I AM SO SORRY! This took way too long to update, I just had a terrible case of writers block, then I started watching Glee again, and the only things I have been able to write are Glee-related! Sorry! It took me an embarrassingly long time to even start writing this, but I hope you like it!
PS- Check the A/N at the bottom of the page to get a hint about the bonus chapter! ;)
mudkipz- haha! Glad you liked it!
AllieKatheryn- awww! Thanks! That's really sweet!
Rika100- Glad you're enjoying it! You're going to find out eventually! Hope you like this chapter!
TSRowenwood- Hmmm, let's see if your guess was correct!
halloweenlover890- Thanks!
vampyfreak- DING DING DING! Your guess was correct! Thanks for the review!
Lollypops101- You are correct!
mitchellhp- Thanks for the review! Glad you liked how I portrayed them. We are definitely doing the bonus chapter! Also, sorry the A/N wasn't an update!
WolfDarkfur- Thanks! Yeah, I missed that, I'll go back and fix it if I can remember to.
jwstahle- Aww! Thanks! I'm glad you think I'm doing a good job, that's something that I really work on.
PrincessMnMz- Well, since you asked so nicely... ;D Check at the A/N at the end for the hint. I'm not good with the whole patient thing either. I'm glad you liked the little stories! I had fun writing the one with Dum-Dum! Ps- I did too!
I Know Love Hurts 2010- Interesting saying there... Lol. Sorry it took so long!
Also, on your second review- good luck with your Sonny With A Chance ff! I used to love that show!
snowdancer119 (Guest)- Awww! That's really sweet! Thank you! I'm glad you liked it!
BATMANLOVER (Guest)- You are correct!
Dancing With The Clouds- Thanks! I'm planning on putting the whole thing with Steve's dad in the epilogue, unless I find a better place for it. Definitely doing the bonus scene!
That's really sweet, but I am DEFINITELY capable of writing a bad chapter... I just avoid posting them.
Guest- Not Bucky's death, I couldn't figure out a way for there to be a camera on the outside of a train.
kitkat7sherlock- Thanks for understanding! I hate writers block!
FlyingMachine1- Thanks! Hope you like it!
DISCLAIMER- I do not own the Avengers!
The Avengers looked at each other worriedly. This one had their captain nervous; he was staring at the reel, biting his lip- a habit they had noticed when he was especially nervous about something- before taking a deep breath and standing to set up the projector. Then it hit them all. Of course! What other scene could elicit this reaction from the blonde man? They all settled in, Pepper curling into Tony's side, his arm around her shoulders, hugging her in. Natasha rested her head on Clint's shoulder, his cheek resting on her fiery hair. Thor hugged a pillow and his third box of Pop-Tarts, and Bruce sat forward, watching the quiet captain with concern evident on his kind face. Steve finished threading the projector and sat down without a word. Everyone turned to face the screen as the image of a large circular room flooded it.
The room had curved pillars and a wall of windows with a forbidding looking chair sat, silhouetted against the windows, a control panel in front of it. The windows showed nothing but blue sky and white clouds. The room was deserted. Suddenly, movement came at the other end of the room in the form of Captain America opening the door slowly and peeking his head around it. He opened it the rest of the way, starting to slowly descend the steps with his shield at the ready. Captain America walked across the room, passing a metal contraption with a glow coming out of little holes in it. He tensed up when he got closer to the chair, trying to look around it to see the nonexistent occupant. A noise filled the air, it was the sound of a HYDRA weapon powering up. Steve turned around just in time to put his shield up to deflect the blast that the Red Skull shot at him.
The Avengers minus Steve stared at the man- if you could even call the Red Skull that- on screen.
"You don't give up, do you?" the Red Skull yelled over the howling of the wind, holding the weapon at the ready.
"Nope!" Captain America responded and charged.
"Great comeback, Steve." Tony said sarcastically. "Nope. I'm impressed!" Steve rolled his eyes and Pepper flicked her boyfriend on the back of his head. He rubbed his head and scowled at her, and she smirked back at him.
Schmitt shot at the captain who deflected them while running. When he reached the Red Skull, Steve used his shield to knock the gun out of the other "man's" hands. Schmitt avoided the shield by leaning back and kicking him to the ground. Now on the grates that made up the floor, Steve tried to avoid Schmitt's feet before finally managing to get up and gain the upper hand; putting Schmitt in a version of a headlock. He had a forearm around Schmitt's neck, flipping him onto the ground.
