Swan Song ✧ STEVE ROGERS [✓]

12 - Heartbreak

LATER THAT DAY WAS THE START OF THEIR PLAN. Steve mounted his motorcycle and put himself in a spot a little ways away from the HYDRA base. Raevanna hid in the forest nearby, waiting for her cue to aid in the fight, and the Howling Commandos were scaling the mountain to infiltrate from the side.

Steve revved up his bike and sped off down the road, and as he passed her Raevanna ran out of her hiding place and took to the air, flying low beside Steve. As they neared the base, HYDRA soldiers began to chase them, also riding motorcycles. However, Steve and Raevanna dodged and outwitted them all and made it past the entrance.

As soon as they reached the base, Steve jumped off his motorcycle, then grabbed his shield and launched the bike at the base. When it connected with the side, it exploded, and Steve immediately used the distraction to take out the soldiers around him, with Raevanna by his side.

However, soon after a HYDRA soldier with a flamethrower stepped up, shooting a stream of flames by their sides. Raevanna and Steve turned around, only to see another soldier with a flamethrower appear, also shooting flames in the opposite direction. The string of fire trapped Raevanna and Steve, and the two looked at each other before the remaining soldiers approached and detained them.

"And you're sure this is a good idea?" Raevanna whispered to Steve as they were marched into the base.

"Yes," Steve whispered back. "Trust me."

The couple eventually walked into a room that Raevanna assumed was the lab, where Johann Schmidt was waiting. The grotesquely skeletal man approached the two, his face expressionless.

"Arrogance may not be a uniquely American trait," Schmidt said to Steve, "but I must say you do it better than anyone. But there are limits to what even you can do, Captain. Or did Erskine tell you otherwise?"

"He told me you were insane," Steve replied.

Schmidt grinned. "He resented my genius and tried to deny me what was rightfully mine." Then, his grin faded as he leaned down to get a good look at Steve's face. "But he gave you everything. So, what made you so special?"

Steve looked at him with a small smirk. "Nothin'." Schmidt leaned back, shocked, and Steve went on, "I'm just a kid from Brooklyn."

Raevanna couldn't hide the small smile that crept across her face at Steve's reply. However, Schmidt didn't seem to feel the same way, for he suddenly punched Steve in the face and then struck him in the stomach, causing Steve to fall to his knees.

"Stop!" Raevanna shouted to Schmidt, her eyes blazing. "Leave him alone, you coward!"

Schmidt turned to Raevanna, glaring at her. "I am no coward."

"Then why are you hurting him when you know he can't fight back?" Raevanna asked, then smirked and added, "It's cause you know he'll win, isn't it? You know he'll wipe your face with the floor without even breaking a sweat."

Schmidt's eyes narrowed, and without warning he slapped her hard across the face, whipping her head to the side. Then, he grabbed her jaw and hissed, "Don't you dare mock me, faery."

With a huff, he shoved Raevanna backwards, then hit Steve in the face once more. However, Steve looked up at him and said breathlessly, "I can do this all day."

Schmidt rolled his eyes. "Oh, of course you can, of course." He then drew a pistol from his waistband and pointed it at Steve. "But unfortunately I am on a tight schedule."

Just as he began to pull the trigger, a noise sounded from the outside window, catching their attention. Raevanna smiled, knowing that the Howling Commandos had arrived.