Author's Note: I am currently being used as a kitty foot stool which is making it hard to type. I finished the story! I forget how many chapters it ended up being, but the end is in sight. I'm also getting some ideas for A Game of Winter. So as we transition into the between time before stories, I wanted to let you know that I will try to keep updates on my profile page for my stories giving you an idea of when the next one might come out. I'm thinking December. I need to take a break to write in my books. I was so busy with work this summer, I had no chance to write in my books at all. I've got a paranormal dystopian and a Sleeping Beauty retelling going right now. They need to go somewhere. But in the mean time I will start posting A Game of War which is about 30 pages from the end.

Alright, next hint. I haven't really plotted this out at all, but I was thinking I want Aspen to meet Bucky as the Winter Soldier before the movie takes place. Possibly there will be kidnapping involved. There is a character who is very interested in studying Aspen's powers, so he might play a role too.

31 – Marko's Mansion – June 28th, 2012

With Fury's grudging permission acquired, Aspen, Clint, and Steve prepared themselves for their mission. At first Aspen had been sure Fury was going to say no. He'd given them all a long stare until he finally sighed. "Don't mess this up, Tolvar," he'd said throwing her one of his notorious looks.

They were playing it safe with six agents that would surround the mansion to keep it safe. They weren't going to risk Barney escaping or anyone else getting in. They'd given Barney street clothes to change into and cuffed him for the trip. Marko's mansion was in upper Manhattan, now abandoned and foreclosed. The SHIELD agents took a circuitous route to the mansion. Aspen had warned them people could try to follow them without elaborating. By the time they reached the mansion, no one had been spotted in pursuit. The agents placed themselves around the mansion while Aspen, Steve, Clint, and Barney surveyed the front of the mansion.

"Do you remember this?" Aspen asked Barney. Clint was hanging back with Steve, looking suddenly unsure of himself. "You worked a job here when you were in the employment of the FBI. You were hired to be a bodyguard for a man named Marko. He was actually a criminal, but I think you knew that. I think you were working undercover, but you didn't realize that another criminal was going to be there that night to rob Marko of something." Barney gave her a bored look. "Not ringing any bells? Right, come on." She took Barney's arm and pulled him toward the mansion.

Behind her she heard Clint say to Steve, "Well if this doesn't work, maybe she'll annoy him into remembering."

Aspen rolled her eyes back at him. "Don't listen to him," she said. "Your brother thinks he's so clever. By the way, why didn't you kill me when you had the chance?" she asked. "You shot me in the side. That's not a kill shot."

Barney looked down at her. "I had no reason to kill you, I just needed a distraction," he said. She looked up, surprised by his honesty though she had guessed his reasoning.

"You're not a bad guy," Aspen told him. "That proves it. You were just brainwashed to take orders from whoever was giving them."

"If you say so."

They had reached the front steps having passed the foreclosure sign. It was a foreboding mansion once grand but now falling into disrepair after years of neglect. The porch groaned as they set foot on it. Aspen unlocked the door (SHIELD had acquired the key) and led them into the front hall. "Clint's going to show us where that night took place," Aspen said. She turned her eyes to him. He nodded, skirting past them and taking the grand staircase up. Aspen followed, hand still on Barney's arm. Steve took up the back. The hallways were dusty with long runner carpets. The walls were unadorned, but Aspen could see the places where pictures had once hung. Clearly the mansion had been stripped. There was no furniture left and some of the windows were broken letting in the drafty afternoon air. Clint stopped at the end of the hall.

"You were here," he said, addressing Barney for the first time. Aspen walked him over to where Clint indicated. She nodded to Clint who disappeared down the other end of the hall. This was part of the plan Aspen had devised. It was risky, but it might shock Barney into remembering that night. "You were patrolling the halls when two men broke into the mansion. Do you remember?" She unlocked his handcuffs. He jumped as they clicked, and she saw surprise in his eyes. She backed away. "Try to remember." She joined Steve, and Barney stood, looking unsure of himself. Then he turned and saw a hooded figure holding a bow. The arrow pierced above his heart a second later, and Barney fell back with a yelp. He fell to the floor.

"You were hit with an arrow," Aspen said as Barney writhed on the floor. She watched sympathetically. She'd developed an injection that simulated pain. In reality the tip of the arrow had been a thin needle that injected the pain-inducing chemical. She nodded to Clint who ran over to his brother, dropping his bow and pulling out the arrow. The pain would fade in a few minutes, so Clint had a short amount of time to get through to him.

