New chapter and it's on time this week! Haha :) As always, I hope you guys like it. It kinda jumps between POVs a lot, so please just stick with it and I hope that it isn't too confusing!

I don't own Cap.

The smoke wafted up through the air, a black plume of ever changing clouds. Rubble from the building tumbled down to the ground. Soon, the inferno had changed to a light blaze inside a charred mess.

He watched everything from the hill next to the blaze, his form still and gaze never shifting.

"Has the target been hit?" the voice came over his earpiece.

"Affirmative," he replied simply.

"We are on our way now. Be sure to talk if anyone comes to the scene. We don't want any more problems." It clicked off, leaving him in silence once again. He surveyed the scene, eyes scanning over every little detail before a flash of metal caught his eye.

A metal disk, with vibrant red and blue colors, outlined in the destruction. He blinked and refocused, but the disk was gone. Something about it, seemed…almost familiar to him. He shook the thought out of his head and put his eyes back to the scope of his sniper rifle.

The asset was in position. If anyone moved into or out of the rubble, they would be dead before they could even determine where the shot came from.

"Steve. Steve!" His world began to shake as the darkness was jostled from his eyes. He opened them slowly, grimacing as the pain washed over him. The world came into focus once more. The rubble lay strewn around them, small fires burning in various places. His shield was on the ground next to him, covered in soot but otherwise unharmed. Steve could taste blood in his mouth, the metallic tang that had always made his stomach turn.

"My god, Steve," Clint breathed in relief. "You had me worried there for a few minutes."

Steve craned his neck from his place on the ground and saw Clint sitting next to him, a grin on his face. He looked fine, except for his right arm. It oozed blood from tiny lacerations caused by shrapnel. Not much unlike Steve's legs.

"Can't get rid of me that easily," he breathed jokingly. Already, he could feel the serum pumping in his veins, working to fix the damage that had been done. If they didn't get help, his wounds would close over the shrapnel. Now that would be interesting. "Can you get a signal out of something?" Steve asked.

Clint shook his head no, bit of rubble falling out of his hair as he did so. "Phone's broken. HYDRA is obviously behind this. Meaning, they'll be sending people right now. Hell, they probably have someone "watching over us" as we speak."

A bolt of heat was sent up Steve's leg as he tried to sit up. "Damn," he breathed, gritting his teeth. "We have to get out of here."

"How? I can't use my bow. Your legs are pincushions. They are watching us. Steve, we are pinned. We have to wait for help," Clint said forcefully, trying to shut down Steve's idea of leaving. He sure as hell wanted to be as far away from the smoldering mess as possible, but he still wanted to be alive and free when he did it.

"Fine," Steve said, slightly annoyed. "Guess we'll have to wait it out."

"They should have been back by now," Natasha said. Once again, the team was gathered on the communal floor. Bruce was eating, Thor was watching tv with Tony, and Natasha had been pacing the floor for the past hour. "It should have taken them half an hour, max."

"Maybe they found something interesting," Tony replied from the couch.

Natasha let out a huffed breath. "Okay, then I'm going after them," she said as she tugged on her boots.

"Woah, woah, woah, Red. Hold up. You need to stay here. They want you outside so they can get to you. We can't let that happen." Tony put both of his hands out in a defensive manner.

"He's right," Banner replied, putting his plate into the dishwasher.

"They could be in trouble. Guys, seriously." She shot daggers at Tony with her gaze and pushed hair away from her face.

"I agree with Lady Natasha. Both are good warriors and know their duty. They should have returned by now," Thor spoke. He picked up Mjolnir and spun it easily between his fingers. "I say we go."

"Fine," Tony said, breathing out an annoyed breath. "I'll meet you all downstairs in five."

If a police officer had decided to pull over the car for speeding, he would've seen a man with a giant red cape, a robot driving a car, a woman loading more guns than he could carry, and a normal man sitting in the back with glasses.

But taking a car was safer than flying.

They parked the car a mile from the warehouse and proceeded the rest of the way on foot, everyone on edge. The first sign that something had gone wrong was the black plume of smoke that they saw rising from where the building once stood. Crouching down, they could clearly see the rubble of what once was the structure.

"Shit," Natasha muttered.

"You told us so," Tony replied. "JARVIS, check for heat signatures." The AI whirred for a second before repeating its findings.

"Two signatures. Beneath the rubble. Alive and moving." He proceeded to show Tony the diagram. Most of it was blue, but he could clearly see the red and white figures moving around underneath the rubble.

