The next chapter! I hope you like it and please let me know what you think! As always, thanks to everyone who read the last chapter and left a review, it makes me happy to see that you like my story. In the past two weeks, I've been thinking about this a lot and I have even more ideas concerning this story now. At the moment, many different storylines are crossing each other. There are a few main events you might know from the movies and of course my own ideas. We will follow many developments, while others just appear for a short time and will be left out again. After all, I want to focus on Tony and Pepper again soon. And she will return in the next chapter, I promise. I think that there'll be another big mission for the Avengers before we have time for a wedding or something like that (I'm sure you already know where the mission will lead them), but I won't tell you anything else. Just wait and see ;)

I don't own the characters or places!

For a few seconds, they all stared at each other. In the end, it was Tony who broke the silence. "Two questions." He said slowly and held up his hand. "First, how are you here? If I'm correct, we were chasing you." He pointed at Bucky. "Second, when you're here, who's our friend on the ground?"

They all turned to the still masked figure lying on the ground in front of them. Tony barely noticed that all around them, chaos was breaking out. After all, they were standing in the middle of a street. All around them, cars were stopping or trying to get away. And most probably, someone had already recognized the Avengers, which shouldn't be difficult. Tony hoped that Ross and his team would be there soon to get the civilians out of the way.

"It's a long story." Bucky said hesitantly. Tony noticed that his shoulders were tense and there was a guarded look on his face. He seemed to fear that the Avengers might attack him every moment.

"Maybe we should talk somewhere else." Steve suggested. He was still looking at Bucky with a strange expression on his face. It was a mixture of fear, relief and happiness.

"Would someone tell us what's going on?" Clint's voice sounded in their ears.

"Long story. You'll see once we get back." Tony said when he realized that Steve and the others wouldn't answer. Sam was looking from Steve to Bucky and back, while Thor just stared at Bucky and the other man in confusion. "Can you find us a room to talk? And tell Ross to come too. And T'Challa. How's his father, by the way?"

"Injured, it doesn't look good. We'll find somewhere to talk and Ross is with us. His team is already on it's way to you." Natasha explained.

"A car would be good." Tony muttered and began to walk towards Bucky and the figure on the ground slowly. "I assume you're on our side? Then I'll take care of our friend there now. We don't want him to bleed out before we can talk to him, right?" He held up his hands to show Bucky that he didn't want to harm him. After all, he still had the gun in his hand. And his crazy metal arm also looked like it could crush something in an instant.

Bucky looked from Tony to Steve with a frown on his face.

"It's alright, Bucky." Steve was walking towards him now too. Tony noticed that he was holding the shield tight, maybe expecting a trap?

Slowly, Bucky relaxed but he didn't lower the gun. "I know who he is. Be careful, he's still dangerous." He explained when Tony wanted to kneel down next to the man. To his surprise, the wound had already stopped bleeding. "We should tie him up."

"I've got a better idea." Before anyone could stop him, Thor had hit the man on the head with his hammer. When he saw the reproachful looks of the others, he just shrugged. "It worked, didn't it?"

"Asgardians…" Tony muttered, but was interrupted when a black van stopped next to them. The door opened, just to reveal two of Ross' men they already met earlier. "Good timing." Tony greeted them. "We need something to immobilize him. And a place to talk, preferably somewhere he can't escape."

The men nodded and Tony turned back to Steve and Bucky. They were still looking at each other with those insecure looks on their faces. "You helped us." Tony stated.

Bucky nodded. "Back in Canada, you gave me quite a headache. But in the end, I remembered everything. Including you, Steve." At the last words, he looked at his former best friend.

"Wait, are we just considering taking him with us? Without security measures?" Sam threw in. "You may not remember what happened last time we saw him, but I do." He looked at Steve. "He might still be dangerous."

"But he remembers everything." Steve noted slowly, the insecurity in his voice obvious. Apparently, he was just as overwhelmed by this turn of events as all of them.

"Then he should understand why we don't trust him." Sam crossed his arms and looked at Bucky suspiciously. "He could be acting."

"I can assure you that it's not the case." Bucky said in such a tone that even Tony nearly believed him.

"Hydra can turn you back into the Winter Soldier anytime." Sam argued. "You're a safety risk."

"We can't just let him leave, though." Steve said suddenly. "He knows who our attacker is. And maybe Bucky also knows something about Hydra's plans." He took a deep breath. "And I trust you." For a few moments, they looked into each other's eyes. Then, Bucky's lips twitched.

"Thank you, Steve."

"I don't want to ruin your moment, but we should leave." Tony threw in. "The others are already waiting for us."

"When he's driving in the van with you, I'll fly." Sam decided.

"Sam –" Steve began, but he shook his head.

