They left Bucky alone for a long while as they each tried to get their heads on straight. Clint was lost in thought over what was happening and what he should be doing. Who knew being a leader could be this hard... Did all of Hydra know about the other reality? Or was it only the higher ups? Who has the ability to do this? Who should he go after? Should he involve Tony, or try and save Steve and now Bruce? What was going to be his next move?

Pietro was pacing the living room as well, subconsciously annoying the crap out of Clint. Ten minutes after Stephen and Clint had left Bucky alone, Wanda asked Pietro to leave her alone so she could sort through everything she accidentally gathered from Bucky. The teen seemed distressed from being separated from his sister but there was nothing anyone could do to help. Wanda need her space and Pietro wasn't anything other than a stress at this point.

Stephen hung out in the attached kitchen, finishing making the food that Wanda has started earlier that day. Amazingly none of it had been ruined by their impromptu attack of Bucky. He was just about finished dealing with it. As he turned to set everything on a plate, something told him to pack it up in a travel container(s) instead. He paused for a moment, frowning in thought before sighing and searching his cabinets for something large enough to allow the food to travel.

"Can we trust him?" Pietro asked, breaking the silence that had surrounded the group. Clint looked up. "Can we trust this guy?"

"Honestly?" Clint half wondered. Pietro nodded. "I don't know."

"What?" Pietro nearly screamed at the archer. Clint shrugged.

"Bucky was… Is Steve's old friend from World War II. The man fell off a train into a ravine where Hydra found him. They brainwashed him into becoming an assassin for them. When he wasn't being used, he was frozen to keep him young and fit. In my reality, we were just starting to look for him. We hadn't found him yet and even then, none of us knew how much he was in control of himself. But Steve wanted to help him in any way possible."

"You realize that he may have betrayed Steven in this reality, right?" Stephen mentioned as if Clint hadn't already thought the same thing. The archer sighed. He really wished someone else was here that could voice the answers to his questions rather than creating new ones. He paused then. Bucky may remember his reality! That's what Stephen may have meant by saying Bucky had an aura similar to the archer! Quickly, Clint jumped to his feet and rushed down to the room with Bucky, who was sitting still thanks to Stephen's spell but was rather harshly bashing his head against the top of the chair. Clint almost moved to stop him before remembering himself coming out of Loki's compulsions all those years ago. The pain helped center himself. It might be the same for Bucky.

"What do you remember?" Clint snapped, bringing Bucky's attention to his presence. Bucky's head jerked up so quickly that Clint could hear the man's neck crack. The assassin didn't seem to care. Neither man noticed Stephen and Pietro appearing in the doorway behind Clint as the archer moved to stand across from Bucky.

"I... Not much really. Flashes... I remember fighting Stevie but also... Also telling him Hydra was good," Bucky admitted. Clint frowned for a minute before remembering what Natasha had told him. While dealing the Hydra invasion of S.H.I.E.L.D, they fought Bucky. It was why Steve wanted to save the man so much. In the final moments of battle, Bucky had saved Steve. A last minute saving grace and a spark of hope that Bucky could be saved.

"You remember the Avengers?" Clint countered wanting affirmation that Bucky did indeed remember the other reality like he did. Bucky frowned, thinking through his scattered mind, before slowly and carefully nodding. Clint nearly cussed. How many people could remember the other reality? Could all of Hydra really know? "Hydra made you tell Steve they were good?"

"They ordered me to make Hydra out as S.H.I.E.L.D," Bucky muttered. Clint snorted.

"In this reality, that's an almost truth. Hydra hasn't been outed yet," Clint mentioned. Bucky made a face and stared at Clint before he got the thoughts right in his head.

"That's why I was ordered to kill you," Bucky guessed. Clint nodded.

"Hydra killed my family and called me a traitor within S.H.I.E.L.D. But Fury and Coulson believed me about Hydra," Clint explained. Bucky shook his head.

"No... No! NO!" he cried still shaking his head. Clint frowned. "Don't tell me anymore! They... They might be listening in."

"They aren't," called Wanda, suddenly appearing in the doorway. She pushed through Stephen and Pietro, ignoring her brother's worried attempt at stopping her. "They can't listen in anymore. I broke that when I broke the command. Hydra has no connection to you."

Clint said nothing as Bucky's shoulder sagged in relief. It was in the moment that archer realized how tense Bucky had been. He frowned and thought to the few times he had seen the Winter Solider in his reality. The man had always been tense. Clint just assumed that was his natural relaxing stance. Wanda moved deeper into the room and kneeled down on the floor in front of Bucky.

