**Greetings fans and followers! I'm sure some of you have been dying for the release of this sequel, so here it begins!**

**If you have not yet read Enemy of my Enemy, it might be advised to head over there first, so you don't have a lot of holes**

**Just a friendly reminder, things are still a bit crazy here, so I might not be posting chapters for this one as quickly as I did for the last one, but I shall do my best to make it worth the wait**

DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the characters or organizations that may appear or be mentioned in this story, including but not limited to: Winter Soldier/Bucky Barnes, Captain America/Steve Rogers, Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff, Nick Fury, Falcon/Sam Wilson, Hawkeye/Clint Barton, Iron Man/Tony Stark, Pepper Potts, Happy, Hulk/Bruce Banner, Thor, Loki, HYDRA or S.H.I.E.L.D.

All other characters however are mine.

Warning: Rating is M for safety.

Enjoy!

Chapter One: My Lips Are Sealed

It was easy to drown out the noise of the bar, and while his eyes seemed distracted by the T.V overhead, his mind was elsewhere. He kept his ball-cap low, keeping his face obscured as much as possible. A worn brown leather jacket covered a white, wife beater style top with black fingerless gloves, faded blue jeans and weathered work boots made him look like just another working class man having a cold beer after a long day…or hiding out to avoid the wife.

Bucky reached for the phone clipped to his belt, releasing it from the harness and bringing it forward. His thumb slid across the screen, unlocking the device as he made his way to the call log. He really didn't get why Steve hated his so much, it wasn't that hard to use, at least in his opinion; although Stark would rattle off something out it being a 'typical apple product' any chance he got.

He navigated to the list of contacts, and quickly found the one he wanted, which was easy enough with only a handful of people on that list. Bucky hit the little green icon and held it up to his ear. It took only seconds before he heard the same tune he's been hearing for quite some time.

'I'm sorry, the number you have dialed has been disconnected, or is no longer in service'

The operator rattles on after that but he never makes it that far before he gives in and hangs up. Bucky sighed heavily, looking down at his phone and scrolling through the vast amount of entries from recent calls. Steve showed up a few times, Stark on the rare occasion, and the rest were all numbers from all different area codes…burner phones that had served their purpose.

Bucky dropped the phone on the bar and reached for his beer, taking back a swig and proceeding to stare longingly at it; as if somehow expecting her to call back.

"I wish someone would make that face for me if I missed their call" a woman remarked.

He caught her out of the corner of his eye as she took a seat next to him at the bar, sitting backwards on the stool and crossing one leg over the other; leaning back on her elbows and gazing at him. Bucky assessed her quickly, taking in the red spaghetti strap top and impossibly short jean shorts; high heels that matched the color of her top. Long hair danced around both sides of her face, the blonde dye doing little to hide the black roots. He grimaced silently, ignoring her just as easily as everyone else in the bar. It was one of the downsides of hiding out in a bar…he had to deal with the occasional floozy that thought he'd be an easy score if they showed a little skin; it didn't matter how much skin they flaunted…he wasn't interested.

"You forget her birthday or something?" she asked, adjusting the stool ever so slightly to lean toward him.

Ignoring her, he took another swig of his beer, turning his eyes toward the T.V. He could care less about the football, he just wanted her to go away.

"It would be the only reason she'd be stupid enough to be mad at you…because there's no way I could avoid your calls honey…I know a catch when I see one"

The statement rubbed him the wrong way, and he had to clench his fists to keep a reign on his anger.

"Get lost" he warned gently, taking his phone and returning it to his holster.

She looked taken aback by his statement, but seemed to have been distracted with something else; something dangling from his neck.

"You're enlisted huh? Now I know she's crazy" the woman retorted, gently biting her bottom lip seductively as she reached for the dog tags hanging from his neck.

It was almost impossible for him not to reach out and strangle her at this point, but that didn't stop him from grabbing hold of her wrist forcefully before her fingers had a chance to touch the worn metal stamps.

"I said…get…lost" he growled, staring her down.

He saw it, that sudden shift in her posture, the way she went stiff against his hold, he felt her try to pull away briefly but there was nothing she could do. There was a hint of fear in her eyes, most likely from the feel of his metal hand around her skin, but that fear was only a gesture compared to the look of distaste; she obviously felt insulted by his lack of interest.

"Hey!"

The male voice was stern, threatening, and by the sound of it…only a few steps behind him. The woman's face changed and she tossed Bucky a cocky smirk; as if relishing in the drama she was creating. He released her promptly and went back for his beer, hoping he could at least finish it.

