Chapter Text
I lay on a warm cloud, softer than anything I’d imagined before. Sun rays shone through my closed eyes and there was a peaceful air about the room.
I opened my eyes and the place was unfamiliar. It looked like a rich hotel room with more space than anyone would have a use for, filled with lush furniture.
I was drowsy and I couldn’t remember how I’d gotten here. I wasn’t in a cryo-chamber, I wasn’t at any Hydra base I’d been stationed at. So where am I?
As I scanned the room, my eyes fell on a dark-haired man, slumped over in a chair, with a soft rise and fall of his chest. Slipping out of bed, my bare feet touched the soft carpet, making my steps silent as I approached the sleeping man. I stood in front of him, bending down to get a look at his face.
Indiscernible whispers echoed in my mind, trying to tell me something, remind me, but I couldn’t make it out. It was the Winter Soldier. I hadn’t seen him in a while, but he looked different. Shorter hair, casual clothes. His metal arm, which had always been exposed no matter when I’d seen him, was hidden. He didn’t look like a soldier, but a man. A normal man. He looked so peaceful.
It was strange, seeing him like that. He was always alert and on edge. He never let his guard down. What was going on?
I didn’t want to wake him up so I ventured into the room. To my right was an expanse of floor-to-ceiling windows that showed acres of grass and trees. The sun was only beginning to rise and a light mist still resided over the open field. It was beautiful.
I approached the window until I was close enough to see my faint reflection. I was in standard-issue clothes: a white shirt and grey sweats. The blue of my veins popped out against my pale, gaunt skin. My dark blonde hair was messy and cut just above my shoulders. It was longer now than it was usually kept, but it was a familiar sight all the same .
Past my reflection, a few people jogged by in the distance, birds flew by, and trees rippled in the wind. It was lively and peaceful—a dream.
My brain felt foggy as I took in my surroundings, knowing I was missing something. It tended to happen after coming out of cryosleep, but usually, it wasn’t an issue. I had my handlers and my orders to follow. My training took over from there. But I didn’t have that now. There was no one here looking over me, except the sleeping Soldier who was not himself. The usual alertness that filled my body was barely there, and it wasn’t drugs, I knew how those felt. The fear and apprehension that always held itself in my chest wasn’t there. It was like whatever I was missing told me " It’s okay" . Which only made me tense because nothing was ever “okay”.
I turned around, spotting a door on the other end of the room. I crept over to it, glancing to make sure the Soldier hadn’t awakened. He remained sound asleep, as I opened the door and slipped into the tile-floored hallway.
I blinked. The voices in the back of my head grew louder but no less discernible. Then, a twinge of pain glanced through my temple. I pressed my palm to it, squeezing my eyes shut to push the pain away. I heard shouting, sounds of fighting, and the familiar chill of cryo defrosting on my skin. My breathing was heavy and I focussed on it instead of whatever was going on with my head until I could focus on my surroundings again.
But now, as I looked around, the hallway looked familiar and I knew that I’d been in this building. But I couldn’t remember why or when. I needed to learn more.
So I moved forward, slowly, creeping along, looking for any signs of movement. This didn’t seem like any Hydra facility I’d been to, as their buildings predominantly featured cold grey concrete and metal doors. This building is clean and modern, with tons of windows and greenery. No scientists walked around, and the cameras were sparse. Things were quiet. Hydra facilities were never quiet.
I came to the end of the hallway that met a balcony encircling a lounge and kitchen area a floor below. I moved to the edge to better look down and was stopped by a glass pane railing.
Two people busied themselves quietly. A stranger with long dark hair and green clothing lounged on the couch, quietly flipping through a book, while a brown-haired woman worked in the kitchen.
I narrowed my eyes at her. I knew her. Wanda. I’d trained her and her brother while I was with Strucker. That’s one of the last things I remember before I was shoved back into cryofreeze. She was strong and somewhat unruly. Not compared to her brother though. It took a while to get him under control. But why was she here? Maybe this was another Hydra facility?
I needed to be careful. No drastic decisions. Couldn’t risk making my situation worse. I’d have to wait it out until I got more information.
She seemed to sense my gaze on her as she looked up at me. She froze and we stared at each other, trying to assess what the other would do. She slowly walked out from behind the island where she was prepping food, eyes never wavering from my own.
The man on the couch put down his book as he sat up to assess the situation.
“I didn’t know you were awake,” Wanda said, her voice quiet. Her arms were at her side, tensed, and she took a widened, defensive stance.
“Then you didn’t need to know,” I said.
She bristled slightly. “Where’s Bucky? Aren’t you supposed to be his problem?”
“Who the hell is Bucky?”
