11. Sins Of The Father 10

The next attempt on Steve's life did not result in any arrow wounds for him, but the fight against the third-generation sentient Doombots took twice as long as it should have — and twice as much property damage — because everyone kept tripping Steve.

Literally.

The end tally of "accidents" was two bow-swipes from Barton, three snatch-and-grabs by the Hulk, six repulsor blasts by Iron Man, two lightening-strikes by Thor and a building collapse by the Black Widow (she refused to admit it was her fault over the comms, but Steve knew it was her). Steve still managed to play his part in the battle and not break a damn leg, although it became more of a gymnastics workout for him than he was expecting.

When it was over, Coulson blandly called the team to convene at his SUV for a check-in and unofficial debriefing. Steve held back until he knew everyone was there, then walked up and slung his shield at the SUV. Barton barely leapt out of the way and Iron Man's armor got a new scratch as the shield buried itself into the engine block with a loud, vibrating "clang."

Tony, of course, was the first to react. "What the HELL, Rogers! Fuck! The battle's over, asshole!" He twisted his leg out like a girl checking her stockings as he inspected the minor damage.

Steve walked up calmly, ignoring the fact that Barton had an arrow trained on him and both Coulson and Romanoff had pulled their guns, safety off. Hulk finished the job by smashing in the top of the car with his fist, probably thinking they were playing a game. Thor held his hammer at the ready but he just looked confused.

"Thanks, big guy. I think they got the message." Steve saluted the Hulk and then pulled his shield out of the completely destroyed car. He figured they could take the cost out of his exorbitant bank account.

"Something to say, Captain?" Coulson asked, his revolver still at the ready, if pointed at the ground.

"We're a team. We work together, or we don't work at all. Tripping me up every thirty seconds while we are in the middle of a fight doesn't help anyone. It made this battle go twice as long and twice as hard for no. Damn. Reason!" He turned on Coulson. "If this was your idea, if this was your suggestion, I'm requesting a new liaison from SHIELD."

"Hey!" Barton stepped forward and shoved at Steve, who pushed him back hard enough to send him sprawling.

"Okay, I understand that you're upset," Coulson said, his eyes on Barton who was rolling effortlessly to his feet and looking pissed off.

"Do you?" Steve snapped.

"For the record, none of what happened was at my suggestion or recommendation. But as I believe you are aware, Captain, my so-called 'authority' over this group is nominal, at best."

"It was my idea." Tony pushed the face plate up. "Don't hit!" He stepped back when Steve turned on him. Steve figured he was done losing his temper and he did not want a brawl on the streets with Iron Man, so he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

Coulson finally put his gun away. "Stark, I hope you have a damn good explanation for this unauthorized team exercise, because from where I'm standing Captain Rogers is right. Every single one of you did your best to impede your battle leader."

"The sniper was back."

The deep breathing went out the window as Steve swung on Tony. The faceplate slammed down just as Steve's fist made contact and Iron Man went sailing right into the Hulk, who picked him up and tossed him aside like so much garbage. Tony got control in an instant and rocketed back to the group, landing far away from Steve and keeping the faceplate down.

"Why the hell didn't you say so? Why didn't you tell Coulson, at least? God damn it, Stark, we have protocols in place for when team members are compromised!" Steve yelled. Barton was there again but holding his hands up, keeping Steve back.

"Chill out, Cap, maybe it was a stupid idea but it was the best we had in the middle of the fight, okay?" Barton said, his hands held high and placating. "Coulson didn't know, because if we had told him he would have called you off the field."

Coulson nodded begrudgingly. "That's true."

Tony finally let the faceplate snap up again. "I saw him, creeping around one of the high rise apartment buildings over there. I thought Hawkeye could take him out, since my hands were busy with about six Doombots. Hawkeye had his own problems. So we just came up with the idea to keep you off your game so he couldn't get a shot. Had to pull the others into it because damn it, you were all over the fucking place." Tony sighed. "I think he got two shots off-"

"Four." Natasha added flatly. "That's why I brought his building down, he was getting too close."

"I knew that was you!" Steve pointed at her.

She shrugged, like sending a ten story building down nearly on his head was a trifle. "The Winter Soldier is not going to stop just because a building falls out from under his feet. But it kept him occupied until the fight was over and his window of opportunity was gone."

Barton ran his fingers through his hair. "So you're certain this time."

She glared at him. "I was certain last time. This time, though, I'm not the only one." She turned to Tony.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure that was the Winter Soldier."

Steve shook his head. "You can't know that."

Coulson sighed. "I supposed you broke into the SHIELD encrypted file on him?"

"Damn right I did, Agent. And yes, based on the heat signature I picked up and recorded — you're welcome — the guy was missing his left arm."

Natasha nodded solemnly.

Steve frowned, thrown by the comment, because that had not been mentioned in any of the briefs he had been given access to. "You're telling me one of the top assassins in the world is missing an arm?" He asked, knowing his incredulity showed through but unable to hide it because the idea was ridiculous.

"He lost it a long time ago. Perhaps he never had it. I don't know." Natasha rubbed her arms as if warding off the cold. "He had a specialized prosthetic, like nothing I've seen since." She raised her chin at Tony. "Maybe the armor. But high tech, beyond anything that should have been possible. Don't ask me about it, all I ever saw was the hand."

"Great." Steve sighed, post-battle hunger and exhaustion hitting him all at once since his anger was fading. He turned to Tony. "So I suppose I need to thank you?"

"You're fucking welcome." Tony blasted off.

"That went well," Barton said, looking at the jet trail Iron Man left behind. Hulk raised a fist and started smashing on the destroyed SUV again.