My anxiety was through the roof the closer we got to the base. I couldn't sit down any longer. I was pacing around the quinjet, trying to find things to do. Steve set the jet into autopilot and made his way over to me with Bucky.
"So, tell me about the base," Steve said. "Can you guys tell me the layout?"
"Up in the mountains. He's going to need transportation that can deal with heavy snow and mountain terrain. The entrance of the base is blended into a rock with a code panel. Once we enter, there's an elevator shaft that'll lead us into the base," I answered.
"There are three exits. One through the elevator shaft, the back entrance, and the large roof hatch, but it's a bit of a climb. The other soldiers are in the same room that I was in, which is the farthest part of the base. It's closest to the roof exit." Bucky added.
Steve nodded, "You two going to be okay going in there?"
"We got to do what we have to," I replied. I looked at Bucky. "We also need to get the journal back somehow."
"Journal?" Steve questioned.
"It's a red journal with a black star in the center. It has information about how Bucky was programmed, along with the code words. If anyone gets their hands on it, they'll not only know how to control Bucky but can program others to be just like him."
"How did he get his hands on it?"
I shrugged, "I would've thought it'd be in Siberia."
"No, Karpov was in charge of the program. If anyone would have it, it was him," Bucky concluded. "Given that the journal is in that guy's hands, it's likely Karpov is dead."
"Too bad we couldn't find him ourselves," I mumbled.
A signal alerted, making us look. "We're here," Steve announced as he sat down in the seat to land the quinjet.
I made my way over to my weapons locker to grab what I needed. Bucky stood next to me. "What do you have for me?"
"Nothing you'll like, but I think Nat has a custom M249 in her locker." I pulled her locker open. "Not like she's going to use it any time soon."
"What about you?"
I already had my knives with me. I opened my locker and grabbed two of my handguns. I put one on my thigh holster and the other at my hip. I looked over at the open ramp. It was snowing with heavy winds, but I could see the entrance of the base still. I trembled at the sight of it. I reached into my locker to grab an extra magazine for my gun but dropped it because of my fingers shaking. Before I could get it, Bucky knelt and slipped it into his pocket. He grabbed another one from my locker and secured it to my belt.
"I doubt you'll need this many mags, but better safe than sorry." He leaned down to kiss my cheek. "I'll see you at the ramp."
I nodded at him and took a deep breath. After I closed my locker, I made my way over to the ramp. Steve and Bucky were talking about a girl named Dolores when I stood next to Bucky. I noticed he slightly shifted from one foot to the other before he cleared his throat.
"Did you call her 'doll' too?" I asked him coolly as I continued to stare ahead, trying to not smile.
Bucky looked at me, but I remained face forward trying my best to hold an irritated look. "It's pretty common to use in our time."
"Well, you're definitely not calling me that anymore," I joked.
"It's just like how everyone calls their significant other 'babe'," Steve explained.
"Wow, he's back for two days and you take his side over me," I scoffed playfully. "The nerve, Rogers...The outright nerve."
Steve and Bucky chuckled. Steve nudged his head toward the base. "I'm going to scope out the place first. You two follow when you're ready."
"You okay?" Bucky asked me when Steve left.
"Yeah," I muttered. "You know, I always thought the next time I come back to this place, it would be because I was taken or I was going to blow this place up."
"I know what you mean. How about we come back here and we blow it up together?"
I snickered, "Coming to this place two times willingly in the same year? That's definitely something." I placed my hand against his cheek and kissed him softly.
He rested his forehead on mine as I massaged the back of his head gently. "As crazy as this sounds, there's nowhere in the world I'd rather be than with you—even if it's here. After today, we're leaving this all behind us and we're never separating ever again. Deal?"
"Deal," I smiled. "Don't forget the pizza and wings date you promised me too."
Bucky chuckled, "The very late pizza and wings date." He kissed my forehead as his thumb brushed against my cheek. "I love you, Angel."
I bit my lip and smiled, "I won't ever get tired of those words." Sighing, I pulled away. "Let's do this."
The cold winds pricked at my skin as we walked towards the entrance. Steve was already at the entrance waiting for us. "He can't have been here for more than a few hours," Steve told us.
Bucky replied, "Long enough to wake them up."
