A/N: These songs were on the radio when I was writing some of this chapter:

"Dude looks like a Lady" by Aerosmith

"White Wedding" by Billy Idol

"Higher Love" by Steve Winwood

"Scream and Shout" by Will.

"Me and My Broken Heart" by Rixton

Chapter 23

Tony lifts his head out from behind cover to survey the scene in front of him. Natasha and Clint have Winter Soldier occupied, while War Machine is circling the ship and Peggy is hiding behind cover with Howard and Tony. As far as he can tell, there are only three foot soldiers left and Rhodey is heading for two of them. He turns to his left and sees a lone soldier heading towards them, gun poised and ready to fire.

Before he can react, he hears Howard yell, "Tony, get down!"

The brunet feels arms wrap around his shoulders and tug him to the ground while Peggy rises to her feet and puts a single bullet between the soldier's eyes. As the enemy falls to the ground, Tony stares at the unmoving body in complete shock. Did Howard just help someone other than himself and possibly save his life?

Howard helps him back into a sitting position. The genius is looking away from his father, but he can feel the concern rolling off the other man in waves. "Are you alright?"

Tony opens and closes his mouth a few times, rendered speechless. After a moment, he manages to nod.

"That's the last of them!" Peggy calls.

"Sweet!" Clint yells excited, as he dodges one of Bucky's punches.

Rhodey lands on the ground and makes his way to aid Natasha and Clint. Peggy walks around their cover to the same, stopping to help a few fallen Agents along the way. Howard leads Tony after her while keeping a steady hand on the genius's back.

Tony watches Winter Soldier dodge Natasha's kick and jump away. He turns his head a few times as though he's trying to assess the situation (Tony can't tell for sure because Bucky is still wearing his goggles.). Winter Soldier's comrades are defeated and the Avengers and Shield are approaching his position. While the Asset is strong, even he won't be able to take all of them on at once.

Without warning, Winter Soldier roundhouse kicks Clint into Natasha. As the assassins fall to the ground in a crumpled heap, he sprints to the left and heads towards Howard's two speedboats, which are still miraculously attached to the side of the yacht. Pulling out his pistol, he shoots out the metal rings holding one of the boats before jumping over the railing. The sound of the engine starting causes Howard to tense every muscle in his body.

"Hey asshole, that's my boat!" Howard yells, despite the fact that Bucky won't be able to hear him.

"He's getting away, we have to go after him," Peggy says, while making her way over to the second speedboat.

"No, let him go," Tony says without thinking.

"Tony, he attacked us. This Winter Soldier killed our friends and you want us to let him escape?" Peggy says, brow drawn downward in anger.

"Just trust me, please," Tony says, all but pleading.

"Trust you?" Peggy questions. She places her hands on her hips. "You just want us to let your comrade go? That's it isn't it?" When Tony says nothing, she shakes her head in disappointment. "Unbelievable."

Tony bites down on his lower lip and turns his gaze away towards the ground, wishing he could tell her the truth; she would understand if she knew. Out of the corner of his eyes, he can see Rhodey, who is now armorless, approaching him. His friend nods to Howard, who removes his hand from Tony's back and walks away from the pair to join Peggy, who is pinching the bridge of her nose and looking stressed. The brunet watches the two Shield co-founders talk amongst themselves for a few moments before Peggy straightens her posture and clears her throat.

"If I can have everyone's attention please," Peggy says, her voice cutting through the silence that fell over the ship. "I need status reports from everyone."

"There are at least eight dead and ten injured," one of the Agents announces grimly.

"There's damage to the ship in several places and I've spoken with the engine room. They informed me that there is no damage and the hull is completely secured."

"Several Agents have already begun the clean-up effort," another speaks up. "Dumping bodies, mopping the decks, cleaning away debris, the list goes on."

"I know a guy who can come out and help power wash the yacht," Howard says. "He can sail to our position with no problem and won't ask any questions. He's reliable."

Peggy nods curtly. "Alright. Howard, you get in contact with your guy while the rest of us get started on clean up." Almost as soon as she finishes speaking, five Agents arrive on deck wheeling a variety of cleaning supplies stacked on several different carts.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Rhodey asks in a low tone as soon as everyone's attention is directed on cleanup. He knows Rhodey wants to grill him about everything that's happened since the trial began and he's surprised that the other man has waited this long.

