Welcome to the new journey of Bucky Barnes, this is a tad AU but I hope the readers enjoy.

No I do not own the Marvel universe, if I did then I wouldn't be writing fanfiction.

The Asset and the Child

The world around him was spinning. The fight on the helicarrier had left his mind in a state of utter confusion. Who was he? What was he? The Winter Soldier had no idea of the answer these questions, as he looked at the exhibit in the Smithsonian. The people walked around him, not even realizing he was Bucky Barnes, an assassin for HYDRA. How would they know? He wore a good cover he had taken from a guy's bag. He didn't know the guy, he had his bag sitting there and had his eye fixed on a small device in his hand. The clothes were just to get him out of his gear. And the backpack he had was something he had found in an alleyway.

Something struck him as he looked at the images as they scrolled along the television screen. He had no idea what they were saying, but he knew that the man he had pulled from the water called him by the name Bucky, and James. Was it true? Was he really this human and not a weapon? Was he flesh and blood? He took a deep breath, pulling his bag closer to his body as he slowly walked from the vast building. Before he could begin to find more answers, there was still one mission he had to accomplish on his own. The only part of his memory that was never altered or allowed the chance to leave him, there was one person he needed to save.

—

Bucky was walking just below the Triskelion, or what was left of it. Nobody would have known of the secret HYDRA base below their feet, or even the scale of it. In the case of this building, it was large enough to hide many things. He walked the hallways, reaching for a close by rifle, just in case anybody had survived the blowout. He saw the room he needed, it was still sealed off from entry. Bucky kicked the door open, moving to a tube in the corner. Inside was, frozen in time, a small girl. Bucky carefully put his hand on the glass, looking at the figure with sorrow. He did not know who he was, but he knew her.

He stepped back just enough to get more leverage on his newly acquired rifle, and he hit he glass once with all his strength, scooping the girl up before she could fall to the ground. He took the frozen form to a table and pushed a few buttons, his programming knowing how to thaw her out. The process was quick and the small girl was soon gasping for her first few breathes. The Soldier reached out and touched her carefully, before he pulled a jacket out of a nearby closet and wrapped her in it. She was still cold, and her eyes showed a bit of fear, but she knew to lay her head against this man and cling to him.

The Soldier walked off with the child, happy that HYDRA was not nearby. He knew he needed to find the man from earlier. The man may help him if he found him. His mind raced, trying to think of where the target may be. A television that had been left on flickered in the distance, somehow it still had some backup power, The Soldier remembered this part of the building was powered separately from the rest in case of an accident like this one. There were too many valuable documents.

There on the screen, there was a building with a large A on top of it, that looked interesting. He stepped closer, the newscaster was talking about the new Avenger's Headquarters being opened by Tony Stark. The building would house heroes in the city to help keep the world safe. On the screen he saw an image of the man from the helicarrier. Could he be in this facility? The Soldier nodded to himself, he had to get to New York City. How? He did not know that answer.

He slowly exited the rubble and began walking into the city. He had seen something with New York written on it, it looked like a form of transit. As he walked, he found his answer. There was a small bus depot at the end of the street. He walked over to the small station and careful snuck into a backseat, out of view of the driver. If it came down to it, he would fight to find safety again.

—

The tower was larger than he figured it would be. The bus ride had been quiet. Whether or not the driver noticed him he would never know. The girl had fallen asleep in his arms while the bus traveled to the large city. It wasn't hard to find the building, and even easier to get to it. He found an unsecured entrance, strange for a building of such importance. His brown hair fell into his face as he ducked into an open window. The girl just leaned into the neck and kept sleeping as he maneuvered into the building. The poor thing had gone through a hard struggle before being frozen, and being thawed was a bit exhausting.

He carefully found his way to a large common room, he kept in the shadows trying to stay hidden until he found his target. The room was silent, almost like nobody was even here. This was a perfect opportunity for the Soldier as he walked into what he figured was a kitchen. His mind remembered the one Alexander had, and knew he would find what he needed in this location.

After surveying the location, he felt it was safe enough to set the child down on the counter. She rubbed her eyes as she watched the man before her. She had no fear of him, why would she? He was the most important person to her life and she knew he was here to protect her. She watched closely as he opened a device that had a light in it. He carefully selected a few items and pulled them out. He had found a a container of blueberries and a small bottle of water. The poor guy didn't know much about food, he knew the child needed something to eat, though.

He handed her the items and she began to slowly eat the berries as he carefully rubbed her chin with his flesh hand. A sound behind him made him spin, and point his gun right into the face of a metal man. Something in red and yellow and a blue circle in its chest.

