Author's note: hello! it's been about 289 days since I updated this story and I assure you, there is a plan to finish it. I've never been hit with such serious writer's block before! nervous about this one, but hopeful you'll enjoy it. the next few chapters are going to be just lovely, I promise. thanks for sticking around!

Warning: canon level violence

Steve woke up momentarily, eyes blurry as he collected himself once more. God, he was tired of this entire fucking thing. Two bullish figures were carrying him down a hallway, anchored on each side of them following Victoria. Steve could follow the sound of her clicking heels, his head lolling to the side with each sharp turn down the corridors.

They pushed through a set of doors and Victoria turned to someone else in the room. "Okay, well, he's not entirely where I wanted him to be with this whole future planning discussion but whatever, he's all yours for now. I guess I have more work to do after you're done, once we get out of here. Is everything ready?"

Steve was dropped down onto a tall bed, similar to the one in his holding cell from before, though a bit more narrow. But this room was different, larger. Though he could barely concentrate, he could see that it must have been some sort of research lab. Beeping equipment lined the walls, archaic screens flashed all around, beakers and whirring machines running tests filled in the rest of the background noise.

As the two guards strapped him to the bed, Steve tried everything he could do to pull himself away. He felt a bit stronger, somehow, though he didn't know how long it would last. Not entirely back to normal but if he tried hard enough, he might be able to pull the straps from his arms and–

"Not so fast, Captain."

Steve squinted and followed the voice, eyes meeting a new face above his own. Victoria's brother and partner in crime Wilfred, he assumed. "Please, just let me go."

"We've come way too far now to just throw it all away, alright? It's a weird thing though, for you to just ask us such a simple question," Wilfred laughed, nervously running a hand through the messy tangle of curls atop his head. "I mean, wouldn't it be so ridiculous for me to just be like 'oh, okay, since you asked so nicely..' and just stop the whole thing?"

Steve did what he could to resist, though his bouts of strength seemed to pander off just as quickly as they arrived. "You can't do this. Every attempt at the serum has.." He took a deep breath. Why was he so tired again? "..It has failed."

Wilfred just chuckled again. "It won't this time, trust me." He stood up again and turned to yell across the room. "Vicky! Get the imaging machine going."

Steve hissed in pain as Wilfred leaned a hand on his knee. "If any kind of serum gets to the wrong people, they-"

"Oh, god. Captain. Take it easy, okay? It's out of your hands. And don't worry, I'm playing both sides here." Wilfred took a step back, quickly dragging a finger across a tablet that lingered on a nearby table. "I've got the shiny new serum and this prototype suppressant we've been testing on you. I sell to the good guys and the bad guys. Equality or equity or whatever. And do you realize how much just vials of your blood will go for? And your other genetic material? Whew. Vicky! Let's go." He clapped his hands then glanced back at Steve once more. "We are changing the game. I just need you to be my little lab rat for a few more things then you can start your life again, somewhere safe, remote.. With room to grow. I told her to court you but I'm sure she's come on too strong already.."

Behind them, a large machine started to whir. The two men who had assisted earlier moved forward, flanking each side of the table as it moved toward the scanner.

With whatever might remained, Steve wrestled against the harnesses that held him in place. "They're going to find me. This isn't going to work."

Wilfred laughed again, peering down at Steve one more time before he disappeared into the imaging machine. That familiar wave of helplessness returned as the air around him filled up with haze again.

"If they make it here, we've got plenty of safeguards in place, Captain. But, think happy thoughts if you must!"

Avery couldn't sit still. The large communications room at the compound had plenty of chairs to occupy but she resisted, instead hovering around and watching anxiously as the video screens provided footage from the teams.

Given the teams had only just left about half an hour ago, there wasn't much to see yet. Occasional check ins came from each group, including ETAs and plans for when they each got to their sites. Truthfully, everyone was just hinging on Bucky and Sam getting the payday - it made sense that the facility furthest away would be their hideout.

Ross and his team had left in a few SUVs, venturing to a smaller defunct Walsh facility on the main highway going towards Syracuse. The third team consisting of just two agents, Garcia and Davison, had gone south in another vehicle to a location near Trenton. It was the least likely location, but for assurance, Ross had sent them anyway.

Avery dragged her fingers against the outside seam of her jeans, swallowing hard as some footage from the vehicles popped up across the screens. It had occurred to her that the unsettled feeling of something going wrong wouldn't be going away anytime soon - until they had some goddamn confirmation about Steve being alive. Even if they found Victoria and her brother at one of these facilities…

"This is Ross - approaching facility two.."

Avery held her breath, meeting Sharon's hopeful gaze. It had been the longest hour of her life so far.

Ross came through the communication system a few moments later. "Our site shows no signs of life or anything. Going to take a quick survey here but I don't think this is it. Barnes, Garcia - what's your ETA?"

