Iris slowly comes to, hearing a distorted voice shouting near her. But the ringing in her ears prevents her from making out what they are saying. She opens her eyes, but all she can see is a swirl of colors and unclear shapes. She tries to bring her hands up to rub her aching head, but they are tightly restrained. She tries to move her legs, but to no avail. Iris opens her eyes again, the spinning finally subsiding. She sees a giant machine suspended above her. Shaped in a large triangle with a pointed end directed at her. Iris tries to escape from the table, but it's useless. "LET ME GO!" Iris screams out "Please! Please let me go. My Grandfather needs me. Please!" Iris wails. Zola comes to Iris' side, "It's good see you awake and full of zeal, Fraulein. I had worried that Ivan had dealt to serious of a blow to your head." Zola look's like he is a small push from falling into madness. "What are you doing to me?" Iris demands. Zola traces her face, "My dear, you are about to become a weapon of mass destruction. The epiphany of pain and suffering. You and the tesseract will become one entity. Becoming a goddess like symbol to Hydra and laying siege to those who dare to stand in our way!" Zola exclaims.
Zola swiftly walks from Iris' side back to his large control table. Wilhelm barges into the room, "Zola! Zola, are you crazed! You've killed the other captives! If you fail with this one we have lost all hope for this project! Zola, please! Let's work out the problems before extinguishing our final prospect!" Wilhelm begs with Zola. But Zola is a man unhinged. "No! We will proceed! She is the key to Hydra's glory! All will bow before us or be faced with Annihilation!" Zola shouts. Iris is hysterical, "Please! Please, I want to go home! Please, my family- they need me!" Her plea's fall on deaf ears as Wilhelm and Zola continue to argue. "I will not stand by and let you destroy our last subject for your own glory." Wilhelm contest. The men struggle with each other, until a shot is heard. Iris turns her head to see Ivan standing in the lab doorway, gun in hand. Wilhelm looks down to his wound, and Zola is stunned. Wilhelm collapses, his final breathe slowly escaping from him. "Continue the work, Doctor." Ivan says stepping into the lab and closing the door behind him. Zola turns back to the controls, flipping buttons and turning dials wildly. The machine above Iris hum's loudly, and begins to emit a blue glow.
"Now, I am the destroyer of worlds..." Zola mutters to himself before flipping a final switch. The machine discharges a blinding blue light, enveloping Iris in it's glow. Iris screams violently. The pain is excruciating as it feels like every atom in her body is about to explode. Her body writhes in anguish, like her very soul was being ripped apart. But in the blinding light of the ray, Iris has a vision. She sees her Father, George, standing before her. He doesn't speak but only smiles. Her mind is then fast forwarded thousands of years from thousands of worlds, until all she see's is space. Galaxies, planets, and stars all around her. She feels herself sucked back into her physical body and falls into darkness.
Zola turns off the machine. Looking over the control table at a lifeless Iris. Ivan still reeling himself in after being blinded briefly by the light. Zola sits in his chair, believing for a second that he had killed his last test rat. When Soldat and other henchmen barge into the room. He see's Iris strapped to a table, she is pale and not breathing. He closes his eyes and clinches his fist. He looks down to Ivan who is still trying to collect himself, "I told you...I told you this would happen." he says angrily. One of the henchmen walk to the table Iris was tethered to. He lays two finger's upon her neck, searching for a pulse. He is amazed to feel one faintly, he turns to tell the others, but he shatters into a blue explosion of light. Iris opens her eyes, gasping for air.
Soldat rushes to her side, he starts to lay his hands on her, but stops when he sees a blue glowing veil hovering over her. Iris sees Soldat and they share a relieved smile together. "Iris.. do you know me?" he asks. Iris shakes her head yes, "Zimniy...Soldat" she mumbles. His smile grows bigger upon hearing her respond. Iris stares into his blue eyes, until she see's Ivan standing behind him. Iris feels something burning through her veins, and the blue glow grows brighter. "You!" she growls. He turns to see Ivan behind him. Iris lets out a yell and the restraints disintegrate from around her legs and hands. Soldat cover's his face from the blinding glow and debris shooting from the small outburst. Zola, Ivan, and Soldat look up to see Iris standing on the table. A blue like flame engulfing her and fury written on her face. Her sights set upon Ivan who starts to cower before her.
