Old Friends Chapter 18
By: Cadet Deming
I don't own the rights to Captain America or The Avengers, Marvel and Disney do, so please don't sue. Rated T for violence, language, drug references, death, and implied child abuse and adult situations. Please read and review, it's encouraging.
Steve's communications link buzzed in his ear, "It's Sam. I've got Natasha. She's been poisoned. Meet me by the Holy Cross Ambulance."
"Roger that, over and out."
Steve felt like his stomach had fallen through to his ankles. He ran through the crowd to the ambulance. Sam landed on the ground and folded his wings back. He carried Natasha in his arms like a groom carrying a bride. She was frighteningly limp, almost as if she was as flexible as their enemies.
Steve wanted to hold her and help her, but had to watch silently as Sam placed her on a medical gurney. The medic strapped her down and took her blood pressure.
Sam said, "I'm a combat medic too. She's been infected with snake venom. Her heart rate and breathing needs to be stable and she needs anti-venom."
The medic said, "Anti-venom is tailored to the specific species. Did you see what breed of snake bit her?"
Sam said, "It was a five-foot eleven Homo Sapien who talks too damn much."
The medic looked confused.
Sam pointed to a body sprawled on the pavement. "Brock Rumlow."
The medic looked even more confused.
Steve asked him, "Can you create the antidote from his body?"
The medic nodded. "Yes."
Steve commanded, "Bring him here, but be very careful."
Natasha moaned, "Steve…"
He rushed to her side. "I'm here for you."
"I love you Steve."
A maelstrom of emotions swept through him. He didn't know whether to laugh, cry, or both. He was grateful to finally hear it, but under the circumstances couldn't be too happy.
Steve said, "I love you too, but I hope you're not just saying that because you think you're about to die."
Natasha said, "I don't want to die in a hospital bed. It's not the way for a spy to go out. Not like this."
Steve squeezed her arm. He hated hearing and seeing her in such a weakened state.
"You won't die. You're a survivor. I have faith."
She coughed. "You always were a bad liar."
The medic wheeled Brock next to them. He was loosely attached to another gurney. He wore another skull mask. The medic pulled it off of his head. Steve was surprised by what he saw.
Steve said, "They restored his face. The scars are all gone."
Natasha said, "If I get through this alive, can I have his plastic surgeon?"
Sam said, "Damn, HYDRA's got a good medical plan. Maybe that's how they recruit so many people."
Steve asked, "Is he alive?"
The medic said, "No normal human could have survived that."
That worried Steve. The Serpent Squad members seemed have surpassed normalcy.
The medic approached Brock. He reached for him, and then shouted as Brock grabbed and held him with a knife to his throat.
Brock shouted, "Any of you move and he gets it in the jugular."
The medic muttered, 'Oh My God! Oh My God! They don't pay me enough for this job!"
Steve said, "Could you please not take the Lord's…oh, never mind. Brock, let him go. You're outnumbered. HYDRA has lost here today."
Brock pulled out a grenade with his semi-free hand. "Come on Rogers, are you going to try to grab it from me you fu #$%g Star-Spangled Boy Scout? Are you going to throw yourself on it to save everyone but yourself? Are you going to be the big hero that overshadows the rest of us?"
Steve took a step forward and Brock hissed at him. It reminded him of a feral cat, cornered and dangerous. He calculated what it would take to hit him with his shield without endangering his hostage. He reached for it.
Brock screamed, "Don't even think of it!"
Steve asked, "Is HYDRA worth dying for? You have nothing to gain from this."
Brock hesitated. There was a look in his eyes for a moment like he was about to cry. Then it was gone. Steve noticed he didn't blink. He hadn't blinked the entire time. Snakes in the wild couldn't blink.
Brock shouted, "I have everything to gain from taking you down!"
He held the grenade up to his mouth to set it off, but his head snapped back violently from a gunshot. The hostage darted from his grip as he fell down.
Steve and Sam turned and saw Bucky posing in the distance. He held a gun in one hand. Hanging below the gun was the bizarre sight of half of his mechanical arm, still chained to his wrist by handcuffs.
Bucky said, "Fail Hydra."
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Natasha blinked her eyes wearily in her hospital bed. She was still hooked up to IV's and woozy from medications, but felt elated to be alive.
She scanned her room. There were three bouquets of flowers. The largest vase was filled with roses in the colors red, white, and blue. She smiled as she knew exactly who they were from.
She read the note from Steve: "I love you so much. I'm here for anything you need."
Natasha smelled them. The familiar scent reminded her of his old-fashioned presence.
She reached for the second bouquet. The flowers were white and yellow daisies and were signed by "Jim Steranko."
She grinned. Jim Steranko was an alias Nick Fury used. He was still pretending to be dead so he had to be discreet. No matter where he was hiding, he still knew exactly what was going on in the world.
She read his card: "Nat. I miss you. I know you're a survivor. I hope you get better soon, so you can get your ass back in the field where it belongs."
Natasha checked the third bouquet. It was filled with yellow roses. Yellow roses were supposed to symbolize friendship. She opened the card. It was from Clint.
