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Hello everyone! Welcome to my little book here :)

Before we get started, I feel there are a few things you should know.

Disclaimer:

I do not own the Avengers or any recognizable people or places. 
All Orignal Characters are my own. Please ask before using them.

Canon:

This story takes place after The Avengers. 
In this story, all of the Avengers stayed in Avengers Tower after the Chitauri Invasion.
In this story, Steve Rogers is only twenty-three instead of the canonical twenty-six.
All events and history up until The Avengers is canon. 
Anything set after The Avengers is subject to change.

Triggers:

Intense Physical and Psychological Torture
Anxiety/Panic Attacks
Flashbacks
Severe Nightmares
Suicidal Thoughts and Actions
Character Death

Please enjoy the story!

God bless,

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Day 0

Steve
They should have known it was a trap. How could it not have been? Steve blamed himself for it. After all, he was the leader. Dodging another shot from one of the unusual guns firing at him, Cap threw his shield and hit his target as he made his way through the collapsing building.""Hey, Spangles. I hate to be that person, but could you please hurry up in there?' Tony's voice came over the comms, flippant as always. "I'm sure you're enjoying your little break, but we could really use your help out here!"Steve threw his shield again and waited for it to come back to him. As soon as he caught it he brought his hand up to his ear."Believe it or not Stark, I am a little busy." He pulled his hand away and ducked at the punch that seemed to come from nowhere. He threw his attacker against the wall and kept moving."Sure, sure whatever," Came the billionaire's reply. "You're just a bit slow, it's okay, it comes with age. You're only, what, a couple centuries old." Steve sighed but didn't answer due to the oncoming attackers."I take great offence to that statement," Thor cut in. " Age does not define the warrior Man of Iron.""Hey, I uh, hate to break up this lovely argument, but I think the building is about to collapse," Clint interrupted. As if prompted by the archer's words, the building began to creak. Ignoring everyone around him Steve took off at a dead sprint."Is everyone out?" He asked as he rushed through the building."Everyone but you Cap," Clint answered."You might want to hurry up Capsicle," Tony added, "the building really isn't looking good. And even a senior citizen such as yourself must have at least some motivation."Steve could practically see Natasha role her eyes as she gave a curt, "Shut up Tony." causing him to smirk."Shut up? Me? The great Tony St-" The lines suddenly went quiet."Tony?" Steve was the first to ask, dodging another group of soldiers. What they were doing in a collapsing building, he had no idea. There was a gasp. "What, what's wrong?""He's gone!" Hawkeye exclaimed.Natasha sounded sceptical. "What do you mean he's gone?""The Ironman suit is here, but Tony isn't!" Clint sounded more surprised than panicked."Just calm down," Steve assured. He was almost there. He could see the exit."I'm sure he's here somewhere,""Hello, Captain," A voice said from behind him. Steve swung around, shield at the ready. "Do you really think you can do a thing with that? It's just a shield Captain.""I'm quite good with it actually." He shifted his gaze across the room. He couldn't see anyone. He slowly began to back away towards the open door."Leaving so soon Captain? But, we haven't even had time to get to know each other." The door slammed shut and Steve could hear it lock."Steve? Rogers, you've got to get out of there. The building is about to come down." Natasha warned. "Ste-" The comm went silent."You know, it really is a shame about Tony," The voice mocked. Steve froze. Why? What happened to Tony?"I can sometimes be a tad selfish. But don't be alarmed, I need you too Captain, so there's nothing to worry about at all."Cap didn't know how to respond. He gripped his shield tighter and attempted to make his way towards the now closed door. Before he could get there, however, a loud creak and a deafening crash came from the building, and Captain America was buried in rubble.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Day 1
Tony
Tony woke with a groan. His head hurt and he wasn't really sure why. He raised his hand to rub his eyes but was met with cold metal against his wrists. Now he was truly awake. He jerked his head up and looked around the room. He was in a metal chair with metal clasps around his wrists and ankles. The room had grey walls and he could see several cameras that were meant to capture the room from every angle. There was a soft groan to his right. That was when he realized he wasn't alone. He didn't know how he had failed to notice that beside him was Captain Steve Rogers in the exact same predicament he was in. But the great Captain America looked a lot worse than Tony remembered. Cap's face was mottled with bruises and there was a long, still-bleeding cut along his hairline. Tony wasn't a doctor, but he knew that wasn't good."Steve. Hey Steve," he whispered. He wasn't really sure why he was whispering, it just seemed like the natural thing to do in a situation like this. However, he gave it up when there was no answer."Steve!" He called."STEeve." he sang."Steven Grant Rogers."Tony knew that if the Captain had been awake he would have been scolding him for making a joke out of everything. He really didn't care. He was trying not to panic. This was his way of not panicking."Taking a nap on the job, really? You'd think Captain America would show more scruples." At that, Steve stirred slightly."There it is," said Tony, "I should have gone for the insult immediately." The Captain continued to moan softly and work his head back and forth as if trying to wake himself up."There you go Capsicle, welcome back to the land of the living.""Tony?" The man slurred. Probably a concussion, but with the Super Soldier's enhanced healing it would be healed within a couple of hours."The one and only! Well, maybe not the only Tony, but definitely the only Tony Stark, unless I accidentally created a clone of myself, which I don't remember doing, but that doesn't mean I didn't." He was rambling, he knew he was rambling, but he couldn't help it. It was his coping mechanism. Surprisingly, Steve didn't reprimand him."What happened?" Cap asked instead."I was hoping you could tell me that,"Tony remembered very little of what happened. They had been on a mission and he had landed on the ground then- "Oh! My suit!" Steve only looked at him with raised eyebrows."I had just landed when I lost communication. JARVIS said that I was surrounded. Then the suit froze. I think JARVIS said something about an immobilizing EMP, so I ordered JARVIS to shut down the suit. Then I woke up here. Ring any star-spangled bells?""Oh yeah!" the Captain's eyes lit up with remembrance. "Clint mentioned finding your empty suit. Then someone was in the building with me. Natasha was telling me that the building was about to collapse when she got cut off. I was locked in the building when it collapsed." He sat silently for a few seconds. "Come to think of it, I'm pretty sure that whoever was in the building with me mentioned that he needed us both for something." There was an unsettling quiet before a door swung open."Very good Captain," A man walked in with two guards stopping beside the door. There was a spark of recognition in Steve's eyes. This must have been the man in the building with him. "I'm so glad you remember me."Yup, this was definitely the guy. The man was medium height with pale skin and jet black hair. He spoke with a slight German accent. His eyes were big, with a hint of something truly terrifying in them. His grin sent chills up Tony's spine.Tony rolled his eyes hiding his apprehension."Let's get this out of the way. No, I won't build anything for you. No, we won't work for you. And no, we won't give you any government secrets. Did I cover everything?"The man smirked. "Ah, Mr Stark, what a pleasure to finally meet you.""Yeah, yeah, whatever. You obviously know us, but I don't think I've had the pleasure of being formally introduced," Tony's words were dripping with sarcasm. Cap sent him a scolding look, which he completely ignored."Of course, where are my manners? My name is Mori Rubrem. I shall be your," he paused as if trying to find the correct word, "host, here at the Hydra base."Tony saw Steve clench his jaw as his eyes turned dark. "That's impossible. Hydra was destroyed.""But was it Captain? Surely you had to know someone would survive. They thought no one was left that no one survived. But they did. And because of that we now have here" he spread his arms out showing the room."We within this facility are what is left. Hail Hydra!""Hail Hydra!" The two guards, called back, saluting.Steve was tense. It was very obvious to Tony. He stole a glance over the soldier and found him clenching and unclenching his hands. He knew what this meant: Steve was going to have an anxiety attack. Tony just hoped that he wouldn't have an attack in front of their captors, that he could keep it together until these men left. He knew it wasn't Steve's fault. You can't really control anxiety attacks."Now, Mr Stark," Mori turned his attention away from the Captain. "We could end this here and now. Then I could send you home, No harm done.""Yeah, sure. What part of 'We don't negotiate with terrorists' can't you get through your thick skull." He glanced at Steve again, who seemed to have managed to calm him down. He was thankful for that."But Mr Stark, it has nothing to do with the government, and everything to do with you." Rubrem wore a sick grin."We've already been over this Morbid Rubik's Cube, or whatever your name is." Tony rolled his eyes, "I'm not building you anything.""Who said anything about building? All I want is Project Perniciem." He looked at the billionaire with fake innocence.Tony froze. How could he know about Project P? No one knew about Project P. Not even S.H.I.E.L.D knew about Project P! He looked over at Cap, who looked back at him questioningly. "I see you are surprised. Before you ask, how I know is of no importance. What is important is I know what it is and what it can do." He walked over stood directly in front of the inventor. "I want it.""Well, you aren't getting it. If you truly know what it is, you know that there is no way in a million years I would give it to you. And there's nothing you can do to me to change my mind." Tony challenged, hatred gleaming in his eyes.Mori's lips curved into a vicious smile. "Oh, I know there is nothing I can do to YOU to change your mind, but what about to him?" He motioned his head towards Steve in such a nonchalant way that it made Tony sick. Stark's eyes darkened as the man in front of him laughed.He glanced at Steve. The Super Soldier showed no emotion whatsoever.Rubrem nodded to one of the guards, who quickly left the room. "Mr Stark, I believe, if I've read your file correctly, that you've had a rather unpleasant experience in Afghanistan." Tony just glared. "I also believe that in that time, you were exposed to various techniques involving water torture, no?" The billionaire couldn't stop the gasp from escaping. Yes, yes, he had. It was an experience that still gave him nightmares. "What of you, Captain? Have you ever had the... glorious experience?" As if on cue, the guard returned with a large tub of water, laying it down several feet in front of Steve.Tony watched Steve. The way the soldier's eyes tried to avoid the water didn't elude Tony, and neither did the fact that the man's hands had resumed their repetitive motion of opening and closing."Oh, apparently not, but I'm sure you've dealt with similar experiences, right? After all, you did practically drown every day for seventy years!" The German scoffed.Stark saw the fear in Steve's eyes, but only for a second before it was pushed behind the mask which is Captain America."Almost seventy," Steve replied with a smirk. "And I was frozen, not drowned, or didn't you read the files correctly?" Mori didn't respond, he only nodded to the other guard, who made his way towards his prisoner."You see Mr Stark," He turned back to Tony, "I like to call this room, 'The Watch Room'. I feel it's very fitting." The man paused as the guard roughly pulled the Captain to his feet. Cap was, of course, stronger than the guard, but his movements were more sluggish than usual. He seemed almost drugged. A shiver ran down Tony's spine. A drug strong enough to have any effect on Captain America in any way was certainly a cause for concern. Mori nodded at the first guard by the tub and together they forced the soldier's hands behind his back and put some form of metal cuffs on them."Here," he moved over to the tub of water, but still keeping eye contact with the billionaire, "is where you get the privilege of watching us convince you, through your friend, that you really do want to give us Project Perniciem."Tony tried to keep the fear out of his voice. "Doubtful.""Hmm, we shall see," Rubrem once again nodded to the guards. Maybe he thought they weren't worthy of vocal commands or something.Tony watched helplessly as Cap was forced to his knees. He could see the fear flicker in his eyes, peeking through his stoic mask. Steve was scared, and Tony could see it no matter how much the Super Soldier tried to hide it."What's wrong?" Rubrum mocked, "Surely the great Captain America isn't afraid of a little water." The man's eyes sparked with what looked like enjoyment. "After all, you were only frozen, not drowned."Even though Cap's hands were secured tightly behind his back, Tony could see the way he was still clenching and unclenching them.Mori laughed as he finally uttered a verbal command. "Now."The guard nodded obediently, shoving Steve's head under the water."No!" Tony yelled, fighting his restraints. "Leave him alone!" Cap's head came above the water for only half a second before he was once again held under. "Stop it!" He shouted louder. Rubrum smiled at Tony."I will. All you have to do is give me the plans for Project Perniciem."The billionaire glared back at him. He couldn't. No matter how much he wanted to save Cap, he just couldn't. Project P was too dangerous.Steve's head came above the water again; he was choking and gasping for air but was only able to grab half a breath before being plunged back into the freezing water.Tony continued to protest with every agonizing plunge. He didn't know how long it had been going on, but it had to be longer than was healthy. Who was he kidding, how was this in any way healthy?He watched as the guard held Steve's head under water. The man was about to bring his head up when Mori shook his head, holding out his hand in a halting motion."Wait," was all he said. Seconds went by as Tony watched, now silent except for his deep breathing. This was bringing back too many memories. And not pleasant ones. Steve was being held under too long. It was obvious. Cap was trying to free his hands, trying to push away from the water. He had to be drugged in some way. He'd seen Cap take on twice as many guys and barely break a sweat. The guard looked at Rubrum who just shook his head. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity the evil man nodded.The Captain's head was jerked from the water. Steve coughed and sputtered trying to get oxygen back into his lungs. Tony sat, unable to help his friend.Mori looked at Cap with a sickening smirk. "Take him to the Truth Room. I will be there shortly." The guard nodded and basically dragged the still-sputtering Steve away. Turning to the guard who had moved back to his place at the door, Mori said, "Please escort Mr Stark to his cell." Then he was gone.The guard came over and swiped a small card against the side of Tony's chair. The metal bands around his wrists and ankles came open and he was jerked to his feet. His hands were forced behind him and tightly secured in metal cuffs. Tony was pushed out the door and into a hallway. The guard shoved him forward."I know how to walk, thank you," he snapped when the guard went to push him again. The guard grumbled under his breath but kept his hands off, so Tony counted it as a success.They kept walking until they reached a large room, separated from the rest of the hall by iron bars. The guard slid the door open and Tony was once again shoved. He was planning a smart remark when the bands around his wrists fell off. He turned around just in time to see the guard slam the door shut.He looked around the room. It was pretty big as cells go, but there was nothing in it aside from a few filthy looking blankets. Other than that, it had nothing but three stone walls and a concrete floor. Tony sat down in one of the corners. He had no idea where Steve was, or what they were doing to him.This was his fault. This was all his fault. He never should have started Project P. It was a stupid idea. Well, not stupid, but dangerous. There was a reason it was called Project Perniciem.He sighed and rubbed his face with his hands. It was too late now. What was done was done. He would just have to wait it out and hope that, when it was all over, Steve would be able to forgive him. Because he had a feeling Mr Rubik's Cube wasn't done yet, and that scared him more than he cared to admit. But, at this point, all he could do was wait. Wait and hope the rest of the Avengers would find them before it was too late.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Day 1

Steve
His lungs were still burning when he was forced into yet another metal chair with the stupid metal clasps. Steve's chest ached more than he would ever care to admit. These men seemed to know the exact amount of time to hold him under so that he stayed conscious, but also in pain. But it was over now. Well, that part at least.The door swung open and Rubrem walked in with a smile. "Did you enjoy our little fun Captain?""It was a blast," Cap answered sarcastically, still trying to draw in a full breath.The man's lips turned into a cynical smile. "So glad to hear it, Captain. In fact, the fun has really just begun."Steve was scared, but Captain America didn't show fear. "Can't wait.""Good, because I believe we will start now." Mori motioned to one of the guards, who wheeled a cart up beside Steve's chair. There were numerous devices on it, some of which the Captain didn't even recognize."I think we will go old-fashioned today." He smirked as he picked up a metal rod.Steve had to keep from letting the fear creep in. He may have been a super soldier, but he wasn't invincible, and he still felt pain."Before we begin Captain," the man stood to his right, "I would like to explain to you the nature of this room. You may have noticed I called this the 'Truth Room'. And it is. This is the room where we tell you the truth." He leaned down so he was directly by the soldier's ear, "Whether you want to hear it or not." He straightened back up."And when you leave, you have two options. One- Convince Mr Stark to give us what we want, or two- do nothing so that we can do all of this again tomorrow." Rubrem smiled gleefully. "The choice is truly up to you," He moved so that he was now standing directly in front of Steve, "But enough talk for now."He swung the bar full force hitting Cap hard on the left shoulder. Steve muffled a cry at the sudden pain. He kept his resolve through several more quick hits to various parts of his body, biting his tongue so hard he could taste blood."Very good, Captain. You are quite strong and ever so silent. You remind me of another soldier I had the pleasure to work with." He smiled a sadistic smile before hitting Steve on the side."He was an ordinary soldier though. I was surprised by how long he lasted." He swung again, hitting just below the right elbow. "And since this is the truth room, I should probably let you know," Rubrum once again leaned down to Steve's ear, "I'm a lot older than I look." He straightened and took another swing.Pain erupted through Cap's body. The metal rod hurt, but he wouldn't cry out or show weakness. He couldn't. He was Captain America. He didn't give in to bullies."In fact," the twisted German continued, "I'm so old, I think the soldier I worked with was a friend of yours." The rod was swung with harder force than usual and there was a sickening crack as pain exploding through Steve's chest. He struggled to breathe, not able to get enough air in,"Does the name James Barnes ring any bells?" Mori stood up straight, metal rod unmoving in his hand."Bucky?" Steve couldn't help but gasp."Yes, Bucky," the man said thoughtfully, crossing his arms. "He was intended as bait, bait for you. But, instead of searching for your 'best friend'," he mocked, "you crashed a plane into the ocean."No, that was impossible. Bucky died when he fell off the train. Hydra didn't have him. They couldn't have. Steve watched him die. It had been his fault."Come now, Captain. Did you really think he died when he fell off that train? Really? In honour of this being a truth room, I can't let you go on believing that. No, he didn't die."It was all planned from the beginning. Someone, who you considered a friend I might add, was feeding us information the whole time. That's how we knew you were coming. That's how we had people waiting to catch the fallen soldier. It was all planned Captain. All of it. And you never noticed. And you never came. He died after a few weeks. You should have heard the way he called out for you near the end. 'Steve! Steve!' he would call. It was so pathetic."Cap's heart was beating faster and faster by the minute. Lies. They had to be lies. He started clenching his fists. It was impossible. Completely impossible. Bucky died when he fell off the train. He had to have, right?"I suppose it doesn't matter now since he's dead. He's dead because you never came for him. Dead because you never checked. But, really it's not your fault. To be honest, it's the traitor's fault... But I don't think I'm quite ready to tell you who that was. I'll tell you this, you aren't going to like it." Mori abandoned the rod and punched Steve in the jaw. Cap's head snapped to the side after the unsuspected blow."Just know, Bucky died screaming your name. Begging for you to save him. But you. Never. Came. " He emphasized each of the words."Lies," Steve muttered, a lot weaker sounding than he had meant to."What's that Captain? Lies? Surely not! After all, this is the Truth Room. I wouldn't lie to you. Not in here. This is a place of undeniable truth." Apparently, he decided to use the pole again, smashing it under Cap's left knee."Now, about Mr Stark," he then swung it at the other knee. An unpleasant pop was followed by exploding agony."You should really convince him to give us Project Perniciem. It would make life so much easier on both of you." he dropped the rod, grabbing Steve by the hair and pulling it up so they were looking directly into each other's eyes. "And I can promise you this; it's going to get a lot worse."Then someone hit the Captain from behind and everything went dark.and everything went dark.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Day 2

