Leipzig, Germany

Spring 2016

"There," Nadine murmured, leaning forward to point out the entrance they were after over Steve's shoulder. Following her gesture, Steve nodded.

"I see it." Shifting slightly, he fished the burner cell he'd been using from his pocket, handing it back over his shoulder. "Let them know." Leaning back, Nadine woke the phone, making short work of the requested message. Once assured it had sent, she handed the phone back to Steve, only to catch a glimpse of Barnes' face as she resumed her seat.

That he was on edge was painfully clear. Nadine bit back a sympathetic sigh. Of course he was. Not only were they on the verge of going back to Siberia—a place neither of them was keen on returning to even without considering it was his old prison specifically they were headed for—but they were mere moments away from rendezvousing with a handful of Steve's new allies. Allies Barnes didn't know. And after two years of hiding from the world? He was having to adjust. Fast.

But at least he seemed to have recovered reasonably well from the stress she and Steve had both put him through. That was a distinct relief. One that made her feel marginally better about her conviction that holding off on telling him about Nina just yet was the right call.

She reached out, squeezing his wrist gently in a subtle gesture of solidarity. The metal of his bionic arm was faintly cool to the touch, shifting minutely with a barely perceptible whir as he looked over to her. A small, tight grin tugged at the corner of his mouth, and his flesh hand rose to cover hers, squeezing back in a silent demonstration of thanks.

Nadine couldn't help but smile back as some of the tension bled from his frame. Not much, but some.

Having finally been able to actually talk with the man had resulted in a far greater load off her mind than she could've ever hoped. But then, she'd been forced to face a lot in their short time laying low in her Dresden bolthole. And not just about her past with Barnes. So really, at the same time, she knew she shouldn't be surprised.

Yet here she was, privately marvelling behind her once more easily schooled expression, her thoughts and emotions, while not wholly calm, at least properly centred and containable once again, allowing her to feel more like herself than she had in a long time.

Perhaps ever, strange as it was to consider.

She'd found an unexpected sort of...peace within the abandoned store-turned-safehouse. She very much hadn't anticipated finding that, not feeling as unbalanced and chaotic as she had in the hours leading up to their arrival.

Catharsis? Definitely expected and certainly delivered to about the degree she'd anticipated.

Closure? To a point, yes, she'd hoped to find at least a measure of it and she'd been subsequently taken aback that it had truly come.

Absolution? That she hadn't believed she would ever truly find, but bewilderingly, she found herself caught by the astonishing sense that, perhaps, she might dare to hope she could earn it someday. Not for every horrible thing she'd ever done in her life, of course, but where Barnes was concerned?

Hope was an intoxicating thing. Something the former HYDRA agent sitting next to her understood intimately, she suspected. She had seen his face as she, Steve and Sam had all trooped downstairs, catching the almost fierce, determined light in his eye. Yes, if anyone understood about lure of any hope, however slight, for a chance at even a slight measure of redemption—of peace—it would be Barnes.

And then, of course, there was her time alone with Steve. Her cheeks threatened to warm happily at that particular development. She could swear she still felt the ghosts of his arms around her, or the feel of his lips on her neck...the things he had said...

He'd said he cared her. Stunned and unsettled as she had been, Nadine definitely hadn't been blind to the feeling behind that statement...or that what he felt wasn't so mundane as care—it was probably a big part of why she'd panicked the way she had. That he possibly even lov—she cut the thought off. It was still much to early for him to feel that, wasn't it? She kept what would've been an undoubtedly foolish grin carefully hidden away. But still...it had been there. And a pleased sort of excitement bloomed within her at the idea where there had only been dread and uncertainty before.

He wanted more with her.

And had he ever shown her...in word and deed.

It was astonishing and staggering she still wasn't entirely sure she hadn't dreamed it. And she'd all but admitted she felt the same way back; something equally as irrational and bewildering. It was a startling realization and a step she had never truly dare hope could ever come to pass. One that left her insides squirming happily for all sorts of reasons she couldn't even begin to catalogue, but a development she was more than willing to accept.

Which was a startling development in its own right, really.

But then, she always had gone after things she decided she wanted with both hands. And now that she was finally admitting she wanted Steve? As much more than a friend? As part of her future?

It nearly left her vibrating with anticipation.

