The whole point of Bruce coming out to one of Tony's remote labs was to be able to work in peace. He wanted to enjoy the serenity of a small town in the middle of nowhere. He had not expected to find himself staring down the barrel of a gun in the hands of a girl who looked like she couldn't be more than twelve years old.

Okay, this is a first, even for me.

"You're a doctor, correct?" Her voice was surprisingly steady, considering the situation they were in. Almost as if she wasn't nervous about holding a stranger at gunpoint.

"I am," Bruce answered slowly. "You know, the gun really isn't necessary."

"I'll decide what's necessary," she said sharply. "And you're coming with me." The 'or else' hung in the air unsaid.

Bruce assessed her for a moment. She was wearing boots, cargo pants, and a lightweight long sleeve shirt under an olive green, military inspired jacket. Her clothing was badly wrinkled, as though she'd slept in them, and she had smudges of dirt on her face. Despite the disheveled appearance of her clothes, her long blonde hair was pulled back in a tight braid. The way she held the gun spoke of a familiarity with the weapon, and if she had been an adult instead of obviously a kid, Bruce would have guessed that she was trained. Judging by the set of her jaw and determined light in her blue eyes, Bruce would guess that she really did plan to shoot him if he didn't do as she said.

Right. Let's try to avoid that.

Not that getting shot would do any lasting damage to Bruce, but was a one way ticket to turning into the Hulk. As much as he didn't appreciate being held at gunpoint, Bruce liked the idea of hurting a kid even less. All things considered, his best course of action was to go along with whatever the girl demanded until he could figure out exactly what was going on and how he could get out of it without hurting her.

"Okay," Bruce said, keeping his voice even like the situation didn't bother him at all. "I can do that."

Some of the tension left the girl's shoulders, and Bruce didn't miss the look of relief that flickered across her face before she masked it with a scowl. "Smart decision. Let's go."

Bruce didn't move. "Are you planning to march me down the sidewalk at gunpoint? Because I think people will notice." They were currently hidden from prying eyes in the alleyway that Bruce had been using as a shortcut on his way back to the labs from the diner he'd eaten lunch in. It would be a different story when they left the alley. The streets might not be crowded here, but there were more than enough people to notice a kid with a gun and call the cops.

She grimaced, clearly not pleased about the idea of having to put the gun away, but if she wanted the two of them to get anywhere unnoticed, she didn't have a lot of options. "I'm a good shot," she told him. "I never miss. So don't think I won't be able to shoot you if you try to run."

"I won't run," Bruce assured her. Not until he figured out what was going on, and definitely not while there was a risk of innocents getting caught in the crossfire.

She slipped the gun into a holster that had been hidden by her baggy jacket. Then taking a step closer, the girl reached out and grabbed Bruce's wrist to pull him along behind her. Strong grip. Stronger than Bruce would have expected from her lean build and apparent age.

She led him along in the opposite direction of the lab without a word. Not that Bruce was expecting her to be chatty at this point, but if he was going to find out what was going on, he needed her to talk.

"I'm Bruce by the way," he said. He deliberately didn't mention his last name. The girl didn't seem to recognize him, and Bruce felt that was for the best.

She glanced back at him briefly before turning her attentions back to their surroundings. "I don't care."

Huh. Interesting.

If she didn't care who he was, only that he was a doctor, then Bruce could begin to make some guesses about what was going on. Probably she had intended her question to mean, 'are you a medical doctor.' Which Bruce wasn't, technically, though he'd certainly studied medicine enough to be helpful in a number of situations.

Bruce gave the girl another quick once over. She didn't move as though she were hurt, nor did she appear sick. She's got a companion then, and they're the one that needs a doctor.

And for some reason they couldn't go to a hospital. They must be on the run from someone, which would go a long way towards explaining the girl's disheveled appearance. Whatever is wrong with her friend, it must be serious for her to risk kidnapping someone.

"Do you think I should know why you're kidnapping me?" Bruce asked.

