Vibranium Strong || Captain America

The Game Has Begun

"Alice, are you okay?" Steve looked concerned as his hand reached out to touch mine. "You've been staring at the walls of the jet for hours and you haven't said a word."

"I don't think I've ever been okay, Steve." I replied. "I've never been the same since you went missing and I tried to get revenge. Then there was the situation with Cole, and..." I stop myself. I couldn't even begin to think about Cole and everything that happened between us. "Everything is busting at the seams and it's all because I wanted revenge. It's all my fault."

Every story always has a beginning caused by one action. The more that I think about it, the more that I realize that this whole situation was caused by me wanting revenge. We wouldn't be in this mess if I hadn't been so stupid.

Steve forcefully pressed a button on the panel which put the jet on autopilot. His chair swiveled around so that it was facing me. "Since when has this been your fault? It was never your fault!"

"Yes, Steve. It has always been my fault. I don't need you to pity me in order to make me feel better. It won't change the way I feel. Deep down, it's my fault and you know it."

Steve takes my hands in his. "If I really thought this was your fault, don't you think that I would've said something by now? I'm always honest, and even if I really wanted to, I couldn't bring myself to point where I would blame you. You're not thinking straight, Alice."

I pull my hands away from his. "No, Steve. I've never seen more clearly." I stand from my seat and walk to the back of the jet. I need to be alone. I need to think everything through.

As soon as I take a seat, I hunch over and look at the floor. Everything is spiraling out of control and it feels like there is no where to straighten it all out. 

Steve's red boots step into view and draw me away from my thoughts. I sit up slightly, but I struggle to make eye contact. Steve gets on one knee and places his hands on my shoulders.

"Do you remember the day that we first met and you slipped on that wet floor?" He asked. I could feel tears start to well up in my eyes. "I caught you, when you fell. Remember?" I bit my lip and nodded my head. "I said that I would follow you wherever you needed to go, just to make sure you wouldn't slip again. I said that I would catch you." Steve lightly touches my chin and lifts my head up. "I'm still following you, Alice. After all this time, I am still following you." He begins to choke up.

Our hands entwine as we both sit in silence for a few seconds.

"I know that things haven't always been perfect for us, Alice. This isn't the life that we wanted to give Maggie. When we get her back, I will do whatever it takes to make things right. I will do everything that I can to gives us a life that is as close to perfect as we can get."

I bite my lip as I swipe my thumb under his eye to wash away his tears. "Vibranium strong." I mumble softly. After everything we've been through, those two words have been a constant reminder that we will always have each other. No matter what.

"Vibranium strong." He repeats. 

"We're closing in on the location." Natasha's voice comes in through our comms.

"Stealth mode on the way in. South side landing. Clear?" Steve speaks.

"Clear." Natasha answers.

Steve stands up and offers his hand to me. I take his hand and stand with him. His thumb circles the top of my hand as he pulls me into a tight hug. "Let's bring her home." He whispers.

-

Steve leads the team through the dark hallways and back rooms of the old building. Tony walks in the back with his suit fully armed. Although I never wanted Tony to come, he flew separately behind us in a second jet. He had the jet in stealth mode which explains why we couldn't detect him following us behind us. Reluctantly, Nat had talked me into letting him follows us into the building. Bruce decided to stay out in the jet unless a code green was needed. Nat and I crouched down behind Steve with our guns fully loaded and ready to fire. We scanned the room, looking for any sign of movement.

"It's too quiet." Nat muttered.

"This feels too easy." Tony replied.

Suddenly, a tiny cry pierced the air. My mother instincts perked up and I immediately lowered my gun. I stood straight up and began to run after the sound, completely bonding my cover and exposing myself completely.

"Maggie?" I call quickly. "Maggie!" I begin to yell.

"Alice, no!" Steve mutters and begins to chase after me, but nothing can stop me.

I run down the dark hallway until it empties into a large empty room surrounded by long electrical tubes and wires. Lying in a bundle of blankets on the cold hard ground was Maggie.

I ran to her and immediately knelt down. Her little face was red and she had tears streaming down her face. I carefully picked her up and cradled her to my chest. Tears streamed down my face as I held her close. Her little cries were absolutely beautiful.

Steve finally caught up to me. He surveyed the room before he immediately ran up behind me and knelt down. His shield was placed in front of me as I cradled Maggie. 

"Oh my God, Steve, she's alive." I wept.

"We need to get back to the jet. We need to hurry." Steve urged.

Nat and Tony caught up behind us. They looked a little winded. Nat spoke up, "We checked the whole building. It's empty. There's no one here."

Steve wrapped his arm around me and we took off at a light jog towards the front of the building. Tony led us out and Nat followed behind.

"This was too easy." Nat said as we boarded the jet. 

"Something isn't right." Tony said through his comm. "They would never let her go this easily."

I quickly untucked Maggie from all of her blankets and checked her entire body. There wasn't a single scratch on her entire body. She was absolutely perfect.

"Alice, look." Steve pulled a crumpled piece of paper out of the folds of the blanket. He slowly unrolled it and moved closer to me so that I could see what the message said.

THE GAME HAS BEGUN. YOU ARE MY PAWN.

Steve folded up the paper. "This is something that SHIELD can handle. As of right now, we are retired. I made you a promise. I intend to keep it." He bent over and reached into the side of his boot and pulled out a folded piece of paper. "It's not much, but just enough to give us a life that's close to normal for Maggie."

I passed Maggie to Steve. He held her gently and planted delicate kiss on her little head.

I opened the paper and grinned. It was a small little house out in the countryside of the midwest. It was small and only had one story, but it was just perfect for us.

"All we have to do is sign the papers. It's ours, Alice."

-

A/N: Guess what guys, the next chapter is the epilogue! It's been one crazy ride with Steve and Alice and it's all about to wrap up in the epilogue. But don't fret! This means the sequel is being checked for grammar errors! I hope you all decide to stick around and continue this journey because I can't wait to publish the sequel. I can't thank you all enough for this amazing experience because it really is life changing. Thank you for reading and giving me a chance. Hope you enjoyed the last chapter! And now, for the epilogue!