Work Text:
His name is David and he is a soldier. He follows orders and marches into battle to fight the bad guys. He watches his comrades fall, but he still stands when the job is done. Mission success. He feels he has failed, but he climbs the ranks and does not understand. He gets a promotion when all they got was a salute and a free ride back home in a coffin. Mission success. He keeps going, for them if not for himself. It is hard, and he wants to quit, but he does not. Mission success. He learns he's been selected. They've been watching him, they say, his files, his success rates. They've selected him for a special job. They tell him he will avenge those he's lost. He does not understand, but he accepts. His name was David.
••••••
His name is Agent Washington and he has become a soldier of Project Freelancer. He has a new team. He is the rookie, and he wants to prove himself. He does not feel qualified for this, but he wants these people to like him. There is a leaderboard, and he climbs it. Mission success. At first, the leaderboard does not bother him much. Mission success. Mission success. Mission failure. The Director is angry with him. His position on the board falls. He tries harder. His team--his friends--encourage him. But they are all still competing. His name was Agent Washington.
••••••
His name is...he doesn't know what his name is. They put a chip in his head, called Epsilon, and there was pain as two minds, two sets of memories, merged. Sometimes he cannot tell which memories are his. He thinks of a beautiful woman. She is wearing a military uniform and she is leaving. There is a voice in his head, screaming for her, screaming for justice. He does not understand. Some days he thinks his name may be Leonard. Some days he is Epsilon. Some days he knows who he is. And he can't decide if that's better or worse. Because knowing who he is means knowing who he was, and what he's done, and what he's lost. And what he's become. He goes to prison. He does not understand. He thought he was the good guy. They made him a bad guy and he cannot escape. They give him orders. He has nothing to do but follow. He does not know who he is anymore.
••••••
His name is Wash, and he thinks he likes that. His new team try to annoy him, and play on his nerves, but they treat him with a kindness he doesn't feel he deserves. He has hurt them and they have forgiven him. He does not understand, but he is grateful. At night, when the ghost of an AI shrieks in his head, and he wakes screaming for Allison, they are not angry at him. They do not think he is insane. His new friends--his family--treat him as one of their own. He protects them, in turn, and vows he will do everything in his power to keep them safe. Even though Tucker keeps stealing his toothbrush. His name is Wash. And he definitely likes that.