So, thank to everyone who has followed, favorites, and reviewed so far. I'm glad you all like it so far.
Since I forgot to mention this last chapter, the format to this story will be similar to that of my other story 'Whatever it takes'.
From this point on, future Clint will be referred to as Barton while past Clint will just be Clint.
Now, in the words of John Constantine, on with the show.
In the lab, Barton stood, watching the security feed of the viewing room. He watched Natasha with a wounded look on his face as Fitz walked up behind him.
"You gonna be okay?" Fitz asked and Barton sighed.
"I don't know. But I have to be," Barton said gruffly.
"Think they'll believe us?" Fitz inquired.
"There are too many details from their lives for them not to. Plus after all the crazy shit they've seen, why would time travel be out of the realm of possibility?" Barton pointed out.
Fitz nodded and they were silent as they watched the security feed.
"So, we're sure that he's telling the truth?" Rhodey asked in the viewing room.
"Do you doubt me Rhodes?" Thor asked with a raised eyebrow.
"No! Just…" Rhodey trailed off.
"I did not sense any deception from him," Wanda spoke up.
"You're in a room with a god and a super soldier from World War Two. Yet time travel is where you draw the line?" Sam asked incredulously.
"Okay, that's a good point," Rhodey said after a moment.
No one else said anything as Tony pressed a button, starting the recording.
In 1991, at a secret Hydra facility, a Hydra agent pulled a red book with a black star on the cover out of a secret compartment. Meanwhile, The Winter Soldier was being let out of cryo freeze.
Steve sat up straighter as he saw his best friend. Oh, he knew that this was the past and that nothing could be done about it. But still, it was new information and he would take whatever he could get.
Later, Bucky screamed in pain as he was strapped to a chair, machinery on his head that was obviously causing him pain. The machinery was removed and the Hydra agent opened the book, saying different words in Russian until Bucky stilled. But it was no longer Bucky Barnes, but The Winter Soldier, ready to comply with his master's demands.
Steve looked physically pained at what his best friend had been forced to endure for almost seventy years. Natasha looked at him in concern and Sam placed a hand on Steve's shoulder, trying to offer him comfort as he grimaced. That hadn't exactly been easy to watch, for any of them.
Wanda felt great empathy for Bucky in that moment. She knew what it was like to be used by Hydra, to be manipulated and turned into their weapon.
Feeling a great deal of fear, she looked next to her and saw Peter staring at the screen in horror. He was just a kid, even younger than her, Wanda mused. And unlike her, he had probably never faced the harsh realities of the world, did not know just how cruel it could be.
Wanda placed a hand on the younger boy's shoulder and he almost jumped, looking over at her. She gave him a kind smile and he blushed.
"It's okay to be afraid. There are evil people in the world," Wanda said gently and Peter winced.
"I know," Peter said quietly as he remembered Uncle Ben's death.
The scene changes to a road at night. A car passes and The Soldier, on a motorcycle, drives after it. With a single shot from a pistol, The Solider causes the car to crash. Parking, The Soldier walks up to the truck and opens it, revealing a silver brief case inside.
Tony paled considerably as he watched this. That road, that car…it couldn't be, Tony tried to tell himself. It couldn't.
Later, at the Hydra facility, The Soldier gave the briefcase to the Hydra agent, who opened it up to reveal three liquid packets.
Everyone stared at the screen, wondering what that was.
In present day Lagos, Wanda and Natasha are in a café, surveying the scene. Steve is in a hotel room overlooking the scene as Wanda updates him over the Comms. Some newspaper articles about Brock Rumlow are seen in the hotel room as Steve spots a bullet proof van on the streets.
"Rumlow," Steve narrowed his eyes as Sam growled and Natasha smiled tightly.
"Friend of yours?" Scott questioned.
"He was Hydra. During the uprising, he was up caught inthe destruction of The Triskelion. He managed to survive and escaped. He's been causing havoc ever since," Steve said grimly.
Natasha gently scolded Wanda about her lack of awareness, causing Sam to remark about Natasha's paranoia.
"Something you wanna say Sam?" Natasha raised an eyebrow and Sam suddenly found the floor very interesting.
"Nope," Sam said and Steve and Clint smirked as everyone else snickered in amusement.
Steve mentions they've been looking for Rumlow for six months before spotting a suspicious garbage truck. Steve orders Sam to tag it and Sam fires Redwing from his pack.
"Cool," Peter said in awe and Sam smirked in pride.
Redwing scans the truck, showing it's filled to the max and the driver is armed. Steve realizes the target isn't the police on the street as the driver jumps out of the truck. The truck flips over and takes out a security checkpoint. A utility truck then pulls up, opening up to reveal armed men dressed in tactical gear.
"Son of a bitch," Tony said in shock.
"Cap, Tony said a bad word," Clint cracked and Steve rolled his eyes as the original Avengers snickered.
"One time," Steve grumbled annoyed. "One time and you just can't let it go."
As they began gassing the building, Steve humped down, engaging them. He throws his shield, taking out one of the men as the shield returns to him. Steve then rushes up the side of an AFV and onto the roof, sending a kick to one of the armed men. The man is sent flying into the wall, hitting hard it and getting knocked out.
