And so it finally begins!

First things first, welcome back everyone! I hope everyone had a beautiful and blessed Christmas and New Years! I know I did lol

Before you get into reading this mess of a fantasy of mine, if you haven't read the first installment to this story, 'Tortured Sky', I would very much suggest you to read that first or this will be all very confusing for you.

Anyways, as I promised in the last chapter of 'Tortured Sky', I am officially back with the newest and next installment, officially being titled 'Blood and Loyalty'. Naturally I wanted the title to continue to have 'Sky' in it but then I ran across this quote on Facebook a few days ago that read 'Blood makes you related, Loyalty makes you family'. Immediately I thought it fit the situation of Civil War almost perfectly. Of course the quote could work either way with what will happen in Civil War, both pointed at Tony and also Sky but guess you'll have to see where I take them in Civil War.

So without further ado, I present to you, 'Blood and Loyalty'!

Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel or its characters, though I wish I did, that would be awesome!

"So are you going to tell me where you're taking me or should I start worrying?" Steve asked for the 10th time as the newly engaged couple continued to make their way through the streets of New York in one of Tony's more expensive cars. Skylar, who had been silently staring out the windshield only chuckled, briefly pulling her eyes from the road to meet his blues.

"You can't just sit there and relax, can you?" Her brow perked in amusement while the corners of his lips twitched.

"I would relax, doll, if you would just tell me what's with the secrecy." Steve retaliated playfully as Skylar's hazel orbs met the road once more, her hands clenching the steering wheel in annoyance when a car cut in front of her, pretty closely too. Damn New York drivers.

"It's a surprise okay. Just leave it at that. In the meantime, I feel like I'm gonna fucking kill someone with all these idiots driving." She muttered the last part, more to herself before Steve looked at her in mild disappointment.

"Doll, language." He scolded halfheartedly as she bit her lip when she had to swerve to avoid another idiot driver.

"Language would pertain to someone that doesn't have to drive through this shit. I mean, see! Did you see that guy?! Dear god, I knew I should have just had had Wilson fly us or something. I don't have the patience for New York Drivers." She snapped irritated as the tires of her cousins expensive car spun out as she swerve around another car, pulling up beside him while cursing under her breath. She was gonna give this man a piece of her mind, no playing misses nice guy.

"Doll, think before you speak….." Steve warned, his hand coming to rest on her thigh once he realized what she was about to do.

"I am thinking before I speak, and you're not gonna like it baby, so just cover your ears." She wildly slapped his thigh as she slowed beside the driver, all awhile rolling down her window.

Steve placed his free hand on his face, wiping down his face before watching her in mild amusement as she road right up next to the man who was now stuck in traffic.

"There you are asshole." She whispered pleased that their cars had stopped beside each other at the red light.

"Hey! Dude! Yeah you, roll your window down!" She waved her hand at the man who had only noticed her through the light tints of his car before rolling his eyes and rolling his window down.

"What do you want?!" He shouted back over the loud music that was now blasting out of his car. Her hand gripped the steering wheel tighter as the explicit music flowed through the air and into her car where Steve stiffened from beside her.

"Would you turn it down?!" She asked annoyed, as he continued to look at her uninterested through his glasses before finally turning it down, just enough that they could hear each other without yelling across the 8 feet that separated them.

"Better, sweetcheeks? Nice car." The man taunted back, having tilted his glasses down to get a better look of her. Skylar rolled her eyes, placing a comforting hand on Steve's thigh when she felt him move from behind her.

"Yeah. Anyways, I couldn't help but notice that you ignored the fact that there were two lanes instead of one back there. I know straddling things must be your favorite past time but really, straddling the line? I don't know if you are legally blind or just too much of a dumbass to even notice that you also cut in front of me – closely by the way – twice." The man just laughed at her words, pushing his glasses back up his nose before he turned back to the road ahead of him.

"It's a good thing your gorgeous cause that mouth of yours is gonna get you in trouble wench." He commented back, her hand on Steve's thigh tightening as she felt him sit up further, glaring hard at the man, wanting nothing more than to have his shield in his hand right at that moment just to show that man some manners.

