"You shall be alone when this war ends, alone and therefore free." Pierce stood in front of me, blue eyes cold.
I was pinned to a chair about to get shocked after my latest mission. Metal bit into my skin, the chair stiff and uncomfortable underneath me. The room was freezing - the colour, the temperature, the atmosphere. Everything about it made me shiver ever so slightly, just so they wouldn't notice. I couldn't remember anything, why I was here, who I was... I just knew how to kill, to survive.
"I'm alone now," I whispered, watching those around me. Armed guards, two scientists preparing equipment.
"No you're not, there are others like you." And right on cue a long haired man with a mask walked past, a frown creasing his face. The winter soldier. He couldn't see us, but I could see him. His blue eyes glazed over, the metal of his arm glinting in the lab light as he walked topless, flanked by guards.
"I knew him," he muttered, blue eyes wide. He was remembering his past life.
"You don't know Captain America," one of the guards snapped. So he had remembered. The one thing HYDRA never wanted to happen, it meant that they had lost control.
"You shall be better than him." Pierce's voice brought me back and I looked to him. He smiled at me - a grotesque thing which cracked across his face. "You shall be the best, soldier."
I relaxed in my chair, the foul taste of a gum shield meeting my mouth. I gritted my teeth awaiting the pain. A cry sounded not that far away, the soldier was screaming too. Yet me and him were not alike in the slightest way. I would be alone forever. I wasn't innocent before this and I wouldn't be at the end. The pain started, volts screaming through my head. To be alone is to be free...
"She was always getting into trouble." That laugh... Becky. It was Becky. My sister. My dying sister... No. It hurt, the lack of control, the pain. I pushed the startling news to the back of my mind. I couldn't lose her, I only just got her back.
"Rude to talk about people behind their backs," I mumbled, still finding comfort in the darkness under my eyelids.
Becky giggled. "Speaking of backs, do you still have that tattoo Zo?"
I sat up, rubbing my eyes, before glaring at my sister. Trust her to bring up that mistake - Romanian vodka was not my friend before the serum.
"I'll take that as a yes. I don't even see why you got it there, I mean no one's going to see it." Becky sat in her chair, raising a perfect eyebrow at me.
"It's on my lower back, not anywhere stupid. Besides I was drunk, my decisions were a little skewed." I argued, shaking my head. My most recent dream was far too real at the moment, my head ached as if I'd been shocked again. The memory was from years ago, Pierce had been dead for years now. My heart still raced ever so slightly, my head throbbing.
"And you wore a bikini or exposed a lot of flesh when exactly?" Becky glared back.
"Since I became a stripper," I muttered, yawning. "Only at the weekends though, I'm busy being a cripple the rest of the week."
"Funny. I need to talk to you outside." Becky took my hand - which looked like a giant's compared to hers - ignoring my sarcastic comment. She always did ignore them. Her hand was remarkably warm in mine, comforting. Comfort... Now that was something I hadn't felt in a long time.
"To the balcony?" I asked, grabbing my crutches and standing up.
"But you're scared of heights, Zo." Becky laughed.
"Falling actually," I corrected her. "There's a difference."
"Perfectionist," she taunted me, rolling backwards and spinning around. I followed her out of the door.
"Rebecca?" Bruce stood, his glasses crooked on his nose. A tablet was in his hands, screen bright.
My sister looked to Doctor Banner. "Yes?"
"The serum I've regained some of it." Bruce was practically bouncing. "Only problem is it'll take years to formulate into something we can use."
She couldn't tell him. Please, she wouldn't, she couldn't. She couldn't tell them what I was.
"Looks like you'll have to do it for me." Becky smiled, nudging me with her chair to go.
I stood on the balcony, snowflakes falling from the sky. I stuck my tongue out giggling. I didn't care if everyone was watching us.
"Just like old times." I heard Becky sigh.
"Mmmm..." I put my crutches on the flood and leant over the balcony, lifting my right leg off of the floor, leaving the left one down. The leg I trusted.
"Don't fall." A hand was holding my ankle.
I stood back, twisting around, catching another snowflake on my tongue. "What did you want to talk about then?"
"You know Sam is pretty nice, but nothing compared to Aaron," Becky sighed, rolling near to the edge. "At least I'll be able to spend eternity with him soon."