"You like manhandling women or somethin? You get off on that kinda shit?" he jeered.

Bucky's grip on his beer bottle tightened, and any mantra in his head to keep calm was failing horribly. The man was no doubt drunk, and as it seems, trying to impress the woman who was practically throwing herself at him not two minutes ago.

"I'm talkin to you asshole!" he hissed, grabbing Bucky's shoulder.

With reflexes he found hard to ignore, Bucky reached over, grabbing the man's hand with his right and all but throwing him face down onto the bar, his left hand flattening itself on his shoulder blade, while his right hand drew the man's arm up as high as it could go until he felt the straining pull of muscles.

The man howled in pain, but was otherwise immobile against Bucky's hold. One of the man's friends came up from the side to help, only to be rewarded with a sideways kick into his gut; sending him backward into a table. Bucky released him, only to tuck his head underneath his right arm, pull him off the bar and drive his knee into his chest; releasing him at the same time.

He went backward, falling flat on the floor, groaning as he struggled to return the air that had been forced from his lungs. A fist suddenly came across the left side of his face, the unexpected force throwing him into the bar. Bucky stopped himself on his hands, slowly regaining his posture and turning to set eyes on a larger man standing just a foot away; the look in his eyes suggesting he was expecting a knockout hit.

The stinging feeling surfaced on the peak of his left cheek, and by the looks of the rings the man had, it was no surprise. Rage bubbled up in his chest, and his efforts to hold back suddenly got very difficult. The man moved to punch him again, but found his balled fist caught inside a metal grip.

With a quick flick of the wrist, Bucky felt the snap of bone vibrate through the man's hand, and a painful roar erupted from his mouth. The soldier snapped his head forward, colliding foreheads with the man and sending him to the floor; out cold by the sound of the low thud that echoed in Bucky's ears.

A hand grabbed hold of his right shoulder and he brought his arm around, catching someone in the neck with his forearm and slamming them into the bar. He drove his left fist into their side, hearing a yelp of pain drown out the crack of ribs before he let them fall to the ground. Bucky's attention turned toward the few others that stood a few feet away, hesitant or unwilling to join in on the brawl.

The sound of a shotgun pump teased his ears to his left, and it felt like the world slowed down around him. He reached back, grabbing the barrel with his left as he turned, yanking the weapon free as easy as it would be taking a toy from a child. With expert maneuvering, he spun the weapon in his hands and had it tucked against his shoulder, aiming at the elderly bartender; who didn't realize his weapon was gone until it was being aimed at him.

The old man gently raised his hands and backed toward the counter behind the bar. It took several moments before Bucky turned his attention to the other patrons. Save for the unconscious one at his feet, and the two that were still trying to stand up; the entirety of the bar was staring at him…scared to death. Even the woman, who had felt so confident just five minutes ago, was wide eyed and shaking, backing up slowly with a death grip on the bar to keep from falling over. Seven years did nothing for instinctive habit, and no matter how hard he tried, it seemed impossible for him to just fit back in with the world; not after he had spent so many years helping to undo it. Steve would constantly tell him 'just give it time', but he was certain that time wasn't the issue anymore. It only took a few years before Bucky resigned himself to the fact that the soldier was just part of him now; a part that everyone feared…everyone hated…except for one.

Bucky slowly lowered the gun, glancing around the bar one last time before slamming the weapon down on the counter; hearing several hitch their breaths in response. With that, he turned and left; heading for the only place he could blow off proper steam without risking killing anybody.

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A fine sheen of sweat coated his skin, small droplets tracing the dips of his muscles as they rolled down his flesh. Each strike against the punching bag was a cracked skull, a shattered collarbone, a handful of broken ribs. His muscles rippled with his movements, and his breath came out in short trained bursts. Bucky did his best to focus his thoughts on the bag, trying to vent the tension lined within his body; but even unleashing everything…it wasn't enough.

'I'm sure'

His memories sent him back to the cab ride back to Steve's place, the last day he saw her.

'I need to go under the radar…at least for a little while'

He wanted her to stay, convinced he could protect her, but for the life of him, he couldn't say it.

'Bucky…I'll keep in touch'

A strong left hit and chain holding the bag to the ceiling snapped under the strain. The bag went flying from the impact, half of it torn apart at the middle as it slid to a stop several feet away. He was panting, his fists staying clenched as he stared at the product of his pent up frustration.

"Between the two of us, this place goes through a lot of punching bags" Steve remarked, casually walking toward him.

