The Third Rule

~Eight~

Bucky's POV

...

The man's eyes slowly flutter open and a sharp pain pounds in his head. He lets out a low groan and blinked the blurriness out of his eyes. The last thing he remembers after seeing Kalee and the man with the mask in the building were stumbling into his apartment and collapsing on his couch. 

The soldier slowly pushed himself up from the chair he was sprawled in, after a deep breath, he manages to make it to his feet and stagger into the bathroom. Bucky can't think straight, his thoughts are fuzzy. He tries to figure out what to do next, but he can't. He pulls some medicine from his cabinet, Steve gave him some stuff Stark made so it would actually work. 

He could go back to the building.

It exploded. 

Never mind. 

With a sigh, Bucky carefully cleans the wounds on his head and torso then takes a shower and changes into clean clothes. 

What's next?

...

Bucky walks through the now-familiar streets of Queens, he approaches the familiar sub shop and pulls the door open. He expects to see Peter's bright face on the other side of the counter but it is empty. 

"Hello?" Bucky says stepping farther into the building and looking around for anyone. 

Before he can comprehend what is happening, a hard smack on the face sends him straight into the ground. With a yelp, Bucky blinks a few times and tries to make sense of what is happening. 

A figure stands in front of him clad in a red and blue suit. The same guy from the warehouse. Bucky gets to his feet and gets in a fighting stance. He notices people crowding around the windows of the sub shop. He can vaguely hear the yelling praises towards Spider-Man. 

"Woah there!" Bucky says in a calm voice raising his open hands, "I don't want to fight." 

The other man just scoffs and throws another punch in the elder's direction. Bucky quickly dodges and puts his hands in a protective stance in front of his face, "Looks like you leave me no choice." Bucky throws a kick, which Spider-Man dodges, and then a quick punch lands on his jaw. The younger one stumbles back but quickly recovers. 

The man in the suit was thier during the explosion. He is HYDRA. The realization hits Bucky hard and anger boils under his skin. He takes another step forward and throws a few more punches at the masked person, successfully landing one of them. Spider-Man takes another swing and sends Bucky stumbling back a few steps. He sees the people in the front of the store pulling out thier phones and recording the two fight it out. 

After exchanging punches, Bucky finally gains the upper hand. He has Spider-Man pressed against the wall, his forearm firmly holding him in place, "Who are you?"

"You killed my parents," the man says in a cold hard voice. After a moment he recognized it as Peter's. Peter is Spider-Man. 

"It wasn't my fault. I'm sorry," Bucky responds after a moment, releasing the other from the wall. 

Peter looks at Bucky with a tilted head like he is trying to figure something out. Suddenly, he jumps on Bucky, tackling him to the ground. He throws punch after punch to Bucky's face, "You killed them," His voice is full of emotion and Bucky can tell he is on the edge of tears. 

"I was brainwashed. It was HYDRA, they forced me to. Peter, I'm not going to fight you," Bucky says as calmly as he can considering he is getting the living shit beat out of him by a teenager. 

"That's not what the FBI said. That's not what Olivia Black said. She said you are a HYDRA special ops agent." 

Who the hell is Olivia Black? Bucky spends a moment or two processing the information. He was at the warehouse when it exploded. That was Kalee Batrei, she is using Peter to get back at Bucky. 

"Peter, she lied to you. Her name is Kalee Batrei, a former HYDRA agent. She wanted to get back at me. She is using Peter," Bucky rambles bracing for each punch as it comes. 

After he finishes, the boy falters for a moment, "Why should I trust you. You killed my parents." 

"I have no reason why you should trust me. But, think about it. She wanted you to kill me... and if I won and I killed you then I would get sent to the raft for killing Spider-Man. Win-win. Also, if you kill me all of those people out there are going to think that Spider-Man just ruthlessly killed someone, and then you will get in trouble. Kid, I don't want to hurt you and I don't want you to get hurt, you are a good person. You don't have to trust me... but please, before you do kill me just think this through." 

Peter doesn't respond and Bucky slowly pushes himself onto his elbow and wipes away some of the blood falling down his face. The two hear the click-clack of high heels on the floor and look up to see Kalee standing next to the front counter. 

"Peter, Peter, Peter, how nieve you are. And James? Going soft are you?"

Bucky grits his teeth and pushes himself to his feet, "I'm going to murder you." 

The girl just laughs, "Yeah, and spend the rest of your life rotting in the raft? I don't think so. I'm sorry I lied to you, Peter. But that man killed your parents and that is a fact. He deserves to-" 

The door bursts open and Bucky quickly pulls Peter to the side, sheltering him from the possible attacker. To his shock and benefit, it is the police. 

"Kalee Batrei, you are under arrest." 

The woman pulls a gun from the back of her skirt and points it directly at the officers who already have thier guns drawn. Bucky motions for Peter to stay where he is and slowly moves around the perimeter of the room. Once he is in reach, he jumps on the woman, effectively stripping her of her gun. For being a HYDRA agent, she really isn't that smart. 

"I hate you all!" She screams in anguish.

...

"So, did you call the police?" Bucky asks tucking his hands into his pockets. 

Peter nods but doesn't say anything. 

"Look, I'm not asking for forgiveness, I took your parents from you. But just know that I will never forgive myself either." Bucky sighs and starts walking towards the door of the sub shop. 

"James, I know it was against your will but..." The boy trails off and Bucky offers him a small smile. 

"I know," Bucky walks closer to the door but pauses, "For the record, the only reason why you got any punches in at all is because I let you." 

Peter scoffs, "Yeah, right, old man," he retorts his voice dripping in sarcasm. 

"Whatever bug boy." 

As Bucky leaves he can faintly hear Peter shouting behind him, "It's an arachnid! Get it right." 

...

That night Bucky sits on his chair with his notebook in hand. He flips to his current page and stares at the name. With a loud sigh and a hint of a smile, he crosses it off with the quick flick of his wrist. 

Next up: Y. Nakajima