All characters from Marvel belong to Disney as well as all characters from Twilight belong to Stephanie Meyer. I own nothing except my version of events.

Chapter 21 Soul Shattering Discoveries

"How's my little sister doing?" I asked Pepper, sitting down beside her on the couch in her and my dad's living room.

She smiled, patting the hand I'd just placed over her belly. "She's doing wonderfully, better than I am." She admitted, letting out a tired sigh physically conveying her words.

"What do you mean? Are you okay?"

She smiled at the obvious concern in my voice. "I'm fine Bella. Just tired, I feel like I'm carrying a litter most days."

I frowned at her in worry, seeing for the first time the clear exhaustion in her eyes and posture. "I'm sorry, Pepper. I guess I didn't think about how hard it would be for you to go through your pregnancy while still managing the company at the same time. You know I can help too. I can take a break from the Avengers, until you're ready to go back. I don't want you to stress over the company. What if something were to happen to you or my sister because of all the stress?"

She smiled at me in thanks and squeezed my hand. "Don't worry about that Bella. I will need you to take over once I'm closer to my due date but I think we still have some time until then. I'm ok for now but thank you for the offer. Besides, you have a new enemy to worry about right now and I can't ask you to leave after what happened with Steve."

I bit my lip, knowing exactly what she meant. I wouldn't be able to leave the Avengers now, not with the looming threat of the Winter Soldier over our heads. If I weren't there, the only other person who could probably take him out was Wanda but I didn't want her to take on that responsibility. It was my job and my job alone. The Winter Soldier could have killed Steve and there was no way I would ever let that happen again, I would follow through until the end. I sighed out, leaning back onto the couch and tilting my head to maintain eye contact. "Though I hate to admit it, you're right. I can't leave yet… at least not until I find the Winter Soldier and get rid of him once and for all."

"And I'm sure you will." She said, smiling down at me fondly as she continued to speak, "You're such a strong woman, Bella, and I don't just mean with your powers. You're powerful both mentally and physically and I believe you'll take care of Steve and the rest of the team too. I can only hope that my daughter will grow up to become a beautiful strong woman, just like you Bella. Nothing would make me happier."

"Thanks, Pepper, that's so sweet but she's going to be absolutely amazing with parents like you and Dad."

"And with a sister like you, Bella. You'll help too, won't you?" She asked with a smile, already knowing the answer.

"Of course!" I smiled back, "I have to prepare my dear little sister on how to deal with our dear old father. He's brilliant and incredibly loving but he's also a lot to handle, she'll need to learn how to deal with him eventually." I lightly teased.

She laughed, nodding enthusiastically with how true my words were. We both loved him to death but we weren't blind to his faults, we just accepted him and loved him all the more for it. My father was unique in that way but there was nothing we wouldn't do for him.

I was startled out of the moment as my phone blared with the Avengers call.

"Oh no, I gotta go." I said getting up. Pepper nodded, waving me away as she watched me hesitate near the couch, not wanting to leave her alone. Without giving myself another moment to think about it I ran out of there heading straight for the elevators.

I made it up to the Avengers floor, joining the melee of bodies getting dressed. Not bothered with the fact that we could all see each other naked, it's not like anyone bothered to look or even had the time to while we each concentrated on getting our suits on. We all headed for the Quinjet in unison.

"Shield encrypted a file they recovered from the wreckage, they found the location of a sister lab. Unfortunately as soon as the file was opened, it sent an alert of its discovery to the hidden facility. We're heading there now. Hopefully they haven't destroyed it like they did the last time, before we get there." My dad said, standing before us in his Iron man suit, his face plate removed so we could see his face.

I idly wondered why my dad was joining us this time around. I bet it had something to do with our new enemy... I had a sneaking suspicion he would be there again. As a matter of fact, the Winter Soldier might already be there waiting for us to arrive. That is if Hydra hasn't exploded it yet. Either way I had to make sure everyone knew that he was mine to take care of.

