Bucharest, Romania
Three Days Later
11:01 a.m.
It had been several days, but they finally had him. Steve Rogers, dressed from head to toe in his Captain America attire, shield to go with it, slowly entered the dimly-lit room in the filthy apartment complex. He noticed the dust particles slowly dancing with one another in the slivers of sunlight breaking through the windows. They barely did. The newspapers covering each window gave little life to the room.
But they still danced. Old, forgotten, probably lost dust particles in the light of the morning. Steve turned away from the light. He had a mission to finish. His best friend was closer than ever before. Strolling by a muddled bed, he approached the kitchen merely feet away, a simply journal resting atop the refrigerator.
Gripping it, gently pulling it from under a pair of energy bars, Steve opened the journal, flipped through its pages. He pulled his shield’s straps up closer on his forearm, allowing a free palm to grip the edge of the journal. Several entries described simple events, others described something else. Trying desperately to understand. Unknowing to the world. There was a picture of the Captain in his glory days.
“Heads up, Cap. German Special Forces, approaching from the south,” Sam’s voice warned from Steve’s comm.
German Special Forces. They’d managed to get there before the Germans did. Barely. Still staring at the journal pages, more so the one with a picture of himself, Steve muttered, “Understood.”
He didn’t know how long he wanted to stare at that picture. After so long, after finally coming up from under the river, he knew there was something still inside Bucky, something that urged him to pull his mission out of that river. He’s been gone for so long, maybe his memory was starting to come back. Free from HYDRA, that was always a possibility.
He stared at the picture a little while longer before he realized he wasn’t alone. Closing the journal, slowly spinning around, Steve caught the mysterious and unknown gaze of his missing person.
Bucky.
After all these years.
He hadn’t changed much. All that was really different about him was his appearance. Heavier scruff, longer hair. He wore a black cap, probably to keep low, and had a red shirt beneath his dark overcoat. Simple, blue jeans, tennis shoes, and gloves. What remained the same was the lost look in his eyes. It was once like a predator eyeing its prey, but waiting for the time to strike. That’s what he used to see. Now, it was just lost. Uncertain. Empty.
And for the longest time, Steve didn’t know how to respond. His best friend, tortured and tormented for years by HYDRA, had finally broken free, and was standing just feet in front of him. That look in his eye was still unsettling. It reminded Steve of his first encounter with the Winter Soldier on that rooftop so long ago.
Finally, after nearly fifteen seconds of silence between the two, feeling almost like two years, Steve asked, “Do you know me?”
Bucky’s mouth fell only slightly, like he knew what to say but just couldn’t say it, or his mind and will were still at arms against each other. “You’re Steve,” he finally replied, easing Steve’s tension. “I read about you in a museum.”
“They’ve set the perimeter.”
Acknowledging the warning, Steve began his approach. Bucky stayed where he was. “I know you’re nervous,” Steve said, placing the journal on table, “… and you have plenty of reason to be. But you’re lying.”
Bucky’s face remained without form, without emotion. It was just as Steve saw him two years ago, worrying him. “I wasn’t in Vienna,” he finally replied. “I don’t do that anymore.”
“They’re entering the building.”
“Well, the people who think you did are coming here now. And they’re not planning on taking you alive,” Steve said, the edge of his voice dipping into warning.
“That’s smart.” Bucky slowly nodded. “Good strategy.”
“They’re on the roof. Dash and I are compromised.”
Rogers tightened the grip on his shield. “This doesn’t have to end in a fight, Buck.”
Bucky looked away. “It always ends in a fight.”
“Five seconds.”
Steve looked from the window and back to Barnes. “You pulled me from the river. Why?”
Bucky took off his glove, revealing the metal palm beneath. “I don’t know.”
“Three seconds.”
“Yes, you do.”
And with that, Bucky turned to Steve, away from his palm and eyed the Captain, contemplating, thinking, putting the pieces together. Steve could have never known behind the broken gaze. They remained that way for three seconds.
“Breach! Breach! Breach!”
Steve spun to the window after hearing it shatter. He reacted quickly, slamming his shield into the flashbang grenade intended for him. Another shatter, Bucky watching as the flashbang rolled to his feet. Instinctively, he kicked it away, Steve slamming his shield and covering the blast. Shouting from outside, all in German. Bucky grabbed the nearest table and flung it at the door, jamming it. A pair of German soldiers entered through the windows.