The Avengers winced slightly; that would definitely hurt. Natasha smirked, she could definitely use that move in her thigh-choke. Clint looked slightly apprehensive at the look on his partner's face.
The two continued to struggle, Steve finally managing to get his shield and hit the other man with it, but Schmitt took hold of it and used it against it's owner. Steve got the shield back and hit Schmitt with it, propelling the Red Skull back, into the control panel. The plane started angling down, and Steve and Schmitt were sucked toward the ceiling of the aircraft, which was out of range of the camera. The two were not in sight, but continued sounds of a fight could be heard.
At each crash or bang, the Avengers looked more worried for their teammate. They knew he survived- he was sitting right there, wasn't he- but they didn't know how injured he had gotten in the fight. Seventy years in the ice would have given him plenty of time to heal, so nobody knew how hurt he got.
After a minute, Schmitt came back into view, using one of the pillars to pull himself down, and started pushing buttons and pulling levers on the control panel. Whatever he did seemed to work, as the plane leveled out again, causing the captain to thud back to the ground. Schmitt pulled out a smaller gun, looking around for Captain America.
"Of course he had an extra, couldn't make it too easy, could he?" The rest shot looks at Tony. Nobody but him seemed to be commenting on the film, it wasn't exactly one of Steve's favorites.
"You could have the power of the gods!" Schmitt yelled, activating the gun. "Yet you wear a flag on your chest and think you fight a battle of nations!" He shot the gun at Steve, who was dodging around the edge. "I have seen the future, Captain! There are no flags!"
"Is he a seer?" Thor asked, slightly confused. The others exchanged "who's on Thor-duty today?" looks, ending in Bruce speaking.
"It's just a figure of speech, Thor. He didn't really see the future." The thunder god nodded and seemed appeased.
"You can continue playing it, J."
"Not my future!" Steve said back, slightly out of breath, but launched off the platform, past the door, and pulled out his shield just in time to block a bolt of energy.
"Nice move." Clint said appreciatively.
He threw the shield and hit Schmitt right in the stomach, sending him flying backwards into the generator, causing beams of light to escape the metal contraption. A loud screeching noise filled the air as a ball of energy formed, then dissipated. The tesseract had been dislodged, and was now sitting crookedly on the metal.
"Uh oh." Tony said, causing everyone to roll their eyes at him.
"What have you done?" The Red Skull picked up the tesseract, panting, and watched it closely. It started to glow brighter and brighter, energy coming off of it in steams of light. The light seemed to bounce and shimmer around the room, seeming to make the ceiling disappear, stars replacing the metal.
Schmitt's expression grew shocked, and Steve's did too, when the cube glowed even brighter than before. Schmitt's eyes widened, his abnormal facial features enhanced by the odd lighting, and the hand holding the tesseract started to disintegrate. The light shine brighter and brighter, him dissolving faster, until a huge beam of light shot out of the aircraft, followed by a flash, the screen turning white for a few seconds.
When the screen got its picture back, the ceiling was back, and Steve was the only occupant of the room.
The Avengers, minus Steve, all looked at each other, shocked. If any of them had accidentally touched the cube…
The cube sank through each level of the plane, making a clinking noise as it hit the floor before falling into the ocean. Steve walked over and picked up his shield, approaching the controls. He took his helmet off and turned the chair to face them, taking the pilot's seat. Small beeping noises made him look at a small circular screen before turning back to the window, a determined look on his face.
He located the radio and spoke through it, "Come in. This is Captain Rogers. Do you read me?" He spoke urgently.
Jim Morita's voice crackled through the radio. "Captain Rogers, what is your loca..." There was the muffled sound of people switching positions, and Peggy's voice interrupted.
"Steve? Is that you? Are you alright?"
Both women gasped slightly, and the men's eyes widened. They didn't know that he had spoken to Peggy as he was going down.
"Peggy! Schmitt's dead!"
"What about the plane?"
Steve continued flipping switches in vain. "That's a little bit tougher to explain."
Even Tony didn't interrupt, everyone was watching the screen, unable to stop.
"Give me your coordinates. I'll find you a safe landing site."
"There's not gonna be a safe landing. But I can try and force it down."