I opened my mouth to say so when my father beat me to the punch.

"If the Winter Soldier appears again, Starklight takes over."

"Tony–" Steve started to say but he cut him off quickly.

"She's the only one that can defeat him without injury to herself. It's not up for discussion." My dad said more firmly this time.

I was so grateful my father had taken control over this mission. He knew how much I needed to take care of him for my own mental well-being but that wasn't the only reason. My father knew how strong I was, he knew there was no one else with the power to outmatch me and therefore I was the best choice to confront the Winter Soldier in a one to one combat.

I side eyed Steve, not wanting to rub it in his face but from previous experience we knew Steve might not be able to defeat him himself. He hated that fact and I could tell he wasn't happy about it but accepted it nonetheless as he nodded in the affirmative.

My dad continued giving orders or as much as he could because we were pretty much going in blind. We'd barely gotten the coordinates to the location before the file self-destructed and sent its warning. He ordered me to bring down the power again since it had resulted effective the last time. If I hadn't, Hydra would have blown up the facility a lot sooner than they had. It's why the Winter Soldier had been there. He had been used as a decoy, an aggressive distraction for his men to manually install the explosives that were set off when he escaped.

This time would be different, I would come in guns blazing from the get go now that I knew bringing down the power of Hydra's facility wouldn't deplete my energy like we had feared it would the first time. We also had a greater advantage now that my dad and Bruce were here. Once I brought down the energy I would enter inside with Nat, Steve and Clint, while the rest of them remained outside taking care of Hydra's soldiers.

Clint piloting the aircraft fired off at the gathered manpower below us as soon as we were close enough. We didn't bother to hide our arrival this time since we knew it wouldn't be a surprise any longer.

"Open the hanger!" I ordered. "I have an idea."

Without hesitation Clint followed my order and I stepped toward it, sending a wave of energy that flew our enemies back, rolling their weapons and vehicles yards away.

I heard someone release an awed-filled "Daaamn" behind me but I ignored it as I floated out of the jet heading to my next destination. I landed on the roof, grasping onto the metal rod protruding from the top and sucked the energy from the building this time. Once I'd collected it I sent some of it back in a rush, causing the windows of the building to explode outward. I kept some of the energy within me knowing I'd needed it later on anyway.

"Jesus, Bella." I heard my Dad's voice over my comm's. "Try not to destroy the whole building. We still need to gather intel." He reminded me.

"I know. That's why I didn't blow it up." I answered back, really I wasn't that stupid.

Then Clint's voice flowed into my earpiece. "We need you with us, B. We're about to enter the building."

Without answering I jumped off the roof. The air was nice and cool as it hit my face. Another person might have been terrified of death but I wasn't, I relished in the thrill of it. Ten feet before landing next to Clint, I activated the magnets in my boots, aiding me to land gracefully back down to earth.

"Fuck. Why are we even here? I feel like B could take on this place all by herself." He commented as he side eyed me after landing.

"Aw, don't worry Hawkhead. I still need you for your brain power." I teased, patting him on the head as I walked forward. I wasn't lying either, we all knew I wasn't very good with computers.

Steve and Nat chuckled as they followed after me.

After that it was pretty easy, we took down everyone in our path and continued forward until we made it to the labs. Hawk and Widow took over then, taking all the data they could while Steve and I stood guard watching their backs.

"Doesn't this seem too easy?" I asked Steve, frowning at the fact that we hadn't encountered anyone after we'd hit the labs.

"Yes." He answered worriedly as he critically analyzed his surroundings.

I remained vigilant too, letting my senses take over and letting the tendrils of my power analyze the atmosphere around me. It was then I felt a light static energy beneath my feet. I squatted down, pressing my hand to the ground and closing my eyes to concentrate.

"What is it Bella?" He asked.

"I don't know. I think… there's still energy in the building. Underneath us, but I can't tell you exactly how far it is… maybe between five to ten floors? It's underground for sure." I frowned, it was too far away for me to suck in the energy from here but I was close enough to feel it. It was like static or waves of energy calling out to me like whispers in the wind. "It's elevating. I need to get down there." I said standing back up again.

