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sjsmith56 · 8 months ago

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Level 42

Summary: One shot. A former guard from the Siberian HYDRA facility tells Bucky a secret that sends him back to the structure to find someone.

Length: 5.7 K

Characters: Bucky Barnes, Sam Wilson, Nick Fury, Thor, Yelena Belova, Clint Barton, Bruce Banner, OMC, several OFC, OCC.

Warnings: Memories of mistreatment, forced cryostasis on non-super soldiers, lost love, anger, angst, Bucky making a decision that you may or may not agree with.

Author notes: For some reason I had a bit of an earworm moment that spurred me to write this story. I heard Level 42's Something About You and kept hearing it or seeing the number 42 in weird places. So this is what came from all of those different exposures. I thought long and hard about Bucky’s decision at the end. In a sense, his former handler paid for the decisions of those before him.

🎶 🧊 ❤️

The drive to the prison wasn't a pleasant one for Bucky, as he sat in the passenger seat of Sam's truck. Even though he appeared to be tapping his fingers to the music playing from his phone, Sam could see the tension increase the closer they came to their destination. They were only going there to see someone from Bucky's past, his HYDRA past, on a request from the person. At first, when the request was initially made, Bucky said no.

"The man tormented me," he explained to Fury, who called him into his office to pass on the official request. "He was abusive verbally, physically, and mentally. I don't want to see him."

"Well, he says he has information for you and only for you," replied the director. "It could be a way to get some closure on that time in your life."

"He has nothing to say to me that I want to hear," insisted Bucky. "Nothing."

"Alright, I'll notify the prison administration that you refuse to see him."

That was a week ago. Two days ago, another request was sent to Fury, but there was an addition to it; the phrase "Level 42." When Fury said it to Bucky his face hardened, then he sat forward, boring his eyes into the man.

"Just those words?"

"Yes. What do they mean?"

Bucky sat back, his face a mask. Then he nodded.

"Alright, I'll go," he said. "But not alone. I want a witness. Sam."

He stood up to leave.

"Barnes, what does Level 42 mean?"

For a moment, Bucky hesitated, then he shook his head and walked out. Fury looked up at the ceiling.

"Friday, what does level 42 mean?"

The answer, the name of a British jazz-funk band from the 1980s meant nothing to him and considering Barnes was the Winter Soldier then, likely didn't mean anything to him, either. They got their name by taking the 42 from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, where it was said to be the answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe and Everything, which was also the title to the third book in the series. As Fury read the description of the third book, he saw something that troubled him and wondered if that had anything to do with it. Leaning back in his chair he thought for a moment.

"Friday, go through the HYDRA files. Look for anything involving a truth drug called Level 42. Bookmark any other references of that term. Mark for my eyes only."

If he found anything before Bucky and Sam left, he didn't say. They got in the truck and began the long drive to the prison, driving instead of flying because Bucky wanted the time to prepare himself to see Josef Czerny, a Czech born guard for HYDRA.

"You want to talk about him?" asked Sam.

"No." Bucky's terse reply wasn't a surprise. Then he let an audible breath out as he reconsidered. "He was a guard in Siberia, a nasty one. Bigger and heavier than me, with a streak of sadism every time I was being punished for my mistakes. He was there the day I returned with the serum that I killed Howard Stark for. Wasn't in the enclosure with the five other soldiers that received it. Good thing for him as he would have been dead after they went on their killing spree. After Karpov left to avoid retribution for wasting the serum on them, he left as well. Just went AWOL. Until he was found during the roundup of people after the release of the HYDRA files, driving a delivery truck in Florida. That's all I know about him."

"What's this Level 42 he mentioned?" Bucky turned to look at Sam. "Fury mentioned it."

"I don't want to say anything until I talk to Czerny," said Bucky. "He could have said it just to get my attention. Chances are he wants to taunt me."

It was early evening when they arrived at the prison. Officially, it was after visiting hours but Fury pulled some strings so they could see the man on their arrival. Their check-in meant Bucky underwent more scrutiny after setting off the metal detectors with his arm. When Sam pointed out that Bucky didn't need weapons to wreak havoc at the prison the warden extracted a promise not to do anything violent. With a scowl that seemed to fill the room, Bucky promised, and they were escorted to the prison hospital.

"He was in a super max prison but he's in the final stages of cancer," said the warden. "A couple of weeks, maybe only days is all he has left."

