A/N (update 20.08.2021): Hi there! Looking back I couldn't help but feel somewhat dissatisfied with how the story played off in this chapter and while I know retconning should be avoided, I took the liberty of rewriting parts of it. I hope it'll be more coherent than the rough-edged counterpart I shouldn't have published in the first place. Enjoy.

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing. All rights to Marvel Cinematic Universe, etc.

Chapter 7

IN THE CAGE

"Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you." – Friedrich Nietzsche

1

Steve Rogers was lying on a mouldy floor in an abandoned cabin in the middle of nowhere. These parts of the mountains weren't frequented by the locals, let alone sightseeing or climbing enthusiasts. The nearest town was thirty miles away, but he couldn't have known that. After grabbing his motorcycle he just drove as far away from civilization as possible until the fuel tank was empty.

There he was, in a derelict wooden hut, where nobody could find him. Where his demons would finally see the daylight and break the boundaries he believed to be unbreakable. Where nobody could be hurt by him.

His mental health deteriorated frighteningly fast since escaping S.H.I.E.L.D.'s secured facility in the north of the US, where he was transferred to after the interrogation by Fury and Barton. It was probably one of the last decisions made by real Steve Rogers and not the current wreck he became.

His mind reached a state when each strand of thought and memory was slow and incoherent as if immobilized by an invisible force. In his more and more rare moments of clarity, he would've just enough strength to drag himself across the empty rooms and sit by a window, watching the rain streaming down the dull glass.

Steve vaguely knew he did something wrong, but could no longer remember to whom, why or when. What's more he began experiencing an incessant feeling of being watched, but whenever he turned around he saw either old trees, the shabby cabin or himself in a mirror. He broke it upon seeing what had become of him.

Steve's clothing was worn and dirty, his face unshaven. He didn't sleep well or ate a proper meal for almost a month. To others he would probably look like a hounded animal, but the only company he could currently count on were those odd voices in his head. Deeply inside he knew they weren't supposed to exist.

One evening when the sky was cloudless and cold, he regained his self-awareness for the first time in a while. The realization as to what should be done came to him immediately. Steve needed to hurry before he'd lost the will to do it.

He searched for the entrance to the basement. As expected it was full of broken crates and other clutter left by whoever used to live here. Steve looked around until he spotted a coiled rope tucked in the corner. It seemed strong enough for what he was about to do. He grabbed it and headed upstairs with only one thing in his mind now.

To get away.

Having found a sturdy-looking wooden beam, he climbed on a chair and tied the rope to the piece of wood above his head. Then he made a tight noose around his neck and rocked the chair with his legs as much as he could.

2

9 hours prior

Jared Hunt stepped over a heap of rubble, carefully inspecting the inside of the ruined house. He held a machine gun at the ready, pointing the laser at each corner.

The mercenary was tasked with capturing Wanda Maximoff who betrayed HYDRA in Novi Grad years ago and joined the Avengers, the so-called saviours of humanity. Hunt despised them, just as much as he despised any kind of freaks with unnatural abilities, the Sokovian girl included. He volunteered for this operation, having received information from a spy within ranks of S.H.I.E.L.D., stating that Barton and Romanoff left New York City in order to meet with Maximoff.

While it was a mystery to him why they would do so, it provided an excellent opportunity to lure all three of them away from safety. The mercenary would execute them with pleasure, especially because the Sokovian was believed to be afraid of using her powers openly.

Hunt tracked Barton and Romanoff route, which lead to a small tenement building in Edinburgh. His squad consisted of highly trained operatives, whom he worked with on many occasions. In the past they successfully eliminated a dozen of enemy's valuable agents, however this time, not everything went as smoothly as he had hoped.

Five of his men were killed in action. Bullet holes right in the middle of their foreheads, confirmed it was indeed the infamous Strike Team Delta's work. Nonetheless the enemy had also suffered some losses; when the shooting finally ceased Hunt stormed into the house and soon found someone very interesting, lying on the floor in a puddle of crimson red.

Jared Hunt smiled before kicking Barton's gun away and crouching beside him. The archer had already drifted off due to blood loss. To counter that, Hunt took out a syringe with clear liquid out of his utility belt and stuck the needle into the archer's neck. Five minutes later Clint twitched and fluttered his eyes open. Confusion and suffering were clearly visible on his face.

