Things stayed tense after that. James never found out if Natasha did speak with Steve, since neither of them said anything to him; still, it was clear that Steve was either really angry with him or still really hurt, probably a mix of both, because he barely acknowledge James for a while. It got better after James had worn the old uniform to another mission, where he thankfully didn't panic again, but Steve never brought it up and so neither did James.

It was a strange sort of truce, where neither would say anything, too afraid they would upset the other again and James knew that it couldn't hold for much longer. It had been three months since he'd snapped at Steve on that rooftop and after that they hadn't talked to each other. Sure, they were friendly and polite, but that was it.

Steve didn't come looking for him when he vanished into the workshop and he also didn't ask how he was doing anymore. The others, namely Tony and Natasha, had made clear what they thought of this situation, but James didn't know how to approach it now. It had festered too long and while James knew that he only way they would resolve this was to talk, he was too afraid that it would end in another fight.

So he did nothing, and Steve did nothing, and Tony and Natasha glared at them. It started to affect the team as well, everyone felt the tension between them and while Bruce mostly avoided them now, Clint and Thor tried very hard to get them talking again. So far to no avail.

Other than that, things had been very good. James, Natasha and Clint had this friendship thing going on, where they would just meet up without much fuss and watch a movie, play games on the consoles, cook or spar, depending on their mood, and it was great. Thor would sometimes join them when he was in the tower and it really felt like the team had accepted him.

He continued to spend most of his time down in the workshop though, and while Tony occasionally tried to get him to talk to Steve, not much had changed there. Tony was still trying to make James a new arm, but so far James had denied him that wish. He allowed repairs and even little tweaks but he wasn't ready for anything big and while Tony seemed to get that, he also couldn't help but to pester him every now and then about it.

James mostly took it for the teasing it probably was, but it left a bitter taste nonetheless. Since he had talked with Steve all these months before, he couldn't help but actively notice all the times Tony was flirting with him. If James were anything near his old self, he would give just as good as Tony, but he wasn't, and so most of the comments fell flat. James couldn't help but notice that half the stuff Tony said was aimed towards the arm anyways, so it probably meant nothing at all, even if James wished it would be different.

With all the time he spent down in the workshop, it was impossible not to notice Tony. James had never thought anything would come of it, even if he would be able to flirt back, because he was surely not what Tony wanted. But to realize now that he was right, that Tony was only flirting with him because of the arm, was still like a punch to the gut.

He wished Steve had never mentioned it to him, because that had made it incredible hard not to actively notice it. Of course he had noticed the way Tony would sometimes look at him, but it was easy to brush it off, not think too deeply about it; but now that he knew the others had noticed as well, it was impossible to forget.

Still, he didn't stop coming down to the workshop and since he never mentioned it, Tony didn't behave any differently and James believed he could live with this just fine.

James had attended a few missions since that very first one and he never freaked out like the first time again. He usually functioned as a sniper, but from time to time he also went from his spot to engage in hand-to-hand combat. He was good at both, but he preferred the times he could stay out of the fray, keep an eye on all his teammates and help them by keeping threats from approaching them from behind.

There had been a little dispute with Clint about that, shortly after his third mission, but they had talked it out. Like the adults they were, they had engaged in some beat-'em-up games and continued to yell at each other, even long after their characters were dead. Clint had admitted that he felt useless when James took on his job, like he wouldn't be needed anymore, James had admitted that he needed to feel like he took care of the team, and that there was no way he could actually steal this position from Clint, and they went from there to a complicated solution.

They had tried to factor in James' bad days and then added Clint's bad days. They had special charts for the enemies they would most likely encounter and one for the arrows Clint had, to see if that would bring them an advantage. They had special charts for the weather and population in the area they were called to and whenever the alarm went off they came running with a folder and debated the whole flight. In the end they settled it with rock-paper-scissors.

The team was long past the point where they would acknowledge them and their little game but Clint and James never failed to do it. So far Clint one more often than not and James was getting a little tired of always losing to him. But he hadn't found a pattern to Clint's choices yet and so he had no means at tweaking his own decision.