Stopping in front of the door to the man's cell, he signalled to the camera to unlock it then stepped back. The lock buzzed and both Bucky and Sam stepped inside a spartan room with a hospital bed, nightstand, IV stand, and several monitors hooked up to a being who was obviously a husk of what he looked like before. His thin frame reminded Sam of the pictures of concentration camp survivors after they were discovered. What was most prominent on him were his eyes, large and hollowed out. They focused on Bucky as soon as he entered the hospital cell, then the man's lips parted in what was supposed to be a smile but there was nothing friendly about it.

"Soldat." Czerny's voice was a raspy whisper. "I knew Level 42 would get your attention."

"What do you want?" asked Bucky, his voice and presence appearing strong.

"No comment about me getting my just desserts?" The former guard cackled, then wheezed, setting off some of the alarms on his monitors. He coughed then noticed Sam. "You brought a friend? Didn't trust yourself not to kill me now that I can't fight back?"

"That was your thing," replied Bucky. "I recall many times that you kicked me hard enough to make me piss blood for a week, but I couldn't fight back. I don't kill anymore. Now, what do you want to tell me?"

The man's face changed, revealing a face full of regret and, surprisingly to Sam, acceptance. He nodded, then looked up to the window that allowed him to view a small patch of blue sky. With a shaky hand he gestured to Bucky, who brought a chair closer.

"I'm going to Hell," said Czerny. "I've already seen it, and nothing will keep me from burning for eternity. I have no excuses for how I was when I was in HYDRA other than I liked to be in power over people, especially someone like you. Tormenting you was a pleasure because I was jealous of you, jealous that even though you were the Fist of HYDRA you still fought the programming, you still tried to stay human. I lost my humanity long before I was recruited and even though I told myself I was better than you, I knew deep down I wasn't."

He stopped talking and looked up at that blue patch of sky again.

"That's it? That's all you wanted to say?"

Bucky looked disappointed, then began to stand up.

"She's alive." Czerny still looked at that patch of sky, deliberately not looking at Bucky. "They didn't kill her. Instead, they put her into cryostorage. She's still in one of the lower levels of the Siberian facility, forgotten except for a few of us who knew she was hidden there. In the drawer is a letter. Take it, find her, before it's too late."

Bucky opened the drawer of the nightstand and drew out an envelope. Although the envelope was addressed in English to Czerny, it was obvious it was written by someone whose first language wasn't English. Sam stood up, looking over Bucky's shoulder as he pulled the letter out. It was written in another language, Russian, maybe. As Bucky read it, his face changed, then he looked at the former guard.

"Why now? Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"Hate and pride are powerful shackles," replied Czerny. "I'm just a coward. I'm sorry."

All sorts of emotions played over Bucky's face as he put the letter back in the envelope and slipped it inside his jacket. For the longest time he looked at the dying man.

"I can't forgive you for what you did all those years," he finally said. "But if I find her then I'll hope that your end comes quickly and without pain. That's the best I can do."

"It's more than I deserve."

He nodded at Bucky then looked up at the window again, focusing on that blue patch of sky. The other two went to the door, waiting for the click of the lock to let them out.

"What's in the letter?" asked Sam, but Bucky just shook his head.

It wasn't until they were back in the truck and had driven several miles that Bucky told Sam to pull over at a roadside rest area. He got out of the vehicle and went over to a picnic table, sitting on the top portion of it with his feet on the bench seat. Taking the letter out he read it again then looked at Sam with tortured eyes.

"She was a Widow, sent for extra training with me. Her mission was as an infiltration agent; to get into the inner circle of a prominent American and take him out. It was before the Stark mission but the only thing I know for sure is that it was the 1980s. She had one of those Walkman cassette players and she listened to a lot of music by a band called Level 42. She loved the music, and I would hear it from the hallway as I approached the training room. It was permitted as being part of her cover but there were times she would repeat the lyrics to me. I had been out of cryo for some time, so I was more myself then. Some of the lyrics came to have a lot of meaning for me, for us."

"You fell in love with each other?"

Bucky nodded. "I didn't even know her name. Wasn't allowed to know so I called her Level 42." He smiled. "I liked the music, too. It was jazzy and there were times she asked me to dance, my style of dancing. She'd look at the camera that always watched us and say she had to know how to do it right for the mission, so they let us continue. Until we took it too far."

"You were caught, weren't you?"

"Yeah." He looked at the letter. "We have to find her, Sam. She made me feel human."

"Okay."

"That's it? No argument, no trying to talk some sense into me?"

