A/N: OOF okay I mean it when I say that I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, it's a lot less talky than the other chapters and a lot more 'I'm going to beat the shit out of everyone I see' plus more classic Adara sneaking around antics. Honestly, it's quite a lot of fun and sees the return of a familiar face. We're building up towards the finale now, not long left to go now, it's all very exciting.
In other news, unrelated to this story, my country has officially left the EU after three years of will they won't they that went on longer than any romance in fanfiction I've ever read. I'm not overly happy with it but all we can hope for now is to move forward and see where the path takes us. And, you know, kick out the tories. In other news the Oscars are very soon and I'm very excited to see who wins, I've placed bets on a few categories but I'm honestly hoping Jojo Rabbit and Little Women win most of them hah.
The Cheese Reaper: Haha, yeah a lot of people had complaints about the whole Peter being a jerk thing when I was writing it, but I guess it's too late to change it now and I did kind of enjoy writing it. There is no Green Goblin fight in this chapter, but I can promise you that the face-off is coming very, very soon.
Flameheart274: Thank you for this lovely review! You're so sweet, I'm glad you like the story!
Thanks to: protozoa-weirdness, Mirareri, PrettyRecklessLaura, The Cheese Reaper, flameheart274, Gbm132, pvrkcrr, AlecLightwoodMagnusBane, astaruthqueiroz, fanficreader93 and LacieTomoe for either leaving a review or following/favouriting on the last chapter! Cannot stress enough how much I love all of you guys! You guys are always so supportive and it means so much to me, so thank you!
"Every single word you told me
I believed without a question, always
To save all of us, you told us both to trust
But now I know you only saved yourself"
Adara was used to disguising herself in order to sneak into places, but this was something completely different.
Adara had to make sure she didn't look recognisable without shifting her appearance, which was difficult considering it was pretty much second nature at this point. She was going into the Cicero Palace disguised as someone who worked there as to find out what the Faceless Man was planning. Part of her was hoping she'd finally figure out where Beck was, as his location was still up in the air after his breaking out a few days ago.
The staff at the building wore black suits, trousers for men and rather short skirts for women. It was a traditional place. Adara was technically pretending to be a new staff member who was supposed to start work today, however that poor young girl was currently passed out in a cupboard in her home while Adara took in all the correct paperwork, luckily a photo wasn't required.
The key thing would be making herself look just different enough using makeup so that anyone who could recognise her, wouldn't straight away. Her eyes were dark with heavy mascara and smoky eyeshadow, contour placed her sharp cheekbones at a slightly different angle and made her nose look a little thinner while her lips were a more nude colour. Her hair had already grown ridiculously thick and curly at this point, mainly due to lack of care on her behalf considering with a snap of her fingers, she could make it dead straight. However, she couldn't wear it down according to the staff regulation, so pinned it back in a high bun with two strands falling down to cover the sides of her face.
She looked like herself, but at the same time not. As she observed herself in the reflection of a vase in the Cicero Palace, she realised she could just get away with this.
"Clayden," said a sharp-featured old lady. "Kitchen. Now."
Clayden was the surname of the woman she had stolen the job off. The old lady was her boss who, despite thinking it was Clayden's first day, still saw it fit to treat her like trash. Adara checked her watch, the meeting would be starting soon. Her job was simple, serve drinks and make sure to be barely noticeable in the room.
She went to the kitchen where she was ordered to begin pouring drinks and put them on a tray. As she did so, she spoke lightly to another employee, a chatty, pretty blonde who was more than happy to share gossip about the Faceless Man with the newbie.
"Oh, I've worked here for a year now," she said, sounding very clearly like she was from Brooklyn. "My dad got me the job, he's the manager, he said it would be a good experience and the pay is alright. And you begin to get to know the people at the meeting after a while anyway."
"The same people hold meetings here often then?" Adara asked, playing up a very American accent.
"Oh, yeah," she nodded, carefully pouring champagne. "There's a group of Republicans that come here at least once a fortnight. They're a little handsy but sweet once you get chatting."
Not the answer Adara was looking for, so she pushed a little further, "huh. So is it them here tonight?"
The blonde looked to the side, seemingly to check that they're boss wasn't listening in before moving slightly closer to Adara. "Basically, I don't know the person in charge tonight because he's never here, he always sends a representative. They call him the Man with no Face."
Adara suppressed a scoff, "how do you know it's the same person then?"
"Well, the same group of people always turn up to the meeting," said the blonde. "It's just the representative who's different. Last month it was some woman I think, and the month before that it was a Canadian dude. It's a little weird, but the meetings are top-secret. If you share anything you hear the room, they'll probably kill you."
