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Changes Sequel – III. War + Epilogue – Epilogue Part 83

Future May 2054

Steve busied himself with making sure his uniform was sitting correctly as he walked towards the kitchen where Logan, Jean and the rest were already waiting for him. He had his military cap underneath his arm and dreaded the trial. He knew the family was nervous because the sentencing was today and his gut feeling told him that whatever he and especially Bucky would be saying could be important. Also it was Jaden's time for his hearing and Steve remembered too well how terrified Bucky had been during his own, when it had been time to speak in front of the jury, knowing that the majority probably wanted to see him hang. Heaving a deep breath, he entered the kitchen and was surprised that not everyone was here yet. "Bucky?"

"Was throwing up and told me to go ahead," Lily said and tried to give him a smile. She too was nervous and it showed.

"Maybe he shouldn't be doing this…," he said and she sighed.

"That's what I've been telling him too after he couldn't sleep. He said no, Jack helped him out so it was his duty to help out our brother. That was a quote!" she told him and Steve pulled a displeased face.

"He's loyal to a fault…" He joined Peggy's side and they waited another 10 minutes before Bucky finally appeared, looking like a ghost but the uniform was impeccable as his had always been in the past. "Don't!" Bucky said immediately to Steve and heaved a deep breath. "We can go."

"Ya sure?" Logan asked and cocked an eyebrow at him.

"Yes. I'm good," Bucky said, ignoring how some of the girls in the room were clearly checking him out and went over to put his arm around Lily. "Jean-Paul is watching Becca." She nodded and leant into him for support.

Together they made their way to the garage and got into the cars, then drove towards court.

There Jack was going through the last things with Jaden, who was clearly terrified and more than nervous. He was in his dress uniform again and Jack in a black suit and dark blue tie. The time until the final hearing went by fast and soon they found themselves back in the military courtroom while their family was sitting in the audience. Sam and Nat had accompanied them too and were sitting behind Steve, who was sitting next to Peggy and Bucky. Lily sat to Bucky's right, holding his hand, to her right sat her parents. Rachel, Laura, Jamie and Jake sat down behind them next to Nat and Sam. Logan felt how Jean's fear began to spike and took her hand to hold it between his, squeezing hers. It didn't take long and Jack entered, his eyes finding his parents and siblings but he didn't give anything away. Two soldiers brought in Jaden, who was dressed in his dress uniform and took off his handcuffs. He sat down next to his brother and Jaden's eyes briefly found his family. He then listened to what Jack was telling him and nodded. The time until the judge and jury finally appeared felt torturous and endless to him.

Jack thought back to the time when he had just started working at Matt Murdock's law firm after he had returned from Australia. Matt had known Jack was talented and had been top of his class in Sydney during his studies, so he had included him in his work when the Winter Solider case came on. Jack remembered how Matt and Foggy had merely tried damage control with Bucky. They knew the death penalty was in the room and a sure thing if they lost, it hadn't mattered that New York didn't have it, the severity of the case and accusations were going to be turned into an exception and Bucky would have been taken to a state in which the death penalty was allowed. Another difference was that Bucky wasn't tried in front of an American court but the International Court of Justice. The court was usually located in the Netherlands but since the judge deemed it too dangerous to transport the Winter Solider, who was kept in a high maximum security prison, all the way to Europe, the court had opted to come to New York instead and a room in the UN was turned into a high security courtroom. Cap hated it. He hated how they treated his best friend, who had voluntarily given himself up to be tried, was treated like the monster he simply wasn't. 193 nations wanted the Winter Soldier's head. And never before had a jury been this large.

Back then Jack had barely known Bucky, except for the file that Matt had pushed into his hands one day and told him to get familiar with it. He could barely remember Bucky from his childhood so when he opened the case and saw the amount of dead bodies, accusations and all the things Bucky was supposed to have done, Jack hadn't been so sure if he ever wanted to meet that man. When the first meeting came and instead of a stone cold killer Jack had met a terrified, introverted and gentle guy he had been sure there was more to the case. The list however had been endless with terrorism, insurrection, murder, arson, battery, treason, obstruction of justice… And that on multiple accounts. He knew that, even if a miracle happened, other countries that were not part of the UN would be next in line to have Bucky's head. So Jack got familiar with the case, sat through the exhausting court dates, watched Bucky getting more tired and more and more thinner and anxious. He hardly had anything to do since it was Matt's show, but Jack had felt how the case sucked him dry, so when things had gotten so bad that the anti-Winter Soldier movement, who had wanted to see Bucky hang, began to threaten Matt's family, the Daredevil had dropped out, which had left Bucky without a lawyer. In a spur of the moment, when Cap had nearly lost it in fear for his friend's life, Jack had opened his big mouth and had said he would step in. And hell, he had been way over his head as inexperienced as he was. So with the first case that big he had worked his ass off and had done the unthinkable: he had won the case and had even gotten the President and UN to give Bucky a full pardon. He remembered the day too well…

