Disclaimer: I do not own the world of Marvel

A/n: hello folks! We are back with Sophia. I hope this chapter makes up for my absence.

Sophia stood back away from the Operating Window. Steve stood with his hands against the railing watching the procedure but she found she couldn't look. It was surreal to see Nick Fury looking so weak and vulnerable.

The door to the hallway burst open and Natasha rushed in. She ran up to stand beside Steve. "Is he going to make it?"

"I don't know," Steve responded, his eyes unwavering from the scene in front of him.

"Tell me about the shooter."

"He's fast. Strong. Had a metal arm."

From her place behind them, Sophia thought she saw Natasha's shoulders tense up, just a bit. Maria Hill walked forward to stand next to the other two. Sophia hadn't seen Nick's right hand in a while, but she wasn't surprised that she was there. Taking a deep breath, Sophia joined them, standing to Steve's right. She caught a sight of Natasha's face in the reflections of the window. She didn't know if she had ever seen this much worry in the other woman's eyes. "Ballistics?"

"Three slugs," Maria answered. "No rifling. Completely untraceable."

"Soviet made," Natasha muttered.

Maria turned her head to look at the red-head. "Yeah."

In the operating room, the doctors and nurses started to move a little quicker. "He's in V-tach," one of them said.

"Crash cart coming in."

Behind them, Agent Rumlow and another suit moved closer as well.

"Nurse, help with the –"

"BP's dropping."

"Defibrillator!"

"Don't do this to me, Nick," Natasha muttered, to which Sophia couldn't agree. He was always so stubborn, the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D, so infallible, or at least he believed himself to be. Surely this wouldn't take him down.

Sophia jerked as the doctor used the paddles, as if she had been the one to receive the shock.

"Pulse?"

"No Pulse."

"Okay, 200 please. . . . Stand back. Three, two, one, pulse!"

Nick's body jolted again but nothing. It was so busy in the room, someone called for epinephrine. There was so much blood.

"Pulse?"

"Negative."

"Don't do this to me, Nick," Natasha said again as the surgeon placed his fingers on the side of the Director's neck. "Don't do this to me."

For a moment, no one moved. No one said a word. Steve turned away from the window as Natasha's lip quivered.

"What's the time?" the surgeon muttered.

"1:03, doctor."

A jolt ran down Sophia's spine. The window in front of them cracked, a splintery, jagged line from one corner to the other.

Natasha and Maria jerked back while Steve turned suddenly towards her. "Sophia –"

Sophia didn't wait. She rushed out of the room, people and faces blurring around her until she was bursting through the front doors into the night air. She gasped for breath, placing her hands on her knees.

"Calm down, calm down, calm down," she whispered frantically to herself.

It felt as if her blood was boiling under her skin. She hadn't felt this way since she was a kid, when her magic was still developing and temper tantrums broke the floorboards. She stood up straight, placing her hands over her face as her eyes burned with tears. Her breath steadied, the hum in her veins slowed and steadied.

"Sophia. . . ."

She lowered her hands as Steve came around to stand in front of her. He looked tired, a bit stressed. This had shaken him too. Taking a shaky breath, she shook her head. "He was always so . . . so. . . ."

She couldn't find the words. She argued more with Nick Fury than any other man in her life. He both vexed her and scared her in a way. There were so many secrets, so many lies . . . but he also had been a constant presence in her life. He always made sure, wherever she went, that she had a home, that she was safe.

Now he was just – gone.

"I know," Steve muttered. He looked over her head, back towards the hospital. "They're – they're going to take the body away, any moment. Did you want to – see him?"

"No," Sophia replied, immediately. "No, I can't. I'm sorry."

"Hey, it's okay," he said, reaching forward to give her shoulder a squeeze. "Why don't you head home to get some rest? I'll update you if there's any news."

Trust no one.

