A Birdie Lost in Time | Bucky Barnes

|13|

Once they'd understood the relationship between Pym's suit and his Particles, it didn't take the engineers long to start tweaking his design, making shells and mock-ups that soon filled racks along the walls of their workshop.

They were all fine. First drafts of a greater project. They just weren't exactly what they wanted. But with them, they were able to chip away at how the suit interacted with Quantum Energy.

How, by their calculations, it was possible enter a dimension which was wholly made of that energy. It was dangerous though, because once the energy was put out to shrink to that size, there was very little to bring oneself back.

So instead, they sought a way to bring Quantum Energy to them. It seemed like a simple process—the universe was made of electrons and atoms, so how difficult would it be to bundle the photons to create transverse waves of energy?

Difficult. But not impossible.

It may have taken months and some of the largest computers on the planet to help with calculations, but those scientists finally found their answer; by manipulating the speed at which the electrons vibrated, they could stimulate production of energy. Brilliant and simple.

Over and over, they performed experiments; generating and manipulating energy; watching in awe as tangible objects would, as they understood it, become Quantum energy before returning to their state within this dimension—though not without side effect.

So, with the first step of their work was done, it was time to incorporate the technology into a suit and create some type of protection so the object going Quantum wouldn't lose matter. It wasn't easy, and as the season changed again, they'd gone through two dozen suit designs, none of them capable of withstanding the influence of the of Quantum dimension.

That is until they created the Shield and the Quantum Receptacle; two devices which figuratively and literally worked against each other. The shield—aptly named—would surround the suit in negative ionized energy, which, ever so slightly, would repel the touch of similarly negative Quantum energy. Such a simple concept that children in primary school were learning about it—albeit in regards to magnets, but the principle was the same. The energy encompasses the suit while the barrier protected the suit from being over charged.

They'd made a number of prototypes, beginning with 'suits' that would cover inanimate objects, and then to deceased animals, then to living animals.

Batches of mammals were tested—from newborns to geriatrics—and the engineers and doctors were sure to look at every avenue for adverse effects. Yet, as each specimen was examined, even those who were subject to prolonged exposure in the suit, showed no health effects.

And that was enough for Hydra.

But, not for the Russian, who was still hesitant to put the girl in the suit. This was over two years of work they were risking, let alone the fact that someone else was giving her orders.

The Siberian base knew that she belonged to him, that her loyalty lied with him because of their proximity. Maybe that's why Hydra higher-ups insisted she get into the suit; to show him that despite everything he had done, he belonged to them, and as an extension, so did she. To show that he wasn't in control no matter how much he believed he was.

So, on a winter morning, she was led from her cell to the engineer's workshop where she slipped into the suit. It was similar to those she had worn before, black, tight, armored in the important spots while mobile at the joints, but she could tell this suit was different—especially when they handed her the helmet.

After a vitals check and final safety review, she followed the Russian and the other men through halls, stopping only when they reached a wide door.

The cold hit her like a wall, immediately sinking beneath the thin material to numb her skin which did nothing to stop the bite of an alpine Siberian winter. Regardless, she was urged forward by men in thick jackets whose faces were partially covered by the hoods they'd pulled up to combat what she was ordered to brave. And she obeyed, silently at that, while pulling on the helmet that clicked into place at the neck of the suit.