The Equivalents

44. James Barnes. Bucky.

A/N: Before becoming the Winter Soldier, Bucky's superhero name... was Bucky. Anyone else see a problem with that?!?! *sigh* 🤦‍♀️

Steve took off to the only place he could think of. The nearest runway.

The only thing Zemo could be referring to when talking about his father would be when the first Zemo killed Captain America and Bucky. Well, more specifically Bucky. Steve just turned into a capsicle. Bucky on the other hand actually died in the explosion while also losing his arm. But since he was frozen and preserved like Steve was, the Russians were able to revive him like how a doctor might be able to revive a patient who's been dead for five minutes. Bucky was dead longer then that, but again, preservation.

The only thing is, last time Bucky got lucky. The damage to his body wasn't as severe since his arm absorbed the blow. That happened because his arm got stuck. But what would happen if his entire body was chained to this plane?

When Bucky woke up, that's exactly the situation he was in. He was at some runway in the middle of nowhere. The only building in sight was a barn to his left. He was chained down with heavy duty chains and gagged as well. His left arm was gone again which meant that he couldn't just break them either.

Even though he knew he wouldn't be able to get out of this one, he still tried as hard as he could to break free. It was to no avail.

Zemo noticed he had finally woken up and made his way over to him. Bucky was not happy. This wasn't the first time Baron Zemo had tried to 'follow in his father's footsteps'. But this time was really annoying. Bucky was already weak and now he didn't have a left arm either. He wasn't liking his odds. Zemo found them quite appeasing. Red Skull was also there as well, feeling mighty proud of himself for doing literally nothing. He was just doing the same thing he did back in World War II. Using other people for his glory. And Red Skull especially liked using Bucky to get to Captain America.

"Funny how we always come back to here." Zemo grinned under his mask. "This little tradition of ours began with my father, so many years ago. But today, I will end it once and for all. No letting your arm absorb the blow, no bionic appendages, and no friends to save you."

Bucky just glared back at him. He wasn't going to let Zemo think he had won. He wasn't going to die giving one of his worst enemies that satisfaction. Not now, not in a million years.

"I can't say you won't be missed. I'm counting on Rogers to mourn you. I hope your death will make him suffer." Zemo continued.

"Zen vhen he zinks it's all over. I vill finish him off once and for all!" Red Skull cheered. "He vill be veak. His death vill be your fault!"

That struck a nerve. Steve was his best friend. Practically his brother. Bucky couldn't bare the thought of Steve dying because of him. Because his death made him off guard. Off guard enough for Red Skull to strike when he least expected. To kill him once and for all.

"It has been fun, but this is where it ends." Zemo sighed. "I didn't want it to come to this. I wanted the Winter Soldier. But you refused. Good day, Mr. Barnes."

Zemo and Red Skull left him. Bucky tried to get loose. It wasn't until he heard a beeping noise that he realized there was a countdown on the side of the missile/plane thing. Five minutes. Five minutes before he went boom. Before his life ended and it started a chain reaction that could potentially destroy the Avengers. All it took was for him to die. Then Steve would mourn and Red Skull would kill him. Then all the Avengers would mourn Steve and meet the same fate. Potentially.

Bucky tried as hard as he could to get free, but this situation would've been hard to get out of with two arms. He had one. It wouldn't have been a problem though for his metal arm. He missed his metal arm. The one with the red star on it. The red star he put on there for Natasha. So that even if she didn't love him, a part of her could always be with him.

About two minutes were left when Bucky gave up hope. That is, until a familiar face showed up on a motorcycle he had stolen from one of the henchmen at the mental hospital after he figured out where his best friend was. Dang, that sentence was wordy.

Steve came riding in to the rescue. He jumped off his bike and ran over to Bucky, who was more than happy to see him.

"Bucky!" Steve yelled as he ran over and pulled the gag out of his mouth. "You're still alive!"

"Not for long." Bucky stated. The time on the clock was down to a minute. "You wouldn't happen to have bolt cutters, would you?"

"Not on me." Steve sighed. "I might be able to break the lock."

As Steve was trying to find the lock, the plane started moving. It was going down the runway, and it was gaining speed fast.

"We're running out of time, Steve!" Bucky yelled.

Right as they got to the end of the runway and the plane started taking off, Steve broke the lock and pulled the chains off Bucky. He then grabbed Bucky and jumped off the plane, both of them falling about ten feet. It wasn't the most comfortable landing, but they both watched as eight seconds later, the plane blew up! Steve used his shield to cover them from the explosion. That could've been them. They could've gone boom.

"We did it." Steve gave a small, out of breath cheer. "You alright, Buck?"

"Never better, Steve." Bucky laughed. "Never better."