tuckerjnp1, hey there! Yeah, I was really going for the surprise twist and was hoping no one would catch on before it happened. Haven't done that (successfully) very often, so thank you for reviewing and letting me know you liked it and that it took you by surprise! Hope you like this chapter too!

Karina001, thank you, my faithful reader and reviewer! I do hope you'll like this chapter as well. Even though the story is coming to an end slowly, rest assured that I have many more ideas for future fics. Stay tuned!

(0)

Steve remained as quiet as Bucky for the remainder of their trip, brooding his fate. He had some hope that Wakanda would come after them and he knew he could most probably count on their assistance, but the real question here was: did he have that kind of time? The would-be Lianka that everyone called the Sparrow had spoken multiple times of resetting him… he took for granted that that implied the same sort of treatment that had been bestowed upon his friend when he was made into the Winter Soldier… he glanced at Bucky, who remained placid, emotionless and staring straight ahead like more of a machine than a man.

They'd never delved into the details of what had been done to him… partly because Bucky did not quite remember everything from his past, partly because it was simply too horrifying to revisit. But Steve knew one thing for sure: the torture he'd endured was beyond what any man should ever have to live through. He could only hope that it would take them time to do the same thing to him, if it came to that, and that it would allow him to either find a way to escape, for give Wakanda the time they needed to find and secure them.

There was something terribly unnerving about sitting wordlessly there as he was flown towards his own demise. Steve fought with his physical pain and kept calm, refusing to give the Sparrow or anyone on this plane the satisfaction of seeing him defeated.

She did not seem to pay any attention to him. The other four soldiers upon the plane spoke to her with great respect and folded the instant she growled, so he understood she was probably of a higher rank than they were… of perhaps she was simply stronger and inspired fear. Steve noted that the girl they had known, who they'd traveled with these past few weeks was gone; there was nothing but a hard, determined machine in her place, analytical and ruthless. Lianka had been erased. In her place sat a monster. But then again… she'd released Shuri instead of killing her, like the other soldiers had suggested they do. Did that mean anything? Was it just another ploy, another strategic move on her part? It was hard to guess how deep her treachery really went. Steve found himself increasingly confused about this woman he realised he barely knew.

"Sparrow, we are approaching the base. We'll be on the ground in five." The pilot shouted over his shoulder and Steve glancing his way, straining to see out the jet's front windows in the hopes of recognizing their environment. He had no such luck: it was dark outside, and night had fallen. They'd flow for quite a while… time had passed strangely for him.

"Understood." The woman snapped. Her attention shifted to the others. "Roan, Kiev, you'll handle Rogers. Deva, I want you to go ahead and warn the Supreme we've made it back. James, you'll be taking this data key to the research lab and make sure they start working on it right away. I want that serum stabilized at once."

"Yes m'am!" Everyone agreed with varying degrees of sharpness. Only James seemed annoyed by the Sparrow's authoritarian manner of speaking, answering her lowly and fleeing her gaze. Steve took it that the man had filled her position as leader while she was away and was none too pleased to have it so easily taken from him. Maybe that could be exploited somehow…

The jet rumbled as they neared the ground and slowed down. All Steve could glimpse through the windows was that they seemed to by lowering themselves vertically into a sort of bunker, the ceiling of which was a massive, heavy plate of metal, which slipped shut after their passage with a great groan. So, the base was probably rather big… and it was hidden. He hoped Wakanda would be able to find them before it was too late.

The jet set down with a shudder and he was immediately unclipped from his seat by the two men known as Kiev and Roan. As the ramp slid open with a hiss to let them out into the base, Deva walked down rapidly with a determined step and James followed her, USB drive in hand. The Sparrow and Bucky stayed behind with the two soldiers that were half-dragging Steve between them, as he was still a bit wobbly on his legs, courtesy of the rough blows his own friend had delivered to his head.