Tony - The Cell
Tony was beginning to get worried. Where was Steve? What were they doing to him? He had been gone for over an hour. Stark began drumming his fingers on his leg. He needed something to do. Sitting and doing nothing was not his style.He couldn't help but think how this was all his fault. Project P was too important to hand over. He hated it. Hated it with every fibre of his being. Hated Hydra. Hated the Project. Hated himself.His mind slipped back to when he had started the project. It had been after a long mission with several innocent lives lost. It had been hard on everyone and everyone had their own way of coping- inventing was simply his."Sir, Sir," JARVIS tried to get the inventor's attention.Tony sighed, not looking up from his work. "What JARVIS?""Do you really believe that embarking on such a project it wise?" The AI sounded genuinely concerned for his creator."Don't worry about it J. It will be fine." It would be, right? No one would know about it. Just him and JARVIS. It would all work out."But Sir, if this project got out..."The billionaire snapped at the AI, "It won't."It was a stupid project, started when he had too much time on his hands. Kind of like now. Except now, he had no lab to run away to. He had nothing. And boredom was something he did not handle well. It gave him time to think. Think about things that were better left forgotten. Like how he had managed to get kidnapped again. Like how he had watched as CaptainAmerica was tortured simply because he was stupid enough to think that no one would ever find out about a project he had no business working on.Footsteps echoed down the hall, pulling the prisoner out of his own mind. The door opened and a guard dragged someone in, dropped him in the corner, and exited the cell. The man, now on the floor, was, of course, Captain America.Tony approached him quickly, unnerved by how still the soldier was. When he reached the unmoving figure, he was relieved to see the steady rise and fall of his chest. However, he was concerned at the number of bruises littering the man's body. He dropped to his knees beside the soldier, noticing the blood leaking out of the back of his head. It wasn't a lot, but a bleeding head was never a good thing.He carefully reached forward to touch him, but Steve’s eyes snapped open and he immediately grabbed Tony’s wrist, violently twisting it.The inventor let out a gasp at the sudden pain in his wrist. "Cap?" Something odd was in Steve's his eyes, something that looked remarkably like fear.Then his eyes seemed to almost clear and he jerked his hand back, "Tony?""Yeah, it's me," he replied rubbing his now-aching wrist. Steve looked at his friend and his eyes took on a guilty look."Sorry," he mumbled. "I... thought you were someone else." There was momentary silence. "Did I break it?"The Captain’s voice sounded unusually quiet, and even if the pure terror was gone, there was still a hint of fear and sadness."No, you just twisted it. It will be fine." It wasn't a complete lie. It wasn't broken, but it was probably sprained. But that wasn't something Steve needed to be worrying about.Cap tried to sit up, but after a sharp intake of breath lightly laid himself down on the floor again. Tony knew something was wrong. He could hear the man gasp for air."Steve, what's wrong. What happened?""'M fine," Cap whispered back."No, you’re not. What happened?"Tony insisted, starting to panic. This was all his fault. They had done something to his friend and it was all his fault.The Captain just shook his head. "Rea-really. It will be fine. I, he-eal fast. It, it will be fine." Steve mumbled, eyes sliding shut."What will heal?" there was no answer. "Steve, wake up, what will heal?" He lightly slapped the man's face. "Come on!" he groaned, trying to wake up the Soldier. There was still no answer.If it hadn’t been for the slight rise and fall of his chest, Tony would have been scared. Who was he kidding? He was scared!On the bright side, since the Super Soldier wasn't responding to touch, Tony could check on his friend's injuries. He carefully pulled up Steve's shirt, noting that the man seemed to flinch at the slight pressure. But the inventor wasn't prepared for what was under his shirt. Dark purple bruises covered the other man’s chest. It was sickening. What was worse were the unhealthy dips in places.As carefully as he could, he touched one of the dips. Steve let out a cry and tried to sit up, but the pain caused him to fall on his back."Cap, I may not be a doctor, but that's not normal, most certainly not normal!" Tony pointed at Steve's exposed chest.The Soldier groaned in response. "It's fine, ju-just a few broken ribs. They'll heal.""That's not a normal break. That's a full-on dip in your chest!" He shouted."It's fine really," Steve gasped.Tony rubbed his face. "How'd they do that anyway?""Metal rods," he grimaced.The inventor paused awkwardly. "What did they say?"Steve looked at Stark suspiciously, the fear leaking back into his eyes."It, it doesn't really matter,” came the almost inaudible answer, a haunted look taking control of the Captain's face.More silence, "You can't give it to them Tony." The words came suddenly, surprising the inventor."Steve," Tony started, but the soldier cut him off."No, you can't. I don't know what it is, but you can't let them have it. That much is obvious." He hissed as his face contorted in pain.Before the genius could respond, the door swung open and a guard came in, pointing a gun at Cap. The man motioned with the gun for Steve to move back against the wall. Tony went to protest, but Steve shot him a look. While normally Tony wouldn't have thought twice about disobeying an order, the unrecognizable look in Cap’s eye caused him to obey. Slowly, and with great pain, Steve made it to the wall.Exhausted from his short trek, Steve closed his eyes, leaning his head on the wall. That was when the man stepped in and grabbed Tony, clapping those same metal cuffs on him. Then he was pulled away, noticing with concern that Cap hadn’t even seemed to notice.~A~
The White Room
Rubrum was waiting for Tony as soon as the guard shoved the inventor into the room. Stark glared at the man as a guard unlocked the restricting metal around his wrists."Please, Mr Stark, have a seat." The man smiled, motioning to a chair in the centre of the room. Tony considered rebelling, but one look at the armed guard caused him to decide otherwise. Slowly, he walked over and sat in the chair and crossed his arms. He took a quick glance around the room and noticed how eerily white the walls were. They were completely spotless. Even the floor seemed to have the inability to get dirty. Tony didn't want to think about what was going to happen. He didn't know what it was, but he knew it was going to be bad."So, are you going to 'have some fun'?" Stark asked, using air quotes, "or are we just going to sit and stare at each other?" Tony was boiling with anger. After seeing only half of Cap's injuries he didn't know if even a super soldier could survive much more of that kind of treatment, much less an ordinary man.The smirk on Mori's face made his skin crawl. He clapped two times and a guard came in with a covered tray. Stark could feel his heart begin to palpitate. He had no idea what was going to happen, but if what happened to Steve was any indicator...The German took the tray in his hands and walked over to Tony. He hit a button on the side of the chair with one hand, while balancing the tray on the other. The inventor couldn't help but flinch. A board was brought up and formed a table over Stark's lap,"No fun, just food," He laid the tray on the table and pulled off the covering.On the tray sat a sandwich and a small cup of water. Tony stared at it suspiciously. Surely they weren't just giving them food, "What's the catch?" He eyed the man carefully."There's no catch,I assure you. Eat the food," Rubrem said forcefully."And what if I don't want to," Tony couldn't deny that he was hungry, but there had to be something he was missing.Mori's smile dropped. "Then we will force feed you."As much as he wanted to, he couldn't risk that. If nothing else, he wanted to keep his dignity. Sighing, Tony ate the bland sandwich and waited to be taken back to his cell.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Day 2

Tony - The Cell
Tony woke to the sound of a gasp. Sitting up quickly, he looked around until he found the source of the noise. On his far right was Captain America, sitting against the wall and gasping. Even from the distance, he could see that Steve was shaking and sweating profusely. Stark slowly crawled over to him."Cap?" he said, still approaching. The Captain's eyes snapped to the inventor. The raw fear in his eyes seemed to subside as he realized who was speaking."Are you okay?" Tony asked, lightly touching Steve's shoulder.He gave a small hiss, causing Tony to snatch his hand back.""Sorry," he mumbled."No, I'm fine, it-it's just still healing," the super soldier responded." You're shaking," Stark observed, trying not to let the worry sink in. Was he getting sick? Did they injure him worse than was realized? Was there internal bleeding? Was he developing a fever?Steve slowly lifted his hand in front of his face. "It happens."Realization dawned on Tony. A dream. Captain America had had a nightmare. He didn't judge him. He himself had them all the time. But he hadn't really expected it from Steve. He should have. He had witnessed the soldier's anxiety attacks, so what made him think the man was immune to dreams?"Do you want to talk about it?" The sympathy in his own voice was a surprise.Rogers shook his head. "I'm fine." Tony shot him a sceptical look."Really," Steve insisted, "go back to sleep."Reluctantly, Tony crawled back into his corner. Within minutes, he was back asleep. ~A~
The Watch Room
He couldn't have been asleep for more than a few hours when the cell door swung open. He was tempted to ignore the guard, but then he was suddenly pulled to his feet. Not awake enough to know what was going on, he felt metal on his wrists and was forced to walk... somewhere. His brain still wasn't awake. He amazed himself, he truly did. His genius mind could snap to alertness in seconds, as it had when Cap had awoken him in the night, or it could take forty-five minutes for him to remember how to work a toaster. His brain had currently chosen to go with the latter.As he was shoved into a room he felt the shackles come undone. He was able to gather enough self-awareness to realize this was the room he had started in yesterday. The... Watch Room. That was it, the Watch Room.Great.That meant...He was forced into the same e metal chair he had previously occupied. Shaking his head to clear away the remaining sleep, he was relieved to see that Steve was not there. Maybe they were going to leave him alone. Let him heal. They had to know even a super soldier needed to sleep.But, no. Only moments later the Star Spangled Man himself was shoved through the doors. Tony was relieved to see that most of his injuries seemed to be healing. The man's breathing was a bit steadier and he seemed to be able to put full pressure on his leg. That meant it wasn't broken. One small blessing.Cap was forced into the chair before he had time to fight back. The soldier gave Tony a small smile before giving their captors his full attention. Then Mr Rubik's Cube himself walked in. Stark could see Steve stiffen slightly. That just made him hate the German more."Captain, Mr Stark," the man smiled. It was unnerving. Tony wondered if that was why he smiled so much, to unnerve him. "It's such a pleasure to see you again. Have you thought any more about my request?"Tony feigned thoughtfulness, "Request, request, oh! You mean how you want me to give you a top-secret project that you will most certainly misuse? Nope, not one bit.""I see," Rubrem's smile dropped into a fake frown. "Then I suppose we will have to convince you."As if on cue, a guard entered the room holding a small, metal, stick-like device. This guy must have a thing for metal. Everything was metal. The guard then moved to stand behind Steve's chair. The super soldier showed no emotion whatsoever, but Stark knew better.Mori walked over to Tony, holding the metal object in his face. "Do you recognize this?" The inventor squinted at the stick. It did look oddly familiar. Rubrem slowly began to roll it in his finger. That's when he saw it: the Stark Enterprises Logo. He knew exactly what this was, and it moved him well beyond terrified.Their captor laughed. "I assume by your face that you remember it?" the ending was twisted into a mock question."No," Tony whispered. "No, you can't!""I think I will" Rubrem now moved to stand beside Steve. Hitting a button on the side of the device, he gave Stark one last look before plunging into the soldier's neck. Electricity lit up the stick as the Captain's body began to tremble."Stop!" the inventor called out. "You'll kill him!""Now you care, don't you?" Rubrem smiled ruefully, "Feeling guilty Tony? What about all those other people who died this way, were tortured this way? You didn't beg then! Tell me, Tony, how does it feel? How does it feel to know that you are completely responsible for this?"Stark couldn't respond he just stared, mouth wide open. The device was pulled away from Steve and his body relaxed, lungs finally fully inflated with air."However, Hydra doesn't want him dead, not yet. Hydra needs the Captain around. Hydra needs him as insurance." Mori plunged the device back into Cap's neck. "I'm sure you know that he can take much more than the average human. After-all, Tony, you made it in mind for ordinary people, not super soldiers. Right, Tony?""You have to stop!" the inventor found his voice. "You're right. I made it so I know you need to stop! You'll kill him!"After a few agonizing seconds, the man released the Captain from his electric prison. Tony breathed a sigh of relief. He could tell that Steve was barely holding on to consciousness, but at least he was alive. A few more minutes of that and the soldier would have been dead."Well Mr Stark, I believe it is time for you to have another meal." Rubrem addressed Tony, but the statement was pointed at Steve.Stealing a quick glance, Tony could see the hint of confusion and maybe even a little hurt in those blue eyes. But Cap's stoic mask was quickly forced and Stark could literally see the change.So that was the game. That's why they were forcing him to eat. Let him eat while Rogers starved. He should have realized sooner. He looked back over and Steve offered him a small smile and what could almost be identified as a nod.Before Tony could say anything, he was being led back to the White Room.~A~
The White Room
Today was fried chicken and rolls. Really though when did they decide that he needed to be more southern? They even had sweet tea waiting for him! But this time he knew better. Sitting silently, Stark stared at Mori, not moving to touch his food."I do advise you eat Mr Stark. Things could get quite... unpleasant, should you refuse." The German pulled out a pistol and began cleaning it. Wow, this guy was getting cliche. Was he trying to make him feel like he was in an old western movie? Or maybe that Bonanza show Steve liked so much.Speaking of Steve, "I'm assuming Cap hasn't eaten since we got here." Tony crossed his arms."You're so observant Mr Stark." Rubrem put the gun back into the holster on his side."So we're back to 'Mr. Stark'? When did that happen? You seemed to have no problem calling me Tony in there," he nodded his head to the wall. He knew he was several doors away from the Watch Room, but he assumed Rubrem would get the gist.The man smiled another one of his evil smiles."That was for a special purpose, Mr. Stark. Many things went on in the war that you have no clue about. The Captain most likely does. But that is beside the point, as you are the only one who can end this."Without even realizing it, Tony had eaten through the two pieces of chicken on his plate. All that was left was the two rolls. Well, there went the refusing to eat plan."I already told you," Tony said, "you can't have Project P, It just isn't happening.""Hmm," the German quietly murmured. He then turned around to tell one of the guards something. Tony took the opportunity to shove the two pieces of bread in his pocket. When Mori finally turned around, he let out an exasperated sigh"Well then Mr Stark, I believe it's time for you to be going."Tony was beginning to get ushered out the door when Rubrem suddenly stopped him. Tony felt fear when the man reached into his pocket, pulling out the bread he was saving for Steve.Rubrem gave a fake sigh, "Naughty, naughty, naughty. Trying to sneak food out, that's very-""Naughty, I get it." This earned him a smack across the face from one of the guards.Mori continued to shake his head. "But you see, there are consequences here. Call it cause and effect. Surely you know what I am speaking of.""Yeah, sure whatever." It didn't matter. They couldn't do anything to punish him that made him feel worse than he already did. After all, he was letting Captain America starve while he ate a full meal."Yes, consequences. You must be punished for trying to steal food. Guards, please take Mr Stark to the Truth Room."ng to steal food. Guards, please take Mr Stark to the Truth Room."

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Day 2

Tony - The Truth Room
Tony had to admit he was a little scared, but he had had to try. It would be worth whatever they did to him, knowing that he had at least tried to get Steve some food.He was brought to the Truth Room and left to stand in the middle of the dingy room, a guard on both of his arms. Rubrem must have gone a different way as he was already there."This, Mr Stark, is the Truth Room." Mori looked around thoughtfully. "Quite possibly my favourite room in the facility.""Thanks for the tour, now let's get on with this." The billionaire was in no mood for small talk.The German shook his head, making a clicking noise with his tongue, "Oh no, we have to wait. We're not quite ready yet." As he was saying this the door opened, revealing a very weak-looking Captain America. As soon as Tony made eye contact he saw the fear return in Steve's eyes. However, it quickly subsided when the man seemed to realize Stark was in no way injured. He may have even looked relieved.Steve was forced into a metal chair in the centre of the room. He noticed that Cap didn't even pull against the restraints. That meant one of two things, 1) he was too weak to try, or 2) he had already tried and failed. Tony wasn't sure which was worse.Cap looked bad. It wasn't just the injuries, there was something else. Something in his eyes.Rubrem moved in front of the chair's occupant. "So, Captain, today we will be having even more fun.""Can't wait," he answered, looking annoyingly relaxed. Tony was confused, very confused. What was going on? Wasn't this supposed to be his punishment? Then the realization hit him. This was bad. This was very bad. This was very not good."You see," came their captor's voice, "you're friend here," he nodded to the inventor, "decided to break one of the rules."Cap gave Stark a questioning look, to which he wasn't sure how to respond.Rubrem continued, "He tried to steal some of my food.""Ah, excuse me," Tony interjected, "It's not stealing if you gave it to me to begin with. And you never said I couldn't take it out of the room."A slight smirk from Rubi made the billionaire's blood boil, "Then why did you try to hide it?"Stark just growled. He was hating this man more and more."Well, Mr Stark, I believe we have decided that your crime was stealing. Now, back during the 19th century, the people of America were still shamelessly trading slaves." Tony had no idea what this had to do with anything. "During this time, there were special punishments used for certain offences. Running away, lying, stealing.""Okay," the inventor was surprised at the calmness of his own voice.Motioning to his guards, because boy did this man love silent signals, the two men who were not holding Tony violently ripped off Cap's shirt. The man's chest was looking better, but there was still bruising, and the ribs weren't completely healed. Tony hoped they were healing right."The technique I'm referring to was often known as branding," this caused Stark's head to snap the man speaking, his eyes wide with terror and his mouth gaping. Surely he hadn't heard right. There was no way they were actually going to brand Captain America."Now," Rubrem continued, "back then, they would often use letters signifying the crime, and it would be burnt on their face. But letters are so boring, and the face is a tad small for what I have in mind." Steve didn't even flinch. He remained remarkably stoic. But not Tony."You can't do that! That's, that's, that's, just ridiculous! You can't brand him for something I did. I did it, not him!"The German laughed, "I am aware of this Mr Stark, but I felt this would be more effective."Another man appeared, carrying some form of stick with a glowing symbol at the end. Rubrem took it and smiled. He turned to show the brand to Tony. A Hydra symbol. They were literally going to brand Captain America with a Hydra symbol. That was wrong on so many levels."Brands were also used as identification devices, so now it will be very clear that this captain belongs to Hydra." Giving Stark a smug look, he pressed the hot iron to Steve's chest. There was a muffled cry as skin and metal collided. Tony could smell it, the burning skin. It was horrific.Tony wanted to do something, say something, anything. But, he couldn't. He was frozen, mouth open, eyes glued to his friend. Cap was trying to get away from the brand, trying to break free from his bonds. All to no avail.Mori pressed harder, and not even the super soldier could resist the urge to scream. It was a sound that Tony would never forget. Ever.Then it was over. Rubrem pulled back the iron as the melted skin popped sickeningly. He stepped back and admired his handiwork. The Hydra symbol plastered on the man's chest. Steve was sucking in air in a way that might have been called a sob. Stark wouldn't believe it though. The fact that he had caused Captain America to cry would cause an unbearable amount of guilt. He was dealing with enough as it was.Before the soldier had time to recover from his painful ordeal, he was forced from the room, presumably back to his cell. It wasn't until after he was gone that Tony noticed the tears running down his own face. The German was now standing in front of him, brand gone to who knew where."See Mr Stark, there are consequences to your actions. I advise you never cross me again. Things could get even worse."Tony didn't respond. He had nothing to say. The guilt was overwhelming."How old do you think the Captain is?" The question caught Tony off-guard. "You don't know, do you? Never thought to ask. Well, maybe you should. It may surprise you, and maybe it will keep you from making any more selfish mistakes, hm? Unless of course, you want to go ahead and give me the project?"Silence."Very well. Guards take him back to his cell."The uncharacteristically subdued Stark made no attempt to fight back.~A~
The Cell
By the time Tony was back in the cell, Steve was unconscious. The inventor approached carefully, remembering the soldier's, well, soldier instincts. Looking at Rogers' chest made him absolutely sick. It was ugly. Rubrem must not have held the brand steady, as some places were worse than others. It didn't matter though; the sight of the Hydra symbol plastered on Captain America's chest would have made Tony feel bad enough, even without the hideous injury."It will heal." The mumble surprised Tony. Wiping away any remaining tears, he turned to the Captain's face."I'm, I'm sorry," was all Tony was able to muster.Steve gave a halfhearted shrug, "It's not really your fault. You didn't know.""But I should have! I should have expected something like this.""It's fine Tony, really. More than likely it won't even leave a scar. I heal fast remember?" the forgiveness in Steve's face only made Tony feel more guilty. He scooted away slightly."I don't think they'll be coming back today," Tony said, "so you should probably sleep while you can.""Yeah," was the quiet reply.There was silence for several minutes, but the billionaire could tell that the super soldier wasn't asleep. Tony wasn't either, obviously. He was still thinking about that awful scene in that awful room. Then Rubrem's question came back to him. How old was Steve? He had never bothered to find out. It didn't really matter to him; he was Captain America, one hundred and some years old. That's all Tony had ever seen him as."Hey, uh, Steve," he finally ventured"Hmm," was the tired reply.Stark paused, beginning to lose his resolve, why did Mori make a big deal about it? "Um, how old are you?"There was a short laugh, "Really Tony? Almost a century, remember?""No, I mean, really. How old are you?"There was a moment of silence before the quiet answer, " Twenty-three."Twenty three? Steven Grant Rogers, Captain America, was only twenty-three? He was barely out of his teens!"Why do you ask?" the question brought Tony back momentarily."Uh, just wondering.""Hm," the small groan was the only response.Twenty three? Twenty-three and he had, what, been experimented on, lead armies, crashed a plane in the ocean, saved the world, fought aliens, and... been tortured due to someone else's mistakes. Oh. That was why Rubrem had made such a big deal about it. He had thought it would bother him.And he was right, it did.

