"(Y/N), I really don't want you to go."

You roll your eyes and sigh for the tenth time today as you get your gear ready for a mission.

"Can you stop worrying?! I will be fine."

"You don't know that! Anything can happen."

"Steve, how many missions have we gone on together?"

"I don't know, a lot"

"50. We've gone on 50 missions together. And how many times have I gotten hurt?"

He starts to answer but you cut him off, "Once, and it was my fault. And do you know why? Because the bad guys can't see me remember."

"Ok but what if something happens? I'm not gonna be there! I won't be able to help you and I don't like that."

"I understand, but I'll be with Nat and Clint. And I can take care of myself, you don't need to worry."

You go over to Steve and give him a consoling hug and kiss. And with that you are ready to go. You have your uniform (a skintight deep purple leather bodysuit) and your weapons. You meet up with Clint and Natasha in the lobby.

"Hey (Y/N), all set to kick some hydra ass?" Clint says with a smirk.

"Hells yeah!" you say as you give him a high five. Natasha rolls her eyes at the two of you. The three of you go to the garage and get in the car. Nat is driving while you and Clint are chatting on the way. The car stops just outside the Avengers facility in upstate NY, the three of you get out of the car and head to the jet.

The three of you are in the back of the jet checking weapons, comms and going over the plan. Infiltrate a small hydra base and steal a document that will reveal the names of all the hydra agents that were in shield. Get in, get out, never get noticed. Simple. The pilot announces that you are approaching the drop zone, you get your parachutes on and get ready to jump. The pilot opens the hatch. You feel the rush of the wind on your face and you jump.

Once you three are safely on the ground you make yourself and your teammates invisible so you can approach the base safely. You reach the base and continue to sneak around unseen, however you notice there is a surprising lack of guards. Even at a base as small as this there should be at least a dozen guards. You make it to a computer and you and Clint give Nat cover while she works her magic. You expect a wave of guards to come rushing in once she is plugged in, but again, nothing. You start to have a bad feeling about this. Once Nat has what you came for, you move quickly to get out of the area and get to the rendezvous point. You make it out of the base but suddenly you are met by, what seems like, every guard in Hydra and someone dressed in a well-tailored suit and tie. This person has no armor, no guns, and his face is completely covered. You immediately put up a force field around your team as both sides start shooting. Clint and Natasha have taken out most of the guys, except for the strange man, he's still just standing there. You hit him with a field of energy, knocking him the ground. You see his mask fly away from his face, just then you feel a sharp pain in your neck, your head starts to spin and the world starts to blur. You are able to see the man's face when he stands up, you cannot believe who it is.

"Salman?" And with that everything goes black.

*Third Person POV*

When (Y/N) hits the ground, Clint and Natasha go to help her, but find themselves unable to move when Salman says,

"Stop."

They look over at him in surprise.

"You two are going to leave, go back to your precious tower, and when you get there you will forget what happened to (Y/N)."

Without a word of protest Clint and Natasha walk away from Salman toward the rendezvous, they reach the jet get in and fly away.

~~4 Hours Later~~

*Your POV*

You slowly begin to open your eyes seeing nothing but bright white, which makes the headache even worse. As you lift your head and try to get up, you realize you are tied to a chair. Immediately your survival instincts kick in and you start to struggle against the restrains.

"Don't bother, you'll never be able to break those."

You recognize the voice coming from the shadows.

"Salman?" The man steps out of the shadow so you are now able to see him,

"Surprised, aren't you?"

"What is happening, where are Clint and Natasha?!"

He chuckles, "Don't worry your friends are fine, I sent them back home."

"How? They would never leave a teammate behind!"

"That is an excellent question. You see, when I was younger I realized I had this way of getting people to do what I wanted, among other abilities. Then hydra found me and trained me, helped me master my powers and in exchange I just had to swear allegiance to them. This whole time you had no idea one of your best friends was a mutant just like you. Only difference is you picked the wrong side."

"That depends on where you're standing, well sitting." He rolls his eyes at you, "OK so you can control minds. Why didn't you use your powers on me last time we saw each other?" you say with a look of disgust at the memory.