"Barney," he said, putting his hands on his brother's shoulders to hold him down. "Barney! Stay with me. Stay with me, brother." Barney's eyes widened. "I never meant to leave you that night," Clint continued. "I got hurt too. Remember the real Trickshot? He trained us at the circus, but he ended up turning on me. I thought you were dead." Barney's grey eyes were narrowed now, and Aspen couldn't read the expression behind them. They looked so similar right then, the pain clear in both their eyes. "I came to the bus station, you know. Before you joined the Army. I came to say goodbye but I was too late. I was so stupid, Barney. I should have stuck by family, but I got distracted. I forgot what was important."

"Clint?" The words came from Barney, and Aspen felt her heart leap. Barney sat up, and Aspen realized the pain must be fading. "Clint?" he repeated.

"Yeah, it's me," Clint said.

Barney looked so confused, but he put a hand on Clint's shoulder. "I remember that night. You were there. I heard you saying my name. I kept fighting because I needed to look out for my little brother."

"Welcome back," Clint said. He stood and held out a hand for Barney to take, helping him to his feet. Barney grasped it and then pulled Clint into a hug. Clint who kept his emotions to himself at all times had glossy eyes as he held his brother. When they pulled apart, Barney looked over at Aspen.

"Thank you," he said. "You were right. When you asked me what my real name was and I couldn't remember, I realized something was off. I didn't know what to believe, but it's starting to come back to me now. Not everything though." He turned back to Clint. "I don't remember our childhood or being in the Army. I don't remember working for the FBI. There are all these gaps…"

"Your memories should start to return now that you've broken through," Aspen assured him. "Do you remember anything about who brought you back to life?"

"A man named Elihas Starr," Barney answered. "I remember him taking my memories away, wiping me clean." He clenched his fists.

"Did you work for Zemo?"

"The Baron?" Aspen nodded. "I did, but he wasn't the only Baron involved," he replied.

"What do you mean?" Aspen asked, frowning.

Barney shook his head. "I only ever dealt with Zemo and Wagner. But they referred to the Baron. Someone other than Zemo. Zemo had a personal grudge against you and SHIELD," he said to his brother. "Sounds like you took down quite a few of his research facilities. When Trickshot took my body to Starr, they realized my potential. I could kill you if I didn't know who you were because you would never kill me. I was the perfect weapon."

"Do you know anything more that could be helpful? We have Wagner, but he won't talk," Aspen said. Steve had mentioned his confrontation with him earlier that day.

"I know he was Zemo's right hand man. He acquired items of value and kept them at his castle. He was more of a front man though. He didn't get his hands dirty. I wish I knew more, but I was their tool. They didn't tell me anything important just what my next mission was."

"That's okay, we'll find a way to crack Wagner. I'm just glad you're back. Clint sometimes needs a big brother to look out for him." Clint sent her a glare, but Aspen just smiled sweetly back at him.

"Aspen, right?"

Aspen nodded. "And this is Steve," she introduced. Steve shook Barney's hand.

"Captain America, right?" Barney asked interestedly. "I was told to watch out for you."

"Well fortunately we don't have to worry about that anymore," Steve said.

"We should get out of here," Clint told them. "This place gives me the creeps."

"Agreed."

They left the dim hallway and made their way down the grand staircase. Aspen paused on the porch, squinting into the harsh sunlight. "Where are the-" The rest of her sentence was cut off when a round of gun firing sent them ducking for cover. Aspen crouched next to the railing on the porch, pulling out her dart gun. Clint had his bow and was across from her. Steve had pulled his shield off is back and was covering Barney in the doorway.

"Agent down, I repeat, we have an agent down," Clint said into his earpiece. Aspen saw the body of one of the agents lying in the bushes near the sidewalk.

"They're after me," Barney said.

"Shit." Clint notched an arrow. "We don't know how many or how many agents are down."

"They don't know that Barney has his memories back," Aspen said.

"I don't think they care, Pen," Clint shot back at her. He ducked lower as another round of gunfire hit the wall behind them. A few of the bullets hit Steve's shield and bounced off. "You are not getting shot again," Clint told Aspen. "Think we can take them Steve?" he asked. Steve gave him a nod. "You and Barney get inside."

"No way, I am not just hiding inside," Aspen said hotly.

"Me neither," Barney replied, backing her up. She sent him a grateful smile. "They're here because of me. I'm not letting any of you get killed because of that."

"Well you better the hell not die because we just found each other again," Clint said gruffly.

"Don't worry, little brother. I'm a good shot. Got an extra gun?" he asked.

Clint deliberated for a moment before tossing Barney a gun. Barney caught it left-handed and gave Clint a nod. "We'd do better from a window inside," he said. "We can see how many there are. We'll take the back."

