A/N: Sorry, no excuses for the long wait. Life just happens. But I have actually been working on this, so here's your chapter.
Read it. Enjoy it.
"I am Groot."
The voice was so tiny, but it caught Katie's ear. When she opened her eyes, there standing was a tiny tree like being with a smile on his face as he stared a her.
"I am Groot." it once again spoke, one of his tiny limbs touching Katie's fingers. Katie glanced around, trying to figure out where she was and how she could've possibly got here. She was on the space ship, the one she remembers from her dreams. "I am Groot."
"I know Groot." Katie replied turning to the little tree with a smile. "And I am dreaming, only this one like my others doesn't make any sense."
"I ammmm Groot." he once again said and this time some how Katie understood something beyond the words.
"What do you mean this is real?" she asked as she felt the side of her head that was pounding. "This can't be real, because you're a talking tree." she glanced back to him. "Smaller than I remember though."
"I am Groot." he replied somberly.
"I know, I saw what you did and it was very brave." Katie replied with a smile. "You saved your friends."
"I am Groot." he said with a smile.
"What do you mean you saved me too?"
A bright light seemed to jerk Katie from the dream. The light was followed by something cold touching her head and her eyes snapped open to see the worried eyes of Steve Rogers looking down to her.
"Oh thank goodness." he said the moment he saw her eyes. "How do you feel?"
"Like my head is about to explode." Katie grimaced trying to sit up, but Steve held her in place.
"Wait, not so fast. You hit your head pretty hard." Steve said carefully helping the woman to sit up. Katie placed her hand on the ice pack Steve held against her head.
"What the hell happened?" Katie asked looking back to Steve.
"Bucky tried to get away, and it seemed like he wanted to take you with him." Steve replied with a shake of his head. "Still have no idea why, but I was able to stop him."
"How exactly?"
"There are perks to being super strong." Steve replied unconsciously rubbing his sore arms. "I did kind of cause the plane to crash and fall off the building, and into the water." Katie eyes went wide. "Hey, I pulled you out this time." Katie turned away with a shake of her head.
"Where is Bucky?" Katie asked and Steve nudged his head. That's when Katie began looking around the old, beat up building they were in. "Better question, where are we?" it looked like some kind of car repair garage, but the amount of dust and trash in the place only meant it wasn't still in business.
"Some place safe." Steve said standing to his feet. He held out a hand to Katie, helping her to stand as well. "Sam is watching Bucky."
"He's saying anything yet?"
"Not to me." Steve replied and Katie sighed before following after the man. "Why do you think he dragged you along with him?"
"No idea, my only guess is Bucky was still in there trying to get help." Katie replied when she spotted Sam. The man turned to them as they walked inside, Katie's eyes going to Bucky who sat on the floor, his arm trapped underneath some kind of machine so he couldn't move.
"How's your head?" Sam asked and Katie glanced over to him before tossing him the ice pack.
"It's been better." Katie replied before turning to Bucky, who too was awake and looking at her. She took a step to get closer, but Steve caught her arm.
"I'm pretty sure your husband is going to kill me, there is no reason to add gas to the flame." Steve said turning to Bucky. "Which Bucky am I talking to?" the man didn't say anything, he dropped his head and Katie took another step forward.
"Er fragte Sie eine Frage, Soldat." Katie spoke and Sam and Steve shared a look before turning back to the woman.
"Ich bin kein Soldat." Bucky replied lifting his head to meet the woman's eyes. He looked up noticing the cut on her head. "I did that?"
"You did." Katie replied glancing over to his arm that was trapped. "Excuse us if we don't take your word for it, but we're going to need more than that." she turned back to the man. Bucky glanced over to Steve.
"Your mother's name is Sarah. You used to wear newspapers in your shoes." Bucky said and Steve let out a sigh.
"You can't read that in any museum." Steve replied and Sam scoffed.
"Just like that, we're suppose to be cool?" Sam asked stepping in, hoping he isn't the only one hesitant about just forgiving every thing that just happened.
"What did I do?" Bucky asked turning back to Katie who was still standing there, studying him.
"Well you didn't make yourself look innocent." Katie replied with a shake of her head. "The room is kind of spinning so I'm just going to-" she lowered herself to the floor, folding her legs in front of her.
"I knew this would happen." Bucky sighed with a shake of his head. "Everything HYDRA put inside me is still there. All he had to do is say the god damn words."
"He activated the Winter Soldier program that's apparently still embedded inside of you?" Katie asked and the man simply nodded.
"Who is he?" Steve asked and Bucky glanced over with a shake of his head.
"I don't know." was the only answer he had to the question.
"People are dead. The bombing. The set up. The doctor did all that just to get 10 minutes with you. I need you to do better than "I don't know." Steve said seriously. They all waited for Bucky to give them something.
"He wanted to know about Siberia. Where I was kept. He wanted to know exactly where." Bucky answered and Katie dropped her head and let out a sigh.
"Why would he want to know that?"
"Because he's a bad guy." Katie answered lifting her head and standing back to her feet. "Also maybe he wanted to look for the others."
"What others?" Sam asked.
"Others like me." Bucky added. "I'm not the only Winter Soldier." Steve glanced from Katie back to Bucky, so many questions now picking around his brain.
"Who are they?"
"The most elite death squad. More kills than anyone in the HYDRA history. And that was before the serum." Bucky replied and Steve turned to Katie with a quirked brow.
"You knew about this?" Steve asked and Katie nodded.
"I knew bits and pieces, and you actually know some of it too." Katie replied taking a step toward the man. "That HYDRA facility Bucky is talking about was actually masquerading as a SHIELD facility. The prison for the worst of the worse."
"The BLACK?" Steve asked and Katie nodded.
"I'm sorry, for those of us who haven't been an Avenger since it's inception." Sam asked looking from Katie to Steve, hoping one of them could explain what the hell was happening.