"Hello, agent Barton." Hunt smiled, observing his victim, just as the crow observes a piece of rotten meat. "I'm sorry I ruined your five o'clock tea, but thanks to you I've got a big problem."

Clint slurred something under his breath, which caused Hunt's expression to contort to anger. The mercenary grabbed Barton by his vest, so that their faces remained mere inches away from each other.

"Rogers was supposed to die back there and never pose any threat to HYDRA again. But that blunt tool somehow survived, so I guess I'll have to make do with you, my friend. Especially because the Maximoff girl got away and I really, really don't like it."

Clint didn't reply, instead spitting blood in Jared's face.

"I thought you were more than that, Barton." The mercenary punched the archer in his injured side. The pain felt like having a white-hot fire-poker pressed against his wound.

"Don't worry. I'll kill you in due time. But first I'd like to get my hands on this Russian whore of yours, who thinks she's the smartest around here. I thought I should tell you about the welcoming committee I prepared but I guess I'll leave the details for myself." Having said that he stood up and barked an order.

When the enemy soldiers dragged him out of the ruined building, Clint was praying to God. Natasha had to escape safely along with Wanda. That was his last thought because they brutally punched him in the face and everything went black.

3

Meanwhile Wanda came round on their way to the farmhouse, making Natasha sigh with relief. The spy had witnessed countless grenade explosions in her career and she knew well how easy it was to be hit by a shrapnel. Her respite was short though as Maximoff went into shock upon hearing that Clint decided to stall the pursuit.

"What do you mean he stayed behind?!"

As much as the spy wanted to go back, Natasha knew they had to go if they were to get out of this mess alive. It was obvious the attack wasn't coordinated by some random thugs but highly-trained individuals and that raised suspicions.

"He knew what he was getting himself into, Wanda. I don't like this as well but I was tasked to escort you to safety." She replied, focusing her sight on the road.

"At what cost?"

Natasha's lips pursed into a thin line. She exhaled deeply so that her voice would be calm. "He'll manage, he dealt with worse before. For now we need to disappear ASAP if we want to make the most of his plan."

Wanda wasn't convinced and frankly Natasha had problems believing it herself. What good could it be if they were captured, knowing that Clint laid his own life on the line so that they could escape? The spy pulled over when they reached the gate leading to the farmhouse. Wanda grabbed her shoulder before she was able to exit.

"Wait. I don't like this."

Natasha looked at her then at the building looming in the darkness. Suddenly it all seemed too quiet and safe for her taste. They didn't encounter any threat on the way here, nobody chased them since their evacuation from Wanda's ruined house. It was strange if you thought about it.

She stopped the engine and turned off the lights. There was a slight chance the enemy didn't spot them yet.

"Do you sense anything?" Natasha unholstered her dual glocks and checked if they were loaded.

"Difficult to tell. We are definitely not alone but I'm not sure about the numbers." Maximoff replied, her eyes closed and brows furrowed. "If I get closer I may tell you more."

Faint red glow emitted from her palms as she rubbed her temples. "But I'm still not sure if this is all a good idea. Maybe we should head back and find another way?"

"Impossible. Quinjet is the fastest transport we have, besides they can hack the computer onboard. Who knows what they'll find if they access S.H.I.E.L.D.'s servers." Natasha explained.

"If you say so." Wanda said quietly.

"Stick close to me." Natasha opened the door and soon they were both circling the barn, hopefully unseen. "Alright, I know you don't like using your abilities against someone else but if those people are with the ones who attacked us, you can't hesitate. Do you understand?"

There was a period of silence before the redhead heard an affirmation. "I do."

"Good. On my mark you'll blow up this wall and I'll take them out. Fast and simple. How many are there?"

Maximoff furrowed her brows before answering. "Nine, maybe ten people."

"Alright, we can do it. If anything happens I am counting on you, Wanda." The spy replied, tightening her grip on the guns. "I'm ready. Let's go."

Wanda closed her eyes for a second, focusing the energy coursing through her veins. Then, with a flick of a wrist, she sent a bolt of red light towards the building. An explosion reduced the wall into rubble.

