Tonight was awful. Wicker's watching out for them right now. That kid deserves a raise. He handled it better than I expected. Kerica made Embry really confused by hugging him, that was kind of funny."

It took a moment longer, but staring up at Steve and feeling his arm on his shoulder, the adrenaline was starting to wind down and he suddenly...felt very tired. "I know you'll protect her. I asked you to, after all..." he murmured, and then his forehead thumped on Steve's chest as it all caught up to him at once.

"Come on big tough guy. I have a guest room." Steve wrapped his arm around Bucky's shoulder and step by step guided him into the guest room and helped him on the bed. While he was doing this, his mind wandered. So Angelina and Dante were two separate beings. Dante came out only when needed and Angelina was the primary driving force. So Dante was out...which meant Angelina was in worse shape than Steve thought.

He worried about them. Worried about Wicker too.

He knew he had a bad feeling about all of this.

()

"You're either reckless or stupid," Wicker was brutally honest, too tired by this point to give a single flying fuck, "You're not supposed to accept a challenge like this!" This dumbass...Slate Tucker he was, was trouncing right through the goddamn flowers and bushes, all the while not ruining them at the same time. How /even/?

"I'll be fine," Slate said, a feral smirk on his lips as he looked over his shoulder at Dylan and he laughed a bit at the dumbfounded look on his face before he went back to looking. He couldn't believe any of this, but it was happening. She was here, had /been/ here for a while and he had no God damn idea. He had heard about Winter Soldier and the Companion, but this...this blew his mind.

He knew this garden. Tended to it quite often, actually. He was aware of some of the best hiding areas because he'd /made/ them, out of nothing but tree and flower placement. It was the greatest defense because it was unexpected. Sure enough, he heard growling, and stopped, though didn't cower. He stood his ground and grinned hugely. He /knew/ it!

"You really are stupid or reckless. I'm thinking its both." The voice said just as they growled. "I'm seriously trying very hard to keep her from attacking you, so you might want to make your little...I don't know...speech or greeting or whatever the hell you want to do quick. I can't really hold her back when she's this uptight and I get the feeling I'm not supposed to hurt you, Slate Tucker. What kind of name /is/ that anyway?"

"I'm also Gunslinger for mah code name," Slate shrugged, "Just Slate works. I don' 'ave a speech. I jus' wanted ta see ya...her...up close. I honestly wouldn' care if she attacked. I wouldn' fight back. I'd just be happy she's /alive/." He sighed just a bit and he stepped back once, then sat down, making it known he wasn't going to move. "Jaybird...god, I missed ya."

Embry could feel Angelina perk up and he carefully crawled out of the bushes, brushing the dirt and dead leaves off of him. He gave Slate a look up and down. "Jaybird." Embry repeated. "You knew her from before." He paused, wondering. "So Angelina was a false name after all. No, not false. I'm sorry." He tilted his head. "A name given without birth. We lost the name that we had at birth. She..." He corrected himself. "She lost the name. I never had it."

"Who are ya, then? Jayden Marie Tucker was 'er full name. Angelina's pretty, though, I like dat if she prefers it..." He trailed off and chewed on his bottom lip, "She was taken when she was fourteen, when I went ta boot camp fer de military. She was angry with me. Everyone gave up lookin', but I didn't. I suppose dat's my speech. She'd be twenty-two right now, if she forgot 'er age."

"Angelina." Angelina paused as she said that, as if she was uncertain. She started to fidget with the hem of the gown they made her wear. She watched, fascinated as her chipped nails sometimes caught on the fabric. She looked at him and frowned. "I like Jayden, but I don't like Tucker. Jones. J.J. I like that. Bucky has that type of name too. B.B." She paused. "I don't know you. You don't know me. So why take time to try to find someone you no longer know?"

"'Cause yer my sister...an' I...felt like it was my fault," Slate murmured, "That you got taken, I mean. I understand yer different now, and dat's okay." A heavy breath fell out of him, "God, I'm so /proud/ of ya, Jaybird. Fer fightin', for survivin'. I knew ya weren't dead, but no one'd believe me."

Sister. Angelina felt her heart sink to the bottom of her stomach. They had a family. They had a family. Robbie had told them that if she couldn't be claimed by a family, or was believed to be dead, he was going to take her in. That why she had his names. Angelina Jones. But, he was long gone now and she still wasn't claimed till now.

"Oh." Angelina frowned a little. "I don't know if it was your fault or not. No point in worrying about it anymore though. If I don't know, and you don't know but feel like it was your fault, then maybe it's best we ignore it. Why did you know I wouldn't die? Did you teach me how to fight? No...no. You weren't an Owner...but before. Self-defense?"

"A bit, yeah," Slate nodded, "I was your big brother, it was my job to protect you, but I knew I wouldn't always be there for you," he explained, his Southern Drawl dropping a bit as he got serious, "So I taught ya some self-defense an' how to laugh with the pain. Bullies hate it when ya laugh at them, after all. It makes dem think yer crazy, an' I know neither of us were completely /sane/ even when we were kids. I'm reckless and stubborn, an' even my comrades think I'm insane. I'm okay with that. It's /okay/ to be the way we are, Jaybird."

"Laugh in the face of pain. That's where I got that motto." J.J bowed her head a little as she started to pick at the fabric again. She felt her throat tighten. "If it's okay to be this way. Double personality, insane laughter, and surviving, then why am I still here? Why are they questioning me about Bucky? What will they question me over next? I'm tired of the questions. They don't get it. They won't get it and if they do get it, then Bucky will go away forever and I can't do that. Can't let that happen. I made Emb-Dante promise me."

