Date : 30.04.18

Title : Memory In My Heart

Author : ElaineDex

Chapter : 4 of ?

Rating : M

Pairings : Bucky/OC

Warnings : Some Sexual Content, Romance, Angst, Maybe Some Strong Language.

Spoilers and A/N: Possible references to The Winter Soldier, Civil War, Black Panther (I have not seen Black Panther, nor do I claim to be an expert on The Avengers so please forgive any discrepancies. I am working off of things I have read and movies and trailers that I have seen. Thank you.

Disclaimer : I do not own anything to do with the Marvel franchise. This plot and any O/C's are mine.

Summary : (AU) Can a memory from Bucky's time as The Winter Soldier save him from having to live that kind of life again or will the darkness consume him and lead him to kill everyone he now holds dear?

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Self preserve.

That was different.

A myriad of thoughts clamoured to be heard in Bucky's mind as he watched the face of the Military Colonel before him change until he looked like he would self-combust.

".…and…."

Bucky turned his head toward the female voice, looking over his shoulder at the Scientist, his brow furrowing a little as she asked, "Take me with you?"

What was going on? They never ordered him to self preserve. He looked away, lowering his head and as he searched his own mind for answers he heard the Colonel laugh and say, "You stupid bitch!"

Bucky felt the woman's small hand tense against his shoulder and she stepped closer to his back as the Colonel went on, "You think you can control him…you think he will take orders from you?!"

To the left, the other Scientist, Hanning, made a strangled snorting noise, backing the Colonel's mockery of the woman and it was then that Bucky heard the tell-tale click of the safety switch of a gun being removed and he lifted his head to see the Colonel aiming at him.

"Step aside Soldier…" the Colonel said and as Bucky felt the woman tremble behind him he took a step forward instead and said, "I already have my orders…" and as his metal arm shot out and he grabbed the gun, the Colonel's eyes gave away his true fear of the situation at hand. The Winter Soldier in self-preservation mode was not a good thing and never before had anyone used the command that the stupid scientist had.

When the Colonel had pulled his gun, time had seemed to slow for Molly and as Bucky stepped forward to deal with him, she watched as though in a dream until movement to her left caught her eye and she gasped and tried to move out of the way as Hanning lunged at her.

"Do you realise what you've done?!" he snarled at her, curling a large hand around her throat as he backed her up against her work station. Molly reached out and clawed at his hand and arm, trying to kick out at him, but he all but flattened her against the desk, his weight bearing down upon her as he spat, "I knew you were up to something, you're going to pay for this, you're…." he stopped abruptly and yet out a yelp which made Molly flinch before suddenly his weight was removed from her as Bucky snatched him away and threw him backwards. Molly glanced over to where the Colonel lay in a heap and she could only assume that he was dead…Hanning she didn't know about and didn't particularly care. She scrambled up off of the desk as Bucky turned to face her and for a moment they looked at one another until Bucky said, "We need to move…"

She nodded and as Bucky turned away, she retrieved the red book from the end of her desk and after slipping it into her lab coat pocket, went to follow him, then remembered there was another way out of the room they were in.

"Wait!" she called to him as he approached the false wall and he stopped and turned to look at her, watching as she moved to a panel on the back wall. "We can go this way, but we'll have be quick…" She began to fiddle with the handle, but it was stiff and unyielding…that was until Bucky came over and tore the entire thing from its hinges.

"Thanks…" Molly murmured and Bucky nodded and grabbed her wrist.

"Stay behind me," he told her and armed with only the Colonel's hand gun, they began to make their way through the narrow emergency route.

"They'll know this tunnel is here…" Molly informed Bucky as they went, "…once they figure out we're not still in there they'll know which way we went."

Bucky didn't reply, merely pressed on, occasionally touching the wall until eventually he stopped and without warning began to smash his metal fist into the material of the wall until there was a big enough hole for them to squeeze through. Whether it was sheer luck or not, Molly didn't know, but as she emerged from the gap she stepped into what appeared to be a store cupboard.

