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Shining Life(Marvel) Lady/Fox

FoxWriter

FoxWriter

Cluster
Joined
Jan 20, 2011
Location
in the realm of lust and seduction
Grant Ward was doing the same thing he did every twenty eight days on the new moon. How he knew when the New, and the Full Moon was, was as much a mystery to the people of 'The Bus' as his habit of getting up at the exact same time every day and doing his exercises. Every Full and New Moon he payed Homage to a Goddess he had worshiped since he was a small child. It was in his files, he had done so from the beginning and he continued to do so now. He smiled as he settled in front of the little makshift Alter he had created using what was supposed to be his eating table. On it where three candles. One white, one black and one Re that Phil had allowed him to have. He had to admit, he was grateful to Phil for the small things like this. Technically speaking, Grant did not need such things to pay homage to his Mother Goddess. They did make him feel much more at ease though. In front of each candle where three hand carved figurines. Ones that Grant had made himself. He was a gifted wood carver and he had carefully carved everyone on the Bus at least something, but these three statuettes where exceedingly special.

The one on the very left was a woman sitting, she held a baby in her arms ad her stomach was swollen with child. There was a young doe sitting next to her, and a pair of doves sat on her knee. She wore no shirt and was feeding the baby, and her lap was draped with a blanket, hiding further nudity. She seamed to have no real name, and he only ever called her The Mother, or The Mother Aspect. The one on the right was just as beautifully crafted. It was of a girl, somewhere between the ages of ten and eighteen. Everyone who looked at her seamed to think she was of various ages. She was wearing a flowing dress and her arms where outstretched and a smile graced her beautiful face, one leg out as she danced, spinning in a circle. There where butterflies in her hair, robins and hummingbirds clinging to her dress and there where flowers everywhere. Two hawks hovered in the air as if dancing with her and a Fox was in mid pounce near her feet while a cat, kitten really, leaped for one of the flying locks of hair, or maybe one of the many ribbons that adorned the figure. This one was The Maiden, or sometimes the Child.

It was the figurine in the middle that he had spent the longest time on with the most devotion. It was of an old woman, her face wrinkled, wide and a slight smirk that often made Phil think she was planning on gutting someone. She was cloaked in a heavy winter cloak, each detail painstakingly carved until it looked as if the cloak was going to start fluttering in the wind at any moment. There where crows, or Ravens everywhere around her, sharp beaks and beady black eyes, wings spread and feathers detailed perfectly even if the figurine was only a foot tall. To the side of the woman was a massive black wolf, lips lifted in a snarl while a pack hovered barley sketched into the background like some twisted painting. A dead tree was to her right, covered in Ravens and snow. The woman held a gleaming knife in one hand, and a gnarled walking stick in the other,a healthy mare stood proudly at her back, as if waiting to battle or race through the open plains. This one was the one he spoke of with the most reverence, the few times he spoke of such things. She was The Crone, The Lady, or in a hushed voice full of veneration and respect, The Morrigan.

The Morrigan was payed homage to every month without fail, with an Alter or without. Sometimes he would pay homage to the Mother on the full moons, but he didn't ever miss a New Moon. Ever. Even if he could not do it when the moon rose, he always took the time to offer homage to His Lady, even if he was battling. Though, to be honest, Battle was one of Her favorite things, so doing battle on her Holy Nights was about all the homage she really needed, but he preferred to do things properly and without shortcuts. Even now, he placed on the little makeshift alter a bright ruby red apple, purloined from his breakfast, and a jet black feather that someone must have given him. They where up too high for birds to fly, and even if they weren't there was no way he could have gotten the feather otherwise, as there where no windows, doors or even vents or gaps large enough to fit such a feather of that size. He knelt before the Alter and began his tradition of greeting the Morrigan and thanking her for his battles and his strength. This knight, however, he did something all together different. He stood after his greeting, though he usually meditated for several minutes up to an hour, reflecting on the past month. This time he stood up straight away and moved over to the glass wall that kept him encased. Kept him trapped.

He reached out and touched the glass, ignoring the warning sparks that it let off. He knew from experience that if he kept contact too long that he would get zapped hard enough to drop him and keep him down for several minutes. He smiled a little at the camera and mouthed two words. 'I'm Sorry' and the glass cracked at his fingertip. The crack spread in an instant, covering the entire glass wall before the entire thing shattered as if it had exploded. Glass was flung everywhere and an Alarm began to blare, warning of Grants escape. He was gone in the six seconds it took for May to get there, no hint of him at all save for the alter with it's red apple, black feather and three candles. The statues where gone and all that was left was a pile of shattered glass. Even his personal effects, boxed up in storage including what usually went on his Alter, a silver Athame, a branch of Blackthorn and some wine or Ale, depending on the season. Everything else was gone too, his pictures, his books, his clothes, his everything, as if he had never been there in the first place.
 
May cursed as she ran into the prison cell, and despite the obvious empty place, searched it carefully before checking anything else that would have belonged to Grant Ward before going to report to phil, stepping into the office, annoyed and pissed about their missing prisoner. “He’s gone. I have no idea how he did it, video’s crashed when he left. Nothing, there’s nothing left to say that Grant ward had ever been here, much less a prisoner. The other’s are double checking, searching the bus, but he’s gone Phil.”She said scowling, “I know you don’t want to see the avengers, but this might warrant getting in touch. The captain and the others have been cleaning house, destroying hydra. They need to know there’s a new player in the game, one that has....a unique ability. A talent for fighting.”She scowled a little because it wasn’t something that she wanted to admit, but even may could say it. There were few people who were as truly gifted agents in the field, as grant ward. Even more so, his talents for lying and scheming were all the more obvious when you realized he’d been working for hydra. Meant he had to be talented at playing two games at once, what shield wanted and what hydra wanted. He was going to be a dangerous enemy out there, and they had no idea where to start looking.
 
Grant was exhausted. he hadn't used such power in over thirty thirty two years. thirty two years, nine months and ten days to be exact. he took a moment to lean over, hands on his knees to get in deep even breaths while he waited for the electronic mind of whatever was running this place to announce his presence. he had been very, very careful not to appear directly in front of them, he didn't want to die after all. he had simply set the parameters and allowed the Magic to take him to where he needed to be. somewhere fortified, for the Avengers comfort. a small room with no windows and only one door, which he made no move at all to go over to. Magic was a funny thing, it could be your best friend or your worst enemy, as long as you respected it, it was happy to do anything you wanted it to. disrespect it, and it would make your life living hell. Magic was a fickle thing, and he was glad he had maintained his worship of it, and His Lady. once he had his breath back he settled on his knees, put his hands on his head, and waited.

Steve was not a very happy camper. he had moved into the Tower only because D.C. wasn't all that safe anymore and his apartment had exploded and Sam, the traitor, had insisted that Steve needed to experience modern life and stop hiding. something about socializing and getting to know people came up and something about getting better at Technology. honestly. Steve was pretty sure Sam just wanted to move in with the Avengers because Tony had, admittedly, cool toys. Steve was having a bad day in the first place. he'd dreamed of Bucky again last night, woken in a cold sweat that had left him trembling for hours, as the dream of Bucky had twisted into the nightmare memory of being frozen solid. no, he wasn't having a good day and was intent on staying hidden in his room until Dinner. he hated himself, sometimes, for insisting that they all do their best to have Dinner together. he hated them too for agreeing that it was a good, and even fun idea.

