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Steve looked at the arms, legs, hands and feet, the metal glinting despite the dust covered room.
Images flashed into his mind, people, soldiers, men and women who had sustained injury all lying on benches. Bucky held down by leather straps as a faceless man in a lab coat tries to attach the metal arm to his person. Bucky screams in agony and is soon joined by yells from all around.
Screams of pain and torture filled this room Steve thought as he ran his hand over one of the benches. Minds are altered and bodies changed, a horde of brainwashed, trained and enhanced assassins, tools for the Russian government and then in to the hands of Hydra.
Steve couldn't bear to look at the room anymore and as he turned to Natasha he realised that Jemma was no longer with them. His eyes desperately searched. Dammit! He hadn't meant to let the girl out of his sight after the last scare with the cliff. Natasha simply walked out with a role of her eyes.
All three followed the sound of a gasp that came from the open door next to them. Steve rushed in to see not Jemma but a large tube glass tank that was smashed littering the floor with debris. The jagged pieces glinting on the floor sprayed around the room. Steve glanced up to find the horrifying image of Jemma's legs stuck up in the air as the bottom half of her was swallowed up by the top of the machine.
"Agent Simmons?" Natasha enquired walking closer to stare up at the waving legs. Soon a wide eyed head with a nest of disgruntled hair popped up.
"Miss Romanoff!" Jemma smiled as she clutched the edge of the machine before jumping lightly down. She looked up with a smile.
"Isn't it incredible? This is years ahead of its time, to think they had this kind of sophisticated technology, it is absolutely baffling! The machine is of the highest quality, oh how I wish I had a sample of the cryoprotectants. They managed to minimize enzymatic or chemical activity that could damage the human body through the sub zero temperatures. I mean it is absolutely fascinating that he could have survived as long as he did without any damage, I mean he is obviously in top physical condition. This is a breakthrough!"
Steve watched as the young scientist had even taken the arm away from her injured side to wave it with her other in excitement as she proceeded to waffle off into a language no one else understood. She then began to circle the large tube and fiddle with some of the piping attached to it.
"I mean it just makes so much sense. Oh how I wish Fitz could see this, he will probably have a heart attack when I tell him, he will get that cute little amazed look on his face."
Steve frowned at the mention of the name. Who was he? Her lab partner if he remembered her file correctly. Cute?
"What exactly is it Simmons?" Natasha stopped the biochemist from blabbering anymore.
"Oh" Jemma looked slightly embarrassed as she realized that they probably didn't understand what she was saying. "Well it is a cryogenic freezer to be sure, although...well I don't know what you would call one of this size! A chamber maybe?"
Jemma looked at Natasha's impatient glare that reminded her scarily of May's and cleared her throat. "Anyway that is beside the point, scientists have often used cryopreservation to freeze certain substances, but never a human before-"
"Wait human?" Steve had a feeling he knew where this was going.
Jemma's tone slightly softened as she turned to face the super soldier. "Yes a freezer this size...well I would only imagine that that is what it was used for. It would explain why Mr Barnes has lived so long." Jemma took a large breath. "They would have frozen him between missions, only let him out when they needed an assassin, it would explain all the sightings over the years."
So that was how Bucky was still alive! Steve now saw all the pieces fitting together, why Bucky was the way he was, how he was the way he was...now only one question remained. Where was his friend now? Steve was about to ask this very question aloud when a tremendous grumble was heard and the whole room began to shake.
"The storm is getting worse, must leave now!" Alyona yelled over the noise gesturing back to the entrance. All three scrambled for the door way. Jemma stuffed some files into her bag as she ran, the three ahead of her getting further away as they were much quicker than she was.
Jemma stumbled as another large rumble shook the mountain and the lights on the ceiling swayed back and forth. She looked to the side to see a clipboard lying on the ground, she went to pick it up but yells from the others to hurry up stopped her. The image on the back was ingrained into her brain however as she stood to keep running. The red X in its distinctive style plastered on the back. Jemma didn't have time to ponder over it as the ground shook more and she pushed herself to get towards the entrance.
Steve rather wished he had stayed inside as the second they stepped out he felt he would almost be blown off the mountain. The wind was a deafening roar and snow fell heavily and fast, making his vision nothing but white. Natasha and Alyona soon joined him.
Alyona said something in Russian he couldn't make out but Natasha nodded her head in agreement. Jemma burst through after them and Alyona had to grab her arm before she blew away. All four looked down the side of the mountain to what was left of the track.
"I called back up once I heard there was going to be a storm, they should be down near the bottom waiting, we just need to get down." Natasha managed over the wind. Jemma looked with trepidation where the track had once stood, now it was just a blanket of white.
Natasha looked at Jemma's face as it turned as white as the snow around them. She turned to Steve and Alyona. "Do you two think you can make it down?" She yelled taking off her pack.
Steve looked at Alyona who nodded then back at Natasha before glancing at Jemma. "Yes, but what about you and Dr Simmons?"
Natasha simply gave back a devilish smile. "We will meet you down there, but I need to borrow your shield" The wind had really picked up and Natasha had to practically scream to be heard. Steve seemed to hesitate but willingly handed over his prized weapon to the red head.
