Deity

Safe And Sound

Kayla pressed a careful hand to Bucky's forehead, closing her eyes and taking a look through his repressed memories. She frowned, dulling the edges of the worst of the memories and making it feel detached to help speed along the healing process. She found his older memories further back, fragmented but still there and she tenderly put them back together to see what she could salvage. She liked seeing the memories of Steve when he was little and the two friends shenanigans amused her.

She could feel a pressure against her, his mind waking to her presence and both a scared little boy and a blank man appeared. It represented two of the parts of him, his jovial self that had been a ladies' man not yet willing to come out.

"Well hello there." Kayla addressed the child first, figuring out that it would be easier to get through to him. "I'm Kayla. What is your name, Sweetheart?"

"James Buchanan Barnes. But my friend Stevie calls me Bucky." The small boy had stared at her suspiciously for a while until deeming the question okay to answer.

"Is Stevie your best friend?" Kayla sat on a chair that had appeared in the library of his memories. Her hands rested on her legs, showing she was unarmed.

"Uh huh. Ma says we're just like twins. Cause we're mis-chiv-ous." He sounded out the word his ma had used.

"I bet. Do you guys have fun together?" Kayla smiled sweetly, well aware of the blank eyes of the Asset on her.

"Yeah!" Bucky nodded with a wide grin that showed a missing tooth.

"Do you want me to make it so you can see Stevie?" Kayla asked gently, seeing the boy draw nearer.

"You can fix us?" Bucky looked hopeful. He wanted to be Whole again.

"I can try but I need some help from you too. I can't fix what doesn't want to be." She explained gently.

"I wanna help!" Bucky sounded determined. "Wanna see Stevie again."

"Then you shall." Kayla promised. "Maybe not today but soon. We're gonna get you fixed up."

"The asset needs recalibration." The formerly silent assassin part of James Barnes finally spoke.

"We'll fix you to a mix of how you were." Kayla responded, feeling a shot of sorrow as she looked at him. She hated what had been done, no one deserved the torture he had gone through and to think of themselves as a machine that needed recalibration. "I need your permission to help you."

"The asset has to follow directives." His voice was emotionless.

"Alright. Your order is to heal." Kayla sighed. She hated that she had to Order him like that. It felt wrong.

"The Weapon is in functional order." The blank voice had a bit of confusion, the first emotion she'd seen from him.

"You are not functional until you know who you are." Kayla shook her head, feeling the small child version tuck himself under her arm. "Who are you?"

"The Asset. Fist of HYDRA. The Weapon. The Winter Soldier." His voice was blank again.

"Wrong. You are Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes." Kayla shook her head, locking eyes with him. Her time was running short, he would be waking up soon and she wasn't keen on being attacked. "You are the son of George and Winifred Barnes. Best friend of Steven Grant Rogers."

"I am the Asset." He didn't sound as sure. His new handler was telling him that he was James Barnes and his main objective was always to obey.

"I'll be back, okay?" Kayla sighed once more, temporarily suspending her conversation with the Winter Soldier and addressing the child.

"You promise? I don't wanna be alone." Bucky whispered, looking at the lady who had promised to help them.

"I promise." Kayla nodded and kissed his forehead before vanishing from the mindscape. She removed her hand from his forehead and smoothed his hair back from his face, relieved that his skin was no longer chilled and his color had returned. She moved and waited as he woke up.

"Ya gotov otvechat." He knew her somehow, figuring she was his new handler. That perhaps he had heard someone speaking about a woman handler for the first time. He knew her subconsciously, the trip into his mind influencing him.

"English. Who are you?" Kayla kept her eyes focused on him, reading his body language.

"The Asset." His voice was raspy, always was after the pod.

"You are James Buchanan Barnes." Kayla informed him. "Do you know who I am?"

"The handler." He responded, thrown for a loop by being addressed by an actual name. He had no real name, had no identity. This Handler clearly wouldn't last long but he would obey or face the consequences.

"I am Kayla." Kayla spoke gently. "Are you hungry?"

"The Asset does not require to have nutrients yet." The Soldier wondered why she didn't have the folder. Unless he had been sold again. That made more sense.

"I think you do." She sounded decisive. "You have not eaten in a week. You'll eat something light. Wait here."

The brunet soldier watched her go passively and waited until she returned.