survival of the fittest

[advanced]

who: Bucky and anyone!
what: Bucky is a big old thief, tracks down his name twin, and also goes monster fighting with Clark
when: Anytime between March 8th and March 12th
where: Around Quarantine
warnings: Probably violence

[i: Around Quarantine; open to anyone]

[Bucky has chosen to eschew the communal housing gifted to him, as well as all the benefits that affords. Like food, shelter, and access to a shower. The last two aren't such a big deal, but he needs a lot of food to keep him going, the bastardised serum in his veins makes him burn through calories at a ridiculous rate.

Which is why he's ghosting through Quarantine on the look out for empty housing or possible a not very well attended street food stall, in order to snatch a hand out and take something. He can be found shoplifting in the street; or, if you'd prefer, breaking into your character's housing in search of food.]

[ii: Down a back alley somewhere; closed to Bucky Barnes]

[Ever since he saw that name on the network, his own name, Bucky has been in overdrive trying to figure out what's going on. It takes him a day or so to track down who owns the username, and then another day to just follow them around and try and figure out who they are. It's only when he catches the imposter out alone, whatever he might be doing, that he reveals himself by trying to drag the other man down an alleyway in an explosion of movement and bad decisions.]

[iii: Monster hunting; closed to Clark Kent]

[The perimeter is of interest to Bucky, partially because it means an escape from this town and partially because he knows that Stark is going to be making upgrades to it. It's why he's scouting around it today.

He's too focused on the possible security measures, trying to find surveillance equipment or defence mechanisms, that he has completely failed to notice the large monster shaped like a monstrous caterpillar creeping up behind him on silent feet.]

Comments

[wingedman]

[ Sam doesn't know Bucky well enough to keep pushing him, but he does know that trying to provoke the mentally unstable super-solder slash assassin is a Bad Idea. He lowers his voice into a calmer, more soothing pitch. ]

All right, all right, it's just a story. It's okay.

[ He doesn't want to tell Bucky it's a lie, but he doesn't know what else to do, either. ]

[advanced]

[That somehow makes it worse. At least if Sam fought back, Bucky could continue to rail against it. This attempt at soothing just makes him fear all the more that it's real.

He changes tactic immediately, spinning on a dime.]

Tell me the whole thing. Everything.

[wingedman]

You gonna flip out at me and attack me if I do, or are you gonna sit nice and quiet and listen?

[ Although he knows it isn't a conscious choice, that if he gets too agitated and feels threatened, he'll attack anyway. But Sam figures that if he gets him to think about it and be more aware, he'll try harder to control the instinct.

Hopefully. ]

[advanced]

[His jaw tightens, but he nods.]

I'm not going to attack you.

[Let's hope he can keep to that promise. Just being out here this long is making him antsy, it's a bit exposed for someone trying to live like a ghost.]

[wingedman]

Good. Eat your food or something.

[ Look, there are plums. Who doesn't want to eat a nice plum while listening to a story?

Sam takes a deep breath, trying to figure out where to start. ]

So Steve and I spent two years looking for you, chasing cold leads all over Europe. And he kept on going with the whole Avengers thing - after Washington, there was Sokovia. That turned into a real mess, got a lot of people talking about superheroes. I joined the Avengers, and one day, we fucked up real good in Lagos, chasing down this asshole who was trying to steal bioweapons. There was an explosion, bystanders got killed, and it sorta turned into an international incident.

That led to the Sokovia Accords - about a hundred nations wanted to register superhumans, track our international travel, put the Avengers under the control of a UN council. Steve wasn't too keen about that, and he was sort of the de facto leader of those of us who didn't wanna sign that bullshit. The Accords had a signing ceremony in Vienna, and some asshole decided he was gonna dress up like you and bomb them. Which, of course, meant that you were pretty much instantly the most wanted man in the world.

[advanced]

[Well, he does enjoy plums... But he doesn't eat the food, attention wholly arrested on Sam's surprisingly concise tale of something that sounds insane. Why would anyone want to dress up as him and pin that sort of bombing on him?]

I'm already one of the most wanted men in the world.

[One more act of terrorism isn't going to change that.]

That's how you found me? Came to arrest me? Where was I?

[Then he can make sure not to be there in the future if he goes back, so he stays not caught.]

[wingedman]

Okay, but you don't have your face plastered all over every media outlet. As good as you are at hiding, even you couldn't manage to go unnoticed after that.

-and we didn't come to arrest you. The guys who did had orders to shoot on sight, so we went to Bucharest to intercept them. Ended up in a car chase with you, me, Steve, and the new king of Wakanda, who was out to kill you cause he thought you'd killed his dad. We were all in violation of the accords, so they hauled us off to Berlin. Same guy who bombed Vienna took the place of the shrink sent to interrogate you, blew out the power and- [Sam hesitates for a moment. The hesitation itself is telling; there's only so many things Sam would try to avoid telling him.]

