Steve Rogers threw his shoulder against the door, causing it to crash open. The momentum pulled his body to the ground before his tired legs could re-balance it. His fatigue didn't hold him down for long though as he sprang back up and turned back to look through the doorway. It was too late: the door had already closed automatically.

"Peter?! Bucky!" Steve yelled, voice near hysteria while he pounded the closed door. He was stuck in the small white room, alone, while his friends were on the other side. He forced himself to take a deep breath. Panic wouldn't get them anywhere. Besides, they had been through the same tests every day for the past week. Or two weeks. Or maybe only three days. Time had become a blur under captivity.

From what Steve had gathered, the objective of the experiment was straightforward: escape the maze or risk death. Initially, there was no external motivator for the three subjects to finish the maze. Safely behind their cameras, the controllers had watched Bucky Barnes walk into the maze for the first time and take a seat, content to waste his kidnappers' time. Peter had agreed that the air in the maze room was much better than their cells, so he, too, had laid on the ground and proceeded to take a nap. Steve had remained standing, his eyes vigilantly scanning the room for incoming attacks. When Bucky had noticed his best friend's unease, he called out, "Hey, Steve, c'mon, if they want to come in here and try something, let 'em come: I'd love to get my hand on a few of these jerks…" However, in the middle of Bucky's fist-bump with Peter, a herd of people did show up, but these weren't their kidnappers. They were too jumpy, too manic. This new breed of hard-skinned Hulk-like experimental mutants charged at them, forcing Peter, Steve, and Bucky to solve the maze in record timing.

They had run through this experiment so many times that Steve had lost count. It was a new puzzle every time, but up to this point, all three of them had always made it out alive. Peter always finished first. He credited his "Spidey-senses," but Steve knew the kid's flexibility was playing a role as well. The agile young man used his arms to fling his body around corners, kicking his feet against the walls instead of crashing into them, then rolling smoothly across the floor to the next corner. It was an impressive sight.

Steve had typically come second, but he always stayed close to Bucky whose missing arm made him an easy target for the attacking creatures. Bucky always talked a big game, but Steve wasn't so sure that his friend could hold off more than one mutant if he got cornered.

Today, Steve had finished first. It was a long puzzle, and the creatures seemed more blood-thirsty than unusual. He couldn't believe how careless he had been not to check over his shoulder for Bucky one last time before crossing the threshold. Exhaustion was no excuse for leaving a man behind.

Just as Steve was about to try ripping the door off its hinges, it burst open, pushing Steve to the side. Bucky stumbled in, awkwardly supporting Peter with his one arm.

"Bucky!" Steve lunged forward to catch Peter who had slid from Bucky's grasp. Gently, he laid the boy on the ground. Peter's face was pale, and his breathing was shallow. "Peter?"

Bucky dropped to his knees next to Peter. The boy was slightly shaking, and his eyes had closed. "I saw him leaning against a wall just as you ran through the gate," Bucky said, answering Steve's unasked question.

Steve nodded. "Peter, can you hear me? Did something hurt you?"

Peter's eyes opened enough to look up at Steve. "Cap'n?" he slurred, glassy eyes sliding shut once again.

"I think it's his blood sugar," Steve diagnosed, familiar with symptoms related to malnutrition. It was no surprise that Peter was falling apart. They only had one meager meal at a rate that seemed like once every other day. Steve and Bucky both burned energy quickly but not nearly as fast as the growing mutant teenager did. Peter had been looking lethargic after just a few experiments, and they were well past "a few" at this point. Not only that, but the experimenters were repeatedly taking blood samples from the three of them, and they seemed particularly interested in Peter's blood. Dehydrated, the boy's body was having a difficult time replenishing the stolen blood.

Bucky cursed under his breath. "This wouldn't be happening if you just ate some of my last meal like I told you to," he pointed out to the near-unconscious Peter. Then he turned to Steve, asking, "What can we do?"

"Nothing," he answered bluntly. Steve sighed. "We don't have any‒"

He was interrupted by a strong burning sensation on his wrist. Like the maze, Steve was accustomed to this. It was the same poison that allowed their kidnappers to overpower the three super-humans. At that time, it has caused all of them to pass out; now, having built up some kind of immunity as Peter suggested, it was only crippling enough to bring them to the ground, gasping for air and squirming in the pain. It was worse than the serum that had transformed Steve: this made his blood feel like acid in his veins, crushing his heart and disintegrating his lungs. A separate injection was now used to knock them out. Though he would never admit it to his teammates, he was always a little surprised when he woke up with his ability to breathe still intact.

On the other side of the room, doors opened and men walked in. One said, "Take him out. Fix him up but take a sample first!"

It wasn't long before Steve and Bucky were dragged into unconscious as their young friend was carried away.