https://youtu.be/UhVjp48U2Oc

Washington, D.C.

The sun has barely risen over the capital of the United States, as a man begins his daily jog around the Tidal Basin, crossing monuments of American history. However, this man was always passed by someone very much faster than him.

That man being Steve Rogers - Captain America himself.

Every morning, like clockwork, Steve always manages to sprint by him, always panting, "On your left!" while always passing his left. The man was impressed how Steve could manage this so early, but was annoyed by how frequently Steve passed him.

As he jogged right past the Capitol building, he knew Steve was just a few feet behind him, ready to say what he dreaded. "Don't say it!" Sam groaned. "Don't you say it!"

"On your left!"

"COME ON!" He yelled as he rounded about the corner of the Reflecting Pool, groaning in exhaustion. Steve was a good couple of meters away.

Sam later found himself leaning against a tree to catch his breath. "Need a medic?" A familiar voice asked in a friendly tone, making Sam laugh as the Man Out of Time approached him.

"I need a new set of lungs!" Sam joked. "Dude, you just ran 13 miles in 30 minutes!"

"Guess I got a late start," Steve joked back, making Sam laugh yet again. "Really?" Sam replied. "You should be ashamed of yourself. You should take another lap!" He panted, throwing his left arm.

He looked away for a second, then turned back to Steve. "Did you just take it?" He joked sarcastically. "I assumed you just took it."

Steve looked at the sweatshirt Sam was wearing, noting the crest on the left was from the U.S. Military. "What unit you with?" He asked him, as he pointed to the crest.

"58th Pararescue," Sam answered. "But now I'm working down at the VA." Sam raised his arm for Steve to lift him up.

"Sam Wilson." He introduced himself as Steve grabbed his arm and lifted him up.

"Steve Rogers." Steve kindly reintroduced himself back. "Yeah, I kinda put that together," Sam laughed yet again. "Must have freaked you out, coming home after the whole defrosting thing."

Steve sighed, yet smiled. "It takes some getting used to." He confessed. "It's good to meet you, Sam." He said as he turned to get more of his regimen in.

"It's your bed, right?" Sam asked, to Steve's surprise, making him turn around. "What's that?" Steve asked curiously.

"Your bed, it's too soft," Sam deduced as he referenced his time as a airman. "When I was over there, I'd sleep on the ground, use rocks for pillows, like a caveman. Now I'm home, lying in my bed, and it's like..."

"Lying on a marshmallow." Steve continued his sentiments. "Feels like I'm gonna sink right to the floor." Sam nodded. "How long?" Steve asked.

"Two tours," Sam said. "You must miss the good old days, huh?"

"Well, things aren't too bad," Steve honestly replied with another smile. "Food's a lot better - we used to boil everything. No polio is good."

"Internet - so helpful." Steve continued about technology. "I've been reading that a lot to catch up."

Sam looked up for a moment, thinking about something that Steve would enjoy from his preferences, and raised his finger.

"Marvin Gaye, 1972... Trouble Man soundtrack." Sam smirked as Steve gave a look of approval and reached into his pockets to fish out his pocket journal, the same one his teammate, Zach, had given to him as a parting gift two years ago.

"Everything you missed jammed into one album," Sam illustrated as Steve fumbled with his pen. "I'll add it to the list!" He exclaimed, excited to hear the album.

He quickly scribed the name of the album alongside other things he wanted to catch up on.

I Love Lucy (Television)
Moon Landing
Berlin Wall (Up + Down)
Steve Jobs (Apple) - bought an IPhone 5.
Disco
Thai Food
Star Wars / Star Trek
Nirvana (Band)
Doctor Who
Rocky (Rocky II?)
Troubleman (Soundtrack)

Suddenly, Steve's phone chirped with a unique ringtone, as he dug around and grabbed it, seeing he had a message from a Shield comm.

Mission Alert.
Extraction Imminent
Meet at the Curb. :)

"Alright, Sam," Steve said as he read the message. "Duty calls. Thanks for the run - if that's what you wanna call running." He said, as he shook hands with the former pararescue.

"Oh, so that's how it is?" Sam laughed again.

"Oh, that's how it is," Steve joked again.

"Ha-ha, okay," Sam finished up as Steve proceeded to the curb. "Any time we wanna stop by the VA, make me look awesome in front of the girl at the front desk, just let me know!"

"I'll keep it in mind," Steve smirked and nodded at him.

Just behind him, a black Chevrolet Corvette Stingray pulled up by the curb, as a redheaded agent rolled down the window to face Rogers.

"Hey, fellas," Natasha suggestively called to them. "Either one of you knows where the Smithsonian is? I'm here to pick up a fossil."

