Once again, the Avengers gathered in the meeting room to discuss Bucky's soulmate situation. Bucky tapped the table nervously as he waited for Tony. He was the one that called the meeting after all.

"Okay," Stark said as he strode into the room. "Put it up on the screen, Jarvis."

Information flooded the screen and Bucky's gaze flitted over it trying to take in what it all meant. He could make sense of none of it.

"What are we looking at, Tony?" Steve asked.

"A whole lot of nothing." The billionaire sounded beyond irritated. "Jarvis backtraced every posting he could find for Barnes' soulmate and found nothing. And as of this morning all the posts have been taken down."

Bucky swallowed past the lump in his throat. He'd hoped he'd have some answers about where you were. That he'd be able to find you and protect you from Hydra. Now Tony was telling him that they didn't even have a hint about you.

"That doesn't make any sense," Bruce said.

"I know it doesn't," Tony assured his friend. "There were so many loops and fail safes used when the messages were posted its impossible to find the source. And the poster only communicates on the boards. No email. The email used to set up the account was a throw away." He raked a hand through his hair. "I'd say with near certainty that Hydra is behind the posts. Sorry, Barnes."

Bucky nodded not really sure what to say. He'd known it was too good to be true but he'd still held out hope. He dropped his head into his hands. The others continued to talk around him, discussing whether there was another way for them to find his soulmate.

"Buck," Steve suddenly said his name, sharp and loud.

Bucky dropped his hands and glanced at his best friend. Steve gestured toward his hand laying on the table. Buck's stomach dropped as he took in the new scars that suddenly littered his skin. Some of them looked like they would be quite deep. He pulled up his sleeve to find they covered his entire forearm.

Twisting his arm to look it over, a long scar that ran from elbow to wrist on the backside caught his attention. "What the fuck is going on?"

Nat was by his side in an instant, grabbing his arm to look it over. "That's a lot of damage." She shot a glance over to Clint. He pulled out his phone and started typing out a message.

Bucky frowned. "What are you doing?"

Clint didn't even glance up. "Texting Fury to see if he can help find her."

"You marked up anywhere else?" Nat asked.

Bucky shrugged and stood up to take his shirt off. He glanced down to find several long scars that hadn't been there before. They crisscrossed on his flesh and he clenched his teeth.

"Christ, Buck," Steve said when he looked at his friend's back. "You're black and blue. I don't know if any of the scars are new."

What the hell was going on with his soulmate? One horrible possibility occurred to Bucky as he put his shirt back on. "What if they have her?"

"There's no reason to think—" Steve started only for Bucky to cut him off.

"Isn't there, Steve? Look at me. And all the posts were taken down. Why use fake posts when they can use the real person to get to me? They're going to torture her until they get me back. Then they'll use her to control me. If I fuck up they won't make me pay for it, they'll take it out on her." He raked his hands through his hair. "I can't leave her there. I have to find her."

"Bucky, you need to calm down," Natasha said. "Even if Hydra captured her, which I find unlikely, we have no idea where she's being held."

"Any intel from unconfirmed sources will be suspect as we know they're laying a trap for you. You'll go after her and get caught. And all of that is assuming they actually have her. I agree with Natasha that it's unlikely," Clint added. "Fury will get back to me and maybe we can get some solid intel."

"I don't care if they catch me. You can't expect me to just sit here while she's being hurt. Even if it's not Hydra. There have always been some questionable injuries but lately..." Bucky trailed off with a sigh, a sick feeling settling in his stomach. He glanced around the room, meeting everyone's gaze. "We need to find her and bring her home."

***

Nick was waiting for you when you stepped off the jet. "What the hell happened to you?"

"Nice to see you too, eyepatch. Mission was a success. Intel was shit as per usual. Had trouble focusing because someone told me a bunch of shit about my soulmate last night. Thanks for that." You didn't stop walking as you talked to him and he fell into step with you.

"Romanoff and Barton were in a meeting with Barnes about you when multiple injuries appeared on his person. They immediately contacted me."

You stopped outside the infirmary and leaned against the wall. "Fantastic. I won't be able to hide anything from them as long as they're working with him." You sighed. "Knife fight and a trip through a second story window."

Fury shook his head. "Get yourself checked out and clean up. We're going to the tower."

"Now?" You knew it was something that would have to happen soon, but you thought you'd have a little more time. Shit.

He answered with a nod of his head. His coat flared around him as he headed down the hall and you walked into the infirmary.