Steve, Bucky, and I made our way inside the base. I couldn't help but feel uneasy when the elevator door closed and started to go down. When I looked at Bucky, I could see he was feeling that way too. Steve sent us a comforting smile before the elevator came to a stop. Steve opened the elevator door and we got out. I pulled out my gun as we started to walk through the base. We kept close to the wall, peering over every corner to ensure it was clear. Bucky went up the stairs first with me following and Steve covering our backs. A loud thud from the elevator made us spin around. Steve covered Bucky and me as we pointed our guns towards the noise.
"You ready?" Steve muttered to us.
"Yeah," Bucky answered.
The elevator opened to reveal Tony. Steve and I looked at each other in surprise before looking back at Tony. I lowered my gun and straightened as Tony's helmet uncovered his face. I said aloud, "Well, look what the cat dragged in."
"You seem a little defensive," Tony said awkwardly as he approached us.
"It's been a long day," Steve replied as he approached Tony, but still had his shield up.
I stepped down until I was at the bottom of the stairs. "A very long day," I emphasized.
Tony looked up at Bucky, who was still pointing his gun in case Tony was to try something. "At ease, Soldier. I'm not currently after you."
"Then, why are you here?" Steve questioned.
Tony leaned against the wall, shrugging. "Could be your story's not so crazy...maybe."
"I take it that's your way of an apology?" I scoffed full of attitude.
"I'm trying, Jersey, alright?" Tony sassed back. He sighed, "Ross has no idea I'm here. I'd like to keep it that way. Otherwise, I gotta arrest myself."
Steve chuckled and lowered his shield. "Well, that sounds like a lot of paperwork." Tony cracked a smile and nodded. "It's good to see you, Tony."
"You too, Cap." Tony looked at me. "Do you want me to admit it or are we good?"
I shrugged at him and placed my hand behind my ear. "I mean, I wouldn't mind."
Tony sighed, "You were right. I was wrong."
"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't hear you. There must be an air current or something. Can you say it again so everyone in the back can hear?"
Rolling his eyes, Tony said, "I was wrong, alright? The billionaire, genius, playboy, philanthropist was wrong. I, Anthony Edward Stark, was wrong. Happy?"
Smirking, I replied, "Very."
"You're a pain in the ass, Jersey, I swear."
"Right back at you."
Tony shook his head but smiled. He looked over my shoulder. "Hey, Manchurian Candidate, you're killing me. There's a truce here. You can drop..." Tony gestured to Steve and me. Steve turned around and nodded at Bucky that it was safe to lower the weapon. I glanced over my shoulder and Bucky lowered his gun. "Alright, now that we're all on the same side, what's the play?"
Steve started giving him the rundown on the plan. A cold chill ran through my spine as I felt a strange unknown force circling around. I looked around, trying to see where the source was coming from. The feeling almost reminded me of...
"Hey," Bucky touched my shoulder. "What's wrong?"
"I thought I..." I shook my head. "Nothing. We should get moving though."
"Right," Steve nodded.
Bucky led the way with Steve not far behind. When Tony walked by, I shot him a small smile before I covered him from behind. Tony put his helmet back on as we walked through the base. Bucky stole a few glances at me, but I would nod at him to assure him that I was alright. As we walked through the base, Tony eventually moved in front to locate heat signatures with Steve not far behind. I stopped when I saw we were walking past the room that I was kept in.
"Is this it?" Steve asked, peering inside.
"No," Bucky answered.
"Who's chamber is that then?" Tony asked, gesturing at the cryo-chamber.
"Mine," I mumbled. Steve and Tony looked at me, but I couldn't meet their stare. My head twitched slightly when I heard my screams inside my head. I took a deep breath and held my head high. "Guards up. We're almost there."
We had to pass by the room where I had to help Bucky bring down the other winter soldiers. The glass windows were smashed in, the cell doors dented, and pieces of the walls were on the floor from the fight. As I looked around the room, I started to see images of the fight that occurred. I grabbed Bucky's arm in need of support as I continued to sense the pain and fear that circled the whole base. All the years of torture and pain were engulfing me. Holding Bucky's arm gave me a sense of balance because when I felt him, I knew what was real and what wasn't. I knew where I was because of him.
Bucky squeezed my hand and kissed it softly. "Stay with me," he murmured. I nodded at him and released his hand so that we could continue.
We entered the hall that led to the chamber. "I got heat signatures," Tony told us.
"How many?" Steve asked him.
Tony hesitated but answered, "One."
