Author: Black Dragon on the Rocks/animealam

Rating: T

Pairing: None so far, mentions of one sided Steve/Peggy

Summary: The Universe stared at the boy for what seemed an eternity to him, only to change into a decrepit, dirty alley, and that was the last thing Steve saw before loosing consciousness. The small frail boy banished in a flash of blue flames. Be warned VERY AU Young Time Travelling genius tech savvy Steve.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Avengers, I'm just borrowing them. I'm using a good number of the movie dialogs, even if I added bits and pieces so some of them. So if something looks familiar they are obviously not mine, and belong to their respective owners.

Warnings: NOT SLASH, AU, Completely totally AU, Time Travel, Younger Steve, Violence, Adoption, Smart Steve, Technopaths, Technopath Tony, Technopath Steve, Canon Character Deaths, Minor Character Deaths, Swearing (Mostly Fury and Tony), OOC-ness, there are quite a lot of movie dialogs which I decided not to change but I did add my own twists and turns to make them a bit more interesting.

Characters: Steve Rogers, Tony Stark, Bruce Banner, Natasha Romanoff, Clint Barton, Thor, Nick Fury, Phil Coulson, Maria Hill, Sarah Rogers, mentions of Bucky, mentions of Peggy Carter, mentions of Howard Stark, mentions of Colonel Phillips, mentions of the Howling Commandos, Jarvis, Pepper, Happy, Rhodey

Timeline: Pre Avengers, Captain America: The First Avenger, Avengers, Post Avengers. I use the Marvel Cinematic Universe Timeline in Wikia for all date purposes.

Author's Note: This chapter is not as long as the previous ones, but it will probably be the norm for the following chapters. Thanks to those who have reviewed, I hope you like this chapter, and I probably post chapter 7 around Tuesday.

Total size without notes: 5,498

Keys:

"Speaking aloud."

'Thoughts'

'Name: /Mental interfacing between technopaths and/or tech'


Lightning Rods and Tin Cans

Steve landed in a forest, but it did not take him long to find where the Tin Can and the Lightning Rod were. The forest was practically alight with their fight, and the sounds of it reverberated all over the area as well. He trotted to them, and found a high vantage point.

When he saw they were about to start pounding the stuffing out of each other again, as well as destroying the whole forest, Steve decided to intervene. He threw off his shield to separate them. It ricocheted from Thor's head (what were Asgardians made of? A human would have been knocked out at the very least), to Iron Man's chest, then back to his waiting hand.

"Hey," he shouted to call their attention, and both turned to stare at him, their stances were very much like those of kids caught with their hands in the cookie jar. "That's enough!" He jumped off from the high point he had found, landing rather gracefully if he said so himself. "Now, I don't know what you plan on doing here," he told the blond.

"I've come here to put an end to Loki's schemes." The Asgardian responded.

"Then prove it," Steve challenged.

"Put that hammer down," he instructed.

"Yeah… No," Stark babbled. "Bad call, he loves his hammer." Then the Asgardian punched him hard, and it sent him flying out of the way.

"You want me to put the hammer down?" The Asgardian demanded, and Steve realized Stark had been right about the hammer. Then the huge blond attacked.

Thor jumped high and came crashing down atop Steve hammer first, who could do nothing more than raise the shield for protection and brace himself for impact. The clash between hammer and vibranium shield released a powerful shockwave, which the shield protected him from, but it devastated the perimeter. It was strong enough to send Thor flying, and the same happened with Iron Man.

"Are we done here?" Steve asked a bit shakily as they all somewhat made it to their feet.

They stared at each other looking rather abashed after they took in their surroundings. A good area of the forest around them was completely levelled; with the area where Steve had stood as the epicenter of the destruction.


Back on the Helicarrier

The rest of the flight had been done in silence. None of them were feeling the need to speak while they had other concerns in mind. Steve did notice the animosity between the brothers, as Loki would glare at Thor every once in a while. The blond giant just looked unhappy about it, but said nothing.

For his part, Stark seemed preocupied with the condition of his suit. It had taken a beating back in the forest, so he was running diagnostics with the help of his AI, JARVIS. Which was the reason why Steve did not try to link to the suit, or any of the electronics in the quinjet. That AI knew him from his attempt to infiltrate Stark Industries' mainframe.

Steve was sure JARVIS would recognize him, and he rather not reveal he was a time travelling technopath to anyone. Because it would not be too hard to put two and two together, as his attempted break in had been back in November, several months before he was found and defrosted. So as much as he wanted to know how the suit ran, he kept his mind to himself.

