Lucy used her power to reach over and brush down some of Mavin's ruffled edges. She knew she had permission to, and it would help Mavin make it through the meeting, at least.

Steve was tense as a bowstring, watching carefully, even as his chest ached at the details being released.

"As long as someone can do this to him, I don't see why he should be allowed loose," Ross said, making a motion at the Soldier.

Lucy reacted almost without thinking. She felt the violence and ruthlessness and cold rage building in the Soldier, and she took it away, soothed the edges over, and brought him back down to a calm state. She didn't ask first, not even the Professor, which was a little odd for her. But Steve had noticed the twitch of the Soldier's hands before he relaxed again, and his brow furrowed a little.

Mavin could feel her sister's touch on her emotions, and definitely appreciated it.

"With all due respect, General," she said carefully, half-turning towards Ross, "the entire point of this was to prove that someone could do this to him in the first place, to prove he needs Professor Xavier's help. We want to make him safe to be set free again."

The Soldier could could feel the odd calm washing over him, and that confused him. That was not something he was accustomed to feeling. Perhaps something had gone wrong when he was brought back out of cryo this time? Perhaps it would be fixed when he was taken for maintenance.

General Ross scowled but stayed quiet for now. He could hear the mutterings, he knew he was in the minority. For now.

Lucy relaxed a little as the tension in the room eased, although she did keep the Soldier calm through the rest of the meeting. Fortunately, things seemed to be starting to wrap up, for now at least. Or at least their part was finishing. She was sure the council would spend hours debating and deliberating, but they didn't have to be present for all of that.

Once the actual demonstration was over, Mavin stepped aside to let Steve get over to the Soldier. He had the best chance of bringing Barnes back out of the conditioning without resorting to cognitive recalibration. Mavin moved over to stand near her sister.

"That was only a little nerve-wracking," she murmured. "Thanks for the assist."

It took Steve several minutes but he managed it without crashing a helicopter or a helicarrier this time, so he counted it as a win. He gave Bucky a few minutes to finish adjusting and just breathe.

"Alright?" he asked in a murmur.

"No problem," Lucy said, giving her a little smile. "I'm just glad I know I have permission with you. I had to calm the Soldier earlier, I don't know if that was okay or..." She fidgeted. She was still very unsure of actually using her power on other people.

"Been better," Barnes said, voice still a little rough. He closed his eyes as the world tilted a little.

"I'm sure it was alright," Mavin said, nudging her sister a little. "You can apologize to him later about it, if you feel like you need to."

"Keep breathing," Steve murmured. "It'll pass." He stayed hovering protectively over Bucky, though.

"I might," Lucy hedged, glancing over at him and Steve. "If he seems steady enough to accept it."

Bucky just sat there for a moment, working on coming back to himself.

"Wasn't as rough this time," he murmured.

"Give him some time, I can't imagine any of this was easy," Mavin said quietly. She glanced over at the council, who were still talking amongst themselve.

"Good." Steve nodded. "That's good. I think. Either way, you don't have to do it again."

"Hmm." Lucy also moved her gaze to the council. "I don't think Ross will get the end he was hoping for."

"Hope so," Bucky said. He sat there for another moment or two and just breathed. "'M good now."

"Which is good," Mavin murmured back. "I've heard rumors about the monumental screw ups he was responsible for, I don't think there's a whole lot of confidence in him right now."

"Alright." Steve didn't back off much, though. "C'mon, let's go. We don't have to stay for them talking."

Lucy nodded. "Which should be good for them," she said, tipping her head to indicate Steve and Bucky. "And then hopefully the Professor can do his thing and we can go."

"Still strapped down, Stevie," Bucky replied, rattling the restraints on the chair a bit. "You got the key?"

"And I can go back to my normal life and my normal job," Mavin agreed.

"Nope, they didn't trust me with it." Steve turned and found Mavin easily. "Hang on just a sec." He moved over to Mavin, moving so he was in her line of sight.

"The Captain wants you," Lucy murmured, already shifting back a little bit so she was in the background.

Mavin nodded to her sister, and turned to Steven.

"Captain?" she asked, letting him know he had her attention.

"May I have the key, please?" he asked, making a little motion back at Bucky. "He's fine now, and I don't think we need to stay to listen to the deliberation." He was, however, careful to keep the request just that: a request, not an order. And he was a little more relaxed around her than he had been before.

Mavin blinked, and then nodded.

"As long as he's okay to move," she said. She reached into the pocket of her jacket and pulled out the key to the restraints. "Here."

"Thank you." Steve shot her a small, grateful smile before he took the key and headed back to Bucky to let him loose again.

"That went well," Lucy murmured.

"I expected him to be more hostile," Mavin murmured back to her sister. "Did you get a bead on him?"

"He's grateful, and cautiously optimistic," Lucy told her. "I think you earned some trust."

"I wonder what sparked that," Mavin mused, watching as Steve released Barnes and helped him up. "I did exactly what I said I would do, and he didn't trust me before when I told him what I was going to do."

"Maybe because you did exactly what you said you'd do," Lucy pointed out. "You didn't lie, or try to deceive him, or try to sneak your own agenda in. You did what you said, and you helped him." She shrugged.

"I suppose," Mavin said. She sighed a bit. "Well, hopefully now things will clear up and I can go home. I'm sure Connor is starting to get tired of the weeklong sleepover with Nana and Grandpap." She grinned a bit. "If they haven't handed him over to the mansion by now."

Lucy snorted quietly. "I can check for you, if you really want to know if he's at the mansion or not." She grinned a bit. "You'll get to see him soon enough, though."

Mavin smiled fondly.

"If he was at the mansion, I'd be getting selfies every fifteen minutes or so," she said. "Mostly from Kurt, some from Logan. Because they're all marshmallows in the face of Connor."

"Yes they are." Lucy grinned. "You'll get to see him soon. And in the meantime, let's go get something to eat while we're waiting on them to officially finish up."