I nodded, humming 'Please don't leave me' by P!nk. The irony. "When were you going to tell me? I mean if you knew I was still alive would you have said anything?"
Becky nodded her head, putting her hands in her lap. Her nails were painted a deep blue - each one a perfect length and shape. "I... I would have done eventually, if you weren't on a mission."
I watched the traffic, the small dots below me - each individual's with lives of their own, lives I could take away with just one kick to the head. I shook my head at my sister, looking back at her. "Mission... They were never missions - being paid to kill people, even if they were bad people... I've never been good. I never will be. Being good now is just telling myself lies that I want to hear."
Becky reached out and tapped my knee. "You were good before you got involved in the gang, the racing and everything else that came with it. You just lost sight of what was good for you, what was good in you."
"It's nice you think there's still some good in me..." I mumbled. "That I actually care."
"When HYDRA gave you the serum it would have amplified your strongest personal traits - you act all cold but it's because you care more. Science says so and you can't argue with science."
I gritted my teeth, turning my head so I didn't have to look at her. "I don't thin-"
"Don't argue you with me, Zoe," Becky snapped - she was definitely angry.
"I'm not arguing, I just know that what you're saying is bullshit." I looked to my sister. "I don't care, if I did care over one hundred people would be alive."
Becky huffed, grey eyes looking away from me. "You're wrong and you know it."
"I'm not talking about this, change the subject, Rebecca." I raised an eyebrow, glaring at my sister.
"I think Bucky likes you." Well that came out of nowhere. Any chance of changing the subject back?
"Thanks for not telling them about my leg, about me." I sat down on the rail. The wind made my shirt billow, my hair fly around my face from the security of my ponytail. If I lost my balance I would fall. I wonder... Would anyone catch me?
"Don't change the subject," Becky laughed. "If you don't want him I'll have him. I mean the guy looks like a god. His blue eyes are to die for and the square jawline, ahhh he's beautiful. How is he not a model?"
I just sighed, looking inside the tower. Sure enough everyone was watching us. They weren't even being discreet about it. I waved at them, throwing them a grin. Aha, no hands on the railing rebel that I was.
"He was talking to me about you this morning, Zoe." I looked back to Becky. She poked me in the leg. "He said you were funny and understood what it's like being a victim."
"Nah... He's just being nice, he's from the 1940's after all." I rolled my eyes, leaning backwards. Adrenaline flooded my veins, the risk of falling was exhilarating.
"You'll fall." Becky was holding my leg.
"Then I'll just get back up again," I laughed, leaning even further back, ignoring her comment which had obviously been about Bucky and not going over the edge of the balcony. Everyone inside was now watching me, eyes glued to me and not my sister.
"Get down! You're going to give me a heart attack!" Becky pulled my leg making me slip off of the rail. My coccyx harshly connected with the floor.
"Ow." I grimaced, wincing at the hardness of the floor and then I laughed - the sound abruptly escaping my lips - at the stupidness of the situation.
"Why are you laughing?" Becky was practically crying with laughter now.
"Because it hurt and it was stupid." I stuck my bottom lip out.
"You know I think Barbie would jump in front of a bullet for you." Becky had stopped laughing now, watching me again with her inquisitive grey eyes. How much had Bucky told her?
"Thanks for not telling them about me." I tried to thank her again.
"You're not ready and neither are they." Becky smiled, putting her elbow on the railing. "One day though... You'll have to tell someone. I remember the phone call you gave me years ago when it first happened, when you first remembered and then they caught you. I'm a super soldier, Becky, and my leg, it's metal. And then a few days later a package with your blood sample came through with the serum in it."
"Yeah, scariest moment of my life." I looked up at her.
Becky smirked, winking at me. "So Zucky or Boe?"
"You're shipping us now?" I cast my gaze to the floor, hair falling around my face as it escaped even more of my ponytail. "You're not meant to ship real human beings."
" I don't care, the ship has sailed." Becky's hair fluttered in the wind along with her blouse.
"No, it hasn't." I crossed my arms.
"Yes, it most definitely has." Becky glared at me, shaking her head.
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
Becky shook her head, her hands resting in her lap again, her wedding ring and engagement ring glinting in the sunlight. "Would you not date him?"
"No." Wait what? Had I seriously fallen for that?
Becky just laughed, tears falling down her cheeks again.