What Adara expected them. "Don't worry, I'm good at keeping my mouth shut."
"Oh…" she swallowed. "Sometimes they can get a little… Brutal too. It's best to look away."
Adara was about to ask her to elaborate, when their boss interrupted.
"Girls, get in there," she snapped. "Serve the drinks now."
Adara grabbed a tray of delicately balanced glasses. She was lucky for her training, otherwise she might not be able to play herself off as a server as well.
As she walked toward the main meeting room, she contemplated the situation at hand. She didn't come unprepared, while she snuck in she had Peter doing a perimeter of the area. If anything went wrong, or he saw something, he would jump in as back-up if necessary. But Adara had emphasised if necessary, Peter's invention could serve to make a situation worse depending on how things went. Her job was to just play the role. Get the information, get out, don't intervene with whatever happens. Even if Beck appears, do not intervene.
Originally, Adara was going to go it alone, until MJ had practically kicked some sense into her. Besides, it probably comforted Steve that she had back-up in a building full of enemies. She had caused that poor man enough anxiety as it was, Peter was perfectly capable of holding his own in a fight. Together? They were practically unstoppable. London proved that. But, when London happened, Peter Parker wasn't public enemy number one.
She checked her reflection again, next to the blonde she just looked like any other member of staff. Perfectly blended in. If she was shifted in any form, O'Leary (it was still a little strange now that he had a name) would recognise she was in the room. It was almost ironic that the way for the shapeshifter to hide was just to be completely herself.
The meeting room was grand and nothing at all like what she had originally been expecting, it was a party space first and foremost. The Cicero Palace was closer to Central Park, and allowed the view of the darkened park at night from its large windows. A large, long, table sat in the centre of the room where a few people sat, none that Adara particularly recognised. However, most people were up and milling around.
Adara scanned the room but couldn't see O'Leary or Beck. Or Norman, but she doubted she'd see him tonight.
She walked through the crowd and began offering drinks with a glittering smile. While she might be herself, her years shape-shifting had let her be a good actor. So, as sleazy politicians and businessmen spoke boldly and brashly towards her, it was easy to play them off with a polite smile and titter. Every once and a while she shot a cautious glance over her shoulder, double-checking that no one was watching her or someone she recognised had entered.
It took about twenty minutes of her patience wearing rather thin until silence descended throughout the room and Adara moved to the side in order to keep out the way as well as to get a good angle. When a man entered from the other side of the room, shadowed in darkness, Adara's stomach did not twist. It took her a couple seconds to realise it was O'Leary. He wasn't shifted either.
He hadn't been shifted the other day either, Adara couldn't help but feel a growing discomfort with this. If he didn't feel the need to live in secrecy as he did before, then something big might be happening. Actually, it wasn't a matter of might, it was a certainty. O'Leary's confidence in himself just served to prove this.
No Beck though. Interesting.
She quietly handed a drink to another woman and the room zeroed in on O'Leary. They didn't realise that he was the Faceless Man, they thought he was just another representative.
"Thank you for all coming tonight," he said smoothly, with his Irish accent echoing. "I'm sure you're all aware of the steps being taken within this organisation to move us forward." His eyes fluttered across the room for a second but completely missed Adara in the corner. Just another face. "Further than before. And I can almost promise you that the benefits will be better than you believe."
Did he have to be so vague? If he spoke like this for the rest of the night, then she wondered if there was actually any point in being here.
"However, before that," he stood up from where he was sitting. "And before we get the updates from the others here tonight." He nodded at people sitting at the table. "We have a traitor in our midst."
Adara stopped herself from flinching, but stiffened and averted her eyes. She barely managed that polite smile when one of the men returned an empty glass to her tray. Had he seen her? How did he know she was here? Had she really given herself away that easily? She felt her stomach drop at the thought, mind working through multiple scenarios on how to fight her way out of here.
And then, her worried thoughts were banished as he gestured to one of the security guards who bought in a middle-aged man, was slightly rotund and in an NYPD uniform.
"Sargent Adams," said O'Leary, drawing out the way he said his name, mocking him. "Is it true you leaked documents about this organisation to the police?"
There was an angry murmur that rippled through the crowd. Adara shifted uncomfortably, glaring at O'Leary, knowing that this wasn't going to end well and there was nothing she could do without botching the mission.
"I-I swear the leak had nothing to do with me!" The Sargent said desperately, but he would have no defenders in this place.
With a simple flick of his hand and a sigh, O'Leary directed the guard to forcefully shove the Sargent's face onto the desk with a slam. His neck was in an awkward position know, held down by the beefy security guard with his face pressed into the hard table. Adara noted the way the blonde server she had been talking to earlier swallowed nervously and looked away. This mustn't be a rare occurrence then, this was what she had been warning her about when she said things could get brutal.
