The Pink Ghost

Three

"So, who wants to tell me how Gwen came to be sporting our serum?" Bruce asked first, followed by a follow-up question from Tony.

"Yeah. And why was this the last thing for us to talk about? It should have been brought up at the very beginning of the meeting."

Fury glared at Steve, "It should have been brought to our attention the second it happened. We have earpieces for a reason."

Gwen looked between Steve and Bucky not wanting either of them to get into trouble.

"Sir, if I may—"

"—No. You may not. You weren't conscious enough to approve the decision. This was done without your permission, how are you not upset about this?" Tony interrupted.

"Well, for one, I'm alive. Your personal doctor in the medical bay told me the serum is the reason I am alive, but she needs to learn more about it to know anything else. So, yes, it was done against my will, but it saved my life." Looking at Bucky, she added softly, "Bucky saved my life."

"Bucky is the reason you were shot in the first place." Bruce argued.

"Actually, it was my decision that got me shot. It was either lose one of my best friends again by watching him die or take the hits for him and pray my team would fight to keep me alive. Lord knows you wouldn't have even tried to save him."

"You know why we wouldn't." Tony declared.

"Yes, I know. That was before I knew the soldier was my..." she glanced at Steve, "...our friend."

Tony's attention refocused on Bucky, "And you decided to just throw caution to the wind and pray the serum would help her? How did you even know it was a serum?"

"Hydra. It was my mission. I was told when to go in, where to go, and exactly what to take. They told me the serum would change the way the soldiers would recuperate after missions. Rumlow kept talking about self-healing soldiers."

"Rumlow?" Tony, Bruce, and Steve all spoke at the same time.

Gwen looked to the three not understanding who Rumlow was, he was before she was taken out of cryo, "Who is Rumlow?"

"He is one of the spies that worked for Hydra and infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D a few years back." Fury answered.

"Yeah. He gave Steve a good kick in the butt." Tony chuckled.

"That's not how things happened." Steve narrowed his eyes at Tony causing Bruce to roll his eyes.

"Alright, we don't have time for your two's banter today. Tony, we need to figure out how this serum is affecting Gwen." Turning to look at Gwen, he questioned, "You feel alright, yeah? Do you feel any different?"

Taking a moment to think while all of the men watched and waited, she sat down, "Honestly, I feel better than I did before. I feel stronger, more confident. I also feel like I have an insane amount of energy, like I could jump out of my chest or skin at any moment. It's as if something is humming or vibrating just beneath my skin."

Tony took Gwen's wrist and held her arm out in front of her. He studied her body, looked over her skin, his eyes scanning for any differences. He couldn't find any.

"Steve, you and Peter are with her more than anyone else, does she look any different to you? I'll flag Peter down later and ask him to observe her for his opinion."

Bucky shifted, averting his eyes away from the group so he wouldn't give away how uncomfortable it made him feel to think about Steve knowing her in ways that he never did. And Peter, she was obviously really close with Peter. If he was going to work at rebuilding who he is and his relationships with his childhood friends, he was going to have to work at covering up his emotions. Maybe the emotionless part of being the Winter Soldier wasn't so bad after all.

Steve took Gwen's hands and pulled her to her feet in front of him. Stepping into her personal space, he looked into her eyes, studying her. Raising his hand to her face, his fingers gently swiped a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear. He hated feeling like he was studying her like a science project.

Moving closer, his cheek was against hers as he whispered into her ear, "Tell me the truth, are you ok?" When he pulled away to look at her, she nodded with a smile.

"I asked you to observe her, not make out with her, Cap." Tony quipped.

Steve's cheeks pinkened as he took a step back, "That's not what..." clearing his throat, he looked at Tony and Bruce, "Her eyes are brighter, livelier if that makes any sense." He looked into her eyes again, "There is a hint of pink specs if you look close enough... Also, her hair is a little lighter than it used to be. Her skin seems to be, I don't know, glowing?"

Tony eyed him suspiciously as Bruce was taking in every detail, writing notes down on a small notepad that he pulled from his back pocket.

"Alright. Gwen, would you mind coming to the lab with us?"

She glanced over to Bruce noting how concerned he looked, but he always looked like that. So, it didn't alarm her. "Sure, Bruce. How long do you think we'll be there? I'd really like to catch up with Buck." She smiled at Bucky.

"He's coming with us." Tony stated matter of factly.

Bucky looked at Tony in confusion, "What?"

Tony raised an eyebrow as he crossed his arms over his chest once more, "You don't think you're free to roam the compound, do you? Besides, I agreed in trying to remove those words from that brain of yours. May as well start now."

Fury nodded to everyone, telling them he was ok with their decisions, "If there isn't anything else right now," he headed towards the door, "You'll contact me immediately if anything goes wrong with either of them."

Reluctant to follow Tony and Bruce, Bucky didn't move until Gwen and Steve stood on either side of him for comfort.

"We got you, pal." Steve assured him.

"I'll be there with you. I won't leave you; I promise." Gwen smiled. She looked at her friend, truly looking at him for the first time in decades. He smiled down at her, but she couldn't help but notice he was guarded. The thought of what he endured as the Winter Soldier broke her heart.

Taking the opportunity, she hugged him tightly. He slowly wrapped his arms around her, still feeling unsure about everything. She felt right, though. She always felt right.