@wavellites for Claire Temple.
ㅤThere was apparently something seriously wrong with New York City for the number of superpowered and/or masked individuals it supported and somehow still had shit going on that had the handlers for Bucky's conditional employment telling him to deal with messes right there in the city. He wasn't complaining because it worked in his favor to stay local, but sometimes he wondered what the hell had happened over the years. His job that evening was to get a tracker onto a thief, or better yet, capture the bastard so that they could question him, but the tracker would lead them back to wherever he went after he disappeared each time.
ㅤEasy enough, he figured. Placing the tracker required engaging at an opportune moment and Bucky was not excited about a visual on a figure in partial armor that looked like it was taking stylistic inspiration from both Doom and Stark, particularly in the mask and chest. He picked what he hoped was his best chance to drop from the sky (or more accurately, from above the roof access doorway) onto him and set the tracker immediately so that the priority mission was completed, which was a good thing because that was where everything stopped going according to plan. Bucky was not light, even for his size, and it wasn't usual for him to land on someone and not take them down instantly; some might get up, but the initial impact floored the majority of opponents. This guy not only didn't drop, but grabbed him by the throat in an armored metal hand, snatched Bucky's own knife from his belt and might have stabbed him in the chest with it instead of plunging it into his leg if Bucky hadn't unloaded four rounds into the other's abdomen. He wasn't sure if any of them penetrated the armor, but they didn't ricochet back at him and the guy staggered backward, so he'd take the win when he could breathe again.
ㅤThe two of them seemed to be re-evaluating each other in the seconds after, and Bucky thought one or more bullets may have hit their mark when the target took off for the edge of the roof instead of trying for a second round. Was it his smartest move to follow? Probably not, but fleeing usually meant that his opponent felt outmatched and even with a knife in his thigh, that was a good sign. He'd been in worse pain, it hadn't hit anything too serious, so he'd make it. He darted after, throwing his arm up to protect his face and turning his body when a spray of bullets took him entirely in his left side with the sharp ping of metal on metal and the even sharper pain of impact, but then he was at the edge of the roof and he could see the other stagger on landing. There were some kind of thrusters in those boots, but Bucky could make the jump without the tech and even bleeding, he seemed to be in better shape. The thief hadn't recovered enough to make it more than a few feet before stopping, and Bucky made the leap.
ㅤHe was a few feet from landing when the armored menace turned and fired again, and this time it wasn't a semi-auto or anything normal. Bucky would have even taken a grenade being launched at him instead of the arc of electricity that instantly connected with his arm like it was a lightning rod, shooting through the prosthesis and the rest of the metal beneath his skin like it really needed all of that spread to cause maximum agony. He screamed, the thief cut the charge and bolted, and he absolutely missed his landing. He almost caught the fire escape instead, barely aware and working entirely on instinct, but his left arm wasn't responding and he hit it hard. The next one he tried to catch right-handed, but his grip wasn't certain and slipped free.
ㅤHe'd fallen further and survived, but the combination of the shock to his system and everything that came before the fall did not help. Somehow, he missed the dumpster on impact, for better or worse, but whatever disoriented attempt he made to get up immediately after didn't last. When he tried pushing himself up one-handed, he lost his balance immediately and didn't get up again.
