Blades & Ballet | Bucky x Reader

Thirty-One

A Flag Smasher swings a parking meter at Walker, but I tackle him before it can hit, the two of us colliding with the ground. The Smasher scrambles to get up, and I punch him in the stomach with my metal arm, sending him crashing into the chain link fence behind him. Again, he scrambles up as I approach him, and I swing, punching him twice before kicking him back down.

Karli grabs the parking meter from the ground to swing it at my head, but I duck out of the way just in time. She swings again and again, forcing me backward, and I grab the length of chain resting on one of the concrete barriers, using them to add extra weight to my punch.

The other Smasher spins on his toes, kicking me in the chest and sending me flying toward the end of the construction sight. I throw my metal arm out, trying to find purchase to slow myself down, but I find none, and I slip over the edge of the metal scaffolding, falling into the pit below.

"Bucky!" Y/n shouts from above, and I look up to see a Flag Smasher plunging down, a metal construction beam raised above his head.

I raise my arm just in time to stop the blow, but the Smasher tries again, striking me over and over with the metal bar. Grabbing a hold of it, I twist the bar around, disarming the Smasher and striking him across the face. He falls to the ground.

Metal creaks above me, and I look up to see the other evac truck leaning precariously over the edge of the structure, slowing shifting forward as the metal breaks under its weight. Before it can slide off completely, the truck is hauled backward, and the bent and busted shield of John Walker lands on the ground beside me. I look back up to see him pulling the truck back onto the structure.

At that moment, a Flag Smasher lunges at Walker, but Walker punches him away as Karli launches herself onto his back, trying to pull him away from the truck. Y/n jumps, grabbing the handle on the side of the truck to swing and kick Karli off. The other Smasher returns to them, grabbing Y/n as he tries to pull her away.

Walker loses his grip as they struggle, and the four of them fall from the structure. Y/n kicks herself away from the group, spreading her arms wide in an insane trust fall. I sprint forward, diving to catch her and flipping onto my back to break her fall. The other three crash to the ground in a heap.

Y/n scrambles to her knees, staring upward as the truck slides forward. "No!"

It's doesn't fall far. Sam swoops in at the last second in his new Wakandan-made Captain America suit, getting under the front of the truck as he tries to push it back up onto the scaffolding.

I pull Walker and Y/n to their feet as the Flag Smashers move out of the impact zone, and we watch as two of Sam's drones attach themselves to the front of the truck, giving him extra thrust to force it safely onto the metal structure. I smile up at him with pride as Y/n lets out a relieved laugh, the crowd above cheering their new Captain America.

The victory is short lived as I sense the metal pole coming straight for my head, and I move out of the way just in time, catching it with my metal hand. I turn to face Karli and the Flag Smashers, but Sam throws his shield, bouncing it off every single Smasher before it returns to his arm. He lands on the ground beside us, his wings retracting into his jetpack.

Karli takes off her mask, staring at Sam with disbelief. "You of all people bought into that bullshit?"

"I'm trying something different," Sam declares. "Maybe you should do the same."

From somewhere above, someone shoots a handful of gas bombs down on us, and the Smashers use the smoke to flee.

"This way," Sam states, using the thermal detector in his goggles to follow them.

"Hey, Sharon," I call through the communicators. "We're underground. We entered the tunnel on William. Heading south."

Soon enough, we reach a fork in the tunnel, and Sam uses his goggles to scan for footprints. "Looks like they split up."

Walker takes the tunnel to the right, and I turn to Sam. "I got it."

I split off from Sam and Y/n as I follow Walker, soon coming to a room full of pipes and vents. Finding no one else, Walker and I run down another tunnel, following the maze until we find an exit out the back of a building.

"What now?" Walker asks.

"I've got an idea," I tell him, remembering that I still have the phone Karli called me on. "Call SWAT and the NYPD, tell them that the Flag Smashers will be here momentarily."

Surprisingly enough, the phone has no lock, and it only takes me a few seconds to log into the Flag Smashers' secure app. I geotag our location, claiming to be a supporter and offering safe passage to get the Flag Smashers out of the area. Once sent, all we need to do now is wait.

A few minutes later, I hear the door open at the back of the build and the hushed voices of the Smashers as they approach search for the supporter.

Once they're in our sights, Walker steps out in front of them. "'Mercy bears richer fruit than strict justice'," Walker quotes.

I step out beside him, waving the phone at the Smashers. "It's a great app."

At that moment, police officers and SWAT teams surround us on all sides, moving in to arrest the remaining Flag Smashers.

"Thank you," I say to them before heading up the street. Walker claps my back as he follows me. I turn to him. "Lincoln? Really?"

"Great man," Walker declares. "Great quote."

"Not when you say it," I retort.