Chapter 53

September 8th, 2016

Avengers Tower, New York City

"I'm pretty sure you're not allowed to bust me out of the facility. Actually, scratch that, I'm 100 percent sure you're not allowed to."

Tony shrugged at Maggie as the helicopter touched down on the landing pad of Avengers Tower. "Better to ask forgiveness than permission. Or alternatively, better to not tell anyone at all."

Maggie rolled her eyes at her brother and went back to staring out the window. It wasn't like she had any real chance of escaping – she had the Manacle firmly fixed to her wrist, and Vision had accompanied she and Tony into New York City. He was sitting across from her in the helicopter in plain trousers and a button-up-shirt, reading a book. He'd wanted to fly by himself into the city, but Tony said it would draw too much attention.

Maggie had been glued to the window for most of the short flight. It was nice to be in the air again. It wasn't the same as flying by herself with the wind running over her wings, looking down at the world below, but it was better nothing.

She'd been to New York before – hell, she'd spent the first five years of her life here – but she'd never really had a chance to admire it. Whenever she'd visited as the Wyvern she hadn't exactly been sightseeing. The city was just as beautiful as it was in pictures, with the forest of skyscrapers bordered by gleaming ocean, and Maggie had grinned when she caught a glimpse of green Central Park – she remembered Jarvis and Ana taking her there one Sunday morning with a picnic blanket and a basket of sandwiches.

As the helicopter closed in on Manhattan, Maggie had craned her neck until she saw Brooklyn, and in the distance the Ferris wheel on Coney Island. Her heart had pounded and she'd felt an odd swoop in her stomach, at being so close to Bucky's home and yet who knew how far away from Bucky himself.

But now she was on top of Avengers Tower, and the excitement was back. The tower was incredible, an asymmetric design of glass and steel, unique amongst the other skyscrapers. And totally self-sustainable. The glowing blue A on the side of the tower was a little bittersweet, but Maggie had to admit it looked cool.

When the helicopter powered down and the door opened, she sprang out and whirled around to take in the New York skyline. The wind blew her hair away from her face, cooling her flushed cheeks. Her floral dress fluttered around her knees. Tony, dressed in a suit, climbed out after her and winced – it had only been a few days since his injury, and he was still tender. He'd decided that since he'd sold the tower, he ought to bring Maggie to see it while she could. And he was going to India tomorrow, so they wanted to spend time together before then. Vision put down his book and followed them out.

"This is so cool!" Maggie exclaimed, turning on the spot to see everything she could. New York was beautiful from here, the Empire State building only a stone's throw away, and she couldn't decide whether to admire the city or get a better look at the tower.

Tony decided for her, rolling his eyes at her enthusiasm. "Come on, Maggot, let's go in. We might be hundreds of feet up, but they do amazing things with telescopic lenses these days and we don't need your face in the magazines."

"Right." She cast one more look out at New York, took a deep breath, and followed her brother into the tower.

Once they passed through the doors into the building itself, her mouth dropped open. "Did I say the outside was cool? I was wrong. This is cool."

The inside of Avengers Tower looked like an ultra-modern spaceship; all gleaming floors, abstract lines and shining glass. Of course, it was filled with boxes and machines wrapped in plastic and bubble wrap. A moving crew in white jumpsuits and caps bustled around each level, packing boxes and moving furniture. Maggie spotted Dum-E pushing a box across a raised platform on the other side of the open space, and she smiled at the robot. Tony had brought him back to the tower a few days ago partly as punishment because Dum-E had started a small fire in the workshop, and partly to frustrate Happy.

Remembering the ex-bodyguard she had heard so much about, Maggie glanced around the open space of the upper tower floors. She didn't have to look for long, though. The elevator doors to her left opened to reveal a bulky, harried looking man in a suit. He spotted Tony, Maggie and Vision by the door to the helipad and rushed over, his face brightening.

"Boss!" he called before any of them could say a word. "There're so many things I need you to sign, there's been an issue with regulations about transporting some of the lab machinery-" he reached them and brandished a clipboard bursting with papers. Tony took one look at the forms and ducked behind Maggie, grabbing her arms and using her as a human shield.

