-Spiders-
The weeks leading up to Shuri's call he remembers being long and grueling.
It had taken nearly 4 weeks to finally hunt down any leads. Sam had played his part well. Keeping up the 'my best friend is lost act' worked well. The news and media ate it up enough that even a kid of the name peter parker had called Sam one day. Zemo had promptly handed over the phone and mister Wilson took the call quietly. He had figured out who this parker kid was quickly after. Dang heroes, they didn't need anyone else in the way to mess up their plans.
Many others called including his damned sister, every single day to check in on his metal health and make sure he was still eating. Apparently, the new Captain America had a thing for stress eating.
Sam was in fact cool as a cucumber any time he wasn't on the phone or doing anything for the media etc. He couldn't have said the same for himself. Had anyone seen him over the past weeks they wouldn't have recognized him anyways.
Week one had been terrible. Wilson had let him sleep near 17 hours before he had woken up in a panic before he was let in on the Wakandans tracking bullshit. He had proceeded to try and leave several times wanting to try and track down more leads on his own. Wilson had even tackled him more than once to the god damned floor. His usual calm demeanor gone.
He was a total mess.
He was eventually convinced to take sleeping pills to help him get some rest. It hadn't been something he had ever needed. Not even after the events of Sokovia. At least then he had been able to take action, make plans…. something, he cried and cried into a pillow until the darkness overtook him.
The rest of the first week proceeded much the same.
The second week Wilson helped him with a disguise and bleached then dyed his hair. he had also grown out his facial hair enough to almost have a full beard. This would have to be enough for him to go out in public because he had been going stir crazy.
Wilson had questioned how he managed for so long in prison. The only answer he could give him dignified enough was
"The last time I loved someone this much, I was the reason the Avengers nearly ripped each other apart, or don't you remember?"
He hadn't questioned him after that. That was the moment he had agreed to help him bleach his hair.
Weeks 3 and 4 had taken him all over and around every single inch of the town looking for any little tip he could find. Captain America couldn't just fly around and constantly be looking for a single missing person. He had a few other smaller missions he was forced to leave on.
Late one night Wilson came home frustrated as ever. Grumbling over the fact the mission he had been sent on was so stupid, he had been sent on a lead to find Zemo, which had been an entire farce, but he had to pretend the entire day to not know anything. Redirect the people he was supposed to be working for.
It had been the first night he had almost cracked a smile in weeks. Almost. The tiny smirk on his lips most certainly didn't count.
Week 4 ended in spectacular fashion. Within moments of Shuri calling to give them their first substantial lead of a small vibranium 'deposit' that was in a strange place, Sam had gotten a myriad of calls and tests to check the news.
On the tv there had been a shaky helicopter news feed showing 2 people jumping from roof top to roof top. 2 large explosions followed. It then switched to a bystander's cell phone footage.
They had somehow gotten a clear enough video showing the Winter soldier sliding down the side of a building, metal hand scraping the walls and jumping back and forth before gun shots rang out and the man dove behind a dumpster. A blurred figure then ran past hot on Bucky's heels in a flash of blonde hair, and black boots.
He stumbled hard forward letting his hand drag down the tv. Landing on the frozen image of the man he loved. A quite sob escaped him as he heard Sam Wilson scrambling behind his to get the lap top open with the info Shuri was now relaying them.
Their tracking had taken to long and now James was out being forced to commit crimes again.
The news in the background faded into echoes of the news reporter going on about the winter Soldier.
Someone was hunting him now other than them. His mind had gone fuzzy and blank trying to get a grip on himself when Wilson grabbed him and started shaking him.
"Hey man! Zemo! SNAP OUT OF IT!" he shook him even harder, trying to get his attention and bring him back out of his own damn mind. "Shuri are you seeing this?" Sam yelled into the phone. "Yes, yes I bet you are getting the highway camera footage as we speak. Who is chasing our man Shuri!"
Zemo crawled over the laptop trying to follow along with the information dump Shuri was sending them. His mind went into overdrive reading as fast as he possibly could.
Files upon files coming up on the screen and something quickly caught his eye. He jumped up and grabbed the phone from Wilsons's hand.
"Shuri!" his voice came out rushed and desperate.
"Zemo?"
"The last file you just sent. Black Widow, she didn't survive Thanos, then why am I seeing the black widow signature communication signature!?"
He was sure he was right. Sam had often spoken of the fallen heroes that didn't come back after. And in his extensive research after the black widow released all her own files along with all of hydra's… well the Russian spy had her own signature of sorts. Especially in her communication records. And this was spot on identical.
"Yes, miss Romanoff did not make it back during the ordeal. But you're seeing her signature? Are you positive Baron?"
"Positive"
"Well, this is something I will have to dig into absolutely, right away. Something isn't adding up"
Bucky was sure he knew the woman chasing him. But he couldn't turn to ask her, her name. He was on a mission, on another back seat ride through another unlucky Winter soldier trip. At this point he had given up, along for the ride. He had been tasked a stupid menial job. Break in and erase records from a vault somewhere in New York. It had been an incredibly easy task for the soldier within him.
Taking out the cameras and security was a breeze for his skill set. He hadn't even had to kill anyone. It wasn't even guarded. He had wondered why this had been a mission for the winter soldier in the first place.
He had at first wondered if it had been a test. Then he had wondered if it was a joke to his new captor, or maybe he could have been setting a trap to lure out Sam or Zemo.
But that's when the crazy blonde bitch had come out of no where and given him a run for his money. Her clothes white jump suit already stained red in various places. Her hair neatly plaited into tight braids around her head almost making it look like a halo. She easily could have been an angel of death. She had known his moves and matched with her own. Almost easily taking him out. He figured if his physical body wasn't already battered and beaten from the torture, he could have easily taken her out. Well, that was his excuse at least for now.
That's when even the Winter Soldier had decided to run. He had obviously met his match, his mission completed anyways. The documents where forever deleted with the virus USB stick, he planted in the main frame.
Then a bomb went off and his discreet cover had been literally blown. He had planted it with as timer, as to blow the building AFTER he had already made it out. But this bat shit crazy woman had gone and ruined that plan.
She had screamed at him in Russian a lot. Her raspy voice reminding him of someone from a long time ago.
He knew his whole body hurt. Under his masks and gear he may look okay, however over the past weeks, months he wasn't sure how much time had passed with him strapped to that chair again.
It had hit him about the 3rd time he had been woken up to some kind of torture. This time it had been burning his only flesh arm. The smell of burning had woken him first.
It was an acrid smell he knew from long ago. It hit his nose with a moist feeling almost like wet earth and pig fat on a barbeque. He remembered the smell faintly from the few times he had blown up buildings that had simultaneously caught fire, his victims still inside burning alive.
The pain had taken hold not moments later. From about his mid forearm to just bellow his shoulder blade.
Even with his superhuman healing he had ben left with many new scars before he was sent on his first mission. When the words were spoken to activate him. he didn't have an ounce of fight left in his body to resist.
He had hung his head low and just accepted his fate to be controlled again. The first few times he had cried he had been left alone. He had felt so defeated at first, then it had been tears of pain, followed by tears of anger.
His team… Zemo, Sam… someone, anyone should have realized he wasn't where he belonged.
Yet no one had come for him.
He was alone again
Tortured
Broken
Alone.
notes:
I am so sorry for the delay for this chapter. I had horrible writers block, then saw black widow and JUST NEEDED to find a way to write in our new little spider. Yes you know its Yelena. The end is coming darlings. I will also be posting a new little story soon. something ive been working on to help with my writers block just some small prompt style stories.
Can't wait to get this one done.
