Imagine that no one had found Steve after he was frozen until HYDRA had already launched the helicarriers
Steve startled himself into consciousness. He snapped his eyes open to a plain plaster ceiling over him with a single light fixture. The only sounds were his breathing and the faint buzzing that the strange lights were giving off. Steve turned his head and looked around, his eyebrows drawing together in confusion.
The last thing he remembered was piloting the Valkyrie into a nosedive, the icy water rushing up at him. He didn’t remember the impact, but he did remember the crackling sound of Peggy’s voice. Steve sat up and swung his legs over the bed. Well, this definitely wasn’t the Valkyrie.
One wall was knocked out and replaced with iron bars. Across the hall was another cell, dark and empty. He approached the bars, looking down the hallway. He was surprised to see two guards stationed at either side of his cell. Steve was about to demand where he was, until he saw the red emblem on their shoulders.
He didn’t have much time to react, as the wall where his bed laid suddenly exploded into rubble. He covered his head with his arms, coughing. He peered through the dust as a man made out of metal ascended into the room, his hands and feet spewing fire as it’s eyes and a circle of light on it’s chest glowed. The guards in the hall had been knocked off their feet with the explosion, but now they were scrambling to open the cell, their shouting definitely a foreign language.
“Come with me if you want to live.” A man’s voice called. Steve hesitated. “Come on, Grandpa, we don’t have all day.”
By now the guards were shouting to the other guards that had poured into the hallway, still fumbling with their keys. Steve stepped up to the metal man, who wrapped a strong arm around his waist. Steve clung to the man as they jumped backwards out of the cell.
It was night time, so Steve couldn’t see much. But they only flew for a couple seconds before Steve realized they were over water. A small light was waving back and forth, signaling them. The metal man approached the light, which was actually a woman waving a flashlight. She was standing in a boat, although it wasn’t like any boat Steve had ever seen. Another man, this one not made of metal, stood beside her, wearing glasses. The guy carrying Steve alighted in the boat, dropping him, then took off again.
The woman started the boat and followed close behind at surprising speed.
“Captain Rogers, welcome back to the land of the living.” She yelled back over the wind.
Steve struggled to keep his feet as the boat jumped through the waves. “Who are you people? Why is HYDRA-” Steve cursed as the boat rocked suddenly, sending him crashing into the other man who caught him. He was stronger than he looked. “Will someone please explain what’s going on?”
The man that had caught him looked him in the eye. He was incredibly calm. “My name is Bruce, this is Natasha, and that’s Tony.” He said as he pointed to the woman and the metal man. “We are all that’s left of the Avengers. HYDRA is in control of everything now.”
“What?” Steve couldn’t believe his ears. “How?”
“Because we messed up, Cap.” The metal man - Tony - said as he came to fly next to them. His mask pulled back to reveal a very familiar human face. “We messed up big time.”