50Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel Cinematic Universe or anything else you may recognize
Thank you to everyone who has favorited, followed or reviewed this fic so far.
*Hides in a bunker to avoid the angry mob and projectiles*
Well this chapter took longer than I expected but it's finally out!... at the end of the month. Awkward.
The reason is for this was because these last two weeks I've been having many projects, quizzes, and essay. On top of fixing my class schedule and getting everything ready. I have a 4 day weekend coming up so I'll aim to publish the next update then. Regarding my Fate In Our Hands series… yeah it's not looking good, I'll tell you that much. I've just not been feeling up to writing more chapters for that fic lately. Now I have been writing I actually have a HP one shot fic idea which I plan to write in my upcoming weekend. I've been continuing my PJ One-shot series -most likely I'll release it after I've written the first 5 or so chapters. I've continued to work on my first explicit fic/original story and my first fully original story almost every week.
I don't know when I'll update Fate In Our Hands, it's basically in a hiatus now.
Now, I do know about the many many mistakes in this fic including why/how Loki is still in the fic. I promise whenever I have sufficient time I will go back and edit all of it.
Chapter 43- Who the hell is Bucky?
"Sitwell better watch out." Tony said.
"Yeah. He better." Pepper agreed.
"No. He better not." Fury said, "So that he gets what is coming to him."
Stern and Sitwell walked together as the former told the latter he was flying home due to constituency problems and needed to press the flesh. Sitwell asked if there was any constituency in particular and Stern said she was 23 and hot and an aspiring reporter. Sitwell said she didn't sound like much of a problem but Stern said she was killing his back.
"Creepy old perv." Tony said.
They agreed this wasn't the best place to talk about it and hugged each other as Stern said 'Hail Hydra' in Sitwell's ear.
"And busted." Hope said.
"Prepare to say it again in a few minutes." Steve told her with a smirk.
Stern walked away, pointing at his knee and saying he should probably get it checked.
"Don't worry. If there is no problem, I will shatter it." Rhodes said.
"I'll shatter the other one." Tony said.
Stern walked off with his men as Sitwell's phone rang and he asked his men to bring the car around. He accepted the call as it was from Alexander Pierce but Sam Wilson spoke instead, asking him how was lunch and that the crab cakes were delicious. Sitwell asked who he was and he said the good looking guy on his 10 o' clock. He looked there but Sam said his other 10 o' clock. That was when he saw Sam sitting there and he raised a drink saying, "There you go."
Everyone clapped for Sam as Bucky said, "Now that's how you threaten these people."
"I have my moments." Sam said.
Sitwell asked what he wanted and Sam said he was going to go to the corner to his right. There was a gray car two spaces down and they were going to take a ride. Sitwell asked what if he refused and Sam said his tie looked really expensive and he would hate to mess it up. Sitwell noticed a laser pointed at his tie and looked around in horror.
Everyone clapped and cheered again as Hill said, "Take that you bastard!"
"These morons are all getting theirs now." Logan said.
Later, Sitwell was pushed on a rooftop as Steve and Natasha walked up to him and the former asked about Zola's algorithm. Sitwell lied he didn't know and Steve asked what he was doing on the Lemurian Star. He said he was getting seasick and throwing up. He was on the edge of the roof as Steve grabbed him by the collar. He then asked if this little display was meant to insinuate that he was going to throw him off the roof because that wasn't really his style. "You're right. It's not." Steve said as he stepped aside, "It's hers." Before Sitwell could react, Natasha kicked him hard, throwing him off the roof as he went down screaming.
Everyone applauded loudly again as Hill said, "Thanks a lot."
Natasha didn't give a verbal response but nodded with a smile.
"You just need the right amount of force to deal with these people." Matt said with a chuckle.
Natasha then asked Steve about the girl from accounting and Steve remembered her name was Lillian. Natasha said she was cute but Steve said he wasn't ready for that.
Everyone laughed as Scott said, "So after kicking a guy off the roof, you two are discussing Cap's date life?"
