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Chapter Seven

My eyes flitted to his claws, curled in warning, and I tipped my head to one side. "Noted."

He huffed out an unamused laugh and tore off after the two super soldiers. The gunshots followed him, obviously assuming I was little more than a civilian, and I fell back against the cement, wondering how on earth I could be of use to Cap and Bucky in a high-speed foot chase.

Shit, man, I grumbled, calling for Sam, time to steal a car.

Sam dropped me to the ground - in the middle of a busy street, no less - and jettisoned after the trio. Cursing after him, I turned as a horn blared; shoving my glasses up, I glowered at the driver, who immediately hit the brakes and leapt from his vehicle. Jogging around to the driver's seat, I clambered into the sleek, silver Audi and, after adjusting the seat to my short frame, slammed my foot onto the gas.

It wasn't hard to follow the trail of destruction left by all four men, shaking my head. Did they have any idea how many lives they were putting at risk to stop a man I could've halted in an instant if I'd been able to catch his gaze.

Course, I would've had to get through a storm of bullets and jump off of buildings and dodge cars and- fuck!

Swerving as an unsuspecting car attempted to cut into my lane, I screamed out the window, "I'm trying to prevent World War III here, bro! Learn how to drive!"

I was almost certain he didn't understand my words, but the sneer was clear enough and he fell back behind me. It was far safer that way, anyway.

A loud, sudden cracking drew my attention toward the top of the tunnel and I gaped. Sam made it through the crumbling concrete, only just, and I weighed my options with what little time I had.

What the hell

I wasn't losing them now.

Pedal to the floor, I braced myself, slinking low in my seat on the very likely chance that the tunnel roof would collapse on top of the Audi and crush me inside. Not the best way to go…

But as the concrete and steel rained down on the vehicle, I burst out of the tunnel, a hand raised as the bright sunlight blinded me momentarily. When my vision cleared, I gaped, heart in my throat, and slammed both feet onto the brake pedal. The car veered away from the mass of police officers surrounding the panting quartet and jolted to a halt.

With a shaky hand, I threw the car in park and flung myself from the severely dented vehicle. Reaching for my spectacles, I hesitated when Cap met my gaze and shook his head slowly.

Guns turned in my direction and I raised my hands in surrender, nostrils flaring and eyes narrowing. It would have been nothing to have the men and women drop their weapons, giving Cap, Bucky, Sam, and even T'Challa, a chance to get away. But that would've put us all in an even more dangerous position, myself especially.

Powers like mine were considered dangerous weapons and I was certain Ross wouldn't hesitate to put me behind bars if I helped the most wanted criminal in the world escape from under his nose.

"Aury."

"Rhodey?"

Standing on the tips of my toes, I offered the War Machine a tight smile, making note of the weapons trained on the Winter Soldier's broad, still form.

"Wanna make him come willingly?" he queried, jerking his head toward Bucky, who turned his wary gaze to me. Trepidation filled those baby blues and I wondered if he knew of my abilities and feared them.

My heart lurched and I frowned; he wasn't putting up any sort of a fight to begin with. Why force myself into his head when so many others had already done so and force a man who had already surrendered to submit? Giving the tall, broad soldier a calculating stare, I shook my head, "I think he's willing enough. He'd have us all on our asses if he wanted to."

Steve huffed a laugh and offered his former friend a sad smile, "That should tell you right there that he's no danger to us."

"That or the fact that we've got twenty-plus guns on him," Rhodey replied, rolling his eyes, "even you super soldiers can't withstand that."

I wanted to argue that a case could probably be made to the contrary, especially if Cap went after the men shooting at Bucky and I froze half of them in place, but I didn't, wondering loftily, "Are we all under arrest or…"

"Just Barnes," Rhodes replied, though he glanced skeptically at T'Challa until the man ripped his mask off, "Your Highness."

Lowering my hands, I met Bucky's gaze; he had been staring, but dropped his eyes to the ground the minute I caught him. He hid his gaze behind a curtain of soft-looking mahogany hair and braced himself. He had long since caught his breath and stood still as a statue as a pair of thick, steel cuffs were slapped around his wrists.

"Sorry about this," I murmured, though I wasn't the one doing the arresting. My heart hurt to see the resigned set of his jaw, the blank look in his bright eyes. "We didn't mean for it to happen."

