From There to Here

by SJSmith56

This is a collection of Bucky Barnes one shots. The first one is set after the Flag Smashers but it will go back to Bucky's past. Although each chapter will stand alone there will be a common thread through them. Each one shot will be PG, as I have considered tackling that type of content.

20. 20 Catching Up

20. Catching Up

I thought a good one shot would be an account of Steve and Bucky's flight to Siberia then to Wakanda after the confrontation with Tony Stark. In the movie Captain America: Civil War there were only a couple of brief scenes shortly after they left the destroyed airport in Germany then another just after they touched down in Siberia. I hope you enjoy this interpretation of that time. Some scenes from the movie are included but I chose to use different dialogue.

"Damn," said Steve, looking at the rear display in the quinjet as we flew away from Leipzig Airport. "Rhodes..."

"What happened?" I asked, unbuckling and coming towards the pilot's seat.

Steve was quiet for a moment then took a breath. "Not sure but Colonel Rhodes suit was damaged. He fell to the ground."

It was as if all the air was sucked out of my lungs and I almost stumbled. Another person, hurt or worse, because of me. I could feel my eyes burning as the tears threatened to fall. Steve quickly put the jet on autopilot and got out of the seat, grabbing hold of my shoulders.

"Bucky, don't," he said. "It wasn't your fault."

"We just destroyed an airport, and a man has been hurt, possibly killed, because you and your friends were fighting for me," I said. "Of course, it's my fault. How many people were injured in Bucharest, then how many did the Soldier kill in Berlin when that man activated me?

I slid down to the floor, slouching against the wall. I was done. Everything the authorities said about me was true. No matter what, I brought death and destruction with me. Wiping the wet from my face I drew my knees up and rested my arms on them.

"I know you don't want to hear this but I'm going to keep saying it," said Steve, kneeling down in front of me. "We chose to fight for you. The special forces in Bucharest were there to kill you. You had the right to defend yourself and I could see you pulled your punches and tried your best to make sure to leave them alive. As for the Winter Soldier, what he did is on that fake doctor, not on you. He knew what would happen and he used you to get information then to get away."

"Doesn't matter," I said. "The result is still the same. HYDRA turned me into a killing machine and that's all I've known for 70 years."

"That's not true and you know it," he said, sitting back on his heels. "Summer Alder-Marsh, her granddaughter Megan, and her friend Tamsin Murray."

I looked up at him in surprise. "How do you know those names?"

"Rebecca told me," he said, studying my face for my reaction. "Then I sought them out myself."

"Rebecca? Is she still alive?" My voice cracked. Was it really possible? Did Summer connect with my sister? "She knows about me?"

"She knows what was done to you," confirmed Steve. He stood up and held out his hand. "We have a long flight to Siberia, and I think we need to talk some things out before we get there."

Grabbing it I stood up and watched as he double checked the autopilot settings then he gestured to my seat.

"You hungry or thirsty?" he asked. "We usually keep some energy bars and juice on here." I waved him off, but he got some for himself. "First of all, I never really got the chance to thank you for pulling me out of Potomac. I was ready to die for you, Buck, you know that."

I nodded. "When I saw your face, all bloodied up, and you said those words, it came rushing back to me. All the times I intervened in a fight for you, then telling you that I was with you until the end of the line after your mom's funeral. I knew you were familiar before they wiped my memory. I told them I knew you and Pierce hit me several times. Then they wiped me, brought out the Soldier, and told me to finish you. I would have."

"It was your last mission," said Steve. "Several HYDRA operatives that I believe you dropped off in front of the police station confirmed that Pierce didn't care if you made it off the helicarrier alive. I figured you were in control of yourself and were already trying to make things right when you left those guys there."

"Is that why you told me to go?" I asked, looking him in the eye. "I was watching you, making sure they didn't try to finish you off in the hospital."

He smiled. "Yeah, I also didn't want the authorities to get you, either. No one wanted to believe that you actually saved me and that you were watching out for me. Where did you go between Washington and Townsend?"

"I had a list of HYDRA safe houses that I got from the bank," I answered. "Got some money from them, and some weapons, bought some clothes. That was fun." I grinned. "Couldn't believe how tight blue jeans are."

Steve grinned as well. "Took some getting used to, didn't it? I often wore khakis, they're like a looser fit casual pant. Probably not your style but they were more like what we used to wear. But Townsend? How did you know those women? They wouldn't tell me much, just that they helped you and helped change your appearance, so you weren't as recognizable."