"How?" He asked.

"I can carve a hole through the floor."

He nodded in understanding, his way of giving me the green light.

I stepped away from them, as far away as I could go and shot a beam through the floor. I dropped down through the hole but once I landed I realized I hadn't gone far enough yet. The static energy grew stronger and I knew I was near. I did it once more and when I landed again there were men in lab coats scrambling away from me.

"You're too late." An accented voice spoke from behind. I turned towards the voice, noticing I hadn't recognized him at all. He was standing behind a glass wall and next to him was none other than the Winter Soldier, sitting inside of a machine covered in the same gear and outfit I'd seen him in the last time. He looked unconscious with metal brackets holding his head in place, his metallic arm strapped onto the chair with wires sticking out of it connecting him to the giant machine behind him. I arched a brow in confusion as he continued to speak. "I have to admit. The last time he confronted you he didn't fare well, it was quite disappointing. Since then we've fixed his arm and added a few more modifications. We know he's still no match for you but we don't need him to defeat you specifically. We figured out another way to do that without having to fight you directly... He's been reprogrammed for one mission and one mission only." He finished ominously.

I was so confused at the strangers sudden need for a monologue but wasted no more time as I threw a beam of energy at the glass wall. It all quickly went to hell after that as the scientist pressed a red button on the control panel beside him, releasing the Winter Soldier from his prison. He awoke a split second later and leaped through the hole I had just created. On instinct I activated my energy suit to protect myself from the oncoming collision, but I was surprised when he ran past me as if I hadn't been standing there to begin with. Instead heading straight for the hole I'd created to enter, leading up to where I had left Nat, Clint, and Steve.

I looked up and found him jumping from floor to floor. I floated up through the hole and we both landed on the last floor together but before I could react The Winter Soldier leaped forward, bypassing me again and holding onto Steve as he threw himself out of the window.

"Steve!" I yelled, running to chase after them.

I watched them both landing hard on the ground below, each rolling away from each other and taking defensive positions. I landed near them and was about to throw a beam at the Winter Soldier when I was blown away by a fucking grenade. It didn't harm me since I had my energy suit to protect me but it was effective enough at creating distance between us.

"Bella!"

I heard the worried voice of Steve as I was catapulted into the air, landing hard on the ground. I had a revelation then, replaying the scientist's speech in my head. I knew what he'd meant now. Hydra knew they could never defeat me physically and so they had targeted the next person they had any hope of ever defeating.

Steve.

If he were gone…

Over my dead fucking body. I thought angrily, not even considered his death as a possibility. I could feel the energy in the air vibrating around me as I got back on my feet. Looking around me, I sent waves of energy on everyone and everything in sight, determined to make my way back to Steve. There was no way in hell they would ever succeed in splitting us apart. I wouldn't allow it. Ever.

I was about 20 feet away from the fighting duo when I heard Steve yell out in pain. I turned my gaze in their direction, watching in utter horror as Steve dropped to his knees. The Winter Soldier towering over him in victory, he pulled out a knife from his armor, twirling it in his hand and thrusting his hand forward to impale it into Steve's chest. In a moment of panic I transferred my energy suit to him, leaving myself completely vulnerable. Vulnerable enough to openly receive a gunshot from an unknown attacker.

I staggered forward, taking a quick glance to detect where it had come from. Ignoring the pain, I raised both of my hands, simultaneously throwing two individual energy ball's at my attacker and the Winter Soldier. They both flew back, my attacker disintegrating upon impact and the Winter Soldier flying back into the vehicle behind him. I was close enough to see him struggling to get back on his feet, his face mask dropping to the ground in the attempt. I was getting ready to throw another energy ball to incinerate him as well when Steve yelled, "Bella! No!"

