CHAPTER 109

COLD CHRONICLES II

[Steve Rogers POV]

People might think that having someone as overpowered as Draul would make life easier or give you a solid sense of security but Steve Rogers would disagree.

Sure he would never say it to Draul's face, but his presence, or rather existence, was a huge pressure on everyone in that house. 

He'd seen it multiple times to know that Draul was constantly holding back, always putting a lock on the height of his abilities. 

Steve would say that at this point, anything short of an A-bomb would find it extremely taxing to kill Draul. It carried a lot of weight when someone like Draul said he doesn't know his current limits, and that was after he, Magneto and Doom almost destroyed the state of New York. 

What made it worrisome was that Draul was still sure, 100%, that he definitely wasn't in the top 10 on earth. Maybe the top 20. The world grew a whole lot larger in just a year and being with Draul meant you felt the brunt of the weight. 

It was also a driving factor for why Steve accepted Draul's serum. Draul had told them, there and then, that they were pitifully weak and no matter how much they tried to deny those words, it hurt more when they realized how true it was. 

They were weak, impossibly so. 

But now? Though no as ridiculous as Draul, Steve and Bucky could shrug off most things. Their strength coupled with their suit gave them a boost in their defenses. The only reason why Steve had received an injury was that his mask wasn't covering his lower face, nothing else.

But why? Why even with their weapons, mastery, strength and defenses could they not win over him?

It had been three hours of constant fighting, an all-in match where everything goes, against Draul. 

Even with the team effort of him, Nat, Bucky and Yelena combined, they were still unable to make him exert himself. 

They had used every thing they could, even weapons like his shield and Adamantium knives along with Vibranium gloves but still nothing. The only effort he made was dodging or either parrying their Adamantium weapons. 

And the worst part about it all was that Draul didn't hold his punches. He had slammed Natasha on the ground before booting her to Bucky's way, nor did he hold back when his fist snuck into Yelena's stomach, lifting the girl up by a few centimeters off the ground. 

He had received the flat end of his shield to his face which was followed by a ground shattering suplex. 

"I didn't miss that." Bucky said after wiping off the sweat on his face after an intense workout. 

"Well if it's any consolation, you guys are terrifying when fighting together. Take it from me. I'd like to run some test on you guys later but for now, you guys can rest." Draul left the room without as much as a sweat on him.

"I wonder whose idea it was to spar against him." Natasha massaged her sides. That slam had to hurt like a bitch. 

"It was Yelena's. If I knew what that pipsqueak had in mind, then I would have left the house this morning." Bucky huffed and swung a towel over his shoulders. 

"I don't think it was that bad. Apart from the 'having our asses kicked' part." Steve gave his honest opinion which wasn't well received. 

"That was the only part of the spar!" Surprisingly it was Natasha who cried out. 

"Exactly." Bucky added. 

"Okay sourpants, I get it. Oh before I forget, Draul said Fury said he wanted to talk with us. Something about the missing metahumans case and those ones we fought." Steve informed them. 

"Draul was right. Whoever they are working with is bad news. Metahuman experimentation brings about nothing good."

"Nat is right. When are we supposed to meet them?"

"We could go after we are done here. Anyone knows what he might want to talk about?" Steve asked. 

"Probably cooperation. Although it is almost an impossibility, but there might be a chance for him to want to recruit us." Natasha answered after she thought for a while. 

Steve just frowned but Bucky showed his distaste for that idea happening. "Fat chance. Though given who he is, he'll be willing to take the gamble. Not that it has any hope of paying off."

They left the house with Steve riding with Yelena while Nat paired with Bucky. 

"Hey Steve."

"Yeah?"

"Do you think there'll be an end to it?"

"To what?" Steve asked even though he knew what the young girl wanted to ask. 

"The fight. Draul said it's an impossible task that's why he didn't want to go out helping people even though he'll be the best at it. We have S.H.I.E.L.D, us, the Fantastic Four and the X-Men fighting in whatever way we can. Is there a chance or a point where we all go back home thinking 'Finally! It's over.'?"

Steve had to take a second to look at the young girl beside him who asked such a thought wrenching question. "No one knows. I'm a soldier. Though we pray for wars to end, we can't live without a fight. I think the reason why Draul tries not to get involved is because he knows this. If the fight is everything you know, you'll never be able to enjoy a normal life. About coming home, that I don't really know…" Yelena twisted her lips in frustration showing that what Steve said didn't really help. "But thankfully, at least we know someone who'll drag our asses back home if we are past curfew."

Yelena laughed till small droplets of tears escaped her eyes. "You are right. Amidst the whole nonchalant and 'I-don't-give-a-shit' vibe he has when he's outside the house, he's such a worrywart."

With the mood lightened between the soldier and the young assassin, they engaged in smaller talks as they drove to S.H.I.E.L.D's grounded base. 

"Steve, what's up man?" Clint was the one who greeted them when they arrived after sharing a hand shake with Steve. 

"We had a pretty rough week but other than that, all good."

"Right, I heard. Nasty fight huh."

