Furnace
2014. Berlin, Germany.
Ulric Schmidt whimpered as both the Winter Soldier and Riri hefted him inside the Schmidt mansion, securely tying him to a chair in the basement. The basement turned out to be a small HYDRA bunker, which ran on its own concealed power grid. It would be impossible to trace any signal coming out of it, at least according to Riri. He wasn't a tech wizard, never was. He just had to take her word for it.
While Riri searched the computers for anything valuable, the Soldier stood in front of Ulric, tapping a knife on his knee. Eyes so wide that you could see the whites all around, Ulric kept his eyes on that knife, waiting for the Soldier's next move.
His whimpers grew louder as the Soldier reached for the gag, slowly pulling it out.
"Tell us how to get into your computer."
Ulric easily complied, supplying all the necessary passwords. Riri called him over.
"They completely bastardized my device. It was supposed to help with communication, to bring people closer together. Not this."
The Winter Soldier stared over her shoulder. Schematics detailing a small implantable chip unfurled in front of him.
"It was supposed to be an interface, implanted in your central nervous system. It would replace your phone, computer. It could provide a new mode of communication for the ordinary use or in the medical field. Like you could store memories, so that say if you get dementia, you could always look back at them. But they're using it to upload brainwashing programs. A way to remotely control anyone with a touch of a button."
The Winter Soldier straightened. A way for HYDRA to brainwash remotely. They could control him with a remote, like some toy car. Rage filled him, burning hot in his chest. He glared at the girl beside him. How could she make something like this? What kind of mind could possibly concoct something that could be used for such a purpose?
Project Clairvoyant could not go on any further. But it would still live on in the minds of those that created it. The only way it would truly not be a threat, would be to kill the minds that created it.
He eyed Riri, the woman too consumed with the modifications the HYDRA scientists had made to notice. She cursed, eyes gleaming wetly. She ran a hand over her curly hair.
Rising slowly, the Winter Soldier prowled forward to their prisoner. He lifted him up by his neck, his feet barely touching the ground.
"Where do they have the prototype device?"
The man grunted and choked for air under his hand. He squeezed harder. Scum like this shouldn't be living. They didn't deserve to draw breath.
Mission. Kill. Mission. Kill. The words from past missions overlapped with one another, hissing in various languages. Russian. German. English.
Bucky. Don't.
A new voice. A different one.
The blue-eyed ghost hovered by Ulric's shoulder, shadows turning to smoke along their shoulders. The Soldier couldn't identify their voice; it was a mix of male and female, like many voices layered over on top of each other.
"Hey! Don't kill him! We need him!" Riri raced towards him.
He looked back to the blue-eyed ghost. But they were gone. He let Schmidt go. The man gasped, his throat a blotchy red from his grip.
Riri eyed him, ready to spring into action in case he went berserk again. Though even if she did intervene, it wouldn't stop the Soldier from killing Schmidt where he stood.
Sighing, she returned to the computer.
"Oh! I got it!"
The Soldier returned to her side, his hand gripping the back of her chair. A location of an underground facility. In the Austrian Alps.
Where Bucky Barnes had been taken as a POW.
The Soldier was so immersed in the sudden flux of memories, tainted with pain and fear, that he didn't notice the noises at first. Then they registered. Wet, choking noises. He whirled.
But it was too late. Schmidt laid back limp in his chair, foam collecting between his lips. Cyanide.
"You better have everything we need."
"That and more," Riri snipped back, irritated at the threat lurking in the Soldier's words. She stilled as she stared at something on screen.
"We need to get out. Now."
The Soldier didn't hesitate. Tucking Riri under one arm, he sprinted up the stairs, and out of the mansion. Jumping into Schmidt's Lamborghini, they peeled off.
And it was a good thing they got out when they did. A missile was a distant comet in the sky. Heading straight for the mansion.
…..
2014. Berlin, Germany.
"I'm not going to tell you anything," Dr. Anders laughed.