"I did, well I tried, and it didn't work on you. I later discovered I can't influence someone who is a mutant. You are the first person I couldn't control, it was odd. But I volunteered for this mission anyway, I really wanted to see you again without the risk of being thrown into a dumpster."

"I hope you know you won't get away with this, Steve is going to come to save me!"

"Oh sweetheart," he grabs your face forcing you to look at him, "I'm counting on it." You see the pure evil behind his eyes. He lets your face go and walks over to a table covered in a plethora of knives, swords, and other sharp instruments that you can't even identify. "You see (Y/N), I want Steve to come, and that's why I took you. You're the bait. But while we are waiting, I still have a job to do so you're going to give me some information about your team's weaknesses."

"Oh really? I don't think so!"

"Oh you're going to talk. Because I'm going to make you."

"How exactly do you plan on doing that without using your powers?"

"There are other means of persuasion." He picks up a knife from the table.

"Why are you doing this? You're a good person." He slaps you across the face then grabs your chin, making you look at him,

"You are so naïve."

He takes the knife and plunges it into your leg. You scream with pain.

"Tell me want I want to know and I will leave you alone."

"FUCK YOU!"

"Wrong answer." He stabs your other leg and you scream again. Your head drops, he picks up your head and while holding your face, puts the knife up to your left cheek and slices. He lets your face go and your head drops again and you see the blood dripping from the new cut on your face.

"(Y/N) I suggest you start talking, the longer you play strong and silent, the worst the pain will get."

"I can do this all day." You say with a smile at the thought of your boyfriend, which angers Salman so he hits you with a right hook to the face. Salman looks at you with disgust,

"Now you're using his lines, I thought you were more creative than that."

He puts the knife down and picks up a different one, but this one is serrated. He walks back to you, brings his face right to yours and says,

"Let's try a more specific question. How can the big guy be stopped?"

You keep your eyes fixed on his and clench your jaw. When he realizes you're not going to say anything he takes the new knife and stabs your shoulder. The pain is so bad you can't even scream. Then he rips the knife out and throws it on the table. Your world is simply an explosion of pain. You barely breathe after he rips that knife out of your shoulder. Just imagining the amount of damage he just did is enough to send you reeling. A single tear escapes your eye as you try to take deep breaths and overcome the pain. He looks at his watch, wipes your blood from it and says,

"I think that's enough, you're clearly not going to talk today. We'll start up again in the morning. You might want to get some sleep, it's going to be a long day." And with that he turns the light off and closes the door, you hear the lock click and you take a deep breath and sigh in relief. You finally let go and start to cry from pain and fear, and pray that Steve and the team get here soon.

~~Meanwhile at Avengers Tower~~

When the quinjet lands, Steve is waiting by the landing pad to greet (Y/N) but when he doesn't see her his face drops then turns to fear. Natasha and Clint stop in front of him,

"Guys what the hell happened where's (Y/N)!?"

Natasha snaps out of the mind control and looks around dazed and confused. Clint looks at Steve with a pained look,

"(Y/N) was taken. I'm sorry, Steve."

Steve and Natasha both look surprised and say'

"WHAT!" Steve looks at Natasha,

"Weren't you there? How do you not know that?"

"Because she was under mind control. Apparently that guy (Y/N) knew in college, Sal something,"

"Salman?"

"Yeah that's him. It turns out he is a mutant and he works for hydra. He has mind control abilities."

"So why weren't you effected?"

"I guess his control doesn't work that well with hearing aids, so I just played along so we could get back up to get (Y/N)."

"Ok so what are we waiting for? Let's get the team and go get (Y/N)."

"Cap, I think you should sit this one out. Based on what happened the last time you two saw each other, it might be a trap for you."

"So what?! You think I can't handle myself against this little punk."

"I don't know Cap, your emotions might compromise your judgment."

"I will be fine. One of our teammates is in trouble and needs our help."

"Ok. If you think you will be ok, then let's get the team together."

~~Your POV~~

You get woken up by a blinding light, you blink to adjust your eyes and look toward the door and see Salman leaning against the wall.

