New Avengers Tower

[worthallthis]

The press meeting takes way too long. Then they're all taken to a hospital, because most of them are injured in some way. Then Mel takes them back to that stupid tower. Avengers Tower. Watchtower. New Avengers Tower. Nobody knows what they're calling it.

They get a tour, even though they're exhausted and grouchy, and even though half the tower is clearly in some state of construction and clearly not ready to be shown off. The labs are complete, hastily so, but none of them are going to be going anywhere near those. The rooftop bar is still in shambles, and none of them want to linger there. The kitchen and restaurant-like eating areas spiraled out around it seem intact, and well-stocked, at least.

They each have their own floor. Stark had originally made a whole floor for each of his superhero buddies, which hadn't really been renovated at all even in the multiple years the Avengers had been toast, so now they're the cleanest and least disturbed of the whole tower.

Bucky gets Steve's, Walker gets Thor's, Ava gets Clint's.

Yelena gets the one meant for Natasha. Of course.

And Bob gets Banner's, with its combination of calming decor and Hulk-proof walls.

Then they're left alone to "rest" with the promise that Mel and Valentina will be in touch over the next few days, which sounds more like a threat than anything else.

Comments

[musicdied]

"More like a group hug," she says. And then snorts quietly. "I know, I know, it sounds ridiculous when I say it out loud like that. But that's where we ended up."

[makingitworse]

"Huh." That doesn't even sound that bad. He wouldn't mind a group hug. At least if they were... already in some weird memory dimension, touching him probably couldn't make it worse. It's a little funny to think that a group hug saved Manhattan, but still. Kind of nice, in a way.

"That's how we ended up in a pile on the ground, isn't it," he realizes, because that he been-- weird, when he thinks back on it.

[musicdied]

"That's how we ended up in a pile on the ground," Yelena confirms. "It's not the story the news is running with, but no one actually knows who you are, and it probably is safest to keep it that way for now."

Given the way the last man who'd stayed in this room had been hunted for years, for more destructive but far less disquieting incidents...

[makingitworse]

"How can they not know?" Bob asks, surprised and a little worried. "Didn't they see my face?" Everyone has their phone cameras out as soon as anything weird happens, surely someone got video of it, a picture, something. Did he do it all from inside a building?

No, she'd mentioned a helicopter, so he must have been outside. Maybe on the balcony?

[musicdied]

"No," Yelena says quietly. "No one saw your face. You were the first person the darkness swallowed up. All anyone saw was a human-shaped shadow with glowing eyes."

The image from the video Bucky had pulled up is still seared into her mind. Seeing that slice of darkness in the shape of a man she'd wanted to save had been disturbing; seeing the void actually consume him before he stood up again had been so much worse.

[makingitworse]

"That sounds... either really creepy, or really cheesy," he says, trying to imagine it. It seems more cheesy than anything else in his own head, but he also knows he's probably not imagining it right, and he doubts he could think of himself as actually frightening in any capacity.

But either way, it's a relief, because if no one saw him, he can't be arrested. Valentina must know, if she's the one who... made him like this? And Mel. It would explain why they looked at him like they did.

[musicdied]

"There are people already saying it was all a CGI hoax online," Yelena says, with a slow, disappointed shake of her head. Given everything that's happened since the Chitauri first invaded, people really should know better.

"But in real life? Definitely scary."

[makingitworse]

"Oh." He shifts his feet a little on the couch cushion, ducks his head again, torn between bewilderment and guilt. "I'm sorry... for-- for all of it. For all of this." He doesn't remember it, but that doesn't mean he didn't do it, and isn't responsible for it. For hurting her, and her people, and everyone outside in the city. He always makes it worse, only this time was worse than even his usual. "I don't know how to control it," he admits. "I don't know if I can."

[musicdied]

"We'll help you figure that out," Yelena assures. "How to control it, or what exactly triggers it, so you can avoid that. Not pretending to be on your side and then trying to kill you is probably a good start."

She lifts a hand, then lets it fall, and exhales something between a sigh and a laugh. "We need to get you a throw blanket."

[makingitworse]

"Gloves," he offers, guessing she's wanting to touch him again but knows better. He still doesn't have much hope for controlling things, but maybe the touch thing he can at least mitigate. "A turtleneck or a hood, maybe."

[musicdied]

"A hoodie is probably more dignified than dropping a blanket over you like you're a parrot so I can give you a hug," Yelena allows, the corners of her mouth twitching upward in amusement, though she sobers quickly enough.

