Titanium ~A Bucky Barnes Love Story~

Chapter Thirty-Seven

'This is gonna end well,' thought Caden as the two divided teams began to stride towards each other, looks of grim determination etched across both Cap's and her cousin's faces.

"Whatever happens," Rogers called out as he broke out into a jog. "Protect Bucky." With that, he took off into a full sprint, leaving his team behind as he headed straight for Stark.

"Caden!" Bucky called out as the Black Panther attacked him. "Get out of here!"

Caden nodded at his back, wincing as he took on the vengeful king. She knew full well that his command did not stem from doubt of strength.

'Get us out of here.'

That is what Bucky meant. They were at the airport, there had to be a hangar with an open jet right?

Having no weapons or powers to aide her in this fight, Caden took off running towards the bays that housed the jets, desperate to find a way to get Bucky out of here and to somewhere safe. Her feet picked up speed, barely seeming to hit the ground, yet she felt each pounding foot step against the heated pavement. Her ears vibrated with forceful stride.

Out of the corner of her eye she spotted a small jet. It could fit two, maybe three people in it at most. It would have to do. That was the mission, right? Cap said so himself. Get Bucky out.

Caden steered herself towards the hangar, barely able to control her body's actions as the adrenaline kicked into overdrive. She was running faster than she could remember, her footsteps hitting the ground with force that felt enough to break the concrete. For a fleeting moment, she hoped against hope that she would make it and would be able to safely call the team over. She was nearly there. She could see the jet more clearly with each passing second.

Until she didn't see it anymore. Her vision changed abruptly to the blackness of the ground that carried her, rotating between the blinding blue of the sky. Back and forth, back and forth, until it finally settled. Caden looked up, pushing herself off from her stomach with the palms of her hands, only for her legs to give when she tried to stand up.

"What the hell?" She seethed as her knees, hitting the ground first and catching her fall, burst into two little balls of searing pain. She realized only then that something was holding her legs together. She couldn't free herself.

"Sorry," the boy who called himself Spiderman jumped down out of the ground to where Caden lay. "But Mister Stark said to make sure that nobody left."

"Look, kid," Caden grunted as she struggled in the sticky web. "I don't have time for your games. Now let me OUT!" She managed to press her ear to her shoulder with just the right amount of pressure to activate her ear piece. "Will someone help me out here?!" She demanded from her helpless position.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Spiderman warned as he hopped down next to her, as if he were about to drag her away.

"Touch her and it'll be the last thing you do."

Caden looked up in shock.

Bucky.

"Uhhh, I'm gonna let you win this one, Buddy," Spiderman backed up nervously before shooting out his web from his hands and jumping far and fast from their location.

Without another word, Bucky grabbed the webbing around Caden, freeing her with one swift tug from his metal arm. After yanking her to her feet, they took off running again towards the quinjet.

"You guys gotta stop," came Natasha's voice. She was standing near the quinjet, her arms out by her side defensively. "Just come peacefully and this will all be over." She looked at Caden with a begging expression. "Please."

"You know I can't, Nat," Caden shook her head, meeting her friend's gaze.

"You're not going to stop." Natasha didn't have to ask it. She knew.

Caden shook her head, confirming her friend's thoughts.

Natasha sighed, closing her eyes briefly. "I'm going to regret this." She started to walk towards them. "Get out of here." She nodded her head back to the jet. "Go."

There was no time to argue; Caden looked back to see Rogers closing in on their location... with the black panther close entail.

Natasha sent one of her widow bites in T'Challa's direction, stunning him and causing him to fall to the ground. "Go!" She shouted.

Rogers had made it to where Bucky and Caden were standing and together the three of them took off towards the quinjet.

"Get in!" Rogers said as he ran up the ramp and straight for the navigation, starting up the engines as quickly as he could. Bucky followed quickly behind him, waiting to smash the button that controlled the ramp as Caden ran up and past him, panting as she went to the front of the jet to watch the scene play out in front of them.

Natasha hit the black panther with another bite, still holding him on the ground.

"Sit down!" Rogers commanded as the jet started to move.

"What about Sam and the others?" Caden asked, a sudden feeling of dread swooping over her mind. "We can't leave them!"

"They know the plan," Rogers said shortly, glancing at Caden as they flew over Natasha and the black panther and out of the hanger.

"Steve-" Caden started to admonish him for leaving a soldier behind, but Bucky grabbed her arm and pulled her into his seat, holding her close as if she were trying to escape.

"We'll get them back," he whispered into her ear. "I promise, Cade."

Caden looked at Bucky, her eyes suddenly beginning to well with tears. "What is Tony going to do to them?"

Bucky shook his head. "I don't know, doll."

Caden looked to Rogers desperately for an answer, but he refused to make eye contact with them. Instead of answering, he reached over and violently punched the cloaking switch, hiding themselves and their location from their enemies. His jaw was tightly clamped and his steel blue eyes stared straight ahead as if all of his concentration was focused on flying the jet.

Caden looked back at Bucky, who offered no words of clarity but two arms to hold her as she curled into a ball and began to sob, all of the emotions of the past few days unfurling in that moment. His metal arm gripped her lower back tightly as his right hand caressed her upper back and head. He closed his eyes and burrowed his nose into her hair, inhaling her sweet scent that came through all even after all of the chaos they had been through. Caden felt his chest move as he breathed in deeply several times, his grip on her growing tighter, more secure.

~~~

They sat like this for what seemed like hours, Caden crying and Bucky holding onto her as if he would lose her if his grip even slightly loosened. When time had passed and Caden had finally wore herself out, passing out from sheer exhaustion, only then did he relax.

"Buck," Rogers looked over at him only when he knew Caden was truly asleep. "What's about to happen, do you think she can handle it?"

Bucky looked down at Caden in his arm. "I'd rather die than have something happen to her," he said. "But she's strong, and she'll kill us if we leave her behind."

"The last thing I want is for her to be in the line of fire," Rogers said, his voice breaking slightly at the thought of something happening to one of his dearest friends.

"She's a survivor, Steve," Bucky said, looking up from the love of his life and towards Rogers. "She's like titanium."

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I did it. I updated. This story isn't dead! I am sorry this is pathetically short but it needed to end here to roll into the next chapter I have planned. I am a terrible author for leaving this for so long. I am in shock and awe and actual tears at how much love my little fanfiction has received. I love each and everyone of you beautiful readers. -S