How To Mend A Broken Soul-Avengers RP

Steve stared at his apartment wall, looking at the large map that adorned it. On the map was multiple colored strings and photos that were taken. Some of Bucky from security feeds, and some of Hydra operatives that were stationed at the area, or the people who were in Hydra. A lot of them had been killed or marked. Many times, rumor would tell him that Bucky was in one place, and when he’d get there he would come face to face with a burning building, a sinking feeling in his gut. He would be too late.

Natasha was a godsend, always sending him what leads she could, but even she couldn’t follow a trail a ghost story would leave behind too well. Sam was a good support system and Tony, as much as he hated Bucky with a passion, told Steve that it was best if he helped too. Because if Steve saw something worth saving in him, then…there’s something there. Though Tony wasn’t all about sympathy tendencies. Steve was pretty certain there was an angle he was playing for.

His phone rang, breaking him out of his thoughts and he quickly took it off his belt. Tony’s face, complete with sunglasses, a duck face, and a peace sign showed up on his screen. He slid to accept the call. “Tony.”

“You would never guess what the cat dragged in.” Tony answered gleefully.

“I dunno Tony, a dead robotic mouse?” Steve asked dryly.
“God you’re no fun. You should be thanking me and my superior knowledge right about now, because /I / found your friend.”

Steve took a deep breath in. “Oh yeah?”

“Are you going to make me give you all the answers or are you going to guess for once? You know that’s part of the guessing game right? You guess an answer?” Tony rolled his eyes. “I don’t know why I bother with you. Why am I even calling you? I should be FaceTiming you. Do you know how to FaceTime?”

“I’m not dead.” Steve deadpanned. “I don’t know Tony…Brooklyn?”

“Oooh your so close you could burn yourself. No, though. He’s with S.H.I.E.L.D at their base. Along with a young girl. I can’t tell from the security feeds, but according to my lovely assistant F.R.I.D.A.Y, they’re questioning her and Bucky about some things about Hydra. Your Soviet Friend from the Iron Curtain isn’t exactly cooperating. Or he’s not doing it well enough. My bet is that Fury’s gonna give up talking to him and give you the opportunity you need to break out and ride off into the sunset.”

“Riding into the sunset is not my thing.”

“Not a white horse it’s not, but on a motorcycle? Totally your thing. So. Whatcha going to do now, solider boy?”

Steve looked at the map again. Would Bucky still be with S.H.I.E.L.D by the time Fury called him? “Whose the girl? Was she brought in with him?”

“F.R.I.D.A.Y says yes.” Tony hummed. “Apparently, they’re not happy with Bucky so they separated them. Scared the agents something awful. She ran into the door about ten times before knocking herself unconscious, screaming.”

“Jesus.” Steve swore.

“I don’t think the agents are going to let you anywhere near her anytime soon.” Tony mused. “But I can tell you this much, it made Bucky answer a few questions.”

“What kind of questions?”

“I don’t know. The basics I suppose. Who are you? Do you know what year it is? Who are you working for? What Bucky are we speaking to. You know, the dumb questions. You ask better questions, though probably still the dumb ones.”

“Thanks Tony, I appreciate it.” Steve replied dryly.

“Tell me I’m the best.”

“You’re okay.”

“What? No! Steve-“

Steve hung up and he looked at the last picture that was taken of Bucky. Alone, with no companion with him, taken in Romania.

“You’re gonna be okay Buck. I promise.” Steve walked out of the room and through his apartment. He grabbed his keys from the light blue bowl that was next to the door and headed out.
~+~
“You know I was just about to call you.” Fury stated when Steve walked into his office, his shoulders tight and ready for a fight. “I suppose you heard from Stark then?”

“Could’ve been anyone with the way you try to keep secrets.” Steve retorted. “Where’s Bucky?”

“In containment.” Fury replied. “Where he belongs as well as his little friend that we found hanging upside down in the cage.”

“Cage?” Steve furrowed his eyebrows before shaking his head from side to side. “You really think that containment is the way to go? That they’re just gonna spill whatever you want when they feel like they have nothing to lose or gain?”

“That girl ran herself into a door until she was knocked out. According to the physician that managed to get /in/ the area, she should be awake by now.” Fury pointed out. “As for your friend, he was back in Cyro. We couldn’t be certain that you and I were talking to the same person.”

“So let’s test the theory out.” Steve rolled his shoulders back. “I want access.”

“To Bucky or to the Girl?”

“To Bucky.” And then the girl, though Steve wasn’t at all going to say that to Fury’s face. Though it looked like Fury already had an idea of where Steve was going to go. “You don’t know Bucky like I do.”

