The long lost Barnes

The Rescue

Day Forty-Eight: The Fight to Save Her

The weight of the past twenty-four hours was suffocating.

Bucky paced the length of the Avengers' command center, the hum of the monitors, the clacking of keyboards, and the muted voices of his teammates blending into the background noise of his own fury. Every step was a storm—his fists clenched at his sides, his thoughts a thousand miles away, and his heart still torn by the image of Leia, crying out to him as she was dragged into the shadows by Hydra's agents.

He could still hear her voice. Please. I didn't want this.

The words echoed in his mind, drowning out everything else.

She had given herself to them. To save him. And now she was in their clutches again.

But Bucky wasn't about to let that happen—not on his watch.

"We're going to get her back," he muttered under his breath, his voice low, dangerous. His eyes flicked over to Steve, who was seated across the room, studying the mission reports with a grim expression on his face. Neither of them had slept in the past day—sleep was a luxury neither of them could afford. Not when Leia was out there, alone and in danger.

Steve looked up, catching Bucky's gaze. Without needing words, they shared a silent understanding—a shared bond of unbreakable loyalty. They had both lost her once before. Neither of them would let it happen again.

Steve leaned forward, his hands clasped together. "I've been going over the intel," he said, his voice calm but purposeful. "They've taken her to a Hydra base in Siberia. We know the location. But it's heavily guarded. We'll need to move fast and hit them hard."

Bucky nodded. "And we're not going alone," he growled, his jaw tight with determination. "I'm not losing her again, Steve. We need the team."

Steve's eyes softened, understanding the weight of the moment. But there was a fierceness in his expression that matched Bucky's. They weren't just fighting for a teammate, or for a woman who had once been the heart of their world—they were fighting for the soul of the one who had saved them both.

"We'll get the team," Steve replied. "But we need to be smart about this. Hydra's expecting us. We go in too loud, too fast, and they'll move her again. We can't let that happen."

Natasha, Clint, Sam, Wanda, and Vision filed into the room, their faces set with a grim determination. They all knew the stakes. They'd been to hell and back with Bucky and Steve, and now they were standing on the precipice of another war—this time not against some faceless enemy, but against the very organization that had shaped and destroyed their lives.

Sam nodded, adjusting his gear. "Siberia. Sounds like a party. But I'm not waiting around for Hydra to play their games. Let's do this."

Wanda spoke next, her voice steady despite the tension in the room. "We can take them down. But we need to keep Leia alive. Whatever they're planning, we have to make sure she doesn't become part of their experiments again."

"Don't worry about that," Bucky said, his voice a low growl. "I'm not leaving her behind. Not this time."

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The jet was silent as it cut through the dark sky, the cold wind battering against the hull. They were on their way to Siberia, to the heart of Hydra's stronghold. The night outside was as dark as Bucky's thoughts, the world outside distant and cold, just like the feeling that had taken root in his chest ever since Leia's kidnapping.