A New Dream

“This… is the story of how I died. But don’t worry! This is actually a very great story and in fact, it isn’t even mine. This is the story about a boy named James. But don’t call him that, no one would know who you’re talking about. I met him as Bucky. And our story starts, with a star.

“Once upon a time, a very long time ago, on a dark and stormy night a star fell. Now some people say a lightning bolt struck the earth, or it was a meteor- but I like to say a star fell from the sky and came to the earth. And what was left was a beautiful blue stone. It had the ability to heal the sick and injured.

“Centuries passed, and a hop skip and a boat ride away there grew a kingdom. The kingdom was ruled by a beloved King and Queen, and they had a baby boy. The prince was young, wide eyed and adored by all. Brave, intrepid, brilliant, he would make a fine ruler.

“But he was small, and sickly. And one winter, he got so bad that the doctors were giving up, saying there was nothing more they could do.That’s when people usually start to look for a miracle.

“Or in this case, a magic blue stone.  But you see, instead of sharing the star’s gift, a man named Arnim Zola discovered how to distill the stone’s power into liquid form, keeping himself young for hundreds of years. It was an intensive process, and this guy wasn’t all that fun to be around. Very creepy, very scary.

“But thankfully, someone believed in the legend of the stone. An orphan working as a palace stablehand. I’ll give you a hint: that’s Bucky. He and the prince were best friends, and Bucky knew the stone was Steve’s last chance. So he stole a horse, and raced off to find it.

“After many days of searching, Bucky reached a cottage deep in the woods, where he watched Zola use the serum to heal a cut. Bucky waited for Zola to fall asleep before he snuck in and snatched a vial of serum. He spurred his horse to a gallop back to the kingdom, triumphant and relieved that he had saved his friend.

“But little did he know that he was being followed…

“The magic of the serum not only healed the prince, but made him stronger. He could breathe better, see better. His eyes changed from a dull and foggy to a brilliant bright blue. The entire kingdom rejoiced… all but one. The Royal Advisor, Alexander Pierce, who had followed Bucky from the moment he had heard about the power of the stone.

“To celebrate the prince’s new health, the King and Queen launched a flying lantern into the sky, as a thank you to the stars. And for that one moment, everything was perfect.

“And then that moment ended. The royal advisor, Alexander Pierce, kidnapped Bucky, taking him to Zola’s cottage. There they made a deal. A human test subject for Zola’s experiments, for a partnership to share the serum’s power. Steve ordered the guards to search and search, but they could not find Bucky. For deep within the forest, in a hidden tower, Bucky was beginning to forget who he was. And they were determined to keep him hidden...”

★

It was always dark. That was what the Soldier knew. Dark, and cold. He had one command: When there were two knocks, he had to open the window, let down the rope, and pull the Commander or the Doctor up. Or both.

He kept a schedule:

0700: Stretches and exercise. Work with the right side, test the movement of the right. Report any damage to the machinery to the Doctor.

0800: Breakfast (whatever the Doctor had left behind)

0830: Another set of stretches and exercise. Work with the right side, test the movement of the right. Report any damage to the machinery to the Doctor.

1000: Wait for the Commander or the Doctor. This would be when tests were run. They varied day to day. If nobody showed up, he would stretch and work and pace. 1815: Sleep.

But sometimes... he would open the window. And he would watch the blue sky. The birds, the sun. The stars, if he was lucky. The cool night air would blow on his face and he would close his eyes and imagine being out of the tower. Imagine being free.

Today, the Soldier was sitting, his mind blank as he waited for the signal. His breath steady, in-out, in-out. If he was good, maybe today wouldn’t hurt. Maybe the Commander wouldn’t come today--

Knock-knock.

★★

“Widow! You ready?” a man with impressive scars on his face and arms hissed. Natasha Romanoff, legendary thief, nodded as she tightened the rope around her waist. She and two thugs were on the roof of the palace, crouched carefully around a skylight into the throne room.

“Try not to drop me this time, Rumlow.”

“Oh you can’t let that go, can you?” Brock Rumlow, thug, gritted his teeth into a smile as he took up the ropes. The veins in his suntanned arms bulged, and he rolled his head to crack his neck. “Batroc, you got this?” Georges Batroc, a balding man with extremely large biceps nodded, holding open the skylight. Natasha pushed up the sleeves of her blouse.

