Ch 42 Truth about Hydra revealed

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Tony started, "Massive manhunt coming in 3-2…"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. We know." Natasha said.

Sitwell told all agents, including Sharon Carter, to bury their current op as what they were dealing with now was Level 1. They had to contact all required authorities to help capture Steve Rogers. Sharon said if SHIELD was conducting a manhunt for Captain America, they deserved to know why. Alexander Pierce arrived and said because he had lied to them.

"No." Fury snorted, "Because you are lying to them."

He said Captain America had withheld information about Nick Fury's death. Looking at the photo of Steve on the monitor, he said as difficult as it was to accept, Captain America was now a fugitive from SHIELD. Then there was a beeping sound. A tech based agent looked up from her computer and said they had found him.

"They found you?" T'Challa asked.

"Part of me." Steve said.

Some cars drove up to the location and the agents walked out with guns out as everyone ran around in fear. Walking into a basketball court, they stopped the practice and realized they were getting closer to the source. It was a bag. When they opened it though, all they found was Steve's mask and his suit.

"Wow!" Clint said as everyone looked at the scene with wide eyes, "Just wow!"

"Looks like you learnt stuff from SHIELD after all." Hill said.

Steve was walking in the hospital, wearing his hoodie as he stopped in front of the vending machine but the hard drive and the bubblegum he had kept it behind were all gone. That was when Natasha walked up behind him, blowing the bubblegum.

"And you're already there." Bucky said to Natasha as everyone chuckled.

Steve dragged her to a nearby room and pinned her to a wall, asking her about the drive. She said it was safe and asked why Fury gave it to him. He asked what was on it and she said she didn't know so he asked her to stop lying. She said she only acted like she knew everything.

"Well, you act really well." Sam told her.

"Be a little gentle, man." Bucky told Steve.

"SHIELD was killing my back at the time." Steve said.

"Come on guys, there are better things to fight over than me." Natasha joked and everyone laughed.

Steve said Natasha would probably know why Fury hired the pirates and she said it made sense as Fury needed a way in and so did he. Steve said he was not gonna ask again so she said she knew who killed Fury.

"Too much actually." Natasha said and Bucky sighed.

Natasha said most of the intelligence community didn't believe in his existence and those that did called him the Winter Soldier. He had been credited with over 2 dozen assassinations in the last 50 years. Steve wondered if he was a ghost story but Natasha told him 5 years ago she was escorting a nuclear engineer out of Iran and somebody shot out her tires near Odessa. They lost control and went straight over a cliff. She pulled them out but the Winter Soldier was there. She was covering the engineer so he shot him through her. Soviet slug. No rifling. She lifted up her jacket and shirt to show a scar on her abdomen and said sarcastically, "Bye-bye bikinis." Steve sarcastically said, "Yeah, I bet you look terrible in them now."

Bucky cringed and said to Natasha, "I know it was a horrible thing to do but I'm really so-"

Natasha stopped him with a passionate kiss to the lips and everyone simply turned away while Steve, Wanda, Vision, Sam, Scott and Hope shifted away uncomfortably.

After about a minute, the kiss stopped and Bucky said, "Hell of a way to forgive me."

Natasha said she had tried to go after the Winter Soldier but it was a dead end. He was a ghost story. She then held up the drive. Steve said it was time to find out what the ghost wants.

"Nothing." Bucky said grimly.

"The morons behind him do." Sam snarled.

"Can't wait to see them get theirs." Rhodes said.

Pierce was in the conference room again and said Fury had been killed in cold blood. To any reasonable person, that would make him a martyr, not a traitor. Rockwell said sending pirates to hijack his own ship made him a traitor. Singh said Fury had used Pierce's friendship to coerce the Council into delaying Project Insight and lied to them all. Pierce asked if they were calling for his resignation as he had a pen and paper right there. Hawley said that discussion could be tabled for a later time. Pierce asked if they wanted to have another discussion but they said they had already discussed it and were reactivating Project Insight.

"Oh no!" Hill said.

"This Pierce guy got a lot of brains." Scott sighed.

Steve and Natasha were walking as Natasha told him first rule of going on the run was not to run but walk. They were dressed casually now and Steve was wearing a cap with glasses and Natasha also had a hoodie on. Steve said if he ran in these shoes, they would fall off.

