Thank you to everyone who had read, reviewed, and added this story. The last chapter has amazed me with your responses and for the story overall, and I just want to say you are all amazing.

I love writing this story so much, the ideas are spinning and I can't wait to share the journey I am planning to take our heroes on and I hope you all enjoy it.
I have loved writing this chapter, and I hope that I have been able to properly capture even half of what I mentally pictured as each scene unfolded and that you enjoy it as much as I did writing it.

Any mistakes are mine and mine alone.


XXX


Chapter 10

"It's cold tonight."

Madoc glanced at his assigned partner for this evening Detective Richards out of the corner of his eye.

He didn't acknowledge the statement, it wasn't exactly like he needed to, and Richards had pointed out the obvious.

It was cold tonight.

Instead, he kept his eyes glued to the window overlooking two of the piers.

He could see one of the agents doing their sweep of the area, and he followed their movements while ensuring no unpleasant surprises lay in wait.

All the while Richards kept jabbering on.

"Richards, check in with the others," he said softly, giving the task over to Richards, so the other man had something to do other than talk his ear off.

Madoc couldn't blame him, he was new to the unit, and this was his first real big operation out with them. He was young and he was nervous, and disguising those nerves with talking.

Even so, Madoc wished he wouldn't talk so much.

"Graves, the radio is static."

Madoc snapped his attention to Richards, his eyes narrowing onto the radio.

"Are you sure it's on the right channel?"

"Yes, sir."

Madoc reached for it, checked it over for himself. It was fully charged, and Richards was right, it was on the right channel.

One by one, he tried each of his fellow Detectives.

Crackling greeted him.

His stomach turned to lead, and an uneasy feeling swept through him.

Something was wrong.

Something was seriously wrong.

"Romanoff, come in."

Romanoff didn't respond.

Right, so it wasn't just their radios; it was everyone.

Possible causes, interference.

Jamming.

Magic?

Madoc knew that if he really wanted to, he could focus his magic in such a way that it would interfere with the radios. Not a long term solution but enough for it to be a problem.

The two never really mixed well together and one never could tell what would actually happen until it did.

It took a lot of concentration on his part to not interfere with it more than accidental encounters.

But why would magic be interfering here, it was far more likely for somebody to be jamming them.

Neither option was a particularly good one at the moment.

His years of experiences allowed him to mask his uncertainty from Richards. He wasn't alarmed yet, but there was something on the air that made him nervous.

Something wasn't right.

"What the hell is that?"

Madoc glanced at Richards before looking in the direction the detective was staring in.

Silvery light was speeding towards them, pulsing as if it had a heartbeat, before it stopped, glowing tendrils spread out until a Stag emerged from the light.

Madoc inwardly cursed, a Patronus.

"Graves, witches and wizards are working with Hydra. It's a trap. It's a trap."

Holly's voice echoed through the room they were standing in before the Stag disappeared taking the light with it and leaving them in darkness.

Fuck.

"Graves?" Richards whispered, his eyes wide and looking at him and the space where the Stag had been standing.

"Graves, what was that? What is going on?"

Madoc didn't answer; instead, he reached for his wand, turned on Richards with a grimace.

"I'm sorry," he said softly, before stunning the other man with a flick of his wrist.

Another flick caught Richards before he fell to the ground, and instead lowered him gently.

What had Potter been thinking off?

But then if her message was correct, Potter thought the team needed magical backup, and he was the only one who could offer that backup.

His mind warred with itself, arguments for and against racing around.

It was his duty as an Auror to protect the No-Majs, and if Witches and Wizards were working with Hydra, then he needed to stop them.

Yet, doing so could reveal the Wizarding World to the Avengers and the No-Maj agents here.

Doing nothing wasn't an option.

He had to do something, but first, he needed to Oblivate Richards.

The Memory Charm, while difficult was one of the first things an Auror learned to do well, it was each of their duty to oblivate a No-Maj that ended up finding out about the Wizarding World.

Satisfied that Richards was safe and wouldn't remember the Patronus, Madoc moved to the window.

He knew this site well enough to be able to move about unseen by the Avengers and their team.

While keeping a lookout for Hydra was why he was here, he wouldn't engage them directly in a fight.

The best aid he could offer was remaining unseen, dealing with witches and wizards he crossed paths with and hope that nobody saw him.

Casting the Disillusionment Charm on himself, he Apparated out of the warehouse, a clear picture of where he wanted to go in his mind, with a pop.


XXX


The rhythmic sound of static in his ear broke the silence that stretched around him.

