Radioactive | Bucky Barnes

IRON MAN: CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

The next time Tony woke up, he was alone.

Or so he thought.

His bleary eyes caught the faint reflection of himself in a mirror—tired, drawn, and hollow. But then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw her.

Rhiley.

Curled up in a chair someone had dragged into the corner, fast asleep, arms tucked into herself like a child. Her face soft, lips slightly parted, chest rising and falling in a rhythm that reminded him he wasn't as alone as he felt.

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"I don't trust S.H.I.E.L.D."

Rhiley sat across from Phil Coulson in the usual booth of their usual diner, looking like a ghost in clean clothes. Her eyes were vacant, her soul clearly somewhere else.

"Do you trust me?" Phil asked gently.

Rhiley looked up at him. "I've been spying on my nephew."

Phil cracked a small, knowing smile. "If it makes you feel better, you've been doing a terrible job. Or maybe... you've already chosen a side."

He wasn't being snide. Just honest.

"He's Howard's son," Rhiley muttered, shaking her head. "And he's older than me."

"We want the same thing."

"No," she said flatly. "You think we do. You want to monitor him because it serves your agenda. I want to protect him because... it finally feels like I have a purpose."

"And you don't have an agenda?"

"I haven't had one since I woke up." She swirled her coffee, fingers trembling slightly. "But Tony? Protecting him? That feels right. Like maybe I finally know why I'm still here."

Phil nodded, thoughtful. "What are you going to tell Fury?"

"The truth," he said. "That one of our contractors went rogue."

"I was never an agent."

"No. But you were something," Phil said. "Spy. Freelancer. Asset. And I saw your potential the day you broke that nurse's nose."

"I've been seeing Howard," Rhiley admitted suddenly, her voice barely a whisper. "I know he's not real. But he's been talking to me."

"You've been through trauma."

"He's right, though," she cut in. "I left him. I left them. And I can't undo that. But I can be here for Tony."

Phil didn't answer right away. Then: "You are his family."

"He doesn't know that. And he won't."

"You've never thought of telling him you're a Stark?"

"Sure. And sound like a crazy woman?" She stood up, tossing a few bills on the table. "I've got a busy day."

"You're about to do something stupid, aren't you?"

She glanced back at him. "What makes you say that?"

"Because," Phil said, sipping his coffee, "you're a Stark."

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"Tony?" Rhiley stepped into the lab. She hadn't seen him since he got cleared to walk again.

"Oh good, you're here." He didn't look up. "I need to talk to you."