New Mexico

Hydra Base

2015

Yelena had barely laid her head down on the pillow before the base alarms were blaring in her ears obnoxiously. The base alarms hardly ever sounded and when they did it usually meant that something bad was happening, but it hadn't happened in years so it came as a surprise to her to hear the shrill beeping.

Yelena scrambled up and threw on her shoes, not bothering to change out of her sweats or tank top and grabbed her personal issued gun before she ran out the door to find the base in panic mode. There was yelling and frantic running as the base was being attacked by an unknown enemy and the people were scrambling to get weapons and other various things.

"Collins!" yelled Yelena as she grabbed the young agents arm, "what's going on?"
"Shield's found us," he said brushing her hand away from his shoulder, "go find Fleischer!" he said before he ran off down the corridor.

Yelena only had seconds to register his words before she was running down the corridor towards the records room where Fleischer was sure to be if Shield was the one attacking them, not paying attention to the gunfire and yelling. There were records that were being kept there that could not fall into Shield's hands no matter what and they had to be protected at all costs.

"Baron!" cried Yelena as she ran into the room to find him hurriedly thrusting various files into his brief case.
"Yelena," he said not even lifting his head as he continued to cram the bag full of files, "it seems as though Shield has found us."

"How?" she asked as she peaked out of the window into the dark corridor that was lit only by the red flashing of the alarm.

This was base was so well hidden that it wasn't even on the file leak that was leaked onto the internet last year, nor had there been any evidence that they had been discovered.

"I have no idea and I'm not about to stay to find out, that's why I have a helicopter waiting to take us out with the files if we hurry," he said as he frantically tried to cram a few more files into his bag before hastily deciding to use his other one.

"What about the others?" she asked as Fleischer grabbed her arm and dragged her across the hall and into the surveillance room.

"Sacrifices must be made Yelena, you know that," he said forcing her into the seat that faced the many monitors that displayed the base, "now sit here and tell me when someone is coming," he said before getting on the other computer to access the online files.

Yelena watched the screens as the base slowly fell into the hands of their enemy. She watched as fellow agents and people she knew fell and were forced to surrender and lay their guns down.

She was sweeping over the monitors when something out of the corner of her eyes caught her attention. She had to look closely and almost did a double take when she saw the iconic shield of Captain America being wielded by the man himself.

Her eyes were so focused on the Captain that she almost missed seeing the man fighting next to him with deadly accuracy and precision. She almost gasped when he turned himself so that he was facing the security camera because she knew who it was. His brown hair was the same length and the metal of his arm shined in the light of the room he was in, the red star of Communism blatantly displayed across his metal bicep.

Although she had briefly seen him on television during the whole fiasco that had taken place last year, this was the first time in ten years that she had actually gotten a real good look at him and she could tell he looked exactly the same as he had all those years ago. He didn't seem to have aged at all from when she had seen him in through the glass of his cryo-tube with Mr. Pierce.

"Captain America is here and he has the Asset with him," she said gaping in horror at her father as he fought off his attackers.

Never before had she seen such agility or resilience before in anyone, not even Captain America or the Black Widow fought with such finesse as he did.

Of course he did have a few more decades on him than they did.

Fleischer ran over to look at the monitor over her shoulder to be met with the same sight before grabbing her arm and yanking her up like a rag doll.

"We need to get these files to the helicopter," he said pulling the bags up on his shoulder, "I assume you know what to do?" he said pointing to the gun that she had placed on the table next to her.

"Yes sir," she said grabbing it before she followed him out of the room and towards the roof where the helicopter would be waiting for them to depart.

As they ran she stayed next to him ready to defend him just as she had been trained to do in such circumstances, she covered him and cleared the hallways first before they ran down them. She ignored the gunfire and bodies that littered the floor as they made their way to stairs that would lead them to the roof.

They had to take various detours due to running into Shield Agents and even the Black Widow herself as she attacked their Agents with lethal force. Yelena had only got a glimpse of red hair before she was pulling the Baron in another direction to avoid conflict with her.

