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03|Widow's Spring
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Inside the old bank vault that had been renovated, some HYDRA agents were working on fixing the Winter Soldier's arm that had been damaged by Natasha's taser disk. Meanwhile, Sung massaged her shoulder which had been aching since her encounter with the great Captain America. The woman had discarded her suit and wore shorts with a sports bra so that the doctors could do their assessments.
A sudden jolt came from the Winter Soldier who knocked over the man who had been working on his arm, countless guns were drawn and pointed at the brunet in the chair. Sung had her own aimed at the man's forehead, and she stalked closer slowly. "Сумерки. Солдат. Один. Осень. Зима," Sung spat quickly and the Winter Soldier relaxed back into his chair and stared at Sung, waiting for her to say anything more.
Pierce then waltzed into the room, and as his training entailed, the Winter Soldier looked away from Sung and onto the blond man. After all, Pierce was the superior handler and Sung was second to him always.
"Sir, he's...he's unstable. Erratic," One of the scientists said whilst hyperventilating out of fear.
The scientist was ignored as Pierce moved closer to the seated soldier out of time. "Mission report." No answer came and the Winter Soldier maintained a glossy look. Angered, Pierce recoiled his hand and struck the brunet across the face, making the soldier's face snap to the side without emotion. "Mission report, now."
"The man on the bridge..." Bucky trailed off, a soft frown on his face. The man looked at Sung, who stared back blankly. Bucky looked at Pierce. "Who was he?"
Pierce bit his tongue before replying. "You met him earlier this week on another assignment."
"I knew him," Bucky whispered, a gutwrenching look on his face.
Sung narrowed her eyes at the soldier. She knew the Winter Soldier's past with Steve Rogers, she had spent enough nights with the soldier to hear him scream from his nightmares and call out names. Sung had spotted a letter that the soldier had once started writing in a moment of clarity, she had burned it before anyone else could see it.
"Your work has been a gift to mankind. You shaped the century, and I need you to do it one more time," Pierce said encouragingly, trying to get the soldier to comply one last time. If Sung was shocked at the realisation, she didn't show it. They were going to get rid of the Winter Soldier, he had finally become more trouble than he was worth. "Society is at a tipping point between order and chaos. Tomorrow morning we're gonna give it a push. But, if you don't do your part, I can't do mine, and HYDRA can't give the world the freedom it deserves."
Taking a moment to process the words, Bucky was quiet. Whether the soldier realised what was going to happen to him, was unknown. "But I knew him."
With a sigh, Pierce turned back to the scientists. "Prep him." The blond rose to his feet and turned away from the shattered man.
"He's been out of cryo-freeze too long."
"Then wipe him and start over," Pierce commanded and on queue, Bucky was strapped onto his seat and they shoved a teeth shield into his mouth. The contraptions came down and before long horrifying screams came from the Winter Soldier whose memories were burning as film. Not lingering, Pierce headed towards the exit before he cocked his head back. "Lee follow me."
Said woman followed swiftly behind her superior. Sung did not speak and followed Pierce two steps behind him. Once the duo was far enough from the vault that the Winter Soldier's screams were on,y a faraway echo, Pierce stopped and looked down at Sung. "Tomorrow, the Winter Soldier is no longer a priority. He's become expendable."
Sung's eyes widened ever so slightly, but she recomposed herself quickly and gave a curt nod. "Understood."
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"Who was that woman on the bridge?" Steve inquired. He sat on a chair in the temporary hideout for him and his allies. A doctor was working on Natasha's bullet wound and she looked at Steve with a grimace. "You know her," Steve added, voice dropping slightly along his eyebrows.
Natasha sighed and her green gaze flickered to Fury. "Her name is Sung Lee, another Black Widow," A grunt came from Natasha and the doctor muttered an apology.
Not daring to give Natasha another moment to speak, Fury jumped in to explain just who Sung Lee was. "Lee has been working for HYDRA for as long as Romanoff's been with us. She's invisible, a ghost. Works alongside that damned Winter Soldier, killed two of my best agents in Paris..." Fury and Natasha locked eyes as they remembered their two friends.
