Imagine If You Assembled The Avengers: Volume 2

Trust (Rogers/Barnes/Wilson)

"Steve," Bruce added, "if you don't come with us now, I'll keep you here myself. You know I don't want to do that."

"What do you two think that I'm gonna do?"

"Kill him," they both agreed in unison, and without hesitation.

"I'll let him defend himself. I won't be unfair about it." Steve replied matter-of-fact. He slid his fingers into each glove, securing the straps and pausing, turning each hand over slowly to look at them; he was trying to decide if they would follow his commands despite how much he didn't want them to. He didn't want to go after his friend, but the pain and rage wouldn't stop unless he did.

"Clint, just take care of her for me. I'll find him myself."

"Steve, stand down," Bruce commanded, rushing out in front of his teammate and taking a stance at the exit of the jet, holding his hands out to stop him with his feet planted firmly in place. There was already a hint of green in his eyes, but it made no difference to the Captain, who continued forward. "I will keep you here, and you're not going to like it."

"Move, doctor."

"No."

"Move, or you will be moved."

"Cap, please, you need to cool off and think about this," Clint broke in. "You're going to do something you'll regret. And what about Bucky? Are you going after him too? In case you've forgotten, he matches your strength, so you're gonna be outnumbered. Beyond even that, they're your best friends! You're not thinking clearly."

"They were my best friends, Clint," Steve mumbled sadly, shifting the shield on his forearm just slightly enough so that neither man watching him had noticed. "Sam took away the one person in the world that I loved the most, and Bucky's hiding him from me, so please, tell me how I'm not thinking clearly. I feel like I have a pretty descent grasp on the situation. Now, if you'll excuse me..."

Steve turned sharply and swung his arm wide, connecting with Bruce hard enough to throw him well into the hangar bay and slamming into the far wall. If he calculated correctly, he would be able to run to the edge of the landing platform and jump before Bruce could transform completely. Clint had you in his arms already, so he wasn't even a concern, but his position allowed for Steve to get one final and sorrowful glimpse of you before disappearing over the side of the tower on his way to find his vengeance against the men who had so utterly betrayed him.

He tucked his body tightly against the shield as it hit the unforgiving concrete of the sidewalk, rolling forward into the impact to use it to stand, shaking off the jolt and looking up at the tower that would never be his home again. Steve thought he would feel something now, at the moment of walking away, but he felt nothing of loss for this life; you were gone, so the tower could be packed to the walls with people and still feel completely empty to him. It was nothing more than a big ugly building, just like he had said from the very beginning.

~~~

"FRIDAY, I need a location on Steve."

"Captain Rogers has left the tower, Mr. Barnes. He's left his comm and phone behind, so I am unable to track him directly. Would you like me to search city cameras?"

"Yeah, thanks," Bucky groaned, "let me know as soon as you have a lock on him."

He stood by one of the small windows of the run down apartment, one of his old Hydra safe-houses in Georgia. He studied the roads that surrounded the building and watched the traffic patterns and pedestrians on the sidewalks for any sign of change. The home itself wasn't comfortable by any means, but it would do the job for now. The furniture was covered in dust and the appliances were laden with rust and grease; there was no food or supplies, but he didn't think they would be there that long anyway. He had a few other homes that he could have used, but there wasn't time to get much farther away from New York and to get a head start on Steve.