The Spark
The compound seemed entirely different with the additions of Steve and Sharon roaming around. Allie had taken to pacing back and forth in the conference room after she and the others had arrived the morning after Steve and Sharon had returned on T.J.'s birthday. Having called an emergency meeting two days before Christmas, she knew that it would take a portion of the morning to have everyone arrive.
"Are you sure that you don't want me to just tell you what I know?" Sharon asked softly. "Once Wanda's here, I mean."
"I'd rather everyone know," Allie took a deep breath. "Some of it may look bad on me, but I'd rather everyone find out at once than have to deal with retelling the story over and over to everyone."
"It's not going to look as bad on you as you may think," Sharon sighed. "You're not to blame for a lot things."
"Yet I still did them," Allie sighed.
"Allison," Bucky's voice warned. Looking at him, she took a deep breath. He'd been in a similar spot where he had blamed himself. She had been the one to tell him not to do so. Now here he was, reminding her of the same thing. "Come on, let's go get some fresh air. Steve, Sharon, can you come and grab us when the others arrive?"
"Yeah, we will," Steve nodded.
Steve and Sharon watched as Bucky led Allie out of the compound and into the mid-morning air before looking to one another. Sharon took in a breath as she noticed Steve's worried expression.
"What's bothering you?" her voice was gentle.
"It's going to be a lot for her to find out," Steve let his gaze fall on Sharon. "Both of them."
"I know, but it's going to be okay," Sharon placed her hand on her side, feeling the spot that Allie had checked once more that morning.
"I'm just worried about her," he continued. "She's always been someone that takes it on herself. If anything happens to herself, it's on her. If anything happens to anyone else, it's on her. She puts so much pressure on herself when it's not her fault."
"You're forgetting that I've known her for five years," she pointed out. "I remember her blaming herself for what happened to Rebecca."
"I just don't want her blaming herself for what's taking place now," he took in a breath.
"And that's what we'll remind her of," Sharon nodded. "Take responsibility for what we need to take responsibility for, but not take on problems that weren't ours."
The two remained in the lounge area as they waited and greeted the others that began to join them. Sam and Wanda arrived with food for the meeting, taking to setting it up as Peter walked in and yawned.
"Why are you tired?" Steve raised his brow. "You left after all of us."
"Do I have to remind everyone that the kids sleep in my room now?" Peter stretched his arms. "They keep me up by kicking me in their sleep."
"They do have a habit of that," Steve nodded. "But why are they sleeping in your room?"
"They keep coming and I don't kick them out," Peter shrugged.
Footsteps sounded as Scott and Clint began to walk down the corridors and to the lounge. Scott had his phone out and looked from it to the others.
"Have you all seen the headlines this morning?" he asked.
"No," Steve frowned. "Why?"
"Allie's in them," he sighed. "Well, her and Annika are both in them."
"What are they saying?" Sam crossed his arms over his chest.
"Uh, well," Scott looked back to the article pulled up on the screen. "This one is mainly just saying what's happened in the past few months since the start of the random fires that Allie went to go and help stop. A lot of opinions, saying Allie sparked something for the good and for the bad. It's bringing up rumors of Steve and Allie feuding, Allie's past and the whole Accords, it's mostly a load of shit towards the end."
"What is it saying about my sister?" Steve narrowed his eyes.
"Well, they're calling her 'The Spark' since all of this is revolving around her and her powers that are the same as Annika's," Scott sighed.
"'The Spark'?" Sam laughed aloud. "They're really giving her a nickname?"
"She'll hate it," Wanda sighed. "Is there anything in her favor right now?"
"Mainly just criticism that more death is happening and our team hasn't outwardly done anything to find and stop Annika," Scott sighed.
"Then we work hard and find Annika," Clint shrugged. "It's easy enough."
"Is that why we're here today? To work?" Scott looked over.
"No," Steve shook his head. "We're here because both Sharon and I are back."
Scott seemed to blink at Steve for a moment before he let the realization fully hit him of who was standing right in front of him. Clint shook his head and Sam shared a look with Wanda. Sharon awkwardly pulled a tight-lipped smile as Scott glanced at her.
