Heart of a Stark (AvengersXreader)

14. New Hardware

When she awoke again in the infirmary, dressed in the heavenly soft, white clothes, a smile spread across her face of its own accord. There was no pain, none. She wondered as she sat up if she hadn't woken up that first time. If the months on the run had been nothing more than a coma dream. One look across the room told her that was not the case.

She wasn't surprised to find him talking to Bucky through the glass but was a bit stunned that he didn't hear her get up from the bed and make her way across the floor. He was speaking so quietly she couldn't hear what he was saying until she was right behind him, and what she heard had her frozen to the spot. 

"I just wish you were here, buddy."

She turned her attention to the man behind the glass. So untouched by time that the cut on his check was unchanged from the day it was put there. She understood why he had done it but the anguish on Steve's face had her determined to find a way to bring him back. 

"I'll figure it out," she thought out loud, making Steve start, "I'll get him back for you."

The determination in her statement had Steve smiling, "You're ok," he breathed somewhere between a relieved sigh and question. He received an eye roll instead of an answer.

"Let me do this for you, Steve. Let me do it for him."

He regarded the young woman as she looked out at his friend. The wheels never stopped turning in her head, something she inherited from her father he was sure. He understood what she was asking for and it was more than to help his friend. Although she had become a proficient fighter and an essential part of their small team over the past few months Steve knew her heart wasn't in it. Too many nights he has he found her awake at ungodly hours, tinkering with her suit that had more minuscule changes than he cared to count. Those had been the easy nights. Those were the nights that she was able to keep her mind busy. The other nights, when he found her red-eyed and shaking with the guilt she held for what they had done to her father, he knew she was not where she wanted to be. That is why he had been expecting this. Selfishly he wanted her by his side but he knew this place could offer her all the things he couldn't. 

"You really think you can do it?" Steve asked as he turned back to Bucky's frozen form.

"Have some faith, Rogers," YN laughed, bumping his hip with her own.

"We're going to miss you out there you know," Steve said, putting an arm around her shoulders.

"Maybe not all of you," YN laughed with a roll of her eyes.

"Sam will probably miss you most of all. He's better when he has someone to verbally combat with," Steve laughed as she made a disagreeable noise.

"Just make sure he's got Nat's back too," she sighed, the guilt of leaving them a man down creeping back into her chest. She turned and wrapped her arms around his middle. "I'm going to miss you too."

Steve returned the hug and placed a quick kiss to the crown of her head. He let her stay there until she was ready to let go and then pulled something out of his pocket and handed it to her. Her brow furrowed as she examined the small flip phone.

"If you need anything, you call. Understand?" 

She smiled down at the phone before raising her eyes to his, "Only if you do the same."

⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂

YN was offered a few days to get acclimatized to the city but only a few hours after Steve and the others had left she was restless and seeking out the young princess. She found her in the lab arguing playfully with her brother.

"YN, please, save me from my sister," the king pleaded as he caught sight of the woman hanging in the doorway.

"He is still reluctant of my upgrades, even after all this time," Shuri shook her head, smacking his arm as she passed him. "Ready to go to work so soon?"

"It's been so long since I had any actual tech to work with," YN shrugged.

"I will leave you two to play with your toys, I have some royal business to attend too," T'challa said to his sister, pausing on his way out, "It's good to have you here, YN."

"Thank you," she smiled, "For everything."

"Alright, enough flirting with my brother," Shuri stated, waving away YN's protests with a laugh, "I'm only joking."

YN narrowed her eyes at the girl but her mouth formed a smirk.

"We're going to start with this," Shuri scrunched her face in disgust, pointing at the side of her head, "I have repaired it but having seen it up close and personal now, I know we can make it better."

Shuri had YN run obscure calculations as she scanned her brain the first time. The second time she had her think peaceful thoughts. The third time she slapped her hand across her face.

"What the hell?" YN yelled, straining against the straps meant to hold her still through the scans.

"You looked like you could use some color," Shuri laughed as the scanner ran through.

"Are you kidding me?"

Shuri held up a finger, waiting for the scan to finish before answering, "Yes, I was kidding. I needed a high emotion scan. It worked."

If she wasn't so eager to get her hands on those scans she may have had a few more words for the princess, but she forgot every last one of them once Shuri presented her the final product, A perfect reconstruction of her brain. YN sat back and watched as Shuri went to work. With each change she made to the projection, YN worked the calculations back to find how she did it. It was the most efficient lesson YN had ever had. The things Shuri could do with vibranium opened doors in her own projects that seemed impossible before.

They spent every evening for the next two weeks perfecting her implant. YN spent the days roaming the grounds of the palace and then out into the city. If she had it her way, they'd be in the lab all day but as it would happen, princesses have royal duties they had to fulfill. YN was particularly interested in the training she did with the Dora Milage. Shuri didn't find it as captivating as she did and often changed the subject when she asked about it.

The morning before they attempted to change out the implant YN found herself wandering the palace. She had been afforded all access during her stay but had never felt right acting on it. Today, she wanted to stay close to home. She supposed it was alright to consider this place home. It was the only place that wanted her around if you didn't count Steve.

She did miss him. He had become her safe place while they were on the run, both grieving the loss of not only their freedom but Tony as well while trying to save the world. He was never short of an inspiring speech but he knew the value of silent support. In the nights she couldn't sleep, when every time she closed her eyes she saw the pain and hate that had been in her father's eyes the last time she saw him, Steve was there. He didn't say a word, never tried to make it alright. He just sat there and held her hand. She could use some of that support right now.

Her thoughts of Steve may have been why she found herself standing in the infirmary, staring at the man in the ice. There had to be a way to do it. With everything she had learned from Shuri, she knew they would figure it out. Steve deserved that and although she didn't know Bucky all that well, she knew he deserved it too.

☆☆☆☆☆

"You can breathe now, it's finished," Shuri laughed, helping YN out of the chair, "How do you feel?"

"It's a little sore," YN flinched as she touched the sleek new vibranium implant behind her ear, "but I still feel like me, so I guess I'm ok."

"Oh thank goodness," Shuri sighed, wiping her brow dramatically.

"That's not funny. It's scary letting someone else play with your brain," YN pouted playfully. "But while we are on the subject..."

"I heard you paid a visit to Sargent Barnes this morning," Shuri admitted.

"After all this," YN explained, gesturing to head implant, "I know we can help him."

Shuri studied the woman in front of her carefully before making a decision, "I was going to wait until you familiarized yourself with your new hardware to show you this but, I think you're ready for it."

YN followed her over to a table at the other end of the lab, watching in awe as she pulled up the schematic of the human nervous system. It didn't escape her notice that the left arm had been omitted.

"The brainwashing created new pathways to the trigger words. Because they were created organically they are tightly wound through what makes him, him. You can see them here," Shuri explained pointing out the highlighted branches through his brain. "I've started running some tests but you can do it far faster than I can, especially now."

YN looked to her for permission before she moved the projection to get a closer look at the complicated web of pathways.

"Did you get this the same way you got mine?" YN asked quietly.

The fear in Shuri's eyes was quick but it was enough. Her heart broke knowing that Bucky had to be turned back into the monster he feared in order for them to try and free him from it.

"Okay then, let's get to work."