He was laying in bed, sketching on a picture of Peggy, another face of his nightmares though one that didn't hurt as bad as Bucky did. he sat up as soon as Jarvis informed him, and most likely tony, that a stranger had appeared in the containment room that was supposed to be for detaining super-villains, would be robbers and the occasional Shield Agent or Assistant or Worker that got on their nerves. sometimes they even locked each other in there just for shits and giggles. mostly to see if they could get away with it. he grabbed his hand gun and his shield and headed for the room, glancing at Tony and waiting for Jarvis to give the Okay. "The Man inside appears to be unarmed. he has assumed a submissive 'i give up' posture Captain." Jarvis informed them. "i believe it is safe enough to enter with caution." "You ready then Stark?" Steve asked, well aware the other Avengers, even Sam, was waiting around the corners in case something happened. Clint, he suspected, was probably even waiting in the vents, watching the man from inside the room itself. he snapped open the door and leveled the gun at Grant Ward, aware Jarvis was probably already running background checks and such, and blinked when Grant offered them a sheepish, shy, yet cocky smile. "Parlay?" the hell was Parlay!?
 
Indeed, Jarvis had informed Tony, and soon enough the rest of the avengers, of the arrival. Tony, being tony, had expressed the opinion that whoever it was could stay there until hell froze over, or till Captain Sassypants decided to deal with him. Despite having made levels and rooms for all the avengers, along with training rooms personalized for all of them, tony stark was not a man who was doing well with sharing his space. And it was obvious. As much as he enjoyed the occasional- nearly nightly- one night stands, hardly anyone had ever stayed longer then a day, until the avengers had arrived. And while no one knew exactly why, tony stark was not a man who pleasantly liked people in his space even if he hid most of the time in his lab. While he tried, he really, really was trying hard to be nice about it, because he really did enjoy having them there when their presence wasn’t rubbing him raw. So he was in a equally bad mood by the time he got downstairs.

Flinching a little at steve’s use of his last name, but having in the last two months that the avengers had been living there, given up mostly at trying to get them to call him tony he nodded slightly. “I’m always ready to figure out who shows up unannounced. Though I think we should be thankful it’s not Loki, I mean, he did this appearing out of nowhere trick once or twice, no matter who it is, at least he’s human.”Tony mused and even if he was only wearing the bracelets he’d made for the suits, he looked breakable and harmless, unless you were well aware of the fact that tony stark never went anywhere unarmed. Stepping into the room, he let Steve appear to be the threatening one as he slid his hands into his pockets, for all the world looking like the harmless business man. Raising a eyebrow, “I didn’t take you for one who played by the rules of war, Ward.”Tony said thoughtfully, jarvis filling him in from the earpiece he was wearing. “And I do have someone who’d love to talk to you.”Tony smirked a little, because while the avengers weren’t aware of coulson’s continued existence, Melinda may had reached out to them, to talk about the rest of the team, to know who might be coming at them. And well....to tell Natasha about what Ward had said, just in case the woman ever wanted to do something about it.
 
Steve would never admit it, not to anyone, not even himself, but he always got a little kick of amusement when Tony called him 'sassy pants'. the man really had no idea how sassy Steve could really be. Sam had a pretty damn good idea and Natasha had a damn good one too but they wouldn't share the secret until Steve stopped being so, well, cold to the others. "...now we're jinxed. you jinxed us. there's going to be an ancient demented god on the other side of that door now." Sam complained, Steve giving him a glare. "shut up! now you've Jinxed it Wilson!" he complained right back Sam shrugging. "Tony started it." "i don't care who started it, i'm ending it." Natasha stated. "unless you all want to wake up with Egyptian Asp or Black Widow Spiders in your beds?" "...we're fine." Sam and Steve chorused before Steve stepped into the room. he kept his full attention on Grant Ward, since Tony was distracted by learning everything he could about the man. "the amount i play by the rules depends on how long i've been away from the Chair." Grant admitted, shuddering.

"i imagine Melinda May, even Skye is on that little earpiece in your ear, telling you about how i'm a traitor, stabbed my own team in the back. almost K..." here he paused and closed his eyes, swallowing thickly. "almost killed Fitzsimmons..." his voice had dropped, and he sounded outright mortified with himself. "that's what happens when people like John Garret strap you into a chair, press metal plates to your head and deliver extreme bursts of electricity directly into the brain killing large portions of your memory, morality, decision and emotion centers of your brain." he stated simply. "They where so close." he admitted softly. "i was almost free. i was starting to remember things i haven't remembered in thirty two years and then Garret is there and i'm in the chair again and the next thing i know i'm dumping Fitzsimmons into the ocean." he whispered, looking at Steve, focusing on Steve who paused, startled. "they did the same thing to James Barnes... we where wiped together a couple of times even." he admitted. "us two and another, a woman. I never knew her name, but i have to find her. they keep her, and James, on Ice when they're not... you know... using them." James is free, i think, i don't know. everything's all... funny, in my head." he admitted. "i'm still trying to figure out who i really am. i don't think Grant Ward was real." he admitted. "i'm still trying to figure out what memories in my head are real and which ones aren't." he admitted. "i need help finding her. i don't know why. it's important and the people on The Bus aren't likely to believe me because... well. i tried to kill them." he admitted with a shrug. "but i know you will, if only because Natasha is behind you and she can smell a lie a billion miles away." "Billion?" Steve asked, looking amused, looking back at Natasha to see what she had to say. she just nodded and he turned his attention back to Grant. "fine. but i don't trust you at all. Stark? do you have anything that we can use to completely monitor his every move?" he asked, crossing his arms. "i want someone, even if it has to be Jarvis or myself, to know exactly where he is, what he's doing, what he's thinking... uhm... i don't know if that's possible yet actually, i was watching Sci-Fi." he admitted. "bt if you can do it, i want it done." he decided, Grant's lip twitching in a repressed urge not to laugh because Steve was totally punking the shit out of the entire Tower and Grant knew it.
 
“I did not. I might have jinxed you. I get along with the demented one. We talk. We live on the same wavelength.” “Demented Genius?”Clint voiced-through jarvis, from the vent in the room. “Of course. Though that was ruined with the throwing out the window thing.”Tony hummed before going still and silent eyeing natasha, “We’re okay.”He agreed tilting his head towards grant. “Skye actually, with Jarvis’ help.”Toyn said thoughtfully, studying the man in front of him. Ignoring clint’s quiet cursing as he listened to grant’s story. Having turned it into a open line, so him and clint could talk to skye and melinda at the same time. “....”Tony frowned glancing at steve, tilting his head. “Well. That explains why he didn’t know who you were.”He said thoughtfully before nodding a little at Grant. “He’s in the wind. After DC, he disappeared. From even my tracking systems, which isn’t as easy as you’d think it would be.”He said thoughtfully.

