Prologue

Panic.

It's the first thing you feel when things start to go wrong. The first thing that comes to mind when life takes a turn for the worse. It overwhelms you until there's nothing left but fear and confusion. It's the one word in the dictionary I hate.

Why am I explaining this?

Lately things have gotten... interesting in SHIELD.

Ever since the incident in London, Fury moved me to Washington D.C. to live next to Steve Rogers, AKA Captain America. I knew part of his reason behind this was due to living in a safer environment. But it seemed there was more to it than that.

I haven't seen or heard from anyone other than Steve and Natasha in weeks. It's starting to unnerve me. I can't help but think something bad is about to happen. Especially since I haven't paid the Grid a visit since the attack in Greenwich.

The strangest part of it is spending more time with Natasha. I know she's my biological mother and all, but we've never been very close ever since Beck and I discovered the truth.

I really hope this move doesn't take a turn for the worse. Something tells me that this is only the beginning.

. . .

"We tend to take a lot for granted. I for one am thankful I grew up without all this tech." Steve's voice rang in my ears as I helped him sort out the files Fury had given him.

So far I've been stuck in this office for the last four hours. Apparently Steve was having trouble figuring out how to access SHIELD's files, and lucky me got assigned to help him out. And by helping him out I mean teaching him everything I'd learned.

"Without technology the Grid wouldn't exist," I reminded him after pulling out the last of the files.

It was a wonder he got anything done around here. The only reason he was here in the first place was to get prepped for the next mission. But the files Fury had sent him were through a PDA. Fury had sent the same files to me only a couple of hours ago, but I haven't had the chance to look at them yet.

"True, but you would've never gotten stuck there," he pointed out.

That was enough of a comment to make me pause in my work. Steve always had a good point to everything he said. Truth be told he was right.

I couldn't imagine what my life would be like had I not gotten stuck on the Grid. Things would have likely taken a different turn for me. It was partially thanks to the Grid that I discovered the truth behind my birth parents.

And it was through the Grid I had made good friends that I cared enough about to give my life for. I would die for them if it ever came to that.

"So how do you think your life would've turned out had you not crashed that plane?" My question must have hit a nerve.

For a moment Steve was at a loss for words. His mouth was actually hanging open before he closed it and shook his head.

I've read the files on what had happened to him. It was never an easy life, much like everyone else I knew. Both of his parents had passed away before he was twenty. The army had refused him so many times due to health problems.

Then finally he was given a chance to prove himself. He was given the Super Solider serum. Since then his life had changed dramatically.

"Honestly, I never really gave that much thought," he admitted in a guilty tone. "I've never really had the chance to think about it."

I noticed for the first time that he was actually rushing himself. And that his cheeks were a bright red.

By the time he left the room I couldn't hold back my laughter. Steve was just too much of a gentlemen to admit that he was embarrassed. He only made things worse by shuffling out of the room as quickly as he could.

"What did you say this time?" I hadn't even noticed Natasha slipping in once I caught my breath.

"Oh just the usual," I replied after cleaning up the space Steve had messed up. Papers were scattered along the desk along with a few folders he'd misplaced.

I think I'm starting to get more like Tron every day. And I'm not sure if that should scare me or impress me. He has always been a neat freak, and still is. After living with the guy for a few cycles his need to keep things clean starts to rub on you.

"So what sort of office work does Fury want me doing this time?" I muttered under my breath.

Lately it seemed that was all I've been doing. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad my life isn't in constant danger right now. But I love being on the field. Right now things are pretty boring spending all my time in the HQ.

"He wants you on a mission," she explained. "You ready for a debriefing?"

I raised an eyebrow before finishing my clean up. This should be interesting. The last mission I had been on was an actual one, where I had to follow Tony around for a few days. Apparently someone known as the Mandarin had threatened him along with everyone he knew.

To me that mission had ended in failure. Sure Tony may have been able to stop the Mandarin. But it was during that mission I somehow ended up with the Tesseract energy stuck in my body.

There was still so much I needed to learn about it. Like how it happened in the first place. And why it wasn't slowly killing me like it should. On several occasions it had actually saved me. Bruce was always the one who ran checkups now that we knew about it. He said that it wasn't a threat at the moment. But only time would tell how long that would last.

