I inhale deeply and start running towards the targeting blades but Bucky pulls out his gun, shooting at me. I quickly dodge and punch my electrified fist in his guts but he catches my blow with his metal arm, crushing my hand. Clenching my teeth in pain, I hit his arm with my elbow and the gun slides away, then I kick him against the edge of the bridge.

It's not Bucky, it's the Winter Soldier. The Winter Soldier. A completely different person. I try to convince myself to get rid of the weak tremble that stops my strength. I still pull my punches, not using my full power because I somehow believe that Bucky is there somewhere, captured by the Winter Soldier. My eyes start burning and I shortly squint, swallowing the arising tears. In the moment I focus again, the soldier is already up on his feet and shoots at me.

The bullet sharply scratches my cheek when I barely manage to avoid the dangerous shot. My skin burns and I hiss in pain, the warm liquid leaves the small wound. Yet, I have to go on and continue the fight against the Winter Soldier. I shoot his gun away with voltage, noticing how he tenses up at the electricity that I produce. Did they torture him with electricity? I don't waste any more time and punch him in the jaw, throwing him against the edge.

Running to the blades, I try to hurry to remove the chip and take out mine but as I turn around, a knife aims for me and my eyes widen, dodging the weapon in the last second. My chip slides away and Bucky tries to stab me but I block his attack by grabbing his wrist, fighting against his force. The knife point is dangerously close to my shoulder and he keeps pressing the sharp weapon against me as his eyes are locked into mine. I try to find a hint of trust or humanity in his blue eyes but there is only the monstrous cold.

My heart aches, weakening me for a moment which is to his advantage. He drives the knife into my shoulder and I scream in pain, immediately grabbing the metal of the weapon and electrifying it. The electricity hits his human hand and he hisses, removing the knife and dropping it like hot coal.

Blood pours out of my wound, soaking into the fabric of my combat suit and the burning pain weakens my left shoulder. I pull myself together to run towards the chip on the ground as my hand is pressed against the wound to prevent me from bleed out. A shout resounds from behind and I turn around in the moment where Bucky tackles me down off the edge. We fall off the bridge and roughly land on the glass pane, the hard ground causing an aching pain in my back.

I force myself to stand up and pant heavily, trying to steady my breath. Bucky takes the chip and I widen my eyes, pressing my lips together. I don't have another choice but to attack him with a blast of electricity. He screams in pain and I try not to tear up. I don't want to hurt him but I'm out of other options. "Give me the chip."

He refuses to give in and the chip remains in his hand as he takes out a gun but before he can fire, I shoot his weapon with my powers away. My voice raises but is shaking, sounding broken and weak. "Give me the chip!"

I run towards him and pull him down, placing my right arm around his neck while his weight lies on me. My vision is blurry and I can't stop shaking, a tear rolls down my face. He struggles and tries to free himself but is weakened by the electricity that I produce to knock him out. I notice how his moves slowly cease and he lets go of the chip, now unconscious. Then I brush him quickly aside and put the chip into my pocket, running towards the bridge.

My left shoulder burns like hell and also the arm starts aching from the fall again, but this doesn't stop me. I wipe my tears away and start climbing up to the bridge, my strength is slowly dying and my whole body hurts like my soul. I'm not a hero. I get people killed or kill them and even hurt the ones I love. If I don't manage to finish this mission, then I'm not worth anything. I deserve any kind of pain.

"One minute left." Maria informs me when I'm finally on the bridge and am able to hurry to the blades. Taking out the chip, I'm about to put it into the empty space until a loud Pang! echoes through the helicarrier.

My eyes widen and the world suddenly stands still for a moment, the complete shock paralyzes me and a loud breath escapes my lips. I look down and see the deadly wound in my stomach, the bullet stuck in my flesh. The blood spreads incredibly fast and I drop motionlessly to the ground, suddenly the unbearably painful fire hits my wound. I pant heavily and clench my teeth, my hands pressed against the wound.

