The world returned much slower than the last time. The alarms were still blaring, coupled with an evacuation announcement. But other than that, the wing she was in was silent. No pounding footsteps of incoming backup. The red and yellow emergency lights still bounced off the walls. Echoing across the back of her eyelids. The hard floor was cold beneath her, fingers digging into it as if hoping there was a way she could grip it. Anchor herself a bit more. There wasn't. The concrete was smooth. The same headache returned, though not because she was slammed into a wall. More because she was dropped on the floor like a sack of potatoes. Unceremoniously and not important. Which came after being choked out by a metal hand. The oxygen was finally returning to her brain, and it wasn't pleasant.
She rolled over onto her side with a small groan. Opening her eyes, she stared at the wall of the wing. The emergency lights flashed above her to a beat she tried to place. Weirdly, the first thing that came to mind was a Fleetwood Mac song. It only just fit. She focused on that while what happened came back to her. Bucky - no, the Winter Soldier. The man impersonating the doctor had...had activated the Soldier.
"Shit." she immediately shifted so she can take in more of the room. The front part container Bucky had been held in was in pieces, scattered around the floor. Among the debris was a red leather journal with a black star engraved in the center of the cover. Similar to the one she and Dawson had found in Dnipropetrovsk. The one containing notes on Bucky's transition from Army soldier to Hydra asset. She moved over to grab it, noticing that it was open to a specific page. Russian words written out in a neat column - next to it someone had written the English translations. Homecoming. The Russian word tickled the back of her neck again, just as it had earlier. Closing the notebook, she shoved it into the waistband of her pants for safekeeping.
There was no sign of Bucky. But there was another figure who was face up next to the fishbowl. Sam. He had been thrown against it at such a specific angle with an appropriate amount of force so that his back hit the edge of the steel just right. Not enough to break it, but enough to send a shock through his body that would force him to be a bit disorientated for a few moments.
"Hey," she heard his voice call out - though not to her. The relief that flooded her body at the sound of his voice passed quickly. She followed his eyeline through the room before the holding area, and saw the man standing in the hallway, looking down into an elevator shaft.
"Sam, that's not -" she couldn't finish her sentence. The memory of the metal hand wrapped around her neck, cutting off her air supply, and crushing her vocal chords was still fresh in her mind. It would take a few moments for everything to heal fully. Luckily, Sam understood.
"I know." he got to his feet rather ungracefully. Though to be expected considering he was just launched across the room by the Winter Soldier. Hand reaching out to help Q up, she took it and got to her feet as well. The blood rushed from her head, making her a little dizzy for a moment. Like she had drank an entire bottle of wine sitting down, then stood up suddenly.
The feeling passed rather quickly, allowing her to follow Sam to the elevator. Bodies of the CIA lay motionless on the floor. Victims of the Winter Soldier. Few were breathing. She tried not to focus on them, instead trying to piece together the path of destruction and figure out what he was going to do next.
Sam was there, meaning Steve - at some point, was as well. Steve had no doubt engaged with Bucky in his Soldier state, having not learned his lesson from the previous time he had tried to go head to head with the Winter Soldier. The only one who was evenly matched with, hell maybe even better than, Steve. But there was no immediate sign of either him or Bucky.
Glass crunched against her feet while her eyes scanned the computer room they hurried through. It was a moving fight. Out of the area Bucky had been kept - activated, into the room with the computers, then out into the hallway. The dents in the elevator doors were akin to those of a rather large man being aggressively shoved through. Both of them had the strength to do so, but both also had the strength to push back. Well, until they couldn't.
The only way Q knew it ended up being Steve who was the one who had been pushed was because of the man. He had been standing at the elevator, looking down into it. Back to them made it hard to read his face, but his posture was clear. He was checking to see if his Soldier had been successful.
Though a fall from that height would hurt, it wouldn't necessarily kill Steve. She was reminded of the time he came crashing through the glass at the Triskelion after jumping out of the elevator from over a hundred stories up. This was nothing compared to that. If anything, it would just bruise him. Disorient him. Slow him down. Give Bucky the time he needed to make his escape - considering no one else was an even match against him. And those that tried wouldn't get very far.
