Wicked 🔞

Twenty-Three

Bucky had split them into teams, searching the area. Vision, Thor and Sam took to the sky, flying around to find any leads. Wanda and Pietro took the east, while him and Loki came up the path, leading to some ruins. From the way it looked, it was clear that this is where the earthquake originated from.

He pulled Loki down for cover, as they heard voices, some coughing coming from a small opening in the rocks. He put a finger to his lips, cautioning Loki to be quiet. The two of them peeked around either side of the rock, seeing three men stumble out, covered in dust and blood.

'That stupid bitch!..'.. The first man said, stumbling forward to sit on a rock, touching his face where it was bleeding above his left eye... 'You said the cuffs would work!..'.. He spun to the second man, pulling a gun... 'You said she was mine. Bait for the soldier but I could have her..'

Both Loki and Bucky twitched, wanting to pounce on the men, hearing what was said... 'She was never yours. She's now Hydras, and she will be our little plaything..'.. Bucky knew that voice, he knew it was Rumlow. Not a moment later, a gunshot rang out, and he looked out again carefully, seeing the first man dead on the ground.

'Call in a team, clear it out. Let's hope she's alive, otherwise it's our asses. If not, well I'm sure she'd make a great experiment...'... Bucky watched as lightning struck Rumlow and the third man, knocking them down. Both him and Loki rushed forward, just as the three from the sky dropped down, surrounding them. Pietro blew up a gust of wind, as he slid to a stop with Wanda in his arms, putting her down.

Bucky watched Rumlow pounce to his feet spitting out dirt as he took a stance... 'Soldier..'.. He grinned at Bucky... 'She felt real good, you know. Before they dragged her to the chair..'

Bucky didn't get a chance to move, before a dagger was thrown, buried to the hilt into Rumlows chest. He turned to Loki just behind him, growling in anger as the body thumped to the floor... 'We needed him alive! Fuck! Damn it!..'... He spun to the third man, who looked terrified, at them all. He drew a gun, pointing it to the mans knees... 'You got 30 seconds to tell us what happened..'

'I-I don't know! I w-wasnt in the room. I was just guarding the entrance, but I heard the screams..'.. He looked like he was about to pass out... 'It felt like a bomb went off underneath me, and everyone was screaming. I saw someone get ripped apart..'

Bucky quickly pulled up a picture of Liv, holding his phone out to the man... 'Was she here?..'

'Y-yeah. They carried her in. I heard them mention she was bait, that's all I swear..'... The man leaned back against the rock behind him.

'How far down?..'.. Thor asked, stepping forward... 'How far down is it?..'

'The tunnel goes down about 60ft, then turns left, going down about a hundred. You come to an opening, that leads off in three directions. I-I don't know which one they took, I never went past that point..'... The man took deep breaths, looking down at the body of Rumlow... 'Look I'm just nobody man. He came upto me about a week ago, said I could make easy money as a lookout, five grand. I didn't know I swear, I just wanted to get off the streets..'

Bucky lowered his gun, turning to Wanda, seeing her eyes tint red, as she delved into the mans mind... 'Hes telling the truth..'.. She says, sighing.

'Do you think she is alive?..'... Pietro asks, looking around, as the sun begins to set.

'She cannot die..'.. Loki stares down at the two bodies wanting nothing more than for them to be alive again, just so he could kill them both, slowly... 'Whatever injuries she will sustain, she will heal. And then hurt all over again, a vicious cycle until we find her..'

Bucky pulled up Tony's number, calling him, and he answered straight away... 'Rumlow and another guy made it out, both dead. Theres a third, but he's not Hydra, he didn't know...'

'Do you know if she's there?..'

'Yeah..'.. Bucky sighed, dropping his head.. 'Shes here, buried beneath us. We need every available unit we can to get her out Tony. She can't die, but Loki said she will suffer over and over again..'

Bucky stepped away from the others... 'Rumlow said he had her, before they dragged her to the chair. I know he didn't, otherwise he'd be dead, but..'.. He took a deep breath, looking back at the opening... 'What if they had the chair Tony? What if they did it to her, and that's what happened here?..'

'Dont think that Buck..'.. He heard Steve's voice come through... 'You know she would fight back before they'd ever get her in it..'

'I want to go in there and start to clear it out, but I know I could make it worse. How long until you get here?..'.. He asks, feeling his throat get heavy.

'We're still an hour out, but Tony has already pulled in teams, they'll be there soon. We'll get her out Buck, she'll survive. She's a tough one..'... Bucky sighs at Steve's words.

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Morning had come, and there was a whole crew working together to clear a safe path through the tunnel. Tony had Friday scan the area for any other possible entrances in, but there were none. She couldn't find any heat signatures buried beneath them.

None of the team were giving up, and even Barton and Rhodey had joined them during the night along with Hill and Dr Cho. Both women had quickly set up a med bay on the jet, ready for when they got Liv out.

The others were taking turns, joining the line to clear the rocks from the tunnel. They had finally gotten to the intersection that split off into three, and Tony pulled on his glasses, having Friday do another scan.

'Boss, I'm picking up a faint signature, down the right. From my scans, attempting to move any of the rubble, will cause the whole place to collapse. There are a few larger pieces, holding that tunnel up..'..

Tony ran a hand through his hair, wondering what they could do. They couldn't move anything, without causing a shift, but they still needed to get through. He headed back outside to the others, feeling frustrated, he didn't want to think she was suffering any more than she already was.

'I may have an idea..'.. He turned to Loki, who was stood watching the entrance... 'You cannot clear the other tunnel?..'.. Tony nodded at him... 'I can get through...'... Loki looks over at his brother... 'I can shape shift, I can become smaller, a snake..'... He glanced around at the others... 'I can get to her, and then change back, teleporting us out..'

Tony took in the look on everyone's faces, and he turned to Loki... 'Be careful. One wrong move and the whole place comes down on you both..'

Loki nodded, taking off his jacket, tossing it to Thor. He headed inside, being careful not to touch the sides, with Tony right behind him as they made it to the intersection... 'That one..'.. Tony gestures, and Loki pats his shoulder.

'Go, I'll get her out Stark, I give you my word...'... Tony heads back to the steps, leading to outside when he looked back, seeing Loki was gone, but caught the tail of a snake, as it slid through the rubble.

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Loki tried to not rush through, but he had to get to her. He moved around the rocks, and rubble, keeping a watchful eye out for her. He flicked his tongue out, and he tasted her scent. He followed it, making sure not to move anything. He saw a shimmer of light ahead, seeing it was her glow.

He remained in his small form as he got closer, seeing that there was very little space, even for when he did change back. He took his time, moving around noticing one large piece had her pinned beneath it. He could tell she was still alive, by her fingers twitching.

Checking for a large enough space, he knew he would only have a split second to teleport them out. He quickly shifted, taking her hand and focusing. As he did, he heard the grind of the rocks, and he teleported them to the others.

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