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

[anotheroldsoldier]

[The longer this goes on, the more Bucky's feeling of unease grows, a knot of instinct his chest that tells him he's missing something important about this whole mess. What is he missing? The suspicion is there, sure, but he can't say definitively what's going on here.

The pieces are there. s.rogers and sg.rogers on the network, the way some people were acting strangely toward Tony. But Bucky doesn't want to put the last two pieces in place, maybe.]

Show you mine if you show me yours. [He says, voice hard, but he's rolling up the sleeve on his left arm, revealing inch after inch of shiny metal, smoothly sculpted to match his right arm in shape. He pushes the fabric up over his shoulder, and there, on the curve, is the painted white star inside a blue circle, surrounded with a thin ring of red. His shield.]

[advanced]

[That's... It hits him like a solid punch to the gut, seeing the different design on his arm rather than the arm itself. It looks almost like Captain America's shield, only not quite, and he almost reaches out to touch.

Almost, but not quite.

What scares him the most is that it's obviously not a fake now that it's out in the open, which means this might very well be another James Barnes. And that is not a good thing. He slowly peels off his glove and then tugs off his hoodie at one arm, pushing up the sleeve of his t-shirt to reveal the Soviet-branded metal that he still carries.]

[anotheroldsoldier]

[He watches the glove come off, the sleeve get rolled up. The design is just a little bit different to his own, another model maybe. The red star on the shoulder confirms that - Bucky had gotten himself an upgrade when he'd started working with Fury, and then Stark. It definitely means one thing, though.

They're both James Buchanan Barnes. Just different versions.

Bucky straightens slightly, slipping halfway out of his attack stance (but still standing ready, wary), and breathes out a long sigh through his nose.]

Well, fuck.

[advanced]

[That's pretty much his sentiment exactly, though he doesn't voice it out loud. He just pulls his hoodie back on properly and tugs the leather glove back over his metal fingers to hide them.

He has no idea how to deal with another version of himself, let alone one with what looks like a shield on his arm instead of a Soviet star.]

I thought you were taunting me with that username.

[He had no idea it was real.]

[anotheroldsoldier]

[Bucky doesn't bother to roll down his sleeve. He doesn't care so much about being incognito here; it's not even his home reality, so he doesn't have to deal with his tentative legal status or the fact that he's wanted by Norman Osborn's jackass fake Avengers.

He quirks an eyebrow.] Little egotistical there, huh? I didn't even know you were here until you started followin' me around.

[advanced]

[He shrugs slightly, what else was he supposed to think when such a conveniently familiar username was used?]

Why are you staying in the communal building?

[anotheroldsoldier]

[Maybe not that someone was trying to fuck with you specifically, Buck. He looks mildly confused by the question.]

Because it's a roof over my head? Besides the sorcerers, it ain't much different from the barracks. And Steve is there. My Steve.

[advanced]

[His expression shutters down into even more blankness when Steve's name is mentioned. It's becoming ever more clear that this Bucky and himself are very different.]

You're--

[A slight hesitation. But if he can't ask himself this, who can he ask?]

You're not dangerous?

[anotheroldsoldier]

[God, please stop looking like that, other him. Bucky is getting real bad Winter Soldier vibes, and tensing slightly, just a little more on edge.]

How do you mean?

[advanced]

[If he needs to ask that, then he's probably not dangerous. Which begs the question of how and why.]

Doesn't matter.

[anotheroldsoldier]

If you're going around with my name, then yeah it does. [That's the selfish reason, anyway, not wanting another timeline's version of him to ruin the reputation he's starting to build in his time here. It'll be easier in the meantime, until the portal can take him back to Earth-616.]

Maybe I can help. I think I'm uniquely qualified.

[advanced]

[He's not sure, it's seeming more and more like they're very different people. But he does have the arm, he must have fallen from the train, he must have been found by HYDRA.]

The Soldier.

[That's all he's going to say. If Bucky understands, then maybe they can talk more. Maybe.]

[anotheroldsoldier]

[They aren't exactly the same, but from the way this version acts, Bucky would be shocked if they didn't have at least one large, traumatic, decades-spanning event in common. The clarification he gives just confirms it. His voice lowers a little, as if he's afraid they might be overheard, or like it's just something he doesn't like to talk about.]

You're afraid of any lingering programming or trigger words. [Whether this Bucky means himself, or he means in James, that's up in the air.]

[advanced]

[He nods just once, though that's not all of it. Even trigger words aside, being the Soldier for seventy years has changed him and he's not sure how much of him is Bucky and how much is the Soldier. He certainly has more memories of the Soldier.]

I'm not safe. How can you be sure that you are?

[anotheroldsoldier]

[There's a slight difference in perspective, a skew to their experiences, not that Bucky gets that yet. He won't, unless they decide to hash out the differences in their timelines together.]

I work with SHIELD now, unofficially. [He decides to leave out the Captain America part.] Tony is- was, the Director. One of my conditions was that they remove all of that from my brain, so no one could turn me against my country again.

I'm as safe as I ever will be.

[advanced]

[He nods slowly.

He understands, but it just proves they're nothing like each other bar the arm and the name. That's good in a way, it means that maybe there won't be another Winter Soldier to worry about.

Doesn't mean that he's not going to keep a close eye.]

Fine.

[He backs up a step, clearly preparing to just disappear now that he has the information he wants.]

If you become dangerous, I'll stop you.

[anotheroldsoldier]

[Bucky doesn't make a move to stop him from going. This is a lot to take in for him too, he can only guess how he'd take it if he were less stable. But he does regard him with a level gaze, standing up a little straighter. (It's hard to tell, but he thinks the other Bucky has a few inches on him.)]

Likewise, you know. But let's not let it come to that.

[advanced]

[He's expecting the return promise, and it's actually relatively reassuring. He knows that nobody will be as ruthless in stopping the Soldier as he would be himself, so he can only hope that's the same for this other him no matter what other differences there are.

He doesn't respond, just nods and then melts away out of the alley to disappear.]