To say that Tony was done with this mission would be the biggest understatement of the year. First off, they were in the middle of Siberia, where they had just finished mopping up a few stray agents from the base they had just blown up. Also, it was near freezing on the huge-ass mountain where said agents had decided to run and Tony didn't have nearly enough compact, top-of-the-line science heaters in his Iron Man suit.
"And done! Can we get out of this god forsaken wasteland now?" He landed heavily next to Steve, who barely spared him a glance before returning to scanning the terrain. Tony heard a roar and turned to see the Hulk smashing through the snow.
"Right. Natasha, could you…?" Steve gestured to the raging Hulk. Natasha nodded and walked calmly up to the green giant.
"Hey big guy. Time for a lullaby."
No sooner had Bruce Banner stumbled out from the Hulk than a threatening snarl echoed around the soaring peaks above the Avengers. Steve tensed, looking ready for an attack. Tony took his cue from the Cap and raised his repulsers in defense. Thor hefted his hammer. Even Natasha looked uneasy. The echoing had made it impossible to pinpoint the location of the animal. Her gaze darted around.
A giant wolf slunk out from the shadows. It's hackles were raised, and it bared gleaming fangs at them. With a closer look, Tony realized that the wolf was very clearly starving. It's ribs were showing under a thick coat, and it had a half-crazed look in it's dull blue eyes.
Tony heard a sharp inhale from Steve. He turned his head to look at him, but Steve had padded forward lightly, and was now crouched in front of the huge animal.
"Steve?" The Captain didn't react, he only raised his hand slowly toward the wolf, who shied slightly, a growl rumbling in it's chest.
"Uh…Cap? Your hand is going to become dog chow in a moment."
"Shut up, Tony." Steve replied. Tony shut up.
The wolf sniffed the air tentatively, edging closer. It's gaze had locked on Steve, as if it knew him. It slowly stretched forward and very gently nudged it's nose against Steve's offered palm. Steve sighed in relief and ran a hand over the wolf's broad head. The enormous creature pushed back into the touch.
"When did the Cap become the dog whisperer?" Tony whispered to Clint, who snorted and shook his head.
"What did they do to you?" Steve murmured to the wolf. "How could they do this?"
Tony stepped forward, only to hastily retreat when the wolf snarled from Steve's arms.
"Cap, what is this?" He demanded. Steve raised suspiciously bright eyes to Tony.
"I can't…"
He was cut off when the wolf howled and bolted. Steve tried to scramble after it, only to collapse to the ground with Natasha, Bruce and Clint.
"What the…"
Tony looked around wildly as Thor stumbled and fell to one knee. Black figures swarmed the clearing like ants. Tony tried to fight, but one of the people aimed a bazooka at him. There was a bang and then the world went dark.
Tony woke up in handcuffs and ankle cuffs. He was normally not totally averse to this, but this time he was chained to a dank wall that was clearly in some cheesy super villain's underground base without his Iron Man armor. He had a brief flash of sand and pain and caves, but he shoved that down. He needed to get out of here. Natasha, Clint, Bruce, and Thor were chained next to him, and all of them had clearly been searched. Steve was gone.
Natasha blinked her eyes open. Her sharp gaze immediately went to the cuffs and to the two doors in the unusually large room. Tony could see her start plotting an escape. Clint and Bruce started awake, and after a few minutes Thor announced his awakening with an almighty groan.
"Where is the good Captain?" Thor whispered, which was the equivalent of a normal speaking voice.
"I don't know." Tony admitted reluctantly.
"We'll have to wait for someone." Bruce, ever the sensible one, chipped in.
They didn't have to wait long. After around ten minutes, the door shuddered. They could hear faint yelling in the hallway before the door crashed open and the Captain was thrown into the room. He scrambled to his feet as the door slammed shut. Steve rushed to it and pounded on it.
"What the FUCK did you do to him?"
Tony gasped at the swear. Cap turned around, seeing all of them strung up on the wall. He rubbed a hand over his bruised face.
"Do you mind explaining any of that?" Tony asked. Steve looked away. He opened his mouth, about to say something, when the door opened on the other side of the room. Steve dropped into a defensive crouch.
So this was the super villain. He strode into the room with his slicked back hair and his stereotypically Russian features. He stood at attention by the door. Tony was confused.
