"It's just left, down there."
The underpass Steve was directing her into was dimly lit and didn't look very inviting. Raising her eyebrows she glanced at him in the rear-view mirror "Okay," she said with a shrug of her shoulders as he nodded. If it meant the end to their incredibly uncomfortable journey she was more than happy to comply.
Travelling in a small car with Bucky, Steve and Sam had proved to be nothing but a pain in the ass.
"Is that her up there?" Harper asked, pointing out a car up ahead. Despite her question she knew it had to be, the underpass they were currently driving down didn't seem as though it had been used for a while.
"Yes," Steve answered and Harper came to a stop not too far away from where the silver car was parked up. A blonde woman got out of the driver's side, one she recognised as someone Bucky had fought earlier on in the day, and made her way to the trunk.
"I'll let you out," Harper said, knowing there was no point in trying to get Sam and Bucky to move. Keeping the car running she hopped out of the driver's side, exchanging a glance and a smile with the woman awaiting their arrival before bending down and moving the seat so Steve was able to get out.
"Harper, Sharon. Sharon, Harper," Steve introduced quickly and the two women shared another smile.
"Not sure you understand the concept of a getaway car," Sharon said with a chuckle as Harper turned to get back into the driver's seat.
"Best I could do in a bad situation," she answered, extending her arms outwards and raising her eyes to the sky, thankful to see a laugh light up Sharon's face.
"It's low profile," Steve shrugged just as Harper slammed the broken door shut.
"Roll the window down, I wanna hear what's going on," Sam said, nudging Harper with his elbow.
"No?"
"Mine doesn't work," he said, eyeing up the handle used to wind the window down on her side "I wanna make sure she brought everything."
"I'm sure nothing will have been left behind, just sit still will you," Harper snapped back, the two of them pausing and looking out of the front window with sheepish smiles on their faces when they noticed both Steve and Sharon staring their way.
They watched as Sharon bent to open up the car's trunk, Sam craning his neck slightly to see what she had brought.
"Can you move your seat up?" Bucky asked from the back, with the mechanics not quite working properly Sam's seat kept sliding further and further back until it was finally touching his knees.
"No," Sam answered shortly and Bucky sighed. Moving over into the seat Steve had occupied he shuffled to the edge and leaned on the back of Harper's seat, reaching through and placing his hand on her shoulder.
She sent him a smile as she reached up and laced their fingers, squeezing a couple of times reassuringly and ignoring the eyeroll Sam was sending them.
Outside Sharon had lifted the trunk to reveal Sam's kit and Steve's shield "Good, because this stuff tends to draw a crowd," she said, placing her hands on her hips and stepping back so Steve could gather everything up "That's an odd partnership hey?" she said quietly.
Steve smiled "I'm keeping an eye on them both," he answered beneath his breath "But they seem to balance each other out well," he continued, gesturing for Sam to come and get his gear "I owe you again."
"Keeping a list," Sharon warned with a tilt of her head. Before continuing she glanced over her shoulder to the car once more, watching as Harper turned in her seat and fell into conversation with Bucky "You know, he kinda tried to kill me."
A bashful smile came to Steve's face as he winced slightly "Sorry. I'll put it on the list, too. He seems more in control when he's around her though," he mused as Sam gathered up his things and Steve grabbed hold of the shield. He paused for a second before glancing up to Sharon "They're going to come looking for you."
She nodded her head and took in a deep breath "I know."
Back inside the car Harper found her breath hitching in her throat as she turned around to see the shield resting on Steve's arm as he thanked Sharon and she waved goodbye.
"You really are a Steve superfan huh?" Sam said from beside her, glancing up from where he was checking over his red goggles to make sure they hadn't been damaged in any way.
"Only dedicated a portion of my life to researching him," Harper answered with a shrug, pausing for a second and narrowing her eyes "Do not tell him I said that," she warned, not quite trusting the smile stretching across Sam's face.
"Okay, let's go," Steve said, climbing into the backseat beside Bucky. He frowned as Sam shuffled in the passenger seat and it slid backwards "Hey, man, can you pull your seat forward?" he asked.
