Frostbite |The Alternate Timeline

The Nightmares Never Stop

We arrived back at the small plane without anyone following us that we could tell. As we boarded, Oeznik greeted us warmly, preparing for the imminent take off. Zemo helped him with the food, claiming he was starving.

Once we were in the air, Sam called Torres to try and track down the woman Nagel had mentioned. I sat on the small cushioned couch area with Bucky.

"Donya Madani. She's a refugee, yeah," Sam informed his friend, listening as he answered, "Okay. Call me if you get a hit. Thanks, Torres."

Bucky was busy cleaning his metal arm with a rag, trying to get all the debris off of it. He paused when Sam sat back and sighed loudly.

"You okay?" I asked softly.

"Yeah. Just thinking about all the shit Sharon had to go through," he admitted, turning his head to look at us as he spoke, "And Nagel referring to the American test subject like Isaiah wasn't even a real person. It just makes me wonder how many people have to get steamrolled to make way for this hunk of metal."

Bucky frowned, saying, "Well, it depends on who you ask. That hunk of metal saved a lot of lives."

I understood where they were both coming from. Sam was right, but so was Bucky. The way they had went about replicating Steve was unacceptable. Too many lives had been torn apart in the process. Captain America was supposed to protect the people, be a symbol people could stand behind proudly.

What they had tried to make were weapons and they hadn't cared who they used in the process. Isaiah had been betrayed by his own country. Bucky and I had fallen into Hydra's hands.

"Yeah, I get that. All right. Maybe I made a mistake."

"You did," Bucky agreed.

"Yeah, maybe I shouldn't have put it in a museum. Maybe I should have destroyed it."

My head snapped up in surprise at those words. I knew how upset he was, but I didn't think I could allow him to destroy the only thing we had left of Steve. It would be the last straw.

"Look, that shield represents a lotta things to a lotta people, including me," Bucky told him, leaning forward in the seat, "The world is upside down, and we need a new Cap, and it ain't gonna be Walker. So before you go and destroy it, I'm gonna take it from him myself."

There was a moment of silence as they glared at one another, neither of them blinking. Sam's phone vibrated, pulling his attention away at last. Zemo brought out plates of food, offering them to Bucky and myself. I took it with a thank you, starving.

My eyes met Bucky's and I whispered, "If it comes to that, I'll help you, you know. He doesn't deserve that shield."

He chuckled, nodding as he said, "I figured you would."

"They found Madani... Dead," Sam informed us as he hung up the phone, "She died in Riga, a city near the Baltic Sea."

Zemo had sat in one of the chairs and said, "I have a place we can go. I, for one, am looking forward to coming face to face with Karli. Oeznik, we're changing the course."

He made his way up front to give him the new location. I dug into my plate, obliterating the food in no time. Bucky ignored his for the moment, still wiping at his arm. I eyed it with a smirk.

"You missed a spot."

"No I didn't," he huffed, not even bothering to look up.

"Then why are you still cleaning it? I think you're slightly obsessed with it and want it to sparkle in the sunlight," I teased, tapping the arm. He swatted my hand away, narrowing his eyes.