Red, White & Blue | Bucky x Reader

Chapter Eight

Outside the conference room, chaos ensues as Ross takes control of the situation, sending multiple agents out of the room, presumably to wherever Bucky is being held, while others try to find the source of the power outage.

I push myself up from my chair so fast that it topples to the floor. "Steve?"

Steve quickly glances at me before turning to Sharon, who tells us what we need to know without hesitation. "Sub-level 5, east wing."

I bolt from the room, Steve and Sam at my heels, following the signs through the long hallways and stairwells down to sub-level 5. We burst through the stairwell door and around a corner, only to come to a sudden stop at the sight of an unconscious agent. It's quiet, too quiet, and we cautiously walk into the observation room, only to find more officers laying unconscious on the floor.

"Help me," a voice whispers. "Help."

Steve and I enter the adjacent room to find the doctor on the floor, Bucky's empty pod behind him.

"Get up," Steve orders, hauling the doctor to his feet and slamming him against the wall. "Who are you? What do you want?"

"To see an empire fall," the doctor answers.

Sam enters the room to join us, and the Winter Soldier moves from where he stood in the corner, going unnoticed by me and Steve as we focused on the doctor. The Soldier throws a punch at Sam's head, but he ducks just in time, and the Soldier's metal fist colliding with the concrete wall, shattering chunks from it. Sam throws a punch in return, but the Soldier dodges, punching Sam in the stomach before grabbing his jaw and throwing him at the pod, knocking him out.

I charge in, leaping onto the Winter Soldier's torso and wrapping my legs around him, surrounding him with energy in an attempt to hold him still. The Soldier resists, grabbing my arm and throwing me to the floor. I land with a hard thud, and the Soldier's hand comes around my throat.

"Bucky, it's me!" I choke out, sending a current of energy through his body, forcing him away.

I gasp for breath as Steve releases the doctor and jumps into the fight. The Soldier dodges Steve's attacks, kicking him back into the observation room. I watch from the floor as Steve continues to deflect the attacks, the Winter Soldier forcing him further and further away until they finally reach the elevator. The Soldier punches again, creating a hole in the door when Steve ducks out of the way, and with one last punch, the Soldier pushes Steve through the doors before turning toward the stairwell.

Still dazed, I slowly get to my feet, looking down to see Sam has regained consciousness.

"Welcome back to the land of the living," I say, offering him my hand.

He lightly chuckles, taking my hand as I haul him up.

"Thanks," Sam replies as his eyes slide to something behind me. "Hey!"

I spin around to see the doctor peering through the elevator doors. At Sam's shout, he glances back at us before rushing to the stairs, making his escape.

"You go after him," I order Sam, leading him down the hallway. "I'll get Steve."

Sam nods, turning into the stairwell, and I carefully lean into the elevator shaft to see Steve getting up off the floor. Thankfully, he didn't fall too far, only a few stories.

"Hang on, Steve," I say, teleporting down to him. He's startled by my sudden appearance at his side, but before he can say anything, I take his arm and teleport us both back up to the floor.

"We need to find Bucky," Steve states, rushing into the stairwell.

We make our way up multiple stories, soon coming to a lounge area where we find Tony, Natasha, and Sharon getting up from the floor.

"Nat!" I shout, running to my friend's side. "Are you okay? Where did Bucky go?"

Natasha nods, trying to catch her breath as she points to a nearby door. "That way."

Steve and I follow the carnage through the building and into another stairwell, where we hear the clang of metal high above, like a door being kicked open.

"He's heading for the roof!" I shout, grabbing Steve's arm and teleporting us to the top of the stairs.

We burst through the door just as the Winter Soldier takes off in a helicopter, watching us through the windshield as he rises in the sky. Steve sprints toward him, leaping high and grabbing onto the landing gear, trying to pull the helicopter back down. Instead, it pulls him closer and closer to the edge of the building.

"Steve!" I yell. "Let go!"

He glances back to see the blue energy swirling around me, and he lets go, ducking out of the way as I thrust my hands forward, surrounding the helicopter with energy and pulling it toward me. I'm not used to moving large objects, and I feel the strain on my body as a trickle of blood falls from my nose. With a yell and the last ounce of my strength, I throw my hands down, forcing the helicopter to come crashing down to the landing pad.

Steve tackles me as the rotors whiz past our heads, chewing up the concrete as they come in contact with the landing pad, and I feel a sharp sting above my eyebrow as a small piece of debris scrapes across my face. The rotors continue to spin, causing the helicopter to turn and sending the tail right for us. Before it can take off our heads, I launch a bolt of energy at it, breaking it from the rest of the helicopter as it sails over us. The helicopter finally comes to a stop, balancing precariously on the edge of the building, and Steve and I carefully approach it, peering through the windshield.

Suddenly, a metal arm smashes through the glass, grabbing Steve around the throat. I lunge forward, trying to pry the metal hand off my friend, but the movement shifts the wreckage, causing the helicopter slides off the side of the roof, taking the three of us with it. We fall into the water below, the impact knocking the Winter Soldier out and releasing Steve from his grip. Together, Steve and I pull Bucky through the broken windshield and swim toward the surface.