Okay... Before you all kill me, I just have to admit I know it's been a long time sense I've updated and I am sorry. I do have a reason though! Between school, getting ready for my sister's wedding (which is in about a month), and juggling singing and friends, my life has been INSANE! Also, my anxiety was flipping out for no apparent reason pretty much all last month which was waaaaaay too much fun. :| So, yeah, that's what I've been dealing with. But, I will try to update more regularly since I have the outline for each chapter written out now. It should be a slightly more reliable schedule now, say... once every two weeks max. So, hope y'all enjoy this new chapter! Get ready for a very panicky Steve.
The relative sense of peace lasted about twenty minutes.
No one fell back asleep again, after Natasha's episode. They were all still trying to figure out what had happened. Even Natasha couldn't figure out why she'd been hallucinating, or why it had been that of all things. She stayed huddled near Clint, her nonchalant mask securely in place. She pressed close to her partner and didn't really allow anyone else closer than an arms length. The rest of the team took no offense to it, however, knowing that Clint had been with Nat far longer than any of them. They gave her space, and stuck to trying to figure out where they were and how to get out.
"Are we even still in the same compound?" Tony questioned, running his hands along the door, feeling for weaknesses, "they could have moved us while we were out."
Thor shook his head, "the walls are the same material as the one we attacked. It is also the same temperature as the last location."
"What are you Pointbreak, a human thermometer?" Tony snarked, trying to make the situation as casual and normal as possible.
"I do not wear sleeves," Thor reminded him, "I know how cold or hot it is, Anthony."
Tony shrugged, conceding to that point, "fair point, Shakespeare."
Steve smirked a little, knowing exactly what Tony was doing. He was glad that it was working. They were all still on edge, but it helped them get out of their heads a little. Tony continued to make the occasional sarcastic remark as needed while the small team tried to make sense of their predicament. Steve stared at the doors, trying to puzzle through what had happened so far. He wasn't sure how to proceed and, as team leader, was concerned about Natasha's wellbeing.
"She'll be fine," a sweet, calming voice spoke into his ear, "breathe, Steve. I'm here."
Steve froze, every muscle going rigid as his brain registered who the voice belonged to. Peggy. What the hell? He turned to look, finding no one there. He frowned to himself and bit his lip in concern. Natasha had been seeing things when she freaked out... surely he was fine as long as it was only in his head.
"That's just one possible outcome," he could hear the smirk in her voice as he spun towards where the voice was coming from, "surely you know better than to base an idea off of one possibility. It's a strategically faulty idea Steve."
Steve grimaced as he shook his head violently, trying to clear it of Peggy's voice. Normally he wouldn't mind having a sane thought running around but this was too strange and too coincidental. He glanced at the rest of the team, debating whether or not he should at least tell someone. He decided against it, not wanting to worry them. A phantom hand ran down his spine, settling around his waist and he shuddered.
"Always so strong, Steve," a flash of red hair in his periphery caused Steve to jerk his head around on instinct, startling Tony out of a nonsensical ramble.
"Steve?" the genius questioned, raising a concerned eyebrow towards the supersoldier, "you good?"
Steve nodded, ignoring the sight of a very young Peggy hovering over Tony's shoulder, "I'm fine."
Peggy smiled at him, her expression eerily similar to Tony's, "a soldier to the end, aren't you Steve."
"...eve," Tony's voice was more concerned than before and it was clear that he was getting worried, he lowered his voice, "what's wrong? You don't have to tell anyone else right now, I just need to know what's up. You look like you've seen a-"
"I'm fine, Stark," Steve bit out, desperate to be fine for his team.
Tony glared at him, "fine. When you're ready to be honest, I'll be over there," he angrily turned on his heel and made to walk across the room.
Peggy stared at him, "hmm..." she hummed thoughtfully, "he looks so much like Howard, don't you think? That man was so irritating sometimes," she produced a gun out of nowhere, "sometimes," she leveled it at Tony's head, "you just want to," she pulled back the hammer and placed her finger on the trigger.
"No!" Steve yelled, abandoning all illusions of sanity as he lunged for Tony, taking the smaller man to the ground and laying over him protectively.
"Steve," Clint was on his feet, "what the hell!"
"Shit, not again," Bruce snapped, trying to get Steve's attention and failing.
"So noisy," Peggy snapped, switching her aim last minute and sending a bullet flying at Clint. Steve stared in horror as Clint dropped to the ground, writhing in agony. He was frozen, cold seeping into his bones as he stared in terror as Peggy shot down his teammates one person at a time. He could barely hear his own screams over the agonized cries of his friends. His family.
"Stop!" he cried, holding Tony close to him as Peggy leveled her gun at the genius, "please! Stop!"
