Project 43: Healing

The Avengers aren't exactly liked

"A bomb hidden in a news van ripped through the UN building in Vienna. More than 70 people have been injured, at least 12 are dead, including Wakanda's King T'Chaka."

Elias sat in front of the TV with his eyebrows knitted together. He could see the famous building up in flames on the screen in front of him while firefighters attempted to put it out. He was sure he would have been informed if any of the people he knew had been injured but it only helped a little.

A place like that should have been the safest place on earth. The heads of 117 countries, 117 of the most important people in the world, and something like that was able to happen.

"Officials have released a video of a suspect who they have identified as James Buchanan Barnes, the Winter Soldier, the infamous Hydra agent linked to numerous acts of terrorism and political assassinations. anyone with information is asked to contact their local law enforcement..."

Elias got up from his couch and stepped towards the screen in shock. The photo was grainy and unclear but it looked like Winter. Elias would recognize his eyes anywhere. Just the sight of them self shivers down Elias' spine as a fear-reflex kicked in. Over the decades, he was conditioned to associate those eyes with so much pain and torture, that he had to tightly shut his eyes and shake his head to get them out of his mind.

He didn't understand it. Winter had escaped. He wouldn't do something like that on his own so he must be back with Hydra. Still, if he was back with Hydra, Elias throughout the world would have been made aware.

Elias dared to open his eyes again just as they replayed the footage. He squinted his eyes, trying to make sense of it all. Winted didn't walk like he used to. He was too slow, had his hands in his pockets, and his posture was off. A Hydra supersoldier wouldn't move like that.

"Some people are linking this appearance to the revelation of yet another Hydra soldier being on the lose..."

"Yeah," Elias answered the phone after staring at the dumb picture of his brother that had just popped up.

"Hey, just wanted to let you know that you were probably right about Romania," Steve said as Elias rolled his eyes already knowing what his brother was going to do.

"It wasn't him," Elias simply said but heard no answer for a few good moments.

"You sure?" Steve finally asked to which Elias just nodded before once again remembering how phones worked.

"Yeah. He wasn't in Vienna," Elias confirmed. From the second he had realized it, Elias had been pacing the room. The Winter Soldier wasn't innocent by any standards, but he hadn't bombed that building. He should be able to live his life, but now he was going to be killed.

"And he won't go down without a fight," Elias added as a warning to his brother who was obviously going to do something stupid again.

"I know," Steve simply responded.

"Why didn't you sign?" Elias asked Wanda from the doorway.

"Jesus!" the woman breathed after jumping in her seat. Elias hadn't yet gotten accustomed to announcing when he entered rooms.

"You wanted to be an Avenger," Elias added to his question and walked into the room. Wanda was sitting on the couch with the TV on mute while reading something. She shuffled a bit to move her feet down so that Elias could sit down if he wanted to and after a moment of thinking, Elias walked over to the couch and sat down on the opposite end of it.