Don't Dream It's Over

Nick Fury is alive. Nick Fury is alive, and Steve doesn’t know whether to laugh or cry or shake him until his teeth rattle. The latter is, unfortunately, not really an option: the guy’s still in a hospital bed in his weird secret underground bunker.

“You son of a bitch,” says Steve, with feeling, and then, “I’m glad you’re not dead.”

***

Steve is convinced he’ll see the Winter Soldier—Becky—again. He’s determined that this time, he’ll make her remember him, he’ll get her out of HYDRA’s clutches.

“I don’t think she’s the kind you save,” says Sam. “She’s the kind you stop.”

Steve shakes his head. He’s been grieving Becky for ten years, and now…. He isn’t sure how he feels, or what to think, but he knows, down to the marrow of his bones, that he will do everything he can to save her. It’s not even a choice, not really. It’s a fact, like the law of gravity or the temperature at which water boils: Steve Rogers will always try to save Becky Barnes, and he’ll move heaven and earth to do it.

The knowledge that he’s already failed her once churns in his stomach, weighs on his chest, chokes him like ocean water. He feels so guilty he aches with it.

“I have to try,” he says, and Sam sighs.

“Okay, man. I just hope…” He trails off, shaking his head, and walks away.

***

Insight is due to launch in just under half an hour, and the World Council delegation is already on their way. Peggy sits at one of the computer banks in the Operations Room, waiting for the signal. A couple of rows behind her, Sharon is tense and serious, but that, at least, isn’t too suspicious— after all, this is supposed to be a momentous occasion.

Well, it’ll be momentous alright. Hopefully for the right reasons.

And if it doesn’t work, we won’t be here to worry about it, Peggy thinks grimly. She has no doubt that there’s a bullet on those helicarriers with her name on it, just as surely as those meant for Steve, Natasha, and the other Avengers.

She hears Rumlow’s voice in her ear, picked up by Natasha’s mic.

“Thanks for making it out here.”

“SHIELD obviously has a security threat,” says another voice. “Our priority is to launch Insight as quickly as possible, and neutralize it.”

“That’s our priority, too,” Rumlow responds quickly.

“Where is Deputy Director Hill?” Natasha asks. “I would have expected her to be here.”

“Secretary Pierce demoted Agent Hill yesterday,” says Rumlow. “We believe that she has close ties to Captain America. She’s on leave until further notice.”

“You still haven’t found Captain America?” It’s the same male voice from before, heavily laden with disapproval.

“We’re working on it!” Rumlow snaps. “Once Insight starts…” He breaks off. “Ah. This facility is biometrically controlled. These will give you unrestricted access.”

Alarm bells ring in Peggy’s head. Biometrically controlled? What has he just given them? She gets up and strolls to the door, nodding to the guards in greeting before heading to the loo. Once safely ensconced in a stall, she turns on her mic.

She can’t speak Natasha’s name aloud, here; it’s too dangerous. On the other hand, she needs to catch her attention.

“Baby,” she settles on. “Listen to me, the only biometric access stuff around here are retinal and thumbprint scanners, and there aren’t any overrides for them. Whatever he just gave you, it’s not what he says it is.”

“I understand,” says Natasha, with just enough of a pause that Peggy knows she’s responding to her, “that you’ve improved security since Fury’s assassination?”

“Of course,” Rumlow assures her, and goes off on a long monologue about their heightened security measures. There are a few things Peggy hadn’t been aware of; now they won’t be caught by surprise. Good. Rumlow’s not stupid, but he’s no Pierce; Insight will be much easier to take down with him at the helm.

She heads back to the control room, listening to the Council members chattering in her ear.

“We’re in position,” Hill reports. “Barton, status?”

“In position.”

“Carter?”

Peggy sneezes twice, the prearranged signal to indicate she’s ready.

“Widow?”

Natasha sneezes loudly.

“We are commencing Phase 1,” says Hill.

Peggy takes a breath. They have twenty minutes to save the world.

It’s another ten minutes before Steve says, “Lock the doors, Pegs.”

She looks around. The strike team is due to arrive any minute, but they’re not there yet. She catches Sharon’s eye, and gives the slightest of nods. Sharon gets up, walking slowly toward the door on the far side of the room. Peggy picks up the wrapper of the protein bar she was eating and heads toward the other door, where the trash can is.

She’s just reached it when the intercom clicks on.

“Attention all SHIELD agents. This is Steve Rogers.”

She has to grin at the sheer audacity of the man. He’s committed to making sure everyone can make an informed decision about this, yes, but she can’t help thinking he’s also enjoying the chaos he’s about to create.

Around her, everyone is murmuring in surprise and apprehension, trying to figure out what the hell is going on. Nobody is paying any attention as she leans against the door and locks it.

“I think it’s time you know the truth,” Steve says. “SHIELD is not what we thought it was. It’s been taken over by HYDRA. Alexander Pierce was their leader. Brock Rumlow is acting as his replacement within SHIELD. The Strike and Insight teams are HYDRA, too. I don’t know how many more, but I know they’re in the building.”

