A/N- Hi everyone! This is my first time writing for Avengers, so I'm a little nervous about posting this. A few things real quick:

This takes place after CACW, but before AIW, but I may use some spoilers a little later from IW to explain some things when it gets there, I'll make sure to note it.

Some things probably are not super realistic, but its fiction, so I took some liberties. (YAY for comic book/fiction science!)

Currently making this T rated, but may go up, unsure as of right now.

Anyways, like I said, it's my first time writing for Avengers, so I was a little hesitant to post this and had it in my drafts for a while, so please let me know if you like it!

Disclaimer- Not mine.

Enjoy!


Tony Stark, Bruce Banner, and Stephen Strange sat in the once known Avenger's tower, eating dinner when the call came.

"Sir, Captain Rogers is currently in your private waiting room" JARVIS informed, with no other explanation. Tony stilled, blindsided by the call, locking eyes with Bruce.

"I believe he needs medical attention sir, he appears injured and in distress" JARVIS followed up after a period of silence. That got Tony moving. While he resented the man, and may never forgive him for what happened up on that mountain, if Steve was coming here for medical attention, something must be wrong.

"Strange, grab your kit, meet us at the elevator" was all Tony said, voice hard and his face gave no insight into how he felt. Strange nodded, running upstairs. Tony was glad at times like these to have an actual doctor on hand. While Bruce was great as a fill-in, he wasn't a medical doctor, and only knew so much. Once Stephen arrived, they headed down to the room. Tony kept a private waiting room for private investors, CEO's of other companies, and other important people who visited him. It was a lavish area, with black leather couches, mini fridge stocked with drinks of all kinds, a mini bar, and multiple cabinets with food.

"He better not be bleeding onto my couch" Tony muttered, malice lacing his voice. Bruce and Strange shared a look. Tony had only given them bits and pieces of what happened between him and Steve, but never the whole story. When they arrived at the door, Tony moved to just open the door, but Bruce stopped him, putting a hand in front of him. Bruce then raised his hand to knock, raising his eyebrows at Tony. When no answer was given, Bruce nodded and Tony pushed the door open. There stood Steve at the counter, trying to open a bottle of water with a hand covered in wet, sticky blood. The soldier looked pale, and a small puddle had formed underneath his feet.

"Steve?" Bruce ventured softly, not wanting to startle him. Steve jerked, then grimaced in pain, huffing out a pained breath, He stayed where he was, gripping the counter like his life depended on it, but turned his head to the entourage that Tony brought. Tony didn't let anything show, but the sight of the normally kept together soldier with messy hair, clothes hanging off him, and shaking hands, threw him for a loop. What had happened? When Steve's eyes landed on Strange, an unknown person, a possible threat, his body language changed. He tensed, his breathing got more erratic, his eyes turned wild, and darted around, trying to find exits. He looked like a cornered animal. Bruce, noticing the shift, placed his hands out in an unthreatening gesture.

"It's alright Steve. That's Stephen Strange. He's a friend of ours." Bruce heard Strange take a few steps back to give them room, and give Steve some space. "Can you tell us what's wrong? That way we can help? Your bleeding all over...the serum should have taken care of you." Bruce murmured that last part, confusion clouding his voice. During the whole exchange, Tony surveyed the man. He had first noticed that he was pale, but atoned that to blood loss, if that was even possible for the super soldier. But as he looked more closely, he noticed the way his eyes were sunken in, his face pinched. There were dark bags underneath his eyes, and a subtle shake not to just his hands, but his whole body. When Tony looked further than Steve's face, he could see his shirt was hanging off him like it was two sizes too big. The shirt was cut in multiple places, allowing them to see where Steve was injured. The injuries he carried were deep and looked like there were made almost professionally. Made to hurt and bleed a lot, but not to kill outright. Tony had to wonder again what the hell happened.

Bruce took a step forward, alarmed by the puddle of blood formed at Steve's feet. "Steve, we need to help you, ok? You obviously came here for help, so let us help you." Bruce took a few more steps when the soldier didn't react, to Bruce's dismay it was because he was concentrating on keeping on his feet. Bruce motioned Strange over slowly. Tony, not sure what to do, approached as well. Steve didn't react when Bruce laid a hand on his shoulder, just shivered. He reached over and opened the bottle of water for the soldier, who looked defeated by the simple task. Steve reached out with shaky hands to grab the bottle, but Bruce gently pushed them away, tilting Steve's face up and tilting the bottle into his mouth, helping him drink. The soldier gulped down the water, obviously thirsty.

