Karina, just wait and see! Tensions are mounting!
LunarFairyPrincess1989, hello and welcome to the story! Hope you kept on reading. We are a few chapters away from the end, and no worries, I will complete this story. Have fun and let me know what you think!
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Night found her unable to sleep. They'd showered and crawled into the soft, silk sheets of her large bed, and while Bucky laid passively beside her until his breath evened out, signifying he'd fallen asleep, she stayed awake, staring up at the ceiling. Time passed and she found herself shifting to her side in order to be able to better observe the sleeping soldier that lay next to her, lost in oblivion. With gentle fingers, she traced his bare, human arm, running over the sharp bulk of his muscles, over the soft curve of his warm skin. She found herself remembering a time long past, when the Winter Soldier program was in its debut and HYDRA was still a force to be reckoned with.
She found herself remembering that soldier the organisation had rescued from a frozen crevice, a survivor of the group that had assaulted the train transporting Zola, intent on kidnapping HYDRA's great mind. The enemy had succeeded, but HYDRA had not left empty-handed: they'd acquired the very first asset of the Winter Soldier program, a stout young man that they promptly mutated with the serum they'd been developing, 'fixing' his shattered arm by replacing it with one of metal.
She'd been there, all those years ago. She'd been there because she was supposed to be the next agent to receive that serum, after this soldier survived. If this soldier survived.
She remembered the terror she'd felt. She'd been an exemplary agent for the organisation, the product of years of training and conditioning, a perfected weapon that could lie, kill, manipulate and infiltrate. They saw the serum as a reward for her, as a gift to bestow upon all the hard work she'd done for them…
She saw it as a death sentence. She saw it for what it was: the organisation's carelessness about her existence, their singular goal of acquiring newer and better assets, no matter the lives that were wasted or lost in the process. They cared not if she lived. Even the Supreme, who back then was not their leader yet, had shown no concern for her fears and resistance. No matter that he'd fawned over her and courted her, when the time came to inject her with that serum, which had a 90% mortality rate, he ignored her screams.
They all did.
When she emerged from the mutation alive, she found that her heart had hardened. Sometime during her terror and agony, it had turned to stone from hatred and determination.
She'd always been a weapon. That day she became death.
The Winter Soldier emerged as she had, but his own mind had been hardened by the gruelling reset he'd been subjected to. Shattered into a thousand pieces before being rebuilt to serve HYDRA, he was more machine than man, his eyes barren and his soul evaporated. She'd always been intrigued by him… by who he was and who he had become, but their paths diverged quickly enough as they received different missions that sent them aeons away from one another. They worked together for a single mission, one which had him tasked to defend her with his life, a feat he took to heart: he slaughtered her opposition with vehement violence and allowed her to achieve her goal within record time. Unbeknown to her at that time, the future Supreme had personally integrated codes into this soldier that assured him that only he and she would have control over him if things were to somehow go awry. He was a very ambitious man: he was not about to let the other HYDRA leaders undermine him in any manner. Assuming that she herself would follow him on whatever path he chose, he made sure that Barnes was programmed to serve them should the need arise.
She'd thought little of Bucky after that. The Winter Soldier program flourished, and new agents were created. Some had been put under cryogenic sleep, while others remained active, working for the organisation as it rose steadily to power…
Until it collapsed. HYDRA had always been met with violent opposition, but after years of sleeping and infiltrating, they found themselves fatally undermined as they pushed their final assault and they lost it all in the process… the vast majority of the organisation had set root within SHIELD, and as it lost its footing there, it also lost all its agents and advantages. Thankfully, the Supreme was being held at HYDRA's last auxiliary location, along with a certain amount of its workers and a few remaining agents who, upon hearing about the fiasco at the Triskelion, immediately awoke the Winter Soldiers in Svalbard to assure their protection while they set about on rebuilding the fallen administration. She'd been amongst the seven other soldiers held under cryo sleep in Svalbard, and was roused to assist HYDRA in its time of need.
