SOLDIER ─ marvel

XXXIII. The Trial Of Bucky Barnes Part 2

Chapter Thirty-Three
Bucky

"Are the defense of James Buchanan Barnes ready for present their case?" The Judge asks Mr. Valdez.

"We are, your honor."

"You may now give your opening statement."

Mr. Valdez stands and gestures down to me as the prosecutor did in his statement. His voice is just as firm as the prosecutors, but holds far more passion as he says; "Your honor, James Buchanan Barnes was a decorated war hero for WWII. He fought alongside Captain America, he gave his life for his country. On the fatal day of February 15th, 1944, Mr. Barnes fell off a train down into a ravine. The infamous regime HYDRA captured him, tortured him, and brainwashed him. The acts the Winter Soldier has done are horrific, but those acts were not made by James Buchanan Barnes. The two are different people. The defense will show that Mr. Barnes was not in control of his actions and is not to blame for the actions of the Winter Soldier."

The judge nods. "You may bring in your first witness."

Mr. Valdez nods to the officer at the door just like the prosecutor did. I already know who the first witness is before they're brought in. I feel a smile spread on my face as Lena walks in past the officer. She's wearing a grey pencil dress, black flats, with her hair let down and a concerned expression on her face. This only grows as she looks at me. Seeing me in chains and a jumpsuit makes her worry grow, but she tries her best to hide it. Lena walks over to the bailiff and places her hand on the Bible.

"Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth so help you god?"

"I do."

"Please be seated."

Lena sits down in the witness stand, letting out a shaky breath. Mr. Valdez glances from her to the judge, asking the latter; "Permission to approach the witness, your honor?"

"Permission granted."

Mr. Valdez leaves my side and walks over to Lena, giving her a mischievous smile. He knows as well as I do that she's the greatest witness we have.

"State your name."

As if anyone here doesn't know who she is. "Soroya Roberts."

"Ms. Roberts, when did you first meet Mr. Barnes?"

"I met him after the fall of HYDRA in 2014. We were both investigating an abandoned HYDRA base and we bumped into each other. We then agreed to work together to find my family and help him regain his memories of his past."

Mr. Valdez turns towards the judge. "Your honor, on that list of casualties you will see a man named Julian Remington. He was one of the instructors of Ms. Roberts and was stationed there with her in the Siberian HYDRA base from 2003-2004. This was the same base the Winter Soldier was kept in. He is documented as one of your other instructors. So I ask you, Ms. Roberts, why did you not say you met Mr. Barnes back then?"

"Because that wasn't James Barnes, that was the Winter Soldier."

"You spent a year with the Winter Soldier as your instructor. Can you describe that experience?"

"It wasn't pleasant. He was cold and cruel, a thing out of my nightmares."

"So why would you agree to help him when you met him again all those years later?"

Lena glances over Valdez's shoulder towards me, a smile spreading on her lips. "He told me that he was brainwashed, that he wasn't in control of himself when he did the things he did. That night I watched him sleep and he had a nightmare. It was just like the ones I had, he woke up crying, shaking from terror. From that moment on, I saw that he was indeed a different man than the one I knew."