Reunion
Howard always said that there was no such thing as luck, it was all a matter of probability. Now, in Ivy's and Steve's situations, it was very likely that they would run into someone in the corridors. Of course, the distraction was outside, but that didn't mean there were no more soldiers inside the base.
"Hey, you guys! Stop!" the soldiers yelled and started shooting at Steve and Ivy from behind. Ivy only ran faster, holding her hands over her head. Fortunately, the corridor turned a corner, behind which Steve pulled Ivy as fast as he could. However, Ivy did not run any further. She stopped just beyond the corner, which also made Steve stop.
"What's going on? Did you get hit?" he asked worriedly, trying to find the reason why she stopped. He could hear the shouts and the loud footsteps of the soldiers coming closer and closer. They had to keep running or they would most likely end up dead.
"Go, I'll follow up with you " Ivy said. She knew that together they would not reach Bucky, not with the soldiers at their heels.
"No, forget it! I won't leave you behind!" exclaimed Steve sternly, shaking his head several times. Ivy sighed heavily and looked at Steve tensely.
"Bucky is the priority. And we both know we won't get far with the soldiers around the corner!" she said, looking pleadingly at Steve. The soldiers were getting closer. "Steve go! I'll be fine! Get Bucky! I'll come to you, but first I'll stop the soldiers!" Ivy said impatiently, pushing Steve deeper into the hallway. Steve sighed and looked at her conflicted. He knew she was right, but leaving her alone didn't seem like a good idea. Bucky would kill him for it, guaranteed.
"Come to us right away, you understand?" asked Steve, and Ivy smiled slightly at him before saluting sarcastically.
"Sure thing, Mother."
Steve rolled his eyes and quickly disappeared into another hallway. He really hoped he hadn't made a mistake with his decision.
Ivy's smile disappeared the second Steve turned his back on her. She turned around and focused on the cold. She knew the soldiers would turn the corner any second. She hated herself for that at that moment, but she closed her eyes and took a deep breath before letting the cold take control. She felt something cold in her hands and opened her eyes. They glowed a bright and menacing silver. Two sharp daggers of ice had formed in her hands. One of these two daggers she rammed into the chest of the first soldier who came around the corner. His eyes were wide as the piece of ice was bored into his heart and he slowly fell to the ground. Another ice dagger appeared in her hand and replaced the first dagger. His comrades began to shoot at Ivy, but she threw the daggers of ice at them, hitting some soldiers. A bullet hit her shoulder, but she didn't feel the pain. At least not yet. She ran towards the three remaining soldiers and knocked the first man's gun out of his hand with her foot, while her icy hand touched the second man's chest. The man froze to ice while Ivy threw a dagger at the third man, hitting his shoulder. He dropped the gun in pain and looked at Ivy with fear. The first man tried to attack her from behind and choke her, yet Ivy made an ice dagger appear in her hand and rammed it into his stomach, causing him to let go of her and stagger to the ground.
"Please! Have mercy!" pleaded the third man as he saw the five dead or half-dead soldiers lying on the ground.
"Did you have mercy with the soldiers on the battlefield?" Ivy asked back, not waiting for his answer. She threw the last dagger and watched as the last soldier fell to the ground.
However, as her eyes colored back and the cold retreated, Ivy fell to the ground as well. She covered her mouth with one hand as tears streamed from her eyes. Her shoulder burned with pain and blood trickled onto the floor. Her eyes, however, were on the six dead soldiers on the ground. Blood was dripping from their wounds and their eyes looked at her lifelessly. Ivy closed her eyes and squeezed them tight, on the verge of screaming. She didn't want to do it. She didn't know what she was doing. The cold and the anger that came with it did. She was not a monster, not a killer.
"But what if you are?" whispered a voice in her head. What if Ivy was a monster after all?
~°~
Ivy propped herself against the wall as she crept down the hallway. She left a red trail of blood behind her that led right back to her massacre. Her shoulder burned with pain, but she didn't dare complain about it. After all, she had just taken the lives of six men. Seven, if you count the soldier from before.
Ivy felt more than miserable. She felt guilty, guilty that a part of her didn't regret her actions. Guilty for losing control. Guilty that part of her had enjoyed it. And guilty because she knew exactly what she had done.
It was hard to find one's way around these hallways. Everything looked the same. Each hallway reminded Ivy of the hallway where the six men had been killed.
"Snowflake? Am I dreaming?" Bucky looked at Ivy with exhausted eyes. He wasn't sure if she was really here or he was suffering from some hallucination.
"Bucky?" whispered Ivy, forgetting everything around her for a moment. Steve and Bucky came limping out of a lab. Steve supported most of Bucky's weight. Bucky was weak, exhausted and had a beat up face. She probably didn't look any better, though. Ivy's heart was racing and she slumped more against the wall as her eyes tried to catch as much of him as they could.