Bucky let out a slow controlled breath in an attempt to loosen the tension that was currently sinking into his body. His eyes moved with an alertness that came from years of experience and the heightened senses that picked up on the slightest change in the environment around him.

His gut twisted and turned, his skin prickled and his hands remained clenched around his sniper rifle by subconscious demand.

The army had taught him patience.

Hydra had honed that skill into an entirely different level.

He remained perfectly still, body pressed to concrete and eye to the scope.

The darkness that surrounded gave him the best cover. Mother Nature made the best camouflage and Bucky had learned how to use it to his advantage.

To work in the shadows so his prey would never see him coming.

The steady beat of his heart giving him a way to count between check-ins.

He had counted 330 since Holly had last checked in.

Bucky was starting to grow concerned and was it not for the soothing calmness trickling through the bonds he would have already been moving.

That didn't stop scenarios playing through his mind for the explanation as to why she hadn't checked in again.

The others had.

He did a slow sweep across the terminal, looking through his night-vision scope.

Nothing stirred, and yet unease was settling in his stomach, and the hair on the back of his neck was standing to attention.

Bucky might not be able to trust himself, but his instincts were fine-tuned and razor-sharp when it came to this kind of work, and everything so far was telling him it was too easy.

Hydra never made things easy.

He took another a deep breath, frowning as his breath became visible.

His breath hadn't been visible seconds ago.

Biting cold licked at his face and crept under his clothes, spreading across his skin.

A shiver ran down the length of his spine, and his fingers on his right hand seemed to have stiffened and stuck to his gun, pulling at them, pulled at the skin and a sharp icy pain burned at the tips.

What the fuck?

Icy fingers wrapped around him like a shawl woven from snow. It pulled at his memories, tugged at his mind until all he could think about was those early days, those days with Hydra when his nerves sang and screamed and howled in pain. When the process of freezing him hadn't been quick but agonisingly slow.

When he had clawed at the thin glass of his icy coffin in an attempt to escape as his body shut down inch by inch until all he could remember was ice in his veins and in his soul and he couldn't feel the warmth pressing against his skin.

When all there had been was the pain.

A jolt of urgency mixed with fear twisted in his gut before flaring to life through him, as if somebody had just lit his veins on fire.

Holly's voice jarred him out of the twisted memories.

It's a trap, it's a trap.

Holly.

Bucky tried to move, tried to reach for his Comms, but his limbs were frozen, ice covering his body as if he was once again back in his icy coffin.

A surge of rage roared through him. Energy pulsed in his veins and the Soldier howled, shoving himself forward until he was in control.

Every ounce of focus and attention went into flexing his metal hand, in moving it to break the ice that covered him.

Ice cracked.

His arm moved.

Cold still chilled his bones, but Bucky didn't stop to think, he moved, he pushed forward, he made his muscles work.

Reaching for the bonds, the energy that swirled through them and the ever-burning heat that was Steve he pulled at it just enough to allow the fire to burn away the chill that had set through him.

"Hols, come in?" he demanded, the crackle of the Comms his only answer.

"Steve. Wilson?" He tried again.

Static greeted him.

Stay alert! The Soldier growled at him, a flood of energy surging through him.

Bucky paused, pushing back the urge to fight the Soldier for control and instead listened to what his gut was telling him.

He was on the rooftop of a five-story building. A building he had picked because it had no easy access for another to sneak upon him.

He was alone on the rooftop, yet part of his body was alit with energy told him differently.

His senses prickled, and the Solider practically growled at him for his slowness and the urgency that something was wrong.

But Bucky didn't need the warning.

He knew something was wrong, because as cold as it was for January, it wasn't cold enough to freeze him in that short of time.

Bucky glanced over his shoulder, his gaze sweeping over every corner of the roof.

There was nowhere possible for anyone to hide, and he couldn't see anyone.

But just because he couldn't see them didn't mean they weren't there.

He took a breath, focused on his other senses, enhanced by his own cocktail of a serum.

It was the heartbeats he heard first. Two racing pulses that told him that whoever was on the rooftop with him were nervous.

He could smell the cheap aftershave, or at least he presumed it was aftershave, though it carried a scent of burning to it and something Bucky couldn't name but made his nose wrinkle all the same.

He could taste the salt of their sweat on his tongue.

They were male, that much he could detain.

But there was something else on the air that he could taste and smell, but for the life of him, Bucky couldn't find the words to describe what it was.

