A/N - Please excuse the google translate in this chapter, I do not speak Russian or any other language for that matter. So if it's not an accurate representation of your language I apologize! It's just for the storytelling purpose. Happy Chapter 13 :|
—-
Bucky stares at the image, before feeling his heart rate climb sky high and his breathing coming out in pants.
His mind goes blank and he stiffens, sliding back into old protocol.
—-
Natasha watches as Barnes goes from frantic to robotic in a matter of seconds.
"Barnes?" She calls, but he doesn't answer. He stands straight, arms locked behind his torso, blank eyes staring ahead. She's only seen him like this so completely once before. At the Triskelion disaster.
"Bucky?" She tries again to no avail. Tony and Clint are arguing about something with Bruce, lots of curse words and shouting filling the Quinjet.
"When's the last time we saw him?"
"On the video call, what four days ago."
"What about a call, haven't we heard his voice since then?"
"No, we—- Well, actually we did receive a voice message, but that was shortly after and—" Clint grimaces but he doesn't allow himself to stop "you can coerce someone to do a voice message."
His tone has Bucky straightening up tighter and a nasty grimace is set onto his face. Natasha tries something that she hopes is just her being over dramatic.
"Солдат?" She says quietly, yet conversation stops at her speaking in Russian. Soldier?
"Солдат готов к дисциплинарным взысканиям"
Soldier is ready for disciplinary action.
Что вы наделали?
What happened?
Assett неисправен.
Asset Malfunctioned
Каким образом?
In what way?
Плохое суждение позволило поймать товарища
Poor judgement allowed a fellow comrade to be captured
Natasha frowns at his words, but she squares her shoulders and speaks in a commanding voice.
Неправильно, солдат отступить
Incorrect, soldier. Stand Down.
Then she adds, "Мы спасем нашего товарища. Для этого нам нужна ваша помощь." We will save our comrade, but we need your help to do so."
Bucky's shoulders relax the slightest millimeter and Natasha takes a chance. She steps forward and places her hands in very specific areas. In the Red Room they taught her how to make the most connection in the smallest amount of time.
"Bucky?" She says, a hand resting against his cheek, and one pushed up against his collarbone where his neck meets his shoulder, making skin contact each time.
He winces but doesn't draw back.
"James Buchanan Barnes, you get back here right this instant." He takes a shuddering breath and she can see him fighting his way back, clawing out from behind the Winter Soldier Protocols. "Steve needs us. Steve needs you. So SNAP out of it."
With her final words she presses her fingertips into his skin and waits.
He groans and blinks and stumbles back, sitting heavily on the jet seat, jangling the seatbelts together. He gasps and pants and bends over, clutching at his stomach.
Natasha spares a one second glance at the three men behind her who stare at the scene with faces a mixture of disbelief and utter sadness.
She hears a groan and she looks back to Bucky who is clutching at his head.
"Barnes? Bucky, are you okay?" She kneels down in front of him, their heads level and places a hand softly on his knee. He doesn't respond immediately but she waits. Her eyes catch his shoulders moving and she sucks in a breath, "Barnes, look at me, we don't even know what has happened—"
His face flashes upwards, almost colliding with hers and his eyes are frantic and wild, tear tracks already formed on his face. "What happened?" He growls, face twisting into a mocking sneer, "I know what happened. I was a complete idiot!" He's shouting now, rage and anguish flashing back and forth on his face. "I was so impatient to jump on this plane to catch these psychopaths that I didn't even think for one damned second that leaving him alone was a bad choice. And I've known Steve his entire life. Leaving Steve alone is ALWAYS the wrong choice." He chokes out a strangled laugh and his face screws up again, "But I let that bitch convince me that I could be helpful, and I believed her—" He cuts himself off, looking disgusted at himself, "No, I was desperate to believe her because who would ever think the Winter Soldier could be helpful? I only thought of my pride and now Steve—" He can't finish and he stalks out of the Quinjet leaving them speechless in his wake.
