Please note that this chapter may contain things some readers might find disturbing. Mature readers please.

The Curse of Dr. Zola

Chapter 8

"Stop! Stop! Stop! Please stop!" Bucky's cries fell on deaf ears. His legs felt like lead from running, and his whole body shivered with the cold.

He was handcuffed to a chain that linked up to the back of a jeep. Clad in nothing but boxers and his shoes and socks, he was pulled behind the jeep out in the cold of Germany. His legs were giving out and he didn't want to be dragged in the snow.

"You Americans are so weak!" The soldiers in the jeep laughed at him, and Bucky's face turned beet red. It was just enough of a distraction to make him stumble and fall into the slushy snow. The slack in the chain quickly disappeared and Bucky's worst fear came true. He felt his shoulders jerk painfully, and the biting cold of the snow on the ground stung his bare chest and limbs. His boxers got soaked immediately, and his nether region burned with the icy cold. His howl of surprise and pain got somewhat muffled as snow built up between his arms and threatened to go down his throat.

The soldiers dragged him a few more yards before stopping. "If he is damaged, she might punish us."

One by one they got out of the jeep and pulled Bucky to his feet. His skin was bright pink, and he shivered uncontrollably. They helped him up into the jeep, flung a blanket over him and made their way back.

Once there, they brought him to the showers and un-handcuffed him. He sat heavily onto the bench seat.

Once he heard the lock click behind them, he got to his feet, removed his boxers and footwear and ran water over his body; cool at first, then gradually warming up. He was so focused that he didn't hear the door unlock and open.

She stood there and watched him; his eyes closed and his face upturned into the warm water. She watched the water fall down his back and buttocks. His body was nicely formed, but he wasn't perfect yet. She slipped out quietly.

He turned at the faint sound to see no one there. Was it his imagination?

"What am I supposed to do?"

"You are to do what you are told!"

Bucky pressed his lips together in a grimace. "I'm not doing this."

"You will."

"No, I'm not"

"Very well…" She assumed a fighting stance and proceeded to knock Bucky right off his feet. As his back hit the mats, the breath got knocked out of him.

"Defend yourself!"

Bucky rolled up on one elbow, still trying to breathe. He put up one hand in an attempt to ask for time. She backed off.

When he got to his feet, he bent down to pick up the sticks. "What are these?"

"Quarter staffs. I will teach you the basics. Come stand beside me."

He moved next to her, and for the next hour, she showed him stances and defensive moves.

"No, not like that. Let me show you." She positioned him just so, and backed up. "Never leave yourself open to attack. If you leave a spot undefended, someone can use it against you." She moved to show him.

"See? Before you were vulnerable here and here." She moved her staff towards his body, showing him the places he'd exposed. "But now…." She repositioned him again. "You are less vulnerable."

It began making sense to him, and he dropped the pose. "Ok, I get it, but Nazi's aren't going to come at me with sticks."

"I am training you for something much worse."

An eyebrow shot up. "What's worse than Nazi's?"

"You'd be surprised."

BOOM. Another explosion rocked the building. Steve Rogers and his Howling Commandos raced out just in time. The building came down in a fantastic heap.

Still catching his breath, Dum Dum congratulated Rogers on another HYDRA base gone.

Nodding, he acknowledged the victory. "But still, no Bucky."

"I'm telling you Cap, that woman was neither with the Nazi's nor HYDRA, no matter what uniform she was wearing."

"Who the hell is she then?"

"I don't know, sir, but she was good on her word. If she hadn't been we would never be here…" Suddenly, enlightenment crossed Dugan's face. "Do you think this is what she meant, sir? That we were meant to be here? She said we were part of something significant, could this be it? What we're doing is pretty significant."

"I don't know. You told me Bucky was going to be significant too. Why isn't he here?"

"That I can't tell you, sir."

"Let's head back to camp and report in."

The men gathered together and went back to camp, where they filed their mission report with Colonel Phillips.

"After you're all rested up, I have another mission for you. Intelligence reports have come in on a train carrying a person of interest. A leading HYDRA scientist will be on that train. I need you to go and get him."

"Yes, sir."

Bucky limped into the dining room that evening, and very carefully chose the way he sat down. His legs were aching certainly, but his backside was still sore from the inoculations.

She watched as his face changed pained expressions.

He finally settled himself with a great heaving sigh, and began turning red when he heard her actually giggle.

"I know your pain; it is not a pleasant experience to receive inoculations. Perhaps someday they will find a way to make it painless."

Easing himself into a lean, he shook his head. "I doubt it. They still have to put the needle into your b….into a muscle somewhere."

When he finally met her gaze, she was smiling! He was speechless.

"We all have felt the sting of the needle since we were children. It does not get easier."

"He could have at least left me one side to sit on!"

She turned her head and hid her knowing smile from him with her hand, but she couldn't conceal her stifling her giggle, not completely.

"Oh, brother….I guess I would find it funny if it were you."

She looked at him now, with a softer expression than he'd ever seen from her; a rare moment. "We do share some things in common, whether you believe me or not."

"I just don't understand you sometimes."

"I know."

Bucky wasn't sure, but he almost thought her voice was about to crack, and then her expression changed. It went back to business, but there was that something in her eye she couldn't quite hide.

"Eat; before it gets cold. You must keep up your strength."

"What's on the menu tonight?" He reached to lift the lid. "It smells good, almost like…." His face took on a surprised look. "Spaghetti and meatballs! Holy cow! I love spaghetti and meatballs!"

She smiled at his delight. "Eat all you want."