"Fighting someone who could turn most things to explosives was bound to not be an easy one. Where have you been?" Some of the agents stopped what they were doing to look at Steve who no longer had a need to hide his identity. Most had looks of awe either due to who he was or due to his looks. 

"Why are all the guys at home so buffy?" Yelena muttered to herself. 

"We had to deal with some remnants of Magneto's group and also apprehend some people calling themselves 'Friends of Humanity'…. It was a cult. And every single member was sick in the head." Clint said in response to Steve's question. 

Clint took them to Fury's office and left them standing there in front of the bald man. 

"Captain Rogers, glad you could make it this quick."

"Draul said it was kind of important so I figured it was best to deal with it as soon as possible." Steve said. 

"That he did. Did he tell you anything about what we talked about?" Fury asked while discretely surveying the four of them with his eyes. He was both as impressed as he was envious of these people Draul had by his side. 

"No he didn't. He only said there was something you wanted to talk with us about." Steve shrugged in ignorance. 

"Well then allow me to cut to the chase then. This was something I thought of when Draul and I were still going up against HYDRA." Fury slid some folders to them. "I believe we need this now more than ever. Though the terms could be changed, the Initiative remains the same."

"Who is Bruce Banner?" Bucky asked. 

"He is a Doctor, a ridiculously brilliant one, who was one of the few who tried to replicate the Super Soldier Serum. Although he did it in ignorance, he was somehow able to achieve something entirely… different." Fury didn't say anything about his suspicions about Draul and Banner's research. He wasn't a fool to not see some similarities and the coincidence. He just feigned ignorance, hoping it was all in his head. 

"So the Serum… made him into a green monster with anger issues." Bucky gave the files a look over. "Reminds me of someone I know."

"What do you want, Director Fury?" 

"… A group of remarkable people, having the highest degree of autonomy under any government in the world. The world is changing fast and we need people to help us fight the battles in which we find ourselves lacking. The Avengers Initiative was something I thought S.H.I.E.L.D would need, but now… I think it's what the world needs."

Steve took one more look at the folders and the names. At the top most corner was an unidentified profile titled 'The Consultant', which no one needed a reminder as to who it was. 

He saw different people's names, some he didn't know, some he knew as well as the back of his hands. It was a well thought out team, focusing on efficiency and power when needed. Destructive ability and subtlety, this would have been a very terrifying group had it already been approved. 

He turned to look at his friends and family. Sure, none of them were related, but Steve would bet his life that their bonds were stronger than that of any family. They looked at him for the decision to be made and he couldn't help but smile at that trust. 

'I guess it runs in the family.'

"I'm sorry, director. But I would have to decline the offer." He said resolutely. 

Fury released a sigh, already expecting an outcome like this, though he wouldn't say he was happy about it. "Is there any particular reason why you declined?"

"We don't need a reason to help people. We help when we can and when we want. If there's a fight coming for us, you can be damn well sure we'll face it head on. I don't believe we are heroes… we are just a semi-dysfunctional family. No need to add the hero gig to it." Steve said with a small smile. He was sure he would have jumped at the chance to help the world had this been a year ago, but like the talk he had with Yelena, they had a home to go to. Sure he would fight… but family first. 

"You know that doesn't tell me anything." Fury gruffed out, clicking his tongue at the sentimentality of the war hero.

"What he's trying to say is that we don't need a word or group to define us and what we do. We'll help in any way we can not because we were asked to or for some higher sense of morality but because we want to." Bucky voiced out in clarification of what Steve meant. 

"I knew I should have made that pitch sooner. I hope we can work together sometimes in the future." He shook hands with Steve and then proceeded to tell them the reason for the call he made to them. 

"So you are saying this is more serious than what we thought?" Natasha, after perusing the files on sightings and location S.H.I.E.L.D had fought with them, asked. 

"Yes. We think there are more to the goals of this group. Unfortunately, this group is rather competent, which is annoying, and they have been totally unharmed by anything my agents could fight with." They were in a room with Fury and his trusted aides along with some new faces. 

"I thought S.H.I.E.L.D was putting together some type of Metahuman STRIKE Force, how did they fare?" Yelena's question cast dark shadows on the faces of a few people but the younger girl didn't care. 

"Sir, with all due respect, I don't believe these people would be at all helpful other than having access to the information we acquired." A young man with spiky hair raised his objection which was supported, going by the nods from some of the others, while the minority kept it neutral. 

Fury just grunted which quaked the youth but he managed to hold his ground. 

"It must be tough." Nat whispered to Clint who just gave a wry smile in return. "They are way too cocky. Had to take out their whole team before they listened to what I had to say. Did it three more times before they knew not to talk back to me."

"Agent Thurst, Miss Belova here has 76 confirmed kills in the last six months which is ten times yours, which is not even considering the fact that three of those kills were stray shots. So unless you have more to bring to the table other than a big mouth, then I suggest you sit you lil ass back on that chair." Came the cold savage from Fury. 

"I-I'm sorry sir, Miss Belova." The agent, Thurst, sat back down but not before he heard the closing reply from Fury. "Sorry for yourself."

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