Jack tried to keep his cool but he was sweating buckets underneath his suit. The jury had left 60 minutes ago to make a decision and the minutes dragged on like a snail. Next to him Bucky was resting his head against his folded and cuffed hands, eyes closed while his leg was jumping nervously up and down. Jack was at a loss of words because what was he supposed to say? He couldn't tell at all if he had done a good job or had completely failed at it. He had zero experience, the media had already started mocking the Winter Soldier being defended by a baby lawyer that no one knew and if he risked a look to the front the attorney looked smug and very sure of himself. Jack heaved a deep breath and looked to the right where Cap was sitting amidst the other Avengers. The dark circles under Cap's eyes couldn't get any darker, Jack was sure of it, and he was also very sure that Cap hadn't slept at all. Again. He was now biting his lip nervously and, judging from the movement of his arm, also nervously moving his leg up and down. Next to him Sam was finally reaching out and pushing something down that Jack couldn't see but the movement stopped so he guessed he was right.

"Whatever they say…thank you for trying…," Bucky suddenly said next to him and Jack looked at him. "Whatever the media say you did good."

Jack nodded his thanks and heaved another deep breath. His heartrate was out of the roof. "Thank you…"

Bucky risked a brief look at Steve, who looked devastated. "Will they allow me to say goodbye?"

"Don't give up yet!" Jack wanted to say but all he could manage was "I'll make sure of it."

Bucky nodded, averted his eyes and rested his head against his folded hands again. It took another long, torturous 45 minutes until the large jury reappeared, one of them went over to the judge and handed them their verdict in an envelope. The judge opened it, looked at it and Jack tried to read the face but the man had a poker face. The envelope was handed to the other judges and after they too had seen the verdict the main judge ordered everyone to rise. Next to him Bucky was pale and visibly shaking, Jack too felt his body vibrating and he was anxious. He heaved a deep breath and closed his eyes as the court went through the long list of accusations, adding the verdict to each and every single one. He knew treason could still break their necks in the end…

"The members of the Jury find the defendant not guilty of treason."
Jack let out the breath he was holding and risked a look at Bucky, who was still keeping his eyes straight ahead and was clearly depersonalizing. The judge requested everyone to sit and adjusted his glasses.

"Ladies and gentlemen, as I've said before never before in history this court has seen such a large scale. 193 jury members, one from each UN member," he began and Jack listened to how the judge went on rambling until he focused on Bucky. "Do you want to say anything Mister Barnes?" he asked but Bucky shook his head. "Then please rise for the verdict," the judge requested and went on after everyone was standing. "In the case United Nations against Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes the jury and court find the defendant not guilty," he read and Jack was sure he had heard how Cap uttered a choked sob. "In my eyes, and I know that people will disagree, this was the only right verdict in this case. We have here a veteran and war hero of the second World War, who has been praised for his work, has reached his rank through hard work and had risked his life to stop Nazis. In my eyes and the jury's eyes he is the longest serving prisoner of war who has been unjustly and inhumanely treated like a thing for 70 years. 70 years! Please let that sink in! 70 years of torture, pain, inhuman behavior, of not remembering who you are or that you are even a human being and things I don't even want to name or imagine. In my eyes the United States are in your debt, Mister Barnes because what happened to you shouldn't have happened to anyone. Never…to anyone! So this court after long, long and exhausting weeks find you not guilty and I really hope after everything you've been through you will find the life and peace you deserve."

Jack blinked as the judge and jury finally appeared and rose as the judge declared the trial open.

In the audience Jean held on to Logan's hand tight and watched how Jack went through the motions, fought with the persecutor and argued with him. She was aware how respected Jack was at court in New York, that he had made a name for himself but she could tell he was nervous and tried to hide it. In the end, it was the first time in front of a military court and that he had to defend his own brother. When it was time for the evidence she saw Bucky flinching and avoiding his gaze quickly as a video was played that showed how Hydra had tortured and treated Jaden and she too had to hide her face in Logan's chest.

