Metanoia

Chapter 8: Eleutheromania


"Where'd you go last night, Cupcake?"

Brock was on her as soon as Rory walked into the training room, his eyes not missing anything as she ran a hand through her hair.

She'd checked her work phone before she'd left Fury's hideout and had been bombarded with a multitude of messages and missed calls all from Rumlow. They ranged from calm to furious, and the thought of it all made her feel a little nauseous. Rumlow was a little more like her ex Jason than she'd first anticipated. It had taken her so long to see it because she was better equipped to handle someone like him this time.

"My sisters," she lied, her eyes narrowing as she watched him warily. "I needed to get away."

"Because of The Asset?" he asked in disbelief. "So Pierce was right? You do feel something for him?" Rumlow clenched his fists tightly at his side. The fingerless, leather gloves he wore creaked softly as his knuckles went white. She clenched her jaw at the jealousy in his tone, but it was better than him knowing the truth. It wouldn't be long before this was over.

"You're being ridiculous, Brock." She shook her head. "My ties to The Asset go a little deeper than this mission sure, but I didn't agree with him being wiped without a handler." She knew their entire team was listening to them argue but she didn't care. They were too close to the end for her to care about something so trivial.

Brock stepped closer to her, towering over her. It took all her effort not to step away from him, to hold her ground and face whatever he had to bring.

"He's not really human anymore, you know that." His voice was soft but there was something in it that made the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. "He couldn't possibly feel anything back, not like –"

"Like what?" Rory cut him off with a sneer. "Like you?"

He let out a snort, his eyes still cold and calculating.

"At least I do love you," he spat at her. "Unlike that Soldier… Unlike Rogers."

The words hit her like a truck and Rory had to make herself breathe again. She didn't know if it was what he'd said, or the way he said Steve's name but she felt cold all over.

He loved her. Rory knew they were a "thing" but she hadn't realized he was that serious about her. That he was capable of that kind of emotion; most men like Rumlow weren't. It made them dangerous and she could see this whole situation spiraling out of control when Hydra fell.

"Don't you dare bring Rogers into this," Rory hissed, her fists balling at her sides.

"I don't need to bring Rogers into this, you did that all on your own. I saw the way you looked at him on the ship. He broke your heart and you still love him –"

"Oh fuck off," she snapped, giving him a hard shove. "I would rather diethan still love him."

He stood still for a half second before his hands shot out and gripped her arms tightly. Her body shook as he dragged her violently toward him.

"I find out you feel any other way about him and I'll hold you too that," Rumlow's voice dropped so low that she struggled to hear it. She twisted in his grasp but couldn't escape. "You are mine, you hear me? Mine. I will kill anyone who tries to keep us –"

"Rumlow! The Council has arrived. We need to get into position," Rollins' yelled across the room, cutting off Brock's threat.

He pressed a rough kiss to her mouth before he straightened and let her go, turning to answer Rollins.

Rory sucked in a breath. When Brock found out that she was SHIELD there was no telling what he'd do. Her ears rang as she tried not to think about it and focused on the mission.

Natasha was in the building now, on the council disguised as Councilwoman Hawley using a photostatic veil. It had been a last minute plan, put together by Maria Hill as she had personal connections with the English woman. Rory didn't ask for specifics, she just hoped everything was going to run according to the plan.

She started to move away from Rumlow to gather her weapons when he reached for her.

"Cupcake I'm sor –"

"Look, we need to focus." She held up her hand, swallowing hard. Her heart hammered in her chest and her ears rang. Anxiety welled in her stomach. She knew exactly he was about to say.

I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. I won't do it again.

They were lies, all of them. Things Jason had once promised her time and time again. Men like that never changed and she was itching for this day to be over. "Let's talk about this after we do what we have to do, ok?"

Brock let out a sigh, his shoulders slumping slightly.

"Sure." He nodded, stepping away from her. She turned her back on him and started strapping her weapons to her body. "STRIKE, move out. We have 2 hours until launch, let's make sure there are no Captain America shaped surprises in sto –"

"Attention all SHIELD agents. This is Steve Rogers –"

Rory's spine went ramrod straight with surprise. There had been no mention that he would announce when he was here, no reason to try and tell everyone what he was doing. The plan was to come in quietly, stop the launch and then get out. Simple. Easy. Safe.