I told him about the botched hit job on the bridge in 1971 and being taken in by Summer and Seth. Said the two nights there were like heaven as they were so accepting of me. I described the wonderful feeling I had helping to dig that stump out with my shirt off, feeling the warmth of the sun on my skin, then all of us working together to rip it out of the ground. My face must have reinforced how incredible it was as I described listening to the birds flying overhead out in the field. Then I told him about making it to Brooklyn, and seeing Ma from the back stoop but deciding not to knock because I didn't want them to hurt her.

"Is that where you left the book, The Hobbit, with the inscription from Summer and Seth?" he asked. "Rebecca showed me after she told me of Summer phoning her and giving her the message from you. She thought it was a crank call, except Summer described you to a T and told her about the Winter Soldier. When I confirmed it, she told me where to find Summer. She reminded me of Peggy, except Summer didn't have dementia."

I looked at Steve. "Peggy is alive?"

"She was," he said, a look of sadness crossing his face. "She died recently. I visited her but she wasn't always there. She said some things as well that didn't make sense about looking for you." I could see the pain on his face as he thought of her. "So much sadness, so many unrealized dreams. She was still beautiful, inside and out. Summer and Tamsin were both like that, except I got the feeling they were quite different from Peggy."

"I'm sorry about Peggy. She was special. Remember in the pub in London when she kept paying you more attention than me and I wasn't happy about it? Thought I lost my touch."

Steve smirked. "That was a highlight of my life. All those years of being in your shadow and all I needed to do was gain a hundred pounds and grow a foot in height. If I had known it was that easy..."

Neither one of us said anything and I got up to where he got the food, offering him more then taking some out for myself. I took a bite of the energy bar and drank some juice then looked at him.

"They were called hippies," I explained, returning to the subject of Summer and the others. "They left behind normal life for one that was more in keeping with nature. Townsend was supposed to be called Eden, that's what they called it when I was there. Seth, and several of the guys were Vietnam War veterans. They understood my issues, which led me to believe that wars don't really change, nor the men that fight them. All they wanted was to live a peaceful life and make a living with their own hands. I liked it there, very much. I would have stayed."

"I met your namesake, James Marsh," said Steve. "Can't believe he was the child of hippies. He was even more straight laced than I was supposed to be during the war."

"You were," I replied. "You had an image to uphold, and you took that seriously. Did he know I was there?"

"Yeah, Summer told him that they helped you," replied Steve. "He was upset at first, but I had some of the HYDRA files with me and shared them. He was more understanding then. His daughter, Megan, she was smart suggesting you go to Europe. Said she cut your hair for you and thought you were one good looking man. You kept under the radar for a long time."

"I had help," I told him. "Roma in Croatia. They adopted me, took me under their wing and helped me get to Romania, found me that little flat, and kept me working. Their leader was from New Jersey, a guy named Jovan. I helped some of his people fight off some Russian mobsters." I saw the look on Steve's face. "I didn't kill anyone, but I made sure they knew who they were dealing with."

"That explains how the CIA knew where you were," said Steve. "They must have had an informant who kept tabs on you."

"No," I scoffed. "There's no way they knew I was there. Unless ..."

I told him about the con man, about him knowing about me and using that to get most of my money and the list of the European safe houses. It was his suggestion to go to Romania. He looked at the computer on the quinjet.

"You know how to use one?" he asked. "I'm still learning on it, but we could look him up."

"I wasn't permitted," I replied. "It can be tracked you know, electronically."

Both of us reached for it to shut it off. We sat there quietly for a time, not saying anything.

"Rebecca, did she ever get married?"

"Yeah, she did," replied Steve. "She went into nursing in 1948, graduated at the top of her class and served in the Korean War. Met her husband there, a sergeant in the army, Harvey Proctor. He demobbed after, they got married, and he went to school for his accounting certification. She had her first daughter in 1956, a son in 1959 and another daughter in 1962. She went back into nursing when the youngest was 12. They lived in Brooklyn. She lives in a senior's home in New Jersey. Harvey died about ten years ago. She has 8 grandchildren and three great grandchildren."

I was happy for Rebecca. It was hard to picture her all grown up and married. All those years, gone and never to be reclaimed. I sighed and Steve looked away.

"I found your parent's graves," he said sadly. "They're buried in Green-Wood Cemetery. Rebecca said they used our life insurance to buy the plot. It also paid for Rebecca's tuition and wedding."

"You assigned your life insurance to my parents?" I asked, surprised at first, then realizing that if the situation was reversed, I likely would have assigned some to his mother.

