A/N: I may or may not be avoiding my finals . by writing... Aren't you so glad that I am so you can have this chapter? Also am I the only one upset at the lack of Clint in The Winter Soldier? Read and Review please!

Disclaimer: One day... One day... I will own it

Chapter 9

Steve was panicking. He followed just behind Coulson, who was talking on his phone with someone, Steve thought it was either Natasha or Clint. Whoever it was had reacted in surprise when Coulson called, but seemed willing to listen to the agent.

Steve could empathize with them, having someone you cared about return from the dead without warning was a heart wrenching experience.

He clenched his fists, and scanned the street they were on in a futile hope of seeing Bucky or the girl that was with him. Bucky, who sometimes looked at him like he used to, but sometimes looked at him with cold, unrecognizable eyes. If he hadn't been dragging that girl around with him, Steve would probably wonder if the Bucky he knew still existed. Taking in someone small and helpless was something that Bucky had done before, though it made Steve wonder if she had a backbone of steel buried somewhere in her, instead of worn proudly like his had been.

"What did you say?" Coulson said, his tone dropping to a chilly tone.

Steve stopped when Coulson did, idly wondering if stopping in the middle of the street was a future thing. Maybe he should ask Sam later?

"I don't care if the World Council itself ordered me. You can't make me the director just because Fury died," Coulson replied. There was a pause as the person on the other line said something, "Fine then." Another pause, "Don't you dare use my team against me."

He snapped the phone shut, and sighed, rubbing his temples.

"Fury's dead?" Steve asked. He felt as if the world had been knocked off of its axis, because Fury had survived three different HYDRA assassination attempts recently, so why had the fourth be more successful than the others?

Coulson sighed again, "Fury's dead, and some of the other agents want me to be the next director. Pierce was exploring the option."

Coulson looked up at, "I turned him down and now I'm fired."

"Fired?!" Steve asked.

Coulson shrugged, "The only man I'd trust enough to follow is dead now, so it doesn't really matter." He scowled, "Pierce had the nerve to mention my team, and we still don't know who exactly killed Fury."

"It couldn't have been Bucky," Steve was quick to throw in, quick to the defense of his best friend like they hadn't been separated for seventy years. Though sometimes it still felt like it had only been days for Steve, "He's here in Rhodes Island."

Coulson gave him an almost sorrowful look, "He doesn't have to be in DC to be involved, Captain. There's the possibility that he was sent here to draw us out, and get us out of the way so they wouldn't have to deal with us when they went after Fury."

Steve looked away, and changed the subject, not wanting to think about his best friend working for HYDRA for any reason, "But why are you fired?"

Coulson looked Steve in the eye and said, "Probably because Pierce is HYDRA."

Loyalty followed Scary-man as they walked down the street, and very carefully kept her mouth shut. Every sibling instinct in her was screaming at her to take him to Em's clinic where her sister would be able to help.

But the woman before was still following them. She was almost six blocks away from them, probably tracking them the way Loyalty was monitoring her. A person's presence was a hard thing to hide. Which meant that moment from earlier was a warning and a threat, a show of power, and Loyalty refused to lead the group after her to the one place that kept her siblings safe.

So she stayed behind Scary-man, kept her mouth shut, and wondered what they were going to do now.

They stopped in front of a hotel, and Scary-man shifted uncomfortably, turning to look at her. He looked her in the eye, and if Loyalty focused her magic, she could feel Bucky shifting just below the surface. Scary-man held his body unnatural still much like Mirth did when she was preparing to take a blow.

His eyes didn't meet hers, "They- Steve- This-"

He looked frustrated and so much like Endurance did when her brother actually tried to empathize and communicate like a civilized being instead of tearing apart someone's weaknesses. She placed a gentle hand on his are and something clicked. Whoever Steve was too Scary-man and Bucky, he was like Empathy's clinic was to her. He was their place that felt safe.

"It's okay," she said quietly, "It's just Steve Rogers and Agent Coulson, right?"

He nodded, and she gave him a small smile, reaching out with her magic to find the room that the other two men were in. She gripped the front of his armor, and tugged him forward into the hotel. Her magic did a sweep of the lobby of the hotel as they walked in, making sure that none of the other members of the woman's group was nearby.

The woman at the counter felt familiar, but friendly, and if Loyalty looked closely, she could see that the woman's wig was just off. There was an old couple talking quietly on one of the couches just off to the side, but their presence was a muted warmth that reminded her of her parents. Loyalty glanced around, unsure if there was someone she couldn't sense. The woman at the zoo had managed it so Loyalty wasn't going to discount the possibility, especially since she wasn't the only one that would suffer from it if she was wrong.

