"Peggy." Steve murmured. The initial confusion and doubt he had felt at the sight of her unique silhouette melted away quickly, his mind feeling fuzzy. He forgot he ever felt any suspicion, daring to take another step towards her.
His footsteps echoed loudly as it collided with the white void they were standing in. Steve didn't notice the unnaturalness that he was surrounded him.
"Is it you?" He whispered. Peggy nodded.
"Of course." Her voice was light, reminding him of the gentle breezes in Brooklyn. He couldn't help but smile.
Questions bombarded his mind for a quick second – questions of why and how were simply ignored as soon as they had came, pushed out of his mind.
"You…" Steve couldn't speak, but Peggy seemed to understand.
"Take my hand." She asked softly. Steve obliged, taking her small hand in his. They were as rough as he had remembered – not the delicate hands of his mother, but a hardworking woman.
Wordlessly, Steve pulled Peggy towards his chest, hearing her heart beat rhythmically with his own. He felt the life pulse in her fingertips, the warmth of her pale skin.
The world flickered like television static around them, changing into the diner they had gone to decades ago. Steve looked around in awe before reverting his attention to the woman beside him.
"What about that dance?" He asked her. Peggy looked up at him, eyes twinkling.
They moved as one, slowly twirling across the tiled floor. Music hummed in the background, thrumming through the otherwise empty diner.
"I'm sorry." Steve eventually said, pulling her closer. "I'm so sorry."
"It was inevitable, really." Peggy answered. An almost unheard, static sound underlapped her usually beautiful voice, making it sound as if she was speaking through a radio. Steve's mind dismissed the fact, favouring to close his eyes.
"How so?" He let Peggy lead the dance, relaxing in her embrace.
"Oh, it's quite simple." Peggy answered with a hum. "You are always going to move on, Steve."
The music quickened in pace, and Steve found himself struggling to keep in step. He opened his eyes again, frowning.
"I never wanted to. I could never." He answered. Peggy looked up at him sharply as the dance grew faster once again.
"But you did." She moved in a twirl, ducking under Steve's arm with a flourish.
The image of Peggy suddenly flicked, her vibrant colours changing to the monotone colours of the 1940's for a few seconds at a time.
Steve watched in slight horror and worry, his eyes travelling to her small hand in his. It flickered once more before staying a dull grey, speckled in tv static.
"Peggy – what –" he stared around wildly before pressing Peggy close to him. The music stopped with a click, stilling their dance mid-step.
"Do you get tired of it?"
Steve stared down at Peggy at her words, her voice sounding more and more like the recording he had last heard seventy years ago.
She was completely monotone, her beautiful eyes now a dull grey. Steve felt tears burn in his eyes at her words.
"Well?" Her voice was cold, so unlike the memories he had treasured. "Do you?"
At those words, the diner's floor suddenly caved in, blasting a part. Peggy was ripped from Steve's grip as he fell, limbs flailing.
A paralysing cold suddenly seized him, and he found he was unable to breathe. The cold waters of the artic greeted him like an old enemy, clogging his airways.
Panic flooded his senses as he sank. He desperately tried to swim, to escape the hell he was placed into, but could not find the strength.
Through the murky depths, he saw a warm blue light moving towards him. Moments later, he was pulled out of the water and onto the remains of the Valkyrie.
"Tony?" Steve uttered as soon as he could, looking up at his saviour. Iron Man stared down at him, saying nothing.
"It seems that the world keeps moving for you, Steve, but you stay still." Peggy's voice cut through the air. Steve span around, finding that she was standing on top of the water.
"Simply just a soldier fighting another war."
Steve forced himself to look away, staring at Tony again. He was strangely silent.
"Nothing more."
"Ton –" Steve began, but was quickly winded as Tony sent a fist into his gut. His feet slipped on impact, and he tumbled back into the water –
Only to be pulled out moments later by another, familiar hand.
"Thor –" Steve briefly caught glimpse of the familiar god before he was shoved under again, lungs freezing as icy water gushed through his parted lips.
Again and again, he was mercilessly thrown in and out of the water like a rag doll, each time by another hand. Natasha. Clint. Bruce. All mercilessly continuing to stare at him with blank eyes.
