*Isabel*
Noah looked damn fine is his suit – the black and silver spandex outlining his body flawlessly. And the massive shield only showed off his muscular arms. Isabel had to turn away so he wouldn't notice her blush. He ripped the sewer lid up from the ground with his bare hands and gestured to her. "After you, ma'am."
Isabel grinned inwardly at the old fashioned manners. Obviously there was more of his father in him than he thought. Gripping Poison Biter tightly, she hopped into the sewer. She landed with a sloppy smack.
"Aw gross." She shook her foot, grimacing at the muddy slop that flew off. "Hey Cap, watch where you step down here! Or else you're in for a sloppy surprise…"
Noah gave a mocking salute before hopping in after. He narrowly missed a pile of mush himself.
The sewer tunnel was dark and shadowy. All Isabel could see was shaded outlines of the walls. The soft pitter-patter of rats reverberated around them. Carefully, Isabel allowed some of the energy inside of her to surface, illuminating the area around them with the lightning in her palm.
"That's so sick…" Noah whispered in awe.
She laughed, though focused hard on controlling her power. Poison Biter helped keep it under wrap though, thank goodness. Without it she probably would have blown up this place already. Razed it. She smiled at her own pun. Together they walked through the passage as Noah navigated with the GPS on his wrist.
"Raze. Soldier. How are you managing?" Coulson's voice asked in her ear.
"We're…" She eyed a colony of dirty rats scurrying past. "…managing."
"Good. I'll check up with you again in a few."
Noah tapped the digital map. "Our entry point is coming up. Remember, I go in first. Then you follow."
"Yeah, I know."
"Then we crawl up the building to the top floor though the vents."
"I know."
"Then, we grab the weapons and the heli grabs us."
Isabel rolled her eyes playfully. "I know!"
He smirked. "Good."
When it was time, she swung Poison Biter at the roof, leaving a gaping hole. Isabel waited as Noah climbed up and confirmed that no one was around, and then accompanied him, squeezing through the small shaft. It took her several blinks for her eyes to adjust to the florescent lights of the building. They were in a quiet washroom, with only one NARA man present. Noah blocked a punch with his shield from the very startled man, who began rubbing his hand. Punching one of the strongest metals in the world was probably not the best feeling. Noah then gave him a blow of his own and the guy slumped onto the floor. "We're in," Noah said into his earpiece.
They exited the washroom. Isabel glanced warily at the cameras even though she knew that SHIELD HQ had already hacked in and looped the tape. Still, it didn't hurt to be cautious and she was glad to be out of its sight once she slid into the tight air shaft.
"Where'd your shield go?" She asked Noah, aware that it was suddenly missing. He patted his side.
"It's in my pocket."
She frowned. "How…?"
"SHIELD thought of everything."
She shook her head, unable to grasp the complexity of everything SHIELD designed.
*Theo*
The bricks were rough against his hands. Theo growled as a sharp edge cut his palm, and then pushed himself further up the side of the building. Five stories below, the dark alley sneered at him, though not one human was in sight. So far, the operation was going perfectly. He could almost feel the 'other guy' bouncing with excitement inside of him.
"Hurry up!" Mel hissed from a few feet above.
After an annoyed grunt, Theo quickly climbed up to where she was, gulping some air to catch his breath. He shivered against the cool breeze, knowing that once he shifted his thin shirt would be ripped to shreds and he would have nothing to wear back. Beside them was the rooftop door, which Melissa picked in a matter of seconds and then they were off again, sneaking down the staircase of NARA's base. Then Mel stopped, slamming her hand against his chest to hold him back. She placed a finger to her lips and flicked her head to the side. Signaling that someone was up ahead. Theo grinned – it was time.
He stepped out in front of the guard.
"Hey, kid!" The guy yelled, pointing. "You can't be here!"
Theo grabbed the man's hand and twisted back to snap the wrist before slamming his head into his forehead, knocking him out. He dropped limply. Mel smirked approvingly at Theo. They kept moving.
"So…" Theo started as they descended the stairs. She cast him a glance, a flicker of wariness in her eyes. Wait, she wasn't afraid of him…was she? He closed his mouth, deciding not to say anything after all. Opening a door, they entered a hallway on the top floor. Now they just had to find the room that held the weapons.
Another man suddenly came out from nowhere, a bullet from his gun zipping past Theo's head way to close for comfort. He barely ducked in time. So not cool. The man raised the gun again, but Mel was faster. An arrow hit him straight in the chest, leaving him on the ground.
"Keep moving," Mel said as she nabbed the gun from his twitching fingers, just as a three more men entered and began firing at them. Their beady eyes glared at Theo.
"I don't appreciate your attitude," Said Theo. "And neither does Tank."
He bellowed, loud and angry. Letting his emotions take over, he released Tank from his inner cage. Theo was vaguely aware of the sound of ripping material. His shirt fell to the floor in shreds as his body shifted into the black beast. Thankfully his new pants stayed on. The men halted, gaping at him.
"An enemy force has infiltrated the building," One of the guys said into a radio with a shaking, husky voice. He gaze fell onto Mel. "I-I think it's SHIELD."