“Ice?”He said paling quickly at the idea, even if his problem was with water in any form, and not as bad as ice was for steve, he understood just how deep the terror could go of being frozen alive, and he had every intention of never giving anyone the chance of freezing him alive. Not even to live forever.”....You want to cut a deal. Why should we?”Tony said studying him. “We’d find out about this all eventually, on our own. Why should we help you?”He said because well, for all his pretending to trust anyone who got near him, tony never, ever trusted anyone. Except maybe his team, he trusted them. Even if it was with his physical safety and nothing else, he trusted them to not kill him in his sleep. “She can totally smell a lie a billion miles away.”he agreed before nodding slowly. “I can have it set for you both to monitor him. And no, I don’t have something to monitor his thoughts, not that I think we want to know what’s going on in that cesspool he calls a brain.” “Tony, don’t be insulting.”Clint said as he slid out of the vent, landing lightly on his feet. “I’ll be as insulting as I want. Besides, he wants a woman. You’re telling me there’s not something preverted and weird about that? And he’s willing to use Barnes’ to get what he wants. I don’t like this.”Tony grumbled because he knew they were going to accept grant here, even if only because he kne wSteve would never turn a chance away to find james. and anything that he didn't like, he was sulky and annoyed, his bad mood easily finding a place to be vented that wouldn't leave his team busted up. because he could be insulting to grant without risking them kicking him off the team, it was perfect.
 
"...i know you talk to Loki. it's creepy." Steve admitted. "your going to wake up one day with blue eyes and no free will." he shuddered at the idea. the only thing worse in his mind than being frozen, was being a mind slave. he knew Clint still had vivid, violent nightmares about it. and about killing Natasha. "i'm just glad you got to test that Mark... whatever it was. granted, it could have been in a better scenario but at least we never thought you where suicidal." Sam admitted. "that's not funny Sam." Steve complained, well aware Tony would have jumped off the tower to test those demented machines. "ah... yeah. Skye." Grant was wincing as if he expected her to pop out and start beating the shit out of him. "one of the more... unfortunate side effects of the..." he indicated his head. "is an extremely dependent personality complex. with Garret not around often enough for my obsessive needs to have someone to obey, my attentions switched to Skye with... poor results." he admitted. "mostly for her unfortunately. i wasn't... well, Stalker might be the best term i could use to describe myself at the time." he admitted before shrugging.

"the process doesn't work as well on James as it does on someone like me. i'm not sure why." he admitted. "and before you point out the obvious, no, it's not the healing process, i heal just as fast as the Supersoldiers do." he admitted. "or i used to..." he admitted looking a bit confused before shrugging. "Hydra has long been aware of your Technological superiority and spent the last thirteen years or so training assholes like me on how to shut down key sections without being noticed. James would probably have been run through the process as well. it's not nearly as good as a cloak of invisibility but it allows us to go mostly unnoticed by Jarvis's censors." he admitted. "it won't work now of course, since i brought attention to it, your extremely intelligent system has probably already located the hazy spots and will be correcting this." he admitted. "I am Indeed Sir." Jarvis admitted. "of course, there are still technological dead spots. if people go to places without tech, Jarvis can't really track them. of course, that means they're pretty damn limited themselves, though there are other methods, like EMP's and blanket shelters or whatever that i don't actually understand." he admitted with a shrug. "i wasn't expected to be smart i was just expected to do as i was told." he admitted.

Steve swallowed thickly but managed to keep from paling or showing any other signs of distress. he was going to have more nightmares tonight. might as well just not sleep at all. "i don't want a deal." Grant admitted simply. "as long as i'm not sentenced to death i'm more than happy to accept any punishment the others, or you, want to met out on me." he admitted simply. "as for why?..." he paused and then. "i don't know. i can't remember that far back. it was important. really important." he scowled. "it was the reason why i took on a human shell in the first place." "human shell? fuck. your a Demented God aren't you?" Sam demanded from where he was listening in on the conversation. "uh. i don't think so, no." he admitted. "well, i might be demented but i don't think i'm a god. in any case, could you really condemn a woman to being frozen for the rest of her life? contrary to popular belief, people don't stop aging when they're frozen. she'll die of old age eventually." he admitted, looking very agitated at the idea and Steve twitched. Grant only felt a little bit guilty about manipulating the super soldier. "thanks Tony." Steve said, he always used Tony's first name when he was praising or thanking Tony. it seamed to make Tony happy and honestly, Steve felt a bit bad for keeping everyone at arms length. this was the best he could do for himself at the moment until he felt more settled.

"if i wanted a woman, i would have gone to a whorehouse instead of coming here. i know about a dozen good locations where the women are treated nice and they won't care about my past so long as i pay." he admitted. "as far as Barnes is concerned no one uses him. ever. he'd slit my throat in a second if he even thought i was contemplating it." he admitted. "i'm just glad i don't have to go find him too and get him off the ice..." he paused when Steve made a strangled sound. Bucky. on Ice. frozen... "excuse me..." Steve said, back very stiff, shoulders hunched and voice just as tight as he left the room, Grant blinking, wondering why Steve was having such a serious reaction. "shit... i better go help him. you guys stay here and watch twinkle toes." Sam suggested. "and make sure he sees Bruce. if he was really brain zapped, his brain would have scarring or some sort of physical sign of damage for Bruce to pick up on." he admitted before heading after Steve to calm the man down from his oncoming anxiety attack.
 
“Will not. Loki likes me.”Tony said rolling his eyes a little even if the idea worried him some, he was willing to trust that thor and loki had come to some sort of understanding. “well, that’s true. Though I did wonder if he’s suicidal talking to him still.”Clint said thoughtfully because he still woke up screaming some nights, but unwilling to show the weakness by asking tony not to talk to loki. Mostly, he just avoided the godling. “....Would James be suffering from the same condition?and how bad would it be”Tony asked frowning, wondering if they should be worried about a stalkerish winter soldier being around. Wondering if that was part of why they couldn’t find him, that he’d used his skills to hide out and stalk them from a distance.

“Why? I mean, is the healing process still the same?Because you’re not a super soldier. We need to get you to bruce, he might be able to tell the difference...”Tony frowned because teh question of why it didn’t work, made him curious. Because while biology wasn’t his strong suit, he still wanted to know what was causing James to act like he was. He knew the soldier had saved steve in those last few minutes over the Potomac River, and then disappeared. He wanted to know why. Frowning slightly at the idea of anyone being able to shut down certain parts, before he nodded absently at Jarvis’ words. “And it’d look normal. Because hazy spots are normal parts of life...dammit.”he grumbled, because he didn’t like the idea, but he knew it was true.

“....This isn’t a good idea. I mean, he might let us punish him, but he has reasons, which can never be a good idea.”Tony growled. “...what?”Clint’s eyes widened at the mention of the human shell, paling so quickly that he actually wavered a little on his feet as he studied the other, “.....If you were a god, or her. Yes. I think I could.”Clint said slowly, to shaken by his time with loki to be reasonable about godlings, even if he knew it wasn’t far. “welcome.”Tony said smiling at the use of his first name, maybe there was hope for the super soldier yet.

“....you know a whorehouse?”Tony said looking startled and interested. “Don’t look so interested Tony.”clint said rolling his ees a little before staring at grant for a long moment, “...Is there a chance he went back on ice, after the mess in DC?”Clint asked watching steve go, nodding absently at sam’s words, more then willing to stick around and keep talking to grant, knowing they probably weren’t going to get anything useful, but if they kept talking, they’d figure out what he really wanted. “Come on them, idiot, we’re going to see Bruce”Tony said even as he left the room briefly to retrieve the handcuffs he’d made. “Idiot?” “Hm, yes, well I heard what he called Natasha. Only a idiot calls her brainless eye candy when there’s a chance she might hear about it.”Tony hummed a little sounding amused at the problem, deflecting as he put the handcuffs on grant.
 