"The audio is switched off for obvious reasons," Jack added and could barely look at the screen himself. The first time he had seen the files that Tony had mailed him he had gotten violently sick and had spent an hour in front of the toilet. Instead he paid close attention to the jury and judge who watched the videofiles in horror and disgust. "I also have files that show how Hydra drowned the defendant in acid, cut him open without anesthetics, broke bones without anesthetics, grafted hot metal to his bones without anesthetics, group raped him…"

"Objection! This is an emotional influence on the jury!" the prosecutor said and Jack raised an eyebrow at him before he looked at the judge.

"Overruled, but please cut this short."

"Yes, your Honor," Jack said, cursing him mentally. "My point is… Hydra used inhuman methods of torture on the defendant until he broke. Then, as you can see here in the files," he projected said files on the screen, "they used a telepath to program him. That way they were able to switch the defendant on and off as they pleased."

Jean watched Jack giving a few more arguments until it was time for the prosecutor to nit-pick the evidence and make it appear like Jaden could have escaped if he had wanted to, that it was his choice to join the army, his choice to work for Hydra… She wanted to strangle the man. Logan's hand squeezed hers as he felt her distress. When it was time for witnesses the judge called in Cap first, who rose and walked to the stand with his head held high. Next to them Bucky looked like he was going to be sick soon. At the front Cap stated his rank and name before he was questioned by Jack.

"Captain Rogers, you fought the defendant is that correct?"

"Yes."

"And you were also around him when he was…let's call it…normal?"

"That's correct," Cap nodded.

"Could you tell us the differences you noticed?" Jack asked and Steve heaved a deep breath.

"Sure. Seraph was cold, inhuman and like a machine. His focus was the mission, no regards or sympathy for others. He was…vicious. Jaden on the other hand…was clearly terrified of Hydra and that they would get their hands on him again. He was traumatized…"

"Objection. The Captain is not a psychologist," the prosecutor complained.

"Sustained. Please rephrase, Captain," the judge said.

"He appeared to be traumatized by what he's been through. When we managed to get our hands on Seraph and accidentally found the code word to switch him off Jaden was clearly confused as how he'd gotten to our place. He didn't remember anything except being in his cell. And he begged us to not let Hydra get him again."

Jean listened how Jack was further questioning Cap until it was time for the prosecutor to question him. This one clearly enjoyed the show and smiled sweetly at Cap, who furrowed his brows at him in return.

"Captain Rogers, I actually only have one question…"

"Which is?" Cap asked.

"Why? Why are you from all people defending the defendant? Why you?"

"Objection!" Jack said.

"Overruled. Keep going."

"Thank you, your Honor! So? Why you, Captain?"

Steve was at a loss of words first before his eyes fell on Bucky. "Because I don't like bullies. And I know Hydra and what they do to people."

"So it's a personal vendetta?"

"Objection!" Jack said once more.

"Overruled!"

"Is it personal, Captain?" the prosecutor asked, a knowing gleam in his eyes.

"Yes, it is personal. You wanna know why?" Cap asked and Peggy held her breath. "Because I've been fighting Hydra before you or anyone else in this jury or court were even born. I personally witnessed what Hydra does to people and I've sworn that I will stop them! And we did! This…," he pointed at Jaden, "…is another victim of their work! And I am here to make sure that a victim doesn't get punished for things he had no control over. Like it or not!"

The judge reached for his hammer. "Captain Rogers, I warn you only once."

"Noted," Steve said without taking his eyes of the prosecutor. "I am here because I fought Hydra's weapon and also got to know the human behind it. And I know that they are not the same thing! That's why I'm here."

The prosecutor held the glare he was given and finally tore his eyes away to look at the judge. "No further questions…"

Cap stood up as he was told he was free to go and sat down with a heavy sigh. Peggy reached for his hand and squeezed it. "You shouldn't have let him provoke you, darling," she whispered but smirked at him anyway. "He's got his tail between his legs now."

Steve smirked but it disappeared when Bucky was called to the front. He watched his friend with attentive eyes as Bucky swallowed hard and got up on shaky legs. "He should've stayed home…," Steve said to Lily, who nodded and was clearly tensed. They watched how Bucky got questioned by Jack, mostly about what Hydra's methods were and Steve was glad Jack kept it light. When it was the turn of the prosecutor though Steve began to sweat….

"So Mister Barnes…"

"Objection! Sergeant Barnes is an army veteran and the world's longest serving POW! He's got a rank and deserves the respect coming with it," Jack snapped and glared at the prosecutor.

"Sustained. Address the witness correctly!"

"Sergeant Barnes," the prosecutor corrected with a smirk at Jack. "You've been with Hydra how long? 70 years?"

"Yes."

"And the defendant has been with them for…how long again? 3 years?" he asked into the round before his eyes fell back on Bucky. "So…please tell us how they supposedly managed to turn someone into a second Winter Soldier in just 3 years. I mean your files said it took them almost 20 years to fully break you…and now I am supposed to believe Hydra suddenly found ways doing this in far less time?"