Meanwhile, Sam flies onto a bridge, where two of the armed men are. Sam uses his wings to shield himself from the bullets before taking out one and kicking the other. The man falls and lands on a truck, smashing the top of it and getting knocked out. Another opened fire on the ground but Wanda flew in, using her powers to shield herself from the bullets before sending the man flying into the air. Sam flies down and punches the man, sending him flying down to the ground and knocking him out.
"Atta girl," Clint complimented and Wanda flushed at the praise.
"Impressive," Thor said as he looked between at Wanda and Sam. "You have come far since we last met little witch."
"Thank you," Wanda said uncertainly, not sure about the 'witch' comment.
The trio met up and Sam used Redwing to locate Rumlow on the third floor of the building. Wanda used her powers to hurl Steve into the air and through the window on the third floor. As Steve began engaging Rumlow's men, Rumlow walked into the lab and found the biological weapon.
"We can't let him get his hands on that," Tony said pale.
"We won't Tony," Steve quickly assured him. "We know where he'll be and we know what he's after."
"Just…can't you imagine what he'd do with that?" Tony said shakily and a shutter ran through everyone in the room.
"I imagine it would be...catastrophic," T'Challa said grimly.
"You said it you're Highness," Sam muttered.
As Steve continues to fight off Rumlow's men, Wanda uses her powers to pull the gas out of the building. As she sends it into the area, Sam covers her, engaging Rumlow's men. Sam whirls around, his wings forming a shield and two missile like projectiles shoot out of his pack, taking out Rumlow's men.
"Nice," Rhodey said and Sam smirked.
Outside, Rumlow and his men emerge from the building. Seeing the gas, Rumlow knows The Avengers have come. Inside, Steve finds the fridge holding the now empty container and warns the others. Natasha drives up on a motorcycle and jumps off, beginning to engage Rumlow's men. For the most part, she defeats them pretty easily until Rumlow shows up. Far more skilled than his men, Rumlow holds his own against Natasha as they fight. Natasha tried to use her Taser disk on him by bringing it to his neck. However, to her shock, it doesn't even affect him.
"What the hell?" Sam asked as they all stared at the screen in shock.
"The building came down on him," Natasha remembered. "He either trained himself to endure the pain or he really doesn't feel it."
Rumlow throws Natasha into the AFV, where two of his men are waiting. Rumlow then tossed in a grenade before closing the hatch.
Everyone tensed; Strange's warning flashing through their minds if they wondered if this was the end of Natasha.
Natasha kicks the grenade away as the two mercenaries rush her. After a brief fight, Natasha gets to the door as the grenade goes off. The blast sent Natasha flying out the door, dazed but otherwise unhurt.
Everyone, Natasha, lets out the breath they didn't know they were holding. But still, they know it's not over yet.
"Two of his guys were in there though," Peter said shocked.
"Rumlow won't care about that son," Steve told the teenager kindly.
"Some men have no sense of morality or purpose Mr. Parker. Some men just want to watch the world burn," Vision spoke up for the first time. "Brock Rumlow is one such man."
In another AFV, Rumlow is firing at Steve at the building. Steve used his shield to deflect the first two blasts but misses the third. The blast sends Steve flying out of the window and onto the ground. Groaning, Steve alerts Sam of Rumlow's location.
In the AFV, Rumlow gives the Bioweapon to one of his men and orders them to ditch the AFV and head for the airstrip. The AFV crashes into a stand, causing panic as people back away. Rumlow and his men get out, Rumlow telling his men he won't be meeting up with them.
Steve frowned as he narrowed his eyes. A pit of dread began to form in his stomach. Rumlow was planning something. What, Steve could only guess, but Steve knew it was nothing good.
Using facial recognition, Sam is able to spot Rumlow's men going left and right, two each. Natasha arrives on scene on a motorcycle, which she then uses as a booster to climb onto the horde of vehicles as she goes after those on the left. As Sam pursues those on the right, Steve arrives on the scene, taking a moment to consider the civilians before heading in. He sees the abandoned gear on the groan before a small explosive lands on his shield. Acting quickly, Steve throws his shield into the air and the explosive detonates harmlessly as little more than light show.
Steve grimaced. That was too close for comfort; the civilians could have gotten hurt. Suddenly, he felt a burning hatred for Rumlow for making it come to this. Once they returned, he had to make sure Rumlow didn't get this far.
Natasha glanced over at him, knowing what he was thinking. Steve wouldn't let this go, not that she blamed him. But they needed to plan this carefully if this was going to work.
Rumlow suddenly emerged from the crowd, punched Steve in the back. Steve is sent flying through a stand, landing on the ground as Rumlow approaches, flexing his gauntlets as he boasts that he's been waiting for this.
"Wow, he really hates you Cap," Tony noted.
"I stopped Hydra's plan. In a way, I guess I'm responsible for what happened to him," Steve mused.
"Guy's Hydra. Don't lose any sleep over it Cap," Rhodey said and Steve smiled tightly.
"I don't," Steve assured him.