Sophia frowned, crossing her arms as she tried to shake Fury's last words to her from her head. She hadn't told Steve. She felt like maybe she should and that she could but the whole thing made her nervous. "Do you think they'll want to debrief us?"

"Probably, but they can find you in the morning. Go home."

Nodding, she leaned forward, giving him a hug that he returned before giving her a small smile, making his way back into the hospital. Taking another deep breath, Sophia took her phone out and ordered a lyft. She'd go home, but she probably wouldn't get any rest.

Sophia spent the rest of the night into the morning on the balcony of her apartment, the latte that she had stopped to get now cold and the book she had grabbed unopened. In the palm of her hand she practiced making her illusions, small animals that skittered up her arm and flowers that bloomed between her fingertips.

She thought of the people she had lost. People she had never met, like her mom and dad. People who were instrumental to her growth, like Fury and Loki. People whom she loved, like Coulson.

God, she was tired of losing people.

Around 8, she received a summons to report to S.H.I.E.L.D for questioning. She didn't respond, choosing instead to take a shower and nibble on some toast. They could wait a little while longer.

Forty-five minutes later, her phone rang and she glared at it. "I'm in mourning, assholes."

It stopped ringing and she popped her cold latte into her microwave, setting it for three minutes.

Her phone rang again.

"Leave a message," she mumbled as she turned her attention to the numbers counting down on her microwave.

Happier thoughts. She needed happier thoughts. She had a date on Friday. A small smile came to her face. She didn't know what to expect and knew there was no way to properly prepare for it, but Sam Wilson seemed like a good communicator and she could go on for ages (though she knew she'd have to rein it in a bit). They should have a nice time.

Her phone rang again.

This time, she angrily swiped it up. "Listen, I'm not –"

"Sophia!"

The angry tirade died in her throat at the sound of Steve's frantic voice. "Steve, what's –?"

"You have to run. You have to get somewhere and hide."

A cold chill ran up her spine.

Trust no one.

She could trust Steve though. She could always trust Steve. Sophia put her phone on speaker as she rushed into her room, pulling a pair of jeans over her pajama shorts and throwing on a hoodie. "Orders."

"They'll be monitoring phone lines, cameras. You have to stay low. Do whatever it takes but do not let them take you. We've been compromised. Ditch your phone and go."

"How will I find you?" she asked as she shoved her feet into her tennis shoes.

Steve paused for just a moment. "Our mutual friend."

Sam.

God, she hated to drag him into whatever the hell this was. "Understood."

"Move, Sophia. Stay safe."

The phone disconnected.

BANG BANG BANG

She heard her front door burst open. Quietly, she stepped out of sight of her bedroom door, placing her back against the wall as she waved her hand. An illusion of herself came to life and held up her hands in surrender, just as the boots of the armed agents must have appeared in her doorway. "What the hell!?"

"Sophia Doe," a voice said. From her hiding place, she wasn't sure how many agents there were but she could hear the guns as they shifted in her direction. It sounded like a lot. She supposed she should feel flattered that they considered her such a threat. "You are under arrest for suspicion of conspiracy. Come with us, quietly, or we will use force."

"Alright, alright," her double muttered. She kept her hands in the air, approaching warily but keeping her distance. Sophia was good at what she did, but if they touched her, it would be all over. "You could have at least used a key or, you know, knocked."

"No powers," the man said.

"I'm complying! Calm down."

Sophia waited until she could hear them moving off, towards the front door. To be completely honest, she wasn't sure how far the double would make it before it disappeared. She moved to her window, sliding it open and climbing out onto the fire escape.

"Sophia Doe!"

Her shield flared up, blocking the shots that were sent her away. She glared down at the three agents shooting at her. Drawing one arm back, she forced her shield towards them, making them scatter and giving her enough time to jump from her fire escape to the next one. She climbed up, towards the roof. Shots rang out below her and she ducked, raising another shield. One of the shots lodged into the wall next to her shoulder. It looked like a dart of some kind, she mused as she climbed onto the roof.

