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Reassignment
"You're being reassigned," Fury said. "You're useful for defense, but there's a strike team that could use you. They need to take down a terrorist threat without causing an war, or implicating SHIELD. You'll be working with Rogers, Romanoff, and Rumlow for this."
"We don't need them," William said. "Between the two of us, we can handle it."
"They're coming," Fury said. "Romanoff will be helping Olivia from a distance using sniper rifles. I understand that Olivia has a new toy to test out anyway, now that Stark's gotten around to upgrading it, and has taken a break from threatening terrorists and blowing up oil tankers. You, William, will be taking Rogers and Rumlow into the compound with you. I've arranged to have a special uniform made for you. Consider it your souvenir."
"I don't want a superhero costume, Fury," William said.
"Tough," Fury said. "While SHIELD is paying your fees, you'll wear what I tell you to wear. And you're lucky I'm not putting you in a tutu."
Olivia snorted. "You should have."
"Romanoff said the same thing," Fury said.
"I bet she did," William grumbled. "Send us the information. We'll start packing."
"Good," Fury said. "I got you an apartment in New York. You'll drop your things off there, then meet Romanoff for pickup outside."
"Understood," Olivia nodded.
William hung up and they quickly packed up their things, then headed outside to where a Quinjet was already waiting.
"Standing by for the first shot," Rogers reported.
"Hang on boys," Natasha responded. "We're almost in position."
"Could you take a little longer please?" William asked. "I'd rather not make it back to our own country in time for breakfast tomorrow."
"Keep up the attitude and that can be arranged," Olivia retorted.
"Yeah, we'd just have to move at your speed," William growled.
"Well, if speed is a problem, you might want to hope that fancy costume of yours is laser proof," Olivia countered.
"Are they always like this?" Rumlow asked.
"Yes," Rogers and Natasha both said.
"He-"
"She-"
"-started it!"
"We're in position," Natasha said. "Setting up now."
"Understood," Rogers said. "Whenever you're ready."
William formed himself a bow and arrow, pulling the bow back, then glanced at his new uniform. It was a formfitting black armor that flexed like it was thick leather, but was only about slightly heavier than his normal clothing. It was all black, except for light grey lines running along the bottom of his chest from the sides, then curving down to the bottom of his sternum in a pair of curved lines, like an arrow head, and included boots, knee and elbow guards, gloves, and matched the half-mask he still had from New York.
"Ready, in three...two...one..." Natasha counted down.
Then, she and Olivia opened fire, Natasha's rifle suppressed and using subsonic rounds and Olivia's rifle firing quietly. The flashes of green light as Olivia killed someone were too fast to see the direction of, but it did give away the fact that the compound was under attack immediately, so shouting began. Williams nodded to Rogers, who entered first, shield raised and ready to block any bullets that came their way. The moment they were in, William's arrows and Rumlow's SCAR began to slaughter any terrorists not currently lying on the ground with a hole through their heads or torsos. Several sprinted into a small building off to the side, so William sent an arrow into it, which exploded on impact with the wall. Then, they finally reached the main building and Rogers drew his pistol and smashed through the door with his shield, instantly blocking a hail of bullets. As soon as the reloading began, the three of them charged, rapidly dropping everyone in the room before continuing. A few rooms later, they found the target and he turned to run, only for William to use an extra-wide arrow to take his head off.
"Excessive," Rogers said.
"Undeniable results," Rumlow said. "Let's get out of here."
"Reinforcements inbound," Olivia reported. "My heavies will stall."
"Range?" William asked, climbing to the roof using a ladder on the top floor as a pair of heavy machine guns roared to life on the cliff where Olivia and Natasha were sniping from.
"Two hundred," Olivia said.
William formed his bow and drew an arrow back, only for it to compress into a long, thin needle-like light spike about the length of his arm but half the width of his finger. He aimed carefully before releasing the arrow. It streaked away from him, straight as a laser, since energy can't be affected by gravity, unless he wanted his arrows to be. A moment later, it exploded against the lead vehicle, erupting into a massive white sphere of energy for the briefest of seconds before that gave way to a fireball, black smoke billowing up from it. The other two vehicles swerved around the first to opposite sides and both of Olivia's guns focused on one as William sent another compressed arrow into the other. As its explosions went off, he sent one final arrow into the last truck and it erupted into a fireball just like the other two.
"Is that all of them?" William asked.
"For now," Natasha said. "Get back to the jet quickly and come pick us up."
"On the way," Rogers said as the three of them ran back to the jet, Rogers piloting it to pick up the other two.
"Target is a mobile satellite launch platform, the Lemurian Star," Rumlow explained as the entirety of the strike team headed toward the most recent job.
This would be William and Olivia's fourth. Their first with the full team, and only their second with Rumlow.
"They were sending up their last payload when pirates took them," Rumlow continued. "Ninety three minutes ago."
"Any demands?" Rogers asked.
"Billion and a half," Rumlow said.
William snorted. "Not worth it to be in SHIELD's crosshairs. It's an annoying place to be."
"Agreed," Olivia said.
"Is that a normal ransom amount?" Steve asked.
