For a moment, everyone around him was frozen in shock, crowding closer to their soldier. Tony heard Bruce reply after a minute in the earpiece, but the words didn't register to him.
And then Steve screamed.
Back arched, limbs trembling, he screamed loud and long. Tony let out a curse, frantically pressing himself against Steve to try and restrain him. Bucky was the most unhinged Tony's ever seen him, almost crying as he tried to rouse his friend from whatever state Hydra put him in. Natasha's eyes widened, her gaze snapping up from the Hydra agent for the first time since they arrived.
"Steve! What's wrong?!" Bucky cried out. The soldier's eyes scanned for any injuries, lifting up his battered top. Tony immediately hissed at the large amount of burns and bruises coating his torso, shaped too unnaturally to be from the battle a few weeks prior. But the injuries weren't the problem, Tony realised darkly.
Steve stopped screaming, but suddenly began to shift into a sitting position. His eyes were still staring blindly in front of him, right past Tony and his team.
Something was horribly, horribly wrong.
"Bruce!" Tony yelled again, before turning to FRIDAY. "Please tell me you know what's wrong with him."
FRIDAY did not. All the AI could do was flash scans of Steve's vitals, which were all at dangerous levels.
"Steve, it's me!" Bucky was slowly moving towards the panicked soldier, who was backed against the wall. He had switched back to being almost unresponsive, though his face was twisted in fear and pain.
Not quick enough, Bruce burst through the doors with the rest of the team on his heels. He took one look at the cowering Steve before rushing to his side, opening a first aid kit.
"FRIDAY says he was exposed to a gas." Tony supplied quickly as Bruce pressed his fingers against Steve's throat for a few moments, checking his pulse. "It's something completely new."
Bruce gave a quick nod, frowning at the lack of response Steve was giving as he examined various areas of his body. The soldier was muttering something rapidly, so fast it was indistinguishable.
"Lie him down." Bruce ordered quietly. Bucky did so immediately, refusing to let go of Steve's hand afterward. Tony watched as Bruce turned his focus to Steve's eyes, prying them open further. The doctor visibly recoiled at the unnatural purple clouding the pupils.
"What the fuck happened?" Clint asked sharply. There was no lingering humour in his voice that Tony had come to expect, but an unwavering anger that he was glad was not aimed at him.
Tony could only shake his head.
"It's some kind of hallucinogen." Bruce announced suddenly. He didn't take his eyes off Steve. "I've concluded that he can't see or hear us right now – whatever Hydra gave him has also gotten past the serum…I don't…" Bruce turned to them quickly, raking a hand through his curls. "I don't know when it will stop affecting him."
"Can we not pull him from this spell?" Thor strode over to stand by Natasha, a frown marring his usually joyful expression. He was gazing down at Steve as he began to mutter once more.
"A regular gas should have not even effected him, with the serum…" Bruce turned his attention back to the restless soldier, gently tapping his cheek. Steve still have no response.
"I'll try and contact medical." Sam said into the grim silence. Hydra had purposefully made the island as remote as possible, making it difficult to contact anyone but their immediate team through their earpieces. Even then, the signal would sometimes crack and break entirely for minutes at a time.
"Steve, come on!" Bucky only repeated. Bruce tried to pull him back, but the soldier shrugged off his hand with a deadly growl.
"I'm not leaving –" Bucky began to argue, but was quickly interrupted by a fist to the jaw. Tony was on defence in an instant, before realising that the fist had actually belonged to –
"Steve!" He yelled, surging forward as the captain stumbled to his feet. His eyes were still glowing purple, breaths fast and panicked. He let out a jumble on nonsensical words, backing against the wall.
The rest of the team immediately ran towards him, but were stopped by Bruce.
"We can't do anything!" He explained. "Us intervening might make his mental state worse –"
"How can it get worse?!" Sam asked, trying to step towards Steve. Tony watched as his friend let out a cry, holding out his hands in front of him. He was shaking, crying, and terrified – and Tony had to watch.
Because hell, this was Captain America. It wasn't common to see the national icon unhinged, let alone terrified by seemingly the sight of them. Sam visibly recoiled at the reaction, stepping back behind Clint.
"Fuar...an spéir...na réaltaí!" Steve uttered between gasps. He collapsed against the wall, sliding down the side. All the while he kept his eyes fixed on the space in front of him.
"What did he just say?" Clint asked, still trying to edge closer. Before Tony could ask FRIDAY, however, Bucky sharply answered.
"It's Irish Gaelic…he said something about cold." The soldier said through gritted teeth. After fighting himself for a moment, he began to move slowly towards Steve, despite Bruce's warning.
"Barnes –" Tony warned, but the glare he received from him was enough for him to shut up and watch.
"Steve…it ain't real." Bucky edged quietly towards the Captain, arms outstretched in a peaceful gesture. A Brooklyn accent bled through his words.
