Rebecca Barnes: Another Winter Soldier

Chapter 15: Falling Further Away

Numb. That's all Rebecca felt right now, all she's ever felt for nearly a century. There's no time for feelings when you're a killer, when you're a sadistic psychopath like she is. She stared at the wall, no emotion in her dark eyes that have seen so much over the years. On the inside however, it was very different. Almost as if all these emotions she was supposed to be feeling all of these years were finally raining back down on her. So many memories played in her head, but left as soon as they came. She saw faces of people she didn't recognize, but probably should have. She knew she had some connection to them, but didn't really want to remember anyone. She was well aware that it would hurt like hell if she remembered, but was it worth it? She couldn't tell.

She looked up for a quick moment, and saw Bucky and Willow arguing outside her empty room. She stared through the particularly large window that was in her room, placed there so people could make sure she wasn't trying to escape or anything. Brows furrowed, she opened the door that divided her from the others.

"What are you doing outside my room?" Rebecca asked, obviously irritated.

Bucky's steel-blue eyes quickly shot up to his sister that was barely recognizable after all the years they've been apart.

"Becky? I was just talking to my uh- coworker over here." Bucky replied, hoping that Becky wouldn't ask too many questions.

"About what? It's obviously about me."

"Really, it's nothing-"

"Stop lying to me. I'm not a child, although I may have been when you knew me."

"Come on Buck, just tell her the truth. If you won't then I will." Willow stated, trying to avoid some big conflict in the future.

"...Beck, me and Willow are trying to find a way to restore your memories. There's this serum that can erase what HYDRA programmed into your mind to erase your memories in the first place. But it went missing, I just need to find it and everything will be fine."

"I don't want to remember."

"Why not? Don't you want to know who you were, before HYDRA?" Willow asked.

"No. You wouldn't understand my reasoning even if I told you."

"Maybe I would?" Bucky said, a bit of sadness in his voice.

"I don't want to talk about this anymore. I don't want to remember, and I don't wanna play your games."

"I'll give you more time to think about it. If you change your mind, just tell me." Bucky stated.

Bucky and Willow then walked back down the hallway, away from Becky's room. Becky went back in her room, thinking once again. What would it cost for her to remember her past? The last sliver of sanity that she was barely hanging onto as it was? But what if it actually was worth it? A part of her, deep down inside, wanted to remember everything.

Bucky and Willow continued to walk down the long hallway in complete silence.

"So... now what?" Willow asked, not very amused.

"We probably should find that serum." Bucky said.

"You think I don't know that?"

"What else was I supposed to say? That's what we need to do."

"Guys... where the hell is Zemo?" Sam asked anxiously, walking down the opposite side of the hallway and stopping when he reached Bucky and Willow.

"How am I supposed to know? You were supposed to watch him!" Willow replied.

"I know! I just took my eyes off of him for a few seconds and he vanished!"

"Great. Just one more thing we have to deal with." Bucky stated in a gruff voice.

"He couldn't have gone far, we're in the middle of nowhere!" Willow stated.

"He probably did go far." Bucky replied, knowing that Zemo was a master of escaping.

"I checked outside, but I saw no footprints in the snow. Can he levitate now or something?" Sam said.

"You can do pretty much anything with the right technology." Willow replied, letting out a short sigh.

"Did he steal the serum..?" Bucky asked, beginning to figure it out.

"Probably not. How would he steal it without me noticing?" Willow asked in a confused tone.

"It's not impossible either." Sam replied.

"Willow, one of our cloaking suits is missing!" Steve said worriedly, walking towards the others.

"Zemo..." Willow growled under her breath.

"What? I'm right here." Zemo said, appearing behind Willow.

"Wait, you didn't leave?" Sam said, a bit embarrassed.

"Of course not. Where would've I gone?"

"Seriously, Sam? Talk about overreacting." Willow said in relief.

"I found this serum on the floor. I thought I'd give it back to you." Zemo stated, pulling a red serum out of his pocket and handing it to Willow.

"Okay... thanks, I guess." Willow replied, inspecting the tube.

"No problem."

"Don't any of you find it sort of suspicious that Zemo is being so well-behaved?" Sam asked.

"No. He probably just knows what will happen to him if he isn't behaved." Steve said with a small smile.

"If you say so..." Sam replied, trusting his friend's judgment.

"C'mon, Bucky. Now we can give this to your sister." Willow stated, glad that the drama was over for now.

"But she doesn't want it. I don't want to force her to take it, I want to give her a choice." Bucky replied, making Willow sigh once more.

"How about we go in her room and ask again. It won't hurt anyone by trying."

"Man, you're stubborn."

"I know."

The two walked back to Rebecca's room, approaching the woman with the blank stare.

"What do you want now?" Rebecca asked, just wanting to be alone.

"I found the serum. Are you sure you don't want to take it? I know how much it hurts to remember, but I'm glad that I remember everything. It might be worth it, if you would give it a chance..." Bucky said in a mildly convincing tone.

"I already told you, no!"

At that moment, Zemo walked in the room and slammed forcefully into Willow, making her lose traction and fall over. The red tube slipped out of her hands, and broke on the floor, spilling out a red-coloured gas that soon covered the entire room.

"I thought you said that this was a serum, not a gas!" Bucky shouted.

"Well, I didn't bother to test it beforehand so I didn't know that!" Willow replied.

The thick gas filled the air, and Rebecca attempted to hold her breath. It was too late. Some of the gas had already made its way into her lungs, as it caught her by surprise. She could feel herself quickly losing control of her mind. She fought against it, but that just made her lose even more control. "No... NO! Not again!" She thought to herself, but only for a very short moment. As the demons in her brain took over, her mind now only gave her one set of instructions: Kill Everyone.