Tony
They slowly work between trying to discover where the leader of the red room might be hiding and trying to help the Asset without letting on that they're trying to help the Asset.
Sam Wilson arrives the day after Pepper's departure and his reaction is to stand and stare at the Asset, taking in who he is for a good two minutes before he looks at Bucky and says, "I'm talking to you too."
"I don't need—"
"Has where he's been the last 70 years been pleasant?"
Dead silence.
Sam raises an eyebrow at Bucky, then he turns to the group, "is anyone here going to lie to me and tell me that he's—" Sam points to Bucky, "—been taking this well?"
Tony watches as Barnes grimaces at the silence that follows that question.
"Exactly." Sam says firmly, "this is some grade A traumatizing shit. So we're all gonna do some work. Got it?"
And Tony wouldn't admit it out loud, but somehow, Sam was the most threatening in the room that held 3 assassins.
—
Natasha
The screen in the common room is now always on.
Mostly it's JARVIS cycling through Tony's dad's footage, but if the AI thinks something is pertinent, or (Natasha has noticed) a sweet or funny moment of James and Steve, he will pause the footage and wait for the appropriate party to arrive.
Sam is in a room with the Asset. She could technically access the A/V of the room, but she hasn't. James is sitting outside the door, listening and ready to intervene if necessary, not that any of them think the Asset will harm him. Truthfully they haven't seen one ounce of aggression from the Asset towards them since the device has been removed.
She watches a clip of Steve and Bucky smiling that she's seen at the Smithsonian. Except this time there's audio.
"Okay, now, we're showcasing the bond the Howling Commandos have. The camera is rolling and when I call action, act like you're friends."
To that James and Steve laugh and James says clearly, "we are friends."
"They told us to stop messing around so often I think they forgot we were fighting a war and not movie stars."
She glances up at James who stands, watching the clip as it loops. She scoots over and makes room for him. He settles next to her, his arm sliding around her shoulder as he pulls her closer.
"He seems…" she looks at the blonde man on screen, who seems so at ease and just happy. "Nice…" she finishes, not quite knowing the right word.
James closes his eyes and leans his head back.
"He is nice."
—-
The Asset
"I was supposed to kill you if necessary." The Asset says to the dark skinned man who sits across from him at the large table. It's a mission briefing room. Nicer than any one he's ever been allowed to be in.
"Thank you for not doing so."
"The mission relied on you."
"The mission?"
"James Buchanan Barnes."
"Ah."
"Are you with the Avengers?"
"Not really." The man replies, "I'll help out if they want."
"Do you have a handler?"
The man studies him, tilting his head and the Asset feels as if the man can see straight through him. He doesn't like the feeling. But the man's smile is kind as he responds. "I didn't call him that. But yeah I guess you could say he was my handler. Captain Sommers. Tough old bird, but effective. He oversaw my partner and I on missions."
"Partner?"
"Mhmm. Riley. My wingman." Then he pauses and says something that starts to tilt the Asset's gravity. "You could say he was my mission. I was supposed to train him and work with him so he could lead his own squadron, but we worked so well together that they made us a team."
"Where is your mission?"
The man's face grows somber. "Riley was killed on an assignment."
No.
The Asset stands, gripping the table and staring at the man, "unacceptable. Mission termination is unacceptable."
The man looks at him calmly. "You mean Barnes? It's unacceptable to you for him to die?"
"Affirmative."
"Okay." The man says, "that's fine by me. I don't want Barnes dead either."
This calms the Asset and he sits back down.
"So," the man leans back in his chair. The Asset could kill this man with the pen that rests by his finger. A well pointed throw with enough force to enter the eye socket and impale into the brain. He shakes his head, trying to clear the thought. Lack of sleep is creating issues for the Asset's function. Reverting to base layer training.
No. The voice says. The Voice has been quiet, almost til the point that the Asset forgets it's there, but it speaks now, don't hurt him.
"Tell me about yourself." The man is asking, "what do you like to do? Or eat? Or anything about you. The Asset."
"Unclear."
"What do you enjoy doing?"
"Killing." He says without thought. Something they had had to program into him over and over.
The man's eyebrow raises, "you enjoy killing?"
