AN: I don't own the Avengers.
Dewey and Cass sat in silence in the front of their car. They were eating McDonalds and waiting for Lou, asleep in the backseat, to wake up. They were parked half a block from Avengers Tower, on a stakeout. Lou seemed to know what she was doing, and had told them to wait until she told them the time was right. Then she had fallen asleep.
Cass was glaring at her cheeseburger. Dewey had noticed. "What's wrong?" He asked, taking a sip of his milkshake.
"This is bad." Cass grumbled.
"What's the matter, know the cow personally?" Dewey laughed a little, but Cass didn't seem any better.
"Not the burger. This." She motioned her hand around the car, taking in the whole city. Expressing the enormity of their whole messed-up situation. "What are we doing here, Dew? How did we get here?"
Dewey hesitated. "We wanted to help our friend, Cassie. Lou needed help."
"I know!" Cass groaned. "That part I understood, and I stand by rescuing her. I wouldn't do it differently if I could. But that's not it either. We were supposed to rescue Lou from HYDRA and go home to Illinois. Instead we're sitting in a stolen car, staking out the headquarters of earth's freaking mightiest heroes. Lou wants to kill them. We won't be murderers, so what are we still doing here? We left Slovakia two weeks ago, Dew. My phone rang non-stop until it died, my aunt is probably having heart attacks. All so Lou can go throw things at Tony Stark? What is this for?" She took a deep breath after her rant, and stuffed her mouth full of cheeseburger.
"I don't know, Cassie." Dew said, leaning back and staring out the window of the car into the busy street. "Sometimes I think we should call the police on Lou. Sometimes I think we should knock her out and drag her all the way back to Illinois. But here we are."
"She's not Lou anymore." Cass said suddenly, and Dewey looked at her in confusion. "She was, but HYDRA stole everything that she is. She used to be… I dunno, you remember."
Dewey nodded. "She's not the same, I know. But she was kidnapped and experimented on, she has no memories, she lost a hand and a leg. Wouldn't anybody be changed?"
"I mentioned her mom the other day, she didn't recognize the name at all," Cass insisted. "She needs to go home. Her family can help her so much more then we can. We're almost out of cash, anyway."
"We can't leave Lou, Cass." Dewey insisted.
"I never said we should. We have to talk her into coming with us, is all." Cass said, holding up her hands in surrender. "I actually… I've been thinking about this for a few days, right?"
Dewey nodded, listening. Cass continued, "Well, I think we should tell the Avengers we're here. Like what's going on. They work against HYDRA, right? They can help her."
"Are you sure-" Dewey started to say, but suddenly stiffened. "Where's Lou?"
They twisted to see the backseat. Lou was gone. They scrambled out of the car, abandoning their happy meals. Standing in the middle of the sidewalk, they searched the crowds for their friend's face, or her black hair. But Lou wasn't there.
"She must've gone to the tower!" Cass hissed. "Dew, we have to stop her killing somebody!"
Dewey nodded, and started running. Cass broke into a sprint beside him, and they tore down the sidewalk. They shoved past people and dodged cars, desperately trying to reach the Avengers tower in time.
In front of the tower, they saw a man they recognized from the news. He climbed out of his taxi and walked towards the front doors. He had hazel eyes and light brown hair, and he wore old-fashioned clothes and a leather jacket. Captain America.
Then Lou was there, her metal hand hidden by her gloves. She punched him, and he deflected it, but a look of pain flashed across his face. He shouted something, and a woman flew out of the taxi after him. She had red hair and wore all-black, and they recognized her as the Black Widow. She grabbed Lou's arm, and Lou kicked her with her metal leg. She punched the red-haired woman, and she was thrown backward almost ten feet.
Lou backhanded Captain America, and there was a clang of metal. He was thrown to the ground, but people in black were coming out of the Tower. People were shouting and screaming and filming the fight on their phones while also trying to run away from it. The people in the black were struggling to restrain Lou, with the help of the Captain and the Black Widow.
Dewey and Cass stood across the street from the fight, watching in horror. "Come on!" Cass shouted, grabbing Dewey's hand and pulling him into the traffic. Cars honked and swerved, and they were almost hit several times, but they made it across. Ignoring the shouts of people on the street, they shoved through the crowd to the fighting.
