Can't believe I am finally released the Bucky fanfiction, whoot whoot. Hope you guys like the first chapter, things are about to get very interesting after this one. A lot of familair characters will be showing up, including a few from the Marvel comics that are most beloved. This is set just after the Winter Soldier. Please rate and comment, I really what to know what you guys think and the reviews really do keep me going ^^. Hope you like the cover :D, worked hard on that.
xx
SSC
I saw that day,
Lost my mind
Lord, I'm fine
Maybe in time
You'll want to be mine
Kevin didn't expect to be playing Jenga on his carpet with the Human Torch and The Tempest, on his 33rd birthday. Yet he was and he wasn't complaining, he need a chance to feel young again, it wasn't exactly skiing down a snow covered hill, but he did something similar to that a few months ago, before the collapse of SHIELD.
Now he spent most of his days hunting down possible leads, but they were mainly fruitless and Elise saw how the disappointing turn outs were taking a toll on him. Naturally, as his best friend, she decided to surprise him by throwing a small party at Kevin's former apartment in New York. He managed to get it back from his friend Marcel who had been subletting it. He was happy to return to the city again. He didn't exactly have a plan in his future but it was still good to be home.
Kevin was pleased by the get together, he didn't want to see too many people he didn't want to exactly be celebrating another year without his sister. Elise and Johnny were determined to keep his mind off of it and instead decided to keep him on edge, by playing the entertaining game.
His apartment was a small studio one. The door opened up into a short corridor, on the right was a open entrance to his compact kitchen with a stove, fridge and two sets of cupboards and drawers. It was a tight place but perfect for just one person. On the left was the door to the toilet which he kept meticulously clean because he was a neat freak. The foyer branched out into the living space.
The living room consisted of one dark mahogany coffee table and one six seater leather couch on its left and facing it was a brown Lazy Boy. The furniture was neatly arranged on top of a white woolen, square rug that stood out against the wooden floor boards. Past the living room was his bed which was a Queen sized bed, covered in a navy blue sheet and complimented with grey pillows at the head of the bed.
The flat screen TV was on the wall facing the large couch and the opposing wall was his investigation wall. Everything he had tracked down on Isabelle was pasted on that wall in a organized scatter of paper clippings, drawings, pictures from when they were younger and names and numbers of possible leads. He had linked most of them in red string, except for one that did somewhat pan out, the one in blue string.
He ignored the wall as much as possible for Elise's sake and focused on enjoying the day, being himself, just for a few hours.
Being as delicate as possible, Kevin slowly pulled at the sharp edges of the wooden block as Elise and Johnny hovered anticipating, hoping he would fail. The tower wobbled a little and he immediately stilled, luckily it didn't topple over and he swiftly yanked the slab out of its alignment.
"Damn." Johnny cursed scowling at the birthday boy, disappointed by Kevin's win.
"Your turn hot shot." Kevin stated quite smug of his accomplishment. Johnny Storm rubbed his hand as if to warm them up, which seemed pretty unnecessary considering his ability to spontaneously catch on fire.
"I have the slickest fingers in the business." He gloated wiggling his digits.
"Right, babe?" He said directing a wink at his fiancé who sat on the rug beside him.
"Ew." Elise grimaced earning a pout from her husband-to-be. Kevin laughed at the banter but then a sudden ring of the door bell cut into his mirth. He was intrigued by this, he wasn't expecting anymore guests, maybe it was Reed and Susan to pay a few wishes.
"I'll get that." He announced not receiving much argument from the couple. He pushed onto his feet and then hurried out of the living room and down the short foyer and placed one handle on the door knob.
"Jenga!" Elise suddenly yelled out, startling Kevin. His head jerked around. Her cry was followed by the clatter of several wooden blocks hitting the rug.
"Oh come on."Johnny groaned exasperatedly while glaring down at the fallen tiles.
"Pay up Broil boy." Elise insisted flexing her fingers into her open palm. Johnny frowned and reluctantly pulled out a fifty dollar note from his pocket. He stared down at the money sadly, not looking forward to parting with it.
"Babe, how about I keep this money it's for the both of us." He suggested coyly.
"My ass, I am saving up for a trampoline." She snapped. Johnny 's large frame suddenly tilted to the side as if trying to see something past her. Perplexed by his actions Elise craned her neck around to glance over her shoulder.
"What are you staring at?" She demanded looking back at him with furrowed brows.
