After FRIDAY's announcement, Sam suddenly sat up and started massaging Julia's heart again. Hoping he could save her life this time.

"We won't lose you again," he said to a still unconscious Julia.

Bucky took her hand in his and felt her powers slightly tingling his bare fingers. He was relieved to see this other sign she was alive.

"Steve, I need your help!" he called out to his best friend.

Steve went over to his friend while he wondered what kind of help Bucky needed.

"We are the strongest. Take her hand," Bucky told him.

Steve glanced at Julia's body and started to doubt. He remembered how she had killed Crossbones and now, even with the collar on, she had killed Whitehall.

"I think…"

"Don't worry. Her powers aren't so strong yet," Bucky reassured him.. "She needs you too."

Steve took off his glove and held her other hand. Her powers were indeed not so powerful. He felt tingling in the palm of his hand. Peter joined them when he took off the top part of his suit.

"Let me help. I can take it."

Steve nodded in acceptance because he had seen during the airport battle in Germany how strong the teenage boy was. Peter went to Steve next and took her bare wrist. The four of them allowed her to take their energy. Jemma could see the bruises and blisters on Julia's neck slowly disappearing.

"She's healing," she noted with a smile.

Bucky felt Julia's hand slightly moving and started faintly glowing. He smiled in relief as it was a sign she began waking up slowly. Still smiling he glanced at the people who were saving Julia with him.

"It's working. I felt her hand moving."

After a few seconds Peter's Spidey-sense went off.

"Guys, we have to release her," Peter warned. "Now!" he called out and let her go.

Wanda quickly followed his lead, but for Sam, Steve and Bucky it was too late. An explosion of her powers blasted them away. Steve hit the medical devices, while Bucky and Sam hit the wall on the other side of the QuinJet. Jemma just hid her eyes with her arms when Julia's flash, caused by her abilities, hurt her eyes. At the same time, Julia sat up quickly with an immense inhalation. Her eyes widened and she was breathing heavily. There was no hoarse sound in her throat.

Peter wanted to hug her but instead he gave her the time to catch her breath. Everybody in the aircraft was silent, amazed to see Julia come back to life.

"The Walking Dead has returned," Tony whispered to himself in disbelief as he stared at the scene with wide eyes.

Bucky and Sam crawled back onto their feet.

"You good?" Sam asked Bucky, to check if he's alright.

"I'll be okay," Bucky answered

The duo looked at Julia from a distance after they got back on their feet. They were relieved to see her sitting up, breathing for air.

"We did it," Sam felt slightly cheered as he patted Bucky's shoulder.

"Yeah," Bucky replied with a smile.

Julia looked around, as she tried to orientate where she was or what had happened. She saw each Avenger with a puzzled, relieved or amazed look on their face. On her other side, she saw Peter standing next to the stretcher.

"Peter?"

Her voice was soft and trembled with anxiety. He smiled at her, relieved she remembered him.

Next to Peter, she saw Steve crawling up, back on his knees.

"Steve? Did I hurt you?" she asked between quick breaths.

Steve took a relieved breath, as he looked up at her. He was glad to see her alive.

"You didn't hurt me. Don't worry, I'm fine," he reassured. Gently he laid a hand on her shoulder. "Good to see you're back, sweetie."

Peter, Steve and Wanda left her side and gave Julia the space to catch her breath. Only Jemma stayed with her. Gently she laid her hands on Julia's shoulders.

"Julia, take calm breaths," Jemma advised, as Julia was still breathing rapidly.

"What did I do? Did I hurt people?"

Her voice trembled and tears welled up in her eyes; she was confused. Her view was stuck on Jemma's face and didn't see the other Avengers.

"You did nothing wrong," Jemma reassured her. "Everybody is okay."

Julia took her head in her hands and squeezed her eyes shut. Flashbacks of previous events raced through her mind.

"What's wrong?" Jemma asked, worriedly.

"Too many memories. They hurt my head so much."

"What do you remember?"

"I'm hurting Sam, I'm hurting Bucky. I'm hurting so many people," Julia groaned in misery as she summed up what she remembered. "The Sir and Madame. They are torturing me. The machine..."

Daisy joined Jemma and laid her hands on the teen's shoulders, to calm her down.

"Julia, open your eyes and look at me."

Julia groaned in agony and grasped her head tighter but didn't look up. Tears streamed over her cheeks. In the background Sam and Bucky watched the scene in remorse. They decided to stay in place to give Julia the space she needed.

"Sam and Bucky are fine, sweetheart," Daisy tried to calm her, and laid Julia's head on her chest. "You didn't hurt any of us. You don't have to be sorry for anything."

