Chapter 13:
"Bastard!" Wanda snapped, hand flying up towards Visions face. He quickly caught her wrist, lowering it. He didn't, however, catch the other first flying up, and it make contact with his jaw. Vision relaeased her and took a step back, eyes moving around the empty compound as he deeply regretted the decision he made.
"Wanda, please. I just wanted to save you," he tried to explain to her. Wanda was seething, her hands glowing bright red, but the more angry she got, the further up her wrist the red climbed. She turned away from Vision, using her telekinesis to toss the couch across the room. It felt so good to do some damage, so she lifted it again, then threw it at the window.
"Save me, oh, that's rich." She turned on him again. "You turned in my friends for some selfish desire. You didn't want to lose me, so you turned against me. How completely void of human thinking can you be? That's not how you keep someone close to you! You don't betray everyone I care about then walk back in here like it's all okay!"
"I'm sorry, Wanda. Please."
"I don't want to stay here with you," she shook her head at him. "I want to be with them. I'd rather be locked up there than stuck here with you." She stormed towards the door, blowing it off its hinges before stomping down the stairs. Vision followed her, desperate to make her understand that he did it out of love. That he couldn't let her go down with the others.
"Wanda, I love you," he told her earnestly, gliding down the steps slowly behind her as she rushed. Wanda stopped suddenly, whipping around to look up into his eyes. Hers burned with fury, like there was a dancing flame behind them, but his eyes were sorrowful.
"I love you," she admitted. "I've loved you for so long, and now... now I can't even look at you without thinking about them. About how you violated our trust. How you sold Grace to the government. I may love you now, but I'll find a way to fix that." She looked over at the railing on the stairs, then used her glowing hand to tear the metal from the concrete and force it to wrap around Visions wrist. "Don't follow me."
"Whatre you going to do?"
"Save them or get caught trying."
Bucky sat with his head back against the cold, metal chair he was still strapped down to. His chest rose and fell rapidly as he tried to calm down after the third attempt at thrashing enough to free himself. He was wearing himself out, and he knew he couldn't waste all of his fight right here in this chair. Somehow, Bucky would find a way to get to Grace, and when he did, he wanted to make sure he wasn't exhausted.
The door opened, and Bucky expected it to be the next guard ordered to bring him some water, so he didn't even respond. However, the metal bands around his arms and legs suddenly popped loose. His head jerked up, and across the room he saw Wanda. She was bleeding from her shoulder, but the fury he saw in her prevented her from really feeling any pain. Her hands were lit up with red mist swirling around them.
"Get up, were going after the others," she said, her tone harsh and commanding. Bucky nodded and leapt up from the chair, his adrenaline giving him the energy he needed to keep going, and to keep fighting alongside Wanda.
Bucky took the lead since Wanda was injured, although she barely seemed to notice it at all in her state of rage. Any soldier they came across was immediately taken out, either by Bucky's hand to hand combat, or by Wanda's telekinetic abilities. There was something strong driving them forwards, making them more dangerous than ever.
The first room they found held Sam, stripped of his Falcon wings and any of his other gadgets. Bucky out all of his power behind his metal fist, then slammed it through the supposedly bullet proof window Sam was standing behind. The glass shattered inwards, and Sam took a step back to avoid it.
"'Bout damn time," he huffed, quickly hopping over the window and joining Bucky and Wanda on their mission to find the others and get them out of there. "I know where they're keeping Steve, I can lead the way." Sam stepped in front of the others, immediately turning down a hall, followed by Bucky and Wanda.
Sam was right. He remembered exactly where they took Steve, and everyone was surprised to see him sitting comfortable at a table with Tony Stark of all people. They both stood when the trio walked in, eyes wide and confused.
"How the hell... you know what. Never mind. Someone punch me, then you guys just get out of here," Stark sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose and squeezing his eyes shut like the frustration if the whole situation gave him a sudden migraine.
Bucky wasted no time. He stormed up to Stark, then threw a hard punch with his metal hand, sending the man to the ground, unable to catch himself quick enough on the table. Stark groaned and rolled over onto his side, hand flying up to hold his throbbing cheek.
"Bucky, that's enough," Steve said firmly, noticing that the punch hadn't been enough to satisfy Bucky's hunger for revenge. He grabbed his friends shoulder and quickly pulled him back. Steve looked down at Tony. "Are you sure about this. They're going to blame you."