I froze, letting the energy die out in my hand in my confusion. Now that I knew he was safe I examined my injury and thanked the high heavens it had just been a graze. Pushing the pain and confusion to the back of my mind I sprinted forward, openly running towards Steve now that we were both safe from immediate danger. He hadn't gotten up from his knees, remaining frozen in place.

I was five feet away from him when he finally whispered, "Bucky?"

I froze at the mention of that name and followed his line of sight, watching in both wonder and horror as the Winter Soldier pushed off the ground and looked up at us. It was then I understood Steve's look of pure devastation and debilitating dismay.

I couldn't believe my own eyes.

Before us stood Steve's childhood friend, the one we had all thought had died falling out of a train.

How could this be?

Before I had enough time to process what the hell I was really seeing, the metal armed man pulled a gun from behind him and raised it up, pointing it towards Steve.

I lifted my hand up as well, an automatic defensive response.

"Don't!" Steve yelled again.

But I continued with my plan, but instead of throwing an energy beam at him I magnetized his arm, forcing it to stick back on to the car. He reached over with his human hand, trying to pry it off. I could hear the effort it took as his grunts and haggard breaths filled the air.

"What do we do?" I asked Steve, but he remained mute and motionless on the floor before me. I ran the last steps towards him and fell down on my knees by his side, forcing him to look down at me. "Steve!" I yelled again. "What do we do?!"

He blinked back, falling out of his daze and stood up, marching his way over to the Winter Soldier. I followed after him watching his back. I could feel multiple energies coming from around the building. I knew we'd be surrounded soon and we needed to move.

"Bucky?" Steve asked the man again.

He stopped fighting against my power. "That's not my name." He growled out.

"Bucky, it's me… Steve." Steve said in utter devastation as their eyes connected for the very first time.

I knew how monumental this moment was but unfortunately we didn't have the time to dwell on it any longer. I had to get Steve to focus on the present danger. "Steve, we have to go! There are more men coming!" I yelled, trying to reason with him.

As soon as I spoke, the spell between Steve and the Winter Soldier was broken and he began writhing again, trying to loosen his arm from the car with his human hand. When that didn't work he reached down pulling a knife from his leg holster and threw it at us. I was forced to magnetize the knife as well and it flung backwards, penetrating the metal of the car before it could reach us.

By now we could both hear the pounding of boots coming closer.

"Steve!" I yelled again.

His eyes flickered back to me then. He looked from me to the Winter Soldier, and the look on his face was one I would never want to see again, horror mixed with devastation marred his handsome features. "I can't leave him, Bella." He admitted, looking on the verge of a break down. I could see the internal battle, not knowing what to do for the very first time.

I took a hold of his hand and squeezed. "So we won't." I said seriously. He looked down at me, shocked at my words and opened his mouth to respond but I beat him to the punch. "We'll take him with us." I stated.

His face looked puzzled but without another thought I turned to face the Winter Soldier. He swung at me with his free hand but I dodged it, flipping over him and landing on the roof of the car he was trapped against. I placed my palms on either side of his head and I electrocuted him hard enough to knock him unconscious. I demagnetized his arm from the car and his unconscious body sagged down to the ground.

I turned around just in time to see the new army of our enemies drawing their guns and shooting. I lifted my hand again, flicking the bullets back, killing them all instantly.

I jumped off the car seeing Steve already holding Bucky in his arms. "I'll cover you."

He nodded, a sudden determination filling his expression and ran. I ran behind him, practically running backwards trying to keep up with his long strides while I continued to intercept the bullets coming towards us.

"Left!" He yelled back and I turned my head to see more men coming after us. I flipped the van that was closest to them and it knocked them down like bowling pins but I could feel multiple energy signals headed in our direction.

Thankfully the Hulk appeared with a roar, lifting vehicles above his head and throwing them at our attackers to aid our escape. I activated my dome of energy to prevent us from getting hit as we openly ran away from the battlefield.

"I can't keep this up much longer, Steve! We need a car!" I advised. There were too many now coming from all directions and I was struggling to keep up. My energy was quickly draining, feeling the hundreds of impacts against my energy dome. I feared what would happen if I ran out of steam, the running was not helping and neither was the wound on my side.

