I'm so sorry this has taken so long, life got in the way: AS levels and all. I got 3A's though so it as worth it I suppose... Anyways enjoy! Xx

First things first: who was I? Who were these people? What was I doing with them? The car eased to a stop outside of a tall building with an "A" on the balcony. Yet none of the questions seemed to matter as a guard opened the car door for me. I had a mission and I had to complete it. I had nothing else.

"Your target is in that tower, soldier." The same man from the base pointed to the front doors which shone in the rising sun of the morning.

I opened the door. Time for my mission. I walked through an empty reception into a lift. No danger. No one was in the living area at all.

"Soldier, we've tapped into their system. You may want to listen in to their conversation." My ear piece vibrated through my head.

I waited as the line cleared - the static fading - pressing the ear piece further into my ear.

"The cellphone's moving again," a husky voice announced. Wait, did I know that voice? Of course not, that was ridiculous.

"Mr Barnes, could she really travel that fast?" A deep voice asked.

"She's heading towards us, Fury - she's in the building." The husky voice again.

"Shit," the deep voice snapped. "Avengers be ready, I don't think Zoe's going to play nice. Now remember she'll have no recollection of who you guys are so be prepared to fight but be careful not to hurt her too much." Who the hell was Zoe?

"But I do not want to hurt maiden Zoe," a gravely voice replied.

"But she's going to want to hurt you," a female voice argued, her voice cracking at the end of the sentence. Did I know that voice? Was I supposed to know that voice?

"Mr Stark, Miss Frost is inside the lift." A computer voice announced in the lift - an Irish accent. They knew I was here. They knew who I was... At least I think I was Miss Frost. Again, that didn't matter.

My mission, that's all that mattered. I pushed my sunglasses up my nose. Two abrupt clicks sounded in the lift as I tilted my head from left to right. Another two clicks followed suit as I clicked my knuckles.

The lift chimed as the doors opened. I stepped out, scanning the environment. I was surrounded by  a group of wannabe superheroes - capes, skintight suits and bright colours. They didn't seem overly threatening, their poses almost neutral. They weren't going to fight unless provoked.

"Zoe?" A tall man with shoulder-length brown hair and blue eyes stepped out from behind a computer desk. Stubble ghosted his face and dark circles were under his eyes. "It's me - Bucky."

"Who the hell is Zoe?" I stepped forward, glaring at the man. I brushed my hand across my gun, watching those around me.

The man's face fell - sapphire eyes falling to the floor and the corners of his mouth dropping.

I felt my heart sink. Wait, what? I didn't know him. Or did I? Of course I didn't. I shook my head, snapping my gaze away from the man.

"Miss Frost, please put your weapons down. I don't want this to come to a fight." A black man with sunglasses stepped in front of the heroes. Fury. The deep voice. My mission. He was just as harsh as he had appeared in his photo - his one good eye as unnerving as being glared at by two.

I reached for my gun. The cool metal balanced in my palm - "make it a spectacle" I'd been told, "show them HYDRA has not been reduced to ashes".

"Miss Frost, don't." Fury put his hands up. "Please," he added as if it would persuade me. Stop me from pulling the trigger. "After all you've been through don't do this to yourself, to Barnes."

I aimed for his heart. Everyone fell silent, all eyes on me. I pulled the trigger. My arm shook. "I don't know you," I snapped, turning away from Fury as the bullet found its target. "I don't know any of you."

The bullet hit Fury's shoulder. Dammit. I wasn't supposed to miss.

"I know you..." Fury pressed a hand to his bleeding shoulder, wincing. "And I know you don't miss your target. Your records tell me that, the statistics blatantly show you never miss. So tell me, was that a warning shot?"

I stood silently, pointing the gun at him. Some invisible force was stopping me from pulling the trigger. "Don't." Now I had voices in my head. "Friend." I pushed the voice away, it was only a whisper and I didn't need it.

"What did you come here for?" Fury took another step towards me.

I chucked the gun on the floor in fake surrender. "To kill you." I leaped at Fury, pressing him to the floor, my dagger to his throat.

"Go on then," Fury laughed. He didn't struggle. He didn't even flinch as I pushed the dagger harder against his throat. His brown eyes simply stared up at me - waiting. But what for? "Kill me, Zoe Frost, like the monster HYDRA want you to be."

None of the other heroes moved, watching me. They were waiting for her to break through the soldier, to save him.

"No, he's innocent!" The voice screeched as if on cue. Who the hell was in my head?

Fury's brown eyes stared into mine. "Well?"

I stood up, dropping the dagger to the floor. "Stupid innocence," I muttered, walking back to the lift.

"Zoe." The blue-eyed man croaked.

I turned around, now in the lift. "I don't know who that bitch is, but she's getting on my nerves telling me what to do." I hit the lift buttons with my fist. Nothing happened.

Fury sat up, coughing. "You're fighting back, you're just trying not to remember who you are. You know what you're doing is wrong, stop denying yourself the truth."

"What am I supposed to be fighting? What am I supposed to remembering?" I snapped, hitting the buttons again.

The lift doors closed, but not before I heard the blue eyed man speak again: "Yourself."

I stood in the lift, arms crossed. Music drifted out of the speakers: "Try to hear my voice, You can leave, now it's your choice. Maybe if I fall asleep, I won't breathe right. Maybe if I leave tonight, I won't come back."

I knew this song: 'Hear me by Imagine dragons'. The memory made my head tingle. Where did I know it from though?