"No, Happy, we talked about this!" Tony protested. "What's the point of having an Asset Manager if I still have to manage my assets?" Happy closed his mouth and frowned, trying to sidestep Maggie to get to Tony. But Tony merely dodged to the side, spinning Maggie with him. Vision watched them with a smile on his face.

"Happy," Tony said placatingly, "remember how I said I was coming with a visitor? Here's a mini-me!"

Maggie scoffed and elbowed Tony in the ribs – gently, since he was still healing – so he'd let her go. "If I was a mini-you I'd have to drop a few brain cells and start wearing way too much hair gel."

He scowled at her and rubbed his ribs, but she wasn't looking at him anymore. Happy had stopped trying to get around Maggie and finally seemed to see her.

"Oh," he said, his eyes widening. He lowered the clipboard.

She stuck out her hand. "Maggie Stark. Nice to meet you."

He took it in a firm, slightly sweaty grip. "Happy Hogan. Nice to meet you too." He was staring at her like he couldn't quite believe she was real.

She smiled. "You're the Asset Manager for Stark Industries, right?"

He let go of her hand. "Yes," he said, nodding. "Yes, I am." He turned to Tony, who was watching their exchange with an amused glint in his eye. "I like her," he announced, then turned back to Maggie. "I like you."

"Tony said you guys have been friends for a while, I've heard a lot about you."

"You have?" Happy glanced at Tony, who just shrugged, and then turned back to her. "Well yeah, it's been… god, over fifteen years." He put his hands on his hips. "Hasn't been easy though, I'll tell you that right now."

"I bet," she said with a wry smile.

"Hey now-" Tony interrupted, but was cut off by Happy's cellphone ringing. Happy fished the phone out of his pocket, scowled at the screen, then hit the end call button.

"You can grab that if you need to," Maggie said, "I know you must be busy."

Happy shrugged and glanced at Tony again. "It's the kid calling me again about-"

Tony made a zip it gesture, and Maggie raised an eyebrow.

"Kid?"

"It's nothing," Tony said, waving a hand. "Anyway, Happy–"

She didn't let it go that easily, though. "If you have some secret love child then I want to–"

"Maggie, it is very much not a secret love child. Drop it."

She smirked and raised her hands. "Dropped."

Vision took that moment to step in. "Mr Stark, if you and Maggie would like to take a walk around the tower, I would be more than happy to assist Mr Hogan in his asset management issues."

Happy seemed – well, happy – with that, so Tony slung his arm around Maggie's shoulders and steered her away from his friend and the android. They walked in silence for a few moments, striding over the gleaming floor toward a set of stairs.

Maggie broke the silence. "So is it a bouncing baby niece or nephew?"

"I will push you down these stairs."

Tony wasn't the best tour guide, because he got distracted and sometimes flat-out refused to answer Maggie's questions just to annoy her, but she thoroughly enjoyed her tour of the tower. It was a marvel of sustainable energy and modern engineering, though she could see how Tony had taken what he learned here and made it better for the Avengers Facility. She was a little disappointed that the tower would soon belong to someone else, because she could tell there were a lot of memories in this place. This building had shown the world that Tony could build things that weren't weapons. This was the epicentre of Loki's attack on New York, and consequently the site of the Avengers' first victory. This was where the Avengers had lived and worked together, for years.

Maybe that was why Tony had decided to sell it.

The tower held memories for Maggie, too. Just being surrounded by the skyline of New York brought back hazy memories of her childhood in Manhattan. She told Tony this and he promised that he hadn't sold the old mansion, that they could go back whenever she liked. It sounded like he hadn't been there in a while, though.

She also remembered stealing the blueprints for Avengers Tower, before it had even been built. Tony didn't seem concerned about that, since HYDRA clearly hadn't acted on that information and they were all dead now anyway. He did, however, seem impressed that she'd managed to get her hands on the plans: "those were under pretty tight lock and key, Mags, you've got mad skills." She was uncomfortable with the praise, but shrugged it off and continued to enjoy her tour.

