Steve Rogers had returned to his boyhood home of Brooklyn, though his neighborhood had changed drastically since he was a child all too long ago.
The mission was over. With the assistance of Black Widow and the Falcon, Captain America was able to finally stop H.Y.D.R.A. and prevent the deaths of his teammates, friends and other innocent people he may never even get a chance to meet.
His mind was focused on finding his long lost, long believed dead best friend James 'Bucky' Barnes. If Bucky had truly been manipulated by H.Y.D.R.A., if he was truly the 'Winter Soldier' and an enemy to S.H.I.E.L.D., then why did Bucky pull him from the river? Why didn't Bucky let him drown or succumb to his bullet wounds? In Steve's mind Bucky wasn't evil, he was just lost in the darkness and needed a guiding light to show him the way back home, back to his friend.
It was late, he had left the secretive S.H.I.E.L.D. hospital in favor of returning to his bullet riddled, crime scene of an apartment to pack up what little he had and temporarily move into a hotel. As he slowly limped down the vacant, dark sidewalk his training as an elite soldier told him that he was not actually alone. He paused on the sidewalk, the bright light of the overhead street lamp cast and eerie yellow glow down his body.
He turned his head and listened carefully to the ambience around him: Newspapers being blown about in the light breeze, bugs fluttering about the buzzing streetlamp, a police siren in the distance and slow, heavy footsteps approaching his position. Turning on his heels Steve stared down the dim path from whence he came.
Sweat beaded on his brow as his blood pressure elevated. Small stains of sweat began forming under his arms and soaked through his plain white t-shirt. The blue flannel shirt he wore over the shirt concealed his stressed façade.
A second set of footsteps caught his attention, this sound was coming from the opposite direction.
He turned his head again and saw a lone figure wearing a heavy trench coat and a hat casually strolling toward him. The figure's hands were in the coat pockets and a small red glow from his cigarette signaled his breaths between the puffs of smoke he left behind.
"Mr. Rogers?"
Steve turned to face the first figure again.
"Nothing personal." He could now see that the firs figure was dressed in a similar manner as the second, minus the cigarette. "But I'm always loyal to my friends and bosses." He pulled a gun from his beneath his coat. "Hail H.Y.D.R.A.!" The trigger was pulled.
Swiftly Steve dodged to the right as the fired bullet zoomed past his head and down the sidewalk toward the second figure. Before the first man had time to react Steve was sprinting toward him and grabbed ahold of his hand, holding the gun at bay.
The second figure moaned as the bullet lodged in his chest, near his heart. He too pulled out a gun and fired.
While Steve struggled with the first gunman the second fell to the sidewalk and blacked out as he laid on the sidewalk in a growing crimson puddle of his own blood.
With one hand Steve held the gun back and with the other he forcefully punched his attacker in the face. The unknown gunman fell to the ground, his gun now in Steve's grip. Steve turned the gun and pointed it at his attacker. "H.Y.D.R.A. has fallen, surrender."
"Cut off one head, another will take its place."
Squealing tires of a readily approaching vehicle from down the street drew Steve's attention away from his target. The gunman laughed as he pulled a second gun and quickly fired, the bullet struck Steve in his shoulder. As the bullet penetrated his flesh Steve fire his gun and dropped it as he took a step back off the curb.
The car sped toward Steve, its headlights illuminating Steve's body and emphasizing the blossoming blood stain on his shoulder. The horn blared and the copper colored sports car came to a screeching halt just inches from Steve.
The driver's side window rolled down and a familiar face leaned out. "Get in!"
"Tony!? What're you doing here?" Steve couldn't believe his eyes.
"I said, GET IN!" Tony repeated with authority. "Now! Move your red, white and blue ass!"
Unwilling to stay out in the open with two H.Y.D.R.A. assassins, Steve pulled open the rear passenger door of the car and laid down on the backseat.
Tony floored the car and sped off in a loud burst of squealing rubber and smoke. The gunman continued firing at his fleeing target, now using both guns.
"Aw man!" Tony complained as the bullets lodged into the exterior of the car and shattered the rear window. "Glad this thing is bullet proof!" He swerved through the empty streets as he attempted to disappear from the gunmen's sight. "Cap, you alright?"
"Yeah, fine..." Steve lied as he brushed away the bits of glass all around him. He started clutching at the fresh bullet wound in his shoulder to try and stem the bleeding.
Tony looked at him in the rearview mirror and spotted the blood. He turned his head and looked directly at Steve. "Liar! People don't bleed when they're fine! You've been shot!"
"Just in the shoulder, it's no big deal."
"Again with the lying!" Tony remarked. "You were hit in the side and you're getting blood all over my nice interior."
"Sorry..."
"Don't worry about it. I'll just get a new one."
"Interior?"
"Car."
"Right..." Steve tried to sit up, using his good arm to push himself upward, but he was too weak from his new and previous injuries. He laid back down. "Where are we going?"
"To the Tower. You'll be safe there."
"What're you even doing here? I thought you were hiding out in Malibu."
"It's a long story. All you need to know is I pissed off a terrorist and my house is at the bottom of the ocean. I'm staying in the Tower."
"Okay, but what were you doing in my neighborhood?"
"It's kind of hard to keep three S.H.I.E.L.D. hellicarriers falling into the Potomac a secret. I knew you lived nearby and I wanted to see if you could fill in the details."
"Good timing..." Steve slurred a little.
"Cap? Cap! Stay awake for me, we're almost there."
Steve's eyes closed and his body went limp.
"J.A.R.V.I.S., call the Tower and tell Pepper that we need to give the new medical wing a test run. Tonight."
'Yes, sir.' The loyal A.I. obeyed. 'Shall I explain the situation, or would you prefer to lie to Miss Potts yourself?'
...to be continued...