Avengers: Hunt for the Winter Soldier
Chapter 21
TITLE: Take Down
Summary: Steve escorts the Soldier to the dock for some fresh air and then to the gym where things don't go as Steve had planned.
NOTE: I'm dedicating this chapter to Lostshoe on AO3 for your support and thoughtful commentary on my story. I hope you're still enjoying it. – W6C
Steve pushed through the double doors that led out from the security lobby and held it open as the Soldier – Bucky – Soldat - followed him outside. Having seen the true Winter Soldier standing face to face with him this morning, it was becoming more and more difficult for Steve to look upon this version as that Soldier. As he led the way to the garden, he couldn't help but glance at the man beside him repeatedly.
This one; this one is not the Winter Soldier – not in his complete form. Complete form, what did that even mean? He wondered. Steve could feel it in his bones; this Soldier, the one now known and referred to by him and Natasha as Soldat; existed somewhere in between the person who was purely Bucky Barnes and that which was strictly the Winter Soldier, the mindless, brainwashed assassin.
This Soldier was… compliant and amiable in a fearful and uncertain way. Steve felt that what he was witnessing with this version was Bucky at a turning point in his conditioning; perhaps around the time he was actually, finally, vanquished and had lost all hope as a tormented captive within Hydra's torture chambers.
The Soldier walked beside him, never questioning where he was being taken or what he intended to do with him – or to him. Steve hoped deep down that his compliance may not be completely out of fear; perhaps, maybe… did he dare to hope that maybe, just maybe, Soldat trusted him?
He shook himself internally; consciously not allowing himself to get wrapped up in such a hopeful thought, but he couldn't deny any longer; especially after having faced off with the Winter Soldier again just over an hour ago, that this Soldier is not that Soldier.
The differences between the two versions of the Soldier that he'd met at this point were crystal clear. This was not subterfuge, this was honesty… this was a man he once knew, a man he loved with his whole being, who had been beaten and abused to his breaking point and was in the process of being re-created… into something else.
This was the 'in between'; the emptiness and numbness of dissociation caused by decades of torture and had turned a decent, honorable man into something not born, but made and molded by cruel hands and vicious minds.
Steve stepped into the shade of the maple tree before he even realized that they'd walked the entire distance. He paused there momentarily and looked at the man beside him who had also stopped on cue.
"I think today we'll walk down to the dock," Steve mentioned to him and the Soldier glanced at him before redirecting his gaze to the distant trees. "Come on," Steve said and headed down to the edge of the pond where he'd spent more than a few hours relaxing and fishing off the small pier.
They reached the edge of the water and Steve paused again to take in the sight of the sun shining off the water; making it look like hundreds of diamonds sparkling on the surface.
The Soldier obediently stopped beside him but a step behind.
Steve took a slow deep breath and let it out, enjoying the taste and smell of the warm summer air. It wasn't until he actually had the chance to step outside the building that he would realize how confined he'd been feeling.
Confined. Really, Rogers?
The thought made him feel petty as he looked at the Soldier. He'd been spending most of his time inside for only about a week… and by his own choice for that matter. He could step outside at any time of his own free will. The Soldier had spent seventy years in isolation and confinement without a choice of options.
Steve reached out and put his hand on the back of the Soldier's right arm, giving it a gentle tap just as he would have done if it had been Bucky standing there.
"Come on," he invited and stepped out on to the dock.
The Soldier followed two steps behind him as they stepped out onto the elevated wooden platform. He stopped again when Steve did halfway down the length of the pier.
The Soldier's eyes scanned the surface of the water and then focused on the dock. He leaned slightly to his left to look over the edge at the pylons and support structure and his expression darkened.
Steve watched him as he scanned the area and noticed the frown deepen as if the Soldier was thinking hard about something. When the Soldier suddenly looked up to the sky and widened his stance, Steve realized that the place they were now standing must have jogged his memory of being taken down by Steve and the team in Croatia. This dock was slightly smaller than the one he'd climbed, hauling the Soldier out of the water unconscious.
