Dead Memories

43

Chapter Forty-Three

Bucky found Loki to be weirdly normal, maybe even a bit too chipper, considering how mad and worried Leah was about the pages of the Darkhold. Still, Bucky didn't want to say that everything went without a hitch, because Leah was never worried for nothing. He wanted to speak to her, ask her questions he should've asked before, but of course his mind was pre-occupied with Steve and he couldn't bring himself to focus on anything else.

'So what exactly is the solution? Because what I said before still stands,' Stark said. 'You're not getting anywhere near Cap, unless you speak up, Buttercup.'

He was a bit too late with that statement as they were all already standing right outside the infirmary. Well, on the corridor leading to the infirmary, but Stark standing in the doorway was hardly a giant obstacle.

Bucky couldn't be truly mad at him right now, because it was Steve he was trying to protect... and he bodily stood in Loki's way to question him. That took guts.

'And what exactly makes you the primary authority on matters concerning him?' Loki asked.

'Brother, just tell us what you plan to do,' Thor said.

Loki sighed... a little dramatically.

'Why I will execute Doctor Strange's plan, with the help of our little flycatcher,' he said.

Wanda looked surprised for a moment, but then she seemed focused. Bucky liked her attitude.

'What do you want me to do?' she asked.

'Find the source of Chthon's magic in his mind,' Loki said.

'How? I wouldn't know what to look for,' she said.

'I can show you,' Loki said to her and tapped his temple with a finger in invitation. Wanda frowned, then focused for a moment, her face going a little dark from what she saw, then she started blinking suddenly, looking surprised.

Everyone waited for her reaction.

'I didn't know you could get a mental door slammed in your face,' she said.

'You saw enough,' Loki told her.

'I did,' she confirmed. 'How did he do that?'

'There is very little limit to what he can do,' Loki said.

'Wanda, give us an update here,' Stark asked.

'If that's really inside Steve, I can find it, but how do you take it out?' she asked.

'Leave that part to me,' Loki answered easily.

'This is a stupid idea, and you're playing with fire,' Leah said as she squeezed past Stark to get inside the infirmary. It seemed like she gave up on arguing with Loki, but she was not going to stop voicing her displeasure anytime soon.

Bucky knew that everything that happened to Steve threw a wrench in her plans in a big way, but he still couldn't help but be a little miffed at her. Steve was helping them, that's how he got into this mess in the first place. But what really mattered to her and what mattered to Bucky were very different things. He understood, in a way, and he had a pretty good guess on how she felt. Or maybe he was wrong and understood nothing. Leah was a mystery not easily solved. Bucky doubted even Loki knew everything about her.