Chapter Text
“Is this going to be a problem?” Natasha whispered while checking her guns.
Steve decided that playing dumb was the best course of action. “Clint is fine,” he replied making sure his voice was calm and soothing. “He knows that Coulson is out of surgery and is in stable condition.” He could feel his fingers gripping the shield a little bit tightly. “He can do this mission.”
Natasha leveled him a look that clearly stated that she didn’t believe him. “Let me repeat the question,” and Steve knew she was done with the bullshit. “Is this going to be a problem with him,” she nodded her head at Tony, “and him,” jabbing her thumb at the leader of the strike team.
Steve glanced at the two men; Tony was in the suit, talking to Thor, while the tall muscular man glared daggers at him. He should’ve voiced his concerns when Fury ordered the strike team to join them. “There will be no problem.” He rolled his eyes at Natasha’s disbelieving look. “It’s been five years!” he hissed.
“And you dumped one for another!” she hissed back.
He slammed his shield onto his back with more force than necessary. “Agent Rumlow dumped me,” he slowly whispered. “Tony wasn’t even in the picture at that time.” Which was completely not true. He was always in love with Tony but didn’t realized it after Brock dumped him. He shook his head. “How do you know this? You didn’t know I was gay until I announced it!”
Natasha just arched her eyebrow in a silent bitch, please.
“Lemurian Star in thirty,” Clint announced flipping the controls to auto-pilot and grabbing his bow. “Let’s find the source of our problems, end it, and get home.” He patted Steve’s shoulder. “And dude, you’re fucked and not even fun way.”
Steve slammed his hand on the button over Clint’s shoulder. The cargo doors open showing a black mass floating on the dark Mediterranean Sea. There was no power or movement but Tony gave him a signal to confirm that there are heat signals. “Our objective is subdue and collect,” he announced. “Extreme force if only necessary. Thor, take Hawkeye to the highest point and make sure no one leaves the ship. Hawkeye, you’re our eyes. Iron Man, jam all frequencies and start collecting data when you receive the all clear. Widow, head to the bridge and power the ship down. Strike team, follow me and take prisoners. Evac is on their way.”
Everyone nodded and the light over the cargo doors flashed green, it was time to jump. “We move on my mark.” He burst into a run and jumped. “Mark!” he called out in a free fall.
“Damnit Steve!” Tony yelled out through the comms. “I have a heart condition!”
He ignored the usual complaint and enjoyed the air whipping across his face before positioning his body into a pencil drive. He let the underwater current take him to the hull and once he broke the water surface, he activated the magnetic gloves to attach himself to the ship. It was barely a second before a rope appeared on his right. He smiled and quickly scaled up to a waiting Natasha and an unconscious guard.
“Tony said he dumped you,” she greeted.
“I’ll win him over,” he answered moving quickly along the deck. Another guard popped up and he took him down with his shield. “Everyone in position?”
Natasha followed right behind him. “Strike team is on the move. I’m heading to the bridge. You’re heading down below?”
Steve nodded. “You follow Tony once the bridge is contained.”
She gave a jaunty salute. “Aye-aye sir,” she answered and disappeared.
Moving to his destination, Steve listened to his team banter while taking down guards that stepped in his way. He couldn’t figure out why he was having a bad feeling. The ship wasn’t heavily fortified, only a few guards stationed at certain points and it was troubling him. The Lemurian Star was the final location of the peculiar energy pulse before Agent Ward fired his gun at Coulson. Tony and Agent Fitz couldn’t identify the pulse, both claiming that it was too antiquated for them to recognized.
Even JARVIS was perplexed.
A guard jumped in front of him and Steve quickly moved away from the swinging fire axe. “What the….” he muttered after punching the guard out. He gasped when he saw the familiar haunting symbol on the guard’s arm.
“Cap,” Clint’s voice cutting though his fear. “We have a situation.”
“I know,” Steve answered. “HYDRA.”
There was a pause. “HYDRA? What’s HYDRA doing here?”
He frowned, Clint sounded surprised. “You have a different situation?”
“I see AIM,” he answered with a huff. “Leaving perch to pursue.”
“Cap,” Tony interrupted. “I have three heat signatures near the energy pulse, we need to move now before they use it to blow up the ship.”
“Understood, I’ll see you there.” Steve saw the flash of red and gold before moving below deck. He took out a few more HYDRA guards as he listened to everyone moving into position. Maria Hill interrupted the chatter by announcing that evac was a few minutes out. Bruce was relaying a message when Tony let out an expletive.
“Tony?!” Bruce and Steve said at the same time.
“The source is not a bomb but we have a problem,” Tony replied. “Bruce, I’m going to live-stream the data to you, I need opinions ASAP.”
His comments made Steve moved quickly down the corridor to the large cold mechanical room. Tony was hunched over a console, fingers flying over the keyboard while talking to Bruce. The suit was standing over to his left, gauntlets pointed at the door ready to fire anyone that wasn’t considered a friendly. In the center of the room was a familiar looking tube. “I’m having déjà vu.”
Tony looked over his should and smiled. “It’s very similar to Project Rebirth.” He pointed at the machine. “And it’s our energy pulse.”
He stepped forward, pushing away all the memories from Project Rebirth. “Explains AIM.”
“Yeah, but they didn’t build it,” Tony explained returning to the console. “It’s a cryogenic chamber that has been operating since the end of the war. It was probably one of the many reasons why HYDRA and AIM are working together.”
Steve stared at the heavily frosted glass. “Is it occupied?”