I heard Steve curse and we ran behind a bridge, finding an abandoned Hummer.

"I need time to hotwire it. Can you still cover?" Steve asked.

I shook my head at him. "No time for that, handsome" I warned, placing my hand on the hood of the car and starting it with the remainder of my powers. It turned on the next second, Steve hastily throwing Bucky's body to the back as we climbed in. He took the wheel as I covered us again. I had lost my earpiece somewhere around the part where I got shot and saved Steve's life from his best friend.

"I lost my comms." I informed him, "Where's the rest of the team?"

I pulled the gun out of my holster shooting at the stragglers left behind.

"Pietro took over for us. He got Nat and Clint out, they had to move the jet before it got destroyed. Tony's coming back to help. We have to loose them." He said, just as a huge Humvee appeared on our rearview mirror. "Shit!" He exclaimed again, as they shot at us trying to hit the tires. Steve swerved out of the way and my shoulder hit the window.

"Fuck! That hurt, but I got this one too babe." I said, throwing him a flirtatious smile as I opened my passenger door. Hanging off the side and throwing an energy blast at their vehicle, it was a huge car but it was enough to tip them over, ending their pursuit. I swung myself back into my seat a little breathless. "That was fun." I laughed it off.

I looked out the side seeing the speck of red in the sky, "Dad's here. Gun it." I ordered. I held onto the handle bar on the roof of the car as Steve sped up. I could only assume the team was giving him directions because he drove like he was aware of our destination. I remained alert but I was comforted with the fact that my father was in the skies protecting us. I could hear his repulsors shooting down our enemies as we got further and further away until I couldn't hear anything more. It was only then that I released a harsh breath in relief. Turning back to look at the backseat where the Winter Soldier lay unconscious. I looked at Steve then, "Is it really him?" I asked incredulously.

His grip on the steering wheel tightened and he shook his head in disbelief, "I don't know how this is possible… I saw him die… He didn't even recognize me, Bella."

My heart broke for him in that moment. I wasn't quite sure how I would react if this had happened to Emmett and I. I grabbed onto his bicep in comfort, "We'll figure it out Steve, I promise." I said as I looked at the back seat again until we came to an abrupt stop.

I turned back around to see the Quinjet waiting for us, Clint at the controls and Nat running out of the hanger towards us.

We got out of the car and I opened the door wide to give Steve enough room to unload Bucky. I heard my dad land nearby and he lifted his face shield.

He looked pissed. "What the fuck was that, Steve? Do you have any idea how close you were both to dying?!" He yelled angrily.

"Dad!" I yelled back. This wasn't the time or place to do that, especially after what we'd just discovered. "I had it under control!"

"No! Look at your side! You're bleeding!" He yelled back angrily.

Steve looked down at me then, noticing for the first time how I was holding onto my side, blood slowly trickling through my fingers.

"It's just a flesh wound." I said, in an attempt to make this situation less severe but I could see I hadn't been successful as guilt and shame suddenly took over his features. It was like he was suddenly holding the weight of the world on his shoulders. I knew what was running through his head without having him utter a single word. He felt guilty for allowing me to get hurt, but also because he'd let his mind slip at our unprecedented discovery. He'd become completely useless in the field, frozen in shock at the revelation of Bucky being alive, but he didn't have to feel that way because I would always be there to protect him and help him, no matter what. "I'm fine." I reiterated.

Steve didn't respond, looking away from me and concentrating on pulling Bucky's body out of the truck.

"You brought the Winter Soldier with you? What for?!" Nat asked this time, completely appalled by everything she was seeing.

Steve was now holding Bucky in his arms, his head had fallen back, his hair going with it and revealing his face for everyone to see.

"Oh." Was all Nat could reply with.

"We need somewhere to keep him contained. You got something like that, Dad?" I asked.

He blinked back in shock and nodded quietly.

