"Tony, have you seen Steve?" I ask over the comms.

No, I thought he was with you. Why?

"I lost him." I answer, kicking a Hydra soldier in the face before shooting the one coming up from behind.

You WHAT?!

"You heard me, Stark, I lost track of Steve." I snap. Another soldier charges me and I bend my knees in anticipation of their attack. When they get close enough I quickly reach forward and grab them by the belt and the top of their vest and use their momentum to flip them over my back. "If you haven't noticed there's a lot of foot soldiers out here, and there was only two of us."

Are you sure he's not just stuck in the middle of a pile of Hydra soldiers?

"Yes, I'm sure I-no..." I trail off as something catches my eye. "Shit."

What? (Y/N), what is it?

"It's his shield, Tony." I say, fighting my way over to the object. I pick it up, not wanting to leave it behind. "It's Steve's shield. Fuck, this is bad."

Watch your language, kid.

"Suck a dick, Tony." I yell, bashing a soldier in the face with the shield. "Sam!"

What's up, (Y/N)? Sam's voice crackles through the comms.

"Could you fly over the area, see if you can find Steve anywhere?" I ask, deflecting a few rounds of bullets before charging ahead at full force and drop kicking the big guy coming at me.

Sure thing, I just have to circle arou- oh.

"What?" I demand. "What do you see, Sam?"

You're not going to like this.

"Just spit it out, Sam, I need to know. The love of my life's safety hangs in the balance here."

They've got Steve.

"Who's got Steve?" I ask, feeling my heartbeat quicken to an even faster pace than it was at just moments before.

Hydra. A load of Hydra goons is putting him in the back of a jet. I'll see if I can get closer.

I'll help out. Tony cuts in.

"Please be safe," I whisper before throwing myself back into the battle and just pray that Steve's alright.

-Steve-

I wake up with a pounding in my head and restraints secured around my arms, wrists, legs and ankles. Clearly someone doesn't want me going anywhere. Upon further observation I notice that I'm on a table i n something that feels vaguely familiar. Almost like the Vita Ray tube from so many years ago.

"Good to see that you're finally awake, Captain." Says a low, husky voice.

"What do you want with me?" I ask gruffly, pulling at my restraints in hopes of possibly escaping.

"Pulling at those isn't going to do anything." The owner of the voice steps out of the shadows and into the dusty lighting of the room. "They're the same restraints we used on your friend Barnes. You're not going anywhere unless we want you to."

"What. Do. You. Want. With. Me." I repeat through clenched teeth.

"What do I want with you?" The man asks, placing a hand on his chest. "Well, I want to erase you from existence, but my employers, my employers want something a little different."

"Oh really," I say sarcastically. "And what do they want with me?"

"Mr. Rogers, they want to make you absolutely useless," The man answers, taking a few steps closer to the tube. "And I'm going to help them."

With that he activates something on a control panel nearby and the table shifts, moving me into a standing position. The man comes closer and watches as the tube slides closed around me.

Suddenly there's needles shoving their way into my arms, legs and chest. Something is dispensed into my body by the needles and it feels like liquid fire. Not in the way that the super soldier serum felt. This feels ten times worse, like it's tearing me apart from the inside out. I try my hardest to contain it, but a scream rips it's way past my lips and my vision starts to go dark. Before I slip into total unconsciousness I hear a burst of wicked laughter that chills me to the bone.

-Reader-

I wake from my brief nap drenched in a cold sweat and clutching Steve's shield to my body. Something that sounded like a blood curdling scream woke me, but as I look around the quinjet Tony, Sam and Bucky are all just looking at me, not saying a word.

"What?" I ask.

"You were just screaming bloody murder in your sleep." Sam answers. "Any clue as to why?"

"That was me?"

"Yup, but it sounded like there could have been three of you." Tony pipes up.

"I'm sorry, guys." I apologize, shifting in my seat. "I'm really stressed about losing Steve, y'know?"

"Yeah, we know." Bucky takes a seat next to me. "We're worried about him too."

"Anyone who can take down and capture Cap is definitely a threat." Sam says, looking at his hands. "We're trying our best to get him back."

