Thank you to lourdes1694 for reviewing
They were flown to Berlin, a city that Emma enjoyed very much when she wasn't shoved in the back of a German police van. She had spent a lot of time in the capital city after becoming an Avenger; learning the native language, but mostly learning how to pronounce the names of several German brews. She called it coping, the rest of her team called it irresponsible.
The ride from the airport was mostly silent, save for Sam making idle chit-chat whenever he thought of something funny to say. She was sat next to the Falcon, with Steve in the seat before them, and the new king of Wakanda, T'Challa; who had disguised himself as the Black Panther, the man that was going after Barnes in Bucharest. She hadn't seen Bucky since they locked him in a maxed-out holding cell, and carted him off to the cargo hold of the plane they flew in on.
"So you like cats?" Same asked, disrupting the silence of the vehicle once again.
"Sam," Emma warned.
"What?" He asked innocently. "Dude shows up dressed like a cat and you don't want to know more?" He looked at Emma with his shoulders raised, as if he had just made a valid point. Which he did, but now wasn't the time.
"Your suit," Steve began. "It's Vibranium?"
"The Black Panther has been the protector of Wakanda for generations. The mantle passed from warrior to warrior." T'Challa stated. His words were heavy with his Wakandan accent. "And now because your friend murdered my father, I also wear the mantle of King. So I ask you, as both warrior and king, how long do you think you can keep your friend safe from me?"
When the van came to a stop in the basement of a building Emma didn't recognize, the troupe were escorted from the vehicle. They had already been stripped of their gear and weapons, and Emma found herself in a jailhouse outfit with the term 'häftling' printed on the back. It meant 'prisoner' in English. As she stepped from the van, she looked to her left to see Bucky; catching his eyes before he looked away. She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, unable to help but feel sorry for what he was going through.
Ahead of them she noticed Sharon Carter. The two hadn't previously met, but Steve mentioned her often. And she had read the file of the former S.H.I.E.L.D agent, who risked her life to stand up to Brock Rumlow as HYDRA compromised their agency in Washington D.C.
"What's going to happen to him," Steve asked.
"The same thing that oughta happen to you." A man she did not recognize quipped back rather quickly. "Psychological evaluation and extradition."
"This Everett Ross," Carter stated. She seemed more than annoyed. "Deputy task-force Commander."
"What about a lawyer?" Emma asked.
"Lawyer?" Ross chuckled. "That's funny. See that their weapons are placed in lock up. We'll write you a receipt."
"I better not look out the window and see anybody flying around in that." Sam warned as the guards carted off their gear and suits.
Steve gave one more look over his shoulder at Bucky. Emma placed a hand on his back and gave him the push he needed to keep going. "We'll get him back," she said reassuringly.
"You'll be provided with an office instead of a cell, and do me a favor, stay in it." Ross continued as they made their way through the halls of the government building. If this is what's in store for the Avengers, Emma wanted nothing to do with it. A cubicle? Paperwork? She'd honestly rather retire.
She could see Natasha up ahead, and sighed in relief at the sight of her bag draped over her friend's shoulder. She tossed it to the younger woman who dug through it to find a fresh change of clothes and her journal. "Thought you might want something more comfortable," She mentioned. Emma mouthed a 'thank you' to the redhead. "For the record," Natasha said to Steve. "This is what making things worse looks like."
"He's alive," Steve replied to her.
As they entered the hub of the German terrorist office, Emma wasn't surprised to see Tony who was chatting away on his phone mentioning that there would be consequences, and making sure to quote him on it. The look on his face was a mixture of anger and disappointment, especially as his eyes dropped to her. She avoided his stare, knowing what was coming as soon as he got a moment alone with her. Her eyes scanned the walls for a bathroom, hoping to find one before he was done with his conversation, but didn't have much luck.
"Try not to break anything while we fix this," Nat stated in her 'mom' voice.
"Consequences?" Emma asked Tony once he hung up the phone.
"Secretary Ross wants you three prosecuted." He replied. "I had to give him something." She winced as he grabbed a hold of her elbow and pulled her off to the side. Steve and Sam left them to take a seat in the conference office, she wished they hadn't. "What happened to neutral?" Tony asked.
