Bucky cut out Steve's obituary from the New York Times, and pasted it in the back of his last notebook.

Maybe if his memory was ever compromised again and he remembered Steve, he would see the article and know not to go looking for his best friend.

A knock came at the door. Bucky slammed the notebook shut and shoved it into his drawer.

Sam opened the door. "Are you ready?"

"No," he answered truthfully, but he followed the man anyway.

The two went down in the elevator to the lowest basement level. Chimera was sitting in the bulletproof moveable cell, the one she'd been in the last time the Avengers had caught her.

Instead of there being only one table and one chair, for the interrogator, there was a line of tables and chairs. Bucky took a seat at one of them. Sam sat next to him. The chairs began to fill as the Avengers took their places.

Tony was last to sit down.

He switched on his computer, which was connected to sensors attached to Chimera's temples.

"Good morning, Project X."

She was staring at her right hand, the one Bucky had shot the detonator out of.

"Before we begin, I have to ask that you cooperate with us."

No response.

He sighed. "We can try to save your life, if you cooperate with us."

"Nyet," she hissed.

Tony looked at Natasha.

"She said 'No.'" The assassin stared straight ahead at Chimera.

"I know that. Talk to her in Russian. Maybe she'll respond to you."

"I can try." Natasha took a breath and then began to speak in Russian. "If you do not speak, there is no way we can help you."

"I do not want your help."

"Why not?"

Chimera didn't answer.

"Why won't you talk to us?"

"I do not want to speak in English to you. Enough of you understand Russian that I should be able to speak in it."

Natasha sighed. "Fine." She switched back to English. "She will only speak in Russian. I'll interpret what she says any time there is something important. Wanda and Bucky will double check all of the translations."

Tony sighed and pulled up a word processor on his computer, ready to take notes. Bruce already had his notebook out.

Natasha glanced at the stack of papers that had been on her desk. "According to HYDRA, would your mission be complete?"

"Partially."

Natasha translated, Wanda and Bucky verified it, the latter spitting the word out.

"Are there actually bombs around this tower?"

"Yes."

"How many?"

"Twenty-four."

"Bucky destroyed the detonator. Is there another?"

"No."

"Are the explosives stable? If we remove them, will they trigger an explosion?"

"Yes. And no."

"Is it true that you placed more explosives where we were positioned during the battle, while Captain America and Barnes were otherwise occupied?"

"Yes."

Tony's laptop beeped. Natasha glanced at him, and he shook his head.

"That is a lie. Did you use this lie to gain leverage over Captain America and Barnes, ultimately ending in the former's surrender?"

"Yes."

Bucky clenched his left fist so hard that it looked like the metal would dent. Natasha asked her a few more questions, then the Avengers left the room to discuss.

"Do we still give her the option?" Natasha asked.

"Seems like the humane thing to do," Tony replied.

"She doesn't deserve it," Bucky growled.

"Everyone deserves--"

"She doesn't. She deceived us. Steve wouldn't be dead if she hadn't." His voice cracked on 'dead'.

"And you did deserve the choice, Bucky?" Tony asked, a hint of malice in his voice. "She may have killed your best friend, but you killed my mother."

"I didn't know what I was doing!"

"She does?"

"If HYDRA had used the trigger words on her, she wouldn't know what she was doing and wouldn't have been able to tell us." He shuddered. "I don't remember what I did when HYDRA used me for their dirty work, but I remember everyone they had me kill. I remember their face and their name and that's it."

Tony glanced at the ground.

"I say she doesn't have a choice," Bucky said.

"Unfortunately, that isn't how we work. I know you haven't been able to vote since the 'forties, but we've still got democracy here and we've still got justice."

"What is justice though? If she's allowed to go free, she doesn't face what Steve did. If she's sent back to HYDRA then that's nothing being done."

"We all decide whether or not she gets a choice, Bucky," Clint said firmly.

The former assassin sighed and resigned himself to leaning against the wall.

"All in favor of choice, say 'aye'."

Natasha, Clint, Bruce, Peter, Scott, Wanda, Tony, Vision, Sam, and James said "Aye."

"And it appears the answer is nearly unanimous."

They went back in to the interrogation room, Bucky taking up the rear. He fixed a glare on Chimera so fierce that it seemed as though he could melt the the glass.

"Project X," Natasha said in Russian, "we have a choice for you. You may be relocated to a very secure prison and we will tell HYDRA you are dead, we can actually execute you, or we can let you go back to HYDRA having partially failed, and we will continue to chase you."

Chimera stared at her hand.

"Project X," Natasha started.

"I am thinking!" Chimera barked.

The redhead sat back.

Ten minutes later, Chimera said, in English, "I choose the prison."

Tony nodded. "There is no escape from there, but there is also no chance of HYDRA finding you."

She nodded.

Project X was delivered to the underwater prison that evening.