"She was strong, almost as strong as me," Steve said, silently asking what that was about.
Maria took it upon herself to answer. "HYDRA has been messing with genetics for years now, Sung is one half of the Lee twins, her brother is a known mutant, with extraordinary abilities," The brunette flicked a strand of hair out of her face. "It isn't a stretch to assume that they enhanced her as well. By all means Lee is HYDRA's perfect weapon, psychologically conditioned, mutant, and with a skill set that would have won the Russians the cold war. Between her and her teammate, they are going to be very difficult to beat."
"Great, just great," Sam muttered.
Natasha bit her lip. Time changed everything, from inseparable to enemies on the field. The last time the two had seen one another, Sung was a sniper on a roof and put a bullet in Natasha's calf. The redhead repaid her former ally with a knife in the shoulder. Once upon a cold Russian night when the two Widows were on a mission, they had shared a bed and under the covers, Natasha had spoken of a life in the West where they were anything but killers. Ironically enough the two were in the West but they still held guns and slept handcuffed whilst clutching daggers. Sung had just whispered that a life like that was a luxury they couldn't afford. Nat had just kissed Sung to shut her up.
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The next morning arrived quickly and Sung braided parts of her hair back before gathering it all in a ponytail. Together with her partner, Sung waited at the S.H.I.E.L.D. HQ, ready to board the helicarriers. The duo hid near one of the launch areas, ready to stop any agents that could have a change of heart or Captain America and his accomplices. The Winter Soldier was unmasked, as was Sung.
"Attention, all S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. This is Steve Rogers. You've heard a lot about me over the last few days, some of you were even ordered to hunt me down," The familiar voice of the Avenger crackled over the speakers in the building. "But I think it's time you know the truth. S.H.I.E.L.D. is not what we thought it was, it's been taken over by HYDRA. Alexander Pierce is their leader. The STRIKE and Insight crew are HYDRA as well," Nearby some agents shared shocked whispers. "I don't know how many more, but I know they're in the building. They could be standing right next to you. They almost have what they want: absolute control," There was a pause in the captain's words before he continued his speech. "They shot Nick Fury and it won't end there. If you launch those Helicarriers today, HYDRA will be able to kill anyone that stands in their way, unless we stop them. I know I'm asking a lot, but the price of freedom is high, it always has been, and it's a price I'm willing to pay. And if I'm the only one, then so be it..." Another pause. "But I'm willing to bet I'm not."
Sung had to admit, the star-spangled mascot had a way with words. If she didn't know better she'd almost believe his words. Although, with Insight engaged, all hope for freedom and seeing her brother again would vanish. Then again, those things were also impossible without Insight. The tracker near her spine made sure of that.
A few tense moments passed before a group of S.H.I.E.L.D. pilots marched by. "All S.H.I.E.L.D. pilots, scramble. We're the only air support Captain Rogers has got."
Without uttering a word or a look, the Winter Soldier and Sung got up and sprang into action. The brunet fired at the agents, killing most of them on sight. Sung sprinted towards one of the smaller ships and threw a grenade into it, making it explode, she repeated the action a few more times. One agent was stupid enough to pull his gun on Sung and the woman slowly raised her hands and turned to face the man who was holding her at gunpoint, as she turned she stuck out her leg and kicked the man's arm and sending the gun flying. Sung kicked her other foot against the man's temple and as he fell, she followed his movement and knelt on the side of the agent's face. Without a second thought, Sung knocked the agent out before raising to her feet.
The Winter Soldier meanwhile had climbed into a jet and started the machine to fly him to the helicarrier where Captain America and his friend were located. Sung sprinted over to the jet and clambered in, she was barely seated by the time the Winter Soldier flew up. The two landed on the helicarrier and exited. The Winter Soldier moved to hide behind some crates and Sung moved to the other side, hiding behind the base of a large machine gun. The two locked eyes and Sung offered her comrade a curt nod.
"You know, you're a lot heavier than you look," Sam panted as he strode beside his friend.
Steve nodded breathlessly. "I had a big breakfast."
