My Mission

Bucky/Wanda

WinterWitch

Theme song:

Kongos – Come With Me Now

This is the extension of the original Soulmate Short fic. The clamour of MOAR PLEASE NOW OZHAWK was pretty much deafening for this fic, more than for any other I've written I think.

So without further ado – here is the MOAR, beginning with a revised and extended first chapter. It's T rated, so no smut. For once ;)

And despite the rather angsty tone of the original, all the ideas put forward led me rather more down a comic path, so I'm trying my hand at romantic comedy and would love to hear what you think of my efforts!

Chapter One – A New Beginning

He woke with a gasp, shuddering, sobbing with agony as the cold burned him from the inside out. Just like every other time, a tiny voice seemed to whisper deep inside him, but was gone as soon as he tried to reach for it. There was nothing there. Nothing but blankness.

And then, white-clad technicians, shining lights into his eyes, poking and prodding at him. He looked in their faces, searching for something familiar, but there was nothing. Until the Master came in.

"You are awake, Soldier," the Master said. He spoke in German. It took the Soldier a few moments to process his memory of the language.

"Jawohl, mein Herr."

"Good. Come with me."

He followed. The technicians had given him pants but no boots; he was sure-footed, though, did not slip on the tiled floor.

"We have a new asset," the Master told him as he dressed in the plain clothes laid out for him in a briefing room, armed himself with the weapons provided to conceal beneath them. "Your mission is to protect her."

The Soldier acknowledged the order quietly. He followed the Master to another chamber, one which contained two glass-walled cells. One of the cells contained a man; white-haired but youthful, he had his fists pressed against the glass and was shouting something inaudible. The other was empty, but before it stood a young woman. Dark of hair and eye, she was small and pale, wearing a red jacket and black dress. She was staring at the white-haired man.

"Now remember, Wanda," the Master said in a paternal tone, "all you have to do is carry out your mission and everything will be just fine. This is Soldier; he will be your bodyguard."

Her dark eyes passed over him, but she said nothing; and neither did he. He had not been ordered to speak.

"Be off with you, then," the Master waved a negligent hand.

Wanda turned to look once at her brother. He stared at her with agonised eyes, shaking his head. But what could she do? Refuse the order and he would suffer far worse than mere death. "I love you," she mouthed at him, and turned away.

A car and driver took them out of the facility. The Soldier looked around curiously, realising this was not the city he had last gone to sleep in (where was that, again?) but it was vaguely familiar. "Where is this place?" he asked the driver, the first words he had spoken save for acknowledging the Master.

"Rome," came the clipped response.

He did not ask what they were doing there. Likely he would not be told. His mission was to guard the girl, that was all.

They were dropped off and the girl looked up at him, a little doubtfully. "Is Soldier the only name you have?" she asked.

"It is the only name I remember," he answered quietly, and wondered why her eyes went so very wide.

"You!" she stared into his eyes, reached up a delicate hand to touch his cheek, her eyes drifting closed as she did. "Oh – but what have they done to you!"

He did not understand, only stared at her blankly.

Wanda wanted to weep. She had seen her soulmate in her visions, only vaguely, but in her visions he was strong and confident, a warrior who would protect her, would help Pietro. Not this empty-eyed shell of a man who didn't even remember that he had a soulmark. She glanced quickly about, drew him into a dark alleyway, away from the bustling crowds.

"Is this where we must go for the mission?" he looked about blankly.

"This is my mission," she agreed quietly. Hoping, praying that she could get this right. Closing her eyes, she drew on every thread of probability she could find. Wove them together in her mind, added a chunk of fairytale and a good dollop of hope – and reached up and kissed him, passing the hex to him through her lips.

"What the…" Bucky's eyes flew suddenly wide.

He remembered everything. It was all there, suddenly, everything that had been wiped from him through the long, bitter years. Gifted back – or was it cursed? – by the kiss of the girl standing before him, watching him with ancient knowledge in her dark eyes. He staggered back, hit the wall, stood there processing for several minutes.

"We have to move," Wanda said at last. "If they don't get word that I've carried out the mission, they'll start torturing Pietro."

"The – guy with the white hair?"

"My brother. He's already suffered too much for me."

"You're my soulmate, aren't you?"

She nodded, an agonised look on her face. "I'm sorry I had to do that to you. I – saw a little bit of it. What you suffered."

He shook his head, trying to clear it. "That doesn't matter now. What matters is gettin' you and your brother away from those bastards."

Her smile was like the sun coming up. "You'll help us?"

