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Author's Notes: Welcome to the last chapter! This was a long time coming for those who read this the first time. We made it! This is a super long chapter. I thought about cutting it in half, but just decided to give you guys the whole thing. Enjoy!

Coffee Girl

Chapter 18: The Zombie Project

The splatter of running footfalls in shallow runoff echoed through the underground chambers. The subterranean sewer tunnels of London were wide enough to allow room for the three men as they fled. Two were armed, one was wild-eyed and breathing hard, the edges of his white lab coat flecked with muddy water.

Dr. Hamburg still couldn't believe SHIELD had found them so fast. Lately, their agents seemed to be on the hunt, doggedly sniffing out very certain departments within their organization. They say 'cut off one head of the hydra and more take its place,' but lately SHIELD had been cutting off heads at an alarming rate. They hit the secret laboratory facility out of nowhere and took it down fast. As far as he knew, only Dr. Hamburg himself and the two guards at his flank escaped the attack.

The three rounded a dark corner as they fled through the sewer tunnels. The two armed guards escorting the scientist they were ordered to protect crouched and waited, guns pointing back the way they came. They sat in silence, holding their collective breaths and listening. The splashing sound of pursuing footfalls echoed toward them.

"She's coming!" Dr. Hamburg hissed, panicked. The guards motioned him to silence.

The echo of footfalls came closer, closer. The Hydra agents stilled in the near-blackness, eyes straining to catch the form the second it came into view. A flash of movement and a bullet ricocheted of the concrete wall, narrowly missing its target. The figure ducked back out of sight and immediately returned gun fire. The Hydra agents took their turn to duck and a tense silence followed on both sides.

Dr. Hamburg crouched behind the two soldiers, heart galloping. He gave a fleeting thought to all the beautiful research he had to leave behind. Now SHIELD was going to get their low-brow hands on it and that irritated him to no end. He was gritting his teeth when he thought he felt a puff of warm air on the back of his neck, as if someone were behind him. He glanced back and couldn't see anything there. Then, something grabbed his face and knocked his head into the wall. Dr. Hamburg stumbled to the ground, seeing stars.

The two guards turned around, eyes wide at the stark nothingness behind them when they expected an enemy. There was a flash of movement and the sound of a blade and one of the guards was suddenly bleeding from a deep gash in his neck. He dropped his weapon in horror, trying to stop the massive blood loss as he collapsed to the ground.

In a fit of panic, the second guard turned and began firing randomly at the darkness. The attack, he knew, had come from an invisible foe. He would have to fire everywhere and hope something hit. Only a few rounds were shot, however, as he was immediately downed by a bullet from behind. It went right through the back of his skull and out his forehead. He was dead before he hit the ground.

From around the corner, Natasha stepped out, gun still smoking in her hand. She looked pleased with the results. Dr. Hamburg, stunned but still conscious, watched her approach.

"This is Romanoff," she told the radio. "We've got him."

Hamburg felt someone grab his collar and before his eyes, another woman with dark hair appeared before him, still holding him up. She did not look happy.

.

Agent Maria Hill looked up as Natasha pushed Dr. Hamburg back into the now occupied Hydra lab. The scientist's hands were bound behind his back.

"For you," the redhead said.

Agent Hill looked the captured man up and down. "Good work. Did you get anything out of him?"

"Not yet. Once we get the place secured I'll question him." Natasha shoved the scientist into a chair where two other SHIELD agents stood watch over him. "How are we on that?"

They were all currently standing in the surveillance room of the lab. Maria turned to the multiple screens behind her. "Almost there. All Hydra agents are captured or dead. A few may have slipped out. We're not sure right now." She looked back at Natasha. "I am very impressed with how fast you two found this place."

Natasha smirked. "You know Fade. She's like a bloodhound when she gets a scent and she dogs it until she finds it."

"You two are quite a force together. I'll admit, I wasn't sure how well it would work when Fury assigned you as partners. But you're cleaning up."

The redhead continued her smirk as she nodded and turned to meet up with her partner.

.

Marcy could be seen on one of the surveillance screens, so she wasn't hard to locate. She stood in the lowest-level laboratory of the facility where it seemed all the specimens were kept. Several other agents were there as well, taking pictures and cataloging items of curiosity in both the large freezer and the various shelves. Marcy in particular was staring at a jar on the counter containing a piece of a puffy, fleshy substance floating in formaldehyde.

"Nice haul," Natasha said as she approached from behind.

"Yes," Marcy replied, continuing to watch the jar with an exacting gaze. "Our guys are going to be busy for a while going through all this stuff."

Natasha nodded toward said jar. "What's that?"

"I think... it's a piece of me," Marcy said without emotion.

Natasha paled a little, but Marcy's expression was blank. The piece cut from her wasn't the same shape as either of the scars on her body anymore. Parts of the flesh sample had been cut away to use however the Hydra scientists thought they could use it.

Natasha tried to come up with something to say to her, but Marcy picked up the jar and then left with it.

.

A few hours later, Natasha was nearly finished up with Dr. Hamburg, trying to ferret out what he knew. Like most of Hydra's scientific employees, they weren't big on loyalty when it came to physical harm. Hamburg cracked pretty fast after a few broken fingers. Unfortunately, he didn't have much information to give.

It was fairly typical for Hydra to stash their science guys in one lab and to keep them mostly in the dark regarding anything else happening outside the location. Hamburg could tell them what was going on in this lab, but had no idea what was in motion elsewhere, or the location of any other base or laboratory. He did say there were a few tests done in the lab as a part of Hydra's new invisible solider project.

"The boys here at this lab jokingly call it the Zombie Project," Hamburg said with a nervous laugh. His hair stuck to his sweaty forehead, the hand with the broken fingers shaking. "Because we have to pretty much bring the subjects back to life after the Ghost Virus kills them. If they're already dead before we get started, even better."

"The Ghost Virus?" Natasha asked, watching his eyes for the slightest hint that he was lying.

"Project Ghost was a study with SHEILD first, was it not? You have an agent that can disappear at will. The process of making a person that way usually kills them. Then we have ways to resuscitate them if we get to the bodies soon enough. Then... I'm afraid my dear Black Widow, you have nearly unstoppable Hydra soldiers to deal with. The process fries all their pain receptors. They do not feel pain and they can turn themselves invisible."

"And how many of these soldiers does Hydra have?"

Dr. Hamburg shook his head. "I don't know, they don't keep them here. I've only ever seen two of them in passing. There is a different location where our volunteers go through the process."

Natasha frowned. The dead really didn't have a way to volunteer. "And you don't know where they are," she surmised.

The scientist shrugged. "They don't tell me those things exactly for these kind of situations. But I feel very bad for any of your agents who find themselves against these monsters."

Black Widow turned and left, letting him stew over his broken digits for a while. She knew she wouldn't get any other helpful information from him.

.

Shortly after the investigation, Natasha received new information from Fury. While they had been planning to take out this lab, another one had been located by a different team. A few agents were there already, mapping out the place. Fury had given only Natasha the particulars of where this base was and who was currently stationed in the area. Natasha alone was given the option to agree to go and help, or continue chasing other leads in any new direction she and Marcy saw fit.

Natasha thought about it for only a moment before making a decision. "Hey Marcy," she radioed to her partner. "It's time to go. We've got a new lead."

Marcy was waiting for her on the roof of the lab, a Quinjet at the ready. Natasha knew that now, more than ever, she was going to push forward to find the second jar holding her other missing piece. This had been Marcy's goal from the moment she went back in the field: to hunt down every Hydra asset that had benefited from her stolen DNA and get rid of it. Even though they had just busted a lab, Marcy was eager to get to the next.

"Hey," Natasha greeted. "You're in a hurry to go."

"Word's going to get out that we took this base. The next one might pack up before we can get there."

"Nah, we've got agents on site already keeping an eye on it." The redhead climbed into the jet, taking her usual place in the pilot's seat. "If they try to run before we get there, our guys will take care of it."

Marcy's set jaw told that she would rather be the one present to 'take care of it.'

Natasha flipped a few switches and the jet's engine hummed to life. "So, what happened to your jar?"

"It's in the jet."

"Ew, really? What are you going to do with it?"

Marcy gazed out the window as they slowly rose from the ground, engaging the jet's cloaking device. "I don't know. I'll figure it out later, I guess."

Natasha nodded. She thought about asking where the jar was stashed, then decided she didn't really want to know. The ride was silent for a moment. Then she said, "You regret doing this?"

The brunette only gave her a glance. "Not yet, I'm not done."

Natasha smirked. "I know. That's why I like working with you."

Marcy looked at her longer this time. "Yeah? You're not sick of me dragging you all over the world for my own agenda yet?"

"I like your agenda. And I like being your partner. I've finally been able to see that kickass agent Clint told me you could be. We've been giving Hydra a run for their money the second we got out in the field. I'm always down for that."

Marcy looked out the window again, chin resting on her palm. Since the moment she stepped back into the field, her life felt like it was spinning faster and faster in her chase for Hydra. And Natasha was spinning right along with her. "To be honest, I've kept expecting you to put on the brakes with every new lead. You've surprised me by coming along this far. You don't think I'm crazy to keep dogging them like this?"

"What I think, Marcy, is that you are one bad bitch and you get shit done. We get shit done. I'll back you up until you say it's time to go home. That's what friends do, right?"

Marcy looked surprised, and then smiled. "Thanks, Nat. I appreciate that. Really."

Don't thank me just yet, Natasha thought. You might be changing your tune when we get there.

.

The Quinjets were fast. It only took a few hours to fly back across the ocean toward the North American continent. Marcy hadn't asked where they were going, but began to get suspicious when the familiar New York coastline came into view.

"Uh, are we going back to SHIELD for some reason, Nat?"

"No, Stamford."

"Connecticut? You can't possibly be saying there's some serious Hydra activity going on in Connecticut."

"There's something going on there, or else we wouldn't have agents checking it out."

Marcy frowned, a little put out they did all that traveling just to end up nearly in their own backyard. She should have asked about the destination before they left. If she had, she would have insisted they go anywhere else besides Stamford, Connecticut.

"I can't imagine it's anything big. Hydra's not stupid enough to set up a major base of operations on our home turf. That's ridiculous. It's probably some old, defunct storage depot or something."

"Well, we're already here," Natasha said in a voice that was suspiciously chipper. "Might as well go down and check it out. If it's nothing exciting, we'll get back on the hunt."