—-
(4 days earlier)
Steve clicks off the video screen. His team seems in good spirits despite the goose chase Beck and Zemo seem to be taking them on. He twirls his phone some more, trying not to seem anxious. He's already sent the text to Dr. Raymond and he hopes she'll respond soon.
He stands up, stretching his shoulder and back muscles habitually and walks with silent footsteps around the compound. He sends off an email to Sam who has been living and working in Louisiana for the last year or so, helping out his sister and nephews. While he hasn't told him everything, Steve has confided in Sam some things. Sam, as an army counselor, always has good calm advice to give and Steve appreciates his thoughts on certain matters.
After clicking send, knowing it will probably be a few days before he hear a response, he's about to leave his laptop when Wanda and Vision cross his mind. He sends off another email, to the address Tony had helped Wanda create when she'd moved in years ago. So far he hasn't received any responses, but something in his gut tells him that the couple was fine, just off living in their own little world.
He eats a meal, washes dishes, tidies up the common area and stands in the middle of the room, staring out the window, unsure of what to do.
"FRIDAY?"
"Yes, Captain Rogers?"
"Does Tony… Does Tony have any art supplies around the compound?"
If AI's could smile, FRIDAY would have been beaming.
"Mister Stark has given me a protocol that if you were to ask such a question to direct you to Building 74."
"Building 74? Am I supposed to know where that is?"
"If you proceed to the hangar, and turn left, walk down the path past the outside luncheon area and in about 330 feet you will find a small building, Passcode: 07041918 for your convenience."
Steve rolls his eyes at the passcode but nods thoughtfully. He walks to his room, putting on shoes and glancing at his phone. He shoves it in his pocket and walks out of the main housing building, into the warmth of the afternoon sun.
—-
(Present Day)
Tony is working on the control panel, trying to pull anything he can from the message they received. IP address, or location or anything.
"Shit!" He exclaims, slamming his hand on the dash of the jet.
"What?" Bruce's voice is a bit unhinged and Natasha places her palms in her eyes, preempting the headache she's sure to receive following the news.
"It's from Steve's phone."
"I thought we already knew that." Clint exasperates.
"No, we assumed it, but I was hoping they'd just coded his number and used it to ping off of, but it's not. The message came directly from Steve's phone."
"Soooo, they have his phone."
"Which means—"
"It doesn't necessarily have to mean—"
"Tony."
"I'm just trying to be—" His voice cuts off and he huffs, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Are we all that big of idiots? Earth's mightiest heroes and all that bullshit. We all just—"
"We just left him." Bruce states flatly. "After everything we watched… After knowing his worst fear is being alone…. We just… left him there."
"When I find them," Bucky's voice cuts in, making them all startle in surprise at his silent approach. He stands at the entrance at the back of the Quinjet, looking murderous and perfectly calm at the same time. "They're mine to dispose of."
No one argues.
—-
(4 days ago)
Steve walks quickly, mentally mapping out FRIDAY's instructions and stepping past a large wooded area to see a small building appear in front of him.
He warily advances, knowing Tony, it could be anything. When he approaches the door, he notices the keypad and punches in the code. The door clicks open and he pushes it carefully.
He steps into a room, perfectly lit up in the afternoon sun by the large glass window wall he stands across from. His mouth parts slightly in surprise as he sees a comfy couch and small kitchen area on one side, and construction sheeting hanging up. He looks towards the other side where there are empty shelves also in various stages of construction and disarray.
"FRIDAY?" There's no response, and he notices the electrical panel, beside the door he entered in, is pulled out and being updated.
"I don't get it." He says out loud. He's about to go back and ask for clarification from FRIDAY when a tiny device on the couch catches his eye. He walks over and finds a small recording device with a post-it note on it. "Press Play, Cap" written in Tony's handwriting.
He does and listens as Tony's voice plays out over the tinny speaker.