"Next time we jog, please wear those shoes." Sam joked and everyone laughed.

Natasha later started plugging the drive to a laptop and told Steve it was a Level 6 so when it started to boot up, SHIELD would know exactly where they are. With that, she plugged it and said they had nine minutes from now.

"Use them wisely." Aunt May said.

Some SHIELD vehicles were on their way as Natasha said Fury was right about the ship but the AI was protecting the drive by constantly rewriting its commands. Steve asked if she could override it and she said the person who developed it was slightly smarter than her. Slightly.

"Not many people like that I think." Peter said.

"Nope." Clint told him.

Natasha said she was going to run a tracer which SHIELD had developed to track hostile malware. If they couldn't read the file, they could find out where it came from. That was when a worker there arrived and asked if he could help them with anything. Natasha put her arms around Steve and said her fiancé was just helping her with honeymoon destinations as Steve played along and said they were getting married.

"Oh God!" Steve said as he shook his head.

"The spy and the widow getting married huh!" Tony joked and everyone laughed.

"Fiancé huh!" Bucky said with a raised eyebrow at Steve, smirking.

"Yeah, the engagement broke." Steve joked and laughed along with Bucky and Natasha.

The worker congratulated them and asked where they were thinking about going. Steve looked at the laptop and saw that it had tracked it to New Jersey, so that's what Steve said. The man then looked at Steve closely and said he had the exact same glasses, making them sigh in relief.

"Thank God!" Pepper said.

Natasha joked how they were practically twins and the man said he wished as Steve looked perfect. He then introduced himself as Aaron and said if they needed anything, he'd be there. With that, he walked off while the agents led by Rumlow arrived outside as Natasha finally got the location- Wheaton, NJ.

"That?" Bucky asked, easily remembering it.

"Yeah, that." Steve smirked.

Later, the two walked together as Steve noted the tac teams coming at them, one straight. He said if they tried to come after them, he'd engage and she could hit the south escalator to the metro. She told him to shut up and put an arm around him. He did as she told him and then she asked him to laugh at something he said. As they passed the agents, Steve did just that and they passed without noticing as Steve looked back at them.

"Still got stuff to learn, Rogers." Fury noted.

"Well, your best is teaching me." Steve said and Natasha smiled.

"Acting like you know nothing makes you harder to track." Matt said.

As Rumlow and the other agents looked for them, Steve and Natasha were on an escalator. Rumlow was going by the escalator next to it. Natasha turned to Steve and asked him to kiss her, shocking him. She said public displays of affection made people uncomfortable. Steve agreed and she pulled him into a kiss, which he returned.

"Ooooh!" Tony said and laughed evilly as everyone chuckled too, "Dirt on you two."

"We're never hearing the end of that." Natasha told Steve.

"No kidding." Steve agreed.

"Good to know the engagement broke." Bucky said and laughed again along with Steve and Natasha.

"Yeah, don't want to fight you again." Steve said.

"This looks really weird." Peter said to Steve and Natasha, "I mean, in this recording, it looks to everyone like you two will get together." He then turned to Bucky, "And you're trying to kill them."

"There is a certain irony in that." Scott said.

"Yup. Makes it weird." Hope agreed.

"Uhhh…. let's not talk about that." Natasha said, making a face.

"Yup." Steve and Bucky said at the same time and everyone turned back to the screen.

As Rumlow passed them, Natasha pulled away and asked Steve if he was still uncomfortable. He said it wasn't the word he'd exactly use.

"I think you're happy." Bucky said.

"No!" Steve said.

"Don't lie." Sam said.

"Fine. Gang up on me." Steve said and everyone chuckled.

Later, the two drove away in a car as Natasha asked where Captain America had learnt to steal a car and he said in Nazi Germany.

"Yeah, and then he taught me." Bucky said.

Steve said they were borrowing so she should take her feet off the dash, which she did. She then said she had a question which he did not have to answer, though if he didn't answer it, it would be like answering it. Steve asked what it was and she asked if it was his first kiss since 1945. He asked if he was that bad and she said she hadn't said that. Steve said it sounded like what she was saying but she denied it.

Everyone laughed again as Steve said, "Can we not watch it?"

"You can bet your ass we're watching it!" Jessica said.

"Because it is the best." Benjamin said.

"If by best, you mean my slow death, then yeah." Steve joked with a laugh.