"Can nobody hear me? I got a lot that's on my mind? I cannot breathe. Can you hear it, too?" The irony considering I was hearing things.

"You're on the wrong side," echoed in my head. "You're-"

I took the ear piece out of my ear, shoving it into my pocket.

"I'm in your head. I'm you." That would explain why the voice seemed familiar...

I stepped out of the building. I'd failed my mission. Shit.

"Ha, ha." Great, she was back again."If you're going to pick a side may as well be on the winning one."

"Shut up, bitch," I muttered, heading for the black van that had dropped me off.

"You're going to get locked up talking to yourself." The voice was taunting and made my head tingle like the memory had.

Wait, she said yourself... She was me? Not a computer in my head... How?

***

"What happened to kill him?"

I stood rigid as I was questioned. Two guards stood in the room along with the same man from before. His badges gleamed in the light - a skull with tentacles the most prominent design. Rust coloured liquid covered the badge: blood.

"I said what happened to kill Nick Fury?!" The man yelled, standing closer to me.

"The Avengers," I answered, clenching and unclenching my fists.

"Why didn't you kill them?"

"You didn't tell me to, they weren't my mission." I shrugged. It felt natural - like something I'd done a hundred times before now. I tried not to jump as something vibrated in my bra. What the hell was that?

"Take her away, I'll give her a second chance." The man waved his hand as I was led to a dark cell.

From what I could see there were no cameras, no one to watch me. The door was made of corrugated iron and there were no windows in the cell. I reached and took out a mobile phone. A blackberry. I hated their stupid keyboards. Wait, did I? I opened it and found a text message from James Barnes.

"You know him, you love him." I ignored the voice.

What harm would it cause if I texted back? He'd only text 'Hey, doll.'

'Hello.' I replied.

'Are you okay?' Why did he care?

'Yes.'

'Good, hang in there Zoe. I will save you, doll, I promise.'

I wasn't replying again. I put the phone back where I had gotten it from and collapsed onto the bed. What other bullshit was coming my way now?

A knock sounded on my door before a file slid across the floor. The laminate was smooth under my fingers as I picked it up: 'Destroy the Avengers.' Well, that wasn't particularly friendly... My next mission was to make the leader weak: Captain America. Kill Sharon Carter. Easy enough, she had no biogenetic enhancements, just a plain old S.H.I.E.L.D agent. I set the file to the side, lying down.

"No!" Was being screamed in my head as I tried to sleep. "She's your best friend!"

I pulled the phone out of my bra and began to text: 'My next mission is to kill Sharon Carter.'

"Better?" I whispered into the darkness. I'd warned them, what more did the voice want? Did the old me want?

***

My head throbbed as an image flashed across my closed eyelids. A nightmare.

I lay wounded on the floor. Blood pooled around me a warm mess on the tiled floor. The blue eyed man towered above me, a single tear trailing down his cheek. A gun was in his hand. What? Pain shot through my abdomen as I scrambled back from him.

"You can't l-live," he stuttered, the gun shaking in his left hand. "I have to do this, there's no part of you left anymore. HYDRA destroyed Zoe and left you in her place."

I looked up at him from the floor. "P-please, there's still some part of me left."

The gun dropped slightly. Tears shone in the man's eyes as he swallowed.

I jumped up and grabbed the gun. It slid out of his hand easily. Within seconds I was pointing it at his chest. He punched my hand with his metal fist, smashing my fingers. The gun fell to the floor with a clatter. I fell to my knees, cradling my hand to my chest.

The blue eyed man knocked me down onto my back, grabbing the gun from where it had fallen. He placed his finger on the trigger. "I'm sorry, doll. It's what you wanted, Operation 006. I trust you, God, I always trusted you. I hope you're right about this." His blue eyes held my gaze a moment longer, tears clinging to his eyes. "I love you, Zoe." He pulled the trigger - a deafening, solitary bang.

My chest. It was on fire, pain crippled me. I fell back, my head hitting the floor. I was dying...

I shot up, chucking my covers to the side. Droplets of sweat trailed down my neck. The ice cold liquid running down my spine made me shiver. I shook my head, trying to shake the image away. "Was that you?" I really shouldn't talk to myself.

"No, you had a nightmare," the voice replied almost sleepily.

"And what was that?" I whispered harshly. It seemed far too real. I dug my fingers into my hair, leaning my forehead onto my palms.

"That was you dying. You'll come back though, the super soldier serum is advanced, you can't die. Bang. Bang. Bang. Not dead. Imagine if that fell into the wrong hands, you could kill everyone. You'd be - well you are - basically immortal. People could use it against you and others."

"So why haven't-"

"Shut up stupid! They don't know." The voice disappeared. This was getting even more confusing... Why was I even remembering things in the first place?

I pushed my hair out of my face, standing up and knocking on the door. Guards led me to the bathroom. The base was a rundown warehouse in God know's where, very few people were here and the ones who were barely spoke, barely moved. What was this place?

***

Standing in front of a mirror, I brushed my teeth. My hair was now pulled back into a rough ponytail, my mask around my neck. Sunglasses tucked on my new black top.

"Hello, soldier." The same man as yesterday walked in as I put my toothbrush away. His face was worn, small crevices running across his skin. His eyes were a dark brown - cold and hard. Why was I paying attention to detail now? Was this the old me shining through? Did the guy even have a name?

"Hello, sir." I kept my voice steady - monotone. I couldn't let them know that I'd been out of cryofreeze for too long, that much I knew. But for how long?