“You’re right. I don’t.” Fury agreed, a little too easily for Steve’s liking. “So like you said Captain. Let’s test a theory out. He is in cell 107. I thought it’d be a bit symbolic.” He handed Steve an access card and gestured for him to get out of his office.
Steve paused but decided against fighting for now. Whatever game Fury was coming up with, he would just have to make sure that Bucky wasn’t in the middle of it. He strode his way across the base into the basement prison cells. None of them were filled, besides two. But he knew that these were only supposed to be temporary. At least until they were shipped to either the Playground, whatever it was, or the Raft.

He slid the card through the keypad and carefully walked into the cell, the door sliding shut behind him with a heavy echo. No one was in there, but Bucky looked….

So damn tired.

Buck swung his head up from where he was seated in the only desk there was, besides the bed and there was a more private door where the toilet was. He stared at Steve a moment, registering who it was, and then his stormy ocean eyes glanced up at his golden hair. Brown eyebrows furrowed and he watched Steve for a moment. The light played in the artificial light in a weird way. It was just way too bright in here, he figured, but he swore... "Sarah...had a sun catcher, didn't she? In the kitchen window where the sun rose from? A morning treat before you went to school. What in the bloody hell was it though?" he scowled, frustrated, "It was small...and not one of those stain glass ones."

"It was an angel." Steve said softly as he walked over the corner of the wall and leaned against it. It might've been a bad move, but it was actually a good spot if he needed to defend himself. "I'm surprised you remember that."

"It was really random. I guess...you're the most colorful thing I've seen in...fuck if I know how long I've really been /in here/. They gave me such drab scrubs to wear, and Fury's all black in an all white room," Buck grumbled darkly, "Do they /want/ insane people to go more insane? Why don't they make the walls green or something? Blue might be better. At least you get to pretend you're downing instead of floating in empty air."

Just as he said that, there was a loud BANG that crossed the hallway and a sharp yell. Like someone was trying to call for someone. The name was muffled, since the doors were heavy enough to soundproof some of the noise. Steve flinched, but looking at Bucky, he noticed that his friend looked like he was slapped across the face. "I'd go completely insane in any kind of room if there's not a window. Even then." Steve said quietly. "It'd bring back too many memories of me being sick. Is she...someone important to you Buck?"

Buck closed his eyes and placed his right hand over them, taking deep breaths and letting them out slowly, muttering, "Comply, comply...confirm...mission asset...confirm...comply..." under his breath in the barest whisper that seemed too loud for his own ears. He shuddered his last breath before letting his hand drop and fiddle with the sling his left arm was in. His eyes as he looked at Steve were mostly blank, just a hint of inner turmoil, "Affirm."

Steve’s heart broke when he saw the light disappear from Bucky’s eyes. There hadn’t been much, but it had been faint. He wanted to kick himself, he shouldn’t have asked. He wondered if this was how Hydra managed to keep Bucky in line. It made him sick to think that was the case. He knew that asking anything further would just make Bucky shut down completely, or he’d just answer…and lose all hope.

It made Steve want to visit her. To see what Bucky was trying to protect. It sounded like to him that the girl, whoever she was, or is, had the same idea. To get out, to free, and to leave. “I swear to you, I’m not gonna hurt her and I’m not gonna let anyone touch her.” Steve promised after a moment, looking at Bucky squarely. “Okay Buck? I have your back.”

"Assess...affirmative?" he posed it like a question and he made minute rubbing motions with his lips like he wanted to bit them, "Won't...believe you until her screaming stops. Mission....survive. This is...not acceptable parameters. Failure uncertain..." he looked to be fighting with himself and starting and stopping between speaking like a machine and like the Bucky Steve had greeted. "We are...alive, yes? These walls...are confining. We weren't hurting anyone. Living alone, always moving..."

Steve slowly pushed himself off the wall. He had a feeling Bucky wouldn't appreciate it if he tried to hug him, or worse tried to corner him. "I know. I tried to track you down...to give you a safe spot before this." Steve said after a moment. It was hard, looking at his best friend in the eye, but he would do it. "I can't promise you I can get her to stop screaming, but...maybe I can settle her down just a bit. I don't know if she'll like me or not. I don't know if she has an idea of who I am...and if I'm someone she looks up to or not."

