starspangledspandex | Sentinel/Guide AU for starkingenuity

Things have been going remarkably well between them. Even if the beginning was somewhat rocky, their compatibility was obvious and not just to them. Steve was old-fashioned and though his instincts made it clear what they wanted, he did things the "right" way. There were dates and gifts and just general wooing. They talked about it and they were ready.

He smiled at Tony, watching him as he worked and couldn't stand it anymore. "Tonight," he said, then added, for clarity, "We should bond tonight."

Maybe not the most romantic proposal but he figured he shouldn't smother Tony in it anyway or the man would get sick of it. No the rarity made it special.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

whothehellisbucky

"Damn it." Tony from the suit two miles away and following the quinjet filled with his (dare he say it?) friends saw what the Legion saw. SHIELD intel from Natasha pretty much told then that Steve had been subverted sometime since his capture over six months ago. That didn't mean that Tony was willing to believe it.

He knew that shock of blond. He knew that shield stance. And he knew that it was a good thing that the Legion worked on an AI level so he didn't ruin this attack through his own hesitation.

"The Captain and the Soldier are both there. They haven't gotten into the panic room just yet. But they're close," Tony reported as his robots were pulled apart by a man that he once thought would be his Sentinel for life.

He didn't have time to grieve.

The Soldier joined the Captain in destroying the Legion before he gestured for the Captain to follow him. They still had a mission.

From:

starspangledspandex

He dropped the final piece of the last of the Legion robots on the floor, glancing around at them all with a frown and then followed the Soldier. They were going to have company soon. This was more advanced than the rest of the security. Someone else was involved here.

"Our time is limited," he murmured as he ducked low through a doorway with a weapon raised.

From:

starkingenuity

Limited was a very good way to put it, but the Soldier just grunted and followed his Captain into the hallway. The Avengers were coming. He knew that they might. They had been close to catching them in Slovakia, close enough that the Soldier was aware that they were on their radar now.

His orders were to protect the Captain, which was ridiculous. The Soldier would give his life willingly for his bondmate.

The Soldier turned as he heard a high powered bow twing and caught the arrow out of the air, tossing it down before it could explode. "Go," he told the Captain. "I will stop these three," he said, glancing at the Falcon and Black Widow as she joined Hawkeye.

From:

starspangledspandex

"Confirmed," he replied, eyeing the three Avengers that approached and if he was worried for his bondmate he didn't show it as he took off at an impossibly fast sprint. He believed the Soldier could handle himself. Believing anything else would be an insult. His orders were clear and they needed to be carried out.

So he went, as quickly and violently as he could manage, focused on his mission. He skidded to a stop just before the safe room because there was someone in his way.

From:

thunderboltsandlightning

Well, not just anyone. The cape probably gave it away.

Thor had had his own troubles to deal with but since Steve's capture, his own banishment had been handed down. He was left back on Midgard and, it seemed, back with the Avengers.

"Friend Rogers!" He looked both happen and apprehensive to see the man. "It is time for you to cease this treachery and return home."

From:

starspangledspandex

The cape might have given it away if Steve remembered Thor in any fashion, which he didn't, so the man merely got a blank stare in his direction. Everything coming out of his mouth was nonsense and trickery. A thought that had been tortured into him by Hydra.

He was in the way. So he had to go.

Steve fired on him, just a pistol, but he assumed even with the weird outfit the man would probably bleed, right?

From:

thunderboltsandlightning

Thor looked down at the bullets bounced from his armour (and his bicep). He was not sad about this turn of events. He had expected it. The gun was a bit rudimentary though. He had crossed paths with Rogers on the field before and they fought particularly well together, feeding off of each other's strengths. Thor knew the way that Steve fought. It was honourable.

He knew now that he would have to remember that honour was no longer part of whom the Captain was.

Thor reached for his hammer and gave it a swing before launching straight into the other. He promised Stark that he would be as gentle as possible in exchange for poptarts and the Lion King re watch.

From:

starspangledspandex

This wasn't exactly what Steve would consider gentle even on a good day. The Sentinel snarled as he was knocked of his feet and grunted as he hit the floor, immediately shoving at Thor to spring back to his feet. He also threw a knife the man's way, you know, just in case the armor that stopped a bullet magically didn't block knives.

No such luck.

What about an electrical stun disc? Those were always fun.

From:

thunderboltsandlightning

Fighting Thor wasn't really fighting fair. He enjoyed battle, though he was obviously holding a great deal of his punches. He could probably break Steve's jaw if he really wanted to... But he did not.