Then a man came into their prison, and all the attention was immediately focused on him. His otherwise handsome face was marred by an ugly scar that ran from his forehead to his chin. His clear eyes glared out from under a mess of black hair, and his stern mouth was twisted into a sneer.
Oh. This was the super villain. He looked at Steve and raised his heavy eyebrows.
"This is it?" His American accent cut through any stereotypes Tony had about Russian villains. "I thought the Great Captain would be more…impressive."
Steve looked at the guard, sizing him up. He turned back to the Bad Guy.
"Where is he?"
Bad Guy scoffed. "You still want to know about him? What are you, his pet?"
Steve let out an inhuman snarl. Natasha looked very interested from her vantage point on the wall.
"Or is it the other way around?" Bad Guy continued. "Is he a loyal dog to you?"
Steve started forward, ready to tear this guy to pieces.
"Please." Bad Guy scoffed. "You can't do anything with that fancy piece of jewelry you have on."
Tony noticed a gleaming silver bracelet on Steve's wrist. What was it, a shock bracelet?
"Do you need more motivation?"
Bad Guy gestured at the door, and a moment later a cage was wheeled in with the wolf in it. The moment he saw Steve, he started violently struggling against the ropes holding him down. Steve went still immediately.
"I have a preposition for you, Captain." Bad Guy said lazily. "I'll let them go- I'll let them all go for you to stay here and be complacent."
Steve narrowed his eyes. He opened his mouth and hesitated.
"Cap, no!" Tony cried. "Don't listen to this dick!"
The Russian thug calmly walked over to him and sank his foot into Tony's gut. Rude.
Steve had reached a decision. "I'll do it. But I get to have a moment with him first."
Bad Guy smirked. "Fine. Deal."
He turned and waved at the Russian. "Let the dog go."
The Russian tentatively walked over to the cage and slid open the door, making sure to stay well to the side. The moment the cage door was open, the wolf struggled free of his bonds and rushed over to Steve. Halfway there, golden light clustered around him and a man with shaggy brown hair stumbled to Cap. Steve stood and grabbed the man, hugging him tightly.
"Bucky." He whispered the word with reverence as he buried his face in the man's shoulder. Tony suddenly felt like he was intruding on something intensely private.
Bucky stood back from the hug and slapped Steve across the face.
"You fucking idiot! You got yourself caught and then offer to trade? I swear to God, Stevie, I will fucking kill you myself-"
Steve stopped his rant by pulling him into a kiss. Tony gaped. He flailed as much as physically possible while he was cuffed. Natasha smirked, a knowing look in her eyes. Clint was impersonating a goldfish. Bruce just looked genuinely happy and Thor looked confused.
Bucky sighed and pulled Steve closer.
"Well isn't this lovely." Bad Guy decided to be a dick and interrupt. Tony glared at him, hoping to set him fire with his eyes.
Bucky smirked dangerously. "You made a mistake here, in all this elaborate planning to get him here."
Bad Guy frowned. "And what's that?"
Steve smiled innocently, his blue eyes seeming to glow in the dim light. "Buck 'n I're true mates."
As soon as Steve finished his sentence, he jumped. The silver bracelet shattered and he leapt toward the ceiling. The golden light gathered around him. A huge white tiger dropped to the dank stone floor of the cell and promptly pounced on Bad Guy. Bucky turned into a wolf and lunged at the Russian. Tony winced and turned away as Steve the Tiger turned Bad Guy into mincemeat. Bucky wasn't much better.
When the chaos died down, the floor was a mess and Bucky and Steve were back to human form. They were also hugging it out on the floor. Tony cleared his throat very pointedly because hello, he was still chained to a wall.
Oh yeah, and the rest of the team was too.
Steve jerked away from Bucky to come help them. He broke through their cuffs, avoiding their gazes. Natasha slid to her feet, grumbling about how he should have told her he was into guys so she could set him up. Tony got up slower, feeling the ache from taking a bazooka to his chest. He turned to the team.
"Let's go find my armor and then let's question Tigger over there."
They nodded. Steve hesitantly spoke up.
"Me and Bucky can go on ahead and clear the way of guards." He looked at the mess in the room and added, "Just knocking them out."
Tony agreed.
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