"Steve and I will take the ones out front," Aspen said. "He has his shield, and I have my darts."

"Okay." Clint backed toward the door, and he and Barney disappeared inside. Aspen peered through the rails trying to figure out where the shooters were.

"Can you see anything?" she asked Steve.

"One behind the van, one past that shrubbery to the left. Can your darts handle them?"

"Maybe. Sometimes objects can get in the way. The targeting system can get messed up if they move too much." She set the tip of the gun on the rail. Gunshots had her crouched down again though. One of the bullets narrowly missed her. Steve reached out a hand and pulled her behind the shield.

"We're sitting ducks, let's get inside," he said. Aspen let him pull her in, shield held out in front of them as an onslaught of bullets rained down.

"I know I signed up for this, but it seems like this is getting to be an everyday affair," Aspen said.

"If I didn't know better, I would say you were enjoying this," Steve told her with half smile.

"Well, it's better than sitting in bed watching TV." Aspen peered over the edge of the broken front window. She saw one of the shooters near the shrubbery, standing to get a better shot. Before he could find his target, she raised her dart gun and fired. The dart shot through the air and struck the man in the neck. His fingers went to the spot before he slumped forward. More bullets shattered the rest of the glass, and Aspen ducked down, shielding her face with her hands.

"I need to get a clear shot of the other shooter," Aspen said.

"He's still behind the truck. Should I draw him out?" Steve asked.

"We don't know how many are out there."

"I just saw the two. I'll be fine." Aspen nodded and situated herself at the window again. Steve held his shield in front of him and pushed outside. The gun firing started at once, bouncing off his shield. Aspen raised herself up and took aim. The dart soared through the air, but the man ducked down at the last minute and the dart clipped the truck and bounced off. Aspen swore. "Too many obstacles."

"He's going to make sure you don't get a clear shot," Steve said. "I can get to him though."

Aspen caught herself before asking if he was sure. "Go get him," she said instead. "I'll cover you." She pulled out a handgun. "Just in case he gets any ideas."

She positioned herself at the window, and Steve made a run for it, shield held out in front of him. The shooter immediately appeared over the hood of the van. Aspen raised her gun and shot a round of bullets. They skimmed over the windshield, and the man ducked back down to avoid being hit. Steve was past the front gate now. When the shooter came back up, Aspen didn't have a clear shot, but Steve vaulted over the hood of the van, coming down hard on the shooter, shield slamming into his head. Aspen cautiously came out onto the porch but there were no more gunshots. She met Steve by the front gate.

"All clear?" he asked.

"As far as I can tell. Let's do a perimeter sweep."

"No need." Clint came around the left side of the mansion. Barney was behind him. "We checked the entire perimeter. We've got two agents down and three unconscious. We took down two, but the others disappeared before we could get a clear shot."

"Why take down our guards and then leave after getting in a few shots?" Aspen asked.

"Maybe they weren't here to get anything. They wanted to see if Barney had his memories back. I think that was made pretty clear when he fired a few rounds at their heads," Clint said. "I called for backup. Fury's gonna be pissed, but we were playing this carefully. We still don't know who we're dealing with."

"I doubt we'll get anything out of the shooters," Aspen said. "Let's get them in the van though." She walked over to the SHIELD agent lying a few feet away, kneeling down and putting a finger to her neck. The girl's dark hair was splayed out over the grass, her face pale. "She's alive," Aspen said. "We need to get her help." There was a pretty nasty gash on the side of her head, and Aspen grabbed a med-kit from the van to clean the wound. Clint, Barney, and Steve hauled the enemy agents into the back of the van and cuffed them before gathering the downed agents. Two had their necks broken, but the other three had come to and were leaning against the van rubbing their heads. The girl remained unconscious as Aspen bandaged her wound.

"What's her name?" she asked one of the agents.

"Lucy," the older man replied. "This was her first mission. It wasn't supposed to end up this way."

Aspen looked back down at the girl. She couldn't have been older than twenty, and Aspen wondered how she had become a SHIELD agent. "Never expect a mission to go the way you plan," she said half to herself.

When backup arrived, several agents were sent out to try to track down the shooters while Lucy was wheeled off to receive proper medical attention. The ride back to SHIELD headquarters was quiet as they all sat deep in their own thoughts. Aspen was getting tired of faceless enemies trying to kill them. There was too much mystery surrounding the attack, too much mystery surrounding all of the events that had taken place recently. Clint had stirred up a lot more than he'd expected to, and Aspen wasn't sure how they were going to end this. She didn't know what they wanted or who they were.