Out of the jet, Steve looked around: he was indeed in some large underground base. There were a few helicopters and aircraft stationed nearby and a hefty army of personnel working tirelessly, shouting orders and tinkering with machinery and weaponry. As he emerged from the jet, eyes turned his way with a mix of awe, hate, surprise… there was no lack of emotions around him. Were all these people Hydra? Did they know who they were working for? Why he was here?

Before them, waiting patiently with his hands joined behind his back, stood a man of stature, wearing a military outfit that was pinned with a number of badges, all of which were a testament to his authority and position. He was staring at the Sparrow with severity, head high and stiff and she glanced at him with barely any interest. Nonetheless, upon reaching him, she did the common Hydra salute and nodded her head respectfully.

"Black Sparrow. Glad to have you back amongst us." The general's suave, deep voice implied otherwise. "We were beginning to worry."

"I'm sure you were." The woman answered dangerously with a venomous smile. There was a minute moment of tension; the two guards accompanying the general shifted uncomfortably and Steve thought he felt the two soldiers holding him stop breathing. It was almost possible to hear the power struggle before them. "I'll be on my way, general Harrion. If you don't mind. Some of us have important business to attend to."

The man's stoic face was crossed by just a tiny flash of annoyance, but it was gone before it could be registered. "So be it. Deliver Captain Rogers to the resetting facility and the Winter Soldier to a containment cell. He'll be dealt with in due time."

He made a motion to turn and leave, ever stiff, but the assassin spoke before he could do so, freezing him in place.

"Actually." Her voice was silky, dangerous. It did not take a genius to figure out who had won that power struggle earlier, appearances and ranks be damned. "Rogers will be brought to the infirmary and healed completely before his reset. Putting him through the machine in his condition would kill him, especially considering he is concussed after being taken out by the Winter Soldier. Speaking of which, the Winter Soldier will remain with me for the time being, as he is under my control. He can be reset once the AIM gene is stabilized. Which, I hope, will be soon."

The general gave her a hard stare, chewing on the inside of his mouth. He glanced at Steve, who did indeed look worse for the wear, his face swollen and bloody, and his feet uneven on the ground. His eyes then found Bucky, who was standing stoically, but protectively, just behind the woman, his gaze fixedly trained upon the general.

"Very well." The tall man finally hissed out, his jaw tense. "Go report to the Supreme. He'll be wanting to see you. Hail Hydra."

"Hail Hydra." The Sparrow bowed her head in a manner that might have appeared polite, but which instead further accentuated that she did not fear the general in the least, and that she had no plan to do anything other than what she decided.

As Steve was dragged off by the two soldiers holding him, he realised that Lianka's imposter was even further from their reach and comprehension than he dared imagine.

(0)

She walked through the halls, eyes trained far ahead and head held high, her demeanor confidant. The people she crossed moved out of her way rapidly, nodding at her carefully as they glanced at the tall soldier following her without a sound. The Black Sparrow and the Winter Soldier… she would have found it poetic f it hadn't been so grim. She guided them through the maze of a compound, which was a lot bigger than even Steve could have thought: it went down several levels underground, all of it hidden from view, all of it far from civilisation. The people working here knew who they were working for… no one spoke the name of Hydra aloud, but no one was stupid either. All the employees were stationed at the compound for extended periods of time and, unbeknown to them, once their contracts ran out, they were effectively reset, equipped with false memories and sent back to wherever they were from. Only the higher-ranking members were fortunate enough to be allowed to retain their memories of the last Hydra base, but then again, they were sworn to it for life.

She reached an elevator at the end of one of the long halls and pressed a button to go further down, waiting patiently in front of the metal doors. As the elevator arrived at their level, the woman glanced back over her shoulder and at Bucky, who was standing close enough for her to feel his breath on the nape of her neck. His eyes stared resolutely forward, but as he noted she had turned her head, his steely gaze slipped from metal doors and met with hers. She held it for a moment, and looked away: there was nothing but emotionless cold in those irises…

They stepped into the elevator, she selected a floor and the doors slid shut before them, locking them in solitude and silence.

