Fury

Three days later…

Fury was sitting at a café in London and he was keeping his face buried in a newspaper. He wasn't hiding, but he wanted to keep his location secret. He was only using the newspaper to hide his face, he had sunglasses on. He was still trying to stay low key, the eye patch would give him right away. He had heard the news about the after party at Avenger Tower, damn it Stark. Not thinking before you act, not even considering that the AI component in that damn scepter was even safe to use it for Ultron. Fury got the jest of their mess from Hill, and it was bad. Fury had gotten the emergency beacon from Barnes three days ago and he found him in the snow, passed out.

He had taken him to Hills once he notified her of his condition. Not only did Fury have the major problem of Ultron now free, he also had to worry about Niko and his plan to destroy Moscow, not to mention the four super soldiers he made. Fury had been in deep water before, but this was far deeper than he wanted to tread, and he was Nick Fury. He was waiting on a progress report of Barnes' condition. He needed him in good shape, or well enough. Fury had limited resources as it is, but now they were split; half on Ultron and the other on Niko.

Fury was just glad that Barnes wasn't killed, but he wouldn't let anyone see that, he kept those feelings to himself. Fury glanced to his right and noticed nothing, which was at least a good sign; no one knew where he was. Fury just had to hear the word on Barnes' condition, then he would be on his way. He had made arrangements to visit Barton's farm, but he needed to move that up a bit. Fury didn't like taking the back seat and not doing anything. S.H.I.E.L.D was taking longer to get up and running than last time. He had to choose his agents carefully, he had to know who was in Niko's pocket. If one moll got through, it would all go up in smoke; again.

Fury looked at his phone, which was on the table, there was still no word about Barnes. Ha had been out for three days now. Fury wasn't worried, it was more of a genuine concern on his health, and he knew that if Barnes wasn't a hundred percent, Hill wasn't going to be a hundred percent. If Barnes was severely hurt and wasn't going to be able to help, Hill would be half focused, and he needed her at full focus, so yes he wanted Barnes to be alright.

Fury sighed and continued to stare around him, and not once did he read from the newspaper.

Bucky

Bucky was lying in Hill's bed and he was shirtless and the blanket was at his waist. Bandages were on his shoulder and gut where he had been shot and stabbed. His face was lightly bruised, and he still had dried blood on the side of his face. Hill would have cleaned it off, but she was busy with Ultron and Fury, she didn't exactly have time to make him look pretty, not to mention she was a nervous wreck, but she wouldn't let anyone see that. Bucky had a slight fever and it had dropped the night before, which made Hill feel better. Bucky slightly stirred and he lightly groaned. His right hand slightly twitched and then it stopped and twitched again.

Bucky's left arm was nothing but deadly still, like a serpent waiting for its prey. Bucky opened his eyes and he stared at the ceiling blankly. His eyes were bloodshot, he sat up and winced as he felt his abdomen slightly tug and he was stiff, and soar. Bucky looked around and he noticed the bandages on his shoulder and stomach. He pulled the one on his shoulder off and the bullet hole was gone, but a purple bruise is what remained, the same was for his stomach, except that one had yellow around the edges. He didn't know how long he was out, but he had to guess a couple of days, especially at his healing rate, Steve would already be up and about if he was wounded like he was; the advantage for having the best version of the serum.

Bucky pulled the blanket off his legs and he moved his legs over to the edge of the bed and he put them on the floor, lightly. He felt the cold wood floor, with the subtle breeze from the cracked window. The sun was either rising or setting, he didn't exactly know, but he guessed by which side he saw the sun light it would be logical to say it was rising. He needed to find Hill, he needed to tell her about Niko. He stood up and he had to catch himself on the dresser, his legs were stiff; he must have been out for a long time. He moved his legs up and down marching in place, which made some of the stiffness go away, but not completely.

Bucky lightly groaned and he walked toward the door, keeping some of his weight on the wall so he wouldn't collapse, and scare Hill. Bucky opened the door and he stepped out into the hallway looking down both ends in case he saw Hill. Bucky made his way slowly to the main living area where his best bet to where Hill would be. He came around the corner to see papers everywhere, not to mention it looked like a mini warzone, yet he didn't know who was winning. Bucky lifted his left foot with little effort over a stack of papers.

He put his right hand on a hutch or table, he really didn't care what as long as it was sturdy and able to keep him up. He walked over some stragglers on the floor and he saw Hill passed out on the couch with papers still in her hands. Bucky stopped slightly and softened his footsteps. He trudged over to the couch and he rested both his hands on the arm, he held himself up, and he lightly groaned, by the surprising effort that he had to give; how bad was he hurt? He looked down at Hill and he watched as the papers in her hands rose and fell as she breathed. Bucky frowned not really knowing what to do, what if she had only been asleep for two hours, then I would be a crappy time to wake her up, yet he bet that she would sleep a little better seeing him awake and on his feet; sort of.

