The Dark Captain

Chapter 16

Grant wasted no time, going to the door to bring in weapons for Captain Hydra to arm himself with. The supersoldier didn't need to be told what to do, taking up some knives and several handguns. He didn't have many places to store them and would have to use them sparingly. When he was finished, he waited for his orders.

Ward said, "I'll get your little girlfriend and meet you back at the base. Your mission: kill the Avengers."

"Yes, sir," the Captain replied, leaving the room with the holding cell.

Grant smiled to himself. The Captain had started to become insubordinate due to the Stark girl. Giving him the mission to kill the Avengers meant that Captain Hydra would be gone for months to find all of them. This would give Ward so much time to play with the woman before killing her. He could blame it on SHIELD and sick HYDRA's new dog on the agency. And the assassin couldn't do anything about it.

Tony and Bucky were trying to work fast. They didn't want Arianna anywhere near the fight if they could help it. But the small window of time they had before she joined them was closing fast as they looked for the source of the electrical issue.

As Bucky rounded a corner, the backup lights flared on and there stood Steve- no. It was Captain Hydra. Bucky had to remember that there was now a dark alter ego to his best friend. Same as the Winter Soldier was for him.

"I really don't want to do this," Bucky said as the Captain stalked towards him. "But if you insist."

Bucky went to punch the Captain, aiming for the temple to knock him out quickly. However, the attempt was blocked and a counter-attack was thrown at the brunette. Blows were exchanged back and forth, neither wanting to draw their weapons. Bucky didn't want to hurt his oldest friend and Captain Hydra wanted to save his bullets and knives.

"Stop!" Bucky ordered, only to get tackled back.

The dark-haired man pushed against Captain Hydra until they stopped. They were at a standstill, preventing one from grabbing any weapons, but trying to find a way to break free. Bucky took a chance and let go with his left hand, swiping it across his body. The blond man ducked and they broke apart.

Bucky had to try again and said, "You're better than this!"

Captain Hydra kicked the former assassin into a wall and pushed against his throat, saying, "You're my mission!"

Several more blows were exchanged as neither man was giving in. Wounds riddled their bodies. At one point, the brunette man was on the ground, unable to move with his blond friend trying to strangle him. When Bucky saw the other super soldier's hand, he punched it. Captain Hydra was forced to let go as two of his fingers broke.

"You're more than a killer, Steve!" Bucky kept saying, chanting his words over and over, hoping to get through to him.

Then, they heard running and Arianna's voice calling out, "Captain, stop!"

Both men turned towards her in time to see Grant grab her, causing her to yell out in surprise as he growled, "Come here!"

"Princess!" the Captain said, his anger growing.

"Get back to work, Captain." Grant held a gun to Arianna's head, making her go stiff with fear. "I'll take care of your toy."

Hearing the tone Ward used, Captain Hydra didn't wait. He pulled out a gun from his waistband and shot Ward between the eyes.

"No one touches her!" Captain Hydra declared.

Arianna was frozen with shock. Grant's blood covered her. She didn't want to know about it. She wanted to forget the feel and sound of a man dying within inches of her.

She was snapped out of her stupor by her Captain saying, "Princess, talk to me."

She cleaned off her face and hands as best as she could before walking up to him. They kissed each other hungrily. They were both breathing hard when they pulled away.

"Sorry," she whispered to him, "but I need Steve."

Before Captain Hydra could register what she had said, she landed a solid punch to his temple. Tony arrived in time to see it while Bucky couldn't believe it. Steve lay at her feet, knocked out.

"Holy shit!" Tony exclaimed.

Bucky then said, "Remind me not to piss her off."

Very few people could do what she had done. He wasn't going to argue with her ever again, knowing she had a small amount of training from the Captain. It was the only explanation of how she knew where to punch to down a super soldier with a single blow, never mind the strength she now had to have.