"So, I heard that you tried to be a lone wolf on the mission earlier." The redhead said with a smirk as she pressed the bottle to her lips and took a drink.
"Says the woman who, essentially, is a lone wolf." Bucky shot back with a smile. "Old habits die hard. What can I say?" He shrugged, taking a drink of his beer.
"James Reckless Barnes!" Natasha threw her hands over her head and exclaimed with a laugh. Steve nearly choked on his beer when he laughed.
"Yeah, yeah." Bucky chuckled and rolled his eyes. "But you just have to understand where I was coming from." His tone turned serious. "You guys both know that Hydra is still a threat to us. The things they do to people..." He caught Natasha's gaze, and she looked down.
"Bucky, we all want to take down Hydra." Steve interjected. "But you can't just go in; guns blazing. You'll get yourself killed." Bucky sighed.
"I know. But it's just hard to not let my emotions get the best of me." He explained, taking another drink. "You weren't their P.O.W. for over seventy years." The words hung in the air, and the silence was uncomfortable.
The silence was broken when the bedroom door flew open. Muffled sounds pierced the air, like someone dropping a heavy book on a table. One...two...three...four... Instinct took over, and Natasha ducked under the table, flipping the chair on its side to provide some sort of makeshift cover. Steve dove from his chair into the kitchen, taking cover behind a low wall. Bucky held his metal arm up to cover his face, then flipped the table over and took cover behind it with Natasha.
"Shit!" Natasha cursed, holding her hand over the bullet wound. Blood trailed down her arm. Bucky glanced at Steve, who had his shield ready. He grabbed a pistol that was secured to the under side of the table and quickly poked his head out and fired off three shots at the figure dressed in all black. Piercing green eyes were the only visible feature. Everything else was completely covered. The figure gracefully flipped out of the way, and ducked back into the darkness of the bedroom. Steve came out from behind the wall, his shield in front of him as he advanced.
"You OK, Natalia?" Bucky asked. The red head nodded and winced. Bucky readied the gun, and followed Steve as they headed towards the darkened bedroom. Before either of the two soldiers could register what was happening, the dark figured flew towards them. A flying kick sent Steve sailing into the far wall, leaving a large hole in his wake. Bucky suddenly found himself on his knees.
He used his metal arm to elbow his assailant, and it staggered backwards. Bucky spun around and held the gun up to the figure, only to be met with a knife slashing his chest through his shirt. Steve was up by this time, and he rushed at the figure to strike with his shield. Bucky threw a punch, and the figure ducked out of the way. Steve's head jerked to the side as Bucky's blow met his chin. The assassin dressed in black kicked Steve's legs out from under him, and he fell to the floor. Standing up, the figure turned its attention to Bucky.
Bucky swung with his metal arm, and the figure held up their arm to block the blow. There was a strange sound as their arms collided. It was unmistakable; metal on metal. Bucky grabbed his own knife, and managed to slice the assassin's sleeve open. Underneath, was a metal arm that looked exactly like Bucky's. In his momentary state of shock, he let his guard down. The metal armed assassin punched Bucky in the center of his chest, causing him to somersault backwards over himself.
Steve stood up, and landed a spinning roundhouse kick that forced the figure in black to its knees. But in a second, it regained its balance and flipped over Steve's shoulders. The blond soldier spun around to face the assassin, and was immediately punched in the jaw. A loud bang errupted in the chaos, and the black clothed figure stumbled back. Natasha landed a shot on its shoulder. Before Steve or Bucky could move in on the figure, it flipped backwards out of the window. Glass shattered and flew everywhere. Bucky followed and peered down at the darkened street below, but the assassin had disappeared. Natasha stood up, still holding her bleeding arm.
"What...the hell was that?!" She exclaimed. Bucky and Steve looked at each other with confusion on their faces.
"That," Bucky turned towards Natasha, "is a new problem..."