Announcing he was here? Not safe, not easy and definitely not part of the plan. She was going to kill him for this if she managed to maintain her cover and make it out alive.

"What the fuck?!" Brock's voice was loud and the team scrambled together as he made for the door. "STRIKE, I want us to spread around the floors. Find him," he barked over his shoulder as they moved through the Trisk. "Rollins, get up to the World Security Council. Dugan, you're with me. We're going to launch the ships early, you got it?"

"STRIKE and the Insight crew are HYDRA as well. I don't know how many more, but I know they're in the building."

Rumlow swore again.

"Shoot anyone who stands in your way. Direct order," Brock barked, the vein in his head pulsing with rage.

Rory clenched her jaw and followed him, not trusting herself to talk. She hoped Steve knew what he'd done by announcing who they were. People were going to die because of this. They entered the control room to absolute silence. Every agent was sitting there looking around in stunned confusion. Meeting Sharon's gaze as she entered, she watched her cousin's face turn to disgust as she realized what Rory had become. Rory's heart sank and her feet stumbled. She had forgotten about Sharon. That there was another person that has hurt in all of this

Rory followed behind Brock as he strode over to the agent in charge of monitoring the launch, knowing that he had the authority to launch the ships whenever he wanted.

"Pre-empt the launch sequence," he requested, in an almost kind voice. "Send those ships up now."

The man – no boy, paused and glanced first at Rumlow and then at her. Rory could see how young he was, fresh faced and probably straight from the academy. He was probably top of his tech class, highly intelligent but not physically fit enough for fieldwork.

"Is there a problem?" Rumlow asked and he shook his head, his words being lost in his nerves. Sharon hovered around behind them, watching the situation unfold. "Is there a problem?" Rumlow raised his voice, probably hoping to scare the kid into submission.

"N-no sorry," the kid stammered out. He shifted in his seat and Rory could see the sweat forming on his face.

He sucked in a couple of deep breaths before he replied.

"I'm not gonna launch those ships," he finally said, in a voice that was much braver than he looked. Pride welled in Rory's chest. "Captain's orders." She would have laughed at that but Rumlow pulled his gun and placed it against the kids head.

"Move away from your station," he ordered.

Sharon was across the room in a flash, her own gun pulled and aimed at Rumlow.

"Like he said: Captain's Orders," she hissed, her arm as still as an iron post and her eyes steely and determined. The rest of the room sprang into action, the Hydra sleepers pointing their guns at SHIELD friends. It was absolute pandemonium.

Rory's jaw ached from clenching it so hard. She wasn't supposed to show herself now but Brock was a ticking bomb and someone was going to die. She'd be damned if she let it be someone as brave as that kid, or someone she loved.

Brock glanced at her.

"You wanna deal with your family, Cupcake?" He smirked and Rory looked at Sharon, whose lip curled when she met her gaze.

"Yeah, Rory. You want to deal with me?" Sharon said in a cold voice and she pressed the barrel against Brock's temple.

"Not really. You've always been better than me," Rory said softly. Taking a deep breath, Rory made a decision and aimed her own gun at Brock. "Put the gun down, Brock."

Surprise rendered Brock silent and still for a long moment as he processed what was happening. Behind him, Rory could see Sharon looked equally shocked and she was offended that her cousin would possibly think that lowly of her.

"What the hell are you doing?" Brock hissed, turning to face her. The barrel of her gun was aimed directly between his eyes and he glared at it. "We need to launch those ships!"

Rory shook her head.

"No. We don't," Rory replied, her voice more solid than she felt. "I have to stop those ships from launching. Captain's Orders… and Fury's." Rage boiled in Brock's eyes when it clicked what she had been doing.

"You're SHIELD," he said flatly, devoid of emotion.

Rory gave him a tight smile. "Yeah. I am. I have never been Hydra. Thanks for making it easy for me," she joked in a tone that was half hearted at best..

Brock growled low in his throat and turned back to the young agent at the desk and repositioned his gun against his skull. "You picked the wrong side, Agent," Brock sneered and he cocked his gun. The kid whimpered and Rory stepped forward, pressing the barrel of her gun to his temple.