Taking that as his go sign, the Winter Soldier jumped into view and kicked the star-spangled patriot in the chest, sending the blond hurdling through the air. To ensure that Steve actually took a tumble into the water below, Sung spun and kicked Steve also. The blond man went flying over the railing, but Sung spotted him catching himself.
"Steve!" Sam exclaimed, he took off, wings unfurling as he prepared to catch Steve. Alas, the Winter Soldier grabbed the dark man's wings and pulled him back. Not wasting any time, Sam started shooting at the two HYDRA assassins. The Winter Soldier raised up his arm to block some bullets whilst Sung ducked behind a metal bump, the Winter Soldier joining her within seconds.
"Get the captain, I got him," Sung instructed, her Russian accent heavier than usual. Never one to question orders, the Winter Soldier took off to deal with his old friend. Sung peeked out from her hiding spot and saw Sam flying away. The Black Widow activated her bite and sent a line that attached to one of Sam's wings. With glowing red eyes, Sung tugged, making Sam slam into the helicarrier deck.
Sam rolled over and glared at the Korean woman, he pulled out a gun and started shooting at Sung. Sung rolled away and out of sight. "Where the hell are you?" Sam demanded as he got up, guns clutched tightly. His head whipped around, looking for the assassin, but failing to spot her.
Sung crept closer from behind, not making any sound. She lunged forward, kicking Sam's legs out from under him. The man fell flat onto the asphalt beneath him, and before he could react, Sung was on top of him. Sam managed to smack a gun out of Sung's hand, making her narrow her eyes at him, he attempted to roll her right hand back and break her wrist.
The Black Widow smacked her left elbow into Sam's face, drawing the first blood. Despite the impact, Sam used Sung's tilted position above him to bridge the woman off of him. Sung's shoulder made contact with the ground and Sam moved to roll on top of her. However, Sung was more agile and a better floor fighter than the veteran above her. Before Sam could pin Sung in place, Sung folded her legs up and between herself and her opponent. Sam reached out to hit Sung in the face and he landed a few punches before Sung grabbed his fists and headbutted him. Sung wrapped her legs around Sam's torso, one over his shoulder and one under his other arm, she started to squeeze immediately and Sam groaned as breathing became increasingly difficult.
Sam moved to stand up, but Sung's feet were locked behind his back and so he pulled her up with him. The Falcon let out a scream at the strain his body was under. Meanwhile, Sung looked back and saw that the two were not all too far away from the edge of the helicarrier.
Sam continued to land punches on Sung's torso and legs before she undertook action. Sung grabbed Sam's left thigh and slacked her locked ankles. She kicked her left leg out and used the momentum to climb onto Sam's back, her right leg over his shoulder. Sung quickly changed her legs so that she was sitting with Sam's head in front of her and started to land elbow blows on Sam's head.
Falcon grunted and failed to get the spider off of him. He took a step back, bringing the two closer to a crate. Sung planted her left foot on the crate and kicked herself away from it, causing Sam to topple over and roll over the deck. With one last pull from Sung, the duo rolled off of the helicarrier.
Falling through the air, Sung shot a line at the helicarrier. She didn't anticipate Sam holding onto her bad leg. A painfilled cry came from Sung as her knee burned from Sam clutching onto it. Sung glared down at him, and the look was returned by Sam. The man folded his wing up and cut Sung's line. Sung cursed him in all languages she knew.
Sam unfurled his parachute, and the device pulled his body up slightly, making Sung end up on the bottom. The cement of the S.H.I.E.L.D. facility approached rapidly and Sam was still clutching Sung's knee. The Black Widow kicked up her other leg and managed to land a blow to Sam's face, undoubtedly cracking his nose. The pain made Sam release Sung and she tried to roll over the ground and catch herself as best she could.
"I'm grounded, the suit's down. Sorry, Cap," Sam spoke into his comm. His landing had been much smoother than Sung's, the woman lay on the floor in a moaning heap. Deciding not to risk it, Sam picked up a rifle and walked over to Sung. He pulled up the woman's head by her hair. Sung snarled and moved to act, but before she could, Sam smashed the back of the rifle into the woman's temple and turned her world black.