"You only had two kisses in 1945, didn't you?" Bucky asked and everyone laughed again as Steve glared at Bucky.

"Poor Captain." Wanda said with a funny face.

"You know what, kid." Steve said and she turned back to the screen with a laugh.

"Kissing also helps develop immunity to bacteria so you two made a smart move." Vision told them but they both looked disgusted.

"Please, we know you're part robot, but the reminders are uncomfortable." Tony said.

"Yeah." Wanda of all people agreed.

Natasha said she was wondering how much practice he had had and he said they didn't need practice. Natasha said everyone needed practice. Steve said it wasn't his first kiss since 1945. He was 95. Not dead. Natasha asked if he had anybody special. Steve said it was hard to find someone with a shared life history.

"You got one right here." Elektra said jokingly as she pointed at Logan.

"You know what, Natchios." Logan said as he closed his fist with a chuckle, acting like he was brandishing his claws, which he wasn't.

Natasha said he could make something up and he asked like her. She said truth was a matter of circumstance and wasn't all things to all people. She wasn't either. Steve said it was a tough way to live and she said it was a good way not to die.

Everyone looked at Natasha in sympathy.

Steve said it was hard to trust someone when he didn't know who that someone really was. She asked him what he wanted her to be and he said he wanted her to be a friend. She chuckled and said, "Well, there's a chance you might be in the wrong business, Rogers."

"And turns out you two were in the worst business ever." Luke said.

"Yeah, unfortunately." Natasha said.

They stopped their car and got out as Steve asked if this was the place and Natasha said the file came from these coordinates. Steve saw it was Camp Leigh and said he did too.

"Flashback to the past." Bucky said.

The two investigated the place till night time as Natasha asked if it had changed much and Steve said it had a little. Steve then looked around and remembered being made to jog in the morning by their Sergeant along with the others and how he was left behind. He even saw younger him stopping in front of him and it seemed like both Steves were looking right into each other's eyes until the Sergeant called out to Steve and he ran off.

"I get the feeling." Frank told Steve.

Natasha said this was a dead end and whoever had written the file had used a router to throw people off but Steve noticed a building and told her army regulations forbid storing munitions within 500 yards of the barracks so this building was in the wrong place.

"Smart." Trish said.

"No. Just good at following." Steve chuckled.

Steve broke the lock with his shield and the two walked inside as Natasha looked around with her phone's light and they switched on a light, revealing a SHIELD logo as Natasha said this was SHIELD and Steve realized this was where it had started.

"Guessed that right." Hill said.

They looked around as a switch was flipped on and pictures of the founders were there- Howard Stark, Peggy Carter and Chester Phillips. Natasha recognized Howard Stark but asked Steve who Peggy was, to which he didn't reply and continued to walk around after staring at the picture emotionally.

"Always meant to ask you this." Trish said to Natasha, "How do you not know who Peggy Carter is?"

"I knew her by name." Natasha said, "But unlike other agents, I never attended the SHIELD Academy. I was recruited by Clint here when I was already an adult. So never really got a chance to look at her picture. [1]

Everyone nodded at her explanation.

As they investigated a place, Steve noticed some cobwebs between two cupboards and pushed them apart, revealing an elevator there. He then said if they already had a secret office, what did they need a secret elevator for.

"To hide their dirty little secret." Benjamin said.

Natasha hacked the elevator codes and it went down with them. As they walked out, the lights turned on and they looked at the very old computers and recorders around. Natasha said this couldn't be the data point as the technology was very ancient. Then she saw that the drive she had could fit easily there so she put it in and the devices all activated.

"Just one piece of modern technology." Clint said.

The monitor asked to 'Initiate System' and Natasha typed 'YES'. As it started activating, she asked with a smirk, "Shall we play a game?"

"Wait! Did you just make a movie reference?" Tony asked Natasha with a raised eyebrow, "My life is complete."

"That was a great film! You've got great taste." Peter told Natasha.

"Now you're never hearing the end of it." Pepper told her.

"I know." Natasha shrugged.

Natasha said it was from a movie and Steve said he had seen it. The computer started speaking, saying Steve's name and birth year and Natasha's real name- Natalia Alianovna, born 1984.

"So closer to Natalie after all." Pepper said and Natasha shrugged.

