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Day 8
Tony
Red.
Red everywhere.
Blood?
Not his.
Then whose?
A noise caught his attention. He turned to see the broken and bleeding man next to him.
"Cap?" he whispered, watching the man rise to his feet. After a long struggle, the captain finally managed to stand, looking Tony directly in the eyes.
"You," the broken man said in a low voice. "You did this me. I tried to protect you from them. What did I get in return? You letting them torture me day and night. All while you sat in a comfortable room eating your food and watching. Watching and doing nothing!" He growled, lunging at Tony. Before he could get to the inventor a gunshot rang out, causing Cap to crumple to the floor.
"Steve?" Tony fell to his knees at the man's side, checking for a pulse. He found none. He let out an anguished cry as he allowed the grief to overtake him.
Tony jerked awake, taking several deep breaths.
"Tony? Tony, can you hear me?" A concerned voice said on his left. Turning his head, he saw Bruce standing beside him.
"Bruce? How long was I-"
"You've been out for about two days now," The tired doctor said rubbing his face. "You were drugged. We're not really sure what the drug was. Hydra has apparently been making some pretty advanced-"
Tony didn't hear the rest. Hydra.
"Cap," he whispered, bits and pieces of his dream returning.
Bruce stopped talking, his eyes taking an empty look. "Tony-"
"He's dead, isn't he?"
Bruce nodded. "Natasha found the footage. He must have been removed before we got there. We don't know what they did to the body."
"Steve's dead."
"Yes," the doctor said, resigned.
"It's my fault."
Bruce shook his head vehemently. "Tony, you did all you could! There was nothing you could have done to change what happened. You can't blame yourself."
"You didn't see it Bruce," he said, his voice detached. "You didn't see what they did to him. They were trying to get me to give it to them, but I wouldn't."
The doctor's eyes took on a slightly green colour. "You couldn't have. We've been trying to decode Hydra's files and I was able to get part of the footage. You couldn't have given it to them."
"But if I had," Tony took a deep breath, "he might still be alive."
"You don't know that. They could have killed you both after you gave them the Project."
"Or they could have let us go on our way."
The doctor sighed, "Get some rest, Tony." Then he left.
Tony sat up slowly, looking around. He was back in the Tower, that much he knew. There was an IV bag hooked up to him, as well as countless wires and monitors. He sighed, sliding back down into the bed.
He closed his eyes as he tried to face his demons alone.
~A~
It was my fault. I let them kill him. If I had only realized what was going on...
A quiet knock at the door caused Tony to jump. The door opened a crack and Pepper stuck her head through the door.
Seeing he was awake, she quickly came to be at her side.
"Oh, Tony." She came close - allowing Tony to see the tears in her eyes - and kissed him. They broke away, but Tony remained silent, staring into her eyes.
"I'm so glad you're back," she said, clasping his hand.
"Glad to be back. Have to say, fighting Nazis is not in my job description."
She kissed him again, "It became part of your job description when you became Iron Man."
He smiled weakly. A lot of good Iron Man had done this time.
"It wasn't your fault," she said, seeming to read his mind.
He gave a short laugh, "Tell Steve that. Oh wait, you can't because I got him killed!" his voice escalated with each word.
"Tony, there was nothing you could have done."
"Nothing," he laughed. "People keep telling me that. 'There was nothing you could have done, stop worrying about it', but how can I? America's golden boy is dead because I couldn't keep from meddling with something! How is that not my fault?!"
Pepper remained silent, watching him with tear-filled eyes.
"We'll get through this," she finally whispered. "Somehow, we'll get through this."
He nodded, but deep down he knew, he would never get over this. The death of Captain America would haunt him the rest of his life.
He could, however, make sure that everyone involved with his death paid. Then maybe, when all of his enemies were gone, he would be able to find forgiveness.
But for now, the only enemy he could see was himself.
~A~
Steve
Sound faded in and out for a moment.
"Captain, please focus on my voice."
He tried, but the words continued to sound far away. He opened his eyes to see the blurred image of a man standing over him.
"There you are, Captain. Now just take a deep breath."
He tried to do as he was told, but a burning in lungs kept him from fully obeying.
"Do not worry Captain, the pain should go away soon. It is simply left over from your... less than cooperative nature. I hope you will be a little more cooperative this time."
"No," the confused man was able to mumble. "Don't cooperate. Fight. Must fight,"
The man above him began to click his tongue. "That would be a mistake Captain. Fighting will get you nowhere. Your friends have abandoned you. You have nothing to fight for."
The captain had no answer as his head continued to swim. His eyes focused behind the man speaking to him, where a large Hydra symbol took up most of the wall. He shook his head.
"No, not Hydra," he struggled to say.
The man smiled, "Yes, Captain, Hydra. You serve Hydra now."
"Serve Hydra?"
"Yes Captain, serve Hydra. Remember, compliance will be rewarded."
Steve offered no answer.
"Get some more sleep Captain, perhaps in the morning you will be more understanding, eh?"
He still gave no response as a warm feeling spread throughout his whole body. As he drifted back into his drug-induced sleep, he kept hearing the same two words: "Hail Hydra."
Well, there you go!
Be sure to let me know what you think. And, I'm currently excepting ideas for upcoming chapters. Drop a comment or PM me if you have any ideas.
What do you think will happen to Cap? Will he bow to the will of Hydra? or will he keep fighting?
What about Tony? Will he ever forgive himself? Will he find out that Steve is in fact alive?
Make my day and leave a comment!
God bless,