My apologies for this chapter being so short; I didn't want to cram a lot into one chapter and then have nothing for the next one.

Chapter Six: Pain In The Asset

. . .

Clint Barton woke up with a start and grabbed the arm of the man who had touched his shoulder only to open his eyes and see Bucky hovering over him with fearful eyes.

"I-It's just me," he whispered in a soft voice.

Clint recognized that tone of voice. Bucky was either coming off a panic attack or he was feeling like he was about to go into Hydra mode. He stiffened, believing too strongly that it might be the latter. He pushed himself up and let go of the other man's arm before he saw the morning light coming in through the window.

"What's going on, man? Are you feeling all right?"

He rubbed his eyes and shoved his hearing aids back into his ears so he didn't have to lip read. He just watched as Bucky shook his head in answer to Clint's question and he felt his stomach twist uneasily. The archer looked up at him.

"What are you feeling?"

Bucky bit his lip hard and then clenched his jaw before he closed his eyes, as if he were trying to ward off an unwelcomed presence. He recognized this appearance and stood up slowly.

"Not good," Bucky replied in a tense voice. "It sort of feels like… I'm… glitching or something. Like, I have a thought, and then I feel a shock, and it's replaced with a different thought…"

Clint searched his face, seeing that he was having difficulty explaining how he was feeling. This sounded like Hydra might do to Bucky. He watched as the kid started to pace in front of him, suddenly grabbing at his hair.

Yep, definitely Hydra's handiwork.

He didn't want to call in Tony. Who knew what he would do to Barnes to calm him down? He didn't want anyone to get hurt. Maybe he could just handle him alone, help him ride it out. He walked over to the door that was cracked open and closed it before locking it and then put a chair in front of the door knob.

He knew, of course, this wouldn't stop a Hydra-fueled Asset with a fully functioning metal arm. He made a side note to ask Tony to defuse it once they got a chance to. First, they had to make it through this morning. He was also aware that this wouldn't stop a determined Stark either, but it would at least slow him down and give Clint a few extra minutes to help Bucky once he started having an episode.

"Hey, who am I, Bucky?" Barnes continued to pace and clenched his jaw tightly before Clint raised his voice a little. "Look at me! Tell me what my name is…"

"I don't…." Bucky glanced up at him with a pained expression, shaking his head. "Y-You're an Avenger," he struggled.

All doubts Clint had had disappeared. There was no question this was an episode of the worst variety. Then, he heard Tony's voice in his head: What if he hurts you?

He still stood by his answer though; they would get through this, just as they had since Bucky was dropped on his doorstep.

"G-Get out… y-you can't stay in here with me," Bucky ordered, flinching as if he had just been hit with something.

Clint shook his head. "No, I'm not going anywhere. I'm going to help you ride this out, Bucky. It's going to be okay. We just need to get through this. Just try and stay with me here, in the present. Can you tell me who else is staying here with us?"

Bucky ran his hands through his dark hair and then leaned against the edge of the bed as he tried to fight this too. "A-Another Avenger… S-Stark, Tony… son of Howard and Maria Stark, born April 29th, 1970."

This wasn't good. Bucky was rattling off facts as if they were read to him off a sheet, as if all the information was just memorized, which wouldn't surprise him in the least. Clint moved towards him now and took his arm before he forced him into the bathroom with him and locked the door there too so the two men were locked in together. A part of Clint was telling him this was the worst idea he's ever had but he wanted to be here for Bucky and try and not involve Tony as long as he could.

Better he hurt Clint in here than innocent people out there.

He turned to face him. "Who are you?" He made sure to ask the question firmly.

"T-The Asset," Bucky answered almost coldly. "I am The Asset for Hydra."

Clint swallowed hard and saw Bucky's metal hand clench tightly into a fist before he saw his friend look at him, his eyes empty and devoid of all familiarity now.

"No, that isn't you. Your name is James Buchanan Barnes, Bucky to your friends, and you are just you. You don't belong to anyone," Clint searched his eyes desperately.

Bucky shut his eyes tightly before he started shaking his head furiously right before slammed his metal hand into the sink, breaking off the edge of it. "No! I am property of Hydra! You… you are Tony Stark's friend."

Next, he heard Tony's voice. "Everything all right in there, Barton? If you're angry, there's no reason to take it out on the sink counter!"

He must have heard Bucky's metal hand come into contact with it. Of course he did.

Clint swore under his breath and ignored Tony before he looked back at his friend. "Come on, man… look at me. You're not anyone's property. Your best friend is Steve Rogers..."

"S-Steve…" Clint saw a flash of recognition behind Bucky's eyes but then it was gone as quickly as it had come back. "Rogers. Captain America. My mission is to kill him and Tony Stark. Lead me to them."

It wasn't a request. It was a demand.

"No… they're friends."

Bucky suddenly grabbed Clint around the throat and slammed him into the same wall the sink was up against. "The Asset has no friends, just missions. Friends are distractions. You're going to lead me to them now! Or I will have to kill you."

Clint could feel his heart racing in his chest, pounding against his ribcage. He could feel his panic rising as he quickly realized he couldn't do this on his own. He couldn't help his own friend. He tried to control his breathing but Bucky's grip around his throat was quickly cutting off his airways. He gripped onto Bucky's arm tightly.

"Y-You… won't kill me, B-Bucky… please, we're… family, man…"

"My family is Hydra," Bucky replied robotically.

