Avengers Tower
Between the minor argument over dinner and the much larger one that took place in private later that night, Steve was done listening to Clint- a stance which he made very clear. He hadn't pulled the decision to hold him back out of his ass, it made strategic sense- why couldn't he see that? He was one of SHIELD's best, yet he was acting like some egotistical hothead.
Within two days JARVIS reported a nearly 300% uptick in tourists from countries with known Hydra ties. Dennisson was bringing in an army, and all they could do was wait for the attack. Tony had gone to the mayor, CIA, and FBI to try and get some sort of protective action organized, all without luck. No one was willing to further fan the unrest after Bucky's little swan dive from Avengers Tower. When he took to social media to encourage New Yorkers to remain in their homes his accounts were shut down. JARVIS could re-instate them, but the constant battle for control meant the message was trapped in digital limbo where it did no one any good. Steve couldn't even raise SHIELD.
"He'll attack at night," Bucky was positive, "he isn't afraid of Hydra's monster, and he knows we sure as hell are." Bucky was wearing denim and wool everywhere- even though it was hot and he looked ridiculous- to try and build up his new flesh. And he wasn't the only one preparing for battle.
Banner was living in his Hulk-Out clothes, and Thor had returned to his full regalia. Natasha trained Sam in hand-to-hand combat, but kept the lessons short and didn't push hard enough to tire him out so that he would be ready whenever the attack came.
Clint just sat alone with Inessa and fumed. He wasn't debating that the plan made sense, it was just- he hadn't fought with them since the last battle of New York. Tony, Thor, Steve, Nat, hell, even Sam had all saved the world with flair since then. They'd gotten themselves on TV and been dubbed "Earth's Mightiest Heroes". But what about the one who fired the arrows? After Christmas he'd been in a mall, stalking a suspected Chi'tauri arms dealer and he saw no less than four kids in like at the toy store- all returning their Hawkeye dolls for "literally any other Avenger", as one of them loudly declared. Banner hadn't been in the limelight either- but Hulk was sold out everywhere.
Did you hear about the Mall of America disaster? Clint wanted to ask, No? What about the obliteration of Disney's Florida parks over high-peak tourist season? No? That nuclear attack that wiped out India? Not that either? You're fucking welcome! He didn't care about the fame, not really, but he hadn't done his heroics in front of an audience of millions. He did it from the rafters, where no one could see him. Now another battle was on the horizon, and once again he wouldn't be there. The surplus Avenger. The Avenger's babysitter.
"If you keep scowling your face will get stuck like that," Natasha came up behind him and put a hand on his shoulder.
"I'm not scowling, that's my resting face."
"Really?" she peeked around to get a look, "because these are your scowling shoulders."
He shrugged her off, "I thought you were training Sam."
"I was, but then this slipped off," she pressed the Asgardian band into his chest. He forced a smile and turned to inspect the leg. It was seamless- he couldn't even tell where it had been severed.
"No more pins and needles?"
"None."
"That's great, Nat!"
She raised an eyebrow, "Once more, with feeling."
Clint tried being cheeky, "I'm in mourning. With that off you'll go back to the fight-suit and I won't get any up-skirt shots to look forward to from the paparazzi."
Natasha smiled, "Good cover."
She glanced to Inessa and patted his arm, "Hey, want a mission?"
"Whatcha got?"
"Thor's been trying to find the footage from when Bucky took Nessa out of the torture room. Could you help him with it?"
"Sure, whatever."
Natasha leaned in to whisper something (presumably naughty) in his ear when they heard a sudden parade of booms, followed half a second later by a shudder throughout the Tower. In the twilight outside the city went dark as buildings were knocked off the grid. Only the streetlights and Avengers Tower remained lit- all thanks to Tony's insistence his arc reactors power New York's emergency services.
"Avengers Assemble," Clint said sarcastically. He stood with Natasha and grabbed her arm as she turned. "Take care of yourself," they kissed quickly and she ran off downstairs.
Clint turned to Inessa, vacant as ever. He sighed and reached up to pull out his hearing aids, "So," he hoped he sounded somewhat intelligible, it was hard to speak without being able to hear, "shall we bake cookies for when the heroes return?"
