The First Last-Mission of Captain America

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"There are limits to what even you can do, Captain. Or did Erskine tell you otherwise?"

Staring at the ground of ice filling up the view window of the Valkyrie, I was about to prove Schmidt right. The serum had made me faster and stronger, abilities that I was still surprised by some days. I'd been transformed, but we weren't gods - Schmidt was dead wrong about that part and I'd seen him off to meet his maker not five minutes ago to prove it. Which meant crashing in a plane traveling God-knows how fast was a one way trip. 

 

There was no one else to do it. The Valkyrie was the crown jewel of Hydra's research and it had to be stopped or everything I'd fought for - everything we'd all fought for - would be lost. New York City, wiped off the map. I couldn't let that happen.

 

There was a strange feeling about the city that had raised me, that hadn't even really been all that good to me because I'd been different, depending on me to save them. But I didn't think twice about it.

 

The ground kept coming closer, and I had no idea how long I might have.

 

'I'm comin', Buck.' The thought just popped into my head, maybe because I hadn't been able to get his scream of fear out of my ears since I'd watched him fall two days ago. 'You saved me, and it got me here. Schmidt's dead. Zola's in a cell. Peggy and the guys can handle the rest. We did it, Buck. We saved the world. How about that? Not bad for being just two guys from Brooklyn.'

 

Peggy. I could still taste her lipstick. Her voice was the only thing keeping me together as I plunged closer to it all being over. We both knew I wasn't coming back, even as she made me promise I'd go dancing with her next Saturday. 'Should've told her how you felt sooner, Rogers.' I didn't really believe that, though. In the middle of a war, there weren't exactly many chances to go on dates, and Peggy deserved to be dated. That, and I hadn't been sure how she felt about me until today. 'I really wish I'd be able to take her dancing.'

It wouldn't be long now. "We'll have the band play somethin' slow. I'd hate to step on your-"

The sun blotted out and metal violently screamed around me. For a crazy second, I wondered if I'd lost what the serum gave me because my heart was hammering like it used to on days the weather was damp and I'd stood up to a bully. I expected it to hurt more than it did, and maybe it was just my brain blocking out the pain, but I ended up unconscious before I was torn apart.

The last images in my mind were Bucky's blue jacket and Peggy's red lips.

Not a bad way to go.