Chapter 12

"Perfect timing, Natasha," Captain America commented wryly, kneeling next to his unconscious friend. "I would almost think that you had planned that."

"I wish," Hawkeye replied before Black Widow could say anything. "She's got this kind of thing down to a science at this point and I- Ow!"

Black Widow pulled her elbow out of Hawkeye's side and tilted her head in the direction of the HYDRA general. Hawkeye's eyes widened slightly.

"Right," he coughed awkwardly, "mission. Got it."

"My reinforcements will be here soon, Avengers," the general said confidently. "You will be overrun!" He started laughing, despite his situation.

"Just shut up," Black Widow groaned, rolling her eyes. "I am so tired of you, and I've only been here for a few seconds."

"You should've heard him before," Captain America muttered, but neither Black Widow nor Hawkeye responded.

I have to help Bucky, Steve thought desperately. I need to get him out of here, out of this place.

"Uh, Cap," Hawkeye said, watching Captain America out of the corner of his eye, "isn't that the enemy?"

"Not anymore," Captain America grunted, slinging his shield over his shoulder and picking up Bucky. "We need to get him out of here."

Black Widow and Hawkeye exchanged a glance, and then both of them shrugged.

"I guess that's doable," Hawkeye said, abruptly switching arrows. "I think we'll want this general guy as well. He might come in handy."

Just as Hawkeye released his knockout arrow, gunfire flooded the hallway, making the heroes drop to the ground quickly to avoid being shot.

"I guess the guy's reinforcements have arrived!" Black Widow shouted over the noise, returning fire with her pistols.

"You don't say!" Hawkeye retorted, somehow managing to fire his bow even from an awkward position. His explosive arrows took out multiple HYDRA soldiers at once, but more continued to come.

This must be every soldier in the entire base, Captain America realized. There's no way we can take them all out.

"Chill, Cap," Hawkeye managed, "we didn't come here alone."

On cue, a rumbling shook the whole structure, and cracks appeared in the ceiling above the HYDRA soldiers. They paused in their shooting, staring up at the crumbling ceiling in confusion instead of running. As soon as one of them realized that running was the best plan, the ceiling collapsed, burying the men in tons of dirt and broken metal. Through the new hole, the heroes could see blue sky, and, above that, a hovering SHIELD fighter jet.

So they had a plan after all. Can't say I'm surprised. Natasha would never go into a hostile situation without thinking it through first.

"Let's go, people!" Hawkeye ordered, grabbing one of the cables that had suddenly been dropped from the SHIELD jet. Everyone complied except Captain America, who took a few precious seconds to attach Bucky to one of the ropes before grabbing his own. Just as more HYDRA soldiers arrived from another direction, the heroes were lifted off the ground and pulled into the belly of the fighter jet, and then safely flown out.

As they left, SHIELD personnel poured into the HYDRA facility, securing as many prisoners as possible, including the general that Hawkeye had knocked out. There was no chance for the HYDRA soldiers to escape or even plead for mercy as SHIELD swept through them. Even with all that SHIELD had suffered through as a result of the previous HYDRA plot, what was left of the organization was still plenty strong enough to take out one HYDRA stronghold that had already been breached.

Nick fury was waiting for the group as they stumbled into their seats, taking a moment to find their balance in the fast-moving vehicle. Nick Fury, being Nick Fury, simply stood in the middle of the area and held onto a handle hanging from the ceiling. He surveyed each member of the group until his eyes landed on the Winter Soldier. Immediately, seeing that the man was unconscious, Fury turned to Captain America.

"Care to explain this, Captain?" He asked, neither his voice nor his expression giving away his thoughts. Steve Rogers, looking tired, pulled his shield off of his back and set it in front of him, letting it rest against his shins. After that action was complete, he sighed deeply and made an inarticulate hand signal.

"His memory . . ." Steve began, trying to explain it in a way that would stop Fury from locking the Winter Soldier away for the rest of his life, "it's . . . come back."

Everyone except Nick Fury reacted to that news, with Natasha and Clint exchanging another one of their silent conversations.

"Explain." Fury's voice left no room for argument and his intense expression never wavered. Not that anyone in the fighter jet had expected it to.

"Well," Steve said, "he doesn't remember all of it, from what I got. He . . . switched sides, helped me not get my can get cracked open."

Hawkeye winced, but seemed to calm down when Black Widow placed her hand on his thigh. He offered her a small smile. Steve and Fury watched the exchange, both of them knowing what had caused Clint's reaction. He still wasn't entirely over what Loki had done to him, even though it was all that time ago.

"Anyway," Steve continued, trying to be a bit more sensitive about how he talked, "he gave me my shield and assisted me in getting out. He acted . . . almost like he had when I was younger."

Seventy years younger, Steve thought somewhat bitterly, though at this point he was accustomed to the idea that he was ninety years old.

"However, once he saw the general, he froze."

"A conflict of loyalties," Natasha said quietly, her expression neutral despite the pain hidden in her eyes. Steve nodded.

"Exactly. He resisted the general's commands and ended up blacking out right before you two showed up."

Fury said nothing, though anyone could see the gears turning in his suspicious and somewhat paranoid mind.

"If he's an actor," he mused, "he'd be a pretty good one to fool you, Steve."

"Judging from how he acted during the HYDRA incident," Steve replied, thinking of the silent and intimidating figure he remembered, "he's gained a whole new personality."

"That may be so," Fury grunted, "but I am not trusting this man until he goes through a thorough examination."

"You aren't going to punish him, are you?" Steve asked anxiously.

"Son," Nick Fury said, "if I punished people for committing acts that they had no control over committing, Hawkeye wouldn't be here."

"Point taken," Steve responded, leaning back in his seat, somewhat satisfied with Fury's answer. Clint offered Rogers a small smile.

"Trust me," he said, "he'll be fine."

Steve nodded, his eyes going to the man unconscious on the floor. Only then did he notice that his metal arm had a few bullets lodged in it, and that it was pretty badly damaged. Black Widow, following his line of sight, smirked.

"You need medical attention too, Rogers," she said softly. Steve looked down at himself and, for the first time, realized that he was bleeding a fair amount.

"We're heading towards a field hospital," Fury interrupted before Steve could say anything. "You'll get patched up, Rogers, your friend too."

"What about his arm?" Steve questioned. He sincerely doubted that a field hospital could fix that mass of metal, no matter how advanced the twenty-first century was. Fury frowned for a brief moment.

"I suppose I could call in Stark," he growled, "but, before you get too grateful, Rogers, remember that I'm not the one dealing with his ego."

Steve smiled ruefully and scratched the back of his neck.

"Understood, Fury," he replied.

You're going to get better, Bucky. You're coming home.

Yes, this is a short chapter again, but almost all of my chapters are this length. The last one was the anomaly of the group.

Anyway, for those of you who were wondering what Falcon was doing that entire time, he was helping out the soldiers who were taking out any HYRA soldiers who managed to escape from different parts of the base. His wings aren't really suited for indoor combat, as his greatest asset is his high mobility.

Anyway, please continue to review! I'm glad that so many of you guys like this fic and I'm happy that I got the inspiration to write it. Thank you!

-RoR

P.S. I just had to bring in Tony. His character just couldn't be kept out of this. It's probably because of his massive ego.