A/N* Less than a week before Falcon and the Winter Soldier comes out! I'm legitimately so excited.

"Can I see them?" Bucky started, the two sat together on the roof of the apartment under the setting sun, the meager remains of cabbage rolls between them. Aubrey fiddled with a throwing star and looked at Bucky, who was leaning against a powerbox, a knife in hand.

"My wings?" her knees were hugged to her chest but they lowered to the ground when Bucky nodded. "We have to be careful though" Aubrey warned as she got to her feet, sliding the throwing star into a pocket before standing with her back to Bucky. Eyes fluttering closed, she sent the mental command to the Nano's, relishing the tingling feeling that came as they filtered out of her back and shirt. They clumped together and within minutes had formed the pair of shimmery wings. The feathers ruffled in the light breeze and Aubrey craned her neck to look at Bucky. His gaze traveled up and down the wings before meeting her eyes with wonder.

"Pretty cool right?" she grinned, striding to the edge of the building and turning to look at him.

"Amazing….and I don't understand a bit of it" the two chuckled as Aubrey took a step backward and off of the building. Her jets powered on and her wings fluttered, boosting her up above the apartment building and the city of Bucharest. Below her cars and ant-sized people bustled along the streets, Bucky was just an outline on the building. Doing a loop-de-loop, Aubrey twirled as she came down, flaring the wings at the last moment and coming to rest her feet on the ground.

"So when you make the wings the jets form too?" he circled behind her again, examining the technology.

"Yeah, I visualize it in my mind, it sends the thoughts through my nerve endings...I guess? And the commanding Nano's send it to the ones in my bloodstream. Tony explained it way better than I just did but" she shrugged and extended one wing to show Bucky its length. He came back to the front of Aubrey

"Do they feel...natural?"

"Does your arm feel natural?" she countered

His face became contemplative as he wanded back over to the powerboxes and sat on one before answering "Yes and no, obviously it's not my arm but it's also not a prosthetic...it feels like an over-powered extension of myself...does that make sense?"

"These feel similar, if something touches them I feel it, they are apart of me but also not. It's always comforting knowing my wings are with me though." Aubrey finished as her wings folded and she leaned against one of the boxes. Silently marveling at how natural it felt to lean on the wings, to feel as if they had bones and real feathers. The two sat in comfortable silence, relishing the sounds of the city as it came to life, the stars peeking out behind clouds that moved in from the east. Aubrey took first watch that night and spent much time on the roof, noticing how the stars twinkled but the moon's face was somber, it shown but not as bright as it had several days before. In her mind, she wondered if perhaps it was a warning…

She made omelets that morning, taking care to keep them from burning. When Aubrey served them to Bucky she smirked, remarking

"See how they still have color? That means they are good to eat"

He rolled his eyes, lightly punching her arm when she sat down before focusing on his food and shoveling it into his mouth.

"Figured I'd go to the market today and get some fruit and things-" he paused, swallowing "-I wasn't sure if you'd want to come with or not"

"Oh..Um. I might do a quick fly around the city before joining you...if that's alright?" she looked to Bucky and he nodded, finishing off his third omelet before cleaning the breakfast dishes. Aubrey let him take hers before rifling around in her backpack for the holo-phone and a maroon jacket. Her fingers clicked the phone's button but it didn't respond.

"It'll be fine Brie, seriously, they can handle themselves." Bucky raised his brows at the phone as he slid into a dark-colored jacket and pulled a cap low on his head. Aubrey opened her mouth to say something but he held up his hand "Yes, I'll be careful too, go enjoy yourself"

"Okay.. yeah" She went to the window, pulling it open and sliding out. Bucky tugged it back down behind her and the two went separate ways, promising to meet by the news stand at the market. Climbing up to the roof and darting into the sky only took moments, once the breeze slid through her feathers, Aubrey began to feel at ease, gliding among the clouds. The city sped by below her and she couldn't help but wonder about all the lives going on beneath her and what they were doing. She looped around the main roads several times before leveling out and twisting so her back faced the ground, heading towards the meeting site. Lazily, the wings flapped as a draft of wind caught them and she flipped back over, surveying the surroundings.

