Oh man, guys. Let's do this thing.

Also, I posted a question on my tumblr, but I don't think many follow me there. My birthday is next month and I'd love to do something for it! I was wondering if you guys had anything you'd be interested in? Like maybe I could do a double upload that week or I could do personalized request doodles for reviewers or something? Feel free to let me know. I'd love to give back to all of you who give me so much encouragement.

Anon. Reviews:

Guest: Ahh! Thank you! I'm glad they make you happy! ^^ And I don't know... You'll have to keep reading to find out... ;)

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Ash and smoke filled her lungs. There wasn't any room left for air.

Sutton tried to gasp, tried to breathe, but there was still an immense weight keeping her pinned, her chest squashed into the ground. She cried out, panicked and afraid. It took her a moment for the confusion about what had happened to clear.

And then there was a shifting. Some of the weight lifted off of her and there was a low scraping of rock on rock. Sutton's chest finally expanded but sharp pains shot through her ribcage. The air sent her into a coughing fit, her lungs desperately trying to clear themselves of the foreign debris. The last of the extra weight was lifted off of her and all she was left with were her heavy limbs.

"Are you alright? Can you walk?"

She gasped in more air as she pushed herself up. Steve had Natasha cradled in his arms. She'd been knocked out, probably taking the brunt of the impact that Steve and his shield didn't disperse. Sutton was wobbly, but she rose to her feet and nodded. Steve adjusted Natasha's weight and nodded back sharply.

"Good. We have to move. Come on."

Steve was quick to leave the rubble of the destroyed bunker behind to get back to the truck. It was a struggle to keep up with him. Her balance was off and her head was ringing, but she scrambled, grabbing at the dirt as she tried to remain upright. Sutton looked back once.

There was nothing left. Only sparse chunks of concrete and random rods of rebar that jutted out of the chunks like broken bones.

They had survived that.

How had they survived that?

Steve laid Natasha down in the back seat of the truck before racing around to the driver's side and Sutton scrambled as best she could into the front passenger's seat. She was still wheezing, still dazed, but if Steve was rushing they probably had something to worry about. Her eyes darted up at the sky, searching for more missiles, but she saw none.

Steve threw the truck into drive and tore away from the base just as she saw faint lights appearing in the sky out of the still rising smoke.

Sutton panted and hacked a few more times, still expelling ash from her lungs. Her reactor sang out a high pitch which threatened to damage whatever was left of her eardrums that the explosion had missed. She threw a hand over her chest, pressing down on the strip of metal surrounding the reactor, and growled in the back of her throat.

"I've really got to get Tony to disable that feature."

"Are you hurt?"
Steve glanced at her from the corner of his eyes and Sutton shook her head.

"I've been worse. Natahsa's the one who's still out."

She craned around in her seat and caught one of Nat's limp arms. Pressing against her wrist, Sutton waited until she could feel a beat.

"Her heart rate seems steady. She's at least breathing."

She noticed, then, that her own hands were shaking. Sutton turned back in her seat and jammed her fingers under her thighs to hide the trembling.

"What about you? Are you ok?"

"My shield absorbed the impact."
Sutton frowned as Steve continued to keep his eyes on the road.

"I'm sure you're physically ok," she said. "But, I mean, my gosh, Steve. Do you-do you need a break or anything?" He had a white-knuckled grip on the steering wheel and it was amazing that it hadn't bent already. "I can drive." Sutton offered.

"I'm fine."

"We just- we just found out HYDRA is alive and well. If you need a-"
"Thank you." He cut her off sternly. "But I'm ok. We need to put distance between ourselves and that base and we don't have time for trading places. Besides, you don't know how to get to where we're headed."

Sutton backed off.

"And where are we headed," she asked instead. Steve forcefully loosened his grip on the wheel.

"Hopefully a friend's."

She paused and leaned back into the seat. He was in Captain Mode now. She exhaled slowly.

"Well, hopefully this friend doesn't have as much of an explosive personality."

Steve snorted in surprise and cut his eyes briefly at her. She saw his shoulders loosen up marginally and felt triumphant.

"We only barely survive a missile strike and you're already dropping jokes."

"Hey, being alive has got me feeling pretty dyn-o-mite."

He rolled his eyes at that, but his lips tugged upwards all the same. Sutton's gaze softened.

