Chapter 3

If Billy had to guess, he'd say it had been another two or three weeks since Tony Stark had been to the Raft. Billy had gotten a bit more comfortable, he didn't sit on the floor still as he could be but he did still move slowly and with caution. The collar around his neck was a constant reminder that he could be killed at any second and honestly he was starting to feel like a dog in a kennel. Locked up with nothing to do, only getting human interaction when his meals were brought to him, and spending his time wondering how long until he'd die here. Speaking of food. . .

Glurgle. His stomach growled and he looked to the small round table that was bolted to the floor and the tray that sat on it. There was a piece of bread that he'd ripped the soft inner parts out of since the crust was rock hard. There was some kind of oatmeal that wasn't smooth or sprinkled with cinnamon but lumpy and tasted like nothing. Lastly there was an apple that he'd taken one bite out of before realizing that it was so bruised that most of the inside was brown and soft. His body wanted more food but he couldn't stand to put any of what was left in his mouth.

There was a rhythmic tap, tap, tap as one of the other inmates – Scott Lang he'd figured out – beat his table like a drum. Clint Barton spent most of his time lying on his cot looking at the ceiling. Billy assumed he was thinking about the wife and kids Stark had mentioned. The other prisoner, Sam, liked to pace and Billy could hear his soft footsteps as he padded along the metal floor of his cell. There was one more person locked in a cell on this level but Billy had never seen them. They laid in their cot facing the wall with their scratchy blanket thrown over them leaving only a grey lump to be seen.

Billy was also now in his bed, although he opted to lie on top of the horrible blanket and face the wall. He tried not to think about his family and instead tried to replay comic plots he'd read in his head. When he'd come to a blank spot where he couldn't remember what happened he made something up.

The daydreaming helped him pass the time and it often helped lull him to sleep when he got tired enough. He heard a dull beep just before the elevator door slid open. Billy knew it had to be a guard and after hearing his boots make louder more pounding footsteps across the floor Scott Lang's tapping beat stopped. Just listening Billy could tell the guard circled the room making sure everything was in check before he headed back to the elevator. The same metal sliding across metal sound reached his ears before a metallic shudder. The door slid open again and the same heavy footfalls entered. But only after a few steps they stopped. Billy thought that was strange, why would the guard come back? Why wouldn't he circle the room like usual?

Billy slowly sat up in his bed and leaned on one elbow as he looked over his shoulder. The room was dark now except for a few small circles of light around the top of the walls. It must be late, Billy figured, sometime after midnight most likely. Then he saw movement as a silhouette became clear through the darkness. The tall muscular man stepped forward but he was looking at the cell beside Billy's, Sam's cell.

When he stepped into the light Billy felt his heart stop in his chest before it started up again with a new faster rhythm.

Captain America.

Captain America was standing just a few feet from his cell with a small smirk on his face as he looked through the bars at his friend. Billy watched stunned as Cap made his way forward and out of Billy's line of sight. There was the sound of metal turning and Billy wasn't sure if Captain America had stolen a key that was unlocking the door or if the super solider was bending the metal himself to free his friend.

Billy's heart slowed and fell into the pit of his stomach. Cap was here for the Avengers, not Billy. The others would all break out Billy was sure of it. But he'd be left here to rot. After all, why would Cap risk his rescue mission for a kid he didn't even know? He'd probably assume Billy was locked up for a good reason. That he was actually a criminal.

Seconds later both Cap and Sam ran by his cell and over to Scott and Clint to break them out. Billy looked down to his pillow and stared at the brown stains in the fabric hoping the Avengers would leave quickly so he could get back to his moping. Having them stand there, able to get to freedom was like holding a cold bottle of water in front of a man dying of thirst and Billy just wanted the torture to go away.

"Kid?" a voice called and he looked up to see Captain America standing outside his cell looking in on him. "Need some help?"

Billy sat up quickly and stood from the bed, then a voice in his head shouted at him for moving too fast and it took him a second to remember why that was bad. The collar. His breath hitched in his throat for a second expecting the bomb to be triggered. . . but it wasn't. He let out the breath and looked back up at Cap.

"I can't." he replied sadly and Cap's eyebrows pulled together confused. Billy ran two fingers along the thick strap of the collar that felt like it was made out of a seatbelt. "It's a bomb."

