Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Frank Castle had been slamming a sledgehammer into a wall at the construction site he was working at. Memories of his wife and kids flashing through his mind. He had gotten everyone of them that was directly involved in their death at least to his knowledge and now he was just working through all the pain of actually losing them.

The assholes that worked here didn’t help with that.

“Here’s the gimp you asked for, still slamming his hammer.” Frank ignores the dig. “Don’t know what a fine woman like you would be looking for a special case like that though?” Wolf whistles came from many of the workers.

Frank hears as a woman sighs and a man chuckles. “I’ll give you 3 seconds to run away with your tail between your legs and I’ll not show everyone here that a tiny Asian woman can kick your ass.” Frank knew that tone of voice and if the leading idiot had any braincells he’d know to walk away.

He fortunately didn’t. “What was that, you bitch?” Frank let a smirk grace his face for the first time in a while as the sounds of the idiot in pain reached his ears, before turning to see the two smartly dressed people, the woman of which currently had the head jackass in a headlock he was failing to break out of. Frank saw as the man checked his watch, waiting patiently for the woman to finish, giving Frank a raised eyebrow look.

Frank had already assumed these people where agents of some kind here to bring him in, finally getting caught for the cartel killings. A part of him wanted to try to run but a larger part was done with hiding. He’d managed to evade the cops only to not really be living at all. He didn’t even go to the vet support groups anymore. He’d be better off in prison, at least there he could kill a few of the worst criminals off so their put down for good. Still, it was amusing to watch how they interacted.

Eventually the woman finished her display, the site was left in stunned silence and decided to watch the rest of the interaction instead of immediately going back to work. The man and woman then come over to Frank and display SHIELD badges. “Lieutenant Frank Castle? I’m Agent Coulson and this is my colleague Agent May. We would like you to come in for questioning regarding your … let’s say particular skill set.” The man didn’t smile at Frank and the construction workers went red faced before at least pretending to get back to work.

Frank readjusted his grip on the sledgehammer and went back to breaking down the wall. “You know, no one’s called me a Lieutenant in a long time. This about the cartel? Because if it is, I don’t regret it and I’d say as much in a court of law too.”

Agent May fixed her jacket. “We’re more here with a job offer if you’re willing to accept of course.”

Frank paused his hammering before turning towards them again. “I don’t work for the government anymore. I got out so whatever dirty job you want done go ask someone else to do it.”

Agent Coulson gave Frank a thin mouthed smile. “You might not want that, I mean it was such a tragic thing the central park massacre. Lot of good people died that day that might have been avoided.” Coulson tilted his head to the door. “Offer’s still open Lieutenant.” The agents then walked away, leaving Frank to boil over what they said. He took a few minutes to take the sledgehammer to the wall and screamed his frustration out with each hit, letting his rage out before throwing the hammer at the space the wall used to be and moving to leave the site, the stunned workers that had previously insulted him watched as he marched out with an unhinged looked on his face that only came with being ex-military that had seen things. Some nearly shit themselves at how close they probably were to making the man snap, to how close they were to being killed.

Frank stormed over to the red 2 seat Chevy that the two agents leaned against. “What information do you have?” He glared hard at the calm agents, probably smug at getting him right where they want him. “It depends on what you know and what you’ll have me do. I’m not gonna just do what you say alright?”

May gets off the car and makes her way to the passenger’s side getting in. “Not here. Follow us in the van you’re sleeping in.”

Coulson looked Frank in the face. “Do you have Captain America trading cards as well?” Frank at the comment blushed, turning away from the red Chevy and marching to his car.

Melinda rolled her eyes. “Let’s go.”

Frank was sat in the LAIR chair and for once he was relieved he was restrained.

HYDRA? Fucking HYDRA? What the fuck was with this shit?! Cerberus was a joke, he always suspected that. The lines were so blurred he knew something was dodgy, the ambush was just the last straw. The gangs being manipulated by the dirty government agents, who were being manipulated by HYDRA all to cause more panic and chaos? He can safely say he never saw that coming.

Fuck, he worked for HYDRA! His family was killed by HYDRA! He was going to kill every single last one of them if he finds them.

The two agents left, saying he should calm down before his visitors arrived. It was hard. He thrashed about in the chair just trying to break something to let his rage out. By the time he had calmed down, a grey hair woman and Tony Stark, back to his normal brown hair but still minus his goatee, entered the room. They put tissues in his hand to clean up is face since it was covered in spit, snot and tears before Stark removed the restraints. Frank wiped his face quickly.

Stark placed his hand on Frank’s shoulder. “A lot of the SHIELD agents we’ve cleared react the same way. Are you okay, all things considering?”

Frank blows his nose before getting off the LAIR chair and into a normal armchair that sat in the corner. “Course I’m not okay. I killed a lot of people for the military. How do I know that everything I did wasn’t twisted in some way by them?”

The woman who had introduced herself as Becca smiled sadly. “Unfortunately, it probably was to a degree.” Becca handed Frank another few tissues out of the box. “But you can’t go back and change what’s been done, only go forward. And you have a choice to make. You can remember everything you’ve learnt here and work with us to get rid of HYDRA or you can forget everything, we can put you into a witness protection program along with a man named Gunner Henderson. He sent the video file to an NSA analyst which we never managed to intercept in time before he sent it to Homeland. The analyst and his family are now legally dead as far as the world knows. They were only trying to do what was right.” Becca explained. “We’ll protect you from getting persecuted for killing that cartel no matter what option you’d choose though.”

“Why would you protect me?”, Frank asked puzzled.

Tony gave him a shark like smile rings of gold sparking in his eyes like fire. “Because if anyone killed Peter and JARVIS, there wouldn’t be a hope in hell I’d forgive them. I’d make them suffer slowly before finally killing them. You saw how we dealt with Richard and Norman. Both dead. I’d have preferred it if they both rotted, for a long time, in jail so they felt as trapped as they made their victims feel before they died but the circumstances wouldn’t allow for it. HYDRA funded them. I’d destroy them just for that alone.” Tony’s vicious smile fell. “You watched your family die right in front of you. Nobody gets out of that well.”

Frank sat as he took it in nodding. He pondered the options though it wasn’t a hard choice for him to make. “I’ll work with you. But I choose most of my own targets and I kill them all.”

Tony sighed. “We can’t allow that. Some might be useful to get more information out of HYDRA or other groups, so they dig themselves a bigger hole. Others might not be working for them so willingly, plus in the future we’ll have agents spying from the inside. I can’t just set you on a pure HYDRA base. At least not yet.”, Tony explained as calmly as possible. “What I can do, is get more information regarding the death of your family, let you go after who you can without jeopardising the operations we’re working on here and get you on SHIELD payroll for doing it, meaning you’ll be getting paid by HYDRA to kill HYDRA. It’s the little things you know.” Tony said smirking at the end. “When we’re ready. You can have a field day, I swear but until I know that we’ll definitely exterminate the parasite for good, I can’t have you being a loose cannon so if you want to be a part of this, you’ll be assigned a handler.” Frank glared but nodded, keeping quiet. This was obviously worse than they were letting on if they feared one fuck up could break everything they have going here.

The woman handed over her tablet. “This is your contract. Read it fully and if you have any questions please ask before signing. We’ll get you set up and give you your first mission as soon as you’re done.”

Frank read the document; asked his questions; argued over mandatory therapy; argued about having to give the judicial system three attempts at nabbing the majority of criminals that are guilty before doing them any serious harm and what types of criminals he was allowed to kill outside of HYDRA; moped when an ex-cop explained that people actual could be reformed and gave multiple examples, one of which was Scott Lang another was Rebecca Carbonell and after being thoroughly chastised by Mr Parker, he signed on the dotted line.

A week after he signed, he was given his first mission with Coulson as his handler. He cut his hair and beard, had on plain black tactical gear, since he couldn’t leave any personal touch. He was explicitly told that he had to be as efficient and clean as possible before he was given the mission.

When he got the file, he was enraged. Master Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes, The Winter Soldier. The list of his kills in the tiniest font on the tablet and filling multiple digital pages. What they did to the man over the years covering even more. “Your mission is to obtain and extract Barnes.”

Looking through the files he growled. “Is there even anything left of him where it counts? This looks like he’s someone that needs to be put down rather than someone that can be saved.”

“If he is, I’ll kill him myself.” A red head, that he’d been briefed was Agent Romanov AKA The Black Widow, typed on her tablet before showing him a video pausing just before it played. “One thing about Nazis. They are very thorough with their documentation of events.” She taps the edge of the tablet. “This video is from about 6 months ago of the Winter Soldier just before being mind-wiped and put back into cryo.” She plays the video.

*video*

Barnes was looking puzzled as he sat down onto the mind-wipe chair. He had been striped of any weapons then left shirtless.

The doctors were fixing his arm as he sat in the mind-wipe chair confused and slowly getting angry. Barnes then attacked a doctor shoving the man into a wall, cracking his head open. The video then shows the HYDRA agents aiming their guns at Barnes while someone went to get whoever was in charge.

Pierce, one of the few others that had level 10 clearance of SHIELD then came in and asked for a mission report twice before slapping Barnes for not replying.

“The redhead. Who was she?”

Pierce said she was an enemy agent reminding Barnes that he had full permission to kill her.

“No. I knew her.” Barnes got angrier as he sat up straighter. “I knew her, tell me who she was.” Barnes stood up. “Who was she to me and why don’t I remember anything?” Pierce backed away as Barnes started to murder strut towards him. The agents in the room opened fired at his chest with both sedatives and bullets to put him down. However, Barnes didn’t fall right away, he just started to attack them, killing as many as he could as his wounds healed, popping the bullets out.

No one in the room seemed to know the trigger words or speak them fluently enough in the panic. Eventually, they had subdued him enough to shove him in the chair and lock him into restraints. He thrashed about like a wild animal and the metal groaned as the restraints started to give, they shoved a mouth guard into place, Barnes manages to bite off one of the agents fingers as they did so. The HYDRA agents held the guard in place as they put the head part of the machine over his head, covering most of his face.

*Video cut off*

“He then gets electrocuted directly to the brain.” Romanov’s face was hard. “You don’t need to see that.” She pulled her tablet away. “The redhead he was referring to was me. I was his only student during his years with HYDRA. It was during his time in the Russian HYDRA’s possession. Back then he trained me on how to not become their pawn and how to survive the brainwashing and conditioning while also training me to fight and unfortunately kill. He trained me since I was 5 until I was 17. You don’t need to know the specifics, but I destroyed the place and set it ablaze. SHIELD picked me up after that. I met Tony when I was 20 and gave my full loyalty to him at 21. I’m 24 now. He still remembers me after nearly 10 years and reacted like that when he did.” Romanov stared him down. “We think he can give good intel if he’s capable of remembering more. Plus this is personal to me and the Carbonell’s since Becca is his sister. This means we have to be seen in public or on missions when this goes down and there’s a gala happening that all of us can attend while Barnes will be in transit.” Frank blanched. He cried in front of one of his heroes’ sister like a child. He could never let himself live it down. Frank focused his thoughts away from his embarrassment and back on Romanov who sighed as she looked at the table. “He’s my family. He’s fought for so long, I just want to give him a chance to come back. The evidence shows he can.”

Frank rubbed his neck, before holding out his hand. “Let me watch the full video and any others you’ve got of him. I wanna know just how much I should enjoy killing the HYDRA agents and how he kills since I’ll need to try and imitate it as close as possible if we want this to work. Clean and efficient isn’t much to go on.”

Frank was a little peeved at how easy it was to kill the goons.

He apparently just had to wait until the van was out of the surveillance CCTV cameras and the agents stopped for a piss rather than do his original plan. He crushed one guys throat with his flesh hand covered in rubber and he smashed the other guy’s head in with his metal gloved hand to mimic Barnes' arm until his head cracked open. He made sure to place them back into the van before going to the back to see their cargo.

In the back was the cryo-chamber and the blank face of James Buchanan Barnes. He almost looked like they took the life right out of him.

Frank looked away and focused on making the chamber fail the way Tony told him to make it look like natural wear and tear. Frank watched as the mist from the nitrogen poured out until it stopped and watched as Barnes started to look about confused. He looked broken and far different from how he was in the video. He looks almost timid in his confusion which looked wrong on such a big guy.

Frank took out a notebook and jotted down a message that Barnes had to break the restraints himself, if he could, then the glass. Barnes stares at him before tilting his head. Frank realised quickly a horrible thing.

Barnes didn’t trust the escape. He didn’t trust someone would actually try to save him.

Barnes jotted down another message. It read: Sent from Family. Becca. Natalia. Carbonell. Get you Home. Frank watched as Barnes narrowed his eyes. He broke the chair restraints then Barnes picked the chair up and used it to break the glass. Frank stepped back as the glass broke.

Barnes broke the chair and ripped it apart, leaving it a mangled mess. “That felt good.” Barnes marched over to Frank after he took out his anger on the chair. “How do you know those names? What is a Home? And is it as bad as the chair?”

Concern bubbled in Frank’s gut. “Do you know who you are at all?” The Winter Soldier tilted his head.

“The Asset.” Frank heart pounded in his chest. Barnes looked confused, “Isn’t it? I- mission what is my mission? They always want me to do missions. Make me. I won’t let you make me do them anymore.” Barnes got ready to fight Frank.

“Hey!” Frank quickly raised his hands. “I’m here to take you home, remember? I’m here to take you to Becca and Natalia and away from the chair.” That got a reaction out of him, his face fell flat as if he was trying to remember something, but he was slowly looking angrier and more frustrated at whatever it was. “Home isn’t anything like the chair and you don’t have to do any missions if you don’t want to.” Frank continues to calm the agitated man down and breathes a sigh of relief when he puts his hands down. “Okay. For starters, your name isn’t The Asset, it’s James Buchanan Barnes. Master Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes and you served with the 107^th during World War Two. You used to get called Bucky by your friends.” Frank watched as Barnes frowned. “I’ll call you Barnes until you decide if I’m your friend okay?” Barnes nodded with heavy dose of distrust as Frank lowered his arms. “I need to make this look like you did this so can you not runaway? Pick up will be here in five and someone’s been sent to drive by soon and call it in.”

Barnes wanders to the front of the car and uses his flesh arm to punch a large dent into the van before going to the back and pushing it into a tree. Frank watched in horror as Barnes then came back to stand before him. “You didn’t have to do that, I would have done it.”, Frank said as he analysed the man.

“You said you needed it to look like I did it.” Barnes tilted his head. “Was that not – no.” Barnes held his head and Frank placed his hands on Barnes shoulders to keep him steady. “I wasn’t meant to runaway, I wasn’t meant to move.”

Frank widened his eyes in panic when he saw Barnes breath become extremely laboured. “Shit. Okay. Just try to listen to my voice okay. Tell me the first five things you can see.”

“Man… Van… Road… Sky… Trees.” Barnes slowly managed out.

“Now four things you can hear.”

“Heartbeats… Wind… Arm. Helicopter.”

Frank smiled. “Great that means you’ll be home soon. Three you can smell.”

Barnes pauses to take a sniff. “Sweat. Deer… are you excited?”

Frank panicked. “You can smell that?” Barnes looked confused as he nodded. “Okay. Note to self, be careful around Barnes nose. Two you can feel.”

“Metal and flesh.”

“One you can taste.”

“Plastic.” Barnes was calm and distracted and therefore not going to freak out over either following what he thought was an order or not following it correctly.

“Good.” Frank heard as the medical helicopter hovered about them and a ladder fell down. Barnes looked back to him for confirmation before climbing the ladder, Frank following right behind.

Simmons was there to greet them. “Welcome back, Barnes.” She held out her hand to Barnes who just stared at it confused until Simmons awkwardly put it down. She instead pointed to a tool kit and scanner. “I’m sorry I have to do this but the people that captured you have probably got a tracker or two on you. I need to scan your full body and remove all of them before we can return to home base.” She pointed to the small cot set up. “I need you to lie down here.”

Barnes does as told and Simmons quickly located all the trackers in his body and arm. Simmons explained to Barnes that they didn’t have pain killers that would work on him yet but that she would warn him when any pain would occur. There was a tracker in the arm, another in his thigh and the final on was on the base of his neck screwed into his skeleton that appeared to be made of metal. The first two were easy as they were only skin deep, the last one wasn’t. Simmons gave him a dose of pain killers anyway just for her own peace of mind incase they helped at all before telling Barnes that he was going to be in extreme pain and that she was sorry she had to do this so he could be free. Quickly she cut into Barnes and ripped out the tracker however the man never moved or made a sound as she worked. When Simmons asked if he felt any pain at all, Barnes just said he had felt worse.

The wound then healed like it was never there to begin with leaving no trace of a scar.

Barnes stepped off the helicopter and looked around the compound. Frank was livid as he thought back on the way Barnes didn’t even flinch at the pain. Simmons appeared to be pretty shaken up about it as well as she quickly scurried off to find Fitz with scans of Barnes’ body.

“She smells sad and you smell mad. Did I do something wrong?”, Barnes asked as he stood outside with Frank.

Frank glared at the floor for a moment before he looked at Barnes with determination. “You didn’t do anything wrong Barnes. We’re just shocked you don’t even react to pain anymore. Simmons is taking the sad route and I’m taking the pissed off one.” Barnes turned around to look about. Frank stared at the pre-serum scar on the man’s right shoulder that was carved into him. “Yeah, I’m mighty pissed.”

Frank took Barnes inside the Compound and showed him to a holding cell that he’d be using as his room until they knew if he was a danger to himself and/or others. JARVIS popped up not long after and kept Barnes company telling him all about his friends and family. JARVIS also explained that he was a computer which confused Barnes. Frank couldn’t stop himself from bursting out in laughter when Barnes asked if he was an HP, Toshiba or an Apple much to the A.I.’s offence before he went on a long rant about how S.I. products were better and how it would be easy to stop HYDRA if they were using subpar equipment like that.

Coulson luckily arrived and JARVIS disappeared in a huff. The agent gave Barnes an overview of what had happened to him, who he really was and that his family were currently providing themselves a cover at a gala event so that they wouldn’t be implicated with the extraction. The Agent explained that he was considered a Prisoner of War and that his actions while under duress wouldn’t be considered his own legally considering the intensity of the brainwashing and the piles of evidence that was in his favour that he wasn’t in his right mind when the trigger words were spoken.

However, Coulson also explained that he couldn’t leave the grounds or at least couldn’t go anywhere there were CCTV cameras to keep him safe. The trigger words could still be used against him and Coulson explained they would figure out how to remove them if Barnes was willing to consent to the tests.

Frank started getting frustrated at Barnes’ mostly blank attitude. It was like he wasn’t really anything, not really. There was no light in his eyes in a way that sickeningly reminded Frank of himself. He left giving Coulson time to finish up and let himself change into his own clothes. When he came back, he found Barnes had changed into a hoodie and some sweatpants. Barnes looked fascinated with the clothes, running his hand over the fabric and his cot blanket as well.

“So, do you like the clothes?” Frank found himself asking as he sat down on the cot beside him.

Barnes nodded. “They’re soft.” Frank promised himself that he’d tell the Compound and the Carbonell’s to get him the softest clothes. Bucky played with the blanket as it ran through his fingers. “I’m Bucky, right? I’m not The Asset. I’m fuzzier about anything before the 60’s and I’m fuzzy around the 90’s and early 00’s too. I wasn’t functional, so they tried to fix it.” Barnes sniffs the air. “You’re mad again, why?”

Frank grinds his teeth. “Because you’re not a machine, you’re a person and people aren’t supposed to be fully functional. They’re actually mostly the opposite.” Barnes frowns his eyebrows together, looks at his arm then give Frank the most ‘How stupid do you think I am?’ look he could muster. It was so incredulous Frank had to laugh a little even if it was morbid. It was almost like Barnes was trying to joke but considering what he’s been through Frank couldn’t be sure. “If that look was a joke, your one hell of a comedian.” Frank smiled at Barnes but was given a vacant stare in return.

Barnes then pulls out a knife and starts playing with it. Frank recognised it as the one he kept in his boot at all times. Frank looks between his boot which he now felt was empty and Barnes playing with his knife.

“You stole my knife.”

“I acquired it.” Barnes looks at him blankly. Frank was a little peeved that Barnes had even managed to take it without him noticing.

Frank tried to snatch it back, but Barnes was too quick. Frank tried again not wanting to order the man to give him it back but also not wanting to leave the knife in his possession. Just as his fingers grazed the tip of the handle, Barnes moved it out of the way again. Frank looked into Barnes eyes and tried to understand what he was doing but came up blank.

“You should lean more to your left. It would make it harder for me to counter when you try to get it back.”, Barnes explained, and Frank just looked confused over their interaction. “Try again.” Barnes went back to twirling the knife. Frank tries to get the knife back doing the method Barnes who got it out of his reach again. “A little more.” Frank widened his eyes.

“Are you trying to teach me how to take a knife properly?” Frank starred as Barnes as he twirled his knife about.

“I saw you do it earlier with Coulson. It was poorly done. If Coulson wanted to, he could have slit your throat open and you’d be died before you realised it.”, Barnes said twirling the knife.

“Coulson wouldn’t do that.”, Frank said calmly.

“Yes, he would if you turn against them. He smells of distrust and hurt.” Barnes explained. “Plus, it was sloppy. Needs work.”

“I’m not sloppy.” Frank was a little offended but fails to take the knife again. He was frustrated that Barnes had gotten him on his feet standing and he was still twirling the knife even as he stood to match.

“You’re sloppy.” Frank fail again. “And too aggressive. That makes you tense and slow down. Stay calm and keep your arms relax as you take it.” Frank fails again and even lands on his ass inside the room with the momentum. “What is your name? You never told me.”

Frank thought back as he picked himself up off the ground. “Shit yeah. I’m Frank Castle.” Frank holds out his hand for Barnes to shake but just like all the other times he didn’t move. Frank slowly took Barnes right hand and placed it in his own showing him a handshake. He went for the knife and missed again. “I really thought that would work.”

“Different position, different approach. Sloppy.”, Barnes said as he initiated a handshake. “Bucky. Call me Bucky.”

Frank froze as the other man looked at him with little emotion, but a part of him thought that Barnes, no Bucky, would be a hell of a lot more stable when compared to Frank. Frank shook Barnes’ hand back before holding out his other hand for his knife. “Frank. When you’re allowed to go to the training rooms, you can continue showing me up. Until then, can I get my knife back? There are cameras in here and I don’t want everyone to see me get humiliated because I can’t take a knife off you.” Bucky handed the knife back as his eyes went over to the door.

“Frank you know there are cameras in the training rooms, right?” Natasha came closer but her eyes were focus solely on Bucky.

“But they aren’t heavily monitored like in here.”

Frank put the knife back in his boot and asked Bucky if he wanted him to stay. The soldier shook his head and Frank left to go to his room. He tried to wrap his head around everything he just saw. He put his head in his hands and didn’t know how long he stayed liked that. He snapped out of it when he heard a knock on the door. He let the person come in.

“Hey, how was he?” Tony came into the room. And leaned against the wall.

“Haven’t visited him yet?”

Tony fidgeted. “Wanted Nonna and Tash to have some time with him first. I’ll visit him when he’s a bit better. I don’t want to freak him out and make him think I’m there to kill him.”

Frank nodded absently. “He said he was more fuzzy about things before he was The Winter Soldier and the red room days.”

Tony came over to Frank. “Thanks.”

“Why’d you send me to get him? You have hundreds of agents that would have happily gotten him out. Why me?” Frank stared at the young-looking man.

“Because I thought I could help two people at the one time.” Tony’s eyes were warm so much so that Frank had to look away. “I think you can save each other from yourselves if you become friends. I also wanted you to realise that some of the people you think are too far gone can come back. James has done a lot of bad things but for nearly seventy years he’s also been the only one fighting HYDRA with every fibre in his body when everyone else slowly moved on and forgot about them.”

Frank sighed. “I think there isn’t much worth saving here. Bucky he- he’s worth saving.”

Tony placed his hand on Frank’s shoulder. “You are. You’ve both went into the hole. You both never climbed out though. You kept digging and digging until you came out in Central Park and him in Russia and again here.” Tony stood up as he made his way to the door. “Frank. Sometimes you kill people. That’s what you’re good at and it’s even, at times, something you enjoy. But that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re an entirely bad person if you know when to have your cake and eat it too. Kill when there is no other way, kill when there is no remorse on the other side and kill only when you’ve got all the information about the person to know whether or not you could help them out before they commit a crime again or for the first time. It leaves a lot of people out there for you to kill Frank and believe me when I say that not everyone will mind. I want to keep my kids safe and HYDRA almost took one from me. What I have planned won’t be pretty, it won’t be nice and as much as I hate killing for feeling others pain, I’m going to kill a lot of them all at once for what they’ve done to Bucky and what they wanted to do to Peter.” Frank watched as the small but deadly man opened the door. “I might even let you press the big red button if you’re lucky.”

Frank stares at the ground. “I think I’ll pass if Bucky wants to do it.”

Chapter Text

It had been 3 months since Bucky came to the compound.

He met Natasha, who told him she used to be named Natalia and was his student. Natasha called him Yasha instead of Bucky most of the time and he called her Natalia in response. The doctor came, asked him a few questions that he answered as best he could, they cleared him to leave the room with supervision which a lot of the time was Natasha. They spared together at lot and they walked about the compound grounds too. By the end of the first month, he remembered the majority of the gap in his memories regarding the red room. He cried when he did. When he remembered them trying to take her apart as a little girl and at the pride he felt when she came back to him, smiling brightly and called him Yasha, showing she was still fine and that they hadn’t broke her. He got closer to her after that and made sure he hugged her as much as possible now that he could. Now that he was free to.

Becca was also a common visitor. She told him that she was his sister and that she had waited for him to come home for a very long time. She was often accompanied by JARVIS who flew around him a lot and showed him how to use a phone for recreational use like playing games and how to play laptop games and hack the pentagon, but Bucky assured him he already knew how to do that. Becca told him all the stories she could remember from life in the depression both the good and the bad. What they had done together, the plans they had that they pushed back when the war started. She didn’t try to force him to remember just told the stories from her perspective and reminisced herself telling him all the things that had changed over the years. He remembered some of the stories but others he couldn’t recall so easily. She tended to laugh it off while saying that despite her good looks, her memory was probably going as well. She told him about Steve, about what happened and what she said and Bucky comforted her as best he could. Becca also talked about her husband and his grandson, Tony, that she took in as her own because his parents were like their father before he up and left, talked about his other son, Peter, gushing over the boy as much as she did for JARVIS when he wasn’t around to feel embarrassed.

He never met Tony or Peter.

He met everyone in the family Becca and Natasha had made for themselves. Clint, Laura, Cooper, Ben, May, Happy, Pepper, Rhodey (Who he bonded over military careers when he started to remember a little), Alpine the cat, Merlyn and Loki’s pets, which helped him remember the man that dropped off Firebird’s intel to him during the war and disappeared right after as well as sent his letters to Becca. Even the long lost Wakandan side of the family came to visit him when they tested his skeleton and came back with a vibranium alloy.

Becca told him that Tony would visit him soon with a new arm as a gift since FitzSimmons, as he’d started calling the two scientists, had more than enough information to take the arm off and replace it with a better model that didn’t stink of HYDRA and bad memories. When he gave his consent, they put him into surgery, now armed with drugs synthesised to numb his pain effectively, since he requested not to be put under. They added an arm socket that would allow for the new arm to be taken off when it was complete.

Frank visited a lot and Bucky could still kicked his ass even with one arm. They talked a lot and Frank became his go to guy for trying things from the new era.

Bucky did scream at Frank and Coulson though, the day before his arm removal, after they asked him about Captain America and how he came up with his plans which lead to him looking up Captain America online and what the history books said he did. Bucky was outraged that the US government rewrote history. He legitimately asked the agent and lieutenant if they thought a man with two weeks basic training and a few months as a stage performer punching a fake Hitler was actually capable of coming up with the plans to keep the Howlies alive during the war? “Please, please tell me in those little, tiny heads of yours there are actually brains able to function in any type of capacity. Dear God, it’s a wonder you were both able to become as capable as you are. I’m surprised your enemies haven’t been luring you out with spandex and the American flag this entire time.” Bucky crossed his arms and shoved his hands into his armpits and laughed, condescending smile breaking out over his face. “I mean my memory is a bag full of swiss cheese but at least I know the requirements to become a commissioned officer of the army. I met them for Christ sack! But I didn’t want to fight in the first place, so it was my small fuck you to the army! I was the highest ranking Commando at the time and you think Stevie, bloody Stevie, that picked fights that he couldn’t win REPEATEDLY, that’s ass I saved from getting killed more times than I could count BEFORE the war, was instantly capable of coming up with plans that worked because he was juiced up on some serum?”

Becca laughed. “There’s the Bucky I remember! Not even HYDRA can take the jackass out of him.” Bucky gave the two a crash course on what he did remember of the war and the training he put Steve through to try and give him a better chance at surviving and Steve’s arrogant nature through it all. How the Howlies, for all their gusto, didn’t see past the charming smile and stupid heroics that saved them more out of luck than anything else.

Bucky had the remaining original Howlies visit him after they had been cleared and informed about HYDRA much to their dismay and got the same lecture. Trip watched as his grandfather stuttered when he was asked about why he hadn’t corrected people about who made the most of the plans for the Howlies when it wasn’t just Steve who died but him as well. He was a little stunned at how quickly the Good Sergeant turned into superior officer and with that how quickly all the Howlies were at falling back into line. It was like he was never taken by HYDRA. Dugan even went as red as his hair used to be. “Now, I’d tell you to drop and give me a hundred for forgetting that you were MY fucking Privates, but I don’t want you to go into cardiac arrest in your old age!”

A chorus of, “Yes Sergeant” was given out.

“Oh, I’m sorry, did you all forget my real rank or do you need a reminder of that as well?”

“Yes, Master Sergeant.”

And it had done something. After that, whatever HYDRA had done to him to suppress his personality wasn’t working so well anymore. He started acting more like the Bucky Barnes of the 30’s and 40’s and less like an unfeeling robot. He wasn’t perfect, he’d never be the same that was just a fact he’d have to come to terms with, but he at least had his attitude, if a little colder.

After the Howlies got their ass’ verbal handed to them, Bucky was nicer to them. He congratulated them on the good lives they had lived and grieved with them over the deaths of Falsworth and Jacques. They helped him remember some more parts of the war and they visited him now as much as they could and called him up frequently just for a talk.

But Bucky couldn’t sleep. Now that he’d been regaining his memories, he’d had nightmares of killing people for HYDRA. One of his most recurring ones was of Howard’s and his wife’s death since he knew the man even if he was piece of work. He couldn’t shake it, couldn’t shake any of them. He woke up screaming most nights, not getting in more than an hour or two. JARVIS tended to be there when he woke up and he normally got Becca, Natasha or Frank, if he was there, to talk with him. His therapist talked to him about them. Said they were natural since he was finally able to process what happened to him. But it didn’t feel natural to him now that he was staring up at the ceiling at midnight.

He needed air.

Sighing, he got up and left a note in case anyone panicked about him leaving on his own and went for a run about the grounds. He knew the room was monitored but he still felt better doing it. The door to his room wasn’t locked since he got clearance to be unsupervised around the compound after his little outburst that disillusioned Frank and Phil (Bucky felt a little bad about that after the fact).

The halls had only a few agents wandering about as he went for his run and when he returned there was no one about. A little sweaty from running 6 hours straight, he took his top off and used it to wipe his brow and stomach. He wondered the compound, knowing that if he wasn’t allowed in somewhere, JARVIS wouldn’t let him as he had been keeping an eye on him during the night. He was a little surprise since JARVIS hadn’t turned up yet like he normally does and try to goad him back to bed or just keep him company.  

Bucky called out for JARVIS but he didn’t appear. That had Bucky panicking a little and he asked for JARVIS again. JARVIS popped up for a moment and told him to come to a specific lab before disappearing again.

Confused, Bucky did as asked and overhears as JARVIS was being yelled at. “Do you have any idea what hacking The White House with Daisy and setting the speakers to play Cotton Eye Joe on repeat could mean for you? I have the President asking if you’re a security threat! Just A Very Intelligent System Carbonell, what in the bloody hell were you thinking?!” A tiny young man, with fluffy brown hair glared at JARVIS as he crossed his arms and tapped his foot. “I’m waiting.”

JARVIS looked panicked until he spotted Bucky and his face brightened up. “Bucky! What a surprise!” Bucky heard as JARVIS sounded relieved and saw how the tiny, and in Bucky’s opinion at least, beautiful man tensed and started to smell of panic. “Isn’t it a surprise that Bucky’s here?”

Bucky shook his head. “Oh no, don’t use me to try and get out of this. For a super-computer that wasn’t a very smart thing to do.” Bucky leaned against the doorframe as the man turned to face him. Bucky tried his best to look as nonchalant as possible and show off his shirtless body. He knew he wasn’t anywhere close to being in a mindset that could handle dating or having sex, but he could flirt. Plus, flirting got the best information and he wanted to figure out why this man feared him. “If doll-face here is giving you a lecture, I’m not gonna save you.”

Doll-face blushed at the name, and his smell changed from one of pure panic to one with a little bit of intrigue and was that lust added in? Bucky smirked as JARVIS' face fell. “But you said it would be funny!”

Bucky tilted his head as he tsked. “Yeah, but I didn’t think you would do it. And I also remember telling you not to too, just to make sure.” JARVIS puffed his cheeks out in anger at the reminder.

“Then what was the point of bring you here?”

“I don’t know. To give me a good seat to hear the Judge give your sentence?” Bucky smiled at the holo-man before setting his eyes on Doll-face again. “Well, Doll-face?” The man shook his head and turned towards JARVIS again.

“You’ve lost recreational internet access for a month. And you’re going to be The President’s personal assistant until he steps down in a few months. All the boring ass meeting he goes to, you’ll be going to; all his reports, you’ll spell-check; all the coffee runs, you’ll go on them. Do I make myself clear?” Tony sighed at JARVIS. “I am incredibly disappointed in you.”

“I don’t have a body, I can’t. Unless you want me to wander about in one of the suits all day and have those greedy politicians try to steal it.” JARVIS was smug thinking he’d gotten out of it however Tony smiled sweetly before pulling out an orb the size of a baseball.

“Oh Jay, don’t I have a little surprise for you. Fitz, the Wakandan scientists and I came up with this. Connect to it.” JARVIS did so, disappearing and Bucky watched as Doll-face threw the orb in the air and JARVIS re-formed around it. “There, a body. And you can even touch things now while still being able to phase through things, how about that?” Bucky saw the wonder in JARVIS’s face as he picked up a pen, elated, before his face fell at the realisation of what that meant for him. Doll-face looked smugly back at JARVIS. “Now, you’ll be leaving in a few weeks, Daisy’s getting the same punishment, so she’ll be joining you there with Coulson. Don’t cause him any problems.” JARVIS huffed before storming out the lab and glaring at Bucky who raised his hand holding his shirt.

“Hey! You made your bed, if you can’t lay it, shouldn’t have made it.” Bucky watched as Doll-face sighed and stared at where JARVIS had left. “So, I haven’t seen you about the compound. Are you new or the elusive Tony?” Doll-face said he was Tony and Bucky kinda hated himself a little as he still found Tony incredibly attractive. Technically, he wasn’t related to Bucky but a part of him felt bad about being attracted to his little sister’s step-grandson that was more like her adopted kid. He figured it out when Tony acted like JARVIS’ parent more than just a peeved boss. Bucky nodded, straightening up. “Nice to finally meet you.”

Tony nodded as he fiddled about with some tools in his lab. “You too. Um, if you want, I haven’t finished the arm yet but if you want you could have a look at it.” When he said he’d love to, Tony scrambles about to get the arm. It was a matte black with gold highlights in the design. “I can redesign it if you don’t like it. It’s made out of Vibranium, so it’s virtually indestructible and matches the weight of your flesh arm. I let the kids help choose the design since they wanted to help.” Bucky stood beside Tony as he looked over the piece of technology as Tony explained how it worked, ‘Shit Becca. Cute, smart and tiny. Couldn’t you have adopted someone that isn’t my type to a gosh darn T?’

“No. It’s fine. Great even. I don’t know if I should wear it right now with the words still in my head but it’s great. Thank you.” Bucky smiled at Tony and Tony smiled back awkwardly. “You know you really didn’t have too. I can still fight pretty good without my left arm.”

Tony smelt worried even as he put the arm away. “Yeah, well I wanted you to know I’m not going to try and kill you. I should actually be thanking you.” Bucky was a little confused at the statement.

“Doll, I haven’t done anything to be thankful for.” Bucky watches as Tony tenses again even as he smelt sadness enter his scent. “I’m sorry if I’ve upset you.” Tony looked at him puzzled. “You’re scent. Serum your grandfather gave me. It gave me eternal life and enhanced my senses to give me the ability to smell your cat’s litterbox from here.” Bucky joked as he tried to defuse the tension in the man. “And I smelt you were scared of me earlier.”

“I’m not scared of you.”, Tony blurted out quickly. “I’m not, I’m just worried about you.”

Bucky pursed his lips. “That’s why you’ve been avoiding me? I get why you’d-”

“I’m Howard’s son.” It felt like he had a bucket of ice, cold water got poured over him. “I didn’t want you to get triggered or think the people here might hurt you, so I stayed away. Same with Peter because you monitored Howard when I was that age and he kinda looks like I did as a kid.” Bucky tried to process what Tony had just said.

“You’re a Stark?” Tony’s eyes darkened a little in anger and hurt.

“Absolutely not. I-”

Bucky put together why. “Oh, Howard bet you.”

Tony was silent for a very long time after that each of them staring at each other. Then words were spoken that Bucky didn’t think he’d ever be able to forget. “No, Howard killed me. Maria watched.”

Bucky had already been told by Becca about the Phoenix. He figured there was something weird about late-Carbonell since he met him in that HYDRA base in Azzano and Loki and Merlyn too for that matter. She had explained it all but it didn’t make sense to him until then. “They did what?” Bucky, from all he remembered so far, never imaged Howard to be the father type but even so to do that to your own kid? And for the mother to have watched? Becca told him a bit about Tony’s mother, sure, but didn’t she care at all?

Tony fidgeted with his sleeves as Bucky watched the man. “I mean he beat me too. Jarvis, the man JARVIS is named after, he found me after and got me to safety. That’s when I started mostly living with Nonno and Nonna. I celebrated my third birthday with them. Found out about it after reading one of Nonno’s journals.” Bucky was appalled as Tony continued his tale. “Later they-” Tony looked down and Bucky could smell the salty tears, taste them in the air, even if Tony tried to hide them. “Nonno got killed. Carter and them they wanted the herb that stabilized both Steve’s and your own serums. They didn’t know about everything my grandfather could give them if they kept him alive, what I could give them.” Tony wiped his face with his sleeve and looked up at Bucky with tear covered lashes, doe eyes and a heartbroken smile on his face. “So, as I said, I should thank you. For avenging me and Nonno. I know it wasn’t your choice but still. Just try not to feel any guilt over those two if you can.”

Bucky asked if Tony would be alright and he said he was leaving anyway since Peter would probably be waking up soon. Tony said he would give Bucky assess to their home in the Compound now that he knew and told him that, when he was ready, there was a suite waiting for him there. Tony asked if Bucky wanted to eat breakfast with them, or rather insisted. “No really I wouldn’t want to impose.”

“Come on, Peter’s been dying to meet you. He loves his Bucky-bear.”, Tony said teasingly as he took Bucky by the arm and Bucky accepted that Tony wasn’t going to take no for an answer unless Bucky said he was uncomfortable, and he wasn’t going to lie and say he was when he wanted to spend more time with the man. They walked through a messy large communal area. “Excuse the mess. Peter had his friends come over and since Cassie and Shuri joined their little group, they’ve achieved a new level of madness.”

“They can’t have been that bad.” Bucky stated as Tony led him to what he called his and Becca’s rooms.

“Peter and all but one of his friends are certified genius’, Winter Wonder. And Cassie isn’t what I’d consider average either. When they got kidnapped, they snuck into the vents and made bombs, real explosive bombs, to use as weapons. Two and three years olds shouldn’t be able to do that. After that they’ve been making a whole bunch of little things that can make myself and their parent’s lives much harder. Since Cassie and Shuri joined they’ve established leadership and a chain of command.” Bucky shouldn’t be so impressed by the genuine worry that forms in Tony’s eyes as he opens the ornate door to a four-bedroom apartment. “I’m genuinely concerned they will try to take over the world when they’re older. Worse, I think they’ll succeed.”

Bucky sat at the island in the kitchen at Tony’s demand and watched as he hurried about the kitchen to make breakfast. “You know I could help.”

“Not at all. Nonna will be up soon and help. Plus, you’re a guest.” JARVIS came in carrying Alpine and sat at the island. Petting the cat the A.I. glared at Bucky. “Stop glaring at Bucky. Your punishment is light, all things considered. And you’re at least going to be with Daisy.” Tony finished an omelette and placed it in front of Bucky. The soldier didn’t go to eat the food, instead he got up and asked if Tony would at least let him get the drinks, which the genius’ allowed.

“And Coulson.” The A.I. glared at the table.

Tony came over and cupped JARVIS’ cheek. “Is that why you’ve been acting out? Coulson?” JARVIS looks away. “Aw, bambino. I’m sorry Agent May likes Agent Coulson, but it’s not Agent’s or Melinda’s fault.” Alpine meowed hoping up onto the counter and headed towards the food until Bucky picked the kitten up and took her away from the food, earning a hiss as she was placed on the ground away from the food she wanted. The soldier then quickly added more of the omelette mixture into the pan behind Tony’s back. When he plated it up and put it on the table in front of Tony, he got a small glare which he smirked at before going back to make another. Tony stayed with JARVIS just like Bucky thought.

“But it’s not fair.”, JARVIS pouted.

“Jay-baby, life’s not fair. That doesn’t mean you hack into the White House when your crush’s crush is there for business with the rebellious kid he took in.” Tony kissed his eldest’s cheek before leaving to get Peter. “You seem to have the omelettes covered; I’ll be back in a minute, don’t burn the place down.”

JARVIS floated over to Bucky. “Why didn’t you help me? I don’t like the current president.”

“Should have thought of that before then. And I didn’t help you because you did something wrong. If you were going to die then sure, I’d have saved you, but as it stands, you’re not dead or dying. Now did anybody start dancing?”, Bucky asked as he plated up another omelette. “And what does Peter normally eat for breakfast?”

“Protein smoothie, formula, fruit and cereal. And why would you care? You said I shouldn’t do it.”

“True but I also said it would be funny.” Bucky smirked as he went to the fridge to get out fruit. JARVIS frowned as he looked at his back.

“I’ve been meaning to ask, how did you get those scars?” Bucky half turned around as picked out the fruit to cut up for Peter.

“What scars? I have a few from before the serum.”

“The ones on the back of your right shoulder that reads-” Bucky turned around.

“I should get my top on.” Bucky says quickly. “I forgot about them.” He goes over to the island where he left his t-shirt and pulled it over his head. It was a little sweaty but not too bad. “You shouldn’t have to see that.”

JARVIS frowned. “You know-”

“I’m perfectly aware it’s okay now. But you still shouldn’t have to see it.”

JARVIS floats over to get the blender full of the ingredients he needed for the smoothie, one of the few things he was aware how to make. “How’d you get it?”

Bucky cut up the fruit. “Stevie got into a fight, I saved him. Few days later, guy came back with his friends and jumped me. Fought them off and beat them but only after they gave me that. They were only half wrong, but still… If I had remembered, I wouldn’t have taken off my shirt.”

“I’m sorry.” JARVIS poured the smoothies into cups and placed them on the table.

“Don’t be. You never cut it into me. Anyway, they’re probably all long dead so I have the last laugh.”

JARVIS went to fill Alpines bowl with food, taking joy at being able to interact with physical things. “The vice president danced and like, everyone in security, but they started to get frustrated when it never stopped. It was funnier to watch them after; so many couldn’t get it out of their heads and did little gestures like the dance moves.”

Bucky barked a laugh. “I’m sure. I did after you showed me that song.”

Becca and Tony, with Peter in his arms came into the kitchen. “I said you had the omelettes covered, not finish the whole breakfast.” Tony looked at the finished selection of food shocked.

Becca looked at Bucky. “Do you still remember what’s edible?” Bucky tossed her a look.

“Yes, I do Becca. But if you want you can go without. And Tony made the mixture anyway.” Becca sat down and gave the omelette a sniff before eating it.

The babe in Tony’s arms looked at Bucky with wide eyes as he cuddled a brown bear with one white coloured arm in a blue and red jacket. Bucky went over to meet him. Tony rocked Peter and whispered into his ear, “Don’t you want to say hi to the real-life Bucky-bear?” Peter nodded and Bucky held out his hand.

“Hi. You’re Peter, right?” The boy nodded and held out his hand for Bucky to shake. It was bigger than Cooper’s but still tiny in Bucky’s hand. “It’s nice to meet you.” Bucky tried to pull his hand back but found himself stuck to Peter. “You’ve got sticky hands there.”

Tony jumped at that. Trying to coax Peter into letting the hand go. “He does that sometimes, more often now. So be careful with his hands if you don’t plan on shaving your facial hair off. He loves ripping that out. Isn’t that right, diamante? You like ripping Papa’s facial hair off every time I try and grow it back, don’t you?” Peter giggled and finally released Bucky’s hand. Peter shoved the bear into Tony’s face.

“Tags! Tags!” Bucky watched as the man turned the toy over and unzipped a little pocket and gave dog-tags to Peter as requested and giggled. “Bucky-bear, your dog-tags!” Bucky stared as Peter held out the tags to put on Bucky and Bucky let him put the old yet familiar pieces of metal around his neck.

Peter giggled hugging Bucky around the neck. “Love you big Bucky-bear. Even if you smell a bit stinky right now.” Bucky laughed as his eyes watered a little.

“You’ve got keen senses too. Love you too Peter. And thank you for giving me back my dog-tags. I was wondering where they went off too.”

“Papa kept them safe for you then gave them to me to take care off.”

Bucky saw as Tony blushed. “Nonno found them with your arm. They were a good luck charm growing up.”

“Isn’t that a bad choice for a good luck charm?” Bucky raise an eyebrow.

“You’re still alive, aren’t you?” Tony returned the look. The genius put Peter in his highchair before turning back to Bucky and blushing. “And I never got to say it before so… welcome home, Soldier.” Bucky saw as Becca choked on a bit of egg before smirking which earned her a dirty look from Tony.

Bucky however thought it was the sweetest thing and had to mentally chastised himself again.

The soldier enjoyed his first breakfast with Tony, Becca, JARVIS and Peter.

And if the next night he dreamt of the Stark’s deaths and woke up 9 hours later from one of the best nights rest in his life, only his therapist had to know.

Chapter Text

Bucky had just finished his brain waves scanned again. He’s spent 6 months here and it was hard having to go into that headspace over and over again so they could get readings when The Winter Soldier Program was active.

Plus-side, the words had lost a lot of their effect as the tests went on with no mindwipes. He, now, could break out of Winter Soldier mode within in 3 hours. He remembered that this was something that HYDRA scientists were aware of and why they set up the mind wipe sessions before and after each mission. It was like he naturally never wanted to be under their control but it took a toll on his psyche every time the words were said. His therapist was always there during these tests as well as either Becca, Natasha, Frank, who had stayed a fixture in his life after getting him out (even after his brutal lecture), and Tony, who had taken to spending more time with him to catch up on the time he missed while hiding away (Bucky didn’t mind, he smelt nice, like warmth, cotton and sugary marshmallows, and was utterly adorable when he got into explaining tech. The man made a flying car for goodness sack, how was Bucky not to think he was an angel? He made his sci-fi dreams come true!).

It was Tony who was with him today, rubbing his back after the session. He let himself focus on the hand’s slow rubs.

“Did they get anything useful?” Bucky looked at Tony but stayed half hunched over.

“They’re understanding it more every time, but they haven’t figured out how to get them out yet. I’ve been looking at the data myself as well and I can’t think of what to do to help.”, Tony said a little frustrated. “We’ll figure it out though Bucky. These things just take time. We just need to understand what’s going on in that head of yours. Do you want to play with Peter and maybe Cooper if Laura’s about?”

Bucky sighed and stood up. “Yeah, they’re a pretty cute distraction.” The Soldier offer his hand to help Tony get up which the genius accepted.

“I know. You’d be surprised how much having to take care of something or someone helps you recover. Peter was godsent I swear.” Tony walked beside Bucky as they made their way to the gym where Peter was training with Natasha.

“Yeah?” Bucky watched as the genius nodded.

“Yeah.” Tony saw Bucky staring at him questioningly. “I was bad before Peter was born. I drunk a lot and slept about to help cope.” Tony tapped the arc reactor. “Then I got this, along with a boat load of trust issues. First one wasn’t so good. I knew the moment I put it in my chest, back when I thought I was human, that I’d die of heavy metal poisoning but at the time, I didn’t care. I just wanted to have Stane go to jail for what he did. I came back and built the Ironman armour within two weeks and Stane was dead by the third because he tried to kill me and attacked people after I fired his ass and tried to get him arrested. But after that I just stopped caring. I wanted to help people and make up for letting what happened happen with the time I had left. It was the only thing on my mind. But when Fury finally decided to give me the information about the arc reactor to help save my life, I just didn’t see the point.” Tony explained casually. “Then Peter came and I had something to live for again. I’m not perfect, still have a lot of bad habits. I actually took a bad turn again just before you came back, but Nonna and JARVIS helped get me back on my feet and now my therapist has let me back in the lab.”

Bucky raised his eyebrows at the tiny man in morbid horror. “You mean the Director of the organisation your serum donor helped create, that isn’t HYDRA: knew what was happening to you; had the information that would help and had to actually think before he decided to help you all while he thought you a normal human?” Tony nodded nonchalantly. Bucky stared ahead at nothing. “Maybe I should look into all the people HYDRA had me kill outside of their infighting.”

Tony looked at Bucky curiously. “Why’s that?”

“I remember that I used to think that, on the large scale at least, every side was as bad as each other. Your parents, for example. HYDRA wanted them dead because they were a threat to the organisation, but they were murders themselves. What’s the likely hood that a large portion of the political players I took out had a lot of red in their own ledger? Just it wasn’t giving HYDRA what they wanted. I’d still have to deal with being used and the guilt that goes with it, but it could help me disassociate myself with their deaths and start thinking of it more like a war and that I was just on the losing side of a single battle. I mean if I didn’t kill them, HYDRA would have sent someone else.” Tony looked intrigued at the idea.

“Talk to your therapist. They might think it’s a good idea for you to try.”

Tony opened the gym doors and walked in smiling as he saw Natasha and Peter on the floor, the pair of them lying starfish on the mat. Peter panted as he looked up at Tony and reach his arms out to be picked up. Tony did so and Peter cuddled into him tired. “Papa.”

Natasha sat up. “Tired himself out today. He’s really getting into the gymnastics and spent the last 30 minutes just doing cartwheels. He’s probably going to sleep well tonight.” Natasha looked at Bucky. “How were the scans?”

“Still as bad as the first time.” Natasha grimaced as she got up. She gave Peter and Tony a goodbye cuddle as well as got a one-armed hug from Bucky before she left to get ready for a mission she wanted to go on.

Tony rocked Peter until the boy wanted a cuddle from Bucky and latched onto the soldier happily. Bucky breathed in Peter’s calming scent and relaxed a little bit as he held the babe in his arm carefully. They went up to the common room and Peter started to play with his Legos with Bucky and Tony. JARVIS called and Tony went off to talk to his eldest privately, leaving Peter with Bucky for a moment.

Peter looked at Bucky with a confused look on his face. “Why do you have to go do scans you don’t like?”

Bucky handed Peter a block to add to his sculpture. “Well, it’s because some bad people put some programming in my head to make me do what they wanted. I want to get it out of my head and the doctors need to turn on the program to figure out how to turn it off for good.”

“Why don’t you just uninstall it like JARVIS does?”, Peter absently asked as he looked at his spaceship. “Can you get me a red block?”

Bucky gave the boy the asked for block. “What do you mean uninstall it?” Bucky didn’t know what Peter was getting at. He thought that was what he said.

Peter put the red block into place. “When I don’t want to keep playing a game on my tablet, JARVIS deletes it. He goes into the settings and removes it for good. Why don’t you just do that and tell the program it has to go away?”

Bucky stared at the little boy incredulously. “Peter, say that last part again for me.”

Peter turned to face him and gave him a curious look. “Why not just tell the program it has to go away?” Bucky actually beams at the kid before picked him up and cuddling him making the little one laugh.

“Peter you’re brilliant! You’re a genius! An utter genius!”

Peter giggled at Bucky’s hair and stubble tickling him and that was how Tony found them.

“Of course, Peter’s a genius. Why are you just realising it now?”

Bucky beams wide as he looked at Tony. “Peter asked why we don’t just tell The Winter Soldier programming to go away.”

Tony looked confuse. “What are you getting at?”

“I mean the programming makes me do any task, no matter how abstract the request is right?” This made Tony nod. “Then why don’t we set a mission that the program must stop activating when it hears the trigger words and delete itself essentially-”

Tony’s eyes widened. “-uninstalling it. Peter, you’re a genius!” Tony ran over and kissed Peter’s face repeatedly. Tony took Peter out of Bucky’s arm and headed for the door. He turned back when Bucky didn’t immediately follow. “Come on, what are you waiting for? Let’s get you deprogrammed Soldier.” And Bucky ran after him.

After they explain what they wanted to try to the scientists and Bucky’s therapist who cleared the idea, they got Bucky back in the scanner to scan for the results.

The trigger words were spoken by Tony and once Bucky said he was ready to comply Tony told the program that it must erase itself without harming Bucky after it returned all of the memories Bucky was missing throughout his whole life, a request Bucky asked to be included in the mission demand.

There was a long moment were Bucky remained quite then, “Are you sure you want to uninstall The Winter Soldier Programming?” The tone was flat and unemotional, confirming that it was the programming talking. Tony said yes.

FitzSimmons looked at the scans. “Bloody hell.” “It’s actually working.”

Bucky woke up about 30 minutes later and smiled a wicked smile that only a person that went through hell and survived could pull off. “Try the words now.”

Tony spoke the trigger words again. “Longing, rusted, seventeen, daybreak, furnace, nine, benign, homecoming, one, freight car.”

And nothing.

Bucky kept smiling. He never changed at all. He got up and in thickest Brooklyn accent he could muster said, “Well ain’t it good to be fully back. I think I’ll take that arm now thanks.”

Chapter Text

Frank and Bucky were in the firing range having a competition. Since Bucky wasn’t allowed to have a real gun yet because his therapist was an asshole (well, not really) who still wanted him to ‘take it easy’ now that he had all his memories back (Just because he remembered everything, it didn’t mean he would go ballistic and kill everyone. He had broken a long time ago and was remade into the (near) perfect soldier. HYDRA was still out there and now he had the intel to help tear them down piece by piece. The war, unfortunately, wasn’t over yet and he didn’t have enough time to sit around and feel sorry for himself when HYDRA was looking for him, his mental health issues be damned.) they were using BB-guns.

“Most kill shots wins and if I win, you’ve got to shave and cut your hair. You’ve been looking like a hobo for too long.”, Frank stated has he lined up the riffle.

“Well, if I wanted grooming advice from a man that has a buzz cut cause he doesn’t know what to with his hair, I’d ask my old superior officer from basics. Or I would if he wasn’t dead.” Bucky looked down the barrel of his gun. “If I win, you have to use pink guns for a month.” Frank looks at Bucky’s smirking face with horror. “Hey, you want to help me get into a better place mentally, I want to help you too. I’ve read that toxic masculinity is considered a serious problem and you reek of it. Just want to help you add a feminine touch to your life.”

Frank eyes hardened. “I suppose you would know since you’re from the greatest generation and all old man. And I am not using a pink gun so prepare to lose. You’re not the only great marksman here.”

“Has anyone bet my sniper record yet? I think it was nearly 4000 yards pre-serum.” Bucky fired a shot and hit the target in the centre of the head area. “Post I never officially checked.”

Frank sniffed. “No but I’m still a damn fine shot. I’m not going to lose and use pink guns. It’s about the principal of the matter.” Frank shots his target hitting the centre on the head area. “Pink guns draw attention.”

“If you were sneakier you wouldn’t draw attention.” Head shot.

“If you tell me I’m sloppy again.” Head shot. “I’ll shoot you with this damn gun until it’s empty.”

“What’s wrong with helping you improve?” Head shot. “I’m trying to be a good friend here. Making sure you’re at your best so you don’t die taking out HYDRA.” Head shot.

“You just want to be a slave driver again.” Head shot. “I’ve talked to Dugan, Morita and Jones. I’ve heard the stories.”

“They over exaggerate.” Three head shots, each landing on the centre of the target.

“You made them run 5 miles after a mission because you thought they weren’t fast enough covering you and Rogers. In full armour plus added weights.” Three head shots.

Bucky glanced at Frank. “Yeah, I did. Were faster the next time too when it was a worse situation.” Bucky fired ten shots one after the other, all head shots. “If I didn’t keep training them, they’d all be dead.” Ten consecutive head shots again. “And I quite like Trip. Jim’s grandson’s okay too from the sound of it. They were capable of helping to make them because I trained them not to do subpar work.”

Frank went for 20 head shots. “Not everyone is an overachiever like you Barnes. Or did you just like being the Alpha dog? The one in charge?” Head shot.

That made Bucky snort. “Not like you’re one to talk, Mister Big Bad Punisher.” Final three shots to the head area finishing the CO2 canister.

Frank got in 3 last shots to the head as well. “At least I’m not wearing sheep’s clothing, White Wolf.”

Bucky patted Frank's back as they press a button and their targets come forward. “That last one was good. You’re smack talk doesn’t need any work at least.” Bucky grins at the man before unclipping his target to compare.

Frank did end up using pink guns, but Bucky, in comradery, got his hair cut into a pompadour style with Natasha’s help and trimmed up his stubble a bit since he liked having it to look a little closer to his age or at least mature. He was in his mid-nineties after all.

“Papa, you smell funny.” Tony snapped out of his trance on Bucky who was currently running around the grounds. He looked over to where Peter sat next to him on the grass. They were testing the little helicopter Peter made with Tony’s help.

“Huh? What do you mean, diamante?”, Tony asked Peter.

“You smell funny when you stare at Big Bucky-bear sometimes. More now that he cut his hair.” Peter tilted his head from where he sat next to Tony on the ground.

Tony looks at Peter awkwardly and a little panicked. “Sorry. I really should stop staring before it gets weird.”

“It’s already weird.”, Rhodey said from where he sat with them.

Chapter Text

Bucky was in his therapist’s office having another session.

“So, James how has your sleep been? Any better?”, Dr Mathews asked with his notebook in hand to jot down anything of importance.

“I’m back to sleeping on the floor again.” Bucky leaned back into his chair. “The mattress I had before, wasn’t as soft as the new one. Good for resting in though. The nightmares aren’t as bad now or maybe they don’t bother me so much, I don’t know, it’s just that since I had an agent do a background check on my victims as The Winter Soldier and I saw it I just don’t feel so bad for some of them. It just feels more like how I felt killing during the war now. Both were the same. I was forced to join the army, I killed a lot of people for America and its allies, some good, some bad: I was forced to join HYDRA, I killed a lot of people for HYDRA and their allies, some good, some bad. I’m angry I was used, and I feel guilty I couldn’t stop myself, that my hands did those things. But if I was a person hearing about most of them dying in the news after hearing about some of the things they’d done, I’d not really feel anything if they’d died. Maybe it’s remnants of the programming.”

“Are you scared the words will still affect you?”

Bucky frowned and shook his head. “Nah. They’re gone for good. But it wasn’t like I had a chip implanted in my head. It was my brain that got programmed not a little computer. They shoved an uncaring completely obedient program into my head. Since we deleted it from my head I've kept the memories, I’m compartmentalizing like the program would it’s not completely the same but it’s there. I still panic sometimes over choices on simpler things like if I should have tea or coffee. But when I’m helping plan an operation or mission from intel I have? I don’t freeze. If I’m on comms with an agent in a bad situation and I have a visual? I can guide them through whatever their doing and change the plan along the way like it was nothing. I’ve went from being really good at strategy to being a master at it. Do you know I played chess with JARVIS, who has the best possible moves downloaded, and I still won? It must have left its mark behind.”

“You did say it yourself. You remember.” Dr Mathews jotted it down. He was fascinated with Barnes case. “You’ve experience everything the program did. So, it’s likely you’ve learnt over the past 60-65 years from the program. Let’s talk about The Red Room, if you’re willing of course.” Bucky gave a nod to the Doctor. “They reduced your mindwipes then yes? And the use of the trigger words as it was a long-term mission?”

“Yeah. I remember the guy that had me say he was willing to risk me having a shorter recovery time if that meant I could train another up to teach more.”

“So they ordered you to train Natasha. Can I ask you a serious question here James?” Bucky nodded. “How much did you start to remember during that time?”

Bucky looked out the window of the office with a frown on his face. “Enough. I mean I couldn’t remember the war or anything, but I remembered the HYDRA logo and it being bad. I remember I should have a name and I knew the chair was doing something to me when I kept forgetting the name I gave myself then and I still knew I wanted to not do their missions… I remembered JFK a lot then. Of telling him, him telling an implanted HYDRA agent, them getting me again and killing him a week later. I never wanted Natalia to have to go through that, so I made sure she knew how to survive always.”

“Did you ever try and run then with Natasha?” Bucky laughed at that bitterly.

“God no. I want to. But I wasn’t stupid enough to not know I had implanted trackers. I could feel them under my skin. Under hers. Even if I did just take her and run we’d be found and dragged back. Even if we could get the trackers out ourselves, we’d still be on HYDRA’s hit list and I wanted her to have a life not just live on the run. And if they found me and used the words, they’d have me kill her. I-” Bucky squeezed his hands tight as tears threatened to fall. “I probably would have killed myself if I had to remember doing that. Killing her. She’s like my kid, you know? Frankie blames himself for his wife and kids but he never pulled the trigger on them himself. So no I never did, barely entertained the idea because I didn’t want to be hopeful we could actually be a happy little family.” Dr Mathews handed him tissues.

“It’s understandable that you’d feel that way. You were captive. Have you had anymore nightmares about shooting her?”

“Yeah, some are worse than others. Where I don’t shoot to miss her vitals, I shoot her in the head. After those ones I’ve went to her room and asked to sleep with her, or rather I watched her sleep, breath.” Bucky wiped his eyes and chuckles wetly. “She’s still a blanket hog and a cuddler, just like when she was little. Never tell her I said that. She’ll get mad at me.”

“It’s common to implant the worst-case scenario or how you feel about a particular situation. Have they gone down at least in frequency?”

“Yeah. They are. I think being able to see her so often helps me. You know remind myself I took a shot that specifically wouldn’t kill her. Their down to only my bad days now. Is it bad that I’m not, you know, as bad as I probably should be?” Bucky binned the tissues that he had just used. “Steve always said that the serum changed how his brain worked, that he was smarter. I always called bull on it. But maybe he wasn’t entirely wrong? I’ve always been a bit smarter than average but it’s the precision and the way I'm processing.”

Dr Mathews thought about it. “There’s no real way to know since we haven’t got pre-serum brain scans for you. But it could be possible that the serum affected how you process trauma. You are supposed to be a super-soldier after all. Want good is a super-soldier that has crippling PTSD? I could ask Dr Parker and Dr Simmons if they could run some more scans on you if you like? I think they’d have a field day.” Bucky nodded. Mathews checked his watch. “That’s the end of our session today.”

“Yeah thanks. One last thing though, can I have real knifes now and maybe guns with bullets for training too? Cause I feel like you don’t understand I can still kill you with a rubber knife. I just have to get a little bit more creative with it. Plus, I’ve woken up with JARVIS hovering over me and not flinched.” Bucky joked before getting serious again. “I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t think I was really ready Doc. I mean it. If you still don’t think I’m ready to train with them though, I’ll not ask again until you say. But the sooner I can get into the public eye and make myself a dancing monkey the better. HYDRA needs to think I’m a completely different person and think I’m dead as well. Plus, we need to establish ourselves as a fake head in their organization to manipulate their system. And I can’t do all that needs to be done if I’m not able to get into a military position again. I joke and say it’s spite, but I actually want to be a Colonel so that they have someone that isn’t in it for power. That’s thinking solely for the people. I think that was why SHIELD and the world governments got infiltrated so easily.”

Dr Mathews sighed. See the reason Barnes case was so interesting to him was because he was a ballsy prick still after all the years of brainwashing. He genuinely wanted to dance in front of HYDRA. In mostly sound mind because he checked his old mission plans and while, yes most weren’t as flashy, on some occasions, on some they were ballsy, mad, and as thoroughly thought through as all of his other plans. All of which had a very high success rate. And mentally Barnes was mostly fine, slightly colder than he apparently used to be but that was to be expected. Better than most of his patients since he’d been cleared. He had episodes but they were more about choices in daily life or depressive episodes were he felt bad about not being able to get out. As a therapist though he wanted to make sure. But he’d been okay.

“Yes, sure. But if I hear one complaint about your gun and knife safety or you have a violent episode, you’ll be stuck having to get creative for a very long time.”

Bucky fakes offence as he jokes, "Violent? Me? Never."

Chapter Text

Bucky had been working through the intel he had on HYDRA and trying to piece together a plausible workable backstory, when he was asked to talk to the newly cleared baby agents that had come up from the academy. He was a little nervous. Generally, he wasn’t the centre of attention during the war, that was Steve. But now he was and he started doubting whether his plan would work just because of his nervousness.  

He walked in front of the crowd.

“As you have been made aware during your briefing. I am Master Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes, but while I was held captive by HYDRA for nearly seventy years I went by another name, The Winter Soldier. I’m two months trigger words free and I’ve just realised they don’t give out badges for that like they do when you go to AA.” A laugh sounds out across the group. “Before we get to the heavy stuff though, put your hand up if you want me to answer a random question you have, since I know you’re dying to ask them?” Every hand shot up. “If it’s about my experience following ‘Captain America’ I suggest you talk to Coulson or Castle. They’ll tell you all about it since I’m not giving another lecture on it.” A few dropped their hands. It was actually a surprise to Bucky that so many hands stayed up.

“Did you really take out an entire squad of HYDRA soldiers with a single knife?”

“Well, yeah. I gave my other one to Dum Dum since he lost his and I’d ran out of bullets. Steve had decided to go inside alone, despite me telling him not to. I needed to get him out of there.”

“Is it true that you shot someone from over 4 miles away?”

“Probably a lot more than 4 but shh don’t tell anyone. Super-soldier serum.”

“Is it true that you shot someone from 2 miles away with only a hand-gun?”

“I don’t remember but I now want to try.”

“Is it true you got your basics squad respect after just one conversation?”

“Now that I remember.” Bucky smirked at the group. The story behind it wasn’t as nice as it’s probably been romanticised. Bucky remembered basics pretty well now thanks to the program. He had been the best in the squad, getting recommended for further training for other areas like sniping and doing extra training on his own accord. It made a lot of the officers there push the others harder. So after the first month they jumped him in the showers, saw his scar and beat him to a bloodied pulp and they thought he’d slow down the next day at the very least. He didn’t, in fact, he pushed himself harder after he cleaned himself up. The other privates there started to call him fag or faggot and beating him up on the regular. They tried for a month to break him and he didn’t even bother fighting them back. Until one day they had cornered him in the barracks. They were all there instead in just their smaller groups of pals and said they had had enough. He on the other hand got angry, took off his shirt and told them to give it their best shot. He fought them and won. He asked them why they thought they failed to beat him? Then he told them why. He told them how and why he got the scar. Told them that if they were moaning about the training then it was unlikely that they would survive the war, told them the facts and percentages. Then he told them that he wasn’t going to always be there to save their ass’, if they were sent to different locations or if they were on the other side of the battlefield. Worse, that he might not have a choice but to choose between them and someone else. He then told them if they knew what was good for themselves, they would cut their crap and join him while he does his extra training or at least stop moaning about the officers wanting to teach them what they needed to know to survive the war regardless of the outcome and to just deal with their berating and insults as the reason they were trying to break them down was to make sure that they never broke when it mattered, so they didn’t get themselves killed. He didn’t know an officer had overheard him then, only found out later from a mate of his in officers’ training, Logan, who told him of the rumour that had been going around. The officer apparently decided to listen in to what he had to say before going in to intervene, then decided to wait until he left before going in and telling the others just to go to medical after telling them that Bucky had said all that needed to be said calmly without raising their voice or throwing insults. After that the privates stopped calling him a fag, stopped coming after him and they slowly started doing extra training with him pushing each other past their breaking points after they could manage it. He moved up the ranks faster and when he asked an officer why he was getting promoted again? He always got told the same facts he told the privates in the barracks. Then told he was a damn fine soldier that understood the value of what they were trying to do for them when he got the privates in line all by himself before trying to convince him to become an official officer, which he just declined. Looking back, it was probably when he learned how to survive the torture HYDRA dealt out so well as the men didn’t pull their punches and it wasn’t like Logan did either when they sparred one another and his punches were a lot worse than anything he’d been dealt before, during and after HYDRA and despite, or maybe because of, his small stature, the man was a vicious son of a gun.

“What was it like working with Agent Carter, Colonel Phillips and Howard Stark back then?”

“Hard. I was scared most of the time that they would shove me off to a lab somewhere and experiment on me. Carter was a traitor in my opinion, who got me into HYDRA hands in Azzano. Colonel Phillips was a grade A asshole who cared little about our lives, but he wasn’t as bad as Carter. Howard was both a creep and a disappointment when you got to know him. If that’s not what you expected to hear, I’m sorry. Heroes aren’t always how you expect them to be.”

“Did you really make Dum Dum Dugan cry?”

“Yes. On multiple occasions because he was needed to work harder on his training and spend less time going out and drinking after he nearly died.” Barnes smirked at the group. “I’m more than happy to show you how if you’d like. But I’d need a volunteer since Dum Dum’s a bit too old nowadays.” All the group step back as one. “No takers, too bad.”

“Did you really know Firebird?”

“How do you think I’m still alive today looking like I, what do you say now-a-days? Came off the runway?” The group laughs.

“Did you kill JFK?”

“Yes, I did. I told him about HYDRA but then he told someone he trusted who was actually HYDRA. They had me kill him like Kennedy’s kids didn’t call them uncle. That’s why you have to be careful what you say, who you say it too and where, from now on. I know you know that this isn’t a game. I need to make ballsy moves to keep them off my back because I’ve been there, and I want to get the life I had back and make them pay: you don’t have to do that. And what happened to the light-hearted questions? It’s like you want to get to the heavy stuff. Why so serious?”, Barnes added since he had watched The Dark Knight at JARVIS’ and his friend Daisy’s request. That got a surprised look out of some of them. “I’ve been out of over half a year. You think I’ve not caught up a bit?”

“What was the worst thing about living in the Great Depression?”

“You know probably the food, we used to boil everything.”, Bucky lied, two tiny caskets filtered through his mind, and his mother’s crying face as she cursed out her rotten abusive husband for leaving them alone, taking all their savings with him. “Thank goodness for microwaves, am I right? One of the best inventions of the modern era I tell you.” A charming smile spread across his face as he winked at the agents.

“What the best things about the future?”

“There’s too many to count. Well minus the obvious. I mean, no polio’s good, Pride is great I hear, Black Lives Matter too. Internet, so helpful. Been reading that a lot trying to catch up and fill in the blanks.” Bucky quirked his lips. “JARVIS has made a list for me to work through, sorted by relevance. I’ve mostly been working through it but I’m not sure if his relevancy is the best if I, Robot is above the Berlin Wall, up and down. Though it was a good movie. Any more questions?” He didn’t go into the fact that the best thing about the future was seeing that Becca and Natasha were okay and meeting the family they found along the way.

There were a few more questions and he quickly answered them before moving on to his speech.

“I’ve gotten to read a few new books since SHIELD rescued me. One of which was Resilience by Elizabeth Edwards where she states, ’Resilience is accepting your new reality, even if it's less good than the one you had before. You can fight it, you can do nothing but scream about what you've lost, or you can accept that and try to put together something that's good.’ I can say that those are some of the truest words I have heard in a long time. You joined SHIELD with the hope to do some good; be a part of something greater than yourselves and I’m sorry that HYDRA has corrupted the institution before you even got a chance to start. But that doesn’t mean that you give up that hope. Now it means you buckle down and work extra hard so that you can reclaim SHIELD, so you can help take back what HYDRA corrupted and remake it into something great. Something to be proud to stand behind. This is the time that you show your resilience as many of you have found out friends and co-workers are not what they appear to be. Found out that they have been lying to you and betraying your trust. Don’t let them win. Don’t let them break you. Don’t let them get away with thinking they can outsmart you. Use your heads, outsmart them, be better spies and be better agents than they could ever be. And even if our situation changes, even if it gets worse and we don’t take out the majority of HYDRA with one hit. Resist the urge to give up and instead keep fighting. Make a new plan and keep going. And remember that a shield’s main job is to protect and defend.”

After his little speech was done, he went back to looking through Vietnam groups to potentially fit himself into. He was looking for groups with one or two survivors that they could clear and trust to back him up, people he had links with but not strong enough that they would immediately think of him.

Remembering the question about his boot-camp days he searched of some of their names through the database and found a few of their family members that were still alive that could verify his fake story. He searched for James Howlett too on the off chance he might still be alive. He saw the man a few times during the war after he joined the Howlies but they weren’t stationed in the same place. Logan, or Lucky James as he ended up getting called, had told him to be careful of the SSR after one such meeting. He had confided in him about what happened in Azzano and about what happened to him when he was captured, and Logan warned him then told him to meet him after the war was over to talk about somethings, if he managed to survive.

Bucky thought he should at least tell the man he had survived and hear what he had to say, even if he was a bit late.

Then he saw his face in a Vietnam photo, not looking a day older than when he last saw him and figured out what the man probably wanted to tell him.

He searched the HYDRA database they had tapped into, by passing the Zola A.I. security fairly easily and searched the name just in case the man got captured as well.

'Oh, Goody! The Weapons X project. Stryker, you old, evil prick, I might just enjoy killing you for more than what you did to me. Logan, I’m coming for your ugly mug.'

Chapter Text

Logan was sitting at a bar when he smelt two government people.

“Fuck off.”

“Lieutenant James Howlett?” Logan furrowed his brow. Who the hell is James Howlett?

“Sorry, I think you got the wrong guy.” Well, maybe, to be frank Logan only had dog-tag’s that said Wolverine and remembered the name Logan. Memories had been a bit hard for him to recall past that. But he vaguely remembers not likely government folk as he remembers he likes cigars, was good at fighting and fought in a lot of wars if his flashes of memories he got when he visited war museums meant anything.

“What about Logan? Do you remember that name?” That got his attention.

“How do you know my name?” Logan half-turned around to stare at the two suited up agents. “Who are you?”

“Agent Bobbi Morse and my associate Agent Lance Hunter. We’re from SHIELD. A mutual friend of ours, that is under our protection, sent us to come get you. They’re actually in the car right now if you wish to come see them.” She showed her badge. At a whiff he could tell she was telling the truth.

“Oh yeah? Friend, friend or enemy, friend and why can’t they come in to see me themselves?” Logan took the cigar he had in his mouth out and finished his drink before he fully turned around, letting himself lean against the bar before putting his cigar back in his mouth.

Agent Hunter answered, “Friend, friend. He went through something similar that happened to you but for much longer. And he was forced to do a lot of thing he didn’t want to. He’s free now, but not safe. He just found out what happened to you and wanted to bring you in for a chat. And told us to tell you: ‘You shouldn’t have needed super-smell to tell that Stryker was a piece of shit, Logan. Now get your ugly ass in the car so I can hit you for being cryptic fucker and making me wait until after the war, instead of just telling me straight.’” Logan huffed out a laugh. He got a tiny flash of a brown hair jackass that wore a blue jacket. The Hunter guy was telling the truth though. This guy was a friend and he wanted to see him.

“Well alright then. Show me the way. But I have to warn you, I have memory issues, so I probably won’t remember the guy.” For some reason that made the agents laugh as he followed them to the door and then out to the car. “What?”

“It’s just he had a bit of a memory problem as well for a bit.” Hunter said as he opened the door to a van with heavily tinted windows and Logan stepped into the car and was face to face with the man he saw in his memory, except he now had a black metal arm and a stubble beard.

“Logan, ain’t I happy to see you alive. Still have an ugly mug I see.” The man quirked a smile his way before lightly punching him (at least for him) in the arm. “That was for being a cryptic fucker but I’ll let you off lightly considering the Weapon’s X project was a shit show for the both of us. Least you got a metal claws upgrade out of it. All I got was worse electro-shock ‘therapy.’” The guy asked if he would come with them to be briefed on the situation and cleared for national and international security reasons, which Logan agreed to, then the guy told the two agents to go home. “So how have you been?”

Logan had had a few flashes of memories of Weapon’s X and nightmares too. “I’ve been alright mostly. You were in Weapon’s X? I don’t remember much before the eighties.” The guy huffed a laugh.

“Yeah, that seems to happen to us older fellows, doesn’t it? I’m Bucky Barnes, we were at the same boot-camp during World War Two together. You were going to tell me you were a mutant after the war and help me I think, except I kinda got captured by HYDRA, for the second time, and turned into a murder-puppet. Got help getting out by my family who found me. Assholes are everywhere though so don’t trust anyone as far as you can throw them. By the way, you’re James Howlett and over 100 years old if the pictures I found from World War 1 are anything to go by.”

“Oh okay. I kinda got that since I haven’t aged in say 30 years.” Logan looked at the guy. “You were held captive since World War 2? You a mutant?”

Bucky shrugs and gives a so-so gesture. “I’ve been mutated. Extreme doses of super-soldier serum that killed me mixed with tears of an untouchable angel’s grandfather to bring me back and you get me. Add in all the further testing they did on me since then and I’m as unkillable as you. Though I can’t regrow my limbs as you can but I can reattach them apparently, so interpret that as you will. I’m not as dense as you since I’ve just got plain old vibranium alloy bones now. I was supposed to be a proof of concept for you and their new stuff but it didn't affect me the same as it did you you got a layer but mine fully turned to metal. Regardless, they wanted to add to their collection of murder-puppets, but you were a little too hard to control from the reports I’ve read and went a bit berserk on them.”

“I’ve been told.” Logan felt as the car lifted off the ground. “Hey! What’s happening?”

“Oh yeah, the car, it flies.” Bucky states as if it’s best thing in the world.

“Well, make it not fly!” Logan grabbed onto the car seat belt and held on tight.

Bucky looked at him with an analysing look. “Out of everything, flying is the thing that scares you?”

“Yeah! If we were meant to fly, we’d have wings.” Logan looked out the window.

Bucky felt a little bit bad. “Hey don’t worry. We’re just missing the traffic. 10-15 minutes tops. You were luckily in the area, so I came with for a little drive. I’ll tell them to get on the ground as soon as we’re not having to wait 2 hours in traffic.” Bucky watched as Logan calmed down, scent becoming less riddled with fear.

“You’re at least telling the truth.”, Logan said as he pointed to his nose.

“Yeah, well, I’ve been lied to enough to know the scent of a liar really stinks up a room, or car in our case. So, unless I have to, I won’t make you suffer through that.” Bucky leaned back in his chair. “How much do you remember after they took your memory?”

Logan tilts his head from side to side. “Not much. Barely anything about myself. I know I’ve been in wars, and that I like cigars and whiskey despite not really being able to get drunk. As for you I remember your face and vaguely your attitude. You used to wear a blue jacket. But that’s it. Not sure any more will come back. Don’t know where I met you or any events but I trust your scent. I know it like the back of my hand but I don’t know you.”

Bucky waves it away. “Yeah, that was what I was like until I used my cheat code. Back then I remembered a lot more as I pieced together what had happened by talking with the people around at the time or by reading stories. In my case reading a lot of stories that my few memory flashes contradicted.” Bucky raised his hands and used his fingers to form quotation marks. “‘The Legend of Captain America’ doesn’t seem to have much room for the Master Sergeant that came up with the plans and kept the team in order unless it’s as a side note or as a teenager in the comics.”

Logan whistled. “Shit you’re that Bucky ain’t you? That must be rotten.”

Bucky shrugs. “Not too bad. My best feats survived, and a few I’m not sure I ever did, through it all. But I can’t say it felt nice finding out a lot of the work I’d done had been labelled under Captain America, my best friend or not.”

They talked about a few things asking each other questions about each other from the here and now. Soon Logan felt as the car started to descend and clenched up. “Cheat code. Uh, you said something about a cheat-code? To remember.”

Bucky nodded. “Yeah, they got me when I wasn’t in the best shape.” Metal fingers waved back at Logan. “I was starving because of the serum and it started to eat away at me. I wasn’t getting enough from the Army and it wasn’t so easy to explain needing to go out and hunt for a few extra rabbits for dinner all the time or that one time with a deer.”

The car landed.

“Oh, thank Christ.” Logan breathed a sigh of relief, relaxing into his seat. “Continue what you were saying.”

Bucky chuckled. “Anyway, I was weaker and getting ill with the starvation. And I messed up. I was going to go AWOL and kill someone the SSR wanted handed in instead since I knew he was too dangerous to keep alive, but then I fell and lost my arm because of the previously mentioned starvation and they got me. They kept me like that for years, so I wasn’t strong enough to fight back like I wanted to, before they shoved a program into my brain to control me and make me do anything they wanted. Got my memories back and the program out of my head by turning it against itself.” Bucky smirked at Logan bitterly. “I wouldn’t recommend using that method of recovery. Anyway, you’re still able to make new memories so, as sad as it is that you don’t know your past, your life isn’t over. I just wanted to get you so you knew who was after you if they came knocking since I had escaped and get you cleared so that you can come visit me to keep me company. I’m trapped on the base until I make a full background that HYDRA won’t pick a part and I kinda want someone that can keep up with me so I can train better. Plus, they have meds that work on me so they’ll probably have some that can work on you. Even if you should be fine with your healing.”

Logan saw as they came to a base and pulled in. Bucky and Logan got out. “Well, I suppose. I could use an extra friend or two. Promise they won’t poke and prod at me?”

Bucky led him through the compound and to a big chair. “I make no promises. But they won’t experiment on you without your full consent and only if they need to or if you ask. Plus, the experiments won’t be life risking or anything if they do them, they follow a code of ethics, unlike the scientists we’ve previously encountered.” Logan after being warned that he’d be restrained for a moment then released, sat in the LAIR chair. He answered the questions Bucky asked then was quickly released.

“That was a bit pointless. Especially since you can smell a lie.”, Logan said as he rubbed his wrists.

“Yeah, but the system won’t make you an access card to get into the base alone until you’ve done it.” Bucky said as he showed him about and introduced him to people all over the base.

Eventually Becca found them. “Bucky, they told me you found your guy.” She came over to introduce herself and held out her hand. “Hi I’m-”

“Absolutely, divine.” Logan takes the hand and holds it as he takes in the lady’s scent. It was warm with a hint of cream and rich like dark chocolate and filled with happiness and mirth. He also smelt as Bucky’s scent changed scenting of annoyance and protectiveness. “Is this the angel you were on about?”

“Well, I am saintly. Wouldn’t you say so brother?”

“Logan, meet my little sister, Becca. The Devil herself.” Logan understood a little now as the woman hand shakes his hand before letting go. Bucky looked Logan in the eyes. Not challengingly just pointedly, as if to say: ‘If she wants you and you hurt her on purpose, I’ll find a way to kill you.’

“Yes, well it’s nice to meet you.” Logan gave his best charming smile to both appease the big brother and charm the sister. “Are you sure your family doesn’t have the genes because for a, what seventy - eighty years old, you’re so young and attractive.”

“90 next year. And no, I willingly changed myself to somewhat match Bucky since my late husband was the one that change him, when he was still alive.” Becca smiled. “You’re not too bad yourself for someone that fought in World War 1 and 2. Though I’m more into brains than brawn.” Logan looked at Bucky and frowned a little remembering what he said about his angel.

Bucky smelling the distaste from Logan coughs. “Yeah, her step-grandson who’s practically her adopted kid shows that. He’s probably one of the smartest people you’ll ever meet.”

Becca beams them. “And don’t you forget it.” Logan smelt the pride in her voice and the slight shame in Bucky’s scent, though now he understood why he said his angel was untouchable. Must be awkward, knowing his sister had adopted someone that was his type and knowing that he’s supposed to be his step-uncle now despite only meeting the other person when they’re an adult. “Tony’s with Peter telling him about Pre-school starting soon. I’m sure the pair of them would like to meet you too Logan. Though I’d keep your comments about my attractiveness to yourself. He’s rather defensive over me.”

Becca wondered away and beckoned them to follow her which they did only a few steps behind.

“I see you’re point about your angel being untouchable. Socially weird as it is.”, Logan said under his breath. “That’s not even taking in the fact that you’re, what? 3 times his age. You could be his dad or granddad.”

“I’ll make it even weirder. I worked with his biological father during the war and I killed him for HYDRA along with his wife.”, Bucky whispered back as the sounds of a temper tantrum could start to be heard.

“How’d he take that?”, Logan widened his eyes as he stared up at Bucky who’s eyes were cold and hard, mouth set in a vicious grin that would rival his own. What was worse was the thick scent of rage, pain and loss that came from the man.

“He thanked me. And after what his parents did, I’d do it again.” Logan turned his head away to the front. Yeah, Logan didn’t want to touch that with a ten-foot pole. Whatever this guy’s parents did must have been bad if Bucky, who he has the distinct feeling was a rather calm person and was probably why past Logan must have befriended him, was more than happy to repeat what he did under HYDRA’s order. The man’s scent just returned to normal when they made it to the common area of the family’s home in the compound.

 “Diamante, it’s not going to be scary. You’ll love it there I swear.”

“NO! I don’t wanna!” When the three young-looking, old people came into the common area, they saw a crying three-year-old stomping his foot and Tony trying to calm him. At the sight of Becca and Bucky, Peter ran towards them. “Bisnonna, Big Bucky-bear! I don’t wanna go, don’t let Papa make me! " Peter ran to Bucky and hid behind him even as he was cautious of the new person and hugged his leg and continued to cry. Tony looked heartbroken at the sight let alone the thick scent of shame, hurt, failure and sadness. Bucky couldn’t have that, so he rested his hand on Peter’s head as he hugged his leg.

“Peter, what’s wrong?”, Bucky said calmly as he looked down at Peter trying to stay as calm as possible before picking Peter up after he got his hands to unstick from his jeans. “Petey-pie?”

Peter wrapped his arms around Bucky’s neck, sticking them there so he couldn’t be removed. “I don’t wanna go to pre-school. I wanna stay here.” It was muttered into his neck quietly but loud and clear to Bucky.

“Why not? I thought you wanted to learn all about science.” Bucky could smell the fear on Peter. “Why are you scared, Petey-pie?” The soldier hand-signed it to Tony one-handedly so he wasn’t in the dark. Peter nuzzled into Bucky’s neck.

“They never like me.” Bucky signed it to Tony. The genius’ eyes opening wide as he realised what that meant. Tony signed for Bucky to tell Peter that most of his friends would be there and that it was a special pre-school that was just for people like him that were super smart genius'. Buck did as asked and Peter still didn’t let go. “But I don’t wanna leave. I like it here.”

“Peter, do you think that if you go to Pre-school you won’t be coming back?”, Bucky whispered the question. When Bucky question was met with silence, he asked Tony to come with him and Peter since he need to talk to them.

When the three went off for a private conversation, Logan and Becca just watched.

“So, you joining the betting pool then?” Becca said as she glanced towards the smaller man beside her who kept his eyes on the three as they left. “Current Longest and shortest guess is 2 years and 3 months.”

Logan turned to face her. “You’re not weirded out by it?” The laugh he received was like tiny bells chiming.

“A little but not by much. I mean Tony as a kid wanted to marry Bucky before I told him he was technically related to him and Bucky’s always had a type and it’s cute, smart and tiny. If they met when Tony was a kid then sure I’d be weirded out as we’d have raised Tony thinking of Bucky as an uncle and vice versa. But not now. Tony’s an adult and not only that but both of them have been through enough that they deserve to have some stability, if they want it.” Logan heard and smelt that she was telling the truth. “I’m more surprised that Bucky can’t smell or hear that Tony is attracted to him too.” The sadness that came into the woman’s scent over her great-grandson’s tantrum was slowly fading away into its calmed state.

“He can but I wonder if he knows what it means from his days with HYDRA past lust. Untouchable angel is what he called him. Plus, both smell of shame and guilt after they look at each other too long and get the smell of wanting a mate. It’s not like love or lust but interest, consideration might be a better way to describe it.” Logan scratched his sideburns. “You’d need to push that thinking out of their heads first. Or at least convince your brother your fine with it. I’d give it 6 months to a year before one of them make a move though.”

Becca give the small but beefy man a devilish smirk. “And what would you bet if I helped move things along?” Logan looked into the attractive woman the eyes. “You seem like a smart and capable woman. Maybe 1-2 months max from when you start. And I’d bet dime on it that that’s what you’re planning on doing when things slow down.” Becca’s grin doesn’t falter. Logan quirks his lips at the woman. “Well, ain’t you a little minx. Are you planning on helping the redheads too? Cause they reek of interest and lust.”

“Soon. Those two have history of distrust still and it shows if you’re around them enough. I need to set up a way to make one fully trust the other again.” Becca bite her nail as she was thought about the possibilities. “Come on, I’ll entertain you at least until Bucky comes back.”

“Now there’s something I’d be down to get behind.” Becca gave Logan a look, of consideration.

“Maybe one day I will. If you show me you’ve got just as much brains as you have brawn.” Logan nose didn’t pick up interest yet but Becca’s natural delightful smell, mixed with her good looks and witty and clever nature was making Logan want to try to get it in there. He could show her just how smart he was.

Chapter Text

Bucky had been researching the future, catching up on what events he had missed while he was in cryo. He was just sitting in the common room, Alpine sleepily enjoying being pet on his lap, when an angry looking Tony came in followed by JARVIS, set Peter down to watch TV before telling JARVIS to stay with Peter while he goes down to the lab with Bucky for a minute.

Bucky hopped off his seat quickly to follow the genius and tried to think of what he could have possibly done to enrage the genius to this point. Tony was fine before he had taken Peter to the shops to look about for some new clothes for the soldier since they were going to clear President Ellis on the current situation since he had just been elected into office.

They get to the lab and Tony shuts the door and handed Bucky a piece of paper.

*45 minutes earlier*

Tony and JARVIS, who was carrying playful Peter happily, were walking out the mall with their bags in tow and noticed a woman standing by the car dressed to show off her cleavage. The secret security they brought with them kept a close eye on the man and child as they approached the car. JARVIS was holding Peter closer to himself.

“Hi.” Tony told the woman as he jerked his head too tell JARVIS to get inside the car with Peter quickly. Tony shook the woman’s hand as JARVIS was putting Peter into his car seat. “And you are?”

“Marshal.”

“Irish. I like it.” It was an off handed comment that didn’t hold any meaning more than that he liked her name. But the woman took it a little differently and her smile changed to a more flirtish one that Tony saw through as fake.

“Please to meet you, Tony.”

“So, where you from?”, Tony asked as he glanced at JARVIS and Peter through the window to make sure they were being good. He went to the trunk and put their stuff inside.

“Belford.” The woman said as she followed him to the driver’s side door.

“And what are you doing here?”, Tony asked standing nonchalant in front of the door, as the woman got closer to him which made him uncomfortable but he hide it well.

“Looking for you.” Marshall fluttered her eyelashes.

Tony looked down smiling before given the woman his most cutting look. “Evidently. You where stand at my car waiting for me and my kids to come out of the mall with your girls near hanging out. So yeah, I think you found me. Cover up and tell me why you’re here. Now.”

Marshall flirtation fell as she cleared her throat seeing that the man wasn’t trying to flirt with her or even interested in her to begin with. “I’m here to serve you a subpoena.” She held out a piece of paper to Tony and readjusted her top regretting her decision to wear this it as a way to lure Tony into talking with her long enough to give him the subpoena now that he cut right to the chase.

“You’re not supposed to take things from strangers.” Peter called out from his seat because JARVIS had opened the window to listen in.

“That’s right sweetie. Hey, do Papa a favour and sit tight while I yell at this woman okay? Jay-baby, shut the window and keep it shut, please.” Tony looked through the window JARVIS nodded before doing as told along with Peter who was playing with Bucky-bear and Stevie-bear in his lap. His face hardened and his mouth turned into a sneer. “Now what the fuck do you mean you’re here to give me a subpoena?” Tony grabbed the piece of paper in her hand and read it over quickly.

“You are hereby ordered to appear before the Senate Armed Forces Committee tomorrow morning at 9AM.” Tony glared at piece of paper then at the woman.

“This is bullshit. They can’t just dump this on me like this. I’ve been given no warning whatsoever. Peter’s supposed to have his friends round tomorrow. Do you want to tell their stress out guardians that I have to miss my day taking them?” The woman flinched at the outraged parent and tried to calm him down and tell him she was only given the subpoena and didn’t know when the hearing date was decided. “Show me your badge and give me your information and boss’ number so I can yell at them as well and tell them you tried to flirt with me on the job.”

Marshall looked shocked. “You can’t do that.”

“I have three bodyguards and 5 CCTV cameras willing to back me up on you getting uncomfortably close to me while your tits are half exposed.” Tony glared at her pointing out both the cameras and the guards who gave the woman a little wave each. The woman gave her information over willingly. While she was doing so his phone rings and he answers. “Rhodey? Yeah, I know I’m speaking with a subpoena officer right now. And they asked you not to tell me? The fuck is up with that? Your report on the armour? But I gave that to you to use for the military and put all the weapons they asked for on the damn thing.” The woman gave Tony the information on and he shoved it in his pocket. “Good. Now get the hell out of my sight and you’d hand in your notice of resignation before I get your boss involved if you know what’s good for you.”

Tony hangs up on Rhodey after he tells him he’s about to drive home and get in the car.

*present*

“They can’t do that right?” Tony paced in the lab with his arms crossed. “They definitely have to give you reasonable prior notice for this, I mean I’ve got kids I have to think of. And they told Rhodey not to tell me he’d be there. That’s wrong. This is HYDRA right? Because if it isn’t then I’m permanently moving to Wakanda.”

Bucky read over the piece of paper. “You’ve legally changed your name, right?”

Tony continued to pace. “Yeah why?”

“This is null in void.”, Bucky said as points out the name on the subpoena. “You probably should still go to give them a new one. But any decision they come to would be legally null in void. They can’t take your suits until they have it in your legal name and they’d have to do this all over again.” Bucky hands over the subpoena. “And you are correct that they have to give you appropriate notice. So, you’re right, this is HYDRA making a defence play. But with how you’ve reacted to threats and with your real report from SHIELD they’re trying to get you off the playing field as well.” Bucky shrugs. “Not their smartest move since you have the public's support plus they’ve bent the legal corners a bit too much.”

Tony took the piece of paper out of Bucky’s hands. “So, I’m good to call them ass clowns then?”

Bucky smirked. “Doll, I’d be disappointed if you didn’t. And we might be able to get the president involved if we go early to clear him. If we can reschedule the meeting for 6AM tomorrow he might even let us listen to him yell at them.”

Tony got a starry-eyed look on his face. “That would be nice.” Tony looked at Bucky with determination. “I’ll get Ben, May and Happy to look after the kids. There is no way I’m telling Miss Jones that she can’t go on her date tomorrow.”

Tony sat in the Oval Office with Ellis in the LAIR chair. He was in a daze of anger. “How certain are you of this?”

Tony gestured to the bodyguard that accompanied him and he removed the holo-veil that covered his clean shaven face, revealing Bucky Barnes now with neatly cut short hair. “As sure as I am that the last time I escaped and told the president, they made me kill JFK. I’m taken a little bit more precaution this time around and I have help this time too.”

Ellis stared at the man. “Fuck. Fuck! FUCK!” Ellis shouted and he banged his head against the chair. “How bad is it?”

Bucky looked at the door. “About a third of everyone I saw when we came in was HYDRA. And when I’ve been watching the news, I’ve seen HYDRA agents in high up positions in every major country, some even fully in charge. Sokovia is practically run by HYDRA at this point.”

“I assume you’ve been handling this. Did the previous president know?”

Tony shook his head. “No. His second term was nearly up so we elected not to tell him after we got the ball rolling. We’ve got several plans in the works to get rid of them but we needed to inform you so you would be aware to stay cautious of everyone you knew. Even your wife can’t know unless she’s been cleared. We’ve had many agents be informed that their partners who they’ve been with for years are HYDRA loyalists and they’ve slowly been ruining their marriages in order to get divorces without it looking suspicious though a few dedicated agents have kept their relationships as healthy as possible to get information out of them.”

Ellis sighs. “I’m ordering you to handle this. Do whatever you need to do. I don’t care what needs to be done. Get the parasite out of my country. And Barnes, congrats on getting out but how certain are you that those trigger words are out of your head? I’d prefer not to have a bullet in my skull like Kennedy.”

Barnes smirked as Tony listed the trigger words in order. “It feels great very time it doesn’t work.”

Ellis smiled a little at the man. “America thanks you for continuing the fight all this time then. Captain Rogers would be proud.”

Bucky didn’t return it. “Private Rogers. People have been changing history a bit too much for my liking. And this one isn’t HYDRA’s fault.” Bucky crossed his arms and glared at the President. “Captain America was only ever a stage name. He neither had the qualifications to be a Captain or the training. He had two weeks basics training to be exact and I taught him the rest as we went. Plus, at the time, I was the highest ranking Howlie. It was Phillips that was in charge really and it was mostly me that came up with those plans during the war. Stevie was only ever a figurehead. Phillips was as asshole that wanted to use us as cannon fodder, and I was the one that made sure they’re ass’ came back from each mission whole and very much alive while I starved myself because I was scared Ellis, I was so scared to become their lab rat if I asked for Steve’s portion sizes. I was lucky I had someone checking in on me and giving me extra portions of food and able to hunt a bit along the way because otherwise I’d never have survived the war. Plus, I’d bet my right arm that Azzano was stage by Agent Carter to show off Stevie as a one-man army because the leading officer was suddenly changed along with our orders. The officer’s last name was Carter. I asked about it and she lied straight to my face while smirking. Looked her up. It was her dead husband. She was legally married before the war not that anyone ever checked that little fact when she was waxing fake poetics about Steve after the war.” Bucky gave the Ellis a flat look and watched with satisfaction as his face turned shocked. “See the thing about war Mr President, is that both sides tend to be as bad as each other. Because both sides wanted super-soldiers; both sides wanted atomic bombs; both sides wanted the tesseract to gain the power from her. And I’m pretty sure that after the war, if Steve survived, he would have been kept in a lab somewhere and force to do the same thing as HYDRA forced me to do but for America.”

Ellis looked into the eyes of a man that had looked very pissed as he was stuck in the chair. “Sergeant Barnes that’s an unfair-”

“It’s Master Sergeant, I earned that rank, which at the time was the highest rank an enlisted soldier could get. I never wanted people to bother with the Master back then but after everything I’ve been through; I’ll be called by my full rank thank you. You know I remember when black people sat at the back of the bus Ellis, I remember being a bi man in the 1940’s and getting the word FAG carved into me. I remember a friend of mine getting his home raided by the police because he was the son of a mob boss in the city that lived a normal crime free life. They raped and killed him and made his male lover watch before killing all bar one in their home.” Barnes glared harder. “They ran an orphanage since they couldn’t have kids, the boy that survived watched the whole thing from where he hid and wasn’t the same after. What’s worse is that they got away with it Ellis. Just like HYDRA has for so long. And that doesn’t even take into consideration the Pro-Hitler rallies that were held in New York prior to the US joining the war. So please Ellis try again to tell me it wouldn’t have happened. I dare you because I have a million more examples where that came from.”

Ellis was stunned into silence.

Tony smiled at Ellis. “What Master Sergeant Barnes is trying to say is that history has be romanticised, helping misinformation spread and that aided HYDRA. Steve Rogers wasn’t meant to see the front lines, even after he got the serum.”

Bucky huffed sadly. “He should have never been in the army in the first place. But someone saw a man that had no family, illness’ that had him on death door already and who wanted to fight so he didn’t die a pointless death and thought perfect lab rat because no one would assume anything but natural cause of death if he died. Nazi asshole.”

Ellis paled. “Erskine wasn’t a Nazi.”

Barnes shrugged. “He did willingly work for HYDRA before he changed sides and Stevie definitely had dirtier blond hair and greener eyes before he became all soup up on his serum. Can’t be a coincidence if he ended up looking like a Nazi’s wet dream.” Ellis paled further as Bucky walked up to him and released him from the chair. “I’m pissed enough that I’m planning to go back to the Army just to become a Colonel and rub it in Phillips’ face when I meet him in hell. That I’ll need your help with since the job isn’t finished yet.”

“I can’t just give you an officers rank without training. Plus, it wouldn’t be right to send you back into the field after what you’ve been through.”

Bucky scoffed. “You just did for Stevie when you assumed he was.” Bucky looked the President in the eyes. “And no. I’ll work for my title, thank you very much, wouldn’t have as much meaning if I didn’t. Oh and I want my back-pay, a POW of nearly 70 years should get some compensation, especially when I tried to get help and it all went to shit when we could have had a better shot of getting them put down. As for me getting back out there, it’s the best way to get HYDRA off my scent and with the trigger words out my head I’m not in any danger of going back into HYDRA’s hands. And even if they did get me, it would be a moot point since they’d have to start the brainwashing all over again. As for any mental health issues, I’ve been working with a therapist to go through the trauma. I don’t expect to be put back in the field right away but send me to train the troops and you’ll get some of the best soldiers since the Howlies.” Bucky smirked like a devil. “Plus, it will fuck with HYDRA in the best way if I flaunt myself in front of the public.”

Tony handed over a tablet with a video of Bucky entering Romania for the President to see. “We’ve been making Barnes appear in public in various places across the world and making him look like he’s travelling. What Barnes here wants to do, is make himself a public spectacle while the CCTV cameras follow a digital Bucky around. It’s stupid and-”

“It’s utterly reckless but it will work. And if we use one of those LMD’s you and Fitz redesigned instead, we could fake my death as well and have civilians be eye witness’ to the Winter Soldier killing himself as morbid as it is. And if they still come after me, I’ll just ask them why their talking nonsense in Russian.”

Ellis frowned. “That goes against witness protection protocol and is morally unethical.”

Bucky grins. “I know which is exactly why we should do it. Also you did said you didn’t care what we had to do. They’d assume after I started to remember myself and what they made me do the last time I tried to get help that I’d just went into a state of depression and killed myself. You shoving me right into the media circus as the longest living POW with some small differences in the information like my name and how long I was a POW for and they’d be confused to all hell and as long as we get someone to collect the LMD after we’re golden.” The soldier shows off his metal hand and press a sequence into the wrist that changed it into looking like a flesh arm showing it off with a smirk. “If there’s enough evidence to prove I’ve lived here under a different name and served during the Vietnam war, which I already loving made for you, I could get away with it. They’d soon admit I’m just a very good doppelganger if you plant DNA, and unlike Stevie, I can act and make them believe me.”

Ellis wondered if he was a little mad.

“Jury’s out. But as the one person that intimately knows HYDRA inside and out and came out semi-stable, you’re gonna have to trust me.”

Tony checked his watch before making to leave. “I’ve got to go to the hearing with HYDRA. I’ll be back in an hour and a half tops. And Ellis as much as I think his plan’s stupid, it is probably the best possible thing to do if Bucky wants any form of life outside of the Compound.”

Senator Stern was smirking lightly as Stark sauntered in at 9AM sharp. He had this all planned out. He could get the designs of the Ironman suits and he’d raise in HYDRA’s ranks.

“Mr Stark good of you to join us.” Stark smirked at the Stern as he lounged in the chair and Stern had to suppress his desire to just kill him with his gavel.

“Good to be here but you know, since I’m a father and all and a very busy business man and superhero, you better make this quick. I’ll give you-” Tony checked his watch. “-say thirty minutes to talk at me.”

That got a chuckle out of the crowd much to Stern’s hatred and Stern watched as Stark started talking with the crowd around him and barely paying attention to him as he talked.

“Mr Stark, could we pick up now where we left off? Mr Stark Please.”

Stark turned around and honey-sweet called, “Yes dear?”

Yes, Stern would enjoy taken everything from this man and giving it to HYDRA. “Can I have your attention?”

Stark smiled sweetly. “Absolutely.”

“Do you or do you not possess a specialised weapon?”

Stark leaned into the mic. “I do not.”

Stern raised his brow. “You do not?”

“I do not. Well, it depends on how you define the word ‘weapon’.”

Stern smiled. “The Iron Man Weapon.”

Stark shook his head. “My device doesn’t fit that description.”

Stern leaned forward and settled himself in for a good laugh. “Well… How would you describe it?”

“I would describe it by defining it as what it is, Mr Senator.” Stark raised an eyebrow at Stern like the brat he looked like.

Stern had to hear this. “As?”

“It’s a high-tech prosthesis.” The crowd laugh. “That is … That is actually one of it’s apt descriptions another would be a personal flying device.” Stark smirked.

Stern didn’t like how smug the little shit was being. “It’s a weapon. It’s a weapon, Mr Stark.”

Stark scoffed. “Please if your priority was actually the well-being of the American citizen-”

Stern nodded. “My priority is to get the Iron Man weapon turned over to the people of the United States of America.” He looked at Stark and emphasized his point by tapping his pen in front of him.

“Well, you can forget it.” Stark pursed his lips. “I am Iron Man. The suit and I are one. To turn over the Iron Man suit would be to turn over myself which is tantamount to indentured servitude or prostitution depending on what state you’re in and I can’t let Peter or JARVIS think that’s okay. I mean my grandfather and my great-godmother and great-godfather fought the Nazis in the Resistance.” Stark gave a flat look as he stared Stern down. “You can’t have it.”

Stern stuttered at the flat look. Stern had to hurry this along before Stark started to get any motion in whatever he’s planning. “Look, I’m no expert…”

“In prostitution? I surely hope not Mr Senator.” Stark put on a fake shocked look making the crowd laughed again at the Senator’s expense.

Stern stroked his face as he tried to do something else with his hands as the urge to just kill the man grew. “I’m no expert in weapons. We have someone who is an expert on weapons. I’d now like to call in Justin Hammer, our current primary weapons contractor.” Stern smirked as Stark’s eyes widened and looked at Justin Hammer as he entered the room. Seeing one of your childhood bullies was a good way to intimidate.

“Ha!” Stern watched as Stark’s face changed from one of shock to utter joy. “I’ll admit you’ve done a bit of research. But I’d also want to make sure the record reflects that I observe Mr Hammer entering the chamber, and that I’m wondering if and when any actual weapons expert will also be in attendance.” The man was more confident than he should be. Stern slams his hammer down to focus the crowd.

Hammer laughs off the comment. “Absolutely. I defer to you, Anthony. You’re the wonder boy.” Finally Stark, clenched his teeth. “Senator, If I may, I may well not be an expert,” Hammer walks about, holding his mic and tries to put on a show, “but do you know who was the expert?” Hammer points at Stark and Stern smirked. “You’re dad. Howard Stark. Really a father to us-”

Stark however changed.

“Justin, I am only going to warn you once. Never, under any circumstance, refer to Howard Stark as my father again. You should be very careful on how you tread around that subject with me. We aren’t in boarding school anymore.” Tony glared was like hot fire as it turned on Stern. “If we are going to continue this farce, I want you to know that I can end this entire thing with one sentence. But it’s been amusing so far, let’s not ruin the fun with bring in the unwanted, unnecessary and frankly cruel reminder that Howard Stark’s blood probably runs through my veins.” Stark tilts his head to the side and smiles, but his gaze was still ablaze until it moved onto Hammer. “So Hammer, please continue my morning entertainment before I ripe this meeting apart and tell everyone why this is an entire waste of my time, your time and of taxpayers’ money.”

Stern was confused. What did Stark have that made him so confident? The crowd had gone silent as Tony went fully into business mode and the light attitude he had before was gone.

Hammer stutters. “We, uh we all know why we’re here. In the past 3 years, Anthony Stark has created a sword of untold possibilities. And yet he insists it’s a shield. He asks us to trust him as we cower behind it.” Hammer started to sweated as he saw Tony smirk as if what he said just made his bed. “I wish I was comforted, Anthony, I ready do. I’d love to leave my door unlocked when I leave the house, but this ain’t Canada.” Hammer knew he should walk out of there. Tony was just continuing to relax like a cat happily playing with their food, meaning he was secure in his belief that this would cause a scandal that wouldn’t be putting Tony in the line of fire. Still he marched on. There was still a small chance he could get his hands on that suit and he’d take it. “You know, we live in a world with grave threats, threats that Mr Stark will not always be able to foresee. Thank you. God bless Iron Man. God bless America.”

Stern was getting concerned. He’d missed something. But he couldn’t go back. He’d trucker on and see if he could salvage this somehow. “That is well said, Mr Hammer. The committee would now like to-”

“Is it time to bring in my Honey-bear, Mr Senator?” Tony smirked at the Stern.

“-invite Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes to the chambers.”, Stern glared. The Airman wasn’t supposed to say anything.

“I was right! Funny how I knew huh? Considering you told him not to tell me.” Stark turned around and smiled at the man in uniform. “Rhodey! Hey buddy, it’s been mostly entertaining so far.” The genius pulled out Rhodes chair for him. “Hurry up and sit down.”

Stern watched as Rhodes slid into his seat and smirked at the Senator. “Senator, I’m sorry if I gave you the impression that I would listen to your order to keep Tony in the dark about my participation, but I would like to remind you that by doing so you tried to disrupt the legitimacy of this hearing. Also, you are not my superior officer and I have been informed by them that Tony is a valued asset we can’t lose as it could potentially mean the loss of The War Machine armour for military use as technically it’s on loan from Tony personally to me, and only me, under the legal contract I and the Air Force signed that allows me to use the armour.” Rhodes interlaced his hands in front of himself. “I have been watching on a screen until now and I must say I agree with Tony when he says this is rather funny.” Rhodey smiles. “I believe you have a report on the War Machine Armour as well as the Iron Man Suit both of which I wrote. I’m guessing you’d like to start there.” The crowd muttered at Rhodes behaviour as it was uncommon for him to be rude or disrespectful to anyone of authority.

Stern had had enough. “Where do the pair of you get off disrespecting this committee like this? Lieutenant Coronel Rhodes, I should have you court marshalled.”

“Considering you’ve been the only Senator to provide his opinion across the board and the corrupt nature of this hearing by itself I think it won’t stick Senator.”, Rhodey explained. “But continue as you’ve already wasted taxpayers’ money and our time.”

Tony laughed. “Right, give them a show at least.”

Stern huffed. “Can you please read page 57 paragraph 4 from the Iron Man Weapon report.”

“I want it put on record that the Senator is requesting that I read specific selections from my report that doesn’t give a true judgement on the Suit in question. This should be taken into consideration when the committee comes to a decision whether or not this is taken to trial where lawyers will be involved. A trial were it could reference the reading of a single paragraph out of context, a fact that could be used against the U.S. government and yourself Senator, to prove misconduct.” Rhodey opened his report and starts. “Just so you are fully aware of the position you are in and that if you attempt to get me to stop you will be admitting you’ve done exactly that on national television.” Stern stutters for a moment but staying quiet. “Very well, Senator. As he does not operate within any definable branch of government, a fact that has changed since the writing of this report as he is now a consultant for SHIELD which makes that paragraph null in void like this hearing, Iron Man present a potential threat to the security of both the nation and to her interests. The report then goes on to say that the benefits of Iron Man far out way the liabilities as shown by The War Machine Armour in my possession and Tony’s work with SHIELD, though I assume you wouldn’t like to hear about that Senator.” The crowd was silent as Rhodes snaps his report closed. “Is there anything else you would like me to explain to the committee before Tony humiliates you nationally? As I would ever much like to go back home as this was supposed to be my day off.”

“On his day off Mr Senator! Really, how could you?” Tony placed his head in his hands as he smirks at Stern. “You done or is there more you wanna try and pin on me? I think I remember images and videos when the Air Force informed me of people trying to copy my tech. Do you wanna show them?”

Stern don’t like how this was going but he was in to deep now. “You are correct Mr Stark. I would like to go on and show, if I may imagery connected to the report.”

Rhodes nods. “I believe it is somewhat… premature to reveal these images to the general public at this time.”

“With all due respect, Colonel, I understand. And if you would just narrate them for us, we would be very grateful.”

Rhodey gestures for the images. “Intelligence suggests that the devices seen in these photos are, in fact, attempts at making manned copies of Tony’s suit.” Tony leans back and fiddles with a device. “This has been corroborated by our allies and local intelligence on the ground indicating that these suits are quite possibly, at this moment, operational.”

Tony holds his device up. “Hold on a second buddy. Let me see something here.” With a few taps at the screen the device connects with the screens. “Boy, I’m good. I commandeered your screens. I need them. Time for a little transparency. Now, let’s see what’s really going on. Parents cover your kids eyes, this isn’t something they should see.”

Stern frowns. “What’s he doing?”

“If you will direct your attention to said screens, I believe that’s North Korea.” The suit on screen falls over after just a few steps.

“Can you turn that off? Take it off.” Stern should have known Stark would do this. Hammer scurries to get the screen off.

“Iran.” This suit was able to fly but only for five seconds before crashing and starting to smoke as it catches on fire. “No grave threat here.” Then a video of Hammer tech throwing their hat in the ring as well. “Is that Justin Hammer? How did Hammer get in the game? Justin, you’re on TV. Focus up.” The video shows Justin Hammer directing the man inside the suit to turn but the suit turns too fast and to far likely broke the wears back if not straight up killed him. “Wow. Yeah, I’d say most countries five, ten years away for just my first version of the suit, that I made in a cave with a box of scraps mind you. Hammer Industries twenty.”

Hammer grabbed his mic after unplugging the television. “I’d like to point out that that test pilot survived.”

“I hope he was given a large compensation. Otherwise, I’ll let them use my lawyers for free to sue you. And they should contact S.I. and try and get on the trial we’re setting up soon.” Tony looks directly at a television camera and smiles. “Please. We’d love to try and give you your life back if Hammer’s shoddy work took it from you. It would be our personal pleasure.”

“I think we’re done is the point that he’s making. I don’t think there’s any reason-”

“Oh, there’s a reason. We all came here because you wanted my property, well I’m sorry but you can’t have it.” Tony glared hard and the crowded that had started to mutter again were silenced at the anger in the small man’s voice. “There’s multiple reasons way. Legally, I’m golden. I have no legal requirement to sell you any of my private property if I don’t want to and you can’t force me too either because as I said, the suit isn’t a weapon. Does the suit have weapons attached? Yes. All of which I am licenced to used, test and manufacture and considering the fact I'm at high risk at getting kidnapped, again I might add along with my youngest son I'm in my right to protect my family. But here’s the thing; they can be removed or shut off in nearly every case leaving it just as a personal flying device for me, a personal flying device that I own all the patents for. Another point to be made is that during this entire hearing you’ve been referring to the suit as just a weapon, not even trying to take a non-bias approach and trying to influence the hearing from before it began so you can acquire the suits even trying to manipulate me by bring in Hammer and mentioning Howard.” Tony gestures with his hands. “Not only all of that but myself and Lieutenant Colonel Rhodes got less than 24 hours’ notice, which if I’m correct is against the law and it is only because we are highly capable people that this has gone in our favour despite the unreasonable notice. Please also remember I am a father and had to make rushed arrangements for my youngest son and his friends as they had planned a visit. Furthermore, I’ve recently found out I have duel-citizenship due to my connections with a certain royal family of Wakanda and am in the process of gaining diplomatic immunity due to my importance for relations.”

Tony glared hard at Stern and crossed his arms. “But do you want to know the really sad thing Mr Senator? It’s that this is null in void even if all of that is put aside. See Hammer said earlier that I was asking you to trust me. I’ve had my trust abused before Mr Senator. By girlfriends, boyfriends, my godfather, my godmother and even my own parents. So, I’ve learnt when not to trust people. Do you know when that is?”

Stern looked the furious man in the eyes. “No.”

“It’s when they are INCAPABLE OF FACT CHECKING! See the reason this is a farce Mr Senator and that it’s null in void is because there is no one by the name of Anthony Edward Stark in this room! I changed my legal last name almost 2 years ago. So, thanks for the show, really great to see it, I’m sure the President will give you a call too since I was in a meeting with him before I had to leave to come here and deal with you bunch of ass-clowns!” The crowd clapped and shouted in the crowd.

Stern paled. As the genius turns to walk out, Rhodes following close behind. The man turned as he reach the door though, “Next time you think about coming after me, Rhodey or anyone else for that matter, at least try to think first.”

Stern couldn’t contain it anymore. “Fuck you, Mr Stark, or whatever your name is. Fuck you, buddy.”

Tony smiled at Stern sweetly from the door. “It’s Carbonell. DOCTOR Carbonell. Now if you would excuse me, I have to get back to people actually worth my time.”

Tony returned to the Oval Office with Rhodey in toe and when he came in he was immediately embraced by Bucky. It was a shock to Tony as Bucky had never really hugged him before and he ended up blushing in embarrassment.

“Thank you.”, Bucky said into his ear. “It was the best thing I’ve probably seen in the past sixty year.” Bucky released Tony.

Tony then heard the most beautiful thing.

The President was yelling bloody murder over a phone and smirking like he was enjoying his own little victory by handling the HYDRA goon that orchestrated the hearing.

“It’s music to my ears.” Tony smiled.

Rhodey snorted as he shook his head before turning to Bucky. “Did you convince him of your ballsy plan? Because I swear to god Barnes if you did and you get us all caught, I’m gonna drag your ass to hell myself.”

Bucky patted the Lieutenant Colonel on the back. “It’ll be fine. Told him my whole plan and he’s accepted it. He’s also called the potential 5 stars in to get cleared since none of them are HYDRA from my memory.” Bucky smirked. “I’m gonna make them cry.”

Rhodey placed his hand on the ex-assassin’s shoulder. “You know for a man that’s such a good soldier, you’re taking a lot of joy in this.”

Bucky shrugged, “I’m just going to make them see how badly they messed up. Who doesn’t like saying I told you so?”

One by one the now 5-star Generals came in for a meeting with the President and got cleared before they had their meeting. They made a date for the press conference to reveal one James Buchanan Wolf as the longest surviving Prisoner of War from the Vietnam war that was recently found.

And if they were still sniffling when they walked out of the Oval Office then only the other people in the room could confirm the fact. A fact Rhodes took pride in sharing.

“They cried for ten minutes straight Coulson. They weren’t even being yelled at that point anymore. The final blow was when he said he was disappointed in them and that they failed the American people. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Chapter Text

The Winter Soldier was pacing at the side of the stage in front of the White House, left hand in his pocket.

The HYDRA agents where in position for the extraction. The plan was to set off the soldier to kill the president and then after he was arrested take him from there.

Garret had been chosen as the one to get up close and personal with their rogue soldier. He was in place beside the Asset. Garret had to accept that the man did good, he quite liked the current president it would be a shame that he would have to be taken out so soon but needs must.

Garret started to mutter the trigger words. “ Longing, rusted, seventeen, daybreak, furnace, nine, benign, homecoming, one, freight car.” Bucky frowned as he looked at Garret and he came over.

“ What are you using?” Bucky asked Garret in Russian. “My therapist has been getting me to use my senses but you seem to have another method.” The soldier took his left hand out of his pocket and rubbed his hair with both hands. “I just can’t calm down before I have to go out there.”

Garret’s eyes were fixed on the left hand, flesh. “You know Russian?”

“Uncle taught me. He was about long before the Soviet era. So, what do you use?” The change was flawless. The soldier then shook his head and gave Garret a nervous smile and held his hand out for a handshake. “Sorry, James Wolf.” Garret took the offered hand.

“John Garret.” It didn’t appear that this man was the guy, if he was, he must have severe brain damage because he remembered the last time he met The Winter Soldier who was the strong silent type rather than the nervous jittery type.

“Who you with?” The man asked. “Since I’ve been found, I’ve had talks with literally everyone at this point.”

“SHIELD.” Garret stated, he was trying to assess if the guy was lying.

“SHIELD, eh? I have a lot to thank them for.” Wolf as he was calling himself frowned. “Helped me find that Uncle of mine again. Well at least his body. Minds gone now.” Wolf seemed sad at something as Garret was trying to grasp what was happening? The soldier knew SHIELD was mostly HYDRA. Why would he be thankful to SHIELD? “Anyway, you never told me what you were using.”

“Told you what?” Garret watched as Wolf seemed to continue fidgeting nervously as he stared at the stair up to the stage. “Oh! You mean the words?” Garret faked surprise which wasn’t that hard under the circumstances. “Just associating words to key important events in my life is all. Helps but a lot of prep goes into the method.” Garret had an idea when he saw the man’s hair that he had messed up badly. “Your hair’s a mess. I think I saw comb somewhere you can use to fix it. Might make you feel a bit easier about it all.” Garret made sure to grab the man’s left wrist, squishy warm, flesh met his hand.

“Thanks. Would you prefer to talk in Russian?” Wolf was comfortable following Garret. Garret had sent a message that he was going to get DNA as there was something wrong about this as the words failed to work. He needed to see if this really was The Winter Soldier cause if it was, he was doing a mighty fine job at acting like he wasn’t. He needed hair samples and maybe saliva. He could confirm DNA with that. Garret looked back and saw the man’s nose had started to bleed and almost wanted to whoop in joy. Blood was so much better than saliva or hair.

“Ah, wait a minute you have a little-” Garret pointed at Wolf’s nose. Wolf touch just under his nose and cursed. Garret handed him a tissue. “Here.” He also handed the man a comb he found with a smile. “I don’t think make-up will mind if you fix yourself up.”

Padding his nose only a little got on the tissue, but it was enough for Garret to work with. Wolf nodded. “Thanks. I didn’t even know I could have a nosebleed let alone one from stress. I don’t know why I’m so nervous.”

Garret shrugged. “You’ll be on National television. It’s a scary thing.” Garret watched as Wolf quickly fixed his hair and wiped his nose a final time before binning the tissue and putting the comb back where Garret found it.

“Thanks again.” Wolf nodded in his direction before hurrying off at the call of the General of the Army coming to get him.

Garret picked the tissue out of the bin and bagged it along with the comb with hair on it. The why the guy was acting wasn’t like what the soldier would do and the flesh arm wasn’t matching up but he had been out for months he might have gotten an arm transplant secretively.

Garret walked back to his post and called in to tell Pierce about his experience with the guy and his uncertainty over if it was actually the soldier or not.

Master Sergeant James Buchanan Wolf was rewarded for his time as the longest surviving Prisoner of War. And when he said he wished to return to the army since he passed his psychological evaluation with the desire of being an officer, The General of the Army said that as long as he did his officers training, he’d be given the title of Major or Lieutenant Colonel depending on his results due to his immaculate service record prior to being found and recommendations from those that worked with him before as had the qualifications to be Major from back during the war. (A fact not even Bucky was aware of and explained a lot about him being in meetings a Master Sergeant normally wouldn't be in.)

The General of the Army expressed his deep shame that a man had been left behind for so long in the care of a madman, who thought he was a monster due to the abnormal healing ability that ran in Wolf’s family. He explained that Wolf had been through more than any normal man could even imagine and thanked the Wakandan aid workers that found him by chance.

The Wakandan King T’Chaka stood in front of the crowd, Tony not far behind him and told them that White Wolf was a strong warrior that had won his people's favour and the second outsider to be taken in by the Royal family and given free passage within Wakanda, the only other being adopted into the Royal family directly. T’Chaka hoped for strong relations to come with this development as well as open the doors for new opportunities.

Afterwards, Bucky moaned as he took the nose canisters out about mouth breathing and the uncomfortable feel of fake skin on skin as well as fake skin on the arm's sensors and the scratchy wig.

“So, this guy is related to James Howlett. Are you positive?”, Pierce said down the line as he paced in his office. “But he matches the description of our missing Asset? A coincidence? Possibly. Camera in Romania 2 hours after the press conference? Send people out there. Search every nook and cranny of the place. I want that soldier found now!”

2 weeks later the news showed a story of a man with a metal arm killing himself in the streets of the Romanian Capital. He was missing a pinkie that was later found to be the bullet that he used to kill himself. He had a note on him that read: “Beware the beast with many heads that lurks in the shadows of the protectors.” Not that anyone bar the HYDRA agents knew that that were there to claim the body.

Natasha Romanov claimed the body however as her mentor and in a fit of tears told SHIELD(HYDRA) representatives that she deserved to give him a proper send of since he taught her everything she needed to know to get out of the Red Room. That he was brainwashed and being controlled. That he was her family that was probably so done being used and to free himself he must have killed himself. She threw the biggest tantrum she possibly could until they caved.

The Winter Soldier, Yasha, was cremated with a plaque that read: “The perfect soldier with a captured mind.”

Pierce attended the funeral of his missing Asset. The attendants were people that had believed the Winter Soldier existed and heard Natasha’s side of things and came to send the legend that wasn’t what they thought off as well as her small family, ever pillars of support by Natasha’s side as she cried. Pierce mourned with the rest of the of attendants at the service. Though his loss was different to the one the others in attendance felt.

He met James “Logan” Howlett and his nephew James Buchanan Wolf there.

“It’s a damn shame. When I met her, Natasha joke that I looked like him. I kinda wanted to meet the man, see another Bucky Barnes look-alike, maybe save him like the Wakandan’s did for me, you know?”, James Wolf said to his uncle as they walked out of the crematorium.

“Aye, it’s always a cruel fate being captured by the enemy. You know that more than most.” Logan used his claws to light his cigar but didn’t put them away at the sight of Pierce. “Who are you by the way?” Logan puffed on his cigar as he started to go over to the man ready to cause trouble. “I don’t like how you smell.”

Wolf however placed a hand on his Uncle’s shoulder. “Logan. This is Alexander Pierce. Natasha told you he was coming. So put your claws away old man.” Logan puffed through his cigar but slowly put his claws away. Wolf gave Pierce an awkward smile as Logan walked off moaning about governmental smell. “Sorry about him. He looks young but he’s a grumpy old man that was born in 1888. Even if he can’t remember more than flashes of it.” Wolf held out his hand. “James Wolf, though I’m sure you already knew that.”

“Yes, I did.” Pierce shook the offered hand. “I’m surprised you survived so long like that.”

Wolf gave him a charming if not a little sad smile. “Yeah, not hard for us to go through. Healing fixes it, well mostly. Can’t say the same for others.” Pierce watched as Wolf’s nose twitched a little. “You smell a little sad. Are you alright?”

Pierce nods up to the bigger man. “Yes. Just sad that a man was pushed so far is all. He would have made a good agent if we could have brought him in from the cold, maybe got him deprogrammed.”, Pierce said thinking it through. It could be possible that he did manage to push the words out of his mind though that would be unlikely in such a small span of time.

Wolf frowned and shook his head. “No, he couldn’t have. He’d have been a liability in the field. It’s fine for me and Logan. Our brains are designed to healing themselves just like our bodies do. Logan’s brain must have had something horrible happen to it for it to have taken his memories so completely and I’m betting money it was when he got the upgrade to his claws. Normal man going through half of what Natasha’s said, would have PTSD for sure. Plus, after all that time, do you really think he’d have wanted to? I saw how he looked at the CCTV camera, he looked happy for it all to finally end and be free from the people using him. It was like he was gleeful at getting one over on them.” Wolf sighed. “Damn shame that he didn’t think to contact Natasha. She’d have helped him.”

Pierce tilted his head as he analysed the man. “Depends on if he wanted to protect her from the people using him or not.”

Wolf nodded a little. “That’s a fair point. I’ll give you that. If he did, then I’d get your best agents looking for them. Natasha’s not one to get overly emotional so the man was something special to her if she’s smelling of a broken heart.” Wolf looked Pierce in the eyes and gave a sad sort of smile. “He deserves to have the people that did that to him be brought to justice.”

Pierce nodded, not sure how the man could be so friendly to him if he was The Winter Soldier, thinking of all the times he hit the cyborg. “I’ve already got it covered.”

Wolf smiled widened. “Good. Now if you’d excuse me, Logan’s about to take a leak on to your car and I have to try and stop him. Again, sorry for him. I’ll give you money for it to go through the car wash premium regardless.” Wolf sprinted off in the direction of Pierce’s car, Pierce’s eyes follow. “Uncle Logan! We’re at a funeral, put that away! You can’t piss on someone car.”

“But he smells bad.” Logan still stopped what he was doing and tucked himself away.

“He doesn’t smell bad enough to assert dominance like that. He’s just from the government. You like Natasha and Clint and they work for the government.”

“They’re exceptions, bub. Smell different.”

Pierce watched the two’s interaction and concluded that they were just family meaning his Asset truly was dead. Shit, he’ll have to get someone to pick up the bones since they’re metal and won’t burn away when he’s shoved in the furnace. At least he wouldn’t have to clean his car as Wolf had managed to stop Wolverine from following through.

“You’re really good at the crocodile tears.” Logan stated as they got back to the compound.

“It’s a gift. Bones have been planted with some slabs of pig’s meat to fill up the urn. Good job playing the crabbit old relative that’s half senile.” Logan smiled wildly and looking at Becca to see if she thought it was funny. Becca had humour in her scent as she walked into the Compound.

“I’ll happy act senile if it helps mess with the people that zapped our brains.”

Natasha smirked. "Sure. And we're set up for revealing the DNA too in a few months so everyone in SHIELD can mourn Bucky Barnes death as well. You know, Hammer in the point that you're 'dead'." Bucky smiled at his kid as he gave her a side hug which she quickly returned.

“Did we remember to take the right pinkie away before we put the fake skeleton in the casket?”, Clint asked from his place by Natasha.

Bucky rolled his eye. “Yes. Of course, you two did. I raised Natalia to make sure she always thought of the finer details. Now, let’s go celebrated pulling the wool over HYDRA’s eyes.”

Chapter Text

Bucky was going out with Logan and Frank to Luke’s for a drink, now that he’s free to do as such, when they noticed it. The smell of burning alongside mutant and hormones in the air.

Logan and Bucky shared a look then told Frank that there was an enhanced in the area that was probably a scared kid and to follow the trackers in their phones if he wanted to find them, tossing the man the keys to the flying car. “Not a scratch.”

They ran around the streets until they came to a bank. There were people running out saying there was an explosion and police cars filled the area while a mother called for her missing child.

Logan and Bucky were stopped from getting any further from the building. “You can’t come any closer. We’re-”

“Have you sent anyone inside yet?”

“Yeah. A Lieutenant ran in.” The officer said coldly.

“Then get them-” Another explosion came from the building. Bucky yanked out the officer’s notebook from his pocket and grabbed his pen. “Shit, Logan, get inside now. And you, it’s imperative that you call this number. Tell them White Wolf gave you it, the situation and that it is a little X.” Bucky after scribbling the note ran into the building, ignoring the calls of the officers as he ran after Logan. When he got to the scene Logan was trying to calm the kid down and a woman was on the ground trying to stop the bleeding from the place most of her right arm used to be as she stared at the scared 13-year-old.

“I didn’t mean too. Please, I don’t know how to stop it. Make it stop.” The kid muttered as he curled up on the floor.

Bucky clicked his fingers in front of the woman’s face trying to get her attention. “Hey! Hi, I’m Bucky and I need you to focus on me as I get you out of here. Logan can handle the kid. You, however, can’t stay here if he’s going to keep lighting up.” Bucky took off his belt and bent down to tighten it around what was left of her arm.

“No. That kid. They- and then it went- He can’t tou-.” The woman eyes went a little wide as Logan touched the kid and another explosion went off. Bucky cover the woman to protect her from most of the blast since it was big, slightly burning his jacket.

“What’s your name Officer”, Bucky looked down at her jacket, “Knight?”

“Everybody calls me Misty.”

“Well Misty, Logan over there’s not all normal and can handle a scared kid pretty well without running them through, can’t you Logan?” Bucky called over his shoulder as he tried to see the damage. Logan was mostly intact much to the kid’s surprise. Logan turned his mostly burnt face around to face Misty and Bucky, metal skull on display to the horror of Misty.

“As long as he don’t bag it in my ear on purpose, we’ll be fine.” Logan face started to heal as he turned back to the kid. “Now, listen here kid. You have to calm down. You’re not going to hurt me or Bucky but Misty over there isn’t like us okay? Can you try to do that until we can get her out of here and then we can talk?” The scared kid nodded from his little ball. And Bucky grabbed Misty’s left arm and throw it over his shoulder to help her outside. Misty watched over her shoulder as Logan sat in front of the kid and shows the kid his metal claws.

“Misty, just so you know, the kid really didn’t mean to hurt you. He just doesn’t know what’s happening to him.” Misty turned to the man that she had recently seen on the news about 3 months back.

“What IS happening to him?” Misty stumbled to the front door of the build by Bucky’s side as he helped her walk out.

“Just puberty.” Bucky shoved the side of the building open as Frank was coming up the steps. “Frankie, are they coming?”

“On their way. You want me inside or to take the lady?” Frank gestured to Misty as Bucky removed her arm from around his neck.

“Kid’s explosive so you better take the officer to an ambulance and give her the small speech before getting her medical attention. Debrief can happen after, when she’s at the base.” Bucky handed Misty over to Frank before running back inside.

Misty stared after the man carefully before turning to Frank. “This normal? Kids that cause explosions?” Frank took her to an ambulance. “Can you with the claws? Can the other guy?”

Frank chuckled before talking quietly with the woman, “Nah, lady, that’s just Logan that I know of. I’m 100 percent human like you but yeah kids that explode things are more normal for me nowadays than getting a drink at a bar with friends. There’s a lot we should talk about after you’re not dying from blood loss. Short and simple talk for now is don’t tell anyone until we talk to you, okay?” Misty nodded absently as she sat down on the bed in the ambulance as medics start to hover around her.

Misty later watched as SHIELD vans came around while Logan and Bucky walked out with the kid, each with a hand on one of the child’s shoulders. The kid was looking calmer but sad as he looked about. The kid’s mother ran up but Logan stopped her from hugging her son right away and asked her to go to a van and that they would join her with her son in a minute. Logan and Bucky walked the kid towards her who was getting a sadder and guilty look on his face.

Logan patted the kid’s shoulder. “Go on.”

The kid looked at Misty with misty eyes. “I’m really sorry I blew up your arm. I was just scared after the first time it happened and then kept happening. I’ll let you have mine if you want.”

Misty looked at the kid that looked sorry. “Did you mean too?” Misty watched as the kid quickly shook his head. “Then it was just an accident so you can keep your arm okay. Never get to use my left enough anyway.” Misty smiled at the kid as light-heartedly as she could. “But you’ve got to learn to control that okay? Cause not everyone is as understanding as me.” The kid nodded before Logan took the kid to see his mother and take them to the base and explain the situation.

Misty was sitting in her hospital bed in the med-bay of the compound and looking at the ceiling. When there was a knock on her door.

“Hey. I’ve come bearing gifts.” Bucky came with some pizza and coke. As he sat down next to her bed.

“At least I know why you asked what I liked on my pizza before running off.” Misty said as she turned her eyes back at the ceiling even as she moved the box Bucky had given her onto her lap. “So, mutants, that’s a thing? And the kid was just getting his powers to exploded things.”

Bucky took a slice of his pizza. “Yup. Kid’s lucky. Logan’s told me he’s met mutants that have had parents straight up abandon them. His mother was more worried about what it would mean for his health and the people that could come after him, so that’s good.” Misty turned her eyes away from the ceiling and looked at him a little horrified.

“After him?”, Misty asked.

“You don’t need to know the specifics but yeah. He can explode things with just a thought, there are bad people that would want to experiment on him. Get that power for themselves.” Bucky shoved his slice of pizza into his mouth like he didn’t just imply that a lot of children were probably being experimented on at that moment because parents abandoned their kids. “There are actually concentration camps around the world for them.”

“Why doesn’t the general public know about this?”, Misty asked as she hardened her eyes at the man, who just popped his feet up on a little stool.

“Simple. It’s the world governments that made the concentration camps.” Misty’s eyed widened. “Or the bad people that have infiltrated the governments at least. Don’t worry we’re working on that.” Bucky’s eyes widened and grinned around the slice in his mouth. “And I told you that I’d show you something cool. You can keep a secret right?” Misty nodded and watched as in just a few taps on his wrist his arm became metal. “See cool.”

“Not cool. I’m not equipped to handle all the paperwork that is going to be sent my way. I’m going to make you do at least half of it.” Tony Carbonell strutted in, tablet in hand as he walked over to sit next to Misty, tapping on the tablet.

Misty watched as Bucky paled ever so slightly at the miffed billionaire. “Doll-face.”

“If this wasn’t useful at getting them off you’re back further and therefore collectively off our ass’, I’d have strangled you for asking for this just before the big product launch.” Tony turned his tablet towards Misty looked at the tablet where a metal right arm was displayed. Tony turned to her with a smile. “Don’t be put off by me, it’s just really busy and he knows I can’t just not do a project like this. Mercedes is an amazing first name by the way.” Tony showed her the arm and talked her through what it can and can’t do. One of the functions that it couldn’t do was cloak itself and look like a real arm. “Taking the arm is completely up to you of course. And if you were to take it, the arm would be free of charge because of the incident and any upgrades would be free too since you’d be helping us out.”

Misty opened the pizza box on her lap and grabbed a slice out of the box and shoved it in her mouth as she looked between Bucky and the bottle of coke pointedly. “I want it. And if it is possible an application to work here. I’d have to settle for a desk job if I go back to the NYPD anyway and I’m more interested in freeing people from concentration camps, all things considered.” She wiped her hand on a napkin before stretching over to take her glass of coke from Bucky. “And I want claws. And for it to be in a rose gold colour if you can, please Dr Carbonell, but those are side notes and only if you’re not too busy.” Misty then looked at Bucky. “As for you, Bucky Barnes, if I’m not correct, HYDRA is in the governments? Weren’t you and your best buddy supposed to handle that? How bad are we talking here?” Misty gave the man a flat look as two shocked faces stare at her. “What? I’m a detective. I can put it together if a Bucky Barnes look-alike, going by Bucky, is telling me bad people are experimenting on people, thank you very much.” She lifted a slice of pizza and stuffed it into her mouth as she looks at them.

Tony barks out a laugh. “I like you. I’ll make the changes to the arm before I fabricate it and I’ll shoot Coulson an email. See about getting you the paperwork.” Tony stood, walking away and stopped at the door. “And Bucky, the army’s been on the phone asking about when you want to set the date for getting officially promoted. Call them back because the last time it was General Ross and I love to watch as the light blinks when I put him on hold.”

Misty watches as Bucky nods, eyes fixed on Tony as he leaves before shoving a slice in his mouth almost grumpily. “So, plastering your face on the news was your smart idea of hiding then?”

“Well last time I asked the president for help and he put me in witness protection, HYDRA made me to assassinate him soon after. So yeah, different approach was needed on getting away from them for good this time.” Bucky took a sip of his coke. “It’s been working so far.”

Misty nodded as she chewed away. “I’m your ‘the technology isn’t capable of make an arm that looks real yet’ display for them, ain’t I? Now that I lost my arm.”

“Well, yeah. Tony was going to make a line of prosthetics anyway that could get those in the forces back out on the field if they wanted to, but giving it to a female, no offence, that most would assume would care about their looks regarding the arm and want it to look real, if possible, would be even more convincing.”

“Good cover. Smart. Risky but smart. Covers you’re bases. If S.I. can’t make an arm that looks real yet then no one can.” Bucky nodded at the words.

“Lieutenant Colonel Puppy-love, I’ve got news that the patient was a bad-ass and figured out who you are almost instantly.” Frank came in with his own pizza and glass and pulled up a chair. He was followed by Logan who did the same. “How you coping with the loss of the arm?”

Misty sighed before finally looking at where our arm used to be. “Maybe it helps that I can’t really be mad at the kid since he was scared but not as bad as I’d expect too for losing an arm. At least I have a good story to tell my kids if I ever have any.” Misty sipped her coke. “So I’m not wrong that Bucky here as a crush on Carbonell. Good to know my love-o-meter didn’t get broken in the explosion.”

Bucky blushed as the other two cackled away at Misty’s words. Before growling and pouting, shoving more pizza in his mouth. “Shut up. Not like it would ever work anyway and it would be weird.”

Misty sipped her coke. “Why? He seems to care about you too.”

Logan laughed. “Cause his sister claimed herself as Tony’s grandmother. She’s even given him the shovel talk and the ‘Don’t worry about your feelings, you’re aren’t actually related and he wasn’t raised to think of you as an uncle’ talk since she’s a mature individual.”

“Shut up! You’re just saying that cause you want her to like you. She’s an immature asshole, trust me. And I’m not going to risk making things weird between us. Plus, he’s got Peter and JARVIS to focus on. He wouldn’t want to have someone coming in and trying to take his attention away from them.” Bucky slouched shoving more pizza into his mouth. “Why are you two here anyway?”

“To get to know the new Robocop since the old one’s going to be spending more time at the Army base, leaving me to work for SHIELD all on my lonesome.” Frank turned to smile at Misty. “Well at least until you join me. Heard that you’re wanting to come work here.”

Bucky smirked at Frank before innocently asking, “Hey Misty, you wanna know a fun fact about Castle here?” Misty nodded. “He’s the NYPD’s Punisher.” Misty eyes widened then narrowed and turned to Frank with lecture already at the tip of her tongue.

Frank glared at Bucky. “When was the last time I actually killed someone without Coulson looking over my shoulder? I’ve kept my nose clean.” Frank then turned his eyes toward Misty. “Plus, I’m working with a therapist over it. And they had affiliations with HYDRA so please forgive me for killing the bad guys.”

Misty just glared harder. “I’m not mad that you did it, everyone you killed had more blood on their hands than fingers. I’m madder about the amount of paperwork I had to do over it. Do you know how many hours I spent on it? A ridiculous amount.” The one-armed cop shoved a slice of pizza in her mouth. “Maybe I can try to become your handler. I’m probably the sanest out of you lot because there is no way getting the skin blown off your face doesn’t hurt, being brainwashed by HYDRA doesn’t leave a mark and what made you go all Punisher?”, Misty asked Frank.

“Watched my family get killed in front of me by gangsters who were sent by HYDRA because of a leak from an illegal death squad I was on that they set up and I pissed the guy in charge off when I realised that something was fishy.”, Frank said flatly as he drunk his coke holding eye contact with Misty.

“Okay. Not so angry about the cartel now but you just proved my point. Now refill up my glass and tell me all about this place.”

That was how Mercedes “Misty” Knight joined the small group of friends and after she was officially cleared, she became The Punisher’s handler, much to her own chagrin. She has on many occasions thought about using her beautifully crafted rose-gold metal arm, curtesy of Tony, to kill him.

“Why can’t I kill this one?”

“Because they’re more useful alive Frankie. Plus because I said so, or do you want to be sent to Bucky’s boot-camp for a week?”

“No, Ma’am.”, Frank said quickly. “Once was enough, thank you very much. Man’s a slave driver. I feel sorry for the little soldiers under him.”

Misty actually agreed with Frank on that point. “At least they’ll know they’ll survive next to anything after. How long do soldiers train for?”

“Like 10 weeks for the army. At least for basics. That’s ten weeks of that man’s torture.” Frankie and Misty had subdued the person they were hunting.

“Jesus. Just a week was bad enough.” Misty had Frank shove the person in the back of the SHIELD issued van.

“Yeah. What to know something else?” Misty nods. “Man makes them say thank you. Like thank you for making me so exhausted, twitching a finger feels like running a marathon. Evil man. Evil, cruel, sadistic man.” Frankie glowers from the passenger’s seat. “I miss him.”

“He’s not dead, just busier. Don’t worry Frankie, he’ll spend time with us again soon.” Misty rolls her eyes as she starts the van. “If it makes you feel better, we can do a kill mission next time.”

“Can I choose who?”

“Sure thing, Frankie.”

Chapter Text

Over a year had passed after Bucky Barnes got out of HYDRA’s clutches and he had to say, he was pretty content.

He had his memories back.

Had the trigger words out of his head.

Had his sister and pseudo-daughter close by so he could look after them along with those they considered family.

Had a job. He’d had multiple little cub soldiers pass his training and he knew that they’d thank him years down the line for pushing them. Then they would teach the next generation and he’d be sure that less would die or be left behind. He hammered the ‘No Man Left Behind’ rule into their head until they started saying it in their sleep. And his connections in the army were making it easy to mildly annoy HYDRA, foiling smaller plans carefully as to not get caught but help cause disarray in their ranks.

He had a pretty good group of friends, one of which wouldn’t die so soon because of time. He still visited the Howlies, though he had to attend Gabe’s funeral as he had died not long after he made Lieutenant Colonel and it was a beautiful service. It was looking like Dum Dum and Jim didn’t have long left either and he was a little scared and sad to be the only one of them left after all these years. But he was lucky he had Misty, Frankie and Logan. They helped ground him to the modern day a little when old memories rose up about his times before, regardless of if it was before being found by Frankie, before the fall or before the war entirely.

He had a community. New York was quickly becoming the superpowered capital of America, if not the world, under the protection of the New York SHIELD office. Magic users, Mutants, Inhumans – when they were discovered in concentration camps– Aliens and even just crazy people like Daredevil were filling the streets. Plus, with Charles Xaiver in the know, now enhanced of all types in concentration camps were managing to help free themselves with his help and guidance and a school had just been set up for kids (and adults at night school) to learn how to control their powers and magic, so that they didn’t hurt anyone by accident. Bucky had helped train a few in regard to their senses and strength in his spare time and Logan had even gotten a full-time job with the school (It had apparently managed to get a bit of interest into Becca’s scent, whatever that meant since she wasn’t smelling of pure lust around the man but Logan seemed happy about it). And SHIELD helped them get the medical aid they needed when it came to their abilities, be that cheap spare glasses for laser eye beams or a harness to hide their wings when out in public to stay safe or even sound cancelling headphones for people with super senses. And it was all kept secret and under wraps by the cleared SHIELD agents and the cleared government officials due to the sensitive nature of the situation they were in (Other government leaders had been informed of the situation and similar cities close to the base of operations their branch of SHIELD was working out of had a similar set up starting to form based on the model they had started.). There were even groups and events set up for them so they could let loose for a bit, all natural, especially if they had to hide physical features, such as Beast.

Yeah, Bucky was pretty content with what he had so far in his life after HYDRA. He still had nightmares about what he had done and he still found it difficult to make simple choices in his everyday life that he tended to just say surprise me to whoever was there but he was better, a lot better. He was able to sleep in his bed, he had stable mental health and he was happy too.

As he sat at the table the group of friends had claimed as theirs at Luke’s pub and laughed at a story of Misty’s from her cop days, he let himself hope for more good days like this.

And that there were no surprises to come his way that could potentially ruin his plans for HYDRA.

An old sunken aircraft lies just under the ice in Greenland. Slowly it is starting to rise closer to the surface layer of ice just waiting to be found and inside a vibranium shield is frozen in the ice.