Reaching Out | Bucky Barnes

34 | Saturday, August 23rd

I smirk a little at that.

Good.

I gave them a hard time.

"After about three months, you stopped being a threat to staff and your training began."

My nails dig into my palms at that.

"The notes explain that you slowly made your way from fighting one patient, to two, to three and four, until you were capable of fighting and holding off their enhanced agents. It was always the same four patients, and it seems they were being dosed with the enhancement drugs."

Video after video of me fighting with patients and agents play on screen.

In some, I'm only using my physical abilities, in others, I beat them with my mental abilities.

I drop my gaze from the screen as I watch myself step towards a woman with a handful of fire.

Watch what you did.

I look back up as the woman backs into a corner cradling her arm.

"That's enough," Bucky bites out from beside me.

"You were recommended for missions by Doctor Holden just over two months ago. You demonstrated complete compliance," Fury says gravely. "I'm sorry for the next video."

The video of me, Stadelhofer, Holden, and the man—Elbert—appears. I flinch as the whip cracks against my back, and although the video is muted, I can hear the sound of the man's screams.

This wasn't training.

This was torture.

This was them testing to see how far I would go.

"Stop the damn videos," Bucky snaps, turning my chair away from the screen. His hands cup the sides of my face, brushing away tears.

"We need to make sure she is aware of the contents of the files," one of the men say.

"She's aware. Now if you know what's good for you, you'll turn them off," Bucky grinds out.

"Mr. Barnes is that a threat?"

I turn my head to the screen and see the man in the air, limbs spread apart. His body flies against the far wall, right between Stadelhofer and Holden before crumpling to the floor.

"Stop watching, doll. Don't watch," Bucky whispers, turning my head away.

From the corner of my eye, I see the video disappear.

"She has injured non-Americans; it is very possible that down the road there will be legal action and we cannot guarantee immunity. You need to know what stands against you," one of the women states.

I grip Bucky's wrists with shaky hands.

"Just breathe, Y/N," he whispers, and I suck in a breath, keeping my eyes on him.

"She was as much of a victim of all of this as they were," Tony states.

"But I still hurt them. It was still me," I say quietly. "Are they okay?"

Bucky's hands hesitantly drop away from my face as I turn back to the screen, but I slide my hand down to thread my fingers through his, holding onto him like a lifeline.

"Those four have not been located. It appears they were transferred from another base when you started your training and as a result of their physical... deterioration, they were scheduled to be replaced by a group of trained individuals better suited to the task sometime in the coming months. We have no idea where they were sent or their status, but the last notes on their files were that they were alive and well enough to be moved," Fury explains, and while it's not good, I'm glad to hear that they're alive.