epiphany || bucky barnes

𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐘 𝐒𝐈𝐗

WASHINGTON D.C., 2014

This 'temporary' holding place was cold. Not much different from the other locations I had been stationed. The frigid air, though, was infecting every square inch of skin across my body. I couldn't help but shiver. The scientist to my right grunted in disapproval, "Don't move." he spoke, aiming a thin, lanky needle at my skin.

Needles and I don't have a good past. Ever since I can remember, my father always had me probed and prodded with needles of all kinds. Not to forget when I had the serum injected into my veins, having been one of my most painful procedures. However, after the blonde man on the bridge had recognized who Bucky was- or who he thought he was- The Soldier had never been the same. Even his interaction toward me was nothing but purely cold, something the both of us had never experienced from each other.

I shied away from the needle as it slid into my skin. Crimson blood started to fill the tube attached to it, again having to be taken for testing. My body refused to let me shift away from the object, much due to the pain and numbness that was slowly paralyzing my leg. Another scientist knelt in front of my thigh, pulling the pant leg open and examining the wound.

To say I felt violated was an understatement.  Yet, in that state, I had to accept any kind of help that was given to me. Without it, the wound was sure to get infected.

My gaze flickered over to the Soldier, searching for simply a look of reassurance, yet he had none to give. He seemed to be staring into the abyss. Something about him felt... wrong. Yet I couldn't put my finger on it. My eyes widened when I felt a sharp pain rocket through the nerves in my leg, making my knee jerk into the scientist.

He winced and fell back, catching himself on his elbows. His eyes lit up with a rage I've never seen before from one of my handlers. And before I knew it, his open palm slapped the side of my face.

A misty, white landscape was all I could see. Like I was driving with a thick aura of fog surrounding me everywhere. The fog took a moment to clear too. Once it did, the first thing I could see was... nothing but an alleyway. A brick-covered alleyway, with some open trash cans laying across the cracked concrete and a newspaper laying on the ground. My head bent down to take a look at my clothes. Not only were they nothing that I was wearing, but also something straight out of a movie.

It was a baby blue dress, the skirt slightly damaged by the dirt of the ground. A white ribbon was tied around my waist, complimenting my figure. Over my shoulders was a brown leather jacket, certainly one that wasn't mine. My hand immediately went to my hair, finding blonde waves resting on my shoulders.

Is this some kind of dream?

My thoughts were rudely interrupted with the crash of trash cans, a man falling into the with another looming over. The blonde and much more frail man grabbed a lid from the can, holding it in front of himself to protect whatever dignity he had left. To say this worked, well, I would be lying.

"Hey! Get off of him!" I yelled, trying to stagger to my feet when the blonde-haired man was punched again.

As I attempted to get my barings, I found crimson dripping down my thigh. Had the gunshot followed me into this dream? When I lifted my skirt, it was merely a scratch, maybe a gash I had gotten when I fell in here. Behind me, a small white kitten with matted fur meowed out for my support.

A cat? I don't have a cat.

I had barely a chance to intervene when a man in a brown uniform blocked my view. He took the opponent by the back of the collar, throwing him into the wall and kicking him. I couldn't help but flinch, backing away from the scene. To take all this in was too much for me. Hell, I could barely comprehend what was happening anymore.