"Is it bad that if feels as if you've already been here the entire time?" Scott said after a pause. "I mean, I knew you were gone, but Allie still talked about you all the time. Mostly worrying about you, but still. It's good to see you, Cap."
"You too Lang," Steve nodded. "Who are we missing?"
"Good morning, Captain," T'Challa greeted warmly as he and Zemo entered.
"Your Majesty," Steve greeted just as warmly before he noticed Zemo. "What is he doing here and not on the Raft?"
"Your sister," Sam sighed.
"I have to say, she gave me a much warmer greeting than you," Zemo shrugged.
"You're lucky then," Steve took in a breath, Sharon glancing between him and Zemo. "She isn't exactly a fan of yours."
"She told him if he pulls anything that she'll make Hell look like the Antarctic," Sam said as he too glanced at Zemo.
"She's bold," Zemo dismissed as he glanced in the direction of the food.
Footsteps sounded once more in the corridor as John Walker started walking in their direction. Glancing at Steve, he gave him a surprised look before nodding at him and glancing at the others.
"What is this all about?" he questioned. "I'd like to finish up to be with my wife for Christmas."
"Is this everyone?" Steve asked as he turned to Sam, Wanda, and Peter.
"We're waiting for Bruce and Rhodey," Sam sighed.
"I'd better go and try and grab Allie and Bucky," Sharon said.
"I'll go with you," Steve nodded and the two walked down the same path that Allie and Bucky had taken earlier.
"What is this really about?" John looked to the others.
"We're about to find out everything," Clint shrugged.
"Everything?" John's eyes narrowed and across the way, Zemo's head tilted in confusion.
"Sharon knows everything about this whole situation. From the time that Allie got her powers to Annika receiving hers to what's going on now," Sam frowned. "But Allie figured we should all know. That way, we all know what we're up against."
By the time Allie and Bucky had been retrieved by Steve and Sharon, Bruce and Rhodey were separately making their ways into the compound and joining the others. Allie and Sharon shared a look before Allie gestured to the lounge area.
"I suppose we may as well be comfortable when this is all talked about," Allie frowned.
The others found seats in chairs and on the little couches that sat around. Allie stood with her arms crossed against her chest as Sharon continued to stand near her. Glancing at her brother, Allie took in a deep breath and watched as he gave her a small, comforting nod.
"I'm sorry to bring you guys in right before Christmas," she sighed. "You guys know that things are getting worse and our correspondents are also still trying to help locate Annika and her followers.
"As soon as Christmas is done, I want to launch into being completely ready for them. It's time to finally take care of this," she glanced around at the different faces of her team. "That being said, Sharon here has information that not even I have. I figure the information will help us as a whole."
Allie took her seat on one of the little couches where her brother was on one side of her and her husband sat on the other. Each silently took one of her hands, just as they had often done when they were teenagers and she was anticipating something to happen when they were around.
"So, what exactly is this information that you know about the experiments on Allie and what had actually happened?" Sam sighed as he crossed his hands across his chest and furrowed his brows at Sharon.
"Well, it's obvious that you guys already know that she was a part of Project Soldier Reborn when she was at the lab," Sharon sighed. "The project was formed and signed off on by Arnim Zola after Steve started to be known as Captain America. He didn't take part in the project itself, just approved it."
"So why was I chosen to be the lab rat for that experiment?" Allie furrowed her brows.
"Well, they'd already been running tests on you," Sharon pointed at Bucky with a sigh. "But we all know how Steve had rescued him and the others before you three took part in the Howling Commandos. It's not exactly a secret that you guys were highly effective with taking down those Hydra facilities and so they needed something to get to your brother."
"And what better than his little sister," Bucky figured and Sharon nodded.
"The night you guys were ambushed was the night that they planned on taking Allie," Sharon sighed. "They sent out a team to bring her in to run the tests on her. They just didn't exactly expect that you guys would be fighting back as hard as you did. Allie, you were never meant to be stabbed and almost killed. He went rogue."
"So my wife was almost killed because she could be the guy up?" Bucky's brow rose.
