To Alliax: Thank you so much for your review, I've been going through some stuff and you literally made my week and cheered me up! And you got your request, I've made this chapter the longest!
Please review to let me know what you think if you're reading this! It really helps me write faster.
Kaira was lying unconscious, on the ground for a good amount of time, when her eyes snapped open. She got up with a jolt and realized she had passed out from the chokehold, and was still on the bridge. The Winter Soldier had attacked her. She looked down and saw in her lap, the gun Natasha gave her. She was pretty sure she saw the man with the metal arm give it back to her. But why?
She stood up and looked around. There was a huge pile up on the bridge and none of the soldiers were there anymore.
She fumbled in her pocket for her phone and quickly dialled Nat's number.
It rang three times before Natasha picked it up.
"Natasha! Where are you? Do you need help?"
"Kaira! You're okay" Natasha's voice was distant, and she was panting.
"Where's Steve?" Kaira immediately remembered he had been thrown off.
"Don't worr- about Ste-, you need- get out of here!" Natasha's voice kept cutting off and Kaira imagined it was because she was running for her life.
She knew that the best thing to do was listen to her and go to a safe place, but Steve might need her help.
"I'm coming to help!" She yelled back, only to be bombarded by Natasha's protests "No! Kaira do not. I can't protect you if -"
The line went dead and she really hoped Natasha wasn't. The smart thing to do would be to find Sam and go into hiding until things cleared over but Steve was her best friend. Maybe her combat skills could finally be put to use now. She walked to the edge of the bridge and saw the wreck of a bus. She just needed to follow the destruction and she would find Steve.
Her first problem was figuring out how to get down from the bridge. She turned around and saw ropes tied to a car that the soldiers must have used to get down. But they couldn't be used. The fall wasn't that much, maybe she could jump.
"God this is such a terrible idea" Kaira mumbled and braced herself as she tried to stand up on the railing.
"What in god's name are you doing?" She heard a familiar voice and she turned around to see Sam, and his amazing birdsuit.
"Thinking of jumping? He eyed her and raised an eyebrow.
"No that's so dumb" Kaira said "I was just waiting for you to show up, about time you did"
Sam chuckled and came up to her.
"Should I be asking why you're going where the fight is?" He said and strapped himself in.
"No you shouldn't" Kaira responded, and Sam smiled.
"Hold tight" He said and wrapped his hands around her stomach. Kaira took in a breath as she heard the mechanical whirring of his wings opening and in a second they were off the ground.
She gripped her gun tightly to her chest as Sam flew them over the bridge and over all the cars that had been wrecked.
"Now let's play a game" Sam said in her ear "Whoever finds Steve first wins"
There was a huge blast right in front of them and in the middle of it was Steve facing The Winter Soldier.
"I win" Kaira smiled, and Sam swooped downwards to drop her to the ground. He then turned around to fight the other soldiers behind him. Kaira was on her own.
"Thanks for the ride Sam" Kaira whispered and ran to where Steve was standing. He did look like he needed help.
The metal arm punched Steve and he fell down.
Kaira put the safety off her gun and walked towards the soldier. Steve let out a groan and then he looked up and saw Kaira. His eyes widened in panic.
The soldier had his back towards her, still trying to end Captain America.
Kaira pulled the trigger. Just as the bullet was about to him, he turned and deflected it with his metal arm.
She shot multiple times, hoping any one will hit him but he kept walking towards her. All she could see were his eyes but she knew she had pissed him off.
He came close to her and Kaira realized she was only shooting at his upper body.
"Thanks for giving me the gun back" She told him, grinning.
Stepping back, she aimed it at his right leg and pulled the trigger.
He faltered in his step at the impact but the bullet had only grazed him.
"Shit" Kaira said and he, in one swift move, pushed her back.
He pinned her against the wall, forcing her back with the weight of his arm on her chest. She was breathing heavily, looking him straight in the eye and he was looking right back.
He took out his knife and held it to Kaira's neck, so close that it broke upper skin and she could feel blood trickle down her shirt.
If she moved an inch, or breathed differently, her throat would be slit.
The soldier glared right at her, almost taunting her to make a move.
He noticed how her eyes were light green and she didn't seem afraid. That was bullshit because she was terrified as hell. She probably shouldn't have tried to take on a super soldier on her own.
Before he could try anything Captain's shield flew right at them, knocking the winter soldier off balance and giving Kaira a window to get free. She squirmed out of his hold, and he turned and slashed at her arm. Steve ran to her.
"Kaira, get behind me" He said, and took his stance. Kaira slowly stepped back and out of their way. Her arm was bleeding and she put pressure on it with her hand, looking over the fight.
She turned around and saw Sam fighting with soldiers, trying to protect Natasha who had a bullet wound.
The winter soldier had Steve pressed against a truck and with the knife to him.
Kaira tried to think of a way to help them, a distraction or anything that would give Steve the upper hand.
But apparently she didn't have to as she saw Steve flip the soldier over, pulling his mask off.