"I was taken to this underground prison in Serbia." Katie replied turning back to Bucky and kneeling in front of him. "We over at SHIELD called it the BLACK. It was pretty much one of the many myths that swirled around that place. But it exists, and not only that, but it was actually a front for something even more sinister."
"How did you know about the soldiers?" Steve asked and Katie sighed.
"Because when you're locked in a room and some sick bastard messes with your head you do whatever you have to, to get to the truth behind it all. I dug into SHIELD files as deep as I could and I didn't get much, but I did find a file about an operation to create the best of the best soldiers." Katie replied. " I assumed they were trying to recreate more like Steve, but I should've figured anyone being kept in the BLACK wouldn't be the next Captain America."
"Wait, when we found you-"
"The Specialist had begun the procedure." Katie replied her eyes still on Bucky. "I think I was going to be one of them."
"You should've stayed under my bed." Bucky said with a slight smile and Katie lightly chuckled before standing to her feet.
"So are they all like you?" Sam asked Bucky who looked over and shook his head.
"Worse." he answered.
"The doctor, can he control them?" Steve asked and Bucky slightly shook his head.
"Enough."
"He said he wanted to see an empire fall."
" With these guys, he can do it. They speak 30 languages, can hide in plain sight, infiltrate, assassinate, destabilize. They can take a whole country down in 1 night. You'd never see them coming."
"Except we want to see them coming." Katie replied as she closed her eyes and began trying to work this problem in her head.
"If we call Tony-"
"Oh he won't believe us." Sam interrupted and Steve nodded.
"Even if he did. Who knows if the Accords will let him help." Steve replied and Katie scoffed. "We're on our own."
"Maybe not." Sam replied. "I know a guy." he slipped his phone from his pocket. "Give me an hour." without another word the man rushed out of there. Steve let out a sigh before turning to Katie who stood, eyes closed but mouth moving.
"What are you thinking, Katie?" Steve asked and the woman opened her eyes and turned to him.
"The Winter Soldier Program is just that. A string of code embeded into these people-" she turned to Bucky. "Into you."
"Are you saying you can shut the program down?" Steve asked and Katie shrugged.
"After all this time, it's ingrain so to speak, but maybe there is a way, but I wouldn't know until I actually took a look at it." Katie replied with a shake of her head. "I wonder the chances of finding a computer in here." the woman glanced around. "I'm just going to go wander around, holler if we're under attack." and with that the woman wandered out of the room. Steve turned back to Bucky, whose eyes watched Katie until she was gone. He turned back to Steve, finally noticing the confusion in his old friend's face.
"I don't get it. He activated you, you were no longer Bucky Barnes, you were the Winter Soldier, and yet you attempt to take her where ever you were about to go." Steve said and Bucky turned away.
"When it happens, I blank out. I'm no longer me, I'm-" Bucky let out a deep sigh. "I'm him, but this time I remember hearing her voice." he looked back to Steve. "There is something about her-"
"Trust me, I know." Steve sighed, falling back to lean against the wall.
"I don't think you do." Bucky replied. "That program is supposed to wipe everything that is Buchanan Barnes away, and replace him with a Soldier whose only's purpose is completing his mission." the man glanced back to the door. "And then I heard her voice and it was like she opened a door that was suppose to stay locked." he turned back to Steve. "And I have no idea how she did it."
"If it makes you feel any better, I don't think she does either." Steve replied seeing how confused the man was with all of this.
"It doesn't make me feel better."
Clint gripped his phone as he listened to Natasha recount the events after he spoke with Katie. He thought they were close to finally getting back to their lives, but apparently Bucky was released and Katie was no where to be found.
"Say something Barton." Natasha sighed when she was finished.
"What do you want me to say?" Clint asked. He stood in the middle of the farm looking over to the house. "What am I supposed to say in this moment?"
"I could think of a couple of words, but they're probably not suitable for my goddaughter's ears."
"I'm not in the house. The moment the phone rang, I just knew something was wrong. She couldn't let this go."
"She can't let anything go. She's got it in her head that Bucky needs saving and she's digging herself deeper and deeper in a hole she's not going to be able to get herself out of."
"Is she right, is Bucky being set up?"
"Even if he is, he just bulldozed his way out of here, taking down federal agents. Ross wants him brought in, along with Katie, Steve and Sam." Natasha let out a sigh.
"Just ask me."
"Have you heard from her?" Clint let out a dry chuckle as he shook his head. "I can't believe I just asked you that, but I did. Barton-"
"I'm hanging up now. Look Matt should be headed your way. He's upset so keep an eye on him." Clint replied before pulling the phone from his ear, and ending the call.
Natasha let out another sigh as she pulled the phone from her ear and turned back to Tony who stood waiting.
"Has she called him?"
"Did you really expect him to answer that question even if he did?" Natasha asked with a shake of her head as she dropped back to her seat "I can't believe I really asked him to throw his wife under the bus."
"Better under a bus than in front of bullets." Tony replied with a shake of his head. "I don't even get her anymore. She was always smart, logical and this—this isn't logical."
"Nothing that woman did was logical Tony." Natasha said as the man glanced over to her. "It's why SHIELD hired her. Hell it's why you were drawn to her in the first place." the woman turned and Tony followed her eyes to Secretary Ross who stepped inside the conference room.
"And I don't suppose you have any idea where they are." the Secretary asked.
"We will." Tony assured with a nod. "GSG-9's got the borders covered. Recons flying 24/7. They'll get a hit. We'll handle it."
"You don't get it, Stark." Ross scoffed with a shake of his head. "It's not yours to handle. It's clear you can't be objective. I'm putting special ops on this."
"And what happens when the shooting starts, let them kill Steve Rogers?" Natasha asked. "Oh I know, let them kill the woman who isn't a super soldier."