Aubrey spied their apartment building and the marketplace several blocks over. Descending, she aimed for a building above the market and landed slowly, letting her legs adjust before her wings disappeared back into her bloodstream. Aubrey zipped up the lower half of the jacket before slipping her hair into a bun and scaling the side of the building until she stood in an alleyway. It was easy to slip into the overcrowded square and wander towards the cluttered new stall, it was littered with various things for sale, knick-knacks, water, snacks, and of course, the newspaper for the day. Glancing over at the stack of paper Aubrey froze in shock. Her hands trembled as they fumbled with one, still staring at the front page. People milled all around her but time seemed to stop in Aubrey's mind as it translated the headline Winter Soldier cautat pentru bombardment din Viena [Winter Soldier wanted for the bombing in Vienna.] Shaking her head, Aubrey gulped as she put the paper back down, eyes immediately scanning the area for Bucky. He needed to leave. Now. She caught sight of a familiar black cap crossing the street. Weaving through the crowd, Aubrey fast-walked towards him and he stiffened at the sight of her stricken face and eyes widening as she spoke rapidly in German

"Bucky, jemand hat Wien bombardiert, das aussieht wie du-" [Bucky, someone has bombed Vienna, looking like you] she paused ever so slightly inclining her head to where she had left the piece of paper. A man sat at the stand and his eyes widened as he looked from Aubrey to Bucky, he hurried out of the stand and out of sight. She caught Bucky's gaze as she finished seriously "Sie müssen gehen. Jetzt" [You need to leave. Now]

His jaw clenched and back stiffened as he went on high alert, Bucky's eyes met her worry-filled eyes, "You stay out of this." he whispered in English as they headed back towards the apartment.

"You know I won't, I can't, Buck." Aubrey furiously whispered as Bucky darted into an alleyway, she followed and puffed a breath out of her lips. "We get in, grab what we need, and get out."

"Can you carry both of us?" he looked at her as they quietly entered the building. Bucky went first, two steps at a time as Aubrey followed, shuddering as her wings sprouted out of her back.

"I think so." she opened her mouth to say more, but something made the bells go off in her head. Bucky's door was open and rustling came from the inside. Both stopped and she watched nervously as Bucky went in, his metal hand gripping the knife he kept with him. Aubrey paused a moment before following him in but she almost tripped in surprise at the sight of Captain America in full gear rifling through Bucky's blue leather journal. Cap looked up and turned around, his eyes darting between Bucky and Aubrey, then back to Bucky as he spoke, a grim look on his face.

"Do you know me?" Aubrey stepped around Bucky and crouched on the floor, grabbing her backpack before taking Bucky's journal off the counter and sliding it in.

"You're Steve" Bucky seemed rooted in place as he stared at his childhood friend "I read about you in a museum-" his eyes darted to Aubrey who had slung the pack diagonally across her chest and straightened beside him. Vaguely, she heard the commlink in Cap's ear chirp, Falcon's voice sounded but she couldn't make out the words as Cap had started talking again.

"I know you're nervous and you have plenty of reason to be, but you're lying."

"I wasn't in Vienna, I don't do that anymore" his voice had softened and Aubrey nodded as she loaded every pocket in her pants with throwing stars.

"Well the people who think you did are coming here now and they're not planning on taking you alive" Cap took a step forward, his gaze darting to the window.

"That's smart...good strategy" Bucky shifted from one foot to the other as he turned to Aubrey and pleaded quietly

"Leave Brie….please"

"No" she growled, her hearing picking up heavy footsteps on the stairs.

"This doesn't have to end in a fight Buck"

"It always ends in a fight." he sidestepped around Aubrey, taking the glove off of his metal hand. The tone of his voice brought anguish to her chest and she couldn't help but wonder why either of them couldn't get a break.

"You pulled me from the river" Cap started "Why?"

"I don't know. . ." Bucky looked up at him, pursing his lips, a thousand unsaid words in his gaze.

"Yes, you do." The minute the last word left Cap's mouth, Aubrey heard the click of a grenade before watching it being thrown through the window. Her wing flared, knocking it towards Cap who'd already deflected one. Slamming his shield onto the grenade, it went off but the shield didn't dent. A man's voice sounded outside the door as a man-powered breacher slammed against the door. Another grenade flew through the window and Aubrey hastily shoved herself under the mattress, the grenade hitting and impacting. She felt the mattress grow hot and threw it against the wall as Bucky threw the metal side table at the door. It embedded itself in the wood, causing the door to stick but just as he did that, the rest of the windows shattered as two soldiers burst through and another came in through the door by the fridge. Aubrey hissed under her breath as she grabbed one of the soldiers. Taking ahold of the man's gun, Aubrey spun her leg out, making the man crash to the ground. She hit his head with the butt of the gun, knocking him out cold. Bucky had launched at the other one as Captain America threw the third soldier to the ground. Bucky advanced towards the downed man but Cap grabbed his arm, he spun, hoisting Cap's arm up onto his shoulder as Cap spoke

"Buck, stop! You're gonna kill someone!"

