IC Inbox

[advanced]

This is the IC inbox for Bucky Barnes at Riverview.

Network name: user.name

This is the place to contact Bucky over the network. Contact by voice or text is perfectly acceptable, and there is no need to plot with me prior to posting in this inbox.

Note: As of the end of December 2017, Bucky has no phone, he has destroyed it. Consequently, this inbox can only be used for in person interaction. You are still more than welcome to post here without plotting with me first.

Comments

[signifies]

They told me about him and a few others.

[advanced]

Do you think that knowing about it will change anything?

[That's been weighing on him for a while.]

[signifies]

[ He ponders this. ]

I don't know. I think the future is ours to live out, but does it really hurt to know about the bad surprises beforehand?

[advanced]

Maybe. If you know what's coming, you might try to change it and make things worse.

[That's what he's bothered about.]

[signifies]

That's always the risk, isn't it?

[advanced]

[It's not really an answer, but maybe there isn't one. Maybe it's individual for everything, so he just sighs and changes the subject as they enter the trees.]

Okay, hand to hand, can you make yourself less strong for a sparring session?

[signifies]

There's a way... but I don't have the equipment for that.

[ It involves green kryptonite. Clark has never seen it, and already feels uneasy thinking about it.

The other way involves red sun radiation. ]

We could build it.

[advanced]

Build what exactly?

[He can't deny that he's curious, but that's a true test of how much Clark trusts him. Giving someone knowledge and possible access to your weaknesses is a lot different than knowing they exist.]

[signifies]

[ That's very true. Clark knows he can trust Bucky. He's kept the secret, and Clark believes wholeheartedly that he'd fight a Kryptonian if they threatened him.

He's comfortable telling Bucky, and would have except for Kara. Her weaknesses are the same as his. If she doesn't trust Bucky, then she wouldn't feel comfortable with him knowing. ]

I'll think about it. Until then, could I watch you?

[advanced]

[He can't really ask for more than that, even if he's burning with curiosity to know what could be built that could weaken a Kryptonian, so he just nods for now.]

Might get a bit boring for you.

[But he launches into it all the same. He starts with some simple shadow boxing and muscle warm-ups, just getting ready, before launching into an acrobatic set of moves, pushing off trees and kicking the air with intense focus. Even a super soldier has to keep their skills sharp somehow.]

[signifies]

[ Dick could help him with it and disguise the red sunlight. Bucky can't see through walls. Clark's also sure Dick would know how to conceal any equipment from unwanted prying. Kara would be kept safe and Clark would be able to learn. ]

I'll be the judge of that.

[ He smiles and finds a place to sit where he can watch attentively. ]

[advanced]

[Bucky might be terrible at interpersonal skills, and have huge gaps in his memory about even the most mundane things, but if there's one thing he's excellent at, it's fighting. Even before the Soldier he had been a boxer, then a sniper. Seventy years of specialist and elite training had followed, turning him into nothing more or less than a human weapon.

His forms are flawless, but vicious. He obviously fights with a manner that is far more aggressive and focused on dealing damage to others, rather than protecting his own vital areas or defending against attack to himself. He trains for about an hour, focusing first on strength and then on dexterity, finally on speed.

When he finally stops, about four feet from Clark, he's panting and flushed, but he looks more peaceful.]

Bored yet?

[signifies]

[ Bucky fights with perfect form, like he was a machine in flesh and blood. His movements speak violence like its own language. (It's an echo of the vicious style he'll see in Bruce, later.)

This is a conversation Clark has avoided participating in all his life. He has many incidents of digging his nails into his palms and swallowing down the words and actions of bullies. He can't solve his own problems with pre-emptive strikes, or not care who he hurts with his power.

Faora and Zod didn't have the same qualms. It'd be worth learning how to defend against. ]

No. [ Being around Bucky is never boring. ] I understand what you mean now, when you say you were conditioned.

[advanced]

[Wariness sets in at that unexpected statement, though he doesn't tense up completely. He's learning to trust Clark, little by little, and it's paying off when he doesn't clam up right away at these sorts of conversations.]

By watching me fight?

[Did his fighting style really give away that he had been conditioned? That's worrying, he'll need to address that.]

[signifies]

[ Clark will try to explain. He pauses to collect himself and choose his words wisely. ]

I can hear the muscles in your body moving. [ He can also see them, but he hasn't been looking without Bucky's explicit permission. ] It's not what I'm used to hearing from a soldier.

[ And his shoulder is a very grating noise. Clark can't always ignore it. ]

[advanced]

[It's always unnerving when he's reminded just how much Clark can see and hear of him, far beyond the natural order of things. But he still doesn't quite understand.]

How do you mean?

[How could even his muscles betray him as something more than a soldier?]

[signifies]

[ He swallows, a little frustrated with himself. It sounds different, but he can't illustrate that in a meaningful way for Bucky. ]

Should I demonstrate?

[advanced]

Yeah.

[He doesn't understand why Clark can't just explain, but he's willing to try and watch a demonstration, even if Clark said before that he wasn't particularly well practised in hand to hand techniques.]

[signifies]

[ Clark stands up. He chooses one of the soldiers who met him at the base and mimics him perfectly. He has a lot of control over his muscles, having spent his life suppressing his strength.

They are not only much slower but a lot less smooth than Bucky's movements. ]

Do you see a difference?

[advanced]

[Bucky watches carefully, but he still doesn't really see what Clark is getting at.]

You're slower, sloppier. It just means I'm better trained, but how does it show that I was conditioned?

[signifies]

[ Clark shakes his head. ]

You sound like a machine.

[advanced]

[That's not a nice thing to hear, but he can't exactly deny it as being true.]

So you're saying I need to fight less precisely?

[signifies]

No. I'm pretty sure only I'd notice something like that. Or someone as fast as me. [ He remembers what Kara said about the Flash. ] I was just trying to tell you that I see where you're coming from now.

[advanced]

[He nods, understanding, but it's still going to give him something to think about.]

I don't think I know how to move any other way.

[signifies]

That's okay. You do what you have to.

[ Bucky's survival instincts have kept him alive, like Ellie's. They need to do that to be safe. ]