Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“You can’t be serious” Steve looked up in disbelief. For three weeks Sam had gone missing, shot down mid-flight over the ocean and disappeared. They’d spent hours awake looking for him.

“I know that look, Steve.” Bucky furrowed his eyebrows, he’d spent most of the time off from looking for Sam to comfort his sister. They were all worried sick for him.

“I’m as serious as the swine flu, Steve.” Sam remarked, he didn’t look exactly like himself. His wings expanded and glowing around him, the familiar hum of hex magicks surrounded his aura. His eyes glowed with a strong purple as his hands and fingers coiled and shifted, channeling the magick in his palms.

“You have got to be joking.” Wanda began lifting herself off the ground, using similar magicks to stay level with him. She also knew that look. Anger, helplessness and power. They both kept up to each others level, even if Sam knew what he was doing, Wanda was more than an expert at being the Scarlet Witch. He wasn’t stupid, so he didn’t hit first.

“Well I’m clearly not laughin’. I appreciate it, really. Goin’ out ya way to try and find me. Been three days, took faster tryna find Bucky-but I digress.” Sam shrugged, clearly speaking with a change of tone and accent. 

The realization took Steve and Bucky by surprise, the other Avengers having no clue what was really happening and were hesitant to try and fight Sam.

Wanda prepped her magicks in defense, not wanting to hurt him at all. She was prepared to talk him down if she could, until looking back at the two super soldiers and their faces, and realized talking was a lost cause.

She took the moment of realization to slowly lower herself to the ground, making a scene of pretending to surrender. Wanda knew that if she tried going in head first they’d all die.

“Do yall really think I’m stupid?” He glared at her surrender, but did nothing to fight. He loved seeing the look on their faces. Afraid, Weak, Upset. He reveled most in the face of Tony. He didn’t look confused or upset at all. It was better than that-he felt guilty. He grinned wickedly, and slowly made his way to face Tony all the while berating the Avengers.

“Well. Lookie here, right? For once everyone is lookin’ up to a black man. Yea, I like this better. Wanda, you thought that eventually I would leave, right? The look on your face when you saw me says alot. Steve, Bucky...you two love to forget about me don’t ya? I was Cap’s wingman sure, ha ha funny. Yet I was always left in the dirt. On your left!” He shot a ball of hex past Steve, and laughed at his startled expression.

“Sam this isn’t you at all-” Bucky tired reasoning with him, he knew that it wouldn’t work but he wanted to try, “Sarah was worried about you, I could tell her we found you and-”

“THREE DAMN DAYS!” Sam exclaimed, shaking the ground in which they all stood, throwing hulk off balance and making Thor grip mjolnir harder. “It took three days, and I had to find YOU.” He used the power he had now to do what he always wanted, to shut Bucky up. A dark-blue zipper appeared over Bucky’s mouth and when he tried speaking all that came from it was a muffle scream.

Finally, he had made it to Tony. The iron clad hero stood, furrowing his brows and keeping his face as stern as possible. He had no power in this situation, he had to take whatever was coming to him.

“Anthony. Howard. Stark.” The venom in Sam’s voice made his face tremble. He can’t think hard enough on what he has done to Sam that made him feel so vengeful. “The man who steals all my glory, who puts me in danger to near death, multiple times. The man who doesn't give me a damn cent for risking my life for people that don’t even care that I exist!” There it was. Everyone finally got an understanding of what drove Sam’s fury and anger. Despite this there was no way to talk him down. He made a pedestal and he was the preacher. Tony looked Sam in the eyes, and if he hadn’t believed in God then, he surely was begging for his forgiveness and a soft place in heaven now.

“You...you’re afraid of me aren’t you?” Sam smiled, his words bubbling with malice. He had gotten the reaction he wanted, he could leave now and have been fulfilled, but as much as he wanted to he couldn’t. He made a deal and he wanted to keep his end of it. He was a man of his word after all. He slowly raised himself up again, as all the Avengers’ eyes followed his violet form.

“Oh, and boys?” He gestured to the super soldiers as he channeled his magick energy again. With a grin and their full attention he spoke one final word. 