The man stepped into my line of sight brown eyes boring into me. "Your mission, you're not going to just walk in and shoot Miss Carter. You're going to pretend that you know them and then when they least expect it, you will kill her and anyone who gets in our way. You're going to hurt them all, especially the Winter soldier."

I nodded. "Yes, sir."

"No, no, please don't! Please," the voice begged in my head. I ignored her.

"We'll drop you off near the tower." The man tapped my shoulder. "If you fail this mission, I will personally see to you finally knowing what excruciating pain means. As well as that lovely man, Bucky, he will die by your hands too. And just as you pull the trigger I'll make sure you remember who he is to you, well... Who he was." The man grinned at me, saluting. "Hail HYDRA."

"Hail HYDRA," I answered. Remember who he is to you... They'd wiped my memory. But why? The voice had been right.

"Told you, you were on the wrong side." For once I actually thought the bitch was right, so I let her in.

I let what little I had of her trickle into my mind. One word burned through most of my thoughts as she slowly took ahold of me: Bucky. Who was he though?

"This way, soldier."

I turned to see someone leading me to a garage.

The voice sighed. "You need to tell Bucky about Operation 006, it's the only way they'll ever be safe again."

I nodded. Whatever Operation 006 was at least people would be safe, Sharon would be safe. My best friend... I hated this. I hated not knowing.

***

My hair flew out behind me, the bike speeding along the highway. I knew their names, their faces but I had no idea about their attachment to me. Sharon. Bucky. Becky. Sam. Steve. Tony. They all rang a bell, made my head tingle but I couldn't fathom out how I knew them? I knew Sharon was my best friend, but how? When did we meet? How did we meet?

Wind whipped my face as the bike flew faster. I weaved between cars, narrowly avoiding crashing. I didn't even know who I was. Why I was with HYDRA, why my leg was made of metal and why I had to destroy the Avengers. It was all so confusing.

I could run, right now I could disappear and never come back to all of this. But I'd never know, I'd never know who I was, who Bucky was, why HYDRA had control of me.  I knew were my only answer was, and that was in the Avengers tower, where my mission was.

***

The tower was silent as I waited patiently in the lift. No mask. Sunglasses balanced on my nose to hide my eyes. My leather trousers and jacket were tight, defending my flesh yet making it easy to move. . Is double leather as sinful as double denim?

The lift pinged. Everyone would be waiting for me outside of these doors. I knew all of their names, their faces, yet I felt no emotion towards them. I felt nothing. The one difference between Zoe and me.

The lift doors opened slowly as I stepped out. I scanned the room warily: one man sat in the room, blue eyes glued to a computer screen. His hair hung in his eyes and stubble decorated his face.

I took another step forward, my boots squeaking on the tiles. I knew he'd heard me enter the room the minute the lift doors opened... So why hadn't he looked up?

"Bucky?" My words hung in the air - tense and awkward.

"Yes, it's me." He pressed his hands against the table, pressing himself up. Each step of his was calculated and slow. He seemed tentative, cautious. "I know you're not you yet, that you probably only remember our names. I know what it's like, doll."

My arms shook as I stepped closer to him. My heart pounded, thoughts raced. "Bucky, I need you to do me a favour," I whispered. Well, the old me a favour. I was so close to him now, his breath intermingling with mine. Being this close to him it awakened something inside of me, like every single piece of my being was on fire. It was as if I'd stood with him a hundred times before, perhaps even closer to him.

"What do you need?" Bucky raised his eyebrows, tilting his head at me.

I turned away from him, looking out at the balcony. "I'm in control now, but I need you to kill me when I lose it, when HYDRA wipe my memory again. I still don't fully remember who you guys are, who I am. Like you said just names and faces," I whispered. "Operation 006, I'm more dangerous than you'll ever be."

"What? No!" Bucky stepped back from me. At least S.H.I.E.L.D had taught him something useful. "I can't kill you, doll."

"No, you don't understand," I pleaded, taking a step towards him. I did the only thing that seemed right: I hugged him. "Ears are everywhere Bucky. I have to kill Sharon. She's my mission. Okay? HYDRA will wipe me and then you have to kill me. Give her my blood, I promise it'll be alright. The blood transfusion will save her. Please James -" my voice cracked. I hugged him tighter - there was something about his warmth, it was comforting. "You have to trust me. The old me, she's been talking to me in my head. I don't understand it but I know that what I'm doing is wrong. That HYDRA is bad. I just want this to all be over. You have to trust me, please."

"I can't kill you." Bucky held me at arms length, blue eyes staring into my green ones. "You can't kill Sharon either. I know you can't, you're not that far gone. You can't be."

I shook my head. "I have to kill her. I can't put you in danger, everyone in danger. You have to trust me, you have to." I couldn't kill everyone in this building. Well I could, but something inside me told me I didn't want to.

"I trust you doll, do what you have to do." Bucky squeezed the tops of my arms. "But what happens after you've killed her, after the blood transfusion?"

"Zoe!" I let go of Bucky to see Sharon. Her face broke into a smile as she ran at me. Her hair was out of place and she looked as if she'd been running. What had she been doing?

"Hey, Sharon." I smiled as she hugged me. She smelt of Holister spray and something familiar - something warm and welcoming.

"You can't do this," the voice snapped.

"Sharon get back, she might be putting it on." Fury appeared in the doorway, his gaze landing on me. "When are you going to kill her?"

Never had a gun felt so heavy in my pocket. I could focus on nothing else, just the weight of it on my leg holster.

