"It was him." Steve said numbly as they rode in the armored car. "He looked right at me and he didn't even know me."
His hands were cuffed in heavy metal restraints specially designed for him that kept his arms constricted before his chest.
Sam asked from where he sat opposite Steve: "How's that even possible? It was like seventy years ago."
Nat was looking worriedly at Arianna sitting beside Steve, deathly pale and holding her side tightly, but her gaze flickered to Steve as he replied slowly: "Zola. Bucky's whole unit was captured in '43, Zola experimented on 'em. Whatever he did, it helped Bucky survive the fall."
He slowly lifted his eyes again, staring blankly into space as he said in a tone of self-loathing: "They must have found him."
"None of that's your fault, Steve." Nat said flatly, but Steve wasn't even listening as he muttered: "Even when I had nothing, I had Bucky."
Arianna hadn't said anything, and Sam glanced at her, trying to hint at her to help comfort the Cap. It was then that he noticed how white her face was, even her lips had lost their color. He glanced down to see where she was holding tightly, and he saw the blood seeping through her fingers.
"We need to get a doctor here." Sam said sharply as he looked at their captors. He ordered as Nat looked at Arianna once again, worriedly: "We don't put pressure on that wound she's gonna bleed out here in the truck."
Steve looked over at Sam in surprise and confusion, tensing as one of the agents drew their taser. Sam also flinched a little, glaring at the agent. They all blinked as the agent suddenly whacked the taser into his comrade, knocking him out.
Arianna lifted her head to look at the now unconscious agent on the ground, and then looked over as the attacking agent removed her helmet to reveal none other than Maria Hill.
"That thing was squeezing my brain." She complained and then looked at Arianna.
"Right, we need to get you out." She muttered and then glanced back at Sam. She asked Steve as they all stared at her dumbfounded: "Who's this guy?"
"Not important right now, Arianna needs help, immediately." Nat interrupted tightly as Steve noticed, for the first time, how ashen the agent was.
His stomach twisted guiltily as he realized he'd been so caught up with Bucky, he hadn't even noticed her wound. She saw his face though, and shook her head firmly at him as Maria began to burn a hole in the floor of the vehicle.
"You were worried about your friend." She said quietly, and the others glanced at her and then Steve.
He ignored them as he replied just as quietly: "Doesn't excuse the fact that I didn't even notice one of my teammates was injured."
She shrugged slightly and Maria interrupted: "We need to go." She indicated the hole and nodded at Arianna. "Steve, you take her and the rest of you follow me."
She dropped through, rolling on the ground and avoiding the car tires as drove on. Sam followed, taking Nat as he noticed her bleeding shoulder, while Steve gripped Arianna.
"Sorry." He muttered in her ear before he dropped them through the hole. He was careful to avoid jostling her too much as they rolled to a stop, but even then she was gritting her teeth against the pain. He carried her quickly as they slipped off the road and she didn't fight it, knowing she would slow them down if she insisted on walking. Steve carried her bridal style as they ducked through the undergrowth, following Maria until they reached another van.
Maria opened the door and ushered them all in, checking their surroundings to make sure they weren't noticed or being followed before she slid in after them and they drove off.
Steve hopped out first as they arrived at a secret facility, not far from the Triskelion itself, tucked away deep in the woods just outside the city. Sam handed Arianna over to him, before following and Nat crawled out last, also grunting in pain. Her wound was slightly less severe but she'd also lost quite a bit of blood by this point.
Arianna meanwhile was so pale, she looked like she'd faint at any moment although she kept a tight hold on the cloth Maria had handed her to press to her wound. Steve was extremely worried about her as he carried her after Maria as the agent led them into the facility, calling down the passage as a doctor ran up: "GSW. She's lost at least a pint."
"Maybe two." Sam added.
"Let me take her!" The doctor called, but Maria said grimly: "She'll want to see him first."
She gestured to Steve to follow and he did so hesitantly, his body telling him to just hand Arianna over to the doctor quickly to get medical treatment. But she was staring after Maria's back intently, and so he went against every cell in his body and carried her with him as they followed Maria deeper into the facility.
He promptly almost dropped her in shock and he heard Nat gasp as Maria pulled aside bed curtains to reveal a recuperating Fury. Fury lifted his head at the noise and when he saw them, he said in a tired voice: "About damn time."
"You son of a-" Arianna began, sounding outraged, but she winced and Steve shushed her as she lost what little color she'd had- which was basically nothing- while her hand gripped the cloth on her side.
Fury looked vaguely amused as he watched the pair and he called: "Is that the first words you have to say to your old friend after he comes back from the dead?"
"I'll show you 'friend'." Arianna snarled through her teeth gritted in pain, and Steve snapped at her: "Ria, let it go."
He spotted a doctor coming running with some medical kits and he muttered: "Let's get you treated."
