Chapter 3
By: MysticFantasy
.
.
A/N: I was in such a good mood when I discovered what Captain America 2 will be about that I just got inspired to write another chapter so soon. Hope you like it.
.
.
Tony easily noticed the limp that Clint had as he slowly walked into the living room. He was puzzled by this sudden limp but didn't bother to ask why. He knew Clint well enough that it must have been received by doing something he shouldn't have been doing.
And it was most likely related to the Black Widow which was why Tony wasn't asking any questions.
"Where's Thor? It's quiet." Clint asked.
"He went to see Jane for a while." Bruce answered. "Said he'd be back in a few days."
"Any word from Fury yet?" the archer asked slowly easing himself onto the sofa.
"Nothing yet." Bruce answered with his eyes on Clint. He also noticed the new limp but, like Tony, knew better than to ask.
"Steve told me that the guy sounded familiar to him." Clint said. "Said that the guy sounded like someone he knew."
"How is that possible?" Bruce asked as Tony went to sit on the armchair.
"Almost everyone from his time is gone and whoever is left is not exactly in the fighting shape." Tony added.
"Don't ask me. That's what Steve said." Clint replied.
"This whole Winter Soldier thing is really getting to him." Bruce said. "It may even because of his PTSD that he thinks this assassin is someone he knows."
"Gotta be some pretty strong set backs for that." Tony said. "From what my dad told me when I was a kid, Steve never came across assassins and none of the enemies even came close to sounding like this Winter Soldier character."
"Is there another way that we can try to figure out who this guy is?" Clint asked.
"Until we get our hands on that list Fury is making, there's nothing we can do." Bruce answered.
"What if we do something to help the old man?" Tony suggested. "That was a close call the other night. I doubt that a single bullet could do much damage to Steve but still..."
"What should we do?" Bruce asked. "Steve won't agree to something unless it's a group thing."
"Then we'll make it a group thing but make sure that he's the center of attention." Tony said. "Let's take him to Coney Island. He told me he use to go there back in the day."
"Think he'd be up for it?" Clint asked. "Isn't that where he'd go with his friend?"
"Bucky." Tony answered. "He might be against it at first but if the whole group wants to go to relax then he'll do it."
"Worth a shot." Bruce said. "He's the leader of the team and he needs to relax. If he keeps going the way he does then it won't be good for him mentally."
"Good. It's agreed." Tony said getting up. "Let's go tell him. Do they still have senior citizen discounts?"
Clint chuckled as he got up and Bruce shook his head with an amused smile. If Tony wasn't careful, sooner or later, Steve would put him in his place.
.
l~*~*~*~*~*l~*~*~*~*~*l~*~*~*~*~*l
l~*~*~*~*~*l~*~*~*~*~*l~*~*~*~*~*l
.
Clint watched in amazment as Steve finished off his fourth hotdog.
"Had your fill yet Cap?" Tony asked looking just as amazed as Clint.
"Hey, I haven't had this food in seventy years." Steve said. "Actually, seventy one. Was about a year before going into the war that I was here last. I'm just glad to know that some things stayed the same."
"We can tell you're happy." Tony said. "You've been eatting for two hours straight."
Steve simply shrugged as he sipped his lemonade as he looked at the park around them. He'd been hesitant about coming back to a place he'd once known. Scared that it had changed along with the rest of the world.
Yet to his surprise, it hadn't changed that much. It was bigger, had new colors of paint but really it was pretty much the same.
He could see the Cyclone in the distance and it instantly brought back the last time he and Bucky had ridden it. Having been a frail and constantly ill person, Steve's stomach hadn't liked being thrown for a loop.
Perhaps now that he was stronger, healthier, he could manage it. It was just getting past the memory of it that he had to get over first.
"So, what ride should we go on first?" Bruce asked.
"How about the Wonder Wheel?" Steve suggested. "It's got a good view from the top."
"Giant spinning wheel it is." Tony declared as they made their way toward the white wheel looming over the park.