“Hail Hydra.”

Suddenly like a bombshell, all the Avengers fell.

~End Chapter One~

Chapter Text

Groggily, Bucky sat up, pulling his hair out of his face in pain. No one really knows what just happened, and his brain started kicking into high gear when he heard a collective groan from the other Avengers. 

Last thing he remembered was Sam saying those two damned words, and just thinking of it sent him into a quick and well-deserved fury. Hydra had taken Sam, and they’d experimented on him. His mind raced thinking of all the horrible things they’d have done to him, but the stinging pain of magicks still made his head pound.

“Why are we just standing here like this?!” Steve spoke between pained groans. 

“Sam is still alive, we have to do something we-”

Bucky slowly stood, being the last one to stop feeling the effects of Sam’s power (Wanda of course being the first). He made a head count of everyone before looking Steve in the eyes. It’s hopeless, Steve. Is what he wanted to say. He wanted to give up before they started, it seemed hopeless given what they had just encountered.

“Buck, we can’t leave him. He’s alive and even if he’s not himself we have to get him.” The determined Captain looked to the others for agreement. No one spoke and they all looked away.

“You can’t be serious guys really! It’s Sam!”

Steve covered his eyes in disbelief then walked closer to the docks. He stared at the ocean to sit and think.

Bucky looked at Wanda, who was deep in thought.

“He’s not going to come easily,” Wanda muttered in Sokovian, only talking to Bucky at this point. “The powers he has are new but they aren’t new to him.”

Wanda has a knack for knowing magic energies, and if she knows something that others don’t then that means whatever secret was being hidden was there for a reason.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Bucky looked at her, curiosity fueling his gaze. Something about the way she said it has him thinking if the fun loving and kind Sam he knew was all a trick. Rhodey sat and stared at the two in silence as they spoke in a language he didn’t know. He knows body language but both of them stayed completely static as they whispered.

He feels like he has something to do with it. The relationship he had with Sam was new and fun and vibrant. No one knew about it and no one questioned why they’d gotten so close. No one bothered asking him how he felt the day Sam went missing and was presumed dead. Or how he felt seeing Sam fall but doing nothing to try and catch him. ‘He’s the Falcon. He’s got this, he’ll get himself back up.’ He remembered thinking that Sam would fight the fall, that he’d lift himself back into the sky, into his arms. 

Why did he move on so fast? Why did he immediately go with Tony the second he heard Fury say they assume he’s dead. There was no body to be found, so it was only an assumption. He loved Sam but he moved so quickly without even thinking. Whenever Sam was brought up in terms of missions he’d shut down the convo. 

‘Poor Taste’ he explains. Maybe it was just him not wanting to think about him. He covered his guilt with a straight face and focused on what they were saying again.

“I told you, Bucky,” Wanda's thick accent sliced through the tension like a flaming dagger. Everyone turned to her in silence. “These powers he got from Hydra,”

The name felt like a choke hold on everyone as they waited, silence befell every Avenger.

“Aren’t the only powers he’s had.”

~End Chapter Two~

Chapter Text

When Sam first joined the Avengers, he didn’t really like the man. He was cheery and sweet but seemed too naive and flirty even with him. So when Sam bashfully admitted to wanting to be with him-Rhodes having never been with a man in his whole life-he felt inclined to think it was one of his many jokes. But then, why would he look and sound so serious? He had decided to give Sam a chance, to try it out because he was curious and hell, he had feelings for him that he had pushed down purposefully.

He saw Sam fall. They’d both been flying together, just because. Sam had suggested they go sky travelling together like a date, and Rhodey was excited to say he was willing to do something Sam had mostly rejected the thought of. Rhodey knew about Riley, his ex-wingman who he saw fall, who he couldn’t save.

They’d been over the water near the beach, high enough so no-one’s day was interrupted but low enough to be able to swoop in if needed. Hands entwined loosely as they comfortably chatted about nothing at all and everything all at once. At this moment Rhodey felt everything he was promised with Sam. He felt warm, loved, giddy and every emotion that is good well and gay. So so so very gay.