"Once Ma died, they became my parents," he stated. "Your dad died in 1965. He suffered a heart attack and then they found cancer in his lungs. Your mom lasted until 1991." He made a face, a disgusted one.

"What?" I asked.

"You were given a posthumous Medal of Honor," he said. "It was presented to your mother and sister in 1991, a month before your mom died. Alexander Pierce was there."

He didn't have to say anything more. I wanted to hit something. My final jailer, the man who kept me imprisoned and loaned me out to every authoritarian or terrorist group in the world to make money for HYDRA stood in front of my mother, offering his sympathies on her loss. I could just picture that sanctimonious smirk of his as he told her what a gift my service was to humanity. He used those words on me, in Washington, just before he put me through the machine and scrambled my brain one last time to make me kill Steve.

"Who killed Pierce?" I asked. "They're sure he's dead?"

"A man named Nick Fury," he replied. "Pierce was his boss at SHIELD. HYDRA had infiltrated it from top to bottom. Fury knew something was up with those heli carriers and Project Insight. Then you were assigned to kill Fury."

I reacted, searching my memory for who this Fury was. "Bald guy, with an eyepatch?" I asked to Steve's nod. "I killed him, didn't I? They said it was mission complete."

"You hurt him, but he was a smart man, and he faked his death," said Steve. "Had us all fooled, except for Maria Hill and a small squad of people she trusted. Then he showed up at the Triskelion, with Natasha already there in disguise. She was the redhead at the airport that let us go. They forced Pierce to cancel the launch and implementation. Except Rumlow tried to override it."

"Rumlow was my handler," I said. "Bastard of a man." I could feel the anger filling me and it must have bothered Steve because he put his hand on my shoulder. "He was abusive, encouraged his men to treat me like shit."

"He's dead," said Steve. "Died in Nigeria. I was there. He knew who you were to me because he brought it up. Thought it would make me weak to know how broken you were."

"I am broken," I said, looking him in the eye. "As long as those words are there, I'll never be free of HYDRA. Someone will always know them."

"We'll get you help, Buck, I promise."

There was a beep coming from the cockpit and Steve went over to see what was going on. I sat there, thinking of the fact that although I was free, I was still a prisoner of my programming, and of people's beliefs about me. Steve came back.

"Course adjustment," he said. "Why don't you get some sleep? I'll keep watch for a few hours then we can switch. You know how to pilot one of these, right?"

I nodded. It had been programmed permanently into my brain, just like all the weapons, and forms of killing had been engraved into my muscle memory. Steve went behind me and pulled on a handle, releasing a berth, just like on a train. It was already made up. I unstrapped and removed my leather jacket then took my boots off and laid on the berth. Even though I was desperately tired I wasn't sure I could fall asleep as my mind was racing, especially with what I knew was waiting for us in Siberia. I must have been more tired than I thought because Steve woke me up several hours later.

It was dark outside. He looked exhausted and we switched places. I sat in the pilot's seat and turned all the lights off, except for the night lighting in the cockpit. Soon I could hear him lightly snoring and smiled, remembering the sound of his wheezing whenever he slept over at our place when we were young. So many times, I thought he would stop breathing but the next tortured breath always came. Maybe that was part of what made me remember him. He was my brother in so many ways.

HYDRA knew of our connection. They exploited it many times; telling me he didn't care about me, then that he was dead, which technically he was for almost as long as I was a PoW. They even told me that he had joined HYDRA and was a much better soldier than me for the cause. So many lies, so much pain and torture, and for what? To keep me bound to them as their weapon, not even regarded as a man but as an asset to be used. I was done with all that. No longer would I kill for anyone.

A small glimmer outside the cockpit window attracted my attention and I dimmed the cockpit lighting while I peered outside. There were lights in the sky, green at first, then red and and white. It was like watching curtains being drawn across the sky as the lights flickered and moved. A memory of reading about the aurora borealis occurred to me and I watched it for some time, fascinated at the beauty. After about an hour it slowly faded, and I turned the cockpit lights up.

I heard a snort and turned back to see Steve waving his hands in the air. He must have been dreaming but before I could go over he suddenly woke up and his eyes opened. Raising himself on one elbow he saw me watching and he let out a breath.

"Bad dream?" I asked.

He sat up then came over and sat in a seat behind me. "Yeah, Sokovia," he said. "Fucking androids."

Turning around in surprise I looked at him. "Language," I smirked. Then I stopped bugging him when I saw his face. If it was bad enough to give him a nightmare, then it was bad. "You lost people."

"We lost a whole country," he said. "That's why they tried to rein in the Avengers."

I looked at him. "What do you mean they tried to rein in the Avengers?"

