Enjoy, readers!
Chapter Forty-Six
Steve's P.O.V.
I jerked on the magnetic cuffs for about the hundredth time. Cuts that had emerged on my wrists as a result of my resistance were starting to bleed and I finally sagged back in defeat. I should have been able to yank myself free with my super soldier strengh by now. Whatever drugs HYDRA had given me were working like a charm.
"Cap, face it, we're stuck here." Clint told me, his face downcast. "And even if we did somehow manage to break out, there's probably a hundred guys out there ready to shoot us to bits."
And the drug use didn't end with me. Thor and Bruce were also being suppressed with any chemical HYDRA could insert into their blood streams.
"I agree." Thor replied sadly. He had woken up about an hour ago, but within a few minutes, a HYDRA scientist had come in and administered a drug, sapping the strength right out of him.
"What about the Hulk?" I asked Dr. Banner and he sighed.
"I've been trying for a while now. I can't summon the Other Guy."
They must have given him an extra-special dose for the Hulk. I sighed in frustration.
We were helpless. No light, no hope of rescue. And the worst part wasn't standing in the face of certain death.
I'll never see her again.
That blow sunk deeper than any enemy bullet.
The smooth touch of her skin against mine as I held her in our first kiss, the cheeks that I had wiped tears from when she had felt so alone because of my own selfishness, even the feel of my hand on hers over morning coffee; every blissful memory of her gradually eased through my mind. I realized I'd never get to caress her or hold her in my arms again. I'd never get to feel again her warmth on my chest as I wrapped in a hug or clasp her hand tightly in mine. But the worst part wasn't the loss of touch or the sweet kisses.
Above everything I would miss her eyes. They were so bright, lighting up the darkest part of my soul that had been left cold for the past seventy years. Even though her eyes were the darkest brown, they had the brilliance to outshine a million stars.
I wished I could have just a minute longer to look into them.
God, if I'm to leave this world, please let me look into those eyes one last time.
It was a selfish prayer. That would mean Hannah would have to come here. And I couldn't wish such a thing. I'd already hurt her too much if this life. If she died trying to save me, I would never forgive myself.
The door suddenly burst open, a barrage of HYDRA soldiers with weapons pointed at our faces storming in. In the midst of the flurry of black combat gear, a satin, turquoise dress appeared, the person's stomach protruding out because of the little life held preciously inside. The person had hair that had once been perfectly straight, now dingy and had turned into a few wavy locks. You could tell she had been crying because of the dried, smeared eyeliner running down her snow white cheeks.
"Pepper!" Tony jerked against his restraints, his girlfriend held securely by the wrists of HYDRA personnel.
"Tony!" Pepper cried, her eyes watering, tears ready to fall at any moment down her cheeks once more.
"Shut it." Barked the burliest one of all, yanking her arm threateningly. The man ignored the death glare Tony cast him as he stepped in my direction, starting to undo the magnetic cuffs. "Keep your guns on this one, men. He's still a super soldier." In response, about half the guns trained on me. They didn't need to worry. I wouldn't fight back, not when the odds were so much against me.
I was forced back into cuffs again once I was out of the ones on the wall. Pepper was forced to take my place, her feet barely able to touch the floor beneath her.
"Get moving." One jammed the tip of his gun into my upper back and I was shoved forward. I only caught one last look at the worried expressions of my comrades before I was dragged away from them to an almost certain demise.
Hannah's P.O.V.
"Are you sure there's nothing left that I can do besides babysitting duty?" Colonel Rhodes asked me wearily as we stood on the launching pad of the Tower. "I'm sure that I could..."
"Rhodey..." I started, "it's best to have a two man team. We'll be dropping the suits off as soon as we get to Missouri. And then we'll move in quick and extract the team."
"Why is he going?" He looked to Bucky who was in the suit beside me, his face hidden by one of Tony's suits.
"Bucky's been spying on HYDRA for months. He'll have a good, general knowledge on their weapons and strategic plans."
"And why are you going? I know that none of them would ever let you do this." He folded his arms, giving me a stern glare.
"I've got something that they never anticipated." I answered him. He cocked an eyebrow with curiosity. "Revenge."
He sighed, shaking his head, fingers pinching the bridge of his nose.
"You're not going to change your mind, are you?"
I smirked. "Nope."
I gave Bucky a curt nod before we flew into the starry night sky, leaving Colonel Rhoades in command of the fort.
Later...
It took about two hours with the speed of the suits, the suits operating at max speed. If we ever lived through this (and I was forcing myself to think of the positives), then I'd have to tell Tony to update the speed on these things.
Those two hours felt like a hundred years as we travelled through the night air. Bucky wasn't much of a talker, so most of the ride was in silence, leaving me mostly alone to my thoughts.
The street lights lit up the streets below in the early hours of the morning. We had just passed over a suburb and into the countryside, so the lights were few and far between. I could just barely make out the shapes of trees in the dark. The image brought me back to my life in Iowa and the country there.
I could remember all the sleepless nights looking up at the stars, dreaming Mom was up there after she died. I thought of the trees in the autumn, the reds, golds and oranges a beautiful display as I swung on my swing in the backyard. It was the most magical event when the snow started to fall and land on the branches of the trees in the winter. The memories brought a smile to my face.
Thoughts of Steve slowly started to replace the ones of my Iowa home. How quickly my life had been made in New York far from the countryside. Four years has passed by so quickly and my entire being was now there. The love of my life was there.
