Lost + Found [Bucky Barnes] ✓

Chapter 47

"Bucky?"

I follow Steve into the room, while both Sam and Natasha trail behind me. The room is empty save some medical equipment in a cupboard on the far wall, an empty metal table next to it along with a couple of metal chairs, while the bright white lighting illuminates everything in the room. Our steps echo, bouncing off the high ceilings, as we approach.

Bucky is standing close to the containment unit that is currently housing Artemis, his arms crossed tightly in front of his chest. When I spoke, his shoulders shift imperceptibly and I can't help but frown.

"Hi Chloe," Artemis's voice draws my attention, and my eyes snap up to the source.

Standing in the middle of the bright white pod, my sister stares back at me with a blank look on her face. No longer wearing the horrific smirk painted on her face when she shot Mara, this girl looks more like the sister I know and love. The thought gives me hope, and I allow a small smile to curl up the corner of my mouth.

"Ari," my voice is hardly more than whisper. "Hi. How are you feeling?"

Artemis bites her lip, "Why am I locked in here? Chloe, I want to go home."

"I'm sorry, Ari," I reply, taking a step forward until I'm standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Bucky. "I can't do that yet. We just want to keep you safe, okay?"

I expect him to take my hand, but instead he stands still as a statue while facing the containment unit. Glancing behind me, Steve lifts an eyebrow before shrugging. Both Sam and Natasha are wearing impassive looks, the former studying the floor in front of him while the latter's gaze is locked on the back of Bucky's head.

"Okay," Ari whispers, nodding as she blinks back tears. "You're right. I understand."

Confused, I turn to look at Bucky only to see his eyes are closed as he breathes in deeply. My eyes skim over his face, noting the tension etched all over his face from the tension between his eyebrows to the muscles flexing in his jaw. Something is bothering him, and I have no idea what it is. Exhaling, I turn my gaze back toward my sister - still thinking over what she said - but something catches my eye. A solid red handprint wraps around Bucky's right wrist, the skin puckered and blistered from a severe burn, and the tips of a charred black handprint peek out from the front of his shirt under his forearm.

My heartbeat jumps in my throat while I furrow my eyebrows, and Artemis' voice draws my attention back to the containment unit in front of me.

"The real danger is out there anyway, isn't it?" Artemis asks, laughing through her tears.

A flash of silver gleams in the corner of my eyes, and - in a split second - I'm thrown across the room. My back slams against the thick concrete wall, and a groan slips from my lips as I shake off the confusion to see my attacker.

"Bucky?" I cough, struggling to catch my breath.

Steve immediately steps forward, throwing a series of punches that the Winter Soldier evades effortlessly before the blonde super soldier is tossed to the side like day old laundry. He scrambles to his feet while Natasha moves quickly into action, barely more than a blur, as she executes an expert series of kicks and jabs that gives Steve enough time to recover as Sam rushes over toward me.

"You okay?" Sam asks, wrapping an arm around my waist as he hoists me to my feet.

I nod, "What's happening? What's he doing?"

"It's not him anymore," Sam replies, tugging me toward the door only to be thrown to the ground as the Winter Soldier sends one of the metal chairs flying our way.