Silence hung between them, the only noise coming from the rumbling of the jet's engines, for the first part of their journey. The after effects of the fight in the airport weighed heavily on their shoulders as they each wondered about what had happened to those they had left behind.

Sam, Scott, Wanda, Clint...Natasha. She had put herself on the line, switching sides and shooting the King of Wakanda down with one of her Widows Bites, to help them get away.

And now she was alone to deal with the consequences.

As Harper guided the jet, not confident enough that she had gotten all of the controls right to place it on autopilot, Steve and Bucky disappeared into the back to sort through any of the weapons they'd need when they arrived. They were quiet for the most part, only uttering the odd word for each weapon they uncovered and the confirmation on whether or not it was needed.

Surprisingly Bucky was the one who broke the silence "What's gonna happen to your friends?" he asked, his voice carrying through to where Harper was sitting.

She heard Steve let out a tired sounding sigh as he closed one of the cabinets "Whatever it is...I'll deal with it."

There was another beat of silence before Bucky spoke again, Harper keeping her eyes forward "I don't…" he paused for a second and took in a deep breath "I don't know if I'm worth all this, Steve," he said "I've barrelled into Harper's life and turned it upside down and now I'm doing the same to you and the rest of the Avengers," he continued with a sigh "I just," he paused for a second before repeating "I don't know if I'm worth you doing all of this."

Steve answered before Harper had a chance to turn around and out herself for eavesdropping "What you did all those years...it wasn't you. You didn't have a choice."

"I know. But I did it."

Taking in a deep breath Harper swallowed down the lump in her throat and blinked back the tears stinging her eyes. His guilt was always so obvious but he rarely opened up about it, only ever telling her the basics.

To hear him call himself not worth the effort broke her heart.

She pulled herself together as she heard them wrapping up their conversation, with Steve telling Bucky they would talk about it later, and making their way over. Taking in another deep breath she quickly wiped at her eyes before they reached her.

"I think you've got that in working order," Bucky said leaning over her shoulder and glancing across the control board "C'mon."

"Come on where?" she asked with narrowed eyes, glancing down to his outstretched hand.

"I want you to meet someone."

Her suspicions were only raised as she reached out and took his hand. There were only two other people beside herself on the jet and she had met both of them before "What's going on?" she asked as Bucky pulled her up to her feet, glancing over her shoulder just to double check they weren't about to nosedive out of the sky.

"Harper Rhodes, I'd like you to meet Captain America," he said with a smirk, squeezing his fingers around her hand as a blush scattered across her cheekbones "Steve, Harper wrote almost every word of the exhibit they have of you in the Smithsonian."

Steve's eyebrows shot up in surprise as he reached his hand out for Harper to shake "Thank you," he said sincerely as she placed her hand into his "Your exhibit...it's really helped me."

"You've been?" she asked, her voice coming out all squeaky and high. Clearing her throat she threw a glare over her shoulder toward a chuckling Bucky "I mean...I just, I've not heard of you paying a visit," she said, taking her hand back with a shy smile when she realised she had been shaking his the entire time.

"They were more secret visits," he said with a shrug of his shoulders, "The video footage you had of Peggy…"

"Don't get her started on Peggy Carter," Bucky interrupted, letting out an exclamation as Harper's elbow dug into his side.

"I'm sorry," Harper said with a slight wince "About our earlier meetings. I wasn't giving off the best first impression."

Steve shook his head "You chased down the winter soldier and helped me save a lot of people," he said "It was an impressive first impression."

Harper smiled, ducking her head as she felt her cheekbones burn with a blush "I'd best see what that means," she said, jabbing her thumb over her shoulder to where the control panel of the Quinjet was beeping loudly.

As she sat down in the pilot's seat, her hands almost moving of their own accord as they flipped switches and set them back on the right track, she heard Steve lean closer to Bucky to speak "You're worth it Buck," he said quietly "You're worth it for her."

"You guys might want to sit," she said, hoping the wobble in her voice wasn't as noticeable as she thought, over her shoulder. Keeping her eyes on the navigation she buckled her seatbelt "We're coming in to land."

All of the fear she had felt on the commercial airlines over the past two years melted away as she settled back into her seat. She was never meant to be a passenger but a pilot.

A sense of familiarity she wasn't used to washed over her as she gently guided the quinjet down on the remote and icy mountain top, beside a waiting caterpillar truck. A shiver ran up her spine as she looked out of the windshield at the foggy and snow filled scene before her "Okay," she whispered to herself before willing her body to move "Okay, we're down," she continued, louder, as she turned to where Bucky and Steve had already vacated their seats.

Pushing herself up onto her feet she turned her back on the view of the centre she had once been forced to call her home "So what's the plan?" she asked as she made her way toward the back of the jet, watching as Bucky opened up a rack labeled Romanoff and grabbed one of the light machine guns.

