Chapter Text
It was just a normal day. Though that's how they all start right? Nothing about James “Bucky” Barnes’ life is normal. The day started pretty calmly, Bucky woke up that morning not from a nightmare but from being too cold. He glanced at his alarm clock reading 6:15 am. With a heavy sigh, he rolled out of bed and thought to himself, ‘Time to get up I guess.’ He stepped into the shower letting the hot water wake him up a little. By the time he was done, it was about 6:30 am and he saw a message from Sam. ‘And here I thought we were gonna get a day off.’ It read,
SW: “You Up? You probably are you old man. No mission today, but when you get the time go to city hall and sign some paperwork for the work we did in Detroit last week.”
Apparently, there’s a lot of paperwork and signatures involved in being an actual superhero these days. Who would have thought? Bucky wrapped a towel around his waist and typed out a reply.
BB: “Sure thing.” He started drying his face when he heard his phone ping again.
SW: “I knew you were awake. Wanna get breakfast?”
BB: “Sure.” He smiled at the offer. Maybe today will be normal.
They planned to meet at a cafe a few blocks away from City Hall. The morning, autumn air was cool and crisp. It was mid-October so a hot cup of coffee sounded nice. He saw Sam outside at a picnic table under a little umbrella.
"Hey." Bucky greeted.
"Morning Buck," Sam said with his goofy, cheerful grin. How someone could be this happy in the morning was beyond Bucky. They entered the cafe and Bucky ordered just a large black coffee and an everything bagel. Sam ordered some sort of hot mocha or something with a warm, sugary pastry.
"So," Sam started, "how's your arm?" Bucky got hit with an emp last week on their mission. It was supposed to be easy, a simple in-and-out mission. Instead, some leftover Flag-Smasher groups had some tech equal to their own. In the end, all of them were detained but not without a few good hits. Bucky's arm had stopped working altogether for a few moments, surely a Wakandan piece of technology should be able to withstand an emp. Whatever they had their hands on was dangerous.
"It's fine now. I haven't had issues with it since the day after it was hit. I still don't understand how they got their hands on something that powerful. Who knows what would have happened to your suit if you were in range."
"Aww, you do care." Sam said playfully, "But yeah I agree. I've been following up with Torres and we've come across something."
"I knew this wasn't just a friendly breakfast." Bucky took a bite of his bagel.
"Well, it can be! I can wait till after breakfast to tell you the lead I found."
Bucky rolled his eyes and laughed to himself. "Just tell me."
Sam smiled, "Look we found out there's someone out there trying to pull a Nick Fury and put a team together. She bribed some past Flag Smashers with some resources. Maybe looking for allies or information."
"She?" Bucky questioned.
"The group we fought last week referred to her as 'Madam' so I'm assuming 'she'."
"Well, that narrows it down," Bucky said sarcastically. "What do we do now?"
"Well, I don't want to wait around for someone else to stir something up before we know anything else. Torres intercepted an 'in need of supply' signal coming from somewhere in Northern Ohio. From what he could tell, it was the same type of signal that led us to Detroit. I say we check it out. Maybe see if there's anything there?"
"Time and place Wilson, I'll be there." Bucky likes his days off, but if left alone for too long, memories get harder to ignore. He likes working with Sam, even if he is annoyingly optimistic.
"That's what I like to hear. Tomorrow I'll meet you at the airport at 8 AM. Gear up and we'll see what we can find."
"You got it, Cap." Northern Ohio…? Why did that sound familiar?