Bucky's stilted voice rang through. "10 minutes."

"5 minutes. On approach now." Garcia added.

"Hey, remember to breathe." Sharon's hand landing on Avery's shoulder shook her from her still state. "Bucky and Sam can handle anything."

"It's just crazy to me.." Avery let out a long breath, eyes wide as she dropped into a chair. "How did someone like Victoria mastermind this? That's been on my mind this entire time - how did someone like her, so unassuming, manage? Were we too trusting or is she that good?"

"Maybe a bit of both. Some people bet on being underestimated and sometimes the bargain pays off." Sharon shook her head, then sucked in a hard breath. "Garcia? Update?"

Garcia's voice rang out again. "Yeah, there doesn't seem to be anything here, but we'll investigate to make sure.."

Sharon nodded, tapping a few notes into a file on the screen. "Let us know if that changes." She leaned back in her chair and pivoted to look towards the screen streaming footage from Sam and Bucky in the jet. "Looks like you're in the right place, boys."

"We're bringing him home." Bucky said with a strange finality, sounding more confident than he probably felt. His voice cracked just barely as he continued and for some reason, Avery found it assuring. She trusted Bucky and Steve more than anyone in the world, and she knew Bucky's heart and soul had been depleted during this entire endeavor.

"Coming down. 5 minutes." Sam chimed in again.

Avery watched from Red Wing's point of view as the drone bird soared down where they were landing, safely in a stealth mode. The facility was in an area that had seen better days, though the sprawling parking lots had clearly once been bustling and full of people coming and going in need of medical support. The perimeter was fenced off, and even the building had a lot of boarded up windows.

But despite its outward appearance, Red Wing was registering life signs. Multiple heat signatures indicated that there was someone inside that building.

"That's a good sign, right?" Avery asked her question out loud, turning to watch Sharon's face.

"Yes, definitely." Sharon repositioned the screens as Bucky and Sam landed just beyond the building. "We'll just have to see how easy it is to get inside."

They lost a part of the footage now, relying only on the visual from Red Wing and audio updates from Sam and Bucky. Sam took the lead as he delivered short updates, while anything Bucky contributed was kept clipped as much as possible. They had already lost a lot of daylight and now as the evening was approaching, it was imperative to act quickly.

Sharon and Avery waited quietly as Bucky and Sam got to a set of doors to try and get inside. Their back and forth indicated it was locked, and secured really well. It seemed with enough strength, Bucky managed to get the door open. Then, silence.

A moment later, they carried on.

"Emergency lights only in here.." Sam finally replied. "Bucky?"

"I'm good, Sam. Let's go." A pause. "Can you hear that? There's at least two coming our way and—"

Suddenly, a high pitched screeching noise sounded out through the speakers in the control room. Avery dropped down into a chair and covered her ears, looking from the screens over to Sharon in an attempt to understand what was going on. "What is that?"

"Carter –" Sam's voice called out through the device. "Something is powering up and–"

The screeching noise stopped. So did Sam's voice and the rest of the video feed.

Avery got to her feet and rushed forward, eyes darting around from screen to screen. "What happened? Where did they go?"

"Shit." Sharon pressed on a few buttons and reached for her phone. "Shit, shit, shit. I think we lost them."

"What? How can that happen?"

"If something blocks our transmission signals, even our emergency communication line might be impossible to access. It's complicated but not impenetrable. Shit." Sharon looked down at her phone screen, then pressed a few things. "Damnit."

Ross came through the line again. "Carter? Can you get them back online?"

"I'm trying, sir." Sharon tried a few more things in an attempt to reset things, but had no success. "Shit."

"Goddamnit. We're still an hour out - Carter, you need to follow them and provide backup. Bring the sensors and satellite radios."

Once the communication ended, Sharon was moving.

"Sharon!" Avery rushed out the door and followed her down the hallway. "Let me come with you, please. I can help. If their systems are down, I'm strong enough to –"

"Okay, we need to move quickly."

"-or I can stay on the comms or I can fight–"

Sharon cut her off, snapping her fingers to grab Avery's attention. "Yes, Avery. You're in. You're the only backup I have right now."

Avery had never been on a military jet before but it was as unglamorous as she imagined, especially given how quickly it had arrived at the compound. Only eight minutes after Avery had changed into tactical gear and fitted a communication device in her ear, she was joining Sharon on a very small jet and strapping herself in.

While Sharon operated the controls and communicated with Everett Ross about next steps, Avery sat with her hands gripping the hard cushion of the jump seat. Although she was doing everything in her power to focus on the current situation, it wasn't hard to resist letting her mind wander. How could Sam and Bucky lose their comms so quickly? Who was Victoria working with to have such complicated plans? What if something happened to Bucky, too? What if she lost both parts of her heart?