Despite all of his other instincts telling him that there were other people on the roof, Bucky still couldn't work out where they were.

Not that Bucky had the chance to panic too much, the air crackled around him, as words he didn't understand were yelled, and orange light flared to life in the darkness on his left, speeding right towards him.

Bucky dropped and rolled to the side, the scent of singed flesh and burnt hair filling his nose, as whatever the fuck that light was, skimmed across his shoulder.

Pain burst to life in his arm, Bucky gritted his teeth and pushed it aside.

Now wasn't the time to think about it.

Drawing his knives, he crouched to the ground and waited for the unknown assailants to make their move.

To give him a clue to their whereabouts.

He didn't wait long.

A variety of lights flew his way, forcing him to move.

Fiery orange

The light hit the edge of the building behind him, it exploded.

A thin layer of concrete dust-coated him as he shielded his head from the falling derby.

Blue.

Ice shot forward, speeding towards him with alarming speed and accuracy.

Bucky jumped to the side in a roll, moving out the way less he found himself once again frozen solid.

Red.

A net of flames formed in thin air, hurling towards him.

Blue.

A new wave of ice cracked along the rooftop.

Coming from opposite sides, it was all he could do was drop, roll, dive and dodge.

Dancing across the rooftop to a tune he didn't know.

Every time he tried to get close, whoever the hell they were, pushed him back.

Bucky took a gamble and threw one of his knives in the general direction the voices and lights were coming from, only for the air to shimmer a golden colour halfway across before it dropped to the floor with a clang.

Eyes darted around, looking for an exit, he needed to get off this rooftop, and he needed to get some fucking cover.

He was thrown backwards as purple light hit him square in the chest, throwing him to the floor.

Ropes wrapped around him, tightening the more he moved.

He strained against them, trying and failing to loosen them.

The bonds pulsed beneath his skin.

A loud pop, as if somebody had just popped a bottle of champagne open, broke across the night air, forcing him to look up from where he was on the floor.

The sudden appearance of a looming hooded figure standing in front of him caught him by surprise, and all Bucky could do was stare.

What the fuck?

Shadows appeared to float around the figure as if they were wearing a cloak made entirely out of the darkness.

They, Bucky couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman, turned to look at him.

A hood pulled up high covered their face and shadows seemed to obscure anything else on closer inspection.

Except that wasn't quite right either.

Interwoven into the shadows appeared to be a million galaxies.

Beautiful.

Memorising.

Where eyes should have been was glowing amber lights that smouldered dangerously.

The figure, because Bucky wasn't going to refer to them as the Hood, waved an arm over him, the tightening ropes vanished, and he found he could suddenly breathe.

He itched to reach for his knives, yet something made him hesitate to do so, and he didn't understand why.

Another wave and white light shot out from their hand.

Spinning across the rooftop until the sound of 'oomph's' echoed.

His eyes widened in surprise as he watched the shadows in front of him bleed away to reveal two men, their own eyes widening in shock as their gazes fixed on the figure in front of him.

It didn't take them long to get over their surprise before they leapt into action.

All Bucky could do was watch, no real clue as to what was happening or how they were doing the things they were doing, but it was clear they were enhanced.

Lights flared to life and flew across from side to side, exploding in a spray of colours, making it look like fireworks on July the 4th.

Energy seemed to crackle across his skin and the bonds pulsed and vibrated inside of him though Bucky couldn't determine why.

Yet, he couldn't sense Holly anywhere. Just icy coldness whenever he tried to reach through the bonds to see if she was okay.

As if she had spun her warning and then shut down so quickly he couldn't reach back.

The other possible explanation for why he couldn't feel her, Bucky didn't want to think about.

Despite the odds being against his guardian angel, they were holding their own.

Quicker, more precise with their movements and their aim was almost always on the ball.

Forcing the two men to defend themselves more than they could attack.

Lightning cracked.

Concrete splintered, and the building shook.

He had no idea what they were doing, but Bucky knew he needed to get off the damn thing before it collapsed around him.

And from the looks of it, he wasn't the only one with the same idea.

As one, both his assailants vanished with a loud crack that reminded him of a car backfiring.

His guardian angel, as he had no idea what to call them, turned gave him a glance over before vanishing, with a much quieter pop.

Bucky stared in disbelief, just as the building shook again.

He pushed himself to his feet, grabbing his rifle as he did so and moved towards the fire escape.

The cracking of concrete and brick splitting the only warning he needed.

Not that he made it to the metal stairs.

Sam was already sweeping down towards him.