Any other time you went to get patched up it seemed to take hours. This time you were in and out in half an hour. A quick shower and a change of clothes and you were ready to go less than an hour after you landed.

Fury met you in the hallway outside the locker room. "Let's go, Coulson."

You stayed silent, your attention turned out the window on the drive. The closer you got, the more nauseated you felt. You weren't certain you were ready to see Soldat again. Then again, it wasn't as if you were being given a choice. Besides, you couldn't put this off forever, as much as you might want to.

The silence stretched as you stepped onto the elevator.

"Jarvis, have the team meet me in the living room," Fury said.

"Of course, sir," a disembodied voice answered.

You looked up but it didn't startle you. You knew all about Stark's advanced AI system that ran everything in the tower plus some other things. When you arrived at the correct floor, Fury stepped out, that coat flaring behind him as he did. You rolled your eyes and stepped out behind him.

Your arms were behind your back as you stood slightly behind Fury. Several people flooded into the common living area and your gaze jumped from person to person lingering a little longer on Clint and Natasha. Then he arrived.

Soldat. James Buchanan Barnes. Bucky as he liked to be called. It was a suddenly a little hard to breathe. You hadn't been prepared for the effect being in his presence again would have on you even if you saw the change in him immediately. The warmth in his eyes was a dead giveaway he was no longer under Hydra's control. His hair was neatly trimmed and his arm had been replaced by a much sleeker version. He looked good, healthy. But until you spent enough time with him to make your own decisions concerning his past behavior he was best treated with caution. After taking him in, your gaze moved from person to person absorbing little details about all of them. Most eyes in the room were on you but you did your best to ignore them.

"What's this about, Fury?" Tony asked.

"There is someone it's time I introduced you to." He stepped aside so you no longer stood behind him. He was leaving it to you to introduce yourself apparently. Asshole.

"Is she here to help us find my soulmate?" Bucky's voice was frantic, worried. "We're concerned that Hydra has taken her. We need to locate her as soon as possible."

You turned your head to look at Nick and he simply gestured to the room like 'go ahead'. "Hydra is responsible for the damage but not quite how you're fearing." You held your right hand up in front of you. Both hands were torn to hell but it wasn't as if he was going to show any scarring on the metal one. "Took a trip through a window. Sorry for the damage."

Bucky took two quick steps forward but stopped when you took one back. "You're my soulmate?" His voice was soft but you heard him just fine.

You nodded once.

"Who are you?" Tony asked.

You introduced yourself by your first name only. "I work for SHIELD. That should explain most of the previous injuries I think."

"SHIELD is responsible for the postings on the message boards. You were trying to draw Hydra out," Tony said, accusation heavy in his tone.

"Of course, we were, Stark. We had an asset at our disposal. Did you expect us not to use it?" Fury's voice was sharp, irritated.

Your gaze found him. Was that all you were now? An asset? Well, fuck you, too, Nick. Your jaw set as you clenched your teeth but you said nothing deciding to stay quiet and see how this played out.

"Wait," Steve said. His brow furrowed and his mouth set in a firm line. "Those postings went back years. You've known who Buck's soulmate was all this time and you said nothing?"

You immediately looked at Clint and Nat. After all, Fury wasn't the only one keeping secrets. And they all thought it was their right to play with your life. They may have been ordered not to tell but it was still pretty shitty.

"Her identity was need to know and you did not need to know." If possible, Fury's voice was even more clipped and angry. He didn't like being questioned. "Once it was determined Sargent Barnes was willing to put not only himself but this team at risk to rescue someone that was not in danger, the decision was made to reveal her to you."

God, he could be a dick sometimes. You briefly thought of calling him out for it but decided against it. No sense in revealing all the awkward family dynamics at the first meeting. Several members of the team were arguing with Nick about him keeping the information from them. You wondered how long it would take them to realize Nat and Clint had as well. You kept your attention on Bucky and he stared right back at you but neither of you made a move toward the other.

Fury raised his voice to talk over everyone else. "Now that you are aware you no longer need to look, we will take our leave. Agent." He turned toward the elevator but you didn't move.

"I don't think so."

His head snapped in your direction. "Excuse me?"

"I said no. I'm good here. You have other assets you can fuck with." You continued not to look at him but you might as well at least make sure he knew what pissed you off.

"On the elevator now, Agent. That's an order."

Your mouth curved up in a smirk as your gaze shifted over to Clint and Nat. "Then I quit."