Avengers Tower- Meeting Room
Steve and Tony were already gathering information when the Avengers came together. No one save Thor and Banner were dressed yet.
"We've got simultaneous explosions all over New York," Steve spoke very quickly and waved to a map. "Dennisson is forcing us to divvy up."
Bucky glanced at the map, then pointed to one of the southern locations, "That's Dennisson."
"You sure?"
He nodded, "State supreme court. Big and flashy. It's him."
"That's our target then," Bucky nodded and left to start loading up on knives and guns. The rest of the locations Steve dolled out at random, "Natasha and Sam- Battery Park. Banner, you and Stark are taking Washington Square. Thor- Bryant Park is yours, and it's just a few blocks east off the balcony."
"Look for fire," Tony suggested. Thor nodded.
"Get civilians out, then focus on routing Hydra. Keep it contained as best you can, there are no acceptable losses. Go!" Everyone ran towards the armory door- save Thor.
"Natasha," Steve called ahead to her as they ran, "Is Clint-"
"He knows what to do!" she ran into her workshop where she kept her suit and Steve changed direction to show Bucky where their new uniforms were kept.
Thor: Bryant Park
Thor jumped off the balcony and launched himself towards a plume of orange-black smoke in the east. He heard gunfire and the scream of the human's emergency vehicles. The foe, he knew, would be likely waiting for him. He changed the direction of his descent and flew around to the back of the park so that when he landed he would be facing towards Avengers Tower. Any trap they had ready would be thwarted.
Bryant Park was little more than a large grassy space with a cafe at one end- Asgard's banquet hall was larger. Now though the cafe was a fireball. Bodies lay strewn about- some in far too many pieces. Black-clad soldiers fired upon emergency vehicles and screaming civilians alike with rocket launchers and large guns- half of them turned inward as soon as he landed.
Thor immediately whipped up a storm around himself. Bullets pinged off his armor and he struggled to shield his exposed face. As soon as he realized their barrage would not soon end, he threw himself forward blindly into a line of soldiers. Before they could recover he was gone, smashing into another batch. They broke formation quickly to minimize how many he could target at once, but maintained their combined inward-outward assault.
One thing worked in Thor's favor- to avoid catching their comrades in a crossfire, they kept most shots aimed at his torso and legs- which were protected well enough. It also meant that when he uncovered his face he had a few seconds to take stock of the new arrangement of men.
Thor released a wave of lightning and blasted several soldiers at once. He opened a small window for police to push in towards the victims and pull people out of the firefight.
A bullet grazed Thor's cheek and he launched into the air- only to tip downwards and crash with enough force to put a small crater in the park- and take out four more Hydra soldiers. He may not be able to throw the hammer with any real effect, but he could at least-
Something slammed into him and knocked him off balance. Thor swung Mjolnir blindly while he recovered his balance. Whatever it was, it slammed into him again a second later and threw him backwards several feet. He launched into the air again and blanketed a Hydra-controlled area of the park with electricity. The more emergency personnel who "helped" by filling the park, the less Mjolnir's lightning would be useful. He couldn't put any civilians in harm's way. This was quickly becoming surgeons work, and the hammer was not a precision tool.
There was a blur and a dark-skinned man appeared, grinning wickedly up at Thor. He held a club in each hand. Thor dove for him and he moved so impossibly fast that when Thor landed he was in front of the man rather than the other way around. The stranger slammed his club into the back of the god's helmet with savage strength and speed. Thor wheeled around, but the man hit him again from behind.
Dazed, and more than a little angry, Thor faked a turn and tackled the man when he tried to intercept. They tumbled head-over-heels, then the man phased out and vanished again- he was moving too fast.
Hydra was losing ground now that Thor had put sizable dents in their manpower. He wheeled about freely, looking for his enemy. He spotted him on the far side of the park, still grinning. The man pointed to Thor and waved. He looked down just in time to see the bomb on his chest trigger.
With his last seconds, Thor released a vortex of wind and lightning at the man- if he was to fall, his foe would fall too. When he fired he saw something from the corner of his eye and turned his head. The last thing he saw before the bomb blew was Avengers Tower going black.