Jack watched how Bucky stared at the table, nervously clenching and unclenching his right hand.

"I don't know," Bucky finally said.

"You don't know? Then pray tell me why you are here as a witness?"

"Objection!" Jack called but was waved off by the judge.

"He's trying to agitate him…," Lily whispered and Steve's eyes darkened.

The prosecutor moved around Bucky, noticing how nervous he became. "Tell us, Sergeant Barnes… Why are you here as a witness? Do you know the defendant well?"

Bucky swallowed. "No…"

"Did you… I don't know train him perhaps during his time in the army?"

"No…"

"Then what could you possibly say that is important to the case?" the prosecutor asked, leaning in while Jack made his objection loud once again. He stared at Bucky, who kept his eyes downcast. "Tell me… Because I think you are here to waste time and know nothing of relevance…"

"Objection!" Jack said louder this time. "He is trying to agitate the witness on purpose. That's manipulation!

"Your witness, Mister Howlett, who obviously knows NOTHING of relevance to the case!" the prosecutor snapped back.

"Then how about you actually stop intimidating him and let him talk?!" Jack returned the favor.

"Intimidate him?! Me? Intimidating the Winter Soldier?!" the prosecutor mocked.

"Steve, don't!" Sam hissed and put a hand on Cap's shoulder from behind.

"I'm not…," Bucky began quietly as the judge was reaching for the hammer.

"What was that?" the prosecutor asked and turned to look at him.

"I said I'm NOT the Winter Soldier!" Bucky replied and looked him right in the eyes. "And I'm here because I know what Hydra can do to a person. Since you obviously read my file you should know or do you want me to remind you of their methods of torture and manipulation?" he asked sourly and didn't wait for his opposite to reply. "First, they keep you in a cell, naked, vulnerable without food or water for days. While you wait for them to come in and kill you they spend their time behind screens and watch you, study you. Then, when they come they use methods of psychological torture first. If that doesn't work fast enough they add physical torture, which goes from drowning you over to dousing you in acid, burning you, strangling you, breaking your bones while you are fully aware of it, cutting you open with a knife… Sometimes just for fun and because they can. They'll put you in solitary that completely deprives you of your senses for weeks until you are about to go crazy. You lose any sense of time. And when you show them the slightest weakness they'll strip you bare and tear into you! And then they got you. They don't see you as a human being, to them you are a tool a thing and they won't stop until you forget you are human, until you forget your name, your past, until all that's left is thinking of yourself as an it, a weapon. If you forget this…they'll make sure to remind you of it. Order through pain, obedience above anything," Bucky said through gritted teeth and glared at the prosecutor, who was clearly intimidated by him. "So if you want me to tell you what repeatedly getting your bones broken or raped feels like…then go ahead. I've got 70 years' worth of stories! In the end Hydra loved their group trash parties and to put their toys to good use!" he went on and kept his eyes on the man even though his whole body was shaking and he felt like throwing up. "I fought him when he was under their control and I saw the change in him twice when we found out the correct code words. He was turned into a sleeper, his real conscience forced to shut down while the weapon took over. They tried it over and over with me and it didn't stick, so while they had to wipe me constantly in order to keep me under control, I don't wanna know what they did to him to make it stick! Does this answer your questions?"

The prosecutor held Bucky's glare a moment longer before he turned to the judge. "No further questions…," he muttered and went back to his table while Bucky was told he could leave.

Trying to keep a straight face while walking, he searched for Steve, who nodded. "I'll take him outside," he told Lily and Peggy and got up to meet Bucky half way and took him by the arm to lead him outside. "Bathroom?" he asked and received a quick nod so he looked for the signs that would lead them to the toilets as soon as they had left the courtroom. Reaching it, Bucky went into the first stall he found and started retching into the toilet. Steve knelt down and waited for his friend to be done, keeping a hand to his right shoulder and drawing circles there. He felt Bucky beginning to shake violently first before the shortness of breath kicked in and he started gasping for air. "Shit…," Steve cursed and took his phone out to text Sam, who was constantly checking the door behind him while Jaden was being questioned by Jack at the front. He felt his phone vibrate.

"Damn…"

"What?" Nat asked when Sam reached out to touch Lily's shoulder in order to get her attention.

"Steve's taking Bucky to the Tower. He went into a panic attack."

Lily sighed and ran a hand through her hair while biting her lip. "How bad?"

