7 a.m. couldn't come fast enough. Not having a clock, it was hard to ascertain how much time had passed. I could only hope that 7 was soon approaching. Adam had come and gone a few times, asking if I needed anything to eat or drink. I gave him the cold shoulder every time. I simply had nothing to say to him. What could I say?
I looked down at my new shiny bracelet. I hated it. How long had he been designing this? He certainly didn't create it in one night, that's for sure. Every hour it painfully reminded me of it's presence. The lights would slowly go out one by one and then flash a bright crimson, injecting me once more with Adam's special neuro serum.
It bothered me to a great extent that I couldn't break free, that I couldn't hack any systems or make any weapons malfunction. I was powerless, something I wasn't used to. I tapped my fingers incessantly against my restraints, hoping and wishing that they would just fall off. My wrists were beginning to go numb from the lack of movement and I had begun to go stir crazy. Just sitting there was boring and the thought of my rescue mission was making me apprehensive.
Why was Tony going through all this trouble to get me out of here when he was the one who brought me here in the first place? Why had he contacted Steve? Last I had heard on the news, Steve Rogers had been labeled a dangerous vigilante after not signing the Sokovian Accords and going against military orders.
I heard a banging outside my door, then the muffled sound of groans and yelling. This must be it. I sat up straight in my chair, wondering who would be coming through. I was disappointed when I saw Adam walk through the door. He looked tense, his eyes wide and his hands raised above his head. He tentatively stepped across the threshold and that's when I saw her, a young woman with short, wavy red hair. She was holding a gun to his head. Following after her was a rugged looking man with a metal arm.
"Are you Samantha?" the woman asked? She kept her eyes on Adam the entire time, not once letting him out of her sight.
"Sam." I corrected. Only my mother called me Samantha.
"I'm Romanoff and this is Bucky. We're here to take you with us." She smiled.
"Don't do this Sam. You'll be branded a criminal!" shouted Adam but it was too late. The rugged man was now at my side ripping my metal restraints from the chair, freeing me from my imprisonment. The pieces of iron clanged on the floor as they were torn off one by one. Soon they were all gone. He offered me his non-metal hand and I took it. I'm glad I did because my legs were so wobbly from inactivity that I almost fell over. "Thanks." I murmured as we began walking towards the door.
"Get in the corner." ordered Romanoff. I had seen her on the news before when she had signed the Accords. I turned back to watch them as she shoved Adam into the corner of the room, her gun still trained on him. Adam simply stood there, making no attempt at escape. He looked between me and Black Widow, his hands still raised in the air. His face was pale and I could see sweat beading on his forehead. He kneeled.
"Don't kill him!" I pleaded. I surprised myself at my sudden generosity. I had so quickly grown to hate Adam that I had began to forget that I still loved him. I couldn't be in a world where he didn't exist. It just didn't feel right.
Romanoff looked back at me and then to Adam. She lowered her gun slightly. Bang! I recoiled at the sound of the gunshot, my ears ringing from the sudden noise. I let go of the man's hand and rushed forward only to see Adam on the ground, clutching at his leg. Blood spilling on to the floor. Thank God! She had only maimed him. He looked up at me, anger in his eyes, his hand was gripping his wound, trying to stop the bleeding. Time stopped for a moment and it was just Adam and I, our eyes silently communicating. "Don't go!" His said. "I'm sorry." said mine.
My trance was broken when I felt my arm being tugged in the direction of the door. The man with the metal arm had grabbed a hold of me and was now pulling me through the exit, Black Widow covering us from behind. I was shoved against the wall alongside him as she stepped forward and peered around the corner. She fired a few rounds of her gun before running out into the hallway. I tried to peak around but I was forcefully pulled back. Bucky turned me to face him, his fierce blue eyes penetrating my soul as he placed both hands on my shoulders. "Stay here." He ordered. And with that he took off around the corner, following after Black Widow.
I couldn't help but peek around the corner, a bullet whizzed past my face. I jumped back then peeked around once more. I saw Romanoff jump over a small group of men and began throwing punches and gravity defying kicks. In seconds they were laying motionless on the ground. Bucky was now following her towards a locked mechanical door. He tried breaking the keypad next to it on the wall with his fist but the door still wouldn't budge. Smoke rose from the now destroyed keypad, causing the fire alarms to go off. He began to punch the door with his silver arm. It slowly began to concave but the metal simply stretched with each blow. We were going no where.
