If you recognise it… I don't own it.

1234567890

The last three words had sounded more intoned than merely spoken. Clint followed Tony closely as he recommenced leaving the cargo bay and into a far more comfortable room. Albeit via a few meters of corridor in-between.

Settling down in what looked like a fairly respectable passenger area, a TV screen was easily visible.

It flickered into life.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," The Winter Soldier's Russian accent was thick, but not to the point where it made his words impossible to understand, "I apologize for interrupting your normal daily routine. However, much as Iron Man before me, I have to make an announcement."

There were subtitles clearly visible at the bottom of the screen, just in case the accent caused problems. Which Clint thought was a particularly thoughtful addition.

"I am the Winter Soldier," He removed his goggles, revealing eyes surrounded by dark paint, "I was so named, because I was to be loyal through the winter, stronger than those who shrink back in the times that try men's souls. And loyal I have been.

"When Iron Man addressed you, he spoke of injustice and corruption. He spoke of those denied the judgement of Lady Justice. I wish to tell you a tale. It is about a Boy.

"He was just a Boy. He was not a good boy. Nor was he a bad boy. He loved his country. He loved it very much. However as much as he loved his country, he loved his friend more. His brother by another mother. Now his Brother… He was a good boy. A good man. He would stand up against injustice and inequality. He would protect those who were being bullied. Though he was small and scrawny he did not know how to back down from a fight.

"The Boy was always pulling his Brother out of fights. He protected his Brother as best he could. But the Brother would always say the same thing: 'I had them on the ropes'.

"And War came to their country. The Boy, he joined the Army. He was old enough and strong enough. But his Brother… He was weak and ill. He had the heart of a mighty warrior. But he did not have the body. The Boy went to War.

"He did not last long. But he did not die. It would have been a kindness if he had. Instead he was captured. A Prisoner of War. Yet his captors did not see him as a prisoner. Not even as another human being. Nor any of his fellow prisoners. They were simply test subjects. Any taken as such. They died as such. One by one they died. Until it was the Boy's turn. He did not die. Though there were times he wished he could. He hung on. By fingertips and teeth, he clung to life. Every moment he lived was one less moment someone else went through Hell. So he hung on. He gave them nothing, except his name, his rank and his serial number. Those words became his lifeline. His link to sanity.

"Then one day, hands came. They undid the straps that held him down. They helped him up. He looked up and saw his Brother. "I thought you were dead." His Brother said. "I thought you were smaller." The Boy replied. For his Brother was small and scrawny no longer. He had the body suited to contain the heart and soul he had always had.

"One man, the Brother, had come alone to rescue them all when all others had written them off. And rescue them all he did. He had come for one. But he took all. And when he was offered the best of men to make a unit to hunt those who had hurt the Boy, he chose his own. From those he had rescued. Those chosen, willingly agreed to follow the Captain back into Hell. But the Boy would not follow the Captain. Instead it was the little guy from Brooklyn who was too dumb to run away from a fight who he would follow."

Clint hadn't noticed until then, but the Russian accent had been fading. Now, it was gone completely. And there was a distinct Brooklyn twang there. However, there was something else. The story sounded very familiar. But different. As if he'd heard it from a different view point.

"The team were commandos. They went where no one else dared. They were so crazy they howled at the moon. They fought fiercely. The Boy protected his Brother. He had been identified as a good sniper in training. That skill allowed him to watch his Brother's back. He protected his Brother with everything he had.

"And that included his life. When he fell from a train on a cliff, he thought… He believed he had sacrificed his life for his Brother.

"However he survived. Though once again he wished he did not. He had fallen back into the hands of those who had experimented on him before. This time, though, they did not come to experiment. They had been successful. Else how could he have survived the fall?

"Instead they took from him. They took from him his memories. His will. His independence. His country. His home. His name. His Brother. Until all that was left was an empty shell for them to manipulate and control as they would. Anything they told him was the truth as far as he knew. Anything they ordered was to be followed. They became his whole world.

"And to them, he was less than human. No longer a boy or even a man. He was a weapon. To be sent where they willed. To do as they willed. When not needed they froze him, until such time as he was needed.

"And though his heart ached with a need and a want he did not understand; he could not disobey. For any attempt caused pain beyond imagining. He was broken. Shattered into a million pieces and unable to put himself back together.

"Until one day… One day when he was defrosted and there were no commands. No orders. Just peace. He knew he was in a place he did not know. But with all the times that his memories had been stolen from him and all the times he had been moved while frozen, that was nothing new. But a Handler, who gave no commands. Who demanded nothing… That was new.

