The Captain turned in his bed, again. He couldn’t sleep as usual. He didn’t know why he couldn’t sleep in a bed, and he didn’t understand it either. Everyone else here could sleep in a bed but he couldn’t even sleep at all mainly. Maybe a few hours here and there. But even that was filled with…something. Memories. Dreams.
He sighed and sat up on the bed, pushing the blankets back. The Captain stood up and fixed the blankets, making sure that everything was smooth. He was a perfectionist at times. Plus, if he had a long day, he could always just go to sleep on a bed that was made without having to worry about the hassle of fixing the blankets. He wondered why he needed to fix the blankets though. He…he didn’t understand…maybe a woman…a woman used to…used to tell him to…to make the bed. Right? He can’t remember. Everything’s foggy.
The Captain made his way to the other side of his cell. Room. This was his room. He didn’t know why his brain thought this was a cell. This is his room because he sleeps here. This is his room because he lives here.
He’s a prisoner. No. No. No. He’s not a prisoner. He lives here. He works…
The Captain rubbed his temples from the headache he was getting. He always got headaches. For how long? He couldn’t remember that. The Captain sighed and wrapped his hands in the bandages as he looked at his punching bag. This always helped him focus and organize his brains. It helped with the headaches and the not sleeping.
The Captain let out his frustration on the punching bag.
——
The Captain got interrupted by a knock at the door. He turned towards it as the door opened and a man came in, the Soldier in tow.
He worked with the Soldier for a while now. His entire life. He knows the Soldier. The Soldier takes orders from him.
“Sir,” the Captain said as he panted.
“Captain. There is something that requires your attention,” he said without the usual smile.
“Anything I can do to help I will,” the Captain said with a nod.
“Good. I’m glad to hear that. Some men broke in. I need you and the Soldier to figure out why. No killing any of them, but if you can get any information by other means, I don’t care,” he said. “These prisoners will try to trick you, Captain. They will use tricks to deceive you and the Soldier. Do not listen to them?”
“Yes, sir,” the Captain said, again nodding. “I’ll just get dressed and go do that.”
The guar- agent nodded and left, the Soldier staying in the doorway.
“Can I help you?” The Captain asked as he began unwrapping the bandages around his knuckles.
“You…you told me to report any headaches I’ve had, sir,” the Soldier said hesitantly. “I’m having headaches again.”
The Soldier stared at the ground, showing his obedience and submission as usual. He hated that. The Captain blinked his eyes and nodded.
“Good. Yeah. Thanks…for telling me,” the Captain said, the Soldier looking up at him. “Let me get dressed and then we’ll go meet our guests.”
The Soldier nodded and closed the door. The Captain quickly got dressed in his Hydra uniform and walked outside into the hallway, seeing the Soldier waiting for him.
“The prisoners are this way,” the Soldier replied as he started to lead the way.
The Captain followed. He didn’t grab his shield, not wanting to risk if the prisoners escaped and getting it. Something was wrong about his shield. As much as he liked carrying it, it felt…wrong. The red was right, but…he swore there should be blue and white too, not just black and red. Not the Hydra logo, but…a star, maybe.
The Captain rubbed his eyes and stopped when the Soldier started to open the door. He adjusted his posture and walked in, the Soldier following him. He glanced at the guards and nodded, who left the room. When he turned back to the prisoners though, they looked like they’d…they looked like they were seeing a ghost.
Or two.
The Captain blinked his eyes and saw the men staring back. They were all chained to chairs, a rag tied around each of their mouths preventing them from talking.
That one talked a lot.
The door locking caught his attention. He saw the men staring at him still. He turned to the Soldier behind him.
“Take the gags off,” the Captain ordered.
The Soldier obeyed, like always. He quickly went over to the first one and took the gag off.
“What the fuck?! Cap?! How the hell are you alive?! And Sarge too?! What’s going on?!” The man yelled, causing the Captain to wince slightly at the sheer volume of the yell.
Why is he always so loud?
The Captain looked back as the Soldier kept removing the gags until he finally finished. The rags were put on the table in the room, and the Soldier stood by the door.
The Captain could barely even think of a strategy to begin interrogating the men as they all starting yelling as soon as the gags got removed. Half were freaking out. The other half were yelling. His hearing could only take so much.
“Stop yelling or the gags go back on,” the Captain threatened, causing the yelling to quiet back down.
How did they know his name? Cap? Sounds like a nickname. But…he called the Soldier…Sarge? The Captain rubbed his temples. He was told that these men would try to deceive and trick him, and the Soldier too. This was all just a trick then.
“What the hell is going on?” Another man finally asked.
“Oh my god, his arm…” one of the men said.
“Why are you here?” The Captain asked.