Natasha looked at Steve who was smiling happily as he looked around the park. He seemed to be at peace knowing that one place from his past was still here and hadn't changed during the time he'd been frozen.
She was glad that he was able to be at peace even if it was just for a while. She slipped her hand into his and laced her fingers through his. She right away felt his fingers close around hers.
The group reached the giant ferris wheel and stood in line. Luckily there wasn't a big crowd today so it wouldn't take long to get carts.
Bruce, Clint and Tony took one of the caged carts while Steve and Natasha had one to themselves.
Natasha watched the scene as they went higher and higher. The view was amazing. The ocean was the perfect shade of blue, white sails were calmly gliding boats through the waters and the city seemed to quiet for once.
"Told you it has a great view." Steve said.
"It does." Natasha said before turning to look at the blond soldier. "But I think I like this one better."
Steve lightly chuckled as Natasha placed her head on his shoulder. Unfortunatly, Tony's voice decided to interrupt their peace.
"Steve and Natasha swinging in a cage, pretty soon they'll be sucking face..."
"Stark, don't make me tell everyone what happened in Rino." Natasha warned.
Tony's voice was silenced but Clint's laughter rang out clearly.
"Ignore them." Natasha said settling back against Steve.
"Already do." Steve said placing an arm around her shoulders.
"Are you glad that Coney Island hasn't changed much?" she asked as the cart started to ascend again.
"Very." Steve answered. "I didn't come here much but it always gave me some peace. Especially with Bucky around. He never let me live it down when I lost my lunch on the Cyclone."
Natasha lightly chuckled.
The cart passed the top point and started to head toward the ground.
"Rock the boat, rock the boat..."
The spy and soldier laughed hearing Bruce try to get Tony and Clint to stop their antics. Appearantly they forgot that they were in a cage with the man who turned into the Other Guy.
But the only way they would learn is if they go through the experience.
Luckily for them and everyone else in the area, the ride ended and the five Avengers climbed out of the cages.
"That was fun." Tony said casually. "What's next?"
"Nothing that involves shaking the ride." Bruce declared.
"Cyclone it is." Tony said and started walking in the direction of the roller coaster.
Steve took a deep breathe in and out before following the others. Soon the roar of the roller coaster filled his ears and he quickly spotted the ride in motion.
The people on the ride were shouting happily as the ride tossed them side to side.
Steve remembered the very car that he and Bucky had riden. He was glad that they'd been far enough in the back that no one saw him make a mess of himself.
"Where should we sit for the photo?" Tony asked.
"It takes pictures?" Steve asked.
"Sure does Cap." Clint answered. "New feature. I say we sit in the front."
"Sounds good." Tony said and led the way toward the front railings. He and Clint stood in the spot to have the first car while Bruce would sit alone in the second and Steve and Natasha would grab the third.
Soon the train of cars returned and stopped. The riders hair was messy and sticking out in all directions. They all let out excited yells as they climbed off the ride and walked down the EXIT ramp.
Now the five Avengers were climbing into the cars and waiting for the ride to start.
Steve looked at the car he sat in. It was easy to tell that the whole thing had been replaced. It looked too new and the material was different from the one that he remembered.
But he realized that seventy years was probably long enough to have new equipment installed.
"You ok?" Natasha asked placing her hand on his.
"Yeah." he answered. "Just brings back a lot of memories."
"But you're making some new ones." she said.
Steve smiled as he looked at her.
"They're going great so far." he said.
Natasha smiled at him before the ride operators made sure their safety bars were in place and the ride suddenly shot out.
Steve easily heard Clint and Tony shouting happily from the front, shouting for the ride to go faster and their arms in the air.
Natasha's laughter filled Steve's ears over the rush of wind. He found himself smiling upon hearing her laughter. He hated that she didn't laugh very much. Her laughter was musical.
"Say cheese!" Clint shouted.
