Disclaimer:I do not own any of the films in the MCU, nor do I own any of the comics. This is simply a work of fiction and is not meant for any monetary gain or to infringe on any copyright laws

Rating: T for violence and minor language

Author's Note: This chapter isn't quite as dark and angsty...actually, never mind, it kind of is. Don't kill me :)

Chapter 14

The jet had landed twenty miles south of the facility, setting down carefully amongst the trees and shrubs. Tony set up safety alarms around it before they gathered just outside of the craft to go over the plan again.

Everyone felt jumpy as they mentally reviewed their roles. This plan relied on many unknown factors. The slightest thing could go wrong and the Avengers would be left to improvise from there. But that was how saving the world went-and certain members of the team (cough Tony cough) already improvise even with a plan. Odds stacked against you with little time to thoroughly think it through is the name of the business.

"One more time," Cap said, his face hard as looked over everyone. He had that battle-ready look in his eyes, his whole face covered in what Tony calls "intense freedom".

"Barton, you and I sneak into the facility. We find their intel room and extract information, then get out, unless we find more information." Natasha was standing with her arms crossed over chest. Even though she was shortest among them she was easily the most intimidating. She had straightened her hair and it hung all the way to her shoulders instead of just past her chin, framing her face in red flames.

"You and I keep watch as Romanoff works," Barton added. "We come back and we rely the information to the rest of the Avengers here before making an attack plan." The archer was fiddling with an arrow. He seemed more jumpy than the others had ever seen him. Something must have been eating him up-maybe it was the intense lack of a plan.

"Sam and I are to remain in the jet and listen to the communications link. When you tell us you're almost out we'll tell Banner and Thor." Tony looked pretty bored with his part. He wanted to go in, palm repulsors fired up and shooting. That part would come as soon as they had the information they needed. For now he'd have to play a minor part, which is something the millionaire didn't like doing. He's the showy one, the one who gets all the attention and makes major but rash choices. It's ingrained in his gentics.

"When Tony's magic voice tells us it's time, I use my hammer to summon lightning. Banner prepares to turn and get ready for action." Thor's accent made some of the words hard to understand, but they knew exactly what would happen. They'd gone over it as a group and again as individuals.

Everyone was silent for a moment. It was a silence filled with tension, tension not directed at each other but at the situation at hand. In a few minutes everything could change. The world was at stake, and it was up to the seven of them. Looks were exchanged from across the circle; Natasha to Clint, Sam to Steve, Tony to Bruce. Each of these people had been partners, with the exception of Thor, and they knew that the stakes had rarely been this high before. Rarely meaning about a dozen. They'd always made it out, usually not without losses, though.

Tony was the one to break the silence, not surprisingly. "The world's not going to wait on us," he said, pressing a red circle on his wrist. Four motorcycles roared out from the cargo hold of the jet. The Avengers had purposefully decided to park this far away from the compound in case of discovery or something else. It just meant they had to either walk a really long way or use the cycles. It was unanimously decided to use the motorcycles.

Bruce and Thor each had one, and Clint and Steve. Natasha sat behind Steve as they roared away. No one looked back. To look back was out of question. In order to win the race you had to keep looking forward toward the end. It was the same with a war. And really, this was a war. A war against AIM and HYDRA and anyone who dared to stand against the Avengers.

No one spoke as they raced through the forest. Bruce and Thor eventually split off and took a different trail and a few miles after that the Steve, Clint, and Natasha stopped and dismounted. They hid the cycles under some brush and walked the remaining mile and a half, the archer occasionally racing ahead to climb trees and report what he saw of the guards.

It was early evening and the sun was starting to die early. It was harder to see, which was both an advantage and disadvantage. They finally settled in a little ditch hidden by brush and trees that was concealed on the hill above the entrance. It gave a good view of it without being seen themselves.

