"Where did you get this footage, Mr Whitman?" Steve asks carefully but sharply as the plaintiff prepares the tape. How can I stop this? It's evidence, therefore untouchable. Although we're about to see it for the first time, we all know what is gonna happen. I don't even know if I'm prepared for this, the nausea is unbearable in my stomach.

"It was an anonymous tip." He just answers as he takes the remote in his hand. Steve and I share a look, knowing who gave him this toxic footage. Hydra. "Ladies and gentlemen, what you're about to see is nothing for weak nerves."

"Your honor, may I go and talk to Mr Barnes?" I ask for permission, Bucky's whole body is trembling while Tony froze to a statue. "He may feel triggered by pain and memories, this would deteriorate his psychological condition. I just want to calm him down. He trusts me."

"You may." The judge allows me and I quickly pass Tony, placing my hand on his shoulder because I'm sure that he's not ready for this.

"It's better if you look away, Tony. Please don't watch this, okay?"

"Will you?" He shoots back and I press my lips together, firmly squeezing his shoulder before finally walking to Bucky who buries his face into his hands now. Sitting down next to him, I carefully put my arm around him and feel how his body is shaking, holding back a sob. He is ashamed. The guilt makes him cry silently and my heart shatters into a million pieces, watching how broken he is.

"I'm here, okay?" I whisper and press him into a hug, his head tiredly leaning against my shoulder. The jury observes us and every single move we make but I don't care.

"You're going to hate me for this..." He only replies weakly and keeps hiding his face behind his hands. Sam and Steve seem to feel uncomfortable and Tony already looks like a ghost as the plaintiff presses play. Tony was right. I can't look away. A black-white footage of an empty road from a surveillance camera shows up and in the next second, a car suddenly crashes against a tree, smoke erupting from the accident. We all know whose car it is.

The reason for their crash appears seconds later on a motorbike. The Winter Soldier. I notice Tony's increasing unease as he watches intently how the assassin gets off his bike and approaches the injured driver on the ground. With widened eyes, I press my hand against my mouth and see an older version of Howard. A dying one. Nostalgia and shudder overcome me, my eyes burning in pain.

"Help my wife. Please. Help." Howard begs between coughs until the soldier hoists him up by his hair, staring with cold eyes at the victim's bloody face. Howard stares back in disbelief, shock mirroring his face as he recognizes the man. "Bucky?"

Maria Stark cries Howard's name when the fist of the Winter Soldier suddenly collides with Howard's face, the awful sound of the cracking bones resounds as he continues to beat Howard. I wince in fright, a tear escaping my eyes as I hear a few gasps in the courtroom. My view is blurry and I suddenly feel dizzy, not being able to hold Bucky next to me. The sickness in my stomach only gets worse as I see how Bucky kills Howard. "Howard!"

Howard slumps dead to the ground and the Winter Soldier puts the corpse back into the driver seat. Maria starts crying in agony and pain when she spots her dead husband next to her until the hand of the soldier is around her throat, strangling her to death. Bucky's back is wrecked by sobs while on Tony's face is just the blank horror, traumatized by what he's seen.

"Turn it off." The judge's voice is clear and harsh. "Now, Mr Whitman. This was enough evidence. I give the witness and defendant a moment since both are clearly not feeling well."

Even though the plaintiff reluctantly turns off the TV, I can still see in my mind how both die, the images brand into my memories. I seriously don't want to imagine how Tony and Bucky must feel at the moment, suffering in front of public. The guilt and grief must be terrible. I don't have the right to be self-centered and overwhelmed by the pain now, I have to stay strong and win this case. Looking around, I see the reaction of the people. Fear. Disgust. Rage.

Wiping my tears away, I check on Bucky. "It wasn't you, okay? This was Hydra... It's not your fault, Bucky."

"I still did it." He mumbles, his eyes red from the tears and misery. "I killed Stark's parents. I killed your friend."

