Take Care of You (Bucky Barnes x reader)

Part 06

HYDRA Siberian Facility, Russian SFSR, March 1946

The guards strapped Bucky into the chair, ensuring he was secured.

"This is possibly my greatest creation." Dr. Zola watched the sergeant. "Just a few zaps, and poof—no more pesky memories. You are to be the new fist of HYDRA; we can't have those pesky memories breaking you."

The door opened, and a guard escorted a weakened Y/n to a similar chair without all the machinery around it.

"She's doing better than I thought she would."

Bucky fought in his restraints when one of the guards roughly grabbed her hair and pulled her head up. Their eyes locked.

"You cannot save her. The procedure has already started. She has only two choices; die or accept her fate. Your body has already made its choice." The doctor lowered two metal plates to his face. "We'll try this on her next. Here, bite down on this; we wouldn't want to damage those teeth. Begin!"

--

As a woman was thrown into the cell, all his memories began rushing back. Brooklyn, Steve, the war—everything. He rushed to her side.

"Y/n." She looked at him with fear in her eyes and backed away. "It's okay. You're safe; I'll take care of you."

Understanding washed over her. Her eyes softened, and she let out a breath, pulling him into a hug. "I love you, Bucky Barnes."

"I love you, too, doll. I'm going to find a way to get us out of here."

She shook her head. "I couldn't even remember my name. That was the scariest feeling I can remember. I didn't know who I was, who you were, or where we are. How can we plan an escape if they keep trying to erase our memories? And what if they succeed? What if we don't remember anything?"

"That's not going to happen. As long as we're together, we'll be okay."

--

Each day, Bucky and Y/n were strapped into the Memory Suppression Machine, or MSM as they called it, and each day, it took longer and longer for them to regain their memories.

They both know what would happen. There was no escape. Zola was relentless, determined that his experiment be successful. He implemented code words, words that were repeated and required a response, and somehow, they could never forget the words.

Even once Zola returned to the states—to defuse any possible suspicion in his new Operation Paperclip employers—his appointed crew of scientists and doctors were instructed to run them through the machine daily.

They started to forget their pasts, even when some memories returned. But, even when they didn't understand why, they found comfort in being close together.

Dr. Zola returned months later with another great invention.

They put the man on an operation table and pumped him full of drugs to make him sleep.

When he woke, his left arm was metal. He spotted one of the men in lab coats approach him and was filled with a sense of hatred. His new arm's instincts were quick. Before he could even register the thought, his hand gripped the man's throat and began to squeeze.

People started yelling, and someone jabbed him with a needle. He dropped the man as his vision darkened.

--

Finally, Arnim Zola was happy with his Winter Soldiers. They would do whatever he needed. He had them trained in several fighting styles and ensured they had the skills to blend into nearly every country in the world.

Everything about the program—the location, the activation words embedded in their brains, missions they completed—were written in a red book so that when they were needed—be it after his time or sooner—HYDRA would know what to do. That time would come, but for now, he was satisfied with their work. He built Cryostasis Chambers to freeze them, then when they were needed, they could be quickly thawed and given their mission before returning to the chamber.

Dr. Zola was confident no one in the world could break his project. No one in the world was a smart as he, and he'd save his mind just to prove it.