Bucky took it upon himself to stand instead, and come to Steve. He shook his head and covered his facial features with his hair. He was maybe three feet away from him. and he brought his right hand up, trying to convey hand signals. Anything he could do could be interpreted within five minutes since they were being watched. He just wanted to share this one secret, goddamn it. Bringing his hand as close as he could to his face, he did the 'I'm watching you' and then pointed up, wondering if Steve knew where the camera would be.

Steve glanced upwards and at an angle, showing subtly where the camera was with his eyes, making sure it wasn't obvious. He watched his friend being to pace, obviously trying to make it look like it would be coincidence that he would stand in front of the camera. While Bucky paced, Steve also took up the role of trying to "calm' him down. "I debated about getting an apartment or an actual house for you so you could hide. I'm...kind of glad and a little disappointed that I didn't get the apartment. A house would've been better. You would be a lot more comfortable."

"Pros and cons to both..." Buck mumbled softly, running his hand through his hair. One pass. 'I' was written on Steve's arm, "Multi-bedroom apartment big enough, maybe. Still cramped. Not as many bills to pay. Live minimally..." Pass two, letter 'N'... House could be too big? Insecure yet more places to hide...lived in shacks from time to time. not too bad." Last pass, 'A' and he huffed, before sitting down on the bed, farthest away from Steve, looking deflated, "Either one would be better than here..." he looked up at the ceiling at the bulb, "I think an angel suncatcher would be nice...break up the white with the glow, even if it's still too bright."

Angelina. That was a pretty name. A sad name too. "I'll try to get you one." He promised softly. "We could make this look at least a little better than a cell." But hopefully, they wouldn't be there that long. The peacefulness shattered however, just as Steve had hoped that it was going well. He didn't hear a bang on the door, but a loud, heartbreaking wail. He turned over his shoulder and listened. She did this twice, three times before it went silent. It echoed, deafeningly in the halls and when he looked over at Bucky, he could see his friend was on edge. "Buck?"

It was like a reset. Just as he was coming back to acting like himself again, he was steamrolled right back to the machine side and he looked at Steve in a sort of panic and a flinch, as if he was going to be punished, "Q-Query? Affirm comply? Companion...confirm protect, mission asset?" he looked pleading, instead of blank eyes like the banging brought on, the wail set off a different kind of submissive side.

"I'm not...exactly certain what you're trying to say...but if you're asking me to promise you, to swear to you, that I'll protect your friend...." Steve nodded his head firmly. "You have my word. Do you need me to swear on my ma's grave? I can do that. Do you want me to go and see if I can calm her down?"

Buck closed his eyes and put his hand over them again, breathing heavy, "Override...override....goddamn it...confirm override...just fucking let me talk!" he cursed heavily, "Negative...No! Shit...I'm /asking/ if I answered your questions, /Steve/. Please...affirm...yes." He flexed his hand a few times, and hissed as crackles covered his metal arm. His jaw ticked as he clenched it, taking calming breaths and the crackling stopped. He was good with pain. He could deal with pain. Anger was familiar, too. This was a giant /mess/. "Thank you." He muttered quietly, "Please go." Go help her.

Steve really, really wished that he could hug his friend, but instead he unfolded his arms and gave him a smile. "I'll go talk to her." He murmured. "I'll be back. Not today...but...I'll try to swing by tomorrow or so okay?" He knew Bucky probably wouldn't answer, he pressed enough and he knew it. He quietly walked out of the room and listened to the door shut behind him. He looked at the prison across from him and he just /knew/ Fury was going to kick his ass for this. On the other hand, Steve couldn't be bothered to care.

He walked across the hallway and slid the access hard through the keypad. He took a breath in and out and carefully opened the door. He noticed a mass of white hugging the wall, nails scratching and her lips bleeding red. She looked over at him, beautiful green eyes boring into him like a feral animal waiting to see who came across her territory.

If Bucky looked tired, she looked like a mess. Blood was all over her. Her nose had clearly been bleeding, and her nails were chipping from the way she was clawing at the wall. She kept herself close to it, ready for anything. She had a few bruises forming too, if Steve had a closer look.

“Hey.” Steve said softly, and was answered with a low, warning growl. “I’ll stay right here.” He promised, keeping close to the door and not daring to enter another step. “Bucky’s just across the hall. He’s…worried about you. You’re screaming and it makes him wonder if you’re alright or not.”

She didn’t growl at him, but she wasn’t letting up on the glare either. Steve looked around at the cell. At how…dark it was. “Why did they decide that you deserve to be in here?” He asked, knowing too well that she wasn’t going to answer. “You didn’t do anything.”

Of course she did something and that’s why she was in here. A pet of Hydra’s was probably just as valuable as the Solider himself. He looked at Angelina, who didn’t dare look away from him. “Bucky told me your name.”