"Depends on where you're standing," she murmured. "Put the gun down."

He pushed his gun into the kids head before he backed off, glancing first at her and then at Sharon. He dropped it and it clattered to the ground by his boots. The kid in front of him jerked away from fright and Rory stepped back.

In the second it took her to breathe out, Brock drew his knife and sliced Sharon's arm, causing the agent to drop her gun in surprise. That was enough for everyone to start shooting and Rory dove for cover as Brock caught Sharon's gun and turned it on her. Something grazed her side, and she cried out as she hit the deck hard enough to rattle her teeth. Scrambling to her feet a second later, she threw two daggers at Brock, barely taking the time to aim. Satisfaction huffed out of her when one sank into his shoulder.

He swung around to her again, anger blazing in his eyes. She waited for the shot aimed at her but he glanced at the young agent who had defied him. She cried out, knowing he was going to shoot him to get back at her.

Sharon kicked the Agent's chair violently and it careened into Rory hard enough to knock her off her feet. Her head collided with the side of the desk and for a moment she saw literal stars as she rolled under the desk out of Brock's way. Glass shattered above her head as the shot hit the desk and she covered herself as best she could. She shook herself and looked around, expecting him to be advancing but instead of coming after her he was leaning forward, tapping on the computer that could launch the ships.

"NO!" Rory screamed, forcing herself to roll out from under the desk despite the ache in her head and the stinging of her hands and face. She ducked as someone else shot at her and sprang to her feet, firing a fraction too late as Brock ran from the room.

OVERRIDE.

Big, red letters flashed up on the screen and sirens started screaming around them. She swore, digging her coms device out of her pocket and stuck it in her ear.

"Maria, I need to know where Rumlow is heading!" Rory yelled into it, waiting to hear from Hill.

"Little busy, Dugan. Give me a minute."

"RORY!" Sharon yelled at her and she turned to find her cousin picking her way over people as she came toward her. "What the hell is going on?!" Sharon asked, cradling her arm to her. Blood painted her skin like a glove and Rory feared the worst.

"It's a long story," Rory breathed, reaching for Sharon's arm. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just superficial." Sharon shook her head impatiently, tugging her hand out of her grip. "I thought you were Hydra!"

"That was the idea. I'm sorry I couldn't tell you." Rory gave her a grim smile before turning her attention to the boy still curled up under the table. "You. Are you hurt?" She crouched down beside him and he uncovered his head. He blinked at her.

"I thought you were one of them," he stammered and she shook her head.

"No, I'm not. I never was. What you did was amazing. Thank you."

He blinked at her again before cowering as a deep rumble had everyone scrambling to hold onto something. The building shook and Rory looked around.

"What's going on?!" Sharon gasped.

"The doors are opening. They're initiating launch," Maria explained in her ear. "Captain America and Falcon have being dispatched."

Rory spun around, trying to find a vantage point, one hand still pressed to her ear. "The helicarriers are launching." The screen had changed, the time on the clock had t-minus 10 minutes and counting.

"10 minutes."

"10 minutes until the satellites are live."

Her phone buzzed in her pocket, her Hydra phone she realized as she pulled it out and she frowned as a text from Brock flashed up on the screen.

TOO BAD YOUR
GRANDFATHER
DIDNT MAKE IT
CUPCAKE.

Her blood ran cold and everything went silent as she reread the text message.

"Sharon, is Pa at work today?" She reached out to steady herself on the desk in front of her as the world swayed violently.

"Yeah, I saw him in his office just before I came here," Sharon replied, her brow wrinkling. "Is everything –"

"Get these people out of here, Sharon. Evacuate everyone. Arrest Hydra agents." Her voice was short and sharp as panic crept up her throat. She was giving Sharon the part of the plan that she was supposed to be doing because saving her Pa and stopping Rumlow was more important than anything else. "I've gotta go find Pa."

"Stay safe, ok?" Sharon didn't ask questions as she gave her a quick hug before hauling the agent to his feet to help her.

Rory sucked in a deep breath and wiped some blood from her cheek as she ran from the room.