Bucky tossed him an annoyed glare as he went for the tape around his right knuckles, making his way to the weight bench where his duffle bag rested. It was possibly the best benefit to this particular gym, one being that since it was an older establishment, the constant population was next to nothing, especially at night; ensuring Bucky could take to the bag in nothing but a pair of gym shorts. The second perk was that since Stark was practically funding the place, the owner didn't say so much as peep about the numerous punching bags that got destroyed on a weekly basis.

He took a seat on the bench, tossing the used tape on the floor and reaching for the water bottle tucked inside the bag. Steve made his way over, taking a seat next to him on the bench, seeming to avoid eye contact at first. Bucky had already retrained himself on Steve's body language long ago; and this meant he wanted to say something, but didn't know how to say it.

"What do you want Steve?" he asked, taking a drink of water.

"Just making sure you're okay, you've seemed a bit…edgy lately"

"I'm fine" he replied, resting his elbows on his knees.

Steve said nothing, looking over at the demolished bag, then to the floor; it seemed even he was watching where he stepped around the soldier, but he knew it was more a matter of respect with Steve…Sam was just plain scared of him.

"You get in another fight?" Steve finally asked.

Bucky smirked. He had expected that question since the moment the captain walked into the room, given the tiny cut on his cheek.

"They started it" he grumbled, taking another drink of water.

Steve laughed through his nose, shaking his head.

"The idea is to gain their trust, not chase them away" Steve remarked.

"I've been trying to gain their trust for seven years Steve…" Bucky groaned, tossing his water bottle back into his bag and heading over to the extra bag near the wall.

"…if I don't have it by now, I'm never getting it"

Bucky reached down, grabbing the chain and hoisting it upward off the floor, making his way to the mounting hook; hanging it up with ease. He took a breath and started back on the bag, trying to minimize his impact to salvage this one.

"Not by getting in bar fights you won't"

"Did you come down here to hound me about fighting drunk civilians, or did you have something important to say?" he asked, keeping focus on his strikes.

Steve got to his feet and slowly walked toward the soldier, jamming his hands down in his pockets.

"Sam and I are heading down to Miami, protection detail on a supreme court judge…wondering if you wanted in"

Bucky paused, giving the impression he was thinking it over before he went back to punching.

"I'll pass, thanks…I gotta be in New York tomorrow morning anyway"

"What's in New York?"

"Arm's been getting a little stiff…Stark said he'll take a look at it"

"You and Tony finally getting along?"

"If that's what you want to call it"

"So you're out?"

"Yea, I'm out"

Save for the echoing thuds of strikes against the punching bag, the gym went silent. Steve nodded his head and made a move toward the door; stopping short and turning toward his friend.

"You sure you're okay?"

"Sunshine and rainbows Steve, thanks for asking" he retorted sarcastically.

"I have to ask, you've skipped up the last few missions…and I can't help but wonder if it has anything to do with-"

"Don't go there Steve…I'm warning you, don't go there" Bucky growled, ceasing his punches almost instantly and turning to face the captain.

Steve raised his hands up innocently, aiming to stifle a confrontation before it happened. Bucky steadied himself and took a deep breath. Steve was right, as of late it was becoming far too easy to trigger his temper. Each day that passed with no email, each call that never went through, it was eating him alive and his efforts to control his emotions were failing. His only outlet was venting his strength into punching bags but even that wasn't enough now.

"I'm sorry…I just..." Bucky trailed off, his eyes dancing around the room as if to find something that would help him speak.

"It's okay Buck…everyone heals differently, and some wounds take longer to heal…I just want you to know that I'm here if you want to talk"

Bucky was silent, merely nodding at Steve to acknowledge the offer. It would be easy enough to sit the captain down and tell him everything, the secret he kept under wraps for the past seven years plus…the explanations that would be demanded afterward…not so easy.

Steve gave him an innocent smile and turned to leave, allowing Bucky to focus his attention back to the bag.

"I'm going to owe Sharron a date when I get back from this mission…I could always ask if any of her single friends are-"

"Don't even think about it"

"What's the harm, you could use a little company aside from me and Sam"

"I don't need a date, I need to be left alone"

"Suit yourself"

Bucky heard the fading footfalls of his friend, once again leaving him alone in the gym. His punches got slower, unsteady as his mind reeled; he was slowly coming unraveled. He let loose a guttural howl and adjusted his footing to thrust his foot into the side of the bag, sending it crashing into the first one. He stood there, glaring daggers at the bags, his chest rising and falling at an unsteady pace.

