Fandom Running In Your Shoes (MCU Avengers)

[FarFlungDreamer]

"Holy Cow," He gasped, kneeling down and helping up a woman struggling to raise off the stenched floors. His stomach did a dive, and he felt like he was going to break her. She was thin as a skeleton, he could feel her bones, loose skin hung off her bones like a dress a size too large. She could hardly walk, most of the people that were alive could barely...

Their eyes, though, bothered him a sight farther. He recognized the look, the foggy, glazed look of pure survival. That.... lost feeling he'd brushed with himself. Anger licked through him, steady and filled with a cold rage, like it did every time he thought of that stuff. It wasn't often that he did.

But sometimes he couldn't help but think back to the factory, to Zola and his goons. Those damn blue lights, locked behind his eyes still. He'd thought that he'd seen every hellish pit on the front... what a fool soldier he'd been, drafted and bruised, but not understanding the sort of true suffering Bucky could see here. The kind he had only brushed dangerously with for however long it had been before he was rescued.

But once the 107th went to Azzano... and Bucky had thought the war had changed him. But it hadn't... not until then. When they were all mowed down, with no hope, by wondrous terrors.... the lucky survived... they said. Bucky hadn't been sure the dead weren't lucky until Steve saved him against every odd in the known world. Captured... forced to work for that damn factory, everything coated in that blue light. The doomed glow, some of the guys said... personally... Bucky had decided that hell's fire was just blue, and not red like they'd thought.

When you got too tired to work, or if you fought back when they threw you in the cage.... they took you to isolation. Where you found yourself newly acquainted with that devil's light... Bucky had been. He didn't think about the time he'd been strapped down to that table. He didn't want to. No... he suffered there, been tortured, pumped full of who the hell knew what, but he survived, clinging onto life just out of pure spite. Some basic will to not let go, even when that would be so easy.

Then Steve showed up.

He still didn't believe it, his sickly friend, living the good life in Brooklyn he'd thought, back home, safe, with small comforts and lots of girls. But no, the punk showed up after all. Changed... physically maybe, but it only made his dumb, reckless ass more capable of being an idiot. But damn... if Bucky didn't kneel down before bed, whatever bed happened to be, and thank God each day that Steve had shown up for him. Had taken him away from Arnim Zola and the devil's blue light.

He walked by Steve's side each day since then, fighting against those bastards! What they'd done to James, done to all four hundred of those men, those they killed in the field, what they were doing to the world... it light an anger in James. One that had always been there, burning low throughout his life. Now, with the Howling Commando's he felt it come out. He was darkened, but he wasn't out of the fight, his spirit wasn't squashed so easily, those nazi hydra bastards could be damned. He'd see each last one of them torn down before he'd rest. Rage might have pushed him at times, but more than that, Steve pushed him. He pushed everyone, just by being his own self, charging on through whatever came his way. Steve helped Bucky follow the right path after Hydra and the things they did... well it was for the better good.

Besides, it felt like he steadily could go back to the two of them in New York.... they were changed, both of them, and the world was hardening them... and yet, it couldn't change that much. They had each other to keep them each in check. To remind them.

It couldn't change Steve, he realized, and it hadn't so far. Bucky knew that was just Steve's stubborn showing. Except, Bucky worried... this... this was maybe more hellish than what he'd seen in those Hydra factories... and Bucky remained ever stubborn himself that Steve wouldn't be changed by this either. Not Steve. Never Steve.

"Hey, I know that look," Bucky called to Steve, walking closer besides him. His voice was low, but had turned more strict addressing his friend. That look where Steve questioned himself was rare... and not many people looked long enough to see Steve doubting himself. Doubting what he could do, or what he didn't get to do. He thought he had to save the entire damn world, that this serum made that his job. It didn't, and while Bucky couldn't convince him out of that any more than he could convince him to leave the bullies be back then, or to stop signing up for the army, he wouldn't let Steve beat himself up. Bucky wouldn't let him go down that road. Not here... not with all these souls who had truly suffered on his back.

"You hear me Steve?" His voice turned commanding and he grabbed Steve's shoulder, looking past the hat he wore. "They need you out there, those kids walking out o' here? Them and the dozens still in this war need us," He said, giving his shoulder a shake, reminding him he wasn't alone too. He watched Steve's face to make sure he was really listening.

Everyone saw 'Captain America!' some propaganda Steve embraced so he'd be able to do some real good. But despite it all, all the horrors, despite Steve saving him more than he could count, as capable as he was, more than anyone... Bucky just never could see the good Captain. He just saw Steve, and he never saw him winning the fight like everyone did. Cheering Steve onward, Bucky could see the taxation it caused. He saw the way Steve's smile shrunk just a bit less with every passing 'victory'. Because Steve had always seen those in help... always found what needed to be done, what was right... and even when he found people, saved them... Steve didn't really see that. All he saw was those he couldn't save. This stupid mantle, this experiment gone right... all it did was give his dumb friend Steve a 'good' reason to shove himself into every responsibility he could find. He took on the world, because they all imagined he could... and he decided he should.

Bucky knew one thing for certain, despite all his unimaginable strength and his recklessness... Steve was just a man. Now James couldn't do very much, wasn't as good as he'd thought he was, but he'd never stop trying to prevent Steve from chipping more of himself away than he already had. In this war... that wasn't possible... but Bucky could try to stop Steve from taking on too much onto his shoulders. Stop him from blaming himself as much as he could.

By some grace of God... Steve let him, most of the time. Maybe because they grew up together, maybe because once Steve was a sick little square who needed the help, needed to let Bucky do that... but he'd never stopped doing that. Steve never stopped letting him. Hammy

 

[FarFlungDreamer]

Like most of the time... they just didn't get time. A small group of Nazi's were held up in one of the buildings, and while they'd stumbled upon this group of Russian's liberating this camp while looking for Hydra's hideouts, it was all similar danger. The danger exploded when they ran charged out of their hiding place to surprise the soldiers.

James ducked down, pulling his gun from his pocket and taking aim slowly at each of them. He was more of a sniper than a hand to hand guy, he needed time to get the right angle on a shot, but sometimes you didn't get it. He was learning as they went, and he was grateful for that dorky shield Steve insisted on carrying around. He rolled down beneath Steve and took aim at the men charging, weapons blaring.

A harsh curse flew behind their shoulder's and Bucky's eyes sought out the sound of a green soldier shouting about being shot at. He grit his teeth, looking at Steve and deciding he had this handled. A german soldier came from around the building lighting the greenie up, Bucky watched the man stumble backwards and take cover.

He looked between the roof of the building and the wall only half standing as the enemy approached one of their soldiers. There were too many in that open patch to go for an attack... he raised his gun, but couldn't get a clean shot and that soldier was getting too close to the greenie. People got drafted too early, weren't trained enough, the country throwing as many bodies as they could in order to keep up with the war's taxing casualties. Not everyone was meant to be out here.

