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"We should get into our positions," advised Steve. "We all know what to do."
Each Avenger made their way to different levels of the chamber, sitting atop various pieces of machinery.
Peter was with Sam, located up higher in the ceiling on top of an electronic cupboard linking all the cryo chambers together.
Opposite them floated Vision and Wanda crouched on another piece of equipment, her hands poised to use her powers if need be. Clint was further down, with his bow and arrows out.
Stationed on the floor below, remaining in front of the chambers were Nat, Tony, Steve, and Rhodey, with Bucky standing off to the side.
Tony moved across the room to the central control panel, running his eyes over it.
"We can unfreeze one, right?" asked Natasha.
Tony nodded. "Yeah. It's just figuring out the right sequence of keys to only bring Josef out. I'd rather not have to deal with all five at once." He glanced over at Bucky. "I don't suppose you…?"
Bucky shook his head. "No. I was always on the receiving end of it. If I was awake when the others were I was never shown how to bring them out of cryostasis. I suspect they thought I might rebel if I knew."
Tony frowned. "Might be tricky then… Give me a few moments and I might have worked out the correct sequence."
Natasha approached Bucky. "How volatile could this Josef be?" She eyed the man in the cryostasis chamber.
"Quite volatile," the other admitted quietly. "He was the best after me… I mean, he did overpower me once in training… He could be better than me. More of a struggle to apprehend."
It wasn't encouraging. They didn't need any more trouble. She hoped this would be a simple mission, one that proved the whole team could work well together.
They needed to work well together if she and Tony were going to succeed in stopping the inevitable that was to come.
"But if we are able to talk him down…" Bucky implied.
"He'll be a valuable asset," finished Steve. He glanced over at Tony by the console. "Any progress?"
Tony grinned. "I think I have the right sequence." He scratched the back of his head. "The only problem is I will only if I give it a shot and there is a chance I could have miscalculated."
"I don't believe that, Stark," quipped Natasha. She knew Tony well enough he rarely made mistakes in his calculations.
"Go for it. We have enough people here to subdue all of them if they all do break free," She hoped. It wasn't a given but it was possible.
Tony input the sequence, flipped a few switches and turned two large buttons before stepping back with the others and watched Josef's pod.
Noises erupted from the pod, steam issued, heat passing into the chamber to defrost him.
The frost across his skin started to melt and warmth began to show on the skin as the process sped up.
"The door unlocks with a separate command," explained Bucky.
"You couldn't have said that before?" asked Tony, raising an eyebrow.
The man in the chair began to stir, his fingers moving slightly and his head twisting from side to side slightly as consciousness began to come back to him.
Minutes passed and he opened his eyes, seeing the Avengers in front of him. His hands formed into fists.
Natasha's stomach dropped.
The man's eyes found Bucky as he moved into his vision.
"At ease, Josef," said Bucky quietly. "HYDRA is gone. We're not here to hurt you."
"You…" the man said.
"We want to help you," continued Bucky. "We can free you, help you. You have no need to serve Hydra again."
"I can do what I want…" said Josef. And he moved, leaping from his chair to bash his fists against the glass. The glass didn't crack.
"Hey, there are a lot of us here! If you think you can take us all…" began Tony, but he leaped back slightly as cracks appeared in the glass as Josef punched again.
"Don't you want to live a normal life?" asked Steve, stepping forward. "Away from HYDRA's rules?"
Josef laughed. "HYDRA gave me what I wanted! Strength and power to do what I want!" His fist caused more cracks. "I could kill you all easily."
Natasha swallowed, stepping back a bit towards Tony. "He's insane… We won't be able to reason with him."
"No," agreed Tony. "I might be able to freeze him again before he gets –"
The glass smashed and Josef leaped out, landing on his feet, his eyes shining and his smile wide in insanity.
"Shit!" Tony's helmet formed around his face and he raised his arm, ready for a repulsor blast.
Natasha ducked around behind him, tucking her gun back into its holster and removing her batons. If this was going to be a fight, she'd rather be more of an adversary with the batons than with her gun.
Bucky raised his hands, stepping in front of Josef. "Listen! What HYDRA did to you went wrong. We can fix that!"
"I don't need to be fixed!" roared Josef before he lunged at Bucky, hitting out and attempting to punch his adversary. "I've beaten you before and I can beat you again!"
The two struggled, brawling one another as Bucky tried to twist Josef's arms but he flipped himself over, bringing Bucky with him.
Natasha winced. She edged forward but Tony held her back. "Why?" she demanded.
"He's interested in Bucky. We can subdue him if we do not interfere," whispered Tony quietly.
Natasha threw him a surprised look. "How?"
"Wanda." Tony glanced up at where she was positioned high above him. "You weren't there… but in the battle where I died… She nearly destroyed Thanos…"
Natasha's eyes widened. "But she hasn't used her powers for anything like that before…"
"No," admitted Tony, "but she's always been capable of it. Her anger over Vision fuelled it. But if she's capable of that much power when angry, just think of how much potential she has when she is in full control of her powers."
Bucky scrambled to his feet, with Josef following, trying to wrench him back down. He'd already signalled to Steve to back down, to not aid him.
They had to try it this way first. If Bucky couldn't take him down then the others would move in.
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(A/N:Please drop some power stones.and add this fanfic to your library if you are new or you haven't.🐱)