Warning: Heavy Angst

"I'll take (Y/N)," Tony began, "no one else makes a move towards her, got it? Sam and Vision on Steve, and Nat, Wanda and Scott on Bucky. We need to isolate them from each other to get control. If they come at us together, we could lose this thing before it starts. Bruce, you stay out here with the kids until it's time and I call for you. Don't go green unless you have to. Clint's taking the high ground inside, and Thor, Rhodey, and Peter are taking them apart out here so no one gets away." He stopped and looked at each member of the team before him, connecting wordlessly as he caught their gaze one by one, but Clint refused to look up. "No one gets to back down once we're in there, alright? If you're not sure that you can do this, then step away now before we're on the line."

Clint nodded along silently, counting the arrows in his quiver for the fifth time in the same number of minutes; it was how he calmed himself when his nerves started taking over. One, two, three, he began again, his fingers gently gliding over each fletching to make sure that there wasn't even the tiniest crack in the feathering as to not worry about a misfire or a skewed flight. Today, of all of his days with the Avengers, it felt like every shot that he would take carried the highest risk and should be treated with the utmost respect for the arrows at his fingertips. One, two, three, he began again.

Wanda stood next to Vision, listening to Tony but not letting his voice take her focus; instead, her eyes were on the three little ones standing at his side. They were trying to look so brave and ready to do whatever they needed to do to get their parents back. They were so small next to him, and her heart broke for them that they had to do something like this at such a young age. Tony had tried and failed to get them to leave when they insisted that their skills would win this battle and that they needed to stay; Wanda was the one who agreed and supported them, but now she was having second thoughts and her fear began to win.

"Viz, did I make a mistake?"

"No."

"But they're so young and untested. If they get hurt because I said that they should stay..."

"They will prevail."

"We've only done this twice before," she whispered with a shake of her head. "They'll need you when the time comes or it won't work."

"I will be there."

"Is something wrong?" she asked, turning to face him. "You're being very curt."

"I will never become accustomed to taking life, Wanda," he replied quietly. "I know that these people are thought to be evil and dangerous, and that the only way to retrieve our teammates is through the enemy, but it is still the end of a life at my hands."

In this matter, she had easily found herself siding with Tony and his plan to rush the school until they found the three of you, taking out anyone who got in their way without a second thought. She could understand Vision's hesitation and struggle on a logical level, but her emotions were winning within her today, and she was going to do anything that she had to do. Her devotion was to your children, and if killing was the only way to get you back to them, then she would find a way to her own absolution later.

"Then only take those when there are no other options. They wouldn't hesitate to end you like you are for them."

"That doesn't excuse it."

"No," she sighed, dropping her shoulders heavily at the end of the long breath, "but what they are doing to (Y/N), Steve, and Bucky doesn't allow them to deserve our compassion. I'm sorry, but that's how I feel."

Tony knelt down to talk to the kids one more time before he led the charge into the building, quietly saying something to each of them separately and leaving them with a kiss and hug to hold in his memory as he fought. It would be the only thing that would keep him together when the time came to face you; getting you home to them was the only goal, even more so than bringing you home for himself.

"Ready?" he asked to the group, closing the mask over his face. "Last chance to stand down."

A piercing squeal of rubber on asphalt interrupted the group before anyone could answer; when they looked to the source, no one was surprised at what they would see. The sleek, black car belonged to T'Challa, who was in a sprint towards Tony almost before the car could come to a complete halt. "Where do you need me?"

"Tony," Wanda spoke up quickly, "I would like to stay with the children too...to prepare them further, if T'Challa could take my place."

"Fine by me. T'Challa, you're going for Bucky with Nat and Scott. They can get you caught up on the way in," he nodded, taking one last look at the group. "Alright, let's bring 'em home."

"Nat," Clint called out to her, "come here." He reached out and grabbed her hand to pull her in for a kiss and a tight hug, finding himself barely able to let go.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, just...come out alive, alright?"

"That's the plan. I expect the same from you, mister," she smiled gently, leaving one more kiss behind before running to meet her group as he watched. He took the strap of his quiver and flipped it in his hand to sling it over his shoulder and onto his back, but he paused, taking one last deep breath.