"Said we were too reckless and that we caused too much death and destruction. They came up with something called the Sokovia Accords which was to regulate the activities of so-called enhanced individuals. The Avengers couldn't go into a situation without approval from a UN appointed panel."

"Well, that's ridiculous," I replied. "They blamed you for what evil people did? It's not like they play by the rules."

Steve shrugged. "The thing is they wanted all of us to sign it and agree not to act unilaterally. It was an infringement of our rights, ultimately meaning that if any of us was walking down the street and saw a crime being committed, technically we weren't permitted to intervene unless a UN panel gave us permission. That's an extreme example but it's how I interpreted it. I wouldn't sign."

"Good," I replied. Then a thought occurred to me. "The others, your friends who helped ... did they sign?"

"Nope," he replied. "They stood with me, mostly for their own reasons. But when they gave the shoot to kill order on you after King T'Chaka was killed without even confirming that it was actually you who set off the bomb ... they were not happy. That action meant that any one of us could be set up just like you were, and they would assume the worst about us. Natasha signed but she helped because she trusted me."

"She's the one who let us go," I confirmed. "I think I knew her, a long time ago, when she was younger."

"It's possible as she knew about the Winter Soldier, that you shot through her to kill a scientist she was helping," said Steve. "She was originally a Black Widow but was turned by Clint."

I breathed in suddenly as a flicker of the face of a girl, maybe 14 or 15 suddenly appeared in my memory. Then the memory of seeing that face again outside Odessa when I took out a scientist but didn't kill the witness, a red headed woman who looked familiar to me at the time.

"Then I must have met her because I was loaned to that program for a time," I said. "It was brutal, pushing those girls to the limit of their pain tolerance. Those who came through it went on." I looked out the window. "They wanted me to breed with them. Girls, young girls." I shook my head in disgust. "I wouldn't and I was punished for it."

Glancing back at Steve I saw a combination of pity and disgust on his face, and I turned away. He put so much on the line for me, and I wasn't worth it. Standing up I went to use the head, wanting to splash some cold water on my face. When I came out it was already lighter out and Steve was in the pilot's seat. He turned.

"We'll be there soon."

I sat behind him. "What will happen to your friends, the ones we left behind?"

He shook his head. "I don't know but I'll deal with it."

"I'm not worth all this," I said. "You know that. I've done terrible things, evil things."

"You didn't have a choice," he replied. "They forced you, tortured you into doing it."

"I know. I resisted; I really did but I still did it. It's all there, part of history. Officially I killed dozens of people, that I remember. How many don't I remember, Steve?"

"Bucky ... don't do this to yourself," he said. "We'll find a way. I promise."

I didn't answer because part of me did feel guilty, did feel like maybe I should face a firing squad. While I was in Bucharest more of the memories had resurfaced including one that shook me because I killed someone I knew, Howard Stark. He and his wife were targeted because he had found a way to duplicate the serum that changed Steve and I was sent to retrieve that serum. That was the serum that was wasted on the super soldiers in Siberia where we were headed. I wanted to tell Steve what I had done but it stuck in my throat. Neither of us had liked the man very much when we were in the Howling Commandos, but he was a genius and he invented a lot of things that the unit benefitted from, explosives, weapons, even bullet resistant clothing. He must have remembered me that night as I had recurring nightmares of him calling me Sergeant Barnes while begging for his and his wife's lives. Just for that I deserved to be punished.

"We're here," announced Steve and I stood behind him as he hovered over the frozen wasteland below us. "There's a weapons locker at the back of the quinjet."

I went to it and pressed the control to extend it, choosing a familiar looking gun. Steve finished his checklist and came back, picking his own weapons, then putting his shield on. Pressing a control, the back ramp lowered.

"Remember Rockaway Beach and the freezer truck?" he asked.

I smirked. "When we bought hot dogs with our train money?"

"When you tried to win a bear for that redhead," he replied. "Her name was Dolores, but you kept calling her Dot."

I remembered and gave out a short laugh. Fuck, we were so young then. With a nod, Steve put his helmet on, and we stepped down the ramp. There was a snow vehicle parked there, no doubt left there by the fake doctor. Even though there was light snow the tracks were still visible as were his footprints, so he hadn't been there very long. We stood in front of the entrance to the facility then looked at each other before stepping into the darkness inside. Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more.*

Some time later

It didn't hurt. Not really, except for the shock of my titanium arm being gone. The beating I took at the hands of Tony Stark hurt more. That suit of his packed a punch but together Steve and I disabled him. Once he learned what I did I knew he wouldn't hold back. I couldn't blame him, not really. He reacted the way a son should when he learned the man in front of him was the man who killed his parents. Part of me wanted to give up, to let him have his pound of flesh but when he started laying into Steve it was like the 1930s again. I couldn't not be involved, couldn't let him hurt my friend. So, we fought him together and left him inside the HYDRA facility to make our way back to the quinjet. After that, we didn't know where we would go, except away from here.

