"Stevie?" Bucky softly breathed before he had a chance to catch himself. Clint quirked an eye toward the vent, having assumed Steve had heard it as well, but the super soldier either didn't hear or didn't care. Thankfully, Bucky had himself hidden in the shadows of the vent anyways so one would have to be directly under to be able to see him. And that's not saying he wouldn't move back when they came closer. Steve looked pissed and hurt, a sight that Clint had seen many times but never really directed at him. The archer could tell that this wasn't going to be the best discussion with the Captain.

"Why?" Steve asked without saying anything else. Didn't even greet himself or anything, just the one word which sounded so broken that Clint almost slammed his head into the nearby wall. Clint sighed and looked to the ground before deciding better of it and focusing straight onto Steve's face. Steve winced, not having expected Clint to dare stare him in the eyes. But Clint knew better. He had nothing to feel bad about and he needed to prove that to his old friend.

"Why what?" Clint wondered, praying that Steve wasn't asking about what he thought the soldier was. Steve frowned as if the archer's answer was obvious. Well, it would be obvious to someone who was guilty. Clint nearly winced when he understood that Steve was asking about it.

"Why those innocent kids?" Steve clarified, shifting his weight. Clint knew he was uncomfortable with missions that involved anyone under the age of 18. An issue that many of the Avengers shared. But right now, Clint could only picture his three children with their dead eyes staring at him. He couldn't help but wince at the memory. Unconsciously, his eyes turned down and to the right. "Why would you kill them?"

"I didn't," Clint hissed, his eyes darkening as he focused hard on Steve's face. For a moment the two just glared at each other before finally Steve just shook his head. Apparently the man wasn't convinced of Clint's innocence just yet.

"S.H.I.E.L.D found you standing over their bodies," Steve growled, frustrated that the archer refused to admit. Clint jumped to his feet and rushed the door to his cell but stopped before hitting. His eyes showed murder before he calmed down and shook his head. Amazingly the sight of the archer rushing him with murder in his eyes had Steve stepping back in fear.

"I was grieving. I held my son as my house burned around me! I stared into my wife's horrified eyes, frozen the moment I got shot in the back!" Clint shouted, wishing he could take out his anger and sadness on Jasper Sitwell or even Alexander Pierce. Steve's eyebrows raised as he adjusted himself back to his previous position as if standing his ground. Clint snarled at the sight, his anger getting the better of him. "And who fucking said I was standing over them? Fucking Sitwell!?" Clint paused to breath and take control of his emotions. Flipping out like this wouldn't prove his innocence. In fact, it might drive Steve further away. While Clint couldn't tell if it would be better if Steve stayed away from him, something told him that he'd need the Captain's help. "Sitwell's a fucking liar."

"From what I hear, you might be the liar. Constant trouble, fighting with others, disobeying orders," Steve challenged, almost as if saying Clint's work ethic continued at home. Clint's eyes narrowed as Steve suddenly brought his hands forward. That was when Clint noticed the rather large file in the Captain's hands. He could just about see his name on the outside of it. All he could do was sigh and look away. Steve moved forward, almost as if he knew that somehow he had beaten Clint. "Many people here aren't surprised by what you did. Some even said they predicted it."

Clint scoffed and moved to the back corner of his cell. He refused to be baited anymore. Though really, Steve wasn't trying to bait him. The man was just trying to understand what made Clint do what he supposedly did. It was a habit of Steve's that Clint had always admired and yet hated to the core. Clint was happy that Steve would try and find some reason for something in a villains mind but sometimes there just wasn't. But Clint hated it cause that meant there had to be good in everyone and that couldn't be true of some of the people he had met in his life and certainly many he had killed.

"They were your family. Your kin," Steve persisted. Clint grimaced, trying hard not to yell at the man. He really wanted to defend himself but being locked in a cell with nothing more than his word made that highly difficult. Steve needed proof and with everyone around currently a hidden Hydra agent or S.H.I.E.L.D agent that was pissed at Clint for one reason or another, Clint had no proof to deliver. "And you killed them."

"Steve, stop," Clint snarled, not realizing his error. Steve froze and when silence settled over them, Clint was partly surprised it worked. He glanced over at the Captain and was even more stunned to see shock and almost fear on the man's face.

"How? How do you know my name?" Steve asked. Clint frowned and focused more on him. It seemed like a really stupid question. Everyone knew Steve Rogers was Captain America. "Everyone here calls me Captain America or Captain. Not one person, outside of an old friend, has called me Steve."

