Chapter 14

Bucky was the first to move. He gripped where his metal arm attached to his body and rolled over slightly. He saw Steve lying on the floor below beginning to get to his feet. His eyes drifted over to where Abi was lying and his heart froze in his chest. There was blood pouring from the back of her head and her ankle was bent in the wrong direction. He understood then that she had used her powers to cushion his fall but not her own. "Abi?" He barely recognised his own voice as he moved towards her.

Steve and Tony had got to their feet. Steve looked at Tony. "This isn't going to change what happened."

"I don't care." Tony replied. "He killed my mom."

Tony blasted towards Steve and barely glanced a hit off the side of his face. Steve swung around and landed a hit onto Tony's jaw sending Tony back a few steps. They threw a couple more punches before Steve managed to get an arm around Tony's neck. He tried to prise off the helmet but Tony used his working blaster to send them both flying backwards. Tony managed to get on top and Steve barely moved his head to the side before Tony's fist came down.

"Abi?" Bucky gently took her hand in his. He slipped his fingers down her wrist and let out a sigh of relief when he found a pulse. The gash in the back of her head was deep but the blood was beginning to slow down. The small cuts and bruises on her face were starting to disappear and the burn on her stomach was almost gone.

Bucky glanced down to where Steve and Tony were still fighting. Tony was getting the upper hand. Bucky looked at Abi's ankle and knew that he had to rebreak it then and there. She was already beginning to heal and he couldn't let it set in the wrong place. He moved and gripped her foot in his hand. "Sorry, doll." He twisted his hands fast and heard the snap of bone. He rested her foot back on the ground straight so it would heal properly. He glanced behind her and saw Steve's shield.

As Tony landed a punch on Steve's face, Bucky jumped down and slammed the shield into Tony's back. Tony was thrown forward but quickly spun around and blasted back. Bucky deflected using the shield as Steve got to his feet. Bucky threw him the shield and threw a punch towards Tony. Tony grabbed Bucky's arm but Bucky twisted free and landed a kick on Tony's abdomen. Steve was waiting behind and used his shield to push Tony further back. Bucky and Steve started fighting in tandem, perfectly timing their movements for each other and Tony was being overwhelmed.

Abi's head was throbbing. She reached up and her fingers came back crimson. She swore and then swore again after trying to move her ankle. It had been reset so at least she didn't have to do it herself. She tried to sit up but the pain in her head increased tenfold and she had to lay back down. She turned her head to see Tony blast Steve backwards into a wall. She flipped herself onto her stomach as Bucky started forcing Tony backwards into the far wall. Tony was still landing a few good hits and he turned the blaster on full. Bucky grabbed his arm as the line of pure energy went across the room. Abi reached out and formed a dome over Steve to stop him getting cut in half. She tried to push herself to her knees and had to stop again for her head.

Bucky landed a punch on Tony's chest and Tony hit the wall. He tried to recover but Bucky used his normal arm to push his head backwards as the metal arm started clawing at the arc reactor. Tony tried to pull him off but Bucky's fingers were beginning to sink into the mechanism. Both Steve and Abi tried to get up as Bucky started to scream with the effort. As a final resort Tony used the arc reactor to send out a blast.

Bucky went flying backwards and struggled to catch himself. He looked down to find his left arm gone, again. Tony sent a blast into his back that knocked him off his feet.

"Bucky!" Abi screamed as she managed to get up to her knees. One of her hands shot to her head. She could feel the bones beginning to fuse both in her skull and in her ankle.

Steve pushed himself fully up and ran at Tony. He raised his shield and blocked all of Tony's shots. Tony set his blaster on full again and the energy ricocheted all over as it connected with the shield. Steve forced Tony back into the wall and used his shield to block Tony's advances while his other hand met its mark each time.

"You can't beat him hand to hand!" Friday told Tony as Steve landed punch after punch.

"Analyse his fight pattern." Tony said between punches.

"Scanning."

Steve's shield connected with the bottom of Tony's helmet and nearly tore it straight off.

"Countermeasures ready." Friday said after a myriad of Steve's advances.

Tony caught Steve's shield on his next attempt. "Let's kick his ass."

Tony blasted the shield out of Steve's hand. He landed a punch on Steve's chest and forced him backwards before blasting him head over heels. Steve recovered but it was now Tony's turn to get the upper hand. Tony landed every hit he struck. He shot Steve in the stomach and Steve fell to his knees.

"He's my friend." Steve said breathlessly.

"So was I."

Tony landed two more hits and Steve found himself on his hands and knees with blood pouring out of his mouth. Tony gripped his shoulder strap and used it to throw him across the room.

"Stay down. Final warning." Tony tried.

Steve struggled back to his feet. "I can do this all day."

Tony raised his blaster but he was thrown across the room.

Abi's eyes were glowing and her hands were shaking. "I warned you, in Berlin."

Tony flew at her but she just forced him down into the edge of the concrete post. She knelt over him and summoned Steve's shield. She brought it down multiple times on his helmet. The metal crumpled and she ripped it off with her hand. Tony raised his hands to his face as he looked at her with pure fear in his eyes. But it didn't matter, she was no longer in control. She raised the shield one last time.

"Abi!" Steve looked at her with a horrified expression.

She brought the shield down and it collided with the arc reactor. She twisted it once and the metal cracked. Steve gripped her under the arms and pulled her off. They both fell over backwards as Tony looked at them, the shield still in his chest. Abi was breathing hard as her eyes began to dim back to their normal deep brown. Her hand stopped glowing but hey were shaking. She met Tony's eyes and the reality of what she had done hit her. She could have killed him.

Steve got up first and pulled the shield out of Tony's chest. Abi crawled over to Bucky and he looked at her in a pained daze. She looked at his arm before resting her hands on his temples. She numbed the pain receptors in his brain and his breathing evened out. She gripped his remaining arm and pulled him up with the help of her powers. He wrapped the arm around her shoulders as Steve walked over to them.

Tony rolled onto his side. "That shield doesn't belong to you. You don't deserve it. My father made that shield.

Steve stopped as Abi and Bucky continued. He looked down at what had become his emblem, his most recognisable symbol. He looked forward and dropped it. He followed Abi and Bucky out.