There were Poptarts on the line. And he liked Steve too.

The knife didn't do any damage but it was a distraction. Thor found himself throw into a wall... Through the wall really. He was extremely heavy and Midgardian architecture didn't really hold his weight. He flew right passed Widow, Hawkeye and Falcon, causing the three fighters and their foe to pause as he continues through more walls behind them.

So much for that one.

From:

starspangledspandex

He watched the man disappear through a hole in the wall. Steve assumes that will keep him busy enough to lose him and he goes sprinting off in the direction of his target, weaving in and out of rooms so that that he's harder to find.

Steve ignores the fight that's going on in the other room. Bucky is handling it. He needs to complete their mission before their handlers get angry with them.

From:

starkingenuity

"I'm sorry, did you just say that he threw Thor-- You know what? Never mind. I'll take care of it." There was no shield to keep him from getting at the Captain and Tony had spent the last six months in his own personal hell. He was not in the best of moods and, for a Guide, had grown remarkably cold. He had always been calculated, though. It turned a bit more cruel since he had lost his bond, though.

And it didn't help that he had not told Steve in return that he loved him before he had been taken.

Guilt was a terrible fhing for a man like Tony Stark, already so very burdened by so very much.

He was behind the last door in the room leading the panic room where the UN diplomats were huddled. The suit he wore was pure gold titanium, strong and light. Tony had been hard at work for this moment. "Are you wearing makeup now, Steve?"

From:

starspangledspandex

He scowls when he sees someone else is in his way. They're worse than bugs. So annoying and irritating. This one is also in armor and something about it feels familiar but he's not sure what.

His forehead creases--who is this man talking about? Him? "Who the hell is Steve?"

The Captain shakes his head and tries a few bullets on this man too, which he doesn't really expect to do anything. Metal armor really is annoying at this point.

From:

starkingenuity

Tony had pretty much the exact same reaction that Thor did to the bullets. The Super Sentinel could parkour off of a fifteen story building and he was using a gun? HYDRA was so boring.

Behind the face plate, however, Tony could feel his face falling. "You the hell are Steve. Steve Rogers. My perfect, pain in the ass Disney Prince and all American goody two shoes." Tony took a step forward, armor glinting in the tasteful light of the panic room...because why not? The UN seemed to like to spend money on decor instead of world hunger.

Tony could relate.

"Think, you idiot!"

From:

starspangledspandex

Hydra acknowledges Steve's abilities but without the shield, parkouring off a fifteen story building becomes a lot more dangerous and bullets kill people, quickly. The Soldier might play off of him well because of the bond but the rest of the team just wouldn't adapt fast enough. It's easier to do this.

A trap. It's a trap. His handlers had warned him that people would say things to trick him, to catch him off guard and this man is between him and his mission.

The voice... does he know that voice? His gaze shifts slightly, trying recall, but he doesn't know anything so Tony gets a grenade instead.

From:

starkingenuity

Really? A grenade? Well it wasn't like he could just use his repulsors on it, the damned thing would blow up! He grabbed the weapon and shot up through the roof before he threw it upward. It would cause far less damage than inside, but it would leave the vault wide open.

Luckily, the rest of the group had managed to overpower the Soldier-- And no matter his training, the Soldier was the Captain's Guide...and the Soldier was in a lot of trouble now, held down by Mjolnir.

From:

starspangledspandex

He started forward, toward the open door and then the desperate wash of danger came rushing through the bond. His Guide needed him and no matter what torture Hydra put them through they couldn't remove the instinct of a Sentinel to go to the side of his Guide.

The Captain is near feral when he hits Thor, snarling because he recognizes the hammer and he doesn't like that it's trapping his Guide, not one bit.

From:

starkingenuity

Thor flew through the wall again, which he was starting to find pretty unappealing, leaving the trio from before to handle Steve. Though all three were Guides, the Super Sentinel did not have the same issue as other Sentinels did hurting them. And it certainly didn't help that Steve was obviously on the edge of a full out berserk.

There was only one option here, and that was to make the Soldier and the Captain flee-- Bruce was called in on a Code Green, and while it wasn't ideal, by the end of the day they did manage to save the diplomats.

And locate Steve.

Their handlers weren't happy at all with the pair, but wisely, allowed them to stay together for the time being. They couldn't keep Steve in line without Bucky, and they couldn't handle Steve at all right now.