Cap's confusion melted away as his eyes widened. There was clearly shock but that soon vanished too and was replaced by a clear fury. Then he shook that off and looked back at Billy.

"You didn't think that their security system was still online during all this did you?"

He felt like an idiot. He was standing in front of Captain America acting stupid. Of course no one was watching the cameras right now dummy. Billy brought his hand to the collar again and tried to look down to see if that little light on the metal box was still blinking. Of course, he couldn't bend his head that way but in the next second there was another screech of metal and when he looked up his cell wall was broken and Cap was walking up to him. He reached out and grabbed the box in his hand before crushing it in his palm. The collar fell away easily after that and Cap pulled his hand back before tossing the small fragments of the thing to the floor in disgust. Then he rested his hand on Billy's shoulder.

"Come on Kid, it's going to be alright."

Billy gave a small smile and muttered a shy, "Yes, sir."

Cap chuckled, "You can call me Steve."

Billy blushed and tried to fight it as he muttered again, "Yes, sir."

They rushed out of the cell with the rest of the team as Cap gave the room a once over. Then he stopped again. Sam, Clint and Scott all stopped too. They looked worried like this was taking way too long and they'd be caught mid break out. If Cap felt their nervous stares he ignored them. His eyes were locked on the last occupied cell in the room, looking at the girl with the white hair who was sitting up on her cot with a blank expression. Billy saw her too, it was the first time she wasn't curled up on her cot hidden by a blanket, ignoring everything around her.

The hair was of course the first thing you saw, the striking white against the grey and darkness of the cell. It fell mostly over one side of her head in a wavy mess, partially covering one green eye. The look in those irises was hard to describe, they were cold and hard but they still shimmered with emotion every now and then. It was like the girl was trying to keep any emotion at bay. But there was also an intensity in her stare and Billy was certain she wanted out as much as he and the others did.

"Damn." Sam muttered quietly off to the side. "They look like twins."

Something in his statement made a new expression cross Captain America's face, something close to recognition, or like a lightbulb had just gone off. Suddenly he looked from the girl to Billy, then back and forth once, twice and a third time before Billy turned his head away from the sight of the girl and looked at the others. He hadn't realized that Sam had meant the girl looked like him until he saw the way the others were staring at him.

His eyes widened and he looked back to the girl and tried to find traces of his face in hers. It would probably be easier with a mirror and with her hair pulled out of her face. Cap took a few steps forward and the girl moved from her bed to meet him at the wall keeping her a prisoner. She wore the same blue jumpsuit they all wore but hers seemed more crinkled from all her time huddled on the bed. She and Cap stared at each other for a bit and Billy wondered what the super solider might be thinking.

"What are you in here for?" Captain America asked her and Billy realized that he must have looked sad and pathetic enough that Cap hadn't felt the need to ask him such a question. He hadn't looked hardened and tough like the girl.

"I killed people." She stated plainly, almost robotically. Her voice was emotionless but it wasn't a villainous emotionless, it was empty in a way that showed she obviously couldn't think too much about it without guilt drowning her.

"Why?" Cap asked non-judgmentally.

The girl stared at him for a bit before she answered in the same dead tone, only now it was quieter. "It was an accident."

It was quiet for a while as Captain America pondered her answer.

"Cap we gotta go." Clint reminded him from where he was standing by the elevator. Then the soldier punched the wall and it cracked. In seconds he'd dismantled it but the girl still didn't move. It looked like she was trying to weigh in on her options and if she could trust the people freeing her.

"It doesn't matter what you did. Or what you were. If you come with us, you leave the bad things in your past behind." Cap said in a very serious tone, "If you come with us, you are an Avenger."

Shock was the first thing to break through her mask of nothingness and Billy felt his eyes widen too. He hadn't expected to be broken out by Captain America himself, he much less expected to be invited to the team. At least, the half of the team Cap led. They didn't even know what he could do – or what the girl could do, if anything. Sure, anyone could make the assumption that the only reason two teenagers would be locked up in a place like this was if they were capable of something superhuman. On the other hand Tony Stark didn't have superpowers and look at how much he brought to the table. Either way, that knowing look in Cap's eye a few seconds ago seemed to fill in a lot of blanks for him and Billy wasn't sure how he seemed to know that the teens were gifted.

The girl gave a small nod before Cap asked, "What's your name?"

