Sane // A Winter Soldier Story

chapter twenty two // freedom

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"What good is livin' a life you've been given, if all you do is stand in one place?" -Ends of the Earth by Lord Huron 

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《Athena》

The monster inhabiting James' body stared at her with the blackest eyes she'd ever seen. His eyebrows were knotted tightly, and he looked between her and his bonds, as if wondering how long it would take him to escape them and strangle her.

Steve shifted from foot to foot behind James, preparing himself to grab him if necessary. Winter had yet to glance at Steve behind him, but with his extraordinary senses, Athena had no doubt in her mind that Winter was fully aware of the power of the man behind him.

Athena turned around, facing the jury and crowd. They were all sitting completely still, with wide, fearful eyes.

"This is the Winter Soldier. Look at his mannerisms -- look at the hollowness of his eyes, the tenseness of his muscles, the permanent glare. The fluent speaking of Russian. And notice how all of this came about because of a series of words."

She briefly glanced at Winter; he narrowed his eyes at her, but said nothing.

"I have studied many DID patients before in my lifetime, and remember that with DID, the patients have one body, but multiple personalities. That means I have learned to recognize the characteristics that define personalities. I have studied Mr. Barnes for weeks now, and I've come to know his mannerisms very well. The man who stands before you now is no Mr. Barnes. This is the Winter Soldier, something entirely different."

Athena walked closer to Winter. Winter's eyes followed her every move. She stopped just a foot in front of him, and he didn't move a muscle.

"Look at the way he is sitting. He doesn't move a muscle. Mr. Barnes would be shifting in his seat, looking around uncomfortably, or stretching. Winter is a statue. Mr. Barnes' eyes reflect fear, anger, sadness -- the Winter Soldier's eyes are empty. Completely empty. There's nothing there. Recall how Mr. Barnes sat here earlier when he was on the stand -- he was, very clearly, scared and nervous. Look at this man now."

Athena gestured to Winter. He growled, clearly not happy with being shown off like an animal.

"Who are you? What do you want with me?" He hissed. Athena was surprised he'd spoken; usually Winter did not speak unless spoken to, but even Winter had to know he was in a weirder place than usual right now. His voice was nothing like James', and the jury seemed taken aback by his blatant lack of knowledge concerning his surroundings.

"Listen to his voice," Athena continued, ignoring him and turning her attention back to her audience. Her heart was beating rapidly with how close she was to Winter. The man was incredibly dangerous, and if he suddenly snapped, she was at risk of being seriously hurt by him if he willed it. But she also had the code word that shut him down committed to memory, so she shouldn't be scared.

"The Winter Soldier's voice is deep and rough, and is more of a growl than a voice. You can't tell me this is the same voice as Mr. Barnes' smooth tone-"

Suddenly Winter stood, and Athena immediately stopped speaking, taking a few steps away from him. He growled again and analyzed the chains on his wrists and arm. Steve kept his distance, but the way he watched Winter's behavior told Athena that he knew Winter was up to something. She needed to hurry.

"Surely you can see the clear personality differences between Mr. Barnes and the Winter Soldier. Surely you, the jury, can see the monster Hydra created inside of Mr. Barnes, and see how different this monster is from Mr. Barnes himself. As a professional in my field, I can tell you -- the man before you now has the body of Mr. Barnes, but is not him. And that completely morphs the story that everyone has heard on the news into the true story, in which James Buchanan Barnes is a victim, not a villain. We should not be punishing this man for what somebody else turned him into."