Before the enemy soldiers could do anything Natasha stormed in, taking them out methodically, one by one, with precise shots to the head. They were equipped with body armour and automatic weapons yet didn't stand a chance against her skills. A dozen heartbeats later nine corpses littered the floor and the fight was done. Well, almost because the last of the would-be ambushers pulled the trigger of the rifle pointed at Natasha's head.

Had it not been for Wanda, the redhead would have been dead. A shield of red energy deflected the bullet right into the man's arm, who then fell to the ground with a scream of pain.

"Thanks. It was a close one." Natasha said panting as Wanda leaned against the wall. The spy walked towards the injured agent who was desperately trying to find his radio. He wasn't fast enough because Natasha crushed it under her boot. "Who sent you?"

"You don't think I'm that stupid, do you?" The enemy soldier replied, clenching his teeth angrily. In a matter of seconds his mouth filled with disgusting foam and a scent of rotten almonds filled the air.

"Cyanide." The spy thought to herself when the man drew his last breath. She checked his forearm to make sure her suspicions were correct. "Fury was right, Wanda. HYDRA was targeting you. They must've tracked the quinjet when we got here. God dammit."

"Natasha-"

"No matter. We gotta go." Natasha said sternly and headed for the aircraft. She double checked the hull for any devices that could give their location to the enemy but didn't find any. Maybe HYDRA didn't expect them to survive considering the number of soldiers sent to stop them?

"Natasha, there is something you must know."

"What?"

"I can sense your anxiety. You are worried about Clint, we both are, but there is something else... I fear that Steve needs your help. He needs it right now."

The redhead shook her head. "How can you know that? We had no contact with him in weeks."

"You're both emotionally connected. Through you I can tell what is going on with Steve." Maximoff shrugged her shoulders. "To a certain degree. All I know is that he's in danger."

Natasha looked at the Sokovian for a moment. The powers the young woman acquired as a result of the experiments were sometimes both helpful and terrifying. Something in Wanda's voice told the spy it was the latter.

"Buckle up. If we're to find him I'll need someone at the navigation computer."

The machine shuddered and loud humming of the engines filled the air. Natasha flew the quinjet into the pitch-black night until she reached a proper altitude. The communicator beeped, searching for S.H.I.E.L.D.'s headquarters frequency. "Nick, do you read me? Over."

A second later she heard Fury's concerned voice. "Loud and clear. You didn't report in hours. What's going on there, Romanoff?"

"I've got Wanda, but the mission has been compromised. We were attacked and Clint stayed behind." Natasha explained quickly.

"This explains why he sent a distress call. We must assume he got captured."

Upon hearing those words the redhead blinked a few times, doing her best to process the unexpected information. "Hawkeye, you son of a bitch."

"I've already assigned agent Carter and Coulson to go after him. They'll bring Barton in one piece. Don't worry, Natasha."

"Yeah, good luck with that." She growled, angry with herself. First she lost Steve, now her best friend.

"Is young Maximoff okay?" Fury asked, ignoring her comment.

Natasha kept silent, so Wanda replied instead. "Yes, director, it's good to hear from you again."

"Natasha will bring you to New York, you'll be safe there."

It was the wisest option to follow but Natasha had already made up her mind. "Not an option, Nick. We're going after Rogers."

"You don't have my permission, Romanoff."

"And I'm not asking for one." The spy said, accelerating the vehicle.

"I'm sorry, director, but I agree with Natasha on that one. I fear that Steve is running out of time, we must find and help him." Wanda added, giving the spy a reassuring smile.

"Listen, Nick, you'll suspend me or whatever, after we rescue Rogers, alright? I won't stop you."

On the other side of the communicator, Fury sighed heavily and Natasha already knew she won.

"Alright, Romanoff, we'll play it your way. Bring him back."

4

When agent Carter arrived in Edinburgh she immediately made her way to the coordinates sent by Phil Coulson, only to find burning ruins of Maximoff's house. Firefighters were already on the spot, trying to control the flames raging inside, while at least a dozen police officers were interrogating Wanda's neighbours or anyone who passed by for that matter.

To avoid inconvenient questions she kept her distance, opting for the roof of the tallest building in the area. She would have an excellent vantage point there.

Having climbed atop of it, she quickly realized that Barton was gone, and so were his captors. Sharon bit her lower lip, trying to decide what to do, so she grabbed her Stark-issued binoculars and scanned the area.

