A/N: Here it is! Last chap of Civil War verse! Enjoy!
Confusion was something Vision felt more and more since appearing on this planet. Emotions he didn't quite understand seeming to take control of him, move him at their will. It's the only way he could explain almost killing Colonel Rhodes. He wasn't sure what he was feeling. He assumed he was doing the right thing, bringing order back to the world by helping Tony. He didn't expect the look on Katie's face when she saw him. How the distrust from her made the doubt ignite in himself. He also didn't expect the sudden emotions of holding an injured Wanda in his arms after the fight. Vision wasn't sure what was happening to him. He stood on the other side of a glass watching a machine x-ray Rhodes.
"Vision how did this happen?" the voice of Tony pulled Vision from his thoughts. It was the question even Vision wondered about the moment it happened.
"I got distracted." the being replied, his eyes still on the colonel.
"I didn't think that was possible." Tony scoffed with a shake of his head as he glanced over through to glass to his friend. The whole thing scared him. Rhodes wasn't responsive when he was brought in and Tony couldn't help but feel guilty for bringing him into this.
"Neither did I." Vision replied and Tony turned back to him. Studied him for a moment before shaking his head and walking from the room. The moment the doctor finally came out to him, Tony dropped his head at the news the his friend would probably be paralyzed from the drop. Once the doctor walked away, Tony felt eyes on him and turned to see Natasha standing there and he let out a sigh. He turned away for a moment before going over to the woman.
They ended up standing on a balcony of the facility, looking out to the at the clear sky that differed from the storm that was once over their heads.
"The doctor said he shattered L4 to S1. Extreme laceration in the spinal cord. Probably looking at some form of paralysis." Tony recounted, still not able to really believe how bad it got. He assumed this battle wouldn't be fatal, but now his friend was looking at the possibility of not being able to walk on his own.
"Steve's not going to stop and I know Sparrow won't either." Natasha turned to the cold glared etched on the man's face."If you don't either, then Rhodey is going to be the best case scenario."
"You let them go, Nat." Tony says with a shake of his head turning to her.
"We played this wrong." was the assassin's reply and Tony scoffed.
"We?" he turned away from her once again. "Boy. It must be hard to shake the whole double agent thing, huh? Sticks in the DNA."
"You can't tell me you don't feel it." Natasha replied. " Fine, Steve might not be seeing this clearly, maybe he's being taken for a ride by his old buddy Bucky, but Katie does not have any preconceived notions about the man."
"No, she wants to blame SHIELD and HYDRA even though they're no longer around." Tony replied with a shake of his head. "She's still fighting a war that was over a long time ago."
"You know I've been on the opposite side of one of her wars. She says something crazy that no one believes and then she turns out to be right." Natasha shook her head, turning away from the man. "You know what's most annoying is that she didn't throw back in our faces. We turned our back on her and she didn't say I told you so. And now-"
"Now, we're not going be naive enough to believe every conspiracy she thinks is real, is actually real. C'mon there is a video."
"And if it has been doctored?" Natasha asked and Tony sighed. "She told me out there that she doesn't help terrorists. She never have and she never will."
"T'Challa told Ross what you did." Tony said changing the subject. "They're going to be coming for you."
"I'm not the one who should be watching my back." the woman replied before turning and walking away.
There was a beep that came from Tony's watch and he glanced down to the notification. He quickly pressed it.
"What am I looking at FRIDAY?" the man asked.
"Priority upload from Berlin." the program replied. "It was just uploaded to my hard drive."
"Uploaded by who?" Tony asked as he already began heading for the elevator.
"I'm not supposed to tell you." the program responded and Tony stopped, and really looked at what was sent. "Fire up the chopper."
Katie kept her eyes peeled out the plane not really paying attention to anything really happening around her. The image of the battle, and then of Rhodey being injured seemed to be playing over and over again.
"You're bleeding." Bucky said looking over Katie's leg that seemed to be dripping blood. He looked back up to the woman who didn't even acknowledge that he spoke. Steve turned to her , before looking down to her leg as well.
"Katie-" he looked up to the woman's face, her eyes just staring at the clouds in front of them. He reached forward, pushing on the auto pilot before unbuckling his seat belt about to go to the woman, until she finally spoke.
"I'm fine." Katie said, still not turning to the man.
"I know what happened-"
"What happened should not have happened." she said with a shake of her head. "What happened served no purpose at all but to cause more separation between us." she looked over to the man. "If this guy wants an empire to fall, then he's succeeding." there was a sudden beep and Katie turned back around and pulled up the quinjet's holo computer. "Did he watch it FRIDAY?"
"Yes, he has seen the news."
"And what's he doing?"
"I am unable to reveal the actions of my creator." the program replied and Katie let out a sigh before typing a few keys and ending the transmission. She unclasped her seat belt before standing to her feet and walking to the back of the plane in search of a first aid kit.
"Do you need help?" Bucky asked and Katie looked over to him and just shook her head. The ride once again fell into silence. "I'm sorry."
"Why are you sorry?" Katie asked as she attempted to clean the cuts on her thighs. She looked over to the man who looked guilty.
"Because I'm not worth this trouble." Bucky replied dropping his head. "Those were your friends and-"
"Bucky, shut up." the woman replied and the man looked back over to her. "Those people, they're still our friends. They're a little misguided, but they will see what's really in front of them." she looked back down to the cuts on her thighs. "You're not a bad person Bucky, because you were forced to do bad things. For some reason no one can seem to understand that." she shook her head and looked over to him. "I mean we've all taken orders. We've all been told to do something that seemed questionable, that didn't seem right, but we did them. They get stuck in the black and white when this world is full of gray." the woman let out a sigh before leaning her head back and closing her eyes. "My facial recon came back and I was able to identify our fake doctor."
"And, who is it?" Steve asked glancing over to her.
"His name is Colonel Helmut Zemo. Sokovian intelligence. Zemo ran EKO Skorpion, a Sokovian covert kill squad." Katie recounted. "News that could've been so much helpful before all the shit hit the fan."
"Bucky, does the name sound familiar?" Steve asked.
"No, I don't think I've ever heard of him."
"Well he knows who you are. They found the real doctor dead in a trunk with a full on James Buchanon disguise with him." Katie replies. "I sent all the information to Tony in hopes he can relay it to Ross who can finally stop trying to hunt us down and finally go after this guy before he lets all hell break loose."
The fact that Secretary Ross had a prison at sea should surprise Tony, but it doesn't. Right now the prison wasn't his concern. It was the fact that Katie and Steve were right and Bucky really was framed for the explosion at the UN.
The moment he stepped from the plane, he headed inside in search of Ross. When he spotted the man, he rushed over not even bothering with greetings.
"So? Did you get the files?" Tony asked and the secretary didn't say anything. "Let's reroute the satellites, and start facial scanning for this Zemo guy."
"You seriously think I'm gonna listen to you even after that fiasco in Leipzig?" Ross said with a shake of his head. "You're lucky you're not in one of these cells." Tony glanced over to a monitor his eyes going wide at the sight of Wanda in an blue jump suit, her arms bound to her body and there wasn't a light behind her eyes as if she were sedated.