She continued to glare at Fury as Steve set her down on a seat beside Fury's bed and the doctor began to treat her side. Steve turned to face Fury as another doctor hurried in and began to treat Nat's shoulder.
Fury saw the look on the Captain's face and he avoided it as he began to list: "Lacerated spinal column, cracked sternum, shattered collarbone, perforated liver, one hell of a headache."
"Don't forget your collapsed lung." The doctor treating Nat added, and Fury said a little sarcastically: "Oh, let's not forget that. Otherwise, I'm good."
"They cut you open, your heart stopped." Nat argued.
"Tetrodotoxin B." Arianna muttered bitterly.
The others glanced at her, but she'd worked it out after she'd had the chance to calm down a little. Fury nodded once as he elaborated: "Slows the pulse to one beat a minute. Banner developed it for stress. Didn't work so great for him, but we found a use for it."
"I hate you." Arianna muttered and Fury did the best attempt at a shrug that his beaten body could.
Steve interjected irritably: "Why all the secrecy? Why not just tell us?"
Maria piped up: "Any attempt on the director's life had to look successful."
Fury pointed out: "Can't kill you if you're already dead. Besides," he glanced at Nat and Arianna, "I wasn't sure who to trust."
Neither agent could argue with that, but Steve scowled.
"I thought you trusted Ria." He pointed out, and Fury did his mini-shrug again.
"I also trusted Alexander Pierce. Look where that got me." He pointed out, and Steve elapsed into silence. Fury continued: "I've said this before, but I try not to place all my eggs in one basket. But at least know this," he looked at each of them, "I trusted you enough to give you the pieces. I waited to see if you would team to put it together."
He'd turned his eye to Arianna pointedly at the end but she avoided looking at him. She looked down at her wound with sudden interest, even as her face fell into a frown. Everyone seemed intent lately on forcing her to open up honestly to Steve.
The problem was… after her talk with Nat, she was starting to want to. And now with the sudden return of Bucky Barnes shaking Steve to the core… Arianna was beginning to wonder if maybe she'd made the wrong call. She'd done it to save herself and Steve what she'd thought would be certain heartache… but now, she wasn't so sure. Was she causing him unnecessary hurt because of her decision?
Once Arianna and Nat had been fully treated, Fury pulled himself out of bed and into a side room to lead the debriefing. He sighed as he held up a picture of Pierce, and he told them quietly: "This man declined the Nobel Peace Prize. He said, 'Peace wasn't an achievement, it was a responsibility'."
He tossed the photo down as he said bitterly: "See, it's stuff like this that gives me trust issues."
"We have to stop the launch." Nat murmured, turning to look at Steve.
Fury commented dryly: "I don't think the Council's accepting my calls anymore."
He opened up a briefcase Maria had laid out on the table, and they looked inside to see three chips inside.
"What's that?" Sam asked for all of them, and Maria explained as she showed them the plans on a laptop: "Once the Helicarriers reach three thousand feet, they'll triangulate with Insight satellites becoming fully weaponized."
"We need to breach those carriers and replace their targeting blades with our own." Fury told them, and Maria added grimly: "One or two won't cut it. We need to link all three carriers for this to work, because if even one of those ships remains operational a whole lot of people are gonna die."
Arianna clenched her fists, as the others looked grim. Steve was frowning deeply as Fury continued: "We have to assume everyone aboard those carriers is HYDRA. We need to get pass them, insert the server blades, and maybe, just maybe, we can salvage what's left-"
"We're not salvaging anything." Steve interrupted sharply. Fury looked at him in surprise as Steve told Fury tightly: "We're not just taking down the carriers, Nick, we're taking down SHIELD."
"SHIELD had nothing to do with it." Fury argued, but Steve cut across him again as he said harshly: "You gave me this mission, this is how it ends."
Nat's face tightened while Arianna's became pensive as Steve pointed out: "SHIELD's been compromised, you've said so yourself. HYDRA was right under your nose and nobody noticed."
"Why do you think we're meeting in this cave? I noticed." Fury snapped.
Steve gestured at Arianna as he countered: "And look what had to happen before you did. How many paid the price before you did?" He asked scathingly.
Fury lowered his head as he said quietly: "Look, I'm sorry Hart and Romanoff had to get hurt. And… I didn't know about Barnes."
"Even if you have, would you have told me?" Steve asked pointedly. "Or would you have compartmentalized that too? SHIELD, HYDRA, it all goes."
"He's right." Maria said sadly, and Fury looked at her. He turned his gaze to Natasha, who didn't answer, and then Sam.
"Don't look at me. I do what he does, just slower." Sam replied, and Steve nodded in thanks. He turned to Fury, but the former Director was now looking at Arianna.
She looked right back at him as she said softly: "You know whose side I'll choose."
Steve looked a tad surprised at that, and he glanced at her questioningly but she didn't look at him, just looked down at her hands again.
Fury nodded slowly and then leaned back in his chair as he said at last: "Well... Looks like you're giving the orders now, Captain."
