Zemo

- - -

"So, you like cats?"

Ana smirked beside T'Challa, looking over her shoulder to Sam who sat next to Steve. The Falcon was being dead serious about it though. Steve thought it was inappropriate, and shot them both a look. He was like the disappointed father of two.

"Sam." He warned.

Ana returned her focus to the front and looked out the window. They were zooming down the roads of Berlin, heading for the Joint Counter Terrorist Centre Building. The blaring of the police sirens, the swerving of the car, and the fact that Bucky was locked up like a monster in the truck behind them, was giving her a migraine.

They took her suit, rudely might she add, and offered her a small pathetic cloth to stop the bleeding from her cut. T'Challa had insisted on holding the cloth to her arm, expressing his apologies for the way he behaved in the tunnel. Ana in turn apologised for his father's death. T'Chaka was one the reasons she decided to join SHIELD. His words of wisdom and knowledge made her see the importance behind protecting the people of the world.

"What? Dude shows up dressed like a cat and you don't wanna know more?" Sam retorted, shaking Ana away from her thoughts.

"Your suit. Vibranium?" Steve questioned.

"The Black Panther has been the protector of Wakanda for generations." T'Challa began, "A mantle passed from warrior to warrior. And now because your friend murdered my father, I also wear the mantle of king."

Ana faced him and noticed the way his eyes darkened, "So I ask you, as both warrior and king, how long do you think you can keep your friend safe from me?" He finished, staring ahead with his chin up. Ana raised an eyebrow daringly,

"My friend, you are so blind to the truth."

- - -

They entered the base that was swarming with armed soldiers. Steve stepped out of the van after Ana, both of their heads turned to the side where they saw Bucky in his cage being loaded up on a mobile device. Sam and T'Challa followed them out of the van and they all started walking to Sharon.

She was beside a man in a grey suit and tie none of them had ever seen before. Three tall soldiers, armed to the neck, stood behind the two.

"What's going to happen?" Steve spoke first.

"The same thing that ought to happen to you. Psychological evaluation and extradition." He responded.

Sharon motioned to the man, "This is Everett Ross, deputy task force commander." She introduced. He held out his hand to Ana, but the brunette kept her hand clasped behind her straightened back unfazed. He pursed his lips, eyes twinkling with humour.

"What about a lawyer?" Steve asked.

"Lawyer, that's funny." Everett chuckled, "See to their weapons are placed in the lock up. Oh, we'll write you a receipt." He waved his hand, motioning them to follow him. The three soldiers turned first, before Sharon and Everett trailed behind them.

Ana glanced at the armful of her gear being carried by another soldier who walked past them. She caught his eyes and gave him a death stare, "Don't you lose those." She warned, balling a hand into a fist.

He started walking faster and Sam glared at the soldier carrying his gear, "I better not look out the window and see anybody flying around in that."

Ana turned when she heard a small whisper, and saw Bucky being taken away. He had his eyes on her, nodding slightly before the doors closed and she couldn't see him anymore. She sighed and replayed his statement.

"I'll see you soon."

- - -

"You will be provided with an office instead of a cell. And do me a favour, stay in it."

Everett smirked to himself when he noticed Ana roll her eyes. They were approaching the main headquarters of the facility, and they were to wait until Bucky's psych eval was finished so they could get their turn.

"I'm not intending on going anywhere." T'Challa stated.

"Yeah..." Ana drawled, "I'll take the window view." So she could jump out.

Natasha popped out of nowhere, receiving a small yelp from Ana herself. She allowed the red head to wrap and arm around her elbow. Natasha looked to the three, "For the record. This is what making things worse looks like." She smiled.

"He's alive." Steve said.

They entered the main floor and not one of them were surprised to see Tony already there, waiting for them at a table. He was on the phone when he turned to look at his friends, offering them a smirk. It wasn't directed at them, but the situation he was in.

"The remaining of us are now at court-sec. And, Colonel Rhodes is supervising the clean up."

"Try not to break anything while we fix this." Natasha told Ana, who looked at her offended, before shrugging.

"Consequences? You bet there will be consequences. Obviously you can quote me on that because I just said it. Anything else? Thank you, sir. " Tony ended his call.

"Consequences?" Steve echoed. The three of them stood at a wall as everyone around them ran around in a frenzy.

"Secretary Ross wants you three prosecuted. I have to give him something." Tony replied.

"Give me the phone, I want to talk to that asshat." Ana held out her hand, only for Tony to slap it as a high-five. He smiled at her as she glowered.

"You do that, he'll personally put you in a cell, little lady."

"I'm not getting that shield back, am I?" Steve smiled sadly.

"Technically, it's the government's property. Wings and suit too." Natasha threw Sam and Ana a smirk.