The plane moved faster than Avery had anticipated and soon they were landing in a field nearby the facility, opposite Bucky and Sam's jet.

"Avery?" Sharon's voice brought Avery back to attention as they started to jog towards the building. "Here." Sharon paused and shoved a handgun into Avery's hold. "I assume you know how to shoot one of these?"

Avery nodded. "I've only ever used one at the range with Bucky and Steve though.."

"Well, if you need to use it, don't hesitate." Sharon's words were firm as she continued on, directing their path a distance away from the building still. "Ross said these facilities were built with escape tunnels… incase of alien attacks, I guess. There should be decommissioned underground pathways." Sharon led them to the side of what used to be a helicopter landing pad. "There's an entrance here."

They came across what, to Avery, looked like a cellar door hatch, encased with grass.

"A smart escape route from the basement level." Sharon crouched down, pointing out a few nearby markings on the door. "Used recently, I bet."

Avery grimaced. "I guess without Sam and Bucky.. We don't know how many people are in there?" Potentially waiting for them once they opened the door or made it inside or..

"No." Sharon clearly wasn't going to sugarcoat it, as she pulled some equipment from the bag at her side. "But, we might be able to reset our communication link with this.." A pop-up satellite device had been secured in the gear bag, and Sharon had it resting on the ground and beeping in record time. "Let's just.. Wilson, Barnes - do you copy?"

Silence followed the message Sharon spoke into her device. Avery held her breath as Sharon repeated herself. "Wilson? Barnes?"

"Carter?" Sam called back to them. Avery had never been so happy to have Sam's voice ringing through her ears. "How did you–"

"We're on a new secure channel," Sharon replied, standing again and glancing around. "Waiting outside as your backup."

"Shit. Okay. Bit of a mess in here, a few guards found us. They were strong."

"Where's Barnes?" Sharon glanced towards Avery as she asked the question, trying her best to remain neutral about the entire situation.

"Fuck if I know." Sam spit out. "One of the guards hit him with some sort of sonic gun - took him down real quick, me too, and when I came to, he was running off. Without a word to me. Might be offline."

Avery jumped in, holding a hand to her ear. "Where would he have gone alone?"

"Avery? Fuck. Sharon, you didn't."

"She's the only backup I had," Sharon defended, arms crossed as she broke her gaze with Avery. "We're going to head in through the escape corridor, maybe we'll find Bucky. Or Steve."

Avery stopped even acknowledging what Sharon was saying once Sam disconnected. A sonic gun. Bucky was relentless, fearless. Especially when it came to the people he loved. When it came to Steve. But if something had set him off, if something had jerked a part of him alive that he wasn't ready to face in a situation like this.. Well, Avery was concerned.

She gritted her teeth, reaching down and pulling open the hatch door leading inside. The lock broke with little resistance for her and Sharon braced herself for what they might find as it opened.

Nothing and no one, thankfully.

Avery tried to control her racing thoughts as best as possible, hand hovering over her hip as she followed Sharon through the hatch door and into the underground tunnel.

It was bare bones, wet floors and damp walls.

They passed through the door which led them down into abandoned hallways, with nothing but their flashlights illuminating the way. As they went further and further, Avery thought she saw some sort of electrical conduit running along one wall. The air was cold, stale. She felt her breath leave her lungs with each step.

They walked along in a single file, each with a hand wrapped around a weapon. Sharon moved with confidence down the long hall, her eyes trained on her surroundings. She hadn't hesitated a moment once; she had acted automatically. As for Avery, well, she didn't want to admit it – but she was terrified and underqualified.

Somewhere, not far from them, they could hear something. A machine running maybe, something using a lot of power. They approached another door and Sharon hesitated.

"Wait here," she instructed Avery over her shoulder, gently pushing the door open to see what awaited them on the other side.

Avery waited, holding her breath as she listened to Sharon. The silence was filled suddenly with shuffling feet, someone shouting from far away and a gunshot. Avery leaned against the wall, holding her free hand over her mouth as the door flew open again.

Sharon, thankfully, poked her head in again. "I took a guard down. There's just emergency lights on down here, but I think they know we're in the building."

Avery swallowed hard. "Should I.. come with you?"

Sharon nodded, once. "As much as Bucky will kill me for bringing you here, he'll kill me twice if I leave you alone too. Stay behind me."

Avery nodded too, taking a deep breath then following Sharon into the hallway. They stepped over the lifeless body of the guard and Avery resisted asking if he was alive.

That didn't matter. What mattered was if Steve was alive. Steve had to be alive. Steve was alive. Right? Steve was alive. He had to be. He had to be alive he had to–

"Avery." Sharon's urgent voice echoed through the halls. "There!" Her hand pointed up ahead where a red beam of light flickered. It was dimly lighting the hallway that stretched ahead. A few feet away, a man stood, gun drawn in his hands and aimed directly at Avery and Sharon.

