The flight to Russia felt like it was going to take forever. As comfortable as Tony's plane was, Felicity was ready to be out of it. She did her best thinking when she was moving, and even in a plane as nice as Tony's, there wasn't exactly room to run.

Besides, without anything to occupy her, Felicity's thoughts kept drifting to home, and Ellie and her mom, and she wasn't ready to deal with that grief right now. Not where everyone could watch it happen. It was a relief then, when Tony announced that his computer program had been able to get more information about the place they were going to.

Everyone gathered around to listen. "It's still sketchy," Tony said. "They used some of the heaviest encryptions I've seen, which is why getting to the information is taking a while." He scowled a little at that, and Felicity guessed that maybe getting through encryptions wasn't usually a challenge for him.

"Some information is better than running in blind," Bruce said. "What have you found?"

"They call it the Freezer," Tony said, and that made Felicity wince. The name was certainly apt, after a manner of speaking, but there was a level of callousness there too.

Evil organization that wants to murder a bunch of people. Not exactly the group to expect sensitive naming habits from.

"Looks like it's six levels, all underground," Tony continued. He tapped a panel on the plane's wall, and it slid aside to reveal a screen.

The heck…no, you know what, I'm not even surprised anymore.

A few more taps, and a map appeared on the screen. "I've only been able to locate the most basic of schematics for the place, unfortunately."

Felicity wasn't a hundred percent sure of the scale of the place, but the levels each looked large to her. There was a central elevator going down, but she assumed they wouldn't want to use that. Only one stairwell that connected every level, though there were multiple sets of stairs connecting individual levels. And of course, none of it was actually labeled, so that was super unhelpful.

I know I'm not a tactician or anything, but that doesn't look like an easy place to break into.

"I'm not seeing anything that might indicate where they keep Bucky," Steve said, studying the screen intently.

Tony shook his head. "I can't either. Like I said, not much detail."

Thor shifted, and while the movement was small, he was big enough that it caught the group's attention anyway. "Then we shall have to inquire for the information when we get there. How many foes should we be expecting?"

"That's also unclear," Tony said, "but probably a decent amount. It looks like this place isn't just used to hold Bucky when he's not on a mission; from the files that JARVIS could get into, it looks like they were also trying to make more super soldiers here. Doesn't seem like they were successful, but it means more people."

A team of scientists, to run the experiments, maintenance crews, both for whatever equipment they were using and for the building itself. A janitorial crew, IT support, maybe even a kitchen/cooks in a place that big. And all of those people would mean more security.

They'd probably have enough security to take care of Bucky too, if he ever tried to escape.

He was brainwashed, after all. It wasn't like he worked for Hydra willingly. Granted, after decades of dealing with their mind control the odds of him trying to get away on his own probably weren't terribly high, but it'd be dumb for them not to plan for the possibility at least.

If this were a movie, Felicity wouldn't be worried at all. This was the sort of fight that heroes always won, and usually easily. But this wasn't a movie. This was real. And Felicity didn't like the idea of how many people they were going to have to go through to try and find Bucky.

"Well," Bruce said, turning to look at Steve. "You're the only one here who has actually invaded Hydra bases before. Any ideas?"

Steve nodded, his expression stern. "Given the limited information, I think stealth is going to be our best option."

Thor scoffed a little. "Surely we are enough to take down a base of normal humans. They are so…" He waved a hand, clearly considering what word he wanted to use. "Fragile," he finally settled on. Tony rolled his eyes.

Steve shook his head. "Maybe. But we don't know what kind of weapons they have, or what their numbers are. And if they're alerted to our presence too soon, they might have time to wake Bucky up and use him against us." Which would definitely make the rescuing him bit a lot harder.

Thor shrugged. "Very well. It is your mission; we shall do as you suggest."

Felicity eyed him. The way he was talking, it sounded like he expected to be involved in the fight. Which was probably a fair assumption, but it left one glaring problem that no one seemed to be addressing yet. "Uh, a question. During this sneak attack, what exactly is going to be done with him?" She jerked her thumb towards Loki.

"I believe I could be useful," Loki started.

"No." It was almost funny, how the four men responded at the same time with the same answer.

Steve glared at him. "You are staying on this plane."

Loki held up his hands in a gesture of surrender. "It was merely a suggestion. No need to get worked up over it."

None of them deigned to actually respond to Loki's words. Instead, Bruce said, "I'll stay back too, and keep an eye on him. Besides, I don't think anyone wants me to be in an underground bunker."

Given the way the Hulk could run through buildings like they weren't even there? Felicity figured that was probably a good call. The last thing they needed was for Bruce to flip out and accidentally bring the whole bunker down on their heads.

