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For Ellie
[Bucky had stayed in Quarantine for as long as possible. Not because he had any particular attachment to the place, most of his tentatively made friends had gone long before the end happened, but because there was less of a risk of HYDRA there. Sure, Pierce had shown up and that was really not fun, but by and large the population could be trusted.
All good things must end, though.
The portal he took dropped him somewhere in the Ukraine, and he made sure to get himself several countries away before he stopped to rest. He felt rusty, too long in a small world not having to look always over his shoulder, and he has to mentally reset as fast as possible. Get too sloppy and it'll all be over. It's not just HYDRA looking for him, after all, it's the remnants of SHIELD, the Avengers (led by stupid Steve "end of the line" Rogers), and about half the world's governments.
He lets his body run on autopilot for a while. No matter what happens, he doesn't think he'll ever forget how to be ghost, how to just disappear from a crowd and never make the slightest of waves when he travels from city to city.
It's been about a month, and he's out in the middle of nowhere. A mountain range in North America, nothing but bears and forest and birds for as far as the eye can see. Or it should be. But he spots a spire of smoke that shouldn't be there -- campers don't usually set up this far out, and the rangers wouldn't make a fire. So who is it? He creeps closer to get a look, and damn near falls out of the tree he's chosen for surveillance when he catches sight of a familiar looking teenage girl.
Ellie?!
No.
No, it can't be.
This is just one of those things, one of those inexplicable things between worlds where people share a face. Maybe this is an alternate Ellie, one from his world and not from a zombie infested wasteland. He'll only scare her if he approaches. So he just watches for now, silent and focused.]
All good things must end, though.
The portal he took dropped him somewhere in the Ukraine, and he made sure to get himself several countries away before he stopped to rest. He felt rusty, too long in a small world not having to look always over his shoulder, and he has to mentally reset as fast as possible. Get too sloppy and it'll all be over. It's not just HYDRA looking for him, after all, it's the remnants of SHIELD, the Avengers (led by stupid Steve "end of the line" Rogers), and about half the world's governments.
He lets his body run on autopilot for a while. No matter what happens, he doesn't think he'll ever forget how to be ghost, how to just disappear from a crowd and never make the slightest of waves when he travels from city to city.
It's been about a month, and he's out in the middle of nowhere. A mountain range in North America, nothing but bears and forest and birds for as far as the eye can see. Or it should be. But he spots a spire of smoke that shouldn't be there -- campers don't usually set up this far out, and the rangers wouldn't make a fire. So who is it? He creeps closer to get a look, and damn near falls out of the tree he's chosen for surveillance when he catches sight of a familiar looking teenage girl.
Ellie?!
No.
No, it can't be.
This is just one of those things, one of those inexplicable things between worlds where people share a face. Maybe this is an alternate Ellie, one from his world and not from a zombie infested wasteland. He'll only scare her if he approaches. So he just watches for now, silent and focused.]