Artemis (A Steve Rogers Story)

6- Together

Steve is quite the whole ride back to London, and I can tell he has a million things going through his mind.  Losing Bucky was not what he wanted to have happen, he went into this to keep his friend alive. I reach over and take his hand giving it a light squeeze letting him know I was there for him. We make it back to HQ where I deliever Zola to Philips. 

Once they get the full report from me, I leave the HQ heading through the rubble of London from the bombings that have been happening while we were gone. As I walk through the rubble, I come across the pub that I had been in the night before we had left London now in ruins. I enter and hear a radio playing, as I go further in I  come across Steve at a table, pouring himself a drink. He looks up and sees me, "Dr.Erskine said that..the serum wouldn't just effect my muscles, it would affect my cells. Create a protective system or regeneration and healing. Which means umm...I can't get drunk. Did you know that" he says as I pick up a chair to join him.

"Yes I did, the serum I took does the same for me, but the taste is still good" I say as I then grab myself a glass, pouring myself some whiskey. "Our metabolism is burning four times faster than the average person.  We knew it would be a side effect, Steve listen what happened, it wasn't your fault" I say to him.

"You were there Willow"  he says to me.
"Yes I was" I tell him.
"Then you know it's not true"  he says taking a sip of his drink.

"Steve, we both tried to help him, do you believe in Bucky? Did you respect him?" I then ask him. He doesn't say a word, "Then you need to stop blaming yourself. All him the dignity of his choice, he chose to go into this with us. I could tell he thought you were damn well worth it" I say to him.

"I'm going after Schmidt. I'm not gonna stop till all of HYDRA is dead or captured" he tells him.
"You aren't going in alone, I will be there with you. And I know we can get Peggy to come along with this" I tell him.
"No, I don't want anyone else risking their lives for me." He says to me.
"I don't bloody care, Steve I am not letting you do this alone, we'll head back to HQ and use the remaining team we have and we will take down Schmidt together" I say to him as I raise my glass toward him.

"Together" he smiles and clinks his glass with mine and we both chug back the rest of our drinks.

Steve and I head back to HQ, where we going over the plans with Colonel Phillips and the rest of team, "Johann Schmidt belongs in a bug house. He thinks he's a God. He's willing to blow up half the world to prove it, starting with the USA" Phillips says.

"Schmidt's working with powers beyond our capabilities. He gets acrss the Atlantic, he will wipe out the entire eastern sea board in an hour" Howard adds.
"How much time do we have?" one solider asks.
"According to my last report 24 hours" Phillips says.

"Where is he now?" a commando asks.
"HYDRA's last base is here" Colonel Phillips indicates on a photo of a base, "In the Alps, five hundred feet below the surface "Phillips tells us.

"So what we are supposed to do. I mean, it's not like we can just knock on the front door" another commando says.
"Why not? That's exactly what we're gonna do" Steve suggests. We then make a plan, that Steve and I would go ahead, and purposely get caught, while the rest of the team would wait for a single.  I then get changed into my army suit, and gear myself up.

"You absolutely sure about this" I then hear Peggy ask me.
"This is what I am meant to be doing?" I tell her as I fill my quiver up with the arrows Howard had made me, before grapping some knives, and loading a couple of guns that I place in my ankle holsters.
"This isn't because of Captain Rogers is it" she asks me as she too starts to get weapons.
"Peggy, Rogers and I are just two soliders wanting to fight this war together" I tell her.
"Right, not like there is nothing going on between the two of you" she smiles at me.
"No, Peggy" I deny.
"You tell yourself that but we all know there is" she says just then there is a knock on the door, and we look to see Steve standing in the doorway, geared up.