So... My heart is broken.

Saturday, August 7th, 2010

Obviously enough a living human being had never been thawed before. First, there was the fact that humans are made mostly of water and when water freezes, it expands, leading the rupturing of all the major bodily tissue cells, resulting in death. Secondly, even if you somehow managed to solve that little problem in the freezing process, there was the little issue of it being scientifically unethical to freeze a person and bring them back to life. Even if the person was okay with the possibility of dying or something going wrong in the thawing process causing them to be permanently injured for life it'd still be unethical and possibly illegal.

Hence, why it had never been tried before, or at least that was known of. Conspiracy theory sites often claimed that the USSR and the KGB were looking into such technologies during the Cold War – and it certainly was plausible given their history or conducting experiments with little regard to the subject's physical or mental health (ex. Pavlov's orphan experiments) – but it was a little hard to take those claims seriously when the same websites also claimed that the Earth was flat and there was a global conspiracy to make everyone believe it is round. Also, organizations such as the CIA and S.H.I.E.L.D. found little evidence to support those claims. If they had found evidence of them, though, it would've made their jobs much easier as they tried to revive Captain Rogers from his ice-induced coma.

When Coulson's team first came across the frozen man, they were certain he was dead. It wasn't until they started thawing the ice around him to retrieve the body that they realized that the man was, in fact, alive. He kept trying to breathe despite the thick layer of ice separating him from the fresh air and once they had him thawed enough they felt for a pulse; confirming that he was still alive. They quickly freed his body from the remaining ice, got him on a gurney, loaded him up on the Quinjet and headed to New York – the closest S.H.I.E.L.D. base that had the equipment to handle that kind of medical emergency.

Despite having no clue how to go about re-warming Rogers' body, the S.H.I.E.L.D. team did do everything they could think of to keep him alive. On the way there they followed the standard first-aid protocol for treating someone with hypothermia (getting the person out of the cold, removing wet clothing, covering the person with blankets or towels, etc.), and once they had arrived the staff at the medical center treated him as though he had a very severe hypothermic case. It was the bare minimum that could be done for him at least. So far it seemed to be helping. Well, really it wasn't affecting anything, but it wasn't making Rogers' condition worse either, so technically it was neither a hinderance nor a help. Still, it was better than nothing.

Although S.H.I.E.L.D. was formed from the remains of the SSR, and thus had extensive files on Project: Rebirth and Dr. Abraham Erskine's research, they were having trouble figuring out how Rogers was able to survive for so long in the ice and how they should go about reviving him. Obviously, no one had foreseen that Rogers was going to be frozen in ice with no direct access to food, water, or sunlight for over sixty-five years, but somehow, he managed to survive it. They tried to look for any kind of file that mentioned cold-resistance in relation to the serum injected into Rogers' body but were coming up empty. They could theorize that Rogers' enhanced healing capacity contributed to it, but other than that there was nothing for them to go on. They had no way of knowing if Captain Rogers would awaken from his coma and if he did, whether he'd be able to function as a normal human being, never mind taking on the role of Captain America again.

As a last-ditch effort, S.H.I.E.L.D. was trying to locate anyone who had any involvement in Project: Rebirth or the SSR back in the day who was still alive, of sound enough mind, and possibly had information that could help them. It was going about as well as anyone would expect.

"Only four people had full access to all the files and research related to Project: Rebirth," Commander Hill explained. "Agent Margret Carter, Dr. Abraham Erskine, Col. Chester Phillips and Howard Stark. Erskine was killed by a Hydra assassin the same day Captain Rogers underwent the serum treatment. Col. Phillips died of natural causes in his home in 1980. Stark was killed alongside his wife in a car accident on Long Island in 1991. The only survivor is Agent Carter, but she is in hospice care for dementia in London. I doubt she'll be of any help."

"Any chance their families have access to information, old files?" Agent Coulson asked.

"After S.H.I.E.L.D. was established all the old SSR files were added to the official S.H.I.E.L.D. archive and that's what the med and science teams are going through now," Hill explained. "Currently, all of the information on Project: Rebirth in the world is inside this building.

"Are you sure about that?" Director Fury asked.

"What do you mean by that?" Hill had to ask.

