He loosens his grip slightly as Bruce starts to laugh, hoping he's not hurting the man, but then the explanation comes and he lets go completely and looks away. "I'm sorry," Steve says, his throat squeezed tight around the words. "His work - I knew they wanted to recreate it, but I never th..."

He sits down next to Bruce, looking incredibly tired. "Erskine told me the night before he died, that..." How can he remember that night so clearly? "He told me why he chose me. He told me that a weak man knows the value of strength, and knows compassion. He told me to stay who I was, no matter what happened."

Steve fists his hands together and leans his forehead against them. "After the procedure, after he died and the last vial of the serum broke, they were going to take me to Alamogordo. Use me as a test subject. Try and rebuild. I didn't go. If I had-" He breaks off. "...I'm sorry."