"They're alive," he said happily.

A weight was lifted off her shoulders, but her brow was still creased in confusion. "Who did this? And why haven't they moved yet?"

Everyone was silent for a moment. "It was a HYDRA lead, so I'm guessing it was a trap," Bruce murmured, pushing his glasses up onto his nose farther.

"Man of Iron, can you scan the perimeter for someone that may be watching?" Thor asked.

Tony scanned the horizon before his eyes settled. A figure, nestled in the trees. He was laying down, facing towards the building.

"Sniper," Tony reported. "Two hundred meters on the other side of the rubble, under the trees." He zoomed in and sucked in a breath.

"Stark, what is it?" Natasha asked.

The form was glowing red and white, but he could only see one arm of the figure. Where the other arm should have been was shrouded in blue. "Guys, I think the soldier is out there. His arm isn't showing up on thermal."

"His name is Bucky," Natasha reminded him.

"They brainwashed him, remember? He's back to being a soldier."

"You don't know that," she replied, trying to defend Steve's friend.

"Nat, he is watching over the rubble. In a sniper position! What else could that mean?" They fell into silence again.

Thor was the one to speak up, shifting on the dirt beneath him. "We must find a way to get down and out without being detected. They could be seeing more forces as we speak."

"I have four targets on the ridge opposite me. Do I engage?" the soldier asked, his voice steady.

"No. We need her alive. If you can get it, shoot to take out the other three. ETA ten minutes," Rumlow said and his voice clicked off.

The asset steadied his hand on the trigger, keeping it lined up and waited for the opening.

"I agree. They could have eyes on us already for all we know. We just need to get down and out fast," Natasha said. "Okay, Tony, you and your hulking metal suit go first. Scan for anything out of the ordinary. Thor and I will follow. Bruce, you stay on lookout," she ordered.

"Fine by me," Bruce said and lay down more in the dirt.

"Let's rock and roll," Tony replied. Using his repulsors, he jumped and glided to the bottom where the rubble was. He did a quick sweep and then motioned for Thor and Natasha to follow. Thor simply flew down while Natasha skidded on the hillside.

Soon they were all running towards the rubble. "Twenty yards," Tony informed them.

Just then, a shot pierced the air. "Everyone, down!" Natasha yelled as they took cover behind various stone outcroppings. The sniper Tony had warned them about had fired. "Are you guys okay? Bruce?" she asked into her earpiece. A mutter of fine's was all she heard before the second shot went off. Then a third.

"He knows how to aim. It's a signal. Keep moving!" Bruce yelled at them.

Natasha dusted herself off and followed Tony to where Steve and Clint were pinned. He and Thor moved away the chunks of rock in one easy push and Natasha jumped down a foot, her boots handing on the uneven earth.

"Steve? Clint?" she called. It was mostly dark, but the opening showed some light.

"Here!" she heard Clint's voice and moved a few feet in his direction. Once her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she could clearly see Clint sitting up and Steve lying on the ground.

"You guys okay?" she asked.

"More or less," Steve said jokingly.

"Okay, c'mon. We have to move." Her gaze drifted to Clint's hurt arm and she pursed her lips. Natasha helped him up with his good arm and directed him to where Tony and Thor were standing outside.

She knelt down next to Steve and surveyed the damage. A large pool of blood had formed beneath his legs and his breathing was ragged. "You look a little worse for wear."

"Very funny. I have got to stop getting injured," he smirked, but it quickly turned into a grimace.

"I'm sure Bruce would appreciate that. Can you stand?"

Steve quickly shook his head no, very well knowing his limits and that he had pretty much reached them.

"Thor, can I get some help down here?" she called up. Soon, the god was down there with them, bowing his head to avoid hitting the rocks.

"Steven, are you alright?" he asked. "You require my assistance?"

"That would be helpful," Steve said and pushed himself up. A gasp escaped him as he pushed all of his weight onto his thighs.

Thor walked past Natasha and next to Steve. Like a rag doll, he picked him up by the waist and slung him over his shoulder. Natasha couldn't help but giggle.

"Stop laughing at my pain," he stated, but a small smile played on his lips too. Natasha picked up his shield from the rubble and joined the others outside.

"How we looking, Bruce?" Tony asked.

"Not good. Black vans approaching. About two minutes out," he responded.

"And the sniper?"

"Still there."

Steve looked oddly confused when they mentioned sniper, but he finally got the gist of it and his face fell.