She even got a look at what had been Tony and Pepper's quarters, while they still lived in the Tower. It was as stupidly luxurious as she'd expected, with wall-to-wall windows, a huge bed with silk sheets, and rare artwork on the walls – Pepper's touch, no doubt. Mostly everything was in boxes, waiting to be moved out, but Maggie noticed a small ornament on the dresser.

"Hey," she said, wonderingly. "I recognize that." She strode across the room and peered at the ornament. It looked like… a miniature model of a jet pack? It was mounted on a metal base plate, and the design was rudimentary at best, but…

Recognition hit her in a rush, and her eyes welled with tears. "Oh my god."

Tony had followed her to the dresser, and he looked down at the jet pack model with a complex array of emotions crossing his face. "You did always want to fly," he murmured. He saw the tears shining in her eyes and wrapped one arm around her. "Pepper found that a few years ago, she thought it'd be nice to display it."

Maggie swallowed. "A few years ago? So before you knew…?"

"Yeah," he said heavily. "It was good to keep it around. Reminded me what a little asshole you were." That made her laugh, and he grinned at her. "But now I've got you to remind me of what an asshole you are, so you should probably take this off my hands." He swiped the model off the dresser and offered it to her. Maggie took it with shaking fingers, eyeing the little details of thrusters and engines.

"Huh," she said. "This design never would have worked, look at the power relays."

"I know, right?" he agreed. "I tried to tell Pepper that, but she said something about its value 'not being in the success of the design'. Crazy." He squeezed her, then let her go. "Do you remember that day you asked me about jet packs?" he asked. He'd turned away, and his voice was carefully casual, but Maggie could hear his concealed hope.

"You mean the day we exploded a bunch of missiles in Stark Industries' demonstration bay?" Tony spun around, surprised, and she grinned at him. "Yeah, that was pretty memorable."

He returned her smile, taking in the sight of her standing tall with the New York skyline behind her, holding her jet pack model in one hand. It was a moment he'd never thought he'd be able to have, but it was bittersweet – he couldn't help but be angry at HYDRA all over again, for the years they'd stolen. He shook away the thoughts, and went back to explaining how he'd installed an Arc Reactor at the bottom of the sea near New York to make the tower fully self-sustainable.

As he spoke, Maggie went back to admiring the room. Her eyes were drawn to a beautiful Turkish rug laid out on the floor – it was covered in plastic in preparation for the move, but she could see the rich red color and minute detailing of flowers and leaves. It looked expensive.

Tony saw her looking. "Oh, that. Pepper got it in Istanbul, I think. We had a holiday there after all the stuff with Extremis." He made a face at the memory.

Maggie brightened. "I love Istanbul! Did you see the Hagia Sophia?"

He froze, and turned to stare at her. "You've been to Istanbul."

"Yes, I-" She opened her mouth to tell him all about her travels through Turkey, then recalled who had been with her at the time, and shut her mouth.

Tony threw his hands up. "Okay, I've got to know. Where have you been since HYDRA? I know you were in Argentina, don't even try to pretend you weren't, but somehow you ended up in Romania? And now you're saying you were in Turkey?"

Maggie watched his face carefully. He seemed more annoyed than angry, but there was a reason they hadn't spoken about this yet. It was one thing for her to tell him about her time in HYDRA, it was another for her to talk about what she'd been doing when she was free, making her own choices. "You really want to know?"

He crossed his arms. "Yes."

"Really?" she pressed, and took a step towards him. "Because I'm not going to pretend Bucky wasn't with me, Tony, if you want to hear where we went then he's going to be a part of the story." Tony flinched at the name, but he didn't back down.

"Tell me." He seemed to realize how aggressive he was being, and uncrossed his arms. "If you want."

She rolled her eyes. "Okay, but we're not going to stand in here the whole time. Show me the rest of the tower?"