Without speaking, Steve walked towards the jet. His long purposeful strides creating distance between us quickly. I tried to keep pace with him but I was tired and in pain and I fell back, unable to keep up.

"Please don't do this." I begged him.

I knew he'd heard me as I watched his back muscles tense at my voice but he didn't respond, staring straight ahead and shutting me away. Finding Bucky still alive and the realization that he'd put me in unnecessary mortal danger had sunk in and I could see he wasn't handling it very well.

I cursed under my breath, so not ready for this to suddenly have turned so drastically. I didn't feel bad for what he had done. I would have done the same. If I were in his shoes I would've done anything to save my brother and I would have expected him to help me, no questions asked. He should know that no matter what decision he took I would be right there with him. Always.

I trailed behind, my dad silently guiding me into the aircraft. I sighed out in disappointment, silently taking a seat across from Steve and Bucky. He'd laid him on the floor of the jet and was just staring down at him. I could see how tense his body was, strung as tight as a bow. I hated it. He refused to even glance in my direction and I just wanted to cry at the silence. I didn't need him to feel guilty... because I didn't. I didn't regret a single thing that had just happened.

Not wanting to stare at Steve while he stared at Bucky I looked around me.

"Where's the rest of the team?" I asked, noticing Wanda, Pietro and Bruce weren't on board.

"They stayed behind to get rid of the stragglers. There weren't that many left. A new fleet of soldiers arrived but you got rid of them. They stayed behind to set off the explosives this time. We don't want to leave anything behind for Hydra to recover. Jarvis has sent another jet to pick them up."

"Ok." I said simply. It had all happened so fast I hadn't taken the time to pay attention to anything more than the immediate danger to Steve, Bucky, and I. I had a sneaking suspicion that the new fleet of Hydra soldiers had been sent in last minute to get rid of Bucky when they'd realized he had been defeated and we were taking him with us. I was sure they never expected for that to happen. They probably thought we would have never discovered his true identity before killing him in battle. It all made so much more sense now, it had all been like their own twisted form of revenge. Using Steve's own best friend to kill him and then having me kill him to avenge my lover's death. They were absolutely sick and twisted.

I got up and moved over to the cockpit to distract my mind. Grabbing a water bottle from the side compartment and sitting in the co-pilot seat, just to get away from Steve.

"You ok?" Clint asked, turning to look at me with clear worry.

"I was." I said honestly, fighting with myself not to look back. I was starting to get angry and if my boyfriend didn't look completely broken at the moment I would have been screaming in his face. He was fucking everything up.

"Your wound?"

"It's fine, just a graze."

"How did that even happen?" He asked in confusion.

"I don't know. I somehow managed to transfer my energy suit to Steve before Bucky could kill him. I honestly didn't even know I could do that."

"So Bucky? How?" Clint asked quietly.

I sighed out tiredly, "Hell if I know. It was a fucking shock for sure. We couldn't leave him behind so I knocked him out in order to bring him with us, hopefully he stays unconscious until we get him secure. I really don't want to electrocute him again."

He nodded but didn't say more.

"Did you get everything?" I asked.

"Yes. We also found the file on him." He said, tilting his head back in the direction of Steve and Bucky.

"So I guess we'll figure out what they did to him soon." I said, biting my lip in worry. I knew whatever we found wasn't going to be pretty.

"It's going to get worse." Clint informed me, as if hearing my thoughts. I knew what he was referring to. Steve was going to get even worse once he found out what they'd done to his best friend for all these years, and with the way he was already acting we both knew he was only going to make things worse. As a result, he would only continue to push me away.

"I know." I said, trying to be as unemotional as I possibly could but it was a failed attempt.

"You're going to have to stay strong." He added.

"I will." I said, trying to convince both him and myself.

He silently reached over and grabbed onto my hand, clasping it tightly in his own in silent support, not at all bothered by the fresh blood tainting my hand. I squeezed back, welcoming his love and support, something I suddenly found myself in dire need of at the moment.