Natasha was in her catsuit, Clint in his black and burgundy archer suit, and Steve was in one of his old SHIELD issue black suits, similar to the ones the STRIKE team used to wear, his shield strapped on his arm and the paint partly covered over in a dull silver. Since this was a spying mission he didn't want to look too inconspicuous. The Captain America suit had grown on him, though he'd admit it had first made him feel like a pansycake, especially since the one Coulson designed had been made of spandex. Tony's tights and spandex jabs had also grown on him. Honestly, though, the super soldier wasn't a huge patriotic person. Steve Rogers was just a soldier. In his time off he enjoyed his brown leather jacket, his motorcycle and walking around New York, marveling about the new things since his time, not singing the National Anthem or baking flag cakes like everyone else joked about.

"They have guard shifts every half an hour," Barton said. He'd been observing the entrance since it had been in sight. "The next one is in five minutes."

Steve turned to look at Natasha. "How did you get in the first time?"

She sighed. "I just snuck in behind a group of soldiers. I couldn't see what they did to get in."

Steve nodded and put a finger on his earpiece, activating it. "Tony. I need you to pull up a map of the compound and search for any hidden doors."

A few minutes passed until Tony replied. "Just a few feet up the hill is a ditch. There's a door there; it might be concealed."

The soldier started in surprise. They were right on top of it! A stroke of luck in their favour. "Thanks." He took away his fingers and relayed the information to the others, and the three of them started to dig around the fallen leaves and grass. Natasha found an iron handle and Steve strained to pull the door open, all his enhanced muscles taunt and bulging. A set of stairs lay in a hollowed out tunnel and they looked old but sturdy. Natasha went down first, being the lightest. The stairs held. Barton followed and after him Steve. As the super soldier went the stairs creaked but held.

The end of the stairs led to a bright corridor. Natasha ran a little ahead and looked around. She said she didn't recognize anything and that she thought they were in the opposite branch that she had gone to find Steve before. She also said she found a room full of computers that might be the intel room. The three followed her, Barton staying a little behind to watch their backs.

Natasha slipped into the room and Steve and Clint headed up opposite ends of the hallways to guard. She discovered it was, in fact, the intel room, and not guarded very well. The spy placed a USB drive into a computer and set to decoding and transferring the information.

As she worked she discovered something especially disturbing. She told them so over their communications link. "They have a blueprint here for a cloning machine," she reported. "By the looks of it they built it here." She paused and scanned more documents. "They even have tested it…and it works."

"Is it just here or are the blueprints going around?" Steve asked. It was unsettling that AIM had that kind of technology.

"It looks like it's just here for now. The blueprint was pretty secure but Tony's tech is way better."

"We need to destroy the machine. That kind of technology can't be released. Just imagine what kind of damage criminals could do with it." Steve's voice was a little worried.

"Who have they tested it on?" Clint asked. Natasha looked through more documents before drawing in a sharp breath.

"This just became a whole lot worse," she remarked. "It says they kidnapped and cloned a certain Nicholas J Fury."

There was silence for a moment. That information explained a lot of things. No one had time to dwell on it, though. "How much have you transferred, Nat?" Clint's tone was rushed.

"Ninety-seven percent done. Why?"

"Because we may have a problem." He released the communicator link and drew his bow. Steve rushed from his end of the hallway to assist the man.

"Hurry, Nat!" Steve cried as he threw his shield. It hit the first of the men coming down the hall in the chest before bouncing back into Steve's hand. The man and several of his comrades fell. Clint tirelessly released arrow and arrow into the fray, taking down a man with each hit.

"Ready your shield, Cap." Steve knew immediately what the archer was doing. As Clint released the next arrow he kneeled down and Steve covered them both with the vibranium shield. The explosion from the arrow swept through the hallway and downed all but the two Avengers, still sending a hot wave of heat toward them and scorching their skin.

"I'm done," Natasha said. She hurried out of the room and walked quickly towards the other two. In front of them were the charred bodies of the first attackers. "We need to move. The last document was an email from the two AIM leaders. Tomorrow at midnight they start to sell the cloning blueprints. Some have already been preordered."

Barton swore as he stood up. "Let's go, then."