Emma pulled her arm from his grip, wanting to pull it back and slap him as hard as she could. It wouldn't have been the first time she wanted to. "My side was chosen for me when you decided to go after Barnes," she told him. Her eyes flickered to the surveillance video they had on Bucky.
"Oh, right." He rolled his eyes. "You're going to try and tell me that this doesn't have to do with whatever's been going on between you and Rogers, because I don't believe that for one second. What could you possibly owe the deadliest assassin in United States history other than your allegiance because Mr. Perfect said so?"
"I don't know, Tony!" She fired back. "My life, maybe?"
He blinked at her before laughing to himself. "I was wrong to think that you were ready to be a part of this team. When we get back to New York, you're done."
She pulled back at his words, feeling the harsh bite of his tone. Her mouth opened to say something, but her throat was too dry, and nothing came out. The sting of tears pricked at her eyes, and she turned on her heel before he could see them; stomping away towards the restroom so that she could get changed. She couldn't keep them at bay as she closed the door behind her.
Maybe a year ago she would have agreed with him. She could admit that she had bad coping methods, and that she blamed herself a little too much for things that she had no control over. She could admit that most of the time, she had a hard time focusing- especially when there was an attractive man involved. She could admit that she still thought about the things that could have been. And yeah, she was keeping a monstrosity of a secret from her teammates, but it was only because she was afraid of how they'd look at her if they knew.
But she still came into work everyday. She still worked as hard as she could. Every day she was in that gym training for hours. She volunteered for every mission, even though she wasn't always chosen for the job. And here she was- once again- doing something because she wanted to, because it was the right thing to do and Tony Stark chalked it up to, 'because Mr. Perfect said so'.
A knock came from the door, plucking her right out of her thoughts. "Hey, you okay in there?" It was Steve. Of course it was Steve. She splashed some water on her face to calm her nerves, muttering that she'd be out in just a second, and when she pulled open the bathroom door, sure enough he was leaning against the frame, waiting for her. "They're about to start the evaluation."
Emma nodded, following him into a small conference room. They watched as the psychologist began to interrogate his patient through a tiny television screen, and they couldn't hear a thing. The sight of Bucky made her heart hurt. She had no idea who he was, no matter how many times she read his file, that only covered the surface. Who he was, who he is, she didn't know if they were the same person. She hoped, because Steve hoped, that he was different than the tool HYDRA made him to be.
She'd never admit to Tony that he was right in the fact that it was foolish of her to become involved in something that was so much bigger than her, because The Winter Soldier just decided not to kill her one day. Maybe it meant nothing.
Sharon came through the glass doors, handing Sam a piece of paper. "The receipt for your gear." She said before joining Steve at his side. Emma's eyes bounced from the woman to the Captain, wondering if there was something going on there that Steve had failed to mention. Maybe she wasn't the only one with secrets.
Sam scoffed as his eyes skimmed over the words. "Bird costume?" He asked, offended.
Sharon threw her hands in the air before turning back to Sam. "I didn't write it." Seconds later the television in their conference room tuned to Barnes' evaluation, and they were finally able to hear what was being said.
"I'm not here to judge you," The psychologist stated. "I just want to ask you a few questions. Do you know where you are, James?" Bucky refused to answer, keeping his eyes glued to the ceiling of his holding cell. "I can't help you if you don't talk to me, James."
"My name is Bucky."
Through the monitor, Emma could see the doctor scribbling something down in his notebook. "Tell me Bucky, you've seen a great deal haven't you?"
"I don't want to talk about it"
"You feel that if you open your mouth the horrors will never stop?" Emma shifted her gaze downward. "Don't worry we only have to talk about one."
Suddenly, the building lost power. Emma wondered if it was her, but she didn't feel any different. Whenever she drained something of it's power, she felt more powerful. She closed her eyes and thought about the building regaining it's electricity, but she could only make the lights in the conference room flicker. This isn't the time to not want to work, she thought; internally speaking to the enhanced side of her.
"Sub level 5, east wing." Sharon said.
Emma jumped up, but Steve gave her a firm warning to stay where she was. If she was a better listener, she would have stayed, but someone had spotted Bucky in the lobby, she slipped out of the conference room and made her down three flights of stairs. Bucky left a trail of German officers in his wake, and it was easy to follow his trail.
