Hi again y'all! First things first….as this story has picked up more followers and favorites, here's a quick hello and thank you to all the newcomers! It's amazing to me how many of you are enjoying this story enough to stick around! I know it may seem redundant to keep saying it over and over again, but really, you guys are just all so amazing! Anyways, here we go with the big climax of Winter Soldier! I really hope you like it! As always, I own nothing Marvel so all those characters and scenes that you find familiar, yep, I have no rights to them! And now you can move along! Enjoy! Xoxo-NickyLynn
After Tessa and Steve got ahold of his suit, they left the Smithsonian and met back up with Sam and Maria at their rendezvous point. They all stood in the clearing just outside of S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters and gave themselves a moment to prepare mentally. They knew there was no room for failure on this mission, because if they did fail….millions of people would pay the price. But for Tessa, there was one life she cared about saving more than all the others. By some miracle, if that's what you would call it, Bucky was alive, and she was damn sure going to do everything in her power to keep it that way. So, knowing they were walking right into the lion's den, they all set off towards the large building without looking back.
Once they were at the edge of the property, hunched down low to the ground, Tessa turned to Maria. "Alright Hill, where's the control center?" she asked, knowing it was now up to her to get them past all the biometric security measures that had them locked out.
"South-eastern corner." She said, pointing out the tower they needed to get into.
"Right." Tessa said, drawing in a breath. She put out her hands to give the others something to grasp onto and both Steve and Maria latched onto her without hesitating. Tessa looked over at Sam expectantly, only to be met with an unenthused face. "Oh, come on Sam, it's not that bad." She scoffed with a roll of her eyes.
"Says you." He shot back to her. "Last time you zapped us somewhere I couldn't breathe for a whole minute."
Tessa smirked as she recalled Sam hunched over on the ground, gasping for breath like a fish out of water when she had pulled them out of the armored truck. "Yeah, I should have warned you to hold your breath." She told him in agreement. Sam let out a sigh as he reluctantly reached over and gripped onto her arm as well. Tessa noticed him draw in a breath and hold it and she took that as her cue.
She was able to land them all in the stairwell leading up to the control tower in one burst and everyone let go once their feet were back touching a solid surface again. Sam sucked in a sharp breath as he hunched over with his hands on his knees. "Yep, no, still don't like that." He strained out as he leveled out his breathing again.
"Oh, come on you big baby, let's go." Tessa said, rolling her eyes and moving up the stairs.
Steve brought his hand down on Sam's hunched back, grinning down at him. "You good?"
"I take back what I said about liking your sister." Sam groaned out at him as he stood upright again. Steve let out a chuckle before moving past Sam and following behind Tessa. The four of them finished making it all of the way up to the top of the tower, where all the communication and surveillance for the building was controlled. When they made it to the door, Hill pulled out her phone and played an audio that would interfere with their feed. She and Sam then drew their guns and stood with their weapons aimed over Tessa and Steve's shoulders as they waited for someone to take the bait.
Sure enough, a few seconds later, the door was pulled open and they came face to face with a skinny, harmless-looking agent who stared back at the group in surprise. "Excuse us." Steve said to him, taking a step towards him. The agent instantly threw his hands up and motioned for them to pass. As they stepped into the control hub, Tessa noticed someone going for a phone and quickly transported herself over to him. She landed beside him, placing her hand down over his as it made contact with the telephone in front of him. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." She told him, letting just enough of her power bleed into her eyes to put some fear into him. The agent pulled his hand back and held it with his other up in the air.
Tessa swung her eyes around the room as Steve and the others made it up to the main area as well. When she was satisfied that no one seemed to be making a move to stop them, she took a step back and drew in a breath. "We're not here to hurt you." She told everyone, noticing their looks of apprehension. "In fact, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s been compromised and if you don't let us do what we came here to do, then a lot of people are going to die." She told everyone in the room.
"W-what do you need from us?" the agent who had let them into the room asked hesitantly, looking between Tessa and Steve.
"We need to make an announcement." Steve told him. "And we need everyone to hear it."
