Morden Man

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Bucky had listened from his seat in complete silence as Smiley ran through the details of the mission. Smiley was forensic, analytical, and calculating. Perhaps even more so than his position called for him to be. It was clear that he'd done this more times than he could count and that fact put Bucky at ease as he ran him through it. Yemen was a damn sight different from the Ardennes and HYDRA and the technology they had at their disposal made what Bucky used to go up against seem like children's toys. To hear Smiley talk though, Bucky was certain that there were still some unshakeable truths to espionage that had remained unchanged by the passage of time. He took one last glance at the picture of Tiger Shark before sliding it back along the table towards George.

"Just the one," Bucky muttered, fully aware that Smiley would know what Barnes was about to ask him. "If I can't bring him in...?"

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As George spoke Bucky thought back to that day over the Atlantic when Steve and he had clung so desperately to the side of Zemo's plane. He remembered their futile attempts to disarm the bomb aboard it failing time and time again and the look that had appeared on Steve's face as he realised what he had to do. The rotors of the plane roared so loudly that Bucky could barely hear himself cry out as Steve had kicked him free from the plane. He'd seen Steve look down at him for but a second as he tumbled towards the icy water beneath him. The force the explosion had sent him crashing beneath the surface and the cold felt like it seeped through his skin and into his bones as Bucky was lost to the darkness. Steve's face was etched into his memory as he sank deeper by the second.

Barnes took a glance down at the star on his chest as the scale of what he was about to commit himself to dawned on him. The pain, the torment, and the sacrifice he'd be forced to subject himself to for as long as he lived. Stephanie Carter had wanted it, at least she thought she did, but she hadn't seen Steve's face that day as he accepted his fate. That was the life he'd be choosing if he agreed. That would be the end he'd likely be accepting.

With a solemn nod, Bucky looked towards Smiley. "I'm ready."

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Bucky couldn't remember the last time someone had called him James. He'd been Bucky for so long that sometimes even he forgotten it wasn't his real name. His middle name was Buchanan, after James Buchanan, and his family had taken to calling him "Bucky" since before he could walk. He liked the name as a kid, he thought it made him sound much tougher than James, and figured himself for a real Huck Finn at the time so a name like "Bucky" fit him like a glove. It stuck with him though Camp Lehigh, with Steve, and even the Howling Commandos. Hearing his actual name was a surprise. An unexpectedly pleasant one.

Smiley was well-spoken and carried himself with a grace that often accompanied Englishmen. Bucky had met his fair share during the war and had always been struck by their ability to keep a "stiff upper lip" in even the most dire of times. Smiley seemed cut from the same cloth.

Bucky slid a hand over his head, pulling his cowl back, as he considered Smiley's thanks. "That's... very kind of you."

It had never occurred to him that someone might thank him for his service. His country had called on him to protect her and those that couldn't protect themselves. To not heed that call would have been anathema to Bucky, Steve, and all the other men that had run towards peril instead of away from it. From the sound of it Smiley's father felt likewise.

"I'm not proud of the things I did back then but they were necessary," Bucky muttered. "We made sacrifices and did things we sometimes didn't want to do so that there might come a time when other people weren't forced to do the same. I've not been awake long but from the looks of things there's still a lot of work to be done."

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Bucky lost count of the number of heads that turned as he walked through the Triskelion to George Smiley's office. Hill explained that he hadn't been officially sworn in as Deputy Director yet but that it was as good as done given the government had all but handed Fury carte blanche at the moment. Defeating HYDRA was priority number one for every law enforcement on Earth, national or transnational, and once Fury had put it out there that Smiley would be integral in that Congress would line up to swear him in. Barnes nodded his way through Hill's explanation, completely oblivious to the politics of the day, but finally it occurred to him he was none of the wiser as to the "situation" Hill had mentioned.

"So are you going to tell me what's going on?"

Hill stopped and thought for a second, before shaking her head. "I'll let Smiley explain."

Barnes shrugged his shoulders and followed after Hill a short while longer until they came to a stop outside of an office. The nameplate that had once adorned the door to the office had been pushed out and had yet to be replaced. Inside there was the sound of faint shuffling, like boxes being moved around, and Hill indicated to Bucky to wait for a second as she knocked on it.

"Deputy Director Smiley? It's Maria Hill," She said, leaning towards the door in an attempt to speak through it. "I've brought... Captain America is with me. Should I send him in?"

A voice from inside indicated to her to send Barnes in and she opened the door and ushered Bucky inside. There in the office stood a middle-aged man whose face was adorned with wrinkles, atop his head was once dark hair that had faded almost completely grey, and his soft eyes sat behind thick glasses that looked made him look more accountant than spy. At once Smiley managed to look exactly as Bucky had imagined him and nothing like he had imagined. He was completely and entirely forgettable. For most men that was a weakness, for George Smiley it seemed a strength. He smiled modestly at Bucky as the two made eye contact and the door to his office shut with a quiet click.