"Taylor." She answered in that same hushed tone as before. Cap turned and looked at Billy over his shoulder the same question in his eyes.

"Billy." He responded and Cap nodded looking between the two of them again.

"They aren't going to lock you up ever again. No one will lock you up ever again. I promise."

Then he turned and headed to the elevator as Sam, Scott and Clint all started making an escape plan and asking Cap how he got in. Cap didn't say much on what led up to his appearance in their cell but he did smirk at Hawkeye like he was hiding a surprise for him. Taylor looked to Billy and he looked back at her. A second later the elevator opened and they turned and followed the adults.

Cap picked which button on the wall as they ascended to the correct floor. The elevator was high tech so it moved quickly giving them little time to plan.

"There's going to be a lot of fight headed our way." Clint said, "And we don't have our weapons or suits."

Taylor was the one who chuckled, "Don't worry, I've got it."

There was only time for confused looks before the door opened and in a flash Taylor vanished.

.

.

Her face hurt from the smirk she wasn't used to wearing. ### guards dressed in heavy duty armor were lined down the hall pointing their weapons at the elevator. Some were on one knee while others stood all at once they fired but the bullets moved slowly from the barrel to midair. The wisps of smoke and flashes as the bullets were launched played out in slow motion as she headed for the guard closest to her. She lowered his gun to the floor before she lifted him by the waist and lifted his legs as his head and shoulders bent forward. Leaving him to finish the somersault himself she ran across the hall to the next closets guard. Plucking the gun from his hands and tossing it aside where it floated away she pressed his fingers into a fist before bringing it to the side of the man's face, pulling up his helmet to reveal his cheek. She took one step for the next guard before leaning back and tilting the last one's elbow to make sure the punch landed right where she wanted it to.

The next nearest guards were next to each other in the center of the hall and each were on one knee with machine guns that had already launched a row of bullets that looked like a trail of ants in the air following one another. The men held their automatic rifles with one hand on the barrel and one hand on the handle by the trigger. She peeled their hands off the long thin tube of metal before crossing the barrels. Before she took off she snagged the man's hat with the fancy emblem on it and placed it on her own head. It should help hide the knotted mess of her hair until she could get her hands on a brush.

Zipping up and along the wall she knocked a few more guns out of people's hands as she passed them also tugging them in funny directions that would send them flying through the air and off their organized positions. Pushing off the wall and gracefully landing on her feet she ran back up the hall toward the elevator and took care of the guards on the opposite side of the hall as she made her way back. At this point even the slow bullets were catching up to their targets cornered in the lift. In a blink she was there with her hands folded behind her back as the small metal rounds approached. She pushed a couple out of the way that would have hit Captain America, Sam was far enough behind that he wasn't in danger. She tapped another few bullets that would have taken out Clint's eye and saw that the last man, Scott, was already cowered back against the far corner looking hilarious with his eyes screwed shut and his hands blocking his face palms out. Just to mess with him she readjusted the bullets so they'd hit around him almost like a perfect outline. Then she turned to the boy, Billy. His eyes were wide and she was just about to think how weak he looked for someone in a high security prison – when her gaze fell to his hands. A small, almost unnoticeable blue shimmer was starting to take shape in the center of his palms that were hanging at his sides. His fingers were slow to uncurl as the wisps uncoiled and spread along each finger. Taylor looked back up at his face, the shock there didn't match the power that his tense and ready body language looked ready to unleash.

In all honesty, after the several months she'd spent locked in this place she'd been confused when the guards had dragged in this scrawny kid. He looked like a first time offender, she'd seen enough in juvie to know the look. And the fear on his face that day had been a dead giveaway. Only now was she considering that maybe he'd been in the same boat as her. Maybe he'd manifested powers that within seconds got out of control. She tried not to think of the high school incident but the flashes in her minds ignored her wishes. How angry she'd gotten so suddenly, how things started shaking when she'd slammed her hand to the wall to keep from punching that jerk. Everything turning bright as that deafening sonic boom filled the air. She'd collapsed weaker then she'd ever felt – that was how they'd been able to arrest her. If she'd been using the speed she'd discovered that same morning they never would have caught her. But she'd never imagined her mutation could do more then that. When she'd come too from passing out the excitement from that morning became dread when she woke up in her cell. She never thought she'd miss juvie before that moment.

