The Hacker [Bucky Barnes]

Chapter 11//Home

 I can't walk. I can't breathe. My lungs are filled with the ashes from the burning building, my leg limp and bleeding. Everything is blurry, and everything is sharp, there was no in-between. I struggle to move, but I manage to pull myself to the rickety bridge separating me from the labs and the escape. Even as I reach it, the flames below lick my fingers and leave a handprint on the rail. Standing on the bridge is the most beautiful yet terrifying girl I have ever seen. Her brown hair lay limply on her shoulders, her eyes glowing a light yellow, her skin smooth as porcelain but fractured by the energy. She seemed like a goddess amongst the wreckage.
"Kristina!" I yell, trying to inch my way towards my friend, my love, the only person who didn't treat me like I was fragile. "Kristina, please, this isn't you!"
"Then who is it then?" she yells back, flinging her left arm to the side and causing a whole line of emergency lights to blow up.
"You aren't the monster you think you are! Please, it's me Bucky Barnes, your friend!" I screech again, running to one side of the bridge as it shakes from the intensity of her powers.
"Who the hell is Bucky?" she inquires, taking slow and cunning steps towards me, energy and debris flying around her, her eyes not of my friend but of a warrior. My heart broke as she said those words. My chest felt like it weighed several tons, my heart shattering it to billions of pieces. It was like losing myself, losing Steve, losing my home, losing my Kristina all over again.
"I will never leave you, Kristina, take my hand! Please!" I plead. The building would explode at any moment, and no matter who she is currently, I wasn't letting Kristina die in here as HYDRA wants her too.
"You are my enemy, Barnes," Kristina walks closer to me, her mouth set in a firm line. Her eyes flash, and suddenly I get flung farther back. I stand up again, my head bleeding, my body aching, but I continue to go towards the girl, because no matter what I will get her out of here.
"I don't care what we are, I don't care if you aren't the Kristina I know and love, but you have to take my hand," I whisper, losing all hope of breaking through to her. And for a split second, I see a bit of the Kristina I know in her eyes, and right as she was going to reach for my hand, the bridge breaks, and I yell and cry as I watch her fall into the fire below.
16 hours before
"We have to go back," I announced as we finally started seeing Washington come into our view. Currently, Tony, Brent, and I waded through a swamp river after crashing a plane down in the middle of no where, running into a bald guy in a wheelchair who offered to take the mutants, which we let him for some reason, and now we are heading back to where this all started in the first place.
"We can't go back, we just escaped, and you want us to go back?" Stark exclaimed, running a hand through his drenched black hair.
"We left without one of our own, and we aren't going to leave her behind."
"You sound like Rogers, no wonder you two were buddies," Tony remarked.
"We can't go back Bucky-"
"You too Brent?"
"No! Hear me out! We can't go back without the proper help!" Brent said, running in front to stop us. Stark and I look at each other, and then back at Brent, and soon we had arrived back at Brent's old dusty shop. As soon as we arrived, Brent pushed everything off the main shop table and started piling random things that I couldn't identify on it. He kept muttering things about certain metals and screws until it left my head hurting and my brain all jumbled up.
"Are you doing what I think you're doing?" Tony grinned as he leaned his elbows on the table, his smile from ear to ear.
"Am I the only one who doesn't know what anyone is doing?" I sighed, leaning against another counter as Tony and Brent continue to geek out over god knows what.
At the same time though, it was oddly entertaining to watch the two start building and creating things that I could never understand. It was like watching an artist create art, something that is in their territory and is perfect for them. It was terrific because you felt like you could never do it, but watching them do what you couldn't, it made you feel equal.
After an hour or so, Brent and Tony finished whatever they were doing and with smiles on their faces, turned to face me.
"Now, we can go. As soon as you get dressed in this," Brent announced, shoving a black duffel bag at me.
"What is this?"
"You'll see," he smirked, pushing me to the backroom and locking the metal door that looked like it could fall over at any second. I unzipped the duffel bag and pulled out a metal, fabric, suit. It was all black with straps on the arm, legs, and torso for weapons and other necessities. It had one sleeve so I could cover my right arm since my left arm was made of metal. Black Combat boots with a metal heel and toe. On the chest was a metal blue, red, and white star, just like Steve's. It was the new and improved Winter Soldier suit, with a Captain America touch. I put on the suit, quickly tying up my boots and adjusting my metal arm before exiting the room.
"Are we going to go and fight or what?" I asked as I entered the main room, noticing that Tony had put on his Iron Man suit and Brent had done absolutely nothing.
