Chapter 65

From: Shirley Kemp

How are you holding up, my dear?

To: Shirley Kemp

As best as I can. Just because it's our turn it doesn't make the testimony any easier to hear. In fact it might be harder.

From: Shirley Kemp

You know, my husband used to say 'keep swinging' – he was a baseball player, you understand, lived and breathed the game whether he was on the field or off it. Whenever things got rough he would say 'keep swinging' and sometimes I wanted to take a swing at him, but now he's gone I find myself saying it in his stead.

From: Shirley Kemp

Keep swinging, Maggie.

From: Shirley Kemp

Link: TOP 10 BEST CAT VIDEOS OF ALL TIME!

From: Shirley Kemp

Also, tell that grumpy driver of yours to come to my house sometime this week to pick up the cookies I made for you.

To: Shirley Kemp

I don't know how to thank you, Shirley. For everything.

From: Shirley Kemp

Thank me by eating the cookies, Stark.

January 7th, 2017

Avengers Facility, Upstate New York

That weekend Maggie strode down a gleaming white corridor towards the workshop, then stopped in her tracks and frowned at the closed workshop doors. "F.R.I.D.A.Y., who's in the workshop?" Through the transparent glass walls she could see the holographic display in use over by the workbench. "I thought Tony was in a strategy meeting with the Avengers."

"He is, Ms Stark. The workshop is currently occupied by Mr Parker. The boss asked him to wait there until the end of the meeting."

"Huh." Maggie gestured for the doors to open and slipped inside, keeping her footsteps silent.

Sure enough Peter sat on the bench in the middle of the workshop, his backpack by his side and his feet swinging loosely as he looked up at a holographic video.

"Why not just run around carrying sacks with dollar signs on them?" came his voice, but not from his mouth – it came from the video, where Spider-Man swooped down from a rooftop and kicked a black bag out of a masked man's hands. The camera angle shifted, capturing Spider-Man as he started fighting with what looked like a group of bank robbers, flipping around them and avoiding bullets. One of them managed to shoot through his webbing – a fluke, Maggie thought – and Spider-Man went sprawling. One of the guys got a hit in and knocked Spider-Man back a step, so he retaliated by throwing a punch – which the guy dodged – then kicked him in the chest and sent him flying.

Maggie watched Peter watch the video of himself fighting. She'd fought Spider-Man before, obviously, but she hadn't been putting much thought into his technique. But now, watching the civilian-filmed video, she realized that though Peter was strong and fast it was obvious he didn't have any kind of formal training. As she watched, a bullet whistled through the air right by Spider-Man's face.

"They say the camera adds ten pounds," she called when the video ended, and the teenager sprang from his perch on the workbench like he'd been electrocuted. He flailed around, eyes wide, and when he spotted her by the door he flushed red.

"Ms Stark! I'm not, this isn't–" he gestured up at the hologram, which was already auto playing the next video: another Spider-Man fight, this time with a mugger. "It isn't what it looks like," he finished, shifting his weight from foot to foot.

"Looks like you're watching videos of yourself fighting bad guys," Maggie observed, cocking an eyebrow.

Peter swallowed. "Okay, so it is what it looks like." He hung his head and sighed. "I don't know, I got bored, and those guys got pretty close to beating me last weekend, so I… I don't know."

Maggie closed the distance between them, watching Spider-Man flip around a frustrated mugger. "You're being smart, Peter." His head jumped up. "I'm serious, re-watching footage of your fights is a great idea if you want to improve." She gestured to the holo-screen. "See that? You're so busy sassing the guy you didn't see the knife on his boot." As if on cue the mugger reached for the knife and slashed at Spider-Man. The blade slid along his suit but didn't pierce it, and a second later Spider-Man webbed up the guy's feet and hung him from a light post. "If you didn't have your suit then there'd be a three inch hole in your stomach."

Peter laid a hand on his abdomen, eyes wide.

Maggie rewound the video with a twist of her fingers. "You tend to have the element of surprise because you drop in on people mid-crime. Next time, take a second to really look at whoever you're about to attack – assess their strengths and weaknesses and keep an eye out for weapons, concealed or otherwise. Know how I knew that knife was there?" Peter shook his head. Maggie restarted the video and pointed to the man's right boot as he ran along the sidewalk. "Aside from the slight outline of the knife, his gait is off – he's stuffed a knife in his boot and he's running more carefully to avoid hurting himself with it. Most professionals wouldn't make that mistake, but he's an amateur."