"It's a fun topic to discuss." Natasha shrugged.
"It's not." Steve said.
"It is."
"It's not."
"All right kids. I think that is enough for today." Bucky joked and everyone laughed again.
And then Sam Wilson, now wearing a pair of mechanical wings, flew up, holding Sitwell and threw him back on the ground as his wings folded into his jetpack and he turned around.
Everyone clapped and cheered at Sam's entrance as he smirked happily.
"The Falcon is here!" Peter cheered.
"And his audition is going awesome." Scott said as Sam shook his head.
"That is a pretty great entrance." Benjamin agreed.
A terrified Sitwell said Zola's algorithm was a program for choosing Insight's targets. Steve inquired about them and he spoke about some of them- Steve Rogers himself, a TV anchor in Cairo, the Under Secretary of Defense, a high school valedictorian in Iowa City, Bruce Banner, Stephen Strange and anyone who was a threat to Hydra now or in the future.
"I was their target too?" A horrified Bruce asked.
"Makes sense." Tony said, "You're an expert on gamma stuff. You're a good guy. And you're the Other Guy."
"But I don't think they could have killed you because of Hulk." Odinson told him.
"Yeah." Bruce sighed in relief, "Good thing I have him."
"And why Stephen Strange?" Pepper asked.
"Probably because it evaluated his future somehow." Elektra said.
Steve asked how it would know about the future and Sitwell said the 21st century was like a digital book which Zola had taught Hydra to read. Their bank records, medical histories, voting patterns, emails, phone calls and SAT scores. Zola's algorithm evaluates people's past to predict their future.
"Oh my God!" Hope said in horror, "This project itself is monstrous."
"Yes. Which is why it had to be wiped out." Fury said.
Tony was pale, as hearing about Project Insight reminded him of an idea he had of making some glasses which allowed the user with access to all of his satellite network and several hundred tactical drones. It would also give the user access to their target's personal information by providing backdoor entrances to the world's largest telecommunication companies. And he was thinking of bequeathing it to Peter after his death.
Now, he realized that this project in his head was as horrible as Project Insight. And in that moment, he scrapped the entire idea in his head, coming to a realization.
Steve asked what happened next as Sitwell muttered that Pierce would kill him.
"He won't. I will." Bucky snarled. This was his one kill as Winter Soldier which he didn't regret one bit due to Sitwell being a bastard.
Sitwell said that then the Insight helicarriers scratched people's names off the list, a few million at a time.
"Sweet Christmas!" Luke said.
"Well, shit has hit the fan." Jessica said.
Later, Sam drove them all to the location on a highway as Sitwell told them Hydra doesn't like leaks and Sam sarcastically said they should try fitting a cork in it.
Everyone laughed as Tony said, "You're awesome, Wilson. You know that?"
"I think I agree with that sentiment totally." Rhodes said and Sam nodded in appreciation.
Natasha said Insight was launching in 16 hours so they were cutting it close. Steve said they would use Sitwell to bypass the DNA scans and access the helicarriers directly but Sitwell said that was a terrible idea. Suddenly, someone jumped up on the car and then the window shattered as a metal arm burst through it, grabbing Sitwell and throwing him out into the way of an oncoming truck, killing him as everyone watched in horror.
"At least he is dead." Trish said.
"But now they can't access the helicarriers." Frank said, "Damn it!"
"Unfortunate. I know." Bucky said.
Winter Soldier started firing at them from above as Natasha jumped to the front seat and pushed Steve out of the way to protect him from the bullets.
"Thank you for saving him from me." Bucky said to Natasha who simply held his hand.
Sam applied the brakes and Winter Soldier leapt off the car onto the road, using his metal arm to steady himself as he stood up and looked at them.
Everyone was tense at the intense scene.
Natasha was about to fire at him when a Hydra vehicle hit them from behind, making her drop it as they were pushed towards Winter Soldier who leapt at their car. Natasha tried to pick her gun as Sam tried to shake Winter Soldier off but he smashed through the glass and ripped out the steering wheel itself, horrifying Sam.
