Who: The Avengers. What: The meeting they can't put off any longer. Time to decide what comes next. Where: The Avengers Mansion in NYC When: Forward dated to tomorrow morning, May 22, 2013. Warnings: TBD? Who knows with these guys. Anything could happen.
Sam hadn't slept very much since the night he learned the truth. If he'd been the reincarnate of anyone else besides Steve Rogers, he would've looked like it, too, but that was the thing about being a super-soldier. Sleep deprivation did about as much to him as drinking a whole bottle of Jack – or, more accurately, it did nothing. Not to his body, anyway. His mind was another story. In spite of Samantha's attempts to talk some sense in to him, for Sam, losing Star was like losing Bucky all over again, except worse. This he could've stopped. He could have saved her, if he'd been a better friend. If he'd believed in her.
No matter what Samantha said, that burden would always be on his shoulders. Even though he looked like himself the morning he called the meeting, he certainly looked like he carried the weight of the world, barely managing the smallest smiles as the current roster of the Avengers filed in and took their seats. He watched them settle, but didn't participate in the hellos and the small talk, which was pretty sparse anyway. They were nervous. Edgy. Sam knew why, too. His team wasn't stupid. They knew something was up when he'd called the meeting a week before, an emergency meeting that wasn't an "emergency." It wasn't like him to put off the inevitable. As he cleared his throat to get their attention, he wondered if that'd been a mistake, but it was too late to take it back now. Now or never, Kenworthy. You can do this.
"Morning, everybody," Sam began, attempting a smile that was overshadowed by the way he leaned heavily on the table, arms crossed hand to elbow. "I know this is... strange. Calling a meeting like this, and not exactly telling you why. We do need to talk about Logan Fox, and we're going to, civilly and respectfully." He looked up from his hands to meet James's eyes, nodding once to say that he hadn't forgotten his promise to the God of Mischief's brother. "That's the big thing we've gotta decide today, but that's... that's not the only reason I called this meeting. The other reason is Star."
Taking a deep breath, Sam looked around the room. From one Avenger to the next. "We were all angry when she left the way she did. I think deep down we knew it wasn't like her, and that's why it hurt us as much as it did – because it wasn't like her. She loved the Avengers too much to abandon us." He paused and tried to swallow, but his throat was too tight. He kept going anyway. He owed her that much. "I learned last week that she didn't abandon us. She didn't want to leave. Logan tricked her somehow, did something to her when he put that arc reactor in her after her accident. I don't know what, or how. All I know is what she told me. JARVIS?"
A metallic voice echoed throughout the room. "Yes, sir?"
"You can play the video now."
"All of it, Mr. Kenworthy? Portions of it were quite personal, as I recall."
Sam smiled a sad, rueful smile and shook his head. "No, it's okay, JARVIS. All of it's fine."
"As you wish, sir."
The lights dimmed, and the digital screen in the middle of the table brought Star to life. Sam sat silently as the video played, eyes down and jaw clenched tight. He'd watched it so many times over the past week he could almost recite it by heart, looking for clues but finding nothing. Nothing but a goodbye. After what felt like forever, the video ended and the lights came back up. Sam swallowed hard.
"The new reincarnate of Tony Stark sent this to me. I apologize for keeping this from you for a week; I tried to find out what happened exactly, but all I got was dead ends. I'm..." He trailed off before he could finish his sentence. It was full of guilt and self-doubt, none of which would help his teammates cope with this news or get the justice Star Dinozzo, Stu Rice, Natalie Rakov, and Anthony Fox deserved. "I'm sorry I didn't find more, but now you know what I know. And now... now we have to decide what to do about it."