"Hey Cap. Pep wanted me to use this building as a meditation building. To… you know… calm the anxiety, or refocus my thoughts or whatever, but… you know me. I do my best refocusing in my lab or at the bar cart so it's never gotten much use. And after the last couple days my brain offered a new use for this place, something that will actually produce something worthwhile. So here it is, in progress of course, your new art studio! Don't worry, I asked Pep and when I told her it was for you she smiled and said that it does have good lighting. So you got her approval. How'd you manage that by the way? Tell me your secrets.
Anyways, long recording short… I meant what I said. No matter what happens you got a home here. A place. Make some art, paint things, doodle, whatever it is you artsy people do. Make this place your home. Because if I don't start seeing artwork in your room, I just know Barnes is going to throw a fit, so don't bring the Winter Soldier down upon us. Sorry it's a bit of a shamble, I'll have it finished in a jiffy with all your art needs. Don't tell Natasha or I'll have to build her a ballet studio— which actually now that I think about it— FRIDAY? Add an archery range, ballet studio and —- I don't know what Bruce wants. What does that man ever want? Anyways—"
Steve hears a huff and the whirring of Robotics. He must have recorded this in his lab before he left.
"By the way, your uniforms and shield are being updated with indestructible trackers. I know we probably won't be going on a mission for a while but it never hurts to be prepared. Should be done in a week or so. We're not ever losing you again, so you better get used to us. And don't worry, gramps, we'll stay off your lawn."
The recording cuts out and Steve finds the tiny device clenched tightly in his fist as he stares at the soft glow of the sun, trying to pretend the tears leaking out of his eyes are just coincidence.
—-
He picks slowly back to his room, stopping at the little printer that one of the secretaries has and stealing a few sheets of blank paper. It's not sketch paper, it doesn't really have any tooth to it, but it will do for now, he has something he needs to sketch.
He feels the corner of his mouth quirk up. He hasn't felt this at home in a while, and the automatic desire to draw reiterates that. He snags a pencil and a pen, taking them back to the desk in his room.
He's just finished the outline of 6 easily recognizable figures standing in a line, arms over each other's shoulders when his phone beeps in his pocket.
He pulls it out and sighs a bit in relief seeing a text from Dr. Raymond.
Sure, Steve. I don't think there is any harm in meeting about next steps. Would you like me to come to the compound? I'm on the far side of Central Park so it will take me a bit to get there, or I can meet you another day. What works for you?
His brain flits back to what Bucky had said about him ignoring the artists in the park. So he decides to fix that.
Can I meet you in the park? Say in about an hour?
The response only takes a minute to come through.
I'll be there, by the Angel of the Waters fountain.
Steve writes back confirming the plan and puts a few more touches on his sketch before getting ready to go.
—
(Present Day)
The Quinjet is in the air, en route back to the compound when a call from Ross comes in. They look at each other and Bruce scrunches further back in his seat involuntarily.
Clint reluctantly hits answer and Thaddeus Ross' face appears on the holo screen.
"Update?" He asks gruffly.
"The location was a ruse." Clint says succinctly, "We're heading back to New York, unless you have more intel for us?"
"No." Ross says, obviously annoyed. "Is Barnes being useful in tracking them at all?"
Tony watches as Bucky stiffens at the words.
"Barnes is doing just fine," Tony says through clenched teeth. "We just need to regroup and get some more information about what their endgame is."
"Report back with an update in 12 hours. If I don't hear from you, I'm sending a new team after them." The call cuts off and Bruce outwardly groans.
"Are we not going to tell him?"
"Tell him what? That we let Steve get abducted? He'd probably have an aneurysm and then he really would take us off the team. And he definitely wouldn't allow Barnes to follow them then."
Bucky just sighs and hangs his head further.
"Do we even know for sure that Steve is gone?" Clint says a bit desperately. "I know we got that message, but in that picture Steve is fine in the background. Maybe the picture is just another mind game." It's a thin hope and no one accepts it.
"The mind game was luring us into a false sense of security and then ripping the floor out from under us." Natasha monotones, then her voice changes to something so steely and sharp it makes Bruce wince, "when I get my hands on that Dr. Raymond— Well, Barnes called dibs on Beck and Zemo, but she's mine."
Again, no one argues.