In several hours, we had gotten on one of Tony's planes and flown back to the HYDRA base. It looked exactly the same when we left it, but now the atmosphere felt cold, and for some reason, I felt like something is off about it. Quickly and quietly we entered through the stone door and found ourselves in a leaking concrete hallway. Suddenly, a voice was heard through speakers in the walls.
"We've been expecting you. You can find your friend in the lab in Section 3A. We won't try to stop you, good day," the voice spoke. Tony, Brent, and I all glanced at each other as I started to head towards the lab.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Tony snapped, glaring at me.
"Getting Kristina, what are you doing?" I turned back to look at him with a cold gaze.
"It's obviously a trap idiot, you want to prance in there like fresh meat and get caught?"
"That's exactly what I'm going to do, you two stay out here to come and get me. I know I'm going to get attacked, or captured, and I can't have all three of us in that same situation. Got it?" I ordered, and with no complaints, the two complied. I marched down several hallways and corridors before approaching Lab 3A. Walking inside the already open door, my heartbeat picked up, and my senses became attuned as I looked around the lab. Just as entered, the sound of a chamber opening could be heard as Kristina stepped out.
"Kristina?" I questioned, my eyes drawn to the girl. Except something was off, something was different. Nothing on the outside, but I could tell that this wasn't the same person.
"Are you of HYDRA?" she asked, her voice sweet and light. Almost innocent, but not quite.
"No.." I trailed, my brows furrowed as I took a step closer to the fragile girl.
"Then you are not my friend, and must be obliterated," and just like that, Kristina throws her arm out and I fly backward, lightning striking me in the chest. I touch my head to feel the warm liquid of blood as Kristina takes a step towards me.
"What did they do to you?" I uttered, my chest hurting my healing due to the experiment HYDRA made me years ago. I stood up, almost falling over, but steadied myself quickly, barely dodging another lightning attack from Kristina. I managed to run out of the lab, calling on my intercom for Tony and Brent. I could hear footsteps behind me, alerting me that Kristina followed. Tony and Brent quickly came in my sights. I managed to duck as she tried to lash at me again, but it hit Tony and Brent, and they flew back. "Kristina! This isn't you!" I yelled, ripping off a slate of metal from the wall and flinging it at the girl, temporarily causing her attacks to stop.
"This has always been me," she said bitterly, kneeling down and put her palms flat against the floor. The floor started shaking, the lights flickering, and soon all power went out as the energy burst out of the circuits and electrocuted all three of us.
"WARNING. HEADQUARTERS TEMPERATURE OVER-RISE. PLEASE EVACUATE IN THE NEXT TWENTY MINUTES," the same voice said over all of us again. My head throbbed, and my chest felt like it was on fire as I tried to stand up. I saw through blurry vision Tony swearing and Brent barely making it to a standing position.
"What the hell does that mean?" I inquired, leaning against the wall with my hand on my chest, the blood even more evident now.
"It means this place is going to explode in twenty minutes, and we need to get out of here," Tony answered. By those words, my brain goes into war mode, and I stand up, ignoring the pain searing through my body. I grab Brent by the arm and drag him with me into an adjoining room. Tony and Kristina follow behind as I drag Brent across the small, frail bridge to the side where an exit is located. "I'll take him, you get Kristina," Tony takes Brent from me and brings him to the exit as I turn around to see Kristina just entering the room.
"This place is going to burn Kristina, you need to come with me," I said, looking at the brunette girl with the lifeless eyes.
"You are not my friend, you must die."
"You will die too."
"I will take any option to obliterate my enemy," Kristina spoke, her voice monotone. Suddenly, the building shakes as several objects deep below explode, causing the whole building to shake and engulf in flames. The abyss below the bridge which leads to safety starts becoming brighter as the fire grows. Pipes break, gas leaks, everything slowly falls into chaos. Sweat beads on my neck and I know this is my last chance. I can't walk. I can't breathe. My lungs are filled with the ashes from the burning building, my leg limp and bleeding. Everything is blurry, and everything is sharp, there was no in-between. I struggle to move, but I manage to pull myself to the rickety bridge separating me from the labs and the escape. Even as I reach it, the flames below lick my fingers and leave a handprint on the rail. Standing on the bridge is the most beautiful yet terrifying girl I have ever seen. Her brown hair lay limply on her shoulders, her eyes glowing a light yellow, her skin smooth as porcelain but fractured by the energy. She seemed like a goddess amongst the wreckage.
"Kristina!" I yell, trying to inch my way towards my friend, my love, the only person who didn't treat me like I was fragile. "Kristina, please, this isn't you!"
"Then who is it then?" she yells back, flinging her left arm to the side and causing a whole line of emergency lights to blow up.
