Old Friends Chapter 15

By: Cadet Deming

I don't own the rights to Captain America or The Avengers, Marvel and Disney do, so please don't sue. Rated T for violence, language, drug references, and implied child abuse and adult situations. Please read and review. It's encouraging.

Bucky surveyed the courtroom. The chains on his wrists and ankles jangled in his ears. He listened to the chatter in the room and watched the way the armed guards stared at him as if they were waiting for him to attack.

He'd only been in court once before. He'd gotten in trouble for brawling and been hauled into juvenile court when he was only 14. It didn't go on his permanent record so he was allowed to enter the US Army.

Bucky started to question if he was a bad guy after all, if he'd been born more violent than was normal. He had been treated as a weapon of war for so long, but hadn't really had time to think about it. Being in jail, it seemed like all he had was too much time to think about everything. Being treated like a criminal was starting to get to him.

His lawyer Bernadette "Bernie" Rosenthal whispered to him, "Remember what we discussed. Just be polite, follow orders, and do not lose your temper no matter what the prosecution says."

"Yeah, I'll be a good soldier."

Judge Bendis called out, "Regarding the Motion to Remove the Mechanical Arm from James Buchanan Barnes, will counsel approach the bench?"

Bernie walked to the judge. The prosecuting attorney Matthew Fraction stood primly in a black pinstriped suit next to her.

Mr. Fraction said, "Your Honor, allowing a defendant to possess a lethal weapon with possible alien origins while incarcerated is a travesty. With the rise in Super Humans flooding our prisons, we cannot allow the courts to set a precedent of permitting dangerous criminals to hold on to lethal technology."

Bucky wanted to strangle Mr. Fraction with his metallic arm.

Bernie said, "Your Honor, the arm isn't a weapon, it's simply a robotic body part. It's been tested and looked over by multiple scientists. Depriving my client of an arm and rendering him crippled is cruel and unusual punishment."

Judge Bendis stared at Bucky. Bucky waved at him with his metal hand and tried to look innocent.

Judge Bendis said, "The Motion is denied. I'm letting him keep the arm. The next order of business is the Defendant's competency to stand trial."

Bernie said, "The defense calls for the testimony of Dr. Johann Fennhoff."

Bucky watched Dr. Fennhoff approach the witness stand. He noticed he didn't look directly at him. He wondered if that was a bad sign, possibly that he was about come down against him.

Bernie asked, "What is your professional diagnosis of James Buchanan Barnes?"

Fennhoff still didn't look directly at Bucky. He said, "I had three sessions with the defendant and prescribed medication for his mental state. Based on my examination, he appeared to understand the charges made against him. He didn't present to meet the legal definitions of insanity or psychopathy."

Bernie asked, "In your educated opinion, is Bucky Barnes competent to stand trial?"

"The defendant is."

Being referred to as "The Defendant" sounded so impersonal.

Bernie said, "No more questions, Your Honor."

She returned to the seat next to Bucky. Mr. Fraction approached the doctor.

Fraction asked, "You stated you prescribed medication for the defendant's mental state. What mental state would that be?"

Fennhoff smiled. "Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, comorbid with anxiety, depression, paranoia and panic attacks."

Bucky didn't even know what "comorbid" meant. It had "morbid" in it so he doubted it was good.

Fraction said, "So in your educated opinion, would you say he is mentally unstable?"

Fennhoff finally looked at Bucky. "Very unstable. In my sessions he demonstrated emotional instability, admitted he enjoyed killing people, exhibited desensitization to violence, expressed insecurity about his masculinity, showed susceptibility to peer pressure, and gave evidence of an unhealthy co-dependent relationship with Steve Rogers and broadcast paranoia about being stalked."

Bucky whispered angrily to Bernie, "He's exaggerating and twisting around what I said!"

Bernie shushed him as she paged through Dr. Fennhoff's report.

Fraction said, "If Mr. Barnes was your regular patient, would you recommend releasing him to the streets?"

Fennhoff stared at him. "No. No, I wouldn't. I don't believe this man is capable of ever having a normal life."

Bucky wondered if he picked the word "normal" to mock how many times Bucky had described his childhood as normal. He was afraid there was truth to it.

Fraction smiled and said smugly, "No more questions your honor."

Bucky whispered, "Can't you do something?"

Bernie approached the witness.

She said, "Dr. Fennhoff, what exactly are your qualifications as a forensic psychiatrist?"

The doctor rested his hands behind his head. "I have Bachelor's Degrees in Psychology and Criminology from the University of Vienna. A Master's Degree in Counselling Psychology from the University of Baltimore and an MD from John Hopkins University. I'm also the published author of books on terrorist agency recruitment, psychology of organized crime and hypnosis."

Bernie said, "Yes, it seems like you're an expert on how bad people think. I do see you've had 15 malpractice claims filed against you by the families of former patients who committed suicide."

Fennhoff frowned, pulled his hands from behind his head and leaned forward.