"You're lucky half these guys don't speak English, Aury," Rhodes noted, catching Bucky's metal arm in one hand, though he made no move to run, "you'd be in cuffs, too."

"She has nothin' to do with this."

The words were soft but certain, and I cocked a surprised brow in Bucky's direction; a grateful grin flitted across my face but his eyes weren't on me. They focused on Steve now, the former's jaw clenching intermittently.

"We'll take care of this, Buck," Steve assured him even as Rhodey led him away and the police officers finally lowered their weapons.

"Captain Rogers!"

Steve spun and I followed; the voice was gentler than I expected and came from a man only a few inches taller than me. He was a good ten years older than Steve, with short brown hair and a clean-shaven jaw. Offering the man a hand, he smiled placidly until the captain accepted his gesture.

"Everett Ross, Deputy Task Force Commander, Joint Counter-terrorism Committee."

"That's a mouthful," Sam muttered, turning toward me and offering a terse smile.

It might not have been the best time, but a snort escaped me and Ross - was he related to the dick of a one with a giant mustache? - turned his attention to me. His smile never dimmed and he extended his palm to me, as well, "Ms. Reynolds. Pleasure to meet you. I've heard a lot about you."

"Good things?" I queried lightly, jokingly.

"Some," he replied with a cheeky grin, releasing me and stepping back. Clapping his hands together, he looked between us. The two of us were the odd ones out; Sam, Steve, and T'Challa were all tall, broad, muscular beasts while Ross and I were miniscule in comparison. "Lady and gentlemen! You'll be pleased to know that none of you are under arrest. It can't be proven that it was your intent to help the Winter Soldier escape, so you're off the hook."

"I would not help that man if it were life or death," T'Challa seethed, folding his arms across his chest and sneering.

"Yeah, well, lucky for you it didn't look that way," Ross retorted, nonplussed, "we would like you to accompany us, though; debriefing and all. Tony Stark is waiting for us in Berlin; we set up a sort of headquarters there, so if you don't mind…"

He swept an arm toward a relatively unscathed black SUV, waiting patiently for us to move. He and Steve seemed to be having some sort of masculine staring contest while T'Challa and Sam simply watched.

Rolling my eyes, I stalked toward the SUV, calling loudly, "Shotgun!"

/

Lunging from the car, I rolled my eyes at the ridiculous amount of testosterone and wrapped Natasha in a hug. She laughed at my frustration at being stuck in a car with four posturing men and lifted an easy shoulder as I noted, "I'm glad you're alright."

"Well you already knew that," she offered me a pointed glance, "I heard the sirens; I know you were there."

"Well we had to check up on our favorite assassin," I replied cheerily, following her toward the massive, multi-story compound that Ross had commandeered.

"Don't let Clint hear you say that," she noted with a smirk.

We entered the facility, ignoring the hustle and bustle, my strange yellow gaze searching for Tony as I queried, "How much trouble are we actually in?"

"You guys? None. But Barnes won't be so lucky. They're talking death penalty."

My heart dropped and I gaped at her, "Seriously? No trial, no consideration for, oh, decades of brainwashing?"

She shook her head, a grim set to her mouth, and I sneered, "Oh no; let me at the motherfucker that thinks they're getting away with that."

"Mm, save that dirty mouth for the bedroom."

Spinning on a heel, I couldn't even offer the billionaire a smile; he came to a halt, arms held out to his sides, his broad smile slowly fading at the fury on my face.

"Who shit in your cornflakes?" he queried, pouting and lowering his arms, stuffing his hands into his pockets, "seriously, what-"

"Who's throwing around death penalty here?" I hissed quietly, tossing a glance over my shoulder toward Steve, who was still unaware of the threat against his former bestie, "what the fuck, Tony?"

He hastened to me, pressing a finger to my lips before snatching it back with a gasp as I bit him, "I said save it for the bedroom, GG! And it's not gonna happen. He's too hot a commodity for Ross - either one of 'em - to take out. Seriously, chill."

"But Nat-"

"Shouldn't have said anything," Tony rolled his eyes and shot a dark frown her way, "it's unconfirmed and it's unlikely. Talk, that's all it is. You know we wouldn't let that happen. None of us want the guy dead; what he did, it was all HYDRA. You know that, I know that; they know that. Or else they've got another thing comin'. Barnes isn't dying on my watch."

