Chapter Text
Well… shit.
To be honest, given the whole… destroy all evidence in a fiery explosion in an underground vault, no one really knew how juiced up the serum that Val used on Bob was. Everyone knew about the Void and the darkness creeping from the Avengers’ tow– No, the Watchtower.
God, that title still makes him cringe. Deep inside, of course. If he did it openly, it would be a huge thing with Ava pointing it out, Bob thinking it's about him, Yelena yelling at him for that, and Alexei just making it worse in his own special way. Bucky would just chuckle, given their… admittedly bad blood in their past.
God, he hated those people. And yet, he couldn’t help but… Walker shook his head, focusing on the situation in front of him. The… very awkward situation in front of him. And unlike other times, this is entirely his fault. Not Bobby– Bob's. (Not Bobby, never Bobby. After seeing that piece of shit in Bob’s memories? He wished he could go back there and beat the fuck out of that piece of shit that called itself a father.)
He winced, having squeezed his hand too tight, before hesitantly raising his hands placatingly. Walker’s body was tense. After all… Right in front of him were the Avengers. Not the New Avengers. Not the Thunderbolts, the Avengers. The original six. Among them was the one who’s shield he…
Okay Walker, focus.
He looked at Bob, who already had his hands up, before looking back at the Avengers. The scientist hiding a giant green hulking figure, the blond god who wielded a hammer, the archer who stared at the two of them with suspicious eyes, the assassin who scrutinized them (just like Yelena), the billionaire in a suit of armor, and the Captain America. The one he had tried so hard to hold himself up to.
“I think I speak for all of us that we have had an extremely tiring day–” Walker began to say.
“Who are you?”
“How did you get here?”
And there it was. The big question. He and Bob looked at each other, and from the looks of it, Bob wanted him to go first. Oh well. Walker sighed and steeled himself.
“Captain John Walker, also known as the U.S. Agent.”
Bob snorted and Walker broke his bearing to shoot a glare at him. It was Val’s idea, and it sounded like an interesting name. Quickly, though, the humor faded from Bob’s face, replaced with nervousness and heavy anxiety.
“I’m uhh… My name is Bob. Though I’m also… uh… never mind.”
“Smooth. Better than your intro in the vault, that’s for sure.”
Bob smiled a bit at the reassurance.
“Cute,” Tony Stark said, “So, U.S. Agent and… Bob. How did you get in my– our tower without the security system catching you?”
Well… shit.
It started as a good day. Until Val called and told them their new costumes and public identities were ready. Which was in the morning. Which meant they all had to go get fitted for their new outfits and take plenty of photos. Which meant that the day started like shit.
Walker groaned at the dinner table, reminders of him wearing the Captain America getup and all the interviews. The goddamn interviews. Across from him, Bucky gave him a sympathetic glance as he absentmindedly picked at his breakfast, having just ended the call with Val.
“Shut it, you little baby,” Ava bumped him on her way to an open chair. She laid down her plate of pancakes, something that Alexei prepared for them that morning. He forgot what it was called, honestly.
Tasted delicious though.
“Hey guys, what’s up?” Bob tiredly walked into the dining room. He looked at Walker’s, Ava’s, and Bucky’s faces, “Did something happen?”
Ava relaxed in her chair and swallowed her current bite, before asking Bob, “How was Valentina Allegra… whatever when she was throwing costume designs on you? And when she dyed your hair? Was that fun?”
Bob winced, then had a more understanding look, “Oh. She’s gonna do you all next, huh…”
“Yes, that’s where my Yelena is!” Alexei boisterously sauntered into the room, holding plates of pancakes, setting them down in front of all of them, “Make sure to eat up, don’t want all that super muscle that help you fly to disappear, eh?”
“I’m pretty sure it’s permanent, haha,” Bob jokes, but acquiesces to the breakfast, “Yeah well, Val had a whole team of people and fabrics and they took forever just looking at me and comparing fabrics before giving me the final suit. Hopefully it’ll be quicker for you guys though, you all have identities and costumes and a persona, so she says. She wanted to make sure I… gave off the right impression to the people… She said a lot of things…”
Walker chuckled, before Ava glanced at him. They both noticed Bob thinking about that day.
Ava spoke up, “By the way, are you gonna keep your helmet?”
“Uhh, I mean, it’s useful to prevent headshots and all.”
Ava glared at him and raised her eyebrow. Why was she– Oh, wait, the Antonia girl that Yelena was talking about… Yeah, he shouldn't have said that…
“Well, I mean…” Walker tried to recover, “Did you like it? The helmet?”
“Full honesty?”
“Uh, yeah. Sure.”
“Your head is so big you don't need a helmet to stop a bullet.”