“Let’s go, boys.” She slipped in, letting the rope carry her down to the pedestal where the crown of the future king sat. As silent as a spider she reached down and plucked the crown from where it sat. After carefully putting it in her bag, she tugged on the rope, and it began to rise up out of the throne room.

The plan was perfect. Steal the crown, get paid, part ways. But one guard had a sense, just a tiny feeling, and turned around. And see the empty pedestal, and the beautiful woman rising out of the room.

Peter Parker, appointed throne room guard, cried out, “Hey, wait!” making Natasha, the Black Widow, flinch and swiftly climb back up the rope.

“Come on!” Rumlow snarled, cutting the rope and gathering their supplies. Batroc leaped over the edge of the roof, with Rumlow and Natasha right behind.

★★★

The Soldier stood with no hesitation. He pushed the window open, and reached out for the lever with his left hand. His arm whirred slightly with effort, and the rope ladder descended. He stepped back into the light, tilted his head down, and waited.

“Well done, Soldier.” The Commander smiled. “How you manage to do that every single day without fail, it looks exhausting.” The Soldier tilted his head to one side, trying to determine a response. The Commander frowned, the Soldier must have taken too long. “Well. Doctor Zola will arrive at oh-100-hours. He’s going to give you a physical and then we’re going to decide the course of action for today.”

“Yes sir,” the Soldier nodded once.

★★★★

The thieves burst into the forest, sprinting away from the kingdom.

“This way!” Rumlow changed direction. Natasha felt a growl in the back of her throat and followed. She put a hand to her bag, making sure the crown was still there. Rumlow slowed down and they all stopped, catching their breath and doubled over.
“Oh no,” Rumlow said. Natasha’s head snapped up and she looked around. “Oh no no no no no no no no, this is bad, this is very very bad, this is really bad…” Rumlow tore down a wanted poster and held it up for them to see. It was of Rumlow, but crudely drawn. “They just can’t get my nose right!” he cried out.

“Casse-toi!” Batroc snapped.

“Who cares?” Natasha grumbled.

“Well it’s easy for you to say! You always look amazing.” Rumlow winked at Natasha and she rolled her eyes.

“You’re a pig,” she said, pushing the hair out of her face. All three of them snapped to attention as the neighs of horses reached them.  

“Come on!” Rumlow led the way. Natasha kept a tight hold on the bag. “There’s a way through-”

“Merde!” Batroc spat. They had ran into a trap of nature- cliff faces on all three sides and the sound of the guards nearby.

“Okay,” Natasha said, stepping forward and looking around. “Give me a boost, and I’ll pull you up.”  Rumlow and Batroc exchanged a look.

“Give us the satchel first, sweetheart,” said Rumlow.

“What?” Natasha looked betrayed and aghast. “I can’t believe that after all we’ve been through together, and you don’t trust me?” The thugs didn’t flinch. “Ouch.” She rolled her eyes and handed over the bag with the crown.

Batroc stood bottom, and Rumlow clambered onto his shoulders. Natasha scrambled up, smirking as she made it to the top.

“Now help us up, beautiful,” Rumlow said, reaching his hand up.

“Sorry,” Natasha said, standing up and looking back down at them. “My hands are full.” She held up the satchel she had gently lifted off of Rumlow’s back.

“What?!” Rumlow shouted. Natasha began to run, followed by the scream of, “ROMANOFF!!!”

★★★★★

Sam Wilson, Sergeant of the King’s Guard lead the chase on horseback. “Retrieve that crown at any cost!” he shouted to his troops.

“Yes sir!” they all replied in unison.

Clint Barton, famous for his skill in archery, whistled to his dog. “Come on, Lucky!”

“Barton!” Sam shouted. “With me!”

The Black Widow, the most infamous thief the kingdom had seen in years ran without faltering. As she leaped over a massive fallen tree, Clint grinned and called out, “Did’ya see that, Sam? She’s incredible!”

“An incredible pain in my ass!” Sam grumbled, spurring his horse on. “Follow right behind!” Sam timed it right, and his horse gracefully flew over the fallen tree. Clint followed suit, his horse barely stumbling and Lucky scrambling after them. The rest of the troops weren’t so lucky, their horses stopping in front of the tree.

“We got her now, Sam!” Clint whooped, pulling an arrow from his quiver.

“Don’t kill her!” Sam shouted.

“I’m not going to! I’m just gonna--” Clint was cut off by the Widow leaping for a vine. She swung around a nearby tree, timing it just perfectly to fly straight into him and knock him off his horse. She grabbed the saddle and reins and continued the horse’s gallop.