Then the idiot turned out of his cover to fire wildly. Bucky let out a nasty curse, "Crap!" He darted out from the safety of his and Steve's own cover and charged towards the man, hearing bullets pick up and shatter the air around them. Bucky fired and the man charging the other soldier, hitting his shoulder, and the second shot made the headshot. But they had people all behind them, running forward at the two of them exposed.

"Watch out!" He shouted to the dark haired soldier. He looked between the distance and decided the guy wouldn't make it. He charged, pulling the trigger repeatedly as it reloaded. He could make it! No one else needed to get hurt here! Then, he raced forward and shoved into the fellow with this shoulder, throwing him backwards against the house.

Bucky landed short of the hiding space and found one of the soldier's reaching him. Bucky kicked out, boot landing solid with the side of the guy's knee. He faltered enough Bucky threw a punch and aimed his gun.

"Pease! No!" The man shouted, Bucky's gun in his face.

He struggled, this man, who had tortured all these people. It was a split second decision but the plea hit Bucky and he threw his fist back and knocked the man out instead. He dragged the nazi soldier towards the cover he'd pushed one of his soldier's into. He tossed him, a disgusted scowl on his face towards the unconscious man. The court could have him, like the rest of these bastards.

He grunted, feeling heat on his arm just before he reached safety. When he made it to the enclosure he checked his shoulder, but it was only a graze.

Panting heavily he checked over his shoulder that the nazi was definitely unconscious, and let off a random shot before turning to the other man. "It's alright, he's not gonna wake up for awhile. Don't worry, you're gonna be okay now," He assured him with a short, encouraging nod. Then James turned, crouching with his back to the man and looking back over the field to make quick shots off and duck back beneath cover. Jessy753

 

[Jessy753]

"I don't know. Maximoff blathered something about making us see what the others have been through via. memories. Next thing I know was someone messing with me and I'm here. Pretty sure it's Rogers memory though. The Winter Soldier...Barnes was already with the Hydra back then.", she told her partner and looked the blond over. Anything but the slightest scratch would get both of the twins in slightest trouble. Natasha didn't care for her own mind. It wasn't the first time someone bothered to get inside of it after all and she had a feeling it wouldn't be her last. Her life simply never had worked for her that way. But Clint was something completely different. That one struck home.

Some back at SHIELD would jokingly mention that Clint was her pet or even husband. But no-one really understood their relationship except for maybe Laura. She owed him so much and everyone that ever so much like lie a finger on him would actually feel that. He wasn't her pet but one of the very few people she would call her friends and she really had gotten close to the damned archer over the years. Everyone who hurt him was going to suffer sooner or later.

"She wants to unite the Avengers again by making us go through our memories. Apparently Rogers was first with Auschwitz.", she almost casually gestured to the gate. She had seen more than one of these in her life. Mostly just the Russian equivalent to those German concentration camps, Gulags, though. The redhead had even seen some from the inside while looking for her soldier. But it never really had been a use. So she had gone through a bit of torture for nothing. But still the satisfaction of being able to kill and to make those sadists suffer afterwards had been amazing.

All those tortured and starving souls probably should bother her more than it did. She knew how it was being in there place but the Red Room had successfully dulled her emotions towards human suffering. The only thing that almost made her gag was the smell of burning skin and the knowledge that they might burn both bodies and those alive alike.

She turned around to look at the other teammates. Rhodey materialized out of nowhere and a short confused frown formed on her forehead. Where had that guy been coming from and why did the Maximoff trick him? Steve, Barnes, Tony was down. She was about to walk over but Barnes was faster. Somehow it was fascinating to see the man like this. It was like she was catapulted back into her youth. He acted just like what she had always seen in her stoic soldier.

 

[MePersonally]

Tony's hands were shivering. He held the gun and tried to make sense of what had just happened. He had been shot multiple times. He should have died, but instead that guy had saved him... that guy... Tony felt like he knew his face. With a few more hours of torture and a little less emotion, maybe a little longer hair...

No doubt, that had been Bucky Barnes. That guy who had killed his mother. But he had just saved his life. Manipulation, he decided and went on firing at the soldiers, now from a safe place. Seconds later, Rhodey was beside him.
"Hey Tony. Need help?", the soldier asked and shot some of the Nazis, which were getting too close already.
Tony jumped.
"It's under control...", he claimed, almost automatically.

With Rhodey by his side, he felt safer, not as lost anymore. But what the actual...
"What are you doing here?", Tony asked his best friend, "You shouldn't be here, especially after..."
"Where are we even, Tony?", Rhodes asked back, "What happened? And after what? After Vision shot me off the sky? I'm over that."
More German soldiers came. Where the hell were they all hiding?!
Tony's glance dropped to the floor, but soon he felt a hand on his shoulder.
"Let's do this", the soldier said and took the first step, as he shot his way through the men, to the next cover. Tony followed, grateful for having someone who knew how to fight without a suit. Soon they sat behind a wall, loading their guns. The genius watched his friend. He had noticed that Rhodey could walk again. Though he knew it was only temporary, it made him feel better.

Rhodey saw Tony's guilty glance and knew what was up. His friend felt guilty for what had happened to him. But there was no need to. Of course, Tony had given the order to "turn him into a glider", but the shot had been meant to hit Wilson, not him. It had been an accident, not more. An accident that had cost him his ability to walk without technical help. Those words still echoed in Rhodey's head and sometimes he woke up sweating, hearing those words as it all started to spin...
He shook that thought off and focused on the here and now. Tony still owed him an answer.

Rhodey's questioning look distracted Stark for a while. Just as he wanted to explain, something detonated close to them. Tony froze, pictures pouring in. Rhodey grabbed his arm and pulled his friend to cover, pressing him down.
"What the hell?! Who is using grenades here?!", Rhodey squeaked.
"It's a memory... just a memory... maybe he remembers something wrong...", Tony mumbled, trying to keep his head focused and ignore the flashbacks. It was worse than usually, but he didn't know why...

"A memory?", James Rhodes asked and processed what he had just heard. A memory... most probably Steve's or Barnes' memory. This was a mind game. That's why he could walk now. But still, the bullets hurt. Steve probably knew where to go and if they followed him, they would find a way out. At least that sounded logical. But Steve -the Captain- was on the other end already.
"Tony..."
He really tried to sound calm.
"We gotta reach Steve. Sorry to say, but he's our ticket out of this."
The others were miles away already, but still in sight. But there was only one way for Tony and James Rhodes to get to them. Fight their way through.

 

[FarFlungDreamer]

See each other's perspective? What were they anyways, psychiatrists? His eyebrows pinched together and he let out an angry groan. Come on! For real? Auschwitz? Oh right, Captain America, the savior of WW2, hitting old Adolf in the face, there was a catchy jingle they heard before when Coulson decided to give them all a nerdy history lesson.

