Frostbite

Ten

Steve somehow found an old bug to get us across the city in. He claimed it was inconspicuous, but Sam and I both agreed that it was just plain old ugly. We were able to get in contact with Sharon, and Steve filled her in on what was going on. She agreed to meet us to sneak Sam's and Steve's equipment to them. It didn't earn her any brownie points in my book, even if it was risky for her.

The directions she gave us were pretty simple and led us underneath an overpass. We wouldn't be seen here. Steve stepped out of the car and walked over to Sharon. They started talking, and I inched closer to the edge of my seat, watching them.

Sam turned back towards me in the back seat and shook his head at my narrowed eyes. I shrugged, barely glancing at him. Bucky shifted uncomfortably for what seemed like the millionth time.

"Can you move your seat up?" Bucky huffed in annoyance at Sam.

"No." Sam replied shortly. I rolled my eyes at the two. They had been bickering on and off. I was tempted to knock their heads together. Steve started grabbing their stuff out of her trunk.

In response to Sam, Bucky slid into the middle of the seat, squishing me into the door. I shot him a look and tried adjusting, but there was no way I'd be comfortable.

"Uh- you do realize you're squashing me right?" I gritted out. He smirked as he turned to look at me.

"Wanna switch seats?" he suggested slyly.

"Oh my lord. Do I have a choice if I wanna breathe?" I replied, an octave from sounding full on shrill. Sam's shoulders jerked from him quietly laughing at us. I mean mugged the back of his head as I jerked the door open.

Steve had been shoving the stuff in the trunk of the car and gave me a confused look as he climbed into the driver seat and I stalked around the other side of the car. I flopped into the seat, and my hand "accidently" slapped the side of Sam's head as I did.

"Ow! What the hell was that?" he demanded, whipping around in the seat. Steve started the car, driving towards the airport. I shrugged innocently.

"Sorry- slipped."

"Like hell-"

"If you three don't get along, you'll be walking," Steve warned. Sam turned back around, but not before giving me one last look of disdain. I crossed my arms, rolling my eyes.

"I didn't even do anything," Bucky grumbled, pursing his lips as he stared out the window.

The drive to the airport was silent. We knew what the plan was. Clint would meet us there with Wanda, who I missed like crazy right about now, and Sam's mystery person would be with them, too. We'd fly to Siberia and stop the other Winter Soldiers. Simple right?

We arrived on one of the upper levels of the parking garage, parking near a silver van. The three of us exited the small bug and approached Clint and Wanda. Wanda grinned and we huddled together, whispering excitedly while Steve and Clint talked.

"Thanks for having my back," Steve told them gratefully.

"It was time to get off my ass," Wanda smirked.

"I see retirement didn't sit well with you either," I teased Clint, going in for a side hug. He ruffled my hair, and I slapped his hand away.

"Yeah, it was a lot more boring than I expected."

"How about our other recruit?" Steve questioned, looking at the van curiously.

"He's rarin' to go. Had to put a little coffee in him, but... he should be good," Clint replied, slamming the back door open. The dark-haired man jumped awake and glanced around in momentary bewilderment.

"What time zone is this?" he asked as he climbed out of the vehicle.

"Come on. Come on," Clint nudged him towards us. His eyes widened as he realized who he was face to face with. He shook hands with Steve vigorously.

"Captain America," he said in awe.

"Mr. Lang."

"It's an honor. I'm shaking your hand too long. Wow! This is awesome! Captain America," he rambled, glancing over his shoulder at Wanda. "I know you, too. You're great! Jeez. Ah, look, I wanna say, I know you know a lot of super people, so... thinks for thanking of me," he continued, mixing up his words from sleep deprivation. I had to hide my amused chuckle. He was funny.

I bounced forward and held out my hand grinning. His eyes shifted to me and lit up even more if possible. He took it without hesitation.

"Hi Scott, I'm-"

"Frostbite! Yes, I know. This is freaking amazing."

I made a face at the name, saying, "Just call me Melanie. Please."

"You got it. Oh wow- I'm on first name basis with Frostbite, a superhero," he marveled before realizing Sam was there, "Hey, man!"

"What's up, Tic Tac?" Sam greeted, using a nickname only the two of them understood. This guy was like a cracked out energizer bunny, but as long as he could fight... I wouldn't complain.

"Uh, good to see you. Look, what happened last time when I-" Scott said, suddenly getting nervous.

"It was a great audition, but it'll- it'll never happen again," Sam told him confidently. My brows shot up curiously. I'd have to get Scott to fess up about how they met.

"They tell you what we're up against?" Steve addressed him again, turning serious.

"Something about some... psycho-assassins?" he recalled, unsure. I mean he wasn't wrong.

"We're outside the law on this one. So, if you come with us, you're a wanted man."

"Yeah, well, what else is new?" he muttered quietly.

"We should get moving," Bucky reminded us from the other side of the bug. He'd been quiet during the whole exchange.

"We got a chopper lined up," Clint informed us, but was interrupted by an alarm blaring through the airport. A German voice spoke calmly over the speakers.

"They're evacuating the airport," I sighed, realizing what that meant.

"Stark," Sam groaned.

"Stark?" Scott repeated in surprise, his head turning to me. I bit my tongue and tapped my foot erratically. Tony probably wouldn't let us leave without a fight.

"Suit up," Steve instructed and turned to say something to me, but Wanda was by my side in a heartbeat.

"Are you going to be okay?" she asked, concern filling her face. A shaky breath escaped from my lips and I flashed a dark smile.

"I'll be fine. The right path is never the easy one, right?"

She hugged me tightly and then went to join the others. I'd missed her these last few crazy days. She'd become my closest friend.

"Mel, you don't have to-" Steve began, but I waved for him to stop.

"No, I do. We'll just make him understand. We have to," I told him in a hushed voice, "I won't fight my brother."