Author's Notes:

zikashigaku: Steve just can't catch a break- the Steve Rogers Story. This really breaks Steve, this is really difficult to deal with and accept, but unfortunately even heroes can't save everybody. Steve is gonna redeem himself though, and come through in a magical Captain America type of way...It just might take a few chapters.

"What happened here?" Sam asked as he led the Avengers into the conference room in the United Nations Office. He looked around beneath his glasses, seeing the carnage on the far end of the room. It wasn't until his eyes landed on the familiar former President that he softened, "Barnes?"

Bucky stood silently, guarding the Medranos as they stood against the wall near the door. His eyes shifted to Sam for a split second before looking back to the scientists. "I'd rather not say."

"I will." Izetta grumbled, but Bucky just shifted, tapping her thigh with his rifle threateningly. Sam caught the movement out of the corner of his eye and narrowed his gaze on his former partner. Izetta rolled her eyes and clenched her fists, raising her chin defiantly, "I see how it is. Trying to protect each other. Fine. I'll play along. Just know the antidote took off. I'm guessing you can see that Captain..." Izetta trailed off, looking over her shoulder at Osvaldo coyly.

"Cap- we're gonna need some answers. There's over fifty bodies here. We can't just brush this away..." Cassie Lang said nervously as she looked around, but Kate Bishop just turned to look at the pair of scientists.

"We have answers. They work for Hydra. We've known this for months. We knew this was a threat, its why-" Bucky threw her a sharp glance to silence her. She closed her mouth and pursed her lips for a moment, her eyes darting to the group of survivors outside the conference room who were being checked out by doctors.

"We gave up the antidote, even knowing what it would mean for us. We'll tell you what you want to know in exchange for safety- although I doubt it'll do much good." Osvaldo bartered as he looked over Bucky's shoulder to the man in charge. "She's doing all this... for you. For the Avengers. We didn't ask questions, but I don't think it's an accident that we were brought to Geneva."

"What are you insinuating?" Sam asked as he sidestepped Bucky to face the Medranos. "That this disaster was created solely to lure us all out here?"

"Not you Captain." Izetta cooed, smirking as she pushed back her hair, "She wanted him. She was very specific. Poison the girl. Take the kids. Poison the conference. Bring the soldier and the spy back to her- alive. If they hadn't escaped, none of this would have ever happened."

Kate and Cassie shared a glance before turning to Sam. "Where are they now, Cap?"

"Hopefully the hospital. Weak as the sample was, it's enough to kill their friend." Izetta shrugged, feeling no remorse. Bucky's eyes widened in terror and she softened a bit, her mouth twisting up into a sad smile, "There's nowhere to run, nowhere to hide where she can't find you."

Sam grabbed Izetta by the shoulders and turned her around, handcuffing her as Kate did the same to her husband. Once the Medranos were secure, Sam turned to Bucky, "Go. We'll talk later."

"We're done. We're going home." Bucky said lightly as he darted out the door back toward the hospital.

Sam nodded a little, passing the squirming Izetta off to Cassie to be taken to the quinjet. "I know."

Once alone in the room, Sam studied the men and women who didn't make it. Some were toppled over in their chairs, and others were laying against the wall. Sam noticed an obvious trend, about halfway around the room, the antidote was taken away. Barnes had said over the phone that there wasn't enough of the antidote for everyone. Sam had expected the carnage, but he hadn't expected to see such a clear train of thought of who lived and who died. Barnes had been tight lipped, which told Sam everything he needed to know about who had distributed the antidote.

"Cap!" Cassie's voiced screeched before an array of screams chased her cry. Sam darted out into the foyer to see Kate Bishop entrapped into a pillar while Cassie was sinking into the tile floor slowly. When Sam arrived, Cassie turned toward him with terrified eyes, "Do something!"

Sam scanned the fleeing crowd, finally catching a glimpse of a tall blonde woman dragging Izetta and Osvaldo beside her. Sam flung his shield at her, but she released Osvaldo and caught it, turning to grin devilishly at Captain America. She eyed Sam up and down before melting the shield in her left hand, "You aren't the one he'll come for. No offense."

And in a billow of green smoke, she was gone along with Izetta and Osvaldo. Sam turned to Cassie as she began rising above the floor and Kate fell out of the pillar, grasping her chest as she caught her breath. "Where'd she go?"

Sam wandered toward the massive glass doors and looked down at the pile of purple goo that used to be his shield. "I don't know, but we're in some serious trouble now. Call the others. All hands on deck back in New York. We're going to need all the help we can get."

"Steve? Steve- did you make it?" Bucky breathed into the phone as he continued running. "I'm on my way to the hospital-"

"Buck... there's just a little left. I couldn't have saved them all. Even if I had stayed, I couldn't have..." Steve trailed off, his voice breaking as he turned to talk in private away from Sandra and the kids. The woman somehow found enough strength to put on a brave face in front of the kids, telling them stories about their mother as a child and what little memories she had of Steve and Kayla that didn't have to do with the Avengers.

