Steve, Tony, and Bucky slowly stepped into the dark room in the Siberia bunker. They could make out the 4 cylindrical cyro-freeze machines in the room, which seemed to still be operational.
"This place gives me the creeps," Tony muttered from under the helmet.
Suddenly, the lights lit up. They could make out the motionless bodies of the other Winter Soldiers inside the machines more clearly. Steve seemed more hesitant to go in than Bucky was, quite surprisingly. His blue eyes darted to almost every corner.
Then, a voice.
"If it brings you any comfort; they died in their sleep."
Tony flinched. Everyone seemed to have been caught off-guard.
They were dead?
Steve walked around slowly, and noticed Bucky walk through the opposite side, gun raised. He stared into the cryo-freeze machines with disgust. They all saw the bullet holes placed, quite purposely, in the center of each Winter Soldier's head.
"What the hell.." Bucky muttered.
The voice spoke up again. "I'm grateful to them, though. They brought you here."
Instantly, through a small, square window, a man's face was visible. Steve recognized him as Helmut Zemo, the same man who had triggered Bucky.
Tony aimed his blaster toward him instantly, but Steve beat him to it. He flung his shield into the window, but it bounced off effortlessly and landed back on Steve's arm.
"Please, Captain," Zemo said with a smile. "The Soviets built this chamber to withstand the launch blasts of UR 100 rockets."
"I'm betting I could beat that!" Tony said.
Zemo smiled once again. "I'm sure you could, Mr. Stark. Given time. But then you'd never know why you came."
Steve stepped up in front of the glass window, glaring at Zemo with disgust etched in his features. "You killed innocent people in Vienna, just to bring us here?"
Zemo huffed out a laugh. "I've thought about nothing else for over a year.."
Steve felt disgusted and horrified by that statement. How could this man simply think about killing innocent people, just to blame it on someone else?
"I studied you..I followed you..But now that you're standing here, I just realized that there's a few things about you I left..unchecked. There's a bit of green in the blue of your eyes.." Zemo stared at him. "How nice to find a flaw."
Steve didn't break his stare, despite feeling the discomfort begin to creep up his spine. "You're Sokovian. Is that what this is about?"
Zemo shook his head. "Sokovia was a failed state long before you blew it to hell. No.."
"I came here because I made a promise."
Steve's brows furrowed just slightly, which wasn't visible behind his mask. "You lost someone?"
Zemo glared back at him, frowning. "I lost everyone.."
"And so will you.."
Steve stood there, wondering what he would do next, when Zemo suddenly held out a strange book. It looked slightly like the Winter Soldier's, but instead of the star, it was replaced with a shield. The colors were a dark red and black instead of the original red white and blue.
"You're not the only one with secrets..You know, when they experimented on you..turned you into who you are now..They didn't tell you everything."
Steve blinked. "Yea? Like what?"
Instead of answering his question, Zemo continued. "An empire toppled by its enemies can rise again.."
"But one that crumbles from within? That's dead."
Steve felt an odd sense of fear from that. He was confused on what Zemo had planned, as the Winter Soldiers were no longer a threat since they had been killed.
Zemo smiled, then opened the book, looking at its contents. "Just because you may have not went through the same treatment as your friend, Bucky, doesn't mean you cannot be compromised the same way."
Steve narrowed his eyes. "If you're talking about trigger words. I don't have any."
Then, Zemo said a single word in a foreign language, which all of a sudden caused a huge wave of agony to flood through Steve's head. His eyes widened and he stumbled backward, breathing becoming more difficult.
"Hey! Cap, you okay?" Tony asked. Both him and Bucky rushed over to their friend.
"What.." Steve groaned, blinking repeatedly and looking up.
Zemo then said another word, and Steve could feel himself trembling. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Bucky raise his head, glaring daggers at Zemo while his hand supported Steve's back. "What are you doing?!"
Zemo didn't respond, but continued down the list of words. Each one seemed to fade Steve's memory and confuse him. The world began to get blurry.
"Bucky-" He gasped. "What- What's happening-" His arms grasped for something solid, catching Bucky's wrist and wrapping his fingers around it while his free hand grasped his head.
"Stop!" Bucky shouted. "You're hurting him. Stop!"
Tony snarled and slammed his fist into the glass. Zemo barely flinched, not even acknowledging the man's presence as he read off the last word. He finally looked up with a eerie smile etched across his face.
Steve fell to the ground, his muscles suddenly tensing.