A gust of wind rolls by and Tony shivers, wrapping his arms around himself. He remains silent and turns away from Rhodey, walking over to where his broken armor is scattered. That was his last suit. While the gauntlet is still attached to his right arm, he's not sure how much juice is left in it. He'll have to try and remember to charge it after they leave Shield.

"Is it Howard? Because, if you ask me, he has weirdly become attached to you," Rhodey says.

"Oh man, it's hard to imagine my dad being attached to anything I do," Tony says with a shake of his head.

The brunet turns to look at his friend, only to find the other man no longer standing next to him. He furrows his brow and looks around the area before spotting Rhodey a few feet away, picking up a large cardboard box that no one else appears to be using.

Rhodey walks back over to where Tony is still standing, grinning and lifting the box for emphasis when he realizes that Tony is staring at him. He sets the box on the ground before kneeling down next to it, grabbing pieces of Tony's armor and placing them inside. The brunet kneels down next to his friend and follows his example.

"So, how are things going with your partner?" Rhodey asks casually after a few minutes of comfortable silence.

Tony has to fight back the urge to sigh in relief at the subject change before he thinks over Rhodey's words. The brunet smiles. "Things couldn't be better."

"I'm glad," Rhodey says and Tony can hear the smile in his tone. "Especially since I know I won't have to worry about breaking my hand while I punch his face in."

Tony rolls his eyes, thinking back to when Rhodey first met Steve and found out about their relationship at the Maria Stark Foundation Ball. "Cake pop, it wouldn't have been worth it."

"Yes it would," Rhodey answers immediately.

Tony can't help but smile widely at his friend's answer, happy that Rhodey has his back. He opts to stay silent and continue loading his tech into the box, mind wandering back to Steve. He really hopes that the blond is doing okay and that he's taking care of himself. Bucky's with Steve, as well as the other Avengers, so he's not as worried, but he still doesn't want anything horrible to happen to his boyfriend, especially while Tony isn't there.

The billionaire sighs as the last of his armor is loaded into the box. Approaching footsteps cause Tony to lift his head and see Nat and Clint head towards them. When the assassin's arrive to their position, Clint immediately plops down on the ground and sighs before laying on his back and staring up into the darkened sky. Natasha kneels next to Clint, picking up a screw next to her foot and turning it over in her hands.

"Are the two of you okay?" she asks, looking between Tony and Rhodey.

"Yeah, we're good," Tony says. He looks over Nat with a curious expression. Something seems off with her and Tony has no idea what it could be. Seeing Bucky was no doubt hard on all of them, but Nat seems the most affected. Could it be because of her crush or something else that she's not telling them? Whatever the case, Tony will try to ask her about it after the trials are over, granted she doesn't just pick up and leave.

"What about you guys?" Rhodey asks, pulling Tony from his thoughts.

"We're fine," Nat answers before tossing the screw into the box. She turns her head away to stare at the ocean, which has been blackened by the night sky.

Rhodey was right about one thing: Howard did become attached.

As soon as they finished with the bulk of the cleanup, the Avengers joined Peggy and Howard in the conference room where the latter immediately plastered himself to Tony's side, giving the genius a hopeful look. Knowing that his father wouldn't quit, Tony consented with a sigh and allowed an eager Howard to look over the broken pieces of his armor and ask questions to which Tony answered without giving too much away.

Tony shakes his head. This is the tamest conversation he's ever had with his father. He finds it weird how different Howard is—the man sitting next to him is not the same man he grew up with and the more Tony interacts with him, the more confused he is about everything. He and Howard are more similar than he ever could have guessed: they have similar ways of thinking, speaking, and interacting with the prospect of new technology. He has to allow himself to wonder: where did everything go wrong? Tony can guess that failing to find your good friends after years of searching could be one.

Howard continues scanning the armor and muttering to himself, unaware that Tony has completely zoned out from the conversation. He can't stop his mind from wondering how different his life would have been if Howard found both Steve and Bucky. Would Howard have actually been a decent human being? Or would he have eventually turned into the alcoholic asshole that Tony grew up with?