She knew immediately that those were the wrong words, and Aubrey saw what was coming before it happened, Bucky flipped Cap to the ground, and raised his metal arm up, coming down hard and breaking the board that she knew had been tampered with. He locked eyes with Cap. . .

"I'm not going to kill anyone." he pulled a backpack out of the hole and straightened, panicked eyes going to Aubrey to make sure she was fine as he threw the bag out of the broken-down door. He motioned with his head out and she nodded, understanding what he meant. She strode towards the window just as a Soldier landed on the ledge, his gun poked in, bullets flying recklessly. Aubrey's wings curled around her protectively as she launched at the man, catching him off guard and letting her elbow him in the nose. Pulling herself up to the ledge, Aubrey jumped off. The ground beneath her was crowded with officers, and they kept piling in through the entrance door. Her jets hummed quietly as they came to life and Aubrey flared her wings, soaring up and towards where Bucky had thrown his bag. Pausing, she went to unzip her bag but stopped when Bucky jumped from a ledge and rolled onto the building, grabbing his bag and running.

Aubrey was caught off guard as someone in what looked like a black catsuit attacked Bucky. They both went hurling down, but popped back up easily, letting her take in the newcomer from afar. She watched as silvery claws poked out from his purply-black catsuit, Aubrey's eyes widened and she dove towards the cat, her own talons growing from her fingernails. She collided with the man just as Bucky threw a kick, hitting the man's legs just as Aubrey hit him. He went down but had superhuman-like reflexes that she had only experienced with Bucky and Cap. Cat-man's claws hooked into her right-wing, and he threw her off, claws detaching from her wings as she stumbled, attempting to regain balance. Bucky was on his feet and went hand to hand with the man, both exchanging punches. The man jumped into the air and spun around, his leg kicking out and pushing Bucky into a vent. Bucky dodged the sharp, deadly claws, as they left deep scratches in the vent beside him
Aubrey approached the man from behind and he whirled around, his eyes flashing from behind the mask. She grinned cockily, trying to give Bucky as much time to recover as possible. He bolted to his feet as Aubrey caught the man's punch, throwing it aside and swiping at him with her talons, they caught the edge of his suit, causing him to make a sound similar to a growl, running at Aubrey and springing off of the ground, she darted out of the way as his claws slashed out, they caught her uncovered face and Aubrey yelped in pain. The man landed behind her as her instincts took over and jets turned on, launching her into the sky. He was distracted for a moment as he watched her flap away, giving Bucky enough time to grab a pipe lying on the ground. The two tumbled around as she focused on her wound, it started at her right eyebrow and had narrowly missed her eye, instead sliding down the side of her head. It had started to bleed steadily but Aubrey wiped the blood away, summoning the remainder of the Nano's that were in her body. They knitted over the wound to staunch the blood flow as she flew.

The whirr of helicopter blades snapped Aubrey to her senses as Captain America hurtled from the apartment building to where Bucky and the man fought. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Falcon swoop around the side of the building. Aubrey whirled around as the helicopter came closer, and darted out of the way as a gunner started shooting at the people on the roof. Flitting up, she circled to the other side of the copter and fired her jets, flying through the middle of the copter, wings wrapping around herself as she grabbed the man by the collar and skirted around the machine gun. Just as she left the copter it started spinning out of control, Falcon had launched at the tail end and hit it. Aubrey's wings sagged slightly as she dropped the man on a rooftop further away.

Bucky had gotten away from the man and slid down the side of another building, his metal hand emitting sparks. He hit the ground running, Cat-man not far behind, Captain America followed suit a minute later as Bucky jumped down into a car tunnel. Aubrey swooped, unsure what the best move would be as the cars swerved to avoid the men running down the road.

She weaved between the poles that held up the tunnel and soon had overtaken Cap's speed. Sirens sounded, meaning that police cars were now chasing them. Lowering her speed, Aubrey's talons hooked into the top of one of the cars and she slowly climbed back towards the wheels. Reaching out, she popped the back right tire before transferring to the left and popping it, too. One of the officer's heads popped out and he yelled at her in German. Aubrey's sharpened canines flashed in the dim light at the man. His eyes widened when her wings flapped and he hurriedly ducked back inside the vehicle. She slid down the windshield of the car as it slowed and reached out, popping the right front tire. The car slowed considerably and she detached just as Captain America jumped on another car, making it stop. He threw out the driver and jumped in, pushing off the broken windshield before his foot became lead on the gas pedal. Bucky climbed up and down cars with ease as he ran, Aubrey's wings going into overdrive as she headed towards him. On her way past the cars, cat-man attempted to grab one of her wings, narrowly missing. He jumped onto Cap's car, giving her a chance to catch up with Bucky.