"That's hilarious," Steve remarked without making a chuckle as he opened the door, while Sam held his knees and tried to make conversation with Natasha. "How you doing?" He asked.

"Hey," Natasha smirked.

"Can't run everywhere," Steve remarked to Sam, as Sam nodded. "No, you can't." He said. Natasha rolled up the windows, and they took off.

"Who's heading the mission?" Steve asked Romanoff as they continued.

"Rumlow leading the STRIKE team," Natasha responded. "But we got two transfer students coming along with us." She smiled. "And one of them is an old friend of ours, Cap."

Over The Indian Ocean

"Target is a mobile satellite launch platform; The Lemurian Star," Brock Rumlow, the leader of the mission, directed to a screen displaying the ship. The STRIKE team, including Steve, Natasha, Zach and Ella, paid close attention to his instructions.

"They were sending up their last payload when pirates took them, 93 minutes ago."

The screen accurately displayed how long it had been since the pirates took over, just like Rumlow instructed. "Any demands?" Steve asked.

"Billion & a half." Rumlow answered.

"Why so steep?" Steve asked again.

"Because it's SHIELD's." Rumlow answered. "So the ship's not off-course - it's trespassing," Zach spoke up.

"I'm sure they have a good reason," Natasha sarcastically made up, as Steve turned to the other three Shield agents.

"You know, I'm getting a little tired of being Fury's janitor." Steve whispered, to Natasha's chagrin. "Relax..." She said, "It's not that complicated."

"How many pirates?" Ella asked Rumlow, as he scrolled through the screen.

"Twenty-five," He immediately said. "Top mercs, all led by this guy - Georges Batroc."

Batroc's mugshot appeared on the screen. He was a French man, with a small goatee and a buzzcut. "Ex-DGSE, Action Division," Rumlow read out. "He's at the top of Interpol's Red Notice."

"Before the French demobilized him, he had thirty-six kill missions," Rumlow continued. "This guy's got a rep for maximum casualties."

"Yet, one of his aliases is Batroc the Leaper." Zach muttered to them.

"Hostages?" Steve asked again.

"Uh... mostly techs." Rumlow sped through the hostages located on the ship. "One officer - Jasper Sitwell." As he said his name, Sitwell's ID photo appeared, along with his personal info. "They're in the gallery."

"What's Sitwell doing on a launch ship?" Steve asked the group, as Ella began to speak. "He was relocated to the Star to escort it on course," She answered the Captain. "Zach and I had a briefing like this before we arrived."

"Alright then," Steve answered and proceeded to get ready. "I'm gonna sweep the deck and find Batroc." He said as he slid his shield on his back.

"Nat, you kill the engines and wait for instructions, Rumlow, Zach, Ella, you sweep aft, and find the hostages, get them to the life-pods, get 'em out."

"Let's move." Steve finished, while Rumlow seconded his thoughts. "STRIKE, you heard the captain, gear up!"

The quinjet ascended in the air for them to be able to quietly drop into the ocean. As the STRIKE team prepared, Steve applied his wrist communicator, and spoke into it for clarification he was on the channel.

"Secure channel seven," Steve spoke into his communicator.

"Seven secure." Natasha called out just as Zach and Ella confirmed theirs. "Did you do anything fun Saturday night?"

"Well, all the guys from my barbershop quartet are dead," Steve morbidly answered. "So, no, not really." Natasha smirked and turned to the two agents, still gearing up.

"What about you two - on that covert team?" Natasha asked them on the secure line. "Seems like you've been busy, will they be alright on their own?"

"They've got it handled," Ella answered. "They should be fine without us for now."

"And I have supervising officer duties to tend to after this," Zach pronounced, just as Ella looked down. "But we have something to take care of right now, Nat."

"Course we do," Natasha acknowledged, yet turned back to Steve. He slammed the button to the ramp as he got the go-ahead. "Maybe, if you ask Kristen out, from Statistics, she'd probably say yes."

"That's why I don't ask," Steve spoke loudly, as it became harder to hear, just as he adjusted his cowl.

"Too shy, or too scared?" Natasha quipped back at him.

"Too busy!" Steve yelled, before hopping off and diving in the air, avoiding any further conversation of his love life. From the sidelines, a STRIKE agent was extremely surprised at the course of action he took.

"Was he wearing a parachute?" The curious agent asked Rumlow, who simply smirked.

"No." He bluntly replied. "No, he wasn't."

As he continued to fall, Steve braced his arms to his sides to provide more speed in his descent. He saw himself getting closer and closer to the ship, and tucked his arms in an X-formation, while changing his position to dive into the water.

He swam towards the chains near to the ship, and began to climb up. As he approached the deck of the ship, a pirate walked across quietly. Steve quickly pulled himself up, and silently snuck behind the pirate.