Bucky drove his fist into the nearest one’s face, knocking him out instantly. Steve saw as the soldier nearest to him aimed his rifle for Bucky, completely ignoring the Captain to his left. Not smart. Steve pulled the rug from under him, the soldier releasing a hail of gunfire into the ceiling.
The door behind Steve opened, Bucky’s attention shifting there. Another soldier with a rifle, another soldier that didn’t pay attention to the Captain. Steve lifted up the man’s rifle, Bucky kicking him square in the chest and launching him back outside. With him out of the way, Barnes rushed to the door, being quickly stopped by a strong palm on his arm.
“Buck, stop!” Steve yelled, bringing Bucky to face him. “You’re gonna kill someone.”
Then, with the unnatural strength Steve hadn’t yet been accustomed to, Bucky slammed Steve into the ground. He drove his hand into the wooden floor, right next to Steve’s head, saying, “I’m not gonna kill anyone.” Pulling out a backpack from underneath the floorboards, Bucky rose to his feet, flinging the pack outside.
Another soldier entered the room, again from the window. He fired away once he got visual on the Winter Soldier. Bucky brought up his left arm, the bullets tearing through his sleeve but stopping there. Steve quickly reacted, using his shield to block the remainder of the shots, ultimately protecting his friend. Unfortunately, Bucky didn’t feel the same way, launching Steve into the window to his right, knocking him into an approaching German soldier.
With that, James approached the other soldier still standing. He blocked the bullets with his palm, grabbed the man’s head, and slammed him into the nearest dresser. He was out after a pain-filled grunt. Of course, there was still one more. He arose, raised his rifle, and was about to fire.
Bucky grabbed a cinder block and rammed it into the man’s chest, launching him through the door and into the bathroom. More gunshots. Still more. This time from the outside. Bucky approached the door, clenched his fist, and listened.
He rammed his fist through the wall, heard a painful yelp, and busted through the door, knocking several men on their asses. He finished off what remained of them, not killing, but injuring. From the skylight, a soldier came rappelling down, shooting at Bucky. Barnes reacted fast, blocked the bullets with his left arm, grabbed his rifle, slammed his head in the wall, and let him hang there. Looking downwards, a battering ram was left on the floor, probably used to try and break down his door.
Bucky grabbed it and did what came natural.
Slamming the blunt object into the chest of a soldier to his left, and driving the end of it into the leg of another rushing up the stairs. He heard a sickening snap, a yelp of pain, then nothing else. Another out cold. Not dead.
Shouting from below. Bucky could see the remaining special forces on their way up. Thinking quickly, he grabbed the dangling man he had taken out earlier and jumped forward, landing on another unfortunately in his way. Right then, he was trapped in a crowd of three German Special Forces, all with rifles, all aiming at him.
Bucky grabbed one by the wrist, flinging him forward to crash into the other two beneath him. They tumbled down the stairs in a heap of limbs and grunts, Bucky leaping over them. He drove his knee into the nearest soldier at the bottom of the stairs, the soldier crashing into the door behind him, knocking it off its hinges.
Steve Rogers, having recovered early, rushed down the stairs, leaping over railings and finally entering the fray. He arrived just in time, because Bucky, in the midst of flinging soldiers like nothing and driving through more and more bodies, knocked one over the railings. Steve shot forward, gripped the soldier’s pack, and turned to Bucky.
“Come on, man,” he muttered. Bucky replied by driving his elbow into the forehead of the soldier behind him, knocking him out clean.
Steve lifted the soldier up and slammed him into the wall. Bucky, seeing even more rush up the stairs, decided to improvise. He grabbed the railing and ripped it off its hinges, using it to fling himself downwards to the next set of stairs. He landed on a soldier, kicking him straight through the door. Seeing just a couple left, Bucky took them out quick. He shot his gaze back, however, when he noticed one left still on the stairs behind him.
The soldier aimed his rifle right for Barnes, and like the others failed to notice the Captain.
A shield flew by, knocking the man out as it struck the wall. Bucky looked up, Steve looked down. Bucky jumped. Several floors passed before Bucky finally shot out his arm, grappling the nearest railing and stopping himself. He could feel the stretching of the metal against his skin, the railing bending upon his landing. Roaring in pain, Bucky picked himself up.
He found the nearest door and kicked it down. Beyond that, the welcoming sunlight broke through at the end of the hall, revealing the outside world at long last. Bucky started off at a running pace, then quickly broke out into a full-blown sprint. Then, using the pace he gathered, Bucky leapt off the cemented barricade and jumped.