"Thank you," the man whispered. Clint glanced over to Stephen, who was watching him intently. He nodded toward Bucky and Stephen frowned for a moment before mouthing 'are you sure'. Clint nodded. Silently, Stephen removed his spell. No one noticed but Stephen and Clint. It was a test, one that Clint hoped Bucky could pass while Stephen readied the containment spell as a just in case.

"The longer you're away from them the better control you'll have over your memories. Things will clear up," Wanda told him. Bucky nodded.

"When they brought Stevie in, it was like a dam broke. They tried to bury it all but," Bucky paused and glanced over at Clint. The archer sighed deeply and looked away. He didn't need to say they tortured him. Their limited control over him had faltered in their attempt to keep Steve alive and convert him to their side. "They threatened Stevie after a while. Said, they'd make him the next Winter Solider. I…"

"Couldn't allow that," Clint finished. Bucky nodded. "I get it. And Bucky, I don't blame you."

"My question is, how can he remember your reality?" Pietro asked after a moment of silence. Everyone looked to the teen in surprise. As they thought about it though, they realized that they had just kinda gone with the flow of it. But Pietro did have a point. Knowing why the two of them know the difference might give them an edge in the future.

"The brainwashing," Clint muttered to himself. Bucky looked to Clint.

"Natalia?" he wondered. Clint frowned for a moment before realizing Bucky meant Natasha. She had mentioned to the archer before that Winter Soldier had worked with her as a trainer in the Red Room. It hadn't lasted long and she had no idea he was Bucky until Steve mentioned it. Natalia would have been the name that Bucky knew her best as.

"Dead in this reality," Clint whispered. Bucky nodded. "They must have had some idea that the brainwashing would reject the new reality. But..."

"They must not have thought Loki was brainwashing?" Wanda guessed, glancing over at Clint with a concerned look. She had seen how much Loki affected him. Even worse, she had seen how much the archer blamed himself for not stopping Loki's magical control over him. There were many people in his reality that still blamed him for the death of their friends, lovers and family members from those fateful days. Clint was finally getting used to never not being blamed by someone.

"You know, for once, I'm kinda glad about that," the archer huffed, trying to go for humor but failing. Thankfully no one commented.

"So brainwashing helps you remember what? The reality you lived in or every reality you have to go through?" Pietro wondered. Clint shrugged. This was new to him. Bucky also shrugged. If this happened to the assassin before, he couldn't remember it.

"This information is all well and good, but it doesn't help us with our final goal. How can we fix this?" Stephen pointed out.

"Alexander Pierce, he's one of the leaders," Bucky replied. Clint frowned.

"One of?" he wondered. Bucky nodded. Clint cussed to himself. "Of course, a Hydra has multiple heads. Son of a bitch, why did that never occur to me before?"

"Sorry?" Bucky questioned as if he was to blame for Clint's lack of hindsight. Clint shook his head and moved to leave into the hallway. "I know some of the others but... Pierce has made mentions of our reality."

"So, you think Pierce is the one that did this?" Stephen inquired. Bucky nodded and suddenly gave off a slight shiver. His hands tightened into fists and Clint frowned. The programming must be bothering the assassin again.

"Then we have our next step, find Pierce," Clint grumbled before finally leaving the room to give Bucky a small reprieve.

Clint was tempted to call Coulson for any clue as to where Pierce was but considering Grant Ward was already questioning about him, the archer decided not to risk it. His next thought was to just contact Fury or even Hill but something about asking either of them for help just gave him chills. Something that was actually pretty typical in his life. He never liked asking either of them for help, especially Hill. Anyone else he'd normally try to ask for help was either dead, didn't know him or could be Hydra.

Stephen suggested he scry for Pierce's location. But he also mentioned that considering he's never actually seen Pierce in person, it might not work. A shot in the dark but worth a try. Wanda also agreed to try and mentally track the man down. Like Stephen though, she wasn't going to have much luck. Without having meet or seen Alexander Pierce, Wanda wouldn't be able to focus on him. Her mind would keep going to anyone who so much as thought of the man's name. So, her mind focused a lot on the men gathered around her.

Pietro wanted desperately to do something to help but there wasn't anything he could do. So, he watched over Bucky. The assassin had realized soon after Clint left the room that Stephen's spell had vanished. Silently, he had followed the crew into the living room. Now he and Pietro sat on the abandoned couch watching TV together. It was at least the news and so they both half hoped that Pierce may suddenly show up. Two hours after everyone started to look for Pierce, an emergency news broadcast suddenly came on. Clint tried to ignore it. After witnessing Banner's arrest live, the archer didn't think he could stand anymore bad news.