"Hill, I need a location for Rumlow ASAP." She pressed her comes and exited the same doors Brock had. Instead of Maria replying, Steve did.

"Aurora, stick to the plan." Steve's voice was harsh in her ear and she scowled. "Get those people out of there."

Rage rippled through her veins like a cold wave.

"The plan?! You want to talk to me about the plan, Steve?" she exclaimed in a half shriek before she slowed to a walk. "You were the one who changed the plan, asshole," she hissed as she looked around, watching the mayhem in the foyer of the Trisk unfold. People scrambled to get out; some were injured, some were not. There was a chance she could still pass for Hydra for just a little bit longer if she just slowed down.

But her Pa…

"On my end, not yours. You evacuate everyone, now. Leave Rumlow to us."

"The change you made has sent everything in a meltdown, you fucking idiot." Her hands shook as she wrenched open a fire exit door and took the stairs three at a time. "Sharon is getting everyone out. I'm going after Rumlow because he's going after my Pa." A hysterical edge crept into her tone and when Steve replied he sounded strained.

"Kill him."

Rory nodded, her eyes narrowed with determination.

"As you wish, Captain," she murmured.

Her ears rang as she approached the office door. It was standing ajar and she paused to pull her gun again, before edging it further open. She strained to hear what was going on inside.

"Pa?" Rory called out softly, pushing the door open with her toe. She held her breath as it swung inward.

The air escaped her lungs in a breath of relief as her Pa looked up from his desk. He murmured something into the phone at his ear and hung up.

"What are you doing here, Sweetheart? You're meant to be evacuating people." He stood and picked up a satchel.

Relief made her knees feel weak and her head spin and she steadied herself on the doorframe.

"Here I am, evacuating you," she replied weakly. Dugan frowned at her tone.

"Is everything –"

"Fine Pa. Just… please. Get out of here." Her eyes stung with tears of relief

She had honestly thought Rumlow had killed her Pa. For a good 5 minutes her mind ran through all the things she hadn't said to her Pa, all the things she needed to make up for. It was more than what she realized, and that if it had happened, she wouldn't be okay with it. On shaking legs she carried herself forward until she flung herself into his arms and breathed him in. Her familiar Pa, safe and solid and just the same. His arms circled her and he stroked her hair.

"Are you ok?" he murmured and she nodded.

"I'm fine. I'm… I have to help Sharon… I have to…"

"Rory. I have eyes on Rumlow. He's headed to up to the council." Hill's voice was sharp in her ear.

"What floor?" she asked, her voice and emotions reigning tightly. She stepped back from her Pa and pressed a finger to her ear. Her other hand came up to hurriedly wipe off the tears still clinging to her face.

"35 and rising. South stairwell. I'm sending Falcon in."

"I'm on my way. Keep your eyes on him," Rory replied. She glanced at her Pa. "Please get out of here Pa. Get out, take Grandma and the others and hide."

"What is going –"

"They know I'm not Hydra. The man I've played with is dangerous. He's not going to stop unless I stop him first." She squeezed his hand tightly before she let it go.

"I can help –" he started to argue but she cut him off with a firm shake of her head.

"Get the family out of D.C. and out of Boston," she ordered, feeling strange to be speaking to her grandfather like a commander. "I don't know when I'll see you again but I will. Go to Tony. He'll know what to do." She leant forward and kissed her Pa's cheek. He gripped her hands.

"Come with us, sweetheart. Come and help me –"

"I need to finish what I started Pa. I'm sorry. I love you." She tugged her hands out of his and left quickly. If she'd waited any longer she would have gone with him.

But she couldn't run away from her problems. Not again.

"41st Floor. Falcon's intercepted," Maria informed her as she powered up the stairwell, Rory paused and gave herself a brief moment to slow her breathing when she reached the right floor. She pushed through the doors quietly, unnoticed by either of the men fighting in the middle of the room. Sam was great with his hands but Rumlow fought dirty, his Hydra training making him stronger than Sam. Rory drew her gun and stepped from behind the desk as Sam sailed past her.

She aimed her sights on Brock, her arms a lot steadier than her insides felt.