He said, "I was found not guilty of all of those. Unfortunately as I deal with depressed patients, suicide is common."

Bernie said, "True, but 15 seems rather high."

Fennhoff said, "It's a professional hazard."

"A professional hazard, such as a man trained as a sniper in World War 2 becoming as you call it, 'desensitized to violence,' and enjoying being good at defending the United States. As far him being paranoid, my client was attacked by a HYDRA agent not too long ago and as recent events have shown HYDRA is everywhere. That isn't paranoia if it's a fact. Would you not agree that HYDRA is everywhere?"

She stared into his eyes. Fennhoff looked nervous and pulled his collar away from his neck. His eyes shifted back and forth.

He said, "I'm not qualified to say if terrorists are everywhere."

"I thought you were an expert on terrorism? You literally wrote a book on it."

He laughed nervously. "Well, there is the old cliché of 'Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get you.' I can't comment on the validity of Bucky's claims, I can only give a label to his reactions."

"I have no more questions, Your Honor."

Judge Bendis ruled, "Thank you. I'm setting this case for trial to begin on Monday the 24th. We are adjourned."

The Judge banged his gavel.

Bucky whispered to Bernie, "Is this good?"

"Only if I can keep you from getting the death penalty."

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Steve presented a box to Sam. It was light enough for him, but when Sam took hold his arms dropped from the weight of it.

Steve said, "Here's another flight suit from Tony Stark. Don't break this one, OK?"

Sam opened it with the expression of a child unwrapping a present on his birthday. He beamed.

Sam said, "Awesome. You didn't have Tony Stark autograph it for me?"

Steve said, "No, but he had to put his last name all over it."

Sam pressed a button and a wing on the suit extended. "I can't wait to take this baby for a ride. I'll have to show Carol."

Steve opened a can of beer. He couldn't get drunk off of it, but still liked the ritual.

He asked Sam cautiously, "How are things going between you and Captain Danvers?"

Sam smiled even wider. "Very, very well. She's concerned about the upcoming trial of Bucky. She's afraid HYDRA may show up."

Steve pondered all of the military strategies he could think of. The trial would be a tempting, high profile mark.

Steve said, "We should definitely increase the security. It almost seems like too obvious of a target, but I'd rather be over-prepared than under. I'll see if I can get permission to go to the courtroom armed."

"Good luck with that. Does it seem like you're always on duty?"

Steve sighed. "Yes. I hardly get any downtime, other than when Nat and I get together and not talk about work. We're officially a couple now."

Sam smiled. "Congratulations."

Steve cocked his head, waiting for a barrage of invasive questions. Sam just opened a beer and took a deep draught.

Steve said, "What have you done with the real Sam? No rude, sexually explicit questions?"

Sam shrugged. "You were right. Now that I'm happy with Carol, I don't have to try live through you. If you're together, my matchmaking work is done."

He held up his beer and they toasted each other. Steve tried to enjoy the calm while it lasted. He had a feeling it wouldn't last.

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Brock watched Madame Hydra speaking with Doctor "Faustus" Fennhoff. With his overweight build and fancy suits, he didn't fit in with the rest of the Serpent Squad.

Brock whispered to Eric, "When Fennhoff cleared you for the experiments, did he seem to ask a lot of questions about suicide?"

Eric looked up from the new scythe he was sharpening with his good hand. The scythe was made of vibranium, so he had to sharpen it with industrial diamonds. The scratching noise irritated Brock.

Grim Reaper said, "People have been sending me to shrinks ever since I started having behavioral problems as a kid. They always ask if you're suicidal to cover the asses of the pharmaceutical companies they prescribe anti-depressants from. No biggie."

Brock said, "I don't know. He asked if by joining an organization with 'Cut off one head, two more will take its place' I had a secret death wish and asked if I'd considered overdosing on the animal tranquilizers they keep in the refrigerator."

Eric said, "That actually is weird."

They both stared at Fennhoff and Madame Hydra. She turned and met Brock's gaze. He smiled and waved at her. She smiled back and flipped her hair.

Eric muttered, "Isn't she a little old for your taste?"

Brock wanted to smack him. "Getting burned has made me reconsider my options."

"Yeah, you could be cute together: matching scarfaces."

Brock furrowed his brow and scratched at his outer layer of scarred skin. "I'm supposed to start molting tomorrow. I might get my normal skin back."

"Or you could grow scales. 50-50 chance."

"I've survived worse odds than that before."

Eric continued to scrape against the scythe.

Brock asked, "Why are you sharpening the blade when it's brand new? You've been really…twitchy lately."

Reaper frowned. "I've been away from my meds. I get restless."

"Restless isn't good on the battlefield."

Madame Hydra called out, "Serpent Squad, come to attention."

They all gathered around her.

She said, "Doctor Faustus has provided the map of the courthouse and planted the bombs. We are going to strike on day 4. Our goal is maximum terror. We are going to show the world that HYDRA is not gone, but more dangerous than before. I want maximum casualties! We're going to kill anyone or anything that moves!"

To be continued.