Julia could hear and feel Daisy's heartbeat but it didn't calm her.

"He killed himself with my powers. I warned him but he killed himself," Julia sobbed as she remembered Whitehall's death.

"We know. We've got you. You're safe with us," Daisy said, wrapping her arms around her.

Julia's body started to shake with terror as she wrapped her arms around Daisy's waist. All the Avengers were looking at the scene, feeling sorry that Julia had to have so much trauma.

"It's okay. It's over now."

"No, it's not over. This will never end. Never," Julia kept on sobbing. "I can't stop these words in my head!"

Suddenly in a quick movement, Julia robbed Daisy of her gun and pushed Daisy against Jemma. Both women fell on the floor. Julia placed the gun underneath her chin and pulled the trigger.

"No!" Bucky screamed as others screamed and shrieked along, when Julia shot herself.

Her actions were fast, even too fast for Wanda's telepathic powers.

Bruce fastened to Julia as she collapsed into the pillow. He could see thin veins appearing on her face. Seconds later it slowly vanished. He checked her pulse in her neck which was normal and steady. Everybody was in shock and tears.

"Did she…" Peter started wondering, concerned as he watched everything from a distance.

"She's still alive," Bruce announced, relieved.

Daisy checked her holster and released a gratified sigh.

"She used my ICER," Daisy said. "If she took my other holster, she would have grabbed a real gun."

"What's an ICER?" Sam wondered, as he never heard of the weapon. "What does it do?"

"It's a tranquilizer weapon," Jemma explained. "Our colleague, Fitz, and I have created this. It's harmless and just puts people to sleep."

In the background Bucky slowly went to Julia, while Jemma was explaining. He knelt down and gently touched Julia's hair on her head with his hand. He saw her chest going slightly up and down, a signal she is breathing and being alive. He looked worried at Daisy.

"Don't worry. She'll be asleep for the next few hours."

Bucky took a deep, trembling breath of relief and nodded. Steve went back to the front of the jet and took his place behind the control yoke.

"Let's go home," he announced as he switched off the automatic pilot and took back control of the aircraft.

It was quiet in the car, the only sound playing was the radio. A song from Adele came from the speakers. Clint was driving, and Natasha laid in the passenger seat with her eyes closed. He glanced at her and turned off the radio.

"Did you just turn off the radio with 2016's best song?" Natasha asked, with her eyes closed.

Clint glanced back and forth between her and the road in amazement, as he thought she was sleeping.

"And I keep saying that Justin Bieber's 'Sorry' is 2016's best song," Clint returned.

"Justin Bieber is a spoiled brat," Natasha mumbled.

Clint shook his head and brought his concentration back to the road. He knew he could never win an argument with Natasha. During the drive the sky became orange and the sun started to rise. After a few minutes, Natasha's cell phone went off.

"Give me that. I'll put it on speaker," Clint offered.

Natasha gave him her ringing phone. Clint placed it in a Bluetooth-holder and answered the call.

"Hello?"

"Clint? Is Natasha nearby?" they heard Daisy.

"You're on the speaker. What's going on?" Natasha said, as she rubbed her eyes to clear her view.

They heard Daisy taking a deep breath before she started. Clint and Natasha glanced at each other as they had the feeling it was bad news.

"It got pretty intense here. Jemma and Pepper told Julia could stop Madame HYDRA. She is with Whitehall HYDRA's most powerful person," Daisy started reporting. "But the collar killed Julia."

Natasha felt her heart sinking into her stomach and tears welled up in her eyes. Clint drove the car into the emergency lane and parked. He laid an arm around Natasha and embraced her.

"I'm sorry," he apologized softly in her ear as she started crying.

"We could remove the collar. It was difficult but we succeeded, thanks to Scott," Daisy continued. "However an electric shock came out and it brought Julia back to life."

"Oh my God," Natasha cried out, in a mixture of shock and happiness.

Clint finally understood from Natasha's reaction how important Julia was to the team.

"How is she doing now?" Clint asked as he also got worried about the new team member.

"She's confused, obviously. She shot herself with a tranquilizer gun during a mental breakdown. She's asleep now." Daisy answered. "Don't worry, she'll be fine."

"We will arrive at the compound in two hours. This car is very fast, so maybe we will get there sooner," Clint said.

"Okay, we will see you there," Daisy said and ended the connection.

Clint comforted Natasha while her cried.

"Hey, she said she's okay, Nat," he reminded her. "She's okay."

"She's been through so much," Natasha sobbed. "How could they do this to her?"

Clint had no more words to say and just comforted his friend.

The Avengers arrived at their compound.