She shook her head, as red sparked between her fingers. “You need to go back where you came from.”
I scoffed. “I’m not going back anywhere.”
I barely heard the whoosh to my left before a blur of speed entered my vision. Instinctively, I gripped the railing beside me and stuck my hand out a millisecond before I was hit by that blur. My shoulders stretched painfully and my grip on the railing slid down a foot. But in my hand, I’d caught myself a speedster.
“Pietro, you’re here, too,” I said with a dry smile. “You can do better than that.”
His platinum hair was shorter than I’d seen it before and he glared at me as he struggled against my iron grip. With his free arm, he attempted to swing at me, but I dodged, sweeping a foot between his knees and knocking him flat on his back.
Suddenly, I was slammed into a wall, little red sparks dancing in my vision. It took a second to refocus myself and I saw Wanda floating level with the balcony, red all around her. She moved forward until her feet met the floor and she stalked towards me. I couldn’t move, presumably her doing.
“You will never hurt my brother and I again,” she growled.
Pietro got to his feet and flanked me with his sister. I looked at them blankly. “I’m not here to hurt you. I don’t know why I’m here.”
“Bullshit,” Pietro spat. He pointed a threatening finger at me. It wasn’t that threatening though. “You might’ve been following orders but you—“
“Hey!”
Everyone turned to see the Soldier stalking up to us. Casually leaning against a wall behind him was the dark-haired man, hosting an amused expression on his face.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing,” the Soldier asked, his approach causing Wanda and Pietro to take a step back. The force holding me to the wall dissipated and I quietly landed on my feet.
“Nice of you to finally show up, Barnes,” Pietro said, crossing his arms and trying to hold some strength against him. When ‘Barnes’ glared at him, he raised his arms in surrender and stepped out of the way.
The Soldier reached an arm out towards me and beckoned me with his hand. “Come on, Red,” he said and I moved to follow him. I kept my expression blank as I walked by the twins and the black-haired man, whose gaze was sharp and striking as if he was attempting to look into my very soul.
The Soldier and I moved back down the hallway and back to the room I’d awoken in. He walks to the center of the space and gestures to a couch.
“Sit,” he said, hands settling on his hips, pacing back and forth anxiously. I followed his orders, looking up at him and waiting for more instructions. “What were you doing out there? Why didn’t you wake me up?”
I lowered my head, knowing I shouldn’t speak. He seemed angry. Speaking back only resulted in retaliation.
He sighed, placing a hand over his eyes. In a softer voice, he said, “Come on, Red, you can talk to me.”
I looked up at him hesitantly but saw the softness in his face and his stance. “I don’t know what I’m doing here,” I answered slowly. “I don’t know you, you’re different now. And I don’t know this place.”
“How much do remember from when you first woke up?”
“All of it now,” I said. “Getting thrown into a wall is helpful for jogging memories.”
“Okay, so you remember what I told you before,” he questioned, “about Hydra.”
I nodded.
“Okay, okay,” he murmured to himself, trying to think about how best to handle the situation now. He took a seat across from me, leaning his elbows on his knees to look at me. “Okay, so let’s get you acquainted. You are here because the Avengers found you in the basement of Strucker’s lab in Sokovia. They brought you here to the Avenger’s headquarters for testing and rehabilitation. And because I asked them to.”
“What are they going to do with me?”
“Not much. You’re just here to readjust to society, to be safe and out of harm's way mostly . That’s what I’ve been doing here at least.”
“They’ve made you soft,” I said in a low voice. I couldn’t let that happen to me.
“You don’t have to fight anymore, Red,” he insisted. “That’s what they made you do but that’s not who you are.“
“And who are you, now,” I shot back.
“My name is James Buchanan Barnes. My friends call me Bucky. That’s who I was before Hydra took me,” he said.
I was silent, trying to absorb what he was saying.
“I was a soldier in World War 2 when they captured me, experimented on me, took my memories, and turned me into a weapon for them to use how they pleased. Your files are sparse, so we don’t know what exactly happened to you, but I know you got the same shit deal I did. I want to help you the same way my friends here have.”
I looked at him, trying to figure him out.; if what he was saying was the truth. And if Hydra is truly gone, then where would I go? The Avengers will let me stay here if I cooperate like…Bucky. I don’t know what I’d do on my own. Best if I stayed here until I could figure that out. Doesn’t seem like they’d let me leave now, anyway.
I nodded as my plan formed in my head. “This seems like a nicer place than any Hydra facility I’ve been to,” I said.
Bucky smiled. It was an unfamiliar look on him. “Good, it is. We’ll settle you in slowly, introduce you to the team, and go from there, okay? I’ll just need you to follow my lead.”
I looked at him blankly. “Yes, sir.”