"If we are provoked." The man replied without hesitation. " Barnes would have been eliminated in Romania if it wasn't for Rogers and Banks. There are dead people who would be alive now. Feel free to check my math."
"All due respect, you're not going to solve this with boys in bullet proof vests. You got to let us bring then in."
"And how will that end any differently from the last time?" Ross asked.
"Because this time I won't be wearing Loafers and a silk suit." Tony replied . "72 hours, guaranteed."
"36 hours. Barnes. Rogers. Wilson and Banks." Ross ordered before turning to leave, but stopped and looked back to the man. "Banks does not get away with this." Tony simply gave a nod before watching the man leave.
"My arm is numb." Tony said dropping to a seat. Natasha stood to her feet and walked over, placing a hand on the man's shoulder.
"Are you alright?" Natasha asked and Tony glanced over to her with a weak smile.
"Always. 36 hours." Tony sighed. "You know I'm starting think the Secretary has a personal vendetta against my Kitten."
"Starting to think?" Natasha asked with a shake of her head. "Katie snuck onto a military base, and gave information to a man he'd been investigating. She refused to tell him what she knew, even when he tossed her into a prison and tried to scare the truth out of her." the woman shook her head. "He was forced to release her when his commanding officers found out he was holding a civilian without any charges."
"So he's just chomping at the bit to toss her into a cell." Tony sighed sliding a hand over his tired eyes. "I won't be able to save her from this."
"We won't be able to save any of them from this. Especially ourselves. We're seriously understaffed."
"Oh, yeah. It would be great if we had a hulk
right about now." Tony looks over to the woman who just rolls her eyes. "Any shot?"
"No. You really think he'd be on our side?" the woman asked and Tony shook his head because he already knew the answer to that question.
"I know." suddenly the man's eyes go wide and Natasha could practically see the light bulb over his head.
"I have an idea." Natasha says looking down to the man.
"Me too" Tony replies. "Where's yours?"
"Downstairs. Where's yours?" she felt uneasy as a smile came to the man's face.
They needed to move. That was pretty much the consensus once Sam returned. Once they felt Bucky could be trusted they uncuffed him.
"So what's the next move?" Sam asked, keeping a wary eye on Bucky. He glanced around the shop before turning back to Steve. "And where's Katie?"
"She's somewhere around here looking for a computer." Steve said glancing around as well. "We need to move out. The longer we're in one place too long, the greater chance of us getting caught."
"And where would we be going?" Sam asked and Steve looked over to the man.
"Only person on the outside I can trust at the moment. I made a call to Sharon Carter, and she agreed to meet us."
"So you trust the people we just escaped from?"
"No, just her." Steve replied before looking up as Katie walked back into the room. "Where did you go?"
"Well I went looking for a computer, but then stopped when I realized something." Katie said with a shake of her head. "I haven't seen my daughter in days." Steve let out a sigh as Katie shook her head. "I have to go."
"Go where?" Sam asked walking over. "We're all at the top of lists of people to be found dead or alive. It's dangerous for you to just head home like nothing's happened."
"I know." Katie closed her eyes for a moment before looking back up to Steve. "I have an idea."
"Is it dangerous?" Steve asked and Katie looked at him with a quirked brow. "More dangerous than what we've done already."
"Dangerous, no. Risky yes." Katie replied. "But I can't run around without seeing Bart or Tai. They have to know I'm alright. Plus maybe I can recruit another player for our team."
"You think Clint would go for that?"
"I think I can usually talk him into a lot of things." Katie replied before looking down to her wrist watch. "It's all a matter of if he will listen. Look if this guy is headed to Siberia, we need to beat him there and try to at least destroy the program."
"That would be easier if the entire government and two Avengers weren't on our ass." Sam said and Katie looked over to him with a nod.
"Which is why we need Sharon." Steve said. "We need someone on the inside."
"Fine, contact her, let me know the next move. I will call Bart, and somehow find a way to rescue our Scarlett Witch." Katie looked over to Sam giving him a fist bump before glancing over to Bucky who didn't say much. "If someone you don't know talks to you, cover your ears and sing Star Spangle Banner." the woman turned and headed out the door.
"That woman is all sorts of crazy." Sam said with a shake of his head. "But I'm glad she's on our side with this."
"Me too." Steve replied before turning to Bucky. "We should probably find a car."
Clint stood outside for a few moments longer, not really sure how to explain what was happening. He didn't even know where he would start, but he knew he couldn't just stand here all day. He'd only taken a single step before his phone rang again. He looked down to the unknown number and quickly brought it to his ear. No one said anything right away, and that's how he knew it was her.
"You have a good explanation Kat. I'm standing here after everything you told me on our last call, everything you promised, I have to believe you broke all of it for a good reason. Now tell me what it was?"
"Faith." was all Katie said. "I have faith that Bucky is innocent. Faith that I can help stop the next big fuck up to hit our nation. I have faith that I can help prevent lots of lives from being taken."
"What are you talking about?"
"How much do you know?" Katie asked.
"Someone broke into the CIA hideout, spoke some words to Bucky and then he went on a killing spree."
"That man who snuck in, before he muttered those words, questioned Bucky about the facility he was kept in Siberia."
"Siberia, what-" Clint stopped because there was one place he knew was in Siberia. "BLACK."
"Yeah. Apparently he wanted to know about the Winter Soldier program."
"He wanted to know about Bucky?"
"No, he wanted to know about the other subjects who were supposed to be like Bucky. The subjects that are still there right now."
"You're telling me that some maniac set Bucky up to get him locked up so he could get close enough to learn about the location of Operation BLACK."
"It sounds crazy, but that's what all the pieces are looking like. I know I promised that I would let this go, that I would just come home, but if this guy gets his hands on these soldiers, these super soldiers that are practically unstoppable, then I believe there would be worst trouble ahead for us."
