The Pursuit of Perfection (A Bucky Barnes Fanfic) [Sequel to Winter Is Coming]

Chapter 5: Catalyst

"There may be a great fire in our hearts, yet no one ever come to warm himself at it, and the passers-by see only a wisp of smoke." -Vincent Van Gogh

***

            The Winter Soldier stands stubbornly with crossed arms, waiting for the agent to get on with it. He's getting a partner for his mission today. He doesn't think he needs one, but they're insisting.

            The agent slides a door open dramatically and a girl comes out, her face hard and cold. Her suit is dark red; her hair is almost black and pulled away from her face to reveal green eyes.

            "This is Inferno. Inferno, this is the Winter Soldier. You'll be working together for your mission. If this goes well, expect this to happen again. If not, well..."

            Punishment. Well, that'll come either way. The Winter Soldier stocks up on guns and weapons, while Inferno simply waits.

            "Don't you need weapons?" he asks harshly.

            "No," she retorts.

            The Winter Soldier rolls his eyes. Some agents just don't know how to fight. Is she really expecting to fight these guys with her bare hands? No wonder they're making me babysit her, he thinks.

            Soon enough, the two are on their way to a mission. The Winter Soldier checks his guns and brings extra ammunition, while Inferno simply waits like before. They're dropped off to their starting positions.

            "I'll take out any obstacles. Just kill the guy." Inferno takes the lead, much to the Winter Soldier's dismay. He'll probably have to help her. The first wave of guys comes out of a set of doors, and before he can even pull his gun out, Inferno sends strings of fire their way, successfully knocking them out.

            The Winter Soldier is taken back. He expected Inferno to be some kind of agent with nothing special--just another recruit. Now that he realizes she's a fire-breathing dragon, he feels a little better about fighting with her.

            This may be his easiest mission yet. Any time someone points a gun at them, Inferno sets them ablaze, some more severely than others. They're in and out of there in no time, probably not even an hour. The Winter Soldier kills their target with a single shot, and they're heading back to headquarters.

            "Why are you staring at me?" Inferno snaps.

            The Winter Soldier didn't realize he had been. "I'm impressed."

            Inferno grins. "I'm not useless."

            "You're good. I think I could get used to working with you."

            Inferno looks out the window. "I doubt it'll happen again. This was just a test."

            The Winter Soldier nods. She's right. "We'll get blanked when we get back, and I won't even know you exist."

            "That's how it goes around here." Inferno returns her gaze to him. "But I like fighting with you, too."

            The Winter Soldier just grins, something he hasn't done in what seems like forever.

            The punching bag flies off of the wall, scattering sand everywhere. This is the fourth bag Bucky has broken in the last hour. Sometimes his bionic loses control. There's only so much restraint he can exercise over it, and that memory didn't exactly help.