"What's happens to them now?" Tony asked looking over to the Secretary who didn't say a word. "You know every conversation I have with you, I get the feeling you're just not saying something. Those files I sent you were right, and I think you know it, but you can't let them go." Tony glanced around the monitors before seeing Clint sitting with his head in his palms. "Especially him, you can't let him go because you know she's going to come for him."
"If you excuse me Mr. Stark, I have a terrorist to find." and without another word, the man turned and left the command center. Tony turned back to the monitors and sighed at the sight of his team members locked in cages because he thought he was doing the right thing. The moment he saw the video evidence that everything had been a lie, he finally admitted how pointless all of this fighting had been. Rhodey may never walk again because they were mislead into not trusting their friends.
He had to make this right, and the first step was finding the real person behind all of this and getting his friends out of here. Tony turned and headed down a long hall until he found a steel door. He looked over to the guard standing outside, before watching the man scan a badge. Soon the doors slide open and Tony walks into a scene that seems too surreal. He eyes his friends trapped behind glass cells.
"The futurist is here!" a voice yells and Tony lets out a sigh as he turns to Clint. "The futurist is here! He sees all! He knows what's best for you, whether your like it or not."
"Oh give me a break, ,I had no idea they would put you in here, c'mon."
"Yeah, well, you knew they'd put us somewhere, Tony." Clint shook his head at the man.
"Yeah. But, not some super max floating ocean pokey. You know, this place is for maniacs. This is a place for..." Tony trailed off as he looked around to the cells once again.
"Criminals?" Clint asked and Tony turned back to the man's glare. "Criminals is the word I think you're searching for right, and didn't use to mean me, Sam and Wanda. But here we are."
"Because you broke the law." Tony said and Clint turned waving him off. "Because she broke the law." at the mention of his wife, Clint tuned a very dark look back to the man. "She-"
"How about you stop talking about my wife while I'm on this side of the glass you're on that side." Clint said seriously. "You thought she'd follow you anywhere. Thought when you called her to New York, and had her listen to some speech about how the Avengers needed to be controlled, you thought she would just go along with it because it was you asking." Tony turned away with a shake of his head. "It's why you couldn't believe her...why you wouldn't believe her. Because no matter how much sense she was making, She didn't choose you, so you weren't going to choose her."
"I did this for all of us. Including her, including you." Tony said pointing to the man. "You have a family, a daughter. Did you think of her before you went out and chose the wrong side?"
"Well I married her so that automatically puts me on whatever side she's on. You know what's funny is you know her." Clint said with a smirk. "You know you don't want to be on the other side of a war she's fighting." Tony simply shook his head before turning and deciding to try to talk to Sam. "Well look at it this way, at least when I bring up the topic of a new Godfather, I don't think she will fight me on it." Tony stopped walking and looked over to the man who just shook his head before turning and taking the seat on his cot.
"Pym always said to never trust a Stark." Tony turned to the man with a quirked brow. He still didn't get the man's name. All he knows is he has a cool suit that allows him to shrink. He makes a mental note to check into that later, but at the moment he didn't have the time.
"Who are you?" Tony asked and Scott looked a bit disappointed as he shook his head.
"Oh C'mon." the man turned and went back to sit on his cot. Tony just shook his head before walking over to Sam in hopes he can get him to tell him where Katie and Steve have gone. Sam didn't even turn to the man when he walked over.
"How's Rhodes?" he asked, still refusing to look at the man.
"We're flying him to Columbia Medical tomorrow. So... Fingers crossed. What do you need?" Sam turned to the man in confusion. "They feed you yet?"
"Oh, you're good cop now?" Sam asked.
"I'm just the guy who needs to know where they went." Tony replies and Sam scoff as he turns his back to the man.
"Well you better go get the bad cop, because you would have to go Mark 'Terminal' on my ass to get information out of me." Sam says finally turning and walking over to the man. He watches as Tony presses something on his watch before looking back up to the man.
"Oh, I just knocked the 'A' out of their 'AV'. We got about 30 seconds before they realize it's not their equipment." Sam looked even more confused as he glanced over to the security camera before turning back to Tony. "Look." Tony pressed another button and brought the image of the real doctor dead in the trunk. "This is supposedly the real doctor that was supposed to interrogate Bucky." he looked back up to Sam and sigh. "Clearly I made a mistake Sam. I was wrong and I'm pretty sure she's going to throw that in my face when I find her."
"That's a first."
"Cap is definitely off the reservation and he's about to need all the help he can get. And if this is as bad as he says it is, then he's gonna need more than Katie to get out alive. We don't know each other very well. You don't have to-"
"It's alright." Sam interrupted with a slight shake of his head. He knew all too well that Steve and Katie might be walking into something bigger than they could handle. "I'll tell you." he looked back to Tony. "But you have to go alone and as a friend." Tony looked at the man, and gave a firm nod.
"Easy."
Once Tony had the information he needed, he turned and headed for the door. He wasn't supposed to stop. There was no time to stop. The AV was back up and Ross now had eyes on all of them once again, and yet Tony felt the need to say one more thing to the man who will probably always hate him. He let out a sigh, before walking back over to Clint's cell.
"You should be going." Clint muttered as he sat on his cot. He glanced over to the man for a moment before turning away. "I think we all will like our time in this prison a little more if we didn't have to see your face." Tony wanted to say so much in that moment, and yet he couldn't and still walk out of here a free man. So he didn't say anything. He let out a sigh before turning and finally leaving. He stalked back to his helicopter, just as Ross rushed over to him.
"Stark, did he give you anything on Rogers?"
"No, he told me to go to hell. I'm going back to the compound instead." Tony replied, not even stopping as he stepped onto the plane. He looked back over to the an as he took a seat. "But, you can call me anytime. I'll put you on hold, I like to watch the line blink." the look on the Secretary's face made Tony smile as he closed the door to his plane.
At some point Katie nodded off. There was a hand on her shoulder and she blinked awake, suddenly hit with the sight of the bright white now. She frowned as she looked up to see Steve.
"It's looks cold." she said as she unclasped her seat belt. She stood to her feet, hissing at the pain in her thigh.
"Are you sure that's alright?" Steve asked looking down to the woman's bandaged leg. Katie shook her head as she peeked out the window.
"No idea, but don't worry about me. Worry about the man attempting to release the Kraken." she turned to see Bucky standing over the weapons drawer and she walked over figuring she probably would need something as well.
"Here." the man grabbed a bullet proof vest and handed it to the woman. "You really need some type of gear if you're going to be out in the field." Katie chuckled with a shake of her head as she looked down to the vest.
"Me in the field is never a conscious decision. It always just happens." Katie replied slipping the vest on over her jacket. She grabbed one of the assault rifles, pulling it strap around her shoulder and letting it hang behind her. They stood at the door as it slowly opened. Steve and Bucky standing in front of Katie still wasn't completely focused on the mission at hand. She kept thinking about her husband and her daughter who she still hasn't seen. She grabbed the gun, glancing up to the men who smiled at a fond memory from their past.
"She's got to be a hundred years old by now." Bucky said with a shake of his head.
"Hey, so are we pal." Steve replied.
