"Damn, I wish I'd come up with a better plan." Y/n grumbled to herself as she tramped through the familiar Ukrainian forest from the last mission. Her jaw clenched as the new but slightly smaller base finally came into view, an eerie presence settled around the stone walls. It appeared to be disguised as an old, war-time living complex. This base had to have been selected as a backup base for quite some time now. They had put robust efforts into what they were planning.

Suddenly, her gaze flicked to the sound of a vehicle rumbling along the nearby dirt road towards the facility.

"There's my way in." She mumbled, slowly treading towards it. She crouched low to the ground as she approached the front of the black truck, leaping through the now shattered window, into the passengers seat.

"Gah!" The man in the drivers seat yanked the shotgun tucked beside his seat, which Y/n immediately snatched right out his grasp. She used it to jab him bluntly in the head and knock him out cold. The truck came to a sudden halt.

"Let's hope this works." Y/n whispered, pulling out the facial illusion device Nat used often on missions when disguising as someone else. She scanned his face until the device projected an exact replica. After placing it securely on her face, her confident smirk soon fell from her lips. Retrieving the uniform was a small task, without doubt, until it suddenly wasn't.

"It's for a mission, for a mission."

She sighed in relief when she discovered he was wearing several layers of clothing under his armor. It wouldn't be worth going through with the mission if he weren't. Definitely not.

"Ey!" Someone yelled in Russian from outside of the vehicle. 'Pochemu ty ostanovilsya?" (Why did you stop?) He banged his fist against the steel door.

Y/n quickly glanced forward to see she was still a few feet away from the departure area.

"Izvineniya." (Apologies) She tried not to grimace at the ghastly voice of the soldier that escaped her own lips. "U menya problema s tormozom." (I had a problem with the brake)

He nodded and retreated to the back of the truck.

"They must be transporting new weapons." Y/n whispered, watching as they unloaded giant crates filled with God knows what amount of gruesome weaponry.

She pulled up at the base's unloading site, carefully stepping out of the truck and steering clear of the small crowd of soldiers.

"Soldat."

Y/n spun around on her heel, nodding to the random soldier. "Da ser."

"Operatsiya uspeshna?" (Operation successful?)

She nodded, pointing to the back of the truck. Once he disappeared, she slid out of sight from the rest of the soldiers.

She pulled down the black helmet the soldier had been equipped with, navigating around the series of entrances until she had found herself inside the main area of the facility.

Her mind trailed back to where the files had been hidden in the other base. It was favorable that this one happened to be much smaller, which significantly less rooms to have to rummage through for a few pieces of paper.

But they were so much more than that.

Y/n stiffened her posture, taking causal steps through the halls to avoid striking any kind of attention. She couldn't risk rushing through her scavenge, only to be caught by the people who had gone as far as bombing Central Park to get their hands on her.

"Hey, what are you still doing here?"

Y/n turned and blinked, surprised to hear the accent of an American pass the soldier's mouth.

She responded with a mere shrug. This guy might not even understand Russian.

The man's eyes traveled to her slightly tattered uniform, which gave him the excuse she no longer needed to come up with.

"Oh, you just came back with a shipment. Very well, best to go and retrieve your next task." He nodded, finally turning the corner of the hall.

She let out a small sigh of relief, quietly walking in the opposite direction and continuing her search.

From the outside, the building appeared to be no more than three stories high. There was a good chance that a basement lay beneath the many floors as well, usually where the worst things occurred within HYDRA's walls. She knew all too well, from each and every base she had been tossed into.

Winter Soldier containment and combat training occurred deep within the basements of the facilities. They were refrained from seeing past any windows that could distract their focus. Every other floor typically were used for research, storage and meetings, among other things that she hadn't witnessed before. Hopefully, those flaws remained.

Y/n stopped at the staircase, with one side leading up and the other down.