"What do you want to do?" I ventured into the unknown, looking inside - no one moved, all eyes on my sister and me. "I mean we have a week and I don't want to sit around bickering with you..."
Becky looked up at the sky - her veins were visible in her neck her skin paler than normal. "Skydiving."
I watched my sister, drinking in all of her details. The way her bottom lip was plumper than her top. Her wonky Cupid's bow and the little beauty mark that was barely visible on her right nostril. And then it hit me, what she'd just said. Skydiving. Hurtling towards the Earth at God knows how many miles an hour to your death. How was that fun? "What?" I finally managed to say.
"Sam said he'd take me..." Becky smirked, crossing her arms over her chest. "And you."
"No, definitely not. And you're not flinging yourself out of a plane either." I shook my head. "It's dangerous."
"Bucky's going." Becky bit her lip. "Imagine how good he'll look in a sky diving suit... Tight fabric and the winter soldier's arse equals Zoe's dream."
"That's not going to persuade me." I stood up, picking up my crutches.
"Oh, you see I've already told him that you'd go." Becky's shoulders shook with her laughter. "You wouldn't want to disappoint Bucky, would you?"
I swung on my crutches, my legs swinging. "Fine."
"Yay," Becky giggled. "Let's go!" Wait, what? Who was the older sibling here?
I quickly swung after my speedy sister. What the hell had I just agreed to?
"Let's go!" Becky beamed, picking up her bag.
I stood leaning on the door frame, the wind licking my back. I had my arms crossed over my chest. It was best to say I wasn't amused.
"Awwww... Is diddums scared?" Sam smirked, picking up a backpack.
"No," I snapped. How had they even arranged this anyway?
"Ever skydived before?" Sam tightened his backpack straps, watching me.
"Totally, I once did it nude." I was too sarcastic for my own good sometimes.
"Okay," Sam laughed, tossing the bag over his shoulders. "I'll just teach Becky then seen as though you know what you're doing."
Becky sat in the lift laughing as Sam joined her. She looked so happy for someone who had so little time left.
I rolled my eyes swinging into the centre of the living room. "What have I agreed to?" I muttered. "What am I doing with my life?"
"You scared?" Tony asked from Pepper's side, a bag of blueberries in his lap.
"No, just..." I shrugged. "Not a big fan of falling."
Bucky appeared with another backpack, he had a tight black shirt on, his muscles clearly visible. I mean I obviously wasn't looking, just observing something which could not be missed. That and the way his jawline looked when his hair was tucked behind his ear... Wow, Zoe sort your priorities out.
"If I die Sharon, I want you to have my... Oh wait I have nothing." I rubbed my crutch on the floor. "You can have my car." I smiled as I entered the lift.
"You'll be fine!" I heard Sharon laugh as Bucky entered the lift too. Everyone's amused faces disappeared as the lift closed. I studied the patterns inside closely, thinking.
"So, have you ever skydived before?" Bucky asked, pushing his hair behind his ear.
I looked up at him, laughing. "Nope."
"I'll teach you, doll." Bucky smirked.
"Thanks, Barbie," I mocked him, shaking my head as I reached up and fixed my ponytail, the stray strands annoying me.
"Or I could just let you fall." Bucky's laugh vibrated in the lift as we headed for the ground floor.
"I'd deserve it," I whispered, looking away from him to the lift doors.
"She doesn't hold it against you you know." Bucky nudged my shoulder. "I spoke to her for at least two hours before you woke up."
"I know she doesn't..." I sighed, not looking at him. "That's what makes it worse."
"What did she say to you outside on the balcony anyway?" Bucky had taken a step closer to me. I could feel his gaze on the side of my face... Good luck trying to get anything out of me.
I shrugged, watching him from the corner of my eye. "It doesn't matter."
"Okay." Bucky ran his right hand through his hair. "So skydiving..."
The explanation was fairly simple but I had a feeling that doing it was going to be a whole different thing entirely. "Right... Easy as pie."
"You were in the army, you'll be fine." Bucky walked briskly beside me as we walked to the garage.
"But what if I fall?" I whispered, casting my gaze to the floor.
"Then I'll catch you." Bucky's words were so sincere, so passionate. It scared me. I didn't deserve him yet here he was.
We all sat silently in the car. Becky constantly met my gaze and then looked to Bucky, winking, from the front seat. Nudge, nudge, hint, hint. She may as well have just said it out loud.
