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Bucky looked around at his cellmates, who looked just as confused and concerned as he was at the sudden uproar from above, which included gunfire and indistinct shouting. “Qu'est-ce que c'est?” Denier asked.
Jonesy shrugged. “Hell if I know.” None of them dared hope that it might be a rescue attempt; Bucky knew they were at least fifty kicks behind enemy lines, held in a Hydra prison camp and being slowly worked to death.
They all jumped to their feet as the shouts grew nearer, as if the fight had moved to just down the dark hallway. A moment later, the limp body of a German soldier slid across the floor, coming to a rest just outside their cell. It was followed by a figure jogging easily across the room; a female figure with curves and long brown hair.
“Since when did dames fight like that?” Dum-Dum exclaimed, as the woman —as tall and broad shouldered as the men facing her -- wielded a round shield like she’d been born using it. She took on four soldiers in quick succession, the last of whom she tossed like a rag doll against the bars of their cell. “Since today,” Dum-Dum added, “Understood.”
“Are you the 107th?” she replied in a posh British accent. “I’m here for Sergeant Barnes.”
Bucky stepped forward. Unsure what to expect from this Amazon of a woman, he fell back on a bit of bravado. “Who are you supposed to be, the queen of England?”
She responded by ripping the door off their cell as if it were cardboard. “Steve Rogers sent me,” was her crisp reply. "The name’s Captain Carter.” Before Bucky had a chance to ask how in the world she knew Steve, she was stepping back from the cell entrance and motioning them forward. “Now, let’s get going.”
Taking the downed soldiers’ weapons, they freed the other prisoners and followed Carter out of the factory, guns blazing. She was a natural leader with situational awareness to go along with her strength; she easily batted away a grenade with her shield as they dove into a shallow ditch. Carter then pulled out a radio and called for air support. “Copy that. Rogers inbound,” a familiar voice replied,
Bucky could hardly believe his ears. What the hell was Steve doing in a military aircraft -- after all, he’d thrown up the last time they rode the Cyclone. Carter seemed just as surprised, calling out Steve’s name just as Bucky did the same.
A giant, rocket powered robot like something out of Flash Gordon flew into view. “What in heavens!” Carter exclaimed as it landed heavily on top of a tank, smashing it to smithereens. It turned to face them, eyes glowing with a star emblazoned on its chest. “Steve!” she cried out in amazement.
“Hey Peggy!” Steve replied gleefully. “Now you owe me one.” A mortar shell hit the robot in the chest and Bucky gasped in shock; but once the smoke cleared, there wasn’t a scratch on the robot’s skin. It reached out and crushed the muzzle of the tank cannon, forcing the next shot to explode the vehicle instead. Carter scrambled out of the ditch and ran toward the fight, leaving Bucky and Dum Dum to stare open-mouthed.
“Hold on a second,” Dum-Dum murmured, “She’s friends with that ... Hydra stomper?”
“I think I’m friends with him too,” Bucky murmured.
They watched in amazement as Steve and Carter took on an entire battalion of tanks. Once the battlefield was cleared, Bucky, Dum-Dum and the rest of them came out to join Carter. Steve walked the robot toward them, coming to a stop amid a cloud of dust.
Bucky was both thrilled and shocked to see his best friend pop out from the torso of the mighty Hydra stomper; leave it to Steve to find some way to join the war effort. “Hold on,” he called out, “You can’t even drive a car.”
“A dame and a flying Buick. Okay.” Dum-Dum added, ready to accept anything that would give them an edge over the Nazis. And when Steve encouraged everyone to cheer for Captain Carter, she simply told them to save it for the victory parade, as they had a war to win.
They were a motley crew to start with: a member of the French resistance, a British officer, and the remnants of multiple American army units who had banded together and adopted the name of the Howling Commandos. Now with Captain Carter and the Hydra Stomper (Dum-Dum’s impromptu moniker had stuck) on their side - to say the least of Howard Stark -- the brass didn’t really know what to do with them.
Flynn was happy to take the credit for each of their victories, of course, but did very little in terms of providing intel or support. Howard kept them well-supplied with weapons and other high-tech gadgets, while Peggy and Steve took what bits of info they could glean from the meetings they were allowed to attend and planned the Howlies’ campaigns against Hydra accordingly
Bucky hadn’t known what to think when Steve confessed that he was originally supposed to be the super soldier, not Peggy. It turned out that a double agent had infiltrated the SSR and not only murdered the doctor who had created the serum, but had wounded Steve as well. “Peggy stepped right in without a second thought,” Steve said admiringly, “and look at her now!”
Bucky couldn’t help but think Steve would have made one hell of a super soldier; and he might have had an easier time dealing with the military command, as well. Then again, Bucky wasn’t sure Stark would have created the Hydra Stomper for Peggy, and heaven knows they wouldn’t have been nearly as successful a team without that creation on their side.
Steve and Peggy spent a good portion of their down time together; they might be physically mismatched, but they were practically soulmates otherwise. Bucky had thought Steve was stubborn and reckless, but Peggy had him beat - between the two of them, Bucky could swear his hair was going to turn completely grey before his next birthday.
But regardless of how much he worried about them both, Bucky was happy for them. It was about time someone finally looked beyond Steve's appearance to see what he was really capable of, and Peggy seemed to like what she saw. For that matter, so did Steve. So Bucky took it upon himself to make sure they had as much time together off the battlefield as they did on it, without the rest of the Howlies interfering.
Howard was the hardest one to keep corralled; when he and Bucky hotwired a jeep while they were taking a bit of R&R back in England, the first thing he did was hunt down Peggy and Steve - who by all appearances were having a bit of private time together -- and invite them along.
It took a bit of quick thinking, but once they were out in the countryside, Bucky faked a stall. “Damn,” he commented dryly, “Must be out of gas. C’mon, Stark. Grab one of the jerry cans there on the back and follow me.”
“Sounded more like you missed a gear change, Barnes,” Howard chimed in. “Lemme take a -- oof!” Bucky grabbed him by the arm and practically dragged him away down the road.
“For a genius,”Bucky muttered, “sometimes you’re awful stupid.”
“Hold on,” Howard turned to look over his shoulder at the couple now sitting close together in the back of the jeep, “You did that on purpose, didn’t you Barnes?” He clapped Bucky heartily on the back. “Okay, Cupid. Let’s head back to town. Drinks are on me.”