The Great Escape: Hydra factory edition.

Disclaimer: These characters are all Marvel's. I make no money from this and in fact give Marvel (willingly) lots of my money so they will continue creating movies I love.

Author's Note: Huge thanks to my beta, the lovely theletterelle, for making this infinitely better, first time round.

There were voices.

"- convoy -"

They kept fading in and out.

"Well - Sir?"

Why was it so dark?

No, not dark. His eyes were closed. Why couldn't he open his eyes?

He'd fallen asleep?

What was happening? Why wouldn't his body listen to him?

The voices were gone. He just needed to be able to open his eyes and then he could find out where he was.

He felt...wrong. Like he was being pulled underwater, and it was taking every iota of his strength to just stay on the surface, never mind swim for the shore. He couldn't move. But maybe if he focused...

Come on Buck, just one eye. He felt his eyelids flutter. That was progress at least.

He tried again, they opened a crack and he managed through force of will to keep them that way.

Well, that made absolutely no difference. Darkness was now just 'marginally less' darkness.

Bucky blinked and managed to coax his eyes half open this time around. No change. No, wait, there was an odd green glow off to the side. Well, that was informative. Dark room, green glow, and he'd clearly been drugged...

These were not good things, especially when the last thing you remember is being captured by the enemy.

Bucky let his eyes fall closed to try and block it all out for just one more moment. It didn't help.

He took a deep breath and forced his heavy eyelids fully open this time. The room span for a moment, and he had to fight down a burst of nausea as he dragged his head up off the padded yet uncomfortable surface he was lying on. Sensation was coming back. He'd consider that a good thing, except that someone had apparently been using his body as a piñata. Christ he hurt.

His eyes were starting to adapt to the dim light of the room. He couldn't see much, but it was hard to miss the scientific equipment, especially the science fiction looking thing above that was worryingly pointed at him, and the straps that were holding him down onto the...well whatever it was he was on.

His head felt heavier than his old pack from basic. After a few seconds he let it fall back onto the 'bed' with a thud. Damn, there really wasn't much padding on this thing.

He'd try that again in a minute. He just needed to...

Everything started to get soft around the edges, threatened to fade out completely. He couldn't let that happen. Not again. He needed to stay focused. Stay aware. Figure out where the hell he was.

He blinked.

But when he opened his eyes on the other side of the motion Bucky instantly knew, somehow, that he'd lost time. Maybe it was the quality of the light, not that there was any to speak of still. Things were moving around less now, that was good, as was the fact that he could keep his eyes open. Hopefully that meant whatever was in his system was wearing off.

He turned his head. The glow and the equipment were still there. Double damn. He'd been hoping they were a hallucination or something.

Why couldn't he remember how he'd got here? Or even where here was?

Well he knew his name, real and preferred, along with his rank, regiment and service number. And oh, yeah, tanks. Giant ass tanks at Azzano. Firing blue rays at Axis and Allied troops alike. Making them vanish. That had happened.

He was so done with this war.

Dum Dum? Gabe? Had they made it? He wasn't sure.

Bucky knew it was overly optimistic to hold out hope that he and his men had landed in friendly hands. This place didn't look like friendly hands. But he needed to confirm it. And find out where those two lug heads had ended up. God he never thought he'd be eager to hear one of Dum Dum's crass comments about his name, age, hair...

Well, only one way to find out. "Hello?"

His voice sounded slurred and raspy to his ears, but audible. There was no answer and no sound of movement in the room. So he was alone, and no guards.

That was a good thing. But he still had no further information and he was still strapped down to a table. Not so good.

Time to see what there was to see in this chamber of horrors.

His eyes had now adjusted to the low light of the room, and enough muscle control had now returned to let him slowly turn his head side to side. Not that there was anything else he could really move right now anyway.

There was a lot of exposed brickwork. High ceilings. Large windows on the left. Some sort of factory or warehouse then?

