Chapter 38

June 24th, 2016

Outskirts of Leipzig, Germany

Maggie and Bucky slept as they had as the Wyvern and the Winter Soldier – sitting bolt upright, one watching over the other. Sam and Steve had swapped driving so Steve could get some shuteye, but from what Maggie could tell he just stared pensively out the window. He clearly wasn't any good at sitting and waiting.

They were an hour out from their prearranged meetup with Sharon (who turned out to be Sharon Carter, Peggy Carter's great-niece), Steve was driving again, and Maggie was working on the computer.

As she trawled through flight records from the US to Germany, she tugged at the collar of her shirt. She was fed up with this car – it was tiny, poorly air conditioned, and packed with four wrung-out, tired people who hadn't had a moment alone in a while. She loved Bucky, but if he didn't stop shifting his legs in an attempt to find more room, she was going to scream.

Maggie squinted at the data on her screen and grimaced. "I've found some trace evidence of your friends' flight details to Germany," she told Steve and Sam. "And it looks like someone's been keeping an eye on Carter. If I can find it, then I'm sure that To- that others can find it."

Steve let out a long sigh. "I guess it can't be helped. We'll have to prepare for contact."

A grim silence fell in the small car. Maggie closed her laptop and shared a glance with Bucky. She could see the question in his eyes: are you going to be okay if your brother comes for us?

She didn't know. It didn't feel real yet, that she'd seen her brother, that she'd felt his beating pulse under her fingers. The thought of seeing him again so soon, when he was awake, was… terrifying.

Maggie swallowed. Bucky's metal fingers crept across the small space between them to tangle with her own fingers. His eyes were creased with concern, and she smiled reassuringly at him. They had a mission, and she'd complete it.

If Tony tried to stop them… she didn't have an answer for that. But it didn't seem like it was just her and Bucky against the world this time. Steve and Sam seemed just as determined to get to the doctor and the Winter Soldiers as they were, and they'd called in more help. Maggie had more or less figured out who was on the way – Lang, the "Ant-Man"; Clint – probably Clint Barton, AKA Hawkeye; and Wanda, no doubt Wanda Maximoff, the Scarlet Witch. Maggie had never really been on a team before, let alone with people with extraordinary powers, but she found she didn't mind the idea of it – the more people who could help to track down that doctor and bring him justice for what he'd done to the world and to Bucky, the better.

Tony would either agree to help them, or he would try to stop them. Maggie didn't think that anyone in this car wanted to hurt Tony, so they would just have to get around him. She let out a long breath, and squeezed Bucky's metal fingers. There were only two logical options. She could live with that.

Bucky seemed to sense her mind ease, and he knocked his knee against hers with a smile. She smiled back, but then he was moving his goddamn legs around again, so she had to clench her jaw and look out the window before she smacked him.

Sam had seen their fingers tangle out of the corner of his eye, and his eyebrows shot up his forehead as the pieces clicked together in his mind: the glances loaded with meaning, the small touches, the way they'd come back from their secret chat smiling and joking, and the way they seemed to exist in each other's orbit, intimate and trusting.

That's going to make things complicated, he thought. But he'd found a kind-of-truce with the ex assassins, and they all had a job to do, so he kept his mouth shut.

Underpass near Leipzig/Halle Airport, Germany

Steve pulled up behind Sharon Carter's nondescript grey Audi, and climbed out of the driver's seat. Maggie wasn't paying attention to him, though – her eyes were on the woman who'd just emerged from the car ahead of them.

She was younger than Maggie had expected, and pretty, with blonde hair and brown eyes. And… Maggie swore under her breath when she realised that she'd seen this woman only yesterday, groaning in the ruins of a cafeteria table. She glanced sideways at Bucky, and saw the glimmer of guilt in his expression. So he was remembering, then.

Maggie knocked her knee into his, and once she had his attention raised her eyebrows at him, as if to say see, she's okay!

Bucky smiled sadly at her, then went back to looking through the windshield.

Outside the car and out of earshot, Sharon Carter greeted Steve with: "I'm not sure you understand the concept of a getaway car."

"It's low profile," Steve replied, and they met by the trunk of her car.

"Good, because this stuff tends to draw a crowd." Sharon opened the trunk to reveal Steve's shield and uniform, and what must have been Sam's wing pack.

