Captain America: The Last Howling Commando

I knocked a soldier out and he fell on top of one of the cages. I dug through his pockets for the key.

"Who are you supposed to be?" A black man asked as I looked around, making sure no one was coming.

"I'm Captain America," I breathed. I didn't have a lot of time to explain.

"I beg your pardon?" A British voice said.

"What, are we taking everybody?" A man in a bowler hat said as I kept unlocking doors.

"I'm from Fresno, Ace." That made me smile.

"Is everybody here? I'm looking for a Sergeant James Barnes."

"There's an isolation ward in the factory, but no one's ever come back from there."

"All right." Sounds easy enough. "The tree line is northwest, 80 yards past the gate. I'll meet you guys in the clearing with anybody else I find."

"Wait. You know what you're doing?"

"Yeah." I nodded. "I've knocked Adolf H!tler out over 200 times."

I turned and kept walking. I searched the entire isolation ward that the man had spoken of but didn't find anything. As I was leaving, I stepped on something. I looked down and it was dog tags; James Buchanan Barnes. Bucky had been here. I continued to search, but thanks to the explosions and Schmidt, I didn't find any more evidence. I met with the soldiers in the clearing and we marched back to camp. Peggy met me there and we got everyone to the med tents.

"Did you find Sergeant Barnes?" She asked gently.

"No. Just these." I pulled them out of my pocket and held them up. "He was there. They were still warm when I found them. Like he had been holding them and dropped them on purpose."

"Perhaps. What do you want to do, Captain?"

"Not sure. I found some tech that I gave to Stark and a map with other HYDRA bases. One part of me knows that I have to help and destroy those bases. The other part wants to say 'forget it' and look for Bucky," I whispered.

"You can do both," she said, reminding me of an earlier conversation about options.

"What do you mean?"

"If HYDRA still has Barnes, then storming bases will count as looking for him. Search them before blowing them to kingdom come." Peggy shrugged, but I could see the tension.

"That makes sense. I'll need a team."

"Got anyone in mind?"

"Yeah. I do."

I glanced over to some of the men that I had saved; Dugan, Morita, Jones, Falsworth, and Dernier. All of us were from different countries and backgrounds, but I felt that they would want to get revenge and help with the war. In the small time that I had spent with them, I had come to like them even if they bickered.

It took a year before I found a real lead on Bucky; we captured a scientist named Armin Zola. He taunted me, mentioning Schmidt or Red Skull, but I didn't react. I didn't react when he talked about experimenting on the soldiers and how they had died. At least, I didn't until he said Bucky's name.

"Still looking for Sergeant Barnes?" He asked, tilting his head.

"Where is he?" I demanded, standing there.

"Captain. He is my patient and I am his doctor. There is a certain trust."

"Stop playing! Where is Barnes?"

"Getting some much needed maintenance."

"What does that mean?" I reached across the table and grabbed him by the lapels of his white coat.

He smiled wickedly and I tightened my hold.

"Have you ever been to Siberia, Captain?"

"What?" What was he talking about?

"There is a facility there. A certain someone has been waiting for you to save him. I wonder if you can."

"You son of a bitch!"

"Now, Captain." He shook his head.

I dropped him and stomped out of the room.

"How early can I leave for Siberia?" I asked Peggy.

"You know that is most likely a trap, correct?"

"I know, but I have to know if he is right."

"I understand, but you have to be smart about this."

"I have to be quick. Who knows what is happening to Bucky?"

"Alright. But we have to brief the Howlies."

"They aren't coming," I stated.

"What?" She turned toward me.

"This is a personal mission. I can't ask them to go."

"This is also about destroying a HYDRA base. I know you love running into things alone with fists flying and guns blazing, but if you have even the smallest chance in hell of saving your friend, then you will need your team." Peggy stopped and gave me a look, daring me to argue.

"Alright, Agent. Let's brief the team."

"Perfect."

I was surprised to see everyone step forward to help me with this; all of the Howlies, Peggy, and Howard would be coming with me. In the span of an hour, we had a plan in motion and were making our way there. Needing to be stealthy, we opted out of some crazy Stark aircraft. Instead, I would go first on a motorcycle so I could search the building. Shortly after, Dernier would get to do what he did best - blow things up. During that distraction, everyone would storm the building and get as many soldiers as possible. Using the chaos to my advantage, I would escape with Bucky. Luckily for my mood, no one mentioned the fact that Bucky may not even be there.

Wearing a brown leather jacket and khakis, I rode my motorcycle up to the facility. It was hidden expertly, appearing to be a huge hunk of rock, but nothing else. Getting close, I could just make out a door inlaid on the side of the rock. There were no guards standing outside of it, worrying me. The worry disappeared when I made it to the door, because shots fired around me. Using my new vibranium shield, none of the bullets hit me. Using the rock ledge as cover, I made it to the door and punched the lock. Before I could even get the door fully opened, soldiers were firing at me once again. Pulling out a gun, I shot around the corner and heard the bodies hit the ground.

