Summary:
The events of Captain America: Civil War left everything broken. The Avengers, Romanogers, Rhodey's spinal column, love, friendship, trust, family - everything was in pieces. In this story, I will try to glue the pieces together. It will mainly be about the process in which Steve and Natasha finally succumb to their feelings for each other. The Broken Shield will pick up somewhere in the middle of Captain America: Civil War. More specifically, it will begin directly after the airport fight scene. This is a Romanogers centered story. From start till the end, readers will see how Steve and Natasha's relationship transform and grow. Their relationship will evolve, slowly, bit by bit, from close friendship into something so much deeper and stronger. Readers will see, through every little scenes and events in The Broken Shield, that Steve and Natasha were indeed made for each other, and that they truly belonged to each other. Romanogers = true love; and it is my every intent to prove it. This is MAINLY a love story. But singling out one particular genre isn't really my thing. I prefer a mixture of things. Therefore, this story will also have elements of thriller, suspense and adventure.
General Notes:
First of all, this is my first (and probably my last) attempt in writing my own fiction. My field is in science, and I am used to writing technical report and papers. That being said, I might screw up somewhere because I am not used to the style of fiction writing. Please understand. Through this piece, I hope to thank, and to return the favor to all the awesome and talented fanfiction writers out there who had brought so much joy to my life over the years through their fics. Thank you so much guys. And of course, to all the amazing Romanogers shippers and all members of this awesome fandom! This work is for YOU!
Now. MY MAIN OBJECTIVE, is to SHOW the whole world how awesome and great Romanogers can be.
DISCLAIMER:
I do not own any of the characters. All characters belong to Marvel. This is a non-profit work. There will be a lot of plot twists and scene fillers which diverge from Canon, and those are mine and mine alone. Which means, any faults, if any, are mine and mine alone.
Important Notes (READ THIS):
There are a few key points I would like to point out to any readers.
1) I have made a lot of references to previous Marvel Installments (CATWS, CACW, AoU, The Avengers). So if you haven't watched those, please do. It will make reading this story a much more coherent experience.
2) All the things in CACW movie, right until the end of the airport scene, did happen in this story. Well, except for one thing though. The Staron kiss never happened. Why? Well, if you're asking that question, then I think you're in the wrong place.
3) All CACW's scenes will be adapted into this story, right until the airport scene. Then for the events which follow the airport scene, I will make some twists. In other words, there will be some major deviations from the actual movie for the scenes in Siberia and all that.
4) This first chapter is a prologue. That means the 'real' beginning of the story will begin on the NEXT chapter. The prologue is just a sneak peak/preview type thing for the future events in my story.
5) One last thing. A lot of chapters of this story have already been published in AO3. Due to my busy schedule, I might not have the time to post all published chapters of this story to this site. In other words, I will update The Broken SHIELD only in AO3. The reason I'm publishing it here today is because I want to share my work with readers outside AO3 too. And oh, in case you're wondering, I've already tried uploading the html file I've downloaded from AO3 to 's document manager, but for some reason, it just keeps failing. And God help us all, AO3 is so much more versatile in terms of its features compared to this site. I find that publishing in AO3 definitely makes my life a lot easier. Hence, if you find this story interesting and bearable, you can follow it on AO3. Just search for the story name.
I will only publish the first few chapters in the meantime. Well, because publishing the rest is tedious due to this story's substantial length.
Errr. Okay then. I think I have covered most points that I wanted to say. Will add in stuff later if I missed anything.
I hope you will enjoy this story.
P/S:
Don't keep your hopes up. I am a first timer.
Isaiah.
8 months after the events of Captain America: Civil War…
The Mara Mountain Ranges, Northern Greenland.
Crack. Crack. Crack.
Deep in the rimy mountain ranges of Greenland, a lone soldier staggered, icy rocks crunched noisily beneath his boots.
His body was battered and bruised. Every step he took was a labor. He couldn't see straight. His head throbbed as he felt a wave of nausea stirring at the pit of his stomach.
A concussion, undoubtedly.
His knees hit the icy ground at the same time his body bent over. His stomach wrenched, attempting to hurl out its contents.
Nothing came out.
His wheezes turned into dry, hacking coughs before he realized that he had a collapsed lung too.
Clutching the energy weapon in his arms, the lone soldier stood up abruptly and began limping forward again. He couldn't stay out in the open for long. They would soon find him if he did.
He increased his pace, ploughing his way through the howling gusts of hyperborean wind.
One step at a time.
Each step bringing him closer to his final mission.
He would not fail.
Failure wasn't an option.
Lifting his head, he spotted the foot of Mount Mara ahead of him. The woods. The frost covered trees. He was near his destination.
Just a little bit more.
When he reached the edge of the forest, he allowed himself to take a small break against the frozen bark of a tree. He took a deep, ragged breath and felt a sharp pain deep within his chest. It was his goddamn collapsed lung again.
He ignored the pain and turned his gaze towards the path which he came from.
He saw everything.
Dead bodies of soldiers, pummeled beyond recognition by the Hulk's fists.
Some were burnt to a crisp, undoubtedly by Mjolnir's lightning.
Further down the path he came from, he saw the silhouette of what used to be their base against the smog. Their base, their biggest base thus far, reduced to ashes by the Avengers.
