There's something about the sight in front of him that makes his heart just stop. Locked in a second between beats, frozen, ready to shatter at a single tap. It feels like a weight that seizes his entire being, a moment trapped in time.

And time has never been his friend.

He had only waited a short time at the meeting place before moving forward to find Bucky, the cold and worry too much for him to linger uncertain. They lost one person today, he can't lose Bucky too. He can't. Not after Sam, Natasha.

But the image before him, it says he still waited too long.

His actions next all blur in his mind, he can feel himself run, then slide across the ice, using the it to throw his weight into speed. The circular sled he carries makes it there first, aiming to hit Thor's head, knock him off balance so Steve's next attack is harder to avoid. A knee to the side, something to knock the Asgardian off and away from his all too still friend, the one he's trying to push further into the ice.

"Bucky!" All that matters is getting Bucky out of the ice, ignoring the threat he knows Thor to be right now in his altered state. Steve is incapable of caring for his own safety, all he knows right now is if there's a chance, any chance to save Bucky, he will.

"Come on, please, just-" his trembling fingers can't find a pulse. Nothing.

Too late. Always too late.