And no small measure of determination.

She internally shook her thoughts free. Tempting as it was to dwell on the shift in her relationship with Steve, just as with the things she still had left to tell Barnes, it was not a good time to let it distract her, no matter how pleasant it would be to let it. She needed to focus.

Slowly, Steve circled the vintage Beetle around and around level after level of the Leipzig/Halle Airport's main parking complex. It wasn't hard to find what they were looking for.

Upon reaching Level B6 as they'd been directed, it wasn't hard to pick out the particular vehicle they'd been told to look out for amid the handful of dark sedans it sat among on the far side of the ascending ramp. Sure enough, on pulling up to the pale grey van, a familiar figure was already stepping out of the driver's side.

Despite her reservations in calling him in, Nadine was admittedly glad to see Clint. The man had become a dear friend in the months since the Ultron Fiasco. Arguably even family. He was one of her very few confidants. Him and Laura.

Stepping out himself as soon has he'd manoeuvred the dark blue Beetle into a nearby space, Steve turned, pulling the seat forward to let Nadine slip out behind him.

At the brief, fond glance he spared her before turning to greet Clint, Nadine's cheeks began to warm happily. But she was easily able to contain her reaction, faint smile of her own aside, something that gave her no small amount of satisfaction as she fell into step behind Steve.

"Cap. Ryker," Clint called as the front passenger door of the van opened to reveal a reserved looking Wanda. Nadine stepped around Steve, reaching out to brush a questioning hand against the younger woman's arm. It earned her a tentative but nevertheless certain—if still somewhat uneasy—smile in return. One that turned faintly exasperated as Pietro darted between the front seats and out of the van after her, flashing first his twin then Nadine one of his characteristically cocky grins.

"You know I wouldn't have called if I had any other choice," Steve said, clasping Clint's proffered hand. Clint shrugged, sparing Nadine a smile as he caught sight of the way her eyes were beginning to narrow at Pietro's antics.

"Hey man, you're doing me a favour," the archer dismissed, glancing back to the Twins, his eyes turning serious for a moment especially as they landed on Pietro. "Besides, I owe a debt." Beneath her hand, Wanda stiffened minutely next to Nadine, and there was no missing the way Pietro's gaze grew just as serious for a split-second as he met the older man's eye.

Solemnly Steve nodded, his gratitude nevertheless clear even as he too turned to the Twins. "Thanks for having my back," he offered to them too. Wanda nodded back, glancing to Clint.

"It was time to get off my ass," she said with grim certainty. Nadine squeezed her shoulder in reassurance, pleased at the steel she could see in the younger woman's eye. Next to her, Pietro scoffed, a roguish grin on his lips.

"What, and miss the opportunity to finally get in on a fight?" he waved off, earning an exasperated look from Nadine and his sister both, this time. "Is like you don't know me at all."

Not that it wasn't clear to at least a couple present that there was a clear thread of anxious insecurity to the quip; Nadine couldn't say she was surprised that he was almost desperate to prove he had what it took to be in the field. There really were times when Pietro's bluster was just as much of a front as Stark's irreverence or Nat's know-it-all confidence.

Shaking his head, Steve only barely restrained a laugh. Clint just shot Nadine a commiserating look, throwing his hands up at the eyebrow she raised.

"Hey, I just put up with an eight-hour flight with him and several hours in a van," Barton defended, edging in front of Steve to give Nadine a brief one-armed hug in greeting. Nadine hummed as she returned it.

"You should've stuck him when you could blame it on Ultron," she grumbled good-naturedly as he pulled away, unable to quite hide her grin. Barton shot her a perplexed glance before his expression cleared.

"Yeah, maybe," he chuckled, his eyes twinkling with amusement.

"How about our other recruit?" Steve asked then, cutting off the no doubt indignant remark Pietro was winding up to respond with. Sparing Sam a nod in greeting as he too approached, Clint turned to the van. Next to Nadine, Wanda similarly looked to Sam at the archer's gesture, finally taking a moment to spare a glance over the other two men who'd shown up with Steve and Nadine. Sam she acknowledged with an absent quirk of her lip. But she stiffened as she took notice of Barnes where he still stood on the far side of the Beetle. Nadine didn't miss the recognition that flashed across the Sokovian girl's face.

