Unspoken

Fifteen

Bucky paced back and forth, waiting for Steve and the others to return. He knew it was her, when he had first met her, and shook her hand, he felt the same fear as when he had met Ace. No matter how much she could try to hide it, it was her.

'Barnes you need to stop, you'll wear a hole in my floor..'.. Bucky looked over at Tony, seeing him give a look.

'It is her, I swear I'm not crazy..'.. Bucky ran a hand through his hair, feeling frustrated that they were getting nowhere.

'Look, there's a gala I got to attend tomorrow evening, and apparently shes invited. You can't go, but the others can. Rogers and Romanoff can hit up her place, check out her office, see if they can find anything. I'll create a drive for Romanoff to get access to her computer..'.. Tony tells him, as he eats his food.

'Do you think that will work?..'.. Bucky asked, as he stopped pacing.

'It might. Rogers can draw attention to himself at the bar, so Romanoff can slip away. I'll have Pepper with me, so she can strike up a conversation with her..'.. Tony shrugged.

'Perhaps I should join you..'.. Loki moved to sit at the table opposite Tony, who gave him a bewildered look... 'I can read minds also, and I can find out more information regarding the woman..'

Tony thought about it, and sighed... 'You're not going looking like that, you need to blend in..'.. He gestured to Loki who just smirked, and cast an illusion on himself, altering his appearance.

'Will this suffice?..'.. Loki grinned. Gone was the long black hair, now short and sandy in colour. He now had some stubble, and his clothing was dark jeans with an emerald green shirt.

'It'll do. You'll need a suit though..'.. Tony went back to eating... 'And you'll need a date..'.. He glanced up seeing Lokis smile twist into a frown... 'Its easier to blend in as a couple..'.. Tony air quoted.

'Very well, I'm sure Lady Helen or Lady Maria would like to attend..'.. Tony snorted at his words.

'You got no chance of getting Hill into a dress, best have Cho with you..'.. Tony chuckled at the thought of Maria in a dress. Had better luck getting Fury in one than her.

'She hides too well, she's good I'll give her that..'.. Bruce said as he stood up, taking his plate to the kitchen.

'Why hide at all? Why not just admit it?..'.. Pietro asks, as he takes Bruces seat.

Tony thought it over and his gaze fell on Bucky... 'When you snapped out of it, what did you do?..'

'I ran. I couldn't make out what was real, and what wasn't. When my memories started coming back more, I began to remember my life, be more in control of myself..'.. Bucky sat on the arm of a couch, facing Tony as he frowned.

'And if Rogers hadn't found you?..'.. Tony knew why she was hiding, he wasn't a genius for nothing.

'I would have started a new life, somewhere else, blend in..'.. Bucky said, looking around at the team... 'But I'm here now, I'm better, I'm me. I'm not the soldi-..'

Tony saw that it hit Bucky, and he understood... 'She was telling the truth, she's not Ace, not anymore, shit..'

'Im guessing that no matter how many times you throw it at her, that she is, she will still give the same answer. Look..'.. Tony sighed and sat back... 'It may be her, and she doesn't want to remember that part of her life. All the notes we have on Ace, she wasn't willing. They did a lot to her, and from what we know, she was abused in many ways. It's no wonder why she's so protective of the women she has working for her..'

Bucky took a deep breath, contemplating Tony's words... 'Fine, so if it is her, how do we go about getting her to talk?..'

'Perhaps I may weigh in here..'.. Vision said, raising his hand a little, and everyone turns to him... 'Miss Bird, or Ace attacked us all, and took us down single handedly, but she evaded Mr Barton. She did not harm him..'.. He looked over to Bucky... 'Is it possible, that Mr Barton snapped her out of the control, in the way that Captain Rogers did for you?..'

'Wait, hold on..'.. Bruce walked back over... 'Are you suggesting she knows Clint? He said he didn't know her..'

'I am saying that perhaps she may know him, but he may not know her, or remember her. We can ask Mr Barton again, when he returns. He has gone with the others to see her today...'.. Vision nods.

'Ok, so we come up with another plan, breaking into her office might be a bad idea..'.. Wanda says... 'How about just asking her out right?..'

Nat walked in, shaking her head as Clint and Steve came a few steps after... 'Steve pissed her off..'.. She jerked a thumb behind her and moved to drop onto a couch, Clint sat down next to her.

'What did you do?..'.. Tony asked, as he stood up, to clear his plate.

He accused her of being Ace, rather than talking to her. And then Clint asked to see her neck. There was no scar. Oh, and she called Steve out on his and Buckys relationship..'.. Nat chuckled... 'The look on his face was priceless..'

'Shes good, I'll give her that..'.. Clint shook his head, amused... 'But she still seems familiar to me, I don't know what it is. Something happened after we met with her. We left, and then I went back in to ask her something else, and the girl at the bar Ava, she asked someone called Vee if she was available and she looked scared..'

'Not a few minutes later that lawyer shows up, and goes up to the office. We weren't allowed up, but the girl, she asked as to what we were all doing, as there hadn't been anything about us in the news, she asked if we were still needed..'.. Steve moved and sat in the couch, next to Bucky while he remained on the arm of it.

'Thats true..'.. Tony frowned... 'Every time we've had intel about Hydra, by the time we get there, it's over. How?..'.. Tony starts waking around in thought... 'Someone else has been doing it, taking them down, but how did they get the intel?..'

Tony looks over at Bucky... 'How good, is Ace with computers, firewalls and security?..'

'I really don't know..'.. Bucky shrugs.

'Why do I get the feeling I'm missing something here?..'.. Nat asks, waving her hand around.

'We believe she really is Ace, or was Ace, and that she's like Bucky...'.. Wanda gestures to him... 'Hes not the soldier anymore, and if anyone asks him now or accuses that he is-..'

'He tells them he's not the soldier..'.. Steve sighed... 'Just like she's not Ace. So, if it is really her, how come she doesn't have the scar? How does she look different?..'

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The team talked it over, not realising that she was watching them all, with Matt listening. Mel sighed, dropping her head into her hands as she leaned on the desk... 'You need to tell them Mel, sooner than later..'

'I can't Matt, I can't. Not until I've finished my mission..'.. She took a deep breath and raised her head to the screen... 'If Hydra finds out it's me, it puts you all in danger, especially the girls and the kids. I won't let that happen. The team needs to back off..'

Matt didn't say anything. This was a bad idea, and it didn't matter how much she ran from it, ran from the truth, the avengers needed to know. He just hoped she would forgive him, for what he was going to do.

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