He threw his hand over the pirate's mouth, preventing any exposure and pulled him to the ground, making him go unconscious. As the pirate became limb, Steve pulled his body and laid it down, beginning his trek.

He pulled his shield from his back, and swung it towards another pirate, instantly dropping him to his feet. The shield ricocheted back to him, and Steve slung it back to the pirate, dropping them to the ground.

Little by little, he made his way through the deck, making little noise as he made work out of most of the pirates.

However, after taking down another pirate, he heard the clicking of a gun behind him. "Bouge pas!" The French pirate yelled. "Bouge pas!" Steve knew enough French to know the pirate was warning him not to move.

Suddenly, the pirate lurched as he was shot by a near silent gun, just as Rumlow parachuted down to Rogers. "Thanks." Steve panted as Rumlow unhitched the parachute.

"Yeah," Rumlow cockily responded with sarcasm. "You seemed pretty helpless without me."

Natasha, Ella and other agents parachuted down straight after, while Zach landed near them. Steve slid the shield right back behind him, as the three joined him.

"What about the nurse that lives across the hall from you?" Natasha continued her recommendations. "She seems kind of nice."

"Secure the engine room, then find me a date," Steve finally joked back, yet with a straight face. Natasha smirked as she walked towards the railing. "I'm multitasking!" She quipped yet again before dropping down to the lower deck.

Steve tossed Ella a bugging device, which would allow them to hear what Batroc was commanding his subordinates. She quickly took it and ran to the walls, jumping up the railing, and aimed the tracer at the window of the gallery.

The device went off with a soft "phew" noise before attaching to the window, just as the agents were able to hear Batroc.

"J'aime pas attendre. Appelle Durand," The voice of Batroc flowed into their comms. "Je veux I'on s'arrache dè que la ranson arrive." *

Translation: I do not like to wait. Call Durand. I want this ship ready to move when the ransom comes.

"Oui, Batroc." One of his soldiers acknowledged his orders, and picked up the radio. "Durand. Démarre le moteur."

Translation: Durand, start the engine.

On the other side, the soldier by the name of Durand answered, accepted his orders, and put the radio back into place. As he turned around, Natasha faced him with a smirk.

"Hey, sailor," she spoke in a flirtatious tone. The soldier stood awestruck, which gave Natasha enough time to kick him hard in the shin, dropping Durand to the ground.

She released a wire and tied it around his neck, before pushing herself off the railing with her pistols in hand as she swung down, shooting the pirates around her.

Poor Durand was still choking against the railing.

Natasha shot another pirate as she finally reached the floor, and shot two more pirates below her.

Rumlow, joined by another agent, Zach and Ella had just entered the room adjacent to the gallery, where they could hear the commands of one of Batroc's subordinates.

"Bouge pas toi! Mais qu'est ce qui passe! Te veux les héros , c'est ça! T'as pas intérêt!"

Translation: You don't move! But what's this! Want to play hero, is that it? You'd better not!

The voice became louder as the figure approached the door, banging it to get another soldier's attention. "Hé, trouve Batroc, si j'ai pas nouvelles dans deux minutes, je commence à les tuer!"

Translation: Hey, look for Batroc. If I do not hear anything in two minutes, I'll start to kill them!

The pirate in front of the four agents responded, but as he turned to go along with his task, Rumlow tapped him on the head with a taser, but Zach quickly grabbed the body before he could hit the ground.

There was a moment of silence as the agents thought they would be caught, but luckily, the voice dismissed it, and spoke, "Deux minutes."

The rest of STRIKE took their places across the ship, while Rumlow nodded for Zach, who pulled his fist back, silently humming as a blue-gold hue emitted from his fist, ready to blow the door open.

The other agent and Ella stood back, but ready with Rumlow to breach. "STRIKE in position." Rumlow whispered on comms, after he received confirmation of their status.

"Natasha, what's your status?" Steve whispered to his wrist as he watched Batroc in the control room. However, there was some silence from her side.

"Natasha, status." Steve repeated once more.

"Hang on!" Natasha yelled as she jumped on a pirate's shoulders, pushing her fists into his neck, zapping him with her Widow's Bite Gauntlets. As the pirate fell limp, she rolled off of him and quickly disarmed and disabled another pirate.

"Engine room secure." She finally breathed into her comm. However, seeing as one of the pirates was still conscious, she took a metal pipe near her, and swung it to knock him out.

Natasha dropped the pipe, and strutted out of the engine room.

STRIKE agents surrounded all sides of the ship, Rumlow and his team were prepared to breach the control room, and the engines were in their control.