"Steven Grant Rogers. Born July 4th 1918. Parents were Joseph and Sarah Rogers. Best friend James Buchannon Barnes, aka, Bucky, ie, Winter Soldier," Clint reported, using the knowledge from the other reality to do so. Steve shook his head. It was told to him by the 'higher-ups' that only they knew James used to respond to Bucky. And no one had ever called James Winter Soldier but Steve had checked out the agent's folder. James and the Winter Soldier could not be the same man. Cause Steve knew, James would never kill Howard. Steve forced himself not to focus on it. In his mind though, it was certain. Winter Soldier and James Barnes were not the same people.

"You read something. Somewhere," Steve snorted, trying to hide how much this was bothering him but Clint knew him too well. The slight downcast with his eyes. Shifting his weight from foot to foot. His hands beginning to crumple the archer's file into dust. Clint fought to keep the smirk off his face even as he stood and moved back to Steve. There were so many secrets and Clint was certain that Hydra never went back far enough to erase everything from the 40s.

"You can drink anyone under the table cause your metabolism is so fast, alcohol doesn't bother you," Clint mentioned, knowing that it had been well known. Steve rolled his eyes. "Same is true for any type of pain medication or sedative. You had Bucky dig a lot of bullets out of your arms while you were awake and watching," Clint continued. Steve shifted and turned slightly away. Getting lost in memories. Clint winced. He didn't want to do this to punish Steve. All he wanted was the man to lay off of him. "You were chosen for the Super Soldier program after dropping your eighty pound body onto a dummy grenade that you thought was live."

"I'm sure all that's in my file," Steve mumbled, sounding slightly unsure of himself even as he glanced at Clint's file. Clint knew from personal history that Coulson had had most of his personal history blackened or completely stripped from his file. That wasn't typical of most agents but then again, Clint wasn't most agents. Clint smirked as a thought crossed his mind. This might get him.

"You once thought to 'fondue' meant to have sex," Clint stated as seriously as possible. Steve turned red. Only Bucky, Howard and Peggy knew that and all three had sworn to keep it secret. Thankfully during one 'getting to know each other' night, Steve admitted that he had nearly gotten in a fight with Howard over the man wanting to 'fondue' with Peggy.

"Seriously? That's funny," Pietro suddenly called into Clint's mind. Clint winced. He had forgotten to shield himself again.

"He owned a dog for about a week," Bucky added.

"You once had a dog that you named Scout," Clint added feeling Bucky's impressed mood soon after. "You still remember every place you've even been beaten up in and to this day, you still don't know how to dance."

"Did James tell you this? That Wanda girl is a telepath," Steve hedged, feeling completely unsettled. He sounded so much like an insecure teen that it reminded Clint that the man was only technically 24 years old. Clint shook his head. He wanted so hard to admit the truth but he still needed to make sure that Steve was fully convinced that Clint knew this on his own. This information was his only proof.

"You love art, so much so that you'd vacation in a gallery for a week and still not be satisfied," Clint said, reminded of the actual week that Steve had taken off after the Battle of Manhattan. Tony loved joking that Steve legit pouted on the way out. So much so, that the genius had bought the painting Steve had been sitting in front of for nearly three times what it was worth. God Clint missed them all. "You never acted a day in your life until you were literally thrown onstage to 'punch Hitler'. When you went to create the Howling Commandos, everyone first refused you but then you bought them one drink and they rethought it."

"ENOUGH!" roared another voice. Steve and Clint both winced and turned to the main door leading to Clint's cell. Alexander Pierce rapidly entered the room with Sitwell on his tail. Steve looked his best to look sheepish but there was something in his look that had Clint thinking maybe Bucky should talk to the man. The Captain didn't trust Pierce. "Captain Rogers, I asked you nicely not to visit the prisoner."

"I apologize," Steve started to say but Pierce held up a hand to stop him. This time, Steve visibly frowned at the man and seemingly bit his tongue to keep silent. Clint glanced quickly at the vent and while he couldn't see Bucky, he felt the assassin's affirmation. They were going to work on bringing Steve to their team.

"Good luck keeping him away," Clint softly chuckled as Sitwell moved to escort Steve from the room. Steve glanced back at the archer quickly. "Steve always looks for the good in people."

"Too bad there is none in you," Pierce scoffed as if that statement would bother Clint. The archer couldn't help but smirk at the man in humor. Pierce looked rattled by that.

