"Hand over the shield," ordered Steve in a low voice as he cautiously rounded a shady corner. This the fourth hallway he'd followed to the end; the HYDRA base felt like a maze - and the directions in which he found himself going were confusing and disorienting. He had an inkling it was meant to be that way. But as he found himself in front of a lone HYDRA agent who happened to be carrying his shield, the uneasy feeling that this was all planned out overcame him once again. The job should be hard - when it wasn't, there was usually something up. He wouldn't be completely surprised if the man just handed it to him - the way things had been going, it almost wouldn't seem out of place.
"You don't really think I'd just give it to you, right?" came the muffled reply, its owner unphased by Steve pointing a pistol at his head.
That sounded more like it. "If you wanna to it the hard way, let's do it the hard way," said the soldier, feeling a strange sense of relief in the challenge. Steve slid his gun into its holster and delivered a sound blow to his opponent's stomach, sending him stumbling back a few paces. A fury of kicks and punches from both sides followed, Steve mostly focused on grabbing his shield and getting on with the mission. But that didn't mean he couldn't have a little fun along the way….
"You know, you could've used it to your advantage there," he commented, nodding to the shield as the agent held his right shoulder and let out a groan. "Just because you've got it in your left hand doesn't mean only that side of you's protected," he continued, kneeing the man to the floor and regaining his beloved hunk of vibranium. "I guess we can both agree that the shield is more useful to the hands that trained for it."
"You don't deserve that shield," growled the man from his coiled position on the chilled floor. "Never have, never will," he hissed with the last breath he could gather before slumping into an unconscious heap.
The veteran nodded slowly and cast a weary glance on the agent. "I trained for it," he said quietly. "And in the beginning, I wanted it." With a heavy sigh he shook his head as a pang of buried guilt and regret stung in his mind. "I never said I earned it," he muttered, shaking himself out of the flashes of memory that had overcome him in the moment. He was on duty. It was time to move on.
Steve stepped back and inspected his shield, handling it easily and checking for any added HYDRA gadgets. As far as he could tell, it was the same as ever. Traces of a grin played across his face. It was good to have the old thing back.
As he prepared to continue, the Captain bristled. Something - or someone - was watching. Surveillance cameras? Not that he could tell. What was giving him the feeling that -
"Okay, man, I just gotta say - the way you took out that dude just now - that was super epic. I mean, you are a super-human, so obviously it was super, but what I'm trying to say is….Well, I'm just so excited to be here! Like, I'm still not over being accepted into the team - such a big fan!"
Steve frowned. "Mr. Lang, what are you doing here? And where are you?"
"Scott, Cap. It's Scott." A tiny figure jumped off the fallen man's helmet and in a moment transformed into the human-sized Antman.
"Who called you in?"
"The bird dude, who else?"
"Y'know, for a guy who went on two tours, Sam doesn't seem too keen on following orders," muttered Steve, unsurprised but unamused. "Alright, well, I guess I could use your help. Do you have any information regarding where they're keeping Bucky?"
Wow, I'm surprised he admitted he needed help. That's a first, interjected Sharon over Scott's headpiece. Tell him as far as we know, Bucky's in the northeast corner of the building, in or near what appears to be the weaponry room. And tell him to watch his back - HYDRA has sharp eyes and sharp ears; a little more stealth would be advisable.
Scott related the message easily, his smile tinged with awe-struck pride. It was still hard to reconcile that he was in the big leagues now, but boy was he enjoying it!
"Who else is she planning on sending in?" asked Steve with a somewhat irritated sigh. He had given up on the idea that either Sharon or Sam would let him go in solo.
Scott paused to listen for the answer, then he gave the Captain a sly look. Well, as sly a look as he could pull off with a giant grin still plastered on his face. "She said you'll have to wait and see."
Steve rolled his eyes. "Of course she did," he grumbled. "No one ever wants to be cooperative around here."
Scott smirked. "She says she loves you too."
"Heh. Wish I heard that more often," said the soldier under his breath. "Alright, Scott, suit up - or size down. Or whatever the heck you need to do so we can keep moving."
"Got it!" came the reply as his companion shrunk down to ant-size and hopped into Steve's glove. From there, he ran up the Captain's arm and alighted on his shoulder. "Let's win this thing!" he shouted, his tiny voice filled with enthusiasm.
"I was never planning on losing."