Sung awoke not much later but found herself all alone on the roof. She winced and reached up to her temple and found her fingers to be coated with red. The Black Widow let out a breath and rolled onto her knees before pushing herself into a standing position. She looked around and noticed that her guns were gone.
"Who are you with?" A voice demanded, Sung turned to find a young man with hooded eyes pointing a gun at her. What was interesting about him was that one of his cuts appeared to be tinged green around. Sung narrowed her eyes and moved to raise her hands, but instead, she launched a bite at him, effectively knocking the black-haired individual out.
Sung shook her head and started walking towards the door that would lead her into the building, when she turned back to see if her victim was still blacked out, she saw a helicarrier heading right towards her. So Captain America had succeded, for better or for worst. Sung did see that the man was gone, causing her to frown. But, she had no time to linger and think and took off sprinting to the edge of the roof, she beelined for the water which did put her in the trajectory of the helicarrier. With eyes glowing red, Sung put all her energy into running.
Not wasting a second, Sung dove off the rooftop and extended her body vertically. Right before making contact with the water, Sung's eyes flickered close. She cut through the surface of the water with a crunch in her right wrist. Not paying the injury any mind, Sung pushed herself to the surface to take a breath.
All around Sung debris fell down, and fire came down as rain from the explosions above. Sung took a deep breath before moving underwater again and swimming as fast as she could to the coast. Her eyes and lungs burned, but she pushed on, avoiding what fell in her path as best she could.
Sung heaved herself onto the muddy shore and dropped down between the plants. Her chest heaved up and down, trying to accommodate a normal airflow into her lungs. After a few minutes, Sung recovered enough to sit up. The woman noticed something in the water near her and reached forward to grab it.
A gun.
Clutching the gun, Sung stood up and flicked the wet strands of hair out of her face. She rubbed her wet sleeve over her face, hoping to take some of the grime and blood off. Sung took a shaky step before recomposing herself and trodding away from the riverbank.
A sound, made Sung stop and look back. She ducked behind a bush and watched the Winter Soldier drag an unconscious Captain America onto the bank.
The brunet man dropped his former friend onto the ground and stared at Steve's face, almost as though he hoped to get answers from the unconscious man. After maybe ten seconds, Bucky looked away from the blond and walked away.
Sung came out from behind the bushes and raised her gun, aiming it at her partner's head. She purposefully made a branch crack under her foot and Bucky looked back at Sung. The gazes of the two HYDRA operatives met and they stared at one another.
"Ты не собираешься стрелять в меня," Bucky stated calmly, his voice laced with a mix of confidence and uncertainty. "ты не сделаешь этого." You won't shoot me. You won't do it.
Sung's grip on the gun tightened, her jaw clenched. Since becoming the Winter Soldier's handler she had been conditioned to always put his life before hers, he was worth more than her. The Red Room trained their Widows to not die, dying was against training, they were supposed to be prepared to kill everyone in the field if it meant staying alive. HYDRA was different in that way. But things changed again when Pierce told Sung that the man before her had become expendable. Her voice was low and steady as she responded, her words dripping with an icy resolve. "Не недооценивайте меня, Солдат. Вы стали слишком много неприятностей. Расходный материал," There was a brief moment of realisation palpable. "Это всегда должно было стать твоей последней миссией." Don't underestimate me, Soldier. You have become too much trouble. Expendable. This was always going to be your last mission.
Bucky looked away from his comrade, he frowned in realisation. There were tears, or perhaps it was water from the river in his eyes. Enlightenment that he would die as this set in. When he swam Steve and himself to shore, there had been a glimmer of hope to just disappear and find peace. The forest green of the bank was comforting and he wanted to find out who this 'Bucky' was.
With newly found determination, Bucky looked back at Sung. His eyes left the Black Widow and he looked around at the world that he hadn't truly seen for years.
Sung's finger trembled on the trigger and she glanced at the passed-out Steve. Close as brothers. She remembered how she had been informed of the Winter Soldier's past with Captain America. Daeshim might be beyond saving, but the two brothers before her could see a reunion one day.
Defeated, Sung's hold on her gun slacked and she dropped her arm, much to Bucky's surprise. His eyes widened at her. "Why?" He asked after studying her for a beat.