"Sorry you said ass and my attention immediately went there." He explained with a cheeky grin.
Her gaze narrowed but she bit the inside of her lip to suppress the urge to smile. Johnny spotted the slight deepening of her dimple and immediately knew and his grin widened.
"You are still not getting out on the bet." She insisted sternly.
"Aw babe." He pouted cozying up to her. Kevin rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to the door. He peeked out from the peephole and his heart skipped at beat the presence on the other side. He lowered his head, his palms sweating nervously. He chanced a glance back at his friends to make sure they were distracted, then slowly, he opened the door and slipped outside.
Valerie nervously brushed at the front of her short fringe. She couldn't stop fidgeting since the moment she arrived at his door and stood in front of it for a solid ten minutes, debating on whether or not to ring the doorbell. Her heart was pounding erratically at the prospect of seeing him. Sure she saw him occasionally, brief glances when she hid herself and he passed by on the street and she was unnoticed. He probably wouldn't be able to recognize her, physically she was a lot different to the girl he used to know, the girl that broke his heart.
He doesn't want to see you. A cruel mocking tone voiced her deepest insecurities.
You are a lying sack of shit.
Valerie toughened her bravado and was determined to not listen to her thoughts. She convinced herself that she was doing the right thing, even if he didn't welcome her with open arms she had still found a lead, one he could most certainly use.
She rang the doorbell and waited, trembling in apprehension. She knew she could somewhat handle seeing Kevin. After all, she had been building herself up, forming herself into a better person and preparing herself for this moment. The rejection and humiliation aside, she longed to see him again and thanked that she found a solid excuse to. Maybe it would be big enough for him to forgive her.
She heard the heavy footfalls nearing the door, but then a sudden cry made a jolt of panic shoot straight to her head. There were more than two voices behind the door, one she immediately recognized to be Elise Adams.
Shit. She cursed mentally. She berated herself for not preparing for the possibility of running into the Tempest, her former best friend and another person she had hurt, terribly. Fear and dread consumed her body and her first instincts was to run the other way, but then when the door opened, she knew it was too late.
Kevin Odell stared down at the female standing at the threshold of his door. Even though he knew she was there, posed a foot in front of him, dressed in a simple salmon pink t-shirt and black skinny jeans. He still couldn't make himself believe it. Valerie, she used to be someone he cared about deeply as a friend and more, but she crushed any hope he had for them being together when she slept with Jeremy. Elise's boyfriend at the time.
Valerie had simultaneously broken Elise's trust and Kevin's. He hadn't seen her since the time Elise got stabbed which was around five years ago. He had tried to move on since, but it wasn't easy, his heart still raced at the sight of her and he didn't know if it was annoyance or some stirrings from feelings long past.
She looked different, other than her short hair and new, casual style. She seemed smaller, more unsure of herself but the sparkle of mischief she used to carry in her emerald eyes had faded away. He didn't want to delude himself of the idea of her changing, maybe the years had made her a better person, maybe she found happiness in some way that changed her for the better, but he didn't want that hurt again.
"Hey Kev." She greeted nervously with a short wave of her hand. His body tensed at the sheepish grin she directed at him, she still managed to be cute even when she was unwelcome.
Kevin quickly shut the door behind him. She stepped back as he took a towering step towards her with one hand firmly clasping the handle.
"What are you doing here?" He demanded sternly. The glimmer of anticipation flickered to a look of hurt, clearly his tone had upset her. He clenched his jaw, determined not to show any form of repentance.
"First of all, Happy Birthday." She said smiling at him hoping to coax away the thickening tension. He was a little staggered by her words at first, but then his eyes narrows suspiciously.
"It's been five years and this is how you decided to come and fix things?" He demanded indignantly.
"I've been trying to fix myself first." She confessed contritely. He studied her and wished that he could believe her but there was no form of deceit in her eyes, but then again, she managed to keep Jeremy a secret for a long time.
"Right." He muttered lowering his gaze, unable to meet her woeful expression.
"I don't have time for this, I have some friends over." He said rather impatiently. She lowered her head, nodding solemnly. His heart lurched, a little remorseful of his dismissive tone. Kevin was raised to not be rude, especially to women, it was particular painful for him to act so cold, even if it was justified.
"You should come by another time." He suggested reluctantly, glancing at her.
Valerie was staring past him and at the door, she was chewing apprehensively at her lower lip before returning her attention back to him.
"Is she in there?" She asked, her voice soft and fretful.