Bucky moved his real hand toward her shoulder and he slightly hesitated, still not entirely sure. He got past that and put his hand on her shoulder. He lightly shook her and tapped her arm lightly. He saw Hill stir and then make a small noise and she turned her head toward him and slowly opened her eyes. Bucky didn't really know what to say or do so he just improvised. He gave her a small wave in a hello fashion. Hill blinked and then she slightly jumped in shock and she sat up staring at him.

"Hi" Bucky said, still not knowing what to say

Hill punched him in the face and it sent him off balance and he landed on her coffee table and broke it in half. Bucky hit the floor and he felt the table press into his abdomen and he felt the air leave his lungs and the searing pain. He hit his head on the floor and he groaned in pain as he laid there over her coffee table and with papers engulfing him. Hill sat up "Oh my god, Bucky?" Hill asked

"Yeah it's me" Bucky finally said through his groans

"Sorry"

"No its fine, it was a good punch" He said slightly coughing, which made his abdomen hurt more

Hill walked back to the couch from the kitchen with a bag of ice and she handed it to Bucky. Bucky took it and he put it to his forehead, his jaw was fine, it was the bang to the head on the floor that hurt. He put it to his now red skin on his forehead and he exhaled in relief as the painful pulsing dissipated. Hill sat down and she looked at him with a pained face. Bucky looked at her "What?"

"I'm sorry"

"It's ok, the punch didn't hurt, although I think I felt a pop when you hit me" Bucky said putting his metal hand to his lower jaw and lightly shifting it, Hill heard a loud pop and he blinked and looked back at her. "Yeah, not it feels normal"

"I better contact Fury and tell him your condition"

"What happened to the scepter?" Bucky asked

Hill froze and she looked over at him "What?"

"It uh, was destroyed"

"Destroyed, how"

"Um ok listen this is going to sound weird and I don't know how you are going to react to this"

"Just tell me" Bucky said thinking of all the bad scenarios

"Stark and Banner found an AI in the jewel of the scepter and they used it to start up a program"

"Ok what program?"

"It was called the Ultron program, and it's a defense AI"

"By defense you mean world peace keeping robot?"

"Yeah"

"OK what happened?" Bucky asked starting to frown

Hill hesitated knowing he was going to either find it a dumb idea or he was going to explode with anger.

"He broke out and killed Jarvis, then attacked us at the party; everyone is fine, but Ultron escaped and now he wants to kill the entire human race" Hill said in one breath and she eyed Bucky closely for his reaction

Bucky thought about everything she said and he nodded and he clenched his jaw. Hill noticed him clenching his jaw, and she knew what was coming; that was the exact same reaction that Steve had.

"What gave Stark the idea for this?"

"He wanted to make a defense program that could stop threats to the world"

Bucky feeling a lot better stood up and he looked down at her "And he used an AI component from the scepter, and alien scepter?"

"Yeah"

"What the hell was he thinking!?" Bucky asked

"I don't think he was"

Bucky blinked and he made his hands go into fists "So now we have a murderous robot hell bent on killing humanity"

"Yeah"

"He got away, and now he is free"

Hill nodded seeing that he was trying not to explode. Bucky turned away from her. He lightly chuckled.

"What?"

"The peace of our time" Bucky said

Hill frowned by what he had just said, Ultron said that.

"How did you know that's what Ultron said?"

"I talk to Barton, he always was telling me about Starks big keep the peace talk, as he put it"

"Well it backfired"

"Your damn right it did, why did he think that adding a defense program would stop innocent blood from being spilt?"

"I don't know"

"Well I do know that when you try to stop a war before it happens innocent people die" Bucky said, putting his hands on his hips and looked down and exhaled "Every time"

"We messed up"

"No Stark messed up, and now we have two mad men out there and one is going to detonate a bomb in Moscow and destroy it while the other wants to kill us all. This is just great"

"Niko had a bomb?"

"Yeah a damn good one to, it uses the same energy as the Hydra weapons, from the tesseract. Remember what phase 2 was in S.H.I.E.L.D three years ago"

"How do you know?"

"Barton, now Banner was very adamant and angry why S.H.I.E.L.D was using the tesseract to make weapons of mass destruction. Well now we know that is was really Hydra that was behind the phase 2 curtain. After it fell apart they made Project Insight."

"So we need to stop Niko and Ultron" Hill said standing

"Yes, Steve and everyone else can handle Ultron, it's down to me to take out Niko"

Hill frowned and looked at him "Look what happened when you went up against him, you were almost beaten to death"

"It doesn't matter, if I have to give my life to save innocent lives, then I am willing to do it. It's time that the Winter Soldier took his hands out of the filth." Bucky said

"Then I'm going with you" Hill said

"No, Fury and the Avengers need you" Bucky said

Hill got close to him and he looked at her as she stood close enough for him to kiss her. He looked into her eyes and never looked away.