"The SSR files, are they complete?"

"As far as we can tell, yes."

"'As far as we can tell…'" Coulson repeated. Hill narrowed her eyes at the two men sitting at the table with her.

"You're not suggesting that someone stole files from S.H.I.E.L.D., are you?"

"No," Fury said. "But I wouldn't put it past Howard Stark to withhold certain files from S.H.I.E.L.D. archive if he believed they were of use to him. He did try to keep a vial of Rogers' blood for himself, after all."

"What happened to it?" Hill asked.

"No one knows," Fury said. "Stark said he believed it was taken by Fenhoff while Stark was under the influence of his mind-control, but neither the SSR nor S.H.I.E.L.D. was able to verify that. For all, we know it could still be locked away in some hidden vault in Stark Industries. Either way, if he was willing to go that far to ensure he maintained access to Rogers' blood, I'm sure he would have done the same with Rogers' medical files."

"So what?" Hill said. "Stark's been dead for years. If he had hidden files somewhere, they've probably been lost or destroyed by now."

"There's still a chance that his son still has access to the files," Coulson suggested. "It's worth a shot." Fury nodded in agreement.

"Call Tony Stark," Fury instructed. "See if he still has access to his father's files. Do not tell him anything that's going on."

"Understood, sir." Coulson then left to make the call.

The opening notes of "Shoot to Thrill" roused Tony from his light dose. He hadn't been able to sleep since Pepper left. Instead, he just laid there with his eyes closed waiting for his head to stop pounding. The pain did ease up a bit but had yet to fully cease. However, the sound of his ringtone playing brought a headache back full-force. Groaning, Tony felt around for the phone on the nightstand.

"Please don't be a telemarketer," Tony muttered to himself. "Please don't be a telemarketer. Please don't be a telemarketer."

Tony tapped the screen and the see-through device lit up, displaying an unknown number on the screen. Tony's eyes narrowed. The number was way too long to be a telemarketer or anyone in the Continental United States for that matter. Intrigued and skeptical at the same time, Tony hit the accept call button and brought the device to his ear.

"Hello?"

"Tony Stark?" A familiar voice said on the other end of the line. "This is Agent Coulson from S.H.I.E.L.D." Tony pulled the phone away from his face for a second to let out a curse.

"Agent," he said, trying to come off as amicable when really, he was tired, annoyed, and in pain. "It's good to hear from you again. I was really in need of a three AM wake-up call."

"This isn't a social call, Stark."

"Yeah, I figured." Tony rubbed at his forehead. "So, what is it that S.H.I.E.L.D. needs me to consult on at this ungodly hour?"

"We don't need you to consult on anything," Coulson said. "We just need to know if you have access to any of your father's old research files."

"My father's files?" His voice was too tired to properly convey the confusion and suspicion he was feeling. "Depends on which ones and why."

"We think your father might have kept files that contained key information about a problem we are currently facing. This information could prove to be an invaluable asset in finding a solution to that problem."

"How invaluable?"

"It's the difference between life and death."

"For who?"

"Everyone." Tony sighed. He couldn't argue with that.

"I had all of my father's files digitized ages ago," he explained. "If you give me some search parameters, I can have JARVIS search my private database for it."

"That would be great," Coulson replied.

"So, what am I looking for here?"

"Any and all files connected to or associated with SSR Project: Rebirth." Tony fell deathly silent for a moment.

"No."

"I'm sorry?"

"No," Tony said. "I'm not going to give you those files. I know what that is and I'm telling you no."

"Mr. Stark-"

"No, I don't want to hear it." Tony took a calming breath before continuing. "I know that Project: Rebirth was the operation that turned Steve Rogers into Captain America. I'm not going to give those files over to S.H.I.E.L.D. just so they can create their own army of Super Soldiers."

"Mr. Stark, I think you've misunderstood our intent," Coulson tried to explain.

"Oh yeah?" Tony said. "Then what does S.H.I.E.L.D. want with those files?"

"That's not for me to disclose." Tony tried to say something but didn't get a chance as Coulson continued. "I can assure you, though that we aren't trying to replicate the Super Soldier Serum. We know for a fact that information isn't in those files anyway." Tony paused for a second to think things over.

