Note: Haven't caught up with the latest episodes (5 and 6) of 'AoS' so far, so please no spoilers. This is (presumably) canon-divergent in that HYDRA captures Hunter in revenge at some point, and doses him up with the same serum given to Bucky.

"Super Soldier Serum"

"Quick! While he's dazed!"

Hunter stumbled upon leaving the chamber, and lurched into waiting arms. He felt clumsy and awkward, his limbs slow, and it was easy for his captors to strap him to a table. The hard cuffs seemed a bit unnecessary, and much too tight, but they kept him from sliding off. Almost a pity.

"Well, he actually made it through," Ward said, moving into his line of sight. Hunter gritted his teeth and tried to pull at his restraints. He still felt drained from whatever they'd done to him, and Ward's laughter didn't help. "Even Steve Rogers was weak as a lamb after he got the super soldier serum. He came out looking a lot bigger, though. Which makes me wonder whether this even worked, or if, like Bucky Barnes, you'll be stronger without changing. You don't look any different. Kind of expected you to go all Red Skull."

"Like hell," Hunter spat, and he renewed his struggles.

"A merc who's never found his soulmate, who killed so many man to avenge the ex-wife he pines over like some pathetic loser—"

"Who wants to protect his friends from deluded bastards like you! But you wouldn't know what it's like to have friends, would you, Ward? Anyone who pretended to be your friend is dead, and anyone who actually thought you were their friend is either dead or hates you!"

Ward's jaw tightened.

"Let's see whether your super-healing has kicked in yet," he said. "Or whether you're the next Bruce Banner."

"No thanks," Hunter said. "Green isn't my favourite colour."

"What is?" Ward asked conversationally, picking up a nasty-looking implement which wouldn't look out of place at the dentist. The tool fell from his hands as an explosion rocked the building. Hunter smirked; it wasn't as quiet as SHIELD would usually be, but marybe they were making a statement? Or worse, thought he was dead and intended to bomb the place to kingdom come. Not so good.

Of course, it turned out not to be SHIELD. Captain America burst into the room, shield on one arm and gun in his other hand, mowing down the HYDRA agents trying to flee.

"Stop there or I shoot him," Ward said, pressing a gun to Hunter's temple.

"Is that Lance Hunter?" the captain asked.

"Seems the Avengers are here to break me out," Hunter said, mentally preening. "Have you ever known them to lose?"

"Lose people sometimes," Ward said. "This time it'll stick, though. No more TAHITI to bring you back."

"True, Coulson and Skye used the last of it," Hunter muttered. "I mean Daisy." The captain gave him a strange look.

"Let him go," Rogers told Ward.

"What's it to you?" Ward said. "I thought Coulson was avoiding the Avengers, which means you're here for something else."

"Heard HYDRA was trying to replicate the super soldier serum. Figured they should be stopped."

"Worked out just fine for your buddy the Winter Soldier," Ward said. That was a low blow, and if Hunter wasn't tied down he would've hopped up and decked Ward for that alone.

"Leave Bucy out of this," the captain growled. Hunter tried yanking at his bindings again, letting out a soft 'Ha!' when he felt the hand ones start to give. He gathered his arm muscles, ready to pull hard.

The next sixty seconds were quite busy; and it was one hell of a minute.

First, Hunter tore his hand restraints away, and Ward's eyes widened like a cartoon character's. Hunter paused to grin. Captain America's shield whipped past, knocking Ward's gun away (and breaking his wrist, if the crack was anything to go by). While the captain and Ward duked it out, Hunter sat up carefully. He was relieved not to feel dizzy. Then he yanked off the steel bands around his legs and ankles. It was too easy. When he looked around, he saw that Ward was on the floor. Huh. His chest was still moving, and his breaths were uneven and rattling, but he didn't look good.

"Everyone will be glad to see you're still alive."

He looked up with a jerk, and saw the captain holding out a hand.

"Red, white, and blue," Hunter blurted out. He'd later claim he was addled by the chemicals and procedure.

"W-what?" the captain said, wide-eyed.

"My new favourite colours," Hunter said. He tried to slip off the table, only to miscalculate the distance slightly and stumble into the captain's arms. Couldn't complain about the result.

"Whoa, there. Take it easy." There was an arm around his waist, and Hunter was happy to lean against it. He met the captain's – his soulmate? – gaze. For a few, charged seconds they stared. Then their mouths came together, and Hunter found another reason entirely to hold onto the captain's shoulders.

"Steve! What're you doing?"

They pulled apart, although Hunter kept one hand on the captain's upper arm. The Winter Soldier was standing in the doorway, scowling at them.

"Bucky," Steve said. "I—"

"What the hell is going on here?" the soldier said, this time focusing on Hunter.

Well, he had an answer for this one.

"What do you think, love?" he asked, leaning against the captain. The soldier's jaw dropped, and he stepped into the room, closer to them.

"Oh," he said. "That's okay, then."

Hunter snorted, and then rubbed his aching temples. He summoned his strength as… he guess he should call the captain Steve… led him to their third. It really was them. Who'd have thought it?