"Not to break up the remember the times moment." Katie said and they glanced back to her with a nod. Katie really did hate the cold. She shivered as she searched the blinding white snow. They walked to the hidden entrance, the door wide open.
"He couldn't have been here for more than a couple of hours." Steve said.
"Long enough to wake them up." Bucky replied before looking over to his friend. "You ready?"
"Yeah." Steve replied before both men looked back to Katie. "You know what you have to do?"
"I know what I have to do, how that actually happens won't materialize until I have the program in front of me." Katie replied glancing over her shoulder. "This still makes no sense." she turned back to the men and gave them a nod before they walked inside.
The moment Katie stepped inside, she felt her insides twist. She barely remembers being locked away in this place, but she can't shake the bad feelings that rush her as she walks inside.
"There is a lab downstairs. That's where they're kept. He'll be down there." Bucky said as he holds his gun firmly, searching the halls. "There's an elevator this way."
"Wait." Katie says stopping and they turned to her. "There is a command station here, one that should have computer that accesses the entire building and it's programs." she turned and noticed a sign written in Russian. She walks over and mutters the words before pointing down one of the halls. "It should be that way." she turned back to Steve and Bucky who both just stared at her for a moment. "What?"
"Splitting was not a part of this plan." Steve said.
"We don't know where this guy is and it's too dangerous for you to just be off on your own." Bucky added and Katie turned to him. "We don't know what's happening or if we're walking into a trap, so splitting up is definitely not something we should be doing."
"Guys, I appreciate you caring, but I came here for a reason. I'm the computer lady." she turned to Steve who let out a sigh. "I will shut down the program and find you when it's done." she looked over to Bucky who shook his head. "I wouldn't be here if neither one of you believed I could handle whatever situation was waiting for us here. Remember that." she gave them both a pat on the shoulder before turning her gun and heading down the hall.
"I thought you were the boss." Bucky said before turning to Steve who kept his eyes on Katie until she turned down a hall. "Why didn't you make her stay?" Steve simply chuckled before turning and heading for the elevator.
"Because only a hand full of people scare me, and that woman is at the top of the list."
Katie cautiously walked down the dim lit halls of the building. She felt her heart ramming in her chest, ignoring the twinge that pulled at her. She needed to focus. There was a sound from behind her and she whipped the gun around, prepared to shoot. She evened out her breathing, suddenly tapping into instincts she forgot she had. Her father's voice seemed to filter in her head.
"Ears open. Listening is going to be your greatest weapon."
Katie closed her eyes, and tried to focus in on the sound around her. That's when she heard the heavy footsteps getting closer. Without a second that, she whipped around the gun about to shoot, but in the last second, her eyes opened and she realized who was standing there.
"Tony?" she didn't drop her gun, didn't lower it, didn't even pretend as if she would. The last time she saw the man, he was trying to put her in a cell. And now he stood in front of her in one of his Iron Suits. It looked new, maybe one she didn't help design. "How are you here?" The suit's face plate suddenly falls, revealing the man's face. He glanced from her to the gun in her hands and he sighed.
"You look a little defensive." he said and Katie only glared at the man. "I got your message. You were right." he waited for her to lower the gun, but she didn't even flinch. "Did you hear me, I said-"
"Why are you here?" Katie asked instead.
"To help." Tony replied in confusion. "I want to help find the guy who started all of this mess and clear your name." the man took a step toward her. "Look Ross doesn't know I'm here, and I would like to keep it that. Or else I will have to arrest myself which I really don't want to have to do." It was a joke, not his best, but he needed her to see that he really was here to help her. She didn't crack a smile, or even lower the damn gun. "Kitten-"
"There is a lab downstairs. That's where Zemo is most likely. Steve and Bucky headed down just a few moments ago. That's where you will be needed." she moved to walk past him, only for him to take a step to the side to block her.
"What do you want an apology, because I'm sorry." Tony said. "There, I'm sorry. Now you forgive me, and then we will be good again. And everything will be right with the world."
"Everything will never right with the world, Tony." Katie replied with a shake of her head. "You need to get downstairs." she slipped around the man, and continued down the hall. Tony turned watching her, gritting his teeth. He knew it wouldn't be easy, but he thought they could get past it. He couldn't lose her. If he lost her he would truly be alone. At the moment she was right. There were bigger problems, and so the face plate returned and he headed in search for a way down to the lab.
When Katie appeared outside the door, she held up the gun before reaching forward and pushing open the door. She slowly stepped inside, aiming the gun around the room filled with computers. She lowered it when she realized the room was empty. Katie rushed over to one of the computers, dropping into the seat before sitting her gun beside her.
"Ok, hopefully the off switch won't be too hard to find." she sighed as she typed a few keys, glad that after all this time of being abandoned, the computers were still working. The computer itself was very old, and slow which only frustrated the woman as she tried navigating to the central system. The moment she found the the Winter Soldier program, she quickly slipped inside. "Alright, let's see-" a sudden frown came to Katie's face as she opened the status of the soldiers only to see that for some reason the system was showing them as dead. "What the hell?" the woman typed a couple of keys going to every soldier's profile, only to see the same terminated status, that seemed to go into affect just hours before they arrived. "Why-" she looked up trying to figure out what was going. "Why would he kill them." she closed her eyes going over all the details she knew about this Zemo guy. The one thing she thought she knew was just proven wrong. "He doesn't want to activate program, so what was the point?" she opened her eyes looking back to the computer. "Frame Bucky? But why?" she turned away once again. "He wants an empire to fall? The only thing he's successfully done is divide the Avengers, was that the point? But why unless-" the woman closed her eyes trying to remember all the information she pulled on the man. "Slokovia." she opened her eyes. "This is revenge." she stood to her feet before grabbing her gun and running in search of a way down to the lab.
Katie felt like she was running in circles, unsure of every turn she took, but she somehow found the elevator. She nervously stood waiting to finally get down to lab, for some reason having a bad feeling about all of this. They were mislead, and she's not even completely sure why. The elevator stopped, and Katie suddenly heard a loud crash that made her jump slightly. She held up the gun, and cautiously walked toward the sound of clanking metal. Soon she realized her friends may be in serious trouble and so she quickly ran.
The moment she stepped inside, she had to quickly dodge falling debris and sparks from above her. Her eyes darted around hoping to catch a glimpse of anyone. She heard grunts from the other side of the lab, and she quickly ran over and she saw she didn't expect. Tony and Steve engage in a brutal fight. She spotted Bucky lying on the ground, his metal arm just gone, as if torn away.
"Stop!" she said looking back up to the fight in front of her. Neither heard her or if they didn't they didn't acknowledge it. "Stop this!" her heart was pounding in her chest as she watched the fight that she couldn't just run up and stop without getting hurt herself. "Guys-" both men seemed to be going non stop, until Tony pushed Steve back before shooting a blast from the palm of his suit into the man's chest making him fall to his knees.
"He's my friend." Steve says breathlessly, and this moment where they aren't moving so fast, Katie can really see how badly beaten and bloodied the super soldier is.
"So was I." Tony replied and Katie's eyes widened at how fiercely Tony punched and kicked the man.