"Shooting to capture," she muttered, sprinting across the roof. "I'm not going to let that happen."

She used well placed shields to help her jump to the next roof. Her feet hit the gravel and she dashed over to that fire escape. Holding on the sides of the ladder, she slid down, using her magic to protect her hands. She hit the ground a little too hard and nearly buckled, but she got back up, running again.

Think, Sophia.

Staying in the alleyways would be smarter though it would take twice as long to get to the VA, which was already far enough as it is. If she went out to the streets, she'd risk being caught on camera. Staying up high would work, but eventually she would run out of roof. She could try and blend in with the crowds at the Mall, but that could put civilians at risk.

Though, if they were aiming to seem inconspicuous, they wouldn't just open fire in a place full of people.

Would they?

A car swerved in front of the alley exit, blocking her way. Using her shields as stair steps, she ran up and over, flipping out into the street in a crouch. A car screeched to a stop before it hit her.

Crowded area then.

She could make this work.

Spreading her arms wide, about a dozen copies of her appeared around her. She swooped her arms around her, creating an illusion of wind storm.

Misdirection.

"Scatter!" Sophia yelled.

Her copies dashed off and so did she. Hopefully, this would be enough to throw them off her trail for a bit. She ran a few blocks, cutting through people and trying not to knock anyone over. After a moment, when she didn't see any black sedans,she settled into a purposeful walk, pulling her hood up to cover her hair, knowing her purple locs would give her away. Her copies should last long enough for her to get some distance.

Stay calm. Calm keeps you safe. Calm keeps you from being noticed. Don't run, walk.

Sophia whispered a quiet 'thanks' to Natasha for her lessons. Sophia could hardly call herself spy like but Nat had given her a few subtle lessons on a few of their missions. The best ways to become unnoticeable in a crowd.

She made it fifteen minutes before hell broke loose.

A van screeched around the corner, coming down the street towards her.

"Shit," she muttered, making a quick right turn into another alley as the car parked. She looked over her shoulder to see some more agents pile out, running towards her.

Sophia picked up the pace. There were too many for her to fight, she'd be overwhelmed.

Another few agents rounded the corner, right in front of her.

But it looked like she was running out of options.

She was trapped.

She ducked as they swung a long taser at her, the weapon scraping against the wall. She jabbed at the agent's stomach, sending them skidding back away from her. Another agent aimed a kick at her head that she blocked, pushing them into the wall.

"Take aim!"

Sophia let go of the agent to form little bubbles around the nozzles of the guns aimed at her as they fired, jamming their weapons. One of the agents made the mistake of trying to fire again, causing his gun to explode and knock him and a few of his fellow agents down.

Unfortunately, the blast pushed Sophia to the ground as well. A shield kept her safe in the front but she hit the ground too fast to protect her back. Her shoulder skid against the concrete and she winced as she rolled over onto her stomach.

"Move!" Sophia muttered to herself, pushing up to her feet. She ran towards the exit of the alley, back out onto a quiet street.

Quiet street?

Bang!

Sophia was flung into the wall as something hit her in the thigh. She cried out as her back hit the wall. They must have had people on the roofs, waiting for her. Looking down, she found a dart lodged in her upper thigh. She ripped it out and started running again, holding up her shield to block any other unexpected shots.

Her strides were still strong. She didn't feel anything.

Yet. . . .

Bang!

Another dart caught her in the back of her right arm, nearly knocking her down again.

Keep Going!

Sophia blinked hard as her vision started to go fuzzy.

No no no no no!

Bang!

Sophia fell to the ground, another dart lodged in the base of her spine.

The world around her was starting to change, colors bleeding together.

"Steve!" she cried out, as she pushed onto her knees, trying to crawl.

Bang!

Another dart hit her in the side, sending her back to the ground.

"Steve," she whispered. Booted feet appeared in her vision. "I'm sorry."

She didn't make it.

She had failed.

The world went dark.