"Motherfu-" Fury trailed off.
"Damn! Just damn!" Clint said.
"Even I wasn't that terrifying." Loki muttered as Thor glared at him, "Of course I was mostly myself."
The car managed to accelerate away as Winter Soldier jumped on the Hydra vehicle. It hit the car from behind and it staggered away as Steve grabbed Natasha and Sam and broke the door. They slid away on the door as the car crashed and Sam rolled away.
"This is getting more and more intense every minute." Aunt May said.
"No kidding." Hope agreed.
Steve and Natasha got up as Winter Soldier fired a missile at them. Steve sent Natasha off and used the shield to block the missile but was still sent flying off, crashing into a bus through some glass. The driver looked back and ended up colliding into another bus as both toppled.
"Why is this happening?" Bucky said as he looked down in shame and put his head in his hands and both Steve and Natasha tried to comfort him.
"Thank you for saving her from me." Bucky said to Steve about him saving Natasha from the missile in the recording.
Winter Soldier and his men fired at Natasha and Sam as she returned fire and he backed off. She then ran off, flipping on some moving cars to save herself as Winter Soldier fired a missile which sent a car flying off. Natasha flipped off the highway and used her grapple hook to swing and land safely, saving herself. Winter Soldier looked down and she noticed his shadow. Before he could fire, she fired at him from under the highway, shattering his glasses and staggering him back as he sat down and took them off, revealing his eyes.
"That was very smart." Wanda said.
"Why do you think they made me your teacher?" Natasha asked with a raised eyebrow and Wanda shrugged with a smile.
The two then exchanged fire as Natasha ran off to avoid while the civilians ran around in terror. Winter Soldier told his men to take care of the others while Natasha was his. With that, he jumped down to look for her, shattering a car after landing on it.
"Now you're mine." Natasha joked to Bucky with a smirk to lighten the mood, though it didn't work much.
The other men attached hooks to a car and as Steve woke up in the evacuated bus, they leapt down and fired at him with machine guns. He avoided and leapt out with his shield, blocking their shots.
"These morons never give up do they?" Hill asked.
"We don't either." Steve said.
Another man attached his hook to a car but before he could jump, Sam kicked him from behind, staggering him. He then elbowed him and sliced him with his knife before kicking him away and taking his gun.
Everyone clapped happily again as Fury said, "You were right. You do what Rogers does. Just slower."
"Yeah. That's what we soldiers do." Sam agreed with a smile.
"I know." Steve agreed.
"Yeah, I get the feeling too." Frank said, "Though I use guns more than hand to hand."
"And I use claws." Logan said.
Steve deflected a man's shots onto another one, killing him. He then rushed further with his shield in the way as Sam took down another man. Steve leapt onto a car and with a flip, grabbed the man and threw him to the car, shattering his spine. Sam and the other man exchanged fire as Sam told Steve to go because had got this.
"We always look out for each other." Bucky smiled and the soldiers in the room nodded.
A police car arrived but Winter Soldier destroyed it with a missile.
"Oh no." Bucky said again and shook his head.
As he walked around, he heard Natasha's voice saying they were going to rendezvous somewhere.
"Wait! Why're you speaking loudly enough for him to hear you?" Scott asked Natasha.
"You don't know her that well, do you?" Clint asked Scott with a smirk which Natasha matched with her own.
Winter Soldier knelt down and discreetly threw a grenade in the direction. It rolled there towards the car but turned out there was a phone there, playing a recorded message.
"Wow!" Hope said as Scott's jaw dropped.
"And now they have seen." Bruce said.
"I think you just got 50 more seals of approval." Loki said and Natasha laughed.
"That is so awesome." Peter said.
"I know right!" Aunt May said.
"Agreed." Benjamin said.