Entering the dark eerie room, the memory wiping machine was at the center of the room. I was never allowed to fully enter this room, but when I caught glimpses of the room, I remembered how terrifying it was to see Bucky getting brainwashed. I would be able to hear his screams from my room. I looked around the room and noticed that the five chambers weren't open. Out of the six chambers, there was only one open and that one was Bucky's chamber. As we stood at the front of the room, the lights in the chambers grew brighter, but the room remained dark.
I walked to the closest chamber. The soldier had a bullet wound in the forehead. I looked over at the next one to see that the other was shot in the forehead too. "He killed them."
"If it's any comfort," a voice said. "They died in their sleep. Did you really think I wanted more of you?"
"What the hell?" Bucky mumbled as he stood next to me to see the corpse.
"I'm grateful to them, though. They brought you here." The light in the control room turned on to reveal the doctor. Steve tried throwing the shield at it, but the shield only went back to him. The remaining lights in the room turned on. "Please, Captain. The Soviets built this chamber to withstand the launch blast of UR-100 rockets."
"I'm betting I could beat that," Tony challenged as he approached the control room.
"Oh, I'm sure you could, Mr. Stark—given time. But then, you'd never know why you came," he chastised.
I moved next to Tony, glaring at the fake doctor. "You put on a big show just to bring us to this place. The lives lost in Vienna and Germany all for this moment. Who are you?"
"Helmut Zemo. And it's an honor to meet you, Luna. The natural born Super Soldier of Hydra, yet a failed project in their eyes. I imagine you would've been the world's worst nightmare if your mind control was successful."
"Why did you kill those people to bring us here?" Steve questioned him as he approached the control room's window.
Zemo tilted his head to the side. "I thought about nothing else for over a year. I studied you. I followed you, but now that you're standing here, I just realized there's a bit of green in the blue of your eyes. How nice to find a flaw."
I used my power to sense Zemo's pain, focusing on where it was coming from. When I found the answer, I said aloud, "You're Sokovian. You did all of this because of what you lost. You lost your family." Zemo looked at me in surprise. His jaw tightened as I spoke, eyes glistening at my words. "You thought they'd be safe if you sent them away, while you were fighting against Ultron with us. Only to find out they weren't safe. You blame us for their death. You want us to lose everything—to feel your pain. And...the betrayal. You supported us until that day. You feel like the Avengers betrayed you for failing to save everyone, including your family."
Through his tear-filled eyes, he smirked. "An empire toppled by its enemies can rise again, but one which crumbles from within? That's dead...forever. Especially by the ones you cherish most."
"I hate to break it to you but it won't work. The Avengers may have their differences but we won't betray each other. We're much stronger than that."
"I wouldn't be too confident about that, Luna." He clicked on something inside the control panel. Steve looked down at a screen that was nearby him.
I walked over to the screen to see what Zemo was talking about. I noticed a tape labeled in Russian, December 16th, 1991. I tilted my head as I wondered what was so important about that day. Tony stood next to Steve, removed his helmet, and looked at the video that was playing. It was a video of an empty backroad.
"I know that road," Tony muttered.
My body stiffened as the hairs on the back of my neck rose. "Why do I know it too?" I whispered to myself. I looked at Bucky, but he remained distant to keep his eyes on Zemo.
Tony looked at Zemo, "What's this?"
I stared at the date again and the empty road. I looked down, trying to figure out why I remembered that night. As I focused on that road and watched the video play, I was brought back to that time.
My second mission with the Winter Soldier.
Soldat and I were riding down the empty backroad. I was right behind him, holding his waist as he drove the motorcycle. As the targeted car came into view, I pulled out my knife and waited for the right moment. When we were close to the car, I stabbed the tire to make the car lose control and hit a nearby tree. Soldat turned the motorcycle around and drove back to the car. He kicked the stand on the bike and we dismounted it. I approached the driver that got out of the car. Soldat stepped forward as the driver continued to crawl on the ground.
"Help my wife," he mumbled. "Please, help."
Soldat gripped the man by the hair and forced him to look up. From behind, I noticed Soldat lifted his hand to touch his face. When he lowered his arm down, his mask was in his hand. He was revealing his face to the man.
"Sergeant Barnes?" The driver questioned.
"Howard?" The wife called out from inside the car.
Soldat put his mask back on before he threw punches at the driver's face with his metal arm. For the final blow, he pulled back his fist. The moment his fist collided with the driver's face, a sickly snap of the driver's neck echoed in the sky from how hard his head got thrown back due to the punch.