There was nothing left.
All their artilleries, their men, their experiments, their files too. They were all gone. Destroyed.
All that planning and strategizing, all that painstaking effort invested to create the perfect instruments for order.
Decades of hard work, obliterated.
What a waste.
Tightening his grip on his energy weapon, he pushed away from the tree.
He had to move. He had to get to higher ground, before the Avengers could spot him.
Staggering his way uphill, he eyed the sky above him. He saw red.
The Scarlet Witch had covered the entire region in a red energy force field. A giant red dome. One touch of the red, and he'd be as good as dead. There was nowhere to run, that much he knew.
But it didn't matter.
Running was the last thing on his mind.
He hurled himself into a nearby shrub the moment his ears picked up the sound of whirling repulsors somewhere above his head.
He held his breath and lay as still as he possibly could.
The sound of repulsors grew louder by the second.
No. No. No. This wasn't possible. They couldn't possibly find him. His special suit would block out any infrared radiation emitted from his body. Nothing could detect his presence, not even Iron Man's thermal imaging. This couldn't be possible. It couldn't be.
He sighed in relief when the sound of repulsors slowly petered out. He heard the Hulk's roar somewhere at a distance. And immediately, he realized what was happening.
The Avengers were regrouping. They were gathering. And just as he had foreseen, they were probably gathering at the ruins of the destroyed base.
He had to move fast.
There was no time to waste, not a second more to lose, not if he was to successfully complete his mission.
He got out of the shrub and ran as fast as his weak legs could carry him. Up the slope, through the frosty woods, towards his destination.
He was out of breath when he reached his destination. He settled his back against the massive boulder, trying to catch his breath. Due to adrenaline, he could no longer feel the pain which accompanied his injured body. Perfect. Just what he needed. The less distractions the better. His mission held no room for distractions.
Distractions meant chance of failure.
And failure wasn't an option.
Peeking through the sizable crevice of the boulder, he eyed the lower grounds, towards the direction where he had climbed from. He could see the destroyed base again. Clearer this time, since the smog had cleared away.
He was right.
The Avengers were all gathered near the ruins.
Some of them were speaking. Some of them were listening.
Perfect.
With great effort, he hefted the weapon and slipped it into the gap of the crevice. It took him a minute to finally get the weapon settled in place.
He peered into the weapon's scope, scouring over his targets.
There were many to choose from. But he was interested in only one.
Taking a deep, calming breath, he pressed the button that he knew would supercharge the weapon. The energy weapon hummed to life, giving the soldier a sense of satisfaction.
To the lone soldier, the humming of his weapon meant only one thing.
It meant the beginning of order.
Weapon charging at 10%.
The soldier shifted the weapon until the crosshair fell onto the target's torso. Right at the center.
It would be a clean kill. A necessary kill.
Weapon charging at 19%
It was then that the lone soldier perceived a particular peculiarity concerning his target.
Weapon charging at 33%
Where was the shield? The target didn't have his shield clipped on his back. Strange.
The lone soldier narrowed his eyes.
That couldn't be right...
Did he have the right target? He knew that the target was a shield bearer. So the shield must be somewhere there. It must be.
Weapon charging at 45%
He tore his gaze away from the weapon's viewing scope and took out his binoculars instead. Using the binoculars, he surveilled from afar. His gaze roaming across the field, going from Avenger to Avenger.
That iconic shield had to be there somewhere. It had to be.
He didn't stop looking until he finally found it.
He smirked.
Weapon charging at 59%
The Black Widow had it. The shield was clipped onto the Black Widow's back.
Weapon charging at 62%
The lone soldier dropped the binoculars and returned to his weapon.
Weapon charging at 70%
Through his weapon's viewing scope, the lone soldier further scrutinized his target. The lone soldier's jaw clenched.
That, was the same man who had twice defeated HYDRA. And, taking into account the burning wreckages which surrounded all the Avengers right then, thrice would probably be a more fitting figure.
On normal occasions, the lone soldier would have looked upon the man with deep admiration. That man was a lethal weapon. A brilliant commander. And a deadly fighter. What a waste it was, to have to kill such a man. That man could have been HYDRA's greatest asset, greater than even the Winter Soldier.
That man could have been at the forefronts of HYDRA's ranks, commanding HYDRA's great forces.
But no, such idealizations did not exist. Instead of aiding HYDRA, that man became the bane of HYDRA.
Time and again, that man had been responsible for cutting off HYDRA's head.
But it mattered not.
Cut off one head, and another shall take its place.
Weapon charging at 89%
HYDRA would grow. HYDRA will thrive. Soon, in the near future, HYDRA's new world order would be formed.
HYDRA would rear a new head.
Weapon charging at 95%
The lone soldier settled his finger on the trigger. He pulled in a deep breath, the breath before the kill.
Weapon charging at 96%
Three times had the enemy cut off HYDRA's head.
Weapon charging at 97%
This time, it would be HYDRA's turn to cut off the enemy's head.
Weapon charging at 98%
And the enemy's head was the shield wielder. The leader of the Avengers.
Weapon charging at 99%
The lone soldier's mission was now a trigger away.
Weapon charged. Fire at will.
Before pulling the trigger, the lone soldier whispered.
"Hail HYDRA."