The fall was painful. The excruciating pain of his arm practically ripping out of its socket was enough to kill any normal person. However, James Buchanan Barnes was not any normal person. He was Steve Rogers' best friend, and one of the greatest members of the Howling Commandos. His impressive weaponry skills were not something to ignore. And they didn't go unnoticed. Bucky had been kidnapped by HYDRA, the nazi research division, and was undergoing numerous tests. However, he completely opposed it. The fact that he now had a metal arm, a weapon put there without his consent, completely aggravated the fact that he needed to escape.

Whenever he was being strapped up for more procedures, Bucky would fight. He would squirm and kick and flail his arms, to no avail. Bucky never stopped trying to escape. He always listened when they talked about Captain America, who he knew as his life-long best friend, Steven Rogers. He fought. He always fought. He had to escape HYDRA.

One day, Bucky was about to be placed in cryo-freeze for the first time. He struggled to get away, but stopped when he heard the HYDRA agents cheering.

"The plane went down!" One cheered, "The American is dead!"

Bucky immediately realised what they were talking about. His best friend was gone, and it was HYDRA's fault. Using what energy he had left, Bucky fought the agents, kicking and punching and trying to get rid of the mob of HYDRA agents surrounding him and keeping him back. He fought like he'd never fought before, but before he could do anything else, he was pushed back into cryo chamber and strapped quickly in place.

When Bucky awoke, some years later, he had all his memories wiped before he could regain full consciousness. When they spoke of the American, Bucky only knew him as a fallen enemy. When they spoke of "the Winter Soldier", he had no idea who he was before that. He could remember nothing. However, deep, deep down, he felt something.

A HYDRA agent, clad in black, walked calmly towards Bucky. He was holding a notebook painted red with a symbol, the same star as the one on Bucky's metal arm, and placed it on a table. The man began to speak in Russian.

"Hello soldier."

Bucky was strapped into a chair, dressed in a black jacket with the left sleeve torn off to reveal his metal arm. His hair had grown a fair bit, having not had a haircut in about two years. The man looked Bucky dead in the eyes.

"Longing,
Rusted,
Seventeen,
Daybreak,
Furnace,
Nine,
Benign,
Homecoming,
One,
Freight car."

Bucky had been struggling when those words were being said. They were now imprinted into his brain, allowing anyone who spoke the same words to control him.

"Good morning, soldier," the man smiled, "Ready to comply?"

Bucky had no choice but to respond, "Ready to comply."

"It's time to train you, soldier."

From then on, Bucky had small fragments of memories from his past, but he never remembered as HYDRA continued to wipe him. He did, however, write down what he did remember in a notebook which he hid, so no one could take it away from him.

It was all he had of his past, which he feared he would never really remember.