"I'll help you," he confirmed gruffly. "It's Wanda, isn't it? I'm Bucky." he reached for her hand and she let him take it with a shy glance up at him. "So, what's this mission we have to complete, doll? 'Cause I'm not in the mood to kill anyone but HYDRA scum."

"Nothing like that. I have to steal a religious relic. We can return it later."

By steal she meant telekinetically float it out of a church window, Bucky discovered, shaking his head incredulously. He took the heavy book from her, wrapped it in a silk bag she pulled from her pocket. "Let's go get your brother, doll."

Wanda slipped her hand into his again, smiling happily.

They headed back to the planned pickup, murmuring plans to each other on the way. Separated before they got there, Bucky's face falling back into his blank Soldier expression and Wanda putting on a sulky scowl.

The same driver took them back to the facility. Bucky sat still and silent – and seethed as he saw the driver eyeing Wanda lasciviously in the rear-view mirror. If he found out any of these bastards had dared touch his soulmate – well, they were all going to die anyway, but he'd make sure it was slow and painful.

They'd made the decision that they wouldn't start anything until Bucky had escorted Wanda back to her cell. The Master – who Wanda told him was called Baron von Strucker – would most likely be there, and he was the one Bucky most wanted to kill. He remembered von Strucker all too well, remembered the orders von Strucker had given him over the last fifty or more years. How the man looked no different now than he had in WWII, frankly, Bucky didn't care. It just meant he might be harder to kill.

The big issue was Pietro. The cells were airtight and at the slightest hint of rebellion from Wanda, the air would be sucked from Pietro's cell until he couldn't breathe. She couldn't crack the cell alone, but Bucky reckoned his metal arm could punch right through the reinforced glass.

So they waited their moment. Walked side by side back into the chamber with the two cells on one side. Von Strucker was there, waiting, taking the silk-wrapped book from Bucky's hands with a smile.

"Very good, Wanda," he praised. "Back in your cell, now."

She looked him straight in the eye. "No."

Von Strucker tipped his head and smiled. "Are you quite sure about that, my dear? I wouldn't recommend attacking me, you know. Those who are watching us will make sure that your brother doesn't survive the attempt."

Bucky had wandered over to Pietro's cell as though curious. He looked up into the other man's eyes and mouthed Get back.

Pietro frowned quizzically. Bucky gestured, his hand hidden from the rest of the room by his body, and clenched his metal fist, drawing it back.

Pietro's eyes widened. He took two huge steps back and Bucky hit the glass with everything he had.

It fractured. A second blow shattered it and Pietro leaped through, moving across the room with blinding speed to grab Wanda and sweep her aside, out of the way of the fight about to begin.

"No!" von Strucker screamed, and Bucky turned, drawing a knife from under his jacket and throwing it with unerring accuracy into von Strucker's left eye.

Alarms began to blare. Bucky bared his teeth in a smile and beckoned to Wanda, who broke free from her brother's sheltering arms and ran to him.

"Let's blow this joint, doll." He put his arm around her.

"I do hope you mean literally." She smiled up at him, reached to kiss his cheek.

"Very much so."

"What the hell?" that was Pietro, speeding to them and grabbing at Wanda's arm. "What are you doing with him?"

"Pietro, he's my soulmate," Wanda turned to him, her dark eyes shining. "He can help us get out of here."

Bucky was frowning, looking from one to the other of them. They'd been speaking in German up to that point, though he'd spoken in English to Wanda before when they were out in the city and she'd responded in that language, so he knew she understood it. But they were speaking in a language he didn't know, now. Their native tongue? He hadn't had time to ask Wanda where she came from…

Pietro turned and gave Bucky a very doubtful look as he plucked his knife from von Strucker's eye. The Nazi was very dead, but Bucky professionally cut his throat. Just to be quite, quite sure.

"Brother," Wanda touched Pietro's arm. "Trust me."

He sighed. "You know I hate it when you say that." He looked at Bucky again, calmly cleaning his knife on the dead man's shirt, searching him for weapons. "Your soulmate, you say?"

Wanda smiled proudly. "Isn't he magnificent?"

"That's one word for it."

Bucky found a gun at the small of von Strucker's back. Drew it with a grin. "Time to party."

"I'm really not sure I'm going to like his definition of a party, either."

Note: I'm not giving Wanda precognition in this story. She has telekinesis, as seen in the CA:TWS post-credits scene, and can manipulate probabilities by casting 'hexes'. She got a little glimpse into Bucky's mind and memories when giving them back to him, but can't read minds with any consistency.

And this won't be a daily fic – probably twice-weekly or thereabouts. Enjoy and I'd love to hear what you think so far!