Steve nodded. "That's the plan then. Tony, Thor, and I will go in and get Bucky out, the rest of you will stay in the plane. Be ready to leave under fire if we have too."

Doesn't sound like much of a plan to me.

To be fair, they didn't have all that much information to work with. It was probably about as detailed as any plan they came up with could get. Hopefully they'd be able to pull it off.

And then what?

Assuming they managed to get Bucky out, what exactly were their next steps? Had Steve even thought about the next steps? Were they going to go on the run or something? Or was he going to try and take down Hydra on his own?

She almost asked, but bit back the question. It probably wasn't the time to ask; it would only distract form the task at hand. And in the end, it hardly mattered what Steve decided to do, because Felicity was going to have to stick with him no matter what. She didn't really have any other options.

I wish I could run. Just clear her head of all the worries swirling round it. But since that wasn't an option either, and the planning meeting seemed to be over, Felicity retreated back to a seat by herself and closed her eyes. If she couldn't run, then maybe a nap would be the next best thing.

The feel of the plane descending woke her. Felicity blinked her eyes and sat up, trying to see what was happening. Tony and Steve had both changed into their uniforms at some point, and Felicity's heart picked up as she realized they must be close to their destination.

"We're about a mile out," Tony was saying, his voice tinny coming through the helmet speakers. "Our landing should be undetected."

"Good," Steve said. "Then let's get moving."

The door of the plane opened, letting in a cold wind that made Felicity shiver. She was still in the yoga pants and tank top she'd been running in, which was not nearly warm enough for Russia at whatever time of year this was. She had no idea what the date was.

Steve glanced her way, and their eyes met. He smiled, and it was probably supposed to be reassuring. She had to bite her tongue to keep herself from warning them to be careful. They knew what they were getting into better than she did, after all.

Then they were gone, and Bruce shut the door after them. "Don't worry about them," Bruce said, moving to sit near her. "They'll be alright."

"Debatable," Loki commented.

Felicity glared at him. "No one asked for your opinion."

"Doesn't mean I'm wrong," Loki replied. "Even someone who's no good at tactics should be able to see their paltry plan is pathetic at best. There are a million ways this could go wrong."

"We're not interested in hearing about them," Bruce snapped.

"You should be," Loki said. "It's always in your best interests to prepare for the worst eventuality. For example, this part of the plan. You guarding me, I mean."

Felicity stiffened, because that sounded like the beginning of bad news if she'd ever heard it. Bruce's eyes narrowed behind his glasses. "What about it?"

He can't be about to try something. The others had barely left, and Bruce had already trounced Loki before, that's why the others had left him there to guard the alien. There wasn't anything Loki could do.

"Well, you see," Loki said, leaning forward in his seat, a smile playing at the corner of his mouth. "Neither of you can see through my illusions."

Hands clamped down on her upper arms, yanking Felicity out of her seat like she weighed nothing. Bruce jumped to his feet and spun around, but Loki already had hold of her, an arm wrapped around her to pin Felicity's arms to her sides, her feet dangling in the air. She tried to twist out of his grip, to no effect.

"Let her go!" Bruce snapped.

"Or what?" Loki asked, his tone mocking. "You're not exactly precise, Dr. Banner. Attack me, and you won't be able to avoid hurting her."

Felicity kicked at his shins, but Loki didn't pay her any mind. "Put me down!"

Loki tsk'ed. "You're hardly in any position to make demands either." He edged around Bruce towards the door, pausing a moment to snatch up Steve's bag. "Now I think I shall take my leave."

Panic edged under her skin, this was happening, Loki was about to kidnap her, and she needed to get away –

Blue sparked in her vision, and the next thing Felicity knew she was falling into a snowdrift. Cold hit her like a physical blow, driving the air from her lungs. She struggled back to her feet, her whole body shivering. Where's the plane?

She couldn't see it. There was nothing around but an endless, snowy landscape with mountains looming in the distance. Wind blew, cutting through the thin material of her jogging outfit, and Felicity curled her arms around herself in a vain attempt at conserving heat.

It seemed she'd instinctively teleported herself away from Loki, but she had no idea where she was, and now she was going to freeze to death before anyone could find her, unless she could manage to teleport again.

Her teeth were chattering, and Felicity squeezed her eyes shut. Focus, focus! You've got to get somewhere warm! Her brain couldn't pick a location; all Felicity could think about was how desperately she needed a heater, then –

She stumbled as her footing changed, eyes snapping opened and a hand flying up to catch herself against a wall. Warmth surrounded her, and Felicity felt a surge of relief that whatever this place was, it had a working heater. She was still cold – her tumble in the snow had left her clothes soaked – but she was no longer at risk of freezing to death.

