Changes (A Prequel to "Through, Together")

Hell or High Water

Steve woke up feeling like he'd drank too much of Thor's Asgardian wine. There was a heavy fog around him and a pounding in his head that just wouldn't quit. His body felt like lead, his limbs too heavy to even lift. He tried once or twice, but each attempt proved fruitless. It wasn't until his third try that he realized why. His arms and legs were strapped down to some type of table he was securely fastened upright to. The attempt at escape had adrenaline starting to pump through his veins, increasing his heart rate and helping to lift some of the fog around him. As he became more aware, he took stock of his surroundings.

There were wires attached to pads placed on his bare chest, as well as some strange, itchy device on his head. When he looked to the side, Steve could see screens and monitors beside him, reading off his heart rate, blood pressure, and other things he didn't recognize. The room itself was small. The walls and floor were bare. There was one door, and no windows, but Steve got the distinct feeling he was being watched. He stopped struggling for the time being and tried to remember how he'd gotten here.

He remembered scaling the London Eye, jumping onto the helicopter and then... not much else. Garrett had been there.  He did remember that. Steve got the vague sensation that the man had been waiting for him. Expecting him, even. He must have hit Steve with some type of sedative, because everything was nothing but darkness after that. Now, he had no idea where he was or how much time had passed. His mind went to Natasha. Did she make it off the Ferris wheel? Where was she? Was she okay? The not knowing gripped at Steve's stomach and twisted his guts. He had to get out of here. He had to find her.

But first, he had to find out what Garrett was planning.

"I know someone's out there!" He called out. There was no way Garrett wouldn't have someone watching him. "I'm awake now, so... you might as well tell me what this is all about."

Steve kept his voice calm; maybe even a little bored. He had this remarkable ability to seem unphased by mostly anything. Most bad guys found it pretty annoying, and Steve thought that was just great. What wasn't great was the fact that his restraints still weren't budging. They must have been made of something pretty strong if they could hold Steve and all of his enhanced strength. Either that, or Garrett had dosed him with something a lot more potent than he thought. Regardless, it wasn't an ideal situation.  After a few moments, the door opened.

Garrett walked into the room, followed by the leather-clad Lady Dust, herself. The latter was wearing a pretty smug look on her face as she came to a stop and folded her arms across her chest. Garrett was a hard read thanks to all that metal in his face. His scarred and stretched skin gave him something of a permanent sneer, and the flesh around his right eye was equally distorted. His metallic arms rested calmly at his sides. His face twitched in what Steve was pretty sure was a genuine smile.

"Good morning, Captain." Garrett said. "Glad to see you're finally awake. It's been, what?" he glanced at Lady Dust. "Two days?"

Dust nodded, and Garrett returned his gaze to Steve. "I was starting to think I might have put a little too much sedative in that cocktail I gave you."

Two days? Steve tried to keep his face calm in response to that news, but Garrett must have caught the little twitch in his brows, because the man was chuckling. Steve forced himself to ignore Garrett's smug attitude and the tiny bit of nervousness bubbling in his own chest.

"What'd you do with Natasha?" He asked instead.

"Nothing." Lady Dust said in her best Frank N. Furter impression. "Why?  Do you think I should?"

Steve ignored her and focused on Garrett. "Where is she?"

Garrett shrugged.  "Not sure," he said.  "She wasn't my concern at the time.