Here we go, with another chapter. I'm excited for this one. Here's where the action starts.
Let's get into it.
Chapter 20- The Black Panther
"Barry can you pass me the chocolate chips?"
Barry smiles and hands the bag of chocolate chips over to Laura before returning his attention to the bacon he's working on. "Thank you," Laura says.
"You're welcome," Barry says pleasantly before flipping the bacon.
"Yum. Smells good." Barry smiles as he turns around to see Clint entering the kitchen, eying the bacon hungrily.
Knowing Ross would come after him, and probably Tony as well, Barry decided to turn to Clint. He showed up at Clint's farm a few hours after leaving the Facility, explaining his situation. Clint had chewed him out a bit for leaving Wanda behind, but understood his reasoning. He was more than happy to let Barry stay at the farm. And the last three days have been great.
"Yup. It should be good. You might want to get your kids. Breakfast is almost done," Barry says. Clint grins and walks back out to gather the kids.
A few minutes later, the family is seated around the table as Barry races in and out, bringing in plates of chocolate chip pancakes, bacon, scrambled eggs, and hash browns.
Finally, all the food is on the table. Well, in a matter of seconds, more like it. The kids cheer and dive in.
"Man, I like having you around, Barry," Clint says cheerfully. Barry grins too as he helps himself to the bacon.
About an hour later, breakfast is over, and Barry has speed-cleaned all the dishes. Laura takes the kids outside to play, while Barry and Clint head into the living room to watch TV.
After turning on the TV and starting to flip through the channels, Clint asks, "So, what do you want to watch?" Barry grins as he thinks.
Then, Clint switches to a news channel, and Barry quickly says, "Wait! Stop right here!"
Clint freezes, and both he and Barry watch as the reporter continues, "...In the aftermath of the bombing of the UN meeting in Vienna today, the casualty count stands at 12, including Wakanda's king, T'Chaka. Surveillance footage has identified the suspect as James Buchanan Barnes, the Winter Soldier, the infamous HYDRA agent..."
After that point, Barry completely tunes out and turns to Clint. "Oh, crap. I may have suspicions about this, but knowing Cap, he's gonna be all over this," Barry says.
"Yeah. And I know what you're thinking. Go. Cap's gonna need your help," Clint says.
Barry nods. He's then up and running.
(later that day, Vienna)
Steve and Sam sit at the bar, staring straight ahead. "I just wanna make sure we consider all our options. Because the people who shoot at you, usually wind up shooting at me too," Sam says.
"What if you have a partner who can outrun and catch bullets?" Steve and Sam both turn to the side and see Barry walking up to them, wearing a red jacket and jeans, and aviator shades, with a red baseball cap.
He reaches the bar and leans over the counter. He chews a piece of gum a few times before spitting it into a trash can. He glances to the side and says, "You guys didn't really think that I'd let you do this on your own, did you?"
"Barry, you realize how much danger this is gonna put you in?" Steve says.
"I know. But it's the right thing to do. Too much of this doesn't make sense to me. Plus, I don't abandon my friends when they really need me," Barry says.
"Okay. Then let's get this done," Steve says.
A noise off to the side draws their attention. Looking to the side, he sees Sharon walk up to them.
"Tips have been pouring in since that footage went viral. Everyone thinks that the Winter Soldier goes to their gym. Most of it's noise. Except for this," Sharon says, sliding a folder their way. Steve opens it and looks at its contents.
"My boss wants a briefing on this now, so this is all the heads-up you're gonna get," she says before turning and walking out.
Barry turns and looks at Steve. "So, what's the plan, Cap?" he asks.
(The next day, Bucharest)
Barry sits on a bench outside the apartment complex where Bucky is supposed to be, still wearing his shades, pretending to read a newspaper. Over his earpiece, he can Sam and Steve talking. Soon, he starts hearing a third person, which is soon replaced by the sounds of combat.
Barry tenses, but remains where he is, waiting for Cap's signal to move in. In the meantime, he can hear the sounds of Steve and Bucky going up against the guys sent to apprehend Bucky.
Barry sits there, waiting. Suddenly, he hears Sam say, "Who's the other guy?"
"I'm about to find out," Steve says over the radio. Barry perks up, wondering what's going on.
A few seconds later, Barry hears Steve call over the radio, "Barry, get over here. There's a new player. We need your help."
In an instant, Barry drops his newspaper and races off. He races to a ledge on the outside of the building Steve is on. He sees Bucky land on the same ledge and start running. And behind him is a man dressed in a suit that resembles a black cat, sliding down the side of the building using his claws.
Barry races over, grabs Bucky, and runs him down to the ground. When they hit the ground, Bucky looks at Barry, confused, and a little woozy.
"I'm Barry. A friend of Steve's. Now, you need to get out of here. I'll handle cat-man," Barry says. Bucky just nods and starts running as Barry turns to face the Cat-Man, who's reached the ground by this point.
Barry races at the Cat-Man. But, to his surprise, the man jumps up and spins over Barry's head, reaching down and slicing Barry's arm with his claws. The sudden pain makes Barry lose focus, and he stumbles into the side of the building, getting knocked into a daze.
It takes him a minute to regain his bearings. When he does, he races down into the road beneath him. He sees Steve off in the distance, chasing after the Cat-Man.
Barry runs right for them. He sees Steve tackle the Cat-Man away from Bucky. The Cat-Man stands back up and looks ready to attack Steve. But Barry runs up and punches him right in the chest. It knocks the Cat-Man tumbling back, but Barry pulls his fist back in pain, feeling like he just punched Tony's armor.
The Cat-Man rises defiantly. Then, sirens get louder as swarms of cops come towards them. Then, a roaring from above gets louder, before something flies down and clamps onto Barry's wrists. Barry looks down at them right before they start shocking him. He collapses, screaming. As he does, he looks up to see Rhodey fly down and land in front of them.
"Everyone. Stand down. Now," he orders. Steve lowers his shield, Sam puts his hands up, and Bucky doesn't resist as officers cuff him.
Barry looks up at Rhodey in pain as the shocks start to subside. "Congratulations, Cap. You're a criminal," he says.
Barry then looks over at the Cat-Man. He raises his hands, retracts his claws, then takes off his mask. And, Barry recognizes him with a shock as T'Challa, son of the Wakandan king killed in the bombing that Barry saw on a news report the previous night.
Barry looks right at T'Challa. He vaguely remembers seeing an image of the Wakandan flag. And instantly gets an idea for what to call him.
The Black Panther.
I'll end there.
So, I hope this wasn't too bad. I hope Barry figuring out T'Challa's alias isn't too far-fetched. But, it seemed to make sense, given it's Barry we're talking about. Even if he isn't the one who assigns the nicknames.
As a little note, I am a huge fan of bacon, if you couldn't tell by my emphasis on bacon in the early part of the chapter.
I chose to have Barry hide out on Clint's farm because I felt it would keep him off the grid and still enable him to live in peace. Obviously, that didn't last.
I'll end here. Next chapter will take place at the Task Force facility Steve and the others were taken to in the movie, and will likely include Bucky getting turned by Zemo. Until then, read, review, and make sure to include opinions on upgrades to the Iron Flash suit. Also, let me know when you would like to see Pietro show up. He won't show up before the end of Civil War, but let me know whether you'd like to see him right after, during the Infinity War story, or during the Avengers 4 story.
Bye for now.