"You ready for this, Tin-Man?" Tony's voice cracked through the thoughts swirling around Bucky's mind.
"I've been fighting longer than you've been alive, kid," Bucky forgot for a moment his intentions to be kind to Stark. He was in no mood to be trifled with right now.
"Just saying," Stark stretched in his suit, looking unconcerned. "Seems like you have to focus to fight those trigger words. And they're probably going to use them. I would."
"You already did," Bucky reminded him, pulling his goggles on.
Tony shrugged. "Just a friendly tip," he flipped his visor down.
"You boys ready?" Natasha stuck her head in, all decked out in her leathers.
"I've been ready," Bucky muttered. He was a powder keg, ready to blow.
"Easy, Buck," Steve cautioned under his breath, adjusting his shield.
"Yup, good to go," Stark clapped his metal-encased hands together.
"What took you so long?" Black Widow stepped into the room. "You've got suits everywhere. I figured you could just stick your thumb up your ass and one would pop out."
"Language!" Stark cautioned. "There are elders present."
Bucky couldn't see his face, but he was sure Tony was smirking. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes.
"Is this the time?" Steve's annoyance was obvious.
"Sorry, Cap," Natasha snapped back to attention.
"Let's go," Bucky tugged at his clothing restlessly. "I shouldn't have let Shuri go alone," he mumbled for his friend's ears only.
"I doubt you could have stopped her if you tried," Steve reassured him. "And you couldn't bring her into a bad situation without her armor. She has Ziwadi. Have you seen Sharon?" he asked suddenly.
"She's out there with Sam and the Dora Malaje," Bucky told him.
Steve nodded, trying to disguise his worry. "Let's put Klaue down, and quickly."
"Mr. Barnes," T'Challa's presence effectively silenced any further bantering from Tony and Natasha. "A word before we begin? Captain, perhaps you and the team should join Mr. Lang and formulate a plan."
"All right," Steve pulled his mask over his head. "Let's go team." Steve gave Bucky an encouraging nod.
"Mr. Barnes, you are distracted," the king cut straight to the point.
"I'm worried," Bucky's eyes darted outside again, his thoughts on Sam and Shuri.
"As am I," T'Challa admitted. "However, the task ahead requires a singular focus. There are lives at stake."
Bucky nodded. He was very aware.
"I am sure it did not escape your notice that Klaue seems to be targeting you for something sinister."
"I'm pretty sure I know what he wants." It was what most villains wanted from him. The Winter Soldier was an incredible asset.
"Do not let him take you. You worry about yourself out there. Allow the Captain and I to protect the team." T'Challa's voice was firm.
"They're targeting you to get to me," Bucky said.
"Indeed they are. So you put him down and do it with haste." T'Challa raised an eyebrow.
"Permanently?" Bucky met the king's eyes.
"If he needs to be killed, I will do the deed. You have too much at stake. Stay focused, soldier. We can handle ourselves. Shuri and I were born for this."
"Where is she?" Bucky asked.
"Doing her job," the king nodded. "Now we will go do ours."
Without another word, T'Challa walked out of the door. Bucky took a deep breath, the fingers of his right hand walking a path up the vibranium arm to the place it connected with his skin, just beyond his shoulder. The last few months rushed through his brain, the most solid memories he possessed. His time with Steve, sitting up late at night, exploring with Sam, training with Clint and Scott and Wanda, Sharon showing him how to use a computer, T'Challa's calm encouragement, his confrontation with Stark, what was growing between him and Shuri—they had all led up to this.
Bucky exhaled and followed T'Challa out of the room.
"What's the plan, Tin-Man?" Stark asked from somewhere near Bucky's side. They were moving quickly through the halls.
"That's up to T'Challa and Cap," Bucky kept his voice even, despite his irritation. Tony Stark was an annoyance he could not afford right now.
"I just figured since you're the reason everyone is getting attacked in the first place, you might have a plan."
"Tony," Steve rebuked him sharply.