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The tool that was currently fixated beneath the plate on his elbow whirred and cracked with electricity as it slowly made its way along the seam of the secondary plate. Bucky stared straight ahead, following the detailed curves of the flame print paint on the hood of Tony's hot-rod; zoning out like he always did. He was no stranger to having his arm dissected and maintained, but at least now the circumstances were slightly different; if he punched the man currently working on him, he was likely to get crushed into the floor.

Bruce switched the device off and set it on the table nearby, reaching for a small set of magnetic pliers. As delicately as possible, he pulled the secondary plate away, exposing the miniature network of mechanics that served as his artificial muscle response.

"Wow" Banner breathed.

"Beautiful isn't it" Tony stated, biting down on a strawberry as he observed from behind Bruce.

"That's one word for it. The response mechanics are unbelievably advanced, it's hard to believe this was developed back in the forties"

"The first was a prototype…they replaced it with this one in the sixties" Bucky stated.

"Chatty Kathy has a voice!" Stark remarked, tossing the remainder of the strawberry in his mouth as he turned toward his work table, snagging a small pen-like device.

"Slow down there trooper, you're talkin my ears off" he added, handing the device to Banner and walking toward one of the hologram screens at the end of the counter.

Bucky ignored him easily enough, directing his attention toward the screen that Stark had moved to, seeing a model replication of his arm. As Tony moved his hands over the counter, the model moved with it, eventually displaying the absolute interior of his arm. The soldier was partially convinced that the only reason Stark offered to help was to get a closer look at the mechanics serving as a replacement arm.

"Just as I thought, central nerve connections linked to the structure left in your arm, making it perfectly compatible with the nerve endings attached to your brain…this level of architecture at that age is…amazing" Stark breathed, seemingly engrossed with the holographic model.

"Amazing isn't the word I'd use" Bucky grumbled.

"Really? Because I'm gonna use it"

Tony meandered off, spinning the image around in his hands to get a better look. Bruce took a glance at the billionaire, shaking his head as he attached the small device to a power cable and went to work on Bucky's elbow.

"I hope you know what you're doing" Bucky asked, hearing the cracking of electricity.

"I may have majored in bio-nuclear engineering…but I know my way around bio-mechanics" Bruce chuckled.

Bucky brought his attention back to the hot-rod in front of him, catching Tony out of the corner of his eye; dressing himself with the hologram. The soldier shook his head in response, sighing heavily.

"He lacks a brain to mouth filter ninety-nine percent of the time, but he's right…this kind of tech was ahead of its time…and in some ways, still is"

"Yea well, you're not the one wearing it are you? This isn't a gift…it's a damn curse" Bucky growled.

Bruce paused, drawing his eyes up to look up at the soldier, who's attention was captured by the man's withdrawl.

"Take it from me, we all have our curses…all it takes is someone to see the curse for what it really is…and not really give a shit either way, they still see who we really are" he stated, going back to the elbow.

"Did you seriously just give me coping advise?" Bucky asked, raising an eyebrow in question.

"Nine years ago, I would be the last person giving any advice, but it's the truth. Tony may be a prick, but he saw me for no different than another human being…and because of that…I'm slowly giving myself my life back…"

Bucky turned to look back at Stark, who looked to be thoroughly enjoying himself, acting like he could punch through walls.

"…and in his own way…he's doing the same thing with you" Banner finished.

The soldier's attention snapped back to the doctor quick enough to cause a kink in his neck.

"What? How?"

"That HYDRA leak you were part of…the details of a few particular…assignments…were made public to him"

Bucky swallowed hard. Granted he anticipated Stark finding out at some point, but if he had known all this time…why act like nothing was wrong?

"So, what is this? Him trying to convince me I'm not a monster?"

"For lack of a better explanation….yea…he's demonstrating to you that someone can forgive and see past the…monster, as you say…if he can, there is bound to be someone else that can as well"

His mouth went dry and again he pulled his attention to the hot-rod. Part of him wondered if maybe he wasn't doing as well of a job in hiding his inner turmoil as well as he thought. As Banner continued to work on his elbow, Bucky's mind wandered, reeling back to her face; the face that practically haunted him now.

"There is" he murmered.

"Is there? Who?" Stark asked, practically bounding up to them; satisfied with his playtime.

It was at that moment that Bucky not only made a present tense confession, but he actually vocalized it with the biggest mouth of the country standing a foot away.

"There was" he corrected.

"You said is first…present tense…so who is she…or he…whatever you prefer"

The urge to punch Tony in the teeth rose up in his chest, causing him to clench his fists.

"I meant to say there was…and she…is gone"

"She dump you?"

Bucky flashed him a death glare, and apparently the flex of his muscles didn't go un-noticed by Banner.