"It's alright, it's her." Bucky now stood in front of me, his shoulder muscles tensing. "You trust me, right Fury? Then you have to trust her too."

My chest hurt, I wanted to tell them no. Don't trust me. I'm going to kill Sharon. Why was Bucky defending me? He knew what I had to do.

"Why does HYDRA have to kill him?" The voice sounded weary.

"You sure?" Fury stared at me as he walked into the living room.

"Fury you're just going to have to trust me on this one." I stepped around Bucky. "And about the whole, I'm going to kill you incident. It must have been my time of the month." I moved closer to Sharon.

"Sharon, get back!" Steve was pushing me away from her. Finally! Someone sensible. At least he took my text message seriously.

"Steve, she's okay." Bucky took Steve by the shoulders.

"No I'm not chancing it." Before I could even register the cuffs they were on my wrists. I wouldn't trust me. Steve had broken Bucky's grip and was now glaring down at me.

I closed my eyes as my senses screamed at me to attack. The back of my neck tingled. My heart rate increased.

"Zoe?" Sharon asked as I pushed my sunglasses further up my nose.

I was close to losing control. The cuffs were annoying me. The red vision was slowly creeping back into my life, and I knew this time I wouldn't be able to stop it.

"Calm down, it's okay," Sharon whispered.

I squeezed my eyes tighter together as I began to shake.

"Calm down." Easier said than done Sharon.

I heard Steve protesting then "Zoe." Someone was holding my hands. It was Sharon. "You're safe." When we lived together as flat mates and I got aggravated that's all Sharon used to say and eventually I would calm down. Before the serum, before I joined the army. "Safe." Wait... I'd remembered something!

I let my eyebrows unknot themselves and a smile appear on my face. "Safe," I whispered. I wiggled my wrists. "The cuffs - I don't like them. Please take them off."

"Of course you don't because they're stopping you from killing her!" The voice shouted.

"The key." Sharon held her hand out to Steve.

"No," Steve mumbled, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Please, Steve whatever she does it'll be my own fault." Sharon stood taller. "You know what this is like Steve, she's my best friend, she's my Bucky. I'm with her 'till the end of the line. I trust her with my life." Her words were a blow to my chest. The voice in my head had fallen silent... How was I supposed to kill my best friend?

"No, Sharon." Steve didn't move, his blue gaze fixed on his girlfriend.

"Why don't we take the cuffs off, and then put her in a room that's locked and supervised." It was Fury, of all people, who had spoken. "Let's use our intelligence not our emotions here, Miss Carter."

I nodded my head. That way I wouldn't be able to kill Sharon, Bucky or anyone. The voice remained silent, she seemed to agree.

"She's not an animal!" Sharon protested.

I laughed. "In all technicalities I act-"

"Shut up Zoe, I'm trying to help you!" Sharon snapped.

"Operation 006," I muttered, staring down at my boots.

"What?" Sharon looked at me her mouth falling open slightly. Her eyes had widened, completely focused on me.

I just nodded my head at Sharon.

"Who else knows?" Sharon caught my gaze, her brown eyes wide.

"TWS."

Sharon tucked her hair behind her ears, nodding her head. "Okay..." Sharon hugged me, holding me tightly. "I understand, but only if you're sure Zoe, if there's no other way out of this."

I sighed, stepping out of Sharon's grasp. "There's no other way, Sharon. I know what I'm doing."

The back of my head tingled. Operation 006 was created years ago if another Winter soldier surfaced; it was the one where I had to die. I was the Winter soldier who had surfaced. TWS had to kill me. TWS - the Winter soldier: Bucky.

"What are you talking about?" Steve was getting frustrated.

The whole of the Avengers stood at the side of the room, watching me. None of them wore their armour, had weapons. In fact, most of them looked sad.

"I can't tell you." Sharon couldn't look at Steve. Her blonde hair had fallen into her eyes, her gaze on the floor.

"Why the secrets Sharon?" Steve asked, a slight frown on his face. His voice hadn't been harsh as I'd expected it to be, instead it was understanding, gentle.

"Because if this one falls into the wrong hands there's no telling what could happen." Sharon rubbed my shoulder, meeting my gaze. "Someone might try to stop it from happening."

"Someone such as HYDRA?" Steve asked.

"Yes."

"They've already got her, so why haven't they found out now?" Fury raised his eyebrow at Sharon.

"It's complicated," I muttered. "Anyway... My room?"

I was led to the lift by Bruce, Steve, Thor and Bucky. They didn't trust me on my own with Sharon, on my own with anyone. How many of them knew about my mission?

"So how's everyone?" I asked as the lift doors closed.

No reply.

"That's good to hear you're all great. I'm alright, yeah, thanks for asking. I just can't remember how I met any of you..."

"You kill Sharon or anyone, I will kill you," Steve said, his back still to me. "I won't hesitate."

"So you should. But what happens if it's you that I kill?" I asked.

Silence.

"What secret is Sharon keeping for you, maiden Zoe?" Thor asked his arms crossed. He stood on my left side, intimidatingly tall.

"One which could control life and death." A small hint.

"You are a sorceress?" Thor asked.

"No, not quite."

"What are your powers?" Bruce asked, nervously playing with his hands.

"I don't have any." I shrugged.

"That all I'm gonna get?" He asked, catching my gaze.

"I've already given you a clue, which you've failed to see." I shrugged, struggling with the cuffs.