"Oh shit," Steve said under his breath, it hadn't occurred to him that the pier would be a trigger. "We're okay," he offered quickly hoping to diffuse anything that may be churning inside the Soldier's memory.
The Soldier lowered his eyes to now re-direct his gaze to the wooden platform under his feet. He took a few deep breaths and his shoulders pulled back to straighten his posture. It wasn't that Soldat slouched at all, he didn't; but the change in his mental state was clearly showcased by his more confident stance. If it was physically possible for the assassin to have gained two inches in height, he just did.
Steve took a cautious step back and then another; just to put a little distance between them so he'd have more time to react if the Winter Soldier suddenly attacked.
It was a tense moment and Steve thought he'd made another grave mistake by bringing him here, but then the Soldier's demeanor shifted again. Steve watched the Soldier's posture deflate slightly and he looked down at himself. His hands pressed against his belly and then pulled at the shirt as if wondering what he was wearing and where it came from before letting it go again but held his hands there.
The Soldier looked across the pond and then to his left. He took in his surroundings as if his brain was working in slow motion and as he turned his head to the right he saw Steve. The blond man was staring at him and his body was holding tense as if on alert. Soldat frowned at him as if questioning him.
Steve recognized his Soldier and relaxed; closing his stance as he was sure the danger had passed.
Soldat's forehead creased and he closed his eyes with a pained expression. His right hand came up to cover his eyes and then he pressed his thumb and forefinger into his eyes as if trying to relieve strain.
"You okay?" Steve asked, still not closing the distance between them.
Soldat kept his hand pressed to his eyes another few seconds and then lowered his hand. He opened his eyes and blinked at Steve with the same pained expression. Steve realized he might be experiencing a withdrawal headache as Bruce had warned.
"Let's go back inside," Steve suggested quietly.
Soldat squeezed his eyes shut tight again before opening them and stepping toward Steve. He didn't feel right and didn't know what was happening to him. It didn't matter anyway. The doctors within Hydra did things to him that often made him feel foggy or sick, the technicians and the handlers caused pain… and sometimes pleasure. This sensation wasn't completely alien to him. He followed his new handler back to the big building without incident.
As they reached the double doors, Steve remembered he'd told Sam and Natasha that he'd meet them in the gym. As they entered the lobby, he regarded the Soldier passively to assess his condition without causing a fuss or letting the Soldier know he was being scrutinized. His expression was no longer one of pain or tension and he waited patiently for his next command. Steve decided to bring him to the gym before heading back to his room.
Steve led the Soldier into the gym area hoping to familiarize him with some of the amenities the Avengers compound had to offer him. It was a good place to work out and get some needed exercise while being otherwise cooped up.
The doors closed quietly behind them and Steve paused a moment to look around. There was quite a bit of activity today, which was good. It would help to show their guest what there was to offer.
Looking to his right, he saw Sam punishing a 130 lb weight bag. He gave it a couple of left jabs and then a hard-hitting right. As he bounced on his toes to reposition himself for another attack on his imagined opponent he noticed Steve standing there looking at him. Sam raised his chin in greeting and Steve gave him a nod and a grin.
Steve watched his friend and noted that Sam was looking past him. He turned his head to see the Soldier was looking back at Wilson as if he was trying to place him. As Steve turned back around again, Sam kept his eyes glued to the Soldier as he threw a hard punch. Cap realized that, although Sam wanted to get past his first experiences with the Winter Soldier; there may still be something underlying Sam's psyche that still caused him concern.
Of course he still had concerns, Steve knew. The Winter Soldier had kicked Sam off the deck of a heli-carrier nearly three thousand feet in the air. He'd almost been taken out in flight; shot down, basically, just like his wingman, Reilly. Sam would be affected by that moment until he worked through it and Steve knew that Sam had tried hard to bury his post-traumatic stress instead of dealing with it. He turned back to the Soldier as Sam let his fists fly against the bag.
Steve offered a smile as he distracted the man beside him.
"Come on. I'll show you around," he said, stepping in front of the Soldier and pulling his attention away from Wilson.