Once they were back in the helicarrier they moved to the bridge and the meeting table while Fury threatened Loki. They got a live feed and had the chance to observe their interaction. A gut feeling, and he had learnt to pay attention to those, kept telling Steve there was more going on.

Loki had to have something in mind, because to Steve it seemed the Asgardian actually wanted to be captured, like it was part of his plan all along. Like Loki was not just a decoy to cover the iridium theft. Why else had he not escaped back in the forest when he still had the chance? The Asgardian had simply stayed there, observing amused while Thor and Iron Man had a go at each other.

Even caged, as he was at the moment, Loki clearly thought he had the upper hand. He knew he was being watched, information which he most likely obtained from Barton, and played to the camera like a diva would. Practically lapping up the attention.

It bothered Steve that Loki was trying to put a wedge between SHIELD and the members of the team assembled to retrieve the Tesseract. Because, while he was not saying the name out loud, Loki clearly pointed out the cage where he was had been made to contain the Hulk. Or at least attempt to do so.

Steve could see the comment made doctor Banner slightly uneasy, but also doubtful. Like he did not believe such a cage would be able to contain the Hulk. He was also inclined to believe it would not, the green giant was incredibly powerful and strong. Despite the uneasiness, the scientist chose to say nothing about the Asgardian's implications.

Thor, the brother, looked thoughtful. He was the one Steve needed to talk to as he would know his brother best. Perhaps the blond Asgardian would shed some useful information about Loki's plans, or at least his normal M.O.

"How desperate are you, that you call on such lost creatures to defend you?" Loki was telling Fury with disdain in his voice.

It was clear to Steve the Asgardian had inside information on the members of the Avengers Initiative, which he only knew about because of last night's hacking. But then Fury did consider agent Barton as a possible member for the team before the initiative was scrapped.

As he watched Fury and Loki, Steve had deployed his code again, but had it ignore the cloaked servers until he could dedicate it more of his attention. As his code started doing its job, he spared a moment to wonder just how much inside information about SHIELD was Barton privy to, and how damaging it would be for them in the hands of their enemy. Steve would have also liked to know what went on in the meeting Fury held earlier, but was aware the man was not going to tell him anything.

"How desperate am I? You threaten my world with war. You steal a force you can't hope to control." Fury was telling the Asgardian, but to Steve Loki looked too confident and amused at those words. He might actually be able to control the Tesseract, and it probably was not just bluffing. "You talk about peace, and you kill because it's fun. You have made me very desperate. You might not be glad that you did."

"Ooooh," Loki began mockingly. "It burns you to have come so close." And Steve's knew his next words might confirm his suspicions, or at least give him more clues about what SHIELD was doing with the Tesseract. "To have the Tesseract, to have power, unlimited power. And for what? 'A warm light for all man kind to share?' And then to be reminded what real power is."

Steve knew then and there. Using the Cube to provide an unlimited source of energy for the world was the least thing in Fury's mind; contrary to what the man implied when he presented the mission to him last night. Hell, SHIELD clearly never intended for anyone to learn the Cube had been found and retrieved, much less to use it for the purpose Fury tried to sell to him.

Then there was still the question as to what, an agency such as theirs would want with the Tesseract. They had it in their hands for over fifty years, and from what he read they had not done much with it. A the moment the only thing Steve could think of was to use it for the same reason HYDRA did back in the forties. To make weapons.

Steve mentally linked with to Thelma again, which he had in the back pack at his feet under the table, along with Wyatt. He then deployed a search algorithm into the Helicarrier's mainframe to locate any information about weapons development, as well as production of them, based on the Tesseract as an energy source.

He made sure his search would run hidden behind the many processes running on their mainframe. It would be slow going, and would take much longer to get answers, but Steve was not ready for SHIELD to find out someone was snooping around their systems. Specially when that 'someone' was on board the Helicarrier.

"Well, let me know if 'real power' wants a magazine or something." Fury mocked as he made his way out of the cage room. But to Steve it was clear the Asgardian got a little too close with his jab.

"He really grows on you, doesn't he?" Banner commented once the live feed was cut. He had remained standing, and while he had appeared absent, it was clear he was indeed paying close attention to what transpired in the detention block.

"Loki's gonna drag this out," Steve told them. There was no doubt in his mind. The Asgardian was clearly enjoying antagonizing them too much to be any good for them.

