Present day

International air space

"Let's take the shield. Let's take the shield and do this ourselves," Bucky's words cut through the silent aircraft like a blade.

Sam, who had settled behind the cargo strapped to the floor, looked up at him. After a quick debrief with the Torres on the plane, he had hung his head and lent against the boxes in defeat. He hadn't even attempted to throw any barbed quips Bucky's way. Which even with her brief experience Cece knew was out of character. As the ex-soldier's words settled around him, Sam straightened and cocked an eyebrow. He scoffed back, "We can't just run up on the man, beat him up, and take it."

Bucky didn't answer straight away. It was obvious that Sam thought he was joking but he had never wanted something so bad. That shield did not belong in that imposter's hands. Cece watched the pair narrow their eyes at each other, waiting for the other person to talk first. She still couldn't get over their relationship, Bucky refused to call him a friend yet they were clearly close.

"We wouldn't have to," Steely blue eyes shifted from Sam to their female companion. Sam followed his gaze with a frown.

Blinking back at Bucky, Cece pursed her lips before protesting, "No, I'm not just going to sabotage America's new poster boy because you decide to bat your eyelashes, I already have enough people out for my head, thank you very much."

Sam paused, his eyes flickered between them as they gestured silently. Bucky lifted a brow and she narrowed her eyes at the challenge. A smile lifted at the very corner of his lips pulling a quick tut from Cece. She folded her arms and tilted her head upward moving her gaze away from him. She was not going to entertain his suggestion any longer. Sam was still adjusting to the idea of the sullen man having friends, or acquaintances, difficult to believe. Sam made a mental note to find out exactly how they know each other. If they really did go way back like Cece had said it wasn't to hard to assume her past might not be squeaky clean. But those where conversations for another day.

Pulling Bucky's attention back, Sam questioned, "you remember what happened the last time we stole it? I'll help you in case you forgot. Sharon was branded enemy of the state, and Steve and I were on the run for two years. I don't know about you, but I don't wanna live the rest of my life la vida loca. We just got our ass handed to us by Super Soldiers, and we got nothing."

"Not entirely true," Bucky replied vaguely.

Cece's body snapped to attention, her eyes widened briefly as she warned, "Bucky I don't think that's a good idea."

Bucky held her stare momentarily before standing and settling into the seat beside Sam. He took a moment to find his words before finally replying, "It will be fine Cece trust me, Sam I think there is someone that you should meet."

July 2008

Bangkok- Thailand

She waited for the occupants of the room to leave, mumbling something about having a hangover when they tried to persuade her to join them. It was a reasonable excuse and the teens accepted it easily. She scoffed at how trusting they all were. All 5 of the teenagers, young adults as they preferred to be called, took her words at face value. She had already investigated each of them to know they had little experience of the real world. Each one had set out backpacking to 'find themselves' To anyone else Cece fit in. A pretty, athletic young woman in her late teens. She laughed when needed and knew not to turn down too many invites. Cece had it all worked out. Pretending to be a teen on a gap year had been the perfect cover, no one questioned why she was traveling alone. Or why she wasn't settling down in a single place for long. To everyone else she was just a silly teenager playing adult.

She was so much more than that though. After her fathers death she had been on the move constantly. Knowing people would try and find her, to finish what they had started. She had vowed to find them first. Though it had been a harder task then she had imagined. She was close. Having managed to find encrypted files hidden in an abandoned base Korea about a soldier with extraordinary abilities. 6 bases and this was the first lead she had managed to get and it hadn't even been a hydra base, maybe that had been her mistake. Hydra clearly knew how to hide their dirty secrets better.

This illusive data file was why she needed the day to herself. However, she needed more privacy than the shared room provided. Moving from the top bunk she occupied to the tiny box of a bathroom, she opened the window over the sink. Always have an exit, she could almost hear her father telling her that. Settling down on the edge of the bath she got started. Her fingers skimming across the keyboard with practiced ease, she only paused briefly when someone knocked on the door.

