Cold Blood

The Winter Soldier is Matoro58's entry for the Custom BIONICLE Wiki:Winter Writing Contest 2013.It takes place in the Downfall Alternate universe and surrounds an assassination Toa Varkon has to carry out.

Chapter 1
Time: The Spherus Magna Core War...

A figure walked through a perfectly carved hallway. Thousands of years of foundation and construction were all falling apart. The war that raging across the planet was shaking Spherus Magna to the core quite literally. Outside, a robot was being built to take innocent beings and study other worlds.

The being came to a stop in front of a large Stasis tube. Inside was a white and light blue being he had created.

Well, not technically. This being was from one of the armies outside. But he had his memories wiped and fitted with a sword that shot ice, and a shield that could shatter frozen beings into fragtments.

This was a final solution. If the beings that were placed inside neglected their duty and went to war, this fighter had orders to kill them.

And as the being in front of the tube marveled at his creation, a single name rang through his mind:

The Winter Soldier...

Present day...

Toa Varkon wasn't a fan of pubs, bars, or taverns. In fact, he despised them. And it didn't help that the didn't plan on being here today at all. He first planned to assassinate the High-king of one of the Southern Islands.

But a few days before, he recieved a message to him from a Skakdi leader on Zakaz, saying they needed him to kill someone.

He started to berate the messenger when he said he would be payed well. Varkon then reluctantly agreed to come to a designated location, otherwise known as ''The Muaka's Head. ''

Varkon looked around. Apart from him, there were only three beings inside, includng the barman, a bulky Steltian Laboror, probably one of the very few who had freedom.

The other two were a Mahiki-wearing Po-Matoran and a skinny but wiry-looking Skakdi of Sonics.

A waitress came over to him. She was a Vortixx, who looked slender, young, and a bit cheerful. She looked at him. "Hello there. My name is Morsa and you are..."

"Piruk." He lied. He touched his Mask of Biomechanics. He was still getting used to his oddly-shaped mask, which made him look like a Skakdi. However, it was still better than showing off with his infected Hau Nuva in public.

Morsa smiled at him. "Thank you, Piruk. So what would you like?" She asked.

Varkon shook his head. "No thanks. I'm just here to meet with a client of mine." He explained. Not a lie, just not the whole truth. She didn't know he was actually one of the Matoran Universe's most feared assassins.

Morsa nodded. "Alright then." She then walked away. As soon as she was out of sight, Varkon saw something move in the Shadows. He got up and walked towards it. Then, as he was two fee away from the figure, a hand grabbed his arm, and he was pulled outside.

The figure became visible now. It was a Skakdi of Air. His bodyframe was skinny and frail, and he looked like he was about to collapse.

The Skakdi then opened his mouth. "On th-th-the b-be-behalf on l-l-lord Jarzak, I thank you for coming, Toa Varkon.

Varkon glared at him. "I don't go by "Toa" Varkon anymore. It's just Varkon." He sneered.

The Skakdi gulped. "Well, anyways, what we need you to deal with is something that is killing our soldiers. We don't have a name for him, bu we find the name, The Winter Soldier, written in the blood of the victims. He has been terrorizing us for the past two manths or so. We need you to kill him." The messenger said.

Varkon snarled. "And what's in it for me?"

The skakdi eyes widened with fear. "50,000 widgets, Toa." He said.

Varkon then placed his hand on the Skakdi's wrist. Then the skakdi immediately lit on fire, and thrashed out and screamed in agony. In less than a minute, all that was let of the skakdi was a pile of ashes.

Then Varkon headed back to his boat. His allies would love this.

"Fifty thousand widgets?" Gibrax exclaimed. Varkon rolled his eyes. His 'crew' was a group of outcasts. Gibrax was an Upper-class Steltian who lost his slaves when they rebelled against him.

He then looked at the team's inventor, a Fe-Matoran named Hazan, a former Nynrah Ghost who went to sell his goods to Xians. Varkon had met him on Xia.

Finally, Varkon turned his head to the Ebrok, a Skakdi of water who was Varkon's oldest and best friend. His expression was unreadable.

Ebrok was from Zakaz, where he served in the Civil War that took place on his island. There, Ebrok worked as a soldier until he was captured and taken to a POW camp. Varkon had met him at the war camp after he completed an assigned massacre. Varkon freed the slaves, and took Ebrok with him.

"Fifty-Thousand widgets for...what again, Varkon?" Ebrok asked.

"The assassination of someone- or something called The Winter Soldier" Varkon explained.

Ebrok's face was visible now: Hie expression was of pure shock and his eyes were full of fright.

"Th-the Winter Soldier?" He sputtered.

"You've heard of it?" Varkon inquired.

Ebrok looked at him. "It hasn't been around for two months, Varkon. It's been around for as long as we Skakdi can remember."

Varkon frowned. "Explain." He ordered.

Ebrok took a deep breath. "When we first started fighting, territories were disputed after armies were settled. Jarzak- I served under him. It's a legend passed around the warriors in his league. It's like Irrnak's legend, except this warrior isn't a Skakdi. He has the powers of a Toa, but he doesn't seem like one."

Varkon nodded. "What does he look like?"

Ebrok shrugged. "No one knows. Anyone who meets him usually gets killed. And those that survive the encounter...they're driven mad and die a few weeks later. Maybe even days."

Varkon chuckled. "You Skakdi have beheaded enemies, ridden Tahtoraks, and you're telling me you're scared by a simple warriors. He's soon going to find out I'm no Skakdi...and that he's no match for me."

The coastline was covered in frost and snow. Icebergs were floating around the boat.

Fortunately, Varkon was a Toa of fire, so keeping it warm wasn't hard.

He had a dagger in one hand, and a ball of fire in the other. He had to keep his image up as an assassin, even on Zakaz, where every square bio was a battleground.

They saw a dock that was enough to keep their boat at. Once there, Varkon jumped on and tied the boat to a post. The others soon followed, with Ebrok at the rear.

Varkon chuckled to himself. A warrior in Zakaz that is feared by whole armies of Skakdi. And one toa of fire that had murdered millions. Something told him that in the case of this, it wasn't going to be an easy fight.

''This Winter Soldier is just another in the death of millions. Fire beats ice every time.''

"Halt!" Turning to the side, Varkon and his allies saw half a dozen soldiers heading towards them.

Once within half a bio away from them, a male Skakdi of Sonics stopped. He opened his mouth. "I am Lieutenant Sydrak, a warrior under lord Jarzak. You will come with us!" He yelled over the wind.

Varkon then threw his hands in the air, a maniacal smile on his Mask of Adaption. "Already then," He chuckled, "Take me to your leader!"

Chapter 2

To be written

Epilogue
To be written

Trivia

 * The title is taken from an upcoming Captain America movie.