"No argument," replied Sam. "She was important to you and if she was brave enough to flaunt HYDRA rules then she likely had a mind of her own."

The next day

Fury looked at both men. "Is she still alive?"

He had obviously found an answer to his question about Level 42. The letter was in Bucky's hand, but he handed it to his boss, knowing he could read Russian, even as the super soldier stated what it said.

"According to this letter the chamber is still functioning as the power is still on at the facility. But it won't be for long as the Russian government is planning to destroy it. Something about removing symbols of oppression."

"More like removing evidence of their complicity," grumbled Sam. "We can revive her, right?"

"She's not supposed to be enhanced like Rogers or Barnes was but theoretically, yes," replied the Avengers director. "I suppose you want the quinjet. Who else do you want on the mission?"

The two Avengers looked at each other. "Yelena, Thor and Clint, if he's willing," blurted Sam. "With a sorcerer contingency to transport the cryochamber here if we can't thaw her out before we have to get out of there."

"We better send Banner or Cho to provide medical treatment if anything goes wrong," added Fury. "Wheels up in two hours. I'll call Clint personally and get a sorcerer to bring him here." The two men turned to leave his office. "Barnes, wait." Bucky stopped. "You're sure that she's not enhanced."

"She wasn't when we were together," he confirmed. "Whether they gave her serum when they took her away isn't known, unless you found something."

Fury met Barnes' stern gaze with his own. "It's not clear. They may have given her something, but I don't know if it was a new form of serum. I was looking for something else in the HYDRA files but had increased the search parameters for any reference to Level 42. It mentioned her nickname. It's possible they wiped her memory."

"Understood. If she is out of control both Thor and I will be there."

He left, hurrying to catch up to Sam. Both men prepared in the locker room; Bucky changing into his tactical suit, while Sam put his inner layer of clothing on. The flying suit would go in its travelling case, and he would put it on just before they arrived. The door to the locker room opened and Clint entered.

"Well, Laura wasn't thrilled, but I needed a change of pace," he said. "What's my role?"

"Firepower and back-up pilot," said Bucky. "We're trying to rescue someone put into cryosleep involuntarily. It's possible she received a serum before she went in but it's not clear. Thor and I may have to restrain her while Sam and a doctor work on her. Yelena is also coming, because of her background as a Widow."

"Another Widow?" Clint looked from one to the other. "How long has she been frozen?"

"Since the late 1980s," said Sam. "We don't even know her name. Bucky only knew her as Level 42, like the band."

Bucky was grateful that Clint didn't say the obvious; if she wasn't given the super soldier serum her chances of survival weren't good. An hour later they were on the quinjet and in the air. He told them everything he remembered about her, and how the guard who was now dying had given him the letter about the power still being on.

"You're sure he was on the level?" asked Clint. "This isn't HYDRA trying to get you back?"

"Fury checked satellite footage of the site," said Bucky. "There has been some minimal activity there, but they look like people assessing the structure. They wore jackets with the name of a demolition company. I figured Sam could stay outside and monitor any comings and goings while the four of us enter the facility to locate her. Then we call for Sam and Banner to head down. If we can defrost her there, I would prefer that but if we have to carry the chamber out Thor and I should be able to handle it. Yelena and Clint can pilot either way."

"Why should we help her?" Yelena had barely said anything since being placed on the mission. "The Widows of that time were well indoctrinated. I should know as Dreykov always talked about them being the good years when the Widows did as they were told."

"Level 42 was permitted to listen to Western music, on a Walkman. I was to train her in more forms of physical combat, as well as in stealth manoeuvres. She pushed the limits of our working relationship, inviting me to dance with her. She openly justified it as having to know my style of dancing as part of her infiltration technique, yet I danced to 1940s music, not 1980s. Among other things, she shared the song lyrics with me, lyrics I still remember." He looked at Yelena with understanding. "Yes, most of the Widows then were hard core spies and assassins but she was different, and she made me feel human. Please, help me save her."

She made a face, but nodded in agreement, so he hugged her, surprising everyone. As the flight continued, he went over the layout of the facility from what he could remember. Hopefully, they hadn't changed anything since then. For the remainder of the flight, he sat quietly, looking at the letter. With an hour left before their arrival, they began to get ready, checking weapons, while Sam put the suit on. Bucky wore a backpack with several foil thermal blankets, as well as some heat packs whose temperature could be adjusted. He had also packed some soft clothing, sweatpants and sweatshirt, as well as some medications to strengthen the heart rate. They all confirmed their comms pieces were working. Landing just outside the entrance into the facility, they noticed there were no other vehicles nearby and the door was wide open. Still, they entered with care while Sam kept watch outside, and Bruce monitored them from inside the quinjet.