"Occupe," she mumbled back at whoever was knocking on the door. Annoyed that they hadn't stayed out until lunch like they had said.

Not that it seemed to stop them. The knocking continued and eventually escalated to short rattles of the door handle. Cece lifted her leg and slammed her foot into the wooden door to hold it still. Her temper rose as the person on the other side continued to pester her. Clearly they hadn't gotten the hint in French. She rolled her eyes at the thought of the wasted teens she had been sharing a room with. It was probably the idiot Brit who acted like he owned the place.

She tried calling out again, in English this time, "Occupied."

There was a brief lull in the assault from the other side. Taking her off the door handle she glanced back at the screen on her lap. Still nothing, no official records of the winter soldier seemed to exist. However she frowned as files appeared about another American super soldier. The files were heavily doctored and thick black lines ran through almost every word. Though she could just about piece the basics. Korean War, super soldier serum. As she went to work trying to restore the document or even find out where the hard copies were kept, the wood underneath her feet vanished.

The door had been ripped clean of the hinges and flung across the small shared room. So it hadn't been one of her roommates knocking. Armed men filled the tiny room and there in the doorway was the man she had been searching for, the winter soldier. Acting fast she ripped the USB out and prayed her programming would read the violent removal as an attack and delete the hard drive. She had never tested the fail safe so all she could do was hope.

Once that was done she shot up, scrambling for the window. She didn't make it. A hand shot out and curled is way around her hair. She was dragged unceremoniously out of the box bathroom and into the room. Once out, she was pushed to her knees. The grip on her hair forced her neck to bend and sent her gaze upward at the man in the centre of the room. Her blood ran cold.

She recognised him. Thompson, that is what her father had called him. His eyes lit up as they met hers and a cruel smile slipped into his lips, "Well I wasn't expectin that. When we were asked to remove a serious security breach I didn't expect you. I imagine you remember me."

I imagine you remember me, Years from now in a dingy port on the coast of Bulgaria she would parrot those words back at him. He would be the one on his knees as she toppled his empire but right now she was at his mercy. Thompson's expression darkened as one of his henchmen passed him the laptop. The blue error screen confirmed that her program had worked. They would not find any of the information she had been trawling through. They had no idea what she knew or if she had shared it with anyone.

He knelt down in front of her. His words were sharper than before, "we have ways of making you talk."

The grip on her hair tightened and twisted forcing her into an even more uncomfortable position. Shivers shot down her spine as the cool metal of her captors hand brushed the back of her neck. He hadn't spoken at all. Just like in Paris. This time however the gun was being pressed into her temple. There was no one to save her now. Cece did her best not to tremble. Show no fear. She kept her gaze strong and pulled her lips tightly together in defiance.

"Just like Hugo, don't kill her," Thompson's smile twisted further until it became a feral grin. "I have a better idea. Would you like to see what happened to all of daddy dearest hard work?" He stood and gestured for his men to follow him, "Change of plans boys, we're goin to Mandipoor."

A wave of dread washed over her as the men in the room, with the exception of the winter soldier, started to jeer and laugh. She knew then that a bullet to the head would be better than whatever was in Mandipoor.

Present day

Baltimore- USA

Sam followed without too many questions as they walked down the street. He had already asked his far share in the taxi from the airport and he hadn't gotten any useful information. His eyes scanned the area trying to figure out just where he was being taken. The area looked run down, well loved by the community but forgotten by everyone else. The further down the road they got the slower Cece went. Sam could tell she was hesitant to meet this mysterious person. Eventually she had slowed down enough to walk side by side with him, although that didn't mean she was giving anything else away.

"Hey, it's Black Falcon. What's up?" An excited voice pulled his attention from the woman and to a pair of grinning kids, who were perched against the chain fence of a garden.

Sam rolled his eyes at the comment before correcting the boy with a light tone, "It's just Falcon, kid."

"No, no. My daddy told me it's Black Falcon," the boy insisted. Puffing his chest out and standing tall, the boy oozed with confidence. Cece couldn't stop herself from snorting at the reply. She could remember a time when she though everything her father had told her was fact, never questioning him. It was funny thing the unwavering trust children have in there parents.

