DAYWALKER | n.romanoff ✔

FOUR

CHAPTER FOUR
' HELLO, SOLDAT. '

The Blade gasped, lurching forward and exploding into racks of coughs. She shook her head, trying to rid the fogginess as her eyes adjusted to the dark room. She furrowed her eyebrows at the figure hunched over in front of her. One of their arms clamped in a vice, and the sight of it caused her to scream.

BLOOD!

She scrambled back into the corner of the room, curling up and away from his figure. Her hands ripped off her helmet and came to hook over her head, tucking her face into her knees and beginning to rock.

'No, please, wake up. I'm not here. This is a dream. Wake up. Please. I don't want to go back.' She continued to ramble to herself, shivers overtaking her body.

Rogers and Wilson exploded into the room, their faces contorted in alertness and confusion. The super-soldier caught sight of the Blade's form, and he crossed the room quickly. He lowered to his knees in front of her, and he didn't miss the flinch of her body.

'Blade,' he spoke quietly, placing a hand on her shoulder.

He didn't get a chance to react before he found himself pinned on the ground, a piece of rubble pinching his back. The Blade hovered over him, a knee stapling his chest and her hands around his throat. He caught sight of the crazed look in her eyes, littered with terror.

Wilson threw her off of him, and Rogers leapt to his feet. He tacked her arms to her side and dragged her to the corner of the room. Kicking back, she thrashed in his grip and caused Rogers to trip. He shifted, her back pressed to his chest as he held her still, sitting her between his legs. Her breathing was ragged, small sobs escaping when she gasped. He pinned her arms with one of his then pushed another to her forehead to prevent her from headbutting him.

He shushed her quietly, rocking them in slow movements. She let out a sudden sob, her body going limp. 'It's okay,' Rogers murmured quietly as his hand began to massage her forehead. 'Take a breath.'

'I-I-I-' She gasped in the air. 'I don't-'

'You're okay.'

'Natasha?'

'She's safe.'

'She's safe?' Her tone lacked her drawl, and Rogers saw the vulnerability with full vision.

'Yeah, she's okay.' Rogers loosened his grip, and she sagged further into his body.

'Where am I?'

'Germany, some abandoned building.' He looked back at Wilson, who handed him her helmet. He slipped it over her features. 'Can you stand?'

The Blade made no response but pulled herself from his grip and stood. Rogers followed suit and followed her line of sight. She stared at Bucky quietly, her posture suddenly unreadable. The confined man shifted slightly, and she flinched but otherwise remained still.

'Steve,' Bucky regarded quietly.

'Which Bucky am I talking to?' he replied sharply.

'Your mom's name was Sarah...You used to wear newspapers in your shoes.'

Roger's face broke out into a grin. 'Can't read that in a museum.'

'Just like that, we're supposed to be cool?' Wilson asked. The blade shifted, wrapping her arms around herself.

'Nozh?'

She stared at him for a moment, and silence filled the room. 'Hello, Soldat,' she replied eventually. Reaching up, she pulled her helmet from her features.

A small smile formed on Bucky's face. 'You've grown.'

'You haven't,' she replied quietly.

'Am I missing something here?' Wilson asked. 'You guys know each other?'

'Soldat was my Wächter during my years at Hydra,' she replied. She glanced at Rogers and then Wilson, gauging their confusion. 'The closest thing Hydra would allow as a parental figure. He trained me and took care of me. Everything I know, I learnt from him.' She looked back at him.

'What did I do?' he asked.

'Don't do this to yourself,' Rogers denied.

'What did I do?' he repeated, looking at the Blade.

'Enough,' she replied quietly.

'Oh, God, I knew this would happen. Everything Hydra put inside me is still there. All he had to do was say the goddamn words.'

'Who was he?' Rogers asked.

'I don't know.'

'People are dead. The bombing, the setup, the doctor did all that just to get ten minutes with you. I need you to do better than "I don't know."'

'He wanted to know about Siberia. Where I... we were kept. He wanted to know exactly where.'

'Siberia?' the Blade repeated. 'Oh.' She went silent, and tension began to develop in the room.

Rogers shifted. 'Why would he need to know that?'

Bucky looked at the Blade. 'Because I'm not the only Winter Soldier.' She looked to the ground.

'Who were they?'

'Their most elite death squad,' she replied. 'More kills than anyone in Hydra history. And that was before the serum.'

'They all turn out like you?' Wilson asked, looking at Bucky then at the Blade.

The Blade sucked in a breath and looked to the ground. 'We- They were more effective, yes.'

'The doctor, could he control them?' Rogers asked.

'If someone controlled their commander, then yes,' Bucky replied.

'Commander? Are they kept together?'

They were quiet for a moment, and then Bucky nodded.

Rogers hummed. 'Said he wanted to see an empire fall.'

Bucky straightened. 'With these guys, he could do it. They speak thirty languages, can hide in plain sight, infiltrate, assassinate, destabilize. They can take a whole country down in one night. You'd never see them coming.'

Wilson and Rogers turned away, and the Blade pulled on her helmet before moving towards Bucky. She tugged on a lever and the clamp on his arm moved upwards. He pulled it away, and the Blade avoided his eyes.

'He wanted me to take you, Nozh.'

She looked at him for a moment. 'You'd think that choking me, then smuggling me into a helicopter and almost drowning me would tell me that.'

Bucky stood, and she had to look up at him. 'This is serious if he gets-'

'-He hasn't got a chance, Soldat. He's a skinny, little man, and I'm the Blade.'

He sighed before hugging her tightly.

The Blade stilled before she returned it, letting herself sink into his body. 'I don't think we've ever done this.' She then wrinkled her nose, pulling away. 'You stink. Did you rent apartments with no showers?'