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Almosts Lost to Time
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It was only two weeks after the Battle of New York that HYDRA struck. They were losing their control over the Asset and Pierce was considering sending him out to the old Soviet base where the initial cryo took place for reconditioning. He had one last mission though: To kill Captain America. He had seen the footage of New York and knew if left alive he would become dangerous.
The Asset stood under the cover of darkness, his sniper trained on the lonely figure. He waited, breath exhaling softly as he steadied his body, calculating the trajectory needed to make his shot. The weather was calm, as it had been the last two hours he had been stationed here. His finger applied slight pressure to the trigger before releasing the digit.
His shot was blocked by a newcomer; the man intercepted his target before the man could enter the building. All the years of training, beaten into him, assured he would not move from his position. Instead, he observed his target through his scope, waiting for the newcomer to leave. When the conversation moved to the apartment, he moved his scope methodically to the upper windows, waiting for his target to enter his apartment. He could maintain his post for hours if need be.
The newcomer, Anthony Stark, forced a re-evaluation of his mission parameters. He hadn't been ordered to kill the man, his superiors still finding a use for the billionaire. There was also the man's suit. The Asset had been warned against direct engagement of the target, the man having undergone similar modifications that gave him above average abilities. There was also the uncertainty of his connection to SHIELD and Nike Fury so his team was on standby if SHIELD agents were to arrive. The second he had the shot, he had been ordered to take it.
The Asset let out another breath, heart a steady rhythm as he waited for the telltale light in the target's window.
He could feel every weapon on his person, plans already forming possible scenarios should his initial shot not provide the killing shot. It was only a couple meter gap between the apartments. He would need to time his jump perfectly to break and land in his targets room. From there he would finish him off and incapacitate Stark.
A light breeze picked up around the rooftops, blowing ragged hair across eyes more gray than blue, no life or light present. Only a cold, steely determination to complete his mission.
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The Asset's position had been compromised the moment Tony entered the scene. Jarvis had detected his presence and alerted his boss. For his part, Tony gave no outward indication that anything was amiss, steering Steve into the apartment complex before briefing him on the situation.
"Who'd you manage to piss off, Cap? I mean, your Star-Spangled tights make me want to rip my eyes out but an assassin?" Tony whistled in awe, his sarcasm earning a glare from Steve.
Steve pushed pass him, heading up the stair to get his shield and confront his would-be assassin. Tony stopped his with a strong grip on his forearm, face still holding evidence of the battle no more than two weeks ago. The contusion on his forehead a stark reminder of what he almost sacrificed and how lucky they were to escape with the injuries they had.
"Whoever this guy is, Jarvis can't run facial recognition. He's heavily armed and he's been waiting for you."
Steve knew what Tony was trying to say.
"Give me two minutes."
That was all he'd need to get to his shield and get in position. Tony nodded, already making his way to the elevator to leave. He could feel the creeping sense of disaster, that everything was going to collapse around him again. Tony let out a shaky breath once the doors closed, bracing himself against the wall.
"Sir, I suggest you take a deep breath and relax. My sensors indicate an elevated heart rate and cortisol levels. If this plan of yours is to succeed, you must appear calm."
Tony knew that, just like he knew he wasn't getting better. But he wouldn't be Tony Stark if he wasn't able to bury his problems. Calming himself and taking the moment to activate his wrist beacons, he walked out the apartment doors, trusting Jarvis to update him of the surroundings as he waited for his suit to travel from his car.
The only warning Tony had was a 'Sir' before the chest plate was slamming into him as a slug tore through the circuitry, crippling the armor.
Though he wasn't hit directly, the energy from the shot, went straight to his chest, the pain dropping him to his knees briefly.
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The Asset noticed the trap before it could be pulled off, eyes flickering to the departing person and from just reading the body language, could tell he had been compromised. He fired his loaded shot at Stark before blocking the attack from behind with his Barrett, right hand already reaching for his SIG.
"Who are you? Who do you work for?" Steve interrogated the would-be assassin.
