Soldiers (Completed) •Soldiers Series• Bucky Barnes/ Avengers Fanfiction

Chapter 28: For Their Good

Bucky

I stumbled back, feeling nauseous by seconds. Was this why Charlotte had found herself in grave danger today? Because of Hydra men that were after me?

I stared ahead, realizing I was a danger to anyone that I had ever cared. Why did that not surprise me?

Tony Stark took a step forwards. He placed one hand on my chest and the other on Fury. "Are you telling me that this punk here is the one who started it all?"

I glared at him, frustrated that he had pointed out the truth, one that I had been trying so hard to escape from.

Fury shook his head and seemed annoyed that he had let Tony into this conversation. "We don't know yet," He explained, "Hydra could have been after Charlotte ever since we have recruited her. Black has her own potential to be a target herself. She is strong, and she is powerful. Even though she doesn't know about it yet."

I dropped my gaze to the floor. Charlotte was a strong character, but when I had arrived at the basement today, she had lost it. She was scared, and she was fretful. It could all have been my fault.

A couple of footsteps rounded the corridor. We looked up just in time to see a nurse with a clipboard in her hands. "Captain Roger is awake, sir," She stated and waited for Director Fury's response.

Nodding, the director glanced back at us. "Let's go see what Roger has gotten us."

The room that Steve stayed in stunk of chemicals, just like Charlotte's. I watched my best friend stirred in his bed, and when his eyes had focused on us, his expression went slack. Something had hit him, a bad memory perhaps. A horrible flashback.

I was surprised that I had recognized the look on his face. With his brows ceased and a small wrinkle appeared between, his lips were set. Unexpectedly, Steve gazed at me and reached out.

I neared the bed in silence and held onto my best friend's hand. Under mine, Steve's hand was shaky. When he spoke up, his voice was dark and disgusted.

"They made her fight me. I could do anything about it. I couldn't even raise my shield against her." He swallowed and licked his chipped lips. Clint picked up the water bottle by the bed side and handed it over. But the soldier simply shook his head with effort and continued. "I couldn't fight her, Bucky. I couldn't stop Peggy."

"It wasn't real, Steve," Natasha said instantly, her ace was masked with worries and remorse. "It's only an illustration."

But Steve merely gripped my hand even tighter, I could feel my bones aching under his pressure. "I couldn't, Bucky," He muttered, "It's Peggy."

I was at a loss of words. Being brainwashed and trained as an assassin for almost a decade, I had lost touch in human comfort. I could only hold onto Steve's gaze, and he understood. To my annoyance, however, Nick Fury pushed, "Did the man say anything to you?"

Steve attempted to sit up. I let go of his hand and helped him up. Frowning, Steve shut his eyes in foul flashbacks. "He was just watching, the man in the corner. But Peggy mentioned something about Hydra's plan of bringing Shield down from within, and a biological weapon."

Nick Fury's eye flickered but it never left Steve's face. "What else?" The director urged. Steve fluttered his eyes open, and his face dropped. Sensing the tension in the atmosphere, Natasha placed a hand on Fury's shoulder and leaned in. "Give him some time, Nick."

Clint patted Steve's shoulder in an assuring way, but the soldier remained still, his gaze averted everybody in the room.

Sighing, Fury nodded and led the others out of the room. When he realized that I wasn't going to leave with them. He didn't object.