"Ya didn't have me before ta tell them ta piss off," Slate sneered a bit, though it wasn't at her. He was definitely ticked at Fury, "I'll take care of ya, Jaybird. Everything will be okay. I won't let them put ya in a box again. Just stay here until I get things figured out. Wicker's been doing a great job at protecting ya, by the way." He stood up in a fluid motion and grinned at her, giving her a thumbs-up, before he ran off and activated his com system to talk to Natasha again, "Widow. It's her. Companion is my sister."

"Are you absolutely certain, without a doubt, that she's your sister?" Natasha knew that Slate could get his hopes up, but she had to make certain. Because if that really was his sister, then this would toss more of a wrench in both Steve's and Fury's plans. Though Steve would forgive it so long as it got her out of the damn box. Fury on the other hand? A whole other ball park.

"She remembered me, if only just a little. She may have changed a lot, but 'er eyes are definitely de same. Laugh in de face of pain, too...I taught 'er dat. It's her, Nat. What do ya suggest? Get Steve over here? I don't have any proof, but I could get some. I would have to talk to Teresa."

Fury wasn't going to let the Companion go without a reasonable request. Even then, Teresa might fight against it mostly because she was a doctor by heart. Natasha hummed softly. Steve would fight tooth and nail, and even though Bucky was free, he'd go back down there in a heartbeat if it meant he could save the Companion. She let out a breath. "Go to Teresa and ask her for a DNA swab test. Somehow get it from Companion too. Have that as backup. For now, we go back to the basics. She's a missing person that's confirmed dead." She heard Slate's intake and she cut him off. "Which means that Fury has a lot of power right now if he knows that. However, if she went by another name, if someone had claimed her or even /almost/ claimed her, there's a chance /that/ family doesn't consider her dead and is looking for her. Meaning Fury would have to make a decision between killing off another daughter or giving her back to someone that loves her and loves her dearly. I could make the argument that Bucky's her brother or father figure, but he didn't adopt her outright, considering she's an adult. So that's null and void." Natasha paused. "Though Steve on the other hand would argue a different case all together."

"She mentioned somebody gave 'er 'er name. Jones. Angelina Jones, but since 'er birth name's Jayden she wants ta be J.J. which is fine by me, but we can use dat. Maybe Barnes knows more. Dat does sound familiar, honestly," Slate mumbled, "Ya talk to Steve while I do a little diggin' myself. Thank ya, Darlin'."

"Anytime." Natasha hung up and before Tony nor Kerica could ask, she walked off. While it was a conversation that needed to happen, Natasha knew that it could wait, at least until the morning. Bucky and Steve needed to hear it...and she knew that waking up two super soldiers was /not/ a good idea from personal experience.
~+~
Steve woke up to the smell of coffee and bacon and for a moment he was highly confused as to why he was smelling these things. He lived alone, in the tower, and no one would just drop by to cook unless he had a meltdown and Sam slept over. He was pretty certain that he didn't have a meltdown last night since he felt more rested than he had previously.

He got up, stretched, and set out to get himself dressed and ready for the morning. He brushed his teeth and hair before getting out of his room and padding across the living room to see Natasha at the stove and Bucky sitting with a cup of coffee.

For five seconds, he thought he was having a hallucination. There was no way Bucky was here. "Coffee Steve?" Natasha asked, breaking his train of thought and bringing up the present. Bucky was still sitting there and it confirmed it for him that he was awake and Bucky really was here.

"Yeah...morning." Steve nodded as he headed over to the coffee pot. Natasha slid him his favorite mug and he poured a generous amount before inhaling it. "What's with breakfast? You don't cook for me."

"I thought that we should have a proper sit down." Natasha smiled. "Slate called me last night and I decided to let you sleep. I have a plan and I need some fine-tuning."

"You never need fine-tuning." Steve took a sip as he walked over and sat down next to Bucky. "Have you been up long?" He asked his friend.

"She wants something, but I'm not about to ruin a good thing before it's time," Buck mumbled, yawning a bit. He was wearing one of Steve's shirts, a deep blue one with three buttons at the collar, all of them undone and while he was shorter than Steve, his shoulders were broader and his torso was more square so it hugged him a lot differently, but he still wore the pants from yesterday's impromptu shopping with Kerica, "No I haven't, honestly, to answer your question. Maybe ten minutes ago? I slept like a goddamn rock even though that bed of yours is a marshmallow."

"You had a tiring day undoubtedly." Steve agreed as he set his coffee cup down and looked over as Nat started working on fixing plates. The toast in the toaster popped. "I'm glad you were able to sleep well. Probably better than those damn cots in the cells."

"They aren't the most comfortable beds in the world, but it probably mimicked the cold hard ground pretty well." Natasha said as she passed them their plates filled with bacon, eggs and toast. She turned to fix her own up so she could sit down with them. "Also, you got to go through a sewer system. That'd wear anyone out in a heartbeat."

"I forgot about that." Steve mused. "How does Kerica know how to navigate that area anyway?"

"Her obsession with TMNT." Natasha said nonchalantly. "Though I think that's just my observation."

"She had a hologram on her watch, something from Tony I'm sure," Buck explained, "Thankfully we were able to cut through and were only down there for fifteen minutes. The humidity made everything smell worse." He piled his eggs onto his toast and put the bacon on top, making a sandwich and took a large bite out of it, giving Natasha a thumbs-up for good work.