Piece By Piece

Part 9

-Bucky's POV-

This crazy lady just stepped out. She didn't even think of using a shock wave, or the gun strapped to her thigh for emergencies, or kicking him, she opted to sacrifice herself instead. Natalia shot the soldier square between the eyes while he recovered from his surprise at Y/n stepping out. I ran forward and grabbed her small body, lifting her around my shoulders, and carrying her in army form as Natalia and I began running up flights of stairs. I lift weights heavier than her, but once we reached the top stairs I won't lie, I was getting tired. Despite me being hot and sweaty from fighting, my back felt cold, and I realized that it was her blood, pouring out of her.

"What the hell happened?!" Steve yelled as he rushed towards us.

"Looks like she fulfilled her purpose," came a female voice from the blast entry we used when we got here. Wanda.

"We don't have time for medical. We need to get to the jet before this place goes kaboom," Tony snapped, lifting Y/n off my shoulders, and carrying her bridal style through the air. We took off running through the snow and trees, and within minutes we heard the first blast.

-Time jump: on the jet-

-Y/n's POV-

I stood on the cliff, barefoot, with the fresh grass tickling the skin between my toes. Waves hit the rocky walls beneath me, occasionally sending a salty mist into my face. There were hardly any clouds in the distance, and I was in complete control. I was calm, and a a relaxed smile rested on my lips. I pressed my palms to my cheeks, and reveled in the feel of full and warm skin on my face. My peace was interrupted by a chorus of voices, echoing off the sky and into the space around me. I walked closer to the edge of the cliff, wanting to look over the edge.

"Y/n," I heard my mother's voice.

"Come home sweetie," my dad spoke. I turned around, prepared to fully rush into their arms, wanting nothing more than to be held by them again.

"Down here you silly girl." I froze, as tears of joy welled in my eyes. Pietro's voice carried over the edge of the cliff, hitting me right in the heart. I peered over the edge of the cliff to see them, all three of them standing on the rocks below.

"Just jump, and we can all be together again!" My mother told me, joy and warmth seeping out of her smile. I paused.

"What about Wanda?" I asked, climbing to my knees.

My father's face contorted in confusion.

"Who?" I was taken aback.

"Dad don't play. Wanda. The third child?" Pietro looked at me like I was crazy.

"Y/n, don't be ridiculous. Just come down here, and we can be a family again." I considered pitching myself over the edge, knowing they would catch me. Suddenly a wave of pain slammed into me, forcing me away from the edge. I tried to run back, but was hit again. Something was keeping me from being with my family.

"No!" I cried, scrambling to fight my way back to my family. "No, please no, I'm not done I need to see them, I need to be with them, please! Tears streamed down my face, and I cried out in anguish as another wave slammed into my chest, pushing me further from the people I loved.

I sucked in air like I had been suffocated for hours, as I took in my surroundings. I was on the Quinjet, now sitting up, thousands of feet in the air. I let out a sob, one that twisted my heart. Banner gently pushed me back into a laying position on the floor, and handed me an oxygen mask. I held it to my face as I sobbed once more.

Once I had calmed down, I observed Bruce's actions. He was putting away two red circular paddle-looking devices.

"What happened?" Bruce asked me softly. I coughed and wiped my tears. I had cried enough in front of the team.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Well I think you were dying and screaming 'no' as we shocked your heart, so I think something needs to be talked about." Tony said from above me, with his arms crossed. I glared. That's what the waves were. I looked at Bruce, who had slight concern etched into the lines on his face. "why didn't you just let me die?" I whisper so quietly that only Bruce could hear, and maybe the super soldiers with their bionic hearing. He simply shook his head sadly in response. I looked at the rest of the team. "Why am I even here? I fulfilled my mission, I acted as the human shield, I got shot, I did my part perfectly, why am I here?" The team all collectively looked at their feet.

"Barnes carried you out." Now if they had said that if I had grown wings and flew myself out while unconscious I would have been less surprised than this. I raised both eyebrows and steered my gaze to the man who had made his distaste for me abundantly clear. "I'm surprised you even touched me, given the diseases you think I have." His lips thinned at that.

"I think what you mean is thank you, considering I could have left you there to bleed out or be crushed by a building."

"So why didn't you? Obviously everyone would be more at peace had you left me, including myself, so why the fuck am I even alive right now?"

"Y/n, watch your mouth."

"Oh stuff it Steve. For fucks sake, why am I still here? Someone give me an answer, or so help me god, I'm going to throw all Bruce's hard work away and throw myself off this plane." No one answered. I began to laugh. "This is bullshit. You're all bullshit."

"Shut up, you're alive because we never know when we need a dummy to throw at some bad guys, hopefully with better guns than the last bad guy." Wanda was the only one to speak, and i simply looked at her, and then turned to the medkit. I grabbed out four tranquilizers. Not the light ones, and swallowed them one at a time. Bruce tried to protest, saying I shouldn't take anything until we have real medical tests done to see the damage, but I ignored him, laid my head back down, and prayed my heart would stop as I passed out.