She tugged Scary-man towards the elevator, giving the woman another glance before dismissing her as a threat. They stepped into the elevator, and Loyalty pressed the button for the twentieth floor. Scary-man leaned in one of the corners, his eyes glued to the elevator doors. Loyalty fidgeted, and walked over to the other corner and stood there for a second before she moved closer to Scary-man. She stayed there for a second before she paced towards the button console and then back to corner. Scary-man's eyes flickered over to watch her pace before he went back to watching the door.

Calm down, Cora hissed, making Loyalty jump.

"But something feels off," she said quietly. Scary-man glanced at her again, and gestured for her to stay close.

Are you sure that it's not just her? Cora asked, She's somewhere in the lobby now.

Loyalty reached downward with her magic, and felt the woman's presence in the back corner of the hotel, pulsing with anticipation like a heartbeat. Loyalty shivered, and moved over to the space that Scary-man made for her, as he practically shoved her into the corner and stood in front of her, hiding her with his bulk.

"I don't think so," Loyalty whispered, "I'm not sure what it is. More like an immediate threat rather than dread."

The elevator stopped, but Loyalty didn't think it was the twentieth floor yet and peered around Scary-man to watch a well built, dirty blonde man step on, a teddy bear tucked under his arm.

He stepped in whistling a tune, and nodded at the two of them, before looking at the console.

"Well, look at that," he said cheerfully, "Looks like we're heading for the same floor."

Loyalty stared at the man, not liking the feeling of foreboding that rolled off of him. But, if she focused, it seemed like it wasn't coming from him at all, but the teddy bear he carried.

"I-is your b-bear p-pos-ssesed?" she whispered.

The man glanced at her, then at Scary-man, and then the bear.

"This thing?" he asked pulling it out from under his arm. It was a strange light turquoise, and showed far too many teeth. The paws were a clashing brown, and there were rips all along the body, where the metal claws had caught on itself.

The man looked down at it speculatively, "That actually might be a distinct possibility."

Loyalty squeaked and dove behind Scary-man.

"Cute kid," the man said after a minute. From her position of cowering behind Scary-man's back, Loyalty felt his surprise rippling through his body, and could, to her surprise, actually feel the transition from Scary-man to Bucky.

Scary-man stood like Valor or Mirth, all tense warrior energy, waiting for an attack at any side. Bucky was closer to Integrity, a soldier prepared and at a attention, but a little more relaxed.

(And one day, Loyalty told herself, she would stop comparing people she cared about to her siblings.)

"She's not my-" Bucky hesitated, "She's-"

He ran a frustrated hand through his hair, and for a moment seemed surprised that it was so long. Loyalty watched the other man watch him with sharp eyes.

"Your sister?" the man asked, and Loyalty stiffened behind Bucky. Being associated with her in that way would be extremely dangerous right now. Her hands tightened on the back of his armor, and felt him straighten, looking the man straight in the eyes.

"Yeah, she's my sister," he said, reaching a hand behind him to carefully pry her hand off of his armor. Loyalty didn't know if she wanted to cry or laugh. Two weeks away from her siblings had made her almost dangerously dependent on Bucky and Scary-man, and hearing him claim her as a sibling made her deliriously happy. But if she reached out with her magic, she could feel three more people meet the woman down stairs, and she fought the urge to sob in horror.

If Bucky was with her, she had no doubt that they would capture him too.

She took a deep breath; Tina curling up next to her ear, and Cora a reassuring weight around her waist. She almost missed what the other man said, focusing on her breathing and calming down before a repeat of the zoo happened.

"You're packing a lot of heat for someone traveling with their sister," the man said, bouncing lightly on the balls of his feet.

"So are you," Bucky shoot back, "For someone delivering an ugly teddy bear."

The man grinned, "This teddy bear is a gift to mankind, don't you dare insult it in such a fashion."
Loyalty wished she could see Bucky's face because she was almost certain that he was raising an eyebrow, "Oh I'm sure he's a gift to mankind in the same way that you are."

"Excuse you?" the man said, his grin growing even more, "I'm not just a gift to mankind. I'm the foundation civilization was built on."

"I'm sure you were," Bucky said drily, "I just must have missed the memo for your new religion."

The man laughed, and then turned serious, "I don't think HYDRA would appreciate the switch."

Bucky shrugged, "At this point, HYDRA can go screw itself."

The elevator dinged its stop, and all three of its occupants jumped in surprise. Bucky stiffened and then Scary-man was the one standing in front of her.

"Interesting," the man said, still watching them with his too sharp eyes. "Are we going to the same person or are you here to kill someone else?"

Scary-man snarled at Sharp-eyed-man, but Loyalty just wanted to get to Steve at this point. She ducked under Scary-man's arm, and then tugged on it, resolutely leading him towards the room she could sense Steve in. She could feel eyes on her back once more, though it was different from when the woman was watching her. Sharp-eyed-man felt more like Integrity after the war, all wariness rather than hostility. So she didn't attempt to shake him off; she just led Scary-man to the place that he felt safest.