Steve was directed to a microphone and instructed on how to relay the audio to the entire building. After he was given his instructions, he stood, leaning over the mic, drawing in a deep breath before he clicked the button and began the transmission.
"Attention all S.H.I.E.L.D. agents." He began and Tessa could hear his voice echoing through the halls. "This is Steve Rogers. You've probably heard a lot about me over these past few days. Some of you were even ordered to hunt me down. But I think it's time you know the truth." Steve paused to look up at Tessa who gave him a reassuring nod. "S.H.I.E.L.D. is not what we thought it was. It's been taken over by Hydra. Alexander Pierce is their leader. The S.T.R.I.K.E. and Insight crew are Hydra as well. I don't know how many more, but I know they're in the building. They could be standing right next to you." He said, giving pause to let the revelation sink in. "They almost have what they want….absolute control. They shot Nicky Fury, and it won't end there. If you launch those helicarriers today, Hydra will be able to kill anyone who stands in their way. Unless we stop them. I know I'm asking a lot, but the price of freedom is high. It always has been. And it's a price I'm willing to pay. And if I'm the only one, then so be it, but I'm willing to bet I'm not." With that, Steve pulled back and pressed the button to stop the feed, knowing that if that didn't convince the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents to take a stand, then nothing would.
"Did you write all that down first, or was it off the top of your head?" Sam asked, stepping up to Steve with a smirk.
"He's always been annoyingly good at that." Tessa said, rolling her eyes.
"Yeah, well, something tells me all the pretty words in the world aren't going to stop those helicarriers from taking off." Hill said, pulling the encrypted blades out of her pocket and holding them out.
"Three keys. Three ships. Three people." Tessa said, pulling one of the blades from her hand and shoving it into the depths of her pocket. "Easy right?"
"Yeah, well let's hope." Steve said, grabbing ahold of his own. "You ready for this?" he asked, turning towards Sam.
"You know I am." Sam responded, taking the last blade from Hill. Suddenly, a loud, shrill alarm began blaring through the building, warning everyone that the bay doors to the hangers were opening. "I take it that's our signal." He said, shoving the device into his pocket and pulling his goggles onto his face.
"Hold your breath." Tessa warned him with a smirk before grabbing onto him and Steve and transporting the three of them out of the tower. When Tessa got them back down to the ground level, she dropped her hold on the men as Maria's voice came through their communication system.
"They're initiating launch." Hill informed them as they felt the ground under them rumble as the helicarrier engines all powered into life.
"Come on!" Tessa shouted, taking off in a run. She sent out a blast of energy at the door that led outside, and it burst open, making way for her, Steve, and Sam to run outside where the helicarriers were lifting out of the hangers built underneath the body of water surrounding the building.
"Hey Cap!" Sam shouted as they ran out onto the landing deck where several crafts were waiting pilotless. "How do we know the good guys from the bad guys?"
"Well, Sam, typically the bad guys are the ones trying to kill you!" Tessa shot back at him before Steve even had a chance to respond.
"If they're shooting at you, they're bad." Steve added as they ran towards the edge.
Sam activated his suit and the wings unfolded out behind him as the engine powered into life. Tessa grabbed hold of Steve as they hit the edge of the launch pad and teleported herself and him through the air, landing on top of the helicarrier that was lifting up into the air below them. Once their feet made contact, they both took off into a run again. Bullets began ripping through the air towards them and Tessa brought up a shield with her powers as Steve held up his own vibranium shield to deflect the bullets.
Steve veered off and ducked behind a row of storage crates as Tessa transported herself behind the group of approaching gunmen. She sent out a blast towards the three to her right and sent them flying off the side of the ship. She pulled up a shield around herself as the other men turned and started firing on her. She moved herself behind one of them and took hold of him with her powers. She used him as her shield and took control of his arm, swinging it out towards the others. She forced his finger down on the trigger and the spray of bullets hit the other men causing them to drop to the ground. Tessa then pulled the gun into her own hand and let the man she had been using to protect herself drop to the ground as he had been riddled with bullets that had been meant for her.