Steve was already smiling and saw a quick flash that he assumed was the camera. He smiled as the ride continued with him and his friends being tossed from one side to the next.
It started to feel like old times again.
The ride finally came to an end and Steve noticed that his hair was all over the place and he hadn't gotten sick to his stomach. The ride stopped and they climbed off, laughing and smiling.
"That ride never gets old." Tony mused. "What do you think Capsicle?"
"Same as I remember." Steve answered attempting to fix his hair.
"Let's go find our picture." Clint said.
"We should each get a copy." Bruce suggested.
The group moved to the small shop next to the ride and spotted the row of monitors behind the cashier. They quickly found their picture and couldn't help but laugh.
Tony and Clint both looked like they were rocking out, Bruce looked like he was trying not to fall out and Steve and Natasha had huge smiles on their faces.
"We'll take five copies of car one." Tony said to the cashier.
"This has been fun. Too bad Thor couldn't make it." Natasha said looking in a small mirror to fix her hair.
"We'll make sure to bring him next time." Bruce said looking at a row of stuffed toys.
"Got 'em." Tony announced handing them a picture each.
"So, what do we do next?" Clint asked with a grin.
"Let's see what else there is." Bruce suggested.
"Yeah, I need to get my land legs back after that ride." Tony said as they left the shop and began to walk around.
Music filled the air and they easily spotted a carousel in motion with only a few children happily riding the metal horses with their parents standing next to them.
They entered the area were most of the games were located.
"Ugh, this reminds me of the circus." Clint muttered.
"Know the tricks of winning some of these games?" Bruce asked.
"All of them." Clint answered. "I could win every game here and everyone would think that I was just lucky."
"Prove it." Tony declared.
"You honestly want to help me carry that many prizes?" Clint asked.
"Good point. Ok. Win Natasha a teddy bear."
"How about you win one and give it to Pepper?" Natasha replied as Steve chuckled.
"What is it with you women?" Tony muttered dramatically.
They came to a ring toss game where Clint was going to inform them on how to win by spotting certain bottles that were different from the rest.
"It's funny how Clint cheats." Natasha said as she and Steve stood to the side of the game.
"This is only going to give Tony a reason to try these games and try to win every time." Steve said.
"At least he won't be locked away in his lab causing explisions." Natasha said.
"Good point." Steve said as he continued to look around.
He froze when he spotted someone standing a few feet away looking directly at him. His blood turned to ice and his breath stilled inside him.
"Steve?" Natasha asked with a concerned expression. She looked in the distance to try to see what he was looking up but only saw a crowd of people walk by.
Steve slowly tore away from the spy and walked into the crowd.
"Guys." Natasha said to the rest of the men who were engrossed in the game. Bruce was the only one who looked at her when she called and noticed that their team leader was missing.
"Where's Steve?" he asked.
"He saw something." Natasha answered and began to follow Steve with Bruce following right after. They quickly followed Steve's form through the crowd, trying to keep up with his quick pace.
.
l~*~*~*~*~*l~*~*~*~*~*l~*~*~*~*~*l
l~*~*~*~*~*l~*~*~*~*~*l~*~*~*~*~*l
.
Steve quickly followed the figure that ducked behind the games and started running after tha man when he noticed he was being followed.
The super soldier ran faster, desperate to find out if what he saw was real or not. The face of this man...There was no way that it could be possible.
He saw the man run towards the Cyclone and quicked his pace. He broke out into the open area and searched for his target. He sighed in frustration when he realized he lost him.
"Steve!"
The blond soldier turned and spotted Natasha and Bruce hurrying over to them.
"Steve, what happened? Are you alright?" Natasha asked.
"I'm fine." he answered quietly, still searching through the crowd.
"What happened?" Bruce asked lightly panting.
"I thought...I thought I saw someone." Steve answered.
"Was it Winter Soldier?" Natasha asked.
"No." Steve answered. "It wasn't him. It was someone else. Someone I saw die."