Author's Note and Disclaimer:
An idea I got when re-watching Captain America: Civil War and reading some Winter Soldier comic books. The pairing here will be Bucky/Natasha. For my opinion on the pairing, read my bio.
This is set between Captain America: Civil War before Bucky went into stasis in Wakanda and Avengers: Infinity War. Just so there's no confusion, imagine that for now, Bucky has a different bionic arm from T'Challa as a temporary solution.
I do not own anything in Marvel Cinematic Universe.
As they started to mingle, the man blended in with the crowd looked around. "We need to be sure. Is he here?"
"Steve, our intel checks." The red-haired woman said.
"I know how these guys work." The other man with long hair said.
"Be careful, Buck, if they recognize you, we're done."
"Steve, I know what I'm doing." Bucky assured him before they saw someone going upstairs.
"He's heading your way." Natasha said.
The man went out from the window and was on the ledge, carefully walking by the wall to the next room before someone jumped down from above and knocked him on the balcony. They traded blows for a moment before the man on the ground kicked the other man back and jumped down. The man on the ground got up and looked down from the balcony and groaned. "Damn it. He got away."
"Maybe we can…"
"Forget it, like I said, these guys know how to blend in. We won't find him. At least the Chancellor is safe."
"Bucky. You know how they think. When do you think he's gonna hit next?" Steve asked.
"I'm sure that tonight he won't try it again." Bucky said. "But we need to keep our eyes peeled."
Later
Steve, Natasha and Bucky were in one of Natasha's safe houses as they went over the folders on the desk.
"OK, so asides from the dead Winter Soldiers in Siberia, you said that there are three missing." Steve said.
"And someone got to them before Zemo." Bucky said. "And using them as their puppets."
"We're just running in blind, trying to catch our prize, Steve." Natasha groaned. "We have no idea who are we fighting."
"They are the best killers that HYDRA has ever programmed." Bucky pointed out. "If we won't stop them soon, maybe it'll be worse than how it's been going down for the past seventy years."
"It wasn't your fault, Buck." Steve assured him.
"But it's my responsibility." Bucky said. "I trained them. I need to stop them."
Bucky looked outside the window, looking at the arm he had gotten replaced by T'Challa. "This just reminds me of how many lives I've…" He closed his eyes.
"You can't blame yourself. It wasn't you, Bucky." Natasha assured him.
"That changes nothing about the fact that I killed them." Bucky pointed out. "I keep seeing all their faces… Sometimes I wish I had died back in D.C. Or in Siberia…"
"You're not that person anymore." Natasha pointed out as she held his shoulder.
"It's still all in my head!" Bucky snapped. "What they planted into me, what Zemo ordered me to do, I'm still that monster!" He whirled on Natasha but stopped himself upon realizing his mistake. "I'm sorry, I…"
Natasha sighed. "You're not the only one with blood on his hands and wishing you had not been that person. You can't keep this bottled inside you." Bucky just looked at her impassively. "All I'm saying is that you don't have to do this alone. Steve and I are here for you. If you let us."
"So, you don't blame me?" Bucky asked. "For shooting you?"
Natasha sighed again. "I can't blame someone you're not. You don't have to let your past define you anymore. You can be something better than that."
"And how do you know that?" Bucky asked.
"Because I've been where you're at." Natasha said. "Just think about it."
Bucky stared at her before sighing. "You may have a point there."
"Bucky, if you ever need to talk, I'll listen and I won't judge. I know what it's like to be just… a puppet." Natasha said as she left, leaving Bucky alone there with his thoughts.
Elsewhere
A bearded man was drinking his glass of wine as another woman sat in front of him. "I just hope these sleeper agents are as effective as you said they would be."
"You see, back in Cold War there was a theory that one man, in the right place, at the right time could be better than any army. We're lucky we salvaged some of the Winter Soldiers before Zemo disposed of the rest of them."
"But are you sure that three are enough?" The woman asked.
"My dear, with the right people at your side, a small group can overpower any army, no matter how large." The bearded man said as he looked at the three people frozen in cryo-stasis.
Author's Note:
So, what do you guys think? Is it good? Is it bad? Should I continue?
Please review and let me know if you have been enjoying this.
With regards
Bl4ckHunter
