Authors note: Ok, now I am gonna be doing some action scenes for a few chapters, hopefully there is enough description to paint the picture but also keep the story moving. Thank you every one who has been reviewing and please keep the thoughts coming! They make me smile and motivate me to write more!

BLACK SABBATH LYRICS

"War Pigs"

Generals gathered in their masses,

just like witches at black masses.

Evil minds that plot destruction,

sorcerers of death's construction.

In the fields the bodies burning,

as the war machine keeps turning.

Death and hatred to mankind,

poisoning their brainwashed minds...Oh lord yeah!

Politicians hide themselves away

They only started the war

Why should they go out to fight?

They leave that role to the poor

Time will tell on their power minds

Making war just for fun

Treating people just like pawns in chess

Wait `till their judgement day comes, yeah!

Now in darkness, world stops turning,

as you hear the bodies burning.

No more war pigs of the power,

hand of god has struck the hour.

Day of judgement, god is calling,

on their knees the war pigs crawling.

Begging mercy for their sins,

Satan, laughing, spreads his wings...Oh lord, yeah!

CH 21.

One month to the day that The Soldier had first arrived at the Tower, The Avenger's through their resident sulking Super Soldier a party. Stark had insisted and was seconded by Barton and Natasha. It was to be a celebration of his freedom from Hydra. Despite his slow progression away from being a vacant minded tool, waiting for directions, the more he remembered, his conditioning cracking and eroding away, the more depressed and with drawn he had become. His inability to communicate in English had at first frustrated him until he eventually had become resigned and had mostly stopped trying to communicate except when prompted. Steve had consulted with the others with deep concern that the Soldier was lying listless in bed for hours after waking and had to be reminded to eat and bath as he had stopped expressing interest in either enjoyable activity. His nightmares where still constant and ever present as were the flash backs, but he had stopped seeking comfort from Steve and simply turned away, unresponsive, blinking away his tears quietly.

Sam reminded Steve that this recovery was going to be a long process and the more he remembered from his past missions and the greater his understanding of his feelings and morals as a person grew, the cognitive dissidence was going to take a heavy emotional tole on the man who once fought against everything he had been programmed to do for over a life time. Stark had urged Steve to have a celebration in the Soldier's honor recognizing his decision to leave Hydra and a reminder of his courage. Sam and Bruce had not seen any reason not too and so that morning after the Soldier's daily meditation practice, he was lead into the common area by Banner, where Steve and the others awaited.

The Soldier's eyes grew in surprise and then narrowed in confusion as he glanced around the room at the party decorations, steamers and balloons and a large sign that read in both English and Russian, "Congratulations Bucky, One Month More Human!" The Sign was Tony's brain child and the others had all rolled their eyes but did not stop him from hanging it. The Soldier's eyes looked at the other Avengers who stood watching his reaction with smiles and nods then he looked at Steve who shrugged with a sheepish smile. Captain America took a few steps forward and opened his arms for a hug. The Soldier's face remained confused but he obeyed the non verbal directive and engaged his Handler in a stiff hug before being lead to the kitchen table where a feast of pancakes, bacon and eggs was spread out.

As Steve indicated for the Soldier to sit, he slowly lowed into a chair and stared with curiosity at the stack of chocolate chip and banana pancakes in front of him that had a whipped cream smiley face courtesy of Natasha. The Soldier examined the smiley face then looked up at the smiles around him then back down. He swallowed hard and looked up again at Steve and forced his face muscles to mimic the expression. He had learned by now that when he smiled it made Steve and the others relax and when he did not they were more likely to watch him with concerned, troubled expressions. The smile was far from natural and did not reach his eyes but the effort was appreciated and he received a pat on his back as they all took seats.

The Soldier made eye contact with his Handler as he quietly listened to Steve explain how proud they all were and how far he had come. He nodded and listened as each person expressed their own words of encouragement, repeating the praise and commending his bravery and courage. Words of empathy, explanations of some of their own struggles and how well they thought he was doing floated past him as beneath the table his fists clenched. The Soldier nodded and repeated the tight lipped smile, all the while swallowing down the crushing anguish and despair that had been suffocating his every breath since he had come to the painful realization that he would never truly be a person. He was only a flesh and bone weapon that had awakened from a deep drug induced stupor that had kept him numb and complacent. His new found clarity and the sharp cutting sensations of emotion left him longing with a hunger to know what the human experience really was when all he could really do was pretend.

