╭ ⊸⊸⊸⊸⊸⊸⊸⊸⊸⊸⊸⊸⊸⊸⊸⊸⊸⊸ ╮

𝑹 𝑼 𝑵 𝑵 𝑰 𝑵 𝑮  𝑰 𝑵  𝑭 𝑬 𝑨 𝑹
❝ 𝚒𝚝'𝚜 𝚋𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚊 𝚕𝚘𝚗𝚐 𝚍𝚊𝚢 ❞

╰ ⊸⊸⊸⊸⊸⊸⊸⊸⊸⊸⊸⊸⊸⊸⊸⊸⊸⊸ ╯

ㅤ𝐁𝐔𝐂𝐊𝐘 𝐏𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐃 𝐎𝐔𝐓 the weapons drawer and quickly pulled one out as he geared for what's about to come. His heart was heavy, and his shoulders felt as if it weighed a ton. His mind was filled with negative thoughts, and he felt as if he wouldn't survive this. He watched as the hatch of the jet opened up, Steve standing right beside him.

"You remember that time we had to ride back from Rockaway Beach in the back of that freezer truck?" Steve suddenly spoke up, causing Bucky to look at him.

Images of the memory flitted into Bucky's mind, the nostalgic feeling slightly easing his internal panic. "Was that the time you used our train money to buy us hotdogs?" A smile slowly crept to his face, a breathy chuckle coming out from his lips.

"You blew three bucks trying to win that stuffed bear for a redhead," Steve teased, a smile also on his face.

Bucky looked down smiling, the memory of it all suddenly so clear. "What was her name again?"

"Dolores, you called her Dot," Steve answered.

"She's gotta be a hundred years old right now."

"So are we, pal." Steve patted his best friend's back, happiness filling him. He felt like he was finally getting him back. But then the mood turned somber again as they both realized what was ahead.

They trudged towards the HYDRA base's metal doors, each carrying their own weapon. Bucky cautiously looked around, the effect of years of being hunted still deep in his bones, before settling in front of the doors that were opened.

"He can't have been here more than a few hours," Steve assumed.

"Long enough to wake 'em up," was Bucky's pessimistic, yet realistic, reply before they both entered. As they rode down the elevator, the two faced one another, giving each other nods of both reassurance, and agreement to the fact that they might be walking into their deaths.

Bucky was the first to step out, his gun pointed in front of him, as he and Steve scoped out the area. They walked up a short flight of stairs, before a noise made them both look back, their weapons raised alert.

"Ready?" Steve asked.

"Yeah."

But as the doors squeaked open, Iron Man was the one to step out.

Steve slowly lowered his guard, his face showing confusion as Tony slowly walked towards them, his mask lifting to show his face. Steve walked towards him, shield still covering his front.

"You seem a little defensive," Tony spoke, his voice echoing through the empty room.

"It's been a long day," Steve replied.

Tony looked up at Bucky still pointing his gun towards him. "At ease soldier, I'm not currently after you."

"Then why are you here?" Steve was quick to defend.

Tony shrugged, looking back at him as he continued walking closer. "Maybe your story's not so crazy. Maybe." He turned to look around before continuing. "Ross has no idea I'm here; I'd like to keep it that way. Otherwise I gotta arrest myself."

"Well, that sounds like a lot of paperwork," Steve quipped, which earned him a scoff. "It's good to see you, Tony."

"You too, Cap." He looked back at Bucky. "Manchurian Candidate, you're killing me. There's a truce here, you can drop it." And Bucky did just that.

The trio now walked towards wherever, trying to find Zemo, or at least one of the killing machines. Then they entered a circular room, with all of the super soldiers inside their own personal cryogenic chamber. Bucky took a sharp intake of breath as he suddenly felt Phobos' presence lingering somewhere.

Then Zemo's voice suddenly filtered throughout the room. "If there's any comfort, they died in their sleep." That's when they all walked closer to the chambers, seeing each of them shot in the forehead. "Did you really think I wanted more of you?"

Bucky looked at each dead soldier in confusion, letting out a breath. "What the hell?"

"I'm grateful for them though," Zemo continued, "they brought you here."

When the lights suddenly turned on and revealed where Zemo was, Steve quickly threw his shield, but it just bounced back, as Zemo was hiding behind a door. Steve clenched his jaw.

"Please, Captain," Zemo seemed smug. "The Soviets built this chamber to withstand a launch blast of one hundred rockets."

"I bet I can beat that," Tony threatened.

"Well, I'm sure you could, Mr. Stark, given time," Zemo didn't hesitate. "But then you'd never know why you came."