Marcy mumbled an agreement and soon they were descending toward an older part of the city, the jet in invisible mode. Their rendezvous point was the roof of a tired four-story hotel building. No one was up there to greet them at first, but as the jet lowered, Clint Barton stepped into view.

"Oh, hey, Clint is here," Marcy said, sounding surprised, but pleased with the outcome. "The three of us get to work together. That will be fun."

Then, two more men followed Clint out and Marcy snapped her neck around to glare at her deceptive cohort. "Nat, you knew about this didn't you? Why didn't you tell me? I thought we were partners. Friends."

The jet hung suspended in the air as Natasha turned to look at her. "It's because I am your friend that we're doing this. You have been running from him for nearly six months, Marcy. Go down there, have a mature conversation with him and clear the air between you two. If, after that, you still want to go somewhere else, we'll go. Deal?"

Marcy gave her a heavy scowl and Natasha continued to land the jet. Just before they touched down, Marcy reached out and mussed the redhead's hair with a vengeance.

"Hey! I'm trying to land this!"

"It's what you get, you traitor!"

.

From outside, the three men watched as the Quinjet suddenly took a very wobbly last few feet of descent before touching down. No one stepped out of the jet, but there was clearly movement in the windows.

"Are they... fighting in there?" Steve asked, brows drawn.

"Looks like," Clint said casually, arms crossed over his chest. He seemed far less concerned about it, but approached the jet anyway.

Steve hung back, aware of the other man still standing beside him: Bucky. The captain breathed out deep as he watched Clint open the door of the jet and talk to the women inside. The two female agents had left for the field several months ago and neither had been back since. No one told Steve that Marcy was scheduled for a mission, she just disappeared overnight. As much as he burned to talk to her about his regrets and about what happened between them in the gym, Steve got the message. He made no attempt to contact her or find out where she was. He would check in every now and again with dispatch just to make sure both she and Natasha were still reported to be alive and unhurt, but that was all.

It was pure torture. SHIELD Central constantly received reports about how their new all-female dream team was digging up Hydra hidey-holes faster than anyone else had before. Steve knew Marcy was the driving force for that. She had an ax to grind and she wasn't going to stop until she was satisfied. That kind of tunnel vision could have easily gotten her killed.

In his dreams, Steve would receive notices that Agent Gray and Natasha both were killed in action. There was nothing he could do about it. Even when he was given field missions himself, he never saw the elusive Agent Gray. Both hunted Hydra, but never together. If he was told to go to a place Marcy was stationed, she would be gone by the time he arrived.

Steve hadn't expected to see her here either as he investigated this new location. They had been observing the building for two days now, gathering intel and getting ready to infiltrate it. Just a few hours earlier, Clint casually mentioned they had two more agents on route to help out.

"Really, who's that?" Steve had asked, not even looking up from what he was doing. He couldn't imagine any of SHIELD's agents tipping the scale too far when he already had Hawkeye and Bucky with him.

"Marcy and Natasha."

Clint had said it so easily, but Steve knew the archer watched for his reaction, so he kept his face neutral.

"Alright," was all Steve had said before going back to his work.

Now that the girls were here, Steve didn't know how he would respond. He prepared himself for any kind of cold or aloof greeting Marcy would give him. He kept telling himself he was happy just to be able to be here this time, to make personally sure she survived this mission.

The two stepped out of the jet, both a little disheveled with their hair. Clint gave them a warm greeting before giving Natasha a big hug. The two hadn't seen each other for quite a while either.

Steve continued to hang back, only seeing bits of Marcy behind the other two agents. He glanced to the side when Bucky clapped a hand on his shoulder and gave him an encouraging smile. With a jerk of his head to indicate they should go over there, Bucky walked toward the jet and the others.

"Hey, Marcy!"

The brunette looked up and smiled, though still surprised that he was here. "James. Or, do you prefer Bucky?"

"From you, James is fine." He picked her up in a big hug, her toes barely scraping the ground. "It's good to see you."

"Oof, you, too. Are they letting you go out in the field now? I didn't know."

He set her down and gave her a hearty pat on the shoulders. "Somewhat. This is my probation mission. Since we're close to home, they let me out." He jerked his head to the man standing behind him. "I have to have my babysitter with me at all times, though."

Marcy was finally forced to look in the direction of the blue-clad Avenger standing a few feet away. Of course he was wearing that blue suit and he still looked good in it. Damn him.

"Marcy," he greeted carefully.

"Captain Rogers," she said neutrally.

He suddenly looked hurt at the response.

"Steve," she added in a softer tone and his expression softened as well. Though he was still giving her a kind of hurt puppy-type smile. She wished he wouldn't look at her like that. It made her heart ache.

"I'm glad you're here," he said carefully as he glanced over her. "You look good."

And she did. Her hair was still on the short side, but was back to its natural brown color. Her eyes were dark, piercing. He never noticed that about her. She didn't look people in the face too often; she liked to keep her head down. But now she was standing tall, shoulders straight and strong, and did not glance away from his stern, blue eyes. She had leaned up in the field, as was clear to see in the tight SHIELD uniform she wore. There was a new confidence about her that hadn't been there before. Something that she had gained in these months without him and she wore it well.

She did, however, look a bit taken aback from his sudden compliment. Her mouth moved for a response, but nothing came out.

"So," Natasha said as she stepped in to break up the conversation. "Fill us in on what you've found."

.

The cloaked Quinjet remained dormant on the roof of the old hotel while all agents present gathered in a room on the top floor. Two adjacent rooms, actually. Two beds located in each room with a connecting door left open for all agents to come and go. Three of the four beds had been slept in. The group of five all gathered around a collection of recording and surveillance equipment to be briefed on the current situation.

"This place is definitely a Hydra lab of some kind," Clint said as he showed the two women some pictures on his laptop of a large warehouse-sized building. "We've seen a few lab geeks with white coats step out for a smoke. Not sure yet, though, about what they've been up to. But this thing is built like a fortress: heavy brick building, nondescript, with only a few windows on the top floor. It's been impossible for us to see what's going on inside."

"Can't be too much going on in there," Marcy reasoned. "Hydra's not going to set up a major operation this close to SHIELD Central when we could reach them mere minutes by jet. At best, it's an old defunct lab harboring a few forgotten side projects. Hardly worth our time."

"Any activity of Hydra's is worth our time," Steve shot back, offended she would be so flippant.

"Forgive her," Natasha said. "Marcy got a fire lit under her ass since we found one of her missing pieces at the previous place."

Steve and Bucky looked down at her, knowing exactly what she was talking about. What would that be like to find a piece of one's own flesh in the hands of the enemy? Steve lost a little color in his face.

"One more and I'll have a matched set," Marcy replied casually. "And then I'll know whatever they're working on from here on out, it won't be from parts of me."

"We also received a warning from one of our captives about those new Hydra soldiers that can disappear," Natasha added. "Apparently, these 'zombie' soldiers are brought back from the dead. The process fries their systems so they also feel little to no pain. According him, he had a few of these soldiers at their facility some time before we sacked the place."

"Do we have any idea how many of them there are in circulation?" Steve asked.

Natasha shook her head. "Marcy and I haven't even seen one since we've been out, and we've been to a lot of locations. I can't imagine that this process is quick or has a high success rate. They probably only have a few."

"Most of your conquests have been science labs or small observation outposts," Clint reasoned. "These places are probably not where they're sending their big guns. Probably not this place either."

Steve frowned at the careless statement. "That doesn't mean we shouldn't at least be prepared in case there is one."

"I've always been prepared," Natasha insisted. "That's why I have Marcy." The two slapped palms on the down-low.

Bucky smirked at them, amused. They did seem to make a good team.

"So, is there a plan on how to get in?" the other woman then asked.

"There's only two possible entrances," Clint said, "The door, which has a security camera, and a set of tiny windows on the top. They don't ever seem to use the top floor, if there's much of a floor to be on. The windows are a tight squeeze, but it's possible to get in without anyone seeing us."

"You mean it's possible for me to get in without anyone seeing," Marcy clarified. She cracked her knuckles, knowing exactly why she was sent to this location. "You need someone to squeeze in there and take a look at the place from the inside."

"Not by yourself, though," Steve insisted.

She looked him up and down with incredulous humor. "I'd like to see you try to fit through that window."

"I could do it if I had to."

"Maybe, but you'd be leaving your shield behind. There's no way it fits."

The captain frowned at Marcy's smirk. "It's not your call on who does and does not go in with you."

"I'm not on your team, Steve. You don't get to decide what I do."

"I'm a captain," he reminded.

"Captain of what? SHIELD didn't give you that position."

He moved in closer. "They didn't take it away."

"I think we need an impartial leader. Natasha should be in charge."

"I don't do 'in charge,'" the redhead responded.

Clint had already raised his hands in surrender. He didn't want to do it either.

"Fine, then, I'll head the mission," Marcy announced.

"You just said someone impartial," Steve accused.

"I can be impartial. If you want a super soldier to watch my back, I'll take James and you can go with the others." When no one looked satisfied with that arrangement she added, "I'll take Clint, too, how's that? Or I can even take Natasha as well and you can can go off alone and have it exactly the way you want it by yourself!"

"Woah, woah!" Clint cut in before Steve could fire back a retort. "We're stopping this right now. The two of you, go to the roof and sort out whatever... this is." He made a dismissive gesture to the both of them collectively. "None of us are infiltrating that building until you stop distracting each other."

Marcy instantly flushed at the accusation as she balked. Without word, she turned on her heel and marched quickly out of the hotel room, the door shutting behind her.

Steve gave a hard look to Clint whose face remained stone and accusing. With a quick glance to a grinning Bucky, Steve quit the room as well and walked toward the stairs. He half expected Marcy to disappear completely—she was good at that—but she was there on the roof when he stepped out into the sun. Her back was to the door as she stood at the ledge, looking out at the city. Steve moved beside her, his gaze in the same direction.

They stood next to each other in silence for several minutes.

"How is he doing?" Marcy finally asked.

Steve knew exactly who she was talking about. "Bucky's getting there. He's been sleeping better and he's eager to work. Maybe he thinks fighting Hydra now is a way to redeem himself for things he's done in the past."

"What do you think?"

"I think it's good to keep him busy. It's been difficult, though. No one trusts him."

"I trust him. I will always trust him. With my life."

