Lost + Found [Bucky Barnes] ✓

Chapter 13

This can't be happening.

"Get back," T'Challa commands, moving to a panel attached to Bucky's cryostasis chamber.

This isn't real. None of this is real.

"Chloe."

After everything that's happened in the last two weeks, finding out I have some sort of freakish superpower, finding out about my real father, finding out that I'm fricking royalty. Now, I'm stuck in a room with the King of Wakanda and the Winter Soldier, who - unironically - is about to become distinctly un-winter-like when T'Challa takes him out of the human popsicle machine.

"Chloe!" He grabs my arms, shaking me gently until my eyes snap back into focus.

I stare at him blankly, "What?"

"You need to move. I want you to stand on the other side of the room," he points to an empty desk. "Hide under there, and stay quiet."

"I don't--"

"Do it," he commands.

Even though I just met him, the tone of his voice tells me that now is not the time to argue with a king, so I do as he says. The chamber that holds Bucky begins to hiss as it pressurizes, oxygen and gentle heat flooding the cylinder. I curl up under the desk on the opposite side of the large room, peeking out from around the corner of the desk as T'Challa continues pressing buttons to implement a manual override. He hesitates for a moment, his eyes meeting mine with a worried look, before pressing a final button that causes the glass to slide up from the front of the cylinder.

I duck my head back under the desk and rest it against the cold metal. My heartbeat thuds against my chest cavity like a hammer, the sound intensifying my anxiety as the alarm continues to blare in the background. The room is otherwise silent, only the sound of T'Challa's breathing lets me know that I'm not alone.

Ba-bumm.

My heart slams against my throat.

Ba-bumm.

A footstep hits the ground. I'm tempted to look out from my hiding place, but I wait.

Ba-bumm.

Another heartbeat.

Ba-bumm.

"Mr. Barnes?" T'Challa's voice is slow and even, a thread of hesitancy woven through it, and curiosity gets the best of me so I look out.

Ba-bumm.

All I can see is T'Challa, his back turned to me, and his muscles tensed. A second passes, then everything moves far too quickly for my eyes to follow. A hand shoots forward, grasping T'Challa by the neck, and pushing him back across the room until his back connects with a sickening thud against the wall.

"James," he breathes, his voice raspy as the hand restricts his flow of oxygen.

He sees his opportunity and fights back, easily landing a few blows until the roles are reversed. My eyes widen when I see Bucky pinned against the wall, and I stifle a gasp. His brown hair is wild around his face, blue eyes frantically searching the room for some kind of answer, while T'Challa presses his forearm into his throat. No longer equipped with his metal arm, Bucky grabs at T'Challa with his right arm.

He squeezes his eyes shut, his face contorted in what appears to be unspeakable pain, before opening them once more. For a second, his countenance changes. The rage and darkness is replaced with confusion, and he stares blankly at T'Challa.

"...T'Challa?" He croaks, his arm relaxing. "What..."

Howling in pain, he grits his teeth as his eyes close once more. Opening them, I can see the unfortunate truth. His blue eyes have turned dark once more, and he takes advantage of T'Challa's hesitation to pull him closer and smash his head into my cousin's nose. They clash once more, Bucky's strength lending him a power that sends fear quaking through my entire body. Without his metal arm, however, he is no match to T'Challa's agility and grace. Only when my cousin hesitates is Bucky able to land a forceful blow, knocking T'Challa backward into several workstations.

T'Challa is holding back, I realize, afraid to hurt the man who has little control over his actions. Waking up from the ice must have triggered some sort of memory of Hydra, taking him back into his Winter Soldier mentality once more. Bucky gasps, falling to his knees as he clutches his head. His blue eyes flash open, fear and pain coursing through them. It's clear that whatever is happening, he's flickering between the two personalities. His mind is fighting for control, fighting to remember himself, and it's horrifying to witness.

It's then that he meets my gaze, his blue eyes peering into mine almost as if he's looking into my very soul. I freeze, unable to look away, and my breath catches in my throat. He winces again, the tell-tale sign that he's about to revert back to the Winter Soldier, and my eyes grow wide with fear. Angry eyes flash open once more, his face portraying his inner struggle as he fights to keep his own mind under control, and they glare at me.

"I...I remember you," he spits out, gritting his teeth while he curls into himself. His hand clutches at his temple as he bites back a cry of pain. "I...I know you."