She heard an explosion and swung around to find another group of men being blasted into the air, having been caught with a grenade thrown by Steve. She found him peeking from behind one of the stacks of storage crates and transported herself over to him. He spun around when she burst into appearance behind him and was about to say something when a series of booms filled the air and Sam's voice drifted over their earpieces.
"Hey Cap, I found those bad guys you were talking about!" they heard Sam say, sounding out of breath.
"Are you okay?" Steve asked him.
"Well, I'm not dead yet." Came his response.
"Well, that sounds promising." Tessa commented. "You got this?" she then asked Steve.
"Yeah, get to the other carrier. I can handle this." He told her with a nod. "Oh, and Tessa." He called as she started backing away. "Be careful."
"You be careful." Tessa shot back at him before taking off towards the side of the carrier. Once she hit the edge, she pushed off the ledge with a powerful kick that sent her falling through the air. The helicarrier she was heading for was several feet away and too far to make by just jumping, so she wrapped her power around herself and moved through the open air and dropped herself down on top of the ship. Once she hit the vessel, she dropped down with a roll, pushed herself back up and went running again.
A group of agents came barreling out of the door she was heading for and so, she brought up another shield and sent out a spray of bullets from the gun she still had in her grip. A few of them dropped before they could even react, but several of them took cover and began firing back at her. Her gun clicked empty as she dropped herself down behind a group of the men who had taken shelter behind a jet. She thrust the butt of the gun into the gut of the closest one before sending out a blast towards the others that sent them slamming against the jet and dropping to the ground.
More bullets came flying at her from the other side of the runway and she pulled up another shield to block the bullets as she analyzed the group moving towards her. The man she had hit in the gut had struggled back onto his feet and she caught eye of a grenade strapped to the front of his suit. With a smirk, she latched onto it with her powers and pulled out the pin, drawing it into her hand. The man looked over at her in alarm as he realized what she was holding. "Oh, I'm sorry. Did you need that?" she asked him before latching onto his body and sending him flying over to the other group of men. The grenade exploded as he slammed into the others and Tessa was on the move again as the group was consumed in the fire ball.
She transported herself past the pile of agents in the doorway and once she was inside, she moved through the helicarrier as quickly as she could. She used her powers to transport her in short bursts as she made her way towards the underbelly of the ship, taking out anyone who would pop up in her way. When she finally made it to her destination, only twenty feet or so away from where she needed to be, she froze.
There, blocking her way to the access panel, was the one man she had been praying to avoid. Bucky stood on the walkway in front of her, his cold eyes calculating her every twitch. Tessa's throat went dry as he watched her. "I know that you've got to be somewhere in there Bucky." She said, dreading the fight she knew he would force her into. "I'm begging you….please don't make me do this." She pleaded.
If her words affected him, he didn't show it. They just stared each other down, waiting for the other to make a move. Without warning, Bucky quickly brought his hand up and began firing at her. Tessa brought up a shield to block the bullets as he marched towards her. She let out a burst of energy towards him that sent him soaring back. He landed on his back, but quickly pushed himself up and pulled out a blade as Tessa made her way closer to him.
She moved back a step as he lashed out at her and brought her arms up to block his assault. She shoved him off of her and brought her knee up into his gut as she sent out just enough energy to send him stumbling back. She was hesitant to use her full powers on him, as she didn't actually want to hurt him. He was right back on her after regaining his footing, however, and Tessa didn't notice the dagger he threw at her until it was too late. She let out a yelp as it tore into her shoulder, and Bucky used her moment of distraction to bring up his foot and slam it into her chest, sending her tumbling back onto the metal grates.
Bucky came marching over to her and went to bring his metal arm down on her, but Tessa brought up her hands and latched onto him with her powers, freezing him in place. With a yell of frustration, she pushed him back and scrambled back onto her feet as she lifted him into the air. "Damn it, Bucky!" she yelled out as she pulled the blade from her shoulder with a grunt and threw it to the ground below. "I don't want to hurt you! I don't know what Hydra did inside that head of yours, but I know you're still in there! You know me!"
"No, I don't!" he yelled at her as he struggled against her hold.
