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He's back in a cell again, after a stay in the medical bay. The last confrontation with Ava, after the poor little spider clone tried to use him as a diversion in his own escape, left Bucky dead on the table for ten minutes. You put enough current through a heart, even one bolstered by the supersoldier formula, and you'll stop it. But he survived….and now he's well enough to be returned to a cell. He's curled in an awkward pose in the corner of it, trying to find a position to doze that doesn't strain the fading burns on his soles, around the joining of metal arm to the flesh of his shoulder, or the now indistinct handprint of the Red Widow splashed across jaw and cheek. Which has him looking like nothing so much as a dog tired enough to fall asleep in a bizarre position.
*
And on that sorry sight comes Carol Danvers, Agent of SHIELD. She gives Bucky a sympathetic look, leaning against the wall as she says, "For the record, I wasn't expecting things to go quite like this." She sounds pretty sympathetic, as she watches the former Winter Soldier try to be in some form of comfortable position.
*
For once, he does not get to his feet. But he gives up on any attempt to find a pose that works…at least for sleeping. He opens hie eyes and sits up, feet curled neatly to the side, back away from the wall. "No?" he asks, a little blearily….though the look in his eyes is that old sardonic one.
*
Carol shrugs, "Well, not exactly." The SHIELD jumpsuit looks pretty appropriate on her, her hair tied back in a ponytail behind her. "I mean, you are pretty dangerous. I remember that much from ten years ago."
*
"The Winter Soldier's dangerous," he notes, wryly, settling for crossed legs. "James Barnes is a mental patient, at this point. The question is, at any given moment, who the hell is driving. Right now, you're talking to James. Open that door for me, and he'll come right out, I bet."
*
Carol nods, "Fair enough. For the record, I like James a lot better." She chuckles, "As do most people, I'm sure. But don't worry. If your partner comes out to play, I can take him. That part, I wasn't kidding about."
*
Bucky snorts. "You're not the only one. And….I don't know. He…" There's that listening pause, as if he were attending to an internal voice. "Well, he might disagree with you. Not my partner, anyhow. I feel like I need an exorcist, sometimes."
*
Carol shakes her head a bit, "Not my department, though I know a gal that could probably do it." She nods, "Well, yeah, unfortunately my only solution would be to hold you down until you passed out, which doesn't really help anything. Especially given previous episodes."
*
That makes him peer at her, for a moment. "……yeah?" he asks. "I mean, the lady who could? Not …Montez, was that the name? The dark-haired woman. But I'm glad you were here when Peggy was, last. She….she stills her old buddy Bucky when she looks at me. She doesn't really believe in the danger I pose to her. Not on a gut level."
*
Carol nods, "She doesn't. I do." She gives Bucky a look. "That's why I'm watching over her, make sure she doesn't get hurt. But yeah, we do have at least one witch on the payroll." Though she doesn't give Wanda's name… just in case. "Though I've never seen her actually do an exorcism."
*
Carol's surprised him, genuinely surprised him, by that expression. "…..really?" he asks. "I….well, I don't ever remember encountering one. I don't think this is a problem that magic could solve. But…..maybe so?" There's a thoughtful lilt to his voice. Then he's back to Peggy. "Did she have the kid yet?" he wonders, as if any news of Madame Carter is welcome.
*
Carol hmms, "She's actually been a little incognito, but I'm sure things are going smoothly for her." She tilts her head, looking at James, "So you knew her during the War?"
*
He doesn't press. But at that question, he nods. The smile….definitely one of those that belongs to James, if a little wistful. "Yeah. I'm still only mostly getting fragments, with ….Mendoza. That's the name. I dunno why I thought Montes. Anyhow, yeah. She basically planned a lot of our missions." ….including the one that ended up with him falling into a frozen river, from a train. That he doesn't add.
*
Carol can't help but smile as she sees the genuine expression from James, then she nods, "Yeah, that's what she always tells me. Tried to be like her when I started, and then she recruited me for SHIELD, not long after… well, what happened before." She keeps it vague, as she doesn't want Bucky's alternate persona showing up and ruining a nice moment. "So, her and Captain America…?" She trails off, but the question is pretty obvious.