"Howard!" The wife cried out again.
I stepped to the side as Soldat placed the driver back in the car, resting the driver's head on the steering wheel. I turned around but froze when I saw a nearby camera. I pulled out my gun to shoot it, but Soldat stopped me.
<They want you to make a kill,> he informed me. <Finish it.>
I walked away to go to the passenger side. The wife of the driver had blood on the side of her forehead. I knelt down next to her. A tear slipped down her cheek as she knew what was going to happen. "Please," she whispered. "Please-" she was cut off when I wrapped my hand around her neck. I stood up and continued to strangle her until her pulse stopped. My eyes moved to Soldat. He pointed his gun at the surveillance camera and fired at it. When the wife was dead, I removed my hand and looked at Soldat.
<We have work to do. Let's start covering this up. After, we need to inform Karpov there will be surveillance video.>
Soldat walked to the trunk of the car and took a silver case out of it. I worked on making the car look like it was severely damaged, punching and kicking at the doors to a point where it wouldn't be easy to open. Once we were done covering our tracks, we walked to the motorcycle.
<Who's Sergeant Barnes?> I asked him after we mounted the motorcycle.
He reeved the motorcycle to life before he answered, <I don't know.>
That mission was when I was freshly conditioned. After I failed my first mission, I was tortured and conditioned to extreme measures—to where I accepted the Luna was forever to be my life and there was no turning back. My second mission only involved me accompanying the Winter Soldier, to follow his orders no matter what they were. I wasn't given any knowledge as to who those people were or what we were doing there. I didn't even know about the serums until Bucky told me at the old warehouse in Germany.
Feeling Tony's eyes on me, I looked at him. His eyes were filled with tears and hatred, his breath shook as he took in air. Harshly, he uttered, "You killed my parents."
My eyes widened at what he said. I looked at the screen and then at Tony as my throat tightened. I didn't want to believe what he said but I felt the hurt inside his heart that gave me no choice but to believe it. My body stiffened as my breath trembled. All this time, I was the reason why his parents were dead. Their blood was in my hands.
Tony stepped towards me, but Steve placed his hands on Tony to stop him."Tony! Tony."
I was unable to move away even when he tried moving away from Steve. Bucky grabbed my arm to pull me closer to him. Tony tried lunging towards us again, making me flinch, but Steve stopped him again. Bucky tried to move me behind him, but I stayed next to him.
"Did you know?" Tony asked Steve.
"I didn't know-"
"Don't bullshit me, Rogers! Did you know?"
Steve hesitated, "Yes." Tony stepped back. "But I didn't know Iliana was involved, Tony."
Tony turned to me. His eyes were full of anger and betrayal. Tears seeped down my cheeks. "Tony, please," I begged. "Let me explain. I didn't-"
"All this time and you said nothing," Tony fumed. "I trusted you."
"Tony, I didn't know," I insisted. "I didn't know who they were. I didn't know they were your parents, I swear."
Tony shook his head as a tear fell from his eye. My words were meaningless to him. His voice shook with disbelief, "How could you hide this from me?"
"Tony, I didn't know, I swear," I lamented to him as more tears fell from my eyes. "I wouldn't have hid this from you. You have to know that."
"Do I?" Tony snapped, making me flinch. "You expect me to trust your word after seeing that?! You killed my parents!"
"They controlled their minds, Tony," Steve said calmly. "You saw the damage it did to her brain through the scans, through the testings, all the video footages. She would've never hid this from you. They didn't know."
Tony pushed Steve away. He pointed at me defeatedly. "I loved you...You were like a sister to me," Tony huffed brokenly. I covered my mouth to fight back a sob, but it still escaped from me. "You were my sister. The sister I wished I could've—and you betrayed me..."
"Tony," I shook my head. "I'm sorry. I didn't know, please. I'm so sorry."
He turned away. "I can't even look at you right now. I'm going home."
"Tony," Steve tried.
"I need space, Rogers! Stay away from me! All of you, just...stay away."
"Tony, please! I'm sorry!" I wailed as he continued to walk away. I sobbed as my body shook, "I'm sorry..."
I covered my face in my hands as Bucky turned around so he could hug me. He try calming me down, running his fingers through my hair as I cried. "Shhh, Angel, breathe. It's going to be alright. Give him time," he murmured in my ear. "Don't give Zemo the satisfaction."