"I like it when you sleep, you are so beautiful, yet so unaware of it. I almost didn't want to wake you up, but sadly we have work to do."

You see in his hand a small duffle bag, and figure he brought new instruments of torture. He puts the bag on the table and removes two items. First is an iron fire poker, and the next is an acetylene torch. You cringe in fear, thinking of what he might do. And without saying a word he picks up the torch and lights it. Then, he takes the poker and puts the tip in the fire until it is glowing red from the heat.

"Let's try this again. How can your team be defeated?"

"I'm not telling you anything, so you can go fuck yourself!"

He looks disappointed and takes the poker and presses it to your arm. You scream in pain and beg him to stop.

"But we're just getting started." He laughs maniacally then lights the torch and begins to heat the iron again.

"You're going tell me what I want to know. Even the strongest men have their limits, it's just a matter of finding them." He puts the iron on your arm again, you scream again. He removes the iron but the pain doesn't stop and the smell of burning flesh is enough to make you want to throw up. But he doesn't give you the chance, because he immediately uses the iron on the other arm. He turns away and back to the table, he put the iron down and picks up a knife and the torch and holds the tip of the knife to the fire. He looks at you with a shit-eating grin, he cuts your arm, holding the knife so as the knife cuts, the tip cauterizes the cut. When you finish screaming, you're breathing heavily trying to catch your breath. You look up at Salman and beg,

"Please, stop."

He backhands you and laughs, "I already told you how to stop this, but I guess you forgot so I'll remind you. If you tell me what I need to know I will walk away and leave you alone."

You stare at him blankly so he slaps you again. You start to taste blood, so you let it pool in your mouth and when he brings his face close enough to yours you spit at him,

"You're a sadistic bastard!" he chuckles as he wipes your blood from his face,

"Honey, I've been called much worse" he punches you and everything goes black.

~~3 hours later~~

You start to wake up. Your head is spinning from loss of blood and your ears are ringing from the punch. You look around the room and see Salman is gone. Once your ears stop ringing you can hear the muffled sounds of fighting. It takes you a minute to realize what's going on because you hear the unmistakable sound of Steve's shield bouncing off of a wall. You try to yell to get his attention, but no sound comes out. Your throat is so sore all you can do is whisper. But you hear the door open anyway, you hold your breath until you see who it is. When Steve walks in you sigh, he runs over to you,

"What took you so long?" you manage to whisper.

"(Y/N)," he stops and looks at the cuts and bruises, "what did he do to you?" he cradles your face in his hand and you lean into his soft touch. He looks around quickly and grabs a knife from the table, you flinch at the memory of that knife being plunged into your shoulder.

"It's ok. I'm not going to hurt you, I'm just going to cut the ropes."

You relax and he cuts your wrists and ankles free.

"Can you walk?"

You manage to whisper, "yeah I think so."

He helps you stand up but when you do the spinning in your head gets worse and you immediately fall. Steve manages to catch you before you hit the floor,

"I got you, it's ok."

You look up and see his face before you blackout again.

*Steve's POV* ~~2 hours earlier~~

"Clint you ready to go?" Steve says as he puts his shield on his back.

"Yeah. You sure you want to go? I just have a really bad feeling it's a trap for you."

"Even if it is how could I not go? I love her, and I promised her she would be safe and now she isn't, I need to save her."

"Ok just make sure you have the ear plugs in at all times, because if I'm right he won't be able to control you as long as you can't hear him."

"Got it. Ok let's go."

Clint and Steve get on the quinjet and fly to the hydra base where (Y/N) is being held. When they land they quickly make their way to the entrance. As they approach they are stopped by ten guards, the boys take them out quickly and continue their approach. Once inside they check every room they pass looking for (Y/N), most are empty but some have hydra soldiers waiting to stop them, but they do very little to even slow them down. They turn a corner and there are a dozen guards in front of them, they turn around to go the other way but more guards rush in from that direction as well, and they are surrounded. They look at each other and nod, and with that they both began taking out the guards, each taking a hallway. Clint is firing arrows, both regular and explosive, making quick work of the hydra agents. Steve is having no trouble taking out his side either, throwing his shield, bouncing it off walls and knocking heads together. Finally his side is clear, "Clint?" he is about to go help his teammate.