They walked down the hallway, Steve armed with his shield and his super strength, Clint with his bow, Natasha with a knife. She was saving her guns for later. You never knew when you needed the extra help.

Alarms were blaring all over the place. Outside a storm was brewing, Thor being told to start his distractions. They were still waiting to call the Hulk; he could be unpredictable sometimes and the three weren't willing to risk that he'd destroy the whole compound with them inside.

Grey-clad soldiers were popping up all over the place. The three Avengers fought every few yards. They were making good progress now, but they were wearing down quickly. For a while they were running unhindered. All the soldiers were behind them, their footsteps in the distance. The Avengers were exhausted. Cuts and scrapes littered their bodies from the fighting. Clint had a particularly nasty cut above his eye and Steve had some broken glass embedded in his shoulder.

The three of them were far enough ahead to not be in sight of the agents but they were closing in fast and there were too many if it came down to a fight. All of their legs were burning and shaking. They'd been running for way too long today and the hours of sleep this past week had been down, too. Not to mention the fight in Australia just a few days ago-and Steve, well, he had died, and now he's attempting to fight again.

Clint was the one to stop them. "We're not going to make it. There's too many soldiers and we don't have time for a plan." He paused to listen. "In fact, we have maybe a minute before they catch up to us. And I'm guessing the Man With A Plan doesn't have a plan right now."

Steve looked between the archer and Natasha. "What are you saying we should do, then?" His voice was weary. He was even more exhausted than they, but knew exactly what Hawkeye was saying. He just didn't want to admit it. The captain was brilliant, especially when it came to strategy. And he was starting to realize that this was just like the skirmish in Sydney, just on a bigger and slightly different scale.

"I'll hold them off. You guys get out of here."

The gaze of his deep blue eyes was filled with the all-too-familiar look of sacrifice. Just like when he'd held off the men so Clint could throw the grenade. Just like when he fought Bucky to get the control disks switched on the Helicarriers. Just like when he crashed the Valkyrie into the ice shelf to save millions of lives. Just like in basic training when he jumped on the fake grenade, thinking it was real.

"No." Natasha's eyes flashed. "I will. We owe you for Australia and I owe you as far back as Camp Lehigh."

Steve's eyes widened. "No—"

Natasha interrupted him. "Save it, Cap. You can run faster and you're stronger so you have a greater chance of getting out of here. Besides, it'll be easier for you to break me out of here than the other way around." She handed him the USB drive, clenching his loose fingers around it firmly. The simply touch of her hand against his sent electric shocks up his arm.

The footsteps were getting closer. Clint touched Steve's arm. "We have to go. Now. The world is at stake."

The soldier didn't look convinced. Natasha pulled out twin pistols from her catsuit before making eye contact with him. "Steve, this is my choice."

She turned ad stalked down the corridor, looking every inch the Black Widow, infamous spy and assassin. Deep down he knows she does have this, but he also feels the very foundation of no man left behind and loyalty crumbling underneath his feet, pitching him into a deep dark abyss.

Steve and Clint turned and ran the opposite way, the archer practically dragging the soldier's heavy feet. A few seconds later gunshots and voices could be heard. The two Avengers didn't look back. Couldn't look back.

Steve wasn't focusing as he ran, though his legs felt like lead. He was caught in the past. He remembered saying the same thing to someone many years ago.

"I gotta put her in the water," he told Peggy through the comm. The words pained him, made him want to curl up in a ball. He was also numb at the same time. If that was even possible.

I need to be strong. She needs to be strong.

Her tone stabbed him even deeper than his own words. "Steve, please don't do this. We have time. We can work it out." She spoke quickly, throwing random hopes and fixes at him. It wouldn't work. She was lying to them both. It wasn't an unwelcome lie.

I can't die leaving her to believe there was a way. Besides, there is no way.

The Valkyrie was gaining tremendous ground every second. Too soon it would be upon the US. Too soon it would be ending the lives of millions of people. Steve spoke strongly and levelly, his resolve barely staying together.