“Cap? It’s us. That’s Jim, Jim Morita. I’m Dum Dum Dugan. That’s Gabe Jones. That’s Falsworth. That’s Dernier. What the hell is going on with you two?”
“Barnes died…” the man, Morita said quietly as he stared at the Soldier. “How is he…”
“Why are you here?” The Captain asked with a glare. “I won’t ask nicely again.”
“What the hell did Hydra do to you two?” Dugan asked. “Listen to yourself. You’re wearing the Hydra logo. You’d never wear that.”
“You’re Captain America,” Dernier said, causing the Captain to laugh.
“Captain America? Is that the best you got? That name sounds like something from a…a comic book or something,” the Captain said with an amused smile.
“You got it from your USO days,” Jones said.
“Yeah! Back when you were a showgirl,” Morita said anxiously, causing the Captain to stare in confusion.
“Whatever Hydra did to you, did to both of you, you can fight it,” Falsworth said, his eyes pleading. “Come on.”
“You’re the strongest men we’ve ever met,” Dernier said.
“I’ll ask this one more time, nicely. How did you find this place? Who sent you? Why are you here?” The Captain asked with a glare, his headache causing him to lose his patience.
“Cap, it’s us. We’re the Howling Commandos. Come on. Sarge, please tell me you remember us. Come on. You opened up to me about you stressing out about Austria, after you got captured by Hydra. You said you were seriously worried about what those damn Nazis injected in-” Dugan said before getting cut off by the Captain grabbing a knife and stabbing him in the leg.
“Cap!” Morita yelled.
“Hey!” Jones yelled.
“Why are you here? Who sent you? How did you find this place?” The Captain asked as Dugan continued yelling out in pain. “I can get him medical attention if you tell me those answers. You all care about each other. It hurts seeing each other hurt.”
The Captain, for some reason, felt the need to look at Bu…at the Soldier. He looked back at the group of men.
“Fine,” the Captain said before pulling the knife out, causing Dugan to yell again. “Who’s next?”
——
The Captain spent hours, literally all day interrogating the men. They continued with their lies truth the entire time. The Captain was seriously stressed out over this. He didn’t know how he was going to complete this.
“Back when I was a showgirl? What does that even mean?” The Captain asked himself quietly as he stared at the ceiling.
“I’ve knocked out Adolf Hitler over 200 times.”
The Captain made a whining noise as he held his head. He hated his headaches. They always sucked. Memories. He froze when the door opened and quickly sat up. Fuck. He didn’t really like this guy, but there wasn’t anything he could do about that. Ivchenko was apart of Hydra. Attacking another agent was against the rules.
“Captain,” Ivchenko said with a smile before closing the door. “It’s time for another session.”
The Captain nodded nervously. He…didn’t actually remember their sessions. All he remembered was…Ivchenko came in, he talked to him, and next thing he knew, he woke up in his bed again. He didn’t know what happened during them. He didn’t even remember why he had sessions. He didn’t…but something with Ivchenko always made him uncomfortable. He…he lost time, when he was with Ivchenko, and he hated that.
“Good. I want you to relax and to look at my ring. Listen to my voice and breathe slowly…”
——
The Soldier walked down the hallway and into the room where the men, prisoners, these Howling Commandos were. They all looked up at him when he entered. Half of them were covered with cuts, the other with bruises. The Captain didn’t hold back with his interrogation. Well, he did. Otherwise they’d be dead. He must admit that…he felt…uncomfortable during the interrogation. But he had pushed his feelings back as usual. It wasn’t his job to feel things. He was a weapon meant to serve the Captain. That’s his job.
“What the hell do you want?” Morita asked before coughing. “Here to hurt us more? Or have your turn with us now? You just watched Rogers beat the crap out of us. You want your go with us or something?”
“Who…who is…Bucky?” The Soldier asked, causing everyone to freeze and stare at them. “You…you said his name while the Captain hurt you.”
“You. You’re…you’re Bucky,” Jones said slowly.
“Your name is James Buchanan Barnes,” Falsworth said. “You were born in New York.”
“You have a sister named Becca,” Dernier said.
“Sarge, it’s us. Please,” Dugan, Dum Dum pleaded. “Come on. You remember us, right? We served together.”
“We got captured together too,” Morita added.
“Remember Dernier used to explode everything during the war? He was our explosives guy,” Falsworth said.
“Yes. I like causing explosions. Do you remember that?” Dernier asked before making a wincing sound.
“I know you all,” the Soldier whispered as he walked over to Dernier. “I think.”
“Yes! Yes, you-” Dugan started before the door swung open.
“What the hell are you doing in here?!” The Captain yelled as he came into the room.
The Captain punched the Soldier in the face enough to knock him on the ground, causing the room to erupt with yelling.
