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CHAPTER FIFTEEN
winning bets
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THE WET RAG was cool in Diana's hand. Her knees had ached due to how long she had been on them. She had carded her fingers through Bucky's drying hair, her other hand dabbed at the sweltering wound on his forehead where apparently decided to headbutt the glass of a helicopter window from what Steve had told her. Diana had also decided to wipe the extra dirt off Bucky's face as well, but the rag had mainly focused on the knot.

She didn't stop when Sam scolded her, citing the times when she was bleeding because of the Soldier inside. She didn't stop when Steve suggested that she take a break. She didn't stop when Bucky finally woke up.

He jerked his head initially, his hair falling in his face again. Diana only pushed it out of the way before putting the cool rag back.

"You have a good-sized bump on you," Diana smiled, "good job, Barnes."

Bucky's eyebrows pinched together as she continued her actions. Sam had walked off only a few minutes before Bucky awoke to join Steve in watching for the police, so they were alone.

"Do you need any water?" Diana asked as she grabbed a loose rock and turned it into a bottle of water.

"Why are you being so..." Bucky trailed off, "Nice?"

"Why wouldn't I be? You haven't done anything for me to hate you," Diana shrugged, she took a swig of the water she made and watched as he looked at her incredulously.

"But," His eyes were locked onto the scar on her neck, the dried blood from her latest wound, and the old gunshot wound on her arm, "I've put you through so much pain."

"They made you into a weapon," Diana corrected, "You know how I know you're not as bad as everyone makes you out to be?"

Bucky shook his head as he looked at her with a sense of curiosity.

"The Winter Soldier doesn't hold back, he breaks out of pods made with reinforced steel and throws people like they're nothing," Diana explained, "But Bucky Barnes stayed in that pod knowing that the whole time he could break out at any given moment, you're a good person, you just need some people to see that."

Bucky was silent after that. Diana stood up, her knees cracking when she did that and she winced at the pain in her back, she assumed being hunched in the same position for thirty minutes doesn't help back issues. She sighed softly as she finished the water and turned the empty bottle back into a rock, same with the wet rag.

"Hey, guys!" Diana called out, finally alerting the two men of Bucky's consciousness.

Steve and Sam looked at each other briefly before making a light jog to get over to the small room that Diana and Bucky were in. Diana crossed her arms and looked at Bucky, a soft smile contrasting with her stance.

"Steve," Bucky said as he locked eyes with the blond man.

"Which Bucky am I talking to?"

"Your mom's name was Sarah..." Bucky cracked into the most beautiful smile Diana had ever seen, "You used to wear newspapers in your shoes."

This made Steve smile too, a flash of reminiscing nostalgia was clear on his face. It made Diana happy.

"Can't read that in a museum."

"Just like that, we're supposed to be cool?" Sam asked, clearly still a little upset with being thrown by the jaw. Diana had to sneak into a convenience store and steal aspirin for him. It was understandable to be angry, but Sam just doesn't understand how mind control feels. Diana doesn't truly understand it, not as Bucky does.

"What did I do?" Bucky pleaded, his blue eyes bore into hers. She was practically swimming in his guilt when she met his gaze.

"Enough," Steve replied, it was vague but it was enough, Diana was grateful that Steve spared him the details.

"Oh, God, I knew this would happen, everything HYDRA put inside me is still there," Bucky would've probably kicked himself if it was physically possible, that made Diana frown as she observed him, "All he had to do was say the goddamn words."

"You get activated by codewords?" She asked, "Are they normal words?"

Steve and Sam had simultaneously glared at her. Diana shrugged, she didn't want to accidentally trigger him, but she figured that maybe it just wasn't the right time to ask.

"Who was he?" Steve asked.

"I don't know."

"People are dead." Steve grew stern, "The bombing, the setup. The doctor did all that just to get ten minutes with you. I need you to do better than 'I don't know.'"

"He wanted to know about Siberia." Bucky tilted his head as if he was slowly remembering everything, "Where I was kept. He wanted to know exactly where."

"Why would he need to know that?"

"Because I'm not the only Winter Soldier." Bucky frowned.

Diana's jaw dropped as he explained himself. How he was made to recover a serum from the early 90s. How it was used on more soldiers held in Siberia and how he had to train them all. She watched in horror as she could visibly see him relive the memory. The way he glanced at her when he phrased certain things, she could see he was holding back information. She didn't mind. His business was his own and he didn't have to tell her the whole story, just the stuff that would affect the team, affect the world.

"Who were they?" Steve asked after Bucky went quiet.

"Their most elite death squad. More kills than anyone in HYDRA history." Bucky went on, Diana drew closer to him, getting started on releasing his arm from the vice, "And that was before the serum."

"They all turn out like you?" Sam asked. Diana sent him a stern look to watch how he worded his questions.

"Worse."

"The doctor, could he control them?" Steve asked, that was one of the biggest issues they faced, if this man had an entire death squad doing whatever he said, Diana was going to be in deep shit.