“Yes,” Bruce answered softly and Steve thought his heart stopped. HYDRA forced someone into the tube by gunpoint. “It’s amazing that this thing is still operating. From looking at the Tony’s data, there’s brain activity and a slow heartbeat; suggesting that whoever is in it might be still alive.”
“Do we know who it is?”
“We won’t know until we have this in a safe secure location. Agent Simmons is searching for your medical files, since you’re the only person that has survived cryogenic sleep even though it was unconventional. Tony, is there any damage to the tube?”
“No physical damage,” Tony answered flipping a few switches. “At least HYDRA was smart enough not to open it. The tube can be moved without any additional tech. Whoever designed it made sure that it could be easily transported.”
Steve watched Tony moved between the tube and the console, unhooking cables, switching power, and answering Bruce’s questions. The tube was completely detached and safely running on its own power source when Natasha ran in with guns raised and her face pale.
“I found cloning tubes.”
Tony swore darkly. “AIM is attempting to clone again? And with HYDRA’s help?! That’s not good.”
Natasha shook her head. “Recently installed.” She glanced at the tube behind him. “I thinking that might be the donor.”
Steve shuddered at the news. HYDRA and AIM working together to create an army of clones was not good news. AIM probably would’ve succeeded with Graham if the team never found him. But with HYDRA’s help, he didn’t want to know what type of clones they could be. He glanced wearily at the tube wondering who was in it that HYDRA desperately wanted.
Tony waved his hand and the suit disassembled. “I’m going to download all the data that is on the ship,” he said as the suit quickly reassembled around him. “Once that is done, JARVIS is going to fry the system.”
“Put the information on the Tower’s secure server,” Steve added. “I don’t know if Agent Ward acted alone.”
“Already three steps ahead of you, gumdrop.”
“Can I have a mission where I’m not gag- “
There was a groan and then shuffling. “Hawk?” Steve asked pressing a finger to the comm link. “Status?” He could hear the scuffle, punches being thrown, and a distinct sound of bone breaking followed by a scream. “Clint!”
“My ass has been handed,” Clint panted over the comms. “The fucker was fast. He broke my arm before I could take a shot. Long blond hair, like Thor’s but dirty. Couldn’t see half his face since it was covered in some mask but was wheezing like he was having an asthma attack. Coldest eyes I ever seen.”
Steve glanced at Natasha. “You are going to stay with Tony,” he ordered. “I’m going to Clint.”
“Like hell!” she spat.
“That’s an order, Romanov!” He ran off without letting Natasha have another word. He flinched when he heard her scream of frustration. She’s going to beat him up during the next sparring match.
“There is someone matching the archer’s description running along the port side of the ship,” Thor said. “Strange, his movements are familiar but I can’t place it. Not Asgardian. It appears he’s having a hard time breathing which is peculiar. I’m going to engaged.”
“Careful Thor,” Steve replied reaching to Clint and the strike team. “Assailant is armed.”
“We’re moving Agent Barton to the stern of the ship,” Brock said as he watched his team attend Clint’s injuries. “The evac team should be here.” He glanced at Steve. “Do you need backup?”
The shiver was surprising and unwelcome. It was a common saying but Brock also said it when they were intimate. “Negative,” he answered voice completely neutral. “Make sure that Agent Barton is safe and cover Widow and Iron Man when they come to the evac point.” He didn’t wait for the affirmative as he headed to the bow of the ship portside.
Over the comms, he heard a grunt that quickly followed by a rude Norse curse and an explosion. “Thor!” Steve took off running ordering everyone to head to the evac point immediately.
“Fine!” the demi-god rumbled. “The intruder threw an explosive device but thankfully I was able to deflect it. I do not see him.”
A figure appeared at the other end of the corridor and Steve slowed to a stop. He was dressed in black tactical gear, lean and muscular with blond hair pulled tight into a ponytail. Eyes widen before narrowing into dangerous slits and started running firing his gun in rapid succession. The action took Steve by surprise and dodged the bullets with his shield. Bullets ricocheted off the metal and Steve briefly wondered if the bullets would ever stop.
When the last bullet hit the shield, the figure tackled Steve to the ground. He saw the flash of a knife and he managed to disarm the man by slamming the hand into the railing. There was a howl of pain and the attacker stepped back. Not having enough time to get to his feet, Steve threw his helmet at the assailant while kicking his foot out. His foot connected to the knee and his attacker fell to the ground. Steve lunged forward and the two grappled along the floor, each trying to reach for the shield. There was a harsh gasp when the man’s head slammed on the metal floor and Steve froze in shock when wide blue eyes stared at him.
They were the exact shade of blue that always reflected in the mirror.
The assailant took advantage of the pause and swung his fist into Steve’s jaw. His vision blurred but he could see the other man scrambling away, panting hard with blue eyes full of confusion. He ripped his mask off and Steve thought his heart stopped.
His mother only had one picture of his father; taken before the United States entered World War I. The lean muscular man was dressed in dungarees and a work shirt but had the smirk that Steve inherited. He remembered the whispers from his neighbors saying if he wasn’t in such poor health he would’ve been a dead-ringer of his father. Even after the serum, he knew he didn’t look like his father. But the person in front of him looked like his father.
What he should’ve look like if he was born healthy.
“They told me that you died,” the man gasped. “Murdered by Captain America.” He shook his head. “I was supposed to get revenge!”
Steve just stared at the heaving man. There were too many emotions and thoughts running through his mind that he couldn’t even talk.
Anger rolled off the younger man in waves. “Say som….” There was an electric buzz, his eyes rolled up, and crumbled to the floor. Steve forced his eyes away from the prone body to Thor standing over it, holding a small Taser in his hand.
“I can see why Lady Darcy prefers this weapon.”