While Sam headed to the stairs to try and catch up with the not doctor, Q braced herself against the bent doors of the elevator. She stared down into the dark abyss of the elevator shaft, trying to locate Steve. He had bounced around a bit, off of the walls and ledges before finally landing on top of the elevator cart. Thankfully, it wasn't that far down.
"Steve?" her voice was still rough and broken, but the echoed worked in her favor.
"I'm alright." he groaned back to her before letting out a slight cough, "You?"
"Fine." she cleared her throat before trying to speak again, "Bucky -" she stopped herself from repeating the obvious, "I'm sorry." she ended up saying, hearing him let out a deep sigh. He didn't respond further. It's not like they could have a real conversation anyway. What with Bucky on a Winter Soldier rampage in the middle of a CIA building after being framed for blowing up the United Nations, and the man who had activated him was currently trying to escape. There were bigger issues at hand.
Not wanting to just stand around and wait for Steve to pull himself out of the elevator shaft, Q moved to the staircase to try and catch up with Sam and the not doctor. The serum may have helped increase her stamina, but she didn't have a lot to begin with so the effects were moot. She still had to stop every so often to catch her breath while on her journey to the main floors. And it probably didn't help that she had been rendered unconscious twice in a matter of minutes.
The evacuation of the building was already in full swing. People who weren't CIA task force were all trying to get to the exit as fast as they could. Going with the crowd was the easiest option for her, but she still tried to keep her eyes sharp. She had gotten a good look at the guy; the image of his face was clear in her mind. But once she got outside, she realized it didn't matter. He was gone.
"Fuck." she breathed out. Turning in a slow circle, she tried one last time to see if he was lingering in the corners. Waiting to see what would happen. He wasn't. He had disappeared into the day, escaping to someplace Q had yet to figure out.
"We lost 'em." Sam stated the obvious, holding out the jacket the man had been wearing. She took it from him, turning it over in her hands and fishing into each of the pockets, "What now?" Clearing her throat, she began to come up with a plan,
"Steve's gone after Bucky." she told him while searching the jacket, "He'll kill himself before he loses him again." Both of them knew that to be true, "And with everyone in this building set to kill him...it's not going to end well." she pulled out a CIA ID badge from the pocket of the jacket, "Steve'll need backup." That much was a given considering how many people were currently not on his side.
"What about you?" Unsurprisingly, Sam was doubtful of Q's role in everything. Despite not being able to physically handle a fight against the Winter Soldier, he also wasn't quite sure who's side she was on these days.
"I'm going to figure out who the hell that guy was." she flipped over the CIA badge that had the real doctor's name written on it, "Find out what he wanted from Bucky." Sam scoffed a little at that,
"Clearly the Winter Soldier." Q would agree, but something was off. He activated the Winter Soldier only to leave him behind. She figured he would want Bucky around as protection, get him out of the building unharmed. But he had managed to do that on his own just fine. There was another motive lurking just below the surface and Q was intent on finding it out.
"There's gonna be a fight." Sam added pointedly. That much was obvious. But it was only a matter of time before it became clear between who.
"I'll get your gear then. Meet up with you guys after you get to a safer location." she nodded and Sam silently agreed. Pulling the jacket over herself, she took the Hydra journal out of the waistband of her pants, slipped the ID badge into the cover, then shoved the journal into one of the side pockets of the jacket. That way she could sneak everything back into the building without cause for concern.
Splitting up with him, she headed back into the CIA building - which was in a state of disarray. The main entrance area she had just come through moments before was destroyed. Tables and chairs were flipped and broken. Glass was everywhere. Bodies littering the floor. This was the work of the Winter Soldier. She recognized some of the patterns she had seen while learning about what happened to Bucky. What he did. Who he killed.
A few feet away, Sharon was helping Nat to her feet. Both had gone up against the Soldier in an attempt to stop him, but had ultimately failed. Sharon straightened up a bit to get rid of a crick in her back from being thrown down onto a table, while Nat had similar markings around her neck from being choked by a metal hand. Only Q's were already fading - Nat's would definitely bruise.
