Bucky Barnes ☆ 32557038 (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
tookthewheel) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
thearena2014-09-14 07:56 pm
tookthewheel) wrote in thearena2014-09-14 07:56 pm
Entry tags:
This will end in blood [closed]
Who| Brainiac 5, MCU!Bucky Barnes and Steve Rogers
What| A series of unfortunate events ends with Steve killing Brainy in Bucky's defence
Where| Glamour Nail
When| Late week 3
Warnings/Notes| Violence, death
Bucky hadn't made it back upstairs last night.
The cybernetic arm is malfunctioning, plates have been pried open and were knocked out of line, ugly metallic scraping sounds every time he moves it. It jerks, shudders and occasionally pain will ricochet upwards where the socket is located and hooked into his nervous system.
Return for repairs. Return for-- the standard procedure beats inside his head but he can't, it's all gone, HYDRA is gone -- not that he could get to them in this place even if he wanted to. But the exterior is the least of the trouble, the innards of the arm are worse where the blonde woman driving the SUV had poured something that smelled sweet and sticky inside his arm, frying circuits and clogging delicate gears. That's what's causing the intermittent shocks, like a smaller kinder version of the electricity they used to fry his mind before.
He's trying not to think about it but it seems like his mind is determined to betray him more and more this arena, egged on further now by the damage he's sustained. It's dizzying and dragging up so many different bits and pieces of himself before throwing them into a blender inside his head. Bucky knows he killed recently but who and where are a blur; he knows the smart thing to do right now would be to retreat upstairs and find someone to help him with his prosthesis if there's anyone with the knowledge he can bring himself to allow to touch it, he knows that--
But instead of doing what he should he's following a man with green skin and blonde hair into the nail salon, shifting deeper into the Soldier and the Mission as he does. He knows this one... he remembers him attacking Steve at the arena opening, after the speech and the explosions and identifies him immediately as a threat that has to be eliminated so he can protect his friend.
Uncertainty disappears into the purity of purpose, a thrumming in the Soldiers head as he charges forward to slam into Brainy from behind.
What| A series of unfortunate events ends with Steve killing Brainy in Bucky's defence
Where| Glamour Nail
When| Late week 3
Warnings/Notes| Violence, death
Bucky hadn't made it back upstairs last night.
The cybernetic arm is malfunctioning, plates have been pried open and were knocked out of line, ugly metallic scraping sounds every time he moves it. It jerks, shudders and occasionally pain will ricochet upwards where the socket is located and hooked into his nervous system.
Return for repairs. Return for-- the standard procedure beats inside his head but he can't, it's all gone, HYDRA is gone -- not that he could get to them in this place even if he wanted to. But the exterior is the least of the trouble, the innards of the arm are worse where the blonde woman driving the SUV had poured something that smelled sweet and sticky inside his arm, frying circuits and clogging delicate gears. That's what's causing the intermittent shocks, like a smaller kinder version of the electricity they used to fry his mind before.
He's trying not to think about it but it seems like his mind is determined to betray him more and more this arena, egged on further now by the damage he's sustained. It's dizzying and dragging up so many different bits and pieces of himself before throwing them into a blender inside his head. Bucky knows he killed recently but who and where are a blur; he knows the smart thing to do right now would be to retreat upstairs and find someone to help him with his prosthesis if there's anyone with the knowledge he can bring himself to allow to touch it, he knows that--
But instead of doing what he should he's following a man with green skin and blonde hair into the nail salon, shifting deeper into the Soldier and the Mission as he does. He knows this one... he remembers him attacking Steve at the arena opening, after the speech and the explosions and identifies him immediately as a threat that has to be eliminated so he can protect his friend.
Uncertainty disappears into the purity of purpose, a thrumming in the Soldiers head as he charges forward to slam into Brainy from behind.
no subject
Despite his nose gushing blood everywhere, his current state of mind seemed to be stuck in a constant state of 'done,' with exasperation ruling the day.