"No," Natasha said. "It's only that steep because it's SHIELD's."
"So it's not off course, it's trespassing," Rogers said, referring to Natasha's explanation that that was why the pirates took the ship in the first place.
"I'm sure they have a good reason," Natasha said.
"You know, I'm getting a little tired of being Fury's janitor," Rogers said.
"Relax, it's not that complicated," Natasha said.
"It's always that complicated," William said. "Our first mission as Avengers was us being Fury's janitors, too."
"Loki would have come through even if SHIELD hadn't been working on the Tesseract," Natasha said.
"Maybe," Olivia shrugged. "Or maybe he would have never known it was there."
"How many pirates?" Steve asked Rumlow to get back on track.
"Twenty five," Rumlow said, bringing up a roster, then pulling up the leader. "Top mercs, at least for this area, led by this guy. Georges Batroc. Ex-DGSE, Action Division. He's at the top of Interpol's Red Notice. Before the French demobilized him, he had thirty six kill missions. This guy's got a rep for maximum casualties."
"Hostages?" Rogers asked.
"Oh, mostly techs," Rumlow said, pulling up the crew roster. "One officer. Jasper Sitwell." He pulled up a picture of a bald white man in glasses and a nice suit. "They're in the galley."
"What's Sitwell doing on a launch ship?" Rogers asked, checking his gloves and wrist-mounted communicator. "Alright, I'm going to sweep the deck and find Batroc. Nat, you kill the engines and wait for instructions. Rumlow, you sweep aft, find the hostages, find the life-pods, get 'em out. Let's move."
"Hold on," William said. "What about me and Olivia?"
"You're with Natasha, Olivia's with Rumlow," Rogers said.
"Got it," William nodded, all of them preparing to deploy.
"Secure Chanel Seven," Rogers said, radio checking.
"Seven Secure," Natasha responded. "So, you do anything fun Saturday night?"
"Well, all the guys from my barbershop quartet are dead, so, no, not really," Rogers smiled.
"Coming up on the drop zone, Cap," the pilot reported, Rogers hitting the switch to open the bay doors.
"You know, if you ask Kristen out, from Statistics, she'd probably say yes," Natasha said.
"That's why I don't ask," Rogers said, clipping his helmet on.
"Too shy, or too scared?" Natasha teased.
"Too busy!" Rogers called back to her before jumping out of the plane, his shield on his back.
"Was he wearing a parachute?" one of the team members asked Rumlow.
"No," Rumlow chuckled. "No he wasn't."
"Parachutes are for women and pussies," William said, checking the wings of his quick-detach wingsuit.
"You know you can't actually land with that without using a parachute, right?" Olivia asked, pulling her parachute on over her assault rifles and laser sniper, which she could apparently use up close because it had a holographic sight that zoomed from zero to sniper range according to her needs.
"Did you forget who I am?" William asked. "I can use my power to cushion my landing."
"Good point," Olivia said. "Try to make a pretty stain when you die."
"I'll be sure to watch your chute not open," William said.
"Alright you two, time to go," Natasha said.
William turned and sprinted to the door, leaping out of it and spreading his arms and legs instantly, his wings catching the air and sending him hurtling through the air. He fought to keep his breathing calm, despite the adrenaline, and angled himself to streak down at the ship where he could see Rogers fighting a dozen mercs. As he shot toward them, he flipped at the last second, sending a burst of energy from the top of his head to keep himself from rocketing into the air again and his wings slowed him until his feet collided with a merc behind Rogers, one who had a G36 aimed at Rogers, flattening him to the ground and shattering his ribs and spine, killing him.
"Thanks," Rogers said as William pulled off his wings.
"Any time you want me to save your life, just ask," William said. "I collect favors as a currency."
Rogers rolled his eyes, smirking. "Of course you do."
The others all landed around them, taking off their parachutes, and William and Olivia glared at each other as they found the other had also survived.
"What about the nurse that lives across the hall from you?" Natasha asked Steve. "She seems kind of nice."
"Secure the engine room, then find me a date," Rogers said.
"I'm multitasking," Natasha said, vaulting over a railing, William just behind her.
Olivia drew her suppressed FN 5.7 and looked to Rumlow.
"You're going to do this with just a pistol?" Rumlow asked. "And a normal one?"
"Firstly, there's nothing normal about an FN Five Seven as a pistol," Olivia said. "It's designed to go through body armor better than a rifle, but it's a pistol. Secondly, I'll get more kills with this pistol than your team will as a whole."
"Bullshit," Rumlow said.
"Challenge accepted," Olivia said. "Let's go."
She turned, walking away quickly, and Rumlow shook his head and followed with the rest of the Strike Team.
"How many girls have you suggested now?" William asked. "A dozen?"
"At least," Natasha nodded.
"I think there might be a reason he keeps refusing," William said.
"What, you think he wants to be alone?" Natasha asked.
"No," William said.
"You think he's got a girlfriend and didn't tell anyone?" Natasha asked.
"Well, how well do you actually know him?" William pointed out. "And not from SHIELD spying, I mean from interacting with him and getting to know him."