"You know, I'm missing the time when you hated me too much to talk to me," Bucky told Tony.
"I'm just trying to be friendly," Stark insisted.
"Focus," T'Challa's sharp tone put an end to even Tony's teasing. "Captain, I am sure you can take it from here. I will command the Dora Malaje."
"See you when this is done, your highness," Steve nodded, pulling his shield up. "Tony, rendezvous with Sam and cover us from the air. Wanda might be able to give you some assistance. Scott and Nat, stick to the outskirts. Keep civilians safe and watch the perimeter for any unknown threats. Buck—"
"Head on?"
"We'll be front and center," Steve confirmed.
"You might want to give me some space," Bucky cautioned as the team split up.
"Not a chance. End of the line, pal," Steve sped up, easily keeping pace.
"If Klaue makes a play for me—"
"We take him out," Steve said simply, breaking into a run, shield up.
"Cap!" Natasha's voice came through the com, "We have hostiles, picking their way through the forest."
"Take them out," Steve instructed. "Tony, have you found Sam?"
"Bird boy is up here with me. No com though," Stark confirmed.
"What's it looking like from up there?" Steve had the uncanny ability to stay focused, even as enemies swarmed them.
"Well, there's no more bombs for now. Looks like little Miss Wanda took care of them. No sign of the royals, but I have eyes on your lady friend and the rest of the team."
"No Klaue?" Bucky asked.
"Not that I can tell," Stark answered. "Anything on your end, mini-man?"
"Bunch of tough guys coming out of the forest. Mercenary types. Whoa!" a loud thud sounded on Scott's end. "The good news is they fall hard."
"Let's wrap this quickly," Steve caught a burly brunet man full in the face with his shield. To his right, Bucky's metal fist connected solidly with another assailant. It became like a rhythm, a dance all too familiar. Punch and move, kick and block. One step at a time they made their way to the edge of the forest, leaving a wake of unconscious bodies behind them. Wanda delivered them to the prisons of the palace to await the king's justice.
"This seems…routine," Bucky told Steve. The mercenaries presented a mild challenge, but against the powers of over half a dozen superheroes, they didn't stand a chance. Natasha and Sharon took out their target through a combination of stealth and force, driving men double their size into the ground. Scott was popping up at random all over the field, toppling enemies and shrinking back down at will. Sam and Tony seemed to be playing some kind of game, each trying to best the other. Bucky could hear them laughing, even from his place down on the field.
It did not seem like the assault that a genius smuggler might plan. This whole operation wasn't sitting well with Bucky at all. There was still no sign of the royal siblings. The dread was beginning to rise in him again.
"Agreed. Too easy," Steve squinted back at the team. Tony and Sam were finishing off the last two. From the corner of his eye, Bucky could see Natasha calling out to them.
"What's the next move, Cap?" she was jogging towards them, regrouping.
"Has anyone heard from T'Challa?" Steve asked, his shield still up.
"No go," Sam hovered above. "Ziwadi's gone too," he dropped to the ground, landing just behind Bucky. "Glad you're ok man," he grabbed his shoulder.
"You too," Bucky let out a breath he hadn't even realized he was holding.
The shots came all at once, tearing through the air with a high pitched whistle. The first bullet struck Sam in the shoulder, sending him into the dirt. In quick succession, Natasha went down, then Scott, blood spraying a red mist into the hot air. Steve raised his shield, but the bullet tore in, pressing an indentation into the metal that should not have been possible.
Tony was doing a fair job of dodging, twisting and turning expertly above Bucky as he rushed for Sam, Steve shouting that he would cover them.
"Tony get down!" Steve's order came with urgency as the bullets rained against his shield, spraying off in every direction. Bucky fumbled to get the fingers of his right hand under Sam's collar, nearly dying of relief when he felt the faint pulse.
"He's losing blood!" Bucky shouted, barely recognizing his own panicked tone.
"We have to get the other two!" Stark shouted into the com, already making a move for where their teammates were laying in the dirt.