—
(4 Days Ago)
Steve stops briefly at a man doing watercolors of the fountain, but he's already a few minutes late so he can't stay for too long.
He runs his hands through his hair as he approaches the Bethesda Fountain. It's a bit longer than usual, he hasn't gotten it cut since before Detroit and it's starting to really fall in his eyes.
His ma would be affronted, but he did have to admit that less people recognized him when he went out. He may stand out in his uniform, but when he was dressed like normal: jeans, a shirt, and a leather jacket, then he was just like any other 6'4'' giant blonde guy walking around New York. The thought makes him chuckle to himself.
He glances around and spots her sitting on a bench about ¼ of the way around the fountain.
"Hello, Dr. Raymond." He says, extending his hand. She shakes it firmly and smiles,
"Hello, Steve. It's nice to see you out of that compound."
He looks around at all the hustle and bustle happening around him, "it's nice to be out."
"Would you like to walk while we talk?" She offers.
"Sure, that sounds great."
They fall in sync, him shortening his steps to match hers. Neither speaks for a moment and she looks at him as if waiting expectantly for his first question.
He waits until they pass into a quieter section of the park, an asphalt pathway with an awning of trees.
"What more do I need to do to prove I'm ready to be on missions?"
She stays quiet, looking off into the distance as if hoping to find the answer there.
"In my professional opinion," she says carefully, "I think you've been on enough missions. Even if you'd only lived through one war, the traumatic experiences you've been through would be enough to cripple any other man. Yet here you are, having been caught into so many other wars and fights that I can't believe you're still standing, let alone wanting to fight."
Steve says nothing, processing her words.
"But…" She adds, eyeing him out of the corner of her eye, "It is your choice. If you think you're ready for more missions then I suppose that you're as ready as you'd ever be— although, after reviewing the tapes from the 7 hour session, there are still pieces missing and I'd like to go through those, and any other surprises that might be lurking beforehand. I wasn't exaggerating when I said that everything needs to come out onto the table. If there's anything that Beck and Zemo could use against you as ammo… Well, I'd deal with it because…" her face turns into a grimace and she stops walking, angling her body so that he has to stop and look at her. "They—"
Someone steps behind him and he feels the cold muzzle of a gun pressing at the bottom of his skull. He's about to whip around to fight when Dr. Raymond gasps and his eyes narrow as he sees someone standing behind her, he assumes with a gun pressed to her back.
They're dragging her backwards, far enough out of his reach. He glances around, noticing the lack of people in their vicinity. He curses at himself for not paying attention to his surroundings better. He reaches up to take out his dampeners. He'd turned them down low at the compound when he didn't have to worry about his surroundings, and now he was paying for that mistake.
"Stop." A voice commands. His hands halt in their journey to his ears.
"What do you want?" He growls.
"Come on, Stevie." A familiar voice drips down his back like ice, "What we've always wanted."
Steve moves with inhuman speed, grasping Beck by the neck and holding him out and up at arm's length. His rage at the man making him hold his neck just a bit too tight. Beck looks at him, his face a bit blue, but he smiles. Before Steve can react, he hears a silenced shot and a cry of pain. He looks behind him and sees Dr. Raymond, clutching at her arm.
He understands the situation instantly. He drops Beck and steps back, with his hands held in surrender.
"Good boy." Beck says mockingly.
"Where's Zemo."
"He's preparing some equipment."
"What kind of equipment?"
"The fun kind."
Steve ignores the bait and tries a different tactic.
"You guys work out your little lover's quarrel?" It was a quip that Tony would make, and somehow it felt right to make it in his absence.
"We aligned our goals if that's what you mean."
"And what goal would that be?"
"Ah, ah, ah." Beck wags a finger at him, then turns and motions to the person holding Dr. Raymond, "I've learned my lesson about oversharing. Anyways, if you don't want us to shoot Dr. Raymond right here in front of you then you'll do as I say."
He looks over at the psychologist, blood dripping through her fingers where she clutches at her arm in pain. They've slipped a blindfold around her eyes and a gag in her mouth already. Immense guilt at having her get caught up in this rolls through him. If only he'd just let her come to the compound!
