The Blood Phoenix 8: A Captain America: Civil War Fanfiction

Chapter 12: Revelations of the Dark

Steve landed the jet with ease. When it landed, him and Bucky prepared to enter the old base. Bucky, pulling out a slide full of guns, took one. A moment later, the two stood at the entrance, waiting for the ramp to lower so they could enter the base. As the two best friends stood together, Steve spoke.

'You remember that time we had to ride back from Rockaway Beach in the back of that freezer truck?'

'Wasn't that the time we used our train money to buy hot-dogs?' Bucky said, smiling at his old companion.

'You blew three bucks trying to win that stuffed bear for that redhead.'

'What was her name again?'

'Dolores. You called her Dot.'

'She's gotta be a hundred years old right now.'

'So are we, pal.' He clasped Bucky's shoulder, squeezing it. Then, with the ramp lowered, they exited the jet and entered the rusted, broken down base. The door was open, standing ajar.

'He can't have been here for more than a few hours,' Steve said.

'Long enough to wake them up,' Bucky replied softly. Entering the darkened, ageing building, they walked through the area, both on guard. Bucky raised his gun, clearing the area. When the two came to a set of stairs, Bucky was halfway up, with Steve just below him, when they heard a loud thud. They both spun around.

'You ready?' Steve asked.

'Yeah.' There was silence. Then, the doors opened, showing Tony's arc reactor shining through. He pushed the doors open with ease and stepped in. A look of surprise came over Steve's face. Hesitantly, Steve stepped down the stairs and the two former comrades walked towards each other.

'You seem a little defensive,' Tony remarked.

'It's been a long day,' Steve replied, relaxing his guard... just slightly. Tony looked up and stared up at Bucky, who kept his gun raised at Tony's head.

'At ease, soldier, I'm not currently after you.' Bucky kept the gun raised.

'Then why are you here?' Steve snapped.

'Could be your story's not so crazy. Maybe. Ross has no idea I'm here. I'd like to keep it that way. Otherwise, I gotta arrest myself.'

'Well, that sounds like a lot of paperwork,' Steve spoke. He fully let his guard relax. 'It's good to see you, Tony.'

'You too, Cap.' He looked up again. The gun was still firmly trained on him. 'Hey, Manchurian Candidate, you're killing me. There's a truce here. You can drop...' Steve turned to Bucky and signalled to him to lower the gun and he did so. The three began to walk through the corridors cautiously. Entering the large chamber, Tony spoke. 'I got heat signatures.'

'How many?' Steve asked.

'Uh... one.' The lights came on in the chamber, showing several chambers, all holding super soldiers from the experiments since 1991. Bucky stared at each of them, taking in their faces.

'If it's any comfort,' Helmut Zemo's voice rang out from the protection of a bunker, 'they died in their sleep.' Each of the glass cases had holes in them, with the dead super soldiers each having identical holes in their heads. 'Did you really think I wanted more of you?'

'What the hell?' Bucky asked softly.

'I'm grateful to them, though. They brought you here.' A slate opened in the wall and Steve threw his shield. It came back to him. 'Please, Captain. The Soviets built this chamber to withstand the launch blast of UR-100 rockets.'