From:

starspangledspandex

Once the Hulk shows up, they have to leave. They didn't have have a choice. The two of them were good at being ghosts and assassins, but they couldn't handle the Avengers in their own.

Steve stuck to Bucky like a magnet, still a little wild and jittery as they made their way back to the safe house and he snarled at the first Hydra handler that thought about separating them.

He paced in their room, keeping himself between the door and Bucky, while he tried to work off the adrenaline of defending him. Luckily for everyone, he didn't berserk easily and was still lucid but it was a very near thing.

The Captain knew they were being watched, knew their handlers were listening and so, for now, he stewed on the man in the metal suit. His voice... it was so familiar. It made his bond feel uncomfortable. He wasn't sure he liked that.

"Status?" he demanded of his Guide, even if the man was also Sentinel, his instincts clearly focused on the Guide portion.

From:

starkingenuity

The Soldier was quiet for a moment and tried to focus on any pain that might have been numbed out by training or the virtue of the serum he had been force fed for years.

"Two ribs have been broken and the arm needs to be repaired." His middle finger wouldn't rotate properly. It was minor all together.

The Soldier removed his mask and the carefully reached towards the Captain to do the same. He couldn't express himself properly through words or outright emotion but the bond was there--

And it was wavering.

Why?

The Soldier grimaced. "I am not adequate for you?"

From:

starspangledspandex

His Guide's injuries made him unhappy. It meant their handlers would have to come in and get close to patch up his ribs, but also to fix his arm. It might be minor but the Sentinel wasn't thrilled regardless.

The Captain held still so the other man could pull off his mask and his forehead creased slightly, gaze shifting away and back again. "The man in the suit," he said, shaking his head, it didn't answer the Soldier's question. He didn't really have an answer.

"I don't know."

From:

starkingenuity

The Soldier felt something that he wasn't use to. His head felt like someone was pushing in on it or trying to push it's way out and his chest was tight too. Not from the ribs. There was a quiet anguish through the double ended bond he shared with the Captain. No amount of brain washing could take that from him. Not when it was so firmly anchored into his being like the need to breathe.

"It is a secondary target. Iron Man. He was not on the list today to take out but if we see the armor again, it should become a priority to destroy it."

From:

starspangledspandex

"I knew him..." he whispered even though it didn't make sense. How could he? He was a weapon. A tool. All he knew was his current mission and his bondmate.

There were stirrings in the hallway outside the room. He could hear the handlers and he wasn't sure why they were scrambling a little but he didn't like it.

From:

starkingenuity

"You only know him as a secondary target," the Soldier insisted. He knew what happened when memories other than missions or each other resurfaced. It had been branded into him. He learned to fear it. He might be the designated Guide, but The Captain also had Guide in him and the Soldier feared for his safely.

If the blond kept insisting on this memory, it would be pain for them both. Bucky smudged the masking makeup around his Captain's eyes.

"Confirm target status of Iron Man, Captain."

From:

starspangledspandex

The Captain doubted, which wasn't necessarily new, but it was The Soldier's job to keep him grounded and placated. Hydra was wary of doing the wiping procedure too often. They didn't want their prizes put out of commission.

Yet, if he continued this they would have to go through it again.

He hesitated, eyeing the man and feeling his fear. If it was only him, he might have pushed but they were linked together and he couldn't bring himself to cause his Guide pain.

"Iron Man secondary target, confirmed," he said, though it felt wrong. He would do what he needed to in order to keep The Soldier safe.

From:

starkingenuity

"He was so close," Tony whispered into his glass. The man spent more time being drunk and on missions to find Steve than anything else. Luckily, his company pretty much just ran without him.

There was so much bitterness that most of the Avengers tended to steer clear. Tony was not the man he had been. But what Guide was who lost a Sentinel? They didn't have the luxury of going insane and dying. They just tended to fade away.

Sam knew how that was. He still struggled. And Tony wasn't as low as he use to be so he just listened to him talk for now.

It wouldn't be too long until HYDRA decided to play pick off the UN one by one. Diplomats were dying, not the way they had hoped in one blow but it was getting there. The Avengers tended to show up too late however... But not late enough for the Captain not to catch glimpses of the one he seemed to know but no remember.

It was straining their perfect unit. Or had been. At least until HYDRA decided to take out the reason that the Captain was becoming more difficult to keep in line each time.

Iron Man was no longer the secondary target. He was the primary target. And the Soldier and the Captain were sent out expressly to destroy it.