"And Steve and Sam couldn't do this alone?"
"It's a computer program. One that will probably need to be destroyed or even stopped if this gets too far. In that instance, they would need me, and right now I need you."
"Kat-"
"We need allies. In case we get there and there are a bunch of Winter soldiers traipsing around. We're going to need the Avengers, or at least as many as we can get."
"Kat-"
"I know what you're going to say. That you can't just drop everything on one of my theories, but I need you to trust me Bart. This could get bad really quick and we could use all the help we can get to stop it."
"Can I speak now?" Clint asked finally and Katie sighed.
"Sure."
"Kat, I believe you."
"You do?" the woman asked genuinely surprised. "All of it."
"Yeah, all of it. I know you and I know even though you only have bits and pieces, it's usually right in the end."
"Why do I feel like there's a but in there somewhere?"
"Because you're there and you're asking me to be there, and I gotta wonder if we're both gone, who's gonna be here with our daughter?" Clint asked and he heard the woman once again sigh. "Kat-"
"I told myself I would be back, that I wouldn't be gone long because I didn't want her to ever feel like I'd abandoned her. And now...what kind of a mother am I?"
"The kind that tries to rid the world of all the bad stuff so it'll never get to your daughter." Clint replied. "You are a great mother, and your daughter will know that. I just-" he turned back to the house at the sound of laughter and he remembered that Cynthia and Martin were here. "I may have an idea. Where do you want to meet?"
"Well, the thing is, I may need you to make a couple of stops before you get to me."
Matthew Banks was clearly annoyed as he stood in the small questioning room. He'd arrived just moments earlier to speak with Secretary Ross, but the moment he flashed his badge he was escorted to this room left to wait.
The man found himself pacing, when the door suddenly pushed open and the Secretary finally appeared. Matthew turned to the man, standing up straight and holding out a hand to the man.
"Mr. Secretary, thanks for meeting with me. I know-"
"Do you know where your sister is, Agent Banks?" Ross asked not even bothering to shake the man's hand.
"I wouldn't be here if I knew where my sister was, sir." Matthew replied realizing the handshake wasn't happening, so he dropped his hand to his side. "Look sir I'm here to help and make this retrieval as smooth as possible, with as little bullets as possible."
"I have a list of fatalities from that UN meeting, another list of agents who have been hospitalized by a terrorist who your sister, Steve Rogers, and Sam Wilson are all helping. I don't care about making this smooth, as long as it gets done. You want a peace mission, I suggest you tag along with Stark and Ms. Romanoff. They're going to try to ring this in without the bullets, but I gave them 36 hours to get it done. After that, I get involved. And when I get involved in searching for terrorists, I don't count bullets." Matthew simply gave a nod before walking around the man toward the door. "Agent Black." Matthew stopped and turned back to Ross.
"Haven't gone by that in a long time sir."
"I know, I've read your file. Read about Operation Titan and what happened to your men." Ross watched the man turn slightly, before turning back to him. "The day you join the CIA, you made an oath to your country. I know your sister-"
"I know the oath sir. I was trained in priorities,so I know where my sister ranks when it comes to taking down a terrorist."
"So you won't mind if your line is monitored."
"You should've probably asked that before you actually started monitoring it." Matthew replied with a smile. "Sir." he gave a nod before turning and stepping out of the room.
The smile dropped from his face the moment he stalked down the halls. He dialed Tony's number as he walked, only stopping when he spotted a familiar face up ahead.
"Hey Spider Ninja!" the moment she hears the name, Natasha stops and turns glaring at the man. "I heard you have a mission, ,and you may need some help."
"I'm not sure you heard but this is team stop Bucky and all his followers. That includes your sister." Natasha replied as she continued down the hall, stepping into the elevator. Matthew quickly followed.
"I know." Matthew said. "My sister is aiding a terrorist. A man who nearly killed me." he shook his head at the thought. It was the single thought that ran rampant in his mind. He really couldn't believe his sister would do such a thing.
"She doesn't think he's guilty." Natasha looked over to the man who she could tell was holding way too much emotion to be focused completely on the goal of this mission. "She thinks he's a victim of SHEILD and of HYDRA and she's attempting to help him. Maybe she's right." Matthew turned to the woman with a quirked brow. "We have dead diplomats, and only one suspect. We need to find them, because if we don't then people with guns and grenades will."
"When do we leave?" Matthew asked and Natasha shook her head as she stepped from the elevator. "What?"
"You have no idea what you're doing, do you?" Natasha asked stopping and turning to the man. "This fight it's too close to home. I'm pretty sure none of us will be the same after it. If you come along you could lose whatever relationship you were hoping to have with your sister and her family."
"You're asking me about my loyalty, but she's the one who did this. I don't care it Bucky or the Winter Soldier was mind fucked, to her he's supposed to be the man that almost killed her brother and for that she's not supposed put her life on the line for him." Matthew shook his head as he glanced around the hall. "When does this happen?"
"I have to go talk to someone, but Tony should be calling soon when there is a location." Natasha replied.
"Good, I have time to grab some stuff." Matthew turned back to the woman. "Call me when you have a location." and with that the man turned and walked away. Natasha watched him for a moment with a shake of his head. She knew everything that came out of that man's mouth were just hurt feelings and not someone interested in the mission. She just hoped he knew what he was getting himself into. The woman turned, stepping onto the elevator and closing her eyes on the ride down. Even she couldn't believe how far they've come. She liked their little dynamic, where they all got a long and now she wasn't even sure if there would be a team after all of this. Once the elevator stopped and the doors slid open, Natasha opened her eyes, and stalked off of the elevator , her eyes scanning the floor until she spotted the woman she'd been looking for. She didn't hesitate to walk over to the woman who glanced up in confusion.