Before he could get a shot in, Sharon pulled them both to the side and aimed. The man let out a yelp at the impact, dropping his gun and surging forward to face them instead. He seemed to be growling with rage.

Avery spared a look to Sharon, who seemed to be using their few milliseconds to strategize.

"I'm going left, you go right," Sharon declared, headstrong as she jumped back into the hallway and braced for the man's approach. Avery said a prayer to anyone who might be listening and did the same.

Sharon's earlier shot hadn't hit him directly, but had disarmed him at least. This gave them an advantage, though the low lights didn't help much for visibility. Sharon reached for the front of his shirt, swinging herself and propelling the man off balance. Avery, having no other instruction, tried to act on instinct. When the guard got a shot in at Sharon, throwing an elbow out and hitting Sharon in the jaw, Avery got involved.

She leaped up and jumped on the man's back, throwing her hands over his eyes and pulling backwards as best as she could. The man roared and tried to maneuver her off his back, but her grip remained.

Avery moved her hands, using one to grasp the man's nose before twisting her wrist. He cried out in pain as she jumped off. The man stumbled into the nearest wall, and Sharon tagged back in, grabbing something from her variety of tools strapped against her body, slamming a small tube against the man's neck. He collapsed onto the ground.

"Shit, I think I broke his nose," Avery mumbled out, taking a step back as Sharon checked his vitals.

"Good," Sharon replied, flipping the man onto his back. "He'll be out for a while with that sedative."

Sedative. Cool. Not dead. Cool, cool, cool.

Then, another set of footsteps appeared at the far end of the hallway. Without even looking back, Sharon and Avery both ducked into a nearby doorway. The footsteps moved toward them slowly but surely. Sharon held her pistol up, Avery did the same though she couldn't breathe. What if this person used deadly force? What if–

The person appeared in front of them, backlit by the emergency lighting in the hallway. It was a familiar face this time. Bucky.

"Avery?" He glanced from Sharon to Avery, eyes wide with confusion. "What are you two doing here?"

"Backup," Sharon said simply. "Your comms are back online, if you need this." She reached out and handed a small device to Bucky, who took it begrudgingly.

"And you brought Avery?" His question was cold, though he did take a further step in and scan over his girlfriend. "I told you to stay back."

"It wouldn't have been wise for me to come alone," Sharon shook her head, ignoring Bucky's growing frown.

"Bringing no one is better than bringing a civilian," he growled back at her, using his free hand to grab Avery's. "You need to go back to the jet."

"No," Avery squeezed his hand. "If I'm here, I can help." Avery knew he wouldn't be happy about this. Bucky's emotions had understandably been all over the place in the last few weeks and Avery knew damn well that this wasn't going to help keep him focused.

Over the last few years of their relationship, Bucky kept his professional side at a distance. And though he did talk about it sometimes, echoes of his past overlapped when he was working. He'd never want to show a side of himself to Avery he wasn't proud of.

She scanned his face, hiding her frown as he dropped her hand. There was something about his gait, his stance - something didn't seem right to her.

"Bucky.."

Bucky shook his head again. "No. You aren't trained for this kind of situation."

"She's holding her own pretty well," Sharon added.

Bucky shot her a glance. "Carter."

Before their argument could carry on, a voice rang out in their ears.

"Carter, did you find Barnes? I found the control room but I'm going to need help overriding this. We should be able to reset the system and take down their safety protocols."

"Oh, I found them," Bucky replied, gritting his teeth. "I think Steve is down here so I'm going to keep going. Sharon and Avery can join you and assist."

Avery let out a sharp breath. "Bucky, let me help. Please."

"Absolutely not. Do you not understand the gravity of this situation, Avery? We don't know what kind of weapons they have, I have no idea what we'd be walking into."

"I know." Avery straightened herself and took a step towards him. "I get it. But if I'm here now, I just.. Bucky, please. I need to see him, if you find him and I can help in any way.. Please."

"Once we get done up here, we'll head down to help, too." Sam added in after a short silence. "Given how terrible these guards have been, you might be okay with just Avery behind you for now."

Avery could tell Bucky was contemplating, despite his frustration. She could see it in his eyes - the way he was weighing all the options as quickly as possible. If she was to go back to the jet, she'd be by herself and vulnerable. Maybe he'd make her wait in some storage closet instead. Or maybe she could come with him and this whole thing would be over sooner and none of them would ever have to do any sort of rescue mission again or risk being captured or killed again.

Maybe Bucky was only thinking about that last possibility.

Finally, he let out a sigh and nodded. "Okay. Carter, Wilson - figure that shit out and come down here immediately. Avery, stay behind me."

Since they landed outside, Bucky considered this whole operation ridiculous. Somehow hidden in plain sight and planned well enough that Victoria and her brother had spent weeks evading their team, but now that they were so close to hopefully finding Steve, he couldn't believe what they were dealing with.

