Soul Stealer ~ (A Bucky Barnes Love Story)

Right Here Waiting

"I'm telling you there is no medical or scientific explanation for what happened," Bruce reiterated, mainly to Tony since no one else understood anything he'd said in the last half hour.

Tony continued to pace in front of my hospital bed, tapping a finger repeatedly against his chin. "Well, you know what Thor says, magic is just science that we don't understand yet."

Bruce scoffed, "First of all Thor didn't say that. Arthur C. Clarke did." Tony rolled his eyes and continued to pace. "Second, are you suggested that what she can do is..." Bruce trailed off, looking at me then Bucky then finally Steve for help, but he was on his own. "Magic?"

"What else would you call it?"

Bruce squared off against his friend and colleague.

"I don't know! That's what I'm telling you! I can tell you that her blood pressure dropped and her white blood cell count went through the roof directly following the event, and that only an hour after saving Clint her bloodwork showed telomerase levels far higher than that of even Steve or Sergeant Barnes which is a drastic increase."

Tony finally stopped pacing, chewing on his lip so hard I was afraid he'd draw blood. "It makes sense I suppose."

Bruce exhaled, rubbing his temples. "You think it's a reaction to her ability?" Tony nodded. "Her body was in need of healing, regeneration, after expending so much energy saving Katniss Everdeen. The serum reacted to the energy output, generating more telomerase to compensate."

Tony tapped a screen on the wall and a bunch of graphs, numbers, and data popped up. "It's exactly what you'd expect to see. Her cells replicated at an astronomical rate while she worked her voodoo on Clint. We already know from Capsicle and Frosty that the serum reacts with telomerase, helping them heal faster and keep that youthful looking skin any Covergirl would kill for."

What was a Covergirl?

Tony tapped his foot relatedly then snapped his fingers. "It's the only explanation for how fast she healed after her body quite literally almost died." He sent me a half-hearted apologetic look. "No offense."

"None taken."

I wasn't even listening anymore. In fact, I was pretty sure my presence wasn't required at this point.

"Is she going to be OK?" Steve interjected, pushing off the wall.

Bruce and Tony shared an identical shrug which wasn't all that comforting.

"She's the healthiest 70-year-old woman I've ever seen," Tony quipped causing Bucky to legit growl by my side. "Easy Frosty, she's gonna be fine. Geez, HYDRA must have also stolen his sense of humor too."

Bucky was on his feet and in the billionaires face in seconds. Steve put a hand on his friend's shoulder, urging him back. I don't think Tony realized how close he was to occupying the bed next to me.

"She's healthy as a horse or as a genetically modified super soldier," Tony added, trying to calm the irritated assassin.

"Great." I hopped off the bed, high-tailing it out of the medical suite before they started another science monologue or Bucky killed Tony. "Wanna get some dinner?"

"Not hungry," Bucky muttered, his long legs carrying him quickly down the hall and around the corner before I could stop him.

"What did I say?"

Steve looked uncomfortable. "He needs some time."

"Maybe I should go check on him." Steve put a hand on my arm and I frowned.