Nazis and What Now? (Pt. 2)

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"Hey," Steve introduces to the other newest recruit on the aircraft, yelling to be heard over the engine of the poorly designed prop plane. "I'm Captain Rogers, 107th," he continues, and the soldier ignores his outstretched hand. Steve drops it, clears his throat. "Ready to do some good in the world?"

The soldier gives him an odd look.

"Yeah, me too." Steve sighs. "Fought a Nazi before, knocked out knock-off Adolf Hitlers thousands of times. No big deal," he mutters.

Steve was on his way to Afghanistan. All it took was a year and a half of constant, intense training, and Stark pulling some major threads, then everything unraveled in a way that allowed Steve -- "Captain America", he was dubbed by his numerous enemies -- to finally help people.

It started slowly -- Steve started by adopting a sort of "vigilante" approach to the entire hero business, which sometimes ended him up in hot water, but thankfully he had a lawyer who was incredibly good at his job -- a Mr. Matt Murdock.

He tried out the name Nomad, and it didn't seem to stick, but his work was appreciated by those it really affected. Brooklyn and Manhattan began to clean up. Law enforcement either wanted him gone, dead, working for them or reigned in.

So he opted to join the military. Well, it was his goal from the beginning, ever since Bucky had left. Steve kept an ear on the situation in Afghanistan, wrote Bucky letters back and forth, and they had even managed to Skype now and then -- until recently. Bucky had gone eerily silent, and Steve was used to him dropping off the grid, it was to be expected -- but he always came back.

Bucky promised he would always come back.

So, after months without even a letter, Steve's eagerness to make it to Afghanistan became even more apparent.

News of Stark's "super-soldier" sprang up in the press, which helped Steve stay out of prison and in the public's good graces, as well as the watchful eye of the government and military. Stark helped convince them that Steve was a very valuable asset, and that paved the way towards his military career.

Now, it had come down to this: fighting in a war zone for the greater good, and better odds at helping Bucky stay alive.

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"Get down!" Bucky yells before sprinting to cover a young child with his body before the bomb exploded. Shrapnel flies into the air as two more explode, shaking the earth and sending chunks of the ground into the air. Bucky resists the urge to cry out as metal shrapnel burns through his shirt.

It was supposed to be an average training day. Bucky's uniform was neatly folded on his bed, and moments ago he and a few of his rank were hanging out in their tent. One guy was sitting on his phone playing a game, two more playing cards, and Bucky along with Gabe and Carter had been getting some exercise in.

That's when the warning cry went out, and a moment later the first bomb went off. Everyone had sprung into action, and Bucky had forced himself to remain calm.

Smoke fills the air, and Bucky hurries the child to safety, away from the fire and smoke and damage. Terrified, she runs, stumbling over chunks of earth and charred belongings.

Bucky runs back into the confusion. Covering his mouth and nose with his shirt, he yells orders and checks to make sure everyone's okay.

After a while, everything seems to settle.

Bucky sits down on the ground, taking a deep breath. He closes his eyes and carefully touches his back, and a searing pain runs over his torso. He grits his teeth, hissing curses as tears collect in the corners of his eyes. "S***," he breathes, staggering to his feet to find a medic.

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