Over on the right, some sort of office set-up through a glass window. Lamp, map, diagrams on the walls. Was that an aircraft? He was still having difficulty focusing. But possibly? Not like any he'd ever seen though.

The map was easier, he'd gotten way more familiar with Europe than he'd ever dreamed he would in his somewhat-lacking geography lessons at school. Six flags in six different locations. Was he at the one in Italy? No, it wouldn't make sense to mark your own location. It didn't make sense to have that sort of intel where a prisoner could see it either. Yet another check mark in the 'Not Good' column regarding his current situation.

Something nudged at the edge of his awareness. Were those footsteps? Yes, someone was coming closer, and by the sounds of it they were in a hurry.

As much as he wanted to find out who was holding him, they already had the upper...well, everything. His best bet was to play dead and try and catch a glimpse without them knowing he was watching. Maybe they'd unstrap him if they thought he was still out. Well, he could dream.

Plus looking up at the 'ray gun' hanging over him wasn't doing much for his attempts to stay positive. What the hell did it do?

Bucky closed his eyes and hoped he wouldn't live to regret the choice. The footsteps entered the room sooner than anticipated. They'd never grown as heavy as he'd expected. No boots then. Someone lighter than average possibly? Their frantic pace slowed as they passed him. Checking to see if he was awake maybe?

They moved on in the direction of the office. There was the sound of someone moving things around. Bucky cracked open one eye and saw a very short, middle-aged man with spectacles. He looked harmless, but Bucky knew better than to trust appearances. I mean just look at Steve.

The diminutive man definitely wasn't a soldier. A scientist or medic perhaps? Whatever he was, he'd just grabbed a hat and coat and was coming back out. Bucky closed his eyes and slowed his breathing, and the stranger ran right by him and out into the hallway. Then he stopped. Were those more footsteps coming towards them?

Whatever was coming, Bucky wanted to see it this time. He forced his eyes open again. And looked straight at the device. Wait, was it glowing?

Suddenly his entire existence was pain. He couldn't move. There was no way to get away from what they were doing to him. All he could do was repeat his name, rank and serial number in a loop, like they'd been taught in training. Focus on that. Try and block out everything else. "Barnes, James Buchanan. Sergeant. 32557038. Barnes, James Buchanan. Sergeant. 32557..."

Someone had said his name.

The glow around the device vanished, almost as if it had never been there in the first place. The room was dark and someone was there with him. Breaking his straps. Who...?

They were touching him. It looked almost like...

"It's me. It's Steve."

"Steve." He repeated it before it even fully registered that this was his Steve. "Steve!"

He'd been sure he'd never see his best friend again. But something wasn't right. He was pulled up off the table and onto his feet. The room lurched, but once it had settled Steve was still looking down at him. Was this all the drugs? Was he just seeing things?

The helmeted figure with Steve's face and some other really big guy's body grabbed him by the shoulders. "I thought you were dead."

Yes, it definitely was Steve. No one else could express that much with a single look. But that meant... "I thought you were smaller." What the hell had happened to him?

Steve didn't respond. He just looked around the room, pulled Bucky's arm over his now too-high shoulder, wrapped his own round Bucky's back, and with a "Come on" started half-carrying him out of there. Wherever there was.

Like hell was he going to be carried.

"What happened to you?"

"I joined the Army." It was such a Steve thing to say that Bucky would have laughed if he wasn't so focused on getting his legs to work. That was not an answer. The punk.

His legs started obeying his commands as they rounded the corner of the corridor and he pushed himself away from Steve's side. God his left arm itched. "Did it hurt?" He pushed up his sleeves.

"A little."

This was Steve. That didn't reassure him much. "Is it permanent?" He looked his friend head to toe. What the hell could do that to someone anyway?

Steve looked back at him. "So far."

Fine, he'd leave it for now, but as soon as they got out of here Steve had some serious explaining to do. And maybe if he kept throwing questions Steve's way, he'd buy some time to fill in a few of the blanks he had between here and Azzano before the questions started coming back in his direction.