"According to the letter, she is in a storage room 10 levels down," said Bucky, as they approached a stairwell. "I have no memories of being down there, so I don't know if any defensive or protective measures are in place. Go slow, be alert, and watch your backs."

They took the stairs down, although Clint wanted to see if the elevator would work, in case they had to bring the cryo chamber up. It did, although it was slow, and the others reached the 10th level down significantly sooner than he did. The lights didn't come on automatically down there, either. Some turned on by a switch but when they didn't, they had to crack some lighting sticks, which added to the sense of sickly doom inside the corridor. Bucky could barely manage his anxiety as they carefully moved down the hallway, testing each door and opening it to check inside.

"I can smell death in here, Yasha," commented Yelena, in Russian. "There are many ghosts present."

Bucky said nothing, just stopping then staring at a door at the end of the hallway.

"There's a hum coming from that door," he stated. "It's barely audible but it could be a cryo chamber in conservation mode."

They ignored the other doors, heading straight to the one at the end. Finding it locked, Bucky kicked it open, and they saw several cryo chambers, five in all, each of them with a figure inside. The surface of the glass was so frosted over that it was difficult to tell whether each one contained a man or a woman.

"Did the letter say there were others?" asked Thor.

"No, but there should be some documentation of who they are in the file cabinets," replied Bucky, going to the first chamber and using the warmth of his right hand to melt some of the frost to look inside. "This chamber is older than the others. There's only a view hole for the face. Puts it in the 1950s or 1960s."

Yelena was at another one, looking for any sort of identification on it. "They have letter and number designations, but it is prefaced with the word Prisoner, so this one wasn't a volunteer for HYDRA."

"We should awaken all of them," said Clint, then he shrugged when the others all looked at him. "They're going to bring this place down. If we don't, they die." He pointed at the oldest chamber. "That must weigh at least a ton. I don't know if you two want to be hauling that many cylinders up. There's no way we can carry all of them in the quinjet. Might need that portal."

Bucky went down the row of chambers, clearing away the frost on each of them but not looking closely at the inhabitant, then stopped at the fourth of the five. Something caught his attention and he stared at the face inside, then cleared away the identification plate.

"This is her." He took a deep breath. "They put her in a cryo suit, but she'll be soaking wet once the thaw process is complete. Clint, you and Yelena go back up. Send Sam and Bruce down with extra emergency coverings and all the dry clothing they can gather. I'm going to start the thaw cycle on her."

They headed back to the elevator while Bucky started the procedure then pulled his backpack down and brought everything out. Thor went over to the filing cabinets, looking for the designations on the folders that matched the designations on the chambers. He found three fairly quickly, when he heard the sound of the chamber with Level 42 opening. Bucky was already undoing all the restraints on the woman who seemed barely responsive. Her body was limp, and she was covered in a film of icy water. Finally freeing her Bucky laid her on a mat that had automatically inflated when he unrolled the thin roll it had been. He placed a thermal sensor on her forehead, noting her body temperature was 30 degrees Celsius. Quickly he covered her with a thermal blanket, wrapping it around her, then placed several heat packs under the mat, allowing it to spread the heat evenly through the mat.

"Do you need my assistance, Buck?" asked Thor. "I have found three of the five files."

"Find the other two," said Bucky. "So far, I've been able to manage and if Sam and Bruce bring more supplies down, they can take over while I awaken the others."

Noticing that the unconscious woman was starting to shiver Bucky quickly pulled her cryo suit off, using his knife to cut into it, remembering how hard it had been to remove it in one piece from his own body. Quickly, he pulled the dry clothing over her, then added socks on her feet and a stocking cap on her head, before tucking her back under the thermal blanket. As her eyes fluttered, he placed his right hand on her cheek.

"L'ubímaja [beloved]. It's me, your Soldier. I have found you. Can you hear me?"

She groaned then her eyes fluttered open and she muttered, and he spoke softly to her again in Russian.

"Your vision will return. You've been in cryosleep, radnaja [darling]. Just breathe. I am here with you."