"So, Thor, what's his play?" He asked the Asgardian.

"He has an army called the Chitauri," Thor began thoughtfully. "They're not of Asgard, nor any world known."

Thor wondered how Loki managed to make contact with them, and get the chance to speak with their leader. What he did not wonder about was Loki's ability to talk whoever ruled the Chitauri into backing him up in his quest to conquer Midgard. His little brother had not earned the title of Silver Tongue for nothing.

"He means to lead them against your people. They will win them the Earth, in return I suspect for the Tesseract." He informed the midgardian.

"An army, from outer space," he turned to see Romanoff's reaction to that. There was a brief flash of… disbelief perhaps, before she schooled her features back to impassive.

'Okay, so alien invasion coming, which explains why he needs the Tesseract. He needs it to open a portal.' He was a science fiction geek, he believed in aliens, was actually speaking with one, and fought another. Still, accepting an alien invasion was imminent was… hard. It did not bode well for the Earth's inhabitants. They were not ready to deal with something like that.

At Thor's words Steve remembered the portal the Tesseract opened for the Red Skull. It was not big enough for the whole plane, and it was clearly not stable. The portal lasted no more than five minutes before it closed again. Loki was clearly aware of this limitation.

Doctor Selvig was probably the key to make it larger and sustainable, and it was the reason why Loki kidnapped him. But the doctor's notes did not reveal he had that much information about how to accomplish it.

Although, if his suspicions were right, and Loki had had control over Selvig since Puente Antiguo, then… Well the man might have chosen to misdirect SHIELD with his notes and research. He could very well have found a way to estabilize the portal, or the Asgardian himself could have provided the information.

"So he's building another portal. That's what he needs Erik Selvig for." Banner reached the same conclusion Steve had.

"Selvig?" Thor asked sounding a bit concerned.

"He's an astrophysicist," Banner explained.

"He's a friend," Thor told them.

Steve knew the Asgardian had met Selvig, and doctor Jane Foster, when he first came to Earth almost a year ago. The fact Thor considered Erik Selvig a friend was reason enough for an angry brother to target him, and they knew a severe case of sibling rivalry had been the cause for much of the destruction in the small town. The animosity Loki directed at Thor also supported the theory of the first trying to cause harm through Thor's friends

"Loki's had him under some kind of spell," Romanoff finally spoke and was showing some emotion on her face. Steve had noticed she kept them from showing. "Along with two of ours." She was finally taking into consideration agent Phelps had also been taken, although clearly Barton was the more important to her.

"I'm curious Thor, did Loki happen to visit you at some point while you were at Puente Antiguo?" Steve asked and he got sharp looks from Romanoff, Hill, and even Banner. Now that they knew the town was something all three men had in common, it clearly was not hard for them to deduct where he was going with his question.

"Verily, he did visit, when I was a prisoner of the SHIELD. Loki came to inform me the Allfather had fallen into the Odin sleep," Thor responded frowning a bit.

Thor was not a stupid man, and could imagine where the midgardian was going with that question. Much as he wanted to believe Loki would not resort to using his friends to hurt him, Thor knew he was quite capable of it. Unfortunately Loki had always been vindictive, and patient enough to wait for the right time to carry whatever revenge he planned.

"Did he stay long?" Steve asked next.

"Nay, he was only in the room for a short time," he admitted thoughtfully.

"Legends mention your brother is a powerful sorcerer," he began, "so, is there a way he could have stayed without you, or anyone else noticing? Also, is there a…" Steve paused searching for the right word, "spell which allows him to control people from a distance?" Agent Hill actually startled at this last question.

"Loki is indeed one of Asgard's most powerful magic users, second only to our mother, Queen Frigga," Thor admitted. His eyes looked far away for a moment as he remembered some of the tricks his little brother used to play on him when they were children. "He is very capable of moving about unseen, it was actually one of his favorite tricks as a child.

"Son of Rogers I believe from your last question you want to know if Loki has had Erik and your people under his control since I was last here, correct?"

"Yes Thor, that would be correct."

"Sorcery is not something I am well versed in," he began slowly. "But I do know there is one such a spell. A foul spell which requires much power. Loki is indeed powerful, but even he would not be able to control three people from the Void. He fell shortly after I went back to Asgard, and we had believed him dead."

"How about just one person?" Natasha asked realizing where Rogers was going with those questions.