"Kind of," Sharon sighed. "But, you saved her. Regardless, that attempt to get Allie failed and then they couldn't even touch you all leading up to that day that Bucky fell off of the train and the others captured Zola. It wasn't exactly a secret that you were hurting after Steve put the plane in the ice, so it was a matter of timing. They found you and followed."
"So I unknowingly agreed to be in Hydra," Allie wrinkled her nose in disgust at herself.
"No," Sharon shook her head. "No, by the time Zola was captured, a small group took the project outside of Hydra and began to work on it. They believed that they could make the project work. They still wanted you, of course. You had motivation to agree to be in the project. The lab was just that: a lab. It wasn't Hydra by the time you were there.
"But, they did still have connections to Hydra. That's how they found a formula to keep you in a cryogenic state between tests that they ran. When Hydra found and froze Bucky, they were able to discover how to do the same for you."
"So you really were the soldier that they based that off of," Allie sorrowfully glanced over at Bucky.
"We figured that," Bucky shook his head.
"It's just awful hearing it confirmed, that's all," she frowned at the ground.
"Allie, your powers aren't a magic based principle," Sharon looked at her. "That's why it took so long to find a formula that worked with you."
"What are they based on?" Allie asked. "I know I can mess with fire, ice, and air, and I know there's something else I just have never been able to discover."
"It's a chemical," Sharon sighed. "The chemical based formula altered how your brain connects to physical principles."
"That's why it's frequencies," Peter suggested and Sharon nodded.
"It's a part of your DNA now," she sighed and glanced at Steve and Bucky. "Just like the super soldier serum is a part of you two."
"Which is why Steven is able to have powers," Allie linked the next piece.
"Exactly," Sharon nodded. "All of that is why it took them as long as it did. In the time that you finally figured out how to control those powers, they created a list of volunteers to take the serum. They still wanted an army of people like you."
"For what?" Sam narrowed his eyes.
"Well, they may not have been Hydra anymore, but their ideals still fell into that category," Sharon glanced around the room. "They wanted to go against the Avengers and their allies."
"Except, then I found out that I was a lab rat and nothing more," Allie frowned. "And when I got angry, I didn't know what was going on and I'd caught the building on fire and burnt it down."
"What?" John Walker turned to her. "What do you mean."
"That's why Annika wants me dead," she frowned. "She was a teenager at the time and her boyfriend was working at the lab. He'd suggested to allow her to be a volunteer and she was eavesdropping. She was right beside me when it all happened. That's why her face is burned."
"She and Margaux were the only survivors," Sharon confirmed looking Allie in the eye. "But they quickly gained a small group of support. I didn't know that that was why they wanted the formula at first. I had found the formula when I was on the run and found the burnt remains of the lab. I only took some of the notes and one of the journals I had found. The other items remained in a metal box that I bought a lock for. That's the metal box that you found."
"And in the journal that was in there, there were torn pages," Allie nodded. "That's where the formula had been?"
"Correct," Sharon nodded. "I originally sold the formula to stay alive when I was over there. I did know that it was connected to you when I read it over and I still sold it. I was wrong for doing that. But, I thought I would never see any of you again, so I didn't think too heavily on how it would hurt you. Not until after the Blip and after news broke of you receiving a pardon before gossip magazines and news articles began circulating on the internet that you were having a baby."
"Steven is the reason why you began to feel bad?" Allie's brow rose.
"Well, yes," Sharon nodded as if it had been obvious. "That was the moment that a part of me knew that this day was going to come. So I searched and began to keep my eye on Annika. They sought shelter with me for a while before leaving and continuing their cause. When I was brought back here and became close to you, I was more determined to keep an eye on her, and that's exactly what I did. I had people tracking her before she discovered it and confronted me."
"You had people following her?" Sam asked in disbelief. Beside him, Wanda's head was tilted slowly and gently to the side as she studied Sharon.
"Yes, I did," Sharon nodded. "After she confronted me, it became more of a contractual agreement of sorts. I didn't threaten her cause for justice if she didn't overstep her boundaries when it came to you."
"But I was her cause for justice," Allie argued.
"That's where the problem comes in," Sharon sighed. "That's why I had her as a bridesmaid. To track her movements."
"But isn't that risky? Having her so close to Allie if you're trying to protect her?" Bucky narrowed his eyes.
