"Sir?" "Yes, officer?" "Is she alive?" "Well, she is breathing." "What should I tell the boss?" "Tell him we found a frozen body as well. He should be pleased about it." "On it."
Where… am I?
I forced my eyelids open, just enough to confirm the room’s emptiness. Cameras dotted every corner. Instinctively, I reached for the kill switch. My eyes closed again, focusing. Warmth bloomed under my fingertips. I sat up sharply, palms outstretched towards the cameras. Black energy pulsed from my hands, and the devices shattered, tumbling from the walls. Good. Still capable.
The doors slid open. A dozen officers and soldiers were already sprinting towards me, weapons raised. I wore standard-issue bulletproof gear, and raised a barrier around myself. Their bullets were insignificant. The sound of impacts echoed as I unleashed a controlled energy burst, expanding the shield through the room. They weren’t prepared. They couldn’t possibly know who I am.
Within seconds, I was outside, racing down the hallways. Five aircraft-like drones swarmed me, opening fire. I brought them down before they even fired a shot, grounding them with a precise pulse. Adrenaline surged. It felt like years since I last slept.
The building itself was an impossibility: a fortress in the middle of nowhere, adrift in the ocean. It wasn’t floating, but impossibly stable.
After an hour of relentless flight, exhaustion gnawed at me. Land appeared on the horizon, but it wasn't *my* land. A green statue mimicking the Statue of Liberty dominated the skyline, surrounded by towering buildings. Cars—sleek, impossibly fast—whizzed by. The people… they wore bizarre clothing.
I landed clumsily, tired of the ocean’s endless expanse. I needed to walk, to understand this strange place. My mind raced, my heart hammered. I wandered the streets, mesmerized by everything.
Then, a surge of electricity flared across my back. Darkness consumed me as I crashed to the hard pavement.
…
"Friday, you can do better! Try again—who is this?"
I heard the voice as I slowly regained consciousness. My eyes opened to a cityscape beneath me.
"I am afraid I really do not know, sir. Let me see if I can get anything after another detailed face scan."
Who *are* these people?
"You better do, can't have metal-armed ladies flying around just like that… Oh, hello there, you are awake!"
"Who are you?" I asked, trying to sit up. A yellow and red suit held me aloft.
"Wait, you don't know who I am? Wow, I'm surprised, hurt too. Why don't you tell me who you are first, than we'll talk."
"I'm not telling you anything." I wrenched myself free, tumbling downwards. I landed safely on a building a few meters below.
"Friday, note, she is not in the mood for chatting."
"Noted, sir. She is also a part of Hydra. The red star on her arm indicates that she is possibly connected to The Winter Soldier James Buchanan Barnes. I found only one match to her face and there is no information about where or when is it from."
James Barnes? Bucky?
"Rewind a bit, I thought Hydra was no more?"
Hydra?
"Yes, but it seems like she was theirs when there was Hydra. In addition, my scans show that she has sea salt on her clothes which indicates that she probably was found and captured by the secret organization that we dealt a few weeks ago, they are indeed mostly stationed in the water, preferably oceans and seas and…"
"Okay, Friday, you are getting information too slow today while also making no sense, I thought I taught you better."
Wait.
"Wait, you said James? You know Buck?" I couldn’t believe it. How could he know Bucky?
"Oh you know Bucky too? Amazing. Love that. So are you one of those nice lil guys or what?"
He knows his nickname too?
"I am a soldier, just like James, yes." I confirmed.
"But we saw all the other 'winter soldiers' dead after Zemo killed them, why weren't you there if you are a winter soldier?"
"A winter soldier? Oh, that's how you call us all. They are all dead?" I didn’t quite like them. They were arrogant, believing it was their right to rule us. As a late-generation model, I was always a target. Bucky helped me escape most of their fights.
"Yeah. It was all over the news for some apsurd 'it' s science' reason. But how do you not know? Do you live under a rock or something?"
"How could I possibly live under a rock?" I demanded, frustrated. Why was I still talking to this metal suit that spoke like a teenager?
"Ha-ha-ha… That sound like something Cap would- wait a damn second. Miss, what year is it?" he said as he landed on top of the building I was standing on.
"Why would you ask such a silly question?"
"Just…um… asking, I forgot."
"1952?"
"Oh for God's sake. AH" he dramatically said throwing his hands in the air "I swear, one more and I can't do this again… Miss, I um… believe all of this is weird for you, I promise I can explain if you let me take you to a place with more people who can help you too and we can chit-chat there." he said as he slowly made his way towards me.
"I don't think that is necessary. I wouldn't dare to trust a robot after all."
"A robot? Oh right, I'm not a robot. My name’s Tony" he said as a mask lifted off his face "and I'm a human being in this metal suit that gives me the ability to fly and to-"
"I'm still not coming with you. You're a stranger."
I shifted into a defensive stance, black clouds forming under my palms.
"Oh miss…" the mask covered his face again "but I have to make sure you're not a threat."
He pointed the palm of his hand towards me and I did the same towards him. He had circles on both palms of his hands that light up when he turned them towards me.
"Come with me, miss, and nobody gets hurt."
"No."
"Miss, I really can't have ex Hydra weapons walking around my city…"
"I'm sorry sir, it's not gonna happen just like that." I said as I tried him to push him away with my powers, but I wasn't strong enough just yet. I felt all drugged up and tired since waking up in that weird place and then flying over the ocean just to get electrocuted the second I landed.
He fired at me and expected to push me towards the wall behind me so he could get me unconscious again.
He failed doing that because I blocked his fire with my arm which only caused me to move a few inches back.
"Friday, how did she block that? It's not the best we got but…how?"
"She has a vibranium arm, sir."
"Oh, yeah, right. Obviously." he sighted "Vibranium. So girl… Where'd you get that?"
"Hydra."
"Hydra? Right, and what's your name may I ask now that we've decided not to fight?"
I stood there silently. When did we decide not to fight? How can I know he won't call an army on me?
"I'm the Soldier No. 11."
"That doesn't ring a bell but sure, I'm Iron Man. You can call me Tony." he said lifting his mask off as he streched his arm out.
I shook it.
Here goes nothin'.