Blinking a few times and shook her head and noticed one of the streams of bullets was heading for Billy. Dashing back into the hall she scooped them all up in her hand and turned back to the elevator as the result of her handiwork took effect.

.

.

Billy would have thought she teleported if he hadn't felt a breeze zip by him and heard collective groans from the men waiting in the hall to ambush them. The sound of guns going off echoed along the walls but each bullet shot missed terribly, it was nothing like the onslaught of automatic ammunition Billy had been expecting. Cap rushed out followed by the others with Billy bringing up the back.

Taylor was standing in the center of the room, half a dozen men lying on the floor either unconscious or groaning in pain too hurt to get back up. She stood there waiting for them to catch up as she poured bullets from one hand into the other, now wearing one of the guards hats.

"So you're fast?" Scott guessed and Taylor's eyebrows pulled together in a playful expression.

"That seems like an oversimplification."

Before anything more could be said there was a rush of footsteps and several boots ran in their direction and a moment later more armed guards appeared. Inspired by Taylor's brazen use of her powers Billy threw out his hand and a blue energy shot out in small waves each going for a gun. The blue light encompassed the weapons and Billy lifted his hand and the guns were ripped from the guard's hands and hit the ceiling. Disarmed, Taylor smirked and in another flash of silver the guards were all thrown backwards where they smashed into the metal wall before landing on the floor in a groaning pile of bodies. The speedster across the room smirked at Billy who gave a small smile back as Cap led the way through the room. He seemed undeterred by their powers while the others took turns recovering from varying states of shock. Eventually though they followed him down the halls.

"Armory's down this way." He said from the front of their group.

"Why the armory and not the exit?" Sam asked and Cap smirked at him.

"The guards will all head to the exit to try and stop us. If we're going to run into that many of them we need to be prepared."

"If you didn't shut down power to the whole building odds are their backup security systems have locked us out." Clint threw in offering some of his experience as S.H.I.E.L.D.'s assassin.

"Luckily S.H.I.E.L.D. offered great courses in computer hacking." A new voice joined them as they turned the hall and saw who'd spoken.

"Natasha." Clint said with a smile as he pushed his way through them and gave her a huge hug. Good thing he'd said something otherwise Billy never would have recognized the Black Widow. She had golden blonde hair that was cut bluntly at her shoulders and didn't look a thing like herself – which, he supposed was the point.

"I took care of the armory." She addressed them when she let go of her friend, "This way."

She led them to a specific metal door and kicked it open, the electronic lock having been disabled. Inside were Sam's falcon wings, Scott's shrink suit and Clint's bow and loaded quiver. Each man grabbed their gear as fast as they could as Black Widow reloaded her guns and Cap took the lead again before they headed for the exit.

"How'd you two plan all this yourselves?" Sam asked adjusting the straps across his chest and turning on his high tech goggles.

Captain America smirked again, "We didn't. We had help from a friend."

"My friend." Nat corrected with a smile tucking her weapons into their appropriate holsters in her new vest.

Clint looked confused but there was no time to ask anything more as they turned the corner of the next hall and found themselves in a large hanger. Billy recognized it as the helipad where they'd dropped him off the day he arrived. He never thought he'd be happy to see this room again, but he was, because now it meant he was getting out.

But not without a fight.

As Cap had said there were more guards here then they'd encountered before and even with Taylor's speed it would still take them a while to get through all of them. The five Avengers went to work, charging into the fray as they'd done so many times before. Taylor gave him another smirk and he could tell she was itching to recreate what she'd done in the other room. He smirked back and clenched and unclenched his hands ready to do something with his own gifts to help in the escape.

As Taylor vanished from his side he threw out his hand letting the blue light shoot across the room as it encased a guard. Each movement of his hand his powers mimicked on whoever and whatever he'd captured in his telekinetic hold. Tossing that man aside he took a step further into the room and raised his right arm at his side. The guard who was aiming at him was lifted into the air as Billy raised his left hand to join his right. Closing his fingers in a fist summoned more blue light and when he ripped his left hand back the automatic rifle in the man's hands was torn from his grasp and whizzed across the room as Billy pushed with his right hand sending the man flying backwards through the air unarmed. His gun smacked into the head of another man knocking him unconscious from the blow. Billy heard people rushing up behind him and turned on his heel cupping both his hands like he was readying a pitch at a baseball game. But instead of tossing a ball he pulled his hands into his center resting in front of the middle of his torso. Stretching them apart the blue wisps between his palms grew and brightened into a massive cloud of smoke. He peeled back his right hand and held the cloud in his left holding it away from him then he brought his right hand, now flat in a stop motion, and pushed it forward launching the sphere of energy which took out the two men running toward him.