He felt dizzy and was about to pass out when he saw another metal hand punch through his bathroom door, but this one was more welcomed. He felt Bucky release him and fell to the floor as he started to cough, struggling to get air back into his lungs while chaos rained down around him.

When he finally got oxygen back into his lungs, he looked up in time to see Tony get punched by Bucky and then saw the inventor roll away before he stood up quickly and shot his repulsor in his hand at the other man, right in his own chest.

Bucky got knocked back and fell onto the floor, then Clint watched in both horror and disbelief as Tony pulled out a red handled screwdriver and jammed it into an opening in the man's metal arm, causing it to spark and screech in a robotic struggle. Then, the two of them looked on as Bucky flinched some and let out a yelp of pain as his own arm shocked him.

They were quiet for several moments, staring at Bucky and making sure that The Asset was gone before Clint saw the terrified look on his friend's face, and then saw the damage he had done.

"Oh god… no… d-did I hurt you…?"

The question was aimed at Clint but Tony was the one who spoke as he dusted himself off, straightening his shirt.

"Yeah, no worries about me or anything…"

Clint felt a hotness around his neck and found it painful to swallow. He was sure to have bruises soon. He moved over to Bucky and searched his face carefully. "Are you okay?"

A laugh of disbelief came from the inventor now. "Really, Barton? Terminator goes homicidal Hydra on you and you ask him if he's okay? Wow, you're something else."

Clint gave Tony a cold glare before he examined Bucky's arm. "Excuse me if I'm worried about my friend since you put a goddamn screwdriver into his arm and fucked it up, Stark."

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Tony put a hand to his ear before the look on his face darkened. "Fucked it up? I don't know if you realize this or not but he was about to choke you to death, and then come after me! It was self-defense, so just… take a chill pill."

The archer shook his head and clenched his jaw before he looked back at Bucky. "Are you in any pain?" When he saw him nod, Clint looked back at Tony. "Fix it! Fix what you did to him, Stark."

"What I did to him? No, we need to take a time out for a second here," Tony cast his gaze on Bucky now. "Sit down, right here, and don't move a muscle, Barnes," he motioned with his finger sternly, as if he was punishing a little kid.

Bucky looked hesitant but he just nodded obediently and slowly slid down against the wall until he reached the tiled floor. Tony motioned for Clint to follow him through the bedroom and then out into the kitchen where he crossed his arms defensively against his chest before he started to speak.

"I saved your life!"

"I didn't need your help! I had things under control!" Clint yelled back at him.

Tony shook his head and sighed before he pinched the bridge of his nose. "You call that having things under control? You locked yourself with a ticking time bomb behind two doors! Do you have a death wish?"

"No, I'm just trying to help him, Stark. I understand the concept of friendship is so foreign to you, but I understand him. He understands me. I would've been able to stop his episode without your help…"

"Bullshit," Tony shook his head. "It's quickly becoming obvious to me that your priorities are skewed, Clint!"

"My priority is Bucky, and that's it. There is nothing else," Clint was surprised at how sure he sounded.

Tony sighed heavily before he ran a hand through his hair and searched the archer's face, his own face softened slightly. "You're going to get yourself killed."

Clint wasn't stupid. He knew that this was a possibility, but he also couldn't just give up on the kid. He knew what it was like to have someone give up on him, and he couldn't bear for Bucky to feel that same pain. He was quiet for a long time before he took a breath and nodded.

"I know the risks of keeping Barnes with me. I've known them from Day One. You have your robots, I have my need to try to fix people that are broken. You are me aren't that different. I just… need you to understand, Stark. Just try to understand, please?" Clint didn't like to beg but this seemed like a good exception.

Tony looked conflicted for several moments. "You can't fix everyone, Barton. I'm speaking from experience. Some people are just too broken to be fixed back into place, good as new. Hydra did a number on that kid, and you have to know that he's far from being fixed."

Clint nodded and looked down before he forced himself to look back at him. "So what now?"

"Well, I'd feel a hell of a lot better if we could get that metal arm off of him, for starters. All his weapons are basically in that arm, and we can unplug him, then he can at least be human again," Tony replied, shrugging.

"Can you do that? Take his metal arm off of?"

Tony's face looked somewhat skeptical. "I can get it off, but… I'm going to need to bring someone else in here to help me. Would that be all right with you?"

Another person he would he have to tiptoe around. Another person that would see Bucky as an experiment, and not as a human being. He didn't like this, but he also agreed with Tony; as soon as they could get Bucky's weaponized arm off, the better for everyone involved.

"Go ahead… call the mad scientist. I'm going back over to him."

Tony waved at him as Clint moved back inside his bedroom and into the bedroom where Bucky still sat, staring at the damaged sink. Barton knelt down in front of him and felt his heart ache as he watched Bucky occasionally flinch in pain. He bit his lip before he searched his face.

"Is there anything I can do to make you feel better?"

Bucky smirked weakly. "Yeah, you can get this screwdriver out of my arm, Barton."

At least he hadn't lost his sense of humor.

Clint gave him a sympathetic smile. "Yeah, we're working on that. Tony's going to call up a friend and he's going to come over here and help you. I know him too; he's a doctor."

"What if I hurt him too…?" Bucky's smirk had faded and fear had been replaced in his eyes.

Clint chuckled anxiously.

"Then…. I sense that my whole apartment will most likely be destroyed."