His question was only met with the unloading of a magazine, all of which were blocked by his shield. He was barely able to get away from the knife when he lowered his shield. The fight continued as a stalemate with Steve wondering what was taking Tony so long.
Tony was on the ground, the sniper slug had missed him but had ripped through the main circuitry of his suit: his firepower was KO'd.
Steve was taken off guard at the speed of his attacker and found his throat encased in a cold metal grip. He wasn't there long; his feet coming up to slam into the assassin's solarplex. He used the soldier's momentum to toss him over his shoulder with little effort. There was a pause as both individuals regrouped; Steve grabbed his shield which he had dropped a few moments earlier. It was perfect timing as the metal arm/weapon struck just then, resulting in another deadlock between the two powers.
Steve was close to the edge of the roof so he chanced to look down for Tony. He couldn't see him with a quick glance, which was all he dared. This guy was something else, he had never fought someone like him before. He had yet to say a word and Steve wasn't holding back punches. It was all he could do to stay alive at the moment.
Cringing, he managed to dodge the knife but was unprepared for the second strike with his other hand. The punch buried into his skull, dazing him for a moment to allow the knife-wielding hand to come around again. He was slashed across his chest and the moment of shock allowed the Winter Soldier to pull his Glock from his back and fire. Steve dropped to the ground while lifting his shield. The pain was barely noticeable with the adrenaline pumping through him at the moment.
'I've gotta stop this guy,' was the only thought running through his chaotic mind.
Knowing that what he was about to do would've given Bucky a heart attack, Steve charged forward, his shield in front blocking the onslaught of bullets. All he needed was one good punch to knock him out. He got his punch in but he wasn't prepared for the discovery he made. The assassin looked up, nothing about his face changing, as his mask cracked and fell off.
"Bucky?!" he breathed in disbelief.
Steve was in turmoil. He would know Bucky anywhere and this was his friend but he didn't understand how. Or why.
"Who the hell is Bucky?" Why did that name sound familiar? It was the same name from earlier, from his…memories?
The question hurt but not as much as the moment of indecisiveness he saw flash across his eyes. It was gone in a heartbeat and Steve questioned if he even saw it. With this revelation, the fight quickly changed. Steve didn't want to fight his friend and the Winter Soldier had to complete his mission. Captain America remained on the defensive.
"Your name is James Buchanan Barnes; you're my best friend." He was trying appeal to anything that could be left of his friend. Moving into close combat to prevent any possible escape. He'd lost him once before, he wasn't about to make the same mistake.
"You're my mission!" Man, he really felt that punch. He could taste blood already from his split lip.
Before the Winter Soldier could do any more damage, a pulse blast knocked him over. Tony had gotten the repulsors on his hands working. "Okay there Cap?"
Steve ignored the billionaire, focusing his attention on his lost friend. Seeing that the mission couldn't be carried out, the soldier jumped off the roof with no hesitation.
"Hey-!" Tony was not expecting the man to jump but when the teammates rushed to the edge, they found no trace of the man.
Steve didn't know up from down, Tony from Howard, in that moment. The only thing rushing through his mind was that Bucky was alive and he had lost him again.
"I contacted Fury so mind telling me why you weren't fighting back?" Tony knew all about self-destructive habits but he never pegged Captain America as having one. "Hey, a thank you would be nice! If I hadn't gotten here when I did, you'd be dead!"
Steve heard nothing the billionaire said. Tony roughly grabbed his right shoulder to snap him out of it. "Hey."
"He didn't even recognize me. He looked right at me-," Tony wasn't sure what all Steve was mumbling about but he knew it was related the guy who was trying to kill him. He knew it was important when he saw the look in the veteran's eyes.
"Tell me who he was." It was a voice he rarely used, showcasing that he understood the gravity of the situation enough not to make jokes. There weren't many people he could know, having only been unfrozen for two months.
"It was Bucky."
There were really few things that could surprise Tony Stark. "Bucky Barnes of the Howling Commandos? The one who died in 1945?"
