Skye woke first, jolting out of her soulmate's hold with a stifled shout. Bruce sniffled and rolled into Tony's arms when she climbed from the bed. The lamp rattled with her nerves as Skye pulled on a t shirt and left her boys to sleep.
She ran through her Tai Chi before curling up on the couch around a bowl of leftover beef stroganoff, tablet balanced on her knees. She hacked into the Bus' security cameras watching Fitz and Coulson discuss field updates. Simmons and May were running through hand to hand combat. Bobbi, Hunter and Mac were stretched out on one of the couches, talking in low voices. Skye yawned around her spoon, switching to the last couple of mission reports. They had done good work, her team. Well, former team.
Currently, they were tracking a Russian assassin, codename Winter Soldier. Shield had connected him to decades of seemingly random killings. She pulled up an old video clip. He was strapped into a metal chair, bare from the waist up, his left arm replaced with a metal prosthetic. The chair roared to life, electrocuting him as he screamed for Stevie until his eyes grew dull and blank.
"Ready to comply," he intoned. Nausea curdled in Skye's stomach; she set the bowl to the side. There were dozens more videos spanning decades. The table shook with anger and she forced herself to breath. Skye would find him, bring him to safety with people who would understand, the way Clint had with her, but first she needed intel.
"Jarvis," She murmured, determinedly, "Download everything they have on the Winter Soldier."
Skye didn't realize how late in the morning it had gotten until Tony stumbled blindly into the kitchen, jolting her out of her single minded focus. "Tony!?" Skye called into the next room, "What do you know about the winter soldier?" A small thunk and a ceramic clatter followed her question. Then, silence. "Tony?" She repeated.
"Where did you hear that name?" Tony demanded, appearing around the corner, face drawn in sobering horror.
Skye eyebrows crinkled in confusion, "He's my old shield team's latest find, a cyborg Russian assassin. Hydra's been brainwashing and refreezing him for decades."
Tony's face paled and crumpled as he sagged against the doorframe, "Brainwashed? You're sure?"
"There are videos, Tony, dozens of them," Skye explained, "Why, what's wrong?"
"The Winter Soldier killed my parents," Tony whispered, "Steve and Nat have been tracking him too, that's why your old team hasn't been able to find him. Skye, they're going to put him down."
"Tony, we can't let them kill him," Skye argued, "They wouldn't if they knew he was just as much a victim of Hydra as those he killed."
But Tony had already taken control of her tablet, throwing holo screens up around them, "Jarvis, call Nat and Steve, forward them file wint-"
"I'm sorry, Sir, but it appears the Captain disabled his comms directly after making contact with the Target." Jarvis interrupted, "The quinjet has yet to return to American airspace."
Skye sighed, reaching for her phone, "Plan B it is then." They picked up on the third ring. "May? I still can't come home, but I might be able to help you find someone you're after." There was a brief pause. "I can find the Winter Soldier, I just need to talk to Fitz." Another pause, longer this time. "Fitz? Fitz, Fitz, stop talking. I know you do, I just… can't come home yet. This is important, Fitz. I need you to start a program for me. Is my van still on the bus?"
It took Skye's coding 32 minutes to comb through all networks connected to a shield server. A video feed clicked to life on her holo screen. "Fury," She scoffed, the former director was holding the Winter Soldier captive while he and Hill questioned the rogue avengers. "Tony!" She called. "Suit up, I found them!" She sent her team the coordinates of an empty soccer field in Bangladesh and resigned herself to the fact that she might never be able to go home.
Bruce ambled out of the bedroom, wrapping her in a tight hug, Tony already on his way to the launch pad. This mission would require stealth, something the Hulk didn't have too much of.
"Be safe," he rumbled quietly into her hair, pulling back to kiss the corner of her mouth.
Skye smirked, hooking her arms around her shoulders. She rose to her tiptoes and kissed him fully on the mouth.
"Don't you worry about me, Darlin," she pressed their foreheads together, brushing a thumb across his cheek, "It's just a milk run, be back before you know it."
There were a laughable amount of guards covering Fury's bolt hole. Between Skye and Tony they made it to The Winter Soldier's cell in minutes. "I got it," Skye assured him when he went to remove his faceplate, "Can you round up your teammates? Stall Fury and Hill as long as you can."
"With pleasure," Tony drawled. Any opportunity to rile up Fury.
Skye frowned as she watched the Winter Soldier where he sat slumped against the wall in the bare, metal room. He'd had no reaction to her entry. He wasn't even trying to get out of the restraints. She left the door open and moved closer. Blood dripped down his temple from a jagged gash on his forehead, one of his fingers was bent at an unnatural angle. Skye held out her hands, sending a shockwave at the high tech handcuffs. They shorted out and clattered to the ground. The Winter Soldier jerked up from his position on the floor, moving to take a defensive stance.
"Hey there, Darlin, let's get you out of here," Skye beckoned, remaining near the doorway. "There's a quinjet waiting, we know what Hydra did. We're going to take you somewhere safe."
The Winter Soldier gasped as a line of text burned along his thigh. His last soulmate. Wordlessly, he moved to follow her. "I've got him, Tony, see you at the tower." The Winter Soldier sat perfectly still as they took to the air. Skye flicked the autopilot on and joined him in the main cabin.
"I could kill you," he announced suddenly and Skye grinned like a fool as her ribs burned. He scowled adding, "I've killed so many people, I'd barely have to think about it. I'm not who you think I am." Skye heard the double edged threat and self doubt in his words.
"Oh, I know, but I'm not as helpless as I look." Skye raised a hand and threw him halfway across the plane.
The Winter Soldier climbed to his feet, a smirk blooming on his face, even as he shook his head at her recklessness, "Doll, you're somethin else."