"Sure," Sam answered, throwing a glance over to a scowling Bucky before scooching his seat forward to give Steve some space.
"I am driving a bunch of toddlers," Harper said beneath her breath before shifting the car into gear and, once Sharon had turned around and left, spinning the steering wheel around.
The drive to the airport was filled with tense silence as everyone wondered what they would be facing once they got to Siberia. Steve and Sam had promised them back up would be meeting them before they flew but Harper wasn't sure what to expect.
Not many people would be able to take down the elite death squad haunting her memories.
She nodded every now and then when Steve gave her directions, keeping her eyes on the road and trying to not think about what she would soon be facing. Would the training centre still be up and running now Hydra had fallen?
Or would everything have shut down as soon as it happened? Would the death squad even be there or would they soon find themselves on a mission to locate them before they could do any damage?
"Okay, up to the sixth level," Steve said, leaning through the two front seats once they were inside the airport's carpark "They're already there."
Nerves twisted and turned in Harper's stomach as they climbed up the levels of the parking lot. Not only was she unsure about what she would come face to face with in Siberia but she didn't know what else she was about to encounter.
What did back up mean exactly?
She was pretty sure it wouldn't mean Tony Stark by the way Steve had avoided him back at the centre but that still left enough Avengers to choose from.
Was she about to meet Thor?
"There they are," Steve pointed out just as Clint Barton hopped down from a parked up grey van. Taking in a deep breath Harper drove across the otherwise empty lot, pulling up beside the grey van and switching the engine off.
"Cap," Clint greeted once Steve was out of the car, walking over and shaking Steve by the hand.
Harper, Bucky and Sam soon followed suit, allowing Steve to make any necessary introductions as Harper almost glued herself to Bucky's side, before a red headed woman emerged from the other side of the van.
"Thanks for having my back," Steve said with a smile and a nod "You know Sam of course but this is Harper and Bucky. Guys, this is Wanda."
"It was about time I got off my ass," Wanda answered with a nod before turning to the people she had been introduced to "Nice to meet you."
"Hey," Bucky whispered as Harper stepped even closer to him, his hand reached for hers and bumped their fingertips together to make sure he had her attention "All good?"
She opened her mouth to speak but the words didn't come out for a few seconds. It was all very overwhelming; standing meeting various members of the Avengers she had been learning about for years while trying not to think of what was to come.
Taking in a deep breath she nodded "All good."
Though he didn't look too convinced, Bucky nodded and sent her a smile.
"How about our other recruit?" Steve asked as Clint turned his back and opened up the van's side door.
"He's rarin' to go. Had to put a little coffee in him, but... he should be good."
The man lying across the van's back seats jumped at the sound of the door being opened, jolting up into a sitting position. "What timezone is this?" he asked as he straightened himself up and folded himself out of the van, glancing at Clint and hopping down onto the concrete.
His whole demeanor seemed to change as he took in his surroundings properly, his eyes becoming wide when he was able to take in his audience and his feet almost stumbling over one another as Clint encouraged him forward "Captain America," he said, reaching out and taking Steve's hand in a handshake, his eyes full of wonder.
"Mr. Lang," Steve answered, ever the gentleman.
"It's an honour. I'm shaking your hand too long. Wow! This is awesome! Captain America!" he exclaimed, finally letting Steve's hand go.
"See this?" Bucky said, leaning down and speaking to Harper in a whisper "This is how I expected your first meeting with Steve to go," he continued, letting out a chuckle as she elbowed him in the side.
"Jeez. Ah, look, I wanna say, I know you know a lot of super people, so... Thanks for thinking of me," he said, looking shocked with his own actions as he reached out to grip Steve's shoulders. Harper suppressed a smile as she leaned back against the car. Of all the people she had met he was definitely the one she could see herself getting along with.
Especially when she spotted his face dropping slightly as he turned to address Sam, Sam's shoulder's tensing "Hey, man!"