The thought of his soft touch with calloused hands was so vivid I could almost feel him. I remembered the way he would run his fingers through my hair and pull me into his embrace, the very scent of him intoxicating. His hard, muscled chest was warm and inviting. I remembered listening to his heartbeat on those nights when I would snuggle against him whilst reading a book.
But his eyes were the most daunting of all. They had seen war, death and bloodshed, but they were so vibrant when he looked at me. The tenderness in his touch was reflected in his eyes. I would look into them forever if I could.
For just one moment more...
I prayed that I wasn't too late. I had to cling to the best memories of him to get past the possible horror that could be awaiting me at the HYDRA compound.
I had never loved someone as much as Captain Steve Rogers. And I knew I never would.
I would do anything to save him. If it took every ounce of courage in my body and then some, I would give it. To the last second of life, I would give it freely for him.
If I find him, I will save him.
The fire blazing inside me only burned brighter as we drew closer to our desired destination.
Steve's P.O.V.
Everything hurt and I didn't know why. I was trying to break out of the fog overshadowing me, but it was difficult. Waking up the last time from that bomb hadn't been as hard.
As I came closer and closer to coming out of it, the pain became increasingly worse. I tried to move, but again, I was confined to something. I couldn't even twist my head.
I tried to let out a groan, but the pain was excruciating-like someone had taken a good blow to my throat.
What's wrong with me?
I felt something prickle my arm and I was again immersed in the strange fog. But I wasn't given the luxury of the blank nothingness in my subconscious the second time.
"Help!" A female voice cried. "Steve, help!"
It was Nat's voice. And she was begging for help. I jerked my legs in the direction of her voice, only to be pulled back by chains.
Cries started to echo everywhere. Hordes of HYDRA agents surrounded us, each Avenger tied down in chains like myself.
"Help us!" Each one of them shouted, looking in my direction in desperation.
"I can't!" I shouted back helplessly, dangling my chains in front of them. "I can't!"
"Mommy! Daddy!" Two little voices cried. The twins appeared, each held firmly by the wrist by a HYDRA agent.
"Get away from my babies!" Nat shouted, the fire blazing in her eyes despite her weakened state.
"We'll take every one you love." The group of HYDRA agents said simultaneously, their voices droaning before the twins disappeared from sight.
Nat screamed, following it with fervent sobs. Clint jerked against the chains, trying to lunge at the monsters standing only a few inches safely away from his grasp.
"Pepper!" Tony shouted, his eyes wide as the red head was dragged before him, then disappeared from sight.
"NO!" He yelled, sinking to his knees and pressing his hands over his face.
"Captain Rogers." I had been so focused on the others I hadn't even noticed the people held forcibly in front of me.
"Bucky, Peggy." I breathed, both pairs of eyes looking at me helplessly.
HYDRA had taken them from me. I had lost my chance to be with Peggy because of them. And Bucky-they had brainwashed him and made him a killer for seventy years.
"Say goodbye." They ordered before the two disappeared.
"No." I whispered. They were gone forever.
"It's not over." There was a sick joy in the way they said it. The two HYDRA agents parted to reveal another victim-the one person I couldn't bear to see me like this.
"Hannah." I breathed out. She struggled against the two, knocking one in the shin before being held down by the other, hands wrenched behind her back.
"Steve." She whispered. "Please, don't let them do this."
I tried jerking on the chains again, but I was as helpless with them as I was with the magnetic cuffs.
As I struggled, I could hear the HYDRA group laughing at me, their voices echoing loudly as they all advanced closer, encircling us.
"Say goodbye." They repeated, coming closer to Hannah threateningly.
"No!"
My head bashed against something metal as it shot up from the nightmare, my eyes bursting open to a bright, white light in front of me. I was panting heavily, my heart thudding probably twice its normal rate in my chest.
Somewhere I heard chuckling, but I was so restrained so that I couldn't move my neck to see who it was. And the pain; it was coursing through my body like someone had run me over with a Mack truck.
"Having a lovely dream, were you? That drug really does cause vivid nightmares."
Rumlow.
The pain in my throat was terrible and it made breathing laborious, making it difficult for me to speak.
"I forgot that the guys beat you up before you came here. And it was on my orders, too. Fancy that."
I was aware of a stinging in my left eye and an excruciating pain in my right leg. They had beat me up pretty good since it was taking so long for me to heal.
"I wouldn't bet on feeling better anytime soon, Cap." He practically spit out my nickname like it was something vile. "The drugs we put in your system really slowed down your cells. You don't have a fighting chance of healing before we kill you."
Through my one good eye, I could see he had a drink in his hand. It wreaked of alcohol-probably a toast to his victory. He took a quick drink before giving me a malicious smile.
"Anyway, I suppose I should just kill you now, put an end to your suffering." He took one step, hand on his gun, before pausing, a smirk appearing on his lips.
"But then again, I'm quite enjoying this. The great Captain America, helplessly restrained to any torture we desire. It has such a bitter irony to it, don't you think? The one organization you committed your whole life to destroying now destroying you? Poetic justice, I think."
"I...think you're wrong." I rasped.
"You sound weak, Cap." He feigned concern. "Maybe I should leave you alone to rest."
And he left, leaving me in the white, narrow room to my pitiful and painful existence.
I'm feeling pretty evil right now, leaving you all with these cliffhangers. I hope you can find it in your hearts to forgive me!