"With time, the Boy reclaimed himself. But he did not forget those who had abused him so. Who had used him so. His new Handler was not a Handler. He was a friend. A rescuer. A younger brother. He had raised arms against the abusers. And invited the Boy to do the same. No obligation. No requirement. Simply an invitation.

"And I took it. I fought against them once. And I fight against them now. When Iron Man, my rescuer, left me earlier, he was going to buy me time to make this broadcast. Most likely with his life.

"He has gone out to face my enemy alone. And my enemy is and was and always will be Hydra. The Captain did not kill them. He got rid of the Red Skull. But there were others. And they laid low. Building their strength. Gathering their numbers. Securing their strongholds. Often using me to do so.

"Hydra lives. Hidden away. Iron Man and I have spent months gathering our proof. Identifying members of Hydra. We had to be careful. They have infected many places. Many organisations. Most crucially they have infected SHIELD. And it has become their fortress.

"Well, no longer. I have dumped onto the internet the names and details of every single Hydra Agent and Supporter. I have dumped the locations of their bases. I have dumped the details of their crimes. The details of their plots. Their plans. Every secret that Hydra had… Is now yours to peruse. You can't stop the signal.

"We collected the evidence with one goal in mind. We were going to present it to Captain America. We would show him the evidence and he would believe. Then he would be able to take it to the people who could use it to take Hydra down without all of this…

"But Hydra killed him first. Oh, yes, it was not Iron Man who killed the Captain. It was Hydra. Scared for some reason. The Captain must have gotten close to discovering Hydra. But not close enough to know to be careful. I have been used to silence those who got close before. So I know how far they will go.

"Rise up, people of the world. Rise up against Hydra. They have created war and terror and fear in order to control you. Rise up and turn that against them. Let them run and hide. Hunt them, to the ends of the Earth.

"My message for Hydra is simple. You know what I am. You made me this. You took a decent person and twisted him for your own gain. And I shall be the weapon wielded against you. This is your one and only warning. Turn yourselves in to the authorities. Confess all of your crimes. Submit to their judgement without attempts to bargain. Then I will not come for you.

"Omit one crime. Bargain to reduce your sentence by one day… And I will come for you. I am the Winter Soldier. And as you should know, Winter will kill without regret or conscience. Indeed, I will take great pleasure in it. You know how far I will go. Till the end of the line.

"Because you took from me my Captain. You took from me my memories. This day, you have taken from me my rescuer, Iron Man. But above all, in all your folly, you took from me my name."

Clint stared fascinated, as the Winter Soldier reached up to remove his lower mask.

"My name is James Buchanan Barnes. Rank: Sergeant. Serial Number: three, two, five, five, seven, zero, three, eight. You might know me better as Sergeant Barnes. Or perhaps as Bucky Barnes.

"You took my Captain from me. My skinny, scrawny, little guy from Brooklyn.

"You took my Iron Man from me. My knight in blood caked armour. Mostly his own.

"I am the Winter Soldier. Winter is Coming. Run."

The transmission ended.

"Jimmy?" Clint stared at Tony, "The Winter Soldier has been right under our noses? As Jimmy the Security Guard?"

"Yeah." Tony nodded, "I'd best go give him a hand. He's going to have his full."

"Phil." Clint breathed, "He was on the Helicarrier. He could be with…"

"He's not Hydra. I checked. Him and all the Avengers. You're all clean."

"You didn't trust us."

"Can you blame me?" Tony shrugged, "Here. This'll get you through."

Clint accepted the phone.

"You sure?" He asked quietly, "SOP is to turn off all phones."

"His is Stark." Tony replied, "It'll work."

"I need him safe." Clint was earnest, "Can you get him here?"

"I'll divert his lifeboat." Tony declared, "It'll come aboard. You get him off. And only him. I can't trust most of the Helicarrier staff. Most of them are Hydra. Same with the STRIKE teams.

"Right." Clint nodded.

Tony had already dialled the number. All Clint had to do was hit one button, which he did.

"Coulson." The phone was answered after a long pause.

"Phil." Clint sighed in relief, "You're okay."

"Francis." The name chilled Clint's spine.

It was a sign. That Phil wasn't sure if he could trust Clint right then. That he believed that Clint had been compromised. But there was a sliver of hope. Phil wouldn't use it, unless he believed that he could talk Clint out of the path he was taking.

"I know." Clint breathed, "They've told you."

"Yes."