"Mind if I help?" I asked from around the corner. Bucky stopped abruptly, stared at me for a few seconds through his long brown hair then motioned me towards the door. Black Widow stood guard, guns at the ready and aimed towards the dented metal for when it opened. I quickly made my way, stepping over the unconscious bodies with care. I was done being useless. Time to do what I did best, some good 'ole fashioned hot-wiring. I smiled to myself as I tore the busted metal case off the wall and looked at the wires underneath it. I fiddled with them, rerouting them to different places, splicing them with different cables, until finally the door clicked then slid open. Romanoff let off a single shot before taking her finger off the trigger.
"Hey watch where you're shooting" came Tony's voice. He stepped through the threshold in his shiny red suit. A handsome young man with blonde hair stepped in after him. They stood there at the entrance for a moment, catching their breath when finally Tony turned to the other man. "Good to see you again Cap." The blonde man smiled and shook my father's hand. "You too Tony, you too."
Tony's eyes scanned the room. I couldn't help but notice the way his face changed when he came to look at Bucky. His eyes widened then narrowed, one side of his lips curling in anger. He said nothing however much it seemed to bother him. He avoided looking at me altogether.
"You must be Samantha." said the blonde man who was now taking a few steps toward me. "I'm Steve." He reached out his hand and I shook it. "Sam." I said. "Nice to meet you."
Tony stood leaned against the wall, throwing a small device up and down in the air, completely ignoring everyone else until our exchange as over. He looked up and noticed everyone watching him. "Oh. Are we done with introductions now?" He said snarkily.
"He's right." said Steve, "It's time to get going."
We all made our way into the next hallway, Tony strolling behind me. Bucky had joined up with Steve who was at the front of the group. I felt so powerless surrounded by all these strong people. I looked down at my bracelet. Stupid thing. I could be so much more helpful if I could get it off but there wasn't any time to stop and do so. The lights went red and I was injected. I winced and held my hand with my other, the serum made me a little nauseous, causing me to stumble slightly. I was caught by my father's red iron arm. He said nothing and he looked straight ahead, never once meeting my eyes. I wretched my arm away from his and continued to walk on my own. I didn't need his help, he had helped enough already. I glanced to my side to see Romanoff watching the whole ordeal. She caught my eye and quickly turned away, pretending to inspect her guns.
Captain America stopped at a corner, the rest of us coming to a halt behind him. He held one of his hands up in some sort of signal, pausing for a moment, then turned the corner. I could hear gun shots and yelling. I also feel a slight breeze coming from the next room. We must be close to the jet hanger, I thought. The rest of the team ran after him. I was about to join them as well when I was grabbed once more by my father, his grip tighter and more powerful this time. I tried to wrestle free of his grip but it was useless, he was stronger than me. I glared at him.
"Uh-uh. We're staying back" He said curtly. His helmet was now down and I could no longer tell if he was looking at me or not.
"Just give me a gun!" I yelled but he ignored me. I was damn tired of this damsel in distress thing. I knew how to use a gun. I could kick some ass as well if it weren't for my father and this dumb device attached to my wrist. I listened to the chaos taking place in the next room. I heard bangs followed by a series of gunshots, a clatter of metal, some yelling, then silence.
I was then dragged into the room. My arm was beginning to ache from his tight restraint. I had been correct, it was the hanger. Bodies were strewn about, some dangling from the myriad of jets parked in the tall warehouse, some lying on the ground still clutching their guns. Black Widow was brushing the dust off her skin tight suit, Steve was examining his patriotic shield and Bucky was standing next to a man with mechanical wings. They looked up, watching as my father dragged me across the hanger towards the outside portion, where a large black jet was waiting. My face felt hot as I tried to hold back my uncontrollable rage. I felt so humiliated, being bossed around by my absentee father who hadn't even known I existed until yesterday. How dare he think he knew what was best for me. How dare he tell me what to do.
I was thrust into a seat, Tony then sitting opposite me. His mask came down and he simply stared at me with his dark brown eyes, his lips were pressed tightly into a thin line and sweat had drenched his hair. I buckled my seat belt, glancing down once more at my encaptured wrist. I was getting this thing off of me as soon as we landed. And then, I smirked to myself, I would be leaving. Bye bye Avengers.
The rest of the team boarded the jet. They looked tired and worn. Steve and Romanoff headed towards the front and the rest sat with Tony and I. We flew for hours in absolute silence.