She'd been out for about ten years, so she had missed a lot of what had happened, mainly with the arrival of the Avengers and the knowledge that they were not quite alone in the universe. She'd of course spent a few years in and out of cryogenic sleep before the present time, because even if she aged at a reduced rate, HYDRA had seen it as a waste of her life for her to remain active if they had no immediate use for her. As she saw it, they wanted to maximise their investment. That became even more apparent when they were approached by one Aldrich Killian, sometime before her final cryo sleep. He was a scientist that was working on a new, better sort of enhancing serum that could apparently regenerate the user and grant them increased powers, rending them into nearly indestructible machines.
Of course, they'd thrown her under the wheels for that experiment too. This time, she did not plead or beg to be spared. She went with it and, again, miraculously survived.
However, it became rapidly apparent that this new genetic modification, dubbed the AIM gene, was nowhere near as stable as the serum had been, and it had… very adverse effects when it could not be contained.
They lost two soldiers in monumental explosions, and many other personnel in the blast radius. At this point, the Supreme ordered her and the seven other Winter Soldiers, all of them enhanced by the AIM gene, to be returned to cryogenic sleep until such a time as they were absolutely needed, or the gene could be stabilised.
So, she'd spent ten years asleep in Svalbard and had only been woken after the failed launch at the Triskelion.
She found that her heart had in no manner softened in all that time.
What was left of HYDRA set upon rebuilding itself and its primary focus became to stabilise the AIM gene, a feat they could not count on anyone else to achieve, seeing as its original creator had been killed by Tony Stark. She liked to believe that this focus on the gene was motivated by the organisation's desire to stabilise and protect its last few soldiers, but she did not fool herself: she knew that it was primarily so that the Supreme could emerge from his dying form and stand at their lead again.
Musing, she found her eyes slowly drooping, her hand splayed upon Bucky's chest, her warm fingers lost in the echo of his beating heart and rising breath.
The touch helped soothe her, and she finally drifted off into a dreamless slumber.
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The following day found them wasting time in the facility. She brought them to the common cafeteria to get their meals, oblivious to the glances sent their way as everyone they encountered could not help but stare at this murderous duo… they were almost the stuff of legends, amongst these halls.
Deva dropped by as they were finishing their breakfast to announce that Wakanda had finally recovered from their cybernetic assault and were out for blood. She seemed giddy at the news and could not be blamed for it: she was, after all, the one who designed and wrote the program that had taken down the infamous African country. Deva was not only a vicious, trained and enhanced soldier; she was also an extremely clever software programmer that worked with HYDRA's other computer engineers to write malware and hack their targets. She left them with the news that while Wakanda was indeed searching for them, it would be nigh impossible for them to find or track them, at least for a fairly comfortable amount of time. They were safe, for now.
They later joined Kiev and Roan in the training rooms, where they were sparring with one another. Both soldiers openly admitted that they were curious to see if they could take on Bucky, him being unenhanced with the AIM gene.
"You two do know that the AIM gene literally does nothing more for us than help us regenerate from fatal wounds, right?" She asked, amused. "It's the serum that gives us superhuman abilities…"
"Yeah, but you know…" Roan shrugged, grinning wolfishly. "Still wanna know if I'm a match for the Winter Soldier."
She rolled her eyes. "I won't make you do this if you don't want to." She told Bucky placidly, watching him carefully. The stoic soldier simply took a step forward, his vibranium arm whirring as his fist clenched slowly, tightly. His hard eyes were fixed upon Roan, but she thought she saw a glimpse of amusement beneath the ferocity. She shrugged, raising a brow. "So be it. Just don't kill him."
She and Kiev stepped back, and not a moment too soon: Roan launched himself at Bucky, who blocked his first blow almost effortlessly.
The ensuing fight allowed her to fully appreciate the wild grace with which Bucky fought, his every motion sleek and trained, as though he'd been taught all this by heart. She'd never really gotten a chance to see him in action while she herself was unthreatened: this gave her a pleasant view upon the soldier's hard body as it moved as fluidly as that of a predator, his responding blows terrible and exact. She found her breath hitching slightly in her throat as she watched him move, as she followed his motions with avid interest, clenching her jaws when he took a blow and fighting with a smile when he responded in kind.
Within five minutes, Roan had to admit himself beat when he found himself lying with his face pressed against the floor, Bucky's knee crushing him there on the back of his neck. Roan had one of his arms locked in Bucky's metal grip, twisted painfully behind his back. It took a few seconds for him to concede his defeat, but he did so jovially, slamming a hand repeatedly into the ground until he was released.