"Agent Carter, we need to talk." Natasha said and the Agent stood to her feet.
"About?" Sharon asked.
"Your little meeting you think no one knows about with Mr. Rogers and his band of misfits." Natasha watched the woman glance around to see if anyone had heard. She turned back to Natasha, nudging her head to the side so they can speak privately. Natasha followed the woman across the office, to one of the meeting rooms where Sharon closed the door behind them. "Look-"
"You guys were a team once." Sharon said turning to the woman. "We all saw it. Saw how in the face of unknown danger you looked it right in the face and took it down together. Why has that changed now? You saw what that impostor did, heard what he said to Bucky and how quickly he changed. A man who can sneak into a CIA facility, get close to a confined suspect, can probably make the world believe one man killed a room full of diplomats when he really didn't."
"That may be so, but the truth is what you believe, what I believe will not stop Ross from sending an army after them. You're right we are a team, it's why it's us that need to go after them. You don't get it, us or them someone is coming after them. It's just if it's us, they're more likely to come out the other end alive." Sharon turned away with a slight shake of her head. She knew Natasha was right, new that there was no clean get away with this. "Agent Carter-" Sharon turned back to the woman, knowing the one thing she didn't want to do, she would have to do. She took a deep breath and hoped this was the right decision.
It was late when Katie finally got the call from Steve. It was time to make the move to the air port and Katie couldn't shake the sudden nerves that struck her that morning. Time was dwindling away and she just new the simple plan of getting on a plane, flying to a faraway place to stop a bad guy from unleashing other bad guys, wouldn't be so simple.
At the moment, maybe she looked too conspicuous. She sat on a park bench, hood over her head, and sunglasses firmly placed over her eyes. She took a sip from her cup that held the worst coffee she'd ever tasted, just as she felt the seat beside her shift.
"You're being hunted by the CIA and you want to meet in the day light, in the middle of a park." A familiar voice spoke, and she couldn't help the smile that pulled at her lips. She didn't know how much she needed to hear that voice, this close her until this moment. She turned to see her husband, baseball cap on his head as he seemed to be studying her
"I'm fine." she said, just as he reached up and slightly pushed the hood from her head noticing the scar on her forehead. He turned meeting her eyes, waiting for an explanation. "It was just a minor accident...in a helicopter."
"That makes me feel so much better Kat." he replies sliding his hand to her cheek, and she couldn't help but to lean into his touch. Clint didn't know how much he needed this moment, needing to touch her, to just see her. He'd been so scared with so many scenarios playing over and over in his head about all the bad things that could be happening. A part of him thought he wouldn't have this moment.
"You pick up our friends?" Katie asks, and Clint can't help but chuckle at the question. "How did it go?"
"Piece of cake." Clint said with a shake of his head. "I mean it was just an alien being and a ex con." he looked back over to his wife. "Does Steve know what he's doing?"
"Absolutely not." Katie replied leaning forward, bringing their lips closer. "I sort of thought that was the team motto." Clint's lips captured hers in a slow, searing kiss. They almost forgot their lives, almost forgot they were sitting on a park bench. Almost forgot there was a government agency probably looking for them. When the need for air was too strong, they pulled apart and with air came reality, Their reality. "I am going to make this right."
"Kat-"
"I know what you're going to say, but I know you wish I could be one of those people who leave well enough alone." she looked up meeting Clint's eyes, placing a hand on his cheek. "I shouldn't have went to that meeting. I should have stayed with my husband and our adorable daughter and our married sex, and I should have just been happy. We wouldn't be here if I could have just accepted that my life was fine the way it was."
"Kat, I don't wish you were anyone else but who you are. And you are woman who does what ever she can to right the wrongs of the world, and I knew that before I married you. It's also one of the reasons why I'm so crazy about you. So I'm here, here to help you right this wrong and get back to our lives." Katie leaned in stealing another kiss before standing to her feet.
"Alright, we have to go." Clint stood to his feet, taking her hand and leading her through the park. "So, I don't really know a whole lot about Sam's friend." she looked over to her husband. "What's the verdict?"
"Interesting choice, but I guess in times of crisis, you take what you can get." Clint said with a shrug. "Apparently he worked with Dr. Hank Pym-"
"Seriously, he worked with Hank?" Clint turned with a quirked brow. "I interned at Pym Technologies in college. That guy was a genius. I guess if he worked with Hank, there has to be something special about him." Katie noticed the white van and the moment they got close, Wanda jumped out of the van, pulling her into a hug. "Sorry I wasn't at the prison break, but I'm sure my Hawk was able to get the job done."
"He did." Wanda said pulling from the hug and glancing over to Clint. "Gave some sage advice I needed to hear." she turned back to Katie. "He filled me in on what's happening. Do you think we can really make it to this facility before it's too late."
"Depends on the types of obstacles we run into." Katie replies before glancing around the woman to the van. "Where's Sam's friend?"
"Oh he's sleeping, has been for quite some time." Wanda said glancing back as well. "He seems like a strange choice for an ally." she looked between Katie and Clint. "Are you sure he's the person you were meant to retrieve."
"Sam seems to think he has a set of skills we could use." Katie sighs before glancing down to her watch. "And at the moment we don't have time for substitutions."
The ride to the airport was quiet, everything to this point that needed to be said was already out there and all that was left was the possibilities their decisions could lead to. Katie sat with her head against the window, her eyes closed still going over every detail that lead them to this moment
"You're thinking." Clint said and Katie opened her eyes and looked over to the man. "What's up?"
"Nothing, I just feel like we know so much, but there's still the whole "why". I mean why did this guy risk his life to sneak into a CIA facility, why frame Bucky." she shook her head. "With a little digging, he could've figured out the location of the BLACK without pulling us into this." she looked over to her husband. "I just feel like the motive behind all of this is what's most important."