"There you are." Sharon breathed out in relief, moving to hug her friend momentarily while Nat glanced over her to make sure there were no visible injuries, "What happened down there?"
"The guy who was questioning Bucky was not the psychiatrist who was supposed to be questioning him." Q summed up, but neither of the other women looked surprised. Sharon nodded seriously, arms crossing over her chest, "Figured it out a second too late." she sighed dejectedly. Annoyed that she had these supposed enhanced abilities but still managed to fail.
"Do you know who he is?" Sharon asked, but Q shook her head.
"No, he knocked me out before I could." she sighed again, then dug her hand into her pocket to manuever around the cover of the Hydra journal for the ID badge, "He left this behind though." she handed the ID badge to Sharon, ignoring the flash of offense that briefly danced across Nat's face at not being chosen to hold the ID card. She would get it soon enough, "Theo Broussard the guy who was supposed to examine Bucky." she explained, "Check local news outlets, his apartment, whatever - figure out what happened to him." Nat went to ask why Q couldn't do it herself, but was cut off,
"Oh, thank god, you guys are okay." Dawson interrupted, running up to them. His hair flopped around a bit as it settled after he came to a stop in their group. He glanced at each of them as a sigh of relief escaped him. Nat gave him an unamused look, arms crossing over her chest,
"And where the hell were you?" she perked an eyebrow while Dawson's mouth opened a bit in response. Clearly being called out for something that Q had missed while unconscious. Then he scoffed, shoving a hand through his hair,
"Hiding, obviously." he made his eyes a bit wider, "I'm not stupid enough to think I can go up against the Winter Soldier." he defended his apparent choices with a shake of his head. Nat rolled her eyes, "Though I did see him kick the shit out of Stark so that was nice." he made face, hands planting on his hips. Q's eyes shifted over to where Tony was being escorted away from the scene to by some CIA agent.
"Shar, can I get a second?" she asked with a slight tilt of her head. Sharon nodded, eyes sharpening at Q's request. Then they shifted over to where Dawson and Nat were talking a bit, but the subject had clearly changed. He was gently checking out the marks on Nat's neck to make sure no real damage had been done.
"Hey, you should probably go with Tony," Sharon nodded her head over to the direction Tony had went, "They'll check her out and make sure she's okay." Dawson nodded, then let his eyes flick over to Q's for a brief moment before glancing away again. Neither one of them said anything, mostly because Dawson wasn't sure what he could say versus what he couldn't say. So instead, he focused on Nat - figuring he'd get filled in later.
"We'll see you up there." he nodded at her before turning back to Nat. She and Sharon watched him place a gentle hand on the small of her back and walk with her to where Tony was being led to the working elevators.
"So," Sharon turned back to her, hands on her hips, "what's up?" she raised her eyebrows at Q.
"I need the receipt for Steve and Sam's gear." she got straight to the point. There was no time to beat around the bush. Sharon took in a deep breath, then let it out heavily, "Sharon, there's a reason that guy activated the Winter Soldier." she still wasn't any closer to finding it out, but that was beside the point, "And you know this is going to end in a fight. It always ends in a fight." she repeated what Bucky had said earlier. It was true. And it was tiring. God, how she hoped this would be the last fight. Though, she knew it wouldn't be. It never would be. "They're gonna need all the help they can get." she said her piece, standing her ground firmly with her hands on her hips.
"Yeah," Sharon sighed out, wiping her hands together, "yeah, he'll need all the help he can get. From you." she added on though not in a malicious way. That was what got Q's attention.
Because, no, Sharon wasn't inadvertently reminding her out for all the times that Steve needed Q and she wasn't there, or trying to be annoyed that Q was the one that Steve called on rather than her. Instead, there was almost a dejected tone to her words. A flash of longing that briefly appeared across Sharon's features before disappearing was enough to support her tone. Enough to let Q know that there had been something there. That at one point, and maybe still sometimes in the present, Sharon had feelings for Steve.