***Line Break***
Tony grimaced at the tight grip that Steve had on his now bruising arms. The man was completely out of it, screaming something about Peggy. Begging her to stop hurting someone. Tony couldn't snap him out of it. The others were staring in shock as Steve screamed his head off about whatever was going on. No one knew how to help him. It was clear that he couldn't see them. He'd yelled for each of them individually, his voice getting more and more strained each time. As if some was... Tony was wrenched out of his thoughts as Steve yanked him back and held him close, screaming, pleading, begging for whoever it was to not hurt him. To just leave them alone. Not to kill anyone else. Kill. The situation snapped into sudden clarity as Tony connected the dots. In Steve's mind, someone was killing them. All of them. One by one.
"Steve," he yelled, trying to get the man's attention, "Steve, listen to me!"
"Steve," Bruce crept closer, his face pale and panicked, "you have to snap out of it."
It was like the terrified man couldn't even hear them. Their words fell on deaf ears. His gaze was fixed on something beyond them, something that posed a danger to them from his perspective. Tony wiggled as the tight grip pulled at him and cut off the circulation to his arms. His breath was coming short, Steve's arms tightening around his chest. Black spots danced in his eyes as someone else's hands began to pry at Steve's arms, trying to free Tony. He wiggled one arm free, but his chest was still trapped.
"No!" Steve yelled, yanking the billionaire away from the helping hands, perceiving them as a threat, "don't hurt him! You hurt everyone else! Leave him alone!"
Tony lifted his hand, trying to pull away and get some air, but to no avail. He was going to die. At Steve's hand.
***line Break***
Steve felt panic threaten to break him as men dressed in Hydra uniforms slipped away from Peggy's side and began trying to pry Tony from his grasp. He twisted away, yanking the genius with him. He begged, pleaded, with them not to hurt him. They'd already taken everyone else, why couldn't they just leave him alone. Everyone in this century he cared about had just been killed. By Peggy. And she was cruel and unforgiving. The hydra on her black uniform seemed to mock him as he scrambled backwards, keeping his grip on Tony. he had to keep his friend safe. Everyone else was gone, by Peggy's hand. Because Peggy was Hydra. He should have known. He should have scene the signs. He should have stopped her before he went into that stupid ice... The thought of his time in the frozen ocean made his bones freeze up, that old haunting chill back in his bones. Peggy smirked at him as he gasped for air, his lungs freezing solid but his heart still beating painfully.
"You are a fool, Steve," she snapped, "think of everything Hydra could be. Don't fight it, Steve! It's who I am, it's who you are! It's who you were created to be! You-"
Her next words were cut off by a hand colliding with Steve's face. Hard. He blinked, his arms loosening as Tony slipped away from him. He reached back out desperate, despite his stinging face, to keep his friend safe. The cold in his bones kept him frozen in place, his vision turning a white-ish blue as ice encased his limbs. He was trapped. Stuck in that stupid ice. Again. His heart rate picked up and his breathing became erratic as the ice encased his torso. It pressed down on his chest until he was left gasping for air. He was pressed up against something, it felt like the pilot's chair. He was stuck in the ice again.
"Help," he gasped out, "help. Please! Get me out!"
***Line Break***
Tony gasped for air as he stared at the super-soldier, the man sitting stock still against the wall. His blue eyes were wide, but unseeing. His hands were clenched into fists at his sides and his face was a mask of terror. Tony watched him carefully, analyzing his movements carefully while mentally running diagnostics. He noted the slight shiver in his shoulders and he heard the muttered pleas for help. Something was definitely wrong.
"Steve," Clint tried, waving his hand in front of the man's face, "Steve, come on man, talk to us. What's going on? Is this like what happened with Nat?"
Bruce cast a shadow over one of Steve's eyes with his hand, trying to gauge his eye dilatation, "I can't tell. Natasha was too..." he hesitated, "out of sorts for me to gather full intel to compare it to. Maybe if he could talk to us, but..." he shrugged helplessly, "it's like he just went catatonic. I can't tell if it's the same thing."
Tony approached cautiously, "do you think it's in his head? Or did they drug us somehow?"
Bruce shook his head, "they haven't had time to drug us. Besides, it would have shown in Steve's system before Natasha's because of the serum."
"Or maybe it would show up later because of the serum," Tony argued, debating with the scientist to try and get a clear idea of what was going on, "Nat, I know you're not comfortable with it, but what did you see?"
She shuddered, leaning closer to Clint, "someone I killed. A long time ago. She came back and was trying to hurt you all," her lips pressed into a tight line, "I couldn't let that happen. Especially not because of me."