I closed my eyes and tried to remain calm, but my eyes popped open when I felt a chilling cold sensation again. I moved away from Bucky and looked around the room. The dark presence continued to circle around. As I tried to find the source of it, I looked over at Tony. A strange purplish-black luminescence circled him.
"Do you see that?"
"See what?" Bucky questioned me.
"There's something near Tony." The purple luminescence came towards Tony and went inside his head. I started walking toward him, "Tony, wait!"
His helmet slipped back on. The moment he turned around, a powerful blast hit me right in the chest, sending me to the ground. I skidded down the floor as Steve ran forward. Tony punched Steve out of the way as Bucky held his gun up to shoot at Tony, but Tony easily disarmed him. Tony moved to hit me again but Bucky shoved Tony's hand away so the blast wouldn't hit me. Tony grabbed Bucky and flew him across the room.
"Tony, stop!" I shouted at him as I clutched to my chest.
I could sense an uncontrollable amount of rage and hatred inside of him. I never felt anyone this angry before, not even Hulk felt as angry as Tony. Tony slammed Bucky to the ground and got ready to blast him, but Steve threw his shield and approached Tony. I ran over to Bucky when Tony shot restraints around Steve's legs. I kneed Tony hard in the chest as Bucky moved to attack Tony, but Tony swung me out of the way to lift Bucky and slammed him into the wall. Knowing I couldn't reach them from that height, I made my way over to Steve to help break off the restraints. I managed to break one before I saw Tony move to blast Bucky again, but Bucky moved Tony's arm away from his face so the blast could hit the wall. I pulled out my gun and shot at Tony's hand to destroy the repulser. Tony turned to me as he pointed his arm towards me to reveal a rocket.
Before Tony could fire it in my direction, Bucky diverted Tony's arm out of the way to hit the machinery that controlled the cryo-chambers. Steve broke off the final restraint and we ran towards Bucky and Tony as the machinery from above began to domino down the other cryo-chambers. I ran to Bucky as they moved away, grabbing onto Bucky's shoulders as we fell. He covered me as the machines fell. When it was clear, he hauled me to my feet and we looked at Steve on the other side of the debris.
"Go! Get out of here!" Steve shouted at us.
Bucky grabbed my hand and ran for the roof exit. He slammed his hand on the button that opened the roof. "Start climbing," he said to me as he hoisted me up the first platform.
"There's something wrong with him," I said to Bucky as we jumped up the platforms.
"What did you expect? We killed his parents."
"No, I saw something. Something is messing with him. He was going to walk away, Bucky." I grabbed his hand and pulled him up to the next platform. "Something is messing with us."
"We can't worry about that now, Iliana. We need to get out of here."
I looked down to see that Tony was down below. "Shit, we got to move!"
Tony started to fly up, but his flight was unstable. When he neared, Bucky kicked him away from us. "Jump!" Bucky shouted at me.
As I leaped towards the next platform, Tony slammed into me and made me fall a few platforms down. Tony pointed his hand towards me. I turned away, but Steve jumped up to cover me. The blast deflected and hit Tony, causing him to fall a few platforms down. Bucky dropped down to the platform Steve and I was on.
"He's not going to stop," Steve said. "You two need to go now."
I looked at Tony as Bucky grabbed my hand so we could continue climbing out of the base. Bucky and I got up the platform close to the roof but it was a giant leap to the final platform. Bucky squeezed my hand and nodded. I nodded back before we ran and jumped to the final platform. The final platform had a ladder that took us to the very top. Bucky urged me to go up first. When we got onto the ledge, I had to jump up to reach the opening. The snow chilled the tip of my fingertips. A powerful blast hit the hinges of the opening, making Bucky and I look at the roof closing. Bucky gripped my waist and pulled us down before it could close on us. We landed on another platform. I winced as I felt a stinging sensation on my wrist from the fall. I tried to get up but cried out. Bucky and I looked over at my foot which was stuck under a large piece of debris. Bucky moved towards the debris and used all his strength to lift it off my foot. I hissed in pain as I moved my foot out of the way for Bucky to let the debris go.
He tried having me bend my foot but yelped as the pain shot through my ankle and up my calf. "You think it's broken?"
"No, might just be sprained," I hissed through my teeth. "Help me up." As Bucky wrapped his arms around me, I looked down to see that Tony was coming toward us.
"Bucky!" I warned.