"I think Zemo might still be alive," Steve said suddenly, breaking the silence. They all looked up at him in surprise. This was news to Aspen though her dream had put some doubts in her mind. But it was just a dream. Right?

"What makes you say that?" she asked.

"It was too easy to begin with. Zemo has lived a lot of years, done a lot of terrible things, and waited a long time to seek revenge against me. It doesn't seem like he should have gone down so easily."

"Hey, we had to get lucky once, right?"

"In my experience it's not that easy. And then I brought it up with Wagner, asked him how Zemo had survived the fall just to throw him off. He looked shocked as if I'd guessed something I shouldn't have. He tried to play it off, but there was fear in his eyes."

"He knows something," Aspen said irritably. "And he's not going to spill it."

"We'll force it out of him," Clint said.

"I already tried that," Steve put in. Clint and Aspen looked at him in surprise. "I got a little impatient." He looked down at his hands.

"We'll figure something out," Aspen said.

…

"What part of don't screw this up didn't you get?" Fury asked. He stood behind his desk looking quite furious, and Aspen found herself inspecting the tips of her boots as if they were something fascinating.

"With respect, sir, it worked," Clint said. "Barney remembers who he is."

"Two agents are dead."

"That wasn't planned."

"This all started with your little trip into Austria. It is your problem to fix. Right now things are not looking good for you, Agent Barton."

Aspen was so glad she was not in Clint's shoes right then, but she felt a stab of sympathy. He hadn't meant for any of this to happen. It wasn't his fault SHIELD's enemies were relentless.

"Any progress with the prisoner?" Fury asked. "The Austrian man who thinks he's funny."

"No, sir. He's not going to give anything away."

"Then we might need to make him."

"I'm not sure that's going to work either. Steve – er – roughed him up a bit and it didn't work." Her eyes flitted to Steve. He looked embarrassed, arms crossed over his chest. Fury seemed unperturbed.

"That's not what I meant," he said, keeping his eye on Aspen. "Agent Tolvar have you ever considered the possibility that you might use that serum you were given to aid SHIELD?"

Aspen took a step back, her hand automatically going to the cuff on her left wrist. "I don't want to use it," she said automatically.

"Sometimes it isn't about getting what we want. How far would you go to help SHIELD?"

"That's not fair to ask that of her," Clint said, stepping forward.

"I'm not asking you," Fury said, not looking at Clint.

"How would my abilities help?" Aspen asked.

"In lots of ways, but right now I was thinking of a specific way. We need to get into Wagner's head somehow or force him to talk."

"And you think I could do that?"

"I think you could do almost anything you set your mind to if you knew how to use your abilities."

"I need to think about it," Aspen said. Her heart was beating loudly in her ears. "Can I go?" Suddenly the room felt too warm, too tight. Fury nodded.

"Not you," he said to Clint and Barney as Aspen brushed passed.

"Sir?" Steve said.

"You can go, Rogers," Fury said.

Aspen was already halfway down the hall when Steve caught up to her. "You're not considering doing it?" he asked.

"It doesn't sound like I have much of a choice."

"You always have a choice."

"I have the choice to do what's right."

"Hey." Steve grabbed her arm, gently pulling her around so that she was facing him. "If you don't want to take that cuff off and use your powers, then don't."

"Sometimes being an agent means you don't always get what you want," Aspen said. "He asked how far I would go to help SHIELD."

"I heard him."

"If it means that no more agents have to give their lives then yes, I'm willing to go that far. Two people died today. More could have. You let Doctor Erskine inject you with the Super Soldier Serum so you could help people. I have no right to do any less."

"This isn't about me."

"It's about doing what it takes to save the world. And if that means I need to learn to use my abilities then so be it." She turned away. "I want to go see if that girl is alright."

"The young agent?"

"Lucy. It was her first mission."

"I heard. They took her to the med-bay. Do you want me to come with you?" he asked, furrowing his brow in concern.

Aspen shook her head. "I just need some time to think," she said. "You should make sure Fury doesn't flay Clint alive. I hear he keeps his victims inside the walls around his office." She offered him a small smile before turning away.

…

Lucy was awake when Aspen found her room. She looked slightly dazed, but her brown eyes found Aspen's the moment she walked into the room. Her dark hair had been tucked back into a neat bun, and she reminded Aspen of someone.

"You're the one who saved me," she said before Aspen could speak. "Agent Gunnar told me."

"Well, I wish I could have done more. I just bandaged your head. Sorry that had to happen on your first mission."

"Aunt Maria didn't sugar coat it when she offered me a job," Lucy said.