Steve glanced over at her, surprised at the response. His expression softened. "I'm very proud of you, of what you've been doing. You've accomplished so much lately. I think even Fury's proud of you."

Marcy looked his way, her turn to be stunned by his statement.

Steve continued to give her that same gentle look. "It has scared me to death the entire time, but I'm still proud of you. And I'm sorry about what happened between us. I know a lot of it was my fault. I'm paranoid and overly sensitive, especially when it comes to Bucky. I know you were trying to do your best for both of us and I..." He looked down gripping the metal safety rail. "I threw you under the bus so fast and I hate myself every day for it."

"We both gave up on each other too quickly," she replied, returning her gaze back to the city. "Far too easily. I think it's safe to say we each have issues with trusting people. I'm sorry I left so suddenly without giving us a chance to talk. Even after you apologized and tried to tell me how you felt. That part was on me."

"That's fine, I waited for you."

Marcy snapped her head in his direction. He waited... for her? It had been nearly a half a year after she disappeared on him and he didn't move on to someone else? He could have. He was Captain America. He could have any woman he wanted. Why was this idiot waiting for someone like her? She nearly snorted.

"Why? We both know you could do better."

A smile tugged at the side of his mouth. "I know what you were doing. You tried to stay away from me as long as possible. Long enough for me to find someone else. But I'm not looking for anyone else. I'm very stubborn and I still like you."

"You do?" The words fell out of her mouth in disbelief.

"Oh yeah, I think you're one swell dish."

"I'm what?"

"Peachy keen. A killer dame. A grand doll. The cat's meow and the pajamas."

"Oh my gosh! Stop! Stop!" Marcy was laughing behind her hands, her covered face bright red. "Your old man lingo is getting me all flustered. Just give me a moment."

Grinning, Steve gave her a break from his gaze and looked out at the cityscape. He missed this part of her, the silly part that popped out when she was trying to be serious. The way he could make her go red like that by just looking at her and saying something affectionate. He missed it; missed laughing with her. He just missed her.

Once Marcy was able to compose herself and she wasn't quite so red, Steve said, "When this mission is over, Marcy, if you're still not done chasing these guys, take us with you."

"Us?" she wondered.

"Bucky and me. We've already talked about it and we want to go with you. Not because you need our protection, I know you can take care of yourself. Whatever it is you're looking for—answers, closure, revenge—I want to help you find it. That's what you do for the people you care about."

She buried her face in her folded arms as her cheeks felt hot again. She wasn't prepared for this. She had figured it was over between them. Now her heart was racing so fast. This man could affect her so easily that it was embarrassing. Being away from him for months only made it worse.

"Yes," she said, voice muffled by her arms. "You guys can come with me."

He tugged her away from her hiding place, his arm hooking her waist and pulling her against him. His mouth settled on hers as her brain tried to figure out what just happened. His lips felt good on hers. His arms felt better around her. Right then, the whirlwind of chasing Hydra suddenly felt like it was no longer spinning so fast it was nearly out of control. She was grounded, pressed against something solid and safe.

After a moment, she moved away and he let her go. She cleared her throat before speaking, her face still flushed as ever. "You aren't putting on the brakes at all with this, are you?"

Steve gave her an amused expression. "I've learned you take the opportunities as they present themselves. You never know when it's the last opportunity you'll have."

"I see. But we really need to get back to the others now. We have work to do." What she really needed was to get away from him if she ever hoped to cool down and get focused before tonight. She turned and walked toward the door. Paused.

Last opportunity.

She spun and pressed back against him, arms around his torso. She felt him happily accept her and pull her close, his chin resting on her head. In her arms, his entire body relaxed. It was a relief to forgive and be forgiven. There was no more anger between them. The anger on both sides had gone quite a long time ago. Steve was right, there was great affection here. They both were just very clumsy at it. There was now opportunity to find a better balance.

"How about we talk more after this is over," Steve suggested in a soft voice.

She smiled into his chest. "Okay."

At that moment, Clint burst onto the roof, startling the couple. Marcy, on reflex, tried to move away, but Steve still held her protectively close.

"Hey!" Clint called to them urgently. "We've got to—I'm happy for you two by the way—we've got to move now. We just intercepted a communication. Hydra's cleaning out the place this afternoon. If we want to hit it, we need to do it now."

.

The lone, nearly windowless building stood silent and uneventful. For now. But they were running out of time. One security camera guarded the entrance. No sign of activity yet. It was pretty quiet for a base that was soon to be packed up and abandoned. Where was the cleanup crew? Steve eyed the building from across the street, watching the roof; watching for Marcy. He wasn't sure why. He wouldn't be able to see her when she got up there anyway.

"I'm on the roof," Marcy's voice said low and calm on the radio. "Going in."

Clint, Natasha, and Bucky stood beside Steve, waiting. There was nothing else for them to do until Agent Gray was able to get inside. Steve thought he saw movement of a rope snaking down the side of the building and then swinging oddly in the breeze. That would be Marcy repelling down to the windows.

After a few moments, there was a nearly silent sound of amusement over the radio.

"What?" Natasha asked.

"Just imagining Steve trying to squeeze through this window. He'd be stuck there until the cleanup crew came to pry him out."

More sounds of amusement came from the rest of the team.

Steve frowned. "Focus, Marcy."

"I'm on the bottom floor. The whole place is dark and quiet. Nobody's here. Maybe we already missed them somehow."

"Don't let your guard down yet," Steve ordered. "Stay focused. Just get us in so we can lock this place down."

"Copy. Give me a few minutes to find the surveillance room."

When the radio went silent, Steve muted his mic and turned to Natasha. "I forgot to say before, thanks for taking care of Marcy through all this. For keeping an eye on her and keeping her safe."

The redhead made a sound of dismissal. "You think I keep her safe? Have you even seen your girl in action, Rogers? She takes care of herself. I pity anyone who gets in a brawl with her. Marcy fights mean."

Surprised, Steve turned to Clint for confirmation.

"It's true. Marcy fights mean."

"I'd like to see that," Bucky said, smirking as he picked up the binoculars and eyed the building's only door.

.

Inside, the layout of the building was quite simple to navigate: only a hallway with a few various rooms. Marcy peered in the first one, which seemed to be a simple storage closet. The second door, left open a few inches, was clearly a sterilized lab of some kind. Exactly what she came for. Though tempted to check it out on the spot, Marcy continued on until she found the surveillance room.

There was only a single guard inside. He was eating a sandwich, casually watching the various monitors when the door opened by itself. He heard the creak of the door as it swung open. He paused in mid chew and waited to see if anyone would show up in the doorway. When nothing happened, he stood, hand on the gun at his hip, and peered into the hall. No one around in either direction. Removing his hand from the gun, he shut the door, making sure it was shut good this time.

No longer on the alert, the guard walked back to his chair. He almost made it until he felt something hard collide with his face. He stumbled back. A second hit and he collapsed, out cold. Marcy made herself visible as she caught the man and sank him gently to the floor. Next, she hopped into the empty chair and began typing at the computer consul. Various camera feeds flipped through the screen before her.

"I'm in," she said to her radio. "It looks like there's two armed guards just right inside the entrance. I'm looking around for anybody else, but I'm not seeing a whole lot. There really isn't much to this place."

It was Clint who answered this time. "Understood. We're coming in."

Marcy watched on the live camera feeds as the rest of the team approached the building from outside. Before they reached the door, Marcy used the radio she picked up from the unconscious guard. She pressed a small device to her throat, a voice changer, to make her sound male. "Hey, looks like we've got some drunk kids wandering around outside."

"Roger that," responded one of the armed men by the entrance. "We'll take care of them."

Right as he spoke, Clint could be seen brazenly knocking on the metal door of Hydra's building. The two guards stood to answer it, only one grabbing a large riffle. They seemed unenthused and prepared to meet nothing more than a few dumb teens looking to cause trouble. They were not prepared for a gang of SHIELD's best and were quickly taken out of commission.

"Easy as pie," Natasha said on the radio as Clint and Bucky dragged the two bodies out of the way. They were both cuffed to a pipe on the wall. "Is there seriously no one else here? Now I'm getting as paranoid as Steve."

Captain America clearly gave her a frown in the camera footage.

Marcy, who had been fiddling with the equipment the entire time, stopped when she noticed something else. "Guys, there's another door in the back to your left. It... I think it leads down to a lower level."

"And what's on that level?" Steve's voice asked.

Marcy flicked through all the surveillance cameras, trying to find more information. "I can't see anything that goes past the door. Whatever's down there, it's got a separate security system."

There was silence on the other end. Marcy could see the group conferring with each other. The fact that there was an unknown floor below them concerned her. Since they weren't being flooded with an army of soldiers yet, however, meant there still wasn't anything too important below them. Her thoughts drifted back to the lab further up the hall. She itched to go back there and see what she could find.

"Okay, the team's going to check out the lower floor. Slow and careful," Steve said.

"Roger that," Marcy replied. "I'm going to nose around a few places I saw coming in."

"No. Stay in the surveillance room. Keep an eye on us."

She visibly sighed and looked at the ceiling. "There is no one else here besides the guards. I'm looking at every room. They're empty." She stared hard at the camera in the lab. It was wide open, abandoned, just asking to be raided.

"Fade. Stay there. Keep eyes on us."

.

Steve waited for a response, knowing his orders were not what Marcy wanted to hear.

"Fine," she finally said. It didn't sound too convincing.

He looked to Natasha and covered his radio mic. "Will she stay there?"

The redhead shrugged. "Can't say. I just let her do what she wants on our missions."

Just as Steve was giving that patented chastising look, Marcy's voice came back on the radio.

"Hold on, there's something moving in the lab. I'm going to check it out."

Lab. Of course she would come up with an excuse to go check out a lab. Steve actually growled a little as he was torn on what to do. He liked to lead his missions so that he was always in front should there be danger to his team. At the same time, he couldn't stand the thought of Marcy doing something unsafe by herself. Especially after they were finally in the same place after dancing around the globe for so long.

"I'll go after Marcy," Bucky said.

"No, I will," Steve immediately responded without thought. "You three check out the next floor." He turned and jogged off toward the opposite side of the building. "I'll be right behind you."

The first door he came across was the surveillance room, which was empty, save a cuffed, unconscious guard. Steve frowned at the abandoned post and continued down the hall. He found the aforementioned lab next, the door wide open. All lights were on inside. That set off warnings in his head. Had Marcy turned on every light in the lab herself? Or were they already on before because there was indeed someone in it?

