Ghostwalker ▷ b. barnes [2]

ix. figments or truth

HER LEG WAS SET AND CASTED.

If Sam didn't have accelerated healing, she would have been out of commission for months. As it was, the rate she was healing, she'd be limping around for the next day or so. She glowered at the news but forced herself to nod.

Next time she saw Loki, she was going to do a lot worse than break a leg.

She was going to break his face.

Steve looked torn between chewing her out and going all parent on her when he came by. Granted, he didn't look much better, face bruised, a gunshot wound having nicked his arm. He'd gone with simply sitting in the chair at her bedside, until they'd both drifted off into a deep,  but short rest.

Tony came in and woke them all up. 

Fury had called a meeting.

The billionaire took one look at her leg and linked his arm under her armpit, helping her up and across the room. They all three down the hallway together, brushing off the gazes of the agents they passed.

Fury waited in the room of the bridge. Sam's face flushed as Steve pulled out her chair and Tony helped her into it, but didn't fight them. She wasn't a huge fan of the help but she most certainly wasn't going to turn it down. Pain still cascaded through her lower body with each careless move.

Fury stood in silence as they all sat. His face was tight, emotionless.

She guessed they all dealt with grief in different ways.

"These were in Phil Coulson's jacket." He reached into his pocket, pulling out and tossing two sets of trading cards to the table. Sam flinched, looking away. Blood stained their corners. "Guess he never did get you to sign them."

Steve picked one up, his face contorted with a numb sort of remorse. Sam clenched her jaw, gazing out the opposite window. She didn't want to look at them. Didn't want to linger on that regret. 

She'd promised she would.

"We're dead in the air up here," he continued. "Our communications, location of the cube, Banner, Thor... I got nothing for you. Lost my one good eye." He shook his head, looking away. "Maybe I had that coming."

She swallowed hard. Steve dropped the card, looking away.

"Yes," Fury said, straightening. "We were going to build an arsenal with the Tesseract. I never put all my chips on that number though, because I was playing something even riskier."

She glanced toward him. "Riskier than weapons?"

"People can be weapons too."

Sam blinked in confusion. He moved around the table, glancing over them all.

"There was an idea called The Avengers Initiative. To bring together a group of remarkable people and see if they could become something more. See if they could work together when we needed them to fight the battles that we never could..." He shook his head. "Phil Coulson died still believing in that idea. In heroes."