Avengers/X-Men One Shots - The Blood/White Phoenix Saga

ONE-SHOT XXXV: Everything Goes Down (A What If? Scenario for CATWS; Pt. 3)

Time skip- after previous one-shot: during Blood Phoenix 6

Steve Rogers/Captain America

Adelaide wasn't even in there anymore. I could see it in her eyes - she was vastly different than the woman that I had known since New York. Her altered self had come out, the Winter Phoenix. At first, I wasn't even sure that I was ready for the full extent of her strength as a brainwashed assassin. I had to get them to recognise me somehow. I ran towards the fallen chip, the solution to all of this, but the shield flew into my back, and I fell. I scrambled towards the shield, grabbed it and raised it for protection as Adelaide, no, the Winter Phoenix, let out a few shots from her pistol towards me. I kept protection behind the shield. I threw it towards her, but I noticed something very strange. Bucky, still the Winter Soldier, pushed her behind him and took the brunt of it with his metal arm, sending it flying away. He ran towards me and we both fought it out, but not before he had a knife and planted it deeply into my shoulder. I head-butted him and he backed off, leaving me open to Adelaide's attack. She jumped and kept fighting me, nothing but pure power flowing through her punches. Her strength was unparalleled as she slammed punch after punch. I knocked her away and pulled the knife out.

Then Bucky went for the chip and I grabbed him, trying to stop him. I grabbed his throat and lifted him up, then slammed him down just as Adelaide charged me. She knocked me down and threw one punch, then another. Bucky had the chip in his possession, but I knocked her away and grabbed Bucky, holding him down, my hand to his face, holding his non-metal arm.

'Drop it! Drop it!' I yelled. Bucky's metal arm flew back wildly, several times, in multiple attempts to stop me. Then I dislocated Bucky's shoulder, and he let out a yell. Flipping him onto his back, against my chest, I held him to the floor, choking him in a headlock. He continued to fight me, but I disabled his metal arm, trapping it beneath my leg, still holding him. His legs continued to move long after, but then he stopped moving, going limp in my arms, his hand letting go of the chip. I looked at the two of them. They were both unconscious on the ground, both laying limp. Getting up quickly, I grabbed the chip and ran.

I launched myself up the platform, then ran, still holding the chip, when a shot rang out. I looked down. Bucky was up and shooting, with a murderous look in his eyes. He was holding the dislocated arm close to him. I got up, stumbling and continued to run, but as I grabbed onto a support beam and began to climb up, my whole back unprotected, another shot rang out, catching in my shoulder. I nearly let go, letting out a yell. Adelaide was up as well and she too was apparently quite furious, blood dripping from her temple where I had struck her when she was knocked down. I kept stumbling and slowly, painfully, worked my way to the top level, where the targeting blades were. Standing, I stumbled over to the platform with the targeting blades, then began to ready the chip.

'30 seconds, Cap,' I heard Maria's voice say over the earpieces. I pulled out the targeting chip that was supposed to end it all.

'Charlie...' Just then another shot rang out, in the middle of my back, and I collapsed. I gasped, looking down as a blot of dark red stained my suit in the exact centre of my stomach.

A long moment passed. I stumbled up, more painfully now, and with great effort, slipped the targeting blade into the empty space. 'Charlie locked,' I whispered into the com.

'Okay, Cap, get out of there.' I slumped down.

'Fire now.'

'But, Steve-'

'Do it! Do it now!' Just then more shots rang out as the guns began to turn on each other on each of the INSIGHT helicarriers. The place shuddered and rocked. I looked over the edge to see Bucky below me, as well as Adelaide. They had both fallen, and I heard Adelaide, as well as Bucky, both let out guttural screams of pain. They were both trapped beneath heavy steel support beams. I landed down where they were and nearly fell, stumbling towards them. I heard Adelaide let out another scream. I came to them and started to lift the beam that was trapping Adelaide. She cried out again as I lifted it and when she and Bucky were free, they crawled out from underneath. They both stumbled up.

'You two know me,' I said.

'No, we don't!' Bucky yelled, his metal fist slamming into me. I stumbled back, as did he. The helicarrier rocked again, and all three of us stumbled from the impact.

'Bucky, you've known me your whole life. Adelaide, you're my friend. My family.' She hit me. Then Bucky. 'Your names are Adelaide Ruby Lehnsherr and James Buchanan Barnes.'

'Shut up!!' They yelled, Bucky's fist flying out again, but the punch was weaker. I took off my helmet.

'I'm not gonna fight you two.' I dropped my shield, letting it fly out of the helicarrier. 'You're my friends.' They pushed me to the ground.

'You're our mission.' Their fists repeatedly slammed into my face constantly. Over and over. Their punches were relentless. They kept punching, yelling. 'You're! My! Mission!' They raised their fists to strike one more time. My eye felt almost swollen shut and it hurt, but I didn't care.

'Then finish it...' I groaned. 'Cause I'm with you - 'til the end of the line.'

Winter Phoenix's POV

We both gazed at him. I racked my brain. Steve, I thought. That's his name. Just then, interrupting our paused moment, the glass floor of the helicarrier fell through and the blonde man that I thought I once knew with it.

'Steve!' I yelled, but it was too late. Without thinking, Winter and I both jumped into the Potomac River, the murky black-and-blue enveloping us suddenly. We swam down to the depths and finding Steve, we dragged him with us to the shoreline.

Our hands were close together, holding the straps of Steve's uniform as we dragged him to shore. Gently, we both laid him down. My head hurt now as I gazed at the unconscious super soldier only now just slightly waking up. Stumbling away from him, Winter took my hand and I looked into his steel blue eyes, now unsure. His eyes seemed to be telling me that 'we have to go.' Taking the silent cue, we both stumbled off the beach together.