"You can't do this alone"

"No I can't, but I will" Bucky said and he put his hands on her arms

"Bucky" Hill said

"I'll be ok, his men aren't good fighters, and they just surrounded me and attacked all at once"

"Then how are you going to stop them?"

"Fight them one on one, then they don't stand a chance; the sad part is Niko will let me"

Bucky brought her into an embrace and he slightly shivered at her touch and he missed it, he hadn't touched her in a few months. Bucky could smell the faint scent of her perfume, and he had no idea what it was, but he liked it.

Hill was sitting at the couch with the I-pad in her hands and she contacted Fury. She waited for the connection, she looked back at Bucky; who was drinking a glass of water in the kitchen. Hill's attention was brought back by the ping for the established connection. She turned her eyes toward the screen to see Fury looking pissed or that was just his normal face; it was hard to tell which.

"Hill" Fury stated

"Sir"

"By the call I can assume that Barnes is awake"

Hill nodded confirming his statement "And walking around" she added

"Good, because we have a problem that needs solved"

"He knows about Ultron"

Fury was caught slightly off guard, but he didn't show it "Oh, and his reaction was?"

"Very much like Captain Rogers"

"Well it's nice to see we have two somewhat identical men"

"They're both from the forties" Hill said

"Which proves my point"

"Sir we have another problem, Niko has a bomb"

"What kind of bomb?" Fury asked

"The kind that were made for phase 2"

Fury's face went blank and Hill couldn't tell what he was thinking, but it seemed that he had lost a pigment. "Sir?"

"That kind of bomb, where?"

"The target would be Moscow"

"Is Barnes up to it?"

"Yes I am" Bucky said from the kitchen putting his glass of water down

"Good, you're Quinjet at the one warehouse you told me of"

"Thanks Nick" Bucky said

"You are coming to me, in London. We will move forward from there"

"Understood, I'll talk to my contact and see what he has picked up on"

"Very good, Hill you help out Rogers, Barton knows where the best place to go will be if they need to go to ground"

"Yes sir" Hill said

"Ok we have two maniacs to stop and they are both on busy schedules, let's get it done" Fury said and disconnected.

Bucky already had he gear on and was ready to leave in under three minutes. Hill stood next to him in front of the door. Bucky slipped a knife into his boot and he lightly tapped the boot o the knife would fit more comfortably. He walked toward Hill and he brought her close. She looked at him and she lost herself in his eyes.

"You stay safe" Hill said

"You to"

Bucky kissed her and he put his hand to her cheek and he lightly tubbed it with his thumb. "I'm coming back"

Hill sniffed and gave a quick smirk and a tear was forming in her eye "I know"

They kissed again and they brought each other into an embrace and stayed there for a few minutes. Bucky was smiling and he felt a strange feeling that he wished he would have felt when he left for Germany all those years ago. He never would have thought that he would like having someone back home to return to, and she could also clean a rifle and execute special operations in the field. He had indeed found his perfect woman.

"I wish I had this back when I left for Germany" Bucky said softly

Hill looked at him 'I'm happy you're here now"

Bucky nodded "Me to"

He didn't lie, as bad as it has been with the whole being around ninety year's old thing, he was thrown into a strange world, but he caught on quickly. Funny how the person he wanted to be with most of the time would be born years after him. A little strange, but also quite interesting. Even Steve found someone, even when he had lost one he found another, but sadly he lost her to.

Bucky was staring at the console in the cock pit while he had the auto pilot flying him to London. He pressed a few buttons and he called someone, the main console was nicer than the I-pad, not to mention it had less problems. He waited for the call to connect, as he waited he checked his position on the flight plan, he had a few more hours till he reached England, after this conversation that he was hoping would bear fruit, he was going to grab some much needed shut eye.

Bucky saw the screen flash and Gerald's face appeared, he wasn't in the pub, which was unusual.

"You are alive, you are one hard bastard to kill"

"Thanks Gerald, any word on Niko's movements?"

"Yes actually, and I have been following him closely"

"Well, what do you got?"

Gerald nodded and he looked at someone and he drank a glass of something that Bucky could only guess as alcohol. "He is in Moscow, and I will say this you picked a hell of a time to wake up"

"What is it?"

"He has the pieces assembled, but now he just needs to execute them. He is going to blow up Moscow in two days"

"Do you have a base of operations?"

"Sadly no, he is good. He's a major pain in the ass"

"Yeah, you should meet him"

"I'll leave that for you" Gerald said slightly smiling

"Let me know about anymore developments"

"Will do, I hope you stop the made son of a bitch"

"Me to Gerald, me to"

Bucky disconnected and he turned the seat and he stood up, walking back over to the cot that he so graciously slept on for about two months. He sat down and laid back, he stared at the metal ceiling and closed his eyes. Even though he loved a soft bed, nothing beats an uncomfortable object to sleep on, as much as he hated it, he missed it.