Red, White & Blue | Bucky x Reader

Chapter Fifteen

When I wake up, I don't know how much time has passed. To my left, Bucky is mumbling to himself, something about 'Sergeant' and '32557038.' As I regain my senses, I realize he's repeating his name, rank, and army serial number.

Suddenly, someone shuffles passed my head and I follow the movement to see Zola rushing into his office, shoving papers and files into a bag before running out of the room.

"Hey! Wait!" I shout after him. "You can't just leave us like this!"

Hearing my shout, a familiar blond man creeps into the room and sees us strapped to the gurneys. However, he looks much different compared to the last time I saw him. Instead of being the short, scrawny kid I grew up with, he's now tall and muscular, wearing a brown army jacket, a blue helmet, and carrying a shield painted with the stars and stripes.

"Steve?" I ask him. "Is that you?"

"Oh, my God," he breathes, putting down his shield to untie me. "Y/n? What are you doing here?"

"It's a long story," I answer, and he gives me a questioning look before turning to untie Bucky.

"I thought you were dead," he tells him.

"I thought you were smaller," Bucky states, bewilderment on his face.

"Come on," Steve urges. "We need to get out of here."

I slide off the gurney and fall to my knees, still weak from the experiment.

"I've got her," Bucky states, throwing my arm over his shoulders and helping me up. Leaning heavily on each other, we follow Steve out into the hallway, where Bucky asks the one question that we're both thinking, "What happened to you?"

"I joined the army," Steve replies, leading us through the factory.

"Did it hurt?" I ask.

"A little."

"Is it permanent?" Bucky questions.

"So far."

The hallways are empty as we scramble through them, the soldiers nowhere to be found. As we enter the main manufacturing room, I realize why. Explosives detonate in every direction, setting the room ablaze. Steve leads us up to the catwalk, but as we are about to cross to the other side of the room, another familiar man steps into view.

"Captain America! How exciting!" Schmidt exclaims as he meets Steve in the middle of the catwalk. "I'm a great fan of your films. So, Dr. Erskine managed it after all. Not exactly an improvement, but still impressive."

Steve punches him hard in the face. "You've got no idea."

"Haven't I?" Schmidt asks.

Schmidt pulls his fist back and, as he follows through with the punch, Steve raises his shield, the impact creating a dent in the metal. Shocked by Schmidt's strength, Steve pulls out his gun and aims, but Schmidt kicks him back before he can fire. Steve drops the gun as he lands and it slides off the catwalk, falling to the fiery ground below. The two men fight, and Zola pulls a leaver on the other side of the catwalk, rolling it apart and creating a chasm between us and our escape.

"No matter what lies Erskine told you, you see, I was his greatest success!" Schmidt exclaims, peeling off his skin-like mask to reveal his true face, one that is red and skull-like.

"You don't have one of those, do you?" Bucky mumbles to Steve as I stare in horror.

"You are deluded, Captain," Schmidt continues. "You pretend to be a simple soldier, but in reality, you are just afraid to admit that we have left humanity behind. Unlike you, I embrace it proudly. Without fear!"

"Then how come you're running?" Steve questions as Schmidt and Zola enter an elevator, disappearing from view.

Desperate for another way out, the three of us look around the room. Steve spots it.

"Come on, let's go. Up," he says, leading us up another flight of stairs to where a beam connects both sides of the factory. "Let's go. One at a time."

Bucky carefully climbs over the railing and slowly makes his way across the beam, rushing the last few feet and flipping himself over the railing on the other side.

"Okay, Y/n, your turn," Steve says to me.

I climb over the railing and place my feet on the beam. Looking down, all I see is fire. My stomach lurches and I feel fear taking over. We're really high up.

"I can't do this, Steve," I choke out, clutching the railing.

"I know you're scared of heights," he responds. "But we don't have enough time to look for another way out."

Sensing my fear, Bucky begins shouting from the other side, "Y/n! You can do this! You're the bravest person I know! Just look at me, okay? Don't look down!"

Keeping my eyes on Bucky, I slowly shuffle forward. I get about halfway across before another explosion goes off, and my eyes go wide as the beam shakes beneath my feet.

"Y/n, you gotta run!" Bucky urges. "I'll catch you! I promise!"

I take a few hurried steps and launch myself at the other platform just as the beam gives way. However, my jump is short, and I miss the railing, but Bucky follows through on his promise and catches my arms before I can fall.

"Don't let go," he warns as I dangle above the burning factory below.

"Not a problem," I reply.

Using the last of his strength, Bucky pulls me up and wraps his arm around my waist as he pulls me over the railing, finally setting me down on my feet. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, thanks," I respond. We both look back at Steve, still trapped on the other side.

"There's gotta be a rope or something!" Bucky shouts to him.

"Just go! Get out of here!" Steve shouts back.

"No!" I respond. "Not without you!"

Steve looks around for a moment and we watch in awe as he bends the solid railing out of the way, he's much stronger than he used to be. Steve takes a few steps back and my eyes widen as I realize what he intends to do.

"Steve, wait!" I shout as my friend starts running. He jumps off the end of the platform as another explosion envelops the room.