"Tony!" Katie yelled. This was getting too far, if they didn't stop one of them was going to be killed. She slowly stepped forward, trying to find a way to break this up. Tony grabbed Steve and tossed him like he was just a rag doll into the stone pillar.
"Stay down." he ordered. "Final warning." And Steve being the good soldier that he was just couldn't give up, and so with a grunt he pushed himself back to his feet.
"I could do this all day." Steve said holding up his fists ready to keep going. There was finally space between the men, and when Tony rose his palm to shoot once again, Katie knew she had to do something, so without really thinking she ran to stand between them.
"Move!" Tony yelled and she turned to the man with a shake of her head.
"No, this has gone on long enough!" she yelled back to the man before looking over her shoulder to Steve who still stood tall but looked utterly exhausted. She turned back to Tony. "Whatever this is, it's a trick. Zemo orchestrated all of this to-"
"His pal Bucky killed my parents." Tony said and Katie looked up to him with wide eyes before looking down to Bucky who was still lying on the ground. "Did you know?" she turned back to the man, hurt that he would think that was something she would keep from him. "Did you-"
"Stop talking!" she snapped angrily before taking a step toward the man. "Fighting over the past does not change the past. I learned that a long time ago Tony. This is pointless and it plays into Zemo's game. Just don't-"
"Move out of the way or I will move you." Tony threatened and Katie's eyes went slightly wide at the blatant threat.
"I'm tired of this. I didn't even want to be on this team. I was fine flying solo, but you wouldn't just let me run."
"Katie, just move out of the way." Steve said from behind her and she turned to him with a quirked brow. "It's ok."
"It's not ok." she said before turning back to Tony, who took a step toward her. "FRIDAY, activate master override." The suit seemed to lose power almost instantly.
"FRIDAY?" Tony spoke. "FRIDAY?! You—how dare you?!" Katie turned to Steve who looked confused as he looked from Tony to her.
"Take Bucky and leave." she said and Steve stood a bit stunned for a moment before walking over to his friend. He kept a close eye to Tony, who didn't seem as if he could move. Steve helped Bucky to his feet before the pair started for the door.
"That shield doesn't belong to you! You don't deserve it." Tony called back to the man. "My father made that shield!" Steve suddenly stopped walking before turning and tossing the shield to the ground. He looked over to Katie who didn't seem to be moving and when she turned to meet his eyes she simply just shook her head. Leaving her behind wasn't the plan, in his head when he imagined how all of this played out, out all the possibilities of that happened here, leaving this place without her and Bucky was not an option.
"Go!" she called after him. "This story only plays out one way ,and I still have a husband I need to try to save and a daughter I need to hug. You need to leave now." Steve looked over to Tony, before turning back to Katie. Steve was truly a soldier, because he couldn't fully bring himself to leaving her behind, that code was ingrained in him. "If you know anyone who can find a way out of any situation, it's me. But if I need saving, you're gonna be there right?"
"Absolutely." he replied seriously, before finally turning and heading for a way out. Once they were gone and Katie and Tony were left alone, she turned to the man.
"I will never forgive you for this." he spoke and Katie dropped her head, the words like a knife from the man. "I will-"
"I just stopped you from murdering your friend." Katie replied looking up to the man. "I will never ask you to forgive me for that. Be angry Tony, be sad about your parents. Cry, scream, shout at the top of your lungs, and I will be there with you, but you try to kill people and I intervene." she took a step toward the man so they were only inches apart. "FRIDAY, activate." soon the suit powered back on, giving Tony control. He turned as if to leave. "You attempt to go after them, I will stop you." he turned back to her, the face plate of his suit falling back to reveal his face that seems more bruised and bloodied since she last saw him.
"I'm not afraid of them or you." Tony said and despite the seriousness and the sadness of this situation, Katie let out a snort before shaking her head.
"Where is Zemo?" Katie asked and Tony turned away from her. "You know the bad guy who murdered a room full of diplomats, a doctor, infiltrated a government facility. Where is he?!" Katie shook her head. "You don't know because you let him win!"
"He hasn't won." a accented voice spoke, and both Tony and Katie turned to see T'Challa holding Zemo in a headlock. "I've called Secretary Ross, a team is on the way here."he looked over to Katie. "They should be here soon, maybe you should—-"
"Run?" Katie asked and she just shook her head before turning back to Tony. "No, Ross has been after me for a long time, and I think it's time we finally cleared the air."
A team of Ross' men arrived, arresting both Zemo and Katie who they forced onto their plane. Katie sat her hands cuffed behind her back, a soldier sitting on both sides of her, their guns in their laps in case she or Zemo tried anything. To her surprise, Tony rode on the plane with them, his suit too damaged to fly. He sat across from her, staring back as she looked at him. After a moment he dropped his head and she could feel the sadness coming from him. She knew HYDRA was behind the car accident, but she didn't know they sent Bucky to murder them. She couldn't imagine what the man was feeling, the anger and the rage she seemed to block him from releasing.
Neither spoke, the long ride spent in glances ever so often. The truth was that thing that they shared. That spark that no one else understood was now fizzling out and they could feel the distance between them growing even though they were just a couple feet from each other. Tony dropped his eyes, only now noticing the blood stained bandage on her thigh. Katie followed his eyes and let out a sigh.
"The things that happen at airports nowadays." she said and the man looked up to her and just shook his head.
"Could we not speak? I would very much like to continue the rest of this ride in silence, if you don't mind." Tony said, now avoiding her eyes. Katie continued to stare at him, still trying to figure out how they got to this moment. How the man across from her went from being her best friend, to the man who doesn't even want to be around her.
"There is a file in FRIDAY's mainframe labeled Rice Pudding recipe." Tony turned to her with a quirked brow. "You're gonna download the file and once it's complete, I will no longer have access to any of your tech. It's the bullet proof firewall that can even keep me out."
"Why are you telling me this?"
"Because the moment we step off of this plane, I get the feeling we won't see each other for a while." she dropped her head and let out a shaky breath before looking back up to the man. "Maybe it's for the best." the woman turned away, and Tony could feel that tightening in his chest. He brought a hand to his arm as he tried to take a couple of deep breaths. He looked over to her, wanting to hate her, wanting to never want to speak to her again and just be fine with it. He wanted to be able to just cut her out of his life, and still find happiness. But no matter how he spun it, he couldn't see it happening. Katie turned when she heard one of the pilots mention that they would be landing soon. "Don't intervene." she turned back to Tony. "When we land, and Ross gets all sketchy and secretive about what's gonna happen to me, ,just stay out of it. You can get out clean, it's best you kept it that way."
Tony was about to reply, but the pilot was already announcing for everyone to brace themselves for landing. When the plane finally touched down to Ross's floating prison, Tony stood to his feet as the doors finally open.
"I'm going to need you to wait on the plane until the prisoners are securely off." one of the soldiers spoke, moving to stand in front of Tony so he couldn't even attempt to move around.
"What are you-" soon more soldiers with guns rushed onto the plane, seeming to grab Katie and jerk her from her seat. He looked over to Zemo who still remained seated before turning back to the plane door where he could see Ross standing there watching. "What's going on?" Tony took a step, only for the soldier to push him back, but the way Tony was feeling at the moment left no amount of restraint when he shoved the man out of the way, before stepping from the plane just in time to see Katie standing in front of Ross as someone injects her with something that causes her entire body to go limp. "Ross!"