Victoria and her brother had been prepared. The guards Sam and Bucky faced once they were inside weren't trained well enough, but somehow still surprised Sam and Bucky.

And though they had heard the guards approaching once they were inside, neither Sam nor Bucky had been prepared for their secret weapon - some high powered sonic pulse generator. The screeching noise as it powered up had distracted them both, then the ricochet of sonic waves had blown Sam and Bucky back, temporarily knocking them out.

That… that was unexpected. That was calculated. That was intentional. The guards had a shot in the dark to take Bucky and Sam down and it had paid off.

When Bucky had woken up moments later, something felt different in his vibranium arm. He couldn't quite pinpoint it, but the pain zipped through his nerves like never before. In fact, he had been under the impression his arm could sustain almost any sort of energy burst - but this was abnormal. More than anything, the pain elevated his simmering anger to a boiling point. He needed to find Steve and end all of this - now.

It was unwise to leave Sam, especially since their comms had gone down. But after he checked to make sure Sam was okay and coming to, Bucky bolted. Fuck the darkness, fuck the protocols. He didn't want to waste any more time.

His arm though - the pain persisted. When Bucky met a nearly impenetrable door, his left hand failed him. Instead, he used his right - still strong enough to break the lock but not what he would have usually done. He carried on.

He took down another guard on his own, then another. Eventually, he found a service corridor and then - he heard it, gunshots. Had Sam followed him down there too? Bucky followed the noises and heard a thud, then shuffling feet. He listened carefully. Two quiet voices. Higher octaves than Sam.

A few lonely emergency lights illuminated the dingy hallway, and despite the quiet of their feet, Bucky figured out their source quickly. And the second he realized it was Sharon and Avery, well, he almost couldn't feel the pain over his anger.

He didn't know who he was more mad at - Sharon or Avery. But now he was left in a hard place. His mission had been suddenly split into two pieces. Find Steve and bring him home safely. And keep Avery free from harm too.

It was essential for him to pack all his feelings away. He had to - or else, he wasn't sure what kind of emotional thinking would come to the surface.

"Okay. Carter, Wilson - figure that shit out and come down here immediately. Avery, stay behind me."

Bucky wasn't even sure what else to say. Avery followed him very very quietly. He knew her better than she knew herself though, she had apologies and justifications at the tip of her tongue, ready to spew out. But he couldn't start that conversation. They didn't have time for that now.

As they approached a corner junction, leading them in two possible directions. Bucky paused to listen. There was some sort of machinery running somewhere. A steady hum. Something powerful and constant. He signaled his hand to the right, Avery nodded in his peripheral and they continued.

When they got to the next hallway, the noise grew louder. Something in Bucky's gut overrode the pulsing pain. Something in his chest. They had to be close. This had to be it.

"Are you.." Avery stopped momentarily, glancing from the doorway ahead of them back up towards Bucky. "Bucky – are you going to kill them?"

Bucky kept his head forward, eyes busy scanning the area as they approached. Double doors, well secured, inside there likely was another exit point. They had to go in strong and ready for anything, from gunfire to more sonic weaponry to chemical warfare – anything.

"Bucky?"

Slowly, he turned his head to look down at Avery. She was waiting for his response and frankly, he couldn't bring himself to reply. Yes, of course, he wanted to end the lives of whomever had brought pain and anguish to Steve. That's why they were there, damnit. But how could he say that out loud? He wasn't a murderer, he didn't do that anymore.

No, he didn't kill for anyone else anymore. But he had every goddamn fucking intention to kill to save Steve if he needed to.

For Steve, he would do anything.

Avery knew well enough the type of work Bucky and Sam did away on missions. Bucky knew that – she was a smart girl, from a family of military men. But that didn't mean he wanted this. He didn't want to end lives in front of her, he couldn't be responsible for subjecting her to that. Living with himself was already a daily battle without the compounded guilt over scarring Avery even more.

He swallowed hard, ignoring her question completely. "Wanna help me out with this?" Using his right hand, he grasped onto one of the door handles, motioning for Avery to do the same. She flexed her fingers, protected by her vibranium gloves, and mirrored his movement.

With one nod, Bucky and Avery ripped the doors open. They revealed a lab, ripe with a mixture of old and new computer equipment lining the walls. The lights were on in full force, putting every single piece of running equipment on display. The farthest wall away contained a large glass window, clearly dividing this lab space from another room.

Strangely though – no one was in there waiting for them.

But, none of that mattered.

The most important thing was laying still in some sort of glass cradle - a glowing, ethereal machine that sat in the middle of the room. Dozens of cables ran from all over the room directly to it, powering an array of patched together pieces of tech that sat around the device.