"Up it is." She declared to herself, heading towards the blocky, concrete stairs leading upwards. Upon reaching the top floor, immediately her ears perked at the sound of two voices drawing nearer from down the hall. She clung to the wall on one side of the stairwell, her eyes eventually locking onto the two soldiers.

"Did he say to backup this information on the main hard drive?" She heard one of them say.

"Yes, I hope I can trust you after you almost switched the other USB with my one." The other replied.

"I told you that was an accident!"

"I just got the job here, there's no way I want anybody seeing videos of me singing Dancing Queen on karaoke night!"

"What the hell..." Y/n shook her head and waited for the one heading to the lab to pass by far enough to trail behind him unnoticed.

Embarrassing was an understatement that these were the people she was hiding from. She could've swore that HYDRA simply hired anybody.

She followed him promptly, careful to keep a fair distance. The amount of security cameras were alarming, all placed in each and every possible corner.

The base was new, just another replacement like every other. But it all felt the same.

Too familiar.

It was almost despicable, wearing the armor of those who manipulated and applied years of agony to her, and countless others.

Was this a dignified mission? Definitely not.

But if it meant saving herself and Bucky, there was no possible alternative. Not only him, but the rest of the team, who welcomed her like a family.

The soldier eventually turned into the lab, lined with two rows of a dozen or so computers and one large screen at the end of the room.

Y/n's eyes widened as they landed on the contents on the screen. A map of the world was displayed, with four red points blinking in scattered positions. One happened to be placed exactly where she stood.

These were base locations.

One in Cuba, another in Canada, Laos and lastly, the one in Ukraine.

She quickly made her way to one of the computers at the end of the room, taking a seat and inputting the hacking components Nat had taught her. Only two years ago, she had never known how to properly use one. The only time she had was when she had to retrieve HYDRA intel during her time as a Winter Soldier, and unfavorable to this mission, that intel had been wiped clean.

She pulled out a USB and plugged it in, beginning to type away until the home screen popped up in front of her. She pulled up the map and dragged the file to the USB.

"Hey, you!"

Y/n spun around, met with the two HYDRA soldiers that had been using two other devices when she had walked in.

She looked up slowly. "Y-yes. How may I help you?"

"What is your business in the lab?" One of them questioned, eyeing her screen, which she had switched to an new browser tab.

"Oh, I was just instructed by my superior to backup some files." She chuckled tensely. "I was just about to do so."

The soldiers shared a glance, leaning down to examine her screen. He snatched the mouse from her hand and clicked on the second tab.

Wacawacawacawaca

"You are playing Pac-man?"

"No, no I swear I wasn't. I-"

"I understand why you were hiding." He gestured with both his hands. "It's okay, we'll cover you if the General comes in."

"T-thank you."

"Why do you still have your helmet on then?" The other one questioned.

"Dipshit, isn't it obvious." The other turned to face him entirely, lowering his voice. "He's not a dumbass who's going to risk getting caught by the General playing video games, now is he?"

He shrugged in response. "I guess you are right."

All Y/n could manage was a shaky thumbs up, which she quickly lowered as soon as they both left her alone.

She inhaled sharply as soon as the two PDF links appeared, one with her HYDRA file and the other with Bucky's. The next three minutes were focused on permanently deleting any S.H.I.E.L.D intel, as well as the information they were preserving on the two former Winter Soldiers.

She took a minute to scan over the information, her eyebrows knitting together. They knew everything. Her birthday, birthplace, parents; each and every detail.

Her gaze drifted to the contents that lay at the bottom of the page, just what happened to tighten the knot at the pit of her stomach. The words, the history, and the entire routine.

"Bucky's file." She whispered, hovering her mouse over the file, before clicking it impulsively. His was quite the same, birth information, a few general facts and of course his HYDRA history.

A small chuckled made its way past her lips. "Four siblings, huh."

Steve often mentioned they were both from Brooklyn, recounting numerous stories from back in the day. Other than that, Bucky didn't usually talk about himself. He preferred letting Steve do all the talking for him.