"Rumlow! Put your hands where I can see them." Her voice was stronger than she felt, colder, as she channeled her anger and rage into a laser sighted focus to bring him down.

"Couldn't have said something a second earlier?" Sam muttered as he hauled himself up to stand beside her. He was breathing hard, favoring his side but he stood strong beside her anyway.

Rumlow wiped his mouth, the blood painting the back of his hand. He grinned, making more ooze out of the tear on his lip.

"Finally joined us. How's your Pa?" He winked at her and she cocked her gun with a loud click.

"Fine. Hands up. Now," she ordered, a deathly calm flowing through her at the mention of her Pa.

"He's fine because I decided I had more important things to do. I don't want to rush gutting him alive." He slowly raised his hands as he spoke and Rory kept her eyes on the point between his eyebrows. It was a tempting target, one that she knew would end this for good but she couldn't bring herself to pull the trigger.

"Man, shut the hell up," Sam barked from beside her. "I won't stop her if she shoots your sorry ass."

Brock laughed, his hands linking behind his head.

"Oh she won't shoot me. I know she won't. She loves me as much as I love her. You can't fake that kind of intimacy, Cupcake." He winked at her, smirking darkly at her. Her lip curled as he continued. "Besides, she's not that kind of agent, which should have been my first clue." He rolled his eyes but when they met hers again they were colder than they were before.

Of all the enemies she knew she would make by crossing Hydra, he was going to be her worst nightmare. Steve wasn't kidding when he'd called him a raging psychopath.

"I'm going to make you pay for lying to us. I defended you when they said that you weren't one of us. I defended you when they suspected you weren't one of us!" The calmness of his voice slipped as he spoke and his neck and cheeks flushed red with anger. "I fucking loved you." She clenched her jaw to stop herself from backing away from him.

"Never asked you to do that. I never said I loved you, either," she replied calmly. "Falcon, can you cuff him?" She glanced at Sam, who nodded and produced some zipties from a pocket. He'd taken two steps away from her when Brock moved suddenly.

The knife flew toward her before she could fathom what was happening and she ducked to avoid it. It sliced her cheek as it passed and she realized with a jolt that it was the one she'd embedded in his shoulder back down in the control room.

"DUGAN WATCH OUT!" Sam's shout came a moment too late and the wind was knocked out of her as Brock speared her midsection, slamming her into the wall behind.

An uppercut slammed into her jaw so hard that it whipped her head and shoulders around. Her teeth cracked together with such a jarring force that she was sure they would fall out. It stunned her and she had to force herself to take another breath because her lungs seemed to have forgotten how to work.

Sam let out a yell as he dragged Brock off her and it gave her a chance to catch her bearings. Her head felt like it was splitting in two and hot blood streaked her cheek red, but she forced her eyes to open. She watched Sam grapple with Brock for a few, dazed moments before she kicked herself into gear. Pushing off the wall, Rory came in low behind Brock as he threw Sam through a glass desk with a resounding crash.

Her arms locked around Brock's waist, her elbow dug tightly into his hip. She twisted violently to the right but he didn't budge. He bucked hard, trying to dislodge her but she held on for dear life and dug her knee into his hamstring desperately, once, twice until finally she kicked at his heels, throwing her weight down and to the side.

Brock rolled over her, his head giving a satisfying crack as it hit the concrete floor. She scrambled back away from him, watching closely as he got to his feet.

"That was good. You finally got me from behind." He gave a grin and rubbed his head, his fingers coming away red with blood. "You're a waste of talent, Dugan."

"My talent is useful elsewhere," she said stiffly, her fists high in defense. He laughed, the sound cold and low.

"At SHIELD? Yeah, sure. If you say so." He shook his head, giving an eye roll so casual she thought for a moment they were just sparring like they used to… Until he looked at her with cold, dead eyes and a determined set in his jaw and she knew he was out for blood. "You know I have to kill you though, right? You betrayed us and you know exactly what Hydra does to people who don't follow their order." His eyebrow rose as his lips twitched and he shifted forward toward her. "Just know that I will have so much fun killing your family."

Rory's blood ran cold as she realized this was rapidly deteriorating into a kill or be killed situation. If she didn't kill him, he would kill her and then go after her family. Even if miraculously she somehow managed to get away from him, he would keep coming after her until she was dead.