"Yeah." He confirmed.
"So you better leave." He warned. Without waiting for a reply, Kevin turned away to step back into the apartment. He bit back the sigh of despair that begged to escape his lips. So much for a calm day, stress-free day.
"I found her." Valeria abruptly announced, stilling his departure.
"It's small, but it's a lead." She added.
He turned to her, expression disgruntled and uncomprehending of whom she was referring to, but then when he saw the wide eyed eagerness in her gaze, he immediately knew.
"Are you sure?" He questioned, his heart raced with the same hope that crushed him so cruelly multiple times till he was still numb. Valerie grinned and nodded confidently.
"Yes, she has the famous Odell eyes." She said her eyes a light with excitement.
Kevin stared back, unsure of how to respond.
James Buchanan Barnes knew that if he came into contact with another environment below zero degrees in temperature, it would be too soon. Yet he was scaling Mt. Charteris.
He found the most discreet spot possible on the least guarded face of the mountain. He had shot a grappling hook up till it pierced the furthest mass of rock. He strapped on his harness, sat into it and began to ascend the mountain.
The face tight goggles he wore protected his sharp eyes from the frosty wind, ideally he would wear a mask, but not this time. He wanted them to remember the face that ended their lives. He hated the goggles though, the rubber protection threatened to suction out his eyeballs.
He bit down on the blunt end of his drop point knife as he climbed with a M4A1 strapped to the back of his leather vest. The rest of the short rage pistols he kept close to his belt and pants, easy to access and within reach.
The air grew thicker as he climbed and it was getting a little hard to breath. He took in deep, ragged breaths, his heart pounding and chest heavy at each ascend. He finally reached the landing of the mountain, closest to the top.
Pushing up on his powerful arms he pulled up on to the surface and then rolled out of the road and hide his body in the shadows. He had studied the blueprints he had stolen of the base. The building ran into the mountain, straight to the core. The only part that stuck out was a dome shaped concrete structure.
It had a twenty foot diameter and a square opening that led to a tunnel. The outer ring of the sphere was a litter of Pine trees, tall and stretching for the sky on their own mission to grow. Hydra men dressed in warm, grey white camouflage gear, strolled the outsides of the structure.
The Winter Soldier had been in the field long enough that he knew the security within the premises was what he had to worry about. The easiest thing would have been to bomb the place and leave unscathed but this was no ordinary base.
Mt Charteris had its own lab, holding cells, hanger and even its own pool with an attached gym. It was a hub for intelligence in the most remote area within North America. They had found away to mask their location from even the most powerful telepath.
His eyes narrowed dangerously. Probably not from a deadly assassin with a thirst for revenge. He had discovered that considering the location low number of staff, they operated under a thumb print system. He had obtained one of the hands of a doctors that used to visit the base on a regular basis. His main question was why was a Doctor Majoring in Psychiatry with an impressive resume in treating mutant abilities and people with severe mental disorders, be needed at a simple training base.
Hydra had a uncanny ability of hiding secrets beneath secrets and Bucky was planning unraveling every single one of them. SHIELD had already started the chain reaction, igniting the domino pattern of HYDRA's malicious activities in the past, he planned on seeing it through and maybe get some answers along the way.
The cameras were the tricky part, but he studied the blue prints well enough to know what to avoid. He had dressed out of his goggles and climbing gear and into a guard outfit which was a snug, overcoat a light grey blue camouflage colour with fur lining around its hood.
He made his way through the tunnels, careful not to linger around the scrutinizing cameras for long. He glanced at his wrist watch, he knew he had to get in and get out as stealthily as possible, even if he did managed to be spotted he had a window of fifteen minutes to escape the premises before the outer guards from the lower section of the mountain covered all his exits.
He racked his brain for the map he memorized, but it felt unnecessarily. Strolling through the grey boxed walls, he knew he had been here before. A shudder passed under his skin, the miserable chill in the air pierced his heart. His could hear the faint sounds of screams and murmuring voices echo beneath the cold cement. He had the sudden urge to turn and walk back out into the woods.
Forcing away his random restlessness, he prowled forward, trying to seem nonchalant but alert. His crystal blue eyes darted about the space. The long corridor branched out into a mess hall. It was deserted except for a female janitor dressed in a pale blue uniform, mopping up what looked like some spillage of pudding. He turned his attention and continued down. The second opening to his left was hall, filled with socializing agents.