"i don't know. it depends on a whole shit ton of things actually." Grant admitted. "how long has he been away from the chair is the biggest thing. once his memories start reasserting themselves the intense need to have someone there to tell him how and what to do should start to dissipate. there's a reason why we are assigned a handler immediately after the procedure. mine was Garret. always." he admitted. "James has had several over his lifetime so the dependency levels have dropped significantly. this time around his dependency was focused on Alexander Pierce i think." He admitted. "with Peirce dead, there's no telling where his dependency might have shifted to, if it shifted at all....." he paused and then gulped. "if his dependency didn't shift then he's probably hunting down whoever killed Pierce." which was Phil. shit. still, he was pretty sure that wasn't about to happen. "James was always the fastest of us three to shake off the effects." he admitted. "i was always the slowest. this is the first time i've been able to think for myself since i was six." he admitted.

"No, i'm not a super soldier, but i did something to my mind when i took on human form so that certain people, mainly Hydra, wouldn't get information from me that... i can't remember yet." he admitted with a sigh. "unfortunately, as may times as i've been zapped, i might never regain all of my memories, though, i should regain most of them. James on the other hand, has developed a tolerance of sorts to the procedure and should regain everything fairly quickly, which can cause it's own problems." he admitted with a shake of his head. "as for why i'm different, my biological functions are fully human that's true, but my mind is only half human." "Half human?" "yes." "so your a Demi-God." "no. just not human. unlike some peoples, mine have never gone so far as to pretend to be Gods or think we where anyway superior... well, no. we've had one or two, but we put them down fairly quickly." he admitted. "we are much older than most humans, but that doesn't mean we're better." he admitted.

"...well... she is, actually." Clint admitted softly. "i can't remember everything yet, but she was an ancient Goddess, Earth's only true God to be exact. at the time anyway. it was only after she fell that Jesus started strolling through." he admitted. "she was put to sleep for some reason. i think to wait for when humanity needed her the most, but when Howard Stark found, what he called the Tesseract, well... and before you get all bent out of shape, yes, the Tesseract was in the hands of Schmidt. what people fail to realize is that the glowing blue box of doom was never, ever Norse or Asgardian. it was Atlantian." Grant admitted. "and yes, Atlantis was real. they had the unfortunate fate of pissing off my people by denying their, and our, Goddess. not to mention turning into racist, bigoted pigs. when m people attacked, the Atlantians turned Hypocrite and turned back to the goddess, begging her to forgive them and save them, but they didn't mean it, so she didn't. it might have helped that we always worshiped her with the greatest devotion." "Including you." Natasha said, staring at him. "it's in your files. the ones i dumped into the public. your a known Wiccan and spend every full and new moon, without fail, doing something called 'paying homage'." "yes. at the moment, another Pseudo Deity is acting as a place holder for her until she wakes up and retakes her position but...." he frowned a little, struggling to remember and sighed. "don't have that bit yet." he admitted.

"i do know Whorehouses." Grant admitted. "Hydra loves the places." he admitted before paling in horror at the idea of James being back on ice. "Jesus i hope not." he whispered. "they did it to me once. just to see if they could put a human in there." he shuddered violently. "i have no doubt that if he's back on ice, it's because they nearly killed him to get him back in there." he admitted, getting to his feet once Tony told him to 'come on then'. "...what did i say!?" he demanded, looking horrified. "i don't remember saying that! oh my god i'm going to die!" Natasha just smiled viciously. "i swear! i don't remember saying that!" "oh. i believe you. i'm still going to remove your testicles Grant Ward." she hissed, making him whimper and try to hide behind Clint and Tony, letting them handcuff him. he knew they wouldn't let Natasha kill him, not yet, but they certainly wouldn't be upset if she maimed him a little, so long as he could still hand over the information they wanted.
 
“About....two months now, probably, if he got wiped down in the middle of things.”Tony frowned thinking about it, wincing a little. “Well...damn.”Tony said thinking about that, wondering if james was good enough to know that fury killed peirce, then shaking his head a little. Of course james knew that. “...This is definitely weird.”Clint muttered looking a little freaked out at the idea, his own time as loki’s plaything leaving him feeling for the man aross from them.

“....” “Good going, Ward. I think you did the impossible. You struck Tony stark mute.”Clint snorted amused looking bemused at the sight of tony reeling at the idea of his father having found something that was atlantean, and that atlantis despite everything that said it didn’t exist, really did. “Even when he shouldn’t know what day it is. May said even in your cage you knew what day it was.”Tony said curious about what sort of goddess could demand that kind of devotion, that even after everything falling apart, grant worshipped. “....is this...pseudo diety a danger?We’ve already had a overwhelming battles with the gods that are awake.”Tony frowned a little.

“...Whorehouses are fun.” “When was the last tiem you went to one?” “Before I was old enough for anyone to recognize me.”Tony snickered a little shuddering at the idea of james on ice. “Well, at least he’s probably up then. Easier to find that way.”Tony muttered frowning slightly, pleased with the idea that they had one less thing to look for, that he was awake, which meant they could find james. “...No you wont die.”Tony snickered looking at natasha as they headed for bruce’s lab. “Brucie-bear!” “Tony, what did I tell you about the names?”bruce said staring at tony for a long moment, and not surprised that the man ignored it, before focusing on grant, hulk lurking just behind that look. “So, this is the agent?”
 
Grant nodded. "he probably did get wiped." he admitted. "still, two months is more than enough time for him to stabilize so he's probably holed up, trying to get used to things like emotions again." he admitted. "or he's hell bent on killing the one who killed his handler or he's become fixated on someone. it's hard to tell, he never does what you expect." "he was always like that." Steve admitted with a smirk. hoping that someday soon, James might come back. "it's not that weird." Grant admitted with a shrug before smiling at Tony. "yeah. the blue orb had just enough power left in it to instruct whoever had the chance on how to get to Atlantis. Hydra took control of the cube shortly after Howard first found it while working within shield-" "That long ago?" Natasha demanded, surprised that Hydra had been such a problem for so long. "yeah. that long ago. anyway they went to Atlantis, or what's left of it, and collected the sleeping Goddess and have been..." here rage flooded his face, outraged that his Almighty Lady had been used for such... despicable human desires. "They've been using her." he hissed in a rage before forcing himself to relax. she would be free soon, soon she would take her mantle as their Goddess again. With her in control once more, maybe the evils of the world would be under control again. or at the very least, keep assholes like Loki from trying to take over the world.