"Life and death..." I heard Bucky mutter under his breath.

"Secrets, they can make or break you," I said leaning forward on the balls of my feet. "But sometimes they're better kept, for the sake of everyone."

I saw Bucky nod slightly. I couldn't kill my best friend but I couldn't let HYDRA make me kill Bucky. I guess I had to change one of those couldn'ts, but which one? Sharon was more likely to come back from the dead knowing that she had no serum in her system.

"You remind me of Loki," Steve muttered.

I stared at the Captain's back. "You remind me of this guy... He's called Captain America, have you heard of him?"

"What are you doing?" The voice snapped.

"No, I haven't," Steve snapped.

"He's basically what he says on the tin: righteous and all that crap but he has a flaw you see... He doesn't believe that others can be more than what they choose to be. Tony for example, I know you think he always tries to take the easy way out of things but he doesn't. He fights for what he thinks is right. I guess the Cap's just a little old-fashioned in his thinking is all."

The Captain's shoulders tensed but he didn't speak.

I let out a whistle. "Oh, and one more thing - Sharon's way out of the Cap's league."

The voice made a frustrated noise. "Seriously what the hell are you doing?"

"Please be quiet, Zoe," Steve warned me - anger clipped his voice and his fists clenched by his sides.

"Why? Can't you hit a woman?" I snapped.

Steve leaped, pressing me to the wall of the lift. "And you can kill your best friend? We've all seen the text message. She's your mission and I know you won't stop until you finish it."

"Didn't you have to contemplate that once?" I glared at him. "You don't have to choose between the two people which mean the most to you. I may not remember Sharon or Bucky very well but I know they mean the most to me. Come on, Steve, if I was Bucky would you have let Fury do this?" I lifted my cuffs up to show Steve. "Don't you dare say no, Steve."

"Don't drag me into this," Bucky snapped, pulling Steve off of me. "Keep your mouth shut, soldier."

"Or what?" I raised my eyebrow at him.

"I'll sedate you." Bruce tapped his pocket.

"I'm so scared," I muttered, rolling my eyes. "And you should be too. Something's coming, something bigger than you, than all of us.  A war which will end all wars. HYDRA have a weapon that once they understand, will mean the death of so many innocent lives. And believe me, you don't want me as the enemy when it-"

Something stabbed my arm. Bruce had sedated me. That was good really...

"Thank you," Steve muttered as I slid to the floor, my limbs resembling jelly.

"What strange ways you have of making your people sleep," I heard Thor mutter as I blacked out.

***

I'd only been out a for a few minutes before the darkness shook, before pain gripped ahold of my body. It felt like I was burning. I bit my tongue resisting the urge to scream. Someone kept a tight of hold of me as I struggled. Shocks laced my spine. I was being wiped. No. Shit. No.

And then it stopped, it wasn't enough to cause damage, but my head hurt.

A voice was in my ear. "You've remembered too much, soldier. If you do not do as we say I will change your mission. You will kill Barnes if you do not follow your orders."

Another shock bolted through my head.

"Your mission is to kill Sharon Carter. You would do well to remember it, soldier."

"HYDRA," a voice whispered.

My surroundings shuddered once before stopping quickly.

I opened my eyes. The cuffs groaned as I pulled them apart, the metal shattering to the floor.

"Sharon." A Steve hit the door with his fist.

I spun around hitting Thor in the face, twisting out of his arms and pushing him against the wall.

"Maiden Zoe?" He stumbled back confused.

"Nothing personal, Thor." I raised my fist to hit him again.

Someone grabbed my arms, restraining me. "Hey, calm down. You're safe, soldier," he whispered in my ear. "Doll, stop fighting us we're on the same side."

I struggled against Bucky. I had to kill Sharon.

"They've shocked her, I don't know how much she remembers," Steve whispered. "And I don't know what HYDRA have told her. I want eyes on her at all times."

Bruce sighed, struggling to get something out of his pocket. Another sedative.

"No, don't, Bruce. She might be able to help us," Bucky spoke from behind me.

"Let go of me!" I struggled against his arms. "Get off!"

"Doll." Bucky's lips touched my earlobe, his voice low. "If you want to complete your mission then you're going to have to cooperate."

I nodded my head.

Bucky let go.

I stumbled forwards before regaining my balance. "HYDRA... Shit."

"We're stuck." Steve hit the lift door again. "And they're in danger."

"No we're not stuck." I touched the door. "Friday?" Stark's computer system had to respond.

"Yes, Miss Frost?"

"What's happening upstairs?"

"Everyone is being held hostage upstairs, Miss Frost." They'd used the helicopters to get onto the balcony. HYDRA weren't idiots. It had all been in my file the other night.

"Can you put my voice through to the living room please?"

"Yes."

"Hail HYDRA."

A metal hand clamped over my mouth. "What the hell are you doing, doll?" It was Bucky.

I pulled his hand away from my mouth. "Getting us out of here," I whispered. "I can't remember very well, but I still have morals."

Bucky unclamped my mouth.

"I have Captain America, Thor, the Hulk and the Winter soldier in the lift. What would you like me to do with them, sir?"

The sound system crackled. "Bring them to me, soldier."

"Yes, sir."

The speakers crackled before the lift went silent. "Right, we all go to the floor below and then two climb up, while the others take the different flights of stairs so we can hit HYDRA at all angles." I hit the lift button. So I'll have a better chance at killing Sharon...

