Stark Found [completed!]

Chapter 28: Revelations

Sorry, this one's a little on the short side.  But, given the content, I think you'll forgive me a little. xDee

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Sophie

Strong hands flung me into a kneeling position. A metal choker was clasped around my neck, despite my best efforts to prevent it. A man cleared his throat, and I noticed the bright green cape for the first time.

"I knew it was you," I seethed.

Doom stood across the room from me, with I'm sure was a smirk under his silver mask. "I am not the one who is predictable. All you heroes are so easy to manipulate."

"What do you want with me?" I asked.

"Originally, nothing. Blue Monsoon is the one I was after in the beginning. However, I realized I could use you as an excellent distraction. And then I found your brother-"

"I don't have a brother!" I shouted. No matter how much I strained against the two men that held me, I couldn't move. The English woman that looked like a fairy stood behind Doom, a smirk on her face.

"Sweetheart, there's so much you don't know," Doom said in a sickly sweet tone.

"Don't patronize me. What did you do to me? I've never been so angry before, and I can't seem to control myself. What did you do???" I demanded.

He chuckled. "My dear, I didn't do anything. However, my dear Miss le Fay, on the other hand..."

Doom held a hand out for the English woman to grab and step forward. "Remember me?"

"Vaguely," I admitted. "I mostly remember that you're a bitch."

"There's no need for that language!" Doom held back "Miss le Fay" as she attempted to strike me. As usual, my Stark snarkiness was bound to get me hurt.

"Tell me what you did to me," I spat.

"We'll get to that, eventually. First, I need you to do me a favor." He moved towards the table in the middle of the room. Le Fay waved her hand and I floated towards the chairs. Tight ropes wrapped around me, so I couldn't move once more. In front of me, sprawled out across the table, looked like a battle plan.

"What are you trying to do?" I whispered as I took in his ideas.

He grinned at me from the other side of the table. "Whatever I want. And you're going to help me get it."

"Over my dead body," I spat.

"That can be arranged." Doom pushed le Fay back.

"Now, now, dear. I promised you could deal with her after. First, she needs to begin act 3; capture Monsoon."

Steve

The door slammed open to the room we were in and I jumped. Bucky stood there, livid. "Everyone out! Now!"

Sam and Natasha took one look at me before gladly leaving us alone. We'd been discussing the similarities between Sophie and the Prime Minister's cases, to see if that could bring up any further leads. But if Bucky wants to talk, I'll talk.

"What's wrong, Buck?"

Bucky gripped the back of the couch. "Sophie is officially missing again."

"I know, and we're trying to help find her, now. We think it might be related-"

"You don't get it, do you?" He paced in front of me, leaving me more confused. "Do you... how do I say this?"

"What's the context?" I dared a step closer.

He stepped over the back of the couch and plopped down onto it. "When we were younger, we were best buds. Inseparable. Nothing could ever come between us. Nothing did. Not until I became the Winter Soldier, anyway. But even then, I recovered and we were almost back to the way things were years ago."

I sat in the chair across from him. He came here for a therapy session? I noticed the look in his eyes; complete anguish. No, this was going somewhere.

"One of the first things Tony did, after apologizing for trying to kill me for killing his parents- And I've apologized to him for it many times." He choked a bit. "I can't imagine how many parents I've killed. Sons, daughters, brothers, sisters – children."

"That's not fair," I interrupted. "You can't blame yourself for what you did while you were brainwashed. You literally had no choice. I've told you this – we've all told you this."

"That's not the point, we're getting off topic." He rubbed a hand down his face. "When Sophie was gone, and I was somewhat back to normal, you asked me to help search for her. I had no idea who she was, or that she'd even existed. Tony and Pepper showed me pictures. You, Wade, Bethany, Skye, and Clint – they all told story after story of your 'adventures'."

I leaned against the back of the couch, uncomfortable. "...okay?"

He smiled and met my eyes. "By the time Sharon came along and began spewing stories of their childhood, I realized that I was in love with Sophie."

Oh God. This is not where I expected this conversation to go. How in the hell do you fall in love with your best friend's girl? Then again, I was sort-of-not-really a thing with Sophie's cousin. No wonder he couldn't look me in the eyes. He was probably ashamed. Growing up, he'd always been the one to get the girl, but he'd never steal one from someone, especially not me.

"...and when I saw you getting closer with Sharon, I got pissed off. Here you had a beautiful, intelligent young woman that was enthralled with you, waiting for you to come and rescue her, and yet you were with her cousin? Sharon said you never did anything serious – you could never make it past first base. Even then, you'd be lucky to get that far." Bucky snorted.

"So," I cleared my throat, completely unsure as to what I should say. Admittedly, I was a little offended and also glad he was finally opening back up to me. "So that's why you started ignoring me?"

"No, not then. When I saw her hanging in that cell, that's when I realized everything. That I hated you, I hated Sophie, I hated Tony, Clint and everyone that allowed her to get taken and more importantly I hated whoever hurt her."

"Why did you hate Sophie? I thought you just said you loved her?" I did my best to ignore the part about him hating me.

"Because she loved you, and not me." He wasn't meeting my gaze, now. Instead he leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. This took some major guts to admit.

"Buck..." Slowly, he convinced himself to look at me.

"Penny for your thoughts?" I smiled. He didn't look up. "I'm glad you told me, Bucky. I'll admit I wasn't expecting that of all things to be the reason why. If she makes you happy, I'm not going to be the one to hold you back from dating her."

He smirked. "It's gone a little past 'dating', I think."

"What are you trying to say? You made moves on my girl?" I joked. He clenched his jaw, eyes showing he was filled with guilt.

"Steve, I didn't mean to-"

I stood up, and he matched my stance. "Relax, I'm kidding. Sophie is great, really. She's a sweet girl and incredibly smart. But, let's be honest, I wouldn't survive very long as Tony's son in-law."

His face dropped once more. "Oh, god, Tony. I didn't even think...!"

I laughed and patted his back as we walked towards the door. "Don't worry, I'm sure he already knows. Tony finds out everything. But, to be safe, I'd make sure that you tell Pepper first, and have her present to stand between the two of you. And wear some bulletproof gear, in case he comes for you. But, you're not the worst choice she could've made. At least you're not Wade Wilson."