"What exactly are we doing to get him back?" I ask.

"I've got F.R.I.D.A.Y. scanning all of the surrounding areas, looking for any sign of Steve." Tony answers, spinning the pilot's chair around to face us. "Steve's got a tracking device in his belt. I activated it as soon as we knew he was gone and I was able to track him to a building that seems to be abandoned."

"Why aren't we headed there?"

"We," He says, gesturing to Sam, Bucky and himself. "Are going there. You, are not."

"Why not?"

"Because you need to cool down." He turns back around to look out the window. "You're shaken up and you need a break. As far as I can tell, there's only two people in that building. We can deal with it. You can wait."

"Fine." I sigh, letting my head fall back onto the wall of the quinjet. "Just bring him back safe okay?"

"You know we will, (Y/N)." Bucky says, trying to reassure me.

I nod to him and we all fall silent. We fly the rest of the way to the tower in complete silence. When we land I hop off, taking Steve's shield with me, and Tony, Bucky and Sam leave to find Steve. I watch them go, only turning away when I can't see the quinjet anymore. When they're gone I go to my room, change out of my uniform and wait.

-Third person-

It took Tony, Bucky and Sam about five days to find him. When they arrived at the building where the signal from the tracking device was strongest they found a tube. Tony instantly recognized the design. It was a Vita Ray tube. No. Not quite a Vita Ray tube. The tech had been perverted and changed.

"We should split u-" Sam's words are cut off by a quiet groan coming from the tube.

"Steve..." Bucky breathes, rushing over to the tube to investigate. When he peeks through the small window he sees something he hadn't seen in over 70 years. "Shit."

"What is it?" Sam asks, joining him by the tube.

"It's Steve." He grunts, forcing the doors of the tube open. "The Steve from before the war."

When Bucky steps back Sam and Tony finally see, first hand, what Steve looked like before the super soldier serum. He's small, skinny and nothing at all like he was only days ago. He stirs, but only slightly. Bucky feels a pull in his gut, the sight of his friend this way bringing back countless memories from when they were young. He quickly scoops him up and carries him off to the quinjet, Sam and Tony trailing after him.

"What are we going to tell (Y/N)?" Sam asks.

"No..." Steve's voice comes out a whisper.

"Don't talk, Stevie, we're gonna get you home." Bucky says quietly,

"No, Buck..." he repeats. "Don't... tell her... Sh-she can't... know."

"Why not?" Sam asks.

"I-I can't protect her... now."

-Readers POV-

I hear the quinjet when it arrives and my heart immediately starts pounding. It's pounding so hard that I can feel it in my ears. I quickly jump up from my place on my bed and run to the door. When I try to open it I find that it's locked. No amount of shaking, pounding or kicking will open it.

"F.R.I.D.A.Y.!" I yell.

"Yes, ma'am?"

"Open the door." I demand.

"I'm afraid I can't do that, ma'am."

"And why not?"

"Mr. Stark has ordered that you not leave the wing until further notice."

"What?!" I screech. "Why the hell am I not allowed to leave?"

"Mr. Stark never told me, ma'am." The A.I answers.

"Fine then." I mumble, wandering back over to my bed. "Desperate times call for desperate measures." I snatch my handgun from my bedside table before returning to the door. "F.R.I.D.A.Y., activate override 23-67."

"Ma'am, I-"

"NOW."

After I bark the order the door opens and I stomp down the corridor.

"Ma'am, you really shouldn't-"

"Shouldn't what?" I ask, looking around a couple corners before continuing. "What shouldn't I be doing? What's going on?"

"Mr. Stark, Mr. Barnes and and Mr. Wilson found Captain Rogers."

"And?" I press.

"There was a complication."

What kind of complication." I demand. The A.I. doesn't respond.

I figure that if there's been a complication they're bound to be in the infirmary, so I head straight there. The elevators aren't working so I'm forced to take the stairs. I sprint up through the stairwell taking it two steps at a time. I reach the doors of the infirmary I'm maybe three minutes. When I reach the door I find Sam standing guard. I try to push past him and into the medical room, but he stops me with a hand on my shoulder.

