Lokisawesome: Hehe, up, today's upload-day for Dark Horse!
The jet stopped a mile away from the attack sight. Marmalade, Iron Man, Black Widow, Captain America, and Iron Patriot departed the jet atop a five-story building. Hawkeye went to hide it somewhere.
"Alright, what exactly are we looking for this time?" asked Tony.
"We need to capture them. Doesn't matter how many," murmured Captain America. "And we have to check them for the poison. No suicides this time. We need straight answers."
"Any idea which ones we capture, though?" Marmalade asked hesitantly. All four turned to look at her. She suddenly felt small. "Well, i-i-if you think about it: the masked men seem to be lower ranked than hooded ones. I studied them while you guys fought in Norway. The 'Hoods' seem to have more power or command, or have more respect, possibly, than the masked men. So maybe we should also try getting one of them, maybe?"
"Told you she's Avenger material," Black Widow smirked as she sent a sideward glance at Steve.
Tony folded his iron-clad arms stubbornly over his chest.
Marmalade gave Steve a glare of confusion when he exhaled loudly, "We'll target the Hoods, then. But still, capture is our aim. Killing will be a final resolution."
A few minutes later, Hawkeye joined them. He was panting, "They're there. The Shadow's men. I was nearly spotted on my way here."
"Then let's get them out first. Stark, Rhodes, get their attentions."
"Got it, come on, Iron Douche," Iron Man flew off toward the bomb sight.
Rhodes sighed as he reluctantly follow and shouted at him, "Very professional, Stark!"
Marmalade smiled with amusement.
Iron Man and Iron Patriot hovered high above the center of the attack sight. "Hey!" Iron Man yelled. "I think I found something. R-right here! Here!"
Marmalade growled as she face-palmed, "Could he be any more obvious?"
Surprisingly, the masked men came out shooting at the two iron-attired men. They immediately fought back using their weakest attacks, trying to stun or faint them. Hawkeye had climbed his way up the top of the nearest, stable building and began to shoot his arrows at the men. He aimed for their legs and arms. Disabling them. Captain America and Black Widow came out fighting in hand-to-hand combats.
Marmalade avoided the scene. She was scouting for the Hoods. Or at least one of them. She held the blade of a throwing knife expertly. Ready to throw it at her targets. In the corner of her eye, she saw a blue light. The same blue the Tesseract made. Like lightning, she turned and threw the knife at the Hood. The handle hit the Hood, causing him to lose consciousness before he could shoot Hawkeye. Stealthily, she ran toward him, narrowly missing a limp body that Captain America had thrown unknowingly in her direction.
Once she reached the hooded, comatose body, Marmalade swiftly relieved him of the Hydra-related weapon. Slowly, she reached for the long, black hood. When she left it over, a gasp escaped her lips.
"There's a lot more of these thugs than I thought," Hawkeye muttered as he shot a fleeing masked man without even glancing in his direction. "Is Marmalade done yet?"
"Don't know," answered the captain. "Haven't gotten a signal yet." He grunted as he kicked a man in the abdomen, causing him to fly back a yard before collapsing.
"Well, either way, looks we're win—" Tony stopped midway. Everyone froze and turned to see what he was looking at. Marmalade and a Hood stood before them. The hooded man had an arm around the agent's neck and a gun held at her head. Strapped behind him was a Hydra gun. Instinctively the Avengers grabbed the nearest masked man available, except for Hawkeye, who had an arrow ready, but pointed away.
"You let her go, and we let them go," demanded Rhodey.
The hooded man's head tilted to the side. A moment later, he shot all four of the men in the chest without any hesitation. He returned the gun's tip to Marmalade's head. "Let what go?" the man chuckled sinisterly. "Kill them all, threaten my own life if you must. You aren't getting this brat that easily. I advise you all to not try to shoot me. Or there might miss me." He gestured to Marmalade with a nasty grin.
"Tony," Marmalade whimpered. The man hissed at her as he tightened his grip around her neck. The look in Marmalade's brown eyes made neither of them move. They weren't begging for her to be saved. They were pleading for them to not do anything they would regret. More specifically Tony.
Slowly, the man began to back away, dragging Marmalade with him. She flashed Tony a reassuring smile as she gave him the 'okay' signal with her hand. Then they vanished behind a shadow.
NOTICE! For LIV readers: I will be posting the next chapter of LIV either tomorrow, Sunday, or maybe even sometime next week. Sorry! But I've already started losing some of my muse. Hopefully I'll get it back before you guys start thinking I ditched the story.
Nine points for the Shadow (including the attacks, so yeah, it's nine). One for Shield. Looks like the Shadow's plan worked after all. And after all the hard work the Avengers put into their attack! Marmalade was so confident, too. Oh well. Like all stories, the good prevails. You just never know how. And you won't unless you read the upcoming chapters.
Comments are highly appreciated!
X Noir loup