"Are you ready, Steven?" Thor asked. Steve nodded and Thor began swinging his hammer. Soon both he and Steve were flying up to where Bruce was.

Natasha began running back towards the hill with nimble feet, knowing that she would be the last one up.

"Better clench up, Legolas," she heard from behind her as Tony picked up Clint and transported him to where the others were. Natasha staggered up the steep hill, the shield glinting as she did.

He had a target. Wide in the open. An easy kill shot. Yet for some reason, he did not take it. Something about the woman's bright red hair, the shield she carried with her, it seemed familiar.

The other targets were also visible. He had the blonde man's head in his sights. And still he did not fire. His features were too familiar, too kind, too something for him to shoot. He knew the faces but not the names. The people but not the memories associated with them.

"Do you have a visual?" Rumlow's voice asked in his ear. The asset paused for a moment. "Soldier. Answer me. Do you have a shot?" His voice was intense and impatient.

"Negative," the asset lied. "They got away."

Getting Steve into the car was easy enough. Out, that was a completely different story. His hair was sticky and dirty with a mixture of sweat and soot, his fists clenched together. After a few minutes, they managed to roll him onto a stretcher so Bruce and Thor could take him to get stitched up. Again. Clint followed suit, his arm hanging by his side. It was just Natasha and Tony on the communal floor, waiting for news about their teammates.

"I don't get it," Natasha said, breaking the silence.

"What exactly are we talking about?" Tony replied obliviously.

"Bucky. He had a clear shot multiple times, I know it. And he didn't take it. Why?"

"Maybe he didn't want to kill anyone today. You really think I know?" he shot back.

"Mister Stark, Miss Romanoff, Dr. Banner would like to report that Agent Barton is in recovery and ready to be seen," JARVIS told them.

"Thanks, J," Tony replied.

Natasha spun on her heel and walked down to the medical lab. Clint lay in a bed of pure white sheets, an IV stuck into his wrist and crisp bandages wrapped around his arm.

"Hey," he said as she entered, cracking the smile that she was so used to.

"Hey. How you feeling?" she asked, sitting in a chair next to my bed.

"Fine. Not much damage. Just some shrapnel. Bruce said it should take about a week or so until I can get back to my bow."

"How long did he really say?" she pressed.

A look of confusion crossed Clint's face, followed by another smirk. "Two weeks. But you know me. Keeping me away from a bow is literally like taking something from a child. It just doesn't work."

"You seem happy," she stated. His eyes weren't completely focused and his head kept lolling back.

"Yeah. Bruce gave me a little painkiller for, well, the pain. So I'm good. You should go check on your boyfriend." He started chuckling as he closed his eyes.

"He's not-"

"Yeah, yeah. I think the wall will hear you better than I will. Bye-bye," he said in a loopy voice, waiving her towards the door.

"Alright. Get some rest," she replied and stood up from the chair.

"Aye aye, captain!" If there was one thing that Natasha never got tired of, it was seeing Clint on painkillers. She wondered if he felt the same about her. The thought made a flash of hotness rush into her cheeks. Natasha turned down the hall and entered the room where Steve was.

"You had a shot. You had multiple chances. You squandered every single one of them and you lied. Why?" Rumlow asked once they were back at headquarters. His voice was even and full of rage, which was worse than yelling.

"I could not shoot them. There were no clear openings," Bucky said.

Rumlow's fist connected with his jaw. Bucky could taste blood in his mouth and returned his gaze to Rumlow's, ignoring the sting of the wound.

"Might I remind you that you have a duty. To HYDRA, to the world. They all depend on you and whether or not you can pull the trigger. If you can't, then we have no use for you any more." Rumlow pushed aside his shirt to reveal a loaded pistol.

"Lucky for you," he continued. "We have a plan B. Two members are injured, which will make it easier to strike. We move in quick, fast, and silent. We leave in twenty-four hours."

Bucky stood up from the chair and made his way to the door.

"If you can not pull the trigger, I'll do it for you. But you won't like what direction the bullet goes in," Rumlow threatened. "Understood?"

"Yes, sir."

ATTENTION! There will be no update next Sunday, as I am in San Fran for a few days for an orchestra competition and will have no way to post a new chapter. I am very sorry about this. I will see you guys in two weeks then! :)

I have a oneshot in the works, which is just about done, and I will post that either Tuesday or Wednesday of this week to kinda hold you guys over. It will be called "Skeletons", so be sure to look for it in a few days! Thanks for reading!