Hello! And welcome back! Summer has been crazy busy. We filmed a documentary, I had lots of physical therapy, I did lots of reading to keep sane and I also spent a lot of time fighting killer migraines. I'm hoping to squeeze in one or two more updates this year. My schedule is super packed, but I really want to write more. I am finalizing a screenplay at the moment that starts filming in January so that takes slightly more priority. (I love you guys).

The end of the year movie lineup is sooo good. And all the announcements from Marvel for Phase 4 :o

What are you guys most excited for? I definitely want to get my hands dirty on a Marvel set.

Anywayssssss...

On we go...


June 1936

Steve trudged through the dusty streets of Brooklyn in his best suit, hands tucked in the pockets of his worn dress pants. He jingled around the keys to his apartment and tried not to dwell on where he'd just been or what he'd just done.

He was so engrossed in his own mind that he didn't see the tall man standing by his door as he staggered up the stairs. His dark hair was slicked back, blue eyes sad, and his suit well-tailored. Steve normally loved seeing his best friend, but right now he just wanted solitude.

"We looked for you after," his friend spoke. "My folks wanted to give you a ride to the cemetery."

Steve edged closer to his apartment door, hoping to avoid conversing, but his friend followed.

"I know, I'm sorry. I just...kind of wanted to be alone."

He nodded, "How was it?"

Steve thought about it. How does one describe a funeral? You can't say great 'cause, well, it's a funeral. You can't say bad because people will worry and stay around when you just need time to process it all.

"It was okay. She's next to Dad."

"I was gonna ask…"

"I know what you're gonna say, Buck. I just…"

Bucky gave Steve half of a smile, "We can put the couch cushions on the floor like when we were kids. It'll be fun. All you gotta do is shine my shoes, maybe take out the trash."

Steve doesn't smile back. Instead, he skirts around the taller man and heads for his door. He's always had to depend on other people to take care of him his entire life. His mom had to protect him from being too sick, too hungry, too poor. And Bucky was there to protect him from everyone who thought it was funny to pick on the little scrawny kid. Now he had the chance to stick up for himself, prove his worth, and he didn't want to lean on anyone right from the get-go. Even if it was his best friend.

"Come on," Bucky pushed for an answer.

"Thank you, Buck, but I can get by on my own," Steve assured him. He turned and unlocked the door.

"The thing is, you don't have to. I'm here with you to the end of the line, pal."

Present

"He's gonna be there, you know?" Sam said, snapping Steve out of his flashback.

They stood on the bridge not too far from the bunker. Nat and Max had requested some 'girl time' before those involved in the plan to take down HYDRA had to leave. So Steve had left them to it and come outside to clear his head. Turns out it just lead to old memories resurfacing.

"I know," Steve exhaled, knowing where Sam was headed with this.

"Look whoever he used to be, the guy he is now, I don't think he's the kind you save," he paused and met Steve's eye. "He's the kind you stop."

"I don't know if I can do that."

"Well, he might not give you a choice."

"He's my best friend."

"Was your best friend. He doesn't know you now," Sam reinforced.

The Super Soldier sighed, glancing out over the water. "He will."

"All I'm saying is you have more important people in your life to be fighting for. I know you care about him, but you have to weigh him against Max. Against your kid."

They stood there in silence for a few minutes, just watching the daybreak over the river. Today could go their way, or it could go south. For the sake of Max and his unborn baby, he hoped it went their way.

"Gear up, it's time."

"You gonna wear that?" Sam chuckled, gesturing to Steve's worn-out jacket, dusty jeans and stained shirt.

"No. If you're gonna fight a war, you gotta wear a uniform," Steve smirked and walked off towards the bunker.


Steve watched as Max nervously paced back and forth in her tiny bedroom as he packed. He knew she would be doing this for hours and hours while he was gone. She wouldn't stop until her body demanded it.

"Everything's gonna be fine."

"You don't know that. Things go wrong on missions all the time," Max clapped back. "And saying it's going to be fine is like...jinxing it."

"Okay, things might not go perfectly, I'll get scraped up in the process, but I will come back," he vowed.

"You better."

"I will, doll," he laughed. "Now stop pacing, please."

"I wish I could go with you guys," she pouted, collapsing on the bed.

"Even if you weren't pregnant, I wouldn't let you go."

"What?!"

"You can't-."

"I can to fight."

He huffed, "I don't need you fighting, Maxie."

"Well then just...I don't know, let me sit in a Starbucks a safe distance away but still within reach of comms."