"Well, now Hydra's after Strange," Bucky commented in a 'I told you so tone' right in the middle of the broadcast. That made Clint turn to see what was going on. At that moment, the screen captured images of Stephen, Wanda, Pietro and himself. Clint got up, making Bucky and Pietro glance toward him. The man had a small smile on his face and Clint noted Bucky looked almost like the same man in all those old photos with Steve. "You're apparently a terrorist, highly dangerous and the rest of us are innocent kidnapped victims."

"Innocent my ass," Clint jokingly scoffed, trying to memorize the TV screen for innocuous details. Bucky chuckled, prompting the archer to look at him. Considering how fast the man seemed to have come back to himself compared to Clint's reality, the archer couldn't help but wonder. Could Hydra still be in control of Bucky? Even though Wanda swore they couldn't? Was all this a trick? Maybe the twins still worked for Hydra and this whole thing was set in the long play.

"Clint Barton is a dangerous man. He has already killed his entire family and attacked friends of how whom tried to get him help. If you see him or any of these men and women he kidnapped, please, call the number below," said a man. As the images wiped from the screen, Clint's eyes focused on Alexander Pierce. The archer smiled. Behind the man were sights that Clint easily recognized. He had been at that location often enough to know the sight lines. He smiled darkly.

"Well, now I have you," the archer muttered to himself. Bucky turned to look at him in surprise. Even though he had been around for a while, Bucky still had a hard time recognizing once familiar places.

"What now?" the Soldier wondered. Pietro even spun around now to face him.

"He wants me? Let him find me," Clint replied, his face turning deathly serious. Bucky nearly paled. Wanda had promised that Hydra would never get him again. And yet, here was Clint willingly going into the lion's den. Pietro shook his own head, half praying that Clint was joking while mentally planning on how to lock the archer up so as to not run to Hydra.

"They'll kill you," Bucky pointed out. Clint shook his head, a smile slowly forming on his face. Pietro frowned.

"Uh. Hate to tell you but, yeah, they will and they'll enjoy it," Pietro warned. Clint chuckled, looking down at the two worried guys.

"No. If they capture me, they'll want to rub their success in my face. They'll brag and torture me. Make me 'suffer' by watching this world go to them," Clint stated, so sure of himself. Bucky and Pietro exchanged looks. They almost wondered to themselves if Clint was mentally sane. When they looked back, Clint tilted his head to the side. "Trust me, I've been in this type of situation before."

"I find that hard to believe," Bucky softly hissed, shaking his head. Clint frowned.

"Really? You've been trapped in another reality with an evil organization trying to take over?" Pietro smartly retorted in anger. Clint paused at that as he thought over everything he said before shrugging. Outside of it being another reality, there was always an evil organization trying to take over. There had even been times when the group had someone the archer cared about.

"Just cause this reality is slightly different doesn't mean I'm not right. So far, they've done everything to design. Made me the villain, showed they could get my friends, sent someone after me... Now, the only thing left is the capture and torture before I ultimately breakout and kill them all," Clint informed them, trusting fully in his plan. Bucky rolled his eyes and relaxed deeper into the couch. It was official, Clint had lost his mind. Pietro snarled.

"Dude, life ain't a movie," the speedster snapped. Clint's eyes clouded over in memory of the various things that have happened to him. Since Thor appeared in New Mexico, it was almost like some messed up person was now in control of his life and their main mission, torture him till near death and then bring him back.

"I beg to differ," the archer whispered before turning and leaving the room. Thankfully for him, neither Bucky nor Pietro followed after him. Knowing his mind was a mess, Clint headed to Stephen's sanctuary first. Bothering Wanda right now wouldn't help her mental state and certainly would throw off whatever search she was doing right now. Clint lightly knocked on the door to the room Stephen had locked himself into. There was no response but it surprisingly slipped open. Raising an eyebrow, Clint pushed the door open. Stephen was sitting in the center of the room still as can be. He almost reminded Clint of a statue. The archer waited a minute, unsure how best to pull Strange from his concentration when it happened.

"Here to tell me you have a plan?" Stephen asked. The archer smirked and shook his head. Stephen started to slowly stretch. "It's stupid and reckless."

"So I've been told," Clint chuckled. Stephen didn't respond to the archer's bait.

"But then again, it seems you are as well," the sorcerer grunted as if Clint hadn't spoken. Carefully, Stephen moved to get up from his seat.

"Yeah, I've been- Wait! HEY!" Clint cried jokingly in outrage. Stephen chortled as he turned to face Clint. The archer put on a pouty face as he realized he just reacted exactly how Stephen wanted. "Not funny."