"Really?" O'Leary glanced at him before his eyes flickered up at someone else in the room. "How about we ask your Captain then?"
The Sargent's face fell as another officer stepped out of the crowd, his obvious superior. Adara could guess what happened. The Sargent has tried to inform his boss of what was going on within the Faceless Man's organisation, but the thought that his boss worked for the organisation hadn't occurred to him.
"It's true," the Captain said with disdain. "He's a traitor."
Adara's stomach curled, this all reminded her an awful lot of how Hydra had functioned in the past. She was almost fearful that, at any point, Luka would emerge and put a gun in her hand and order her to shoot the traitor. But Luka and Hydra were gone. However, she feared that O'Leary and the Faceless Man's organisation may be filling that empty void left behind. How had they rose up so quickly under her nose without her noticing? Perhaps it was during the blip, in those four and a half years she'd been gone. Guilt gnawed at her stomach at the sight of the Sargent, who would definitely not make this out of this alive.
"Well, isn't that a shame," drawled O'Leary with a certain measure of disinterest. "You've been here before Sargent, you know the punishment for traitors."
"No–" He frantically shook his head. "No! I have a wife, children, please you can't–"
His desperate cries were overwhelmed by the jeering of the who were baying for blood. Adara saw them laughing over the drinks she had given out. She would have to step in now if she wanted to stop this.
But then she would never get the information she came for.
With another unconcerned flick of his hand, O'Leary has ordered the guard to dig his fingers into the eyes of the Sargent, gouging them out. The crowd seemed to love it, the servers did too to a certain extent, seemingly glad for the entertainment, while the blonde and a few others couldn't bear to watch. Adara couldn't tear her eyes away though and allowed them rage that seemed to constantly simmer within her to begin boiling. It took clenching her fist to stop herself from trembling with anger.
The man's cries were drowned out by the jeering from the guard, but it was finally over when there was a thunk, followed by what sounded like a skull cracking and the man's body sank to the floor. Dead.
That's you fault, she thought silently to herself, you could've stopped that but you chose not to. Just because you want information.
"Now," O'Leary ignored the body as if it wasn't even there, allowing a few of his men to drag it away. "Where were we? Jackson, may you give us an update on how business is running in the South?"
From there, it was just business talk. Adara paid mild attention to it. The people sitting around the table relayed information to O'Leary in the hopes that he would relay it to the true Faceless man, without realising that that was who they were actually giving it too. Adara has a feeling that this was a common thing. Every single one of the Faceless Man's representatives were just another form that O'Leary took. His network was large, but a lot of them were simply false identities that he was pretending to be. To Adara, it just seemed lonely.
She went back to the kitchen to drop off empty glasses and pick up some new ones, when she crossed paths with the blonde again.
"I can't believe you watched that," she said.
"I've seen worse," was Adara's honest response. "Does that happen a lot?"
"Yeah," she sighed. "And not just with the Man with no Face's group. There's a lot of dodgy people who hold meetings here. It's best just to look away, I find."
That was something else Adara would have to deal with once this battle with the Faceless Man was over. It seemed her job would never be done. She simply gave the blonde a sympathetic, understanding smile and refilled the glasses. When she reentered the main room, the conversation had turned to something she was more interested in.
"Now, as I'm sure you're aware," O'Leary began, "these past few weeks I've encouraged hostility towards the Spiderman, as well as those so-called 'heroes' as a whole.
Adara tensed, but a part of her wondered if JJ was in the room, he was the one bolstering the anti-Spiderman attitudes. Then again, he was probably a little too thick to be a part of this ring of people, and was just happy to have any excuse to hate on Peter Parker, whether what he was being told was true or not.
"I can promise you this hasn't been in vain. The Avengers have done nothing but gotten in the way of growth and progress for many years now, and they're almost all gone. In just a few more steps, they'll be gone completely and we'll be free to do as we please."
Is this how these people think? She couldn't help but ponder silently to herself. That superheroes prevented progress? When Tony Stark revolutionised energy to create a greener society? When Thor introduced a new scientific perspective on space with blended the spiritual with science? When Bruce Banner had ushered a new age for those struggling with mental disorders and Captain America had literally ended a Nazi coup within Governmental orgaisations? Then again, Adara supposed no one in this room directly benefited from that as they were all selfish, bureaucratic pricks. Exactly the crowd O'Leary wanted to play to. Whether or not he believed what he said or not, or was just doing it for power, O'Leary knew what people wanted to hear. That it wasn't their fault, that it was those goddamn superheroes out there ruining everything.
