Red, White & Blue | Bucky x Reader

Chapter Twenty-Four

"Come on, buddy," Tony's voice urges, filling the silence around me. "Wake up. That's my man. You too, Y/n. Look alive."

I open my eyes to find myself laying in a pile of rubble, Steve laying nearby as Tony stands above us holding Steve's shield.

"You lose this again, I'm keeping it," Tony states, handing the shield back.

"What happened?" Steve asks as Tony helps us to our feet.

"You messed with time," Tony answers. "It tends to mess back. You'll see."

Tony leads us through the rubble, making our way out of the hole and up to where Thor is standing, watching Thanos from a distance. Seeing as how I killed him five years ago, this Thanos must be from the past and somehow followed us to our own time.

"What's he been doing?" Tony asks.

"Absolutely nothing," Thor reports.

"Where are the Stones?" I question.

"Somewhere under all this," Tony answers, kicking a broken piece of concrete. "All I know is he doesn't have them."

"So, we keep it that way," Steve states.

"You know it's a trap, right?" Thor asks.

"Yeah," Tony responds. "And I don't much care."

"Good. Just as long as we are all in agreement," Thor says. Thunder cracks, and Thor stretches out both hands to summon Stormbreaker and the Mjolnir he borrowed from 2013, his casual clothing transforming into his armor and cape as he catches the weapons. "Let's kill him properly this time."

Together, the four of us walk out to confront Thanos.

"You could not live with your own failure," Thanos states. "And where did that bring you? Back to me. I thought by eliminating half of life, the other half would thrive. But you've shown me that's impossible. And as long as there are those that remember what was, there will always be those that are unable to accept what can be. They will resist."

"Yep, we're all kinds of stubborn," Tony remarks.

"I'm thankful," Thanos says, standing. "Because now, I know what I must do. I will shred this universe down to its last atom. And then, with the Stones you've collected for me, create a new one teeming with life, but knows not what it has lost but only what it has been given. A grateful universe."

"Born out of blood," Steve argues.

"They'll never know it," Thanos replies. "Because you won't be alive to tell them."

As Thanos moves to swing his humungous, double-edged sword, I thrust my hands forward, cloaking him in energy. He halts, unable to move, but he fights through my hold, lifting his arm to swing. This shouldn't be possible.

I push myself harder, but a searing pain shoots up my arm, and I falter, dropping my hold on Thanos. He swings at me, but I duck just in time, rolling out of the way as the other three take charge.

I glance down at my arm as the pain fades, and I realize what happened. Wielding the Infinity Stones depleted my powers, leaving me weak.

"Okay, Thor. Hit me," Tony orders.

Thor bangs his weapons together, channeling a stream of lightning into Tony's suit and overloading it with power. Tony fires his repulsors at Thanos, but the attack is diverted as Thanos rapidly twirls his blade in front of him.

At that moment, Thor tosses Mjolnir into the air, using Stormbreaker to bat it at Thanos, but Thanos grabs Tony, using him as a shield and causing damage to his suit.

Steve charges in, only to be knocked away as I sprint toward Thanos and teleport in, barely ducking in time as Thanos swings his sword, anticipating where I would appear. My slide brings me a little too close to the Mad Titan, and Thanos swings down, but I throw my arms above my head, manifesting a weak barrier just inches between myself and the blade.

As Thanos continues to push down on my shield, I realize the rest of my body is still exposed. I move to correct it, but Thanos moves first, giving me a swift kick to the ribs and sending me flying into the dirt and ruins.

Thor attacks again, but Thanos blocks him with his sword before punching him to the ground. Thor tries to recall Mjolnir, but Thanos flicks it away as he ruthlessly pummels Thor, throwing him into a tree and onto a pile of rubble, punching him again and again. Thor tries to grab Stormbreaker, but Thanos rips it from his hand, attempting to shove it into Thor's chest as he struggles to stop him.

I scramble to my feet, running to help Thor, but stop short as Mjolnir flies past me, hitting Thanos in the head. Mjolnir changes direction, flying past me once again, and I look over my shoulder just in time to watch Steve catch it.

"I knew it!" Thor states. I smile, proud of my friend.

Thanos is less pleased, kicking Thor to the ground before turning to face Steve. I teleport out of the way as Steve charges, spinning the hammer and hitting Thanos in the face. Thanos falls to the ground and Steve throws his shield at him, but Thanos manages to deflect it. As the shield rebounds, Steve tosses Mjolnir at it, the impact creating a shockwave that blows Thanos off his feet.

I rush in, pelting Thanos with bolt of energy as I force him backward step by step, but Thanos anticipates my next attack and swings his blade in front of him, ricocheting my blow directly at me. I block it with a wall of energy, but Thanos charges like a battering ram, breaking through my shield and colliding with me, sending me flying backward.

Steve goes for the offensive, throwing his shield in the air and using Mjolnir to bat it at Thanos. It bounces off the Mad Titan as Steve lifts the hammer in the air, guiding a channel of lightning at him as well. Thanos counters, stabbing Steve in the leg before knocking Mjolnir from his hand. He swings his sword, but Steve lifts his shield just in time to stop the attack. However, Thanos' strength is too much, and the shield breaks in two as Thanos backhands Steve across the battlefield, where he lands in the rubble next to me.

"In all my years of conquest, violence, slaughter, it was never personal," Thanos confesses. "But I'll tell you now, what I'm about to do to your stubborn, annoying little planet, I'm going to enjoy it. Very, very much."

Thanos lifts his sword into the air, summoning his entire army to the ground. Hundreds of Chitauri and alien dogs land in the field beyond, and I feel the hairs on the back of my neck bristle at Thanos' confession. We can't let him win again. We simply can't.

I get to my feet, pulling Steve up with me, and with grim determination, Steve tightens the broken shield on his arm.

As we stand ready to face the army on our own, a crackling comes in over the communicators. "Hey, Cap. You read me?"