Sam and Bruce, both of them stopping in shock at the site of five chambers, advanced towards Bucky who told them what he had done. The thermal sensor had warmed up to 31 degrees Celsius. Bruce took a stethoscope out to listen to her heartbeat and lungs, then nodded at Bucky.

"Keep her warming up slowly," he said. He gestured at the others. "What's their story?"

Thor came, having found the final two folders, dropping them off in front of Bucky. Quickly, he picked up Level 42's folder and opened it, reading the contents that were written in Russian.

"She was treated with an experimental serum, then placed in cryosleep in November of 1989." He let out a tortured breath. "She's been here ever since. Damn them." Flipping through the others he opened the file for the oldest chamber, then sucked in his breath. "Bastards. That chamber on the left contains the daughter of one of Stalin's enemies. She was only 17 when they kidnapped her. They injected her with the same serum I was given but they didn't even wait to see the results. They just froze her."

He got up to look at her face in the small viewing port. Bruce looked through as well, while Sam continued to monitor Level 42's progress. Bucky's face went grim.

"I don't want to even try resuscitating her here," he said. "These old chambers were tricky. We should take her back and try in a controlled medical environment. Theoretically, it would be equivalent to how Steve was thawed out. If she's had the serum her body should be able to handle it. There's no mention of the memory device being used so her personality should be intact."

"I agree." Bruce gestured to the other three. "What about them?"

Bucky opened the next file, comparing the photo inside with the woman in the chamber, which seemed to be an earlier model as well, like a hybrid between the first and third one.

"Imprisoned for saying no in 1974," he said, scowling again. "She rebuffed the advances of a high-ranking HYDRA official who wanted her to be his mistress. She was already married. They killed her husband, then he froze her with the plan to unthaw her when he was old and she was still young, to prove his control over her life. Except, he made a mistake and was executed in 1981. They just left her in the chamber as someone else's problem. No serum."

"We take this chamber back then," said Bruce. "I don't even want to try without medical backup."

They stopped at the third one, which contained a child, a boy. Both men looked at each other in disgust, then Bucky read the file, his face changing into something more sympathetic as he read it.

"Okay, this is unusual. How he got away with it, I don't know. Son of an industrialist who was high up in HYDRA. The boy has cystic fibrosis. His father paid millions of rubles to freeze him in the hope of someday there being a cure. Is there one?"

He looked Bruce who shook his head slightly. "Not really, although the drug therapies are more effective and their life span and quality of life have improved greatly. No serum in this one?" Bucky shook his head. "Okay, we take his chamber back, but his chances aren't good."

They stopped in front of the final chamber and Bucky flipped the folder open without looking inside at the person. His face became dark, and only then did he look at the man inside the cryo chamber for a considerable time. Then he closed the folder, his mouth set in a grim line.

"A HYDRA handler. In fact, he was my handler ... the one who took her away. This was his punishment for losing control of the Asset. He doesn't deserve to live as none of the handlers respected life. I know that as a doctor, you have an oath, but if we leave him here, that wouldn't violate it, would it?"

Bruce let out a significant breath. "No, but what if the authorities here decide to thaw him out? Do you want that?"

"No, but there's something I can do to make it certain he wouldn't be found but he wouldn't be dead, either." Bucky looked at the doctor steadily. "I promise I won't kill him."

With a nod of his head Bruce agreed then he activated his comms piece and contacted Avengers headquarters to find out if the quinjet could handle the weight of three cryo chambers. With the word that it was better to use a portal he requested one and promised to let them know when they were ready. Bucky was kneeling down next to Level 42, who was breathing easier, but still seemed to be a little out of it. Speaking softly to her in Russian, Bucky smiled when she answered one of his comments in flawless English, asking her own questions.

"You're free?" she asked softly. "HYDRA and the Red Room are gone?"

"Many years ago," he answered. "I have many of my memories back, including my name, James Buchanan Barnes. I'm American. I only know you as Level 42. Do you remember how we danced?"

She smiled. "You were a good dancer, James. My name is Renata Irina Volkov. How long have I been frozen?"

A sigh prefaced his answer. "36 years, Renata. I'm not the young man I was then but still not too old to have a life with you, if you wish it. When your vision returns, you can decide, radnaja."

He looked at Bruce, who was still monitoring her temperature and heartbeat.

"Renata, you can go back in the quinjet, if you want the time to talk," he said. "You're very stable. I'll go back with the other three chambers."

"Sam, would you help Renata up to the quinjet while I take care of something down here?"

