Bucky glanced at the empty street around them. Where there had once been multitudes of people and cars, now there was nothing but vacant sidewalks. Could he and YN really be in 1942, and if so, how?

"What was that green stone?" he asked, drawing YN out of her thoughts.

"The stone," she said, her eyes lighting in excitement. "Do you still have it?"

Bucky shook his head and held out his empty hand. "No. The second I touched it. . ." He hesitated for a moment, trying to find the words to describe what had happened to him. "It was like trying to put two magnets with identical poles together – I could feel the stone pulling away from me at the same time it was pushing me away from it."

YN's excitement died as she turned to look back toward the darkened Sanctum behind her. "I'll be honest, I have no idea how to control the Eye, but if you'd managed to keep ahold of it, then we might have been able to figure out some way of getting back to our own time."

"You really think we're in 1942?" he asked, his brows knitted together in confusion. "Just like that, you're ready to believe that we traveled through time?"

She took a deep breath and sat on the stoop of the Sanctum. "The Eye of Agamotto is a powerful relic, and the one who wields it has the ability to control time. They can either go forward or backward, and I've even heard that it's possible to create a continuous time loop. It's a very dangerous relic which is why Mordo is enraged that Strange dares to use it."

He looked up at the Sanctum before asking, "Can't we just break in and steal it?"

She shook her head as she let out a soft chuckle. "There's no breaking into a Sanctum – there are magical wards in place that will stop anyone from trying." She paused and looked down at her hands as she began to flex her fingers.

"So what do we do now?"

She buried her face in her hands and let out a sigh. "I have no idea, Barnes. I just wish Tony were here – he'd know what to do."

Her words cut through him like a knife. Of course she wouldn't want to be stuck in a situation like this with him – no one would. He may not have been around Steve's friends that long, but it was easy to see how she felt about Stark, and that he didn't share those feelings, so it hurt even more that she would prefer to have that pompous playboy by her side. Thinking of Tony only reminded him of Howard and he couldn't help but compare the two men and come to the conclusion that Howard was twice the man his son had turned out to be.

"Stark," Bucky said aloud as a realization suddenly dawned on him.

She gave him a confused look. "I just said that. He's not here."

"Tony's not," Bucky clarified, "but he's not the only Stark with a genius level IQ."

YN finally understood where he was going and a smile spread across her face. "Howard was alive in 1942. . ."

"And working with Dr. Erskine on Project: Rebirth," Bucky interjected. "Now we just have to convince him that we're from the future and enlist his help to get back."

"Do you know where he lives?"

"I do," he said with a smirk, "and so do you." When she gave him a confused look, he explained further. "Where do you think Tony got the property to build his tower?"

"Ah," she said with a shake of her head. "Of course. Just like every other facility the Avengers use, it used to belong to Howard." She stood and brushed off the back of her pants before looking up and down the street. "Which way?"

It wasn't that long of walk from the Sanctum to the site of the future Avengers Tower, but it was long enough to give YN time to think of how to approach Tony's dad. It also gave her time to remember what Nat had told her just before they'd left the compound. She cast a worried glance at her companion and wondered if he was thinking the same thing she was – how do you face the man you know you're going to kill in fifty years?

"So, Barnes," she began, suddenly nervous about broaching the subject.

"I know what you're going to say," he told her as he glanced at her with sorrow-filled eyes. "He was once a friend of mine – I guess he still will be. . .in a few years from now. . ."

"Wait," she said, coming to a stop and laying a hand on his arm. "You're here."

He gave her a wary look. "I know I'm here. . .and so are you."

A huge smile broke out across her face as she shook her head. "No. I mean, yes. I mean. . . I'm not doing a good job of explaining this. Yes, we're both here, but you – the 1942 version of you – is also here."

"I don't see how that's going to do us any good."

"Well, obviously you can't be of any help to us, but there's also someone else here in 1942 that's still alive in our time that can."

"Steve," they said in unison.

"What do you suggest?" he asked as they rounded the corner and spotted Howard's building down the street. "I can't just waltz up to Steve looking like this." He held out his metal arm for emphasis before continuing. "The poor guy will have an asthma attack, go into shock, and die before he has a chance to sign his dumb ass up for an experimental super soldier program, assemble the Howling Commandos, and dive bomb a plane into the Arctic so he can be frozen for seventy years in order to come back and save us in 1942."

"Wow."

"What?"

"Still a little salty about that, aren't you?" She gave him a playful nudge as she stopped in front of Howard's door.

"He's a stupid punk," Bucky muttered under his breath.

"Yeah," she agreed, "but right now that works in our advantage." She looked up at the lights shining through the windows of Howard's building. "I guess we don't have to bother Howard after all. Any idea where you and Steve are tonight? You may not be able to approach him, but I can."

Bucky turned his head and gave her a quick once-over. "You really think he'll take you seriously, especially when you look like that?"

She looked down at herself, offended at his comment. "What do you mean? I look fine."

