You're My Mission

It felt like time slowed after the Red Skull gave the command. The stories Bucky had told me of his brainwashing sessions, which he was now oddly able to remember, had made me absolutely sick to my stomach and I had promised him that he would never endure that torture again. There was no way to describe how devastated I was that I was going to break that promise to him.

Bucky reacted worse than I expected. His eyes widened with the utmost horror, glancing up at the Red Skull before looking across to his left where the Hydra agents were starting to lead him. Awaiting him was the chair, attached to multiple machines that were going to steal away everything he had worked so hard to recover. Bucky spun and kicked the man who stood directly between him and the exit, sending him flying a few feet. If it wasn’t for the protective helmets of Hydra’s uniform, he no doubt would have sustained a serious head injury from the force. The battlecry Bucky made with the kick was enough to show anyone how determined he was to be free, but his hopes were shattered a second later. One of the men had raised a gun and aimed it directly at Bucky’s head, point-blank. No super soldier serum was going to save him from that, and Bucky chose life over death and calmed down.

The man kept his gun held high and directed Bucky backwards until there was nowhere left for him to walk. Even from a distance I could tell how infuriated Bucky was. His jaw was clenched tight and his chest was rising and falling at a rapid pace. And then his gaze met mine. I became self aware again and realised that my cheeks were damp and my wrists were rubbed raw from fighting against the rope. No one was able to save him. I took a second to think about what he might want to hear moments before he forgot everything about me, about us.

“Bucky, I love you!” I called out.

I no longer cared that the Red Skull was a couple of feet away from me, or that the room was full of Hydra agents, I just needed Bucky to know how I felt before it was too late.

“Jennifer, I-” Bucky tried to reply to me but he was cut off by the pistol being pressed to his forehead. His eyes shifted away from mine and focused on the man before him. Obedient from fear, Bucky closed his mouth and took a seat.

“This is even better than I had hoped,” the Red Skull said, muttering to himself before he turned to face me. “In love with my soldier? It’s only going to make it even more tragic when I command him to kill you.”

I was unable to move at all after that statement. I didn’t even inhale again, too shocked by his plan. It was flawless, even poetically tragic, and there was nothing I could do to stop him. Already feeling destroyed, I looked back over to where Bucky was and saw components of the machine rotating and rising to surround his head. Despite being close to a victory, the Red Skull shifted his hand to his holstered pistol.

The Hydra agent who had been holding the gun to Bucky’s head moved away, then spun on his heels and fired. The man took down most of the agents near Bucky before one of them latched onto him, but by then Bucky was free and able to provide a helping hand. His robotic arm was now functioning perfectly, and it was his real arm that was hindering his movements due to the bullet still wedged in it.

Before the rest of the guards in the room could react, the door in the far corner burst open. For the first time ever I smiled when I saw Natasha. She provided aid for the two men and together they were efficiently winning the battle. After the trio had taken care of all of the enemies, they turned to face me. The man disguised as a Hydra agent shed his helmet and I recognised him as Clint, Natasha handing him his bow and a quiver of arrows.

“Not so fast,” the Red Skull ordered the trio and they froze. His pistol was pressed to my temple, my body helping to shield him. “You must think I am stupid. I watched your plan unfold from the security cameras, I knew this was coming. Although I am a little impressed that not one of my men is still standing, I am still confident that I am leaving here alive.”

“I could make the shot,” I heard Clint mutter but Natasha shook her head. Even with his impeccable aim, he still had to draw and Natasha had to know that would give the Red Skull enough time to fire first.

“You leave Jennifer here and we’ll let you walk,” Bucky offered and the Red Skull chuckled.

“Not a chance. She’s coming with me. Insurance,” he replied while pulling a pocket knife out with his other hand.

The glass behind us suddenly shattered. The Red Skull shifted his focus and the gun was removed from my skin. A second later, a metallic clang echoed by my ear and I saw the pistol flying across the room, followed by a shield with a bright star on it.

“Ah, it’s good to finally see you again, Captain,” the Red Skull said, his smirk evident even though he had lost his last piece of leverage. I tried to twist my neck to watch what was going on, but I was soon taken aback by something slamming into my chair. After crying out from surprise, I realised that I was flying across the room and I glanced up to see Sam’s face. He set me down near the exit and Bucky and Clint lifted my chair until we were in the hall and away from the epic fight that was no doubt about to occur. Sam pulled his wings in and followed us to safety as Natasha hacked through the ropes that bound me.

“Jen, are you all right?” Bucky breathed, crouching by my side.

“Me? I’m fine!” I exclaimed as my eyes settled on his bloody arm. “I’m not the one who got shot!”

“Well I wasn’t going to leave you here to die,” Bucky remarked while Natasha’s blade slid through the last of the ropes. I stood and was immediately enveloped by Bucky’s arms as he buried his face into my neck.

“We weren’t going to leave you here to die,” Natasha clarified and I pulled away from Bucky, leaving my arm wrapped around his waist to see Natasha, Clint and Sam all smiling at me. I scrunched my eyebrows, peering at Natasha as I tried to figure out what I had done to alter her opinion on me. “Clint gave me a change of heart.” She read my mind and voiced what I decided was the truth. I briefly met Clint’s eye and he gave me a short acknowledging nod.

“Thank you,” I said, addressing them all. We heard Steve yelping in the distance and Bucky took a step back towards the lab space before halting.

“We have to leave. Captain’s orders,” Sam insisted.

“But- I can’t-” Bucky began with obvious anguish and hesitation.

“You promised him,” Natasha said coldly before following Clint down the corridor to the exit. Sam also left, and the three of them began clearing out the remaining Hydra guards who were hiding from the crisis.

“You promised him what?” I asked, gently prodding Bucky to see if he would answer. Clearly he had made a decision that was tearing him up on the inside. Blue eyes full of tears, he looked down at me.

“I promised Steve that I would let him fight the Red Skull alone if… if I could go in and rescue you,” Bucky replied. I understood how much it was killing him to stand here and do nothing, to ignore Steve’s shouts of pain, but I had a feeling that he knew that keeping his promise was the right thing to do. Hoping I wouldn’t regret it, I linked my fingers with Bucky’s and gently pulled him away from Steve and towards our other friends.