Peter watched the slight hitch in the man's step, his eyes going rounder. "Whoah." They watched the rest of the video in silence, and Peter winced when the knife made an appearance. When the video ended he turned to face Maggie. "Are you offering to train me?"

She blinked. "What? No. No, I'm just saying… you need to keep learning if you want to avoid getting killed."

"How am I meant to do that?"

She gritted her teeth. She didn't really know.

"Could you show me some stuff?" Peter asked, his eyes wide and earnest. "Just once, please?"

Maggie hesitated a second longer. But Peter looked so hopeful, practically bouncing on his toes in front of her with his hands clasped together, that she sighed. "Fine. By the way, thank you for my Christmas present."

Peter's ears went red.

Maggie's shoulder had mostly healed, but all the same she asked Peter not to aggravate it ("though if we were really fighting, it's important you take advantage of a weakness like that").

They went to the Avengers gym, which was empty at the moment, and took their places on a sparring mat. Peter wore the suit, white lenses wide as he bounced on the balls of his feet and leaned into stretches. Maggie had changed into workout gear; an underarmor shirt and leggings, her feet bare and her hair tied up out of her face. Peter kept fidgeting, but she didn't move a muscle.

"Let's start simple," she said, and Peter stilled. "Try to take me down."

His eye lenses widened. "Seriously? You're not going to teach me how to like… punch, or something?"

"Not yet. Show me how you punch."

"I don't wanna hurt you, Ms Stark…"

She smiled. "I'll be okay, Peter."

"Alright…" with a reluctant sigh he sprang across the space between them and shot a glob of webbing at her face. Maggie dropped into a roll and kicked up at him when he tried to grab her, knocking him back into the air. He flipped and shot more webbing at her but she sidestepped and got in range again, feinting first for his face and then driving a punch into his stomach.

"Oof," he gasped, and flipped away. "I was expecting more of a wax on, wax off situation, Ms Stark, I don't know if I – agh!" He ducked under a roundhouse kick and sprang backwards, firing off more webbing to keep her back.

"I look like an old Japanese guy to you?" she shot back, dodging the webbing and shoulder-charging Peter. He went tumbling backwards in a flurry of limbs. "C'mon, Spider-Man, show me what you've got."

She barely got the sentence out before he stopped retreating, turned on his heel and jumped up, his foot snapping out and clipping her across the jaw. Maggie stumbled – damn, she'd forgotten how strong he was – then turned to him with a grin. "That's more like it."

Maggie hadn't fought anyone in a long time, but she was surprised to find herself having fun – it was hard work trying to find ways to get around Peter's strength and speed, but she loved the challenge and she found herself laughing mid-fight at Peter's weird quips and references. She'd never taken much pleasure in fighting before, only flying, but she enjoyed this – exchanging blows and snarky words, using her skills to help someone else.

After their initial all-out fight they slowed down as Maggie began giving Peter advice on his form.

"You rely too much on being able to web out of your opponent's range," she said, as Peter predictably zipped out of reach on a line of webbing. "It's a good tactic, but you need to have the skills to protect yourself if you get pinned." To illustrate, she flicked out a heel spur and sliced through his next web, stopping him mid-swing, then pounced on his back and flipped him into a hold. She slammed him front-first into the mat, dug her knee into his shoulder joint, then grabbed his arm and locked it straight up, twisting his wrist to make it impossible for him to move the arm. Peter cried out and tried to move, but even though he was stronger than her she had the skills and the position to keep him pinned.

That was when Tony walked in. He took one look at the two of them, Maggie kneeling on Peter's shoulder with one hand twisting his arm into a relentless lock and the other pressing his face into the mat, and blinked.

"Uh, Maggie, did you not get your fill at the airport last year?"

Maggie looked up and rolled her eyes at Tony as Peter struggled. "Yes, that's what this is. An extended revenge plot." She let out an exaggerated evil laugh. "Any last words, Spider-Man?"

