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The mighty warrior with the metal arm was bleeding. Thor hovered over his pale face, unsure of whether he should or shouldn’t move the man. If only Heimdall were here to give him advice.
He stood and walked to the bars of their cell, gripped them in his fists, and shook them until the rattling became deafening. “I demand that this man receive medical attention at once!” He shouted. But the only response he got was his own voice bouncing back at him from down the hall.
He turned back to the stranger. The man’s eyes were open, and he stared at Thor in a way that unnerved him. “Oh, good, you’re awake.” He offered a smile and shifted from foot to foot. “I, er, tried to call for a doctor, but there doesn’t appear to be one in this…dungeon.”
The man still stared.
“Would you like something to eat?” Thor reached for the bowl that lay in the corner of the room. “I’m not quite sure if it could even be called food, and unfortunately, the rats have already eaten their fill, despite my…best efforts, but…” his voice trailed off and he extended the bowl to the man on the floor.
His guest’s hand reached up, but instead of accepting the bowl, grabbed a piece of Thor’s cloak in his metal fingers and jerked, ripping the fabric.
Thor’s fists clenched, and only the stranger's intimidating stare kept his temper from hitting the roof. "I say, what was that for?"
The stranger, never taking his eyes away from Thor’s, wadded the fabric in his fist and pressed it against the bullet hole in his shoulder. The veins in his forehead bulged, and sweat dampened his hair.
Thor frowned and shifted closer. “Oh, er, are you all right? Is your wound troubling you?" He ripped another piece from his cloak and knelt next to his cellmate. "I’m afraid I’m not very adept at healing; that was more of my mother’s practice.” Still afraid to touch the man, he held out the extra fabric. “I am, however, a fast learner, and since you seem to be wise about such things, perhaps you would like to teach me. I’m Thor, by the way.” Thor finished his monologue with a grin. “You may have heard of me? I also go by God of Thunder, Son of Odin, or…well, we can just stop there.”’
The lack of response was becoming awkward. Thor cleared his throat, waiting for the reply that he knew wouldn’t come. “May I request your name?”
The silence was maddening.
Thor moved to the cell bars again. “Guard!” Again, no answer. He huffed and slammed a hand against them. “If only I had Mjolnir.” He glanced at the stranger again, who still stared, but he was becoming accustomed to the man’s strange habit. “It’s my hammer,” he explained with a shrug. “With it, I was unstoppable. Well, until my sister came back from banishment, killed half the population of Asgard, and destroyed Mjolnir simply by squeezing it in her fists.” His hand flexed. “That was a very bad day.”
Silence.
“So then when the evil alien known as Thanos killed my brother and set out on his quest to exterminate half the population of the world, I had an axe made.” Thor sighed, “And, of course, i had to end up in a dungeon when neither in my possession. It's…a long story, but suffice to say that when your daughter asks to borrow both of your weapons…say no.”
“Thanos killed your brother?”
“Ah! So you can talk!” Thor laughed and rubbed his hands together with a nod. “Yes, I lost my brother to that…that hooligan . A very formidable enemy, that one.” He grew solemn. "I joined the Avengers in the battle. We…lost many warriors that day. Good, brave warriors."
The man grunted, then shifted to a sitting position, panting with the effort. “I don’t remember seeing you there.”
"You were at the battle?" Thor raised his eyebrows. "I don't recall your face, either…but then again, we were all very preoccupied. And there were many people there." He paused. "So, what, exactly, is your name?"
The man held his gaze for several moments. “Bucky.”
“Bucky…Bucky…” Thor snapped his fingers several times. “Ah! Yes, I remember hearing about you. Steve Rogers' friend from a half-dozen decades ago.” He tilted his head. “And you’ve kept your age remarkably, nearly as well as he did.” He grinned.
“I have to get out of here.” Bucky ignored Thor's comment and shoved to his feet, swayed slightly, then took a step closer to the door. “What are you doing in here, anyway?”