Sam's lips pulled into a knowing smile as he shot back a question of his own, "Is it because I'm Black and I'm the Falcon?"

"Well, technically," the boy frowned surprised that someone was correcting him. His friend sniggers at him, the boy to deflate visibly until he spotted Cece lurking behind Sam, "well I mean, yes. Hey are you an avenger too?"

"No, no I'm just Cece," she offered back quickly. She threw her hands up as if to wave the idea away.

Her an avenger! The idea was hilarious. Sure she had worked hard to help people since the blip but she still had a lot of red on her hands, not as much as other but enough to know she wasn't hero martial. She didn't even have the excuse of being brainwashed to fall back on. The only time she had pulled the trigger was while she was completely lucid. Sure she would have done things differently now but as a teenage she was impulse and hurting. Killing, murder wasn't something that just went away with good deeds. Although she would never say any of this out loud to Bucky! His situation was very different but he wouldn't see it that way.

Grinning, Sam nudged the boy in the shoulder. "Nah she's Black Cece, that's how it works right kid? Like you're Black Kid."

"Whatever, man. Whatever," the kid mumbled as he swatted Sam's hand away from his hair.

The pair chuckled as they continued after Bucky and Cece found herself glancing up at Sam as they walked. She couldn't help but wonder if it ever got to him. He had done so much good, saved so many people, yet the first thing people saw was his skin. She knew how annoying it could be but it wasn't like she had ever been in the spotlight like him. It was in that moment that she realised he was probably just as hurt about the shield and John Walker as Bucky. Maybe even more so.

The group stood for a moment each of them taking in the house with very different emotions. One thinking back to a time decades ago when he fought a young soldier in a bar. When he had regained his memories Bucky had always wondered what had happened to the super soldier hydra had feared so much. Cece fidgeted behind him an uneasy knot tightening in her stomach as she thought back to the last time she had knocked on the rusted wind-damaged door. It felt like a lifetime ago, but then again everything before the blip felt like that. Sam was too busy inspecting the house and surrounding area to notice the look the pair shared before Bucky knocked. Sam's curiosity only grew as a teen pulled the door back just enough to peer out at them.

"We're here to see Isaiah," Bucky told the teen after beat of silence.

The teen didn't open the door any wider. Instead he continued to glare out from through the grated shutter at them. His voice was too sharp for someone his age. The bitter undertones were clear for everyone to hear as he bit out his reply, "Nobody named Isaiah live here."

"Eli, we're not looking for trouble," Cece moved around Bucky so the teen could see her fully. His eyes narrowed in recognition but he didn't alter his stance. She pushed on, "we just want to talk."

"You must not hear what I just said. You ain't getting in this house. Y'all can leave now."

It was Bucky's turn to try again. "Tell him the guy from the bar in Goyang is here. He's gonna know what that means."

"Please," Cece added for good measure.

It seemed to work as Eli finally gave in. With a final glare he shut the door and moved back into the house, leaving the three strangers stranded on the porch. Waiting. Bucky raised an eyebrow and glanced at Cece, it was clear he wanted to make some snide comment about the boy's manners but she cut him off before he could. Reminding him that the teen was only being protective and that he had a good reason to be.

"How do you know this guy?" Sam eventually asked. The curiosity bubbling over now that he had seen the strange display at the door.

"We had a skirmish during the Korean War," Bucky replied in a matter of fact tone as if it were a completely normal sentence. Though Cece imagined it might be in the realms of normal for them, considering Bucky's past and the fact Sam could fly.

Eventually Eli returned and to their surprise let them in. He didn't apologise for his attitude, instead he jerked his thumb over his shoulder and directed them into the living room. Cece led the way, she thought it was only fair considering she was the one who had been here before. The room looked exactly the same, outdated wallpaper and dark wood furniture. A perfectly kept time capsule. Even Isaiah seemed to have remained unchanged after 9 long years. Silver flecks scattered through his hair and board muscles filled out his shirt. Even as an elderly man it was clear to see he was powerful.