Their words were drowned out by the banging in his head that echoed the beating of his heart. James Buchanan Barnes was once more shouting, and the building pressure in his temples was blurring his vision. Finally he could not take the blinding pressure and roaring of Barnes' cries. The Soldier brought his hands up covering his face as his body trembled. He felt Steve's presence next to him then, rubbing his back and he knew that once again he had failed. With Steve's help he was guided on shaky legs, eyes squeezed tight and hands gripping his hair, back to his room where he remained the rest of the day.

...

Almost a week past and Steve had grown increasingly concerned with his friends nearly comatose behavior and his lack of desire to interact with the others. He sat with everyone at a conference table that evening after The Soldier had drifted to sleep on the couch in the common room. The Captain listened half heartedly as his friends made suggestions and brainstormed what could been done to help the despondent and increasingly depressed ex-assassin. Steve's own thoughts where disrupted as a sudden beeping sound interrupted the conversation. He looked up as Jarvis's message relayed.

Sir, there is a distress call coming from an unsecured line originating in the Ukraine. It is a video message sent through a scrambled transmitter designed to mask location of origin. Shell I display the call.

"Yes,... make sure to record it and scan for any potential virus while running a mapping grid so we know the exact coordinates!" Tony answered as the assembled Avengers sat up and the screen flicked to life, an image came through, distorted and shaking. A wide eyed girl appeared, dirt smeared on her face and brown hair sticking out from under a hood. There was the sound of shouting and distant explosions and she was painting and out of breath.

"Hello,... Please... Captain America?... Are you see me?" The girl whispered in broken english heavily accented.

"Yes,... We see you!...Who are you?...Are you in distress?" Steve answered and almost immediately Iron man trough his hands in the air with an expression that was incredulous.

"Really?... Ya think?...Sure thats just fireworks!" Tony rolled his eyes and Steve glared at him briefly as the others shrugged in agreement of the obvious.

"Yes... Please!... We need you help us Please!... Hydra attack... we our resistance...сопротивление...we fight..." A large explosion shook the ground and the girl and camera flew. The Avenger's sat forward with intensity. The sound of people screaming was heard and their was smoke and debris. The Camara was grasped again and the girl's face came back in view, blood staining her face, a deep gash above her eye brow. Her eyes where wet with tears. "Help please... You help!" She cried as suddenly a figure dressed in black appeared and grabbed her, wrapping a wire around her throat as the camera fell and the transmission died. Instantly every one was on their feet Steve ordering them to be dressed and at the hanger. Stark was shouting at Jarvis to prep the jet and get his suite ready. Natasha stood slowly with a perplexed look as the men reacted with urgency.

"What if it's a trap?"Natasha's voice was loud and clear to summon their attention before they could leave the room. Each man paused and looked up.

"A Trap?" Sam asked first with a question. Natasha nodded and looked at Steve.

"What if Hydra is trying to bring you to them?" She asked with a serious look that spoke directly from her intuition and instinct. She did not trust the distress call or the innocent girl but then again, she was the skeptical type.

"Well then we better be prepared. Weather Hydra is calling us out or not, lives are at stake and we have to answer that call for help!... Hydra has caused enough suffering!" The Captain spoke with unwavering conviction, ready as always to lead the charge and save the day.

"Who will stay with Bucky?" Banner asked as he looked around knowing that this battle was one the Hulk would be useful in. Steve wiped his face and then the back of his neck. He knew he should be the one to stay but at the same time he knew he could not.

"I will stay with him." Natasha offered still feeling wary of the circumstances surrounding the distress call.

"You sure Nat?... We could probably use your Russian." Barton questioned, curious about her motivation. She simply nodded once, her eyes giving Barton a carful look before she turned back toward the others.