"Listen, I won't be able to help him if you don't help me first." she pointed out, trying to help her see that she was just as needed as anyone else on the team. She didn't care about her friend's feelings toward Steve. What she cared about was Steve.
"Fine." she agreed after a moment, hands settling back on her hips, "I'll get you the gear and meet you by the river in fifteen." she laid out their plan. Q nodded, understanding that Sharon didn't have the receipt on her, and would need to go back to the main operations control to get it. Something that Q couldn't necessarily do without being stopped and forced into a debrief, considering she had personal contact with both the not doctor and the Winter Soldier himself.
For the next fifteen minutes, Q paged through the journal she had picked up from the floor of the containment room. There were a few dog-eared pages with notes in English scribbled in the margins. New ones that matched the handwriting of the translations of the trigger words. A patterned became clear; the man was looking for the Siberia base. Where Hydra had continued their Soldier Project - tweaking it and fine tuning it until they achieved perfection. She had remembered reading about it on the black box. If the man was trying to get to Siberia, then that meant he was going to activate the Soldiers that were left.
An unmarked Audi rolled up beside where Q had been waiting. Sharon got out of the driver's side and tossed the keys to Q, who fumbled with them before getting a firm grip. Meeting at the trunk, Sharon popped the lid open to show her what was inside. Steve's shield stood out among the other gear, but Sam's jetpack was fit snug against it. There were two duffel bags - with uniforms, and a slimmer one with the additional request Q had told Sharon to get before they went their separate ways.
"They're going to come looking for this stuff. And then me. And then you." Q stared at the gear that was in the trunk. Even with the receipt, once the CIA found out that Sharon had aided and abetted Q in escaping - and Q was someone who had personal relations with Steve, Sharon would be in as much trouble as she was.
"I know." Sharon had clearly already accepted her fate. The two friends shared eye contact for a moment, both realizing they were risking their lives and reputations once again for Steve Rogers. It dawned on Q that Sharon continually helped her, over and over again, and Q had barely returned the favor. Disappointed with herself, she tried not to linger on it. For so long she believed that she had an equal friendship with all of her friends but it was becoming more and more clear that she kept taking advantage of the people she loved most. She made herself a promise to work harder at making her friendships and relationships more of a two way street rather than a one way.
"Thank you, Shar." Q was grateful that her friend still decided to help her despite everything. She nodded, then paused for a moment.
"There's more to this story than what you're telling me, isn't there, Q?" she asked with a slight lift of her chin. Her hand tapped against the top of the trunk, "Beside the whole psychiatrist, Winter Soldier thing."
"Yeah," she sighed out, gifting her friend with a sad smile but not much more of an explanation. Sharon gave her an understanding smile, then nodded.
"Maybe one day you'll tell me." she raised her eyebrows up and Q gave a little laugh in response.
"Trust me, it's not that great of a story." It didn't have a happy ending either. Sharon tilted her head to the side and made a noise of dissent, "But I will tell you. Once this is all over."
"Whatever...this is." Sharon gestured vaguely and Q let out a sigh. Now that she knew what his plan was, dread had settled itself in the pit of her stomach. She wondered if Steve and Sam knew what the not doctor was planning on doing.
"I should get going." Sharon wrapped up their conversation. Q nodded, giving her a slight smile before stepping forward to bring Sharon in for a hug. She hugged Q back tightly, letting out a slow controlled breath. "Be safe." she advised and Q tried not to roll her eyes.
"You too." she responded with a small smile and nod. They stepped out of their hug which let Sharon reach up to close the trunk while Q crossed by her to get to the driver's side.