Yelena was out of breath once they had finally made it to the roof, her breaths coming out short and haggard only to see the helicopter that had been waiting for them in flames and the pilot nowhere to be found and various Hydra agents' bodies strewn across the roof.

Baron Fleischer barely had enough time to register what was happening before the famous shield of Captain America was flying through the air to meet them, but Yelena did. She grabbed the older man and yanked them to the ground as the shield flew over their heads towards one of their Agents that had been climbing up the emergency stairs to help them.

Yelena watched as the man, whom she had been acquainted with, was thrown to the ground by the sheer force of the shield as it barreled into his chest before it seemingly bounced off of him and flew back to its owner.

Yelena never thought she would ever get the see the man who had nearly destroyed them twice face to face, and yet there he was barreling towards them with his shield secured back in his hands.

Yelena acted quickly, grabbing her gun and aiming it at the quickly approaching man and fired off a few rounds, which much to her dismay were easily blocked by his shield.

It all happened so quickly that she barely had time to register it all as the Captain raised his shield and threw it in her general direction. Yelena had thought it was intended for her, but as she ducked she turned to see it hit Baron Fleischer in the back as he was running away with the files in hand, causing him to face-plant into the mud.

She saw her opportunity to raise her gun and shoot him in the brief period of time before his shield came flying back into his hands, but she never even got the chance to fire before she heard the click of a gun next to her head. She turned to see the barrel of a gun pointed right at her, but she barely noticed it when she saw who the person was holding the gun.

Of all the ways she envisioned of meeting the Asset, this definitely was not one of them. He stood tall and rigid, his metal arm gripping the rifle in a threatening matter. His brown hair fell into his face, slightly covering the blues of his eyes, which were apprehensive and regretful as he stared her down.

Yelena was frozen in fear and fascination as she stared up at the tall metal armed assassin, her mission to shoot the Captain completely forgotten about as she stared at his gun, which had been pointed at her shoulder instead of her head.

It was obvious he did not intend to kill her, but that he was ready to shoot her if she wouldn't capitulate.

"Drop it," he said, his voice surprisingly soft and calm.

Yelena was not dumb, she knew she had been outsmarted and outmatched. She knew when it was time to fight, and when it was time to surrender and now was not the time to fight, so she lowered her gun and dropped it to the ground all while not breaking eye contact with her father.

Her father kept his eyes on her as he bent down and retrieved the gun which she had kicked his way. While he was doing this, she noticed a person unknown approach her with a set of handcuffs in their hands.

She knew that in situations such as this that certain measures would be taken to insure the safety of others, even if that meant viewing her as a threat. Yelena simply held out her hands and allowed the man to place the cuffs on gently, which was something she had not expected.

All while this was happening, she noticed Fleischer being hauled up to his feet in a daze and led off by Shield agents as the files were collected off the ground where they had been dropped.

Yelena couldn't help but feel ashamed and embarrassed as the files that Hydra had worked so hard to keep a secret were simply picked up and put into an evidence container to be reviewed at a later time. She had failed her mission and there was no excuse for that kind of failure. What kind of Agent was she if she couldn't do what she had been trained and entrusted to do?

But even with such emotions of failure running through her head, she still kept her face blank and emotionless as she was led away by Shield Agents. She simply kept her eyes on the blue ones of her father as he looked on from where he was standing a few feet away. He hadn't tried to talk to her or approach her, he only stared at her like he was trying to assess her.

She wondered if he knew who he was to her and if that was the reason that he was here, but decided to stay quiet for the time.

She was led by two Shield Agents into the building complex that only a few hours ago had been a secret Hydra base, but Shield had found them and had successfully taken it over and detained everybody in it. She could see as Hydra Agents and employees were led to where they would be interrogated and then most likely sentenced to prison for what other people considered a crime.

She honestly didn't know what would happen to her now that she had been detained by the enemy. There was no possibility of Hydra helping her out at this point. The remaining Hydra groups around the world were too busy trying to remain hidden and out of the public's eye that they didn't have time to come and rescue them.