Thor shrugged. “I was out for a jaunt, saw you fighting mightily for your life, and thought to myself, ‘Thor, now there is a man who does not need your help.’ And then you got shot, and I said to myself, 'Thor, now there is a man who needs your help.' And, unfortunately, there were far too many of them. And without Stormbreaker, I am virtually powerless when faced with odds like we were today."
Bucky grasped a bar with his metal hand and jerked, but the gate simply rattled.
“Why were they after you, anyway?”
Bucky didn’t answer, simply moved from wall to wall, sometimes punching, sometimes kicking, sometimes just studying.
“Have you figured out our escape plan yet?”
“Working on it.” Bucky walked back to the cell door and shoved his metal arm all the way through the bars before clenching his fist and jerking backward, catching his fist in the gap. The bars clanged and dented inward. He met Thor’s grin with a smug, cat-like smile of his own and repeated the action until the bars split with a near-deafening crash. They paused, holding their breath, waiting for an alarm to ring, or guards to rush their cell.
But when no one came, Thor gripped one of the broken ends, braced his feet, and pulled. Heat rushed into his face with the strain, and he’d almost given up when the wall of bars snapped completely.
“Well, aren’t you the super soldier?” Bucky ducked through the opening in a move that spoke of experience and paused long enough for his companion to join him, then crept down the hall.
When they came to an intersection, he peered around the corner and snuck around the wall. Thor followed, apprehension rising as still no one challenged them or even made an appearance. There was something eerie about the entire place, as if a darkness that wasn’t quite earthly shrouded the rooms.
And then there was chaos.
An explosion sounded from somewhere behind them, rocking the earth and emitting a cloud of dust so thick that Thor lost sight of Bucky.
“We’ve got to get out of here— now .” The urgency in Bucky’s voice unnerved Thor, and he followed the sound of the man’s footsteps as they swiftly made their way down yet another hall. He wondered how Bucky seemed to know exactly where they were, but he didn’t question it and simply followed.
Before long, they were out of the dust and Thor could see a door looming ahead. He gave a triumphant shout. “There! See? We are almost free!”
Bucky paused and glanced behind them. “Did we just pass someone?”
Thor frowned. “I don’t think so…should we go back and check?”
“No.” Bucky shook his head. “You go on ahead; there might be more explosives set to go off.”
“If you think that I, Thor, Son of Odin, will leave you to this dreadful mess alone, you’re gravely mistaken.” He shook his head to emphasize his words.
“Seriously, Thor, only one of us needs to stay here. Go on, get out of here; I’m right behind you.” Without waiting for an answer, he turned and headed back the way they had come.
Thor didn’t have time to reply before another explosion knocked them both into blackness.
***
Thor’s head pounded. He groaned and raised a hand to his forehead, wincing when he touched a tender spot. He slowly rolled his head to the right and saw his metal-armed companion laying a few yards away. “B-Bucky?” His voice came out as a croak, scratching his dry throat.
The man stirred with a moan. “I’m all right…I think...” His weak voice was far from reassuring, and Thor realized that the impact had set the man's shoulder bleeding again. He stumbled to his feet, ripped another piece from his cloak, and knelt to pack it against the wound.
“What just happened?” He coughed, choking on the dust that shrouded them.
“Someone tried to blow us up.”
“Oh? I thought they were sending us an invitation to a tea party.” Bucky stared at him, and he smirked. “What? I can speak with sarcasm. Spending time with Stark always teaches one new things.”
They both struggled to their feet and staggered to the door. “After you,” Thor waved Bucky on ahead, his voice muffled by the sleeve he held in front of his mouth.
“And if it’s a trap?”
“I’ll be sure to send my condolences to the next of kin.”
“Thor…has anyone ever told you that you’re a ray of sunshine in an otherwise dark and dismal world?”
“No.” Sarcasm misinterpreted, Thor grinned and slapped Bucky’s good shoulder, causing the man to gasp in pain at the jolt to his wound. “But I thank you, my friend. And I extend the same compliment to you.”