"Oh, great, the holocaust!" Clint grouched, shooting a glare around in an attempt to find Wanda. "That'll be easy to explain, where you been all night honey? Oh, you know, thought I'd go see some Nazi's," He cursed, shaking his head. "How do we get ourselves into this shit Nat?" He grumbled. "Couldn't we have just held hands and or seen a psych? Instead of some magic crap?"

His attitude was past the fact that Clint didn't want to add the god damn holocaust to the list of unseeable things he'd had to witness in his life so far. It also terrified him, maybe he didn't have the level of crazy that half the Avengers did have rattling up in his head... but they were quiet, personal demons that nobody knew. Laura... Bobbi... those two did know bits and pieces, but only some things and only a few each. Nat knew the most of his past.... because the two of them had been through some shit together and they both understood and had the same mentality about their list of past misdeeds. He just didn't talk about his younger days, and the idea of the other Avengers seeing anymore of him than Hawkeye... that terrified him.

It wasn't for anyone else to know... and he was equally worried about that for Nat. Nobody needed to see anything about her, and he didn't want to have to beat the shit out of anybody who decided to suddenly cast some ignorant blame on her. Some crap he'd have to fix, she didn't deserve that. Nat didn't deserve to relive any of her past either.

Tasha had a curious look on her face suddenly and Clint traced where she was gazing. Because curious in the middle of the freakin holocaust, not exactly the right reaction. He assumed she was trying to figure out who it was, the man who patted Tony on the shoulder and took off in a running crouch across the battlefield.

He fired along his way, missing certain shots as he ran and stumbled up only as he reached Rogers who was freeing another bunch ahead. "Yeah, that must be Barnes," Clint answered the question he assumed Natasha was thinking. As he turned and said something to Rogers, an all clear it sounded like, it was obvious it must be Captain America's old WW2 partner. That was trippy though, some faded memory of Barnes scooping Tony out of danger... yeah, weird. "This is some weird shit, Nat, some really weird shit but we'd better go play the game if we want out... or go find Wanda and force her to get us out of here. I'm for option two, instead of skipping down memory lane, you know?"

 

[Hammy]

Steve was aware of Bucky running a ways away to help someone else. In the meantime, he flung his shield out to ricochet off a couple of soldiers aiming their rifles at him. He stood between them and the prisoners making their way out, all the while the squadrons formed a kind of encroaching barrier as they systematically cleared out the camp. It mattered more to separate any enemy soldiers from the unarmed prisoners than to outright slaughter them. Getting stragglers out of the way so they could move forward was just conducive to that goal.

When he glanced back, he caught Bucky running back over to him. From the looks of it, he'd been helping another soldier. Tony? It looked kind of like Tony, but not at the same time. That dissonance made Steve's head hurt, and he had to assume that it had to do with Wanda altering the memory for her purposes. It couldn't have been healthy, poking around in someone's head like that.

Bucky approached him, getting close enough to mutter over the gunfire and shouts. Steve kept one eye on him while the other focused forward, but, as Bucky kept talking, Steve's attention shifted more and more onto his friend. Bucky knew, knew that he was doubting himself, and, by his own words, only from the look on his face. Yet Steve knew that Bucky knew that he was having doubts, even without a single word between them. Somehow, Steve could feel Bucky's want to relieve him of his self-imposed burdens even beyond his minimal words. More mind games in all likelihood, but powerful.

"I know, Buck, God, do I know," he said, letting Bucky shake him a bit. He needed it, for sure. It was nice to know that anyone saw that. "Just always seems like there's one more thing to do, no brakes on the train." FarFlungDreamer

 

[Shadow]

Sam wasn't supposed to be here. That was the first thing he thought after the darkness faded away. The first thing he felt was the weight of a gun in his hand. It wasn't exactly unfamiliar, but it was a bit off. Glancing down, he saw the bulky form of some out-dated, standard-issue military gun. "What, is this dress-up or something?" He mumbled, tugging at the collar of the uncomfortable uniform he was suddenly wearing. He looked up to see the glorious form of Steve Rogers in his World War Two-era Captain America outfit. Slowly it dawned on him where they were. The intimidating German words over an even more intimidating gate, along with the horrible smells, led him to conclude that this was some sort of concentration camp. And considering the fact that he was surrounded by stern faces dressed in similar uniforms, this wasn't just some weird prank.
"Freaking time travel?" He snorted, biting his lip to keep from laughing. He had seen some pretty weird crap over the years, both on his tours with the military and on the news....but time travel? He thought back to the warehouse, trying to recall Wanda's speech.
"I'm going to transfer each of you into each other's pasts. Let's see how you do."

Sam swallowed a sudden lump in his throat. If this was Steve, or maybe Bucky's memory, that meant that eventually every single one of the Avengers would end up watching his memories too. He gripped the gun tightly, trying not to let it slip as his hands began to sweat. Obviously now wasn't a good time to worry about whatever might happen, so he tried to focus instead on what Cap was saying. He only caught the last command, but no doubt he had said something inspirational.

Sam took his place with the rest of the squad as they moved into the camp. As sickening as the smell was, he quickly grew used to it, which was almost more concerning. He heard a few scattered gunshots from the groups that had split off, but so far, he hadn't seen much movement at all. Still, his eyes constantly flickered from place to place, trying to see everything at once. He wasn't paranoid exactly, but it was difficult to slid right back into this setting. The uniforms, toting guns, being surrounded by his comrades, it felt familiar, but not in a good way. It was the sort of familiar that makes you feel nostalgic, until you remember that in those memories, someone was with you to help keep you going. But this time....it was all a little too different to be considered Deja Vu, but too familiar to be ignored.
Sam huffed out a breath of air, frustrated with himself for letting all of this get to him. He hadn't spent years of his life recovering just to relapse at the threat of a reminder. Whatever the Witch had sent them here for, they probably weren't getting out until they accomplished it. And that accomplishment probably wasn't simply panicking.

He tried to pull himself together, refocusing on his surroundings as the sound of gunfire came closer. Suddenly everything erupted into chaos, with soldiers diving for cover left and right. He ran behind a building, checking his gun for ammo before firing off a few rounds. From his hiding spot, he saw an eerily familiar figure shooting wildly in the street. Another familiar person dragged them both out of sight; hopefully to safety. He released a breath and leaned around the corner of the building to fire again. He let out a grunt of surprise when his gun was yanked out of his hands. A German officer faced off with him for a moment before charging. Sam grabbed his shirt, letting the man's momentum carry him around to meet the ground on the other side. Sam quickly got into a fighting position, sizing the man up as he regained his footing. The man charged again, but Sam easily side-stepped his attack. "You look like a freaking bull charging like that. Haven't you heard of strategy?" Sam asked sarcastically, not really expecting an answer. It was pretty obvious that the man didn't understand his taunting, since he repeated the same charging move over and over again with the same result. Finally, Sam took the lead, knocking the man out with one punch. "Talk about all bravado and no skills." Sam said, shaking his head.
He went to retrieve his gun, but from the lack of gunshots, it didn't seem like he would be needing it for a while. He catiously stepped out from cover, moving towards where the squadron was trying to guide the prisoners to safety. His eyes widened in barely concealed shock at the state the prisoners were in. Of course, he had seen pictures and records of concetration camps, but this....seeing it in person made him almost speechless. He quickly moved to help a man who was desperately dragging himself along the group towards safety. "I've got you." Sam said, lifting the man up carefully. He tried not to show his shock at how emaciated the man was. He barely weighed fifty pounds and Sam had no trouble carrying him over to a couple of soldiers with stretchers. They got the man laid out on the stretcher and Sam watched numbly for a moment as they carried him away. Sam shook the thoughts out of his head, letting his instincts take over to spur him into action as he moved to help more of the motley crowd of prisoners.

