When Suns Rise and Shadows Remain
[Book II]
Series IV - Captain America: Winter Soldier
Written By Starswim
Disclaimer: I don't own anything that belongs to the Marvel universe, only my OCs and slight twist in plot.
Rating: T (though might change to M, later in the book)
Story Plot: The whole family are settling down after the passing storm: trying to have a normal relationship, get a college degree, and grow up to live a happy life. However, just because the sun is up doesn't mean that there are no shadows. [Loki/OC]
Series IV Plot: Kelsey is attempting to acheive a college degree, while helping Loki adjust his new life in Midguard. Their plans come to a halt when a ghost haunts the university to purge his victim - unfortunately, Kelsey is its target. Loki must give his all to protect his friend and turn his enemies into allies. The pair must make a choice to either stay and fight back or run and hide. Either way, both options lead to possible death.
A/N: Here it is! Book 2 has finally arrived! I hope you enjoy the beginning of series IV, though I must say that before you proceed, check out the remake of Book I. That being said, if you don't care and just want to move onto the series IV, by all means, read away.
Anyway, thank you all for your patience, and I hope you enjoy the story...
Prologue
Steven Rogers has been fighting by SHIELD's side since his awakening. The second his eyes opened, he picked up the pace and started running like any trained soldier would do.
It took a while for him to understand the twenty-first century - its customs, technology, and the military. The old days and today may be different, but the worlds didn't. HYDRA was still out there with a plan.
HYDRA.
The name alone was a nightmare for earth. Who would be cruel and sadistic enough to start this horrific organization? People who could be power hungry, watch the world burn as entertainment, or just love the smell of blood.
How did HYDRA ever found its name?
According to Greek mythology, Hydra was originally a one head, walking serpent, terrorized and murdered people where it went. If someone tries to kill the beast by chopping off its head, two more will grow back.
Captain America may have saved the world, sacrificing his life to stop Red Skull from using the Tesseract as a weapon. The battle may have been won, but the war was far from over. Each battle, HYDRA's forces - its head - multiplied, becoming stronger and more barbaric.
Each day the battle becomes harder. Some already died under the monster's claw. Some were swallowed whole, not to be seen again. One friend escaped the death, only he went missing. HYDRA was to blame. Captain America won't stop at nothing to stop them and rescue his old friend.
The task was easier said than done. Director Fury piled the soldier with missions, distracting him from the real one. Whenever Steve does get a day off, which was rare, he would wake up, eat, run past a rookie jogger, train, and meet up with blind dates set up by the live action version of Kim Possible herself. Finding his friend was officially his vacation plan. No matter how much Steve researched the SHIELD database, take down French pirates, interrogate the double agent currently locked away in his cell - he was at a dead end. He was going to be the only one alone in this whole new world.
Little did the good guys know that its own team was spiraling itself, allowing the monster to take control.
More friends and family died, dozens of agents were assassinated from half a century til now, and nobody has a clue why.
Until it was too late.
...
The soldier was standing face to face with the wounded, uninvited guest resting on his lounge chair.
It was dark outside and inside the apartment. The record player jazzed 40's music in the background. The guest was exposed by a gold illuminating street light near the opened window, allowing its January wind to blow inside.
"I don't remember giving you a key," Steve sarcastically commented, lowering his star-spangle banner shield.
His guest pushed his back off the chair, masking the pain he was currently in - fractured right arm, broken ribs, bleeding nose, whiplash, and a bump in the head.
"Did you really think I need one?" he retorted.
Steve slowly approached the guest, noticing the specks of blood below the man's nostril and bearded mouth. He halted when the man held up his phone, silently giving him a texted message.
'EARS ARE EVERYWHERE'
Steve narrowed his eyes at the text, looking around the room. He raised his shield, ready for the unexpected.
"My wife kicked me out," the wounded man said loudly for the ears to hear.