The grenade exploded and that was when Natasha leapt at Winter Soldier from behind and kicked the gun away before hanging onto him from behind and wrapped a garrote around his throat. He backed off and slammed her into the car behind them before throwing her off into another one. Before he could attack again, she threw a disk at his metal arm, immobilizing it as she ran off. He removed the disk and making a fist, walked after her. Natasha told the civilians to get out of the way when Winter Soldier fired a shot and it hit her shoulder, making her fall down behind a car as she looked around, trying to save her life.
"Please, shoot my arm." Bucky cringed, feeling guilty.
"It wasn't your fault." Natasha said again as they held hands tightly.
"Do not blame yourself, Sergeant Barnes." T'Challa said, "You were a victim. The only ones to blame are Hydra."
"Damn right!" Rhodes said too.
Suddenly, Winter Soldier appeared in front of her and was about to fire when Steve rushed him. He turned his attention to Steve and punched with his metal arm. Steve put the shield in the way and the clash produced a loud metallic clang as Steve gritted his teeth due to his opponent's strength.
"Thank you for saving her from me. Again." Bucky told Steve who nodded.
"I think it is starting now." Wanda said as everyone looked at the screen, feeling very tense and with their breaths held back.
Winter Soldier removed the shield and kicked Steve away. He tried to fire but Steve blocked with his shield. He rolled off behind the car as Steve rolled after him. He tried to fire with another gun but Steve avoided as the glass shattered. When he stopped to reload, Steve flipped and kicked the gun out of his hands. He took out a pistol and fired again as Steve blocked with his shield. He punched Winter Soldier and tried to hit with his shield but he blocked. Steve smacked him but he blocked and punched back as Steve flipped and Winter Soldier got the shield instead as Steve tried to punch but he blocked with it and punched Steve back as he rolled.
Everyone watched with tense expressions as Jessica commented, "Nice gun-fu."
"Shield and gun together." Luke muttered.
Steve rushed Winter Soldier who threw the shield but Steve narrowly avoided as it got stuck into the car behind him. Winter Soldier took out a knife and twirled it.
"If this was a movie, I'd say it has some Raid level choreography." Peter said to lighten the mood but it didn't work.
As Steve ran closer, they fought each other again as Steve deflected his attacks and pushed his knife hand down twice as Winter Soldier pushed him off with his metal arm and tried to strike with his knife twice but Steve ducked to avoid. He then punched Winter Soldier on the face and with a leap, kicked him into a car, denting the door. He then rushed him and with a leap, kneed him into it, shattering the glass. Winter Soldier blocked another strike and punched him back before Steve flipped him to the ground. Winter Soldier got back up and grabbed Steve by the throat with his metal arm. As Steve grunted in pain, Winter Soldier threw him off and he fell over a car. Winter Soldier leapt over it and tried to punch Steve but he rolled away to avoid as the punch shattered the concrete.
"OH BOY!" Peter said in horror, grateful that he had the strength to overpower the metal arm.
"Don't worry kid. I was myself when we fought so I didn't use the full force of the arm on you either." Bucky assured him and he nodded.
Steve got back up as Winter Soldier tried to punch him twice with his metal arm but he blocked with his elbow before being pushed into the car. Bucky kicked him back into it and taking out the knife, tried to stab again as Steve put his hands in the way, trying to push back. Winter Soldier used his metal arm's strength to overpower Steve though he leaned his head to the side. The knife struck into the car and Winter Soldier pushed them both to the side as the knife tore a huge line in the car. Steve grabbed Winter Soldier and flipped them both to the ground before flipping back up and taking his shield. Winter Soldier got back up too and tried to attack with a knife as Steve blocked or dodged. Winter Soldier punched him back but Steve blocked a kick with his shield and ducking to avoid a strike, grabbed his metal arm and hit it with his shield before striking his mask with it and then grabbing him by the mask, threw him off to the other side as it fell off.
"The mask is off. The mask is off." Peter was saying.
"And he will turn around now." Logan sighed.
"And everything will be a nightmare." Bucky sighed to himself as him and Natasha held hands again.
