Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me: Marvel and Co!

Also still not English! So I'm very sorry for any error you will find while reading it! If you want to be my Beta be my guest! (really do NOT hesitate to contact me!)

Enjoy!


Chapitre 1 : The Winter Soldier

He walks slowly, breathing silently, aware of his surroundings. He is a ghost. Claws ready to tear apart an enemy should he encounters one. The hair on the back of his neck is standing. The atmosphere in the building is eerie.

No sound, no light, no life.

He passes a door, and another, again and again. Then he stops.


"Men, we have our Soldier back!" a man in his forty declares as a man with black hair and a metallic arm, strapped to an electric chair, regains consciousness. At first his gaze is blurred then it clears to deadly intend.

"Kill him (ubiystva)" the first man order the soldier in Russian while showing him a picture with the target.

"Da" his raspy voice pleased the assemble men incommensurably. All look very proud of themselves.


Fury, isolated in his office aboard the helicarrier, is deep in thoughts. He has a peculiar feeling. Something is…wrong.

Sitting on his chair, he is playing with an USB key.

Coulson is slowly but surely discovering the truth to his recovery, The Avengers (alone and together) are still a pain in his backside – apart from Natasha Romanova, Stark is no longer Iron Man but also put a stop to a terrorist organization working with Extremis, there is still no lead about these mysterious death (no wounds, no toxin, nothing! How is it possible?) and the council is still on his back because of the alien invasion in New York. And now, it seems he has locked down many electronic files – confidential and extremely dangerous ones- without his knowing.

His phone rings, his answer is simple, automatic.

"Sir. Yes, I'll be there."

Putting the USB key in the invisible pocket on his shirt, he departs to the Headquarters of S.H.I.E.L.D.


This is the door.

Carefully he cut it open with his claws. No footsteps. No beating heart.

He is still alone in this labyrinth of door and laboratories.

Alone with many many corpses.


Steve is watching, hearing and learning.

A group of ex-soldiers, of various company and years, are in a room, sitting on uncomfortable chairs, with his new friend and fellow ex-soldier, Sam in the center.

They all take turn to talk about their experiences, the good and bad, their losses and miracles.

They leave nothing out. Their fears are exposed, raw or healed.

Hearing them, memories of happier and darker times came back to him. He would have like to have Bucky with him today, but he is on a mission for Shield, not to come back before a month at least.

Still he listens. And by listening, he learns how to let go of his past. Bit by bit. Step by step. Sam is good with giving advises or just to be there. It's clear to him, at least, that Sam did have to do the same, and in a way still does.

Accepting the past, letting it go and moving forward.

Steve frowns; he can still hear the irritating monologue of Stark junior, Tony he corrects himself mentally.

Leaning poised against the entrance, arms crossed on his chest, he thinks about his last mission with Natasha and their affiliate team.

Something is wrong; the mercenaries were not behaving as he felt they should have. And the fact the Natasha had her own mission, that he knew nothing about, just pissed him off; that and the fact that the mercenaries leader slipped away.

He almost snorts out loud when he recalls his after mission meeting with Fury. Again with secrets. It seems the world resolved around them. Well, secrets and technology.

It's sad to him to think that nowadays people can't do anything without a computer or a cellphone.

A bell rings, almost startling him. He focuses back to the group, which is now exchanging "Goodbye" and pleasantry or last advice, before going past him to go back to their life.

"Hi Steve! What are you doing here? Want a rematch?" Sam asks him joyously.

"Hi Sam, maybe it's just the company I miss" he jokes.

"Man, everyone wants a piece of me!" is his answer.

They laugh good-naturally, and talk about for many hours. Before, finally after dinner, going they separate way in good mood.

Steve takes his time going home, enjoying the evening and the calm.

In the corridor, he passes his neighbor; a sweet looking blonde nurse, with a sweet smile; he fumbles a bit, but managed to invite her to a cup of coffee for the day after tomorrow. He loses his smile when he hears music in his flat.

Cautiously, he opens the door.


Natasha is running full speed, taking absolutely no care for the ones in her way.

She dives onwards, towards the imposing silhouette of Steve Rogers. And stops. She swallows back a gasp.

"No no nonono" she surprised herself whispering while watching the man - who gave her the chance to work for her redemption, to absolute her past crimes- being operated on.

Soon Maria joins them, and they all witness Fury losing the fight.

Dying.

The carefully bland tone of the doctor when he finally calls the death breaks her heart.

Fury is dead.

Fury is dead.

Even emotional, she still sees Steve in the corner of her eyes clenching something in his hand.

She made herself go away first, but stay in the vicinity to watch him.

Invisible to him and all the other agents, as only an assassin can be.

Once he is gone, she goes to the vending machine and recuperates what she now knows is the USB key she gave to Fury, discreetly without being seen.

She will make sure to make them pay. And she knows that Steve and this key have the answers.

After all, Fury would not have gone to Rogers without being sure that there is a mole in Shield, else he would just have gone to her and Maria.

Not even an hour later, she manages to contact Stark and put the tower on lock down. No one can enter, and no one can leave. Hopefully, Stark being the paranoid little bugger he is, he did manage to drive out all Shield staff.