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Day 3

Steve - The Cell
It was only the third day, but Steve felt like he was dying. He would never reveal that. He couldn't; he was Captain America! Most people would have already been dead by now, and though Steve knew that the serum would allow him to hang on longer than most would be able to, he did have one big disadvantage: his metabolism. Steve was hungry.He hadn't eaten in three days. Yes, people could go three weeks and survive. He had gone longer than this without eating back in the Depression, but now things were different. His body was trying to heal itself- remarkably slowly due to his lack of sustenance - and his metabolism had already burned most of what he had left in his body.Stark was out eating right now. Steve didn't know what the man was eating, but it was more than Steve had. Anything was more than he had. They brought him a little bit of water every day, but other than that, he had had nothing. He tried not to be envious or angry, Tony needed food too. He was happy that he was getting it, but he couldn't suppress the little feeling of resentment pointed at his friend.But, he knew what Hydra was trying to do. He had seen it done back in the war. One instance that came to mind was Joe Roberts, a good man. He had had a wife and kids back home. But he had been captured by Hydra in some sort of freak accident. He recognized some of the methods they were currently using, from Joe's file. Cap had led the group that rescued him. Battered and bruised, Joe Roberts had been taken back to the base. It was all well and good until that night when the injured man had tried to kill Captain Rogers.Suddenly Steve was no longer in a Hydra prison. He was in a small tent, alone because Bucky had signed up for patrol that night. Steve usually took patrol, but whenever they were at a larger camp everyone insisted that he get some sleep, especially after a mission. His eyes were closed but he wasn't asleep. Someone was outside his tent. He continued to feign sleep, hoping whoever was outside would move on. However, that was not the case.He heard the figure enter his tent. The Captain was able to keep his breathing steady despite his pounding heart. He knew this wasn't Bucky, he knew what his best friend sounded like. The person, a man by his guess, moved towards him and stooped over Rogers. A knife was slowly inching towards his heart when he snapped to action.Deflecting the knife he twisted the man's wrist. The weapon was dropped with a thud. On instinct, he grabbed the man's neck squeezing it slightly. There was a gasp, and he felt someone clawing at his hands."Cap!" the man called out. The delusional man translated it to 'Captain'. Close enough right?He squeezed tighter, he didn't really want to kill this man, whoever he was. But the man had tried to kill him! He had to fight back."Steve!" the voice came, still clawing at his hand. Steve? It was never Steve. Always Captain or Captain Rogers or even simply Rogers. Never Steve. Not unless they were close. "Please, I-I can't..."The Hydra cell came back in focus and Steve released the man in his hands. Horror overtook him as he realized who it was. Tony Stark, AKA Iron Man. He had just about killed Iron Man!Tony was clutching his throat and trying to breathe. Steve's eyes widened in panic. No, no, no, it was happening already. Maybe? Was it Hydra or just the flashback? He couldn't tell. He quickly scooted back into the corner of the room. Breathing heavy himself, but for an entirely different reason.He couldn't do this. He could easily slip up and kill the billionaire. While he had come to realize that Tony was much more than the suit, there was no doubt that he was much smaller than the super soldier."Steve?" Tony was standing next to him, just out of arm's reach, the soldier noted. When Cap acknowledged him, the inventor took a step forward and knelt down next to him.Rogers closed his eyes, feeling any strength he had left die away. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-didn't know..." he felt a sob catch in his throat. He wouldn't cry though. Not yet. He refused."I know," came the raspy reply. "Are you okay? Did they come back while I was gone." The concern in Tony's voice made him feel sick. If the great Stark was being gentle and kind, he must look awful. Then again, he had just tried to strangle the other man.Regardless, Steve still had to fight off a surge of jealousy towards Tony, unharmed and fed. But, he fought it in pure Captain America fashion, "No, they haven't come back." He rubbed his face with his hands before opening his eyes.He opened them in time to see two guards come in. Really they were his two guards, as they only ever dealt with him. They pushed Tony out of the way and pulled Steve to a standing position. Then, despite Tony's protest, they led Steve away from the cell. He really didn't care, he was too tired to fight.~A~
Steve - Unknown
They had hardly walked a full minute when they stopped, one of the men blindfolding the Captain. That was new. He also noticed the lack of cuffs however, each arm was held by a guard. They only made it about halfway to wherever they were going before Steve's legs gave out. He tried to get back up but was just too weak. The guards ended up dragging him the rest of the way.When they reached the unknown place, Cap was forced into another chair. He wasn't even surprised when he felt the metal clamp around his wrists. The blindfold was left in place and it did its job effectively. He couldn't see anything. Steve felt a slight pinch in his arm then something being pumped into his body. That was concerning."You know, drugs don't really work on me," he said, not even knowing if anyone was there.There was silence and he feared he had been left completely alone. Again. He hated being alone. It brought back too many memories. Staying home sick when his Ma had to work, or later when Bucky would have to do the same. Then, of course, there was the whole plane crashing into the ocean thing. Alone. Yeah, he didn't like being alone.He began to shake his arm free of the needle but was stopped by a hand on his arm. "Stop fighting it, Captain." A light German accent noted. Of course. Rubrem was here. "It's not going to hurt you, just some nourishment so you don't collapse."Oh, so that's what they were doing, keeping him alive. It was true, his head was becoming much clearer instead of heavier as he had expected. The pang in his stomach was also losing its intensity."I saw what you did to Mr Stark. It was quite entertaining. I never would have let you kill him of course not, I still need him. But, it was an interesting display." Steve tensed slightly at the words."Of course," Rubrem continued, "you will have to be punished. We can't have either of you die before we get the project. That's why we are feeding you now. We can't have you die before we get what we want from Stark. And yes, we know about your metabolism and healing rates."He felt the fluid stop and another prick as the needle was pulled out. He felt what was most likely a band-aid being placed over the tiny wound. Now that he wasn't starving, his enhanced hearing seemed to kick in and he could hear the footsteps walk away."That's enough for the moment Captain, it should keep you alive," the voice was now coming over an intercom of some sort. "Your punishment begins now." The clasps were released and then there was silence. Complete silence.Ripping off the blindfold, Steve felt horror creep into his veins. He looked around. He was in a giant freezer.Terror overtook him as he looked at the walls. Ice. The walls were covered in ice. He stood up. Then the cold hit him. It seemed to come out of nowhere. The chair must have somehow kept him from realizing how cold it truly was.Beside the chair was a small table. On that table sat a plain white shirt. He put it on, though it offered little protection. The cold began to creep in and he feared his blood would turn to ice. He had always wondered if his blood had completely frozen after the crash. But that wasn't the worst thing to creep in. No, much worse was the panic.And suddenly he was on the plane, plunging towards the ice. His breathing accelerated and he began to shake, and the cold had nothing to do with it. He closed his eyes, trying to block out the memories.He wasn't on the plane. He wasn't going to lose everyone. Again. He would be fine. He was with Hydra. He would find a way to escape. He was fine.That was, until water started to cover the floor.He couldn't think anymore. He just knew he had to get away. He couldn't let the water have him. He climbed onto the metal chair, hugging his knees. He was terrified."Please, let me out. Please,." he heard his own voice say. But it was distant, so weak and afraid. It couldn't have really been his voice, Captain America's voice, could it?No, he decided. It wasn't Captain America's voice, it was Steve Rogers'.~A~
Tony - The Cell
He tried to kill him. Captain America had literally tried to kill him. Tony subconsciously rubbed his throat. He should have known better than approach the super soldier in the midst of what looked like a pretty intense flashback. He knew Steve hadn't really meant it. It was obvious by the guilt-stricken look on his face that the strangulation was meant for someone else. But, for some reason that didn't make it hurt any less.Tony was beginning to grow worried about him. They had skipped the Watch Room this morning, for that Stark was relieved. Maybe they thought yesterday had been enough. In his own opinion, yesterday had been enough for an eternity. The haunted look hadn't left Steve's eyes since the first day. They must have said something to him, Captain America was in no way squeamish. He didn't really seem to be healing properly either. Tony hoped nothing was wrong with the serum. He supposed it could have had to do with enhanced metabolism.And now he had been gone for almost six hours, much longer than usual. Steve had said that they hadn't come for him all day, they had waited until Tony got back. Was it possible it was planned? Were they trying to get the American Icon to kill him? No, they needed him alive for the project. But something was definitely going on, and by the look in Cap's eye, he knew what was happening. Tony would have to ask him when he came back. If he came back. No. No, he wouldn't think that way. Steve would come back and they would have a long talk. They would get out of this. They would be fine.The door swung open and a still form was dropped on the floor. The captain's skin had almost a blue colour. Rushing towards him, Tony stopped short. He couldn't run the risk of causing him to lash out. The super soldier could easily kill him before he even realized what he was doing. He wouldn't let that be on Steve's conscious. Not to mention, he really didn't want to be dead. And death by deranged Avenger didn't make it on his 'top five ways to go' list."Steve." He remembered that earlier the man had only responded positively to his given name. "Are you okay?" Stupid question. Just by looking at him Stark could see he very much wasn't okay. When no answer came Tony's fear got the better of him. Kneeling down, he lightly touched the soldier's arm and gasped. It was unnaturally cold. Moving down his arm he noticed that Cap wasn't moving. At all. Like, at all, at all.Panicking, he grabbed his wrist and felt for a pulse. There was none. Tony's heart began to race. They had killed him. Killed him and left Tony with the corpse of his dead friend. He backed away slowly. No, this was wrong, there was no way. No, he wasn't, he couldn't be. He was Captain America. No.Tony was in such shock, he didn't notice the room's temperature slowly begin to rise

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Day 4

The Cell
Tony had apparently passed out. When he woke up it was hot. Too hot. Laying his head back down on the floor, he noticed that the floor was radiating with heat. Cap would like it. He hated the cold.Wait, Cap! Cap was dead. He had been brought back dead from who knew where. Jerking up, Stark glanced around the room and found Steve about a foot to his right. But something was different... He was sweating. Did dead people sweat? He didn't think so. But then, what, when, why, how, where? (Okay, maybe not where... ) Tony checked for a pulse, finding a weak but steady one. He was so confused. He felt tears of relief come to his eyes. Steve wasn't dead. He wasn't responsible for the death of Captain America; That was a huge weight off of his shoulders. But he was still very confused. As if in answer to his confusion, the cell door swung open and a now familiar routine ensued.~A~
The Truth Room
Tony was quite concerned when he entered the Truth Room. He knew what this room was for, and Steve wasn't up for it. From what he could tell, Cap had been dead. How he was alive now was a mystery, for once a pleasant one, but there was no way this could be good.Then he was shoved into the chair. Well, this wasn't good, but for a completely different reason. Better him than Cap. But, he was still human and humans didn't like pain. He closed his eyes taking a deep breath. This was nothing new to him. He had been through this before."Steeling yourself for what is to come?" Oh, how he hated Mori Ruby Slippers.Tony opened his eyes, casting a glare at his captor, "Just trying to avoid your face for a few minutes.""You wound me," Rubrem " He smiled one of his bloodthirsty smiles. "But don't you see? You tried to get in my way."Tony wasn't exactly sure what he was referring to. "Whatever do you mean?""Come now Mr Stark. You keep attempting to stop what we are doing to the Captain.""Isn't that what you wanted? Isn't that the point of this whole thing?" The sarcasm had left, and was being replaced by anger.Mori shook his head, "Mr Stark, we gave you a way to stop us, but you seem to think that yelling and standing in our way is better. You're wrong."The billionaire rolled his eyes. "So, what happens now? Do I get in on some of the fun?""Yes, you get in on the fun." Rubrem went to the wall and pulled out a tray. He brought it over and laid over Tony's chair. Lying there was a syringe and multiple vials."You see Mr Stark, our dear Captain friend is immune to most drugs and injections. But we need to test some things. I can't waste one of my men on something so trivial, and the Captain is out of the question, leaving one person for the test run.""You mean, little ol' me?" he didn't like this, not one bit. While he was fairly strong in this aspect, you could never tell with drugs. He was prone to make a fool of himself anyway.A small smirk and nod then Rubrem picked up the syringe. He moved his hand over the vials. He picked one up and rolled it in his hands."You are quite full of sarcastic comments. Let's see if this changes your sentiment." Tony's right arm was twisted to expose the veins. The needle was pushed into the vein and Stark could feel the liquid mingle with his blood.It felt like ice, and Tony couldn't help but squirm. Then Mori leaned forward and slapped his arm. The freezing turned to burning, ten times more painful than the ice. He gave a short cry, trying to keep from screaming."Good. It seems to be serving its purpose." The Nazi slapped him again in the same place. The fire immediately cooled. "Good, good."Using the same needle, Mori drew from a different vial and injected Tony once again. This time he felt nothing. He could see the liquid being pushed through his veins, but he didn't feel it. The needle was pulled out and his captor took a step back, watching him intently. The cooling feeling disappeared into nothing. There was a slight discomfort in his arm before feeling dissolved completely. He stared at it. It was still there, but he wouldn't have known if he hadn't been looking at it.Tony felt the numbness continue to spread up his arm. The cooling and burning had stayed near the entry point, but this kept moving. The loss of feeling was terrifying, especially as it began to creep up his neck.He gasped, beginning to panic. Rubrem laughed."Does this frighten you? This lack of feeling? I suppose that would make sense, considering how you need to be in control. But don't worry, it will wear off. Hopefully." A knife appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. "But this is where it really becomes... Fun."Tony glared, trying not to let his fear overtake him. That was exactly what Ruby Slippers here wantedTony's face was becoming numb, and it took all of his power to mutter two words: "Yes, fun."The knife was placed to the inventor's left arm and pressed down slightly. Pain like Tony had never felt before erupted in his arm. He tried to pull away but found himself unmoving. He was completely immobile. He tried to open his mouth, and while he couldn't feel it, scream he heard informed him that it had indeed opened."Ahh, exactly as planned. As a scientist, Mr Stark, I'm sure you would like an explanation. You see, this injection makes you completely immobile. But, due to my wonderful genius, it causes pain to double in magnitude." Tony let out another scream at a light touch to his wound. "Oh, and I almost forgot, it leaves the mouth mobile so I can hear the satisfying screams. The exact science is too complicated to explain. Fortunately, I can let you know exactly what it feels like first hand."He slashed the knife over the open palm of Tony's right hand. Another scream, louder than the first."Oh, did I forget to mention that the pain will increase with each wound?Another slash on his right arm. Then on his left. The pain was unbearable. For a brief moment, he considered giving in. Just give them Project P and then it would stop. But it was a brief moment. He knew that was a fantasy. If he gave them what they wanted, it wouldn't stop.Another slash, another scream. He couldn't control it anymore. At least things couldn't get any worse.Or so he thought.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Day 4

Unknown - Tony
Tony woke up in what looked like a hospital bed. Looking around, he saw several IVs hooked up to his arm. His eyes widened as memories rushed back to him.No. Not more drugs. Please, no more drugs. He couldn't. The pain. He couldn't. He began to struggle against the restraints that he really should have noticed before now.Rubrem walked in, causing his panic level to rise. "Please Mr Stark, there is nothing to worry. Our experimentation is done for now. This is to help you heal. Look at your arm. You see? Healing already!" Tony may not have trusted the Ruby Rubik's cube, but he sounded sincere.Tony looked down at his arm. The deep cuts that had been there only a few hours ago, were now almost fully healed. "But how...?" he mumbled."As you have learned, Hydra is quite advanced in its medicine and drug use."The inventor could accept that, but why? What possible reason could they have to put him through that and then heal him? "But why?""We couldn't have the good Captain seeing you in that state, now could we?" an evil smirk turning his features.Was that his game then? Hurt Steve and not him? Well, at least not in anyway that the super soldier could see. What would that accomplish? Before he could figure anything out, he began to feel inexplicably drowsy."Goodnight Mr Stark."~A~
The Cell - Steve
Tony had been gone a long time. Too long. Had he messed everything up? Was this another form of punishment? Maybe Tony wasn't coming back. Maybe they were afraid he would kill Stark. But wasn't that what they wanted? Steve couldn't figure it out.The cell opened and his guards walked in."Where's Tony?" The words left him before he had time to think about it. The guards laughed and one of them answered,"We thought he might want a break from his worthless cellmate. Mr Stark is much too important to be bothered by someone like you. He's meeting with Herr Rubrem as we speak." Another laugh, and they were pulling him to his feet.Steve wouldn't believe it. He couldn't believe it. Tony would never... would he? His brain was so jumbled he couldn't figure anything out. And he was so tired. He didn't even put up a fight when they dragged him away.~A~
The Truth Room-Steve
When he was shoved into his chair he made no attempts to escape. The clamps took more time than usual to restrain him, but he didn't even try to move away from them. He just couldn't. There was no motivation. Even when the thought crossed his mind all he could think of was cold. So much cold. Freezing. Ice. Water. Dying. Cold.He shivered and tried to regain control of his breathing, only then realizing"Ah, hello Captain," he said choosing his weapon. "I believe we should simply get down to business."Steve hadn't seen it coming and therefore only managed to bite off the last half of his yelp. A small knife was implanted into his left shoulder. Rubrem squatted down in front of him, intently watching his prisoner's eyes. Taking deep breaths, the man stared down his captor.Steve shook away the odd feeling of submission, and Captain America took over. Hydra wouldn't have him. Hydra wouldn't have his mind."Ah, regaining composure are we? Don't think I didn't notice your submission. Or the fact that you were shivering in a room that is over eighty degrees Fahrenheit."Steve didn't respond. He fought another cry as the blade was removed from his shoulder."Hydra's not going to come at you with a pocket knife," the German said, plunging the already bloody knife into Cap's right shoulder.Steve's head was buzzing. Those words. He knew those words. Someone had told him. Someone, a long time ago."Howard?" he mumbled quietly.A smirk lightened Mori's face, "Ah, so you remember! "All the better for me." He pulled out the knife and dropped it onto a small tray."You know Captain, I just hate keeping secrets, so I'm going to let you in on one now." He leaned forward, whispering in Steve's ear, "He was working for us the whole time."Cap's brain tried to connect the dots. He? which he? Surely not... No... Howard was his friend."Yes, Captain I'm referring to Howard Stark." Rubrem pulled away, picking up the blade and cleaning the blood off on what was left of Steve's dirty blue uniform. "It was quite helpful having someone on the inside: someone to let us know what was going on. Someone to tell us when you were to board a certain train." He leaned forward again, "Someone to ensure the capture of one James Barnes."As Rubrem said this he began to slowly cut away the skin around Steve's upper arm. It hurt. It definitely hurt. But not as much as the words. Howard couldn't have been working for Hydra. Howard had made him his shield. Howard was his friend.His mind was becoming repetitive. Playing the same defiant words over and over again. Howard was their friend. Bucky included, right? He would never hurt them. Hurt Bucky. Hurt him."We're still trying to find out if it's true about Tony."Cap hadn't even noticed when the blade stopped tearing away his flesh. His eyes snapped to his captor. Fear and confusion lacing his every feature."We're getting closer though. He is awfully suspicious, but that doesn't mean he's not secretly working for us. You know what they say, 'Like father, like son.'"This he wouldn't believe. There was no way Tony worked for Hydra. If he was, he would have given them this Project they talked about so much. Unless of course he just liked to see him suffer... NO! Tony was his friend. Tony wouldn't hurt him.But he had hurt Tony, almost killed him. What if that was why he was punished? Was he punished because Tony worked for Hydra?The pain came back, this time in his other arm. It seemed to him like Rubrem was skinning his arm, but Steve couldn't even focus enough to tell whether or not he was screaming.His head hurt and he couldn't think anymore. Despite the serum, despite the pain, despite the fact that he should be crying out because he was literally being tortured, one thought kept ringing in his mind as he slipped into unconsciousness. "Hydra's not going to come at you with a pocket knife.", Howard had said. But they had.~A~
The Cell - Tony
He was completely healed when they brought him back to the cell. Even his sprained wrist had miraculously healed. When he was unceremoniously shoved into the oh-so-inviting, Cap was there with his back against the wall, staring at him. More like glaring. Yep, definitely glaring."Where have you been all day?"" he growled. Captain America growled. Tony knew something was very, very wrong.Tony gave what he hoped was a disarming smile, "You know, typical bad guy 'give me what I want or else' places. You?"He should have known better than to ask. The lost, dejected, almost broken look on Steve's face should have clued him in not to go there. For a genius, sometimes he could be stupid."Where do you think?" came the low response. Tony approached carefully. Something was definitely wrong.Tony didn't miss the flinch that accompanied his sitting down. It wasn't so much fear in his captain's eyes as uncertainty. He looked Cap over for the first time, noticing the blood soaking through the white t-shirt. His eyes scanned down where the blood was dripping off the shirt and saw that large chunks of skin were missing around his upper arm.The billionaire couldn't stop the gasp, "Steve, what...?" He couldn't continue. He was in such shock. Both arms seemed to be in roughly the same condition. Stab wound in the shoulder, cut away skin in patches down to his elbow. It looked horrendous.His body was already regenerating the lost tissue, making it looked even worse. If that was possible. He reached up to see if he could stem the bleeding, but Cap grabbed his hand."Forget it Stark, I'm fine." Shaking his head slightly he whispered, "It'll heal."Tony stared back at him in disbelief. "So," he started instead, "about this morning.""What about it." Steve had closed his eyes. His voice wasn't as dark, but it wasn't his usual serious yet reassuring voice either. He continued to eye his injured friend. His own, now fully healed injuries completely forgotten. "You were dead.""Well, I'm obviously not," he said with no emotion."Well not now!" Tony exclaimed.Cap opened his eyes, "Look, Tony, I'm not dead, obviously. So if I appeared dead this morning, I'm sorry. You're a scientist. You should know that a body will often appear dead in a frozen state. I mean, people thought I was dead for seventy years."Tony opened his mouth to rebut, but the thugs busting through the door interrupted him. Steve sighed and stood up unsteadily. The men grabbed him and lead him outside before either of Steve or Tony could even protest.Great. Just great.~A~About an hour later Steve dropped back into the cell. The guard looked at Tony, "Do not-""Go near him or try to wake him until he wakes up on his own. If I do, there will be consequences." He rolled his eyes. "I know the drill." The guard nodded and left.Sitting there quietly, Stark looked over the Captain as best he could from a distance. The bleeding had stopped and his skin was almost back to normal. The only thing new from this trip were the weird bruises on his face. They were always there after this almost daily trip. Cap never said anything about it and Tony was starting to get curious.Very slowly, Steve opened his eyes and looked at Tony. Stark decided to jump right in. "What did they do to you?""I thought we already had this conversation. I told you, they'll heal. In fact, they've already started."No, I mean just now," Tony clarified.Cap shook his head, "I've been here the entire time.""No, they just brought you back.""Honestly Tony, I think I would remember if I left. I haven't. We've both been here the entire time." He closed his eyes again."Come on, Cap-""Listen, Tony, " Steve pulled himself into a sitting position. "I haven't been anywhere, okay? I've been in this cell the entire time. Now I would greatly appreciate it if you would stop running your mouth for once and just be quiet!"The Captain slumped back down and seemed to fall asleep. Tony stared, slack-jawed. That was so very unlike Cap. Then there was the fact that he didn't remember leaving. He had just left. Every day he left. Maybe the reason he never talked about it, never mentioned it, was that he didn't remember himself.What could they be doing to him that caused him to completely forget an hour of his life? Running his fingers through his hair, Tony lay down on the cold floor and fell asleep.~A~
The Cell - Steve

He was looking out of a train. Bucky was screaming. Screaming and falling. He tried to reach out, tried to save his best friend, his brother, but he couldn't. He was so small, so scrawny. Even if he had caught his hand it wouldn't have made any difference.

"No Bucky to save you now!" the tall muscular boy said, sneering. "Just little Steve."

