epiphany || bucky barnes

𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐘 𝐓𝐖𝐎

TWO DAYS AFTER THE ATTACK ON THE GRC MEETING.

WASHINGTON D.C.

Out of all the places I had lived in my youth and had been stationed in as a weapon, never once has a location hit me as hard as Washington D.C. did.

It's the last city I inhabited as Pandora. The last place I had been put through the torture of wiping my memory. And the last place the Soldier and I were ever close.

Don't get me wrong, I'm happy that the Soldier has been rid of Bucky's mind, but weirdly... I'm lonely. Pandora is lonely.

Maybe one day, Pandora would meet the same fate the Soldier did. At the hands of Wakandan scientists, a notion I had wished deeply for. Pandora holds a significant part in my life. That doesn't mean she's ever helped me, or that she hasn't made me do bad things. Nonetheless, we come from the same person. She's just as afraid as I am.

I don't blame her for this. I don't. Like any other person, I think she deserves an apology. Unfortunately, I refuse to go through the pain and anxiety of having her front.

So, I wanted to give us both closure. The closure that we deserve.

My footsteps echoed through the streets surrounding the lake the Triskelion lies on today. Ten years after the helicarriers were dismantled, SHIELD has since rebuilt the partially destroyed building and converted its reputation back to what it's rightfully supposed to be. Every time I look at the building, however, I can't help but feel a twinge of sharp nostalgia.

I navigated through the forest I had remembered vaguely after resurfacing mentally. Finally, I set foot on the small dirt beach that bordered the lake to the Triskelion. It seemed to be untouched since the last time I was here.

I leaned down, pressing my hands to the dirt as I sat at the shore, resting my chin on my knees and staring up at the Triskelion. Alexander didn't have such a bad grave after all. He's probably laying somewhere in this lake, deep down. I don't want to know. I just hope he's rotting in hell.

The clatter of metal made me flinch, my head snapping to the side to see a heavily rusted piece of scrap laying on the shore. It looked as if it was just washed up from the lake. I furrowed my brows, reaching over and grabbing the metal. The rust had taken most of its weight, but I could see the remnants of what it used to be.

I squinted slightly, bringing my other hand up and extending my fingers, creating a soft purple light from them as I examined the metal piece. But once I turned it over, I realized.

SHIELD

My eyes widened, my breath catching in my throat as I almost dropped the scrap back to the ground. I brought my hand to my mouth. "A piece... of the helicarrier?" My voice wavered slightly as I stared at the logo, my thumb brushing the rust off of it to get a better look.

The sigil on my hand lit up with life. I closed my fist over the metal, letting it fry in my hand until I could feel nothing more than ash. My fingers uncurled to show the black dust underneath, blowing away with the breeze.

Strangely, burning that piece of history gave me what I needed to move on. I didn't have a goal to achieve when I came here, just to give a simple goodbye to my past, so I could make way for the future.

Most of my existence has been based on the approval of Alexander Pierce, and I had yet to learn that I was finally detached from him for all of these years. This was the moment. Right here, right now.

I pushed myself onto my feet, closing my eyes and taking a deep inhale of fresh air. My hands shoved into my pockets as I rolled my shoulders back, turning away from the lit-up Triskelion in the distance and disappearing into the forest behind it.