The Dark Captain

Prequel

Steve stood in front of his long-time best friend. Bucky had come a long way from the self-hating former assassin. He was at the start of a new life. Steve knew what would be waiting for him in the future.

But what waited for Steve? A journey to return the stones, a promised dance, and then what? He no longer knew. He did know that after the dance with Peggy, he would come back. He had to make a call, after all.

"Don't do anything stupid til I get back," Steve said, though he didn't know if he was saying it to Bucky or himself.

"How can I?" Bucky said with a slight chuckle. "You're taking all the stupid with you."

The two men hugged. For some reason, this felt like a "goodbye" instead of a "good luck" hug. Steve felt his stomach drop. When he got feelings like this, it was never good. But this was the easiest part of the mission, right? Return the stones, dance, come home. Simple.

"Come back in one piece, punk," Bucky said.

He didn't want to envision a life without Steve. Bucky would need him in the coming years. He had a fiance and daughter he knew very little about. Steve knew his little girl better than he did. It still amazed him that after being dusted, he had a child.

Steve gave a confident smile as he replied, "I always have a plan. See you in a minute, jerk."

That sent another chuckle through Bucky. Yet, the words added more rocks to Steve's gut. Nat had said that to me before she sacrificed herself. He carried the case with the stones to the time machine, activated his time suit, and picked up Thor's hammer.

"How long is this going to take?" Sam asked.

Bruce said, "For him, as long as he needs. For us, five seconds." He looked up at Steve. "You ready, Cap?" All he got was a nod. "Alright, we'll meet you back here, okay?"

"You bet," Steve said before his helmet went over his head.

It was too late to back out. There wouldn't be another chance to do this. He had to keep telling himself that. But something felt wrong and they didn't have time to get someone else ready to make the jump.

Bruce continued, "Going quantum in three. Two. One." He pressed a button, and Steve was gone. "And returning in five. Four. Three. Two. One."

Click!

No Steve. Sam and Bucky waited and watched for their friend to come home, but there was nothing. But it was clear that there was no reaction from the time machine.

"He lied," Bucky said, his world starting to crumble.

Sam chose to go and support Bucky rather than wait for someone who wasn't going to return. They had a future to look forward to, and they wouldn't find it there.

Meanwhile, there was crackling on a machine that should have never been inside of an old warehouse in Vancouver. Steve appeared from the Quantum Realm, confused and panicked.

"The hell?" he asked, the helmet removing itself. "Where am I?"

He heard the sound of footsteps and turned to look as a woman answered, "Hello, Captain. Welcome to your new home." She looked at the men with her. "Grab him!"

Someone hit him hard enough to cause him to fall to the floor. The last thing he registered was the symbol of HYDRA before something was stuck into his neck and he passed out.