Mine (Bucky Barnes)

Twenty

I know, I'm a little late. I'm sorry! But here it is. Like I said previously, I'll be following some of the plots from CA:WS and Civil War, but won't copy the movies word for word. I'd like to think I'm better than that lol. <3 Artie

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Malo glared at Zaštitnik. She sat on the sidelines, watching him train with a new group of agents. This group was much younger than the ones she remembered, and much stronger. One in particular – Rumlow – seemed particularly ruthless. It was as if he waited his whole life to go up against the Winter Soldier in hand to hand combat.

She wasn't upset that he was training. She was annoyed because the super soldier had recovered from being in cryo freeze just fine. Meanwhile, she was still wrapped in a thick blanket and shivered as she watched them train, grumbling about how unfair it was.

They had already been to the shooting range, where it was clear that Zaštitnik was just as deadly with a gun as ever. They barely spent a half hour there before heading into the gym. So far no other agent had been able to best him, but that didn't stop Rumlow from trying. He came at the super soldier with full force. Rumlow was met with a kick to the chest, but it barely registered.

Malo gasped as the two men began swinging at each other with gusto. Was Hydra able to successfully recreate the super soldier serum? Was he one of the soldiers that couldn't be controlled from the 90's? Her thoughts swirled around as she watched in awe.

Zaštitnik grunted, dropped to one knee. He hadn't actually been hurt by the agent's punch to his stomach. Rumlow was too cocky for his own good, and Zaštitnik planned on taking advantage of that. Sure enough, the agent raised his foot to kick his mask, but the super soldier grasped his ankle and twisted it. Rumlow dropped, howling in pain.

Malo began clapping in excitement. The others in the room stared at her in confusion. She blushed, pulling the blanket back around her shoulders.

"Sorry. It was a good fight," she mumbled. Izak patted her shoulder in consolation. At least the adrenaline made her heart race and she was finally beginning to feel warm.

Zaštitnik stalked to where Malo stood. His hand roughly grasped the back of her neck, pulling her towards him to rest their foreheads together. He was showing her he was okay. He wasn't growing weaker and wouldn't be replaced any time soon. As long as he had a place with Hydra, they would keep him alive, therefore keeping Malo alive.

He was still Hydra's best asset.

"That's enough. Let's head to the briefing room. This needs to be handled now," a new officer ordered.

Malo looked around, searching for the familiar faces of Oфицер Vassiliev and Herr Fischer. They were nowhere to be found, which was strange. She expected them to be there when they were first unfrozen.

"Where are Vassiliev and Fischer?" she whispered to Miller.

The aged man shook his head, eyes wide. "Oh, they, uh... retired."

"Oh. Oh!" Realization dawned on her. Holding her left hand, Zaštitnik gave it a squeeze. What mattered was they were still there. Still together. She smiled at him, grateful for that.

"It was soon after you two went back onto ice. No, I guess it was about five or so years," Miller continued to explain.

Malo offered a soft smile. "I'm glad we still have you and Izak, at least."

"Me, too," he grinned back.

They stopped outside a tall set of wooden doors. Other Hydra agents opened the doors, ushering the group inside. A rectangular table took up most of the space, with a projector screen set up at the end. Malo looked around for the clunky projector. Instead, a keyboard without a screen sat on the table, next to a mouse without a wire.