RAISON D'ÊTRE ( bucky barnes ) 一 under editing

TWENTY-FOURTH

RAISON D'ÊTRE
TWENTY-FOURTH

SHE WAS RATHER GLAD SHE'D prepped several spells beforehand, because the next few minutes were filled with nothing but parkour and running. A hell of a lot of running. Rome had never been a particularly athletic person, and while she had used magic in a lot of fighting, she was considered a physically weak person. But still, she forced herself to push on and always keep Bucky within sight, hot on his heels, and she could already feel her body beginning to ache and tire. The spells she'd performed back on the rooftop would hopefully help with her endurance and stamina for the next hour or so, but the moment her time went out, she'd wear herself out and most likely pass out from exhaustion. Hopefully it wouldn't come to that.

Cars had swerved dangerously to avoid them as they ran, and Rome was quick to sidestep them. A few of them had honked at the duo as they ran past or dodged them, but other than that, the two didn't seem to particularly mind. In fact, it only aimed to make them run faster as the two were still being chased. When she tossed a quick glance over her shoulder, Rome's eyes went wide when she spotted the black suited man from the roof chasing after them, along with Steve Rogers. 

The wind roared in her ears and it made her eyes water, and she could already feel her legs resisting. But she couldn't stop now; if she stopped, then she'd get caught and the witch knew that if she got caught, Bucky would do everything in his power to free her. She couldn't let that happen, so Rome gulped and pushed further, arms swinging fast as her side as she sprinted down the street. She watched as Bucky jumped over cars while she easily twirled around them as they drove past. Man, it wasn't as easy as she thought to keep up with him.

Loud, whining sirens roared behind them and Rome had to hold in her gasp of surprise. Of course she assumed that the police could arrive at any time, but she didn't expect them to be here so quick. It must've only been a few minutes since her and Bucky had descended from the rooftops and started to run. Damn it, now they had to deal with the mysterious black suited man, Steve, and the police. Biting back a groan, she forced herself to keep her green eyes straight in front of her because she knew if she did and saw how close they were, the fear would start to sink in.

Suddenly latching out and grabbing Bucky's hand, she managed to twirl around and hold one of her hands out at one of the many police cars driving towards them. "Sispann la agresè," she shouted, and immediately, she witnessed as the car had flipped onto its side and obstructed the street, causing most of the others to swerve and stop, but a few had managed to slip through. She felt the tug of Bucky's hand and she immediately followed, Rome keeping her hand latched tightly in his.  

Her soldier started to slow a bit just as a motorcycle drove towards them. In one quick and fluid action, he had shoved the driver off the seat and spun himself on it, tugging on Rome's hand. He pulled her towards him and immediately started to speed off, her arms wrapping securely around his body. In any other case, she would have scolded him and said that that was unnecessary but they were currently running for their lives so scoldings would have to wait until later. "What do we do, what do we do," Rome muttered to herself, hands anxiously fisting Bucky's shirt. 

It was slowly becoming too much in the moment, and it was catching up to her. She could feel her throat start to constrict and her breathing grew heavy, and she held herself even tighter to Bucky. If it weren't for the vibration of the motorcycle beneath her, Rome would have felt her entire body shaking with fright. 

Once again, cars swerved to avoid them and Bucky narrowly dodged them all. Her eyes peeked over his shoulder and before she could say something in his ear, something black invaded her vision. "James!" she screamed, and watched in slow motion as the black suited man managed to pounce at them. However, Bucky caught him with ease and tossed him away as the mysterious man struggled to fight him.

Bucky reached into the backpack strapped to his body, gently peeling Rome off him, and retrieved a small circular device. She watched as he pressed a button on its surface and tossed it to the ceiling of the ceiling just as they passed it. Once Rome had pushed herself back against Bucky's body, she heard the explosive go off. But before they could celebrate and be in the clear, Rome could feel the motorcycle suddenly shift as the back tire gave out before it was almost ripped out from under them. Rome yelped loudly as her elbow connected with the concrete but was relieved to feel hands tug her against a body. It was Bucky, holding her to close to his chest and protecting her head as they fell and rolled onto the street. 

A pained groan slipped out as they finally came to a stop, her back meeting the surface of the ground. Her head was ringing and blood was roaring in her ears, spots dancing in her vision as her legs burned. Beside her, Bucky was in a low crouch, half shielding her from everything, and he held out a hand to her. The witch gladly accepted it and she shook while pulling herself up.

Suddenly, a large gray armored man landed a few feet from them, hands poised and ready to shoot. Bucky pushed Rome behind him as he glared at the newcomer, and she couldn't help but think how similar he looked to Tony Stark's Iron Man suit. She didn't pay attention to much news but at least she recognized this. "Stand down, now," he demanded in a powerful voice.

Steve, who had managed to appear beside them, held out a protective hand to his friend as several officers arrived with their guns aimed at the group of criminals. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Steve put his shield on his back. Rome looked up at Bucky, waiting for him to give her any sort of signal. If given the opportunity, she could kill them with a sudden surge of power, but it never came. Instead, he lowered his head and pursed his lips.

"Congratulations, Cap," the gray armored man said, "you're a criminal."

The black suited man was also there and he slowly removed his helmet, revealing a handsome face with short black hair, and his hard brown eyes were trained dangerously on Bucky. Rome recognized him, if only vaguely 一 T'Challa, the prince of Wakanda, a small nation in Africa. She'd never been there before, but she'd heard all sorts of rumors pertaining the country.

"Your Highness."

Someone grabbed at her before she could think and her body was shoved against the ground, handcuffs slapped tightly on her wrists. A tiny sigh of relief flew out her nose; at least these weren't the anti-magical cuffs HYDRA had managed to procure. Something metallic shone in the sunlight, gripped tightly in a man's hand, and she started to struggle when it came closer to her face. Before Rome could yell out, the object was practically shoved across the lower half of her face. The first thing she noticed about it was how cold it was. That, and how sharp it was. If she moved her jaw just even the slightest, something sharp would dig into face and break the skin.

It was a muzzle.

A/N: lol this was a shit chapter, tbh more
of a filler because it's hard to write rome 
(who is literally not a fighter) in a chase/
fight scene BUT ON THE BRIGHT SIDE
happy new year, everyone!!!

in the new year spirit, i've published a
new story called "titan" and it would
 mean a lot bunch if you guys went
 & checked that out xoxo