A/N: Welcome, everyone! I'm so glad to be back and working with Bucky again instead of doing that trainwreck of a fanfiction I tried as the third installment. Note, this will have some of the same plot, but don't get too comfortable, because some crazy things happen!
Just so you all know, I did take out one of my OCs that changes the epilogue of Angel of Death. Feel free to go back and look at it. It's not very different, but it did change. I hope you all enjoy my new story 'Novocaine', true sequel to Ironheart and Angel of Death (WHICH I SUGGEST YOU READ FIRST). Thanks for being patient with me!
As you know, I always put a song that sets the theme for the chapter. I'll continue that in this story.
Musical Inspiration:
-Novocaine by Fall Out Boy (of course the the inspiration for this story is an inspiration for the first chapter.)
-Chasing the Dragon by Two Steps From Hell
-Bionics by Two Steps from Hell
Chapter 1
Sucker Punch
A cold wind howled through the emptiness of a lonesome catacomb. The sound of water dripping on the slick stone echoed across the earthy walls. To the keen listener, faint sounds of low murmuring voices could be heard. To the trained observer, flashing lights could be seen dancing on the walls from sparks bouncing off a blowtorch against metal. To a trained warrior, the exact pinpoint of the cave dwellers could be found easily.
Bucky Barnes was all of these things and more. It was easy for him to be aware of everything that went on around him. He was so in tune with his surroundings, being trained as a killer assassin, he could almost feel his enemies crawling around the earth before him.
But now, he had even another extension to his extremely sharp fighting abilities. His best friend, Steve Rogers. He only had to glance out of the corner of his eye to see Steve creeping against the opposite wall from him, wielding his patriotic shield in front of him.
Nick Fury, the leader of the growing organization called SHIELD, found that Steve and Bucky worked together like a well-oiled machine. They were the top choice on his list to go on missions together, and they always succeeded quickly and cleanly.
With the fall of both SHIELD and HYDRA, it was like a chess match between the remaining staff. A HYDRA agent will attack and SHIELD agent and vice versa. One would kill the other. Another would capture another. A group would rescue a captured agent. It was like the two enemy organizations were frozen in a paradox.
And now, the ball was in SHIELD's court as Bucky and Steve sneaked into what was reported to be the current location of HYDRA's devious and notorious HYDRA agent and his crew. A man named who was named Strucker.
Bucky paused at the end of the hall, looking at Steve again, who'd evenly stopped at the same point on the opposite wall.
Steve gave him a signal to indicate the next hall was clear and they continued on. When the came to the next turn, the sounds of people's voices had gotten loud enough to assume that they'd reached the center of the catacombs.
Steve gave a soft, short whistle that only Bucky could detect. Bucky instantly reached his metal arm out to catch the shield that Steve tossed to him. They hadn't spent much time discussing their plan, but the two worked as one. From all the other entrances to the center, SHIELD agents were moving in, waiting for the signal from the Captain and Soldier who worked in perfect sync.
Bucky easily moved in the shadows, keeping out of anyone's eyesight as he quickly scanned the room with his keen eyesight. He didn't see their main target, Strucker, but he saw multiple tables of machinery and people working on the metal bits. In the background were two glass cages, containing a prisoner in each.
No one seemed to be paying attention to the two. Bucky peered closer and noticed that one was a girl and the other, a boy. They both were disheveled and pale, most likely being prisoners for a long period of time. They weren't SHIELD agents, but they definitely weren't HYDRA agents either.
Bucky hunkered down deeper out of anyone's sight and reached his hand up to his earpiece, whispering, "Steve, we have two prisoners in here."
"Are they SHIELD?"
"No, I don't think so, I've never seen them before. They obviously don't want to be here though," Bucky murmured back.
"Create a diversion so we can get the ball rolling," Steve said.
"One diversion, coming up," Bucky chuckled and picked up the shield and sat it up on the edge, rolling it out into the middle of the room so that all the HYDRA agents just stopped and stared at it in confusion.
