By ten forty the next morning, Zeryn was already on the motorcycle and leaving the parking garage that was connected to the hotel. She didn't realized it, but Bucky was leaving the hotel himself, though he had to walk, since he didn't have any other means of transportation, and he felt absolutely ridiculous!

Since he had no idea what this cafe…or restaurant was like, he managed to get himself to a store he'd passed the day before while running. The staff there was really nice and not only told him about it, but fixed him up with some clothes. Yeah, he'd be the last one to guess that he'd be getting a 'concert' make over. While the store, which was Hot Topic, had black baggy pants, he wasn't too fond of the chains on them. He wanted to keep a low profile and jingling chains was the very last thing he needed to draw attention to himself, so he had to deal with the next 'best thing'…skinny black jeans. Unable to find a plain black shirt, they hooked him up with a black Sex Pistols shirt…he had NO idea who the heck this band was! And, on top of that, they gave him a black zip up Public Enemy Distressed Target Logo hoodie. To add icing to the cake, a bullet belt to pull off the look.

Yeah…right now, he felt like a punk poser. He had the hood pulled as far over his face as humanly possible. He did like the fact that the pants tucked nicely into his combat boots…they even looked good with the boots, but they were tight in a few places that he didn't find comfortable. He didn't understand how in the world guys could wear such pants in the first place. Girls…yeah, he could understand that. But guys?! Seriously?! At this point, he was betting that every woman he walked past was either laughing or talking about his pants. While his hands were shoved in the pockets of the hoodie, he wore a glove on his metal hand, so not to be questioned. He was aware that the world knew who he was…at least, he assumed that to be true. Either way, he had to keep his profile as low as possible. But, right now, he had to focus on getting to the restaurant and meet this mysterious person.

Zeryn got to the restaurant ten minutes before they opened, but she would have to walk the rest of the way because the parking lot next to the restaurant was full, which meant…another parking garage. She was lucky enough to find a spot on the second level near the end next to a truck. She was smart enough to leave the back tire of the motorcycle showing, so that others wouldn't think that the spot was vacant. That was one thing she didn't like about traveling with Logan on the motorcycle. He'd always pull it close to the end of the spot, then laugh at those who'd try to get into the spot once they realized there was a motorcycle parked there. All she'd do is roll her eyes in annoyance, then hit him on the arm.

As soon as she dismounted the bike, she looked to make sure no one was coming and that there were no cameras around before removing a different leather jacket than the one she had previously worn the day before. This one was more 'fit' to her and had a red X with a circle around it on the back. Along with her combat boots and a pair of black skinny pants, she had on a fishnet long sleeved top that was tucked into her pants. Her black sports bar could kind of be seen thought it. She kneeled next to the motorcycle and opened up the side bag. She pulled out a black hi-lo vest with flux leather snap front and square neckline. Once she put it on and buttoned it up, she pulled her small messenger bag out of the bag, then closed it up. She grabbed her jacket, then headed over to the elevator that would take her to the ground level.

When she boarded the elevator, she noticed that two guys, most likely friends, were standing behind her and were giving her a look she didn't like. Of course, she'd wait for the elevator to close to see how this would end up. Once it did, she sensed them coming up to her in a way that made her think to herself, 'Touch me and you'll get your asses kicked.'

And, she was right. One of the guys was about to grab her chest, which wasn't very big, while the other was making sexual comments. They were going to wish they didn't do that.

Once the elevator opened up, they were both knocked out on the elevator floor as Zeryn exited. Personally, she didn't care who might have saw. She might have looked short, she was only five foot three, and helpless, but she really wasn't. She trained hard in their martial arts class at the mansion and was use to having her butt kicked around by Logan…even though most of the time she was the one putting Logan's butt to the ground.

"Why must guys always feel the need to treat girls that way?" She said to herself as she whipped out her sunglasses and put them on just as she left the parking garage and began to walk to the restaurant. There was a bit of a light wind, so she put her jacket on while she walked, which was a bit hard due to the strap on her bag, but she got it to work out.