"I'm really regretting this!" Peter gasped, wriggling ineffectually.

She laughed. Tony hesitantly stepped toward the sparring mat as if unsure whether to step in or not.

"Okay Peter," Maggie said, tapping the back of his head to make sure he paid attention. "You need to remember three things when you get pinned. First, which parts of your body are still free?"

He stopped struggling. "Um. My legs. My other arm."

"Good. Second thing: grappling holds are all about twisting you into painful positions. So how can you move with the hold to get out of it?" After giving him a second to process that she continued. "Third: think about your opponent. Where am I vulnerable? I'm focusing on pinning you, so I'm not focusing on my defense."

Maggie watched Peter think about it, still and silent with his face smushed into the mat, as she clutched his wrist and dug her knee into his shoulder blade.

Then all of a sudden, Peter twisted up into the hold instead of trying to pull away, flipped his torso and legs around to throw her off, and punched her in the ribs for good measure to get her to release his wrist. Maggie tumbled sideways then rolled to her feet and grinned. Peter sat on the mat, rubbing his shoulder but free.

"Well done Peter," she grinned, and offered her hand. He took it and let her heave him to his feet.

"Thanks, Ms Stark," he said breathlessly.

"Maggie," she corrected.

"Maggie," he echoed, and from the way he cocked his head and his mask's eye lenses widened she just knew he was grinning back at her.

Tony watched them with crossed arms and a small smile playing at his mouth, but when they turned to face him he schooled his features into an unimpressed look, one eyebrow cocked.

"What're we doing, running a boot camp now?"

Royal Palace, Wakanda

"What are you looking at, brother?"

T'Challa looked up from his Kimoyo beads and nodded a greeting to Shuri as she waltzed into his personal quarters. He was supposed to grant permission to those wishing to enter, but such restrictions usually had little effect on Shuri. He still didn't know how she always managed to talk her way past the Dora Milaje.

He touched his Kimoyo bead and flicked upward, expanding the image he'd been looking at. "These are files about Ms Stark's enhancements." At Shuri's stricken look he held up a hand. "Calm down, I did not take them from your research." He gestured to a revolving scan taken of Ms Stark when she was a child – hard metal lined her bones, linking seamlessly with the arcing wings attached to her back. "These are public record now."

Shuri's brow lowered. "Oh, right. I forgot." Her eyes tracked over the revolving scan, taking in the metal linkages. "These enhancements are… they're impressive for people working without Vibranium, but…"

"They're horrific," T'Challa finished, and Shuri's lips pressed together. He sighed. "Look at these scans, Shuri. These wings are a part of her, linked like bone and flesh." He frowned.

Shuri cocked her head at him. "You are beating yourself up again."

He gestured at the scan. "This woman had been suffering for decades, her body and soul used against her. I lashed out in a moment of anger and weakness, and dealt her yet more pain."

Shuri sighed. "You believed she was protecting our father's murderer–"

"And I was too blind to see the truth," he grit out. "That I was being used, and that she was merely protecting the man she loved." Shuri opened her mouth again, but he waved a hand. "I know what I've done, Shuri, and I know that I cannot change what happened with my guilt. I am merely…" he ran a hand over his beard. "Reflecting. I have misunderstood many people in my life, Ms Stark perhaps more than most."

Shuri reached out to tap his Kimoyo bead, shutting down the revolving scan of Margaret Stark's bones. He was almost glad they were gone – it felt so personal, as if he were staring into her heart without her permission.

"Is there anything we can do to help her?" Shuri asked, her eyes serious. "We both know she shouldn't have to be put through this trial."

T'Challa ran a hand over his eyes. "I don't think so. We only recently opened our borders and revealed ourselves to the world, we cannot interfere with the judicial process of other countries. Not even when that process is wrong." He sighed. "No; we must watch alongside the rest of the world, and hope." He cocked his head at her. "How is your research going?"

"I'm working as hard as I can," Shuri replied, biting her lip. "Not just to ease her mind, but for him. We need to wake him up."

T'Challa sighed again. "Perhaps it is better he is asleep for this. If I've read my American history correctly, it's very possible that he would do something foolish and brave when he realizes what's going on."