I finally hugged him and he lifted me from my feet, swinging me around and wiggling his hips, "That's what I'm talkin' about, GG."

Snorting, I pecked his cheek before hitting his shoulder, "You're the worst, Tony."

"The best of the worst," he replied easily, turning to Steve as he, Sam, and T'Challa approached, "Cap'n. Looks like things went a little awry."

"A little," the captain repeated with a heavy sigh, clapping Tony's shoulder, "what's the lowdown?"

Tony shot me a quick glance, to which he received an exasperated eye roll in response; I wouldn't be blabbing about the task force's desire to apparently end Bucky where he stood. But he needed to tell Steve before somebody else did; didn't want the soldier to be going on a rampage.

Pushing my glasses into my hair, I gave the place a quick onceover. It was an elaborate spread, the facility sprawling across a few dozen acres and extending six floors beneath the surface. Scouring the rooms, I ignored the trysts in the broom closets, the boring meetings, the bathroom breaks, until I found the man I was looking for. Chewing on my lip, I saw him sitting, locked behind three inch thick glass and steel, strapped to a chair and looking completely and utterly forlorn.

He didn't move, didn't struggle, simply waited for whatever fate they had in store for him.

Wiggling my toes, I wondered how obvious it would be if I slipped away from the others, halted everyone in their tracks, wiped their minds of my presence, and had a minute alone with Bucky.

And then I immediately shook my head, clearing my mind of those silly thoughts. He wouldn't tell me anything he wouldn't tell Steve - and probably most of what he would tell Steve; he owed me nothing. And, now that I saw him, I didn't want to force my powers on him. I didn't want to make him talk about his past, about the things he had done; the look on his face was evidence enough that he would take whatever end they offered him.

Sadness overwhelmed me at the thought and I tore my gaze away from the disheartened soldier. A hand on my shoulder had me turning, nodding my head to drop the glasses back into place; as I stared up at the newly-crowned king of Wakanda, I couldn't help but notice the concern in his gaze.

Bigger threat than you thought, huh? I smirked before plastering a polite smile on my face and inclining my head, "Your Grace?"

"This is not Game of Thrones," he replied, a wry smile flitting across his face at my surprise, "I am T'Challa. how did you come by these powers, Ms.-?"

"Reynolds," I offered him a hand, one that he wasn't as reluctant to take, "Aurelie. Or Aury. Whatever's fine, really. And it's somethin' I was born with. Apparently didn't want to eat peas when I was a baby and my mom tossed them in the trash and gave me pears. I've always been more of a fruit girl than veggies."

"It is impressive," he inclined his head, "not something I would like to experience again any time soon, but-"

"You made that pretty clear already," I grinned, throwing my hands up in surrender when he made to apologize, "no worries; heat of the moment. I stood between you and Bucky, I get it. And I'm not gonna lecture you; Steve did enough of that."

"Thank you," he replied, stuffing his hands in his pockets, "excuse me; there are a great many things I must attend to."

Nodding, I waved him off, breathing a sigh of relief that he hadn't gutted me where I stood for intervening between him and his father's supposed killer. Honestly, I didn't believe Bucky had any involvement - how would he have gotten from Vienna to Bucharest so quickly if he had? - but even if he did, I could never have watched T'Challa murder Steve's oldest friend. I would have stepped between them regardless.

Suddenly the lights went out and alarms began to blare. Glancing hastily for the others, I saw no one but T'Challa and Sam. Where Steve, Nat, and Tony had wandered off to, I didn't know, but I hurried over to Sam as he stood from the plush couch and caught my arm, "Does this have to do with Barnes?"

Like he had to ask.

Returning my attention to Bucky's cell, I started, staring at a man moving around the cage as Bucky writhed within. I couldn't hear them, that wasn't a luxury I had with my gift, but I could tell that the man was hissing something toward the soldier and Bucky wanted none of it. He worked against his restraints, his mouth contorted in a scream. He broke from them but the man never stopped; the Winter Soldier beat his metal fist against the door of his cell again and again and again until it shattered and he was free.

But he didn't go for the man as I thought he would. Whatever he had been saying tormented the soldier, that was obvious. But Bucky just rose to his feet and faced the man, nodding his head and squaring his shoulders.

And I knew we weren't dealing with Bucky anymore.