The girl, Miriam, sighed. Her face settled into a hard mask before she grabbed the doctor by the neck, lifting her off her feet. The woman's eyes widened, grasping at the startlingly strong grip. The two men were too shocked to respond right away, until Steve reached for her.
But even Steve's grip couldn't break the girl's attack. She pushed him away, still maintaining her hold on the scientist.
"Are you ready to talk now?"
Dr. Anders frantically nodded, clawing desperately at the offending hand around her throat. Miriam dropped her.
The older woman clutched at her throat, gasping for air in loud, croaking pulls.
"Who are you?" she growled.
"I'm surprised you don't already know, Dr. Anders. But that doesn't matter. Tell us why two of your brightest students disappeared."
"Miss Williams created a device. A chip that would act as an interface to the digital world around us. It would linked with the central nervous system. It's a revolutionary idea. But she wanted to use it for the good of the world. She did not see the true potential of the device. But we did."
"And what is this true potential?"
"To control any of HYDRA's enemies with this device. Through the chip, we can manipulate memories, perceptions. We can command agents around the world simultaneously to bring to life HYDRA's mission: order."
"Brainwashing. That's why Bucky wants it," Steve muttered to himself.
"Ah. Mr. Barnes. One of our finest weapons. Though he proved to be a bit unruly. Like a dog, he required several punishments to adjust such behaviour."
Steve tried to control his breathing. Talking about his best friend, one of the few people still living that meant so much to him, like he was some animal.
Dr. Anders suddenly jerked towards Miriam. "That's why you are interested in it. I should have known that –"
Miriam raised her hand. A yellow blast shot from her hand into Dr. Anders' chest. The woman collapsed onto the floor.
"What did you do?" Steve demanded, stalking towards her. Miriam stood her ground.
"I just knocked her out, relax."
Sam studied her, arms crossed over his chest. "Why did she know who you were?"
The two men tensed. Miriam held up her hands.
"Don't worry. We're on the same side."
"Why are you interested in this?"
"Because I'm like your friend. I was controlled by HYDRA too. To be their assassin."
"How did you get out?"
"I got out a long time ago. It took a while for some of the brainwashing to fade. But whatever they put me through, it wasn't as intense as what they put your friend through. They really wanted to hold onto him. Especially when they found out you were alive."
"Seems like you're stronger than both of us. Why wouldn't they want to keep you?"
"I might be technically stronger. But don't forget the symbolism of it. I'm just a random girl. But Bucky Barnes, he is someone. A Howling Commando. A hero. You know how HYDRA is."
HYDRA was known for their grandiose plans. Image was everything.
"So will you accept my help?"
She held out a hand.
"Is Miriam your real name?"
She smiled sadly. "No. It's my mother's. I'm Jessica. Jessica Drew."
…..
2014. Washington, DC.
He sat in the chair. Scientists immediately swarmed him, checking for any damage. One immediately started on his damaged metal arm, sparks flying up as he fixed the wiring.
Bucky. Bucky. Bucky.
The word echoed in his ears, over and over and over. The man on the bridge. He had called him that. His face had been slack with shock, all the fight drained from his body. The Soldier couldn't understand it. Who was this Bucky?
An image floated into his mind. The same man, clutching the side of a train. He reached out a gloved hand, as a winter wind pulled at them. He was reaching out for the man, as he clutched a rusted rail. But the winter wind was too strong, and the rail too weak. With a groan, the rail let go under his weight, dropping him.
Another flash. The snow was cold. Oh so cold. He could feel himself fading away. Soon, he'd be dead. Please let it be soon.
Then he wasn't in the snow. Instead he was on an operating table. He lifted his hands. One was still flesh. The other, a monstrosity of gray metal. A deep rage burned in his chest. What did they do?
"You will be the new fist of HYDRA."
Zola's words echoed in his ears as the doctors studied him. They wanted him to be a weapon. Against the Allies. Against the Howling Commandos. Against Steve.
The rage burned hotter. There was no way in hell that was going to happen. The anger warmed him like a furnace inside, burning away the meager remnants of the ineffective sedative. The metal hand seized the throat of a doctor. He could feel the man's windpipe closing under his grip. He squeezed tighter.
