I trudged through the snow with my father and the rest of our team trailing behind as we searched the area for Dr. Bruce Banner. We were about five miles into the forest from where the truck driver said he had dropped Bruce off. I picked up the buzz from the Hulk at the road and followed it. "He was here," I called back to the others, pausing for them to catch up, "but he's not in the area anymore. He Hulked-out about a half a mile ahead of us, let's check it out." I'm Gifted and my gift, funny enough, is to sense other Gifteds (lab made or not).
"Are you sure you're okay for this, Grace?" My father asked quietly when he reached my side. I was sent to keep an eye on Bruce before the accident and considered him a friend.
"I'm fine. I'd rather it was me, anyone else who would just shoot him." I said with a nod. When I turned to move I caught the looks of concern that Clint and Natasha shared, having been close enough to over-hear the exchange while the other four still lagged behind. I continued to lead the way to where Bruce Hulked-out.
When we reached the point of the switch it was a mess, the ice was cracked and partially broken. There was a backpack in one direction, what remained of a parka in another, one leg of a pair of pants in yet another, and in the middle of all the destruction sitting perfectly intact like it had simply been dropped was a hand gun. I crouched next to it and realized it had Bruce's energy all over it. I knew what he tried to do. "Oh God, Bruce." I whispered and covered my face with both hands, hiding my anguished expression from the others. I felt my father's hand on my shoulder.
"Go back to base, we've got this." He said gently. I nodded and stood, took a deep breath before turning to go. I didn't even take a steep before a new energy hit me like a ton of bricks, knocking the air out of my lungs and causing me to freeze in place. "Grace?"
"Hey Doc, you okay?" Clint called, his eyes never missed anything. I gasped in a breath, spun and took off running in the direction the energy was coming from.
"Grace?" My father questioned again as he, of course, followed me. I just kept running until I reached the edge of the large deep crack in the glacier and looked down. There in the cracked ice was a World War II era plane and I knew who was in it. Not even waiting for climbing gear, I lowered myself over the side and started to climb down careful of the med bag slung over my shoulder. "Grace Anne! What the hell are you doing?!" I ignored my father and kept climbing down. I tuned out the rest of the yelling as I reached the plane and climbed in the already broken windshield.
There was surprisingly little ice inside. I slid off the dashboard and onto the floor looking around. I was too dark to see, I pulled my flashlight from my pocket for light. There a few feet in front of me on the floor half covered in ice was Captain America ….. and he was breathing. Shaking off the utter shock, I sprang into action. I ran forward and dropped to my knees next to him, my hand going to his neck for a pulse that was there but very weak (confirming I hadn't lost it). I pulled the med bag off my shoulder and sat it next to me yanking it open, as I found the epinephrine my radio crackled to life with a very familiar angry voice but I ignored it. I injected the eppie into the Captain's arm, after a second he gaped deeply before his breathing evened out much deeper the before and I checked his pulse again it was slightly stronger. I grabbed my radio. "Shut up and call HQ and get a full med team out here ASAP, tech too with heaters or something. Then get your asses down here. You won't believe this." As I barked out orders I pulled the thermal blanket from my bag and flipped it out over the top half of the Captain's body, the half that wasn't covered in ice.
"What's going on?" my dad asked still annoyed.
"Just shut the fuck up and do as I said Agent!" I snapped, it was harsh but I'm in Doctor Mode and my patient can't wait for my dad to stop being pissy. I felt the Captain's hand close around my knee and made to move it but he only held tighter. "Captain, can you hear me?" I ask quietly and pause, nothing. It's reflex, and that's good, I told myself. "I have to do something about this ice." I muttered to myself. Thinking quickly I pulled out my tactical knife and start carefully chipping away at the ice. A few minutes I hear voices from close above and then boots hitting the plane's dash. Flashlights click on.
"Holy mother of God! Is that who I think it is?!" Dad's voice rang from behind me. Of course he's going to fanboy-out over this. The Captain's hand twitched around my knee at the noise.
"Yes it is and be quite, he's in bad enough shape without you freaking him out." I said firmly in my Doctor Coulson voice.
"He's alive?!" Dad still being a loud mouth fanboy. The Captains hand twitched again.
"That's what I just said. Now shut up." I snapped. "Someone get over here and help with the ice." I was still chipping away at it as the others stood there gapping like idiots. "Now. You idiots."
"Yes ma'am." Johnson replied and scrambled to help. Donovan didn't say a word just scrambled after his partner.
"Carefully!" I barked and my knee was squeezed gently. "If you're going to be clumsy just get out." Doctor Mode made me a bitch.
"Yes Doctor Coulson." They answered in unison and started chipping at the ice like I was. My father was still gapping like an idiot, but at least he's stayed quiet and out of the way. I pause to check the Captain's pulse again, still not as strong as it should be but better than it was. When my fingers left his neck he squeezed my knee again, I froze mid movement toward the med bag.
"He just squeezed your knee." My dad supplied uselessly.
"Yes I know." I said irritably. "Captain? Can you hear me?" I asked softly, a pause and nothing. "Cap?" A tiny twitch. I swallowed hard and tried again. "Steve?" This time he squeezed my knee. "Steve?" I tested and he squeezed again. He can hear me! "My name's Grace and I'm a Doctor. We're gonna get you out of here soon." He squeezed my knee again. I turned to Agent Useless Fanboy. "Go check on that med team." He was still gapping like a fish, but his eyes now rested on the hand on my knee. "Now!" I barked and he snapped to and skittered off.
When the med and tech teams arrived it took about ten minutes total to get Steve out of the ice and onto a stretcher, wrapped in at least five thermal blankets. He stirred and seemed panicked as we pulled him up out of the chasm. When we reached top side his eyes fluttered and he grabbed my hand. I blushed as we loaded him into the Quinn-Jet.