We Are Only Human
Summary (Volume 1): It has been a year since the attack on Manhattan by Loki and his Chitauri army, but something is stirring among humanity. When a new evil claims that a woman thought long dead is the Clairvoyant, The Avengers team up with old and new faces to find this threat and save the woman.
Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel or the characters therein. I do however own my OCs Avril, Jessica, Tommy, and Rayne (and various others that occur). The characters are creations of pure fiction, although some are based on conglomerations of personalities from my friends, family, and editors.
Chapter Seven
November 22, 2015. 1530 Hours.
Steve followed closely behind Agent Coulson and Agent Jessica. He had tried to take the lead, but Coulson and Jessica insisted on taking the lead. Warren Worthington III was between Steve and the two S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents. As the door finally hissed open, they rushed into the laboratory. There was no one apparently there.
"She's not in here Agent Tommy." Coulson stated.
"Yes, she is, every line in time points to that room."
Steve slowly walked over to the bloody table where the professor had been lying. His eyes looked down at the Velcro restraints. The wrist ones were still unopened, but the ankles and knees had been yanked free. "She's here." He said softly while looking around. His eyes finally caught sight of bloody footprints leading away from the table towards a small cabinet. Slowly opening the door to the cabinet, he saw a wide amber eyes staring at him in fear. "Avril?"
She said nothing, instead she actually pressed herself further back into the cabinet – if that were even possible. Her eyes looked him over. The scalpel in her hand waved in front of her dangerously.
"Avril, it's safe, we're here to save you." He said soothingly while slowly stretching out his hand to her. When she started to swing the knife towards him, he quickly grabbed her wrist and pulled the weapon from her. She let out a squeak of annoyance before glaring.
"It is going to take longer than necessary to get her out of there Captain Rogers." Jessica said, emphasizing his last name.
A spark rushed through Avril's eyes, one of recognition and familiarity. Slowly she held her arms out and looped them around his neck. Steve was taken aback by the gesture, but he slowly pulled away from the cabinet.
Warren watched as Avril shivered. She had let go of the captain's neck and wound her arms around his left one. She was looking at each of them afraid.
"Avril, do you remember me?" Jessica asked while taking a step towards her old friend. When the younger woman ducked behind the captain, she frowned. "That's fine.
Why? Avril thought while looking at everyone. You all know me but I don't know you.
"Of course you know us." Steve said softly while motioning for the pack that Jessica was carrying.
Only you…no one else. Avril looked at him and pressed herself a little closer into his side.
"It would be fastest if you carry her Captain." Coulson said while looking out the door. "Tommy, we're heading out."
"Fast, the distraction is getting tired." Tommy said. They could hear the sound of a jet engine prepping over the comm.
Steve didn't have time to ask the woman permission, instead he hefted her onto his back and secured her arms around his neck. "Whatever you do Miss Avril, don't scream."
She nodded her head and pressed her cheek against his back.
The run to the surface was deceivingly easy, but once up there, they all saw the kind of carnage that had happened to the distraction teams. There were several small craters in the sand, one with a mangled bloody body – presumably Agent Goodman.
Logan, Stark and Hank were busy drawing fire away from the base entrance. Bobby had already been rushed onto the X-Jet due to mild injuries. Rayne, Mystique, and May were trying to keep the others off the backs of the other three teams. Running to the jets, Steve noticed how eerily calm Avril was. He had expected to hear her screaming at the gun fire or the dead bodies – mostly the enemies'. Instead she was silent, staring wide eyed at everything.
As they go onboard, he quickly set her down in the medical bay then went back to the door. Everyone was running back to their respected vessels. The enemies were charging after and shooting at them. However the bullets never once hit.
"Homo sapiens and your guns." He heard Magneto spit while walking towards the end of the Bus's ramp.
"Erik," Charles warned.
"We should send these fools a message Charles." Magneto whispered walking out onto the sand. "They have harmed one I consider a grandchild…surely you want revenge as well."
"But it is not the answer!" Charles yelled.
"Sometimes it's the only way to send a message." Rayne whispered while helping the few injured back onto the Bus. "This is the only time I'm ever going to agree with your methods Erik…do it."
"Is that how you want this to end?" Steve asked the doctor. "Your ancestor Nurse Victoria Howlett would never—
"I would, that's the thing Steven." She glared at him, pupils turning into cat slits. "You thought you knew me so well during the war, but I went through more than just one war Steven. I went through the First, the Second, Korea, Vietnam, all of them. Every single one, and this has become personal…they took my granddaughter and hurt her." Her attention was back on Magneto. "Erik, finish this!"
Erik sent the bullets back to the small army that had followed them. Everyone was safely within the jet already, watching in a mixture of horror and shock as every single person that had been firing on them collapsed onto the ground, bleeding or dead.
Steve stared more at Rayne than anyone else. "Victoria?"
"It's Rayne now, it always will be Rayne." She walked back into the medical bay, danger around her like a thick fog.
"Erik, it didn't—
"Charles, it was either kill them or let them do this to another poor defenseless telepath. What if they got their hands on you like Stryker did? Then there is the fact that we don't know what this Extremis virus will do to her natural powers."
"She's also not acting like herself." Jessica explained. Her eyes glanced towards more incoming armed men. "Enough for now, split up to your respected aircraft and head back to base."
Author's Note: I apologize but chapters seven and eight are going to be the only ones until I can get the bedbug infestation under control at my place. It's origin source is my mom's side of my parents' bed. And it is primarily only in their bed...it sucks. I just got my computer back and functioning, my cohort has surgery and my house is infested with bedbugs...