The lift doors opened. Two HYDRA agents pointed their guns at the guys behind me. I stepped out of the lift and touched the two agents' guns. I pulled both of the guns forward, hitting them both in the face. The agents crumpled to the floor with a clatter.

Cries sounded from my right, ten agents were running towards us.

"Bruce..?" I stepped to the side of the lift doors.

Bruce nodded, taking his glasses off as his skin turned green. The Hulk tore through the agents within a matter of seconds. Everyone was now looking at me, waiting for orders.

I stepped forward. "Let's go kick HYDRA's arse."

"What do you want us to do?" Bucky asked. Thor stood on his left and the Hulk on his right.

"Thor and Bucky take the stairs on the left. I'll take the balcony," I ordered. "Hulk take the stairs on the right."

Steve was staring at me. "I still don't trust you. And anyway the balcony?"

"Scared of heights?" I asked.

Steve shook his head, blonde hair out of place. "No."

"Then you're climbing with me." I took out my dagger. "I know you won't let me go alone."

"Get up the stairs guys, we'll meet you there," Steve ordered, loading a gun. "Bucky, what did she tell you about saving Sharon?" The way he looked at Bucky was the way Sharon had looked at me - trust, love and loyalty.

"Her blood can heal Sharon. I believe her, Steve." Bucky put his hands on Steve's shoulders. I felt the urge to turn away as if what I looked upon was a private intimate moment. "What ever happens up there, trust her."

"Why would Sharon need healing though? I'm not gonna let anything happen to her." Steve didn't blink, his posture rigid.

"Sometimes things need to happen for a reason -" Bucky looked over to me and then back at Steve. "- Even if you don't want them too or you know you can't do it, sometimes you have to do it. Trust me, Steve."

"I do trust you, Bucky, I always have." Steve touched the back of Bucky's neck, leaning to touch foreheads. "'Till the end of the line."

Bucky's lopsided smirk spread across his face. "'Till the end of the line, buddy."

"Let's go." I smashed the window with a small table, placing a bomb onto the window. "If you don't want anything to happen to Sharon, then you're going to have to hurry the hell up and stop having a mother's meeting." Glass shattered all around me. It stuck in my hair and on my clothes.

"Doll, be careful." Bucky caught my gaze, nodding his head. His blue eyes shone for a brief moment before he blinked, his Adam's apple bobbing in his throat.

"Always am." I nodded, trying to banish the lump in my throat. "You too."

I drove my dagger into the floor above to create a hand hold. I pulled myself up, going sideways to kick the glass in above. Glass crunched underneath me as I rolled into the living room, closely followed by Steve. I had to get to Sharon before HYDRA did.

My dagger was already in my hand, having grabbed it from the floor when I rolled in. I stay crouched on the floor, watching the scene in front of me: ten guards were being taken down by the Cap, Bucky, the Hulk and Thor. Sharon and the rest of the Avengers sat unable to move surrounded by electric force fields.

"Miss Frost." A woman stood in the middle of the room, half of her face made of metal, a small red star on her cheek. Her hair was in a braid on her right side.

"Who are you?" I asked, straightening up. No, it couldn't be Becky.

"You don't remember your own sister?" The woman smirked.

"Becky," I whispered. "She's dead."

"You can't stay out of the limelight can you!" The woman rolled up her sleeves, her arms were metal. She was dangerous.

"What do you mean limelight?" I stepped forward, getting Peggy's gun out of the holster on my hip, pointing it at her.

"You won't shoot me." The metal woman's face glinted in the lights.

"I'm not here to shoot you, bitch," I snapped, holding my gun steady. It glinted under the lights as something flickered inside of me - guilt. Everything was suddenly in agonising detail: the fear in Sharon's eyes, the sounds of fighting around me and the intricate details of the warped metal in my hand. The metal designed for only one purpose: to murder. The real me stepped back, I couldn't do this.

My ear piece crackled. The back of my neck tingled - the sensation I would get right before HYDRA shocked me. "Your mission, soldier. Kill her, now."

A shot sounded.

My gun smoked.

I looked to Sharon. Crimson wept through her shirt, from the hole in her stomach. Her mouth fell open. "Zoe?"

I took a step towards Sharon. All I needed to do was get my blood to her.

"Ahhhhhhh!" The metal woman leaped at me. I caught her around the throat, throwing her across the room. Her back connected with the wall with a sickening crunch.

I'd just killed my best friend. What had I done?

Steve's gun hit me in the face. "What the hell are you doing?!"

I stumbled backwards, the murder weapon still in my hand. "One day you'll understand."

"Understand what? You killed her!" Steve was getting ready to pull the trigger, his gun aimed at my forehead.

"Steve!" Bucky yelled from across the room, hitting a guard with his left fist. "Don't kill her."

The fake sister woman was behind the Captain, her eyes on me.

"Duck!" I yelled, pulling his gun out of his grasp and leaping over him. His gun fell to the floor.

A crack sounded through the room as my first connected with the flesh of the woman's face. She was a clone, made to look like my sister... That's what I was persuading myself.

I put the gun to its temple, pulling the trigger. The clone fell to the floor. Dead. Well, not working as it wasn't alive in the first place.

"I had to Rogers." I didn't deserve to call him Steve. I didn't turn to look at him. I stared down at the body in front of me. "I had to kill her."

A cough sounded. Sharon. She was dying alone - her blood pooling on the floor around her.

"Go over to her, she can't die alone." I held my gun tighter unable to let go it, watching as Steve cradled Sharon, blood pouring from her stomach.