Bruce, Jemma and a small medical team brought Julia to the medical wing for scans and other treatments.

Sam also went to the medical wing for a check up on his wrist. After research, they concluded his wrist wasn't broken but badly sprained and a support bandage with some rest was enough treatment.

During the flight Steve and Tony were arguing about having JARVIS installed in the compound. After a period of debate, Tony gave in. He went back to his tower with Pepper. He started searching for counseling for Pepper and installed JARVIS from a distance into the Avengers compound.

Peter wanted to stay with the Avengers before he went back to his Aunt May in Queens. He wanted to be sure Julia would be okay. He patiently sat in the waiting area of the medical wing.

Bucky and Steve went to the technical wing for Bucky's broken metal arm. A technician started fixing the damage on the stump where his metal arm was. After a moment, Bucky started looking blankly into the distance. It made Steve worried and he sat in front of Bucky.

"Bucky?"

Bucky had a brief flashback to his old life when he was recovered by Zola and the HYDRA agents. In another flashback, Bucky as The Winter Soldier went to shoot at Steve until Sam flew in and kicked The Winter Soldier aside.

In reality, Steve noticed Bucky wasn't okay and politely signed to the technician to stop working on his arm.

"Bucky, are you okay?" Steve asked worriedly.

Bucky squeezed his eyes shut as a new flashback appeared in his mind. The Winter Soldier swung his fist, which smashed through the wall as Sam ducked away. In another memory, the Winter Soldier jumped back onto Sam's car, smashed through the windscreen and pulled out the steering wheel.

"Buck! Open your eyes!" Bucky heard Steve in the background.

In a sudden move, Bucky grabbed Steve's throat and started choking him. When Bucky opened his eyes, he came back in the present and released his friend.

"I'm s s sorry," he apologized with a stutter.

"It's okay," Steve accepted the apology, taking a breath. "What happened?"

Bucky rubbed his hand over his face.

"Flashbacks of my Winter Soldier era," he mumbled. "I thought they were gone. But somehow it's coming back, all of a sudden."

Steve noticed his friend sounded and looked tired. He gazed at the technician and sent him away in a friendly manner. The person left. Steve clamped his hand on Bucky's shoulder. Bucky didn't even look up.

"You're stressed and tired, pal. Go get some sleep."

Mentally absent and still staring, Bucky just nodded. He didn't hear exactly what Steve said because his mind was with Julia.

Peter watched behind a large window, how Julia slept peacefully in a hospital bed. She was hooked up on a heart monitor, an IV with fluids and blood and an oxygen tube in her nose. All just for extra support in her recovery.

Sam walked up and placed his bandaged hand on Peter's shoulder.

"She'll be alright. She's a tough one."

Peter nodded.

"Come, kid. Let's have a drink in the lounge."

Daisy and Scott were having a drink in the lounge area, sitting in silence, recovering from the mission. They looked up as Steve entered.

"How is he doing?" Daisy asked about Bucky.

Steve sighed as he took a seat after grabbing a bottle of water out of the fridge.

"He's sleeping now. He suddenly had flashbacks about his past with HYDRA, while a technician worked on his metal stump. He nearly attacked me."

Daisy and Scott sighed remorsefully at hearing this news.

"I didn't know HYDRA could be so cruel," Scott remarked.

"They really are. That organization has no mercy for human beings," Steve started sharing, after a sip of his water. "When Bucky was kidnapped by them in the forties, I found him. He was being strapped on a table, ready for an experiment or they already did one on him. I noticed a part of him was just…" Steve shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. "…gone."

In the background, Sam and Peter entered the lounge and went to the kitchenette.

"What would you like to drink?" Sam asked the boy.

"Can I maybe have some cereal with milk? I'm hungry."

"Yeah, sure."

Sam opened a cabinet which was filled with various kinds of cereals. Peter's eyes widened at all those boxes.

"Wow, you have a lot!" Peter interrupted.

"Reese's puffs, Corn Pops, Lucky Charms are mine so I'm not going to give you that…"

"Can I have Chips Ahoy? With just ordinary milk. Please, Mr. Wilson Sir?" Peter decided, after browsing for a while.

"Finally, he can make a choice," Sam sighed annoyed and softly as he grabbed the package and prepared it for Peter.

When he was finished, he gave the bowl to Peter who started eating immediately. In nearly five minutes he finished it.

"Sorry, I was really starving," Peter apologized as he placed the bowl on the coffee table in front of him.

"No need to apologize," Steve reassured. "Thank you for helping us."

"You're welcome, Sir. I just wanted to protect Julia from Tony's plan."

