Chapter 4
Natasha saw Steve getting up from the motel’s dingy couch and head to the room at the end of the hall without saying a word, the soft click of the door hiding him from view. Wanda, Sam, Steve and she were staying at a small and inconspicuous motel. They had been watching the small black and white TV when the transmission was interrupted to broadcast some breaking news: “Iron Man, missing”
The media had finally caught wind of the news, and it had spread like wild fire. From the first few rumors to a full-blown mass coverage in the span of a few hours, the disappearance of one of earths greatest heroes had come as a shock to everyone. It had been close to a month since anyone had last seen Iron Man or its alter ego Anthony Stark. Every news media, televised, digital or printed, had dedicated at least a segment of their content to discuss the billionaire’s disappearance. Speculations and rumors soon spread everywhere. From a visit to rehab to alien abduction, the theories were running wild.
Surprisingly, even the stock market had been affected. Stark Industries had taken a tumble, with its investors having a panic attack and trying to sell their shares, which had in turn caused mayhem in wall street and the global market at large. Who would’ve thought a single man could have such an impact over the entire world. But Anthony Stark’s disappearance had had that impact, and the world was in turmoil for it.
In the light of these events, even the Sokovia Accords seemed to be gaining supporters everywhere. The political scene was in uproar, with a clear fraction of the public pushing to pass the measures proposed by the accords, as originally conceived by those behind them.
Since Anthony Stark, who had up to that pointtaken the lead as one of the most prominent moral compasses amongst the Accords supporters was not around anymore,there was no one left to try to mitigate the accords worst aspects towards enhanced humans, with many experts predicting a dark future over the faith of these individuals.
On a surprising note, from a growing part of the population that opposed the accords, a new proposal had emerged, a direct counterpart to the iron grip way the enhanced individuals were trying to be regulated. The so-called Stark’s bill was quickly gaining supporters all over the globe. The bill had been born when an anonymous source had leaked to the media a series of modifications a group of collaborators, with Tony on its lead, had made to the Accords. It was evident that Anthony Stark had disagreed with large portions of said document, and that he had been trying to advocate for a fairer system, one that would regulate the way supers operated, placing especial care into the accountability of those enhanced individuals without falling into witch hunts.
All in all, it seemed that Tony Stark was the primary source of discussion among the public these days, but there seemed to be a notorious lack of opinion regarding the man’s current missing status from the one place it shouldn’t have: Stark Industries.
So far, there had been no official statements made by Tony’s own company. Some people considered this silence a misguided attempt by the company to try to keep its investors calmed, others, Steve included, considered it a clear sign that even the company had no idea what had happened to Tony.
Either way, the company had been strongly criticized, when even their CEO Pepper Potts had declined to give any details concerning Tony’s whereabouts. It was only two weeks after the first rumors had surged, that SI had finally given an official statement through a harassed looking spokesman, citing the situation as a ‘misfortune’ and confirming Tony Stark’s ‘disappearance’. They had given no further details, and neither had they mentioned any current efforts to try to locate the man. All in all, the situation was starting to become one of the most talked about mysteries of the decade.
Steve and the rest of the rogues saw this public turmoil with growing apprehension. Faced with such scenario, Clint and Scott had decided to jump ship and go back to their respective families.
For Clint, the decision had been a long coming one. He could see the dark panorama they were most likely to face if the authorities tried to pin the disappearance of Stark on them, on top of all the other charges they would surely face for the so-called Civil War fiasco.
It had been one of the toughest decisions of his life, but the need to be near his family far outweighed his desire to stay with the rogues. Knowing that Natasha had his back, and with a quick apology to Steve and the others, Clint had left their hiding place in the middle of the night.
For Scott, things had been radically different. The rest of the rogues could tell the man was pretty shaken. No doubt he hadn’t really foreseen what following the Captain would actually entail. With Clint’s departure, Scott realized he could also have an opportunity to be with his family, but he was rather reluctant to give himself up.
In the end, it had been Steve who had given the man that final push he needed to make up his mind. Steve had thanked Scott for his help, making it clear that Steve was letting him off the hook of everything, asking him to leave and to reunite with his family. Scott had taken Steve’s words like a drowning man a lifesaver. The relief on the man was evident, and with a bit of a guilty conscience, he had left the very next morning.
The last the rogues had heard from either of them was that they had both made deals with the government to give themselves up in exchange of more lenient sentences. Both had been greatly pressured to give up the location of the rest of the rogues, but they had refrained from commenting anything about it.
Steve felt deeply the departure of both men, but he understood both had their priorities. He was still struggling with the guilt of having dragged them all into this mess, but he was happy to learn at least Clint and Scott would have the opportunity to salvage the relationship with their loved ones.
It was the middle of the night, the eerie silence was broken by a faint thumping noise, followed by a couple of whimpers and stifled cries. With clenched fists, Steve made a conscious effort to relax, sitting himself straighter on the chair he had propped against the other side of Bucky’s door.
Steve and Natasha had taken it upon themselves to keep watch over Bucky’s frequently troubled sleep. The man had refused to slumber for the first couple of days, afraid of the tormenting flashbacks he suffered as a direct result from the Winter Soldier brainwashing program he had been subjected to for years. On the scarce occasions the man had dozed off, he had been immediately woken up by nightmares, making him disoriented and oftentimes violent. Steve had had to subdue him on several instances.
The situation was turning tenser with each passing day with Bucky and the rest of the rogues, who were rapidly becoming weary of the soldier and the way he would lose control whenever he fell asleep. Natasha had finally come up with a solution: with Bucky’s consent, they would partially restrain and isolate him each night, in an attempt to keep him from hurting himself or anyone else. The solution was far from perfect, but Bucky desperately needed the rest, as did the others. They had also unanimously decided someone would also have to constantly keep watch over him, in case the brunet lost control during his rest.
Steve had been less than thrilled by the solution but looking at Bucky’s tired and fragile state of mind made him give in. The man staying with them was nothing but a shadow of the Bucky he had once known. The constant flashbacks and paranoid attacks were taking a toll on the man, and they all knew it.
Tonight, it was Steve’s turn to keep watch over Bucky. Straining his ears, he could hear a labored breath coming from the room. As much as it broke his heart, he stayed seated in his place, praying to god Bucky would fall asleep soon. But as much as he wanted to pretend things would get better by themselves, he couldn’t keep fooling himself. Bucky was in desperate need of help, and there was only one place he would get that help. He just hoped king T´Challa would keep his promise to heal Bucky. They were running out of options, and fast.