"We can't leave him alone,... I will stay... He'll be safe!" She reassured and Steve nodded and fixed the others with a short nod.

"Lets move!" The Captain spoke.

"Avenger's Assemble!" Tony clapped and it was Steve's turn to roll his eyes, receiving a smirk from the others. As Ironman, Captain America and the soon to be Hulk excited the room Clint lingered behind and so did Sam.

"Natasha,... You sure about this?... I can stay behind,... you'd probably be more help out their then I would on this mission!" Sam suggests and she looked at him with caution then to Barton who was studying her.

"I don't think this attack from Hydra is random and I don't know where the girl got this number to reach out but something is off about it." She mused with eyes deep in thought. She looked up at Sam and then to Clint.

"The Hulk doesn't think, he smashes, Stark doesn't plan ahead he just reacts and works off impulse and Steve is always so damn focused on saving the day he barely knows how to cover his back!... You two keep your eyes open and hang back, shoot from a distance incase I'm right!" She spoke with a calm and desecrate tone that was punctuated with an intense and poignant stare, receiving nods from both men.

"Lets hope your not!" Sam sighed as he turned toward the door with Clint behind him.

"Too bad she almost always is!" Clint sighed with a mumbled curse as he follow, heading to suite up. Natasha watched them exit then sat down with a contemplative sigh.

"Jarvis replay the distress call from the begging and pause as directed." The Black Window leaned forward and examined the footage with a nagging feeling that something was out of synch.

...

Once The plan was off headed for some small isolated mountain town in the Ukraine The Widow continued to watch the replay and attempt to match the girls face with S.H.I.E.L.D Intel as she used her skills as usual to hack the system. She sighed when after an hour or so their was no match and Jarvis spoke to her with his update on the ware abouts of the Winter Soldier.

Agent Romanoff, Sergeant Barnes is standing in the middle of the common area. He has just awoken from another nightmare.

Natasha moved with calm urgency toward the common room and slowed her pace as she came to the door way leaning against the frame casually. He was standing in the middle of the room with his head down and fists clenched breathing heavily, muscles strained. His dark hair curating his expression, his body facing the windows. After a moment he lifted his head and slowly turned to face her, a deep frown covering his lips and troubled eyes.

"What did you dream of?" Natasha spoke in a calm and soothing voice, her Russian just as fluent as her English. He looked up at her momentarily then away and shook his head as he unclenched his fists and rubbed his temples. The Soldier had awoken after a nightmare coated in blood and violence and pain that ended as they always did with him face to face with James Barnes who either spoke to him with sympathy and understanding or with hatred and rage. How ever he was greeted by Barnes, the message was always the same. Let Me Live! Each time he awoke with the taste of blood in his mouth, the smell of sweat and vomit and smoke and a ringing in his hears that slowly dimmed as he pushed James back down and embraced his own tortured consciousness and the steadily increasing agony of yearning to be human.

The Soldier looked up again as Natasha crossed the room and rest a hand softly on his face.

"The more pain you keep inside the more you bleed... How can you heal if you swallow down all the knifes that cut you?" Her voice was soft and empathetic and it sounded strange to his ears as Russian had always been spoken to him with harsh, angry commands and threats. He closed his eyes and leaned into her touch as a small sound chocked from his throat. With a patient sigh Natasha took his hand and lead him to the kitchen, instructing him to sit as she warmed up the left over dinner he had not eaten.

...

The plane had landed and Steve had constructed a basic strategic framework that involved Ironman and The Falcon sweeping the parameter of the ruined town while Banner, Hawk Eye and him self went in on the ground level. As they excited the plane Sam looked at Barton with a nod of silent confirmation that Natasha's warning was still on his mind. The Avengers moved toward the central location that Ironman's scanners confirmed contained almost a hundred individual heat signals that appeared to be hostages corralled into the center of town. With stealth precision and efficiency, the men closed in on the location while near by Tony was sent to create a distraction by blowing up some abandoned ruins on the other side of town a few miles away.

"Alright we have a visual on the Hostages,...Status report?" Captain America whisper into his ear com as his back was pressed against a brick wall.

