A Good Man
“Tony, listen. There are winter soldiers,” Steve said in a rush. He was aware of the line of Avengers at Tony’s side, and those at his own—though he was also aware of the Antman (his hidden ace in the hole).
“You expect me to believe you,” Tony asked angrily. “Why didn’t you bring HIM back in once he was back to what you define as normal, Cap. Especially if you’ve been holding onto information like this” he added, skeptical of Steve’s claim.
“This is all a set-up, Tony. Bucky’s innocent,” Steve said loudly, hoping Tony will be reasonable for once. Though he kept the secret of Bucky’s other crime quiet, safe.
“Are you,” Tony asked loudly, turning towards Barnes. “Are you innocent?”
Bucky was quiet for a moment, and gripped Steve’s arm suddenly when he could tell Steve was about to reply for him, aggressively.
“I didn’t blow anything up,” he said quietly, looking at Tony with a serious gaze.
“Didn’t you,” Tony asked, but it was more of a statement. “Friday, show me Bucharest,” Tony said, pulling his phone from a compartment in the armor and tossing it haphazardly on the ground where a blue hologram of the disastrous chase in Romania began to project. Bucky looked on as a hologram image of himself pulled a young man that couldn’t be more than 22 from his motorcycle and tossed him haphazardly into oncoming traffic.
“That was self-defense,” Steve said adamantly. “They were trying to kill him, Tony!”
“Stop, Steve! Stop excusing him for everything!” Tony turned towards Barnes. “What happened to you is sad—tragic. I experienced something similar though no where near to the scale of your own captivity. The point is that I know what it feels like to a certain extent, and I sympathize, Barnes. But you got out!”
Bucky was looking at Stark, watching for any sign of deception.
“When I came back from Afghanistan, I had a choice to make so that I could live with the reality that I had seen. I knew that nothing would ever be the same, so, my choice was responsibility. No one could blame me for what had happened . . . not really. I was born into the company that I was heading, just continuing the legacy that my father left me. I was raised to believe that what we did was patriotic—though now I don’t feel the same, not after seeing how weapons can be misused. And I wasn’t responsible for trusting the man that I had been raised to think of as a second father. So, despite what some might say” Tony said leadingly, looking at first Wanda and then Steve, “While I feel guilt over the deaths that resulted from my time at SI, they weren’t my fault. I chose to take responsibility to curb the guilt I felt, because a good person obviously regrets it when people die, though. That’s what Iron Man is about.”
Bucky felt tears come to his eyes as he stared at Stark.
“Steve says you’re innocent, Barnes, but are you a good man,” Tony asked seriously.
“I . . . I want to be,” Bucky said, his voice quivering.
“Then what have you done to take responsibility? You would have had no reason to resist arrest and put all of those people in danger if you had gone to get help after D.C.”
“That’s not his fault!” Steve stepped forward angrily, but Tony held strong.
“Just stop, Steve! You’ve been running around chasing this man for years! He has had years to just ask for help. After New York, after Ultron, when you guys were sticking your heads in the sand and ignoring my fears, Rhodey took me aside and said that I needed to get help before I hurt more people. You guys blamed Ultron on me, but for the wrong reason, Steve. Ultron was my fault. Not because I was trying to prepare for another alien event. That’s a reasonable expectation considering New York and what happened with Thor in London. No, it was my fault that I let my PTSD get so out of hand that I didn’t take the precautions that I normally would when working with AI. And that makes little Miss Hydra an accessory whether you want to admit it or not. Just ask Wilson what happens when a friend puts a loaded pistol into the hand of someone with PTSD. Isn’t that right, Wilson?”
Wilson looked away guiltily, not liking that he was being called out for his hypocritical treatment of the genius that supported the Avengers. He and everyone else had babied Wanda and treated Tony like he had no business being a hero. Wilson knew how the battles they fought in could impact a person, but he ignored it when it was the billionaire.
“What Barnes is guilty of is hiding instead of seeking out the help that anyone in his situation should have known he needed. He should have NEVER let it get to this point. So,” Tony said, facing Barnes once more. “If you are a good man, what is YOUR CHOICE, Barnes.”
Bucky looked back at the man that his best friend said they couldn’t trust. Then he looked at Steve, who would forgive him anything and would do anything to keep him from suffering. Then he looked back at the hologram that had paused with the War Machine holding Steve, a King, and the Winter Soldier—no, Bucky Barnes—at gun point to bring them all in after the rampant destruction they had caused in Romania. He looked back at Stark.
“I’ll go with you. You need to know that when I was triggered, the psychologist was asking about Siberia. There is a chance that there are more Winter Soldiers there waiting to be used,” he said softly, urgently.
Tony looked at Barnes and then turned towards Steve with a fury that Steve had never witnessed on his face before. Tony was furious that Steve’s claim had been true, that he had waited and let it get to this point without taking any steps to get help. As if Steve was always the be all and end all in any situation where lives were at stake.
“I have excused your incredibly selfish and ridiculous choices since D.C. No more. When this is over, you will only continue with the Avengers after every one of you has had a psychological evaluation that proves your decision making is sound. And, whether it is the Accords or not, there will be a reckoning, Cap. You cannot be the one making these decisions anymore. You have no idea how to use the infrastructure that was at the disposal of SHIELD and that an average nation keeps at the ready. Your ideas are isolationist and absurd. News flash, Captain America. You didn't really punch Hitler and you didn't single-handedly win WWII. That you didn’t immediately bring this to someone with the capabilities to get there faster is just stupid. Barnes is coming with us. I’ll see that he is represented fairly and that he gets treatment for his issues, but this can’t continue.”