INFERNO || Bucky Barnes

5

"Can I ask why you're here?" She asked carefully, trying not to spook them. The Falcon smiled and set down his mug from just taking a sip. He pointed to the Winter Soldier, and back to himself.

"That's Bucky, and I'm Sam. But Bucky here needs to talk to you."

She was confused and knew that her face probably showed it. Bucky, she now new his real name, looked at her with a hard expression and took off his gloves. The metal of his arm caught the light of the dining area and made a pattern on the wall.

"Fury said you and I have a similar history."

Inferno's chest tightened. She, like everyone else in the world, knew about the Winter Soldier. Maybe not everyone had seen his face, but they knew the name: the man who was brainwashed into killing hundreds for Hydra. But she was nothing like him. He had no control over his actions, he was literally brainwashed. That wasn't the man sitting in front of her, she knew. But her? Inferno? Yes, Force Croixa had led her, manipulated her, to kill all those people but it was still her. It was still Inferno. She had no trigger words or pictures that sent her brain into a different state. She was guilty of it all. He was not. They were completely different.

"This is where I'll see myself out." The Falcon, Sam, said when he noticed the tension in the room. He grabbed the shield and threw it up a little to catch it. "I'll be in the car. Take as long as you need. Thanks for the coffee, Inferno." He was obviously trying to make the situation less awkward and uncomfortable. But she didn't blame him;  two very guilty people sitting very quietly, she was sure it was awkward for the man.

She nodded but didn't turn around and didn't dare to breathe loud until the door was shut and his footsteps were heard down the all.

The two ex-weapons sat in a terrible, awful, retched silence for a long time. Finally, the Soldier, Bucky, breathed out like he was annoyed with it all and wanted to get it over with.

"You feel guilty, don't you?" He asked but she knew that he already knew the answer to that question. She stared at him.

"You don't have to. But I don't blame you for feeling the way you do. I was there once too." The words coming out of his mouth were supposed to be comforting, but the way he said it seemed cold and like he already hated her. But she was used to predisposed hate, so it really didn't phase her.

"The entity in you forced you to do those things, it wasn't you." He sounded like he was reading the words off a script that was implanted in his brain. He started to speak again, but she didn't hear what it was because she cut him off. She was over the fake pity party Fury had sent.

"I'll give it to you straight," she said as she pounded her fist on the table to make him look at her. His eyes were wide with surprise but quickly turned cold and scooted his chair back to get better movement if needed. "I know about you and your 'history' and yes to the blind eye our lives may seem similar. But where you were brainwashed, where Hydra stripped you of your personhood, I was me. I wasn't brainwashed, I wasn't controlled like a puppet, I was who I am now. I listened to what Force Croixa told me to do and I did it and I was manipulated into enjoying it. I'll give myself credit, I was young and told it was right and manipulated to extreme lengths, but at the end of the day while you were the Winter Soldier and not Bucky, I was Inferno either way. Either way I've hurt people. Either way I've ruined lives. Either way I'm still walking and hundreds of people are out there mourning the losses of countless. You and I are very different. And you're wrong. It was me. It was always me. Was it me with a god telling me what to do? Yes. But it was me. Me. Me. Me. Me. Me. Me. Me. Me-"

"Enough!" It was his turn to slam his fist into the table. But he used his metal arm and the table dented. She had the same reaction as him: she scooted her chair incase things went south.