She sighed.

"I know you're in there, and I know you can hear me." She said in a small, soft voice. It was so unlike the tone she'd used since Wakanda that it was almost unrecognizable. "You have every reason to hate me. I lied to you. I used you and Steve. I'm not going to pretend it was alright for me to do what I did. But…" She sighed anew and glanced at Bucky again, who was now staring at her with something that might have been akin to attention. "I'm sorry. Maybe you'll find it in you to forgive me. Maybe. But I am sorry. Give me time."

She did not wait for an answer, facing the front again: she knew she would not get one. The door slid open and they marched out, finding themselves in another identical corridor, which she navigated with ease, all the way to a set of huge, metal double doors that adorned one concrete wall. She stopped before them and waited a moment, as if hesitating to knock.

As she stood there, Bucky moved up close behind her, ever silent. She gave a slight jump when she felt the cold metal of his vibranium hand gently graze by the inside of her right palm, which she held alongside her body. The young woman glanced down, noted that Bucky's hand had innocently returned to his side and when she raised her eyes to his face, she saw him staring straight ahead placidly… there was but a tiny glint in his eyes, one that was barely enough there to be acknowledged.

The Sparrow's mouth twitched in what might have been a tiny smile, and she raised her right hand to knock twice upon the heavy door, confident anew.

(0)

They entered a room that was sparsely furnished and clinically white, the walls and floors glowing with a sterile radiance, every surface almost surgically clean. There was a bed against the far wall, beside which stood a lonely bedside table, the only two pieces of furniture in the room. Yet, there was a mass of machines lining both the sides of the bed and the wall behind it, filling the space ominously. Some machines had screens where vital signs could be read, others were indicating more complex information. The tubing and wires from all that equipment ran right into the white bed, vanishing beneath the thick, pearly comforter, where a tiny form was safely burrowed.

Upon their entry, the nurse tending to the person in the bed looked their way, masked face revealing no emotion and bowed his head hastily before departing the room upon the Sparrow's indication. Whatever test he had been running, it could wait. When the door shut behind the nurse, the Sparrow and Bucky came closer to the bed, slowly, quietly, as though fearing they would bother the person resting there.

The figure hidden beneath the comforter was a man, but he was so small and frail that it was hard to tell anymore… his face was mostly covered by a large mask that brought oxygen to his lungs and liquefied food to his belly through a tube going down his nose. The skin of his face was taunt, dry and looked so brittle that the slightest breeze might crumble it to dust. Only the eyes upon that face looked remotely alive, shining a fierce blue in their sunken orbits, surrounded by a patchwork of liver spots and wrinkles as deep as canyons, all of which were a testament to the man's great age. He made no motion as the Sparrow came into view, but a powerful, victorious glint seemed to illuminate those glacier eyes, which carefully observed the emotionless girl, before sliding to the taciturn soldier at her side…

So. The red wolf returns.

The voice that spoke did not come from the man, emanating instead from one of the nearby monitors. Through a complex set of twitches of his fingers, the immobile man was capable of formulating speech thanks to a program he himself had designed, many years ago… it was his only manner of communication, as sickness and old age had long since taken his ability to move or speak on his own. All he had left was the skittish motion of his fingers, hidden beneath the covers and plugged to one of his machines, and the devilish intensity of his sharp eyes.

"Supreme Hydra." The Sparrow greeted him softly, bowing her head respectfully.

Those sharp eyes found her.

You have done well, dearest Sparrow. As I knew you would. You have succeeded in every aspect. Every mission. Words cannot express my pride.

"Thank you, Supreme." She answered docilely, smiling a little bit to indicate she was pleased at the compliment. There was something oddly stiff about her response, but the tiny, ancient man was too excited to take note.

I have been told you have brought back the technology needed to stabilize the AIM gene.

"I have." She agreed. "Our people are working on applying it to the gene as we speak. I hope it will not be long before they succeed."