"It's not your fault, what happened. It's your responsibility to do what you can to try to keep it from happening again, but it's not your fault. You didn't ask to be used as a guinea pig and given powers no one understands yet."

[makingitworse]

He ducks his head again. It's hard to think that it could be anyone's fault but his own. Maybe he can't control what happens when he touches people, but the rest all seems pretty purposeful. "I chose to hurt you guys," he points out. "I don't know why. But I apparently did."

[musicdied]

"Because Valentina is a horrendous bitch, but she is good at what she does." Yelena grimaces a little, and rolls her shoulder. "And you were definitely pulling your punches. As for what happened after, I am not completely convinced that was a choice. At least, not a conscious one."

[makingitworse]

That might be even worse. If it just-- happened. If he didn't choose to start pulling people into a horrible memory dimension, then how can he stop it from happening again?

"You said-- there's footage. You were watching footage. Should I... see it?" She'd probably know better than him if it would be a bad idea. Would seeing it be familiar? Would it be like watching someone else?

[musicdied]

"Do you - want is probably a bad word for it, but do you think seeing it would help you to understand what happened?" She gives him a slightly concerned look, reaching over to lay a hand on his arm, above his wrist. "I'm not trying to push you to remember. It just did not seem right to keep you in the dark. Or smart."

[makingitworse]

"No, I don't want to, but... if I can do dangerous things, I should-- know what they are," Bob says hesitantly. She can describe it all afternoon, and it won't have the kind of impact of seeing it on a screen. Though: "I've never, you know, had video evidence of stuff I did when my memory blanks out, so... I don't actually know what would happen. Maybe nothing."

[musicdied]

"Probably you would have, if you knew how to get into CCTV feeds," she says, with a small, crooked smile. "Those things are almost as universal as cellphones, these days. We can go take a look at it now. Or if you need a little time, I can get a copy and bring it by when you're ready."

[makingitworse]

He hesitates for another long moment, before steeling himself and saying, "We probably ought to get it over with now. Then if I'm going to, I don't know, freak out about it, at least I do all the freaking out in one day." Logical enough, right? Then he can just... not think about it for another few days. Or forever. Whichever.

[musicdied]

"For what it's worth," Yelena says quietly, "you are being braver about this than a lot of people would be. You have been from the start."

She pushes to her feet, and starts to offer him a hand up before catching herself, wincing a little in self-directed annoyance. She adds gloves to a mental list, then underscores it a couple of times for emphasis.

[makingitworse]

Bob even almost reaches, back, before he, too, realizes the problem that would be and tucks both hands back against his chest. "I don't feel brave," he says, climbing to his feet on his own. "I feel like-- like a time bomb. Like I'm just trying to figure out the timer and the range of the explosion and I have to do that before it actually explodes."

[musicdied]

"You aren't a time bomb." Her voice is still quiet, but there's a fierce edge to it now. "Or a weapon, or anything else like that. You're maybe a bit fucked up, but that just puts you in good company here. We will figure this out."

[makingitworse]

"Er. Oh." He looks a little uncertain, but after a beat he ducks his head and accepts it. No calling himself a time bomb, got it. "I hope you're right. Though I guess if you're not, you could try hugging me again, since that worked, um, this time."

[musicdied]

"You joke, but - as many times as it takes." She reaches up and squeezes his shoulder gently. "You aren't in this alone. Which is possibly not as reassuring as it would be if half of us weren't total assholes, but - we have your back."

She pauses, then gives him a crooked smile. "If you want a hug, though, you can just ask for one. No drastic measures necessary."

[makingitworse]

"Maybe once I get that turtleneck sweater," Bob suggests, listing vaguely in the direction of her grip. Because a hug would be really nice, but he's not going to risk touching her and dropping them into another awful memory. Maybe it's just hands, but it's not a chance he wants to take. "So where are we going?"

[musicdied]

"You have a deal," she says, with a playful sort of solemnity.

"There's a security station a few floors down. It's...surprisingly nice, actually. Apparently Tony Stark did not want his guards asphyxiating on the end result of a lot of coffee and take-out."

As hard as it is to imagine the likes of Tony fucking Stark considering things like proper ventilation and temperature control in areas that would only ever be used by staff, she knows that area definitely wasn't retrofitted by Valentina. That would require considering underlings human.