He stopped packing and gave her an unamused expression. "No."

"You're no fun."

"I'm lots of fun," he chuckled and swiftly pulled her up off the bed. She gasped at the sudden rush, but relaxed once she found herself wrapped in Steve's strong embrace. "Once this is done and I'm back, I'll show you just how much fun I can be."

"Steve?"

"Yeah, doll."

"That sounded kinda dirty," she said and burst into a fit of laughter tucked against his chest.

"My god. What am I going to do with you, woman?"


Getting into the Triskelion had been far easier and stealthier than Steve had anticipated. No alarms had been triggered, no armies of agents sent their way-just a few Insight tech men knocked out in order to reach the comm system. Now it was time to announce their intrusion to everyone. And then the 'fun' would begin.

He walked over the desk microphone and pressed the comm button. Once he started talking, there was no going back.

"Attention, all S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. This is Steve Rogers," he paused and glanced over at Sam. His friend gave a curt nodded so he breathed in and continued. "You've heard a lot about me over the last few days, some of you were even ordered to hunt me down. But I think it's time you know the truth. S.H.I.E.L.D. is not what we thought it was. It's been taken over by HYDRA. Alexander Pierce is their leader. The STRIKE and Insight crew are HYDRA as well. I don't know how many more, but I know they're in the building. They could be standing right next to you. They almost have what they want: absolute control. They shot Nick Fury and it won't end there. If you launch those Helicarriers today, HYDRA will be able to kill anyone that stands in their way, unless we stop them. I know I'm asking a lot, but the price of freedom is high, it always has been, and it's a price I'm willing to pay. And if I'm the only one, then so be it. But I'm willing to bet I'm not."

He released the button and exhaled. Steve could only imagine the look on Alexander Pierce's face as he heard it.

"Did you write that down first, or was it off the top of your head?" Sam chuckled next to him.

"Like you could do better."

"Nah, I'll leave the hero speeches to you," Sam smirked.

Steve shook his head. "Let's get moving. We need to get on the ground before these things launch."


"They're initiating the launch," Maria informed them over the comms.

Steve and Sam were still a little ways away from the launch bays. Instead of going all the way to ground level, they decided to drop in from above and have the upper hand on HYDRA soldiers.

The two men jogged across the roof, closing in on their target. The sun beat down on them. It gleamed off the metal of Sam's wings.

"Hey, Cap, how do we know the good guys from the bad guys?" Sam asked.

"If they're shooting at you, they're bad," Steve clarified.

Without a second thought, Sam fired up his wings and flew off the roof with a quick glance back at Steve. The Super Soldier followed seconds later, soaring down to the asphalt launch pad and landing with a swift tuck-and-roll. Without wasting any time, he jumped to his feet and took off sprinting, bringing his shield up to block the incoming bullets. He leaped over some supplies and ducked around some stacks off crates until he came face-to-face with a HYDRA agent. A quick jab to the nose and twisting the rifle from his grasp, while stealing a grenade, left Cap safe for the moment.

He took a deep breath, leaned back against the crates and listened with his super hearing. A group of soldiers was approaching on his right. He pulled the pin on the grenade and rolled it out into the aisle they were coming down. No more than ten seconds later, it went off, rocking the entire area.

"Hey, Cap, I found those bad guys you were talking about." Sam came in on the comm.

"You okay?" He called back.

"I'm not dead yet."

"Falcon, status," Maria chimed in.

"Engaging." There was some static and wind interference from his side. "Alright, Cap. I'm in." Suddenly, Steve could hear the faint ring of gunfire in his ear where the comm was placed. "Shit!"

The wind sound blew back through his ear. He figured Sam must have evacuated the dangerous area.

HYDRA men came at him from all directions. He lunged around, backflipped over and thrust his shield into as many of them as he could on his way to the helicarrier he was meant to stop.

"Eight minutes, Cap," Maria spoke up.

He exhaled, "Working on it."

Steve picked up his pace and raced into the helicarrier before it could make it into the air without him aboard. It wasn't hard to find his way up to the control center of the carrier. He'd spent enough time on the original carriers back in 2012 to know the basic layout of these things.

He was thankful no one was around as he made his way across the bridge to the central hub. He snagged the chip from his belt and slid it in where Maria had told him to.

"Alpha locked," he called over the comms.

"Falcon, where are you now?" Maria asked.

"I had to take a detour!" He yelled back. "I'm in. Bravo locked."

"Two down. One to go. Charlie Carrier's forty-five degrees off the port bow."