Inside the Beetle, Maggie's eyes widened and she sat up to get a closer look – she'd been curious about Sam's wings since she'd seen them in action on the causeway all those years ago, and now it seemed she might have a moment to inspect them. And the Vibranium shield – she wanted to know what the rarest metal on earth felt like, when it wasn't putting dents in her wings.

But she was distracted when Bucky spoke: "Can you move your seat up?"

Sam didn't even turn around. "No."

Maggie rolled her eyes. It seemed she wasn't the only one fed up with sharing this tiny goddamned space. And she was trying to pretend she didn't notice Sam and Bucky basically fighting over being Steve's friend, because that would be beneath them and she wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt. She really did. Sighing, she pressed herself closer against the side of the car and moved her legs to give Bucky more room.

Outside the car, Steve murmured "I owe you again."

"Keepin' a list." Sharon turned to look into the Beetle just as Bucky shifted closer to the middle, slinging his metal arm behind Maggie's backrest so they could share more space. All three occupants of the car were looking out at Sharon and Steve.

"You know he kinda tried to kill me," Sharon sighed, leveling her gaze on Steve.

"Sorry. I'll put it on the list."

She smiled. "And you've made a friend," she added, casting another glance at the dark-haired woman in the back seat. Sensing she was being talked about, Maggie wiggled her fingers in a wave. That was something that people did with acquaintances, wasn't it?

Steve raised an eyebrow and turned back to Sharon. "His friend. I think."

Sharon smiled again, her eyes going warm, then glanced back down at the trunk of her car, biting her lip.

Back in the Beetle, Maggie's eyes darted between the two blondes. The eye contact, the way Steve's head was angled toward Carter, the almost nervous glances…

"Bucky," she whispered, straightening.

"I see it," Bucky murmured back. He sounded surprised, but there was a smile in his voice.

Sam looked over his shoulder. "What?"

They both ignored him.

Moments later, Steve stepped toward Sharon and leaned in, taking her in his arms as he kissed her. Maggie gasped and flung her hand toward Bucky, smacking his chest in her excitement.

After a short embrace, Steve and Sharon pulled apart, smiling.

"That was…"

"Late," Steve admitted, his hands on her waist and a smile on his lips.

"Damn right," she grinned. They pulled apart – Steve wished they could have more time, but it seemed he was always destined to go off and do something stupid.

"I should go," Sharon said. She met his eyes once more, gave him a small smile, then stepped around him to get back in her car.

Smiling to himself, Steve nodded and found himself glancing back at the Beetle.

In the passenger seat Sam nodded and smiled, his eyes glinting with vindication after all the times he'd teased Steve about the nurse. Behind him, Bucky's tense face broke into a smile, teasing and proud and just so Bucky that Steve felt like he was a kid in Brooklyn again. To Bucky's left, Steve found himself faced with a wicked smirk that he'd seen time and time again throughout his life – first on Howard's face, then Tony's, and now, apparently, on Maggie's.

Steve sighed and gave them a pointed look. They could at least pretend they weren't blatantly staring.

Leipzig/Halle Airport

As Steve steered the puttering car into the airport carpark, Maggie met Bucky's eyes. Her gut was churning with nerves, and if Bucky's faintly whirring arm and troubled eyes were any indication, he wasn't exactly the picture of calm either.

Whatever was about to happen, it felt like everything they'd been running from for two years was about to come crashing down on them.

Maggie swallowed.

Steve parked a few spaces down from a nondescript white van, cut off the engine, and climbed out of the car. Maggie peered out the window and assessed the situation.

The driver of the van, a blonde man wearing black trousers and a leather vest, got out and nodded to Steve. "Cap." Maggie ran her eyes over the man's face and identified him as Clint Barton.

The passenger of the van, a grim-faced young woman with long brown hair, climbed out as Steve and Barton approached one another.

"You know I wouldn't have called if I had any other choice," Steve said, shaking Barton's hand. Maggie ran her eyes over the archer. Even if she hadn't known his name and alias, she'd have noticed that this was a highly skilled man. His eyes were alert, his body battle-ready. A prickle of nerves went through her as she realised that this was another person who knew her brother.

"Hey, man, you're doing me a favour," Barton said, and Maggie pushed the Beetle's driver's seat forward so she could get out. Bucky was climbing out the passenger door. "Besides," Barton continued, flicking his head at Maximoff, "I owe a debt."