"Verily, one midgardian would be within his ability to control from afar, and for such a long period of time. The SHIELD's people he took are warriors, and warriors are usually stronger willed, as well as wary. They would be harder to control for such a lenght of time and distance; but Erik is… More friendly and trustful… You suspect he was controlling Erik since then?"

"He seems the most likely person Thor," Steve told him. "Because how else did Loki know Selvig was the one he needed to work on a sustainable portal?" Steve voiced what was on his mind and got stares from everyone. "It's clear to me from what information I was given, which was pitiful actually," he said directing a pointed look at both agents Hill and Coulson, "that Loki especifically targeted him.

"The others might still be a coincidence now that you have confirmed Loki could not have kept under his control more than one person; and I don't think there would have been a way for him to know agents Barton and Phelps would be in the Tesseract room when he arrived.

"Loki most likely just seized the opportunity to get some useful minions under his control. But Selvig was the lead scientist studying the Cube. So he would have been where the Tesseract was."

"I do not like where you're going Captain," Maria said frowning. "Doctor Selvig has been in charge of the Tesseract's research since the events at Puente Antiguo."

"This could mean whatever information doctor Selvig reported he obtained from the Cube might not be accurate," Bruce was frowning as well, "or he could have omitted crucial developments in his research."

This could be a terrible set back. Bruce would have to double check all data from Selvig's work. The research the astrophysicist had done on the Cube had been extensive, and it might well take him over a month to go through every reading and test reported. But without the Tesseract he could not confirm the readings obtained were one hundred percent accurate.

"And that would be a problem doctor Banner?" Maria wanted to know. They were on a time constraint to locate the Cube. Specially if Loki was planning an invasion.

"It could be, but I won't know for certain until I start analyzing the scepter's gem," Bruce told her.

"So Thor," Steve began thoughtfully, "we've established your brother is a powerful sorcerer, for this reason I want to know why Loki let us take him. He could have escaped easily. In fact, he actually had the opportunity to do so while Iron Man and you were having that disagreement down in the forest, yet he did not leave, why didn't he? Because it's obvious he's not leading an army from here," He pointed out.

"I don't think we should be focused on Loki," Bruce informed them. Their priority should be locating and retrieving the Tesseract. "That guy's brain is a bag full of cats. You can smell crazy on him." The Other Guy actually did smell it, and disliked it immensely.

"Have care how you speak." Thor did not like what Banner implied. "Loki is beyond reason, but he is of Asgard, and he's my brother."

"He killed eighty people in two days," Natasha pointed out matter of factly. Face expressionless.

"He's adopted," Thor changed his tune so fast Steve was hard pressed not to snort, and he was not the only one.

"I think it's about the mechanics. Iridium, what do they need the iridium for?" Bruce thought aloud.

"It's a stabilizing agent."

Steve muttered to himself at the same time Stark, who was coming into the bridge with Coulson, said the same thing. They all heard him though, and they stared rather dumbfounded at the fact he actually seemed to know not only what iridium was, but what it could be used for.

"What?" Steve asked defensively and more than slightly uncomfortable. He was not an idiot, and never had been.

Steve decided then and there he was not going to hide the fact he did have more brains than they gave him credit for. Being treated like he barely had two brain cells to rub together was getting tiresome. Besides, if they knew some of what he was capable of, he might have a chance to study the scepter, and see if it shared any properties with the gem he had. Because he had never seen any HYDRA weapon used to mind control anyone.

"Contrary to what 'some' people think," he pinned everyone with a challenging glare. "I'm not a fossil from the Cretaceous period, and thus I did not find out what Iridium was because of it."

Stark and Banner let out surprised chuckles at his comment, and there were a few scattered snickers from some of the consoles operators. They clearly understood his reference to the dinosaurs' extinction, as well as the fact iridium was what delimited the end of that period and era. It was found in larger concentrations in that geological limit, as it had been part of the comet, or meteor, that crashed on Earth then. Yeah, he had been a nerd with an incredible memory, so sue him.

"I also read the information packet left at my apartment last night. Unfortunately someone decided to leave out relevant information from mine." He glared again at Coulson and Hill. The others kept staring, and since they were already shocked why not add to it? Steve turned to Banner. "I had to do research on my own."

Those part of the meeting were nearly gaping, which made him angrier. He directed a challenging look at each and every one of them, then he went on keeping his temper on a tight leash. There was no use in snapping at them, as he did know not even a fourth of what the SSR had about Captain America had been digitized; but someone should have unearthed those records, and read them after he was found alive.