"I didn't imprison an innocent scientist after shaming his name for years. Nor did I brainwash Bucky Barnes into killing people, especially Howard Stark," Clint called, remembering his quick info dive on all his friends. Pierce frowned while Clint lowered his mental shields. "Sorry."

"I remember doing it. Not much can change what happened... In either reality," Bucky sighed as both men then reinforced their mental shields. Sadly, neither man was fast enough to cover their release of emotion. Clint legit felt bad for Bucky and Bucky just basically felt guilt and emotionally wrecked. Neither man picked up Wanda's forgiveness and her attempt to make them feel better.

"What?" Steve cried, looking at Pierce with a sharp glare. Even without Pierce glaring at Clint, the archer could tell Steve must have noticed something wrong with Bucky. Pierce's glare wasn't helping his case whatsoever. The barrier that Steve had made in his head was beginning to crack. In fact, it was close to falling. Reading that Winter Solider had killed Howard and reading the evidence that showed Bucky might be the same man was completely different that hearing it affirmed by the man he had trusted since he woke up in this new time. "What is he talking about?"

"Go on," Clint encouraged, feeling only minimally upset about dropping this bombshell onto Steve. There was no way that this Steve was as ready as his Steve to deal with something like this. This big of a betrayal. "Tell him how Hydra found Bucky. Amputated his arm, tortured him, brainwashed him and used him for over 70 years worth of killing. And when you didn't need him, you iced him."

"Is this true?" Steve growled, his mind flashing to the file on the Winter Soldier. It listed extreme detail of how the man was treated and what to say and do around him. Much of what Clint was saying and much of what Steve had to deal with when seeing Barnes matched with what he had read. It was hard to keep that wall up now. Slowly, it crumbled and the two names became synonymous.

"Why don't you go ask your friend? He'll tell you the truth," Pierce replied. Clint's eyes narrowed as he wondered what the man had planned for Bucky. It was hard to believe that they already had a preset command in place for this but then again, Clint honestly wasn't that fully surprised. Steve turned to leave with Sitwell slowly trying to guide him out faster. Before Steve left, Clint focused on him and put as much sincerity and honesty onto his face as he could muster.

"Hey Steve, if any agent is around him, don't believe him," Clint called. Hydra would trust that their programming would work. They had no idea that Wanda had destroyed them and Bucky was free to be himself. By saying this, Pierce would tell all his agents to stay away and so Bucky would be free to do as he wished. Steve grimaced, understanding at least that Clint was warning away the Hydra agents hidden in S.H.I.E.L.D. He nodded and rushed off, leaving Sitwell to almost falling on his face at the sudden missing weight of the super soldier. Bucky quickly spun around and headed off toward his room, leaving Clint alone with Pierce. The last thing he saw was Pierce and Clint both giving each other smug looks like they knew something the other didn't. He missed a small army of agents coming in once Steve and Sitwell rushed off.

"Idiot! I'm not in my room!" Bucky snapped, his panic lacing his words. A warm chuckle echoed in mind even as others began to give off curious, horrified and surprised emotions.

"I know. You got time. Pierce is still glaring at me," Clint informed, intentionally leaving out the army of people standing behind him now. He even sent a mental picture of Pierce pacing that had Bucky been paying attention would have noticed that Steve and Sitwell still hung out in the background. Bucky rolled his eyes. Apparently villains really were like they were in movies. They all monologue. One would think they'd know better.

Thankfully, Bucky did indeed make it back to his room fine. He was even able to clear the bed and was just about finishing putting away some of the excess material when his door burst open. Automatically, Bucky fell into a fighting stance but stopped when he noticed that it was the Word Guy. Still in the doorway and hanging out in the hall was the rest of the men that consisted of Bucky's torturers. Bucky's eyes narrowed only slightly and thankfully the doctor didn't notice. Apparently the man was in a rush. Honestly, Bucky wasn't surprised when Word Guy focused on him and stated one simple word.

"правда," the man stated. Bucky resisted raising an eyebrow at that even as the men took their leave. Inside his mind, Bucky knew that meant to state Hydra's truth of what happened to him but really? That usage of the Russian word for truth was kind of ironic considering their truth was entirely made up of lies. He shook his head before continuing to clean up his room. A minute or two later, there was a knock on his door that Bucky couldn't remember shutting after the other men left.

"Enter," Bucky greeted without thinking about it. If he had, he may of said something else. The door slowly opened, as if the person behind it was afraid of what he'd see.

