Captain America: Age of Chaos

Mission: Active

Natasha stood in front of a mirror holding her shield. Her stealth suit felt comfortable, but it felt odd holding this shield again. It had been months.

She didn't think she should carry it again. She stared at the star on the metal she held in front of her.

She started to drown in her thoughts when she felt a hand touch her shoulder. She spun around and saw Sam.

"Easy, Captain." He said with a chuckle. Natasha instantly relaxed. "Sorry..." she said.

"It's okay..." he said as he glanced at the shield and then her. "Doubting yourself?"

She nodded.

"I really don't think I should be holding this shield..." her voice was full of uncertainty.

"And why is that?" Sam asked.

"I'm not worthy... I. I'm an assassin... I've killed people... lots of them. I was in Hydra. I don't feel worthy." She looked at him and met a soft smile on his face.

"Damn you're too much like me.., and your father." He sighs and takes the shield from her carefully.

"I thought the same... when Steve gave this to me. I thought I was the worst choice... it just felt like it belonged to someone else." He glanced at himself in the mirror with it.

"But, I learned my purpose, and I put in the work. I was Captain America for many many years. And it was worth it." He said as she looked at him.

"Why would you give it to me..." she says quietly.

"Because you are the embodiment of Captain America. You are resilient, strong, powerful, a good leader, kind, understanding, empathic... true." He carefully gave her back the shield.

"That's why I picked you." Sam said with pride.

"And don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

Natasha gripped the shield a bit more and nodded. Sam smiled softly. He fixed her hair and smiled a bit.

"Let's head down to the jet. Don't want you to be late."

Sam hugged Natasha goodbye tightly.

As he pulled from the hug he saw Bucky walking towards them. Natasha waved to Sam as she walked onto the ship.

Bucky stopped in front of Sam. Bucky had the softest expression on his face. Sam had his hands in his pockets, his secret service agents close behind him.

"You worried?" Bucky asked.

"A little. You tend to be a bit reckless. Especially when it comes to any of those kids." Sam said with a sad smile.

Bucky stepped towards him, but Sam suddenly pulled him into a tight hug. "I know one day I'm going to lose you... but don't make it today. Okay?" Sam said tearfully. Oh he hated sending Bucky on missions, but Bucky wanted to do this.

Bucky held him close and tightly. "You still got me for forever. Everything will go smoothly." He said calmly.

Sam pulled from the hug, but didn't let him go. "And I won't make stupid decisions, and I will be very careful."

Bucky said with a soft smile.

Sam just kissed him. Bucky kissed him back. Sam never liked letting go.

Never.

Bucky broke the kiss slightly. "See you soon."

Sam nodded as he fixed his suit. "See you soon."

Bucky kissed his cheek before he made his way into the ship. Sam watched the jet take off. He looked at the ground. "Be careful..."

Bucky stood in front of the jet, his arms crossed, thinking about his husband. He looked at his left hand, pulling his glove off, and seeing his wedding band.

He pulled it off carefully, and put it back in his bag in his wallet.

He pulled his glove back on. He always did that before a mission.

Just so that Sam would have something in case shit went bad.

He just closed his eyes and imagined he was back home, arguing with Sam about what to get for dinner, or something else.

He loved just being in his presence. It was comforting. But now he needed to make sure these kids all got home... and that the Hydra assassination went smoothly.

It had to.

Madam sat in her room. She sipped on a glass of wine when someone knocked on her door. The door opened, showing John. "There's reports of a SHIELD jet being sent here."

"Is there... blow it up before it gets over the ocean." She said without hesitation.

She looked at John. "They're coming to try and kill me I bet." She said with a smirk.

"I won't let them.... They'll have to blow up all of this base and they still won't get me!" She laughed as she finished her wine.

"Let's see how good the team actually is..." she smirked.

Bucky noticed the alert system blinking. He frowned as he looked at it. "Natasha..."

She walked over. "Yes?"

"This blinking means we have company... correct?" He asked. Natasha frowned and nodded. "Yep."

Suddenly two jets raced past them shaking their wings. Before he could react, the side of their jet had a hole in it.

Suddenly it went black.

Bucky woke up suddenly. He sat up and saw Anthony awake, tending to a fire. "Hey Bucky."

The others were resting. Natasha was leaned against a tree with Clara next to her. Bucky nodded. "Hey..."

"We ended up crashing but I opened a portal and made us fall through." Anthony said as he sat by him. Bucky saw Mina asleep besides him, and Kylo wrapped in Anthony's cloak.

The two sat in silence. The fire crackling, warming the group. Anthony poked at it. "Think we're gonna get her tonight..." Anthony said.

Bucky had a feeling. "Probably not." He said calmly.

Anthony frowned a bit. "It's best to kill people like her when there's chaos... and no one can notice." Bucky said as he looked at his metal hand.

"People like her don't deserve the attention." He said as his mind drifted back to when she would hurt him.

Anthony glanced at him. "Was she... your handler when you were taken back to Hydra?"

Bucky nodded a bit. "Yeah... she messed a lot of us up."