In the middle of the room stood Marcy. She was not watching her surroundings. Instead, she was focused on the various items on the table before her. Her back was to the door and Steve was about to say something about her leaving her back open when he felt someone grab his arms and something sharp punctured his neck.

"Don't move, Captain," came a calm, male voice, "or else I will empty this entire syringe into your body and you don't want that. Trust me."

Steve glanced to the side where he heard the voice. He could see no one, but he still felt the needle in his neck, the hands around his arms. Marcy whirled around at the words, looking wide-eyed at Steve. And then, three men appeared around him. Two of them were soldiers, nearly as large as Steve. Each stood at one arm, holding him in place. The third was an older man, holding a syringe to the captain's neck, the needle piercing his flesh.

Marcy stumbled back at the sight of him. She had hoped to never see that face again. The one that still lurked in her nightmares, that hovered over her, smiling, while she couldn't move. That face was here now. A jagged scar stood out red and angry across his neck where James had cut it so long ago. All three of them had ash-gray complexions; the sign of the previously dead.

"Hello, Marcy," said Dr. Steadman. "You look surprised to see me. You should have known you can't get rid of me that easily. Especially since I perfected my own new super soldier procedure. It brought me back to life and created these fine specimens here." He nodded to the two other men. "Soldiers that don't feel pain, that can never die. And soldiers that you will never see coming."

Marcy gritted her teeth, furious at herself. She never thought to look around the lab in her fade state. She didn't expect to find anyone else with her abilities in this quiet place. She was so stupid.

"Marcy, get out of here," Steve said to her. "I'll handle this." He felt the soldier's hold on him tighten, but he was coiled to strike.

"You won't move a muscle, Captain," Steadman warned. "If you think you can fight your way out before I empty this syringe in you, you are sadly mistaken. And that would be a deadly decision on your part."

"What do you want?" Marcy asked, willing her voice to be firm.

With his free hand, Dr. Steadman reached into his pocket and pulled out a second syringe. He lobbed it to Marcy who carefully caught it. "I made that for you. Take it."

"I'm not taking this! What is it?" she demanded, a little angrier now.

"It's the next step in your evolution," he urged with passion. "You could be my greatest creation, even greater than my immortal soldiers. Take it. Either you take it or I give a dose to him and I guarantee you it will be a slow, agonizing death for our dear Captain America. This was made only for you, for your remarkable DNA. Anyone else, it will undo them at a molecular level and it won't be pretty."

"Marcy, don't," Steve warned. "You can't trust him. Smash it."

"You can trust I'll kill this one without a second thought!" Steadman barked. His eyes were wild, possessed with obsession. "Marcy! You listen to me! I know what's best for you!"

"No, Marce, it's not worth the risk. Don't do it."

She gave them both a hard look, her throat tight, her jaw set. She raised the syringe and stuck it into her neck, thumb on the plunger.

"Marcy! No!" Steve cried.

She ignored him and looked at the doctor. "Take that needle out of his neck first."

Dr. Steadman looked so pleased it made her blood boil. He could always get her to do what he wanted. "We'll do it together. You push down and I'll pull this out."

"Marcy! Please don't!" Steve's voice was tight and desperate. It broke his heart as she plunged the mystery serum into her body.

Pleased, Steadman pulled the syringe from Steve's neck, his smile so infuriatingly smug. "There, that wasn't so bad. We will always be tied together, you and me. My favorite patie-"

He did not get to finish his thought as Marcy threw a knife, embedding it in this throat. That line always made her sick when she heard it. She could not stomach it one more time. Steadman gagged, grabbing his neck as blood spilled out.

The two soldiers, startled from the attack, were a split second too late as Steve broke free. He shoved an elbow back into one, shattering his nose. Even if he didn't feel pain, it was enough to stun him and send him stumbling back.

Steve turned to the second soldier. This one had enough time to get his bearings. He disappeared as Steve swung his fist. It failed to connect with its target. A phantom punch hit him in the jaw. He swung blindly, every punch hitting nothing but air. The second soldier, though his crooked nose bled freely, faded from sight as well. Steve attempted to attack, but it was impossible to defend himself. He stumbled back into a table as he was hit hard. An invisible hand grabbed his throat, holding him down. Steve clawed at the arm he couldn't see, trying to kick at his attacker.

Simultaneously, all three felt an electric current go through them, and the two soldiers flickered into his line of vision. Behind the Hydra agents, Marcy stood, two batons in her hands, shocking the enemy into view. The electricity did little to hinder the undead soldiers, but Steve could see them now. The one who had his throat was kicked away with both feet, sending him flying against the wall. Marcy pounced on the other. They both winked in and out of visibility as she hit him over and over with the electric batons. The soldier was on the defense. He clearly wasn't expecting such a hard attack from a woman that size. One well placed hit to the skull and he was down and out.

Marcy glanced over when she heard a crash. Steve's adversary was now an unconscious body as it tumbled to the floor. Both stood there for a moment, breathing hard. Well, Marcy was breathing hard. Steve looked like he was barely getting warmed up. He immediately turned to Dr. Steadman who sat with his back against the wall, holding his bleeding throat.

"What did you give her? What does it do?" he demanded.

Steadman gurgled and tried to form words while his eyes shifted to Marcy. "You... need me," he managed to get out. "The serum. You need me to... monitor changes..."

Marcy crouched down next to him and shook her head. "No," she said simply. "I don't need you for anything." Quick as a snake strike, she pulled the blade from his neck and stabbed him again. It pierced through the sternum and into the heart. Dr. Steadman jerked, eyes wide in surprise that she would do this to him.

"Marcy! Wait!" Steve cried.

It was too late. They both watched as the body went through its last death rattles. Steve's eyes were still wide in surprise.

"Marcy, you killed him."

She let out a shaky breath as she stood.

"What if you do need him? What if this is going to kill you?" Steve insisted

"He didn't want me dead," Marcy said. "He couldn't keep screwing with my life if I was dead." She had stared at the body the whole time before she finally met Steve's gaze with the same haunted look. "I'm sorry, I had to kill him. I can't... I couldn't keep letting him do this. You're probably not as proud of me now."

Steve frowned at the corpse. He remembered the scars on her body. How this monster had tied her to a table, tortured her, and cut her into pieces. "Not at all. After what he did to you, I wanted to kill him, too."

Marcy wasn't so sure about that. She couldn't picture Steve killing someone, even out of anger and outrage for another. "James did it for you the first time. This... this is an unnatural creature. He wasn't human anymore."

Steve's response was to press his palm to her forehead. "Do you feel okay?"

She stepped away, still distracted by the body. "I feel fine. But... there's something else I need to do. I have to destroy the brain. I can't let Hydra revive him again. He has to be gone for good this time." She glanced back at his face and she was ashamed again for what she had to do. "You can go, Steve. You don't need to see this."

"No," he immediately retorted in a tone that suggested he thought her request was ridiculous. "Do you think you're protecting me? I'm not some innocent child. I was in a war, Marcy. You think I haven't killed people? You think I don't know what it's like to do things that haunt me for the sake of the people I care about? For my country?"

"I don't want you to see me do it," she answered softly.

He put his hands on her shoulders. "You don't have to, I will."

"No, Steve-"

He looked her in the eyes. "Let me do this for you. Please."

Marcy breathed out heavily. She didn't say yes, but she didn't say no. Steve took that as a good enough response. Fortunately, their search of the lab uncovered some surgical equipment, including a bone saw. Marcy felt sick when she saw the blade in Steve's hand. She flashed back to that time being strapped to the table, Dr. Steadman poised and ready to saw into her own skull while she was still alive. He would have if James hadn't stopped him.

"You alright?" Steve asked as he saw her color change. "Do you feel ill?"

"No, I still feel normal. I promise. It's just..." She gestured to the saw and the body.

"You can look away if you want," he said grimly.

She did not. She watched as Steve, America's poster boy of everything good and wholesome, cut a dead man's skull open, blood flecks spattering his face. He did this for her. Because he wasn't some naive, old-fashioned stereotype with no idea of how the real world worked. He was a soldier who understood how to take a life, and how to do dark things. And the two of them were bound tighter from the grizzly affair they shared.

As they stood over the mutilated body, blood oozing from the head, Clint's voice came over the radio.

"Hey, are you two done making out over there? We're in the lower level."

Steve still had the bone saw in his hand, its teeth dripping with blood. Marcy stared down at the body, her eyes trapped, unable to look away on her own. Steve had never seen such a look on her face before. He cupped the back of her head with his free hand and gently guided it to press her forehead to his chest as he responded to the radio. "What have you got?"

.

"A ship, Cap," Clint said in a tight voice as he gazed down from the metal catwalk. The deceptively small building above them apparently hid a massive hangar stationed below. "We've got a Goddamn big ass ship down here! Armed to the teeth!"

"It looks disturbingly similar to the Project Insight carriers," Natasha added. "They copied our schematics."

"Find out what it can do and where they're planning to send it," Steve's voice replied. "I'm on my way."

"Copy that."

"You will copy nothing, Avengers," came a thickly accented voice right next to them. "You will only surrender or die." Before them, three armed Hydra agents appeared only a few yards away, all aiming their weapons at the intruders.

"He called me an Avenger," Bucky quipped.

"Maybe a D-List Avenger," Clint shot back. Bucky snorted.

Irritated with their lack of concern for their predicament, the Hydra agent who looked to be in charge of the group spoke again. "You have three seconds. Put down your weapons or we will shoot you where you stand. One-"

Captain America burst through the door behind them, shield already flying for their faces. The Hydra soldiers winked out of the visible spectrum on reflex, but the shield still hit its mark. It ricocheted off one body, bouncing back to be caught by the captain. The Hydra that was hit flickered back into visibility and fell to the floor unconscious.

Under the distraction, Natasha, Clint and Bucky fled from the catwalk. The former two took the stairs while Bucky simply vaulted over the railing and landed on the concrete floor below. Steve was forced to retreat back through the door he had come as the remaining two invisible enemies opened fire on him.

"Natasha," Steve ordered on the radio. "Find out what you can about that ship. Bucky and Clint, cover her."

Just as he spoke, even more invisible gunfire opened up on the bottom floor and the three ducked for cover behind a row of computer consuls near one wall. The barrage of bullets instantly stopped.

"Looks like they don't want to damage this stuff," Clint observed.

Natasha glanced up and saw a computer screen. "Well, hello. Let's see what you can tell me." Keeping her head down, she began typing on the screen to see what information she could find.

.

Above, Steve was still unable to get out the door to the bottom level. Any time he poked a single star or stripe out, the bullets came and he was forced to duck back in. Normally, he would just charge with shield held out to protect himself. But with invisible foes, it was difficult to block or charge without having an idea where the two enemies were standing.

Next to him, unable to peek past his bulk to see inside, Marcy said, "Hand me the shield."

Steve did not comply. Passing off the fighting to someone else, especially someone he wanted to protect, was not how he did business. If he could just leave Marcy up here with the door locked while he took on every Hydra agent below, he would have been quite content with that arrangement.

Marcy kept her hand out, irritated he did not give her the shield when she asked. "Steve, you have to trust me. I know what I'm doing. I can get you in, just give me a few seconds."

Steve let out a deep breath, irritated with his situation.

"Let me do this for you. We're a team now, right?" When he still hesitated she added, "I'll give it right back."

While he did not appreciate her attempt at humor right now, he knew she was right. They needed to work together. Marcy was a trained agent and she knew how to keep herself alive. Right now, he needed to trust those skills; trust her.

He handed her the shield. Marcy wasted no time rushing past him and through the door. The gunfire immediately started up again. As Steve peered out after her, there was no visible body to see. Random slivers of the shield could be seen, same as with the barrel tip of a gun now and then.

Marcy came at them hard and fast, the unfamiliar weight of the shield clanging and reverberating with each hit. In seconds, the two Hydra were on the ground, passed out, but now visible to the normal eye.

Steve stepped out and Marcy made herself visible long enough to toss the shield back to him. Then she disappeared again as she ran down the stairs. Steve's heart immediately panicked when he could no longer see her.

"Marcy! Respond!"

"I'm here," came her voice, panting a little as she ran.

"I can't see you. Where are you?"

Now she sounded amused. "That's the point, Steve. Don't worry about me."

That was like telling a fish not to swim. Steve frowned at the request and then ducked down as more invisible fire from below found his position. Remembering the infrared goggles he had been issued, he tried them on and peered carefully over his shield. The full-figured bodies he expected to see through the specialized frames were not there. These Hydra soldiers barely registered at all as merely moving amorphous blobs. Their bodies just weren't giving off the same heat as a normal person.

Still, it was enough for him to guess where the enemies were. Steve took off across the catwalk, leaping over the rail and landing on top of the enemies below.

.

At the computer station, Clint was finding out the same thing about the goggles. "These guys are hardly giving off any heat at all. I can still barely see them with these things."

"Then they really are the dead brought back to life," Natasha mumbled. "Just keep them busy."

Bucky and Clint were attempting to do just that, firing in roughly the correct direction at the enemies to keep them at bay.

Natasha continued to search the database for information on the ship. When she finally found what she was looking for, she was not happy.

"This isn't good." Even as she spoke, they all heard the engines of the massive ship begin to warm up. "No. No, no, no." She said louder to the radio. "Steve, that ship is full of Hydra soldiers. Possibly all who were in the zombie project. We can't let it take off."

"Do you know what their target is?" Steve replied back where he was doing his best to fight off the hoard of invisible soldiers coming at him.

"It's SHIELD. They're taking this bird right to SHIELD Central."

"We finally pissed them off enough that they're going to wipe us all out," Clint growled.

"We've got to get to that ship. We can't let it leave," Steve ordered. Even as he said this, a new barrage of gun fire cornered him behind a stack of crates.

Clint tried to peek over the computer consul and suddenly received a bullet in his leg from the side.

"Clint!" Natasha cried, suddenly turning all her attention to him.

Bucky fired his automatic weapon blindly in the direction the bullet had come from and a Hydra soldier suddenly appeared, the body dropping with a bullet through the forehead.

"It's just my leg, Tasha," Clint said as she tried to inspect the wound. "Don't get distracted."

Black Widow was certainly not about to forget the task at hand. She reached into one of the many pockets on her battle suit and threw out a handful of tiny metallic marbles. She lobbed them out onto the main area and each let out a wide-reaching arc of electricity, causing those around them to flicker into visibility. Natasha instantly fired on all she could with her gun. Head shots were required this time since pain didn't stop them at all.

Bucky helped her pick off which enemies they could see as the Hydra ship's engines suddenly fired up. Above them, the ground which was the parking lot around the building opened up, allowing for takeoff.

"We can't let that ship leave!" Steve ordered.

"I didn't pack a gun big enough, Steve!" was Bucky's irritated retort. He leaped from behind the consul as Natasha threw more electric flares, picking off the last of the Hydra soldiers left to fight them.

"I'm in the ship," came a calm, female voice over the radio.

Those words filled Steve with ice, but anything he had to say was drowned out as the ship's thrusters ignited and heat and smoke filled the area.

Bucky came back to where Natasha was trying to staunch the bleeding on Clint's thigh. "Are you guys going to be alright?"

"I'm fine, just go," Clint insisted. The bullet seemed to have hit a main artery. He was bleeding like crazy, but seemed less concerned about it than Natasha.

"I've got him," Black Widow insisted. "Leave us here. I'll radio SHIELD and let them know what's going on."

With a nod, Bucky was gone. He raced for the stairs, grabbing Steve's arm and pulling him along. The two reached the top and ran through the building above and out the door at ground level. The air ship was still in the middle of gaining enough power for takeoff and the two soldiers raced toward the gaping maw that used to be the parking lot. They ran at full speed toward the hole, leaping as far as they could into the open air before managing to catch the lip of the ship.

The metal was slippery and the two were sliding off as the ship gained altitude. Bucky growled and dug his metal hand into the top layer while Steve stabbed the tip of his shield in to get a grip. As the Hydra vessel suddenly took off into the sky, the two soldiers were climbing over the top of it. They managed to find a maintenance hatch and slip inside before the ship took on speeds far too intense for them to hang onto the outer shell.

Steve and Bucky tumbled inside, winded with muscles aching.

"This thing goes fast," Bucky panted. "I haven't seen a ship this size go so fast."

"They're going to try to beat us," Steve said. "SHIELD is going to know they're coming in a few seconds. Hydra's going to try to get there before our guys can properly prepare. Fury was right. They're getting desperate. If they can't out maneuver us, they're just going to wipe us out."

The two sat side by side for a moment, each letting the reality of their current situation sink in, each trying to form a plan of attack.

"Steve," Bucky said softly. "We can't let anyone on this ship leave alive. If all of them are like the guys were just fought, no one is safe. They could take out anyone, any organization in the world with those kind of soldiers. We have to get rid of them all."

"I agree," came Marcy's voice on the radio. "That's why I had to do this."

"Do what?" Steve asked. "Tell us where you are, Marcy. We'll meet you."

"Oh no, you guys are on the ship, too?"

"What do you mean, oh no?" Steve demanded. "What were you going to do? Just blow up the ship with you in it?"

.

Marcy, crouched in the volatile engine room of the ship, set the explosive low and well hidden before pushing the active button. "Well, the first part anyway. Though I didn't plan to still be on-"

She suddenly felt a strong kick to her back. It sent her neck snapping back as the wind was knocked out of her. She stumbled forward before catching herself against the wall.

"Marcy Gray," growled a certain male voice. "Slithering around in the shadows like the snake you are."

She glanced behind her. She had been in fade mode the entire time she had snuck onto the air ship. But Michael Conner was in fade mode, too. She made out his silhouette and the features of his face within the transparent grayness she could see. And he could still see her just as she could see him.

"You sure came a long way to get the shit beaten out of you again," her ex partner spat.

Marcy just gritted her teeth and coiled herself, Steve's questioning voice calling her over the radio. She removed the bud from her ear so she could concentrate. She hadn't been hunting for Michael Conner so she could trade insults. She had been waiting for a rematch.

She sprang at him. Her fist connected with his jaw and his surprised expression was so satisfying she could nearly taste it. Until he regained his footing, rubbing the contact point.

"I hope you enjoyed that. It's the only hit you're going to land," he grinned and started swinging. Marcy dodged the first two blows and the third first he threw grazed her in the cheekbone, snapping her head back. It hit the wall with a dizzying sound.

Conner laughed at her. "I bet you wish you were still the only one who could disappear."

Marcy shook her head, blinking to steady her vision. Now she was really mad. In the background, she could still hear voices on the radio trying to get her to respond. But she was busy right now; and she was mad.

"You're going to wish the same," she growled at him. "But it's not going to save you."

She grabbed his head and slammed it against her knee. The hit shocked him enough that he became visible for a second before fading again. He tried to catch her, but her elbow flew back in his face, busting his nose. Very visible blood splattered on the ground. Another elbow launched right into his gut. As he bent over, Marcy kicked him in the head, sending him sprawling onto his back. He fell out of the fade as he landed on the floor, the breath knocked out of him.

Marcy became visible herself, standing over him. "Get up," she said flatly. "I'll fight you in either form."

He grinned at her and there was suddenly a knife in his hand. He swiped at her and she dodged out of the way as he jumped to his feet. "I'm fine with this, too," he grinned, blood still spilling from his broke nose. He didn't feel a thing. "I like having a clear view of what I'm carving up."

Just then, Marcy was hit with a sudden bout of dizziness. No! Not now! Was this because of what Dr. Steadman made her take? Conner saw his chance. He came in with the blade. Marcy managed to dodge, but the second fist hit her straight in the stomach, followed by a swift kick to the head. She fell on her back hard, her world spinning. The ignition switch to the explosives she planted fell off her person and slid to the side.

She barely managed to get her arms up to block as Conner dropped on top of her, the blade of his knife poised to pierce her right through the eye. It took both hands to keep his knife from her, but it was sinking closer. Marcy may have been the better, faster fighter when she was in her prime, but Conner was heavier and stronger and no amount of training would change that.

Marcy threw her knee up into his gut. Conner did not react. She did it again and he laughed at her.

"Don't feel a thing." Blood from his nose dripped onto her face as he pressed the knife down harder. "But you're going to."

As the blade came down, Marcy managed to move her head far enough that the blade sliced through her cheek instead of her eye socket. She could feel the knife scrape right across the bone and Conner's absolute look of glee made her want to vomit. As he lifted the knife again, Marcy quickly jabbed the heel of her hand into his Adam's apple. Conner grabbed his throat, gasping. Maybe he didn't feel any pain, but he was going to have a hard time breathing with a collapsed trachea.