Lucky for her, she wouldn't have to reserve a table for them because Bucky wasn't that far behind her. He noticed the same mark on her jacket that was on the letter left in his room. He figured this was who he was meeting with. Though, he didn't believe that the person was going to be a girl…let alone one who was dressed kind of like him! What the heck?! Ok, this was kind of awkward…as if he didn't already feel that way to begin with, considering the outfit he was wearing. The pants were starting to loosen up a little, but they were still proving to be uncomfortable in the same places. He slowly approached her as she tied her hair back.

Zeryn was able to catch his shadow out of the corner of her eye. Right now, she was thankful the sun was at their backs because it made it easier for her to tell if someone was walking past her or not. She turned to see that he was standing right behind her.

Bucky was trying hard to keep an awestruck look off of his face. No way was he meeting up with a girl! She looked like she was in high school…or maybe middle school?! What the heck was he thinking! There's no way she'd be out here by herself at such an age. And, wanting to meet up with him…an assassin…at least, that's what he thought he was. Or, was he a soldier…or had he been? His name was on the Wall of Valor, so he must have been, but…why would someone who's done so many bad things have their name on such a great wall? Right now, all he wanted was answers and he was hoping this girl would give them to him.

"Are you the one who left the note in my room?" He questioned her.

Zeryn raised up her sunglasses and put them on top of her head as she looked at him, "My name's Zeryn Lockhart." She held out her hand to him, "I'm with Professor Charles Xavier, the X-Men." She bowed her head slightly when Bucky shook her hand, "A mutant, if you will."

A mutant? Alright, what did this…mutant want with him? He had never run into one of these people during his missions. Ok, so she wasn't with HYDRA, which was a good thing. And, it was even better that HYDRA wanted nothing to do with these so called mutants.

"Can't say I'd call myself one of you."

"Believe me, Bucky, we're a lot more alike than you think we are."

Bucky's eyes widened. How in the world did this girl…mutant…ugh! How in the world did she know his name? Was that his name? The man on the helicarrier had said that name to him. So, it must have been his name. But, the man had mentioned another name…James Barnes. Which one was his real name? Was it both? Or was Bucky just a nickname? Too many questions that needed to be answered!

"You have questions, I can tell. I'll answer as many as I can. But, let's head inside and get ourselves a table." She lead him over to the door and walked inside. They were the first of only a few people to come right when the restaurant opened up.

Once they were inside, Bucky quickly figured out why the people at Hot Topic called it a 'concert hall' because it was! As a hostess lead them to a booth, he saw there was an upper level, a nice sized stage against one of the walls, which had tables on it when not in use, several small TVs playing so many different music videos and the music made you feel like you were at a concert by how loud it was playing. There was even a gift shop right where they came in at! At this point, he was hoping that he would be able to hear her when they were talking and that his ears wouldn't bleed.

The hostess took them over to a booth and set the menus down before walking off to seat some more guests that had walked in. Zeryn removed her bag and jacket before taking a seat across from Bucky, who was holding his hand to his ear and checking it to make sure there was no blood. While she did have very good hearing, she learned to tune out loud sounds. She had to. She had to deal with the girls living next to her yelling at each other almost every day. Of course, the professor was able to get them to shut up rather quickly. She had been to a Hard Rock in New York City with Logan at least four times, so she was use to the kinds of music that was being played. But, the sound would eventually be drowned out as more people showed up and began to chat up a storm.

"Do you mind if I order for us?" She asked Bucky, who was still busy making sure his ears weren't going to start bleeding at any second, "I believe they're having an all you can eat fish fry. We can share some fish."