Especially when her wide blue-grey eyes turned knowingly to Nadine. She knew, Nadine remembered, her stomach lurching.

She'd almost completely forgotten Wanda knew about her and Barnes...and his link to Nina.

Nadine had suspected Wanda had known at least some of it since Sokovia. And she'd certainly known after Paris, Nadine having sworn her to secrecy herself. At once Nadine's expression grew guarded.

"Say nothing, alyy" she breathed, pointedly meeting Wanda's eye as she focused on the memory of her conversation with Steve, and on why she hadn't told Barnes about Nina yet. Wanda's eyes flashed dimly scarlet, and for the briefest of moments, Nadine was nearly certain she could feel Wanda peering into her mind. Unlikely, but it was an odd instinct, regardless. Inhaling a shaking breath, Wanda nodded sharply, understanding clear on her face.

It all happened in the space of a heartbeat, barely long enough for Clint to cross the short distance from where he'd stood next to Steve, Nadine and the Twins back to the pale van with its paneled rear windows.

"He's rarin' to go," he called over his shoulder, reaching out to unlatch the side door. "Had to put a little coffee in him, but—" Nadine smirked as Clint used that moment to pull open the door, looking far more amused than he should've at the way their new team member jerked at the jarring thunk of the door, "he should be good."

He was...not what Nadine had expected. This guy looked...normal. He wasn't slight—some evidence of decently developed muscle was visible beneath the thin cotton of his shirt—but he wasn't built the way any of the rest of them were, either. And he certainly didn't move like any of them. He clearly wasn't a trained fighter. And obviously she wasn't the only one to think so, given the look Steve shot Sam and the answering shrug back. So this was the guy Sam knew, was it?

"What timezone is this?" the new recruit—Scott Lang, she was pretty sure, recalling dimly that Sam had mentioned his name on the way into the airport—asked as he stumbled out onto the pavement.

"Come on," Clint prompted, finally stepping forward to physically push Lang forward toward Steve. "Come on." Slowly, a look of recognition and awe bloomed across Lang's face as he found himself face to face with The Steve Rogers. Nadine was hard pressed not to grin, unable to wholly restrain the impulse at the way Steve's shoulders hitched in a barely restrained sigh. Next to her, Wanda edged back to stand next to Pietro, her features faintly guarded as she watched the exchange. Not that Nadine missed the way she would subtly glance to Barnes in veiled consideration.

Lang eagerly took Steve's offered hand, shaking it vigorously in his poorly restrained enthusiasm...or perhaps coffee jitters, Nadine mused. "Ca...Captain America," he stated sounding faintly stunned, still shaking Steve's hand. Or arm, rather. Nadine's amused smirk finally properly broke free. Definitely enthusiasm, she decided silently.

"Mr. Lang," Steve replied with far more patience than Nadine knew she'd be capable of...as Lang continued in his handshake. Heck, she was tempted to make him stop herself...it was starting to make her dizzy...

"It's an honour," Lang said only to finally look down to his hand in Steve's, "I'm shaking your hand too long. Wow..." Nadine exchanged a sympathetic look with Clint as Lang babbled on, the archer just raising his eyebrows as if to say 'told you so.' This guy and Pietro on a plane and in a car for hours? The poor man...

Nadine blinked as Lang turned back to his travel companions, gesturing to Steve in disbelief, before glancing between the Twins, "I know you, too," he offered with an absent gesture between them, "You're great!" Nadine shot first Sam then Clint a bewildered look as Lang proceeded to size up Steve, even going so far as to boldly reach out to clasp his shoulders in a manner that could only be described as star-struck. As he rambled further in his enthusiasm, evidently flustered enough to mix up his consonants as he went, she nearly laughed aloud at the nearly dumbfounded, questioning look Steve shot at Sam. And even as Lang turned his attention to greeting Sam with a overly casual greeting that more than betrayed how overwhelmed the man was, Steve was meeting Nadine's eye, his own twinkling with barely restrained incredulity. She had to bite the inside of her lip.

"What's up, Tic Tac?" Sam offered back with a poorly concealed grin of his own.

"Uh, good to see you," Lang said before hesitating, "look, what happened last time when I..."

"It was a great audition," Sam chuckled with a shake of his head, "but it'll... it'll never happen again." Oh, that was interesting. Shaking her head, Nadine edged closer to Sam, intent on backstory.