“Oh shit!” Sam shouted. He drew his pistol, cocking it.

“Yah!” the Widow spurred the horse. Lucky jumped and snapped at her heel. “Down, boy!” she snapped.

“Black Widow! Hand over the bag!” Sam demanded. “Don’t make me shoot you!” She glanced backwards at him, her steely eyes measuring him up while Sam’s eyes narrowed.

“Yah!” The trees were beginning to clear. Suddenly the Widow pulled back on the reins and stopped her horse. Sam blew past her and almost fell straight down off a cliff.

“WOAH!” he pulled back on the reins so hard his horse whinnied out of fright. Natasha slipped off her horse, running to the edge and looking down.

“What are you gonna do?!” Sam panted, keeping the pistol in his hand. “Jump?!”

“I’ll figure it out,” the Widow grinned. Suddenly Lucky burst out of the bushes, lunging for the satchel. The Widow stepped backwards quickly, too quickly, and fell. Lucky didn’t stop in time, and fell along with her.

“No!” Sam ran forward, but couldn’t see to the bottom. “Lucky!” he shouted, trying to hear something, anything.

“Lucky?!” Clint burst through the trees, panting and covered in dirt. “Where’s my dog?!”

“He--” Sam uncocked his pistol. “We have to find them.”

★★★★★★

“Shit. Shit. Shit.” Natasha slid and rolled as much as she could, letting her limbs go as limp as possible. There was a loud popping noise that made her cry out. “Shit!” Finally the world was still.

Natasha looked up at the sky as her head stopped spinning. The satchel was still there, clutched in her hand. The crown was still there. Her right shoulder was out of place. It was still early in the day. Everything hurt.

There was a high pitched whining. Natasha lifted her head to see a dog- the guard’s dog- lying nearby. It had a couple scratches, but it looked fine.

“You… gonna get me, dog?” Natasha managed to wheeze out as she sat up. The dog lifted its head, seemingly to notice Natasha for the first time. It growled half-heartedly, but then chuffed and put his head down. “Nasty fall, huh?” It patted its tail on the ground. Natasha got on her knees and stood slowly, trying not to move her right arm. “Look, we’re gonna have--” a branch snapped, and Natasha immediately went into cover. The dog whimpered, and stood up and limped over to Natasha’s side behind the bush. She put a finger to her lips, and the dog laid back down.

A man in a cloak and hood strode quickly in the opposite direction. Natasha waited until she couldn’t hear his footsteps anymore, then looked down at the dog.
“I think the guard called you Lucky,” she said. “And you must be. Come on, let’s go see where he just came from. Maybe there’s a house.” Lucky snuffled and they both stood up together and walked slowly in the direction the man came. Lucky tracked the scent, leading Natasha to a familiar sight of that day: a wall of stone, this one covered in ivy vines.

“He did not come out of that wall… did he?” Natasha asked Lucky, stumbling forward and putting a hand out to catch herself. The ivy vines parted like a curtain at her touch, and she nearly fell again. Lucky nudged her leg and she half-smiled, half-grimaced out of pain. “Let’s see where this goes.”

Through the tunnel under the stone wall, and Lucky and Natasha found themselves in a beautiful clearing. Completely surrounded by stone cliffs, it was as if it had been carved and sealed off from the world. And there in the center, was a tower. Natasha looked down at Lucky. “Let’s go.” They hobbled over to the tower as silently as they could, and when they reached the door at the bottom Natasha reached out and pulled on the handle. “Locked. Fine. We’ll knock,” she whispered.

Something dropped to the ground behind them, making them whirl around. It was a ladder. Natasha looked down at Lucky, and shrugged with her good shoulder. “Might as well. But I can't carry you up, you should go lay down under a bush somewhere. I'll come find you when I know it's safe.”

Lucky snuffled and limped toward a big shady looking bush. Natasha gritted her teeth, and took up the ladder with one hand and began to climb. It was slow, long, and painful. Finally when she reached the top, she swung her legs over the window ledge and slipped inside. The sunlight barely cut into the dusty gloom of the tower room, and she held her good arm up and out in greeting.

“Hello? I’m sorry to disturb, I just need a place to hide…” One of the larger dark shadows moved. “for a moment…” she continued, trying to keep her voice steady. “Would you please come into the light?” Natasha’s breath hitched as a man stood in front of her, the sunlight glinting off his left shoulder. “Oh...hi…” His arm struck out quickly, and everything went dark.

★★★★★★★