"Affirmative." He ignores the way the Voice hisses at this, making the word crack on its way out.
"Okay… what do you enjoy about it?"
And the question fills the room with silence. Because in all his years, they've never told him why he should enjoy killing.
"What else do you enjoy doing?"
The Asset isn't sure, his brain feels all jumbled. Half from lack of sleep, and half from the fact that his mind feels like it has more space the last few weeks than he's had for the last 40 years.
"Training… the widows…" he says finally, unsure if that's a correct answer.
The man nods, "great, that's great. You enjoy sparring?"
"Affirmative."
"Would you like to? From what I hear, Natasha is a monster on the sparring mat."
And something like excitement fills his chest. "Affirmative."
—
Natasha
They hear the door open and she feels James stiffen.
"Hey Bucky." She hears Sam call, "you here?"
"In here."
Sam walks around the corner with the Asset in tow, "oh good, Natasha, I have a proposition for you."
She feels her curiosity pique, "yeah?"
"The Asset here, enjoyed training with the widows. It's important for people to do what they enjoy. Would you agree to sparring with him?"
"Sam." She hears James say, "he's stronger than me."
She scoffs and throws him an annoyed glare, "I can handle myself."
"Asset?" Sam asks, turning towards the large man standing behind him, "this is simple a sparring exercise? Would you harm Natasha while you spar?"
"Negative. Training only."
"See." Natasha says, sliding off the couch, excitement building as she heads towards the elevator, "he won't hurt me. Meet you down in the gym in 7 minutes."
—
Bucky
Bucky watches as the Asset and Natasha circle each other slowly on the mat. He's on the side, ready to intervene if necessary. Sam and Clint are up above on the hanging metal catwalks and Tony said he would be there when he could.
He's not surprised when Natasha lunges first. Patience has never been her strong suit and Steve was always endlessly patient.
She makes contact, her foot hitting his side, and she dodges his fist as it comes for her thigh. She slips around the side and slides her foot between his, sweeping her leg and trying to knock him down.
He leaps forward, rolling and popping back up, before launching forward, and grappling her, his force and weight pinning her arms at her sides. She struggles and he shakes his head, releasing her and stepping back.
"Your training is incomplete." He says calmly.
The room goes very still and Bucky sees her mouth part in surprise.
"Tasha—" Bucky starts, warning her to stay calm, but it's too late, she's on his shoulders in an instant, locking her thighs around his throat and trying to pin down his arms.
Bucky swears he sees the Asset roll his eyes.
The Asset reaches up, grasping at Natasha's neck and yanking her down, slamming her back on the mat.
He steps back again and his tone is half annoyed and half stern.
"Reacting emotionally is dangerous for a spider. You must learn to control your emotions so as not to act on them. Vulnerability is unacceptable."
The words make everyone wince, except Natasha who looks furious.
"I don't need you to train me." She snaps, her cheeks flushed.
"Then why are you fighting like a mini-spider?" He asks calmly.
The gasp from Clint is enough to set her off.
She leaps up, fainting left but sliding right, slipping behind him and landing a kick to the back of his knee before climbing his back and shoving him forward and jumping backwards.
He steps forward from her force but whips around faster than she expects, catching her next kick and yanking her off her feet. She rebounds, kicking up, and catching his elbow and twisting on the floor, pushing up and stepping away from him, but his speed is her undoing. His arm wraps around her waist and she throws the heel of her hand against his nose and he slams his head forward, making her cry out as his nose starts bleeding.
"You're using your anger." He says, still holding her body weight, "use your skill."
"Shut up." She snaps, finally pushing his hand away and slipping free. His back is too her, and Bucky knows he's not turning on purpose, drawing her in.
"Face me!" She scowls.
"Force me." He responds.
She runs, sliding between his feet and kicking between his legs. He takes the hit without reacting. The only response is to narrow his eyes.
All three of the men watching groan, but Natasha just springs up and attempts a roundhouse. The Asset leans back avoiding the kick, then he crouches, sweeping his leg and knocking her on her back. She slams against the ground and suddenly the Asset is on top of her, sitting on her hips and ignoring the way her knees slam against his back.
He pins her wrists together with one hand and grabs her throat with his remaining.