"What's up, Tic Tac?"
As they spoke between themselves Harper turned to face Bucky, her eyes on the watch wrapped around her wrist "Time's running out, he's already got the upper hand," she said quietly. As much as she was enjoying sitting back and watching the pleasantries going on around her (and as much as she wanted to be introduced to her fellow Steve superfan) there was still a tightening of nerves in her stomach which told her they needed to get moving.
It would be no use to anyone if they all turned up to see the death squad was already under the control of a man who wanted to, in his own words, see an empire fall.
"We should get moving," Bucky called over to them, Harper's anxiety making him nervous himself.
Clint nodded his head "We got a chopper lined up."
"Dies ist eine Notsituation. Alle Passagiere müssen den Flughafen sofort evakuieren."
They all paused at the booming tone echoing through the entire airport. With German as one of her stronger languages Harper turned to the others "They're evacuating the airport," she explained, fear gripping at her heart at being caught once more.
Sam swore beneath his breath "Stark."
The man, Lang, from earlier glanced around in confusion "Stark?"
Steve took in a deep breath "Suit up," he said to the others before turning to speak with Harper and Bucky "I got Sharon to bring you both something to change into," he said, gesturing for them to follow him round to the trunk of the car, all of them cringing with the sound of creaking as he opened it up "It's one of Nat's old suits," he explained as he handed Harper a black bit of material "It'll keep you safe."
She allowed a smile to come to her face as she took it off him "Thank you," she said in a quiet tone before Bucky stepped up to see what was in there for him, moving off she found a space beside one of the other abandoned looking cars on their level to change behind.
It was a little tight but Harper found herself feeling almost comfortable in the suit Steve had given her, slipping the knife she had carted with her in her sock this entire time into one of the thigh holsters. Tugging her hair up into a bun so it was out of her face she emerged back out into the open to dump the stuff she no longer needed back into the car.
"Wow," Bucky said, greeting her with a smile "You look good as a superhero."
"Well don't get used to it," she said, smacking his arm slightly and trying to stop her laugh "I doubt they'll keep me on."
"Okay," Steve began as he made his way over to where they were standing, Harper almost had to pinch herself seeing him in his full Captain America outfit "They have a quinjet we can take somewhere in the airport, I'll take Barton, Maximoff and Lang out onto the runway to see if we can spot it from there, it's more than likely that if Tony is here he'll head out there to stop us first so we can talk them down. You two and Sam head into the terminal and see if you can locate the jet from inside there, they've evacuated the airport so you should have free rein."
"Let's go," Sam, looking less than happy that he had been teamed up with them, said as he appeared at Steve's side, nodding his head over to a door which led into the terminal.
Harper could practically hear her heartbeat as she followed Bucky and Sam across the car park, not daring to look back to see what the others were doing. Unease gripped at her as the three of them slipped into the empty airport.
"How do we go about finding a Quinjet?" she asked once they were inside, glancing around as though there was going to be a computer with all the details of the jets hanging around just waiting for them to switch on.
Sam sent her a smirk as he pressed a few things on the strap on his left wrist, opening up the back of his Falcon suit and releasing a drone "Meet Redwing," he said as the three of them watched it fly down to check the hangers "You two keep a lookout while I scan for this jet."
"Can this day get any crazier?" Harper asked once her and Bucky were out of Sam's earshot, keeping their eye out for anyone approaching from behind.
"You can still run."
Her brows furrowed together as she turned to glare up to him "What?"
"Run," he repeated as though it were the most obvious thing in the world "It's me they want, if you slipped away now no one would bring it up. You could be living a fresh life by tonight."
"There's just one thing you're missing out on with that little speech," she said, her expression stony as she turned to face him properly "I don't want a fresh life. I was given a fresh life and look where I've ended up? Right back in the middle of everything...where I want to be," she said, her chin jutting out into the stubborn expression he was used to "I am so deeply involved in this Bucky it wouldn't surprise me if most of these people already know, I spoke to Natasha and she knows about my past, about my family, so what's to say she hasn't told Tony? I could run away right now and be caught, alone, before I reached anywhere you deem to be safe."
