You are the Marksman. A high level trained assassin and tech mastermind working for Hydra and before that? Lily Haywood, close friend and fellow army buddy of Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes. After escaping the clutches of Hydra, you've been working a...
Lily collapsed to the floor with a sickening thud. Out cold. Bucky stood frozen in horror, still trying to process what he had just done to you. Without missing a beat, Steve picked up Lily's limp body and carried her to the sickbay with Tony close behind carrying a whimpering Wanda. He didn't like the idea of his sweet friend being strapped down to the bed while Bruce ran diagnostics, but the others weren't willing to risk anyone else's safety.
Bucky had gone through several episodes like that when he had first escaped, mostly accompanied by nightmares and ugh unpleasant flashbacks. The winter soldier shut his eyes at the unpleasant memories, some of which he shared with Lily unfortunately.
Him pinning her to the ground, her writhing in pain under his grip as he slammed her head into the ground over and over again, and that one time he was sent to retrieve her from escaping over in Moscow... his eyes flickered to his friend. She was resting peacefully in the bed, a lovely purple bruise forming under her right eye. His eyes traveled down to her exposed ribcage. (They had removed her shirt to hook up the heart monitor) A large scar slithered angrily across her side. Bucky could still feel the sickening feeling of the knife slicing through her flesh, her eyes flying open in shock and then her gasping for air as he walked out of the apartment.
"Bucky, you dont have to do this. Please!!"
"угроза нейтрализована" -"Threat neutralized"
That had been almost a year before he had run into Steve and escaped Hydra's grasp. Bucky felt his eyes glass over at the thought of almost losing you again after all these years. Lily had always been his rock whether back in the war, working for Hydra, and even now. Soon he was jolted out of his thoughts as Steve, Kita and Loki came into the room.
"Hey Buck" Steve shot his old friend a sympathetic smile, his eyes trained on Lily, "Kita here was just telling us about a way we might be able to help Lily and I think it's worth a shot" Everyone's eyes turned to the pretty blonde who seemed to be clutching Loki's hand for dear life. He smiled down at her encouragingly as she began to speak to the worried faces in the room.
"Back when we were still going under the radar in Japan, Lily would have alot of these episodes. We escaped together ya know.." her soft blue eyes trailed off as if watching it all happen in front of her for the first time "Whenever one of us would have a memory, we would immediately tell the other just incase one of us was wiped again. I was from the gifted soldiers department, and she was intelligence so we were often paired up for missions." She saw Buckys eyes glint with vague recognition as she continued.
"She would hack our targets by freezing their tech and communications, and then I would take care of the rest with my...abilities" her fingers glowed warm slightly as the memories came back. "Eventually, they found out about our shared memories and had us both wiped. I managed to melt the chair and get us both out before they got to me completely but... she was never the same after that.. they took everything from her" a few tears spilled through Kita's eyelashes and hit the ground with a slight hissing sound as they made contact with the cold floor. Steve wrapped a supportive arm around her shoulders as the room grew silent.
"Shall I finish, love?" Kita nodded for Loki to take over "basically, Lily had trained her mind to become something called a mind palace where she stores various knowledge and memories behind doors and in various rooms. Sweet Kita got the idea from their favorite show Sherlock and strangely enough it helps them both compartmentalize the trauma. Sometimes, those memories escape their respective rooms during her dreams and thus she suffers extreme relapses"
"Thats why she was so far gone" Bucky gasped.
At the mention of Sherlock, Bruce lifted his gaze from the monitors "so all we have to do, is get everything behind their closed doors and she'll be fine again. Like that time when Sherlock was trapped with Moriary in his mind palace!!" Tony rubbed his temples and groaned.
"Well actually, since Loki is able to get inside peoples subconscious using magic, we were thinking maybe he could try to erase her triggering memories completely" Kita smiled up at Loki and moved to sit on the bed next to the still unconcious Lily.
"I think it's worth a shot"
Tony quickly rolled an empty chair next to Lily's bed. "Alright reindeer games, go save the girl"
Loki nodded and bent over the girl, his fingertips placed on her forehead. He closed his eyes intently for a few moments.
"Oh my heavens I seem to be standing in a holding cell of some kind"
"Can you describe it?" Kita asked urgently.
"Three concrete walls, one glass with a door, a small stack of books on a metal shelf, and a cot in the left corner with a red blanket folded at the foot of it"
Bucky turned pale and exchanged a knowing look with Kita.
Hydra.
"Hold on, there are some words painted on the outside of the door. Most are erased but I can still read some. Red, Fourteen, Broken.. um"
Bucky's legs suddenly gave out on him. Steve caught his friend's arm as Bucks voice was barely above a whisper.
"Her trigger words"
Steve turned to Kita who explained, "all agents had to memorize their partner's trigger words incase something went wrong on a mission. It was a way of ensuring no one turned traitor" she explained.
"Loki, can you erase the words?"
"I'm trying now. They seem to be burned into the wall....Hang on what's this?" After a few moments of silence the asguardian spoke again "The doors locks have been melted. I'm going out into the hallway now. If she's unconcious then she might be in here somewhere Oh my goodness Lily! it's so dark in here.. wha- she's.. why are the walls red? Everything's red in here. Hello dear, im here to help you escape..." Loki fell silent again, lost in thought.
"She's been tied chained to the wall with the same words that were on the door before. Hold on I'm going to try to break the- hold on why are you here? Sargent Barnes you appear to be in her mind palace!" His voice rang with shock. "Why are you.. well that's very rude!!"
"They appear to be guarding her!" Loki called out to the group.
"Kill him" Bucky spat out with disgust. The others looked at him in shock.
"You heard him! Apparently I'm one of the main things thing her to that shit hole so it only seems right to kill me off" Bucky explained, his voice wavering.
"Sergeant, I'm afraid that if I do that she won't have any recollection of you. She may not remember you at all" Loki warned.
"If it means saving my girl, then we gotta take that chance" Bucky moved over to Lily and looked down at her sadly.
"Do it"
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ANDDDDDD its another cliffhanger!! Sometimes, my children, it feels good to watch the world burn :3 I'm just kidding btw I love you so much and i would never want you to suffer... too badly ;)