There wasn't that much people worth saving and she definitely did not warrant a rescue for herself. She was just a failed Hydra experiment to recreate Zola's serum and apparently a failure when it came to performing her duties to the best of her abilities. Although she had been trained for years, she honestly didn't bring much to the table. She wasn't enhanced like her progenitor and she didn't have special abilities like other experiments did. She was just a normal human being who had been trained to be an Agent and possibly an infiltrator in the future.

As she walked, she noticed a second pair of footsteps following close behind. She slightly turned her head to see the Asset walking some distance behind them, his hands were shoved into his pockets and his postures showed that he seemed unsure and cautious as he hung back from them.

Yelena could hardly believe that this man, who looked more like a lost puppy, was one of the most deadly assassins in the world.

As a child she had been so fascinated with the man named Zima and that fascination had only grown when Fleischer told her about her blood connection to him. She had been so young when she found who he was to her, and she had had dreams about him coming to take her away so that they could be family. But those dreams quickly died like the innocence that came with it.

She learned that he was not a person, he was a weapon to be used against their enemies and all those who didn't agree with their beliefs. Hydra had created him and he would always belong to them, like a piece of property.

But that was not the man who was cautiously following behind them. He looked guilty about having to point his gun at her, but he didn't really have a choice. Had it not been for him she would've killed Rogers without a second thought if given the chance.

She still did not show any emotion as she was led into what was conference room and seated in one of the open chairs, not failing to notice that Zima did not follow them in.

"Hello Yelena," came a soft and cool voice from the doorway. Yelena raised her eyes to meet the Black Widow as she pulled out the chair from across her and sat down gracefully, like a cat poised and calm.

Yelena didn't say anything, she just continued to stare blackly at the redheaded woman.
"Would you like some water?" she asked politely as she motioned towards a pitcher of water and a glass that sat to the side of them.

Yelena again did not say anything as a glass of water was poured and set down in front of her, she made no motion to grab it, she only stared at the clear substance through the glass.
"You know," she said looking at Yelena, "we've been looking for you for quite some time young lady."

"Is that so," she said lamely as she pushed the glass away from her.

"For the past few weeks, actually."

"Wow I must be special then," said Yelena sarcastically.

"Well considering who your father is," said Natasha coolly as she raised an eyebrow.

"I want to talk to him," said Yelena softly but adamantly as her suspicion was confirmed.

The Asset knew who she was and that was why they had been looking for her.
"Are you sure-," began the woman, but Yelena forcefully cut her off.
"I'll talk to him and only him," she said staring the woman down. She wouldn't talk to anybody else, she just wanted to speak to him.

"Okay," the woman said raising her hands in surrender before she exited the room.
A few seconds later the door opened again and the Asset walked in with his arms raised to show her he was weaponless as he slowly made his way towards the vacant seat.

Yelena only stared at him as he pulled the chair and sat down opposite of her, she wanted to talk to him but now she was unsure of what she would say to him.

"Natasha said you would only talk to me," he said softly as he looked at her.
Yelena didn't even nod as she stared him down, her eyes traveling over his tall and threatening figure. She could tell he wasn't trying to come off that way, but it in his nature to do so.

"Yelena?" he asked searching her face hoping to gain some sort of response.

"That is my name," she said flatly and with no emotion.
"Yelena," he said testing the name out on his lips, "it's a pretty name."
"It's just a name," she said shrugging, she really didn't think Yelena was a pretty name, it was just her name.
"My name is James Buchanan Barnes, but uh most people just call me Bucky," he said quietly as he licked his lips nervously.

Yelena gaped at the mention of his name because she recognized it. James Buchanan Barnes was a member of the Howling Commandos and Captain Rogers best friend. He had been killed when he fell off a train trying to detain Dr. Arnim Zola. It was a name she had been taught in her studies, but never would've guess that he was the Asset.

She remembered that he had been experimented on by Zola, probably given a bastardized version of the serum which helped him survive the fall. The Russians must've then found him and turned him into the Winter Soldier.