"It's ok to accept help. You don't have to be Captain America twenty-four-seven, you know," she said. Steve flexed his fingers.

"Sometimes I wonder."

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Natasha wasn't unconscious for long. She let out a small grunt as she pushed herself up into a seated position and ran her hand through her tangled hair. Sutton turned as Nat blinked, taking quick stock of where she was.

"How are you feeling? Is your head ok?"
"Never better." Nat gave her a grimace of a smile.

Sutton felt like, given Natasha's history, that statement could be more or less true.

"How's your knitting going?" She tossed the question back at Nat with enough ironic humor in her tone that the spy wouldn't be too insulted by it.

"Impeccable."

Sutton snorted and turned back in her seat.

"At least I was being honest about mine," she mumbled under her breath. Her body lurched forward suddenly as her chair was kicked from behind, and she let out a quick puff of air.

"Mostly honest," she amended. The scowl she gave Nat in the rearview mirror didn't garner any apologies.

Before long Steve was pulling into a quaint neighborhood. He parked the truck at a small park and then they backtracked stealthily down twisting sidewalks. It was bright and warm and clean. It was a stark contrast with where they'd just come from.

Oblivious. It was like the world was oblivious to everything. Here she was again, her life once more being flipped over on its head and the earth kept turning. Moms were taking their kids to soccer, people were taking walks and running to the grocery store.

They'd just survived a missile explosion.

The skies suddenly burst into color again and clouds cracked in half. Sutton dropped instantly to her knees. Her head was being sawn in two. The world went fuzzy and oddly dull.

Sutton gripped her head. More pain shot through her temples and erupted inside her skull.

"Ah!"

She felt heated and frayed. There were images flashing before her. Figures of people and ghostly shadows of events that didn't belong in this universe. She clenched her teeth together so tightly it hurt, but she could still see it all even when she closed her eyes. It was an overload of information that her brain couldn't handle.

There were… so many things. It was too much.

Too much!

Her hands dropped to the ground. She could feel the streams of water running from her eyes down her face, but she couldn't stop herself. She cried aloud, but the visions still came. It was like a curtain had parted before her to a million different versions of the same room.

There was someone who looked like Tony in a black suit, standing on a red carpet with his arm around a brunette woman, waving to screaming crowds of people. A little boy in an Iron Man costume waved a pen at him, and he stepped forward to sign a photo.

A man in thick glasses shuffled around an office, he held a newspaper in his hand and pointed out some typos to a woman who was frowning as she smacked her hand down, pointing to the article's picture of a caped figure.

There were running hobbits and grumpy dwarves, a brooding detective with his loyal doctor, colors and lights and faces she'd seen a hundred times and some she'd never seen before. She saw- saw herself. Rocking on her knees while she cried in an empty room as she stared out at a ruined city.

Everything, it all flashed before her in a mad collage of images and sensations. She thought that her heart was going to burst this time for good. Or perhaps her mind would simply melt.

"Sutton, Sutton, come on. Come back to me."

The voice didn't match what she was seeing. Sutton gasped, heaving as she tried to fight through all the stimuli. Her eyes darted back and forth, searching for the source of the voice.

"Come on, Sutton. I'm right here. Focus."

Something was touching her. Sutton took another breath and closed her eyes. She curled her fingers and felt the concrete beneath her hands. Solid, unyielding. If she could only anchor herself down to the concrete, to the solid voice.

After another shuddering breath she opened her eyes to be met with a pair of blue ones. Steve was searching her face for the moment she was lucid again. Sutton blinked up at him and he smiled ruefully.

"There you go. You're ok. Come here."
Sutton lifted a shaking arm towards him and he pulled her up into his chest. She clung to him, still shaking with residual pain. But Steve was strong and real. She felt safe. Stable.

"It must be getting worse," she said. Her voice was a breathy whisper. "I could see them all. So-so many places and worlds."

"You're here," said Steve. "You're not going anywhere. We're gonna fix all this."

Sutton squeezed herself closer to him before sighing and letting go.

"I will," she confirmed. "You have your own problems right now."
Steve pinned her with a droll look.

"Pretty sure alternate dimensional villains are everyone's problem."

"Not to ruin the moment," Natasha cut in slyly, "but we should probably keep moving."

Heat bloomed across Sutton's face and Steve helped her as she struggled to quickly stand.