"Hey, Sam. I'm gonna need a ride," Steve informed his friend.

The winged-man made a sharp turn and headed in the Cap's direction. "Roger! Let me know when you're ready."

Instead of saying anything back, Steve lept from the edge of the carrier as shots rang out all around him.

"I just did!"

Sam had just enough of a warning to race down and catch his falling friend. Sam shook his head and flew them quickly to the last helicarrier. "You know, you're a lot heavier than you look."

"I had a big breakfast," Steve joked. They landed on their feet just as Bucky charged at him. As if the sight of his once-thought dead best friend wasn't enough to send him reeling, being rammed into and thrown off the side of the carrier did the trick.

"Steve!"

As he fell, he caught a glimpse of Sam attempting to come after him. A shiny metal arm came into view and dragged him back onto the ship before he could fly away. Steve's fall was short-lived, though. He threw an arm out and prayed it could reach one of the jets in time.

It did.

He steeled his muscles and dug his feet into the side of the ship, hoisting himself over the edge to safety. If Max were here, she'd be giving him an earful about almost causing her to have a heart attack. Honestly, he almost had one too.

"Cap? Cap, come in," Sam shouted in his ear. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm here! I'm still on the helicarrier. Where are you?" Steve replied, scanning the area for any sign of his friend. Or Bucky.

"I'm grounded. The suit's down. Sorry, Cap."

"Don't worry. I got it."

Steve could feel eyes on him as he stood there talking. He knew Bucky was nearby, waiting to strike again.

He doesn't know you now.

Sam's words echoed in his head as he took off into the helicarrier. It was true that the man who had been fighting Steve on HYDRA's command didn't know him. But he still wore Bucky's face, and Steve was determined to knock some sense back into his best friend.

There was a thick tension in the air when Steve entered the control center. The hairs on the back of his neck stood at attention, his reflexes poised and ready to snap.

He knew there would be a fight. A nasty one.

He knew Bucky had a mission just like Steve did.

He knew there was a good chance, despite his hopes of beating the memories back into him, that the Winter Soldier would keep him from ever seeing his child grow up.

But he still had to try.

So when he walked onto the bridge and stood before his childhood friend, he pleaded with him, "People are going to die, Buck. I can't let that happen. Please, don't make me do this."

When he saw the cold, unchanging expression on Bucky's face, Steve realized his words had no effect on the soldier. He inhaled, coming to terms with what was about to happen. Silently, he prayed he would make it back to Max when this was over. And, if not, that Fury and the rest of the team would keep them safe.

Cocking his arm back, he exhaled and flung his shield at the Winter Soldier. It was quickly deflected. Steve retrieved it as Bucky brought up a pistol and opened fire. Pushing forward towards the central hub, they traded in their weapons for hand-to-hand combat. Steve tried to stay low and fast with his moves, watching out for the metal arm Bucky wielded.

But he brought it down hard causing Steve to throw up his shield in defense. With his sides wide open, his former best friend took aim.

The bullet grazed his sized, sending pain shooting through his entire abdomen. He grunted and tried to ignore the fire spreading up his side, the blood soaking into his uniform, the tears stinging the corners of his eyes. Instead, he got angry and put it all into one final blow that knocked Bucky off his feet, clearing a path to the hub where he had to place the final chip.

But before he could advance, the soldier was up again, knife in hand and vengeance in his eyes. He blocked and blocked and blocked every swing that the man was throwing at Steve until he finally got an opening. With a powerful shield punch, Cap sent him stumbling a few feet away. This gave him enough time to pull up the targeting blade system. Unfortunately, not enough time to slide the chip in because Bucky was right back at him.

They fought and struggled for a few seconds. Steve could hear the clock ticking down in his head.

He managed to pry the knife away from the Winter Soldier, bashing him back to the ground with a little more gusto. With more time, he went back to the hub and pulled the chip out.

Once again, Bucky was there to stop him. Only this time, he sent them reeling over the side of the railing and down a floor. The corrupted chip Steve was supposed to use was lost in the fall.

Bucky backhanded him, making him flip and fly across the floor. Steve spotted the chip, scooping it up as he comes to a stop. He stood just as his friend hovers over him, throwing swing after swing. He dodged them, but lost the chip in the back-and-forth.

This time it was Steve who knocked them over the edge, down yet another level. The glass beneath their feet showed sunny D.C. passing by.