Zola emerged, withdrawing an needle from the depths of his lab coat. Before he could react in time, it slammed down into his chest, the plunger pushing more sedatives into his blood.
The rage woke again as two men pushed him into a chamber.
"Put him on ice," Zola ordered.
No. He had to get out. He needed to tell everyone that he was alive. He raised his metal hand, just as ice raced towards him, the brutal grip of winter grabbing hold of him once again.
He sucked a breath as he dropped suddenly out of the deluge of memories. The doctor reached for him again, his tools still sparking with electricity. That strange ancient rage in his chest opened its eye, like a dragon waking from a long slumber. Seizing the scientist, he threw him to the ground. A half dozen clicks greeted him as the guards aimed their guns at him.
Bucky. The man's face, his target, flashed behind his eyes. Who was he? And why had he been on a train with him? Was it the man called Steve from that memory?
"Mission report."
The words seemed to come from far away. What was real? Or was this some dream?
"Mission report now."
The blow came from nowhere, a hard cuff to the jaw. The pain pierced the fog over his mind. He straightened.
"The man on the bridge. Who was he?" the words came out of his mouth before he could even think.
Pierce considered him, drawing up a stool. "You met him earlier this week on another assignment."
That. That was true. He was the man that was able to pursue him after he killed the target in the apartment complex. But Pierce, he wasn't telling the whole truth. He knew it.
"I knew him," the Soldier insisted. Pierce had to tell him more. He knew that he was hiding how he truly knew the target.
Pierce settled fully on the stool across from him, ducking his head to make sure he had the Soldier's undivided attention.
"Your work has been a gift to mankind. You shaped the century."
All pretty words and lies. He needed to know the goddamn truth. The rage inside him writhed in confusion.
"And I need you to do it one more time. Society's at a tipping point between order and chaos. And tomorrow morning, we're going to give it a push. But, if you don't do your part, I can't do mine."
Comply. Comply. Comply. Bucky. Bucky. Bucky. The words competed for dominance in his brain.
"And HYDRA can't give the world the freedom it deserves."
He tilted his head, considering. Blue eyes. Same as… same as the ghost. He could feel its presence hovering over him. Begging him to remember. To do something.
But it took everything in him to hold on to this thread of lost memories.
"But I knew him."
Pierce sat back, sighing through his nose. He was disappointed. Disappointed with him. He stood.
"Prep him."
"But he's been out of cryo freeze too long."
"Then wipe him and start over."
Wipe him. Start over. The words clanged together loudly. No. He couldn't. He couldn't lose the memories. The blue-eyed ghost reached for him, its shadowy hand reaching for his shoulder.
No. No. He couldn't let them do this.
Bucky. Comply. Bucky. Comply. Comply. Comply.
The scientists went to the machines. One held out the mouthpiece. The mouthpiece that prevented him from breaking his own teeth.
Comply. Comply.
He knew it would be shorter if he complied. If he was biddable. He opened his mouth, letting the man position it over his teeth. The machine encircled its cold arms around his skin, pinning him in place. He watched as the clamps descended towards him, fastening over his face.
"Bucky," the ghost whispered. Those damned eyes were filled with tears.
Then he screamed, and screamed and screamed. Until he saw nothing at all.
….
As soon as they took me out of the cryo chamber, they would always drag me out. The freezing weakened me, and not only physically. I could feel this weight on my mind. Like something was fighting to burst through this icy wall.
But as soon as I could punch one crack in that wall, they would shove me into the chair. The ghost would always accompany me, the one constant connection to my past that never seemed to go away.
But the machine and the words would always make them go away. And I would wake up. Feeling clearer as they delivered my orders.
But no matter what, there was a sense of loss. Of sadness. Of an ache so deep nothing seemed to be able to heal it. And I never had an idea of what I had lost.
That made it hurt even more.
Excerpt from Bucky Barnes' journals. Seized as evidence by the Anti-Terrorism Task Force in the Vienna Bombing. 2016.