"I'd rather know she was around and keep an eye on her than her unexpectedly showing up and attacking her," Sharon shot back.
Bucky didn't utter a word as his jaw set slightly and he gripped Allie's hand just a bit tighter.
"Look, she may be your wife, but other people love and care about her, too," Sharon took a deep breath. "I happen to be one of those people whether you believe it or not."
"Sharon," Steve warned gently from the other side of Allie.
"I just tried to do what I could to protect Allie," Sharon sighed. "And it's clear that Annika is far too angry and motivated to let her go unscathed. She had multiple connections across Europe that also had this formula injected. But, just like with the Flag Smashers, it's going to take a moment to find them all unless they're in one spot fighting side-by-side."
A silence settled amongst the group as they looked to one another and then to Allie. Rhodey was the first to clear his throat as he found himself speaking a bit softer to her.
"You really didn't attempt to burn the building down?" he asked her.
"No!" she shook her head. "I never meant for anyone to be hurt. You all know that the only reason I made those patchy fires was to try and get someone, anyone's, attention. Nothing more."
"And the shelter your aunt worked at," Rhodey turned to Peter. "Annika deliberately burnt it down?"
"Yes," Peter nodded softly.
"Then that's it," Rhodey nodded. "Our clue that we need to cut the shit and get our asses in gear."
"We all already knew that we needed to," Sam frowned. "But I agree. We have gotta get going on this."
"Hold on," John rose his hand. "And we know that she's telling the truth about all of this?"
Sharon tilted her head to the side a bit before giving a ghost of a laugh as she turned to Wanda.
"Wanda, if you will," she said and Wanda sighed as she stood and walked over to Sharon. Using her magic, she focused on Sharon before lowering her hands and turning to the team.
"She's telling the truth," she confirmed.
A buzzing of a phone gained everyone's attention as Scott pulled his phone out once more and read the newest headline. Eyes widening and flicking up to the others, he held his phone out to Allie.
"New building burnings are happening," he said in horror to the others.
"The Spark?" Allie glanced up at the others. "They gave me a fucking name?"
"Allie," Steve shook his head at her. "Not the time."
"I know, but still," she scoffed. "Just because I can make fire doesn't mean I need a nickname," she continued to read the article. "I'm not there to stop these like I was for the shelter."
"What do you mean?" Sharon glanced at her.
"Nothing," Allie dismissed the question.
"She figured out how to absorb other people's fire and ice," Sam looked at the others.
"You did what?" Sharon turned in Allie's direction with a shocked expression. "Why would you risk yourself by doing that?"
"It was May," Allie frowned at her. "I wasn't just going to let her be in there without trying to do something."
"But we all know that that's painful for you," Steve narrowed his eyes. "With the amount of pain Sam and Wanda said you were in when you simply tried to absorb that ice overseas a few months back, taking on that much fire at the shelter-"
"Steve, I promise I'm fine," Allie sighed. "Yes, it hurt like hell, but I'm fine. It just took some time to do it."
"Why do I feel like you're not telling the full truth?" Steve sighed. "Peter?"
"Yes?" Peter looked up at him with an almost guilty expression.
"Was she actually fine after she did that?" the older Rogers sibling almost looked tired.
"Peter," Allie warned as she glance at him, the phone still in her hand.
"You were in a lot of pain," Peter almost looked heartbroken at the memory.
"You can't do that," Steve warned her. "That's dangerous."
"But it can save innocent people," she looked at him. "Like the plane in the ice?"
"Allie, this isn't the same thing," he argued.
"Isn't it similar though?" she frowned.
"We're missing the main point," Scott interrupted. "We need to stop them. How are we going to stop them?"
Everyone looked at one another for a moment. All except Peter in his seat where he stared at his hands that were folded together in front of him. Taking a deep breath, his voice came out almost shakily.
"Lure them," he stated simply.
"What do you mean?" Sharon asked as she glanced at him.
"Well, they've been trying to lure us to these different places, right?" he asked and watched as the team nodded. "Then we finish training and lure them to the same place. We take them down once and for all."
"Then we don't have time to lose," Steve said.