"How'd you find me?" He asks.
"No more oversharing, remember?" Beck motions for him to start walking and he complies. They walk to the edge of the park, avoiding large crowds and any unwanted eyes. Steve's back is stiff as a board, and he's searching around him, constantly trying to think of something he could do, while still avoiding Dr. Raymond getting hurt. As they reach the edge of the park, he watches them stuff her into the back of a car and drive away.
"You promised she wouldn't get hurt!" He snarls, advancing on Beck.
"She won't, but you and I both know how resourceful you are, so I need her far enough away so that she can remain an incentive for you to behave. Understand?"
Steve grits his teeth and shoves his hands into his jacket.
"Give me your phone."
"Huh?"
"I need your phone. Come now, don't hold out on me."
Steve reluctantly hands over the small flip phone.
"Thank you!" Beck says cheerfully.
A van drives up and Beck's eyebrow raises. Steve huffs and willingly gets in, already dreading whatever Beck has planned.
—-
(Present Day)
The Quinjet lands and they're all out of it in a second. They silently agree to do a quick search, seeing if Steve left any clues or anything about what happened.
An hour later Natasha makes her way to Steve's room and finds Bucky still standing there.
"Barnes, did you find something?"
The anguish in his eyes when he turns around startles her enough that she takes a step back. He closes his eyes as he holds up a piece of paper to her.
She gingerly takes it, keeping her eyes on Barnes. When he looks away she glances down and a hand seizes at her heart.
There they were, all six of them, unfinished, and just roughly sketched out, but it was them. Steve had drawn them standing in a line, arms linked over each other's shoulders and together, like a team. Steve had drawn himself on the side, she could tell by the height and lighter hair.
Barnes was next to him, metal arm apparent, and Natasha was tucked between Barnes and Tony. Somehow Steve had captured Tony's smirk perfectly, and the mischievous gleam in Clint's eyes. Bruce sandwiches them in, an exasperated but happy look sketched on his face.
She feels hands tug the paper out of her grasp and she growls at them.
"Woah, WoAH!" She hears Tony exclaim, "Calm down, tiger, I'm just trying to see what's got you both in a tizzy."
She relinquishes the paper and stares at him, monitoring his reaction.
Disbelief is quickly followed by excitement and then the color fades from his face, quickly thereafter being replaced with anger.
"He was drawing."
Natasha nods so sharply she feels her neck protest.
"He was drawing. Tony seethes, "For the love of— He was actually drawing and he was drawing US."
"He finally felt safe enough again to draw." Bucky rasps out. "And then I let him get lost again."
"Barnes, this isn't your fault, and neither was the ice, and neither was the Triskelion. You need to pull yourself together, because it's going to take every single one of us to get Steve back and he's going to want to see you there with us when we do." Clint's voice cuts through their gloom as he eyes the paper in Tony's hands.
Tony leaves without saying anything, only pausing briefly when he sees a small recording device on Steve's nightstand. Tony's breath leaves in a huff and he snatches it, mouth set in a grim line as he exits the room, paper in hand.
—-
(4 Days Ago)
After being shoved into the cargo hold of a plane and told to stay there, Steve resigns himself to the uncertainty of the future and stops trying to guess where he is being taken.
The air thins out as they reach altitude and Steve finds himself wheezing ever so slightly, straining for more oxygen.
He decides to conserve as much energy as he can, so he lays flat on the cold metal floor and lays still, only taking shallow breaths when he feels he should.
—
The plane landing is bumpy and he gets thrown against the bay door before he can grab something to hold.
Someone comes to get him and he's blindfolded and shoved into the back of a car. His dampeners are removed and ear piercingly loud music is played to disguise who is in the car with him, or where they are going. He does his best to shut the sounds out, but after a while he feels his agitation rising.
—
He's walked and then shoved into a small metal room, a glass partition in one wall that is observation glass as he can't see through it.
