(no subject)

[bottledblond]

Not every universe in the far and wide cosmos is as lucky (however unlucky itself that seems) to encounter Thanos during a time where people live who can do something about it. Steve Rogers, a particular version of Steve Rogers who had only just suffered through his first night of basic training in New Jersey as part of the Army’s Project Rebirth and thus had not yet become Captain America, bent to untie his shoes and saw his hands begin to disintegrate. He doesn’t panic, panicking is for people who do not live like every breath is their last. Instead, he blinks in surprise as the barracks fill with shouting. He has time to contemplate two things. One, he wishes he’d done more with his life. And two, he hopes Bucky will do all right.

He’s still thinking about that last issue when he exhales his last in a universe where Captain America never existed and finishes it bent over in the ruins of the barracks, roof half open to the sky and walls a burnt and ashy gray.

It takes him an hour to get to the road and by then, his asthma is already getting the best of him. He blacks out for the second time ‘that day’ and wakes up staring at the ceiling of what is obviously a hospital.

It just doesn’t sound or smell like a hospital. Sure. People are running around and yelling, but it smells painfully clean, artificially so, and there are machines he’s never seen before connected by wires to his body. He does the thing people should never do and yanks them loose. The machines squawk strangely and frantically and Steve is almost out of bed when two large men in green pajamas force him back.

Nothing makes sense to him for days. People come to talk to him, to find out who he is and who his family is. Evidently Steve Rogers is a popular name, because they bring in more people to talk to him, to ask him questions about his life, but no one has any answers.

He explodes, as he’s wont to do when frustrated, demands answers, but nothing they say makes sense.

By then, the war is over. Not World War II, which has evidently been over for over half a century, but this new war. And Bucky Barnes had been told of his presence. Steve is in bed, arms crossed, looking dour and getting an infusion of something that honestly is helping him breathe better when Bucky bursts into his now private room. It’s been two months

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[bottledblond]

“Wasn’t you,” Steve insists. He hadn’t lived through any of this, but he knows Bucky. “And you said it yourself. You were pardoned.”

Steve is pretty sure he isn’t going to like these old friends of the other Steve and he’s a little upset that the other Steve could ever be friends with them.

“Doesn’t matter, Buck. You’ve got me now. And I trust you with my life.”

[woundedwinter]

"But I still did it."

He glances over at him with a grin, "Yeah. We got each other now." Maybe they can build a life without the remaining Avengers. Something closer to normal.

His eyes flick back to the rear mirror and the smile fades into a frown. They're being followed.

[bottledblond]

There’s no such thing as normal for Steve. There is getting by while trying to be something more. That’s his whole life. He’d just gotten the chance to be that something better and he’s not letting it go. Bucky might need a break from the fight and Steve can appreciate that while he learns, but there’s going to come a time when he needs something more.

Or at least he’ll need to try to get it.

Steve watches the smile fade from Bucky’s face like he’s going blank and he glances from window to window until he looks over his shoulder.

A big, black car.

He’s always been smart, always picked up on situations, and that’s why he could always manipulate them to some extent.

“Has that car been with us too long? Is there an ice cream shop nearby that will make us divert course without looking suspicious?” Steve just wants to see if the car stays with them if they double back.

[woundedwinter]

"It's been with us long enough to be a problem." He's not going to waste time figuring out who's following him, too many people on that particular list. What he can't do is put Steve or anyone else in danger.

"We've got to get out of this city traffic." So he cuts left and accelerates towards the nearest on ramp.

"They still there?"

[bottledblond]

So much for subtle. Steve needs to defer to Bucky on this one, even if it’s not really his nature to let the reins go. He keeps his eyes on the side mirror and as they pass a white pickup truck, the SUV comes back into view, swerving a little.

“Yeah. And they don’t look happy about the detour. They’re trying to get around on the right but there are too many parked cars.”

The ramp is two blocks up to take them over the bridge.

[woundedwinter]

"Take my phone. Call Sam." He checks the mirror again before changing lanes. "If this is HYDRA I can draw them off and handle it." And if it's SHIELD he's gonna be pissed.

"Stay low. If they start shooting get as low as you can." He can shrug off most bullet wounds, but Steve can't.

[bottledblond]

“Shooting?” Really? Just out in the open? There are people everywhere. Not even old gangster films would have goons shooting from a car in the daylight.

Steve still scrunches down and pulls his knees up, dialing Sam.

“Hi, Sam? It’s Steve. Steve Rogers. Listen, we’re in Bucky’s car and we are absolutely being followed by a black SUV with out of state plates.” Pennsylvania or Maine, maybe, since there’s no front plate like in New York and New Jersey. “We are... looks like we’re headed over the George Washington.”

Sam makes some incredible claim that he can find them and Steve hangs up the phone with a frown. “Uh. Says he’ll be right here...? He said to keep it on course and try not to take too many turns.”