Avengers Tower
Clint was on edge, trapped in the Tower in complete silence. They could be screaming through the comms for him and he'd never know. He clenched the hearing aids in his fist as he paced- nearly put them in- then threw them angrily at the dining room table. He couldn't. Stupid fucking plan.
He picked up a tablet and told (or hoped he did) JARVIS to bring up the feed Thor had been watching from 'Project: Echo'. He put a hand on his throat and felt he vibrations as he spoke. Good, at least I'm speaking out loud. He hadn't been truly deaf in a long time- he'd forgotten how frustrating it could be. Especially in a fight.
The tablet lit up with security footage and Clint set it to play double-speed. He paced the apartment furiously along the balcony window- half watching the footage, half watching the distant glow of fires still raging in the dark city.
Stupid. Fucking. Plan. Clint dismissed a cold prickle on the back of his neck as simple nerves- he didn't know the Shadow was watching.
Natasha and Sam: Battery Park
As soon as Natasha was in her suit and loaded with weapons she ran up to Sam's launch pad. He was ready for her, wings already on.
"When was the last time we really fought together?" she hit the door release.
"Astana? For like ten minutes?" he double-checked the straps on the wings.
She smiled, "You want point or sweep-up?"
He shrugged and pulled down his goggles, "Ladies first!"
Natasha lunged forward and dove off the pad and out the side of the building, "NOT WHAT I MEANT!" he took off after her. As soon as he was in range she spun mid-air and grabbed on to his boot. He banked sharply and set a course for the financial district and Battery Park.
Strangely, there was no smoke from their destination. Sam glanced down at Natasha. She wasn't telling him he was going the wrong way, so he pressed on.
Battery Park, the narrow strip of greenery between New York City and the Hudson, was completely encased in clear, slippery ice. Natasha kicked her heels together as they landed and spikes shot out. Sam maintained a low altitude and swept the park for signs of life.
There was a mountain of clear ice not far from them- and inside they could see chunks of soil, bark, and people, their faces trapped forever now in a look of surprise and fear. It was as if the park had frozen at the moment of the explosion.
Sam felt something hit his back and he screamed as his muscles suddenly clamped. He shook uncontrollably and struggled not to bite his own tongue as his jaw locked. His wing unit shorted out and he crashed heavily to the ground.
Natasha saw the Tazer-Arrow a second before it hit Sam's wing unit- too late to do anything. She wheeled around, guns out, and saw- Clint? No. His eyes were wrong- slightly off color and way too pleased with the shot. A copy. Her hesitation almost killed her. Someone fired at her from the side while she was distracted and she dropped to the ground with only a fraction of a second to spare.
A man with black hair was standing to her left with an arm out. The tips of his fingers were blue and let off a constant shower of powder- as if he were freezing the moisture in the air itself. Natasha glanced at Sam. She saw that the arrow had stopped sparking and fell from the wings. He was moving already. She cast another glance to the Clint lookalike, he was loading another arrow. The Ice-Man was walking towards her.
She dove at him first and tried to stab the arrow into his stomach. He reached out for her with his frozen hand and she twisted away, losing her chance. While his focus was on her still she ran for the Clint-Clone. He gave up trying to seat the arrow and ran to meet the charge. She slammed into him full-force and they tumbled across the slick ground. The Ice-Man wasn't a professional- he was waiting for a clear shot of her. A real Hydra agent would have fired- comrade be damned.
He turned his attention to where Sam was and saw only the dead wings. Stumbling and half-bent in pain still, Sam tackled him from the side and swept his legs out from under him. The Ice-Man went down hard. He grabbed Sam by the throat as the other tried to get to his feet- but with the wrong arm. Sam shoved back and kicked at the man's blue hand. He tried to shoot a beam at Sam's foot, but the power failed him. Spikes drove through his hand from Sam's shoe and the man screamed. Ice shot out from beneath him in all directions and Sam's other foot was frozen to the ground instantly.