He quickly brushed past unnoticed. He had a location in mind, really he did, but he had passed it three feet ago. His legs seemed to work on their own, leaded him down a path that was horrifyingly familiar.
What is this joint?
He entered a prison, he could tell it was a housing facility of some sort from the metal doors and the square shaped window. He side stepped and peered into the closest one, it was empty, just a concrete bed with a raggedy mattress, a toilet seat in the corner with a sink. No window, no mirror, no sentimental attachments of any kind. In fact, all of the rooms were empty.
He turned into a bend, the coast was clear and he meandered on through, but then a bolt of fear struck his heart when he heard a deep commanding voice. A steel door swung open in a shrill creak and a figure was shoved forward. The person tripped on their legs at first and took a concerning long time to correct their footing. Bucky's breathing hitched and he his fingers itched for his weapon, but then the person spun around in his direction as if aware of his presence.
It was a woman. Her height, athletic build and mess of long, dull black her wasn't what grabbed his attention. It was her eyes. He had never seen such pitch black pair of irises, it was like staring into an endless abyss that had the power to haunt and drag down one's soul.
They had a sudden glint as if she recognized him and in the back of his head, he knew they had met before.
"Hey!" He was startled out of his thoughts by the guard that had a firm grip on the woman's elbow. He immediately released the female and pulled out his weapon before aiming the barrel at Bucky.
"Who the fuck are you?" He demanded.
Barnes's quick gaze shifted to the man, his hands twitched by his pocket knife. His hazed mind rapidly calculate his next move as the soldier scowled at him marveling over how Bucky had gotten past security.
Any plans he had suddenly crumbled when the woman ducked down and swept one long leg under the unsuspecting guard. The man fell face first to the floor and the woman took the chance and swiftly straddled the man's shoulder's between her thighs and snapped his neck before he could scream.
Bucky stared, startled by the lethal alacrity of it all.
He watched vigilantly as she slide down the fallen body, her locked wrists searching about his belt and finally pulling out a pair of tinkling keys. With one knee bent she unlocked her wrist, stood up and then unclasped the mask around jaw, revealing her face to him.
Hollow, high cheek bones, weary tired eyes and full, pale, lips. She was the epitome of a prisoner trapped without no access to sunlight or warmth. She stood in a flimsy, egg shell white shirt and matching ankle length pants. Her bare feet were no doubt freezing against the frigid clay floors.
Her onyx eyes narrowed on him for a moment as if trying to making sense of his presence, but gaze darted to the side before swiftly returning to him.
"Ten seconds." She whispered jerking her head to the side.
"What?" He demanded in a hushed tone.
"Ten seconds, Winters." She repeated amusement lining her voice."His buddy is going to appear from that bend cause these two are a pair of bros aren't you?" She directed the question down at the dead body.
"You jackass." She sneered and robbed the carcass of his drop point blade. Sure enough as she predicted, Bucky heard the sounded of heavy foot falls heading their way from the right. He quickly pressed his back against the wall and hid himself. Keeping his back planted to the wall, he secretly pulled out his knife and waited.
The man approached calling for his friend, hearing no reply he increased his pace which only brought him swiftly to his death.
Bucky grabbed the bleeding body before it hit the ground and gently lowered the mass of a man to the floor as to not make a sound.
"Ace." The woman's soft appraisal surprised him.
"Although I would have gone for the jugular." She mused, admiring his work. Bucky eyed the woman unsure of how to feel or what to say.
"This way." She urged, stepping over the fallen guard and continuing down the corridor. Bucky stood wavering on his spot, debating whether or not to follow the mysterious woman. His cynical mind warned him against it, he hardly knew the female yet she had an air of familiarity around him.
Winters.
His body relaxed when her nickname for him echoed in his mind. She knew who he was and he knew her. It was nagging him at the back of his mind but forcing himself only resulted in a throbbing ache that only seized when he averted his thoughts.
His heart thumped in anticipation, a real link to his past. The fact that he didn't remember her must have been purposeful, after all Hydra made sure he forgot the important people. But even so, his gut was telling him to be on guard around the woman. He just wished he knew why.
Hesitantly he pushed off the balls of his feet and hurried after the woman. They kept to the walls sliding against them until she stopped by the frame of a door. It was light grey in colour and there was no marker to indicate the room on the door.
She suddenly turned to him and their gazes met once more.
"Computer room is that way." She said pointing to door six feet ahead on the opposite side of the wall. He glanced at the direction she pointed to before quickly looking to her again.