She sent him another impatient look, her brows furrowed together, and Bruce was struck by a sudden sense of familiarity about her that he couldn't explain. He was certain he'd never met her before. Gun wielding preteens were pretty memorable. "My brother needs a doctor."

Guessed right on that one.

"I feel I would be remiss if I did not advise you to take him to a hospital for proper treatment," Bruce said.

The girl rolled her eyes in the first expression that actually reminded Bruce of a kid. "If that was an option, do you think I'd be kidnapping you right now?"

"Probably not," Bruce agreed, a wry smile tugging at his mouth. "But as a responsible adult, I have to at least suggest it."

She frowned at him before looking away again. Her grip on his arm hadn't loosened up a bit. As they kept walking it soon became clear that she was leading him out of town altogether, further confirming Bruce's hypothesis that they were runaways.

"Do you have a name I can call you?" Bruce asked.

That question got him a full blown glare, and her grip on his arm tightened uncomfortably for a moment. "It's none of your business."

"So, what, I'm just going to have to say 'hey, you'?" Bruce asked. "I'm not telling you to give me your whole name, just a first name. A nickname even."

A heartbeat of silence, and then, "Star. I'm called Star."

"And your brother?" he asked.

"James," Star replied.

Star and James. It wasn't much information, but it was a start. Not that Bruce had heard of any kids going missing. The news was still pretty well dominated by stories of the Mandarin, even though that situation had ended over a month ago. Two runaway kids probably didn't compare in the eyes of reporters.

They'd made it out of town by now. Bruce glanced down at his watch. People are going to start noticing that I'm late soon. It likely wouldn't alarm anyone at first. He'd been known to be struck by inspiration while at lunch before, and to lose track of time while he scribbled down notes. Probably no one would think much of him vanishing until he didn't show up at the lab in the morning – if Star kept him overnight, and depending on how sick her brother was, she just might – at which point someone would probably contact Tony.

If Tony comes looking for me, maybe we can settle this situation without me getting shot. And then we can get the kids back to wherever it is they're supposed to be.

Bruce frowned, recalling the easy familiarity with which she'd handled her handgun. She'd obviously been taught how to use it, a thought that left Bruce feeling uncomfortable. Okay, maybe they don't need to go back to wherever they ran away from. But they need to go somewhere. She's just a kid.

Star led him into woods, and Bruce's frown deepened. I guess they're camping out right now. Which probably wasn't good for her brother.

"What's wrong with James?" Bruce asked.

"He's sick," Star said.

Well that's unhelpfully vague.

Before Bruce could ask more questions, they arrived at Star's camp. She had built a small shelter out of branches, and from beneath them Bruce could hear a distinct wheezing. Star let go of his wrist to duck down and lean inside the shelter. She reappeared a moment later holding a small figure, the sight of which dashed all thoughts of getting away from Bruce's mind.

Bruce immediately crouched down in front of her to better examine the toddler in her arms. James was thinner than what Bruce thought he should be, and every breath was noisy and labored. His face was flushed red, and sweat matted his blond hair down to his head.

Bruce reached for him, but paused as Star tensed. "May I hold him?"

She stared at him for a moment before nodding with obvious reluctance. Bruce gently took James, transferring the toddler to his lap. James didn't make a noise despite the movement, his eyes remaining firmly closed. Whether he was deeply sleeping or unconscious because of whatever illness was plaguing him was hard to tell. Bruce curled his fingers around one of James's wrists, counting his pulse. Slower than it should be.

While Bruce took James's pulse, Star pulled a backpack out of their shelter and dumped its contents out between them. Baby medicine spilled out. It looked like she'd raided the kids' section of some pharmacy.

"I didn't know what to give him," Star said.

Bruce shifted through the medicine. He wasn't sure what would be best for James either. Was his illness being caused by a virus or bacterial infection? What exactly was the cause of his wheezing?

"Star, we need to get him to a hospital."

"No!" Star shook her head. "No hospitals. You're a doctor, you've got medicine. Fix him!"

"It's not that simple," Bruce said. "I don't know what's making him sick, and unless I know that, I don't know which medicine might help him or make him worse."