Bucky and Sam parted ways for the day. Sam left to go stock up on supplies for their new little ‘adventure’ while Bucky left for City Hall. The moment he left the cafe something felt off. He glanced around with his eyes to not draw suspicion. He started making a mental list of the things he saw. ‘A family buying their little girl a pretzel from a cart at his 10 o’clock. A woman walking out of a boutique with way too many shopping bags at 9 o'clock.’ He turned his head to peer over his shoulder. ‘A man in a black jacket and a U.S. Army cap straight behind him. A well-dressed blind man with crimson, circular glasses and a red and white cane walking towards him. A tall man in a coat and hat waiting anxiously to cross the street.’ Nothing out of the ordinary for the hustle and bustle of New York City. Still, he decided to stay alert. When he got to City hall security welcomed him in. Although tedious, the paperwork didn’t take more than half an hour. It all seemed too easy. 'Normal day…' He thought. When he left the building, he took one last look at his surroundings. Everything appeared to be the same as before. Right down to the man in the cap '…Wait'. Nothing should be the same, he was in there for too long for anything to be remotely the same as before. He thought it’d be better to take a different way back to his apartment. Turning the opposite way he came, Bucky started growing anxious. The man in the cap wouldn’t have been noticeable if it weren't an army cap. Furthermore, Bucky hadn’t seen his face once since he noticed him. Bucky approached the nearest crosswalk to switch sides of the street, and to get a better look at who he decided was clearly following him. When the light gave them the signal to cross, Bucky was mentally planning his route to lose this stranger. Before he could execute his plan, the mystery man speed-walked past him and ducked into an alleyway. 'I’m gonna regret this.' Bucky thought to himself as he turned the corner. The man wasn’t to be seen. In his confusion, Bucky shook his head and turned around to leave. Suddenly, someone grabs his left arm in a violent motion. After a few quick jabs to his shoulder, Bucky’s arm detaches from its socket. The second it's off, his back is pinned against the alley wall with his arm across his chest and he finally gets a clear look at his assailant.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Bucky stares.
“Hey there Barnes.” said a very snide…
John Walker.
John Walker of all people. Yeah, NOT a normal day. With Bucky’s arm detached, he was at a huge disadvantage.
“What are you doing?! How did you-?”
“I have my ways. Pretty powerless without that fancy arm of yours.” Walker interrupted.
“What do you want, John? How did you take off my arm?” Unbalanced, Bucky tried to shove him off with his flesh arm. Even if it was a knockoff version of the serum, Walker was still a super soldier.
“Ugh,” Bucky said, struggling. He was already getting tired of this unfair match. Though there wasn’t much he could do, John had him pinned so he couldn’t run away.
"Look I didn't want to have to do this but I needed to make sure you would listen to me," John said.
"Well, I'm listening."
"I need your help. I've been sent here to ask you to join a sort of… team. Not mine, of course, I just have the pleasure of being a part of it."
"Work alongside you? No thanks." Bucky kicked his feet in an attempt to free himself. It was all in vain. If he timed it just right he could wait for Walker to let his guard down. The best he could do for now was give him his best death glare.
"Oh, come on Barnes! It'll be fun."
"Anything you say is 'fun' is sure to be the opposite."
"Look, I don't have much of a choice. We're gonna need you. We're trying to do some good."
"'Good?' Can you seriously say that while you have me pinned against a wall?"
"Just a precaution. Besides," Walker leaned his face a little too close to Bucky's, "you could get out of this if you tried." John smirked.
"You're right. I can." In one swift motion, Bucky hooked his right leg around John's to throw off his center of gravity. Using his whole body weight, Bucky grabbed John's arm that was restraining him and twisted, allowing Bucky to pin his front to the wall. Bucky leaned against Walker's back with all his strength and got close to his face.
"Listen John. I'm not interested in you. I'm not interested in whatever 'good' you have planned. And I'm NOT Interested in any team!" Bucky said panting.
"That's too bad. Because she's interested in you." John laughed. Actually laughed. Bucky felt John's body turn in his confusion and suddenly felt a sting in his neck 'A needle. No. No. No.' He thought. Everything was starting to fade. Fast. He shook his head 'Fight it. Come on.' It was no use. Bucky staggered forward and clutched the wall for support. When he hit the ground the last thing he saw was a smirking John Walker towering above him.