Bucky grabbed a pipe that was close by and tried hitting Tony with it, but Tony countered his attack. I ignored the pain in my ankle as I got up and punched Tony, creating a dent in his helmet, but he blasted me two platforms down. Looking up, Bucky was trying to get to me, but Tony had him in an armlock. I pulled out my grapple and shot it towards Tony's leg. Once the grapple wrapped around Tony's leg, I pulled him down with all of my might. Tony swiftly fell enough for me to jump down on Tony's leg. Steve soon followed to help Tony lower down. From the amount of weight and Tony's broken thruster on his boot, he lost control and made us all crash down below. Bucky landed on a platform near the ground.
As I fell, my shoulder slammed into a platform, and then I landed on the cement floor. I wasn't sure if my left shoulder dislocated because I hit the platform or how I landed on the ground, but I also felt my whole arm throbbing. Taking a breath, I popped my shoulder back into place, letting out a shriek once it was back in place. Tony looked over and made his way toward me. I sat up, clutching onto my arm. I leaned my head back against the wall, looking at him.
"What is this going to bring you, Tony?" I asked him calmly as he raised his hand to shoot another blast at me. "No matter what happens, no matter how much I apologize, no matter how much you hurt us...even kill us, it won't change anything. It won't bring them back."
"I don't care," Tony spat. "He killed my mom."
I shook my head, "No, he didn't. I did." Tony's hand clenched into a fist at what I said. "So, if you want to kill or hurt anyone, it should be me."
Tony's hand shook as he continued to stare at me. I started to sense something. His anger was dwindling into hurt and uncertainty. He was conflicted. He knew that what happened wasn't completely my fault. He even knew that it wasn't Bucky's, but he was filled with so much anger that he couldn't contain himself. He was hurt because Steve hid the truth from him for so long. Tony didn't want to kill me, but he couldn't forgive me.
"Do you want to kill me?" I uttered as a tear slid down my cheek. "If you want to, go ahead. I killed my best friend's parents, the ultimate betrayal. I didn't want to hurt you this way and I'm so sorry I did. I can apologize for the rest of my life, but it will never be enough. So, if this is the only way you can get peace, then do it."
"Iliana," Bucky groaned from the platform, but I didn't look at him. I kept my eyes on Tony. I noticed Tony's hand was trembling. "Stark, if you hurt her..." Bucky growled as he clutched his ribs.
"Go ahead, Tony. Do it," I nodded. "It's okay."
I heard him sniffle under his mask. "Damn it, Jersey," Tony grumbled but lowered his arm slightly.
For a brief moment, I was relieved until I saw the same purple luminescence again strike at Tony, but he still didn't notice. My eyes widened as I sensed Tony's rage return the moment the purple luminescence struck him. Tony raised his arm towards me again, but Steve grabbed Tony by the shoulders and threw him to the other side of the wall. The luminescence appeared again and went to Steve. I watched in horror as they ruthlessly fought each other. I tried getting up, but Bucky made his way over to me with the shield in his hand.
"Stay down," he ordered me.
I grabbed his hand. "Bucky, something's happening."
"Stay down, Iliana." Bucky got up to help Steve.
Steve and Bucky fought Tony, throwing punches and tossing each other the shield to use against Tony. As they fought I looked around the room, trying to find the source of the luminescence I kept seeing but saw nothing. Out of nowhere, the hairs on my arms and the back of my neck rose. I looked to my left to see a transparent shadowed figure next to me. The purple luminescence blocked the face, but I could see the coldness in its glowing purple eyes. Its hand flicked to shoot the energy towards me, but I smacked the figure before its power could hit me. I was honestly surprised the figure recoil away from my strike. Was it not expecting me to see it? I moved away and watched the figure disappear.
A loud blast made me look over at Bucky holding up Tony's hand to redirect the laser towards the ceiling. Bucky punched Tony hard in the chest and shoved him against the wall. Bucky pushed Tony's face to the side as he dug his metal hand into the arc reactor to remove it.
"Bucky!" I shouted as the blast from the arc reactor destroyed his arm.
A rush of powerful heat flowed inside me that shot through my left arm and into my heart as I felt Bucky's pain. From how powerful and heated that reactor was, it was causing Bucky to burn from the inside. I got up and made my way over to him after Tony blasted him down. Steve got up to fight Tony as I turned Bucky over. His whole body burned under my touch.
"Stay with me," I said as I held him close.