 

[Jessy753]

"You know why I need to be in it. To make sure they won't kill each other while being in the curse. No-one knows what will happen if someone actually dies. What if they are caught in this forever? It would be our...my fault, Pietro. At least I need to be in it. It's necessary for me but you...you don't have to.", she spoke her eyes still glued at the familiar but yet foreign gate.
"Do you think he's here?", she whispered, hoping her brother would understand who she was talking about. She watched the battlefield from afar building a shield around herself and her brother just to make sure. For now she wanted to be nothing else than a normal bystander.

The smell was taunting and made her gag. Wanda slowly but surely turned pale wanting to puke. Unlike most of the Avengers, she didn't have a military background. She was a normal person who had gone through a lot to develop those cursed talents. Sometimes it didn't feel like some sort of talent like Hydra had wanted them to believe. It was a curse and she didn't even want to think about it.

She watched the Avengers from far away and was about to move a little as James Barnes moved. She nudged her brother on his side and gestured to the turmoil what looked like Barnes and Stark. "Do you think it's working or just a very small step?", she asked him not wanting to show how draining this was already becoming for her. But something felt different this time around. Like someone had given or lend her some energy. She looked around for the wizard. He was her safety blanket so to speak after all. What was that guy up to?

 

[FarFlungDreamer]

He frowned sourly at that, yes, well he still anything but a fan of that part of her plan. His plan did not involve that all. She'd tacked on a contingency out of guilt. Idiotic. "Oh please," He scoffed as she suggested he leave. He realized they'd been on their own for sometime while he wasn't free.... but it shouldn't be that hard to forget. His sister was being her usual doubting self.

His frown lightened, but he still felt unsure. Apparently his sister thoughts were the same as his. He shook his head slowly, and looked over the images here. Rogers images, he reminded himself, it wasn't the real thing. Their father.... he let out a low breath and took his sister's hand to squeeze once.

"It's a memory, sister," He reminded her.... and himself. He was here.... once, long ago. Before his death, before he even met their mother. "The likelihood Captain America would have seen him? Absolutely none," He added sure, and yet he glanced around anyways. He wondered if he'd even recognize their father if they could see him here? They'd seen a picture of him when he was young but the people here were so malnourished and half dead. Not that they'd likely want to, Father never spoke of it, just that once... and when he had it had felt like such a weight that they never questioned about it again. It was left alone, likely where it belonged.

"I think they're stubborn," He pointed out of the Avengers. Very stubborn lot, he knew, he'd fought them and besides them and it would likely take more than this. They could hope, but Pietro wouldn't place any hopes on them. He wanted his sister out of this already, she had never done something so complex, it was dangerous. "What are you feeling?"

 

[Jessy753]

"Well, we could've played a good old game of Monopoly. Even those grandpas over there would've known how it works. But apparently we're supposed to kick some ass. Still not as bad as Budapest though.", she joked just to mock him. She knew ever since New York Barton hated that comparison. But of course her partner had a point. She had absolutely no desire to share her vivid memories with anyone. Yet it would be interesting how the spell would work around her implanted memories. After all it was still hard for her to distinguish between real and fake events from time to time. Yet she couldn't wait to severely injure Barton's mentor and his brother. Both of them should witness how it is to be treated like Clint had been.

Natasha was equally protective of Clint like he was towards her. She wouldn't give the Avengers the chance to see him anything else than the archer they knew. But at the same time she couldn't wait to finally get her hands on his former mentor and older brother. She knew it was only a memory but it would clam her nerves and both of them deserved whatever came their way. But at the same time she knew they shouldn't dwell too long in each other's memories. The redhead wasn't looking forward to have people mess with her own head again. It was still occasionally hard to distinguish between real and implanted memories for her. Perhaps they would land in one of her fake ones from her time with the Bolshoi. At least her former team mates wouldn't glance at her in pity. Some part of her already knew the reaction to her own past. First it would be sympathy, which slowly but surely would turn into disgust. It reminded her why she should better stay on her own. She was no team player after all. Just a one woman army.

"I'm in. Let's run down Maximoff.", she answered sarcastic and continued "We would do ten steps towards her and Twin Two would have our sorry asses dragged away sooner than we could blink." Natasha crinkled her mouth and looked to Wanda and Pietro before she followed Clint. "It's easier to pretend to be a team again than actually fighting her. None of us knows what happens if we actually injure her or the Speedster.", she told him quietly, "At best this will only go as long as they think we're a team again. So let's help everyone out of here for now, shall we?" With that statement she loaded her gun and started to take people down. Old weapons weren't her weapon of choice. They weren't precise and tended to make friendly fire easier. Even after years of training. The old Stark might've been a genius but Tony's weapons were by far better.

 

[Jessy753]

Wanda looked around. Her brother had a point. They were a stubborn lot so most likely it would take more than one memory to form a group again. But she was simply hopeful. This spell was draining her energy really quickly. Even after the boost. It was her first spell which was more than moving things and mind play. It took more from her than she had anticipated. Yet she wanted to keep things up. Just long enough for those idiots to finally understand why the world needed the Avengers. Not each of them alone but them as a group.

But something about this memory in particular made her nervous and nauseous. It wasn't even the smell but the knowledge their father had been here. Pietro was right she tried to tell herself. The likelihood of Rogers seeing their father was little to none. "You are right. Just a memory.", she tried to agree but it was like a feeling in her guts that there was more to it than she actually wanted. She squeezed his hand back to reassure him that she understood. But it was more of making herself believe that he was there. Right next to her. Ever since Sokovia and he had come back, Wanda needed prove from time to time that her brother was with her again.

"They are stupid but the world needs them.", she reasoned once again. It was the same argument she had used over and over again. Like she was trying to convince herself that this was the right decision. That they were for once doing the right thing and weren't blinded by anything. "I'm...It feels odd.", she said, "It's more tiring than I thought." She looked at her brother and admitted "It feels like something's about to happen but I don't know what."