"Tony!" Steve shouted after him, but the Iron Man was off, beelining for their comrades. Bucky lifted Sam over his shoulder, desperate to get him to cover. He looked frantically for help, scanning for T'Challa, for Shuri, for the Dora Malaje.
No one was coming over the cratered and smoldering horizon.
"Where's Sharon?" Steve was panting, backing up towards Bucky and Sam.
"I don't know," Bucky admitted. The gravity of the situation was sinking in. Fear began to overtake him.
"We'll find them," Steve assured him, blocking another hail of gunfire. The shield was beginning to thin, taking too much damage. Bucky reached for a shell on the ground.
"Vibranium tips," he announced to no one in particular. Klaue had come prepared.
A scream went off in the com as Tony took one of the bullets to the arm, hurtling for the ground at high speed. Steve moved towards him, but the bullets kept coming. Bucky realized they were trying to make Steve choose who to save; to divide and conquer the Avengers. It was Zemo's plan all over again.
There was only one person they didn't seem to want to shoot. Steeling his nerve, Bucky stood up and ran for Tony Stark, his vibranium arm like a lance in front of him. He heard Steve's shouts grow fainter as the com fell out of his ear, but kept going. Iron Man was taking damage now, his suit rattling as he tried feebly to become airborne again, but the bullets kept on coming. Bucky took the last ten yards at a slide, putting his body between the guns and his teammates. Natasha was conscious, but clutching her leg. Scott was bleeding from the arm, but determinedly pulling Natasha further into the brush for cover.
"These guys came prepared," Tony muttered almost incoherently as Bucky lifted him up as best as he could. The suit easily added a couple hundred pounds to Tony's frame. He had to move them quickly and get back to Steve. He needed to find T'Challa and Shuri. He needed everyone to be ok.
"Stay here," he instructed as he moved Stark behind the palace walls, narrowly avoiding the continuous barrage of bullets.
"Don't have much of a choice," Tony wheezed mechanically through his dying suit. Behind him, Scott had shrunken himself and somehow Natasha down. They popped back to full size once they reached cover.
"That was my last shrink grenade," Scott lamented. "Otherwise I'd go back for Sam."
"I got them," Bucky rushed back for his two best friends.
The endless barrage showed no signs of slowing, but this time all of the guns were aimed at Captain America's shield. The once pristine surface was now pock-marked and thinning, barely holding on. Bucky ran as quickly as he could.
"Steve!" he shouted as the bullets finally broke through, leveling his oldest friend.
He jumped in front of him, prepared to absorb the rest of the fire with his body, but the assault had stopped.
"Winter Soldier," Klaue's voice boomed out from some hidden speaker in the forest. "It is time to confront your fate. Meet me now, or all of your friends will die a most painful death." The click of a hundred guns punctuated this statement.
"Buck," Steve gripped his arm with surprising strength considering how much blood he was losing. "Don't."
T'Challa's words rang in Bucky's head, mixing with Steve's warning. He couldn't give himself up.
But he couldn't let his friends die either.
"I'm sorry," Bucky squeezed Steve's hand hard.
"Buck, no…" but Bucky was already up, dragging Steve and Sam back behind the wall. He could feel the barrels of hundreds of assault weapons pointed on them. He propped both of his friend's up with the group, praying desperately that the wall would be enough.
"Buck…" Steve tried again, but Bucky shook his head.
"If they take me, Steve, you know what you have to do." He whispered to his friend.
"Bucky, I can't."
"Then have Stark do it." Bucky's tone was hard. "If I lose control, make sure I'm dead. I'm not going to be anyone's tool again," he announced this louder, with a glance over at Tony. The Iron Man head nodded almost imperceptibly, but it was enough.
Ignoring Steve's protests, Bucky walked beyond the wall and into the forest.
A/N: Thank you as always, for your continued support and for your patience with the updating. I promise you we're almost to the end! Please let me know what you think!