Natasha said it was some kind of recording but the voice said it wasn't. It then revealed a picture of Arnim Zola on another computer and Natasha asked if Steve knew this thing. Steve said Zola was a German Scientist who worked for the Red Skull and has been dead for years. Zola corrected him and said he was Swiss and had never been more alive. In 1972, he had received a terminal diagnosis. Science couldn't save his body but his mind was worth saving, on 200,000 feet of databanks. They were currently standing in his brain.

"Damn! That is a big brain!" Rhodes said.

"We've seen bigger." Jessica said.

"But that brain was full of shit." Frank said.

Steve asked how he had gotten here and Natasha remembered Operation Paperclip where SHIELD had recruited German Scientists after World War II. Zola said they thought he could help their cause but he also helped their own. Steve said Hydra died with the Red Skull but Zola said, "Cut off one head. Two more shall take its place." As he said that, he also divided his digital face into two.

"That motto again." Matt sighed.

"With a twist." Elektra said.

Steve asked him to prove it so he accessed archives and showed them old pictures and videos of Schmidt, Captain America and World War II, saying Hydra was founded on the belief that humanity could not be trusted with its own freedom.

"No, it was founded to bring an Inhuman to Earth." Wanda corrected.

"They're all liars." Luke said.

He also said that when they tried to take the freedom away, humanity will resist so it needed to surrender it willingly. After the war, SHIELD was founded and he was recruited. He showed them an old newspaper clipping of SHIELD recruiting German scientists and he was in the picture too as he said the new Hydra grew, a beautiful parasite within SHIELD. For 70 years, they fed crisis and reaped war. And when history did not cooperate, history was changed. A picture of Winter Soldier assassinating John F. Kennedy.

"That was you?" A shocked Aunt May asked as everyone turned to Bucky in shock.

"Unfortunately." Bucky sighed as Natasha held his hand.

Natasha said SHIELD would have stopped them but Zola said accidents will happen and then showed them a picture of Howard and Maria in a newspaper after their deaths.

"So this is where you found out?" Tony asked Steve and Natasha.

"Yes." Steve said, "And a few seconds later, the place was bombed."

"He also said he had been stalling." Natasha said.

"So that's why I didn't look into the matter." Steve said.

"It's all right, Cap." Tony said, "If I was you, I would probably do the same thing."

Bucky was shaking with guilt at this point and couldn't stop himself. He spoke up, "I'm sorry. I know what I did. I know I hurt you. But I'm sorry. I don't deserve it, but I want you to know."

No one said a thing as Natasha held Bucky's hand and smiled with pride and Steve just put a hand on his shoulder and did the same. Tony didn't say a word. He simply nodded and turned back to the screen.

Zola said Hydra created a world so chaotic that humanity is finally ready to give up its freedom in exchange for security. Once a purification process is complete, a new world order will arise. Hydra had won. Steve's death amounted to the same as his life- a zero sum. Steve angrily punched the monitor, shattering it.

"Finally you shut it up." Sam said.

"He doesn't shut up easily." Steve snarled.

Another monitor activated and Zola appeared on it as Steve asked what was on the drive. Zola said Project Insight required insight so he wrote an algorith. Natasha asked what it did. Zola said the answer to her question was fascinating but they would be too dead to hear it. The doors started closing and Steve threw his shield but they closed first as it returned to him. Natasha opened her phone and told Steve they had a bogey. He asked who fired it and she said SHIELD.

"The goddamn Hydra!" Fury snarled.

Zola said he had been stalling as both of them were out of time.

"No, only you." Wanda said to Zola.

Natasha took out the drive while Steve ripped out a manhole cover as a missile came down and the two jumped just as it hit and exploded, sending debris, fire and smoke on both of them but Steve protected them both with his shield. There was darkness for a few seconds and then Natasha was shown lying unconscious while Steve staggered up and coughed. He then looked around and lifting Natasha bridal style, walked off, avoiding the Quinjets and their flashlights.

"At least you escaped." Logan said, "With your life."

"And lived to fight another day." Natasha smirked.

Rumlow and other agents looked around and Rumlow found footprints. He tapped his comms and asked the others to call in the asset.

"Of course! Call me in you morons!" Bucky snarled angrily and Natasha once again held his hand.

