Frostbite |The Alternate Timeline

You Aren't What They Made You

We were able to get ahold of Torres and rendezvous back to the plane. He greeted us cheerfully, but his mood plummeted when he saw our faces. At least he was smart enough to not ask just quite yet.

Sam stretched along the seats, lying there silently in thought. I threw myself into the ones across from him, not saying a word. Bucky pulled himself up onto a crate, removing his jacket to get comfortable. It seemed like forever had passed before Sam spoke, breaking the silence.

"You all right?"

I glanced up to see he was talking to Bucky, who had an odd look on his face. His hands were folded in his lap as he sat there.

"Let's take the shield. Let's take the shield and do this ourselves," was his only reply. I snorted; only he would think it could be that easy.

"We can't just run up on the man, beat him up, and take it. Do you remember what happened the last time we stole it?"

"Maybe."

"I'll help you in case you forgot. Sharon was branded an enemy of the state. Steve, Melanie, and I were on the run for two years. I don't know about you, but I don't wanna live the rest of my life la vida loca. We just got our ass handed to us by super soldiers, and we got nothing." Sam reminded him incredulously, sitting up as he ranted.

"Not entirely true. There is someone that you should meet," Bucky sighed.

"What are you talking about, man?" Sam asked curiously.

"You'll have to see it to believe it- trust me."

He informed him that we needed to head to Baltimore. Sam immediately went to tell Torres that we needed to change course. I hadn't said a word and placed my head back down.

Bucky's boots thumped on the floor as he hopped from his spot and approached me. My eyes flicked up, noticing him waiting there for me to move. I grunted and sat up, so he could sit beside me. Our arms brushed at his closeness but we didn't move apart.

"Are you really okay?" he asked, his voice quiet.

"Yes."

"You're lying," he said and I scoffed, opening my mouth to argue but he kept talking, "I know you well enough to know when you are."

I bit my lip and looked away.

"Come on, Mel. It's not about what that idiot said is it?"

"He isn't completely wrong. You know better than anyone. We were made to be feared, to be weapons."

"You believe that?"

"I don't know anymore."

He shifted and said, "Since you got away from Hydra, I've only seen you do good. You've put your life on the line to save people multiple times. I don't think that should be a person to be feared."

"If you think that about me, then why don't you see yourself that way?" I wondered, finally meeting his eyes. He blinked as if he hadn't thought about it that way, but he shook his head.

"It's not the same. I-I did horrible things-"

"Hate to burst your bubble, but you didn't do them. You weren't in control of your own actions. And if that's your argument, then I've killed people too, remember? And I wasn't being mind controlled when I did it."

He blinked, his brows furrowing and I chuckled.

"I remember pretty much all of it," I told him, "What they made me do, what they did to me, to you. They made you train me, but we both know that had been a waste of time-" He snorted at that. "I remember you saving my life- you set me free. You could have saved yourself, but you wasted it on me-"