Then he was falling alongside Bucky. Their screams intermixed. He saw Howard standing and watching them fall. He called out to him. Begging Howard to save them. Instead, Stark picked up a small pocket knife and threw it. The blade landed deep in Bucky's chest.
"No!" he screamed, sitting straight up. Tony was staring at him, wide-eyed. Cap tried to calm his ragged breathing. It was all lies. All lies. They had to be.Laying back down, he cast a quick glance to Tony, who still hadn't moved from his shocked position.They were all lies.He couldn't take it if they were true.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Day 5

The Cell - Tony
Watching the sleeping form of Captain America brought an uneasy feeling to Tony. Something was wrong. Very wrong. He had never seen Steve so angry. He knew that he and Steve had never really gotten along, but this was different. The glares that Cap sent him spoke of hatred. Then last night Steve had had another nightmare. Tony wasn't sure what to do.The door swung open, waking the sleeping form on the floor. Steve sent a quick look at Stark before his eyes returned to the door. The guards slowly came in and grabbed Cap. Steve quietly went with them.A few minutes later his own guards appeared. They grabbed him by the arms and pulled him up. He shook them off."I'm coming. You don't need to get so pushy." He began walking, assuming they would point him in the right direction. He was proven correct as they began to push him towards the Truth Room. Yay. That's just what he needed.~A~
The Truth Room - Steve
Steve didn't care anymore. He honestly didn't care. There was no reason for him to fight. His head hurt and he just felt so drained. He silently obeyed the guards when they told him to remove his shirt. The ugly Hydra brand was still very clear amongst the healing skin. Since it was no longer life-threatening, the serum was trying to heal his more serious injuries. Whatever they were. Everything hurt so bad he couldn't tell what was real and what pain from last nights startling revelation.Howard was Hydra. He couldn't get it out of his head.Lost in his own thoughts, he didn't hear the guards order him to the wall, earning him a swift punch between his shoulder blades. He sank to his knees, having been caught off guard."вверх (Up)" The guard barked. Steve stood immediately. "Напротив стены (Against the wall.)" He complied without thought. The door opened, breaking Steve's trance-like state."Good," Rubrem appeared, smiling. "You are learning Captain, learning."Cap shook his head and crossed his arms. "What's your game Rubrem?" he growled.Mori frowned, "Game? What do you mean ‘game’, Captain? I'm here to tell you the truth. That was our agreement, yes?"The Captain held his glare while the German shook his head disapprovingly.Rubrem sighed, "Повернись, (Turn around)" Cap turned around without a word. "Руки вверх, (hands up)" Rubrem quickly attached chains to each of the soldier's wrists."Russian?" Steve mumbled, trying to clear his muddled mind.His captor was smiling again. "Yes, Captain, Russian. I was tempted to use German since it is my first language, but we had such promising results last time we used Russian. What is your American saying, 'Why fix what isn't broken’?”"Last time? I don't-""Hey watch it!" Tony's sudden voice interrupted him.Mori was suddenly whispering in Steve's ear, "помнить, Я не тот, кто лжет вам. Я твой друг. (Remember, I'm not the one lying to you. I'm your friend.)" Then stepping away, he patted Cap on the back. "All in good time Captain. All in good time."~A~
The Truth Room - Tony
"Hey watch it!" Tony barked as the guard roughly shoved him through the door. Still muttering under his breath, he stopped when he saw Rubrem put his hand on Steve's back."Get your filthy hands off him!" He took a step forward, only to be dragged backwards by his two "friends" behind him.Mori turned around and clasped his hands together "Ah, Mr Stark. How good of you to join us.""Not like your goons gave me much of a choice." He grunted, pulling away from the men holding him.Rubrem shrugged with indifference. "Well, now that you are here, you are going to do exactly what I tell you to.""Fat chance," Tony responded, crossing his arms.Before he could even realize what was happening, a gun was cocked and placed firmly behind Cap's head. Tony drew in a sharp breath.Laughing, the German said, "Now do you see my side, Mr Stark?""Forget it, Tony," The Captain said in a low voice. "Don't-""Молчать! (Silence!)" Mori shouted. Steve fell completely silent.Was that Russian? Had Cap always knows Russian?"Now, Mr Stark, you will do what I say, or you will find your Captain with a bullet in his brain.""What do you want?" Tony growled.Smiling, Rubrem motioned towards a small hole in the wall. "Go get it."Rolling his eyes, he walked over to the hole. "'Go get it.' real informative there. What exactly am I getting? Don't tell me I'm going to put my hand in and come out with poisonous spiders crawling all over me." He reached into the small alcove and searched around until he felt something. Pulling it out, he glanced at it. In his hands was a bullwhip. He glanced at Steve's bare back. A small gasp escaped his lips."You plan on playing Indiana Jones?" Tony attempted to joke.Mori laughed, "No, Mr Stark. You are.""What?" Tony glanced at the madman.Rubrem took a step to the side, still keeping the gun pointed at the Captain's head. "I think you heard me." The billionaire stood in shock. Rubrem shook his head, "Come here, Mr Stark."Tony numbly obeyed."Good, now strike his back." He motioned towards Steve, towards Tony’s friend."What? No!" Tony said, taking a step back. He finally realized what was going on, and he couldn't. There was no way he could. Panicking, he kept walking backwards until he ran into something. Or someone. "His" thug pushed him forward until he was standing directly behind Cap.Rubrem laid his hand on Tony's shoulder. "Now, now, Mr Stark. I really don't want to have to use this." He once again placed the gun to Steve's head, "but, I will if I need to. Now, strike him."Trembling, Tony pulled back the whip. Closing his eyes, he let it fly forward. There was a muffled cry, causing Stark to open his eyes in horror. He looked at Steve's back, staring without comprehension at the mark he had made.Mori smiled gleefully, "Again.""No, I, I can't.”"You forget, your refusal will cause his death. Do you really want that hanging over your head?"The Billionaire shook his head. Steeling himself, he struck the Captain's back."Don't stop Mr Stark. I'll tell you when you can be done."Tony did as he was told. He let the whip fly again. And Again. And again. Tears rolled down his cheeks as Steve finally let loose a cry of pain. Looking at Rubrem, he continued the lashing. He wasn't sure how long he had been there, how many lashes he had delivered when the body in front of him suddenly went limp."Stop." The order finally came.Tony dropped whip as if it was a piece of burning metal."Very good, Mr Stark." Tony didn't even hear him. He was in shock. He stared, mouth open, at the bleeding back of Captain America. He had done that. He had caused his friend pain. "Take him back to his cell."This time, he didn't fight back as they roughly pulled him away.~A~
Unknown - Steve
"I told you, Captain- Tony is not your friend." Steve was in a haze. His eyes refused to focus as his brain tried to comprehend what he was hearing."If he was your friend would he have struck you? All the pain you are feeling right now. It was caused by him. Tony did it. Now, do you see? I tried to warn you." He knew that voice. Rubrem?But, that wasn't right. Tony was his friend. Tony hadn't wanted to. Right? "No, y-you told him too. Made him.""Come now, Captain. How could I make him? He wouldn't have done it if he hadn't had wanted to. Just think about it. I'm your friend, not, him. And because I'm your friend, I'm going to let you rest now. Okay? Let you rest." Rubrem’s voice was fading out as Steve felt a pinch and then warmth travelling up his arm."Rest," he mumbled.Steve thought he could see a smile on Mori - his friend's? - lips. "Yes, Captain, rest."~A~
The Cell - Tony
Tony cried. Cried because it was all his fault. This entire stupid thing was his fault. He had watched while Steve had suffered because of him, because of his stupid project. But this time he had gone too far. He had done it. He had caused Steve’s pain directly.He should have listened to JARVIS. Who in his right mind creates a program that would detonate all of his tech simultaneously? He had made it in case his tech ever fell into the wrong hands, but he never really considered what would happen if the project fell into the wrong hands! Had he really been that stupid? Had he really been that bored?He closed his eyes, but all he could see was the broken, bleeding body of the man he considered a friend. Steve couldn't survive much more of this, Captain America or not. But there was nothing he could do. Nothing but hope that the others would find them. Hope, and pray to the God of Steve Rogers.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

DAY 6

Tower - Natasha
"Idiots! Men can be such idiots!" she hissed as she made her way through Avengers Tower. "I told Steve to get out, but did he listen? No!" She rubbed her face as she leaned her head against the wall.They were entering there sixth day after Tony and Steve's disappearance. Their comms and trackers had been found in an open field in Germany. Of course, the remaining Avengers had gone after them. "A waste of time," she murmured.She was worried about them, though she would never admit it. Tony could be annoying at times, but he was still part of the team. Her team. Her family. Pepper was trying to remain calm, but anyone could see she was practically in meltdown mode. Natasha had promised Pepper that they would get him back,nd that was one promise the Russian intended to keep.But if Steve had just listened to her! She growled as she stepped into the elevator. Grumbling orders to Jarvis, she closed her eyes.When the building had collapsed, her first thought had been that he was dead. After clearing some of the rubble, it became clear that he wasn't there.She had become the unofficial leader after Cap's disappearance. Leading was not her style. She was more of a background, only seen when necessary, spy. And while Tony's disappearance upset her, it was Steve's that left her feeling completely helpless.Somehow, she and Steve had become friends. Not as close friends as her and Clint, but closer than she would usually allow people. After the Chitauri invasion, she had agreed to stay in the Tower with the rest of the Avengers. However, Nat hadn't expected to be paired with them on missions. The first time she was sent with someone other than Clint, she was not happy. But, by the time she was paired with Steve, she had become used to working with others. To an extent.To Nat, Captain America was too perfect. His perfection didn't sit well with her. It wasn't until Steve suffered an anxiety attack that she realized he wasn’t as impenetrable as he appeared. He was much more broken than anyone realized. After that, they had each tried to let the other in, something neither of them was very good at.And as much as she hated to admit it, he worried her. She had watched on several different occasions as he slipped deep within himself. When that happened, not even she could reach him. She also knew that Tony... well, Tony brought out the worst in him. She could see how much Tony's thoughtless jokes bothered Cap. She knew Stark wasn't doing it on purpose, but that didn't make it hurt any less.A couple of weeks prior, Natasha had finally confronted Tony about it,* and since then he and Steve had been getting along better. She only hoped it could last.But none of that really mattered now. She scolded herself for letting her mind stray off of the present situation. Entering Tony's workshop, she glanced at Bruce. "Anything?"Bruce shook his head. "Tony had a chip implanted in his arm in case anything like this ever happened." He scrubbed his face with his hands, "But nothing, no sign of it anywhere! I don't know what else to do." He sighed. Suddenly the computer started beeping. Bruce's eyes widened and he began typing furiously."You got something?" Natasha watched intently."I-I think I might. His chip! He must have changed the frequency to keep it from being detected. Brilliant!""But you found it?" Nat asked impatiently."Huh? Oh, yes, yes. It's in Munich, Germany. A couple of miles from where we found the comms. I can't believe this!""They tricked us by telling us where they were,” the Russian mumbled to herself. Then to Bruce, "How soon can we get there?""We should be able to get there in a little over six hours,” he replied, still typing.Natasha grabbed his arm, "Let's go."

*References my short story "Don't Stop, and Hope"

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Day 6

Tony - The Cell
He was woken by guards yanking him to his feet. That was strange, he didn't remember falling asleep.Tony gasped as everything that had happened came rushing back. The room. The whip. Everything. He looked around as they dragged him out of the room. Steve wasn't there."Where- where is he?" his voice came out strained.There was no answer, just continued silence as they pulled him through the halls. He tried to pull his feet under him but found it difficult at the speed he was being dragged. They were definitely in a hurry to get to the... Truth Room. He never wanted to hear the word 'Truth' again. Especially since so many truths turned out to be lies.He was taken through the door and quickly shoved into a chair. Steve was already there, chained in a chair across from him. Cap was staring at him. No, not at him, through him. Tony noticed that he didn't seem to be aware of anything going on around him."Steve, hey Steve," He tried to gain his friend's attention. There was no acknowledgement that Cap even noticed someone else in the room."Come on Cap, look at me." Tony couldn't help the pleading way his voice came out.The door opened and in walked in Ruby nightmare himself.“Come now Captain," the man’s voice was overly sweet. It made Tony sick. "Mr Stark here was talking to you. Surely you could give him the courtesy of answering.""Why should I?" came the low growl.The billionaire was surprised at the malice in his captain’s voice. Not that he could blame him. After all, it was Tony's fault they were in all of this."Now, now, Captain," the contorted smile sent chills down the inventor's spine. "Is that any way to talk to your friend?""Friend?" Steve spat.Terror gripped Tony's heart. This wasn't Cap, this wasn't Steve. It couldn't be. Had he really driven the 'perfect' Captain America to this? Whatever this was."Well, I suppose it doesn't really matter." The German went over and place his hand on Steve's shoulder. "What matters now is whether or not Mr Stark here is going to give me what I want. " He pulled out a small revolver and placed it directly behind Cap's head.Tony's eyes widened in disbelief. "I-it's a bluff. You still need him." At least he hoped. He couldn't give them Project P. He couldn't.Rubrem made a disapproving noise. "Surely you don't think that Mr Stark." he fired the gun, causing the billionaire to gasp. But, nothing happened.Mori laughed and pulled the gun away. “Not yet." Tony breathed a sigh of relief. He had been right, this time."But, I do need answers, fast." Rubrem pulled out a small bullet from his pocket, holding it out for Tony to see. Then he placed in his revolver, spinning the cylinder. "Surely you are familiar with Russian Roulette?"Stark tried to keep his head from spinning. "What about it?""This gun has six chambers.” As you just saw, I have placed one bullet into the cylinder. I do not know which chamber has the bullet. Neither do you." He once again placed it to the back of Steve's head. "Every time you refuse to give me your project, I pull the trigger. Neither of us knows which one will be the fatal shot. Meaning, stalling won't work."Tony's heart was pounding. So this was it, he ultimatum. Hand it over or Steve dies. Hand over the project and hundreds die."Now, Mr Stark, give me Project Perniciem. " Tony watched as Mori's finger hovered over the trigger."No," he finally whispered. "No, I-I can't!"
Click.
Then nothing."Please, I can't give it to you."
Click.
The bullet would be in the sixth shot, right? It was always the last shot."I am growing impatient. Give me the project."This time Tony remained silent. Maybe if he didn't say anything-
Click.
"This game is pointless. You cannot win. Give me Perniciem!""No!"
Click.
"Give it to me now! You can't stall much longer!" Rubrem was seething.He still had two more shots right? They could still make it out of this. He just had to think. Think! Think of something, anything. They had to get out of here!"I will give you five seconds to answer. This could be the one that kills him.""Or it could not. We don't know.""One.""I mean after all it's a six chamber gun. Still, have two left.""Two.""And you wouldn't kill him. You need him. All your hidden experiments.""Three.""You have just as much to lose as me. You kill him, you lose your bargaining chip.""Four.""You wouldn't dream of actually killing Captain America." Tony was sweating profusely."Five."
Bang!
Steve's eyes widened and he let out a small gasp, then fell forward."No," Tony whispered. "No!" he shouted, "You killed him! You monsters!" He pulled against his restraints in a mad attempt to get to Rubrem.Mori shook his head, "No Tony, you killed him. You played a bluff, and you lost."He motioned to the guards and they left. "No! You can't leave me alone in here! No! Let me out! Let me out!" His words morphed into incoherent sobs as he realized no one was coming to let him out."I'm sorry!" he shouted between sobs, "I'm so sorry!" His voice broke.They had lost.Captain America was dead.~A~
Tony - The Cell
He didn't know how long it had been. Time had no meaning to him. Steve was dead. It was his fault. The door opened and two heavily armed guards came in. He was released from the chair and immediately handcuffed. He wasn't given a chance to walk as they roughly drug him back to his cell.They unceremoniously dropped him on the ground before releasing the cuffs and making a quick exit. The cell was quiet. Tony realized with disgust that there was blood on the floor. Strange, he had never noticed it before. But he also never realized just how quiet it was in there.He hated himself. It was his fault. No matter how many times he thought about it, the fact remained; it was his fault. Maybe he should have given in. Maybe he should have just handed over the project.No! He never should have started the stupid thing! He thought he would have more time. He thought if he could just stall long enough, the others would find them. Apparently, he had been wrong.A loud thumping drew him from his thoughts. Curious, he listened as more loud noises followed. Then the door was yanked open. No, not open, off the hinges! A loud roar followed the door being thrown down the hallway."Hulk find Tony!" The green monster growled. Natasha, Clint, and Thor appeared, weapons at the ready.Tony was in too much shock to say anything. Natasha was the one to make the first move. Putting away her gun, she slowly approached him."Tony, are you okay?" her voice was steady, but he could see the concern in her eyes.He nodded once."Where's Cap?" she asked glancing around the cell.Tony shook his head. That's all he could do.Natasha threw Clint a disturbed glance."Tony, I need you to talk to me. Where's Steve?""He-he's dead,” his voice cracked. "I tried! I-I didn't want him to die. I couldn't stop them! I tried!" He once again broke into sobs.~A~
Natasha - The Cell
The entire team stopped breathing. Steve was dead? That was impossible. He was Captain America!The Hulk broke the silence, "Cap dead! Bad men kill friend. Hulk kill bad men!" He let out a roar and began to smash through the nearest wall."Clint?" Natasha said quietly."I got it," he answered, following the raging monster.She was kneeling down in front of Tony when she turned around slightly, "Thor could you-" she was cut off by the sudden sound of something firing. Before she had time to push him out of the way, Tony was hit in the neck by a small dart.Checking his pulse, she sighed with relief to find he was still alive. "Thor, get him back S.H.I.E.L.D med bay."Thor nodded and picked up the still form of Tony as Natasha began to leave the cell."Do you believe that it is true?" Thor's pleading eyes turned to Natasha, "Do you believe the Captain is indeed dead?"Nat froze and gave Thor a sideways look, "I don't know. Just- just get him back to S.H.I.E.L.D."The Asgardian nodded as he left with Tony.Natasha's face set in a grim line. If it was true, if they had killed Steve, she would find the name of everyone who had had even a small part in it. Then they would all die.She would make sure of it.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Day 6

Natasha - Hydra Base
Natasha closed her eyes. They had found Steve and Tony. It had certainly taken long enough. Maybe too long. If Steve was really dead... She didn't even want to think about it. Shaking her head and taking a deep breath, she stood up and took off after Clint and Hulk.~A~She silently moved through the halls. An alarm was blaring, she barely heard it. She was more interested in the sound of footsteps coming to meet her. She pulled out her guns, one in each hand. Standing in the centre of the hallway, she waited for the footsteps to round the corner.When a group of five Hydra agents turned they hadn't expected to meet her. She quickly eliminated them. She noticed cameras hidden in various places and avoided them with ease. Moving through passages, she found a small room to the side.Hearing voices, she placed her ear to the door. She couldn't quite make out what they were saying, but she could tell an argument had broken out by the way the voices had raised.Realizing the people were occupied, she slowly cracked open the door."How should I know where the girl went!?" She finally heard clearly. "She's one of the most highly trained agents in all of S.H.I.E.L.D. If she wants to avoid being seen, she will!""I don't care!" another voice yelled. "Just find her. We can't risk her finding us!"Smirking, Natasha pushed the door open the rest of the way. "Then you might want to remember to lock the door next time."Eyes widening, the two men reached for their weapons. She nearly rolled her eyes at how simple it was to disarm them."Now," she said, pointing a gun at each of them. "What's been going on here?""We don't know anything!" said one of the men, who looked to be in his mid-forties. Natasha easily recognized him as the second voice - the one who had been worrying about her finding them. "We're the tech guys, they don't tell us anything."The other, much younger, man nodded emphatically."If you don't know anything, then there's no reason to keep you alive."She smiled at the look of terror in their eyes. She slowly walked up to them and pointed the gun between their eyes. Swiftly, she knocked each of them unconscious with a hit to the head. She quickly tied them up.Natasha turned to the large screen on the wall. Sitting in one of the chairs, she watched as the monitor showed Hulk smashing what looked like a medical lab, Clint trying and failing to calm him down. A different part of the screen was showed Hydra agents scurrying around.Talking over her comms, she said to Clint "Forget Hulk, twenty agents trying to escape in the room to your right. Take care of it.""Got it," he said, leaving the room.Trusting that Clint would do his job, she ran her eyes over the rest of the screen. Her eyes stopped as she saw a small room with chains and two chairs. A tray was beside the chair. She couldn't see what was on it. She pulled the feed up so it was taking up the whole screen. Seeing some of the instruments on the tray, she felt anger rise up inside of her.Natasha set it to play the feed from earlier that day. Fast forwarding through the video of an empty room, she stopped when she saw Steve being practically carried through the door. He was placed in one of the chairs and promptly chained to it. He saw a man walk in, smiling. He went over and whispered in Steve's ear. It had an obviously negative effect on the soldier and he stiffened, his eyes dulling. Moments later, Tony was dragged in and placed in the seat across from him.She watched as Tony and the man who was standing began to argue. Suddenly a gun was placed to Steve's head. Natasha watched the scene play out. Natasha watched the scene play out with growing dread.Tony continued to argue with the man until Steve fell forward. The man removed the gun. It appeared that Tony started to scream at him. Then the man and the two guards walked out.Natasha paused the video. Tony was right. Steve was dead. It was sickening.She would find the man who had done this, the man who had killed Cap. Then she would show no mercy.~A~
Unknown
He watched them scurry around the base. He had known the Avengers would show up eventually. It was just as well though. It gave them an excuse to proceed with their plans.Rubrem had done surprisingly well. He was pleased with the man's progress with Stark but was also surprised at Stark's resolve. Not that it mattered. It would have been nice to have been able to simply push a button and watch all of Stark Enterprises crumble, but if his plans went as they were supposed to, it wouldn't make a difference.He heard the helicopter land and smiled. Now was the time for phase two of his little project.Rubrem came in, two guards trailing him with a limp body between them."Mori," he acknowledged with a sick grin. "So good of you to join us. How is the test subject?""We have made much progress, sir," Rubrem responded.He nodded, "Good, good."The limp body began to stir."Oh good, you're awake." He smiled a warmer smile. "I wanted to welcome you myself."The still-rousing man gave the speaker a wary look."It may be hard to believe, but we want to help you. You've been drugged, your head may still be a little fuzzy. I apologize, but of course, there was no other way."Still no answer."Very well, Mori, please take your friend here to his room. We will have to reconvene tomorrow."Rubrem nodded and motioned for the guards to follow."Oh, and Captain." They met each other's eyes for the first time, "Hail Hydra."In a conflicted whisper, Steve Rogers responded, "Hail Hydra."The man's eyes lit up as they left."Yes, Captain America is mine."

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Tony

Red.

Red everywhere.

Blood?

Not his.

Then whose?

A noise caught his attention. He turned to see the broken and bleeding man next to him.

