The Winter Soldier

Story on Cages

Fury spoke with Natasha, Maria, and Sam while Elise stood behind them quiet. Her mind continued to go back to Steel, well, Bucky, on the bridge. He had attempted to kill her father and as much as it infuriated her, the love that she had for him all those years ago was so much stronger. It worried her.

Why was he like that? The last time she saw him he wasn't like that. Yeah, he was troubled, lost and broken and she healed him once upon a time until he was taken away from her. He didn't want to hurt anyone and the only time that he did was so that they both could escape.

Steve walked over to her. "You said that you met Bucky while you were in a cage?" He asked her; although, he already knew the answer.

She nodded her head. "Yeah."

"If the boundaries are lifted, can you tell me about it?" He asked, using the word she had used on him two years ago.

She gave him a side smile. "It is lifted." She walked over to a chair in the back and took a seat while he followed behind her and did the same thing. "In 2006, after my failed experiment, Nick asked Pierce to help me control my newfound gifts. Pierce took her to a secret, underground warehouse. I was unconscious when I first arrived; but when I woke up... I woke up in a glass cage. No bed, nothing." Her kept her voice low so only he could hear as she stared straight ahead, reminiscing. She already felt tears stinging her eyes. "There were five other people in cages, beside me. I had been there for about... I don't know... A few months. I was going crazy because they had me drugged up on some injection that limited my powers and they continued to experiment on me."

She hesitated, and Steve realised how hard this was for her. To have to remember a traumatizing past must be hard. He knew by experience. "Its okay, if you don't want to continue." He grabbed her hand gently and she looked into his blue eyes and he saw how much her past hurt her.

"No, its fine." She took a deep breath. "They brought Bucky in one day. I remember how his legs were dragging against the floor and his long, rugged hair hung down, blocking his face. They tossed him into the cage next to me." Her eyes lowered before she chuckled as she remembered the time. "When he woke up, I was the first face he saw. He didn't speak for a while... For what seemed like weeks or months."

"Did you talk to him?"

She scoffed, wiping a falling tear. "Did I talk to him? Really, Rogers?" She scoffed again. "Of course, I talked to him. Hell, I fell in love with him and is engaged to him--- yes, engaged... It was crazy times; but he's still my fiance."

She continued. "But, yes, I talked to him everyday because I finally had someone to talk to." She sighed with a soft smile. "I know is had to be annoying.. But every time I'd sneak a look at him, he had a small smile on his face like he was either enjoying my voice or enjoying my conversation."

"Did he talk to you?"

"One day, he spoke to me...but it was in Romanian. Luckily, I was fluent in five, now eleven, languages. I was surprised, to say the least. His voice was low, deep and broken and my heart ached for him. I asked him what was his name but he said he didn't know....that he couldn't remember." She chuckled again. "So, because of his metal arm with the red star on there... I called Steel or Star. We became friends in there." Her eye brows clenched together. "

I heard the guards talking one day---in Romanian--- about how needle treatment wasn't working and they may have to take a different direction with controlling the solider. Shock treatment was what they were referring to."

"Shock treatment?"

"Some of his memories would resurfaces and they tried everything to wipe it out. Plus, he was difficult to control, especially while I was around." She explained. "Phil Coulson would come visit every now and then. I assumed Nick knew where I was and approved of it. He did but he didn't know the extent of their "process." And, I hated him for so long because even while being drugged up, I was losing my mind and it was harder for me to keep Azria under control and they didn't want me to, either."

He watched her face as it tightened for a moment to control her emotions. Taking a deep breath, she blinked away the tears and looked away. "I'm sorry that you went through that."

She shrugged her shoulders. "It's life."
_
Nick was looking at a photo of Pierce. "This man declined the Nobel Peace Prize. He said, "Peace wasn't an achievement, it was a responsibility." See, it's stuff like this that gives me trust issues."

Elise folded her arms against her chest. She stood in between Steve and Natasha. "We have to stop the launch."

"I don't think the Council's accepting my calls anymore." Fury opened a case containing three chips.

"What's that?" Sam asked him.

"Once the Helicarriers reach three thousand feet, they'll triangulate with Insight satellites becoming fully weaponized." Hill added.

"We need to breach those carriers and replace their targeting blades with our own." Nick suggested.

"One or two won't cut it. We need to link all three carriers for this to work, because if even one of those ships remains operational a whole lot of people are gonna die."

"We have to assume everyone aboard those carriers is HYDRA. We need to get pass them, insert the server blades, and maybe, just maybe, we can salvage what's left..." Elise suggested.

"We're not salvaging anything." Steve said. "We're not just taking down the carriers, Elise, we're taking down SHIELD."

"SHIELD had nothing to do with it." Nick defended.

"You gave me this mission, this is how it ends. SHIELD's been compromised, you said so yourself. HYDRA grew right under your nose and nobody noticed."

"That's true." Elise agreed quietly with him.

"Why do you think we're meeting in this cave? I noticed."

"And how many paid the price before you did?"

"Look, I didn't know about Barnes."

Elise glanced down at the floor before clearing her throat at the name. She wasn't used to it but she knew him. "Even if you have, would you have told me? Or would you have compartmentalized that too? SHIELD, HYDRA, it all goes."

"He's right." Elise agreed once again. Fury looked at her then to Natasha and Sam.

"Don't look at me." Sam said while taking a step back. "I do what he does, just slower."

"Well... Looks like you're giving the orders now, Captain." Fury looked at Captain.