"Then that would be his choice," Shuri said firmly. "He and the Stark woman deserve their choices."

T'Challa smiled at his sister. She still seemed too young to possess such vehement idealism, but he wouldn't change a thing about her. "Sergeant Barnes and Ms Stark are lucky to have you in their corner, sister." But then he frowned. "Did you come here for something?"

She shrugged. "Mother kicked me out of the lab because she said I was spending too much time there and I needed some sunlight." She checked the time on her Kimoyo beads. "But she's probably stopped lurking around the lab door now, I'm going to head back."

"Don't overwork yourself, Shuri."

"Do you try to sound exactly like mother, or does it just happen naturally?" She rolled her eyes at him and headed for the door, then pulled up short as someone else entered. "Oh, hello Nakia." Shuri whipped around and waggled her eyebrows at T'Challa, who scowled at her.

Nakia, as beautiful as ever in a green robe, glanced between the siblings with a single arched eyebrow. "May I come in?"

"Yes T'Challa, may Nakia come in?"

"Go back to your lab, Shuri."

"I wouldn't want to overwork myself–"

T'Challa tossed a pillow at her and she ducked out of his quarters, cackling. Nakia watched her go, then turned to offer T'Challa a fond smile. "Are you busy?"

"Always. But please stay."

January 8th, 2017

Undisclosed Location, Alaska

In a small timber cabin at the edge of a snow-laden forest, Wanda curled up on a couch beside her… her mind stuttered over what to call Vision. Her… boyfriend? Partner? Nothing seemed quite right when one was dating an omnipresent magenta android in secret while on the run.

"Our lives are strange," she murmured, pulling her blanket tighter around her shoulders and snuggling in closer to Vision's side. It was snowing outside, and she could hear the wind howling against the side of the cabin. The cold didn't affect Vision at all but she hated it – she'd always hated the cold even back in Sokovia, where she'd wrapped herself in shawls and fiery anger to keep the chill at bay. The only reason she'd willingly traveled to Alaska of all places was for Vision.

"Indeed," Vision replied, sounding thoughtful. Wanda lifted her head and eyed him.

He'd taken on his new form, the one in which he looked startlingly human: pale skin, soft blond hair, and eyes a shade of pale blue that reminded her of the sky at dawn.

Suddenly those eyes turned on her. "You are staring again," he said, lips twitching.

Wanda smiled back and got to her knees so she could touch her fingers to his cheek, feather light. He held still, watching her as she brushed her fingers over his warm skin, across his cheekbone and up to his forehead where she could feel the power of the Mind Stone even as it lay hidden under simulacra.

"What is it?" Vision whispered. He had such an intense way of looking at her, as if she contained the entire universe.

She ran her finger across his creased brow. "You are beautiful like this, as you are in any form. But… your worry lines remain no matter how hard you try to hide them."

He frowned. "I… am sorry, I know we only have small pockets of time in which we can be together–" he stopped talking when she dropped her finger to his lips.

"I'm worried too," she admitted. She and Vision had spoken about Maggie Stark, of course – it seemed they had become friends since Maggie moved to the facility, and Vision loved to talk about his favorite people. Wanda wished she'd gotten to know Maggie better.

But she and Vision hadn't really spoken about the trial. They hadn't had time, what with his work with the Avengers and her work with Steve and the others. Wanda pressed her thumb to Vision's forehead again, smoothing out the worry lines. "How is she?"

He sighed. "She is struggling. She is forced to relive every nightmare she ever faced, and her reward is people calling her a liar and demanding her head."

"They fear her," Wanda murmured.

"They despise the things she has done," he replied, "and some are too angry to see that she is not responsible for them."

Her face darkened. "I cannot believe I once allied myself with HYDRA. Hearing about what they did–"

Now it was Vision's turn to smooth away her frown lines. "You sought justice in your own way, then. You couldn't have known the extent of HYDRA's crimes when you asked for strength, and when it counted you turned your back on them."

Wanda dropped her head against the side of the couch and sighed. "It seems we're all atoning for something."

Vision dropped his head beside hers and for a few long moments they simply watched each other, forehead to forehead, just the two of them hiding from the world.