"Fascinating and very useful thing, the Internet," he mused to throw them off a bit, and by their perplexed looks it worked. They clearly did not expect him to know what it was, much less how to use the search features available. "Anyway, it was not hard to find the research papers you published doctor Banner.

"They look to be very interesting, and I look forward to reading them at leasure, unfortunately due to time constrains I only had the chance to skim the one on the research you did on gamma radiation. I found it quite relevant to the task at hand doctor."

"What could you know about gamma radiation Rogers?" Maria asked voice filled with disbelief. The man had already proven he was extremely observant, and quite capable of seeing the bigger picture, but for him to be able to understand science as well?

"Apparently more than you think I do Ma'am. Nuclear physics was indeed in its infancy back then, but I had a part time job at the physics labs at Columbia University before I joined the army. I specifically worked at Doctor Isaac Rabi's lab," Steve told them as this was something the SSR knew about.

After Phillips realized he knew science, he had to inform them of all the science related things he had done, as well as give them a detailed list of what he had patented up until then. The information was probably in those files SHIELD had yet to digitalize.

"Who?" Maria did not have a clue who that was but both Banner and Stark were looking rather astounded.

"Doctor Rabi won the Physics Nobel prize in the forties. He developed techniques for using nuclear magnetic resonance to discern the magnetic moment and nuclear spin of atoms." Bruce had been very interested in Rabi's work when he began his career in Physics, which was why he remembered him.

"He also worked on the radar, and with my father in Project Manhattan," Tony added. "What did you do for him Capsicle?"

"I began with the cleaning crew," he admitted, "but he caught me correcting a couple of equations the students assisting him did wrong. After he assessed me I was hired to test and double check their equations, and assist with documenting his experiments."

"You know advanced mathematics and physics Captain?" Bruce asked surprised.

"Of course I do! You don't think I just throw my shield around praying 'hit the target, hit the target and come back to me' each time I throw it, do you?" He asked raising an eyebrow, the sarcasm quite evident in his voice.

"You don't?" Tony asked rather shocked. He had actually seen the man use that shield to hit Point Break, then him, and then it ricocheted back to the Capsicle's hands, all with just one throw. It had been rather impressive, although he would not admit it aloud.

Steve glared at Stark. "I don't. I calculate trajectory, angle of throw and of impact, wind and surface resistance, plus the force required, and the desaccelerating factor each time it makes contact with a target."

"And you do this so fast no one notices," Bruce was impressed, and he could see Romanoff, Hill, and Coulson had dumbfounded expressions. It seemed no one took the time to think just how Captain America managed those impressive throws, which were actually his signature fighting style.

"Yes, it did take me a couple of weeks to get fast enough to avoid wasting time. But then, getting shot is a rather good incentive." That got him a few winces.

"We went off track, you were telling us about how you know about gamma radiation Captain," Maria tried to get everyone to focus.

"Howard was involved with Project Manhattan, and I was his sounding board for anything not classified above a level nine in the SSR, which by the way I was, a level nine that is," he pointed out.

"I was really not aware you were more than a member of the army Captain Rogers." History painted that man as more brawn and heart than brains with the exception of his tactical abilities, of which they already had an impressive demonstration earlier.

"Clearly someone did not do their homework agent Hill, or maybe someone forgot to digitalize the reports where it's proven I do have a brain, and know how to use it." Stark and Banner snorted, while Romanoff was staring at him like he was a Rubik cube that had stumped her for hours on end. "I was the SSR's 'specialist' on HYDRA weapons.

"I don't mean just operating them Ma'am. It was part of my job to analize them when I had time in between missions. Time which was something Colonel Phillips tried to provide so I had more chance to reverse engineer them, and replicate the weapons if possible.

"The HYDRA weapons were powered by small concentrations of plasma extracted from the Cube, like it, they emitted gamma radiation. It was low level, and non lethal. Which I can't say with any accuracy if it applies to the Tesseract as well since the only times I was close to it, I was battling the Red Skull."

"It seems someone did forget to report you were a physicist and mathematician in your spare time Captain," Maria said rather impressed.

She and Coulson had read Rogers' files thoroughly since he was found; but then, they had only accesssed the files available in the database. There was absolutely no mention of the Captain working with Nobel prize Physicists, doing science with Howard Stark, or studying HYDRA weapons in his spare time.

Hell, there was no information on Rogers having a higher education than High School, and maybe Art School. Because according to those files, the Captain had worked as a freelance artist for a publicity agency. But perhaps Fury had found something in the paper files he had been going through before the incident at the Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S. Installation.