Bucky ran and leapt off the edge of the building just as it collapsed out from under him.

Sam caught him, his arms gripping tightly into his own, before lowering them both to the ground.

"What the hell was that?"

The building crumbled before their very eyes.

"I have no idea but thank god that building was empty," Bucky answered, "But it's a trap. The Comms are down, and we have Enhanced on the field."

"Steve?"

"Steve and Holly. I can't make out where she is."

"Let's get to it then."

Sam pushed himself into the air, leaving Bucky to sprint across the road and over the fence that separated the Container Terminal. The sounds of gunfire reaching him.

Bucky threw himself forward, pushing past the pain and focused on running towards the fight.

He just hoped he would make it in time.


XXX


Bruce cautiously made his way through the rail yard, Tony flying above him. Every step he took was as though his skin itched and his head was threatening to split open any second.

He understood the feeling for what it was, the Hulk wanted out, but Bruce couldn't understand why.

There was no immediate threat to his life that Bruce could see that would cause the Hulk to react in such a way.

There is nothing there, he told the Hulk firmly.

The burning itch didn't stop it only intensified, his skin stretching as every muscle in his body tensed and seared. The stabbing pain in his head didn't ease in the slightest.

He was fighting with the Hulk with every step he took.

The pounding in his chest a clear indication that the Hulk was gaining ground.

Something had spooked the Hulk.

Hulk, not spooked. Stupid Banner, not sense danger when danger right beside him.

Bruce stopped, his whole body tensing.

What?

Stupid Banner, Hulk snorted at him.

As insults went, it wasn't the first time the Hulk had called him that, nor was it the worst thing he had called him either.

What danger? He prompted, but even that was a struggle. The more attention he gave the Hulk, the more likely the Hulk would win this battle and break free.

Bruce couldn't allow that, not when other people's lives would be in danger. He hated putting others in danger through his own carelessness. He had enough blood and in turn, lives on his hands as it was.

Banner putting more lives at risk now.

"You okay there, Brucie-bear?" Tony asked.

Bruce glanced up to see him hovering just above him, clearly, him stopping hadn't gone unnoticed.

"The Hulk wants out. He says there is danger."

"I'm inclined to believe Green, this does seem to easy at the moment. Jarvis keeps breaking up as well," Tony replied, "Can he tell what danger and from where?"

"No."

"You could always-"

"No, Tony."

It was hard to distinguish exactly what Tony was thinking or feeling when he was wearing the suit, it hid all the usual tells, not that Tony had many. But Bruce could work out from the tilt of the head that Tony wasn't going to push, for the moment.

A strangeness in itself really, since Tony pushed and pushed and pushed.

Bruce had yet to work out why, and he had known the man for the last two years, had worked closely with him and in turn lived within the Tower the longest.

"I'm going to scout ahead, let me know if the Big Guy is coming out to play."

"That's not funny Tony," Bruce yelled back, not that he was positive Tony had heard him, he had already spurred the suit forward with a thrust of energy.

Bruce shook his head, and moved forward, at a much slower pace, cautiously picking his steps.

The Hulk continued to push and test him, but for the moment Bruce remained in control.

Something was making the Hulk react, and he didn't like it.

He had barely made twenty paces when a sinking sensation gripped over him, his stomach twisted and churned and an ice-cold wave rippled through him.

The harsh pressure in his chest as he struggled to get enough air to breathe, the air sucked out of his lungs as if one giant vacuum had opened up in front of him. The building desperation as his ears began to ring.

He needed to run.

He needed to run.

He needed to leave.

Except he couldn't move.

He couldn't move a muscle.

Bruce was aware of his brain telling him to lift a leg up, to take a step back, but his leg didn't comply.

Instead, he just stood there as if he was rooted to the ground.

His pulse raced, and a roar reverberated through him.

Pain shot through his head, as the Hulk pushed and pushed and pushed until he found himself disappearing second by second.

Skin rippled and shifted, muscles snapped and ripped and healed.

He grew and grew.

And with one breath leading into the next, he let out an almighty roar, that didn't just echo in his mind but ripped through the night air...

...

...Stupid Banner, Hulk snorted, Could not sense danger until right in danger.

Hulk better than Banner.

His skin crawled and knots and vines twisted around him in dark slimy colours. He could feel them creeping up his legs.

He narrowed his eyes, grabbed hold of them. They bit into his hands, piercing his skin, Hulk let out a roar of outrage and pulled and pulled. Ripping them up until they fell dead and shrivelled in his hands.