Then it hit him. He can’t remember what it was that did it, but last he remembered was seeing something fly past his face, hit Sam, and his hand missing the feeling of someone else. He saw him falling, and now that he thinks of it he saw why he hadn’t lifted himself again. His wings had shorted out from whatever hit him, and based on the way he was hit it was intentional. He’d watch the man, the love of his life, plummet into the water. Civilians were screaming when they saw the splash, lifeguards were searching as far as they could, but Rhodey stayed there frozen. His lover's body probably sank to the bottom as he did nothing to save him. He’d flown back alone, with a heavy feeling in his chest.

Fury just said something that made Rhodes’ heart sink into his lower intestine. With no body to be found and no evidence that he was still around, he was to be presumed dead. What was he going to do? How would he face Sarah or his nephews with this news. He messed with his hands as all the Avengers held their breath. The only one that really reacted was Scott, who immediately began denying what he had told. Saying how Sam was ‘THE Falcon’ and how he ‘Couldn’t be dead! He’s still out there!’ with tears streaming down his face. Rhodes had to hold Scott back when he tried attacking Fury, calling him a liar and cursing at him for not trying harder to look for him. Nick assured him that he and the rest of S.H.I.E.L.D looked everywhere for months, but there was no sign of him. After sitting with Scott and keeping him from doing anything too stupid he went into his own room and sat in his bed. After letting the words of Fury settle into the part of his brain that let him experience emotion, the same part that had only been open to Sam, he got angry. Moments later Tony came in to check on how he had been coping with the alleged death of his boyfriend, and found Rhodes in the corner of the bedroom surrounded by a mess of books and tables. 

Tony was there for him, he remembers, the way he had been there for Tony. So he didn’t think much of it at first, when his first reaction was to kiss him. When all else fails his thought was to kiss the man who’d been there, to fill in the Sam-shaped hole in his heart and mind. To remind him of what it felt like to be engulfed in the passionate feeling of another person's warmth. Maybe it’s why he moved on so fast. Maybe because he had known Tony for longer and felt comfortable falling back to him. Or maybe, and Rhodey was sure it was this, maybe it was because he’d only been with Sam for fun. He ignored the conclusion of his moving on, focusing on Tony. On his now. Slowly Sam became an afterthought.

Sam was not an afterthought. When he saw him again, alive, well, dry, flying , his feelings for the man resurfaced so quickly he felt sick. There he was, the man who’d given him the time of day, who loved him. It hurt to look at him, to see the same smiling, happy face twisted with anger and vengeance. He wanted so bad to say something, to apologize for not saving him in time. For not trying to save him. That’s when Sam started talking, his voice still smooth and deep. He’d started speaking about what everyone did to him, then he looked at Rhodes and stopped. He felt the look of sadness behind his pulsing blue eyes, filled with sorrow and magicks unbeknownst to Rhodey himself. ‘Why hadn’t you saved me, James?’ He felt like he heard him scream. He covered his ears and looked away, till suddenly the world faded to black.

So now here he was, sitting in the lounge of the compound with the others, sat in a thinking pose while Bucky and Steve bounced ideas off of eachother. He hadn’t listened much to know what was going on. All he’d heard was Hydra and Experiments and zoned out everything else. Lords above knows he didn’t want to hear or think about it.At some point tony had wrapped his arms around him to comfort him, but after seeing Sam alive again it only made him feel colder.

“Get off me,man.” He muttered while shaking off the ever persistent Stark. Tony took the hint though, and moved away as he pitched in on thoughts for the rescue plan. Rhodes doesn’t think he could even try and face Sam now. Not with what he knows what he does not. The words from Wanda hang into the air like an acrobat, no one thought to bring it up or even try to pry the witch for what she meant. He stood up with a groan and started walking away from the group.

“Whatever this plan is,” He opened the door to his room. “You can leave me out.”

Everyone tried reasoning with him before he let the door slam shut. He didn’t want to hear it, he didn’t want to think about Sam.

