Chapter 5

Bucky sighed heavily as he wandered around New york. No matter where he turned his head, there was something new to take in. The Empire State Building was now more impressive than he had ever recalled—even covered in piles of snow, the building was lit up like a star. In the distance, Stark Tower, and beyond that even the Statue of Liberty.

His old skyline, the one he loved to stare at on sleepless nights when he snuck out meet Steve by the river, was gone. It was heart breaking, and world changing—literally. Bucky, loathe he to admit it, was having a hard time adjusting to being an Avenger, and a normal citizen of America. After so many years on the run with Hydra, from Hydra, and searching for Hydra, Bucky finally got to observe and relax.

And yet…

And yet Bucky couldn't seem to keep his mind to just New York. It would venture quickly out to Vietnam, where he had chased down a Hydra unit for two months. Or it would travel to Beijing where he and Steve had rushed off to after the Accords. Where they had been just before Tony called.

Thanos was coming.

That was the only thing Tony had said on the phone call, but it was all that needed to be said. So much had changed in that fight that Bucky wasn't even sure he could handle it. He had been up there only temporarily; dragged back to earth by ship after sustaining an injury. Something had happened up there. Everyone who had come back was different.

Almost everyone.

Peter still chattered everyone's ear off, and Bucky had never been so grateful to have the chatty teenager around. It kept the silence in his head at bay, and allowed him to be in the now. His mouth had proven to be useful even at the worst of times.

Like now.

Now, when Bucky was wondering what to get everyone for Christmas. Now, when Peter tapped his shoulder shivering under layers of jackets and scarves because 'Spider's don't handle the cold too well.' Bucky had found it oddly endearing that Peter had called his other half out on the inadequacy. He felt, that if maybe he could do that for himself, he'd be able to find some peace.

Unfortunately, Bucky was a lot more like Peter than he thought. His luck prevented him from finding the silence that he wanted; prevented his nerves from relaxing into a calm state indicative of his comfort.

"Kid," Bucky chuckled as Peter shivered beside him. The wind hadn't even blown, and he was shaking like a tree. "How do you even survive New York anymore?"

"That is a very good question," Peter mumbled grumpily hoisting the bags that he had gathered from their shopping further up his shoulder. "I'm starting to wonder if I could convince May to move to Miami. It's warm, there's probably less crime-"

"Nope." Bucky popped the 'p' as an amused smirk ghosted his lips. "Been there. Besides, wasn't there a guy there that had gotten high on something and ate some homeless guy?"

Peter's eyes bulged slightly as he glanced up at the Winter Soldier. It had been all over the news a few years ago. Peter would have been maybe nine?

Peter would have been nine.

The thought sent Bucky reeling momentarily. He often forgot just how young Peter was because of his capability. He had seen the teenager in action many a times, and never once had he paused to tell him to stop; to sit this one out because it was too dangerous. Then there was the whole...death thing.

Peter had died fighting Thanos. Tony had been pretty torn up about the whole thing when he first returned. He had refused to let Peter out of his sight for more than twenty-four hours; had nearly drowned the kid in text messages making sure he was okay because he had gotten a reading from Karen. Bucky had to listen to the ensuing argument, and Tony's ranting for day's after. And, if he were honest, he enjoyed it. He loved hearing about the kid from Tony's point of view because it reminded him so much of himself when Steve was just a kid.

It jogged his real memories.

Like the time Steve had snuck out of his house one day in the summer, to go play baseball with Bucky and the other guys. He had been adamant that he could play, and Bucky had been reluctant to let him join. But with enough whining, he had given in and allowed his best friend to play on his team. At least that way, if something happened, Bucky could take Steve's place on the field and they'd understand.

They hadn't expected the gust of wind that knocked up so much dust, that even Bucky had a hard time breathing through it. He had barely managed to make it to the semi protected dug-out before turning and realizing that Steve was still in the billowing cloud.

"Steve!" He had called, panic lacing his voice because he knew that there was no way Steve would be able to breath through the dust—especially with his asthma. He had pushed past the other boys, shoving them out of his way until he was back on the field. The grains of dirt stung his eyes as the wind started settle. "Steve!"

"Here," A wheezy voice called from somewhere to his right. "Over here, Buck!"

A hand on his arm, snapped him out of the memory. He glanced down into the concerned brown eyes of Peter and relaxed softly into the now.

"You okay?"

Bucky nodded softly, his eyes wondering the skyline one more time before he closed them and inhaled deeply. He needed to center himself. It was something Natasha had taught him when they were on the run. His senses had been so dialed up during the whole transgression, that he was going prematurely grey.

"Yea," He smiled softly. "Better. Thanks."

Peter nodded smiling turning back to the light. It was the slightest movement, but Bucky noticed it. The building next to them shook and trembled with the force that Bucky wasn't sure even originated from earth. The sky above, clouded over by the gray clouds that spelled out trouble, grew darker by the second. Another tremor shook the city, sending cars careening into one another in the drivers' over adjusting.

"Spiderman," Bucky glanced to his left, not at all surprised to see the teen had already dashed off towards the spiraling clouds. Heaving a sigh, Bucky pulled the phone out of his pocket and dialed the only number he had on Speed Dial.

"Buckaroo!" Tony snickered into the speaker on his end. "What's up? Is underoos with you?"

