AN: Well, it's been a minute, I don't know why it took so long to upload this chapter when the whole story is already finished. But thanks for the wait and I hope you enjoy it.
Disclaimer: I don't own Marvel or any of it's character's, just my OC's.
The humid air around me felt sticky, like it was clinging onto every skin cell it could find on my body. The constant chatter from the locals around me kept me alert as I casually walked around the small market in Lagos, stopping next to a fruit stand disguised in a hooded scarf that covered my mouth and nose, leaving only my eyes visible.
I picked through the fresh produce, my watchful brown eyes surveying the rather busy market and street I was located in. I inconspicuously scanned for the rest of the team, Natasha and Wanda sat at different tables at a coffee shop while Sam and Steve stationed themselves on the buildings above us. We had a lead that our old friend Rumlow would be pulling off a heist here, Rumlow had been on our watch list for months now.
"All right, what do you see?" Steve's deep, masculine voice asked through the earpiece asked over the coms.
"Standard beat cops," Wanda responded. "Small station. Quiet street. It's a good target,"
This mission was more of a practice run for Wanda, but I have no doubts she'll succeed with flying colors.
I walked to another stand and inspected more produce, "There's also an ATM on the south corner," I added, since she missed vital information.
"Which means?" Steve questioned Wanda.
"Cameras," She answered immediately.
"Both cross streets are one-way," He commented.
I continued scanning the people around me, searching for anything off about their body language as I walked through market.
"So compromised escape routes," Wanda sighed.
"Means our guy doesn't care about being seen. He isn't afraid to make a mess on the way out. You see that Range Rover halfway up the block?"
"Yeah the red one? It's cute,"
A smirked formed on my lips at Wanda's response, luckily my lips were covered otherwise I would have possibly compromised this mission.
"It's also bulletproof," a new, female voice cut in. "Which means private security…which means more guns...which means more headaches for somebody. Probably us," Natasha acknowledged, and not being happy about it.
"You guys know I can move things with my mind, right?" Wanda reminded.
"Looking over your shoulder needs to become second nature," Natasha critiqued.
"Anybody ever tell you, you're a little paranoid?" Sam cut in.
"Not to my face. Why? Did you hear something?" I can't help but let out a chuckle and roll my eyes at Natasha.
Steve directed us back to the issue at hand, "Eyes on target, folks. This is the best lead we've had on Rumlow in six months. I don't want to lose him,"
"Why, if he sees us coming, that won't be a problem," I said bitterly, moving through the crowd. "He kind of hates us," I stated, because of our history in D.C. Rumlow despised Steve the most, but Sam and I weren't his best friends either.
"Sam...see that garbage truck?" Steve asked him. "Tag it,"
Moments of silence settled in between all of us, a full minute had passed before any of us heard anything from Sam again.
"That truck's loaded for max weight. And the driver's armed," Sam informed us, from his drone's scan.
"It's a battering ram," I realized, and stated aloud.
"Go now," Steve ordered us to leave our positions.
"What?" Wanda asked, confusion laced in her voice.
"He's not hitting the police," Steve and I announced in unison.
I began to sprint and did my best to not knock down civilians in my path, just as I turned the corner of the busy street, I witnessed the truck flip and crash through the security gates of the Institute For Infectious Diseases.
I sprinted towards the gates, but stopped short as two large, yellow trucks had pulled up, and a multitude of armed soldiers poured out of them. They began firing their guns at those around them, before running past the destroyed gate and firing gas canisters into the windows of the building.
"Heads up, there's some sort of gas inside the Institute," I informed, speeding up and ripped off the scarf covering my face.
I watched as Sam dropped Steve into the group of men. He immediately began to fight, knocking a man into a car window. After knocking out a few more men, Steve rose to asses the situation just as I arrived to the scene.
"Body armor, AR-15's. I make seven hostiles," Steve informed, springing back into action.
I pulled my batons out and connected them into a staff just as one mercenary rushed at me, his gun momentarily aiming at the ground. I took my chance and swung staff hard and it connected with the man's jaw. The man crumpled only to be replaced by another who was already throwing a punch at me. I ducked, dropping my staff and sent a punch to the man's side, following it with an uppercut and the man fell to ground on his back. I sent a swift kick to his face for good measure to knock him out. I grabbed my staff from the ground and hurried over to Sam and Wanda.
"I make five," Sam said and arrived at the scene just as Wanda, who used her powers to land beside him.
Wanda used her telekinesis to lift a man into the air and said, "Sam,"
"Four," Sam counted after knocking the man out. I approached the trio to see Steve in his uniform, while Sam scanned the building. "Rumlow's on the third floor," Sam stated.
"Wanda, just like we practiced," Steve said to Wanda, gripping the handle of his shield tighter.
I walked up next to Wanda, "What about the gas?" I asked.
