Chapter 18
**Trigger warning, some violence and mentions of human trafficking and organ theft, summary without all the gory details at the end of the chapter**
Lizzy was...somewhere. Everything was going so well, she had successfully made contact with a man on the inside that Fury had been able to turn, he had given her enough info to help her infiltrate the group. She thought her disguise and backstory were very convincing, maybe she would finally get her Oscar. She knew the Avengers were well-known but she was no Iron Man or Captain America, besides because of her powers she was less...visible...than the other Avengers, pun kind of intended. She would've gotten away with it too, if it weren't for the footage of that damned invasion a few months back; at some point Lizzy could be seen clearly on film while saving a civilian and one of the meddlesome kids managed to recognize her enough to tip off the big guys upstairs. From there everything went to shit and two days later Lizzy was in a cell in some dungeon like some kind of action movie cliché with honest to god shackles around her ankles. She figured the goons were trying to figure out what the hell to do with her.
The ring's MO was usually sex trafficking or forced labor, but Lizzy was a terrible candidate for either option. The thing that was her downfall would also prevent her from being sold for a high enough price: she was too recognizable, if anyone saw her they would tip off the authorities about the suspicious activity. She was also a flight risk-she was a well-trained fighter, spy, and could turn fucking invisible, there was no one who would spend money on such a risky asset. They could just dispose of her, but then again, these goons were nothing if not economical, why waste a perfectly good body? On her second day in captivity Lizzy was horrified to realize that these assholes had found a solution, she had a set of perfectly good organs that would sell for a fortune on the black market. From what she could gather, they were looking for buyers now, because they couldn't very well harvest her organs and then wait around until they found someone-organs, they realized, didn't have a very long shelf life when they were outside the body. Lizzy prayed to the god she didn't believe in that her team would realize she was missing and rescue her before it was too late. She was never unshackled, the only time anyone came into her cell was to drop off sludge for her to eat and she was tied up like Hannibal Lecter before anyone had the balls to walk in. Lizzy was satisfied that at least they were afraid of her-it would be a real blow to her ego if they let her walk around like she was too weak to try to make a break for it. You have to find silver linings when you can, you know?
The next day the big baddies came for her, they strapped her to a gurney and rolled her into a shady looking makeshift OR and Lizzy figured her time was out. She kept looking around for any sign of her team, a Hail Mary of sorts, that last second rescue of the damsel in distress right before the knife plunges into her. And then, like the movie that was her life, there was a bang at the door and as she turned around and saw Bucky, he looked angry-no, livid- Lizzy swore she saw him snarl at the man at the door. Everything froze for a beat, then Bucky attacked. She had never really witnessed the power that was the Winter Soldier. She thought she knew what Bucky was capable of, but now she understood why Hydra had been so proud of their asset, he killed those men with terrifying ease, tore through them like a wolf hunting a hunting a group of bunnies. Would it be a pack, a herd, a bundle of bunnies? Right, not the time Lizzy. But, while the Winter Soldier was cold, unflinching, and unfeeling, Bucky was fire, he was consumed by rage and bloodlust, it would have been hot if it wasn't so scary. Ok fine, it was still hot. Lizzy almost swooned.
When he was done, Bucky marched over to Lizzy, covered in blood-none of which was his own, Lizzy was pretty sure he hadn't even gotten a papercut and was trying desperately not to think about what else those hands had done to her, and then he hugged her. Hugged seems inadequate to describe the way he held onto her like a lifeline, the way he cradled her in his arms like he would blink and she would disappear. He stuck his face in her neck and Lizzy almost thought he heard her sob.
He pulled away from her, looked her dead in the eyes, and said "I'm done playing games. I love you, I'm never letting you out of my sight again, I don't care if I sound like a fucking caveman." The feminist in Lizzy wanted to protest, but the part of her deep down that wouldn't admit she read romance novels for the toxic man she wanted to change, that part won out, and she kissed him.
TL;DR: The bad guys are about to kill Lizzy, the team comes in at the very last second, Bucky kills the baddies in a way that totally does not make Lizzy want to jump his bones. Bucky is sweet and there is a bit of fluff.