During the fifteen minutes she had been waiting for Sharon, Sam had shared a location pin with her. Enough for her to know where he, and hopefully Steve and Bucky were together. She opened the location on her GPS, allowing it to tell her where to go. A chance to regroup and get themselves together before the next day began,
The sun was beginning to set as she got to her destination. The address was familiar, though she wasn't sure why. She had never been there before. The house was a little bit outside the city, but still in a seemingly residential area. Nothing out of the ordinary, but definitely a little bit rundown and older. Her eyes scanned over the house, then back to the address that was displayed on her phone. That's when she realized it was a Hydra safehouse. Or at least it used to be. The address was listed with several others on the blackbox she had gone through. For a moment, she briefly wondered how Steve and Sam knew about it. Then, she saw a figure in the upstairs window, acting like some sort of look out.
There was an old, dark blue Volkswagen Beetle sitting out front that somehow looked out of place but also like it belonged at the same time. Maneuvering out of the Audi, Q grabbed a handgun from the trunk, but left the rest of the stuff inside. She tucked it in the back waistband of her pants, then moved to the door.
Knocking once, she waited a moment until she heard one of the locks click. It opened as much as the door chain would allow, but enough to see that it was Steve on the other side. They stared at each other for a long moment before he shut the door to unlock the other locks.
After the last twelve hours, standing face to face with each other again was beginning to vy for the award of being their most awkward and tense reunion. Matched only with the one that happened on Clint's homestead a year before.
Steve finally knew everything. What happened to her in the Hydra facility, the real reason behind her disappearance, how she was Bucky's grand-niece, and how she hadn't signed the Accords because she wanted to prove that she supported him. All the cards were on the table.
She wanted to feel relieved. There was nothing between them anymore. Nothing to hold them back from being really together. In their most honest sense. Yet, she was nervous. Now came the fallout. And she could understand if he never wanted to see her again.
"Hey," he greeted her tightly once he fully opened the door. She gave him a small smile and nodded back in her own wordless greeting.
"I got your gear from the CIA." she glanced over her shoulder at where the Audi was parked, "And your uniforms, some tact gear for Bucky, if you need it." she wasn't sure if Bucky was the figure she saw in the window, but it would make sense that he would be with them. It was an old Hydra safehouse after all. Who else would've led them there? Steve followed her gaze then looked back at her.
"Thanks." a quick, grateful smile flashed across his features before he became serious again. The awkward, tense silence that both of them hated took over for a few long moments before Q cleared her throat. She could tell when she wasn't wanted. Even without the enhancements. He had made his decision. She had fucked up one too many times. The straw that broke the camel's back.
"I don't know if everything'll fit in that trunk, but I can just leave it in the garage area if you want. Then I'll get out of your hair." she raised her hands up and took a small step back. He hesitated, which she caught and for a fleeting moment she thought he would stop her. But, then he nodded, hand falling off where it had been resting against the door.
"Thank you, Q." he sounded almost sad to be accepting her offer, but Q thought she was reading too much into it. Her brain was playing tricks on her, finding something she desperately wanted to hear.
With a nod, she turned away from Steve and started back down the beaten path she had come up a few moments earlier. Only pausing when she heard Steve call out her name. She turned back, forcefully pushing her hopes down deep even though they were bubbling.
"Q, I...I don't want to leave it like this." he admitted with a gesture of his hand toward her, "Us." he clarified even though he didn't need to.
"I don't either." she shook her head though she was agreeing, "And you deserve an explanation."
"I deserve more than that." he scoffed a little, one hand running through his hair while the other settled on his hip. She tried not to smile - he was right.
"Can you let me explain then?" she asked hopefully, eyebrows raising as she did. He considered her question for a long moment. One that passed too slowly, but too quickly at the same time. He needed to know what had gone through her head, why she didn't tell him, and why she kept it for so much longer than she needed to. He needed closure.
"I have some time." he agreed and she tried not to let out a sigh of relief. Instead, she gave him a bit of a smile as she started back up the walk to him.
"Thanks for fitting me in to your oh so busy schedule." she joked which made him roll his eyes - but she did catch the slight upward tug of his lips as he tried not to smile. Just seeing that settled her nerves a little. There was still a chance for a happy ending.
A/N: Ohhhhh ok a lil break between the chaos and action! Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter - truly can't believe this story is at 95 chapters now! Ah! So wild. I couldn't have done it without any of you. Please let me know what you think!