A/N:
Hi people! Thank you so much for sticking with me so far and a giant HELLO! To the new readers who have added my fanfic to their reading list! I really appreciate every follower and every review, I want to keep this short and sweet so I hope you enjoy Chapter 11 - oh and I just saw Captain Marvel - 0H MY GODDESS. Chills guys, chills. ENJOY! :)
~Ladieesailor
CHAPTER 11
.*.
"Yeah well tell that to the SWAT team now positioned at the entrance to my Tower."
.*.
Bucky perched with slight discomfort on the chair by Izzy's bedside, chewing his thumb nail as he watched her sleeping form. He had woken during the night in the cusps of a nightmare, and rather than go back to sleep, he had decided to sit and watch over her instead. She looked so peaceful tangled amongst the bed sheets, her nose twitching every so often in her dreams as if she were smelling something rather disgusting - the overall look was rather adorable he thought to himself. He was desperate to reach out and touch her, to feel her skin against his own, but he didn't want to wake her up – so he would just have to be content with watching over her from a distance.
"Beautiful, isn't she."
He launched himself out of the chair, arm's raised as he scanned the room for the source of the voice, but as he turned the room turned with him and slowly Izzy and her bedroom disappeared altogether.
"No." he groaned as he shut his eyes and clasped his head between his hands; he wasn't awake at all, he had been dreaming the whole time, and it was about to turn into a nightmare. He desperately scanned the concrete room that he had grown so accustomed too – the hooded figure had to be here somewhere - this was where the nightmares always happened. A clattering in front him drew his attention and he turned to find the figure standing before him. When Bucky went to move forward, he was surprised to find his hands were now chained to the floor, stopping him in his tracks.
"I have been busy Sergeant Barnes." The hooded figure drawled. "I have everything I need to make you the weapon you were born to be!" The level of excitement in the figure's voice matched Bucky's terror.
"This is just a dream." he squeezed his eyes shut. He had never been self-aware in a nightmare before and it terrified him, there had to be a way to wake himself up.
"It's no use Sergeant Barnes, you're all mine now." At the figure's words Bucky heard the door behind him open.
"This is just a dream. This is just a dream." He kept on muttering, nothing was going to distract him - he had to think of a way to wake himself, or at least hope that he was causing a scene in reality and Izzy would stick a dart in him.
"Bucky?"
He groaned inwardly. Not her - Not Izzy. He admonished himself for thinking about her, of course his mind would bring her into the nightmare.
"Bucky it's okay, open your eye's." He felt a hand caress his cheek but he ignored it, it was more mind games.
"You don't have to suffer anymore, none of us do." Steve's voice echoed around the room as a hand was placed on his shoulder.
"This is just a dream." He repeated once more, yanking at the chains that bonded him to the floor.
"No more torturing you or your friends, we have all the answer's now Bucko, all you have to do is sit there and listen." There was no touch, but Tony's voice was unmistakable.
"Желание."
Bucky's eyes flew open as he heard Izzy speak the first activation word. She was stood before him, a smile so innocent on her face that his heart broke for her.
"Ржавый." He heard Steve taunt from behind him, Bucky went to turn but the chains tightened the more he fought them, pulling him down onto his knees. He looked around in desperation for the hooded figure but he was no where to be seen, instead, his voice echoed throughout the room.
"I only needed the last word from the Red Book, turns out you do remember it dear old Bucky – and since this is your own nightmare, if you know it, then I know it."
"Семнадцать." Tony's voice echoed from the right, the three of them had formed a triangle around him.
"No." he focused on Izzy, she had taken a step towards him, the red book he had grown to fear and hate held open in her hands. "Iz, please don't do this."
"Рассвет." everything else in the room faded to black, it was just him, Iz and the book. It couldn't be possible, he never remembered the trigger words, yet as she spoke he knew what was coming next. He knew his nightmares had turned him before, but in the real word the winter soldier took control whilst he was still in his nightmare, and waking himself up usually got rid of him. If all the trigger words were said in this nightmare, could that physically wake him up as the Winter Soldier? He didn't plan to let it get that far. He had broken these chains before, and he would do it again. This wasn't the real Iz - if he had to harm her he would.
With a mighty roar he put all of his strength into forcing his arms up and out in a hopeful attempt to break the cuffs.
"Печь."
He ignored her as he kept yanking upwards, his wrists bloodied from the metal digging into his skin, but he didn't care, he had to get out of them.
"Девять"
He felt the floor crack beneath him as he gave another almighty yank.
"Доброкачественный"
The left chain snapped. Yes! A few more yanks and he should be free. He screamed to try and block out the words, but her voice always got through to him, it was no use.