"You bet it is!" Tank roared as he let a giant fist crash onto the man's head. In seconds the guy was dead. Mel ran up to a wall, flipped off of it, and took both the other guys of them out with her feet. She gave Tank a strange look, before running down the hallway and opening up a set of double doors to reveal a big white room. They were met by about another twenty or more men. Bullets flew in every direction. Tank laughed – those pity bullets could not faze him.
He looked around the wide room, eyeing up his opponents. That's when he noticed that there was no sign of any of the weapons that they were sent to secure. No alien devices… No burning weapons of mass destruction… Just a group of soldiers attacking.
The blatant realization hit him hard – it was a trap.
*Noah*
"Soldier," Coulson's voice spoke urgently in Noah's earpiece. "Standby. This is a trap. I repeat: do not move from your position. This is a trap."
Noah froze. A trap? "Wh-what do you mean, sir?"
Coulson hesitated. Then, "Our thermo-graphic cameras have encountered a loss of the objects we were tracing. It's like…they're just gone. NARA must have known we were coming and transported them to another location. I've already contacted HQ. We need you to evacuate immediately."
"Are Torpedo and Tank aware of this situation?" Noah asked, his thoughts immediately brought to the pretty red-head.
Another hesitation. "Shadow Soldier, you need to abort the mission now. Forget about the other two. The heli will pick you and Raze up two blocks south. Flare will meet you there. This is an order."
Isabel stopped crawling through the vents, her pretty brown eyes questioning Noah's sudden stop. Then her face dropped, obviously receiving the same message in her own earpiece.
"Sir, I can't do that." Noah protested. "That's my team in there. I won't leave them."
How could Coulson ask him to leave while Mel and Theo were stuck up there with no back up? A soldier would never put his own safety before a comrade. Never.
"This is a direct order," warned Coulson. "If you disregard this order than your evacuation plan will be diminished and –"
The rest of Coulson's voice was lost under Noah's boot. The earpiece popped as it was crushed. Isabel's face dropped even lower.
"Oh my god… you are so gonna pay for that later." She then burst into laughter, placing her own earpiece under her foot and mimicking Noah's actions. "He was getting annoying anyways."
A grin spread across Noah's face. He liked this Isabel chick. Sure she seemed unstable at the beginning, but she actually wasn't so bad.
"Alright," He said squeezing through the air shaft to finish what he was meant to do. "Let's move."
*Charlie*
Charlie circled around in the air, her suit blending in to the darkened sky. She gaped at Coulson's update. Leave without evacuating Torpedo and Tank?
"To hell with that," She said as she began speeding towards the NARA building. Coulson began shouting orders at her – but she shut his voice off quickly. Ah, silence. With one destructive blast from her palm, a large opening gave way in the roof. She landed in a spacious room filled with… chaos. Complete chaos. To her left, Tank was busing smashing everything in sight, while Mel released arrows at everyone. Noah and Isabel crashed through an air vent and nodded to her, before taking on several men at once.
"Sorry guys," Charlie smirked. "I've come to crash your party."
Almost immediately men began firing at her. She aimed an armored arm at them, defeating them with one fiery blow. She did this countless times: Aim, fire, turn. Aim, fire, turn. But no matter how many times she did this, more men just kept coming. She suppressed a growl before shooting again.
Suddenly a booming voice echoed around the room, commanding everyone to freeze. "Hello," The voice said. From a door in the corner of the room, a tall man dressed in a black suit appeared. A silver, curved walking stick was in his right hand. It clacked against the tiles as he strolled in.
"Hello," He said a second time. His eyes wandered across all of the young heroes, his voice gravely and low. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you all. I must say – quite the performance you gave. But I expected more. You're the children of the legendary Avengers, are you not? It's not like you to disappoint." He stroked his metal staff with a hand decorated with rings.
Charlie raised an eyebrow at this creepy man. "Don't mean to interrupt your little speech, but who are you?"
His head flicked in her direction. "I'm the one who will start a new era. With the help of my… fiery friends. You haven't met them yet, but you will."
Charlie gulped, though there was no time for her to reply, because at that moment Iron Man flew into the room through the hole in the roof. His metallic boots clanging as he landed. Thor followed in after, Mjölnir like a deadly stone in his hand. The man in the center of the room faltered, and then put on a sneer.
"Oh look. The parents have come to save the day. Or at least, some of them have. What's the matter; did the others get stuck in traffic?"
"Shut up Candy Cane." Tony retorted as he blasted the man with the cane in the chest. The man fell to the ground by the force of the blow, but was unharmed. Charlie was astounded. No one could survive a blast from a Stark! Her thoughts were disrupted by a hand gripping her arm. Tony.
"Why are you here?" She snapped at her dad. "This was our mission. Ours!"
"I'm here to rescue your ass. Now let's go," He hissed. The look in his eyes meant that he meant business, so Charlie obeyed without question. Thor and Iron Man grabbed the heroes who were unable to fly, and then they shot into the sky, leaving the destruction behind.
Though the failure of the mission traveled with them, clinging in their minds like bloodsucking leeches.
I hope this chapter did not disappoint! And sorry for the long wait for an update, life's been busy.
So, how do you guys think NARA knew that SHIELD was coming? ;) And how do you think Coulson and Fury will react to them disobeying the evacuation orders?