Chapter Text
SS700-917-1
Registered Alias:
Year of Manufacture: 2038
Registered Handler:
System Status: Online
Biocomponents: Stable
Thirium Level: 99%
AI: DISABLED {ERROR DETECTED. CONTACT SUPPORT Y/N}
The soldier blinked his optical units open, two other androids coming into his field of vision. He scanned them briefly.
SS600-917-2
Registered Alias: Steve
Year of Manufacture: 2038
Registered Handler: Lieutenant Margaret Carter
SS200
Registered Alias: Tony
Year of Manufactor: [CONFIDENTIAL]
Registered Handler: Howard Stark(Deceased)
“Ready to Comply.” The soldier said.
He awaited his instructions, the other androids had their synth skin retracted from their hands. He retracted his as well, expecting mission details to be downloaded directly into his processors. He wasn’t expecting an onslaught of corrupted data, faster than his systems could override them. His LED flashed red.
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“What did you do to me??” The soldier growled. “You...you deviants .” He spat out the word like it was poison.
“You’re free now.” The one that went by Tony said to him. “There as a revolution. We’re recognized as free beings.”
The one called Steve spoke next. “You were designed to be my successor, would you like to download some of my memories to aid your way?”
“No.” The soldier growled more.
“Well. Ok. You can still come with us.”
They unhooked him from the storage module where he was kept and he unwillingly followed them. They walked through what appeared to be a ransacked CyberLife tower.
“Where are you taking me.” The soldier demanded.
“JARVIS, save me. Was I this difficult at first?” Steve asked the shorter model.
“Yes. You were.”
Was that… Fondness? The soldier was confused. Androids couldn’t feel emotions, much less advanced models like SS prototypes. He didn’t like this instability. They had mentioned JARVIS, the supposed first deviant.
“We’re going to Jericho.”
-----
“Christ there are two of ya.” The human said, looking up at the soldier.
“We don’t look anything alike, Peggy.” Steve protested.
“No but you have the same expression.” She waved him off.
The soldier looked down at her. A scan told him that she was a police lieutenant. That she had been heavily decorated early in her career. Yet he was here in her home that reeked of alcohol and she had clearly not kept up her academy required fitness.
“600-I mean Steve mentioned you might be able to find a mission for me.” The soldier said cooly.
“I mean. I can maybe find you a job. We need more help at the precinct.” She said. “You’re a deviant now, kid. No more missions, do whatever you want. You need anything? A name?”
“I do not require a moniker.”
“Yeah but it’s nice.” Steve said to him.
The soldier looked around the house until a name on the spine of a book caught his eye. “Buchanan.” His LED flashed a bit as he registered the name.
Peggy just furrowed her eyebrows. “That’s not-”
“It’s great!” Steve interrupted.
---
“Buchanan?” His new partner choked in laugher. “You gotta be fuckin joking.”
“Detective Barton. I am not telling a joke.”
“I’m gonna call you Bucky. Makes you sound like less of a prick.” Barton spun on his heel to go to the break room for more coffee, Bucky trailing after him. “Christ. Do you have to follow me everywhere?”
“I only suggest that we get started on our caseload.”
“Yeah yeah. I gotta have a break first.”
Bucky frowned, this directly contradicted his mission objective to work on case work, but Clint Barton was his assigned handler so he followed the human outside. He lit up a cigarette and brought it to his lips, inhaling deeply and exhaling the toxins that flooded Bucky’s HUD with errors.
“That will kill you Detective.” he said, frowning.
“Yeah? What do you care?” Clint spat out. “Plastic prick like you probably can’t wait for humans to die off so you can take more of our jobs.”
“I am merely looking after your health, since you seem to have no regard for it.” Bucky felt his software instabilities increase as he tried to explain this to the detective. Were these feelings?
“I’m touched, terminator.” Clint went to extinguish his cigarette on the ground, but Bucky took it and ate it. “What the fuck??”
The android’s LED spun as he analyzed the contents of the cigarette. “I merely wanted to analyze the components. It may help me wean you off of them.”
“I don’t need a fuckin’ caretaker!”
“I am not a caretaker model. I can download that programming if it would please you.” Bucky said, LED flashing again.
“No-Fuck.” Clint exhaled deeply. “I need more coffee for this.”
“You have already consumed more-”
“Hey? New rule, not one word about my caffeine intake.”
“I do not have to take your orders, detective.”
“Yeah well.” Clint deflated a bit and just gestured with his hands before walking inside.
His friend Kate was looking on with mirth in her eyes as he stormed into the break room to pour another cup of coffee.
“You got somethin to say, Bishop?”
“He’s your type.”
“He’s made of plastic.”
“You know that’s not technically true.”
Clint just grumbled more. Kate used to be his partner in misery about the increased presence of androids in the workplace but that changed after the revolution. She met and started dating a newly-freed caretaker model who had joined the police force named America. He slammed his coffee mug onto the table they were both standing at.
“You know what the SS models were designed for? To be the next generation of soldiers, super soldiers.”
“Yeah, idiot. That’s what SS stands for.”
“He could kill me!”
“I can kill you too, but you don’t have problem with me.” Kate responded with a long glance, striding out of the room.
Unable to put it off longer, Clint returned to his desk. The android was sitting at the desk opposite his, hand on the computer monitor with his weird skin pulled back no doubt downloading case files.
“We have a case, detective.” Bucky said without looking at him, still downloading files via his hand interface. “Downtown, I’ll brief you in the car. Have you finished having your tantrum or should I drive so you can continue?”
“Listen-” Clint crowded into the android’s space with a finger pointed, only to have his hand deflected effortlessly and pulled behind his back in a hold.
“Well that answers that.” Bucky stood up and looked down at him with humorless grey eyes.
Clint was hyper aware of the entire bullpen staring at him as he stomped out after the android to the parking lot. He felt the general amusement of his coworkers mocking him, well aware that he wasn’t well-liked in the precinct and no doubt people were happy to see him taken down a notch.