He used the trigger words. Made you flip out and fight everyone. You tried to grab a chopper and get away, ended up in the river with Steve. The three of us got the hell out of there, and you said you thought he'd be heading for Siberia to activate the other soldiers.

[Yeah. It's nothing he wants to tell Bucky, but it's the truth.]

[advanced]

[Bucharest. He'll file that in the back of his mind as important, and if he remembers all this when he gets back then he'll make sure to keep as far away from Romania as possible. This can't happen if he's not where Sam says he will be.

And good God does he not want it to happen.

Any doubts about Sam telling the truth slip away in an instant, because there's no way that he could know about the other Soldiers or the trigger words or-- any of it, not if he hadn't witnessed it. The idea of being triggered again is his worst nightmare, and the fingers of his metal hand ball into a fist.

His throat feels dry and he backs up a step, definitely in fight or flight mode.]

Did he?

[The question is hoarse, fear hidden beneath the surface.]

Were they activated?

[wingedman]

[Or maybe it'll still happen, just somewhere else. Because that's just how much the future wants to kick you in the balls repeatedly, Bucky. Not that Sam's too happy about it, either - at least, not about telling him.]

Nah, he shot them all in the head while they were still under. The important part was to get Steve and you and Stark to Siberia. See, this asshole, his family died in the battle of Sokovia, and he blamed the Avengers. Never mind that his city had been, you know, raised into the air by a genocidal robot who was going to drop it from a mile up and kill everyone in Europe, he wanted to wreck Steve and Tony personally. And somehow, he found out about one of your missions, and that Steve was keeping a real big secret from Tony.

[It's hard to remain calm when he sees Bucky tense up; some primal instinct in Sam wants to prepare to defend himself in case he loses control. But he just keeps sitting there like everything's fine and he isn't marginally worried a super-soldier's going to beat the shit out of him.]

[advanced]

[He is a still a little caught on being triggered. It means he's right to keep his distance, right to hide, because he can't trust himself at all. Everything they put inside him is still there and he's scared that he doesn't know where the Soldier ends and he begins. Maybe there isn't a beginning and ending at all, maybe he is just an amalgamation now of everyone and everything he's ever been.

The rest of what Sam says washes over him without much impact. It's good the other Soldier's are dead, and he has innumerable missions to use against him.]

Steve is here.

[Two Steves and he's changing the subject, but whatever. His eyes are fixed on Sam, utterly focused.]

You have to keep him from looking for me, it's safer that way. You understand?

[wingedman]

Man, if he finds out you're here, there's not gonna be anything in the world I can do to keep him from looking for you. You know that as well as I do.

[Sam sighs, shaking his head.]

What I said earlier, about the food? I meant it. I'm not gonna flat out lie to him, but I won't tell him anything, either. I don't want you to starve, even if you are a goddamn idiot.

[advanced]

I'm not an idiot, I'm trying to protect everyone.

[And himself, he's safer by himself.]

I'm dangerous.

[wingedman]

Did I say the two were mutually exclusive? You can be dangerous and stupid.

["Idiot" is practically a term of endearment for Sam, anyway. It means he cares enough about you to worry about the stupid shit you do.]

You oughta hear what I say about Steve. Though not usually to his face.

[advanced]

[He doesn't know how to take Sam at the moment, he's such a weird blend of calming and behaving as if it's a normal occurrence for him to be chatting to someone who tried to kill him.

Bucky backs up a step.]

You're supposed to be his friend, protect him.

[He's sure that's what he used to do once upon a time.]

[wingedman]

[Don't worry, Bucky, Sam's just crazy. Also it always pays to be nice to the murderhobo.]

I try. Usually protecting Steve is more telling him how goddamn dumb his ideas are than actually, you know, actively protecting him. [Because have you seen that guy? Someone else might find the very idea that he needs protection preposterous. Sam, on the other hand, actually knows Steve Rogers.] But, yeah, I got his back.

[advanced]

[Having his back in this situation means keeping him away from Bucky, even if he wants otherwise, because Bucky is the one who might hurt him. He scrutinises Sam for a few moments as if trying to determine if he's up to the task, before nodding once.]

Don't come looking for me again.

[He backs up a few steps to the food and scoops it up, at least he'll leave with it, but he's not welcoming another meeting. Too paranoid.]

[wingedman]

[Well, at least he's taking the food. That makes Sam feel better, even if absolutely nothing else about this meeting does.]

All right. Good luck, man. And I know you won't, but- call me if you need anything. I won't tell Steve.

[Just because it's futile doesn't mean he'll let Bucky leave without saying it. The man at least needs to know that someone apparently gives a fuck about his well-being, even if he doesn't want to hear it.]

[advanced]

[It's an offer he might remember when he breaks his leg, but then again he might not. Sam is too much of an unknown and too close to Steve to be fully trusted.

He'll wait and watch, see if Sam tells Steve about today. A test of how much he can be believed in the future. But for now, he just takes the food and disappears swiftly and silently.]