Chapter 1
John Walker had had plans for Christmas Eve for two weeks. He wanted to fly home to be with his mother and Lemar's parents. He wanted to have a nice night before he couldn't avoid Olivia's mother anymore. They hadn't been on good terms since she passed away when Ethan was born, but John believed his son should meet his grandparents and know he wasn't alone. Growing up, he had many family dinners. They remembered them as fun times with freshly baked turkey, gingerbread men, candy canes, eggnog, delicious crusty baguettes, and even his mother letting him eat all the apple salad cups until he was about to burst while Christmas carols and the Frank Sinatra specials his father adored played on his stereo. All while containing the excitement that Santa Claus would arrive to deliver his presents so he could open them the next morning.
Yes, he could confess he was one of those kids who left cookies and milk for the great giant at the North Pole. Now he couldn't stop thinking that Alexei was his evil twin ever since Valentina called him Old Santa. Ethan would probably think so if he kept leaving him with Ava and Yelena too long.
He'd even bought the tickets in advance to go back to Georgia for a few days and promised his mom he'd make the punch with her, but just two days before that, Bucky showed up in the common room with that serious face that said, "We have work to do." John went a little crazy when he noticed he was the only one seriously protesting the last-minute change of plans. Yelena and Alexei also had a trip to St. Petersburg pending, but they agreed to change it, while the rest had no problem going to get their suits and start asking for information.
"Jesus, it's Christmas. Doesn't anyone have family to go back to?" John asked them, still grumpily, receiving withering and sarcastic looks.
Bucky's brow was furrowed so tightly that he might as well be holding back the urge to hit him like he did a few years ago.
"Only if you include visiting cemeteries on your list of activities," Ava sneered, her smile full of sarcasm evaporating quickly as she picked up her white helmet from the table, clearly annoyed by his comment.
And it was a relief that most people weren't so sensitive, as they just ignored him, but she still felt like a complete idiot during the silent Quinjet ride to Tokyo as she quickly recounted the situation: Buck was over 100 years old, so his parents and sisters must be dead; Yelena's sister and Alexei's adopted daughter was Natasha Romanoff, and Black Widow sacrificed herself to retrieve the Infinity Stones, so she was also dead; Ava's parents passed away after a quantum explosion, Zemo's wife and son were buried after the fall of Sokovia, Poindexter's reports said he was an orphan and from Ross, he knew he had a daughter, but since they arrived at the base a month ago, he hadn't seen Dr. Betty Ross around at all.
So if he'd felt like an insensitive, loudmouthed man before, he could now add guilt to his emotional baggage. Yes, he and his impulsive tongue were a phenomenal team to raise a son for the next twenty years. He just hoped that halfway through that time, his son wouldn't hate him. Perhaps that was one of his greatest fears, disappointing Ethan, as seemed to be his custom with the rest of the world.
It was a relief when Alexei informed them over the communicator that they were fifteen minutes from landing, so Bucky figured it was a good time to go over the plan. The situation was that the Ten Rings and the Hand were making a trade, but it wasn't the common black market drug or weapons trade; they were dealing in alien technology.
"Where did they get this?" John asked as he continued scrolling through images of various armed agents or open crates stuffed with straw, with weapons in between reminiscent of Star Wars blasters, only much larger, and some even seemed to stick to the arm like limbs. They emitted a purple light capable of powerful explosions and shattering bodies as soon as they touched them.
The videos of people exploding and fogging up the camera lens with their guts made him grimace in disgust, but as he glanced sideways at Dex, the blond didn't even seem surprised. In recent weeks, he'd discovered that the guy was more of the type to isolate himself in his room or the gym. Sometimes he wandered around the complex at night, and finding him in the hallway would be terrifying if he didn't have his super hearing that gave him away the moment he got out of bed.
It was funny; his heart was always beating fast, it was as if the adrenaline never left his veins or he was in the middle of a chase, his eyes alert and looking over his shoulder.
“The battle against Thanos in New York?” Ava suggested from in front of him. A peculiar turbulence shook them, and Yelena apologized, claiming she was on autopilot.