Wanda reached up to run her hands through Vision's hair – she didn't care what form he took, but she had to admit she liked these simple touches that weren't possible when he was in android form. And he looked really cute with mussed hair.

"We're watching out for her, you know," she said. Vision hesitated then leaned into her touch. As a rule they didn't usually talk about their mutual friends, so the we sounded loud in the small cabin. "No matter what happens, she's not alone."

"I know," Vision replied. "And neither are we."

January 9th, 2017

Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse, New York City

Maggie's lawyers had decided to call a series of character witnesses. Not from her time at HYDRA but from now, which meant that during the pre-trial period there had been a legal battle about whether Tony Stark: billionaire, inventor, and Avenger, would be allowed to take the stand.

Mallory and the prosecution argued that he was too recognizable a public figure, that his role as a superhero meant that people would do whatever he said. But Diego had gotten to his feet and said: "Your honor this isn't about Iron Man. This is about my client, and whether or not the person who has gotten to know her character over the past few months, her brother, deserves to stand on her behalf as her character witness."

Moore had allowed it, with a strict warning for Tony to steer clear of any 'funny business'.

Finally the day arrived. Maggie had seen the video of Tony's Capitol Hill appearance, and though she'd given him a talking-to she was still worried he'd do something stupid and flashy like flip off the prosecution and dive out the courtroom window in the Iron Man armor. But the Tony Stark who approached the witness box today was seven years older. And those hadn't been easy years.

Grave-faced, he strode to the witness box in his expensive suit. He was still charming, sharing a quip with the bailiff as he stepped into the box, but he wasn't impatient or fidgeting. He swore to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, and then sat with one leg crossed over the other, his glasses folded on the witness box beside him.

Maggie could feel every eye in the courtroom trained on Tony, every ear straining for his words. It made her slightly uncomfortable – since the shooting she'd been more protective than usual of her brother, aware of everyone who shot him a second glance or looked at him funny. Having so many people staring at him made her instincts prickle.

Diego got to his feet. "Good morning Mr Stark. Thank you for coming today."

"No problem." Tony ran a hand over his beard then nodded for Diego to go ahead with his questions.

Diego folded his hands. "Mr Stark, how long have you known the defendant?"

Tony shifted and leaned one elbow on the edge of the witness box. "Well that's a complicated question," he began. "I met her for the first time when she was about six hours old. Spent the next five years trying to avoid her as much as I could. Then I thought she was dead for twenty five years. Met her again six months ago, and since then we've spent time together maybe…" he looked up. "What would you say, Maggie, about once every two days on average?"

Maggie dropped her face in her hand, and Judge Moore scolded Tony about addressing the defendant.

"Sorry," Tony said. "Probably once every two days, yeah."

"So you've gotten to know her pretty well?" Diego asked.

"I'd say so. We share 50% of our DNA so there's that, too."

Diego inclined his head. "Mr Stark, how would you describe my client's character? Is she, as the prosecution has put it, a cold-blooded, unempathetic monster with no moral compunction about killing?"

Tony took a breath. "Of course she isn't. She…" his face flickered, and he swallowed. "I've only really known her a few months but I feel we've gotten to know each other pretty well in that time – what with the lives we've lived, we've had a lot to catch up on."

Titters broke out from the gallery, and Maggie smiled.

Tony cocked his head. "I know a thing or two about accountability. About responsibility for people's lives. I don't know if you've heard, but I used to make weapons." There were more titters, and he shrugged. "Those weapons went out into the world and they killed people. I never saw those people's faces, I didn't really think about them. I never saw the inside of a courtroom because of what I did – in fact, the government paid me to do it. When I turned it all around and started protecting people, I had all those faceless people on my shoulders." He frowned. "Maggie saw the face of each person she killed. But she didn't do those things because she wanted to, or because she was being paid to. She did it because someone destroyed her identity for years and used her as a weapon against their enemies. So let's be very clear," he said, eyes suddenly ablaze. "I made weapons – I did that, fully conscious. But Maggie was made into a weapon." He paused, took a breath. "She's not a weapon any more. She's a person." His eyes lifted to take in Diego, the gallery full of people, and Maggie. "She's my sister."

