Discovery Requires Experim- [GUNSHOT]

Chapter 9

The three of them walked to the hangar where the Aven-Jet was located. At the loading bay of the jet, Nat and Clint were making provisions with their stingers and arrows. Tony whistled to them, gaining their attention.

Nat’s face went smug when she scanned Bucky. The said man ran after her and they were locked in an embrace. Not a surprise for him since he noticed the Black Widow always put on worrying glances whenever the words ‘Bucky’ and ‘HYDRA’ were mentioned in a sentence or a conversation. At least, they were reunited safely.

Bruce explained about Bucky’s condition and the temporary neural-inhibiter diluent to the spy twins. Both of them nodded, swore to never let Bucky out of their sights.

“Since when did you care about Barnes?” Nat asked Clint, who was wearing a black sleeveless, turtleneck vest with a tinge of purple as his new outfit.

“Since he mentioned your name like some kind of mantra,” he turned his focus on Bucky. “If you ever hurt her, an arrow will be shoved inside your ass.” The archer was overprotective with his best friend as their partnership bloomed since an assigned mission in Budapest.

“Fair enough,” Bucky replied, agreeing to his terms; as long as he could be next to Nat.

As they were boarding the Quinjet, a group of clouds formed around them, indicating the presence of someone they have been missed for a while. A radiant beam of white light shone just next to their jet, revealing their teammate and friend.

“Great. When this mission ends, I’m going to mop my hangar.” Tony groaned, looking at the circular-burnt pattern on the floor caused by Thor’s teleportation medium.

Thor beamed widely and squeezed each and every one of his friends, except for Bucky. Tony gave him a brief explanation about the Winter Soldier and how he got here. The Asgardian understood their situation and nodded.

“Heimdall informed me about the Captain’s distress just now. I came here immediately to help him,” he placed his large hand on Tony’s left shoulder. “Fear not, Man of Iron. I will assist in finding your dearest, beloved husband.”

“Thanks, Thor.” He smiled sadly and set foot in the Quinjet, taking a seat at the co-pilot’s chair. He then examined all the flight systems and panels, as the engineer he is.

He knew he shouldn’t be too worried about Steve – even Thor sensed that he was still alive – but he couldn’t resist the sinking feeling he had, murmuring about Steve’s safety. His only wish right now was to hope his husband wasn’t severely injured or beaten to death.

“You all right there?” The footsteps came closer, accompanied by a metal arm emerging from his left side.

“I’m fine,” Tony sniffed a bit, unaware of a tear track on his left cheek. “It’s just… I’m scared if something terrible happens to him, like what HYDRA did to you; except without the brainwashing but more torturing.”

“He’s a strong man, and so do you. And you know why?” Bucky prodded softly at his chest. “It’s because you love him, and he loves you too. I know that punk won’t give up defending himself from those goons because he always stands up for someone he loves: you. We just have to make sure Natalia can fly us there in a heartbeat.”

“Count your days, Barnes,” Nat warned the Winter Soldier while settling down on the pilot’s chair. Tony could hear Clint’s giggle behind him regarding the assassin’s rocky relationship with her, much to Bucky’s dismay.

“Never expect you to give me the pep-talk, Robocop.” Tony laughed, sending a ‘thank-you’ look to Bucky who took a seat behind the redhead. He felt reassured and confident after listening to Bucky’s so-called speech. Fretting a lot about his husband could cause more damage control to himself, and probably to Steve.

“Don’t push it, Tin Can.” Bruce and Thor were the last to buckle up at their respective seats. Nat notified the whole team about their current mission using the jet’s comms.

“We’re going into stealth mode to avoid being detected. Thor, you’ll be our big guns. Clint, you’re with me.” The two of them nodded.

“You’re going in without me by your side?” Bucky whined, giving her his puppy eyes.

“Bucky, you’re with me,” Tony said while Nat nodded in agreement. Bucky became shocked but simmered down when Nat glared at him. “I might need your help in finding Steve’s position in that bank as you know that place all too well. They are going to retrieve any remaining HYDRA intelligence to be disposed of. Bruce, we need you to stay in here. If we found an injured Steve, you’re our best guy to treat him – unless the Big Guy is needed.”

“Who’s the Big Guy?” Bucky asked, making everyone laugh.

“You don’t want to know,” Bruce brushed aside the soldier’s question and scrolled through his tablet.

He and Nat turned around, smiling at Bucky’s curiosity. Maybe he could be on the team, he thought.

Nat flicked every switch on the panel and they were already levitating, getting ready to become airborne. Tony gave her an approving signal and she nodded, pushing down the thrusters, manoeuvring the Quinjet on course. He looked back to the jet’s front windscreen, thinking of their success in finding Steve. Deep down, he was certain he could bring Steve home, safe and sound.

He just had to hope they were on time before it’s too late.