Title: I have been where you are before (and I have felt the pain of losing who you are)
Disclaimer: not my characters
Warnings: AU before Avengers; references, of course, to violence/abuse/torture; possibly AUish for Bruce and the Hulk's relationship? I dunno.
Pairings: none
Rating: PG
Wordcount: 1150
Point of view: third
Spring 2010
When Brock wakes up, he's lying on the ground along with the rest of his team. The last thing he remembers - Fuck, he thinks, reaching for his radio with a hand that feels not quite broken but also not quite right. "Rollins," he calls when his radio isn't where it should be. "Smith? Willis?" No one answers so he carefully rolls over onto his knees, slowly stands up. Everything hurts.
Rollins is alive, though barely. No one else is. And all of the communication equipment has been gathered in a pile and smashed beyond fixing with the little tools and less knowledge Brock has of tech. That was Davis' job, but Davis' head has been twisted all the way around.
Brock has to leave the men where they are and get Rollins to the extraction point so that he can report what is every team leader's worst nightmare: the asset's gone rogue.
(In another world, where the asset runs south instead of north, he is recovered in three days. He is punished, wiped, punished again, and then put into storage until being utilized for the assassination of Director Fury.)
"What happened, Agent Rumlow?" Secretary Pierce asks, sounding almost gentle. Brock knows it for the trap it is.
Three of Brock's ribs are broken. He knows he's only alive because Smith broke his fall.
"We were on the way to the extraction point," Brock reports, hoping this isn't the fuck-up that gets him killed. "The asset – I think it might be something Tyles said, but I can't remember what. It triggered one of those fits in the asset and when he came out of it, he just… started tearin' us apart." Secretary Pierce's lips keep smiling his grandfatherly smile; his eyes are not smiling at all. Brock continues, "I don't know how many of us were able to get shots off; I kept shouting the shut-down codes, and I think one of 'em almost had him, but then – I don't know, sir. I woke up and my team was dead."
Secretary Pierce sighs. "We deployed recovery teams as soon as you made contact, Agent Rumlow. You and Agent Rollins are on stand-down until Medical clears you." He orders, "You and Agent Rollins need to determine what triggered this so that we can fix the problem when the asset is recovered."
"Yes sir," Brock says, holding in his sigh of relief.
(In another world, Brock is allowed to help punish the asset and he takes pleasure in avenging his team upon the faulty weapon's flesh.
In this world, the only two surviving members of the first recovery team die before making it to the extraction point.)
.
Spring 2011
Rory Donavan does not want to make this report, but since she's the agent in charge of the team tracking down Dr. Banner, she's shit out of luck. With her team's encouragement ringing in her ears, she calls it in. She tells Agent Coulson, the liaison between all the outside teams and Director, "I need to speak with Director Fury. The intel is Need to Know."
Agent Coulson says, "Well, that's interesting," but he puts her through.
While Rory waits for Director Fury to pick up the line, she counts to ten in the three languages she's fluent in: English, Gaelic, and Mandarin. And she waits. Finally, Director Fury says, "What could possibly be so interesting about Dr. Banner than you need to tell me directly, Agent?"
She says, "Well, sir, we, um, we finally have eyes on his travel companion."
"And that would be?" Director Fury asks, when Rory hesitates.
She really doesn't want to say the words. She really really doesn't. "He's a sniper, sir. He's got a metal arm. He's fast and he's strong, and he makes shots, that, well, I'm pretty sure Hawkeye could, but probably not many others."
And Director Fury says, "Are you shitting me, Agent?"
She takes a deep breath. "No, sir. I am 95% certain that Dr. Banner's travel companion is the operative known as the Winter Soldier."
Director Fury says, "Fucking hell."
.
Rory and her team – Agents Ryel, Connors, and Yancy – have orders to hang back far enough that the Hulk can't sense them and watch. They aren't to interact with Dr. Banner or the Hulk at all. But with the Winter Soldier in reach –
"I'm a bit confused," Tom Ryel says as they watch the Winter Soldier teach a group of kids how to play baseball.
"Yeah," Angela Connors says. "Join the club."
.
Three weeks after reporting in her suspicions, Agent Coulson sends orders that Rory and her team are to guide a retrieval unit to the optimal place to collect the Winter Soldier. Dr. Banner is still to be left alone.
Three weeks of watching the Winter Soldier and Dr. Banner interact with local civilians, and Rory knows she's not the only one on her team who has grown to like the guy, legendary assassin or not. He looks confused, sometimes, and other times, like a wary dog that's been hit too often to trust. Will Yancy had even put his Master's of Psychology to use and theorized with the team about the Winter Soldier's mental state.
Rory doesn't want SHIELD to take him in. She knows he'll never see the light of day again.
But. She has her orders.
.
While Rory and Tom help the retrieval team settle into their temporary quarters and explain the layout of the local terrain, Rory pointedly doesn't notice that Will isn't in his usual spot with his laptop. Angela greets the newcomers with a smile and a quick rundown of the nearby village. Will comes in not long after with a stack of MREs and a sharp grin.
The retrieval team moves out that night, following Dr. Banner and the Winter Soldier into the countryside. "We should hang back," Will says. "We can pick up the doc's trail in a couple days."
Rory gives him a long look. "Did you interact with them?" she asks after a moment.
Will's grin is still sharp. "No, ma'am, I did not. I just let the Soldier catch sight of me."
"Okay," Rory says. "Hang tight, guys. We'll see what happens."
.
What happens is that when Rory's team heads out, they meet up with two of the retrieval squad carrying another one. Of the six-man team, they are the only three to return alive.
According to the report that Agent Harrison gives to Agent Coulson, it was the Hulk – the Winter Soldier wasn't even in sight. Banner set a trap, Agent Farrell tripped it, and the ensuing gunfire led the Hulk right to them. It was an absolute shitshow.
After a few minutes conferencing off-camera, Agent Coulson orders Harrison's team home and for Rory to maintain the long-distance observation.
For now, Dr. Banner and the Winter Soldier are to be watched but otherwise left alone.