"He didn't say," Sam whispered and looked to the front when the persecutor was up next with questioning. "God, I hate that guy…"

"Sergeant Howlett, you see what I've got here?" he asked and held something in front of Jaden's face that made the man go pale.

"Yes…"

"Please tell us what it is."

"My transcript of records from college…"

"Exactly," the prosecutor nodded and went through the list. "You were almost a straight A student… Literature and language… You were almost done with your Bachelor when you suddenly disappeared from college. Why did you leave?"

"Objection, this has nothing to do with the case," Jack said.

"Oh, but it does. Because he went straight to the army afterwards. Only the final exam was missing and I think it'll give us a good picture on the mental state he was already in when he joined the army, your Honor."

"Overruled. Proceed," the judge said and Jack muttered a curse under his breath.

"This is not going well…," Lily whispered and exchanged a brief look with Jack.

"So would you please tell us why?" the prosecutor asked.

"I'd rather not…," Jaden said and kneaded his cuffed hands in front of him while his leg was jiggling.

"Answer the question, Sergeant Howlett!" the judge demanded and Jaden looked at Jack in despair.

"Why did you join the army and left college right before your graduation? Left is actually the wrong word… Packed up and disappeared?" the prosecutor asked. "Were you already working for Hydra and someone found out?"

"No…," Jaden muttered and began to shake.

"Were you collaborating with them?"

"No."

"Were you called in to get close to some officer and told to take him out?"

Jaden felt like he couldn't breathe. "No!" he said one more time and heard how Jack objected to the treatment but the prosecutor was on him and bombarded him with question after question until he tried to cover his ears, but couldn't because of the cuffs and the questions came and came until he couldn't do this anymore and sobbed. "Because they raped me!" he finally shouted and his eyes went wide at the realization. He noticed the utter silence in the room and his teary eyes met the shocked looks of his family. Ashamed he buried his face in his arms and cried.

"Who did?" the prosecutor asked and waited a moment before he asked once more and Jaden finally began to tell how he had foolishly started an affair with a lecturer, how someone had filmed them during intercourse in his office, how that video had been played in every lecture hall without his knowledge and he had been greeted by the words Mutie fag on his locker after training, how his clothes had been stolen after showering and he had been forced to walk over campus and back to his dorm naked, how he had then been greeted by members of an anti-mutant group that had taken their time beating him until he had lain bloody on the ground and their leader had thought it would teach him a lesson to take it further, how each one of them had taken their turn until he was a shaking mess on the ground and how they had parted by warning him to leave or they would strung him up next. So he ran, spent weeks on the streets until he saw an ad from the army and decided to join up in hope they could make him normal. There he hid what he was and went through the ranks with ease, did his job and was praised for it until someone informed Hydra about him and they came to kidnap him.

Sam shook his head with a heavy sigh and swallowed hard. "Logan, if he makes it out of here your son needs a damn good therapist. That kid is traumatized as fuck."

"Yeah, we know…," Logan grunted and pulled Jean closer, listening to Jaden retelling everything Hydra did to him that he could remember, telling how they tortured and abused him over and over again, starved him until he finally broke and they worked on installing the trigger words, how these were faulty first and he kept on waking up in his cell not knowing what had happened, often losing days, sometimes even weeks, but how he knew they were doing something awful to him, how one time the trigger words failed because he seemed to unconsciously fight them and how he had woken up in his body, unable to move and how he had found out that Metzger was using him for his own personal pleasure, how the doctor had found out and punished him by letting Hydra agents have their fun with an obedient body, knowing that the mind inside was alive, how they had then worked on the trigger words that had switched him off and gave birth to Seraph, who was a ruthless, obedient and cold thing that did as he was told, how the next time he woke up was tied to a chair at the Avengers' tower and how he had gotten to know that Seraph had killed his own family, how Hydra had gotten their hands back on him, tried to torture him back into obedience and realized that they failed, how Hydra had then made him believe they would use him for breeding but had in fact installed a bomb that would kill him and how his brother had found and defused it, how he had then been forced and sent to kill his old team mates from the army and couldn't do it, how they had then been killed by Hydra while Hydra tried to assassinate him and used unknown trigger words to turn him against the Avengers, how he had been in prison ever since… When he was done Jaden felt completely empty and exhausted. He wished they would just kill him and put him out of his misery, he just wanted to die and feel no more. "It's my fault…," he muttered and the judge frowned at him.

"What is your fault?"

"Everything… My father had warned me this would happen and I was too arrogant to listen…," Jaden muttered and uttered a tired huff. "I hated myself too much to listen to him… So I got what I deserved…"

Jack closed his eyes and ran a hand over his face. He was convinced they had just lost the case completely…

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