Felicity straightened, and a wave of dizziness hit her. She sank to the floor, her hand sliding down the wall as spots danced along her vision. Exhaustion weighed her limbs, like she hadn't just had a long nap.

Right then. Teleporting twice in close succession, not recommended.

Not that she'd had a choice. But wherever she'd ended up, she probably shouldn't risk trying to teleport again any time soon. Felicity leaned back against the wall, breathing deeply. Where am I now anyway?

The floor, walls, and ceiling of the room she was in all looked to be make of concrete. The walls were lined with dull metal lockers. Some kind of storage room, if she had to guess. But storage where?

Felicity had no idea what kind of range her teleportation had; she could be anywhere. I don't know. I haven't gone that far yet. But it's not like there was anything around –

Oh. Oh, no.

The answer was obvious. The only nearby building.

The Hydra bunker.

This is really bad.

If she was right, and this was the Hydra bunker, she'd probably beat Steve, Tony, and Thor there, and when they arrived, they wouldn't have any idea they needed to look for her. That wasn't even thinking about the number of people in the bunker who'd probably shoot Felicity on sight or something.

"I am so screwed."

She needed to get out of there, or at least get somewhere the guys would easily find her when they showed up. Easier said than done; Felicity looked down at her outfit with a grimace. It'd be obvious at a glance if anyone saw her that she didn't belong.

Some of her exhaustion had passed, so Felicity pushed herself back to her feet. She moved to the lockers, hoping she'd find something she could use as a disguise. The first locker she opened was filled with office supplies. She opened the next one and found it filled with boxes of printer paper. The next one held cleaning supplies, the next one blankets. Then finally, to Felicity's delight and relief, one had clothes. They were military style uniforms, the tops and pants with gray and white camo patterns. She had to dig to find something close to her size, but she found one that fit well enough.

Felicity changed quickly and shoved her wet clothes in the locker buried under the uniforms. With any luck, no one would find them in the near future. Then she pulled her hair out of its ponytail and twisted it up in a bun.

The disguise wasn't perfect. She hadn't found any socks or shoes in the lockers, so she was forced to stick with her wet sneakers, and if anyone tried to talk to her in any language other than English or Latin, she was screwed. But it might at least buy her a few seconds if someone had to do a doubletake, and had the added bonus of not being wet, so.

Still, she hesitated at the door to the storage room. She hated to leave the relative safety it provided. I can't stay here. That's just asking to get caught.

Felicity grit her teeth and opened the door, slipping out into the hall. The hallway was empty, the floors, walls, and ceiling the same gray concrete as the storage room. There was nothing on the walls to indicate what floor she was on, or where anything was, so Felicity picked a direction and started walking. She stuck close to the walls, feeling horribly exposed, and fighting the urge to run.

Just keep calm and keep walking. You're good. Just keep walking.

An alarm blared, making Felicity jump. She lunged for the nearest door and turned the handle, nearly falling through it in her haste to get out of the hallway. She shut and locked it behind her, flipping the extra deadbolt as soon as she spotted it.

Was that for me? Or did the guys show up?

Felicity didn't know, and didn't know how to find out. If it was the second, then their attempt at stealth had failed miserably.

She turned to see what room she'd just hidden in, and froze. Because directly ahead of her, was a large metal tube, and through clear panels on the front, she could a man inside.

"Oh, crap."

Felicity edged nearer. The man didn't move; of course, he didn't, he was frozen. "Is that…?"

It had to be. Who else would Hydra be keeping frozen in here? Plus, now that she was moving nearer, Felicity could see the metal arm.

She'd just found Bucky.

There were flickering screens on the side of the chamber he was in, and Felicity edged around the side so she could see them. The words were all in Russian, and so were of no help to Felicity since she didn't know a word of the language. The numbers though – I think those are his vitals. Felicity's brows drew together as she studied them. If she was interpreting them correctly, he ought to be dead. He's cryogenically frozen, everything should be insanely low.

Still, it was kind of mind bending that freezing him apparently worked in this world. They were no where near perfecting that kind of tech in her world.

Wait a minute…if those buttons correlate with those numbers…I think I can wake him up.

Felicity wasn't sure if it was a good idea or not. If she made a mistake, she could seriously injure Bucky, and if she didn't make a mistake, there was no telling what sort of mental state he'd be in.

But the alarm was still shrieking, and Felicity didn't know if Hydra was coming after her or fighting the others. She set her jaw and hoped she wasn't making a mistake as she started tapping buttons.

Waking was a slow process for the Soldier. His mind always woke before he could move his body. Normally it was relatively calm in the room when he woke, but this time he could hear the emergency siren ringing. Trouble was coming.

