Red Winter: Timeline

Chapter Forty-Two: Battle

Gone. The idea that Sam had been left behind and there was nothing to indicate his well being, Bucky felt hunted by the thought and image of leaving. With fear and sadness plaguing the couple, both Wanda and Bucky fell into a slight depression. Bucky kept seeing the images that Strange had showed him play over and over in his mind while Wanda felt the loss of life. Seeming everyone who she loved died, her heart sank at the thought of losing Bucky. Suddenly Wanda sat up, Bucky looked up at her, the moonlight showing her profile as she sat there in front of him, "It's not about how much we lost, it's about how much we have left." Wanda looked over at Bucky, "Tony...he said that once." Bucky sat up and gently rubbed her back, Wanda's green eyes focused on him, "I have you." Bucky touched her face softly, "I just..." Wanda began to look down, but Bucky lifted her chin to look at him, " Everyone I love...I lose."

"You won't lose me." Bucky's voice was soft, he gently ran his thumb back and forth over her chin, "History had proven I'm hard to kill." Wanda smiled a bit, "Listen to me, I love you. I watched the girl in red for years, admired her power and wit. I've fought beside that woman against some of the strongest enemies in the universe. Yet, somehow, I've never cared for you more than I do now." Wanda grabbed his wrist, the hand that was holding her chin, "We have a future Wanda. We'll always have a battle before us, that's the job...that's our life. One of those battles is us, and it's a good battle." Wanda leaned forward and kissed him, Bucky held her face in his hands to keep her close to him. The kiss lingered, their lips warm against one another's. Bucky rested his forehead with hers as they pulled away, "When this is over...when Magneto is gone...we're gonna get an apartment in the city. I'm done living in the compound, I need something away from that life, somewhere to run when I can. Somewhere with you." Wanda smiled looking over in his eyes. "Okay?"

"Okay." She nodded.

The next few days was full of locating Magneto, finding any lead and following it. After a week, they got a lead thanks for Nick Fury, it was down in D.C. There was surveillance footage of Mystique disguising as a secret service guard. As the team piled into the quinjet, they silently worried about fighting against the stones again. Bruce offered to make another gauntlet that could hold the stones should they need it, but Pepper refused. They would not have another outcome like before, no one was dying this time around. Magneto wasn't planning to use the stone to wipe out anyone, he just wanted the power they held and abilities he could harvest. However they did need something to keep the stone together should they collect them, Bruce had a briefcase, but also a side pouch that each person had attached somewhere on their uniforms. Landing in D.C they flew over a large group of people, today was a press conference with the president that hundreds would be attending and would be broadcasted worldwide. "Typical Magneto." Storm shook her head as they stepped out of the quinjet, "Large group of people. Obvious target."

"Smart target nonetheless." Logan crossed his arms, "We will stay low, keep an eye out for any of Magneto's minions. We all have our stations, let's get this over with."

As the president made his way to the stage the team took their spots. Logan made his way to the back of the stage to keep an eye on the workers, Fury had contact with the White House about the possibility of a threat, so even the amount of secret service was heightened. Bucky stood beside a large speaker, a hoodie covering his typical black armor and a baseball cap on his head. Wanda and Rouge made their way to the back of the crowd, as they moved around people Rouge looked over at the sound tent. There was a man standing there with his arms crossed and a briefcase in his hand, she stopped and stared at the man. This made Kitty Pryde focus on him too, Kitty had joined the team after returning back to the school only a few days ago. Kitty nodded at Rouge and walked over to stand near the man, keeping a close eye on him. Rouge started to follow Wanda again.

The president was well into his speech when the man beside Kitty began to move, she pressed the radio that was in her ear, "I have a suspicious man on the move."