I closed my eyes and tried my best to have him feel something else to take the pain away. I knew I didn't train my empath power enough to manipulate the pain or to heal, but I needed to try. His heart was beating too fast and his body was too hot. I squeezed onto Bucky's hand as I focused on trying to rid the pain away. As I concentrated, I could hear the sound of Bucky's heartbeat slowing down, but it was still at an accelerated rate.
I continued to hold his hand as I used my power to rid away the pain but straightened when Steve rolled next to Bucky and me from a hit Tony gave Steve. Steve looked at Tony, "They're our friends. They're my friends."
"So was I." Tony punched Steve hard twice, making Steve fall to his hands. Before Steve could recover, Tony threw Steve down to the other side of the wall. "Stay down. Final warning."
Bucky turned to his side, but when I tried to stop him, he shook his head. Steve got up and shrugged at Tony. "I could do this all day," Steve shrugged.
Bucky touched Tony's leg to make Tony turn around and kick Bucky in the face. I quickly moved to hold Bucky after the blow. Steve got the upper and when he got Tony down to the ground. He threw punches at his face, and grabbed the shield to slam it down onto the helmet. I waited to see if Steve would stop, but he continued.
"Steve." I stood up and hobbled my way over him as he removed the helmet off Tony's face. He raised the shield upwards. "Steve!" I shouted.
As Steve aimed for Tony's neck, I grasped the shield with both my hands, ignoring the pain that coursed through my left arm. The shield was just inches away from Tony's neck. Steve was really going to kill Tony. Steve tried shoving the shield down, but I kept my hold on it.
"Steve, this isn't you. This isn't Tony. This is not who we are," I insisted.
Steve growled as his rage fueled him to keep fighting against my hold on the shield. I looked down at Tony to see he had the same amount of rage on his bloodied face. I didn't know who that dark figure was, but I knew that it was the cause of all this rage.
"Steve, look at me. Look at me!" I demanded. Steve turned his head towards me. "This isn't you. Look at who you're going to kill. That's not who you are."
Steve looked down at Tony and back up at me. He shuddered in disbelief and stopped resisting. He moved the shield out of the way and took deep breaths as the rage inside of him slowly disappeared. Tony raised his hand to blast us but with enhancing my strength, I slammed my fist into the arc reactor so Tony's suit would stop working. I hissed as the heat and the glass attacked my skin at the moment of impact. I carefully removed my hand from the broken arc reactor.
There was still a powerful amount of anger inside of Tony. I placed my other hand on his forehead. I showed him memories of the two of us. I showed him the times we laughed, our friendly banters, and the deep conversations I had with him when he worked late hours in the lab. Even the times when we went to each other for advice, I showed him as much as possible until the rage decreased to where he was just angry and not fueled to kill us.
After seeing all the memories, I felt his heart breaking from what was discovered today but the rage that was being put in Tony was gone. He glared at me. "I was wrong...Two killers...you do deserve each other."
My jaw clenched at his words, but I said nothing. Steve stood up and helped me up. I stumbled a little bit but straightened. "You good?"
I nodded, "Let's get out of here." I turned to go to Bucky.
"That shield doesn't belong to you," Tony snapped at Steve. Steve helped Bucky up and wrapped his around Steve's shoulders. I wrapped my arm around Bucky's waist on his left side to help balance him. "You don't deserve it. My father made that shield!"
Steve, Bucky, and I stopped walking. I watched Steve tilt his chin up and dropped the shield before we continued. We got out of the base the same we got inside through the elevator shaft. We were going to the quinjet but stopped when we saw T'Challa and a handcuffed Zemo. Steve and I shared a look when T'Challa approached us cautiously.
"I'm not here to fight," he told us. "I know Barnes didn't kill my father. He was just a pawn. I set the auto pilot coordinates to a designated location where you'll be safe."
"Where?" Steve asked.
"Wakanda. You will be safe there. They will be expecting you. I'm going to take Zemo to Berlin. I will meet you there soon."
Steve nodded his thanks to T'Challa before we got on the quinjet. I set up the medical table for Bucky to lie down as Steve started up the quinjet. Bucky reached up and touched my cheek tiredly. Smiling at him, I closed my eyes and rested my hand on his cheek for a moment.
Steve turned to me. "Should we trust him?"
I closed my eyes and searched through T'Challa's feelings. I opened my eyes and nodded. "Vengeance isn't consuming him anymore. He wants to help."