"You did." She told him before pulling back her arm and sending him flying through the room. She let go of him as he fell through the air and dropped down to the glass down below. She moved back towards the panel of navigation blades, pulling the one Hill had given her from her pocket as she did. All she had to do was replace that one blade, then she could deal with Bucky. But, before she could make it to the system, a searing white pain tore through her back and abdomen and she was sent falling forward. The blade slipped from her grasp as she hit the metal grates and it fell through the openings of the walkway, falling down somewhere below. More shots were fired up at her and Tessa had to transport herself behind the control panel to get out of Bucky's line of sight.
Tessa pulled herself up against the housing unit for the control panel, gasping in pain. She dropped her gaze down to her stomach and watched as her entire front side began being stained in a growing circle of red as her blood seeped out of the large wound. She let out a gasp as she brought her hand up to it, trying to keep pressure on it, but knew that the bullet had gone right through her, and it was going to be nearly impossible to stop the blood from seeping out of both her abdomen and her back. She let out a curse as her head dropped back against the metal behind her.
"Bravo is locked." She heard Steve call through her earpiece. "It's down to you Rose. What's you're status?"
"Yeah, I've hit a bit of a speedbump." She responded with a gasp, swinging her head around to try to get a better view of where the drive could have landed. "I've got company." She told him, her eyes landing on the familiar shape of the blade down below her, but Bucky was no where in sight.
"I'm on my way." Steve told her.
Tessa closed her eyes and focused her powers on her wound, using them as a compress to help staunch the flow of blood. She drew in a deep breath before moving herself through space and dropping down to where she had seen the device. Bucky, however, had been waiting to ambush her and as soon as she appeared next to it, he jumped from where he was hidden and wrapped his metal arm around her neck. Tessa's air supply was immediately cut off as the mechanical arm squeezed down on her larynx. Her feet off the ground as Bucky held his arm firmly around her throat and she struggled against him.
Tessa drove her elbow back into his face and made impact with his nose. She felt a crack and it caused him to drop his hold enough that Tessa was able to pry herself out of his grip and spin around tp face him. Bucky brought his foot up then and drove it right into where his bullet had torn through her, causing Tessa to let out a scream of agony and stagger away. She teleported out of his reach, landing a few feet away behind a pillar as hunched over and holding her stomach. Her breaths were coming in and out rapidly as Bucky swung around to try to relocate her. Before his eyes landed on her, she dropped herself down behind him and sent out a blast of energy that sent him stumbling forward. He spun around and began firing at her, but before she could bring up a shield with her powers, another shield dropped down in front of her, causing the bullets to ricochet off of it.
Tessa looked up to find Steve covering her and she let out a breath of relief. "You take care of the ship. I'll handle Buck." He told her.
Tessa nodded up to him and went running as Steve sent his shield flying out towards Bucky, pulling his focus on him and not her. Tessa ran over to where the blade was still laying on the ground before swiping it up and teleporting herself back up to the control panel. She put the code into the system that Hill had given her and the panel dropped down. She pulled out one of the blades that were already in place and replaced it with the new one. "Charlie is locked." She said into the earpiece, letting out a sigh.
"Okay, get out of there!" Hill replied, having finally gained access to the targeting systems.
Tessa swung her gaze back down to where Steve and Bucky were locked in a fight. "Just fire!" she heard Steve wheeze out, as he struggled underneath Bucky.
"If those things fire with you guys still in there-" Hill began.
"Just do it!" Tessa said. "I'll get us out!"
Not even a moment later, the ship began shaking with explosions as all three ships began firing on each other. Tessa dropped herself back down to where Bucky was crouched over Steve, bringing his metal first down on his face over and over again. Tessa let out a roar as she sent out a blast that sent him flying off of her brother and across the ship. She went to drop down next to Steve, but a loud yell from Bucky stopped her and caused her to swing around to where she had sent him flying.
Tessa watched as Bucky was pinned underneath a massive metal beam that had fallen on top of him, trapping nearly his entire body underneath. Tessa looked down to Steve who was beaten, bloody and had fallen unconscious. She knew she had to get them out of the quickly deteriorating vessel, but she just couldn't leave Bucky defenseless. She drew in a breath and teleported herself and Steve out of the helicarrier, to the ground below. "Steve's down on the northeast corner of the lawn, does anybody copy?" Tessa asked into the earpiece, setting Steve down on the grass.
