Chrysalism

-chapter thirty-three-

New York, New York. August 14th, 2017. 2:38 PM. 13,000 ft. 

Malone was carried onto the jet by Tony and set in a private room, usually used for airborne medical attention. She sat in complete silence, unable to process the information that she had just learned. A soft knock at the door caused Malone to lift her chin from her knees and stare sadly at Tony who stood in the doorway with puffy eyes. 

"Can I come in?" He asked, and Malone shrugged in response, laying her head on her knees. Tony slowly walked towards her, sitting on the other end of the hard bench next to a window, staring at Malone's state. Her face was pale and her eyes were dark, her greasy hair pulled into a messy bun on top of her head. "You haven't cried." 

She shook her head softly, staring out the window at the scenery that flew by. 

"We're gonna be landing soon, do you want to try to get cleaned up so Bucky stays in the dark?" 

She shook her head again and Tony sighed as he stood up, placing a hand on her shoulder. He leaned down and kissed the top of her head softly before turning and walking out of the room. He returned to the rest of the team with a solemn look on his face, which caused every member of the team to frown. Steve stood and approached Tony. 

"She's not processing it. She can't."

"She won't for a long time," Steve replied. "When I lost Bucky, I never processed it. I stayed in that limbo for years." 

"Bucky turned up alive, Cole's not going to be that lucky," Tony spat, pushing past Steve and taking his seat in the pilot's chair. 

___ 

Quinjet Landing Pad. 3:10 PM. 

As the jet landed, Bill, Ryan, and Kenny stood on the platform, anxiously awaiting the return of their brother and son. The ramp dropped with a loud mechanical whirring and Thor was the first to exit, followed by Clint and Natasha, who all refused to make eye contact with the family. The last one to exit was Malone, latched on to Tony's arm, still pale. Bill ran towards his daughter and caught her as she collapsed into his arms. Tony exchanged a sad handshake with Bill before walking away. Bill hugged Malone tight, knowing in his heart that his family would never be whole again. 

The realization of what had happened hit Kenny and he turned to angrily stomp away from his family, back towards their apartment. As he trudged through the compound, Bucky rounded a corner and called to him. Kenny ignored him, getting into the elevator and breaking down in tears. He ran into Cole's set up room and began throwing things around, ripping the sheets off the bed, ripping down posters that Tony had thought Cole would like. He picked up a tabletop lamp and chucked it at the wall, shattering the lightbulb and covering the floor with broken glass. He sobbed as he punched the wall, breaking a massive hole in the sheetrock. 

Bill led Malone with an arm around her shoulders back into the compound, Ryan following close behind. Malone stopped short of the elevator, staring at the ground as she spoke her first words since leaving Mongolia. 

"I-I need a minute," she whispered, slipping out of her father's grip. He nodded and kissed her forehead before stepping into the elevator with Ryan. Malone slowly walked towards the library, a place where she had always found comfort. She stepped in and let out a huge breath, feeling a weight being released from her chest. 

"I thought we had a promise," Bucky's gruff voice rang throughout the library. 

"I really don't need this right now, Bucky." 

"Well I do," he said sternly as he stood from the couch situated in front of a row of bookcases. "You lied to me, we're not supposed to lie to each other." 

"Sometimes we have to lie to get things we need!!" She screamed back. "I needed you! I needed you to trust me, to trust your team! I'm not some little doll just here for you to look at, Bucky! I'm a person, a person with a family." 

"You're just a kid, Malone! All I wanted was to protect you and you went behind my back, made my whole team go behind my back, and deliberately put yourself in danger!" 

"Stop with the fucking kid shit! I'm an adult, I expect and deserve to be treated like one!" 

"I've lost everyone, Malone! Excuse me for trying to protect you!" 

"You know, this was your team's idea anyway. Steve was the first to mention it to me, just so you know." 

"That doesn't change what you did. You lied to me, you had your whole family lie to me! What happened to our family? What happened to us?" 

"What happened to us? Are you fucking kidding me? You're unbelievable, Bucky. You treat me like a child constantly, I'm not your daughter. I'm supposed to be your fucking girlfriend, your equal." 

"You're not my equal!" Bucky snapped. "I was built for battles like this, trained for them. You have no training, no experience in the field." 

"I'm not your equal, huh? Still stuck in the 20th century, typical," Malone sighed, turning to walk away from Bucky. 

"Don't walk away from me!" 

"I'm not walking away from you. I'm walking away from us, from this. I can't be with someone who sees me as beneath them, less than them. I've lost a lot today, what's one more?" She walked out of the library, slamming the door behind her and walking out into the back courtyard. Bucky groaned loudly as he turned and punched the brick wall next to him, making a huge dent in it with his metal hand. 

___ 

Tony's Lab. 4:27 PM. 

"Lots of yelling going on here today," Pepper said softly as she strode into the lab. "Do you want to tell me what happened out there?" 

"We lost him. We were too late. Apparently, after he went back to their headquarters or whatever, after crashing our party, they tried to wipe him. But he was a heart patient, born with a hole in his heart. Usually, they close on their own but Cole wasn't that lucky. He was on medication to keep his heartbeat normal, but when they took him, they didn't get that." 

"I thought the super solider serum healed all of that, it did with Steve." 

"I did too. But, I don't think their serum is as developed as Erskine's was. Still had some bugs, and it uh, it killed him," Tony replied, wiping his eyes before the tears fell. Pepper frowned softly and walked towards him, wrapping her arms around his head and pulling him towards her into a hug. 

"It's okay, Tony. You can have feelings," she said softly. Tony took a deep breath and began sobbing softly, staining her white shirt.