A/N: In my head I've been calling this arc 'fuck hydra' so I feel like that tells you a lot about what I hope to do with this part of the story.

Thank you Blueowl and Emerald2211 for betaing this chapter and all the lovely suggestions you've both made in making this story easier to read.

He didn't notice that Lani fell asleep until Tony Stark decided it was time to show off the open rooms. Black Widow, the not-doctor Bruce, and Steve already had rooms. Therefore, the only ones staying in the guest rooms would be Lani, himself, and the archer.

"Come on, time for bed."

" 'mfine," Lani slurred into his shoulder, eyelids still struggling to remain open.

It was painfully easy scooping her up with one arm, even with it being his human arm.

"Wow, that is adorable. Let's get the kiddo to bed," Tony Stark said as he headed off down a hall past the kitchen/living room combo he had going on.

He noticed that Steve stood up to follow them, but everyone else stayed.

"All these rooms are guest rooms that have been cleaned... yesterday, I believe. All of them are free so take your pick."

There was a moment where he just stared at the shorter man, wondering, not for the first time, just why he was helping. Though that line of thought also extended to everyone. Even Steve to a smaller extent.

He opened the first room, closest to the hall. The door slid open after he barely touched it, but he didn't let that bother him. The room was much nicer than the places they have been staying. It smelled slightly of chemicals, but also lemons which suggested it was just cleaning products. There were no weapons in view, just a large bed with way too many pillows.

"Bucky, once you get her all ready, I would like to talk to you."

Tony Stark left when he entered the room, and he (Bucky) was wondering why Steve remained.

He turned around to give a nod, before helping Lani into bed.

"Yell if you need anything. I'll... be right next door."

"Uh-huh," Lani mumbled into her pillow, already fast asleep.

Steve was waiting outside in the hall, looking nervous until he was spotted.

"Is she okay? Broken bones hurt a lot but she just..." Steve trailed off, staring at the closed door like he could see Lani through it.

"Lani has a high pain tolerance."

Hydra made sure of that, for all potential and active participants.

"That's...shit. I am so sorry."

"Sorry?" he asked since it didn't seem like Steve was talking about Lani anymore.

"This is all my fault. I wasn't there to grab you in time when you fell, and I didn't destroy all of Hydra like I thought, but I'm going to fix this Bucky. Stark can keep you and Lani safe until we find them, then we can go after them. Like back with the Howling Commandos."

"I don't know what that is," he said, even though he felt like he should.

"Sorry, I forgot-"

"You can stop apologizing. It's fine, Steve."

With an impulse he wasn't quite sure of, he gave Steve a hard clap on the back, slipping him the little note that Lani made him make when they first arrived in New York in case they ran into Steve Rogers.

"I'll see you tomorrow."

"Right. Good night, Bucky."

" 'Night punk."

[Game Saved]

[HP at max]

[SP at max]

[status healed: Broken Hand]

When I woke up and didn't see Bucky I might have panicked a little. Then I remembered where I was and that he carried me off to bed like a kid after I fell asleep on the couch. Embarrassing, but also the best sleep I've had in forever so I really shouldn't complain.

Opening the blinds, which only needed me to tug on it a little before it flew open, I saw it was still early out. Sun must have risen only a few minutes before which was a real statement about how often Bucky and I leave at the crack of dawn.

I used to sleep in till noon.

Not feeling like going back to bed, I pulled my hoodie back on and my pants before checking out all the drawers in the room. It started off as a joke in my past about how in games you always search around strangers' houses, and I would do that in hotel rooms or new houses. Sure, this was Tony's house, I guess, but it felt more like a hotel room. But with less pamphlets.

I did find a condom which was... ew, but at least it was still in its wrapper.

The halls were empty and quiet. For a moment I got the feeling that I shouldn't be walking around like this, but I sucked it up. I think I remember Bucky mentioning he would be right next door before I passed out, and sure enough, the first room I checked, he was in it.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you," I whispered as I slipped in.

Bucky was sitting as straight as a pole in bed, coiled up like he was ready for a fight before I spoke up. Then all the tension was gone and he just looked like any other guy who was just woken up in the early morning.

"Did you sleep well?"

"Yep, I think the sheets are made of silk," I said before jumping onto his bed.

Bucky still looked tired, and I have no idea what time he went to bed last night. Thinking about it, there was a good chance that the Avengers did another friendly interrogation once I was gone. Not to mention he took out a lot of Chitauri yesterday.

Wow. It really feels like it has been longer than 24 hours. Or maybe closer to 18 hours, but I guess that's just what happens when you live through the same day 7 times.

"Are you okay, Lani?" Bucky asked giving me a look over.

Obviously my very deep internal monologue was showing on my face.