Winter Soldier turned around- to reveal the face of Bucky Barnes. Steve couldn't believe it as he looked at him in horror and disbelief. "Bucky?" He managed to let out. Bucky looked at him in a bit of confusion and asked, "Who the hell is Bucky?"
All of them looked at the scene in horror and disbelief too, their hearts going out to Bucky for what he would have been through. Even Tony, as he wondered how much Hydra had tortured him to make him forget his own name.
He then pointed his gun at Steve but Sam flew up behind him and kicked him down. Steve was still in shock as Bucky staggered back up and pointed his gun again but Natasha fired her missile and he ran off as it hit a car and exploded. A wounded Natasha lowered the launcher and leaned against a car as the smoke cleared but Bucky wasn't there.
"Like a ghost." Bucky muttered.
Many vehicles drove to the area as Rumlow and several STRIKE agents walked out, pointing guns at the three. Rumlow kicked Steve's knee and he kneeled down with his hands raised and his shield on the ground while Natasha and Sam were both cuffed and lead away. Natasha glanced over at Steve in concern as Rollins tried to shoot Steve but Rumlow lowered his hand as there was a press chopper nearby. Steve still had an expression of disbelief on his face. It was impossible!
"I can't imagine what you were going through." Hill told him in sympathy and he nodded.
"Saved by the press." Matt muttered to lighten the mood.
Later, they were in the back of a van as Steve said, "He looked right at me. Like he didn't even know me."
"Been there." Logan said.
"My best friend killed my family." Frank said to the shock of everyone from the past, "And unlike you, Barnes, he wasn't innocent. He did it of his own free will. So don't blame yourself."
Bucky nodded in appreciation and Steve did too.
Sam wondered how that was possible as Steve remembered Zola had captured Bucky's whole unit in 1943. They had experimented on him and whatever they had done had probably helped Bucky survive. Then they had found him. Natasha assured Steve it wasn't his fault as Steve said, "Even when I had nothing, I had Bucky."
"And I had you." Bucky told Steve and they both gave each other brotherly smiles.
Sam noticed Natasha's shoulder bleeding and told the STRIKE agents to get a doctor as she was bleeding out. One of them took out a taser rod, shutting him up. But then the agent hit the one next to him with it, shocking him and then kicked him out. The agent then took off the helmet, revealing the face of Maria Hill. "That thing was squeezing my brain." She said as she brushed away her hair and looked at Sam, "Who's this guy?"
"The Falcon." Sam said.
"I know." Hill said.
"You made a nice entry too." Logan told her.
"Thanks." She said.
The vehicles stopped as Rumlow got out and told his men to dig 3 holes. They had their guns at the ready and pulled the door of the van open, only to see an agent knocked out and the other one missing along with Steve, Natasha and Sam. There was a hole in the van.
"Just one was enough." Hill smirked.
"The mouse hole." Fury said.
Hill opened another vehicle and led them all to a secret warehouse as Steve and Sam supported a wounded Natasha who was covering her wound with their help. They were led inside as a doctor arrived and Hill told him she had lost a pint. Sam said it was two. He was going to treat her but Hill said she would want to see him first. And then they saw Fury lying on a bad, some tubes attached to him. "About damn time."
"About damn time." Fury said.
"And you're back in the game." Frank told him.
"Damn right!" Fury said.
As the doctor pressed Natasha's wound and treated it, Fury told them about his injuries- Lacerated spinal column, cracked sternum, shattered collarbone, perforated liver, a hell of a headache, and on the doctor's reminder, a collapsed lung.
"Uhhhh… I apologize." Bucky said.
"It's all right, Barnes." Fury said.
"Yeah, it was the fault of your enthrallers. Like I'm responsible for what Clint did." Loki said and everyone was genuinely surprised that he admitted to his faults.
"Not forgiving you for that but considering you admit it, it's a start." Clint said.
"I know." Loki said.