He doesn't have to wait long before he hears footsteps and then the sound of the door opening.
"Hello Steve." Beck says smugly, "As you can probably guess, we have a lot of fun things planned for you. You kind of ruined our plan last time, but you know what, hey, you live and you learn, and BOY have we learned a lot." He makes an exaggerated gesture with his hands and then leans back against the doorframe. "Just some general rules we have to go over first. One: If you eat, Dr. Raymond doesn't. If you drink, Dr. Raymond doesn't. If you try to escape, we will kill her. Yada, yada, yada, you know the drill." He points at the glass and the walls and the door. "None of this is reinforced, you could probably escape out of here in a matter of minutes. But if you do—" He makes a slicing motion at his neck, "Her blood, your hands." He waves and disappears back out the door.
Steve touches the walls and the glass, feeling the materials through his fingers. Beck isn't lying. It would hurt his knuckles but he could probably punch a hole through that wall in under a minute. Instead he sits down, leaning against the cold concrete, trying to think of what he can do to get them both out of this alive.
—
(Present Day)
"I'll come by the compound then." Ross's voice states over the phone as Tony checks in for their 12 hour update.
"No!" Clint and Natasha shout at the same time.
"No, we will come to you," She says smoothly, smiling lightly.
Ross' eyes narrow at her but he doesn't argue, "Fine. Be here at 8 am sharp."
—
They are driving out of the compound when something catches Clint's eye.
"Stop the car!" He shouts, already opening the door and bolting out of it.
He pulls out a knife, snipping at something tied to the guard's station.
He stares at it and his mouth twists.
"What the hell is it Barton?" Tony gripes. "Get over here."
He walks back, shoving the thing into Natasha's hands and sitting back into his seat.
She examines it and then hands it to Tony.
"It's a tablet."
"Turn it over." Clint's voice is icy.
Tony does and his eyes catch on a note taped on the back. Come join the fun! .com
Tony tries to type the web address in his phone but nothing pops up. Clint, Natasha, and Bruce try to no avail. Tony asks FRIDAY, who should not be able to sound annoyed but does, when she can't pull anything up either.
"They're getting a little bit too ahead of us," Natasha seethes.
Tony finally gives in and turns the tablet on. The background picture is the one Beck had sent from Steve's phone and it makes all of them grit their teeth.
When he slides the unlock button, a new background picture is visible and it's Steve laying flat, looking like he is sleeping, on the floor of a cargo hold.
"So, he could be anywhere." Clint admits.
"Why is he lying like that?"
"Even for us the air gets pretty thin at 50,000 ft." Bucky says, eyes black.
Tony types the provided address, quickly into the web browser on the tablet. It pops up immediately and a silly little cartoon Captain America gif waves back and forth at them. Click here for the Present!
Then another cartoon gif of Captain America throwing his shield below says in bubbly letters: Click here for the Past!
"Which one?" Tony's voice wavers as he asks the question. He hopes someone will say what he's thinking, neither.
But Bucky speaks, strain in his voice, "Present."
Tony's finger hovers over the button and clicks.
The screen morphs into a video hosting site, like YouTube but darker and with no other options for videos.
The screen is dark for only a moment before the video starts. Steve sits in a concrete room, his eyes closed and an arm resting behind his head. They can kind of see a glass wall to his left, but what draws their eyes are the meals and water bottles set in a pile at his feet. He looks tired and a little gaunt but unharmed.
"Why isn't he eating?"
"Maybe he knows it's poisoned?"
"Then why just leave it there?"
"I don't know, Barton. We don't know anything. I need to get this tablet back to the lab and have FRIDAY run diagnostics."
"We have to meet with Ross." Natasha cuts in. "We need him to think everything is fine. I'm not risking him getting involved in this."
They grumble but agree that she's right, and the car heads slowly towards the state office.
—
They almost blow their cover by not arguing with Ross. They're so eager to return to the compound that none of them react to his passive aggressive comments, or his outright jabs.
They're about to walk out when he stops them.
"What's going on?" He grumbles. "You haven't said more than two words."