Which was why his only words as he turned to face Bucky were, "For fuck's sake..."
He was at the stage of the arenas where he wanted out, one way or another, but that didn't mean he was willing to give up without a fight.
Picking up a bottle of nail polish remover and popping off the top, he threw it in the direction of Bucky's face. It would burn his eyes if it hit, and even if it didn't, Brainy did have a fire-starting kit...
no subject
Not that it matters, not that he even blinks at it. He's in pain and he's angry, the killer within pushed forwards with unfamiliarly intense emotion. He'd started, he was committed, he would finish this.
The metal arm screeches in protest when he throws it up by instinct to protect his face, sending another one of those little jolts up through his shoulder and the bottle hits it, the liquid contained within spilling across it and spraying over his shirt and face. The yell he lets loose is a symptom of both the broken arm and the strange, foul smelling liquid that gets in one eye, starting to burn immediately.
A knife is thrown a second later from his right hand as he stumbles back a few paces to a safer distance, the burning eye squeezed shut but the other still seeing well enough to aim it for Brainy's head.
no subject
He dodged it. It sliced his cheek slightly, causing green blood to bead and drip down, but chances are Bucky had never had to fight someone with reflexes like this before - short of Steve, at least.
Although, really, it had a lot more to do with the fact that by seeing the angle and velocity Bucky was throwing the knife at, he'd been able to calculate exactly where it was aimed it and where to move instead.
Him moving back wasn't the best idea, as it gave Brainiac space to reach for the little fire-starting flare in his pack. Snapping it, he ran forward and threw it in Bucky's direction. Even if he swatted it away, with the fumes rising off of him, there was a chance it would ignite him if it got even remotely close.
no subject
--and retaliates.
His hand reaches out to bat it away and then there's suddenly heat and fire. The Soldier doesn't panic, though he does react quickly, bringing his hand down at metal and cloth to pat out the flames before they can catch higher and get to his flesh underneath.
Of course, the downside of focusing on this priority is it makes him vulnerable to a further attack from the target. Bucky does the only action he can think of and tries to keep distance between them until he's dealt with the flames.
And that's wrong because truly HYDRA's Asset wouldn't have cared, he would have let the fire burn him to get the mission done...
no subject
For instance, space gave him time to get the crowbar out of its holster at his back, and space gave him time to run towards Bucky with the same iron-clad determination his victims usually had to stare down when Bucky attacked them.
"You've made a very grave miscalculation."
Brainiac 5 was someone that could've been shaped into what Bucky was had his caretakers been cruel enough. They needed him for other more intellectual purposes but they had treated him like an unfeeling machine, meant to be controlled and directed at whatever problems they saw fit.
He had a certain way of thinking sometimes because of it, of seeing a problem and then focusing all his attention on resolving it.
Bucky trying to kill him was a problem. It needed an expedient solution, albeit preferably a nonfatal one.
That didn't mean he was averse to causing a little injury - especially when his nose was still gushing down his front from the stranger's lack of reluctant in dealing injury to him.
That was why Brainy tried to whack him in the side with the crowbar. The blow was calculated to have just enough force to cause bruising or maybe break a rib but not hard enough to cause serious internal injury.
If he could just get him to the floor, he could probably give him a minor enough knock to the head to cause him to briefly lose consciousness so he could run off. He was rather adept at calculating how much force was required to minorly concuss someone, due to use of his forcefields.
That was going to require a bit of trying to smack him around without getting smacked around first, though.
no subject
He is compromised, dangerously so.
Of course just because he's more reckless now doesn't make him helpless, the Winter Soldier's deadly knowledge and efficiency is still his and he will use it. Either Brainy goes down or he does, there is no in-between, he has to fulfil the Mission.
The flames die, accompanied by the pain of the crowbar impacting his side, the crack of his rib and Bucky lashes out with the cybernetic arm instinctively even when he snarls in response to it. Maybe it's not as flexible as it should be but he can still swing it with force and metal is metal, it's going to hurt if it hits no matter what.