Ivy's feet moved on their own. She didn't walk in a perfect line and kept swaying to the side, but she went to Bucky and he met her halfway. It was unclear who was hugging whom and where the boundary of the two bodies was. Ivy's head was buried in Bucky's chest, her hands were partially on his back and neck where they touched his brown hair. His one hand was pressing her back closer to him, while his other hand was in her blond hair.
Ivy's body burned and this time it wasn't from pain. His touch set her on fire. It was a feeling she had missed almost half of a year. Everything was fine, though almost nothing was fine. Because everything but Bucky didn't matter right now. All that mattered was Bucky.
Ivy whimpered as Bucky's arm accidentally touched her bleeding shoulder. Bucky pulled back immediately and dropped his gaze to the spot where he had touched her.
"Your shoulder! You're bleeding!" Bucky panicked, looking at her with wide eyes.
"What?!" asked Steve now also concerned, stepping closer to analyze Ivy's shoulder.
"Steve don't do that!" Ivy whined, trying to pull her arm out of his grip. "I'm fine!" she lied, but not even she bought that lie.
"What are you even doing here? You took her with you and then left her alone to get shot?" Bucky looked alternately at Steve with anger and at Ivy with concern.
"Bucky," Ivy gained his attention and hissed in agony as Steve tied a piece of cloth around her arm and tried to stop the bleeding. "I'm fine," she assured him with a small smile.
"I thought I told you to be careful" Steve reminded her worriedly but also kind of in a scowled way.
"Um...no. I should just hurry up and get to you" she corrected him with a grimace as he pulled the improvised bandage tighter. Steve looked at her blearily in response, while Bucky looked at Steve in disbelief. He couldn't believe he'd left her alone, or even that he'd taken her with him to begin with. It was far too dangerous here.
"Can we argue about this later?" Ivy interrupted the awkward staring contest, gesturing around with her uninjured arm. "I don't think... this... is going to last much longer."
~°~
Ivy had been quite right with her statement. Sections of the factory exploded, making the floor shake. Ivy was afraid of either being buried alive or burned here. The trio sort of stumbled through the hallways, with Steve in the middle helping Ivy and Bucky. However, the trio came to a stop when they ran into Schmidt and Zola themselves.
"Captain America! How exciting! I'm a great fan of your films!" exclaimed Schmidt sarcastically. Ivy's stomach twisted. She stood eye-to-eye to the man who had formed Hydra and was responsible for Bucky's imprisonment. "So Dr. Erskine managed it after all. Not exactly an improvement, but still impressive."
Ivy reached for Bucky as Steve left their little sandwich to punch Schmidt in the face. He did not hold back in the process. This man was indirectly responsible for Erskine's death and was a psychopath who wanted to take over the world.
"You've got no idea," Steve hissed. Bucky's hand was positioned protective around Ivy's waist as they watched the action. Of course, they could have tried to interfere, but that would require being able to stand without wavering.
"Haven't I?" Schmidt asked rhetorically before trying to hit Steve back. But Steve's shield was useful for something after all. While Steve and Schmidt were fighting, Ivy noticed Zola flipping a lever. It was too late to react and the catwalk they were standing on retracted on either side, separating them from Schmidt and Zola.
"No matter what lies Erskine told you, you see I was his greatest success!"
Schmidt shouted defiantly, pulling his skin off his face to reveal his red skull.
"You don't have one of those, do you?" Bucky referred to Schmidt's skull as the trio looked at Schmidt in horror.
"You are deluded, Captain. You pretend to be a simple soldier, but in reality you are just afraid to admit that we have left humanity behind. Unlike you, I embrace it proudly. Without fear!" Schmidt shouted, his eyes glancing at Ivy for a brief moment. It was so brief that Ivy almost didn't notice it. But she had, and it made her wonder how much Schmidt knew about her.
"Then how come you're running?" Steve asked, not noticing Schmidt's deviation in his gaze. Schmidt and Zola fled upstairs while the trio was trapped. Ivy looked around in panic but could find no way out. The factory would soon explode and they with it.
"Come on, let's go. Up" Steve suggested and helped Ivy and Bucky forward. They were on a catwalk under which everything was on fire. Ivy could smell the mingled odor of smoke and metal and didn't dare to look down. The only way out of this was to get to the other side. And the way to get to the other side was through a thin gantry.
"Let's go. One at a time" Steve urged. It was clear to all three that they were running out of time.
"I'll go first and help you across" Bucky said to Ivy. He looked into her blue eyes and tried to stay calm for her. She nodded, but inside she was screaming. She watched anxiously as Bucky balanced over the thin gantry. She would have liked to look away in fear, but she didn't have the courage to do that either. She breathed relieved out when Bucky reached the other side safe and sound.