Their next stop was the tiny hospital wing, where they stopped by one of the secured rooms, two armed guards standing vigil in front of the reinforced door. It was no hassle for a nurse to rapidly unlock said door as a rushing doctor quickly ran over his diagnostic with her: it seemed everyone here was eager to please the Sparrow, who remained stoic all the while, barely acknowledging anyone. Whether it was part of an act, or her very natural manner of behaving, it was impossible to tell.
"He'll be making a full recovery within the next few days." The doctor assured, nodding sagely, as they entered the small, white room. "The version of the serum he's been augmented with is slightly different from ours, in the sense that it is just a hint more effective in all aspects. But only minimally so…"
The Sparrow nodded absently, staring without emotion at the blonde soldier that was securely maintained on the hospital bed, arms and legs tightly bound by vibranium cuffs, out of which he had no hope of escaping. He was connected to machines that monitored his vital signs, one of which delivered a steady drip of saline solution through a needle in his arm. Steve was staring right back at her, his face slightly less bruised today, but his eyes having lost none of their fury.
"Come to gloat?" He all but snarled, glancing helplessly at his best friend, who did not even acknowledge him. "You can leave. I've nothing to say to you."
She stepped closer to the bed, eyeing him carefully.
"Are you mad I deceived you, or that I have Barnes under my control?" She asked coolly, brow furrowing.
Steve growled. "Fuck off."
Her mouth twisted into an unhappy grimace. "Don't beat yourself up, Steve. I told you this before and I'll take a moment to repeat it: I've been deceiving people like this for over seventy years. No one has ever seen me coming. Never. It's not your fault you fell for it."
He looked away, boiling with fury, his fists clenching unhappily in their indestructible cuffs.
When she saw he would say nothing more, she turned her eyes to the doctor.
"Did you speak with the team working on the genetic stabilisation?"
"Yes, m'am!"
"How long until it's done?"
He paused. "Not long, I recon. They've gone through all the data overnight and are running simulations. It is a matter of days, perhaps hours, until they find the right pathway."
She nodded sagely. "Good. The instant it is ready for testing, you are to find me. I will be the first to be put through the process, as per the Supreme's orders. No matter the time of day or night, you find me. Understood?"
"Yes m'am!"
"Make sure all of Hydra's chief personnel are on site, too. They'll want to witness the procedure."
"Understood. Hail Hydra!"
"Hail Hydra."
Without another word, she turned tail and left the room, Bucky following obediently behind her, neither so much as glancing at the furious blonde that bitterly watched them go from his confined bed.
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On the following day, The Sparrow herself paid a visit to the team working on the gene stabilisation. Ever stoic, she toured the lab as eager scientists explained their findings to her in rapid, hushed tones, glancing worriedly at the large, brooding Winter Soldier that shadowed her every step, his emotionless face betraying no thoughts. From what she understood, the data she'd brought them was immeasurably important, but there was a lot of information to comb through and pieces to put together. The scope of it was that Wakanda had applied the technology to start reversing genetic diseases and cancers, wishing to stabilise the DNA sequences that were at the root of the problem. It was now a question of taking their studies and results and applying them to the AIM modification, which had the entire scientific team working around the clock since she'd arrived. Their results were promising: one test had maintained the genetic stability for about two hours before crumbling. They were running modifications on that particular instance ever since, getting closer and closer to a final product.
She was pleased, but also worried: it was impossible to ignore the fact that Wakanda was probably hard at work trying to find them. Even if she'd given them Shuri back, she'd caused an irreparable affront to the country by stealing from them and kidnapping both Rogers and Barnes. There was no coming back from that. She could only pray that everything here went smoothly and they could wrap everything up before Wakanda found them… she refused to let a false sense of security lull her, as it tended to do to those around here : she knew that HYDRA was not what it had once been, and it was far from invincible. They could be found… it was a matter of time before that happened…
She could only pray, for now.
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When the fatal hour finally arrived, it did so with insistent knocking at her chamber door, at two in the morning.