The door to the conference room slams open, pulling Tony from his thoughts. A Shield Agent runs inside, panicked and jittery, as if he wants to jump ship and swim to shore.

"Sir, ma'am, we have a problem," he says, eyes rapidly moving from Howard to Peggy. "A big one."

"What's wrong, Leon," Howard asks, setting the armor aside and turning his full attention on the Agent.

"Our Intel—documents, maps, you name it—it's all gone!"

"What?" Peggy exclaims. She rises to her feet so quickly that she knocks her chair over and doesn't flinch at the loud bang the item makes when it collides with the floor.

"Someone hacked into our system and wiped the entire thing clean; all of our hard copies are gone as well," Leon continues, the words tumbling out of his mouth.

"How could this have happened? We were all here the entire time! I don't—" Howard cuts himself off and looks at each of the Avengers. "Could it have been your Winter Soldier?"

"It's possible," Natasha says, after a moment of brief silence. "It's not his M.O. though."

"How do you know so much about this man?" Peggy asks, narrowing her eyes and pursing her lips.

Natasha shrugs. "Like I said, I read."

"There was a point during the battle where I lost sight of him," Tony admits. "If Winter Soldier was the one who did this, he would have had plenty of opportunities while we were distracted during the battle."

"That's just great," Peggy says, sighing wearily. "Howard, you backed everything up, didn't you?"

"Of course," Howard says, sounding slightly offended that Peggy would doubt him. "The backup drives are locked in my office desk."

"Let's hope he didn't get to those as well," Peggy says.

Howard and Leon waste no time in leaving the room. Peggy walks around the table and moves to follow, pausing at the doorway. She turns to face the Avengers.

"I want you all to stay here for the time being. I have a few questions I want to ask when I return," the Agent says before leaving the room without waiting for an answer.

Tony casts his eyes to the tabletop as he listens to Peggy's footsteps fade, feeling ashamed and embarrassed. He has the best tech that the world has ever seen, yet he couldn't keep tabs on one man. Sure, Winter Soldier is the greatest, most notorious assassin the world has ever seen, but it's no excuse.

"Nat, your pocket is glowing," Clint says.

The Widow furrows her brow. "What?" She looks down at her waist and discovers that one of the pouches on her belt is glowing bright green. Nat reaches into the pouch and pulls out the pen that Loki enchanted prior to the trial. She stares at the pen for a few moments before it rips itself from her grip and flies to the center of the room.

The pen hovers in the air for a few moments before transforming into a portal similar to the one they used to arrive in the past. Immediately, Clint is on his feet and looks over the portal curiously.

"Does this mean we're done," the archer asks hopefully.

"Loki did say that the portal would reopen when the trial was complete," Rhodey points out. "I think we're good to go."

Nat nods curtly and rises to her feet. She opens her mouth to speak when twin gasps are heard.

The brunet turns and sees Howard and Peggy standing in the doorway. Peggy looks suspicious, confused, and amazed all at the same time as she glances between the portal and the Avengers. Howard is absolutely fascinated, keeping his gaze fixed on the portal with a gleam in his eyes.

Howard turns and meets Tony's eyes as a wide grin crosses his face. His father looks like he has a hundred more questions he wants to ask. He opens his mouth but is interrupted when Natasha clears her throat.

Tony turns to look at the redhead, who is wearing a neutral expression on her face.

"We should go, "she says quietly, eyes darting between the Avengers and Howard and Peggy, who are still standing awestruck in the doorway.

"You're just going to go in there?" Peggy questions. "You don't even know what the hell that is?"

Tony rises to his feet before turning and looking at Peggy, who has her arms crossed and one eyebrow raised. "It's magic," he responds simply.

"Magic," she repeats disbelieving. "Are you out of your mind?"

"Quite possibly," the brunet responds with a small chuckle. He turns away from Peggy and starts gathering the pieces of his armor that are still scattered around the table and placing them in the box.

"Where are you going exactly?" Howard speaks up.

"Don't follow us," Tony says without looking at his father. He grabs the box with his armor off the table and leads the way through the portal.