"Now it's your turn, Snowflake!" Bucky yelled from the other side.
"You can do it," Steve tried to encourage her. Ivy nodded, although she didn't really believe his words. Nevertheless, she carefully put one foot on the granty. Her body trembled as she stood with both feet on the granty. Her mouth was dry and cold sweat ran down her spine. A glance down made her sway dangerously, but she managed to maintain her balance.
"Snowflake, look at me" Bucky pleaded who noticed her unsteadiness on her feet. Ivy raised her head and focused on Bucky's face. On his blue eyes that looked at her worriedly. She slowly put one foot in front of the other, trying not to think about the fire beneath her.
"You're doing great, snowflake. You're almost there" Bucky motivated her. Ivy would have liked to smile, but her face was too tense. She was almost on the other side when the gantry collapsed. A scream escaped her mouth as she felt her body slowly fall down until she felt a sudden grip on her hand that kept her from falling down into the fire. Bucky had grabbed her hand and saved her from a hot death. Both eyes met and looked at each other in panic, at least until Bucky pulled Ivy up.
"You're all right... You're fine" he murmured as he hugged her tightly. Both of them still couldn't process what had just happened.
"Thank you..." whispered Ivy. Her heart was racing and her eyes were wide, not focused on one thing. She turned worriedly to Steve, who was standing on the other side, looking at her anxiously.
"Gotta be a rope or something!" Ivy yelled, looking around frantically.
"Just go! Get out of here!" Steve yelled back. He had just seen her almost die. He couldn't risk anything happening to her or Bucky.
"No! Not without you!" Bucky yelled. Everything was happening too fast afterwards. Steve took a deep breath and jumped. And a few seconds later the factory underneath them started to explode.
~°~
"Bucky, I'm fine. You're almost like Steve while being on his mom-mode" Ivy laughed. Still, Bucky and Steve didn't find it funny.
"I'm do not have a mom-mode!" Steve protested, while Bucky said angrily, "You have a hole in your shoulder!"
"Yeah, that too" mused Steve from the left. The trio had actually made it out alive. Adding to that success, the freed soldiers had scavenged armor and weaponry from Hydra, all of which they brought back to camp with them. They had been on the way for some time and Ivy was in pain. Still, she refused to admit it. After all, the soldiers had been through much worse than she had and weren't complaining about the long walk. Ivy walked with Steve and Bucky on either side of her at the very front, trying to reassure both men that she was okay. Bucky's hand would occasionally touch hers, causing Ivy's cheeks to occasionally turn red. She couldn't put her happiness into words. Bucky was back. She had Bucky back. Still, there was a feeling in Ivy's chest that she couldn't quite describe. She lacked the right words to describe her feelings. But then again, maybe it wasn't the right time.
"I'm fine-"
"If you say that one more time, I'll carry you the rest of the way to make our arrival more unpleasant for you" Bucky threatened. He actually quite liked the idea. Especially since he had to think about how many other soldiers there would be in camp.
"Don't you dare, Barnes!" retorted Ivy with a threatening look. Bucky grinned at her in response. Nevertheless, Bucky never got the chance to carry out his threat, though. They saw the entrance to the camp ahead of them and heard the cheers of the soldiers. They had made it. Ivy felt Bucky take her hand and looked up at him with a small smile as they were circled by several soldiers.
Steve saluted to Phillips, who to be honest didn't expect the succeed.
"Some of these men and Ivy need medical attention" Steve said.
"Medic, we got wounded," one of the men called out.
"I'd like to surrender myself for disciplinary action" Steve said to the Colonel.
"That won't be necessary" replied Phillips, who eyed the freed soldiers with satisfaction.
"Yes, sir," Steve said and tried to suppress a small smile.
"You're the most exhausting sister on earth, you know that?" asked Howard from behind. Ivy turned around quickly and practically jumped into Howard's arms. He, of course, caught her and hugged her back in relief. Tears came to Ivy's eyes for many reasons, and she silently cried into her big brother's shoulder, who looked down at her with concern.
"Love you anyway, Frosty," Howard whispered, and Ivy broke away from the hug to wipe her face clean.
"Love you too, Wardy," she whispered back. At that, she used a nickname they had used earlier as little kids. Howard hated it, yet Ivy was the only person who was allowed to call him that. Both siblings looked around and Ivy smiled when she saw Peggy with Steve. Her eyes lit up, however, when she saw Bucky standing just a few steps away from her. He looked at her with a smile and Ivy heard Howard next to her make a fake gaging sound.
"Hey, let's hear it for Captain America!"