"Can you walk?"
There may or may not have been two Steves in front of her. And admittedly, she was swaying but she tried to give him a thumbs up anyway.

"Great," she said. "Just like last time."

Steve pressed his lips together.

"You're wobbling."
"Irrelevant. I can do this."
Nat sighed as shot Steve a pointed look.

"Just let her lean on you and let's go. Sutton, don't be difficult."

Steve cleared his throat and wrapped an arm around her waist to keep her steady. Sutton swallowed.

His hand was warm even through her shirt and he was solid when she leaned up against him. Even though pain still laced up her arms and through her head, she was hyper aware of the feeling of his body against hers.

It wasn't the first time they'd been close but the way Nat was watching and commenting made it suddenly a hundred times more awkward.

They continued on. Sutton was secretly glad for Steve's support. With how the last vision had been, she wasn't sure how much more she would be able to take. There was no trace of colors in the sky now. No blazing hot stars. The clouds were smooth and perfect.

No more, she silently begged. Please don't let it happen again. Let him fail.

Knocking on a front door and requesting sanctuary was obviously out of the question. They slipped into someone's backyard and all stood huddled on the back patio as Steve knocked on a sliding glass door. There was a moment of waiting, and then someone approached and opened it. Sutton was not surprised.

Sam Wilson.

From the jogging incident.

She sort of figured.

He looked a bit surprised to see them, though, which she couldn't exactly fault him for. They probably still looked a bit singed. Sam gave them all a curious once over and then looked to Steve.

"Hey, man."

"I'm sorry about this," Steve said. "We need a place to lay low."

"Everyone we know is trying to kill us," Natasha added.

There was a moment where Sutton wondered if he was considering just shutting the door, but it was too quick of a hesitation to actually be him wavering. Probably just more shock.

"Not everyone," said Sam. They all breathed a sigh of relief and entered his kitchen before he shut the door again.

His house was clean and well lit and… normal. It almost reminded Sutton of her family's home with its boxy rooms and simple decor. She inhaled deeply and Steve looked down at her.

"You doing ok?"

"I'm good," she chirped. "I'm actually feeling a lot better. I can-uh, probably walk on my own now."

"Oh, right."

His hand slowly left her waist. When she didn't fall over he flashed her a quick smile and nodded.

"Do ya'll need a shower or something?" Sam eyed them all as he leaned against one of his kitchen counters. "Because you look like you just crawled through a war zone. And I'd know."

They let Sutton run through first, so that Steve and Natasha could quickly fill Sam in on the situation. He deserved to know if he was willing to harbor them. Sutton made sure to be fast. There really wasn't much to be done with the sort of time they probably had. She got a towel wet and peeled off her turtleneck to rub as much of the ash from her skin as she could. Her hair was a mess. It wasn't quite straightened anymore. Some locks were beginning to crimp and spring up. There was only so much she could do with it; so she plaited it, wrapping a bit of hair around the end and tucking it through the loops in place of an elastic.

When she'd put her shirt back on and came out of the bathroom, Sam was rubbing at his head and staring blankly at the wall before him. Nat and Steve looked drained. Sutton gestured towards the hall.

"Bathroom's open."

Both Steve and Natasha got up to head back and Sutton shifted out of the way as they passed. She watched them until they disappeared behind the door and then sighed and sat down at Sam's kitchen table. Sam sat a glass of water down in front of her and she accepted it with a quiet thanks.

"So I thought you were the normal friend," he said. Teasing hinted in his tone, but there was a question too. Sutton took a sip of the water.

"I suppose normal was a bit of a stretch," she admitted. "At least here. I used to be completely normal."

Sam raised a brow at her obvious vagueness and Sutton shrugged.

"So, what," he questioned. "They try to kill you because you're Captain America's girlfriend or something?"

Sutton spluttered into her glass and choked.

"Shh! What the heck? No! I am-we are not! Steve and I aren't together."

"Ok, ok. Just wondering how a normal, not-together-jogging-friend gets sucked into this sort of situation."

Sutton huffed disdainfully.

"For your information, I got dragged into this mess on my own credentials, thank you very much. I, uh, I've been places. Seen things. It was supposed to be classified, but I guess that's sort of out the window now."

"Mhmm," Sam hummed. "Sure, ok. But you like him though."
"You're not going to even ask what I- what is this? Gossip hour?"

"Hey, I'm just trying to figure the team dynamic out."