"I'm fine, just thinking. Yesterday was pretty crazy."

"It was. There were Aliens."

"Ha, yeah that was cool. Or not cool since people were dying, but cool in the fact that aliens are real."

"I thought they would be little grey men," Bucky said in such a serious tone of voice I almost missed the upturn of the corner of his lips.

"I think that would have been worse. I always thought the first aliens we meet would be some micro-organisms on Mars."

"That would make sense," Bucky said with a stifled yawn.

"Too much sense, which is why it would never happen in this crazy world."

Bucky nodded his head, yawning again.

"Um, we don't need to leave right now right? You could go back to sleep."

Bucky perked up a little and looked to the window.

"The sun just rose, and yesterday was a long day."

"We should be okay leaving at 8," Bucky answered me slowly, clearly thinking it over.

"Cool beans. I'm gonna let you go back to sleep then," I said, walking out of the room before Bucky could say anything.

Though once I was back in the hall, I had no idea what to do. It still didn't sound like anyone else was awake, and I was hesitant to ask Jarvis. Would the AI even answer me without Tony around?

I ended up going to the kitchen to see if I could get some scissors or a knife to cut the wrapping off. It was starting to get itchy and it wasn't like I needed it anymore.

Of course, the knife box was in the very back of the counter and I had to climb up in order to reach it. At least the surfaces were clean since I was still walking around barefooted.

"What are you doing?"

Honestly, I was very proud of myself for not flinching and cutting myself when I heard Natasha's voice behind me.

"Taking off the fake-cast."

"At 6:31 in the morning?"

Wow, that was so dry that I felt like a cactus in the Mojave Desert.

"Yep, no better time to play doctor."

I was able to slip the knife under, away from myself and Natasha, and sliced the bandaging.

"Huh, Tony keeps some sharp knives."

"You could have waited until Bruce woke up, or even gotten me to wake him."

"Why would I do that?" I asked with a very innocent smile as I moved my no longer injured hand.

It is pretty crazy how quickly I healed now. I broke my face once when I was 12 and even after the surgery, it took months for the swelling to go down.

"Why wouldn't you do that?" Natasha countered, and I got a little uncomfortable at how she was staring at my hand.

Maybe I should have played down my healing a little more.

"Eh, I have trouble trusting adults. You guys seem really nice but..." I shrugged before hopping off the counter.

"How long were you with Hydra?"

Gross. Maybe I should have left with Bucky.

"I'm not sure. About a year. Is there any food?" I rambled off, checking the suspiciously clean kitchen.

I mean, it's good to keep a clean kitchen, but it looks more like 'no one uses this' than 'I spray everything with bleach/alcohol when i'm done'.

"I can make some scrambled eggs," Natasha said to my surprise, walking over to the fridge. "Banner insinuated earlier that the two of you have been on the run for three years now."

Has it really been that long?

"Yep, we blew the joint back in '09."

"You must have been younger."

"That's usually how time works...sorry but what exactly do you want to know?" I asked, and Natasha looked a little relieved from my bluntness.

"Were you part of the Red Room?"

The sudden Russian took me off guard for a moment, before I realized just what she asked.

Obviously it was something important to Black Widow, and not for the first time I wished there was a movie about her origin I could have watched.

"No, but I've heard of it. What is it?"

It sounded familiar, but I wasn't sure if it was because I heard it before in this life or my last one.

"It's an assassination program for young girls."

"Oh, yeah I wasn't... I mean Hydra was doing that, only it wasn't just young girls. I think they were more into the experimentation than assassination anyways."

[Relationship up]

[Natasha Romanova friendship 1]

[Natasha no longers thinks of you as the enemy]

Well, that's great. I guess.

"That's good you weren't part of that," Natasha said, completely ignorant of my own thoughts.

Yeah, this red room was definitely part of Black Widow's origin story. I guess it makes sense she wouldn't like me if she thought I was part of it.

"Were you?" I asked before I could think better of it.

Natasha didn't look angry though when she looked to me, she just looked painfully void of any expressions.

"Yes, though that was a long time ago. I had hoped that the program was done with but..."

"Is the Red Room part of Hydra?"

"It wasn't when I was there. But like I said, that was a long time ago."

I nodded like I understood, and a silence fell as I watched Natasha effortlessly crush a dozen eggs.

"That's a lot of eggs."

"We have a lot of people."

I cracked a smile at that. Seems like Natasha was done interrogating me. For now. Maybe once Hydra is dealt with we could come back and visit. I'll have to warn them about Thanos eventually since right now there are three infinity stones on Earth. Two once Thor leaves.

"Were you experimented on?"

"No, at least I don't think so."

Not unless you consider the social experiment of having kids fight each other for survival.

"You were just born with your powers?"

"I guess? I've had them since I was four at the very least."