"Well I guess we can ask the bastard when we find him." Clint said with a smile before turning back to the road. They didn't expect to arrive so soon, but here they were. Pulling into the parking structure, spotting Steve, Sam and Bucky all waiting.
Clint, and Wanda stepped out of the car, while Katie looked back to the man still asleep behind her. She shook her head with a sigh.
"Scott!" the man's eyes suddenly snapped open and he jumped up, looking around ,before turning to Katie.
"What time zone is this?" he asked and Katie looked with a quirked brow. "Hey, I know you, you're-" the man pointed at her. "Hank has a picture in his office with you and him, he's less gray, you were at his company."
"That is a very old picture." Katie says looking over the man. "I used to work with Hank when I was in college, but I pushed a button and he had me removed from the program."
"What button?"
"The Pym Particles, button." Katie says looking out to where Steve and Clint were talking. "I may have stuck my nose into something he wanted to be kept hidden." she looked back over to Scott. "But if he's working with you then I can only assume he finally grew a pair."
"You know he did." Scott replied before the side door slid open and he turned seeing yet another familiar face. "Captain America!" he jumped out of the car and walked over to Steve who held out his hand.
"Mr. Lang." Steve greeted which only made Scott smile even more.
"It's an honor." Scott said, vigorously shaking Steve's hand. "I'm shaking your hand too long. Wow. This is awesome. Captain America." he finally let go of Steve's hand before glancing over to Bucky. "I know you too, you're great. Jeez." he turned back to Steve. "Look, I wanted to say. I know you know a lot of super people, so... Thanks for thinking of me." he looked over noticing Sam. "Hey man."
"What's up tic tac." Sam greeted.
"Good to see you. Look. What happened last time was a..."
"It was a great audition, but it'll... it'll never happen again." Sam said and Scott simply gave a nod.
"Did he tell you what we're up against?" Steve asked and Scott turned and gave a nod to the man.
"Something about some... psycho assassins."
"We're outside the law on this one. So, if you come with us, you're a wanted man."
"Yeah, well, what else is new?" Scott replied. Steve glanced over to the van where Katie still sat, looking forward, obviously in her head. Clint looked at the man before following his eyes and he was about to go over, but Steve caught his arm. Clint gave the man a nod before watching the man walk over to Katie.
"You know I think I've been around you long enough to know that look usually means you have something." Steve said and Katie turned to him with a slight smile.
"No, this look means I have nothing and I hate it." she glancing past the man to the others. "We're missing a lot of pieces to this puzzle, and putting more lives in the mix." she looked over to her husband who was talking to Sam. "I don't like not knowing what exactly we're dealing with."
"How do you fix that?" Steve asked and Katie turned back to him.
"I need to break more laws, dig my self even deeper in this hole." she replied with another deep sigh. "We need to get moving, the longer we stay in one place, the more likely someone spots half the avengers at the airport."
"I got a chopper lining up." Clint called and they both turned to him.
"You do?" Katie asked stepping out of the van.
"I still got tricks up my sleeve wife." the man replied with a smile, when suddenly they heard a German voice over the speaker.
"They're evacuating the airport." Bucky announces and that's when they knew it was too late to get away clean.
"Stark." Sam said and Katie shook her head as she turned around.
"Of course it is." she muttered.
"Suit up." Steve orders and Katie whips around in confusion.
"I'm sorry, what?" she asks and they all turned to her. "What's about to happen right now?"
"The only thing that can happen to get us on that plane to stop a crazy person." Steve replied glancing to the others who parted to get suited in their gear. Clint, Steve and Katie just stood there for a moment. "Katie-"
"We fight the bad guys, Steve." Katie interrupted. "We don't fight our friends."
"And what do you think they're here to do?" Steve asked. "I don't want to do this either, and I will do whatever it takes for it not to, but I'm not going to be naive enough to know that it couldn't. Look I'm not going to force you to go out there, but we have to go." with that Steve turned, going over to the car to get his own gear.
"Kat, he's right." Clint said and the woman turned to him. "They're here to stop us, and from what you've told me we can't be stopped right now. If we are then something is going to be unleashed that we may not be able to stop." Katie turned away with a shake of her head. "Look I brought weapons, there's a vest and-"
"I'm not going to need it." Katie replied turning to the man. "I don't plan to fight any of my friends today." she looked over to the man. "Look I get it, I know what's going to happen, and I also know what's at risk. So, go, get suited up." she looked around. "We need to find those jets." she turned back to Clint, placing a hand on his chest. "Don't die." with that the woman turned and walked away from him.
"Where is she going?" Steve asks looking over to Clint.
"I think she's going to try to use her words." the archer replied before turning and grabbing his gear from the van. "I'm going up high to keep my eyes on her." Wanda followed after him, while Sam and Bucky headed for the terminal. Steve walked over to the car, grabbing his shield before rushing for the stairs.
When he reached the bottom, he spotted Katie just standing there. When he got closer he noticed her eyes were closed.
"You ready for this?" Steve asked and Katie let out a long breath before looking over to the man. "Yeah, me neither, c'mon." both turned running out to the airfield, heading toward the helicopter when suddenly some sort of electric dart is shot into it. Both stop and look up to see Tony and Rhodes, all suited in their iron suit, flying down to them.
"Wow, it's so weird how you run into people at the airport" Tony said, his face plate falling back and revealing his face. Katie notices the black eye he's now sporting. He turns to Rhodes, who watches them closely. "Don't you just feel weird?"
"Definitely weird."
"Tony, hear me out. That doctor, the psychiatrist, he's behind all of this." Steve tried, but Tony shook his head when suddenly they turned just as a man dropped to the right of them in a black, cat like suit.
"Captain," the man's accented voice speaks.
"Your highness." Steve replies before turning back to Tony."