Tony studied Steve carefully, watching his knuckles turn white with the force of his grip, listening to the muttered pleas and gasps, watching the man shiver as if he was... It suddenly clicked. As if he was freezing. Steve spent years in ice, not able to function properly as a human being. He was unconscious for most of, yes, but he would remember some from before he fell asleep. And that kind of chill wouldn't have left his body before he'd woken up. Tony knelt in front of Steve, keeping just out of arm's length. And Peggy, what could Peggy do that would destroy Cap's world? Tony thought hard for a moment before he came to a conclusion. The only thing Peggy could do is hate Steve or be a traitor. That was the only thing that he could think of that would cause Steve to react like that. And if Peggy was a traitor, she would be with Hydra. And if she was with Hydra then she wouldn't hesitate to kill the Avengers. Ice and Peggy. That had to have been what Steve had seen.
Tony crept closer, ignoring the warnings from his very alive teammates behind him, "Steve," he spoke firmly and with a commanding tone, something that even Steve's unconscious would recognize, "listen up soldier," he snapped, noting how Steve unconsciously stopped shaking and stiffened, "you need to take a breath and relax. Whatever has you messed up right now will pass..." He glanced at Natasha questioningly for confirmation that it would indeed pass.
She nodded, "the thing I saw is gone now. It shouldn't last more than a few minutes with him."
Tony grimaced, "You hear that, Cap? It'll be over in a few minutes, in the meantime, I'm gonna sit next to you. If you try to break my ribs again, we're gonna have a problem, you hear me?"
Steve didn't nod, but he didn't shake his head either so Tony sat with a moment of indecision. He didn't want to panic Steve worse, but he knew that having a warm person next to him when he finally came out of whatever this was might seriously help the super-soldier.
"Aw what the hell," he muttered before slipping up next to his teammate and settling close to him on the ground, "see, Steve, nothing to worry about. You're okay, I'm okay, and you'll see in a minute that the rest of the team is okay too."
Steve didn't respond as Bruce checked something in his eyes again, "it looks like he's starting to come back. Tony, go ahead and keep talking to him, I think it'll help."
Tony nodded, keeping up a steady stream of nonsensical one-sided conversation with the others occasionally throwing in a comment or two. He and Thor were having a rousing discussion about the existence of genetically mutated purple ducks by the time Steve blinked confusedly and looked around the room.
"Rain check, Pointbreak," Tony cut Thor off as the bigger man tried to argue against something Tony had said, "Steve, you back with us?"
"Tony?" Steve shivered as he looked around, subconsciously leaning against the smaller man, "what... is everyone okay...?"
"Everyone is fine, Cap," Tony assured the man, "just like Natasha. Whatever you saw wasn't real, someone is messing with heads around here."
Steve grimaced, pushing himself off the wall and nearly falling over in an effort to stand upright and pull himself together, "messing with... why?"
Tony and Bruce helped him to a better sitting position as the man tried to pull back on his 'I am all together' Cap persona. The blonde looked around as casually as he could, but Tony saw his eyes roving up and down each team member carefully, scanning for injuries. Evidently, Thor saw it too. He crossed the room and dropped his hand to Steve's shoulder.
"We are all okay, Brother Steve," he insisted, his eyes dark and earnest, "no harm came to us. It was all visions seen only by you. Although, it was not without it's fright on our end. You had us concerned, my friend."
Steve's eyes were shadowed with guilt, "I'm fine, Thor, but thank you for your concern."
Tony so desperately wanted to call Steve on his bullshit, but Bruce swooped in and began checking the man over for any head injuries or concussions, any link between his and Natasha's mental breakdowns. Tony sighed as he settled against the wall next to Steve. He was going to stick by his co-leader's side for the moment, make sure he really was fine.
He began to suspect that everyone on the team was going to go through the same thing as Steve and Nat. Once is an accident, twice is a coincidence, three times is a patter So far, it was only a coincidence, but Tony had the worrisome suspicion that it would become a pattern far too quickly for his liking. And he was not looking forward to whoever was next. His head spun as he though about Steve's episode. He'd have to make sure to talk to the other man later, verify some things for both the blonde and himself. For now though, Tony sat against the wall, easing his aching ribs into a comfortable position. Bruce flitted around Steve and Natasha nervously and would no doubt see to Tony's chest in a moment. Then they could compare notes and try and figure out what the hell was going on here.
***Line Break***
In the room down the hall, the two Hydra men grinned and exchanged triumphant looks. Even the great Captain America was their victim. It was a sweet victory for Hydra. The concerned doctor rubbed a hand over the back of his neck nervously as he sat silently in the back of the room. He wasn't liking the way this was progressing at all. This kind of thing was dangerous. But, he had no choice in the matter. It was for the cause. He marked something down on his paper before standing and pouring himself a strong cup of coffee. On the paper, a file with a picture of the Captain stared up at the ceiling.
Rogers: Complete
So yep! I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter! Leave a review telling me which person you'd like to read next! Can't wait to hear what you thought! Love y'all!
- Storyspinner16