A/N

Guess who's back!

I'm so excited for this story, so enjoy chapter one!

~ The Teddy Bear

Here we are, don't turn away now,
we are the warriors that built this town.
Here we are, don't turn away now,
we are the warriors that built this town
From dust.

~Warriors, Imagine Dragons

"Alright. We don't know what's going to be in there, so we watch out for each other. This could be even more deadly than New York… and that was an alien invasion. You ready?" Steve addressed the Avengers, who were standing outside a darkened secondary school in England, after Coulson had received an anonymous tip-off that had been sent in the middle of the night.

Tony shot at the lock, and the doors swung open to reveal a corridor with doors on all sides, with room numbers like 'T14' and 'W1'. Steve gestured for the rest of the team (minus the Hulk and Thor; Thor was on Asgard and Bruce had decided that he'd better not destroy something else, especially a school, by 'Hulking out') to spread out, and they creeped along a corridor, until they reached a large room with tables running all the way down it; Steve guessed that it was the canteen.

As they crept in, Tony pushed them all back…

"There are two people in there… definitely not our buddies. Both masked. I think one of them was your friend once though Steve." Steve's breath caught in his throat.

"Bucky? He's here?" Tony nodded, and Steve made another gesture for them all to go in. Steve held his shield up, and Clint got an arrow ready in his bow; they ran in, and faced the two hostiles.

"Bucky… I know you don't want to do this. Just come with us and we can work something out." Called Steve across the room, lowering his shield slightly to meet Buckys gaze; Tony pulled Steve back slightly, as the second person, female, Steve guessed, raised a gun, and started to fire on them, focusing on Natasha and Clint, who didn't have anything to protect them.

Steve charged and tackled her to the ground as Natasha, Clint and Tony advanced on Bucky. The woman jumped up, and swung a punch at Steve, as he knocked her back onto her back, and slamming his shield against her.

Bucky had by this point pulled out two pistols, and had shot Clint in the leg. He was leaning against the wall, trying to get a good shot at him, but at the same time trying not to hurt Natasha or Tony.

Steve reached for the woman's mask, but she grabbed his arm and flipped him over her shoulder and onto his back as she got back up.

Meanwhile, Tony had produced a pair of handcuffs, and a syringe with an anaesthetic in it to knock Bucky out. He nodded at Natasha to distract him, and he flew above them in his suit, and injected Bucky in the neck with the liquid. He passed out on the floor instantly, and Tony placed the handcuffs on him, and dragged him into a cupboard on the right of the room.

The woman had ended up back on the floor, with Steve and his shield on top of her. He reached for her mask, and ripped it off, revealing a woman in her earlyish twenties with dark brown hair, pale skin and unnaturally blue eyes.

Tears sprang to Steve's eyes as he took in her facial features. Not her as well; Bucky was bad enough… they had turned Laura against him as well?

"Oh my god…" heard Steve from behind him. He looked up, to see Tony stood without his helmet on and tears streaking down his face.

"You died! How are you here? Answer me Laura!" yelled Steve, and Laura rolled her eyes, and flipped them over, so she was on top of him. She stood up, and pulled out two more guns, which were strapped to her legs, and aimed them at Steve and Tony.

"Try anything. I dare you." She growled, in a strange American accent that sounded strange and unnerving compared to her usual perfectly English accent, her eyes flicking between the two.

"How are you here?" asked Steve slowly, as he stumbled to his feet.

"Hydra. They brought me back, and I'm now in their service; you two should consider doing the same." She smiled for a second, and then the ground opened from beneath her, and swallowed her whole.

"w- where did she go?" stammered Steve, running towards the area where Laura had stood.

"Trap-door… I doubt many schools have one of them… should lead to a boiler room of some kind, no point in following though... she's probably already gone." Muttered Tony, who was still stood, wide-eyed staring at Steve. "How was she here? Coulson said project T.A.H.I.T.I. was destroyed… right? What other methods are there for bringing someone back from the dead?"

Steve shook his head, a single tear running down his face.

"We should get back to the playground… tell Coulson the news."

