Chapter Text
Monty doesn’t like it. None of them do but what else is there? They aren’t cleared for active duty yet, despite the many, many tests they’ve been subjected to. Howard, surprisingly, did not kill them with his cryogenic Chambers. They’ve come out of them unscathed and in better health than when they went in. No hint of mental degradation or muscle atrophy. They’re fine, dammit!
Their captain is out there on a mission with people none of them trust to have the Captain’s back. Howard’s egotistical kid, the Russian spy, a literal walking disaster, a man that turns green when pissed, and an actual Norse god are not exactly what Monty or the others would consider good back up. Especially after hearing how Howard’s kid talks to Rogers. The kid’s got issues coming out of his ass, and he’s taking them out on the Captain. Dum Dum damn near introduced the kid’s head to the wall their first meeting.
He’s had to stop Dernier numerous times from planting small charges around the kid’s lab. Jim and Gabe had to be stopped from sabotaging the kid’s experiments, and Monty cannot leave Dum Dum alone with the kid. None of them like Howard’s off-spring.
None of them trust him.
None of the Captain’s new team can be trusted either.
Dum Dum and Gabe are bickering over what new cuisine to try out as a way to pass the time until their Captain returns while Dernier and Morita have taken over the kitchen table with their gadgets. They’ve gathered every single Stark Tech they’ve been given and systematically tore them apart, murmuring in curiosity and surprise.
The ever present elephant in the room is felt keenly but mostly ignored.
The Captain said Barnes is out there. That he survived too gave them hope of a real reunion. They’ve grieved their friends, and then got them back in some form or another. Barnes is out there and they’ll find him. They won’t leave him behind again. They need him. The Captain needs him. Perhaps more than the man will ever admit.
When Barnes fell, Rogers was different. It was like the like the life got sucked out of him, hollowing him out and all that was left was a shade of a once bright and vibrant man. Monty almost didn’t recognize the Captain when he returned from The Bar, the one where the Captain recruited them, the one where the Captain and Sarge spent hours joking and laughing. That bar. Agent Carter had tried talking to him but the Howlies knew better. Nothing she can say will ever ease the pain the Captain is holding close. He lost half his soul. He’ll never be whole again.
Or so they thought.
The Sarge is out there, waiting to be found. The Captain warned them the Sarge they knew is gone. What’s left is a shattered man, broken from years of torture. That doesn’t matter. He’s one of them.
They’re all they have left from a time the world would like to forget. It’s so strange here. How the Captain adapted to the future all on his own worries them. Didn’t anyone help him? Reach out? Or did they just send him right into a fight with actual, real life aliens?
That still boggles their mind.
“We all owe Barnes $50 apiece,” Monty had said. “Bastard was right about aliens.”
It was the first thing he could think of upon hearing what they missed during their slumber. It broke the ice between them, the newly restored SHIELD (a development none of them like and neither does the Captain, judging by the scowl), and the Captain’s new team. Howard’s kid smarted off, taking a jab at the Captain, and then left, claiming more important business needing to be done instead of introducing more nonagenarians to the 21st Century. Monty saw the dark look he shot them before exiting the room. Apparently the Captain isn’t the only one on the kid’s shit list. Oh boy, Howard, what did you do?
“We’ll find him,” Gabe said suddenly, halting everyone in their tracks. “We’re not going to fail him again. Once we get cleared, the first thing we’re doing is going after the Sarge. The Captain may not be able to go after the Sarge but we can. We owe nothing to SHIELD or to the Army, we have done our duty to them. We’re free to go after him.”
“Damn right,” Dum Dum growled. He stood up and paced by the large living room window. “We should just leave now. The Captain will understand. It’s Sarge.”
Jim sighs. “We can’t. We haven’t left this building without a chaperone, and they’ve handled every monetary transaction. We know nothing about this century. Where would we even start? The Sarge was last seen in D.C., and that was over a year ago. He could be anywhere. He’s been operating as an assassin for over fifty years!” He runs his hands through his hair in frustration. “I want to go after him, too. Christ, do I want to, but we can’t. Not yet.”
None of them like it, but Jim is right. It fucking sucks.
“Besides,” Jim says, going back to his project, “I’m not looking for the Sarge without the Captain. ”
“Agreed,” replies Dernier. The others echo his response.
Why can’t Jim be less reasonable? They understand, they do, but cabin fever is starting to kick in. None of them like sitting on their asses, waiting. Eternally waiting.
We’ll find you, Barnes, Monty promises, staring out the window. We’ll make you and Rogers whole again. And then we’ll be unstoppable. The future is wrong. It feels off, they all feel it. Something went FUBAR and they need to fix it.
They will fix it.
Just like they’ll fix Rogers and Barnes.
Easy peasy.