Steve spoke to Maximoff, then, something about having his back, but Maggie wasn't paying attention. Barton had looked up to acknowledge Sam, now standing by Steve's side, and then his eyes flicked toward the two ex-HYDRA assassins climbing out of the tiny Beetle.

Maggie felt his gaze prickling on her skin as she stepped onto the concrete and shut the car door behind her. She moved towards the bonnet and leaned against it, hanging back from the conversation, but finally she could ignore the archer's gaze no longer. Crossing her arms, she looked up and met his keen, assessing eyes.

She knew they called him Hawkeye, and she had to admit the name was well-given. As he peered at her blank face, Maggie felt as if he was seeing every secret she'd ever kept. And for the life of her, she couldn't work out what he was thinking. She wondered how much he knew about her past, about who she was.

Barton's eyes flickered to Bucky, who was keeping the car between himself and the newcomers, trying to draw as little attention as possible, and a furrow grew between his brows. All of this passed in the space of seconds.

"How 'bout our other recruit?" Steve asked, drawing Barton's attention away. The archer didn't seem to need to acknowledge the Bucky-and-Maggie sized elephant in the room, so he swung around and paced toward the van door.

"He's raring to go!" he said, and pulled the van door open with a metallic slam. "Had to put a little coffee in him, but-"

The last occupant of the van, a dark-haired man who had been sleeping with his feet up on the seat, jerked awake, blinking. Maggie smiled.

"He should be good!" Barton finished.

Steve glanced at Sam questioningly, and Sam shrugged. No one was paying attention to Maggie, so she took the opportunity to look over her shoulder and raise an eyebrow at Bucky, questioning: are you alright?

He nodded, one arm propped on the car roof, and gave her a half-hearted smile. He looked tired.

"What time zone is this?" she heard the newly-awoken man – Scott Lang – ask, as he climbed out of the van. She turned to see him glancing around at the people in the parking lot, bewildered and getting rapidly more excited.

"C'mon," Barton muttered, and pushed Lang toward Steve.

"Captain America!" Lang exclaimed, eyes locked on Steve and his face all lit up like a kid at Christmas. He grasped Steve's outstretched hand and started enthusiastically shaking it.

"Mr. Lang."

"It's an honour," Lang said, nearly shaking Steve's entire body now. "I'm shaking your hand too long!" Steve nodded and was released. "Wow! This is awesome!"

Maggie raised an eyebrow.

"Captain America!" Lang exclaimed once more, to Maximoff, then did a double take. "I know you too, you're great!" Then, as if he couldn't decide what to latch onto next, he seized Steve's – admittedly impressive – shoulders, and grimaced. "Jeez."

Steve looked over his shoulder at Bucky at that, trading a bemused glance with his best friend. Maggie had to work hard to repress her laughter.

"Look," Lang continued, and Maggie's eyebrows continued to rise up her forehead. "I wanna say, I know you know a lot of super people, so – thinks for thanking of me!"

Lang was a ball of nerves and enthusiastic energy, his thoughts tripping straight off his tongue in a nervous stream-of consciousness. Maggie liked him.

Lang grinned at Sam. "Hey, man!"

"What's up, Tic-Tac?"

"Uh, good to see you. Look, what happened last time-"

"It was a great audition," Sam cut in, "but it'll…" he chuckled, shaking his head. "It'll never happen again."

Before she could stop herself, Maggie snorted. "Did he kick your ass?" she asked, still leaning against the car bonnet.

Sam tensed, but Steve moved on before she could get a satisfactory answer. She raised an eyebrow at Bucky, who gave her a small smirk. When she turned back, she realised that she'd drawn Barton and Maximoff's attention, and they were both eyeing her curiously. She stiffened again.

"They tell you what we're up against?" Steve was asking.

Lang sobered. "Something about some… psycho assassins?"

Bucky and Maggie tensed imperceptibly.

"We're outside the law on this one," Steve explained. "So if you come with us, you're a wanted man."

"Yeah, well, what else is new." Lang's face was uncharacteristically somber.

"We should get moving," Bucky called.

Barton stepped forward. "I've got a chopper lined up."

As if on cue, a blaring alarm sounded throughout the airport, followed by an evacuation instruction in German. Maggie's stomach erupted with nerves again, and she shared a glance with Bucky.

"They're evacuating the airport," he explained to the others. Maggie concentrated on her breathing. She wished they could just get to the doctor in Siberia and deal with him, instead of having to face… whatever was about to happen.

