Where am I?

I'm cold. My head...

"Young lady, are you injured? Were you inside that structure during the battle?"

"What...Who are you...?"

As the man reached down to lift you from the frozen ground, the world went dark before you could say any more.

~~~

It had been six months now since Thor had carried you out of the woods that day, not caring that he didn't know who you were or where you came from. The Avengers had stormed a hidden HYDRA lab, looking for suspected subjects of human experimentation, and you had managed to break free as the scientists and guards that surrounded you had run off to assist in the fight.

You weren't sure of the details; it was all hazy and broken in your memory, but you clearly remember Thor's face as he leaned over you. He was being cautious for some reason, holding his hammer in front of himself as a defense. You didn't understand it at the time; hell, you didn't understand anything.

You really understand now.

"(Y/N) if you can't find a way to control your rage then this will never work." Bruce stood next to you as you leaned against the lab table, your breaths ragged and strained. Your hands gripped its edges, your arms locked tightly as they trembled with a building energy.

"Listen to me. You are a part of this team now. We need you to do this. You need to do this. Focus on keeping your mind in control."

His voice was becoming distant and your heart began to pound so hard that you were certain it would explode within you. "Doctor Banner..." A low growl rumbled from deep in your chest. You looked at your hands, now a familiar shade of green, as they began to crack the wooden table.

"(Y/N). You can do this." He backed away, preparing himself to intervene.

Your mind was blank as you looked at him. A red haired woman now stood before you, her hands in front of her, trying to calm you. Bruce, I think you had better stop her. Her words meant nothing. She was nothing to you. She was a threat.

As your clothing ripped away and your body completed its transformation, you let out a roar that shook the windows of the lab. The red haired woman ran for the door, sounding alarms that stunned you and shrieked in your ears. She needed to be stopped.

You took a booming step towards her as a man with a shield and another in some sort of metal suit stepped into the doorway. Banner, do something now! A loud roar then came from behind you. You turned to face the new threat and were met with a hard hit to your face, knocking you down. Something stabbed you in your leg, and you fought to maintain consciousness as the larger green hulk held you down, but your fight was quickly over.

~~~

You woke with a start, straps covering your chest, arms and legs, securing you to the gurney. As your senses came back to you, it was clear that you were still in the lab; you could hear Bruce working a few feet away.

"Did I hurt anyone?"

"Hey, you're awake." The doctor moved to stand next to you, now beginning to remove your restraints. "No, you didn't hurt anyone."

"But you had to stop me, didn't you?" You closed your eyes, regretful that he had to transform himself because of you, knowing how difficult it was for him. "I'm sorry. Maybe we should just give up."

"Absolutely not. (Y/N), you'll get there, I promise. These things take time."

As you sat up, Steve entered the lab, bringing the new team member that you had heard would be moving into the tower today. "Doctor Banner, (Y/N), this is Bucky Barnes. Buck, this is Bruce and (Y/N)." Bruce moved quickly to shake his hand, but you were reluctant. His face was familiar. His metal arm kept catching your vision. His eyes...you knew them, but from where?

Shaking off your momentary lapse in manners, you hopped down from the table to offer your hand. "Mr. Barnes, it's nice to meet you. Steve hasn't stopped talking about you since he told us you were moving in."

"Please, call me Bucky." He continued to hold your hand, searching your eyes for recognition. Did he feel the same thing you had? Did you know each other? There was definitely something here, and you were determined to figure it out.