The Soldier followed Steve as instructed but tossed a look over his shoulder to see Wilson watching him. He'd stopped pounding on the heavy bag and was just standing there. Sam realized he was projecting his own anxiety on the bag when he was surprised by the sight of the Winter Soldier standing in the room with him. He knew he was going to have to work through his own issues if he was going to help the team with the Soldier.
He'd been caught off-guard to see Steve enter the gym with the Soldier in tow. He'd known Steve was going to come here, but it never occurred to him that he'd have the Soldier with him. He still didn't know what to make of him or how much he could be trusted, if at all.
He tried to go back to finishing his routine, but now found himself unable to pull his attention away from Cap and the Soldier now in their midst. He decided to do a more passive workout, opting to stay focused instead on the immediate area and those in it so he wouldn't be caught off guard, just in case.
There were a few Avengers in the gym this afternoon taking advantage of the down-time to catch up on their own physical fitness routines or to do a little sparring to keep each other challenged.
Clint was at the back of the gym lifting free weights. When he saw Cap and the Soldier come into view he paused to catch his breath. Steve caught sight of him and Clint raised his chin in greeting. Steve again gave a nod in return and the Soldier noticed his action and looked to see what he was seeing.
Clint tried to be courteous and offered a nod to the Soldier, but he didn't return a greeting of any kind. Instead, he gave the equipment a close scrutiny as Barton sat on the bench waiting to continue his reps.
The sounds of two people throwing punches and kicks, and in turn countering and blocking those actions, became apparent as Tony and Natasha resumed their sparring match after pausing briefly to watch Steve as he entered the gym.
The familiar sounds of hand to hand combat caught the Soldier's attention and he turned around; curious to see who was fighting and why. Out of the corner of his eye, Steve saw the Soldier turn around and he turned also to see what had caught his attention.
The Soldier stood silently watching the two people in the ring. The platform on which they stood was elevated about three feet off the floor so everyone in the area could get a good view of any matches taking place within it.
The lights in the brightly lit gym suddenly seemed to bother his eyes. He closed them for a second and opened them again. His head hurt and his vision blurred. The lights went out and he blinked and they came back on. He tried to focus on the ring and the two people inside it.
Natasha threw a few punches at Tony's head that landed harmlessly against the protective head gear he wore. Neither was pulling their punches though and even with safety gear the kicks and punches that made contact were definitely felt by the receiver. Natasha had opted out of the protective head gear and padded gloves, but Tony wasn't as used to close contact altercations.
Tony blocked some of her punches, but it was clear to Steve and the other Avengers just how much Stark relied on his iron suit in order to be an asset of any real merit in a serious fight.
The Soldier watched with interest and focused on the two fighters as the vision of the room itself shifted and morphed into a place he knew well. He closed his eyes and opened them again to see that he was now standing inside The Kill Room.
It was dark and cold and contained a number of cells in which he would be pitted against opponents in fights to the death. It was the place where he and other super soldiers were forced to face off; either to determine who was stronger and more capable… or perhaps simply as a dark form of entertainment for his masters.
Tony hit the mat and rolled, getting back to his feet a short distance away from the Black Widow.
Natasha came at him with a quick series of kicks and punches that were meant to disorient him more than cause him injury; since this was just a practice exercise. The smile on her face, though, showed just how much she was enjoying herself.
Tony took a soft kick to the headgear and spun around. He went down on one knee, facing away from her. Natasha bounced on her toes for a second and then became still, dropping her fisted hands to her sides she waited for him to recover.
The Soldier watched them closely, wondering why Mouse had dropped her guard.
He watched her through the fog of a distant memory that was more than déjà vu. He'd never known her to go up against a super soldier other than inside the Red Room and he'd been there to protect her that time when the soldiers had gotten the upper hand.
Widows were never put in The Kill Room; not that he'd ever been made aware. But he didn't know that what he was seeing wasn't a memory. He didn't even know that it wasn't real and wasn't now. He wasn't in Hydra's Kill Room nor was he in Hydra's base at all… and neither was Mouse.