Soldat quickly raises his hand's, "Iris...Iris listen to me. It's OK." Iris directs her attention to him. "There has been enough blood shed here today, Iris. This isn't you, doll. Please," Soldat begged, extending his hand towards her, "Please, let me help you...". Iris looks into his eye's, "You have life again, Soldat." she whispers. The blue glow around her begins to dissipate. Zola takes notice to Soldat being able to calm her. Iris is almost to a normal state, when Iris is hit with something. Iris looks at Soldat, confused. Someone has shot something at her. He turn to where the shot was fired, there, a henchman standing in the door way with a rifle. Iris grabs at her neck, removing a metal dart. She stares at it in her hand for a moment, before turning her sights to the man. In a flash, she was face to face with him, her hands around his throat. Iris' eye's gleamed a fierce blue matching the aura surrounding her. The man gasped for breath before crumpling to ash in her hands. Iris turned back to Soldat who was in shock, "Soldat..." She whimpered before stumbling. He jumped over the table catching her before she hit the floor. Zola finally crawling from his corner, he sees the two interact. Iris smiles up at him, and Soldat holds her close, "It's OK, Iris." he whisper's brushing her hair from her face. The glow vanishes from her completely as she fades to the tranquilizer.
Zola and Ivan share a concerned look with each other. "Project Winter.." Zola calls. Soldat turns his face to him, "You are charged with her. You are obviously connected to her and able to calm her. You will be responsible for her training. Until we learn how to control her better, is that understood?" Zola demands. Soldat turns his face from Zola, and carries Iris out of the room.
He takes her back to the quarters given to her after she had beaten him in their sparring match. He carefully lays her on the bed, and drapes a thin blanket over her. He pulls up a chair and sits in the corner, like a guard dog ready to maul anyone who would dare lay a hand on her. A few hours pass, and Iris stirs. Soldat had dozed off briefly but immediately rose to her side upon hearing her move. Iris opens her eyes to see Soldat. She starts to recall Zola's painful experiment and sits up in a panic. "It's OK..." Soldat says soothingly. Iris looks at her hands, searching for the blue glow. "What did they do me?" she asks "I was glowing. I...I made people..vanish." she says looking up to Soldat. "I don't know exactly. All I know is you survived." he says with relief. "You.. You called me doll??" she says giving him a puzzled look. "Just seemed like the right thing to say to a glowing woman who could evaporate me from my very existence." he replies with a chuckle. Iris smiles, but her smile fades as her mind recalls her vision before being taken to Zola's lab. Tears well up in her eyes, "Pop..My grandfather is gone." she blurts out. Soldat is confused, "What are you talking about?" he asks softly. "I saw him. I saw him in my dream. He went to Valhalla." she whimpers. Soldat doesn't understand what she is saying and attributes her dream to hallucinations from Zola's experiment. Iris weeps uncontrollably as Soldat holds her.
"Iris..." Soldat whispered. Iris looked up to him, "I'm sorry...For everything." he says sorrowfully. Iris let's out a scoff, "I am being consoled by the man who kidnapped me from my family. And yet somehow, I feel pity for him." Iris says with sadness. Soldat looks down at his feet, "I saw what the ydid to you. The night before they made us fight you." Iris confessed. Soldat shot a look up at her, with a sense of panic. "What happened behind the curtain?" she asked. He leans back into the chair, biting his thumb for a second. He doesn't answer, but Iris see's something, like an open vision. It's Soldat, he's in a green uniform, with two girls, and a very sickly looking boy tagging along. "Come on, Bucky! I wanna see the Stark car!" one girl says in the vision. The vision ends, and Soldat is sitting next to her, hands on her shoulder's with a concerned look on his face. "Bucky..." Iris whispers. Soldat leans back from her, "I saw you. At a fair, with two girls, and a smaller man following closely behind you. One of the girls, she called you...Bucky." Iris confesses. Soldat stands from the bed, and paces the room. His hands running through his brown hair. He finally calms down, and turns to Iris. "Hydra..anytime I start to remember things..They erase them." Soldat says as his voice breaks. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean.." Iris tries to explain but he cuts her off, "Can you.. Can you see my past? Who I was before this?" he pleads.
