The Asset: The Beginning and End of the Winter Soldier

Chapter Seventeen

It took longer than he'd thought before Ayo came to his hut to take him to the place in the forest where he'd endured the detailed examination of his memories as the Winter Soldier. It was night, and he had been sitting by the fire in his hut, working up to an attempt at sleeping when she entered, beckoning to him. He had been waiting with some trepidation for four days and went with her with more pessimism than he would admit.

"It is time for the final test, James," she said.

He took a deep breath, not responding. He was not sure it would work and told her so once he was seated by a small fire in the forest.

"I won't let you hurt anyone," she said confidently, with a smile. He hoped her confidence was justified.

Slowly, Ayo said the words, as he tensed, images flashing through his mind, some recent, some very old, all of violence and death. The Winter Soldier. As he remembered, as his eyes filled with tears, he could still only feel regret for all he'd done, mixed with grief and despair. It was only as she finished those ten brutal words that he realized they had no power over him any longer. He was not the Winter Soldier when the words faded into the sounds of the forest. They were just words. He was himself, Bucky Barnes.

"You are free," Ayo said with quiet elation. "You are free!"

He wept openly, unable at first to fully process the implications of everything. He felt a surge of grief for how many were killed to get to that point, for what had been done to him for so many years, then he was smiling, looking up at Ayo as a wave of relief broke over him. His mind was his; the control the words gave to Hydra, or anyone who had access to them, was gone forever. He was no longer a danger to anyone. He wasn't sure what freedom would ultimately mean but for the moment as he cried, laughed, and shook with the overwhelming sense of relief, gratitude, and happiness he felt free.

Bucky remained in the forest all night, unable to quite decide what to do next. He alternated between quiet solemnity and a burst of conflicting emotions that made him pace restlessly. Ayo stayed with him for a while, a calm, steady presence, never talking as he also did not speak, but comforting. She finally left him alone a few hours before dawn as he simply sat, occasionally dazed at being fully himself with no danger of the Winter Soldier ever being allowed to exist any longer. The cold presence was gone from his mind, even the darkest corners no longer held any dread for him. His mind was truly his mind, and he knew he would be able to try to choose what he would be. It was at once exhilarating and sobering.

He could hear people approaching him once it was light, but he did not react, he knew who it would be. He did not feel the surge of irritation that masked worry that he would inadvertently hurt someone, like he once would have at unexpected company and wanted to laugh at how much he felt changed even in just one night. T'Challa, Shuri, Okoye, Ayo and five other Dora Milaje stood in front of him. T'Challa smiled, Shuri smiled, pleased that the treatment had worked. Okoye and Ayo did not smile, but he could tell they were also pleased.

"You've sat long enough, contemplating your freedom. Now we feel you should be given your place to be," T'Challa said.

Bucky stood, not hiding his surprise. "I'd like to keep living in the hut."

"You can stay there, we are not here to take that home from you and you will stay in Wakanda as long as you wish, especially since you are still a wanted man everywhere else. No, I meant find a new identity, one we feel is appropriate."

"And I had thought the project was complete." Bucky felt amused and wary. "What if I don't find it appropriate?"

"You will," Okoye said in a firm tone that sounded vaguely threatening. She quirked her lips in a smile however, which made him feel she was making fun of him, but his wariness remained.