Sutton took another sip of water and glared up at the guy who was probably destined to join them on this horrible adventure. She did not need him bringing this sort of thing up in front of the others. With a glance down the hall to make sure Nat and Steve were still preoccupied, she turned back towards him and lowered her voice.

"Listen, Steve is awesome, ok? And everyone likes him. Everyone. Even if, if, I like-liked him, I'm not his type." Sam chuckled lowly and crossed his arms.

"Oh really? You're sure about that?"
With a roll of her eyes Sutton dismissed his goading.

"Yes," she said. "Steve likes, deserves, someone capable and pulled together. And right now we are sort of running for our lives? So, you know. Not even exactly a good time."

He'd obviously never heard of Peggy Carter if he was asking her questions like this. But Sutton certainly knew about the woman and how amazing she'd been. Still was. And Steve loved her, as he should, even if it might be in a slightly different way now than he used to. But Sutton wasn't Peggy. She couldn't compare. And how much of a step down would that be for Steve?

Sam pushed himself off the counter with a chuckle and turned to gather up some kitchen supplies.

"Seems like you've got it all figured out. So, what exactly are your personal credentials then, if you don't mind me asking?"
She hesitated a moment, watching him pull out a box of pancake mix and a carton of milk. Neither Nat or Steve had mentioned how much they'd shared with Sam. Sutton still wasn't completely sure who he was. But he seemed to have a good heart. There was a kindness about him that wasn't fake. And further still, HYDRA already knew all her secrets. How much worse could she really make things?

"You might not believe me."

Sam chuffed.

"Yo, Captain America is using my bathroom. There's not much I wouldn't believe at this point."

"Well." She traced an invisible circle on his tabletop, "I'm not exactly from this earth."
Sam stopped whisking pancake batter and stared at her.

"You're an alien?"
"No! I'm human. I'm just not from this earth. I sort of got… displaced. You've heard of parallel universes?"
"No way." Sutton tilted her head down with a look that said 'I told you'. "So what," Sam questioned, "you from some twisted world where the sun sets in the east and Captain America is evil or something?"
She loudly scoffed and shook her head.

"Please, that'd never happen in any universe. And no. It's sort of the same as this world. Except, you know, there's not as many advances in technology and all these superheros are comic book characters."

"For real?"
"For real."

Sam shook his head in disbelief. Pulling out a pan he set it on a burner and began to heat it up. Sutton slumped over onto the table. Watching Sam cook was so mundanely normal; it was wonderful. Who ever got pancakes while on the run from a recently exposed Nazi organization?

She bet the number of people was small.

He put a plate down in front of her first and then went to inform the other two that breakfast was ready after she thanked him. They'd been back in the bedroom for awhile and when they finally came back to the kitchen Sutton could tell they'd had a conversation.

She hoped whatever they'd shared helped each other.

Cutting off a piece of pancake, she soaked up some extra syrup and ate it off her fork. It was warm and sweet and, oh gosh, Steve was only wearing a tank top. They were probably buttermilk pancakes and Steve's biceps were definitely on full display and he hadn't been able to quite get all the ash cleaned off.

Pancakes! Sutton certainly loved pancakes!

Steve was looking at her as if he was waiting for something and Sutton cleared her throat.

"Hmm?"
"I asked if he was any good at making pancakes, but maybe there's my answer."

Her face warmed instantly and she grinned nervously as she waved her fork like a wand as a distraction.

"Oh, yep! They're good! The, uh, syrup really makes them! They're at least better than the gas station snacks Clint bought earlier."

Steve laughed softly and Sam scoffed.

"Wow. Thanks. Such high praise; no really."

Nat eyed her over a mug of coffee.

"Pancakes sure can be distracting," she said dryly. Sutton glared and swiped her hand across her neck in an obvious gesture when she thought Steve wouldn't notice.

"Nat, did I ever tell you I really like your little arrow necklace? It's super cute."

Nat rolled her eyes but didn't say anything else.

They all ate in a thoughtful silence after that. Sutton was glad for the time to re-sort herself out and put all her short circuiting emotions back in their specified containers.

Stupid Sam and his stupid questions.

When she finished off her pancakes she stood up to rinse off her plate in the sink. Flickers of pain skittered across her forehead causing her to lean on the counter for a moment and focus on breathing.

So soon? They didn't have time for this.

Suck it up, she told herself. This is nothing.