"Anyways. Ross gave me 36 hours to bring you in. That was 24 hours ago." Tony says moving around Rhodes. "Can you help a brother out?"
"Wait-" Katie says finally able to speak. "You're Ross' bitches right now? He gives an order and you hop, skip and jump to follow?" she shook her head. "I think I have to write that down as something I never expected from Tony Stark. You're developing quite the list."
"This isn't funny." Tony says glaring over to the woman. "You have no idea what you're doing."
"Steve just told you that you're after the wrong guy and if your head weren't so far up the Secretary's ass, you might see that."
"Well I'm not very inclined to believe Steve. His judgment's askew. You know old war buddies and all that." Tony says glancing over to the man. "Your buddy killed innocent people yesterday!"
"Then how about we have him sign his own accords, since that's how our sins get washed away." Katie replied and Tony turned to her with a hard glare. "Tony, I know you're driven by so much guilt right now, and you have this need to make it all better, to follow the rules like a good Iron Man, but I need you to hear my voice right now." Katie took a step toward the man, pulling away from Steve who attempted to stop her. "Something bad is going to happen if you waste our time with this bullshit."
"There's only one way out of this." Katie turns to see Natasha who somehow appeared out of nowhere. "Steve can't punch his way out of this, and you can't talk your way out." Katie turned back to Tony, the only person she thought for sure she could get through to.
"I'm standing right here asking for you to go against everything you think you know and just believe me." Katie said and Tony looked at her for a moment. He could feel the doubt, that slight doubt he'd had since all of this begun, but he needed facts, and what proof they had made her request impossible. "C'mon, this is me Tony. When the world doesn't believe me, when I can't count on anyone, I'm supposed to be able to count on you. You told me that. I need you to believe me." She shook her head, a tear suddenly falling from her eye. "Which you can't do because-" she shook her head again, seeing the truth of where they stood, before turning and just walking away.
"I got her." Natasha said walking after the woman.
"All right, I've run out of patience." Tony says before lifting his head. "Underoos!" Steve turned to follow after Katie when suddenly, something pulled his shield from his hands before his hands are bound with some sort of web like material. They all stopped and looked up to the person in the red suit holding the Shield.
"You're such an asshole." Katie says looking over to Tony with a shake of her head before pointing to the boy in the suit. "That is a child!"
"Hey, I'm not that young." the boy said before glancing over to Steve. "Uh, hi, Cap—Captain America, I'm Spider man."
"You've been busy." Steve says.
"And you've been a complete idiot. Rescuing Wanda from a place she doesn't even want to leave. A safe place." Tony says looking over to Katie with a shake of his head. "What were you thinking? I'm trying to keep... I'm trying to keep you from tearing the Avengers apart."
"You did that when you signed." Steve replied and Tony scoffed at the accusation.
"Alright, I'm done. You're gonna turn Barnes over and you're gonna come with us. NOW!" Tony snapped angrily. "Because it's us! We're squaded JSOC, guys, with no compunction about being impolite. Come on, man." he turned to Katie. "Don't you want to get home to your daughter? Just come with us and-"
"Who are you?" Katie asked with a shake of her head. "No, like seriously Tony, did they do something to you, have they been giving you that funny koolaid?" Natasha tried to grab her, and Katie pushed her away. "I'm not fighting you-" she looked over to Tony. "These lines we drew, us believing the truth and you believing what you think is true, I was fine with that because hey everyone has an opinion. But this, you wanting to harm us to bring us in, I am not fine with that and I promise you that if you go through with this I will never forgive you."
"And you think I'm the one who needs to be forgiven?" Tony asks when suddenly Steve holds up his hands and an arrow flies, tearing the webs. Steve quickly turned to Katie who gave a nod, before he turned and ran back toward the terminal. Soon Scott appeared, jumping beside Steve, handing him his shield.
"I believe this belongs to you Captain America." The man announces, as Steve takes the shield. The move seemed to spur everyone into action.
Natasha quickly wrapped an arm around Katie's neck, but Katie whipped her head back hitting the woman, and loosening her grip enough to pull free.
"Don't do this. You have way too much to lose." Natasha says and Katie shakes her head.
"When will you start paying attention?" Katie asks the woman. "I don't help terrorists Natasha, never have and I never will. There is a serious threat to our nation, so for this one time please just believe me the first time." Natasha looked at her for a moment before looking over the woman's shoulder. Katie turned, her eyes going wide at the sight of her baby brother standing there with a gun aimed right at her. Katie turned back to Natasha who turned away. "My brother, you-"
"Is that who I am?" Matthew asked and Katie turned back to face him. "You can go, I will get her on the plane." he glanced over to Natasha who didn't move. "All hell is breaking loose back there, you should go." Natasha seemed hesitant, very sure that the man had no handle on this situation. She looked back over to Katie, who now refused to look at her. Without another word, Natasha turned and ran back to the battle behind her. "You know I thought-" Matthew shook his head. "You were my sister. You and me, together through everything. We face everything together, and that monster you're so intent on protecting, he hurt me and that should be reason enough for you not to become his shield."
"You don't get it." Katie says taking a step toward her brother. "That thing that did that to you, that wasn't Bucky, that-"
"Was something HYDRA created. I know, but remember Donnie back in fifth grade, his dad was an alcoholic and his mom was an addict and he use to always try to beat me up and everyone knew that's why he was such a bully. It didn't stop you from kicking the crap out of him for messing with me. You are supposed to take my side."
"I love you Mattie. I always have and I always will. I don't know if that's what you're questioning right now, but you shouldn't."
"Then explain what this is, Rinny. Cause none of us understand."
"Bucky didn't do the things he's being accused of." Katie replied with a shrug. "Well he kicked the crap out of those agents because of another bad guy, but the truth is this is all a trick and you're falling for it."
"How do you know you're not the one being mislead right now?" Matthew asked. "How do you know you're not the one seeing what you want to see?"
