Chapter Text
The trees were a blur as Thomas races to escape his pursuers. He could hear them shouting far behind him, bringing with it an all too familiar fear.
His feet pound against the forest floor as he wills himself to go faster. Something shoots past him, slamming into a tree beside him. A bullet? A Tranq dart? Something worse?!
He doesn’t want to find out.
Praying he can find a way to lose them, he continues to push himself forward against the ache in his legs. They felt ready to collapse alongside his burning lungs, his breath harsh in his throat as he strains to breathe.
The roar of a jet engine shrieks overhead rattling the limbs of the trees around it as it hovers close to the forest. Thomas notices several figures jump out of it rushing to meet the group of armed men chasing after him.
Did they call in reinforcements?! More weapons to hurt or capture him with?! Would they try and shoot him with the jet or just use it to take him away again!?! Would he be dragged back to-
A startled gasp leaves Thomas’s mouth as he slams to the ground with his foot caught on a tree root. His knees and palms sting from the impact, something to add to his growing list of pain.
Thomas scrambles on all fours over to the nearby tree, curling in on himself as he attempts to steady his breathing. A chorus of strange sounds ringing loud behind him, gunshots, electricity crackling, pulses of energy and grunts from fists meeting flesh. It was all barely registering in his mind as he fights off the waves of swirling panic.
“You’re ok, we’re ok” Thomas whispers to himself trying to control his raging thoughts. “You are not in a lab, you’re in Florida. You’re in a forest, not in a metal room.”
He chants the familiar mantra over and over, growing frustrated as it proves ineffective. Angry that he can’t pull himself together. “We’re ok, we’re ok!” Thomas squeezes his eyes shut forcing back tears as his breath comes in painful gasps.
It all feels too much like he’s back there all over again, running for his life trying to-
“Hey Cap, think someone’s over here.”
A horrified shriek escapes Thomas’s lips as he pulls himself to his feet, launching himself away from the stranger clad in purple-ish leather only standing a couple feet away. He doesn’t watch where he is going all to concerned about the man holding a dangerous bow, plowing himself right into a tree.
Dots dance in his vision as he falls to the ground for the second time, a horrible headache building as something warm drips down the side of his face.
“Ah geez, you alright?” The stranger asks, stepping closer while reaching an arm out to try and help Thomas up
Instinctively he jerks away putting as much distance between them as he can without causing himself to blackout, “StAy AwAy!”
He can't help but flinch at his own voice as it echos and warps, tempest tongue leaking into it as he presses himself painfully against the tree.
That's the first sign. He needs to get out of here before it's too late.
"Alright-alright that's ok." the stranger crouches down putting his hands up in a non-threatening gesture, the one hand with the bow slowly reaching to his hip, the bow collapses in it self folding up and clipping to his belt. "I won't come any closer."
Thomas can feel himself shaking as he stares at the blonde archer, waiting for him to attack, to prove his lie, to steal them away again, to steal everything away from them. Unwanted tears burn his eyes as he moves to hug himself, knees curling up to his chest, he’s cornered and he knows it.
A strange feeling starts in his core and spreads through him, prickly, almost painful feeling like a limb falling asleep, growing slowly more painful. Second warning he needs to get out of there.
“Hey, those dudes aren’t going to get you any time soon,” The archer shifts on his feet, seemingly awkwardly unsure how to help calm Thomas, “just... try breathing with me.” he hesitantly exaggerates his breathing, moving his hand up and down as a way to gauge when he was breathing in or out.
The adrenaline from the horrible chase and panic slowly ease away as Thomas sits there, with most of the panic leaving him he can begin to think more clearly again, he attempts to follow the men breathing to disappears more of his panic. His breathing is still a little erratic but he’s not hyperventilating there’s only so much you can do when you’re still terrifyingly cornered by a stranger...and well, bleeding from the head.
The archer seems satisfied, though he was frowning a little, looking Thomas over with analytical blue eyes absorbing every detail. “Can you stand?”
“I-" Thomas voice cracks and cuts off, he risks squeezing his eyes shut trying to take some deep breaths as he begins repeating the mantra to himself again, he knows they should be fine, there are no crazed men with guns anymore so obviously this guy did something to stop them.
They’re not really in danger anymore. Calm down. Just calm down.
He’s still shaking terribly when he opens his eyes, ready to try and speak again fighting against his anxiety to do so...only
He realizes too late that his shaking is no longer due to fear.
His third and final warning.
Thomas tries to speak only to lightly cry out as pain shot up his spine, his very core spasming. He curls up tighter in himself trying to hold themselves together, they can’t do this now, not out in the open, not with a stranger. But the feeling of being ripped into pieces still comes at full force as they fall apart.
Last thing Thomas hears is the archer calling for someone named Stark.