She had to make the choice now.

She sucked in a breath and drew her daggers, the blades making a sickening schiiiiiick as she drew them from their sheaths.

"Ohhhh she's got the big blades out now." Brock's face broke into a grin as she tested their weight in her palms. He taught her how to do this. He knew how she moved, what she was capable of… and it terrified her… But the thought of her family dying because of her mission terrified her more. "Come on then hotshot. Bring it on," Brock urged. "You know, one of the reasons why I loved you, Dugan, was because you weren't afraid of a challenge. I thought: finally a woman who can keep up with me, by my side, as my partner." His eyes narrowed dangerously. "Guess I was wrong. You're just like all the others and like them, I'm going to have to kill you."

She glanced at Sam beside her, who took a step back.

"This is all yours," Sam muttered and she let out a breath. A second ticked past and on her next inhale she launched herself at him, watching with a sick sense of satisfaction as his eyes widened at her unexpected rush.

She aimed low, one blade sweeping up for his face and the other aiming for his side. Brock stepped back, the blade nicking the inside of his arm as he knocked it away. She followed the momentum, her arms out wide like wings as she spun on light feet and brought the second around behind them.

There was a rip as the blade sliced his sleeve and he let out a laugh as he darted away from her.

"Did you forget that I trained you? I know what you're going to do next, Cupcake. You're too easy to read!" He grinned wide and lunged toward her, crowding into her space. She dove forward, instead of away, in a desperate attempt to stab him but he checked her, gripping her wrist tightly. With his hand wrapped firmly around her arm, her tugged her toward him causing her drop her blade. Her other hand came over the top, her blade useless with him so close. He grabbed that wrist too and yanked hard, using Rory's own momentum to send her crashing to the ground.

He let her go and she scrambled to her feet, waiting for his next attack but instead she found him picking up her dropped weapon.

"Now things are really interesting." He grinned, spinning the blade in a uselessly fancy move. "You know, maybe I'll kill your family with this. Seems like a fitting way for them to die."

Rory's breath left her lungs as he spoke and she saw red in her vision.

She charged at him, the clash of the blades barely registering in her ears as they parried. Her arms ached and her lungs felt like they were going to explode but she had to finish him.

As he brought the blade down toward her, she reached for his wrist. Her fingers locked tightly around it as she deflected the blade and brought her own across his torso in a quick and fluid movement that ended with her cracking the hilt into his wrist.

Brock's eyes widened as blood trickled from the slice in his side. It wasn't deep, the protection of his undershirt had stopped it from being too deep, but the fact that she'd gotten a deadly blow in there was enough to throw him off guard.

She yanked hard to the side and kicked his knees, throwing him off balance enough that he went sprawling into the floor.

She stood over him, raising her blade above her to bring down on his chest. He grinned as the seconds turned to hours, goading her, trying to psych her out. How long had they been fighting like this? Surely it was an age? She steeled herself up to drive the blade through his chest.

"Dugan, NO!" Sam's voice was tiny and far away but she knew he was standing beside her. His hand was on her shoulder, tugging her hard but she barely moved.

"I have to," Rory said, chest heaving with the weight of what she was about to do. "He'll kill my family, Sam."

"You bet I will. I'll kill you too," Brock snarled and Sam only just managed to hold her back as she moved to kill him.

"We can detain him. Throw him in jail. You can't kill him." Sam tried to put himself between them to stop her.

Her teeth ground together as she hesitated and Brock saw it plain as day. The grin stayed on his face as he started to climb to his feet.

"I knew –"

Brock's gloating was cut short by a deafening explosion that made the three of them turn and look.

"Oh hell no."

Suddenly Sam's hand on her shoulder was gripping her tight and yanking her away from the 65 thousand tons of helicarrier that was crashing down around them.

"Son of a –" Brock scrambled after them.

"BROCK!" Rory screamed, turning in Sam's grasp to reach out for him. He was right behind them and he threw himself forward, but the helicarriers were too close. Rory lost sight of him as the cloud of smoke, dust and rubble closed around Brock. She let out a scream and tried to stop to find him, but Sam didn't let her. His hand slid down her arm, locking around her palm in a vice grip as he kept them running through the office.