Only to pause as Lang's attention settled next on her, obviously easily distracted. Nadine held back an exasperated sigh at the reaction. Perhaps coffee was partially to blame... "I don't know you, though..." he piped up curiously, "what can you do?" In a flash, Pietro was next to Nadine, a puckish grin on his face as he glanced from Nadine to Lang.

"She's good at killing people," Pietro supplied deviously, smirking at Lang who looked suddenly taken aback, blinking owlishly as—for the moment, at least—he appeared speechless. Nadine restrained the urge to sigh or drop her forehead to her hand.

"Thanks, Pietro," she muttered dryly before reaching up to cuff him on the back of the head. Over by the van, Wanda choked, poorly concealing a laugh at the startled look on her twin's face.

Mercifully, Steve attempted to draw them all back on track, then, easily reminding them all of the gravity of the situation. "They tell you what we're up against?" Lang looked between Sam and Steve before answering, somewhat distractedly.

"Something about some...psycho-assassins?" Nadine had to admit, it was a somewhat accurate assessment, if a little dramatic. She absently wondered if that was his own classification or if someone else had supplied it.

If the latter, she'd likely place her money on Pietro. Though, she considered, glimpsing the brief look that flashed across Clint's face, the archer had his mischievous moments too...

"We're outside the law on this one," Steve was continuing solemnly, brow creased in a deep frown, "so, if you come with us, you're a wanted man."

For the first time since he'd stumbled from the van, there wasn't a trace of cheek or jangled nerves as Lang shrugged. "Yeah, well, what else is new?"

"Where did you find this guy," Nadine murmured to Sam as Lang and Steve spoke. A peculiar expression came over his face. He looked almost...embarrassed? Definitely reluctant. "Spill," she prodded. He shot her a look of annoyance before groaning in acceptance.

"He got past me and broke into headquarters a little while back," Sam grudgingly replied. Nadine's eyebrows nearly shot to her hairline as she looked to Sam in shock.

"That guy," she confirmed, her skepticism plain. Sam huffed, nose twitching in the beginnings of a grumpy scowl.

"Yeah, and kicked his ass, too." They both turned to look at Scott, Nadine with incredulous interest and Sam irritably.

"You're lucky we need you," Sam muttered bitterly under his breath, "or we'd be having a rematch right now—no suits. Then we'd see who kicks whose ass..."

"We should get moving," Barnes spoke up, then. Almost as one, their newly minted team turned to former HYDRA agent. One that Nadine wholly agreed with. Next to the van, it was Clint who piped up next.

"We got a chopper lined up," he said. Only to be cut off as the PA speakers dotting the columns of the parking structure crackled followed by a brisk German announcement. Nadine's stomach sank as the implications of the clipped order sank in. So much for slipping away to Siberia before the Avengers managed to catch up. Several eyes turned to Nadine as the PA fell silent, expressions alone asking for a translation. But even as she was opening her mouth, someone else beat her to it.

"They're evacuating the airport," Barnes offered grimly from the far side of the Beetle. Nadine nodded in agreement, looking to Steve.

"Either somebody recognized us, or..." she trailed off as he nodded, inhaling deeply.

"Stark," Sam finished for her. She nodded her head in agreement. That was her assessment, too.

"Stark?" Lang questioned, startled. But no one paid him much heed. Steve's expression was distant as he sank briefly into thought before glancing quickly among the newest arrivals.

"Suit up."

Without a moment to spare, they were all moving, gear being quickly retrieved and efficiently donned. Retreating to the Beetle where Barnes had already opened up the hood, Nadine was quick to start passing out gear to get to her own, laying Steve's shield against the bumper and tossing his bundled suit over. His things out of the way, she was easily able to grab up her duffle and rifle case, pausing only to balance the case on the wheel well to give her rifle a quick, habitual once over. Once her practiced eye was satisfied with its cursory check, she briskly closed the case up once more.

Only to notice Barnes' quizzical, poorly hidden glances toward her as she slid the zipper into place. Stifling an amused grin she shot him a glance of her own.

"What, did you think my specialty was hand-to-hand?" she asked, unable to wholly hide her amusement. Pushing aside an embarrassed look at being caught out, Barnes shrugged.