'We just really want to catch them after what they put us through." Natasha says smoothly, letting her face fall into a slightly emotional expression. "We can't let them get away with this."
"Rogers didn't want to come?" Ross asks with his eyebrow raised.
"He's not on the mission so he decided that he'd rather not be in the planning, makes it harder to sit out." Ross accepts this which boils Tony's blood because if Ross knew Steve at all he would know that Steve would never be so childish.
"I want these psychos found and in my custody in less than 48 hours." Ross barks at their retreating forms.
—-
As soon as they are in the car, Tony pulls out the tablet again. He tries to click the Present button again but a notification screen pops up.
Oops! Looks like you've already used up your free viewing! To view more please pay by the hour or the weekly flat rate!
Bucky's snarl rips through the car and Tony flinches at the sound.
"Those sons of bit—"
"Relax, Barnes." Tony snaps, "I'll pay for it." He clicks the Pay Now button and two figures pop up.
Hourly Rate: $1,000
Weekly Rate: $100,000
Clint groans at the amounts.
"I'm a billionaire Barton, keep your trap shut."
"No," Clint huffs, "It's not that I don't think we can pay it, but just imagine that much money going into those psycho's pockets."
This silences the group and Bucky feels a wave of unease at the thought. But before he can protest Tony is staring at them with determination in his eyes and clicking Pay Hourly.
—
Back in the lab, Tony starts deciding how to go about figuring out the tablet without losing their video feed. He can connect it to a bigger screen, and he does so, blowing up the image of Steve, who now is standing and stretching in his cell, to the size of his wall.
Natasha and Bucky sit stiffly, their backs rigid against metal chairs as their eyes follow Steve's every move.
Clint went to get the food they were having delivered and Bruce is asleep on the couch.
Tony clicks something open and finds another circuit board that he hasn't found before. He gently explores it, trying to find out it's purpose when his metal pliers accidentally touch a wire.
"Ow!" A sharp exclamation of pain has Tony staring back towards Steve.
"What happened?" He cries.
"Steve was just standing and then he jolted as if somebody shocked him!"
Tony's eyes slide back towards the device. "Oh no."
"Oh no, what?"
Tony hates to do it but he gently touches the same wire, his eyes fixed on Steve. He watches Steve yelp in surprise at exactly the same moment that the wire touches the pliers.
"It was me." Tony winces. Natasha is about to yell at him when a new text box pops up on the screen, comically large.
You've unlocked a new feature: Mess with the Tablet, Mess with Steve!"
"SHIT." Tony squawks, yanking his hands away from the tablet and staring at it like it's a bomb.
"But what causes it? Like… how is it hurting him?"
"The only thing he's touching is the floor." Bucky says, watching as Steve looks around confused, "maybe it's wired."
The guess has them all silent and they notice heavier breathing. Bruce is sitting there, looking green around the neck.
"Talk a walk, Banner." Natasha commands. He nods and disappears as Clint walks back in, loaded down with bags of food.
He glances at Bruce disappearing quickly behind him, and raises an eyebrow. "What happened?"
"Tony was messing with the tablet and it shocked Steve." Natasha says quickly. "Apparently Beck doesn't want us getting too much information."
Clint's face blanches and then hardens. "Those bastards."
"My thoughts exactly." Tony adds darkly.
Tony goes back to eyeing the tablet, his hands tucked at his side. Clint is passing out takeout containers of food when they hear a noise.
"Good day, Steve." The familiar voice of Beck speaks from somewhere out of the camera's eyesight.
"Go to Hell." Steve says grouchily.
"You tell him, Steve." Tony quips.
"Day 4 and you've resisted eating. I'm surprised."
Steve doesn't respond to this jab but it makes his audience look questioningly at each other.
"I heard you yelp earlier. What happened?"
Steve just glares.
"You need anything?"
"Yeah, my phone call." Steve's wry joke makes Beck laugh and they watch as Steve just sits back down, covering his eyes with the back of his arm.
"Your friends are too busy thinking they're chasing us around the world to even notice you're missing, let alone accept a phone call."
