i love you from here

CHAPTER FIVE

The Soldier stands, his arms crossed, glaring at the twins in front of him. Why he has to be the one to test these kids, he doesn't know. The Soldier's handler walks out of the room, followed by the girl, and bolts the door shut. The Soldier straightens his shoulders. "Начать," the handler says. Begin.

The Soldier makes the first move. He'll have this kid crying on the ground in sixty seconds, tops. He lunges at the silver-haired boy. Pietro, they called him. The Soldier's fist hits nothing but air. The lack of impact throws his balance off. He turns around, confused, when his knees are kicked from behind by a blur.

The Soldier lands on his knees. He scrambles back to his feet instantly. This is humiliating. Pietro stands in front of the Soldier, fists up, like he's starting a fight on a playground. Pietro looks kiddish- he hasn't entirely lost his baby face yet. Or maybe the kid's just underfed. The Soldier unhooks his knife from his belt and Pietro backs up.

That's right, run, you punk.

The Soldier waits for Pietro to launch into motion, then jabs his knife out in the direction of the blur. The Soldier's arm is yanked back by the force of a supersonic-speed body colliding with his weapon. Pietro yells in pain and grabs his arm. The Soldier advances forward. The kid is wounded, and his focus is off.

The Soldier ruthlessly attacks until the boy is on the ground, his arms protecting his bloody face. If the Soldier never received- receives- mercy during training, why should he give it to this kid? Even now that Pietro is on the ground, the Soldier continues.

Being able to fight while you're down is important. Fighting someone while they're down may be considered honorless, but isn't that everything that an assassin is?

"Остановить! Сдаюсь!" the boy shouts. Stop. I give up.

The Soldier backs off, expressionless. The kid gets up. The Soldier's handler leads the girl, Wanda, into the room, and Pietro out. The girl already looks half-defeated. That, combined with his fresh and smooth victory, the Soldier is almost relaxed. But then the girl reaches out with one hand. Red tendrils reach out from her fingertips. The Soldier's surroundings change.

Bucky Barnes huddles on the ice, soaked through to the bones. A second body hits the water. "Steve!" Barnes screams. The water is bloody. Barnes can't move. He watches Steve struggle for breath before Steve sinks below the surface.

A pit bull comes snarling towards Barnes.Its jaws part and it speaks.

"Sergeant Barnes," it greets. Barnes stares at the dog. Slowly, it morphs into a girl. She has dark hair in ringlets, and she's wearing an army uniform.

"Steve?" she panics. She has a British accent.

"Barnes, you let Steve die! Was it to get revenge on me? Why? Because your brother chose me over you? What was that promise in fifth grade? You would stay best friends forever, no girl would come between you?" Suddenly, Barnes is standing, numb, in front of a man with a camera.

The lower half of Barnes' left arm is gone, and he is shirtless. All he's wearing is a pair of shorts. The camera clicks once, and then Barnes is ordered to turn to the right.

Click.

Left.

Click.