Eight
Abandoned Hydra Base, Lawrence, Kansas
August 16, 2015
11:00 pm
The Captain lays down on the table and wait while Natasha straps him in and attaches wires and a mouth guard into his mouth.
"This should work. But if it doesn't and Steve dies, what are you going to tell Bucky?" She asks as she starts up the machine.
The Captain looks at her and she sighs. "We won't tell him. Great plan, Cap. Was that Steve's idea?"
He nods.
'Hopefully this works.' Steve says as they prepare for the separation.
'We will make it Steve.' The Captain reassures him. 'We have to. We have to stop Grant.'
Steve nods.
"You ready?" Natasha asks as she starts up the salvaged machine. The Captain nods once. Natasha fires up the machine and the Captain lets out a grunt of pain before he starts to separate from Steve.
'Steve!' He yells. He grasps Steve's hands and the Captain's memories flow between them.
Moscow, 2003
The Captain stands over the beaten and bloody body of Steve Rogers' mind. Grant stands in the corner, watching.
'Is he dead?' Grant asks. The Captain looks at him.
'Nyet.'
Grant pauses before asking 'Are you going to kill him?'
The Captain stares at Steve's body for a few moments, his programming already breaking. 'Nyet.' He whispers.
Grant frowns and crosses his arms. 'Why are you disobeying your masters' orders?'
The Captain looks up at Grant, confused as to why he wants Steven dead. 'He...he is intended for a higher purpose.'
Grant scoffs.
The scene changes.
Romania 2008
The Captain is on a mission when he has to hide inside a civilian home. He didn't want to bring any innocents into this mess. He glances around the room where two pairs of eyes are staring at him. One a tall brunette woman and the other a small child. The child runs up to him while the mother tries to grab her back. The Captain's eyes widen as she places her pudgy hands on his cheeks.
"esti in siguranta"
The Captain's eyes water as he smiles and cover her hands with his own gloved ones. Bullets fire through their room and the Captain releases a single tear as the girl's body sinks to the floor, dead.
Steve gasps awake and the mouth guard falls out of his mouth. Natasha is right next to him as alarms sound. Steve glances around as Natasha is speaking to him.
"Steve? Steve, it's alright. Your safe. I'm Natalia, Steve, do you-"
"Captain?!" His voice trembles as he staggers to stand, ignoring Natasha's moves to have him sit back down. The tank next to him whirs and flashes light. Steve punches his right metal fist into the handle of it and he watches it splinter before blue colored gel explodes out of the container along with a pale body. Steve catches the Captain and Natasha furiously shuts off the machines.
"Captain?" He gently shakes his clone's body. "Captain, you need to wake up. Please. I can't do this alone, pal."
Natasha places a hand on his shoulder. "Steve, we have to go. Every Hydra operative will be here in about 5 minutes."
Steve's head snaps to growl at her, "Give him a minute, Natalia. He needs-"
The Captain coughs as he jerks to sit up. "St...Steve?"
Steve helps him stand while Natasha sweeps the perimeter. The door opens and Grant walks in, his red hair slicked back and his pale pink shirt wrinkled.
"God help me. You fuckers actually pulled It off. I owe Damien 12 bucks. Congratulations. Too bad one of you is going to die." Grant pulls a gun just as Natasha pulls her own out.
"Not today."
Grant raises a brow and fires at Natasha just as she fires back. His bullet hits her in the stomach- again, Jesus Christ, Natalia- as hers hits him in the forehead.
Steve sets the Captain back on the floor a he slides to Grant's side.
"Grant?" Steve turns Grant's head towards himself. Grant blinks as the red blood oozes from the hole.
"Hail Hydra," he murmurs. Steve scowls as snaps Grant's neck. He looks to where the Captain sits by Natasha's side. He presses his shirt to the wound.
"We need to go to Stark Tower. She needs a doctor." The Captain carefully picks her up. Steve looks towards Grant one last time before following them out the door.
Present
Stark Tower
"Steve!" Bucky lunges towards the room as Clint tries to pull him back.
"Bucky, no! We don't know if it's even safe-"
"Let me go!" Bucky struggled out of Clint's hold. "Let me go, god damn it!"
"Bucky," a soft voice says from behind them.
Bucky turns around in Clint's hold and...and sees Steve standing right there, in ripped jeans and a white shirt. His right arm is still metal and Bucky goes back in his memory to picture the other Steve.
'The fake Steve closes the window just as the other Avengers enter the room. When he sees Damien, he fires his gun with his right arm, nonmetal. Nonmetal.'
"Steve?" Bucky's breath is taken away a Steve chuckles softly.
"Yeah, Buck, it's me."
Bucky smiles through his tears as he runs to Steve. Steve opens his arms and when they meet, they fit together like a puzzle piece.
"Stevie," Bucky hugs him closer, the Avengers be damned if they stood where they are. Steve was his husband and Bucky is never going to let him leave again.
Clint walks up to them and places a hand on top of Steve's shoulder.
"Welcome home, bud."