Avery's breath caught in her throat when she saw it - it was long and tubular with a glass top and layers of wires and technology affixed to it. And a body. There was a body inside.

Laying there, under the glass, was Steve.

Avery ignored whatever else Bucky was telling her, something about staying behind him and staying put. She couldn't even hear her thoughts anymore, just the growing beating of her heart. She made her way towards the glass cradle quickly, running her hands across it for some sort of seam.

Her voice was barely above a whisper as she looked at Steve through the glass. It seemed like her brain had short wired - after all the time they had spent the last few weeks dreaming of finding him, there he was. "He's.." Steve looked peaceful, laying there fragile and still. His hair had been cut short and he looked the worst she had ever seen him - pale, facial hair unkempt, with sensors decorating his skin. She scanned the rest of him as quickly as she could - his chest was exposed and marked up with more sticky pads and below his shorts, his legs, no - his left knee. It was swollen and torn up.

God, what had they done to him? What had they done to her Stevie?

In an instant, her thoughts caught up to her. "Steve?"

She banged her fists on the glass, desperate to get his attention as he laid still and unmoving. Fuck, she didn't even know if he was alive. "Steve! Wake up, please. Stevie, please. Just open your eyes. Steve. We're going to get you out of here, okay? Me and Buck. Just.." Her plea turned into something even more wanting as she grasped at the glass. She could see his chest moving up and down, just faintly but that meant he was breathing at least.

Breathing. Alive.

But what was this machine? What was going on? Why was his hair cut short? What had they done to him? What were they planning on doing to him next?

She didn't even feel Bucky approaching the same way at her side, but the minute she saw his hand gently touch the glass - as if trying to touch Steve directly, Avery came back to earth. She grabbed Bucky's hand and looked up at him. "What do we do? How do we get him out? What if they–"

In an instant, Bucky was throwing his left arm in front of her, taking them both backward from the cradle. "Move! Stay behind me."

They weren't alone anymore.

"Well, well, well," Victoria announced herself with a small clap, joining Bucky and Avery in the room. Her brother followed at her side, holding a monstrous sized gun that he pointed directly at Avery and Bucky. "Fancy seeing you two here."

Bucky growled. "Do you want to do this the easy way or the hard way?"

"Ha!" Victoria smirked, straightening out her lab coat as she walked further into the room. She planted herself on the opposite side of where Steve was laying. "It's funny that you think you have any of the control here, Sergeant Barnes."

"If you want to make it out of here alive, you'll be smart and let Steve go." Bucky chirped back to her, pointing his own gun in Victoria's direction.

Victoria cleared her throat, smiling again before glancing at her brother. "Will, I'm certainly not done with Steve yet. Are you?"

Wilfred shook his head, matching her smile. "Not even close. So." He hovered a finger above the trigger. "Drop your weapons. Now."

Bucky didn't move.

"I don't think you understand," Wilfred continued, taking a step in closer. "We're the only ones with the details about what's happening to Captain Rogers here. Killing us doesn't make a lot of sense, does it?"

Avery couldn't help but laugh. "We're not going to–"

Bucky dropped his hand and let his gun fall to the floor. He nudged Avery to do the same.

"Bucky, you can't–"

Bucky gave her a short look. Right. He was in charge. Clearly he knew what he was doing. God, Avery prayed that he had a good plan. Maybe killing these psychos wasn't a bad idea after all.

Wilfred walked over to them, kicking their guns away before returning to his sister's side.

"You know, since they're both here - we should get blood samples from them, before we kill them." Wilfred narrowed his eyes, looking from Bucky to Avery. "Since I hear you're a bit special, too."

Bucky grabbed Avery's wrist and pulled her closer.

Victoria tipped her head, eyes narrowed the same as she scanned over Bucky and Avery. "I suppose it would be interesting to compare it to Steve's."

Avery's eyes grew wider. "You took his blood?" She could sense Bucky moving beside her, just barely. His arm tensed. "What did you do?"

Wilfred barked out a laugh. "Do you know how valuable his blood is? How much money I'm going to get for those vials?" He rolled his eyes, turning away from them to analyze a nearby computer screen. "The bids keep going higher and higher, even. Everyone is desperate to make their own formula, just like us. Ours is going to be the most practical though, especially since we have so much of Steve's DNA to work with. And an active test subject. Mostly.. active."

This time, it was Bucky laughing. "You're both fucking morons, you know what? Nothing can replicate the original serum. Everyone that has tried - has failed. Case in point." He motioned to himself. "Trust me, you're better off shutting this whole thing down. The feds will go easy on you if you comply."

"No, no, no." Victoria shook her head. "Absolutely not. We've come this far, we're this close. We just need to deal with you both then we're leaving here. And Steve and I can get away from this life for good."

"You and Steve?" Avery took a step forward, glancing down at Steve as he slept peacefully in the cradle. "You're insane if you think you're getting out of here at all, let alone with him."

