War of Change // TFATWS

XVII

[Truth]

Bucky and Michaela ran to the warehouse while Sam flew.

They found John kneeling in the warehouse, shield and hands bloody. The Avengers stopped and John stood and said, "Time to go to work."

John marched towards them and Sam called, "Walker..."

"You guys should see a medic, you don't look so good."

"Stop, Walker."

John looked at Sam. "What? You saw what happened. You know what I had to do. I killed him because I had to! He killed Lemar!"

Michaela shook her head. "He didn't kill Lemar, John. But you did nearly kill me."

Bucky sighed. "Don't go down that road. Believe me, it doesn't end well. You hurt my girl, and that doesn't sit well with me."

"I'm not like you."

Michaela's tone was cold as she said, "Tread lightly, Walker."

Sam looked between the others before saying, "Listen, it was the heat of the battle. Okay? If you explain what happened, they may consider your record. We don't want anyone else to get hurt. John... You gotta give me the shield, man."

"Oh, so that's what this is," John said, looking up before staring at the three Avengers. "You almost got me."

"You made a mistake."

"You don't wanna do this."

Bucky and Michaela exchanged a look before replying, "Yeah, we do."

They ran at John at the same time, but he managed to fight them off. He dodged kicks and punches before kicking Sam away, then shoved Michaela away and turned his attention to Bucky.

Bucky swung at John, breaking one of the metal supports when he hit it. John dodged it and threw the shield at Bucky, sending him back into a forklift. "Why are you making me do this?" John yelled.

John picked up the shield, pushing Bucky against the lift before throwing him into a pole.

Bucky fell as electricity surged through his Vibranium arm and body. Michaela ran up to Bucky to make sure he was all right and he gave her a weak nod.

Sam moved between the couple and John before saying, "This isn't you, John."

John panted and said, "We could've been a team." He and Sam fought, Sam in the air and John on the ground.

Michaela stood and shook her head. "No. You're not." She punched John, causing him to stumble back.

John went to stab Sam with the shield and Bucky lunged at him, knocking him away from Sam. The two exchanged punches, with Bucky ending up on the ground. Once again, John raised the shield.

They managed to get the shield out of John's hand, at the expense of his elbow.

Bucky and Michaela walked towards Sam and heard John say behind them, "That's mine."

Sam panted and said, "It's over, John."

"It's mine."