"I don't know. I just know what I saw. I don't know how to control any of this." Iris say's defeated. Soldat sits next to Iris, "Listen to me, " he say's holding Iris' hand, "I'm supposed to train you. Teach you how become a Hydra operative. They will be watching closely. Every move we make, eyes will be watching." Soldat says sternly, "We are going to act like nothing any different then that is happening. We will train every day. We will figure how to control what they have done to you.". Iris smiles at Soldat who stands to leave the room. "Soldat?" Iris called out, he stops mid stride and looks to her, "Can...Could you stay. Here, with me. I don't want to be alone." she begged. Soldat, drop his head and sighed, "Yeah..I understand that." and made his way back to the Iris' bed. He sit's opposite to Iris, removing his coat and boots. Iris makes herself comfortable under the blanket, while Soldat covered himself with a thin blanket, remaining above the thick blanket Iris laid under.
"Soldat?" Iris whispers. "Yes.." he answers sleepily. "Can I call you Bucky?" she asks. He is silent for a moment, "Anything is better then you calling me Soldier all the time." he answers.
Four months pass by, and Bucky had trained Iris everyday. Iris had even learned how to control her new found powers. Bucky trained her with every weapon available to them, but her favorite was a double headed spear. Bucky had it made for her after she had told him about her vision's with Farmir and Moria. Every night, after they made sure there were no eye's were upon them, Bucky would sit with Iris in her quarter's and she would show him who he was before Hydra.
"Are you ready?" Iris asked Bucky as they sat cross-legged on the floor. Bucky shook his head yes holding his hand's out and Iris took hold of them. The blue aura would slowly wrap itself around them, and Iris' eye's would transform to the bright glow. Scenes began playing in Iris' and Bucky's mind as she channeled them. It's the night Bucky's regiment was captured during The battle of Azzano. Iris see's the same blue electrical discharge evaporate men the same way she could. She see's Bucky in a trench with two other's. They stand to see a tank roll over a hill, and it's cannon pointed at them. "Get down!" Bucky screams and the men dive back into the trench. The cannon releases the blue energy, and sends dirt flying over them. A man crawls to Bucky, "What is that thing??" he yell's. It's Iris' Father, George. But as Bucky goes to warn him, he is evaporated by the blue ray of light. "PAPA!" Iris yells and bring's them out of the vision.
"Why! Why would you choose that memory? You knew my Father and you never told me!" Iris yells while punching Bucky in the chest. "Iris, I'm sorry. I didn't know he was your Father. I don't even know why my mind went there. Please, I'm sorry." Bucky pleaded. Iris calms down for a bit, "How old are you even? How could you be there in 1942 and not look any older almost twenty years later?" Iris demands. Bucky couldn't bring himself to answer Iris. She growls and grabs his head, "Iris! Iris stop!" Bucky yells. But Iris somehow brings him to a trance, and watches is entire life play in a matter of second's. Revealing his entire past to both of them.
Iris releases Bucky who falls to the floor. "I'm sorry Bucky. I'm sorry for losing control." Iris says with tear's streaming down her face. Bucky looks like he has short circuited being shown his previous life in warp speed. Iris drops to her knee's, eye level with Bucky. "Your name is James Buchanan Barnes. They called you 'Bucky' because you were the first one to buck up for your friend Steve. You enlisted in the 107th regiment. You were there the night my Father was killed, and the regiment was captured." Iris' voices breaks, "Your friend, Steve, he's Captain America. And he rescued you from behind enemy lines. Bucky, you fought beside Captain America!" Iris finishes. Bucky smirks and blacks out. Iris catches him while he falls forward, dragging him off the floor and onto her bed.