"You shouldn't go in there." He says flatly.

"Why not?"

"Something happened when he got captured. It..." He trails off for a moment, trying to find the right words. "It changed him."

"Changed him how? Did he lose his memory? Is he not Steve anymore? What?" I question.

"No, none of that... Well..." As he's trying to figure out what he wants to say I shove him out of the way slightly and push through the doors.

"Steve?" I call. The only answer is Tony rushing forward to stop me. "Oh, for the love of the earth, what is it now? Why can't I see Steve?"

"I'm sorry, (Y/N), but I'm not the one calling the shots here." I look at him, puzzled. "Your little boyfriend is."

"Seriously?" I ask, stumbling backwards, absolutely dumbstruck.

"Like I said, I'm sorry, but I'm not calling the shots." He looks from me to the curtain at the end of the room and then back at me.

"He's behind there isn't he." Tony nods and shrugs in response. I look from Tony to the curtain, back to Tony and then back at the curtain before making my way to the end of the room, shoving my handgun into the back of my waistband. "Steven Grant Rogers, don't you dare hide from me."

"Dammit." I hear Steve hiss from the other side of the curtain.

"I told you she wasn't going to like it." Bucky says. "But you never did listen to me, did you, you punk."

"What happened, Steve." I demand, coming to a stop in front of the curtain. I'm pissed as hell, but I don't want to disrespect him.

"I- I can't exactly explain it, (Y/N)." He says, his voice quiet.

"Try."

"I can't."

"Then can I at least see you? I've been worried sick for the past week." I say. "Please, Steve."

"I have to ask you one thing first."

"Alright, go ahead."

"Would you, hypothetically, still love me if I looked nothing like I did the last time you saw me?"

"Steve..."

"Please, just answer the question." His voice holds a note of pleading.

"Of course I would still love you." I answer. "There's nothing that could stop me."

"Are you sure?" He sounds worried.

"Can I please just pull back the screen? I ask. "You're worrying me with these questions."

"Okay..."

I slowly move the screen away to see Steve, sitting on an examination table, small and skinny and just like the pictures of him in the smithsonian. He looks at me expectantly, his eyes filled with worry, and I have no clue what to say. I don't mean to do it, but I fall to my knees, my legs having given out on me. I can feel my shoulders start to shake and tears well up in my eyes.

"Oh, Steve..." I whisper. He just looks away from me, crestfallen. I rise to my feet as quickly as possible and rush to him, gently wrapping my arms around his shoulders.

"What?" He sounds extremely surprised.

"With all those questions I thought you had been horribly disfigured or something, but you're fine." I pull away from him, wiping my eyes with the heel of my hand.

"Seriously? You think this," He gestures to himself. "Is fine?"

"Are you dead?"

"No."

"Well, are you deathly ill?"

"No..." He says, looking down at his hands in his lap.

"No, Steve, you're not. You're just a little smaller than you were before." I tap the bottom of his chin to get him to look at me. "And I don't give a shit. You are still you, and that's all that matters."

"Really?" He asks, his eyes searching mine.

"Do you know what the first thing I saw was when we were introduced?"

"My intimidating stature?" He guesses.

"No, Steve, your eyes. I noticed your eyes." I answer. "They were soft and kind, but they hid an edge."

"Oh." I notice a slight blush creeping across his cheeks.

"The muscles and the strength, that wasn't and isn't what I love about you. I fell in love with this," I say, tapping his temple. "And this." I add, moving my hand and placing it over his heart. "Everything else was an added bonus."

"(Y/N)..." He breathes, slowly reaching up to my neck and gently pulling my face to his. He softly presses his lips to mine and I can feel him smile slightly. I place my hands on either side of him on the table and lean forward slightly so I can kiss him back.

"Gross, guys." Bucky says. "I mean, good for you, but get a room."

"Shut up, James." I mumble. Steve pulls away and takes one of my hands in his. "So did it hurt?"

"Yeah."

"Do you think it's permanent?"

"Well it is so far."

"We'll figure this out together, alright?"

"Yeah, together." He nods, smiling at me.

"I love you, Steve. I always will."

"I love you too, (Y/N)."