That just makes me wonder about who Lani was before I appeared. Was there no Lani before I started this new 'game' or was she just someone I took control over?

That is an existential nightmare that I never want to think about again.

The eggs were done soon enough, and Natasha was able to fill the plates for us before anyone else came in.

"Good morning," Clint mumbled, clearly going straight to the coffee pot.

"Don't tell me what to do."

The look of shock on Clint's face was priceless.

"...What?"

"Just make your coffee, Clint," Natasha said, giving me an amused look.

"You're a weird kid, you know that, Lani?"

"I know, I try my best," I told him with a grin before taking a bite of the eggs.

They were okay. A little rubbery, but better than at most hotels that have free breakfast.

I listened while Natasha and Clint talked to each other. I was always one of those fans who assumed they were an item, but honestly? There can never be enough female/male friendships. Or friendships in general. Friends are just great.

Bucky came in next, causing both Clint and Natasha to freeze. Though for Natasha it was only for a moment and I doubt I would have noticed if I wasn't looking at her.

Clint on the other hand, looked more uncomfortable than last night. Maybe it was the fact he wasn't having post-battle exhaustion anymore and already finished a cup of coffee.

"Uh, you want some coffee?"

"Sure," Bucky said, getting Clint to get out of his way.

"Can I have some?"

"Coffee's not good for your growth," Clint said quickly enough that I wondered if he's said the exact same thing to his kids.

"You don't even like coffee."

"It's the thought that counts."

Clint ended up filling his mug again before grabbing some eggs and sitting on the other side of Natasha.

"Is any of the others up yet?" I heard Clint ask Natasha, giving Bucky a look as he sat down.

Or more accurately, giving his metal arm a look.

"Sir is down in his lab, but Captain Rogers, Doctor Banner, and Thor Odinson are all still in stage four REM sleep," Jarvis announced.

Clint and Bucky both looked spooked.

"The AI watches us when we sleep?" Clint asked Natasha in a too loud whisper.

"I only monitor the body heat and heart rates of individuals that Sir pointed out to me. From there I can calculate the approximate state in the REM cycle without having to do a brain scan. It is only 67% accurate, Agent Barton."

"That is so weird," Clint said at the same time I exclaimed,

"That is so cool! Thank you for explaining all that, Jarvis!"

"You are welcome, Lani."

I just continue to eat my breakfast, ignoring the look Clint was giving me. There was still some tension, but considering that Clint and Natasha sounded like they were the only ones who knew of the Winter Soldier before, it wasn't surprising. I really hope telling the Avengers about Hydra will be enough to change things.

I was helping clean the dishes when Bucky came over to me with a look.

It was time we left.

"Well, it was nice meeting you all. Peace!" I said, flashing a peace sign before apparating out.

I took a look over Bucky to make sure he still had all his limbs before going to find our bike.

"That went well, were you able to leave Steve a note?"

"Yes, though I doubt he'll notice it until this morning. He never checks his pockets until it's time to do laundry."

I gave Bucky a slight smile. It was always nice to hear what few things he can remember. Makes the difference between Bucky and the Winter Soldier all that more apparent.

"You know, I noticed you never bothered to correct them that we aren't actually related."

"You didn't either," Bucky pointed out.

"Yeah well, you are my dad in the ways that truly matter. Maybe I should just call you that now instead of Buddy or Bucky or whatever you want your name to be."

"I wouldn't mind that," Bucky said and I turned sharply to get a good look at him.

He was serious. Of course he was serious; I already knew he thinks of me as his daughter.

"Maybe, but you're old enough to be a great-great grandpa. Maybe I'll call you pops, or papa."

"Papa?"

"Yeah you look more like a papa than a daddy."

...You know, I really hate how the internet has changed daddy to a sexual thing. I bet there was even a fanfic where Bucky was called daddy and... yeah nope. Stop that brain. Bad thoughts.

"I... I think I called my father papa."

"Oh." Well, that explained why Bucky is staring at the gross alleyway wall instead of getting on the bike. "Want me to call you pops then?"

"No, papa is fine. We should get going," Bucky said as he got on the bike.

"Sure thing, Papa," I said with a snort.

I half expected another relationship popup but it wasn't like anything really changed. I was just admitting out loud my feelings while trying to cover it up as a joke to make it less awkward.

We ended up driving for only a few hours before Bucky had us stop in order to change our clothes. And burn them because no evidence.

"Steve called."

"Already? We've been gone two, maybe three hours?" I said even though I wasn't that surprised.

Sure, originally I was expecting a quick meeting and then once things have calmed down Bucky and Steve could meet up to talk but-

"He's worried," Bucky said, looking confused.

Like the idea of someone else caring about his well being was just an impossible thought.

