Disclaimer: I don't own this!
A man, masked, and ice cold, stalking forwards.
He dodges bullets, catches sight of Natasha's flame coloured hair behind a van.
They fight.
Steve blocks a punch from the metal arm, grits his teeth as discomfort radiates up his arm. The man is strong, far stronger than any human he has encountered since he woke from the ice. Thor is strong, yes, but along with the chitauri, he's an alien. His strength is not human, and Steve has come to expect it.
But this man? He's human, as far as Steve can tell, as his flesh arm lands lighter hits than the metal one. Just.
He's blocking hits easily, however, and Steve is oddly reminded of how he and Bucky used to spar.
The difference is that metal arm.
It catches the light distractingly, the red star filling his vision, and whirs mechanically as it moves, unnerving and chilled as it makes contact. He can feel its temperature through his jacket, and he doesn't like it one bit. It reminds him of how cold he was when he woke up from being frozen.
He hadn't been that cold since the serum.
The man lands a hit on his ribs, and he staggers back a bit, before returning the hit with his full strength. He doesn't hold back with this foe, can't really afford to the way he often does with his unaltered human enemies. So he rains down blows quickly, and all of them are blocked, until he manages to throw the man over his shoulder bodily, straining to hurl him as far as possible.
He spots the man's mask on the floor, wonders momentarily what it is made of, and plants his feet.
Then he looks up.
His breath leaves him at once, heart racing immediately.
"Bucky?"
His hair is longer, and scraggy, matted slightly. He looks older by a few years, but is still identifiable. His eyes, however, hold no recognition at all.
"Who's Bucky?" He says.
His voice is exactly the same pitch, still holds the same cadences, the same rhythm of speech, but there isn't any warmth to it, no teasing tone or affection the way Steve remembers.
This may look like Bucky, and he may even be in there somewhere, salvageable, but it isn't Steve's best friend.
It is a killer wearing his skin.
For now.