~End Chapter Three~

Chapter Text

Sat around the table in Tony’s meeting room the two ex-Hydra kidnapees and the man with a plan talked about what they were going to do to get back Sam.
“Okay so…Hydra is in a large compound, bigger than this one,” Steve began, looking to Wanda for confirmation as he explained. “Yet we need to find one man…in a large…place.” Steve put his head in his hands. “This is impossible.” Wanda sat up, she’d never heard of Steve giving up so quickly. Especially after he was so determined before.
“Steve.” She puts a hand on his shoulder. “Me and Bucky know the place inside and out. I’m sure it won't be too hard.” She gave him a comforting squeeze, and began continuing for the soldier. “Look, from what me and Bucky know Hydra has cells based on what experiments they do. Soo if we go off of that then maybe…they put him in my old one.” Wanda silenced herself slowly.
“Could be a possibility.” Bucky chimed in, looking off into space deep in thought. “Either way we are going to need more than just us…but we cant involve the others. Steve…that also means you.

Sam does his 900th pull up, turning the radio off as Hydra soldiers and a scientist holding a large clipboard walk up to his cell. Large bulletproof windows keep them safe from him. “E79, An experiment we are currently putting into its twelfth stage.” Sam glared through the glass at the soldiers, making them grip their guns tightly ready to open fire. “Calm calm, it can't hurt you from in there.” The scientist taps the glass, causing Sam to ram himself against it, to only be bounced back and knocked into the wall. “See? It’s unstable, but it used to be an Avenger.” The scientist laughed at Sam’s display of aggression. “Anyway, if you would follow me through here…” The scientist continued on, leaving Sam to recollect himself and once again try to break out of the cell they hold him in. Now that he has a mental image of what they are doing to him, thanks to the scientist’s clipboard, he can get out of here. “Focus.” His eyes glowed purple as he lifted himself off the ground, allowing the Magick to flow through him. He was getting out of here.

“...and they probably torture him daily!” Steve paced the floor of the meeting room, sweating bullets and biting his nails. Rhodey, Tony and Clint all walk in, watching the usually calm and collecting man with a shield panic and pull at his already too short hair.
“Woah woah slow your roll there helpless in Boston what’s going on?” Tony tried to calm Steve, which of course did nothing to help him at all, as it only made him glare then begin pacing faster. Steve rubbed his face anxiously and began to stutter with every word.
Bucky, even with his expressionless face, is also obviously worried, watching the Steve he knew way back when show face on this brand new soldier made him anxious about any plans that they may have had.
“What about…?” Wanda muttered under her breath, staring out the window instead of caring about the panicking super soldier and everyone trying to calm him. “My brother.” Her accent slipped as she started to think. “We could use him…he knows the whole place like back of his hand.” She mumbles in Sokovian, to which Bucky perked up and responded. “We don’t even know where his IS, Wanda.” To which both ex-Hydra experiments stood facing each other, a silent agreement and a nod, and they both left the meeting area not saying anything. Much to the confusion, annoyance and worry of the others who had no idea what they were talking about.

Chapter Text

I'll keep this as short as possible while the next chapter is in the works. I do better when i know there is interaction. Maybe this fic isn't for everyone but to my audience that is here comments are encouraged. Of course, you dont need to comment but with the interaction it would make me feel more obliged to continue. Next chapter coming soon.

Chapter Text

“Like hell I will go back there.” Pietro scoffed. “They had us in fucking cases like guinea pig!” He grumbled, staring out the window of his small studio apartment. He had cozied himself up in Louisiana with an undisclosed relationship. Wanda had only heard wind of his whereabouts when S.H.I.E.L.D pointed out an anomalous speedster gone rogue in Baton Rouge. She crossed her arms at her brother.
“Sure yes but they are doing the same to Falcon.” She noted, making sure to emphasize that they aren’t breaking back in for no reason. Pietro shrugged, and cozied himself up by the window more.
“So what do you need me for?” His partner walked in, greeting all of them and handing Pietro some hot beverage, and swiftly leaving, noticing how intimidating the two are.
Wanda gave him a simple, pleading look that the two shared years and years ago, on movie nights when Wanda wanted the Dick Van Dyke show or I Love Lucy. Pietro always wanted Godzilla. Pietro scoffed, grinned softly and sat up intrigued.
“You need a map.” He shrugged, rubbing his hands together.

