S I B E R I A,  R U S S I A

May 24th, 2016

I'm really thankful I decided to put on gloves before leaving the quinjet. The wind is coming strong and it feels like glass cutting through my skin in the areas I haven't covered. My boots sink in the snow as we get closer to the doors of the Siberian HYDRA facility. I'm not the only one to notice that the armored entrance is open.

"He can't have been here more than a few hours." Steve estimates.

"Long enough to wake them up."

I can't avoid thinking about the last time I was there. Of course, I don't remember that, however, this overwhelming feeling of familiarity takes over me when I peek inside. I go in first, followed by Cap and finally Bucky. I hold my gun close to my face, loaded and ready to use it anytime.

The first thing we see is a hallway leading to an elevator. We stealthily make our way deeper into the compound, never letting our guard down.

After we get out of the elevator into a lower level, we need to go up a small stairway but the moment I start making my way up the steps, a metal clicking sound makes the three of us turn around instantly.

Steve is the closest to the door behind us. Bucky and I remain still behind him, partly protected by his shield.

"You ready?" He asks.

"Yeah." I don't say anything else. Instead, I cock my gun and prepare myself to attack.

The noises behind the door get louder and it finally slides open to reveal a bright light. I hold my fire until my eyes get used to the brightness, only to find out it was Iron Man's arc reactor what was emanating the blazes. 

That doesn't make me put my gun down, though.

"You seem a little defensive." Stark says as he approaches us, removing his helmet.

Steve gets closer to him as well, holding up his shield still. "It's been a long day."

The Iron Man looks away from Rogers to point at us. "At ease, Soldiers. I'm not currently after you." I find that hard to believe after the scene he'd just caused at the airport all to get us arrested.

"Then why are you here?"

"Could be your story's not so crazy, maybe." He says, a bit reluctant to admit he was wrong. "Ross has no idea I'm here. I'd like to keep it that way. Otherwise, I gotta arrest myself."

Cap puts his shield down. "Well, that sounds like a lot of paperwork. It's good to see you, Tony."

"You too, Cap." He sincerely nods before turning to us again. I haven't removed my aim from his head yet, insecure that he's actually bluffing. "Hey, Manchurian Candidates, you're killing me. There's a truce here. You can drop... "

I don't do it until Steve motions us to put the weapons down. I don't trust Stark. I've never had. And I don't think he trusts me either. So, I'm not exactly happy when he joins us in our mission to find the doctor and the rest of the Winter Soldiers.

We continue to investigate the facilities with extreme precautions. The place is dark and humid. Most of the corridors don't have walls to cover the gas and water pipes, which don't seem to be working either. My repressed memories lurk in the back of my brain, sending chills down my spine.

"This place is creepy." I exhale, talking to my self, but Bucky hears it.

"You should've seen it twenty years ago."

Stark stops and turns to face me. "Wait- But you did, didn't you?"

"Yes, but I don't remember it." He tilts his head to the side, not fully understanding. "I blackout when I'm activated. I guess that way nothing can interfere with my missions."

"Yeah, I've seen you in action." He says before putting his helmet on again. "Twice."

"Not so innocent now, huh?"

He ignores my last comment and his posture changes into a tense one. "I got heat signatures."

"How many?"

"Uh..." He mumbles. "one."

We step into a very dark and cold room. The moment we walk in, a rim of lights turns on above some cryogenic chambers. The other Winter Soldiers. To our surprise, they're still inactive. We'd thought the fake doctor would have awoken them as soon as he could.

"If it's any comfort, they died in their sleep."  Through some muffled speaker, a voice greets us. It isn't until then that I notice every single cryogenic chamber has a bullet hole in them. They are all dead. "Did you really think I wanted more of you?"

"What the hell?" I whisper terrified at what my eyes are seeing. 

"I'm grateful to them, though. They brought you here."  At the end of the room, the fake doctor becomes visible at last. We can only see his head, as he is standing behind a steel wall with a tiny window. Steve throws his shield, aiming for his head, but the glass doesn't break. 

"Please, Captain. The Soviets built this chamber to withstand the launch blast of UR-100 rockets."

"I'm betting I could beat that." Stark replies.

"Oh, I'm sure you could, Mr. Stark, given time."  I don't have a clear view of his expression, but I'm sure he's smiling. "But then you'd never know why you came."