The jet opened, revealing the four Avengers to Coulson, who was stood waiting in the aircraft hangers of the Playground. He smiled, but none of them smiled back.

"What? What happened?" he asked, rushing forward to help Tony with Clint.

"Bucky was waiting for us… with someone else." Muttered Natasha, striding out of the plane. Coulson frowned, and set Clint down on the floor; sending a request to Simmons to tidy him up.

"Who? It must have been someone import-"

he noticed the tears tracks on their faces and the desperation on Steve's face.

"Laura?"

Coulson's face dawned with understanding and shock. "She's alive?" he asked, looking at each of the Avengers in turn.

Each of them nodded when he turned to them, and Coulson sighed, putting his head in his hands.

"We have to get her back." came Clint's voice from behind them.

"But how? She looked… she looked like she was past help." Spoke Tony. "As much as I don't want to admit it… I don't think she can be saved."

Steve's head snapped up when he heard this.

"No. we will find her, and we will help her. No-one is 'past help' Tony. No-one. We just need to figure out what they used to bring her back, and how they brainwashed her, and un-brainwash her. We can do that, right?"

Coulson closed his eyes and sighed, shaking his head.

"I'll ask FitzSimmons and Skye to try and get into Hydra's secure files. We'll know what's happened to her in a few hours."

Coulson then excused himself from the room, and was followed by Steve.

"Coulson?" called Steve from the doorway of the aircraft hanger. Coulson turned to look at him, and Steve saw tear tracks on his cheeks. Steve was motionless for a second- he had never thought Coulson would cry over anything.

"Yes Rogers?" he asked with a cold look on his face.

"Please… don't write her off and take her out. When we get her back, let me talk to her. She'll listen to me." Coulson frowned, and stepped towards Steve.

"I'll keep it in mind, but if she endangers anyone in this facility at all… even Ward…" Steve's eyes widened.

"You… you recaptured Ward?"

"A little while ago May and Skye were on an op, and were targeted by him. He tried to cross May off and get Skye, but we got to him. He's downstairs, in a special cell. But even if she tries anything… even with him, then we'll have no choice but to cross her off. Now if you'll excuse me… I have to go and speak to my team." Coulson turned sharply, and strode down the corridor towards the labs. Steve sighed, and turned to go back to the aircraft hangers.

"Where did you go spangles?" came Tony from the ramp of the jet, which he was sitting on with his armour calmly sitting next to him like a second person.

"Never mind where I went… have any of you noticed that every day Coulson becomes more and more like Fury? He just told me that if Laura tries anything, then he'll be prepared to use lethal force! I won't… I can't let that happen to her. I know she's still in there."

Tony sighed, stood up and walked past Steve towards the door.

"I'm going to change, and see what FitzSimmons and Skye have found out. But I agree… she is still in there."

Steve nodded and looked at Clint and Natasha.

"I'm going to see Ward. If he knows anything, I'll make him tell me." He said with an unnatural cold tone to his voice.

Natasha's eyes widened and she shook her head.

"Steve… no. You don't know what you'll do to him if he provokes you. Please don't."
Steve shook his head, and exited the room, heading for Wards cell.

"Captain Rogers. I can't say this is a pleasant surprise, but I'll act like I don't want to throttle you." Came Ward's voice the moment Steve came into his view.

"Why don't you shut up Ward? You know why I'm here. You killed her. Why did you do that? Why did you kill the one thing that matters to me?" He asked, his eyes narrowing.

"But you know she's alive don't you? That's the only reason you're down here isn't it?" asked Ward, ignoring Steve's questions.

"Yes. I found out today. What did you do to her? Answer me Ward!" He said; anger raging through him.

"It's happened before, to people you know. Maybe you should listen to their sob stories before coming begging to me."

Steve stared at Ward with his jaw dropped.

"What do you mean 'happened before'?" he asked, marching closer to Ward.

"That's all I'm saying until I see Skye. She's the only way I'll tell you anything."

Steve glared at him for a moment, before marching back up the stairs.

"You'll never see her again. She's too far gone." Came Ward's disembodied voice from behind him. Steve took a deep breath and stormed out, slamming the door behind him.