The metal man looked at him, a hand coming up as if to attack. The Soldier stared him down, standing between the metal man and the girl. She slid off the counter and clung to the Soldier's leg, for safety. The metal man looked down for a moment, the man had broken into his secure tower, looked like the assassin that killed his father and yet he had a child with him. He let his helmet open, to look less threatening to the innocent child. His eyes looked at the gun for a moment and back to the kid. She looked wet and scared, and the gun welder was obviously protecting her.

"Hey kid, you okay?" Tony asked, with a warm voice to show he wasn't going to attack her. She let her head poke around the leg and look up at the marvel in front of her.

She gave a small nod to the thing, or man. She had never seen anything like this before. Was he friend, foe, man or machine?

The gun pointed at his head again, "Back away, she's fine." A voice growled. Tony slowly lifted his hands. He felt he didn't need to fight the man that broke in, he needed to help the kid though.

"Buddy, it's okay. Chill I'm not going to hurt her. I just want to help? What brought you to my tower anyway?" He asked. In a calm voice.

"I am seeking the man from the helicarrier." He demanded, putting the gun near his head.

Tony paused a moment, furrowing his brow as he contemplated his demand. Then he remembered hearing about the fall of SHIELD. So this was Bucky Barnes. Steve would be pleased with his arrival.

"JARVIS, send a message to the Captain, tell him to meet us in the kitchen." Tony spoke, nodding at the man before him. "He will be right down. Would the kid like a sandwich or something? Maybe some soup?" Tony questioned, "I also make a mean omelet."

Bucky thought for a moment, he searched Tony's face and slowly lowered the gun. If there was going to be an attack it would have already happened. This man meant no harm. He looked at the kid again, and gave her a nod to answer Tony.

"Can I…" She paused for a moment, thinking, "Have an omelet. I have never had one." She admitted with a small blush.

Tony's eyes softened, poor kid. He gave her a nod as he let the armor come off his body and he kneeled closer to the little girl. Her blue eyes met with his as she gave him a small smile.

"Of course, you may have an omelet. Do you know what you want in it?" He had almost a kid like tone, not sure how to go forward with a kid.

She shook her head no, as she looked back at the hollow armor.

"Oh, you like the suit, it's a new prototype, still in testing." He bragged a moment, he then noticed she was confused. "I am Iron Man. A guy out protecting people from bad."

"Like HYDRA." She chirped.

"Yep! Exactly." He confirmed. He looked back at Bucky, "May I pick her up and show her my armor, before I start on something to feed her and yourself with. I'm sure you're starving as well. Heck I will get a feast here in no time for you and The Cap." He chimed.

Bucky's head was swimming around thinking on everything Tony had just asked and said. He just nodded again, the kid was obviously excited to see the armor. Tony hoisted her onto his shoulder and began to point out all the features.

A fast running noise could be heard coming closer at a fast pace. The noise halted suddenly.

"Bucky!" A voice exclaimed. The Soldier looked over at the voice and he knew this was the right place. "How did you…why did you come here?" The blonde man asked, thrilled to see his old friend.

"I needed help." He admitted, pointing to the kid. "She needs safety."

Steve looked at the kid for a moment, she was sure exciting Tony. Two kids musing over armor, or that's how it looked. Steve studied the kid, her hair was drying into a soft brown, her eyes looked so familiar.

"Bucky, is she yours?" Steve asked, as he stepped closer to Bucky.

Bucky looked at her for a moment, then back to Steve. "Her name is Ceres. She is a female replica of me. To keep the serum alive. HYDRA has been putting stones into her, small little stones. They wish to make her a weapon. She needs help." He commented again.

Steve nodded, understanding what his friend was saying, well kind of. Small stone? That sounded like a job for Tony or Bruce later. For now the kid needed to be kept safe. Bucky was here, and Steve needed to keep him here and they both needed the protection of the Avengers. Steve let his smile grow, "You are both safe here. I will keep you both safe and happy here, as long as you like." He told him. He walked over to the kid, and held out a hand to her, giving her a smile. "Hello Ceres, I'm Steve. A friend of your father's. The man you are talking to is Tony." He told her. "We are here to protect you both."

She looks at Steve a moment and let her hand come out and touch his. "Hello."

"Hey Steve, I'm fixing to start on breakfast, by order of the kid. Why don't you show them around?" Tony offered, passing the girl off to Steve like she was the best new item in the entire tower.

"Sure, it'll give me and Bucky a few minutes." Steve agreed as he looked to Bucky. "Follow me, I will show you around."

Bucky just looked around a moment more, setting his gun into his back holster as he stepped closer to Steve. He still had so many questions, but for the moment the kid was his priority.

End Chapter 1