"I need to make a quick stop at the valuables." She stated one hand already turning the silver door knob with her profile still turned to him. She pushed at the surface without even caring to see if there was anyone on the other side. Bucky felt a wave of panic at her recklessness but she continued to ramble in a carefree manner.
"I'll be back before you can say 'Grandma beat box's'." She announced and then slipped into the gap between the door and disappeared out of his sight.
Bucky observed the surveillance cameras while simultaneously hacking into their system. He downloaded all the files into his portable USB. He didn't have time to skim through the files, that he was saving for when he was within the safety of some dingy motel room.
He hurried out of the room and was startled to come face to face with the woman. Her onyx eyes took his breath away and not in the romantic sense. Her gaze scanned him curiously for a moment before spinning around and creeping down the corridor. He hobbled after her, his footfalls soft and balanced.
They arrived at the edge of the entrance to the hallway. They heard the chattering voices of the guards within the hall. Bucky stealthily scouted the opponents, they were around seven.
"Did you say it?"
Her questioned grabbed his attention.
"What?" He demanded oblivious to the content behind her inquiry.
"Grandma beat box's." She repeated. He didn't get a chance to voice out the disgruntled astonishment he expression on his square face, the guards had spotted them.
A fight was ignited when they blocked their path to the exit. He saw the flashes of recognition and fear in the eyes of his adversaries. they knew exactly who he was and what he was capable of and Bucky took full advantage of that dread. One by one challenged him, some dared to attack him from the back but he ducked, dodged and delivered quick blows that incapacitated his victims.
He was successful enough and managed to defeat his opponents in time, but his attention was grabbed by her. She was leaping into the air and aiming hard jabs and swiping under like a pro, her skill sets was very familiar. Even though her moves were slower and not as fluid, he knew in that moment, she was taught by him. He just didn't remember. He noted how she restricted the use of her right leg for kicks and instead focused on using her fists as weapons.
The guards had hard plastic sticks for weapons, which Bucky found odd. HYDRA was ideally a lot more brutal with the use of tasers, did they not possess any in this prison? He recalled that the enemies weren't scrambling to comunicate through their ear pieces. He glanced at one fallen form to realise she didn't carry one.
The mystery woman was panting, out of breath and struggled to defeat the last man standing. The man didn't attack and insteady, calculated his odds, his frantic gaze darted to Bucky and then he turned to run the other way. The winter solider pulled out his gun and fired a quick bullet straight through the back of the man's head. He fell face first, blood pooled out from beneath him.
Bucky chanced a glance at his wrist watch, he had less than a minute to escape before the bomb he activated set off. Without thinking twice he grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her along, racing down the tunnel. She lagged behind and tripped over her feet at one point but still tried her best to keep up.
He heard the uproarious boom behind him but he didn't dare look back and pushed on through until the light from the outside nearly blinded him.
The black smoke from the explosion continued to rise up into the skies. The heat brought him a little comfort in the freezing temperatures of Mount Charteris. But the cold was of no consequence to him. His interest was focused entirely on the HYDRA prisoner.
She was rummaging through the belongings of the guard she had killed. Her back was turned to him and she was hunched over, bare feet buried in the snow as her hands worked quickly. She dug out a gun, pocket knife, a drop point blade and a wallet and laid them out on the man's chest.
Satisfied she began to collect the items into her arms. Bucky was alerted and immediately trudged over to her ready to disarm her, only to be surprised when she raised the gun up by its handle to him. Confused, he carefully took the gun and tucked it into the holster next to his thigh.
She replaced the knife and rest of equipment back into the vest and then disrobed the carcass of the body armor. She then stood up, shrugged on the vest and zipped it up tightly from the front.
Bucky observed her scrawny form in just her tattered flimsy, prison clothes paired with the black vest. It was an odd contrast. Her mane of thick, desiccated black hair fell past her shoulders and to her mid back.
Finally she turned around to face him. She fixated her obsidian eyes on to him and simply absorbed his appearance with a unreadable expression.
"Why is your hair so long?" She demanded casually, the corner of her lips curved up in a taunting smile.
"Hydra couldn't afford scissors?"
Bucky stared flatly, unsure of how to answer that question.
She rolled her eyes and waved her hand in a dismissive gesture.
"Ignore that, it's not important, why are you here?" She questioned sternly.
He continued to gawk, disturbed by her question. She spoke so easily to him as if he knew who he was. Despite being the girl who had been haunting his dreams, he had no recollection of her name or any other details.