The three were five feet below the surface in the very compound that had them trembling years ago. Bucky felt himself slipping back into a mindset that he had for himself, to keep that inch of sanity in him that saved Steve that day. Wanda and Pietro looked at eachother, horrified by how much they looked like they belonged, geared up in hydra uniform fake IDs made and at the ready for whenever they needed clearance. Bucky cleared his throat, and when they all settled back into the hardboiled roles of their oppressors, muttered a simple “Hail Hydra.” As did the other two.
Sam, for the most part, was fueled by the anger he didn’t know he had. He didn’t know what the hell these Hydra scientists had planned when he woke up, but all he remembered was Bucky, and how terrified the stone cold killer’s face would be when the name was so much as muttered. For that, he was reluctant, until they clipped him into the device, he shudders and rubs his hands over the scars and hand-prints littered across his newly energized body. There’s a price to pay for power, he told himself, as he was gagged and choked and left shaking and crying. He wonders if anyone else Hydra got their claws on was used like he was. Hydra’s designated кусок мяса as he was told, even though he knows no Russian, it felt derogatory. Sometimes when the thoughts of those first few months show themselves to him he screams. And he keeps screaming even through the shocking and stabbing. He wants out, but he’s so damn angry at the Avengers. For years, he thinks about how all of this that happened to him was because of Steve, because he talked to him that one fateful day. He kept thinking about everything that happened. Becoming an Avenger, falling in love, Getting taken by Hydra, Falling in Love, Falling in Love, Falling in-.
His fists were bleeding now. He stared at his purple and red knuckles as he thought about Riley, Bucky, Rhodey. All the lovers he ever had, the one that got away, the one who he left-albeit unwillingly- who probably moved on without a second glance. He stared at the dented hole in the wall where he’d been punching, the blood from his knuckles splattered and dripped from the dents. He sits back, using his magicks to create orbs to throw back and forth, one of the only things he does to keep himself sane. It’s been at least a few years since he last encountered the Avengers and tore them down to the small insignificant pieces of overzealous trash they are. He misses them, probably. He hasn’t felt any emotion other than anger in a while, and he hasn’t been able to make moves to escape this hell he got himself in, because he wanted to fly again with someone, go figure.

“E79…” A gruff accented voice called to him through the chamber's intercoms. Whoever this was sounded irritated and made Sam wonder if they had been standing there for a long time. He stood up with a groan, his eyes glowing with emotion that he dared to never open his mouth to expose. He simply nodded, not looking at them as he has been taught not to. He felt the hands and blades on him again, he tried not to vomit at the thought and taste of what they made him do. He responded with his Tag, the only defining thing about him now, and swiftly turned to face whoever was asking for his attention, head down and ready to be of service. “Good. Obedient as ever…” The voice had a sickening grin to it, and Sam shuddered, wondering what it was they had planned. He had been good; he didn’t need the machine again. He felt tears prick and burn at the corners of his eyes. The pain stayed but no tears fell, he didn’t want to be shocked, or earn the machine, or be scolded. “I…did nothing…wrong…” His voice quivered as he kept his composure, wanting to cry. “I must have…zoned out, sir or…ma'am…” He kept himself quiet.

The door to his chamber slid open slowly, he shivered as he hoped he didn’t have to kill again. Before he could ask what he was needed for, a bag slipped over his head. The muffled rushed voices barely reached his ears as he heard the sirens run through the building, even from six feet under he could hear it. He shifted around trying to feel for himself where he was being taken. He used his hands to see, remembering the layout of the catacombs as he was rushed through the place. He felt himself being thrown into the back of a vehicle; his eyes now adjusted to the burlap darkness. He doesn’t know what just happened, but he can only accept what fate will do to him.