"Cap?" he whispered, watching the man rise to his feet. After a long struggle, the captain finally managed to stand, looking Tony directly in the eyes.
"You," the broken man said in a low voice. "You did this me. I tried to protect you from them. What did I get in return? You letting them torture me day and night. All while you sat in a comfortable room eating your food and watching. Watching and doing nothing!" He growled, lunging at Tony. Before he could get to the inventor a gunshot rang out, causing Cap to crumple to the floor.
"Steve?" Tony fell to his knees at the man's side, checking for a pulse. He found none. He let out an anguished cry as he allowed the grief to overtake him.
Tony jerked awake, taking several deep breaths."Tony? Tony, can you hear me?" A concerned voice said on his left. Turning his head, he saw Bruce standing beside him."Bruce? How long was I-""You've been out for about two days now," The tired doctor said rubbing his face. "You were drugged. We're not really sure what the drug was. Hydra has apparently been making some pretty advanced-"Tony didn't hear the rest. Hydra."Cap," he whispered, bits and pieces of his dream returning.Bruce stopped talking, his eyes taking an empty look. "Tony-""He's dead, isn't he?"Bruce nodded. "Natasha found the footage. He must have been removed before we got there. We don't know what they did to the body.""Steve's dead.""Yes," the doctor said, resigned."It's my fault."Bruce shook his head vehemently. "Tony, you did all you could! There was nothing you could have done to change what happened. You can't blame yourself.""You didn't see it Bruce," he said, his voice detached. "You didn't see what they did to him. They were trying to get me to give it to them, but I wouldn't."The doctor's eyes took on a slightly green colour. "You couldn't have. We've been trying to decode Hydra's files and I was able to get part of the footage. You couldn't have given it to them.""But if I had," Tony took a deep breath, "he might still be alive.""You don't know that. They could have killed you both after you gave them the Project.""Or they could have let us go on our way."The doctor sighed, "Get some rest, Tony." Then he left.Tony sat up slowly, looking around. He was back in the Tower, that much he knew. There was an IV bag hooked up to him, as well as countless wires and monitors. He sighed, sliding back down into the bed.He closed his eyes as he tried to face his demons alone.~A~
It was my fault. I let them kill him. If I had only realized what was going on...
A quiet knock at the door caused Tony to jump. The door opened a crack and Pepper stuck her head through the door.Seeing he was awake, she quickly came to be at her side."Oh, Tony." She came close - allowing Tony to see the tears in her eyes - and kissed him. They broke away, but Tony remained silent, staring into her eyes."I'm so glad you're back," she said, clasping his hand."Glad to be back. Have to say, fighting Nazis is not in my job description."She kissed him again, "It became part of your job description when you became Iron Man."He smiled weakly. A lot of good Iron Man had done this time."It wasn't your fault," she said, seeming to read his mind.He gave a short laugh, "Tell Steve that. Oh wait, you can't because I got him killed!" his voice escalated with each word."Tony, there was nothing you could have done.""Nothing," he laughed. "People keep telling me that. 'There was nothing you could have done, stop worrying about it', but how can I? America's golden boy is dead because I couldn't keep from meddling with something! How is that not my fault?!"Pepper remained silent, watching him with tear-filled eyes."We'll get through this," she finally whispered. "Somehow, we'll get through this."He nodded, but deep down he knew, he would never get over this. The death of Captain America would haunt him the rest of his life.He could, however, make sure that everyone involved with his death paid. Then maybe, when all of his enemies were gone, he would be able to find forgiveness.But for now, the only enemy he could see was himself.~A~
Steve
Sound faded in and out for a moment."Captain, please focus on my voice."He tried, but the words continued to sound far away. He opened his eyes to see the blurred image of a man standing over him."There you are, Captain. Now just take a deep breath."He tried to do as he was told, but a burning in lungs kept him from fully obeying."Do not worry Captain, the pain should go away soon. It is simply left over from your... less than cooperative nature. I hope you will be a little more cooperative this time.""No," the confused man was able to mumble. "Don't cooperate. Fight. Must fight,"The man above him began to click his tongue. "That would be a mistake Captain. Fighting will get you nowhere. Your friends have abandoned you. You have nothing to fight for."The captain had no answer as his head continued to swim. His eyes focused behind the man speaking to him, where a large Hydra symbol took up most of the wall. He shook his head."No, not Hydra," he struggled to say.The man smiled, "Yes, Captain, Hydra. You serve Hydra now.""Serve Hydra?""Yes Captain, serve Hydra. Remember, compliance will be rewarded."Steve offered no answer."Get some more sleep Captain, perhaps in the morning you will be more understanding, eh?"He still gave no response as a warm feeling spread throughout his whole body. As he drifted back into his drug-induced sleep, he kept hearing the same two words: "Hail Hydra."

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Day 9

Tony
"Sir," Jarvis tried to get his creator's attention, but was ignored. He tried again, "Sir, I must insist that you get some rest."Tony sighed in annoyance as he continued to work through his newest upgrade. "I told you J, I'm fine."" Might I remind you that you were only cleared last night. Ms Potts wanted me to ensure that you take care of yourself. That is all I'm attempting to do."Tony growled, slamming his hand on the table. "Just leave me alone!" The AI remained silent as the billionaire continued to work.Tony began to mumble to himself. Picking up the blowtorch, he began welding the two pieces of metal together."It's just a simple upgrade," he said under his breath. "It's nothing new. When am I not updating? I'm always updating my suits. You know, I could just make a new one... that would work too. New suits are cool. I mean come on. I'm Tony Stark! If I wanted to I could- Ah!" He suddenly dropped the torch, clutching his hand.Jarvis almost sounded like he sighed. " I believe Ms Potts has advised you about wearing gloves."Tony hissed as he brought his hand to his chest.Jarvis continued, "I'll inform Dr Banner.""No, don't...""Dr Banner is currently on his way."The billionaire groaned.Moments later, Bruce walked in carrying a first aid kit. "Tony, what happened?" He said in an almost annoyed state."Nothing. Jarvis is just overreacting. He seems to have a habit of that," Tony hissed."Master Stark has burned his hand," the AI offered.Bruce sighed, "Let me see."Tony glared , but finally gave in. The doctor gave him a look of disbelief. "Is it really too much just to put on gloves?""Yeah, well I've been a little preoccupied lately." He let out a small exclamation as Bruce applied burn medicine to the wound. There was a long pause of silence while the fidgeting patient allowed his hand to be wrapped.The doctor looked his friend directly in the eyes. "Tony, when's the last time you slept?"The inventor gave a dismissive wave with his free hand. "Sometime yesterday, I think.""Master Stark has not slept in approximately twenty-six hours." Jarvis volunteered.Tony pulled his now-wrapped hand away, "I've done longer hours than this.""The doctors said you could come down here for a few hours, Tony; it's been over a day!" Bruce rubbed his face.Tony ignored him and went back to working on his suit."You need to rest.""Maybe I don't want to rest!" the billionaire said, slamming his hand down on the table, and regretting it when he realized it was his burnt hand. He ignored the concerned look from his friend and turned back to his work.Bruce sat down on one of the many chairs in the room. "Listen," he began softly, "we're all upset Steve, but-"Tony froze instantly. "You think that's what this is all about?" he gave a short laugh, "This has nothing to do with that. Well, I mean, I guess it has something to do with it since I was gone for barely a week and they practically destroyed my suit. I mean, as if it wasn't in bad enough condition. S.H.I.E.L.D had to basically dissect it! Really now, what did they hope to find? Our locations. Because that's totally what kidnappers do, just leave the address lying around." He ran his fingers through his hair frantically, the panic in his voice growing with every word. "It probably would have been better off if Hydra had just taken it too. Then maybe I would have had something to do. That was the worst part, the boredom. Hours of just sitting there. Sitting there, doing noth-""Tony stop!" Bruce couldn't stand to let him spiral any further. "Just stop! I saw the footage. I know what went on in there, you can't just go on pretending it didn't happen." If Tony hadn't known better, he would have thought Bruce was going to Hulk out.The inventor rolled his eyes as he connected a pair of wires, "Yeah, well, it's over now. Done. Now, unless you've found Rubrem or have some other important information for me, I don't think there's anything else we need to discuss."When the doctor left, Tony slowly closed his eyes and leaned against the table. Steve was dead. It was his fault.~A~
Natasha

One

Two
The bullets hit their mark with precision.
Three

Four
A noise caught her attention.
Five

Six
She grabbed the other gun spinning around and levelling the gun at the intruder."Hold it Nat, it's just me," Clint said raising his hands.She scowled, emptying the gun at the target behind his head. He didn't even flinch. The weapon was dropped to the floor.Hawkeye sighed, "It's going to be okay,""Who said it wasn't?" she asked, her voice low."We're all upset about Cap, but we'll get the people who did this. You know that. We'll avenge him."She gave a bone-chilling smile. "Oh, I know. I'm just practising." She picked up the empty gun. "Then again, a shot to the head might be too merciful."~A~
Steve
A loud scream woke him He knew that voice. Where had he heard that before? That scream. That loud scream full of fear and betrayal - full of loss. Who did he know who would scream like that? Why had he heard it before?"Open your eyes Captain," a different voice said. He knew that voice.He opened his eyes a tiny sliver."Good, Captain," the voice said. "Now, what do you see?"See? What did he see? It was a screen, right? A really bright screen. He couldn't quite make out anything."Blurry," he croaked through dry lips.The voice responded gently, "It's alright Captain, take your time."His eyes slowly focused. It was people. People he knew? That was the flying car man, right? Stark? Yeah, Stark. Wasn't there another Stark? Yes, but this one was first. At least, he thought so. The next picture was of a woman. Curly hair. Bright lips. He knew her. He should know her. Something about a war. War and... He was sure he should know her. He tried to remember who she was, but only one word would come to mind. Love.After that was a picture of the man and woman together. For some reason, it made him angry to see them standing so close.The last was his friend. That much he remembered. His friend who died. His friend who he had let die."Bucky," he whispered.The pictures suddenly disappeared, and the voice was back, "Very good Captain." A face appeared above him, looking down on him. The man's lips moved with the voice. "You are correct, that was Bucky. Do you know who Bucky was, Captain?"Yes, he knew who Bucky was."Friend," he said, his voice getting stronger. "Bucky was my friend.""Hm," The man nodded. "And the others?"Others? Oh right, the others. Who were they again? Stark and the pretty lady? Love? Where they his friends? He couldn't remember. Probably... The lady looked nice. Yes... Maybe? But what about Stark?Stark. He hated that name. Stark killed Bucky. Stark let him get hurt. He hated Stark. Stark was not his friend. If the lady was with Stark, then she must not be his friend either. There was a word for that. What was the word? Not friend. He was his not friend. Suddenly he thought of it."Enemy," he was back to a whisper. "My enemies."A smile grew on the man's face. "Yes, Captain, they were your enemies. And what am I?"There was silence as the prisoner contemplated."Friend," he finally decided."Good Captain, very good. Now, just a few more questions and then we can be done."A jolt of electricity coursed through the Captain's body. There was another scream, the same scream. Where had he heard that scream?Oh, he thought as he slowly slipped into oblivion, I've heard it before because it's me.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Day 10

Tony
"Tony, I'm serious. You need to go to bed," Pepper said. Her crossed arms seemed severe, but did not hide the concern in her eyes. Stark laughed  harshly, "Aww Pep, who needs sleep? Psh. I don't. I'm the great T'ny Stark!" He picked up a screwdriver and held it up in the air victoriously."Tony, you’re drunk, let's get you to your room. Okay?" she said slowly. "And 'm tellin' you," he slurred, pointing the tool at Pepper. "I'm fine."She sighed. "If you don't stop this I'll call -" she paused momentarily. Tony looked at her, slightly startled. There was no question in his alcohol-muddled mind as to who she was about to threaten him with. Steve. He may not remember much in his drunken state, but that was the threat most often used. "Natasha," she finished quietly. "I'm sure she wouldn't think twice about forcing you to bed."He dropped the screwdriver and crossed his arms, pouting. "Fine." Pepper sighed in relief, "Jarvis -""I'll take care of everything down here Ms Potts. You ensure Master Stark gets to bed."Pepper nodded gratefully and moved to help a very sleep deprived, very drunk Tony Stark.~A~
Gunshots. Three loud gunshots in succession. Blood. Blood everywhere. Nothing he could do. Nothing he could do.

Blood.

Death.

Gunshots.

Nothing he could do.

He ran towards the bleeding figure, pulling the man's head into his arms.

"Please," he whispered. "Please Steve, don't do this to me." The end came out in a sob.

"It's your fault,"  the broken voice told him.

Tony looked down at the  wounded man. "No," he said, voice low.

"You-you did this. I jus-just wanted-"  Steve didn't finish his sentence. "Why? Why do you hate me?"

"I don't! Honestly, Steve, you have to believe me. I don't hate-"

"Everything special -" he paused, taking a shallow breath, "came  out of a bottle."

"No! That's not true. Please, Cap, you've got to believe me."

"Your - fault," he whispered, then he went completely still.

"No," Tony choked on a sob,. "No!"
"No!" he yelled, sitting up straight. He groaned and rubbed his head. The lights came on, slightly dimmed. "Ibuprofen and  water are to your right, sir." Jarvis's voice  was quieter than usual. "Well, aren't you being awfully nice this morning?"  Tony laughed shortly, "What happened to 'I warned you about a hangover'?"  The AI seemed to sigh. "Ms Potts requested I be gentler this morning.""How," he grunted as he sat up, "kind of her." He threw the tablets in his mouth, quickly washing them down with water. "Turn the lights back off, will ya, J?"The room went dark. He sighed deeply, laying back down. He closed his eyes."Your - fault," the dying man struggled to whisper.Tony's eyes snapped back open. 
He wanted to deny it, to somehow prove that there was nothing he could have done to stop it. He felt the tears sting his eyes and he knew it had nothing to do with his alcohol binge the night before. He tried again to deny, to argue, to convince himself. But, he couldn't.
Steve was right.It was his fault. ~A~
Steve
“It will be more effective this way,” A voice floated through his drug-addled mind. “No!” Another voice said. He knew this voice. Rubrem? “It will do no good to coddle him. He needs force. Think of the other one.”“I am!”  The first, unknown voice was back, “That is exactly what I am thinking about. Have you seen him? The raw anger? Think of how many resources are being pulled into freezing him when a mission is complete!” “Silence!” Yet another familiar voice came through. “You had your chance, Rubrem. Let's see if the Doctor can  get any better results.” “I almost had him!” Rubrem exclaimed. “You saw how close I was.”“Yes,” the third voice hissed, “until he attacked and nearly killed four of our agents. Let's give the Doctor a chance.”He tried to open his eyes, but it hurt too much."He's awake again." Now Steve was sure it was Mori. The disgust in the man's voice mirrored his own feelings
"Sedate him, " the third voice (his friend’s voice?) said. "Then we shall see what results the good Doctor can produce."A warm feeling flushed up his arm. His eyes closed slowly , and no more voices intruded.~A~Steve opened his eyes again. The lights were bright - too bright. He gave an involuntary groan. "Ah, Mr Rogers." A kind-looking man in a white lab coat smiled at him. "How are you feeling today?" Steve blinked. "Like someone ran me over with a truck." He tried to sit up but was overcome with a wave of dizziness. The man helped him into a sitting position. "Who are you?" Steve asked."I am Dr Leon Zuger," he gave a tolerant smile. "I am here to ensure you make a full recovery."Rogers rubbed the back of his head, "What happened?""Tell me what you remember,"  the doctor probed gently. Steve thought for a moment. He couldn't remember much of anything. "Pain," he said, barely above a whisper. "Lots of pain, and something else. Somebody was there..." He sighed in frustration. His thoughts weren't coming together."It's alright, take your time."A few more moments of silence, then he shouted, almost frantically, "Tony!""Yes,"  the other man said slowly. "What do you remember about Tony?"Only one word came to his mind, "Pain." The doctor smiled. "That's right Captain. Tony caused you pain." Then as an afterthought, "Do you mind if I call you Captain?"Steve was surprised, no one had ever asked him before. It was just what people called him. "If you want.""But you'd rather me not," Zuger frowned.Steve gave a half-hearted shrug, "Everyone else does.""Hmm, how about Steve?"
He gave a tentative smiled, "I- I think I like that. Just-just Steve.""Yes, okay Steve. You said Tony caused you pain?"He tried to think, tried to remember. "I don't  know. There was Tony and there was pain. But, it doesn't mean Tony caused the pain.""Very right Captain - I'm sorry, Steve - very right. But let's forget about Tony for a minute, let's talk about S.H.I.E.L.D.""S.H.I.E.L.D.?" Steve pursed his lips. "What about them?""They led you to join the Avengers, no?"An awkward pause, "You could say that.""Yes, it was more of a force, wasn't it? You didn't get much say in the matter. The world needed Captain America, so they used him. No one ever asked what Steve Rogers wanted. But, I am asking now.""Why would you want to help me?""Your loyalty does not lie with the Avengers, does it? Think Steven, who claims your allegiance?"Steve suddenly felt very confused. He felt like his answer should be S.H.I.E.L.D,  or the Avengers, but neither of those came to mind. "Who claims yours?" he finally asked. A smile came across the doctor’s face. "Hydra, Steven."Rogers frowned."No, Steve, do not think of it that way. You remember fighting Hydra, but that was before. Now, Hydra wants to help. They want to help you end the Avengers.""But, why would I want to do that? The Avengers are my friends."Another tolerant smile, "No, Steven, we are your friends. We want to help you. S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers took advantage of you. You woke up in a strange new world, you didn't know anyone. What did they do? They tried to trick you. Then they forced you to work for them. Then, as soon as the world was in danger, they called for you, told you to lead a group of superheroes. Forced you to! You had no say, no one to help you. It was just you against the world. Then, you against the Chitauri. Have the Avengers ever been  kind to you? Think about it. They don't consider you or your feelings. They have not come looking for you. Tony forced Hydra's hand, we did not want to hurt you, but Tony Stark made us. Hydra cares for you Ca- Steven. Hydra wants what is best for you. They can help you." The doctor paused, his tolerant smile turning sinister, "They can help you, get revenge. месть. "Steve's eyes flashed with hatred. месть. Revenge.  That's what he wanted. What he wanted more than anything. "месть," he said, his voice a low growl."Yes, revenge. You want it, do you not?"Steve nodded. Yes. He didn't know why, but he wanted revenge. "We can help you get revenge. What do you say?"A  sneer formed on the former captain's face, "Hail Hydra."местьYes, Steve Rogers would have his revenge.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Day 11

Tony
"Bruce, is this what I think it is?" he whispered, staring at the screen. He knew when he set up JARVIS to hack and decrypt Hydra's files that they would bring back some unpleasant memories. He didn't expect it to affect him so much.The doctor nodded. "What did you say it was called? The Truth Room?"Tony's stomach twisted at the very mention of the name. "Uh, yeah. The Truth Room. Why are you showing this to me?"Bruce gave him a sympathetic look. "I think there's something you need to hear."They both watched as a man was dragged into the room and placed in a chair. Stark felt his chest tighten. "Cap," he whispered.Steve didn't try to fight, he just allowed himself to be cuffed to the chair. He was shivering uncontrollably, and Tony could barely stand to watch. Then Mori Rubrem appeared, holding a small knife in his hand."Ah, hello Captain. I believe we should simply get down to business." Then Rubrem brought the knife down, implanting it in Cap's shoulder. Steve let out a muffled cry.Stark clenched his hand, fighting off the panic that was welling up within him."Ah, regaining composure are we? Don't think I didn't notice your submission. Or the fact that you were shivering in a room that is over eighty degrees Fahrenheit." The knife was removed quickly, and, judging from Steve's reaction, quite painfully.Tony hated this. He hated watching it happen. It had been bad enough seeing the aftermath."Hydra's not going to come at you with a pocket knife," Rubrem said pushing the blade into Steve's other shoulder.Where was this conversation going? What did this have to do with anything?"Howard?" Steve whispered."Howard?" Tony echoed, looking at Bruce.The doctor had turned away, not looking at the screen. "Just listen,""Ah, so you remember! All the better for me." Mori pulled out the knife and dropped it onto a small tray. "You know Captain, I just hate keeping secrets. So I'm going to let you in on one now." the man leaned forward so he was whispering in Steve's ear. Tony had no idea how the feed still picked it up. "He was working for us the whole time.""He was..." Tony felt like someone had punched him in the gut. "Howard was... My father was Hydra?"Bruce didn't answer."Yes, Captain I'm referring to Howard Stark." The German who haunted the billionaire's nightmares picked up the blade and began cleaning off the blood. "It was quite helpful having someone on the inside. Someone to let us know what was going on." He leaned forward again, "Someone to tell us when you were to board a certain train. Someone to ensure the capture of one James Barnes.""What!?" Stark shouted. "My father was many things, but he would never have given someone over to Hydra!"Tony watched as Mori began cutting away the skin on Cap's upper arm."We're still trying to find out if it's true about Tony.""About, about me?" He stammered, "He couldn't possibly think-"
"We're getting closer though. He is awfully suspicious, but that doesn't mean he's not secretly working for us. You know what they say, 'like father, like son.'"
Bruce turned off the video. Tony's mind was reeling. He thought back to that night in the cell. The way Steve had been almost afraid of him. Then it had gotten worse. With each day Steve's hate towards him had grown."They told him I was Hydra," he whispered.Bruce sighed, "Yeah.""That's- that's why-" he broke off. That's why he hated me, came to his mind. He swallowed the lump forming in his throat. "Is it all there? Everything?"The doctor nodded, "The camera cut off after you left the last time, right before we rescued you. That's another thing, they knew we were coming. That's why they killed him.""What?"Bruce's answer was to pull up another video that seemed to take place in some kind of a control room.Rubrem seemed to be having a video conference with someone. The screen was out of view of the camera, but the voice could still be heard."We need to speed things up." The unseen voice said.Mori looked nervous as he answered, "But sir, we aren't quite ready to proceed with-""I don't care!" the voice shouted, then it came back, almost sickeningly sweet. "The Avengers are on their way. We won't get another chance at this. You know what to do."Rubrem nodded, "Yes sir. Hail Hydra."
"Hail Hydra."
The German walked away and the screen went dark."They knew you were coming, so they killed him.""But, why did they leave me? They could have just as easily killed me."Bruce shook his head, "I don't know. None of this makes sense. I don't know why they would do this to both of you. I don't know why Steve would listen to their lies or why they killed him but left you alone. I don't know. I can't figure out any of this. But Tony, it wasn't your fault. They would have killed him whether you gave them the project or not. It wasn't your fault.""Yeah," he forced the words. "It wasn't my fault."But why couldn't he believe it?~A~
Steve
His fist collided with the punching bag. It felt good. So good. He felt better than he had in a long time. At least, he thought he did. The last couple of weeks were confusing. He remembered bits and pieces of conversation.But there was one thing he did remember.Tony hated him.So he wanted Tony dead.The door opened and his two friends walked in. "Dr Zuger," He said, turning. Then addressing the other man, "Sir.""Ah, hello Steven," Zuger smiled. "I hope you are feeling better."Steve smiled back, "I'm feeling much better, thank you.""I'm glad to hear it," the other man said. "I have a mission for you.""A mission, sir?""Yes," the man gave a single nod, "a mission that will allow you to take your revenge on the Avengers."Steve smiled darkly, "Mесть."The two visitors exchanged a look of pleasure."Yes, Steven, revenge," Leon said approvingly. "We want you to take out the Avengers, all of them.""All of them." Steve frowned slightly, that didn't feel right.Zuger stepped forward, placing his hand on Steve's shoulder, "Yes, all of them. Remember what they did to you and everything they made you do. Remember how Tony hated you and tried to kill you. By doing this, you will be protecting yourself, and us. You will be getting месть.""Mесть," he whispered back. "Okay, I'll do it.""Very good," said the other man, "rest up today. You will have your revenge, tomorrow."месть. Captain America would have his revenge.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Day 12

