I do not own Avengers or any of the characters.


Preparing

William groaned as the medic inspected his back.

"Nothing broken, but you've got several contusions and deep muscle bruises along your spine and ribs," the medic said. "You've also got a mild concussion. I can give you some Ibuprofen-"

"Just give me a shot of morphine," William said. "I've got a job to do and I need to be able to run to do it."

The medic watched him for a moment before sighing and injecting him with morphine. "Don't go to sleep until the morphine wears off. And try to avoid any more blows to a head. The next might kill you."

"Will do," William said, walking out of the room and toward the armory.

As he reached it, Barton glanced at him. "I heard you led the Hulk away from Nat so she could escape. That takes balls."

"Loyalty to my employer," William said. "That's all."

"Even so," Barton said. "You may have saved her life."

"She's Agent Romanoff," William said. "I doubt it was that serious."

Barton nodded. "So, everyone else is suiting up for a fight. You got combat gear? Or you gonna rock a sweatshirt and a neck gaiter again?"

William chuckled. "Well, I am partial to my sweats, especially since it makes stealth missions easy. However, in this case, I have something else in mind."

He knelt, opening a container of gear he'd asked permission to use from Fury immediately following Loki's initial capture. He dropped his sweatshirt, leaving his tight, short-sleeved, black Under Armor shirt made of that stretch synthetic material that was always comfortable, then pulled out a black, sleeveless vest with dragon skin body armor inside of it, pulling it on over his head and flexing and twisting, making sure it didn't restrict his movements. Next, he pulled out elbow and knee pads, then a pair of black gloves with small pieces of black steel along the outside and the backs of the fingers, allowing him to punch a lot harder, and designed to lessen the impact to his hands. Next came a pair of black steel-toed boots. Then, finally, a black half-mask to cover his nose and mouth, one which contained an optional air filter for poisonous gasses, which he could turn off and breathe as easily as if he weren't wearing it. He kept the mask in his hand and grinned at Barton, who nodded approvingly.

"Not bad," Barton said. "Tactical, functional, and stylish. I'm actually kind of impressed."

"Thank you," William smirked. "Now if only Olivia could die in a gloriously agonizing hail of gunfire, my life would be complete."

"You really do hate her, don't you?" Barton asked.

"I do," William nodded. "She's a cunt, and everything she does pisses me off. Anyway, I'm going to go steal us a jet."

He held a hand up in farewell and walked up to the hangar, stepping onto a jet, only for the pilot to turn to him.

"Hey, you're not authorized to be in here," the pilot said.

William smirked, raising a hand and forming an energy dagger, the blade held up to the pilot's throat. "This is my all-access pass. I think you'll find I am in fact, authorized to be here."

The pilot swallowed hard, nodding. "Of course. It's all yours."

"Stop terrorizing the man," Rogers said. "We're taking the jet. Get off."

The pilot nodded as William let the knife fade, turning to Rogers, finding Natasha and Barton behind him, Olivia walking over, pushing a cart loaded with an M240B, a sniper rifle, and a Browning M2 .50 caliber heavy machine gun.

"Got enough toys?" William asked.

"You never know what you'll need until you need it," Olivia said, rolling the cart past him.

"Fair enough," William shrugged, closing the door. "Where we off to?"

"New York," Rogers said as they all sat down, Barton piloting the jet out of the helicarrier. "Loki took the cube to Stark Tower."

"That's a bit rude," William said. "And Stark?"

"He's flying on ahead," Natasha said. "Thank you, by the way. For getting me away from Banner."

"Until you pay me, you have my loyalty," William said. "Unless you haven't payed me because you're just trying to drag out the contract. Then we'll have problems."

Natasha nodded. "Don't worry about that. As soon as we stop Loki, you'll get your paycheck."

William nodded and settled in for a long flight.


Leave a review.