One, two, three...

~~~

With the Avengers team outside and making short work of the troops that were supposed to be securing the perimeter of the building, you were preparing your plan of attack for when they would finally enter and make their way to you. Usually you were tasked with the hunt and kill, but this group was making it far too easy, bringing themselves into your hands. With a knife in each boot, another on your hip, and handgun in your holster and a rifle on your back, you were more than ready to greet them.

The building began to shake when they broke through the barrier of the doorway that you had secured yourself, and the sounds of repulsors and gunfire filled the hallways below. They grew louder and louder as they approached, but you held steady, with Steve and Bucky only a few feet away with their weapons drawn.

"You're beautiful, my dear," Schmidt cooed, but his voice was like nails on a chalkboard in the distress that you could feel it cause deep inside your mind. "I've waited too long to see this moment. I've waited too long for you to come home. There have been just so many years apart, but I plan to make that up to you."

"That doesn't interest me, but if that's what you think you have to do," you replied plainly, "I will comply."

"You see, this is where Uncle Johann went wrong," he continued, "all those years trying to make perfect soldiers to serve him, but he never took into account the person that the serum was molding. Somewhere in that pretty head of yours, you're still in there. What he never considered is the need to nurture the process, give it love, watch it grow. That's what I did with you, (Y/N). I loved you like my own child, raised you into the Hydra mission, even though your blood was muddied with Stark contamination."

"Stark..."

"Bury that name," he spat. "Lock it down, (Y/N)." It was one of the words that would release his hold on you, and to allow you to so much as think of it was too much of a risk, especially now. "You see," he began again, now pacing back and forth in front of you as his energy and anger built, "if it weren't for that Anna bitch ruining everything and running away with you, we would have never been apart. She told you that I died, but oh, I didn't. I've been thriving, just waiting for my girl to come back to me. That man out there, coming here now to take you away from me again...that man is not your father, (Y/N). I am. You carry his genes but I created you. I made you what you are."

"Understood."

"Wonderful," Schmidt smiled coldly, "so now we finish this once and for all."

The door to the room you were holed up in shook slightly, followed by the familiar sound of Tony's suit powering up his repulor to blast it away. It exploded into pieces that shot across the room, impaling in the walls around you and shattering windows; but none of you flinched. The team pushed their way in, but Tony held them back when he saw the man next to you, having heard much of what he had said from the other side of the door.

"You son of a bitch," Tony hissed, "I knew that your voice was familiar. She is not your daughter, and she never will be, even if her own mind never comes back. I'll make damn sure of that."

"(Y/N)-" Schmidt began, but was quickly interrupted.

"You're the one who sent Anna to find her again, aren't you?"

"Of course. She took her from me, so she owed me her life's work in finding her again. It was just luck that my darling had children of her own to give Anna an easy way into the family. And to think, she had children with Captain America himself," he laughed. "She's brought home the Soldier and the greatest enemy that Hydra has ever known, both now mine. I couldn't ask for more from my perfect girl."

"She's not yours!" Tony yelled furiously in reply, taking a step forward only to be met by the end of your rifle.

"Stop," you commanded. "Remove the suit."

Tony swallowed hard, the thick lump in his throat trying to choke the air out of him, his chest tight with pain as he realized that the moment was upon him. You looked just like the last time he had seen you, when you were still his, and it made the decision that much harder. He had told everyone that there was no running from the line when it came, and he found himself to be the one wanting to flee.

"Remove the suit," you repeated.

"Baby, please," he tried, knowing there was nothing more to risk.

"Oh, Tony, no," Schmidt mocked, "there's no place for that here. This is the end."

With a set jaw and a faltering resolve, he closed his eyes and sighed, pausing just long enough to remember what you had asked him to do so that he could give the command. The voice you were using now was harsh and cold, but his mind was filled with the real sound of your voice, and it hurt like hell.

Promise me that you'll keep them safe once and for all, especially from us.

"Alright guys," he replied quietly. "Go."

~~~

"It's starting," Wanda gasped, hearing the disruptions from the rear of the building where Tony thought you were being held. Her heart was racing and pounding in her head, but she couldn't give that any attention now; she knelt down to face your trio, doing her best to appear brave for them despite the tremor in her hands as she held them. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, Auntie Wanda," Anthony replied, almost frustrated at the question being asked yet again, "we're ready. You and Uncle Vision have made us ready."

"That's my fear, Anthony. That we've made something that shouldn't be."

"How can you say that?" Grant protested. "This is inside of us. It's here for a reason, and this is it. I'm sorry, Auntie Wanda, but if you try to stop us...we'll stop you. We've already decided that we're not leaving here without our parents and Grandpa Tony."