"Buck..." Steve approaches us and I offer him my seat. Sitting down, he strokes Bucky's back comfortingly, a pained expression on his face. I motion to him that I'll go to Tony and he nods, taking care of his best friend.

"Tony- "

"You better be so convincing that it'll change everyone's freaking mind." He cuts me off, anger lacing his voice. Looking at me, I see how glassy his brown eyes are but I don't know if it's the grief or fury or even both. "Those bastards not only killed my parents but are also not man enough to take the blame! Those damn cowards need to get what they deserve! I want justice for my parents."

After this footage, I thought Tony would leave our side and be angry with Bucky, so angry that he'll blame him. Instead, it just motivated him to fight harder for justice. A proud little smile appears on my lips, my heart racing. "You know me. I'll do my best."

After the judge motions for us to continue, Mr Whitman clears his throat and glances at Tony. "After this evidence, what do you feel around Mr Barnes' presence?"

"Pity." He answers without hesitation. "Because he's the wrong person who gets accused of committing crimes against humanity."

Everyone, especially Bucky, stares at him now as if he went insane. But Tony only stands up and goes back to his seat next to me, his expression signaling to me that he doesn't want to talk. The judge hesitantly continues. "The prosecution calls its next witness, Captain Steve Rogers."

Steve leaves Bucky and stands up, swearing the oath and sitting still at the podium like a soldier. Mr Whitman sends him an intense glance, already analyzing him. "Captain Rogers, you, Mr Barnes and Miss Farrell have been friends since your childhood, is that correct?"

"It is."

"And did Mr Barnes change during these years?"

"Yes, he did. But to be fair, we all did." Steve's voice sounds firm. "Mr Whitman, the three of us survived the Second World War and grew up with the Great Depression. Living in this new century... it changes you."

"His change is debatable though. He was your friend and now he's an assassin. Believing your words, Hydra made him that way. This makes him not only our nation's enemy but also your personal enemy. As an Avenger, shouldn't it be your task to protect the people?"

"It's not easy like that." Steve remains calm. "Mr Barnes suffers from a multiple personality disorder, Hydra created the Winter Soldier that's inside of him now. That means they broke him so much until he developed a second personality because of his trauma. With the ten trigger words, you would release him and he would do nothing else but comply. Because that's what Hydra made him- a weapon. He didn't have a choice, he didn't even have himself, he had nothing but the mission. And if he didn't finish it, Hydra tortured him, electrocuted him, wiped him. He went through torture and that was the only thing he remembered. Pain. He got robbed of his identity, his life. Imagine waking up without knowing where you are, who you are, what you are. We have Hydra's file as proof. If you kill the Winter Soldier, you kill James Buchanan Barnes. The innocent victim. And we don't kill people. We save them."

"And what if it's just an act?" The plaintiff is barely impressed by Steve's statement. "What if this is his mission? Acting innocent and like the person he used to be?"

"Wanda Maximoff could stop the procedure when they got kidnapped by Hydra, it is not always working though. We found out that the trigger words are based on tragic events of his life and have a negative meaning for him, that anger releases the Winter Soldier. If one of the words doesn't have a negative meaning anymore, the Winter Soldier will be gone, that's how we'll save him."

"Wanda Maximoff is the new individual in your group. What makes you trust her? What if she secretly works for Hydra and is a part of this plan?"

"Her brother, Pietro Maximoff, died during the battle in Sokovia as a hero. She saved more people there than we could've done on our own. Trusting her is the least that I can do." Steve's words are honest and pure, the shock of the jury from the footage seems to slightly vanish. They look relieved that there are more options than just giving the death penalty.

"No more questions." Mr Whitman finishes the interrogation and the judge nods.

"The witness is excused. The People call Miss Evelyn Farrell as the next witness."

I stand up and walk towards the podium, promising the oath and sit down afterwards. Tony and Steve send me a supporting glance while Mr Whitman takes out a file with my name, a cocky grin crossing his face. "Miss Farrell, is it right that you were found injured after the D.C. incident?"

