𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐎𝐅 𝐅𝐀𝐓𝐄 | barnes¹

xx. safe in your arms

Speaking of Bucky and Lucy, in the span of a few horrid hours, Steve found out that both of his best friends were potentially dead.

First, Colonel Phillips had told him that the entirety of Bucky's infantry was either captured or killed by HYDRA's forces. Then, Howard informed him about the attack that he and Lucy were involved in, his voice trembling as he mentioned how they shot her and dragged her limp body away.

So even though he was running through a HYDRA base in Azzano using his new, serum-improved body, Steve felt like a scared little boy again. Like he was having one of his asthma attacks and he couldn't breathe.

After what seemed like forever, Steve finally located the cells where all of the prisoners were held. He counted the number of guards in the room, quickly formulating a plan of attack before jumping into action. It was easy for him to sneak into the room and knock them all out cold with his shield alone before they could call for backup.

All of the prisoners stared at the man in red, white, and blue with their mouths agape, shocked that he was able to take down all of the guards alone. "Who are you supposed to be?"

Steve shrugged at the soldier's question, grabbing the keys from the jacket of an unconscious agent. "I'm... Captain America."

"I beg your pardon?"

He unlocked the doors to each of the cells, setting the soldiers free from their restraints while simultaneously searching through the crowds. Steve's heart sank when he failed to spot Bucky and Lucy. "Is there anybody else? I'm looking for a Sergeant James Barnes and a Nurse Lucy Everhart."

"There's an isolation ward in the factory," a man with a French accent told Steve. "But no one's ever come back from it—"

"Wait, wait," a soldier with a burly mustache interrupted him. "Lucy Everhart as in Barnes' girl? She's here too?"

Steve whipped his head back to face the man. "Yeah, you know Lucy?

The man extended a hand towards Steve. "The name's Dugan. She patched me up back in Brooklyn once before the war. But even if I didn't, Barnes doesn't ever shut up about her. He goes on every day about how badly he wants to win this damn war and go home to her."

Steve nodded and a smile tugged at his lips at Dugan's words. "Yup, that's Bucky. All right, the tree line is northwest, eighty yards past the gate. Get out fast and give 'em hell. I'll meet you guys in the clearing with anybody else I find."

After Steve gave them instructions, a different soldier stepped forward. "Wait. You know what you're doing?"

Steve tilted his head, trying to stifle the smirk on his face. "Yeah. I've knocked out Adolf Hitler over two hundred times."

Before any of the others could question his last statement, Steve turned around and continued his mission. On his way to the isolation ward, he used his shield to fend off the HYDRA agents who attempted to stop him, still shocked at the sheer strength he had.

A short doctor stumbled into Steve's pathway. The man froze when he laid eyes on Steve, slowly backing up. Steve was about to run after him but froze when he heard a familiar voice coming from a doorway on his left.

Carefully inching into the room, Steve carefully scanned his surroundings. His eyes landed on a medical table that sat in the middle of the room and his blood ran cold.

"Sergeant, 32557." Bucky was mumbling his tag number, so weakly that Steve almost didn't even hear him. In some state of shock, Bucky had his wide eyes locked onto the ceiling.

Steve hurriedly rushed over to the table. He peered around at all of the machines surrounding them before resting a hand on Bucky's shoulder, horrified at his best friend's state. "...Bucky?"