“Leave him alone!” Gabe yelled before the Captain glared at him and then turned back to the Soldier.
“You are not allowed to be in here without permission and me present! Do you understand?” The Captain said with a glare.
“Yes,” the Soldier quickly said before the Captain grabbed his wrist and pulled him off the ground.
“Hey! Leave him alone!” Dugan yelled as all of them continued yelling.
“You would never hurt Bucky! Fight this!” Morita yelled.
The Captain slammed the door behind them and shoved the Soldier on the ground. The Soldier instinctively covered his head as he felt blows to the stomach from the Captain’s boots.
His vision quickly blurred before he fell unconscious.
——
The Soldier woke up slowly, his whole body heavy. He only woke up like this when he was drugged. It happened occasionally, so he wasn’t too alarmed by it. But this felt…different. His whole body was sore. Hurting.
No. No. He…he disobeyed and he got punished. That’s what’s supposed to happen when he disobeys. No it’s not. The Soldier but down his whimpering as he shifted. He was on his bed, in his room cell. He closed his eyes to fight back the tears. He hated disobeying the Captain, he hated it. It always felt…wrong.
The Soldier turned and saw the door open. The Captain came in as he rubbed his temples. He froze at the sight of the Soldier, probably thinking of his next punishment. He tried to sit up as fast as possible but immediately got dizzy and fell back down on the bed.
“I…” the Captain trailed off as he stumbled over and held onto the wall. “I’m…sor…sorry. I…”
The Soldier froze and stared at him. The Captain was…apologizing? The Captain approached and sat on the edge of the bed.
“Ivchenko and I had another session. I didn’t even know what happened until Ivchenko said that…that I hurt you. I…I didn’t mean to.”
“It’s okay, Stevie,” the Soldier mumbled, his vision blurred completely.
“Stevie?” The Captain asked slowly. “I…I know that name. Those…they called me…they called me…Steve Rogers. And…”
“They said my name…James…Buchanan Barnes…” the Soldier whispered, unable to muster up any more energy to talk.
“Bucky,” the Captain whispered as he stared.
“Steve,” the Soldier said quietly.
“I…I know you. You’re…we grew up together.”
“In New York.”
“Our moms were friends.”
“And you…you were small…and sick, all the time.”
“And you wanted a cat,” Steve whispered slowly. “And you beat up all the bullies because I couldn’t. I wasn’t…I wasn’t strong enough to, so you…you saved me.”
“I remember you,” Bucky said back before whimpering from the pain.
“Oh my god, Bucky. I…I hurt you. I’m…I’m so sorry,” Steve cried as he tried to muffle the noise by covering his mouth.
“It’s okay,” Bucky said as Steve hugged him and dug his face into Bucky’s shoulder. “It’s okay. It’s…you can make it up to me by hugging me after my ribs heal.”
“Oh, sorry,” Steve said anxiously as he untangled himself from Bucky’s arms. “I…”
“You were mind controlled, we both were. Tortured by Hydra and…and…forced to do things,” Bucky said seriously. “It’s okay.”
“We need to get out of here,” Steve said, Bucky nodding.
“Not without the Howling Terrors,” Bucky mumbled.
“It’s Howling Commandos,” Steve said as he glanced at the door and then back at Bucky.
“No, I’m pretty sure it’s Howling Terrors,” Bucky said before smirking slightly, Steve smiling.
——
“Hydra has to be…what did they do to them?” Morita asked.
“They’re still in there, they have to be,” Falsworth said.
“My head is killing me,” Dugan said as he closed his eyes. “Cap didn’t hold back with his beating.”
“Do you think Bucky’s okay?” Gabe asked with a worried tone.
“Probably not,” Morita said, everyone giving him a glare. “What? We’re not okay and we just got tortured by a super soldier. I doubt he’ll be okay either.”
“Kid never catches a break,” Dugan said with a glare towards the door. “Next time Cap and Sarge come in, we break free, kick their asses and kidnap them out of here.”
“Oh yeah? And how do you expect to get out of here?” Gabe asked before hearing a click, everyone turning towards the sound.
“That chair is not comfortable,” Dernier said as he stood up before swearing in French.
“How the hell did you-”
“Paper clip. Bucky gave it to me,” Dernier said as he grabbed the keys by the wall.
“When the hell did he give you a paper clip?” Dugan asked.
“After the Captain punched him in the face and knocked him on the ground. Gabe distracted him long enough for him to slip me a paper clip,” Dernier said as he started to unlock everyone.
“Those French genes saving us again,” Dugan mumbled before he winced as he got up. “Shit. Gonna feel sore for a year.”
“We need a plan,” Gabe said.
“Knock out Barnes and Rogers and kidnap them,” Falsworth said with a nod. “And kill as many Hydra as possible.”