He just had enough time to take a couple breaths and look around quickly noticing the guards teaming up on Black Widow and Captain America. Given that they were the two responsible for the attempted break out and the two that had evaded arrest they must have been on a high priority list to capture. Seeing them getting overwhelmed Billy ran toward them before turning his back on the pair and lifting a wall of blue to cover their flank. Both turned to him impressed but also looking like they were experiencing déjà vu as they shot at those in front of them and exchanged a look with each other. Billy didn't notice as he was trying to deflect as many bullets as he could. But he was still new at this and as he tried to keep his hands up in the high impact zones. Something hit that was just too much and he was knocked off his feet and spun in the air before he landed on his stomach getting the wind knocked out of him.

"You gotta get up kid!" Cap called, "You can do it!"

Billy pushed himself up and looked over his shoulder finding that a guard had already caught him in his sights and his scope as he aimed. Suddenly an arrow blazed over his head and struck the guard in the chest before tazing him and bringing him to his knees. Billy turned his head and saw Hawkeye wink at him before he got back to his feet and kept fighting.

He pulled his hands apart again this time bringing one right up beside his head while the other made a sweeping motion as he turned knocking five guards down like a row of dominoes. Then he lowered the hand by his head like tossing a bowling ball and knocked back another group of guards. Again and again he tossed bursts of blue light in different directions picking up guns and people and launching them through the air. Taylor sped through the room, a blur of whitish-silver zig-zagging between the Avengers. Billy moved through the crowd too, backing up toward their ticket out of there.

His fingers wiggled in different fluid patterns, his wrists twisted along and he loved the feel of using his powers again. The way the energy felt as it moved through him and out his hands made him feel so complete, like this was what he was meant to do.

In no time they'd taken out all the guards and Billy and Taylor – who were closest to the quinjet in the center of the room – moved up the ramp as it lowered and made their way into the jet. Billy stopped when the pilot's seat turned and he saw who was sitting there, the friend Cap and Nat had mentioned earlier.

"No way." He muttered in awe as he looked at King T'Challa of Wakanda. The Black Panther. He was in his suit, except for the helmet, and he smiled at the teenagers as Cap walked up behind them.

"Captain." He acknowledged, his voice laced with his exotic accent.

"Your Highness." Cap replied as the others boarded and seemed to be just as shocked as Billy at who was helping their escape. T'Challa turned and started pressing buttons as the ramp closed and the quinjet lifted into the air as Black Widow took a seat beside him.

"We're hiding out in Wakanda?" Clint asked in surprise.

Cap nodded, "It's the safest place in the world. No one will find us there."

"And if they manage to." T'Challa chimed in, "You will be under my protection and have diplomatic immunity." He looked over his shoulder at them, "You will be safe in Wakanda."

Billy felt relief fill him from his toes to the top of his head. The government couldn't come after him, and even though he didn't know much about Wakanda the way the King spoke he knew there truly was no way anyone could harm him there. He was so overwhelmed by so many emotions that he didn't hear the conversation Cap and Falcon were having not far behind him.

"You come with us and you're Avengers?" Sam asked with his arms crossed over his chest, "Joining is that easy now?"

Cap chuckled, "You saw what they can do. Ross won't stop until he gets them locked up again. And Tony. . . I'm not sure where we stand."

"He was supposed to go as a friend." Sam said his joking attitude washing away.

Cap took a deep sigh, "He did. At first. I'll fill you in later. First we need to get back to Wakanda in one piece."

Sam nodded and looked back at the teens, "This won't be the end of it for them. They're tied up in this mess too now."

"I know." Cap replied a bit of sadness in his tone. In an ideal world he'd get these kids home to their families, where they could go back to school, see their friends. But because of the Accords that wasn't possible.

You just started a war. Tony's voice echoed in his ears. He sighed again, "I hope they're up for it."

Sam rested a hand on his shoulder and when he turned to his friend the joking smile was back on his face. "They're gonna need suits."

Cap chuckled and smiled back at him before turning to the kids. For a brief moment, he thought about Wanda.