"Stop Captain, I'm not an enemy alright! And this USB key? I was the one to give it to Fury! From our last mission, I - just like you- want to know why they killed him for it!"

"He told me I couldn't trust anyone."

"Do you trust me? Do you trust Tony?"

"Three years ago, I would have said no."

"And now?"

"Where are we meeting him?"


"Well kiddies, this is a sentient program. I can't fucking open it, not even with JARVIS. But I can guide you where you need to go to read it."

"Where, Tony?"

"Well, Boyscout, your former military camp."

"Thank you Tony. Do you have the phones?"

"Yeah yeah, do not frowns so much Nat, you're too pretty, here kiddies! Latest Stark technology, invisible to anything and anyone other than JARVIS; with JARVIS in live! Oh, before I forget, here catch!"

Steve catches car keys, with a little American shield on it.

"And Steve" the seriousness of Tony voice and behavior makes him listen closely. "call us when you need us."


"Good work Soldier, now here is your next mission."

Once again the Soldier is given a photo, but this time with a location and a time.


Steve and Natasha stares in horror at the images there are presented with.

Shield had been infiltrated since its creation by Hydra!

Steve feels rage inside of him. For Stark, Peggy and countless other friends of him, who gave everything they had to found Shield, to have it recognized by the government and to finally find out that Hydra had dared defiled it!

Steve never regrets anything more than not having killed that Nazi scientist when he had had the chance!

Before they get the time to do anything, a missile is on almost on them.

Steve managed in extremis to save them. And they find themselves very lucky to have park the car way out of the camp, else they would have been taken prisoners by Hydra.

"We need help" Natasha says when they are near the city.

"Yes, but who?"

"Not an Avengers, someone they don't know about and won't see coming."

There is silence but then Steve pushes the accelerator pedal.

"I know exactly who to ask. Phone Tony, they need to know what we find out."


His eyes adjust to the dark, there are no corpses in this room, just a tank and several medical hoses.

Still, he looks carefully around for anything that might be dangerous.

Slowly he approaches the tank.

No windows, nothing to help him see what's inside.

And his instinct tells him that there is something inside.

Carefully, his left hand grips the handle -while his right hand is ready for anything - and just as slowly, he opens it.


Steve hits the door, while Natasha stands guard discreetly.

It opens on a very cautious and curious Sam Wilson.

"We need your help." Says Steve.

"Okay, come on."

"I believed you were a pilot." Says Steve.

"Ah no, never said I was a pilot!" said Sam with a little smile while he watches them read his files.

"That will come in handy." Is all Natasha has to say.

"Where can we found it?"

"The last model is at Fort Meade, behind three guarded doors and a steel chamber of 30cm " Came Sam confident reply.

Natasha shrugged at Steve interrogation look.

"Okay, no problem." Says Captain America.


Natasha had to admit, it was very satisfying to push agent Stillwell over the building.

She wishes that Falcon didn't caught him and let him fall to his death…. Alas he still does have some very precious information about Hydra plans, so she contents herself by snapping his neck after he finishes talking.

Sam, Steve and her exchanges glances, this will be hard.

This time, they do need help.

This time, they need all the Avengers.


"Did you find Bucky?" asks Steve, while Natasha, Clint and Sam exchanges weapons.

"Sorry Buddy, didn't." is Tony reply.

"But, you have an idea-"

"And I'll be the one to tell you where he is."

They all stop. No way.

NO fucking way!

But yes, just behind them, with Agent Hill, is Director Fury! Alive! With an arm in a cast and still moving slowly compared to usual, but ALIVE!

"The fuck one eye? Weren't you supposed to be dead? Can't you just stay dead? What is it? Resurrection day?"

"It seems, M. Stark that it wasn't my time. I suspected that some higher up where mole, I just didn't imagine that they could be so high in the hierarchy. This is why, Agent Hill and a trust doctor help me fake my death. A very convenient thing, I'm sure you will agree."

"And Bucky?"

"I'm sorry M. Rogers, it seems by giving him that mission, I facilitate their access to him, he was the one who, well, kill me I guess. He is once again The Winter Soldier."

Angry, Steve kicks the wall, leaving a dent in it.

"M. Pierce is a formidable adversary. He is the one who recruited me and as I thought their plan concerned the project Insight. Luckily, I'm just as paranoid as you M. Stark."


Flashes of images dances before his eyes. A boy who became a man, a woman with warm hugs and apple perfume, a man with calluses hands teaching him. It makes him dizzy, but he stays silent. He doesn't know why, should he tell, they would make him better, but… no he wants to have it, it's important. He knows them.

So he doesn't say anything. He stays in control, at least before they eyes, and performs as usual, as is expected of him but when he finds himself alone or between orders, he tries his hardest to remember, to put names on these people.

The man is the hardest and also the easiest, he comes naturally to his mind, but he still can't remember his name. This is why, when he is finally left alone, without guards or camera, he acts.


He stops. He can't breathe.

He is stuck inside his nightmare.

The tank is full.

Full and alive.

Shakily he moves as if to touch the body submerged.

To feel it.

To know that he isn't in a dream.

His senses, so developed, are not helping him this time.

He can't hear any heartbeat.

X

X

X

To be continued….