"Well it's a good thing you are ugly beyond words because that car definitely needed a confidence boost." She spat back proudly, watching his jaw twitch before he turned back to face her.

"You know what, bitch, how about you keep that trap of yours shut or step out of that car and into mine to put it to good use." He made a show, tugging at his belt only taunting Steve further.

"Dear god this man." She muttered under her breath annoyed, knowing it was taking everything in Steve not to break through the car and dive at the man's throat.

"Oh, look at that, sorry we can't chat more sweetheart, but work calls!" He turned the music in his car up once more before smirking amused.

She growled, turning to see that the light had turned green and the traffic was now dissipating into the opposite direction.

"Oh no, you don't." She muttered, her eyes flashing violet causing the sound system in his car to fizz and spark as he yelled in surprise. She smirked, watching as smoke began to fill his car from his ruined sound system sending the man crawling from his car, his eyes seeking out her own.

"Sorry we can't chat more 'sweetheart', but work calls!" She purposely kept her eyes glowing violet as she met his overly shocked ones. Kicking her car back into gear, she flipped him the bird before laughing loudly as her car pulled away from his own and towards her original destination.

"Was that really necessary doll?" Steve groaned in frustration from beside her as she continued to smirk proudly into the rear view mirror.

"One thing you need to learn baby, while driving in New York, don't be a push over or you'll get stepped on. And just because I'm a woman, doesn't mean I'm about to allow someone like that, stepping all over me. No way in hell." She shook her head as Steve slowly turned to look at her side profile. Above the anger pulsating through him for the man, he couldn't help but feel a bit of proud flooding his system at the woman beside him. Though a bit unladylike in his time, he knew, she was a force to be reckoned with, even to the male population. To Steve, she was a calmer, less vicious version of Romanoff.

"So, where are we going?" Steve quickly decided to change the subject immediately sending Skylar laughing as they were back to square one.

"Just wait and you'll see."

Minutes later, passing through various towns and whatnot, they finally pulled up outside a gated area, the sign reading 'Cedar Grove Cemetery." Steve sat forward in his seat, reading the sign before looking at her in confusion as she shut off the car and unbuckled herself.

"What are we doing at a cemetery?" Steve asked confused, following her movements as he pulled his seatbelt free from its place.

"I promised I would introduce you officially to someone." She answered, feeding his confusion as she climbed out of her cousins BMW i8 and to the gravel.

"Someone? At a cemetery?" Steve muttered more to himself as he climbed out his eyes panning the area.

"Come on baby." Skylar chuckled, holding a hand out of his as she noticed the confusion constantly flushing across his face.

Skylar led Steve through the opened gates and down the path into the cemetery. Truth be told, she had been working up to this moment ever since that HYDRA visit last month. She knew, her mother must be rolling in her grave, waiting for her daughter to live up to her promise but Skylar had been nervous. Yes, nervous. She had never introduced a man to her mother, or father for that matter. She knew with Steve, it was different, but still, that didn't stop the way her heart pounded in her chest. Would he think she was weird once he found out why they were there? She wouldn't be surprised if he did, but she made a promise to her mother and now that they were engaged, she knew it was better now than later.

"Over here." She tugged him off the path and down a row of tombstones as Steve quickly searched the area, looking for whoever he was being introduced to.

They walked for a bit more, avoiding tombstone after tombstone before they finally reached an extravagant tomb that looked almost brand new. Skylar let go of his hand long enough to pull a key from her blouse and into the lock at the door. Steve watched her in confusion, before his eyes sought out the large name carved into the stone above the door.

Stark

She pushed the now unlocked door, open, slipping the key back into her blouse before turning to him.

"This is your parents tomb?" He asked softly, noticing the way her eyes watered just a bit before a soft smile cracked on her face.

"Yeah, I promised my mom I would introduce you to her, properly, once everything calmed down." She explained embarrassed, casting her eyes to the ground under them.

Steve smiled adoringly at the smaller woman, his hand reaching out to lift her chin, allowing her eyes to meet his.