Elsewhere, Sam spots the two men he's trailing and flies down. He kicks one of them, knocking them out as the other one opens fire. Sam uses his wings as a shield and whirls around, sending a spinning kick to the man's chest. He slams into the side of a small building that resembles a shack before falling to the ground out cold. Sam searches him and finds that he doesn't have the bio-weapon.
Elsewhere, Natasha is running after one of Rumlow's men. She jumps over a table and tackles him to the ground. They stand up and he pulls out a gun, casing people to panic. Natasha strikes him, stopping him from pulling the trigger before he staggers back after a blow to his throat. Rumlow's other man rounds the corner, armed with a gun, and Natasha throws a woven basket at him, stopping him for pulling the trigger. She then strikes his knee capes, sending him to the ground before she jumps on the other, wrapping her legs around his neck and bringing him down, knocking the other one down as he gets back up. She punches the second one a few times before she sees a gun. She picks it up and she and the second one jump to their feet, aiming guns at each other. The first one then pulls out the Bio-Weapon, threatening to drop it if Natasha doesn't drop her gun.
"But that would kill everyone, including him," Peter said confused.
"They obviously aren't the sharpest arrows in the quiver kid," Clint said grimly. "Rumlow probably went for brawn, not brains. Too stupid to challenge him but smart enough to follow him. Sounds like Rumlow."
Redwing flew in, unseen and fires. The bullet hits the first man and, as the other turns his head, Natasha fires, killing him. Natasha then drops the gun and makes a grab for the vial, grabbing it just before it hits the ground.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, happy that the weapon is now in safe hands.
"That was incredibly risky," T'Challa noted as he looked over at Natasha and Sam.
'It was the only play we had you're highness," Natasha said and, after a moment, T'Challa nodded.
"Perhaps," T'Challa allowed.
Natasha thanks Sam but Sam insists she thank Redwing, to which Natasha refuses.
"You'll hurt his feelings though," Sam teased and Natasha rolled her eyes, not dignifying him with a response.
Back with Steve, he and Rumlow are exchanging blows, Rumlow's Gauntlets giving him a clear edge. As he backs Steve up against a building, one of Rumlow's gauntlets reveals a small blade. Steve moves his head, dodging the blade and Rumlow got the wall instead. Steve grabs Rumlow's arm and elbows him in the face, making him lose the gauntlet. Rumlow uses the second blade but Steve dodges, kicking him and sending Rumlow flying. Rumlow lands on the ground, hard, and sits up, on his knees. Steve stalks over as Rumlow removes his helmet. Steve grabs him by the front and gets a look at Rumlow's scarred and deformed face.
"That is quite unpleasant to look at," Thor said with a grimace as everyone stared at the screen, most of them disturbed by the sight.
"To survive such pain, Rumlow must have great will power. It's a shame he decided to use that will for evil," T'Challa noted wistfully.
"You do evil, you pay the price," Tony said unsympathetic.
Steve demands to know who the buyer is but Rumlow distracts Steve by bringing up Bucky, claiming he remembered Steve.
"He's playing you Steve," Natasha said gently, looking over at Steve. "He's stalling."
"I know," Steve said with a scowl. "But for what?"
With Steve distracted by Rumlow's lie, Rumlow is able to pull out a bomb. Steve tried to stop it but it was too late. As the bomb goes off, Wanda is able to use her powers to contain the blast. But it is visibly straining on her and she attempts to send it into the sky. However, her powers fail her and the bomb slams into the side of a building, taking out a good porton the south side. People panic and Steve radios Sam for help as Wanda sinks to her knees, horrified by what has just happened.
Wanda stared at the screen, horrified as Clint put a hand on her shoulder.
"Hey, this isn't your fault, okay?" Clint told her gently.
"All those people," Wanda said choked up.
"Many more would have died had you not intervened Ms. Maximoff," T'Challa said kindly.1
"It's not your fault Wanda, its Rumlow's. And if not his, mine," Steve said and she looked over at him. "I should have clocked that vest long before you had to deal with it. That's not on you, it's on me."
"It's both your faults, it's none of your faults, does it really matter?" Natasha said and they all looked over at her. "Blaming ourselves isn't going to bring them back. But we can go back and make sure this doesn't happen."
"Natasha is correct," Thor spoke up. "The future is what we make of it. There are many paths available to us. We can control our future."
"What the big guy is saying is don't blame yourself for something that hasn't happened yet," Scott simplified and Thor shot him a look that was half annoyed, half amused.
"Mr. Lang is corrected," Thor said and Wanda sighed, nodding slightly although it was clear she was still bothered.
"You okay to go on?" Tony asked gently and she nodded.
"Yes. I need to see," Wanda said and Tony nodded.
"Okay," Tony said, unpausing the recording and it continued.
1: Honestly, Wanda gets so much flak for being unable to stop the bomb. She gets hated and vilified for it both in the fandom and the MCU. I have to ask, would those people doing so prefer she did nothing? Because, quite frankly, if she had done nothing, the damage and causalities would have been so much worse. She wasn't able to stop the bomb, which is a tragedy, but people need to stop acting like Wanda is to blame for that and lay the blame where it belongs.