He said other than that, he was all right. Natasha remembered he had been cut open and his heart had stopped. Fury told them about Tetrodoxin B which Banner had developed for stress relief but hadn't worked out for him. It slowed the heartbeat down to one pulse a minute.
"So basically, I helped in this one." Bruce said and everyone nodded, "Indirectly. Good to know."
Steve asked why all the secrecy and why hadn't he told them. Hill said any attempt on his life had to look successful. "Can't kill you if you're already dead." Fury said, "Besides, I wasn't sure who to trust." Natasha looked hurt on hearing that.
"Not a big fan of your trust issues." Natasha said to Fury and he winced.
Bucky was in a Hydra cell as doctors worked on his damaged metallic arm. He suddenly remembered Zola's face and falling down as Steve tried to catch him. He remembered the loss of his arm after falling down and the stump as he was dragged away by Hydra thugs and then a metal arm in its place as Zola said he was to be the new fist of Hydra. He choked a scientist with it as Zola said to put him on ice and he was put on it. Startled by the memories, Bucky smacked a doctor away as Rollins and the others pointed their weapons at him.
Bucky started panting heavily as Natasha put her arms around him.
Later, Pierce and Rumlow arrived as the doctor told them he was unstable and erratic but they went in anyway as Pierce told his men to lower their weapons. He walked up to Bucky and asked him about the mission but he didn't reply so Pierce gave him a backhanded slap.
Everyone flinched at the scene as Bucky looked away. Even Tony flinched.
Bucky asked who the man on the bridge was as the scene flashed back to Steve seeing and recognizing him. Pierce said he had met him on another assignment earlier in the week. "I knew him." Bucky said. Pierce told him his work had been a gift to mankind and he had shaped the century. He needed to do that one more time. Society was at a tipping point between order and chaos and they were going to give it a push next morning. But if Bucky didn't do his part, he couldn't do his and Hydra won't be able to give the world the freedom it deserves. "But I knew him." Bucky said again.
Everyone's heart broke at the saddening and terrifying scene as Elektra said to Bucky, "I've been there."
"What?" Bucky asked.
"I died." Elektra revealed to everyone's shock, "But an organization called the Hand resurrected me because I had some special powers they wanted and called me the Black Sky. I didn't have my memories either and they shaped me into their perfect weapon. When I started to remember, they too convinced me that it wasn't real."
"I'm sorry." Bucky said to her and she nodded in appreciation.
"I'm sorry too." She said to him and he nodded.
Pierce told the others to prep him. The doctor said he had been out of cryo freeze too long. Pierce said then they could wipe him and start over. One of them put a piece of metal in Bucky's mouth to muffle his screams, which he accepted. He was lowered on the chair and strapped to it as the machine came down on him and covering his head from both sides, started giving him electrical shocks as he screamed, though they were muffled by the metal. Pierce, Rumlow and the others walked away as Bucky continued screaming in pain.
Peter, Wanda, Aunt May and Pepper actually had tears in their eyes at this point as Peter and Aunt May held each other. Wanda was reminded of the experiments done on her as Vision put an arm around her.
Bucky panted and closed his eyes as Natasha, who looked horrified, held his hand for comfort and Steve put a hand on his shoulder, feeling horrified to his core. Hearing about this was one thing. Seeing it was another. The others were simply too horrified to speak. Their eyes were wide in horror.
Tony couldn't control himself any longer.
"Barnes! I'm sorry!" He said as Bucky looked up at him in surprise and so did everyone else, "I should NEVER have attacked you. Nothing you did was your fault. I knew I reacted emotionally but I didn't stand down even when I was told to. I'm sorry. I know I don't deserve it, but I'm sorry."
Everyone was surprised at Tony's sincerity. Pepper held his hand and smiled with pride and Rhodes nodded at him with a proud smile of his own.
Tony then got up from his couch and walked up to Bucky, who got up too.
"You were brainwashed. I was a moron." Tony said as he held out his hand, "Want to bury the hatchet deep, deep down?"
