Eunoia [Bucky Barnes]

chapter 49

Ava latched onto the end of one of the warriors spear, pulling it back from where it was about to attack Lemar.

"You know if you were going to attack anyone, I would have chosen the tacky Captain America over there." Ava began speaking only to be hit in the face with the end of the stick. "I'll stop talking." She apologised, not letting go.

The Wakandan turned to her now, stabbing at Ava as she used her arms to block the blows. The fight stopped when Ava heard the sound of metal dropping to the ground. Looking round, she saw Bucky standing still, vibranium arm lying on the floor.

"He is gone, leave it." Ayo ordered the other Dora Milaje to disperse from the house. Bucky picked his arm up from the ground and inspected it, turning it slightly.

"Did you know they could do that?" Sam asked as Bucky lifted the arm to reattach. As he did so, he flinched slightly at the feeling.

"No." He answered, swinging the arm around to regain control. Ava walked forward with an awkward smile as Bucky returned it. Sam took an obvious step away as Ava laughed at the gesture.

"For what it's worth, I'm sorry for what I said. I know you don't know, I know how much the shield not being in a good place means to you." Ava lifted her hand to hold the man's cheek, stroking it slightly.

"Don't apologise, I get it. I really do. I hope this is my last fight, and I'm going to do everything I can to make it." Bucky opened his arm up to allow Ava to walk into his hold. "It's important that we stay together, Avalanche."

"I didn't know the arm could come off." Ava enquired running her fingers down the slatted metal.

"Well, it's reassuring to know that one more person doesn't trust me." Bucky mumbled, trying to act sarcastic, but Ava could tell that the action had hurt him immensely.

"We need to go and fix some of this mess." Ava smiled up at Bucky as he leaned in, kissing her softly. They walked over to the bathroom doors where Sam was standing, looking down at the hole in which Zemo had escaped from.

"I can't believe he pulled an El Chapo." Sam stated in disbelief.

"I can." Bucky told him, before stepping back away from the room. "Come on."

Ava exited out after him, walking past John on the way.

***

"Right. Hold on, hold on. I know, I know. Listen, pack an overnight bag, and take the boys." Sam was talking to someone on the phone, and from the sounds of it, something bad had happened.

"Sam, what happened?" Ava asked him as he lowered the call.

"Karli called Sarah. She threatened my nephews." Sam lifted the phone once more to continue giving instructions to his sister. "Okay. Go somewhere safe. Only pay cash. Alright? Let me know when you get there. I know. Look, I love you. I'll never let anything happen to you and the boys, you know that. Okay, bye." He ended the call and sighed as Ava and Bucky stopped to listen to what he had to say. "Karli wants to meet. She left a contact number."

Just at that moment, the phone chimed, signalling a text. Sam lifted it up for the others to see as he unlocked it, revealing a message from Karli. She wanted to meet on the rooftop, above North Plaza.

"She said come alone." Sam told the other two.

"I'm coming with you." Bucky exclaimed as Ava nodded, Sam wasn't about to go into this by himself. Once Bucky and Sam were suitably suited up, they began making their way towards the destination.

"Karli!" Sam shouted as soon as they were in the clear. Karli's head appeared from higher up, causing Sam to instantly begin striding up the stairs towards her. "You called my sister? That's how we're gonna play this?"

"Sam, I would never hurt her. I just wanted to understand you better. I see you, um, didn't come alone." Karli stood upright from the pillar she had been leaning on, talking about Ava and Bucky who were stood a few meters away.

"You have to end this now." Sam told her.

"I don't want to hurt you. You're just a tool in the regimes I'm looking to destroy. You're not hiding behind a shield. If I were to kill you, it'd be meaningless." Sam looked to falter at Karli's words, looking back at Ava for support. "I was gonna ask you to join me. Or do the world a favour and let me go."

'Hey, Sam? New Cap is moving, looks like he's found them, or maybe they found him.' Ava heard over the comm, making her look to Sam for guidance on what to do.

"It's Walker." Sam informed Bucky, who didn't have a comm fitted. Instantly, Bucky jumped over the edge of the building, only to be intercepted by Karli as he was pushed to the ground. Ava had quickly made it down the stairs to see Sam and Karli fighting in the corner.

"I'll send you the location. Go!" Sam shouted to Ava and Bucky. With a swift nod of his head, Bucky waved for Ava to follow him out of the courtyard.

"Once we're inside, don't stop running!" Bucky shouted to Ava as they neared the entrance to the building.

"I wasn't planning on it!" Ava yelled back as she ran up the stairs. Someone from a higher floor flew down towards her, crushing her against the wall. She quickly regained control and began punching back, but was overpowered by the strength of a Super Soldier. Bucky stepped in at this point, wrapping his arm around the neck of the attacker before kicking them to the ground.

"You keep going." Bucky told Ava before jumping down to finish the fight. As Ava made her way higher into the building, she found Sam and John both fighting members of the Flag Smashers. She ran to stand beside Sam, taking on one member between the two of them.

"What's with all the knives?" Ava heard John complain as she scowled a little at his remark. Knives were a good choice.

Ava managed to take down one of the men as she disarmed them, taking the blade to use herself. It didn't matter how many Flag Smashers she was able to knock to the ground, more kept coming. This was planned. She saw one of them grab ahold of John, pinning his arms back, leaving his chest open. She then noticed Karli moving in with a knife, looking ready to kill him.

Ava began running forward, as much as she hated John, he couldn't die while they were still in the building. Her run was cut short, though, when Lemar crashed into Karli, breaking her concentration and power. As the attack was stopped, the room began to feel hostile as Lemar slipped back against a pillar, head lolled to the side, eyes shut. The knife had killed him.

It was safe to say everyone in the room was frozen by shock. John was let go by the man, letting him go and check his friend. The Flag Smashers stayed still, just watching. They didn't try to attack anyone as Ava lifted a hand to her mouth.

"Hey. Hey. Hey. Lemar. Lemar!" John kept repeating over and over, desperate for the man to wake up. He never did.

Ava saw Karli peel off her mask and it was obvious by the look on her face that she hadn't intended for this to happen. As John let go of Lemar's head, Ava could tell something bad was about to happen, and chances were she was going to let it. The Flag Smashers ran from the room in all directions, looking to escape the room and the people in it.

Ava felt a hand on her back and looked to see Bucky motioning her to follow after Karli. She began running, but couldn't think about anything other than the body of Lemar lying there.

"I can't see her." Sam shouted out to them as they continued running.

"She definitely went this way, I saw her." Bucky called back, looking up now to see if she had gone to the roof. Their search was stopped when Ava noticed a gathering of people up ahead, gasping at something. She quickly grabbed ahold of Bucky's hand and pulled him forward to see what had happened, maybe they could help.

Her breath hitched at the sight.

John Walker was stood over the body of one of the Flag Smashers, looking down at the pool of blood that was escaping from the large wound now present. Ava felt Bucky's hand tighten around hers as their eyes moved to one of the most unsettling sights of all.

Captain America's shield, half painted by the red of the man's blood.