"We should get him upstairs, I can't do much here" Strange muttered to Tony as Bruce helped Steve. Tony hesitated, was expecting to just put a band-aid on the man and send him on his way as they made there way here, but seeing Steve in this condition, he knew he couldn't send him away. Tony nodded.

"Let us get him to Bruce's lab, it's the closest." Tony sighed, watching Bruce help Steve finish the bottle. Tony ducked under Steves right shoulder, while Bruce moved underneath his left. They helped Steve to his feet, and then slowly made their way to the elevator. Steve grunted each time his left foot was placed down, and did a little hop every now and then, avoiding stepping on it altogether. When they finally reached the elevator, Seve was panting for breath and slumped over some. Bruce tried getting a look at Steve's leg while he was standing, but it was too dark in the elevator.

They finally reached the floor, and Tony, Bruce, and Steve hobbled out while Strange ran ahead to clear a table and set his supplies up. As they stepped in the threshold of the lab, Steve balked, refusing as much as possible to move, eyes wide and wild again. Bruce's lab had a lot of clutter, instruments thrown here and there, but was much cleaner than Tony's. Steve started to shake in their grip, shaking his head, lips moving but no words coming out. For Tony, it didn't take a genius to realize what was going on.

"He's scared... something must have happened to him...someone must of..." Tony let his revelation sink in, Bruce sucking in a breath, Strange watching them.

"He needs help, like urgently. We don't have time to get him up to another floor. Tony look how much blood he has lost just standing here. Steve...come on, it's ok." Bruce and Tony both led Steve into the lab, albeit with some difficulty when he tried to get away from them, but failed. They gently urged him up onto the table, and Strange took a look.

"Let's get his shirt off," he muttered, grabbed scissors and started to cut. Steve, out of breath and eyes squeezed shut in pain, didn't react. When Roger's top was cut away, the three standing men could do nothing but stare. Steve's abdomen was a mess of deep lacerations, burn marks, bruises, and even a brand that traveled to his back that they couldn't read. In the crease of his elbows stood needle track marks, dozens of them, stark against his pale skin.

"What...happened to him" Tony breathed, lost for words, staring, swallowing loudly in the silent room besides Steve's harsh breathing.

"Looks like he wasn't hiding the whole time like you thought" Bruce muttered dejectedly, remembering Tony sneering and ranting to them that he hoped Steve had found a good hiding spot because if he ever showed his face in public, he was going after him. Tony looked down, remembering what he said that day.

Steve whimpered, actually whimpered, and Strange jumped into action.

"Bruce, can you pass me those gauze pads? Thanks" he started putting pressure on the wounds that were currently bleeding the most, causing Steve to yell in pain. "Sorry Captain" he muttered, not letting up the pressure. Steve seemed to be unaware of the proceedings, only reacting whenever someone touched him. His breathing got more ragged as Bruce took more gauze and pressed into another wound. Tony stood, watching, not sure what to do.

"Tony, get some gloves on and start to get my stitching needle together. These wounds look hours old, and they still are not healing. Gonna try and help the serum along some." Strange continued trying to staunch the bleeding on the numerous wounds that littered Steve's ventral side, Bruce, checking over the burns.

"These are nasty. Some of them may be second-degree burns. I don't think any of them are third though. But there may be some electrical burns as well. I can't tell since they wrap around to his back." Bruce hurriedly reported to Strange, digging through the med kit to find something to put on the burns. Tony finished threading the needle, putting it on a roller table out of the way. He stood, watching the two work, then moved his eyes to Steve's face, which was contorted in pain. The soldier was biting his lip, eyes squeezed shut. This was obviously extremely painful.

"Bruce, how far along were you on that sedative for the Hulk?" Tony questions, mind quickly running through possible scenarios.

"It's totally untested Tony. I never got around to completing it. What are you thinking?" Bruce was currently putting cold washcloths on the accessible burns while Strange prodded at Steve's ribs, frowning when the flesh gave way.

