Winters War Phase 3: Some Kind of Monster

Chapter 1

It was a breezy morning while he walked through the woods along the Hudson River in upstate New York. Bucky knelt in front of the gravestone and bowed his head. It was a simple marker, just a white star on a concrete slab. The Avengers had made that decision for Julia's safety.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small brown bear he'd won at Coney Island that week, and placed it in the center. He cleared away the withered flowers and replaced them with the fresh roses tucked under his arm. As he sat back, Julia's final words echoed in his mind:

"I'm sorry."

It had all happened a month ago, but for Bucky it felt like yesterday. A tear escaped his eye as he took a deep breath. After a minute he stood up and walked away, back to the Avengers Facility.

Bucky and Steve had moved there after HYDRA found out where the safe house was. Fury had thought it would be safer for them.

When Bucky arrived at the facility, he went to the kitchen corner of the lounge area and prepared a coffee for himself. Sipping from his mug, he took a seat on one of the bar stools. He grabbed the morning newspaper and scanned the two comics in the entertainment section. Smiling at a funny Garfield comic, he took another sip of his coffee as he started to read the second comic about James Bond. He shook his head as he finished it.

"Always with the cliffhangers," he mumbled to himself.

Flipping to the sports section, he reached unseeing for an apple and took a large bite. He raised a wrist to wipe at the juice on his chin. Suddenly a hand slapped down on the paper.

"Last word you read?"

Bucky coughed as the scare caused a drop of apple juice to go down the wrong way.

"What the hell, Sam!" Bucky called out loud between coughs, as Sam started laughing.

"You were deep in thought, dude!"

Bucky just sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Tell me, what was the last word you read?" Sam asked again, smirking.

"I hadn't even started that damn page, you brat!" Bucky said, annoyed.

Tony and Steve walked into the kitchen.

"Okay kiddos. Fight time is over," Tony said, in a fatherly tone.

He walked over to the fridge and took out a pre-prepared green smoothie.

"Save the aggression for when we need it."

He walked away, drinking. Steve watched as Tony left the kitchen. He turned back to Bucky and took a seat next to him.

"How was the visit?" he asked.

"It was okay. Refreshed the flowers and put the bear on her stone," Bucky said slightly mournfully, after a sip of his coffee. "I hope she'll like it."

"Of course she will," Sam reassured him, leaning against the bar on Bucky's other side. "Every girl likes Winnie the Pooh."

Steve noticed Bucky wasn't really listening to Sam. He was staring at his apple while he rolled the fruit in his hand. He placed it on the counter, slid off his stool, and walked away. Sam and Steve looked after him as he left.

Outside the compound, Bucky stared over the river. The wind blew through his long brown hair as he stared into the far distance. He watched the sky and the dark clouds scudding across the horizon. He released a trembling sigh and glanced over as Steve stepped up beside him.

"I was so stupid," Bucky said softly, guiltily. He tipped his head back and blinked rapidly. "So damned stupid."

"You weren't stupid, Buck. It was just your emotions while you told her the truth." Steve set a hand on his shoulder, which made Bucky look over at his friend. "Pierce was the one who was stupid. Remember that."

Bucky nodded.

"Wanda felt like she was done living. Who knows what Pierce and HYDRA did to her."
Bucky sighed and rubbed his hands over his face. "Damnit," he mumbled.

He let his hands fall, and remembered the information from when he hacked HYDRA.

"Julia wasn't long into HYDRA but she was there long enough to get messed up by them," he said. "And if Fury is right, about HYDRA making a new army, then we're not finished with them."