The Guide To Moving On

Chapter 4 - Needle in a Hay Stack

Natasha's POV

"So we are just going to let him go? Into a world, he doesn't know?" I urged Fury. I know that the Captain was being stubborn, but that didn't mean I didn't feel a little sorry for him. I know exactly what it is like to lose everything. It sucks.

"Of course not, I am going to send you after him. Something tells me he doesn't want anything to do with me and you may the very person to talk some sense into him." Fury instructed as he walked towards the door, I followed him close behind.

"But sir we don't even know where he is going." I pleaded, trying to talk some sense into Fury. At this rate, we are going to lose the super-soldier forever. Then it won't matter how much work we have put into gathering the rest of the Avengers.

"Come on agent, where is the only place that a homesick man that is out of his depth would go?" Fury said calmly as he switched off the light and walked out of the old gym.

His hometown.

Of course, why hadn't I thought of that earlier? By now, Fury had left me to my thoughts, but his instructions were clear. I had to recruit Captain Rogers to the Avengers, even if I had just as much luck trying to find a needle in a haystack.

I guess I am going on a drive to Brooklyn. I walked out of the gym, closing the old door behind me. I walked briskly out of the SHIELD headquarters and onto the busy street below. I made it to my apartment in 5 minutes flat.

I had to start packing, I had a feeling that this mission would take more than a few hours. I grabbed all of the essentials and was about to leave when it dawned on me.

When Steve left, I doubt he thought about taking money or supplies with him, meaning that he was probably walking the 200-kilometer distance to Brooklyn from the SHIELD base in the outskirts of New York.

If I left now, he would well and truly be still walking and I could run the risk of missing him in the process. I decided that I was better off waiting until morning before I left to ensure that he made it there before I started looking.

In the meantime, I plan to research the places that the one and only Captain American would most likely be and catch up on some sleep before I left.

Steve's POV

I had been walking for hours and hours now, my only direction guide was road signs that popped up every 30kms or so. I was a little tired due to spending so long in the gym before I left, but I pushed it aside, nothing was going to stop me from getting to my hometown, Brooklyn.

The walk was good for me anyway, even if it was in the dark. I was thankful for my super soldier serum as I don't think I would be able to stand the cold in my sweat pants and shirt without it.

Other than the few cars that drove past every so often, I was completely alone with my thoughts. Finally.

In SHIELD or whatever it is called, no one would leave me alone. Like they expected me to come out of the ice 70 years later and just be ok with losing everything that made up my very being. I think that is part of the reason I am off to Brooklyn, to find some sense of normality in this strange and unforgiving world.

A million thoughts were running through my head, not only about the incident but about what Fury and that Agent said. There were world threats, and there were other extraordinary people in this world now.

All of the information in those files were just adding to my confusion. What even is radiation and why did it turn a doctor into a rage monster? What was so special about Tony Stark? Why was there nothing other than an assassin written under the Agent's name?

None of it made sense, not that it mattered now though. I had told them all I wanted no part in it and left that building for good. They couldn't control or pester me any longer, I was officially alone.

Just up ahead, the city came into view. The sun rose about an hour ago and the city sparkled in the early morning light. I picked up the pace a little, eager to get back to the place that I called home. But what would I do? I had no money, no one left to call into and I am sure that my old house wouldn't be mine anymore. Not after I was presumed dead for so long.

My life wasn't here anymore, or at least how I remember it. There was nothing that could remind me of the past, was there?

It was then that it dawned on me, there was one place that specialized in the past. A museum. As I started to reach the outskirts of Brooklyn, I decided to ask someone for directions to the closest museum.

After a few minutes of asking around, a kind lady was nice enough to tell me where the museum was located. Turns out that it was only a few blocks away from here. I thanked her and took off in the direction she described. Maybe there I could find some comfort from my old life.

Natasha's POV

I had waited about 5 hours now and I figured that now was as good as any to find Cap. I grabbed my luggage and headed out the door, locking it as I went. I got into my black Corvette, the car I got from Tony when I did a mission with him. I was extremely grateful for it and it had become my baby.

I sped off down the bustling streets of New York, with the destination of Brooklyn.

A few hours later I arrived in significantly quieter Brooklyn. Now the next challenge, figuring out where Captain Rogers would go. An old house? Surely not, someone else would have moved in. A friend? No, he, unfortunately, doesn't have any left in Brooklyn. A bar? No, they wouldn't be open this early in the morning.

Where else could he possibly be? I racked my brain for answers but couldn't figure out any, so instead, I resorted to driving the streets of Brooklyn with the slight hope of running into him.

Right as I was about to give up and get breakfast, I saw a tall blonde haired man entering a building out of the corner of my eye. Surely that isn't him, right? But something about that man was niggling at me so I decided to follow him into the building.

I parked my car outside of the building in the designated parking spots, getting out and walking towards the building I saw him enter a few moments ago.

I looked up before I entered the building, it was a museum. Of course, if anyone knew about the 40s it would be them. Maybe, by some miracle, I had seen the very man I was looking for entering this building. Maybe.

I guess there is one way to find out.