Iris stands beside him, staring at his bionic arm. She had seen in the vision Hydra find him lifeless at the bottom of the mountain ridge. Seen the pain he endured while they armed him with the robotic piece. How when he had awoke from the procedure he clawed at his skin trying to rip the metal prosthetic out of him. The brainwashing, the torture, the murder he committed on behalf of Hydra that he had no memory of. She moves his long brown hair from his face, "I am so sorry for what they've done to you." Iris whisper's kissing his forehead. Iris crawls beside Bucky and watches over him. Just as he had done for her the night of Zola's cruel experiment.
Bucky final stirs from his deep sleep and Iris is there to comfort him. "What..What did you do to me." Bucky mutters. "What do you remember?" Iris asks. "I.. I remember..My name is James.." he says with a shock. Iris smiles, "Yes, that is your name." she answers. Bucky sits up, looking at Iris, tears forming in his soft blue eyes. "I remember...everything. My friends, my family, every..." he trails off succumbing to his emotions. Iris hugs him tightly and Bucky shows his vulnerability. Weeping and burying his face into her shoulder who is now crying with him. "I'm so sorry, Bucky." Iris whispers softly. She pulls Bucky's face away from her, resting her hand's on both sides of his face, looking into his blood shot eyes, "We are going to leave here. Together. I promise you. We will find a way to escape these monster's. You and me." Iris speaks firmly but softly. Bucky recovers from his breakdown, placing his hand's on top of Iris', "You and Me." he says firmly.
Iris and Bucky had fallen asleep in each others arms. They are awakened to the sound of a loud buzzing emitted from the intercom system. They rush to their feet, Iris tripping over the sheet, "Hurry!" Bucky shouts putting his boots on. Iris collects herself and her arm-less jacket making her way to the door, when Bucky grabs her, "Remember...Soldat! Out here, I am Soldat." Bucky orders. Iris nods her head in agreement, and walks out the door, Bucky following. Zola and four other henchmen make their way into the secluded area of level two. Iris and Bucky stand at attention. "Ahh.. Project Winter and Ms. Crawsen, we have seen you make great strides in your progress together." Zola says with a sneer. Iris glares at him, knowing she could easily dust him in a millisecond. "We have prepared a small mission for you. An extraction to be precise. What better way to prove your new skills, then with real danger, eh?" Zola exclaims. "You will be leaving at 2400 hours. You will be briefed on the plane. Understood?" Zola questions. "Yes, Furher." Both of them answer. "Wunderbar!" Zola shouts, "O yes, one more thing..." Zola says as two henchmen grab Iris as another sticks a pressurized gun to her neck, pressing the trigger and injecting something as Iris let's out a small cry, "This is a small tracking device. Just in case you think about running away Fraulein as you have attempted in the past." Zola mused, "And if you do get away, we will find you and bring you back to us, and show you what pain really is. But not to you, Fraulein." he finishes glaring at Bucky. "Hail, Hydra!" Zola shouts. "Hail, Hydra!" Bucky and Iris reply bitterly.
Zola and his guards leave the area. Bucky turns to Iris and looks at her neck, fuming with anger upon seeing the small metal fragment in her skin. "Who do you think it is" Iris asks. "It's an extraction. Which means they have someone of value or a threat in their sights." he says coldly. "What do we do, Bucky?" Iris whispers, "We cannot bring someone here to suffer through the tragedies we have. I won't do it." Iris contests. "Let's hear the debriefing and the make a plan from there, OK?" Bucky replies. Iris shakes her head in agreement. "Let's train some more before we are dropped into action." Bucky says bumping his shoulder into her's.
From above, Zola is watching Iris and Bucky spar. "Doctor!" Ivan calls walking to stand by Zola. "Keep a watch on them. I want to see what she's capable of outside of here. Especially with him." Zola says with a smile on his face. "Soon, we will moving into the final phase of Annihilation." Ivan looks down at Bucky and Iris, "You realize relationships form compromises... Why toy with them." Ivan remarks. "It's all in the plan, Ivan. It's all in the plan." Zola says walking out of the observation area.
