Skull and Bones
Iris froze where she stood, her hand opened involuntarily dropping the USB on the floor. It clattered as if in slow motion, skidding slightly as it bumped against the metal floor.
She heard the figure in front of her give a deep chuckle, it was definitely a man. He seemed to be wearing some sort of black, metal armor with a white X across the chest. His entire face was covered by another metal plating, this one with an eerie white skull painted across it. He easy was double her size, maybe even more.
The man took a step forward, his metal armor creaking slightly as it readjusted to its movement. Iris managed to unfreeze her muscles, snapping her arm down to grab the loaded pistol at her waist. She cocked it back and aimed directly at the man. Iris realized had no idea if shooting him would do anything, his thick suit coving almost all visible skin.
“Stop!” Iris yelled, trying and likely failing to cover up the shakiness in her voice. “Stop or I’ll shoot!”
“Sure you will sweetie.” He chuckled once more taking another step towards her. Iris didn’t hesitate, knowing he was only an arms reach away at this point. She pulled the trigger, aiming for a bare patch of skin around his neck. With superhuman reflexes which Iris had only ever seen with Bucky or Steve, he dodged the bullet. It barely nicked the edge of his neck.
The man pressed his palm against the small drops of blood on his neck. He shook his head and turned back to Iris, even through the mask he was obviously annoyed.
“You probably shouldn’t have done that.” He grumbled before lifting his right fist towards Iris. She barely had a second to react before the metal surrounding his wrist sprang outwards with immense force, crashing into the computers behind her. She managed to duck and roll just a few feet away, getting on her knee before taking aim once more. She fired a few more bullets, all of which clanged of his armor harmlessly.
“You’re one of Fury’s bitches, aren’t you.” He stomped towards her, growling. His heavy boots made the metal around her vibrate with a painful intensity.
Iris stood up and sprinted towards the open door. Just then she remembered the chip in her ear. She pressed her palm against her head, trying to get a signal.
“Mission compromised!” She yelled, making it just out of the door frame before feeling a massive blast in her back. Iris yelped as her body was slammed against the metal hallway. Her vision went fuzzy along with her hearing. Iris tried to stumble to her feet but there was nothing for her to lift herself up with. She turned around with a groan, some of her ribs obviously broken, to see the armored man along with some amount of other soldiers around him. She couldn’t tell how many as her vision was so blurry she seemed to be seeing double of everything.
In a last attempt, Iris grabbed her other gun as the first had slid beyond her reach. She aimed it shakily but before she could pull the trigger it was kicked out of her hand by the armored man.
“Iris! Iris! What’s happening?” She heard Bucky’s voice faintly scream into her ear. “Iris!”
She tried to get up but was given a sharp kick in the intestines, causing her to groan and fall back to the floor. The man grabbed her hair in a bundle before slamming her head against the wall. Once, twice, her ears rang not only from the reverberating metal but the pressure on her skull. He finally let her body slide to the floor, bloodied and half dead.
Iris could still hear a voice coming from the earpiece though it lay fallen on the floor beside her body. She attempted to reach for it only to have her hand crushed by one of the soldiers. The armored man squatted down in front of her before taking off his helmet.
If Iris had had more energy she would’ve gasped. The man’s face was half melted, some of the skin burnt beyond recognition. Pinks, purples and yellows made up his skin tone in some candle wax like matter. Something in Iris’ face must have been recognizable as horror or disgust as the man grabbed her chin, forcing her eyes to stay on him.
“I’m not the prettiest, I know. But don’t worry, you won’t have to see this face for long. You’ll be dead pretty soon.” The man ran his finger down her cheek before forcefully pushing it to the side.
“Let’s see who’s on the line, shall we?” He picked up the earpiece from the floor, putting it in a small box and tapping it a few times before a voice almost screamed out of it. The man held it away from him, faking ear pain.
“Iris! Come in! Iris!” The voice rang loud and clear from the box. It was Stark.
“Iris. What a pretty name.” The man hummed. The box suddenly went silent.
“Rumlow.” Iris heard Bucky growl from the other side of the speaker. Rumlow? How have I heard this name before? Iris thought.
“Wait? Is that who I think it is?” Rumlow’s body language changed suddenly. He looked down at Iris’ limp body before turning back to the box with a cruel smirk. “Soldier, is this your little bitch?”
Iris’ heart sank. They knew who Bucky was. They knew he was the winter soldier. She connected the pieces. This was Hydra.
---
Bucky had pushed Stark away from the control, grabbing the microphone from the table. Steve stepped forward, not interfering yet but ready to if it was necessary.
Bucky was yelling into the microphone as they heard an array of grunt, cries and yelps from the other side. Each time a sound was emitted from the other side, everyone’s hearts in the room dropped.
Stark jumped forward when the sounds seemed to stop. Steve stood by his side as he began to speak by Bucky’s side. He could feel the soldier’s fear and fury just a foot away from him and admitted only to himself that he was a bit scared. Not only of Bucky but of Iris’ well-being too. He had come to like the girl and didn’t want anything to happen to her. And, as much as he hated to admit it, she was good for Barnes and he didn’t want him to loose her.
“Iris! Come in! Iris!” Stark said loudly, hoping for some response. There were a few crackles and bumps coming from the speaker before a new voice came from the speaker.
“Iris. What a pretty name.” Bucky tensed, he recognized the deep voice even through the crackling speaker.
“Rumlow.” He growled, his vision going red.
The rest of the room shared nervous glances, now realizing what this meant.
“Wait? Is that who I think it is?” Rumlow spoke once more. There was a pause. Bucky’s metal hand was now wrapped around the edge of the metal table once more, completely crushing it. “Soldier, is this your little bitch?”
That was all Bucky could handle before he broke.
“You take your god damn hands off her.” Bucky snarled, his voice deep and furious. The rest of the room was dead silent but Bucky wasn’t noticing them anyway.
“Why should I?” Rumlow chuckled. “I was originally going to kill her but what a waste that would be. I mean, imagine the things I could do to the winter soldier’s little girlfriend. I’m surprised she would even go for the likes of you.”
“Take me instead.” Bucky said without hesitation. “You can have me back if you return her safely.” Steve grabbed his shoulder, concerned, but Bucky quite literally brushed him off.
“Let me think about it.” There was another second of silence. “Nah.” He chuckled once more. “Why would I want a broken toy back if I could have a brand new one.” Bucky heard a rustle and yelp from Iris. He tensed once more. “She’s much prettier than you too.”
“I’m going to kill you, Rumlow. You and all of Hydra. I will burn it to the ground.” Bucky began to raise his voice, the metal table in his palm nothing more than a wad of tinfoil now.
“Good luck with that.” And with a crunch, there was radio silence. Rumlow was gone. Iris was gone.