Natasha was in the process of getting her feet under her when the ice hit and locked one hand and one foot to the ground. Her gloves barely protected the skin. She gasped at the sudden pain and kicked at the Clint-Clone- frozen with his back end still on the brittle grass. He took the hit to the stomach (sadly from the blade-less side of the boot) and swung his arrow at Natasha's throat. She threw her body to the side and felt two pops as her shoulder and knee dislocated. The effect was worth it though- she broke from the new ice and flew across the snow. Natasha half-stood and then slammed onto her back, popping her shoulder back into place. She allowed just one scream, then grabbed her knee and relocated it as well.
Facing the Clint-Clone once again she charged- ignoring the shooting pains in her leg and the instability in her knee. Before she got to him something shot out from behind a tree- directly for Sam.
"LOOK OUT!" he dove to the side as best he could- and the shadowy wolf just barely missed taking off his head. Natasha wheeled around and looked up. When she gasped, her breath was ragged with fear and worry.
Avengers Tower was dark.
Avengers Tower
"Stop!" Clint saw what he was waiting for, Thor had been very close. The video kept playing. Clint hit the screen, but the pause button wouldn't come up, "JARVIS, stop it! Wait! Rewind!" he put a hand on his throat and felt nothing. Clint growled- there, the vibration, he tried again, "STOP PLAYBACK!"
He was frustrated and trying to speak quickly without monitoring how he formed the words. He could tell just from the feeling in his mouth that he'd probably said something more like "Awob baai-pak," but JARVIS understood him. The video began to rewind. Clint called (in a much clearer voice) for him to stop when it got to the part Bucky had described.
Bucky was running through the halls with her in his arms. The video switched between cameras as he ran out of their range. He got to a corner and stopped abruptly- he'd heard the soldiers. Bucky set Inessa down, in front of him, Clint noted. His body partially blocked her from camera, but he set her upright and carefully leaned her against the wall. On the tablet the video wasn't large enough for precise detail, and the hallway wasn't the most well-lit place. Clint zoomed in on Inessa and tried to distinguish her from the cement. "Increase contrast" he said very slowly. The shading warped and he got a clearer outline of the girl and Bucky's legs.
The soldiers rounded the corner and she abruptly vanished. It looked like a glitch in the tape- but one moment the white outline of her body was mostly blocked by Bucky's legs, the next it was Bucky blocked by Inessa. He doubted he'd be able to see the change without the contrast. "Replay, no contrast." JARVIS played the video as he was told. Just as Clint suspected- the plain video was too dark to see the move. But-
"Half contrast, replay," he zoomed in on her again, "Slow," the video played at half-speed. Bucky set Inessa down. He leaned her against the wall so she was propped on her right shoulder- she vanished for only three frames, less than a fraction of a second, then she was behind him, laying on the floor with her feet pointed to the wall. Her right arm was now against the floor, and she held Bucky's leg with her left arm. So he was right about the teleportation? Something still wasn't right.
He felt a creeping sensation on the back of his neck and abruptly dropped the tablet. He pulled a long knife from his belt and breathed slowly. Hearing would have helped, but Clint felt the subtle vibrations in the hardwood with his bare feet. He lowered his chin slightly, squared his shoulders, and turned around.
Natasha was behind him- battered and beaten. She was speaking quickly, gesturing desperately at something outside. Slow down! Clint moved the knife to his left hand and signed back at her, Can't hear, remember?
She looked confused, "What the fuck? Stop screwing around and talk to me!" Clint read her lips.
Then he threw the knife.
She slapped her hands together and caught the blade between her gloves. Natasha smiled and dissipated as if she were made of mist. A thin man stood in her place- Dennisson's man who installed the Devices. Clint pulled another knife from his belt and put Inessa behind him. Thanks to Steve's not-so-fucking-stupid plan (which he would never admit to Cap's face had actually turned out to be a good idea) the Avenger watching Inessa was one best poised to tell a fake Natasha from a real one. And the only one Tyson couldn't talk into committing suicide.
"This will be fun," he read Tyson's lips as the other shifted the blade into his right hand.
Clint could tell he didn't know sign language- it was what gave his "Natasha" away- so he gave Tyson the simplest gesture he knew- this one only required one finger.
Tony and Banner: Washington Square
"Don't change, don't change, don't change, don't change," Banner was green and barely holding on to his form. Considering he was latched on to Tony's foot (it seemed like a good idea when they saw Sam and Natasha take off), he very much preferred to NOT find himself suddenly carrying the Hulk. The Suit couldn't handle that kind of weight.
