Washington D.C., Georgetown. A safe house no one knows about.
The rain outside was still falling, pattering against the window. The air inside the room was stuffy and foul, mixed with the smell of rust and the mustiness of old carpets.
"Winter Soldier" Bucky Barnes was tied to a chair in the middle of the living room. Though unconscious, his metal left arm would twitch from time to time, emitting the grating sound of parts grinding together.
Lin Huai sat on the old sofa opposite, holding the mission report on Bucky that he had just 'borrowed' from S.H.I.E.L.D.
The screen's light illuminated his face. The rapidly scrolling information was startling to read.
The assassination of Kennedy, the Tehran Hostage Crisis... and, December 16, 1991.
Seeing that line in the mission report about the Stark couple's car accident, and the glaring red "MISSION COMPLETE" stamp next to it, Lin Huai felt a headache coming on.
"The difficulty of this PR crisis is way too high."
Lin Huai rubbed his temples. If this recording was exposed, or if Bucky woke up and started talking carelessly, that powder keg named Tony Stark would absolutely blow a hole in the Earth.
"For external matters, consult Google; for internal matters, consult the mirror."
Lin Huai reached back and pulled out that ancient silver mirror, gently tapping its surface with his finger.
"Come on out and get to work, Arrodes."
The mirror's surface rippled like water. Lines of silver text rapidly surfaced, carrying a fawning tone:
"Your loyal, humble servant Arrodes is at your command~ Great Master, do you wish to inquire about a plan to awaken this Sleeping Beauty?"
"I have an idea about the awakening plan." Lin Huai pointed at the data about the Starks on the tablet. "I'm asking you, how can we let Tony Stark know about this without him blowing up this whole family? Any good ideas?"
The mirror's surface fell silent for two seconds.
It didn't offer up any ritual or Potion Formula as it usually would.
The layer of silver light on the mirror began spinning frantically, finally transforming into a giant emoji:
[ ]
The two eyes were spiral swirls, the mouth was wide open, with a line of small text next to it:
"Master... this question is too difficult, Arrodes cannot comprehend it... It is suggested you directly separate the two, or knock one out and stuff them in a box."
"Tch, useless." Lin Huai disdainfully stuffed the mirror back into his pocket.
Right at that moment, the heavy iron door of the safe house was knocked on rhythmically three times, then pushed open.
A gust of damp, cold wind rushed in.
Steve Rogers walked in. He wasn't still fighting outside as Lin Huai had expected. Although his vibranium shield bore a few more scorched scratches, and his uniform was tattered and covered in mud, those blue eyes were shining with an intense light.
"That big snake is trapped under the overpass." Steve said as he quickly walked over to Bucky, not bothering to wipe the blood from his face. "Lin, you said you could save him."
"I can, but you'll have to do this part yourself."
Lin Huai stood up, pulled the last bit of powder from his nearly empty pouch, and took out a white stick resembling chalk, starting to draw a circle around Bucky's chair.
"I won't explain much. Simply put, I'll connect your spirit with his. You'll enter his dream."
After Lin Huai drew the final stroke, a symbol representing [The Fool] took shape.
"Everything he sees inside is a cage built by HYDRA. Your job is to find the real him and bring him out. No matter what you see, don't hesitate, don't look back."
Steve took a deep breath, pulled a chair over to sit opposite Bucky, and tightly grasped the cold metal hand.
"Begin."
Without another word, Lin Huai ignited a cluster of ghostly blue flame at his fingertip and pressed it firmly against both their foreheads.
"After entering his 'dream,' don't use violence. Everything you see is his distorted memories, his most painful prison. Your only weapon is yourself, your shared memories."
"Find him, awaken him."
"Bring him... back from that nightmare of nothing but ice, snow, and slaughter."
Steve didn't ask a single extra question. He glanced at the unconscious Bucky and nodded heavily.
An intense wave of dizziness swept over his mind.
He felt his body falling endlessly, passing through layers of invisible membranes, finally landing heavily on a hard, cold ground.
Steve's eyes snapped open.
He found himself in a massive metallic space, oppressive with an industrial atmosphere. All around were cold, smooth walls, no doors or windows, only a pale lamp overhead casting an indifferent light.
In the center of the space sat a menacing metal electric chair. Countless thick cables converged from all directions, connecting to various parts of the chair.
A figure sat motionless in that chair.
It was Bucky.
He was dressed in the Winter Soldier's uniform, his eyes hollow as he stared straight ahead, his metal arm hanging limp at his side.
"Bucky?" Steve called out tentatively.
The person in the chair gave no response.
Just then, a Red Book imprinted with a five-pointed star silently floated in front of Bucky.
The book opened automatically.
A series of cold Russian words drifted from its pages, like invisible chains, wrapping around Bucky, binding him tightly to the chair.