"You aren't the monster you think you are! Please, it's me Bucky, your friend!" I screech again, running to one side of the bridge as it shakes from the intensity of her powers.
"Who the hell is Bucky?" she inquires, taking slow and cunning steps towards me, energy and debris flying around her, her eyes not of my friend but of a warrior. My heart broke as she said those words. My chest felt like it weighed several tons, my heart shattering it to billions of pieces. It was like losing myself, losing Steve, losing my home, losing my Kristina all over again.
"I will never leave you, Kristina, take my hand! Please!" I plead. The building would explode at any moment, and no matter who she is currently, I wasn't letting Kristina die in here as HYDRA wants her too.
"You are my enemy, Barnes," Kristina walks closer to me, her mouth set in a firm line. Her eyes flash, and suddenly I get flung farther back. I stand up again, my head bleeding, my body aching, but I continue to go towards the girl, because no matter what I will get her out of here.
"I don't care what we are, I don't care if you aren't the Kristina I know and love, the one I would go to the end of the line for, but you have to take my hand," I whisper, losing all hope of breaking through to her. And for a split second, I see a bit of the Kristina I know in her eyes, and right as she was going to reach for my hand, the bridge breaks, and I yell and cry as I watch her fall into the fire below.
Before she even makes it into the flames, my hand reaches out and grabs her wrist. Her stature speaks of a warrior who doesn't care if she dies or lives, but in her eyes, I see the Kristina I know, scared and crying that this might be her last moment. "Take my hand, Kristina!" I screech as she pulls her other hand up to grab mine. I pull her back onto the bridge, her body folding into mine, my arms wrapped around her. I see the struggle in her face as she tries to fight off the monster HYDRA made her. I put my hand on her cheek, forcing her to look at me. I place a short kiss on her lips, just as her eyes flutter closed, her mind unconscious. I pick her up, and right as the building begins to fall and collapse, I get us out of the building.
The fresh air is freezing against our boiling bodies, the grass a clean ideal beside the dirt. I make it a few steps before I fell to my knees, my lungs heaving and my heart beating. The building explodes behind me, sending debris into the air, nowhere close to where Kristina and I sit. I sit on the fresh green grass, silence ringing through my ears, Kristina still held in my arms. The silence is disrupted from the whirring of a plane. I glance up to see Tony and Brent flying down in the plane, holding out a ladder towards us. And with the last amount of energy I had, I stood up and carried two bodies to the ladder, somehow managing to drag us up, and then immediately fall to the floor, slipping into a deep sleep.
The sun is light as I slowly wake up, tired from the events before. I rub my blue eyes, sitting up from the metal floor. I notice Tony and Brent left the plane, leaving me in the control deck. I stand up, stretching my shoulders and neck as my bones crack, before exiting the plane. I step into the warm air, my eyes squinting at the building we had landed in front of. Walking into the grass, I see the sign right outside the building in small lettering, "NEW AVENGERS HEADQUARTERS." And in a closed area, I see Brent standing, staring up at the sky.
"Gorgeous, isn't it?" Brent says to me as I approach. I questioningly look at him as he glances at me, "The fact we're alive, that's whats gorgeous," he explains, letting out a exhale of relief.
"Where's Kristina?" I ask, shoving my hands in my pockets as I squint at the sky.
"Inside the plane, sleeping, she's drained of energy. Don't worry, she's ok," Brent reassures, smiling at me. All of my worries leave my body, and the feeling of death dissipates. Exiting the building in the distance, I see Tony and someone else dressed in plaid and khakis. As they come closer, I start to recognize the mysterious person, and they know me too. My breath hitches in my throat as they walk closer. My eyes can't tear away, and the feeling of possible happiness starts to make my heart beat. Tony and the man stop a couple feet away from me. The man and I stare at each other, blue against blue, the atmosphere one of silence. And in one defining moment, I take a step, and then another, and before I know it I have wrapped my arms around the man and started sobbing into his shoulder. His arms return the hug as I continue to cry.
"It's good to see you too Bucky," he laughs, a forced one considering I can hear the excitement but pain in his voice. Finally, after what may have appeared like forever, I pull away, my hands on his shoulders, as I stare at him.
"I missed you, Steve," I mumble, trying to smile at him.
"I missed you too Buck, what happened to you?" he inquires, his brows furrowed as I took a slight step back, allowing us some space.
"I can tell you that a little later, why don't we head inside? Show me the idiot you replaced me with," I chuckle, a grin forming on my face. Steve nods and puts his arm on my shoulder, leading me inside as I recount the latest events from the ninety-two years ago I saw him. And in that exact moment, did I realize that after all this time, I finally did manage to find the home I was always looking for.