"Aunt Maria?"

"Oh, sorry, Agent Hill. She's my aunt. I'm Lucy Hill."

"Oh, I didn't realize she had a niece. It's nice to meet you. I'm Aspen Tolvar." She put out a hand, and Lucy shook it.

"Captain America's girlfriend?" Lucy asked with an excited smile.

"Oh – er – yeah, I suppose I am."

"Sorry, it's just that he's such a legend. The story of how you met is all the new recruits ever talk about – at least the girls."

"The story of how we met?" Aspen asked dazedly. "I wasn't aware that was a trending thing."

"It's so cute! I wish that would happen to me. He doesn't happen to have a brother does he?" She laughed at Aspen's expression. "Joking."

"Did you get anything on the enemy?" Aspen asked. "Before you were knocked out?"

Lucy winced. "Just that they all had this symbol on their arms. It was a band with this strange octopus or something. I didn't get a close look before I was clobbered over the head. Sorry, that's not too helpful."

"No, it is. Anything is helpful. We're going off of nothing right now."

"They didn't tell us why we were at the mansion. Were you retrieving something? Why did you have that man handcuffed?"

"We were trying to help him get his memories back. He's Agent Barton's brother."

"Oh! Did it work?"

"Yeah, it did, but at the cost of two agents' lives."

Lucy's face fell. "I heard about that."

"You could have been killed too." Aspen's eyes flitted to the bandages on Lucy's head. "You're too young to die on a mission. Especially one that wasn't supposed to be like that. We thought we were being careful."

"Don't beat yourself up because of me," Lucy said, eyes widening. "It might have been my age that saved me. I didn't look like a threat, and it turns out I wasn't much of one."

"Eh, first missions don't always go well," Aspen told her.

"What was your first mission like?"

"With SHIELD?" Lucy nodded. "I first started working for SHIELD I mainly did missions where I acquired objects, usually objects that had been stolen by an enemy organization. But I'd already had training, so those weren't really a challenge. The challenges came later."

"Iceland?" Lucy whispered.

"How did you know about that?" Aspen asked sharply.

"Trainee gossip."

Aspen felt a surge of anger. "So they've been gossiping about me? About Iceland? That's personal." She realized she'd raised her voice when Lucy shrunk back.

"Sorry," she mumbled. "I didn't hold any stock in it. I told them to stuff it."

"It's not your fault," Aspen said. "I'm sorry. It's been a long few weeks."

"Why did you come here?" Lucy asked.

"To see you?" Lucy nodded. "I wanted to make sure you were alright."

"That's nice of you. My aunt stopped by, but otherwise no one else seemed to care. I guess just because my aunt is Fury's right hand doesn't automatically make me respected."

"Well, in my experience you have to earn respect, but I have a feeling you're going to surprise everyone in your class one day. Between you and me, sometimes the girls make the best agents. Just look at Black Widow and your aunt."

Lucy smiled. "I hope so. Aunt Maria is so graceful and commanding. I got the awkward gene, I guess. I can't take two steps without tripping over my own feet, and my stealth skills are about as accomplished as an elephant in a piano studio."

Aspen snorted. "Well you can only improve."

"I hope so."

"I'd better go, I need to think a few things out."

"Thanks for coming to check on me," Lucy said as Aspen turned to leave.

"No problem. I'll see you around, Lucy." She gave the girl a small smile.

…

Aspen found Steve waiting for her outside the med-bay, arms crossed and looking uncomfortable as the nurse at the front desk eyed him none too subtly. He pushed off the wall when he saw Aspen.

"How's Lucy?" he asked.

"She's fine. She's got a lot of spunk. Did you know that she's Agent Hill's niece?"

"I didn't realize."

"Me neither. How's Clint?"

"Still alive if barely. Fury is taking him out of the situation and refusing to provide Barney with protection if he leaves. He said he can stay here at SHIELD headquarters, and Barney took him up on his offer. Clint's going to stay too and work with him."

"So who is leading the mission now?"

"We are," Steve replied.

"We as in you and me?" Aspen asked, startled. "Fury trusts us that much?"

"He seems to. Either that or this is a test."

"Do how do we do this?" she asked.

"We need to find out what Wagner knows. I'll do what I can to get information out of him if it means you don't have to take that cuff off."

Aspen noted that the nurse was watching them with interest and started walking. Steve matched her pace. "I need to do this," she said. "It will only be for a little while. I can put it right back on."

"What exactly would you do anyway?" he asked. "Can you get him to talk?"

"I'm not sure. I know someone who would know though. I think it's time to give my mom a call."