Character: James "Bucky" Barnes
First Movie: Captain America: The First Avenger
Personality: In the 1940's, Bucky could only be described as cocky, with an overdeveloped responsibility muscle. It was Bucky's job to take care of the child next door, all scrawny limbs and asthmatic breathing, but with a heart too big for the body he was born with. Bucky didn't fight Steve's battles for him, but he always took care of him when Steve needed a hand. When the war started, Bucky didn't sign up out of a need to serve his country (that was for Steve, standing up for the little guy. The only little guy Bucky ever cared about was Steve, anyway). He signed up to get paid, to work himself out of the small little ditch of poverty he grew up in. For kids like Bucky and Steve, the Army was the only way out.
Steve taught Bucky that people could be good, even when they had nothing. It was that belief that pushed Bucky through the war.
âŚThere are a lot of things that Bucky doesn't remember. He tries to fill in the gaps, hides what he thinks he's supposed to know with quick wikipedia searches on smart phones that feel too small in his larger hand hidden in bathroom stalls.Â
He remembers Russia. He remembers red. Red blood spilling from his hands over crisp white snow. Red hair spilling down pale lines of a lean back. Bucky remember Natasha. He thinks he knows what love is, hiding between the lines of reprogramming and Communist Red.Â
Mostly, Bucky remembers Steve. He didn't at first, just the occasional dream of blond hair and skinny shoulders. It took a botched mission, the cosmic cube awakening, and a blow to the head (Natasha called it cognitive recalibration) for anything real to resurface.Â
Now, Bucky's found that cockiness of his youth, hides behind it like a shield. He went to find the Avengers after seeing Steve on his television, strength and broad shoulders that he can barely remember but knows he should. Nobody knows that Bucky is still filling in the gaps, but sometimes, he suspects that Natasha knows more than he hopes she does.
Weapons/Powers/Abilities: Bucky is a master of hand-to-hand combat and martial arts, as well as being skilled in the use of military weapons such as firearms and grenades. His time as the covert Soviet agent known as the Winter Soldier helped to further hone his skills, making him the equal to his predecessor in combat skills and an expert assassin and spy. He is also fluent in many languages, including English, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Russian, and Japanese. He can understand French, and can speak enough to pass as a tourist. Bucky's left arm is a cybernetic prosthetic with superhuman strength and enhanced reaction time. The arm can function when not in contact with Barnes and can discharge bolts of electrical energy from its palm. The arm can discharge an EMP causing electronics to either shutdown or become useless. The arm has a holographic function to disguise it as a flesh and blood arm.
Allegiance: Bucky's only real allegiance is to himself. He trusts Steve implicitly, even if he doesn't always remember why. Natasha is the only person who knows what it's like to be used, and that's enough usually enough for Bucky to trust her. He doesn't trust other spies and he's leery of S.H.I.E.L.D. for obvious reason.
It was easier than Bucky thought it would be, watching people in costume, floating around the Halloween Party. If he wasn't sure what the costumes always where, well, it wasn't too hard to avoid those people. It wasn't like he knew many people there anyway. He could see Steve across the room, that damn sheet inches too short to properly cover his boots. Bucky was fairly certain Steve had been a ghost for years, when they were kids. He was going to have to convince him to dress up as something trendier, next year.
Bucky's own costume, V, was partially because he enjoyed the character, and partially because hey, what spy doesn't like a good anarchist in their midst. Maybe those damn SHIELD people will see it, and wonder, Bucky thought to himself, gathering a drink and picking part of the wall to prop up.Â
He eyes scoped the party goers, finding Tasha's in the crowd, even with her brilliant red hair covered up. Maybe Bucky frowned a bit, seeing her enter with Barton, but his mask covered it up. It would be simple enough to separate her from him, maybe take her out for a dance. There was no way Barton knew how, Bucky was sure, the other man was much to stiff. In any case, Bucky opted to watch them, before making his move.
Ships: Bucky/Natasha, Bucky/Steve
Character URL: http://cyberneticwinter.tumblr.com/