“That’s what Rhodes thought, but not exactly,” Bucky commented, crossing his arms. “I spoke with Rocket Raccoon, and he told me the Guardians haven’t recorded any space smuggling activity on Earth or Ravager incursions for two years.”
More than a few people looked at each other in confusion, especially those unfamiliar with intergalactic events or absent due to the Blip, like Dex, Ross, and Yelena.
“No offense, James, but if your contact is a talking space raccoon millions of light years away, I doubt he’d know what’s going on back on Earth,” Zemo commented as he stopped sharpening his sword. If you asked John, the thing looked more like an antique than a real weapon, but he’d learned not to comment on other people’s arsenal unless he wanted his shield to end up as bent as a candy wrapper. “Maybe we should do some research before we attack.”
Bob nodded slowly. He was the youngest, but also the most destructive. He'd tried to adapt and absorb his teammates' experience as quickly as he could, though at the end of each mission, he ended up with more questions than answers. Yelena answered them as long as there were a couple of sodas on hand.
"Someone coherent," Ross snorted with a growl.
Bucky rolled his eyes and clenched his jaw in denial. "The Guardians have their own informants here."
It was the routine John was getting used to: Ross couldn't quite accept that he wasn't the general anymore, but sometimes he forgot and believed he could give orders. Bucky disagreed, and at some point, Ross gave in, because despite his situation, John believed the former president had a certain respect for Barnes, especially when he started shooting and entered the scene with his terrifying efficiency, which was inevitably how to bring back the Winter Soldier.
"Talking raccoon?" Dex asked from beside him with a sly laugh, "I thought I was the only one on medication for hallucinations."
John raised an eyebrow as he checked that both of his Glocks were fully loaded. He had no idea Poindexter was on medication, but he sounded coherent; putting the guy in a regular penitentiary was more of a government oversight and almost an invitation for him to escape.
"Pretty crazy genetic alterations, man," John assured him. He hadn't met the guy personally, but he knew he was involved in the Time Machine Heist to retrieve the Infinity Stones, and during the Blip years, he'd seen him on the news helping War Machine or the Hulk. "Hydra's work is a joke next to him."
"Get to the point, James." Zemo sounded impatient, and from the way he was strapping on his parachute, he was probably the one keeping time, which none of the others bothered to do. As much as the guy seemed like a Machiavellian and arrogant snob, he was a meticulous and observant weasel, “Where did they get the stuff from?”
“And how do we attack?” Ross finally left his passenger seat as he looked at them disapprovingly, and John couldn’t help but sit up a little straighter and square his shoulders. Red Hulk or not, the man had still performed distinguished service to his country, had an enviable military career, and was even the President of the United States. By any measure, John still considered him his senior and thought he owed him respect. “You’re beating around the bush, soldier.”
“Don’t call me that,” Bucky reacted with annoyance, pointing it out as a warning while gritting his teeth. He turned away, huffing and pinching the bridge of his nose. John almost laughed, a particular deja vu as he remembered that time he single-handedly caught them and announced they were going to work together to stop Valentina. “Fuck it, this is Skrull technology. A few months ago, it was discovered that we were about to be invaded through impersonation, but MI6 and SWORD caught them.”
“What the hell is SWORD?” Alexei asked in confusion, and Yelena waved her hand, dismissing it as she said,
“Some kind of space SHIELD.”
“Oh, they didn’t waste any time.”
“I hate secret agencies,” Bullseye muttered as he adjusted the indigo-blue mask with the target on his forehead. It practically covered his entire face except for his eyes.
The blond stood up when the ship’s red lights began to flash. This was their signal to indicate the launch point, as the plane was in its invisible stealth mode.
John chuckled, his parachute slung over his shoulder. “That makes two of us.”
