A/N: As always, thank you BlueOwl and Emerald2211 for helping me edit this chapter!

The pillow fort ended up really good. Much better than anything I've built in the past. I still ended up going to bed on the couch, but there was a blanket over it making a mini tent that connected to the main fort. It would have been perfect to sleep in.

If I was planning on sleeping.

Insead, I lied on my back with my eyes closed until I was sure Steve and Bucky were asleep. There just were too many unknowns. Ideally, I should just reset and warn Bucky and Steve what was going to happen. But what if by doing that Hydra somehow finds out? It was true that they needed to start figuring out who to trust and it's not like in the movies where Steve could just say a motivational speech and everyone who doesn't try shooting him is a good guy.

Well, that was kinda what they did. Only it was Fury's plan and not Steve's. And Bucky couldn't have been taken. Which he wasn't which is a very good outcome.

It took way too long for Lani to hear the first signs of people waking even though it was still before the sun rose, when it's light out but still grey. Lani closed her eyes, but otherwise didn't move as she listened to Bucky getting out of the fort. She waited to see if Steve woke up as well, before opening her eyes.

It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the dim light, and she saw that Steve was still asleep. Taking this as her moment to talk to Bucky alone for a little bit, Lani carefully slipped off of the couch.

Bucky was already watching her from the kitchen, with a glass of water in his hand.

Lani gave a slight wave as she walked over to him.

"Did you sleep?" Bucky asked in a hushed tone, and here I thought my fake sleeping was decent.

"I will tonight."

Bucky nodded, understanding my reason why but obviously not liking it.

"Was everything really okay?" I asked after making sure that no one has also woken up.

"This is the best the situation could have turned out," Bucky said, and I had a feeling that this was him telling me that resetting won't help things.

"No civilians were killed? I ran into a few after everyone was evaluated but..."

"I don't think so. Tony didn't say anything."

It was then I realized that Bucky was using Tony's first name. Everyone else seemed to just call him Stark, and so did Bucky until today.

"How did the whole arm fixing go?" I asked, now that I wasn't distracted with seeing him alive and not acting like the Winter Soldier I was curious.

"He talked about making a better one in the future. Surgery would be required, but it might be useful once things... calm down."

"Really? I wonder what that would look like... I can't really see you rocking the red and gold but hopefully that's not Tony's band for all his robotic stuff."

His new arm looks exactly the same as the old one, though the metals slightly different. The old stuff that Hydra used was some alloy that I still wan't sure of, but mostly steel. The new stuff is mostly titanium which is stronger than steel, but might be weaker than whatever blend Hydra used.

"Would you want it to look like a normal human arm, or do you like it looking all cool and metal?" I asked when Bucky didn't respond to my first set of rambles.

"I'm not sure. I must have had this arm longer than the original one at this point," Bucky said, and it looked like he was going to add something else, but we were distracted by the sound of sheets moving.

Another second passed and Steve popped out of the fort, taking a portion of it out with him.

"Whoops," he whispered, and I had to hold back my laughter at the image.

It was just so ridiculous seeing such a big man coming out of a pillow fort.

Steve turned when he heard me, and I saw the panic leave his eyes, "Oh, that's where you two were."

I gave a half wave from where I was next to Bucky, who I only now noticed hadn't drunk any of his water. Hope that wasn't my fault, but not like waiting to talk was going to help anything.

Steve walked over, trying to be quiet but failing. Pretty sure if Natasha and Clint weren't awake before, they were now.

"Did you sleep alright?" Steve asked once he got over to the kitchen with us.

"Yep," I lied while Bucky shrugged.

"I slept."

Steve nodded while stifling a yawn. It seemed like everyone was still on edge and I wondered what's going to happen today.

Hydra must have more planned. Sure, the attack on the tower was due to Fury leading their fault information, but it still seemed like something was missing. Did they really think taking down the power and having maybe 30 people attack would be enough to get Bucky? It didn't sound like they had anyone who knew the trigger words, so what really was their plan yesterday?

"...What do you think, Lani?" Bucky asked, and I looked up to see Steve and Bucky staring at me.

"Sorry, I wasn't listening. What were you talking about?"

"If you wanted to eat," Steve answered, now frowning at me.

"I guess? I don't think there is anything edible here though."

"There isn't," Natasha said as she walked out, hair made and make up on like it was a decent time to be awake, "But there is a cafe down the street that's open at this hour. Should be safe."

"Should we wait for Clint?" I asked since everyone else seemed fine with getting breakfast at 5:02 am.

"He's a late sleeper," Natasha said before grabbing a jacket off a hook and walking out the door.

She did end up waiting for us at the bottom of the steps, on her phone looking like anyone else on the streets. I almost mistook her for someone else, which is crazy considering the only thing she's done is change her hair.