"I wouldn't let-"
"You wouldn't have any choice," she cut through before he could finish "I want to do something good and I know this squad of Winter Soldiers awaiting our arrival are anything but good for the world so if taking them down is what I've gotta to in an attempt to get any of my past cleared then I need to do this."
He wanted to reach out to her and let her know none of this was her fault and she didn't owe anyone anything but Sam was calling their names.
"Found it," he was saying to both them and Steve over his comms "Their Quinjet's in hanger five, north runway."
"If you can get me to it I can fly it," Harper said, the words bursting from her lips even before she had time to think "I know I can," she continued when she noticed both Bucky and Sam turn to send her confused glances. She couldn't ever remember specifically flying a Quinjet, or any aircraft come to think of it, but there was something in the back of her mind telling her this was something she could do.
"Well alright then!" Sam exclaimed, pushing up from where he had been crouched down "Let's get Harper to the jet."
There was a frown on Bucky's face as Sam pushed himself up from where he had been kneeling, waving for Harper to follow him.
A knot of unease twirled its way around her stomach, especially at Bucky's reluctance, but she pushed past it. The something in the back of her mind was relentless in telling her she could do this and if it would help in any way possible she was more than willing to try.
As they picked up the pace, needing to get to the Quinjet before anyone realised what their plan was, a shadow darted across the windows of the terminal.
"What the hell is that?" Bucky asked, his frown getting even deeper when he glanced over to something human shaped crawling across the wall, as he reached out for Harper's hand.
Beside them Sam was rolling his eyes and grumbling beneath his breath "Everyone's got a gimmick now."
Almost as soon as the words had left his mouth the sound of shattering glass caused Harper to raise her hands to cover her head. Someone, swinging on something she couldn't quite make out, had jumped feet first through the window, kicking Sam away.
"Run," Bucky said as he immediately turned, throwing a fist in the direction of the new arrival only to be stopped mid punch. His eyes widened as he glanced up to the masked being, feeling the strength of his metal arm being held back.
"You have a metal arm? That is awesome dude!" a voice came from the person standing in front of him and he turned slightly to exchange a glance with Harper, who hadn't run like she had been told.
"He's just a kid," he said to her before Sam came barrelling in, pushing the kid away from Bucky "Did you hear him? He couldn't be older than seventeen," Bucky said as Harper caught up with him, the two of them chasing after where Sam and the kid were battling mid air.
"So that's who Tony Stark has fighting his battles then? Children?" Harper answered with a scowl, ignoring the look Bucky was sending her. The way he had dismissed her when they were in the facility had just rubbed her up the wrong way, he wasn't for helping them at all. It had been obvious that if it were up to him both she and Bucky would have been locked away, no questions asked.
"What is he swinging on?" she asked, eyes narrowed and nose wrinkled as she watched the kid escape Sam's clutches and swing from beam to beam in the ceiling escaping the shots Sam was firing his way.
"It looks like webbing," Bucky answered, not clearing any of her confusion at all. He seemed impressed by the kid, it wasn't often he had been stopped mid punch and he couldn't believe the person who managed it was someone very clearly still in high school.
"Are you guys helping or what?!" Sam called to them, bringing their attention back to the situation they were in "Still need to get out of here?"
"Right, of course," Bucky said, more to himself, as he hid behind one of the information columns. Reaching out he grasped hold of one of the billboard signs on the wall and launched it toward the beam the kid was resting on.
"Hey buddy! I think you lost this!"
Bucky managed to move out of the way, wrapping his arms around Harper to protect her, just as the billboard came crashing back to them "You gotta admit he's good," he said as they emerged just in time to see Sam crashing through one of the stands to the floor "You get out of here, I'll be right behind you," he said pushing her forward and turning around in an attempt to distract the kid away from Harper's escape route once he was done with Sam.