"Just look at him! Your about to stitch together wounds that will probably require over forty stitches, each! Your seriously telling me that you didn't think about pain management?" Tony was pacing now, trying to come up with something that may beat out Steve's metabolism.

"Tony, you know I would have given him something if I could of. It's unfair, and it's very painful for him right now, but we have no choice. We don't have anything prepared or tested. Unfortunately, he is just going to have to work through this himself." Bruce sighed defeatedly, looking down at Steve's face, knowing the man must be in worlds of pain right now.

"What are the components of what you are working on?" Tony demanded, still pacing, halting Strange as he went to get his needle.

"Which version?" Bruce asked, brow furrowed, trying to figure out what Tony was getting at.

"Any. What did you commonly put in it?"

"Um, Xylazine, which is horse sedative, acepromazine, and some propofol sometimes. Just something that would put the Hulk down, or stop a transition. Each time I tested a batch, something changed." Bruce shrugged, watching Tony pace.

"Do you have any of it left?" Tony demanded, watching Steve's face. His eyes were now open, but unfocused, his pupils blown wide. Tony doubted the super soldier knew what was going on anymore, lost in the haziness of pain. Tony, despite the anger he felt towards the betrayal that Steve had pushed on him, felt some sympathy for him in the current moment. Tony knew what it was like to go through extreme amounts of pain without any sort of chemical help. He wouldn't wish it on his worst enemy.

"I have a whole box of the Xylazine, maybe some Ace. Pretty easy to come by. Tony, what are you planning on doing?"

"What would be the better option out of the two?" Tony demanded, grabbing a pad of paper, scribbling some things down. Strange watched the two, while he was a medical doctor, he had no experience with the serum, leaving Bruce to work through this with Tony, only offering his expertise when asked.

"Xylazine is a sedative, it'll knock him out, and give some pain relief. Ace is just a tranquilizer. It'll just calm him down, but he will still feel the pain." Bruce provided.

"Go get the Xylazine then. Just grab the whole box. How much did you put in your samples?"

"Not enough apparently. Around 15 ccs. But Tony, I had other components too, if you're just giving him this by itself, your gonna need a whole lot more." Bruce left him with that, running into his stock room to grab the box. Strange had a thought.

"Do you think the serum is...not functioning properly? I mean, these wounds are hours old, and these burns, from what I can see, look at least a day old. I don't know much about the serum, but shouldn't they have started to heal by now?" Strange questioned, moving over to look at the wounds on Steve's chest. The soldier barely registered their presence, too far gone to notice anything outside of direct touch. Tony frowned and moved closer, taking a look. He nodded, then motioned Bruce over, who listened to Strange's theory.

"It would make sense. Either something is slowing it down, or he has too many injuries that it can't keep up" Bruce agreed, frowning. He moved a hand to Steve's face, hovering it over his eyes. The soldier didn't react. Bruce ran an ungloved hand over his face. "Alright, Tony. Let's give this a try." Bruce grabbed a bottle of the Xylazine, and a needle, motioning for Tony to do the same. They both drew up a full 20 mL syringe and capping it. "Ok, let's introduce half of one, and see what that does. If the serum isn't working at full capacity, it might not take as much to get him under." Bruce walked carefully over to Steve, and grabbed an alcohol swipe, cleaning a small section of the super soldier's arm. Steve barley reacted. Bruce pushed the needle under his skin, and depressed the plunger, giving Steve 10 ccs of the Xylazine, extracting the needle, and tossing the needle into a sharps container. "Ok, let's see." Bruce held his breath, directing Tony how to monitor him without machines. Tony tilted Steves head back some to keep his airway clear, and a finger on his pulse point at his neck.

"His pulse his ridiculously fast," Tony muttered, listening to Steve breath harshly

"He is in pain." Strange muttered, cleaning Steve's abdomen as much as possible despite the blood still welling from the lacerations. Tony nodded, watching Steve's eyes. They were still open, moving around some, but unseeing.

"I don't think he is going down" Tony informed Bruce, who was scribbling on the pad Tony grabbed, trying to figure out a concoction to help Steve.