I step closer, still behind Steve. "You killed innocent people in Vienna just to bring us here?" 

"I've thought about nothing else for over a year." He explains. "I studied you. I followed you. But now that you're standing here I just realized... there's a bit of green in the blue of your eyes. How nice to find a flaw."

"You're Sokovian. Is that what this is about?" Steve is now inches away from the steel wall.

"Sokovia was a failed state long before you blew it to hell. No. I'm here because I made a promise." He doesn't break eye contact with Rogers.

"Did you lose someone?"

"I lost everyone..." The fake doctor almosts whispers. "Except one." He looks away from him, laying his eyes on me. "Anya, sister."

I frown, bewildered. What the hell is he talking about? "I don't know you."

"Don't listen to him." Bucky tells me and I start to worry.

"That breaks my heart." The man says, sadly. "But you don't have to believe me. Just read the files." He nods at the desk in the middle of the room. There are computers, screens and lots of paper files. I walk there only to find my name written in the first folder of a thick pile. However, there's another surname instead of the one that appeared in my HYDRA file. Zemo. I open the folder and the first thing that come out is my birth certificate. Anna Zemo, daughter of Heinrich Zemo. Younger sister to Helmut Zemo. There's even a picture of him. 

And it is the man behind the glass window.

"What?" I'm still looking through the pictures and the documents. There are also photos of me as a baby, as a toddler, with my family... With Helmut. Tears start forming in my eyes because I don't remember a single thing from this and I hate it. "What is this?"

"A lot of things happened in December 1991." 

The screen on the desk beside me turns on showcasing an old video, dating December 18th, 1991. Although I'm still in shock from all the information I just read, I manage to recognize it is a road. The images in the video are static, like security footage. It's also dark since it was filmed at night, but it is possible to distinguish a tall building, not so distant, with S.H.I.E.L.D.'s logo on its facade. 

Then a car comes into frame, crashing right in front of the camera. Just.a few seconds later a man in a motorcycle stops next to it and takes back the blade that was stabbed in the rear tire and had caused the collision. There are two girls inside the vehicle, but the man opens up the driver's door and wraps his fist around the neck of the girl in front of the wheel. I cover my mouth when I see how much time takes to kill her.

But what I see next is even worse. I see myself. The man gets me out of the car and carries me outside while I'm still unconscious. My arms are oozing blood while my face is full of cuts and scratches. I become paralyzed when I catch a glimpse of my abductor. 

"You did this to me?" I ask the man that kidnapped me that night, who also happens to be the man I've been living with for two years. I don't even dare to look at him as I internally deal with the images I've just watched.

"Ann..." Barnes tries to step closer to me but as soon as he says my name I cock my gun, pointing directly at him. "You know that wasn't me. Not the real me."

My hands shake too much to shoot at him and he knows it. He knows there's no way I can shoot him.

"But you did it." How could I've been so stupid? He caused the accident that fucked my life up. None of this would have happened if he hadn't done it. I wouldn't have been stripped away from my family and brainwashed. I wouldn't have murdered anyone. My psycho long lost brother wouldn't have killed people in a bombing to get to me. And most important, I wouldn't have met him. I wouldn't have met the man I thought I loved.

"Anna, I lo-"

By saying those words, he's stepping straight into a minefield. "Don't fucking play with me right now."

"Anna put the gun down." Steve demands and I slowly do it. Not because he's told me to, but because my hands are not steady enough to hold it. "Please."

The screen changes and another video starts playing, this time with an earlier date: December 16th, the same year.

"An empire toppled by its enemies can rise again. But one which crumbles from within? That's dead. Forever." Helmut is still speaking. I rotate my head to have a look at him when I catch him turning around to leave. I can't let him get away, not after all he's done.

"I know that road." Stark is focused on the new video. "What is this?"

I alternate my glance between Barnes and the door we came in. I don't want to stay here to watch Stark's fucking video, I want an explanation for mine. What's more, I don't want to be in the same room as the former Winter Soldier. That makes it easier to make the decision to go after Helmut. And I'm willing to do it alone if I have to.

"Anna!" I hear Barnes yell after me as I run to the door. Luckily, Stark retains him for me so he doesn't follow me.

"Not so fast, Barnes..."