"My People are connected to the Moon." he admitted with a smile. "i always know exactly what day, and what time it is because i always know what time the moon rises and sets and what Phase the Moon is. on't help me tell if it's Thursday or Saturday but i always know what time it is and if the full moon is coming." he admitted. "granted, 'time' doesn't really matter to people like me, numbers are good for counting but not much else. it as Six O'clock for you, it was 'this long after moonset' for me. the passing of the seasons and lengthening and shortening of days, and nights, are just... something that happens that i'm attuned to." he admitted before smirking a little. "oh, The Morrigan? she's only a danger to some." he admitted. "She has a very... horrific fascination with Loki, i'm not sure if she wants to fuck him or gut him though. The Morrigan, The Crone to some, is a placeholder and contains and gives form to Magic. she's been run mostly ragged trying to control the extreme Climate Change so she's been unable to control the Balance." he admitted. "you know. Good and Evil, Life and Death, the Natural Order of things that does need to be monitored. she's not really a goddess after all and can't control all the things that The Lady could have where she still working as she pleased." he admitted.

"Whore Houses are disgusting." Grant scoffed. "i don't mind the ladies. they're usually great. it's all the smelly, nasty men who seam to think that just because they're whores they don't have personalities or feelings." he admitted with a roll of his eyes. "not to mention they usually stink. to cover up the smell of Sex and... well, everything else that nasty men bring in, they use this nasty perfume mixes that gives me headaches." Grant admitted. "i have an extremely sensitive nose so..." he shrugged. "i'm pretty sure he's up. we would have heard about the mass slaughter if Hydra had caught up to him." he admitted. "he was great for that." he admitted, his lips twitching. "killing anyone who got too close to him that wasn't his Handler. he just didn't like people, evil or not." he admitted. "he never really hurt anyone who wasn't there of their own free will though so i think he's always been sort of aware somehow." he admitted before blinking at Bruce. "oh no, i'm not The Agent." he corrected. "that title belongs to someone else." he admitted. no one could be The Agent, since Phi was The Agent. "i'm told your going to look at my brain though." he admitted, looking around the lab, curious. "i'm not going to need to get shots right? becaus i really hate needles."
 
“”Good to know.”Tony said though he sounded a little worried about the idea that james was holed up somewhere stablizing. As much as a stable winter soldier would be, because it meant stseve would be happy, and maybe that would make him want to stay here, but maybe it’d be okay. “Well, we might be in luck. Steve Rogers has always been James Barnes’ obsession, I’ve read some of howard’s journals, I know how you two were. We should totally put you in times square, he’d show up eventually.”Tony muttered ignoring clint’s snickers before paling, swaying a little on his feet at the idea that his father had helped hydra steady more behind the scenes. “....We’ll stop them, grant. We’re going to save your goddess, and James, and anyone else hydra’s using.”Clint said watching the man, “Tony STark can find anything with time, and since Pep’s running his company, he has all the time in the world now.”

“Ah. That makes sense. In a weird sort of way.”Tony said thoughtfully before frowning, thinking over what he knew of the legends of gods, and finding himself woefully short on knowledge. It pained him to admit that he wasn’t a expert in something. “....She should leave loki alone. As annoying as he is sometimes, he’s entertaining, though currently a king of another realm, so I don’t know how interactions between gods work.”Tony said thoughtfully, because half the time he wanted to throw the godling out the window, and half the time lock him up in his lab just so he could do insane experiments with the god of mischief. “...So because she’s not the real goddess, the missing one, things are all out of whack...even though she’s been awake?I mean...she’s living, and awake. How is she not....aware?I mean...goddess. Shouldn’t that override anything they do to her?”Tony said looking thoughtful and bemused, and ever the genius. He wanted to know everything.

“Ah, yes, well. I wasn’t one of those nasty guys, but I agree, for the most part, it was fairly bad.”Tony agreed looking amused before nodding. “Agreed.” “And we’ve had fights, but nothing like that slaughter if hydra had found him.”Clint said thinking it over. “...No bruce, he’s not the Agent. There’s only one Agent, and he’s dead, so there can never be another.”Tony said before letting grant sit down so bruce could look him over. “I am. In a few moments, first I’d like to do a physical exam, make sure you’re well, then we’ll go on to your brain. And no, you shouldn’t need shots.”Bruce said smiling a little as he settled in for the exam, looking disturbed the longer then went on. Indeed, it was disturbing to see this kind of damage, but he’d seen it before. Looking up at the other two when he finished. “He’s telling the truth. His body shows similar damage as to Natasha's."
 
"so maybe he'll be back once he's settled?" he mused, blinking when Steve scowled. "Sorry Tony, he might have been your father, but Howard Stark was a dick." Steve admitted. "he didn't know shit about me or James, no matter his claims to the contrary." he admitted with a slight sulk. "besides, Bucky hated Times Square. too many people." he admitted. "i think he was always scared i'd mouth off at the wrong person and i'd get my ass kicked in front of a thousand strangers. he was always a bit shy though so that might have been why too." he admitted before he smirked. "he liked libraries though, i could go to the New York Public Library Main Branch. when he wasn't babysitting me, he was usually there. he liked books." he admitted before examining grant. he wasn't sure how much he believed the man, and he sure as hell didn't trust him. still, Grant was obviously very emotionally effected by Hydra having James or this woman he had yet to name. though, if she was a Goddess, he probably didn't know her real name. "there's a lot of people who have had this done to them. i don't know how many. some of them have been zapped so hard they won't ever recover." he admitted. "they use this weird machine too, that forces a person to remember things that never happened. most of my life is coated in one of those fake memory webs." he hesitated. "one of the men on The Bus had it done to him. it's called T.A.H.I.T.I." he admitted softly. "it's extremely advanced and some people who are working for Hydra never even realize that their entire lives is nothing but bullshit." he admitted. "or it can pinpoint only one memory and erase it and replace it with another." he admitted.

"She'll do as she pleases and damn anyone who gets in her way." Grant admitted with a shrug. "she is the mother of our entire race, so... yeah not a one of us us going to tell her no. good luck trying if you really want to though." he offered. "...i thought Loki was a prisoner?" he had been, up until the Jotun showed up demanding the Asgardians hand over their King. none of the Asgardians really understood why Loki was so suddenly King of the Jotun but Loki was happy, the Jotun where happy and no one was threatening War so no one was really raising a fuss. except for when Loki stopped by through Asgard and people started complaining that all their left shoes and half of their socks and the fingers off their gloves went missing. honestly, Odin was just glad Loki was being so harmless.

"That's the Thing. the Lady has not been awake." Grant admitted. "she was asleep since before the Egyptians rose from the Nile." he admitted. "as she slept her powers waned until she was nothing but an impressive human, a state of hibernation as it where. her powers went dormant, awaiting her consciousness to awaken them. but that's the thing. she's never been conscious and aware since they pulled her out of Atlantis." he admitted. "she's been locked in ice, wiped as soon as she is thawed, forced to do whatever they want, wiped again and then put back on Ice. without awareness of who and what she really is, her powers have not woken and without her powers she's ultimately fragile, weak and helpless." he admitted. "this is what happened to me as well. so long as i was wiped again and again, i had no powers and no memories of who or what i really was and thus was completely human by all counts." he admitted.