Sam turned to Steve and muttered: "Stark."

"Stark?" Lang echoed.

Maggie's muscles went rigid, locking her in place, and a ringing sound filled her head. But despite her instinctive bodily reaction to the name, she didn't miss the looks that everyone but Lang shot her. She scowled and hunched her shoulders. How many goddamn people knew who she was?

Steve straightened and glanced around at his motley crew of soldiers. "Suit up," he commanded, and everyone sprang into action.

Maggie pushed off the bonnet and reached into the car to grab her gear bag, but when she turned around she came face to face with Steve, his face creased with concern and his shoulders set. She blinked.

"Can I talk to you?" he asked softly.

"… Sure."

Steve turned and walked a little ways down the parking lot. Maggie followed, glancing over her shoulder at Bucky. Bucky had hesitated by the car and watched her following Steve with a furrowed brow. There was a question in his eyes: do you want me to come? She shook her head at him, shooting him a quick smile, and he went to suit up.

Maggie almost bumped into Steve when he stopped abruptly and turned around, his face still troubled. She could see him struggling for words so she waited silently, clutching her gear bag with both hands.

Finally, he met her eyes and said: "Tony's going to be here."

Maggie's look of polite curiosity fell from her face, and she felt as if he'd punched her in the chest. She knew that, she was trying not to think too hard about it, so why was he-

"You understand that?" Steve asked, eyes flicking over her face.

She straightened. "Yes."

His eyes were still troubled. "You don't have to fight him, if you don't want. You can walk away right now and no one will think less of you for it."

For a second, Maggie considered it. She wouldn't have to face Tony, she could slip back into comfortable anonymity. But as soon as it came, any serious consideration of the idea vanished – she couldn't leave Bucky to face the consequences of the past few days on his own, and she knew that Steve and the others needed her help against the Winter Soldiers.

Steve let her process his offer for a few moments, then continued. "But. If you want to stay, if you want to see this through – we could use all the help we can get."

Maggie sighed and looked into Steve's eyes. He looked disturbed, and she realized how hard this must be for him – sending his friend's sister up against his friend in battle. She could see from the turmoil in his eyes that he cared about Tony.

Maggie's face softened, and the churning fear and nerves in her gut lessened slightly. She took a deep breath, and murmured: "I'm not walking away from this one."

They looked into each other's eyes for a few seconds more, then Steve nodded, a frown still hovering on his brow. "Then you'd better get suited up."

"Yes, Captain."

"Call me Steve."

Maggie blinked and raised an eyebrow, and was surprised to see compassion in Steve's face. He didn't like this at all, that much was plain to see, but she could tell that he respected her. Maggie didn't think anyone but Bucky had truly respected her since her break with HYDRA, and the inclusion of Steve on that small list made her throat clog up with emotion.

But they didn't have time for that. She nodded to Steve once more, then ducked away to pull on her battle gear.

A minute later – she had always been a fast changer, thanks to HYDRA – Maggie stepped out from behind what meager cover she could find, holding her barbed gloves, red goggles, and cowl. She paced in the general direction of the two vehicles, frowning at the items in her hands, remnants of her life as the Wyvern. She'd barely looked at them in almost a year now, and they felt alien in her fingers. The gloves gleamed dully under the fluorescent lights, and the red tint of the goggle lenses glinted. The smooth slide of the cowl over her skin sent a shudder racing down Maggie's spine.

She'd taken the backpack cover off, so now her wings were out for anyone in the airport carpark to see, folded close to her body but still unmistakably lethal metal weapons. She noticed that her gait was different, now that she was wearing the wings and sturdy black battle gear. Her booted feet were light but sure, walking with purpose. Her arms hung loosely by her sides, ready for combat at a moment's notice.

Like a magnetic pull, she sensed Bucky appear before her. She glanced up and spotted him waiting for her by a concrete post, decked out in black gear with his silver arm bared. His blue-grey eyes were dark and troubled as he took her in.

For a few moments, silence stretched between them as they eyed each other in their uniforms. This was different to when they'd gone up against Vincent Silva – those had been costumes, intended to intimidate. Now, they were dressed for battle.

Bucky looked dangerous, clad in black with his arm's scarlet star on display. Maggie could only imagine she looked the same.

Maggie sighed, then realised she couldn't make this more tragic than it already was. "Right size?" she asked, gesturing to Bucky's vest as she resumed pacing toward him.