"Возвращение на родину"
The chains broke from the floor below him, not wasting any time he sprinted straight for Izzy.
"Один" she uttered just as his body collided with hers. She didn't even fight as he pinned her to the floor and covered her mouth, stopping her from speaking.
As he looked around the room for anything to help him he felt his body go rigid. A sharp jag sneered his arm, he recognized this feeling from his last nightmare.
"Thank god." He muttered aloud, he must have finally been causing a commotion in the real world if they had used the darts on him. He slumped to the side, his hands falling away from Izzy's mouth. His body numbed and his world turned dark - for once he welcomed it, he had fought the nightmare and won, there would be no Winter Soldier today. But then he heard it, faintly in the back of his mind.
Грузовой.
o.0.o
"Do you think one is enough?" Isabelle hovered over the now still Bucky, who moments before had been flailing as he screamed, catching the attention of the Avengers upstairs. She had just hit him with the dart as Steve came crashing through the door.
"Did you hit him with the whole dart?" she watched as Steve checked Bucky's pulse, when he was satisfied he turned back towards her. "Well?"
She held the dart up in front of her, half the liquid still in it. "He hadn't turned, he was just having a nightmare… I didn't want to hit him with too much." Steve nodded but she could tell he didn't approve of the half dose.
"Well lets get him in the chair and cuffed before he wakes up." Steve went to move Bucky but Isabelle shot her hand out, stopping him.
"Just let him lay where he is, you said he hasn't woken up from these darts once as the Winter Soldier so why subject him to the humility of being restrained surrounded by friends." She dared Steve to argue with a furtive look, but once again he only nodded, the displeasure clear on his face.
"What the hell is he lying there for?!" Isabelle swiveled on the balls of her feet to see Tony standing in the doorway, the specialized cuffs for Bucky in his hand. "We don't know how he's going to wake up-"
"As I just said to Steve, he hasn't woken up from your darts once as the Winter Soldier so why would it start now?" she shuffled closer to Bucky, placing a protective hand on his thigh as she realized she was outnumbered. She understood they were looking to protect Bucky from himself, but she didn't see it that way anymore - she wanted to protect him, but she wanted to give him dignity whilst they done it - for too long he had never been afforded it.
"My tower, my rules." Tony pointed to the chair in the corner of her room. "Move him now Steve – not up for negotiation."
Sighing, Isabelle squeezed Bucky's leg once before stepping to the side. "Fine, but I'm cuffing him, you done it too tight last time." she hovered close by as Steve shifted him with ease. Taking the cuffs off Tony she gently placed them round Bucky's waiting wrists, leaving them loose enough not to dig into him.
Natasha and Clint came barreling through the door, the look on Natasha's face alarmed Isabelle as she watched her tap profusely on one of Tony's many tablets.
"Oh, nice of you guys to finally show up and help." Tony rolled his eyes at them.
"We got bigger problems, the King of Wakanda has just been assassinated." Natasha flipped the tablet around to show them all the CCTV footage of a black SUV being tailed by a figure on a motorcycle. Isabelle grimaced as a hail of bullets caused the SUV to crash against a roadside barrier, the obscure figure on the motorbike pulled up beside the car and fired sporadically into the crashed vehicle before turning and smiling at the CCTV camera. Her heart jumped into her throat as she recognized the face.
"No – NO! that's impossible he's been here all night!" she protested, glancing helplessly between Steve and Tony. "I swear, he hasn't moved I would have known."
"Let's just confirm that shall we?" Tony snatched the tablet from Natasha and ran his finger across the screen, directing the video footage to screen into the middle of the room before them all. Isabelle didn't even blink as she watched the footage of her and Bucky's passionate night played at speed before the rest of the Avengers. Steve coughed from clear discomfort and Natasha and Clint had the decency to look away, but Tony kept scrolling until the timer on the camera caught up with the current time and date and focused on them all surrounding a prone Bucky. She let out a breath she didn't even know she was holding, if anyone came for Bucky they had the evidence that he hadn't moved from her room.
"It's Sokolov, its got to be." Natasha spat. "If he can fashion the skin of a dead man's hand to his own then he is certainly capable of creating something like this."
"Yeah well tell that to the SWAT team now positioned at the entrance to my Tower." Tony turned the screen around once more so that they could all see the faint outlines of eight figures in the morning darkness.
"We can deal with them, come on Nat." Clint tapped Natasha's arm and signaled towards the door. "and bring that fancy tablet with you so we can show them the proof."
