After HYDRA took down SHIELD, Steve had been working with the Avengers, taking the lead on their missions to destroy one base at a time, but it had been days, weeks, months between each discovery, and he hadn't been idle during that downtime.
He had been tracking the Winter Soldier, as he liked to tell himself, because if he thought of him as Bucky, now, he knew it would be a big mistake. Whatever of Bucky there is left - if there was anything left of him - he knew it wouldn't be much, and he couldn't take building up his hopes too much to have his heart broken all over again. Not after everything that had helped him reach this point.
It had been slowing going, though, either following false trails or finding them long cold before he had found them, and each time he had thought he was getting close, gaining on him, he was finding himself breaking a little bit at a time all the same. Still, he had to keep trying, because he knew that if their places were switched, the friend he was knew would have done the same for him; he would never have written him off, given up, and right now he knew he had no one but himself - he tried not to think about how he probably didn't even know who he was, not after what had been done to him, or after the things he had done as the weapon he had been turned into.
But that brought him here, wherever exactly he was. It's completely accidental that he happens across the HYDRA base, but without the team to back him up, he knows he doesn't stand a chance at making a dent in it alone. And as that realisation dawns on him, he hears the chaos inside - agents shouting, others screaming, small blasts and gun shots, and he finds cover.
He means to alert the team, but before he's got his phone in hand, he conceals himself further behind the rocks and trees that are littered around, watching and waiting as a team of HYDRA agents pass buy, weapons in hand, and speaking about the their target.
..."--and watch out for that arm of his."
So he's here, Steve realises, and alone. He knows he's alone. He wouldn't trust a single soul, either, in his position, not even to help him take out the ones who ruined him.
Steve is up and running as soon as they're out of sight, careful of his surroundings, and circling the base; it's obvious the damage done inside is bad, especially when no more agents cross his path, and the building is ablaze. He might not have taken them all out, but he destroyed the facility, and he doesn't care for the remaining HYDRA agents chances.
And then he stops dead in his tracks, standing vulnerable in the open, staring across the distance to where the body is slumped, watching, and unsure of how to approach before the question comes.
"It was never my intention to take you out," he finally says, taking a step forward, and then another until he's towering over him. "How bad's the damage?"
no subject
He had been tracking the Winter Soldier, as he liked to tell himself, because if he thought of him as Bucky, now, he knew it would be a big mistake. Whatever of Bucky there is left - if there was anything left of him - he knew it wouldn't be much, and he couldn't take building up his hopes too much to have his heart broken all over again. Not after everything that had helped him reach this point.
It had been slowing going, though, either following false trails or finding them long cold before he had found them, and each time he had thought he was getting close, gaining on him, he was finding himself breaking a little bit at a time all the same. Still, he had to keep trying, because he knew that if their places were switched, the friend he was knew would have done the same for him; he would never have written him off, given up, and right now he knew he had no one but himself - he tried not to think about how he probably didn't even know who he was, not after what had been done to him, or after the things he had done as the weapon he had been turned into.
But that brought him here, wherever exactly he was. It's completely accidental that he happens across the HYDRA base, but without the team to back him up, he knows he doesn't stand a chance at making a dent in it alone. And as that realisation dawns on him, he hears the chaos inside - agents shouting, others screaming, small blasts and gun shots, and he finds cover.
He means to alert the team, but before he's got his phone in hand, he conceals himself further behind the rocks and trees that are littered around, watching and waiting as a team of HYDRA agents pass buy, weapons in hand, and speaking about the their target.
..."--and watch out for that arm of his."
So he's here, Steve realises, and alone. He knows he's alone. He wouldn't trust a single soul, either, in his position, not even to help him take out the ones who ruined him.
Steve is up and running as soon as they're out of sight, careful of his surroundings, and circling the base; it's obvious the damage done inside is bad, especially when no more agents cross his path, and the building is ablaze. He might not have taken them all out, but he destroyed the facility, and he doesn't care for the remaining HYDRA agents chances.
And then he stops dead in his tracks, standing vulnerable in the open, staring across the distance to where the body is slumped, watching, and unsure of how to approach before the question comes.
"It was never my intention to take you out," he finally says, taking a step forward, and then another until he's towering over him. "How bad's the damage?"