"Now, most of you won't need to worry about what role you play in all of this. Just keep things running smoothly. However, I do have a few major players who are willing to help." Norman, he meant but didn't say it. "As well as a face I'm sure some of you will recognise."
He gestured to the door and Adara's eyes narrowed and she fumbled, before she straightened up and tried to regain the impassive look of a server. Thankfully, no one noticed as a gasp and shocked mutters resounded throughout the room.
She laid eyes on the now-free man, Quentin Beck.
She reckoned this was the first time she had seen him without that ridiculous costume of his. Instead, he wore a simple, black suit and looked better groomed than he had been in the SHIELD prison. Curse SHIELD for their failure. As far as the world suspected, Beck was dead, murdered by Spiderman, and he could get away with walking free as SHIELD didn't want people to know that they still exist. And here he was, strutting out in the open to a meeting full of people who would immediately subscribe to his delusions.
She hadn't forgotten what this man had tried to do though. She hadn't forgot the feeling when she had seen that train come out of nowhere and ram into Peter. That rage boiled again, this time she barely managed to contain it.
If there ever comes a day when you stop looking over your shoulder, even for a moment. Then you are dead.
His threats rang loud in Adara's mind, when she had seen the ugly side of him after his arrest. But the side she saw now was much more familiar? He walked into the room, well-groomed with a charming smile on his face. This was the man who had fooled both her and Peter into trusting him. The moment Adara had shaken his hand at the SHIELD headquarters had been the moment when it was guaranteed to all go downhill, her own fate spelt out in front of her.
And she had been too blind to see it then.
The applause in the room died out as Adara's hearing returned, she hadn't even realised people were clapping. Her eyes flickered back over to O'Leary, who was sitting down, visibly bored as he observed Beck. He was just another pawn to the man to get what he wanted, he didn't care for him.
Adara stepped back into a dark corner, now that there was one more person in the room who may recognise her, it was more dangerous to stand there with her mouth agape in plain sight.
"It should be me who applauds you," said Beck when silence descended on the room. "If it weren't for this organisation, for the Faceless Man, I would still be locked up, rotting away in prison for a crime I did not commit." Liar, her fist curled. "But, now that I've been freed, I promise to pay you back. I will be the superhero this world needs, a hero you need."
Adara suppressed the urge to roll her eyes, how had she not seen through this nonsense before? It was unclear if Beck was still trying to play the role of Interdimensional Space Warrior, but she supposed that it hardly mattered to the crowd. O'Leary was less good at hiding his disdain, Adara noted the way he visibly gave him an eye roll and lounged back on his chair, observing his fingernails. This was a team-up in the loosest sense, Beck was a means to an end for O'Leary. Adara wondered if she could prey on that as a weakness.
"I promise you, it'll all change soon."
Could they be any vaguer? Adara thought with frustration.
"Crazy, huh?" Said the blonde server, who was suddenly right next to her. "That Mysterio is here. I knew he wasn't dead though, he couldn't have been."
"Uh-huh," Adara continued to observe the two men closely as Beck spoke like the smug prick he was. "I wonder what they're planning."
"Best not to wonder if I were you," the blonde shrugged. "Probably something to do with the Spiderman kid, and the Bluebell. Maybe they'll kill them, or get them arrested or something."
Adara felt a shiver go down her spine.
"What do you think of them?"
"Oh, I reckon they're alright," she shrugged, "that Spiderman turned out to just be a kid, a few years younger than me. And the Bluebell's a little weird, but I like her hair. Thor was my favourite Avenger anyway. But Beck might have a point," she glanced at the man and then back at Adara. "I mean, what place do the Avengers even have in the world now? After all that's happened?"
Adara couldn't think of a response to that, so just gave a considerate nod. Her throat felt tight. But she couldn't leave yet, she needed more information.
"Oh, by the way, the boss said to head back to the kitchen," she said, "and get some dessert wine. The meeting's nearly over, it'll just be mingling."
"Right," nodded Adara.
It couldn't be over yet! She had hardly gotten any information! Sure, she knew where Beck was, but that was it. How did Norman play into this? The Green Goblin? What about the Engine?
"You're doing pretty good for your first night," remarked the blonde.
Adara shrugged, "it's not the first time I've done things like this."
They got the wine and returned to serving. A couple of the business men were properly tipsy now, and were more interested in holding conversations with the servers in their short skirts while their voice slurred. Adara played the role a few times, but always found a quick excuse to vanish back into the crowd. The meeting had turned to mingling, like the blonde had said, which made finding information more difficult than before. But not impossible.
"I heard that Oscorp had something to do with it," said one woman, in a grey suit.
"Norman Osborn is sketchy," one man seemed to agree, "but he's straight-laced. This doesn't seem like his kind of scene."
