Afterward, the rescued soldiers began seizing the guards' weapons and fighting their way out. Meanwhile, "Captain America" continued deeper into the enemy base alone to rescue his childhood best friend.
Finally, after making his way through one obstacle after another, "Captain America" reached a laboratory. On an operating table inside, restraints held his friend, "Bucky Barnes," tightly in place.
[Steve Rogers (Captain America): Bucky!
Steve Rogers (Captain America): Oh, my God!
Steve Rogers (Captain America): It's me, Bucky. It's Steve.]
"Captain America" tore the restraints apart. "Bucky" had clearly suffered inhuman torture in the laboratory. He was dazed, endlessly murmuring his name and regiment number to remind himself who he was. Only when he heard that familiar voice did his unfocused eyes slowly regain their clarity.
[Bucky Barnes: Steve?
Steve Rogers (Captain America): It's me. I thought you were dead.
Bucky Barnes: I thought you were smaller?
Steve Rogers (Captain America): Come on!]
As Bucky watched the scene before him, hazy memories began to surface.
That was right. This was his past.
Back then, because their commander had misjudged the strength of Hydra's combat forces, his 107th Infantry Regiment had been almost completely wiped out. The soldiers had either died in battle or been captured.
Hydra had locked them up without deliberately torturing them, but that had nothing to do with any conscience or "humane treatment of prisoners." They had kept those prisoners of war as test subjects for their super-soldier serum research.
Thanks to his exceptional physical fitness and combat ability, Bucky had been among the first test subjects they took away. He had also been the only one from that group of prisoners to survive.
After repeated experiments, Bucky had been on the verge of a mental breakdown. Only one thought had kept him going: *Stay alive. Go