"Let's talk about that later." Without another word, Sam flew away, back towards the now partially destroyed buildings.

Steve turned to Tony. "Do you also think that it's a mistake to trust him?" He asked quietly, so that the others couldn't hear it.

Tony hesitated. Honestly, he wasn't sure what to make of this whole situation. Yes, Bucky seemed to remember everything. But did he really, or was it just an act? Maybe a longer conversation with him would show it. "We don't have a choice." He said in the end. "Let's just hear what he has to say."

There was a relieved smile on Steve's lips, but Tony couldn't smile back.

"His name's Craig, I don't know his last name." Bucky began. "He was part of a program similar to the one I was placed in. A program to make soldiers that are stronger, faster and more determined than all the others. And who never disregard an order." He laughed without humour. "Didn't quite work on me, though. With him, it did. I think he's the only one who survived. Not that I can remember everything I heard… back then, but parts of it. They reactivated him once they realized they've lost me." He glanced at Steve. "Back when Hydra took over SHIELD."

"And then they set him up to kill the king of Wakanda on a piece conference? Risky plan, isn't it?" Everett Ross threw in with raised eyebrows and crossed arms. They were all sitting in a small conference room together. The attacker, Craig, has been locked into a room in the basement. Thor was guarding him and listened to this conversation over the headphones. Additionally, Tony had made sure that it would be impossible to leave the room from the inside.

"Not for them." This time, Natasha was talking. "You don't know what he was capable of before he got his senses back." She pointed at Bucky. "I met him on a mission once and it wasn't nice."

Bucky looked at his hands on the table when everyone stared at him. They'd decided not to tie him up. Steve had insisted that they could trust Bucky. When no one wanted to listen to him, Tony had thrown in that he wouldn't be able to do anything in a room full of Avengers. Steve had his shield, Clint and Natasha their weapons, Sam was carrying a gun and Tony could just summon his suit from the reactor. They only had to make sure that the other guy wouldn't show himself, they didn't want to destroy even more buildings.

"So let's say that it's possible. Let's pretend that he could have really succeeded in his task, why should he do it?" Ross looked at all of them questioningly. In the end, he stopped at Bucky. After looking at T'Challa, who was sitting next to him, for a few more moments.

No one had argued when the prince of Wakanda wanted to join their discussion. After all, the target of the attack has been his father. And from what he told them, it wasn't looking good. Most probably, T'Chaka wouldn't survive the day. The doctors were doing everything they could. T'Challa had insisted on bringing his father back to Wakanda (only Tony knew that the medicine there was even better than in Europe), but most probably, he wouldn't survive the transport.

Slowly, Bucky looked up again. "I don't know." He said and it sounded honest. "Normally, they don't tell us the reasons for anything. Just what has to be done."

"If I'd have to guess, I'd say Vibranium." Tony threw in. T'Challa turned abruptly and stared at him. Tony grinned, knowing that their presumptions of the previous weeks were right.

"How do you know about that?" T'Challa looked at Ross questioningly.

Ross held up his hands. "I didn't tell them anything." He defended himself. "They already knew about that. Not a surprise, though, when you consider who's sitting in front of you."

T'Challa turned to Tony again, this time he looked curious. "I bet my sister would like you…" He muttered and cleared his throat. "Yes, the Vibranium could be the main reason."

"Strongest metal in the world." Steve nodded and glanced at his shield. T'Challa noticed it and followed his gaze.

"And many people who want to take it from us." T'Challa agreed. "Normally, I would never talk about this. But it seems like you all already know about the Vibranium in Wakanda."

"Your country is not as poor as it pretends to be." Tony said. "And your technology is highly interesting. Especially your security measures."

T'Challa ignored his comment. "I've heard you know how to find Klaue?" He asked Ross.

Everett nodded. "Someone gave us a lead." He replied without looking at Tony. However, T'Challa glanced at him again, a knowing smile on his lips.

"Do you think he's working for Hydra?" Clint asked curiously.

"I think he works for himself and no one else." T'Challa explained. "But you can never be sure when it's about people like him."

"So what are we going to do now?" Natasha asked.

"We'll talk to Craig once he wakes up." Steve decided immediately. "We have to find out if Hydra plans more attacks on Wakanda."

"If it's possible, I'd like to join that conversation." T'Challa threw in. "After all, he's attacked my father."

"Of course." Steve nodded. "We shouldn't all talk to him. Maybe just Agent Ross, Tony, T'Challa and me." He looked at Bucky. "I don't think that it's a good idea for you to see him."

Bucky didn't look happy, but he remained silent.

"Once we find out more about the threat to my country, I don't think that Wakanda will need further help from the Avengers." T'Challa said now. "We appreciate it, but we can look after ourselves. And I think you also have other duties than to help a small country deal with thieves."