"Too easy," thought Bucky as he came up behind the most advantageous guy in the back and quickly and silently struck him in the head. The agent fell and Bucky lowered him to the ground, moving behind the next one.
"Where the hell did that come from?" one of the agents finally asked, moving forward to reach for the shield.
Before he could touch the rim of the shield, Bucky's brought his foot down on the agent's hand. The man cried out in pain and jerked backwards as all the agents started fumbling for their handguns. Bucky moved his foot again to catch the lip of the shield and flipped it into the air. He caught it in time to deflect the the bullets and made his way through the group, punching, kicking and smashing them all to the ground.
Bucky yelped in pain when one of the agents unexpectedly stabbed him in the ribs with some sort of an electric taser rod. He swung around and his metal elbow connected with the agent's temple. The man fell to the ground and another jumped forward bravely, coming at Bucky with the same type of weapon. Bucky moved forward quickly, jumping and twisting in midair, kicking the man in the head. With the velocity of his move, Bucky shot his arms forward towards the last agent, smashing his face with the metal shield.
In the background, Steve and a few SHIELD agents were busy freeing the two prisoners from their cells, but still took the precaution of putting their hands in cuffs.
Steve turned to run to aid Bucky, but found his friend standing in a pile of unconscious HYDRA agents.
"Why don't I just go home?" laughed Steve, catching his shield easily as Bucky threw it back to him like a frisbee.
"Oh, come on, you helped! You opened the door for me when we got into the truck to get here," teased Bucky, a smirk playing on his lips.
"I always open the door for the elderly," Steve joked, crouching down to see which of the HYDRA agents had survived Bucky's metal fist.
"Very funny since you're just as old as I am," said Bucky, giving Steve and exasperated look.
"All the other passageways are clear, Captain," a young male agent said to Steve.
"I guess Strucker caught wind of our knowledge that he was here and ran off," sighed Steve, then he ordered, "Have the men collect all the living and put them on the truck so we can take them back for questioning."
"Yes, sir," the man obeyed, scurrying off.
Bucky scanned the room and reached out with his metal hand to touch one of the weapons on one of the cluttered tables, "You know, I imagined we'd be friends throughout whole lives, but I thought if we even reached the age of 95, we'd be sitting together on the front porch of a veteran's museum swapping war stories with other old army guys. Not going on 15 mile runs at the crack of dawn to be in shape for finishing our day off with missions that help protect humankind."
Bucky leaned down to help pull the living bodies away from the rest and the SHIELD agents dragged them away and Steve walked up next to Bucky.
"Well, we can go to the veteran's museum and tell them our war stories but I don't think they'd believe two guys who look like they're 27 still, one of which bearing a metal prosthetic arm," Steve replied.
"No thanks. I think I like what we have here," chuckled Bucky, glancing over at the prisoners as a couple of agents brought them forward.
"Who are you? And how did you get down here?" Steve asked gently, being able to tell the boy and girl were both shaken.
"They thought we were mutants, but we're not! We tried to tell them, but-" the girl's voice faltered, but she continued, "They just wouldn't believe us."
Bucky frowned, regarding the girl and boy. The girl was making direct eye contact, looking fierce even in her disheveled state. The boy, however, was looking away. He wasn't crying, but he looked tired and mentally beaten.
What are your names?" Steve asked.
"I'm Wanda Maximoff, and this is my brother, Pietro," the girl said.
"I'm Steve Rogers and this is my partner, Bucky Barnes. We are SHIELD agents and we can help you. We'll take you back to our headquarters and talk more there," Steve told them.
Neither siblings argued and went willingly with two agents that escorted them away.
"Do they seem a little strange to you?" murmured Steve as they walked away.
"HYDRA has the ability of bringing out people's strange," Bucky answered, placing his assault rifle on his back.
"I suppose you're right but- WATCH IT!" Steve lunged forward as one of the supposedly unconscious HYDRA agents lifted themselves off the ground suddenly, wielding a knife.