I've never felt such a tremendous pain, the aching fire that the bullet causes increases through my whole body. My hands are trembling and I'm sweating exhausted, feeling dizzy and weak. Glancing down, I see how Bucky lowers the gun that was aimed at me. He shot me. My breath is unsteady, stabbing me every time when air invades my lungs and my hands are covered with my blood.

"Thirty seconds! Eve!" Maria warns me and I hiss pained noises, my eyes tearing up. I have to finish this mission.

"A-already... on... it..." I answer and hold onto a metal rod, pulling me up. I shout in agony, the wound continues stabbing me but I manage to replace the chip. Exhausted and relieved, I lay on the ground again. "D-done... Fire... now."

"Wait, what?? But Eve- "

"Now!" I cut her off and hear her swallow. I don't care what happens to me now. The helicarriers start firing at each other, ripping everything that Hydra built up apart. The components fall apart and the ground is shaking unsteadily, the destruction grows.

"Eve, what are you doing?! Come back, now!" Steve's urgent voice runs through the earpiece and I hear his anxiety. A weak smile is on my lips as I cough blood out. My throat aches and feels dry, blood runs down my lips.

"Do you... really think I would leave Bucky behind?" I croak out and shoot Bucky a concerned glance. He's stuck beneath a huge metal beam, looking helpless and lost. I can't choose between the world and Bucky because I don't want to live in a world without him. "Sorry, Steve."

"No, wait, Eve, please don't- " I remove the earpiece and throw it away, then I gain my last strength to stand up.

I almost lose balance and hold onto the edge of the bridge. Pieces of broken glass rain down and the helicarrier crashes into the Triskelion which unsteadies the ground even more and causes the flying ship to sink. The bridge suddenly breaks and falls down as my grip remains tightly around it. The crash on the ground rattles my body and I press my lips together to oppress any pained noises.

Tumbling towards Bucky, he stares at me in disbelief, almost scared about what I'm going to do. The shock and confusion is shown in his blue eyes when I grab the metal beam and clench my teeth, trying my best to pull it away and help him out of there. He uses his metal arm and strength to free himself and stands up, his flesh arm looks almost broken.

"A- are you okay?" I ask concerned, more blood pours out of my bullet wound. Standing already demands way too much strength but I try to endure the pain. He seems to struggle, not knowing what to do. "Bucky...?"

"Shut up!!!" He shouts and punches me in the face with his metal arm. I get thrown away and an aching pounding spreads through my cheek, I spit out blood and breathe stertorously. Nonetheless, I stand up, glancing directly at him. I've got nothing to lose.

"Your name is James Buchanan Barnes." My voice trembles, about to break into tears. The rage in his eyes, the cold in his blood, Hydra changed him that much. And I still cannot let go of him. "You had three siblings and loving parents. You were born on March 10th in- "

"I said shut up!!!" His scream is filled with anger and another punch hits my face, throwing me back down as I groan with pain. He doesn't remember, not at all. My hope crushes into a million pieces and tears run down my face, realizing that I have lost him forever as I stand up, panting weakly. I don't even feel the bullet wound anymore, it is just numb in my stomach, slowly dragging me into death.

"No! I refuse to give you up, that's not you!" I yell, sobbing devastated. "You are not a monster, Bucky! You are a good man who saved me in an alley fight and spent Christmas with me to make me feel better and won a teddy bear at the carnival for me! You- you care about the small people because you have a big heart and protect the ones you love, you're the love of my life and I'm not gonna fight you!"

He stares at me while I try to catch my breath and the tears burn into my skin, wrecking my body with cries. Suddenly, he tackles me to the ground and my head hits the glass harshly. Before I realize it, another punch meets my face roughly, causing me to cough up blood.

"You're my mission." He spits coldly and punches me with each word that leaves his lips, his voice raises. "YOU. ARE. MY. MISSION!!!"

I slowly open my eyes, feeling how my body is stuck between life and death and glance weakly at him. His fist is positioned for the next punch, his eyes are locked into mine as he breathes heavily. But for a second, a short moment, I spot insecurity in his eyes. It's my fault that he became like that.