His arm was still bugging him. He looked down and noticed the half-healed marks along the inside. He pulled his sleeves down again. No point worrying Steve, not like he could explain them anyway.

They'd managed to pick up a little speed now that his coordination had improved, but he was still lagging behind Steve as they came out into a vast concrete space with steel walkways. Steve approached a railing, and Bucky joined him, only to be instantly hit with an intense blast of heat and the force of multiple explosions going off below. He staggered back, ducking down to get away from the assault, while Steve raised the odd stars and stripes shield he'd been carrying to defend himself, before attracting Bucky's attention and leading the way up a flight of stairs behind them to the left.

Great, stairs. But when the only other choice was a flaming inferno, stairs it was.

Bucky grabbed onto the side railing and half-pulled himself up, half-climbed the steel staircase, trying to keep up with his newly-enlarged friend. After a few moments it seemed to get a lot easier. And his speed increased to the point where he almost couldn't stop himself in time to take the turn as they came out onto the walkway; forcing him to push against the railing in front in order to brake and change direction.

After just a few steps Steve stopped at the sound of a raised voice.

"Captain America! How exciting!"

Bucky drew to a halt behind Steve and held onto the railing. He looked over to see the short man from the lab, and a tall Nazi officer, standing on the other side of the walkway they'd been about to cross. Guess that makes that the way out.

"I am a great fan of your films!"

Okay, clearly he was missing something here. Films? And what was the creepy red octopus emblem on the guy's uniform all about?

The short scientist type he'd seen earlier was shooting him a strange look. Bucky felt a shiver going up his spine. Until now, he'd always thought that was just a saying. He realised he was suddenly leaning heavily against the railing. Something about the look the man was sending his way made him feel the need to get as far away as possible.

Not an impulse felt by Steve it seemed. But when had it ever been.

While Bucky had been focused on the bespectacled man, Steve had marched out to meet the approach of the tall German.

He'd always let Steve handle the situation until it became obvious he couldn't and that he'd bitten off more than he could chew. This guy looked like the definition of that, regardless of Steve's new fighting weight. And Bucky was in no shape to step in this time.

Wait. The German said something about a Dr Erskine. Who was Dr Erskine? Was he the guy who did this to Steve?

Bucky's not sure if he wants to hug or punch the person responsible. Speaking of punches.

Steve puts what Bucky taught him at Goldie's to good use and lands a powerful right hook on the guy's jaw. Maybe that will shut him up. Fritz definitely likes the sound of his own voice a bit too much.

Bucky's pride lasts just as long as it takes for the Nazi to regroup and swing at Steve with a counter that dents his shield, and would probably have laid out a heavyweight. Before Bucky can react, Steve's lost his gun and been hit onto his back, but he literally kicks back with a two-footed move that Bucky knows he never showed him.

If he'd taken Steve's gun he might have been able to do something, but this fight isn't normal. None of this is. He doesn't know what to do.

His prayers are seemingly answered when the bridge starts separating and the two combatants are forced back into their corners. Then he sees the Doctor by a lever and realises he was the one responsible. For some reason the thought of him owing that man anything makes him very, very uneasy.

He walks his hands along the railing as it moves towards him, returning his friend to relative safety. They're still in a burning factory but Bucky will take it as a win.

Then Fritz starts peeling his face off.

Bucky had to wonder if the drugs were having some weird after effects.

It's a mask, and underneath his face is bright red and not in a 'stayed out on the beach too long' type of way. Christ what happened to the guy?

Only Steve's reaction convinces him he's not seeing things. "You don't have one of those do you?"

"You are deluded, Captain. You pretend to be a simple soldier, but in reality you are just afraid to admit that we have left humanity behind. Unlike you I embrace it proudly. Without fear!"

Dear God. He knew leaving Steve unsupervised was a mistake. What has the Punk got himself wound up in?

And is Steve really a Captain? He can't be. Guys like them don't get made Captains. He's still half-convinced his promotion to Sergeant was some kinda clerical error.