Turning, His eyes settled on Cece and he grumbled, "So much for keeping my secret, I guess I shoulda known it wouldn't last."

Cece's hands flew into the air as she tried to defend herself with a quiet explanation, "I haven't broken any promises, you two already knew each other and well this is Sam. Sam, this is Isaiah."

No one spoke. Sam shifted uneasily, his eyes flickering between the others in the room trying desperately to figure out exactly what was happening. Bucky just stared and Cece chewed her lip wondering if perhaps she needed to supply more than just names. However she had no idea where to start and settled on staying silent.

"He was a hero," Bucky finally said. His voice filled the void that had fallen between them all. "One of the ones that HYDRA feared the most. Like Steve. We met in '51."

Issaih shorted at that. A bitter smile curling at the corner of his lips, "If by met, you mean I whupped your ass, then, yeah. We heard whispers he was on the peninsula, but everyone they sent after him, never came back. So the U.S. military dropped me behind the line to go deal with him. I took half that metal arm in that fight in Goyang, but I see he's managed to grow it back. I just wanted to see if he got the arm back. Or if he'd come to kill me."

"I'm not a killer anymore," Bucky whispered as if he was reminding himself. Cece placed a hand on the crook of his arm to resume him. She knew he wasn't a killer anymore, regardless of what others might think. Regardless of what she might think of herself.

"You think you can wake up one day and decide who you wanna be? It doesn't work like that. Well, maybe it does for folks like you."

Cece decided to interject before he could say anything else to the ex-assassin. "Isaiah, the reason we're here is because there's more people like you two."

"And we need to know how," Bucky added gently.

"I'm not gonna talk about it anymore," the elderly man roared. The Tobacco tin he had been fiddling with was launched through the air. Everyone stilled as the metal embedded itself into the brickwork. "You know what they did to me for being a hero? They put my ass in jail for 30 years. People running tests, taking my blood, coming into my cell. Even your people weren't done with me."

Cece tried once more to ease information out of him but he wasn't having any of it. Isaiah demanded that they leave and after a bit of encouragement Bucky managed to pull Sam from the house. He hadn't spoken during the entire exchange and Cece couldn't figure what he was thinking. She had her assumptions but she knew better than to assume. Cece had know this wasn't going to work, she had told Bucky it wasn't a good idea. Catching his eye she quirked an eyebrow and tilted her head, a clear 'I told you so' gleaming in her eyes when she caught his eye.

It was only after the group had returned to the street that he spoke. His voice tight with emotion and his fists clenched, "Why didn't you tell me about Isaiah? How could nobody bring him up?" neither of them answered. Which only infuriated Sam more. He reached forward gripping Bucky's sleeve forcing the other man to turn to face him. "I asked you a question, Bucky. Steve didn't know about him?"

"He didn't. I didn't tell him," Bucky replied.

The answer didn't seem to help ease Sam's anger. "So you're telling me that there was a black Super Soldier decades ago and nobody knew about it?"

Neither Cece or Bucky replied. They didn't know how. Both had kept Isaiah's secret in an attempt to ease the man's pain, he had been put through so much. However they could see that by keeping his secret others had been hurt unintentionally. She knew it wasn't simple. None of it was simple. Even if people had known about Isaiah they wouldn't have accepted him. It had been a different time back then. Things had changed now, maybe people could see Isaiah's story differently. Cece doubted anything she said would help. Sam was angry and rightly so, he just needed to vent. His hands raised in the air as he let out a groan of frustration. His body squared up to Bucky ready to fire off another round of questions. When the police pulled up in front of them. Cece let out a dry laugh as the office started towards Sam, his hand hovering over his weapon.

Maybe things hadn't changed that much afterall.

Hiya! Sorry for the wait. I had hoped to finish this episode in this one but through a chapter now was better then waiting another week. Also I'm just curious are their any moments people would be interested in seeing. I have lots planned but things like Cece during the attack on newyork or when the snap happened etc etc.