"Rumour is, he's gone a little loopy after the blip. Something to do with losing his son."
The conversation drifted away into the topic of the blip, no more new information there so Adara served her drinks and quickly made her way to the otherside of the crowd, hoping to overhear something else. The mention of Norman's son made her stomach curl with regret.
She found a quiet corner, and reactivated the comm in her ear.
"Pete?" She said softly, no one was paying attention to her.
"Is everything alright, Dara?" She was comforted by the sound of his voice. "Any information."
"Not much other than something's happening soon," she sighed, "they seem to enjoy being rather vague. But Beck is here."
"Beck? Are you sure?"
"Of course I'm sure," she said.
"What do we do? Arrest him?"
"I don't know," she inspected the room for another second. "It could cause a scene, and that's the last thing we want. Maybe we should contact SH—"
She had been about to say SHIELD, when she noticed a rather drunk man approaching.
"Give me a second," she said and switched off the comm again. She put on a beaming smile and said, "can I help you, sir?"
"'Nother drink," he said, words slurring.
Adara tried not to grimace at his rudeness and simply moved the tray she was holding forward so he could take a glass.
But, in his clumsiness, as he went to go swipe one, several of them dropped on the floor, smashing into a million pieces and drawing the eyes of the crowd.
"Stupid girl," muttered the man, "look at what you've done. Clumsy!"
Adara didn't pay much attention to his insults, smile cracking under the pressure of a hundred pair of eyes now on the commotion. The blonde server was giving her a sympathetic look and mouthing the words 'towel' to her. But Adara was hardly bothered by that, worried she had drew the attention of someone else.
"Sorry, sir," she said, already backing towards the door. "I'll just go pick up something to clean that wi…" She couldn't finish her words as someone pushed their way forward through the crowd.
Beck must've heard the noise and had gotten curious. He didn't seem concerned as he looked at the drunk man and the smashed glass. He glanced at Adara for a second before looking away.
Adara continued to back away, thinking she might've gotten away with it.
And then he did a double-take and looked at her again. It took five seconds for a triumphant grin to spread across his face, similar to the one she had seen in London when he thought he had won.
Then Adara was out the door.
She placed the tray on the side, catching her breath.
She switched her comm on.
"Pete," was all she had time to say, "I'm toast."
The door opened and she readied herself to come face to face with Beck, when instead the blonde server emerged.
"God, I am so sorry about that," she said, "I meant to warn you that sometimes guests can get a little tipsy and clumsy. Listen, we'll clean it up, it'll be fine. But the boss will defintely give you a hard time for it."
Adara inspected her, before dropping the act, she was screwed anyway.
"Doesn't matter," she sighed, taking her hair out of the bun she had it pinned up in.
The blonde's face fell. "Hey, you can't give up that quickly! It was just one mistake it'll be… What are you doing?"
Adara knew there was no time to run, so simply stepped forward as the door opened again, shielding the blonde on purpose.
Beck paused, obviously not expecting Adara to be standing right in front of him. But she was ready for a fight. Beck might have fancy drones, and fancy technology, but he lacked the skill or strength that Adara did. Had she been fighting O'LEary, it would've been difficult, he was a challenge. But Beck did not have the training she did. She could beat him easily, armed or unarmed.
"Adara," he said, giving her a grin, "it's good to see you again. And a surprise too, you caught me off guard."
"Yeah?" She wasn't even in the mood to exchange one-liners like she usually did with villains. Looking at Beck, standing like he had no problems in the world was making her feel fucking furious.
He seemed to notice her mood, "you can't really expect a fight while wearing that?"
She spared a short glance down at herself, dressed as a server and shrugged, pulling up her sleeve and pressing a button on a metal band. Instantly, the suit she was wearing turned a solid dark colour and began growing and changing, until she was standing in her familiar Bluebell suit. She hadn't been wearing a proper suit, but an imitation using the nano-chameleon particle suit Tony had given her. With a quick shimmer too, her appearance had changed. Paler, taller with a head of shocking blue hair that fell to just above her shoulders. Beck seemed pleased with this.
Behind her, the blonde gasped.
Adara had only just remembered her presence and snapped a look over her shoulder. "Get out of here," she hissed.
The blonde didn't hesitate, backing away and then sprinting down the corridors.
She pulled out her knives from her belt and glared at him, "you want to give yourself in now or do you want to do this the hard way?"
"The hard way?" He blinked and then laughed, "oh, Adara, you assume I came here without backup. I'm an escaped convict, I'm always armed."
With a snap of his fingers, two things smashed through the corridor windows behind him.
Drones, realised Adara, merde.
Okay, maybe he wasn't completely helpless then.