I got the rest of the door opened and made my way inside. I had hit all of them and I didn't see anyone else. Due to my enhanced hearing, I heard commotion and voices coming from one section of the facility. Prepared for anything, I made my way there. The room that I found was positioned deep into the ground, leading to me hiding behind some equipment and able to look down. It was a good vantage point as I could see the entire room. A door on the side opened and I saw three soldiers dragging a man to the chair in the middle of the room. A man in a white lab coat was standing next to it, messing with the controls. They shoved the man into the chair, allowing me to see his face.

"Bucky?" I whispered to myself.

Afraid of them shooting him, I waited. I regretted that decision a few moments later. Shackles came up and wrapped around his body, locking him into the chair. A crude-looking halo came out and panels attached to his face. The scientist hit a button and Bucky's body began to convulse, causing him to scream.

"No!"

I jumped down from my hiding spot, throwing my shield at one of the soldiers. It cracked his head open and he fell. The other two soldiers started shooting at me. They yelled at the doctor in Russian. He turned over the machine and grabbed a red book. As I fought, I heard him reading words off. Unsure of why, I ignored them, focusing on the other soldiers that came flying into the room from the side door. I took down the last soldier, gasping. I pointed my gun at the scientist.

"Let Bucky go!" I ordered.

"Gladly." He smiled. I watched as he freed Bucky and stepped back. "Gotov, Soldat."

"What are you doing?" I looked back at Bucky, who made no move to get up or do anything.

"Gotov soblyudat'," I heard Bucky say in a deep, gravely voice.

"Buck?" I asked.

"Kill that man," the scientist said.

Before I could even comprehend the sentence, Bucky jumped up and flew at me. His fist hit the shield and the sound echoed out. I didn't hear the bones crack. Stepping back, he tried to kick me in the leg, but I jumped up.

"Bucky! It's me."

"That won't work, Captain!" The scientist laughed. "He only listens to me."

The fight continued, with us being evenly matched. I was tiring, which shocked me. It dawned on me then that Bucky was like me. A super soldier. They had somehow done it. Zola had been genuinely curious when he wondered if I could save Bucky. This had been a trap; Bucky was both bait and enemy. With that in mind, I knew that I had to get through to him or find a creative way to take him down.

"It's Steve!" Bucky punched me in the stomach and I stumbled backward. "Bucky!"

"Stop saying that!" He called in English. That was progress, I suppose.

"I'm your friend!"

"Shut up!"

He stepped back and shook his head as if trying to clear it. What had they done to him? Using my pause to his advantage, Bucky punched me hard in the face. I hit the ground and the shield fell out of my hand. He was on top of me, hitting me in the face repeatedly.

"You are Bucky Barnes!" I said. "And I'm Steve Rogers!"

"Stop talking."

With him this close to me, I could see his face. His hair was longer, with the bangs sticking to his forehead. There were bruises on his face from the chair. What caught my attention was the pained and confused facial expression. I understood both, but I wondered if they meant I was getting anywhere.

"I'm your best friend," I tried again.

"You are my mission."

Once again, I decided to do something stupid. I let my arms fall from his body to my sides. Relaxing, I stared at him and saw the confusion grow.

"Then do it. Because I'm with you until the end of the line."

"What?" He whispered, sounding like himself.

"I'm with you. I'm right here."

"Stevie?" He asked.

"Yeah."

"Kill him!" The scientist yelled.

Bucky's face became angry and he grabbed my shield. Twisting, he threw the shield, hitting the scientist in the neck. I heard the sickening crunch and the man went down. He turned back and looked down at me.

"What's going on?" He asked.

"Good question. I was wondering the same thing."

He crawled off of me and wrapped his arms around himself.

"I was going to kill you."

"But you didn't. Let's get out of here."

"Okay." He nodded.

Groaning, I stood up and helped him up. I wrapped his left arm around my shoulder and started to walk. I stopped to grab the red book the scientist had read from. It had to be important.

"I was afraid that you were dead," I said.

"I thought you were smaller."

"Well, I joined the Army."

"What happened to you?" He whispered, sounding scared.

"Serum. Nothing too bad." I would have shrugged, but I couldn't move my shoulders.

"Did it hurt?" Bucky's voice was still quiet.

"A little."

"Is it permanent?"

"So far." We had never really discussed that. It was just assumed that it would be.

"Did they…? Were you…wiped?" His voice was so quiet that I almost didn't hear him.

"No!" I said. "Not like in there."

Bucky was afraid that I had been wiped and tortured like him. After everything that he had been through, he was worried about me. The stupid jerk. I dragged him through the facility and out into the snow. I saw the Howlies standing around.

"Cap! You found Sarge!" Jones said, smiling.

"Yeah."

It hit me that I had done it. I had found Bucky and he was alive. He was safe, even if a little confused and injured.

"Who are they?" He asked.

"My team, the Howling Commandos."

"Your team?"

"Well, now it's yours too. If you want."

"I'll think about it."

"Sure, pal."

"Let's go, punk." He cracked a smile and I felt like everything would be alright.

THE END

Russian: (By Google Translate - Sorry).

Gotov, Soldat: Ready, Soldier.

Gotov soblyudat: Ready to comply.