The Winter Soldier

It Was Him

The four were being escorted in a van. "I swear that was him." Elise muttered lowly. "That was Steel, Sam." She glanced his way.

"His name is Bucky." Steve corrected.

She tightened her lips. "When we met, he couldn't remember his name, so I called him Steel...and when I was feeling cheery, I'd call him Star." She explained.

"How did you meet him?" He asked her.

She groaned softly while leaning back against the wall of the van. "When I was in a cage...well, when we were in cages." She told him. "I would say that it isn't possible but," She scoffed. "I've seen 'bout the worst or the worst. I believe anything at this point."

"He looked right at me like he didn't even know me." Steve mumbled.

"How's that even possible? It was like seventy years ago." Sam said. "It can't possibly be the same guy, right?"

"Obviously, we knew him at different points of our lives. So, we got a different version of Steel."

"Bucky." Steve corrected again before going back to Sam's former question. "Zola. Bucky's whole unit was captured in '43, Zola experimented on him. Whatever he did helped Bucky survive the fall. They must have found him and..."

"None of that's your fault, Steve." Elise consoled him.

"Even when I had nothing, I had Bucky."

She nodded her head. "Yeah, I had Steel through the hardest time of my life and he was snatched away."

She didn't feel it at first because of all of the adrenaline but when Sam noticed Elise's bleeding from her shoulder, he looked at the guards as pain suddenly shot through her arm. She gritted her teeth together. "We need to get a doctor here. We don't put pressure on that wound she's gonna bleed out here in the truck."

Suddenly one of the guards pulled out an electric rod and neutralized the other guard and knocked him out. The guard took their helmet off revealing Agent Maria Hill and Elise instantly sighed in relief. "Oh, thank God, you're here."

"Ah. That thing was squeezing my brain." Sam looked at her in confusion then to Steve. "Who's this guy?" Rumlow's crew stoped their vehicles and got out. "Brock."
______
Hill had taken the four to a secret facility, a man ran towards them; referring to Elise's wound. "GSW. She's lost at least a pint." Hill told them.

"Maybe two." Sam added.

"Let me take her." The doctor said.

"She'll want to see him first." Hill took them to a room to see Fury, who's alive and lying in bed, the four look at him in shock.

"About damn time." Fury said. Elise found herself, forgetting about her would and quickly walking over to him then pulled him into a hug. It took him by surprise but he slowly hugged her back.

Later on, Elise wound is being treated. "Are you good?" She asked Fury.

"Lacerated spinal column, cracked sternum, shattered collarbone, perforated liver, one hell of a headache." He explained to them his injuries.

"Don't forget your collapsed lung."

"Oh, let's not forget that. Otherwise, I'm good."

"They cut you open, your heart stopped."

"Tetrodotoxin B. Slows the pulse to one beat a minute. Banner developed it for stress. Didn't work so great for him, but we found a use for it."

"Why all the secrecy? Why not just tell us?" Steve asked.

"Any attempt on the director's life had to look successful."

"Can't kill you if you're already dead. Besides, I wasn't sure who to trust."

"You couldn't trust you daughter?" Elise asked. "I mean, damn. I know we don't have the best relationship; but you're still my father and the only family that I have left."

Hill glanced at Fury before replying for him. "Originally, you were supposed to know."

"What happened?"

"You were so upset that day, Elise." She started off. "We wanted to let you cool down first then we heard that you had a meeting with Alexander Pierce. We just weren't sure."

She balled her lips together. "He was questioning why I was at Steve's apartment that night."

"You were at Steve's apartment?" Natasha asked with a smirk.

Elise stammered as Steve took a step back just in case anyone asked him a question. "Its not like that." She said. "The house was bugged and had watchers. I didn't feel safe; so I went to his before we found Nick there after his accident." She explained.

"Mhm." Natasha gave her a side smile and it made Elise roll her eyes while shaking her head with a smile.