"He was," Bucky hummed as he glanced around for a safe place to store their belongings. The kid had little money, and he had already spent it all on whatever was inside the bags for Christmas gifts. He wasn't about to leave them on the road for someone to steal. "And then the city decided it was going to start falling apart." Bucky grunted shoving the bags into a small space between a fairly empty dumpster and a cluster of trash cans.

"Yea, FRIDAY says they're having small scale earth quakes. Any source? New York isn't one to crumble like this," Tony hummed through the phone. The speaker crackled in a moment of jostling on the other side. Bucky sighed tugging his hair up, so it would be out of his face for whatever was coming.

"I didn't think so either. But I'm pretty sure the kid is going to need back up. Meet us by the Macy's." The Winter Soldier sighed heavily glancing around, trying to see where the teenager had disappeared to. "Can you get the cam to open up on the arm? You can see what we're getting into."

"No need," Tony's voice was tense as something beeped in the background. Probably some kind of scan that would tell the genius exactly what was going on. Hell, Bucky wouldn't be surprised if Tony had sensors under every street in New York just so that he could keep up with his spider-kid. "It's originating from the subway. About two blocks to your east."

"On it." Bucky frowned racing down the sidewalk. His feet slapped the concrete, as he pushed his way through citizens trying to get away from the source of the tremors. "What's going on, To-" The phone flew from Bucky's hand as Spiderman was thrown into his chest. The teenager grunted sliding down to the ground just as Bucky caught him under the arms.

"You have to get out of here," Peter hissed jumping from the Winter Soldier as if he had been burned violently by him. "Bucky, you need to leave," The teenager glanced over his shoulder cautiously, all senses probably going haywire with the silence of the tunnel, the new tremors that were starting up, and the screaming from above ground.

"Fat chance, kid. Not until we figure out what's causing the tremors."

"Hydra." Peter shot a glare at the soldier. "There are soldiers in the tunnels working with some kind of radar that sets off electromagnetic pulses. It short circuited Karen, but the suit is on back up reserves. If they know you're here..."

Bucky's jaw tensed at the statement. How the hell had Hydra even gotten under New York? What about the subway lines? The trains had to run on schedules, so how had they managed to get the entire rail shut down?

"Hello, Winter Soldier." A voice resounded from within the tunnel. All of the hairs on Bucky's arm stood on end, causing goosebumps to explode over his skin. The voice was familiar and distant all at the same time. It felt, as if at the drop of hat, Bucky could be as lost to the voice as he was his memories. "It's been a long time since I've last seen you." A sneer curled the man's voice.

Spiderman leapt to his feet, webbed wrists poised for the threat. His shoulders were tense as his muscles prepared themselves to jump into action. Bucky kept an eye on the teenager, but his own muscles were wiring up.

"Hello…I can't say I remember you very much."

"That's alright. You don't have to," The cruel grin that formed over his lips was something that Bucky should have been prepared for. Yet, when it flashed across the man's face, something inside of him slipped into an abyss.

The blank face that began to cover Bucky's, only recently, expressive face sent Spiderman rushing forward. The smallest Avenger's fists flew, left, right, duck, upper cut. The man stumbled back, barely managing to dodge the swift attack.

"Winter Soldier...call off your pet." The man hissed aggressively. His arms came up to protect himself from his attacker.

Bucky didn't hear him. His ears had blocked off any sound coming from the tunnel; his vision began to dark at the sides. Spiderman turned, probably asking him something to do with the situation, but Bucky couldn't hear him. He didn't want to send the kid into a panic, but his own heart was thumping in his chest like a jack hammer. This wasn't right. The man hadn't said his activation word, and yet…

"Get. Out!" Spiderman hissed shoving Bucky back towards the stairs of the subway. Bucky grunted stumbling back, nearly surprised by the mild attack from his friend. The ground beneath his feet began to rumble. Spiderman's head jerked back towards the Hydra agent who had a mild look of panic on his feet.

Bucky didn't hear the scream the man let out as he ran further into the tunnel, his hand waving wildly. Just by his body language, he was telling whoever else was deeper in the tunnel to cut the cause off.

"Bucky..." Spiderman pushed himself to the front of the man's vision. Bucky blinked a solid five times before he was able to focus on the hero in front of him. "You have to get out of here. I'm going to go see if I can't stop that thing from going off. Go call Tony." Spiderman pushed the soldier gently, ushering him out from the subway and into the upper streets of New York.

Even with the fresh breath of air, Bucky's head still felt clouded with the possibility of being reactivated.

"Where's the kid?" Iron Man dropped down beside him. Tony's voice was mildly paniced when he glanced around and Spiderman was no where to be found.

"Tunnel," Bucky muttered watching the suit fly down quickly. His hands felt shaky, and like his blood sugar had dropped to zero.

The machine still went off.

A shudder ratcheted through the tunnel, dispersing its pressure up through the asphalt of New York. The trembling started all over again; more violent than the last set of tremors.

"Spiderman…Tony….Tony!" Bucky screamed as the tunnel collapsed.


The soldier didn't remember much past that. He had blacked out in his panic, and rushed towards the tunnel in hopes of saving his friends—at least that was what he had been told.

When he came too, Tony was in the medical center, and Spiderman hadn't been found just yet. His heart thudded in his chest, until Steve walked in with the kid limping beside him. Relief, it seemed, flooded everyone's system when they realized the boy was aright.