With the odds in their favor, Steve pulled his wrist to his mouth, and whispered, "On my mark."

"Three..."

"Two..."

"One."

Shots rang into the control room from the STRIKE team, frightening the pirates as Zach aggressively threw his fist into the door, breaking it off it's hinges, as Rumlow shot the superior in the room, making him fall dead on the floor.

Sitwell sat on the ground as he watched the superior fall near him. "I told you," He remarked. "SHIELD doesn't negotiate."

In the control room, Batroc had received news the lines had gone dead, and he lost contact with his soldiers. As he had lost himself in thought, he neglected the window behind him, which came crashing into pieces as Steve's shield flew right into the room.

The shield implanted itself into one of the walls in the room, as Steve limped up to retrieve it, knocking out the soldier alongside The Leaper.

"Hostages en route to extraction." Rumlow reported to Steve through the comms as Rogers climbed down the stairs to find Batroc. "Romanoff missed the rendezvous point, Cap. Hostiles are still in play."

"Natasha..." Steve panted as he searched for the terrorist. "Batroc's on the move - Circle back to Rumlow and protect the hostages."

However, there was no response from the Black Widow. As Steve awaited Natasha's reponse, he didn't even see Batroc leaping towards him until the last second, to which he raised his shield to protect himself from his legs.

Batroc was a swift fighter, staying on the move to keep up with Steve. The Leaper jumped in the air, and attempted a kick to Steve's groin, but fortunately missed.

The Frenchman jumped back on his feet, as did Steve, only for Batroc to slide over and kick him down, and jumped over him to try for a hit. Steve rolled under him, and circled back on his feet.

Batroc swung a number of flying punches and kicks, continuously pushing Captain America back, but Rogers pushed back with his shield, disorienting the Leaper for a few seconds, but Batroc was on his feet once again.

Their fight had turned into a fist-fight, as Steve deflected most of his punches with his shield, and tossed him behind, only for Batroc to remain standing, staring daggers into the eyes of Captain America.

"Je croyais que était plus qu'un bouclier." Batroc implored the super-soldier. Steve straightened his back upright, and took his shield from his arm, and slid it on his back.

Translation: I thought you were more than just a shield.

Finally, Steve unclasped the strap of his mask, and removed it from his head, just as Batroc scowled with excitement. "On va voir." Steve commented, as he threw the mask to his right.

Batroc unleashed another flurry of kicks and punches, only for Steve to deflect them yet again, and crossed his elbow to harshly hurt his jaw, pushing the Leaper back.

Batroc rushed yet again, only for Steve to kick him in the right leg and stomach, discombobulating the terrorist yet again, before turning backward and performing a somersault kick to his face.

Batroc dropped to the ground, struggling with the ass-whooping he earned, but managed to get back on his feet. Steve ran at him like a bull, pushing Batroc into the computer room, and punched him in the face, finally knocking the Leaper out.

"Well... this is awkward."

Steve turned to see Natasha, who leaned down at one of the computers, smirking back at him. "What are you doing?" Steve order as he stood up and marched towards her.

"Backing up the hard drive," Natasha answered in a matter-of-fact kind of way. "It's a good habit to get into."

"Rumlow needed your help," Steve questioned as he joined her at the center. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Natasha gave no answer, but Steve looked to the screens, seeing file uploads and codes spattered across the screens.

"You're saving Shield intel..." Steve deduced as Natasha continued to work. "Whatever I can get my hands on," Natasha commented.

"Our mission is to rescue hostages!" Steve voiced to her, who continued to save more intel. "No, that's your mission." She answered as she finished up, removing a flash drive embossed with the Shield logo.

"And you've done it beautifully." Natasha remarked as she began to leave, but Steve grabbed her right forearm.

"You just jeopardized this whole operation." Steve scowled at her, only for her to brush it off. "I think that's overstating things."

"Hostages are all on the jet," Ella yelled as she and Zach rushed in, seeing the two in their situation. "What's going on here?"

Amongst all the confusion, Batroc had awoken, and had risen up, throwing a grenade at the four of them. Steve deflected it with his shield, while Zach blew up the windows to the other room.

The grenade fell to the floor, which quickly prompted the four to jump across the computers, and into the other room, minutes before the grenade went off.

The four were unharmed, and panted for their lives. "Okay..." Natasha spoke up. "That one's on me."

"You're damn right," Steve hissed, and looked to the other agents. "You two alright?"

"I want to get off this fucking ship." Ella muttered. "I second that," Zach added as well.

(a/n: i know i said Infinity would return in the summer, but i had this chapter ready for a while, so I updated --- however, the rest of the Winter Soldier chapters will release in the summer. With that being said, i hope y'all enjoy the intro for Winter Soldier!)