Path to Protection (BuckyBarnes x OC)

Taste of Success

     "What?" James' eyes widened. "In me?"

     Other men seemed to share his confusion; some even stepped closer to hear our conversation better, and they all wore the same shaken expression.

     "Think about it. Schmidt was officially the first human to be injected with the serum, according to Dr Erskine. Ever since Peggy busted the doctor out, Schmidt's been trying to recreate the serum to create his own army. With an army like that and an arsenal powered by such a powerful energy source, he'd practically be invincible," I explained. "The other men that never came back must've been Dr Zola's test subjects, but none of them got through the process successfully."

     "How do you know?" Dugan, who was amongst the crowd, asked.

     I locked eyes with Steve, before saying, "Rogers and I saw a group of men being led to, what I think was a crematorium. They seemed beaten, which is not how an enhanced super-soldier usually looks like. There were less than thirty, but they were part of the 107th, so I think some must've died in the process of experimentation, but—"

     "I don't want to hear about it," James cut me off. When I looked at him, his eyes were teary, and his lips hung parted. "Why does it matter, anyway?"

     I looked over all of the men's faces. "I think you are all lucky to be alive, considering Dr Zola's pick for subjects was a random one. But if Sergeant Barnes got through the experimentations alive, then..."

     "That means you're now a super-soldier," Steve broke my sentence and looked at his friend in awe. "Do you feel any different?"

      James looked over himself and shrugged. He didn't seem to be enjoying the moment of realization as Steve and I were. "I don't think so. Do I look any different?"

     "Not any less handsome than usual," Dugan snorted and tapped his Sergeant's back.

     "Guys, focus," I snapped my fingers and everyone's eyes were back on me. "Do you realize what this means? Dr Zola already came so close to recreating the serum that he assured James didn't die or came close to dying! That means he's only a few improvements away from actually getting it done!" I scanned the papers once more. "And I think I also know why your memory blanked on the part of when you were experimented on."

     "Would you care to tell why?" Montgomery asked curiously as he poked the fire before him with a twig a few times to keep the flame alive.

     "It says on the papers that, to replace the gamma rays, which Steve was saturated with, the subject will receive shock therapy to stimulate the changes in the body. Shock therapy is also currently being practised on people with mental diseases as a cure. Our minds are able to erase an unpleasant part of our lives and James' did with that particular moment," I explained and was shocked to realise none of the men knew anything about that kind of information, based on their confused expressions and rambly chatter. I was ranked high, but I was sure that, at least, some of them were educated enough to be acquainted with shock therapy as a medical treatment.

     "This is all interesting and stuff, but could you please refer to Barnes as Bucky? It all confuses the lot out of us. We have multiple James' here, you know," Dugan stated and only deserved a glare from me while some men chuckled. Even James' lips twitched upwards. But we had more important matters than nicknames, matters that could've even saved my job at the SSR. Couldn't they have focused for one second? Ugh, men.

     Before anyone could ask any more questions or add another snarky comment, I said, "Listen, we've now seen at what level Hydra is. Not only is Schmidt developing some strange weapons with an ancient artefact, but he's also trying to create an army. He needs to be stopped; otherwise, the outcome of this war will not work in our favour."