After a long search Carter spotted three trucks in the distance. They had no differentiating features and she was almost positive these were the attackers. Sharon pressed the button on her communicating device.

"What's your status, agent Carter?" She heard Maria Hill's voice.

"The building is destroyed and there are no signs of agent Barton, but I've spotted a suspiciously looking convoy, heading northwest of the city. I'm beginning the pursuit now."

"Understood. When you track him down, send the detailed coordinates. Phil and his team will follow."

"Copy that. Carter, over and out."

Sharon tucked the binoculars into her backpack, and slid down the fire-escape ladder. Adrenaline was already surging through her veins when she hopped into a car and sped off, hoping to keep up with the convoy.

5

3 hours prior

As soon as they crossed the Canadian border, Natasha decided it would be pointless to use the quinjet in such terrain, especially when looking for just one person. Besides, entering another country's airspace without proper clearance, would be a violation of international security treaties.

Instead she 'borrowed' a jeep from a random client at the first gas station they've come across. How the spy managed to steal a car in front of the cameras remained a mystery to Maximoff, and while she certainly didn't like the idea, they had no other choice.

They were passing through some God-forsaken town, when Wanda suddenly broke the tense silence.

"Stop the car, Natasha."

The spy glanced at her fellow passenger then at a diner by the road. They didn't eat in ten hours and she must have been starving. "I'm hungry too, but we have to find Steve first."

Maximoff shook her head. "It's not that. I just… I've got a good feeling about this, trust me."

Natasha pondered the proposition. Before they visited Wanda in Edinburgh, Clint managed to determine Steve's approximate location. All clues he had gathered pointed to the scenario in which the soldier escaped through the northern border of the US, not far from their current whereabouts.

The redhead decided to follow Wanda's intuition as the girl had already proved reliable. Maybe locals saw any strangers in town, who knows? Then again, Natasha had no better idea how to find the soldier.

"Alright." Natasha turned the car and parked the jeep in front of the bar.

Nomad diner. Open 24 hours.

Inside there were only a couple of men, dressed in working clothing and yellow helmets, probably local lumberjacks. The questioning didn't take long - as expected none of them knew who this 'Steve Rogers' guy was and stated they have never seen anyone with blonde hair and blue eyes by that name.

Up until now the redhead cherished an illusion that she'd pick up any kind of trace left by Steve but she was wrong. Resigned, Natasha returned to the car and cupped her head in her hands, while Wanda went out to get some air.

How could she be so naïve to believe she'd just go after him like that? She should have listened to Fury. She should have asked for help from the fellow Avengers. At that point, Steve could have already been in Alaska, no matter, she wouldn't find him anyway.

Her brooding was interrupted by Wanda's voice. "Natasha? Did you say that Steve used to ride a Harley Davidson?"

"Yeah, so?" The redhead replied, uninterested in the conversation.

"Well there is one standing over there." Wanda pointed towards a vehicle standing a few rows apart from their jeep. "And it has a name-tag on it."

Natasha's eyes widened with utter surprise. She ran to the motorcycle. Even though it was covered in mud and dirt, it was indeed the model Wanda spoke of. What's more the spy spotted a date engraved on its side: 1943 and was followed by Steven G. Rogers.

"How did you…?"

Wanda shrugged her shoulders and smiled. "Intuition, I guess. I told you I had a good feeling about this."

In following years Natasha often wondered what would happen if they didn't come across that damn motorcycle. As a consequence she wouldn't have met a local hunter who, by total accident, found the abandoned vehicle in the forest thirty miles to the north. He wouldn't have shown Natasha the location on his map and she would've never found that derelict cabin in the middle of nowhere.

The tide seemed to be finally in her favour. Turned out that all of the horrors she went through after being abducted, brainwashed and trained by the Red Room weren't completely in vain. They made her the most lethal weapon in the world, true, but in the end she received a second chance to start a new life. Given by someone who was assigned to kill her. Now she considered him to be her best friend. Then Nick Fury introduced her to S.H.I.E.L.D. where she worked in order to help those, she used to hurt and eliminate in cold-blood, years before. She met her new family, the Avengers, and for the first time in her life started to smile because she wanted to, not because it was her mission requirement.