The only time when they wouldn't try to settle their positions with this was when the portal made an appearance again. It had happened a few times during the last months but so far nothing came through it. The team had agreed that for this particular situation it would be better to have two sharp shooters instead of one and since James and Clint had gotten used to their mission bickering they often bickered about the perfect roof if the portal showed up again.

The portal showed up all over the city, not only in Central Park like the first time, which made evacuation a bit hard. So far they had been lucky since nothing came through it yet but they all agreed that it was only a matter of time before that happened. Whenever a call because of that portal came, they prepared for the worst and it grated on their nerves.

James was having one of his bad days when the alarm went off again. It was hard to remind himself, that he wasn't with Hydra, that this didn't mean mindless killing, and he barely managed it. When he entered the Quinjet, Tony threw him a worried glance that James mostly ignored. To no avail, because a second later Tony was already on his way over to him.

"How are you doing?" he asked and James sighed.

"I've been better," he admitted, careful to not talk so loud that the rest of the team heard it as well.

"The arm giving you trouble?" Tony inquired and now James sighed for a different reason. It always came back to the arm with Tony.

"No, the arm is fine. It's the head that's giving me trouble."

"Not much I can do to help there," Tony said and clasped his shoulder. James briefly wondered how Tony always managed to stand on his left side so that he could touch the arm, but he pushed that thought away. He needed to concentrate and that particular train of thought wouldn't help him in the slightest.

"You're well enough to go out with us?" Tony inquired further and James frowned.

"I wouldn't be here if I thought I would be a liability." The words came out harsher than he had thought and Tony raised his eyebrows.

"Okay, then," he said, removed his arm from James' shoulder and after one last glance he made his way back to Steve, no doubt to talk strategies.

They were called to Central Park again because the portal had showed up in the very same spot than all these months ago and everyone was worried about that. Bruce and Tony had repeatedly tried to analyse it but since James hadn't heard about any breakthroughs he guessed they hadn't been successful.

When they landed they could immediately tell that something was different this time because the portal was flickering and they could see movement on the other side, though it seemed like it was behind water.

"Clint, James, I want you on your sniper positions. James, be ready to engage in close combat, maybe we'll need you down here, depending on what comes through," Steve ordered and James and Clint nodded. Thor and Tony took them to their chosen rooftops where they settled down and waited.

James only realized belatedly that this rooftop was the same he had been on during his first mission and he momentarily worried that he would freak out like before. He never had, not since he wore his old uniform to these fights, and it was irrational to believe this rooftop would change that.

He took a few deliberately deep breaths before he settled his rifle and settled down behind it. He kept a close eye on the portal, worried by the constant movement on the other side, but even through his scope he couldn't make out any clear shapes. Everything was blurred and seemed soft somehow, but he knew that that probably wasn't right.

Steve, Natasha, Thor and Tony were in a loose circle around the portal, observing both sides and the area around it, and Bruce was on standby in the Quinjet. He was still running analyses on the portal, even though they all knew nothing would come of it. By now they also knew that Tony and Bruce hadn't been responsible for closing the gate the first time; it just vanished after exactly forty-five minutes and had done so every time since.

After thirty minutes the movement on the other side hadn't stopped and instead seemed to come closer to their side of the portal. They still couldn't make out any clear shapes but by now it grated on all of their nerves and their banter had long since died down. They were all too focused on the possible danger that lurked on the other side.

They approached the forty-five minute mark and Clint and Tony were already sniping at each other again but James had a bad feeling about this. He wasn't convinced that this would go over without a hitch and he told them as much. Steve silently agreed with him, he could see him nod at James' concerns, and Natasha and Thor seemed uneasy as well.

Clint had started to count down when they were only one minute away from the usual closing time and he made it as far as 'Four' before a hand came through the portal. Everyone was in their fighting positions in a second and even Clint stopped to count, but no one made a move towards the hand.

It stayed there for over a minute before it retracted but the tension didn't leave with it. Now they knew that something was on the other side and while that hand had seemed human, they couldn't know if that was true.

That little breech obviously upset the time frame for the portal because it made no move to close and vanish as it had before and James feared that this could prove to be a really long stake-out.

Before he could make his displeasure about that known the hand came back. Only this time did the body attached follow it through. A human stumbled through the portal and James immediately recognized the uniform the man was wearing. The man moved to throw something back through the portal, while simultaneously raising his weapons against Steve and even though James immediately killed him he couldn't prevent that.

