Blindsided

The footage of the video kept playing through his mind. Every time he closed his eyes he was met with Daredevil’s face, his screams echoing through his head. It made something within him growl, something that had been asleep for a long time.

His fists hit the punching bag in anger. The chains holding the bag up creaked under the weight. They’d most likely snap within the next three rounds. He’d already gone through five.

He couldn’t help himself. He kept flashing back to when he was in Daredevil’s place. He may have been brainwashed, but he was still aware of what he went through. Just because he was their soldier didn’t mean they gave him respect. They had tortured him, in every way a textbook would describe the word.

He didn’t have to guess that that’s exactly what they’re doing to Daredevil.

And Bucky felt sick at the thought of the man going through what he’d been through.

He knew Stark and Banner were working on finding him, knew they’d tear the city apart until they did. They all would. But he feared it might just be too late. Because as soon as he saw Daredevil on the screen, he knew they’d already broken him.

*

“Sergeant Barnes,” FRIDAY’s voice woke him from his daze and he blinked.

Sweat dripped down his forehead and into his eyes and he wiped it away furiously. He was breathing hard as he slowly came back to the present. His fists burned but they were already healing.

“Dr Banner wanted to know if you could come to his lab.”

Bucky grabbed a towel from the floor and wiped his face before slinging it across his neck. “Did he say why?”

“He did not,” FRIDAY answered making Bucky sigh.

“Let him know I’m on my way.” Bucky headed to the exit and ignoring the urge to shower first, went straight to Bruce’s lab on the twenty-second floor.

The smell of anti-sceptic and other chemicals hit him before the elevator doors opened and he allowed his senses to adjust before he stepped out.

He spotted Bruce almost immediately. The man was on the other side of the room, typing furiously on a laptop while two other screens were filled with equations and formulas.

Dum-E, who was usually only in its owners’ lab, was zooming through the room like it was on a mission. Bucky followed the robot’s movements and concluded that, yes, Dum-E was on a mission.

In the corner, stuck on the ceiling, and Bucky would unpack that later, was Peter. He was holding a stack of papers, while a hologram was opened beneath him. he seemed to be calculating something.

Dum-E chirped and Peter handed the papers to the robot, muttering something before the robot sped back to Bruce.

Upon passing him, Dum-E let out a series of excitable chirps that made Bucky wonder how Stark had managed to make a robot sound excited.

Bruce turned at the sounds the robot made and his eyes lit up when he saw Bucky.

“Barnes!” he said, stepping back from his workbench. “I’m glad you’re here. I found something interesting in the sample Nat managed to extract from the location Daredevil was taken from and I believe it might tell us more about where they might be keeping him. I’d like you to take a look at it, it might mean something to you.”

Bucky nodded, ignoring the fluttering of his heart and the sudden weight on his chest. “You think it’ll trigger something from that time?”

Bruce frowned. “I’m hoping you’ll recognise it, maybe know what it is or where it came from.”

Bucky glanced at the small vial on the table, and then at the data on the screens. Inside the vial was a blue liquid but when he touched the vial to pick it up, it looked almost green. He glanced at Bruce, who was watching him with interest, before he removed the lid and inhaled.

Immediately, he was transported back to a moment from his past. A dark room, a massive chair with vibranium straps. The smell was ingrained in his mind, it would always haunt his dreams. His eyes shot open. How had he not put the pieces together? He’d seen the videos, he’d seen the surroundings. He should have known.

He locked eyes with Bruce, lowering the vial.

“I know where he is.”

Bruce’s eyes widened and Peter dropped down from the ceiling in surprise.

“What?” Peter whispered, darting closer to them to look at Bucky with wide eyes.

“I know where they’re keeping him,” Bucky said, his voice hollow. His chest felt tight yet empty at the same time. God, how he hoped he was wrong. How he hoped Daredevil was not in that room, in that building.

“FRI,” Peter said, eyes flicking up to the ceiling. “Get everyone to the lab, please. And can you ask Mr Stark to contact Mr Nelson?”

“Certainly, Peter,” FRIDAY replied.

“You recognise it?” Bruce asked. “What is it?”

“Nothing good,” Bucky muttered, hands coming up to run through his hair. He let out a breath and closed his eyes to calm his racing heart before he spoke again. “It’s a chemical that makes a person very susceptible to their surroundings. It alters the brain chemicals to make them believe their mind and their body is not their own.”

“Christ,” Bruce whispered. “You think they’re using it on Daredevil?”

“If they haven’t already, then they’re planning to. I should have recognised it sooner, we could’ve saved him already.” Bucky clenched his fists and closed his eyes, guilt washing over him. he could’ve saved Daredevil from more torture. If only he’d paid more attention to the video. He should have known.

“Hey, no, sergeant Barnes, Sir, don’t do that,” Peter spoke gently.

Two hands carefully pried his fists apart, preventing him from digging his nails into his palms and drawing blood.

“It is not your fault. You had no reason to suspect them to keep him in the same place. You didn’t know. But you do now, and that has helped. We’re going to bring him home, and you found him,” Peter kept speaking until his breathing evened out

“We’ll find him,” Bucky whispered, making eye contact with Peter.

The kid nodded. “Yes, we will. We’ll bring him home.”