Indeed. When it is done, I will be able to walk once again. By your side. Like I have so long ago. Hydra will rise anew. I will lead us to glory. Hail.

"Hail." The Sparrow agreed anew, without missing a beat. "If I may, Supreme…" His eyes shone curiously, and he said nothing, so she took it was an invitation to continue. "Allow me to pass through the procedure first. Allow me… to test it for you. To insure you are not at risk." His eyes narrowed inquisitively, and she did not slow down, bowing respectfully. "If something were to go wrong… if there was a flaw in our scientists' work… I could perhaps hope to survive. You could not. And we cannot lose you."

The Supreme's deliberation was long and his answer was so tardy that she felt dread creeping up her spine, wondering if she'd said something wrong, if she'd…

So be it.

She rose with another deliberate bow, standing straight in front of Bucky, who had watched the entire exchange with uninterested eyes, stoic and soundless.

You have also brought us Steve Rogers. A feat many thought unimaginable. I must again congratulate you, dearest girl. There are none like you upon this world.

"I am grateful, Supreme. Rogers will be reset as soon as he is healed, and he will join our ranks as a Winter Soldier."

And what of this one?

She glanced back at Bucky, who did not return her gaze, staring straight ahead. When she looked anew upon her leader, her face was as emotionless as Bucky's, completely blank.

"I would keep him by my side. For the time being."

Keep him by your side…

These were dangerous waters to thread through. She knew what the Supreme had thought of her, all those years ago… before their paths diverged as she barely aged across the decades, enhanced by the soldier serum and then the AIM gene, while he withered away into this paper-soft shell of a human, clinging to life with the energy of despair, awaiting day after day, against hope for that one thing that could save him from the cold, terrifying reality of death. He had never dared undergo the serum procedure, as it had killed nine out of ten soldiers they'd tried it on… the risks were tremendous, and she remembered her own terror, when she had been forced… when they'd dragged her off… she shoved those memories from her mind as screams seemed to echo to her across the ages.

"Only you and I know the codes necessary to activate and deactivate him. The codes they have not wiped from his memory." She said gently, reassuringly. "As long as Rogers has not been reset, there is a risk that he might break free, might come for his friend… I need him obedient and by my side in case that happens. If Barnes is reset now, nothing guarantees his friend won't be able to break through to him."

Those terrible eyes, sharper than they had any right to be for a man that was well over a hundred years old, fixed upon her with terrible intensity. The Sparrow held that gaze with a confidence she had not thought she could manage… she did not look away, did not flinch…

In the end, the Supreme conceded.

So be it.

She held back a sigh of relief.

Keep an eye on the procedure. Report back when the gene is stabilized and when Rogers is ready for reset. Now, leave. I grow weary.

She bowed dutifully and this time, Bucky mimicked her motions, before following her out as the ancient man's terrible gaze followed them as far as it could reach from the confines of his bed, burning holes in their backs.

(0)

The Sparrow sighed once the door to that room shut behind them, and she motioned to the nearby nurse that they could go back inside.

For a moment, she stayed silent, pensively standing in the concrete corridor, oblivious to her surroundings. In the end, she glanced back at Bucky, who shared her gaze dully, awaiting orders.

"Let's go."

They strode through the maze of a compound for what seemed like an eternity, changing floors several times and making their way deeper down… or higher up… it was hard to tell after a while, as there were no windows anywhere, no indication of where on earth they could be.

She guided them to the sleeping quarters, which consisted of several floors lined with unidentified doors, where she stopped in front of one of the entries decisively, staring at the tiny camera at eye height upon the wall next to it. It was blinking with a red light that suddenly flashed green, indicating it had recognized her and the door slid open soundlessly, revealing the quarters beyond.

