H A I L H Y D R A || J. B. Barnes

t w e n t y - e i g h t

The closer Becky and Steve got to Siberia, the more anxious she became that they were going to be too late. It was better that they stopped the fake doctor before he even had a chance to release the death squad.

When they did land at the base, at the exact coordinates Becky had given to the team earlier in the day, they saw a vehicle already outside of the base.

The vehicle was one made for the deep snow and thick ice, specialized tracks on its tires to keep it above ground. He was already there and by the looks of it, he was already inside.

Steve landed the quinjet carefully. And when he got it safely on the ground, Becky unbuckled herself and walked to the back. She opened one of the weapon compartments after Steve explained how and pulled out one of the large guns there. She sighed when she placed her hand on it; she didn't want to kill anybody else.

After arming herself, she stood with Steve by the ramp of the quinjet, gun in hand, and watched it lower. As soon as it popped open, Becky could feel the bite of the cold, bitter air on her skin. It brought back many unpleasant memories.

Steve could tell it did. He could tell that underneath Becky's cool demeanour, she was anxious beyond belief. He tried to relieve some of that anxiety.

"You remember the time we had to ride back from Rockaway Beach in the back of that freezer truck?" Steve asked, looking over at his old friend with a shy smile.

Becky opened her mouth and squinted her eyes, thinking back to that particular memory. "Was that the time we used our train money to buy... hot dogs?"

At the end of her sentence, Becky had a goofy, fond smile on her face. She did remember that, remembered being afraid of getting kidnapped.

"That kid blew our three bucks trying to win that stuffed bear for you," Steve added, he still seemed sour about the event, even if it was nearly a hundred years later.

"What was his name again?" Becky asked, unable to remember the very specifics. She had the memory, but things like names were hard to get back.

"Daniel. He wanted you to call him Danny," Steve clarified immediately, his memory was sharp as ever. He still remembered being completely mugged off by that kid.

"He's gotta be a hundred years old right now," Becky added with a shake of her head. It was crazy to realize that most, if not all, of the people from Becky's life were either dead or about to be dead.

"So are we, pal," Steve countered, putting a hand on Becky's shoulder and squeezing it comfortingly.

After, Steve took his helmet and put it on his head. He took his shield and together, the two war buddies got off the quinjet and approached the base.

The wind was howling when they walked toward the entrance. Snow came down all around them and obstructed their vision somewhat. But they could still see that the door was open, like Becky had expected. The fake doctor had arrived first.

Steve saw the way Becky's face fell when they approached the door. If she had been able to resist him, if she hadn't told him about Siberia, this wouldn't be happening.

"He can't have been here more than a few hours," Steve tried to assure. But he didn't know what cryostasis was like. Not like Becky did.