┌──────⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──────┐

"𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙄 𝙠𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙝𝙞𝙢."

└────── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──────┘

⍟ ⍟ ⍟

"Lacerated spinal column, cracked sternum, shattered collarbone, perforated liver, and one hell of a headache." Nick lists off his injuries as Maria, Natasha, Sam, and Steve all stand around his bed.

"Don't forget your collapsed lung." The medic sitting by his monitors adds.

"Let's not forget that." Nick glances at him. "Otherwise, I'm good." He concludes.

"What about what we saw at the hospital." Steve crosses his arms, eyeing Natasha for keeping such a secret.

"Tetrodotoxin B." Nick says. "Slows the pulse to one beat a minute. Banner developed it for stress." He explains. "Didn't work so great for him, but we found a use for it."

"Why all the secrecy?" Steve continues full-force. "Why not just tell us? Why not tell your goddaughter?" His voice is laced with attitude, knowing his death was not easy on Juniper, and that she didn't even get the time to mourn him.

"Any attempt on the Director's life had to look successful." Maria answers and Natasha looks down, feeling guilty Juniper couldn't know. But she had other obligations. Everyone had to do their part.

"Can't kill you if you're already dead." Fury says. "I knew who I could trust where, and I wasn't sure who to trust." He defends. He knows he could trust Juniper, more than anybody. But he needed her out there, and not here with him.

⍟ ⍟ ⍟

"That's Steve's best friend?" Juniper asks Brock as he tells her who the Winter Solider really is. She scoffs. "You're monsters. All of you." She narrows her eyes at him, swarmed with disgust, betrayal, guilt-

"Just don't cause a scene." Brock mutters into her ear, pulling her along as Pierce approaches them.

"Ah, Agent Fox, Mr. Fox will be pleased." Pierce nods, tired of the engineer incessantly breathing down his neck. Brock went to Pierce pleading for Juniper not to be included in the Captain's punishment, swearing she was on their side. "Shall we." Pierce turns, holding out his arm for them to follow. Brock places his hand on Juniper's lower back, guiding her forward.

They enter what looks like a prison, Juniper only seeing old, yellowing jail-cell bars. She felt like she was going to be sick after hearing what Hydra's done to Barnes, and that was only the brief version of it. She can't even begin to imagine the depth of the hell he's been through.

"Sir." One of the men in a white button down and tie looks up to Pierce as he strolls in. "He-he's unstable." The man stampers. "Erratic."

Juniper snaps her head to Brock, realizing where they're about to enter. She tries slamming on the breaks. Brock sighs, forcing her forward.

"No." She seethes through gritted teeth.

"Don't." Brock warns quietly.

Pierce ignores the man, continuing on as a guard opens the cell door.

S.T.R.I.K.E. members stand in a circle, guns ready, as Juniper's mouth parts at the Winter Solider sitting in a dentist-style chair, staring at all of them. Oh my, God.

"No." Juniper tries to break free of Brock's grasp. "This is sick." Her stomach churns at the lost, broken look on Barnes face.

"Stop." Brock whispers in her ear. "Now."

She looks up at him as he gazes down at her and she shakes her head. This was her punishment.

Pierce holds his hands up, stopping the guards, causing them to all lower their guns and take a step back.

Brock steps around Pierce, forcing Juniper to stare at the metal-armed man as she tries to look away. She notices her bullet on a tray beside him next to the monitors, assuming they treated it right away, before her poison could do any real damage.

The soldier doesn't even look in her direction, staring absent-mindedly in front of him.

"Mission report." Pierce says. The soldier stays silent as Juniper stares at him in horror. She had no idea who he truly was, what he's gone through, only seeing him as someone trying to kill her until half an hour ago.

His skin was scared around where the metal connects to the skin, his hair covered the sides of his face. He knows Steve...

He's the soldier she's seen in his museum her mother took her to when she was a little kid.

He's Captain America's best friend Aunt Peggy would mention occasionally in the stories she use to tell her, Sharon, and Sharon's sisters as bedtime stories when they were kids...

He's a person, with a name, and a life that was taken from him.

"Mission report now." Pierce repeats. He takes a step forward, bending down to Barnes' level. He backhands him across the face and Juniper jolts slightly, knocking her body into Brock's.

Barnes turns slowly, his brows knitting together. "The man on the bridge." He speaks slowly. "Who was he?"

"You met him earlier this week on another assignment." Pierce says, causing Juniper to take a step before Brock pinches her arm, pulling her back.