Maggie felt the jury glancing between her and Tony but she couldn't take her eyes off him, off her brother. Her chest felt like it would burst.

"Tell us about the person Maggie Stark is today," Diego asked, his voice low.

Tony looked away from Maggie and cocked his head. "Well she isn't a killer. Yes, she's killed people, but that's not the person she is now. She cares about people. She's kind – probably a lot kinder than I am, which I guess isn't saying much. And everything she's done since I've known her, she's done to help people." He shrugged. "She's not the little girl I knew, and she's not the weapon that I see in those HYDRA files and videos. She's her own complicated, smart, funny person. And she's going to grieve for those people who died for the rest of her life. There's no escaping that."

For another fifteen minutes Diego got Tony to talk about the Maggie Stark he had gotten to know. He made jokes, sometimes at Maggie's expense, and sometimes hints of the old, arrogant Tony Stark came back, but overall Maggie could see that he'd captured the attention of the courtroom. He was making Maggie real in their eyes. So far they'd known her as a murderer and a monster. Now they knew about the Maggie who invented machines that helped people, the Maggie who cried in movies, and made friends with people, A.I.s and robots. Tony told them stories about Maggie that didn't make them cry – rather, some of the stories made them laugh. After so many days of pain, laughter was such a relief that it almost made Maggie dizzy.

Diego asked Tony about the two years Maggie had spent as a fugitive.

"Believe me, I wish she'd come straight to me," he said heavily. "But I understand why she didn't – she didn't even know who she was when she got out of HYDRA, and she spent years putting herself back together. That being said, I know she made the conscious decision to stay away."

"Why is that, Mr Stark?"

"She wanted to protect me. HYDRA was still around, in bits and pieces, and she knew that being dead was the best way to protect me from violence and retribution." Tony shot Diego a wry look. "She comes with a lot of baggage."

There were a few laughs from the gallery.

Diego raised an eyebrow. "And do you feel you need to be protected from Maggie?"

"Nope," Tony said, leaning back. "All of this" – he gestured widely, encompassing the courtroom and everything that had happened since Maggie's capture at Leipzig – "It's all totally worth it to have her back."

When Diego finished questioning Tony, Mallory got to his feet with squared shoulders and a firm look on his face.

"Mr Stark," he began. "When were you first aware that your sister was still alive?"

"Four days after the HYDRA mess in D.C.," Tony replied, meeting Mallory's gaze evenly.

"So by my count you knew who the Wyvern was months, maybe years before most intelligence organisations, and you didn't share that information. You tracked down data about the Wyvern in Québec, and you didn't share that either. Why is that?"

Tony frowned. "Are you kidding me with that question?"

"No, Mr Stark. I am not kidding you."

Tony stared back at the prosecutor for a few more moments, then sighed and leaned forward. "Look, we've all seen what was in the Québec data. When I was in that underground base looking at those videos I felt…" he shook his head, his eyes dark. "I can't describe the way I felt beyond… sick to my stomach. Furious. I didn't have my sister, just a bunch of videos of those monsters torturing her. I've been tortured and I didn't hold up very well against it–"

"Please stay on topic Mr Stark–" Mallory said, but Tony talked right over him. Maggie's stomach lurched.

"That was for three months, and I was thirty eight years old and the CEO of Stark Industries. Maggie was tortured for years, and she was five when it started. She never had a choice." His voice started to shake with emotion, so he took a deep breath. Maggie watched with one hand over her mouth. "So no, I wasn't going to make all of that public while I knew she was out there somewhere, free of HYDRA. I put it under lock and key because I thought it was about time she got to make her own decisions about things that affected her. So far she hasn't let me down." He looked over at Maggie, and the determined set to his face softened when he saw her brush away a tear.

Mallory raised an eyebrow. "Touching, Mr Stark. But you're an Avenger, one of our world's defenders. When you had information about one of HYDRA's assassins, information that would have been incredible useful to law enforcement agencies the world over, why didn't you release it?"

Diego and Andrea both opened their mouths, no doubt to object to the relevance of the question, but Tony met Mallory's eyes and spoke. "Would you? If it was your sister who you thought was dead?"

"I'm not the one in the witness box, Mr Stark–"

"Your honor," Diego said in an exasperated voice, "the prosecution is arguing with the witness."