"Then kill me. If you really don't know me, kill me. My life started with you. It should also end with you." I croak out, quiet but certain. But seriously, canary, I just want to have a family with you. Because I love you and know that you're gonna be the best mother in the world. "You wanted to call her Rosie... beautiful and yet, strong like a rose..."

He hesitates, the confusion overwhelms him and I notice how he mentally struggles. But maybe I only start hallucinating since my mind is about to pass out, greeting the growing darkness. At least I get to choose how I die.

"It's okay, it's okay. It's okay. You're not alone, I'm not gonna leave you, I will never leave you alone again, I promise. I'm here... I'm here." More tears stream down my face and my bloody lips form a weak smile. "I love you..."

And then I drown into the blackness.

B  U  C  K  Y

My fist lowers and her words freeze me, leaving me paralyzed as she shuts her eyes. Why the hell is she telling me that she loves me? Why doesn't she fight back and is willing to die? This name, Rosie, I have heard it somewhere. And I have seen this face already, I just don't know when and where. My mind burns, triggering a memory and the confusion drives me crazy. Where have I heard these words?! Why do I stop my mission?! What does this woman do to me?!

I want to scream, getting rid of my cluelessness and I just don't know what kind of feelings she causes. It's a familiar one, clutching at my heart and leaving pain. She's my mission, I'm supposed to kill her, I have to kill her. But why do these words stop me?

The beam comes crashing down and glass shatters. A part of the helicarrier falls apart as a component tears us apart, sweeping her away while I can hold on to the rod. I watch how she follows the pieces of metal into the water, unconscious and injured, her body like a lifeless doll. Her face. I haven't seen it on my assignment last week. I've seen it before. I've seen it crying, hearing the words she just used. I said them to her once. I remember.

"You have a place, you're not alone anymore. You have me, okay? Me and Steve. I'll take care of you. I will never leave you alone again, I promise. I'm here."

A memory flashes through my mind within seconds, it disappears as fast as it has come. But I could see her. She cried against my chest, wearing different clothes from another decade and she called me Bucky just like now. Is that really my name? Am I supposed to be that person? I called her something else. It wasn't 'my mission', it also wasn't Voltricity, no, it was...

"Eve." My eyes widen and my heart stops for a second. My instinct makes me let go of the rod and follow her into the water. I don't know why. All I know is that I just need to save her, that I need to jump after her. Eve. Her name leaves a brand in my mind, triggering thousands emotions.

When I hit the water, I ignore the painful splash. I just hold my breath and dive after her, reaching my hand out for her. My lungs start burning in pain, demanding for air but I don't want to leave the river without her. I can't. My hand is finally able to grab hers and I pull us both out, gasping for air when I arrive the surface of the water. My breath is unsteady and my chest aches as I start swimming to get us out of the river.

After a while, my feet finally meet the steady ground and I put her down on the river bank. I'm still soaked in water, my clothes adhere to my skin and my right arm still hurts from the electric shock. My eyes lay on her. Why did I want to save her? It's the first time that I don't finish a mission. It's actually also the first time that I wanted something. I don't remember the last time that I wanted something. I knew her. I must know her, otherwise I wouldn't know her name. Otherwise she wouldn't have triggered so much by just using these words. Otherwise I wouldn't have seen her in my mind.

And she knew me. She kept calling me Bucky. She rather wanted to die through my hands than keep fighting. Who is she? Who am I?
Her eyes are still closed and the thought that she's dead scares me somehow for a second but then a light relief spreads over my chest when she lets out a cough, spitting out a bit water. Her chest goes up and down, a sign that she's breathing. She's alive. She was my last mission. Hydra got taken down. And I am free now.

My only aim is to find out who I was before I got wiped. I need to find out what kind of connection I had with this woman. I need to know why she's so important to me. Why I would risk my life for her.

Even now, when I barely remember her.