"Give it a little bit more, it might take a few minutes. If it doesn't seem to have any effect in five minutes, we will give him more. Is his pulse slowing down?" Bruce scribbled more on the pad, a crease between his eyebrows.

"Ehh, not really." Tony provided.

"Whats his rate?" Strange asked.

Tony glanced at his watch counting Steve's thumping heart, quickly doing the math in his head. "Around 138" Tony provided, knowing Steve's heart could handle the higher rates, but it was still discerning feeling it so fast. Strange nodded, continuing cleaning Steve's chest up.

Five minutes past, Tony shakes his head. "Nothing, no change." He sighs. Bruce nods, grabbing the same syringe, screwing on a new needle, and injecting the rest of the medicine into Steve's arm, then taking the other syringe and dispensing half of that into Steve as well.

"Let's see if that'll do anything." Bruce steps away, back to the pad, scribbling away, muttering to himself, and asking JARVIS a question here and there. Strange keeps trying to keep Steve from bleeding out, hoping they get things under control quickly. Tony keeps his hands on Steve's pulse points and listening to his breathing. Tony shakes his head when Bruce comes back over almost ten minutes later.

"It's slowed some, I think the last time I counted it was like 125, but he's still awake," Tony muttered, wishing this could be easy. Bruce grabbed the half-empty syringe, injecting it into Steve, pulling up another full syringe, and injecting the full barrel into him as well.

"Let's see if that works." Bruce sighed, walking away again.

"If not, we have to get these wounds closed guys. It's not good them to be open to the air this long, especially this deep, super soldier or not." Strange pestered over Steve, still stemming some blood flow.

About five minutes later, Tony gasped. "Guys! He's asleep! His eyes are closed, and his heart rate is..." Tony paused for 30 seconds, counting. "95!" Tony exclaimed, happy they finally got Steve asleep.

Bruce sighed in relief. "Good, good" He walked over, checking Steve for himself, nodding. "JARVIS, make a note that it takes 60 ccs of Xylazine to knock Captain Rogers out."

"Noted Dr. Banner" JARVIS replied, storing the information away. Strange started coaching Bruce through with his stitches. From there, they rolled Rogers over, working on his back. When they first rolled him over, they were again shocked at the violence that was put on the Captain.

"Holy...does that say what I think it says?" Tony asks from the head of the table, still monitoring Steve. ("Still hovering at 95 Bruce, if it changes, I'll let you know")

"I...I think it does." Strange gasped out, despite having no emotional or personal connection to Steve, the natural human response of seeing another fellow species in such a condition was getting to him. All three were currently staring at a harsh, red brand that started at the bottom of Steve's left hip and traveled to the middle of his lower back. In big block letters, it read "PROPERTY OF HYDRA".

Tony turned green and fought back against the bile that climbed up his throat. "Oh god...I...I can't believe..." Tony trailed off, fearing the longer he kept his mouth open, the more of a chance he would have of puking up his dinner.

Bruce was fighting back a different kind of green, taking deep breaths with his eyes closed to calm himself. "No wonder he came here...probably the only place he thought was at least somewhat safe, even if it meant having to face Tony." Strange knew there wasn't much he could do with the ugly mark on Steve's lower back, so he continued to care for the bleeding wounds, black and blue bruises.

"Roll him back over, we need to check his left leg. He was limping to the point where he wouldn't put pressure on it." Bruce murmured, reaching down to Steve's knee, feeling around the kneecap, noticing the way it moved unnaturally. He moved further down, feeling around the ankle, frowning. "Well his kneecap is definitely dislocated, but his ankle doesn't feel right. I cant tell what exactly is wrong though."

"Could be a hairline fracture. Let's just stabilize the whole leg from the knee down to be safe." And they did just that. To finish up, they wrapped Steve's chest as best as possible around the stitches to help some fractured ribs heal.

"OK, let's get him somewhere more comfortable to wake up," Bruce stated, not sure how they were going to move over 200 pounds of an unconscious super soldier. Tony nodded, obviously thinking the same as Bruce.

"One issue...how are we gonna move him?" Tony looked to Strange, who was cleaning himself up, blood all over his clothes.