*
That wistfulness grows. "Yeah," he says again, more softly. "I think…..I think if Steve hadn't been lost after the war, too, she'd'a been Mrs. Rogers. I still find it hard to believe that she's not." His brow furrows. There's no one like that for him. Not in the memories he has, at least. A sort of mercy - that no girl died waiting for a soldier who wouldn't come home.
*
Carol shakes her head, "That's too bad, but Sousa's a good guy. I mean, no Captain America, but then… well, who could be, right?" She looks over at Bucky, "Still, it's got to be disconcerting to see people changing over time."
*
"Not….not like you'd think," James's voice is halting. "You have to have memories to compare to. I mostly don't. I've seen pictures of my parents, but…..I don't really remember them. I look the same, more or less, like I did. So does Steve. Peggy's aged, but….she's still Peggy."
*
Carol suddenly gets a faint uncomfortable feeling at that, though she's at a loss to explain it. Then she nods, "And you haven't got any memories of me, save bad ones." She shrugs a little, not terribly happy with the result of Bucky in the cell, but knowing it's for the best anyway.
*
There's that dry humor there again. "I don't imagine yours of me are any better. The Soldier sounds like a cast-iron jackass, if you know what I mean. None of my winning personality."
*
Carol snorts, "Actually, compared to my bosses in the CIA? He was a delight. He only looked down on me because he looked down on everyone, not because I was just a woman." She grins, "Which is probably why Peggy recruited me in the first place, at least I'd like to think so."
*
"I'll bet," Buck says….and some of the skepticism has faded from his voice. "You were CIA then, eh?" He shakes his head….but his posture's eased. Having something to concentrate on that isn't pain helps a lot.
*
Carol nods, "At that point, yes. A few years after that, I joined SHIELD, mainly counterintelligence work with our own government agencies." She smiles, "Definitely was interesting, catching possible infiltrators."
*
"And you ended up working with the Soldier on a joint op. That must've been a stretch for you, and for him," he says, musingly.
*
Carol smiles, "Definitely an understatement, it was a joint operation to track down and break a HYDRA cell. Which we did, though it wasn't a very long mission."
*
Bucky's lips thin out….and for a moment, there's that steely, predatory glint. The Soldier's in there….and HYDRA, HYDRA he remembers. "Mmh," he says, and there's a distinct growl to it. "I don't remember all of it. But….I do remember what HYDRA did to me."
*
Carol nods, "They did it, and then the KGB got a hold of you?" She looks a bit concerned, but can't help but ask once Bucky starts remembering.
*
"I don't know if it was the KGB, exactly. HYDRA…it was the first time I was captured, during the War. Steve rescued me, but they'd already done some experiments." What a delicate way of discussing it. "Which made it possible for me to survive the last mission. But the guys who had me after the war were definitely Russian intelligence. This," And he taps the metal arm, "Is Soviet engineering all the way."
*
Carol ahs, "Yes, the red star does give it away a little bit. Shows a certain insecurity on their part, I think." She looks at Bucky curiously, "How does it… I mean, it works just like a real arm, I suppose?"
*
By way of answer, he finally unfolds himself, gets gingerly to his feet. He moves like a cat trying not to step in a puddle….and he sways a little. Then he grins at her, teasingly, rolls up his sleeve, and flexes the metallic bicep: the plates move smoothly, acting like the contours of real muscle. "Welcome to the gun show," he tells her. Couldn't resist the pun, it seems. Then he's a little more somber, again, letting the metal hand fall. "More or less. I do have sensation in it - there's a nerve graft in the center of the join. I don't feel pain in it, exactly….but there's discomfort if it gets damaged. It works more or less just like a real one. The muscle contours are there to let it pass for ordinary if I cover it. I….sometimes I've had a …a glove, basically, that makes it look normal. It's stronger than normal; if you do an X-ray, you can see how they had to reinforce the rest of the bone structure in my upper body to balance the strain."
*
Carol hmms, "Not bad at all. That's actually rather impressive work." She grins at Bucky, "How much can you lift with it? I'm guessing the door is fairly safe for the moment?"