"Then, let's not keep them waiting." He smiled lovingly at her as her wet hazel orbs blinked in mild surprise. Steve smiled at the look of surprise on her face, taking her hand in his before leading her inside. Immediately, LED lights, that littered the top of the tomb, flicked on at the movement. Steve flinched in surprise, having not expected the lighting and looked around the medium sized space in shock. He had never been a tomb quite as, clean? No, clean wasn't the right word. It looked to him like someone had spent a lot of money and time making a tomb as extravagant as this one. Aside from the cleanliness and extravagant structure of the inside, his eyes finally settled on the four marble rectangles that sat, centered. The four sat paired, two by two, a small gap between the pair showing that it must be two couples.

"Tony spared no expense in making the tomb. I was okay with something simple, like everyone else but he insisted that 'Starks' should be buried in style." She chuckled awkwardly as she approached a specific one on the end. Steve shook the shock he stood in and approached her from behind, glancing over her shoulder at the top of the marble that was decorated with fresh flowers and a name. Her mother's name.

"When I was unconscious during the entire HYDRA incident, I told you guys I woke up in the other dimension, where Tony was." She started, her hand lifting to rest on the smooth marble.

"I told you that we got some help from someone else." She added as Steve wrapped his arms around her waist from behind, resting his chin on her shoulder with a nod.

"It was my mother and Uncle Howard. I don't know how they got there but they helped us escape." She confessed as Steve smiled. He wasn't the least bit surprised, not with everything else that had happened in the last few months, nothing much surprised him anymore.

"Before she left, she made me promise that I would bring you by to officially meet her." Skylar laughed softly through her tears, sniffling as she wiped at her cheeks, Steve's arms tightening around her briefly. He pecked her cheek lovingly before releasing his hold on her to stand beside her.

"I'm happy to finally be able to introduce myself to you, ma'am. I'm Steve Rogers." Steve immediately introduced himself, though a bit awkwardly with who he was introducing himself to. Steve lifted his eyes from the marble slab in front of him to the one sitting right beside her.

"And you also, sir. I'm glad Skylar finally brought me to meet you two." Steve added, smiling when he felt Skylar cuddle up to his side, his arm immediately wrapping around her to pull her closer.

"I love your daughter, very much and I just want to tell you both that I will do my best to protect her everyday of our lives. I will love and cherish her without any error and I hope, that wherever you are, that you will bless our relationship and continue to watch over Skylar as I know you have. She means the world to me, thank you for bringing her into this world." Steve whispered the last part, leaning down to press a kiss to her forehead.

"They would have loved you baby. Just as Uncle Howard did." She chuckled through tears, briefly glancing over at her uncle's tomb on the other side.

"So are you planning the wedding to be held in a church somewhere? Or did you want to do a park, or something else?" Nat had been insistent on wedding information from the moment she had found out that Skylar had agreed to marry the super soldier.

Skylar on the other hand, wasn't the type to start planning this far ahead of time and much rather have something small and comfortable. No chance in hell with Natasha as your best friend and inevitable Maid of Honor.

"Church." Steve answered for her as Skylar smiled from her spot at the stove, stirring a large pot of stew that she had been brewing most of the day.

"What? In my day, it was normal to get married in a church." Steve muttered embarrassed as he noticed the look of amusement on the assassin's face.

"I think it's cute." Wanda shrugged nonchalantly from her spot at the table where she was sipping tea.

"Well, we'll need to find a large venue to house everyone and then another for the reception." Tony entered the conversation as he strolled into the room, his tablet held firmly in his grasp.

"I like the idea of a church." Skylar quickly went to defend her future husband, ignoring her cousins comment all together.

"Hello, anyone listening to me?" Tony barked out, irritated that no one was listening to him.

"No, not really." Skylar muttered under her breath as she spooned out a potato chunk to check if it was soft enough.

"Ha-ha-ha, hilarious. You know, you're not like other women who would naturally be stressing over everything." Tony placed his tablet down on the counter to lean over the stewing pot, sniffing in the heavenly scent before Skylar pushed him, hard to the side.

"Yeah well, I like my events simple and comfortable, not over the top and expensive." She spat back, sending Steve smiling proudly.