Bucky waits for him to let go.
He doesn't.
Bucky leaps up, sprinting towards the two, slamming against the Asset to unseat him. But all that does is earn him a punch as the Asset releases Natasha's throat for an instant, punches him square in the jaw, and then goes back to strangling her.
He can hear Clint and Sam scrambling from the catwalk, but by the time they get there it will be too late. Natasha's face is already blue and her struggle is getting weaker.
Bucky panics, sprinting and slamming his considerable force against the Asset and successfully unseating the man, causing them to roll and tumble over each other.
He hears Natasha gasp, but he can't even be relieved as hands shove against him, launching him into the air. He slams back down against the mat. He pushes himself up, but doesn't manage all the way before weight is on his chest and a fist is slamming against his face. He reels back. Mind going fuzzy under the force of the punch.
He can hear shouts and sees them try to intervene before the Asset dispatches them and is back yanking Bucky off his feet.
A hand wraps around his throat and he feels the pressure trying to crush his own enhanced neck.
They're shouting and pulling at the Asset but he doesn't budge.
His vision starts to go black on the edges and he watches as the Asset's face shifts, something pushing through.
And suddenly the Asset in his face, yelling, but not at Bucky.
At himself.
"STOP!" He hears him shout, "STOP!"
The hand releases him and he gasps for air as the pressure disappears and he hears a clatter.
He looks up, still trying to regain enough oxygen to see. The Asset… or Steve… he's not sure, is stumbling backwards, clutching at his head.
Eyes find Bucky's and it makes him gasp.
"Steve—" he rasps out.
"I'm sorry—" Steve chokes out, "I'm sorry!" He's backing away from them and holding his hands out, warning them not to come closer, "he's so tired. He— he's—" he gasps and stumbles, landing on his knees but shoving himself up and backing towards the door. "He's dangerous." Steve says, speaking towards Sam, but pointing at Bucky, "keep him away from me. The more tired he is, the less he can control his programming instincts." Steve's eyes find his, "I'll— I'm sorry." His eyes turn sad and he's almost against the door. And Bucky's oxygen deficient brain finally catches up.
"No!" He shouts, getting to his knees, "don't!"
"I have to." Steve says, "I can't control him. He's dangerous when he's tired and I can't—" he lets out a groan and doubles over, clutching at his head again. "He could have killed you both."
"Don't leave!" Bucky pleads, "we can help you, we're here— I'm here, don't leave me again, please!"
The anguished look on Steve's face makes him lose his breath again, "you're better off without me, Buck." Then he looks at Sam, "promise you'll keep him awa—"
"Asset!" Bucky hears Clint's voice, clear and sharp and commanding as it cuts through the room, "stay right where you are!"
Bucky watches as Steve fades before his very eyes.
—-
Clint
He watches as Bucky is still on the mat, struggling to regain his range of motion.
And Steve is about to run, to leave and probably disappear forever. Or right into the hands of that Widow Bitch.
And the worst thought in the world crosses his mind.
He still hasn't spoken much since the last incident. And he knows this will be worse. But he can't let Steve leave Bucky like this.
So he yells.
And he watches as his command makes the man in front of them turn from a human into a robot.
And he almost vomits over the side of the railing.
—
Natasha
She hears Clint's voice, and watches as the man who was about to flee the room, stiffens and stands at attention, as still as a statue.
She glances up at Clint who looks physically sick.
She looks at James who is kneeling on the mat, hand outstretched and a blank look on his face, unable to process the last few minutes.
"Good job." She says, voice gravely from his hand crushing at her neck. "Asset, you did well. Let's take a break."
The Asset looks at her, eyes a bit unsure, as if he also doesn't know what just happened. She finally glances over to Sam who is looking at the entire group in shock.
"Holy shit." He breathes, "this is—-"
"A fucking circus." She snaps.
—-
Tony
Tony watches the footage and leans back with a sigh.
"I'm sorry." Clint says at Barnes for the 60th time, "I'm so sorry."
"Stop apologizing, Barton." The man snaps, "I may hate the method, but you got him to stay, and I'm grateful."
"Yeah." Clint grumbles, "got him to stay by pulling on his strings like a puppet."
