Winter Soldier: Fade to Red

Revived

With the fluid now gone, the figure in the tube stood there, his expression hazy as if he had just awakened from a lengthy dream. Tubes were connected to his body via electrodes, which monitored his vital signs. Another tube was attacked to his face, feeding him oxygen. As he stood and stared through the glass at Bucky and Nikolai, his eyes narrowed in what looked like irritated confusion.

"Kill them!" Alyona spat. Though she was still prone, she had regained consciousness and enough wherewithal to speak.

Before either Bucky or Nikolai could react, the figure in the tube suddenly sprang forward, his body shattering the glass as wires were ripped from his body. Bucky raised his weapon, prepared to defend them but the figure was suddenly on top of him. Bucky raised his arm to fend off an attack and the figure punched the vibranium, injuring his fist before quickly darting away.

"Be careful," Bucky shouted as he popped up to his feet. "He's fast.

Nikolai released a canister of sticky gas into the room and he and Bucky backed up to one another. Once their backs were against each other, Bucky pulled his sidearm and handed it to Nikolai.

"Aim for the legs," Bucky advised.

"The legs?" Nikolai asked. "Why?"

"Just do it," Bucky said in a clipped voice. "Trust me on this, okay?"

Suddenly, a blue of silver and blue darted around the room. As it moved, the red gas was pulled in by a quickly-formed vortex. All around them, the streak moved, evading their gunfire with ease and creating a column of sticky gas that quickly flowed upward, dispersing harmlessly above them. Then the figure was moving in a different path, its figure moving straight towards them. Acting on instinct, Bucky raised a hand in front of Nikolai's face and managed to capture a barely-perceptible fist in his vibranium grip. Halted by the sudden restraint of his fist, the figure stopped before them and glared angrily at Bucky. Nikolai fired a sting at the man's midsection, reducing him to spasms.

"Find out what his safe word is," Bucky commanded before quickly driving his boot down on the man's ankle. The bones snapped from the attack and the man cried out in pain before Bucky quickly leaped on top of the man and knocked him to the ground.

Nikolai ran over to Alyona and grabbed her by the throat. Lifting her to her feet, he slammed her body against the nearby console and raised his fist, aiming it at her face. "What's the word, Alyona?" he snarled.

Alyona's puppet continued to thrash about beneath Bucky despite his injuries. Bucky maintained a tight hold on his fist and twisted it behind the man's back and held him in place.

"Go to hell," Alyona spat.

"Oh, I've been in hell for a very long time now," Nikolai said in a cold voice. "Allow me to give you a taste of it." Withdrawing the knife from his belt, he shoved the blade into her shoulder. The blade sliced cleanly through flesh and bone and struck the console behind her with a metallic glint.

Alyona laughed in his face. "Oh, Wolf Spider. You really think you can bare your little fangs at me? I was trained to resist torture. Do...your...worst!"

Nikolai twisted the knife, then took aim at the man restrained beneath Bucky. "Say goodbye to your new puppet," he said before squeezing the trigger.

"NO!" Alyona screamed. She grabbed Nikolai's gun arm at the last second, causing the shot to go wide.

Nikolai kneed her in the stomach, then shoved her back against the console. "Tell me the word or I'll kill him."

Alyona grinned, her teeth stained with blood. "Decelerate," she snarled.