The battle raged on for what felt like hours. But eventually, the portal began to close. The roar of the Chitauri ships and their guttural screeches faded into the distance as the last of the invaders retreated through the now-shrinking rift in the sky. The ground was littered with their bodies, smoke rising from the wreckage, and the air felt thick with the weight of the fight that had just transpired.
I wiped the blood from my face, my hands shaking only slightly. My breath came in ragged gasps, but there was no time to rest. The Avengers were still processing everything, still catching their breaths, but the weight of what had just happened was starting to sink in. The city was torn up, but the fight was over. For now.
But as I stood there, trying to collect myself, I felt the eyes of the team on me. Their gazes were heavy, scrutinizing. My heart skipped a beat, the familiar gnawing sense of unease tightening my chest. They were looking at me. Steve was looking at me.
Steve.
He stood next to me, shoulders heaving as he caught his breath, his eyes burning with intensity, as though he were silently urging me to speak. I could feel the heat of his gaze, and for a moment, I almost faltered. I wasn't Bucky Barnes. I wasn't the man he thought I was. I was just someone who had taken over his best friend's body. A stranger wearing the skin of a ghost.
But I couldn't afford to hesitate. Not now. Not when the team was waiting for an explanation. They needed answers, and I couldn't let them see the cracks.
"So, who exactly are you?" Tony Stark's voice cut through the tension, sharp and suspicious as usual. "You're not exactly someone we've met before."
The others echoed his uncertainty with their eyes, each one of them trying to piece together the mystery. Natasha, Clint, Thor... they all seemed confused, but there was something more in their stares. The same question.
My stomach twisted. I felt like I was suffocating under their scrutiny.
Steve stepped forward, his eyes locked on mine. "He's my best friend," he said, his voice clear and firm. "Bucky Barnes. We've been through hell together."
My heart plummeted at his words. He believed me. He believed I was Bucky. He trusted me. But that trust was built on lies.
I forced a smile, nodding slightly. "That's right," I muttered, my voice tight. "Bucky Barnes."
But inside, I felt a cold pit growing in my chest. I wasn't Bucky. I wasn't the man he'd fought beside all those years. I had taken his memories, his body, his life... and now I was living a lie that would only tear me apart if I didn't keep it up.
It hurt more than I could ever explain. I couldn't bring myself to tell Steve the truth. He had no idea what had really happened to me. He had no idea that the body he was looking at wasn't his old friend.
But it was too dangerous to stop now. I couldn't afford to stop pretending. If I did, I might as well be signing my own death warrant. Hydra was still out there. They'd find me if I exposed myself. They'd find me and kill me—and Steve. And I couldn't let that happen.
I cleared my throat, trying to shake the weight in my chest. "There's something else," I said, my voice much sharper than before. "Hydra... they're still alive."
The words hit the air with a dull thud. The team tensed, their expressions hardening. I could see the flickers of disbelief, but also the sharp realization that they needed to take this seriously. They had no idea how deep Hydra's roots ran.
"They captured me," I continued, my throat tightening as I forced the words out. "I was in their custody for longer than I can remember. They've been pulling the strings behind the scenes, manipulating everything. I barely escaped. I've been running ever since."
Tony's brows furrowed. "You're telling me that Hydra's still out there, and they've been doing this all along? After everything we've seen..."
I nodded, my jaw set tight. "Yes. They've been working in the shadows, making moves. They were behind the Chitauri attack. They've been orchestrating everything, pulling every string from the dark. I don't know how far it goes, but I know they're still out there, still hunting me... and any of you who are close to me."
Steve's eyes were sharp now, his concern growing. "What do you mean, still hunting you?"
I didn't look at him. I couldn't. My eyes were focused ahead, on the horizon. On the battle we'd just survived. "I don't know how long they've been watching me," I said quietly. "But they have their eyes on all of us. They've been trying to manipulate things from the inside, trying to break us apart. And they'll keep coming. They won't stop until they finish what they started."
There was silence for a moment as the weight of my words sank in.
Natasha was the first to speak. "How do we stop them?"
I looked over at Steve, my mind racing. "We need to stay ahead of them. Keep moving. Keep fighting." I couldn't give them all the details. I couldn't explain that my own survival was tied to Hydra's demise, to the tangled mess of my past. If they knew the truth, it would be too much. Too dangerous.
But they were already trusting me. They already thought I was Bucky. And that was enough for now.
"Hydra's already out there, and they're not going to give up easily," I said. "They'll come for you, come for all of us. But we're stronger if we stick together."
Steve stepped closer, his hand on my shoulder. "We'll handle it. We're in this together, Bucky. Don't think you're alone."
I didn't look at him. I couldn't. The lie was becoming harder to live with, but I couldn't back down now. If I did, everything I had fought for, everything I had endured, would come crashing down.
So I kept the lie going. I kept pretending to be Bucky Barnes.
Because that was the only way to survive. And if I was going to survive, I had to make sure Steve did too.