He threw them away in disgust, before letting out another roar and launched himself forward.

Landing on one of the metal containers, denting the roof as he landed.

Shadows below him moved, drawing closer and closer together and bright sparkly light flew towards him.

Hulk swatted at them, except they burned and blistered his skin.

Hulk had never encountered something before that could hurt him. Not men with bullets, not explosions, but these pretty lights cut and burned.

He let out another roar and leapt towards the shadows, but the shadows fled.

"What you doing Big Guy?" Metal Man greeted as he hovered above him.

"Hulk smash shadows."

"Shadows? You can't smash shadows," Metal Man said slowly.

"Metal man just as stupid as Banner."

"I'm just going to pretend you didn't mean that Big Guy."

He huffed and turned his back to look back at the shadows.

They were waiting, Hulk could smell them.

Voices shouted as one, words he could not understand.

Greens, blues and reds flickered to life and spiralled towards him and Metal Man.

He jumped.

Aware of Metal Man loudly muttering as he dodged and ducked.

"Son of a bitch!"

Hulk landed with a bang, ground cracking under him.

"I take it back, Hulk smash shadows, or whatever the hell is going on."

Hulk did not need Metal Man's permission. With relative ease, he picked up one of the containers, swung it around and let it fly in the direction that the lights came from.

Loud cracks and pops echoed, before repeating a second time behind him.

More words and more colours danced through the air, one after the other. Metal Man fired back with his own golden blasts of energy, repelling some of the pretty lights away from him.

"Damn it! Something is interfering with the Comms, I can't communicate with anyone."

Hulk ignored him.

It was hard to smash things he could not see, that kept moving, circling around them.

Loud cracks and pops the only indication to gage when they were moving.

Blue light hit his chest, knocking him off his feet with more force than he had felt before.

He landed with a thud, wincing as the air seemed to force its way out of his lungs.

The earth shifted beneath, crumbling below him.

Hulk tried to push himself to his feet, but found himself sinking, unable to push off anything to throw himself out of the growing pit below him.

Metal rails slithered to life, speeding towards him, wrapping around him, tighter and tighter and tighter.

Metal man blasted at the rails, but they quickly shot up in the air towards him, and barely managed to move out of their way, zooming around as they followed behind him.

He roared, straining against the metal rails and sinking ground, until the ground started to shift over him, covering him and burying him alive, he let out one final roar, and dirt filled his mouth.

The darkness surrounded him, pulling hid down until all he could think was pain and fear.


XXX


Holly landed behind one of the containers with a soft thud and blood roaring in her ears before she hurled herself forward through the twists and turns of the container terminal.

Apparating without a clear image in mind was dangerous and foolish, and she didn't know the Container Terminal well enough to risk it more than once or twice, but the risk of not doing it was equally high.

She had barely made it to Bucky in time as it was and that was with apparating to the roof he was on.

Shadows wrapped around her as if she was wearing a cloak, and the Obscurial Charm she had used concealed her face from prying eyes.

Well-honed reflexes allowed her to take the corners without running into metal, the sound of gunshots echoed through the night air, she pushed herself harder, sprinting towards whoever was firing those weapons, her lungs nearly shattering. She pushed the pain away, willing strength and speed into her legs and carried on.

Come on, faster, she told herself with each step, each pound of her heart. Faster, Potter, faster.

The gunshots were getting louder, and as she rounded one final corner, she could hear the familiar voice of Tank, calling for help.

But the radios were down, and no one could hear but her and whoever he was firing against.

Holly didn't pause or stop, she kept running, straight into the clearing, her sense stretching and the pulsing beats of life she could sense told her exactly where the concealed witches and wizards were located.

She drew to a stop in front of Tank, a flick and a twist of her wand, the Shield Charm sprung to life around her and Tank, just as two curses flung towards him.

Her Shield glowed as the curses hit it and bounced off.

Holly didn't give her opponents a chance to recover from their surprise. She didn't pay attention to Tank who was cursing in his own way, pointing his gun at her direction.

She was already moving, a turn here, a flick there, moving from one non-verbal spell to the next.

The Disillusionment Charm melted away from the witch and wizard, and her Multi-shot jinx created multiple semi-omnidirectional blasts of pure kinetic magic, hitting both the witch and wizard square in the chest, throwing them back into the air.

Brute force was all well and good, but Holly knew she needed to be smart to win this and not draw more attention to her presence here than necessary.

MACUSA showing up was the last thing she needed - at least while she was in the vicinity.