"Bucky."

~~~

That evening you decided to do some research on Mr. Barnes, seeing if you could find a link between the two of you. Your memory of the lab was patchy, and you had avoided information on HYDRA up to this point. It was in the past and you wanted to keep it that way. You sat in the dimly lit library, working on your laptop. The glow from your screen gave off just enough light for you to see the dark figure standing by the door in your peripheral vision.

"Hello, Bucky." As you spoke, you kept your eyes on the screen, engaging him without inviting him to join you. "Can I help you?"

"I know you."

"Yes."

His eyes widened, almost fearing what you would tell him. "How?"

Sitting back in your chair, you sighed, throwing your reading glasses casually on the table. "I was hoping you would know, to be honest. I've been doing some research, and all I can figure is that you were probably there when HYDRA captured me. But I can't be certain." In the darkness, his figure was intimidating, but his tone was soft and unassuming when he spoke.

"I don't remember. Much of those memories are gone. I'm sorry."

You gestured for him to sit next to you, but he continued to stand. "I won't bite." With a smirk, you chuckled a bit at your choice of words. "Well, not that I know of, anyway. I don't think I've bitten anyone. Just don't make me angry and we should be okay. You won't like me when I'm angry."

His face shifted to an expression of terror, and he stumbled backwards towards the door. "You're the monster. I'm not...I'm not strong enough."

"Bucky, wait. I'm not going to change, I promise." You stayed seated as to not startle him any further. "Doctor Banner and I have been working on it. Please, don't leave."

He hesitated for a moment, still watching you with scared eyes. "Okay, so...so what else do you know?" Bucky slowly made his way to a chair across from you, still close to the door in case he needed to make an escape.

"Well," you exhaled, "there's something about your arm that strikes a nerve for me. I don't know what it is, but the sight of it calms me down somehow. I think you were there during the experiments. Probably as a guard in case it got out of hand."

He turned the computer to look at the research you had done so far, pointing to the screen as he turned it back to you. "This building looks familiar to me."

"That's the lab. That's where the team found me; when Thor rescued me." Slowly and cautiously, you put a hand over his. "You said you weren't strong enough..."

Bucky's eyes instantly moved to look at your hand, but he didn't pull away. "It was just a flash in my mind. That means we must have fought, right?"

Taking a deep breath, you slowly let it out, contemplating your answer. "Maybe not." Pulling out your phone, you grew excited at a new possibility that hadn't been there before. "I have an idea."

~~~

Bruce yawned as he stood in the lab, his hands in his coat pockets. "I don't know, (Y/N). Are you sure you want to try this? You know how this ends if it doesn't work."

Bucky was sitting quietly in the corner, clearly nervous about his role in the experiment you were planning.

"I'm sure." Standing firm across from the doctor, you readied yourself for the oncoming transformation. Or, if you were right, none at all. "Go."

Banner had worked hard to collect your triggers, all of which would take you to green quickly and effectively. He handed you a pair of headphones, filled with the sounds that gave you rage. Closing your eyes at the barrage of stimuli, you gripped the table as you felt your body begin to surge with energy.

"Alright, Mr. Barnes, please stand here, in front of me." Bucky hesitated, but stood and moved in front of Bruce. "I'll be here if she loses control." Bucky looked back, as if to disbelieve that the unassuming scientist would have any chance against you. "I've...um...I've stopped her before."

Bucky nodded quietly, his eyes locked on you. "(Y/N), look at me." You kept your head down, your eyes still squeezed tightly closed. "I can't..." He took a step towards you, his resolve growing, moving as if something was willing him forward. "Look. At. Me." Bruce's hand was now near the emergency alarm, not willing to risk anyone's safety in case this got out of his control.

Your breathing quickened, the familiar pounding in your chest intensifying. The low, guttural growl was growing, yearning to be released. The table began to shake under your hold, but Bucky took yet another step closer, slamming his metal hand on the table between your hands. "Vy ostanovit'sya (you will stop now)!"

Your head snapped up to look at the man with the metal arm, and he was familiar to you. His firm order to stop startled you, a halting of the transformation almost instant. As your body slowly became yours to control once again, you felt the familiar fatigue wash over you. Stumbling back, you fell into a chair, panting and shaking.

"Bruce...it worked."

Bruce ran to your side, checking your vital signs and observing the reversal of the process. "This is incredible." He looked to Bucky with awe, "we've never been able to stop it. We've only been able to sedate (Y/N) until it finally releases her. How did you think of this?"

Bucky was backing away, shaking his head, not understanding what had taken over him. He whispered as he looked at his metal hand, "we've done this before."

"What? What do you mean?"

"We think that he was trained to do this, when the experimentation started. They needed someone powerful enough to control it when they couldn't. When I saw his arm, I knew that I had met him before." Slowly and cautiously standing, gaining your equilibrium, you moved towards Bucky, "Are you okay?"

"Thank you, (Y/N)."

Shaking your head, you laughed quietly at this, unsure of what he meant. "Why would you be thanking me? I am grateful to you, Bucky. If you're willing to help me, I think I have a future on this team; a future of my own that I can actually look forward to."

He gave a faint smile, his expression introspective. "We have a place in the world now."