Natasha paused at the engine room, considering it for a moment. "I really don't, I guess. Just surface level stuff that was all in the reports and dossiers anyway."
They headed in and Natasha headed down the stairs first, reaching the top just as a merc hung up the phone.
"Hey sailor," Natasha smiled, then kicked the side of his knee, wrapped her grappling cable around his neck from her belt, then flipped backward over the railing, pistols in-hand, only to stop, seeing William standing at the bottom already, having killed all of the mercs inside on the way down. She grappled down to him, the cable strangling the guy at the top, then disconnected the cable from her belt, giving William an exasperated look.
"I was going to do that," Natasha said.
"Gotta be quicker than that," William shrugged. "Come on."
The two of them hurried to the bottom floor of the engine room,, finding one patrolling ahead of them. William formed a pair of energy knives and began to close in quickly.
"S.T.R.I.K.E. in position," Rumlow reported in a whisper.
"What's your status, Natasha?" Rogers asked.
"Hang on," Natasha whispered back.
William reached the merc and drove a knife through the back of his head, killing him instantly, then set him down gently. A second later, someone stepped out ahead of them and Natasha fired a pair of shots into his chest from her own suppressed pistol, dropping him. A third stepped out just in time to have William's arrow drive itself through his heart and lungs, and dropped. Then, someone that William definitely didn't want to see stepped out. He wore a completely black full-body suit with a pair of white eyes, and had a pair of double-edged, jagged blades extended from the backs of his wrists out past his hands.
"Who is that?" Natasha asked.
"He's from me and Olivia's Organization," William said, raising a hand to his communicator. "Olivia, Ripper's here."
Olivia swore.
"Is the engine room secured?" Rogers asked.
"He's the last one up and about," William said. "Carry on. We'll deal with him."
"Understood," Rogers said. "Rumlow, go ahead."
"There's something I need to take care of," Natasha said. "Do you need me for this?"
"No," William said, forming himself a pair of energy daggers in reverse grip. "Go do whatever mission Fury assigned you."
She nodded and turned, running away quickly. As she did, William and Ripper both charged. Ripper slashed first and William deflected it off of his blade, then slashed at Ripper, only for Ripper's other blade to deflect it. William jumped and spun, slamming a kick into the blade Ripper blocked with and slammed that arm into his chest, hurling him away.
"You've improved," William said. "And you finally learned how to run a charge through your blades to block mine."
"That's right," Ripper said, standing, but staying in a low crouch with his arms spread, as was usual for him. "And now, I'm going to kill you!"
He shot forward, slashing at William quickly and William shifted his daggers into shields slightly bigger than his forearms, deflecting several slashes before spinning and ducking under one, slamming a windmill kick into Ripper's jaw. Ripper went down hard, only to twist and slam a kick of his own into William's chest, sending him staggering backward. Ripper shoved himself off the ground and lunged, stabbing at William, but William deflected it off his left shield, transforming his right into a blade similar to Ripper's, but had straight edges and continued directly to the point after about eight inches. Ripper deflected the blade with his own, but William spun around Ripper as Ripper moved to stab him. As William spun, his left arm's shield also transformed into a blade and he drove it up into Ripper's back, puncturing his heart and left lung, as well as severing his spine.
"Game over," William said, then ripped his blade back out.
Ripper collapsed on the spot, and William groaned, staggering backward and falling into a seated position against the wall. His torso flaring agonizingly with every beat of his heart, and when he raised a hand to it, his armor was warm over his heart. He grit his teeth, trying to will the pain away. His time was almost up. The bruise had spread over most of his torso in front and back now. Using his powers had begun to become agonizing recently, and as if that wasn't enough, every time he did, he started to physically heat up, as though his powers were actually threatening to make him explode.
Finally, he took a deep breath and stood, running to the deck of the ship in time to see Rogers and Natasha climbing onto the Quinjet. William sent an arrow into the roof if it, keeping the energy connected to his hand, then yanked, launching himself across the distance and into the Quinjet. As soon as he landed, Rogers closed the door and they took off again. William looked over at Rogers just as he shot Natasha a dirty look, then walked up to the front of the jet away from her.
"What happened?" William asked.
"I had an extra mission of retrieving data from the ship," Natasha whispered to William. "It was on a need-to-know basis only, so when Rogers found me, he was mad I didn't tell him and that I missed the rendezvous with Rumlow. I was also a bit of a smartass about it when he tried to scold me, and I ended up giving Batroc the chance to escape, so now Steve's mad at me. Understandably. Don't...tell anyone about the mission."
William nodded and sat down off to the side, one hand pressing into his still-throbbing chest. Olivia sat beside him after a moment and raised an eyebrow.
"Did he give you that hard a time?" Olivia asked.
"He actually learned to throw a surprisingly decent kick since we left, I won't lie," William said. "Nothing I couldn't handle, but still not a pleasant surprise."
Olivia snorted. "You've gotten weak, it seems."
William rolled his eyes. "Like you're one to talk. I'm still useful without carrying around weapons."
Olivia glared at him but fell silent, both remaining quiet the rest of the flight back.
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