Steve
"Are you ready Steven?" Dr Zuger asked, smiling.Steve nodded, "Yes, sir.""Now, how do you like your shield?" he motioned towards the wayward captain, who reached behind himself to grab his new shield. It wasn't vibranium, he could tell that much. But then again, why would he want vibranium when it would only remind him of that traitorous Stark? He couldn't remember why he was traitorous, only that he was.The captain’s new shield was black with a red circle around the edge and the Hydra symbol painted red in the middle."It works nicely, but it's not a strong as my, uh, my other one." He frowned. Other one? Oh, right, the one he used when he was with the Avengers.He thought he caught a slight smile on Zuger's face, but when he looked again, it was replaced by a concerned expression, "Is something wrong, Steven?""Uh, no, nothing is wrong, I just... forgot about something." Bits and pieces of memories kept floating in and out of his brain. Zuger looked like he was about to offer reassurance, but Rubrem and Sir walked in."Are you aware of your mission?"Steve nodded, coming to attention, "Yes, Sir.""Are we sure we can trust him?" Mori sneered, crossing his arms. "How do we know he isn't just faking to get out of here?"The doctor smiled, "I assure you he won't. He wants his месть. Isn’t that right Steven?"A glint of hatred appeared in Steve's eye as he felt another piece of himself fall away. Another memory flashed before his mind, a memory from a long time ago. Bucky, his friend, falling from a train. And it was all Stark's fault. "Yes, месть,""Then go," Sir said, "Get your месть. Get your revenge."A smirk, then, "Yes, Sir."~A~
Tony
"Bored," Tony said, swiping on his phone. "Bored," another swipe. "Bored.""Would you stop that!" Natasha snapped from her position on the couch with Clint.Tony groaned, "Pepper locked me out of my workshop again. I have nothing to do!" He whined, "Is the old pirate going to give us a mission or not?"Bruce looked up from the book he was reading, "Tony, you know why there haven't been any missions. With everything-""I know," Tony said quickly. Catching an odd look from Clint, he looked down and resumed his mindless scrolling. "Maybe I can go hack the Pentagon again," he mumbled."What'd you do, anyway?" Clint asked, flipping through the channels. "I mean, Pepper locked you out of your workshop, you had to do something wrong."Tony sighed, "Something about not spending enough time with her, I don't know.""Then why aren't you with her?" Natasha asked, rolling her eyes."She left for a business trip. Said it was to “teach me a lesson”. I don't know, all I know is that, I'm. So. Bored!" He said, sliding down in his chair. "And before any of you say it," he sent an annoyed look around the room. "I'm fine and well past the 'rest and recuperation' stage."An awkward silence fell across the room.Suddenly, there was a loud crash and glass flew everywhere. Guns seemed to materialize in Natasha's hands and Tony had no idea where Clint's bow came from. Bruce was fighting for control, but before he even turned into the Hulk, a man shot a small dart at the doctor, rendering him unconscious before the monster could come out. Tony was about to call for his suit when he caught the first sight of his attacker. Tony gasped and stood there, paralyzed."Cap?" he whispered.The attacker, in full Hydra gear, froze, turned to the billionaire with hate in his eyes, "I'm not Cap," he growled. "I'm not Cap or Captain America, I'm Steve." Then, suddenly, an oversized frisby was flying towards Tony’s face. Someone shoved him out of the way at the last moment, and the shield sank into the wall."Pull yourself together Stark," Natasha said, standing up. "That's not Cap."The Hydra shield was back in Steve's hands as he went diving for Hawkeye. The Black Widow tried to come at the Super Soldier from behind but ended up having her guns knocked out of her hands as she dodged his shield."Jarvis?" Tony asked, slowly crawling his way towards Bruce. "I could really use a suit.""But sir, you do not have a completed suit at present.""Well do something!" He yelled, watching in horror as Clint was thrown against the wall and then, even more alarming, didn’t get back up. His bow clattered across the floor.Natasha jumped on Steve, locking her legs around his neck. He fell back, slamming her against the floor. Momentarily dazed, she released her hold and he spun around, pinning her to the floor with his knee against her chest and an arm across her throat. Then he pressed down slightly, cutting off her air."Stop! Steve please!" Tony yelled. This was impossible. Absolutely impossible. Cap was dead. He had seen it with his own eyes. So how? And why was he working for Hydra? What had happened?The man stopped looking into the woman's eyes. "Not yet sweetheart," came the low, almost unearthly voice. He released the gasping Natasha and he turned to Stark. "You first." Then, with more anger than Tony had ever seen in him, he lunged. Tony didn't have time to react before the super soldier had his hands around his neck.He couldn't breathe. He clawed as fingers tightened around his throat."You did this to me," Steve said, locking eyes with the panicked billionaire. "It's your fault. Everything is your fault. I hate you." Then he squeezed tighter.So there it was. He had been right, Cap did hate him. He hated him and blamed him for everything that had happened."I'm gonna enjoy this, Stark," said the man Tony had once counted as a friend. He shoved Tony against the wall and, taking his shield, Steve pressed it against Tony's throat. "But don't worry, I'll be merciful. More merciful than you were to me."Tony felt as the sharp edge dug into his skin for a moment, then Steve pulled his shield back into a striking position."Hail Hydra," Tony heard, just before everything went black.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Day 12

Steve
He pulls the shield into the air. He can feel his hand shaking. He was supposed to kill him, take his revenge, but he didn't want to. He was having an internal battle - Steve versus Captain America. Steve Rogers wanted Tony Stark dead. Captain America wanted his friend alive.A strange buzzing crept into his head. "месть," he heard. He tried to shake the feeling, to get the voice out. He wanted to stop whatever madness was going on. But he couldn't. The word echoed in his head again and a vicious smile appeared on his face,"Hail Hydra."However, before he had even struck, the man in front of him slumped against the wall. As he brought his hand down, a searing pain cut through his arm, startling him and pushing “месть” to the back of his mind. Dropping the shield, he turned his head to see Natasha standing with a gun in her hand."That was a warning Rogers," she said in a low voice.Cap released Tony from the wall, turning towards Natasha with pain in his eyes. "Please," he whispered, "Please help me."A shock of electricity sent him to the floor in agony. He could hear the voice in his head again. "Come back," it said. "You have failed."He wanted to refuse. He wanted to stay and find out what was going on. But a shock of electricity even stronger than the first persuaded him to rise, pick up his shield and escape out the window.He sent one last glance towards Natasha. "Please," he whispered, and then he was gone.~A~
Natasha
She couldn't breathe, and it had nothing to do with nearly being strangled to death. She didn't know who to check on first. making her decision, she ran to the wall where Clint was still huddled in an unconscious heap."Clint," she whispered, placing her hand in front of his nose and mouth."Clint, can you hear me?" There was no response, but he was breathing. That was always a good start. Without moving him, she very slowly ran her fingers over his body, checking for any obvious injuries. Everything seemed normal until she got to his head.A large bump was evident, but at least it hadn't swollen inward. The archer groaned, starting to move."Clint," she said, a bit louder. This time he opened his eyes. She allowed herself to feel a moment of relief before moving on. "How are you feeling?"He groaned again. "Like someone put my head in a blender. Help me up," he said, reaching his hand towards her. She accepted it and lifted him to his feet."What happened?" he asked, rubbing the knot on his scalp.Natasha shook her head. "I'm not completely sure," she said . "Check on Bruce."While Clint headed to the doctor, Nat kneeled down beside Tony and went through her mental checklist.Pulse, check.Breathing, check."Tony? Come on Stark, snap out of it."Tony gave a small whimper, his forehead creasing.Responsive, check."Bruce is fine," Clint cut in. "Just some sort of knockout drug. He seems to be coming around.""Tony, wake up," Natasha demanded quietly.He only groaned."Tony, wake up before I call Pepper."He started slightly, opening his eyes."What happened? Why am I still alive?""You blacked out," Natasha answered calmly. I think.The billionaire snorted, "Well, last thing I remember, Captain America was ready to behead me with his favourite toy!"Clint sent Natasha a raised eyebrow."I took care of it, " she said in a tone that warned him not to question her. The two men exchanged glances."So, where is he?" Clint finally asked."I don't know, he disappeared out the window." After having some sort of seizure."What happened?" A groggy voice asked.The former assassin had to admit that she felt some relief now that everyone was conscious and accounted for."Lots, " Tony responded, rising from the floor.Natasha shuddered inwardly. A lot had happened. Too much for her to process; she needed to distance herself from it all. She needed to get rid of the picture of Steve, one of the few people she considered a friend, trying to murder her.She turned quickly to exit the room. "I need to call Fury."~A~
Tony
Steve was alive. Not only was Steve alive, but Steve was a Hydra agent who wanted to kill him.And it was his fault.Why did it always come back to this? Why did it always end with him being at fault?Because maybe it was true.Maybe he would always fail when it counted.Maybe he was just like his father.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Tony

It was the beach. Tony loved the beach, but something was off. There was something about the water that made it look… wrong somehow.  It was dark - too dark. Tony dipped his hand into it and his fingers came back sticky. And red.

Then he realized what it was. It wasn't water, it was blood.

"What...?"  he began to panic. He tried to get it off of his hand, but it clung to his fingers. It wouldn't go away!

There was a dark laugh from somewhere. "What's the matter, Tony?"

"You," Tony gasped. "Steve, listen-" He was cut off by another laugh.

"Listen? To you? I don't think so, Stark. I'm pretty sure you’ve lost your right to tell me to listen. How about you listen to me, okay?"

Steve came into view. He wore a uniform almost exactly like the one he had as an Avenger, but the colors were all wrong. Instead of bright patriotic blues and whites, his suit was tinted a dingy grey and red, and his shield was emblazoned with an angry red skull. Tony observed him silently, horror rising in his chest.

"Oh, wait,” the soldier said, feigning surprise, “you're actually going to listen? I'm surprised. You never have before. Is it because of this?" he motioned to the Hydra symbol on his shield. "Does Hydra make you nervous? Why should it? I defeated Hydra." The former captain came forward, standing toe to toe with the shaken billionaire. "If I can do that, surely you can too. After all, everything special about me came out of a bottle."

Tony took a step back. "N-no, I never wanted any of this."

"It's a little late for that Stark," Steve said, approaching him again.

"I'm sorry-" he tried again, retreating even farther away from the soldier.

"No, you're not.” Steve’s approach was relentless. “Don't lie to yourself. Everyone knows you did it on purpose. You've hated me since the day you met me."

"No-" Tony felt his foot dip into something and looked behind him, finding himself right on the edge of the shore. He locked eyes with his friend, who had stopped advancing mere inches from him. There was a beat of silence, and all Tony could hear was his own panicked breathing.

"Goodbye Tony," Steve said, and he pushed Stark into the ocean of blood. "Hail Hydra."

Tony felt the liquid close around him. He tried to move, to keep his head up, but the blood pulled him down. He couldn't breathe. He was suffocating, drowning in blood. He was dying.  So much blood. It covered his face. Red everywhere. It filled his lungs. He kept struggling, but he couldn't breathe.

~A~

Natasha

She was on edge. How could she not be? Captain America had just attempted to kill her and the people she considered her family. But, she reminded herself, that wasn't Captain America. And, despite the monster’s assurance, it wasn't Steve. Part of him was still there - she had seen it, if only for a moment. Steve didn't want to be doing this, but it didn't change the fact that it had been done.

Thankfully everyone seemed to be okay. Physically at least. Bruce had been out for most of it, but whatever he had been injected with had worn off. Clint had a concussion and a sprained arm. In all honesty, he was lucky. Natasha had a nasty bruise on her neck and still found it slightly difficult to breathe, but she had had worse. Tony appeared to be okay. A little roughed up, but not bad, considering.

However, it wasn't their physical health she was worried about. Bruce had locked himself in a Hulk-proof room and she occasionally heard loud crashing. Clint was somewhere in the vents, but she wasn't exactly sure where. And as for Tony, he had disappeared. He wasn't in the lab or his bedroom. She had no idea where he was, and Jarvis was of no help whatsoever. Every time she asked, he answered, "I apologize Ms Romanoff, but he has requested privacy for the time being." She knew he probably was not handling it well.

She didn't know what to do. Steve usually dealt with these things.

"Ms Romanoff," the AI interrupted, "I believe Master Stark requires some immediate assistance."

That didn't sound good. "Where is he?"

"He is in Captain Rogers’ bedroom."

Of course! Why hadn't she thought to look there?  Thanking the AI quickly, she sprinted to Steve's room.

"Tony?" she called, entering.

She couldn't stop the gasp that escaped her lips when she saw him. He was lying on the floor face up, surrounded by alcohol bottles, and choking.

She rushed over to him and rolled him over on his side. She struck him several times on the back as he vomited, wanting to make sure his airway was clear. When he finally stopped, she pulled him into her arms and held him there, glancing around for something she could use to clean his face.

"Jarvis, call Pepper. Tell her she needs to come home immediately."

The crisp voice responded immediately, "She has been informed of Master Stark’s condition and should return within the hour."

Natasha held Tony close and found herself gently rocking him. As much as she hated herself for it, she couldn't stop the tears from falling. They were all so broken. They had lost Steve, and now she was afraid they were losing Tony.

She wasn't sure how much time had passed when he finally began to stir. Scooting back so they were clear of his mess, she laid Tony back on the ground and wiped away her tears.

"Wha 'appened?" he slurred, shielding his eyes from the light.

Natasha's tears were gone now, and her face was set in a firm glare. "You passed out. Nearly died choking on your own vomit."

He laughed roughly and struggled to his feet. "Well, why'dya stop it?"

"Tony-" Natasha stood as well, ready to catch him if he tipped over.

"Jus leave me 'lone," he said, and he staggered out of the room.

Natasha was left there in silence, mulling over what had just happened.

"Jarvis," she finally said, "keep an eye on Tony. Let me know if he goes for more alcohol or does anything... crazy," she finished quietly.

"Understood."

Well, things had just gone from bad to much, much worse.

~A~

Steve

Everything hurt. He had failed. His friend didn't like it when he failed. He wouldn't fail again. He wouldn't.

His eyes snapped open. He heard something. Someone was there. Steve peered through the darkness.

"I'm here to train you," a voice said. "You think too much. You don't need to think, you need to follow orders."

Steve didn't know who the dark shadow was,. but his voice sounded oddly familiar.

"Who are you?" he asked.

A light flashed on and the man came forward. His eyes seemed simultaneously hostile and empty. Brown hair fell almost to his shoulders, and his silver arm glinted in the bright light.

Steve knew this man. And he felt... sorrow. Anger. Fear.

"I'm the Winter Soldier," the man said. "I've been ordered to make you just like me."

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Day 16

Tony
It was early. Tony looked at his watch. Huh, 3 A.M. That's fun. When's the last time he slept? Yesterday maybe? No... not yesterday...Oh yeah, it was three days ago. Good times.He took another step forward. He may have drunk a tad too much. Or not. He could still think. So, maybe a few more bottles...But, that would require going back inside. He really didn't want too. It was nice on the roof. Nice and quiet.He was having trouble staying awake, but he couldn't go to sleep. Not again. Sleep was a very bad idea. Nightmares always came when you were asleep. Though they can sometimes come when you're awake too... the last few weeks had proven that.The last few weeks had been a waking nightmare. Steve had been tortured. He was tortured and Tony was made to watch. Then he was killed. But, not really. Tony had finally, sort of, kind of, come to terms with it when Steve showed up not dead. Not dead and a Hydra killer.Then all of the lies Steve had been told - about Tony, about Howard - it was no wonder Cap was so confused. Tony was confused and he hadn't even been through half of what Steve had.And it was all his fault.Tony suddenly found himself leaning on the edge of the tower, looking at the ground below. Even with it being way past midnight, cars were still moving back and forth down there, but he could just barely see their lights winking at the foot of the tower. Wow. He was high up. A fall like that could...Well...But he couldn't...But then again, why not?Who would care?The team wouldn't have to worry about him.Pepper would finally be free from him.Cap... Well, Cap would probably dance on his grave.Steve had tried to kill him after all.And how could he blame him?Tony would want himself dead too if he were in the super soldier's shoes.Who was he kidding, he did want himself dead.And all he had to do was... just step...He found himself standing on the ledge. That's funny... he didn't remember climbing up there.He looked down.Just one step.That's all it would take.Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes.His foot began to shuffle towards the edge.Just one more step and then..."Tony?"The voice caused Tony to freeze."Tony what are you doing?" it was Bruce.The billionaire's voice was quiet and broken when he answered, "Go away, Bruce. Just leave me alone.""No, Tony. Get off the ledge and we'll talk about it.""Talk about it!" His voice began to rise in anger, "What's there to talk about?"He could hear Bruce walking up behind him, but he didn't move."Listen," the doctor said, his voice wavering slightly. "I know how you feel, okay? I get it. You think you're better off dead. You think it's better for everyone, but it's not. People need you, Tony."A bitter laugh escaped Tony's lips. "Need me? You must be thinking of someone else.""Tony, please. Just come down and talk to me. Think of Pepper. What would happen if she woke up tomorrow and you were dead? How do you think she'd feel?"Tony gave another laugh, but it was weaker than before. "Relieved?""Tony," Bruce said softly. "You know that's not true."There was silence while Tony gave one more look down. Sighing, he climbed back onto the roof. He barely made it off of the wall before he slid down. Bruce rubbed his face as he sat down beside him.Tony shook his head slightly, "What are you doing here Bruce?""Jarvis said you needed me," the doctor answered. "I think he was right.""He shouldn't have woken you up. I would have been fine."Bruce shook his head, "I wasn't sleeping anyway. The Other Guy hasn't been too fond of my dreams recently.""I can relate." Silence. "you shouldn't have stopped me. It would have been okay.""It's not okay Tony. The team needs you.""No one needs me, just needs my money." He was starting to slur. He hadn't sat still in one place for more than a few minutes, and his lack of sleep was getting the best of him."You know that's not true Tony. This team needs you. Not your money, not your suits. You.""Hmm," Tony answered, his head leaned against the wall and his eyes closed."Maybe you should get some sleep."The billionaire's eyes snapped open, "No, I'm good."Bruce stood up and reached for Tony's hand, and the billionaire reluctantly accepted."Come on, it's time to get some sleep. Doctor's orders."Tony offered a small laugh as he staggered back into the tower.~A~
Natasha
It was almost eight when the call came. Natasha was already up, she didn't sleep much. Wasn't used to getting much anyway.They all assembled in the main room. Clint came in yawning and muttering under his breath. Bruce was quiet, and kept throwing odd looks at Tony. Tony was giving Bruce his own annoyed glances, but Natasha didn't have time to figure out what was going on. Thor was in Asgard, making it all the more important that they were all on their game."So," Tony said, staring at the screen. "Who is this Winter Soldier?"Natasha couldn't stop the small growl from escaping her throat. "He's a myth. We think he has Russian roots. He's a ruthless killer. One of the best assassins. He's been around for decades."They all watched her as she completed her short assessment."So, a highly trained assassin has teamed up with the world's one and only super soldier?" Clint rolled his eyes, gesturing at the picture of Cap, "Perfect.""So, mission goal is to stop the Winter Soldier and bring back Cap." Tony clasped his hands together. "Well, let's go."If Natasha thought the mission brief was awkward and rushed, she didn't say anything. She just wanted this whole thing to be over.~A~
Steve
They were sent on a mission. It seemed simple. Get in, get the new weapons, get out.They had been training for days now. Fighting with him felt so... natural.Steve Rogers and the Winter Soldier.They worked well together. It felt right, almost like... he wasn't really sure.But the Winter Soldier only ever called him Captain and he only ever called him Soldier. That felt wrong somehow, not that it changed anything.Their mission was almost complete, they had the weapons and were about to leave. They were on the bridge when the Avengers showed up. The Winter Soldier growled, taking a fighting stance, and Steve pulled up beside him. They would fight. Together. Something flittered through Steve's mind.
'Til the end of the line.
He shook his head to clear it, and then the fight began. The Avengers didn't want to hurt him, he could tell that from the way they fought. He wasn't exactly sure how he knew, but he did.His thoughts had become more and more confused as the days had gone on. He knew that the Avengers had hurt him, and that he wanted revenge, but he could no longer remember why. He remembered Tony. Remembered that the man had hurt him, but the memories were fuzzy. They wouldn't settle right.His mind had wandered, causing him to be caught off guard when Iron Man shot his repulsor at him. He brought up his shield just in time. He didn't have time to wonder how he knew these people, he needed to fight.Iron Man dived down, quickly firing his repulsors. The Winter Soldier was hit, causing him to lose his balance, falling partially over the side. He began to slide towards the edge of the bridge, barely catching hold of the ledge.Panic began to build up in Steve, and he didn't completely understand why."No," he shouted, and scrambled towards the man with the metal arm, completely ignoring the oncoming Avengers.As he reached out his hand towards the Winter Soldier, begging him to take it, Steve caught his first glance of the other man's face. The mask that the Soldier had been wearing had fallen off during the fight. Now Steve realized who he was and why fighting with him seemed so familiar. His face had unlocked hidden memories, and what happened next was all too real.A visceral fear in his eyes, the Winter Soldier lost his grip. He plummeted from the bridge."Bucky!" Steve screamed, his hand reaching out over the edge."Bucky, no," he whispered. "Not again."