"No matter what," Brooklyn added, stepping up to take her brothers' hands.

Another loud explosion rocked the building and the ground under their feet, tipping each of them enough to grab each other for support. Anthony closed his eyes and tried to concentrate amongst the destruction all around him, struggling and searching for anything that could be you, but coming up empty.

"Guys, they just called me in," Bruce announced, leaning in close to Wanda before running towards the building, "it must not be going well. If we tell you to leave, do whatever you have to so they go." As he broke into a run, the familiar green changed quickly and the roar of his voice carried in the air seemingly from every direction.

"We have to go now, Wanda," Anthony urged, yanking himself from her grip. "They're gonna lose!"

"They won't, Anthony. We have to stay here until they call for us. Be patient."

He bit his lower lip in frustration, drawing a small drop of blood from the force, but he didn't even notice. He looked to Grant and Brooklyn in the hopes that they could guide him, but they were looking to him for the same thing. He was the first born, and he always played that role of leader from the first time they could communicate with each other. Having the name of his grandfather had already given him drive to do what he thought was right in his heart, and standing here helpless wasn't it.

Anthony turned in and took Grant's free hand to complete a circle together, closing his eyes with remorse of what he was about to do. "I'm sorry, Auntie Wanda," he muttered in barely a hint of a whisper as the strength of his siblings coursed through him. When his hands began to tingle and burn from the buildup of energy in them, and as soon as he couldn't stand it anymore, he released Brooklyn and touched Wanda's arm, knocking her unconscious in a shock that threw her several feet away.

"You got stronger," Grant gasped, running to Wanda and checking to be sure that she was okay. "That's good, we're gonna need that."