"Yeah…that's fine." Bucky had to admit to himself that he never really ate much at HYDRA. They just stuck him in a tube and, somehow, he was able to survive with out food or water. Perhaps an I.V. here or there, but being free was a whole different ballpark for him. Right now, all he was hoping for was for the music to just quiet down a bit. At least he was aware to stay away from concerts if they caused his ears this much pain. He laid his arms on the table in front of him, then rested his head on them. Even if he put his hood up, the music was still way too loud for him to bare. It wasn't until he felt Zeryn's hand on his arm that he looked up at her.

"I don't get how you kids listen to this stuff. How is it your ears aren't bleeding?" He asked her.

"I learned to tune it out. I have enhanced senses, so this is driving me even more crazy than you. But, I'm ignoring it. Besides, I needed a place like this for us to talk. I don't think anyone will be listening to us, as there's not many people here yet, but best be safe than sorry."

"I really wouldn't have minded if you came to my room and just knocked on the door."

"I guess that would have been a good option, but we're going somewhere else after this, so it's good to be out and about."

"And, where do you plan to take me?" Bucky sat up when he saw the waitress coming to them.

"Are you two ready to order?" She asked them.

"Can we get a basket of fish to share with fries on the side and fruit as well?" Zeryn asked her.

"Of course." The waitress said as she wrote it down, "And, what would you like to drink?"

"Oh…um…" Zeryn quickly looked at the menu. While she really wanted a kiddy cocktail, she didn't want to be hyper with Bucky around. Apparently, when she was hyper, she was way too much to handle…according to Logan and the professor. She figured she'd better play it safe, "I'll just have raspberry lemonade." She handed the waitress the menu.

"Water is fine for me." Bucky gave the menu to the waitress.

"Alright. I'll go put that order in for you and be back with your drinks in a moment." She said and walked off.

Once the waitress had left, Bucky's head was back down on the table. To him, music should never be this loud in a place like this…well, in any place period! He was lucky enough to catch a break as the music was turned down at bit. He let out a sigh of relief and lifted up his head. He noticed that the restaurant was starting to fill up a bit. At this point, he wasn't sure if the music had been turned down or was being drowned out by the sounds of those around them talking. No, it was defiantly the first one.

"Your ears feel better now?" Zeryn asked him as she crossed her legs on the sit and sat back a little.

"I think so." Bucky put his hand up to his ear one more time, then looked at his hand. Nothing. Good! Though, his hearing seemed a bit off balance. He hoped that would fix itself soon.

Zeryn waited for a moment before continuing on, "So, I'm guessing you have many questions that you'd like to have answered. You tell me where you'd like to start. And, don't be afraid to tell me to stop. I don't want to overwhelm you with all of this…well, with what I know, anyway."

Where to start? Where to start, indeed, was the one question that ran through his head right about now. Bucky wasn't really sure. What did he most want to know. Well, he wanted to know everything, but he was aware that she didn't fully know all the answers herself. Does that mean that she learned this information from someone else? If so, then who? It couldn't have been HYDRA. As far as he knew, they didn't work with these 'mutant' creatures…people, or didn't know that such people existed. What was a mutant anyway? He remembered her mentioning that she had really good senses, but was there more? Or, was that it? What made a mutant? Would his metal arm make him a mutant? Were all mutants normal like her?

UGH! How in the world did his mind just go from questions about himself to questions about something he had no clue what it was?! He was lucky to have enough time to figure out what to ask first for the waitress had returned with their drinks. As soon as she had walked off, he thought he had the perfect question in mind…problem was another quickly came speeding up, as if it were to be a follow up question. Great! Now he forgot what he was going to ask. At this point, he was just willing to lay down and pray that all the thoughts would drain from his mind.

Zeryn took a sip of her drink before reaching into her bag and pulling out the device. If he wasn't sure where to start, she may have a good place to start. She laid the device on the table and turned it on. She began to go through it, then found the picture of Bucky pulling Steve from the water. She turned it around and pushed it over to him.

"If there are too many questions for you to ask, then we'll start with this one and go from there; why did you pull him from the water? Weren't you suppose to kill him? If so, then why didn't you?"