[woundedwinter]

He only hums in response because if he knew more about who was tailing them he'd know better how to react. HYDRA? One of the various government agencies that were less than happy with his pardon? Bucky doesn't know and that makes this harder. Whatever they were they weren't being subtle, a black SUV all but screams trouble anymore.

"Leave the phone on, that'll help him track us."

[bottledblond]

Sam's already calling back for the same reason, and he directs Steve to press one of the buttons to put the call on speaker. "Hey Buck," Sam says once he hears the audio change. It's strange for Steve, with the sound suddenly coming from Bucky's car's sound system because, one, there's a sound system, and two, he has no idea about bluetooth.

All he can do it keep an eye on the SUV. "Moving to the left to get around you," Steve says, undoing his seatbelt to get a better look behind them.

"I've got eyes. Red Wing is coming in for a closer look," Sam replies. "I'm still three minutes out." Ten frightening seconds pass before Sam speaks up again. "SWORD? The hell does SWORD want?"

[woundedwinter]

His jaw tightens and he swears under his breath in Russian. "Whatever they want it's nothing good." The vibranium tech in his arm? Steve? He doesn't know but it does ramp up his concern that whatever happens it's not going to be good.

"Steve stay low," he warns him.

"Sam we've got to get out of the city, get them away from civilians." He pulls off his gloves, flexing his left hand. "If this turns into a fight in the city I'm going to wind up arrested again."

[bottledblond]

"Negative, Barnes. Negative," Sam says, still too far away for his liking. "SWORD is to be considered friendly."

Steve doesn't know what to make of this. He's hunkering down the best he can while the SUV tries to pull up along side their car. His heart is racing. "If they're friendly, why didn't they call first?" he asks, feeling his pulse behind his eyes as he grips the dash, crouching now between the bucket seat and the glove compartment.

"Man-- That's because someone doesn't answer his phone," Sam snaps.

Steve frowns up at Bucky.

"Just pull over before the toll plaza, Bucky," Sam sounds like he's yelling.

[woundedwinter]

Bucky doesn't consider any agency friendly at this point in his life. He's seen too much and done too much to trust in any larger organization. The Avengers aren't what they used to be and he sure as hell doesn't trust anything remotely related to SHIELD or any of the other various groups that sprang out of it.

For all his complaining about Sam though, he trusts him.

"Ugh, all right all right. I'll leave my damn phone on more often!" There's no real point to it, nobody calls him unless it's a wrong number. People sure aren't beating down his door with job offers.

At least not the kinds of jobs he wants to take.

"Fine!" He cuts the wheel, "I'm going already. Get over here, we're not getting out until you land Wilson."

As Bucky turns he looks over at Steve, frowning at him and still curled up tight to keep down low and safe. His expression softens because this isn't a Steve used to conflict, car chases or anything that's been a part of the last ninety years of his life.

"It's gonna be okay Steve."

[bottledblond]

“He said they’re friendly,” Steve nods, pulling himself back into his seat. His heart is starting to slow down again, but as Bucky pulls over, the black SUV blocks him in and another slides into the parking spot beside Bucky’s driver door.

The blond sighs, just starting to come down from the fear he’d felt when something drops down from the sky.

“Shit!” he yells, actually scrambling into Bucky’s seat before that object stands and his wings extend. “A-A-Angel—“

[woundedwinter]

They're boxing him in and Bucky has to viciously stomp down on every instinct that is screaming at him to act. His expression is flat and cold as he glares out the windows, only startling a little when Steve yelps and jumps towards him.

"Angel? No, no pal it's okay." Bucky's arm is around him but only to keep Steve from falling backwards onto the parking brake. At least that's what he's telling himself.

"That's Sam. Remember, I told you he had mechanical wings, something he strapped on. It's just Sam."

[bottledblond]

He's going to have a heart attack at this rate. Steve gulps down air, his brain finally slapping the explanation now onto the one from yesterday. And yes, now that he;s looking, he can see pretty well that it's Sam out there. It's certainly a relief, though he feels like an idiot for having had to crawl over Bucky like that.

As they sit together, Sam approaches with his hands held out in front of him. "Guys this is a bad look," Steve can hear him say. "Bucky, roll down your stupid tinted windows."

Steve's fingers tighten at the back of Bucky's neck at two women and a man come from the backseats of the two cars. Steve doesn't recognize any of them. One, a shorter white girl with dramatic red lips, approaches Bucky's car door. If he doesn't roll down the window, shes going to cup her hand and look in.

[woundedwinter]

"Give us a second!" He's going to allow Steve to crawl back over to his own seat before opening the window even a fraction. Not just to preserve his dignity but to free up his own hands if something looks even slightly suspect.

When he rolls the window down his expression is flat and cold with only a flicker of irritation evident in his voice. "So why the hell are you following me?" Whatever they're selling, he's not interested. "I already told SHIELD no, I don't know how much clearer I need to be."