Just as she turned to continue her escape she gasped as she came face to face with the red mask, his hands raising and white webbing shooting from his wrists and pinning her to one of the columns to stop her from going anywhere "I'm sorry," he said in a whisper "I just gotta go deal with those guys now, Mr Stark's orders."
There was a frown on Harper's face as she watched him go, unable to pull her wrist from where it had been pinned. She could vaguely hear the conversation, as Sam asked him if the webbing was coming out of him, as she tried to pick at her constraint while inspecting it and what the hell it was at the same time.
The smashing of glass caught her attention and she turned just in time to see Bucky and Sam disappearing over the balcony.
"Guys, look," the kid dressed in red began from where he was perched, glancing over to them each in turn "I'd love to keep this up but I've only got one job here today and I gotta impress Mr. Stark, so, I'm really sorry-" he was interrupted as Sam's drone swept in, an extension reaching out and grabbing the kid by his wrist, pulling him out of the hole in the window he had already created with a yell.
Pulling her hand free Harper hurried over to peer down to where Sam and Bucky were laying, both covered in the webbing "Are you guys okay?" she called down.
"Would have been much better if Sam had just done that earlier."
Glancing across to him, the action tough to complete considering his torso was wrapped up tight, Sam glared "I hate you."
Rolling her eyes Harper made her way over to the steps, hurrying down and helping the two of them out of the webbing encasing them "Did he answer you?" she asked Sam "Was this stuff really coming out of him?"
"Spiderkid had something on his wrist, I think it was coming out of there," Sam said as he sat up, stretching his arms in all kinds of directions now they were out of their uncomfortable position "Come on, we gotta get you to the Quinjet," he said as he pushed himself up onto his feet.
There was a look of unease on Bucky's face as Sam gestured for them to follow him. He wasn't sure how this was all going to go and didn't want any of the attention to be brought to Harper; he was the one they were after to put away, not her and he didn't want that to change. Despite her insisting she was sure she could fly the Quinjet he wasn't so keen on the idea, her memories were coming back but slowly and flying them to Siberia on a Quinjet could be pushing it.
The fight was in full swing by the time Harper had made her way outside and she stopped herself for a second to take in the scene. Friends were fighting against friends, partners against partners and the reality of the situation was beginning to overwhelm her.
"Hey Cap, heads up!"
A gasp passed Harper's lips as she hid behind a wall at the sight of a truck being launched in Rhodey's direction, the heat of the fire it imploded into even reaching her from across the tarmac.
She felt as though the wind had been knocked out of her as she took a second, eyes closed, to gather herself together. She needed to get to hanger five, to get the Quinjet ready for when Bucky, Steve and the rest of the team could catch up and they could make their way to stop the Death Squad before any real damage could be done.
With everyone on the opposite side distracted by the flames she continued her journey over to where the jet was parked.
Her stomach twisted and turned with nerves as she looked up to the large jet. She had been talking up the fact that she was sure she could fly it but standing beside it now all she could think of was what would happen if she failed.
"Hey, there's our ride!"
The shout caught her attention as she began climbing through the door of the jet and her stomach flipped once more. Glancing over her shoulder she noticed the group of people racing toward her and hurried inside, her eyes roaming over all of the buttons and control sticks.
Closing her eyes for a second she took in a deep breath.
"...technology stolen from Shield...we'll need you to fly it...back to Siberia...the training centre…"
She felt dizzy as all of her memories came rushing back to her. Hydra had stolen the Quinjet's technology on a spy mission in Shield headquarters and made their own version, a version she had been trained to fly.
She sat down in the pilot's seat just in time to see Vision descend on the approaching group, a beam of light emerging from the stone in his head and burning a hole in the ground to stop them from going any further.
"Captain Rogers," Vision said, his voice booming across the airport, "I know you believe what you're doing is right. But for the collective good you must surrender now."
"Shit," Harper said beneath her breath as she scanned the buttons before her once more, there was a big difference between hotwiring a car and a Quinjet "Okay, we can do this," she said beneath her breath, wishing she had her backpack and her tools with her as she began pressing buttons.