"I'm fine go find (Y/N)!"

He nods and begins opening doors again, the first one he opened was empty. But when he opened the second door he sees (Y/N) tied to a chair beaten, bruised and bloody. His heart drops when he sees her like this, but is given hope when he sees her look up at him, he runs over to her,

"What took you so long?" she managed to whisper.

"(Y/N)," he stops and looks at the cuts and bruises, "what did he do to you?" he cradles (Y/N)'s face in his hand and she lean into his soft touch. He looks around quickly and grabs a knife from the table, he sees her flinch away from him.

"It's ok. I'm not going to hurt you, I'm just going to cut the ropes."

She relaxes and he cuts her wrists and ankles free.

"Can you walk?"

She whispers, "Yeah I think so."

He helps her stand up but she immediately falls. Steve manages to catch her before she hits the floor,

"I got you, it's ok."

She looks up at Steve then passes out in his arms.

"(Y/N)? (Y/N)!?"

She doesn't wake up, Salman slowly walks out of the shadows,

"Captain America, put (Y/N) back in the chair and step away from her."

But when Steve has no reaction, Salman looks confused,

"I said, put her in the chair and step away."

But again no response, Steve looks up and is surprised when he sees Salman, and immediately throws his shield, Salman ducks and the shield bounces back to Steve. He carefully lays (Y/N) down on the floor and stands up.

"I thought I told you if I ever saw you near (Y/N) again I wouldn't hold myself back."

"Oh shut-up."

"I don't think so." He throws the shield again and this time it hits Salman's legs knocking him to the ground, Steve walks over to him, and picks up his shield and is looming over Salman.

"Why can't I control you? You're not a mutant!"

"No, I'm not. But if a person can't hear you, you can't control them."

Then Clint finally comes rushing in with an arrow ready to fire, he sees (Y/N) and runs over to her to make sure she's alive. When he checks her pulse and when he feels her heart beating, he walks over to Steve and Salman aiming the arrow at Salman,

"So, what are we going to do with this piece of trash Cap?"

As they discuss how they will handle the scumbag lying on the floor, (Y/N) regains consciousness. No one saw her get up because Steve and Clint were facing away from her, she used the opportunity to grab a knife off the table and slowly make her way over to the three men. When she gets close enough Steve sees her, but before he could say anything (Y/N) takes the knife and slams it into Salman's chest over and over and over again. Steve and Clint both lost count of how many times before she collapsed again this time hitting her head on the ground knocking her out once more. Steve and Clint are in such a state of shock that they find themselves unable to move for a moment. Finally, they snap out of it and Steve scoops (Y/N) up in his arms while Clint calls for the jet to be ready.

"Cap, what about him?"

"Leave him. He's hydra's problem now."

They make it to the jet without any problems and were soon in the air flying home.

*Your POV*

As you start to wake up you hear the faint sound of the heart monitor and some voices in the distance. You open your eyes and see Steve sitting in the chair next to the bed. He is reading a magazine, but you can tell he had been crying. You move to sit up and Steve looks at you,

"Don't get up, you have a lot of stitches, you don't want to tear them."

You try to speak but your throat is very sore.

"How long have I been out?"

"About a week."

"Please tell me you haven't been sitting here brooding for a week..."

"I haven't been brooding, but I haven't left your side either. I promised you that I would keep you safe and I didn't. I should have gone with you. I should have protected you. If I had been there then you wouldn't be…"

"Steve, this is not your fault, none of this is your fault. You cannot blame yourself for what happened, you saved me that's all that matters now."

"But you shouldn't have gotten hurt in the first place. I made a promise to you and to your parents and I failed all of you. But I swear I am never letting you go on another mission without me ever again." He picks up and kisses your hand and continues to hold it.

You smile at him, "That isn't necessary, and besides Fury gives the assignments and he isn't one to change his mind once he picks a team."