"You knew where they were when you left here, didn't you?" the Secretary asked as the soldiers seemed to drag Katie away.
"Where are you taking her?" Tony asked. Sure he was angry with her, and he would be fine no longer speaking to her again, but seeing her dragged away just seemed to make him even more angry.
"Don't worry about Ms. Banks. She committed a long list of crimes and she will pay for them." Ross looked up to the plane as Zemo is escorted off.
"So she's dragged away and this bastard who murdered countless government officials gets to stroll to his prison?" Tony said turning back to the man. "What is this about? What do you want from her?"
"You caught the man we were looking for and because of that you proved the innocence of Barnes, so maybe we won't put as many resources into looking for them. You no longer need to be here, Mr. Stark." Ross nodded toward the further end of the ship. "I think your plane is here." with that the man turned, walking back inside. Tony went to follow, only to be blocked by a couple of Ross' soldiers.
"The Secretary has ordered for to you leave, Mr. Stark." one of them said and Tony grit his teeth as he looked over to the door before turning back to the men standing in front of him. "Mr. Stark-" Tony just held up a hand to stop him, before he once again looked over to the door. He gave a shake of his head before turning and heading to his helicopter.
When Tony climbed inside, he definitely didn't expect to see Matthew sitting there as if waiting for him. The young man frowned, before looking out the door searching for someone else.
"Where's Rinny?" Matthew asked turning back to Tony who simply shook his head before falling into his seat. "Tony-"
"Ross has her." Tony replied not able to look at the man.
"Why exactly?" Matthew asked and Tony shook his head. "Bucky is innocent, and she helped bring in the real terrorist, so why is my sister being arrested?" Tony still didn't say anything, and so Matthew let out a low growl before attempting to step off the plane, only for Tony to grab his arm. "Let me go!"
"Why? So you can be thrown into the cell next to hers?" Tony asked looking up to the man. "You want to help her, then you're going to need to be smart."
"Ok, so what's the plan?" Matthew asked and Tony turned away and just shook his head once again. "Tony-"
"You're CIA Matt, you have friends, you have resources at your disposal." Tony replied looking out the window. "You don't need me to help get her back."
"What the hell happened out there?"
"A whole hell of a lot." Tony replied turning back to the man. "You staying or leaving?" Matthew glanced back out to the ships deck and sighed before reaching forward and closing the helicopter's door.
"You're right I will have to do this smart, and that doesn't start here." Matthew strapped himself into his seat. "Look I don't know what happened, but I know my sister." he looked over to the man. "Even when I don't understand my sister, I know her. Whatever she did, she most likely did it because it was the right thing to do. I get that now." he shook his head. "Which is why I'm not letting Ross, a man with his own file in the CIA have her at his disposal. I'm not sure if you realized this yet, but she is an asset, one that a lot of people want. Even some of the people we think are the good guys."
Darkness engulfed Katie unexpectedly. Once it had taken her, then there was nothing she could do but let it.
"I am Groot?" a small voice spoke and Katie whipped around trying to find the source. She suddenly appeared in the street of a strange road with a market, and people moving around her. "I am Groot." she once again turned at the voice, this time finally spotting the little tree like creature sitting on on the steps in front of a door. He looked at her and waved with a smile before standing to his feet and turning and pushing the door open. He ran inside, and Katie followed after him.
"Groot, where are we?" she whispered as she entered a room illuminated by candles, as the scent of something weird passed her nose. "Groot?!" she turned at the sound of tiny feet and she spotted the small being running through another door. He was the only familiar thing in this place, so she followed him hoping he would lead her to the reason she was even here. She saw him in the distance, moving quickly despite his small feet. He turned down a hall, and Katie quickened her step not liking not being able to see him. "Groot, where-" she turned down the hall, but came to a sliding halt. Apparently her and Groot weren't the only ones here. "Uh, hi?" she stares at the scruffy man whose face was hidden behind a thick mustache and beard. He looked at her as if confused to see her there as well.
"Who are you?" the man asked and Katie opened her mouth to reply before looking up to see someone else appear. It was a woman. She had no hair and she didn't seem surprised to see Katie at all. The man turned following her eyes, seeing the woman as well. "Is she apart of your little club too?" he asked turning back to Katie. The woman only walked over, looking down to Katie with a small smile that only confused her.
"This is a very strange dream." Katie muttered looking from the woman to the man, still trying to find meaning. "Groot?" she looked around the floor hoping the little creature would appear and help her make sense of all of this. She turned back to the woman who continued to stare which only uneased Katie. "I think I'm going to go." Katie turned, and before she knew it some sort of portal appeared in front of her. She tilted her head because through the portal she could see the familiar stars in the blackened space, that she'd dreamed about so many times before. Those stars were always so comforting and she found that maybe going there instead of this strange place would make this dream a bit better. She took a step and soon a hand grabbed her shoulder. When she turned, the bald woman rose a hand, moving it in a seamlessly random pattern. Katie turned to see the portal to the stars was now gone. "Why did you do that?" she turned back to the woman.
"Because it is a veil that hides the truth." the woman said placing a gentle hand to Katie's cheek. "He is coming and when you go there, you make it easy for him to find you."
"Who?" the woman simply smiled at the question, but didn't answer. "What is all of this?" the woman turned away slightly before turning back to Katie.
"A compass." she said before moving to stand beside her so their eyes both look to the man who stared back in confusion. "Don't worry, I'm sure he'll be ready when you meet."
Water hit Katie's face, and reality came flooding back to Katie. She blinked the water out of her eyes, trying so hard to catch her breath.
"You back with me Banks?" a voice spoke. The voice seemed louder than it should be, and it seemed to echo as well. Soon a familiar face appeared in front of her, and even though he seemed a bit blurry she would recognize him without hesitation.
"You drugged me. I'm disappointed in you Mr. Secretary." she sighed.
"Well I have a very detailed file on you that says your brain is what makes you so dangerous. So I thought I would slow it down a bit." Ross said taking a seat in front of her. Katie dropped her head, and taking in a few breaths hoping to gain some lucidity. "It won't work. It's meant to last a while."
"Where is my husband?" she asked looking up to the man. "Is he here?" the man simply chuckled as he shook his head at the woman.
"Do you know what you have done, Banks?" he asked tilting his head as the woman seemed to be fighting to keep hers up. "The trouble you've caused."
"Bucky is innocent." she muttered.
"Of one crime, but there is a long list of crimes he is not innocent of." the man replied. "Just like you." she lifted her head back to him. "You're good at hiding your tracks Banks, but you're not that good. I have guys, guys smarter than you that found your cyber finger print, I think they called it, over some very classified information that I don't think you have the clearance for. You don't even want to know the prison sentence that could be." the man chuckled and it only seemed to grate upon her nerves. "I mean your daughter-" she looked back up to the man. "Your daughter will probably be a senior citizen the next time you lay eyes on her, if you make it that long."
"This prison sentence that's supposedly in my future, why hasn't it started yet?" the man stopped laughing, his face suddenly growing serious. "Everyone has ulterior motives. Even the Secretary of State. What do you want from me?" he was silent for a few moment before clearing his throat.