"Expensive? You're a Stark, you do realize that?" Tony quirked a challenging brow as he turned to rest his backside against the counter beside the stove.

"And you do realize I'm not you, right?" She challenged back sending the billionaire snorting in defeat.

"Touché." He answered an uncaring shrug as he pushed off the counter.

"Plus, we don't plan on getting married for at least another couple months or next year." She spun to face the room, her eyes meeting Steve who naturally nodded in agreement.

"What about a winter wedding? We could do it this winter or next?" Nat then offered as she typed away on the laptop in front of her.

There was no point in arguing with the female assassin. It wasn't every day that someone asked her to be part of their wedding party, more so their Maid of Honor. Skylar knew the moment she told and asked the woman about the wedding, she wouldn't hold back.

Oh well, she couldn't blame her best friend.

Later in the day…..

Skylar slipped from the steam filled room of her bathroom, a thin robe tied around her naked form, having forgotten to grab a change of clothes when she spontaneously decided to shower. Her damp hair, dripped on the lavender color of her robe, leaving small water stains in their wake.

"Doll." A voice spoke the moment she stepped foot inside her room, her eyes shooting to her bed where her super soldier sat patiently. Immediately her eyes panned down his form, his sweats loosely tied around his small waist, his shirt clinging to all his muscles. Unconsciously she bit her lip as warmth filled her before she met his eyes again. She shook the thought from her mind as she glanced from his dark eyes before heading to her closet.

"How as the work out? I thought you would have been done sooner." She commented, slapping her cheeks softly once she was out of sight. Dear god, calm yourself girl. She pulled random clothes off their hooks, quickly pulling them on under her robe, knowing if Steve had appeared in the closet while she was changing, she would have done something.

"I did finish earlier but Nat pulled me aside." His voice flowed into the closet as she quickly marched to the door, now worried that the assassin's name had been mentioned.

"For what? Is she still bantering you about the wedding?" She asked confused as Steve ripped his eyes from her form, his hand wiping across his eyes before lifting them to meet hers once more. Thank god. She wasn't sure how much longer she would stay this far away from him when he had been looking at her like that.

"No, she's got a hit on Rumlow." Steve quickly answered as Skylar's eyes widened in surprise. Okay, so she hadn't been expecting that answer.

"Where?" She immediately asked, her arms crossing her chest.

Steve on the other hand, slowly stood from his spot at the foot of their bed and slowly approached her. Without knowing it, Skylar slowly stepped back as he stepped towards her, till the wall was all but pushed up against her back, allowing her to be caged between that and his towering form.

"Lagos." His voice whispered huskily down at her, her eyes searching out his only to notice that his eyes weren't on hers yet somewhere down below. Swallowing heavily, she slowly allowed her eyes to glance down to see that her robe was hanging open, her shirt having being forgotten in the closet at the mention of her friend. Her throat grew dry again when she realized her bare breasts were out on display for her super soldier.

There was that feeling again.

"L-lagos?" She stuttered out, her eyes immediately finding his, noticing the blue of his eyes were now hiding behind the dark lust burning in his orbs. Slowly his hands snuck out from his pockets, gripping her waist, pulling her flush against his form. She squeaked out in surprise, Steve smirked proudly at the small noise she made.

"Lagos." He returned as she licked her dry lips, his eyes quickly panning down at the movement.

"When…..when do we leave?" She whispered, her hands slowly snaking up his torso to his chest when he shivered heavily under her touch.

"Now. So if you two don't mind, separating and dressing, wheels up in 10!" A voice shouted from the other side of the door, startling the pair from their lust given situation. Skylar blushed brightly while Steve cleared his throat, pecking her lips lightly before stepping back from her.

"Wheels up in 10." Steve repeated lowly, his eyes taking in her form once more before he had to force himself to turn away and into the closet where he quickly decided to get his suit on.

"Damn you Nat." Skylar cursed under her breath, knowing that both her and Steve would be suffering for the next hour or so thanks to the sexual frustration now drowning them.

Few hours later…

Skylar sat perched in a window belonging to a long abandoned apartment in the middle of Lagos. She squinted her eyes out the dusty window, while her mind continued to thump in anticipation for what was to come today.

