The prisoners were woken abruptly from their sleep a few hours later and pulled into the prep area. As much as Rose wanted to hate the uniform they gave her, she couldn't. Had the colors been her usual navy and white, Rose would have preferred it. The right sleeve was full length, but they opted for an armored left arm, and the neckline was a turtleneck style. Clearly, the point was to mimic Bucky's uniform with the armor, but it complimented the uniform well. While Bucky's suit was meant for stealth, hers was made to stand out against his black and silver. Rose pulled on the bright red uniform, upset she would stick out like a sore thumb in it. To tie the uniform together there was a mask, but Rose simply left it behind, knowing her face would be plastered on magazines after this stunt anyway, especially in what she wore. She was quick to change and handed every gun and knife her suit could hold.
"Is this really necessary?" laughed Rose, looking at all the weapons on her person. She normally carried a pistol and a knife but relied on her powers to defend her.
"Can never be too careful," hummed one of the agents. Rumlow had left the two, prepping for his portion of the mission back at SHIELD. After the duo was prepped, they were moved to a vehicle to take them to the Triskelion building.
Stevie? We are en route, said Rose through the mind link, unsure if he would be able to hear her, Bucky is remembering a little, but will still follow his orders so we need to figure that out.
Relief spread over her face quickly as she heard Steve answer back, I'll be on your left wherever you are Rosie, but you need to hurry.
Bucky and Rose arrived on the scene to see some SHIELD agents running for quinjets to provide aerial support for Steve and Sam. Bucky's eyes iced over, his expression hardening, and Rose knew she wouldn't be able to hold him back. She started yelling at the men to back away from the jets, but they didn't listen to the girl standing next to the Winter Soldier. He refused to look Rose in the face, knowing he would disobey orders if he did, so he proceeded to fire at the pilots, taking them down with precision. He left one quinjet undestroyed, pulling the girl in red with him as they took off.
"You didn't have to-"
"Don't. Talk," emphasized Bucky. Rose quieted down, knowing his head was most likely going a million miles a minute. She reached across carefully, but decided against it and dropped her hand into her own lap. A flash of disappointment ran across Bucky's face at the lack of contact, but he couldn't understand why. Before he could question it, he landed the plane on the final helicarrier to take on Sam and Steve.
Stay in here, ordered Bucky as he went for the opening bay door.
They're not going to shoot at me, answered Rose, following closely behind.
He stopped and turned to her, a soft hardness to his face, "Please, stay."
Seeing the look in his eye, Rose only nodded and sat down until he had fully turned the corner out of the jet.
Steve? I'm at the jet alone, you can sneak the chip to me and I can deal with that while you distract Buck, calls Rose, winding her way to the fight slowly. She didn't receive a response but saw that Bucky was busy trying to ground Sam, destroying the wings of his uniform before tossing him over the side. Steve ran back, but not before throwing Rose the chip. She moved quickly, but Bucky had caught the flash of red as she ran into the control center of the carrier. Throwing Steve like a ragdoll, the Winter Soldier ran after her. Rose was just a few feet away from the tower containing the chips when Bucky made his presence known. Turning quickly, Rose pulled her gun, aiming directly at his chest to stop him from coming closer.
"People are going to die, Sarge," she almost whispered, "We can't let that happen... Please don't make me do this."
The tears falling from her eyes were almost enough to bring Bucky out from behind the curtain of the Winter Soldier, but the notion of failed orders struck fear in him. He took a step closer, and when Rose didn't fire, he jumped the distance and knocked the gun from her hand. He held her in a chokehold, not noticing Steve joining the fight, throwing his shield at his former friend. Bucky picked up on the movement, and let go of Rose to deflect the vibranium frisbee, which let her get free from his hold completely. Swinging her momentum at him, Rose was able to land a kick to Bucky's shoulder where metal met flesh, sending him down to the glass below. Rose ran for the chip as Steve did, but he got there first.
"Give me the chip Steve," beckons Rose, extending her hand to the blond.
"How do I know it's you?" he questioned as he moved into a ready stance, just to be safe.
"I taught you the box step in Buffalo, the day after we found out about Italy because you wanted to impress Pegs, but you fell on your-"
"Okay, it's you, go," he stammers, "I'll take care of Buck."
Steve jumped down as Rose ran to the tower, opening it. She had pulled the chip from the tower, about to place the one from Maria in, when a single shot rang out. Rose stopped and turned to look at the two men, seeing Bucky holding a gun in his hand. But it wasn't aimed at Steve as she had initially worried, it was aimed at her. She looked down, to see the red of her uniform being stained with the red of her blood as it began to soak through her abdomen. Letting the initial shock wash over her, Rose turned to lock in the final chip, allowing Hydra's control of the helicarrier to disintegrate, before falling to her knees and all the way down to the glass. Steve caught her before she hit her head, placing her down gently.
"Charlie is locked Maria," calls Steve over his earpiece, "Light them up."
Bucky ran over to Rose, his face switching from recognition to fear and then to horror at what he had done. Before he could reach out for her, Steve shoved him away, and the recognition cleared from his face. Winter had returned, staring at the man in the patriotic uniform.
"You know me," said Steve, trying to bring Bucky back out.
"No I don't!" yelled Barnes, slamming his fist into Steve's face. Steve stumbled, letting Bucky move past him to Rose. He gently placed his hand on her face, noting the glazed look in her eyes as she tried to hang on.
"Doll?" he whispered out, afraid she would break more if he spoke too loud. A whisper of a smile crossed her face as she looked up at him, tears beginning to fall.
"H-hey, Sarge," she whispered back, coughing from the pain. She tried to keep talking, but he stopped her.
"I'm so sorry," he whispered, leaning his forehead against hers, "I remembered too late."
"You think some measly bullet wound is gonna send me running?" laughed Rose, grabbing his metal hand in hers, "you're gonna have to try a lot harder to get rid of me."
Her head rolled to the side, and she saw Steve with tears on his face as well.
"We have to go," said Steve, pulling himself from the ground, gently placing a hand on Bucky's shoulder. The brunette didn't pull his gaze from the girl until she nodded, motioning for him to pick her up, which he did with ease. They started to move, but the helicarrier shook as the three began to fire on each other. A beam of steel broke loose, crashing into the glass panel underneath the three, sending them to the Potomac below.
YOU ARE READING
Becoming Legion
Fiksi Ilmiah~Book Two in the Ms. America Series~ Rose had been lost. Since coming off the ice, her mind became a confusing place to be. With the help of her friends, Rose had been able to rebuild her memories. But now, she faced evils that would threaten her mi...