"Back off Tony, it's hard to get this reset properly while he's restraining his muscles" Bruce warned.

"I'm just making an observation. I took him for the smart one of the two, he at least chose an Android phone, so I didn't think he'd let someone important enough to see past the arm, just…leave"

Bucky thrust himself from the chair, coming nose to nose with Stark, who seemed unaffected by the sudden action.

"That's enough!" Bruce barked, getting to his feet equally as fast.

Banner forced Bucky back down to the chair with a flex of his arm, his eyes exchanging between Stark and the soldier; and the latter swore he saw the slightest tinge of green surface on the doctor's skin. Bruce seemed to notice the lapse in his control, and took a deep breath to steady himself. Stark raised his hands up innocently and backed up, keeping his eyes on Bucky for a few more steps until he went for the door. Bucky was livid, but he dared not move until Banner sat back down and went back to working on his elbow.

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"Was it necessary to push him like that?" Banner asked, setting the tools back in their usual spot.

"He's hiding something…I got curious" Stark replied.

"Yea well, I don't advise doing that again, that guy is a time trigger on a nuke"

"So you say, and I might agree, but that doesn't change the fact he's hiding something" Tony remarked, moving over toward his hologram screen, pulling up the model of Bucky's arm.

"What makes you say that?" Bruce asked, taking off his glasses.

"It's obvious that someone got to him…got under his skin per-say…and when I brought it up, he got all defensive…you don't think that's a little odd?"

Banner looked as if he were processing the information.

"Also…he wasn't exactly the party box when he first sided back with capsicle, but here recently…he's too quick tempered"

"Yea Steve had mentioned he's been a little edgy" Bruce agreed.

"Exactly…I think these little bits are connected somehow…which is why I had Jarvis hack his phone while he was here" Stark remarked, discarding the model and pulling up a small folder icon on the screen; bringing it to full view.

"Privacy means nothing to you does it?" Banner laughed, shutting the tool drawer.

"If they want privacy, they need better software…oh look…call log"

"And you wonder why I don't want to get a phone"

"For someone who claims not to have a special someone, he sure has a lot of outbound calls, Jarvis, run em" Tony remarked.

"None of those numbers look the same, could be multiple people in that list" Banner advised.

"Sir, all of these phone numbers have been registered to prepaid cell phones, and none of them are currently in service" Jarvis chimed.

"Burner phones…the plot thickens" Tony cooed, looking over to Bruce with wide eyes.

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It was nearly nightfall before Bucky made it back to DC, pulling his matte black 1976 Camaro into the curb-side parking space. An impulse purchase he made after his first paid mission, but he liked the way it looked, and the way it sounded, but more importantly he liked it for the customization he could do. Tinted reinforced windows, and a roll down metal guard for the front windshield, along with a weapons holster for the trunk; he was prepared for damn near anything.

Bucky killed the engine, getting out of the car and locking it behind him. He walked up toward the front entry of the apartment when he hesitated, drawing his attention to the right. A smirk crossed his lips and he snorted through his nose.

"You're getting sloppy" he stated.

"Or maybe I intended for you to know I was here" she remarked, stepping out from the shadowed ally beside the complex.

"Highly unlikely for you to go against your training, you forget I was in the KGB too…I know how they work"

"From my understanding, it was your regiment that became the new training module for them…so I guess I have you to thank for that"

"What do you want Romanoff?" he growled.

"Just paying a friendly visit" she replied, flashing him a seductive smile.

"I doubt that"

"Believe what you want, but I'm actually here for you"

He narrowed his eyes, and she laughed softly.

"Easy killer, I'm just delivering what you requested" she remarked, pulling a thick manila envelope from inside her jacket.

His heart skipped a beat as she handed him the envelope. It had been nearly four months since he came across her and asked that she do a little digging for him; after not hearing from her for two weeks…he figured her dead or uninterested.

"Took you long enough"

"Yea well, all my old resources were exposed to my alias so I had to dig up new ones…that kind of trust takes a bit of time to forge" she stated.

He took the envelope from her, staring down at it and feeling his heart hammer against his ribs.

"It's all there, at least everything current. Your girl has skill, she covered her tracks very well…if I didn't know any better I'd say-"

"Let's just pretend you don't know any better" he snipped.

She seemed only mildly taken aback by his reaction, but recovered quickly, flashing him another smile and turning to head back to the ally.

"Remember what I said Romanoff…not a word" he warned.

Natasha turned toward him, continuing to walk backward.

"My lips are sealed" she stated, disappearing into the darkness.

Bucky's grip on the envelope tightened and he stared at it intently before tucking it into his jacket.