H A I L H Y D R A || J. B. Barnes

t h i r t y

Becky's dream that night isn't as bad as her others. It's one of her before the Winter Soldier. When she was a child, with her mother and father. Becky hadn't had a dream like that in so long it almost surprised her awake.

She knew her brother could still be alive, he was younger than she was and there were still people from Steve and Becky's day kicking. But she hadn't looked for him.

For one, even before the soldier, she'd failed him. By being unable to get guardianship of him, he'd had to live with unfamiliar people until he was 18.

And for another, Becky wasn't the same person she was. She wasn't the same sister he would remember. He'd been alerted that she was dead. Did Becky really want to pull on that thread, change his whole perspective when he had to be in his 80s?

Regardless of that, in the morning, midday, Becky met back with Shuri after she'd taken some time to read through the book.

"I have a few theories about what this conditioning has done to you. But to confirm, I'm afraid, I have to ask you to do something traumatic," Shuri stated, her entire demeanour showcased guilt.

"What? What is it?" Becky asked, confused about what Shuri needed her to do.

"To confirm my theory, I need you hooked up to a few machines, so we can monitor your brain. But I need you to undergo the conditioning again. I need you to become the Winter Soldier."

Becky's heart dropped, she could feel a lump in her throat. Even the prospect of going through that again made her seize up, made her hands clammy.

"What?"

"I need to see what the transformation does to your brain. I'm sorry, Sargent Barnes, but if we are to remove this conditioning, I need to see what effect this has on your brain. That is where our problem lies," Shuri explained regretfully. She knew how traumatic it would be for Becky but it was necessary.

It took a very long time for Becky to answer. There were so many conflicting thoughts in her mind. She didn't want to go through that pain again. What if she hurt someone? What if it was harder for her to get out of it? What if she lost her memories again?

"There... have to be safeguards. I don't want to hurt anyone. There should be guards there. And we have to figure out how to get me out of it. I can't be stuck as the Winter Soldier," Becky negotiated, meeting Shuri's eyes. The latter could see the fear in Becky's eyes.

"Of course. I'll call for a member of the Dora Milaje to be here. They're the best fighters in the country. And your friend, Captain Rogers," Shuri assured immediately. "What got you out the first time?"

"Steve. But that was different. It was the first time I was remembering things. And it took me two years to regain most of my memories. A few days ago... I hit my head really hard," Becky explained, thinking back to when Zemo unleashed the Winter Soldier.

"Okay. We'll have Captain Rogers try and break you out. And if that doesn't work, we'll hit you really hard in the head. How's that?" Shuri asked, a little sarcastic about wacking Becky in the head.

Becky nodded. She hated that she had to do it again but she would have done just about anything to get Hydra out of her head.

"All right, I'll get our machines set up and call someone from the King's guard. I'll let you tell Captain Roger about the procedure."