His fingers twitched.

"His color is better. No damage to the shoulder, so that's good news."

A woman's voice, speaking English. American, by her accent.

The Soldier's eyes opened, and he saw her. She was dressed in a standard uniform – minus the shoes – her wavy blonde hair pulled back in a bun. Her blue eyes studied him clinically, presumably checking for damage from the chamber. The Soldier could already tell there was none.

There was no one else in the room, which was unusual. Usually, a whole team of people were present when he woke. Whatever had set off the alarms must have changed the basic protocols. But if she was the only one there, it meant by default that she must be his new Handler.

He shifted, and her gaze snapped to his face, blanching slightly as she moved a step back. Unusual. The Soldier's Handlers weren't typically so openly afraid of him. But it wasn't the Soldier's place to wonder who was appointed or why; it was only his place to obey. He stepped out of the chamber. "What's my mission?"

Her brows drew together, the confusion clear on her face. "Um, you do speak English, right?"

He did, but the Soldier couldn't remember ever having a Handler prefer to give his missions in English rather than Russian. Still, he switched languages since that was what she wanted. "What's my mission?"

"Uh." She glanced up, then back at him. "Right now? Surviving."

Mission; protect the Handler.

He moved to the locker to the side of the room to collect his gear. He heard the Handler follow him a few steps, then she paused as he tugged a black shirt over his head, strapping on his body armor after.

"Bucky?"

Her tone made the word sound like a question, but the Soldier didn't know what she was referring to. He looked her way, trying to ascertain what she wanted.

"That's your name, isn't it?" she asked. "Bucky?"

He frowned. "I don't have a name." As his Handler, she ought to know that. There was no time to wonder about it. Above the siren, the Soldier could hear the echoes of gunfire. Still a floor above them, but drawing closer. He had to get the Handler clear of the threat.

The Soldier moved to the second locker, the one that housed his weapons. The Handler made a choked noise, and he glanced back at her to see she was staring at the weapons with wide eyes. The sight clearly frightened her, though the Soldier didn't know why. Everyone in Hydra knew what he did; what he was for.

If she scares easy, protecting her will be more difficult.

Unfortunate, but there was nothing he could do about it. He just had to complete the mission anyway. He quickly strapped on his weapons, keeping one gun in hand, then moved to the door. The Handler slowly followed him. "Stay behind me," he told her.

The Soldier unlocked the door, then shoved it open and moved out, swinging his weapon down the hall. "Clear," he said, when he saw there were no enemies present. The Handler came out after him. The best way to get her out of there would be to take a jet from the hanger on the top floor.

He led the way down the hall, away from the direction he could hear the gunshots in. They'd take the secondary staircase, keep away from the main conflict.

Footsteps are coming this way.

The Soldier paused, and four men rounded the approaching corner, skidding to a stop when they saw him. They were wearing Hydra uniforms, so the Soldier didn't immediately fire. "How are you –?" the Hydra agent saw the Handler, and pointed his own rifle at her. "Intruder!"

The Soldier got off a shot before the agent could, blood and brain matter splattering on the agents behind him. The Handler screamed. The Soldier fired again, dropping the other three agents before they could pose a real threat. Only after they were dead did the Soldier turn to check on the Handler. She was pressed back against the wall, her face pale and pupils dilated, one hand covering her mouth. Not hurt. Scared. He didn't have time for scared. He switched the gun to his left hand, then with his right snagged the back of her collar and pulled her along. The rough handling might get him punished later, but that didn't matter. He had his mission.

She stumbled as she tried to keep up with him. "You – you killed them!"

He didn't know why that was shocking. "They were a threat." Though that in and of itself was strange. Hydra had never tried to kill one of his Handlers before. He didn't know why they would now.

Irrelevant. I obey my Handler.

They made it to the door that led to the stairwell, and the Soldier moved the Handler out of the line of the doorway. "Stay here until I clear it." He shouldn't have to tell her that, but he was quickly losing confidence that she actually knew anything about fighting or tactics.

He kicked the door in and moved past it quickly, scanning the area with his gun. "Clear."

She followed after him, and the Soldier moved up the stairs. They were halfway up when the door above them opened, letting in Hydra agents. The Soldier opened fire, and the Handler jerked. The abrupt movement made her lose her balance, and she started to tip backwards. His hand shot out to grab her, but just before he caught her shirt, she dissolved in a flash of blue sparks, and the Soldier was left grasping at empty air.

What. The hell?

AN: Yo, I Live! I'm sorry for the long wait, but here it is at last. And Felicity and the Winter Soldier meet at last; what do y'all think? Their meeting go the way you expected? Let me know!