[ xxiv. twenty-four ! ]
❛ 𝙱𝙴𝚃𝚁𝙰𝚈𝙰𝙻 ❜

❝ I remember all of them ❞

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐄𝐀𝐌 𝐈𝐌𝐌𝐄𝐃𝐈𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐋𝐘 𝐁𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓 𝐑𝐇𝐎𝐃𝐄𝐒 𝐓𝐎 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐍𝐄𝐗𝐓 𝐇𝐎𝐒𝐏𝐈𝐓𝐀𝐋 𝐖𝐄𝐑𝐄 𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐄𝐗𝐀𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐃 𝐁𝐘 𝐒𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐋 𝐃𝐎𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐒. Tony stood inbetween Vision and Natasha by the glass watching his friend as Anastasija quietly approched them.

Tony was the first that noticed her and nodded his head at the woman before he left. Anastasija slowly followed him outside were they stood next to each other, looking at the grass area that laid a level below them.

“The doctors say he shattered L4 through S1. Extreme laceration to the spinal cord. Probably looking at some form of paralysis”, the man explained to her as they both still looked ahead.

“Look Tony, we both know Steve. He's not going to stop. And I know you, if you don't either, than Rhodey is gonna be the best case scenario”, she told him with her arms crossed over her chest.

“You let them go, Ana”, Tony answered her mad as his face expression darkened. “We played this wrong, Tony.”

“We?”, he scoffed at her disbelieving. “Boy, it must be hard to shake the hole double agent thing huh? It sticks in the DNA.”

Anastasija's mouth dropped open as she looked at the man with narrowed eyes. “Are you really that incapable of letting go of your ego for one goddamn second?”

Tony looked back at the grass, “T'Challa told Ross what you did, so they're coming for you.” He looked back at Anastasija who just eyed him closely still mad at what he said. 

“I'm not the one who needs to watch their back”, she spatted at her old fried before she quickly turned around and left the terrace.

As the blond arrived back by Natasha she called her out of the room. The two walked down the hallway together as Anastasija began to speak.

“You know that I can't stay here any longer. I need to disappear for a while”, Anastasija told her sister as she looked for any Agents.

“I knew that this would come”, Natasha sighed as she stopped and crossed her arms over her chest.

“I'm coming with you.”

Anastasija stopped as well, “No you're not. You didn't do anything wrong. I let Steve and Barnes escape, you had nothing to do with it.”

They looked at each other for a moment, “Okay, look. You can reach me on my phone until this evening, after that I will throw it away and we can't have any contact until it's all a bit calmer again.”

“All right.”

Anastasija wanted to turn around but Natasha spoke up again, “Hey. I love you and please take care.” She gave her a tight hug. “I love you too, Nat”, Anastasija hugged her back.

Ana squeezed Natasha's hand one more time before she left the hospital.

She quickly packed all the things she had, she changed her clothes and had just opened her lap top to buy a ticked to Spain as her phone chimmed.

Anastasija immediately stopped typing and slowly reached for her phone. On the screen she could read the word Tony in big letters.

“Yes?”

“You were right. I—uh— Steve was right. I made a mistake”, Tony spoke up from the other side of the phone.

“Did I just misheard you?”, Anastasija asked as she stood up from her chair.
“You actually admitted that you were wrong?”

“Look, there's no time for that. Steve is in danger. I just visited Sam in prison, he told me Rogers location. He said I should go alone but I mean— You're in trouble anyway and there's this thing between—”

“Okay, let me stop you there. How do you think I should get to a private jet or helicopter if I'm wanted?”, she asked him as she looked out of the window.

“I'll sent you one, you just have to get to it”, he told her. “I need any help I can get, Ana.”

“Okay, text me the details”, the woman told him before she hung up. She quickly grabbed her back and drove to the airport as fast as she could. She walked into the parking lot her bag in her hand.

Anastasija looked over her sunglasses as she continued her way to the fence that sperated her form the landing strip. She cut a hole through it and quickly made her way over the landing strip before anyone could even notice her.

The blond could already see the Stark logo on one of the Helicopter's that stood there. She quickly jumped in as she threw her bag onto the seat besides her.

“Hello, Ms. Romanoff. Mr Stark already gave me the coordinates, you can sit back and enjoy you flight.”

Friday's voice spoke up as Anastasija started the Helicopter. In a couple of second the Helicopter flew into the air and started his way to where Steve probably would be.

During the flight Anastasija had quickly changed into her white uniform and prepared herself with a normal gun, her two electric batons and a machine gun. 

