Chapter Ninety-Seven: Captain, You Still Can't Rest Yet

*“Creak.”*
The door to the room where Bucky was held swung open.

Hill entered the interrogation chamber, clutching the awakening spell Pierce had given her.

It was obvious without a doubt that the spell designed to activate the Winter Soldier had been tampered with.

This would inevitably cause some uncontrollable effects during the process of controlling Bucky.

Hill had anticipated this and had a plan in place.

“Hello, Mr. Barnes. I’m Hill.”

Bucky sat there coldly, silent and emotionless, like a detached assassin.

Hill wasn’t surprised by his current state.

But it didn’t matter; she had many ways to make him obey.

“It’s okay if you don’t speak, Captain. I brought you a gift.”

Smiling, Hill nodded slightly and pulled out the “Mind Control” card that Roald had given her.

With a wave of her hand, a dark ghostly mist cloaked the room, obscuring all sight. Then she slapped the card onto Bucky’s head.

After a series of convulsions, Bucky slumped limply in his chair.

The control process was surprisingly simple—no incantations were necessary.

Just as Roald had told her, the Scourge Legion had many methods to control their targets, far more effective than mere hypnosis. The spell was just a facade, a formality.

Requesting the activation spell from Pierce was merely for the sake of the plan and to mislead others.

Inside the room, Hill observed through her perspective as Bucky’s soul hovered before her, feeling a deep satisfaction.

Mind control, as the name suggests, manipulates the subject through their mind. It was similar to Hydra’s hypnosis of Bucky, but hypnosis had its flaws—mind control affected the entire soul.

Bucky remained motionless in the chair, but in his soul form, he opened his hands and glanced around, noticing his own body seated there, expression blank and confused.

“Don’t worry, Mr. Barnes. Welcome back to freedom, and welcome to liberation from your illusory prison.”

---

“You are?” Bucky looked at Hill with a hint of confusion.

After being captured by Hydra, he had been subjected to brutal human experimentation and memory wiping. In essence, his mind had been hypnotized to erase all but loyalty to Hydra and mission directives.

Now, in his soul state, he was in a state of fogginess. Hill deemed it necessary to reconstruct his worldview.

Or rather, to let Bucky recall his past memories in this soul state while imprinting deep marks in his soul for comprehensive control.

This was true mind control.

Hill raised her official badge and, after a brief recollection, began reciting the scripted lines Roald had prepared. She then produced five “Mind Control” cards.

The first card restored Bucky from Hydra’s brainwashing; the second rebuilt his worldview; the third implanted new command protocols; the fourth acted as a backup for the first three; and the fifth ensured he would not rebel—or, if his consciousness awakened and rebelled, it would trigger a final destruction protocol and a fake Hydra awakening sequence.

Raising her hand, she released the cards. As they shattered, Hill fused them directly into Bucky’s soul, and they vanished.

His worldview was rewritten, his logic and consciousness reconstructed. Gradually, Bucky began to understand the narrative Hill had woven for him.

As his worldview took shape, his soul shifted. He grew quieter, closed his eyes, and thought deeply.

Decades earlier, in a narrow alley, he had seen a group beating a small, frail man. Confused, he found himself uncontrollably rescuing the man. After that, he enlisted, joined the Howling Commandoes, fought alongside Rogers, and then awoke to find himself controlled by an organization, forced to do many things...

These were his true memories, but interwoven with the worldview and consciousness Hill had crafted—until finally, Bucky received and accepted the orders to go undercover, rescue Rogers, and destroy Hydra.

While Bucky was immersed in these memories, the five “Mind Control” cards merged completely. Hill gave a sharp tug at Bucky’s soul, spinning and disorienting him, and he regained consciousness.

The long cascade of memories played out within minutes. Bucky opened his eyes and lifted his head. Hill stood beside him, smiling warmly.

“Welcome back, Mr. Barnes. You can call me Hill. Like you, I come from the military—we’re on the same side.”

“...Thank you.”

Still somewhat bewildered from the flood of memories, Bucky nevertheless thanked her politely.

“No need to thank me. How do you feel now?”

“Good. I think I’m back to normal.”

After his worldview was reshaped, Bucky no longer wore that cold, mechanical expression; he seemed more human.

“Though I’m sorry, you can’t rest just yet.”

---

Hill handed Bucky a photo of Rogers, along with intelligence on Pierce and Hydra.

“All freedom comes at a price. Welcome to another prison. Don’t misunderstand, Captain Barnes; the organization needs you now.”

“My mission? What do you mean?”

Bucky took the thick stack of intelligence Hill offered, Rogers’ face clear on the top.

“Do you remember your friend? Steve Rogers—or Captain America.”

“Yes. What about him?”

Steve Rogers, the legendary Captain America—how could Bucky not know?

He cared deeply for his old friend. The memories just passed were all connected to Rogers.

“We have a new plan, Captain. It concerns your friend.”

“What do I need to do?”

Concerned for his friend, and influenced by the five “Mind Control” cards, Bucky did not resist Hill’s orders.

He felt a certain gratitude toward the military for waking him from Hydra’s control.

Serving anyone was better than serving Hydra.

Hill also hoped to gain intelligence on Hydra through Bucky. Though he had long been a weapon, Bucky was a sharp tool for gathering information.

More importantly, no matter how Bucky found Rogers or how Rogers found him, because of Rogers, Bucky would not be locked away. Instead, he would become a member of the Avengers.

This was Hill’s greatest confidence in her plan moving forward.

“To ensure the Captain returns in the best condition and has the best chance against Hydra, I want you, Captain, to join the Avengers under his leadership as the Winter Soldier—helping the military and him carry out the cleansing mission.”

Hill smiled.

Every word was deceit.