"PLEASE TELL ME YOU GOT THAT CHOPPER IN THE AIR!" Sam screamed into his coms. They dodged around chairs and desks, climbing over whatever was in their way. Sam slipped and fell, but she tugged him to his feet before he could fall behind.

"Sam! Where are you!?" Natasha's voice came to her faintly, her coms having taken a beating in her fight with Brock.

"41ST FLOOR. NORTHWEST CORNER!" he bellowed, pointing to the window and guiding her toward it. "Hope you're ready to jump, girl." The words barley registered in her brain with all the concrete crashing around her.

"We're on it, stay where you are."

"NOT AN OPTION!" Sam and Rory hollered together, their voices being drowned out by the grinding of steel and concrete around them. The window was fast approaching and the fallen helicarrier was getting closer and closer to their heels.

The floor literally fell out from under their feet as they jumped. Rory didn't remember screaming as she fell. She didn't even remember breathing; all she saw as they tumbled through the air were the rotating blades of the chopper directly below her. She closed her eyes as it pulled up short and she and Sam fall through the cabin.

Not into – through.

Rory did scream as she exploded out of the other side. She heard Sam give a yell as her weight pulled him, his hand still tightly in hers and she hung for a few precarious seconds out of the chopper before he wrenched her back toward him. His arm went around her waist.

"I got you. I got you." Sam's voice was in her ear as her legs dangled from the door and she closed her eyes, burying her face in his neck. He and Natasha pulled her back in and she didn't breathe again until her body was flat against the cabin floor.

"41st FLOOR!" Sam yelled at Fury in the pilots seat as he and Rory sprawled on the floor of the cabin. "41st!"

"It's not like they put the floor number on the outside of the building." Fury deadpanned over his shoulder and Rory fought the strong urge to flip him off. She rested her head back against the floor and Sam's chest and took a few, huge, deep breaths as she looked at the roof. Sam handed her a headset and helped her get it over her ears but neither of them moved.

"Hill! Where's Steve? Have you got a location on Rogers?"

Her eyes flew open as Natasha spoke and she pulled herself toward the door. Her body protested, muscles crying out with protest and her brain rumbling in her skull like fireworks, but she needed to know if Steve was ok.

She scanned the burning wreck of the building, her heart in her throat as they flew overhead.

"Last known location was Helicarrier Charlie." Which, Rory realized with a sickening jolt, was the one about to disappear into the middle of the Potomac.

"Fly over, Fury!" she yelled, her voice being drowned out by the noise around them but the helicopter turned anyway, her stomach going with it.

There was nothing to see except flames and billowing black smoke until -

"THERE!" Rory screamed, her eyes seeking out the bright blue body falling lifelessly toward the water. "FURY GO!"

"I can't Dugan there's too much smoke. I gotta pull up." Fury tuned the chopper away from the wreckage.

"NO! GO AND GET HIM!" she shrieked desperately, hanging out of the cabin doors as if about to jump. She would have too, if Natahsa hadn't chosen that moment to circle her arms around Rory's ribs and haul her back inside. She watched as Steve hit the water and could then see no more as the chopper circled away.

"We need to get down there. We need to go. We need to –"

"We're landing where it's safe, sestrenka. We'll find him," Natasha soothed, but she didn't say whether he would be alive or not.

It seemed like an age until the helicopter landed and then they had no idea where to look. Rory didn't even get a chance to try as Natasha pulled her to a waiting medical unit to be looked at.

"No! I need to go! I need to go and find –"

"Aurora! Stop!" Natasha took her shoulders and shook her, cutting off her panic. Rory looked at her then, really looked at her and saw the same desperate worry reflected in her eyes. "You're bleeding badly from two places on your head. Your eyes are unfocused and you can barely stand. We will find Steve but you need to be seen to."

There was no arguing with the Widow when she used that tone. And she was right. Rory hurt all over, she felt weak and groggy and had used Sam and Natasha as crutches to make it off the chopper.

She sat, defeated, and Natasha nodded to the nurse to start her exam. Everything moved by in a daze. People shouted at each other, each person having a differing opinion on what should be happening but it all sounded so far away.

