Lost + Found [Bucky Barnes] ✓

Chapter 46

Bucky presses the button to open up communication with Artemis, allowing her voice to crackle through the speaker system with him. The young woman is struggling to sit upright in the tiny cot on the side of the containment unit, her hand clutching her forehead as she blinks in the bright lighting.

"You'll probably have a headache for a while," Bucky tells her, not waiting for Steve to return with the others. "Sorry about that."

Artemis whirls around at the sound of his voice, "W-who are you? Where am I?"

"You're safe," he replies, grimacing at the fear etched in her features as she stares through the glass at him.

Recognition flits in her brown eyes, and she takes a step backward to press against the wall of the containment unit furthest from him. The girl staring back at him isn't the same one who burned down the nursing home nor is she the one who shot Chloe's friend Mara. She looks like a frightened bird, terrified for her life, as she stares back at Bucky - no doubt recognizing him as the Winter Soldier.

"P-please don't kill me," she whimpers. "I just want to go home. Please, just let me go home."

He frowns whilst watching her carefully. All of his years with Hydra, with the Soviets, he knows better than to fall for her tricks. He taught at the Red Room, for goodness sake, meaning he's practically seen every trick in the book.

Still, he was the Winter Soldier back then. He had a heart of stone cold steel, but now the ice is melting and it bothers him to watch a young girl suffer. The fear in her eyes drives him mad, and it reminds him over and over that he can't escape from who he is. Who he was.

The things he's done continue to haunt him, and there is no doubt in Bucky's mind that they will do so for the rest of his life. The deaths of Howard and Maria Stark top a laundry list of regrets that Bucky carries around with him like a backpack full of bricks every single moment of his life.

"I'm sorry about this, Artemis," Bucky tells her. "I know you're frightened, but your sister is gonna be here soon. She's on her way."

Artemis' eyes grow wide, "C-Chloe? Please, leave her alone. Please...please don't hurt her."

"I'm not gonna hurt Chloe," he takes a step back, reeling from the emotions spinning through his head. "I would never hurt her. I promise."

A sob shakes Artemis' tiny form, and she pushes away her tears with the back of her hand, "How do I know you're telling the truth? Will you let me out?"

"I-I..." Bucky stutters, "I can't do that. Not yet, at least."

She sniffles, "W-what are you gonna do to me? Are you gonna kill me?"

Shaking his head, he takes a step toward the containment unit which causes her to crouch down against the white floor of the pod in an attempt to protect herself from what she perceives to be a threat. Her skin begins to appear orange, heat radiating from her body as she glows like a coal, and the tears falling from her eyes hiss as they're evaporated and turned to steam. The realization that something is happening to her body only sends Artemis into overdrive, panic surging through her as more tears pour down her face only to disappear as her body temperature rises.

"W-what's happening to me?" She asks, gripping her knees tightly to her chest as she fails to control her breathing. "What did you do?"

Bucky groans, "This isn't me, Artemis, you just gotta calm down, okay? Can you do that for me? I need you to take a deep breath and stay calm."

She struggles to suck in more oxygen, but - at this point - the panic attack is already in full swing. He'd recognize the symptoms anywhere. She's clutching her chest, no doubt because of the heart palpitations slamming against her rib cage, while tears continue to pour down her face. Her sobs sound like she's choking, unable to take a breath, and her skin continues to brighten as she spirals out of control.

"Artemis," Bucky glances around the room for something, anything, that can help him calm the panicking girl until help arrives, and his eyes land on a cabinet of medical equipment in the corner.

He moves to it quickly, grabbing a syringe and a tiny vial of sedative, before filling it and moving to the door of the containment unit. Opening the door is a risk - a huge risk - but, at this point, it's uncertain what will happen if Artemis loses control. The containment unit will withstand the blast, sure, but will Artemis?

Acting on impulse, he punches in the code to open the door and steps inside before it seals behind him. Steve is on his way down with the others, meaning he only needs to administer the sedative before they let him out of containment with her.

"I'm not gonna hurt you, okay?" He says softly, trying to appear as non-threatening as a genetically-enhanced soldier with a metal arm can. "This is a sedative, okay? It's just gonna help you calm down until Chloe arrives, then she'll explain everything to you. I promise, no one is gonna hurt you or your sister."

Leaning down to press the needle into Artemis' arm, she looks up at him - eyes filled with tears - and smiles.

"Желание," Artemis says, and a stab of panic rushes through Bucky.

Before he can jab her with the needle, she kicks out his ankle causing him to fall to his knees. In a flash, she wraps her burning hot palm around his wrist and jams the needle into his neck before pushing the plunger to deposit the sedative into his body.

"Ржaвый," she whispers with a crooked grin, pushing him backward as he struggles to stay upright as he fights the sedative for control of his body.

It's not enough to knock him out, not by a longshot, but it takes him a moment to shake off the effects before he can stop the girl in front of him from going any further.

"Семнадцать," Artemis quips before taking a step backward. "Рассвет."

He roars, rage and terror shooting through him as he stumbles toward her. His metal arm swings toward her, only to miss as she ducks beneath his blow and places her palms firmly against his ribs and shoves him backward. The heat burns through his shirt, leaving two black handprints on the fabric, as she smiles at him.

"Печь," she says the next word, while Bucky's muscles begin to quake with fear.

A laugh slips from her lips before she adds, "Девять."

"Stop," Bucky whispers, clutching his head in an attempt to fight the pain coursing through his mind. Every thought - every memory - of his life as the Winter Soldier flashes before his eyes, and fear of being that person again...of losing control...nearly drives him mad on the spot.

"Добросердечный," Artemis avoids another powerful blow from Bucky, this time igniting her entire right arm and sending a burst of flames his way to keep him back.

"возвращение на родину," she twists the words out like they're candy on her tongue, the joy in her eyes a gruesome contrast from the fear in his.

"Don't do this," Bucky begs, no longer trying to catch the fiery girl but instead turns his attention to the door of the containment unit.

There's a pad of numbers on the right side, but the code to leave the unit is different from the one to get in. Steve was sure to set them separately to prevent Artemis from overhearing their conversation, in case she was feigning unconsciousness, meaning he was the only one to know the code.

"Один," Artemis says as Bucky slams his fingers into the keypad, frantically pressing number combinations to no avail.

Finally, he types in 0-3-1-0, his birthday, and nearly cries in relief as the door slides open. He collapses to the concrete floor outside the containment unit as the door slides shut behind him, his body shaking from both fear and adrenaline, as he struggles to lower his heart rate.

Too close. Far too close to losing himself, to losing control, Bucky pushes himself up to his knees as he focuses on his breathing.

A laugh erupts from behind him, crackling through the speaker that he forgot was still on, and his eyes widen with horror.

"грузовой вагон."

*****
AUTHOR'S NOTE

Hi.

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