"Winter Soldier, you have failed me a third time," the deep, accented voice intoned, "How many chances do you suppose I should give you?"

Bucky wasn't really paying attention to how many times he'd failed his mission. He was more focused on slamming his whole weight into the bars separating him from his captor. Whatever his prison cell was made of was stronger than the super soldier serum in his veins because he wasn't even making a dent. He might have been able to do some damage with the metal arm, but his captor had taken that from him as soon as he returned.

"They promised me that the activation words would ensure your compliance," the deep voice continued as the tall, angular man paced in front of the cell, "I bribed, blackmailed, and butchered to acquire those words and yet it seems they are not completely effective."

Bucky could argue the opposite. As soon as those words, those damn trigger words, were spoken, his mind went completely blank except the thought of following orders. He could plot out complicated schemes for doing what he was told, he could remember all of his combat training, he knew exactly how to do what he was told, but he couldn't remember who he was or anyone he'd known before.

Most days his memory was terrible anyway. Though he'd read that he was supposedly the childhood best friend of a super soldier from decades ago, his own memories of anything before the helicarrier in DC were not intact. Now and then he'd get flashes of a life before. Of home cooked meals, of newspapers in shoes, of a uniform, or a sickly man he cared about. Every now and then he thought he remembered the girl with pink hair even. But none of it connected and his captor's repeated use of the trigger words wasn't helping anything.

"If the words were as effective as they promised, then perhaps you would have completed your task by now."

Bucky took a break from body slamming the bars to cuss the other man out.

"Yes, I know you are very upset," the man sighed and rolled his eyes, "I am upset as well, Winter Soldier. You are not nearly as infallible as the reports say. It is a wonder Pierce was ever able to get you to behave."

"He had more scientists than you," Bucky scoffed, breathing heavily. "Maybe those words won't work forever. Maybe you need the mad scientists in order to keep messing with my head."

"You had best hope that is not the case," the man sighed, "Because that would mean you are more trouble than you are worth. As pretty as you are, I am not interested in keeping you as a pet. If you do not have success soon, I'm afraid I'll have to put you down like the old dog that you are."

"Good," Bucky growled and returned to trying to break the bars.

"Tsk, so depressing," the man shook his head, "I will be leaving you for a while. I won't send you after her until the Avengers let down their guard. Don't worry, in the meantime, you won't have to stew in your failures. I may not have the scientists, but I was able to get my hands on some of their machinery."

Bucky's breath caught in his throat. "No…"

"Oh yes," the man disappeared into the shadows and came back, wheeling a device the size of a coffin. Cold fog rolled off of it as fear clutched at Bucky's gut.

"No!"

"Afraid so," the man took the key to the cell out of his breast pocket. The little skeleton key glowed brightly, matching the eerie blue glow on the lock. "Now, since I can't trust you to get into the cryo chamber yourself…" the man's word's switched from English to Russian: "longing, rusted, seventeen…"

"No! Shut up!"

"...daybreak, furnace, nine…"

"Stop!" Bucky cried not recognizing his own strangled voice as the words began to echo through his head.

"...benign, homecoming, one…"

"Please."

"Freight car," the man finished and Bucky felt his brain go blank like a chalkboard in the rain. "Soldier?"

"Ready to comply."

"Excellent, get in the cryo chamber."

Bucky did as he was ordered and heard one more thing as the door closed and the cold started.

"I will have her back, Winter Soldier, and if you can't do it, I'll find someone else."

Then the ice set in and Bucky could think no more.

A note from the author: Soooo... hi. Been a while, huh? My job has been crazy and my responsibilities at it have changed (in a good way!) and I've been scrambling to find a balance. I've also been putting a lot of work into my original stories and I am hoping to pursue publishing soon. Plus, the whole world feels insane right now and fanfiction has kind of fallen on the backburner. BUT! I am posting a chapter now and all of the reviews I've gotten really surprised and inspired me to write more! Apparently this website has updated and now I don't get emails when people leave reviews (which is dumb in my opinion), but thank you so much to everyone who reviewed, it was so fun to read through them all! :D

Thanks for reading and sticking with me if you're still here! Hopefully it won't be too long until I post again.