Red, White & Blue | Bucky x Reader

Chapter Seventeen

"Get out of the way!" we scream at the civilians as we sprint past them. "Stay out of the way!"

I hear the shot before I see it, and Natasha stumbles as it pierces her shoulder. I grab her other arm, pulling her down behind a car as I try to locate our assailant. From behind us, I hear a loud thump, and I spin around to find the Soldier standing on the hood of a distant car, his rifle aimed at us. Before I can do anything, Steve jumps in for the rescue, taking the Soldier by surprise.

With Steve taking care of the attacker, I turn my focus to Natasha, putting my hand over her wound in attempt to slow the bleeding. When I look up again, I see that the Soldier is attempting to stab Steve with a knife, who's just barely managing to avoid the sharp blade. Deciding that Steve needs my help, I grab Natasha's hand and place it against her shoulder, replacing my own.

"Keep pressure on it," I order. "I'll be back."

I leap out of my hiding place and charge at the Soldier, kicking him in the back of the knee. He stumbles as his weight shifts, dropping his defenses enough for me to kick the knife from his hand. My anger from our last encounter begins to flood through me, and my powers flare in response, glowing brightly around me. The Soldier throws a punch, but I dodge it, kicking my leg up around his neck and grabbing his right arm as I flip him to the ground. I pull his arm behind his back, keeping a tight grip on it in hopes of keeping him on his knees, but the Soldier twists his way out of my grasp, grabbing my throat with his metal hand. I send a pulse of energy through him, forcing him away from me.

As I keep the Soldier focused on me, Steve pries his shield from where it's lodged in the side of a van. The Soldier charges at me again, grabbing my legs and throwing me over the hood of a car before recovering his knife from the ground. He returns his attention to Steve, only to be deflected again and again. I pull myself up and launch another ball of energy at the Soldier as I sprint toward him, kicking him hard in the chest. The Soldier grabs my ankle with his metal arm, the red star on its shoulder gleaming in the sun, and pulls me toward him before punching me in the side and kicking me away.

The Soldier turns to attack Steve, but Steve drops, sliding under the punch to get behind him. Steve swings his shield up under the Soldier's arm, hitting him in the face, and the blow dazes the Soldier for a moment, allowing Steve to grab him by the neck and flip him over his shoulder. The Winter Soldier's mask falls away as he lands, and he slowly gets to his feet, turning to face us. We freeze.

"Oh, my God," I breathe, involuntarily taking a step forward. "Bucky...?"

"Who the hell is Bucky?" the Soldier replies, raising his gun.

Sam flies in out of nowhere, kicking the Soldier in the head and knocking him to the ground.

The Winter Soldier scrambles to his feet, glancing between me and Steve. For a second, he looks confused, like Sam's kick knocked something loose in his head and now something just doesn't add up. He raises his gun again, pointing it at Steve, but before he can shoot, Natasha fires a grenade at him with the forgotten grenade launcher.

When the smoke clears, the Winter Soldier is gone, replaced by Rumlow and his team of STRIKE agents, aka HYDRA.

"Drop the shield, Cap!" Rumlow orders as they surround us. "On your knees! Get on your knees! Now! Get down! Get down!"

We raise our hands above our heads, doing as we're told as the HYDRA agents put us in handcuffs. Rollins puts his rifle to Steve's head, challenging him to do something, but neither of us move, too shocked by this development to fight back.

"Put the gun down," Rumlow orders, noticing the news helicopter circling above. "Not here. Not here!"

As they escort us to the back of a van, all Steve and I can do is stare at the ground in disbelief that our best friend, who fell to his death over seventy years ago, is somehow still alive.