Steve flinched at the reminder of his death. He still blamed himself; if only he had been quicker, if only he had taken that Hydra agent out. The wound was still fresh; to him, Bucky had only been gone for six months.
"Sir, Agent Romanoff is on the line," Jarvis interrupted the rest of the conversation Tony wanted to have.
"Patch her through, J."
Natasha's voice echoed through his ear-piece, voice revealing nothing.
"Stark, Fury told me the details. Are you still engaged?" Clinical and down to business. Tony rolled his eyes, only partially disappointed that she couldn't see it.
"No, the guy got away. Why?"
"He just left?" Tony was confused at the surprised tone Romanoff took at that information but his brain was starting to piece together the parts of the puzzle he had.
"Ya, when I showed up and blasted him with my repulsors."
Natasha gained control of herself as she was once again calm and clinical in her next demand, "You and Rogers need to come in, there's some information you need to know."
Tony continued to eye Steve, noting how he remained in shock, face reflecting the same despair from minutes ago, "Um, yeah, I think we already have it. Bucky Barnes, Cap recognized him."
If that information shocked the spy, she didn't show as without missing a beat she replied that there was more to it.
At SHIELD, matters became much more complicated than either man could've originally believed. Tony already had JARVIS running a program to find any mention of James Barnes in recent years or on any mission report SHIELD had.
"I was hoping to have this settled before you had to be brought in on this Captain."
Steve stared at the Director. He wasn't really that fond of the man, not after he lied to him about the purpose of the Tesseract. So he knew he wasn't going to like this.
"As of two months ago, this case turned highly classified with as few people brought in as possible. Before that, you need some background." Classified took Tony's attention. He thought he had gotten all of SHIELD's dirty secrets when he hacked them before New York.
"After you went under, it was thought that all of HYDRA was destroyed. What we didn't know was that it still thrived, waiting for the right moment to strike." Nick's voice was somber, he knew what this meant for Steve. He had sacrificed himself for nothing. "SHIELD only became aware of HYDRA a few years ago due to a consultant of sorts who had a run-in with one of their agents. We have been conducting raids since then and two months ago we discovered their main headquarter here in DC."
"You mean to tell me HYDRA grew right under your nose?" Steve was trying to control his anger but everything he lost, everything he gave up? It was for nothing. The Terreract had been found and used and now HYDRA was still operating.
Tony studied the Director and Romanoff. "There was nothing in SHIELD's database concerning this."
"We can't trust anyone, we don't know who the mole is, if there is more than one. Everything was kept off the record to not alert them to how far we were digging."
"Sir, you can't keep them hidden from each other anymore. She's already pissed at you for the New York stunt." Natasha informed Nick. She knew Rynan better than anyone at SHIELD, this would not go over well with the woman.
"Fury pissing off people, that's not news."
The director let out a long sigh, standing, hands splayed out on his desk as he leaned forward.
"The person you ran into tonight, he's called the Winter Soldier. We've been chasing him since we discovered HYDRA. He's not the man you knew Rogers," Nick had to decide how mad he wanted to make Captain America. "He's been brainwashed by HYDRA for the past 70 years. His memories have been wiped of his previous life."
"You're telling me HYDRA has had Bucky since he-" He couldn't finish, the guilt flooded him. He left his friend to the hands of those monsters again. He remembered how Bucky was when he rescued him initially from Zola. He was never the same. To have spent the last 70 years under the same people…
"What the Director says is true but he's been fighting them. The consultant we mentioned, she encountered him, she got through to him. He's still in there." Natasha had to get in before Steve sunk into his guilt pool. She had seen it in his eyes, where his thoughts were going.
"And who is this consultant? I thought I was the only one."
"Her name is Rynan. You'll meet her in the morning. She has a unique connection with the Winter Soldier."
Tony was intrigued. There weren't many people who Fury trusted for information or help, this girl must've really impressed him. Jarvis already knew to run her name through SHIELD files. He wanted to know everything there was about this woman.
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