He had written: "Nat, I'm sorry about what happened between us. I'd hate to leave things the way they ended. I'm glad you're OK and hope we can someday get along as friends or at least coworkers. Feel free to visit me on the West Coast."
It was a nice gesture. She wondered about the possibility of working with both Steve and Clint on the Avengers again. It could be awkward, or it could be interesting.
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Steve entered the medical examiner's room. She was a middle aged woman named Dr. Marjorie Liu. She shook his hand.
The M.E. said, "Thank you for coming."
"You're welcome. I just wanted to make sure they're dead."
She gave a rueful grin. "They're dead alright. Let me show you."
She pulled open a drawer revealing the corpse of Madame Hydra. Her lips looked green.
Liu said, "Fingerprints identified her as Ophelia Sarkissian. No known relatives. She was orphaned in Hungary at age 9 and disappeared for a decade. She's wanted for acts of terrorism in 14 countries. Cause of death: strangulation."
Steve wondered if Madame Hydra was HYDRA's equivalent of Natasha, trained to fight from a young age against her will. He almost felt guilty about killing her, but if he hadn't, she would have probably gone on to murder dozens, if not hundreds of people more.
Liu closed her drawer and opened another. It was Brock. Half of his face looked as handsome as before. The other half, the one hit by Bucky's bullet, was shattered and ugly. The dichotomy fit the double life Brock had been living for so long.
She said, "Brock Rumlow. His only surviving relative is his mother, but she's oblivious in an Alzheimer's ward."
He thought of Peggy Carter, drifting in and out of her memories in an Alzheimer ward of her own.
Steve said, "That may be better, so she didn't have to see what her son turned into."
Liu shrugged her shoulders, "True. His biology is amazing, but people's bones are hard for a reason. His skull provided no protection. Cause of death: bullet to the brain."
Bucky was always an excellent shot, even with a mechanical arm attached to his wrist.
She closed the drawer and opened a third.
The M.E. said, "This is the most interesting cause of death of all. Eric Williams. His brother is that reality show guy, Simon Williams."
Steve was surprised, but he could see the family resemblance.
"I've met Simon. He's a nice man. He was on HYDRA's kill list."
"Damn. This is going to be one strange family reunion."
Steve wondered how a man could join an organization that would target his own brother for death. He wondered how many families were shattered by finding out one of their loved ones was a terrorist. It was a ripple effect of HYDRA's evil he hadn't really thought of before.
Steve said, "Sometimes two brothers can come from the same family and turn out very differently. I've met Thor and Loki."
She said, "Cain and Abel is a tale as old as time. Cain here died from electrocution. This Vibranium metal endoskeleton of his was hit by electricity. It burned him up from the inside. Although, I also found minute traces of methadone in his system. He was at risk of dying from withdrawal symptoms anyhow."
Steve frowned. "I'm concerned about the Vibranium. It's worth millions. HYDRA may try to recover it. I want extra security until his body is disposed of."
She nodded and closed the compartment.
Steve thought about HYDRA's motto of "Cut off one head, two more will take its place." With these three gone, were 6 worse things coming down the line for him? He could only focus on living defensively and being happy with Natasha.
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One Year Later
Bucky waited with baited breath for the jury to return from deliberations. His previous trial was declared a mistrial after being literally blown up and the judge murdered. It took forever to find people brave enough to serve as jurors.
Bernie had warned, "If they look at you, you'll go free. If they don't, they found you guilty."
The jurors filed in. He noticed half of them looked at him, and the others didn't. Bernie flashed him a worried look.
The verdict was read aloud, "On the matter of all charges of first degree murder while James Buchanan Barnes was under the influence of HYDRA, we find him…not guilty."
Bucky sighed in relief.
The news continued, "For the charge of taking a hostage and the death of Mr. Adams, we find him guilty as charged."
The judge ruled. "I could sentence Mr. Barnes to death, but in light of the fact that at the time of his last trial he did come to the aid of Captain Steve Rogers and returned to custody without a fight, I hereby sentence him to 10 years in prison. He is eligible for parole on 5 years."
The judge swung his gavel.
Bucky whispered to Bernie, "I'm going to prison after all?"
"If he says parole in 5, which means you can get time off for good behavior in 3 years."
"That's still 3 years."
"Bucky this is reality. Be grateful. It could be a lot worse."
Bucky returned to his cell. He had started to get used to it.
Steve came to visit him.
He said, "Can you handle this?"
Bucky sighed. "This is the happiest ending I could hope for. I can just use the next few years to get caught up on popular culture."
"I'll visit you when I can. I promise."
"Don't take too much time. I saw the engagement ring on Natasha's finger."
Steve grinned. "It's going to be a long engagement. She wanted to take things slowly. I'll send you wedding pictures."
"I wish I could be the best man."
"I wish I could include you both, but Sam Wilson is going to be the best man."
Bucky felt a little jealous. "Sorry I'm going to prison."
"Even in prison, you're still my best friend."
Bucky sighed wistfully. "Old Friends are the best."
The End.
Author's note. I hope people enjoyed this. Any final reviews would be appreciated.