"When you need our help, you just have to call." Steve said sternly. "We won't leave you alone with this."

"Thank you." T'Challa said and bowed his head.

"I've been thinking." Tony said to Steve once the meeting was over. "I want to run some tests on Bucky once we're back in New York. Maybe I can find out if Hydra can still manipulate his brain."

"And I will help Tony with it." Bruce added.

"Then we can be sure if it's safe to trust him." Tony smiled slightly.

Steve stared at them. "You want to let him go to New York with us?"

Tony nodded. "I know how important this is to you. And even if I don't like to admit this, I think Bucky means it when he says that he's sorry for everything that happened in the past." Before Steve could say anything else, Tony held up his hand. "Doesn't mean I trust him now completely. There's still a chance that he's just acting."

Steve sighed. "I don't think so. This is the Bucky I know, my friend. It was different when he was under Hydra's control."

"It's just normal that you want to believe this, Steve." Bruce explained. "After everything that happened, you still see him as your best friend and nothing else."

"I know that you all don't trust him." Steve muttered.

"Don't you think that it's strange that he just shows up here when we're chasing the attacker? Why didn't he contact you sooner?" Bruce asked. "I would have done that in his position."

"Maybe he doesn't trust us as well." Steve said. "Bucky hinted something when we talked, right before the meeting. That he wasn't sure if you'd just lock him up."

"Justified fear." Tony muttered. "Of course we would have let him out once we made sure that he's himself again." He added hastily when he saw the reproachful look on Steve's face. "We can't take any risks, Steve. He could hurt someone." He had to make sure that it was safe to let Bucky stay in the tower right after their arrival. After all, Pepper was there and he couldn't risk her safety.

"I know." Steve ran a hand through his hair. "I really do. And this whole situation…" He shrugged. "I don't know how to deal with it."

"We'll do that together." Tony assured him.

They heard footsteps and then Natasha joined them. Bucky was with Clint and Sam, they've decided not to let him alone.

"Hey guys, Ross wants to know if you're ready for the interrogation now. Thor said that Craig woke up some time ago." She was smiling, but her shoulders were tense. She didn't like the situation as well.

"Of course, let's go." Steve said immediately. "Where's Bucky?"

"Waiting outside with Clint and Sam. They're all staring at each other awkwardly. Well, Clint and Bucky are. If looks could kill, Bucky wouldn't stand a chance against Sam." Natasha frowned. "He's worried that Bucky will hurt you again, Steve. You should talk to Sam soon."

Steve sighed. "I'll do that after the interrogation." He decided.

"What are we doing with our friend, by the way?" Tony asked. "We can't take a Hydra super soldier with us to New York."

"Ross offered to take him." Natasha told them. "There's a prison not too far from here, they can lock him up there."

"What about SHIELD?" Bruce asked. "When he's working for Hydra, they might be interested in talking to him."

"SHIELD can also do that here in Europe." Tony threw in. "It would be too dangerous to move him."

"Bucky said that as well." Steve agreed. He exchanged a look with Tony. Maybe it was time to talk to the new director of SHIELD, even if they'd agreed to do that later. But who else could they inform about this? Maria Hill and her team were on a mission and no one knew when they would return. And who else was in the tower? No one who could decide something this big.

"We can inform SHIELD once we're back in New York." Tony said. "Ross can lock him up until something new is decided. I think that's the safest way to deal with everything."

When they left the building, they saw Sam, Clint and Bucky standing close to the door in silence. When he saw them, Sam waved. "I've been thinking." He said and Steve sighed.

"You too?"

Sam raised his eyebrows in confusion and Tony grinned, but Steve just shook his head. "Forget it, what did you want to say?"

"In the past weeks, I've been looking at those Hydra files." He told them and glanced at Bucky. "The ones about the Winter Soldier."

Now Bucky's eyes widened slightly. "You have files about me?"

Tony nodded. "Top secret, wasn't easy to get them." He confirmed.

"Well, the point is that there was something about other soldiers." Sam continued. "They just didn't specify anything, because the files were just about him." He looked at Bucky.

"JARVIS?" Tony asked into his phone. "Can you find out more about the others?"

"Of course, Sir. The files should not be too hard to find. They are connected to the ones about the Winter Soldier." JARVIS' voice answered.

Tony nodded. "Good. So that's settled. Maybe the attacker can also tell us something. If he will talk."

"I doubt it." Bucky said slowly.

"We have to try either way." Steve said.

"But be careful." Did Tony just imagine it, or did Bucky look worried?

"We always are." Steve smiled before he turned around to walk away with Tony.

Tony thought that he heard Natasha whisper 'liar' behind their backs, but he wasn't sure.