Ghost Soldiers || Bucky Barnes

Chapter 48: Remember Me

Bucky Barnes disappeared for over two years after he escaped from HYDRA. He ended up going to Europe, where he moved around many countries so he wouldn't be found. He had decided to settle down in Bucharest, Rumania, in a small apartment. He was convinced no one was going to look for him there, so he stayed for months. And he tried to live once more, under his own terms. But it wasn't easy. He felt so lonely and out of place, and he didn't know if he was ever going to stop running. Everyone was looking for him, since after all, he was one of the best trained assassins in the world, and many countries wanted his head on a spike for everything he had done.

And all hell broke loose a few months later. He went outside to buy groceries, and while he was at it, he saw that day's newspaper, with his face and name in the front page. And they were accusing him of putting a bomb in Vienna, and killing the king of Wakanda. But Bucky was innocent. So, he ran to his apartment, so he could escape once more, but it was too late. Steve Rogers was already there, and the police was going to arrive in a few minutes. So they both escaped, and just went they were about to make it, they were imprisoned.

The government then restrained him, and he couldn't move, or escape. So he just sat there, waiting to see what would happen to him. And he knew things were going to get worse once the man interviewing him recited those words that turned him into a killer. He blacked out, and once he recovered his memories and knowledge, he was in an abandoned place with Sam and Steve, and he had somehow hurt a lot of people.

He then told them he had been framed, and that he was innocent. And Steve chose to believe him. They helped him escape shortly afterwards, and the Avengers then fought on an airport in Germany, and Bucky hated every second of it. Because he felt like it was his fault, all of it. They were all fighting and taking different sides, and he didn't want that to happen. But Steve stayed by his side, all the time. And Bucky almost wished he didn't. He felt like he needed to face his demons and be imprisoned for the rest of his life for everything he had done, even though it hadn't really been him.

In the end, they managed to figure out Zemo's intentions. He was just angry at the Avengers for what had happened to his family, and he wanted them to destroy each other. And they did. Tony Stark and Steve Rogers almost ended up killing each other, and all because of what Bucky had done to Maria and Howard. But Steve had managed to win the fight, and they had escaped once more, as fugitives.

They ended up going to Wakanda, where no one would ever look for him. And Bucky felt somehow safe for the first time in decades. He ended up building a small house in Wakanda, far away from civilization. And he loved it. He didn't feel judged, or out of place. It was a beautiful place, where he would finally be able to heal and rest.

But he never forgot about Clementine. She crossed his mind every single day, and everything reminded him of her. She would have loved that place, and he wished he could be sharing it with her. At night, it had the brightest stars, and there was a big lake close, where he used to sit every day to read and just try to heal. Mentally and emotionally.

He was there for over a year, and somehow, he had managed to heal. But not completely, because that was not possible. All the faces of his victims were on his mind every single day, as well as Clementine's. And he knew he would never be able to get rid of that, no matter how hard he tried. And he had to accept it.

But then the final war arrived. One day, T'Challa, the kind of Wakanda, went to his little home and told him about Thanos, and how he was planning on wiping out half of the universe's population. But he didn't want to fight anymore. He wanted to rest and heal, and be alone. But a part of him knew he had to fight with them, because he owed it to the world. And to Clementine.

So he fought, and they lost. Thanos ended up collecting all the stones, and once he snapped his fingers, people started disappearing, including him. He remembered being scared once he realized he was fading, and turning into ashes, but then everything turned black, and he felt relieved.