Steve glanced between him and his two friends in the ring. Steve noted that the Soldier wasn't showing any obvious concern over their supposed altercation and figured that he understood that it was just an exercise. He didn't realize that the lack of 'obvious concern' on the Soldier's face was due to the fact that he was in a semi-fugue state and watching the scene play out in front of him from a different place and time.
As Tony remained down on one knee longer than he should have needed to, Natasha became slightly concerned that one of her kicks may have hit him harder than she'd intended. His head was lowered and he was keeping his hand resting against the side of his head as if he'd gotten his bell rung.
He'd had more than enough time to recover from any solid hit so Nat became concerned and stepped forward to check on him.
The Soldier straightened as he watched; wondering why his student would approach her opponent while he was still able to strike out. The man on the ground could be feigning injury in order to get her to close the distance between them… and she was taking the bait. She was showing concern instead of going for the kill strike.
"Tony, you okay?" Natasha asked as she came up beside him. When he didn't move she bent forward to touch his shoulder. "Tony?"
As quick as a cobra, Stark made his move. He dropped his hand to the mat for balance and swung his legs out toward her, sweeping her legs out from under her. Natasha went down hard on the mat and immediately swung her legs out like a windmill to keep him at a distance.
She let her momentum spin her body around on the mat like a gymnast and quickly changed her position from down on her back to now on her hands and feet. She stopped in her signature pose, flipped her head up to get the hair out of her face and smiled at him.
Tony considered her and then shrugged. She took his shrug as a dismissal; that he'd conceded the match to her, so she got to her feet and just stood there. She glanced out over the rest of the gym and saw Steve with the Soldier standing there.
She smiled at her former teacher. It was good to see him out of that room and getting some exercise. He was already growing a shadow of whiskers, as it'd already been twenty four hours since his last shave, but he was freshly showered and wearing an outfit that she'd chosen for him.
Tony shifted his position, as if he was going to stand. He noticed Natasha was distracted and took the advantage. Instead of standing up from his crouched position, he dove for her knees instead, wrapping his arms around them he raised his arms up over his head, flipping her over his back.
The action put the Soldier on alert.
As Natasha went face down on the mat, Tony spun around and dove on top of her, pinning her there under his weight. Natasha could have easily displaced him but this was just a fun match between friends.
The Soldier didn't know that though; all he saw was his student had made a mistake that could have a high cost; her life. He was suddenly in motion and took off away from Steve, running toward the ring. He'd moved so fast that even Steve was caught totally off-guard.
"Bucky! No!" he shouted.
Steve's shout drew the attention of both Sam and Clint. They both turned toward the shout to see the Soldier moving across the floor so fast he was nearly a blur.
As he moved quickly through the maze of gym equipment he'd displace a heavy piece of machinery if it stood in the way of his trajectory simply by laying his metal hand on it and giving it a slight shove.
A few yards from the ring he sprang, propelling himself effortlessly over the top rope encircling the ring seven and a half feet off the floor. He landed solidly with a thud, right behind Tony. But before Tony could register the sound and turn around, the Soldier had taken two steps and was on him in an instant.
Sam, Clint and Steve were on the move but they were nowhere near as fast as the Soldier. Steve had seen precisely what the Soldier was physically capable of a few times in the past year, but his leap from the floor stunned Wilson and Barton who watched in disbelief as the Soldier cleared the ropes with no effort at all.
They continued racing forward, hoping to intervene before anyone got hurt, but they didn't quite make it. The Soldier reached down with his left hand and wrapped it around Tony's throat. Tony gagged in pain and surprise, as his windpipe was suddenly in the vise-like grip of the Winter Soldier's metal hand. He was hauled off Natasha and held up in the air at the end of the metal arm, with the Soldier looking up at him snarling.
Tony's hands came up and wrapped around the metal wrist as he fought for air; he tried to lever his own weight off the man's hand by pushing down on the Soldier's forearm. The Soldier glared at him for a moment and then twisted around; using that momentum, he threw Stark across the ring.
Tony slammed hard into the padded corner post and fell onto his back. He gasped for air as his windpipe recovered from the assault and then scrambled, trying to get back on his feet, as the Soldier stomped toward him with an angry look on his face.