The expanse laid before him, the wind tearing through his hair, James looked down to the building’s rooftop below him. He timed it just right. Just right. Too little and he wouldn’t have made it. Bucky tumbled forward upon landing, rising to his feet after a quick roll. No time for slowing down. He had to keep going.
Grabbing his backpack, Bucky ran and didn’t turn back. He only did so after he saw the shadow pass over him.
And the pair of feet ramming into his backside.
The unnatural force knocked Bucky on his chest, the Winter Soldier rolling until he was back on one knee. Pushing the hair out of his vision, he stared forward to see who attacked him.
Whoever it was, he rose up. His skin was covered in a pure black suit, slivers of silver lining his chest and arms. In his eyes was nothing. Nothing but pure silver, just like his suit. Just like his claws. In an instant, Bucky charged him. He did nothing in response. He just waited.
Waited until he was close enough, then he blocked the Winter Soldier’s strikes with supernatural speed. Unreal speed. He followed it up with a kick right into Bucky’s abdomen, knocking the air out of his lungs. Then he charged back.
With speed that shocked even the Winter Soldier.
The Rooftops
11:08 a.m.
The crosshairs lined up neatly. Right over the Winter Soldier.
There he was. Finally out in the open, finally offering a clear shot. It may have taken a few days, but he finally found him. Found his apartment. Pretty clever hiding place, but nothing he hadn’t seen a hundred times before. In a sense, he was glad he didn’t have to shoot through the window. There wasn’t much visibility with the windows being covered in newspaper, but with the German Special Forces breaking in, allowing whatever chaos that followed, it allowed for the Winter Soldier to finally get out in the open, hoping to make a break for it.
He wouldn’t. A little distraction from the guy in the black tights, and he finally had a good shot.
Frank Castle swallowed softly, releasing a little sigh. He adjusted the sight, breaking his gaze away from the scope for just a second longer, and then he returned. He centered back to the Winter Soldier, ignored the other one in black tights, and gripped the weapon tightly.
Looking down, there was the magazine resting on the concrete railing. Empty. Reaching down, Castle picked it up and place one, two, three rounds in it. He slid the magazine into the sniper rifle, flicked the safety off, loaded the round, and returned down the scope.
The crosshairs lined up neatly. Right over the Winter Soldier.
Castle pulled the trigger.
The Streets
11:09 a.m.
Between the buildings, the Devil hid. Within the darkness and hiding in the alleyways, the Devil listened and breathed. Listened to his breathing. Listened to the city. Listened for more gunfire. Heard nothing of the sort. Days had gone by, and still there was nothing. The trail had been slightly warm since yesterday, leading him to Romania, leading him to a dead-end in the darkness of an alleyway.
All too familiar.
Even then, he still listened.
He listened.
He listened to his heart, felt the beat, heard the stream of blood flowing through his veins. Then it stopped. For a brief, haunting second, it all stopped.
A shot broke through the air. Barrett .50 caliber, silencer, BMG round. Not too far. Just where he was headed. Even though it was silenced, it still caught his heart, still made him flinch. Like the loudest sound on Earth. He didn’t wait in the shadows anymore after that.
Matt Murdock took off towards the sound, still in the shadows, hunting for the Punisher.
Hoo boy, it's a race for Bucky's life!
Luckily, it looks like Matt's on Team Cap (to stop Castle at the very least). But him and Frank are not known for being team players so they might just keep to themselves.
And if this fight is gonna be more intense than the movie, I await the mayhem that is the Airport Battle!
Very nice
Anyone as excited as I am for Thor Ragnarok?
SSSSSSOOOOOOOOO CRAZY!!!!!!!!!
Nicely written! Though, if it was me, I wouldn't have written the scenes in the building like what already can be seen in the movie... To me, it just feels unnecessary to just write the scenes (unchanged or barely modified).
I can't wait for the ponies' time to intervene.
Pinkie and Rarity might not like the fact that Matt is blind. How else will he see their skills?
Hoo boy...this will only escalate to larger scales with more heroes thrown into the mix...
...especially if by some miracle, the X-Men are thrown into the mix...
Imagine, Captain America: Civil War, with the Mutants participating and taking sides...
8098381 At best, I think we will most likely get a Deadpool Cameo.
Hi, Bucky! I promise we'll buy you some plums in Equestria when this is over!
AGH! PANTHER!
FRANK YOU ASSHOLE, GET OUTTA HERE!
