𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗢𝗣𝗛𝗘

𝘊𝘖𝘙𝘕𝘌𝘙𝘌𝘋 𝘍𝘌𝘓𝘐𝘕𝘌

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There were two possible locations in which Arielle could be at. And they couldn't risk missing her. They had to split up and check the coordinates separately, otherwise she would get away and they could lose her trace for good.

After parting ways, Bucky was supposed to go directly to the lab he got assigned to, but there was something else he had to do first. Something he couldn't tell Steve.

He took his phone out of his pocket and hit the speed dial, then waited for the other person to pick up.

"Hey, did you manage to find anything?"

"Do you think I did?" A low, feminine chuckle was heard from the other end.

"Yeah, I think you have an adress."

Silence.

"So?"

"Alright, yes. I found it. I'll send you the coordinates."

The corners of his lips tugged up into a smile. "Thanks, Nat. I'll make it up to you."

"You better."

He shook his head and hung up, then headed to the address he was given.

From the outside, the place looked peaceful. Could she be at the other place? No, Steve would have called by now.

Which meant she had to be here. Somewhere.

He checked to see if his gun was loaded before he approached the main entrance. This was going to be tough, he didn't know what — or who — he'd find here, but he knew he had to get to her. Before she hurt anyone.

He expected to run into some guards at the door, but there were none to be seen, which only added to his theory that she was in fact here. She probably took care of the guards before he got here, she had a nice head start.

As he made his way through the hallway, he came across some knocked out agents and scientists. He reached one of the lab rooms by following the sound of somebody fighting nearby.

Right as he was about to open the door, an agent was sent flying by a kick. The man hit his head on the door and passed out instantly.

Now he was sure she was there.

He didn't want to be noticed yet, so he didn't go through the door. Instead, he peeked inside to see what exactly was going on there.

And it was the first time his eyes landed on her.

She moved with such grace and agility, she reminded him of a swan. For a moment, he didn't even realize she was causing pain to the HYDRA agents that were trying to stop her. He only saw the elegance and the precision of her moves and only then he truly understood what Philip Khan meant.

Arielle anticipated her enemies' moves and counterattacked well. She hit them hard, but with control. None of these people are going to die because of her hits, but they are going to regret messing up with her once they wake up.

Bucky frowned. This wasn't how he expected her to be. He did some research on her only by using what the media said about the persona they created for her, Catastrophe, but she was nothing like they thought. She wasn't chaotic, catastrophic as they described her to be.

No, she was calculated and very precise. Everything she did seemed well thought before. And she didn't take any pleasure in injuring these men, that much was clear, but she was fueled by determination and the fire inside her seemed to burn brighter than anything else in this moment. She looked like she wasn't going to let anyone get in her way, like she would stop them at any cost if they tried to get in her way.

It was obvious in the way she fights: she was not the bad guy everybody is trying to paint her as.

More HYDRA agents busted through the opposite door. They came in waves and as skilled as she was, she would get outnumbered quickly.

Silently moving forward, Bucky made his way through the lab until he was close enough to her to help, but far enough to be able to defend himself from her if needed.

Arielle noticed him in her peripheral vision and turned around, ready to fight him too. Her first reaction was to furrow her brows and take a step back.

He surely didn't look like the men she had been kicking and punching since she came here. And what was even more odd was that he didn't attack her.

Her attention suddenly shifted to a HYDRA agent that probably thought she wouldn't see his reflection in the glass window next to her. Before Arielle could turn around to take care of him, the unknown man already had his metal hand wrapped around the agent's throat and threw him to the ground in the very next moment.

"Behind you!" He warned her, then punched another man that got too close to him.

This time, she reacted a little bit late. Whoever was behind her already had their fingers laced in her hair and pulled her back with force.

Arielle gritted her teeth and pushed him to the nearest wall, elbowed him two times until he loosened the grip on her hair, then she grabbed his wrist and pinned his arm behind his back. She pushed him to the ground and held him still with her foot.

She saw how the stranger who yelled at her took her place and fought the remaining HYDRA agents.

Something wasn't right. Who was this man and why was he here? And why did it look like they were fighting on the same side? Could he be after Kamenev too? No way, she couldn't let him get to Kamenev before she did.

Arielle sneaked behind his back and took out her kindjals, threatening him by holding them both close to his neck.

"Who the hell are you?" Arielle hissed.

He raised both of his hands in the air. "My names is James Barnes. People call me Bucky. I work with SHIELD. I'm not here to hurt you, Arielle."

At the mention of her name, she felt a knot in her stomach. "Who told you my name?"

"Philip Khan. My friend and I found him at the abandoned warehouse, he was the one who told me where to find you."

She bit her bottom lip, mentally cursing herself for not being careful enough. "And where's your friend?"

"At the other address Khan gave to you. We had to split up if we wanted to find you and i guess I got lucky."

"Find me? Why were you looking for me?"

"Look, I'd love to sit around and chat and but I don't think we can make it out of here unscathed if we keep talking. Come with me, I'll tell you everything you want to know."

Arielle scoffed. "You really think I'll go with you? Nice try." She raised her knee and hit him in his lower back, pushing him forward and away from her.

He had to admit that she had quite a kick.

Bucky rose back on his feet, but his eyes grew wide in shock when he turned around to face her. "Arielle, get down!"

But she didn't react.

"Fuck!" He screamed at the sound of the gunshot.

The man who she fought earlier found the courage to shoot and from where he stood, he had a clear shot at her.

A pained moan left Arielle's lips as the bullet went through her skin and injured her right below her ribcage.

Bucky pointed his own I.C.E.R. at the man at knocked him out with one shot. While he did that, Arielle broke the window and jumped out of the building, making herself unseen.

He hurried outside, but she was already gone. Damn.

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i'm back from my hiatus with another catastrophe update ! i also changed the layout for the visuals & playlist chapter, so make sure to check that out too !