Victoria stepped ahead too, slamming her hand down against the cradle where Avery was looking. "Don't you get it? You two-" She waved her wrist between Avery and Bucky. "You've been stifling him. Steve is designed for so much more! And he needs someone who sees that. Who can support him and love him and–"

"You're insane!" Avery repeated, leaning over to point at Victoria directly. "What is wrong with you? You think kidnapping Steve means he'll fall in love with you? Insane. You're absolutely fucking–"

"STOP!" Victoria threw her hand away, letting out an angry cry. "Stop. Don't you get it?" She reached into her pocket, pulling out some sort of remote device.

Bucky surged forward, reaching for Avery. But before he could grab her, he let out his own cry. But it wasn't from anger, it was pain. Avery gasped as Bucky collapsed to the floor, using his right hand to clutch his left bicep.

Avery dropped to her knees at his side. "Bucky? What's going on?" She had never seen him like this before. Although she had seen his growth in the last few years, in the aftermath of his reprogramming, he felt very deeply. From what she understood about his time under the control of Hydra, he had blocked out all the pain he felt. But now, beyond emotional distress, she hadn't seen him withering in pain before. Something was wrong.

"Wilson.." Bucky screeched out, pressing a hand to his ear. "Carter..SOS.."

"What's going on? We're locked out of this thing but Ross is on his way–"

"Sam..Sharon..Remember that mission.. In Belize..At the embassy.."

Avery pivoted her head, screaming at Victoria. "What are you doing to him?" She pressed a finger to her ear. "Sam! Bucky's arm, it's..."

"Fuck. Okay, yeah, we can do that. Carter is taking over here, she'll wait for your signal. I'm on my way down."

Victoria just laughed. "I wasn't sure it would work! Ha. That's a little electric shock hitting his arm. One of my men planted a bug after they used their sonic gun and well, I didn't know what it would really do. But it's probably ricocheting through all his synthetic nerve endings."

"Stop!" Avery turned to her, eyes narrowed. That familiar feeling of rage was washing through Avery again. She had spent so much time working on herself and where her anger stemmed from. But this was different. "Please, stop. Why are you doing this?"

"Because." Victoria stepped around the cradle and crouched down close to Avery. "Because I don't think it's fair you two get Steve. You know this research isn't just for the bad guys. A serum could help heal people! Steve deserves to do good, to help. To be supported by someone who wants what is best for him. You're squandering the best parts of him."

"Bucky?" Avery scrambled, kneeling at his side as she looked over at him. "Bucky? Please, I can't do this without you."

"Ave.." Bucky croaked out. He reached for her nearest hand with his flesh hand, then squeezed it. He gave a small nod, swallowing the rest of his pain. With another groan, he reached up and pressed against the seam of where his vibranium arm met his flesh shoulder joint. "Get..Steve..out."

Avery didn't understand what he meant.

Victoria continued on. "The thing is - you're all selfish, you know that right? I'm going to give Steve the life he needs, and the family he deserves and.."

"Trust your instincts, alright?" Bucky took in a long breath, then tapped his ear. "Carter, now."

Suddenly, all the lights went out. No, all the power in the facility seemed to be cut. The sounds of all the machines shutting down filled the room.

Chaos erupted.

The doors burst open again and Sam barreled in, a wing up in preparation for whatever might come his way. Wilfred was screaming, panicking about his research and backup files and temperature controlled samples.

Avery didn't hesitate to launch herself in Victoria's direction, knocking the woman off her feet, darkness be damned. "You psycho bitch!"

Victoria screamed back, throwing her arms up. "You don't deserve him! You–" Avery grasped Victoria's shoulders, rolling her to the side away from the cradle. "He's mine!"

"He doesn't belong to you or anyone," Avery replied, sending her fist forward to hit Victoria in the jaw.

"Ave!" Avery felt Bucky's arm on her shoulder, pulling her back. She couldn't find his face in the dark. "Go to Steve."

She nodded and let Bucky take over with Victoria while Avery made her way towards the cradle and Steve. She couldn't see where any of the cords were connected now, but she knew she had to figure this out. Somehow.

It was a risk, really. This chamber was protecting Steve somehow and cutting the power might have already impacted it. But they were past the option of risk analysis. Getting him out was the priority. Avery felt along every edge of the machine, hoping for some sort of handle or emergency release. Anything. After a few helpless attempts at pulling on pieces, she finally felt resistance.

One latch helped release the main seal of the case, just enough for her to slip her fingers underneath it. Then, with all the energy she could muster, she pulled. The glass shattered under the pressure, and finally, finally, finally, Avery could touch Steve.

