I never believed in freedom until I saw him in that chamber.

My parents thought I was their perfect creation—raised in HYDRA, brainwashed into loyalty, trained in their labs. They didn’t know I could feel their commands slip away, repelled by a power I didn’t understand. I let them think I was broken. I played the obedient son while planning my escape.

Tonight, it begins.

Alarms blare as I override the cryo-sequence. Frost cracks open, revealing Bucky Barnes—metal arm frozen, face pale, eyes sealed. The Winter Soldier. A weapon. A ghost.

And then his eyes open.

They’re clouded, searching for a trigger that’s no longer there—because I ripped it out. I didn’t just disable the program. I reached into his mind and freed him.

He gasps, choking on air, on memory, on rage.

‘Who… are you?’ he croaks, voice raw from decades of silence.

I step closer, heart pounding. ‘Someone who knows what it’s like to be a prisoner in your own mind.’

He stares at me—this broken super-soldier, this legend—and for the first time, I don’t hide.

‘We don’t have much time,’ I say. ‘But if you want out… I can help you disappear. With me.’

He looks at his metal hand, then back at me. ‘Why would you risk that?’

I almost smile. ‘Because no one ever did it for me.’

A distant siren wails. Boots echo down the hall.

We have seconds.

Do I grab his hand and run? Do I stay and fight the first wave? Do I use my power to erase the cameras—and risk revealing my ability to him?