The Valiant (The Seventh Avenger)

Chapter 51

James Buchanan Barnes died while in combat...

I slam the laptop shut, that was the fifty-seventh time I've read that exact line. I rub my temples and look over at the clock to see that it's almost three in the morning, I'm surprised Tony isn't here yet, I hope everything is ok. I rub my eyes and place my head down on my arms.

A tap sounds at the window but I ignore it. It has to be some kind of branch or something. The tap sounds again and I jolt up, realizing where I really am: the top floor of an apartment building in the middle of a city. My footsteps echo throughout the apartment as I step up to the window. There's nothing out there and I swear under my breath for my stupidity of watching The Conjuring with Wanda the other week.

A knuckle appears and hits it again from the side of the porch. I grab a broom and prepare to attack whatever it is that is outside. My hand travels up to the door and unlocks it, I travel outside and an arm wraps around my mouth and the other pulls me back.

"Grace, don't freak out, it's Steve," says the voice behind me. He must have felt me relax because he let me go. I turn around and have to hold back all my will to not punch him.

"Steve! What the hell were you thinking?" I ask and he just scoffs at the broom on the ground.

"You are one of the strongest beings on this planet and you bring out a broom to protect you?" He chuckles.

"Wait, what the hell are you doing here?" I ignore him, finally connecting the dots, "And how did you even get up here?"

"Well, let's just say I got a little help," Sam flies up in his Falcon suit. I feel myself nod and wait for him to continue. "And we just broke out of the compound."

"What the hell?" I ask and flames travel up my arms. Sam and Steve back up a few feet causing me to calm down and the flames fade, slightly.

"Grace, just listen. There was a man who brought The Winter Soldier out of Bucky. Tony and the rest of the team don't understand that, they think he set off the bombs but he couldn't have, he was in Romania the whole time."

"You really trust a man from Hydra?" Steve looks shocked that I know this, "I read the files, I've been doing my research. Please explain to me how I can trust a man who was part of a corporation like that?"

"He wasn't part of it," Steve steps towards me, "he was forced into it when he 'died' on the train."

"I've seen the footage, I know the look in his eyes," my mind travels back to my sister being in Chicago. "I just wanted to make sure that you know what you're doing." Steve and Sam relax and look at me with calmer eyes, I sigh before continuing, "What are you guys doing here?"

"We need your help," Sam says. I cock my head, why would they need me? "Tony is coming after us along with the whole government, we need you to help us get out of here."

"Something tells me you're not telling me the whole story, and in order for me to trust you, I'm going to need all the information, ok?" They both silently nod at me before I continue, "Now tell me everything."

They did, they told me about how Bucky was framed by the man who was interviewing him, how the power went out before Bucky went crazy and how everyone had to fight against Bucky before they made their escape. How the man who interviewed Bucky is going to Siberia to get six more soldiers. A car door slams and we all look down at the street. Sam presses something on the side of his glasses and he begins to nod.

"We gotta go, now, it's Tony," Sam says to us. Steve and I look at each other before he speaks.

"Grace," he whispers, I can hear the desperation in his voice, the hope in his eyes, for I should know what it looks like. Memories of my sister begin to return to me, how she was controlled and how it led to the events of Chicago.

"Gotta make up your mind, he's coming up," Sam says.

"I'll help," I said before running to grab my suit and mask from the closet, I stop by the kitchen and quickly write a note, leaving my bracelet and necklace as a paperweight.

"Grace, let's go!" Sam yells as he starts up his suit.   Footsteps sound from down the hall and I take off towards the two of them.

"Lead the way," I yell as I jump off the balcony and onto another roof. Sam flies up as Steve follows suit and leaps down to the roof. We leap from building to building following Sam until we reach an old warehouse. All three of us walk in to see the man with long hair, or now as I know him, James Buchanan Barnes. He looks up fearfully at me, recognizing me from the bridge.

"Bucky, it's ok, she's on our side with this," Steve says stepping up to him. "She knows, and she's been through something similar." I glare at Steve because he was the only one who knew about my past.

"You've been through this, too?" Bucky asks, looking hopeful at me. I smile and nod, but I can't help but not feel it go into my eyes. "What happened to you?"

"My mother was kidnapped by the Harolese when there was a major attack on our planet Attolia, she was pregnant with me and my siblings at the time. She then gave birth to me and my sister before dying due to the fact that the Harolese decided to make us more powerful for their use, they tortured and controlled us to the point where I got my memories erased. Granted I did get those nightmares back, but I lost my sister in the process. She had it worse than me." I look down and hear him get up and wrap his arms around me. I wrap mine around him and feel him tense before relaxing.

"I'm-I'm so sorry you went through all that," Bucky says and I just shake my head.

"I'm sorry you went through hell," I whisper back. Bucky places his head on my shoulder and I feel his tears through my shirt. I hold him letting him cry out the pain, the torture, the trauma he has been through. Soon I feel more arms wrap around us, that must be Steve's. We all hold onto each other for a little while longer before Sam scoffs.

"Alright, just got word from Clint, they're on their way to the airport now. They just landed." Sam says, we all step back from each other and look over to see a burner phone in his hand. He types something before breaking it and throwing it out the window. "Let's go."

"How are we getting there?" I ask, looking at the sun peeking behind the buildings, "There's no way we wouldn't get noticed."

"We got a car," Steve says.

"We got an old car," Bucky corrects and we walk out the door, Sam chuckles as we make our way down the stairs and prepare ourselves for the battle to come.

Woah you guys! 1700 reads! Thank you guys so much! Can't wait to continue on with this story and see where Grace will end up :)