Outside the rest of the Avengers on 'Team Tony' had arrived around Vision, ready for the fight.
Emerging out from beneath the Quinjet's main board Harper straightened up just in time to see Iron Man collide with Captain America.
"Okay let's get this sorted," she said to herself as she crouched down once more, tugging her hair back she re-secured it into the bun it had fallen out of so it was no longer in face and she could concentrate. She was glad she wasn't in the fight outside as she heard crash after crash, yell after yell. Worries about Bucky's safety tried to worm their way into her mind but she pushed them aside, trying to figure out how to start this Quinjet was more important than anything else at that moment.
Bucky could handle himself, he had proved that back at the facility, but the entire world's safety would be in danger if they didn't get themselves to Siberia.
"Yes!" she exclaimed as she tweaked the right wire at the same time as pressing the right button and the jet roared into life.
Her celebrations were cut short as she glanced out of the window just in time to see Scott, a giant version of Scott, stomping around the tarmac "Oh my god," she whispered to herself as she watched the opposite team try to take him down, her eyes caught by the sight of Bucky and Steve running her way "Okay hurry up," she said to no one in particular, wishing they'd had a spare set of comms as she spotted the man dressed all in black who had chased them through Romania hot on their tail.
"Quick, quick, quick!" she said as she pushed herself up out of the chair and opened up the door, racing down the steps and waving her hands for them to be quicker.
Her heart raced in her chest as the control tower to the right of the doors into the hanger began to topple and she began to run, not sure what she could do to stop it but eager to try.
"Wanda's got it!" Steve called out, waving back to her to tell her to stay in the safer area.
Harper stopped in her tracks and glanced up to see red energy keeping the control tower from collapsing completely "Hurry!" she shouted, her eyes not leaving the rubble suspended in mid air as it began to slowly fall.
Panic surged through her as she spotted Rhodey descending behind Wanda, his arm outstretched as he fired a sonic disrupter toward her "No!" Harper exclaimed as Wanda let go of the crumbling tower to grasp hold of her head. Turning away from the rubble she covered her head with her arms and squeezed her eyes shut.
She jumped at the feeling of a hand resting on her shoulder, slowly unfurling she let out a sigh of relief when she saw that it was Bucky, Steve standing just behind him "Oh my god I thought you were toast," she said hopping up onto her toes and wrapping her arms around his neck.
Glancing to Steve over his shoulder she noticed him straighten his back and square his shoulders, his gaze looking past the two of them. Letting Bucky go Harper drew in a breath as she spotted Natasha.
"You're not gonna stop," was all she said, a look of disappointment on her face.
Steve shook his head "You know I can't."
Natasha sighed as she raised her hand, readying the widow's bite she kept on her wrist "I'm gonna regret this," she said and shot before they could even react.
Behind them T'Challa, who had clambered through the debris, fell to his knees and was stopped in his tracks. Natasha glanced between the three of them before shaking her head once more "Go."
There was no time for thank yous but they knew Natasha understood their gratitude as Harper turned to Bucky and Steve "Come on, the door's open," she said before they raced off, hurrying up the steps and breathing sighs of relief as Harper closed the door behind them.
"It took me a while but I think I've figured it out," she said as she flung herself into the pilot seat once more "I'd still buckle up though for now boys," she said over her shoulder as she spotted them sitting in the chairs behind her "Let's go."
Her ascent was a little wobbly but survivable, a smile spreading across her face as she pressed the buttons to release the guns, blasting the remaining debris out of the way she called "Hold on tight!" over her shoulder before she turned to zoom out of the hanger.
As hard as Nat worked to keep T'Challa at bay he jumped toward the jet as Harper raised it higher, the claws on his suit just missing the wheel before they locked themselves away. As she emerged out from inside the hanger Rhodey flew after them but he was soon lost as Harper picked up the pace.
She settled back into her chair and let out a breath she didn't realise she was holding in. Ensuring they were far away and weren't being followed she clicked a few buttons to steady the pace "Siberia here we come."