And with her older brother by her side, Allie led the team back into training, promising them Christmas as a day off in return for their help. And that was exactly what they all did.
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A week had passed as Sharon and Steve had started jumping into training with the others. Steve found himself frequently working with Bucky and Sam, the shield being thrown between the three as they worked in a separate training gym from the others. Sharon would keep to the shooting range, happy to be alone most of the time before Allie would take some time to keep her company and continue her own training on firearms.
Allie continued to train the others on how to be prepared to face someone with her powers. John Walker had tried to argue about the training significantly less after learning what had happened at the shelter that May had been working at and everything that had happened leading up to Annika's attacks. Allie would notice as he silently allowed her to train him to defend himself against her powers.
On one afternoon, Steve and Bucky had taken a break, dismissing themselves into a lounge as the noises of training continued to flood through hallways in the compound. Taking out bottles of water from the refrigerator, Bucky handed one of the bottles to Steve.
"Thanks," Steve acknowledged as he gratefully drank the cooled water.
"You're welcome," Bucky nodded as he took a drink of his own water.
"I have to ask. How has Allie been handling all of this?" Steve sighed as he looked over at Bucky.
"About as well as you can imagine," Bucky shrugged. "She's been blaming herself over the shelter and May's death."
"She and Peter are both doing that?" Steve frowned. "I'm assuming?"
"Despite being told it wasn't their faults," Bucky nodded. "She keeps blaming herself for anything bad that happens."
"Buck, she's been like that for as long as you and I can both remember," Steve sighed. "I love her, but if there were one thing that I wish I could change about her, it would be that she didn't put so much pressure, responsibility, and blame on herself."
"I've tried to talk to her about it," Bucky shook his head softly.
"Have you?" Steve narrowed his eyes at him. "Or have you 'talked'?"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Bucky frowned.
"It means that you and Allie don't confront problems like you did when we were in our twenties. Back then you confronted things head on. You held each other completely accountable. You bickered, yes, but you didn't let each other slip into bad habits."
"We just handle things differently," Bucky shrugged. "A lot has happened since 1945."
"Even when you two first were married, you handle things differently. It's like you two are afraid of confrontation and of solving the problem. It's like you're afraid it makes things fragile."
"I'm not going to fight with my wife just because she blames herself for things that aren't her fault," Bucky's jaw set slightly.
"You're missing my point," Steve sighed. "After we found you in Romania, it makes sense that you two didn't fight. But after that big fight you two had when she was pregnant with Steven, it's like you're afraid of things being rough. You just go along with things."
"We don't," Bucky defended.
"You do," Steve nodded. "I'm not saying to fight. I'm saying to talk to her about this. Don't shy away from it like you two have done in the past few years."
"Steve-"
"I just don't want to see my little sister continue to blame herself for things that aren't in her control," Steve sighed. "You were always able to help her in a way that I never was. That shouldn't have changed just because you married her."
"And if she doesn't listen?" Bucky questioned.
"Well, Sharon and I are here again," Steve joked. "But it's you. Even if it's just a small part of her, she will."
"Steve! Bucky! You two coming back to train? Allie's coming in to help us work with the shield in fire and ice," Sam called out into the hall.
"Coming!" Steve called back. "Just talk to her. Especially before we finally confront Annika. I don't want her going into that fight feeling anything but determination."
Bucky watched as Steve walked away and into the training space with Sam as Allie came walking along the halls. Smiling over at Bucky, she walked over to him and gave him a kiss before going to the refrigerator and pulling out a bottle of water for herself. Taking a drink she held her hand out to him. Sighing to himself a tad, he took her hand.
He had to agree with Steve. With an upcoming fight, he wanted her to be able to go in with determination and nothing more.
"You ready, Spark?" he teased as he loosened up at her touch.
"Call me Spark or doll and you'll never even see the opportunity for another kid," she glared at him.
"Another kid?" he asked in disbelief before grinning. "Since when was this on the table?"
"It won't be if you call Spark or doll," Allie looked forward again.
Laughing at her stubborn way of hating most nicknames, he followed her into the training room, determined to aid her. He was going to make sure that she knew that everything was going to be fine.