"i don't think you could ever be honestly mean to a woman Tony Stark." Grant admitted before wincing at the mention of Phil. lord he wanted to tell them, but he knew if he did Phil would slaughter him. "yeah, okay." Grant agreed, settling into the Chair they wanted him in and once Bruce got to work Grant conked out, snoring as he slept because he was exhausted from working Magic he hadn't worked since he had taken on human form. "fuck." Natasha muttered. "i really didn't want to feel sorry for him, but i am." she admitted with a sigh, closing her eyes. "i know what he's talking about too. Hydra was nasty for making false memories to lay over real ones." she admitted, staring at Grant. "i find it hard to believe there's really such a thing as a goddess though. i think he's being taken for a fool." she admitted. "sure, he honestly believes what he's saying, but right now, he can't hardly even remember his own name, who he really is. for all he knows, Grant Ward isn't even his real name."
 
“Maybe.”Tony muttered before wincing a little. “Don’t be sorry. I of everyone, knows he was a dick.”Tony said making a face before frowning, thinking that over before nodding, “Jarvis?Private places.”He said knowing that soon enough jarvis would be adding libraries to his list of places to look before frowning, shuddering at the idea of anyone being zapped that hard. “...Wonder who made the system first. I mean, if used properly, it could be a life saving thing, for the dire wounds....”Clint frowned thinking it over, which was what exactly it had started as, a way to save a fallen avenger. It was only after, that it had been twisted to bad ends.

“He was. Until he was named king of Jotunhiem, and the ice giants, now he turns up, plays pranks, goes home. It makes life interesting, even if I don’t like dealing with my suit being pink. Pink,Ward, I’m telling you, Pink!”Tony huffed a little, whining at him, because he whined to everyone about it.

“...So even if she’s been up and moving, being used, she’s still hiberating really. That’s disturbing and interesting all at once. I wonder just what....”Tony frowned trailing off, the words mostly disjointed and random as he talked because he was already venturing off on his own thoughts, even if he was sorta paying attention to the conversation. He was trying to figure out what kind of problems they were going to have with waking a goddess.

“Don’t lie, I’m mean to pepper all the time.” “You are ‘mean’ in the fact that you brought her strawberries by accident. I think you don’t understand the meaning of being mean.”Clint snickered, because he knew Tony Stark could be totally cutting and vicious to people who really pissed him off, but women were rarely the ones that he turned his anger on, even if they deserved it sometimes. Glancing up at Natasha he nodded watching grant and bruce as one slept, and the other still looked over his results. “Even if he is being taken for a fool by a mutant, or whatever she is, if she’s survived the ice and what they did, she needs looked after. Whoever she is.”Tony muttered frowning, looking annoyed before sighing. “I’m going to go see how Capsicle’s doing, if you can wath these two.”he muttered, well aware clint was up in the vents, between the three avengers, grant was well under guard.
 
Steve relaxed at the somewhat reassurance that Tony wasn't mad at him for ragging on Howard. "i Don't know who made the system first. all i know is that it's existed in some form or another since the end of World War Two. there are some rumors that Howard and Peggy started the system to protect Agents in deep undercover. originally there was a way to reverse the process, but once it fell into Hydra's hands the reversal systems was lost. since Hydra was working within Shield, Shield maintained moderate control over the system as well." he admitted. "actually. since Shield... i wonder if they have the reversal system?" he muttered. "now, don't get T.A.H.I.T.I mixed with the M.O.M." he suggested. "T.A.H.I.T.I was created in 2009 via Phil Coulson, Dr. Goodman and Fury. it's... well it stands for Terrestrialized Alien Host Integrative Tissue I." he explained. "they take genetic material from this creepy blue alien and make it into a medicine that can save people from death and genetic defects and one guy even regrew a leg i think." he admitted. "The M.O.M, the Memory Overwrite Machine, implants false memories and it has existed in some form or another since the end of WWII though why it was actually created and who created it, aside from the rumors, is unknown."

"so... the Jotun just, basically, decided he was a king and the Asgardians just handed him over?" he asked, shaking his head. "politics, yuck." he huffed before trying to hide his snickering when he realized that Tony was raging about the time he'd had to go out fighting in a hello Kitty painted suit. that had been so damn hilarious. granted, he knew better than to tell Tony that. "yeah. so long as she is unable to control her own actions, she will remain as nothing more than a simple human." he admitted with a sigh before smiling a little as he watched Tony. if anyone could help, it would be Tony Stark. he did have to wonder if Phi and the others would be showing up though. he hoped so, maybe then the two groups would be a bit happier. Fitz ad Emma would both adore being able to work with Bruce and Tony and Tony, Steve, Clint and Natasha at the least would be very happy to find out Phil was still alive. well, no, they where going to be pissed, but they'd forgive him eventually he supposed.

"I don't know who Pepper is." Grant admitted with a shrug. "i'm more worried about this being Hydra tricking him into doing something they want him to do." Natasha admitted. "there might not even be a woman, it could be they just want him to 'find her' so they can regain control of him and wipe him again." she admitted before smiling at him. "if there is a woman, and she does need help... well, this is a damn good place you've made for us here Tony." she admitted, because she rather liked him. and she wanted him to know she felt safe here in the tower. she settled in to watch him sleep and glanced at Bruce. "was he the same as me, or worse?" she asked. his physical injuries had been about the same as hers, but the scarring over his brain was much, much worse. but then, he'd been with them for a lot longer than she had been.

Sam and Steve where sitting in Steve's rooms. Steve was completely cocooned in blankets, as if he was cold. which was impossible because Jarvis never turned the air conditioner on in Steve's rooms so the room was hot and muggy in the New York Summer Heat. he was murmuring softly to Sam but seamed to have no intention of leaving the blankets and Sam looked up at Tony when he poked his head in and gave him a reassuring smile. "you can come in. it's just a basic flashback." he promised Tony. "he won't lash out." some of Steve's... 'episodes' had led to him thinking Clint or Tony where Hydra Agents and once, had been certain Bruce had been the Red Skull ad he had tried to attack them. in the case of Bruce, he'd succeeded and gotten his ass kicked by the Hulk. Sam said that Steve had an extremely severe case of PTSD as well as an OCD and Depression that he had to struggle with, leading to violent outbursts when he had very bad days. this was a bad day, but it wasn't a violent day apparently.
 
"Huh. This is....stupid shield and their stupid acronyms. And they might have the reversal. It would make sense, it might be buried somewhere though."Tony said absently thinking it over before grinning. "pretty much."He agreed making a face, because he hated politics to. "Don't laugh."He grumbled realizing he was simply amusing Grant by complaining about loki.

"Pepper's his ex-girlfriend, who is also his best friend. they have a interesting relationship."Clint supplied looking amused. "...Maybe. but he's not going on his own. If there is no girl, I trust the avengers to be able to back him up, and get rid of the hydra agents....and...oh."He stuttered to a stop, turning to stare at her for a long moment, at a loss at the idea that she liked this place. that he'd done well. Blushing he smiled. "Thanks. now if only Cap would agree."He said as he left. "Worse....the brain scarring is worse. the physical injuries are about the same."Bruce said looking up at her, frowning. "I'm actually puzzled at how functional he is, with being this scarred really."