Bucky and Iris follow a group of henchmen to the large cargo plane outside of the bunker. Iris takes in a deep breathe. She hadn't had fresh air in such a long time. Ivan is standing at the loading door of the plane. Iris feels sick to her stomach, it's the same one that brought her here. "Zimniy Soldat. Iris. Shall we?" Ivan says motioning his hand to the inside of the plane. Iris reluctantly follows Bucky into the plane and the doors close. Iris sit's close to Bucky as the plane prepares for take off, trembling all over. Bucky lays his hand on Iris' leg, trying to calm her subtly, until he see's Ivan glaring at them. Once the plane is in air, Ivan calls over Bucky and Iris to a table with a map.
"We have intel that a former spy with information that is valuable to Hydra is hiding in South America, among the Yanimi tribe. Your mission is to extract him, by any means necessary. Is that understood?" Ivan demands. "Understood." Bucky replies. "Why do you need him?" Iris blurts out, Bucky glaring at her. Ivan lifts his face up to Iris', "How is that relative to what is being requested from you?" Ivan scolds. "You said to retrieve him by any mean's necessary. What if the locals put up a fight. You expect me to kill innocents for one man. Excuse me for asking why exactly he is worth possible blood shed." Iris remarks. Ivan places his hands on the table before him, he is furious, "You need value, huh? Alright then. Bring me the professor, or I'll bring you his other arm." Nodding his head towards Bucky. "Do we understand each other?" Ivan asserts. Iris feels the sensation of her powers flowing as a hateful fury begins to flow. "She understands.." Bucky interjects, grabbing Iris by her hand and leading her away.
"What did I tell you?" Bucky whispers to Iris. "I'm sorry, I just.." Iris tries to argue, "Enough Iris! Focus! When we get on the ground we are going to immediately search for the man. Then you can pull out any information from his head, got it!" Bucky argued. Iris shook her head in agreement with the plan. The plane begins it's descent from the air to a private landing strip. Bucky and Iris are lead from the plane to a jeep nearby. "Here is a photo of your target. He is needed alive!" Ivan shouts, "Reinforcements will meet you at these coordinates at 0600 hours. Hail, Hydra!". Bucky and Iris mutter the chant and the jeep takes off. After a couple hours, they arrive to the outskirts of the Yanimi village.
Bucky looks through his scope, mapping out the village and searching for their target. "There..." Bucky whispers, "He went in to the hut just outside the village. Let's get in there quietly and get out." Iris follows Bucky through the brush. They can hear the old man rustling inside the hut. Bucky and Iris sneak up to hut opening. Bucky storms in, rifle first, and Iris follows closely behind. The man spins around and starts to yell, but Iris in a flash moves herself behind him covering his mouth. Bucky gets close to the old man, "Listen, we don't know who you are, but there are some very bad people looking for you. My friend here is going to uncover your mouth, and your going to tell us who you are and why you're so important. Got it?" Bucky growls. The man shakes his head in compliance. Iris slowly lets go of the old man, who is panting.
"I am Professor Victor Davis. I worked for Howard Stark and SHIELD. I started investigating Zola when the tesseract was delayed being delivered to Howard for Project PEGASUS. I found out about Hydra plan's and the abductions that took place through their 'blood bank' scheme. I was working with a woman who had lost her child shortly after donating to the same ponzi's schemed blood bank. We were set on releasing articles of our findings to SHIELD, when Hydra found out and put out a target on my head. I heard about it and I came here until I could find a safer place for myself. It appears my time of running has come to an end though, hasn't it." he trails off. Iris and Bucky look at each other,"What if we could prove you were right? Would that help your case?" Iris questioned Victor. "How?" he asked puzzled. "Me and him" Iris says nodding her head a Bucky, "We're captives of Hydra. We want to help and escape ourselves. If you promise you can help us destroy Hydra, we will promise you, your safety. Can you do that?" Iris begged. Victor nods in agreement.