Seeing his internal struggled a sudden realization dawned on to her that made her strict features soften.
"You don't know who I am do you?" She asked her voice considerably quieter and uncertain.
"No." He retorted bluntly. She winced as if he had physically struck her.
"Ouch."She muttered under her breath. Bucky tensed, alarmed by the reaction he had caused. He mind was swamped in distress. It didn't make any sense, if she was important to him wouldn't he have known? Then again... He couldn't even remember Steve and he had been a significant part in his childhood.
He eyed her vigilantly. She had lowered her face, her lips held down in a deep frown. She seemed utterly dismayed by the facts. Bucky didn't know what to do, he was suddenly consumed with a instinct to reassure her, but the emotions troubled him.
Her attention abruptly shot up, her gaze narrowed fiercely at him.
"Why did you bust me out?"She demanded.
"I don't know." He confessed reluctantly.
The intensity in her eyes melted away and her expression became passive. She observed him with a jaded gaze.
"Well you seem to have everything figured out." She noted mockingly. Bucky was taken aback but he had no retort, she was after all stating the obvious.
She shot him one last look of reproach and then turned away. He stared indecisively as she began to walk away, heading for the trees. She wasn't looking back, he couldn't let this one lead to his past walk away.
"Where are you going?" He hollered, his voice echoed in the mountains. She stopped in acknowledgment.
"Shelter, Winters." She bit back bitterly. "In case you haven't noticed I am poorly dressed and walking in eight inches of snow."
Bucky tried to regulate his breathing, but he knew he was doing a much better job than the female that crept beside him. He still didn't know her name, but she treated their stealth approach towards the next Hydra camp below, like they had been doing this their entire lives.
She was struggling. Her body was trembling from the icy cold. Her lips were turning an alarming shade of blue. The coat she had robbed from the dead agent did not help her in the slightest, not when her feet were dragging along the snow.
However, she refused to show her weakness. Her expression was stoic and her eerie black eyes were narrowed a head, focused on the loitering guards by the steel doors.
"You can call me Jo by the way." She muttered to him, a white gust of air escaping her lips. Bucky's cautious gaze flickered to her, eyes narrowing.
"How do you know me?" He demanded.
"We worked on a few missions together plus uh.."She hesitated, glanced at him and then looked back to their targets. "You trained me along with a few other sleeper agents."
"When was this?"
"Nineteen ninety eight, I think." She mused pensively. "I was sixteen then and you were..."
She eyed him speculatively, her obsidian pupils sent the oddest chill down his spine.
"I honestly have no idea how old you are. You haven't aged a day since I last saw you...well." She pointed to his mane of brown tresses.
"Except for that ridiculous hair, which I am going to blame on budget cuts."
He frowned, the woman was too accustomed to mocking him.
"If you are a Hydra agent why were you a captive?" He grumbled in question. She smirked, raising one sardonic brown at him.
"Oh my God Karen, you can't just ask somebody why they are a captive." She gasped out dramatically, gaping at the air. His passive expression twisted to a look of complete bewilderment. Her mouth slanted up to a reckless grin, when he continued stare at her with the same disgruntled look, she quickly sobered.
"Former agent." She uttered after clearing her throat softly.
"Went on their black list after I killed a few of their agents and tried to infiltrate the main base." She explained, averting her gaze coolly back to the guards.
His tense posture relaxed a little. She was a traitor like he was, he didn't detect a lie in her voice or face, but it was still had to believe.
"Why were you trying to do that?" He questioned.
She stilled, her eyes narrowing, the twitch of emotion on her face was hard to deduce and it vanished as soon as it surfaced. She slowly turned her head back to him, her lips pressed to a thin tight line.
"How did you get out?" She demanded.
Bucky didn't like that she had disregarded his question, but she had answered more than he expected.
"Hydra has been unmade by Captain America." He announced.
"The blonde dude in tights?" She demanded in sheer shock. He nodded stiffly and her eyes widened into saucers.
"Didn't he die? How long was I in there?" She whispered the question as if mainly to herself. Her sharp gaze returned to him.
"What year is it?" She urged.
"Twenty fourteen." He answered.
Her jaw slackened, her shoulders sagged in disbelief.
"...Three years?" She mumbled.
"Three years..." She echoed, her voice barely above a sigh. She stared down at the ground, pale and horrified. Bucky eyed her uncertainly, worried that maybe was experiencing some sort of heart attack induced by the shock.