"Stevie?" Ignoring everything else happening behind her, the screaming and clanking and crashing, Avery tipped her head down and brushed her hands across Steve's body. He was warm, and thank God, still breathing. But, he didn't wake up. She cradled his cheek in her palm, closing her own eyes as she just felt him there. Alive. He was alive. Avery collapsed onto him, though it was awkward and she was sure there was glass digging into her now. That didn't matter.

Steve. They had him. That was what mattered now. They were going to get him out of there and get back to real life and–

"Don't touch him!" Victoria screeched from somewhere across the room. "No, no, no! You don't deserve him. You can't–"

Sam shouted, "You need to shut the fuck up, lady." A few seconds later, another loud thwack sounded out, then Avery couldn't hear Victoria anymore.

"Ross and the team are a few miles out now - gonna give you some lights back."

Sam was nodding as the lights came back on, followed by some of the computers resetting too. "Carter - I need you down here, we need to see what data we can back up from these idiots."

Avery couldn't bring herself to let go of Steve, letting out a sob as Bucky approached her.

"Is he..?" Bucky gulped, leaning in just the same as Avery brought her chest up to allow some space. Bucky reached down and brushed his hand over Steve's forehead. "Oh Stevie.."

They were gentle as they lifted Steve out, stepping over both Victoria and her brother, who Bucky and Sam had knocked out and bound together. Avery wanted to kick the woman square in the chest on the way out, but given how much she was concentrating on helping a one-armed Bucky support and carry Steve out of the building, she knew it wasn't the time. It wasn't necessary. She had a feeling that more than the firm fist of the law was going to come down on those two siblings.

They met a medical team waiting outside with Ross, who followed them onto the jet and did what they could to try and safely wake him up. Both Mickey Cho and his sister Helen were en route to meet them in the city to help, too.

Avery and Bucky sat at Steve's side, watching carefully as his chest moved up and down. Bucky wouldn't let go of Steve's hand. Avery collapsed onto his chest again, then promptly passed out once they reached flying altitude.

Arriving at the hospital in Manhattan felt just as chaotic as their whole operation had. A dozen medical professionals joined them as Steve was being transferred in, quickly getting to work analyzing whatever they could determine about his condition.

Sharon had retrieved all the data she could from the facility and shared it. Helen Cho started digging through the synthetic makeup of the chemical compound they had used on Steve. Another doctor was tasked with figuring out what had happened to Steve's knee.

Avery, though, had immediately been taken aside and given an IV. She insisted she didn't need it, that she had to be with Steve. But Mickey Cho had been insistent, too. "Your body isn't used to that level of exertion, Avery. You need to replenish."

The moment the nutrient bag emptied into her arm, she demanded to see Steve. She hurried through the hallways, brushing past nurses and busy doctors, until finally, she reached Steve's room. Two guards were planted outside the room, who quickly parted ways to let her in.

Sam was standing near the window, while Bucky took a seat at the side of Steve's bed. They chatted in a hushed tone. Bucky was wearing his tactical gear but his left arm was still missing. Truthfully, Avery had no clue what had happened to it now but she couldn't bring herself to think about that. Not now.

With a solemn nod, Sam passed her and exited as she came in. And then, for the first time in nearly a month, Avery, Bucky and Steve were alone together. In the same room.

Sure, Steve was lying silent and unconscious in a medical bed. His leg was suspended slightly, in an effort to help him heal. New sensors were stuck to his body, tracking his vitals. He was stable. He was alive.

And Bucky was exhausted, lifeless as they absorbed what had happened. His left arm was still absent and the rest of his body looked spent. But he was alive, too.

Avery could barely contain her emotions as she joined Bucky, dropping into the chair at his side and matching his gaze as they watched over Steve. She didn't know what happened now.

After a few beats of silence, Bucky reached over and grabbed her hand. The moment he made contact, all the worry that had been sitting on Avery's shoulders started to disappear. She choked out a sob and leaned her head to rest on Bucky's shoulder.

"I'm still mad at you," Bucky whispered, letting out a long sigh before pressing a kiss to her forehead.

"Yeah, I know."

She was alive.

Author's note: hi! if you're still here reading this, I just want to say thank you for your patience and for clicking on this new chapter. it's been a real battle this past year to get back on track for my plot, I had a very bad case of writer's block that caused me to scrap thousands of words, more than once. everything I wrote, Bucky told me was wrong (or that's how it felt, at least). so hopefully you enjoyed this one and you're looking forward to what's next!

if you're a new reader or if you've been around since I started originally publishing, I can't say thank you enough for reading! and reviewing! and waiting for new chapters and enjoying this story with me. to those who left reviews recently, I want to say an extra thank you! hearing your thoughts and commentary is always a lot of fun and so appreciated.

wondering what's next? some time at the hospital, an emotional reunion, post traumatic stress, and maybe a sense of normalcy. five more chapters for this one, including an epilogue! can't wait for you to see how our story wraps up for these three.