Soul Stealer ~ (A Bucky Barnes Love Story)

Listen to Your Heart

"Give us a second to reset everything," Bruce said absently, he and Tony already messing with a table full of sensors, monitors, and probes.

I cracked my knuckles, hanging my head in defeat.  We'd been in the gym for over an hour and so far we had nothing to show for it, but a few already fading bruises on my body.  When Tony announced he wanted to run an experiment, on me no less, I hadn't thought much of it.  It would hardly be the first time anyone studied me, and at least he asked nicely. 

My fingers traced the outline of the black catsuit molded to my body.  The intricate fabric was lined with sensors that took every reading known to man, body temperature, muscle movements, even force exertion.  Tony wanted to nail down how far I could push my abilities, and Bruce wanted to study the science behind it.  I wasn't sure there was any science behind it, but he assured me everything was rooted in science so I took his word for it.  Of the two of us he was the one with 15 degrees to my paltry high school diploma.

The only rub was I needed to actually use my ability for them to even attempt to understand it, and as it turned out I was having performance anxiety. 

The experiment itself was simple.  Steve and I would engage in hand-to-hand combat while Sam and Bucky waited in the wings to attack.  I wasn't supposed to use my power on Steve so they could get an accurate measure of how I matched up with my father from a physicality standpoint.  Once we were engaged, meaning I was thoroughly distracted, Sam and Bucky would attack at their discretion.  I was supposed to use my power to contain them while still holding my own against the original super soldier.

Simple.

"Alright, I think we're ready for take 56," Tony announced, "You good baby Cap?"

"Give us a minute," Bucky replied curtly, grabbing my hand and pulling me to the far side of the gym, away from everyone else.  Steve looked worried, but he'd looked worried since Tony suggested we try to beat the crap out of each other.  "What's going on?"

I bit my lip, eyes glued to the tip of his boots.  "I don't think I can do this."

He sighed, using the thumb of his metal hand to slowly lift my head.  "Why?"

"I don't want to hurt anybody," I confessed, shoulders slumping.

I was terrified I might accidently rip out someone's soul and not be able to fix it before they died.  It was also a somewhat daunting task to face off with Captain America.  The last thing I wanted to do was disappoint him.  I spent my entire childhood idolizing the man on the other side of the gym so not measuring up wasn't an option.

"I trust you."

My eyes widened in shock.  "You shouldn't."

If I lost control, even for second, I could kill every person in this tower.  It wouldn't even be hard. 

His eyes softened even as his hand cupped my cheek tenderly.  "I've always trusted you, even when I couldn't remember why."

"You're crazy."   I couldn't stop my laugh causing him to smirk in return and I felt my heart beating erratically in my chest in response.  When he smiled like that it did funny things to my insides.  "He's kicking my ass."

Steve was going easy on me, too afraid to unleash the full extent of his abilities for fear of hurting me.  He was probably only exerting 50% effort, and he was still wiping the floor with me, literally.  Last go round he grabbed hold of my arm and tossed me across the gym.  It felt like I was airborne for minutes before colliding with a wall lined in soft padding.  Talk about demoralizing. 

It didn't help that he brought his shield.  If there was something more intimidating than Captain America it was Captain American with his shield.  Not that he had cause to use it yet.  The metal frisbee hadn't moved from its spot on his back.