People are looking at each other now, wide-eyed and fearful and suspicious. They’ve fallen silent, though, straining to hear Steve’s words.

The door handle jiggles. Peggy leans her full weight against it. It won’t be long, now.

“If you let those helicarriers launch today, HYDRA will be able to kill anyone who stands in their way. Unless we stop them.”

Something bangs against the door, and the three agents nearest Peggy glance up. She jerks her head at the door behind her. “Strike Team. They’re HYDRA.”

She waits, tense, for one of them to draw a weapon, but none of them do; instead, they hurry over and add their weight against the door.

“I know I’m asking a lot. The price of freedom is high.”

Shots ring out over the com, and she winces.

“Barton? That you?”

“Nothin’ I can’t handle,” Clint pants. “I got backup.”

“It’s a price I’m willing to pay,” continues Steve. “And if I’m the only one, then so be it. But I’m willing to bet I’m not.”

The thuds against the door are getting louder. Halfway across the room, someone pulls a knife; two more agents wrestle her to the ground.

The recording Peggy took comes on, of Pierce detailing his—and HYDRA’s—plans to take over the world. Hopefully, that will convince anyone who wasn’t bowled over by Steve’s speech, but there isn’t time to sit about and listen to it.

“Okay,” shouts Peggy. “You heard Cap! We need to prevent the launch. The Strike Team’s trying to get in—we need to barricade the doors. Anyone involved with the launch sequence, come to me. Let’s move, people!”

There’s an instant uproar; some people are arguing, others rush to carry tables and chairs and even computers over to the doors, and some just stand there, too shocked to react.

She hears a shot, and sees Sharon wrestling a guy with a gun; a woman yells, “Hail HYDRA!” and another woman knocks her out with a folding chair.

Peggy heads to where Dylan, the guy who’s supposed to start the launch sequence, is sitting. There’s another agent standing next to him—McConnell, she thinks. The way he’s looming over Dylan doesn’t look good, and her suspicions are confirmed when she gets within hearing distance.

“Start the launch!”

“I—”

McConnell has a gun, she realizes. He’s holding it low, where it’s harder to see, jabbing it into Dylan’s side. “Now!”

“I—I can’t,” wavers Dylan. “Cap’s orders.”

Before McConnell can do anything further, Peggy grabs his gun arm, smacking his head with the butt of her pistol at the same time. His gun goes off, shooting a hole in the floor. Peggy bludgeons him again, and he slumps over the table.

“Nice going, kid,” she says breathlessly. “Think you can scramble the launch codes?”

“Uh,” he says, staring at her, wide-eyed. “Y—yes? I mean, yes! Yes, I can do that. Definitely. Um. Let me just…”  He turns around, to where a young woman with dark skin and dreadlocks has taken refuge under the table. “Hey, Marcy? We need to scramble these codes. So we can… uh… why are we doing this?”

“So when the Strike Team breaks through, they can’t just hit a button and start the launch,” says Peggy crisply. “Time is of the essence, Dylan. Pull yourself together.”

“Right,” he says. “Right… Marcy?”

“On it.” She settles at the computer next to him, her fear visibly melting into determination as her fingers fly over the keyboard. “Don’t worry, Agent, by the time we’re through, the only way those helicarriers will launch is if they’re tied to hot air balloons.”

“Excellent.” Peggy glances around the rest of the room: the HYDRA agents have all been subdued, and there’s an impressive pile of furniture in front of both doors. It won’t last forever, but it doesn’t need to—it just needs to hold for long enough.

***

Natasha waits until Steve’s monologue is done, and continues to wait until Rumlow starts waving a gun around. It takes surprisingly little time to take out the Strike Team (but then, that’s what the Widow’s Bites are for), and soon she has Rumlow at gunpoint. He still looks far too calm for someone who’s just had all their plans destroyed. Natasha’s eyes narrow, and she pulls the “access key” off her suit jacket.

“Everyone, take these off. I don’t know what they are, but they’re not biometric access keys.”

For the first time, Rumlow stops looking so smug. She has a moment of satisfaction.

“You still need someone else with my clearance level to access the launch,” he points out.

Natasha gives him her sweetest smile. “Oh, I’m well aware. Director Fury? I believe this is your cue.”

***

She’s not there. Steve was so sure that she would be, but there’s no sign of her on the helicarriers, no sign as they battle the Strike Teams and rally the other SHIELD agents and take over the helicarriers’ coding.

There’s no sign of her afterwards, when they round up the remaining HYDRA double-agents and destroy Zola’s algorithm and upload HYDRA’s secrets to the Internet. When the day finally ends, with HYDRA beaten (for the moment, anyway) and SHIELD in disarray, Steve finally has to admit that Becky isn’t coming. Somewhere out there, she’s still in HYDRA’s clutches, and even though he’s technically won this particular battle, he can’t help feeling hollow.

He was so determined to save her, and he didn’t even get the chance to try.