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[Frog] Chapter 236: Turning Bucky (2/5)
🕑 Added 2024-12-26 18:18:25 +0000 UTCJameson ran his hand through what little hair he had left, his face full of worry.
“Quick! Replace the front page with S.H.I.E.L.D.'s scandals!”
His subordinates quickly got to work in a last-ditch effort to salvage the situation, but subscriptions to the Daily Bugle continued to plummet.
All of New York was caught in the grip of public outrage. Watching the chaos unfold, Alan couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
“Let’s see how you handle this now,” he said, assuming a posture of amused anticipation.
Pierce, for now, had gone into hiding, but Alan was determined to add fuel to the fire and let the controversy escalate further.
The next day, major newspapers published confessions from S.H.I.E.L.D. officials who had been arrested. From their statements, the public began to suspect that there were even more hidden officials yet to be exposed.
The incident amplified existing tensions, and some began to question Pierce’s actions. Realizing he couldn’t remain silent any longer, Pierce knew he had to make a move before it was too late.
Inside Avengers Tower, Banner was working on a formula. He shook the mixture vigorously before shouting with excitement, “It worked! This should wake Bucky up!”
The others wore grave expressions. Banner’s concoction could only weaken the effects of Bucky’s brainwashing; it couldn’t restore his memories entirely.
Tony handed the serum to Friday, and a robotic arm carefully administered it to Bucky.
Banner watched nervously. Suddenly, Bucky’s eyes snapped open. Upon seeing the people around him, he began to struggle violently, causing the bed to shake.
Steve quickly stepped forward to restrain him.
“Bucky, do you remember me?”
“Steve?”
Bucky stopped struggling, his brow furrowed.
Relief spread across Steve’s face. It seemed the serum had worked. He knew he had to seize this opportunity to ask Bucky how he had survived.
Tony untied Bucky, and everyone sat down again. Bucky clutched his head, looking as though he was in pain.
Steve asked anxiously, “What do you remember, Bucky?”
Bucky closed his eyes, trying to recall. Voices filled his mind, and he could only grasp fragments of a final scene.
“I remember someone taking me away, and then... mission after mission. They made me assassinate many high-ranking officials.”
“How could this happen?” Steve was puzzled.
At that moment, Tony projected an image in front of Bucky—it was the Hydra emblem.
“Do you recognize this symbol?”
Bucky stared at the projection and nodded.
“My last mission... the person who took me away had this symbol on them.”
Hearing this, everyone understood why Bucky had been brainwashed.
It was clear that Hydra had taken Bucky seventy years ago, injected him with experimental serums, and subjected him to relentless brainwashing. They erased his identity and turned him into a cold, unfeeling soldier.
“Listen, Bucky,” Steve said, gripping his shoulders with a stern expression. “You’re not a member of Hydra. They used you. After we rescued you, we gave you this serum to temporarily counteract their brainwashing, but you’re still at risk of being controlled again at any time.”
Bucky grasped the gravity of Steve’s words. “What do you need me to do?”
Tony pulled up a file filled with incriminating evidence about Hydra’s lower-tier officials.
“There are Hydra operatives embedded in S.H.I.E.L.D. The person who sent you is likely one of them. We need you to go back and identify that person. They won’t suspect you’ve broken free from their control.”
...