"Where are we?" Bucky asked and she bit her bottom lip.

"I don't know. The basement level somewhere. This is a new facility and I haven't been allowed anywhere other than the lab and my sleeping quarters."

Bucky's jaw clenched and he went to reach for the room door handle, but Molly stopped him, her fingers touching his and whilst he stared at their hands she said,

"Let me look…I'm less conspicuous…"

Bucky stepped back, moving his hand away and Molly tried not to read anything into it. She knew that he had to be confused; that partial memories would start returning to him, that things would seem familiar, but not…

"Why are you doing this?" he asked just as she was about to open the door and Molly paused and without looking at him replied, "Because you wanted me to help you."

When he didn't reply, she turned the handle and slowly inched the door open until she could peep around the frame. The alarm was still going off and there were people rushing by the top of the corridor.

"I think they may be evacuating non-military personnel…" she said, backing into the room and closing the door again and turning to face Bucky she added, "…this corridor is empty, but the top…"and she pointed to indicate which way she meant, "…it's chaos."

Bucky nodded and looked around the small room before looking up to see if there were any vents and whilst he was doing that, Molly realised that she should try and contact Steve whilst she had a chance and she began reaching into her shirt, needing to loosen a couple of buttons to get her hand beneath her bra. She almost had her fingers on the communication device when Bucky's metal hand closed around her arm and she winced.

"What are you doing?" he asked, his voice calm, but there was an undertone of warning that Molly couldn't miss.

"I have a device…concealed…" she began, her cheeks flushing as his eyes glanced briefly down at her gaping shirt and she quickly finished, "…we…you have friends on the outside who want to help get you away from here. I need to tell them what's happening."

A name came unbidden to Bucky's mind and he released Molly's arm and said, "Steve."

"Yes…" Molly replied, retrieving the device and buttoning up her shirt before showing it to him. "I can contact him using this."

Bucky nodded and said, "You'll have to do it on the move…we need to go…now," and even as he pulled the door open, Molly heard footsteps echoing in the tunnel beyond the cupboard.

Following Bucky from the room, she stayed close behind him as she activated the device and as they pushed through the crowds of other scientists and other personnel, she heard Steve's voice.

"Molly?"

"Everything has gone royally tits up," she told him, her voice wavering as she and Bucky took a flight of stairs, heading to the level above and back at her home, Steve and Sam exchanged a look.

"They moved things up and I had to do something…"

They came to a halt as they encountered five military soldiers and as Bucky began to fight and pick them off, Molly tried to keep out of the way.

"What happened?" Steve asked, his voice urgent as he heard the commotion in the background.

"They moved up the procedure. They were going to activate him and send him out…I…tried to stop it, but one of them was on to me…I had to order Bucky to self-preserve…."

Steve and Sam exchanged another look and Sam muttered, "I don't like the sound of that one…"

"Are you okay?" Steve asked, "What's going on?"

"We're trying to get out…"

Molly gasped as a soldier went flying past her and as Bucky bent to retrieve the man's fallen gun from by her feet he said, "Ask him if the guy with the bird suit is around…we're heading for the roof…"

At the other end Sam made an 'O' with his mouth and stuttered, "I hate him…" and Steve closed his eyes briefly and said, "We're on our way Molly…hang in there…both of you."

Molly bit her lip and when Bucky wrapped his fingers around her wrist she followed him without question, moving when he did and doing everything he told her to as they…or rather he…fought their way through the building. It was brutal and exhausting and by the time they reached the roof, both of them had blood on their hands literally as well as figuratively.

Bucky did what he could to secure the rooftop, but he knew it wouldn't be long before more followed them and as he searched for a way down, Molly tried not to let the shock of what they'd just been through take a hold of her. She'd known things could pan out this way, known what she had ordered Bucky to do…but still…

A loud bang on the rooftop door behind her made her jump and Bucky pulled her away and they crossed to the other end of the roof, as far away as they could get.