"It's a sad reality." Tony interjects, "but you did what you had to. If he'd gotten free, there's no telling what would happen."
"Gotten free?" Sam asks, "is he being held here? A prisoner?"
Tony winces, "no, no. That's not what we mean. Just… I don't think the public is ready to hear that America's propaganda Golden Boy was an assassin for 40+ years and then tried to off two avengers."
"He didn't mean too." Barnes insists, "he said something… about being tired."
"That's common." Sam says, pointing to the moment on the screen when Steve went from 'training' to 'on the attack'. "He hasn't slept in… what did you say, 56 hours? People who experience that level of sleep deprivation resort to their most base levels of functioning. He's in survival mode, fight or flight, and the kill or be killed instinct was triggered probably by Natasha's change in fighting style."
"I'm sorry." Natasha sighs, an ice pack around her neck, "I shouldn't have gotten so heated."
Tony waits for Barnes to say it's okay, to brush off her apology like he did Barton's.
But he doesn't.
He watches as Barnes takes a deep breath and looks at Sam, "so are you saying this is going to get worse unless he sleeps?"
"It's very likely. Sleep heals the brain. His brain is already, to put it kindly, a mess. Without sleep he's going to continue to deteriorate. His decision making and motor skills will decline. I see this often in PTSD patients. They think avoiding sleeping will avoid the flashbacks and the nightmares. But it usually makes them worse since the brain is already exhausted. He may start to lash out more."
There's silence.
Tony glances out the briefing window where they can see the Asset, standing at attention in his usual sentry spot.
"What do we do? Drug him?"
Bucky frowns and Sam shakes his head, "we're trying to build trust with the Asset. I don't think drugging him will do the trick."
"When I cut his hair and gave him a shave, he fell asleep… maybe something like that?"
"Maybe," Sam offers, "you said he was already trying to avoid sleep then, so he has to be exhausted. "It could also mean wearing him out." Sam looks at Barnes, "I know you said you weren't the runner of the group. Was that him?"
Barnes' eyes are pinned on the Asset, "yes. Idiot could run forever."
"Think you can keep up long enough to wear him down?"
Tony hears Barnes' steel toned voice, "whatever it takes."
—-
The Asset
He'd been unsure what had happened. He'd seemed to blink for a second and then struggle against the voice momentarily before a command had brought him to the forefront.
And now here he was, being asked to run. The Asset enjoys running.
"Is this a test?" He asks, eyeing the mission as he joins him on the track inside the large building.
"Yes." The mission says flatly. "Endurance is an integral part of being an Avenger. We need to know your limits."
"The Asset is capable."
"Well. Let's see." And the mission takes off, faster than any other combatant he's ever had the pleasure to fight. The Asset feels himself grin at the thrill of a real challenge.
—-
Clint
It's absolutely brutal.
He, Natasha, Sam, and Tony stand on the level above the track. Watching in horror and fascination as hours tick by. The two soldiers run side by side.
He hears Tony comment that if the Asset wasn't already so tired, he would be outstripping Barnes by a solid amount.
Clint can see that after countless laps, and going on almost 4 & ½ hours of straight sprinting, that both are on the verge of tumbling over.
"They should call it." He warns. "Taking a spill at that speed could really hurt."
No one responds.
It takes another 20 minutes, but Barnes finally starts to slow down, coming to a halt and practically falling over.
The Asset steadies him, lowering him to the ground and crouching beside him.
—
Bucky
He pants, his chest an absolute furnace of burning as he tries to take in a deep breath.
He feels the presence beside him and a hand on his shoulder. He looks up in surprise and he sees the clear eyes of the Asset looking at him with pride.
"You did very well." The Asset says, "better than I remember."
Bucky feels his heart stop. "Better than you remember?"
The Asset tilts his head, a familiar tired glaze covering them, "the Asset and the mission ran many missions together, correct?"
And the inflection in that question sounds somewhere in between the Asset's and Steve's
Bucky's head is bobbing up and down vigorously and he leans forward, grasping at the man's arm, "yes! Yes. We did. We absolutely did! We were a great team."
And he swears there's the barest hint of a smile as the Asset looks at him and says, "affirmative. A team."
—