MATT HURRY! STOP HIM! STOP HIM BEFORE HE KILLS BUCKY! OR BEFORE RAINBOW STOPS HIM, AND THE ASSHOLE DECIDES TO SHOOT HER TOO!
Ooh boy. How are Castle and Matt gonna change this fight?
And yes, Steve by all means this is the way to prove Bucky's innocence. Help him beat up police officers and destroy freeways. Brilliant.
Boy Steve you better hope Matt will be on your side, cus you could really use a lawyer.
Run, Matt! Run! Run, you douche-bitch!
(If you get that reference, you're awesome)
8098381 Sadly, the X-Men are almost impossible to fit into this universe even in FANFICS.
Oh, yay, that crazy asshole's getting involved now.
I just want to point out that for all the bitching and moaning I do about the Punisher, I don't COMPLETELY dislike the Netflix version. But while I don't expect him to give him an apology because he's not honestly that humble a human being in this stage of his life, he had BETTER leave Bucky the Hell alone the second he finds out he's innocent.
As for the Punisher in the ACTUAL continuity, if he burns his resurrected family to death, ya know, which include his wife and two young children, I'm done with him.
Ok, this concludes my angry rant. Happy Easter, everyone.
The Black Panter is back!!! I wonder how the ponies will react to him? I also wonder how Daredevil will fit into this?? Nice chapter!!
About the new season premiere, I'm sorry, but i thought it was rather weak.
8100526 I'm pretty sure I can fit them in...If I want to write an MCU fanfic at the moment, but I am pretty busy right now with other projects...
8098125 Oh, the Airport Battle is gonna be even bigger.
8098211 I take out plenty of scenes from the movie later on in the story.
8098869 It's an even bigger chase than before.
8099475 Hey, friends come first. I guess.
8099679 Damn straight.
8100381 I wish I did.
8100533 We'll see what happens.
8100733 Well, the message was really cool. Other than that, yeah, I agree with you.
8100899
3:53
You're welcome.
8100899
I sure am eager to see which ponies will trade hoofslaps/hoofkicks/magic beams with who!
The hunt is on now! Just like in the movie, Bucky goes on the run with the law and the vengeful Black Panther on his tail with Cap doing his best to keep his friend alive (and making sure he doesn't kill anyone much to his frustation ), only this time he has Rainbow Dash along side Sam to help him and the Punisher is also there to kill Bucky while Daredevil has pursued him to prevent him from doing so. Let's see how this changes the whole scene here!
Parody:
*Bucky gets shot in head*
Black Panther: "He was mine! You dare deprive me of my vengeance!"
Punisher: "Didn't see your name on him, kitty cat. Oh and by the way, you're welcome!"
8100899 Oh I'm not questioning his commitment to Bucky (though whether they're just really good friends or gay lovers is in question), I'm just saying that he's not really helping Bucky's case by trying to hide him away from the world. If Bucky is innocent and don't got nothing to hide then why the need to keep him away from everyone Steve?
8100899 https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/84e2c900-fd62-4fec-a791-0eec5dd2e484
8101848 He's probably just afraid of what people would do to him, especially everything the Winter Soldier's done over the years (even if he's innocent, not everyone will believe him).
8101515 Now I gotta re-write the entire chapter!
This chapter was very gripping and interesting.
Bucky may be hunted... but his will is unbreakable...
And so the chase begins....
Ooh, everyone ought to kill Bucky. Well, some for reasons and others for stupid reasons.
Get the hell outta there, Buck!
It's amazing that even after everything that's happened, Steve is still willing to fight for his best friend even though Bucky remains lost even still. And yet it's a good thing they still show a slight bit of respect taking on those German soldiers, without trying to kill somebody. But things are definitely going to get complicated with The Punisher on the job. As far as Frank is concerned, The Winter Soldier is still a big threat to the world and needs to be taken down. But that's not going to be easy as Daredevil himself isn't far behind knowing just what Frank is going to do. I just know for certain these next few moments are not going to be rather pleasant to say the least.
This was a great scene, with Steve confronting his old friend and trying to protect him from those who are wrongly after him. You managed to make it even better with the inclusion of Punisher and Daredevil at the end. Let’s see how things go with these two involved, and the ponies too of course.
I loved that moment from the film too. Bucky says he doesn’t kill anymore, only to end up nearly killing someone not even 5 minutes later. He’s making it very hard for Cap to prove his innocence.