I stood awkwardly in the centre of the chaos, unable to move, to breath. This was my fault. My gun made a dull thud, breaking the silence in the room.

Bucky caught my gaze. "Now?"

I nodded, a single tear falling down my cheek. "Kill me," I mouthed.

Bucky raised his gun, arm shaking. I kept his gaze, this was it. It was the end of my borrowed time.

"No, don't kill her!" Fury was standing up. "She needs to be trialed and questioned."

Banner had taken down the electric force fields keeping the rest of the Avengers in place.

"Please," I croaked.

Bucky looked to Steve - his best friend. I couldn't ask him to choose.

"No," Steve snapped. All of the kindness the Captain possessed disappeared, instead anger and hatred dripped from his voice. "The living aren't done with her yet."

Bucky dropped the gun.

"Maybe not now but when the time is right..." I took a step towards Bucky. "You have to kill me." I can't live with myself knowing what I've done.

"Bullshit, soldier." Fury was walking over to me. "You're not going to Hell yet."

Sharon stirred in Steve's arms. She was very pale, her lips blue. Her eyes were closed, her breathing shallow.

"Stay with me Sharon, please don't leave me," Steve croaked. "Please."

Sharon reached up, stroking Steve's cheek. "I love you Steve. You have to forgive Zoe, she always acts for a reason." She smiled up at him, her eyes drinking in his face. "I still trust her."

"Sharon..." Steve cried as her eyes fluttered closed.

"You're a criminal." Fury took his gun out of his holster. "And you're gonna be punished for your sins."

I snatched the gun off of him, it skidded along the floor. I tried to stop the tears as I kicked him to the floor. I had to get shot. I had to die.

I ran for Sharon's body.

Thor ran at me. I ducked out of his grasp, kicking him in the ribs with my right foot.

I kept running towards Sharon. "I have to get my blood to her."

"No, doll." I stopped looking to Bucky. He took out a gun, aiming it at me. "Not now." A shot sounded.

I fell to the floor as pain spidered up my left leg. No. No. No. This was not how it was supposed to end!

I gripped my left leg, falling onto my back.

Bucky knelt beside me, his hands hovering above my leg.

"You have to get my blood to her," I whispered. "All of it, or at least most of it. A transfusion."

Bucky nodded, taking a needle out of his pocket. I winced the needle penetrating my skin. Crimson filled the needle. "I'll get this to her, I promise."

"Please kill me when no one else is watching," I begged. "I'll need to be dead for the blood to work in both her system and mine."

"No." Bucky's jaw tensed as he shook his head.

"I can't save her otherwise." I went to stand up.

"It's over Zoe, if it's even you I'm talking to." Bucky tried to stop me from standing up. It wasn't Zoe he was talking to. I had tried to listen to the voice in my head but she'd gone quiet after I'd been shocked. What if I'd lost myself? He pulled me closer. "When I get a moment alone, we'll talk about getting your blood to her but for now... I can't be seen to trust you anymore." Something warm touched my palm. Bucky had given me the needle with my blood. Yes.

"No, no it's not over." I scrambled away from Bucky, careful not to break the needle.

"Of course it's over!" Bucky shouted. The sound scared me, his voice making the floor vibrate. "I can't believe I trusted you."

"You have to trust me." I stood up and hobbled over to Sharon, grabbing her wrist. It was ice cold. The needle plunged into her skin, the red instantly disappearing. The action was over in seconds before Steve could stop me. It would keep her organs in a good enough condition until the rest of my blood got to her.

"Get away from her!" Steve pointed a gun at me. His blue eyes bore into me and in that moment I knew he wouldn't hesitate to shoot me.

"Okay, okay." I backed away, hands up. I dropped the needle to the floor. "Kill me, I know that's what you want."

"You murdered her!" Steve gently put Sharon down on the floor. He shook his head, a sadistic smile across his face. "You don't deserve to die. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't let you live with the guilt?"

"If I die I can save her." I held Steve's glare.

"Take her away, Coulson." Fury motioned for me to be cuffed.

I hung my head as cool metal met my wrists. My leg was gripped with pain, but I didn't care, not now.

"What happens if she kills him?" Steve spat.

"Because Captain, I would have killed him already. I would have murdered all of you already if that's what I wanted," I snapped. "You're doing this wrong, I can save her. If you kill me, my blood can bring her back to life. Bruce, the serum in my blood is enhanced. It can-"

"Get her and her bullshit story out of here." Fury turned to the Captain. "I'm sorry, Rogers."

"No I'm sorry." Steve glared at me. "I shouldn't have persuaded Sharon to invite her here in the first place."

I looked to Bucky. He looked away - blue eyes furious - going over to Steve. He knew. He knew I wasn't the Zoe I was when I left. But he knew I had to save Sharon, that she needed my blood.

I stood silently in the lift next to Coulson.

"Why?" He looked me in the eyes. He was an ageing man yet he still held himself strongly, his voice holding great authority.

"HYDRA were going to kill Bucky if I didn't kill her. They were going to wipe my memory and make me murder him. I may not remember who I am. Heck, I'm pretty sure I've lost who I was before all of this, before the war, but I know one thing: when HYDRA had control of me: I couldn't let them kill Bucky. There's something about him, like I've know him for a long time. I couldn't bring myself to kill him."

"So you killed your best friend?" Coulson watched my closely, his eyes searching my face.

"I can save her. My blood can bring her back. A blood transfusion will heal her, the serum in my blood is more advanced then Roger's or Bucky's." I shook my head. "Please Coulson, you have to let me help her. I can bring her back."

