Bucky POV

"What the fuck is that?" I said angrily, pointing to the glass container Dr. Banner had just placed onto the table in front of us. The object inside was still coated with Eden's blood and the sight of it was pushing me over the edge, dangerous territory since she was unconscious and not there to calm me down. The doctor pulled his glasses off and rubbed the bridge of his nose tiredly.

"Bucky" Steve warned, placing his hand on my shoulder.

I shrugged it off angrily and glared at the doctor across the table. I knew he was here to help, just as I knew he wasn't to blame for that thing he'd just dug out of the back of Eden's neck. I was pissed and there was no one who would escape my wrath tonight.

"Bucky…" Steve warned again, his voice much more stern this time, "…Bruce is here to help"

I slammed my metal arm down on the table hard, splintering the wood, and pointed to the container again, "I want to know what that is and what the fuck it did to Eden….NOW!"

I watched the doctor close his eyes and take deep, controlled breaths. Clint and Steve were both staring at me incredulously. I knew I was way out of line but worry was making me throw caution to the wind.

"You realize who that is, right?" Clint said quietly as he stood up from the chair he was occupying and came to stand beside me, eyeing the doctor warily.

I opened my mouth to speak but was quickly cut off by the sound of another arm slamming down on the table, echoing much louder than my own. The doctor was now leaning over the table glaring dangerously at me and I glared right back at him.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Clint and Steve both tense up and take cautious steps back.

I knew I was crossing a line I definitely didn't want to cross but my anger was making me completely incapable of a rational thought. There was no way I was a match for the Hulk but stubbornness made me stand my ground and continue my face off with the doctor.

Steve raised his hands between the two of us, "Okay guys, let's all calm down. Bruce…he's just worried about Eden" he said softly. He turned me and scowled at me, something I was not use to seeing from my best friend, "Bucky, sit down and give Bruce a chance to explain" I glanced at Steve and it took the pleading look in his eyes for me to calm down enough to nod in agreement.

"Fine" I said grudgingly, taking a seat suddenly and motioning to the doctor to do the same, "…please explain" I demanded, less angrily this time but still with a tone.

I watched the doctor take several deep breaths before nodding his head and also taking a seat. He picked up the glass container and raised it to the light to examine it again, a look of marvel in his eyes as he began to explain.

"It's nothing I've ever seen before, quite a remarkable piece of technology actually…something even Tony would be impressed with" he added, "It's a microchip…a very sophisticated microchip that someone imbedded directly into her C5 vertebrae. Just from my initial examination, it looks like it was emitting some type of electrical frequency that was aimed directly at her brain. More than likely, the chip is what is causing her memory loss and the pain she experienced. Basically, the chip overloaded, and started shooting out uncontrolled bursts. It seemed to be working fine when I removed it so I can't be sure of what caused the initial malfunction"

Steve asked the most obvious question before I had a chance, "What was the chip for?"

Doctor Banner frowned and shrugged his shoulders, "I can't be 100 percent sure"

Frustrated, I spoke up, "Your best guess then doctor"

He exhaled loudly and removed his glasses once again, cleaning them on the bottom of his shirt and reapplying them before speaking, "Best guess….it was designed for mind control. Mr. Barnes, I'm familiar with your background. The ummm…procedures you endured during your capture by Hydra. I would suspect that the same individuals are behind the creation of the chip. Perhaps an alternative to the method they used to control you. I assume the chip was created to put the individual completely under the control of the user, ultimately making them a weapon. When they activated the chip, probably through some kind of computer interface, it forced Eden to basically shut down. The chip allowed her body to continue to function…heart to beat, lungs to keep breathing…but mobility, cognitive function, emotions, they were all overtaken by it. There is no telling exactly what it could force Eden to do. She could kill her best friend without even flinching and not remember doing it" he said, flinching when he realized what he said. "Sorry Steve" he added, glancing over at the man who had walked over to the window to watch Brooke as she sat next to an unconscious Eden.

Steve stared for a second longer before turning back to Bruce and motioning for him to continue, "Go on"

"Fortunately, I don't think the chip has been in there long. Judging from the incision area, I would guess maybe only 2 to 3 days"

I clenched my fist and the whirring sound got everyone's attention. He'd gotten to her; somehow Kaine had gotten to Eden. It wasn't him personally but someone working for him had infiltrated our life, our home. I instantly knew who that person was and turned to Clint furiously.

"Go to our apartment. The guy living next door" I said angrily. Clint, Steve, and even Bruce looked confused and I quickly explained Eden's encounter with the "neighbor" who called himself Alan Pollard. "It had to have been him. He's the only person she's had any contact with when I wasn't around….son of a bitch must be working for Kaine!" I said menacingly.

Clint rose from his chair and glanced through the window at Eden before turning back around to face me, "I'll track him down" he said with a nod and exited the room.

"Is she going to be okay?" I asked, across the table at Doctor Banner.

The man cringed, "There's more. I examined the wounds on Eden's hands and as you've probably already guessed, they appear to have been caused by some physical altercation. I'm not sure exactly where Eden was when she disappeared at the wedding reception but whatever happened, she was definitely fighting somebody…several somebodies actually. I pulled three different blood samples from her dress and I'm running it now through every database SHIELD and Tony has access to, but nothing has come up yet"

"Is she going to remember anything?" Steve asked.

Bruce shook his head, "Doubtful…and remembering may only cause trauma to the brain. I know you guys want to know what happened but this may be something you want to leave alone. There's a reason trauma victims sometimes develop amnesia….it's the brains way of coping, by forgetting the event entirely. I'm not saying Eden experienced something exceptionally traumatic but the brain may not be able to differentiate due to the interference of the chip" he said, pointing to the glass container still lying in the middle of the table.

He got up and walked over to the window to peer in at Eden, "Whatever that thing is…", he said, glancing over his shoulder, "…it's out now and can't affect her any longer. We're fortunate it malfunctioned in the first place or you may never have realized there was a problem. Very lucky" he finished quietly

"Lucky?" I asked disgusted, "Lucky that some asshole imbedded a chip in her neck…you think she's going to feel fucking lucky doc?"

Steve turned to me sharply, "Bucky!"

Bruce shook his head dejectedly as he looked at the two of us, "No you misunderstood me Mr. Barnes, I didn't mean Eden was lucky….I meant everyone else around her was"

I glanced over at Steve and he looked just as confused as I did

Bruce picked up the container holding the chip, "None of you realize how close you really were to true danger. Look at her…" he said, pointing to the window, "…she is the last person you would ever expect to hurt someone. She's the person who could get close to you" he said, looking pointedly at me, "...she was a weapon, the most dangerous kind, especially to you…Kaine is smart if he is the one that's responsible for putting this in her neck. He knew if it came down to it that you'd never be able to stop her…neither could you Steve, or Clint"

Steve spoke up, "Bruce, I'll admit Eden is an impressive fighter and she could definitely give us a run for our money, but in the end she'd never be able to take me or Bucky on in a fight"

I watched Bruce carefully, replaying his words over and over in my head before finally speaking up, "He isn't talking about us stopping her in a fight Steve" I said, getting up from my chair to walk over to the window to watch Eden.

"Oh" I heard Steve said softly, realizing what the doctor meant.

I couldn't even speak the words. Bruce was right, there was no way I could ever stop Eden if it meant killing her. Even if she was pointing a gun at my head, I would take the bullet before I'd hurt her.