Gold Rings ⚜️ Bucky Barnes X Reader

2: Me?

"Me?"

Shuri bit her lip. "Well, yeah. She didn't want to go on missions - understandably - but she still wanted to help. Something about a promise..."

A promise? I don't remember her making any promises.

"...So she's been working with us. We call it 'Operation Winter'."

Bucky rolled his eyes. "Operation Winter? Really?"

"It was her idea!" Shuri snickered, pointing at the photo of Bowman with the goat. Shuri closed out the photo, flicking through the other files under Operation Winter. It was split into three folders.

Shuri clicked on the first folder.

"The plan was a basic, three-pronged plan. Part one was studying how to rewire the human brain after instances of trauma. Basically, it's reprogramming your brain so it no longer responds to certain triggers."

Shuri swiped through a series of classified files showing brain scans at different magnifications. Some photos had needles poking and prodding at parts of the brain.

The corner of the photo showed the name of the doctor, hospital, serial number, but no patient name. Instead, it simply read "Volunteer #1".

"Who's brain is that?"

"It's a simulation," Shuri responded quickly, before flicking the folder closed. Bucky was about to interject a question, but Shuri steamrolled over his efforts.

"The second part of the plan was focused on news coverage. People were still asking where the Winter Soldier was, and we had to turn the tide of the news another way. Luckily, Wanda and Vision took one for the team."

One of the files in the folder was a newspaper article with their faces plastered on the cover. The title read, "WANTED: World's Most Dangerous Supersoldiers!"

Bucky chuckled to himself. "Looks like someone finally took that title from me," he joked.

Shuri closed the folder and opening the third. "This was the last part of the plan, the one we're implementing now."

"And that is?"

"Rehabilitation," Shuri responded frankly. "The world has changed since you've gone under, Mr. Barnes. We gathered the information on world events so you can slowly return to life without having missed out on the world."

Bucky's eyebrows scrunched. "Is that what that first page was about?"

Shuri nodded. "But that was everything. That's a bit too much to take in all at once."

Bucky chuckled under his breath. "That's an understatement. So, where do we go now?"

"I'd say we go to the person who gathered all this information in the first place. She's basically an expert on everything, since she's the person who insisted on putting it together."

Bucky nodded. "Sounds good. So, where is this 'expert'?"

Shuri smiled.

"Do you like goats?"