His head briefly turned to hers and Aubrey nodded ahead, pushing her jets to the limit, vaguely aware of the heat coming from them, but she was distracted by more flashing lights from the police cars. The exit loomed ahead of them but it only took a moment for several more police cars to come crashing in. Bucky swerved to the other lane, knocking over barrels of sand that divided the two sides. Captain America followed suit, knocking over the rest, cat-man still hanging onto his car. Aubrey began to fall back, setting her sights on the man. Her talons hooked onto the side of Cap's Nissan He gave her a look of surprise before focusing back on driving. Her wings shuffled as the jets attempted to cool down and Aubrey popped onto the top of the vehicle. The man in the catsuit made a move to launch at her but he stopped suddenly, looking ahead as Bucky grabbed a motorcycle and began moving three times as fast.

"This is not your fight." the cat-man spoke, his voice heavily accented.

"Buck's fight is my fight." Aubrey grit out, noticing how his muscles had tensed, preparing to jump. She commanded the Nano's in her forehead to disperse and they disappeared, releasing the blood flow. She was ready the minute he jumped. Aubrey's right hand unhooked from the car and the Nano's flowed out of her and grabbed onto his foot, pulling him back. Cat-man snapped around, purple eyes flashing as he slashed at the Nanos. Aubrey pulled the Nano's back into her body and to her wound as her wings rebuilt and jets fired her at the man. She slashed at his suit with her talons, but they didn't do any damage, causing her to hesitate. Her hand went to reach for a throwing star, but he moved much too quickly and vaulted at Bucky.

He sensed the cat-man, reaching out and catching him at the neck and pushing him towards the wall, but the attacker twisted around and pushed off the wall, flipping over and forcing Bucky's metal hand onto the cement. It left metal scrapes behind and Aubrey winced at the noise as her mind ran through the next course of action. Bucky threw him off and leveled out as cat-man jumped at Falcon, grabbing onto his leg and holding on. Aubrey released her hold on the vehicle and sped to Falcon. She grabbed onto cat's ankle and briefly glanced behind her before flaring her wings and pulling. He stared back at her and tried to pull his feet away but Aubrey's talons held tight. Falcon glanced back to see where the friction was coming from and twisted so he flew with his back facing the ground.

He reached down to do something, but out of the corner of her eye, Aubrey saw Bucky throw a motion grenade at the top of the tunnel. Just as Falcon came near it, it went off and Aubrey let go of the cat-man. Instead, the Nano wings curled around her body in an attempt to keep the rubble off of her face. Something sharp and wire-like tore at her leg and a hiss made its way out of her mouth before her wings flared, allowing a rough landing. Aubrey's legs wobbled but her wings kept her steady as Bucky and the man tumbled to the ground. Captain America catapulted out of his car as it hit the rubble and started spinning on the roadway. Aubrey staggered back, leaning against the wall as the car started rolling towards her. Heaving a panicky breath, she took off run-limping, wings firing and helping her towards the cat-man who was on top of Bucky. She and Captain America reached him at once, both barreling into him. Aubrey didn't pursue him though, as he flew back, and neither did Cap. Bucky got to his feet and turned his gaze to Aubrey, battling emotions in his eyes as he spoke, his voice rough and a defeated look on his face.

"Go Brie, before they get you...please. . ."

Everything in Aubrey told her to stay, but she knew she had a better chance of helping Bucky by being on the outside. She stumbled back a step, exhaustion overwhelming her as the Nano's on her forehead dispersed and she turned to Cap.

"I'll follow him, wherever he goes, I'll be there" Aubrey stuttered as the cop cars sped closer, flaring her wings she pulsed the jets and darted out of the crash site, weaving around the helicopters just in time to see a familiar grey-ironman shaped suit zip past. A voice spoke as the suit landed

"Stand down, now!"

She shook her head unable to watch her best friend be forced to the ground. Tears welled in Aubrey's eyes as exhaustion, pain, and anger took over. In an attempt to focus her mind, she took note of the supplies whilst she flew. Somehow the heavy-duty backpack was still intact, but her clothes were ripped and tattered. Mind flying through all the possible safe-houses, Aubrey came up empty...there were none in the area. Soon she couldn't fly any longer and landed on a roof. Limping her way to a garden shed and settling onto the bags of fertilizer, left to figure out what had just happened.