"You doing alright doll?" A familiar voice spoke as she turned from the torn curtain barely hanging from the window, glancing over at her fiancée peering over at her concerned from the opposite side.

There he stood, dressed from head to toe in his suit, dear god. She wasn't sure how long it would take for her heart not beat out of her chest every time she saw him dressed, but she wasn't complaining. This was 'her' super soldier and he always looked mighty delicious in his outfit, the fabric hugging his many muscles just the right way and…..Geez! She quickly cut the thoughts from her mind, already feeling her body reacting to him.

"I'm fine, don't worry about me." She brushed off his concern for the 20th time, turning back quickly to the window, not wanting to miss even the smallest hint to who they were searching for.

"Don't tell me not to worry about you doll. I'm entitled to worrying about you at all hours of the day, especially in the middle of a mission." Steve commented seriously as she rolled her eyes, unable to stop herself from smirking as she side eyed the super soldier.

"I apologize, 'Captain'." She teased with a soft snicker, watching the corners of his lips twitch ever so slightly.

"Dear god, at least cut off the radios before you guys start drooling over each other." Another voice joined their conversation sending Steve blushing brightly while Skylar giggled into the palm of her leather glove.

"And miss the annoyance in your voice? No, I quite enjoy you eavesdropping at every hour of the day." She mocked back, noticing the blush climb even further up Steve's face as she mentioned the last time Sam had all but walked in on them during a heated make out session.

"Jesus, I apologized for that like a million times already. Can we drop it already?" Sam all but whined as Nat and Wanda's soft giggled entered the line.

"As much as I love teasing Wilson, can we get back on track here?" Nat then playfully scolded before everyone got back into fight mode, Steve returning to the window he had been peering out to the building across the street while she went back to watching the street beneath her window.

"Alright what do you see?" Steve then asked as his voice rang through the earpiece in her ear while her eyes scanned the street beneath them.

"Standard beat cops. Small station. Quiet street. It's a good target." Wanda answered sending Skylar nodding in silent agreement with the woman's words.

"There's an ATM in the south corner, which means…." Steve trailed off as Skylar easily saw the same ATM machine from her own seat.

"Cameras." Skylar answered obviously as Steve nodded over his shoulder at her.

"So compromised escape routes." Wanda added.

"Means our guy doesn't care about being seen, he isn't afraid to make a mess on the way out. You see the ranger over half way up the block." Skylar interrupted the conversation before her eyes took notice of the strange red ranger parked in view.

"You mean the red one. It's cute." Wanda answered innocently.

"It's also bullet proof, which means private security, which means more guns, which means more headaches for somebody, probably us." Nat finally added in, slightly annoyed by the news

"You guys know that both me and Sky can move things with our minds, right?" Wanda then asked with an obvious tone as Sky hummed into the mic.

"Looking over your shoulder needs to become a second nature." Nat scolded her lightly while Skylar scanned the street once more.

"Anybody ever tell you, you're a little paranoid." Sam taunted Nat while Skylar rolled her eyes, peering over at Steve to see him shaking his head in amusement.

"Not to my face. Why, did you hear something?" Nat answered, not slightly moved by his words which put the man out immediately.

"Eyes on target, folks. It's the best lead we have on Rumlow in 6 months. I don't want to lose him." Steve shut the group up before Skylar's eyes noticed something widely out of place coming up her side of the building.

"If he sees us coming there won't be a problem, he kind of hates us." Sam commented back uncaringly while Skylar whistled for Steve, getting his attention as she pointed out the window and to the right. Steve quickly turned his body in the direction she pointed, his eyes immediately noticing the garbage truck, plowing through the street without any care for parked cars or the locals.

"Sam, see that garbage truck? Take it." Steve commanded Sam as he marched over to where Skylar was now pushing the window open to climb out.

"And where do you think you are going?" Steve grabbed her arm before she could even lift a foot to climb, startling the woman.

"What do you think I'm doing? That truck has Rumlow written all over it." She hissed, pulling her arm free from his grasp.