"Kaira, are you okay?" He asked her, noticing her standing within the midst of battle.
"I'm okay" She responded, more worried about the soldier who attacked her.
He turned around and Steve fell silent.
"Bucky?"
"What the-" Kaira managed to say. James Buchanan Barnes.
Right out of her history books.
He was the Winter Soldier.
Her favorite war hero had tried to kill her. The man she wrote essays about in school tried to kill her.
"Who the hell is Bucky?" He spoke in a hoarse voice.
He then pulled out his gun but Sam showed up.
He distracted the Soldier long enough for Natasha to shoot a grenade, and in the smoke cloud that followed, he was gone.
Kaira looked at Steve. He was still staring behind him.
"That was Bucky" He whispered.
"I know" Kaira said.
"I don't understand" Steve was at a loss for words. Then he turned to her with concern "Did he hurt you?"
"I'm okay" She replied.
"Your arm is bleeding" Steve pointed out.
"I'll be fine" Kaira emphasized. As soon as she said that, police car sirens came closer and within seconds they were surrounded on all sides.
"Get on your knees, now!" A soldier yelled, and came to Kaira, pointing his gun at him. Kaira sighed and slowly shifted her weight to the knees, dropping to the ground. Her hand was still clutching her stab wound and she couldn't remove it. She was now going to get arrested and she could have just chosen to follow Natasha's orders and got away. They started handcuffing Steve.
"Hey, boss. I think this one's hurt" A man said, standing above Kaira.
"This one, has a name" She sneered back at them, fed up with how unnecessary this was.
"Shut up" The guy who was their head said, and got down to her level. He observed her closely and then examined her wound "We'll get you fixed up at headquarters. Right now, just come with us"
"Are you insane Hemlow? She could bleed to death!" Steve cried, looking at her helplessly.
"I'm fine" Kaira said again. She knew she wasn't hurt that badly, and right now the best thing to do was listening to these assholes.
"Sir, but if we don't handcuff her, she's a danger" A soldier pointed out.
"No, she's not like them" Hemlow said "She's...normal"
"Wow" Kaira muttered, raising at eyebrow at that.
"Get up" A man said and pulled her up by yanking her shirt. He gave her a shove towards the van and said "Start walking"
Kaira could've punched him so bad if she wanted to, but it wouldn't end well for her so she went to the van and stepped in. They pushed the others in as well and then shut the door.
"It was him" Steve said, after a while. "He looked right at me, like he didn't even know me"
"Who?" Natasha asked, looking over.
"The Winter Soldier" Kaira replied. She moved closer to Steve in an effort to comfort him, but she was at a loss for what to do. From what she had read, Bucky was his best friend and they grew up together.
"The man on the bridge was not him, Steve. It might look like him, but he's changed now. he's not your best friend anymore" Natasha said. Steve looked like he was in pain upon hearing that.
"As cruel as that sounds, it's true. The Winter Soldi-Bucky is not on our side anymore" Kaira added. Steve needed to know this, because they couldn't afford for him to freeze in battle.
"He tried to kill all of us" Sam pointed out. Kaira gave him a look, "What? He did try to kill us" He defended himself.
"Yeah, but something weird happened on the bridge" Kaira remembered "He had me in a choke hold and-"
"Don't tell me you're into that thing" Sam said, cringe laced in his voice and Kaira let out a laugh "No, let me finish. So I was defenseless, without my gun, and he could have killed me right there. But he let me go...before I passed out, I'm pretty sure I saw him pick up my gun and give it back to me"
"What?" Sam cried, like he was personally offended by this. Steve looked at Kaira, and the hope in his eyes was back. Just a glimmer of it.
"How is any of this possible? That was 70 years ago" Sam said.
"Zola. Bucky's whole unit was captured in 43, and Zola experimented on him. Whatever he did helped him survive the fall, They must have found him and..."
"None of that is your fault, Steve" Natasha interrupted. Steve was blaming himself for never going back for Bucky.
"Even when I had nothing, I had Bucky" Steve said.
"Hey, maybe you can still have him? I don't want to give you false hope, and he did try and kill me a bunch of times, and stabbed me. But he helped me out on the bridge and that kind of...took me aback" Kaira explained. She looked at Natasha and noticed her bullet wound was bleeding profusely.
"We need medical help or they're going to bleed out" Sam yelled at the soldiers. The soldier took out her electrical baton and in a surprising move, instead of striking Sam hit the soldier sitting next to her. She took off her helmet and it was Maria Hill.
"That thing was squeezing my brain" She said, and looked at Sam "Who is this guy?"
"I'm Sam, hi" He said, flashing his best smile.
"What happened to you?" Maria said, looking at Kaira's wound "And whose idea was it to drag her into a battle?"
"The Winter Soldier stabbed me" Kaira answered, still confused as to how Maria was here "And I chose to go fight him on my own"
"The Winter Soldier attacked you?" Maria asked.
"He also, apparently, has a soft spot for her" Sam said sarcastically.
"What?" Maria said.
Kaira sighed "Can we just forget that?"
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