While everyone turned around to him, Steve stayed where he was, gaze fixed on the now dead man, his shield still raised to stop the bullet. He seemed to have recognized the uniform as well. While Tony and Clint were yelling at him, and Natasha was obviously displeased in her silence, James kept a close look on the portal.

"He threw something back. Prepare for a fight," he told them, ignoring their objections, and then turned to Tony. "Can you get me down? Quickly?"

"What's happening, James?" he asked but was already on his way to get James.

"That's a Hydra uniform," James finally told them and it seemed to shake Steve awake. He crouched down next to the body and made a quick swipe.

"Hydra? I thought we got them all. Where would they get the technology for a portal? Besides, that looks nothing like the Hydra uniforms we have encountered so far," Clint said while Tony and James landed next to Steve.

"That's because it's a uniform from 1943," Steve said and his voice was tight with anger.

"They are from the past?" Clint asked them but James shook his head.

"Pretty sure our Hydra never had this technology or else we would have known. I can't imagine they didn't try to use that for their purpose."

Steve was still eerily quiet but after Tony threw him one quick glance, he took the command for this moment.

"Okay, I want you all to stay here, I'll go to the jet real quick to look at the readings with Bruce but don't let this portal out of your eyes. Clint, I want you to shoot everything that comes through."

"But what if someone comes through who tries to get away from Hydra?" Bruce asked and while James could understand his worries, he really wished he hadn't asked. James was all in favour of killing everything that stepped through this portal.

Apparently that question jolted Steve out of his stupor because he turned around to look in Clint's direction. "Can you kill anything with that uniform and leave possibly other people unharmed?" he asked him and Clint scoffed. "Of course I can, and you know it."

Steve nodded once and then continued to give orders. "Tony, back in the Quinjet, I want this thing closed, Bruce you're on standby until I call a Code Green, Natasha and Thor, down here with me, we'll keep everything from this portal in a ten feet radius, don't let anything escape. James, I want you back on your rooftop."

"Not happening," James called over his shoulder while he sprinted over to Tony before he could take off. "Can you get my mask?" he asked him lowly, knowing that Steve would heavily disapprove. He had worn the muzzle mask on a few missions but figured out, that he could mostly do without it, especially if he worked as a sniper from the distance. But this was personal, and it would get messy, and he was sure he would need it.

"Sure. I'll instruct Bruce to set up a few parameters and then I'll be back."

James nodded gratefully at him and then Tony took off. They had parked the Quinjet a few miles away, in preparation of a fight that would not need the Hulk to come out and play. James wasn't so sure it would be that kind of fight.

It only took Tony a few minutes to fly to the jet, instruct Bruce and come back with the mask. He didn't bother to land, just let it fall into James waiting hands and he quickly clasped it on. He immediately felt calmer and more in control and he smiled a bit behind the mask. If there were more Hydra agents, they would wish they never came through that portal.

When James walked back to the portal, he was met with Steve's disapproving glare but he had been subjected to that for nearly all of his life and he wasn't that easily impressed by it anymore. Besides, the mask was helping him and he wouldn't debate that with Steve right now. He had worn it on missions before and everyone knew it had been a possibility that he would need it again.

"I will not stay out of the fray on this one. This is personal," he told Steve from behind the mask, his voice muffled but he was sure the others could still hear the barest hint of a snarl. He hadn't gotten the chance to kill that many Hydra agents from this time, the Avengers had taken care of most of them before he had been in the headspace to even think about revenge, and so he would make sure to enjoy every last kill he made today. Doing it from afar felt too impersonal, he needed to do it with his own hands and so he quickly checked his knifes. Guns wouldn't do it for him either, though he didn't discard them. He never knew when they would come in handy, but he fully intended to rely purely on his knifes here.

Steve looked like he wanted to argue with him about that decision but before he could form the words, the portal began to shimmer. Everyone got into position, and not a second too early, because a bunch of Hydra goons were pouring out of the portal.

James was already moving, not waiting for Steve's command to attack them, but before he could even reach the first goon, he already fell down, impaled with an arrow.

"If you keep doing this, I'll have to come up to kick you down," James snarled into his comm but Hawkeye only laughed.