Holly parried away a curse flying her way while dodging the second spell.

She fired off her own rapidly, starting with the Knee-Reversal Hex, and the Orbis Jinx.

The former hitting only the wizard, a sickening crunch of bones twisting cut through the air closely followed by a piercing scream. His knees twisted and turned until they were facing the opposite way. The Wizard didn't have a chance to cancel the spell before the ground sucked him down, opening faster than a blink of an eye and pulling him under.

The remaining opponent, the witch, had managed to narrowly avoid the same fate as the wizard, the woman's eyes narrowed as she took in the sight of Holly.

Not that she could see her, all she would be able to see was a hooded figure surrounded by shadows.

Her pulse was racing, from the adrenaline, yet despite everything that was going around her, Holly was calm.

She was always calm in the heat of the moment, in the middle of the swirling frantic chaos of a fight or battle.

But then there was something about it that Holly enjoyed.

Made her feel alive.

And that wasn't something she liked to think about, but a fight, a duel, a battle made her feel alive.

She wasn't sure why it surprised her, after all, she brought death wherever she walked, and held hands with war more often or not.

Think.

Focus.

As one they moved, Holly noted the details about the witch that she could use to her advantage.

She was left-handed and seemed to be shielding her right arm.

Injured?

Weaker?

Holly cast her Shield Charm as curses flew her way; she recognised some of them, but not all of them.

The witch's clothing wasn't made out of dragon hide so wouldn't have the same resistance to magic, not that Holly could say hers did either.

The witch in front of her had not yet learnt to cast non-verbally and was practically screaming out her curses.

It gave Holly an advantage she needed to use.

Even as quick as she was, it didn't stop her from getting hit by the yellowish coloured Searing Jinx, her arm burning and blistering under her clothes, the material melting around her.

Damn it, fuck.

She pushed down the nausea that bubbled in her stomach, pushed away the wave of pain that made her feel lightheaded and dropped to the floor as a second curse hurled her way.

Think, think.

Casting the Smokescreen spell, she blended into the shadows, moving closer to the witch. Her senses leading her even if she couldn't see, Holly could see the glowing golden outline that shone in her mind even with her eyes closed.

A left turn and flick of the Elder wand in her hand, and the smoke around her reformed and solidified in seconds to become a swarm of pursing daggers.

A wave of her wand and the daggers flew in the direction of the witch, too many to count, and too many for her to block.

The woman managed to knock some away, but a few slipped through flying true and hitting her in the arms, legs and shoulders.

The woman hissed at her, Holly cast the Disarming Charm, hitting the witch. Holly caught the wand and tucked it into her pocket.

Before flicking her wand again, fiery red ropes shot out of her wand, speeding towards her opponent, missing her by inches as the woman disapparated in retreat.

Leaving her companion still stuck in the ground, howling in pain.

Never leave a man behind was clearly not a motto they followed.

Holly sent another Disarming Charm towards the wizard; she caught his wand and knocked him unconscious, using the Stunning Charm.

He wouldn't be going anywhere in a hurry. Another Obliviating Charm later and he wouldn't remember much detail either; of course she couldn't do anything about those who made a hasty retreat.

Holly turned towards Tank; his unconscious form slumped against one of the containers. Moving quickly towards him, Holly was able to determine that he was still alive, unconscious but breathing.

Casting a healing charm on him, she watched the cut on his forehead knit itself back together, closing in seconds and the red swelling reducing almost instantly. He would still need to get himself checked over, but for the moment, he wasn't in any immediate danger.

Holly cast a ward over him, giving him protection from those who would cause him harm, until either she could return, he woke up or allies found him before pushing herself to her feet and ran in the opposite direction.

She had faced five Hydra magic users, two were incapacitated, and three had retreated, or regrouped with the others.

It meant she would be facing five to eight magic users and, Merlin knew how many Hydra Agents.

Holly was surprised she had only encountered magic users so far, but then, in theory, they should have been able to pick them off one by one, leaving the core forces attention on the most significant threat.

The Wizards that had been targeting Bucky hadn't been using spells to actually cause lasting damage, but instead used spells to capture him.

It meant, at least in Holly's mind, that the main bulk of everybody would be taking out Steve and Thor.

The bonds tugged, and Holly found herself following the direction of the tug, using it to guide her to where Steve and Thor were.

She had no idea if the others were alive, or how they were faring but she prayed to whichever gods were listening that luck was on her side tonight and that she could get to them in time.

It took her five minutes to reach them, or at least reach their general vicinity.