"You stay here ready," he said, holding the gun up to evaluate the weight. "If we need to leave, we need to leave quickly and that'll be on you."

Harper rolled her eyes as she followed the two of them over to the door, reaching up and flipping a switch so the doors opened and the ramp began to descend "Stop trying to make out I'm being useful when really you're just trying to keep me safe," she said with a grumble, folding her arms over her chest.

"I know better than to think you listen to my regards about your safety," Bucky said with an arch to his eyebrows, beside him Steve let out a chuckle.

"Without me you wouldn't have made it this far," Harper argued, that rebellious tilt to her chin as a smirk came to her lips "You'll be careful though right? Both of you?"

"We'll be careful," Steve confirmed, not sounding convincing, as the ramp continued to lower "Did he ever tell you about the time we had to ride back from Rockaway Beach in the back of that freezer truck?"

Bucky turned to her with a grin, "That was the time we'd used our train money to buy hot dogs."

Harper smiled as the two men in front of her shared a glance "I also heard there was a girl you were trying to impress. Poor Steve had to pay the consequences."

Steve let out a laugh, reaching over and patting Bucky on the shoulder "You blew three bucks trying to win a stuffed bear for that redhead."

"What can I say, I'm a romantic," he answered, sending Harper a wink before wincing. Embarrassment coloured his cheekbones slightly "What was her name again?"

"Dolores," Steve filled in for him. "You called her Dot."

Bucky let out a low whistle "She's gotta be a hundred years old right now."

Steve reached out once more, his hand clamping on Bucky's shoulder, "So are we pal," he said, the exit ramp reaching the floor "You'll stay here?" he asked, turning to Harper.

"I'll stay here," she confirmed with a sigh and another roll of her eyes "But make sure you both come back," she called after them as they made their way down the ramp.

She stayed there for as long as she could see them, her hands wringing nervously in front of her as she caught sight of the building they were heading towards.

Her knees felt weak as the memories filled up her mind. Retreating back into the jet she dropped down into the pilot seat, rubbing her hand down her face. Her teenage self had been dragged here against her will on more than one occasion, she'd trained with the soldiers awaiting Bucky and Steve. This was where she had been given her missions and where she'd been trained to kill without question…

A frown dipped at her eyebrows as she spotted a flash of red and gold, contrasted against the white snowy scene before her. Panic gripped at her as she recognised the Iron Man suit from the television.

Tony had followed them.

She stumbled slightly over her feet as she hurried to Natasha's rack of weapons in the back of the jet, filling the holsters with knives that felt familiar in her hands and grabbing for one of the smaller handguns. She took in a deep breath as she stood at the top of the ramp, her fingers gripped around the gun she was holding as she watched Tony Stark enter the doorway Bucky and Steve had disappeared into.

She had promised them she'd stay behind and she felt the guilt of that weighing in her stomach but she also knew she couldn't sit behind and let them be ambushed.

Keeping the gun held up she paused at the doorway. Her shoulder leaned against the stone frame and her eyes closed as she remembered being brought back mission after mission with a new injury and a fresh kill under her belt.

The sound of Tony and Steve speaking brought her back to reality and she pushed herself to keep moving. She kept close to the walls with the gun clutched tightly in her hands and her finger resting on the trigger.

Her steps were silent as she followed the corridors around the building, her ears listening out for any noise.

"If it's any comfort. They died in their sleep."

She frowned at the voice echoing through the building.

"Did you really think I wanted more of you?"

Part of her sighed with relief at the news the other soldiers were down. The other part remained tense, confusion clouding her mind slightly as she wondered what it was the man wanted if it wasn't to gain control of the death squad.

Her fingers flexed against the trigger of her gun as she continued down the long corridor. With the echoing voice getting louder and louder it became obvious to her she was on the right track and she'd be there to help in seconds.

"I'm grateful to them though. They brought you here."

She was distracted slightly by the sight of the masked man, the one with the cat ears who had hung onto the back of her car back in Romania, coming from the opposite direction. Stopping in her tracks she waited as he took his place just out of sight and continued on when she was happy he wouldn't spot her.

The room was large. Her eyes darted around as she entered and she found herself wincing when she spotted that each of the death squad were slumped, dead, in their respective chambers. She took a second to breathe, closing her eyes for a beat of time before she continued.

She had only taken a couple more carefully placed steps before she spotted Steve and Tony, Bucky just off to the side, ahead of her. She hung back as she noticed they were watching a small black and white television, staying just out of sight.

"I know that road," Tony was saying and Harper found herself lowering her weapon as something triggered in her mind.

She knew the road too.