Ana lifted her arms up, "Hey, that's no fair! I just got that!" She said in outrage. Natasha was irritating her, the red head she knew wasn't all for the government. Something else was going on, and she needed to find out what exactly before she gets shoved into an 'office'.

"That's cold." Sam commented with a shake of his head, stuffing his hands in his jean pockets. Tony looked at them over his shoulder as he and Natasha walked away from them,

"Warmer than jail."

- - -

"Pick up, Wanda."

Ana wiped the water off her cheeks, sniffling as she held the phone to her ear. She had overheard the argument between Steve and Tony. Everything that was happening, it just showed her nothing lasts forever. The Avengers will never be the same. Her family, her best friends, it was all changing for the worst.

When the robotic voice told her to leave a message, she sighed and dropped the phone, letting it clank within the ceramic sink. Her hands were flat on the sides of it as she rocked back and forth on her feet anxiously. Bottom lip between her teeth, she let her eyes lift up to the mirror.

Her red eyes would draw too much attention. She turned on the faucet and collected the cool water in her palms, before bringing her face down and splashing it on her skin.

"Ana?"

The brunette didn't jump, she had heard her walk in already. Natasha couldn't see her face and thought she was just cleaning off the mess.

"What is it now?" Ana kept her head down as she reached for the hand towel beside her. She rubbed her face with it, the redness would pass as a result of her drying her face.

Natasha kept her lips pursed when Ana faced her. "I need you to sign."

"I'm not lifting up a pen unless it's for signing out of this shitty place." She didn't mean to, but Ana threw the towel in an aggressive manner behind her and it collided with the small bottles of soap and perfume, causing them to fall over and clank loudly.

"I came to tell you they're starting on James." Natasha changed the subject.

"Bucky." Ana corrected. She dropped her head, and placed her palm to the warm flesh. "He likes Bucky." She whispered.

"Are you okay?" Natasha asked softly, moving to offer her some comfort.

Ana flinched away from her and Natasha's face hardened. "I understand you're upset, but don't act like this. You're supposed to agree to this kind of thing. The Accords is a good thing."

"Not for me." Ana fired back, her features getting sharp. "I have a right to choose, and I choose not to be put up for adoption for the government. Most of my life I was controlled, like a puppet in a play. And my masters were Hydra." She was getting emotional. "The thing they trained, the weapon they made, it's still inside." She brought her finger up to her temple and held back the tears.

"A few months ago... It could've been brought back permanently."

"What stopped it?" Natasha asked.

"Not what, who. Bucky. The man locked inside a cage. The one everybody on this planet thinks is a stone cold killer. He came in and saved me from a world of pain. He stopped it all. He is my hero." Ana confessed. "But he's being treated like the villain."

"If you don't sign, they'll lock you up." Natasha held Ana's hand, breathing out when she didn't pull away. "I want you to continue as you are. Okay, it might be different, but we'd still be together." She offered her a warm smile.

Ana was crushed to Nat's chest as the red head wrapped her up in her arms. She couldn't see, but the Russian was holding back tears of her own.

"I'm sorry, Nat. But I can't." Ana whispered, noticing the way her grip on her tightened.

"So what, you'll retire? Like Clint?"

"I guess so." Ana mumbled.

- - -

After her scene in the bathroom, Ana pulled herself together and joined Steve and Sam. She was swirling around in a seat in boredom in the conference room, and Sam watched her as she stopped then started up again. She could tell it was annoying the hell out of Everett who was standing outside the small glass room she was in. She smirked to herself, noticing his glare for a split second when she spun in a circle, mission accomplished.

Unfortunately, the glass was soundproof so they couldn't hear the psychiatrist who started talking to Bucky. Ana's chair was stopped and she looked up to see Sharon above her, fighting back a smile as she handed her a small piece of paper.

"Receipt for your suit." She said and stepped to Sam, handing him one.

"The receipt for your gear."

"Bird costume?" Sam shot her an exasperated look, "Come on." He groaned. He snapped his head to Ana and shot her a look, before she could laugh.

Ana lifted a shoulder, biting back a smirk.

Sharon shrugged, "I didn't write it." She said, before standing in-between two seats. Her head turned as she scanned around the room casually, looking to see if anyone was watching. She leaned over and pressed down on a small button which activated the monitor in the room. Steve and Ana looked up when they could finally hear and see what was going on.

They both looked to Sharon who simply nodded.

"I'm not here to judge you. I just want to ask you a few questions. Do you know where you are, James?" The psychiatrist asked. There was a pause. "I can't help you if you don't talk to me, James."

Ana felt someone staring at her and dropped her eyes from the monitor. She saw Natasha outside the glass enclosure. Suspicion, was what Nat's eyes reflected. Ana decided on ignoring the woman and returned her focus on Bucky.