After a few seconds, Bucky grasped his hand and shook it, "I do."
The two then gave each other a smile. Maybe they could become friends after all. Tony then walked back to his couch as Pepper and Rhodes continued smiling at him and Bucky sat down too. Everyone sighed in relief. Tony and Bucky both felt that a weight was lifted off of their shoulders.
After about one full minute, Logan said, "Now moving on."
"Yup." Benjamin said.
Fury looked at a photo of Pierce and said this man had declined the Nobel Peace Prize. He had said peace wasn't an achievement but a responsibility. And it was stuff like this that gave him trust issues.
No one said a word and realized that under his tough exterior, even Fury was a human who had been betrayed by people close to him. And that had made him like this.
Natasha said they needed to stop the launch and Fury said the Council wasn't accepting his calls. He revealed three cards and Hill said once the Helicarriers reached 3000 feet, they will triangulate with Insight's satellites and become fully weaponized. They needed to breach the carriers and replace their targeting blades with their own. And all 3 because if even one was left, many people would die. Fury said they had to assume everyone on the carriers was Hydra and maybe they could salvage something but Steve said they weren't salvaging anything. They were going to take down SHIELD as well. Fury said it had nothing to do with this but Steve said Hydra had grown under their nose and nobody had noticed. Fury said they were meeting in this cave because he had but Steve said many people had paid the price before he did. Fury said he didn't know about Barnes but Steve said he wouldn't have told him even if he had and compartmentalized it. He then said, "SHIELD. Hydra. It all goes." Even Hill agreed with him and Natasha was on his side as well. Fury turned to Sam but he said that he did what Steve did, just slower. "Well." Fury said as he leaned back in his chair, "It looks like you're giving the orders now, Captain."
"And after this, I went to help Coulson and his team against Garrett and Ward." Fury remembered.
"Yeah. I remember Daisy telling me about those." Luke remembered.
"Well, it's about to start." Trish said.
Later, Steve stood outside and the scene flashed back. Bucky and Steve were walking as Bucky said his folks wanted to give Steve a ride to the cemetery. Steve apologized and said he wanted to be alone. Bucky asked how was it and Steve said it was okay as she was next to Dad. Bucky tried to ask but Steve knew what he was going to say. As Steve tried to search for his key, Bucky said they could put the couch cushions on the floor like when they were kids and it will be fun. All he had to do was maybe shine his shoes and take out the trash. Bucky then picked up Steve's fallen key and handed it to him. "Thank you, Buck." Steve said gratefully as he looked up at him, "But I think I can get by on my own." Bucky put a hand on his shoulder and said, "The thing is, you don't have to. I'm with you to the end of the line, pal."
Everyone's heart was touched by the emotional and sweet scene as Steve and Bucky looked at each other, reminded of the old days.
"And I'm with you to the end of the line as well." Steve told Bucky.
Tony now knew why Steve was trying to protect Bucky in the airport fight and it all made sense. He would do the same for Rhodes.
In the present, Sam walked up to Steve and said that the guy Bucky was now wasn't the kind he saved but the kind he stopped. Steve said he didn't know if he could do that but Sam said he might not have a choice as he didn't know him. Steve said he will now. He then started walking away, asking Sam to gear up as it was time. Sam asked if he was gonna wear that. Steve turned around and said, "No. If you're gonna fight a war, you got to wear a uniform."
"Where will you get it?" Peter asked.
"Just watch." Steve smiled.
An elderly security guard walked into the Smithsonian and as the lights turned on, he looked at the mannequins and said, "Oh man. I am so fired." The mannequin of Captain America had been stripped of its uniform. Somewhere else, Steve now wore that uniform and stood in the forested area. With him were Sam, who now wore his jetpack suit, and Hill, who was in her SHIELD uniform. The three looked at the Triskelion which was some distance away and continued walking.
"So now you stole a uniform from him." Tony joked about the elderly man again and they chuckled.
"That's why we won." Steve joked back.
"Well, the end is near." Benjamin said.