Her eyebrows furrowed as she watched from a distance, her stomach dipping as a cold dread washed over her. On the screen a car, trailed by two motorbikes, had crashed and a man had stumbled from the driver's side.

With her arms feeling heavy and her heart pounding uncomfortably in her chest she stepped closer, her head tilting in confusion as she watched the two figures driving the bikes park up and dismount.

The first to act was a man, obviously Bucky with his metal arm glinting in the moonlight, slamming his fist into the driver's face before propping him back up in the driver's seat and moving around to deal with the passenger.

But Harper's eyes were on the second figure. Her eyes squinted as she took another step forward to get a better look at the all too familiar blonde head of hair emerging from where she had been taking something from the trunk of the car. She barked something toward the winter soldier, swinging a bag onto her shoulder before spotting a nearby security camera. Plucking her gun from the holster at her side she approached it, her eyes haunted as she looked right down the lens and raised her arm...the screen went blank seconds after her gun went off.

Her hand covered her mouth and a tear escaped her eye. It was her. Leonie. Harper. Whatever her name was.

She had helped kill Tony Stark's parents.

As rooted to the spot as she felt her body launched into action when she saw Tony lunge toward Bucky. With her gun holstered she raised her arms as she dived in between them, her eyes meeting Tony's as his widened in shock and Steve caught him around the waist.

"Get behind me," Bucky said, his voice shaking as he reached out for her arm "Harper. Behind me."

She did as she was told, stepping behind Bucky and gripping onto the back of his jacket as she watched an emotional Tony turn to face Steve.

"Did you know?"

Steve's eyes flickered over to them for a second "I didn't know it was them."

"Don't bullshit me, Rogers! Did you know?"

Harper's heart dropped slightly as Steve's shoulders slumped and his head nodded "Yes."

There was a moment, of silence and of Harper's hope of them getting out of there, before Tony reengaged the Iron Man helmet, Bucky launching into action as he punched Steve in the face.

Harper dove out of the way as the fighting began, panic encasing her as explosions and shouts of pain echoed around her. She frowned at the sight of movement, the man who had brought them all there together glanced back to her for a second before he disappeared from sight.

Before she could go after him another explosion rocked the room and she covered her head with her arms as one of the towering structures of pipeworks around her collapsed to the floor. Catching sight of Bucky she scrambled across the floor, unable to stop the smile from coming to her face when their eyes met and he breathed a sigh of relief. Reaching out toward her he grasped hold of the hand she was extending.

"Get out of here!"

At the sound of Steve's shout Bucky dragged Harper up onto her feet, the two of them hurrying toward the other end of the room. His grip on her hand was tight as he hit one of the control panels, the two of them looking up as the door overhead began to open.

"All good?" Bucky asked, his voice loud over everything else going on.

"All good," Harper confirmed with a nod of her head.

"It wasn't them Tony! Hydra had control of their minds!" they heard Steve say behind them "It wasn't them!"

"I'll hold him off," Bucky said, letting go of her hand "Go back. Have the jet ready."

"But-"

"Harper we need to get out of here and you're the only one who can fly that thing," he said, a pleading look on his face "Go."

She turned on her heel and launched into a run toward the door, dodging falling rubble Tony had shot around Steve. Her hair fell around her face as she ran, the soles of her boots loudly slapping against the floor and echoing around her. Everything looked different, confusion muddling with her mind as she fell against one of the concrete walls.

Was it left or right at the end of the corridor?

Her fingers curled into fists at her sides and her eyes squeezed closed. Only the sight of her cold, haunted eyes staring up to the camera before she shot out the lens stared right back at her…

Another explosion rattled through the building, stopping her in her tracks once more. She was lost. There was no way she'd be finding the jet to save him and the only way she knew was backwards.

All she could hear was the panicked ringing in her ears, her breaths heaving at her chest as she turned and tried to make her way back. The muscles in her legs burned as she pushed herself to go faster and faster, her arms pumping at her sides as the sound of Bucky screaming echoed through the corridors.

"No!" The scream emerging from her burned her throat as she clambered over the rubble in time to see Tony blasting Bucky's arm off. Anger, red hot and uncontrollable, bubbled up from her stomach and, forgetting about the knives and the gun at her fingertips, she ran at Tony.

Just before she reached him his right arm flew out, his fist connecting with the underside of her chin and flinging her backward to where Bucky had fallen.

Her body crumpled beside his, the ringing back in her ears as the room spun around her.

"Har...per…" he said, reaching out toward her. His face covered in blood and his arm sparking.

He was the last thing she saw before everything went black.

This is the penultimate chapter! I hope you enjoyed reading it :) look out for the last being posted and then it'll be sequel time!

Can't believe I'm so close to finishing a fic, I know it's been a long time coming so thank you for sticking with me - whether you are a new or old reader!

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