His best friend smiled, then picked her up, carrying her in his arms to the elevator and taking it up. Bruce called for a portal, then took four of the folders, leaving the one with the handler behind. Thor moved the other three chambers through the portal, returning before it closed then looked at Bucky who still studied the chamber that held his old handler.

"How can I help, Buck?" he asked.

"I want to bring down this portion of the room around it, so that it's obscured," said Bucky. "A demolition team would just see debris and leave it untouched as it wouldn't be safe for them to even set charges in here. He'll live like this in the darkness forever. It is what he deserves."

Just before they began to destroy the room, they cleared away the supplies that Sam and Bruce brought down with them to return to the top. Then Bucky checked the functions on the cryo chamber before he and Thor began pulling the room down around it. Satisfied, they picked up the supplies and took the elevator up to the top. No one had approached the facility while they were there. Boarding the quinjet they stowed the supplies then Clint and Yelena started the aircraft, lifting it up into the air. Renata and Bucky looked at it then he helped her back into a seat, gently belting her in before fastening his own restraints. They began the long flight back to the Avengers compound, listening to the band, Level 42, on Bucky's cell phone.

Three months later

"Yuri, Irina, come," said Mariya, the woman who had been frozen in 1974. She watched as the 91-year-old who looked 17 held her hand out to the 57-year-old who was now a healthy 11-year-old boy and hanging upside down from a tree at the Avengers compound. "Hurry, Yasha and Renata will be here shortly. We're having a ...." She looked at Bruce. "What do you call it again?"

"Barbecue," he said, smiling at the dark-haired woman. "Everyone's coming for a barbecue."

She flashed him a smile that filled him with warmth. Her charms were obvious. No wonder the HYDRA official wanted her.

"Barbecue," she repeated. "Come or you don't get ice cream!" Turning, she walked back towards the main building with him. "So, you're satisfied with our health, enough to allow us to leave, if we wish. What if, we don't wish to leave? What if, we like living here? Yuri and Irina need a parent. I'm old enough to be their aunt."

"Their attractive and young-looking aunt," interjected Bruce. He noticed Thor waiting for them outside the building with Love. "Wouldn't have anything to do with a 1500-year-old Demi god, would it?"

"Perhaps," she said, her cheeks pinking up. "He has seen much and says we can split our time between here and New Asgard. I don't want to go back to Russia. There is nothing for the three of us there, not anymore."

"Well, you'll all be welcome, since I have to keep tabs on your health anyways. With Irina having super soldier abilities I'm sure they'll want her to consider joining the Avengers. Yelena and Bucky both say they'll work with her for training, if she wants it."

"Mariya," smiled Thor, putting his arms out.

She hugged Love first, who stuck her tongue out cheekily at her father, then she hugged Thor. The other two rushed up.

"I win!" Yuri jumped up and down. "I'm faster than you."

"Sure, you are, little man," said Irina, winking at the others. "Nothing to do with the blood transfusion from me that cured you."

"Maybe," he admitted. "But I still won."

They entered the building, seeing Bucky and Renata inside, holding hands. Yuri ran for her, laughing when she picked him up and tossed him in the air. Cheek kisses were given to the other two survivors of the cryo chambers then they headed towards the elevator, going up to the roof top terrace where the barbecue was happening. The celebration of their 3 months of freedom after the years in the cryo chambers had been in the works for a couple of weeks. It was a milestone moment for them and for Bucky, as well, looking with love on Renata as she made the rounds with the other survivors to Clint and his family, Yelena, Sam, and several others who had been involved in their medical care since their arrival.

As he watched, his cell phone vibrated and he checked the messages, seeing one that had him nod his head. The Siberian facility was officially demolished, charges placed on all levels, then set off in a sequence that collapsed the interior structure of the site. In a year's time when his old handler's chamber started its pre-programmed thawing sequence, he would be trapped inside a tomb of rock, hundreds of feet inside the ground under the Siberian wasteland. He would still be alive, for a time.

Bucky had no regrets about that, his last unofficial hit. As he told Bruce, some people didn't deserve to live. Placing his phone back in his pocket, he looked up, alerted by the laughter of Renata, Mariya, Irina and Yuri, as they posed for cell phone pictures. Four lives saved because of a guard who finally let go of hate and told him a long-held secret. He looked at the blue sky above them and thanked Josef Czerny one more time. Then he stepped forward and joined the others. Life was so much more enjoyable now.

Is it so wrong to be human after all? (Line from Something About You, by Level 42)

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