Red, White & Blue | Bucky x Reader

Chapter Six

Standing just inside the palace doors, Bucky and I watch as the quinjet lands, and I almost don't recognize Steve and Natasha as they disembark. Steve's hair and beard have grown out during his time on the run, and Natasha's long red hair has been cropped to her chin and dyed platinum blonde. Following their lead, Banner, Rhodes, Vision, Sam, and Wanda make their way down the ramp.

T'Challa steps forward to shake Steve's hand, and Banner awkwardly bows, eliciting a broad smile from Rhode. T'Challa politely smiles, dissuading Banner as he explains that bowing isn't done in Wakanda.

Getting back to business, T'Challa turns to Steve as the group approaches the palace. We take that as our cue, exiting the building to meet our friends.

"You will have my Kingsguard," T'Challa informs Steve as we approach them, "the Border Tribe, the Dora Milaje, and..."

"A semi-stable, 100-year-old man," Bucky finishes for him, smiling.

"Not to mention a woman who can literally shoot people with her hands," I add.

Steve smiles, hugging each of us. "How've you been?"

"Uh, not bad," Bucky responds, "for the end of the world."

"Speaking of which... What's going on exactly?" I ask.

"Sam will have to catch you up," Steve answers. "I need to head inside. We don't have a lot of time."

T'Challa leads the group inside, leaving us with Sam and Rhodes.

"Hey, kid," Sam greets, a huge smile on his face. "It's good to see you."

"It's good to see you too," I smile, hugging my friend. "So, what's going on?"

"Well, there's this guy from space called Thanos," Sam explains. "He thinks he's a god or something, and that he can save the universe if he eliminates half of all living things. But to do that, he needs an insane amount of power. So, he's gathering these things called Infinity Stones."

"Infinity Stones?" Bucky asks.

"Stones with an extreme amount of power," Rhodes answers. "A magician named Dr. Strange told Banner that the six Infinity Stones were used to create the universe."

"So, if Thanos was to wield all six of them..." I start, beginning to understand.

"He can wipe out half the universe with a snap of his fingers," Sam nods, completing my thought.

A chill runs down my spine. "Where are the Infinity Stones now?"

"Well, one of them is currently in Vision's forehead," Rhodes informs us. "That's why we came here. If they can get it out of Vision's head, we might be able to destroy it."

"What about the other Stones?" Bucky asks.

"Well according to Banner, Dr. Strange has one of them," Sam answers. "As for the others, we don't know. Although, Thor mentioned a few years ago that he came across four of them since New York. The Stone in Vision's forehead, the Mind Stone, came from Loki's scepter."

"Then that means..." I trail off as my eyes widen, a memory flashing behind them. "The Tesseract... The Tesseract must be one of them too."

"Where's the Tesseract now?" Bucky asks.

"We sent it to Asgard with Thor after the Battle of New York," I answer.

"Thor must have it then," Bucky states. Sam and Rhodes exchange an uneasy glance. "What?"

"Thor's dead," Rhodes informs us. "Banner was on the ship when Thanos attacked them."

Without warning, a thunder-like clap echoes across the sky, and a huge spaceship appears over Wakanda.