They were high up- well hidden in the darkness of the night sky. Washington Square was swarming with Hydra agents- but one stood alone in the middle of the blown-out fountain. The other agents were grabbing anyone they found, making them kneel, then shooting them point-blank. Carnage- that was Dennisson's plan. Tony's blood boiled.
"Drop. Me. From. Here." Banner's voice was strained over Tony's comm.
"Can you survive the fall? I can drop you closer?"
"HERE!" he shouted and closed his eyes, trying to maintain control.
Tony began lowering himself anyways, "There's someone in the middle- Hydra's giving her a wide birth so I'm betting she's someone nasty. Can you take care of the civilians and the soldiers while I go after her?"
"Don't worry," Banner released his control and began to change in earnest, "Hulk smash bad ants only." he let go and Tony shot down after him, then veered off at the last second towards the woman.
Hulk landed fully-formed in the grass next to the large square and left an impressive crater. He immediately charged for the black-clad humans, leaving the others to run away in terror.
Tony, meanwhile, charged the redhead in the center of the swarm. She snarled and launched a fireball at his head, "WOAH!" he veered to the side, "JARVIS, what temp did that hit?"
"Hot enough to melt the suit to your skin," Tony made a mental note to tune down the extra-cheery setting, it made JARVIS sound vaguely sadistic.
"I want partial auto-pilot. Use the sensors, if she's heating up to throw another ball, estimate trajectory and get me the hell out of the way if I don't move fast enough."
"Yes, Master Stark." The padding inside the Suit expanded slightly to hold his limbs a bit tighter. He could still move, but if it had to it could move him as well.
He began a wide loop around the girl and spiraled inward. Tony focused only on her- always just in the right side of his vision. He ignored the swirling around her and the nausea building in his stomach. She threw fireball after fireball, but he moved too fast for them to find their target. Instead, the buildings around the square were peppered with incineration-level fire. The stone facade took most of the hits, but he had to do something to stop her- preferably before anyone was hurt.
The g-forces working against his Suit made it difficult- but Tony shut off the rockets in one hand, steadied himself, and fired a pulse directly at her chest. The blast blew him backwards out of control and he slammed into the bell tower of a nearby church. Dazed, Tony turned back to the fray, "JARVIS, tune down the other life signs, show me where she is!"
She was standing up on the far side of the park. Her armor had taken the brunt of his hit. She was very much alive, and extremely pissed. Tony launched directly at her and fired several choice pieces from his arsenal. She responded with fire-bomb after fire-bomb, detonating all of his missiles before they had a chance to do any kind of harm. That was the idea. He shot through the smoke and grabbed the arm she threw fire from. The Suit responded to the building heat and, as he wrenched it to one side to deflect the blast, the Suit tried to take off. The next thing Tony knew he was spiraling several feet over the Square with her arm in his hand- but not the rest of her.
"I think I diffused their-" the suit jerked to the side as a column of fire erupted from the ground. Tony spun and scanned the source- it was shooting out of her severed arm. She was screaming, turning away from the conflagration. "HULK, DUCK!" Tony shouted as the girl turned and vaporized half the crowd- not all of them Hydra. He shot to the ground and began scanning for Hulk's location.
Something slammed into his back and the suit crashed into the pavement. Tony was thrown about- he felt the mechanics inside the mask cutting his forehead. It happened every time he crashed. Goddammit. He groaned and lifted his head from the rubble to see what hit him- a black wolf.
The woman saw it through her crazed screaming and tried to direct the torrent of fire at it. Hulk appeared out of nowhere and grabbed Tony before the fire hit. It lit up the wolf and the snarling beast turned- half transparent. It lunged at her through the fire, clamped it's teeth around her head, and in one savage motion smashed her skull between it's jaws. Before the fire had even died down it dove at Tony and Hulk.
"JARVIS! What's the status of the Tower?" no response.