Finally, finally, he was released, left to tremble on the jagged ice. He tried to stand, but couldn't push himself beyond his arms before collapsing again.
The world shifted and changed, the ice twisting into a towering slope. Its shadow cast over him, making him stare up in shock.
"And yet, you persuade yourself to think differently." Peggy was behind him again, her monochrome body flickering into television static.
At the top of the slope, the Avengers stood, staring down at him.
"Persuade yourself that you are indeed more than just a means to win a war."
Automatically, Steve stumbled over to the slope and began to climb slowly. His body protested, for once holding him back as it did when he was younger. Still, he refused to back down, climbing despite his fingers being bloody and black from the cold.
He was almost at the top when he felt himself being tugged back down. Unable to resist, he began to slip back down the slope with a cry.
Sharply looked down at himself, he found that his wrists and ankles were bound in steel chains, digging into his skin. Breath hitching, he followed their trail until he saw what he was attached to.
"No…" Steve whispered, eyes widening. Peggy stared back at him, chains wrapped around her arms.
"Are you scared, Stevie?" She teased, her voice mocking. She tugged on the chains violently, forcing him further down. Steve watched as his uniform began to flicker, it's modern redesign glitching back to its original. His heart quickened, desperately scraping the rough ice to try and resist the opposing force.
In horror, he watched as the movement slowly tore apart his blackened fingertips, the fingernails peeling off and sticking into the ice. Terrified, he could do nothing as the frostbite spread before his eyes, crawling up his arms and staining them a horrible black.
"Are you scared that one day, you will realise the reality of your miserable existence?" Peggy jeered. Her voice increased in volume until it was a scream against his ear despite the tone being level and calm. "Really, Steve…"
Panting, Steve reached out a trembling hand to his teammates. They were watching him struggle soundlessly.
"Please…" Steve wheezed, pulling with all his might against the chains. They stared back at him, unmoving.
"…do you really believe in that happily ever after?"
For a moment, as his team suddenly moved. Steve believed that they were going to help him. But the moment was shattered when all they did was part to the side, making way for a hauntingly familiar figure.
Steve was looking up at an exact replica of himself, only better. Brighter eyes, smarter uniform, shield held tightly in his hand. He looked more like the posters that had been used in his own time.
He couldn't breathe. His breath caught in his throat as he looked at the ideal version of himself. His eyes darted to each of his teammates, who were only staring at this new Captain, unblinking.
With an unwavering, steady arm, the improved Captain America raised his shield high, aiming for Steve's broken body. He didn't have time to react before the shield slammed into him, the force throwing him off the mound and high into the air.
Helplessly, he crashed to the ground with enough force to make him scream. Through blurred vision, Peggy's petite frame came into view. She stared coldly above him before pulling him up with the chains.
"You are alone, Steve." She said sweetly, a smile gracing onto her lips. Steve was slowly being pulled towards her, his limbs unresponsive once more.
"So utterly alone."
"Shut up!" Steve screamed, cry splitting into the silence. He forced himself to his feet, tears burning in his eyes.
Blinded by hurt and the desperate need for Peggy to return to how he remembered her, he swung his fist, intending to knock her off balance.
What was meant to be a moderate punch instead resulted in his fist smashing through her skull, straight through her head and out the other side. Blood and bone burst from the wound and Peggy's body hung limp on his wrist.
Horrified, Steve screamed.
"Peggy!" He shoved the body off him with a cry, looking in horror as his blood-coated arm. Peggy's remaining eye stared at him accusingly from the ground.
"No…no…no…no…" Steve muttered. He dropped to ground, cradling her body gently in his arms. "I'm so sorry – I –"
He was cut short when Peggy's damaged face turned towards him, her functioning eye shining with hate.
"Aren't you tired?" She whispered as Steve was stiff with fear. Her body shuddered, then seemingly melted into through his hands. Layers of skin peeled away, revealing muscle and bone. They dissolved in a mixture of blood and tissue, puddling beneath him.
Panic flooded Steve's senses as the liquid stained his uniform, making him sickeningly warm. He couldn't speak, nor scream – his mouth only letting out a hurried breath before the world collapsed beneath him.
Suddenly, he was falling through an endless space, the sky turning a grainy black. Peggy's blood seemed to grow in volume, coiling around him like a tornado.