Holly drew herself to a stop, dropping to her knees and pulling the shadows tighter around her, for her to stay out of sight while she planned out her next move.

She could see Steve and Thor in the centre of the clearing, surrounded by men dressed in black, all of them armed, weapons raised and pointing at the two of them.

Thirty-forty Hydra agents, but that was only a rough count.

A closer look allowed her to feel out roughly where the locations of the Hydra magic users were.

Hydra had planned it out perfectly, had positioned themselves in such a way that the odds were stacked in their favour.

Holly ducked back behind the container, resting her head against the side.

She needed to think.

She needed a plan.

Possible scenarios spun in her head.

She could hear Steve talking.

Could hear one of the Hydra Agents respond.

The back and forth snide comments a clear indicator there was a personal connection somewhere.

Glancing around to see if there was anything she could use. Holly's eyes stopped on one of the Containers, an idea taking shape as a slow smile crept along her face.

That could work.

She pushed herself to her feet, raised her wand, and gathered her magic as she focused on the spell she needed.

The container shuddered.

Vibrated.

Peeled, and moved, swirling and coiling as it shrunk, twisted and merged its shape.

It wasn't an actual transfiguration, but it was a transfiguration of sorts, mixed in with charm work resulting in one giant metal animal.

Holly let her gaze slowly move upwards until she met three pairs of eyes, giant mouths and razor-sharp teeth.

Standing as tall as Fluffy had, she had taken inspiration from the three-headed dog.

Only hers was metal.

She took a step forward and the dog backed up, waiting for her direction.

Another flick of her wand, this time over herself she cast the Doppelganger Curse, her skin seemed to rip in two, the searing, burning pain certainly gave her the impression she was.

Two hands pushed forward, followed by an upper body, an extra head, and then a copy of herself stepped out of her skin.

Holly found it strange staring at green eyes she knew were her own.

Even stranger when she smiled and the Doppelganger smiled back at her.

Maybe, just maybe this would work.


XXX


Steve paused.

His ears pricked.

Before continuing forward, it had taken them longer than he thought it would to reach the water.

And despite what the Intel had suggested, no boat was in sight.

Something didn't add up.

Didn't sit well with him.

Every part of him was hyperaware and alert, as his eyes scanned the area.

Water on one side.

Containers on the other.

A large enough space to move without interference, yet there was no movement, no sound, no whisper of anything.

Unease wrapped itself around him, and Steve found himself clenching and unclenching his fist.

Had Nat's source lied to them?

Was there really only one location and not two?

Had he made the wrong call?

Worry gnawed at his bones, and Steve couldn't shake the feeling that something was terribly wrong, yet he couldn't for the life of him pinpoint what it was.

Every nerve ending was alit with anticipation as if his whole body was picking up on something he couldn't sense and preparing itself.

"There is something on the air tonight, something I cannot place," Thor said softly.

Steve glanced at the Asgardian. Thor was staring across the water, a distant look in his eyes, and crease in his brow.

"There is no sign of them as of yet," Steve answered quietly, "We may have been played."

He reached for the Comms, checking in with the others.

Silence greeted him.

Thorns twisted around him tightly, his stomach hardening as the first trickle of doubt crept along the length of his spine.

"Bucky."

He waited precious seconds for a response.

"Thor, something is jamming the Comms," he warned. His gaze darted to every shadow, every corner as he did a sweep of the area.

Thor tensed next to him, his grip tightening on the handle of his hammer.

Steve reached for his shield at his back.

A wave of heat hit him full force.

It's a trap. It's a trap.

The bond between Holly and him erupted to life.

"Thor, it's a trap."

No sooner had the words left his mouth, the air around them shimmered as if it was melting away and Hydra Agents emerged from the shadows, guns raised and pointing towards the two of them.

Steve tensed.

They had been there all the time, cloaked.

But only the Helicarrier had that kind of technology.

A thick heavy tension lay heavy on the air, neither side daring to move as they each eyed the other up.

Hydra wasn't kidding around.

There were at least forty agents, if not more.

Armed to the teeth and over half of them had the Chitauri weapons.

Tony had managed to develop a short term solution, much like Natasha's Spider Bites, it let out a small pulse of energy that would short circuit the weapons.

Problem was, you had to be up close and personal to get the devices on each weapon.

The time scale hadn't allowed him to come up with anything that would stop them all without blowing the team up with them.

A man stepped forward.

Steve's eyes narrowed as he locked his attention onto him.

Rumlow.

