Blades & Ballet | Bucky x Reader

Twenty-Five

Dressed in our tactical gear, Sam leads us to the North Plaza and calls out across the small courtyard. "Karli!"

Movement above catches our attention, and we look up to see Karli leaning over the railing of the balcony. Sam turns toward a nearby archway, and we follow him up the stairs to the next level, hanging back as he approaches Karli.

"You called my sister?" Sam demands. "That's how we're gonna play this?"

"Sam, I would never hurt her," Karli assures him. "I just wanted to understand you better... I see you, um, didn't come alone."

"You have to end this now," Sam demands.

"I don't wanna hurt you," Karli replies. "You're just a tool in the regimes I want to destroy. You're not hiding behind a shield. If I were to kill you, it'd be meaningless."

Sam glances back at Y/n and me, a pensive look on his face.

"I was gonna ask you to join me," Karli continues. "Or, do the world a favour and let me go."

Sharon's voice suddenly appears through our communicators. "Hey, Sam, new Cap is moving. Looks like he's found them, or maybe they found him."

Sam's eyes snap to us. "It's Walker."

Karli leaps over the banister at the same time I do, colliding with my side and knocking me into a pillar. Sam jumps down after us, engaging with Karli as Y/n drops down beside us, tucking and rolling as she hits the ground.

Sam kicks Karli into a pillar before turning to me. "I'll send you the location. Go!"

I propel myself forward, sprinting through the streets as I make my way to Walker's location. I push through the doors of the building, climbing the stairs two by two.

As I reach the first landing, a Flag Smasher drops from above, tackling me into the wall and getting his arm around my throat. I grab his wrist as I kick the wall in front of me, smashing us into the pillar behind us and breaking his grip. He throws a punch, but I dodge it, kicking him down the stairs and jumping down after him. As the Flag Smasher gets up, I stomp him in the chest, sending him through the crumbling brick wall.

"Stay there," I order before continuing up the stairs.

I find Sam, Walker, and Y/n on the upper floor, fighting a group of Flag Smashers. A knife flies at my head as I enter the room, but I easily catch it, turning to see a Flag Smasher pulling a second knife from his jacket.

He charges at me, and I duck out of the way as he flips and spins, blocking his attacks with my metal arm before grabbing his neck and flipping him to the ground. As a final warning, I flip the knife in my hand, launching it at the concrete floor just inches from his head, where it lodges upright.

Sam blasts his suit's thrusters in a Smasher's face, and he stumbles back from the heat, tripping over a table. Walker tosses the shield between blows as he takes on two of the Smashers on the far side of the room, and nearby, Y/n fights off a third, twisting around his body before sweeping his legs out from under him.

One of the Smashers gets away from Walker, and he charges toward Y/n, but I knock him to the ground before he can get close.

"You're welcome," I state as her gaze snaps to us, and she launches her dagger past me, where buries itself into the thigh of a Smasher as he runs toward me.

"Right back atcha," she replies.

One of the Smashers gets behind Walker, holding him in place as Karli charges in with a knife. Y/n hurries to stop her, but Hoskins suddenly bursts through the door, beating her to it. He and Karli hit the ground, and as they scramble to their feet, Karli punches him in the chest with enough force that he hits a pillar with a sickening crack. The fighting stops, and our eyes snap to the sound to see Lemar Hoskins' unconscious figure slumped on the ground, blood trickling from his mouth.

Walker frees himself from the Flag Smasher's grip, slowly approaching Hoskins' body. "Hey. Hey. Hey. Lemar. Lemar."

"Fuck..." Y/n breathes, glancing between me and Sam.

Realization dawns on Walker, and the Flag Smashers scatter. Karli dashes through one of the archways, making her way down a flight of stairs. Sam, Y/n, and I follow her, but we soon lose sight of her as she weaves her way through the busy street.

We keep moving through the street, soon coming to a large crowd of people surrounding the open plaza. Pushing through the crowd, we see what they're all looking at. In the centre of the plaza, the shield dripping with blood, Walker stands over the body of the Flag Smasher he just killed.