Tony could understand – the sight of his friend slowly breaking in front of him made him want to seize the soldier in his arms and forcibly shake whatever drug he was subjected to out of him – but Bruce was right.
Steve was getting more distressed at Bucky's approach. His purple eyes stared directly at the soldier, but not completely focused. He was uttering small words under his breath, sounding more like pleas.
It made Tony shiver.
"Tá brón orm...tá brón orm mar sin…" Steve whimpered. His breathing had became erratic, but Bucky kept moving forward.
"Sorry? For what?" Bucky asked. The two soldiers were now only inches apart. Steve didn't seem to hear Bucky's question, his muttering slowly turning into cries.
"Le do thoil…ní féidir liom tú a fhágáil arís!" Steve suddenly screamed and slammed his head into the wall behind him with a sickening crack. Tony launched forward at the sight of blood dripping from his friend's brow, but Barnes was quicker.
In one fluid motion, Bucky dropped to the ground and wrapped his arms around the shaking captain. Tony distantly heard Bruce make a cry of protest, but was more focused on Steve.
Steve reacted instantly, struggling in the hold like a wild animal.
"I'm sorry!" They were the first words Tony had heard him utter in English, and he wished he hadn't. "Please!"
"I'm not goin' anywhere, Punk." Bucky growled back. In a well-rehearsed movement, he turned Steve so he was pressed against his chest.
"Remember this? Remember what I told you?!" Bucky cried over Steve's rambling. "Hear this?!"
"I got medical." Sam's declaration took Tony's attention away for a few moments. He turned to Sam quickly, nodding.
"How long?" He asked, trying to tune out Steve's cries. He couldn't.
"Fifteen minutes. Fastest they can go." The Falcon replied. Tony flicked his gaze back to Steve and Bucky, frowning deeper.
"Can we afford to wait that long?" He asked, mostly to himself, as he watched Bucky attempt to soothe the Captain. Bruce was slowly making his way over, trying to remove Barnes from the scene.
"I don't think it's a good idea for me to fly with him. Or anyone." Sam replied. He ran a tired hand down his face. "I just wanna take his ass to medical and burn this place to the ground, but I think he'll freak out more if I touch him, let alone fly."
Tony found himself agreeing bitterly. Thor also nodded his head, though saddened.
"I fear the same." The god was only staring at Steve. He was quiet for a moment. "We must get help, however. His cries distress me so."
"Listen with me, come on." Bucky's voice cut from the other side of the room. Tony turned his head to find that Steve had began to quieten, though his whole body still shook.
"Remember now? When you were sick?" Bucky began to rub circles on Steve's back with his metal hand, pressing him closer.
Tony was unsure whether Steve had heard Bucky at all, but miraculously he began to calm down.
"The stars…nothing…" Steve whispered. His clouded gaze was still swivelling around the room. "…gone…"
"It ain't real, Steve." Bucky paused, then grabbed Steve's hand and wrapped it in his own. "But this is. Focus on that."
"Ten minutes." Sam notified quietly. Tony nodded, watching Steve's vitals carefully.
"Iz so use…"
Tony span around quickly, eyeing the speaker with disgust.
"Why are you even still alive, or talking for that matter?" He asked the Hydra Agent, who was still breathing, a bullet embedded in his jaw. Blood pooled around him, but he smiled, showing rows of red teeth.
"That's the beauty of my creation…no peace…" he wheezed, coughing. Clint snarled next to him, and stamped on his hand. The agent didn't even react.
"What do you mean?" Natasha asked coldly. She pressed a gun against his temple. "Tell us, right now."
But the Hydra agent only laughed.
"Not one…has survived…" he grinned.
The gun was fired suddenly, and the agent's eyes rolled back as the bullet caved in his skull with a bang. Natasha was glaring down at the man, her lips curling into a slight snarl.
Tony couldn't blame her.
"Banner!" Bucky's panicked cry made him freeze, blood running cold. "Banner!"
His helmet suddenly lit up with warnings and flashes, Steve's vitals blaring in front of him. He span around, eyes widening at the sight of Steve choking on his own blood. It was spilling out of his nose, mouth, ears and (Tony noticed in horror) his eyes. The Captain was breathing heavily, still repeating the same word under his breath.
"Get out the way!" Bruce ordered, pulling various items out of his large first aid kit. For once, Bucky obeyed, though still stayed as close as he could.
A loud scream tore from Steve's throat and he began to seize, limbs twitching uncontrollably and muscles straining. Bruce jumped back, then stared down at his watch. Too long he twitched, before going still and quiet.
It was sudden, and for a moment Tony didn't realise what had happened. The screens in his faceplate all flashed a bright red, but he could barely read what they were saying.
"His heart's stopped." Tony whispered, becomes repeating, louder. "His heart's stopped!"