"I can't." Coulson held my gaze.

"You've died before." I could sense it. The way he'd shuddered when I'd mentioned bringing back Sharon.

"Yes."

I reached out and took his hand. "You wanted to die."

"Yet they brought me back." Coulson didn't pull his hand out of mine, instead he gave my hand a squeeze.

"I know what that's like, wanting to die," I whispered.

"When HYDRA found you all those years ago?" He asked.

"Yes, my body was ruined, no leg. I was tortured, all in a month." I looked at the floor. "I wanted to die, but HYDRA kept me alive. Sharon's different she didn't want to die. I had to take a life to save one. Now I can bring back the life I took. There's something I haven't told anyone else other than Bucky, it can save Sharon."

Coulson stood silently, taking his hand out of mine. He held his gun in his other hand, gripping it loosely. "Do what you have to do, kiddo."

"I'm sorry, Coulson." I snatched his gun out of his hand and placed it to his temple. "I promise I won't kill you."

"You better be right about bringing Sharon back, or I'll kill you personally myself," he said, making no move to take the gun.

"I am, I really am." I winked at him. I touched the button to open the door. My leg was still bleeding. I gritted my teeth. "Thank you, so much."

The lift pinged as the doors opened to reveal me and Coulson at gunpoint. What was I doing?

Coulson walked forward, as I jabbed him in the back. The room was mostly empty now apart from Tony and Fury.

I locked eyes with Tony. "Stark?"

He nodded.

"Could you take my blood and give it to Sharon?"

Stark walked towards me. "Barnes told me what you have to do. Bruce and Fury know too. We know it will work. But I need to know why you have to die for it to work?"

"The serum is activated when I'm injured like it is now, fixing my leg and blocking the pain. But for it to heal Sharon's injury I have to be in the same state as her. A shot to the stomach won't kill me straight away, it'll be slow but that'll give us enough time for my blood to work." I stepped around Coulson putting the gun to his temple, making me vulnerable. "It doesn't matter where the blood is as long as it's been activated it'll heal whoever it's in."

Stark nodded. "I understand, peg leg." He stepped away from me, going to stand back with Fury across the room.

Fury nodded at me.

"I'll kill him." I loaded the bullet into the barrel of the gun. "I'll kill Coulson."

A shot sounded.

I looked to Fury as I sank to my knees. He had his gun in his hand but he was at the wrong angle. The shot had come from my right. Bucky stood in the doorway, Steve by his side. Bucky's metal hand glinted as he let it fall back down to his side. He'd kept the deal. My arm flared with pain.

"Take her down to the basement and put her in a cell." Steve turned away, walking back to Sharon. "I don't want to look at her."

I pointed the gun to Steve. "Rude."

Another shot sounded. My chest flared with pain. I collapsed, darkness sweeping over me. My veins ignited as soon as the bullet came to rest. My heart had begun to beat faster already, the serum had been activated. I could only hear what was happening...

"Doll, come back to me," Bucky whispered, his metal arm cold on my skin as he lifted me up.

"She will in time, James. I'm sure of it." Coulson was by Bucky's side as we entered the lift. How many times would I go in this god damn lift?

"She promised she wouldn't kill me." Coulson. "All she wanted to do was save Sharon."

"I know, me killing Zoe was all part of the plan." Bucky. "But I still don't see why she had to kill Sharon in the first place. Even if it wasn't the Zoe I know."

"She killed her for a reason." Coulson.

"What could possibly have persuaded her to kill her best friend?" Bucky seemed shocked.

"HYDRA were going to make her kill you if she didn't kill Sharon."

"But she could have killed me and then she could have-"

"But then she wouldn't be able to live with herself, Bucky," Coulson spoke softly. "It all makes sense."

"I'm glad it does to someone," Bucky muttered.

Coulson sighed. "James, if she had killed you then she would never have been able to forgive herself, come back from being a mindless killer. If she'd put a bullet in your chest then she would have proved that she was a monster. Zoe loves you - even when they wipe her memory she remembers that one thing that allows her to come back. In Russia, here now and in the future. The feelings she has for you are most likely the strongest she's ever had. Zoe's drawn to you like a moth to a flame - no matter how many times she loses you, she'll always find her way back."

I squeezed my eyes together trying to stop the tears. The lift creaked as it arrived in the basement. I wriggled in Bucky's arms. The serum had numbed the pain in my chest but it didn't stop the guilt.

"Quick put her in the cell." Bucky placed me on a bed at Coulson's words. I hope the sheets weren't white...

"I know she's a criminal, but doesn't she deserve medical attention too?" I heard Bucky mumble as he bolted the cell shut.

"Not at the moment," Coulson's voice was muffled by the sound of a key pad and heavy doors closing. "I think she's doing pretty well by herself anyway. Super soldier serum and all."

"Coulson, what if she doesn't come-"

"Firstly it's Phil, and secondly she will." Coulson's voice was stern but kind. "Come on you're older than me, surely you've learnt by now to have a little patience."

Bucky said nothing.

I kept my eyes closed. My arm and leg were agony. My chest pure torture. It felt as if liquid fire was being pushed around my veins, burning everything inside of me.

"Stay strong," the voice whispered. "I know Bucky's plan will work."

"Let's go, I need to talk to Bruce and Tony," Bucky whispered, standing and moving away from me. A light pressure touched my forehead before footsteps echoed towards the lift. He'd kissed me...