a lion among wolves, bucky barnes (hiatus)

thirty-four.

[INTENSE SCENES OF PERIL AND MENTIONS OF SUICIDE AHEAD]

WAKANDA, EAST AFRICA
2015

THE air was heavy and smelled of livestock and rust, the abandoned shipyard in which they found themselves distinguishable from shore only by the fact that its dried-up floor was a slightly darker shade of brown. The shells of long-useless freight ships titled lifelessly in the sand. Not a fleck of green blessed the landscape, not a sound to be heard aside from the shlop! their shoes gave with every step as they trudged through the mud.

"This doesn't seem like the place you'd find a stockpile of vibranium," Clint murmured.

"No," Tony agreed, "but trust me. A black market's a black market." His readings told them that Ultron was there, in a ship directly adjacent, with a man called Ulysses Klaue who June understood to be scum. Whatever. She'd kill him too if she had to.

"Are you sure we should be out in the open like this?" she asked, squinting against the blaring sun. Her back and hands were drenched in sweat and blisters formed around her wrists where the gauntlets rubbed against her skin mercilessly.

"No," Tony said hesitantly, hovering in midair for a moment, "but we've made it this far." He gestured to the nearest ship. "They're in there. Romanoff, take June and Barton and secure the perimeter." He paused, like he didn't want to go on. "And the twins, if you find them. The rest of you, with me."

"I'm goin' with June," Bucky said with a careless shrug.

"I need you with me, Barnes," Tony pleaded, his eyebrows screwing up, "we need all the muscle we can get. You're not on the same mission as her. Just this once."

Bucky was unmoved and drew up to protest more, but June touched his arm and shook her head. "Let me. I'll be all right. If not, I'm sure my room in the med-wing is already prepped."

Only Natasha laughed. The others looked at her with bleak disbelief. June shrugged them off and moved to stand by Nat, who was already pulling out her batons. "Boys get scared when you can be brave and dickless at the same time," she whispered. June smirked. She had not an ounce of energy left to coddle anyone into thinking she was okay. She wasn't. Once Wanda was dead, who knows? Things might be different. June had been a loaded gun since Carpet—finding out Wanda was the one who erased her had just switched off the safety. June was going to be reckless and deadly to her full capacity, and if she got herself killed in the process, that was her own stupid fault.

Natasha nudged June's arm in a wordless signal, and they along with Clint began to scale the side of the ship. Rust crumbled beneath June's feet and fingers as she climbed, sweating buckets, fueled by determination alone. Her hands trembled on their narrow holds for there was never more than an inch to grasp—they were essentially pinching their way up to the first deck. A more-nimble Natasha swung over the railing first and helped June and Clint a few moments later.

"That sucked," Clint hissed through his teeth, "that really sucked."

He'd forgotten his gloves.

They spread out around the first deck and scoured the perimeter for threats, finding none except what looked like a pair of hired soldiers with heavy rifles hefted on their shoulders. June took them down without a second thought and jogged back around to the start.

"Next move?" she asked, wiping blood on her pant leg.

Clint notched an arrow. "Let the others up, then get sight on the twins. Or Ultron. Whatever comes first."

Natasha had already lowered a rusting metal ladder to let Steve and Bucky up.  Tony and Thor arced gracefully over the railing, looking a shade smug; Thor gave a very pointed flourish of his cape.