Hulk grabbed the idiot human who wasn't paying attention and threw him at a tree to keep him out of the way. He tried to punch the wolf in the darkness, but the blow wouldn't land. Just like inside the Tower. He turned and roared a challenge at the beast. It landed on a Hydra soldier near where Tony had been. The force of the landing sent the wolf's claws through the man's chest. He died screaming. The wolf turned and ran again at Hulk.
Tony looked up at the Tower and felt his heart sink in his chest- it was pitch black.
Avengers Tower
Clint let Tyson play offense.
The man lunged at him with his mouth open (presumably shouting). Clint brought his knife up and blocked the initial blow- but then it got difficult. Tyson was trying to force him to turn, to lose both ground and his position in front of Inessa. There was only one person in that apartment Dennisson was fixated on killing, and Clint wasn't going to give him the satisfaction.
Tyson brought his knife around towards the side of Clint's ribs. It was an exceptionally hard move to block. Clint grabbed Tyson's left arm with his and tried to force the blade to slice wide, then drew his right arm up to intercept the strike. It nicked his hand, but otherwise left him undamaged. Clint planted a foot between him and his enemy and shoved him back towards the door.
The move threw Tyson off balance for a few seconds, but Clint didn't follow through with the attack. He held his ground and spared only a fast glance at Inessa to make sure she hadn't moved- as if she ever did. Tyson tried to circle Clint. He side-stepped to maintain the line. He tried circling the other way- again Clint blocked him. "This isn't a ballet," he said slowly, carefully, "stop dancing around."
Tyson's empty hand flicked behind him for a second and Clint ducked. The throwing knife hit the reinforced window and took a chunk out of it, but otherwise did no harm. Tyson took the opportunity to throw three more knives in quick succession. It forced Clint to the side and away from Inessa- if Tyson was throwing things he had to keep their trajectory away from her.
He lost the ground he'd been trying to keep. Tyson lunged at him again and renewed his attack in earnest. He pressed himself at Clint until the other was forced to step around in order to have adequate room to defend himself. Rather than going after Inessa, he pushed his advantage and swung wildly with one arm while punching Clint in the stomach with the other. The air was forced out of Clint's lungs, his next strike landed too softly, and Tyson blocked it with his forearm. This is why I prefer arrows he thought a second before a cold shiver ran through his knife-arm.
Clint felt an odd chill, and a bone-deep soreness he couldn't place at first. While his armpit felt cold, his side beneath it trickled with warmth. He looked down, dazed, and Tyson pulled the knife from his underarm.
Running beneath the skin of the underarm is the brachial artery. One that- if severed- can kill a full grown man within fifteen seconds.
Dazed, Clint dropped his knife. Tyson stepped back, grinning like a banshee, and Clint's arm fell. He grabbed it with his former knife-hand and held it against his side as tightly as he could- but the cold was spreading. Tyson pulled back his foot and kicked Clint in the chest as hard as he could, launching the Avenger back against the wall. Clint hit hard and slid to the floor. His vision was fuzzy, his head was spinning.
It takes out anyone around her first. The thought floated around for a moment before he grasped it. As if it could sense his thoughts, Clint finally noticed the chill that had nothing to do with blood loss. He thought he heard a growl. Tyson turned towards Inessa as Clint struggled to his knees. He abandoned his arm and tried to reach for the switch- but his hand fell short. He was backed up against a table and couldn't get over it.
There was something on the table- something golden and magical and important, but he couldn't think what. Clint grabbed it and swung at the switch again. In stretching for it, his bleeding arm raised slightly and fresh, hot blood splattered his face. He fumbled with the golden thing and swung it again- dragging it against the wall as he slid down. He dropped the band and it slid up his bad arm halfway, but it did the trick.
It will clear the path before it tries to take her.
The lights in the Tower went out.
Just a few seconds, he fought to stay awake. There was something tight on his arm. Clint shoved it up towards the cut and kept pressure on it, he's the biggest threat. It will kill him first. Just a few... seconds...
Bucky and Steve: New York Supreme Court
They landed on the steps of what used to be the government building. Now it was a burning pile of rubble. The Suits that had flown them over took off to patrol the city.
Steve looked at the vast, empty square in front of them. Hydra soldiers flipped cars out of the street and shoved them away from the building to form a barricade of the area. They were climbing over the cars though, away from the Avengers and the man standing in the middle of the road- Dennisson.