"We've got eyes on you." She heard Natasha respond before the sound of a helicopter drew her eye into the sky.
"Get Steve out of here!" she yelled out as she stood back up and stared back up at the falling ship. "I have something on the ship!" she told them.
"What did you drop your wallet?" she heard Sam ask with a scoff.
"That ships going down fast, Tessa." Natasha said. "I know how much Barnes means to you, but his life isn't worth yours!"
Tessa looked from the approaching helicopter back up to the ship Bucky was still trapped inside. "Just take care of Steve." Tessa said before pulling the communication device form her ear and letting it drop down to the ground before teleporting herself back up into the burning helicarrier. Tessa stumbled as the glass she landed on shook with another explosion, and the ship went careening to the side. She staggered herself over to where Bucky was pinned, and as she approached, he looked up at her in surprise.
She locked eyes with him as she came up next to him before wrapping her powers around the metal holding him down and with as much energy as she could muster, lifted the heavy beam from him. She strained against the weight, having nearly been drained between the constant use of her powers and wound in her gut she was slowly bleeding out from. Once she had it up high enough, Bucky pulled himself out from underneath and Tessa dropped her hold on it, letting it fall back down with a thud.
Tessa dropped down to her knees, holding onto her stomach as she was having a hard time focusing her powers enough to stop the flow of blood any longer. "Please Bucky." Tessa pleaded as he struggled back to his feet. "You know me! You know Steve!" she yelled over to him, panting heavily.
"I don't!" he yelled back at her, lunging forward and bringing his fist down across her cheek. Tessa caught herself on her hands as she was thrown to the side by the force of his punch. Blood pooled in her mouth as she brought pain-filled eyes up to him that had nothing to do with her physical wounds.
"Bucky you're my friend." she told him, blood seeping out of the corner of her mouth. "Your name is James Buchanan Barnes. We met at the library when I was thirteen. You used to call me Rosie!"
"Shut up!" he yelled down at her, bringing the back of his metal hand across her face again, sending her falling backward. The tears began seeping down Tessa's face as Bucky loomed over her, his eyes as wide and frenzied as an animal's. "Why won't you fight me?!" he yelled down at her.
"Because…." She told him, the look he was giving her, breaking her to as many pieces as the ship around them. "You're the only person who's ever loved me." She told him, her voice breaking as her emotions consumed her.
Bucky let out a roar as he dropped his fist down on her gut. Tessa let out a scream as pulled back and stared down at her, only inches away. "You're my mission!" he seethed down to her.
Tessa stared up at him and something inside of her snapped. Out of all the mistakes she had made in her life….there were none that she regretted more than letting Bucky be turned into the monster Hydra had once wanted to make her. "I'm sorry." She sobbed up to him, knowing she had failed him miserably. "I'm so sorry Bucky." She told him, tears pouring down her bruised cheeks.
"Stop it!" he bellowed, wrapping his hand around her throat again, pressing her against the cracking glass. His eyes were roaming her face frantically, and Tessa could see the confusion, terror and agony swirling behind them.
Tessa wrapped her hands around his metal hand, trying to pry if off, as she struggled to pull in a breath. "B-bucky…" she wheezed out, knowing she wouldn't be able to pull him off with brute strength. "F-for..give m-me." She said forced out as the darkness began creeping in around her vision.
She could feel Bucky's fingers relaxing against her throat, but suddenly another large beam dropped down on them, shattering the floor they were on and sending them dropping down. Bucky grabbed onto a metal beam as the glass and other wreckage went falling through the air, along with Tessa. She could feel the air moving past her and knew she should teleport herself away to safety, but her body had become too weak, and she couldn't bring herself to do anything but watch as Bucky's dangling form above her grew smaller and smaller as she fell. Her back hit the water, sending an explosion of pain tearing through her, before she was swallowed under its surface. Her eyes drifted closed as she dropped deeper into the pond, not having the energy to fight it. The last coherent thought she had before she let herself succumb to the darkness was what a poetic justice her death would be.