Chapter Twenty Six

"There's no space that His love can't reach, There's no place that we can't find peace There's no end to Amazing Grace, Take me in with your arms spread wide Take me in like an orphan child, Never let go, never leave my side..." I Am, Crowder

An explosion shook the entire building, alerting me that the Avengers were here. The explosion set off a series of alarm, but no one ran. This was all according to the plan. To separate the Avengers we would need to work together. I wasn't exactly looking forward to working with anyone. It was something I had never been trained for. But I supposed I could always learn. And it was now or never time.

Chaos followed as soldiers suddenly started running down the hall. Meanwhile I was watching from my perch in the air vents, waiting for the signal. I knew what lay ahead of me. The Avengers would be my toughest targets yet. From the two assassins, to Iron Man, to a super soldier and finally a raging green monster known as the Hulk. I planned on taking Banner out before the monster could react. He would be my first target if all went according to plan.

Sure enough the Avengers already started crashing in, literally. Clint and Natasha were the first to get through; Clint fired a few arrows and had already taken down several soldiers, Natasha just killed them with her stingers. My hands gripped the metal tightly when I saw that the Hulk was already rampaging in a different hallway. The ground started shaking from the violent steps the Hulk made towards one of the main computer rooms.

In a matter of seconds I pressed the button that released the smoke from the bombs I planted throughout the building. A few moments of confusion followed as the air suddenly became deathly silent. Finally the Hulk let out an ear-splitting roar that made me move a little faster through the air vents. I was not prepared to take on something his size. But there was a first time for everything. I had grabbed enough weapons to make it seem like a fair fight; at least I hoped that was the case.

Finally I reached the computer room the Hulk was now trashing. That equipment was expensive! Not to mention all the repairs that would follow once this was over. I hold back a groan of annoyance as I aimed a taser in the Hulk's direction. It was actually a modified version of a taser, with an electrical charge similar to that of the Black Widow's stingers. Only twice as powerful. I should know, I've felt the pain they put me through.

I watched carefully as the taser landed on the Hulk's neck, sending a jolt of electricity in seconds. Again the Hulk roared, smashing a few tables here and there before finally looking up. I flinched when the Hulk looked directly at the air vent I was hiding in. The door was already locked, making it impossible for him to escape if he tried to. Now it was my turn to play the assassin.

Without hesitation I jumped down from the air vent and landed on the Hulk's back. I could already feel him trying to shake me off when he realized what I was doing. The dagger would hopefully be enough to stun him before I pulled off a final attack. With the smoke blocking his vision the Hulk couldn't see very well, which is probably why he ended up in this room of all places. Suddenly I felt a strong hand grab me by the waste.

I forced back a yelp of pain as the Hulk pried me off and threw me. The dagger I was holding earlier was sent flying into a wall, just as I slammed into a table nearby. As I struggled to stand the Hulk let out a low snarl as he charged after me. But as suddenly as he started charging, he stopped. I looked at the Hulk with a moment of panic surging through me, until I saw something light up in his green eyes.

"Valerie?" The words came out slowly, as if he wasn't sure it was the right name.

Before he could react I reached for my taser once more and aimed it at his head, this time making sure it knocked him out. A few seconds of silence followed as the Hulk came crashing down from the shock. I pried my dagger from the wall and was ready to strike when something stopped me.

Truth be told I have never seen the Hulk in person. But seeing him now, I realized that something wasn't right. Despite the immense amount of anger I felt towards the Avengers, I couldn't bring myself to actually kill him. The Hulk wasn't unconscious, he was just stunned for the moment. I looked him right in the eye and saw something in them.

"Kill it!" That same voice I kept hearing suddenly rang in my ears, loud and clear.

Confusion swept over me when I held my dagger above the heaping form that made up the Hulk. Sweat rolled down my face, and for the first time I didn't know what to do. I had killed without hesitation before. So why was this any different?

"Just kill the damn thing already!" The voice was louder this time. Finally I drew my dagger and threw it down, but I didn't aim for the heart or the neck. Instead I dragged it across the Hulk's arm. This time he was unconscious. I doubted I would live to see another day if he wasn't. Blood seeped from the wound I had given him, staining the cement floor red.

I wasn't going to stick around long enough to see what would happen when he woke up. The last thing I wanted was for the Hulk to launch another attack, even if he was weakened by the wound. This time I headed for the air vent once more, heading to the right.

"Shadow, we've got intel that Captain America is locked in the room closest to you." Master's voice sounded through the earpiece I was wearing. It was reassuring to know that he'd survived through this chaos. "You know what to do."

"Yes sir," I replied before switching the earpiece off.

Carefully I made my way through the air vent, having to go up and down a few times as it sloped at an odd angle. Sure enough I spotted Capsicle talking through an earpiece, or trying to anyways. I peered between the bars that covered the shaft to see if there were any weak points.

Rogers had a shield that would block any physical attacks. But if I could somehow knock him out before he used it…. An idea suddenly struck my mind as I punched my way through the bars. The 'good' Captain wheeled around at the noise, his eyes widening when he saw me landing in front of him. I threw in a punch before he could say anything, my fist clipping his cheek without warning.

He was quick to block my attacks with his fists and shield, but I moved faster. At times during the confusion I would swing out my leg and trip him, throwing him on his back and leaving him vulnerable.

"Valerie, I know you don't want to do this." I rolled my eyes when he said that.

"You don't know anything about me," I spat, the venom in my voice made even me flinch a little.

I was about to punch him again when he kicked me in the stomach with his legs.

"I'm not going to hurt you," he said in a reassuring tone. Again I rolled my eyes and laughed bitterly at the statement.

"After you used me as your personal punching bag?" I retorted. I grabbed the pistol strapped to my waste and aimed it at him, choosing to shoot at his leg instead when I was finished. "You Avengers are nothing but a bunch of bastards that need to be taken down!"

He only looked at me in confusion before understanding lit in his eyes. That was when I pulled the trigger. It was aimed just above his foot, so that the bullet would hit his leg instead. Clearly he wasn't expecting the attack as the bullet landed.

"Valerie, I've never used you as a…. punching bag." For the first time I noticed regret showing on that masked face of his. But I wasn't moved one heartbeat.

I pulled the trigger once more, this time aiming at his face. Not even once did he use his shield to protect himself. My face twisted to a scowl before I threw out my legs and tripped him. I wasted no time in hitting him as hard as I could in the forehead, not giving him a chance to raise his shield. I looked him in the eyes one last time before he blacked out, the pain becoming too much.

Taking a deep breath, I couldn't help but grin at my work. Already two Avengers were down. Two down, and three to go. And two of those Avengers were master assassins. It wouldn't surprise me if they were working together too. This was not going to be easy. Either they were going down or I would die trying. And I was going to make sure that they had one hell of a fight to go through.