The Raft. A supermax prison for enhanced individuals. In hindsight, it was probably a good idea, but the biggest problem with it now was that it housed the wrong people. Far too many wrongs had taken place and this was one Steve Rogers was going to correct, even if it meant reaching out to someone he had specifically been trying to keep out of the fight. Someone who he was sure was going to be more than a little pissed about being left out for so long already.
Seoul, South Korea. One year ago.
U-Gin Genetics was in shambles from Ultron's assault on their laboratories. Staff had died, and hundreds of thousands of dollars in equipment had been damaged. Helen Cho was putting things back together as best as she could manage, and there certainly were enough issues as it was without more problems turning up on her doorstep. She'd almost died, and she had a weight of guilt on her mind for assisting Ultron even the little that she had, the lives of her staff weighed heavily on her mind even if the Avengers had managed to put a stop to the robot's grand plan of global destruction.
It had only been about a week since Novi Grad crashed down to Earth, taking and destroying many lives. There was one life that had barely been hanging on, though. One that, at the surface, had perished amidst a flurry of machinegun fire. Forty-seven bullets pierced through the speedster, but none had touched his brain or heart, which had both stopped functioning for well over a minute, but it turned out that Pietro Maximoff would not find a demise so easily.
And he was the biggest problem on Helen's plate. She owed the team, and the only person who even knew he was still just barely hanging on to life was the Captain, because false hope was not going to be something he put Wanda through when there were so many unknowns.
It also took the smallest amount of pressure away from Helen, because she would only have to deal with one Avenger if the kid teetered over the edge and truly was lost. Steve wasn't expecting anything, but he had hope, and he had to hold on to it.
Seoul, South Korea. Present Day
"And you're sure we can trust these people?" Bucky was wary, and for good reason. They'd been hiding out for a while in the city, though he was strictly staying in the shadows because they were both wanted criminals still, and the distinct lack of an arm was going to draw attention they couldn't afford to have on them.
"I'm sure. We don't exactly have a lot of options otherwise, Buck. We need help and most of it is stuck in a tin can in the middle of the Atlantic. We're going to need a little speed on our side if we're going to bust them out." Steve was in civilian garb because after making contact with Helen, it was time to pull Pietro back into the fray.
"I feel like we probably could have used a little speed on our side at the airport.." The dark haired man muttered dryly.
"We didn't have the time and I wasn't going to to risk him dying for us a second time." There was a note of something in Steve's voice that told Bucky pressing the fact any further wasn't a wise decision. Now was a desperate time, because it was just the two of them and Bucky knew his usefulness had taken a serious dip. T'Challa had gone back to Wakanda because they needed their king and Steve refused to let him put any more at risk on him, than there already had been.
"Be careful out there. There isn't going to be anyone to save us if we get caught." It was more warning than Bucky knew he needed to give, but old habits died hard.
"I will. If everything goes well I should be back within the hour. Lay low until then."
And it was with that that the Captain slipped from the empty building they'd been hiding out in. He was to meet Helen and Pietro at a neutral location, and then they'd head out. Leaving the doctor with as little risk as possible was everyone's goal, because she had already done more than enough for all of them.