Chapter 29
Everyone in the room were trying to focus back on what they were doing before the death sentence thing when they heard a sharp gasp and a loud thud.
They were all immediately on their feet, ready to attack, until their eyes landed on where Steve was, and their hearts stopped in panic.
Steve was laying flat on the ground, shivering violently and his eyes were wide and unfocused.
“Steve!” they screamed and ran to him, Castiel landed on his knees next to Steve’s head while the others surrounding him, and grabbed his shoulders tightly.
“Steve! What’s wrong? What’s happening?!” Castiel exclaimed in panic as he stared at Steve’s dazed face and felt his heart bound loudly in his chest. Millions of scenarios were passing through his mind.
“I-I s-see-“ Steve stuttered as his body continued to shiver violently.
“See what? Steve what’s happening to you?!” Natasha yelled, fear visible in her eyes and in everyone’s.
Steve let out another sharp gasp and his body writhed violently on the floor.
“Grab him! Grab him before he hurts himself!” Castiel shouted and they scrambled to obey. Thor and Clint grabbed his legs while the others grabbed his upper body.
Castiel gripped Steve’s face and made him look into his eyes.
“Steve, focus on me. Tell me what do you see?” Castiel said in a strong voice, when Steve struggled to focus on him he repeated more strongly. “Tell me what do you see?! I can’t help you until you tell me!”
“T-them. I-I s-see th-them.” He stuttered while scrunching his eyes shut in pain.
“Who? Who are you seeing?” Sam asked anxiously while struggling with his hold on Steve.
“T-Tony and De-Dean. Syd-Sydney. I-I see them.” His eyes snapped open wide. “I am s-saving them.” Then he let out a groan and tried to curl on himself in pain.
They all froze and stared at him in horror, while Castiel bit his lower lip bitterly.
“That is what I was afraid of.” He muttered bitterly.
“What? What is it? What’s happening to him?” Thor shouted in fear for his friend.
“Tony and Dean are encountering past Steve right now.” Castiel explained grimly.
“That can’t be! Steve then was too busy with Hydra and was nowhere near France at the time!” Natasha shook her head violently.
“Well, looks like something had happened and now forties Steve just met three people who are definitely not supposed to be there, which means he is making brand new memories that are replacing old ones in present Steve’s mind in a process that could fry his brain from its intensity!”
“No! You have to do something!” Bruce exclaimed in panic.
Castiel looked down at Steve’s agonized face, before gripping his head again while pressing his thumbs to his temples and fired up his grace.
Steve’s eyes snapped open again and let out a loud, pained scream that made all their hearts shutter, before he went lax on the floor, unconscious.
“What did you do?” Clint asked in worry.
“I put him in a coma like state.” Castiel explained regretfully. “I made his brain to focus only on the new memories past Steve is making.”
“You mean Steve is no longer here?! He is back there in the forties with Dean and Tony in his brain?” Sam asked with wide eyes.
“I am afraid so. This is the only way to save his brain. He will now just see what his past self is seeing right now.”
“And when is he going to wake up?” Natasha looked at him in concern.
“When Dean and Tony leave the forties. Only then, he will wake up.” Castiel then bit his lower lip again anxiously. “And now history is painfully changing. Past Steve’s fate is no longer certain. We have no idea when Steve wakes up, he will still be the same or not. If he wakes up.”
“What-what do you mean ‘if’?” Bruce muttered carefully.
“If past Steve is with Dean and Tony, it means he will face Holdstein at some point.” Castiel grimaced grimly. “I don’t know what that insane man would do to him.”
“You mean this new path past Steve is taking might lead him to-to an untimely death?” Sam whispered in panic.
Castiel trailed his eyes on their faces grimly.
“I am afraid so.”
***
Dr. Robert Queen, expert on Biological reactions in SHIELD, looked up when someone knocked on his office door before it was opened revealing Nick Fury.
Dr. Queen was a young man in his mid-twenties, a genius in Biological reactions in living organisms. He had light brown hair that reached his shoulders, Hazel green eyes, sharp features and freakishly tall with well-built body.
He smiled calmly as he stood up to greet Fury.
“Director Fury himself in my office. That’s an honor I am not sure I deserve.” He greeted politely.
“Dr. Queen. Good thing you work late.” Fury greeted back as he made his way towards the scientist. “I need your expertise.”
“I am all yours, Director.” Robert just shrugged. Fury sat on the seat in front of him and tapped his fingers on the desk anxiously. “Is it that dangerous, sir?”
“It is.” Fury nodded grimly before leaning towards him adding firmly: “And also very confidential that it is important for it to not leave the walls of this room.”
“Of course, sir.”
Fury took a deep breath before telling him what he needs to know about Sydney and the time trip, while Robert was listening to him intently.
When Fury was finished, Robert’s eyes were wide in wonder.
“Are you sure this is not a new Sci-Fic movie or something?” Robert asked with wide eyes.
“Unfortunately, everything you just heard is very real.”
“Oh God.” He murmured in awe. “But I don’t understand how can I help in anything?”
“Like I said: we need your expertise.”
“In what?”
“In identifying the identity of the second time traveler.”
His eyebrows raised in surprise before he asked carefully: “How?”
“Bradbury with help from Dr. Banner, managed to get all the biological reactions of the second time traveler. They said that he is male, and searching all the files of those with the same descriptions will need a huge amount of time. But if you used your expertise in biological reactions in human beings, it might shrink the list a lot.” He explained as he pulled a flash drive of the information the team had gathered.
“Yeah. Maybe.” Robert murmured with a frown then took the flash drive and inserted it in his lap top. He checked the information in deep concentration. “It really looks like the biological reactions of a male.”
“Great.” Fury sighed.
“But it might be not.” He added.
“What?”
“It could be for a well-built woman or-“ he went quiet for a second. “-Or in artificial hibernation.”
“What?! I never thought of that!” He exclaimed in surprise.
“It is a very likely suggestion that could lead us to a more dangerous conclusion.”
“Which is?”
“If Sydney also was in hibernation, then these biological reactions doesn’t fit only two people. But four.”
Fury’s body jerked violently at that.
That was worse. Much worse.