"Wait, wait!" Tony yelled out, holding his gloved hands up in front of him. His first thought was to send an energy pulse out from his palm to incapacitate the Soldier as he'd done before. But he was caught at a disadvantage when nothing happened and he suddenly realized his iron suit was nowhere close by. The closest pulse weapon he had nearby was in his locker in the shower area.
"Soldat!" Natasha yelled as she sprang to her feet. "Ostanovka!" Stop! she called out and moved quickly to intervene.
Tony still had his hands up in front of him as the Soldier grabbed onto the front of his shirt and lifted him to his feet.
"Myshonku nikto ne navredit," the Soldier growled through gritted teeth. He drew back his right arm and landed a punch right between Tony's eyes. The impact sent a sharp pain up the bridge of his nose that exploded across both eyes, causing his vision to go black; colors flashing behind his eyelids. The Soldier drew him close so they were practically nose to nose. He held Stark up with his left hand - high enough that the man had to stand on his tip toes - and then pushed him away as he opened his hand and Tony fell to the mat a few feet away from the Soldier.
The three male Avengers made it into the ring, each one climbing in from a different side so at least two would make it inside to defend Tony if the Soldier turned on any one of them. Steve saw the Soldier drop Tony and remain still, glaring down at him. He put his hand up to halt Clint and Sam as the two were fully prepared to take the Soldier on in defense of Stark. "Wait!" he said, afraid their interference would only escalate the situation. "Wait!"
"Wait?" Sam yelled back.
"Sam, stop!" Steve said, his tone sounding more like a plea than an order.
Sam and Clint slowed and looked at him, concerned for Tony and unsure if Cap was thinking clearly. They'd all seen it before; how Steve's judgment would go askew whenever Barnes was involved in whatever situation the Avengers were faced with. Before Wilson could object further, Natasha also put her hand up to halt them from coming closer. The Soldier had defended her and dropped Tony at his feet, but he'd stopped himself from going further. He hadn't gone for the kill strike and that was huge. Natasha approached him with care though, unsure of where his mind was at the moment.
As she moved toward him, placing each foot carefully and with consideration of always keeping a defensive stance, Natasha's hand was still held in the air. She glanced at Steve and he gave her a concerned look. He was poised to move if needed and she repositioned her hand to signal Steve to stay where he was as she approached the Soldier.
As she came up beside the Soldier, she looked down at Tony who was lying on the mat and resting on an elbow, his legs were spread and knees bent, holding him balanced so he wouldn't just fall over. He stared wide eyed up at the Hydra assassin.
The Soldier's hair had fallen like a curtain to hide his face from onlookers as he looked down at Stark. His stance made it clear that he was ready to take them all on if they intended to challenge. His entire body seemed to flex as he geared up for the battle ahead, his chest expanded as he took in copious amounts of air in a single breath, readying himself for a fight to the death.
Natasha kept her hand up and then redirected it toward the Soldier. His gaze shifted from the man at his feet to Natasha's hand. It appeared to her that the Soldier understood that she wanted him to halt his actions and he did so. She was, after all, the one who'd been wronged and, if she wanted him to not avenge her, he would heed her wishes.
She laid her hand on his arm and he straightened slightly, closing his stance, but still on alert for any move Stark might make. Natasha put slight pressure on the front of his arm and he took half a step back. Natasha stepped in front of him as she continued to face him. She put her other hand against his sternum with slight pressure to indicate she wanted him to step back further. He paused briefly and then understood so he took another step back.
Once the Soldier had backed off to a slightly more comfortable distance, Natasha turned to Tony. She grabbed a towel slung over the top rope near the corner post and knelt down in front of him; keeping herself between the two men.
As she went down on one knee Natasha looked behind her at the Soldier to be sure he remained in place. She put her hand up to signal him to stay there and that she was fine. She watched as he visibly relaxed further so she turned back to Tony and offered him the towel for the blood trickling down the side of his nose.
"Are you okay?" she asked.
Tony stared past her, unable to take his eyes off the Soldier.
