Without You {𝟙𝟚} | Marvel √

prologue

DECEMBER 16, 1991;
Exactly ten years and nine months before Emma Potts Stark was born, the Siberian HYDRA Base lay on a snowy landscape. Inside the echoing and awfully creepy base, a Russian soldier entered a bunker, pressing a code into the wall. A secret holder opened, revealing a red book marked with a black star.

In another room, a technician raised a cylindrical chamber – revealing The Winter Soldier, hooked up to many wires, a deadly look in his eyes as cold fog surrounded him.

The Russian soldiers then dragged The Winter Soldier, Bucky, into another room where he was secured in a chair, a mechanical device on both sides of his head. The procedure, changing him from Bucky back to The Winter Solider was painful, to say the least. His screams echoed throughout the entire base, even someone on the other side of the base could hear them. But as it slowly faded away, the Russian Soldier from before began to pace around the supersoldier, reading out words from the red book,

"Тоска." [Longing.]

"Rzhavyy." [Rusted.]

"Semnadtsat'." [Seventeen.]

"Rassvety." [Daybreaks.]

"Pech'." [Furnace.]

"Devyat'." [Nine.]

"Dobrokachestvennyy." [Benign.]

"Vozvrashcheniye domoy." [Homecoming.]

"Odin." [One.]

"Gruzovoy avtomobil'." [Freight car.]

As the series of words came to an end, Bucky's expression became dull and deadly, becoming the one and only Winter Soldier. He slowly looked up at the Russian Soldier, who closed the red book and put it away,

"Dobroye utro, soldat," he said. [Good morning, soldier.]

"Gotov vypolnit'," The Winter Soldier said. [Ready to comply.]

"U menya yest' dlya tebya missiya," the soldier said, handing the Winter Soldier a file, "Sanktsiya i vypiska. Nikakikh svideteley." [I have a mission for you. Sanction and extract. No witnesses.]

———

Down a dark dirt road, unknown location, a faint beige car drove past. But in the woods, was The Winter Soldier. Waiting. Hunting.

After the car drove off, The Winter Soldier, on a motorcycle, turned on the headlight before zooming out onto the road. He got up right behind the car, before swerving closer, slashing the front tire out. The driver lost control of the wheel and crashed into a tree.

The Winter Soldier turned back around, driving towards the crashed vehicle. He parked the motorcycle, getting off of it before the driver dropped out of the car, with a bloody head. But The Winter Soldier had no compassion in his eyes.

After murdering the witnesses, The Winter Soldier opened up the truck of the car, revealing a silver case. He opened it up, where he found several blue packet recreations of the Super Soldier serum.

———

Back on the Serbian HYDRA Base, The Winter Soldier and the Russian Soldier looked over the serums, "Molodets, soldat," he said. The Winter Soldier looked up, with zero humanity inside his eyes. [Well done, soldier.]

DECEMBER 2015;
Twenty-four years later, the now 14-year-old Emma Potts Stark was in her room at the Avengers Tower. Although the majority of the Avengers now lived at the compound in upstate New York, Emma stayed behind at the Tower.