"Sorry, won't happen again. Just had to do it once." While they were talking, Clint had killed five more agents and James was shaking with pent up anger. None of them had made it to him, two were intercepted by Thor and even Natasha and Steve were already engaged in combat, but before James could complain, the portal spit out more enemies.

James took the time to shoot one warning glance up to Clint before he threw himself into the fight. It was clear that these Hydra agents were not the same uncoordinated bunch he and Steve had fought during WWII. These were strong, almost unnaturally so, and had enhanced weapons, which fried Natasha's widow bites in seconds.

Thor could easily hold his own against them, thought the sheer amount of them was tiring. Natasha quickly found out that their armour did have some weak points, especially if she got close enough to them and so she didn't make use of her guns either. Steve and James could fight them relatively easily, it made no difference if the weapons were enhanced or not, they had no greater impact on them than normal ones would have, but the sheer physical strength of them were a bit worrying. Steve's shield flew through the air, sometimes too fast to see, and James wreaked havoc with his knives.

There were a lot of dead or incapacitated bodies already on the ground but more and more agents came walking through the portal and James realized that they would at least need Tony back with them, if not even the Hulk, if they kept coming like that.

Steve seemed to have reached the same conclusion because he ordered Tony back to them, but even with Iron Man it was tough. James quickly had to rely more and more on his metal arm, since it looked like the goons could take more and more and James kept a worried eye on Natasha. If he was already getting tired he didn't want to imagine how she must feel, though she never let it show. She was as quick as always.

Tony obviously had the same concerns because he kept close to her and that allowed James to completely focus back on his enemies. While it was exhausting, fighting one Hydra agent after the other, with no end in sight, it was also really satisfying. James finally got to execute his revenge and with every body that fell to the floor, he felt lighter.

He was so focused on killing the next agent in front of him, he put up a really good fight and James had to work hard for an opening, something in front of the portal changed.

"Guys, they are trying to bring something important through. There are five agents building a circle while the others try to distract you," Clint told them, but James couldn't turn around to look, if he wanted to win against his opponent. The others seemed to have the same problem, because Clint kept a running commentary for them.

"One of them went back through but I think they expect him back. Prepare for something big. They'll probably bring a tank or something. Who knows."

The arrows kept flying, even though Clint's attention was with the portal, and when an arrow distracted James' opponent long enough that James could slash his throat, he quickly breathed a 'Thanks' into the comms. Clint didn't answer him, too busy telling them what he saw.

"The guy is back and he brought someone else. Looks like a prisoner from the way they have him restrained. He seems hurt, but I can't see him clearly." There was a brief pause and then "Guys, they are trying to get him away. A party of five plus the captured just went off in Natasha's direction."

"Got them," Tony said and made his way over to them. James slowly fought his way into the same direction, but he was still at least twenty feet away when something thrown by one of the escaping agents hit Tony's armour and went off with a bright light and a comparably silent bang.

The effect was immediate though because Tony swore and then crashed down, only narrowly avoiding Natasha in the process. He staggered to his feet a few moments later but it was long enough, that James had picked up speed and slashed his way through every enemy that was in his way. When he finally reached Tony, he was already fully back on his feet, much to James' relieve, but he seemed unable to move as smoothly as he had before.

"They did something to the joints of the armour. I can't move like I want," he said and James could hear how frustrated he was. If the armour was down, that meant Tony was practically useless in this fight. James stood next to Tony but was pushed away. "I'm fine. Go after Natasha. She can't take five of them."

James knew that Tony had a point, but it didn't feel right leaving Tony on the battlefield unprotected. Tony seemed to realize his dilemma because he said urgently "Go. I summoned another suit. It'll be here in a few minutes."

James nodded when he heard that, though he wasn't fully convinced that Tony told the truth, and sprinted after Natasha and the Hydra agents. Natasha was still tailing the group, obviously aware that she wouldn't be able to take them all, carefully staying out of range, but when she saw James she readied herself for an attack.

"Anything on the prisoner?" James lowly asked her but she shook her head. They would have to gauge the situation as they went in. Natasha readied herself to attack the two guards on the left, while James would take out those on the right, which would hopefully only leave them with the one guy herding the prisoner away. James only got little glances at him, he was carefully guarded and well protected, but something about him seemed eerily familiar.