 

[MePersonally]

"It's the memory dynamics", Stephen explained to Wanda, knowing a little about the spell she had used, "Makes you foresee things."
He saw how the spell drained her and wondered if she was as strong as everyone said she was. Well, he didn't possess a lot of expertise either, but it was enough to survive a fight and do what he had to do to keep Wanda from passing out.

When this was over, maybe he could teach her to use the energy around her. To work more efficiently. But for now a little power boost was all he could do to keep the mind illusion alive.
He wasn't allowed to poke around in people's minds anyway. He wouldn't do that. It was just... wrong. But he got the girl's point, the Avengers needed to be restored. If it wasn't possible any other way, maybe this would help.

"The thing is, you have to let it do its own work. Don't interfere too much. The memory's there, all you have to do is keep the others inside it", he explained, "Does that make sense? Yeah I guess it does."
He nodded. The baseline was there, so all she had to do was give it direction. He had moved this into another dimension about 15 minutes ago. So the surrounding was stable. All they needed was ine input from the guy's head. It was so easy...

Just that he knew it would take a whole lot more to get those stubborn lot to even be ready to take the others point of view. If it was even possible. He saw them and saw the hate between those two groups that had built up. Like two gangs who would rather die than trying to understand the other party. It was absurd, seeing them like that. Just the two agents hadn't picked sides and he doubted they ever would. It was a thing between them, something deep. Not love, but a deep trust in each other. They had been through worse than this and they took it with humor. Still he could feel the fear in the back of their minds. The fear that they would be the next ones to expose their past. Because hell, whatever it was, it was something big.

 

[FarFlungDreamer]

"Good," He said, giving Steve's shoulder a light hit before he returned his hand to reposition his gun at his side. As long as Steve could admit it, Bucky would always be there to... his head seemed to hurt as Steve mentioned there being no brakes on the... the train...

He closed his eyes, a faded scream pounded in the back of his head, and the wind...

Another lurch, and he could feel his whole body dropping, he threw himself forward in a desperate attempt to somehow get to Steve…. and then as the bar ripped from the train, it was over. He saw his friend getting farther and farther, his body enveloped by rushing air, it pressed at all sides and he could hear nothing else, not even his own screams.

The panic took hold as he flailed out for anything as he fell, fell to this wild, crushing feeling he knew was death….

His mind burned with the strange feelings, that made his stomach lurch and nearly come up. He... didn't understand why it seemed to fracture the battlefield around him. He tried to focus on Steve, standing next to him and not this odd sensation. "This war is never ending," He replied but he... that wasn't right. Bucky never saw the end of the war... he was... he was never here. No... he was taken... this was wrong. He never got to be here for Steve. He glanced down at his hands on the gun and inherently knew that was wrong too... after the fall, his arm was torn off on the cliffs... Hammy

Bucky was distracted from the sudden clash, and the beginning of recognition this wasn't right, that he was not part of this... no, this was the girl, the one Steve knew... by a metallic screech echoing around the deathly camps. He turned, instincts pushing all the tangles of memories and facts away as he looked towards one of the gates that lead to what he somehow knew were the gas chambers. The gate was falling... or so he thought, it was as if it fell in slow motion, as if some unseen force was bending them outward. But that was impossible of course... the metal must be weakened by something. Jessy753

 

[FarFlungDreamer]

He snorted, yeah, they just barely might. By a few years. He nodded towards her, but huffed. Even if it was true, Budapest was a mess. Why did she love comparing everything to that. Tasha just knew he couldn't complain about whatever was going on if he compared it to that. Made things a walk in a park... lots of times he needed that good kick. Who knew! Nat was the level headed one of the pair, actually, Clint did know that. Likely the only instance Nat was the less reckless one, but Clint was a special kind of stupid at times. Sometimes he just did things without seeing where they led. This was not one of those times.

"You're no fun, Nat, I ever tell you that?" He sighed. Running down Wanda seemed so much easier than chancing going into any of their heads. But she was right, Pietro was playing the guard dog, keeping them off Wanda while she messed with them all. He still didn't understand why it was working, when he'd been better built up against her attacks originally. Maybe it was just because this wasn't his head yet. He doubted that would actually work that way, but a guy had to hope! "Fine, except I don't think a compound bow was standard issue in freaking world war two." Jessy753

World War 2... christ sakes, but after the shock value of it wore off... he couldn't help but find it almost... foreign putting Cap in this place. He knew he'd been this old, of course, but somehow... being here, seeing all this? Well no wonder Steve felt so strongly, was so sure of himself in situations that the Avengers fell in. Well, if he made it in and out of these kinds of situations... Clint couldn't blame him for that. That was one thing he'd never understood about Cap, how he managed to truly believe in such a strigid moral compass, when the world had some many gray areas. Well... after these sorts of things, maybe that was how the world looked. Hammy

 

[FarFlungDreamer]

"That is worrisome," He frowned, and looked over the buildings. He watched the magician aloof, as he approached and did his best not to look sour. Pietro did his best to not act poorly towards the magician so far. He was here for Wanda, he knew, but Pietro saw him as an insurance policy. A means to help Wanda if this became too strenuous, or she had something go wrong as it could. He was cranky with their progress, it was poor, nearly non existence and Pietro wasn't a patient person in general, but with his sister's safety on the line he was even less so. "See to it she doesn't need to," He replied, raising his chin up. MePersonally

Pietro was distracted from the conversation and his sister's needs by a shaking. He looked around quizzically, it wasn't the ground directly, he would feel it through his feet. But instead it was one of the buildings, he moved towards their left to get a better look. A... a boy, was crawling up from some sort of pit, a hole... filled with dead bodies. Pietro averted his eyes, feeling nauseated by the scene. But as he watched the boy, trying and failing to stand he felt an odd recognition pass him. Too weak from the conditions here, Pietro decided. But as he stepped forward slowly, almost in a fog... he realized he did recognize the look of the face. Barely, it was sunken in, more a skull than a face... but he recognized those eyes, burning fiercely. So much like his sisters and his...

He swallowed, as the boy screamed in a language he didn't quite understand... but one he'd heard before. Heard... heard his father speak... Polish, if he weren't incorrect. "Wanda..." Pietro called out weakly, shaking himself. He was seeing things, certainly! He had just finished telling his sister how impossible those odds were. Except... as the boy outstretched his shaking arm, fingers clutched around the air much like Wanda's with her powers, he could see the tattoo... and he found himself running at a normal speed to see the image, the boy closer... if he could just read the numbers he could prove himself wrong!