"Angelika Berkeller." the man said and Katie closed her eyes as she dropped her head. "Where is she?" the man waited for an answer, but the woman seemed to just dryly chuckle at the question. "We know she's alive, Banks and if you care about her you will tell us where she is so we can protect her."
"My mother is dead." Katie said before bringing her eyes to the man. "My mother is dead! She's dead!She's dead!" no one had any real evidence of her mother actually being alive, just rumors and suspicions and that's was what annoyed her the most. No one had facts, and so until they did she would lie as if her life depended on it, which it always did. "My mother died during childbirth."
"You're lying."
"Prove it."
"Fine." the man said standing to his feet and walking back over to her. "I can make you talk." he lifted a hand and with a snap of his fingers two men walked inside. "That camera up there, it will mysteriously glitch right now." he looked back down to the woman with a smile. "I hope you have fun." the man turned and headed for the door, the sound of her screaming not even slowing his step.
Secretary Ross felt as if he hadn't left his office for week waiting for the word that the woman had finally given up the location of her mother. He expected her to break sooner, but she was proving to be stronger than he thought. He was getting impatient and nervous. He crossed some lines bringing a team of heroes onto this ship and keeping them locked away in cells. But what he was doing to Katie was one line he's sure would have him in his own cell if the wrong people found out.
It was only by luck no one had been poking their nose on this ship. No one except for Tony Stark who randomly called demanding to know the woman's status. Up til now Ross was able to avoid the calls, or make believable excuses, but he knew it wouldn't last long. He knew Stark could be a problem if he didn't get answers soon. He grabbed his phone and called down to see if she had talked yet.
"I was told that your methods would get me results in hours, it's been days!" Ross snapped angrily. He only got excuses he didn't care about in returned. "I don't give a damn how strong she is. Everything can be broken with the right amount of pressure. Get the husband-" another excuse, and a request for more time came and Ross scoffed. "I don't have time to give you. Get the husband now!" the man slammed the phone down angrily. He didn't want to cross more lines, be he would do whatever he needed to for this country.
Clint wasn't sure how long he'd been there. There wasn't any windows or any sign of the world around them. He knew he couldn't stay here, couldn't take any more time away from his daughter or finding his wife. He paced the small confines of his cell, when two soldiers appeared outside. He stopped and turned to them, watching as they opened the small glass door.
"Arms up!" One of them ordered and Clint didn't move. "If I have to tell you again, you're not gonna like." Clint smirked at the threat almost tempted to see what the man could do. "You want to see your wife, you'll bring your arms up."
"What, my wife?" Clint asked taking a step forward. "Is she here?" neither of the soldiers answered his question and so the man angrily slammed his fists against the glass. "You bastards, is she here?! Tell me where she is or so help me-"
"Arms up!" the soldier repeated and Clint stood there, now breathing heavy and completely worked up. He had to do what he was told if he ever expected to see Katie and so he lifted his arms and watched as the man placed some type of magnetic cuffs around his wrists. "Now step away from the glass." Clint glared at the man, but did as he was told, taking a couple of steps back. The guard gave a nod and soon the glass to the cell lifted up leaving nothing between them and Clint. One of the guards lifting his rifle to the archer while the other walked over to cuff the man's ankles as well. Once he was securely shackled both soldiers took a step back. "Move." Clint looked over to them, before taking small steps out of the cell. He looked over his shoulder to Scott and Sam who both stood watching the entire thing. One of the soldiers pushed him, and he grit his teeth before he continued walking.
"Hey what's going on?!" he heard Sam yell as he got further away. "Where are you taking him?!"
Clint wasn't sure where they were taking him, but he had hope that it lead him to his wife who he really needed to see right now. They walked down long halls and took a very long, and brutally silent ride on an elevator before they appeared outside of a door. One of the soldiers took a step forward and knocked. They waited until the door finally opened and out came a large man, who practically towered over Clint.
"No cuffs." his thick accented voice spoke.
"It's protocol." one of the soldiers replied.
"Fuck protocol!" the man replied glaring over to the man. "Uncuff him. If he gets passed me, he deserves to be free." the man chuckled as he looked back down to Clint who simply stared at him. "You're the archer. Apparently you're the pressure I'm lacking." Clint didn't know what he was talking about, but he didn't really care. Soon the cuffs were off of him and the large man turned opening the door and allowing him inside. Clint hesitantly walked in, unsure what he was walking into, but the moment he saw the woman lying on the ground curled up in the corner he practically ran to her side.
"Kat?" he gently turned her over, now able to see how pale she looked, and the dark circles of her eyes.
"Don't worry, we haven't messed up her pretty face." the man said from behind them. "We believe torture should go beyond physical pain." Clint turned a dark look to the man who seemed to chuckle. "Wake her up, she needs to see you before we begin with you." Clint grit his teeth before turning back to Katie and placing a hand on her cheek.
"Kat?" he brought his face close to her, leaning his forehead against hers. "I need you to open your eyes." he felt her breath against his skin. They were slow and that made him nervous. "Kat-"
"Shss." she whispered and he lifted his head to meet her eyes. She placed a hand on his cheek, a tired smile coming to his face.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Clint asked relieved to finally see her eyes. "You're supposed to be far away from here."
"I'm saving you." she replied. She looked over his shoulder to the large man that she'd been trapped with for an entire week. "And now you're here, because Ross is so predictable." she turned back to Clint. "I think it's time we got out of here, don't you?"
"You must be reading my mind." Clint said before turning to the man who hovered above them. "Do you have a gun?"
"What?" the man asked and Clint rolled his eyes before turning and standing to his feet.
"A gun. We're gonna need a weapon when we break out of here." The large man growled, only able to take a single step before Clint dropped and slid a leg underneath the man's feet knocking him to the ground. The man attempted to get up, but Clint quickly slid over, bringing an arm around the man's neck and tightening his grip until he felt the man go limp. He dropped the man, before patting him down smiling at the gun holstered under his shirt. He snagged it and the key card attached to his belt before walking back over to Katie. "So this was your plan?" he pulled the woman's arm around his neck and pulled her to his feet. "Get captured and then wait for Ross to try to use me to get you to talk?"
"It worked didn't it." she muttered dropping her head to the man's chest and placing a soft kiss to his neck. Her eyes drifted closed, as she fell into his grasp.
"Kat, I need you to stay awake for me." Clint says pulling to woman back to her feet. "You're my back up, right?" she lifted her head, her eyes opening barely, as she turned back to him. "Can you walk?" she grabbed his arm and planted her feet before taking a deep breath.
"Yeah, I'm good." she turned back to the man. "We have to get to the others. Do you remember how to get back there?"
"I do but there's about a couple dozen soldiers standing between us and them." Clint replied. "I need to get you off this ship."
"You will, once I get to Sam and Wanda and Scott." she headed for the door, and Clint let out a groan before following after her. He moved quickly to get a head of her so he could open the door. He carefully pulled it open, making sure he had the gun aimed for anything that might pop up. A frown came to his face as he pulled the door open to find the hall empty. "I expected more people." she looked over to Clint who searched the halls expecting the same.
