You Break It, You Bought It.
Steve got the phone call after weeks of searching for the Winter Soldier. "Natasha? Is that you?"
"You got it, Cap. I got a lead on your boy. A doctor who ran the mind wipe machine Pierce was using. He was the one who programed what went into the Soldier's head."
Steve was already halfway out the door. 'Where is he?"
"In SHEILD custody. The new SHIELD, not the Hydra set up. I'm texting you the coordinates." Steve was on his bike in a flash, heading towards what he hoped was the clue he needed to find his lost friend.
He stood outside of the interrogation room, watching the bald, skinny man through the one way mirror.
Natasha appeared beside him and quietly said, "His name is Doctor Brubaker. What do you intend to find out from him?"
Steve shrugged. "Maybe what they did to him. What's going on in his head right now. I don't honestly know."
"Well, whatever you're looking for, I hope you find it."
It hit Steve the moment he stepped into the room that this man sitting in front of him was the one who had been there when the Winter Soldier had woken. He had taken Steve's friend and stuffed kill orders into his head. He was responsible for all of this.
Steve sat on the edge of the desk, trying to keep his voice calm as he seethed. "I'm just curious. You programmed him. Took all of his memories, everything that made him him. You ripped it out and stuffed a binary code into the space left behind and you thought it could function the same way a human soul does?"
The doctor laughed in Steve's face. "Of course not. That was never the goal. A soul is fragile. It breaks at the smallest emotional stimulus. Love. Hate. Fear. Heartache. These are weaknesses. We elevated the asset. Made him better. Made him stronger."
Steve slammed his fist on the desk. "He was human!"
"Not anymore." Brubaker tipped his head, surveying Steve as the super soldier stood and faced away. "Do you know what the program says? What it forces him to think?" He licked his lips like a wolf. "The asset views the handler as the ultimate authority. The handler's instructions are unbreakable. The handler is his god."
"No." Steve whispered. It wasn't true. That wasn't the man he had seen in the helicarrier or even on the bridge. He turned around. "That's not true. Because he was told to kill me, twice. And I'm still here."
"Do you not think it is possible that the Winter Soldier is playing the long game? That he was ordered to do that so that you would run after him like a dog? We know your history, we know your methods. You would do anything for your friends, even if there is nothing left of him but a hydra machine." The doctor cried out suddenly, "Hail Hydra!"
"Shut up!" Steve replied. He grabbed the doctor's lapels. "Now you're going to tell me how to fix him or I'm going to rearrange your face."
"Really? Captain America would harm an innocent citizen?" Brubaker grinned.
"We both know you aren't innocent." Steve relished the way the doctor's face fell. "Tell me how to fix him."
"Why? Are you having problems keeping him under your boot? Hydra never did." Brubaker chuckled. "Oh well. He is just a machine. You break him, you bought him."
"He is not a machine! His name is Bucky!" Steve yelled. He pulled his fist back to pummel the Hydra scum when a hand gripped his wrist. Natasha stood behind him, gaze fixed on the doctor.
"I've got this Captain. You can wait outside."
Steve took a deep breath and nodded. He looked back over his shoulder as he opened the door. Natasha was circling Brubaker, a deadly smirk on her lips and steel in her eyes. The poor doctor was shrinking in his seat, obviously terrified to be in the presence of the Black Widow.
Steve was leaning against the wall, tapping his foot anxiously when Natasha finally came out of the room.
"Well?" He demanded.
She sighed. "He doesn't know where the Winter Soldier is. The good doctor says Barnes was told to go back to the base where they were doing the programming if he was ever compromised or if he failed the mission. He never showed."
"Well that proves one thing." Steve said, turning to go.
"What?" Natasha asked.
"It's not the Winter Soldier out there. It's Bucky. Which means I'm going to find him."
"And if he doesn't want to be found?" Natasha challenged.
Steve shrugged. "Too bad for him."
Author's note: This was not the best piece I have ever written, but I quite enjoyed it and if you did too, drop me a review.
Bonus points if you know where the name 'Brubaker' comes from.