James tried to shake that feeling off, he needed to concentrate on the upcoming fight, and when Natasha gave the sign, they both rushed forwards. Natasha was a bit faster than him and she managed to take one of the guards by surprise, which was good for her, but it also meant that when James reached the two Hydra goons, they were already waiting for him, while the fifth ushered the prisoner faster along.

He stabbed the left guard with one of his knives, carefully aiming for the gaps between their armour plates, and managed to distract him for at least a few seconds. James used those to go hard after the other one, but it was only luck that he managed to stab him in the neck during that first exchange of punches.

He spun around to the remaining guy, grimacing when he noticed that he had removed the knife and didn't seem overly bothered by the wound it had inflicted. James scowled and got another knife out of his tight holster. He really hoped that not many more of them came through the portal; they all had a hard time fighting them as it was.

The guy lunged at James who barely managed to dodge the attack, and he lashed out with his knife in retaliation. It scrapped over the body armour without doing any damage, but James didn't have time to curse about that because his enemy was fast. A vicious fight developed and James had problems holding his own against him. It seemed like the guards were an extra evil breed of Hydra soldiers.

James got distracted for a second when Natasha flew past him and his opponent used that moment to fling a small disc in his direction. James raised his metal arm to deflect it, an instinct he immediately regretted, because it was the exact same thing they had hit Tony with. The light went off and his arm fell down on his side, useless for all intents and purposes. He could move his fingers but the reaction time was off and took way too long to respond. They had just rendered his arm useless and James wasn't sure if he would be able to take the agent with just his human arm.

He didn't get time to worry about that for too long though, because the goon charged at him again and James changed the grip on his remaining knife. This would be a bloody fight.

They traded punches, some of them so fast that James was only barely able to dodge them, but he managed to land a few hits, though it didn't seem to do much. His opponent didn't slow down and even when James managed to bring the handle of his knife down on his temple, he only briefly shook his head and then came at James as if nothing had happened.

James fought back viciously but in the end it was a slight slip that saved his life. The Hydra agent had him in a tight grip, damn those straps on his uniform, and James couldn't twist out of it. The goon was ready to bring down his own knife, when James tried to sidestep him, only to slip on the grass. He stumbled, momentarily throwing the other man off balance and he took advantage of that. James quickly spun the knife in his hand and then his arm shot upwards. The knife went into the underside of the man's chin and right through.

James was thrown to the ground when the dead weight of the agent hit him, but he managed to roll the body off him in a few seconds, though it was hard work. When James came back up he immediately looked for Natasha, only to find Steve and Thor with her and the prisoner. It looked like they already took care of the last agent and liberated the prisoner of his cuffs.

James approached them, bloody knife still in his hand, but when he heard a familiar voice, he stopped dead in his tracks.

"Stevie, it's you! What happened to you? I thought you were back home!"

It was unmistakably his voice, but James couldn't make sense of that. Luckily he didn't have to try and figure it out on his own, because in the next moment the prisoner turned around to him. James noticed the injuries on the other man's face and his apparent exhaustion first before he really saw his face. He didn't understand what was happening, because it was his own face staring right at him, his own face bright with a lingering grin. The man tried to say something to him, but he only came as far as opening his mouth, before Steve whirled him around to envelop him into a no doubt bone crushing hug. James had been on the receiving end of that hug, so he knew that it hurt quite a bit, but the other guy returned it, equally as hard, from the looks of it.

"Bucky," Steve breathed into the man's neck and that was the moment James realized that this was really happening.

Natasha and Thor obviously couldn't help but grin at the very apparent joy Steve felt and even the other guy, Bucky, laughed out loud while he refused to let Steve go.

"I thought you were gone," James heard someone say and he thought it had been Bucky, but when he realized it was Steve who had uttered these words, it was like a punch to the gut.

James stumbled a step back, further away from then, and he gripped the bloody knife even tighter. Steve and Bucky paid him no attention, to wrapped up in their hug, but Natasha's head snapped to him and she suddenly looked pained. She made an aborted step in his direction but when Bucky spoke, her attention quickly went back to him and Steve.

