Winter's Revenge [winter soldier//Bucky Barnes AU]

Chapter Twenty Three

*Steve's POV*

The next morning, we all sat huddled around the conference room table, eating breakfast and being lectured by Fury.

Valerie's body was gone and the blood was cleaned up, but I will always be able to picture her broken form in my mind. The only other time I've dealt with a friend's death was when Bucky died. But even he didn't really die.

I was out for blood; Crossbones' blood.

"Captain!" Fury yelled, and I looked up.

"Were you even paying attention?" He asked, and I shook my head. I can't lie and everyone knew it, so why try?

"Nope." I replied. Fury practically turned red.

"You are the leader of this team, Captain. You need to act like it!" He shouted, and I frowned, enraged.

"What, you think I don't do a good enough job for you? I think I do a damn good job considering the hell I've been through in my life! I'm trying my best here! And I wasn't listening because we hear the same useless information every day!" I yelled in reply. Fury stayed silent, glowering at me. Everyone except Natasha and Bucky looked impressed; they hadn't seen this side of me before.

"You know what? Fine, Rogers. I apologize. But we actually do have new information today, don't we, Hill?" Fury muttered, turning it to Hill when he realized I was right. Hill looked back and forth between us, reluctant to say anything.

"Maria!" Fury barked.

"New location on Crossbones. Seattle, Washington state, 97.35% match." She stated, holding up the device in her hand. It had video footage of Crossbones near the space needle, wearing a long trench coat and a mask covering his face. The only way you could tell it was him was his build, the way he towered over people with his muscular form, and the vague outline of a crossbow and arrows strapped to his back under the coat.

I stood up, grabbing my shield.

"Let's get him." I announced, and all the Avengers stood to join me. Which pissed Fury off to no end.

"You can't just fucking leave! You need a coarse of action, a plan. If you wing it someone's gonna die!" He yelled, living up to him last name. I looked around at everyone to see if anyone wanted to stay. No one sat back down.

"We're going to go kill the evil man that killed our teammate, and you can't stop us." Tony announced, smirking evilly at him. Bucky suddenly stood and walked across the room, and we all watched him.

"Bye." Bucky said, waving as he left the room. I laughed and we all followed Bucky, ignoring Nick's shouts in the background.

Tony walked ahead of everyone and directed us towards the hangar, where he showed us many planes we could travel on to get to Washington. No one really cared what plane we took besides him, so after explaining every single plane to us and receiving no response, he muttered some obscene words and picked a plane. We boarded the small, high-tech jet and soon were in the air.

"Does anyone suddenly have a really bad feeling that Fury is going to kill us for disobeying his orders and taking a plane?" Bruce asked nonchalantly, about five minutes into the flight. Natasha looked at him.

"Oh I know we are going to get a huge lecture for this, I just simply don't care. Superheroes don't sit around doing nothing like he seems to think; we need to act if we want things done." Nat said loudly, and I nodded in agreement.

"I know what it's like to be a soldier, and in times of heavy warfare, or when the lives of millions are at stake, we act. No matter what the act is. Doing something is always better than doing nothing." I added, relying on my background of military experience. The others nodded in agreement, and Tony left to pilot the plane himself. The rest of us just sat around, waiting to arrive in Washington, which wouldn't take long because the plane was a model of the fastest jet ever made.

"So why the hell do you think he is in Seattle, Washington?" Bucky asked, interrupting the silence. I looked up, shrugging.

"No idea. Maybe a rogue, off-the-map Hydra base?" I suggested. Natasha shook her head.

"There's no way. He's got to be after something- maybe a weapon, a person, a team? Whatever he is after, it's important enough to travel across the country in less than twenty four hours to get." She replied, glancing at the floor while lost in thought.

"I think he is after a person." Sarah added suddenly. I looked over at her, and everyone frowned.

"Why do you think that?" Bucky asked, staring confusedly at her. She paused, just for a moment, and opened her mouth to speak.

"Because he means to take us out, and he's tried several times and failed. He's already got a weapon he loves, and he has a million guards, that do his every bidding. I think he wants to find someone who can help take us out."

I slowly nodded.

"I think she's right." Peter said, making eye contact with Sarah. Sarah smiled slightly, then grabbed one of her guns, beginning to reload it.

"The question is who is powerful, willing to help him, and willing to kill us no matter what the cost?" She asked, glancing around as she put the last bullet in her gun. Tony walked into the room, blurting out the name that we were all thinking about.

"What if he's finding Loki?"

--

Seattle, Washington, 1:07 P.M.

Mr. Bones hurriedly shuffled by the space needle, aware that there was at least one camera that would catch him. He also knew that S.H.I.E.L.D. would definitely find a way to get their hands on it.

But as long as this trip went according to plan, he wouldn't have to worry about hiding anymore.

So, as usual, he ignored the onlookers and kept walking towards his destination- a small wooded area near the waterfall. It was small enough to not get lost in, but big enough to keep them completely concealed long enough to talk.

He crushed the dead branches on the forest floor when he stepped on them, making a loud cracking sound. Surely it would get his attention.

Soon enough, the young, arrogant god came walking around the corner, dressed fully in green and gold Asgardian armor. He wore a permanent sneer that matched his boastful ego perfectly.

Mr. Bones approached the powerful being. Believe it or not, even the most evil men get scared, and right now Mr. Bones was terrified of displeasing the legendary villain. He knew that if Loki wanted, he could kill Mr. Bones quickly without even batting an eye.

"Ah, the legendary Crossbones." Loki began, smiling evilly. Crossbones put on a brave face, shielding his emotions.

"Loki." He replied. The god nodded.

"I heard you requested my presence?" Loki asked, and Mr. Bones prayed this would work.

"Yes. I would like to offer you revenge, against the Avengers. I need help bringing them down."

Loki blinked, beginning to pace thoughtfully, as Crossbones stood cautiously optimistic.

"I suppose we can give it a try. I'm only agreeing because I want the Avengers dead, more than anything. But we must succeed, or I promise, I will kill you for giving me false hope." Loki warned. Mr. Bones sighed with relief.

"Deal."

--

-Jordan💕