"Let them," Stark chuckled a little before groaning again. "Consider us even." Steve nodded, then joined the others as they ran back to the room where Steve knew Grace was being held. They were running out of time, Tony had told Steve that himself. They were going to set her off soon, draw out the soldier in her so they could give the orders.
The door to Grace's little cell opened, and her eyes struggled to adjust to the sudden change of light. She'd been kept in the dark, barely able to see anything. When the room lit up, she saw a man walk in, holding a notepad out in front of him with no pen in his hand.
The man began reading some words she didnt know, in a language she recognized but couldn't place in her state of panic. She back up, her back pressing into the wall behind her as the man walked closer, still reading. Suddenly, she began feeling very anxious, almost uncontrollably anxious, and her whole body felt uncomfortable.
"Stop it," she pleaded. "Whatever youre doing stop it!" She squeezed her eyes shut, sliding to the ground so she could hug her knees against her chest. "Please, stop!" Then, it did. Silence filled the room, then a loud thud. Grace opened her eyes to see the man collapsed on the ground, the notepad on the floor by his hand.
Bucky rushed to her, followed quickly behind Steve who was the one that reached down to lift her to her feet. She was stunned to see them, confused as to how they all managed to escape and come back to rescue her, too.
"Come on," Bucky said, taking her hand in his. "We gotta go now, Grace. We gotta run." She nodded, and lead by her friends, she ran out of the cell and down the hallway adjacent to it. Bucky pulled her along behind him, and she was struggling to keep up in her state of panic and confusion. Nevertheless, he dragged her along anyways, ready to carry her all the way out if he had to.
They were just about to the exit when a gunshot rang out. Bucky felt Grace grow heavier begin him, and he turned around to see her sliding down to her knees, a blood stain growing on the lower left side of her shirt. She looked up at him with watery eyes, in complete shock.
Behind Grace stood what seemed like a small army of soldiers, all dressed in SWAT gear. Bucky made a move for Grace, but they yelled for him to back away, half of the soldiers with their guns aimed at the group and the other half aimed at Grace.
"Don't move!" One of them yelled. "We have orders to kill the subject if she makes an escape attempt." Grace stayed on her knees, one hand holding her fresh wound while the other supported her body weight. She kept her eyes focused on Bucky and Steve, telling them to forget her and leave with just her gaze.
"You cant have her!" Wanda suddenly yelled, throwing her glowing hands forwards and sending all of the guns into the air. She held them there, struggling with so many objects at once, and waited until Steve ran to grab Grace. Once he had her in his arms, she flung them all backwards as far as she could, and they continued running. But it wasn't over. Another shot rang out, and this time, the bullet struck someone else entirely.
Wanda had been in the way of the bullet, only something was suddenly standing behind her. She turned to see Vision hovering there, a twisted expression of pain on his face. She looked up at him, then gasped when he dropped to his knees. He hunched over, and she could see the bullet wound on his back.
"Go," he told her, "before they get their rifles back." She shook her head. Vision sensed another man about to fire, so he jumped up, grabbing her in his arms and taking a second bullet to the back to protect her. "Wanda, please."
"Help me, someone help quick," she said, her accent thick in her panic. All the guns were raised again, and everyone was still stuck at the doorway. Vision could feel the pain in his back, but he held onto her tightly anyways, acting as a human shield. All hope seemed lost until a sudden burst of electricity surged through the soldiers, stunning them all, and causing some to fall to the ground. Steve's eyes widened as the crowd of soldiers parted and an old friend stepped through.
"Thor?" He scoffed in disbelief. The Asgardian simply walked through the pile of soldiers, then took Vision by the arm, shouldering his weight.
"Stark called and said you could use some help," Thor explained as he quickly carried Vision through the door. Steve still had Grace in his arms, and the group was finally able to escape. "What is going on, Captain? Since when are you and Stark on opposite sides?"
"Since me," Bucky noted, looking over at the god standing on the other side of Steve. "Since her." He looked down at Grace, who was still clutching her bleeding side in pain. Thor looked at her for a moment, then back up at Steve.
"You've fallen in love? I never thought I'd see the day Steve Rogers gave up his sense of justice for a woman. I am happy you have finally found someone to loosen you up a bit." He smiled over at Steve, who felt a bit of relief at the moment. With Thor helping them, they would escape. They could get Grace home, and they could tend to her wounds and Vision's. Most surprisingly of all, Thor had returned. He was now, at least for the moment, on Steve's side.