Chapter Text
They don’t do it on purpose.
The entire thing is an accident. A major oversight that Shuri blames solely on herself. She’d only been trying to help the Sergeant. Brainwashing wasn’t something that she was familiar with. She’d never had the need to study it. Therefore, it was only logical that she obtain data on what went on in his head during activation. She needed to see how the cells were responding in order to even come close to figuring out why they were doing so, and work on reversing it.
She’d never meant to complete the activation. They’d only planned to monitor his response to five of the ten triggering words. It was clear from the first utterance that each word caused a very physical response in the Sergeant. His heart rate skyrocketted, blood pressure rising dramatically and she could see sweat beginning to form in little beads on his forehead.
“You are okay. You’re safe. Try to relax. Just four more,” she assured. He visibly held himself still under the machine and she quickly lost herself in the review of the incoming data. After the third word a sound shot past his clenched teeth and pulled her back to his monitor.
“Stop!” he demanded.
“It’s okay. Calm down,” she tried again, with much less effect this time.
“No. no no no,” he repeated over and over again, straining against the restraints. They held fast against his pull, though the one around the vibranium arm gave a low groan.
“There’s just two more. We are almost done. Promise,” she soothed, and motioned for her assistant to continue.
“Daybreak--”
“NO!” he shouted again, his whole body now straining for release. Alarms began to go off as his blood pressure and heart rate rose to dangerous levels and she frowned, finally admitting defeat. She nodded to her assistant to discontinue the test and waited for the Sergeant to return to a more relaxed state.
Except he didn’t become more relaxed.
If anything he became more volatile. His groans increased to screaming. The restriction around his vibranium arm began to visually bend. Shuri took a step back in alarm.
“Sergeant Barnes?” she called out. “Sergeant James Barnes!”
His name seemed to have no effect and she was on the edge of pushing the panic button when he suddenly stopped; thrashing and screaming going eerily still. She looked to her technician who looked as alarmed as she felt, her position much further away than it had been moments before. Shuri straightened herself at that, trying to look more confident than she really felt.
“Soldier boy,” she tried again “Are you okay?”
She approached him slowly, eyeing the restraints, so she missed when his eyes snapped open.
“Ready to comply.”
Her eyes shot to his and filled with alarm as she watched him rip through the restraints like they were made of low grade metal and not the hardest material known to man. She opened her mouth to shout for her technician to get backup, but a meaty fist met her face and sent her sprawling across the lab. Her only thought before blacking out was that she was glad it hadn’t been the metal one.
She would find out later that her assistant made it out to get help just fine without needing to be told. Unfortunately, by the time help arrived the Winter Soldier was gone, nowhere to be found. Shuri would have taken a lifetime of lectures for her lack of caution, if it meant she could have prevented his activation.
Unfortunately the world didn’t work in trade-offs, and Shuri would never forgive herself for the carnage that followed because of her mistake.
Bucky sat under the machine feeling beyond nervous. But he reminded himself that he trusted these people. They had taken him in despite his crimes, despite everything he was, and were even willing to try and help him. Stevie trusted them. He could trust them.
Longing
The word was like a high voltage shock to his system. Panic began to rise in him. He knew what came next and desperately tried to think of anything else.
“You are okay,” the girl’s voice broke through the storm, trying to reassure him. “You’re safe. Try to relax. Just four more.”
She couldn’t have been more than 20. He’d questioned her ability until he’d seen her work in action. The kid was bright. He reminded himself that she knew what she was doing and forced himself to remain calm and hold still. But with each subsequent utterance his agitation rose. The familiar feeling of fighting against the program became intense. He was losing.
“Stop!” he demanded, attempting to reel himself back into control and out of the spiral.
“It’s okay. Calm down,” she assured again, but this time he didn’t believe her.
Something was wrong. Something he hadn’t told her? Something he shouldn’t have known. A memory half forgotten flashed in his mind of a conversation overheard while he’d been in Winter Soldier mode. The words were a string, a code for starting the device, but completing the string didn’t just activate the soldier. Completing the string solidified control; but the soldier was always activated before control was established.
"No. No no no," he panicked, trying to wrestle back control. Had they already gone past the point of no return? Could he fight his way back?
“There’s just two more. We are almost done. Promise.”
Two more would be too much! He had to stop her-
“Daybreak--”
NO! His whole body strained as he spiraled. The pull was too strong. It was always too strong, and he sank in the deep as it rose above him.
Activation complete.
Standby for control….standby for control….standby for control…
“Sergeant Barnes?” Incorrect code. “Sergeant James Barnes!” Incorrect code.
Control not established.
Implement the last known directive.
Searching…
“Soldier boy. Are you okay?”
Directive found.
“Ready to comply.”