*
Bucky spreads his hands. "For the moment, yeah. They know what I can do. I don't know how much exactly, but it's a lot. But since it's not true superstrength….I'm limited by the rest of my body. It's easier for me to exert force than lift. I punched through the divider door earlier. 's why I'm back in here."
*
Carol nods, "Good to know." She moves up towards the door, looking intently towards Bucky, and she sighs, "Believe me when I say, we want to get your head on straight. Getting you out of there is a top priority." And she sounds like she means it, and not just because Peggy is the Director.
*
There's that bleakness in his face. "To somewhere harder, I bet," he says. And for all his attempts to keep his tone light, there's that lost note there. Where can they keep him that he'll be safe from himself?
*
Carol sighs, "Not what I want, anyway. I want you to… well, be well." She shakes her head, "It's not just Peggy that wants you to recover from what they did, honest."
*
"Thank you," Buck says, settling back down again. Easier on his feet. "I want to, too. I have hope of it now. That matters a lot. And here I'm safe. The Russians can't get me. You don't know what it's like to be able to finally rest."
*
Carol smiles slightly, "Oh, I have a little bit of an idea. But it isn't the same for me." She then looks back and forth, then she actually hovers a bit off the floor, "Russians for you, some aliens for me." Her expression is wry, "This was after we met the very first time."
*
Bucky eyes her. "What kind? I keep hearing about them? I know ….I've met a few people from other dimensions. Asgardians, I think?"
*
Carol shakes her head, "No, these ones are called the Kree. And well, long story short, I got hit by some gizmo and gained quite a few powers." She smiles wryly, "It wasn't just arrogance that made me not worried about you in the restaurant, Bucky."
*
Curiosity, definitely. Skepticism….not so much. "I see," he says, slowly. "I'm ….glad, actually. That makes you a better bulwark between me and the guys here who are just normal."
*
Carol nods, "Yes, don't worry about losing control if I'm here. I'll keep you from hurting anyone. Even yourself." And she sounds like she means that.
*
"Good," he says, and there's that cracked note of relief. Someone else who can help. He swallows hard and says, "….thanks. Again."
*
Carol smiles, "Anytime, James. A friend of Peggy's is a friend of mine." She nods, "If you want, I can stick around for a while. It's not like I really need to sleep." A wry expression, "Another one of my tricks."
*
Bucky gives her a pointed look. "Now, that's not fair," he laments. "C'mon. I sleep, I get nightmares. I don't sleep….I start to hallucinate, and that's worse."
*
Carol hmms, "Well, I was hoping a friendly presence might mitigate that somewhat. But it's up to you Bucky. If you don't want me to stay, I don't have to."
*
He waves a hand. "No, that's not what I meant. I mean…. I envy you not having to, that's all." Buck glances down at his feet, still bare, then up again. "I wouldn't mind that," he adds, awkwardly. "I woke up alone, once, when….when I, uh, was frozen. The equipment malfunctioned. It took 'em a day to realize."
*
Carol winces, "Oh, that just… that's horrible." And she means it, looking over at Bucky, "I can't even begin to understand what you have in your mind right now."
*
"I tried to get out, but….too weak, and they'd reinforced the thing," he explains, with that stumbling cadence. "So….I was so cold, but…I was sort of half-way between sleeping and waking. And….maybe it was that, but the conditioning didn't really kick in. So I could feel all these memories that were just beyond my reach. It's like when you were a kid and you tried to listen in to grownups talking in the next room. That was the worst. Pain you can endure. Butthat kind of confusion….and sometimes, now, when I'm falling asleep, or coming out of it, I get it again."
*
Carol listens, her eyes going a bit wide as she hears the description, then sighs, "Alright, James, I'm staying for a while. I'll be right here, okay? And nothing bad is going to happen while I'm here."
*
He just nods…..and then simply tucks himself into a corner again, and does manage to at least doze off. Used to sleeping under observation, if somewhat less benign. The fact that there's no actual bedding doesn't seem to bother him. He's a man who could kill people with a pillowcase, after all.
*