I Can't Help It - Steve Rogers

Chapter 25

Once the door stops skidding Rachel gets to her feet with Steve by her side. They look across the road to see the Winter Soldier raise a gun at them and pulling the trigger. Steve quickly pushes Rachel out of the way before raising his shield to protect himself. The bullet hits the shield and sends Steve backwards and into the windshield of a car. "Steve!" Rachel yells. Steve's sent off the bridge and through the window of a bus, causing a crash below the bridge. Rachel goes to run towards the edge of the bridge to check on Steve but before she can take one step bullets start hitting the vehicles around her. She quickly takes cover, the same as Nat and Sam as they were all spread out across the bridge. All of them, besides Steve.

Rachel and Nat start firing at their attackers while Sam runs from the gunfire, since he doesn't have any form of defence at all. He's better off getting distance and cover. The Winter Soldier targets Nat as she avoids his gunfire and other vehicles on the bridge. Rachel uses the moment of quietness to run towards the edge of the bridge and jump. She uses her powers to gently land on her feet before rushing towards the bus that's on it's side.

She starts helping people out of the bus with anyone else who was helping. She hears an explosion from behind her and turns to see Nat landing on the ground underneath the bridge. Nat gives her a nod before Rachel turns back to help the civilians. She glances between the last few people and sees Steve lying down in the back. "Go, get out of here" she tells everyone when the last person's out of the bus. They all quickly leave, helping those who were injured while Rachel rushes in to Steve.

"Steve" she repeats as she shakes Steve awake. He groans as he opens his eyes and Rachel sighs in relief. "Thank god. We've gotta go" she states as he starts climbing to his feet. Before either of them take a step, bullets are fired through the bus, straight at them. Rachel quickly raises a barrier of her energy to protect them as they run out of the bus. Steve jumps out of the back window and grabs his shield with Rachel jumping out behind him and lowering her barrier from in front of him once he has his shield. They both protect themselves from the gunfire while eliminating the shooters one by one. Steve ricochets the bullets off his shield while Rachel sends balls of energy at the men to knock them off their feet.

However, Rachel remembers that Nat is dealing with the Winter Soldier by herself and knows she needs to help her. "Steve, I'm going to help Nat" she yells at Steve and he looks over at her before giving her a nod. She runs past the vehicles, keeping her barrier up as the shooters keep their aim on her. Once she rounds a corner she lowers the barrier and takes a deep breath as she listens and looks for any sign of Nat or the Winter Soldier.

Meanwhile, Steve tries to deal with the last of the shooters as quickly as possible. He's aware that Rachel and Nat are alone with the Winter Soldier and he's worried, he knows he needs to get to them since he's the only one who can match the soldier's strength. Luckily, Sam has acquired a gun and assures Steve he can go help the girls.

Rachel finally spots Nat's vibrant red hair as she runs across a pavement, yelling for people to get out of the way. Rachel catches a glimpse of the Winter Soldier raising his gun and taking the shot. Nat falls to the ground and backs up against a car for cover as she frantically looks around for the soldier. Rachel sees the soldier jump onto the car bonnet, raising the gun at Nat. Rachel quickly sends a ball of energy at the soldier and he's sent off the car bonnet and to the floor.

Rachel runs straight to him and throws a punch at him, that he catches easily. He punches her with his metal arm and she lands roughly on the floor. She sends a force of energy at him and he loses his footing, allowing her to get a few hits in until he manages to wrap his metal hand around her throat. He lifts her off the floor and she starts gasping for air. She tries using her powers to pry his hand off her throat but his grip is too tight and she's losing her concentration as he squeezes even harder, keeping her feet off the ground. The soldier involuntarily drops her when he's sent off balance by a strong force. Steve had thrown his shield at him in an attempt to get him to drop Rachel, which he did. She gasps for air and coughs on the ground while Steve fights the Winter Soldier.

Steve throws the soldier over his shoulder and to the ground, causing the soldier's mask to fall off in the process. "Bucky?" Steve questions and Rachel raises her head tiredly. "Who the hell is Bucky?" the soldier responds, raising a gun at Steve. Before he can pull the trigger, Sam flies in with his wings and knocks Bucky off his feet. Bucky climbs to his feet and raises his gun at a shocked Steve but this time Nat fires the grenade launcher at him. When the smoke clears, Bucky is gone and multiple Shield vehicles enter the scene.

While the vehicles pull up, Sam is helping Rachel to her feet while she continues to take deep breaths. "I'm ok" she rasps, assuring him as she lets go of his hand. Agents pour out of the Shield vehicles and raise their guns at everyone, demanding they raise their hands. Sam and Rachel raise their hands and Rachel glances over at Steve to see his shocked expression while Rumlow puts him in handcuffs. The agents escort all four of them to a security vehicle and lock them in the back with their hands and feet locked in place, along with two guards to supervise them.