Just as Bucky and Iris start to escort the man to freedom, the sounds of gun fire echo through out the village. Iris and Bucky share a horrified glare. The three of them run out of the Hut to see the Yamini people running from the blasts. "What are they doing?" Bucky yells. Iris takes off towards the shots, Bucky and Victor follow. Hydra soldiers are marching into the village, unleashing carnage upon the unarmed villagers. Iris is mortified, she see's a young boy crying, lost from his mother. Iris and Bucky see a Hydra Soldier take aim at the boy and both spring into action. Victor waving his hands and yelling to spare the child. The soldier fires a shot and Bucky grabs the boy, using himself as a shield. But nothing happens Bucky peaks his eyes open, looking behind him to see Iris standing before him and the boy. Beaming in a blue like flame and dark smoke trailing from behind, her eye's wildly glowing again. The soldier looks over his weapon, and fires again. But Iris disintegrates every bullet that comes toward her. She removes her spear, and channels the energy flowing through her into the spear, plunging into his chest, the soldier evaporates into a ash of light. When she looks up, she see's the rest of the Hydra murder squad marching towards them, weapons drawn. She waves her hands, and surrounds herself, Bucky, the boy, and Victor within her glow, the dark smoke spinning around them. Bucky and Victor hear the Soldier's screams as they are pulled into the smoke, causing explosions of what looks like lighting.
"They will massacre this village because of me." Victor screams. He looks to the bright glow and dark smoke surrounding them, "A quick death is better, then being slowly tortured by Hydra." He says to himself. "I'm sorry. This is the only way." Victor yells, Bucky can see what he is planning, "No, don't!" he yells, but it's to late as Victor throws himself in to the blue smoke, dissipating into ash. Bucky closes his eye's, turning to Iris with the boy in his arms. "Iris!" he yells but she is blinded by fury. He sits the boy down, motioning for him to stay sitting, the boy covers his ears as the earth rumbles around them within the circle. Bucky puts himself in front of Iris, who is lost in a trance. "Iris!" he yells, but she doesn't answer. Bucky trying to think quickly, grabs Iris by her face and kisses her. Iris slowly comes too and the blue whirlwind of smoke and light slows and vanishes. Bucky slowly pulls away from Iris, looking into her eyes as they slowly turn back to her hazel/green tint. "Bucky?" she whispers, "It's me, doll." he says softly. Iris turns to the boy, who runs to his mother who is frantically looking for him, grateful for him to alive.
"Victor? Where is he?" Iris asks Bucky. He shakes his head and Iris begins to cry. "We have to go. Before more people get hurt." Bucky orders. Iris looks around at the tattered village and the anguished cries begin to fill the air. Bucky and Iris run into the brush. Making it to their coordinates where Ivan is standing with a group of Hydra Soldiers. "Where is the professor?" he bellows demandingly. Bucky walks up to him, throwing his metal fist and connecting with Ivan's jaw. "You almost killed us! You sent your men into the village and murdered innocent people!" Bucky screams. Ivan jumps up from the ground spearing Bucky and a fit ensues between them. Iris is yelling at them to stop, but they don't listen. "I said enough!" Iris taking her spear off her back and driving it into the ground releasing a energy blast knocking the two off each other. "Your target is dead, he killed himself after he saw your little ambush party." Iris yells marching to Ivan lying on the ground, pointing the tip of her glowing spear at his neck. "The only reason I don't drive the end of my spear into you're throat is because of him." she says drifting her eyes to Bucky. "Have fun explaining your mess to Zola." She says withdrawing her spear and storming off. They load up into the jeeps and head back to the cargo plane.
They land back to the main underground bunker sixteen hours later. Iris, Bucky, and Ivan don't speak a word to each other. The loading doors of the plane open, and Iris is the first off, Bucky trailing behind her. She quickly strides to her quarters, "Iris! Iris, wait!" Bucky call's trying to keep up with her. She makes it past the vaulted doors to the secluded layer of the second floor, kicking her bedroom door of it hinges. Her hands glowing brightly. Bucky stops, giving Iris her space for a moment. "Our one chance of escaping and revealing Hydra is gone! He'd rather kill himself then taking even a small chance of being a prisoner here!" She screams. Bucky looks at Iris, knowing nothing he could say would calm her. Iris sit's on her bed, putting her face in her hands, weeping.
