Steve hurried around the corner, having heard some sort of commotion. But when he turned, the only thing he saw were a bunch of HYDRA agents staring at him. He noticed the Winter Soldier as well, who was standing by no other than Alexander Pierce.
"Great.." Steve huffed. Natasha soon caught up with him, having nearly the exact same look on her face as Steve. "What a surprise.." She spotted the Winter Soldier, and her expression tightened.
Alexander Pierce stepped forward. The Winter Soldier wasn't far behind, but kept his distance, watching the exchange.
"Steve Rogers. What a surprise," He smiled.
"Yea. I'd say the same to you," Natasha cut in, eyes narrowing. Pierce simply chuckled and shook his head. "Since you found out my...little secret, I suppose you, unfortunately, can't be kept alive any longer."
Steve huffed out a laugh, reaching for his shield. "Yea. Guess we can't." He stole a quick glance toward Natasha, who only grinned in amusement.
Suddenly, a barrage of bullets flew toward them. Steve threw up his shield and blocked both him and Natasha from being struck. As soon as they stopped, even for a moment, Natasha took off. She took down the HYDRA agents with ease as Pierce watched.
He glanced at the Winter Soldier, who was trying to decide if he should intervene. "Wait a moment, soldier."
Steve narrowed his eyes as he body-slammed a HYDRA agent onto the ground, kicking one in the stomach. One managed to land a punch on his face, but it didn't do much damage, if any.
Natasha was holding her own, taking out her own little group of agents within 10 seconds.
A HYDRA agent caught Steve off-guard and grabbed him by the neck, slamming him into a wall and glaring at him menacingly. He choked, clawing at the hand.
The Winter Soldier watched, his glare somewhat hardening at the agent that had the man pinned up against the wall.
Steve kicked out his legs, doing a quick flip and then throwing the HYDRA agent into a nearby vehicle, only to be grabbed again by the Winter Soldier. He was thrown back into the wall, just managing to dodge a knife that came uncomfortably close to his face.
Natasha took down the remaining agents and rushed over to help him. "Steve!" She threw his shield.
He caught it and slammed it into the Soldier's side, finally allowing his grip to release for a moment, but it was enough for Steve to manage to engage in a fist fight.
The Winter Soldier struck a blow to his face, body-slamming him into the ground. Steve quickly regained his footing, however, and then managed to lock the Winter Soldier's metal arm for a few moments. He then flung him over his shoulder.
He watched as the Winter Soldier slid, his metal fingers digging into the ground. They released, and he stood back up and began walking toward him. He pulled a knife from the holster at his side and began to quicken his pace.
Steve jumped over the him when he approached, grabbing his shoulders and kicking him backward. He moved forward and threw multiple punches, grabbing the Winter Soldier's metal arm to restrain the knife.
Natasha moved in as well, grabbing the Soldier's other arm, but he easily threw her off and into another vehicle.
Steve quickly glanced over, his eyes wide in worry, but that distraction caused him to be thrown, quite roughly, into the wall, fist slamming into his face repeatedly before allowing him to drop to the ground. Black dots swarmed his vision, but he remained conscious.
He groaned, blinking up at the Winter Soldier, who was now standing over him. Bruises littered Steve's face, blood trailing from his nose.
The Winter Soldier yanked him back up to his feet, kicking him backward and slamming a fist into his abdomen. The knife he was holding came into contact with his shoulder, but Steve ripped it out and tossed it aside.
Natasha came from behind, throwing the Soldier over her with amazing strength. Her eyes narrowed as she glared at him.
He stared back at her, but quickly began charging toward her and catching her off-guard with a sudden fist to the face. She was flung backward and rendered unconscious for, likely, quite a while.
Then, he turned back to Steve, grabbing him by the throat and continuing to punch him in the face, determined to kill.
Steve found himself pinned to the ground, sickly-covered bruises covering his face, his bloodied nose even worse.
"Finish him, Asset," Pierce demanded.
The Winter Soldier raised his metal fist for the killing blow. Steve was half-disoriented on the ground, staring up at the Soldier as if accepting his demise.
But the Soldier hesitated.
They both just stared at each other, the Winter Soldier's eyebrows furrowing in confusion. He suddenly ripped off the mask that covered his nose and mouth.
Steve's eyes blew open, despite his left being heavily bruised.
Bucky?
He was broke off from his thoughts by a coughing fit. Blood trickled down his mouth, knowing that his friend was so lost that he'd probably end up killing him.
"Asset, finish it," Pierce snarled.
Steve could see now that Bucky's lips were formed into a tight line.
"Just...finish it.." Steve breathed, wincing slightly with the pain that shot through his head. He drew in a sharp breath.