After a while she could hear Friday's voice again. “Ms. Romanoff we arrived at our destination.”

“Thanks Friday”, was all she said before she jumped out of the helicopter. Steve's Helicarrier was already there which told her that Tony had the right coordinates from Sam.

“Hey”, Tony shouted to her from the entrance of the building, “We don't have all day”, and with that he entered the building.

Anastasija quickly grabbed her machine gun and followed him into the building. They slowly made their way through the corridors as they arrived infront of a big metal door. Tony grabbed it and slowly pushed it open revealing Steve and Bucky who already had prepared themselves to attack them.

“You seem a little defensive”, Tony said as the two approched them slowly. Ana's machine gun was aimed at Barnes who's gun was aimed at Tony.

Steve sighed as he walked towards Tony, “It's been a long day.”

“At eas solider, We're not currently after you”, Tony looked at Bucky and then back at Steve. “Then why are you here?”, the blonde man asked them.

“Maybe your story is not so crazy”, Tony said as he walks through the small hall. “Ross has no idea we're here. We would like to keep it that way”, Anastasija told him calmly, her gun still aimed at Barnes.

Tony leaned against a stone pillar, “Otherwise we gotta arrest ourselfes.”

“Well, that sounds like a lot of paperwork”, Steve joked before he let his shield down. “It's good to see you two.”

“You too, Cap”

Tony then looked at Barnes and Anastasija, “There's a truce here, you can put your guns down. There's no killing anybody here.”

The two put their guns down as they followed after Tony and Steve. After a short they entered another big room.
“We got heat signatures”

“How many?”

“One.” Suddenly yellow lights went on showing five people captured on seats as they were frozen.

They continued their way through the hall a voice spoke up, “If it's any comfort. They died in their sleep.”

Anastasija walked past one of them as she saw the bullet in the man's head.
“Did you really think I wanted more of you?”, the voice asked them.

“I'm greatful for them tho. They brought you here.”

“What the hell”, Ana could hear Bucky whisper to himself as he eyed the people. Suddenly another light went one showing a face. Steve immediately threw his shield at the man but it bounced off and flew back at him.

Steve cought it as the man spoke up again. “Please Captain. The Soviets built this chamber to resist the blast of one hundred of Rockets”, the man said as he looked at Steve.

“I bet I could beat that”, Stark said as they walked towards the man. "Oh, I'm sure you could, Mr.Stark. given time. But then you never know why you came.”

“You killed innocent people just to bring us here?”, Steve asked him as he looked at the man.

The stranger smiled at them, “I thought about nothing else for over a year. I studied you, I followed you. But now that you're standig here I just realized, there is a bit of green in the blue of your eyes.” He chuckled amused, “How nice to find a flaw.”

Steve stared at the man through the glass, “You're Sokovian? Is that what this is about?”

“Sokovia was a fail state long before you blew it to hell. No— I'm here because I made a promise.”

Steve nodded his head lighty, “You lost someone.” The man klicked with his toung as he looked at Steve, “I lost everything and so will you.”

He pressed a button and a monitor went one, “An empire toppled by its enemies can rise again. But one which crumbles from within?— That’s dead. Forever.”

They all approached the monitor as a films started playing. It showed an old and empty road. Tony stood in between Ana and Steve as they watched the tape. “I know that road”, Tony told them his voice breaking.

“What is this?”, he shoutd at the man angry but the man remained scilent.

Then suddenly a car crashed against a tree and a long haired man on a motorcycle stopped besides them. A man crawled out of the car, who Ana recognized as Howard Stark. She could hear Howard as he looked at the man infront of him, “Sargent Barnes?”

Tony's Mother called for her husband clearly in pain. Tony and Ana lifted thier heads up and looked both at Barnes before they looked back at the monitor.

Barnes punched Howard to death before he sat him back behind the wheel. He walked around the car and then chocked Tony's Mother to death not even blinking before he shot the security cam.

The tape eneded with that and Tony immediately tried to attack Barnes but Steve held him back. “Tony— Tony!”

Stark turned towards Rogers as he had a look of betrayal in his eyes. “Did you know?” Steve looked at him for a moment before he slowly answered, “I didn't knew it was him.”

“Don't bullshit me, Rogers! Did you know!?”, the man questioned gain as he grabbed into the blond's arm. Steve sighed as he looked at Stark, “Yes.” Tony pushed him back as his eyes began to tear up.

He looked at the monitor for a second before he punched Steve and threw him a meter or two through the hall. Bucky immediately aimed his gun at him but Tony shot at him.