"How do you know?" He insisted on an explanation as Sam spoke through the line

"Max capacity. The truck's loaded for max weight and the driver's armed." Sam announced seriously as Skylar gave the 'told-you-so' look before jumping out the window and into the opposite building's fire escape, with a loud thud that yanked Steve viciously from the conversation happening in his earpiece.

"Doll!" Steve shouted aggravated with the woman that just wouldn't listen to him.

"It's a battling ram! Go now!" She commanded the entire team, winking over at Steve, though it did nothing but piss him off further as he climbed out the window, jumping across to follow his crazy other half up the side of the building.

"Why?" Wanda had asked confused.

"He's not aiming for the police!" Skylar shouted, ignoring the heavy set of feet pounding behind her as she jumped from roof to roof with ease, her abilities helped to give her an extra boost to get over particularly large gaps.

Soon enough Sam came swooping over, grabbing the back of Steve's vest before taking off with him.

"Stay out of danger doll!" Steve shouted down at her as she rolled her eyes, hopping over the edge of the building, allowing her telekinesis to float her down into the alleyway just beside it.

"Not in my nature." She muttered under her breath as she took off running towards the Infectious Diseases center she watched various armed men shooting what she had assumed to be gas canisters into the top floor windows.

"Shit." She cursed, running a bit faster, dodging around the corner, wanting to come from behind as she watched her super soldier, flying out of nowhere, pinning one of the men to the window of his car using his shield before kicking that same truck into another one that was shooting at him. Lucky too, she was about to rip that man a new one for shooting at her fiancé like that.

Sliding across the pavement of the parking lot and in between the legs of an unsuspecting soldier who had been aiming at Steve's back, she swiped his legs out from under him, rolling onto her back before punching the man straight in the face, immediately knocking him unconscious.

"Body armor. AR15s. I make 7 hostiles." Steve spoke, barely out of breath as she stood from her recent take down, throwing her hair out of her face.

"6." She called back as Steve glanced over at her, relief flooding his face as she ran to meet his outstretched arm.

"I make 5." Sam answered proudly from above them just as Wanda came floating over, a shield of sorts forming in front of them as one of the soldiers that Steve had knocked down earlier, sent a rain of bullets at them, each ricocheting off her telepathic wall.

"Sky." Wanda with difficulty, her eyes flashing violet as the man stopped twitching and fell to the ground unmoving. She shook the power from her mind before turning to look at Steve, feeling his hand caressing her lower back in comfort.

"Good job doll." He whispered down to her causing Sky to smile slightly.

Steve had been doing and saying things like this more often, especially after everything that happened with HYDRA months ago. After she had defeated HYDRA, single handed, Steve realized how much more open Sky was with her abilities, then she had been originally. He figured, the more he complimented her abilities, maybe just maybe, it would make it even easier for her to relax into them, especially after finding out that she would gather headaches from time to time, using them. Naturally Steve worried, greatly, but thanks to Bruce and his never-ending studies, he reassured the two that it was nothing to worry about, only that her mind was slowly growing used to the amount of power coming off of a body that hadn't originally been built for it. It would take some time to build the strength needed to house such power and that was exactly what Skylar planned to do.

"You feeling okay?" Steve whispered again as she sighed and nodded, smiling softly at him to reassure the man.

"Rumlow's on the third floor." Sam interrupted their conversation as he looked up from the scanner on his arm.

"Wanda." Steve called over, not wanting to strain Skylar too much as he glanced over at the red head.

"Just like we practiced." He kissed the top of Skylar's head briefly, running back a few steps before running at full speed up the hood of the car before Wanda encircled him with her abilities, helping to launch him off the top of the truck and into the window where Rumlow was said to be.

"What about the gas?" Wanda asked in concern as Skylar watched the small clouds of gas slowly seep out of the broken window.

"Let's get it out." Skylar met Wanda's eyes with a serious nod as the other nodded in understanding.

"Watch our back would ya Sam?" Skylar asked, never looking back to the man who was already hard at work doing just that.

"Consider it watched." He teased as both her and Wanda smiled softly at each other as they got closer to the building.

"On 3." Skylar whispered as she took in a deep breath, shutting her eyes as she channeled the strength to help her friend.

"1, 2, 3." Wanda counted as Skylar's now violet eyes shot open while her eyes shot out. The rest of the windows shattered on impact for the women's force on the gas, yanking the gas from inside the building and out into the open.

"To the top!" Skylar called over while grunting at the force of the gas spinning in a tornado in front of the two before it shot high into the sky, safe from any innocent people.

"Rumlow has a biological weapon." Steve's voice broke their concentration as Skylar's eyes shot to the window he had disappeared into.

"I'm on it!" Nat had finally joined the conversation before Skylar turned to look at Wanda and Sam once.

"He got away." She whispered, her mind already weaving through whatever technology that was nearby.

"Where is he Sky?" Steve asked as she shut her eyes, giving her enough concentration to pinpoint the man.

"On the other side of the building. He's in an armored vehicle, heavily armed." She quickly explained as everyone booked it into said direction.

As they rounded the corner, explosions began going off as Sam grabbed both women, pulling them out of the way of an oncoming pair of Humvees that came barreling away from the explosion site.

"Steve." Skylar gasped once the dust cleared as she ran over to where he was slowly pulling himself from the ground.

"Geez, are you okay baby?" She asked worried as she helped him stand with more difficulty than she expected, her eyes doing a quick scan of his form then up to the window that smoke was currently pouring from.

"Did you…" She had begun to ask in concern if he had just fallen from the broken window, only for said man to gently push her to the side, reaching up for his earpiece.

"He's in an AFV heading north." He explained to anyone listening as Sam and Wanda took off in the direction of the disappearing Humvees with Nat rushing by on a newly found motorcycle.

"Come on doll!" Steve shouted, pulling her from her thoughts as she faced the man that sped up to her side on another motorcycle, his hand held out for his. Wasting no time, she took his offered hand, throwing her opposite leg over just as he took off, her arms shooting around his waist like a lifeline.

"I got 4, they're splitting up!" Sam called out into the com just as they pulled up to one of the empty Humvees, nosey locals beginning to circle the vehicle in interest.

"I got the two on the left!" Nat reassured somewhere nearby.

"They ditched their gear. It's a shell game now." Sky launched off the back of the motorcycle before it even stopped, grabbing one of the ditched vests on the ground before turning to Steve.

"One of them has the payload." Steve mentioned before the sound of something thudding onto his shield caught them both off guard. Immediately facing his back to Skylar, he threw the shield into the air high above them just as the device exploded. Having not expected something like that happening, it was strange to find pain radiating up her side before she was all but tossed aside at a group of unexpected and innocent bystanders who screamed as her body came careening at them.

"Sky!" Steve shouted in terror before an unexpected visitor easily knocked Steve through a wooden wall, sending him rolling across the dirt in shock.

"There you are, you son of a bitch! I've been waiting for this!" A familiar voice shouted through a fog along with various locals shouting at her in a language she didn't understand. She blinked away the fog, attempted to anyways before she slowly pushed herself to sit up, hissing almost immediately at the movement. Her hand shot down to her side before she was met with the rough handle of what she found out to be a rugged hunting knife, lodged deep in her side.

Figures.

A few of the locals attempted to keep her seated as she shook her head, attempting to be as gentle as she could as she pushed them off of her enough to stand, stumbling just a bit.

"He doesn't have it. I'm empty." Sam's voice echoed through her ear as she bit her lip, pulling the knife slowly from her side as she bit into her tongue, crying out silently before tossing the weapon to the ground in annoyance. Taking an offered towel from a local, she held it to her side as her vision swam.

Who the hell had stabbed her? She wanted to rip their throat out and watch them choke on it. Damn, did it hurt.

"This if for dropping a building on my face!" A familiar voice shouted in the distance as more screaming began to emit around her.

She fought the fog attempting to wedge its way through her head before finally noticing the large group of locals circling a particular area. Steve. Her heart dropped, ignoring the pain as best as she could, she pushed through the crowd before coming face to face with Steve now towering over a kneeling and deformed Rumlow.

"I think it looks pretty good, all things considered." Rumlow proudly remarked, obviously talking about his face as she pushed through the last line of people, stumbling out into the open, catching both men's attention.

"Doll…." Steve whispered in concern, seeing the blood pooling down the side of her torso.

"I'm fine." She hissed, glaring down at the man who only grinned back, just as happy to see her.

"Ah, HYDRA's newest asset." He announced teasingly as she took a step to rip his teeth out only for Steve to stop her with his free arm, his other hand clenching the collar of his tactical gears even tighter.

"Who's your buyer?" Steve insisted on answers first before he killed this man slowly, but Rumlow was obviously not having any of it as he chuckled, turning back to Steve.

"He knew you. Your pal, your buddy, your Bucky." Rumlow suddenly spoke as Steve's eyes narrowed, caught off guard by the man's words while Skylar clenched her hands beside her, pissed at the psycho for even thinking about bringing Bucky into this.

"What did you say?" Steve hissed, his grip on him tightening only sending Rumlow chuckling lowly.

"He remembered you. I was there, so was she. He got all weepy about it. Till they put his brain back in the blender." Rumlow nudged his head in her direction as she narrowed her eyes further, silently begging him to go on just to give her more of a reason to strangle him till his head snapped off his shoulders.

"Don't listen to him Steve." She whispered, almost pleading with him as she noticed the heartbreak on her fiances face.

"I'm surprised either one of them remembered little ole you. Stark was the best though. No matter how many times they put her mind through the blender, no matter how much she screamed, she always cried out for you." Rumlow barked in laughter as Steve growled, his arms flexing as he pulled him closer to his face.

"But Bucky, he wanted you to know something." Rumlow interrupted the shouting Steve was about to rain down on him, realizing Skylar was softly whispering to him to calm down and ignore the man, but he couldn't.

"He said to me, "Please tell Rogers, when you got to go, you got to." A sickening smirk began to grow on Rumlows face as his features swam through her fuzzy vision as her head rocked.

"And you're coming with me!" Rumlow shouted, hitting a button on his vest. Steve's eyes widened in horror as he grabbed Skylar, tossing her to the side as she let out another cry of pain, her head making contact with a broken piece of the wall before darkness engulfed her vision completely.

Wanda had showed up in that moment, stopping the explosion from hurting Steve at all before she launched the crazy man into the air as it exploded, unexpectedly destroying the south side of the building they had been fighting near. Wanda's eyes widened, her heart dropping at the destruction she had caused, her legs wiggling as she lost feeling in them sending her falling to the ground.

"Oh my…." Steve whispered in horror, his eyes widening as the screaming got louder.

"Sam. We need…..fire and rescue, on the south side of the building. We got to get up there." Steve suddenly sounded out of breath before his eyes widened when he realized there was one person missing from their group. Spinning, he ran over, sliding to the ground beside her unmoving body as his hands once more hovered around her form, not sure what to do.

"Nat! We need a medic, quick. It's Sky…she's unresponsive and bleeding." Steve hissed as he noticed the blood pooling from both her side and her hair line.

"Hurry." He sniffled, grabbing a cloth he saw on the ground, holding to her side while silently praying.

Even after all this time, even when they stood out to help the innocent, this is where they found themselves each and every time.

Why did this keep happening to them?

Hope it good for your first chapter back with me lol I have a bunch typed out already but haven't gotten around to adding bits and pieces of my own flare in just yet. As for where I hope Skylar to go in this story, I honestly don't know for sure at this point. I have some ideas where I want her to be in this story but nothing is set in stone just yet so if you have any opinions on where you want to see Sky, let me know. I'd love to hear from you all.

Oh! And before I forget, just want to put this out there, I know with 'Tortured Sky' I was on a strict posting every Sunday. I want to try and keep to that schedule but work is seriously kicking my butt right now so I don't want to be making any promises to you all. I may post on Sundays or randomly during the week. I may post once a week, twice a week or once every 2 weeks. Not sure how it'll go just yet, just know that I won't give up on this story as long as I have your continuous support.

Either than that, reviews are greatly appreciated and definitely do push me to update at a quicker pace lol

~topthis808