Tony groaned a little as he stepped into the room, making a face as he looked around. as hard as he was trying to get along with everyone, and make them feel lcomfortable, he didn't have enough social skills to know how to help with this, so he simply tried treating everyone like he wanted to be treated, and trust that they'd tell him if he was doing something wrong. "Cap, it feels like a sweatbox in here."He whined a little movign around to look at the captain, making a face. "You need anything?"
 
he grinned a little. "it's Peggy's fault. she's the one who really wanted the first name to spell Shield and Howard Stark wanted in her pants so he let her." he paused. "actually, i think she's the only woman who never slept with Howard." he admitted with a chuckle. "it's one of the reasons why Steve didn't like Howard so much, because Howard was constantly flirting with Peggy, James, and Steve himself. according to the old records anyway." Grant admitted with a smile before he couldn't hold the straight face anymore and started to snicker because Tony was hilarious. "....wait, people who where girlfriends that you dumped can still be friends with you?" "no. but girls who dumped their boyfriends can still be friends with them." Natasha stated. "oh. right, because the woman is always correct." Grant agreed with a nod. Natasha smiled at Tony and patted his shoulder before looking at Bruce, lifting an eyebrow. "and what makes you think that he's functional?" she asked. "he's barely held together. he's been hiding it very well. better than i could have if i was as messed up as he is." she admitted. "he's going to have severe problems once the edges start to crack." she admitted. "he's going to be like a broken toy i suppose. one that's just starting to break down, it still works, but sometimes something misfires and he forgets his name, how to talk or even break down completely and just sit there like a lump." she admitted. "i was the same when i first left Hydra. he's forcing himself to continue and to function, but eventually those bits of tape and glue are going to snap and he'll be pretty fucked up. granted, being inhuman might be giving him a hand, but i doubt it." she admitted. "ask Clint. when i first came out, started remembering things, i would go weeks at a time completely forgetting my own name, how to count, how to read, even how to dress myself."

Sam smiled at Tony. "The heat helps. it's not usually this hot in here." he admitted. "just don't touch him he flinches." he admitted softly, Steve looking up at Tony, his eyes narrowed a little. not in anger, but as if he wasn't entirely sure who Tony was and couldn't get a good view of him. "...juice?" Steve croaked. "Coffee." Sam corrected, smiling at Tony. "hot coffee would probably help him a lot right now." he admitted. "Jarvis knows how he likes it if you don't have it memorized." Steve was weird. he liked two spoons of sugar and a splash of vanilla but no cream or milk. the hot liquid would help him remember where he was. "Tony." Steve croaked, looking relieved. as if he had thought Tony might be someone else and was glad that he was wrong and that Tony was Tony.
 
Not surprising, Aunt Peg was amazing.”Tony smiled a little and that soft quiet smile said everything about his relationship with Peggy, and howard. Howard who’d nearly broken his son, and peggy who had loved teh small intelligent child that howard couldn’t bring himself to. “No they can’t. And yes, if the woman is pepper or Natasha, tehy’re always right, no questions asked.”Tony agreed. “...Okay. I stand corrected. Not functional, but I’m surprised he is holding this together as well as he is.”Bruce sighed thinking about it, wincing a little. “I’ll have to talk to Clint.”Bruce said even if he knew the archer was in the vents, he also knew the archer was probably freaking out and having his own problems with being faced with someone that reminded him of loki’s control. He’d give him time to get his head together again. “I wish Agent was here.”he sighed tiredly, he had known the man only briefly, and adopted Tony’s name for him, but he knew that Phil would be able to offer some advice, and help with this. And feeling lost that they could no longer have the steady agent.

“That’s good. And I wont touch. Captain might get Stark cooties then, and that’d just be a crime.”Tony said wrinkling his nose a little before looking at sam. “Coffee it is....and fine. I’ll get his concoction, instead of natasha’s coffee.”Which was strong enough that you felt like you were going to die drinking it. But...teasing steve about his coffee amused him. “Hey Spangles. I’ll be right back, promise.”He said before getting the coffee and returning, tugging at the edge of the blanket, careful not to touch the super soldier, before smirking. “Here’s your express way to diabetes. Have at it.” Which was so amusing cause most of the time tony's coffee was so sweet that there was almost more sugar then coffee in it.
 
"She asks for you sometimes." Steve admitted. "when i visit her, she wonders where you are and if your keeping out of trouble." he smirked. "for some really weird reason, she seams to think your working for Wal-Mart and i can't convince her otherwise." he admitted. "you don't have cooties." Sam scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Bruce tested you for those." Steve twitched and stared at Sam. "Cooties are real!?" "yeah. they're a type of body Louce." "they're a what!?" "a Louce. lice." "....that's disgusting." "yeah it is. Tony doesn't have them." "i would hope not! Tony's too clean for that." Steve said, sounding very affronted. defending Tony, even if Tony was the one who had said it. he twitched when Tony tugged on the blanket but he opened the blankets ad accepted the cup of Coffee, hunkering in to saver every bitter sweet sip ad mumbling under his breath the entire time about how Tony always made the best coffee. he was already looking a little less freaked out.

"your not the only one whose surprised." she admitted, staring at the sleeping Agent. "but you can see the first sign of his breakdown right now. i can't imagine he'd sleep around complete strangers unless he was too exhausted to stop himself from falling asleep." she admitted. "if he hadn't sat down, i imagine he would have collapsed." she admitted before sighing, leaning against the wall. "i miss him too. Phil would have been the best for helping Grant. and for helping Steve, Tony and even Clint. hell, he would have been good for helping everyone in the tower, he was amazing like that. "anyway, the people Grant escaped from are probably on their way here, i want to talk to them." she admitted. "if he did stab them in the back they're going to be pretty pissed off if we take his side so i want to be able to explain why we are before they have a chance to get pissed off."
 
“I know. She asks for you when I visit her to. And I did work for wal-mart one summer. It was a horrible experience that no one is ever allowed asking about.”Tony said shuddering at the memory, before snickering. “okay, so I odn’t have them. But he might get germs or some other thing passed on from howard or germs from women or something. It’d be horrible.”toyn said wrinkling his nose a little, giving him more to complain and defend him against, having a sense that it would help, if steve could defend him, even if it is against himself. “Hmmm, I should make the best coffee. I’m amazing.”Tony snickered settling on the bed with his own cup of coffee and sipping it slowly.

“No, I don’t think he would.”Bruce sighed softly looking up at her, before nodding. “He’d have been good for all of us.”he agreed nodding, “You want me to wake clint up and send him up with you?I can watch sleeping beauty on my own.”Bruce said already movign towards the vent. “I’m up. Heading upstairs.”Clint said. “Ms. Romanoff? There is a quinjet landing on the platform, and.....there is....”here jarvis sounded for once, hesitant? “A Agent asking for a avenger to talk to.”Well, if that clue was to be believed, no wonder he’d asked natasha and not tony, not when the AI knew just how hard tony had taken phil’s death.
 
