"Uh, Mr. Barnes, Sergeant Buckaroo, I almost forgot that that suit did nothing for your hubby's ass."
Bucky scoffed, but didn't falter as he jogged through whatever floor of the tower he was on. Why the hell couldn't he find the elevator? How do you navigate this place, there's nothing to go off of. "Is there nothing that you won't talk about?"
Tony elected to ignore his question with a crackling whisper; "It's ridiculous."
"I think he looks great, Sergeant Barnes. As far as I'm concerned, that's America's ass," Scott said, voice dripping with respect and approval.
Bucky couldn't help the smirk that took over his features. "I mean. You're not wrong."
He rounded another corner that was identical to all the others, and felt a jolt of excitement when he saw the west elevator. Tony's tower was a maze, he hated every inch of it. But he made it to his destination in time, and that was what mattered.
At the moment, at least. Once they got out of this mess, he was going to take some time to make fun of this ugly building.
"Who are these guys?"
"They are S.H.I.E.L.D. ...Well, actually Hydra. But we didn't know that yet."
"Seriously, you didn't? I mean...they look like bad guys."
"You're small, but you're talking loud."
He came to a stop beside the elevator, and let out a sigh of pure relief at getting a moment's rest. He leaned his right shoulder against the wall, rested his temple against it, and focused on getting himself together.
"All right, you're up, little buddy. There's our stone."
"Alright. Flick me."
Bucky waited beside the elevator for Tony's word, his chest tightening as the weight of what he was doing set in. He ran a barely-trembling hand through his silky hair, then took a few moments to rough it up and make sure it looked like he hadn't touched it. The Winter Soldier didn't care about his appearance, not like Bucky Barnes did.
What if they take you back?
No, that was impossible, a far-fetched nightmare. Shuri removed his programming.
But it was never tested. Something could have been left behind.
Bucky trusted Shuri. He had healed, he had recovered. He was a man that should have long been dead, yes, but he was living again. His life was his own, he took back his body and his name.
...Then they'll have two Winter Soldiers.
His stomach sank and flipped.
What the hell had he agreed to?
"All right, Wolfie. I got our scepter in the elevator just passing the eightieth floor."
Bucky's lips twitched at the name. It had been so long since he was Wakanda's White Wolf. Pushing the DOWN button, he responded, "Stationed. Head to the lobby."
"Alright. I'll see you there."
Bucky let his hands fall to his sides as he firmly planted his feet in front of the closed metallic doors, at ease. He inhaled deeply, letting his stomach expand. He held it in for a five second count, and then let it out through his mouth.
The elevator dinged when it opened. The shaft was filled with Hydra agents, but the only ones he knew specifically were Brock Rumlow and Jasper Sitwell. In Sitwell's hand was the long, grey case that held the scepter, but he knew better than to look at anything other than what was straight in front of him.
He took a calm, calculated step onto the platform, as the agents stared at him in shock and confusion. With a quick assessment, he noted that there were ten of them, all but two were low levels and had no business ever seeing his face before, unless it was in a documentary or a history textbook. He turned around, bringing his hands in front of his pelvis, locking his metal fingers around his flesh wrist. He watched the doors close, and felt the lull in the elevator as it continued down.
Rumlow was silent, very obviously looking at him through the edge of his peripheral vision, not wanting to turn his head toward him.
Good.
He kept his mouth shut and his eyes trained on the closed elevator doors, keeping his face blank. He may not look it, but he was ready to spring into action at a moment's notice. It was enough to trick the rookies behind him, but not Sitwell and Rumlow.
His handler finally asked, voice unsteady, "Mission report?"
Rumlow didn't see Bucky's elbow coming at his face until it was too late. He fell back into two of the other agents, already gushing blood.
Bucky lunged to press the emergency stall button, and the elevator jerked to a stop as he back-kicked Sitwell in the gut. The case clattered to the ground, and the agent stumbled back into the wall.
The rookies rushed him. Their first mistake. Bucky grabbed the collar of one and swung his body, knocking the other agents down. He brought the caught agent in and around to the elevator doors, letting his legs swing out before he pushed him to the ground and kicked him hard in the temple.
Bucky spun around within the moment, fists clenched and pulled up in front of his chest, a simple boxing pose he had once made on weekends during competitions and on week nights when he trained. He swung his right fist at one agent's nose, a smirk coming to his face when he just crumbled. Inexperienced. He grabbed another on his left by the shoulder, boosted himself up with his right foot on the agent's hip. He wrapped his left leg around his shoulders, then leaned forward to make him topple with more weight added to his center of gravity. Bucky twisted at the last second and linked his fingers on the nape of someone's neck, pushing his mount's head harder into the ground, landing on his feet and pulling the new agent's face into his knee.
He felt his nose break. Victory blood stained his dark TAC pants. Good.
Rumlow came at him with a crackling baton, branches of blue electricity bringing the device to life. Refusing to be treated like abused cattle, Bucky caught him by his right wrist and twisted his arm up and around his head, turning him around and pushing him into the agent he had only punched, who was getting back up.
Bucky redirected himself, ducking underneath the grabby arms of another agent. At seeing his angry expression, the face clicked. Jenkins.
Jenkins fucking sucked.
Bucky elbowed him in the liver, stuck his right leg between Jenkins' and wrapped his arms around his abdomen. He let his left foot out from underneath him, and bashed his head into the elevator floor. He was immediately back up on his feet, but two agents wrapped their arms around each of his and clamped cuffs around his wrists.
Magnetic cuffs. God, he despised those.
They let his arms go, and his right wrist locked against the wall. But his left arm didn't go, the magnet finding the metal of his prosthetic satisfactory enough.
He looked at the last six agents and had the goddamn nerve to smirk.
Rumlow pushed the end of his stun baton into Bucky's stomach, and a sudden shout punching out of him. He bashed his metal fist into his old handler's temple. He fell, and stayed down.
Bucky tilted his chin up at the four fighting agents. One had their gun on him, two had their stun batons, and one was acting as Sitwell's bodyguard.
Okay. He could work with this.
Bucky lashed out with his feet. The toe of his boot hit the bottom of the pistol's magazine and part of the agent's wrist. The gun sailed up and arch through the air, and Bucky caught it backwards in his metal hand. He spun it in his palm, finger on the trigger and the barrel trained on the agent who had just had it. He didn't hesitate to shoot the four agents standing, and then Rumlow for good measure. Non-fatal, but enough to take them down and have them stay that way. He dropped the gun, and turned his eyes on the prize.
He pulled at the magnetic cuff with his vibranium fingers. With a little more effort than normal, he was able to pull it off his wrist. He pressed the button that would resume the descent of the elevator as he turned to Sitwell, who stared at him in complete shock, backed up into a corner with the case behind his shaking legs. "You-you're not our soldier.
"I think you have something I need," Bucky rasped, crossing his arms over his chest. The position put his black and gold hand on display for him. When Sitwell obviously looked at it, he said, "It's vibranium. Wanna figure out how it feels?"
He immediately stepped out of the way, and Bucky ducked down to pick up the case by the handle. Within moments, he whipped Sitwell in the temple with it, and watched the undercover S.H.I.E.L.D. Officer collapse on top of two other bodies.
The elevator dinged once again, and the doors folded open. Bucky ran out into the new floor, starting through the halls to eventually find an exit.
"Got it. Rendevous."