"Shit." She spat, the jaded expression she held was twisted in anger. Her dark eyes were flashing in a savage rage that simmered beneath the surface with the promise of something dark and dangerous.
"Now I'm pissed." She hissed and then slowly rose up from her crouching position. His eyes widened on instinct, startled at the possibility that they were noticed by the guards, and they were.
The lookouts were in the middle of a friendly chat and one of them spotted Jo emerging from the depth of the bushes. They immediately aimed their weapons at her and threatened to shoot. Bucky reached out and attempted to push her out of the way until a sharp ringing in his ears distracted him.
It was mild and had similar effects to vertigo, but seeing the guards fall onto their knees, cupping their ears and screaming, he knew he hadn't received the worst of it. He looked to Jo, expecting her to be affected by it but she wasn't standing where he spotted her, instead she was barreling towards one of the guards with just her fists for a weapon.
"You dickheads locked me up for three fucking years?!" She screamed in outrage before swiftly punching one of the kneeling men, groaning in pain, straight across the jaw. His head snapped to the side from the impact of her knuckles, blood spurted out of his mouth and Bucky was pretty sure he saw a flying tooth.
The second guard had recovered from the ringing and tried to attack her from behind. She planted her right foot on the ground and delivered a heavy round house kick straight to the man's chest. The heavy built male staggered back from the impact and a sharp, painful grunt escaped his lips. However he managed to wrap his gloved fingers around her boot and grip tightly. Jo knew exactly how to counter this and pushed off the leg on the ground and directed a agonizing kick to the man's chin.
His head jerked back as he fell flat on to the snow caked ground. Jo stood between the fallen men looking quite like a deranged mental asylum escape, determined to end all who crossed her path.
"I was going to go see the Escape To The Plastic Beach you assholes!" She cried out her voice cracking, on the edge of weeping. "YOU MADE ME MISS MY CHANCE TO SEE THE FUCKING GORILLAZ!"
"They... are... not even real!" The one on the left, spat out irritably. Blood dribbled down his chin that stained the virgin white snow. He was sneering up at Jo, snarling his the upper row of his teeth, showing a very visible gap his bleeding teeth.
"Fuck you!" She lashed out and tackled him to the floor.
Bucky stared, shocked and unsure of how to respond as he watched her punch the man again and again and again. It was brutal, he heard the sickening clash of bone meeting bone. Spatters of blood sprung into the air from each blow.
He felt compelled to stop her, urge her that it was enough but he was a little too mesmerized by the sight of the violence. It was more than just self defense or punishment for something the man had said that she obviously found insulting. It was a release of pent up frustration, pain, anger. Something she had been bottling for the longest time and had only just been unleashed.
After the longest time, she stopped and her arms dangled heavily by her side as if they were made of lead. Her knuckles were painted crimson, her body slumped and puffs of jagged white smoke escaped her lips.
Then, slowly, she rose to her feet, one leg at a time. She swayed a little even as she walked over the man, who Bucky doubted was breathing, even if he was, it was hard to tell. She was turned away and stared at the blue skies and over the landscape of mountains of Colorado.
Bucky hesitantly approached, his boots crunching against the ice. The sound of him nearing brought her out of her dazed thoughts. She turned to him with one hand on her right knee, her finger tips sinking around the round knee cap as if trying to massage away some ache.
"I can't even believe I lost three years to this fucking place." She grunted irritably, her expression a little pained. "They don't even have the chocolate pudding."
He continued to stare silently, she mistook his indifference to uncertainty.
"You know the one with the cups and actually looks like pudding and not that liquidized crap." She exclaimed while her fingers imitated the shape of a cup. He knew very well what a pudding cup was, he just couldn't believe that was her main concern in the moment. Maybe she was just dealing with her shock in a different manner.
"Fine, whatever." She sighed waving flicking her wrist dismissively. She bent forward, scooped up a large load of snow and began to cleanse her hands of the blood. They were still stained pink by the time she was done and trembling a little.
"I can get my own pudding cups now. I'm free bitches. Free as a fucking bird!" She yelled out with a wide victorious thrust of her arms. Bucky supposed it would have been grander if they were at the top of the mountain, sadly they were somewhere in the middle.
"I could really use a Twinkie right now." She announced and then shuffled past him. He stared after her, wondering whether to follow or leave her behind, but he was compelled to pursue her, he need to know more about their past.
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