He agreed, and they left the room. Maggie sighed, turning the jet pack model over in her hands as she wondered where to start. She eventually cleared her throat, wiped her palms on her dress, and began. "We went south, first." Tony took a sharp breath through his nose at the word we, but she kept going. "Traveled down into South America. I figured out who I was in Mexico, after I stole a laptop and googled fatal car accidents involving a young girl twenty-odd years ago. I found out you were alive thanks to Wikipedia."

Maggie's account of where she'd been over the past two years lasted through the rest of their tour of the tower. She told Tony where she and Bucky had traveled over the past two years, as they slowly got their minds back. Tony listened to her silently, asking the occasional question. At one point he sighed heavily and said, "you really just had to… to figure everything out from scratch, didn't you?"

"Sure did. I didn't know how to make choices, about basic stuff like what to eat and what to wear. I didn't know how to have a normal conversation, how to have fun. But I figured it out, mostly, and I'm a person now."

He smiled sadly at that, and she continued. She told him about how they'd exposed the location of the HYDRA base in Belarus, about the little boy on the chairlift, about Vincent Silva and how he'd begged for his life. Tony grinned at her triumphs, frowned at her low moments, made teasing remarks and encouraged her to give more detail.

She didn't tell Tony much about Bucky, but she didn't leave him out either. In fact, this was probably the longest she'd ever spoken to Tony about Bucky.

She told him about the journey across Australia – he snorted when she explained what a Fuck You, HYDRA party was – and how they'd found out about Ultron's rise and fall. When Maggie explained how she'd done what she could to protect the world's major organisations and governments from Ultron's insidious reach, Tony gave her an odd look.

"What?"

"It's just… J.A.R.V.I.S. was out there too, protecting nuclear launch codes. He said that he'd noticed someone helping, but we were too busy with Ultron to worry about potential allies."

"So that was J.A.R.V.I.S.? I noticed him too." She smiled at the thought of helping her brother's original A.I. without even knowing it.

Tony gave her a half-smile, as if he was thinking the same thing. He'd been surprised to learn just how much Maggie had been invested in the Avengers' activities and success, without ever giving away her involvement. He'd known about the boy on the chairlift, but to know that she'd protected people in other, unseen ways was eye-opening.

"Anyway, after Ultron we realized we needed to be closer to the thick of things, in case we were needed. So we got on a plane to India, and traveled up to Europe."

She told him about the bank robbers, about her odd jobs, about her birthday celebrations and how they'd snuck into university lectures. She told him about the family she had spied on in the Ukraine, lowering her head and watching her feet as they walked into an elevator on the ground floor.

"I was on the bus back into Bucharest when I heard about the UN bombing. Got straight off the bus and headed for the safehouse, but I was too late. And… well, you know the rest."

The elevator doors closed, and Maggie and Tony stood in silence as they were whisked upwards. There wasn't any elevator music.

Finally, he spoke. "Were you ever going to come back?" His voice was strained, and he stared at the elevator wall. "Or were you planning on just… never seeing me for the rest of our lives?"

Maggie took a breath. She'd known this was coming at some point, she just hadn't expected it in an elevator, as she clutched a model she'd made when she was four years old. "I'm dangerous, Tony. I knew that by being around I'd only ruin your life, and… and look at what's happened!" She met his eye, and she knew they were both thinking about the media storm that was still raging, and Ross's 'visits'. "At best I'm your weakness. At worst I'm the one who'll end up hurting you. I thought it would be best for you if I stayed dead."

Tony reached up to pinch his nose. "But that's what siblings are for, Maggie! To be your weakness! It's not meant to be easy." He spread his hands and faced her. "I'd much rather worry about you and feel like shit half the time than for you to be dead. And I think I'd know, I've had both experiences."

She fell silent, her eyes wide. The elevator was filled with a ringing silence.

Tony cocked his head at her. "Why did you choose to stay?"

Her breath caught in her chest, and she glanced up at him. They both knew exactly what he was talking about, she could see the painful memories glittering in his dark eyes. But Tony seemed to take her hesitation as confusion.

