Eunoia [Bucky Barnes]

chapter 50

The whole world was paused.

As John ran from the scene he had caused, it was clear that in that instance the image of Captain America had been destroyed.

"We've gotta go." Bucky whispered to Ava as they watched him disappear out of sight. A slight tug of her arm was more than enough to make her eyes snap away from the body ahead and onto the next mission.

The three found John in what appeared to be an abandoned warehouse, forklifts dotted around in different areas. The man himself was crouched down, illuminated by the sunlight from the window above. Ava saw him mutter something to himself before striding towards them, shield still in hand.

"Walker.." Sam called out to him as he moved closer to them.

"You guys should see a medic, you don't look so good." John stated, dismissing Sam as he walked past.

"Stop, Walker." Sam now ordered, making John spin around swiftly.

"What? You saw what happened. You know what I had to do. I killed him because I had to! He killed Lemar!" John shouted at the three, justifying his actions to the best of his ability.

"He didn't kill Lemar, John." Ava spoke softly, trying to calm him down. John scoffed at her words before turning his back on them one more.

"Don't go down that road. Believe me, it doesn't end well." Bucky added, trying to make him understand that this wasn't how he should continue.

"I'm not like you." John spat back, making Bucky look to the ground.

"Listen, it was the heat of the battle. Okay? If you explain what happened, they may consider your record. We don't want anyone else to get hurt." Sam explained to John but was ignored, left answerless, as the shield swayed in his hand. "John.. you gotta give me the shield, man."

"Oh.. so that's what this is. You almost got me." John answered him quietly, the appearance of a small smile showing on his face.

"You made a mistake."

"You don't wanna do this." John warned all three who opposed him, making Ava inhale deeply at the thought of yet another fight.

"Yeah, we do." Bucky told him, and after a moment of still, jolted forward along with Ava and Sam.

John spent no time in kicking Sam to the floor before moving towards the other two. Ava tried desperately to gain some control over the shield that was being sliced left and right rapidly in an attempt to harm them.

Bucky slipped from behind Ava, and for a moment it was just her against John. He took this as an advantage, pushing the shield so that it was pressed against her chest, driving her back. Ava tried to plant her feet at an attempt escape the force, but failed as her back hit a hard surface. John began pulling the shield up, making it edge closer and closer to the bottom of her chin.

"This shield still not mine?" John asked her as she struggled, tipping her head back to get away from the metal. Suddenly, he was pulled back and punched to the floor by Bucky. Once he was firmly out cold, Bucky stood up and moved towards Ava, moving her face around to check for any scars.

"You okay?" He murmured as he gave her a quick kiss on the top of her head.

"Always am." She smiled back as she got ready to check in on John.

"Good to hear." Bucky answered as he took a step back. Ava began to follow him when she saw movement from the ground behind him.

"Bucky, behind you!" She shouted just as the shield collided into the side of his torso. The force pushed him back, far back, into one of the forklifts further away. John instantly took off running, picking up the shield to pressure Bucky into a similar situation as before.