Adara shoved her knives back in her belt in trade for her katana-like swords instead. She didn't use them as much, as she preferred close-quarter combat and they weren't nearly as practical. However, the swords had proven useful when fighting Thanos' army, and especially when slicing through Beck's drones like butter.
For a moment, the two sized each other up. Beck would keep a distance, and Adara would try and keep close. The closer she was to Beck, the less likely she was to be hit by drone fire, as the drones couldn't afford hitting her either.
However, without EDITH, what was powering these drones? Adara had a feeling she already knew the answer.
She moved forward an inch, the drone fired at the carpet in front of her and she froze.
"You can't possibly hope to stop this, Adara," said Beck.
"I don't hope," she hissed, "I know I'll stop this. Come on, Beck, you're beating a dead horse. Peter stopped you once before, he can again."
"The kid's out of commission, you and I both know the public will side with me, not him."
"We can change the public's mind," she took another step forward. No drone fire. Good, keep him talking.
"Really? Even if the truth behind your identity gets out?"
"It won't make a difference."
"Adara," he laughed, "violence and death is drawn to you like moths to a light. You think people won't uncover the destruction you leave in your wake? With Hydra, with your parents, with every enemy you've deemed unworthy and killed? The media don't take kindly to a murderer, you're best just to walk away from all of this."
"The media don't take kindly to a man plays God."
Beck's eyes narrowed, "they don't take kindly to a girl who plays God either."
Now, she snapped to herself.
She darted forward and used sliced through the nearest drone. As the two halves of it fell at her feet, she noted the name Oscorp written on it, confirming her fears. Beck's drones were powered by the Engine built by Norman in the basement of the tower.
She didn't get much time to think over this though, as more drones appeared, how many did this guy have? They began shooting at her, but Adara, with all of her grace, easily darted out of the way, practically jumping over Beck and reappearing behind him.
He glanced over his shoulder to look at her and she stepped forward, before nearly tripping. A giant hole had opened up in the grown in front of her, the whole building was caving in!
She stumbled back, fearful for a second before realising.
Drones. Beck. Mysterio.
It's a trick, she reminded herself. It's not real. It's not real.
She did not have Peter's spider senses though, and while she could separate an obvious illusion from reality, she could not do the same with the more subtle ones. As she launched herself at Beck, reality around her glitched and she came down on him with swords in the air. But then he vanished, he had never really been there.
A drone shot hit her wrist at the same time she thumped heavily on the floor, her ankles taking the brunt of the damage as she almost lost balance. The hit knocked one of her swords from her hand and she hissed in pain, before putting her other sword back to where it had been before and chucking a knife at one of the drones.
Once again, the world glitched and Beck appeared, down the end of the corridor, watching and directing the drones from afar. With a precise aim, she threw one of her other knives and then darted forward.
It buried itself in the wall behind Beck, alarming him.
It was all Adara needed, he froze and was unable to control the drones in time to order them to shoot at Adara. Suddenly, she was twirling another knife through her fingers and leaping right on Beck.
She was on top of him now, her movements fueled purely by rage as she attempted to drive the knife through his face, her energy making her slightly uncoordinated, but the blade came dangerously close to his terrified face on several occasions. He couldn't order the drones to shoot at her, not at risk of shooting him.
She raised the knife again.
Someone grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her arm. She felt the muscles move involuntarily, not doubt spraining something as she was violently jerked backwards. Her head hit the floor as she fell down, and it took her a couple of seconds to realise she had been about to kill Beck without a second thought.
Then, it took her another second to realise that it was O'Leary looking down at her, and that rage did not ebb away.
She scrambled back and jumped to her feet, jabbing her knife at him. He swiftly dodged to the side and swiped something up from the floor. It was the sword she had dropped earlier. Gritting her teeth, she took a couple steps back and pulled out the other sword, raising it so it was level with his own.
And then, with the sharp whistle of the blade moving through the air, there was a clank as the two metal swords connected with each other. Adara wasn't even using strategy now, her movements matched with O'Leary's were too quick to even keep track of. It was a matter of blocking mainly, and she allowed herself to be backed down the narrow corridor, eyes flickering to a door.
She kicked it down and ran back. She was back in the meeting room, now abandoned as people flooded out of the room in what was undoubtedly panic at the fighting.
She backed herself up to the long table that lay across the middle of the room, standing atop of it and glaring at O'Leary, relatively pleased that she had the high ground, but also aware she was cornered. O'Leary was threat enough on his own, but there was no saying when Beck would go back on the attack with his drones.
She automatically shifted back into herself, making sure the scar he had given her was visible. There was little point in maintaining her Bluebell appearance in front of him, it felt wrong. He was himself, she should be herself too.