"You're Captain America's best friend and a former Howling Commando," she said staring at him, "I read about you in my studies."
"You did?" he asked with genuine surprise.

"Yes," she said folding her hands in her lap, "but they never told me Sergeant Barnes was the same man as my father."

"So you know," he stated blandly as his mouth suddenly became dry.

"Just because you're my father doesn't change my opinion of you," she said hotly, "you're a traitor and you deserve to die for what you've done."

"They forced me to become this," he said defensively as he motioned towards his metal arm, "I never asked for this, for any of this."

"Everything Hydra did to you was for the greater good," she spat out, "it doesn't matter what you want or what you wanted then because sacrifices must be made, you of all people should know that, father," she said with venom lacing her voice.

Bucky only gaped in shock at what she had just said. Obviously having grown up with Hydra she would have such a mentality, but that's not what surprised him. He had had a feeling that she had known he was her father, but this just confirmed his greatest fear.

She only knew the Asset as her father, not the man he used to be. She didn't see Bucky Barnes, she only saw the Winter Soldier and that's the only parent she had known, and for some reason it made Bucky's chest hurt.

"I didn't know about you," he whispered, "if I had-."

"If you did?" she asked incredulously, "and what would you have done if you did? They put your mind through the blender so many times you couldn't even remember your name let alone the fact that you were a person. So what makes you think that knowing would've changed anything?" she said crossing her arms, "even if you did know I don't think it would've been enough for you to slip your leash," she said practically seething at the teeth.

"You're right," he said staring her down from across the table as his nostrils flared, "but I slipped my leash because I figured out that there was more to life than being Hydra's lap dog."

He knew the statement was hurtful, seeing as it had been indirectly directed towards her. But she was right, he had been their dog, obeying every command thrown at him. But at least he figured it out and did indeed slip his leash because being a person is much better than being somebodies dog.
He just hoped she would be able to see that too.

He watched as her face reddened with anger and her mouth hung open in shock that he had just said that to her, and he couldn't help but feel guilty at the comment that had escaped his mouth.

"Traitors deserve to die," she said as she did her best to recollect herself, "you and I both know that."

"That may be so," he said raising his arms in question, "but who's gonna do it? Correct me if I'm wrong, but Hydra's pretty much fallen apart this past year, and honestly," he said leaning in closer, "I'd like to see them try," he said before getting up and walking as calmly as he could out the door.

Once he was outside the room he fell against the door and started taking deep breaths to calm his racing heart.

This was indeed much worse than he originally thought.

He thought he would be able to do this, but he couldn't even really stand to be in the same room with her for more than a few minutes. He felt bad for even thinking it, after all she was his daughter and a parent should be able to handle their own child, right? Nope, not him. He was so out of his element with her and he did not know what to do. The way that she had talked to him had struck something a nerve with him and couldn't handle it. He almost felt ashamed that a mere child could get to him so easily after everything he had been subjected to over the decades.

"You okay, man?" came Sam's voice from where he had been watching unnoticed.
Bucky nodded his head before pushing himself off the wall, slightly unnerved that someone had seen him like that.
"I'll be fine," he grumbled trying to walk past the younger man only to have his arm caught.

"She's gonna be okay man, maybe not right now, but eventually," he said assuring him, "these sort of traumas take time and effort, but this is manageable. Some people may never fully heal, but it gets easier with time."

"She isn't like me," said Bucky looking Sam in the eye, "I had a life before Hydra, I had a family and I had friends. I had good memories beneath it all to look to, but she,-"he said motioning towards the room, "she has nothing. This is her life and it's all she's ever known."

"God I think I need a drink," said Bucky as he ran a hand through his long hair.

"I thought you and Steve couldn't get drunk anymore because of the serums?" asked Sam.

Bucky laughed bitterly at the thought, not being able to get drunk was another thing to thank Zola for, "yeah well doesn't mean I can't try."

"Well it's a good thing I can because I'm starting to think I may need a drink," said Sam, "come on, I think I know where we can find some," he said motioning for Bucky to follow.

AN: Comment and tell me what you thought.