He nodded, frowning a little, and she shrugged.

"Sam was worried."

"I'm sure he was," Bucky replied, the corner of his mouth tugging up a little. Once they were a few feet apart, he nodded at the items Maggie carried. "You gonna use those?"

Maggie lifted her hands and considered the items, tokens of a past life that had rested at the bottom of her bag for so long, unused. Taking a deep breath, she picked up the black cowl with two fingers and dropped it on the ground. It pooled on the concrete, and she let out a breath of relief.

The cowl had been part of what made the Wyvern a faceless assassin, removed from humanity. It had separated her from her victims, given them nothing but darkness to look into before they met their violent end.

Maggie didn't want to cover her face any more.

Bucky watched her with warmth in his eyes. She put her goggles on slowly, resting them on her forehead for now, then pulled on her gauntlets. The feel of them made her shiver, as if she was pulling a part of her personhood away.

But Bucky was there, and once she was done they stepped together, pulling each other into their arms. Bucky smelled like leather and metal, but under that was the scent of him, warm and familiar. Maggie was careful to lay her palms flat on his back, to avoid snagging the sharp fingers of her gauntlets on his battle vest, and held him tight enough to feel his heartbeat.

Bucky sighed, his hair brushing her cheek. "You gonna be alright, doll?"

He was asking so many complicated things: are you ready to be the Wyvern again? and are you ready to fight HYDRA's ghosts? and are you ready to face your brother for the first time since 1991 on a battlefield?

Maggie tucked her head a little closer to Bucky's, closing her eyes at his warmth. "I have to be. How about you, handsome?"

He huffed a sad laugh, and his arm let out a faint whir. "Likewise."

"I love you."

Bucky's hand brushed the back of her neck, soothing. "I love you, too." After a beat, he sighed. "Meg, you don't have to fight him. I know you don't… it doesn't have to be like this."

"Huh, that's what Steve said," she murmured, and she felt Bucky's surprise. "But you need me. Steve and the others need me. I'm… I'm terrified, but I need to do this."

Bucky sighed again. "I'm sorry."

Maggie opened her mouth, not entirely sure what she was going to say, when they heard footsteps approaching and stepped apart.

It was Sam, adjusting his wingpack as he strode towards them in the fluorescently-lit carpark. He'd seen their embrace, and he raised an eyebrow.

Maggie rolled her eyes at Sam, then turned back to Bucky and cocked her head.

"For the mission?"

He nodded once, a faint smile playing at his lips. "For the mission."

God, she wanted to kiss him.

After a moment of consideration, Maggie reflected that there was no reason not to kiss him, so she stepped back into Bucky's space, smoothed her hand up the side of his neck and pressed her lips to his. After a moment of surprised stillness he kissed her back, his fingers curling around her waist and his body leaning unconsciously towards hers. Maggie smiled into the kiss, and her skin lit up where Bucky touched her.

The kiss only lasted a few seconds, but when she pulled away Maggie felt some of her nerves and exhaustion fading away. Bucky's eyes were warm, and the tension had slipped out of his face. He looked a little quizzical, but she merely smiled at him.

Maggie suspected there wasn't much that Sam Wilson didn't notice, as he was far more perceptive than he let on. And though she and Bucky had been restrained, careful, around Sam and Steve, they hadn't been able to hide the way they worried for one another, cared about one another. She supposed there wasn't much of a reason to hide their relationship, beyond habit. If she and Bucky wanted to kiss each other, she didn't see why they shouldn't be able to. What was Sam going to do, split them up at recess?

Sam passed by, shooting them a wary glance. "So weird," he muttered, but his tone was light.

Maggie bumped her shoulder against Bucky's, winked, and then they fell into step behind Sam on the way back to the van.

Darker thoughts began to slip back into Maggie's mind, and she found she was trying so hard to keep her mind off her brother that it took her a few seconds to realize that she was staring directly at Sam's wingpack. Now that was an excellent distraction.

Half a minute later, Sam glanced over his shoulder and flinched at the sight of Maggie barely half a foot behind him, awkwardly hunched as she tried to inspect his engine exhaust outputs.

"Jesus!" he yelped, skipping a few feet ahead. Maggie blinked at him, and Bucky smirked. "What're you-"

"The US Army made those?" she asked, nodding at his wings.

Sam walked sideways so he could keep an eye on her. "Originally. They've had updates since then. Why?"