Judge Moore leveled a look at Mallory. "Watch yourself, counselor."

"Look," Tony said, conveniently forgetting that someone had to ask him a question before he could speak, "I did everything I could to put an end to HYDRA. I went after their bases, their agents, all the shadowy places they'd hidden in. At the same time I was searching high and low for Maggie but I couldn't find her. It wasn't like I forgot that she was out there, I just couldn't… I'd just gotten her back. I couldn't throw her to the wolves again."

The troubled look on his face made Maggie's heart ache, and she leaned forward in her seat as if proximity would make this any easier. The gallery was silent, staring at Tony Stark as he bared his soul.

Mallory paced toward the witness box. "That is a testament to your character, Mr Stark. Your affection for your sister is clear, but how do you know she feels the same? How do you know she isn't just manipulating you? She's a very clever person."

"Not to be a brag, but I feel like I should point out that I'm pretty clever myself," Tony replied, and a few people in the gallery chuckled. "And I've had plenty of people try to manipulate me so I know how it goes. But really, why would Maggie need to manipulate me?"

Mallory shrugged. "Money. Protection. You're an Avenger, she's a HYDRA agent, I'm sure there are plenty of motives for manipulation there."

Tony rolled his eyes and held up three fingers. "Okay first, money? She's legally entitled to half our dad's fortune with interest, she doesn't need to buddy up to me to get that." He dropped a finger. "Protection? In the few months she's known me she's been imprisoned, indicted for murder, and shot. She spent two years on the run without me before that and she did just fine. So let's not pretend that she's here because she's got no other choice or that she needs to suck up to me for protection. She's here because of me, and because she wants to help people. And lastly…" he dropped a second finger, leaving him with his middle finger pointing right at Mallory. "If Maggie's trying to undermine the Avengers then she's the stupidest agent in existence because she's been living at our place for months and if anything, we're better for her being there."

"Mr Stark," rumbled Judge Moore, "please refrain from making rude gestures in my courtroom."

Tony looked at his raised middle finger and opened his mouth, as if he hadn't noticed it. "So sorry, your honor," he said, and dropped his hand. The titters that had been simmering in the gallery during his answer broke out into audible laughter until Moore put a stop to it.

Tony looked over at Maggie and raised his eyebrows, as if asking her how she was doing. She shook her head at him but couldn't help the fond smile on her lips.

Mallory recovered, barely managing to conceal his glare. "Mr Stark, you said yourself you've only known Ms Stark for a few months. Do you really think you can speak for her whole character based on such a short time?"

Tony cocked an eyebrow. "You're right. I'd be a better character witness if I'd known her for, say, thirty years. Oh wait," he said, snapping his fingers, "that didn't happen, HYDRA kidnapped her and made her forget who I was."

"Mr Stark," Moore warned, and Tony gave him another contrite apology. Mallory shot questions at Tony for another ten minutes, but eventually he realized that he wasn't going to get anything useful to the prosecution out of Tony, and excused him. Maggie's lawyers had specifically told Tony not to interact with Maggie directly after his testimony ("No, Mr Stark, you may not give her a high five"), but on his way back to his seat he winked at her. Maggie rolled her eyes and smiled down at her lap, stunned once again at how impossibly lucky she'd gotten to have a brother who loved her that much.

Then she remembered that she'd specifically told him not to flip off the prosecution, and let out a long sigh.

THE STARK SIBLINGS (Image): Tony and Maggie Stark walk side by side down the courthouse steps during the lunch break, after Mr Stark gives glowing character testimony in the Wyvern Trial.

WHiH World News panel: "Honestly Christine, even though it seems that Tony Stark remains incapable of appearing in public without making a few jokes, I was really struck by his honesty today. We got a look behind the curtain, not at the billionaire and Avenger, but at a brother who has experienced a lot of pain and grief, but also appears to have a rewarding and healthy relationship with his sister. Katherine, you look like you have something to say?"

"Oh, I do. I absolutely agree with you Will, we need more men in the world who can be so open about their affection and love. I honestly didn't expect that to come from Tony Stark but I have to say: I'm impressed."