Wait?! How did she know that it was his mission to kill him? Was she really working for…wait a second. Wasn't that the man that fell from the helicarrier? Wasn't that the man who kept trying to tell him who he was? Was that…the man from the bridge? Why did he save him?

"Who…is he?" Was all Bucky was able to muster up as he kept looking at the picture. He wasn't exactly sure how she was able to get it, but, right now, he didn't care. He figured it would be addressed as they went along.

"Steve Rogers." Zeryn replied to him. She reached over and tapped on the screen to make the image of Steve a bit larger, "He knows you because, once upon a time, you were his best friend. His only friend. Without you, he had nothing."

That name. Why did it sound so familiar? Was that the guy who was there when…he fell. Fell. That's as far as his memory would take him. But, what was he before the fall? Was this man the reason he fell?

Zeryn turned the device around and pulled it to herself. She began to go through it again as she spoke, "I know him. He's the one who sent me to see you. Again, I don't work for S.H.I.E.L.D. I know Steve through one of my friends who works there…long story. I'll tell you at a later time, if you're interested. You see, I suffer from the same thing you do…kind of. I have permanent memory loss, meaning I can't remember who I was before I came to the X Mansion. You, on the other hand," She turned the device around and showed him a picture of himself and Steve back in the 1940's during the war. But, they weren't going into a battle. No. They were just standing around, smiling, "were just brainwashed, meaning that your memories are trying to surface. I think that's why you saved him from the water, because you couldn't bare the fact that you might have killed your best friend."

Bucky leaned forward to have a look at the picture. Soon, a few memories started to rush to his head. He was starting to remember, but only a few things. He needed more! He need to know more about himself and about his relationship with this man who he tried kill. This man had been right all along! Now he began to feel like an idiot for trying to kill him, but what could he do? His memory…just wasn't there.

"Brainwashed…is that…what happened to me?"

Zeryn nodded slightly, "Yes. Tell me, what's as far back as you can remember?"

Bucky sat back in the seat as he looked down at his metal arm, which was covered up by the hoodie, "Falling…just falling. And, blood. Lots of blood. My arm…" He closed his eyes tightly, "Just…falling and blood."

"That's a start." Zeryn took the device and turned it off before putting it back into her bag, "But, you know who Steve is, right?"

Even Bucky could admit to himself that a little light was starting to show through, but it was still pretty fuzzy. Without knowing it, he started to nod his head, but quickly shook his head as he opened up his eyes.

"Why did you save him?"

"I…don't know. Something inside me…just told me to. I'm not really sure why."

"It's because a part of you is in him and a part of him is in you." Zeryn moved her drink out of the way, then leaned over the table and took his hand with the glove on it, "I might not be able to regain my memories, but I might be able to help you regain yours." She smiled lightly, but it was kind of a pained smile. While she really didn't want to remember all the memories she had before losing her memory, the ones that she wanted to regain were of her and Remy. She'd give anything to have those memories.

Bucky looked down at her hand. It had been seventy years since someone had held his hand…at least, he assumed there was a girl somewhere in his life who'd hold his hand. He put his other hand on top of hers and watched as Zeryn pulled their hands onto the table, so that she wouldn't have to lean over the table. Her hand felt cold, but…something felt a little different. The top of her hand felt…strange. Was her mutation within her hands?

"What happened to you?"

Zeryn looked down for a moment as she gripped his hand a little. She had visited a famous and popular psychic in New Orleans who was able to show her her past before losing her memory, and even how her memory was lost. She hated to have those images come back to her, but she knew that she should tell Bucky to show him that they were really a lot a like. She looked up at him as she put her free hand down onto her leg. She knew that if she got too emotional her claws would come out. She was hoping that the claws on her hand would come out and harm her and that the others would just stay in her fist and wouldn't bring harm to Bucky. She was aware that the claws would hit his metal arm, but she was worried that they'd hit his good hand, which was still on top of hers.