Then we saw him, the Black Panther, Prince T'Challa of Wakanda, the man who tried to kill me in revenge for killing his father. What was most surprising was that he had the fake doctor, in cuffs and was herding him towards us.

"I am sorry that I did not believe you, Sergeant Barnes," he said, in that crisp and precise accent of his. "The Colonel here has confessed to my father's murder and to framing you for it. I am taking him in."

"You may want to take another passenger," said Steve. "Tony Stark is inside. His suit isn't functioning."

"Where will you go?" asked the prince. "The damage to the arm is extensive."

Steve and I looked at each other. "We haven't got a clue," said Steve, "but we'll find somewhere that will treat him, not just for the arm."

T'Challa tilted his head, in an inquiring way. "I have commands implanted in my mind," I said, then nodded at the prisoner. "He found the book with the command words and activated me in Berlin to spread chaos while he escaped. As long as they're there I'll be at risk of being reactivated. Do you still have the book?"

The prisoner's face was sullen, and he didn't answer at first then T'Challa leaned in close and murmured something to him. A look of acceptance passed over the man's face.

"Yes, I will give the location to the prince," he said, then he looked at me. "My apologies. You never asked to be made into a weapon. My grief over the death of my family in Sokovia overwhelmed me into taking the actions I did."

I wasn't sure I accepted his apology but at least he would face justice for his crimes. As for me, I didn't have any idea who would have the ability to fix an arm designed by a madman, or a brain tampered with as much as mine had been. As we walked into our aircraft T'Challa told us not to take off yet as he put the man into his aircraft and made sure he was secure. Then he came into ours and looked at both of us.

"May I?" he asked, gesturing to the remnants of my destroyed arm.

I nodded and he approached it, then gently raised it to peer inside at the circuitry. His lips pursed as he examined it then he straightened up and looked at me.

"How is it attached to your body?"

"They removed my original shoulder, even though it survived the fall from the train," I began, noticing Steve wincing, as he still felt guilt for not coming to look for me. I squeezed his shoulder as I knew the thought that I survived that fall wouldn't have occurred to him at the time. "They built a metallic version and attached it to my skeleton. I'm always in pain from it. The arm weighed so much it changed how I walked and how I moved but they never tried to improve it for my sake. It was meant for one thing and one thing only."

I didn't say it out loud, but the prince nodded sagely, understanding. Once again, he asked if he could take a closer look and I undid my leather jacket, exposing the shoulder area. Gently, he reached inside and touched the metal plate of the shoulder unit feeling the extent of where it was grafted onto my body. He tried to keep his face neutral, but I could see the disgust on his face. Then he placed his palm on it and lifted it off, looking me in the eye.

"For how many years have you had this monstrosity attached to your body?" he asked.

"Since 1945," I said. "They updated it in 1951 after another super soldier destroyed it, tearing it in half."

Steve shifted and looked questioningly at me. I shook my head, not wanting to talk about it right then.

"I would like to offer you sanctuary in Wakanda, Sergeant Barnes," said T'Challa. "My country has the technology to replace the arm with a better prosthetic."

"I don't want it," I said, with certainty. "I won't kill anymore."

The prince tilted his head again as he nodded. "Then at least let us remove this shoulder and replace it with something more natural feeling. It will be a vast improvement on this." I gave him my agreement. "As for the things done to your brain to make you compliant ... our scientists in Wakanda, one in particular, can help you. We have ways to duplicate the layout of your mind. She can develop treatments, testing it on the duplicate before finding the best way to undo what was done to you."

"Another mad scientist?" I questioned him. "I don't think so."

"My younger sister is far from mad," smiled the prince. "Irritating, yes. A pain in my backside, sometimes. But she is gifted intellectually and will treat you with the humanity and compassion you deserve. Nothing will be done to you without your consent. I guarantee that as the next king of Wakanda, Sergeant Barnes. At the very least we can give you a safe haven."

His offer was unexpected, considering that just days ago he was ready to tear my throat out. But his gaze and his voice were steady, and I could feel the empathy that flowed from him. This was a man of his word and he had just thrown me a life preserver.

"You're willing to let me stay if you can't remove the words?" I asked, feeling the tears forming in my eyes.