There was a dark, dead look in his eyes, void of any and all emotions I had seen in our short time in each other's company. There had been curiosity, fear, interest, sadness. But this… this was nothing. This wasn't Bucky Barnes.

"Sam, we gotta move!"

Dragging him from the room, I scoured the area quickly for Steve. He and Sharon were headed our way and when they entered the hallway, I waved them toward me, "He's out of his cell. There was some guy there; I don't know what he said, but I don't think Bucky's Bucky right now."

"What do you mean?" Steve asked, his tone dangerously calm, "how can he just go from Bucky to the Winter Soldier? He wasn't the same man HYDRA turned him into when I talked to him in that apartment. He was himself; messed up, yeah, but not the Winter Soldier."

"I dunno, Steve, but he's the Winter Soldier now and we have to stop him," I replied, jogging down the steps and keeping my eye on Bucky through the steel and concrete walls. Wincing, I watched him dispatch the agents in his path, usually taking them down with one powerful hit. He broke bones with his fist, though he let the walls do some of the work for him, throwing them against them when they tried to sneak up on him. "He's not slowing down and he's not takin' any prisoners."

"C'mon."

Steve leapt the last four steps, positioning himself ahead of me and bursting through the next door, braced for a fight. But Bucky wasn't behind the door, which I would have told him if he didn't have to always be Captain America.

"Still got four hundred yards that-a way, Cap," I gestured down the hall, "but the protection is a nice thought."

He flushed, offering me an unamused frown, before gesturing toward Sam, "you and I are gonna go and stop him. Aurelie, Sharon, I need you two to be ready in case he gets past us."

"I don't know how much I'm gonna be able to do," the blonde agent replied, running a hand through her hair, "I'm not exactly equipped to fight a guy like that."

"Me either," Sam admitted, shrugging when Steve rounded on him, "what? I don't have my suit; it's just me against a guy with a metal arm and a super soldier serum runnin' through his veins; not the best odds. You should take Aury with you."

"I mean, it's not the worst idea," I replied; while I might have been reluctant to use my gift against Bucky, I had no problem bringing the Winter Soldier to a grinding halt.

"Fine," Steve sighed, nodding toward the hallway, "let's go. Sam, Sharon, be ready."

With that, we were off. While Sam was bigger, he didn't quite have the firepower my gaze did. I might not have wanted to square off with someone like the Winter Soldier, but I had gone against worst. And I wouldn't give up on the man that I had seen in the destroyed streets of Bucharest.

"Where is he, Aurelie?"

Bucky was hiding, just beyond the threshold of his cell, waiting for the pair of us. Gesturing toward him, I watched as Steve brushed past me, creeping forward and rolling into the room. This caught the Winter Soldier off guard; he had been expecting the captain at full height and, when his legs were kicked out from under him, he didn't see it coming.

He fell to the ground but was up again in an instant, falling into a defensive stance as Steve rounded on him, hands up in pleading, "Bucky, I know you're in there! Don't do this! I don't know what happened, but this isn't you!"

But Bucky simply let out a furious yell and lunged for the captain. So I leapt at him.

Latching myself onto his back, I wrapped my arms around his neck, locking in a chokehold and growling, "Fight it, Bucky! I don't know what he said but fight it!"

If I thought my assault was going to slow him down, I was wrong. He threw himself backwards, pinning me against the wall and leaving me breathless. He did it again and my head hit the concrete; stars exploded behind my eyes and my grip loosened. He spun in my arms, his metal hand reaching up and catching me below the chin. He squeezed, lip curling, blue eyes narrowed, devoid of any conscious thought or emotion.

Lungs burning, I scrambled for my glasses, but he caught my arm and crushed it against the wall.

Steve ripped him away from me, sending me pitching to the ground and inhaling heavily. My head ached and my hand was numb, but that didn't stop me from grabbing at my glasses with my good hand and snatching them from my face.

As the pair grappled and fought their way from the room, I hauled myself to my feet and cursed. Running after them as quickly as my trembling legs would carry me, I scoured the area for any sign of the man. He was small, thin and weaselly, not hard to find as he was the only other conscious person on this level aside from Steve and Bucky.

He was darting away, intent on freedom while the Winter Soldier wreaked havoc throughout the facility.

Not on my watch.

Taking off after him, I chased the unknown man, intent on taking him down before he could escape.

/