The Avengers were looking confused at him and wondered what he meant.

"Tony's plan?" Sam asked.

Peter sighed as he had the feeling he'd betray his mentor.

"Mr. Stark and Mr. Barton wanted to hand over Julia to SHIELD or they wanted to kill her. Not sure what they wanted. I really tried to change his mind but he was determined to follow his plan," the teen explained. "He could hack the communication system so Mr. Stark could only talk to Mr. Barton and me."

"So that's why Clint ran away and nobody answered me," Steve said.

Peter bowed his head in regret

"I'm sorry for telling you this now. If I had the courage to say this sooner, all of this wouldn't have happened."

"It's okay. This isn't your fault, kid. She is now in our safe custody, which is more important," Steve said.

Peter agreed with The Captain. Then there was a beep from his cell phone. He took the device from the pocket of his jeans. His face went into shock as he read a message.

"Oh no! I have a math exam in an hour!"

He looked guilty at the others.

"I'm so sorry. I have to go. This is important for graduation and I totally forgot," Peter announced with guilt in his voice.

"Don't worry. Just go. School is important," Steve reassured.

"We will update you about Julia," Sam added.

Peter thanked them and rushed out of the compound. Sam glanced at Steve.

"I'm going back to her. See you all later," he said and left.

Steve looked at Daisy.

"You and Jemma may stay here until you're done resting," he offered.

"That would be nice," Daisy yawned as tiredness hit her wellbeing. "Jemma always stays with her patients until they've recovered completely. And I will update Natasha about what Peter just shared."

It was silent in the car as they drove on. Natasha's eyes were red, puffy and irritated from crying, and she stared out of the window of the passenger seat. Trees were passing by the car as they went..

Clint was in doubt about sharing Tony's plan, but after a moment of thinking he decided to keep it for himself. One day he will tell her. His mission now was to get Natasha safe and sound into the compound.

A bleep came out of Natasha's cellphone while it was still in the Bluetooth-holder. She moved the device so she could see the screen. It was a message from Daisy. Clint eyes widened as she read.

"What's wrong?"

"Did you know about Tony's plan?" Natasha asked, trying to stay calm.

Clint looked at her confused.

"What plan?"

"You know what's going to happen when you play stupid games with me," Natasha nearly growled.

Then Clint understood what she meant. He mumbled softly a curse.

"To the Stark tower." She demanded. "I need to speak to him and you,"

Tony was preparing a green smoothie in his laboratory. Pepper was having a rest in her bed, after the traumatic event. Tony started cleaning his used suit in silence.

"Sir, Ms. Romanoff and Mr. Barton, are here to speak to you," FRIDAY announced.

"Let them in," Tony said before taking a sip of his smoothie.

The doors opened and Natasha rushed towards him. She grabbed him by the collar of his Nirvana T-shirt. He got scared when he saw how angry Natasha was.

"Why?!" she yelled in his face. "Why the hell did you do this to her?"

"Nat, calm down. Watch your head."

She released him with a rough throw..

"Do you have any idea…" Natasha started, but her concussion made her head spin. A moment later she fainted. Clint and Tony could catch her before she hit the ground.

"To the medical floor," Tony demanded as they carried her out of the lab.

An hour later, Natasha woke up. She rubbed her forehead as her head was thumping in pain.

"Hey, glad you're awake," she heard Clint.

She looked up at him and saw him sitting next to her. He grabbed a jar of painkillers that was on her bedside table. He opened it and took out a few pills.

"You really scared us," Clint said worried as he gave Natasha the pain meds and a bottle of water.

Natasha just rolled her eyes before taking the medication.

"I'm sorry," he apologized.

"Just why, Clint?" Natasha snapped, frustrated.

"It was my idea," they heard Tony.

They gazed at the entrance and saw Tony leaning in the doorway. He had a regretful expression on his face.

"I knew it was stupid and dangerous when I thought about it afterwards," he apologized.

Natasha kept her mouth shut as anger boiled in her veins. She even avoided eye contact from both men.

"I reported her to SHIELD," Tony continued.

Natasha looked back at him with wide eyes, not believing what she heard.

"I have told them about what she did to Pepper and HYDRA. Director Fury will delete her from SHIELD's criminal database and will apologize to her in person soon."

"Good," Natasha mumbled as she gazed away from him.

"I'll apologize to her as well when the time is right. Perhaps later today."

"Do that."

Tony sighed and couldn't think of anything else he could do or say. So he just turned around and went back to his lab. Natasha stared angry at her feet.

"Anything I can do for you?" Clint offered.

"Bring me back to the compound. I prefer to stay there for recovery."