"Have Wanda get it out," Steve ordered, before he lifted a foot on the hood of a vehicle and was propelled by Wanda into the building.
"You heard him, get the gas out. Falcon and I have your back," I repeated firmly, breaking my staff into batons giving them a twirl and holstering them onto my back.
As Wanda used her abilities to exert the gas from the area, I pulled out my gun out from it's holster and aimed them at the men firing at us. Sam used his metal wings to provide a shield for the three of us and launched two missiles at the men. I turned back at Wanda as she shot the gas up into the air then let it go in a spiral.
"Rumlow has a biological weapon," Steve informed us.
"I'm on it," Natasha answered, the sound of her motorcycle revving loudly before crashed to the ground somewhere in the distance, signaling that Natasha was here, and likely kicking ass as we speak.
There was the explosion of a bomb closer by, and a large gun fired some missile at the building, a male figure tumbling from it a moment later.
"Sam. He's in an AFV heading north," Steve grunted, and Sam spread his artificial wings and flew off.
I began running after Sam my arms were pumping as my breath left in short gasps.
"I got four. They're splitting up," Sam reported, after scoping out the area that the men just crashed into.
I hopped through side streets, making my way past the civilians as quick as I possibly could and I got in sight of the market Sam spoke of.
"They ditched their gear. It's a shell game now. One of them has the payload," Steve told us.
"I'll take the two on the right," I called out.
"Amara," Steve called. "Can you set up a illusion to slow them down?"
I raised an eyebrow, "Not unless you want me to affect everyone in the surrounding area," I retorted, focusing on the man that I was still chasing. "I need to be able to visually see my intended target to be precise," I added, keeping my head on a swivel.
Steve sighed, "Right,"
"He doesn't have it. I'm empty," Sam answered, clearly frustrated.
"Out of the way," Natasha's breath was ragged and agitated, I could imagine her shoving people aside and flipping her way through the street.
I tried not to lose them from my sight as civilians kept blocking my path, it seemed an impossible task to catch them, but then I had an idea. I took a shortcut and jumped on one of them using the element of surprise, I punched him several times and was almost able to give him the final hit, his partner pulled his gun out and aimed at me, and I countered by pulling a dagger out and with laser sharp precision the dagger lodged itself in the man's throat in a sickeningly wet squelch. I could hear the man struggling to breathe as I manage to dodge a punch the man pinned under me threw, I gripped my hand around his neck.
I felt his emotions flow into me, his whole body went rigid and I shoved my mind into his, ripping through it and tearing apart whatever I could as I did. I saw his cushy, sweet childhood with his loving parents and the cold, detached way he viewed them. I saw when he killed his first animal, a small kitten and the way he enjoyed the way it's blood stained the grass. I saw the first child he hurt. I saw his teenage years and the path that led him to this very second. I saw it all in mere seconds and before I could become overwhelmed, I quickly pushed it away and instead focused on tearing his twisted, disgusting mind apart. I ripped and destroyed everything about him away until he gave a horrible scream that echoed through the market and fell back, his head falling onto the ground with a small thud.
My chest heaved as I stared down at him, watching his eyes stare straight up at the sky, blank...dead. But he wasn't dead...he was worse than that. He was nothing. Just an empty, hollow shell. I had scooped him out and left him empty.
I rummaged through their bags and found one of the vials, "I got one," I called to the others.
"I got the other," Natasha told us all.
I pushed myself off the man's body and I turned and saw the audience who had just witnessed me kill the two men. Suddenly, a loud explosion shook the ground with force coming from a building above distracting everyone from the spectacle they just witnessed. I ran to where the explosion came from, I walked up next to Steve and Wanda, looked up, horrified and shocked. Whatever detonated blew up half a building that contained Nigerian relief aid workers. The hot, fiery air smelled of ozone and death.
"Oh my..." I trailed off, my heart plummeting.
I turned my head looking at Wanda as horror filled her eyes and pained screams filled our ears. She covered her mouth as her eyes brimmed with tears, she slowly dropped to her knees, shocked.
"Sam," Steve began, and looked as lost as I felt. "We need Fire and Rescue on the south side of the building. We gotta get up there," Steve ordered.
I run into the building, with Steve right behind me, except for Wanda who was still on the ground in horror of what she did.
~~~x~~~
The ride back to the compound was deafening. I felt for Wanda, she was my age, and not very experienced with her powers. She was much stronger than she knew, but her powers scared her immensely, and this was another reason for her to be terrified. She sat by the window as Steve, Sam and I sat, in a semi-circle, Natasha flying the plane. I looked to Steve, who looked back, concern in his eyes. It reminded me of the way he looked at me whenever I did something reckless or at least was about to do it. As we arrive at the compound, Wanda was the first of the quinjet, walking quickly to her room.
The media is going to have a field day with the catastrophe we left in Lagos.
AN: First chapter down, I hoped you liked it!