I hope you like this chapter!
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The Quinjet lands by a small farmhouse, an old fashioned looking home with a red barn at the right of the house and two horses and a chicken coop next to the barn. The Avengers exited down the ramp together, staring at the home in awe and wonder.
"What is this place?" Thor asks with wonder and confusion.
"A safe house?" Tony asked with just as much confusion as the group approach the house.
The screen door flings open to reveal Hotaru running out. "Daddy!" She cried cheerfully before jumping into Clint, knocking him back a little.
"Hey." He smiles as he holds her close, after their long hug he pulls away.
"Steve!" Hotaru smiles approaching him and the two hug.
"Hey you." He smiles.
Clint's smile then fades when he sees the unfamiliar car parked in the driveway and one of the cats is curled up on the hood. "Hotaru, is that Agent Hill?"
"We have more company." The teen moves to the screen door. "Come in, everybody." She gestures for the Avengers.
"Sorry for barging in like this." Steve tried to apologize.
"It's ok." Hotaru said. "You guys got your tailed kicked, need to regroup away from civilization to lick your wounds."
"Mini Hawk has a point." Tony said.
"I'm gonna ignore that remark Stark." Clint said. "Everybody, come on in."
The team single filed into the house, incept for Thor who still stood on the porch. Steve noticed and walked up to him.
"You coming in?" The blonde asked.
"I saw something in that dream. I need answers, I won't find them here." Thor told him, while holding his hammer, he twirled it before flying off. Steve looked surprised and stern at the sudden leave.
"We can go home." Peggy's voice sung softly behind him towards the house. Steve whipped around in shock, all he saw as an empty porch.
"Steve." Trista's voice sung. Steve once again whipped around. He grabbed his head in both hands, his fingers raking through his hair. The vision Wanda put in his mind fresh. He walked in the direction of Trista's voice, determined to safe the woman he loves, his future, his Trista.
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Trista struggled against her bounds on the wall.
"You're not going to free yourself that way, Time Keeper." Ultron said with amusement.
"Us humans are stubborn in many ways possible!" She grunts as she tries again to free herself and glares at the AI. The robot scuffs with amusement, until the door opens.
Ultron took her to the U-Gin Genetic Research Lab and was waiting for Dr. Cho to arrive. "Scream and your entire staff die." He threatens when she enters the room. "I could've killed you, Helen, the night we met. I didn't." He remind firmly.
Cho took a step backwards. "Do you expect a 'thank you' note?" She asked sarcastically, taking a glance at Trista with worry.
Ultron approaches the doctor. "I expect you to know why."
She gasped in surprise. "The cradle."
"This is the next thing Tony." Her voice came out of Ultron's speakers. "This … is the next me." He said in awe leaning on the cradle.
"Trista's a doctor too." Cho quickly said, her gaze moving to Trista. "Why wait for me?"
"Two doctors can work faster then just one." Ultron answers. "And now you are testing me."
"The regeneration cradle prints tissue, it can't build a living body." Cho said firmly, her eyes holding terror.
"Ultron. If you let her go, I'll take her place." Trista offers, struggling against her restraints again. She screams out when Ultron whirls around backhanding her.
"I will not play fool to that trick like you humans!" The murdering robot yells with anger, he turns to Cho. "It can, you can! You lack the materials." He approaches her, making her back up as an Iron Legion comes forward with Loki's scepter. "You're a brilliant woman, Helen." Loki's scepter touches her chest. "We all have room to improve." Ultron said with a smirk in his tone.
"Steve." Trista whispered.
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Steve slammed the axe down, splitting a log in half.
"Thor didn't say where he was going for answers?" Tony asked, cutting some wood, his wood pile smaller then Steve's.
"Sometimes my teammates don't tell me things. I was kind of hoping Thor would be the exception.." Steve said darkly.
"Yeah, give him time. We don't know what the Maximoff kid showed him." Tony states, moving to chop a log.
"Earth's Mightiest Heroes. Pulled apart like cotton candy." Steve said as he moves to grab a log, then chopping it in half.
"Seems you walked away alright." Tony snarked.
Steve straightens and glares at him. "That a problem?" His blue eyes narrowing with a threat.
"I don't trust a guy without a dark side. Call me old fashioned."
"Well let's just say you haven't seen it yet."
"You know Ultron is trying to rip us apart, right?" Tony cuts another log.
"Well, I guess you'd know. Weather you tell us is a bit of a question." Steve bites, moving to another log.
"Banner and I were doing research." Tony said defensively. Steve rips the log in his hands apart with his bare hands in anger.
"That would affect the team! Effect Trista!"
"That would end the team! Isn't that the mission? Isn't that the 'why' we fight, so we can end the fight, so we get to go home? Trista knew the danger. She knows the danger."
Steve reaches out and grabs a fist of Tony's shirt. "She's not safe because of you!" He furiously said. "She's in the clutches of your creations! Every time someone tries to win a war before it starts, innocent people die. Every time. And if that thing kills Trista before we even get a chance to find her, that'll be on your head!"
"Steve!" Michelle hurries up to the two, and grabs his arm and shoving his hand off Tony, making Tony stumble backwards, Steve's icy dark glare softens looking at his friend. "We need all hands on deck for this. That means clear heads and no pummeling Stark to the center of the universe." She turns to Tony. "Yes, he deserves every single blow." She added coldly.
Hotaru approaches. "Excuse me, don't wanna interrupt this conversation, but Stark. Could you please look at our tractor? My dad said you wouldn't mind. It doesn't want to start at all."
"Yeah, I'll give her a kick." Tony backed away a little, he set his axe down before heading for the barn. "Don't take from my pile." He pointed at it, while looking at Steve.
Michelle rolled her eyes. "Stevie. I need to show you something."
"Sure, anything for you." He lets her lead him by the arm down a path. "You disappeared off the map, I was worried about you. Trista was worried about you."
"I'm sorry." She apologizes as she leads him to a shed. "You still texted me, saying she was taken. I came, and I brought a." She pauses. "A blast from the past."
Steve frowns at her. "Wh." He starts to say as he enters the shed. Finding James Buchanan Barns sitting on a crate in the middle, his arms resting on his knees and his fingers laced. "Bucky?" He breathed.
At Steve's shocked voice, Bucky looks up, he stiffens his back as he slowly stood up. "Stevie."
Behind Steve, Michelle comes in and closes the shed door behind her. "Once Bucky learned that my oldest friend was taken by a murdering robot, he wanted to help." She told Steve, the blonde looks at her.
"I didn't want their history to be our history." Bucky added, he moves his flesh hand through his hair. "I'm sorry Steve, I wanted to stay away from you."
"So you did pull me out of the water!" Steve exclaimed.
Bucky stiffly nods. "Yeah. You freed me." When Steve approaches, Bucky backs up making Steve stop and take a step backwards. "I don't want to kill anymore. That's all I ever do now."
"Buck."-
"I am not the same man who fell off that train in 1945." Bucky looks at his hands. "That man died that day, and a murderer was reborn in his place."
"Your memories." Steve starts, then trails off.
"Hotaru temporarily healed him." Michelle answered for Bucky, who nods. "He has most of his memories back."
"We're going to go up against a robot army hell bent on destruction." Steve warns, and Bucky shrugs.
"I can handle robots."
"And a set of twins working for Ultron." Steve continued. "One's fast, the other uses magic."
Michelle's eyes grew. "Is that the same thing when Clint fell victim?" She asks.
Steve shook his head. "No. They willingly chose."
"Steve." Bucky's voice had the blonde turning back around to face him. "Do you think your friends will accept me?"