The Archangel (Avengers Fanfic)

Chapter Twenty Four

There was a meeting called later that same evening. Bucky and I weren't invited. That meant the meeting was definitely about us, especially with Fury ordering that agent I had threatened but didn't bother remembering the name for to attend also. We weren't too terribly concerned, if anything important happened, we would be informed later. But the presence of Nick Fury put everyone off, that is, everyone except myself, Bucky, and Stark. They were all such soldiers . . . we were too, technically, but there wasn't really a chain of command in the Avengers and Tony was . . . well, Tony. He didn't answer to anyone unless he wanted to. Fury was an odd duck, but no more than any of the rest of the Avengers. To be honest, he just looked like an angry pirate in a trench coat and acted like it too.

I stretched out across Bucky's lap on the couch, head on his thighs as he ran his real fingers through my hair. When five o'clock came around, the program we were somewhat paying attention to changed to the national news. "Last night, Captain Steve Rogers and Tony Stark announced two new additions to the Avengers, the first ever official partners within the team. James Buchanan Barnes, otherwise known as the White Wolf and a woman known only as the Archangel and we have the exclusive look at their unique dynamic, coming up after the break."

"What do you think they'll say about us?" I asked, genuinely curious what take they could possibly have with such limited information.

"I don't think it matters, they'll paint me as the soldier out of time rescued from Hydra by the Avengers, and they don't know anything about you so you'll be the question mark." Bucky shrugged, sounding unconcerned. His tone of voice deceived me into believing that it would be exactly that, so much so that I was tempted to turn the channel to something a little more interesting, but a nagging thought stayed my hand. Last night had been our introduction and I had publicly attacked a civilian, a douchebag, but a civilian no less. I wasn't so certain the media would be exactly friendly towards me, especially considering they had gotten the whole thing on tape.

The commercials ended and the anchor came back on. "Welcome back everyone. Last night, two enhanced individuals were announced as members of the Avengers Initiative, the White Wolf and the Archangel, partners in seemingly every sense of the word. But what do we really know about them?" A picture of Bucky from 1945 in his Sergeant's uniform appeared in place of the anchor. "Sergeant James Barnes was declared dead in 1945 but is very much alive and recently rescued by longtime friend, Captain Steve Rogers, from the organization known as Hydra. He is also formerly believed to be the assassin known as the Winter Soldier and in joining the Avengers, has taken up the mantle of the White Wolf. But the question on everyone's mind is, who is the Archangel? Where did she come from? Can we trust her? And is she as dangerous as she seems?"

That didn't sound good. The screen changed to footage from the press conference. At first the camera was focused on the screen behind Tony which was showcasing our spar that Tony had somehow gotten footage of, still hadn't asked him about it but I guess it didn't really matter now. Then the footage changed to when I had un-surreptitiously sort of attacked that civilian. "She appears to be incredibly dangerous. At this point in time, we have learned that she has attacked her fellow Avengers on more than one occasion, terrorized a civilian, and threatened a Shield Agent." How the hell did they know about that? The incident with the agent happened literally today and I hadn't attacked any of the Avengers publicly and only when I had lost myself to Hydra's influence—not counting stabbing Sam.

"Fortunately, it seems as if her partner, Sergeant Barnes, does have some influence over her hostile behavior which is likely why they were paired together in the first place." The audio of Bucky telling me to be gentle came over the speakers, they didn't even know what it really meant. "But it seems as if their relationship has taken a turn for the more . . . intimate." I'm sorry, what? Was this national news or a gossip real? They showed video of us dancing and then our kiss. I didn't even know they had cameras in the building. "Despite the fact that Sergeant Barnes may be able to control the Archangel's behavior, it is highly suggested that civilians stay away from her for their own safety."

Bucky turned the TV off. "For their own safety?" He scoffed, "they hardly know anything about you."

"Looks like you were wrong, Buck. I'm not the question mark, I'm the menace to society that has to be assigned a handler to keep my hostile nature under control." I fumed silently for a good minute before I shot to my feet, wings ridged behind me, "at least they know that I'm not a hero." I strode out of the building, feeling Bucky's heavy gaze on my back as I left but he knew that I needed to let off steam in the only way I knew how to do without violence. That is, by flying.

As I walked across the tarmac, I noticed the subtle differences in the way people were acting around me. Far more wary, uncertain, as if I'd strike at any time. I was tempted to give them exactly that, to show them what an uncontrollable weapon I could be. Maybe the anchor was right, I was dangerous, I had told that agent exactly that and then intimidated her with a clear threat on her life and for a moment I wasn't certain if I would act on it or not. Was I a menace to society?

I was tempted to fly to the news station and ask the anchor myself. It was in New York, wasn't it? But no, if I went there guns blazing I wasn't certain which part of me would win out. And that fact solidified the line of thoughts I was having. If I wasn't sure, if I wasn't certain that it would be me instead of the fog that Hydra left behind in control, then I was far more dangerous to civilians than my wings and my metal form gave me any right to be. As I launched into the sky, I was tempted to leave, to go far away and disappear, go completely off grid if necessary. But if I did that, then I would be confirming everyone's beliefs that I was an irredeemably hostile creation of Hydra, I would be leaving the Avengers which I had sworn my allegiance to and begun to like, and I would be leaving Bucky.

I could never do that.