"You can go now, Agent Sitwell," Steve's voice slipped through. Bucky jerked his head up and looked over.

"Please, listen to requests. They are for your safety and the safety of the other agents on base," Sitwell warned, as if he had been saying this since the duo had left Clint's cell. Bucky frowned and wondered what else Sitwell had told Steve on the path to his room. He also wondered if the agent had brought Steve on a roundabout path so that everyone was certain the order could have been given to him. There was another moment before the door slowly opened.

"James?" Steve timidly asked. Bucky inwardly grimaced. He always hated being called James. Bucky was actually the name that Steve came up with and it hurt even more that Steve now refused to use it. Under a good reason considering the man thought Hydra was good.

"Yeah?" he greeted, shifting to fully face his old friend. Steve gave him a worried look that made Bucky frown, mentally thankful that he actually could act however he wanted. Seeing the look and knowing what the man had heard from Clint only minutes prior, Bucky motioned for Steve to sit down in either the chair or the edge of his bed. "What's up?"

"That... Man," Steve began as he quickly moved to the chair, making sure to close the door behind him. Bucky shifted to sit on his bed and stare at Steve. When the captain didn't continue, Bucky spoke.

"Clint Barton?" he provided even as he made it sound like a question. Steve nodded, not really noticing that Bucky shouldn't have known who he meant. There were a lot of men around. Steve still didn't speak though. Bucky sighed. "What did he do?"

"He... He said some things," Steve started again before stopping, unsure what to say next. Bucky waited a moment before nodding in a silent prod for him to continue. Steve sighed deeply and focused on Bucky. "Are these people really Hydra?"

Bucky nearly jerked back at the sudden rush of anxiety. What would Steve think? Heck, what would he do? Would Steve forgive him for what he did as Winter Soldier? For a moment, old programming, worry, fear and insecurity made Bucky nearly lie to Steve. But then, Bucky got a hold of himself with a boost of courage from one of the others. His distracted mind couldn't focus on who sent it but as a just in case, he held up his shields just a bit more.

"Not everyone," Bucky finally admitted, feeling wonderful about not having to lie to Steve anymore. Steve nearly jumped to his feet in surprise and sudden anger. Bucky held his hands up to stop the man, knowing that Steve wanted to turn and attack anyone he suspected as Hydra. "About half the people here is secretly Hydra."

"Secretly? Hydra doesn't do secretly," Steve hissed, his anger coloring his words. Bucky winced even though he knew that the anger wasn't directed at him.

"They have for the past seventy or so years. They laid in wait," Bucky mentioned. Steve got up from the seat and began pacing the room. Bucky silently watched him. There was no use rushing this information. Let Steve slowly digest it.

"Did that man kill his family?" Steve growled, unsure about everything anyone has told him since he woke.

"No," Bucky said, shaking his head to emphasize it. Steve hissed out a sigh of anger. Before Steve could ask, Bucky continued. "Agent Sitwell formed a group of other Hydra agents and attacked him and his family."

"Why?" Steve nearly sobbed, stopping pacing and staring off in the distance. Bucky sighed deeply.

"Cause... This reality was made by Hydra for them to succeed in a mission that they failed to do in Clint's reality," Bucky replied, realizing how vague and strange that sounded after he said it. Steve turned to Bucky with a confused look.

"What?"

"This reality isn't the real reality," Bucky started. Steve opened his mouth to argue but Bucky raised a hand to stop him. "In the real reality, one that Clint Barton and I both remember along with nearly all of Hydra, there existed a group called the Avengers."

"You have got to be kidding me," Steve muttered. Bucky shook his head before nodding toward the chair. Without replying, Steve sat back down. Bucky sighed. He needed to go slow but who knows how long Bucky had to tell Steve everything the man needed to hear.

"The Avengers were formed after an alien god named Loki attacked Earth. The team was Bruce Banner, a scientist who had an incident with gamma radiation and could turn into a hulking green rage monster. Tony Stark, son of Howard Stark and genius in his own right. He built a mechanical exo-suit he called Iron Man that had special weapons built inside it. Thor, the alien god who happened to be the brother with the attacking god. He had the power of lightning at his command. A woman called Black Widow, an assassin highly trained and mostly known as an efficient killer. Yourself and Clint Barton, also known as Hawkeye," Bucky plowed on. Steve stared at him silently and Bucky half wondered if the man believed him. "After winning against Loki, the Avengers became a main attack force for Earth. Soon after, you joined S.H.I.E.L.D and after a couple of missions, suddenly found yourself trapped in a series of secrets. You and the Black Widow worked hard to uncover what was going on and found out Hydra was inside S.H.I.E.L.D and was using a new project to uncover themselves and take over the word."