Tony turned, but didn't move toward them. "Cap?"
Bucky saw his friend's expression go blank as he suddenly stood up, staring toward Zemo, who nodded and eyed the men behind him.
Steve turned around slowly, and Bucky noticed, with dawning horror, that his friend didn't recognize them.
"Steve-"
The man swung his fist before he could react, throwing Bucky to the floor. He did the same thing with Iron Man moments later. During that time, Tony hadn't had his helmet up, so he was quite easily knocked unconscious.
Bucky got to his feet, delaying Steve's attack with his metal arm. Surprisingly, the man bent the metal arm back and raised his leg, kicking Bucky to the ground.
They lunged at each other, Steve grabbing Bucky's throat with a sudden death-grip. His fist made contact with his face multiple times before Bucky managed to slip out of his friend's grasp and sling him over his shoulder.
Steve shot up, glaring at Bucky in sudden hatred.
"Steve, stop! It's Bucky- Steve, please-" Bucky pleaded before having to quickly roll out of the way from another incoming attack.
The man only snarled. "Who the hell is Steve?"
Bucky recognized the similarity in that phrase immediately. He had said that to Steve when he had tried to get through to him while still under HYDRA's control.
Steve then spun around Bucky's attempted attack, grabbing his right arm and twisting it. Bucky screamed out in agony. He caught Steve's grin as he was body-slammed onto the cold, concrete floor.
By now, Zemo had exited the bunker.
Bucky groaned as he was struck into the ground again. Blood was running from his nose, and his jaw was also covered in blood as Steve repeatedly struck him over and over without mercy.
"Steve..!" He gasped. Miraculously, he managed to shove Steve off him, getting up and throwing him toward a nearby wall. Steve, as expected, easily jumped back into the fight and slammed his fist into Bucky's metal. It threw Bucky back into a metal pole, stunning him temporarily from the force of the impact.
He blinked wearily and looked up at Steve, who was quickly walking toward him. Unconsciousness was threatening to sweep him away, but he couldn't pass out here. Not when Steve needed him..
Zemo can go to hell.
So, Bucky forced himself to his feet, grabbed Steve's arms, and threw him over his shoulder. Steve had managed a quick, but painful punch in Bucky's abdomen, but Bucky managed to get Steve pinned to the ground.
Sorry for this, buddy..
His fist made contact with Steve's face and he instantly went unconscious.
Hopefully that worked.
Bucky coughed and fell backward. He pushed himself to his knees beside Steve. He'd check on Tony later. Besides, the man was still unconscious, so Steve must have struck him hard.
Surprisingly, Steve didn't stay unconscious very long. He shot up, pretty violently and suddenly grabbed Bucky's neck pretty tightly.
He coughed and grabbed at Steve's arm, beginning to believe that his friend was long gone, but Steve's expression suddenly changed and he dropped him, stumbling back in fright just as Bucky had when he had come back out of his Winter Soldier mode.
"Bucky-" Steve choked, his eyes darting over his friend's wounds.
Bucky instantly reached his flesh hand toward Steve. "Steve, please. This isn't your fault."
The man only shook his head and looked away. "I-I didn't know I could- I didn't know that they-" He drew in a shaky breath.
A pair of arms wrapped around him, one flesh and one a cool metal. "I didn't know either..But either way you weren't in control."
"I hurt you." Steve stated.
Bucky shrugged, pulled back, and smiled. "I've hurt you too. So I guess we're both even now."
Steve blinked. "I hurt you on the helicarrier, too."
"Yes, but I've hurt a lot more people than you have. Also don't forget that highway mess."
Steve simply nodded and smirked. "Come on, let's get Tony and get out of here..Can you stand?"
His friend smirked, gripped Steve's arm, and dragged himself to his feet. Most of his weight went against Steve though, as the wounds he sustained had rendered it difficult to move.
At this point, Tony had finally gotten himself to his feet. "Cap? You okay? God, you knocked me silly so quick I don't even- What happened?"
"I'm fine," Steve replied, glancing at Bucky. "And I don't think you want to know."
Tony just shrugged, then spotted Bucky. "Geesh, Barnes. He really did you good." That earned a nervous laugh from Steve.
"I've been worse," Bucky shrugged.
Steve sighed and looked at Bucky with a side smile.
"Let's get going then, fellas," Tony said.
Then, the screen behind them flashed on, and they all turned.
December 16th, 1991.
"I know that road.."