There was no bitterness in his voice, and he sounded faintly proud although Steve could see a deep grief swirling in the man's eye. SHIELD's loss would be a large blow, for him and for the other agents, but they could all see the inevitability. HYDRA needed to be stopped… but where did the Winter Soldier fall in this decision? Steve lowered his head slightly and his heart was heavy as he contemplated what needed to be done from now on.
Arianna walked out onto the bridge slowly, hesitantly. She wasn't sure this was the right thing to do and she was incredibly aware she was starting to send mixed signals to Steve. But seeing him in pain was always something she couldn't handle, and she always wanted to try to do what she could to ease it, even if only a little.
As she approached he looked up, sensing her presence immediately. He didn't speak, just watched her as she walked up uncertainly. When she finally ended up next to him, he turned back to look out over the side of the bridge, commenting: "You shouldn't be walking around yet with your injury."
"I know." She replied quietly, also turning to lean on the railings, careful not to pull her side and risk pulling the stitches. There was a moment's silence, before she asked quietly: "Are you okay?"
He snorted a little at that as he muttered: "No."
Her face filled with sorrow and she touched his arm gently. He didn't look at her, and they stood for a moment, staring out into the wilderness. Steve suddenly spoke, startling Arianna as he broke the silence. "When my mother died, I left the funeral on my own because I didn't want to be around other people."
She glanced at him, wondering if this was a subtle hint, but he continued: "Bucky eventually found me when I got back to my small apartment. He'd looked for me after the service, and he came to offer that I stay at his place. He even tried to offer some chores I could do in exchange for staying with his folks, knowing I hated accepting favors, even if it was from my closest friend."
Arianna smiled just a little at that- she could definitely picture that. Steve had also smiled a little at the memory, but his face became pensive again as he said softly: "I remember what I told him as I rejected his offer. 'I can get by on my own'."
He paused and then said quietly: "I'll never forget what Bucky told me. He told me I didn't have to because he'd be with me till the end of the line."
Arianna's face softened as she glanced at Steve. He continued to stare out into space as he murmured: "I can still see him right in front of me as he said that to me."
He finally turned to look down at he, and Arianna stared up at him sadly. His heart tugged as he saw the familiar warmth, absent for so long, as she stared into his eyes.
She said gently: "Steve, he may not be in there anymore," he bowed his head but jerked it up again in surprise as she finished, "and I want you to know I'll help you, whether you choose to stop him… or save him."
He stared at her wordlessly and she said seriously: "I know it hasn't been great between us, but I wanted you to know… I will always have your back when you need it."
They stood for a moment in silence, Steve digesting her words. He wanted to ask her why she was choosing to say this now, and what this meant for them from now on. If there was a future after today. And he could see in her eyes that there was something more she wanted to say, which was a change from the past few months.
But they were out of time.
Steve saw Nat and Sam appear in the doorway far behind, watching the pair on the bride. Arianna saw his glance and also looked back, sending a measured look in Nat's direction. Neither side moved for a moment and then Arianna sighed. Giving Steve one last look, she turned and walked back towards the facility.
Steve watched her go, keeping his eyes on her back as she joined Nat and the pair walked inside without a backward glance. He silently vowed that when this mess was over, he and Arianna were going to talk this out. Whatever they decided after, he wanted to at least try to amend their relationship, and if nothing else at least he would no longer regret that he never even tried to hang onto her.
Sam walked over slowly, coming to stand before the brooding super-soldier.
"You okay, man?" He asked seriously, and Steve glanced at him before nodding once.
"I will be." He answered shortly.
Sam continued to watch him with sharp eyes and Steve met his gaze determinedly.
"Gear up, it's time." Steve ordered, before he turned on his own heels and walked off the bridge in the opposite direction of the facility.
"You gonna wear that?" Sam called after him in a mix of skepticism and amusement.
"No." Steve answered evenly. He looked back briefly as he added pointedly: "If you're gonna fight a war, you gotta wear a uniform."
Sam grinned, and he watched as Steve disappeared into the forest before turning back to the facility. His face became serious once more as he headed inside, joining the other agents as they readied for the battle to come.
Some time later at the Smithsonian Museum
The guard, Stan, strode through the museum, swinging his baton absently as he want about his usual patrol. He was making his rounds through the Captain America exhibit, a pointless task in his opinion. What was someone going to do, steal the plastic Captain America shield on display? He highly doubted it.
He was thinking about his coffee break, Mary had promised donuts today, when he noticed something in the corner of his eye. He stopped and stared in horror at the mannequin display of the Captain and his Howling Commandos. The display held each of the war heroes' uniforms, or was supposed to.
Stan stared at the Captain America mannequin, which had been stripped of its uniform, leaving only the plastic shield. He blinked slowly at the stars and stripes shield that seemed to be mocking him as it stood proudly against the naked mannequin.
"Oh, man." The old man breathed. "I am so fired!"