They stiffen and watch as Steve does the same. "They'll notice when I haven't contacted them in a while."
"Oh about that." Beck steps forward into view and pulls Steve's phone out of his pocket. "You have been in contact with them." He flips the phone and it lands neatly back in his hand. "You'd think they'd know when they're not talking to their Captain but apparently I play a very convincing Steve. All caring and awkward. Such fun. Bruce and I have been texting for days."
"Why is he lying?" Bucky asks, "Beck's already told us he has Steve. Why would he—"
"He's cutting out Steve's hope of being rescued."
Bucky stands up, pacing away and clutches at the lab desk.
"You're lying." Comes Steve's weak reply.
"Maybe." Beck says so casually that they watch Steve deflate.
"They'll go back to the compound eventually, and notice I'm gone then."
"Yep." Beck emphasizes the 'p' and the popping sounds grates on their ears.
"Whatever you're going to do, can you just get it over with?" Steve snaps.
"Patience, dear Captain. Do you always take the fun out of situations?"
Steve glares at him, and Beck chuckles. "The equipment we needed has been recovered and is being updated. So your waiting time is almost over."
"And then you'll let her go?"
"Probably."
Steve just sighs, and Natasha watches as his eyes slide to the food and water and he grimaces.
"Feel free to eat, Captain." Beck taunts.
"Feel free to eat shit, Beck."
"I'll be sure to do that, Steve."
Beck turns towards the camera and winks at it, smirking smugly, but Steve doesn't notice, he's leaning against the wall again, eyes closed. They watch as he groans and clutches at his stomach.
"He's starving." Bucky whispers. "He needs over 10,000 calories a day and he hasn't eaten for how long?"
"We need to go back and watch the Past." Natasha declares. "We're missing information. Who is 'her' and why is Steve willing to starve for her?"
"Who wouldn't Steve be willing to starve for?" Tony adds.
"Okay," Natasha huffs, "that's a valid point, but I still say we watch the previous footage, there might be clues there, or at least something."
Tony's about to click the back button when the screen glitches and suddenly they're staring at Beck's face, way too close to the camera.
"Hi there, folks! Glad you could finally join the party."
They all freeze.
"You're probably wondering what I'm doing with your Captain. Well! You wouldn't believe what a bear it was to get off the Raft. But, with a little help, and some very interesting new revelations, we've been able to work out a whole new plan for our very first Super Soldier. You see… you destroyed my perfected retro framing machine. Tsk, tsk, tsk, that wasn't very nice, I worked hard on that. But, I have to thank you dear Avengers. Your little set-back introduced me to some very powerful friends. And honestly, my new creation is my magnum opus. My crown jewel! And who better to try it out on than Steve? I hope Barnes is there watching this because I think he'll get a kick out of the new updates."
Beck shifts and something large and metal sticks out behind his left shoulder. Bucky lurches forward, staring wildly at the screen.
"Now, it has retained its same basic functions, but I've added some new bells and whistles from my retro-framing tech. I'll tell you, what an absolute beast of a machine. It was so heavy I should have just set up shop in that bank vault, instead of hauling it here, but hey, hind-sight is 20-20."
He steps aside and with a sweep of his hands reveals a hulking metal chair, huge restraints on both sides, and plenty of wires, screens and attachments sticking out of it.
Bucky chokes out a gasp and his knees give out, setting him heavily on the floor.
"Barnes, what is it?" Clint asks.
"Oh no—" Bucky laments, clutching the sides of his head.
"See," Beck continues, blocking the machine again, "You destroyed my memory machine, so I'm going to destroy Steve's memories, for good. Fair is fair right? And no one is more alone than someone who doesn't remember themselves. Right, Barnes?" Something beeps and diverts his attention. He looks at his phone and then smiles back at his phone. "Thanks for the money, by the way, really helps bankroll this. Anyways, not sure exactly when it will be, but enjoy the show!"
Beck blinks off the screen and they're left, staring at Steve, who now lies on his back, humming something softly to himself.
—