Tony emerges from the portal and immediately frowns, confused. The conference room looks like a war zone—furniture is upturned and destroyed, chunks of metal and debris are scattered everywhere, and there's a huge hole in the side of the Helicarrier. The portal disappears from behind Tony and he barely registers it in favor of looking at the Avengers scattered around the destroyed room, unaware to their teammates return.

Bruce is sitting to the side, shirtless and wearing the stretch pants Tony made for him so he won't be naked after Hulk makes an appearance. The Doctor is reading a novel and Tony has no idea where he could have gotten it. Thor is lying flat on his back on a part of the ground that isn't covered in rubble, with Mjolnir on his left side and Loki curled into a ball on his right. He's never seen the brother's look so dormant and calm before—it's almost as if they are at peace. Fury, Coulson, and Hill are gathered in the center of the room talking quietly amongst themselves. Steve is with Bucky on the other side of the room. Tony's boyfriend is talking to a few Agents while Bucky is next to him looking bored out of his mind.

Before he can look away, Bucky catches the billionaire's eye and smirks. It's eerie seeing Bucky leaning casually against the wall and looking completely relaxed, especially since they were nearly killed by him only a few hours ago. Well, technically, it wasn't Bucky, it was Winter Soldier, but Winter Soldier is a part of Bucky and from what he knows about the other man, he wouldn't disregard a part of himself even if that part was a brainwashed psychotic Soviet assassin.

He's pulled from his thoughts when he sees Bucky elbow Steve in the side and whisper something that Tony doesn't catch. The brunet watches Steve pull himself from his conversation with the Agents, no doubt politely, before turning his head and spotting him. A wide grin crosses the other man's features, and Tony can't help but return it with one of his own.

"Tony!"

"Steve!" he calls, feeling joy bursting through him.

He barely has time to set the box with his armor aside before he's enveloped in Steve's warm embrace. Tony smiles wider, burying his face in the other man's shoulder and wrapping his arms tightly around the blond's torso. For the first time in his life, Tony feels like he's come home.

"Why does he get the first hug?" Clint asks, and Tony can hear Natasha's eye roll.

"I missed you so much," Steve whispers in his ear.

A grin crawls over the brunet's face. "I missed you too, you big lug."

Steve snorts.

Tony pulls away from Steve, smiling up at the other man for a few moments before gesturing at the destruction surrounding them. "What happened here?"

Bucky snorts from somewhere on the other side of the room. "A whole lotta shit."

"It's about time you guys showed up," Fury says before any of the other Avengers could express their thoughts on their teammates return. He leaves Hill and Coulson, crossing the room so he can address them properly. "I'm assuming that the trial is complete."

"Affirmative," Natasha says, carefully. She gives Fury a look, which says that there is more to the story and that they'll explain everything in private.

Tony's thankful for her vagueness. Mentioning the trial could bring up unwanted memories for Bucky, especially if he doesn't remember attacking them in the first place. His past as Winter Soldier is already hard enough, and they wouldn't be doing him any favors by bringing it up.

The Director continues regarding Natasha's expression for a few silent moments before ultimately nodding his agreement. He opens his mouth, presumably to get everyone to medical and then explain what happened here, when the alarms begin blaring.

Fury scowls. "Are you fucking with me?" he mutters under his breath before turning on his heel. He scans the room for a moment before moving to stand next to one of his Agents, who is sitting in front a computer that she must have gotten up and running.

Steve wraps an arm around Tony and leads him over to where Fury is. The rest of the Avengers, Coulson, Hill, and the lingering Agents follow their lead until everyone is surrounding Fury and the Agent with the computer.

"What the hell is it this time?" Fury asks, exasperated as his eye scans the screen.

"Are we being attacked again?" Bruce asks, clutching his novel to his chest.

"Damn, Hydra needs to get a hobby," Bucky mumbles with a shake of his head.

"Sir," the Agent begins, addressing Fury. "A surge of Asgardian magic has been detected. We've isolated the disturbance to a location where we believe both a Hydra base and the Red Skull are located."

"Where is it?" Fury demands.

"A place called Frederick, Maryland."

Tony's face goes completely pale. He grips Steve's uniform tightly, his fingers curling around the material as his lips barely form around one word.

"No."

A/N: This chapter is a little shorter than my usual ones, but overall I am extremely pleased with it.

I hope you all enjoyed! Let me know what you thought! :)