Wraith [MARVEL x Invincible Crossover]

Chapter Two

Arriving in Washington DC, Bucky and Rebecca had to be more careful than usual. It wasn't just the government they had to look out for, but as well as SHIELD and HYDRA agents; and based on experience, it was them that was the trickiest to figure out which in the crowd. They had to ditch some of their things to blend in with the crowd, especially when entering the Smithsonian. Blending in the crowd was a bit of a challenge, especially when they wore worn-out clothes, but they still managed to do so. Though, Bucky was slightly taken aback when one of the curators of the museum asked him if he and his daughter – Rebecca – will be joining the family tour. Luckily, Rebecca was quick on her feet and said, "We'll be fine, thanks."

He wasn't exactly sure what caught him off guard – was it because someone approached him or was it because someone thought he and Rebecca were father and daughter when they looked nothing alike. Rebecca had more Asian characteristics – Japanese to be exact; long jet-black hair, almost-shaped eyes that were slightly narrowed at the end, cupid's bow lips that were a bit pale, and dark brown eyes that he would sometimes mistake as black. While he, on the other hand, was Caucasian.

Bucky followed Rebecca closely, they kept their distance from the crowds to avoid being identified. He would pull up his collar and bring down his cap even more to hide his face. Unlike him though, Rebecca had more freedom in her movement, probably because people didn't exactly know she existed in the first place. She lifted a Captain America hat from the counter to hide her face, he was about to reprimand her for it but he couldn't risk getting caught. Besides, they have been stealing since they left the cabin, so he couldn't exactly tell her to stop it. Practice what you preach, right?

The sudden tug on his jacket had Bucky look down, "What?" he whispered.

Rebecca pointed at something. Following the direction, Bucky felt everything inside him turn cold. He was standing before a memorial that had his face, and at the very top was the name James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes. He was supposed to be reading the information written about this James Buchanan Barnes, but he couldn't bring himself to tear his eyes from the image of the man's face. Of his face. So, he listened to the commentary being made by the machine. Just listening to it, Bucky felt like it was a stranger's life he was listening to, and not his own.

He read over and over the passage that was placed with the photo of his face, and each time memories would flash in his mind, and when he would watch the video of Steve Rogers with Barnes it made Bucky felt bittersweet... nostalgic? But that nostalgia was replaced by pain as a memory of a train and falling off hundreds of feet came back, and then followed by the events of him surviving that fall, the Soviets dragging him through the snow, Zola looming over him with that sinister grin on his face while saying, you will be the new fist of HYDRA. The memories were too much that he didn't even know that he was breathing shallowly.

A tug on his sleeve made him tense up, sharply turning – with his metal arm ready to strike – Bucky found Rebecca looking at him with furrowed brows.

She whispered. "We should look around more, people are starting to look at you."

Bucky nodded and then followed after her. They walked to different parts of the museum, and each panel he read, each photo and artifact he saw blasted so many memories into him but it still wasn't enough to give him the idea on who James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes was – on who he was. After a while of looking around, Bucky asked Rebecca to circle back to where Steve Rogers's panel was, he read the panel over and over until he had enough.

"You had a sister," Rebecca spoke.

Bucky turned to her and noticed that it was only them in the spot, so he could hear her whisper.

"Her name was Rebecca," she continued. "Is that why you remember me?"

He frowned. "I don't know... maybe." He felt guilty that that was all the answer he could give her.