Steve tried to push Bucky backwards, but the knife still grazed across the ex-assassin's cheek. Bucky cringed in pain and angrily grabbed the attacker's wrist with his metal hand and gave it a quick twist, breaking the bone easily. The HYDRA agent screamed in pain and Bucky placed a boot on his chest and flattened him on his back.
Bucky crouched down, putting an ample amount of pressure on the agent's chest, and said, "Good morning, so great of you to join us."
Fear flashed in the agent's eyes as Bucky grabbed his face with his flesh hand, "So, have you been having fun experimenting on human beings?"
The agent continued to stare at Bucky as he continued, "Where is Strucker, your ring-leader?"
"I don't know who you're talking about," squeaked the agent.
"Liar," growled Bucky, rage building inside him as he squeezed the enemy's jaw tighter, "We have it on good authority Strucker was here. We know he's the man you work for! Where did he go?"
"I work for HYDRA!" the man pushed out, wincing in pain.
"I know you work for HYDRA!" snapped Bucky, "But where is Strucker!"
The man steeled his expression and Bucky growled in irritation, tilting the man's head to the left, "You understand that I have to strength to break your neck with a flick of my wrist. I suggest you tell me where he is."
"Buck..." Steve warned quietly.
Bucky blinked and realized the vicious nature of his days as a HYDRA assassin were slowly leaking through again. He shook his head to clear his mind, letting go of the HYDRA agent's face, then ordered one of the SHIELD agents to take him away.
The SHIELD agent obeyed and put the man in cuffs and pushed him out of the catacombs.
Bucky smeared the back of his fist over his bleeding face as he straightened up.
"Are you okay?" Steve ventured to inquire.
Bucky nodded solemnly and whispered, "I just...forgot where I was for a moment. I'm sorry."
"Nothing to be sorry for, pal. We've been working a lot lately, you're just tired," Steve said, patting Bucky on the back as they walked out of the catacombs together.
"I'm not tired, I just...I just get fixated on the task and I..." Bucky's voice faded off.
"Some would call that dedication," Steve pointed out.
"Some would call that ferocity," Bucky countered.
They came out topside of the catacomb-like tunnels that were well concealed by the forestry around them oddly in a lonely spot in California and Steve muttered, "We've talked about this before, Bucky. Natasha comes from a sketchy background like you and she's one of Fury's most trusted agents. I don't even trust her, but I trust you and I knew who you were when we fought together in the army. Your stint with HYDRA isn't going to change who you really are, down in your core. You are hard-wired to do the right thing, that's why you couldn't kill me when we were fighting over DC."
Bucky sighed and said back to Steve in a low voice, "I've told you that I can remember very few things about my past, even with everything that you've told me. I remember you, but not much else. I appreciate you constantly telling me that I was a good person, it has made me try harder every day to be the person you said I was. But every time we go on a mission, I can feel my whole being become machine again. I can feel the lust to kill and the overpowering drive to get the job done. I freak myself out, because I know I shouldn't be thinking these things. I should be more like you, someone who only wants to protect others. I do this for the pure animalistic desire to fight, not to protect anyone."
Steve smiled gently and said, "The fact that you're aware of that is a step, Bucky. I don't expect you to suddenly be the old Bucky I knew you as. It has only been two years. It'll take much longer to smooth out the rough edges that HYDRA inflicted on you. And it's not just me that knows that, everyone is giving you ample space and time to get comfortable in your real skin again. We don't expect you to be a perfect saint the moment you realized that you were someone else once. I think that you're expecting too much of yourself."
"I don't even completely know who I am...I don't know what to expect," admitted Bucky as they climbed into a truck that would take them to the plane that lead back to their homes in DC.
Steve climbed in after him and returned, "Well, it may not matter much, but I know who you are and time will eventually allow you to know as well. It'll be well worth the wait."
Bucky grew silent as the truck pulled away and thought of the memories he did have left from his past. Most of them were vivid, but all those memories consisted of being pulled in and out of cryo. He remembered the pain of the blood freezing in his veins and the sickeningly sweet voice of Alexander Pierce that he always heard first when he came out of his suspended animation. He remembered that he could not help but enjoy his time out of the frozen darkness to stretch his legs. Back then, it hardly mattered to him that a few had to die along the way. He was free, for a short period of time.
