Chapter 17: Bucky

HYDRA FACTORY

Steve circles the factory, looking for a way in.

A Hydra guard stands watch near a door. He hears tapping then a silhouette appears behind the glass. The guard cautiously opens the door and pokes his head out.

He cautiously asked "Ja? [1]" The door slams, pinning his head. The guard looks up to see Steve's fist coming right at him.

Steve enters the factory, creeping between bombs and crates. Clusters of cartridges bristle inside an unfinished bomb. Steve pulls one out, curious, it glows blue in his hand. He pockets the cartridge and heads to the stairs.

Meanwhile, the freed soldiers started to wreak havoc at the barracks and compound.

Dugan slams a Hydra guard into the grill of a half-track [2]. Dernier and Falsworth climb up top. Dernier settles behind the complicated-looking weapon.

"Are you quite sure you know how to use that?" Falsworth asked while eyeing the weapon.

Dernier peers at the grip and pressed a button. The cannon discharges, blowing a smoking hole in the factory wall. He simply replied with "Oui. [3]"

HYDRA FACTORY - CONTROL ROOM

On a monitor, the factory wall burns. Schmidt scans his security cameras. He presses a button, sounding the alarm outside. At the controls behind him, Dr. Zola looks worried.

HYDRA FACTORY - STAIRS

A guard rushes down the stairs, his jackboots almost crushing Steve's fingers.

Steve hangs under the staircase and yanks the guard's ankle. He tumbles down the stairs.

Steve steps onto a catwalk, only to be met by another guard pointing a pistol at him. Steve knocks the gun from his hand and smashes him in the face. The guard falls, flips back up and charges. Steve swings from a beam and kicks the guard in the chest.

Back to the freed soldiers. In the half-track, Dugan stares at the German controls, baffled. Just then, Jones slides into the passenger seat.

"Not exactly a Buick." Dugan said.

"That one. Zündung [4]." Jones simply said.

"You speak German?" Duran asked, surprised.

"Natürlich, natürlich spreche ich Deutsch (Of course, of course I speak German). Three semesters at Howard. Then I switched to French. Cuter girls." Jones answered.

Dugan pushes zündung. The half-track roars to life. Dugan then commented "I didn't ask for a resume."

Falsworth and Dernier hang on as the half-track lurches forward.

HYDRA FACTORY - CATWALK

Steve looks over the factory floor, taking in the full scale of the bomb-making facility.

Just then. Two more soldiers attack from either side. The first guard fires. Steve drops and shoots him down. The second guard closes in. Steve whirls and crushes his neck with the side of his shield.

HYDRA FACTORY - CONTROL ROOM

Schmidt surveys the uprising on his monitors.

Outside, the guards struggle to fend off escaping P.O.W.'s. Inside, a strangely-clad soldier takes on three guards.

Schmidt adjusts his screen. In the monitor, Steve hits one guard, kicks another, then uses him to deflect the blast of a third.

Schmidt studies Steve, impressed. Then ordered "Doctor, prepare to evacuate."

"I'm sure our forces can handle—" Dr. Zola started to persuade him.

Schmidt eyes Steve on the monitor. Steve dispatches the last guard and heads up the stairs. "Our forces are outmatched." He cut offed whatever Dr. Zola was gonna say then he presses a button.

Alarms now blare inside the factory. Dr. Zola hurries out of the room. Schmidt flicks the switches on a line of timers with the word SELBSTZERSTöRUNG [5].

Each of them starts a countdown. Then he turns. The cube pulses in a cradle behind smoked glass. He lowers a titanium case over the cradle. It retracts the cube plunging the interior of the factory into darkness.

HYDRA FACTORY - COMPOUND

Hydra guards fill the compound, taking on P.O.W.'s. Morita throws a grenade, blowing the guards away.

HYDRA FACTORY - ZOLA'S EXPERIMENT ROOM

Dr. Zola rifles through a filing cabinet in the corner of a tiled room. He gathers a sheaf of documents. We glimpse a sketch of a TV-chested robotic suit. Beyond Dr. Zola, a shadowy figure lies slumped in a cage.

Outside Dr. Zola's experiment room, Steve reaches the corridor. At the far end, Dr. Zola scurries out of his room, files pressed to his chest. Dr. Zola sees Steve. Steve advances. Dr. Zola runs the other way.

Instead of catching Dr. Zola, Steve stalks inside the experiment room, wary. Past the scattered files and specimen jars, he sees the large cage atop a rusty drain. A prisoner lies slumped against the bars. On hearing Steve's footfalls, he calls out wearily.

"Barnes, James Buchanan. Sergeant. 32557038." the prisoner said.

Steve gapes, stunned. He can't believe it. "Bucky?" Steve asked weakly.

Silence. The prisoner doesn't respond. Then he said "Who...who is that?"

Steve races to the cage. He can now clearly see a beaten, grizzled Bucky Barnes staring out. Bucky squints, unable to focus. He seems to have aged 10 years.

"Is that..." Bucky tried to remember who is the person in front of him.

Steve smashes off the lock. He holds out his hand, grinning.

"It's me, Buck." Steve tried lightening the mood.

Bucky studies his friend's face. "Steve?" he asked, unsure.

"I thought you were dead." Steve said.

"I thought you were smaller." Bucky replied.

Steve gently helps him down from the cage. Buck gapes at his transformed, much taller friend.

"What happened to you?" Bucky can't still believe that this man is the same man as the frail looking Steve he grew up with.

"I joined the Army." Steve said, slightly laughing at his friend's reaction.

HYDRA FACTORY - CONTROL ROOM

The first of the timers reaches zero. It beeps and then one of the machines on the factory floor explodes!

HYDRA FACTORY - ZOLA'S EXPERIMENT ROOM

Steve and Bucky stagger as the blast shakes the room. As they head out, Steve spots a huge map, featuring a series of Hydra symbols spreading across Europe. After committing it to memory, Steve helped Bucky limp down the corridor. But more bombs go off.

"Did it hurt?" Bucky suddenly asked.

"Little bit." Steve downplayed it.

"Is it permanent?" Bucky asked again.

"So far." Steve replied.

"You are going to get so many girls." Bucky teased.

Steve only smiled meaningfully, wondering what his friend's reaction will be after knowing that he got a girl even before the transformation.

Bucky and Steve reach the stairs. They head down but another explosion blocks their way. They head back up, spotting a catwalk high above.

Notes:

[1] a German word for "yes"

[2] a military or other vehicle with wheels at the front and caterpillar tracks at the rear

[3] French word for "yes"

[4] German word for "ignition" or "firing"

[5] German word for "self-destruction"