He eyed her carefully, tossing the sword from one hand to another, showing off as he figured out his next move.
"Adara," he greeted, "aren't you the party-crasher?"
"People tell me it's one of my more annoying habits."
"I wouldn't say annoying," he reasoned, "impressive, definitely. Didn't even notice you were here."
"There are other ways to hide beyond using our abilities."
"Well, credit where credit is due," he gave her a respectful nod, "I didn't see it coming."
She decided to use her knowledge against him, to prove she was one step ahead. "Even the Faceless Man isn't infallible," she smirked, "or should I say O'Leary."
To her annoyance, he didn't seem surprised, but grinned like a shark. "I knew you'd get there in the end," his tone was condescending. "But you don't know everything yet, Adara, you're still quite behind, in fact."
Frustration continued to bubble up inside of her, "tell me then," she said, "the full story."
He observed her closely for another second, "no," he said, "not yet. Not until I'm through with you."
Her gaze turned steely, but the burning hot anger behind her green eyes was no doubt still visible.
"Then let's finish it now," she practically snarled the words.
She kicked an empty glass at the table at him. It missed and shattered on the floor nearby, but didn't hesitate to kick more at him which he simply moved around the table to dodge. He was tactically trying to get close to her, but Adara was more interested in launching on the offensive and jumped off the table anyway.
The blades clashed, a ringing sound echoing through the room, and O'Leary twisted his sword in an attempt to disarm her. She kept a grip on the handle and slashed the blade downwards, which he blocked with ease before retracting and jabbing at her from the side. Adara felt dizzy as she attempted to parry every blow, every strike against vibrated up the metal and through her body. But she kept going, out of some kind of blind rage, she kept fighting.
It was without tactic or precision, and she struggled to get the upper hand. She held her ground for an interderminte amount of time, before O'Leary got the best of her.
He struck out at her feet and she stumbled back, head hitting the floor. She propped herself up on her elbows, only to find the tip of her sword being pointed right at her throat.
The anger was still boiling inside of her, but when she eyed the drones hovering just over O'Leary's shoulders, she knew she was defeated.
Or maybe just waiting for the right moment.
"Are we through now?" She asked, wiping the blood off her lip, her body just waiting to spring into action.
"No," he said, shaking his head. "You've never been done, Adara Thomas, which is why I can't wait to be the first one to finally knock you down."
She laughed humorlessly, speaking in French before translating herself. "Tu n'es pas le premier homme à me renverser. You are not the first man to knock me down."
"No, but I will be the first to make sure you won't stand back up again."
Her neck had never felt more exposed, "so you'll kill me now?"
Her facade of confidence was strong, but inwardly she pleaded.
God, Natasha, anyone, she begged, don't let me die today. I have so much left to do.
"No," he said, "killing you was never part of the plan unless you caused too much trouble. I want to give you the chance to live, Adara, don't make me regret that."
"You underestimate my ability to cause trouble," she said.
"No," he said, "you overestimate your own ability."
Just then, the glass of a window behind her smashed, distracting O'Leary for a second so Adara could scramble upright. She knocked the other sword out of his hand and caught it, pointing both blades right at him. He backed up, not quite cornered but hardly as victorious as he had been before.
Adara spared a glance over her shoulder, Peter was standing there, backlit against the New York skyline. He wasn't looking at Adara or O'Leary though, his gaze was on a face more familiar to him.
"Beck," greeted Peter.
Adara moved backwards so he was standing beside him.
"Peter Parker," said Beck, his eyes on the boy and then on the drones. "If it isn't the kid who murdered me."
"Well, isn't this just a pleasant reunion?" Said O'Leary, pulling out a gun and pointing it Adara.
Adara was aware that with Peter's web shooters, the weapon could be snatched out of his hand without a problem. No, the gun wasn't an issue, Adara could dodge the shot anyway as she had a hundred times before. It was the drones in the room that were the problem. Adara guessed there were about ten of them. They could dodge one or two blasts, but not all of them. They were cornered.
Adara exchanged a glance with Peter, he knew what she meant.
She put the swords away on her back, and pulled out her knives instead.
"How does this go from here then?" She asked, glancing between their two enemies. "You shoot us and we die? Victory for you?"
"I think you'll find both of you have a role to play," said Beck, typical of an actor.
O'Leary glanced at Peter, "and killing him is hardly our revenge to have."
Norman, she thought. Of course. All the players were here tonight apart from him.
It didn't end here.
Adara wanted to kill them both here right now. She might be cornered but she was quick, she reckoned she might just be able to pull it off. Double murder, all of her problems gone aside from Norman, who she reckoned she could also easily kill.
Kill them all and be done with it.