Walker rolled his eyes, “Fuck you Ava.”
Everyone at the table laughed. Even Bucky managed a small smirk.
John and Ava looked at Bob, who smiled and laughed at John's expense. They looked at each other. Mission success.
“Well, won't you look at that. The U.S. Agent,” Val cooed.
It took everything Walker had to not just punch her right then and there. Her voice was so grating. He was called in last, for some reason, though Yelena was fortunately still there. Everyone having left already to break in their suits.
“You're looking fancy,” Yelena spoke up, in her new suit next to him, “What happened to hat? I thought you liked it.”
“The helmet? Nah, This works more for me. It's more comfortable, for one.”
Surprisingly, Valentina threw them a solid and had actual practical uniforms rather than Bob's gaudy Sentry suit. Like really? The yellow and blue? If it works, it works, he supposed. But this uniform felt pretty good. In the more subdued black, red and white coloring, he felt more… comfortable. He felt much better than the Cap suit he wore all that time ago. Sure, that suit was also practical, but… something inside him always felt like he was wearing someone else's colors. The more Bucky and Sam pushed at that insecurity, the more he pushed back. He pushed and pushed until… God, that was so long ago.
It felt like a century since… Lamar…
John shook his head slightly, paying attention to Val's explanations.
“Now unfortunately, I have not yet been able to provide you with a new shield. Don't worry, it just means we don't have those resources right now, not that we'll never be able to resupply you. For now, why don't you use your strength to fix it?”
“Well, you see,” John began, “We've tried that… A lot. Something Bob did changed the entire structure of the shield.”
“You can ask him to put it back, can't you?” Val began.
Both he and Yelena looked at each other, then at Val. There was no way she just suggested that. No way she just suggested they use the Sentry to fix John's shield. While the idea was enticing, just… why?
Bob agreed.
What the fuck.
Apparently someone had called ahead and in the place of John, asked Bob to help fix his shield. They went heavy on the guilt-tripping too, given how awkward Bob was when John and Yelena returned from the fitting in full regalia.
“Yelena, you've been in there forever,” Ava noted, “What happened?”
“Nothing important, Val just made my costume way too complicated. So many buttons and tools and gizmos.”
“Ah! So you remembered!” A boisterous voice cut in, Alexei walking around the corner in his Red Guardian suit, with the Russian references toned down.
Alexei roped Ava and Yelena into a conversation about not packing too many tools and taking as many as needed, not as much as you can carry. Of course, his story started drifting to more… inappropriate territory as he began using anecdotes to prove his point.
That's when John decided to leave the conversation.
He walked across one of the many common areas the Avengers’ tower– No, the Watchtower had. God, he hated that name. They're already the New Avengers, why can't they just stick with the Avengers’ tower?
Anyway, John bumped into Bob, who looked really awkward. Like really awkward. Like 16 year old him getting caught skipping classes awkward.
“Hey Walker, I heard you needed your shield fixed?”
John groaned, “Did Val put you up to this? It's fine, I swear.”
“You sure? I can help.”
“No, really it's cool.”
“I mean, I've been practicing and if you could just let me touch your shield real quick–”
“Bob! It's fine! Don't–”
Bob reached over to grab his shield, and Walker moved to pull it away and shouts of “I can help, really!” and “Bob, just stop!” came from their scuffle for the shield. At this point the other three finally noticed the small fight and Yelena came running.
But as Walker pulled his shield from Bob's hands, Bob flinched.
And activated his powers.
“Bob! Walker!”
The world turned void black, from the floor, to the ceiling, shadows spread. Now that Walker knew what to look for, he was surprised he noticed this quickly.
Walker sighed a little, prepared for the worst. He kneeled in front of Bob, who had curled into a ball. Walker wasn't good at comforting people, he was always the take action guy. He figured words couldn't really help, so he placed his hand on Bob's shoulder. A silent reassurance.
And slowly but surely, the colors began to fade back in… more vibrantly? Was the tower always this… decorated? Val's sanitized Watchtower looked... different... Something's up.
Bob looked up as Walker stood up, lowering a hand for Bob to grab. As Walker helped him stand, Walker apologized, “Sorry about that…”
“No no no, it's okay.”
“You sure?”
When Bob didn't answer, Walker looked at him. He was looking behind Walker, his hands raised in a harmless manner. Walker's eyes widened and he whipped around, hand on his gun.
His eyes widened even more, like a Looney Toons character. Sue him, it was one of his favorite shows growing up. And it was warranted, too.
After all, standing in front of him were the original six Avengers. Alive. Is this a shame room or… He glanced at Bob then back at them.
“I think I speak for all of us that we've had an extremely tiring day–”
“Who are you?”
“How did you get here?”
Now that is a really good question.