"Marco!" a faint shout echoes across the battlefield, drenched in blood and mud and bodies. There was a crackle of gunfire and a slightly louder:
"Polo!" half-drowned out by a massive explosion.
Steve hurdled a pile of smoking wreckage, running towards the gunfire.
"Marco?" he yelled, raising the shield and deflecting bullets from a random HYDRA solider. He reluctantly diverted his course and swerved towards the woman, who tried to keep on firing.
Captain America, in all his glory, scuttled like a crab towards the solider and when he was barely a foot away, jumped up and nailed her in the face. She staggered back, clutching her bloody nose, dropping her machine gun, which Steve aptly caught.
Spinning in a circle, he took out all six soldiers who were trying (read: failing) to creep up on him.
He paused, tilting his head for the returning "Polo!"
And he carried on running, holding the machine in case of any other attackers. As he ran past a small bundle of people, he saw James being over run by HYDRA's people. He fired off the machine gun at their backs and the survivors scattered. James gave him a thumbs-up and ran off.
Steve slowed and scanned the few ruined buildings around him. He couldn't immediately see any people, HYDRA or Howling Commandos, so he drew his gaze down to the wreckage around him.
A black shape moved just a few fires in front of him and he raised the shield and gun to level the crosshairs at the person's head.
The person stopped walking and slowly turned to face Steve.
Steve slapped the shield to the small magnet at his back and raised a hand at the man.
Who raised his gun and fired off three rounds.
For a brief second as he tumbled to the ground, arm coming up to cover his face from the flying soil, Steve wondered if he had made a grave mistake.
Then he realised as another body hit the ground next to him, eyes already lifeless, that he'd been right.
Bucky leaned over the mangled piece of metal Steve had taken refugee behind and grinned.
"Useless." he laughed, holding out a hand for Steve to pull himself up with. Steve rose and prodded the man with his boot.
"He was right behind you. It was either shoot you or act out a pantomime."
Steve let himself laugh and grabbed his shield from his back again.
"Y'ready?" he said, glancing sideways at the dark-haired man.
"Right behind ya." Bucky nodded, reloaded his gun and ran back into the fray.
Steve half-smiled and began picking off the attackers that Bucky missed.
"Cheers!"