"I'm not, at least not a formal one." They kept staring, and he sighed.

Clearly there were glaring omissions even in the SSR's top secret files. He understood not revealing that aspect of him to the public, it was not the image the USO wanted to project. But the internal Strategic Scientific Reserve's files should have mentioned his work. They knew his background, as well as his credentials. He had recommendation letters not only from doctor Rabi, but from a few others he had worked for as well.

"Look, there were no real opportunities back then for an orphan from Brooklyn to attend college, despite having tested out of High School at twelve.

"The City College of New York was free, yes, but I had to work all day, and sometimes nights to help keep a roof over our heads, and pay the medical bills. Bucky was the one who took care of making sure we ate at least once a day.

"But the fact there were no opportunities for me to get a formal education does not mean there were no other ways of learning available if I was interested, which I was. The library was free, and as I already said labs needed cheap assistants."

"You are self taught," Banner said with respect coating his words.

"Yes I am, since I was four, and on a good number of subjects by the way." He was telling no lies, only twisting the truth so he would not be called on it if it came out. While he had tutors when he was being home schooled, Steve had done much of his advanced studies on his own.

"Are any of your notes on the HYDRA weapons available?" Banner asked curiously. "They might be relevant, specially now that we're uncertain as to the veracity of doctor Selvig's reports on the Cube and its abilities." Stark stared at him sharply, like this was news to him, which it probably was since he had not been in the bridge when it was discussed earlier. "Besides, you actually worked with something which came from it, even if you were not able to study the Tesseract directly."

"I don't know doctor Banner. The SSR kept all of my work on HYDRA, and the large majority of the gear I designed for the Commandos to use on the field. Do you happen to know what became of them agent Hill?"

"No I don't," she lied, "but I'll have someone check on it."

Truth be told they did have "someone's" research notes, an astounding number of very detailed schematics, and even several prototypes of Tesseract powered weapons. The notes had been discovered last year, shortly after the Puente Antiguo incident.

Those notes had provided the breakthrough needed to advance their research on the Cube. They also had some tools and equipment that had to be designed to work with the HYDRA weapons, because back then they did not have anything they could use.

Those designs (weapons, tools, and equipment) were way ahead of their time. They had assumed those were made by either Howard Stark, although the man never mentioned them (which was strange for a Stark), or by some other SSR scientist. Because they were not creditied to anyone.

The weapons schematics had been used without changes to create most of the weapons prototypes for Phase Two, and they happened to be on board the helicarrier. She was not sure Rogers would be pleased to know his designs had been used without his permission.

"I was under the impression Howard Stark was the one who designed the Howling Commandos' gear." Maria asked to distract them from the notes. Natasha narrowed her eyes at her, clearly noticing her misdirection, but said nothing.

It seemed there was a lot of information missing on Rogers' file. No where was it written the Captain was a genius that might have actually surpassed Howard Stark. Testing out of High School at twelve was no small feat, even in the 1940s.

Then there were the schematics for the Phase two weapons. Their scientists and developers believed whoever designed them was a visionary, because none of the technology necessary to produce those weapons had been available in the 1940s.

Maria had to wonder why there was no mention of Rogers research on HYDRA weapons. It was something important, which should have been a priority to digitalize, specially after Howard Stark had found and retrieved the Tesseract. She also wondered why no one had given the Captain credit for his scientific work either. Had it been because he did not have a diploma to prove a higher education unlike the other brains in the SSR?

"He did a few things for us, the shield and my first uniform included, but he had to deal with the rest of the Army requests, and Project Manhattan to booth. Howard simply didn't have the time. He and I became friends because we had interests in common, and we understood the same language. It was not because we traded fondue recipes.

"Since he was too overwhelmed with requests, I took over the responsibility of outfitting my team. Colonel Phillips approved it after they saw in action the telescopic sight I made for Bucky's rifle."

"He was Sergeant Barnes, the Commandos sniper?" Romanoff asked for confirmation, although Steve was sure she already knew.

The original sight and the rifle were actually in a museum in Washington if he was not wrong. Bucky had not taken it on their last mission, as a sniper would not be needed. He had made it as a parting gift before they shipped him to Europe.

"Yes, his full name was James Buchanan Barnes. He was my right hand, and one of the best snipers we had," Steve said with a lump in his throat. For them it was sixty-six years since Bucky died, but to him it was less than a month. With all that had happened to him, Steve had not had a chance to properly grieve for his older brother in all but blood.