"I knew him." Barnes says and Juniper catches a glimpse of his eyes glossing over. He recognized him?

Juniper can't imagine what Steve must be thinking right now, seeing his best friend right in front of him, after seventy years...

Pierce pulls up a stool, taking a seat in front of him. Barnes leans forward.

"Your work has been a gift to mankind." Pierce commends. "You shaped the century. And I need you to do it one more time." He tells the broken man in front of him. Juniper bites her tongue, forcing herself not to say anything as Pierce continues. "Society's at a tipping point between order and chaos." She narrows her eyes at the evil man. "And tomorrow morning, we're gonna give it a push." He pauses. Rumlow glances down at his wife, knowing she's going to refuse the machine she's worked hard on these past several months.

"But, if you don't do your part, I can't do mine." Pierce bargains. "And Hydra can't give the world the freedom it deserves."

"Bullshit." Juniper hisses almost silently, no one catching what she said, except Barnes. His eyes fall on her and he stares for a moment before looking back down, Juniper unable to read his expression.

"But I knew him." Barnes says, mustering up a broken smile, if it could even be called such it was so devestating, causing Juniper's chest to physically ache. For seventy years this man has been Hydra's weapon. Under her mother's nose, under uncle Nick's, under her's.

Pierce sighs, standing up. "Prep him." He orders.

"He's been out of cryo freeze too long." The doctor informs Pierce.

"Then wipe him and start over." Pierce decides. Start over?

Juniper can't bare to look at his crumbling expression. She turns, burying her face in Brock's arm. She doesn't even know him, yet she's never felt this repulsive, sickening feeling washing over her. What she does know is this is wrong. They're using Barnes as they're pet, a puppet on a string.

Brock lets her look away, shifting on his feet as he wraps his arm around, relieved to have her in his possession, and she's too upset to care. But she does notice the look on Brock's face, the horror that peeking through. Maybe he isn't entirely heartless, she thinks to herself, shocking.

But who could possibly think this okay?!

Oh, God— does her father know about this? Surely, surely, on everything she's ever stood for, surely he can't know. He's in engineering anyways, she highly doubts he's allowed this much information.

Her father.

Sadly, though to no surprise, he hasn't even crossed her mind since she fled from S.H.I.E.L.D. other than once when she was soaring out of the elevator and she knew he would go into cardiac arrest over the situation...

She looks over her shoulder as the two doctors pull Barnes's body back into the chair and one of them grabs a mouth piece to which he opens his mouth for it to be placed inside. The other presses a button and metal pieces lock around both arms.

Stop this, stop this, you have to do something, the voice in Juniper's head screams at her. What could she do?

The machine above his head whirls down, sparking with electricity as it closes on his head and he starts screaming. Juniper flinches away as Pierce turns to leave, and Brock guides her in the same direction for them to follow.

Brock glances back as Juniper's head begins to pound, the deafening sound of Barnes's muffled screams burn into her mind permanently. She covers her ears, swallowing an acidic taste, and they leave.

⍟ ⍟ ⍟

𝟶ʙᴜᴛᴛᴇʀʙɪsᴄᴜɪᴛ𝟽 sᴘᴇᴀᴋs!

Wow, wow, wow, hey guys!! I know this scene is AWFUL, but it's gotta be one of my favorites bc oh my gosh, just the sinking feeling my stomach gets and Sebastian Stan's acting in this scene is just !!!!

Also, I've had planned since literally FOREVER that Juniper was going to be there with Brock in this scene, so omg to finally write it & have her reaction pour out was so... ugh, it just feels so accomplishing to finally be able to get out everything I've had planned and wanted to get out.

And to be able to write her going through this & her emotional reaction compared to her coldness at the beginning of this book is just chef's kiss to me, Juniper's character arc & development in this book alone is just everything to me omg.

Anyways, I'll hop off my soapbox now, I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter AND DON'T FORGET to comment your thoughts, questions, and reactions as it is so much more motivating and exciting to me as a writer!! Until next time <3

And happy 6 years to Endgame!! The rest of the author's note above I had wrote when I actually wrote this chapter lol. I really enjoyed getting to reread & edit it after all this time!! Endgame is a very long way away in this book series, buttt I am VERY excited for the plans I have for ittt for Juniper's story & series ;) Also it was so funny to add Sharon's sisters to that part of this chapter bc it was a jump-scare to read only Sharon bc at the time the two new oc's that will be introduced later in this series had not been created at the time. So what a subtle introduction that was & crazy to see how many more ideas I've made since haha.