Blood dripped from Rhiley's nose.
She'd held him back long enough for Tony to save Pepper. Now, tucked behind a blue trash can, half-hidden from the chaos, she fought to stay conscious. Her hands trembled as she braced against the cool metal.
And there he was—Howard—looming just beyond her blurred vision, watching with that maddening smirk.
"You've still got it."
"Can't you just go away?" she mumbled.
"Rhiley—hey, it's me."
Phil's voice cut through her haze. She nearly struck him, but he caught her hand mid-swing, steady and calm.
"Easy," he said, slipping her arm around his shoulder. "I'm getting you out of here."
"Pepper?" Rhiley rasped.
"She's fine."
Rhiley nodded weakly. "I need to help."
"You've been shot."
"I took care of it." She didn't bother hiding the burn-scabbed wound. There wasn't time for secrets anymore. "Shouldn't you be helping, too?"
"I am."
"I don't need help."
Phil stopped walking. "This isn't your battle, Stark."
The word hit harder than any bullet.
Rhiley froze. Stepped away from him. Her hand, red and scarred, hung in plain view now. She didn't care.
"You're a Stark, aren't you?" he asked.
She looked up toward the skyline where metal clashed and smoke billowed and nodded once. "That thing's going to blow," she said quietly. "I can delay it. Long enough for Tony to stop it."
"What are you talking about?"
"I can't explain. Not now." She pointed to the reactor in the distance. "We have to get there."
—
—
—
"How the hell do I shut it down?!" Pepper's voice came through the comms, strained, panicked. "I'm in the control room—now what?!"
"Central panel," Rhiley heard everything. "Red button. Press it." She stayed out of sight, not wanting Pepper to see her like this—bleeding, wrecked, barely holding it together. She looked over at Phil.
"Go. Do what agents do. I swear, I can handle this."
Phil didn't move.
"Do you trust me?" she asked. "Because I trust you. I need you to trust me."
Phil's gaze softened. He pointed a finger at her.
"You're telling me everything once this is over."
"Deal," she promised, nudging him toward the exit.
She didn't have a plan. Not really. She didn't know if she could even hold the energy back, but she had to try. Long enough to buy them a future.
She ducked around the reactor, eyes narrowed. She focused like she had with the rocks. She was born different. That couldn't just vanish.
"If I can stop it from moving..." She reached out with her mind, tried to grasp the pulsing energy.
It threw her back like a rag doll.
She hit the wall hard, gasping, blood dripping from her ears now.
"Shit," she muttered.
YOU ARE READING
Radioactive | Bucky Barnes
Fanfiction"I want to go back to the time you first told me your name." Rhiley, the twin sister of Howard Stark, finds herself wrapped up with the one and only James Barnes. The next time she sees him is on her new assignment with the 107th Infantry Regiment...