"C'mon." he took her hand, and lead her to the elevator. He looked over to the woman who stood, leaning against the wall, her eyes closed. She could barely keep herself standing. He didn't care what she said, he was getting her off of this ship and to a doctor. Once the doors opened, neither expected the scene in front of them. There lying on the ground were a number of soldiers. Clint took Katie's hand, carefully leading her out. They looked down to one of the men, noticing the slight rise and fall of his chest. "They're still alive." Katie bent down grabbing a discarded rifle.
"Still not sure we should be jumping for joy just yet." Katie says letting her eyes scan the floor. "Where are the cells?"
"This way." Clint points down one of the halls before moving. Katie holds up the rifle, close behind him. They seemed to run into more unconscious men as they neared the holding area. The door that should be locked was now cracked open. Clint held back a hand toward Katie stopping her so he could step inside first. He pushed open the door, and is instantly relieved to see Steve standing there with Sam, Scott and Wanda who are all out of their cells. They turn to him and Steve lets out a sigh of relief before taking a step forward.
"I got worried when you weren't here." Steve said with a slight smile. "Looks like you're ahead of me. I'm not sure if you know, but I think Katie was brought here and-"Steve lifted his eyes to see the woman stumble inside, a rifle in her hand and his smile widened.
"I thought you'd be long gone, Captain." Katie says walking over to the man.
"Yeah well you saved me more times than I can count, and I figured I should return the favor." he looked over his shoulder to the others. "There's a plane waiting for us on deck." he turned back to Katie and Clint, noticing the woman looking paler than normal. "Is she ok?" he turned to Clint who looked to the woman who took a deep breath.
"I'm not sure." Clint says before walking over to the woman and taking the rifle from her hands. "Sam-" the man quickly came over and took the gun before watching Clint hoist the woman into his arm. He turned to Steve. "Get us on that plane." Steve gave a nod before turning to the others who all began moving.
They knew getting off of that ship wasn't going to be easy, but with all of them together, they knew it wouldn't be that hard either. Clint held Katie in his arms straying away from the fight, and simply moving until the reached the deck.
"This way!" Steve called and they all ran, following him and running away from the soldiers that seemed to be chasing them.
It wasn't until they were all on that plane and it was lifting into the air that they realized they were finally free. Steve sat, looking over to Wanda who looked a bit dazed as her head laid on his shoulder. He looked over to Sam and Scott who sat near the window, both looking relieved to no longer be trapped. His eyes went across to Clint who sat, his arms firmly around his wife whose eyes were closed against his chest. Clint looked over to the man and sighed.
"I'm sorry." Steve said with a shake of his head before looking down to Katie. "I'm so sorry, I tried-"
"Steve, nothing you did or said forced this woman to do anything." Clint replied looking down to Katie before placing a kiss to her forehead. "She had a hunch-" and looked back up to the man and just shook his head. "This woman and her hunches. But I would follow her gut before my own any day."
"What did Ross want with her?" Steve asked and Clint shrugged as he looked down to her once again. "Look where we're going there will be doctors who can look after her." Clint looked back up to the man who shook his head. "I called Matt." Clint turned meeting the man's eyes. "He knows the truth. I think he may have known the entire time, but he was standing in front of lines he vowed never to cross." Steve looked down to Katie and smiled. "When I told him she was taken by Ross, those lines seemed to get easier to cross."
"What does that mean?"
"It means hopefully your daughter and your in-laws will be waiting for you when we arrive." Steve replied looking up to the man who closed his eyes once again, finally feeling like he could breathe again.
Katie was suddenly cold. She hated the cold and now she was standing on top of a snow covered mountain as cold winds, and even colder snow flakes swept around her. She brought her arms around herself in hopes of getting warm, but it didn't make a bit of difference. This was another dream. One she would very much like to wake up from.
"Groot, are you here?" she asked turning, finally stopping when she sees that same man from before standing there. He turns as well, jumping a bit when he sees her. "You again." He was wearing different clothing, definitely not warm enough for this weather. "Why do I keep dreaming of you, I have no idea who you are."
"I do not have time for you, you crazy woman." he turned and began spinning his hand, and Katie noticed the sparks the seemed to suddenly appear. He growled in anger throwing his hands in the air before bringing his arms around him as well. He looked back to her and she just silently stared. "You can do this, right? Just get us out of here before I freeze."
"Look I don't know what you're talking about or how you-" she looked over with a shake of her head. "Are you a mutant?" she turned back to him. "Is that how you did that?"
"No, I'm not a mutant." the man looked down to his hands. "I will die if I don't surrender my ego and finally harness a power I'm not even sure I can."
"What ego can you have right now?" Katie asked and the man looked up to her. "I mean look at yourself." he looked down to himself ,and sighed. "You want to get off this mountain then you're going to have to let go of whatever is holding you back." she saw the frost gathering against his hair and she knew he wouldn't make it if he did nothing. Maybe that's why she was here, maybe she needed to help him. "Try again." she took a step forward.
"I can't, it won't work." he said with a shake of his head. "This is ridiculous-" he turned looking out to the snow covered mountains. "I'm going to die here."
"You're not gonna die!" Katie said walking over to stand in front of the man. "This is my dream, and I say you're not gonna die. This is a lesson about not giving up, so we're not going to give up. Try again, because if you don't get out of here, then I don't." he looked over to her. "And I don't want to die on this mountain. Just focus, try again." the man turned and Katie watched as he rose his hand, now noticing the two finger rings on his hands. He once again spun his hand, the sparks suddenly appearing like before. "You need to believe in the impossible right now." soon a portal opened up and there stood the bald woman from before standing beside a man. They were both dressed in very strange clothing, like the man beside her. She heard a grunt to see her mountain buddy had practically fallen through the portal back to warmth. Katie didn't move as she looked back to the man and woman who held two very different expressions.
"Hurry." her mountain buddy said, still shivering as he turned back to her. "Before it-" the portal suddenly closed before he could finish his sentence.
Katie awaken with a gasp, sitting up from the bed. Soon arms were engulfing her in a hug.
"Kat, you're alright." Clint pulled back so she could see his eyes. "You're alright." he brought his arms around her once again. Katie's eyes scanned the room they were in. It was very large, with high ceilings and definitely not a hideout Clint would choose.
"Bart, where are we?" Katie asked and Clint pulled back and smiled.
It took Katie a while to get over the news that they were in Wakanda. She was both surprised and confused but all of those feelings went out the window when there was a knock at the door. When it opened, she saw her brother but her eyes went to the little girl whose little feet ran the moment her eyes saw her mother.
"My baby!" Katie jumped out of the bed, meeting Natalia half way, and picking the girl up in her arms. Katie couldn't quite explain the sudden relief that took over her the moment she had this girl in her arms. Matthew walked over to Clint who stood with a smile as he watched his wife and daughter.
"How is she?" Matthew asked over to the man.
"Doctor says whatever they gave her is working it's way out of her system. It was only meant to slow her down I guess." Clint replied looking back over to the woman. "What were they questioning her about? Bucky's location?"
