911 | james barnes

020

8:00am, November 14, 2013
New York City, New York

"Miss Tchaikovskaya. Your presence is requested by Mr Stark and Mr Banner in the medical bay." The android voice of F.R.I.D.A.Y. was a calming sound to Violetta's ears. After the incident in Tromsø, the entire team had been on edge, leaving Violetta to her room while she processed the events herself. Every morning at 8am however, Tony and her father would call her to the medical bay to conduct more tests. For the past two weeks, they had taken blood samples, x-rays, MRIs, CAT scans, ECGs, and countless other tests, even using monitors to track any radiation that may have been emitting from her body. And yet, there had been no conclusive results, so the tests continued.

Violetta stood from her spot in the corner of her bedroom, the large windows overlooked the bustling city of New York, the chaos seemed to calm her when there was such disarray occurring within her own mind. She moved toward the door, her steps sluggish and reluctant. She stilled, a nagging feeling in the back of her brain telling her to go back to the window, to take one more look. She heeded the voice and returned to her previous position in front of the window. Without knowing what she was looking for, her eyes scanned the streets frantically. Until the stormy grey orbs stopped on one specific form, hundreds of metres away, seeming miniscule and larger than life.

His form was large, no taller than six feet though his presence commanded much more attention. His suit was dark, perfectly tailored and well fitting. His hands lay casually in the pockets of his slacks, his black eyes bore directly into Violetta's. His face well chiseled, angular and slightly sickly looking. Violetta gulped and felt a stirring in her stomach begin. There were alarm bells ringing within her brain, louder and louder and louder every second. She staggered back and saw a golden glow begin to emit from her hands. She gasped, her legs collapsed underneath her as she continued staring at the ever growing gold light.

"F.R.I.D.A.Y. call Dad." Violetta mumbled weakly, her eyelids suddenly heavy with a newfound exhaustion. She vaguely heard the automated reply of Tony's android before succumbing to the tendrils of darkness.

"Bucky, are you okay?" Violetta mumbled, as she took a seat next to her companion after a vigorous training session with the Winter Soldier and the directors of the Red Room.
"I didn't mean to hurt you. I'm sorry Poppet. This happens every time and there's nothing I can do to stop it. It hurts so much to see you in pain that I caused. I just want to get you out of this horrible place. You deserve so much more." Bucky whimpered, lip trembling. His body curled up, his head ducking between his knees. Violetta tumbled toward him, her small hands taking hold of his. Both were stained with blood, their own or each other's, neither knew nor cared to find out.
"Bucky, you aren't in control of any of this. I do not blame you for a single thing the other guy does, because you aren't the same person. The soldier doesn't feel remorse, he wouldn't be here next to me after a fight, blaming himself and keeping me company. You aren't the bad guy here, you're the victim. And I promise you that one day I'll get us both out of here. I don't know how or when, but it will happen. We'll get to leave and you can build the life you want. We can forget everything that happened to us here and move on. I know it isn't much coming from some random kid in a KGB kill school, but I know you had a life before this. You can get back to Steve and Rebecca, and you can go dancing with all the dames of the town again. You can be Bucky again. You don't have to be the Winter Soldier forever." Violetta told him as she stroked her thumbs across his bloody knuckles. His icy blue eyes stared into hers with a desperation she had seen among many of the other girls at the Red Room. It was then she realised how similar they were. Two lost souls forced to function in a world not made for them. Both had lives before they were taken, they had families and dreams and futures. And now, sitting in front of Bucky, she felt like she would never get that back. But he would. She would fight for him to get some normality back, for him to go back to his playboy ways from the nights in Brooklyn he had told her about. Or saving his little friend Steve from the fights in alleyways out the back of movie theatres and diners. He could go back to scaring off his sister's boyfriends and working to support his mother. Bucky had memories before HYDRA, he had a life before all of this. That was something Violetta never had, but she wanted it for Bucky, so she would fight until her dying breath to save him.