It was simply furnished, painted in slight shades of white and blue, with a large bed covered in silk sheets and thick blankets against one wall, flanked by two little tables that each sported shaded lamps. Against the wall opposite the bed was an intricately carved desk of very pale wood, upon which lay a closed laptop and a pile of neatly arranged papers and pens. The far side of the room housed a commode made of the same sort of wood as the desk, its large doors ajar to reveal a mirror within and a handful of clothes folded and hanging within. The space was not very homely, but it was clean, organized and had a relaxing tone to it.

"Home sweet home." The Sparrow grumbled, but smiled wryly nonetheless as they stepped inside and the door slid shut behind them.

She turned gracefully to Bucky and met his calculated, calm gaze with her own, almost as if she was searching his face…

"I cannot release you from those codes." She said after a moment, still meeting his eyes. "I'm sorry. I wish you could believe that I am. However, I won't ask you to do anything you don't want to. I know you're in there and you can hear me, Bucky. I know you've always been conscious, to some degree, even when you were the Winter Soldier. You might deny it to yourself, but I know you were… that's what makes it so terrible. The memories of what you did… the people you killed, the horrors you caused. They could never wipe those from you. I don't even know if they tried… but those memories are there, always lurking, always ready to become clearer… not that you'd want them to." As she spoke, she came slowly closer, raising a careful hand to graze over the cold metal of his arm. "You might not remember it now, not with this different face that I wear, but you and I have met before. We worked together before… not that I could ever come closer to you, back then. You were more monster than man. If you search, it might even come back to you… but maybe you don't want it to… and maybe I understand…"

Her fingers caressed the cold metal of his arm pensively. "So here it is: you can either rest, which I'm guessing is something you really need right now, and I won't bother you. Or… well, as I said, I won't make you do anything you don't want to do. But I have to give your orders, because you answer to the Sparrow, so here they are: you cannot do me any harm and you cannot leave this room. Everything else… I leave to you."

Her eyes wandered up to find his cold gaze, searching it… her fingers remained in contact with the metal of his arm for a moment longer, as she wondered… no, as she hoped… she waited for him to move, to make a motion towards her… when nothing came, she let her hand drop to her side slowly and turned away towards the bathroom, lowering her head as she conceded at going there to take a shower, alone.

Before she could make a single step in that direction, she felt hard, cold metal snake around her wrist with unimaginable force, but also with very docile gentleness, forcing her to stop. She glanced back, surprized, and her eyes found the soldier's stormy ones, where she could make out a gale of emotions now, boiling like a hurricane. He stepped closer to her, his breath hitching ever so slightly as he pulled her to him and she let him, showing no resistance. His human hand slowly rose to find her face; he gently ran the back his fingers across her cheek, drawing a profound shiver of pleasure across her spine as she stared at him expectantly. He was standing so close to her that she could feel the warmth of his skin as it rolled off him, his soft breathing as it tickled her neck, the delicate whirring of the metal mechanism in his arm as it rose to cup her face, those cold fingers snaking deliciously into her hair, where they tangled ever so slightly, pulling at the locks just enough to draw a gasp from her parted lips.

Bucky took advantage of that gasp, pressing his mouth to hers gently, kissing her as his tongue traced over her lips slowly, asking to be let in… she obliged without hesitation, her own hands rushing up to tangle in his hair, pulling at it, betraying her urgency… his kiss deepened at her touch and he growled against her mouth, pushing his body up against hers.

She did not think anymore, backing up with him until he slammed her into the wall behind her, drawing a hungry, surprised gasp from her… he kissed her with renewed fury, silencing her at once, and she set upon removing his shirt, tugging at the material with an urgency she did not think she could display. Their kiss broke only long enough for her to pull the shirt over his head and toss it aside carelessly, before resuming with hungry passion. She felt a desperate sort of heat spread through her cheeks, rushing down her body to settle between her legs as she groaned against his mouth and pressed herself against him, feeling his own arousal. Her hands ran over his body, tracing the sharp muscles, nails digging into his warm skin as he growled against her mouth, the dangerous, low sound causing her breath to catch in her throat. His own hands had gone down to explore her, the cold of his metal fingers drawing lines that started and ended in shivers of pleasure. He grasped at her shoulders, traced over her breasts, pulled at her hips… she could feel the sheer strength of him, the unyielding power of his hands… the sensation made her whimper into their kiss.