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Day 16

Natasha
She stared, not knowing how to respond. Watching a brainwashed Captain America jump off a bridge hadn't really been on her to-do list for the day.She rushed over to the edge and looked down, but she couldn't see anyone. The water below was still. Too still. She should have been able to see something, but she couldn't. Not Cap, and not the Winter Soldier. She felt a moment of panic, and the idea that they were both dead flitted through her mind.No. They couldn't be dead. He couldn't be dead. They were stronger than that. A little water couldn't kill them."I'm going after them," Tony said, sounding panicked.Just as Iron Man was about to dive down, the two soldiers' heads broke the surface of the water, and the Avengers felt a moment of relief, which was quickly followed by one of terror.Without any warning, several helicopters rose out of the trees down below and came to hover over the super soldiers. A rope dropped down and Cap, holding tightly to the Winter Soldier, grabbed it and began to be pulled up."Stark!" Natasha yelled, but the Iron Man was already in the air."On it."Several Hydra agents appeared and began firing on them. Iron Man was hit and began spiralling towards the water. He was able to regain control of the suit, but not before Cap and the Winter Soldier were long gone.The team was spread too thin. Cap was MIA, Thor was off-world, Bruce was still in the Quinjet, and Tony was grounded. Clint and Natasha were the only ones left. They were familiar with fighting their way out of a corner, but even so, it was hard work. They regretted killing the agents - maybe one of them could have led them to the base - but they didn’t have much of a choice.The Hydra agents had extracted whatever the special weapon was. the Avengers had lost Cap, again, and Iron Man had sustained too much damage to follow the helicopters.The mission had been an utter failure.~A~
Tony
The flight back was tense. There were only four of them, as Thor's return to Asgard had been just wonderfully timed. Tony wasn't even sure how he had left. Wasn't the Bifrost thingy broken? Whatever, it didn't matter.Tony was tired and hung over. Not to mention sore. Sure, his suit offered him protection, but taking a weird energy blast thingy to the chest really didn't feel great.And Bruce kept staring at him. It was really unnerving."Would you stop that?" he finally snapped, as they were about five minutes away from Avengers Tower.Natasha looked at him, expression somewhere between annoyed and confused. "Stop what?""Bruce is staring at me. I know I'm gorgeous, but even I need a break from onlookers every once in a while," he rolled his eyes.Bruce growled slightly. "Then maybe you should think about that next time before you try to-," Bruce cut himself off, glancing between Tony and Natasha. "Nevermind."Tony could practically see Natasha's ears perk up. "Try to what?""Nothing. It doesn't matter," Bruce said. He cast a concerned look at his friend and didn’t push it any further,but Tony was done."No. What Bruce? Come on. What? Before I tried to what? Because you are one to judge. It's alright for you to try and put a bullet through your brain, but if I think about putting myself out of my misery, suddenly it’s not ok!"They had landed at the Tower by now and all eyes were on him. Clint, now free from the pilot's seat, watched the scene unfold with eyes wide and a slightly parted mouth. Natasha had her lips pressed together in a thin line, not betraying anything, and Bruce looked like the Hulk was about to make a visit."Sure, I tried,” he said tightly, his eyes a dangerous shade of green. “I tried when I had no one. You have people here who care about you. Jumping off your own building? Really? That's the way you want to go? It's selfish Tony. Selfish of you to even think about it.""Well you’re not me!" Tony shouted back. "Tony Stark being selfish, what a shocker! Ask anyone, they'll tell you. So what, I had too much to drink last night? Not the first time. So what, I realized that the world would be better without Tony Stark?" His voice dropped suddenly, and then in a small voice he finished, "And you all know I'm right."He turned and exited the jet, ignoring the shocked silence behind him.~A~
Steve
The Winter Sold- Bucky... His name was Bucky.Bucky had remembered him. He had seen it in his eyes. But his... his friends? No that wasn't right. Enemies? Maybe? They were displeased. He and Bucky had failed, and he and Bucky had remembered.They had to be punished. No, that wasn't right.They took Bucky first. There was a machine. He remembered that machine. He had only been in it once, but it hurt. Oh, did it hurt.Then he heard it.The scream.Bucky's scream.Bucky. James Buchanan Barnes. Bucky. His best friend. His best friend from Brooklyn. A Howling Commando. Bucky. His friend who died in the war. Bucky.And they were hurting his Bucky.No one was allowed to do that.And suddenly, he wasn't just a soldier.No, he was more than that.He was Captain America.He was Steve Rogers.And No One.No. One.Was allowed to hurt Bucky.That was something he was sure of.With a roar, he broke free from the two guards holding him back.Captain America didn't like bullies.And no one hurt Bucky and got away with it.No one.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

With a roar, he broke free from the two guards holding him back.

Captain America didn't like bullies.

And no one hurt Bucky and got away with it,

No one.

Day 16

Steve

The two guards were unconscious at his feet as another scream echoed down the halls. He had to get to Bucky.

He quietly made his way down the hallway, but stopped halfway to the room. A sharp pain pierced his skull. Gasping, he shook his head. Memories were starting to resurface. Faces, noises.

He was Captain America.

Not just Steve.

He had wanted to just be Steve.

But, he couldn't.

He was so much more.

He was Captain America.

As if caused by the realization, the pain intensified.

There was a sudden yell directly in front of him, and the Captain's head jerked up. A young agent was standing there with a terrified look on his face. Suddenly an alarm started to sound.

Unsure of what exactly to do, Cap charged ahead, ignoring the burning, piercing pain in his brain. The agent in front of him, a mere boy, pulled out a small gun and held it at him.

"S-Steve," the boy stuttered, "I-I need you to listen to me, Steve."

Cap hesitated for a moment, and the boy looked relieved.

"Good. Steve, now I need you to go back to your room. E-everything will, um, it will make sense if you just g-go to, to your room."

Steve was really considering. Weren’t these his friends? They had helped him… or hurt him, he wasn’t sure. He couldn’t think straight with this pounding behind his eyes!  Then a cry echoed from the other room and cleared his mind.

Captain America charged the agent. The gun went off and Cap felt a sting in his left shoulder. But it did nothing to stop him. He knocked the boy unconscious, feeling only a moment of regret.

The alarm was still blaring, and many more agents would be there soon. He ran the rest of the way down the hall and reached the door where they were hurting Bucky. Unsurprisingly, it was locked, but he kicked the door in easily, running high on adrenaline. He burst into the room, only to find it completely empty. No one was there.

"Hello, Steven," a voice said from the broken doorway.

Cap turned around ready to fight. To his surprise, the man had no weapon.

"Doctor," he said, not dropping his stance.

"Your superiors are not very happy with you Steven,” the Doctor shook his head, and then seemed to be considering something.

“But, perhaps, if you come along quietly, I could talk them out of punishment."

Steve’s heart began to race, even as the throbbing in his skull lessened.

"All they want from you is submission, Steven. представление. Remember? соблюдение будет вознаграждено. Your compliance will be rewarded."

Steve instantly dropped his stance, staring at the man blankly. He wanted to obey this man, the Doctor, but something wouldn’t let him.

"Very good, Steven. Now, come back with me."

Cap didn't move.

The Doctor sighed, "Steven..."

"No," Cap said resolutely. "I'm not going back."

"Listen, I didn't want to bring this up, but you have to choices. You can either come back with me, or my superiors will send down Rubrem."

The pain in his head surged back, dropping him to his knees."

"Ah, I can see your memories are resurfacing. That means that you know who Rubrem is. You remember what he can do." The Doctor walked over and placed a hand on the trembling super soldier.

"Just give in Steven," he said softly. “It will be so much easier.”

"No," Cap growled again. He grabbed the Doctor’s arm and flung him to the ground.

The Doctor gasped from the impact. Finally, he was able to draw breath enough to say, "You are making a mistake, Steven! I'm your friend."

The soldier stood. "You're not my friend.” He considered the Doctor for a moment and then, lightning fast, swung his fist down, knocking the man unconscious. “And that's ‘Captain’ to you."

He ran out, leaving his captor there on the floor.

Making his way down the hall, he went to find Bucky. He could hear a group of Hydra agents about to turn the corner, so he ducked into an open room for cover. Shutting the door behind him, he looked for a light switch. When the lights flickered on he saw something that both thrilled and petrified him: a control centre.

The large screen was hooked into multiple computers. He was confused; shouldn't there be people in here? Well, there weren't, and this was his chance to contact the Avengers. His chance to get some help - something he needed desperately at this point.

Still not quite at ease with computers, he fumbled with knobs until the screen came on. He had seen Tony do this once. He just hoped his hyperthymesiac memory didn't fail him. A quick prayer passed his lips while he typed at the computer.  He had to get out of there.

~A~

Tony

Tony had locked himself in his lab, restricting all access whatsoever. He wanted to be alone, and so far he had succeeded. Surprisingly.  He decided that either the team hadn’t told Pepper about his little show on the quinjet, or she was at a meeting . Otherwise, she would have been down here with him. Not even Jarvis could keep her out.

He wasn't even sure what he was doing. Well, he knew what he was doing physically; he was repairing his suit. The frame itself was an easy fix. Honestly, he had finished a long time ago. But, he kept tinkering with it. Just so he had something to do. Something to keep him from thinking and from playing his confession on a loop in his mind. It wasn't working very well.

"Sir," Jarvis called, interrupting the silence.

Tony ignored him. The AI was probably going to comment on his lack of sleep, or his need for food, or something trivial like that.

"Sir," The AI persisted.

Tony continued adjusting one of the bolts on the suit.

"Sir."

"What!" Tony demanded, slamming his wrench down on the table.

Jarvis didn't even seem to notice his agitated state. "You are receiving a video message."

"Does it look like I care?" The billionaire asked irritably. "What part of ‘hold all calls’ do you not understand?"

"I don’t believe you would want this call to be held, Sir."

"Forget it, Jarvis."

"I'm sorry, Sir, but I really must insist that-"

"Fine!" Tony said throwing his hands in the air. "Pull it up, and remind me to reprogram you to-"

The message appeared and Tony went silent.

"Tony? Oh, thank God." The voice was sincere, and the blond head on the screen looked to the ceiling briefly in reverence.

Tony didn't say anything, staring at the screen, dumbstruck.

"Steve?"

"Listen, I need you to get the team here now. You should be able to pinpoint the location with this video. Get here as fast as you can!"

Tony was still in shock, but his eyes landed on Cap's shoulder, which was seeping blood.

"Your shoulder..."

Steve looked down as if noticing it for the first time. "Wha-? Oh, I must've gotten shot, it doesn't matter. Just hurry and get here. I can only hold them off for so long."

"But-"

"Tony, Rubrem's here." The words brought a tightness to Tony's chest he couldn't describe.

"I can't fight them on my own,” Cap continued. “I need you here."

The door behind Steve swung open, and he turned to face it. There was shouting, then the screen went blank.

"Steve?"

No answer.

He was gone.

No. No!

Not this time.

"Jarvis, call the team. Tell them to meet me at the quinjet. Send me the coordinates of that video call."

The AI offered an affirmative, but Tony didn't wait to hear it. He was already suiting up and heading to the quinjet.

"Watch out Hydra, here we come."

The Captain needed them, needed him.

And he wouldn't fail again.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Day 16

Steve
They had known he was there; that was the only explanation. There were too many Hydra agents for it to have just been a coincidence. Bullets exploded around him, and he dove to the ground. Just then, he noticed blood dripping to the floor. That must have been what Tony was talking about. Steve vaguely remembered getting shot and he wished he hadn't noticed it. It hadn't started hurting until he noticed it.Steve picked up one of the computer screens, using it as a shield. The glass shattered as it was pelted with bullets. He threw the screen and slid underneath one of the tables, knocking out multiple agents, but he was outnumbered. So terribly outnumbered.He crouched behind a fallen table and picked up a gun that had skidded across the floor, out of the hand of an unconscious agent. Cap may have prefered his shield, but he could use a gun. He had used guns long before he'd had his shield. Thankfully these were standard guns, not some advanced Hydra tech. After just a quick look at it, Steve was ready.He stood up from behind the table and fired rapidly, deadly accurate. Eight agents dropped, but there were still more, and the gun was empty all too soon. He quickly scanned the floor for another free gun. Rolling into position next to an unconscious agent, Steve found the man's gun. It was a black pistol he had seen many S.H.I.E.L.D. agents use before, and he easily picked off the last of the Hydra in the room.An alarm was sounding in the hallway; more agents would be coming. He grabbed yet another gun, but didn't like the feel of it in his hand. Bullets ran out too fast; he needed to find his shield.He held the gun as he slowly exited the room. Quietly, he made his way from room to room, barely managing to avoid enemy agents. He may not have been a spy like Black Widow, but he knew a thing or two about stealth.Up ahead, he saw a hallway. The very look of the entrance brought back his headache with a fury.Well, I must be on the right track. He decided. The way the Doctor had been talking, it made him think that perhaps he had some form of memory inhibitor, something to keep him from realizing what had happened and who he really was. Obviously hadn't worked as well as they hoped, but it did hurt. Especially now.He kept moving down the hallway, trying to ignore the way his brain felt like it was buzzing. There was one door at the end of the hallway, and he attempted to kick it open, but it was too sturdy. And his legs were beginning to feel weak. He wondered if it was because of the horrible pounding in his skull. Taking his pistol, he tried to shoot the lock. He missed. Twice. His hands were shaking profusely now and the buzzing just wouldn't stop. Finally, on the third try, he managed to shoot off the lock and open the door. There were two guards in the room playing cards at a table as if nothing were happening. Steve took them out easily, and was surprised when his gun made hardly any noise.Soundproof. He mused. Shutting the door, he checked his gun and sighed. Only one bullet left. He stuck the gun in his belt and then took a look around the room. There was a lot of random equipment, but Steve couldn't think well enough to recognize any of it.Except for one thing.One thing stood out among the rest.A red, white, and blue shield.~A~
Tony
It was raw anger leading the Avengers. Tony had played the video of Steve on the quinjet, and Tony thought Bruce was going to Hulk out before they even got there. Natasha had a glint in her eye that revealed just how much she was going to enjoy this, and Clint had broken one of his arrows in half. If he was angry enough to break one of his precious arrows, Tony knew he had to be murderous.But Tony was the angriest. His hatred of Rubrem and everything that had happened mingled with his guilt to produce pure rage. Tony would kill them. He would kill every single one of them. As soon as the quinjet set down, the battle was on. They had had the sense to contact Fury and let him know what was going on, and a helicarrier would arrive with reinforcements soon enough. Not that they were going to wait.Tony went through, blasting agents left and right. "Hey J, remember that Rubrem guy I've talked about so much?""Of course, Sir," The AI responded."Find him.""Already scanning, Sir."Everything about that man had been seared into the billionaire's brain. He wanted it to be enough for Jarvis to be able to locate him amongst the other heat signatures. It wasn't likely, but worth a shot."Sir, there seems to be some sort of meeting taking place in a secluded room," the light British accent suggested. "There is a chance that Mr Rubrem may be among them."Tony's lips parted in a murderous smile as he followed the map in Jarvis had laid out for him. He burst into the room. There were two men talking to a much older man on a screen. He didn't know the man on the screen and he didn't know the well-dressed man sitting calmly before him, but he did know one man. The man who had haunted his dreams: Mori Rubrem.Rubrem turned to face him, shocked. He recovered however, and began firing on the Iron Man.Tony flung himself at Rubrem, bullets uselessly pinging off his iron suit. He pinned the other man to the wall."How does it feel, huh?" he asked, his metal gauntlet closing around Rubrem's throat. "To not be able to breathe? To slowly feel the life being sucked out of you but not be able to do a thing about it?"Something hit the back of his helmet, causing him to release the now-unconscious man, who slid to the floor. Tony turned around and saw the smartly-dressed man standing exactly as he had been. Screen guy was gone."You must be the great Tony Stark," the man smiled. "What a pleasure."Iron Man levelled his repulsor at him, but the man just shook his head."I wouldn't if I were you, not yet at least." He stood perfectly still, as if the repulsors pointed at him didn't faze him at all. "I am Dr Leon Zuger, a... well, shall we say... friend, of Steven's. Though perhaps I should begin to call him Captain Rogers." The man hadn't stopped smiling the whole time, and it was really getting on Tony's nerves."What did you do to him?" Tony growled. The ZuZu guy laughed."Ah, they told me you were quite protective of him. Should have known you would find this place eventually. Such strong loyalty, you people." He continued to chuckle, Tony knew that he should take this guy down, but he couldn't, not yet. He needed to know about Cap. About Steve."It wasn't as hard as you may think," the Doctor continued, "though he is quite a fighter. He was already worn down enough physically that it was much easier than it otherwise would have been.""What are you talking about? What was easier?" Tony didn't know if he was scared or angry or both."Why, reprogramming his brain of course! A few minor surgeries, along with various forms of shock therapy, made him adequately susceptible to us. It was quite easy to turn him on you. Granted, we should have realized that, between his enhanced healing and his close work with the Asset, he would eventually remember. But, alas, perhaps we were always meant to fail."Something wasn't right. Tony glanced behind him to where Rubrem was still slumped unconscious. Where was this conversation going?"But, of course, that is why I put in a fail-safe." The man smiled so gleefully that Tony felt he was going to be sick. The Doctor hit a small button in his hand. Tony panicked and sent a repulsor blast at his chest, just strong enough to knock him out. He needed these two alive.But what was that all about? Minor surgeries? What kind of shock therapy? Who was the Asset? The Winter Soldier? And most importantly, what had the button been?The answer to his last question came as an urgent voice over the comms. It was Natasha."Rogers is down," she said. "Cap's down!"~A~
Natasha
It hadn't taken long for Steve to join the fight. He hadn't said much, but he'd given a nod of reassurance to Natasha. It was the most she'd gotten in two weeks, so she would take it.The fight went surprisingly quickly. Cap seemed to be on an adrenaline high, and he was more powerful than Natasha had remembered seeing him since New York.Hulk went around rampaging even after the fight was over, and Clint followed the raging beast at a safe distance. Natasha began to walk over to Cap. He was breathing heavily and leaning against the wall, but as she got closer he looked up and smiled at her, she even smiled back.But then something happened. He gave a short scream, falling to his knees. His hands pressed at his ears like was trying to block something out. His breathing was coming in short gasps and he was shaking. She dropped to her knees beside him."Cap! Cap," she called, touching his face. "Steve, can you hear me?" He didn't answer. He just began to shake even harder."Rogers is down," she said, trying not to panic. "Cap's down!"There was an angry word from Clint as he promised to make his way there as soon as he could. Hulk didn't respond, but she didn't expect him too. Tony also remained silent. That was the real surprise. She briefly wondered if something had happened, but Steve's shaking caused her to refocus. She laid her hands on him comfortingly, trying to think what to do.Iron Man took down the door. Tony's urgency was clear despite the metal mask hiding his face. The suit deactivated, opening up so Tony could stumbled out.Suddenly, Steve's convulsions stopped. Natasha looked at him, and his eyes clouded over. Without warning, he grabbed her wrist and flipped her slightly, effectively pinning her to the ground. He stood up slowly and placed one foot on Natasha's chest. It was enough to make it difficult to breathe but not to kill her. She kicked her legs and clawed at his ankle, but it did no good.She moved her head as much as she could, looking to Tony. He had his hands raised slightly, as if in surrender. His lips were set in an indifferent mask, but his eyes spoke of terror. She glanced up at Steve and saw the reason.A black pistol was pointed directly Tony's chest."Hey, Cap, you - uh - you wanna put the gun down and talk this out," Tony asked desperately, his voice nearly squeaking."Нет, месть, мне нужна месть. (No, revenge, I need revenge)" he whispered.Natasha's heart nearly skipped a beat. Russian. He had been trained, likely brainwashed, in Russian."Нет, Стив. (No, Steve)" she answered back. "Мы твои друзья. Тони твой друг. (We are your friends. Tony is your friend.)"He shook his head slightly. "Нет, месть. Должен, должен завершить миссию. Миссия мести. (No, revenge. Must, must complete the mission. Mission of revenge.)""Что тебе нужно отомстить за Стива? (What do you need revenge for Steve?)"He began to convulse again, this time less violently. "Я не знаю," he whispered. "I-I don't know. The-they said..."He lowered the gun slightly, very slightly. But he didn't let up on Natasha.Steve whispered something to himself that not even Natasha could hear. He looked down at her for a second, despair in his eyes.Then she knew what he was thinking, what he was planning. She began to panic. She renewed her attempts to get free.~A~
Tony
Tony didn't wait to rush out of the room. He found Natasha's coordinates and took down a door in his panic to get there. He found Steve on the floor, covering his ears and shaking rapidly, almost as if he was having a seizure."Let me out," he said, stopping."I'm sorry, Sir?" Jarvis questioned."I said let me out, I need to see if I can help him.""I don't think that's very wise-""I don't care! I said let me out."Jarvis made a noise that some might consider a sigh, and the suit opened. Tony stumbled out. He took about three steps before something changed in Steve. In the blink of an eye, Cap straightened and pinned Natasha to the ground with his foot. Tony began to walk backwards, but stopped when a gun was pointed directly at his chest.He raised his hands slowly, trying to school his features. He was panicking, pure and simple. He had been so sure they had him back. Their Steve, the real Steve. Captain America, Steve.And they had until Tony showed up. It was like he had triggered something. No, not him. That doctor, the buzzer. He had mentioned a fail-safe. Was this it?"Hey, Cap, you - uh - you wanna put the gun down and talk this out?"Tony heard the man mutter something quietly. Natasha's eyes widened and she whispered something back. He could be wrong, but he didn't think they were speaking English. This went on for several moments.Then Steve's eyes cleared. Not completely, but enough to let Tony know that their Steve was at least in there. Somewhere.The gun lowered slightly, and Tony did the same with his hands. Then Steve glanced down, and Natasha began to claw at the super soldier's leg.Steve shook his head at Natasha and then looked up. He made eye contact with Tony, his eyes seeming to convey a silent apology.Tony had no idea where this was going.The gun was no longer pointed at him.He breathed a sigh of relief for a moment.Only a moment.Then Tony saw where it was pointed instead.Steve had turned the gun on himself.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Day 16