"I am about 45 degrees to your left Cap, ready to let the other guy take care of that tank positioned at the Hostages." Banner's voice crackled over the static.

"Hawk Eye above on the fifth floor last window of the Apartment building directly across from Hulk. Took out three snipers on my way up here, can see about a dozen more perched around the Hostage camp at different heights... Shouldn't be a problem." Barton's tone was casual as if he was describing a simple chore he had to do.

"Cap, I got your back...Right above you and ready to fly on your count." Sam confirmed as he waited just out of view from the Hydra agents bellow that surrounded the Hostages on the ground.

"Ready to start blasting stuff when you say so Spangles then I'll be right over to assist in the ass kicking part of this plan!" Ironman responded and he could here the others chuckle.

"Alright,...Iron man blow it up and then we make our move after a 10 count!" Steve ordered.

"Aye, Aye Captain!" Stark answered and instantly a large explosion was heard that shook the ground as the light from flames and smoke covered the sky. The Hydra agents where yelling in Russian and several took off toward the explosion and right into the waiting arms of Ironman. Steve counted to ten and then tightened his fists.

"Avengers, lets kick some ass!" Steve growled, letting his hatred for Hydra drive him as he darted out from his hiding spot and ran toward the nearest group of Hydra Soldiers, Shield out and ready to release his frustration that had been growing steadily over the past weeks. Steve's shield blocked the bullets that rain down on him as he threw him self into the thick of the fighting, fists colliding with flesh and bone. He could hear the Hulk even before he saw him flying at the Tank as he tore it apart and above him he heard the sail of arrows taking out Soldier's that were advancing on his location from the shadows. The Falcon was swooping and diving, as he took out more advancing Hydra agents and soon Steve was out of bodies to punch, making his way toward the huddled Hostages.

"Falcon,... Ironman I am sending the Hostages out the North side of the town, provide them cover!" Steve order as he began directing the frantic eyed citizens with a lousily Russian accent as he pointed toward the North. People began running, Women and Men carrying children and as they moved quickly. Steve looked over toward the Hulk who had just back handed about ten Agents into a nearby building when out of nowhere he saw the small brunette girl from the distress call running toward him. He turned and it took a moment for him to realize that she was no longer bleeding and hooded with desperate eyes but instead was dressed in black combat gear with a crazed smile on her face. He barely had time to react as she began throwing knifes at his face with deadly accuracy. He blocked them with his shield but had to sacrifice his ability to see her for the cover. He threw himself and The Shield toward her direction but she was not there. He looked up and around before another knife materialized from nowhere. It was only an inch from his eye when an arrow collided with the handle and the altered corse nocked the knife to the side as the blade grazed Steve's cheek.

The Captain jumped back with surprise as he touched the sharp cut and pulled his gloved hand back that was stained red with his blood. He looked up in alarm but again did not see the girl.

"Cap,... to the right and up the stairs!" Hawk Eye's voice spoke with urgency as Captain America looked up at him and then to were he was pointing as he saw the brief flash of the girl as she bolt past a second floor window in an abandon building.

The Captain nodded and headed toward her direction as the last of the hostages fled the village just as yet another squadron of Hydra agents descended upon the town square where Ironman had joined the Hulk and Falcon in the fighting. Steve raced up the stairs of the shabby, abandoned building and felt his heart pound as Natasha's warning came back into his mind. The girl he was chasing was the same one that had called them for help. The notion hit him just before he was literally knocked off his feet by what felt like a battering force of the strike sent him through the brick wall and out into the air free falling from a 3rd story. With a grunt of pain and a gasp of air Captain America's body jolted as he was snatched up only feet from the hard pavement by the Falcon who carried him up to the top of the building setting him down as Steve collapsed on his knees with a groan and a shake of his head.

"You okay Cap?" Sam demand as he watched Steve struggle to sit up right and breath. Hawk Eye landed on the roof a moment later after shooting an arrow that created a zip line he rode with his bow. He glanced with concern at Sam and then moved toward the Captain who was grasping his chest in pain.