"I doubt it." Matthew sighed with a shake of his head. "From what I could pull from the agency is that there has been a lot of research into Cynthia Chambers by request by the Secretary of State." Clint turned with a quirked brow. "I don't know, but I figure it's nothing good. What I do know is my sister is still the only link anyone has to that woman."
"Where are they?"
"They contacted Coulson, he's having them taken to a secure location." he turned at the laughter from the little girl who kissed Katie. The woman looked over to her brother, her smile suddenly faltering and the man sighed. "I kind of expected that look."
"Thanks for bringing her." Katie replied simply before turning back to the child.
"We should talk." Matthew said and Katie just shook her head.
"I can honestly say that there is nothing to talk about." Katie replied looking over to the man. "Talking doesn't really change what happened."
"It doesn't, but I still think I should say something." Matthew walked over and took a seat beside her. "When this all started and I found out you were helping Barnes, I was angry because that bastard hurt me, he bested me when I should've been able to take him. I got that HYDRA did some fuc-" the man stopped as the little girl in his sister's lap turned to him with a smile. "Some Fugly things to his head, but I didn't care. So I didn't seek out the truth and I didn't want to hear it even when I knew you were probably right. I wanted you on my side despite everything else." Katie turned away from him and smiled down to her daughter.
"I spent years in SHEILD with people telling me what was right, and who was wrong. Every mission I was apart of, every code I had to decrypt I was told it was because we were the good guys and everyone else were the bad guys." she turned back to her brother. "I will never live a life like that again. I love you, more than you can comprehend, but I make my own decisions on what's right and what's wrong based on the things I feel should be judged. I know Bucky hurt you, and a part of me will never forgive him for almost taking you away from us, but I can't judge him by the things he had no control over and for that I will be his friend." she nudged the man's side. "And I will always be your sister. Nothing changes that. Even you pointing a gun at me."
"That was-" the man dropped his head and sighed. "That will never happen again." he looked back over to Katie. "Your husband has made that very clear, but I let him know you scare me more than he does so there won't even be a next time."
"Good." Katie replied before looking back up to Clint. "Where is everyone?"
"Well we dropped Scott off, he insisted he would be ok. Said he was use to the life of a criminal. Sam, and Wanda are here somewhere. Steve is down in the lab with Bucky."
"Is he alright?"
"I'm not really sure." Clint said when Katie suddenly stood to her feet.
"Then lets go find out." she said smiling down to her daughter. "You have to meet your uncle Steve." the woman headed for the door, Clint and her brother close behind.
It took them a while to actually find the lab in this massive building. But the moment they did, their eyes went to the man encased in some kind of sleep chamber.
"He thinks this is the safest route." a voice said from behind them and the turned to see Steve. "At least until we figure out how to get that program out of him." He walked over to Katie with a smile. "You're looking better. How are you feeling?"
"A lot better since a certain someone walked through my door." Katie smiled, placing a kiss to Natalia's head. "Have you two met yet?" she turned to Steve who smiled down to the child.
"She was sleeping when we got here, but now I get to see that adorable little face." the man said gently bouncing a finger on the girl's belly causing her to laugh. "She's really gotten so big since I last saw her."
"Yeah, she's growing every day." Clint said with a shake of his head as he smiled down to the girl now looking at him. "Still amazes me."
"So what now?" Steve asked and Katie and Clint looked to him before turning back to each other. "Heading back to the farm?"
"No." Clint said with a shake of his head. "I don't trust Stark. He let them Ross take you."
"I told him to let it happen." Katie sighed as she turned away. "It was the only way I could get to you."
"Yeah, still, if he truly cared about you, then what you wanted would not have mattered. He shouldn't have let that bastard take you away and torture you." Clint replied. "He made a big statement, I will never forgive him for that."
"Right now that's not important." Katie says sliding a hand over Talia's head as the girl laid on her chest. "We need to figure out where we're going."
"You're welcome here for as long as you like." a voice spoke and they turned to see T'Challa, who walked over. "I apologize for my rash behavior, and playing into the sick game of a monster."
"Well you weren't the only one he fooled. And we appreciate all of your help, but I don't think we should stay here." Katie replied. "I mean you're the leader of a very powerful and public tribe. You have eyes on you and we can't have the eyes." she turned back to Clint and shrugged. "Any ideas?"
"I have a friend I could call." the man said turning to T'Challa. "Could I use your phone?"
That one call would lead to Clint, Katie and Natalia standing at the foot of a plane saying goodbye.
"I don't understand why you can't just tell me exactly where you're going." Matthew said and Katie sighed placing a kiss to the man's cheek. "I don't like this."
"It's not forever." Katie replied with a smile. "Once we figure out how to stop so many people from coming after me."
"That could take a while." Matthew replied looking down to his niece and placing a finger in her tiny hand. "My little buddy here could be a senior in college before I see her again."
"You're being dramatic, Mattie." Katie sighed and he brother brought his arms around her in a hug.
"Take care of yourself Rinny." he placed a kiss to her cheek before turning to Clint. "And you better take care of both of them." he held out a hand to the man who took it and hugged the man as well.
"Absolutely." Clint replied as he pulled back. "You take care of yourself too. There are gonna be a lot of eyes on you now."
"Well I'm a good looking guy, there's always a lot of eyes on me." Matthew said with a cocky smile.
"Don't worry, I'll check in on him." Steve said walking over to shake Clint's hand. "You guys be safe." he turned to Katie, pulling her into a hug as best he could with the child in her arms. "And if you need saving-"
"I have your number." Katie replied as she pulled away from the man. "And I promise to do as much as I can to help Bucky. Without the actual coding for the program, it will be a bit more difficult but not impossible. Once I get settled somewhere I will get in contact with T'Challa's scientists and hopefully he won't have to sleep for long."
"I appreciate that, and I'm sure he does as well." Steve said before looking back to to Natalia. "It was nice seeing you again Natalia. You take care of your parents ok." he slid a finger across her cheek, before looking back up to the couple and giving them a nod.
Sam and Wanda gave their goodbyes and soon Clint, Katie and their daughter were high above the clouds.
"So now do you want to tell me where we're going?" Katie asked looking over to her husband who held their sleeping daughter in his arms. "It's not
gonna be cold is it, because Bart if it's cold-"
"Kat, calm down. It's not cold. At least not this time of year." Clint replied. "I have a friend who use to work with SHIELD-" Katie quirked a brow, but Clint nodded. "I trust him. He has a place in Nepal. It's far off the radar and right now that's where we need to be." the man looked down to his daughter, gently rubbing her back.
"I'm sorry." he looked up in confusion to the woman's word. "I know you wanted the simple farm life, and I messed that up."
"Kat, my life is with you and this little girl. I will take any life that has both of you in it." Clint replied before giving the woman a wink. "Get some sleep, we're gonna be in the air for a while." Katie sighed before closing her eyes and lying her head back on the seat.
"What part of Nepal are we going to?" the woman asked, unable to stop the yawn that followed the question.
"Place called , Kathmandu." Clint replied turning to look out the window. "He said it's a great place to disappear."
"What strange lives we lead dear husband." the woman muttered, finally allowing her sleep to over take her. "Hopefully it doesn't get any stranger."
A/N: Thanks for the read! Can't wait to get started on the Dr. Strange story line. Stay Tune!