Bucky stretched in his suit- it looked just like Steve's, only the colors were flipped. The star in the center of his chest was red, and his metal arm was completely exposed. It would hinder his movements more than the armor he'd worn as Hydra's Winter Soldier, but not by much, and the protection it offered was far superior. He had his preferred weapon- a long blade. Steve held the shield in one hand and a gun in the other.
There was no speaking. The enemies faced one another and waited for someone to make a move. Steve decided to break the standoff with a gunshot.
It hit Dennisson in the arm, but he didn't seem to notice. He and Bucky charged at each other. Dennisson swung up at Bucky's stomach. The Winter Soldier chose to take the punch- ever since Steve had found him in Red Skull's base- that first time he was captured- he could take a hit pretty easily, as Dennisson was well aware after days of torture.
But this hit was different. He struck Bucky like a hammer and lifted him off the ground. Bucky bit the end of his tongue unintentionally and tasted blood. He was thrown several feet to land on his back on the pavement. Dennisson laughed, "You caught me," he smiled, "I was holding back before."
Steve ran at him, firing. The bullets struck his Kevlar and he barely registered them. It was almost like he was- not possible. The bullets ran out and Steve swung his shield down on Dennisson's head. His target dropped and swept his legs out from underneath him. Bucky jumped on his back and tried to wrap his metal arm around Dennisson's throat. He grabbed it in his bare hands and pried it away, then threw Bucky into Steve.
They landed in a heap a few feet away, "He's a super soldier," Steve panted.
"You think?" the sarcasm was unnecessary.
"How?"
"It's gotta be recent." Dennisson waited for them to attack again, grinning. Bucky popped his neck and rolled his shoulders back, "Do you remember Bobby Iverson?"
Steve glanced over at him, incredulous, "The little German kid I tried to beat up when I was eight?"
Bucky nodded, not taking his eyes from Dennisson, "He called me a 'Mick' and you tackled him."
"You had to pull him off me, then I had to pull you off him."
"Good, then you remember how it worked," he broke eye contact with Dennisson momentarily to grin at Steve.
Steve thought of an expression Tony liked to use, "Let's Bobby Iverson this bitch."
"You killed the moment," Bucky deadpanned, then winked and the two attacked.
Bucky dove at Dennisson's chest while Steve dropped to the ground in a slide and knocked his legs out from under him. Bucky straddled Dennisson's chest and slammed his metal hand into the enemy's head over and over. Dennisson grabbed his fist on the fifth hit and twisted it to the side, dislodging the Winter Soldier. Steve was trying to pin his feet, and he slammed his heel into the Avenger's nose. Before they could regroup, he scrambled backwards. A Hydra agent dislodged himself from the shadows and ran at Dennisson. He grabbed the back of his neck and a second later the enemy was standing up- his wounds gone.
Steve cursed, holding his nose, "He's screwing with us!"
"Kill the healer!" Bucky ordered and dove at Dennisson once again, knife in hand this time.
Dennisson blocked the initial hit, but he was no match for the Winter Soldier in a knife-fight. As quickly as he moved with his new super-soldier abilities, Bucky moved faster. The watered-down serum had it's benefits. Less strength, but twice the speed. Bucky backed him into a wall and brought the knife down in an arc- aiming for Dennisson's head. His enemy slammed his head forward into Bucky's and he staggered back, dazed.
"You were always the weakest of Hydra's heads," Dennisson spat a wad of blood out the side of his mouth. He made a show of pushing himself off of the building wall and glanced over at his healer- he hadn't even seen Steve sever his head with the shield, "You should have been cut off years ago."
"By your rules, wouldn't two more just have taken my place?" Bucky sneered. Steve carefully walked around to stand next to his friend. He didn't trust how quickly this battle was ending. Dennisson staggered towards them. They didn't see him pull the weapon out of the back of his vest.
Dennisson smiled, "Do you know how Hercules killed the Hydra?" he was panting from trying to keep up with Bucky. Dennisson didn't wait for a reply, he answered his own question, "He had a servant cauterize the stump before the new heads could grow."