"Hey, James!" She called over to him to take his attention away from the guard he was about to dispose of. It probably wasn't the best idea to call the man by his given name, judging by the look on his face when he turned to face her. His eyes were almost black, it seemed, and every muscle in his body became tense.
He began to stalk over to her, shoulders hunched, eyes set to kill. She picked up her pace to get a running start, and dealt a running knee to his midsection before swooping her leg upwards to hit him in the crotch. He threw a punch at her with his left arm, sending her back a few feet before she ran at him again. This time he caught her out of the air, but she swiveled her body around him so that she was positioned on his shoulders.
He carried her through the air as she dealt elbow after elbow to his head, hoping to knock him out. He slammed her down on a table, his metal hand wrapped firmly around her throat. She placed her hands on his forearm, hoping to suck the energy out of him, but her ability was no use against his metal appendage.
"You could at least recognize me." She choked out, but he was too far gone for that. The man standing in front of her now, inches away from killing her, was not the same man as before.
Suddenly his grip released, and Emma coughed as she tried to regain the oxygen she had lost. Tony was fighting him now, with Sharon and Nat not far behind. Bucky breezed through them easily, knocking Tony into a wall, sending Sharon flying through a table, and leaving Nat on her back. T'Challa was the only one of them who could actually give The Winter Soldier a run for his money, but Bucky was able to escape even him.
She managed to get up, throat still sore and panting, as she made her way to the exit. There was only chaos, and no sign of Barnes. "Sam!" She called when she saw her friend amidst the crowd.
"Hey, d'you see that guy?" He asked her, holding a heather gray jacket in his hands.
"What guy?"
"The doctor, psychologist, or whatever." He replied. "He's behind all of this, he made him go crazy. I was right behind him until he got out here, and I lost 'im. Where's Barnes?"
Emma shook her head. "Steve?"
"Last I saw he had gotten tossed down an elevator shaft." Sam spoke and Emma's eyes grew wide. "He's fine. It's an elevator shaft. The man can jump from ten story buildings and live."
"We gotta find him." She looked around at her surroundings, looking for a car or a quinjet that might be laying around somewhere.
"Yeah, well we can't go back in there." Sam added. "We'll be arrested immediately and put back in an office. And I ain't going back in no office." Just then, Emma heard a chopper roar to life from the roof of the building. Her eyes snapped up towards the sound, and then she looked at Sam. "Holy shit," her friend stated, his eyes still glued to the roof.
Emma followed his gaze only to see Steve hanging on to the helicopter, one hand on it's pedestal, the other clinging to the roof of the building. "That's got to be Barnes in that chopper," she said. Her words only confirmed when the plane took a sharp turn left, crashing right back into the roof before falling off the side, pulling Steve and Bucky into the lake below. "Come on!"
They ran to the edge of the water and waited, hoping their friend would emerge. But, as impatient as she was, Emma had already pulled her jacket off; ready to take a dive. As she started unlacing her boots, Sam gave her a poke in the ribs. She glanced up to see Steve bobbing in the water with Bucky in his arms. Her chest loosened at the sight of him, a thankful sigh escaped her, and a small smile pulled at the corner of her lips.
"We have to get out of here," her soaking wet friend stated as he trudged up to the bank. "Now."
"Her chest loosened at the sight of him, a thankful sigh escaped her, and a small smile pulled at the corner of her lips" was probably not about Steve. AND BEFORE YOU ASK: Emma didn't use her ability on Bucky because there were too many people around. She didn't know where her teammates were at the time, and there could have been security cameras. She only tried to use it once her life was in danger, and even then it didn't work.
This one is a little shorter than the last one (by like half) because if I keep giving you long ass chapters, I'm going to breeze through the movie, and this story would only be like six chapters long. And that's not what I want. I want to give you as much as I can give you without going too much off the script, and also giving you original material as well.
Which is why the next chapter is my favorite. Well, so far it is anyways. I haven't gotten through much more than the next chapter. You might get another update today, you might not. I woke up extra early to give you guys this, so I hope my general hate of mornings doesn't shine too much in this chapter and it's actually decent.
Musical inspiration for this chapter is brought to you by:
1. Boot Up - Henry Jackman
Because the entire Civil War soundtrack is gold, btw. Reviews are always accepted and definitely appreciated. (I'm sure we can do better than two, but I'm not going to beg. Yet.)