[Longing]
[Rust]
[Seventeen]
...With each spoken word, a hint more of killing intent appeared in Bucky's hollow eyes. His metal arm emitted a faint 'clicking' sound, its fingers slowly tightening.
Steve wanted to rush over, to tear that damned book to shreds.
But an invisible force held him back, rendering him immobile.
He had to find the real Bucky, the one locked away deeper in the prison of memories.
Steve forced himself to calm down, closed his eyes, and began searching his own memories.
All those memories about Brooklyn, about that skinny, stubborn boy named James Buchanan Barnes.
"Do you remember, Bucky? When we were kids, you were always right behind me, chasing off the bullies who picked on me."
His voice echoed in the empty space.
The "Winter Soldier" in the chair paused his movements.
"You said you'd stay with me until the end of the road."
The Red Book floating in mid-air trembled slightly. The Russian words on its pages dimmed for an instant.
"You promised me you'd come watch me run those damn ten laps! But you always snuck off to go on dates with girls!"
Steve's voice grew louder.
"At the dance, we laughed together at that big guy who wore the wrong shoes!"
"When you enlisted, you bragged to me about your new uniform!"
"We escaped from a HYDRA Base together! You saved my life!"
"How can you have forgotten!!!"
He let out a furious roar.
As he shouted the last word, the entire metallic space instantly cracked and shattered with a thunderous crash!
The scene before his eyes rapidly shifted.
Cold wind howled, heavy snow swirled.
He found himself standing on top of a high-speed train, a bottomless chasm beneath his feet.
And Bucky was hanging from the edge of the carriage. His good hand was desperately gripping a nearly broken railing, his other arm was missing, blood staining the side of the carriage.
Looking at his empty shoulder, fear instantly swallowed his gaze.
This was the nightmare Steve could never forget.
"Bucky!! Grab my hand!!" Steve reached out, shouting frantically at him.
However, Bucky just looked at him and slowly shook his head.
Then, he let go.
"No—!!!"
...Ten minutes later.
The only sound in the safe house was the ticking of the wall clock.
Lin Huai sat cross-legged on the floor, yawning boredly. He pulled a tarot card from his pocket.
[XIII. Death].
Lin Huai crossed his legs, using the Beyonder card as a nail file, meticulously filing the nails on his left hand.
"Scrape... scrape..."
Suddenly.
Bucky, who had been deathly still, convulsed violently.
"Huff—!"
Immediately after, Steve gasped sharply, as if just pulled from water, his whole body jerking upright from the chair.
At the same time, Bucky opposite him also opened his eyes.
Those eyes no longer held the lifelessness of the Winter Soldier. Instead, they were filled with confusion and pain, but deep within, there was finally a glimmer of a living person's light.
"St... Steve?"
Bucky's voice was hoarse and broken, as if he hadn't spoken in seventy years.
"It's me, Bucky." Ignoring his dizziness, Steve rushed over in one step. Paying no mind to his soaked uniform or the bloodstains on Bucky, he opened his arms and hugged his long-lost brother fiercely, tightly.
"I'm here, I am. It's okay now, it's all over."
"Ahem."
An untimely cough interrupted the reunion.
Lin Huai sat on the ground, examining his newly filed hand, seemingly quite satisfied. The [Death] card in his hand was glowing with a white light, flickering.
"As much as I hate to interrupt you two, could you maybe hold off for a moment?"
Lin Huai stood up, patted the dust off his pants, and shook the glowing card in his hand.
Steve let go of Bucky, supporting his still-unsteady friend, and turned to look at Lin Huai, his eyes full of gratitude. "Lin, thank you. Whatever you want, as long as I can do it..."
"Don't thank me yet. It's not over."
Lin Huai casually slipped the [Death] card back into his breast pocket, his expression turning playful.
"Captain, did you think saving Bucky was the end? Those HYDRA rats are still having a party outside."
He walked to the window and yanked open the heavy curtains.
The rain had stopped.
"Pierce is desperate. The Insight Project might be moved up. Don't forget, besides Pierce, HYDRA has a few other heads."
Lin Huai pointed out the window.
"Now that your good buddy is awake, we can move to the next step. Captain, find a way to contact Tony. Have him send out a new suit of armor, preferably one with some serious firepower."
Steve was taken aback. "Tony? But you said he couldn't show himself?"
"He personally shouldn't fly over here to be a target at this critical juncture, but he is, after all, a major capitalist in this country. Pierce won't touch him at this key moment, so it shouldn't be a problem for him to secretly give us a little 'technical support.'"
Lin Huai grinned, revealing a set of white teeth.
"Besides, I just called in a particularly professional snake-catcher."
"This catcher even got a five-star review from our 'deceased' Director Nick Fury. As a gesture of customer appreciation..."
As he spoke, Lin Huai raised an eyebrow at Steve. "Hehehehe