"In Siberia," he clarified. "You could've had Heckle and Jeckle carry you onto the Quinjet, they would have figured out how to get the Manacle off you eventually. So why didn't you go?"

Maggie wanted to face this calmly, but she couldn't stop the tears that pooled in her eyes and slipped down her cheeks. She took a sharp breath and stepped backwards, using the cool surface of the elevator wall to center herself.

"I couldn't leave you," she said. "Not like that. Not at all." She'd known, as Steve pulled his shield out of the flickering arc reactor in Tony's chest, where she belonged. She loved Bucky, wanted to protect him, but there was no earthly way she could have left her brother bloody and betrayed in the cold Siberian snow. She'd barely known him at the time, but she'd known herself, and she knew what she was and wasn't capable of.

Tony's eyes suddenly gleamed with tears as well, and he went in for a hug. He was pretty strong, and his arms were warm and tight around her. Maggie dropped her head on his shoulder.

"You're a hugger," she murmured, slightly teasingly, but the teasing was undermined by how tightly she was holding him back.

"Just making up for lost time," he replied. "I'm glad you stayed."

"Me too." The words slipped out easily, and Maggie realized that she meant them whole-heartedly. She felt a pang of guilt – she had left Bucky injured and broken, after all, and now she had no idea where he was – but she couldn't deny that she didn't regret her choice, not one bit. And she knew, in that instinctive way that she knew Bucky inside and out, that he'd be happy for her.

The elevator doors slid open.

"Oh, hello," came Vision's calm voice, and Maggie and Tony pulled apart. Maggie wiped her eyes and smiled sheepishly at the android, who gave her a smile in return. She and Tony left the elevator.

"Are you ready to depart?" Vision asked. "The more time you spend out of the facility, Maggie, the more likely you are to be discovered."

"That's a comforting statistic," she replied, but nodded her agreement. Avengers Tower was incredible, but it wasn't a home anymore. And she felt too much like a visitor to be comfortable there.

"Alright, let's get out of here before Happy tries to get me to sign anything," Tony muttered, and they strode toward the helipad. Happy did manage to intercept them on the way out, but Tony artfully dodged the dreaded clipboard, and Maggie distracted him by saying:

"Bye, Happy. Good luck with Moving Day!"

He waved them off. "I don't need luck, it's all going to go off without a hitch."

On the helicopter ride out of Manhattan, Maggie watched the city pass below and thought about the unequivocal way Tony had accepted her into his life. It was almost terrifying. In such a short time they'd become inseparable, and Maggie knew in her bones that he'd always be on her side.

She held her jet pack model to her chest and made a promise to herself: no matter what the world threw at them, she'd protect Tony. That's what siblings are for.

The next day Tony went to India, so Maggie spent most of her time in her cell with some visits from Rhodey and Vision. Pepper was busy with Stark Industries at the moment, thanks to the upcoming move, and with getting Maggie legally recognized as an actual, alive person – getting her old social security number back was turning out to be a nightmare. Maggie had offered to help, but there wasn't realistically a lot she could do, and Pepper assured her she had it handled.

A few days later, Maggie was lying on her bed contemplating what to do about her broken wings when the Stark tablet that Tony had given her started to vibrate on her desk. Frowning, she rolled out of bed and padded toward the tablet.

Incoming call: Tony Stark. The whole screen was taken up by a photo of an issue of Forbes with Tony gracing the cover. Maggie rolled her eyes and hit the accept call button.

The Forbes cover was replaced by Tony's real-time face. He was dressed in a smart suit, standing on a hotel room balcony with a city skyline behind him.

"Miss me already?" she asked, taking a seat at her desk.

"Just checking you haven't burned the place down yet," he replied, toasted her with a condensation-covered glass and took a sip. He was wearing glasses, and she could see some kind of HUD illuminated in the lenses – they were no doubt connected to F.R.I.D.A.Y.

"I wouldn't burn the facility down," she replied indignantly, putting her feet up on the desk. "I'd use explosives."

"Smart."