His metal hand caught her shirt by the front and quite literally shredded it without effort. She did not seem to care, shrugging off the ruined clothing as her nails ran fiery lines over his human arm, scratching wolfishly into his back, his chest… she nipped at his lip playfully and he returned the favor, biting her just a tad too hard, forcing her genetically modified body to warm up as it healed the wound he left behind. She did not notice or care, her hands busy with his belt as she worked his pants from his hips, deft fingers slipping into his briefs to seize his hard member, drawing a hiss of pleasure from his hungry mouth as she wrapped her hand around him and squeezed him very gently.

Bucky returned the favor, undoing her front without ever breaking their increasingly violent kiss. While she stepped completely out of her trousers and panties, his own pants remained upon his hips, open in the front just enough to display his erect manhood, which she was still very gently running her curled fingers over, making him growl and groan with every languid stroke.

Acting almost desperately, groaning hungrily into their kisses, she hitched one leg around his waist and grasped his throbbing cock in one hand, guiding him to her soaking cunt. Bucky seized her other leg and swung it over his hip, pinning her against the wall as he grasped her roughly by the thighs and thrust almost violently into her, drawing a moaning cry from her parted, panting lips. She pulled her head back and howled deliciously as he filled her completely, merciless and rougher than he had ever been. Bucky took advantage of her exposed neck to bite down on the tender skin at the crook of her shoulder, causing her to spasm in pleasure as she dug her own nails fiercely into his bare back, leaving red marks all over his skin.

When he'd sheathed himself completely in her cunt, she grasped him around the shoulders, all nails out and digging harshly into his skin as he pounded into her wildly, hungrily, grunting with pleasure as she seethed in a desperate sort of pain laced with boundless desire. His motions were hard and animal, and he kept her pinned against the wall effortlessly, his human and his metal hand digging into her skin painfully as he held her put. She bowed her head and moaned as her pleasure rose with every enrage thrust, her back arching as the hunger between her thighs boiled steadily and she turned her face upwards, biting at her lips to silence the scream that was threatening to burst from her throat…

Bucky was watching her with those dangerous, stormy eyes, baring his teeth as his motions quickened and deepened, hitting her profoundly and driving her closer and closer to the edge with every thrust…

She could hold on no longer. She threw her head back and howled in pleasure as she came all around him, his continuing thrusts drawing out her pleasure wildly, forcing her squeeze his hips between her thighs as she screamed his name against his hard motions, completely giving in to her body's release.

His metal hand snaked up and locked into her hair, pulling slightly at the strands and drawing a delighted gasp from her parted, pouty lips. He forced her pleasure-clouded eyes to find his own and held them entrance in his stormy gaze as he growled like a rutting beast, slamming into her with a few final, demanding thrusts as he gave into his own pleasure and came into her, filling her pulsing cunt with his seed.

They were panting, sweat pearling over their bodies from the brief intensity of their mating.

"Moy bog…" She whispered against his mouth as he kept her pinned to wall. "You could be the end of me."

Was that the ghost of a smirk she saw flash across his face? Or was that just her imagination and orgasm-clouded brain acting up?

He let her down slowly, almost gently, and she pulled him out of her with a groan that betrayed how much she loved the feeling of him within her. With nothing more than a tired sigh, she grasped him by the hand and slowly guided him to the bathroom, glad to be able to enjoy that shower with someone else, after all.

(0)

Yay managed to get a bit of fun action in there!

Tell me what you think, I hope you guys are enjoying yourselves. Just so you know, I`m also working on another, new Avengers fic, one set in a dark AU. So keep your eyes peeled, it might be coming online sometime in the near future!

As always, please review, let me know how you like the story!