"I didn't know you were married," Steve flipped the lights on to see his uninvited guest clearly. However, the eye-patched man shook his head, indicating the soldier to flip it back off. The lights turned off, resuming the darkness.
"There are a lot of things you don't know about me," His boss said softly. "I'm sorry I have to do this, but I have no place else to crash."
Steve lowered his gaze at the man's phone to see another message.
'SHEILD COMPROMISED'
"Who else knows about your wife?" Steve asked, playing along with the director's game.
The wounded man pushed himself off from the chair, ignoring the pain radiating down his back and fractured arm. His body was screaming for him to take more anesthesia, but his mind commanded him to keep moving. He needed to complete his side mission, give the soldier the order - the message.
'YOU AND ME'
"Just... my friends," he replied out loud.
"Is that what we are?" Steve challenged, not forgetting what occurred in the last mission. Trust was a fragile thing for Steve. Fury bended his trust - he and Romanoff. Despite the battles, Steve faced back in the forties, twenty-first century was becoming more corrupt and more dangerous. Steve has no choice but to keep his guard up - all mind, body and shield.
"That's up to you."
Those were his last words, before he dropped face down. Steve's wall was decorated with holes, size to be firearms. The enemy was near, coming to finish off one of SHEILD's top men.
Steve dragged the director out of harm's way, attempting to tune out the man's coughs and wheezes. The soldier didn't want to believe the man was dying. The director couldn't die, not when they were in a war with HYDRA.
With his agonizing breath, the director grasped Steve's hand with simple but strong words of advice.
"Don't trust anyone."
Steve crashed through his own window to get to the other side of the building. He spotted the shooter on its rooftop ready to make his get away. That's when the adrenal kicked in. The assassin shot Steve's once trusted friend and boss, the soldier was not going to let him get away.
As he was running, crashing down windows, walls, and doors with his shield; PTSD triggered. All Steve saw were images of his past - the war, the crowds cheers, Red Skull with the Tesseract, his best friend fall to an oblivion.
"Hail Hydra! Hail Hydra!"
Steve winced clenching his jaw at the disgusting words that were once poured from his tongue. That one time in 1945. He pushed the horrid memory out and focused at the target at him. The shooter was spotted through a larger window, jumping on a much shorter roof from another building. Steve braced himself, holding up his shield. The glass shattered, the shield blocked the gushing wind, his legs kicked high as it can go till they were plastered on the concrete. He tucked his head and tumble rolled once, before throwing his shield at the assailant.
Steve paused and stared with widened eyes, his breathing slowed. He watched a metal arm holding the shield that was meant to knock the shooter down.
Steve narrowed his eyes, making out the details of the shooter. The first thing he noticed was the metal arm grasping the vibranium shield. A red star designed on the deltoid region. Soldiers always protected the fifty stars. That's what made the shooter like no other. The greasy, straight hair that blew across the man's face. However, the black, breathing mask did most of the covering. His nose and mouth was left to Steve's imagination. What was exposed were the man's eyes. What was his color and shape? Steve tried to figure it out too late.
The shield was thrown back to him with blunt force, forcing Steve to catch it and slide a couple inches. By the time Steve raised his head to look again, the shooter vanished.
Steve rushed to the edge of the rooftop to see where he ran off, only there was no trace of him anywhere. He disappeared like a ghost, almost made Steve wonder if he was his imagination.
Later it was confirmed that he didn't imagine it. Steve learned a lot of things that night.
Director Fury was killed an action. The mysterious soldier murdered Director Fury in cold blood.
SHEILD was taken by the sworn enemy. No doubt this was planned from the start. Who was sincere and worth trusting and who wasn't?
Who was the mysterious shooter?
Steve has to figure out the pieces to this puzzle by doing what he was trained to do - pick up the pace and start running, but as a wanted fugitive than a superhero.
According to Romanoff, people called the shooter a ghost story - HYDRA's new fist, but everyone knew him by a different name.
The Winter Soldier.