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If anything can get my back on track, it's my man Joey B.

@Byrd Man

WARNING: there is a dangerous amount of swag enclosed.

My Hider

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Stop what? Hahahahahahahahahaha. You're so funny. Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!

@Byrd Man

Maximum Comics: Dawn of Justice | REBRANDING - PLEASE STAY TUNED

Maria Hill glowered in Tony and Bucky's direction from the doorway of the simulation room. Where this morning she had been a picture of serenity, now Hill had a ferocious look on her face that had Stark quaking in his metal boots. Bucky had been around men like Maria Hill his entire life, though he'd never met a woman like her, and as such the intensity that bled out of her had less of an effect on him than it had Stark. He took a few steps towards her and raised the arc shield in her direction with a smile.

"Relax, Agent Hill, I was just making sure Stark's shield was ready for the field."

"You can call this little dick measuring contest whatever you want," Maria Hill said with a derisive head shake. Bucky could tell by the way she looked at Stark that she had a low opinion of him. "Smiley has been waiting for you in his office for twenty minutes. There's been a situation."

Bucky sighed. "Another one?"

Maria Hill's eyes narrowed a little at the comment but otherwise she was statue still with her hands stuck to her hips. They had filled Bucky in this morning on George Smiley's de facto promotion to Deputy Director of SHIELD. He was a Brit, former MI6, and the word around town was that he was the complete antithesis of Nick Fury. A softly-spoken, old fashioned spymaster that relied on the pen rather than the sword.

"Looks like duty calls," Bucky said to Stark as he gestured towards the exit. "It was nice meeting you, Tony, and I have to say that suit of yours is every bit as impressive as they say."

He extended his hand towards Stark and smiled warmly. "We should do this again sometime."

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Stark's repulsor blasts flew towards Bucky and he extended his arm out hopefully and attempted to parry the balls of energy away from him. They clattered against the shield, which remained completely still despite the contact, and flew away harmlessly without so much as staggering Barnes. Bucky looked down at the arc shield, slightly impressed, and then smiled up at Stark. This morning he was visiting Steve's grave, earlier he'd been shaking with rage upon learning Steve's shield had been stolen, but despite all of that Bucky thought he might actually be having some fun.

"That's all that hunk of junk of yours has got?" Bucky grinned. "Oh, you're in trouble, Stark."

The shield left his hand and ricocheted off nearly a half dozen surfaces before it came crashing down on the back of Stark's head and disrupted his peaceful hovering. As the arc shield careened threw the air and landed in one of Bucky's gloved hands he let out a derisive laugh that he knew would get to a man as proud as Tony Stark.

"Show me what that suit of yours is really capable of."

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Stark was giddy as the two men stood opposite one another in the simulation room. Bucky remembered feeling the same way when he'd first got to suit up next to Steve. His body still hurt from his scrap with Stephanie earlier but he was certain he could take whatever punishment Stark's suit could dish out. Bucky was a survivor, he'd always been one, and a fancy suit wasn't going to give him any lumps that he couldn't come back from.

On the way there Fitz had explained to Bucky that with time they thought they'd be able to modify the arc shield so that Bucky could direct it and even further down the line maybe even take other forms. He had sounded excited. Barnes tried to remember how to activate the shield. A wrist strap, so small it was barely noticeable, that would activate when Bucky clenched his fist. He squeezed and with a crackle the shield burst into life. Its red, white, and blue shone even brighter than the original shield.

"Scared?" Bucky said with a smile. "You're the one that ought to be scared."

He flung the shield in Stark's direction and ran towards him. It came crashing down against Tony's armour and bounced back to Bucky in time for him to put all of his weight behind it and shunt Stark with all his might.

Maximum Comics: Dawn of Justice | REBRANDING - PLEASE STAY TUNED

The fat teenager in his thick-rimmed glasses had all but gone unnoticed by Barnes but he smiled in his direction and extended his arm in the boy's direction. Suddenly all the defiance disappeared from him and, slightly overawed, he reached out and place one of his chubby hands in Bucky's hand. It was shaking gently and Bucky could see from the sweat along the boy's brow that he was nervous. Stark was used to this kind of thing. This guy obviously wasn't.

Bucky shook the boy's hand. "Thank you for all your hard work, son."

Son? For a second there Bucky had sounded like Steve. He hadn't even thought before opening his mouth but before he knew it "son" had crept out and suddenly he'd aged himself ten years by uttering a single one word. Maybe Steve had once felt as uncomfortable as Bucky did in the uniform, maybe he'd felt like an impostor too, and wearing it had forced him to become something more than he was. It was a comforting thought but not one Bucky was sure he bought.

"Testing it?" Barnes smiled at Stark and prepared to feign ignorance. "Your file says you have some... suits, was it? What say you put one of those suit things on and see whether this shield you designed is going to get me killed or not."

A nervous look appeared on Osnick's face and Bucky smiled at him disarmingly. "Better to find out now than later when I'm in the field, right?"