She tried to push him off, but even as he struggled to breathe, he stubbornly pressed his weight on top of her. With all her strength and all her limbs she heaved him off of her with a scream, tossing him a few feet to her side. She grabbed the knife he had dropped and scrambled to her feet as Conner tried to get to his hands and knees.

It took him a few more tries before he finally managed to get in enough air and he stood, grinning. Marcy remained coiled to strike, knife in hand as she watched him.

When he spoke, it came out as a coughing rasp. "That's still your problem, Marcy, you're sloppy." He held up the detonator for all the explosives she had been planting around the ship. The bright red button mockingly waved at her. "But I don't think your plan is going to work without this."

"It's not," she said simply. She threw the knife and ran the other way. The blade hit squarely on the device, embedding into the denotation button.

Five seconds. Five seconds was the default time between the push of the button and the ignition of the explosives. It was the pure adrenaline that spirited her body out the door of the engine room and around the corner before the explosive went off. The force of the explosion still slammed her into the far wall and sent her world spinning with heat and fire.

She may have blacked out, she couldn't tell. She didn't remember falling to the floor, but she was glad her reflexes made her fade as Hydra agents raced past her toward the fire. These weren't soldiers and they had normal skin tones. They weren't the zombie project soldiers that were still somewhere on the ship.

Marcy remained in fade mode as she pulled herself carefully to her feet. Her ears picked up a faint voice and she put her ear piece back in. She remained close to the wall as she edged further away from the damage she had done.

"I'm here," she whispered into the radio.

"Marcy," Steve's voice breathed out her name with a scratchy voice. "Are you okay?"

"So far still alive."

"Good!" Bucky's voice then shouted. It sounded strained like they were fighting. "Then get your butt over here or tell us where you are!"

"Don't tell her to come over here! It's crawling with soldiers!"

"Sorry Dollface, Steve says no."

"Dollface?" Marcy muttered to herself. Then said out loud, "You guys need to get off the ship. I set off an explosion in the engine room. This thing's going down."

"Not without you," Steve's voice insisted. "Where are you?"

As she opened her mouth to reply, an explosion, far more powerful than the first, shook the entire ship. The fire from the first explosion must have finally reached something vital. Explosion after explosion rocked the vessel, tearing it apart from the inside out. Marcy, still invisible, started running in the opposite direction. The ship shook, the metal around her moaned, then the entire hallway where she was standing began to tip. The ship was breaking apart!

"Steve, you can't come for me. Find a way off the ship."

As she spoke, she stumbled onto the main deck. It was swarming with Hydra agents, none of them looking like they had gone through the zombie process. These were the flight crew, not the soldiers, and they were running around like ants after a kicked anthill. At the front was a massive set of windows, giving a panoramic view of the sky and the city below. And SHIELD HQ right in their sights.

The flight crew were all speaking German. Marcy could understand it fairly well when it was spoken clearly. When it was being screamed in panic, she was less fluent. But she got the gist. Even though the ship was going down, they were not giving up their mission. The ship was aimed right for Central HQ. If it hit, no one would survive on either side. There was no way Marcy could leave to find a way off the ship. She had to make sure they didn't hit their mark.

The panicked crew didn't have a clue she was on the deck. In fade mode, she too panicked as she glanced over all the many consuls manned by so many different flight specialists. She kind of had an idea of how one steered this type of thing, but she wished she was better informed. The HQ building was coming up fast, the ship's falling trajectory locked. It was actually picking up speed now.

There. She saw the correct station that controlled the ship's turbines and rudders. The middle-aged woman at the station wasn't even looking at her screen. Her eyes were glancing between the view out the window and a few of her fellow crew members speaking next to her. Marcy slipped in and quickly typed in a few commands. She ordered the ship to bank right, hard.

The command was entered and the ship immediately began to tip violently to the side. The metal around them whined from the stress and a deep groan reverberated from further into the vessel. The woman who sat at the station immediately turned back to her screen to correct their trajectory. Marcy, still invisible, bodily pushed the woman out of her chair. She pulled a handgun from her belt and shot the consul several times until it was destroyed.

Several bullets began flying in her direction as those of the crew who were armed opened fire. Marcy ducked and crawled away from the damaged consul and went to hide in a corner. Now the main deck was in even greater chaos due to the invisible enemy. Things were not looking good.

.

Steve and Bucky were still struggling through a crowd of Hydra soldiers that had discovered them. Some were results of the zombie project, some were not. All took quite a good beating as the two super soldiers downed them all and then fled from the scene before another wave could find them. They too could hear the groans of the ship. They felt the shutter of the explosives and failing engines. Though they were at the back of the ship where there were no windows, it was obvious the ship was going down and soon.

"Steve, here!" Bucky grabbed him, yanking him into a small area and closing the door. The two crouched on the bottom, hiding as a group of Hydra soldiers ran past them down the hall.

A quick glance around and Steve realized Bucky had pulled him into an emergency escape pod.

"Here's the plan," Bucky said. "The ship's already going down with or without us. We destroy the rest of the pods and use this one to get out of here."

Steve took a moment to consider the plan. "Okay. But we're not leaving without Marcy."

Bucky grinned at him, bumping his fist into Steve's shoulder. "Of course not. I'll take care of the other pods, you tell her where we are."

.

"Marcy," Steve's voice came over the radio. "Can you get to the escape pods at the back of the ship? We're getting out of here."

Marcy remained huddled in a corner for cover. Armed members of the flight crew still had their guns out, looking for her. "Give me a second," she whispered.

Another member of the crew ran in, calling out to the commanding officer in German. Everything was on fire back there. The halls were choked with smoke. The inferno eating up the middle of the ship made it impossible for those in the back to get to the front and vice versa. There was no way Marcy was going to make it to the back of the vessel to meet up with Steve.

Instead, she crawled to an unmanned station and accessed the surveillance feeds from the ship. All the other flight crew were busy talking to each other, they didn't notice one errant computer screen flashing on its own.

After a while, Marcy found the camera aimed at the area with the escape pods. If anyone from Hydra was planning to jump ship, now would be the time. She could see Bucky crouched in the hallway and Steve's head peering out of one of the pods. The two would be discovered at any time. They had to go.

.

"Okay, I'm back," Marcy voice said over the radio. Steve sighed in relief at hearing it.

Bucky rushed into the pod, hiding on the floor with Steve. "Change of plans, it was easier to just jettison the other pods instead of breaking them. Ours is the only one left."

"Okay Marce, you have to come now," Steve said to the radio. "We have to get out of here."

Marcy did not respond, but at that moment, the pod's hatch suddenly locked as it was activated.

"What the-" Bucky said.

Steve jumped to his feet, he knew exactly what was going on. "It's Marcy. She activated the pod somehow." He slammed his fist on the glass. "Marcy, don't! I'm not leaving without you!"

"Yes you are," came the calm female response.

Steve reached for his shield and began hitting the door, trying to break it open.

"Let me," Bucky said, snatching it from him. With the strength of his metal arm, he hit the lock with the shield again and again. It was about to give way and then pod suddenly jettisoned out into the wide open sky. Bucky took the controls and steered them a safe distance from the smoking ship. One side was breaking off, bent and being held on by a few cables and beams. The ship was too big. There was nothing else the two soldiers in their little pod could do.

"Why, Marcy?" Steve asked over the radio. "Why did you do it?"

"I'm sorry, there was no way I could get to you or you to me. And I'm not going to let you go down with another sinking ship. You've been through that once already."

Steve stared helplessly at the damaged vessel, exhausted and heartsick. The amount of smoke and flames coming from it was terrifying. He would have rather been on the ship. Standing out here watching helplessly was the worst feeling. If he ever got to talk with Peggy again, he owed her a very large apology.

"Marcy." This time, it was Bucky saying her name. "I never got a chance to tell you that I'm sorry for asking you to lie for me. I shouldn't have made you keep secrets from Steve. I was so selfish. I made you guys lose so much time. Maybe we wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for what I did."

There was a pause on Marcy's end.

"Fine. Buy me dinner when we get out of this—buy us both dinner. Then we can be even. Do you agree, Steve?"

He smiled, eyes still on the smoking ship. "Yeah. Dinner, all of us together, that sounds amazing."

"I will get off this ship if I can."

Before their eyes, the ship snapped nearly in half. The sudden turn was too much and it began falling apart. At the seam where it broke, new explosions were set off, spewing fire into the air.

"Marcy!" they both cried.

"I'm still here," came the calm response.

Her voice sent chills up Steve's spine. Like when she sang, he found the softness and serenity of her voice pleasantly haunting. He wanted to hear it again; over the radio or, more preferably, in the dark of night, whispering sweet things in his ear. If only there had been time.

"Marcy, I... I want to say-"

"This isn't your fault, Steve. It's mine. I am where I am because of me. No one else."

She thought he was going to apologize again. "No, that's not what I wanted to say. I just want you to know that I lo-"

"No, don't say it," she interrupted, her voice now a little strained. "Please don't say anything else."

Outside, the Hydra ship groaned, still turning sharply. As the pod circled around they could see it was going to be close. It was near the HQ building. But whether it hit its target or not, the ship was going down, most of it on fire already. Steve could hear the moan of the strained infrastructure even over the radio.

"Why don't you want me to say it?"

"Because it's something I've always wanted to hear you say and mean it. I don't want to hear it because of where we are. I won't let you say it."

Steve stood there with his mouth open. What if there was no other chance to say it? What if this was it? The last time he would hear her voice again? He couldn't let it end like this.

.

Marcy crouched next to the wall, still invisible, trying to hold on as the ship continued to dip sideways as it fell apart. There was no leaving the main deck now, everything to her back was on fire and the heat was catching her. She felt dizzy again, strangely separated from her body. She wanted Steve's voice to stay on the radio to keep her grounded. But she couldn't stomach any last second declarations of love.

"What do you want me to say?" he then asked, sounding a little defeated.

She didn't know. What did she want to hear with fire at her back and a breathtaking view of SHIELD HQ right before her? The ship scraped the side of the building and all around her was the tearing, moaning sound of metal as the vessel continued to break apart.

"I'm sorry we missed Halloween together," Steve's voice said. "And Christmas and New Years. And everything else."

Marcy gave a soundless laugh, though she felt like crying. "This year. We'll do it all together this year. You and me. James, too."

"You got it, Dollface," came Bucky's soft voice.