Bucky sit's beside her, trying to console her. Iris looks up from her hand's and snickers at the door splintered across the room. "Your a mad woman, you know." Bucky says with a smirk. Iris laughs, wiping away her tears, "It would appear so.". Bucky wraps his arm around Iris, "We will find a way from this place. I promise. It's you and me remember?" he says warmly. Bucky helps Iris pick up the shrapnel of the door when a henchman approaches. He looks down at the mess, then to Iris and Bucky who's hand's are full of debris. "Hide and Seek..."Bucky says, "Got a little carried away with the seeking."
"Zola wants a report of what happened at the Village." the henchman orders. Iris and Bucky sit down the pieces, and begin to walk out of their room. "Zimniy Soldat has been ordered to be questioned alone." the henchman barks. Iris and Bucky look at each other, both sharing a concerned look. "Alright, give me a second." Bucky says to the guard. He turns to Iris who get's close to him, "Please. Please don't go alone Bucky." she whispers. Bucky lay's his hand on Iris' cheeks, "It's alright, doll." Iris looks into his blue eyes, "Come back to me, James." she says softly. Bucky smiles and hugs Iris tightly, kissing her cheek, "I love you, Iris." he whispers in her ear, before turning to walking away with the henchman sent to fetch him. "I love you, Bucky." Iris says under her breath.
It had been nearly an hour since Bucky had been summoned by Zola. Iris paced the floor frantically. She heard the vault door open, and ran out of her room praying it was Bucky. She stops in her tracks when she see's only the same henchman guard. "Zola wants to see you, NOW!" he shouted. "Where is Soldat?" she questions, becoming defensive. The henchman sees Iris tense up, "Project Winter is waiting for you with Zola. There were some discrepancies in the report of what happened during your mission. Project Winter has asked for you to corroborate his story." he implores.
Iris doesn't trust the guard, but she doesn't dare risk Bucky's life over her stubbornness. She follows the guard from their secluded area, onto the main floor. The henchman leads Iris to the curtained area, where she had seen Wilhelm and Ivan drag Bucky from a few months prior. Her hearts drops, "Bucky..O no..Please..no" she says to herself. She rounds the curtain to see Bucky strapped to a chair, his mouth gagged and hands restrained. They lock eyes, and Iris covers her mouth as her heart shatters. Bucky tries to get up, but it's no use. "Hello Fraulein..." Zola boasts. Iris starts to charge at him, when someone hit's her in the back of the head. Iris falls to her knees, as her head spins. She can hear Bucky screaming through the cloth tied around his mouth. Ivan rips Iris up by her hair, slamming her into the chair next to Bucky. She tries to channel her powers, but Zola slaps a collar around her neck and she's unable to channel them. "Now, Now. Let's not do that." Zola gloats. Ivan straps Iris' hands down and ties a cloth around her mouth, muffling any sound she would make.
"Now, it's time for the final phase of our project." Zola says. Bucky and Iris find each other's hands, and cling to each other tightly. "Ivan, if you would do the honors." Zola commands. Ivan walking to a large lever, "It would be my pleasure." He says with joy. Ivan pulls down the lever, and heavy metal plate lowers itself onto Bucky and Iris' face, delivering a painful shock to them both. Iris and Bucky cry out in pain, and Ivan finally returns to the lever upwards.
The metal plate lifts off of their faces, as they fade in and out of consciousness. Zola walks to Bucky, leaning close to him, "Who are you?" Zola questions Bucky. Bucky groggily answers, "Project Winter Soldier." Zola smiles, and what is your code, "Longing, Rusted, Furnace, Daybreak, Seventeen, Bening, Nine, Homecoming, One, Freight Car." he says in a mono tone. "Excellent!" Zola exclaims. Zola turns his attention to Iris, who is barely coherent. "Who are you?" he asks. Iris squirming, doesn't answer. Ivan delivers another shock to her, and Iris wails loudly. "Who are you?" Zola demands. "I...am...Annihilation.." she mumbles.