Maggie could guess who had been making updates. She shrugged. "Just curious. They're remarkably collapsible. And you use your arms to steer them?"

"Look," Sam said defensively, "I've got wings, you've got wings, let's just deal with it, alright?"

"But I want to know-"

"Meg," Bucky interrupted, concealing a smile, and she sighed.

Maybe later.

They reached the parked vehicles, and Bucky and Sam veered off toward where Barton and Steve were planning. Maggie took one look at their heavy brows and headed towards the other two by the van. She knew she'd have to fight, but she wanted to avoid thinking about it for as long as she could.

She spared a glance for the parked Beetle – she'd left her backpack, with all her tools and treasures, in the trunk. Her heart ached.

Lang and Maximoff were pulling on the last parts of their uniforms – Lang was putting his arm through the sleeve of what looked like a red and black motorcycle suit, and Maximoff was pulling on her boots.

"Oh man," Lang was saying, and Maggie wondered if he'd stopped talking since he'd gotten out of the van. "Hank is going to be so mad at me-"

"Who's Hank?" asked Maximoff, as she dusted off her red leather uniform. "You've mentioned him a lot."

"Hank Pym, he's-"

Maggie perked up at the name, and stepped out from where she was concealed by the van. "Doctor Hank Pym?"

Lang flinched at her sudden appearance, cursing, but Maximoff didn't look surprised – perhaps her powers allowed her to sense Maggie before she was visible.

"The physicist?" she continued, cocking her head at Lang.

He blinked at her. "Uh, yeah. You know him?"

She shrugged. "I've read some of his work, he's a remarkable scientist. He made that suit?"

"Yeah."

"Huh." Her estimation of 'Ant-Man' hiked up a few notches. She was interested to see what the suit could do. She knew Hank Pym worked with her father and her aunt Peggy at S.H.I.E.L.D., back in the day. "So Pym Particles aren't just theoretical, then?"

Lang's eyes narrowed. She could see his confusion about her presence, and his darting glances at her wings, just visible over her shoulders. "Uh, so I don't think we were introduced, who did you say you were again?"

"Maggie." She offered her gauntleted hand, and he shook it. He had buttons on his gloves.

"Scott." He cocked his head, obviously still trying to figure out if he recognised her. "Are you wearing wings?"

"I sure am."

Maggie turned to Maximoff, who had been peering at her curiously, and offered her hand.

The Avenger took it. "I'm Wanda." Her Sokovian accent was still strong, but Maggie could hear the soft American twang to her voice, no doubt absorbed from her team members. Mentally, she corrected herself: ex-team members.

Wanda herself seemed to be sizing Maggie up, taking in her uniform and wings with something like a haunted look in her eyes.

"It's nice to meet you," Maggie said, and Wanda glanced up at her face.

"It's nice to meet you too," Wanda replied, and Maggie was surprised to hear that she seemed to actually mean it.

Scott got into his suit properly, and tucked a strange-looking helmet under his arm. "So you're a scientist, then?" he asked.

Maggie smiled. She liked Scott Lang, with his easy enthusiasm. "Not technically. I'm an international fugitive."

"Oh, sweet. I was in prison for burglary, but that was more of a state sentence."

Bucky came over, running a wary eye over the two relative strangers Maggie was chatting to. Maggie smiled at him, then turned to the others.

"Bucky, this is Scott Lang and Wanda Maximoff. Scott and Wanda, this is Bucky."

Wanda's eyes darted between Maggie and Bucky, and Maggie thought she saw her eyes glow red for a moment, but she was distracted by Scott's sudden exclamation of:

"Bucky Barnes?" His eyes were round. "Oh man, I used to watch that Captain America cartoon all the time, and I had a bunch of comics!"

Wanda rolled her eyes.

Maggie gauged Bucky's mood to see how he would react to that, but he just seemed bemused.

"Uh, well… that's me, I guess." He shrugged.

"Jeez, it is such an honor to meet you, and I gotta say I'm really sorry about the whole framing thing, that shit's rough. My girlfriend framed me for a burglary – well I mean, I technically did the burglary, but she was supposed to keep it secret, it was like a test, y'know?"

"No," said Bucky.

Wanda, bless her, interrupted. "It's nice to meet you both," she said, and there was a warmth in her eyes that Maggie liked. "I've heard a lot about you."

Oh. That explained the weird looks, then.