"Yes, it is." I nod confirming, aware that he will go deeper into this event.

"According to your file, you had a fractured arm, a stab wound and a bullet wound in your abdomen."

Congrats, you can read. "That is true."

"And who did that to you?" He asks further, even though he knows the answer. I behave quietly, not letting rage overwhelm me as I remember the day again. The pain, giving up.

"The Winter Soldier." A few shocked gasps echo through the room.

"So, Mr Barnes almost killed you- "

"James Buchanan Barnes has never harmed me in any way." I immediately correct him with a cold voice, almost intimidating. "The Winter Soldier and Bucky Barnes are not the same person. Mr Rogers already explained that to you and we can also prove this with a medical certificate. The only person who truly harmed me was Brock Rumlow, now the head of Hydra. If Mr Barnes didn't save me, I would've been left with more than just this."

I slightly pull down the upper part of my dress, revealing Crossbones' name on my collarbone. Receiving shocked and terrified reactions, I pull it up again but the plaintiff still shrugs provocatively. "I honestly don't see a difference between these two persons. I just see one person."

"I highly suggest you to change your point of view then, Mr Whitman." I narrow my eyes, "James Barnes is a war veteran who returns home after decades of torture by Hydra. Therefore he does have special rights, rights that he deserves, yet people only see him as a monster. He served his country like everyone else did back in the forties, he gave up the life he could have had for this nation because everyone did that. We all went to war. But we came back and he didn't, do you know why?"

The plaintiff scoffs. "Please, enlighten me."

"He's still there. There's a war in his mind, a war that he can't win alone." I swallow and the emotions invade my voice, slightly cracking. "He's suffering and broken but he can be saved. Yes, he did kill people. But I did, too. So did Natasha Romanoff, so did Clint Barton and so did many more. The only mistake was that he killed the wrong people because Hydra forced him. We had a choice, he didn't. The only reason why we're not imprisoned is because you need us, because we're able to save the world, to do good but I know that he can, too. So, tell me, what makes us worth forgiveness  but not him? Why should we blame him for being the weapon although Hydra pulled the trigger? If we do that, we let Hydra win and just prove that we're not better than them. So let's prove them wrong, let's save the longest prisoner of war and be human."

The courtroom is completely silent and I'm aware of the effect of my statement. It may have been a bit daring to include the Avengers since we're not exactly on good terms with the government right now, but I had to convince the judge and the jury and that only works if I tell them the truth. "We've been talking about him the whole time as if he wasn't present, now I want to know what he's got to say. Mr Barnes, tell me, how are you feeling?"

Bucky looks up and finally reveals his face. The jury stares at him in disbelief when they spot the tears in his red eyes, the fragile humanity in his eye color. He hesitates, his breath slightly unsteady and the fatigue etching his face. "Guilty... which I am. There... there is no acceptable excuse for what I've done. In the end, I'm still the one who did it. I deserve every kind of punishment."

He sounds believable, honest and convincing because he means every single word which just makes it more painful.

"No more questions from me. James Buchanan Barnes is not a villain, he's a victim and a collateral damage from the Winter Soldier. Don't punish an innocent man for the crimes that he was forced to do. We can save him, we can stop his suffering without killing him. Allow us to heal him and give him the rest and psychological help that he needs. Steve Rogers and I worked and sacrificed our lives for this country and we never asked for something in return because we would do it over and over again. So, please, do us this one favor that we ask for. All this misery, this pain... it needs to end."

I let the words seep into the hearts of the people as a long quietness follows. Just when I get dismissed, I go back to my seat and catch Tony's approving look. We did everything what we could have done.

Now we just have to wait for the result.

A/N- And again, I hope this doesn't appear too unrealistic or that anyone is out of character 😩 Especially Tony since we saw how he reacted in Civil War. But I think he'd act like that (or at least similar to that) if he already knew the truth from the beginning.