"Oh please. You've heard worse," Stephen retorted. Clint inclined his head in agreement. Couldn't argue that. Now that the humor was over, Stephen's face darkened. Clint stiffened, ready for a fight. "So, you seriously want to get us all captured?"

"No. Bucky will bring me in, alone," Clint responded. Stephen sighed and shook his head.

"And the plan gets worse," the mystic commented. Clint grimaced, almost imagining now that maybe Bucky's and Pietro's argument might be valid. Could he really be certain that the Hydra here would be stupid enough to brag and want to show off their imagined might?

"Hey, I need the rest of you out here in case something goes wrong," the archer mentioned, trying to show that he had a backup plan in case the main one failed. Stephen snorted.

"How would we know?" the man countered as if Clint hadn't thought of that. Clint had indeed thought of it. It was something the Wanda from his reality mentioned at one point in Sokovia. And something that the Sorcerer Supreme had mentioned. A magic link. Clint was hesitant to use it but, there would be no way to track it, no way it could stop working, and a perfect way for everyone to talk to each other. Stephen's eyes narrowed, almost understanding before it being said. "That's high level magic. I'm not sure I could do that."

"I can," Wanda called. Both men turned to her in the entrance of the room. Apparently she must have heard them and given up her search. Clint gave her a soft smile. "I can link us. We'll be able to talk to each other, know what's going on, even see through each others eyes if given the chance."

"That sound incredibly dangerous," Stephen muttered as Clint spoke as well.

"The downside to doing it?" Clint asked, at the same time as Stephen. The archer could almost sense more than fear what Wanda was going to say. Wanda winced, predicting that at least Clint would pick up on the problems that could arise.

"We'd uh... Feel everything. Hear every thought not protected and if we don't have the best mental walls, we could... Accidentally get lost in each others minds," Wanda warned. Clint paled at the thought, remembering back to Loki's scepter. So many people had thought that was a one way street but there were times, Clint could go into Loki's mind. He saw what had driven the trickster into doing what he did and Clint could nearly seem himself in the demigod. If even the slightest bit of Clint's life changed, he could have been Loki (well, without the magic). It was a horrible feeling. Never mind the own darkness that coated Clint's past. What if the others saw that and didn't want to help him after all? What if they decided Hydra was better a risk than this other reality that had the Avengers?

"You could teach us to stop that from happening, correct?" Stephen questioned, sounding oddly worried. Clint glanced at the mystic even as his mind reminded him that Stephen used to be a very famous and very self centered surgeon. He might have a lot of darkness in his past hidden from the public as well.

"I can try, " Wanda whispered. She began to twist her fingers. A nervous trait that was compounded when red sparks started to appear. She was nervous. Everything about Clint's plan was now going to rely on her. Clint moved forward and grabbed a hold of her hands. She looked at him, tears beginning to form in her eyes. Clint gave her a soft smile. "It might take awhile."

"I think Hydra might be afraid to use whatever they used before again. Otherwise they would have done it when I first ran from them," Clint mentioned. It was still something that everyone feared. No one truly knew what Hydra did or used to create this reality and if there was a set time limit to use it again. But the lack of anything happening had their confidence that Hydra wouldn't or couldn't use it again. Stephen exchanged a look with Wanda and both of them nodded. They could use this time to come up with a better plan. Or maybe even convince Clint that his current plan was too stupid and reckless to risk.

Well, at least it hasn't been a month. OMG, I have been writing the sequel story to this and I just hit a character that is sooooooooo easy and fun to write. I just hope that I did her right. Honestly I think I did cause for the first time ever I read the one of the jokes to my husband and he gave an audible laugh at it. HE'S NEVER DONE THAT FOR MY JOKES (unless he was involved in creating the joke)! I totally want to go dance around my house. Too bad it's like 11 at night and both kiddos are asleep.

Clint and Darius are both well. Just being typical young boys. Lots of fighting, yelling hitting, eating and complaining. Worst of all is the whole 'Mom, where is...' Literally right in freaking front of you! Ugh. Whatever.

Got a new story I'm working on the side lines. Would really appreciate if everyone could review a way they'd love to see Clint die. I swear, once I start posting the story that will make sense but I don't want to spoil the fun right now.

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Katie MacAlpine - Well, technically this Bucky is supposed to be the same as out Bucky. I have him spray the bullets for a reason that I believe now I may have kind of left the reason why in a kind of in between the lines way. Hopefully everyone can catch it. As for the rest, gonna have to wait and see. Hope you enjoy every bit.