"Then how come you're running?"

My best friend, ladies and gentlemen. Steve 'deathwish' Rogers.

Another series of explosions rocks the building and the flames below them surge upwards. There must be some shred of common sense left in that swollen head, because next thing Bucky knows Steve's telling him "Come on, let's go, up" and they are heading up yet more stairs.

He wondered if other people have these types of experiences or if he's just lucky. He could only blame Steve for so much after all. He'd chosen him.

They reached the top of the factory and as Bucky caught up he realised that Steve had stopped for a reason. He looked at the beam, shaking with the detonations still going off below. This was his escape plan?

To be fair, those blasts sounded like ordinance going off, and Steve knew the lay of the land unlike him. However, he once again wondered how it was he'd ended up with the reputation for stupid plans, when generally they were all just spur of the minute ideas designed to get them out of whatever ridiculous situation Steve had landed them in.

Noone really understood Steve the way he did. He'd occasionally wondered what his overly-heroic friend's life would have been like if Bucky hadn't stumbled across him being beat up in that alley all those years ago - with his delicate health and lack of self-preservation instinct. It didn't bear thinking about.

He couldn't imagine his life without Steve Rogers. And luckily his friend seemed to return the sentiment as his apparent one-man rescue effort more than proved. So if Steve said cross the beam of death, cross the beam of death Bucky Barnes would.

He began climbing over the rail and found Steve's hands supporting him. That was going to take some getting used to.

"One at a time."

As Bucky felt the beam move under him he had to agree that was probably wise. God he hated heights.

He moved along the makeshift bridge carefully and was doing pretty okay until yet another huge explosion went off directly below. He kept his balance, but the beam didn't fare quite as well. He heard a tell-tale groaning from the metal below him and ran. He jumped just as the far end of the beam detached itself from its moorings, and just managed to catch the rail securely enough to pull himself up and over.

His surge of relief lasted only until he looked Steve in the eye. Crap. He looked down. This place wasn't going to be standing for much longer at this rate. "There's gotta be a rope or something!"

"Just go! Get outta here!"

Fuck that. His world might have descended into a fiery level of hell complete with red skull-faced Nazi demons, but screw them all. "NO! Not without you!"

Steve looked frustrated with him. Nice to know some things hadn't changed.

Then he bent back a length of damaged railing. That was definitely new. And what 'they'd' done to him definitely hadn't just made him taller. What was he doing?

He moved back. Oh hell, he was actually going to jump.

Steve had already completed his run up, and was throwing himself across the huge gap, before Bucky could even process the fact that Steve thought this was a good idea. And as a wall of fire from the largest explosion yet blocked Bucky's view, his heart dropped to his feet.

Until he saw Steve still hurtling towards him. He was going to fall short; Bucky could just tell. He stepped up onto the first rung of the railing and leaned over, arm outstretched. The second he made contact, he latched onto Steve's wrist and threw himself backwards. Their combined weight and momentum was enough to get Steve clear, and that fact was almost enough to make the pain of several hundred pounds of 'new Steve' falling on top of him almost bearable.

Christ, he was going to feel that for weeks.

Steve quickly scrambled up onto his hands and knees. "God Buck. Bucky, are you all right?"

'Bucky' was still trying to get the air back in his lungs. For some reason Steve seemed to take his lack of answer as justification to start prodding and poking him along his ribs. He slapped his friend's hands away. "Quit it will ya."

He pushed on that ridiculous shoulder and Steve took the hint, standing up and holding out a hand to help him up. Bucky took it. He might be proud, but he wasn't stupid. And it was Steve.

Steve, who was giving him yet another concerned look. "You OK?"

Bucky felt his head shaking before he'd even formulated a response. Better go with that then. "No. But I will be. Come on, let's get out of here."

If you've liked, please favourite. It's the only way I know. xx

Also, the section in present tense is meant to be so. Think of it as Bucky seeing the action happen in slow motion, or removed from him, so he's almost commentating on it rather than experiencing it.