"What the hell hit you?" Hawk Eye asked with confusion. Steve gasped again and shook his head as he opened his mouth. Before he could answer however the building began to shake as explosions from within rang out with piercing echoes. The Falcon ran froward and grabbed each man by their arms as he flew into the air just as the roof collapsed. The added weight was difficult but with the adjustments and tune ups made by Stark before the last mission Sam was able to clear the smoke and debris and land some what gracefully on the ground by the other Avengers who had turned in surprise at the building's collapse.

"What the..." Stark began but stopped as what looked like a giant Robot suite, not unlike the one his ex- business partner Obadiah Stane had made, came into few from the debris. One of it's fists was a giant hammer, the other, what looked like a an electric drill with sharp blades that whirled. Inside the suite was a man with a shaved head covered in wires that where implanted inside of his scarred skull. The wires seemed to connect directly from his brain and into the Robot's command center. The man with in machine had plugs in his eyes sockets that were also linked into the visual command of the suite and the sight was both disturbing and frightening. The Gathered Avengers stood posted defensively around the Captain who struggled to his feet as his rib cage protested his wheezing breaths. They watched with uncertainty as the Man powered machine came to a stop in front of them and from behind it the small brunette girl casually slinked around it and into view. She smiled again with wild and unstable eyes as her gaze darted around the assembled team. She frown suddenly with a huff and stomped her foot like a spoiled child as she crossed her arms.

"It's not fair!... They said she would be here too!... They promised I would get to kill her!...The Black Widow was suppose to be my reward for being such a good girl!...I never get to have any fun!" She wined in her accented english, no longer broken. She held a remote control in her hand and glared up at the man fused robot with a huff and then back to the weary Avengers. Her expression changed dramatically into a girlish grin just as suddenly and she took a few steps forward. "Oh well,... At least I get to play with my new favorite toy!...He's just the prototype though...Just wait until we get our Asset back!...Oh the Plans we have!" She squealed like a child talking about a pony ride..."Daddy made this for me after you mean men stole my other toy!..." Her smile snapped again and the wild look came over her once more, a sick and twisted smile on her face. "It is not nice to steal other peoples play things!... It was our perfect weapon,...our beautiful Soldier,... The Fist of Hydra!... But then the Americans say they want it,... They say it is not safe in Mother Russia,... that we are becoming a Third World!" Her tone was burning with anger and she spit in disgust as if the words tasted badly in her mouth.

"The great Alexander Pierce!... He borrowed our Soldier,... we let him play with it and then look what happens!" She threw her hands in the air dramatically. "Hydra's plan fails,... and you steal our weapon and try to break it!... Try to ruin all of our hard work!" She was shouting now with rage and anger but her face broke into a sudden mad laugh. "You try to teach it to be a human!?... Tell the Asset it can choose,... It can learn to be a man!" She laughed even harder as if it was the funniest joke she had ever heard and Steve felt his fists clench and his jaw grind as Sam put a hand on his shoulder. The girl slowed her laughter as she wiped away her tears with a shake of her head and a sigh. She shifted her gaze from laughing to deadly serious as her body language changed again. "It will never be a man... It will never be human... It is our perfect weapon...and now we will have it back!" Her tone went from razor sharp to almost a sing song cadence as she grinned once more.

The Avengers had listened to the mad girl ramble in silence but looked at one another with concern,The Hulk growled, eyes focused on the robot man as Captain America pushed past his comrades toward the girl.

"What do you mean,...who..." Steve began to question when suddenly Stark spoke up.

"Uhhh,... guys... Jarvis just informed me that he is being remotely hacked and there are eight black vans and a helicopter headed toward the tower... I think...they shut him down!" Ironman's voice held a level of fear that was not often heard from the wise cracking billionaire. Steve turned with a panicked expression just as the girl darted forward with another knife prepared to plunge it into his back.

"Look out!" Sam cried just in time for the Captain to raise his Shield and instantly the robot was active shooting lasers and swinging its hammer while the blades whirled. Chaos ensued and in the haze of fighting the Avengers realized they were once more surrounded by Hydra agents who advanced upon them, their battle far from over as on the other side of the world, their friends' was just beginning.