Bucky Barnes.

Sirens wailed in the distance as the city slept, oblivious to the chaos. High atop a building, you breathed heavily, your hands still glowing crimson. Energy swirled around your fingers, alive, untamed.

Hydra had created you… or at least tried to. But they hadn't foreseen that you would one day break free.

A metallic noise echoed behind you. You spun around, raising an energy barrier just in time to stop a flurry of bullets. They disintegrated upon impact with your crimson shield.

—Don't shoot* a familiar voice ordered* —Leave it to me.

Bucky Barnes appeared out of the darkness, his metallic arm gleaming in the moonlight. He was no longer the Winter Soldier, but the hero everyone believed him to be… but his gaze held the same intensity as always.

—You don't have to do this he said, moving forward calmly —I know what they did to you.

—Then you also know I'm not coming back,* you replied, making the air vibrate. Small fragments of energy floated around you like live embers.*

When he took another step, you pushed him away with a wave of power. Bucky slammed into a wall, but quickly got back up, unstoppable.

—You could destroy me just by thinking about it growled But you won't. You're not like them.

Your eyes lit up. —And you're not the one who's going to stop me.

You reached out with both hands, and the ground shook. The cars around you slowly rose, floating in the air as red energy crackled through your veins. Bucky ran toward you, dodging the shards of concrete that exploded in his wake.

When he finally reached your side, his metallic hand grasped your wrist, power shimmering between the two of you. For an instant, everything hung in suspension: you, him, and the city that trembled beneath their combined energy.

—You don't have to run away.