"Because I don't want to see any of it. I don't want to be in this situation-"
"Then why are you! You were good, you had this life with a husband and my adorable niece and you chose, what, to play the hero?" Matthew, pulled handcuffs from behind him and inched toward Katie. "I don't even care, because it doesn't change this. You're a fugitive, and it's my job to take you in." The moment the man was close enough, Katie grabbed his arm, before turning and locking his wrist under her arm. The gun shot a few times before she threw her elbow back in to his stomach before dropping and sliding her leg under his feet, knocking him to the ground. She kicked the gun from his reach before picking it up in her hand. His darkened glare looked up to her.
"You're upset, I get it. But if you point a gun at me again, I will really kick your ass." she dismantled the gun, tossing the pieces aside before looking at a sight she couldn't in a million years imagine ever happening. Her friends...no her family were engaged in a brutal battle and it didn't look like it was going to stop. "This can't happen." she began walking toward the mayhem, not flinching at the dribris falling, or the explosives around her.
"Rinny!" Matthew jumped to his feet about to go after her, when his eyes went to the sky only now noticing strange clouds starting to move over them. "What the hell?"
Katie wasn't sure how she could stop this, but she knew she had to. Her plan was thwarted by something wrapping around her ankles, making her trip. She looked up to once again see the young man in the red suit hovering above her.
"Stay." he ordered.
"Does your aunt know where you are right now Peter?!" she asked and the eyes on his mask seem to widen slightly. "You're in over your head kid, and you don't even know it."
"Doing the right thing is never over my head." Peter replied dropping to the ground beside her. "Mr. Stark explained it all-"
"Tony didn't explain it all because he refuses to see it all." Katie says sitting up and attempting to pull herself free. Suddenly, Tony dropped in front of her, nudging his head for Peter to go, which he did. "Stop this!"
"I didn't start this." Tony says walking over to the woman. "You and your buddies decided to aid and abed a terrorist. We're trying to stop you." he reached down grabbing her shoulder and jerking her to her feet. "I'm taking you in and I will let Ross go nuts with whatever he wants to do with you."
"You know what I don't get?" Katie asked trying to pull from his grasp. "Why you can't even attempt to seeing this from the other side? What if you're wrong?"
"And what if I'm not?" he asked, his eyes lifting to the sky at the strike of sudden thunder. It's when he noticed the clouds above them, noticed their odd color. "What the hell?" Katie suddenly pulled from his grasp, before dropping to the ground and pulling her knife from her boot and cutting the webs from her ankles. She jumped back to her feet, before letting her eyes scan around and seeing the the jets in the hangar across the airfield. "What is this? Vision is this you?!" Soon Vision came to the ground in front of Katie who turned to the man with a glare.
"You don't understand." Vision said and Katie shook her head at his words.
"I don't and I will never understand why this is happening." she looked back at the battle still going strong and it made her want to cry. She turned back to Vision, her eyes going to the stone glowing in his head and she tilted her head slightly, something about it calming her. "Something bad is going to happen." she met his eyes. "I will stop it." There was a crash and they turned to see Scott unnaturally giant. Tony flew up to try to stop him. Vision turned back to Katie and she stared at him as if daring him to try to stop her. Without a word, he too flew up in an effort to stop the giant. Katie let out a deep breath before turning and heading for the hangar. Her feet came to a sliding halt as she watched her husband before knocked to the ground by T'Challa who apparently had a thing for dressing like a black cat. She watched as he lifted his foot to stomp on Clint, but before he could she ran over jumping up and wrapping her legs around his neck, and with a jerk of her legs, they both fell to the ground. "We haven't met, but I think you should know you don't touch my husband." suddenly he reached up a hand, ,and before she knew it the claws of his gloves scratched her leg. Katie hissed, her legs loosening enough for the man to get free. She jumped to her feet before he could attack, but his eyes looked to something else. Katie turned to see Steve and Bucky heading toward the hangar. She didn't expect T'Challa to follow and when he did, she was right behind him. The watchtower above the hangar began falling and neither of them stopped until the went inside. Suddenly T'Challa is shot with a volt of electricity and to Katie's surprise it came from Natasha's voltage braclet.
"Go!" she said looking to Steve and Bucky. Steve gave a nod before turning and spotting Katie. Natasha looked over to the woman as well and sighed. "This better be worth it! Everything you're risking, this better be worth it."
"I wouldn't be here if it wasn't." Katie said before she, Steve and Bucky headed for the jet. Once inside, Katie quickly typed in their coordinates and soon they were moving and in the air. "I need a comlink." she turned to Steve who pulled his from his ear and handed it to her. She quickly placed it in her ear. "Hey Hawk, you ok?"
"I would be better if I were looking at you right now." Clint replied breathlessly, his eyes on the jet getting further away from him. "Kat-"
"I am going to make this right." she said simply.
"Just come back to me." he said, the seriousness in his voice not hard to miss. "Kat."
"Like anything could stop me. I just have to go possibly save the world, piece of cake, right?" she lightly laughed before turning and looking out the window to see Rhodey following close behind. "I have to go, I-" suddenly she watched as Rhodes stopped flying and simply began falling. "What? Rhodes! What happened?"
"Vision tried to stop Sam, but missed and hit Rhodes." Clint replied his eyes watching the man fall. Tony was right behind him, but it didn't seem he was quick enough and only was able to get a front row seat to the man hitting the ground. "He-" Clint only hears static. "Kat-" he looks up to the sky to see the jet so too far out of sight. It suddenly begins to rain, and his eyes look up to the storm none of them even expected.
A/N: Well there you have it. Strange clouds and an unexpected rain. We'll get so more explanation soon. Next chapter will probably be the last for the Civil War story line, but I have ideas for the next and really might get a little...Strange.