And after a few years fate put him in her way. A man out of time, old-fashioned, stubborn, awkward with women. She didn't realize, until it was too late, that some invisible force she denied all her life, pulled her to him no matter how hard she struggled.

Because of that Natasha Romanoff was able to find Steve Rogers before he took one step too far.

6

Zero hour

Natasha reluctantly opened the door. What they saw, despite all of her psychological resistance she acquired during years of fighting, froze her blood to ice. In the centre of the room, above a lone chair on the floor, was Steve's body, hanging from the ceiling. Natasha heard Wanda screaming, but the spy was already at the soldier's side, cutting the rope with one of her knives.

His emaciated body fell to the ground with a solid thud, unmoving and unresponsive.

"No, no, no, no…" Natasha repeated these words like a mantra, while she rolled the soldier onto his back and exposed his chest. He wasn't breathing, so she gave him two rescue breaths and started compressing his sternum. Fortunately the Sokovian girl came to her senses rather quickly and rushed to Natasha's aid.

They continued the CPR together, changing every two minutes, until after ten unbelievably long minutes, Steve Rogers opened his eyes, desperately struggling for air.

"Na-Nat-Natasha?" He managed to gasp out, coughing terribly. "Wa-wanda?"

"You're safe, Steve, it's okay, I'm here." Natasha's voice was tired but gentle.

A hint of fear appeared in his eyes and he crawled away from both women.

"Get… get away from me!" He had panic in his voice. "I'm dangerous! Get away from me!"

"That's why we're here, Steve. We're going to help you!" Natasha approached him slowly, talking soothingly. She put her hands on his shoulders. "We'll take you home, Steve, you're gonna be alright, I promise."

But then their plan turned disastrous in less than a millisecond.

"Am I?"

His voice, usually so kind and warm, a voice which could make her follow any of his orders until the very end, became husky, strained and cold. Natasha could hear Wanda sobbing in the corner and frankly she was on the verge of tears as well.

Steve, whom she once knew, was gone, taken over by the monster kept inside. What struck her the most of all were his eyes, no longer clear blue but crimson red, filled with rage. The redhead spy was backing away from a furious super-soldier, a miserable and terrifying sight at the same time.

"Steve, listen to me..."

"Shut your goddamn mouth, slut. You have lied since I met you, you have lied all your life, and nothing you will say can save you now." He spat those words as if it pained him to hold them inside. "Has there ever been anything true about you?!"

"I have never lied to you, Steve. Never." She put her hands on her heart. "I want to help you."

"No-one can help me. No-one, do you hear me?!" He grabbed her by her throat, lifting her small frame into the air in spite of his emaciation. For a second she saw pain in his eyes, before she started to convulsively gasp for air. "Not even you."

"You... You'd be surprised..." She let out a choked growl, as his grip tightened. "I love you."

The effect of those words was instantaneous and neither her nor Wanda expected it. Steve's hold suddenly became limp and he landed on his knees, just as Natasha fell on the floor with a loud thud. Her ankle broke, causing her to groan in pain. That was however nothing compared to what was happening to the soldier.

Natasha crawled over to Steve's body, who was now violently twitching around as if in some kind of epileptic fit. It chilled her blood yet again, to see him in such a state, tossing on the ground and screaming in pain like an animal. The redhead turned towards Wanda, who stood up from the ground and had a somewhat fierce expression on her face.

"Now or never. Let me in." Natasha mumbled, putting her hand on the soldier's forehead. Just as she uttered those words, Scarlet Witch's voice echoed inside her head and everything around dissolved in a strange red glow.

7

Steve found himself standing in the centre of an unknown street, flanked by tall buildings. He wore his usual navy-blue Captain uniform along with the helmet, while his trusted vibranium shield was tightly in his grasp.

The city soaked in torrential rainfall, everything cased in shadow by a shroud of heavy clouds. When a white zig-zag lightened the sky with a powerful rumble, Steve realized he was surrounded from both sides by endless rows of faceless soldiers, who moved their heads synchronically, following his every move. They were inside of the buildings as well, all of them silent and observing. He focused his sight on the street again, when he saw that someone was already waiting for him.

"Captain Rogers, welcome back. We missed you."

The lightning illuminated Schmidt's maniacal and confident smile.

"It ends tonight."