"What I'm going to tell you is what I learned from a great psychic. I saw images in a crystal ball of what happened." She took a deep breath before letting it out slowly, "I was in my freshman year of college. I was out walking on a path in a forest behind the school. I was attacked by a rival mutant. We put up a good fight until he knocked me out cold." She gripped her leg a little, "He dragged me off to some abandon lab and stuck me in a tank filled with water. There were needles…large, sharp needles that drilled through my skin and into my bones."

She could feel a tear roll down her cheek. OH! How she disliked displaying weakness in front of others in public. But, seeing all this stuff in the crystal ball made all her anger, frustration, and fear boil up inside of her.

"He put me inside of that tank and…had this metal put into my body…adamantium. He put such a large dose in my body, I was sure to have died then and there…and I did. But…my heart started to beat again. But, the screen…the one next to him…was flashing large red letters reading, 'Memory Loss'." Two more tears rolled down her cheeks, "After that, he took me into a room and I was out like that for about two or three days before he woke me up. My memory starts there. Him and a human used me to get information about the mutants at the mansion. The human wanted to do experiments on them. The mutant wanted the adamantium that's in my body."

Bucky's eyes widened a bit. They were a like after all, in some ways. He was kept in a frozen prison when not on missions, he had a metal arm and all of this happened against his will as well. But…to have metal put into your body via needles? Yeah, even he had to admit that was freaky and he had seen some gruesome and freaky stuff throughout his time with HYDRA, but even that was taking it too far.

He gripped her hand slightly in his, "Hey, it's alright. It's over now and you're safe."

Zeryn nodded slightly as she moved her other hand from her leg and whipped her tears away, "I'm sorry. I don't like to get all 'emo' while out in public. You're right, I am…even though I know he's still out there somewhere. But, he made me indestructible, so any attempts to kill me will be proven fruitless." She looked up at him, "And, so are you. You're safe, too."

Bucky looked away for a moment, "I'm not so sure about that one. HYDRA's probably still trying to find me."

"If they are, then I'll help you take them down. After tonight, we're going to head down to New York. You'll live with Steve down there for awhile."

"Will he…this man…really let me stay with him? After all I did to him?"

"If he didn't care, he wouldn't have sent me down here to help him out. He knows that your old self is still in there. It'll take time, but I believe that we can fix that brainwashing. I did warn him that you might not be the same, but he didn't mind. All he wants is his friend back."

Bucky looked down at her hand before looking back at her, "Why do you care so much?"

"Because I care as much about my friends as I do myself. I'm always willing to help out, no matter the costs. Plus, I know that you're not a bad person. You just ended up in the wrong hands and they did some pretty bad things to you. But, deep down, you are a good person."

"Do you really believe that?"

Zeryn smiled lightly. There was something the professor had always told her in times like these. It was simple, but it really made one think. She knew that there were two parts to this question. She would ask him the first part now and the second part later.

"What's telling you that?" She asked him.

Bucky looked at her with a confused look on his face. How in the heck was he suppose to know the answer to that question when he still wasn't fully sure who he was. Was she playing a trick on him? He had a feeling this wasn't suppose to be a trick question…but it seemed to be turning out that way.

"I'll give you time to think about it. It's not as bad as it seems, trust me."

Bucky just nodded slightly. He knew he'd end up forgetting with all the things that were rushing through his head. While he might have had his doubts about her before, he knew full well that he could trust her. As he saw the waitress coming with their food, he asked her one quick question.

"What is my name?"

Zeryn smiled again, "James Barnes. Bucky for short."

"Bucky works for me." He said before the waitress got to their table and began to put the food down as soon as he and Zeryn had removed their hands from the table.

"Oh! Looks good!" Zeryn grabbed a large piece of breaded fish off the bigger plate and put it onto hers. She grabbed some fruit as well, "Now, after we eat, we should be on our way to the Smithsonian Institution before they close up."

"Why?"

"There's a display there that I believe might help clear your mind of some of that brainwashing." Zeryn replied before eating a piece of watermelon.