Project Elemental

Chapter 7

It was a week before anyone, including Bucky, was allowed back into the medical ward. Not wanting to take any chances, Tony had the area reinforced with fire retardant materials. He also continued to joke about how he should have built a giant freezer for 003, and how Steve would feel right at home there. The doctors had managed to chip her out of the ice block and thaw the rest with a tool that strongly resembled an overpriced hair blow dryer. But it hardly mattered as she remained comatose.

According to the doctors, they were unsuccessful in getting 002 to rest much. She spent her time at the other woman's bedside, prompting her to wake up. However, from what he had heard, she didn't know her. The girl in the ice... 002 didn't recognize her. Finding this out only made Bucky's heart ache more, and he would have given anything to go comfort her.

No one could make him do anything. Not anymore. So one day, after hearing a particularly nasty report about how a nurse who had tried to sedate her had gotten practically seared and filleted, Bucky made an executive decision to ignore the Tony-induced mandate of zero contact outside of medical staff.

He easily gained access to the room, but not without a few aggressive negotiations. With his heart pounding in his chest, Bucky laid his hand on the cool metal handle of the door to their room. He stared at the wood grain in front of him. The only thing between him and many more horrible memories was this door. He stood there, expressionless, until the cool metal door handle turned warm beneath his touch. And finally, with a deep breath, he turned the handle and stepped into the room.

002's head whipped around at the sound of the door handle turning. Bucky walked into the room, quiet except for the sound of his boots on the floor. His eyes swept the room microanalysing every detail. On the bedside table, a plate of food sat untouched. The bed was made and clearly hadn't been disturbed. The beeping of different monitors was a soft lullaby. The walls, floor, and sheets; everything was either white or black or gray. He had spent to many years in pristine and sanitary labs, and he knew she must have felt the same. To have been woken up from over seventy years of cryosleep only to be thrust back into a Hydra compound-esque environment by people she didn't know or understand so many years past her time must have been beyond terrifying. The near loss of her only companion only would have made it worse.

She was dressed in a hospital gown, which hung off her frame like a pillow case. Her cheeks were sunken, and her eyes were underlined with streaks of purple and blue, the marks of a person who hasn't slept properly in a day or more. Her amber eyes, once glowing with life, were dull and without movement, like a dying fire.

002 stared at Bucky, formerly blank eyes widening with recognition. The fear faded from those embers that had once held so much pain and uncertainty. "It's you." She said. "James. James Barnes, the American." American, Bucky.

Bucky's heart skipped a beat at her recognition. "Yeah."

She dropped her gaze to the floor. "I- She... This is my fault."

He walked across the room to join 002 at 003's bedside. "I have a friend... He was frozen in ice too. These people got him out and woke him up. They can save her too."

They sat there in silence for a while. 002 watching 003, and Bucky watching 002.

"Who is she?" 002 asked.

Bucky stared at her. "...The one in the ice."

"Yes."

Bucky's eyes widened. He couldn't believe what he had heard was true. "You really don't know?" He took her silence as a yes. Bucky paused, unsure of how to answer without frightening the already weak woman. "She was your friend. Your best friend." He looked at the ground. "You gave up everything for each other."

002's hollow eyes studied his face, gauging whether he was telling the truth or not. Deciding he was honest, she cocked her head to the side. "Tell me."

Bucky heaved a sigh, shrugging his massive shoulders that dwarfed her easily. He dug through his mind, searching for a memory. "When you were children... She protected you. She fought Hydra tooth and nail. She fought and fought and fought until finally they broke her." I broke her, Bucky thought of all the extra sessions he had had with the girl alone. "And then she was nothing, and you had learned to fight. From then on, you protected her."

"What was she protecting me from?"

"An evil organization. Hydra."

Something, something faint and far away, like a star in an endless ink black sky, flickers in the back of 002's mind. "Hydra, evil." She whispers.

"Uh... Yes."

"You knew her name." Bucky says suddenly.

"What?"

"Her name. Even after you had forgotten your own name, you remembered hers." Bucky says, hope spiralling through him. "I read somewhere that coma patients can still hear everything that is said. They are alive inside their minds only. If you could say her name, maybe it would trigger a reaction strong enough to wake her up."

002 looked down. "Buck... I barely remember anything. It would take a miracle-"

"Please. If you remember anything, you gotta remember how much you loved her." Bucky took 002's hand. "You would have given anything to protect her. You endured punishment after punishment just so she was safe."

She nodded, eyes never leaving the face of the woman who lay so close to death. She studied her features, her F/H/C hair and peaceful expression. "I will try my best."

—

"Tell me about the other one."

Bucky spoke so frequently about 002, that Steve felt he knew nothing about 003 in comparison. The two girls were as different as, well, ice and fire. Something about her though... Steve couldn't put his finger on it, but she was familiar. Like the way a passing scent on a drifting breeze can send you tumbling back to a specific date, a specific moment from years ago.

Blue eyes snapped shut, and in his mind's eye, Bucky could see her. Eyes like crystals, sharp and cold. Defiant. Terrified. Broken.

"She used to speak," He began, opening his eyes again. "She fought, even when she was a kid. Always fighting, never following orders." He laughed grimly. "Could've stood up to all of Hydra, and Hitler to boot... especially when it came to 002."

"What happened?"

Bucky frowned, the bridge of his nose wrinkled in concentration.

An empty room. He needed nothing but his hands anyway. Cold, metallic, unforgiving. He sat on the floor, facing the ten year old girl. Her arms were crossed, face contorted into a glare, with a gaze sharper than icicles.

Images flashed through his mind. That had been the day Hydra had decided that they had had enough of her insubordination. His orders? Make her comply, and if she didn't, kill her. They could always find another mutant. They had before.

"Buck?"

"... I... I broke her."

That day had nearly brought an end to the girl's life. They had returned to find him standing in the center of the room, the small body mangled at his feet. Torn clothes, bruises in black and purple and yellow and green. A pool of blood so large it was a wonder she hadn't died from exsanguination alone.

"Bucky-"

"Steve, I nearly killed her. She couldn't've been older than ten, Steve. Ten! She nearly bled to death. The least I could've done was put her out of her misery. And do you know what I got in return for breaking her? Fuckin' frostbite, and a steak for dinner and a shower."