"So you and birdie have anything planned for tonight?" I couldn't resist asking the question.

Natasha kept on a straight face, though I could see her falter a little at the mention of Clint. With Natasha and Clint being my birth parents it made things awkward between us. But I'd gotten used to it over time.

"He's out on a solo mission," she replied as if the subject wasn't a bother.

To that I rolled my eyes as we headed for the elevator. I was fully aware that the two were avoiding each other for reasons unknown to everyone. Something had happened between them, and I was determined to find out what that something was.

It didn't take long for the glass elevator to reach it's destination. Fury's office was on the top floor, right next to Alexander Pierce.

I didn't know the head of SHIELD very well, but from what I've gathered, Pierce and Fury were good friends. Together they had found SHIELD and made the agency what it was today.

But every time I saw Pierce I always got a bad vibe from him. The way he smiled and the way he just shook hands creeped me out for some reason. I've already talked to Beck about it, but we both decided that it was just paranoia getting the best of me.

At least I'm hoping that's the case.

"Agent Romanoff, Agent Barton." Fury greeted us as soon as we walked through the doors. I noticed not for the first time Natasha stiffening at the mention of my name. Even Fury raised an eyebrow at her sudden stiffness. "I've called you here for something that's recently caught my attention. One of our ships was taken hostage just minutes ago." A file was pulled up as Fury stood in front of his desk.

All at once I was reminded of when Tron would explain what our latest missions were. Back when I was on the Grid with Beck, we were constantly putting our lives at risk. This was no different as I studied the images Fury was showing us.

"That ship has important files that we need." Well that would explain why the ship was being held hostage.

What bothered me more than anything was that it had been taken so easily. Who was behind this attack, and why were they so interested in these files?

"Do you know who's behind this attack?" Natasha must have read my mind.

"He goes by the codename of Backdrop the Leaper. He's a hired mercenary, so you'll need to keep an eye out for him," Fury explained.

Batroc the Leaper... somehow the name sounded familiar. I've read through the files of SHIELD's most wanted, but from what I gathered he was close to the bottom of the list. His main strategy was kickboxing. So he would fight with his legs.

"So I take it this guy wants to find these files SHIELD has," I muttered after observing the images for a few seconds.

"Something like that," Fury replied. He folded his arms and looked between me and Natasha. "I'm assigning you both to the Strike team. Captain Rogers will be joining you tonight."

It took a few seconds for this news to sink in. I stood there gaping at Fury while he discussed further plans with Natasha.

The Strike team was made up of some of SHIELD's best agents. They were fearless, and they had to be for the missions they were part of.

"We're headed out, better suit up." Nat's voice brought me back to reality.

I shook my head before following her out of the office. This was going to be interesting.

. . .

"On your left."

"On your left."

"Uh-huh, on my left. Got it."

"Don't say it! Don't you say it!"

"On your left!"

"Come on!"

. . .

"Need a medic?"

"I need a new set of lungs. Dude, you just ran like thirteen miles in thirty minutes."

"I guess I got a late start."

"Oh, really? You should be ashamed of yourself. You should take another lap."

"Did you just take it? I assumed you just took it."

"What unit are you with?"

"Fifty-eighth, Para-rescue. But now I'm working down at the VA. Sam Wilson."

"It's your bed, right?"

"What's that?"

"Your bed, it's too soft. When I was over there I sleep on the ground and used rock for pillows, like a caveman. Now I'm home, lying in my bed, and It's like..."

"Lying on a marshmallow. I feel like I'm gonna sink right to the floor."

"How long?"

"Two tours. You must miss the good old days, huh?"

"Well, things aren't so bad. Food's a lot better, we used to boil everything. No polio is good. Internet, so helpful. I've been reading that a lot trying to catch up."

"Marvin Gaye, 1972, "Trouble Man" soundtrack. Everything you've missed jammed into one album."

"I'll put it on the list."

AN: I am very excited about this one :) This story will likely not end at the end of the Winter Soldier. I'm actually planning a few episodes of AOS to be included with it. That should certainly make things exciting! And the title is based off of a song by Imagine Dragons. It took me ages to find the right title... Anywho, please let me know what you thought of this :)