"Stop!" Dewey shouted. Lou twisted her arm, throwing off one man in a black suit, throwing him into a car. He crumpled to the ground. "Lou, stop!"
Lou ignored them. Cass grimaced and dove into the fight.
Cass's parents had been marines, that had died three years before, when Cass was thirteen. But before he had joined the marines, her father had been a boxer. They had spent hours on the weekend sparring in the backyard. Cass had gotten her first pair of boxing gloves when she was six, and had won a couple of matches at the gym. But she had never needed her skills like this before.
She threw her purse at Dewey, who caught it without thinking, and threw herself into the fight. She tried to reach Lou, but three agents pulled her away from the fighting.
Cass cracked one woman's jaw, kicking her in the stomach so she doubled over. She twisted the gun out of one man's hand, cracking it across his head. He fell, letting her get closer to Lou. When the other people in suits saw the gun, they pulled back. Cass stood three feet from Lou, holding the gun straight at her friend's head. Dewey didn't know how her hand was steady.
"Lou!" Cass shouted. "Stop this! This isn't you!"
Lou snarled at her. "You are no threat to me. Cut off one head-"
"Two more grow back. Yeah, whatever. Don't care, buttercup." Cass snapped, not lowering the gun. Dewey found himself standing next to the two superheroes and the injured agents. Captain America made to step forward, but the Black Widow stopped him. She was watching Cass and Lou, like she wanted to see what they would do.
"Stand aside." Lou commanded. "I have my mission. The Avengers must die."
"Actually, I don't think so. Lou, stand down. This isn't you. HYDRA is inside your head, I know that, I understand. But you are not a killer! I won't let you hurt anyone else, even if you are my friend. Now stand down." The gun clicked, and Lou's totally calm expression filled with anger and confusion.
The snarl disappeared. Her eyes widened. Lou stumbled back. "Oh my god, Cass! Why do you have a gun? What have I… what have I done?" Lou's voice was raw and scared, and for the first time since they had found her in Slovakia, she sounded like the Lou they knew.
Cass lowered the gun, eyes wide. "Lou?"
Lou twisted the gun out of Cass's hand and kicked her in the stomach with her metal foot. Cass was thrown backward and slammed against the wall of Avengers tower, sliding to the ground.
"Cass!" Dewey shouted, pushing his way to her side. He crouched next to her, taking her pulse and checking her pupils. She was alive.
"Dew?" Cass asked, her voice slurred and confused. "Dew… what… Lou?"
Dewey glanced behind him. Lou was stalking toward them, and behind her Dewey saw something that made his blood run cold. Captain America and the Black Widow were on the ground, not moving. For a moment he thought they were dead, until he saw they were breathing.
Lou tore off her gloves, revealing her metal hand. "Surrender to HYDRA, Mr. Munroe." She snarled, using Dewey's last name. He was the only thing between Cass and… not Lou. The Siafu Soldier. That was who this girl in front of him was, and the realization made him want to scream or cry or hit something.
"Fuck off," Dewey snarled, shocked at his own words. Then two metal wires struck Lou, and she was electrocuted. She jolted and collapsed, twitching a little. "What-" He turned to see Cass loosely holding a taser.
"She… not… Dewey, I'm…" Cass slurred, slipping into unconsciousness. Dewey nodded.
"I know. I know. Hold on, Cassie, you'll be okay." He said, even though she had already passed out.
Not here. Dewey needed to get Cass away. Somewhere far away. In that moment, all he wanted in the world was to be safe at home in Illinois. Dewey had to get Cass home. Forget about Lou, the agents that crowded around her would find her a way home. He had to worry about Cass.
He slid his hands underneath her, lifting her up bridal style. He wasn't the strongest guy, but he was full of so much adrenaline it didn't matter. He carried her away from the crowd, and thankfully nobody stopped him. He saw a few agents look at him, and he went faster. They followed him, and he darted into the crowd. He turned around corners and took alleys, hiding in the shadows until he had lost them.
Then he carried Cass to the car. He got a lot of strange looks from the people he passed, but he was too tired to care what they thought. He didn't even care if they called the police on him. With the adrenaline draining out of his system, Cass got heavier with every step.
He set her down carefully in the backseat, and took her place behind the wheel of the rental car. Dewey was taking them home.