She let out a soft gasp the black and white photo of him as a Sergeant appeared on the screen. His eyes glinted a happiness she had never seen on him before, his lips curved in a delicate smile.

Before she could scroll further down, she shook her head and closed the file entirely. His privacy was more important than her curiosity. If he ever decided to open up to her, he would do so when he felt ready, and she had to respect that. After all, Y/n only ever talked to Steve and occasionally Nat about her own affairs.

After erasing the computer's history from the last ten minutes, she slowly lifted from her seat and exited the lab silently. This data had to be backed up on a hard copy somewhere around the base.

Last time, Bucky happened to randomly stumble upon the files. Y/n frowned to herself, surely that luck wouldn't come to her this time.

She dipped in and out of the different rooms, each time empty handed. After zero luck on the top floor, she descended to the next floor, again unsuccessful in her search.

She let out an exasperated sigh, her voice almost pleading. "They have to be on the main floor. They have to."

Of course... they weren't.

She eyed one of the security cameras, cursing under her breath. Hopefully she hadn't drawn excessive attention to herself after what would look like mindless wandering around the building, to anyone monitoring the security system that is. There were plenty of other agents here that wore the same attire, and the helmet was handy to at least buy time to cover her identity.

The stairs leading down appeared in the corner of her vision. She impulsively took a step back, exhaling shakily. "Why down there of all places."

The depths of any HYDRA facility are meant to hold the most utterly sickening secrets for an evident reason. The Winter Soldier program, the S.H.I.E.L.D undercover operation intel, not to mention their extensive and rather disturbing list of targets.

But the dozens of times they'd drag her down the cold concrete steps were permanently engraved in her memory, whispering heartless things in her ear and gaslighting her enough where questioning her own sanity became it's own daily anthem.

"You're a product of HYDRA, you have no place in the world but here."

"You should be honored you have such a gift racing though your veins."

"This is your only home."

"Are those the hard copy files?"

Her attention snapped to the staircase, where two agents were holding the familiar documents with her's and Bucky's pictures pasted on the front.

"Maybe I'm not so unlucky." She quipped, taking two quick glances to both ends of the hallway. All clear.

"Be sure to get these to the classified information department, otherwise-"

Y/n dove their way and hooked her legs around one of the agents, spinning around and throwing him into the other one. She snatched the files from their grasp and bolted down the hall. The main entrance was no good; there were far to many agents crowding the area.

The halls suddenly tinted the color red as the alarm system blared from above. Y/n frantically stuffed the files safely underneath the armor.

"ATTENTION ALL STAFF, THERE IS AN UNDERCOVER AGENT IN THE FACILITY."

The image of the balcony on the second floor popped in her head from a while ago. A large patch of grass lay just below it that would create a decent landing.

She clambered up the stairs hurriedly, dodging past the few agents that scurried about as they tracked the one undercover.

Unlike last time, the two iron doors were shut. She tugged on the handles, confusion etching onto her features when they didn't budge.

"What the hell..." Her eyes widened when the realization suddenly splashed in her face like cold water. "Super soldier proof." Yanking harder only managed to break the handles straight off the bolts, worsening the situation.

The other doors as well as windows would be completely sealed shut during the lockdown, all except the main entrance which to her utmost luck, were purposely swarming with agents trying to draw out the culprit.

She could try smashing a window or squeezing into a vent, but neither would do any good in her situation. They were always prepared for any situation thrown at them.

"Okay, new plan."

There were a few advantages on her side, the helmet, and of course the facial disguise underneath the helmet, would do the job in concealing her identity. The brainwashing tactics were no longer in their hands for any kind of sinister plans they'd been planning, and HYDRA had no idea what Y/n's goal was to steal the files. Taking down the base would have to come later.

She gripped the papers under her jacket tightly. There was no point in standing around and contemplating it, this was the only possible way.