I guess that's why she's such a good spy.

As we walked Steve kept pointing out places that use to be.

"That building is still the same, but it was a diner, not an art gallery," Steve pointed out, and I couldn't tell if he was disappointed or intrigued by that change.

"Was it a good diner?" I asked since it is obvious Bucky was still trying to figure out if he remembered the place.

"No, it was pretty bad. I worked there for a few months before getting fired after missing too many days."

"Didn't think you were the type to miss work," Natasha commented, not looking like she cared they were just standing in the middle of the sidewalk staring across the street.

"I had Scarlet fever."

"You had Rheumatic fever," Bucky corrected.

"What's rheumatic fever?" I asked, since I knew scarlet fever can happen when strep throat gets worse, but I've never heard of rheumatic.

"It's like a more serious version of scarlet. If Steve really had that in the 40s I'm surprised he didn't die," Natasha said, looking like she could care less about the conversation.

"It was close. They only let Bucky come visit me because they thought I was on my deathbed, but I ended up getting better, but that was a few years before. With the dinner I just had scarlet fever," Steve said with a shrug, finally turning away from the building.

I always knew that Steve was a sick kid before the serum, but it was still weird seeing the pinnacle of peak male performance saying stuff like that. Bucky looked like he was trying to remember one of those times, and continued looking slightly confused as we finally got to the cafe.

It looked more like a bakery than a cafe, and despite the early hour there were two other people in there. A homeless looking dude with a bagel and coffee, and a woman in a sharp suit who was typing away on her laptop.

"Ah Noelle, you changed your hair again," a lady behind the counter said with a heavy accent.

Natasha responded in another language that I did not know, but the worker apparently did.

"Noelle?" Steve asked in a whisper, and Bucky shrugged.

"And what do you friends want?" the lady said, switching back to English.

"Can I have one of those egg sandwiches and small hot chocolate please?" I said right away.

"Sure thing, sweetie. What about you, tall-blond-and-handsome?"

"Uh, I'll have some normal black coffee and a bagel with cream cheese?" Steve said, sounding like it was a question before looking at Natasha with a weird expression.

"I'll have the same, but with loxs," Bucky said.

"Is that all?" she asked, and went through the normal customer server script and Natasha ended up paying.

Which is fine since I don't know if Bucky brought his cash with him. I didn't see his bag when they arrived last night, which was a little strange now that I think about it.

The homeless looking guy was gone by the time we grabbed a table to wait at, and for a moment the only sounds was the lady working on our order and the one typing.

"So, Noelle?" Steve asked again, and this time Natasha made a show of rolling her eyes.

"I have a lot of names."

I'm pretty sure Natasha used the alias Natalia in Iron Man 2, which isn't very different from Natasha. Does Natasha just like using names starting with N in the US?

It only took a few minutes for the drink to be ready, and only a little longer than that before the food was. Natasha had two drinks, one which I assumed was for Clint.

The walk back was much faster, though it helped that the walk helped wake me up a little. Or maybe just more aware since it wasn't like I slept. I just felt like something bad was going to happen and I wanted to be prepared for once.

We got back to Clint's apartment without any issue, and he was already up making some coffee of his own.

"You couldn't have waited five minutes for us to come back?" Natasha asked as she passed him one of the cups.

"I'll mix them."

Natasha made a face at that, and I'm pretty sure that was the most emotion I've ever seen shown physically. Meanwhile, I dug into my breakfast sandwich.

Everyone was silent, and I didn't really have the motivation to break it. Even if the stunt yesterday revealed every last person in Sheild who was actually part of Hydra, that would only help a little. I know that they have some members in the UN like Price, and there must be countless more in other high positions of power. Enough that in the movies they were ready to kill everyone who wasn't with them by 2014.

Now Hydra will know for sure that their 'Winter Soldier' was with the Avengers, and that will change things. If anything, that might be a good reason to go back, but once again, they did need to figure out who they can trust sooner or later.

"Are you full?" Bucky asked, and it took a little too long for me to notice he was asking me that.

"Oh, yeah, I'm done. Do you want the rest?"

It was a pretty big bagel, but I was able to eat almost half of it.

"Steve? Want to split it?" Bucky said, even though I know he could just eat the whole thing and still not be full.

"Sure."

At one point Natasha left, something I didn't even notice until she came back.

"Stark called. He's still working with Fury at getting the tower clear, but says it might be best for Barnes to lay low. Fury's also been asking about moving the scepter again-"

"No. Unless Fury is willing to put that where no one, not even Shield, can get it, it's staying with us," Steve interrupted.

Now that I think about it, that would have been a good time for Hydra to steal the scepter. Shit, things yesterday really could have gone much worse.