"I don't care, I will deal with him. Like I said, I already broke my promise once I will NOT break it again."

"And I believe you. Can you tell me something? What happened to Salman, did he get away, did you guys arrest him, OH MY GOD IS HE HERE?"

"(Y/N) relax, he's not here. You don't remember what happened?"

"What do you mean, the last thing I remember is you coming in, freeing me, I collapsed in your arms, and then I woke up here. Why? Is there something else I should remember?"

"No, but I can promise you don't have to worry about him anymore."

"But why? Steve there is something you're not telling me."

"No, there isn't."

"You're a terrible liar Steve, what is it? Please tell me."

"I hate that I can't lie to you."

"To be fair you can't lie to anyone."

"True."

Steve then went on to tell you what happened after you passed out the first time and how he and Clint were able to subdue Salman and how they were able to avoid being controlled and how you were the one to kill him.

"I did that? I can't believe I don't remember that." You just look down and stare at your hands.

He looks at you with concern, "Are you ok?"

"Of course, it's not like that bastard didn't deserve it after what he did to me. To be honest he deserved a lot worse."

A single tear rolls down your cheek and your bottom lip trembles. Steve jumps up and pulls you into warm, comforting hug as you cry into his shoulder. He gently strokes your back and whispers sweet nothings into your ear to calm you.

"This is stupid. I don't even know why I'm crying right now." You angrily wipe the tears from your face.

"Well, Salman was your friend once. I understand how that feels to be betrayed by a friend. But he had a darkness in him that could not be controlled once Hydra got to him. We found out that Hydra was going to use him and his powers to control the world. And you were able to stop him! I know you probably feel terrible right now, but you saved millions of lives by taking him down. You were able to defeat your demon while saving humanity...and me. That took much more strength then I guess I give you credit for. Even though I'm never leaving your side again, I'll never doubt you again either." After Steve finishes he smiles down at you and you see nothing but love and pride in his eyes. You can't do anything but smile back and hug him even harder.

"Ya know something Rogers?" You pull back and look at him with a very serious look on your face as he tries to determine where this conversation is headed.

"What (Y/N)?"

"You might just be the best boyfriend ever." Both of you laugh and continue to hug when Clint walks in.

"Oh! Uhh sorry, I'll give you two some time alone." He starts to walk out while scratching the back of his neck.

"Hey Barton! Get your butt back in here!" You yell as you break away from Steve's hug and motion for Clint to come over and receive one of his own. He smirks and runs over to give you a hug just hard enough to let you know that he's very glad you're ok but also gentle enough not to hurt you.

"Did you miss me?"

"Eh, only a little." He shrugs and crosses his arms while you look at him incredulously. After about ten seconds you both start laughing uncontrollably. He then hugs you again.

"I'm so glad you're OK."

"Well I owe that to you guys! Thanks for saving my life back there!"

"Just doing our job ma'am!" Steve answers, gives you a half salute, and puts the biggest grin on his face.

"Oh Captain America, what would I ever do without you? How can I ever repay you?"

"I'm sure I can think of something." He smiles, leans in and kisses you passionately.

"OK lovebirds, I'm out!"

With that Clint turns and runs out of the room leaving you and Steve alone. After sharing a laugh at Barton's swift exit, you yawn and realize how exhausted you still are from this whole ordeal. You lean back into the bed with Steve still by your side.

"Get some rest (Y/N)." He says as he strokes your hair.

"Aye aye Captain!" Your eyes begin to close but you feel Steve moving. Your eyes shoot open and search for Steve's face. "Don't go! Please." You don't realize it but you're gripping his hand as if your life depended on it. Then you look down and see that he is just pulling the covers up and over the both of you.

"I'm not going anywhere."

You sigh and relax back into his embrace. Listening to the steady beat of his heart calms you immensely and you wish you could just stay like this forever. Within seconds you begin to drift off and just as you are about to fall asleep you hear Steve whisper "I'll always be right here for you." And you fall asleep with a smile on your face.

~~Sorry this chapter took so long, I got really busy with school and life.

Beta'd and finished by dean'sgirl21. (aka my sister) :)~~