Back at the SHIELD base, Hill walked up to Sitwell and asked if he had called her. He said he had called her an hour ago. She said she was arranging a funeral so he apologized and showed her footage of Steve and Natasha at the airport, asking if she knew anything about it. She said she didn't but she wasn't surprised as this was Captain America they were after and he tended to inspire a certain amount of loyalty.

"Thanks." Steve said to her, feeling flattered.

She started walking away and Sitwell asked when was the service. Hill said on Friday so Sitwell said as soon as it was finished, she was going back to New York. Hill turned around and asked why. Sitwell said she was off the investigation as her connection to Captain Rogers was a liability. SHIELD demanded loyalty too. An angered Hill walked off.

"Oh I am loyal to SHIELD. But not to your two-faced organization." Hill snarled.

Pierce took out some milk in his home and then turned around to see the Winter Soldier sitting there without his mask, his face covered in shadow. His housemaid Renata asked if he needed anything and he said he didn't, allowing her to go as they wished each other good night. He asked Winter Soldier if he wanted some milk and taking it out, sat in front of him and said their timetable had moved and their window was limited. They had two Level 6 targets who had cost him Zola and he needed them dead in 10 hours. Renata returned then and said she had forgotten her phone. She noticed Winter Soldier and Pierce cringed, having genuinely liked her. He said he wished she had knocked and picking up a pistol, shot her on the chest twice, killing her.

Everyone cringed at the saddening scene as Tony muttered to himself, "Why didn't you knock?"

Sam Wilson was jogging again and returning home, was about to drink some juice when there was a tap on his window. He opened the blinds to see Steve and Natasha so he opened the window. Steve apologized, saying they had nowhere else to go. Natasha said everyone they knew was trying to kill them. Sam said, "Not everyone." He then let them in and shut the window and blinds again.

"I wasn't trying to kill you." Tony said.

"But they would know if we go to someone like you." Steve pointed out.

"And I was on a mission unfortunately." Clint said.

Steve, now in his vest, washed himself up in Sam's washroom, and Natasha, also in her vest, cleaned herself up with a towel. Steve asked if she was all right and she said she was. He sat in front of her and asked what was going on. With a sigh, she said, "When I first joined SHIELD, I thought I was going straight. But I guess I just traded in the KGB for Hydra. I thought I knew whose lies I was telling, but I guess I can't tell the difference anymore." Steve looked at her and said, "There's a chance you might be in the wrong business." The two smiled and she said, "I owe you." He told her not to think anything of it but she said, "If it was the other way round and it was down to me to save your life, now you be honest with me, would you trust me to do it?" Steve assured her, "I would now. And I'm always honest."

"Look. The start of a great new friendship." Tony joked, "And another ship."

"You say one more word-" Natasha started and left it there, making him pale at the implications.

Natasha said Steve seemed chipper for a guy who had found out he had died for nothing and he said he just liked to know who he was fighting. Sam came in and said he had prepared breakfast, if they ate that sort of thing.

"Everyone needs breakfast." Bruce shrugged.

At the table, Natasha wondered who at SHIELD could launch a domestic missile strike and Steve realized it was Pierce. Natasha said he was in the top of the most secure building in the world. Steve said he wasn't working alone as Zola's algorithm was on the Lemurian Star. Natasha remembered Sitwell was there too and they realized he was Hydra. She wondered how the two most wanted people in Washington will abduct a SHIELD agent in broad daylight. Sam said they won't have to as he put down some pictures, saying they were like a resume.

"So now you're auditioning." Scott said to Sam and both chuckled.

"Yeah. I even have a resume." Sam joked.

Natasha realized it was Bakhmala, the Khalid Khandil mission, which was him. There was another man with Sam in the picture and Steve asked if it was Riley, to which he said it was. Natasha said they couldn't bring choppers because of RPGs and asked if he had used a stealth chute. He said he hadn't and gave them a file. They opened it and Steve said he thought Sam to be a pilot. Sam said he had never said pilot. Steve said he couldn't ask Sam to do this as he had gotten out for a good reason but Sam said Captain America needed his help so there was no better reason to get back in. Steve asked where they could get their hands on one of these things and he said last one was behind 3 guarded gates and a 12 inch steel wall. Steve and Natasha shrugged and he said it shouldn't be a problem. He put down the file, which had 'EXO-7 FALCON' written on it.

"And now the Falcon will fly." Fury said and everyone nodded.