He adds to that a follow-up kick aimed at Brainy's shin.
no subject
But that put him in a better position to use his momentum from the fall to swing the crowbar and try to get a blow in at Bucky's legs as well. Despite the pain and shock, he was self-controlled enough to work through them. Maybe if he was lucky, he could knock him to the floor and cause him to hit his head.
That might just give him an opening for a proper knock-out blow.
no subject
He hit a cart of nail polish and knocked it over as he crashed down, the bottles of brightly coloured liquid smashing on the floor when it did. Not allowing himself to sit stunned he moved his human hand to his belt to pull out another of his hunting knives while trying to aim a kick at Brainy's wrist where he gripped the crowbar.
Trying to push himself back up with the cybernetic arm however proves a mistake as it protests the weight on the damaged structured and another one of those electric surges jolts up and through him, his body jerking and the knife skittering out of his hand when his fingers twitch reactively.
no subject
The calculations took nanoseconds, factoring in distance, the estimated thickness of Bucky's skull, the density of the metal in the crowbar, resistance from the air -
Those calculations meant that his brain was momentarily engaged exclusively in those calculations. That was what he did: sometimes he saw a problem and focused all of his attention on resolving it.
The two things his brain temporarily didn't focus on were whether or not anyone else was approaching and how his actions might be perceived. He meant to just knock Bucky out but there was no way for anyone watching to know he wasn't planning on just killing him.
no subject
With protection being his game, the sounds of a fight drew him. He knew the clench of unease in his gut told him he wouldn't like what he's about to see. And he didn't. Bucky was down, the green man above him with a crowbar.
He acted. All he knew is Bucky was about to be killed and he couldn't let that happen. It didn't matter the cost. (A small part of him wondered if this instant need to protect at any cost was how Bucky felt when he found him in alleyways getting the snot beat out of him.)
His movements were fast, near silent, and there was no hesitation as he kicked in the nonfavored leg and grabbed the front of the man's neck with one hand, hunting knife in the other. As the man's weight shifted down, he slammed the knife up and into the back of his head, straight through the brain-stem and into the brain itself.
It was quick, it was clean, and there was no surviving it.
But he wasn't so unkind as to just let the body drop, instead setting it down before looking over at Bucky.
no subject
He won't let that possibility stop him, he'll try anyway. He starts to bring his traitorous left arm up above his head, the best chance he has of warding off the attack without injury when Steve shows up.
All Bucky can do is stare up in shock as his friend quickly deals with the target, killing him quickly and efficiently in a way that would make the Soldier proud. No space for reaction or defence.
Then, past the initial shock and analysis it hits him, Steve just saved his life.
As Steve sets down the targets body Bucky staggers up, the pain of the probably broken rib digging into him as he grabs onto a counter for support, still staring at the other man where he stands. He saved him, he needn't have taken the risk but he did so because -- because they're friends.
"Steve." he says quietly. He must look a mess right now, coming off worse in not one but two fights since Steve last saw him.
This okay? Wanted to at least do the twitchy thing we'd talked about
But after lying still for a second, as if he was gone, his body suddenly twitched on the floor, hands grasping at the air, back briefly arching as he tried to breathe. Blood streamed down his face from his nose as he snorted it out. His eyes suddenly darted sideways at Steve, his gaze wild and accusatory, almost as if he was conscious and aware of what had happened when no person should have been.
Almost...almost as if he felt betrayed.
Then, just as suddenly, as the trauma outpaced how quickly his brain was rewiring itself in its desperate attempt to survive without his brain stem, he exhaled his last breath and went still, the blood pouring from the wound and spreading out around his head like a lurid green halo.
It had to have been some kind of strange alien reflex, right?
Perfect! Thank you!
Then slowly, it comes to an end, the man finally dead as the blood spills out around him. Still, he toes the body once more to check for lasting twitches.
When nothing else happens, he turns to Bucky, his gaze falling over a number of injuries. There's a lot to patch up. His hand comes to tentatively, but gently, rest against Bucky's upper right arm.
