Disclaimer: I do not own any Marvel character.
Prologue
o
Her lungs were burning.
Even still, she forced herself to breathe through the pain, forced her fatigued body to move. MOVE-
Granted, it wasn't hard to find the motivation when there was a 1000 plus pound HULK trying to pound her into the ground. His fist hit the asphalt where her body had stood not even moments before. The concrete splintered like wood; she allowed herself a few scant seconds of shock, horror. This is really happening, she thought numbly. He was really trying to hit her-
Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. She saw his head lift, saw the shaggy mop of hair, then his eyes, moss green and positively seething.
She turned and fled the street.
It wasn't the smartest thing she'd ever done. Although lately, 'smart' didn't seem a viable part of her repertoire. She ran wildly, the tail of her cardigan flapping behind her, no longer even bothering with trying to think rationally. Thinking took up too much energy and time. Her body was almost depleted of said energy, and the fear based adrenaline high she'd been running off of was fast fading. With it came a whole host of other problems, like the searing pain in her left leg she'd failed to notice till now.
She stumbled into the first alley she came to, gasping for breath and collapsing against a brick wall.
There was blessed silence.
No roaring from an enraged Hulk, no sound of S.H.I.E.L.D agents chasing her on foot or vehicle… Had she lost them? It didn't seem likely. She forced herself away from the wall, still breathing hard, eyes darting furtively around the darkened alley, searching. There was a large dumpster several yards down, mid-way in the alley. She could only see the side facing her, and there was the brief worry that there might be someone hiding behind it, waiting to STRIKE. It made her heart beat faster, made the ever growing doubt increase even more.
There was a noise immediately to her left, a careful shifting-
Cat, she saw a moment later. Two bright blue eyes watched her owlishly before disappearing back into the shadows. She pressed a hand to her chest, willing herself to calm.
It was like some bad cliché from an action thriller. The absolute worst place she could have possibly chosen to run to. The fatigue was getting to her. She would never have made such a tactical error, such a…a stupid mistake, had she been in her right state of mind. But the inclusion of the Avengers in her apprehension was something she had not counted on. She drew a deep breath, shifting so that her weight was on her uninjured leg, and tried to think.
Going back towards the exit would mean facing the Hulk. An angry Hulk, she corrected with a shudder. And that was, quite frankly, suicide as far as she was concerned. The only positive was that he had apparently not yet realized where she was. Otherwise he would have torn a hole through the alley by now.
The only option at this point was up, she decided hugging herself. The alley was narrow, but she could see the vague outline of a fire escape on the opposite building wall. She bit her lip, staring again towards the alley entrance, considering. Scaling rooftops would mean avoiding helicopters; S.H.I.E.L.D had a menagerie of flight devices at their disposal. It would be harder to lose them if they had visual from the skies. At least on the ground she had a reasonable amount of cover-
She looked again at the dumpster. It didn't look full, which meant the trash truck had probably emptied it sometime recently. But if she waited a few hours, probably she could hitch a ride along with the trash. It wasn't an option she was particularly excited about, but-
Something whizzed past her, embedding with a CHINK into the brick wall beside her head. Her breath caught. In that moment, all intelligent thought fled from her brain.
"That was a warning," the voice called from somewhere above. "Next time I won't miss."
Oh God.
They'd found her! She cringed into the wall, not daring to move. Despite her resolution, despite everything, in the midst of her panic she heard that voice. The one voice she had hoped to never hear again. Nick Fury, a mere memory in her consciousness, but just as sterile and cold as he was in real life. Rule number five, he'd said. Always keep moving. Never STOP moving. The minute you stop, your enemy will find you.
And she'd stopped. She'd stopped. It had just been for a moment, not even three full minutes, but it was enough and now they'd caught her-!
The only thing accomplished by loss of composure is loss of life. Rule number three. Now that she'd started, she couldn't seem to stop reciting them. Silently she recounted the words, clinging to their logic like a security blanket. She closed her eyes and took a trembling breath.
Rule number two: Know your enemy.
What did she know of Hawkeye? He was agile, quick despite having no powers to speak of. He had impeccable aim, was good with both sword and a bow, but seemed to prefer the bow…he was arrogant-
All useless information at the moment! She wanted to look up, to search the skyline of the building, but then he might realize she was mapping his location, and if he suspected she was doing that, then-
There was nothing for it, then. Probably she was better off with the Hulk. Yes, she was eighty percent sure she was better off with the Hulk. Sort of. At least she'd be able to hear (and see) him coming. And she could use the crowds as cover. Heretofore she'd been avoiding them, but maybe it was time to rethink that. The Avengers did not like involving civilians, and the Hulk especially did not like crowds, she knew. Staying in the midst of one would offer at least temporary protection…
A short term solution, and not a very good one at that, but it would have to do. She'd have to be fast to avoid Hawkeye's arrows. He probably had one aimed at her right now. That meant when she did run, it would have to be fast. No more hesitating.
…she hesitated.
Though standing still, the pain in her knee had escalated to a near excruciating throb. The fact that she could even still feel the pain was enough to make her worry. Would she even be able to make it out of the alley? Could she even walk-?
"I wouldn't do that if I were you."
She stopped breathing.
Even cloaked in darkness there was no mistaking him. She'd seen the image of him a million times, had heard his voice - grainy and pitchy from the remnants of 1940's video feeds S.H.I.E.L.D had managed to salvage and convert- so much that she had memorized the inflection.
The original super soldier. The super soldier, she corrected, because he was the only true successful one… Her fingers curled into fists. What irony, she thought bitterly, eyes filling, to be stopped by him of all people. She wondered if Nick Fury had set this up specifically for her.
On his right arm was his shield, looking just as it had from the photographs she'd seen. Shiny. Patriotic. He could throw it at reported speeds of up to 107 mph. Being hit by something of that velocity would rip through her. She swallowed. There was no way out of this that she could see. There were too many variables, too many things she had not foreseen-
She was…she was stuck.
She moved backwards, an awkward dragging shuffle, because her knee had apparently decided to completely give out. The Captain narrowed his eyes, his shield rose a little higher.
"It's over, ma'am." He said firmly, taking a step forward. His voice held a warning.
It was too much. She felt the sliver of control she had left disintegrate. She had always dreamed of what she'd say to him if she ever met him, that perfect soldier whom she herself would never live up to, whose shadow she would always be in. She had memorized the words in her head, had replayed them over and over. But what actually burst from her throat was something else entirely.
"They said you were a hero!" she screamed, half sobbing. "You're supposed to help people!"
Silence. The distant sound of cars and sirens, the heaving gasps of her breathing. She wanted to call the words back. How weak and insecure they sounded. How vulnerable. It was against one of Mr. Fury's rules but at the moment her mind was so muddled she couldn't remember which one. He watched her and she watched him, wondering what his next move would be.
"Wait." He said suddenly. She blinked, face furrowing in confusion before belatedly realizing he was speaking to someone else. Too late she remembered Hawkeye.
There was the sensation of something like a bee sting in her left shoulder. A dart. She removed it with shaking fingers.
"Told ya I wouldn't miss next time." Hawkeye sounded smug. …And a lot closer than he had been last time. Around her, the alley blurred.
I can't go back, she thought frantically. I can't go back!
And then the tranq swallowed her mind and her thoughts ceased.
o