Steve
Steve had been wandering down the halls, taking out random Hydra personal whenever he came across them. When he heard the sound of battle, he followed it almost instinctively and found Natasha and Clint fighting off dozens of agents. Hulk was smashing in the opposite direction.Feeling a rush of adrenaline, he threw himself into the fight. Natasha eyed him critically, but he only nodded at her. It seemed to be enough.The battle was over quickly, and Clint had gone to find the Hulk. Steve felt a sudden wave of exhaustion and leaned against the wall. Natasha began to make her way over and he glanced up to smile at her.Suddenly his brain ignited. Pain raced from his head down to the rest of his body until everything hurt. There was a loud piercing noise that threatened to drive him mad, and he tried to stop it, grabbing at his ears. When he just couldn't take it fell to his knees, he sensed someone's hands on him. He didn't respond. He squeezed his eyes shut against the pain. He could hear nothing but the loud buzzing and feel nothing but the white-hot agony ripping through his skull.But one sound broke through. One small, seemingly unimportant around slipped past his screaming: the sound of the Iron Man suit dismantling.Steve's head jerked up. As soon as he saw Tony, anger rose up within him. The buzzing stopped and he pinned the person beside him to the floor. In a moment he realized that it was Natasha, but it really didn't matter.He placed a foot on her, pressing just hard enough to keep her down, but not cause permanent damage. She didn't matter. He had no reason to want her dead.He pulled out his gun from earlier. One bullet. He remembered distinctly that he had one bullet. Didn't matter. One bullet would do the job."Hey, Cap, you - uh - you wanna put the gun down and talk this out?" Tony asked, clearly trying to hide his terror.Steve's answer came in a low voice. It came to his lips before it had even come to his mind.Something deep within him was fighting it. He wanted to put the gun down, but couldn't. All he could feel was the rage boiling up in him as he looked at the other man. He knew what he wanted.A gentle voice answered him. It answered him in Russian, and his conviction wavered. His anger wanted to fight it, but the voice was so compelling. It reminded him that these were his friends.When the voice - Natasha, it was Natasha - asked him why he was doing this, why he wanted revenge, he couldn't remember. He had no idea why he wanted revenge. He felt the cold hardness slip away as he whispered brokenly,"I-I don't know. The-they said..." his mouth shut as his body began to convulse again. The fire was back in his brain.He needed to stop this. All of this. He didn't want to hurt anyone, but this screaming in his brain wouldn't let him rest until he did. He never should have saved the stupid bullet.Wait, he had one bullet left.One bullet was all it took to end a life. He made a decision.He looked down Natasha, an apology written on his face. Her eyes widened, and he knew she understood, her desperate clawing at his leg confirmed that.Then he locked eyes with Tony. He hoped he understood, really he did. He was sorry. He was so, so sorry for everything.He put all of his energy into turning the gun on himself. The screaming in his head got louder and louder. It was maddening.Natasha started to say something. She switched between English and Russian, trying to make him understand, but he just needed her to stop. He couldn't take the reassuring tone in her voice, the way she slipped and sounded panicked then would go back to being calm. He needed her to stop. He pressed a little harder with his foot. She gasped, but it didn't stop the flow of words.He kept pressing until she went silent. He looked down; she was unconscious. He released the pressure but kept her pinned down in case it was an act.Tony was shouting something now, but he couldn't hear it over the screaming in his own head. His hands shook as he held the gun in place. He was ready. Ready to just end it all.Then his eyes caught movement to his left. He turned his head to see a very surprised, and very confused, Clint Barton.~A~
Clint
Why did he always get stuck babysitting the Hulk? He was an archer, not the Hulk's personal nanny. He got even more frustrated when Natasha's voice came over the comms, sounding almost panicked. Natasha didn't panic.Eventually, the Hulk began to get smaller. That was a huge relief. Clint really needed to get back to see about Steve. Tony and Nat had probably gotten him onto the helicarier by now, but he still wanted to check in.When Bruce had completely de-Hulked he looked exhausted, which was expected, but still frustrating. That meant it took twice as long to get out of the bunker as it would have if Clint had been by himself.He handed off Bruce to one of the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, who helped the doctor sit down."Has the rest of the team gone up?" Clint asked, gesturing to the floating fortress overhead. The agents looked at him with confusion."No, sir," one of them replied. "You and Dr Banner are the first to come out."Now Clint was worried. Very, very worried. They should have been out by now. And even if Tony had flown them out some other way, they would have at least checked in, right?Clint took off, rushing back inside without an explanation.When he reached the area that he last remembered seeing them, he moved in carefully. If there were still hostiles, he didn't want to get caught in the crossfire.But there was no gunfire. There was no Hydra. There was nothing to indicate a battle. What there was, however, was Tony standing outside of his suit, perfectly still, Natasha lying on the ground, speaking hurriedly, and Steve holding her there with one massive boot pressed down on her chest.Clint stood motionless for a moment, watching and trying to understand what was going on. Then Nat's voice puttered to a stop. She stopped moving too.Clint panicked, reaching for an arrow behind him. If Steve had just killed Natasha, the archer was going to have the pleasure of sticking an arrow through his skull, Captain America or not.He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw her chest still rising and falling, ever so slightly. She was alive.But now came the question, what was going on?Tony had started shouting something about a gun, and it was then that Clint's mind registered the gun pressed against Steve's right temple. He could see the tremors that wracked the super soldier's body, and Clint watched as the man's finger began to twitch over the trigger.Clint stepped out into the open; he had to do something. He wasn't sure what he planned to do, but he couldn't just stand there and watch Captain America blow his own brains out.Steve jerked his head towards Clint. Tony only glanced sideways. Clint hazarded a question,"Cap, what's wrong?"He didn't answer."Cap, look at me," the archer insisted.Steve's eyes slowly flickered across his face."Good, now can you hear me?" Clint asked, approaching slowly. Tony had stopped talking and was now watching, seemingly frozen.Steve shook his head slightly."I-it's so loud," his voice came out slightly choked. "It's like- like fire."Clint nodded. He remembered when he was under Loki's power, how something within him had tried to fight it. But he hadn't been able to. It had hurt too much to fight against it, so he had stopped. It looked like Cap was fighting the same way right now."Okay," he said. "Can you try to read my lips?" he pointed at his lips, trying to get the other man to understand.Steve just shook his head violently. "No! Stay back, stay back now!" he pressed the gun more firmly to his head. "Or-or I'll pull the trigger! I'll do it."His logic didn't make sense, but it worked. Clint raised his hands in resignation and began to walk backwards."I-I have to do this, okay? They won't leave me alone until I do it. Please, just leave me alone.""Then stop fighting," Tony said loudly. Clint could tell Steve heard him. He seemed to be concentrating really hard on understanding him.He shook his head again, "No- no don't -don't say that. It's better this way.""No, it's not. Just do it, Steve.""Tony, what are you doing?" Clint asked, not following the conversation at all."Just. Do it," Stark emphasized.Steve shook his head."It will stop hurting if you just listen to me.""No," came the heartbreaking whisper."Do it, Steve.""Do what?" Clint finally blurted out.Suddenly there was no fear in Tony's eyes."Turn the gun on me."~A~
Tony
"Turn the gun on me," he said calmly, not feeling it at all.Steve shook his head, "N-no I can't. I-I don't want to hurt you.""Turn it on me, now.""No."Clint started to protest "Tony what are you-""Stay out of this, Barton," he said sharply before he refocused his attention on Steve. "Do it."The gun turned in the soldier's hand slowly, unwillingly. As soon as the gun was leveled on Tony, his shaking stopped."Now step away from Natasha."Steve didn't respond."Come on, this is between you and me, let Natasha go."Steve nodded, stepping away from her limp form. "Get her," Steve said in an almost unnatural voice. It was directed at Clint, even though his eyes stayed locked on Tony.Tony nodded to Clint, who looked sceptical, but collected the unconscious Natasha."Now get her out of here."Clint didn't move, but Tony turned back to Steve."Now shoot me.""Stark-""I said stay out of this!" His head snapped to glare at the archer. "You weren't there. You don't know what happened. He has every right to kill me." Nobody moved for several seconds. Then Clint glanced between the two Avengers, then at the woman in his arms. He made a growling noise, then took off, carrying Natasha.Tony's eyes found their way back to the blue ones, vacant on the surface, but conflicted underneath. "So do it."Steve's hand began to shake, and Tony could see the battle raging within him."Kill me."Still no answer."Do it. I know you want to. I'd want to if I were you." He gave a short, bitter laugh, "I want to anyway. So just do it. Complete your mission. Make everyone happy."Tony stood perfectly still. His heart was racing. He wasn't even sure what he was hoping for. For all his talk and thoughts of suicide, he realized that he didn't really want to die, but he couldn't just let Steve shoot himself. Not after everything. Not after everything that was his fault.Steve's hands shook, and then held still. Then they shook again, and held still. Completely still, like a perfect soldier.The shaking continued to intensify until suddenly Steve's eyes cleared. He may not have been one hundred percent, but there was enough of Steve in there for him to be in control, not whatever that other thing was.But he still didn't put the gun down.The gun stayed straight, pointing directly at Tony's skull. Between the eyes, if he wasn't mistaken.So that was the truth. It wasn't just Hydra who wanted him dead. It was Steve. Steve wanted him dead just as much as Hydra did."Do it," Tony said in a whisper."Why?" Steve asked, equally quiet. His hand vibrating with such force it looked like it might come off.Tony raised his eyebrow slightly, "Why what?""Ev-" something like a broken off sob came from Steve's throat."E-everything."Tony felt as though someone had ripped out his heart. "I don't know," he whispered back. "I don't know and I'm sorry. You've got to believe me, Steve. I'm so, so sorry."Steve's hands started to lower slightly, he seemed almost too tired to hold the gun up. Then it steadied again. Tony was starting to feel nervous again. There was a very good chance that Steve was going to kill him right here. That terrified him more than it should have. It wasn't so much the death part. It was that Steve Rogers, Captain America, his friend, literally hated him to the point that he was willing to shoot him. Not because he had been ordered, not because he had been brainwashed but because it was what he wanted. The problem was, Tony couldn't blame him. He schooled his features again."If you're going to do it, just do it," he said, monotone. "I mean, I deserve it. I certainly did enough to you, didn't I?" He laughed and shook his head. "I mean, I let them do whatever they wanted to do with you. I never tried to stop them. In fact, I helped them a couple of times, didn't I? I was given a final chance to save you, and instead, I let them blow your brains out. Or at least, I thought they did. Would love to figure that one out," he said with just a touch of dark humor. "So do it. Just do it and get it over with. It's best for both of us."Steve's eyes seemed to soften a little. His hand began to lower. Then his eyes filled with so much hatred that Tony subconsciously took a step back. The gun was once again raised, and Steve cocked it, his finger noticeably twitching as the rest of him seemed to go unnaturally still.Then Steve smiled. It was an angry, bloodthirsty smile. "I feel like this would be more satisfying with my shield," he turned the pistol slightly, as if admiring it, "but a gun will do."It felt as if everything was in slow motion as Steve pulled the trigger. Tony closed his eyes as he heard the shot ring out. It's echo was deafening. He waited for contact, for death.Nothing happened. Not piercing pain, not blackness. He was still very much alive. It wasn't until then he registered the thud of a body dropping to the ground. Tony's eyes snapped open, partially in confusion, partially in fear.Steve was still standing in front of him, eyes blazing with hatred, his jaw firmly set. Tony was confused until he realized, none of the anger was pointed towards him. It was past him. He spun around and found the recipient of the bullet, dead on the floor.Mori Rubrem. Dead. A bullet neatly between the eyes.Suddenly, a hoarse scream sounded behind him. Tony felt himself panic as he turned around. Steve was clutching his head between his hands. The gun clattered to the floor and he kept screaming, shaking even more ferociously than before. Then his eyes rolled back into his head and he collapsed, huddled on the ground.Tony ran towards him, falling to his knees beside the broken soldier. His panic turned to terror. Now that he was closer, it was easy to see that Steve had multiple bullet wounds which were bleeding profusely. His suit was completely soaked through, but that wasn't the worst. Now blood was oozing from his ears and nose. This was bad. This was really, really bad. Tony felt for a pulse, a heartbeat, just something to prove that his friend was still alive. He couldn't find anything."What happened!" Clint said, rounding back into the room.Tony shook his head, "I-I don't know! He just-just-"The archer pushed him out of the way and began to perform chest compressions. "Don't just stand there, call for help!" He shouted at the billionaire, trying to force breath into their Captain.Tony stumbled into his suit. "Jarvis, alert S.H.I.E.L.D medical. Tell them to-" his mind went blank as he watched Clint trying to resuscitate Steve."To what, Sir?"Tony didn't answer. "Move," he said to Clint, scooping Steve into his arms."Alerting medical," Jarvis supplied.Clint protested, but Tony was already gone, flying as fast as he could to the helicarrier."Come on Cap," he whispered. "You can do this. Just hang on. Hang on Cap."He landed on the carrier and was immediately met with several medics pushing a gurney. Tony placed the motionless form down and the doctors immediately began assessing it. An oxygen mask was placed over Steve's face and the doctors began yelling to each other as they wheeled him away.Tony felt like he was ready to collapse. If not for his suit, he probably would have. He backed up against the wall and leaned against it."Tony?"The billionaire jerked his head, startled. "Bruce?" He raised his face mask."What happened what's going on? Tony, you look terrible. You need to get out of that suit."Tony had to take a minute to process. When he realised what his friend had said, he opened the suit and practically fell into Bruce's arms.Bruce helped him to a chair before he collapsed into it."How'd you, uh, how'd you get here?" Tony choked out."When the Other Guy finally calmed down Clint got me to S.H.I.E.L.D., then took off again. A few minutes later, he dropped Natasha off. Then they brought us here. They took Natasha to medical and I haven't seen her since. No one's told me anything. Tony, what happened?""Cap, uh, Cap wasn't acting like himself," Tony said in explanation. He was exhausted and he couldn't think. He just kept hearing Steve's scream. It had brought everything back. Everything. Afghanistan, New York, but most prominently, the week they were in captivity. Had that really only been two weeks ago? He just kept hearing that heart breaking scream. And it was his fault. Both times it was his fault."Woah, woah, Tony look at me," Bruce said, crouching in front of him.Tony hadn't even realized he was hyperventilating. He tried to focus on Bruce, to calm down, but he couldn't. He just kept hearing the scream over and over again.Bruce's voice became background noise as he continued to try to force air into his lungs.There were more voices around him, closing in on him. Someone was touching him. It was Hydra. It had to be. He wouldn't let them take him again. He couldn't. He'd rather die.He fought against the hands; he had to get out. Get out now before something even worse happened. Someone grabbed him firmly, holding him still. He fought even harder. The voices got louder. Why couldn't they just leave him alone? Then he felt a small pinch in his arm

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Day 17

Tony
He was brought to awareness by a slow beeping noise. He reached to his right, silently cursing his alarm clock. Instead of the noise stopping, he felt a pinch in his arm and his hand fall through nothing.He jerked awake, sitting up and looking around. He was in a hospital room, alone. An IV was attached to his right arm and he jerked it out, doing the same for all of the various wires.He was fine. He felt fine. Why was he here?He stopped what he was doing, suddenly remembering with perfect distinction what had happened at the Hydra base.Oh.That was why.He remembered his anxiety attack, though he wasn't completely sure why he was in a hospital bed and not some random couch. That was what usually happened. He was still on the helicarrier, so he couldn't have been out for too long.Steve.He was dead.Tony hurried out of the room feeling light-headed.Steve had flatlined, and Tony had been there. He had heard it.Steve was dead. Again.This was like the Avengers Team and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Month.How many times could their leader, their friend, die before they finally lost it? Before the team finally fell apart?He stepped into Steve's room, hearing a heart monitor beeping. A moment of relief washed over him as he walked up to the bed. Steve was alive.He took a sharp breath. Steve was bad. He looked pale and small. His upper body was wrapped tightly in white bandages, and his head had been shaved.That was what surprised him the most. Maybe the doctors had... No, it looked like there were a few razor scars along his head. The doctors would have been more careful.Hydra, then? It wasn't like Tony had seen Steve without some form of headgear since Hydra had taken him. But why? It wouldn't have been just for fun, Tony knew that."We found this in his brain." Bruce came up behind Tony, startling him.In Bruce's hands was a small disk. It was fried. "In his brain?" Tony repeated, taking the small piece in his hand."Looked to be some form of memory inhibitor.""And a punishment," Tony decided, rubbing it between his fingers. "Anytime Cap didn't something Hydra didn't like: tzzz." He made a zapping noise. Bruce nodded."How much damage?" Tony asked, turning back to the doctor. He tried to sound casual, but failed miserably.Bruce shrugged, "We won't really know until he wakes up. There was severe damage to his hippocampus. We're not sure how much it's going to affect his memory.""Do you think..." Tony trailed off. He tried again, "Do you think there's a possibility he won't remember any of it?"Bruce sighed, "I don't know, Tony. He could only remember parts, or all or none of it. For all I know he could wake up and think it's 1945. I just don't know.""But he... but he will wake up, right?""He should. But he's a mess. His vitals are insane. It's like one minute he's completely normal and then he has the machines going crazy! He's fighting something. Physically, he's not too bad off, especially with his enhanced healing, but mentally, something's going on and we're just going to have to wait to figure out what it is."Tony nodded, then remembered something else that had happened. "How's Natasha?""She's fine, a broken rib, but nothing too serious. What Steve did to her was no worse than a knockout hold. Didn't really hurt her, but caused her to pass out.""Barton?""With Nat."The beeping monitor began to speed up. Both men turned just as the super soldier's eyes blinked open. They both sprinted to his side."Steve?" Bruce said quietly, "Steve, can you hear me?"The captain blinked, his eyes finding the man in front of him. "Bruce?" his voice was hoarse. "Wh-what happened?" He squeezed his eyes shut."Steve, can you tell me if anything hurts? How do you feel?'He blinked again, "Head hurts. Don't feel much else." He slowly brought his hand to the side of his head. "What happened?"Tony was standing behind Bruce, not sure if the super soldier would really want to see him."Why don't you tell me the last thing that you remember."Steve seemed to really be searching in his mind, then his eyes opened in panic. "Tony!"The billionaire flinched at his name, but Steve went on,"We were in a battle and Clint said that Tony was missing! Then-- then the building collapsed! We have to find him!"Tony stood frozen in place. That was not what he had been expecting to hear. He knew Bruce said there might be memory loss, but this... this was too good to be true."It's okay, Steve. Tony is right here."Tony regained his composure and stepped out from behind his friend. "Uh, hiya, Cap. Good to see you awake."Cap immediately relaxed. "You're okay.""Yup, right as rain. It's you who's in the hospital bed.""Where were you?'Tony looked at Bruce for help. The doctor nodded, "Steve, the battle you were talking about was a couple of weeks ago."Steve's brow furrowed and he looked concerned."You and Tony were captured and... a lot happened. But you're both back now.""And everyone's okay?""Everyone's great, Cap. As soon as you're feeling up to it the whole gang will be back together." Tony smiled.Steve offered a tired smile in return, his eyes beginning to flutter closed."Get some rest, Cap. Someone will still be here when you wake up."The soldier nodded tiredly before his eyes slipped completely shut.Bruce motioned with his head for Tony to move away, and they both stepped out into the hall."So?" Tony asked, crossing his arms. "What's your prognosis, doc?""He doesn't remember anything.""That's good, right?""Maybe," the doctor looked unsure.Tony didn't understand. "He doesn't remember all of the bad things that were done to him. Better yet, he doesn't remember the stuff that he did! Isn't that a good thing?""It just depends, Tony. He might still remember. If he was a normal patient I'd say it would take months, maybe years to regain the memories, but with his advanced healing... anything is possible.""What happens if he does remember?"Bruce shook his head, "We'll just have to deal with that as it comes. For now, we'll have to keep an eye on him. Especially when he's sleeping. The human brain is a strange thing, Steve's more than most. Even if he doesn't consciously remember what happened, he still might have impressions in nightmares. Stuff can hang around in the subconscious for a long time.""But he's going to be okay?"Bruce gave a hesitant nod before breaking into a full smile. "It looks like he's going to be okay."

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Day 30

Steve
The room was quiet when he opened his eyes to his bedroom. He'd been back for a couple of weeks and he was starting to remember things. Slowly. He hadn't brought it up much, he thought it was better if everyone else thought he didn't remember the dark side of himself. He knew he did... bad things. He knew it. But deep within himself he also knew it wasn't him. It was like viewing someone else's memories. It helped. It helped it feel less real."Uh, heya Cap." Tony appeared unusually timid in the doorway.Steve pushed himself up from where he was lying in bed, "Tony.""I uh," he ran a hand through his hair. "Just wanted to check in to make sure you were doing okay. Bruce said you've been having migraines and I was just wondering if - uh - if anything was coming back."He could place it now. Tony looked guilty. Tony was afraid that Steve would remember everything and hate him.Steve didn't remember everything, but what he did he knew wasn't Tony's fault. And he certainly didn't hate him.He felt a pang of guilt for keeping his returning memory a secret."None of it was your fault." The look of shock crossing the billionaire's face would be humorous in any other circumstances."You, uh" he cleared his throat, "You remember it all?"Steve shrugged. "Not everything but enough to know it wasn't your fault. And that it wasn't really me.""What's that supposed to mean.""I don't hate you Tony. What- what happened..." He shook his head, trying to keep the memories from invading his thoughts, "What happened to me wasn't on you. None of it was on you. They wanted me and just used you as an excuse to try and turn me. They were going to 'kill' me and using you was just a way to put blame on you. Two birds with one stone and all.""So you're... okay?""I'm getting there." He smiled.Tony cleared his throat, putting on as much bravado as he could. "Well that's good. Glad we had this heart to heart now we can get back to barely speaking with one another.""Stark." Steve called out."Hm?""It happened to you too."Tony froze. "Not exactly sure where you're coming from, Cap.""It's okay if you're not okay. You were hurt too. I'm not the only one recovering.""Pretty sure we were hurt in very different ways." He said trying and failing to put humour in his voice."But you were still hurt. Work through it, okay? Don't bottle it up.""Yeah, uh yeah.""You can go pretend to be okay now.""I don't need your permission, but thanks." He said coolly as he walked out of the room.Steve let him go. They'd been put through a lot but both had come out in more or less one piece. His head still hurt on occasion and he was constantly afraid he'd be punished for doing the wrong thing. Tony had one or two more drunken nights that showed he wasn't completely okay. But they were working on it.They would be okay. Because Hydra was still out there and Steve was sure he saw Bucky. He wasn't sure how, it wasn't all there yet, but he knew. And because the world still needed saving and the Avengers still needed each other.It wouldn't always be smooth sailing, but they needed each other. And in the end, they'd be okay.
Fin