A/N: Beta'd by my lovely best friend who patiently got this through several edits. She is a gift. Translations are at the end and are done at the courtesy of Google Translate.

Update: Even though this is the same chapter as before, I did change the ending a bit to fit the next chapter (which is coming soon!) better.

Chapter 2

Are you freaking KIDDING ME? Rea rubbed her hand over her face. Of course the Avengers would show up just when she increased the static charge in the alley. Already, she could see Widow assessing the group with even more suspicion and cuing someone on her comm. Considering Rea's luck, it figured she'd get Widow to crash the party.

"This is none of your business, hündin," one of the thugs muttered. He seemed to be the ringleader of the bunch. Rea scrunched her nose in thought. Even though New York was a melting pot of languages and culture, it still seemed off to her that these thugs seemed to speak English as a second language. Usually corporations hired muscle from the CIA or soldiers fresh from wet-work, not a few ESL muscle heads. It quickly becoming less of a coincidence that an Underground weigh station masquerading as an antique store was being hit…Rea held her breath and waited for the next move. She froze when she heard a new voice enter the mix.

"My German may be rusty," a distinctly deeper male voice called out. "But that is no way to speak to a lady. It seems you boys need a lesson in manners." Rea withheld a scream of frustration and pressed herself further against the dumpster. Of course Captain-freaking-America would show up! It also meant the rest of the crew was nearby. Upon reflex, she looked up at the rooftops to see if she could spy an archer or a red and gold metal suit. There was nothing, yet she wouldn't put it past them. She needed to get out of there but she was stuck in the shadows behind the dumpster, trapped with the two Avengers behind her and the four thugs in front of her. A fight was imminent, maybe she could slip away then…

"How about we do this peacefully for once?" Captain America tried to reason. One of the thugs muttered something in German that Rea couldn't understand. Three of the thugs stepped forward, each of them drawing guns except for one who was hanging back. Rea gripped her staff tighter, barely paying attention to the lightning coiling and tickling under her skin and pooling under her hand. Widow and the Captain had taken up defensive positions as well. "Or not," he groused. Widow only flashed an amused smirk at him before she murmured something in her comm, possibly for back-up.

The two heroes barely had time to move when the fourth man in the back pulled something from his pocket and threw it towards them.

"M84!" Cap brought his shield up and Rea turned away as the flash bomb went off. She whimpered and rubbed her eyes to regain her vision. She ducked down further as the men opened fire on the two Avengers. She only looked up when she heard metal clanging against the brick walls and a fight starting. Standing up, she found that Cap and Widow were engaged with three of the men while the fourth was unconscious, apparently incapacitated from Cap's signature shield throw. This was her last chance to get out of there.

One of the thugs had tried to raise his gun at Black Widow, but she had already thrown a Widow Bite and electrocuted his arm. The thug stumbled back, clutching his numb arm, but he was far from down. He came at her again, a knife blade flashing in his hand. She blocked it easily and jammed the knife in between his lower ribs. The man screamed and bucked forward, giving her the leverage to swing around and catch the burly male in a thigh hold, her trademark move. Meanwhile, the other two men had engaged Cap, both coming at him with simultaneous punches and kicks. One of them took a swing with a baton, but was cut short when the Widow caught him across the face with her boot. The other got a face full of Cap's shield before being knocked into the wall. Rea watched in awe. She had caught a couple of the televised battles when passing by diners and sports bars and readily admitted to Black Widow being her favorite. It was another thing entirely however, to watch the two Avengers live, working in tandem with poetic grace and ease.

A groan and movement shifted her attention to the thug knocked unconscious. He was beginning to come around and started to look around to gain his bearings. Rea froze as his gaze landed on her; she was standing up completely, visible now to everyone in the field. Shit. Rea took off running, looking for an exit strategy. There was a fire escape under the next dumpster over. If she could just reach it…

Stumbling at first, the thug caught himself and sprinted towards Rea. Just as she jumped onto the dumpster, his hand wrapped around her ankle and yanked down. She hit the edge of the dumpster, knocking the wind out of her. As she struggled to get her breath back, the man dragged her off the dumpster and wrapped a burly, sweaty arm around her neck.

"Going somewhere?" he chuckled darkly, dragging her towards the open end of the alley.

"Barnes, we have a runner with a hostage! Cut him off at-" Whatever else Cap was going to say was cut off by a hit delivered by one of the opponents. Rea didn't pay attention; she was too focused on the man holding her and getting away from him.

Oh hell no… The energy that had been building up in her core gathered along her arm and a bolt of lightning arched outward, hitting the baddie and throwing him backward.

With a flick of her wrist, a ball of electricity formed into her free hand while lightning continued sparking off the ends of her staff. Coughing, the man looked up and his eyes widened slightly in recognition of what he was dealing with. He quickly scrambled up, the gun still in his hand but before he could raise the gun, the energy ball was already upon him and made a direct hit. Upon impact, the gun exploded and melted to the man's hand. He doubled over, screaming German obscenities as she sprinted towards him. Slamming her staff on the ground, Rea swung around and kicked him across the face with a loud crack. She then twisted her body and landed on her feet in front of the man, shoving the end of the staff up so that it met with another resounding crack underneath his jaw. She heard bones break with the force of the metal staff as blood sprayed from the man's nose. He screamed in agony as he fell backward, clutching the broken appendage. Standing up, electricity began sparking around her from the power boxes and the power lines above them.

"Aren't you a special one?" the man snarled, the effect lost somewhat due to the broken nose and hand burned beyond recognition.

"You better believe it," she glanced towards the two Avengers, hoping he bought the story. The man's snarl turned into a bone-chilling smile.

"A sidekick, hmm? That is quite the little talent you have. Manipulating electricity? Stark is good, but surely he cannot manufacture these conditions." A flash of metal was all the warning he had before the bloody end of Rea's staff was hooked in his shirt and pressing against his windpipe.

"You wanna take that chance?" she snarled, slowly lifting the staff - and the man with it - up along the wall until his eyes met her strange violet ones. His eyes widened as it seemed lightning sparks flashed across her amethyst irises.

"Du. The Project," he whispered. Her eyes narrowed in confusion but before she could question further, an arrow landed on the man's arm and a yellow gas exploded around them. Rea let go and stumbled back, coughing and trying to wave the fumes away from her. The man slid down into a heap, unconscious upon impact and she could already feel the effects of the knockout gas in her body. Rea spun, ready to attack again, but only saw Cap and Widow heading towards her. Glancing above, she could make out the silhouette of a brawny man: Hawkeye had been on the roof just as she suspected earlier. Grabbing her staff, she unsteadily began looking for an out and saw a transponder above their heads. One good shot would overload the entire thing and blow it, giving her the chance to run. Electricity began pooling into her hands as she pulled whatever energy she could get from the power boxes around her.

Cap must've realized her plan because she saw him picking up his pace. "Hold it kid," he ordered, reaching for her. She twisted from his grip as his fingers brushed over her wrist. Then, using her staff as a makeshift conductor rod, she pushed all the electricity from her hands through the staff and aimed for the transponder. A bolt of lightning flew upward and the transponder exploded upon impact, showering everyone with debris and white-hot sparks.

Using the chaos as a cover, Rea slipped away.

*hündin - German for "bitch"

Du - German for "you"