She wanted to do it so badly. But what would Peter think? What would Steve think? What would Natasha think?
Who cares, she's dead.
But the thought was fleeting. She wouldn't kill. Not tonight. She knew she had lost.
She threw one knife at one drone.
O'Leary was smart and took a step back, lowering his own gun. The drones began firing. Adara dived towards Peter who quickly grabbed an arm around her and dived backwards out of the window they had just came from.
He quickly shot out a web, Adara's arm wrapped around his neck, and pulled themselves up to the roof of the building.
He landed, setting them both down and then hearing blasts behind him. He looked at her and she made a signal. He put his palms forward and she jumped on them, the boost he gave her giving her enough momentum to twist through the air and use her swords to slice through both of the drones that had followed them upwards. She landed, breaking her fall with a roll, still holding both of her swords to either side of her as the drones dropped to the floor.
Then they both paused and listened.
No more drones came.
Adara dropped the swords and let out a heavy breath, pulling Peter into a hug. He gripped her just as tightly, sighing into her hair.
"Thank you," she said softly.
"It's not over," he said.
"Not yet," she said, pulling back to look at him, placing one hand on his cheek.
"Are you hurt?" He asked.
"Don't think so," she shook her head. Her lip was bleeding, but only from where she had bit it too hard in concentration. "And you," she gestured to the cuts in his suit.
He shrugged, "broken glass, nothing I can't heal." He looked at her again, this time she saw fear in his eyes. "Why did you try to fight? Why didn't you run? What if they had killed you?"
"They wouldn't have."
"What if," he snapped and sounded very, genuinely angry for a second. At her shocked expression, he softened his tone. "What if they had, Adara, what then?"
"I don't know," she confessed with a shake of her head. "I just felt so… fucking furious. That after everything he put you through, the fact that he could still stand there—" she cut herself off, unsure if she was speaking entirely honestly. "I just had to fight him, I had to."
"I don't understand," he said.
"I don't know what's wrong with me," she admitted, on the verge of tears, I just feel so fucking angry, all the time. I just want to set fire to everything and watch it burn." She froze, "does that make me a bad person?"
He looked at her, not quite in disbelief and then pressed his forehead against hers, "you're not a bad person, Dara. I don't think you could be if you tried."
"I'm worried I'm becoming one without trying."
"You're not," he gripped her head, "I promise you, Dara, you're not. Okay? You're just tired, frustrated and overworked. I mean, just look at everything that's happening. The world seems to be falling to fucking pieces and everyone's blaming us when we're the only ones trying to stop it. No wonder you're angry, no wonder you furious. I am too, Adara, you're allowed to feel these things."
"I'm scared that I'm feeling too much," she brokenly admitted. "And that I'm going to act out on it. Pete, I've already killed people without having any real reason to." She looked up at him, "what if it only gets worse?"
"It won't," he said, "I won't let it. I won't let you. I promise, Dara, I won't let you fall."
"How would you stop me."
He gripped the side of her face and kissed her suddenly. She kissed back, slightly flustered and face wet with tears, still trembling as adrenaline flooded out of her.
"That's how I would stop you," he murmured after a few seconds.
She looked at him with crystal clear green eyes.
"Can we go to sleep?" She asked, voice cracking.
"Yeah," he said, "let's just go to sleep."
A/N: Gonna be honest, the sword fighting scene came a little out of left field. Adara just had a sword and then it was on the floor and then i figured it would be pretty cool to have her battle O'Leary with it. Gonna be honest though, I'm now just picturing O'Leary as either Colin Farrell or Cillian Murphy, even though they both look very different and even though they're both Irish their accents manage to sound very different. Anyway, he's a fun character to write, and we all know I love a villain. Until the next chapter, incorrect quotes:
Harry: Okay so olive oil is made from olives, right?
Adara: Yeah.
Harry: So then baby oil—
Adara: STOP
Still miss writing Harry and Adara's banter
Adara, on the phone with Steve: Hey, do you have 2,500 bucks?
Steve: Why the hell do you need that much money?
Adara: For an escape room.
Steve: What kind of escape room costs 2,500 dollars!?
Adara: Jail.
And to be fair not many of the characters are in this chapter but it's still pretty long
Harry: It's a good thing I still have my sexy cat costume from last halloween.
Adara: I don't really think you were the target audience for that item.
Harry: There's nothing gendered about a sexy cat.
My favourite character to write in this chapter was 'the blonde girl' who I was too lazy to name
MJ: What's your favourite colour?
Adara: Peter Parker.
Adara: Wait, what was the question?
Anyway, that's a wrap on this chapter! I hope you enjoyed and please leave review telling me your thoughts, it would be much appreciated :)