Star glared, her hands clenching into fists. "We can't go to a hospital. They'll find us, and then they'll kill James."

Bruce didn't ask who 'they' were, or why they wanted to kill a toddler. That was a mystery he would deal with later. "James is going to die if we don't get him proper help, Star."

Star paled at his words, but still she shook her head.

Bruce had half a mind to just stand up and walk away with James. She wouldn't try to shoot him when he was holding her brother, would she? She's a kid. Kids aren't exactly known for thinking things through.

"Look," Bruce said, "what if instead of a hospital, we take him to the Stark Lab?"

She frowned at him, eyes narrowing, but she didn't say anything.

"I work at the lab," Bruce said. "We've got a medical section there." It wasn't exactly designed to handle sickness; the medical section was more for dealing with any injuries caused by lab accidents. Still, it was better than trying to treat James out here.

Star bit her lip, her gaze darting between his face and James's. Finally she let out a breath. "Okay. We'll go to the lab. But don't even think about contacting anyone about us."

"I won't," Bruce said.

Alexander Pierce sighed as he settled back in the seat of his car. It was all one meeting after another today, and the ride between was the only break he got. It will all be worth it in the long run. Even so, a long weekend sounded nice.

His phone buzzed as the driver pulled into traffic. Pierce glanced at the ID on the phone to see if it was someone he could reasonably ignore. He frowned at the screen; the number wasn't a contact in his phone, but it was one that he recognized all the same. A call from this particular number meant either something really good had happened, or something had gone horribly wrong.

He had a feeling about which it would be.

"Pierce."

"Good afternoon, Mr. Pierce." Pierce recognized the smooth voice of Dr. Miller, the woman in charge of the unfortunately named Project Stars and Stripes. He also recognized the tension underneath her words.

It's going to be one of those days.

"What news do you have for me, doctor?" Pierce asked.

"The latest experiment was a failure," Dr. Miller said.

"I thought you said this one looked promising."

"It did," she said, her tone clipped and short. "Unfortunately, it fell short of what we hoped for."

Pierce drummed his fingers on the armrest. "Yes, unfortunate, as you say. Why did this news necessitate a phone call?"

Dr. Miller was silent for a moment. "The asset Star ran away. She took the failed experiment with her before we could have it decommissioned."

And there was the bad news he'd been waiting for. Pierce massaged his temple with one hand. He could feel a headache coming on. "I thought there had been no behavior problems with Star."

"There weren't, which is why we were caught off guard. Prior to this she's been very obedient."

"Why was she even aware of other experiments going on?"

"We didn't know she was," Dr. Miller slowly admitted. "She must have been snooping around the compound without us knowing."

Pierce scowled, even though Dr. Miller couldn't see his expression. That was an unpardonable failure on her part. Who knew how much information Star might have on them? And now she was running about free, and with a failed experiment to top it all off. If she landed in the wrong hands, the results could be disastrous.

"Have you sent a team to retrieve her?"

"Yes, sir. She…she killed them."

Pierce narrowed his eyes. "How long ago did she run?"

Silence stretched out, taunt, and Pierce knew he wasn't going to like the answer. "Three days ago."

Three days? And he was only just being informed? If there had been any doubts in Pierce's mind about whether Dr. Miller would need to be replaced after this fiasco, that admission alleviated them. He would begin looking for her replacement immediately. In the meantime, major damage control would be required, especially if they were to have any chance of retrieving Star relatively unharmed. Too much time and effort had been invested in her creation to simply decommission her over this, and once caught she could be made to comply. Catching her alive will take too much time and effort for regular agents. The longer she was on the run, the greater the chance that the wrong person would notice her.

He needed someone strong enough and skilled enough to subdue Star with minimal damage and get her back as quickly as possible. The solution was obvious. He was going to have to use the Winter Soldier.

AN: I'm fudging with timelines a bit, but this story is set after IM3 and before Winter Soldier.

If anyone is interested in seeing sneak peaks, updates, or stuff for this story (or my others), you can follow me on tumblr. I'm easy to find, I have the same username.