Guardian Angel | Steve Rogers

14

As Arden was making her way to anywhere but Germany, she received a call from Nat. 

"Nat, I'm sorry but-" 

"You need to go back." Nat cut her off. 

"I can't, it's not my fight." Arden argued to the mic of the bluetooth in the car. 

"It's Tony." Nat let out.

Arden inhaled, her worst fears coming to reality. Unable to speak, waiting for more information before she allowed herself to freak out. 

"He went to Siberia to help Steve and Bucky, it turns out that Zemo wanted to destroy the Avengers. His family was killed in Sokvia." 

"Okay, what does that mean?" Arden asked, shaking her head, trying to focus on the road. 

"Bucky was the one who killed Tony's parents." Natasha informed her. 

"What?" She lost her breath.

"When he was the Winter Soldier, he killed Tony's parents. Tony went mad, fought Bucky and Steve on his own. They're done, Arden. The Avengers are finished." Natasha added. 

"I don't understand. Where are Bucky and Steve?" Arden inquired concerned. 

"On the run, I'm assuming. You need to go to Tony before he becomes a lost cause." Natasha insisted. 

"What makes you think he'll listen to me?" Arden countered.

"He trusts you." Natasha advised. 

"And what about you?" 

"I helped Steve get away. I went against the Accords, they're going to come after me." 

"I'll find you." Arden commented.

 "I know you will." Natasha smiled into the phone. 

"And Arden?" 

"Yeah." 

"Rhodey is hurt. Bad. Tony will need your help." Natasha added.

Arden hung up, throwing her phone as she turned sharply back towards the city. Tony didn't say a word to Arden when she found him, but she stood by Tony's side, every step of the way while Rhodey was getting treated. Extreme laceration to the spinal cord, collapsed lung, a few cuts and bruises and a severe concussion. When they were able to take him back to the compound, Arden stayed out of Tony's way. Keeping to herself in his lab, checking on Rhodey when Tony wasn't in there. 

"What are you still doing here?" Tony asked, walking into his lab. 

"Working on this." Arden answered, sliding the project on the tablet onto the holographic table, projecting it in front of them. 

"Robot legs. You stayed to work on robot legs." Tony looked at her design. 

"It'll help Rhodey get back on his feet." She explained. 

"Why are you really back? I thought you would have run off with your boyfriend." Tony scolded her about Steve, looking more in depth with the hologram. 

She sighed, realizing Natasha spilled the tea about the tension between her and Steve. 

"It's Rhodey. And it's you." She defended. "I heard about what Bucky did." 

"Did you know?" He asked sternly, but almost quietly. 

"No." She answered truthfully. 

"Rogers did." Tony mentioned, circling the table.

Arden furrowed her brows, looking at Tony, just as surprised as he was.

"You really didn't know." 

"I said I didn't." She spit out. 

"Why didn't you fight? I needed you to back me." Tony brought up. 

Arden sighed, standing up and turning off the hologram, leaning against the table. 

"You might want to sit down." She advised him.

He furrowed his brows, taking a seat as directed, and she told him everything. 

"A goddess?" He asked, and she nodded. 

"And a princess?" He repeated. 

"A secret princess." She reminded him, pointing at him. 

"Wow. And Steve still let you leave. For an old man, he still surprises me." Tony joked. 

"I better not hear any old jokes about me." Arden pushed, pointing a finger at him. 

"How old are you?" 

"1,500 years, give or take." She answered, and he scoffed.

"If you're gonna stay here, I would keep your head down. Stay in line, don't stray." Tony advised, and she pretended to zip her lips, throwing away the key. 

"Adjust the comfortability on those legs, and you got yourself a job." Tony commented, leaving the lab. 

She spent her time assisting Rhodey with his physical therapy, or working with Tony on some of his projects. Trying to keep herself busy and keeping her head down like Tony requested. Trying to keep tabs on everyone while she can. Making sure everyone she cared about was at least safe, if they couldn't contact her. Arden grew tired of living in the compound, even if it had tons of space and a screening room, she didn't enjoy being alone. She convinced Tony to do the right thing and win back Pepper for his sake. It turned into a beautiful friendship of Arden and Pepper, which brought along a deeper connection with Tony. 

To keep herself sane, Pepper offered Arden a home. Tony and Pepper's home, which brought time together, working, arguing, ignoring and laughter. Although she enjoyed their company, she knew it was time to part ways. 

"You sure you want to leave us?" Pepper asks, lingering in Arden's room.

"Think it's time for me to stop hiding who I am in the universe." Arden exhaled, zipping up her bag. 

"Does that mean you're gonna be Dora the Explorer on different planets?" Tony teased her. 

"Yeah, I guess so. I gotta make a stop first." Arden mentioned, throwing her bag over her shoulder. 

"Well, I hope you come back soon. You'll always have a room here with us." Pepper hugged her. "I mean it." 

Arden smiled, pulling back, looking over at Tony who refused to look back until she pushed him gently.

"She's right. You'll always have a spot here." Tony agreed, and Arden pouted out her bottom lip to tease his sentiment, but he rolls his eyes. 

"Do me a favor and don't pop out any babies until I get back." Arden joked, Tony coughing on his own saliva. "Or if you have one, name it after me." 

She sent one last smirk before taking off to Wakanda. Being escorted to the lab, she spotted T'Challa, and girl she assumed was his sister. The genius, he bragged about. 

"Princess." T'Challa greeted her.

"King T'Challa, thank you for allowing me into your home." Arden thank him, giving him a small bow, and he chuckled, pulling her up. 

"My father only spoke good things about you. Keeping our secret in exchange for keeping yours. You're welcome here anytime." T'Challa mentioned. 

"So you're the genius sister. How is he?" Arden smirked at Shuri, turning around looking at the cryochamber with Bucky inside. 

She grazed her fingers over the glass, turning back around to Shuri.

"He's okay for now. We're monitoring him closely, looking into his nerve connections." Shuri explained. 

"Any solutions?" Arden asked. 

"A replacement arm wouldn't be a problem. It's his mind we have to worry about." Shuri answered. 

"The words. The trigger words is what turns him into the Winter Soldier. If we could find a way for those words to not trigger him anymore, he would be free." Arden suggested. 

"The Dora Milaje could work with him. They would be safe if anything went wrong." T'Challa insisted. 

"I'll help." She offered, and he nodded, accepting her help. 

"So when can we defrost this popsicle?" She added, smirking at Shuri.