But then there were hazy memories too, like holding on to something metal, hearing a piercing crack. Then the feeling of falling into ice. The excruciating pain of his arm being severed from his body. He faintly remembered compassion he felt towards a man who he now knew to be Steve Rogers. The scrawny kid who would go into a fight to protect someone, outnumbered from ten to one and still act as if he were going to win.
And then there were memories that were no more than a whisper in the distance. Like playing baseball as a child. Or an instance of his younger self jumping in front of vehicle when he saw a little blond boy playing in the road, in desperation of saving the boy's life, paying no heed to the car that would strike him and break his leg.
Bucky's past was like a puzzle and all the pieces had no definable edges. They just blended together and created a big picture that made no sense.
"When we get back, we'll have a doctor look at your injuries," Steve said, pulling Bucky out of his thoughts.
"Nah, all I need is a few butterfly bandages and a pack of ice. I'm going home to rest."
"Fury wants you back at headquarters. You need to be debriefed and we have to interrogate the crew we captured," Steve pointed out.
"I don't care. This mission is over. I'm tired, debriefing irritates me, and also I doubt Fury wants me part of the interrogation process. And plus, I haven't seen or talked to Lacey in a month. I'm going home," growled Bucky.
Steve's ability to be forever understanding of Bucky's situation, nodded, "I'll cover for you."
"Thanks," Bucky murmured, leaning back in his seat and stared at the roof of the truck.
Many hours later, they arrived in Washington D.C. in the middle of the night and the black suburban that picked Steve and Bucky up from the private airport rolled in front of Bucky's apartment building.
After being reunited with Lacey, things moved quickly between them and they soon made the decision to move in together. Steve joked about it never being that way back in the 1940s. But apparently the 2000s, it was actually a big step in a romantic relationship. Bucky didn't argue. He liked having Lacey there when he came back from missions.
"I'll call you in the morning," Steve said as Bucky popped open the door, "Fury most likely will want to have you present when we interrogate those siblings. I have a feeling that they will tell us what we want to know."
"There's no rush," Bucky grumbled, completely exhausted and in no mood to discuss work.
Steve nodded knowingly, "Get a good night's rest."
"You too. I'll see you tomorrow," Bucky murmured and shut the door. The suburban waited at the curb until Bucky got to the door and unlocked it.
He felt like he had weights on his feet as he walked up to apartment 11 and quietly unlatched the door, afraid he'd awaken Lacey.
He should have known better. His girlfriend was just as keen of an assassin as he was, only she chose to pursue her medical knowledge rather than become a SHIELD agent. She must have heard them pull up. She stood in the doorway of their bedroom, her pajama shorts and tank top clearly showing her metal prosthetic leg and arm. Her shoulder-length auburn hair was mussed from sleep. Her arms were crossed and a firm frown was on her mouth.
Bucky instantly recognized she was angry with him and considered going back outside. He'd rather be debriefed than argue when he was this tired.
"It's nice to see you're alive. I mean, how would I know, you haven't tried to contact me once since you've been gone to let me know you're okay?" she growled at him.
Bucky sighed. Four AM in the morning wasn't his ideal time to fight.
"I'm sorry, you know SHIELD is strict about us keeping our whereabouts incognito. There are eyes everywhere," Bucky replied, setting his assault rifle to lean against the wall.
"You and I both know there are ways to getting messages to people without detection," Lacey returned, moving her hands to her hips, "I thought the worst."
Bucky regarded her for a moment before moving forward until he was standing directly in front of her.
"Don't get mad at me for this, but I forgot..." Bucky's eyes trained on the floor in between them.
"And how am I not supposed to get mad at that? You forgot about your own girlfriend? I'm glad I mean so much to you!" Lacey exclaimed, looking up at him, emerald eyes smoldering with anger.