"Do you have a moveable table in here?" Strange asked, scanning the room. Bruce eyes lightened up, then nodded, pulling over a slightly smaller table that had wheels.

"Here." Bruce pushed the table right next to the other, so the three of them could slide Rogers over to the movable table. When that was done, they wheeled the table into the elevator, going to an empty floor. When they arrived, they gently placed the unconscious soldier on the bed, deciding on a rotation to keep watch.

"I'll go first," Tony volunteered, not sure if he wanted Steve to wake when he was here or not. Bruce nodded, and he ushered Strange out to get changed.

"Call us if he wakes up, I'm going to go get some food together. Want anything?" Bruce offered.

Tony shook his head, not hungry after seeing what was done to the Captain. "Nah, I'm good. I'll let you know if he wakes." With that, the other two men left.


When Steve wakes, the drumming pain is already making itself known. He barely has his eyes opened before he is gasping, trying to get away from the fire licking at his body. Hands insistently push him down, a voice urgently telling him something, but he cant understand them at first.

"-just lay down you crazy oaf!" the voice tells him, one he recognizes, but cannot place in his scattered, disorganized mind. He lays back, squeezing his eyes in pain, fighting off the tears that threatened to fall. When he finally relaxes and takes a deep breath, he reopens his eyes, and his met face to face with the one man he thought he would never see again.

"T-tony?" Steve stuttered, eyes wide, positive that he will end up in the Raft after this.

"Yeah, easy Cap, just stay still. JARVIS, get Bruce and Stephen, tell them Caps awake." Tony commands his AI, not looking back at the super soldier. Steve just gapes, looking down at his body, realizing he doesn't have a shirt, and he had received medical care.

"T-Tony?" Steve asks, voice airy and taking on a scared breath. "W-What's going on?"

Tony doesn't answer, his back to him, waiting for the other two men to arrive. When they do, he breathes a sigh of relief.

"When did he wake?" Strange askes, taking a step closer to the skittish soldier, looking at Tony.

"Like 2 minutes ago," Tony responds, watching Strange approach Steve, who leans away from the doctor, eyes wide and untrusting of the unknown man.

"It's fine Captain Rogers. I am just going to check on your wounds." Strange lifts the blanket covering Steve's chest, looking over the stitches, pleased that they were not pulled out in what he suspects was a panicked wake up if the soldier's respiratory rate was anything to go by.

"Are you in pain Steve?" Bruce asks gently from the side table, a few bottles of liquid in front of him, as well as multiple syringes and needles. The blond nods, body tense once he spots the needles.

"I-I...d-dont...p-please..." Steve stumbled over his words, eyes wide, locked on what Bruce had laid out. Bruce then remembers the track marks in the crease of Steve's elbows, and takes a deep breath, not ready to deal with a skittish, traumatized torture victim.

"Steve, look at me please," Bruce commands, waiting for Steve to lift his eyes to his. When they do, he smiles gently, hoping to disarm the Captain. "None of us will hurt you. We just want you to feel better ok? So, I want to take the pain away so you can comfortably rest, we have some things we want to talk about, and we cant do that if your unconscious."

Steve hesitated, eyes still lingering on the syringes Bruce laid out. Finally, he gave a slow nod, taking a deep breath as he watched Bruce fill two syringes.

"Alright, hold still Steve," Bruce commanded, wiping a portion of Steve's arm before injecting the contents into his body. "This should help with the pain." Steve nodded, still wary of the rest of the contents of the side table, but Bruce pushed them away once he got two syringes worth of medicine into Steve.

Strange handed Rogers a water bottle, who drank it greedily, obviously thirsty. They waited till the medicine kicked in, a small smile shared between them when the normally uptight soldier, sighed in relief, dropping his shoulders.

Tony sat up straighter and leaned close. He already knew the answer to his question, but had to hear it from Steve himself.

"What happened to you?" Tony asked, gripping his chair until his knuckles turned white.

Steve looked down at his hands, wringing them out of nervousness. He hesitated, not wanting to talk about it, but knowing that Tony deserved some sort of answer to him showing up here uninvited, bleeding all over his floors.

"I um...spent the past year and a half...captured by Hydra..." Steve admitted, gripping his sheets, letting the shame wash over him.