The Sparrow was up at once, keen and sharp as ever, sliding out from the covers of her bed, wearing nothing at all as she ripped herself from Bucky's warm frame, where she'd been dosing uneasily. The Winter Soldier followed her lead with identical speed, completely unperturbed by the fact that he'd just risen from deep slumber. He too wore nothing, and obediently slunk back into the safety of the room's shadows as she silently gestured him to stay out of sight.
She activated the door to her room, and it slid open to reveal Kiev, who remained professionally composed upon the sight of his naked superior.
"They're ready." His voice betrayed nothing, and his eyes were strangely dull.
"Is everyone there?"
Kiev nodded. "They're waking the generals as we speak. Deva and Roan had to leave earlier this night because Wakandan soldiers were zeroing in on our position: they'll lead them away but should be back within the day."
"Good. Go. I'll meet you there."
"Hail Hydra."
"Hail Hydra." She agreed dully.
The soldier saluted her stiffly, before turning tail and marching off into the white corridor.
The Sparrow grimaced as she shut the door, plunging them into the darkness of her room once more.
"They reset Kiev…" She grumbled lowly, more to herself than anything. "Must be planning on sending him off on a mission as soon as he's through the procedure as well…" Her eyes, ever keen in the darkness, found Bucky. "Get dressed. We have work to do."
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The laboratory was in utter chaos. Researchers and their assistants were running left, right and centre, double and triple checking every instance, every dose, every piece of equipment as they went. Their voices rose and fell in unsynchronized cacophony, causing the Sparrow to wince upon entering the busy room.
Several decorated men of importance stood on the outskirts of all the action, following it with crisp, serious faces. She let her icy gaze fly over those present and noted with some satisfaction that every high-ranked leader of the remaining HYDRA organisation was present, save for the Supreme himself. She easily spotted the general who had greeted her when she'd returned with Barnes and Rogers and she did not fail to note the ugly, contrived look he sent her way. There was no love lost between them.
She did not waste time or exchange pleasantries with the group of men, walking instead towards the centre of the room, where a coffin-like contraption stood, wired to the surrounding machines and devices that surrounded it. Light shone dangerously over the sleek metal container, sending a shiver down her spine. She tried not to think, for the umpteenth time, how she was once again risking her life for the likes of men like those behind her. Vaguely, she could remember the day when they'd dragged her, screaming and pleading, to a similar contraption, where she was imbued with the soldier serum.
At least this time she was walking into this willingly, head held high and no fear in her heart.
A mousy scientist approached her warily, glancing at Bucky, who still towered over her shoulder. "Black Sparrow… I… we… we're ready to begin, if you are."
She nodded encouragingly at him.
"If you'll just remove your clothing and step into the chamber…"
Taking a very deep breath, she nodded. But before she started stripping in front of this roomful of avid men, she turned to Bucky and caught his gaze.
"When that thing opens up again... if I'm alive… if it worked… I want you at my side at once. Don't let anyone stop you from getting to me. Understood?"
Her voice did not tremble, did not betray her tension… she was glad of it.
Bucky nodded slowly, his green eyes searching her, all of a sudden… was that a crease of confusion, marring the space between his brows? She ignored it, and turned back towards the ominous coffin, exhaling slowly.
She stepped towards it and pulled off her long-sleeved shirt, revealing the training bra underneath. Her pants went as well, leaving her in skin-hugging shorts that did not cover much of her long, powerful legs. She removed nothing else, knowing very well that it was not necessary… the machine needed access to her arms and legs mostly, in order to inject whatever serum the scientists had concocted. Gingerly, she slipped into the cool interior of the chamber, wincing as the cold metal found her bare flesh. Within herself, she could feel her genetic power awakening, the warmth of it rising across her skin. For once, she did not fear its sudden emergence, hoping against hope that within the next few minutes, she could at long last be rid of the constant, looming possibility that she might explode.
Closing her eyes as the doctors and scientists flooded her, connecting tubes and wires and preparing needles, she held her jaw shut tightly and prayed that she could finally be returned to a state of control… that she could return to belonging to herself, and no one else.
That she could, at long last, take back what had been taken from her, all those years ago.
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On this cliffhanger I leave you! Please review my friends; let me know what you think!
I have a long week of exams coming up, but should be back with a fresh chapter after that! Take care and happy holidays to all!