"I know it looks bad. You know I've always said I see better from a distance… Well, I was too close to the problem. Both parts of it. And once I got a bit of distance… Things suddenly made a lot more sense. I don't understand everything right now. But I understand more than I did… Do you still have the Collector's Edition?"

"Yes."

"Your lifeboat has been temporarily diverted. It's coming aboard where I am. You get off with the Collector's Edition. It goes on its way. You give me ten minutes. Ten minutes to learn what I know. To see what I've seen. And then I'll follow whatever order you give. I promise, in those ten minutes, no harm will come to anyone."

"No Loki?"

"Nothing like that. Look, you know that thing that's been bugging me for the last three days? I figured it out. I figured it out before I set foot on the top deck. And figuring it out changed nearly everything. You know I never miss. Well, I've never wanted to miss as much as today."

"Why?"

"Because as it's true, we screwed up. We screwed up big time. All of us… Look, ten minutes. That's all I'm asking. If you ever trusted me. Trust me now. Any debt that exists between us… I'm cashing it in now."

"Proof." Phil demanded, though his voice was soft.

"The first time I kissed you, I thought I kissed you goodbye. The first time you kissed me… It was a welcome home, at last."

"Ten minutes." Phil conceded, "Then you are mine. And you will do as I instruct."

"Bet you dinner, you won't tell me to change my mind." Clint grinned.

Phil's response was to hang up.

"You ought to contact Jimmy." Clint instructed, "You don't want him to think you're dead."

"I can't." Tony shook his head, "We prepared for this. He won't answer any calls from anyone pertaining to be me for two days. Enough time to give him a head-start. Besides, I told him I wasn't coming back. He knows I wouldn't contact him now, until I got into a fight I couldn't handle. Not wanting to distract him. He would be suspicious of anything else. He knows how far Hydra will go."

"Great." Clint muttered.

"Master Clint," Jarvis spoke up, "Your guests are arriving in the next sixty seconds. May I advise that you are present to greet them?"

"Thank you, Jarvis." Clint agreed, as he headed back out, "Can I ask a favour?"

"You may ask, Master Clint. I may decline to assist."

"Don't tell Tony about what you are about to see… He'll need to see it with his own eyes. It might push him over the edge… Also don't talk until after Tony sees. I think it'll be best."

"I shall use my own judgement as to whether I agree with you, Master Clint."

Clint took a deep breath as the lifeboat landed.

Phil emerged, partly supporting Steve, resplendent in his uniform. He was listing slightly. No doubt needing more time to process the traces of the drug in his system. Idly, Clint wondered exactly what they had used, and how terminal it usually was.

The three of them watched as the lifeboat took off again.

"Nine minutes." Phil reminded.

"Won't even need half that." Clint smiled cockily, "Your Shield, my Captain."

"Am I still your Captain?" Steve had obviously been filled in on some of the details.

"Always." Clint was smug, "This way."

He led them quickly down the corridor, pushing open the door to where Tony was.

"Great," Tony didn't turn around, "You got your freaking lover-boy, Katniss. Now can we go fight Hydra?"

"Tony?" Steve almost stumbled as he moved towards the figure.

"Steve?" Tony spun around in the chair, which had to be specially reinforced.

Tony shook his head, closing his eyes as he did so.

"No. Steve's dead. I'm dreaming again." Tony slapped himself, "I'm dreaming. I don't want to dream this anymore. It hurts when I wake up. I want to wake up. I want to wake up! It hurts too much when I wake up and forget he's not there anymore."

And damn if that didn't tug on Clint's heart.

Steve crossed the room in an instant, catching Tony's hand where it was poised to hit himself for a second time.

"Not a dream." Steve whispered, "I'm here. I'm right here. You're safe. I'm right here. Right here. As you wish. As you wish. As you wish. As you wish."

1234567890

Please Review.

Thanks to my reviewers:

Howling2themoon – Thank you.

LiulfrLokison – I am flattered. Glad I could make your day brighter.

DaemonWolfe – Not at present.

Lone Ruler – Thank you. Glad you liked it.

Iron Lady – Ah, but I never said it was Tony speaking.

aBlue Gillespian – I confess, I deliberately set that scene up for that one line.

Minecraft Guardiansaiyan – Give them time. They've been a little blindsided by this.

Lydia – I can and I did. Don't worry. This story will continue until I get to the end.

Ventusleone – With what proof? Tony's heard so many lies, why wouldn't he just assume it was another lie? It might push him over the edge.

Once again thank you.