The Valentin Series, Book III: Rebirth (The Winter Soldier fanfiction)

Chapter 1: From the Grave

"He's ready, your majesty," Nakia informs King T'Challa, her gold and emerald neck piece glinting in the sunlight as she puts down the phone on the wooden center table. She checks her bronze long sleeved armored breastplate, just to make sure it won't move if this meeting comes to blows. Her red vibranium lined side-slit short skirt is fastened to her hips with a wide leather belt.

The king nods, he stands and faces the door, adjusting his black suit just a little nervously. He looks out the gigantic windows behind him and stares at Wakanda illuminated in early morning light, his home. The laboratory receiving room is sparsely decorated, just a few beige sitting chairs and a lounge. The walls are a light yellow, so light it is almost white, but it reflects the rays of the sun coming from the entire panel of windows across from it.

"Hopefully, he remembers I have helped him and not that I had tried to kill him once," T'challa says to his trusted guard.

Nakia grins, "Hopefully. But I assume you've taken precautions."

T'challa grins back and flashes the vibranium claws on his gloved hands, "Of course."

The door to the sitting room opens, and a man with long brown hair that has been tied back with an elastic strolls in, his left arm glinting every time the sun hits it, he looks at Nakia and then at the king, who has turned to face him.

"Welcome back Sergeant Barnes," T'Challa says calmly, "how are you feeling?"

Sgt. James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes stares at the king for a long moment, and then shrugs, "The arm works fine. I have no urge to murder you, if that's what you mean. I seem to recall everything so far."

"This is a good thing, Sgt," he nods in response as he cautiously approaches Barnes, "you see, there is something you may be able to assist us with."

~~~~~~~

A few minutes later, T'Challa and Nakia lead Barnes through the palace and out into the Wakanda warrior training grounds. There's as much noise from the clanging of steel blades as there is of gunfire.

Barnes winces when he hears rapid automatic rifle shooting, it reminds him of someone he could not save.

"If you will follow me, Sgt Barnes," T'challa gestures to a closed off clearing ahead, where the rifle fire is coming from.

Barnes hesitantly approaches, curious to see who is doing the firing, and at what they re firing at. He takes a peak and sees that on the far left side of the clearing there are barricades and real men being gunned down. They were not dead though, all looked to be wearing heavy Kevlars. He looks questioningly at the king, whatever his name is, he cannot remember; all he can recall is he helped him with his arm and that Steve trusts him, so that should be good enough for Bucky. But he isn't Bucky all the time.

"Training exercise, Sgt. Barnes, they use rubber bullets" T'Challa informs him, "they are well protected though. Their opponent is very precise."

Barnes looks to the other end of the field, trying to place where the opposing gunman is hiding. One of the men ventures out of the barricades, and tries to shoot. He barely has his gun up when a single bullet catches him on the chest and throws him backward. Barnes heard the whoosh of the silencer before he saw anything else.

"How many are they fighting against?" he asks.

Nakia smiles, and then answers: "One."

Barnes' eyebrows raise in surprise, "One?"

"Yes, one woman," T'Challa adds, "very fast, very precise, very dangerous. But we knew that about women already."

Nakia nods proudly, "Shall I call them off, your majesty?"

T'Challa only nods. Barnes is amazed. One woman could hold off and bring down an entire squadron of soldiers. He only knew one woman like that. He shakes himself out of his reverie before he knows he'll begin shutting down again.

The men pass by them saluting or bowing to the king and nodding at Nakia. Some of them have bruises on their necks or foreheads as they remove their body armor while walking.

"She knows you, this woman," T'Challa tells him as Nakia walks into the field to fetch the lone shooter.

"How?" Barnes asks, nobody knew him anymore, the last one who really did was buried in a cemetery back in New York.

T'Challa looks at him squarely, "While we were wheeling you from lab to lab one day, she walked in and saw you. Then she proceeded to knock out all the lab attendants who were transporting you and tried to get you out of your cryo-case. We had to sedate her. She is quite vicious."

Barnes quirked an eyebrow, "and you need me, because?" he asked, not understanding how he played into all this.

"Because for some reason Sgt Barnes, she remembers nothing about herself or her past, but she remembers you," T'Challa answers.

Just then Nakia appears, a sniper rifle in hand, behind her trails a woman with long jet black wavy hair tied into a high ponytail, and a tanned complexion.

Barnes had a feeling in his gut as soon as he saw her silhouette, something familiar, slightly bestial. He felt something he thought he would never feel again, ever since she had died in his arms.

As the pair drew nearer, T'Challa gestured to the woman behind Nakia, "Sgt. Barnes, I'd like you to meet Camilla Valentin, at least that is what I was told her gravestone said."

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