Remembrance//Book 1//CATWS and AOU

9. Purple Sparks

Energy, that's all Annie has been using for the past few hours. It seems to just keep fueling her, everywhere she goes, there's energy.

There was never enough time to think about the incidents on the hellicarriers. She'd been wiped, and the attempt didn't work.

Annie had overruled that there was a malfunction and that Bucky had switched out the actual object. It was possible, now that Annie had been out for a long time and away from HYDRA, Annie had abilities. She wasn't going to be naive about it, but rather consider the thought.

Most times, Annie can't remember where her train of thought goes, and in those times she finds herself elsewhere. Yet, Annie knew how to control the ability. In some ways, it likes to just go with what Annie absently thinks. Maybe a dream about the whereabouts of Bucky would trigger Annie to wake up in some dump.

Bucky's a trained assassin, he knew when to adapt to a situation and how to defend himself. But he can't last for a long time, which was why Annie was there to extract him. When it came to the social missions, Annie would extract him or accompany. But there weren't many. Bucky worked in isolation, or was either supplied by a rather large group. Point is, Annie and Bucky didn't work together on missions by HYDRA.

If anything, they did everything to keep them apart. Though, there were a selective few of HYDRA leaders who wanted them together, play with them and toy with their emotions.

Alexander Pierce was one of those fucked up leaders.

The thought of his name gave Annie enough adrenaline to push forward with running through the electrical wires.

Then her mind wandered onto how long she's been doing this. Running through electrical currents...fading in and out of her solid body? Annie was losing her train of thought...and yet she loved the feel. Stopping at a near telephone booth, she shakes her head and focuses on a man near a drug store smoking a cigarette and looking rather smug.

After a short moment to regain thought, Annie squints are her left hand. Her eyes widen when she sees that her metal hand was no longer...there. Anger seizes her chest but then is seized quickly when it slowly appears back.

Looking up at the blue sky, she ponders on how her hand could just disappear. Annie knew that there were a lot of special gifted people, starting with the the twins that Dr. List and Strucker were experimenting with. Actually, they were taking out notes of what Burdge was forced to study. (Annie wasn't sure what it was but it was a big deal back then).

Though, the twins were brought through experimentation, Annie hasn't seen natural gifted people. Maybe there is, after what Annie had read about the incident in New York a few years ago...a lot can be found.

A disturbance shook through the electrical currents Annie could see. It was like an alarm, and the short waves were coming from the drug store where the cigarette man is.

Or, was. The man was gone, and his unfinished cigarette was smashed on the floor. Annie took this as a sign that he was waiting for someone, since he hadn't smoked for a leisure outside this drug store.

The short waves were beating with immense strength the closer Annie got to it. Already, Annie's conclusion was proved: the man was robbing the place.

She was torn. The face of the cashier through the glass had wrecked her mind between what was patience and impatience. Annie so badly wanted to find Bucky and leave this man's fate to doom.

Bucky was out there, alone and possibly being hunted down with the rest of the rats that patrol under HYDRA. He could be having absurd tantrums whenever he remembers some memory. And his arm, his metal arm that Annie had constructed way back when.