Hearts of Steel || A Bucky Barnes Love Story

♥♥♥ Chapter 7 - The Death Mode Awakened ♥♥♥

The night was still and dark when the sound of crashing metal and desperate shouts shattered the silence, jolting the Avengers from their sleep. Diana was already sprinting toward the hangars before anyone else could react, her gut twisted with dread. She knew exactly what the noise meant but feared it might be far worse than she had anticipated.

As she neared the hangar, the scene that unfolded before her confirmed her worst fears: Colonel Lennox was in a fierce battle with his own son. Ian's eyes glowed an ominous red, his movements precise and lethal, driven by an outside force. The boy's entire demeanor was cold, detached—nothing like the spirited young man she knew. This wasn't Ian at all. It was a programmed weapon, unleashed and dangerous.

The glowing red of Ian's eyes marked the activation of a mode Diana dreaded: Death Mode. The twins had long known about it—a state of control that seized them when they were unconscious or asleep, transforming them into instruments of destruction. It was similar to Bucky's Winter Soldier programming, but with a terrifying difference: Death Mode could be manually triggered by external operators, amplifying their bionic abilities tenfold. Now, it was clear that the twins' creators, long thought to be gone, had returned, ready to wreak havoc once more.

Ian swung a glowing red laser bo staff with deadly accuracy, nearly striking Colonel Lennox before Diana intercepted him, her own staff blocking his with a burst of sparks. "Move back, Dad!" she ordered, her voice sharp with urgency. Colonel Lennox took a few steps away, knowing better than to interfere.

Diana fixed her gaze on her brother, her expression a mix of determination and heartbreak. She knew there was only one way to reach him. "Northern wind!" she shouted, using the command phrase she and Ian had created as a safeguard. Ian's red eyes flickered twice, and she saw a glimmer of consciousness return to his expression. It was working—her brother was waking up inside his own mind, even if his body remained under the Death Mode's control.

"Diana?" Ian's voice trembled in her mind, though his body still moved to strike at her.

"Ian, you're in Death Mode," Diana explained urgently, parrying another strike from his staff. "I've woken you up, but you need to hack into your chip from the inside and override it! I can hold you off, but you have to hurry!"

Bucky rushed to the Colonel's side, helping him get to a safe distance as Steve arrived, taking in the chaotic scene with alarm. "What's going on?" Steve demanded, his voice rising over the clash of laser staffs.

Colonel Lennox, breathing heavily, explained, "Ian's in Death Mode—it's a programmed state that controls his body while he's unconscious. The chip in his neck hijacks his bionic abilities and amplifies them. To override it, Ian has to manually shut down his own abilities from the inside using his intelligence, while Diana fights him physically. She managed to wake his mind with a safeguard phrase they developed, but his body's still under control."

As Diana and Ian continued their struggle, the Colonel added, "Diana has a Death Mode too, but she's guarded by an ability called the Bionic Guard. It's a glitch that developed when she fought against me for the first time—it evolved on its own, out of her love for me and Ian. It protects her from outside control. But Ian... he was built to be the muscle. His mind is as strong as hers, but they designed his programming to make it much harder to crack, like they knew he'd be more susceptible."

Steve's eyes darted back to the twins, watching as Diana expertly blocked Ian's attacks and maneuvered him away from the Colonel and Bucky. Her movements were fluid and decisive—there was no hesitation as she matched her brother blow for blow. It was clear that over the years, their roles had reversed. Diana had become the sword, sharp and relentless, while Ian was the shield—meant to protect but now forced to fight against his will.

In his internal mind interface, Ian was racing against time. Commands and code flashed before his eyes as he delved deeper into the chip's programming, searching for a way to disable Death Mode. It was a labyrinth of encrypted instructions, and with every second that passed, the struggle against Diana intensified. But he focused, channeling his mental strength to isolate the commands controlling his body.

Meanwhile, Diana's strikes grew more aggressive as she pushed Ian back, giving him the time he needed. She could see the conflict in his eyes—flickers of red and blue as his consciousness fought against the programming. "Come on, Ian," she urged under her breath, her own strength waning. "You can do this..."

Finally, Ian found the override command buried deep within the labyrinth of code. With a mental surge, he shut down the Death Mode, severing the external control. His bo staff dimmed from red to a tranquil blue as his eyes returned to their natural multicolored hue. His knees buckled, and he fell forward, right into Diana's waiting arms.

The twins sank to the ground, both gasping for breath as the tension eased from their bodies. For a moment, the only sound was their heavy breathing, the adrenaline still coursing through their veins. Bucky rushed over, kneeling beside them with concern in his eyes.

"Ian, are you okay?" Bucky asked, gripping the boy's shoulder.

Ian gave a shaky nod, still catching his breath. "Yeah... I'm fine. But we need to go into my chip tonight. We have to set up a block against outside signals, or this could happen again."

Diana exchanged a look with her father, who nodded in agreement. "We'll do whatever it takes," she said softly, her voice filled with resolve. "We're not letting anyone control us again."

As they sat there in the quiet of the hangar, it was clear to the Avengers that the battle was far from over. The twins had won this round, but the threat was still looming. The return of their creators signaled that a new war was coming, and Diana and Ian were prepared to fight it—side by side, as they always had. Together, they would stand as the sword and shield, unbreakable in their bond and unyielding in their will to protect each other.