Steve looked very amused suddenly. "well that explains it." he muttered, Sam looking curious. "explains what?" "well. Walmart pretends to be noble, but it sucks out the souls of those that works there. Walmart messed up and stole Tony's self control instead of his Soul." Sam snickered a little. "now, Howard definitely had germs. but Tony doesn't. he's always super careful when he sleeps with people. i've checked." he admitted, not really realizing that he was actually talking to Tony apparently. "he's nothing like his father was either." he admitted. "Howard was such a dick. couldn't take no for an answer until you punched him in his filthy face. Tony always stops when he hears no, or stop. i like that." he admitted. "your not talking about sex anymore are you?" Sam asked, looking amused, Steve blinking at him. "we where talking about sex?" Steve asked, blinking a little before blinking at Tony. "it's warm in here." "your wearing a ton of blankets." Sam reminded Steve who nodded, pulling the blankets tighter around himself as if worried they might try to take the blankets away.

she nodded. "Jarvis, keep an eye on him too. he even twitches funny you get Steve, Tony, Sam or someone." she ordered before offering the Vet a smile before she tensed. "....i see." had she really heard that the way she thought she had? she headed straight up to the roof and looked at the door. Fitz was the first one out, Icer in his hands, looking very nervous as if worried Grant might show up and shove him off the roof. Lance was next, Icer in hand as well, eyes scanning the area for any hint of any sign of trouble while Mack moved over to Fitz to make sure he was really okay. Natasha was suddenly moving when Phil finally stepped out and her hand was swinging through the air before any of them realized she had even moved. the loud crack of skin to skin contact was sharp enough that al of the people watching flinched, quite violently an watched the red hand-print spread across Phils face. Natasha was already walking back down the stairs, cussing in Russian, German and Icelandic. "ouch." Phil stated, rubbing his cheek but not looking all that bothered by being slapped hard enough that there was already a bruise forming.
 
“....I have plenty of self control. I haven’t groped you in days.”Tony grumbled making a face before laughing amused at the direction this conversation was headed. “Hm, condoms are the world’s best invention for a playboy.”Tony said making a face before looking thoughtful, bemused at the conversation. “yes we were discussing sex. And you look like you’re going to die of a heat stroke. Sure you don’t want to lose the blankets?”Tony asked even if he didn’t try to take them away.

“Of course.”Jarvis reassured. May winced as she watched the woman go, glancing at the others, tilting her head. “Back on the bus for the moment. This...is not a conversation any of us but Phil and I need to have.”She muttered following the director inside, swallowing thickly, knowing that the two assassins waiting for them, this was definitely not going to be a conversation phil wanted anyone to overhear. At least not till they knew they weren’t going to kill him. Clint swallowed thickly, shaken as he stared out the windows, before settling at tony’s bar and digging out the bottle of absinthe he knew the other had, for the moment not pouring it as he watched phil and may walk in. “Your agent is downstairs, and in our custody. You can’t have him back.”He said simply. Keeping things easy and simple, he could deal with this. Pretend it was loki, yea, he could pretend it was loki playing a trick, sorta made this all tolerable really.
 
Steve snorted a little. "no self control." he grumbled, Sam looking rather mortified. "Has Tony been groping you?!" "only my ass." Steve admitted with a sly grin. "don't tell Tony, but i like it." Steve admitted. "sometimes. on good days. but he never does it on a bad day so it's okay." h admitted before scowling. "Tony's not a playboy!" he huffed. "they make the first move after all, he never flirts until they flirt first." he grumbled. "i don't like you picking on Tony. you leave him alone or i'll pop you in your filthy mouth." Steve growled, Sam chuckling. "i like the heat." Steve mumbled. "it keeps the ice away." he mumbled, snuggling deeper into his nest. "is there anymore coffee?"

the others nodded and slipped back into the Bus to wait. "I'm going to have to insist you return Ward to us. you have no idea what he's done." "and you have no idea what he's been through." Natasha said, handing him Bruce's notes and files. "the newest scarring is only a few weeks to a short fw months old." Natasha stated. "i'm sure you know what that means." "...it means they where wiping Ward..." Phil agreed, sounding strained. "it means he had no control over his own actions... what does this mean, Evidence of Memory Tampering?" Phil asked, studying her. "M.O.M." "....Memory Overlay Machine... shit. how many of his memories are fake?" "we don't know yet. he doesn't even know yet. he might never know. after all, i'm not sure sometimes myself and he's had a full twelve years more than i did under their... tender mercies." Natasha admitted. "And your certain this isn't faked? he's faked before." "you can't fake the physical evidence of being wiped." Natasha stated simply. "no there isn't." Phil admitted, closing his eyes and wondered how the others on the Bus where going to take this new information. not well, he could tell that already. still, it did explain how Grant had started acting a lot different the longer he was away from everyone. he must have regained enough key memories in the last weak or three to adjust his personality and remember he didn't hate the world. maybe even realize that his memories where false. well dammit. he didn't want to have to forgive Grant Ward.
 
“It’s a amazing ass, I agree.”Tony snickered looking at sam. “Don’t look so horrified birdboy, I’m not the worst to cop a feel.”Tony muttered before smirking, raising a eyebrow. “We wont tell tony.”he said before looking startled at the fierce defense. While he’d been doing it on purpose to get the other out of his own head, it was rare anyone defended him this fiercely. “Okay, we’ll leave him alone.”He promised before nodding. “There is. I’ll get some.”Tony said taking his cup, smiling as he returned with more. “Here you go, cap.”

“No. And it can’t be worse then what I did under Loki.”Clint said as he poured himself a drink, mostly staying out of the dicussion because it was taking alot to focus on pretending that this wasn’t killing him. And that it was taking alot to focus on dealing with it by himself, instead of asking for tony or steve to come down and help natasha with his conversation. Not when he knew steve was dealing with his own problems, and tony was probably with him. “Between the scarring, and every bone in his body showing at least signs of being broken once, there is no doubt that he has been tortured.”Clint said sighign quietly. “And he has provided Steve with information about the missing Mr. Barnes, if for no other reason then that, I’d doubt you’d ever get near Ward again.”Clint said swallowing hard. “He’s a asset the avengers are taking custody of, to both care for and use to help our search.”
 
"Seriously? who else has been copping feels?!" "people who got their faces pounded in." Steve informed him simply. Tony was, so far, the only one who'd gotten away with groping him. "yeah. don't tell Tony." Steve agreed. "i don't want him thinking he can do it all the time. because he can't." Steve informed them. "i'm the only one who gets to be mean to Tony." Steve informed him firmly before happily accepting more coffee, looking startled. "Tony? when did you get here?" he wondered, sipping at his cup, Sam smiling. Steve was starting to snap out of it, he'd shed a blanket.

"...i don't know." Phil admitted. "you never looked a man in the eye and then dumped him in the middle of the ocean to either quickly drown to death or slowly suffocate from a lack of air." he admitted. "also, unlike you, he actually had the mental capacity to actually decide to do something else. you had no choices at all, Grant had plenty of choices and opportunities." but Phil knew that was entirely true. when Natasha had come to them, she hadn't known how to say no or make her own decisions. she'd had to be taught how. he had a feeling Grant was the same and had known only Garrets orders and nothing else. though he had become oddly compliant to Skye later on until Garret had come back. "....Barnes? as in James Barnes?" Phil asked, looking puzzled. "is he still alive? i thought he died in 1942?" he asked, frowning. so, Phil didn't know Bucky Barnes was the Winter Soldier. that was interesting. Phil sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "well. i'm not about to argue, but my team is going to hate this." he admitted, watching Clint. "i'm sorry." he finally said, watching the man. "i wish i could offer an excuse or an explanation but, i'm not entirely sure what happened myself, and even if i did i doubt it would be a consolation for thinking i was dead for all this time." he admitted, running his hand through his hair. "all i can say right now is i'm sorry, and that i was afraid." he admitted.
 
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