The deck violently lurched to the side, angling further downward. Marcy pressed herself against the wall and floor, trying to find enough purchase not to slide down as the panoramic glass shattered. The scream of metal scraping metal as the ship sideswiped the building was near deafening.

Steve's voice was also in her ear, but she couldn't make it out. Once the ship cleared the building, it would crash in a fiery ball of flame into the ground. Marcy kept telling herself maybe she could escape it. Maybe when the ship was close enough to the ground she could slide right out of the open window, land with only a few broken bones and manage to limp to safety before the explosion covered an entire block. Sure, she could do it.

"Steve, I..." Now she wanted to say it. She wanted to tell him how much she loved him, how much she respected and admired him. How much he meant to her. She felt heavy guilt for denying him that same urge.

"Agent Gray," came a new, sharp male voice over her radio. "You tell me where the hell you are on that ship right now."

"Sir?" she asked, surprised to hear Director Fury's voice on her radio.

"Don't Sir me! Your location! Now, agent!"

"I'm on the main deck, watching HQ. It looks like we'll be avoiding a direct collision with-"

"Your ass better be visible when he gets there."

Before she could ask what he was talking about, something green and massive exploded out of the HQ building and crashed into the deck of the ship. The few Hydra agents that were also clinging to anything stationary attempted to fire on the Hulk. He ignored them as nothing more than a slight annoyance as he looked around distractedly. When he looked her way, Marcy unveiled her position and his eyes zeroed in on her.

Marcy had never seen Bruce in this form, not in person. She knew he didn't always have control of it and had no idea what to expect. The first tremors of the ship colliding with the ground rocked them all. This started the chain reaction of the massive vessel collapsing under its own weight. Hulk stalked toward her as Marcy tried to find enough purchase to get to her feet. Pressed against the wall, his size scared her. She wasn't sure what he would do.

In a blink, one single hand instantly closed around her waist. She steeled herself as Hulk took off running. They were suddenly in the air, high above the exploding ship; maybe even higher than the HQ building. Marcy fought for breath as the wind raced around her. She saw the ship collapsing in flames below. No one would survive that.

She must have blacked out for a second because they were now on the ground, far away from the explosion. They were in a slightly forested area that surrounded a small lake near the building. Hulk set her down and she struggled to stay up under her own power.

Her whole body was shaking as she attempted to wrap her head around going from near-death to suddenly safe. She looked at Hulk with wide, wild eyes, breathing hard. Was she actually still safe? The guy was massive. So much bigger in person than he looked on the video footage. Could she back away or would that set him off? She didn't know what to do.

Hulk watched her fairly calmly. He reached out a massive hand, larger than her whole upper body. He brushed the side of her face with the blade of his finger. It came back with blood on it. The cut on her cheek from Conner's knife had caused her to bleed all down her face and neck and onto her shirt, but it didn't hurt. Marcy put a curious hand to her face. Conner had cut her clear to the bone. Where was the pain? For that matter, where was the cut? It felt like it was gone. Only dried blood remained.

She looked down at her own blood smeared hand. Her skin had taken on a slight green tint that was turning back to its normal flesh tone before her eyes. What the hell? She glanced up at Hulk. He was still calm. That was good, right? Then he suddenly turned his head with a snarl. The escape pod was flying their way. Hulk tensed to jump for it.

"No! Wait!" Marcy called. "That's Steve up there. Captain Rogers? You friend, right? No one's going to attack."

Hulk glared at the incoming ship, not turning his back on it.

"Maybe we should work on calming you down," Marcy then decided. "The fight's over now. You did well." What was Natasha working on to help calm him down? "Sun's getting real low. Time to call it a day." She remembered what soothed her when her heart was racing. "Breathe. Just breathe slow, okay? With me."

She slowly breathed in and out, watching as he did the same. A few yards behind them, the pod landed.

"Don't look at them, just look at me," she coaxed.

Steve and Bucky were exiting the pod and she put up one had to stay them where they were.

"Slow. Slow breaths," she murmured. "Everything's fine. You did so well."

Hulk stumbled back as the change came upon him. Slowly his mass and green color began to recede. Marcy sighed in relief. It was all over now. One breath out and suddenly there were arms around her, pressing her against a solid chest.

"Don't ever do that to me again. Ever," Steve said into her shoulder.

A second pair of arms wrapped around them both. "Saaaame," Bucky agreed. "I think I lost a few years of my life watching that."

Marcy smiled in the middle of a super soldier sandwich. "Sorry to do that to you guys, but someone needed to turn the ship. If it wasn't you, I have a feeling you would have put me on the pod while you two stayed behind."

She felt a chuckle in Bucky's chest.

"She's got your number Steve. You know we were going to put her on that pod."

Steve just heaved a big sigh and Marcy loved that they were still embracing her tight so she could feel it right against her check.

"Uh... hey—Hey guys," Bruce said timidly to get their attention. He was hunched and looking exhausted, holding up what remained of his pants, which was the only thing he now wore.

"Bruce." Marcy wriggled away from the two pair of arms to hug the scientist. "You saved me! You were in such control! It was amazing!"

Bruce gave a shy smile, both hands still intending to keep his tattered pants up instead of hugging her back. "I'm just glad you're okay."

In the distance, fire trucks were already on scene, keeping the devastation mostly away from the HQ building.

Marcy pulled back to smile at him, her hands on his shoulders. This time, Bruce took one free hand and touched the non-bloody side of her face, then her neck. "You feel really warm. Too warm. Are you okay?"

Marcy touched her own forehead. She couldn't tell if she had a fever or not, being surrounded by fire in an exploding ship. Steve came up from behind again, one arm around her shoulders, pressing her back into his chest. The second hand went to her forehead.

"You are hot," he confirmed.

Marcy smiled at that comment, but didn't say anything. Another bout of dizziness was upon her and she was thankful to have something strong and solid holding her up.

"She has a foreign substance in her body. Some psycho made her take it. We don't know what it is or what it does."

"What?" Bruce and Bucky said together.

Bruce then went on to say, "We need to get her back in HQ, if we can, and have the lab guys check her out."

Steve glanced down at Marcy, expecting some kind of response. She didn't say anything, but he still said, "And no fighting us on this. You're going to get checked out."

Marcy felt like she was already checking out with the adrenaline rush wearing off. "I've already done my fighting for today."

.

While there was damage to the HQ building when the Hydra ship swiped through it, none of it was structural. The building was announced to be secure and Marcy was escorted up to the medical floor. There, Marcy sat listlessly on an exam table, legs dangling off the side while medical personnel took blood samples and checked her vitals. Steve and Bucky sat in chairs nearby.

Steve had refused to leave when staff told him he could come back when she was finished. Marcy had given him an affectionate look when he first stubbornly sat himself down. Now she wasn't really looking at anything and that concerned all involved. After the blood on her had been cleaned up (and no clear source for the blood found) Marcy's skin began to turn gray and clammy. At one point, she suddenly jumped off the table and threw up in the nearest trash bin. After that, the staff gave her some fluids and some anti-nausea medication, but there was nothing else they could do.

Bruce came in a bit later to look at her blood work. Steve left Bucky in Marcy's exam room to follow the scientist to his station.

"Well, there is definitely a foreign substance in her system, we just can't identify it," Bruce explained. "But we do know that it is merging near seamlessly with her molecules."

"The guy who made it said it was specifically for her, it would kill anyone else if they took it," Steve recalled.

"Sounds like he was telling the truth."

"Is Marcy's life in danger from this?"

Bruce, who was watching a blood slide through his microscope, pulled back and rubbed his face. "So far, no. It IS a foreign substance, so it is making her sick while her body adapts to it. But I don't think it's going to threaten her life, neither do any of the doctors. She's just going to feel really crappy for a while."

Steve sighed. His nerves couldn't take any more scares of losing her. "So, what do we do now?"

"Put her to bed. Natasha says the two of them have been up nearly twenty hours. She needs rest, and food, if she can keep it down. Take one of the suites upstairs and just keep an eye on her for the next day or so and we'll go from there."

Steve let out another long breath. "Okay." He pressed his fist to his forehead, breathing in and out slowly. "Okay," he said again. "I'll take care of her."

.

Marcy fought to stay conscious in the shower. The hot water made her dizzy; everything made her dizzy. She felt like crap. It took all the concentration and stamina she had to finish quickly and then stumble out to grab a towel. She was fading fast as she forced herself to dry and dress in whatever generic clothes SHIELD had handy for their agents. She came into the bedroom wearing a pair of white cotton panties and a gray t-shirt that was barely long enough to cover them. She felt like shit way too much to care that there were two men in the room waiting for her. Everything was too hot. She couldn't stand wearing any more clothes than that.

She sat herself on the edge of the bed, trying to keep her eyes open. Steve sat himself behind her, drying her hair with a towel. Bucky handed her a cheeseburger he's brought from the cafeteria. Both men, since they were currently living in HQ while Bucky was on probation, had the opportunity to change out of their uniforms and into comfortable sweats. Marcy just stared at the burger.

"Try to eat something. The doctors want you to," Bucky urged.

She received the offered food tiredly and took a bite. Even chewing seemed to require too much energy. Two bites were all she managed before she handed it back and flopped backwards on the bed. "I just want to sleep."

Steve helped her climb up and under the covers where she lay bonelessly, giving out deep tired breaths, eyes closed. Now that Marcy was in bed, what were they supposed to do? Steve looked across the bed at Bucky and then turned off the lamp. Light slipped in from a crack in the heavy curtains as Steve slid under the covers with her, draping an arm loosely over her side. Bucky hesitated a little longer. He could leave if he wanted, but he preferred to stay here. He stretched out on the other side of the bed above the covers, Marcy between them.

For the next few hours, Marcy slept like the dead. Outside, it was only late afternoon. The sun was still out. Steve and Bucky weren't tired, but they didn't want to leave either. Both just lay there staring at the ceiling, thinking their own thoughts.

For some reason, Steve kept going back to that night after the karaoke bar in his head. Since she had left him six months ago, he would often think about that night when they sat together in the car, lingering; feeling vulnerable and lonely. He should have asked her to come in, he should have asked her to stay with him. Even though he had never had a woman in his bed before, he regretted not taking her to bed that night. If given the chance to do it over, he would have made love to her then, slowly, thoroughly. He wouldn't have wasted so much time before making her a part of his life.

"Hey Steve," Bucky's voice whispered in the stillness, both of them still staring at the ceiling.