"Fury's not pushing it, but we got lucky that Stark had it in a lab that seals shut whenever Jarvis is down."

"We'll come up with a long term solution later," Steve said in that Captain America voice of his.

"I take it Fury has something for us to do?" Clint asked, practically inhaling his coffee.

"Just us two for now."

"What does he want you to do?" Steve asked, leaning forward with a frown.

"Don't know yet."

It's annoying that I can't tell if Natasha really doesn't know, or just not saying. Not that I really need to know, but it sounds like Steve isn't too keen on following Fury right now.

"Is it fine if we stay here then?" Steve asked, and I was a little surprised to see he wanted to stay instead of going with them to find out what Fury was planning.

"Yes, it's fine," Natasha answered for Clint.

Clint gave her a look before sighing, "Make yourselves at home, just try not to draw too much attention to this place."

With that very ominous suggestion, they left. Really don't want to spend the day in Clint's apartment, but it was feeling like that was what was going to happen. There was just very little I could do at this point.

"Lani, do you want to do something?" Steve ended up asking, probably in response to the sigh I made out loud at my own thoughts.

"Yeah, I'll see if there is anything good on TV."

Still weird that Netflix was just starting to become big. Clint might have an account, but not on his TV from what I could tell.

Bucky and Steve stayed in the kitchen, and I already started flipping through channels before realizing that Steve might have wanted to talk to Bucky alone. Which is fine.

Kinda wish I had super hearing though.

"...And now an update on the attack on Stark Tower yesterday. While it seems that the super hero team known as the Avengers kept it from getting out of hand, new information has revealed that the attacker was the very organization that got them together."

My hand paused over the remote. What the news anchor saying also stopped whatever Steve and Bucky were talking about as I turned up the volume.

"Strategic Hazard Intervention Espionage Logistics Directorate, SHIELD for short, has been questioned as recently as the battle for New York when their director chose to ignore advice from the UN. It was unclear how involved the Avengers were with that decision, but considering that Tony Stark is part of the group and it was his tower that was attacked, experts think that SHIELD is the one at fault."

I haven't been keeping up with the news since, a lot has happened recently, so I had no idea what the public thinks about the Avengers and the battle. I'm sure it's a mix of 'they saved us' and 'why didn't they do more'. I never was sure if SHIELD was more known like the CIA or was completely secret.

"Witnesses have also spotted a man that the FBI has identified as a world renowned assassin known only as the Winter Soldier."

"What?" Steve asked before I could, not even bothering to overhear the news in the kitchen.

I pulled my eyes from the TV to look at Bucky who...didn't look that surprised.

"So that's their next step," Bucky said under his breath, though loud enough for me to hear.

Before I could question that, my attention got drawn back to the newscast.

"...Pierce, who is a world security council secretary, set out a statement confirming that was the Winter Soldier and while the Avengers had this dangerous man in custody, with SHIELD's loyalties in question they need to transfer him to higher security."

They showed a grainy picture of Bucky in his full winter soldier outfit, which means it was either taken before we got out or was fake. Even though the Bucky who was staring blankly at the screen looked very different than what they were showing in terms of presents, this isn't good. Maybe most people won't look at Bucky and think 'hey that looks like that infamous assassin they were talking about' but part of our method for hiding from Hydra was to use crowds. Now I'm not sure if we could if one person decided to call.

"Why is Pierce saying that the Avengers have you in custody? There is no way we are giving you up to them," Steve said, and when I looked over at him I was shocked at the fury on his face that was absent in his voice.

"Maybe he is hoping that you only know about Shield being corrupt and not about Hydra. Or that there is arguments about what to do with me and this will force your hand," Bucky said not looking at anyone.

"...just how bad is him publicly naming you like this?" I asked, looking to Bucky even though he wasn't looking at me.

They have gone on to naming all the assassinations that the Winter Soldier has thought to be responsible for, and I'm pretty sure Steve would be punching something if I wasn't there.

"They are trying to make it impossible for me to hide. Either I go back to Hydra or get executed for my crimes."

"That is NOT going to happen Bucky," Steve said, pulling Bucky away from the TV to look at him, "You're not going to get executed for something you didn't do, and there is no way I'm letting you go back there. Never again."

Shit.

Hydra is backing us into a corner. Before it was just them tracking Bucky down, but now they are getting the public involved. They moved from wanting the Winter Soldier alive, to wanting him dead or alive and I don't know what caused that changed.

"Do you think they've had this planned for a while? Or was this in response to failing to get you yesterday?" I asked, getting ready to pull up my save menu.

"Both," Bucky said, not bothering to move out of Steve's grasp.

"Would me going back even give us enough time to change that?" I wondered out loud, and I 100% blame the fact I haven't sleep in over 28 hours as the reason I forgot Steve was right there.