Bucky stared down at him, and Steve actually caught the sympathy in his gaze. His expression softened. "...Steve?"
Steve's eyes widened slightly, but he quickly winced again, as even that movement caused extreme pain.
Bucky's metal fist lowered. He offered his flesh hand to assist his friend in standing. Steve grabbed it, and Bucky pulled him up.
A gunshot went off. It struck Steve in the arm, causing him to stumble backward in surprise, clutching the bleeding wound. Both him and Bucky spun around to face Alexander Pierce. "If you won't kill him, then I will," he snarled.
Multiple gunshots went off, but this time Bucky forced Steve behind him. Most of the bullets struck Bucky, some of them in areas where the armor didn't reach. One of which, was serious.
Pierce fired again, this time at Bucky purposely, knowing the weak spots on the armor.
He drew in a sharp gasp, slowly looking downward at the blood dripping onto the ground. His legs failed him and he collapsed. Luckily, Steve was right behind him, quickly reaching out and catching him. "Bucky!"
Pierce just glared at them, half in disgust and half in amusement.
Bucky's breathing was shallow. His hands reached out and grabbed Steve's shirt as he was lifted off of the ground.
Pierce aimed the gun toward them again, but Steve quickly retreated behind a building, still clutching his best friend to his chest.
Despite the memories that took over him, Steve spotted a darkened alley and quickly ran into it. At the back, there was a stone wall, unable to be climbed. He gently laid Bucky on the ground, pressing his hands on the more serious wounds. "Oh god.." He muttered. At this point, he was terrified that he'd lose Bucky for real, just after he had gotten him back.
Bucky's eyes slowly opened. They landed on Steve's bruised face.
"Steve," He breathed, clearly exhausted. "'m sorry.."
Steve shook his head. "No. Don't be. None of this is your fault, you hear me? None of it."
Bucky flashed a small smile, but then winced from the pain radiating through his body. "You're okay..?"
The man nodded. "I'm fine, Buck. Don't worry about me."
Bucky let out a breathless laugh. "'m always worryin' about you.." Steve smiled slightly, helping him into a sitting position. Bucky almost instantly leaned against Steve, his ragged breathing steadying somewhat as he reached out and grabbed his friend's arm with his flesh hand.
"You didn't have to do that, you know.." Steve muttered sadly, glancing wearily at his injured friend.
Bucky gave a weak shrug, wincing and then coughing. "Couldn't let you dieā¦"
"Who said I was gonna die? I had a shield rem-" Steve froze, suddenly glancing around as Bucky watched in concern. "What?"
"Damn it. Speaking of the shield-"
It suddenly came flying toward him, catching him by surprise and knocking him over with a grunt.
"Steve!" Bucky turned painfully, watching as Steve got up, his shield in hand and a slight bruise on his leg.
"I'm fine."
Bucky huffed out a laugh and shook his head. "Punk.." he muttered.
Steve caught that and narrowed his eyes. "Jerk."
Both of they're gazes flew toward the alley opening. A figure was walking toward them, causing Bucky to instantly grab onto Steve's arm, forcing himself to his feet.
Natasha appeared, and Steve relaxed, but Bucky remained tense at his side, blood still dripping from his wounds.
"Finally. Thought you ran off on me," Natasha spotted Bucky, her expression a bit rough. "What's he doing here?"
"Relax. He's fine now, for the most part.." Steve sighed and looked at Bucky's visible wounds. He gave Steve's arm a reassuring squeeze.
"You never told me you knew him," Natasha said with a bit of surprise etched in her tone.
Steve shifted uncomfortably. "Well...that's because I thought he was dead."
Natasha's gaze softened. "Wait? Didn't he fall off the-" She stopped when she noticed Steve stiffen, Bucky's concerned gaze not often leaving his face.
Steve simply nodded. "I should have jumped after-" Bucky's grip instantly tightened.
"Hey- Hey, Steve," His friend continued to stare blankly at the ground. He cautiously freed a hand and turned Steve's head toward him. "Look at me."
Steve's pained gaze landed on Bucky's face.
"Don't you dare even say that you should have jumped after me. Hell, you probably wouldn't have even survived. The only reason I did was because Zola did some stuff that helped me survive," Bucky kept a firm gaze on Steve's face.
Steve sighed. "I could have at least tried looking-"
Bucky elbowed him weakly. "Hey, don't beat yourself up over this. It ain't your fault.." He cautiously freed both of his arms, wrapping them around Steve and resting his head on his shoulder.
A small smile appeared on Natasha's face for a moment.
"We should get going. Pierce is gone, but who knows whether he'll return with backup," She said.
Steve swallowed and nodded. "Okay.."