"It's gonna be okay Iz." Natasha squeezed her arm on the way past. Isabelle felt anything but comforted, her mind was already racing to find a solution on moving Bucky – she knew he wasn't safe here. Movement in the corner of her eye caught her attention, Bucky was stirring. Without hesitation she rushed over ready to remove the cuffs, but as she neared, she noted something off about the way he held his body - she slowed before him. His eyes flipped open, revealing the darkness that haunted Bucky that day he dangled her from the bridge by her neck. Shit she cursed herself for putting the cuffs on loose as his metal arm came swinging towards her, knocking her hard against the wall. The last thing she saw before she blacked out was Steve hurling his body at Bucky and tackling him through the glass and out onto the balcony.
o.O.o
"Come on Iz, wake up!"
Isabelle groaned as a hand slapped her cheek, the sting of it angering her enough to force her eyes open. "Clint? Whats goin-"
"No time to explain." He pulled her up into a sitting position. "Half of SHIELD are currently in pursuit of Bucky and if we don't get there first it's going to get nasty real quick."
At first she was confused why SHIELD would be chasing Bucky, but then the memories came swarming back – the footage of Bucky supposedly assassinating a Wakandan King, the Winter Soldier's eyes as he lashed out and knocked her unconscious after waking up from sedation.
Shuddering she stood slowly, allowing Clint to support her as they stumbled to the door. "Wheres Nat?"
"Helping the rest of the gang, but Steve says the only person who will be able to get to Bucky is you, so I'm here to get you to him." Clint remained quiet as he guided them out of her bedroom and towards the lift, she blanched at the messy aftermath of the obvious fight the Winter Soldier had caused on his way out.
Isabelle didn't know if the sickness she felt in her stomach was from the evident concussion she had received from Bucky's blow, or from the knots of nerves over the fact that she had lost Bucky as quickly as she had found him.
"Where is he?" she gulped as they made it to the lift, Clint selected the Garage floor.
"Currently?" he flicked up his wrist to check the small screen on his watch. "They have him cornered down by the docks."
As the doors opened out onto the expansive garage floor she signaled to the closest car. "That will do, just throw me in the passenger seat."
In one fluid motion Clint opened the door and piled her in, before jumping across the bonnet and settling into the drivers seat.
"Hold on tight." He grinned, flaring the engine to life. With an almighty rev he sent the car flying out of the opening shutter onto the streets of New York, taking a sharp right and heading straight towards the east docks.
Isabelle tried to ignore her pounding headache but it only got worse, darkness swimming in her vision with each sharp turn that Clint took. She lent forward, folding against her knees as she tried to calm both the nausea and her spinning head.
"Iz, maybe I should take you to Helen-"
"NO!" she barked, swallowing the sickness infesting her stomach. "Get me to Bucky, I can get to him through the Winter Soldier." She was glad she sounded confident because she certainly didn't feel it.
"Any chance you guys are turning up soon?" Tony's fatigued voice flared to life through the radio.
"As long as you are staying put we will be there in 3 minutes." Clint reported as he took another sharp turn. "But I have to warn you Iz isn't in good shape I don't know what you expect her to do."
"Anything." Tony's hollow voice echoed Isabelle's biggest fear, that Bucky was beyond help. "Oh, and just to warn you, we've got a new guy in the fight, he joined us about twenty minutes ago and he's dressed as a cat." As Isabelle strained her ears she could hear the faint sound of fighting in the back ground. "He seems just as keen to get his hands on the Winter Soldier-"
"Don't call him that-" Isabelle barked. "He's still Bucky, he's still our Bucky."
"Fuck!" Tony yelped as the comms cut out. Isabelle looked helplessly towards Clint.
"We're close Iz don't worry, they should just be round the other side of these containers." Clint swerved the car around so that the passenger side of the car was facing the scene beside them. Steve, Tony and the man Isabelle could only assume was the cat person that Tony alluded too were all locked in a bitter battle with the Winter Soldier, who to her horror was actually winning against the three of them.
"Stop." She muttered as she dragged herself out of the car, losing her footing as she fought to keep balance. But they carried on, oblivious to her. Isabelle reminded herself that she was an Agent of Shield, and as much as it pained her to admit Bucky was currently her enemy right now, and she had made a promise to do everything she could to stop Bucky from causing damage as the Winter Soldier again. But on the flip side, if she could avoid bloodshed - particularly Bucky's blood - she was going to grasp at it. Inhaling a deep breath, she screamed, "STOP!"
Three heads snapped towards her, but what surprised her the most was the Winter Soldier dropping down onto one knee and bowing his head, his hands held loosely at his side, one of them grasping Steve's shield.
"What the-"
"STEVE STOP HIM!" Isabelle cut Clint off as she watched in horror as the sleek, black suited man launched himself at the Winter Soldier – the sharp claws protruding from his gloves were going straight for his neck. She internally willed Bucky to break out of the Winter Soldiers grasp and protect himself but he didn't move, staying stationary on the floor facing her. Waiting, but for what?