"Yes," he replied firmly. "If it proves impossible to undo then we will provide you with a means to live a life of dignity on your terms."

"Alright, I accept," I said. "What now?"

He looked back outside through the ramp. "I will be delayed but I can input certain commands into your quinjet that will give you admittance to my country. You will be met by a ... delegation who will be expecting you." A slight smile creased his face. "Do not be alarmed by their demeanour as they are protectors of the royal family first, the country next, and are just doing their duty. But they will escort you to the medical centre where my sister will be waiting. I will join you when I can."

He followed us onto the quinjet and Steve gave him access to the flight computer. He also used our communications equipment to contact his country, I assume advising them of our arrival as he spoke their language. When he was done, he straightened and faced us both.

"They await your arrival," he said. Then he turned to Steve. "Your friends who assisted you at the airport have been imprisoned in a facility called The Raft. It is a very secure place, located under the waters of the North Atlantic Ocean. There is a possibility I may be able to assist you in finding it, but we can discuss that in Wakanda."

"Didn't you sign the Accords?" asked Steve.

A slight smile crossed the face of the young prince. "My father helped draft them but no, I didn't sign as they didn't know at the time that I was enhanced," he said. "It was not our intention to make the world aware of my existence. I don't think they envisioned that a single man would be able to do so much damage and make it look like another man's fault. Once I have ascended the throne, I will begin lobbying for them to be amended. A man shouldn't be stopped from doing the right thing because of a piece of paper." His gloves suddenly disappeared, and he offered us each his hand, shaking ours before he exited. "I will see you soon in Wakanda."

Steve belted me into the seat and took his place in the pilot's seat. He started up the quinjet and lifted it into the air then pushed the throttle getting us up to speed before turning the control over to the programmed autopilot. Stepping past me he looked in a compartment and came out with a first aid kit, then went to the head with a container, coming out with water, soap and cloths. He stood in front of me.

"You going to let me assess your injuries and clean you up?" he asked, a smirk on his face. "Goodness knows you did the same for me many times when we were young."

I returned his smirk and nodded, undoing my leather jacket. He helped me ease it off, then pulled the singlet I wore underneath off. Gently, his hands pressed into my sides as he watched my face for reaction.

"You're telling me you're not in pain," he said. "Your face gave away nothing."

"I'm in plenty of pain but I wasn't permitted to show it," I replied. "I'm pretty sure I've got a couple of broken ribs on my right side. If you can just bandage them up, they'll start to heal within the hour."

"What else does your serum do for you?"

"Mostly the same as yours, as it's the re-creation of the one made by the man who made yours," I said. "Increased healing capability, strength, stamina, ridiculous good health although they did their best to make me sick by the shit they fed me, slowed down aging, better reflexes, improved eyesight and hearing. I've been programmed to know a bunch of languages. Some of them I didn't know until I started reading them and found I could understand them. You know, just the standard super soldier serum with a few tweaks thrown in."

He cleaned the blood off of my torso and wrapped an elastic bandage around my middle, then turned his attention towards my face, gently cleaning the blood off.

"My memory improved," said Steve. "So did my ability to plan tactics." I gave him an incredulous look, remembering some of the things he planned when we were Howling Commandos. "Yeah, I'm still a reckless bastard sometimes. Even though I'm not comfortable with computers, it seems I have a predisposition to easily learning how to fly even the most advanced aircraft."

"Don't take this the wrong way but has it made you a better lover?" I asked. "I noticed certain physical changes in myself, not that I've had the freedom to go out and test it."

His face turned pink. "Well, I'm not a virgin anymore, if that's what you want to know," he said. "Lost it to a showgirl on the USO tour, didn't I tell you that? I guess I didn't because I lied and you gave me a pep talk after you tried to steal Peggy from me. The showgirl seemed happy with me. Peggy and I ... after you died, we spent a night together but it was more for finding comfort than for pleasure. We never really got that dance that she talked about. Since I woke up, nothing and no one."

"Not even the blonde?" I asked. "Sam told me who she was."

"The kiss was it," he answered. "Another lost opportunity."

"If you hadn't been frozen for so long, would you have gone back to Peggy after the war?"

"In a New York minute," he said, taping a bandage on a forehead cut. "She was it for me and she knew me before I was changed. We were friends first. When you're better, are you going back to being the old Bucky?"

"I don't think so. I don't think he exists anymore. It will probably be a long time before I get the chance to find out."