"Enough."

"Said he wanted to see an empire fall," Steve recalled as he glanced at Sam. Diana didn't hear that when they were still in custody, it must have been right before the Soldier attacked her and Sam.

"With these guys, he could do it. They speak thirty languages, can hide in plain sight, infiltrate, assassinate, destabilize," Bucky went on, he seemed almost... scared. That worried Diana, if he was scared of them, what chance did she stand? "They can take a whole country down in one night. You'd never see them coming."

Diana finally got the vice loose enough, allowing Bucky to stand up, she watched as he did and stretched, his shirt was slightly torn at the end of the sleeve that was pushed up at the elbow of his metal arm. She held her hands behind her back, keeping herself from acting on the urge to touch his arm. Diana has had issues with acting on her impulse before, something she developed from leaving her parents, but now she had to dive back to the few useful things they taught her and kept from touching Bucky. If he noticed this, he didn't say anything, making Diana grateful for it.

"This would have been a lot easier a week ago." Sam and Steve had their back to them, discussing their next option. Diana sent Bucky a small smile before joining the two.

"If we call Tony..." Diana tried, her eyebrows raised as she put the option out there.

"No, he won't believe us." Sam shook his head in dismay.

"Even if he did..." Steve spoke up, backing up Diana's idea just a bit.

"Who knows if the Accords would let him help." Sam shrugged. He was right.

Diana groaned and leaned against the wall next to them, crossing her arms as she did. Their next move would be to find a ride to Siberia, but they would have to figure out how to get to one.

"We're on our own." Steve frowned, looking over at the open doorway that showed the river he crawled out of with Bucky.

"Maybe not," Sam argued, pulling Diana's curious gaze. What did he mean by that? "I know a guy."

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THE BACKSEAT OF a Volkswagen Beetle was not meant for a super-soldier to share. Diana only discovered this when she found herself clinging to the rear drivers' side behind Steve to give her and Bucky at least some space in the compact car. Which wasn't a lot.

Diana wasn't sure why out of all the cars to steal, Steve chose this one, but she hated it. He couldn't even drive the thing well enough. He almost hit three cars getting under the bridge that they were meeting Sharon at. Steve had alerted the team that she managed to steal back all of their confiscated things. Diana just hoped that Sharon got all 86 rocks.

They were currently sitting in the car, waiting for Steve to finish talking to Sharon. Diana didn't know what would happen to the fellow blonde after, but until the "Death Squad" as Bucky put it was dealt with, she couldn't worry about Sharon. She was a big girl and she could handle herself.

"Could you move your seat up?" Bucky asked, cutting through the silence of the car.

Bucky's words pulled Diana out of her thoughts as she focused on the interior of the car. She looked over to see Bucky's knees propped at an uncomfortable angle so they didn't dig into the back of the seat.

"No," Sam responded plainly and firmly, making Diana frown.

Bucky looked over at her and she waved her hand, beckoning him to scoot closer to her. He looked back at Steve through the windshield before sighing and sliding over in the seat. Sam glanced back, shooting Diana sly grin that she returned with a sharp glare. She pretended to not know Sam's ulterior motives and chalked it up to a chokehold grudge.

Diana adjusted herself in her seat now that her and Bucky's legs were pressed into each other. She was walking on a thin line, not wanting to make Bucky think she was afraid of him, and also not wanting to make him uncomfortable with excessive touch. She was pushing it with his arm in the vice but he also needed to be at a hundred percent when on the run.

By the third time she adjusted in her seat, Bucky placed his hand on her knee. Sending her a sharp look before turning his torso slightly to the right. After that, Diana was able to miraculously find a way to comfortably sit. When she found herself settled, she looked up to see Steve and Sharon kissing by Sharon's open trunk.

"Oh I swear, Natasha owes me twenty bucks," Diana smirked. Sam chuckled at that. Surprisingly, she earned an amused snort from Bucky. She chose to ignore the way that made her feel, it wasn't like her feelings for Bucky would last for long, the guy doesn't pose a threat to her anymore, it seems she's only ever attracted to men that threaten her life.

When Sharon pulled away, they exchanged a few more words before she walked off to another car. This woman apparently just knew shit that Diana didn't.

Steve had turned back to see the three smiling faces of the occupants of the car. He gave them a smile, as if to say "come on, guys." Diana was definitely going to collect her 20 dollars one way or another.

• • •

STEVE'S TERRIBLE DRIVING had Diana feeling carsick for the first time in her life ever. She never understood how people could be on the verge of puking until she got into the bug with Steve behind the wheel. After another terrible turn in the parking garage of a German airport, Diana's saving grace was in the form of a white van full of people that could help.

Steve had called up Clint, who despite having Natasha on the other side of this, decided to step in and help, he seemed particularly keen on not having a super soldier death squad being woken up and taking down countries. Clint had gotten Wanda out of the compound that Tony wasn't allowing her to leave, and they picked up a man from San Francisco that Sam claims can get to be as small as an ant. Diana had to see that shit.