"We'll remember that when you're dead," Bucky swung back with his metal arm and lunged at Dennisson. He pulled the device out- an elongated silver box.
Steve was closer to Dennisson, and he remembered that thing- one of Red Skull's tesseract weapons. "BUCKY!" He dove in front of his friend, shield up. The blast hit it dead-on and the shield shot back with such force the edge smashed into Steve's throat, choking him. He hit Bucky at an angle and the two went flying in different directions. Dennisson laughed gleefully. The beam stopped and he closed the head of it to re-build the charge. Steve slammed into the rubble of the senate building head-first. His own shield dragged him across the jagged stone before it was embedded in the middle of some beam.
Bucky, meanwhile, was thrown into part of a still-standing column. He blasted through it and flipped horizontally several times before coming to a stop on the far side of the street. He choked on dust and rock and gasped for air. His chest burned, his extremities tingled as if they'd been subjected to an electric shock. He opened his eyes weakly and saw a red path traced in the rubble where Steve had vanished. Dennisson walked over easily. He'd exaggerated his condition. Bucky wasn't a threat anymore- not even close. He couldn't even move enough to sit up. Captain America though- Steve managed to pull his shield out of the beam and was staggering out of the rubble. He pulled off his hood and wiped the blood from his eyes, ready to stand against the enemy. Dennisson raised the weapon again and Steve braced himself. When he let the energy fly, Steve met it with his shield.
Bucky had to look away, the energy arching from it was too bright. He looked up at the skyline above just in time to see Avengers Tower go dark.
Avengers Tower
Tyson didn't care that the lights went out. He had his orders. He took his time getting to Inessa- if the other guy was still alive he could bask in the knowledge that his charge was going to die, and there was nothing he could do about it.
A small light remained between him an Inessa- Clint's tablet. It cast a dramatic glow over him as he advanced, knife out and still dripping. Tyson imagined he looked like the villain from a kids story with a flashlight under his chin. Soon enough he was in front of Inessa. His shadow stretched behind him and splashed across the ceiling. Something glinted off a dead light bulb back in the kitchen- something silver. A second appeared.
"I'm doing you a favor, kid," he raised the knife, stepped forward-
Four long, black talons stuck out of his chest and held him in place. He tried to breathe in, but couldn't. Silver dripped from their tips mixed with his own red blood. There was a colossal roar from behind him and Tyson was flung aside- into the reinforced glass. He hit it with impossible force, broke through it, and tumbled out into the darkness.
Now, Clint felt the Shadow's roar, even if he couldn't hear it. He tried to reach up to hit the switch- where was the thing he'd been holding? His body was so cold. Now, he tried to speak, tell JARVIS to turn the lights on, but he couldn't tell if he was speaking aloud, let alone clear enough for JARVIS to understand the command. He tried again and again as the Shadow's form solidified. It wasn't coming after him- it was going after Inessa. She sat there blank, unaware of the deadly creature that approached. Now, now, NOW, NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW!
The Shadow reached out a talon. Clint must have spoken, because the lights faded up abruptly- just in time for him to see the Shadow touch the side of Inessa's head. It began to dissolve into black smoke that flooded into her mouth and eyes. The Shadow threw back it's head and roared. Her body tensed, mouth open. She was screaming too. Black fog began to roll from her skin as the Shadow shrank.
It didn't dissolve completely into Inessa. The creature grew smaller, more defined. It's hind legs shortened and solidified, the flat, terrifying grin elongated into a muzzle, the ears pushed out. Even it's talons shrunk. Inessa's head rolled forward. Silver burned in her eyes. With halting, strangled movements she came over to Clint, grabbed his outstretched, and flipped the switch back to the 'off' position.
She pulled him into the shadows, flanked now by an entire pack of black wolves.
Clint thought of the security video as he faded into unconsciousness. The hallway wasn't the most well-lit place. It was downright dark. When Bucky put Inessa down, he couldn't see her anymore, not until he increased the contrast. It was too dark. Something clicked. He looked up as best he could. 'Project: Echo'. Echo. His slowing mind remembered a fairy tale from his childhood. One his mother read to him from her faded book of mythology.
Echo. The girl who turned into a Shadow.