Her phone started to ring and she pulled it out of her jean pocket. She answered to phone knowing who it was going to be, anger rising up within her. The day kept getting worse and worse.
"What do you want?" She snapped harshly.
"Maria," Steve's voice was barely a whispered and she questioned herself if she had actually heard right. "It's me," Steve chocked out to her. Her heart pounded fast within her chest at the sound of his voice, beating hard against her ribs. It was his voice, his voice that sounded so broken, so hurt…His voice that sounded like he was in pain, so much pain. She couldn't help him; she didn't know where he was. To have him phone, how? How did he get a phone? Did he get out of the HYDRA base?
"Steve," she replied, to tell him that she was there. Her mind started to catch up with her running heart. "Where are you? Tell me where you are and I'll come get you," Maria told him as she stood up from sitting on the hard ground, wiping her free hand on the back of her jeans.
"You can't," he whispered back as she waited for an answer. "You can't come get me," Steve told her. "Because I don't even know where I am," Steve said and Maria started to pace.
"Describe your surroundings to me, noise, sight, smell, anything," Maria demanded and Steve just smiled to himself.
"I'm lying on the floor...staring up at a grey ceiling, Maria... And I'm in a lot of pain," Steve told her, his voice quiet.
"Are you at the same base where you and Tony were? They haven't moved you?" She asked. "We can come there and get you."
"Honestly… I don't even know," Steve said and she sighed.
"Steve, you have to help me a little more. Where are you hurt?" Maria asked. She needed to know his location. She needed to find him.
"Everywhere," Steve told her. "I got... bashed around by the Hulk," Steve said. Maria recalled the last phone call she had gotten; the man had wondered who would win in a fight, Steve or the Hulk. Guess the Hulk won. She closed her eyes, listening to Steve's ragged breathing down the phone.
"Name specific parts. Rib cage? Stomach?" Maria asked, pinching the bridge of her nose.
"Could you please... Just be here… with me?" Steve asked. "Just... Stay on the line," Steve breathed to her and she did. She didn't say anything and he didn't either. They listened to each other's breathing, calming them both down. At least they knew the other was alive, for now. After a couple of minutes Steve spoke,
"It's nice to hear your voice again," and Maria smiled at the comment.
"Yours too," she said back. The phone crackled and he was gone. Maria leant her head back to touch the wall she was leaning against, eyes closed. She dropped her hand from her ear, gripping her phone tightly. She took a deep breath. Her eyes then shot open and she quickly moved down the train track to where everyone else was sat. Bethany was sat with Sam showing him her Captain America teddy bear. Maria let herself take in the scene. Since the world had gone to shit it was nice to see some peace. She turned away to look at Tony who had Pepper in his arms where they sat.
"Where's the base?" Maria asked him.
"What?" Tony asked, a little confused at her sudden appearance.
"Where's the HYDRA base you and Steve broke into?" Maria asked him.
"Erm..." Tony began to think. The past three days had been a blur for Tony, everything running at full speed. "It's on 5th, through the sewage pipe at the end of one of the alleys," Tony told her. She nodded.
"Get the team ready, we're going to get Steve and Bruce back," Maria said.
"How do you know they are there?" Tony asked and Maria just looked at him.
"You know we need a plan Maria," Pepper said to the ex-deputy director.
"We've do plenty of mission's with no plan before and they worked out just fine," Maria replied back.
Maria had been forced to stay with the group, based on the reason that they needed someone to stay with the others. When she said that was a bullshit reason she was met with the icy glare of her best friend.
"If things go wrong over there we need someone who will be able to protect everyone and sort shit out. If you were to come and we let someone else stay then what will happen if we get Steve out and not you. The man will be broken. If you come, how do I know your emotions won't get the better of you? How are we supposed to know if you get caught, HYDRA won't use you to get to Steve? Or to us? I can't and won't allow that," Natasha said and in the end Maria stayed, however she wasn't going to be happy about it.
Bethany came running up to where Maria paced away from the group, her Captain America teddy bear held firmly in her arms, its head bouncing slightly as she ran. She gave Maria a soft smile that Maria tried not to let melt her heart. She took a deep breath before she stopped pacing and turned to look at the little girl.
"What?" Maria asked, a little harsher than she meant. Bethany's smile flattened a little but she didn't let the harshness of Maria's voice get to her.
"I was wondering if you had any food," Bethany asked her and Maria sighed. She had been so worked up and the adrenaline that had built up within her had made her forget about food or water.
"I'm sorry, but I don't," Maria told Bethany. "You'll have to go a little longer without food, can you do that?" Maria asked, couching down to be level with Bethany. The little girl nodded, looking down at the floor in sadness. Maria sighed before pulling the girl into a hug.