When the car was clear, Diana managed to crawl out of the backseat, her knees cracking once more now that she was able to stand up properly. She didn't think twice before rushing over to Wanda and giving the girl a hug.

"Cap." Clint regarded as he came around the back of the van, giving Steve a handshake.

"You know I wouldn't have called If I had any other choice." Steve said in response.

"Hey man, you're doing me a favor." When Clint and Steve broke away, Diana moved over to hug Clint, she hadn't seen him in a while, so it was nice to see him again despite the circumstances, "Besides, I owe a debt."

When they pulled away, Diana turned and faced Steve, she looked past his shoulder to see Bucky leaned against the car, his chest almost completely towering over the roof. God, he was tall.

"Thanks for having my back." Steve said to Wanda, pulling Diana from her stare. She hoped Bucky hadn't noticed.

"It was time to get off my ass." Wanda shrugged. Diana looked at her brown haired friend, a look shared between them in silent conversation. Diana just wanted to make sure Wanda was actually okay, from the look she got, she was.

Diana broke into a grin and pushed her shoulder into Wanda's, shivering when a gust of wind blew through the airport, crashing against her shoulders. She hated the tank they gave her. All it did was give Bucky a sneak peak of scars that he gave her against his will.

"How about our other recruit?" Steve asked, making Diana look to the van where she presumed the "Ant-Man" was.

"He's rarin' to go. Had to put a little coffee in him, but..." Clint opened the door to the van, with a loud clang, the man shot up, looking around as he seemed to be startled from a nap, "he should be good."

"What timezone is this?" He asked as he got out of the car. His haircut was similar to Steve's, but he had brown, almost black hair which made the blue of his eyes stand out.

The man's flannel flapped with the fist of wind that fueled through when he moved. He squinted as his eyes adjusted to the light. They widened when he registered the fact that he was looking at Steve, it brought a smile to Diana's face.

"Captain America." He seemed dazed at everything but still managed to shake Steve's hand in a rather firm matter.

"Mr. Lang." Steve nodded as he returned the shake. They were still shaking hands.

"It's an honor." He gushed. Diana looked over at SMA who seemed to be smiling as much as she was, "I'm shaking your hand too long." - Scott, as Sam had told her, had finally removed his hand, but he was still gushing -"Wow! This is awesome! Captain America." He looked back at Wanda and Diana after doing a double take- "I know you guys, too. You're great!" -Scott turned back once more and put his hands on Steve's shoulders, squeezing slightly before dropping them, Diana dropped her jaw- "Jeez. Ah, look, I wanna say, I know you know a lot of super people, so... thinks for thanking of me."

Scott took a moment to look around Steve and put a finger gun at Sam, "Hey, man!"

"What's up, Tic Tac?"

"Uh, good to see you. Look, what happened last time when I-"

"It was a great audition, but it'll..." Sam chuckled, shaking his head, "it'll never happen again."

"They tell you what we're up against?" Steve asked, redirecting the conversation, they didn't have a lot of time to see the Scott and Sam catch up.

"Something about some... psycho-assassins?"

"We're outside the law on this one." Steve warned, "So, if you come with us, you're a wanted man."

"Yeah, well, what else is new?"

"We should get moving." Bucky spoke up. Diana wondered if he read her mind earlier. Did his version of the super soldier serum allow him to read minds?

Breath if you can read my mind, she thought, narrowing her eyes as she watched the rise and fall of his shoulders when he breathed, knew it.

"We got a chopper lined up." Clint advised.

That made Diana nervous, could a helicopter survive Siberian snow? She figured that she may not be up to date enough on helicopter technology to be nervous about it. The crackling intercom stopped her nerves in its tracks as the conversation paused, everyone looking up as they listened.

"Dies ist eine Notsituation. Alle Passagiere müssen den Flughafen sofort evakuieren." Diana had no idea what that worker just said, but she had a feeling that the trained assassin might as she looked at him after the announcement stopped.

"They're evacuating the airport." He explained when he noticed the multiple pairs of eyes on him.

"Stark." Sam frowned, looking at Diana as if to say "this just sucks."

"Stark?" Scott asked, looking over at Wanda as if she would explain it to him.

Steve looked around at the team they assembled. Diana could see the commanding look crawl its way onto his features and she knew that he fell back into form.

"Suit up."

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2.9k words

y'all KNOW what's about to happen. And I'm so excited for it!!!
Scott and Diana have officially met!! Peter and Diana are gonna meet in the next chapter!! I'm so excited for you to see the surprise that I have in the next chapter because boy oh boy you have no idea what I plan on doing it and it's so funny!

also :/ diana's an official war criminal :/ that's so sad. But at least she gets pardoned in a couple years! It builds character, she'll be fine.

maybe...

Thank you all so much for reading and I'll see you at the next update!

-greta