"I have my reasons, Soldier," She replied, her voice tinged with a hint of sadness. Sung had her face turned away from Bucky, fixated on the floor.
Bucky's voice softened, a touch of desperation seeping through. "You don't have to do this alone, Sung. We can find the truth together, run away..."
A flicker of longing flashed in Sung's eyes, a momentary weakness threatening to break through her stoic exterior. But she quickly regained her composure, her resolve firm. "I appreciate the offer," She said, her voice steady, a smirk on her face. "But I belong with HYDRA, I have pasts to find here..."
Bucky's shoulders sagged, disappointment etched across his face. He had hoped for a different outcome, a chance to save Sung from the clutches of Hydra. When she became his handler, his superiors told him that Sung was expendable, he was not to risk himself ever to save her. But when she cried in Paris, her knee shattered, and Bucky couldn't leave her. Ever since he hadn't hesitated to save her. He'd pull her away from grenades and shield her from bullets with his metal arm. They had both hurt each other, he had sliced her open and she had shot him once or twice. But somewhere underneath it all he decided that Sung Lee deserved saving and at one point she decided he was not an animal to be used.
"I could help you," Bucky said softly.
Sung's gaze softened momentarily, a fleeting glimpse of vulnerability shining through. "Thank you," She whispered, her face hardening once more. "But for now, we part. I have to stay with HYDRA and you can not." Bucky nodded slowly and turned away from Sung and started walking away. "Ten centimetres up from your left knee, there's your tracker. Cut it out. Солдат." HYDRA never bothered making the Winter Soldier's tracker difficult to access since he was fully under their control, with Sung being less trusted in the beginning her tracker had been made difficult to reach. Soldier.
The man from Brooklyn turned back his head to look at Sung, who was not looking at him. One corner of his lips tugged up slightly. "Call me Bucky," He called out.
The Russian's eyebrows knit together and she looked at Bucky. "Почему?" Why.
"That's what my friends call me."
Sung hesitated for a moment, her eyes meeting his, she opened her mouth to argue but stopped herself. "Да, все верно." Yes, alright.
As Bucky turned to leave, he stopped himself. He remembered something, must have been nearly 15 years before. The Winter Soldier had been at the Red Room to test the current Widows in training, a small detour after his mission for the HYDRA and Red Room friendship. He remembered a young Korean girl looking fondly at a redhead around her age. "Why didn't you go with her?" Bucky inquired.
Sung studied Bucky for a moment before smiling sadly. "Redemption is luxury I can't afford, not then and not now," She replied.
Bucky paused, his gaze locked with hers. He understood the weight of her words, unwillingly being thrown into this life was something he wouldn't wish upon his worst enemy. But Sung and her fellow Widows had been little girls, the youngest girl he had seen there couldn't have been older than three years old. Bucky was older when he entered the fight, he had been conscripted and lied about it to spare his friends and family from the pain. Then he never made it home and instead spent decades being tinkered with in cold cells with even colder scientists. "I know," He chose to say, hoping Sung understood his thoughts. Then he remembered what his sweetheart had once said. "But remember, your life is yours, you have a hand in shaping it." With that Bucky left.
The Widow lingered by the bank for a moment longer before shaking her head. Without a second thought, Sung took off. Daeshim was all that mattered now, she'd get to him soon enough. That is, if Daeshim still drew breath.
a/n:
bucky and sung's friendship is so wholesome, can't wait to share their future here because it only gets better.
similarly sung and sam have a very funny dynamic to me, both being more stoic figures who are done with everyone's shit
lmaoo. oh! there's a hint towards a main character in the future merveille series, the next merveille saga if you will.
anyway, be sure to vote and comment! we're moving on to age of ultron next, which will only be like one chapter
or maybe two, afterwards civil war which will be similar and then the black widow movie which will be in depth.
sad post
she's black widow, even death can't take that from her. say what you will,
i'm also sad nat died, but it was fitting for her story. a way for her to wipe out her ledger.
nat was what every black widow should be and she proved that so many times.
date published: 17 july 2023
word count: 4280