"You said there's some left?" Bucky said as he skidded to a stop in front of the hospital. "I'm bringing Tessa to you."

"Okay, yeah, maybe take her to the other hotel and we'll meet you there-" Steve stammered, realizing his wife should look at Tessa. He turned and looked at Sandra, realizing she heard what he said. "I'll bring the kids and meet you there."

"There's no time, I'm bringing her to you. I'm tracking your phone. I'll be there in twenty, have the antidote ready." Bucky replied firmly as he pushed through the hospital doors and followed the directions Kayla had described to Tessa's room.

Steve rubbed his face roughly, trying to figure out how to get Tessa to safety without blowing Kayla's cover. What little of it was still intact anyway. Matthew knew his daughter was alive, Sandra probably did too. "I'll see you soon." Steve ended the call and looked toward the door, knowing he needed to find his wife. She'd lost her father, she needed to see her children.

As Steve reached for the door, Sandra's soft voice caught his attention, "You're remarried? The kids talk about their mom a lot. Katie they said. Is she here with you? I would assume you wouldn't have brought the kids to Europe alone."

Steve looked over his shoulder at his mother-in-law and nodded, swallowing down his nerves, "Yeah. She's here. She's been texting me about the kids. I should take them to see her."

"Wait, Mom isn't our real Mom? Are we adopted?" James stuttered, quickly understanding what the adults were talking about.

"No. No, I mean, she's- she's your mom. You aren't adopted." Steve stammered and Sandra paled as she realized what she'd done. Steve saw her panic and assured her everything was fine. "It's complicated. It's fine."

"Fine? What are you not telling us? Who's our real mom?" Sarah pressed, her blue eyes welling up with tears. "Did our real mom die? Is that why we don't see our family? Is that why we've never met our grandparents until now?"

Steve took a deep breath, prepared to plunge his kids into the lie, to preserve the life they believed to be truth. "Your mom-"

A knock on the door cut him off. Steve looked at his watch, knowing Bucky couldn't have arrived that quickly. He looked through the peephole, then back to the kids and Sandra before propping open the door just enough to push his face through. He kept the door from opening with his foot, forcing the person on the other side to stay out of sight. "What are you doing?"

"Steve... it's time." Kayla hissed. She looked up at her husband with sad, accepting eyes and smiled, "She already knows Steve. Let's let her in. Let's give our kids a chance to know what little real family they have. The fabric of this lie is coming undone. Let me in."

Steve sighed and moved his foot, allowing Kayla to push open the hotel room door. She stepped into the light and Sarah and James sprinted toward her, wrapping their arms around her lovingly.

"Mom! I've missed you so much!" Sarah whimpered into Kayla's side as she pat her daughter's head with one hand and rubbed her son's back with the other. Sarah looked up at her mom, then over her shoulder to Sandra, "Are you... our mom? Like our real mom?"

Kayla nodded, tears stinging her eyes as she looked down at her kids, "Yes. I'm your real mom."

Sandra stood slowly, holding her hands to her mouth as she walked toward her only daughter, alive and in the flesh. "I thought you were dead."

"I know. I know and I'm sorry. Witness protection and all that." Kayla lied easily as she swallowed down the tears that tried to drown her. She messed up James's hair as he looked up at her curiously and she chuckled, "It's complicated Kiddo. We'll explain when you're older."

"So, you are our real mom?" James clarified and Kayla nodded, so he asked again, "Is Katie your real name?"

Kayla smirked and shook her head, putting her finger to her lips teasingly before releasing her kids and taking a step to her mother, "It's been too long."

"I was there... I was in the next room, I heard-" Sandra explained vaguely, eyeing the kids before her glance landed on Steve, "I can't believe this."

"Me neither, our parents are in witness protection, which explains so much about our weird life." James muttered as he settled into the couch. "What else do we not know?"

"A lot. We'll tell you when you're older. For now, just know that we are here, this is your grandmother, and everything is fine now. We're gonna be just fine." Steve explained as Kayla and Sandra hugged, not letting go as Sandra sobbed into her daughter's collarbone.

Kayla and Sandra finally settled onto the couch and Steve herded the kids into their room, much to their dismay. Sarah sat on her bed obediently, but James dug his feet into the carpet, whining loudly as his father ignored his babbling, "Dad? Dad what's going on? Why have you been lying to us all this time?"

"James, please, it's been a really hard day." Steve moaned as he placed his face in his palm. "We can talk about this when we get home, okay?"

James crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes at his father, "Okay. But is Mom okay?"

Steve swallowed and lowered his head, looking at the ground as he wrung his hands together. "You know Sandra's husband? The man who was here with you this morning? He passed away today. He got really sick and he died...that was your mother's father, so she's having a really hard time, okay?"