"You alright?" he asked her and she nodded, trying to look more confident than she felt. Bucky wasn't convinced and glancing around said, "Look, Molly…we might have to…" he trailed off and before Molly had time to be happy about the fact that he'd remembered her name, Sam landed on the roof ledge, depositing Steve close by.

Bucky stood, immediately on the defence, but Steve raised his hands and said, "I'm Steve….you remember me?"

Bucky nodded once, the sound of banging getting louder even from the other side of the roof and he pulled Molly to his side before pushing her…quite gently for him…towards Sam.

"Get her out of here," he said and Sam pulled a face.

"Now he's ordering me around…he insults me and orders me around…"

"Sam…" Steve said and Sam raised his hands before reaching for Molly, who with some trepidation, let him pick her up before he disappeared off the edge of the roof with her. She resisted the urge to scream as they soared across roof tops and it was only when they landed what seemed like miles away that she allowed herself to breath out in a rush, "Holy shit!"

"Yes ma'am," Sam replied with a grin, handing her the keys to a four door family type saloon car and pointing to the vehicle behind her added, "Get her warmed up…we'll be right back…." and with that he shot off to rejoin Steve and Bucky.

Back on the roof there had been no time for further conversation as the military had broken through the barriers that Bucky had tried to secure the door with within a minute of Sam and Molly leaving and Steve and his friend fought back to back as they waited for Sam's return.

Eventually he swooped in, taking out a few soldiers as he did so, evening out the odds just a little before he circled back again and as he approached, Steve called to Bucky, "Grab onto him any way you can…"

Bucky nodded, backhanding a soldier with his metal hand and as he sent him flying, Sam dove and Bucky grabbed his ankle, Steve grabbing the other and Sam flew them off of the roof.

"I'm gonna have to drop one of you a few rooftops away and come back…." he called out and Steve shouted, "Drop me, get Bucky away from here…"

Sam pursed his lips, but did as requested, leaving Steve on the roof of a bank a few blocks away before continuing on to drop Bucky at the car with Molly and as Sam flew away, Bucky slipped into the passenger seat beside Molly.

She turned to look at him and in the daylight he could see that her neck was starting to show some bruising, probably from where the other Scientist had held her down and as he remembered, more memories came to him of the man, Hanning, the way he'd appeared to hassle Molly in the lab and the night he'd followed her whilst Bucky had been shackled to the chair…

He was about to say something when Sam and Steve landed, causing Molly to jump and as they all but threw themselves into the back of the car, she revved the engine unnecessarily and they took off somewhat jerkily.

"You could have picked something a little quicker…" Molly complained, trying to hide her nerves and Steve leaned forward.

"We need something that blends in…."

"You think you three as passengers blend in?" she asked, glancing at Bucky with his metal arm shimmering in the sun, Sam sat awkwardly with his power pack still on his back and goggles on and Steve…large as life.

The three guys looked at one another, thinking she had a point, before Steve said, "Get us out of town and then I'll take over…I know a safe house we can use."

As Molly took a left, Bucky stayed silent at this piece of information. He was still trying to process the never ending thoughts and memories that were bombarding him and though the idea of getting to somewhere safe was appealing, a part of him wanted to keep running, to break away from Steve and Molly and the bird guy and go it alone…to get away from people altogether, but then, these people had risked their lives for him and he owed them and found himself wanting to know them more...

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Back in the lab, Hanning groaned and struggled to get to his feet, his eyes narrowing as he remembered what had happened. He crossed back to Molly's work station and looked around as though looking for clues.

"This isn't done with yet you bitch," he muttered under his breath just as the Colonel's second in command approached him.

"Is there anything missing?" the man asked and Hanning snorted.

"Aside from the best weapon we had?"

His sarcasm earned him a look that told him not to piss about and glancing around he made a realisation.

"She's taken the fucking book!"

End of Chapter 4