"I never really considered it, to be honest." He glanced over to her for real as he straightened, his bag in hand, his vibrant eyes considering, "though, now that I know you're The Ghost, I really shouldn't be surprised, should I." Nadine shook her head, a trace of a grin curling her lips despite her best efforts.

"Speaking modestly, I was one of the best sharpshooters—arguably the best—to come out of the Red Room and the Black Widow Program." The grin finally made it to her face in its entirety. "I might even be better than you." He snorted doubtfully—actually snorted—nearly causing Nadine to burst into laughter.

"I think that might be wishful thinking, Rykova." She snorted right back.

"Right. C'mon, Barnes. You couldn't even manage to properly kill Fury," she quipped back. At that, Steve shot her a quelling, even shocked, look. Nadine's nose wrinkled in consternation at her slip... "Oh, right. No one's supposed to know that." Not that she felt entirely repentant; not only was it not much of a secret by this point, but who was Barnes going to tell?

Barnes looked startled, but he recovered quickly enough.

"I feel like I should be surprised," he mused thoughtfully, a flicker of amusement appearing in his shadowed eyes, "but given how hard he made it, I can't say I am." Unable to help herself, Nadine chuckled. Especially when Barnes' mouth quirked in a faint but distinct grin.

Steve just groaned softly, shaking his head in exasperation as Nadine set her rifle case on the asphalt next to his shield before she turned and headed for the van, her duffle once more in hand. She didn't bother to hide the small, pleased grin of her own.

Satisfied that Clint, Pietro and Lang had all retrieved their own gear already, Nadine gestured Wanda into the van ahead of her, wordlessly claiming the privacy for the team's two female members. Not that there was any objection.

Only to pause once she'd slid the door shut, the firm thunk punctuating the penetrating glance Wanda had levelled her with.

"Why not," the younger woman asked softly after a tense moment, her voice carefully controlled. Nadine inhaled slowly, not having missed the glimpse of vulnerability or the flash of protective anger that had appeared in Wanda's eyes despite her admirable composure. There was no denying what she meant with the vague question. Nor could Nadine entirely deny the pride that nearly tempted her to smile; there really was no doubting how much Wanda had grown in the last year. Nor how much she had come to care about Nina.

Nadine considered her answer for a moment. Obviously Wanda had only glimpsed the bare minimum of why in her mind.

"You know he's her father?" she countered softly first, her own curiosity getting the better of her. As with Wanda's question, there was no mistaking what—or rather, who—Nadine meant. Nor was it really a question, given Paris and all of what Nadine was quite certain Wanda had seen in Madame B's head. It was more confirmation than question, really.

Wanda stiffened minutely, her eyes briefly glowing scarlet in the dimness of the van as she nodded slowly. "Ah..." that was a surprise; it wasn't Paris that had tipped Wanda off. Wanda's face said it all. There was only one person who drew that particular reaction from her.

Strucker.

It actually explained a lot, come to think of it; Wanda hadn't really reacted as she probably should have in Paris to learning the secret of Nina's paternity, Nadine mused in retrospect. She must have gleaned enough from Strucker about Nina and her parentage that once she met Nadine she just put the rest together. Paris must've simply cemented what she'd figured out already. Another flash of pride bloomed through Nadine. She was a smart girl, Wanda.

"I didn't realize what I knew until...later," the younger woman admitted sedately, almost apologetically. "Until...Nina...until you talked to Nina...and...and after Paris..." Sure enough it was confirmation of what Nadine suspected. Nadine swallowed back a heavy sigh then as her thoughts turned back to Wanda's initial question. She began to unzip her duffle.

"Have you looked into his head?" Nadine finally asked sedately instead of answering outright. Mutely, Wanda shook her head, uncertainty flickering in her eyes. Nadine spared her a mild, if resigned smile as she began the process of slipping into her gear. Silently taking the hint, Wanda quickly followed suit.

"If you had," Nadine continued once she finished with the final fastening in the hollow of her throat of her pale grey catsuit, "you would see a mind far more tormented and damaged than mine or Natasha's ever were." She paused in pulling on her right boot, fingers absently toying with the small but sturdy tactical knife hidden in the lining as she pointedly met Wanda's eye. "A mind that can only handle so much stress and upheaval at once before further damage is done. A mind still healing from being all but torn apart repeatedly for decades. You understand, alyy?" Mouth set in a grim line, Wanda nodded her understanding. Inhaling deeply, reining back the emotion that even thinking of what Barnes had endured brought forward, Nadine nodded, satisfied.