Oh shit, that is probably what it is. All things Bucky knows is what little I've done, and what little he can remember. And even then that is only the stuff from before the war.

"Well, if you call him back make sure to keep it under a minute so you can't get tracked."

"It's closer to 30 seconds," Bucky corrected, still staring at the phone.

"Really? Huh, guess that's what I get for basing my information on cop shows. You could always text him. I bet Tony gave him a cell."

Bucky nodded before putting the phone back into the bag. Makes sense he would do it later. A little rude, but understandable considering.

"Anywhere you want to go?" Bucky asked, and instead of my usual joke answer of Disneyland, I took the time to think.

We needed to lay low, so if we go to a city we'll have to stay in busy areas. Luckily, I already had half an idea in mind.

"Do you want to learn about who Sergeant James Barnes was? There is a Captain America exhibit at the Smithsonian and I bet there would be some information there. We could even stop off at a pawn shop and trade some gold for cash."

"That's in DC? Would be easy to hide with the crowds."

"And fun!"

Bucky gave me an amused look as he shook his head.

Since we didn't go straight to DC from New York, it still took us three hours to get there. At least we found out that due to the battle of New York (I can't believe they really called it that), they have free admissions to the Captain America exhibit. Not to any of the other exhibits, but I guess we could always come back some other day.

It was completely packed. No one batted an eye at a father and his daughter wanting to see it. In fact I noticed at least three other groups with a single dad (at least at the time) with a girl under the age of 10. It was perfect for blending in. Not so much for enjoying the exhibit since I was like elbow height with everyone and I liked to take my time and read the signs unlike what felt like everyone else.

At least Bucky was reading everything like I was. Granted, it was because it was his past, but it was still nice not feeling like everyone was waiting on you.

There was a lot of information on the Howling Commandos, which was where they first introduced Sergeant James Barnes. Sure, there was the tag along line of him being Steve's childhood friend, but the exhibit started with the super soldier experiment.

Even when I finished reading all the information, Bucky was still standing there.

"I'm going to go use the restroom, I'll meet you back here?" I asked, and even though Bucky didn't verbally answer, he gave a nod.

No doubt he was thinking of stuff. Maybe we should have waited a little longer before doing this but... I'm not sure what waiting would solve. Bucky would just look for this stuff on his own.

There was a huge line to the women's bathroom so by the time it was my turn, I really had to go.

There were only two stalls and a baby changing station (I always thought it was stupid that they only had those in women or family rooms). By the time I was done and washing my hands, it felt like I was the only one in the room. Then another lady joined me at the sinks just as I turned on the air dryer.

The next thing I knew, my head was slammed into the wall and I was plunged into darkness.

A/N: It's crazy to think about how I had this up coming planned from the beginning of this story. Honestly, this story was just three big events and me trying to find a way to connect the dots. Also sorry for the cliffhanger, but there is going to be lots of POV changes next chapter so it would have been to make it any longer. You'll just have to wait till next week.

Also while no review-per-chapter records were broken, this story did pass 300 reviews and 600 alerts (449 total review/comments and 796 follows/subscribes). I feel like I should do something special, maybe do a one-shot for a scene I have in mind waaay in the future.

Either way, thank you so much everyone who has followed or favorited this story. And super duper thanks to PrincessMagic, Miss A. Winchester, Boread97, P34644563, BugVjYasmine, The guest named Gurlgotnoclue (you are like the third person who suggested Blink so I am very tempted to use that even though that is an x-men name and they kinda exist in this universe), The guest named Laurel (Pepper and Burce are going to happen later), The guest who signed off as Morgan (I'm so happy you are enjoying this), Inu-Angel Z, KEZZ 1, the guest named Anon, Rosiekay, Eslynn, XenoLucifer, Iphigelina, Brunolmg, Death Fury, Cboylan, Y0urDownfall, Amir-015, the guest named Sunnysides (I like rainbow road because it's in space not because I'm good at it), I.D.'s Fantasy, verycoolname, PhoenixxReborn, Lulumo, The guest who is eager for plot (hope you like this chapter and the next two-three), samus3333, Blueowl, and Omega-66 for taking the time to leave me a review.

My fic suggestion this time is "Steve Rogers at 100: Celebrating Captain America on Film" by eleveniches, febricant, hellotailor, M_Leigh, neenya, and tigrrmilk over on ao3. It's a meta fic about Steve and Bucky (along with one or more avenger) watching, you guessed it, movies about Captian America. There's even one that is about nazi created dinosaurs that I am very tempted to make part of this story. It is tagged Steve/Bucky but no smut happens so I think it's safe even if you don't like that pairing.

Anyways, let me know what you thought about this chapter, what you think is going to happen next, and all that jazz. Hope you all have a fantastic day/night!