I looked away from her, out of the window. Fields rolled past us now, vast spaces with little human activity.
Goosebumps rose on my arms. I had sky dived before...
I fell through the air, wind whipping my face. Goggles concealed my eyes and a mask hid my face. The Stars bore witness to my descent, their light glinting on my gun.
My target. Their blonde hair fell over their shoulder in waves, spilling across white chiffon - she looked out over the ocean from her balcony so blissfully unaware. I pulled out a gun from my back pocket. I clicked the bullet into place. A red hole now spilt Crimson across the fabric of her dress. Screams erupted on the beach below.
She fell forwards. Crack. A crumpled mess of white and blonde and pink stained the pavement. I pulled my shoot, landing in the ocean minutes later. It was warm, lapping at my waist and soaking my uniform. The gun slipped from my hand, sinking to the bottom of the ocean. All evidence of her murder was gone...
"Zoe? Are you okay?" Bucky looked at me, searching my face. He was touching my knee and I hadn't even noticed, too absorbed in my own memories.
"Y-yeah, just remembering something from war..." I pushed a strand of hair behind my ear.
"I remember falling years ago, from a train and Steve reaching for me..." Bucky shook his head, hand still on my knee. "But it's okay because he caught me eventually when we fell off of a building with a helicopter."
"The bromance is strong," Sam laughed from the driver's seat.
I nodded, letting a small smile creep across my face. Who had the blonde lady been besides another name added to my list of many kills?
"Buckle up, Buck."
"Will do, Wilson."
"Seriously guys?" I rolled my eyes, clinging to my straps a little tighter. The Falcon helped Becky stand in front of him, her grey eyes scanning the scenery outside the window.
Bucky stood next to me, eyes on me.
"What are you looking at?" I asked, leaning on the wall for support. Support I didn't need.
"You." Bucky smirked. "Don't people in the twenty first century admire art anymore?" He walked over to Sam, so cock sure.
I rolled my eyes. "Make way, senior citizen coming through."
Sam burst out laughing, stepping to the door of the plane and opening it. Becky grinned at me before Sam spoke "This is where we leave to let the two lovers quarrel." And with that they jumped out of the plane.
"Ladies first." Bucky motioned for me to go.
"Men just before." I motioned for him to go.
"Together?" Bucky held out his hand.
I didn't even think the action through before his hand was in mine. He helped me walk and all too soon I was standing at the edge of the plane door, quite literally bricking it.
"You'll be fine." I could feel Bucky behind me, helping me stand. His breath warm on the back of my neck. Something within me stirred, my heart thundering in my chest. We were doing separate jumps, I was a super soldier for godsake. "I promise, doll."
"Okay," I croaked, watching my sister and the Falcon fall towards the earth. She was an official nutter. Crazy. Bonkers. Mad.
"Ready?" Bucky's breath grazed my ear.
"Now or never," I whispered, letting go of his hand.
"Go!" Bucky yelled, pushing me out of the plane.
Air whipped my face, scattering my brain cells and making my eyes run. The bastard. I spun in the air, round and round. Could you be sick falling this fast?
"Woooo!" Bucky yelled, a few inches from me. Blue eyes burned into me, his hair flying all over the place.
"Ahhhh!" I screamed, finally steadying my descent and stopping the sickening somersaults.
"Fun!" Bucky winked at me, his cheeks wobbling.
"No!" The ground was getting far too close. Oh god I was going to be sick for sure.
"Yes!" Bucky argued.
"No!" Yep, I was going to be sick, super soldier or not.
"Free!" Bucky yelled, leaning into the dive, falling faster.
I had no choice but to follow him. Soaring over the land, chasing him to the ground. We spun around each other, it was easier now - falling. I'd done it enough times...
"Pull your shoot!" Bucky yelled below me, pulling his own.
I pulled it. My shoulders jolted as I began to slow down. Oh shit. This was utterly crazy. The sensation of my heart threatening to explode in my chest far too real.
Bucky hit the floor first, parachute landing to the side.
I happened to land on top of him. Smooth move, I know...
We were left in a red light from my parachute covering the both of us. Our chests heaved.
I laughed. This was so ridiculous. "You said you'd catch me," I said, breathless.
"That I did, doll." Bucky laughed, breath fanning across my face. Our faces inches apart. His blue eyes stared into mine. Our lips so close...