In the nick of time Steve intercepted the mysterious man and pinned him to the ground with the help of a reluctant looking Tony, but Izzy ignored them and sprinted straight for Bucky, praying that he had woken up from his nightmare. Skidding onto the ground before him she grabbed his face, only to be met with the eyes of the Winter Soldier once more. Stroking his face with one hand she grabbed his metal arm with the other.
"Bucky, come on – wake up!" she shook him.
"It's no use Iz, we tried." Steve grunted as he fought against the struggles of the man pinned below him. "It's not a nightmare, he's been turned although God only knows how."
"Let me go!" the mysterious man lashed out, catching Steve on the chin and knocking him over, but Tony got a grasp on him before he could get up.
"Listen here cat man we have enough problems on our plate without you adding to it." Tony growled as he strained to keep him still.
"He killed my Father! It's my right to avenge him!"
Isabelle couldn't ignore the grief in his voice. "Your Father? King T'Chaka was your father?" she queried - dawning realisation hit her. "Then you must be-"
"T'Challa." He removed his mask, slumping against Tony as the fight left him. "Although I guess its now King T'Challa."
"Tony, please show him that it wasn't Bucky." She pleaded, T'Challa looked like a man who wouldn't stop until he got what he wanted. It was bad enough that Bucky had reverted to the Winter Soldier, she couldn't cope if she lost him altogether.
"It was him, I saw the footage with my own eyes." T'Challa grunted as he pushed himself out of Tony's grip.
"Look, please just give us a minute and we can prove it wasn't him, he was set up." She pleaded, turning her focus back to the Winter Soldier. "He's a good guy, despite all the horrors he has been forced through."
"I'll give you ten seconds." T'Challa nodded towards her as he withdrew his claws.
Tony fidgeted with the chest piece of his suit before a clear image of the surveillance footage from her room was beamed into the middle of them all, once again fast forwarded to show herself and Bucky descend into sleep, and then Bucky waking as the Winter Soldier.
"See, Mr Whiskers, our guy was soundly sleeping until his nightmare, we won't bore you with the details of his screwed up back story but it wasn't him who killed your Father." Isabelle watched with sorrow as she saw Tony battle his emotions. "Sorry, by the way – I know how it feels to lose a parent."
T'Challa either didn't hear Tony's rare heartfelt words or he didn't care. "If it wasn't him, then who was it."
"His name is Viktor Sokolov, he's becoming a huge problem for us and we are trying to deal with him." Clint had been circling the group, one hand gripping his bow and the other teasing the edge of an arrow, he caught her eye and nodded once. She smiled in appreciation, one nod of her head and he would start dropping people. Through the last few weeks she had forgotten how loyal her mentor was, and she was grateful for it.
"I wish to help you." T'Challa stood, ignoring both Steve and Tony advancing on him, brandishing a hand as an idle threat. Isabelle couldn't help but chuckle to herself as both the infamous Captain America and Iron Man stopped in their tracks when the claws once more appeared.
"Head's up guys, we got company." Clint flexed his hand and within seconds he had an arrow in position to fire. A large range rover came swinging round the corner and skidded to a halt before them. Isabelle instinctively moved her body in front of the stationary winter soldier.
"What in the damn hell is going on?!" she sighed with relief as Nick Fury practically booted his door open and stomped over to them, pointing past her towards the Winter Soldier. "If you have him sitting all pretty there why didn't you bring him in?!"
"Tony?" Steve cocked his head at him and signaled for him to show the evidence.
"Oh for God's sake this is the last time I'm showing this." Tapping at his suit once more he beamed the video evidence of Bucky remaining in the room until the Winter Soldier took over. "Fury, I've just sent you a copy - I'm sick of witnessing Agent Sullivan's love life every time I have to play it."
"So what stopped him." Fury held his arm up to signal to the rest of the Agent's that had accompanied him to stand down.
"Izzy." Clint glanced towards her before carrying on explaining to Fury. "The minute she screamed stop he dropped to the floor and hasn't moved since."
Izzy ignored the stares of everyone present as they nodded in agreement.
"Agent Shield give Mr Barnes another order." Fury walked over to her, cocking his eyebrow like he always does when he silently dares her to disregard an order.
Turning back towards Bucky she gave him a quick once over, noticing Steve's shield in his hand. "Bucky, drop the shield."
Nothing.
"He won't respond to Bucky, just speak to him directly Iz, and with a bit of authority." Steve's softly spoken voice sounded from just over her shoulder.
"Drop the Shield." she oozed as much authority as she could into those three words.
A loud thunk echoed as the shield was dropped from the Winter Soldiers grasp.
"Well, shit."