The glare softened into something that looked akin to surprise. “He told me to look out for you. That’s why I’m asking you not to scream.”

She didn’t look away, but Steve could see that he was getting through to her somehow, someway. “He needs you to be brave. I know you’re terrified. I know that you’re uncertain. Bucky’s feeling the same way. But you need to be brave and you can’t scream anymore.”

Angelina touched her throat. Surprise and hurt flashed across her face and she turned away, leaning her head against the wall. For one, frightful moment, Steve thought that she was going to try to bash her head in like Dobby the House-Elf would if he disobeyed. Instead, she just…leaned against it and stared blankly ahead.

Steve had a feeling that this was a dismissal. “I’m going to try to see you again.” He promised. “So don’t hurt yourself anymore.” He stepped back and out of the cell.

It took everything he had not to punch something as he walked out of the basement.

~*~

"I heard through the grapevine you found Bucky? I swear to god, does anyone ever fucking learn? I thought SHIELD and HYDRA were wiped clean to start anew? Ugh." Was the /immediate/ response as Steve walked through his door and she was fiddling with his charcoal sticks on a piece of paper. "Nat told me where you hide your key."

"Why are you surprised?" Steve asked, though there was no heat behind it. He dropped his keys into the bowl and sighed as he toed off his shoes. "Bucky and a girl. Young...frightened. Her name's Angelina."

"How pretty," she looked up at him and her mouth was pressed into a thin line, "How many punching bags lost their lives this day? Or did you not punch anything yet? No I'm not surprise, I'm just frustrated. There's a difference."

"I came straight home." Steve sighed as he walked over and sat down on the couch. He leaned back, his head tilting up. "I'm trying to think of what I can do to get them out..."

Kerica tilted her head at him, "Do you want my help in anything? I mean...an outright breakout won't work. You've been a fugitive already, but this time you wouldn't have Sam as your Ace up your sleeve. How is Bucky? What can you tell me about Angelina?"

"He switches from acting like he's....a machine I guess...and from being a person. Angelina...." Steve wasn't sure how to describe her. "He switches every time she screams. She ran into a door until she was knocked unconscious and she tried again only once. She wouldn't talk to me."

"They grabbed them from HYDRA...so while Bucky's used to it...she might be more susceptible..." Kerica hummed to herself, "That's basically what he was doing before, just doing the mission and it took you dropping your shield and letting him beat you half to death before he came back. It's been two years since then. I wonder how long he's known her." She looked up at the board and at the last report of Bucky's location somewhere in England in September last year. It was June now. So was it over the winter?

"I'm thinking that Fury needs to tell us the story, or at least Natasha might know of it." Steve said as he watched Kerica go over to the board. "Bucky...he acted like Hydra used her as a reward/punishment system. It makes sense. I could try to ask, but....I think I should take it slow on the personal questions."

"Yeah. Might be a good idea to just...talk about him. What they did, how they survived. He might tell you how they got caught over time. I can ask Nat if she knows anything. She was able to put all of the /past/ stuff online but not the recent stuff from HYDRA. They did all have to regroup, and she's a Spy, so...we'll see," she clicked her tongue. "Then there's Friday. She keeps anything like that on tabs, especially after Tony praised her for finding out about Fury bringing Buck and Angel in."

"I'm thinking of visiting tomorrow. I'll try Angelina first before I go to Bucky...maybe it'll calm her down knowing that I'm in there, rather than hearing a door open and close and always wondering." Steve said thoughtfully. "It's possible that's another reason why she screamed. She didn't know what I was doing."

"It might, considering how they've no doubt been treated so far..." Kerica eyeballed him a moment before she looked at her drawing and then handed it to him. It was of a cat and dog, the cat batting at the dog, claws out, the dog still trying to lick the cat, "I dunno if you'll find this funny or sad. I'm hoping it'll cheer you up." It was obviously an interpretation of Bucky and Steve since the cat had a metal arm and the dog had the helmet.

“I want to show that to Bucky.” Steve grinned widely as he took the picture. It was pretty funny and accurate. “He’d get a kick out of it.” He gave Kerica a wide smile. "Thanks. For cheering me up."

Kerica beamed at him, "Your welcome, Steve. I'll replace your charcoals." She stood up and stretched twisted from side to side like she was going to go for a jog, "I'm going to head out, I just wanted to check on you. You /text me/ if you come up with anything I can help with." She headed for his door and just before closing it, she did a two-finger farewell solute, "Cheerio!"

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