"Yeah?"

"What's... Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles?"

Steve let out a long breath. "Don't know. I've heard people talking about it now and then, but at this point, I'm afraid to ask."

Bucky turned his head to look at his friend. "Maybe we should go online and ask The Google. It knows everything."

Steve smiled in amusement. Marcy would always be tickled whenever he put "the" in front of anything that didn't need it. "Like an old grandma," she would say. It never bothered Steve when she found amusement at his lack of modern culture. She didn't laugh at him or tease him. Mostly she would just chuckle or smile with endearment. She told him she found it charming, so Steve never worried about his lack of common knowledge around her. He appreciated that about her and missed her even now while she was sleeping because they had been apart for so long. He curled up around her, wishing he could hear her voice.

A while later, Marcy began to stir, whining tiredly as she pushed both male bodies away from her. She kicked at Bucky, his weight trapping her under the blanket. He immediately moved away, getting off the bed. Steve remained where he was, hovering over her with worry.

"Marcy? What's wrong?"

"Too hot. I'm sweating. You guys are baking me alive."

She elbowed him a little while she kicked off the blanket. Then she plopped back down on the bed tiredly with only a sheet, her bare legs sticking out. Steve reached over to feel her forehead and neck, just to make sure her body temperature wasn't so high it was a risk to her health. She was already fast asleep.

Steve and Bucky looked at each other over the sleeping woman. Bucky looked amused and then went to get himself his own blanket before returning to the bed. Both soldiers lay down on either side of her again. This time, they kept their body heat away from her.

For a while, Marcy slumbered silently. Even the two men dozed in and out. Then Marcy whimpered and rolled over into Steve's chest. "Cold," she murmured. Her whole body was shivering. He immediately wrapped his arms and the blanket around her.

That was how the entire night went. She would get hot and kick the bodies away and then get cold and curl up against them. All of them slept on and off that night, but none of them got very much rest. At one point, it seemed Marcy got tired of laying on her left side against Steve and rolled over on her right as she kicked off the blankets. Her face hit Bucky's metal shoulder which woke her up a little. She blearily touched the arm in the darkness before pressing her cheek against it.

"Can I lay like this?" she mumbled. "Your arm is nice and cool."

Bucky glanced over at Steve, but he was dead to the world, sound asleep at the moment. It was probably fine. A cheek on the shoulder wasn't a big deal.

"Sure. Knock yourself out."

She surprised him by snuggling up to his arm as if it were a teddy bear. She wrapped her arms around it, pressing her body against it from shoulder to elbow. Bucky's hands were clutched on his stomach and his fingers twitched a little as she cuddled against him. Even though his arm was metal, he could easily tell his arm was now sandwiched between her breasts, only a thin shirt separating them. Not necessarily an unpleasant sensation, but not a situation he would willingly put himself in with his best friend's girl.

But Marcy was passed out again so there was no helping it. With a sigh aimed at the ceiling, Bucky closed his eyes and tried to get some rest.

.

There was daylight again coming through the crack in the curtains when Bucky woke up. He felt extremely warm and cozy. He couldn't remember feeling so calm after a sleep. Usually he woke up to anxiety, the shadows of bad dreams he couldn't remember haunting the edge of his subconscious. This morning it was just... relaxation.

It was then he realized that warm, comfortable feeling was coming from the slumbering body curled up against him. He immediately stiffened. Marcy was no longer just hugging his metal arm. Her whole body was pressed against his, one leg draped over him, her arm around his midsection. And he... he had his arm around her, her head tucked against his chin like... like they were lovers or something.

"Shiiiiiit," Bucky hissed quietly, his brain trying to figure out how he was going to get out of this without waking Marcy.

"Hey," came a male voice.

Bucky quickly glanced to the side where a fully-dressed Steve lounged in a plush chair nearby.

"Um, hey," Bucky returned carefully. "This is...Steve, I didn't..."

Steve immediately looked very amused. "The two of you were finally sleeping peacefully—for the last few hours, actually. I thought I'd let you rest."

It still took Bucky a moment to process the fact that he wasn't in trouble, even as Steve's girlfriend continued to sleep nearly on top of him. Steve knew Bucky's struggle to sleep and get true rest was a constant one. Yet, there was no doubt that Steve would have kicked the ass of any other guy in his position.

"I've got a picture of you two on my phone now," Steve continued, grinning. "It's cute."

"That's creepy, Steve." Bucky paused and then said. "What time is it?"

"Nearly 11 AM."

Bucky made a sound of disgust as he carefully tried to sit up.

"Check her temperature while you're there."

Bucky felt her head and neck. "No fever at all. Anything else you want me to do to your girl before I get out of bed?"

Steve laughed and stood, walking away. After carefully extricating himself, Bucky followed him into the tiny kitchen area and sat himself down at the little, round table.

"So what do we do now, Steve?"

Steve leaned against the counter, arms folded across his chest. "Not sure. Yesterday sure took an abrupt turn, didn't it? I guess it depends on Marcy. I'm going where ever she's going from here as long as she'll let me go with her. How does that sound to you?"

Bucky gave a casual shrug, indicating he was good with whatever was going to happen.

As if summoned by the mention of her, Marcy stumbled in, bleary-eyed and her hair a ratted mess. Still in only a shirt and underwear, she plopped herself in the nearest chair, crossing her legs up in the chair with her.

"And there she is," Bucky announced.

Steve walked over to her, unzipping the hoodie he was wearing to drape it over her. The piece of clothing nearly swallowed her up.

"How are you feeling?" Steve asked.

"Better than yesterday," she rasped in a froggy voice. "But still exhausted." She tiredly rubbed her face. "I kept having these horrible dreams that I was... melting. Falling apart at the seams, crumbling at a molecular level. And every time I woke up, I would wonder if I was still in one piece. That's all I dreamed about all night."

Bucky, who knew all about bad dreams, said nothing. Steve fetched her a glass of chilled water from the fridge and she sipped at it, her throat parched.

Steve joined them at the table. "No one survived the crash. That ship possibly contained all of Hydra's enhanced soldiers and now they're gone." He looked Marcy in the eyes. "What is your next move?"

Her hands fell into her lap. She looked around the room, heaving a big sigh. Then she said: "I want to go home."

.

A day later, Marcy walked up the steps of her front porch. After her initial sickness, she did not show any further adverse signs. Whatever Dr. Steadman had given her, it didn't seem to have any permanent negative side effects. They still had no idea what it was he had forced her to inject into herself, but there was nothing else that could be done about it. When she appeared in good health for a full twenty-four hours she was cleared to go home.

Flanked by two super soldiers and cat carrier in hand, she entered the house she hadn't seen for nearly six months. It was good to be back. It was even better that both Steve and Bucky just made themselves at home, as if they had always lived there. There wasn't even a discussion, they just came with her as if it was the way it was supposed to be.

Marcy spent the day cleaning, washing sheets and freshening up the house so it no longer smelled like stale air. Steve cooked lunch: very impressive grilled cheese sandwiches. After lunch, Steve discovered her guitar and presented it to her while she was sitting on the couch.

"Play me something," he requested.

She took the offered instrument, giving him a raised brow.

"I like hearing your voice," he said simply. "I've missed it."

"Well, in that case..." Marcy immediately set the guitar on her lap and looked Steve straight in the eye as she started to play. No hesitation this time. No shrinking in on herself, no apologies for taking up his time with her music. Her talent had improved a lot since then as she played a moderate, happy rhythm by memory.

If you said goodbye to me tonight
There would still be music left to write
What else could I do
I'm so inspired by you
That hasn't happened for the longest time

Once I thought my innocence was gone
Now I know that happiness goes on
That's where you found me
When you put your arms around me
I haven't been there for the longest time

Steve listened with what he was sure was a stupid grin on his face. He loved her before, but now, it was fair to stay he was completely smitten.

.

Bucky could hear the music from the kitchen where he had volunteered to do the dishes from lunch. He knew Marcy played the guitar. Steve didn't shut up about her the whole six months she was gone. He didn't know the song she sang, at least not at first.

Wait, no. It was a male voice that sang the real song. He had heard it before. The sound was locked away in his memory and it suddenly burst out. Like flicking a light switch, he was no longer in the house.

The house he stood in was lavish, far bigger than Marcy's. It was dark outside, only a few lights on, and he heard that song. The voice of Billy Joel played in the distance. In this house, only the music was active. The house stunk of fear and death. Bucky walked down the long hallway, the familiar weight of a handgun with added silencer in his hand.

Who knows how much further we'll go on
Maybe I'll be sorry when you're gone

I'll take my chances
I forgot how nice romance is
I haven't been there for the longest time

Everything besides himself and the radio were dead inside the house as he stalked the corridors. In the bedrooms he passed, there were bodies on the floor and blood on the walls. There were so many bodies. Adult size... and smaller.

Bucky gasped for air as he leaned over the kitchen sink before he could drop the plate on the floor. It felt all too real and too sickeningly close. Like it just happened yesterday. Those things that had been locked away, they were leaking out now and they were coming for him.

He suddenly felt ill and so very, very cold.

THE END

Story Notes: Finally, finally we are at the end and maybe it was for the best that it took this long. I know if I had finished this story in 2014 like I originally planned this ending would have been different. I also had the opportunity to change things about the story the first time around that were bothering me. I am quite happy with how it turned out. I also wanted to change the title to "Faded" when I started doing the rewrite, but I worried maybe I would lose the readers from the first time around who have been waiting to see the end of this fic. I don't know, maybe I'll change it later.

Now is the time when I particularly ask for comments, now that story is finished. I would love to hear thoughts from my readers on the story as a whole. Also a big thank you to those who have sent me reviews and thoughts as chapters have been posted. It was lovely to converse with you and learn your thoughts. I had a great time. Also thank you to those who put the story in their favorites. (I totally snoop around the stories and favorites of people who favorite my fics. It's how I find fics to read for myself.)

Up next, there is a sequel in the works. It is called "All of Me" and the first chapter will hopefully be ready to post by next weekend. This will be a more Bucky-centric story as he deals with his past as the Winter Soldier. It will also contain plot points from "Age of Ultron", "Civil War", and "Black Panther." But I won't be doing that thing where authors will write the exact same story from the movies and just stick their OCs into the scenes. I like writing my own plots so you will get a new, alternate storyline from the movies from here on out.

I hope to see you all there. Thank you for reading!