"It'll be ok," Maria said, even though she didn't believe her words. Pepper slowly walked over to her and Bethany, the bandages around her stomach had turned red, the blood staining it. However Pepper didn't seem to be fazed by it, well not yet anyway.
"Why don't you help me guard the group?" Maria asked Bethany and she nodded, a grin forming on her face. Maria stood up and pulled her gun out. She took out the magazine so it was empty before handing it to Bethany who smiled. The little girl held the gun with pride before pacing; copying what Maria had been doing moments ago.
Pepper smiled at Maria and Bethany before coming to a stop in front of her. The brunette put her hand up to show she didn't want to talk. Pepper nodded before placing a hand on Maria's shoulder. A small gesture to show Maria that Pepper was there for her.
-Tony led the way to the entrance to the underground HYDRA base, the one Steve and himself had used a few days ago. It seemed like months, even years ago since the last time Tony had been here. He remembered how he and Steve had made it so far to then be cut down by their own shock. He remembered the pain he saw Bruce was in, the pain and fear that could be felt in the air in the cell they were keeping him in, like some kind of animal. It angered Tony on how they kept his friends tied up in cells. He remembered his own time in captivity. He had to admit he was slightly lucky to have someone with him. Someone to help him get through the three shitty months he was in Afghanistan.
Natasha and Clint had the job of getting Steve out, while Tony and Sam were to get Bruce. The group spilt, two going to the right and two to the left.
"So you're the bird guy right?" Tony asked with his voice hushed. "The guy that helped Steve out last year?"
"Yep," Sam replied in the same hushed toned.
"You wouldn't mind if I took a look at your wings when we get back?" Tony asked and Sam shrugged.
"Don't see why I would," Sam said before they turned the corner. One shot and the HYDRA agent was down. The silencer on Sam's glock 27 kept the noise to a minimum. The two made their way down the corridor, keeping to the right with their side's pressed against the wall to stay out of the camera's view. They checked the doors along the way, to find mostly blood stained rooms, chains hanging from the ceiling.
"No sign of Bruce, you guys found Steve yet?" Sam asked through the comms.
"Nearly," Clint said his breathing heavy.
"What do you mean nearly?" Tony asked them.
"He means that we know where he is but can't get to him because of HYDRA," Natasha replied. Tony and Sam frowned at each other before they heard a bang, the door at the end of the corridor opening up to find HYDRA agents storming through. Seconds later the alarms within the underground base sounded, alerting all agents of the intruders' arrival.
"Shit," Sam said before heading into the fight. They took the HYDRA agents down with ease, a few injuries but nothing to worry about. They then made their way down the corridor to where the HYDRA agents had first come from. They moved throughout the underground building until Tony told Sam to stop. He recognised the door; he had a photographic memory after all. He then lifted the bar that locked the thick metal door before pushing it open roughly with his shoulder.
"Bruce," Tony said, blinking due to the couple seconds of blindness the light in the room caused him.
The man was curled up in the corner of the room, hands gripping into his messy hair. He flinched roughly at Tony's voice, however he didn't look up. Bruce knew Tony wasn't real. It was his mind playing tricks on him again. Just a voice, just a voice he told himself.
"Bruce, come on buddy," Tony said moving into the brightly lit room as Sam stood guard.
"No, no, no, no, no," Bruce said, shaking his head. Tony slowly lowered himself down to couch in front of the man. He lifted his hand and placed it gently on Bruce's shoulder. The scientist flinched away from the hand as his head shot up. He grabbed Tony's hand, the other hand raised in a fist.
His eyes were wide with fear, a green tinge to them. Tony stilled and waited for Bruce to focus onto him. The scientist blinked a couple of times before he recognised who the man in front of him was, his fist slowly lowering.
"Tony?" Bruce asked, his voice barely a whisper. He slowly lifted his hand to touch Tony's cheek who smiled at the doctor. "You're real?" Bruce asked.
"As real as I'll ever be," Tony said. "Now come on, let's get you out of this shit whole." He didn't believe the genius. He wasn't, it was a dream. However Bruce let the dream carry him away.
Tony helped Bruce throw an arm around his shoulder and helped the man limp out of the room. Sam moved to the other side of Bruce and helped get him out of the HYDRA base.
"We're out," Tony told Natasha and Clint after they had gotten to a safe distance away from the base.
"We'll be out soon," Natasha said.
"We've got him," Clint told them, breathing heavily.
Hey guys, so this is the next chapter of my little story and I hoped you guys enjoyed it. Tell me what you thought, it always makes my day :)