But he did not, as he ran forward, and heard the boy shout again, as he managed to stand and then fall back to his knees. His hand stretched out to one of the buildings with smoke coming from the chimney. "Matka...Ojciec..!" (Mother, Father) It was then the shaking started and he stared away from his... his... father, towards the gates enclosing the gas chambers as they started rattling violently. Jessy753

 

[Jessy753]

Wanda looked at Strange as he tried to explain her her own witchcraft. Of course he was trying to just help but what did he know about it. Every spell came with a price for her but neither the wizard nor her brother knew about it. They were better off not knowing what this spell and her own talent was actually demanding of her. It was already getting to her and she could feel become tired despite of him shifting this to another dimension. Perhaps she could let go off things. But what if she made a mistake? Wasn't it better to control the memory before she and her brother got sucked into it too far? But maybe, maybe Strange was right. Simply keeping the people in the spell would be easier and less demanding of a price.
So, she did as adviced and allowed the memory perform on its own. Almost instantly she felt pressure getting off of her. Her body and soul seemed to relax again. Her mind was less rebellious in this state. So they should be fine. All of them. "It seems to make things easier at least.", she finally agreed with Strange and looked around. The memory still seemed to be stable despite of it performing on its own. The spell had been good and well performed. She took a deep breath and a small but still noticable smile fell on her lips. She had done it. Now, it was up to this stubborn lot to do their part. MePersonally

The witch looked over to what caused a turmoil. Her eyes went wide as she became pale. Was it..? Was her mind projecting this like a movie? It wouldn't be so far fetched after all her mind did what it wanted from time to time. She looked at her brother to stare him into the same direction. Hadn't he just told her that the chances were so small? He had been right, hadn't he? "Do you see him as well...?", she whispered almost breathless as she still was waiting for her brother to tell her that there was nothing or no one in particular. But instead her twin walked forward and she was about to reach out for his hand. But he was running...no he was walking in Pietro's terms.
Slowly she followed her brother needing more time than him to take one step after another. She stared at the boy - at the starved boy, who almost looked like a walking corpse. It couldn't be...? Just one last time of seeing their father and not even in their memories but in Rogers? Why hadn't he told her? But then again why would Captain America pay attention to one particular child within this hell? Wanda couldn't blame him after all Rogers didn't know that their father had been in Auschwitz. FarFlungDreamer Hammy

The closer she got to the boy, the surer Wanda became that it was him. "Father...", she whispered even though the child had no idea who she was. She outstretched her hand just as the boy did the same. She felt something than the gates started to rattle. Her eyes went wide and to her it almost felt like the air was electrified by something. It was familiar to the sensation she felt if she stepped into areas where someone had used magic. It left traces after all. Her spell would do the same in their world. "Pietro..!", she tried to call out but again nothing else than a whisper left her lips. Her hand went up to her head as she suddenly felt nauseous. It wasn't the smell this time but soemthing that was about to happen. Like foreseing things. At the same time the metal gates sprang open, Wanda knew who the boy was. Both hands cletched to her head, she sank to her knees just like she had the moment she felt that Pietro had been dead. Dead... So much death. FarFlungDreamer

It was enough to make her head go its own way. It was like someone was constantly pressing down on her head and once she opened her eyes, they were glowing. It was hard for her to differ from reality and memory now. The colours seemed to be suddenly off. The few trees suddenly had a complete different colour. They're trunks were green and the leaves red. It was not only the trees but the whole scene had changed colour. Her former teammates had their usual clothes back on than suddenly their fighting gear followed by something she hadn't seen on them yet. Thor was dressed in a dark flowy cape with dark clothes underneath. It didn't seem part of the Earth's fashion. Clint was dressed in some sort of circus wear, Romanoff was in a ballett uniform, Sam in a modern soldier's uniform, Cap and Bucky were dressed in their old WWII festive uniform. Then the gates were back at the gas chambers and flew off it again. The more Wanda seemed to get emotional, the less stable the whole spell became. It was like someone fast forwarded than rewinded. Only to have things pause completely. Her eyes searched for her brother as her headache grew, she needed him. Just a touch of his skin to know he was there. A simple hand on her shoulder mostly was enough to make her sane again. But suddenly all Wanda was able to see was a bright white flash than things seemed to become normal again.
She was panting for air as she looked around. The gates sprang open once again but everyone was dressed back in the World War II uniform even Wanda, her twin and Strange. Still the scenery seemed more off than before. Less lifelike more like they were part of a really old and bad production of a movie. It was almost her little episode prior had an impact on the three people who had tried to stay out of all this and simply watch. FarFlungDreamer MePersonally Hammy Shadow someghostinthecorner

 

[Jessy753]

Natasha stared her partner and shrugged. "I call you a liar, Clinton.", she answered to him telling her she was no fun, "'Cause you still seem to drag me everywhere you go with you. It's quite exhausting to be honest." She wiped imaginary sweat off her forehead to mock the archer a little more. "Well, I'm afraid you will need to put up with those old guns. Seriously don't want to feed Stark's ego but he definitely designs better weapons. Don't tell him I said that though!", she threatened raisingher finger threatingly, "his old pop's guns tend not to be precise" She loaded her gun and aimed it at a poor German who was at the wrong time at the wrong place. Without even batting an eyelid, she pulled trigger and the bullet went right through the skull. "They pull to the left... Interesting.", she muttered and was about to finally walk into the battlefield as metal screeched and then things became weird. FarFlungDreamer

Their whole environment seemed to change from second to second and suddenly they were back. The memory seemed to be more off than prior. Things changed all the time and Maximoff seemed to be weak. The other twin was preoccupied with something else. She was about to pull the trigger a second time to shoot Maximoff. Everything seemed better than to have people digging in her brain again. But before she was able to pull it properly, the gan vanished and she was standing there in a ballett outfit. Natasha cursed under her breath in Russian and suddenly they were back on the battlefield in their gear from earlier.

Despite of the fact that things suddenly seemed to look a little off, German soldiers started to barge out towards the boy. Hell broke lose as the metal doors flew open. Instead of attacking them they were going for the boy. "Holt ihn! Mir egal wie aber stopt ihn! [Get him! I don't care how but stop him!]", a German commanding officer screamed at the top of his lungs over the sounds of the gun, "Tötet die Feinde aber nicht den Jungen! [Kill the enemy but not the boy!]" . One of the younger custodians drew his gun and shot but instead of hitting the boy the bullet stopped midair and turned around in its flight. Natasha watched mesmerized as the bullet made a 180 and hit the man instead. She glanced at the boy before she recognized that the Allied forces seemed to outnumber them by now. Whever had happened but suddenly opening the gates to that building hadn't been smart.

The redhead didn't have much time to dwell over it. Instead she ran forward to the nearest soldier and broke the man’s neck by jumping over the guy and wrapping her shins on each side of the man’s neck to quickly turn it. She watched the Captain and Barnes being outnumbered. She had no idea what had gotten into her but suddenly she was in the middle of the fight. Hammy FarFlungDreamer [/USER]

 

[Hammy]

Steve met Bucky's eyes again and found them far away. It was a blink and you miss it expression, but Steve could. "This war is never ending." It felt like it, that was for sure. But it was just a thought, he reminded himself. He tried to project that to Bucky, tried to somehow pierce his mind like Wanda had pierced Steve's. Just a bad memory, a terrible time to- FarFlungDreamer

Out of the corner of his eye, Steve caught a gate bending nearby, seemingly on its own. He glanced around and spotted what must have been Wanda leaning down over a young boy. Her face was indescribable, utterly destroyed. Steve gritted his teeth at the sight. He hadn't wanted her to see any of this; she was so young and it wasn't fair. Why did she have to pick this memory? Why couldn't she just subject Steve to it again and leave the rest of them out of it? Steve would take the torment if it meant saving them from this hell. From having to see someone barely any younger than her on the ground, dying like an animal. What good could possibly come from that? It was pure torture at that point.