"I hope you know what you are doing Natasha!"
"Hurry up, you guys, you need to go as fast as you can. Agent Simmons and I will be right behind you."
Steve seemed to pause once more as he looked at the two women. He stared at a frightened looking Jemma before shaking his head and beginning his decent, he consoled himself that Natasha knew what she was doing and wouldn't let anything happen to the young scientist.
Steve watched as Alyona with her long legs like his began to hurry her way down. Steve followed suit and picked up speed, they needed to get off this mountain before the storm got too much worse.
Meanwhile Jemma was watching in fascination as their two companions disappeared from view at a good speed.
"Why aren't we going with them?" Jemma turned to the red head who was up against the mountain side sheltered slightly from the wind so she wouldn't have to yell.
"They have longer legs than ours and they are both very strong, they will manage not to get lost in the snow. Both you and I agent Simmons are a bit more vertically challenged and would find it a struggle to make it down, especially with your injury."
"How did you know-"
"Doesn't matter."
"Wait." Jemma gripped her side and looked at the redhead as she grappled through her bag. "Doesn't that make all the more reason for us to get going if we are slow, The others will be waiting down there for ages for us."
Natasha tossed her pack off to the side and grabbed the Captain's shield and placed it on the ground upside down. Jemma figured it out and immediately began to protest. "No no no no no no."
"Agent Simmons Steve said he regretted bringing you along, said you were basically a liability." Natasha looked with hard eyes as Jemma slumped slightly. "I don't believe he was correct, but I need you to prove it to me right now."
Natasha hopped on the back edge of the shield and waited for the young scientist to sit in front of her. Jemma gulped but slid her pack off, stuffed the folders into her jacket and went and sat in front of the scary Black Widow.
Jemma almost squeaked as two arms snaked around her to pull her back into Natasha's chest. "We have to fit" was her only explanation. So Jemma crossed her legs and gripped the edges of the shield tightly while Natasha removed her arms and did the same, tucking her legs around Simmons so they both just fit on the makeshift sled.
Jemma had the weird thought that this was not what Captain America must have thought when he passed his prized shield over to Natasha. As Jemma felt the leather arm straps dig into her bottom she realized that Natasha had scooted them out to the edge with her hands.
As the shield tilted over the edge Jemma could only hope that this wasn't how she died, sliding down a mountain in a snow storm on Captain America's shield with a deadly assassin wrapped around her.
Soon the air was rushing past and Jemma could hardly see, the wind whipped at her hair and she hoped that it didn't hit her passenger behind too much.
Jemma saw the trunk of a tree fast approaching and she felt a scream ripping out of her lungs as they were heading right for it. She felt Natasha squeezed her right arm and she immediately knew what she meant. Both women leaned far to the right and the shield followed and they just barely missed the tree.
Jemma almost took a breath of relief but it was sucked back in as she realised more trees and rocks jutting out of the snow were fast approaching. Jemma relied on Natasha as she would feel her leaning one way or another and she would follow. They almost didn't miss one large rock and Jemma found herself leaning so far to the side she was worried they were going to tip.
Steve on the other hand was making great progress, he was almost at the bottom and he could see the fuzzy outline of a quin jet in the distance. He checked behind him and saw that Alyona was not far behind; he hoped that Natasha and Dr Simmons were okay. He wondered what Natasha was planning. As if to answer his question he heard a scream. He squinted through the harsh snow to see what he thought looked like Jemma and Natasha shooting down the mountain in…Steve's eyes grew wide, was that his shield?
Jemma had had just about enough of this bumpy ride and the snow smacking into her face was making her very irritable. They had at least made it most of the way down and they were close to where they were getting 'picked up.' Jemma almost smiled at that until she saw the large rock jutting out of the ground.
They had no time to avoid it, it was long and flat and seemed to almost create a sort of ramp. A ramp? Oh no. Jemma felt her eyes could not get any bigger as the shield rocketed up the large rock and sent her, Natasha and the shield flying into the air. Jemma felt the legs around her disappear as well as the metal pressed against her hind quarters as she realised they all began to fly separately. Jemma felt the shock make her black out.
Jemma thought she must be dead, she felt icy cold and her head was spinning and an evil smirk was right in her face. Ha? The devil? Wow I thought I had I been a rather good person Jemma thought as she tried to get her bearings, ignoring the fact that she didn't even believe in heaven or hell.
As her vision cleared she realised the icy feeling was simply the snow covering half of her body and as she looked up she was even more shocked of who was there than if the devil with a pitch fork had been standing in front of her. Although, Jemma mused looking up at the mischievous smile on the person standing above her, she wasn't far off.
"Wow Jemma I didn't realise your secret mission was bobsledding with Captain America and the Black Widow."
Jemma felt her voice croak as she struggled to sit up. "What are you doing here Skye?"
Woohoo new chapter! Who can guess what the X Jemma saw means? Have been doing a lot of comic research and am having a blast incorporating it into my story. Our heroes may have to talk to someone else...it is a surprise and some may like it, others not. Pleas review, loving the feedback!