"What project?" Steve muttered, actually sounding interested.

"The Triskillion," Bucky replied. Steve frowned.

"Pierce mentioned that earlier today. They're ahead of schedule," Steve grunted. Bucky frowned.

"What? Bucky, get as much information as you can!" Clint suddenly screamed into his head. Bucky nearly winced. Apparently to get through his tougher shields, Clint had to get louder. But remembering a bit about the Triskillion and it's original design, Bucky knew how important it was to not only find what changed the realities but also stopping that ship from finishing.

"What do you mean?"

"I saw plans earlier. They'll be finished in less than two weeks," Steve mumbled. He focused on Bucky. "Is that bad?"

"The Triskillion has a computer program that can pinpoint anyone on Earth and send a killing blow to them with only a button," Bucky mentioned. Steve frowned, working on understand the 'jargon' that Bucky was telling him. Thankfully he had worked hard and learned a lot since waking up. Without Tony Stark watching him over his shoulder, Steve was able to learn faster and if not more than he had in the other reality about how technology worked.

"Wait, they could kill anyone?" Steve asked. Bucky nodded just as Steve jumped to his feet again. "We have to stop them!"

"Steve!" Bucky snapped, stopping the man from charging out of the room guns a blazing. Steve paused and focused on his old friend. "That's why Clint is here. I'm secretly trying to help him along with Wanda and Pietro Maximoff and Stephen Strange."

"The people Barton kidnapped?" Steve wondered. Bucky shook his head.

"The people who have teamed up with Clint to fix this reality," Bucky informed. Steve frowned, thinking over everything he just heard. Maybe Clint was as innocent as he said. Something about Sitwell had always made him uncomfortable but being with Clint felt nearly like being with an old friend. And Bucky... Well Bucky had to be telling the truth. He seemed more like the man Steve remembered before Bucky supposedly died and Steve went on ice.

"What do you need?" Steve commanded, mentally deciding that Pierce and Sitwell were now his enemy. Bucky frowned at the sudden change in his friend. He had expected Steve to believe him. Maybe not now but at least soon.

"What?"

"What do you need? From what I've noticed, you won't have as much free reign as you think. But everyone basically ignores me. What do you need?" Steve repeated. Bucky's frown deepened. He hadn't planned on Steve joining them. A spike of shock before determination from Clint meant he probably thought the same thing.

"Information on the Triskillion. Have him work on that. You and I can focus on that stone that changed the reality," Clint informed.

"Focus on the Triskillion. We need to know how close it is to being complete and if we can stop it," Bucky ordered. Steve nodded.

"Okay, James," he replied. Bucky winced this time.

"Please, in private, call me Bucky," the assassin begged. Steve suddenly let out a brilliant smile.

"Will do, Buck," Steve answered before saluting and rushing out of Bucky's room. Bucky could only sit back and let out a quick chuckle. Then he sighed and stood up. While Steve was working on the Triskillion, he should start looking for the Reality fucker.

So tomorrow is Little Darius's second birthday. My does time fly. Speaking of time flying... Sorry I didn't post this earlier. I really need to work on my dang timing. Life has been a bit crazy around here. Job changes and the like. Hopefully things will be settling soon.

Clint lost his first tooth. Yeah, four years old and lost his first tooth. Quite literally two days after his dental surgery it became loose on a slice of pizza. Kiddo played with it for two more days and then off it popped. And of course, Clint being Clint, felt it fall into his mouth and swallowed. So, poor Tooth Fairy had to hunt through you know what to find it. She did give him money, just not on the day he lost it cause she needed to find it first, but she did leave him a note explaining it. Hopefully he won't swallow the next one.

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Reviews:

Katie MacAlpine - Hee hee. That's what I wanted.

AngelWings98 - Thanks. Honestly I don't want to take a break from writing in any form but sometimes I don't really get a choice. Between writers block, depression and lack of time, it makes it difficult. Glad you loved it. As for the Defenders... Honestly, I don't know much about those characters. Don't really have time to watch the shows or anything but when I do get around to it, I might. But don't look for them any time soon. Gonna be a while. Sorry.