“And make it painful,” Dugan added.
“I agree. We could add a few punches for Sarge and Cap, payback and all for torturing us,” Morita said.
“I think we’ll get that chance,” Gabe said as the door started to unlock.
Everyone quickly, as fast as they could being completely injured, hid against the wall. The door opened and they watched as Steve walked in first with a confused look on his face. Dugan threw the first punch and hit Steve in the face, causing the man to stumble into the wall.
“Woah! Woah! It’s me,” Steve said anxiously as he backed away. “It’s Steve.”
“What?” Dugan asked before he saw Barnes walk in, limping. “Sarge?”
“It’s us,” Bucky said, his voice hoarse and dry. “Promise.”
“Prove it,” Morita said with a skeptical look.
“I asked you to keep an eye on me, after the factory. When I started to notice something wrong with me. I told you that…that my senses were different. I told you that, I wanted you to…to keep an eye on me, because I had just been injected with some Nazi drug. I told you to…if anything happened and I went off the rails or something, to kill me,” Bucky said quietly to Dugan.
“Very dramatic, Barnes,” Morita mumbled to himself.
“You…you never told me that,” Steve said quietly as he stared at Bucky with a sad look.
“I didn’t wanna worry you, because you’ve been worrying about me this entire war,” Bucky said.
“Of course I worry,” Steve defended. “You’re my best friend.”
“You believe them?” Gabe asked his fellow teammates.
“The Captain we saw before was…cold. This one seems stressed about Barnes. This is the Captain America we all know,” Dernier said. “I believe him.”
“I’d hug you but I wanna punch you in the face,” Dugan said with a laugh.
“Later. We need to leave,” Bucky said.
“We already killed Ivchenko,” Steve said, prompting confused looks from the Commandos. “Explain who he is later. But he’s the guy…”
“He’s the one who’s been mind controlling us,” Bucky said as he held his head. “God my head is killing me.”
“I’m sorry,” Steve said anxiously, his eyes watering. “I’m sorry I hurt you. I’m sorry I hurt all of you. I-”
“You didn’t have a choice. It’s okay,” Dernier said.
“This is nice and all but we leave now?” Morita asked impatiently.
“Come on,” Steve said.
“Howling Terrors at it again,” Bucky mumbled to himself.
——
Steve blinked his eyes open and noticed fluorescent lights above him. He sat up and flinched when he saw Howard Stark of all people sitting in the chair next to the bed.
“You’re awake,” Stark said quickly in a ramble. “Obviously you’re awake. How are you feeling? Good? Bad? You were just captured by Hydra so probably bad. I’m guessing bad. But I could be wrong. Actually I’m not wrong. I’m a genius obviously.”
“How much coffee have you had?” Steve asked hesitantly.
“I’m rich. I can have as much coffee as I want,” Howard said with an offended tone.
“It’s nice to see you again,” Steve said tiredly with a smile as he lied back on the bed.
“Glad to see you alive,” Stark said with a smile.
“How’d I get here?” Steve asked as he looked around the hospital room.
“Your team rescued you. Once they found a plane at that base, you all got out of there. You took a bullet for Barnes, lost a lot of blood. They patched you up and now you’re in a hospital. You’ve been asleep for a few days now,” Howard said, Steve freezing.
“Days?” Steve asked.
“Yeah. Barnes woke up yesterday. He’s been sleeping like the dead,” Howard said. “Hydra seriously did a number on you all.”
“I’m so tired,” Steve mumbled.
“So sleep,” Stark said. “Jarvis, my butler, he brought you some spare clothes for when you leave. Since I doubt you want to wear the Hydra clothes when you leave here.”
“I appreciate that, thank you,” Steve said, Howard nodding.
“I didn’t find you in time,” Howard said quietly.
“I crashed the plane and got captured by Hydra and mind controlled,” Steve said awkwardly, Howard smirking slightly. “What year is it by the way?”
“1946,” Howard said.
“Bucky and I have been in Hydra for a year,” Steve whispered.
“I never stopped looking for you,” Howard said. “I was lucky I was in the states when I got the call saying you were at a hospital. I had a million questions but the gist was that Hydra captured you and Barnes, which I’m still processing is actually alive too, and your team.”
“I hurt them,” Steve whispered. “I hurt Bucky and I hurt Dugan and Morita and-”
“Rogers, listen. If there is one thing I’m good at, well not just one, but if I’m good at another thing, it’s knowing that when you’re mind controlled and captured by Nazis and forced to do things, it’s generally not your fault,” Howard said. “Sleep. Excuse me while I invent a coffee that keeps you awake for days.”
“Hey, Howard?” Steve whispered tiredly, Howard glancing at him. “Thanks.”
“Anytime, Rogers,” Howard said with a smile.