"Stevie, what's happening here? When I left, you were still…small. How are you here? How are you looking like that?" Bucky asked him, voice muffled because his face was still pressed into Steve's neck, hands gripping tightly at his upper arms.

"What do you mean? I saw you die. You fell from the train," Steve answered, but his voice broke on the last words.

"Hate to break the mood here, but that is not your Bucky there, Cap," Tony suddenly said from behind James and James jolted. He hadn't even heard him approach, which was probably due to the fact that Tony wasn't in his armour any longer.

Clint was with him and while he was looking very grim, that at least meant the portal was closed and there wouldn't be any new Hydra agents. At least for now.

Tony had been looking at Steve and Bucky while he spoke but now his gaze fell back on James. He checked him over once, and when he found no obvious injuries he seemed visibly relieved.

"What do you mean that is not the Captain's friend?" Thor asked and sounded confused. "He looks exactly like the pictures the Captain showed us."

Tony shrugged and pointed at Clint. "Explain it."

Clint scowled at Tony but he obediently began to talk. "I hit one of them with one of my sleep arrows and the dosage was enough to knock him out for about fifteen minutes. He woke up a few minutes ago and he was very talkative. The short version is that they are from a different universe, and as far as I understood it, they were trying to transfer Bucky to another facility for safe keeping. They were trying to get him away from the front line, because they heard something about a Captain America destroying facilities, when the portal showed up and they thought why not use that as an escape plan."

"So, Cap, he's not your Bucky. There is a Steve out there who very much misses his Bucky and I think we should send him back as soon as possible," Tony said and walked up to James to stand beside him.

Steve reluctantly let go of Bucky but he didn't stop touching him, still seeking the contact. James was watching the whole scene but it felt far away, like it happened to someone else and he was just a third person who had the misfortune to witness this whole train wreck.

Steve's eyes fell on him and his whole face closed up and James could see how he tightened his grip on Bucky's shoulder.

There was a faint noise and suddenly everyone was looking at him. He belatedly realized that he had dropped his knife and was taking deep breaths that sounded like sobs behind his mask. Maybe they were sobs. James was too numb to tell.

His fears had come true. He had always worried that Steve only wanted his old Bucky back and now he got exactly that. James took another step back and Tony's hand came towards him, to steady him or to hold him back he didn't know, but he tried to swat his hand away. He knew that he wouldn't be able to stand the pity in the other's eyes, but his arm didn't behave and so Tony's hand came down on his arm.

"James? What's wrong with the arm?" Tony asked, concern obvious in his voice and at the name, Bucky finally turned around again.

He looked at Tony and James, but he didn't seem to recognize James. James realized that he was still wearing his mask, maybe that made it difficult, Steve hadn't recognized him with that either, but right now it only meant that he was so fundamentally different from the Bucky he had been during the war, that he didn't even recognize himself.

He walked backwards, away from Bucky and Steve, but Tony followed him. No one called after him, but even when he turned around he could feel their gazes on him. Tony had to run a bit to catch up with him and James didn't slow down to make it easier on him.

"James, stop. Are you hurt? What happened?" Tony asked again and this time when he reached for James, he tried to stop him. James knew that he could easily break out of Tony's grasp, even though the arm was not working properly, but he stopped, though he refused to look Tony in the eye.

"Did they hit you with one of the disks?" Tony inquired and James nodded once. "Okay. My suit is still down as well. Let's get back to the workshop, so I can figure out what happened. Your arm shouldn't be incapacitated. It's sad to look at, really," Tony said and James knew that he was trying for a joke, but it all hit too close to home right now. He didn't need the reminder that Tony was only this nice to him because of the arm. Everything hurt bad enough as it was, he could really do without the added pain that brought.

He jerked his arm away from Tony, who thankfully let him go this time, and started to move again, Tony hot on his heels. "How do we get back?" he asked and was glad that the mask covered the panicked note in his voice.

"Shield is here. We'll just take one of their cars. Jarvis sent another suit, he will carry the damaged one back to the tower. The others can take the jet."

James didn't answer him but walked up to one of the many Shield cars that were now all over the area. He stayed a bit behind when Tony went to talk to one of the agents and while he didn't seem happy to let Tony have his car, they were seated and on the road seconds later.