"Who can disclose that information?"

"Director Fury."

"Can I speak to him?"

"Not now," Coulson explained. "He's busy handling a situation."

"Tell you what, Agent," Tony said. "I'll only give the files over if I can talk to Fury myself. I'm not just going to hand over the information my father purposefully safe-guarded without knowing what it's going to be used for.

"Fair enough," Coulson relented. "I'll tell that to Director Fury."

"Alright then," Tony said, and the call swiftly ended. Tony put the phone back on the nightstand and promptly went back to staring at the backs of his eyelids, waiting for sleep to come.

Tony wasn't sure if he got any sleep or not when he got up that morning. He knew it was dark out when he was on the phone with Coulson, but when he finally opened his eyes again it was daylight. He supposed that probably meant he got at least something resembling a peaceful, dreamless sleep, but at the same time his body felt as though he hadn't slept at all, which was great. On the bright side, at least he didn't have to use the wastebasket at any point.

His head still hurt, though, so that was a negative. When he was in the shower, the feeling of the water droplets hitting his head was pure agony. He even thought he was seeing double at a few different points. He tried taking Excedrin, but like everything else he tried it barely even touched the pain.

After he got out of the shower, Tony got another call from Coulson, giving him an address where he and Fury could safely meet. Being mindful of the fact that he and Pepper had a ten AM flight back to Los Angeles, Tony had Happy drive him to the location.

The building looked like a nondescript office building on the outside, but Tony knew that it was really a high-tech S.H.I.E.L.D. building on the inside. As soon as he entered the building, he spotted Coulson and Fury waiting for him.

Good, Tony thought. I can get this done as fast as possible.

"Director Fury," Tony greeted as he walked up to the two men. "Agent Coulson."

"Stark," Fury said. "Do you have the files?"

"Of course, I do." Fury opened his mouth to say something, but Tony cut him off. "However, I'm not just going to hand this over to S.H.I.E.L.D. Not until I know what the hell this is about."

"Stark, you have to understand, S.H.I.E.L.D. has no nefarious intentions in taking this information from you." The expression on Tony's face showed he wasn't buying it. "We know nothing in there can be used to replicate the Super Soldier Serum. That's not our goal here."

"Then what is your goal?" Tony asked. "Because I don't understand why S.H.I.E.L.D. would suddenly need information from the project that created Captain America. What are you playing at?" At that point, Fury relented.

"Alright," he said. "Looks like I'm going to have to show you."

"Show me what?" Tony questioned. "Why can't you just tell me?"

"Because if I tell you, you won't believe me," Fury said. "Hell, I'm not even sure showing you will get you to believe me.

Tony raised an eyebrow at that but was nonetheless intrigued. With only a few seconds of consideration, Tony followed Fury and Coulson past a security checkpoint and through an elaborate series of hallways that seemed more like a maze than a functional corridor system. Then again, that was probably the point.

They eventually came to a stop in front of a pair of double doors labeled Observation Room 5. Sliding a keycard through a scanner and completing a fingerprint and retinal scan, Fury opened the doors revealing a swath of S.H.I.E.L.D. doctors, researchers, and agents crowded into one room. Everyone was so involved in what they were doing that they didn't notice that the Director had re-entered the room. The woman standing at the center of it all did notice, though, and quickly approached the three men.

"Director Fury," she greeted. "Did you get the files from Stark?"

"Not yet," Fury then turned towards Tony and gestured over to the woman standing in front of them. "Tony Stark, Commander Maria Hill. Commander Hill, Tony Stark."

"Pleasure to meet you." It was clear that she was only saying that to be polite as she extended her hand out for him to shake.

"It's lovely to meet you as well," Tony said in a way that sounded less than sincere. It was clear that Hill had caught on to the slight as she shook his hand.

"What's his status?" Fury asked Hill.

"Vital signs are stable, but he still shows no signs of waking up," Hill explained. "We're still going through the old SSR files to see if we can find information on his physiology, but so far, no luck."

"So, no change?" Coulson questioned.

"No change," Hill confirmed.