"I know it does, I've seen it." Schmidt said in a matter-of-factly tone. "That's why I am just going to enjoy the show because we already know that you can't win this time. You are alone."

With the last words escaping his mouth, Schmidt's face transformed into the disfigured features of the Red Skull. The time slowed down and started to drag, as Steve Rogers ran towards his sworn enemy, bracing for a battle to end all battles. What he couldn't have seen was that he wasn't alone this time.

Natasha Romanoff, his only anchor among the darkness, was there too.

She observed two of them clashing, uncertain what to do. Steve and Schmidt exchanged punches, kicks and dodged each other's attacks so fast that their movements blurred in the heavy downpour. For a while it seemed the fight was even but then she saw Cap being thrown at the wall of the building, crushing through it like it was made of cardboard, while his shield fell to the street below.

Steve was beginning to lose.

8

Wanda Maximoff has never done anything as grueling as this.

All of her muscles, each fiber of her mind, were struggling to maintain the connection between Natasha's mind and Steve's. She didn't even know if all that would work. The infinity stone HYDRA used to enhance her and her brother provided her with powerful but unstable abilities, she was still learning to had never thought she'd have to decide the fate of an Avenger, let alone two at the same time.

The plan she told Natasha about had an extremely high chance of failure for a number of reasons. The death wasn't the worst of them because even if they did succeed in freeing Steve from whatever was holding him prisoner, Wand still had to bring them both back.

If not, well, she'd have to live with the guilt of trapping two living people in a place that didn't actually exist.

9

"Arrogance may not be a uniquely American trait, but I must say, you do it better than anyone." Red Skull punched the soldier in the face, feeling as Steve's lips crushed under his fist. "There are limits to what even you can do or did Erskine tell you otherwise?"

Steve spat blood onto the dusty floor, covered in fragments of bricks and broken planks.

"He told me you were insane." The soldier responded quietly, gathering himself up from his knees.

"In that case, what made you so special, Captain?"

Albeit with great difficulties, Steve managed to smile. "Nothing. I'm just a kid from Brooklyn."

The next second Red Skull delivered a blow so fast that Captain couldn't have blocked it, even if he held his shield. Steve was thrown out of the hole in the wall, onto the rain-soaked street below. The impact was so powerful that it formed a deep crater, filled with crushed asphalt and twisted water pipes. In the centre of this chaos, covered in mud and unresponsive, was lying Steve Rogers.

Johann Schmidt was steadily approaching Steve, when suddenly he stood dead in his tracks.

"Wait. I've seen this." He observed the crater and still body of the soldier, his expression confused as if he was struggling to remember something important. "I stand here, right here, and I'm supposed to say something, yes. I say..." Red Skull's vicious eyes locked on Steve again. "... everything that has a beginning has an end, Captain."

The lightning struck yet again, but then Steve wearily fluttered his eyes open. He rolled from his back to his side and started to get up very slowly, clutching pieces of rubble to support himself.

"Why do you do it, Captain? Why get up, why keep fighting? Do you believe you're fighting for something? For more than your survival? Do you even know what it is?" Schmidt's expression was becoming more and more furious. He brutally kicked Steve, sending him onto the muddy ground.

"Well, I must say I am disappointed in you, I believed Erskine created someone more than that, a being of higher purpose. But now I know I was clearly mistaken and you do not differ much from the regular cattle, because only a feeble human mind could invent something as insipid as love. You must be able to see it, Rogers, you must know it by now! It's pointless to keep fighting!"

The soldier gathered what little strength he still had left and stood from his knees once more. Steve's eyes shifted towards Natasha, looking directly into hers, through the curtain of cold rainfall. For the first time in almost a year, his lips tugged into that dorky smile of his. "Because I choose to."

Schmidt's face was a disgusting red mask, void of any emotions apart from rage.

The last thing Steve saw wasn't his enemy though, but a pair of green eyes, surrounded by a crown of fiery red hair. In that moment furious shouts of the Red Skull ceased and everything around went white.

A/N: This chapter definitely had to be rewritten in a few places and I'm glad I managed to do so. I hope you found time to re-read it and I'd greatly appreciate any feedback. As for the quotes in this chapter, I borrowed them from the Matrix Trilogy by Wachowski Brothers, if anyone's interested. / WS