"I-I'll get Howard on the line, he'll know what to do."
Tony hardly reacted to his father's name, too caught up in the scene.
"There's not enough time, this thing's moving too fast and it's heading for New York." He paused and took a deep breath. "I got to put her in the water."
There were tears in Pepper's eyes as they heard Steve say the words that would change his life forever.
"Please, don't do this! We have time. We can work it out." By the word 'out', Peggy sounded like she was barely holding herself together, speaking desperately.
"Right now, I'm in the middle of nowhere. If I wait any longer, a lot of people are gonna die." A few beats passed, and the business-like tone that was always present whenever he was wearing the Captain America suit was gone when he next spoke. His voice held so much sadness and tenderness and regret. Not regret for the lives he was going to save, but what he was leaving behind. "Peggy... This is my choice." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a compass, resting it on one of the dials, opened. In the lid of it, there was a picture of Peggy, which he looked at sadly before screwing up his determination and pushed the control forward.
The plane went into a decline, and Steve spoke. "Peggy."
"I'm here." There was a strain in her voice, which told that she was holding back a sob.
"I'm gonna need a rain check on that dance."
At this, even the men and Natasha had misty eyes. The scene was heartbreaking.
"All right." She paused and took a breath. "A week, next Saturday at the Stork Club."
"You got it."
"Eight o'clock on the dot. Don't you dare be late. Understood?" The icy water was approaching faster and faster, reflected in Steve's eyes.
"You know, I still don't know how to dance." The fear was evident in Steve's eyes.
"I'll show you how." There was a hint of a smile in her voice, barely noticeable with all o the sadness. "Just be there."
Pepper curled up to Tony, who hugged her with one arm, Natasha and Clint had their hands clenched together, and Steve was holding a compass in his fist as everyone watched the two plan the date that would never happen.
"We'll have the band play something slow. I'd hate to step on your..." There was a huge crash, and the image on screen shook and disappeared, but the sound was still there.
"Steve?" Peggy's voice crackled, sounding disjointed, like the radio had gotten damaged. "Steve?" The sobs were audible, "Steve?" She asked desperately, hoping for an answer, but everything remained silent.
Pepper let out a small sob, burying her face in Tony's chest with one hand over the arc reactor. He was murmuring to her to calm her down. Even Natasha and Clint, who were used to shutting off their emotions, were quietly holding onto each other. Bruce seemed lost in his own world, deep in thought, and Thor's expressive blue eyes were full of sadness. Steve was staring intently at something in his hands, tears pricking his eyes, which he blinked back.
"Steve?" Pepper's voice sounded, closer than expected. The blonde man looked up, startled, and saw his teammates gathered around him. He expected the typical "Are you okay?" to which he would say he was, even though he wasn't, because he needed to be strong to be a leader, which meant that he couldn't be weak. However, nobody said a word. They didn't need to. At some sort of silent signal, they all rushed forward, and Steve was engulfed in a huge group hug. Pepper's ponytail was tickling his neck, he could feel Clint's calloused hand on his arm, Thor's strong arms were wrapped around him in a bear hug, Bruce's untidy hair was visible out of the corner of his eye, and they were all bathed in the blue glow of the arc reactor.
It was quiet, but a comfortable quiet, only punctured by a soft sob every once in a while. Steve finally let tears trickle out of his eyes, knowing that his team was family, and he didn't have to hide his feelings. They wouldn't judge him.
"Thank you," Steve spoke as everyone untangled themselves, "really."
Pepper smiled, a warm smile that brought forth memories of Steve's mother. "What's a family for?"
Again, everything was silent, nobody wanting to be the first to speak, but Tony couldn't stay quiet for long. "Is that the last one?" Steve looked down at the pile of canisters, going through each one.
"I guess it is!" He said, surprised. Everyone else was surprised too. It did make sense that there were no more, but it seemed like they would keep coming. Clint reached down and picked up a blanket to fold, but something clattered to the floor, causing all eyes to turn to him.
"Guys, I think there's one more."
A/N- Again, I'm so so so sorry for this taking so long! Please review! They make me happy! Just one more chapter before the epilogue! Virtual cookies to anyone who guesses what the bonus chapter will be! Until next time, here's your hint!
HINT- Someone didn't get a chance to say goodbye.
-Little-miss