All of a sudden, Steve's head screamed. He saw flashes of color and light and images. It felt like he was being split open again, but even worse this time. He felt a level of emotion beyond his own, an external force pushing and pulling and bending, voluntarily or otherwise. Even though he wasn't under physical duress, his mind was convinced that something was causing him pain. His worldly body twitched and squirmed, eyes watering. Steve could feel it all, while his mind was still far away. Jessy753

Then it all suddenly stopped, like a car going 100 miles per hour. Steve was back in the camp, but it wasn't the same. It was almost fragmented, grainy somehow.The German soldiers had come closer, surrounding himself and Bucky. Steve wanted to vomit, but it was like he didn't even have a stomach. Or anything below his neck. Everything but his brain was just a numb phantom limb. But he couldn't let them get any closer. He had to fight, for everyone's sake. All he could do was pray that it would be over soon.

Falling back on muscle memory, Steve held his shield in front of his face and grabbed his handgun, firing off a few rounds where he saw openings. He saw something going on farther out with Wanda, but it was hard to make anything out. It was like his eyes didn't want to work anymore. Steve didn't remember this much duress when he'd first had this experience.

 

[FarFlungDreamer]

Pietro stared at the outstretched hand as they came closer, hardly the size of a stick, so thin he expected it to snap from the weight of gravity alone... his throat was becoming tight. The gates rattling and the boys... he looked over the numbers, which he knew as well as anything of his Father, his chuckle, the devious looks he'd share with Pietro when Mother wasn't looking, the smirk that came just before he let Pietro get away with something... and yet, he couldn't picture his Father - who was strong and determined, as this boy shaking with the weight of holding an arm up, lying on the ground, dragging himself towards the gates. Yet... he remembered when they were small the pain that flashed across his Father's usually strong features when Wanda asked if they had another nana from Father's side... an innocent question from a child... and yet it flew to his memory now as that boy screamed for his parents. Likely dead long before, burned alive...

His throat heaved and he shook himself as he hardly heard Wanda near him. He turned, face blanking more as the gates started to move. As if under this boy's influences, as if... their father's.... was that... he couldn't hardly understand the implications. That their father might be like them. That just couldn't be!! They were tested on... this... how would their father know anything of that? Be part of... he didn't understand, but it was so obvious to him as guards ran out, not shooting him, but carefully circling.

The bullets stopped, as this younger version of his father's head turned. They stopped. His find reeled, no longer even seeing the boy fight until the butt of a gun hit his head and the doors and gates stopped their creaking. He was back home, suddenly, Wanda cradled under him in his arms, the air cracking with bombs and their homes collapsing over top of them. The metal warhead he had stared at, in perfect fear overtaking them for days as they sat waiting for death... knowing it so well, he knew it, every aspect of that metal bomb.

His sudden devastation was sidelined as the world around them changed and shifted, things going wrong...

Wanda!

He spun from the scene provoking so much within him. Wanda was slipping and he burst forward, although her slip must be pausing him becuase he could not move quickly. He ran at a normal pace, as if her powers were fighting him or pulling him. "Wanda!" He shouted, as he pressed forward to get to his sister. Her spell was falling apart, but he didn't care for that, he cared why, the distress he felt over their father... she felt that too and it had set her off.

Her eyes spun around, and he could see the look of how lost she was. He could finally move, and was suddenly in a hat and war clothing, as were the others. So was Wanda, her wardrobe suddenly changed, and the world seemed to stabilize. It all sounded more loud though, even the sounds of the fight to him. His hand clasped around her shoulders finally and he could feel a small amount of fear for his sister. Pietro had known this was a poor idea. "Wanda... sister, are you alright?" He asked, worry coloring his tone as he squeezed her shoulders to try and pull her attention to him and not her unfocused state. Her breathing was labored but her eyes had dulled to her normal color.

 

[MePersonally]

She was distracted. Something was off with her and as much as Stephen tried to keep the illusion alive, he needed her as a connection to the memory. But the girl stared at the boy inside that hole instead. Did she know him? But that was impossible... except...
"Hey! Focus!", he took her shoulder and shook her lightly, as suddenly the scenery changed around them. It was clear that she wasn't able to get her mind off that boy. But was it possible that she was right...? That this was...?
She was shivering and her magic was just as shaky. In a last desperate try he took her into his arms and pushed all his energy through her into the spell. Who knew if she had survived her struggles otherwise. This was not any different to a surgery. He wouldn't lose her, he wouldn't fail this.

The child screamed for his parents. It seemed to startle the girl even more and her brother was totally out of concept this time. If only that boy would shut up for a minute so he could draw her attention back to him.
"It's only a memory, he can't see you...", he said softly. Would she just calm down and focus again? She would do them all a big favor.

Switching bach and forward, up and down, that wasn't good for any of them. The surroundings changed again and he found himself in a big room, with mirrors and everything. Whose memory was that? Oh, yes, the spy's. She was clearly the center of the picture. But now back to the real thing. The memory they had usually planned on finishing.

"Alright", he said calmly and pulled Wanda aside, his arm still around her. Oh how he hated hugs! But this one was necessary to keep her performing. It was almost like calming a young surgeon down. They panicked and he needed them calm to go through the operation. She wasn't there, wasn't focused at all... where were her thoughts? She was somewhere else, in a memory. And the spell took her power. Absorbed it to the point where she was hardly conscious. He caught her, sending more waves of energy through her.
Breathe, Wanda, breathe. Hey. Get up. Focus!, he screamed inside her head. And it worked. She was back, the sight cleared and he nodded slowly. He had removed the child from the memory. No more distractions here, they had a mission to complete.

