Hello Sergeant (Bucky Barnes)

Return to me

"Hello James. I'm Dr Bruce Banner," said a calm, dark-haired man in a white coat. He wasn't like the white coats I'd dealt with before - his dark brown eyes were kind. "I hear you've lost your memory again."

"Call me Bucky," I said, deciding that I liked the sound of that better than James.

"All right. Bucky it is. Do you promise not to attack me, Bucky?"

I considered that for a moment, already having sized him and the other man up as opponents. "As long as you do not attack me, yes."

"Fair enough. Clint, will you release Bucky's restraints?"

"Sure thing, Doc," the blond man said, hitting a couple buttons. My limbs were freed and then the front of the pod swiveled out of sight. I almost fell flat on my face, my body not responding properly. The blond caught me, setting me upright and swiftly removing his hands from me.

"Guess that drug's not completely out of your system yet. Sorry about that, but we needed to get you here without harming you any further."

"Can I have you walk over here, Jam-er-Bucky? We're going to see if you're injured and if so to what extent," the doctor said. He looked at me intently. "Are you able to walk?"

I still hadn't moved, but I determined I could walk, as long as I looked down and moved my feet carefully, not really having full control of my motor functions. After taking a couple steps, I was where he'd indicated; it cost me nothing to comply with his requests. A bright light surrounded me briefly before fading.

"Can you remove your shirt, Bucky? I can't scan through the armor in it," the doctor said in an even tone. "I forgot how much reinforcement they put in your armor."

I nodded, moving my hands up to clumsily undo the straps and zipper. I shrugged out of it, feeling a twinge in my side when I moved. The blond – Clint – I reminded myself, held out a hand for my shirt and I handed it to him. The weight must have been more than he anticipated because his arm fell significantly before he compensated for it.

"Forgot how heavy this damn thing is," Clint grunted, setting it aside. "This is worse than my suit's shirt for weight."

"Bucky's also quite a bit larger than you, Clint. More to cover," the doctor said absently, amusement in his tone.

"Yeah, yeah," Clint said, rolling his eyes. "He's as ripped as Steve, I know. Arms straight out, Bucky. God, it's weird calling you that. Last couple times you insisted on James and now you go and switch it up again."

"You talk a lot," I observed, holding my arms straight out so I could be scanned again. The light enveloped me and then faded.

"All done," the doctor said. "Results are on the screen behind you."

"What do the colors mean?" I asked, seeing my form overlaid with a variety of colors. A legend showed up near my feet on the screen. "Oh. Thank you."

"You're welcome. Looks like you have a couple broken ribs, a cracked jaw, a broken arm and a good amount of bruising. Were you in a fight?"

I shrugged. "My mission was to stop the intruders, which included a redheaded woman and a large blond man."

"Natasha Romanoff and Steve Rogers," Clint said, naming my opponents. "You're lucky it isn't worse. Hitting Cap is like hitting a brick wall."

"I would agree with that assessment," I said, looking down at my hand. The knuckles were split from punching him earlier.

The doctor's voice jolted me out of my thoughts. "Bucky, may I have a small sample of your blood? I need to know if Hydra injected you with anything and if so, what it was."