BATTLE BORN ; Bucky Barnes

twenty ; two

Tony stepped back, his chin jutting upwards twitchily. He re-engaged the Iron Man helmet.
"Tony, please-"
"I'M DONE WITH YOU DEFENDING HIM SCOUT!" He screamed. "HE'S A MONSTER." He turned and punched Steve to the floor and deflected gunfire from Bucky, disarming him. Scout tried to grab Tony's arm. She didn't want to fight with him. She didn't want to fight at all, she knew how it felt to be rejected by someone because of her past, but she also knew what it was like to be lied to in a large way. She didn't want either of them to hurt each other. Tony grabbed Bucky and flew across the chamber as Scout screamed. He slammed Bucky onto the floor, then jumped on his arms. Scout grabbed Steve's shield and threw it at Tony, not to hurt him, just to distract him. Steve barged him backwards, but Iron Man shouldered him to the floor and shackled his ankles. Bucky punched Iron Man who just lifted him and slammed him against a machine. Iron Man raised a fist but Butcky twisted it. A rocket shot out of Iron Man's arm, and Scout managed to manipulate the fireball away from anyone else. Steve sliced his shackles as a towering structure of pipeworks collapsed. Scout tried to control it, she was not here to fight, she was here as damage control to stop them from killing each other. Tony and Bucky were thrown down a level as Scout failed to control the twisted metal which fell down around them, showering sparks.
"Get out of here!" Steve ordered Scout, but there was no way she'd leave, if she left now, someone may die.
"Buck! Leave!" Scout ordered, and Bucky bolted from Iron Man as Tony fired at him, but luckily missed the mark. Steve landed in front of Tony. Bucky hit a control panel and the door overhead began to open.
"It wasn't him, Tony. Hydra had control of his mind!" Steve said, blocking Tony's path.
"Move!" Tony ordered.
"It wasn't him!" Steve grabbed Iron Man's ankle in mid air and smashed it. Tony blocked Steve by shooting down rubble, then shakily flew up the tower. Scout stood, breathing steadily as she moved the earth away from Steve with her mind. It was a long process but they got there in the end. She looked up to see Bucky leap from platform to platform.

;

With stuttering jets, Iron Man chased Bucky up, kicking him then taking aim, but the energy beam rebounded off Steve's shield, it had been thrown from Steve to Scout, who'd hovered herself up to Tony's level, the energy bounced back onto himself. Iron Man dropped like a stone and landed on a lower platform. A surge of guilt washed over Scout, she looked up at Bucky.
"He's not going to stop. Go." She said. As Iron Man soared upwards, Steve leapt and shot a wire which wrapped around Iron Man's neck and dragged him back down. He deflected Steve's shield, then tried to target Bucky.
"Come on, come on." Tony said. His helmet retracted and he shut one eye, taking aim at the opening hatch. He fired and hits the giant hinge which exploded, cutting of Bucky's escape route. He flew up, blocking a torrent of rocks which Scout had dislodged to try and flow him down, and deflected two swings of an iron pipe from Bucky, then grabbed him around the neck from behind.
"Do you even remember them?" He asked. Bucky hesitated, the guilt eating him alive.
"I remember all of them." He muttered. Bucky pushed them both from the walkway, as Steve jumped into them to stop their fall. Scout controlled the wind to cushion their landing. Bucky landed on a platform while Tony and Steve landed on the concrete floor beside opening in the wall where snow drifted in from outside.
"This isn't gonna change what happened." Steve said. Scout ran to catch up with them, she didn't want anyone fighting. No one would die, not on her watch.
"I don't care. He killed my mom." They traded punches and Tony managed to pin Steve down. Bucky picked up Steve's shield and leapt down to help. Scout was trying to stand in the middle, screaming 'stop it' at the top of her lungs. The two super soldiers kept attacking Tony together, Scout tried to intercept the shield as it changed hands between the two of them until Tony managed to zap Steve, who was thrown back into the wall. Bucky struggled to hold Iron Man at bay as he unleashed an energy beam, Scout ran in, shield on her arm to block the beam from hitting Bucky. The blast of energy knocked Scout down, she struggled to get back on her feet as Tony fired again, this time at Bucky, blowing his metal arm straight off. Tony zapped him again. Steve rushed in, and Scout passed him
his shield and Iron Man fired right at it. Tiny grabbed Captain America's shield.
"Let's kick his ass." Scout heard him utter. He flung the shield away then zapped Steve backward, head over heels. Steve rose and Tony blocked his punches then zapped him back to his knees in front of Scout, who had made her way to check on Bucky. He had wires dangling from where the arm had to be, and he was in a great amount of pain.
"He's my friend." Steve begged.
"So was I." Tony said bitterly. He punched Steve then threw him at the gaps in the wall. "Stay down. Final warning." Tony said. With blood on his face and wobbly legs, Steve raised his fists and stared Iron Man down.
"I can do this all day."
Tony raised his palm, ready to fire another energy beam.
"Stop it." Scout whispered, tears in her eyes. Bucky grabbed his leg and Tony spun, kicking him in the face.
"Stop it." She said again. Steve grabbed Iron Man and lifted him over his head, then threw him down. "Stop it!" She yelled. "Stop it! Stop it!" Steve punched Tony and bashed his mask off with his shield before striking down hard on the suit's core.
"Stop it! Stop it! Stop it! STOP!" Scout screamed, her voice cracking. The room around them began to shake, her control on the earth becoming manic. Water burst from the pipes and a small wind storm was brewing as her hands lit on fire. All four elements, controlled at once.  Tony looked equally horrified at having the arc reactor half-destroyed and Scout's show of power. Both had blood spattered across their faces. Steve looked back at Tony then shut his eyes and slumped down. The shaking in the wall began to subside, the gale force winds became a breeze. The shield remained upright, stuck fast in the center of the Iron Man Suit. The water trickled to a stop. When Steve struggled up again he took hold of the shield, gripping the edge and pulling it free. He stepped away from Tony who rolled painfully onto his side. Scout, her hands now extinguished, ran over to him, to check if he was alive. Terror remained in his eyes at the sight of her, remembering New York. He flinched back from her and guilt surged though her. Tony no longer trusted her either. She rushed towards Bucky, who lay across the room, bloodied but conscious, she reached out and pulled him to his feet, Steve holding him on one side, Scout on the other.
"That shield doesn't belong to you." Tony said. Steve turned his back. "You don't deserve it. My father made that shield!" Tony raised his voice, and Scout stopped walking. Steve raised his chin, then dropped the shield and walked away with Bucky's arm around his shoulder. Scout looked back, she saw the broken man laying on the floor, but she couldn't compel herself to go back for him. She couldn't leave James' side, and strangely, she knew why. It would only take her another few hours to admit it.