"Peggy….This is my choice."

Steve took in a sharp intake of breath. He faintly knew he and Clint were running through some doors and into a raging storm. It didn't seem to touch them. At least the rain hid his tears. Another memory hit him, though it was different this time. It was a mixture of past and present, a combination of two of the most painful moments of his existence.

Steve was sitting upright in the chair at the base, his ears straining as he waited for her to answer. The girl he loved was on that ship, the ship loaded with weapons for mass destruction. She was trying to decide what to do. When she answered he wanted to die to save himself the pain.

"I gotta put her in the water," she said quietly. The agony that welled up with the words was almost unbearable.

"Nat, please don't do this. We have time. We can work it out." He crammed as many random hopes as he could, throwing suggestions at her. He didn't want her to leave him. He wanted her to stay forever. He'd quit the army if it meant living a full life with her. Now it seemed it would end too soon. He didn't want what they had to end. Steve regretted every moment he should have been with her that he wasn't with her. She was his right partner, and he had let her pass him until the very end.

Natasha spoke steadily and evenly. "Steve…this is my choice."

Steve couldn't hear those words. Was the world worth losing her? No. He'd give up the world for her. But she wouldn't. No, she couldn't. Her duty was to the world and if it meant giving up everything then she had to.

Deep down he also knew she was doing it for him. He would die if she didn't crash the plane. So would millions of others. His heart shattered as he realized that. She was dying for him. Why? Because she loved him. Natasha loved him enough to give her life for him.

By the time they had stumbled back to the motorcycles Steve had gathered himself. Natasha wouldn't die; she was too valuable to AIM alive. Besides, the Avengers were going to rescue her tomorrow when they took over the facility. How much could happen to her in one day? Natasha was strong enough to last that long. She was probably the strongest person on the entire team. Even stronger than he.

Banner and Thor had met them and the four of them rode back to the jet. Steve's back was cold without Natasha's reassuring warmth there. The others were quiet, each contemplating the loss of the spy. Clint had been her partner for many years, and losing her weighed down on him. Thor and Banner hadn't known her well, but she was an Avenger and she was a valuable part of the team.

Tony noticed the quiet as soon as they stepped into the jet. He counted their numbers and saw the missing spy. He didn't say anything, just listened as Steve spoke.

"Tomorrow at midnight AIM plans to sell blueprints for the cloning machine they invented." The soldier handed the USB drive to Tony. "They kidnapped Fury and cloned him. That's why he 'joined' AIM; that was his clone. He's somewhere in the compound, along with Natasha. We'll rescue them before we destroy the facility."

He spoke like he hadn't felt loss. It was a mask, a way to push away the pain. He'd learned it from Natasha, ironically. The others knew all too well. They had lost close friends before and had adopted the very same mask. It seemed to be a common theme among superheroes.

"You better get some rest before tomorrow. It's going to be important that we are at our best. Too much is at stake for something as simple as deprived sleep to get in the way."

Steve turned and left the kitchen where they had gathered and walked to his room. After he showered and dressed he wiped away the mirror and looked in. He looked weary. He looked broken, like he'd suffered too much for his few years. He had. He'd lost all his friends and was still losing them.

Many people said he was the best Avenger to have as a friend. He was strong and kind, always there for you. Supportive. And while that may be true, he was a target and all his friends suffered because of it. He couldn't have friends without them getting hurt.

The captain felt terrible about what happened to Natasha. He knew she felt like she owed him but she didn't. He had excused all her debt. Why couldn't she see that? He knew why. Because she had lived a life where saving another's life was a debt that had to be repaid. That's why she had asked if he trusted her to save his life; she had to be sure she could. And now she had. The men from AIM would have for sure killed him. He was more of a liability to them alive than dead. He was a danger when he was alive.

Natasha would still be alive tomorrow. And he would be there to get her.

"I'm going to come for you, Nat," he promised, though she couldn't hear him. "Nothing can stop me. I'd go to the end of the world for you."