Imagine This

Bucky Barnes | The Siren

Bucky Barnes x Reader: Reader is a HYDRA super soldier and her mission is to kill a rogue HYDRA asset, formerly known as the Winter Soldier.

Warnings: violence, torture, blood, implied SA

Word Count: 4.7k

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I felt and saw nothing. Being frozen, suspended in between time and space, not of this world and not being allowed to join the next, was another form of torture. Sometimes, when I pleased them, they allowed my brain to freeze along with my body. But on those days when my performance was not up to their standards – when I acted out and wasn't the perfect lap dog – at those times, they made the torture even worse. They left my body suspended but my mind untouched. Though my body was frozen, my brain was left to wander in and out of itself, to hear the eternal silence of the freezer – or the occasional bangs of my counterpart being brought in and out of his cryo-unit. It was a form of torture I even less preferred to all their others. Their favorite electrocution didn't hold even the slightest candle to being left for years on end fully conscious but unable to move, speak, or even open your eyes. It truly breaks a person. It truly broke me. There was no way out, just through.

I am HYDRA's elite super soldier.

I have been reactivated for duty.

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Bucky bolted up in bed, nearly screaming from his nightmare. The sheets and his body were covered in a moist sheen of sweat and his eyes struggled to focus on the room around him.

You're at the compound. You're not there. They're gone. The words echoed through his mind as he finally found the energy to stand up and trudge to the shower.

Cold water, body wash smelling of calming eucalyptus tea, rough scrubbing of the loofa – all those feelings worked in tandem to ground the super soldier back to earth, back to believing in the safety of the Avenger's compound. That didn't make the nightmares any easier. Each night they plagued his mind, reminding him of all the horrible things he'd done when under HYDRA's control – of all the horrible things that had been done to him in HYDRA's control. The only relief from the never-ending nightmares was drinking, on the night's when the team partied he went to sleep as he used to before the torture. He could turn to the bottle for support, but Bucky knew he didn't need yet another reason to look in the mirror and hate himself, one more reason and he just might completely break.

When he left the bathroom after scrubbing himself raw, the clock read four-thirty AM. Might as well stay up. Pulling on the first pair of boxers and sweatpants he saw, the super soldier padded down the dimly lit hall to the kitchen. He needed a hot mug of tea – a habit he'd picked up from Natasha's never-ending mothering when he was feeling especially self-loathing – and a nice long session in the training room. For now, he'd settle for the mug of tea as he didn't want to alert anyone to his early morning – FRIDAY always welcomed people into the training room and turned on all of the lights despite how inconspicuously Bucky tried to enter. Waiting for the water to boil, Bucky turned to the TV – Stark had them in every room, unbearable techie – turning it on a low volume. Though the news didn't show any good happenings, they reminded Bucky that there was evil in the world that didn't stem from him. The images dashed across the screen, occupying Bucky's eyes more so than his mind. Suddenly, the screen flashed red blaring the loud "Breaking News" tone.

"This just in: United States Vice President killed in convoy on the way to Wakandan Peace Summit. This comes on the heels of the assassination of two US State Senators. Although the suspect has been seen, intelligence agencies worldwide have been unable to identify her – are we dealing with another Winter Soldier-esque ghost? Has the infamous HYDRA resurfaced as they promised they would?" A picture of the assassin raced onto the screen, her lithe body mid-jump from a bridge swarming with secret service and their guns. The picture was enhanced as much as a blurry surveillance photo could be but Bucky could recognize that form anywhere – Сирена, the Siren.