"I get focused on the mission! It's not that I don't care about you, it's just...I was training all my attention on what had to be done. You've got to understand what I mean..." Bucky pleaded, reaching out to touch her.
Lacey moved slightly to avoid him, "Bucky, listen, I know you were trained to do that and it's hard to shake what HYDRA ingrained in your instinct. I imagine it's far harder for you that it was for me since they had you so much longer. But this is reality now, and if you have me and insist on staying with SHIELD, you've got to give me some kind of word to let me know you're all right when you're gone for weeks at a time."
Bucky remained quiet for a moment before murmuring, "I'm sorry."
Lacey shifted from foot to foot for a moment in front of him, then added, "If only you knew how hard it is for me to be diligent with my studies for med school to know the man I love is off running around with Captain America, fighting to save the world."
Bucky smirked and reached out to pull Lacey into his arms. He settled his chin on top of her head and threaded his metal fingers into her hair. He smiled when he felt her fingers grip the sides of his coat she spoke into his chest, "I missed you."
"I missed you, too," he returned.
"You said you forgot about me?" she countered.
"I glazed over while we were on the mission, but as soon as it was over, it hit me how much I wanted to hold you," Bucky whispered.
Lacey pulled back slightly and looked up at him. She laughed softly and reached up to run a finger under his eye, bringing back a blackened fingertip, "Sir, your mascara is running."
"It's called war paint and you know you like it," Bucky rumbled, leaning his head down to kiss her on the cheek.
Lacey didn't hesitate to reach up and grab his face, pressing her lips against his.
Bucky lowly hummed his contentment, pulling her even closer to him. Lacey moved into him easily, wrapping her arms around his neck. Their embrace steadily grew more fierce until Lacey sank her teeth into Bucky's lower lip and he growled in pleasure. He picked Lacey up and carried her into their bedroom, reaching his metal arm back to slam the door behind them.
On the other side of town, In the ground underneath DC that temporarily served as the SHIELD headquarters, Nick Fury and Steve stood in front of the medical room window where Wanda and Pietro were being examined by doctors.
"It seems odd to me that they were the only ones there. Why were these two, a handful of HYDRA agents, and some random weaponry in a catacomb that was clearly out of place. It's just...it doesn't make any sense," Steve said as the watched the doctors poke and prod at the siblings.
"HYDRA is never what it seems and I don't always understand how they work. I can't think of one reason why these two, of all people, would be there."
"HYDRA said they thought they were mutants, but all our tests show possible potential, but the lack of brain capacity to unleash powers that they may possess," Steve murmured.
"I don't know, Captain. These two are definitely elusive, but we must carry on as if they are normal. The only way we will find anything out about them will be to gain their trust. I think if they agree to it, you and Barnes should work with them. Act as if we mean to enlist their help in SHIELD. If they want anything, it's that. They need to learn to trust someone here. You're the most trustworthy person I know, and Barnes needs to learn a thing or two about integrity, so I think it would be good for him and the siblings."
"No disrespect, but you know nothing about Bucky's integrity."
"I know that I trust you when you say he was a good man. I know I also don't trust that he is living with a woman who is also and ex-HYDRA assassin. HYDRA is still out there and we don't know a damn thing about how they operate, except they are a bunch of devious and sneaky bastards that I for one, do not trust. They could still have control over your friend and his girlfriend. And maybe this brother and sister too."
"Bucky would never serve HYDRA again," hissed Steve, glaring at Fury.
"Consciously, maybe not. But again, I don't trust HYDRA, therefore, I don't trust Barnes or his girlfriend."
Steve clenched his jaw and went back to looking at the siblings. Wanda caught him looking at her and she smiled, as if she had all the confidence in the world about herself. She reminded him a bit of Peggy Carter in that way. He couldn't help but smile back.
"So, you'll start tomorrow?" Fury asked, drawing Steve's attention away from Wanda.
"We'll be here in the morning. Maybe through this you'll finally see that Bucky is our ally, not our enemy," Steve returned curtly, moving away from the window and walked down the hallway.
"Son, you need to learn that in this business, you can't trust your eyes anymore."