"My name is Bucky."

Steve was opening a file. He stared at the photograph of Bucky the security cameras in Vienna captured. The gears in his head started turning when he questioned to himself, "Why would the task force release this photo to begin with?" He asked out loud, throwing the file in the middle of the table.

"Get the word out, involve as many eyes as we can?" Sharon answered as a question, confused to his.

"Right. It's a good way to flush a guy out of hiding. Set off a bomb, get your picture taken." Steve said.

"You got seven million people looking for the Winter Soldier." Ana nodded.

"You're saying someone framed him to find him." Sharon concluded.

"Steve, we looked for the guy for two years and found nothing." Sam spoke up, "Except for that one lead Ana took up. Even then, she came back empty handed."

"We didn't bomb the UN." Steve said firmly, "That turns a lot of heads."

"Yeah, but that doesn't guarantee that whoever framed him would get him the guarantees that we would." Sharon said.

Ana turned her head as she stood. She crossed her arms and approached the monitor, "You're right." She listened to the questions the psychiatrist asked Bucky, growing more curious.

"Tell me Bucky. You've seen a great deal, haven't you?"

Ana looked at Sharon, "Who's the psychiatrist?"

The blonde shrugged, "They didn't tell me."

"I don't want to talk about it."

"You feel that if you open your mouth, the horrors might never stop. Don't worry. We only have to talk about one." When the psychiatrist finished, the lights to the entire grid went out. Blue and red lights illuminate as a warning all around them. There wasn't any eyes or ears to what was going down in the briefing room.

There was an opening. Ana glanced at Sharon. No words had to be exchanged, the CIA agent knew exactly what she needed to know.

"Sub-level 5, East Wing." Sharon revealed.

Sam jumped out of his seat, and Steve and Ana all ran out of the room. T'Challa watched them leave. The three of them all sped up when they followed the signs down to Sub-Level 5. Ana narrowed her eyes, thinking she heard something. When she heard the faint screams coming from Bucky, a gasp escaped her lips.

It was too late.

"We have to hurry!"

- - -

Soldiers were littered on the ground, thankfully, unconscious. Bucky wouldn't forgive himself if he found out he had killed more innocent lives. Ana checked their pulses as Steve and Sam walked ahead. They expected to hear the sounds of commotion, but there wasn't any. It was quiet.

"Guys." Steve called as he came upon the downed psychiatrist. He was groaning for help.

Ana stormed and pushed past Steve, clenching her jaw. Knowing his cries for help were false pleas, she grabbed him by the collar of his jacket and effortlessly pulled him up and slammed him into a wall.

"Who are you? What do you want?" Steve asked the man.

He chuckled, eyes drifting to Ana's. "To see an empire fall." He whispered, leaning in.

"What did you do?" Ana asked. Sam thought he heard something and walked out into the hall.

"I rebooted him."

The familiar sound of mechanical whirring alerted Steve, and Ana dropped Zemo. The Winter Soldier swiped at Sam, only for him to duck with a shout, the cement wall behind him crumbling from the hit that was meant for his head. Sam went to punch him across the face, but Bucky blocked the hit and grabbed his jaw using his metal arm.

He flung Sam into the cage that held him earlier, knocking him out. The Winter Soldier's next target was Steve. The super soldier leaned down to avoid the swipe meant for his head and backed away to gain some room. Ana checked on Sam, tapping his cheeks to get him to wake up.

Meanwhile, Bucky hammered Steve with his metal arm. He kicked the Captain into the elevator and launched his fist to his chest. Steve grabbed his hand, struggling to push it away from him. Bucky was stronger, and pushed Steve into the elevator doors. The metal snapped off, taking Steve into the darkness.

"Sam? Can you hear me?" Ana shook Falcon, heartbeat increasing when he wouldn't open his eyes.

"Sam!"

A large hand clamped down on her shoulder and her eyes widened. She gripped his arm, trying hard to pry the tight hold off as he pulled her up. Ana shimmed out of her leather jacket and spun, sending a kick to his stomach. She pulled up the sleeves of her blue shirt, curling her hands into fists.

"Bucky, listen to me. This isn't you."

He had slid back from the force of the kick and reached out with his hands to grab the threshold of the doorway. His hair fell over his eyes, casting a shadow over his face. Zemo watched as Ana tackled him out of the room. He landed on his back with a groan, and dodged her hands when they tried to hold down his metal arm.

He intertwined his arms with hers and knocked them away, sending his head hard against her own. Ana groaned and was pushed to the side. He stood up and ran off, looking back at her downed form with tentative eyes. She cradled her head and shakily stood, hurriedly following after him.

"If I were you, I'd stay out of it!" Zemo shouted behind her.

"But you're not!"