The Hold
“Fuck…” Bucky groaned as an incessant beeping rang in his ear. He felt his eyes flutter open and closed a few times, flinching at the harsh lights above him.
“Finally, you’re awake.” Bucky painfully turned his head to see Steve sitting in a chair beside his bed.
“Where am I?” Bucky grumbled, his memory hazy.
“You’re safe, in the Avenger’s building hospital.” Bucky tried to sit up but felt a pain rip through his chest. He pulled away the blanket covering his body to see bandages sticking out from beneath the white and pale blue hospital shirt he was wearing. Pulling down the collar he could see a mass of sickly purple, blue, and yellow bruises covering a portion of his chest.
“Where’s Iris? Is she okay?” Bucky jumped out of the bed; he nearly collapsed as his mind blurred from pain and exhaustion Steve quickly behind him to catch his arms before he took another step.
“She’s…she’s here.” Steve mumbled.
“I need to see her.” Bucky pushed himself away from Steve and staggered towards the metal door. He winced again when he pushed through the door into an even brighter hallway. He stumbled forwards a few more steps before crashing into a wall to keep his balance. Bucky grunted as his weight fell against his stab wound in his shoulder.
“I really don’t think that’s a good idea, Buck.” Steve was by his side once more, trying to direct him back to his room.
“Fuck you it’s a good idea.” Bucky stared Steve directly in the eye before breaking out of his grip on his metal arm. “She’s my girlfriend and she was kidnapped by an evil corporation and tortured. I want to see her.”
“She’s in a bad state, Bucky.” Steve pleaded, following his friend down the hallway towards the elevator. “She doesn’t remember anyone.”
“She remembered me, Steve.” Bucky suddenly spun around just a few feet from the elevator. Steve could see the hurt in his eyes and suddenly felt terrible for keeping them apart. He knew it wasn’t a good idea due to her state but couldn’t bear to see his friend like this. “In our fight, she recognized me. I know she’s still in there, so please, let me see her.” Bucky almost begged.
Steve hesitated for a moment more before finally giving in.
“Okay.” He huffed. Bucky physically became less tense, thankfulness showing in his features. Steve stepped towards the elevator door, pressing the button beside it. “Just don’t say I didn’t warn you.” The two of them entered the elevator as it arrived.
“Take us to the hold.” Steve requested.
“She’s there?” Bucky once again became tense. “Why the fuck would you put Iris down in that hell hole?”
“Trust me, I didn’t want to. No one wanted to, but it was the only option.”
The rest of the way down was spent in a tense silence.
“The hold.” FRIDAY’s voice rang through the elevator as the door’s slid open. A metallic breeze came from the underground room before the two of them walked out into it. A set of armed guards stood around the room: a few near the elevator and few further in. In the center was a round, glass cell.
As they neared the cell Bucky almost lost his temper. Inside Iris was pacing, her wings spread as far as they could go in the cramped empty space. Without warning she lashed out at the glass walls like an animal in a cage, slashing and screaming, before calming down and pacing nervously again. While she walked her wings and hands twitched, sometimes she grabbed at her head and pulled at her hair. Her stress and pain were obvious and sad for all parties.
“Why…” Was all Bucky could say as they stood a few feet from the glass.
“I’m sorry.” Was all Steve could respond with. For him it was extremely painful to see Iris in this manic state, he couldn’t even begin to imagine how bad it must have been for Bucky.
Bucky stepped closer to the glass enclosure but was stopped by one of the guards.
“Sorry, you cannot…” The guard began but Bucky interjected.
“Get off of me.” Bucky pushed the guard away from him before walking straight up the glass. No one else tried to stop him.
“Iris…” Bucky spoke, knowing there was speaker system inside the cell allowing her to hear him. “Iris, please. It’s me, Bucky.”
Iris suddenly stopped pacing, the tip of the wing that had sliced his face open still twitching.
“Iris…” Bucky began again but without warning, Iris spun around and will full force slammed her wings against the glass. Instantly massive cracks began spreading up the sides. All the guards around the room turned to attention, the weapons pointed at the cage.
“Don’t shoot!” Steve yelled. Just as he did Iris threw herself against the glass once more, this time it breaking completely allowing her to stumble into the main room. Bucky ducked to avoid the shattered glass only to hear bullets rip above him.
“No!” He screamed but when he looked up he saw the Iris had stepped in front of him, shielding herself with her wings. Suddenly she swung one of her wings out, slicing the throat of the guard that had stopped Bucky earlier with it’s tip. He sputtered before falling to the ground, dead. Iris continued moving through the room, one wing raised to avoid bullets, the other violently swinging and slicing at the guards. She killed another two with her razor sharp feathers before pulling them back.
The last two guards charged at her but Iris easily took them out with sharp punches to the throat before leaning over them a slicing each of their necks with a single swipe of her wings. Iris then stood back up straight, turned, and stared Bucky and Steve across the room.
Much to their surprise, she didn’t charge. Instead, she looked at the ground where the guards lay dead. She stared for a few seconds before taking a step back. She pulled her bloodied wings towards her back as they were twitching once more. Iris’s hands began to shake.
She took another step back before her back hit a bannister. She slumped to the floor and grabbed at her head. Suddenly she began to become breathless, heaving nervously through choked tears.
“Iris, shhhh…” Bucky ran to her side, ignoring Steve who tried to grab him once more. “It’s okay, it wasn’t your fault.”
Iris didn’t respond. She continued to pull at her head, as though she was trying to rip a memory from her skull. Bucky wrapped his arms around her shuddering body, feeling the cold of her wings brush against his real arm, their sharpness scratching against his other. Instantly she tensed; Bucky began to think that his gesture was a mistake.
“I can’t remember.” She whispered just loud enough for him to hear.
“It’s okay, I couldn’t remember at first anyway. It’ll take time.” Bucky began, not releasing his arms. He felt her breathing slow and watched as her hands moved away from her scalp. She wrapped her fingers around his metal arm, her hands barely covering half the circumference. Now she seemed too delicate, so small and pained, Bucky couldn’t imagine that this was the same girl that had just killed five men a second before. “Do you remember who I am?” Bucky asked, hoping the answer was what he wanted it to be.
“Bucky…” Iris whispered softly. “The guards, I knew them… They were Hydra… So be careful….” Iris muttered before seeming to fall asleep in his arms.
“Is she alright?” Steve walked carefully up to the two of them.
“I think so…” Bucky was barely able to process the thoughts and emotions going through his mind right now. “She said…she said the guards were Hydra.”
Steve sucked in a sharp breath, looking around at the dead men. He walked up to the closest one, checking their pockets. As much as he wanted to believe that Iris was wrong, the red octopus insignia was emblazoned on a metal pin in the front pocket. They were Hydra.
“She’s right.” Steve returned to Bucky who was now picking Iris’s unconscious body from the floor. Steve showed the pin to Bucky who shook his head.
“We need to be more careful…” Bucky didn’t want to imagine what would’ve happened if the guards had taken her again, somehow sneaking her out of the compound and hiding her once more from his protection. Bucky was never going to let that happen again, not as long as he lived and even after that. He already noted that in his arms she was much lighter than before, even with the wings. Something was off and he hated it. “I think now we should bring her to her room, maybe she’ll remember more there. She’ll also be more comfortable.”
“Although that may not be the smartest…” Steve began, looking into Bucky’s pained eyes. “I think it would be to her benefit.”
“Thank you.” Bucky nodded and they made their way back up to their floor.