"Any good things?" Maggie asked half-heartedly.

Wanda opened her mouth, then closed it. Bucky tensed up.

Maggie sighed. "Well, we can only improve on that reputation. Would you care for a joke?"

That eased Bucky's tension, but before she could go on – she was definitely going to tell them the elephant joke – Steve and Barton walked over, grim-faced in their uniforms.

"I'll tell you later," Maggie whispered to Scott and Wanda, and they both blinked bemusedly at her.

"Alright," Steve said, and Maggie did a double take at the sight of him in full Captain-America uniform, stars and stripes and winged helmet. But after spending some time with Steve out of the uniform, Maggie realised it wasn't the suit that gave him that aura of purpose and solemnity. Steve had had it long before he put the suit on. Probably long before Captain America was even conceived of.

Steve continued: "We've got a plan to get airborne. First, everyone needs these commpieces."

Barton, wearing a dark sleeveless uniform, handed out the comms. He also handed Maggie something that looked a little like a chunky black bracelet. When she raised an eyebrow, he shrugged. "Energy blaster," he explained. "It'll power up once it's on your wrist, and it'll give you ranged defense. Here's how you fire it." As Barton gave her a crash course on the weapon, Maggie scrutinized his face out of the corner of her eye. Why he had seen fit to arm her, she didn't know, but she couldn't read any malicious intent in it. So she slipped on the blaster, feeling it fit snugly to her wrist, and nodded her thanks.

He offered a quick smile in response to her obviously confused expression. "It's an alternative to guns. Non-lethal." The explanation was non-specific, but Maggie was abruptly reminded that she was about to go up against her brother and his friends in battle, and her stomach flipped.

As Barton returned to his place, Steve ran an eye over his newly assembled team. They stood in a rough circle, adjusting suit straps and accepting the earpieces with serious faces. He felt a twist of guilt and sadness go through him at the sight of Maggie and Bucky in their uniforms. Their faces were visible this time around, but he couldn't help but think of them as the Wyvern and the Winter Soldier, all black outfits and metal limbs, with no choice in the matter. He wished he didn't have to do this, but they needed everyone they could get, and it was clear that Bucky and Maggie were going to see this through to the end.

Steve realized that Maggie was inspecting him right back, running an eye over his colourful uniform and the shield dangling loosely in his hand. She leaned toward Bucky and whispered something, which Steve just caught with his enhanced hearing:

"Living embodiment of freedom."

Bucky snorted, and Steve felt his churning guilt ease a little. This was almost normal, managing a team who traded jokes and sarcastic comments, making fun of their leader's uniform. All the same, he couldn't stop himself comparing Maggie's wry smile and glittering dark eyes to Tony, and his heart ached.

Everyone sobered up when they got into planning mode. Steve and Barton outlined their slapdash idea, while the others chipped in with questions and ways to hone the strategy. Scott came in useful, detailing what his suit could do and how it could help them. Bucky and Maggie's contributions revealed just how much tactical thinking had been drilled into them – they identified vantage positions, choke points and likely firepower in a heartbeat.

Maggie was relying on her skills and experience, but she couldn't shake off the knowledge of what she was about to walk into. Finally, she gathered her courage and asked: "Who are we going to be up against?" She cursed the slight waver in her voice, but didn't shy away from Steve's gaze when he looked up. She needed to know.

Barton cleared his throat. "Nat, Vision and Rhodey, for sure." Maggie felt her gut twist in an odd way at the prospect of fighting Rhodey, who'd once promised to take her flying. "If they're desperate, I think they'd ask King T'Challa to fight as well."

Maggie's eyes flicked to Bucky. The Wakandan thought Bucky had killed his father, and she knew better than most how that desire for revenge could fuel a person. She resolved to keep more of an eye out for Bucky than she normally would.

"And," Steve continued. "Tony. And whoever else they might decide to bring. We've got to be ready to improvise."

Maggie gritted her teeth, and reminded herself that no one here wanted to hurt Tony. They would just have to get around him. She could do that. It was just a tactical maneuver.

Bucky's fingers brushed hers, just for a moment, but the relief it gave her was an almost dizzying headrush.

"Okay," Steve said, straightening and fastening his remarkable shield to his forearm. When this was all said and done, Maggie wanted to get a good look at it. "Everyone know their positions?"

There was a round of silent nods.

Steve glanced around at them all. "Then let's move out."