He glanced around for the chip and spotted it a few yards away. Dashing towards it, he didn't hear the attack until he was struck from behind. By his own shield. He snatched it up and ducked behind it for cover as Bucky fired off several rounds. Then he stood and threw the shield, hoping it would do some damage this time.

It didn't.

On came more hand to hand combat. This time, he got stabbed. The chances of him making it out of this alive lessened slightly. He still had a job to do, though. As long as feet could still carry him, he would keep going.

The fight to get the chip back would haunt Steve in the future, if he made it out of here, and he knew that it would. He was never going to be able to erase breaking his best friend's arm and then keeping him in a chokehold until he passed out. Even if this version of Bucky was evil.

He put it out of his mind at that moment, though, and rolled Bucky off of him instead. Grabbing the chip, he sprinted back up to the top of the control center to end this.

Steve had just made it to the second level when the gunshot rang out. His leg gave out before he felt the actual pain of the bullet wound. His hands went to his left thigh and squeezed, more blood soaking into his uniform.

He still had one working leg and two functioning arms. He wasn't dead yet. The mission was still on.

Hoisting himself up, he sprang for the ladder to the top level. Another gunshot rang out. This one hit his right shoulder. He hung on, though, gritting through the waves of pain.

"Thirty seconds, Cap," Maria warned him.

"Stand by." Hobbling over to the hub, he pulled out the chip. "Charlie…"

One final gunshot cut through the air. Steve fell, eyes wide, gasping for air. He knew his Super Soldier DNA couldn't save him this time. The other wounds hadn't worried him, but this...this was final.

He was going to die.

So he thought of Max. About the way she laughed at the silliest things. How smart she was, and how good she was at not throwing it in everyone's faces. The way her hair smelled on his pillowcase because she liked sleeping in his bed instead of hers. The sound of her playing violin- he could almost hear it. Faint death notes in his head.

He wanted to keep thinking about her, succumb to his wounds and die drowning in the memories of her, but there was still barely enough time to save the world. So he struggled to pull himself up just enough to turn and slip the chip into place.

"Charlie locked."

"Ok, Cap. Get out of there," Maria instructed him.

"Fire now."

"But, Steve…"

She didn't have to finish that thought for him to know where she was going with it. If they fired now, he would be blown to smithereens along with the helicarrier. But he couldn't get out in the state he was in. And he was sure Maria knew something was amiss if he was telling her to fire anyways.

"Do it! Do it now!"


Steve heard the missiles before the impact. Maria had listened to him and gone ahead with the strike.

The explosion rocked the ship, sending Steve falling through the air back to the bottom of the control center room where he'd been with Bucky not that long ago. Adrenaline coursed through him now, pain was pushed to the back of his mind.

That's when he saw him, pinned beneath a huge metal beam a few feet away. Despite the grueling battle they'd just endured, Steve knew he had to rescue him. So he used what little strength he had and helped Bucky hoist the beam off of himself.

Breathing heavily, Steve said, "You know me."

"No, I don't," Bucky snapped back. He drew back his metallic arm and punched Cap's shield, sending Steve flying backwards.

Getting back on his feet, Steve decided not to fight back.

"Bucky, you've known me your whole life." He hits Steve again. "Your name is James Buchanan Barnes." And again.

"Shut up!"

Steve stood, sliding off his mask. He looked at Bucky, a hint of uncertain in his eyes. The shield fell from his grasp, clanking against the metal brace before falling out of the hole in the glass.

"I'm not gonna fight you. You're my friend," he explained, fighting to stay standing.

Growling, the Winter Soldier tackled Cap to the floor. "You're my mission." He drew back his flesh arm and delivered a punch directly to Steve's face. Repeatedly. "You're my mission!"

"Then finish it," Steve whispered. Bucky hesitated. "'Cause I'm with ya to the end of the line."

They stared at each other, recognition shining in Bucky's eyes. Steve knew he was starting to remember him. He could see the Winter Soldier melting away and his best friend coming back.

But he could also see the giant pillar falling towards them over Bucky's shoulder. It struck a few yards away, but caused the rest of the glass floor to shatter with it. Steve plummeted down with shards of glass and metal raining all around him. The pain in his body had returned, along with crippling fear, but at least the mission was complete.

And the Winter Soldier was gone.


Big chapter :D

I hate writing action cause I (personally) think I suck at it. But y'all have seen the movie so you know how it goes down.

Apologies for grammar/spelling errors.

Thanks for the continued follows/favorites and reviews. You all are what keep me coming back *kisses*

Until next time -KAITi-