Maggie took a closer look at the screen. It looked warm where he was, the sky behind him smoggy, and she ran her eyes over the skyline in the background. "Hm. You know, since you're in Mumbai you should check out the Elephanta caves, they're beautiful."

"I will if I get time," he replied absently, then frowned. "Hang on, I didn't tell you where I-" he glanced over his shoulder, cursed, and then stepped off the balcony and into his room. "Freaking superspies and their stupid observation skills."

She smiled at him as he continued to grumble and pace around his room. But then she noticed the furrow in his brow, the tightness around his eyes. "Tony, is something wrong?"

He squinted at the camera. "Why would something be wrong?"

"Well, not that I'm not happy to talk to you, but you've never called me before," she pointed out. "And you look kind of… distracted."

He sighed, and took a seat on what looked like a very expensive gold-embroidered couch. "Okay, so… say there's this guy I know," he said, taking another sip of his drink. "He's trying to take on more responsibility, but he's not ready for that yet. I don't know how to get that through to him, though."

Maggie blinked. "Is… is the guy you?"

"What? No, this is hypothetical."

"Okay…" she thought it over. She didn't really understand what was going on, but it was clearly playing on Tony's mind, so she'd do what she could to help. "Well, if this hypothetical guy thinks he's ready for more, then he's probably going to do more. And if he's not ready, then he'll find out the hard way. I don't know if there's much you can do about it other than make sure he learns from whatever mistake he makes. Support him."

Tony rubbed his jaw, looking thoughtful. "A teaching moment."

"Sure," she said. "Is this about someone at the company? Because maybe it would be better to ask Pepper-"

"Nope," he said, finishing his drink. "Totally hypothetical."

"Sure."

He seemed to be thinking about what she'd said, so silence stretched over the line as they each reclined in their separate chairs. Maggie realized that she'd never actually video-chatted with someone before. She and Bucky had spoken on the phone, but never for longer than five minutes at a time, and usually just to exchange details about their next meeting point. Sitting back at a desk chair, talking to her brother on the other side of the world… it felt odd, but nice. Like something a normal person might be doing. Then she remembered that she was technically imprisoned, and her optimism ebbed.

"Hey," Tony eventually said, his eyes focused off-screen. "If you could go back, have a chance at being a kid again, what would you want from life? Friends, a good college, a job, right? That's what kids want?"

Maggie's eyebrows shot up at the question, and a small burn of hurt bloomed in her chest. She knew he didn't mean to upset her, but there was something in the distracted way he asked the question that made her think he didn't really have her in mind. She swallowed the hurt, and thought about it. But it was hard to imagine that life for herself, and the silence stretched on.

Tony blinked, and finally looked right at the camera. "I'm sorry, Marzipan, that was a dumb question, I shouldn't have-"

"It's okay," she said, shooting him a quick smile. "Honestly… I don't really do 'what if's, Tony. This is the way my life is," she said, pulling the tablet back to encompass her face and the pale grey room she was kept in. "And I can't go back. So I have to live it the way it is."

He frowned, glancing down. "Huh."

After another long silence, she asked "Why are you asking about what kids want, anyway? Is this about the secret love child?" His head shot up and he glared at her, but Maggie's eyes just went round. "Is Pepper pregnant?"

"No," Tony hissed, "you little… can't I ask hypothetical questions?"

"You can, but I seriously doubt that you are."

"That's it, I'm hanging up. Hope you don't accidentally blow yourself up, that would be tragic."

Maggie burst out laughing, and she just managed to shout: "so what college is my secret niece or nephew going to?" before Tony ended the call and the screen went dark.

She laughed to herself, returned the tablet to her desk and span around in her chair. When she finished spinning her eyes landed on her dresser, and the postcards she'd lined along the wall: Machu Picchu, Carta de Amor, a birds-eye view of Darwin, New Delhi's Askhardham Temple. Her smile didn't fade but it softened, became a little sad. On the back of each card, she knew, was a short inscription in familiar, old-fashioned handwriting.

Maggie closed her eyes and turned her face toward the warm sunlight filtering through her window.

Wish you were here.