"What?"

I turned fully around to look at Steve and Bucky, and probably made a good fish impression at Steve before talking.

"I mean, hypothetically? If I could go back in time to yesterday and gave you forewarning that the attack and this was going to happen, would that even help?"

"...You can go back in time."

"Hypothetically!"

"Your daughter can time travel?" Steve asked Bucky instead of me, but Bucky was still thinking of what I said.

"I'm not sure. If they succeeded in capturing me yesterday, there would be no reason for this announcement."

"Are you being morbid, or thinking of letting yourself get captured so that you can get into whatever base they are working from?"

It is true that Bucky's knowledge of Hydra is a few years outdated now. If it was anyone else, they would have changed their bases, treating it as a information leak. But the Winter Soldier is wiped and I don't know if they realize how fast his brain healed over the years. Or that he would tell anyone.

"Captured. It's unlikely that anyone in Hydra knows the words. If they did they would have used them yesterday."

"No. Bucky we can figure something else out. Get you a lawyer and clear your name-"

"Maybe in a few years, but right now? Bucky going to trial is just going to be the government using him as a scapegoat," I interrupted.

I want Bucky be to able to clear his name and be able to live a normal life, but that is just not possible right now. We have no idea what positions Hydra has and no way they are going to let Bucky go free. Even without Hydra there is a lot of people who won't care that Bucky's a victim who was literally brainwashed and just pay attention to the killings he was forced to do.

Steve didn't argue, probably already aware how unlikely it would be for Bucky to win a case right now but wasn't willing to give up hope.

"If you go back, tell me that once Hydra takes down Jarvis, Tony will want to go down to the server room and fix it. Steve and I went with him, but instead of helping, I should neutralize them once Hydra shows up and leave with Hydra. That will make them think that I was real still under their command and didn't tell the Avengers enough about Hydra to be a risk."

"Tony's not going to like that," I commented while frowning.

"You don't have to," Bucky said like the idea of him being killed or taken back to Hydra for real were also options I had.

[Quest: Infiltrate Hydra]

[Convince Bucky to infiltrate Hydra in order to let the Avengers find and attack their main base]

[Reward: Hydra forces down 40%]

[Failure: Pierce gets the Winter Soldier back]

[Timelimit: May 12]

[ ] Accept

[ ] Decline

Shit. Bucky going back to Pierce is way worse than him going to Shield. At least with Shield there is a small chance of it not being a neo-nazi. And that only give me a day.

Unless I go back, in which I get two days.

"Yeah, I think that's the best option right now," I said ignoring the looks Steve was giving me.

Not like he'll remember once I go back.

[x] Accept

"This sucks," I added since things were going... ok.

At least Bucky got a new arm and I got to meet Lucky who was still sitting next to me on the couch sleeping. I have no idea if that will happen again.

"You don't need to do this Lani. I wasn't joking when I said I would runaway with you two. We could leave the country."

"I know," I said before time slowed down.

[Main Menu]

[ ] Quest log

[ ] Stats

[ ] Relationships

[ ] Runscript

[ ] Load Save

I paused for just a second, making sure that I was waiting because I was nervous and not being I was missing something.

[x] Load Save

[...]

[Save Loaded]

A/N: Sorry this chapter took so long. I wanted to get a few more chapters in before I start classing at the end of this month, but my dog died two weeks ago tomorrow and on top of everything else that happened/happening, it killed my muse. But I hope you guys are looking forward for some more groundhog day style time looping!

Since this story gets so many reviews now, I think I'm only going to name the people who reviewed on the last chapter instead of everyone who reviewed from last time I updated. If the long a/n are bothering you, this story is over on Ao3 as "New Game +" with the same user name. It's much easier to ignore a/n since they have their own little notes box and not part of the story text. Also, this site has been weird about me replying to reviews, so if you want me to do that it might be better leave a comment on the ao3 site, or even join my discord with the code UgdDa4R.

Anyways, thank you everyone who has favorited/followed this story. And super thanks to, JaceSienna98, The Bug, sharingankakashi007, Fitoor, adam110902, Guest who loves this story soooo much, Ghosted11, PrincessMagic, Morningstqr, RavenclawGryffindor35, nate-king, LetTheWorldHonorTheFallen, CthuluWarlock, Hearteyemf, bored411, Guest who end that weird poem that kinda reads like a curse, HuangBaiLian, Amir-015, CyberWolfWrites, shugokage, Zer0m00n, Goldenfightergirl, Kyrin Fireheart, Death Fury, Misaka Phenex, verycoolname, Roxycall18, Dannyphantom619, M2R, and PepperonyOwl for taking the time to leave a review last chapter. And special thanks to The-Anti-Akuma for being the 1000 review for this story!

Hope you all had a good day/night!