Ensuring her boot and its mate were secure, Nadine grabbed up her jacket, gloves and belt, slipping forward to the front seat and out of the van.

Leaving Wanda to her thoughts as she finished fastening the bodice of her own gear.

Closing the passenger door behind her, Nadine looked up to see Clint watching her from the corner of his eye where he leaned against the sliding door of the van. He'd already changed his shirt, swapped out his civilian boots for his tactical ones and was in the process of fastening his armguards and gloves, his change proving less intensive than others of their team.

"You heard," she asked softly, unable to help her resignation from threading her voice. She didn't need to clarify. He nodded once, absently surveying the rest of their new Team; Steve, Barnes and Sam all stood over near the Beetle's open trunk in varying stages of readiness; Pietro was buzzing around ready to go, naturally the quickest to don his gear; and Lang was shrugging into his own suit partway between the two vehicles just out of earshot. She bit back a sigh. "And you put the pieces together?" It was a pointless question, really, rather like her first. The guarded look on his face said it all. But, once more he nodded, finally looking to Nadine.

"I do get it, Nadine," he assured her quietly when he noticed the impassive cast that had unconsciously taken over her features. "And I can't say I blame you, much as the father in me hates to admit it. I'm well aware of the damage done when you've had your mind ripped out and pieced back together into something you don't recognize." She nodded briskly, far more relieved than she could say to hear it. Clint laid a hand on her shoulder in commiseration. "It's no easy thing to come back from, even in ideal circumstances. Adding in a shock like that one?" He huffed doubtfully, making his point easily without actual words. If anyone could understand how hard a decision it was to keep Nina from Barnes, she should've known he would.

"That's putting it mildly," she agreed under her breath as she laid her jacket over her shoulder so she could fasten her belt securely around her waist and hips. Clint smiled as he settled the harness for his quiver into place across his shoulders, beginning to do up the assortment of fastenings.

"So more Winter Soldiers, huh?" he said, changing the subject, "you know about these ones?" Again, it seemed like he already knew the answer, given the almost flippant delivery. Nadine sighed as she finished with her belt, unable to wholly silence the conversation from the car ride the evening before from echoing hollowly through her thoughts.

"What was it that the doctor wanted to know?" she had asked of the Beetle's other occupants once she'd settled them on her route to Dresden. Barnes had sighed heavily, the sound indicating he intended to be the one to explain even though it had been several long moments before he'd actually started speaking.

"If I'm right?" he'd finally said, voice heavy and laced with guilt and resignation, "Years back, before I...met you, I think—I'm not quite sure of the year, but he kept mentioning 1991, so that's gotta be when." He'd shifted uncomfortably, his expression pained and distant, nearly causing Nadine to squirm herself; she knew the look that came with remembering missions that had scarred. So she couldn't blame him when he didn't elaborate beyond the barest explanation of the outcome: "there was a mission where I had to...to retrieve some...packets, I guess they could be called. Medical bags, really. Some kind of serum. They were then used on five of HYDRA's best, their top death squad, making them...Enhanced. Kind of like...kind of like what happened with Steve. It made them stronger, faster, quicker to heal and so on." He'd sighed with a trace of frustration then, brow furrowing as he seemed to wrestle his thoughts into order, what he'd said next reinforcing the supposition to Nadine's mind. "It's hard to remember perfectly, but I'm pretty sure I had a hard time keeping up with them, myself. Didn't hurt that they weren't being given the extensive mind-alterations that I got, I imagine. But it...jeez, these guys were bad news before they were given that stuff. But after?"

He'd paused then, features drawn as he'd once more ordered his thoughts, taking on a grave cast echoed by the troubled shadows in his eyes. "It only made them more aggressive, more violent. More ruthless, even. And harder to control. I think the project was ultimately shelved.

"Not that that really matters," he'd finished grimly. "They were all put into cryo like they did with me when I wasn't needed. And they're still there, so far as I know."