"Doll," he said, his voice full of exasperation. "You're wearing skintight tactical gear and you look like you were just in a brawl – which you were, by the way. Steve won't take you seriously, and he'll probably try to have you committed – for your own safety of course."

"So what do you suggest?"

"We stick with the original plan," he told her as he walked up the stairs to the front door. "We convince Howard that we're who we say we are and maybe he'll take pity on us and give us a place to stay until we can come up with a plan to make Steve believe you."

She grabbed his arm to stop him from knocking. "What are you going to tell Howard about. . .?" She let the question die, but he knew what she meant.

His lips formed a hard line as sadness washed over his features. "We can't risk telling him too much, especially that. We'll just tell him what he needs to know and hope that we don't screw up the future too much."

"The Butterfly Effect," she said with a sigh as she let go of his arm. When he stared at her in confusion, she elaborated. "It's Chaos Theory. Basically, something small and insignificant has the potential to have a larger effect on future events than one would suppose. Like, if a butterfly flaps its wings one time too many in New York, it can trigger a typhoon in Japan."

"That's exactly what we don't want to happen," he agreed. "If we change too much then we might end up changing the future so much that we'll never have a chance of getting back."

"Agreed. We keep things as vague as possible."

Bucky nodded and raised his hand again to knock. They stood in silence as they heard someone walking toward the door. Light washed across the stoop as a tall man in a tailored suit gave them a critical look before pursing his lips and letting out a deep sigh.

"May I help you?" he asked in a tone that suggested that he was accustomed to having oddly dressed strangers standing on his doorstep all of the time.

YN had initially assumed that he was Howard, but hearing his voice had her jaw dropping open. "Jarvis?"

"Yes, ma'am," Jarvis said, confusion evident on his face. "Have we met before?"

"No," she quickly assured him. "It's a long story."

"We're here to see Mr. Stark," Bucky said, hoping to distract the butler from YN's slip up.

"And whom may I say is calling?" Jarvis asked, his British accent making his words sound a bit condescending.

"Tell him we're here about Project: Rebirth," Bucky answered, playing his ace in the hole and hoping it would be enough to pique Howard's interest.

Jarvis' eyes narrowed slightly, and if YN hadn't been paying close attention, she would have probably missed the minute reaction. He gave them a curt nod and motioned for them to enter the foyer. "Please wait here while I inform Mr. Stark of your arrival."

The butler did an abrupt about-face that, coupled with his stiff-backed posture, had her deducing that Mr. Jarvis had a military background that she hadn't been aware of. Tony rarely spoke of the real Jarvis – the man who had all but raised him while his parents were off on one of their many extravagant trips. All she really knew about the man was the sound of his voice. Judging from the way he'd reacted toward them, she had a feeling that Tony had instilled a lot of the man's attitude into the AI he'd created to honor him.

"How did you know his name?" Bucky whispered once Jarvis was out of earshot. "I thought he sounded like that Vision guy."

YN let out a soft huff as a smile spread across her face. How to explain J.A.R.V.I.S. and Vision in just a few minutes? She settled for the abridged version of the story and was just about to finish telling him about Ultron when an oddly-familiar man came sauntering down the stairs.

Howard stopped at the foot of the stairs and unabashedly gave them a critical once-over. He was just about to speak when his gaze caught sight of Bucky's arm. His eyes grew wide as he walked closer and reached out a hand. He quickly glanced up at Bucky to silently ask permission before taking hold of the metal appendage and turning Bucky's hand over in his.

YN watched Bucky closely as Howard examined Bucky's new arm. She knew that it wasn't the weapon HYDRA had created, and she just hoped that he remembered that as well. Looking at his face, she could see the torment that played across his features. She couldn't begin to imagine how hard it was to face Howard knowing what he knew of the future, and completely helpless to stop it.

"You two are not with Project: Rebirth," he announced as he dropped Bucky's hand. "But I have a feeling you've got one hell of a story to tell." He nodded toward a doorway on his right. "Come, have a drink with me."

YN and Bucky exchanged a glance before shrugging their shoulders and following Howard into what appeared to be his den. He was at a sidebar pouring whisky into three short glasses. When he'd finished, he turned and offered each of his guests a glass before taking a seat in a large, wingback chair. YN and Bucky sat beside one another on the couch facing Howard and took a sip of their drinks. After the day they'd had, they both deserved a stiff drink.

"So," Howard began once they'd settled in. "Who are you really? And don't play games with me. I'm a curious man, but I don't take kindly to people who try to bamboozle me."

___________________

Author's Note: Thank you for reading Part 6 of this story! I hope you enjoyed it! Well, it seems like our two protagonists are truly stuck in 1942! I'm not sure if any of you watched Agent Carter, but if you didn't, you missed out on meeting Edwin Jarvis, who is just an amazing character and one I'm glad to finally get a chance to write. How do you think Bucky is going to handle being around the man HYDRA forced the Soldier to kill? Do you think the guilt is going to start eating at him, and how will that affect their attempts to get back to the future? Do you think Howard is going to believe them? What about Steve? I look forward to your comments and please consider voting if you enjoyed this part!