 

[Jessy753]

The soldiers marched and tried to circle the child. But some of them were gone by the time Strange removed the boy from the memory. Instead they were onto the Avengers by now. A group of five slowly but surely circled the blonde man. They were shouting commands at each other and two of them raised their weapons aiming them on Clint. FarFlungDreamer

Most of the soldiers who were their to protect the base were attacking Steve Rogers. Of course he was the very public symbol of the world the Nazi regime hated. So everyone knew that he was basically leading this operation. If they succeeded it meant no-one would attack them anytime soon. They all would become heroes. So they courageously stood up and fired at Captain America and his companion as well as the redhead alongside them. Hammy FarFlungDreamer

A German soldier saw two people hiding ready to take over their camp. Didn't they understand? It was necessary. This was necessary to clean the world from the scum. From the trash that held their society down. Another enemy was standing close. All three seemed to be lost and that's the moment the young officer took. He pulled the pin out of the hand grenade and threw it towards Tony, Rhodey and Sam. Afterwards the man of not even 20 years started firing. Shadow MePersonally

Some soldiers slowly but surely got near a blond long haired man. They were quietly obviously wanting to ambush him. They were about a few steps away they draw their weapons at the muscular soldier. One soldier slipped and pulled the trigger too soon, shooting at Thor and giving their location away. someghostinthecorner

 

[Jessy753]

Wanda felt someone's grip on her. She needed some time to actually be able to register that someone wanted something from her. It was like the confusion over their father had taken over which led the spell run wild. She wasn't 100 percent there at the moment and it was more than obvious the spell was still shaky. She looked at the sorcerer and it was more than obvious she didn't recognize him at first. It was first when her brother's voice was behind her that the brunette seemed to slowly but surely get out of her troubles.
She glanced up at the doctor as things were coming into place slowly. Her mind was still rebellious but at least the spell seemed to calm down as well. "What...what happened?", she asked unsure of what had been going on herself.

Her gaze found the one of her brother and the spell seemed to even out again. Like usually her brother managed to calm her down again. She needed him as much as he needed her despite of none of them actually wanting to admit that. "I..I'm fine...", she tried to brush her brother's concerns off despite of her still being a little shaken. Her eyes searched for the boy but he was gone. Had she imagined all of that? Had she...? "Where's the boy?", she asked under her breath hoping Pietro would verify of what had just happened. MePersonally FarFlungDreamer

 

[MePersonally]

"I pulled him out. It was my fault he was there. Rogers didn't see him, but he war there and... I mixed up reality with the memories. It made the thing more stable, but it also brought in some uninvited guests", he grumbled and finally let go of the girl. Oh social interaction, oh sweet social interaction. He wished he could just disappear. But he needed to make this right. He was the only person who could.
"Move things on a little, skip forward to the point. They're getting distracted."

Stephen hated long and senseless actions and he was that kind of man who would cone right to the point rather than sparing someone's feelings. It just wasn't the nature of a surgeon and after all, that mindset was still inside him. Though he had changed, a lot. He had understood that some things needed time and that he couldn't force anything. Though that was all a matter of perspective. The most important thing was believing.

He looked up and suddenly faced a horde of soldiers. Oups. He walked right through them, pulling Wanda after him. It was almost comical, how easily this memory was bent. It was like folding a piece of paper and punching a hold right through both sides if you're not careful enough. If he wasn't careful he would punch right through the spell and end up in reality again. That would be a little hard to explain.
The spell seemed to grow confident again and he kept holding onto Wanda, giving her energy to keep it stable. That was going to be a long long mission.

 

[MePersonally]

Tony nodded to himself. Yes, Rhodey was right. They needed to stay close to Steve to get out of this. But there were soldiers between them and Tony felt naked without the suit. He started to shiver and his heart beat faster. His chest felt heavy, as if he couldn't breathe properly anymore. His eyes widened and he pressed against a small wall behind him.

Seriously? Was Tony really having a panic attack right now? That was the worst moment he could have chosen to have a flashback. There were soldiers approaching, they needed to get out of there!
"No, Tony. Don't do that to me. HEY!", he got a grip of his friend again and pulled him up, "Get yourself together. We need to get outta here, look at me. TONY!"
No chance to get him up or get him to move. He was snuggled up on that wall and had his arms around himself.

"Tony, come on, we have to get out of here!", Rhodey shouted, starting to get nervous himself.
Worst time ever. They had noticed them already.
There was Sam, he wasn't far from them. Maybe he could help calm Tony down. They were stuck in there. Maybe they could get him up together. He waved at him with a desperate glance. ( Shadow )
"Tony...", he sighed, "please..."
He shot at the young man, who was in front of them. Pure survival instinct. The boy dropped, but others followed.
"Dammit, Tony, we needa get moving!", he shouted at the genius again, "You wanna die in here?!"

But Tony couldn't move. His eyes stared into the distance, his heart was beating as hell. He was suffocating! There was a splinter in his chest, he could feel it! It was there! He couldn't move! Rhodey shouted at him but he couldn't! He was hurt! He was about to suffocate! He couldn't...

 

[Shadow]

Sam fingered the ridges on his gun, eyes roving aimlessly over the ground. A voice deep inside his mind reminded him that he should probably be doing something; helping someone, fighting for his life. His eyes flickered up distractedly and he took in the crowd around him. Skeletal people, dragging themselves along, they looking as lost as he felt. He could only see a few of the Avengers from where he stood, and it was hard to tell how they were handling this whole thing just by looking at them. His mind snapped to attention when he saw a squad of Nazi soldiers approaching. Before he could force himself into action, the whole scene flipped itself upside down, flashing images across his vision that he knew weren't real. For some reason he looked down and saw that his outfit had changed again; a sick feeling settled in his stomach as a memory flickered across his mind, triggered by the modern day uniform he was suddenly wearing.

Just as suddenly as it fell apart, everything switched back to normal. Or at least, somewhat normal. He was still in Steve's memory, and a quick glance around showed that so were the rest of the Avengers. Judging by the weight of the gun in his hands, he was also dressed in a World War Two-era uniform again. It was strange to realize that he actually preferred this over his old uniform from while he was serving.

He pulled out of his own musings, wondering if the others had been affected by what had happened. He saw Steve and Bucky, encircled by Nazi soldiers and he flinched, about to jump into action. He was stopped by the sight of Tony Stark, pressed up against a wall with a look of panic etched onto his face. Rhodey was waving him over and he felt a wave of unrelenting guilt. Rhodey could walk here.
Like a slap across the face, he was jerked out of his guilt by the flash of a grenade being thrown at him. A tiny part of him registered Rhodey shooting the kid that had thrown the grenade, but he was too busy diving for the explosive device. "Grenade!" He shouted, flinging the device torwards the Nazis that surrounded Steve and Bucky. He didnt wait to see if his throw had been good or not; he was already running towards Tony and Rhodey.

"Hey." He said quickly, looking them both up and down. They seemed mostly unharmed, except for Tony's look of panic. Sam tried to focus, pulling on his experience working with veterans who had PTSD. "Tony, I'm gonna need you to focus okay? We need you right now." He frowned slightly, wondering why the hell Tony would listen to him. He flashed a look at Rhodey, but he knew if neither of them could snap Tony out of it, they would probably all die. "Look man, I know this sucks. No one in their right mind would put you in the middle of a battlefield knowing what you've been through," he wondered for a moment if Wanda could hear him, "but they did. So do us all a huge favor and try to live through it, alright man?" Sam said desperately, overly aware of the incoming Nazis.

MePersonally FarFlungDreamer Jessy753 Hammy