The Captain's Husband

53. Life & Death (Steve)

"Good morning, Mr. and Mr. Rogers-Barnes," Tony chirps as Bucky and I walk down the stairs with a skip in our steps.

"Daddy!"

"I'm gonna beat you to 'em!"

"Oh, good Lord," I mutter under my breath as we brace for impact.

"Now that you've joined us, we can wrap up the third profile," Tony says as the triplets bounce over to Bucky and me.

Nat, Ana, Wanda, Peter, Wade, and Adam watch quietly from the other side of the lab.

Meri bounces up into my arms. Little Z hops up onto Bucky's shoulders. Niko grabs my hand and Bucky's, pulling us toward Tony.

"Jarvis, can you give us a rundown on Nikolai?" Tony asks.

"Name: Nikolai Alexei. Name meaning: Nikolai - victory of the people; Alexei - helper, defender. Date of birth: October 31, 2034," Jarvis says. "Age: chronologically 1 year old, but he has a biological age of 3. Alias: no recorded aliases. Codename: Nadir. Codename meaning: the lowest point in the fortunes of a person or organization; the point on the celestial sphere directly below an observer. Classification: Avenger. Clearance level: 6. Power level: 14."

"Abilities," Tony requests.

"Nikolai has the following abilities: accelerated healing factor, advanced regeneration, animancy, elite acrobat, enhanced immune system, enhanced reaction time, expert aerialist, expert hand-to-hand combatant, expert strategist, expert tactician, healing hands, necromancy, restoration magic, slowed aging, superhuman agility, strength, and endurance, teleportation, world class athlete."

Natasha raises an eyebrow.

"What are his predicted abilities, Jarvis?" Bucky asks.

"Predicted abilities: expert martial artist, expert marksman, firearms expert, fluent in German, fluent in Russian, fluent in Sokovian, naturally gifted baritone, weapons expert."

Tony raises an eyebrow, asking, "Have you seen any of his specialized abilities? Healing hands, necromancy, animancy, restoration, teleportation, any of that?"

Bucky and I both shake our heads.

Tony's brows knit themselves together as he ponders the situation. I search myself for an answer. A strange, tingling sensation surges through my arms to my fingertips.

Ana and Wanda have the same powers.

Zander and Bucky have the same powers.

Merida and Natasha have the same powers.

"Do Niko and I have the same abilities?" I ask, my voice so soft that even Bucky almost doesn't hear me.

He looks to Tony for an answer.

"Jarvis," Tony says, "Are there any abilities that Steve has yet to discover?"

"Yes, of course," Jarvis says. "Healing hands, necromancy, reanimation, restoration magic, teleportation."

What?

That can't be true.

Tony looks at me.

I have no fucking idea how to react.

Then reality hits.

"When I recreated the serum," I gasp, stunned. "Holy shit."

"Language, Daddy!" Merida chimes, poking my cheek with a giggle.

My heart melts, for just a second, but then panic and excitement start to surge through me. That tingling in my hands grows stronger, and I start to wonder if my meds are wearing off.

I started taking my bipolar meds again, right after that last fight with Thanos when I was nearly killed.

One of the side effects of my bipolar meds wearing off is a slight tremor in my hands.

I didn't need them for years, but I decided to start taking them again, just to keep my sanity intact, for my and my family's sake.

I look down at my hands.

They aren't shaking.

But, they are glowing.

White light glimmers from my fingertips, the little shimmers casting tiny rainbows across my skin.

I look at Bucky.

He's in awe, his stormy-ocean eyes shining, a soft blush across his cheekbones.

"Stevie, baby," he says tenderly, taking my hands in his, "You have superpowers." His voice breaks as he goes on. "Oh my God, baby, you have superpowers."

Something I never thought I would have.

Adam darts over, eyes all lit up, saying, "Steve, I don't think you understand just how important your powers are. You have the power of life and death, the ability to heal others, restore their powers to them, and you can reanimate the dead. You can even bring the dead back to life, restoring them completely - mind, body, and soul."

Tony tosses a knife to Bucky, who catches it with ease.

He looks at our kids, saying, "Now, this is an experiment. Don't do this, ever, no matter how tough things get." He looks at me. "You going to be okay if I do this?"

I nod, saying, "Yeah, as long as this works."

"I trust you," he says softly.

I swallow hard.

Let's do this.

Bucky flips open the knife with his left hand and then he looks at me, waiting for the go ahead.

Tony and the others move closer.

"Do it," I say lowly, bracing myself for blood.

Bucky takes in a breath and clenches his right hand, knowing that even with his higher pain tolerance, this is gonna hurt like a bitch.

He slashes his wrist, quick, and he hisses in pain. I move in, taking his wrist in my hands. The second that I make contact, his wound starts to close. The crimson blood that was rushing from the wound dissipates, shimmering into oblivion.

Holy fuck.

Bucky and I look up at each other, absolutely bewildered.

"Stevie," he whispers, tears flooding his eyes. "You have superpowers."

I pull him into my arms, breathing out a sigh, saying softly, "C'mere, Buck."

Tony lights up, "We can defeat Thanos."

He grins, a joyous laugh bursting from him.

"We can defeat Thanos," he announces, his eyes bright. "With these kids, and the rest of us, we can kill that bastard!"

"Language, Uncle Tony!" The kids chimes at him.

Tony bounces over to Natasha, takes her face in his hands, and kisses her. When he lets go of her, she blushes, and he turns to Peter, pressing a kiss to the top of his head. He drops kisses onto everyone's head, even mine and Bucky's, and then he runs to his computer, smiling like he never has before.

I smile and hug Bucky even tighter, saying softly, "We can save our home. We can save everyone's home."