“Let's split up to get into the building. They're on the first floor, and according to the report, there are at least a hundred of them,” Bucky began to explain when the hatch opened and the air hit his face. Strands of his hair flew against his face as he put on his communicator. “U.S. Agent, Bullseye, and Red Guardian are taking care of the Hand's assets. Ghost, Zemo, and I will attack the Ten Rings. It'll be a coordinated attack.” Bucky began quickly giving instructions as everyone walked toward the plane's ramp. “Yelena, keep the Quinjet activated. We'll need to bring it closer when we're done with them. The objective will be to recover the alien technology and, if possible, get witnesses who can collaborate with information.”
“But isn't that a priority?” Dex questioned, and John snorted behind him.
Bucky squinted at him and muttered coldly, "Try not to kill anyone."
The blond knifeman smiled behind his mask. John couldn't help but be sure when blood was flying, he was as happy as a lunatic. "That didn't sound like a no to me."
"The world is better off without these guys," Ava commented nonchalantly, about to jump up if it weren't for Bob, who pushed his way through them to the big guy with the metal arm.
"Hey, hey! Bucky! What about me? You haven't told me what to do yet. Do you want me to fly in? I can do it," Bob asked anxiously, because despite it being his first official mission, he was sure he'd never heard his name mentioned in the plan.
“You take care of the old man, Bob.” The brunette pointed at Ross, and in return, the general muttered something like, “I’m surrounded by idiots now, Karen.”
John had no idea who the woman was, but at least the man didn’t look red-faced and about to strangle them. It wouldn’t be a good idea with Sentry on the plane either; after all, it wasn’t such a bad idea for them to keep an eye on each other.
Bob wasn’t so happy, and John hated that he looked like a beaten puppy. “Bucky, but you said I could join you now…”
“You’ll join if things get ugly. We’ve got things under control now, and since Ross isn’t handling that transformation well yet… He needs monitoring.” Bucky tried to explain it in the kindest, most logical way, even though it was a topic of discussion: They weren’t sure Bob could handle his own abilities yet; he needed more training. But it wasn’t a good idea to leave him at the base either, as that would give the government ammunition to argue that even they didn’t trust him to be a threat.
“But…”
“No, no, Sentry, you’re the cavalry,” Alexei said solemnly, placing a hand on his shoulder and smiling enthusiastically, “perfect for sending them running with their tails between their legs.”
“Hey, don’t take this the wrong way! If they came in with you, it would be a piece of cake, and we’d basically be redundant on the payroll,” Yelena commented from beside him when Bob snorted a little hunched over.
John didn’t think it was such a bad idea; the kid just wanted to feel useful, and frankly, he wanted to get back in one piece. It wasn’t like ninjas and kung fu masters scared him, but you never knew what trick they were up to.
“And wouldn’t it be better to avoid getting shot?” John asked in line. Ghost and Zemo had already jumped out, Alexei was halfway there, so it was his turn. “He’s literally bulletproof.”
Bob nodded with a smile, excited by the idea. “Yeah, I can be their shield.”
“Yeah… Uh, no, not right now.” Yelena dismissed it immediately, and judging by Bucky’s expression, it didn’t seem like he was accepting of him as a giver of brilliant ideas either.
“Move it, Walker.”
“I’m just saying, it would make a nice Christmas present… Ah!” U.S. Agent’s sentence was cut short when two hands suddenly tossed him into the air. The scream faded a few seconds later, and a sudden, silent peace seemed to harmonize the remaining Thunderbolts.
“Shut him up, that’s a gift,” Dex commented, pleased with his work, while Yelena giggled behind him, muttering something about retrieving the recording when she got home.
Bucky even gave her an approving smile. “You should do that more often.”
“I’ll try,” the blond said, shrugging before jumping.
“Careful!” Bob told him when he saw him at the edge of the ramp, his voice a little muffled by the air. Still, Bucky nodded, very tempted to jump without the parachute, but admitted it was necessary because of the skyscrapers and if he didn't want to announce his arrival.
"Tough call, but I guess not impossible."
"You better get back in one piece, Barnes!" Yelene yelled, and Bucky jokingly saluted before throwing himself into the clutches of danger, but by now, it was commonplace.
Something familiar... At what point did he think he could back out of this? It felt more like destiny.