But the pain shot down her neck like lightning and her muscles tightened painfully. Sutton gasped quietly and gripped the countertop fiercely. Her arms trembled. Her forehead felt clammy and she panted as she tried to catch her breath.

Worse, worse, worse.

It was getting worse. She was being sheared away from the inside.

"No," she murmured into her shoulder. "Stable. Tony said I was stable. I can't leave."

Her head. Her head was imploding. Sutton leaned further into the counter, clutching her head with her hands, fingers digging into her skull. Maybe if she gripped it hard it enough she could release the pressure.

"Sutton."
Nat's voice rose up through the pain in a wary warning. Sutton gasped again as the pain amplified. This time she wasn't able to keep it as quiet.

"It's ha-happening again." She managed to force the words through gritted teeth and she kept her eyes squeezed shut as if that would help bring some relief. "You might- might want to hold onto- onto something."
Something scraped against the floor and she could feel a presence behind her.

"Sutton-"

There was crashing as items flew off shelves and dishes clattered. The entire house buckled and rolled.

Sutton screamed.

The feeling of the countertop beneath her fingers was gone. She could feel nothing. Nothing but pain. Her hand clutched for the arc reactor in her chest.

She didn't want to leave again!

But the pain wasn't quite the same. It was doggedly focused on her skull, like a mighty pressure. Like the entire universe was trying to fit inside her head.

The visions were moving too rapidly for her to see. Like someone thumbing through a deck of cards and expecting you to be able to pick out an individual one.

Her throat hurt. She couldn't feel her legs.

And then the visions cut out and she saw explosions of color. Blues, purples, pinks and yellows. Hot stars. And then blackness. They all burst in front of her eyes like fireworks, getting closer and closer until she could feel them burning her bones.

Her fingers clawed at the reactor desperately.

"It's there, it's there, 's there."

And then she felt a pop. Or rather a burst. It flared through her and all the energy and colors drained out of her. Pouring down out of her skull and through her limbs into the floor. She could feel herself breathing again. Not breathing; wheezing and sputtering and gasping as if she'd been being strangled.

But the pressure was gone. She felt blissfully empty.

Her entire diaphragm shuddered as she opened her eyes. Vertigo struck her as she was met not with the sink, but the ceiling.

"Just breathe. You're ok. You're here."
Sutton blinked a few times, staring up at Natasha's face in confusion.

"I'm on the floor."

"You fell over. How are you feeling?"
She pushed herself up, although her limbs ached now more than they should have. Natasha moved back. Her hand pulled away, and Sutton realized that'd she'd caught her right before she'd made impact with the tile floor.

"I'm fine. Thank you."

The house looked as disheveled as she felt. There was actually broken glass spread across the room and a large crack through one of the cabinets.

"Maybe you should lie down for a few minutes."
Steve was crouched down near her as well and looking concerned. Sutton shook her head at the suggestion.

"We don't have time for that." She flashed him an attempt at a grin. "Besides, it's no worse than when I was traveling before. And I didn't have the time then either."

"Are you serious?"

Sam, who was standing off to the side, held up a finger in question.

"Uh, yeah, I have no idea what just happened, or what you're all talking about, but can that never happen again? I don't think I'll ever be able to unhear that."

Sutton winced and rubbed at her throat.

"Sorry."
Sam waved the apology away and crossed his arms over his chest.

"She's probably right about not having much time though, if what you guys told me is true."

Nat and Steve seemed to begrudgingly agree. They made her sit down while they cleaned up the kitchen of all broken glass, and then Steve and Nat finished putting on fresh clothes and fixing their hair.

It gave Sutton time to settle back down; and to think.

These tremors were going to mess up this world, and possibly kill her again if she didn't do anything about them. And Steve and Nat really needed to go dismantle HYDRA or they'd destroy the earth themselves.

Really three things at once was too much to handle. Sutton groaned.

Khan. HYDRA. She paused.

Khan, HYDRA….

What was the third thing? Why had she thought there was a third thing?

A shiver ran down her spine and her stomach churned.

"There's no third thing," she told herself. She watched as gooseflesh rose up on her skin.

"There is nothing else."

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And we're really getting into some Winter Soldier events now! Let me know what you guys think. And feel free to let me know if you have an opinion on the birthday event thing.

Any favorite parts this chapter? Any interactions you like? Reviews are life!