James pushed his hair back out of his eyes as he sniffled, "I understand." A tear slid down Sarah's cheek and she clenched her fist in front of her chest, feeling a sting in her heart. Steve leaned down and pressed a kiss to her head before leaving the kids alone.

James looked up at his sister, clearing his throat to get her attention, "You okay, Sarah?"

"Yeah. I just... I feel so sad."

"Kayla... I thought maybe... Your father thought- he was so sure you were alive somewhere. He was right." Sandra wiped her tears and sat up straighter against the couch cushions. "You've been laying low? New identities? How did you survive execution?"

"I had a little help from my friends." Kayla admitted truthfully as Steve came to sit beside her. She pulled her hair over her shoulder and beamed at her husband, "We just... we wanted to give them a chance to have a normal life. I didn't know they were going to save me. If I had, I would have looped you in-"

"If you believed she was dead, so would the rest of the world. It was the only way to save her. The Enchantress and the Red Skull entranced the jury. Kayla Ellis had to die so she could have a chance to live. I'd hoped you'd understand." Steve explained firmly, but his body shook slightly, defying his strong demeanor.

"I do understand, but it doesn't make it any easier. I've lost over twenty years with my daughter." Sandra argued but Kayla cut her off.

"I didn't want to fake my own death again and then come back to life, you'd already been through that. I don't plan on surviving these things, it just kinda happens!" Kayla yelped quietly and Sandra shook her head, not wanting to hear her daughter's excuses for pretending to be dead. Again.

Steve and Kayla stood when they heard a rapid knocking at the door. "It's Buck. He's got Tessa." Steve said as he darted toward the door and Kayla passed him to fling the door open. "Take her to the master suite, Steve, get the antidote! Now!"

"There's not much left..." Steve trailed off, pulling the syringe slowly from his pants pocket. Kayla grabbed it from his hand and pulled the cap off with her teeth as she chased Bucky into the bedroom. He laid Tessa on the bed and Kayla surged past him with the needle in hand. Steve arrived in the doorframe with Sandra, watching as she inserted the syringe into her friend's arm. His expression wavered as he studied Bucky. His best friend, a soldier and an assassin, had never looked more terrified. His eyes roamed Tessa, taking in how she barely breathed after two days in the ICU. Steve took a step forward, but Kayla put up her hand, telling him to stay back. He raised his hands defensively and asked his wife, "What can I do, Kay?"

"I don't have any of my supplies. I just have to pray this is enough. I'm not a doctor, Steve... how much did you give everybody else?" Kayla asked quietly as she removed the needle gently, motioning with her chin toward the cap she'd discarded. Bucky handed her the cap and knelt beside Tessa to stroke back her hair. He pulled a handkerchief from his jacket pocket and dabbed the sweat from her face gently. "She's gonna be okay, Bucky."

"You don't know that." Bucky grumbled. His jaw quivered slightly as he kept his gaze focused on his girl. "Is it enough?"

"We'll know when it works. It's all that's left, so, we'll have to make do with what we have." Kayla answered as she stood and looked at her husband. "You were just guessing at the conference?"

"I'm not a chemist, Kay." Steve wavered, realizing he probably should have asked his wife to administer the antidote. "Will you check on Sarah? And your mom?"

"I'm not a doctor." Kayla repeated with a sigh, but motioned for her mother to follow her nonetheless.

With Kayla and Sandra gone, Steve was left to consider the fact that he could have saved more people. He could have asked his wife for help. "Buck I'm scared. What happens now?"

"We go home." Bucky answered quietly as Tessa coughed a little. He kissed her knuckles as he blinked away tears. "We did the best we could. There's nothing left to do."

"You had one job. Get the man and the woman, it's really not that complicated, they're mere mortals." Amora hissed at Izetta and Osvaldo as they stood before her quietly. The Enchantress rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, cocking her hip to the side as her mass of blonde hair moved over her shoulder, "Well, aren't you going to amuse me with excuses?"

"We don't want to be a part of this anymore. We were brought in under Schmidt to make a better world. Control is better than chaos. You enlisted our help to play petty games, not make a safer world." Izetta challenged and Amora growled under her breath, motioning with her left hand for Contini to approach.

Osvaldo grabbed his wife and held her as Contini approached with a Wakandan weapon in his hand. He aimed it at the pair and Amora waved her hand toward the Italian man, giving him permission to end it. "Finish them. You've all been nothing but a disappointment."

As Contini began to pull the trigger, he froze in place as marble overtook him from the inside out, the magic of the Enchantress stopping his kill. Before the Medranos could react, their blood turned to stone as they cried out, holding onto each other as their lives met their end.

Amora smirked, never looking back at her good work. She placed her hands on her hips and looked out over the kingdom she'd created for herself, "The Red Skull thought my magic impermanent. We'll see about that."