Rory couldn't keep a thought straight in her head. The nurse explained to her four times that she had a severe concussion before she understood it. She nodded dumbly as the woman turned to Natasha to explain what to do, feeling a sharp buzzing against her ribs.

It took her a minute to work out that it was her phone and she slid it out. It was her SHIELD phone from an unknown number so the first person she thought of was Steve.

"Steve!? Hello, Steve?" Rory forced herself to speak and suddenly everything went silent around her. Glancing around, Rory found the eyes of Fury, Natasha, Hill, and Sam on her. She held her breath as she waited for the person to speak.

"He's under the bridge. West side. He's breathing but barely."

The voice was thick and Russian and she sucked in a breath as she realized it was the Asset who was calling her, not Steve.

"Aktiv?" she replied and Natasha's eyes sharpened as she recognized the Russian word for Asset. "Asset where are you? Can you stay with him?" She switched to clumsy Russian in the hopes that he would keep talking.

There was a long pause; so long that Rory thought he might have hung up…

Then he spoke again.

"He's under the bridge. I will leave him here. I need to go."

Then the line did go dead, the disconnected beeping rattling her brain again. Rory swore and threw her phone savagely into the ground.

"Rory what did he say? Did he say where Steve is?" Natasha asked, taking Rory's hands with her shaking ones.

"Under the Roosevelt Bridge. West side. He's barely breathing," she replied and people scrambled into action. Only Natasha stayed and Rory didn't bother trying to follow the rescue team. Her body had given up trying to move for now.

"That was him, wasn't it? The Soldier?" Natasha asked and Rory nodded numbly. "Why did he call you?"

"I don't know. I didn't get to ask."

"Does he remember you?" Natasha's green eyes studied her face as if looking for a lie and Rory recoiled.

"I doubt it. They wiped him. Maybe my number is a residual memory."

"It was your SHIELD phone. How did he even get the number?" Natasha urged and Rory shrugged again, running a frustrated hand over her face and hissing when her fingers ran over her wounds.

"I don't know Nat. I really don't know, ok?" She had nothing else to say. She was beaten up, dazed, and stressed out of her mind that Steve hadn't made it. She wanted to go and find Steve, to know for herself that he was alive but she couldn't. She sank to her knees in the grass and Natasha sat with her. The other woman pulled her into her lap and held her.

"It's over now," Natasha murmured but Rory shook her head.

"It's not. I'm a fugitive. Hydra will hunt me down as soon as they hear what part I played in this," she said softly, resting her head against Natasha's shoulder.

"Welcome to the fugitives club." The Russian's laugh was throaty and dry and Rory let out a snort. There was a pause before Natasha spoke again. "I don't think I've told you yet how proud I am about what you did," Natasha said quietly and Rory looked at her in surprise. Nat laughed. "Seriously. You really showed us what you're made of. Don't tell Steve I'm proud though. We're meant to be furious at you for the shit you've pulled." She smirked and Rory actually laughed at that. "But he's proud of you too. He regrets everything but he is really proud of you."

Rory nodded and closed her eyes, resting her head against Natasha's shoulder again. She had too much to worry about, so much to do. It wouldn't take long for Hydra to figure out what she'd done. She should be running, she should be packing up and getting as far away from everything as she could but she couldn't do that right now. She had some unfinished business with both Steve and a certain Soviet Soldier that she had to take care of first.

"Couldn't have done it without him," she muttered and let out a breath that she felt like she'd been holding for a very long time. She closed her eyes and let the blackness engulf her for a moment. She'd worry about running as soon as she knew Steve was ok.


Author's Note:

The fight scene between Rory and Steve could not have been possible without the help of my friend, PT, choreographer and favourite badass ever Lani. She can be found over at Heroine for Hire cosplay so go check out her stuff (seriously, she's literally Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel). Leave me Kudos and comments and I'll be back with another chapter next week! Thanks again!

Playlist:

Sand Storm feat. Odalisk - Apashe (this is the fight song track)

Weapon - Bastille, Angel Haze, F*U*G*Z, Braque

Castle - Hasley

Good Girls - Elle King