"Tony?" she said, trying to distract him from the Soldier who was now standing like a statue.
Tony finally pulled his attention away from the Winter Soldier and looked at Nat.
"Are you all right?" she asked again.
"Yeah," he replied. He took the towel from her hand, still trying to get his wits about him. The flesh across the bridge of his nose had split from the pressure of the super soldier's fist slamming against his face and he only became aware of it after Natasha handed him the towel. He pressed it to the wound and then looked at it. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm okay," he said, seeing just a single line of blood that came off onto the towel. He dabbed it a few more times then shifted his position to stand. Natasha took his cue; standing up she helped him to his feet. Tony looked past her at the man still staring at him. "Where the hell did he come from?" he asked, bewildered. He made sure to keep Natasha between him and the Soldier.
"Sorry, Tony," Steve offered, "I was showing him around. I thought he'd benefit by getting out for a while… get some fresh air and sunshine… "
"Yeah, no problem," Tony replied a bit sarcastically while nodding. He understood that completely. It was, after all, why he'd insisted they bring the Winter Soldier back to the compound. Here, he could explore and learn his place in the world – a new place - without endangering the general population of… well, the world. He would be safe here and the world would be safe from him. "I saw you come in with him but… you were over there!" He said, suddenly pointing toward the weight area. "How did he get from there… to here so fast?"
"He moves like a freight train," Natasha said quietly, repeating the words she'd used earlier when she described the Soldier's speed.
"Understatement," Tony commented casually as he tried to shake off the effects of his altercation with the assassin.
"What the hell happened?" Sam demanded to know.
"I don't know," Steve answered, shaking his head. "He was standing next to me one second and on top of Tony the next."
"He was defending me," Natasha told them.
"He didn't need to defend you," Tony mentioned, stretching and bending his left arm, rolling his shoulder to be sure it was still seated in the socket as he'd hit the corner post pretty hard.
"He didn't know that," she explained.
"What did he growl at me, anyway? Before he tried to put out my lights…" Tony asked.
Natasha bit back a pained grin. "He said 'Nobody harms Little Mouse," she translated.
"Who the hell is Little Mouse?" Tony demanded to know.
"That would be me," she told him.
"Little Mouse?" he asked incredulously, "Seriously?"
"Well, I was fourteen and a lot smaller… and could get in and out of places without making a sound or being seen… like a mouse," she explained the best she could.
"Well, that's sweet, but…" Tony replied, "I'm not sparring with you anymore while he's here." He gave her a comical "so there" expression that made Natasha grin. Feeling a little safer now that he knew Natasha could control the Soldier's actions; he stepped around her and gathered enough feigned courage to offer the Soldier the same 'so there' look.
The Soldier looked back at him with a rather disinterested expression, as if Stark was but a fly that needed to be swatted; which did succeed in rattling Tony's cage a little. He had the distinct impression that, had Natasha not stopped him, the Winter Soldier would have had no second thoughts about killing him… or, at the very least, putting him in a very serious hurt locker.
"I'm going to shower and change before lunch," Tony mentioned as he crossed the ring. He tried hard to act completely casual, as he left the Winter Soldier behind.
But he couldn't leave the ring area fast enough; trying unsuccessfully to give the impression that he really had no care as he climbed between the ropes and dropped to the floor. It didn't work well though; it never did. He could feel the weight of the Soldier's gaze on him as he wove his way through the gym equipment doing his best not to run. His back was too straight though, and his arms and legs too stiff, to come across as anything resembling calm and collected.
Tony glanced over his shoulder now and again to be sure the Winter Soldier wasn't coming after him, nearly walking right into the Counter-Balanced Weight Training unit; he stopped himself before actually slamming his head on the weight bar and stepped around it; continuing to glance over his shoulder until he rounded the corner to the relative safety of the locker room.
The others remained in the ring with the Soldier until Tony was out of sight. Natasha was still standing in front of him and the others slowly moved closer. The Soldier looked from Natasha to the man over his right shoulder.
Clint slowed his movements as the Soldier looked at him and then stopped completely as the assassin stared at him. Barton got the impression that the Soldier was calculating his next move.