The Daily Bugle headline: Tony Stark Admits He Was Tortured In Afghanistan In 2008

The New York Bulletin: The defense has been telling us for days now that the person who committed those crimes was not Maggie Stark, but rather a 'weapon' manufactured by HYDRA. Today, for the first time, they showed us the person she is now.

Mr Stark painted a picture of a funny, admittedly odd, smart, witty, kind woman who overcame a great deal of hardship to get to where she is today. Whether the jury believes that picture is the question, but this writer has been in the courtroom with Ms Stark for the past weeks. Aside from her recent panic attack she doesn't often speak, but when she does she is polite and considered. Of the two options: psychotic killer versus personable survivor, the Maggie Stark we see today appears more and more to be the latter.

Part of the reason the pre-trial phase had lasted so long even with political pressure to hasten it along, was that there had been a long-lasting and hard-fought battle about character witnesses. About Tony, but also about three others Maggie's lawyers had called to provide character testimony: Pepper Potts, James Rhodes, and Vision.

The prospect of Vision giving testimony set its own international legal precedent, as they'd had to have a whole separate legal debate about whether an omnipresent android could be called as a witness. The court eventually ruled that it could be included, citing a bunch of legalese reasons that basically agreed that since Vision exhibited human traits, had a reciprocal relationship with Maggie and identified as a person, he could give testimony. The worldwide legal community lost their minds over the implications, but Maggie's case got on with business.

Pepper got in a bit of trouble with Stark Industries for giving testimony in a murder trial, but she basically told them to go screw themselves (nicely, but firmly), and started prepping with Maggie's lawyers.

There had been a big ruckus that all the remaining Avengers were going to speak on Maggie's behalf. The prosecution wouldn't stop arguing that it would bias the jury, but Judge Moore maintained that since the members of the Avengers were in the best position to give an account of Maggie's character, it was within Maggie's rights to have them defend her. Ross was pissed, but the Accords didn't say anything about the Avengers appearing as character witnesses.

And so the day came. Vision wore a suit, Rhodey his Air Force uniform, and Pepper came in her sharpest pantsuit. They all gave lovely character testimony, praising Maggie's intelligence, introspection, humor, and genuine kindness. At first everyone in the courtroom seemed a little wary of Vision with his purple skin and odd way of speaking, but by the end they were hanging onto his every word.

"Ms Stark is, objectively, a good person," he told Diego, his voice soft and his eyes calm. "And I am honored to have her as my friend."

Rhodey's testimony made three members of the jury cry, and when he was done he stood tall and proud in his exosuit and walked back to the gallery.

Pepper brought out a side to Maggie that Maggie didn't even know she had.

The prosecutor tried to trip them up and get them to say something bad about Maggie, but he didn't have much luck with an omnipresent android, a senior Air Force colonel with years of experience in political hearings, and the CEO of a major company who'd done more press conferences and interviews than she could count.

At the end of the day Maggie went home with all four of her character witnesses and made them dinner – a curry she'd learned to make in India. They drank and ate, and Maggie reflected that even if she went to prison at the end of all this, she knew that the family she'd made here would be with her wherever she went.

10th January, 2017

Dr Nguyen took the stand the next day. With Andrea's guidance she reviewed the evidence of Maggie's psychological torture once more, but unlike the first psychologist Mai focused on Maggie now, rather than Maggie then. Mai had of course asked Maggie what she was comfortable revealing to the public, and she went over some of the details of their many sessions with a professional and calm tone. Andrea asked for her to comment on Maggie's culpability while she was in HYDRA, and the likelihood of her presenting a threat to others now. Mai stated that aside from the threat of the trigger words, which weren't Maggie's fault, she was more likely to help the people around her than hurt them.

She ended with: "In my professional opinion, there is no feasible way that Ms Stark is morally or mentally guilty of these crimes. She simply wasn't in the driver's seat. But she showed an immense force of will when she broke out of that programming, and in her determination to be a person."

"And has she achieved that goal?" asked Andrea. "Is Ms Stark a person?"

"Oh, certainly. It hasn't been easy, and she will never be free of the trauma she has suffered, but Ms Stark is a person within her own right. One who, in my professional opinion, has the capacity to bring a lot of good to this world."

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