Title : The Long War

Author : Nemainofthewater

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognise. It all belongs to Marvel.

Steve Rogers, AKA Captain America was found the 30th May 2010, in the Arctic Ocean, just north of the official Reich waters.

When Nick Fury heard the news-

(smuggled to him by agents in the Reich. There are five of the, and they blow deep cover to get him the information. Three are killed before they reach the US, another is severely injured and presumed missing, but that doesn't matter, because when Coulson, arm strapped to his side and paler than usual, says "We found him," Fury feels a strange emotion in his chest)

-he knew that now is the time to start it.

The Avenger's Initiative.

He gathers the gifted, the ones with special abilities who are just straddling the edge of being too fucked over to function.

(Stark, the weapon's designer who was held in Dachau for five months after he made the mistake of showing the Führer how gifted he was.

Barton, the circus runaway with his bow and too sharp smile.

Romanova, dark numbers tattoo-ed onto her arm, a red raised scar around her wrist.

Banner, under constant supervision, not able to leave North America despite his Problem, the ultimate weapon.

And Coulson, who was always calm and collected, and had come back from his first deep cover mission a pale shell of his former self.)

(and the ones who might have made a difference, once, the ones that are too damaged.

Erik Lehnsherr, his whole family slaughtered, his powers used to make German tanks, and prisons and bombs for years, abandoned in America after an accident that took his hands.

Charles Xavier, telepath, mind broken from the strain of millions of deaths, and the suffering.

Raven Darkholme, strung up outside of Auschwitz, blue skin faded and eyes blank.

Thousands of mutants, killed or forced to 'work off their debt to humanity').

Now he had Rogers, the only man who knew what the Hydra technology could do, and the only commander to launch a successful attack on the Reich for more than seventy years. He was going to form a team to liberate Europe from slavery.

For the first time in years, the free world had a chance of freedom. But was it too late?