Entry for Day 6 of Marvel Whump Madness, hosted by Trekkiehood
Just gifting y'all with a little au where Bucky joined the Avengers after Winter Soldier. Yeah, you're welcome. Also, it's not set in any particular movie or anything. Just some random battle the story didn't have room to really develope, lol.
Cap threw his shield, slicing the head off of another bot's head. Bucky caught it from right behind the machine and threw it back to him straight through another one. Nat's voice came over the radio.
"You know, boys, we've got a battle to fight. Now's really not the time to be playing frisbee."
"Sorry, you know how distracted we get," Steve quipped back. "How are looking from the sky, Tony?"
"We're getting there," the billionaire replied. "It ain't gonna be a walk in the park, but we'll get 'em before too long."
As he said it, another wave of offense came rushing around the corner of a building. Steve sighed heavily.
"Come on, what park doesn't look like that?"
He prepared to run into the dark mass, but a sound approaching overhead distracted him. He looked up sharply, and was horrified to see a train on the overhead track approaching.
"I thought they cancelled all transport when we evacuated the city," he said frantically, his eyes fixed on the oncoming vehicle.
"They were supposed to," Tony responded, his tone matching Steve's.
"Well it looks like they didn't deliver," Clint sighed.
"Tony, hold them off from the sky," Steve ordered wearily. "Nat, Clint, Buck, engage with the ones hooking in from the South. We've got Hulk smashing all over the place on the main front. I'll be the second line of defense to keep them away from that train."
The orders didn't come a moment too soon. As everyone obediently went to their assigned post, the main mass of robots set its sights on the approaching train. Tony's blasts quickly foiled their attempts to fly up to meet it, but they continued to try, keeping him intensely engaged in defending the transport.
Steve kept his eyes scanning them, ready for any that managed to slip past his friend. The mass of black flying for the train didn't stop, and neither did Tony's blasts as they held them back.
And then one seemed to realize how doomed that road was and ran instead, slipping right under Tony's hovering point.
The billionaire started to turn to try to stop it, but Steve ordered otherwise as he started to run.
"Leave it, Tony. I've got that one. Eyes on the rest."
"Then go get him, Grandpa," Tony quipped in return before following the order and reinstating his wall.
Steve had almost caught the runaway bot when, having cleared Tony sufficiently, it lifted into the air. Without stopping to consider it, he jumped. His hands locked around his quarry's feet, and he felt triumph surge through him.
He didn't get to enjoy the moment for long before the thrashing started, and he was hanging on for his life, desperately clinging to the bot as they climbed higher and higher and it made every effort to remove its unwelcome passenger.
As they got closer to the train, the thrashing became more and more intense. When they were five feet from the vehicle, he'd still managed to hang on. But then, the bot swung its legs forward in an unexpectedly smooth motion.
Just in time to avoid slamming head on into the side of the fast-moving train, Steve let go.
He landed on top of one of the cars and clung to it for dear life while his foe finished its trip upwards and dropped down onto the top of another, several down.
He saw it begin to discharge one of the bombs it had equipped, and just like that, he'd struggled to his feet, and his shield was off his arm and flying towards it.
Its two pieces were left to fall to the concrete hundreds of feet below.
And just like that, he was back in the snow, and the scream of the train was Bucky's own, while he appeared in the form of the falling robot.
A shout of panic escaped Steve's lips. His vision swam, and he lost his balance.
He was barely conscious to the moment enough to brace himself and get his shield under him. Time seemed to stop, like he was hanging in the air instead of falling. All he could see was Bucky, disappearing to his death before his eyes over, and over, and over again.
Then, the impact was there, and it was the worst pain he'd felt in his entire life.
The shouts of his companions from seconds before registered in his mind only now, but all he could do was moan when he tried to speak. Bucky hadn't stopped yelling into the radio since he'd fallen, and anyone else's voice only came over his.
"Steve!" That was Tony. "Steve, talk to me!"
The soldier gasped, forcing his eyes open only to meet an army of dark spots obscuring his vision.
"Steve, that would have killed a normal person, so you get up right now!" Nat's desperate voice came over the radio.
He took another deep breath, earning another rush of pain through his broken ribs.
No. He couldn't be down. Not now. He gasped again, using pure adrenaline and super solider strength to push himself onto one arm.
He got his feet under him and his shield protecting his shattered body. "Are you kidding?" Talking hurt so much. "I can do this all day."
"Steve, I am going to kill you when this is over!" They were the first distinguishable words Bucky had said since their leader had fallen.
"Just... getting you back... Pal," Steve gasped. "Tony, what's... what's the situation?"
He staggered a single step forward as his body continued to scream in agony.
"The situation is you're getting out of here right now, old man," Tony responded bluntly. "You're in no shape to keep doing this. We've got it under control, especially now that the train's gone."
"There could be... more coming." He just had to keep himself awake, and he could fight. "I'm... fine."
Fighting off the black spots with an effort, he surveyed the situation quickly. They'd subdued the hoards trying to hook around and get them from behind, but the main offense was still gaining on Tony, who they'd made their only target even now that the train was gone.
"Clint, Nat... get in there... and... get their attention... from the front. Bucky... and I... are going... to... get 'em from..." He gasped in agony and forced himself to continue. "...the back." Nausea swept over him, and his head screamed for his attention over the rest of his agonized body.
"Steve, when I said no, I meant no," Tony warned. "Get outta here."
"I'm... giving orders... right now," Steve said with as much fire as he could when he was gasping every word out. "And I... expect... you to follow... to follow them."
Then, he took another step forward, and everything went black.
If anyone's up for it, a Part 2 is a possibility. Probably not until April, but eventually.