"I need Uncle Vision's help or I won't last long. Come on," he urged, leading the way into the school, "we need to find him."

~~~

When Bruce arrived at the battle, he found that he was right; it wasn't going well. Tony's suit was sputtering and grinding from the damage you had done to it, the helmet torn away and one of his gauntlets destroyed on the floor in front of him. Steve had Sam pinned in one of the far corners, with Vision unable to move him without causing the Captain more harm than he was willing to inflict. Natasha and T'Challa were holding their own against Bucky without Scott, who had rushed to Tony's aid inside the suit just to keep him powered up. He had passed Clint on the way in, fortunately arriving in time to help him with a group of guards when his arrows had run out just as the archer had feared.

No, this wasn't going very well at all.

"Hulk," Tony groaned from under your squeezing grip around his neck, "smash...gently."

Hulk's first move was to free Tony, rushing forward and taking you in his massive hand, shaking you until you were forced to drop his friend. Once he saw Tony land on the floor he slowly set you back down and turned to his next task, leaving you in awe that the beast hadn't ended you.

"Mom! Dad! Stop!" Anthony hollered from the door, catching everyone's attention. "Everyone get back!"

The team scurried back at their direction, watching with wide eyes as the trio stood with their backs to each other. Vision hurried to stand next to them, putting a hand on Anthony and Brooklyn to give them some of his strength since they were still so little and being asked to do so much. As the group looked on, Brooklyn caught the three of you and forced you back and against the wall, leaving you unable to move under her power. Anthony was next, his aim first on Bucky.

"Uncle Vision, I need your hand." He took Viz's outstretched hand and aimed at Bucky, the energy growing until it burst forth; he hit him with an energy wave that knocked him unconscious, much like it had to Wanda, but much stronger with Vision's help.

Grant ran forward and pulled a pair of metal restraints from his bag, allowing T'Challa to help him apply them before melting the metal together to ensure that he couldn't escape. Grant set his hands over the cuffs until the lock melted and they were completely secure.

Steve was next, but after seeing what had happened to Bucky, he was fighting Brooklyn's hold and Anthony's attempts with all of his might. "You're going to regret this, you little bastard," he hissed, trying to shake off the waves that kept hitting him.

"That's not him, sweetheart," Natasha reassured, "that's not your daddy talking."

"I know."

"Anthony, you need to stop," Vision warned, "this is too much for you to continue. He's weakened enough for us to restrain him now."

"Okay," he sighed, taking a pained breath for his final target. "But I need to help mom."

"No, you need to stop," he warned again, his hand no longer on the boy so that he move to help with Steve's hold. "Anthony, I said no."

In true Stark fashion, Anthony ignored his warning, walking up until he was directly in front of you. "Mom, I want to help you." He lifted his hands to your face, despite your tries to evade him; Brooklyn's hold was now barely strong enough to hold you, and you could feel it weakening.

"Don't touch me," you spat. You could feel your hand move freely, and then up into your arm, and finally your shoulder as she began to lose her control. Anthony didn't see your arm shoot up in time to step back, instead finding himself now in the same grip that his grandfather had been in only moments ago with your hand around his neck.

"Mommy," he pleaded through strained breaths, "I'm going to save you." His hands shot up and connected to you, immediately freezing you in place at the sensation of him in your mind. He searched for you and kept coming up with nothing that he could recognize; tears began to stream down his cheeks in both fear and despair just as the room began to get spotty in his vision. He could feel his grandpa trying to pull your hand away, but all he could focus on was reaching you. "I'll find...you..."

The edges of his vision began to darken, but before he could let go, he finally found the small light in you that he was searching for. He tried to draw you out, to lead you back, but he wasn't as strong as he needed to be anymore. He smiled at the realization that you weren't lost forever, and instead of spending any more energy on the search, he summoned the last of his power to drop you to the ground unconscious so that they could restrain you too.

"Anthony! No, wake up!" Tony shouted at the boy, rushing forward to hold him and leaning down to check that he was breathing, with a restrained sigh of relief when he heard it. "Come on, kid," Tony pleaded, "you did so good. Wake up to see it, okay?"

"Medical's on the way," Vision added softly, taking his place next to the other two children.

"Ant, come on," Tony whispered, "don't do this to Grandpa, okay?"

Tony looked around him, seeing Bucky knocked out and bleeding in the corner, Steve full of blinding rage and fighting his restraints, and you moaning in pain even in your unconscious state next to him. In his arms was his grandson, not waking up after spending every last ounce of his energy to save you, as he promised that he would. The sounds of Grant and Brooklyn crying were devastating, and he couldn't take it another second. It was all too much; it was the bottom of the darkest pit that he had ever fallen into, and all of the light around him was gone. It was the moment that he never thought could happen to him, but nonetheless, it was here. He stood and gently handed Anthony to T'Challa, then backed away well out of the risk to anyone from what he might do.

Tony had hit his breaking point, and everything went red. Ripping what was left of the suit away, he screamed out in pain like nothing that anyone around him had heard before; it wasn't from his injuries, but from the tearing heart in his chest at the sights around him. He dropped to his knees on legs that gave way, grabbing his stomach as the sobs heaved from him beyond his control.

"Tony," Natasha approached, but when he raised his head to look at her and the rage in his eyes scared even her, she backed away readily.

"This isn't how it was supposed to go! I can't...it's too much...I can't do it..."

His thoughts were broken by a sound of strained gurgling from the other side of the room, sending him into a blind fury; he stood and crossed the open space to the source, finding a battered Schmidt beginning to wake up. "No," Tony hissed, "no, you don't get to do that."

His bare and bloodied hand wrapped his fingers tightly around the man's neck, squeezing with all of this strength as he watched a blue tinge rapidly growing across his lips. "You don't get to wake up."

"Tony, stop," Clint approached this time, "you don't want to do this."

"Don't tell me what you think you know," he hissed in reply. "I want to feel him die, Clint."

Schmidt's eyes flew open suddenly, bulging from their sockets in terror at the loss of air; when he tried to reach up for Tony's hand, Tony shifted and straddled his chest to hold him steady. When Schmidt wasn't dying fast enough for his liking, he gave him a second hand.

"Hail...Hydra..." he groaned with his last struggled breath, leaving Tony not satisfied at all afterwards. He released his grip and stared at the dead man beneath him, wishing that he had done it sooner so all of this might have been avoided. He pulled his arm back and drove his fist into Schmidt's face, followed by another, and another, and another until he was throwing rapid punches between hysterical tears that dripped onto the now-bloody and crushed target.

"Tony, come on," Bruce now urged, "let's get everyone out of here, okay? I think his head is as flat as you're going to get it." He wrapped an arm around Tony's shoulders to guide him up to standing, only to find his friend turning into him, grabbing him into a hug so tight that he knew that Tony was hanging onto him for his own sanity; for his life. Bruce was holding him to reality, and he feared what would happen if Tony were to let go.