He tapped me on the shoulder to indicate I was finished and left to pour the bloody water down the head. I could hear the tap running so he must have stayed in there to wash up himself. When he came out, he had his jacket in his hand, wearing just a white undershirt underneath. He went over to another compartment and opened it pulling out a gym bag. From that he pulled out another undershirt and tossed it to me, pulling a T-shirt out for himself. When I struggled putting mine on, he helped. Then he grabbed some more energy bars and juice which we both inhaled.

"A scientist with the Avengers figured a super soldier needs 10,000 calories a day just to function," he said. "How did you manage with the shit they fed you?"

"I guess that's why they put me back into a frozen state so many times," I replied. "Maybe so they didn't have to feed me so often. Although I remember sometimes them saying I was in too long. It made me weak which kind of defeated the purpose of having me."

"Perhaps the Wakandans can decrypt some of the files on you and find out more," said Steve. "With all the manpower and time HYDRA invested in you I can't believe they would deliberately starve you unless they did it for a reason."

"Yeah, everything they did had a reason," I said, sarcastically. I shifted and felt the pain of my ribs, making me inhale quickly, forgetting the conditioning. Steve put his hand on my shoulder. "I'm okay, just can't move too quickly. Can we talk about something else?"

For a while we talked about Brooklyn and how much it had changed from our day. He lived in the city, but found the time to visit some of our old haunts, at least the ones that were still there. We talked about us sharing a place once all of this was resolved. It was hypothetical but in a way it felt good to think about the future when the present was looking so bleak. As we sat there musing of what used to be and of things to come I remembered something that he said while we were on the way to Siberia. I don't know why I thought of it at that moment, perhaps a fragment of a forgotten memory had just nudged itself into my mind.

"You mentioned something about Peggy, about looking for me."

"Yeah, she was mostly crying when she said it and I was more concerned about calming her down," he replied. "She just said she was sorry that she failed. The nurse at the nursing home said she often blurted out things about her work. We would be having a nice conversation then it would be like a switch went off in her mind and she thought I was still lost in the ice."

He looked at me expectantly but whatever glimmer of a memory I'd had was gone and I shook my head. At that moment I yawned and he pulled that berth down, gesturing for me to take it.

"Rest," he said. "I'll catch a few winks when you wake up."

I wasn't going to argue with him as I was exhausted. That fight with Stark took a lot out of me. Sleep came quickly and was only interrupted by Steve's baritone voice waking me to say we were there.

"What happened to having your own rest?" I asked.

He grinned and shrugged his shoulders. "I'm a super soldier. I figured you needed it more. They've taken remote control of the aircraft. They did once we entered their airspace. You gotta see this place."

Offering me his hand he helped me off the berth and put me in the pilot's seat while he stood behind me. It was an incredible view, with green mountains, waterfalls, and blue-green lakes. Then it seemed like a curtain opened before us and we saw a city that seemed to be right out of a science fiction novel. Tall towers, some of them covered in cascading vegetation, were interspersed with a monorail snaking its way through the city. It was incredible and both of us were speechless.

Effortlessly, whoever had control of the quinjet landed us in an open plaza that had many soldiers, both men and women, lined up in formation. The women, from what we could see through the cockpit window, had shaved heads. We looked at each other, in a slightly concerned way, as both sets of guards looked very capable. Steve helped me on with my jacket but we left it unbuttoned as we could already feel the heat and humidity of this exotic place. Pressing the button that opened the ramp we waited for it to lower and a guard of six women were lined up with another woman waiting.

"Captain Rogers, Sergeant Barnes," she said, in a no-nonsense voice. "I am General Okoye, the commander of the Dora Milaje. My king asked me to meet you here and escort you to our medical centre."

While she spoke I recognized that both of us, but especially me, were being assessed. There was no doubt in my mind that this woman was an experienced soldier. Her manner was authoritative but also professional and extremely confident. I had no doubt that these women soldiers were fully capable of handling two super soldiers, reinforced by how they moved when we began our walk. There was also the way she said "my king", as if she felt a personal responsibility for him. Then I remembered what T'Challa had said about our delegation. They were protectors of the royal family first, then the country. In other words these women were his personal guard, responsible for the safety of an enhanced human, who likely didn't need much protection.

The next few hours were a blur as they efficiently but patiently helped me clean up first then change into soft white hospital wear of pants and a wrap around top. Their voices were soft, always with a please and thank you while they asked me to lie in place while scans were done of my body. Blood was taken from me, with my permission, also done quickly and professionally. It was like nothing I had ever experienced with HYDRA and quite frankly, I found myself distracted by the modern equipment that surrounded me, wanting to know what each piece was and what its function was. They answered all of my questions. Even though there were three Dora Milaje present with me at all times I never felt threatened, nor did they seem to be afraid of me, just on alert. Steve was shown somewhere else that he could clean up. Occasionally I saw him in the background, talking with a very young woman who I assumed was Princess Shuri, T'Challa's genius sister.