"I can't believe this is happening," he grumbled half-heartedly. "First time we meet and you're saving my arse. Should've known from your words." He tipped his head towards Steve, and half-smiled at the soldier. "What do I call you, sunshine?"

The soldier's cheeks pinked. "Bucky."

"Wanna give us a kiss, Bucky?"

"Yeah." He seemed shy as he pressed his lips against Hunter's, and he was more than happy to have a new person to lean against when his legs trembled.

The first time he kissed Bobbi was the day they met, even though they knew they weren't soulmates. Bobbi said her soulmate was platonic, and Hunter was sure he was part of some cosmic joke, so he didn't care about marrying her so quickly. Now that he'd found his soulmates, he really didn't care about kissing them within minutes of speaking each other's words. It felt right like it never had with Bobbi, and only Steve pointedly clearing his throat drew him back from Bucky. The former assassin whined, but then there was another explosion somewhere – maybe the Hulk smashing something? – and all three of them sighed.

"Better get going," Steve said. He raised his wrist to his mouth. "Extracting Agent Hunter now. Captain out." Then he was nudging them both along the corridor, a trail of unconscious bodies their guide out. "And maybe you'll tell us whether this 'Coulson' is Phil Coulson. The guy supposed to be dead."

"You mean he didn't call you in?" Hunter said, glancing over his shoulder at his blond soulmate.

"No. Some woman named Barbara Morse. Friends with Barton and Romanov."

"Bobbi?"

"Know her well?" Bucky said.

"My ex-wife." When both men looked set to ask him questions, he jumped to explain himself. "I saw documents in your writing in a museum when I first came to America. Exact matches for the writing I'd been born with. Took pictures of them, and my marks, and sent them for analysis. Ninety-something percent match, although the analyst said that, personally, she thought they were a hundred percent matched. What was I supposed to think? You two were MIA, presumed dead! Bobbi and I had already split up before you turned out to be alive."

"What about her—"

"Here's the exit," Bucky said, and he steered them out. Hunter blinked against the harsh light to his newly-sensitive eyes. Super soldier serum. And it worked on him. What HYDRA was trying to accomplish… he'd probably never know. It was obviously an experiment, but why him? Maybe they thought he would become the next Red Skull. Good thing he'd been thinking positive thoughts while he was injected with the serum.

"Tell us more later," Steve said. They both kept hold of Hunter – he wasn't exactly going anywhere – and led him around the corner of the building to a Quinjet.

"Does SHIELD know you've got me?" he asked.

"They do now," a red-haired woman said. The Black Widow. "How's it going?"

"Mixed feelings," Hunter said. "Been dosed with something, but I found my soulmates, so I can't complain too much."

She studied them, the flicker of a smile as she looked at the two men flanking him.

"Congratulations," she said. "I'm sure the director will be happy for you."

"How did you know about Coulson?" Steve asked. Her almost-smile disappeared.

"Coulson?" she said sharply, before turning a much harsher look on Hunter.

He sank onto a seat and hoped they'd be quick about it.

"Uh… I think he can explain better than I can. I missed most of the mental breakdown while it was happening."

"Breakdown?" Bucky said.

"Jesus Christ," Steve swore.

"His resurrection was shorter than Coulson's, to be fair," Hunter said.

"I'm calling Stark," Romanov said.

"Coulson's gonna kill me," he muttered.

"Not if we can help it," Bucky said, and he strapped himself in beside Hunter, Steve on his other side. "Let the others know we're ready to go."

"I think they're about to blow the shit out of the place," Romanov said. Hunter didn't pay much attention while she reported to the other Avengers. He was trying to get his head around everything which had happened in the past… however many hours it'd been. Half a day? A day? Maybe two? He shook his head.

"This is insane," he said. "I guess I had it coming to me, after screwing up trying to get revenge for Bobbi. Screwed up a lot of things."

"You wouldn't be working for a guy like Phil Coulson if you'd never made the right call before," Steve said. Couldn't deny that, sure, but…

"You're my soulmates," he said, raising his head. The full impact was only hitting him now.

"What'd you do in a past life to get landed with us?" Bucky said. It was probably meant to sound joking, but there was a strain to his voice. Hunter reached out and touched his knee, just as the others began to board.

"Something very good, obviously," he said softly. He felt Steve's arm settle around his shoulders, and Bucky's metal hand covered Hunter's still resting on his knee.

Sorry! I know it's taken ages for me to get around to posting again! I honestly had the best intentions of writing something earlier, but I've been in such a state of meh lately, and then worrying about work. Still. Just a bit over a month to go, and then the holidays. Canberra! And yes, this is a short chapter, but since it's one ship this time around it shouldn't have to be too long. (Ignoring chapters like 'Requires Experimentation' and 'What I Am'.)

Please review, even though I don't deserve it! Feel free to chastise me. Several hundred words of this were gradually scribbled down in a little notebook I carry around with me, so I was transferring it bit by bit.