Bucky tried to punch him but Tony stopped him, garbbed him by the throat and flew with him through the hall before he hit him onto the floor as he chocked the long haired man.

“Tony!”, Ana shouted as she run after the two, but Steve was faster. He picked up his shield and threw it at Stark before he tackled him off of Bucky.

Tony attacked the blond man sending him to the ground as he threw a couple of mechanical brackets around his feet.

He then grabbed Bucky again and pressed him against the next wall. Bucky grabbed his arm and pressed it to the side while Ana tried to help him hold it there.

“You're on their side?”, Tony asked her through his mask.

“No, I'm just trying to stop you from doing something stupid”, she explained to him as she swung a roap around his arm trying to fix him.

Stark yanked his arm free making her stumble to the ground before he fired at Bucky. But he hit a tower that stood in the middle of the hall making it fall on them.

They all jumped to the side and Ana was nearly hit by the tower. Bucky stood up and looked at her as she quickly sat up.

"Get out off here", she shouted at the man who immediately started running towards the door.

The celling started to open and Bucky and Anastasija made their way up. They jumped from platform to platform as Tony attacked Bucky again. But Steve punched him as he looked at his friend, “He's not gonna stop, go!”

The two immediately continued their way towards the opened celling. Bucky was just climbing up the latter infront of Ana as Tony shot at the celling making it close again. The two were thrown onto the next platform as Tony approched them.

Bucky quickly grabbed a metal pipe and hit Tony with it several times but Tony blocked the attacks and took him into the headlock from behind.
“Do you even remember them?”

“I remember all of them”

Anastasija slowly stood up, “Tony, killing him will not bring them back. He wasn't himself.”

Tony just ignored her and flew away with Barnes but Ana jumped at them as she garbbed onto Bucky.

But Steve had also jumped crushing them all against the wall. Everyone grunted in pain as they all fell down. Anastasija quickly grabbed a grappling hook from her beld and threw it at the next platform she saw but before it could reach it the woman crashed against a platform which made her scream in pain. She turned in the fall and hit another platform with her front and just like that everything went black.

As Anastasija slowly came to her senses again she could hear Steve and Tony speaking to each other. Her head hurted and she had scratches all over her face and probably big bruises all over her body.

“I’m sorry, Tony. You know I wouldn’t do this if I had any other choice. He's my friend”, Steve told the brunette with regret in his voice. The billionaire had tears in his eyes, “So was I.”

After that Tony hardly punched Steve a couple of times and threw him against the next wall.

“Stay down. Final warning”, Tony told him but Steve stood up again grunting.

He lifted his fists into the air as he looked at Stark heavily breathing, “I could do this all day.”

Tony aimed his gun at him but Bucky grabbed Stark by the foot distracting him as Steve lifted Tony into the air and crashed him onto the ground.

He then punched him several times until Tony's mask was destroyed. Steve then lifted up his shield and let out a battel cry as he looked at Tony.

“Steve”, was all Anastasija exclaimed, Steve stopped in his movement for a moment. 

But then he crushed his shield into Tony's chest as they both breathed heavily. After that Steve ripped the shield out of Tony's chest again before he slowly walked over to Bucky and helped him up.

Anastasija slowly sat up and let her legs dangle from the platform.

“That shield dosen't belong to you! You don't deserve it! My father made that shield!”, Tony shouted at him hurt and mad. 

Steve stopped in his trail and after a moment he dropped the shield to the ground. He looked at Ana who now jumped down from the platform and slowly approprached the two.

She looked one last time at Tony who sat on the ground looking at them before she laid a hand on Bucky's back and helped them out to the Helicarrier.

“You want to come with us? We're going to break the others out before we disappear”, Steve told her as they laid Barnes on a chair. 

“I own it to them”, Anastasija told him as she sat down next to him on the co-pilot seat. “You're bleeding”, he told her as he looked at the woman and reached for her face.

Anastasija grabbed his hand and squeezed it, “It's not that bad Steve, I'm gonna patch that up real quick.” With that she walked to the back of the Helicarrier and patches up her wounds.

As they arrived by the high security Prison that was in the middle of the ocean, Steve and Anastasija quickly took down the guards before she opened the cells and let Steve into the hall where they all stood gathered.

“Breaking the others out of Prison. Check”, Anastasija smiled as she looked at Steve and then at Sam who smiled at the two.

❝𝐇𝐞'𝐬 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝❞
❝𝐬𝐨 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐈❞