Chapter Text
“Bucky?” The target’s voice is strained, emotion bleeding through. Weak. The prosthesis grinds in protest. Move.
“Who the hell is Bucky?” It says, it’s voice working of its own mind. Cognition failure . Override . The target’s shield is good at deflecting its bullets, long range combat was proving ineffective. Close-range would be ideal, then it could get under that stupid shield. Its mask was gone. Identity compromised. Mission update: eliminate all witnesses. Handler Pierce was…inefficient, but he let it get it’s fill of guts and gore when needed. It would soon dispose of Pierce, Rumlow was much better suited to the position. Cognition failure. Focus . It needed to get the shield out of the target's hands. Use it to its advantage. It still had a handgun. Point, aim, shoot. Its footing was suddenly lost as something heavy kicked into its side, knocking it to the ground. It gets up, the target is just standing there. Why is he just standing there? The man with wings retreats next to the target. Cognition Failure. Override . Hesitation . It had never hesitated before. The car next to it explodes and the force nearly sends it to its knees. Retreat. It was the only tactical option. The target was strong, but too strong when accompanied by others. It will need to get it alone to kill it. The others will be picked off easily, like pests. It uses the cover of smoke to hide its retreat. There’s an armored van waiting for it and it hops in as it’s still moving. The agents in the van are weary. It had orders not to attack, but it had failed. Something like anger- Cognition failure. Override . It would be at the facility soon. The wipe imminent. There was something wrong with its cognition. Bucky. That name. Why did it make it hesitate? Was it a code word? Had the target been trying to reprogram it? No. A name. It was a name. Why did it hesitate? The prosthesis whirs and takes hold of the nearest agent.
“At ease, Soldier!” Bucky, Bucky, Bucky, BUCKY . A crunch. Gurgling as the agent chokes on his own blood. Tasers activated. Electricity fills its body contorting the muscles and seizing them. Blackness threatens to overtake it as the assault continues. BUCKY.
It was back in the chair. In the lab. Unrestrained, but guards with guns trained on it. [ Grab my hand! ] Cognition failure. Override . [ Sargent Barnes ] Another crunch. Guns cocked. Handler Pierce enters the room. It sees him through a haze. Its cognitions muddled, prosthesis aching to crush, tear, rip . [ Bucky? ]
“Mission Report.” He says firmly. It cannot get its lips to move. [ you will be the fist of HYDRA ]. Handler Pierce gets closer, his fists balled. One connects with its jaw, sending its head careening to the side. Weak. The prosthesis recalibrates. [ Bucky, no! ].
“The man on the bridge.” It speaks. “It knew him?” It is a question. Cognition failure. Reset. “Who was he?” The lips would not stop moving, it could not stop vocalizing. Reset. The handler regards it with disdain.
“You met him on a previous mission.” Yes. The successful elimination of Nicholas J. Fury. No. There was more. [ I’m with you till the- ] “Your work has been a gift to mankind.” The handler says, “You shaped the century. And I need you to do it one more time.” One more time. They will decommission it. One more time. “Society is at a tipping point between order and chaos. Tomorrow morning we’re gonna give it a push.” Rumlow is staring at it. Crush, tear, rip . “But, if you don’t do your part, I can't do mine.” The mission. Its purpose. Fulfill the mission. Its head nods, eyes scanning the room. “And HYDRA can’t give the world the freedom it deserves.” Freedom. [ Bucky? ]
“But I knew him.” Why was it failing? It did not know him. It did not know-[ Steve] . The handler sighs, then rises. Cognition failure. Reset.
“Prep him.” It did not want- could not want . Reset.
“It’s been out of cryo-freeze for too long.” One of the technicians says. Cryo. Endless cold. Endless nothing .
“Then wipe it and start over.” Reset. Peace. It frowns. Reset is good. The cognitions have been failing too much. But it did not- could not want . [ Steve ]. It lets itself get pushed backward, opens its mouth for the plastic guard. But it does not- could not want . Reset. The machine is activated, and the mechanism is secure around its head. The electricity hums in its ears, promising the endless nothing. [Steve]. Its body shakes against its orders. Fear? No. The asset does not feel fear. It turns on. Pain, pain, pain, PAIN, PAIN.
Nothing.
“ Soldat. ”
“ gotov podchinit'sya ” The handler smiles.
“Kill Captain America.” Mission objective: Kill Captain America; Steve Rogers . “He’s trying to stop Project Insight. He’s trying to take away your freedom.” Freedom. It does not know freedom, only service. Mission objective: Kill Captain Rogers. Ensure Project Insight succeeds.
“Understood.” It says. It is led to the weapons room, the only place discipline was not given. Weapons were the only choice it was given. Freedom. Freedom was not something it understood. Bigger guns like the M4A1 would be suboptimal. The captain fought in close quarters. It straps on a Glock 19, and a P226R. It then moves to the knives. The wall was lined with them, it had so many choices. It picked the smaller ones that would force it to get close. Close. It needed to be close to the Captain. It needed to rip, tear, shred the Captain to pieces so he could never hurt it- [ Grab my hand! ]. Cognition failure. Override . It had been out of cryo too long, and cognitions were unstable. But it had a mission. It needed to complete the mission no matter the cost. One last time .
It was trapped. The helicarrier was falling to pieces around it and it was trapped. The steel beam was slowly crushing it, its prosthesis was incapacitated. It was going to die. It didn’t want to die . The Captain [ Steve ] was looking down at it. It was going to die, and the Captain would let it. [Grab my hand! ]. Just like it had before. Before? The captain jumps then next to it, this he lifts the beam. He lifts it. It wastes no time in escaping and landing a blow to the captain's head.
“Bucky. You know me.” BUCKY.
“No I don’t!” Another hit. Make him stop. Its body freezes, something inside is…despair. It swings the prosthesis again. The Captain falls. The helicarrier is rapidly descending, approximately 2 minutes until it will be fully submerged in the lake. It and the Captain will perish. One last time.
“Your name is James Buchanan Barnes.” Cognitive error. Fear. Pain. Sadness .
“Shut up!” It screams, and throws its entire weight into the punch. It is weak. Its body aches, it cannot survive much longer. One last time . [ Until the end of the line ].
“I’m not gonna fight ya.” The Captain drops his shield. Defenseless. Why? Why? Why won’t he fight it? Why is he still here? “You’re my-” His voice hitches, “My friend.” Friend. No. It did not have friends. It was an asset. A weapon. Nothing. Why did the Captain keep saying these things? It was a new strategy, to confuse and incapacitate it. It must complete the mission. It runs at the Captain, taking him down with it. Defenseless.
“You’re my mission.” It reaffirms. [ Grab my hand ]. The Captain doesn’t fight as it hits it. [I can do this- ]. Why? Why won’t he fight it? It hits him, again, again, again, AGAIN.
“YOU”RE” Again, “MY,” Again, “MISSION!” Again. It goes to swing one more time, but the prosthesis halts. There is nothing wrong with it. But the Captain. His face.
“Then Finish it.” Defenseless. It can’t move. [ Stevie ]. It can’t. Nothing. “Cause I'm with you till the end of the line.” End of the line. End. Of. The. Line. [ Stevie ] Those words. It knew those words. Cognitive error. Sadness. Grief. It did not understand. The helicarrier gives a final groan as it completes its plummet from the sky. Out of self-preservation, it grabs a beam, but the Captain is too weak. He falls. It watches. [ Grab my hand ]. The prosthesis releases its grip. No, no, no. Mission failure. The Captain cannot die. It will not let him .