Finally, the meeting between me and the princess happened. She was definitely a younger sister. Her attitude reminded me of Rebecca. I felt at ease with her almost immediately.

"Sergeant Barnes," she smiled, as an attendant helped me remove the wrap around shirt I wore. "May I touch you?"

Her eyes flickered to my damaged arm then focused on the shoulder. I gave her permission and she ran her fingers over the seam between metal and skin, pressing in occasionally then she stepped back and nodded at the attendant who helped me put the shirt back on. She wore a beaded bracelet that she made a hand motion over, bringing up an image then projecting it to a solid background so it was visible to me.

"Whoever did this to you was a monster," she said, her indignation obvious in her voice. "You told my brother that your shoulder was intact at the time of the initial injury?" I nodded. "They removed a functioning part of your body in order to put in infrastructure to support an arm that must have weighed almost 60 pounds. It was inhumane, as they integrated it into your ribs, and your spine. It must be painful for you."

"It is," I replied. "Does this mean you can't do anything about it?"

She smiled, then patted my arm. "It's coming out," she said with assurance. "First I want to remove the remnants of this arm. It serves no purpose anymore. Once it is off we will begin the construction of a shoulder insert to replace what was forced on to you. It will still be metallic but we will use vibranium which is much lighter, stronger, and will not provoke an immune response as this one has done."

Her eyes were sad as she said that and I guessed she had recognized the still red scars on my back and chest for what they were, my own failed attempts to claw that metal hardware off of my body. She spoke of being able to construct a prosthetic and fully functional arm out of the same material. I was dead set against it at first then she showed me some film of amputees in their country who had been given limbs of the same material. They were from all parts of their society and other than the metallic appearance of the limbs there was no evidence that the function was for anything other than to live a normal life.

"I know you have experienced a great trauma, and that titanium arm forms part of it," she said carefully. "A vibranium arm will feel much more natural to you. If you choose to never wear it, then that is your choice. Please allow me to make it possible for you to have that choice when we have completed your treatment."

I agreed and then we moved on to the next topic, the code words. The prince had sent word that he had the book with the code words in hand. Whether there was another copy of it was unknown but not dismissed outright. I had thought about it while all of these tests were being done and had come to a decision, my decision.

"I think I should be frozen again while you figure out how to deal with the words. I don't want to be accidentally activated. The chance of me hurting someone or worse is too great."

"I agree," she replied. "I have an idea of how to render the words harmless, but it will take a lot of testing to verify my process. It won't be tested on you but on a virtual model of your brain. There was so much more they did to you, but I am still trying to understand their process and we need to decrypt more of the files on you before we begin treatment. Sergeant Barnes, I promise that your recovery will be a priority for me."

I reached out and grasped her hand, as much to reassure myself as to reassure her that I trusted her, and I did trust her. A team of people came in at that moment and my shirt was removed while they began to remove the remnants of my old arm. They were constantly checking on me, asking if I was feeling pain which I assured them was bearable, so pleased was I that I would never see that appendage again. When they were finally finished with the task of disassembling it a temporary cover was put over the exposed workings of the shoulder unit then an attendant helped me get a clean undershirt on.

At that point Steve was allowed in. Obviously, he had been told of my decision and I assured him it was for the best. I could see the prince just outside of my hearing range speaking earnestly with his sister. He had the book in his hand and handed it to her.

"I have the location of my friends," said Steve, noticing where my attention was focused. "I have to go to them."

"I know," I replied. "It's okay. I'm not going anywhere. Until these words are out of my head, I think this is the best place for me." I put my hand out and shook his, trying to maintain my composure. "Thanks for believing in me."

"There was never any doubt," he said. "I'll be back when I can."

The prince came over and offered his hand to me, reiterating once more that I was in a safe place and they would do all that they could to help me. With a deep breath I hopped off the table and went over to their cryostasis chamber, already a vast improvement on the HYDRA one. The cover on this one was fully transparent. I wouldn't feel like I was being sealed in a coffin or a torture chamber. As I stood on the platform, a nurse attached many different leads to points on my skin. Then I was strapped in and I watched as the cover came down. The last thing I remembered was a gentle cooling sensation on my skin then nothing.

*Henry V, Act III, Scene I, written by William Shakespeare.