Prisoner #1.

Chapter 5: Where are we?

     Rick and Star-Thief escaped. But, as they ran, Star in the lead, they realized they had no idea where they were. As far as they could see, woods were spread out in all directions. And to add to that, Hydra soldiers were now on their heels. Rick didn't know how they were going to get out of this. 
     They turned around to face the enemy. They weren't gonna go out without a fight. Suddenly, though, Star nudged Rick. He turned to her as the soldiers surrounded them.
     "I 'member something." She said, stretching her neck to reveal a device he hadn't seen before. A power inhibitor! He realized. He tore the thing off her neck with one powerful yank. He threw it to the ground. 
     Suddenly, Star-Thief grew to the size of three wolves. She let out a ferocious howl that shook the earth beneath them. The soldiers shrank back.
     "Climb on." Came the fierce voice of a bigger Star. Rick complied.
     One of the Hydra soldiers tool aim and fired on them, but, by this time, with the power inhibitor detached, Star was far stronger than she was before. They had little to no effect on her.
     She would not stay and fight, though. She needed to get Rick as far as possible from there. She turned and bounded off, leaving any stopping force in the dust. She flew effortlessly away on her paws, the wind buffeting her fur, and Rick, who was attached.
     They fled for what felt like hours. Rick had no clue how she kept her pace for that long. She jumped over huge obstacles in her path and crashed through a few others, Rick still clinging to her back fur.

     Meanwhile, the Red Skull was watching as Bucky was being readied for the experiment. They had fully attached him to the machine, and were starting up the machine.
     At first, Bucky felt a tingling, then his whole body began to feel a piercing pain. It dug into every fibre of his being, shattering him like glass. The "pieces" of him came back together, and seeped into the machine. They merged with the mechanics till it was hard to tell the two apart. Bucky's right eye was not his own. His arm was re-created. He was whole again. But he still felt broken. Several parts of him were replaced with strange mechanisms.
     The pain was more than he could bear. He doubled over in his chamber, and made a sound like metal scraping metal. It was earsplitting. The glass around him shattered. Was he going to live through this?

     At the same moment, the Hulk came crashing through the endless woods. He was enraged. No one would mess with Rick and get away with it. He jumped through the trees, knocking some down along the way.
     He soon saw a secluded building far off that looked conspicuous.
     Hydra.
     He jumped as high as he could, crashing down into the side of the facility. The wall fell to pieces as he smashed into it. He was immediately in a room with many Hydra soldiers and scientists surrounding him. He took them out without breaking a sweat.
     He looked around and smashed through a nearby door. He rampaged through the halls, finding the prisoners' cells. He knocked all the doors down, but Rick wasn't there. He shouted with rage, feeling the soldiers gun fire on him.
     He knocked them away and tore out of the base. He continued his effort, jumping again through the endless woods.
     He had been at this for hours. He had learned that many of the Hydra bases were in this area. He had gone through probably twenty of the facilities with no luck at all. The fact, though, that there were this many Hydra bases around that area alone was enough to disturb Bruce Banner, the Hulk's human counterpart. That was twenty too many.
     Soon, though, he came upon another of the many bases. He almost missed it, if it weren't for the Hydra soldiers standing outside it. They were firing at something that was fleeing. He didn't have time to investigate. He smashed through the wall, it shattering like glass with the force of his landing. He, again, stood in the presence of many Hydra soldiers and scientists.
     The Red Skull was in their there too. He ran away, only wishing to preserve his life. The Hulk had more pressing matters than that of the Red Skull, though:
     He turned to see, in a chamber filled with gamma radiation, a kid that looked to be about sixteen. He was covered in robotic attachments, and was emitting a horrible screeching sound. Rick! Thought Bruce in his head. He had to get him out of there. He smashed the chamber walls and grabbed the altered kid. He roared, jumping out of the hole he had made in the wall. He had to get Rick to safety as soon as possible.
     He went straight back the way he'd come, going past the wreckage of the other Hydra bases.
     He heard Rick making frantic gasps for breath. He was probably in so much pain. Bruce knew from experience. Gamma radiation was not something to be toyed with. He kept jumping through the air, Rick hanging in his arm limply.
     They soon landed in a place that was secluded. It was a log cabin that looked like it hadn't been lived in in years. Bruce had to make sure that the Hulk didn't break down the door to get in. Instead, Hulk reverted back to him and had him carry Rick in. Bruce laid him on a nearby cot to inspect him.
     He looked awful. The robotic attachments fit into his form perfectly, but he still looked bedraggled. His face held a grimace from the pain. It was clear that he was out, but would probably wake up soon.  Bruce went to working with his computers to find a way to best stabilize him.
     He was probably working for an hour before he came up with a solution. He injected Rick with the serum that would inhibit any powers he might have received. He couldn't change Rick's appearance, but this was the best he could do for him. He only hoped Rick wouldn't be too downed by this when he woke up.