Y/n retreated back down and caught up with a handful of other agents who were making their way towards the entrance, responding to lockdown protocol. They were all stopped by a HYDRA general, who eyed their faces down carefully.

Goddamnit.

"I've seen your faces, you may go." He told the ones who weren't wearing any headgear. They each let out a silent breath of relief as they slipped away from his beady eyes.

"You three." He looked between the three, including Y/n, who had yet to be examined. "Remove your gear and identify yourselves."

Y/n quickly stepped forward. Going first might ease any suspicion. He nudged his head slightly for her to take off the helmet. Instead, she lifted the front glass part that revealed the face of the agent she had masked earlier.

"VOT ONA!" (THERE SHE IS!) Someone had barked up ahead. The same man from the truck waved a pointed finger in Y/n's direction.

"Eto suka, kotoraya napala na menya!!" (That's the bitch who attacked me!"

Before Y/n could even react, a harsh shove jabbed the back of her helmet, sending it toppling to the ground with a thud. Her hair fell from its placement and down her shoulders.

"Eto yeye!" (It's her!)

Y/n caught one of their fists that lunged to her face, swiveling around him and pulling his arm behind and into another agent coming from below.

She peeled the facial device off her face and jammed it into her pocket, now fully exposing her already disclosed identity.

A few agents began drawing their weapons from their belts. One of the commanders frantically waved his hands to them. "Lower them! We need her alive!"

"Sir?" One of them turned to him questioningly.

"I want her in a cell, alive, in the next half hour." He demanded. "Got it?"

"Oh yeah?" Y/n chuckled dryly after kneeing one of them to the groin. "I'd like to see you try."

About fifteen of them all came charging her way at once. Curses flew out of her mouth as she countered each attack from every which way. "Wanda's powers would be really helpful right about now." She mumbled, stopping someone's kick with her forearm.

Soon enough, more agents stormed into the scene. The super soldier program had been abolished after S.H.I.E.LD fell, so it was no wonder they sent so many agents to detain one singular super soldier.

Y/n yelped painfully when an electrical jolt pierced her left leg, causing her to collapse into the gravelly pavement. Before she could push herself off the ground, four agents lunged on top of her and pinned her to the ground.

"Not so lucky now, are you?" One of them sneered in her ear.

She smirked slyly. "I wouldn't be so sure."

Y/n swung her right leg up abruptly to knock two of them off, springing back onto her feet and heaving the other two into the ground.

She panted and glanced down at her calf, yanking off the tiny device that left a prickling sensation in her leg.

There were a few options that could get her out of this endless situation. She could throw a smoke bomb and disappear into the forest, or keep on fighting her way through. Either way, they would eventually catch up to her even with the smoke bomb. The trees were too far from the radius of the building. She abandoned the useless plan and continued punching her way out of it.

"You know how many soldier's wanted to be in your place?" One of them seethed as he charged towards Y/n with a front kick.

She hooked her arm around his leg and swerved around him, tripping him into the ground. "Jealous, are we?"

He scowled and flipped himself over, swinging both his legs into her abdomen. She hit the ground with a dull thud, and he hovered over her. "You betrayed the only home you ever had, and dared to show your face here with anything but surrender? You should be pleading for mercy on your knees in the name of HYDRA."

"Pleading for mercy." She mocked, laughing as his face scrunched up in displeasure. "If you think I'd want anything to do with this modern day Nazi cult, you're fucking crazy. You think I enjoyed having those years of my life taken away from me?"

Y/n lurched her leg up to lug him off of her, but winced from the lingering pain of the electric device from before.

"Hurts doesn't it?" The agent smirked. "It numbs the effects of the serum for a few minutes."

"I don't care." She replied hoarsely. "I never wanted the serum."

"But you can't live without it."

"It's what HYDRA made you."

Y/n watched as in a mere second, his body had been hurled right off of her, toppling pathetically into another agent. "Why don't you shut the hell up."

She let out an exhausted breath. "Bucky?"