"You killed innocent people in Vienna just to bring us here," Steve spoke as he walked closer.

That's when Zemo let out a breath, sounding exasperated. "I've thought about nothing else for over a year. I studied you, I followed you, but now that you're standing here, I just realized...there's a bit of green in the blue of your eyes." He chuckled. "How nice to find the flaw."

"You're Sokovian," Steve stated. "Is that what this is about?"

"Sokovia was a failed state long before you blew it to hell," Zemo shook his head. "No, I'm here because I made a promise."

"You lost someone." Steve realized.

"I lost everyone...and so will you." That's when he made a tape play on the screen right beside the Captain, showing 16 Декабря 1991. December 16, 1991. "An empire toppled by its enemies can rise again, but one which crumbles from within, that's dead...forever."

Phobos let out a snarl, knowing what exactly Zemo was about to show the three. The noise he made sounded inhuman, like a beast on the hunt, making everyone turn to the source, to see him standing there wearing his armor, his eyes dark and menacing. But Tony's eyes were glued on the screen, and Steve's eyes quickly looked back at Tony to gauge his reaction.

Bucky was quick to walk towards Phobos, feeling as if something bad was about to happen. Zemo watched the two curiously, noting that the taller man seemed the most dangerous out of everyone.

When the video of the assassination of Howard and Maria Stark ended, a fight quickly ensued. Steve was quick to defend Bucky. "Phobos, get him outta here!" The god didn't need to be told twice, grabbing Bucky, narrowly missing a blast pointed at Bucky's head.

"I'll take you straight to Olympus—" Phobos was cut off when Tony suddenly kicked Bucky hard enough to send him flying to the other side. This made the god growl. His eyes seemed to darken even more as he turned to face Tony. He let out his deadly smoke, smirking as it entered the metal suit. "Run, Bucky!"

Tony, at the mental onslaught, dropped. He started convulsing as he reached the ground, his eyes rolling to the back of his head as flashes of his fears came rushing in. Phobos watched as the Captain caught up to Bucky, the two climbing together.

"Phobos, stop, you're killing him," Bucky pleaded, clutching onto one of the metal bars. This caused Phobos to loosen his mental grip on Tony, but that was all the billionaire needed, standing up to shoot a mini rocket straight at the roof door's hinges.

Phobos' nostrils flared up in anger as he watched Bucky jump away quickly, avoiding getting crushed by the door. He turned to look at Tony, when he was suddenly blasted, throwing him off guard.

"Whoever you are, you don't get to mess with my head," was all Tony said before shooting up and grabbing Bucky in a chokehold. "Do you even remember them?"

"I remember all of them," was Bucky's heartbroken reply, before he was dragged down. Steve reacted by jumping onto the two, causing Tony to lose balance. The three all fell to the ground.

Steve, being the super soldier he is, stood up as if he hadn't just fell off five stories. "This isn't gonna change anything," he said as he looked at Tony who was recovering as well.

"I don't care. He killed my mom." Then Tony flew at him.

The God of Fear stood, a little disoriented, but he wasn't bleeding. He met Bucky's eyes, the two seemingly having a telepathic conversation, before grabbing Steve's shield right next to him and throwing it at Bucky, who quickly caught it and used it to jump at Tony.

His gaze was fixated on the fight, but he knew that Tony was at a disadvantage, so he went and turned to gaze outside, feeling the fear being omitted by the man who caused all this. His gaze turned hard, and he teleported outside, watching as Zemo and the man he knew as T'Challa conversed.

"Vengeance has consumed you," T'Challa spoke, his accented voice tinged with sorrow. "It's consuming them...I'm done letting it consume me." Phobos watched as the man retracted his claws, before he made himself be known.

"Well, I'm not done yet." This caused Zemo to perk up and face him. He continued, "you may have anticipated all the players in this game, but not me. Of course, I haven't yet introduce myself. My name is Phobos." He spoke menacingly.

Zemo felt his heart pound against his chest, trying to avoid the stranger's completely black eyes. "Like...like the Greek god?"

"I am the Greek god." A devilish smirk made its way on his handsome face, before he walked straight in front of the villain, kneeling before him, and placing a single finger on his temple.

Immediately, Zemo screamed.

T'Challa watched with fear and amazement as he watched this complete stranger cause so much pain with just a finger. "What are you doing?"

Phobos' gaze turned to him, and he flinched. "You don't want to know."

T'Challa thought whether or not he'd let this supposed Greek god continue his torture, but decided against stopping him. "Please, keep him alive. The living are not done with him yet."

"Oh, I plan on keeping him alive."