"You look like you've been through hell, Buck."
\o/
A potential threat that reveals itself to be only a corpse after all, albeit one suffering particularly violent death throes. Some small distant part of him wonders if it usual for the targets species, the louder part of his mind is focused on something else entirely.
Uncomfortably aware of how his heart is racing still from adrenaline and exertion in his chest Bucky looks up at Steve again, eyes still widened in shock at what just happened. There's no thought at first of what he's about to do, no consideration against it as he raises his right arm while cradling the malfunctioning left against his side and puts his hand to the back of Steve's neck. From there the rest is easy as he pulls Steve forward and steps closer himself, closing what distance remains between them (distance Steve left for Bucky's comfort) and rests his forehead on his friends shoulder.
no subject
This is very surreal.
As his body relaxes into Bucky's hold, Steve wraps his arms around the man in return before Bucky can think twice and back out. He just gently holds him there, secure, allowing Bucky to end it when he's ready. This wasn't something he expected to happen anytime soon, maybe ever, but he wants to embrace it and his friend while the chance is there.
"You're such a jerk," there's no venom in his voice, just affection.
no subject
Steve protected him, Steve saved him. When Steve is around he knows he has someone at his back, even if Bucky is sure it is meant to be the other way around. He is meant to protect Steve like the old Bucky would have done.
He has not, so far, done a very good job of it, he thinks. He can't even remember what he's supposed to say in response, though he's certain there is something expected of him and it's resting on the tip of his tongue, refusing to come out. Finally he just shakes his head and lets it go, his nose brushing against the fabric of Steve's shirt.
"I'm sorry."
no subject
"Got nothing to be sorry for, unless you planned to almost die," but he has faith that Bucky's sense of self preservation is better than his own. Steve knows he has a self sacrificing streak a mile wide.
He's only upset at Bucky because of his own fear of losing him again. Too many times he's almost lost him, did lose him, thought he was dead. It's not really something he wants to live through again. Just the idea of Bucky dying in the arena before him makes his chest tighten, he knows it'll kill him to outlive his friend again. Even if it's temporary. Again.
"Don't go dying on me, got it?" He says it lightly, it's not an order or even a request, what he really means is I can't lose you.
no subject
He'd only attacked recklessly, impulsively, driven by remembered fury at how the man had hit Steve at the Cornucopia. Bucky had wanted to eliminate the threat before it could harm his friend again and lost the measured composure the Asset was supposed to have in the face of it. It had been a mistake and the action he'd meant to protect Steve had instead meant Steve had to save Bucky.
The thoughts remain locked inside him with no explanation demanded from his friend and Bucky knows better by now than to expect a punishment for doing so. It's been a slow learning curve but the lesson has sunken in, a step in relearning the difference between a friend and a handler.
The temptation is strong to remain like this, secure and absorbed in the sort of physical affection he had been isolated from for decades but the mission beats in his head. They are not in a safe place and like this they are vulnerable, so slowly he pulls back, torn at the strange beat of reluctance he feels in his chest.
"I won't. If I die I can't help you." Bucky says this perfectly seriously, looking into Steve's face and still cradling his left arm tightly against his body. "I need to."
no subject
But Steve gives a small smile at Bucky's reply. "Well good, because I can't help you either if you're dead," mutually beneficial that both of them stay alive. For as long as they can at least. Steve has no intention of winning, so he will die at some point, something he's alright with. Maybe this time he'll be lucky enough to die fast.
Part of him hopes it won't be after Bucky though. He outlived Peggy and Natasha this arena, the idea of outliving Bucky is like a weight on his heart that he isn't ready to bear.
It's unfair of him to ask Bucky to outlive him, but-
"Let's head back, maybe Stark can do something with that arm?"
no subject
Bucky doesn't know if Steve's aware of that.
"It's fine." he says, pressing it tighter against his side. "I'll manage."
It will be fine, he tells himself, he's dealt with worse. "Let's go back."