The Soldier then turned slightly further in that direction to look at Sam who had moved up directly behind him.
Sam stopped and straightened; unsure he really wanted to be this close to the Soldier. He did his best to remind himself that this man was not the enemy, but a fellow combat veteran who'd spent decades as a prisoner of war; missing in action and presumed dead until a year ago, and now needing his help. That part was still really difficult for Sam when the Soldier was being… well, being the Soldier. As he watched, the Soldier turned back toward Natasha but continued the motion to twist around to the left enough to look at Steve standing nearby.
Steve watched him closely as the Soldier's gaze raked over him from head to toe. Cap understood that the Soldier was reading the situation and taking everyone's posture into consideration. The Soldier was reading the room and calculating his next move.
Images flashed through the Soldier's mind; he knew what he should be doing, he knew what was expected of him, but this didn't feel right. The Kill Room taught him to fight to the death; to show no mercy, no hesitation, and no regret; nothing else would be tolerated by his handlers. He could see that all three men were ready to strike if they had to, but none had made a move on him. The Soldier knew their next action would be determined by his. He could take them all, even all at once, he knew that. He had no fear of them, fear had been beaten out of him so long ago that he felt nothing now; but he had no real reason to harm any of them either. He had no mission parameters; no directives; no orders. He closed his stance, bringing his feet closer together and lowered his shoulders as he straightened to his full height. Everyone around him also relaxed their stance.
Steve walked up to him cautiously and the Soldier looked at him. If he hadn't witnessed it with his own eyes Steve wouldn't have even known the Soldier had just thrown a full grown man ten feet through the air and then put him down on the ground. He showed no indication at all that he'd been in a physical altercation. He wasn't breathing heavily or even wound up. It was just another part of his normal routine; for him, it was nothing out of the ordinary, nothing special.
Steve shook his head slightly and nearly smiled; not with amusement, but in awe of the man looking back at him. "I think that's enough for today," he stated. Steve escorted the Soldier out of the ring while Sam and Clint hung back to give them space. Natasha followed a couple yards behind so the Soldier wouldn't keep his focus on her or the need to protect her.
As the trio neared the doors to exit, Natasha noticed that the Soldier kept reaching out to put a hand down on equipment as he passed by. At first she thought he was doing so out of curiosity; exploring his surroundings by touch… until his steps faltered slightly and he leaned briefly on an inclined elevated Jump machine.
"Steve?" she called to him, raising her voice only slightly to get his attention.
Steve turned to look behind him and his mouth opened to ask what?, but his gaze was immediately pulled from her by the odd stance the Soldier had taken. Steve did a double take and realized the Soldier was holding himself upright by leaning on the machine. Steve stepped over to him and looked at him closely as Natasha joined them. His skin had paled and his breathing was showing signs of labor. He appeared to be concentrating on breathing in and out as perspiration beaded up on his forehead and glistened on his throat.
"Withdrawal?" Natasha asked softly.
Steve glanced to her and back to the Soldier. He raised his hand carefully to touch the Soldier's left arm to let him know he was there. The Soldier slowly raised his gaze from the floor and looked at Steve. He seemed to be studying his face and Steve waited patiently, but with growing concern. The Soldier began to tremble and he closed his eyes as if trying to make it stop. "Let's get him back," Steve decided and guided the Soldier away from where he'd been leaning.
The Soldier allowed himself to be led away by his handlers. They would correct this issue, he knew… because if they weren't causing the issue, they were fixing it.
Steve guided the Soldier up the corridor from the gym, keeping one hand in the Soldier's armpit to give him support. He could also monitor his level of strength, and whether he was going to actually collapse. They were nearing the elevator bank that stood between the gym and Banner's labs when the Soldier's legs gave out. Steve caught him and hoisted him up, getting his right arm up and over his shoulders to keep the Soldier on his feet.
"Get Banner," Steve told Natasha and she gave him a nod then ran ahead.
"I gotcha, buddy," Steve told him as he hurried past the elevators and the labs toward the infirmary, hoping to get him there before the Soldier's weight dragged them both down.