2| Platinum [Pietro M.] ✔

33. Bohemian Rapsody

When I begin to surface, the first thing I feel is a painful headache that pounds against my skull. It feels like war drums are trapped inside the confines of my mind. They're angry, threatening, and ready to explode. I clench my jaw, my eyelids squeezing together before my lips pull back. My teeth are revealed, clenched so hard that I feel like they're about to break. I don't know where I am. I don't know what's happened since I was electrocuted. I'm lost, I'm tired, I want food and a nap, and I really wanna punch someone into the next dimension.

My senses come back to me slowly before they all crash down on me like a child dumping out the contents of their toy box onto the floor. I let out a sharp hiss as my head jerks backward before slamming against something hard, cold, and metal. My jaw goes back to being clenched. My hands ball into fists as I slowly open my eyes towards the ceiling. I seem to be in some sort of armored vehicle. Four guards in the confines with me all have their weapons drawn and aimed at my chest. Tiny red dots dance across my torso in a messy dance as I force myself not to squirm in my seat. I feel like a dog with a headache they don't understand. Everything hurts, nothing makes sense, and I'm ready to lash out. "Don't fight it. Relax." A gruff voice offers. A familiar voice.

I slowly allow my eyes to drop, shifting to the left. Sitting in a glass container like a science experiment is Barnes. His chest, legs, and arms are latched to the chair he's sitting on. His face is emotionless, blank. He looks eerily calm as he looks at me. But if I've learned anything about reading emotions from Natasha, I can see a faint undertone of worry within the depths of his glacier blue eyes. I release a shaky exhale and allow my fists to relax until my hands are lying palm down on my pants. I inhale deeply and exhale slowly in a repeated cycle. Soon the vibrant pain I feel begins to dissipate. The guards also seem to be slowly relaxing. I slacken my jaw and let a quiet huff escape me as my eyes lock onto the opposite wall of the vehicle I'm in. After I feel completely relaxed and the pounding in my skull dulls, I look down at my lap. In addition to cuffs, I have rather odd looking....bracers? They look like branches wound together, starting at a cuff around my wrist before crawling up to my elbow. They're silver and look rather cool if I may say so. However, I know this is no simple jewelry considering I'm now a convict. I assume it's one of Tony's inventions to keep enhanced subdued. I should've known better than to become his little science experiment during training. I should've known that collected data would eventually be used against me.

"Ah, so which one of you lovely people care to explain these lovely little decorations adorning my arms?" I question in a sickly sweet tone. I even flutter my lashes at the male sitting on the bench across from me. He scowls at me before whipping out a cattle prod looking device. It lights up blue as electricity crawls up and down the length of it. I hold my hands up in surrender before sitting back in my seat further. I hear a cackle from the man sitting next to the one who pulled the weapon out on me. In the corner of my eye, I can see Bucky glaring at the two of them. "Rumpled hogs." I state and lean my head back against the wall. The man sitting next to me, rather burly looking, barks out something in German before elbowing me in the ribs. I hiss in pain as my side caves and while placing a hand on the flesh that was hit. My lips turn into a grimace. Barnes now seems ready to punch someone in the throat, just as I. "Alright. I am not some cattle you get to threaten, beat, and laugh at you dethawed turkeys." I snap harshly as my eyes light up in a golden haze before I feel the sharp pain return to my temples. "Ow," I mutter and duck my head. My eyes are firmly shut as I hunch forward, still gripping my side. "bloody hell...." I whisper as I allow my anger to die down. I find that as I do so, the pain begins to subside. "Tony's bloody brilliant, which means this just sucks more for me." I grumble, slowly fluttering my eyelids back open as I sit back up. Light bulbs explode within my mind as pieces of the puzzle begin to fall into place. The bracers are low frequency emitting devices that cause a disturbance to my normal brain functions whenever I draw upon my abilities.

Oh, how devilish.

Taking a few more calming breaths, I relax all my muscles. Laughter reaches my ears as it comes from all four guards. It angers me, but not enough for me to draw on my abilities. I sharply elbow the burly man next to me in the ribs, which causes him to let out a pained breath before hunching forward much like I had moments prior. The man across from me shouts before pulling out his electric stick. He lunges for me, but I throw up my arm. My forearm collides with his wrist before I force it to my right. This causes the blue cattle prod to come in contact with the large burly man. He shouts in pain before convulsing and falling to the floor of the truck. My lips pull back into a sadistic smile as I snatch the taser stick from the man, flip it in the air, and then thrust it directly into the hollow of his throat. At the same time, I pull up my left foot and kick him directly in the chest. My kick throws him against the far wall where he hits his head. He then falls to the ground with his other comrade.

The other two men begin to shout and draw their firearms. Before they get far, I dive forward after dropping the stick to the floor. I grab one man by the vest he wears and yank him to the right. His and the fourth man's heads collide sharply as a resounding crack echoes in the small area. They both let out shouts. I then wrench the third man forward and headbutt him. My vision blurs briefly, but I can tell he's gone limp. I don't support him and allow him to fall to the floor with his other two friends.

The fourth man is beginning to recover. However, before he can fully come to his senses, I backhand him. His head jerks to the side where it smashes against the back wall of the armored car we're in. I can tell he's disorientated, but he's not incapacitated. I scowl and grab him by the back of his head before bringing up my knee. I force my kneecap directly into his face and feel the crack of bone before the man falls to the side, also indisposed of. I already know his nose is broken and he's gonna have one hell of a headache when he comes to. I smirk to myself, let out a relieved sigh, and sit back down on the bench I was originally sitting on. I tilt my head and give Barnes a lopsided smile, to which he returns with wide, impressed eyes.

"Hey, they deserved that." I state and shrug my shoulders. Bucky shakes his head as a faint smile appears on his lips. "Although I must say that whole demonstration would have been 5,000% cooler if Bohemian Rhapsody was playing." My eyes shift to the opposite wall of the truck. I shrug to myself before looking over to Barnes again. "So how long was I out for?" I inquire.

"A few hours." He states calmly.

"Huh. Well, that was a crappy nap." I say and glare at the bodies at my feet. "Whatever." I fall silent for a moment. "Any idea where we're headed?" I ask and lift a brow at the WWII vet.

"No." He states curtly. Bucky then focuses his eyes on the back wall.

"Cool, cool." I say casually. "Uh, thanks for not abandoning me back at the highway." I offer with a smile. He just looks at me and I can see the faintest smile grace his lips before he nods. "I really enjoy not being dead." I joke.

"As do I." He replies and the two of us fall silent yet again, waiting to arrive wherever they're taking us.