RAISON D'ÊTRE ( bucky barnes ) 一 under editing

TWENTY-SEVENTH

RAISON D'ÊTRE
TWENTY-SEVENTH

AS SOON AS SAM HAD STEPPED into the interrogation room, a metal fist dove quickly at him but he managed to dodge just in time. Instead, the fist soared and left a decently sized crater in the cement wall. Rome spun on her heel, eyes wide in surprise to see the attacker was none other than Bucky, grabbing Sam by the throat and tossing him into his former cage, rendering the man unconscious.

Bucky hadn't paid her any attention as he went straight for Steve, swiping his arm quickly but the blond dodged his attack. He again swiped at him and added a kick for good measure, causing Steve to slide across the floor. The blond man managed to get himself up in time for his friend to punch at him again but instead of fighting back, he allowed Bucky to throw punch after punch while all he did was dodge and block. Rome had rushed to Sam's side as they fought, heart pounding as she pressed her fingers against his neck. She let out a sigh of relief when she felt his heartbeat still there, beating strong, then turned back at the fight behind her. What the hell had happened? Whoever that interrogator was, he'd done this to Bucky and she was seething with anger. When she looked to find him, the man was long gone and an angry growl fell past her lips. Damn it all to hell! 

He wasn't acting like the Bucky she knew and loved, but rather as HYDRA's beloved weapon. What the hell had that man done to make Bucky snap within a few minutes? Rome felt tears pricking her eyes and she moved to wipe them away before they fell. He'd been so good these past few months. Sure, he still got the occasional nightmare and panic attack but it'd been than previous months. They weren't as frequent and he'd been happy. Happy for the first time in such a long time, and Rome had believed that maybe they could stay in that little bubble forever. 

When she heard the metallic slam of the elevator doors and the grunting of the fight behind her come to an end, Rome moved fast and pushed herself against the wall out of site. She knew better than to engage with him right now, and she held her breath. When she heard his footsteps depart, even waiting an additional fifteen seconds, Rome ran to the doors of the elevator. They look like they'd been pulled open, finger imprints in the metal, and she shouted. "Steve!" she called out. "Steve!"

There was no response, and she bowed her head. The witch gulped loudly then squeezed her eyes shut. She knew what she needed to do but it would be no easy task, like cutting into her heart. Fighting against him, hurting him, it was something she never wanted to do but it was necessary for now. As much as she absolutely loathed thinking about harming Bucky like that, she'd have to in order to save him. For as long as he was in that state of mind, that feral violent side that demanded blood, it'd be difficult to stop him and he wouldn't stop for anyone or anything. Not even for her. 

She let out a long exhale then forced herself to move up the stairs, taking them two at a time. When Rome reached the first floor, she followed the sound of gunfire and fighting until she finally spotted him in the middle of a brawl with Stark. Her green eyes fluttered open with shock as he raised his gun to Stark's face. There was no sign of mercy or hesitance, even as he pulled the trigger 一 ever the perfect weapon of HYDRA. Fortunately, Stark's hands were wrapped around the barrel of the gun, one of them encompassed in metal, and the bullet was stopped before it even left the gun. Stark ripped the gun from his grasp and whacked Bucky across the face with it, who then elbowed him in the face and punched him back so he went sliding into a chair.

She darted out from her hiding spot, hand outstretched as she sent the painful spell towards him. When he let out a grunt, Rome screamed his name. "Bucky!" she shouted, watching as he turned to look at her with unfamiliar eyes. Those blue eyes she'd fallen in love with, she couldn't recognize him and it hurt. But she raised both hands, twisting them as she shouted her offensive spell. "Phasmatos morsinus pyrox allum. Phasmatos morsinus pyrox allum. Phasmatos morsinus pyrox allum!"

Bucky's anguished shout felt like pinpricks to her heart, his yelling only getting louder as the burning sensation spread across his body. It was an offensive spell she learned within the past year, one not to cause permanent damage but just enough to do the job, and it did just that as he fell to his knees.

The witch slowly started to approach him, the spell still spewing from her lips. Just continue it long enough so he'd pass out from the pain, then maybe she might be able to get him out of here. It'd take a lot of her own strength and magic, but she'd manage it. Bucky looked up at her and instead of seeing the innocent and loving Buck she knew, green eyes connected with that of the Winter Soldier. But she faltered for just a moment, tears welling up and throat clenching, and it was just enough for him to move. He'd slapped her hard across her face, the metal slamming and cutting across her cheek and temple. Rome stumbled back, gasp ripping from her throat, and felt a cold metallic grip around her throat.

She gasped out his name, clawing desperately at his fingers around his throat. Oh, God, please not this, she begged as a few tears fell down her face. Rome hadn't even realized how high off the ground she was until she started to weakly kick her legs at him, hoping that she might be able to kick him away just enough for her to get away.

As soon as her feet hit the ground, she crumpled to the floor and she sucked in a deep breath, coughing wildly as she spotted Sharon running forward, kicking Bucky hard in the side. She struggled to regain her breathing, watching weakly as Sharon dodged Bucky's attack, and suddenly Natasha ran him. The red haired woman kicked him in the chest and he stumbled back a few feet. The women tag-teamed him, one attacking while the other watched his movements, until he'd grabbed Natasha, flipping her into a table. 

Natasha spun herself onto Bucky's shoulders, elbowing his head as he suddenly slammed her back against a table, wrapping his hand tightly around her throat. "You could at least recognize me," she rasped as another person suddenly kicked at Bucky.

T'Challa had now arrived, dressed casually in dark clothes, attacking quickly, all while Rome remained on the ground. She looked back and forth between the fight, then back to Natasha, her throat red. She wondered for a moment if her neck might look like that, if he'd squeezed just tight enough so he left bruises and marks from his fingers. Rome didn't doubt his strength, he could have snapped the life out of her and Natasha just as easily as breathing. She'd seen him fight before, several times. Hell, she'd been at a few of his training sessions, always coming up with the lie that she needed to examine him while he fought. Perhaps a memory could have been triggered simply by throwing a punch. Rome had seen his hellish style, a wicked type of dance he'd mastered over the decades. But this fighting, this was much different than she'd seen before. Unlike now, Bucky was always fighting on the orders of someone else. Here, he was listening to anyone.

These two years had been long. She'd worked nonstop every day and sometimes worked deep into the night just to find something of a cure for him. She'd researched with her grimoires and even used the Internet, spoke with other witches, and even then they didn't have an answer. Rome had fought through hell and back to find something for him, to help Bucky get his memories back and gain control of his mind that HYDRA had stolen from him. But staring at him now, fright in her eyes, a fleeting thought passed through her mind 一 what if there is no cure?

A/N: these past few days, i've just been
vv awful physically. like i have a raging
headache, it feels like i'm having cramps
1000000x worse than what i'd usually
feel, my legs are sore and just ahhhh
someone sos i'm dying ;-;