Nadine spared a glance to Clint from the corner of her eye, the suspicions she'd begun to form almost the instant Barnes had mentioned a stolen serum suddenly weighing heavy on her mind.

"No, I didn't. Feel like I should have, though," she finally offered. Clint frowned, looking to her at her bitter tone. Her lips thinned as she hesitated. She hadn't even admitted her theory aloud yet to anyone, barely acknowledging it to herself. Part of her dreaded that it just might be true.

"From my research into the Treatments," she finally elaborated, reluctant but needing to voice it to someone. Comprehension began to surface on Clint's features as she slipped her jacket on, leaving it open for the time being. "If my suspicions are right from things Barnes said after the doctor activated him and what little I did manage to put together about the Treatment program over the years? These other Winter Soldiers were given a serum that Barnes was charged to acquire in the early nineties. If I'm right and it was based on or maybe even derived from Erskine's formula?" Clint frowned.

"Erskine? As in Cap's Project Rebirth?" he questioned in surprise, beginning to look distinctly troubled himself. She nodded gravely. "He'd have to have gotten it from...from S.H.I.E.L.D., then. I thought recreating Cap's serum had been iced—no pun intended," he added with a faint quirk of his lip. Nadine blinked, looking to him with a trace of surprise. The quirk spread into a subdued grin at her implied question; and he knew all that how?

"Phil Coulson—before your time with us, before the Avengers, even" he explained, "I was stationed with him in New Mexico when Thor made his first appearance. He was..." he paused, huffing out a small chuckle, "he was quite the buff when it came to the history of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the S.S.R.; even had one of the old-school flying cars. Talked the ear off anyone who'd listen when the opportunity came around. And he was a big fan of Rogers'." He grew thoughtful again, sifting through his memory. "I think I remember him talking about how Stark Sr. tried to recreate the serum after the War—good friends with Cap and all—which he thought was a little odd given that, like Tony, his dad was more into tech than bio-research. I have to agree...maybe...if he was sitting on it, instead, keeping it shelved..." Clint's frown deepened as he looked to Nadine. "I think...didn't Stark's dad die in the early nineties?" Nadine shrugged, uncertain. It sounded right.

"I was still a recruit when this happened," she admitted, "I think I remember hearing that he'd been killed in a car crash or something, but that was before my days as an operative." Clint nodded himself, an idea obviously coming to mind.

"If S.H.I.E.L.D. came across something in Senior's notes after his death? Genius does seem to run in that family. If he'd been sitting on something the higher-ups thought promising? They might have started the project up again. Too bad Coulson isn't here to ask; the man was a walking encyclopedia of obscure S.H.I.E.L.D. history, especially when it came to anything related to Cap, so he might've known...and I don't think Fury would know...he was only at desk jockey himself in those days, and a project like that? It'd be way above his security clearance...maybe once he was director..." Nadine hummed in absent agreement as he thought aloud. It was an interesting possibility, but it ultimately wasn't really that important; the serum had been recreated and Barnes had stolen it from whatever S.H.I.E.L.D. facility it had been secreted away in to be used to create these other Winter Soldiers...and maybe not even just them...

"However the serum came about," she murmured gravely, silencing Clint's musings as she brought them back around to the main point, "HYDRA ended up with it...and they didn't sit on it, they used it. And...if the serum used on these Winter Soldiers really was a derivative of Erskine's formula? Then it was also likely what they used as the base for the recreation they attempted and tested on us in the form of the Treatments. It...the theory fits," she tersely concluded. Out of the corner of her eye, Clint stiffened, looking sharply to Nadine. "Even though the source of the serum was never mentioned in any of the files I managed to dig up, there was mention of a prior program that had limited success. These other Winter Soldiers had to have been the first, and when it was successful but that they proved too volatile? They moved on to trying to create an altered version, resulting in the Treatments." Barton swore softly under his breath.

It did not make her feel better...

"It really is all one big connected, convoluted mess, isn't it," he muttered, leaning back against the side of the van again. Nadine nodded, fiddling absently with the gloves in her hand.

"You can say that again," she agreed grimly.

And with a final commiserating glance to Clint, she headed for the Beetle to save Barnes, Lang and the rest of their team, sans them and Wanda, from the insolence personified that was an impatient Pietro Maximoff.

A/N: Thanks for reading!

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