[bottledblond]

“Hi. Doctor Darcy Lewis,” the woman says, once Bucky has decided to be a little more personable. The woman pushes up her glasses and smiles at both Bucky and the guy in the seat beside him. “We could really use your help.”

“Our help?”

“Well,” Darcy clarifies, “James Barnes’ help. Not too many people have prosthetics made out of vibranium. You know, we’ve been calling for like two days now.”

[woundedwinter]

She's an absolutely striking woman with dark hair and red lips and for a moment he feels an irrational surge of jealousy even though he knows damn well that this isn't Peggy Carter. He's similarly tempted to tell her no and go back to what he and Steve were doing, but hadn't Steve said that he wanted to help people?

Hadn't that been what he wanted to do all those years ago?

He sighs. "I know, I know. I don't leave my phone on all the time."

"Fine. What do you want?" He's not picking up Steve's old shield. He doesn't want it. As far as Bucky knows, it's still in the Smithsonian.

[bottledblond]

Darcy lightly taps her hand on the door and straightens up, presumably for Bucky to get out of the car. Steve is already at his side of the car, pulling open his door. The other woman and man she returns to smile, the woman more grimly.

“Mister Barnes,” she says, “we recently had an encounter with one of your former colleagues. That situation managed to rectify itself but the hex—“

“See? I told you it would catch on-!” Darcy interjects.

“The area around the anomaly has dissipated into the surrounding towns. We need your help tracking down artifacts. The vibranium in your arm, we think, will let you locate them more easily.”

[woundedwinter]

"Former colleague?" His gaze cuts from her back to Sam. What had he missed while trying to figure out what it meant to live a normal life? "What colleague? What happened?" Bucky gets out of the car but only to circle around it to stand with Steve and Sam.

He plucks a tablet from the man standing with the women and starts skimming through information. "Wanda. Jesus kid," he mutters. Westview. A simple search job, it's not a bad one and doesn't require anything in the way of a fight.

Bucky squints up at them. They're not coming to Banner, which isn't a shock, the guy needed his space. But him? "Look I'm good at finding things, but this is still just an arm, it's not a divining rod."

[bottledblond]

"You'll be able to touch the objects without forcing a phase shift," the man says, after he identities himself as Agent Woo. He doesn't get a handshake from Bucky, but Steve reaches out to shake his hand. The blond smiles, but he doesn't give his name. Either they know who his other self was ....or they don't. He's hoping for the latter. "That's why we keep losing them in the residual magic they give off. They're causing some unintentional--"

"And hilarious," Darcy proclaims, interjecting.

"--side effects on the people that come in contact with them. Captain Rambeau is doing her best to sort that out, but we need new eyes in the field."

Steve's eyebrows arch. "What else are we doing, Buck?" He can't keep quiet. It's impossible.

[woundedwinter]

"Hilarious, huh? Can't remember ever being given a mission that involved 'hilarious'." He taps at the tablet before looking up at his best friend, expression softening a fraction. Steve was right, what else were they really doing?

Agent Woo reassures him that his court mandated therapy would be put on temporary hold while he worked the assignment. Darcy talked a mile a minute and a good several miles over his head about what they'd need. So maybe it wasn't a Stark thing it was a really smart person thing?

"Okay, just give me the mission brief and where and when we need to show up," he relents.

[bottledblond]

"Maybe this is more of a duo thing," Sam steps in, glancing briefly towards Steve from behind his red tinted goggles.

Steve doesn't need to ask what that means. Sam is going to shut him out. "It's just a big scavenger hunt. I don't need super strength for that," he counters, almost with a 'come at me' sort of stance that doesn't really make him seem bigger than he is in reality.

Just his mind.

Sam grins, and wipes a hand over his face. "Sorry, Steve, this is Avengers stuff. I can't let you--"

Darcy chimes in again. "It's going to be fine. I did okay. Still standing. And I'm not super strong either. What did you say your name was?"

Steve's eyes spark a little. "Steve Grant," he says without using his last name. New man, new life, new name. Sort of.

[woundedwinter]

"It can be a duo thing," he agrees. "Me and Steve on the ground, you searching from the air."

And that grin gets a shade cocky when Darcy agrees that it doesn't require Avengers level intervention. "See? She said it'll be fine."

Steve Grant. He kinda likes that and if nobody's figured it out yet, he's sure as hell not going to say it.

[bottledblond]

“Avengers aren’t the only heroes,” Jimmy Woo agrees and nods at those gathered. “All right. You. Phone on. I’ll be sending you the coordinates of the last artifact we found. Darcy— Doctor Lewis, will meet you when we have a time and place.”

Steve can’t help smiling. Even after they take off and leave Sam standing with them, Steve feels triumphant.

“Guessing you decided to stay...?” Sam glances between the pair. He doesn’t look too happy, and Steve can understand why.

The other guy was his friend. He never knew Steve growing up. “For now,” Steve says. “Way I see it, it might be a few years in my future or past if I get sent back. I need everything I can get to be prepared to save my friends.”

There. Keep Sam off of his back.