"I'm sorry what are we talking about here?" Tony looked from director to agent to commander, hoping one of them would fill him in on what was going on. Coulson gestured over to a large plate-glass window that took up most of the left-hand side of the wall with a nod of his head.

"Why don't you look and see for yourself?" Tony stared at the agent oddly for a few seconds before proceeding to move towards the glass.

The room on the other side was clearly an interrogation room, but the table and chairs had been removed and space converted into a make-shift ICU. Multiple machines monitored the vitals of a man lying on a hospital bed in the back-center of the room. Several heat lamps surrounded the bed. The man looked like he was in a calm and peaceful sleep even though he had various tubes and wires connected to him. He appeared to be in his early to mid-twenties and had a rather fit physique with strong arms and a broad chest. Tony might have focused on that detail for a little too long before the eye's flicked up to the man's face. Once he properly focused on it he realized he had seen the face before. He had never met the man himself (given that the guy was supposed to be, you know, dead) but he had seen pictures before and heard his father go on about the man enough times. However, the logical part of his brain rejected the notion.

It can't be him! It's impossible! The guy's been dead for over sixty years! Unless S.H.I.E.L.D. found a way to miraculously revive the dead, there is no way this is real.

"Is this a trick?" Tony found himself questioning allowed. "Am I getting Punk'd or whatever it is they call it now? Because not cool guys, not cool!"

"This isn't a trick, Stark," Coulson said. "That really is Steve Rogers, a.k.a. Captain America."

"No," Tony denied. "That can't be him. It's not possible. He died in a plane crash in 1945. He's supposed to be dead!"

"I didn't believe it at first either, and I was the one that found him." Tony raised his eyebrows at that but said nothing. Coulson continued. "We got a call about a downed aircraft with unidentified tech onboard. It was found abandoned in the Arctic Circle. We identified it as possibly being the aircraft Johann Schmidt – a.k.a. the Red Skull – attempted to use in a bombing attack against the United States that was thwarted by Rogers. Our suspicions were only confirmed when we found Rogers' body. At first, we thought he was dead, but then, well…" Commander Hill picked up from there.

"We believe that the Super Soldier Serum in his system kept him alive and the ice preserved him in a cryostasis-like state," she explained. "However, we know nothing about his physiology, let alone how much the Serum affected it. That's what's caused us to hit a snag on how to revive him. We've been treating him for hypothermia and so far, he's remained stable, but we don't know what drugs to administer or avoid. If we accidentally gave him something that would interact poorly with the Serum or his advanced systems couldn't process, we'd kill him."

"That's why you need the files," Tony stated. Fury was the next one to speak up.

"We believe your father might have withheld certain pieces of information from S.H.I.E.L.D. archive for one reason or another, such as physical examinations of Captain Rogers after he underwent treatment with the Serum," he explained. "We know that the Serum's formula was lost with the death of Dr. Abraham Erskine. We just want to try and save this man's life." Tony turned back to studying the man behind the glass.

"How do I know that's really him?" he questioned. "How do I know that this isn't some shady spy trick?"

"Tell you what, Stark," Fury said. "If you give us the files willingly, you can talk to him when he wakes up. Ask him any question you want, figure out if he's the real Steve Rogers. Do we have a deal?"

Tony stood there for a long time considering his options. Finally, he slowly walked over to the circular table in the center of the room and placed his phone down on the surface.

"JARVIS, log in to my private database and pull up all files related to 'SSR Project: Rebirth.'"

"Right away, Sir," the AI said as a loading screen popped out of the phone's holographic display. It was quickly replaced by an alphabetized list of all the files and documents found matching the set parameters. "Search completed, forty-eight results found. Anything else I can do for you, Sir?"

"Yeah," Tony said. "Send Pepper a text message. Tell her I'm going to miss the flight and to leave without me. Also, tell her that nothing's wrong and I'll see her Monday."

So, I was not expecting Infinity War to go the way it did. I mean, it was good, but damn the feels... My sister tried to warn me before I went to the theater! I should have listened to her!

Anyways, if you liked this please leave a review. Be nice, though. I kind of need it after the hell week I've had. I think today's the only free day I have to myself and I intend to enjoy it.

Remember kids, always aim for the head.

Originally posted to FFN on 5/10/18.