no way out | barnes

/twenty-seven/

LIGHTNING AND THUNDER

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"h-hi there," he cackled.

she closed the door behind her and locked it. she approached him.

"there're so many pretty co-lors," he giggled like a kid. he was kneeling on the ground. she pulled her gun and held it to his forehead.

"bucky said he killed you," she stated. she forced herself to stay strong. she forced herself to not vomit.

the Doctor smiled from ear to ear and turned around. her stomach knotted. there was a sizable exit wound from a bullet. maggots were nesting inside it. she could see chunks of his brain - well what was left of it.

he faced her again.

"aren't we all dead in some way? we kill ourselves, piece by piece," he frowned. "you're dead inside. you're rotting! everyone you ever loved has lied to you or hurt you. me, natasha, your precious bucky, even harrison! they all broke your heart! and you let them."

"you're crazy."

"no i'm not. you are." he absently picked his skin. "i see it all; i know it all. you're just a dumb girl. you'll never be anything."

she shot him in the head.

"hahah, that tickled!" he scratched the entry wound. no blood.

"you're rotting from the inside, aren't you?"

"ye-ah," he slurred. "i have to tell you a secret."

"what?"

"bucky didn't bomb my base."

"what?" she hissed.

"he came and he shot me," he pointed toward his head. "he called some guy at, what is it? - oh yeah! s.h.i.e.l.d. - and he came and took my prisoners. i played dead. dead people are good at playing dead." he laughed. "i escaped because he didn't bomb it. i'm here because of him. and guess what? my prisoners escaped from the base. they're going to kill all of s.h.i.e.l.d.'s dumb agents."

"shut up," she demanded. "shut up."

"you've come here to get revenge because he told you there are more of you. many more. for some reason, you came back. terrible things happened here and yet you came back." he grinned. "it haunts you, doesn't it?"

"what does?"

"the closets, the Lady, me, the other girls and the survival of the fittest..." he said. "it all plays in your head and dulls your blade. they're killing you."

"you're a psychopath; you're a monster," she bellowed. "you disgust me."

"i have news," he shoved her insults and claims away. "i have what you were looking for."

"the maps?"

"the map. one map. that's all there is."

"why're you giving it to me?" she asked. she was absolutely confused. his words were tangling her up and she found it hard to breathe. everything was happening at once and it felt like the world was crumbling inside her lungs. she was breathing grainy dust.

"because," he crawled toward her. she didn't back away. she couldn't show her fear. "you're supposed to have it. she wanted you to have it. she said you're supposed to change things. whatever that means."

he reached under her bed and pulled something out. he gave her a shoe box.

he took her gun from her. before she could do anything, the Doctor placed it under his chin and fired three times. he fell back on the floor. she clutched the shoebox to her chest.

"harper!" bucky yelled outside. "who fired? are you okay?" he began to hit the door, trying desperately to get in.

he finally beat the door in. he didn't stop to see the dead Doctor (who was still grinning), or to see the shoebox she held, or to process the the doctor might have told her the truth. instead, bucky went to harper and pulled her to her feet.

"what happened?" he examined her closely, making sure it wasn't her that got shot.

"he told me about the base. you lied to me," she said. he had been gripping her by the biceps and finally let go. "you flat-out lied to me. you had me believing you killed hundreds of innocent people; i wept for them."

"we don't have time to go through this now. we took the staff away and we need to keep moving. the other compounds are probably preparing for us. we have to go."

"you lied to me!"

"do you have the map?" he tried desperately to pull her out of the room. she had the Doctor's blood on her shirtfront. she stayed put. his hand was beginning to hurt her arm.

"bucky, damn it!" she hissed. he let her go and looked at her. "why'd you lie to me?" her voice steadied. he took a breath.

"i lied to you to keep you focused. i had to keep your attention on the fact there were other compounds and that we had to find the other trainees. i had to keep you away from the fact the prisoners were free."

"how would i have been distracted by that?"

"because you want to help everyone and protect everyone. you try so hard to pretend you only care about yourself, but it isn't true and you know it. besides, look at you now, you're all torn up about it."

"i'm torn up because you lied to me," she was perfectly composed now, almost startlingly. "not because those people are alive."

she left the room and went to the ship. she got on board the jet. bruce was on another jet, with the babies. and a third jet had the staff.

she retreated to one of the benches along the side of the corridor. the others did too. bucky sat across from her. natasha sat beside her.

"i know about the bombing," harper whispered to natasha. "the Doctor was there. he told me bucky didn't bomb it. did you know? did you help bucky lie?" she stared at the ground and clutched the box with white knuckles.

natasha watched harper closely. "yes."

harper nodded to herself. she was silent the rest of the ride.

no one knew why her chest was coated in blood, or what was in the shoebox, or why she was staring off into nothingness, or what she whispered to natasha.

no one asked anything.