"Thor, it's a trap," Rumlow mimicked with a chuckle.

"You know Cap, I have to say I'm surprised, you fell for it, and how you guessed it. My guys were good at staying quiet until we had you right where we wanted you."

"There was never any weapons deal?" Steve said, refusing to acknowledge the question. The last thing any of them needed was Hydra finding out about Holly.

"Oh, no there was, just been and done. There is now more than enough Chitauri weapons on the streets to cause a bloodbath," Rumlow replied, his eyes glinting with amusement, "You just won't be around to see it."

Steve shared a look with Thor, the Asgardian giving him a single nod, before turning his attention back onto Rumlow. His mind spinning for solutions that would get them both out of this.

The odds weren't in their favour, but they had faced worse odds than this before.

His tightened his grip on his shield, a plan slowly sliding into place.

It wasn't perfect, not by a long shot.

Rumlow chuckled, "That mind of yours is already racing for a way out. It's not going to happen. I have people picking off your people one by one. Your boy Barnes will be back where he belongs by the end of the night."

Hot burning rage bubbled in his stomach, rising higher and higher with every breath he took. A volcano explosion erupted through him, pouring molten lava into his veins.

Steve bit back the bitter taste in his mouth, swallowed down the inferno in his throat, forcing it into more useful avenues than simply exploding.

He. Would. Not. Let. Them. Take. Bucky.

"I see you healed up nicely, the last time I saw you, your resembled Freddy Krueger," Steve taunted.

He needed Rumlow to react, to stop think and get angry.

Rumlow smirked at him.

"I made some new friends."

Steve filed away that little bit of information. Friends with capabilities to perform medical miracles shouldn't be too difficult to find. As fine as Rumlow looked now, nine months ago it had been touch ago that he would survive from his injuries. Enough so that the police had eased up their security on him and he had given them the slip.

The seconds ticked by, it was a stalemate, neither side was willing to make a move first.

A blur of movement to his left drew his eye, and not just him.

Hydra Agents swivelled around, weapons raised and pointing towards the movement.

Steve tensed as Holly came into focus as she drew to a stop. A panicked look twisting her face.

She glanced at him, to the Hydra Agents, though Steve couldn't help but note she seemed unfazed by the number of weapons pointed at her.

"RUN!"

Holly lunged herself forward, towards him and Thor as seconds later an enormous, monstrous figure burst through the gap, pushing containers out of its way.

Steve stared, eyes widening as he took in the sight unfolding before him.

A massive growling three-headed dog towered above the all.

For a microsecond, everybody seemed to stare in shock before the heads barked, and Hydra opened fire.

The sound of bullets clanging on metal rang through the air.

The dog was made of metal.

What the fuck?

Steve raced to Holly, pulled her flush against his chest and shielded the both of them with his shield as some Hydra Agents fired at the two of them.

He could feel the force of the bullets hitting his shield vibrating up his arm, the sparks of metal clashing on metal lighting up the air.

His heart raced, but Steve was surprised to find that Holly's was a steady calming beat. The panic had been fake, she was no more scared than Thor seemed to be.

Thor who had pushed himself into the air and was already hurling lightning down at Hydra.

He looked down at Holly, her green eyes locked gazes with him. They gave no hint to her feelings, they betrayed nothing but nerves of steel.

"On my mark, we move," she said.

He hid his surprise as best he could. Steve was used to the others waiting for his direction, waiting for him to plan the way out. Holly was already ahead of him, a gentle tap on his arm, the only signal he was getting before she moved.

Spinning out of his grasp, and around him, I.C. in her hand firing behind him.

Steve didn't hesitate, he hurled his shield at the Agents that were firing at them, and moved forward.

Catching his shield as it bounced back off the container behind the agents before crashing into the next batch of opponents.

He punched, kicked and threw his shield.

Unleashing his tightly coiled rage Steve tore through them.


XXX


Gunfire erupted.

The echoing clangs of metal bullets hitting metal rang through the air.

Holly watched as Steve pulled her Doppelganger to him, as the Hydra Agents opened fired, not just on the two Avengers, but on the three-headed dog that crashed in only seconds later.

Snapping and growling at those that crossed its path.

A bloodcurdling scream cut across the night as metal jaws snapped at one of the Hydra Agents legs, catching him, and tossing him in the air.

Reality sped up.

Thor moved shooting into the air as he gripped Mjolnir and hurling lightning at to the ground.

Steve flung his shield, and her Doppelganger spun round covering his back, opened fired using the I.C.E.R guns.

Holly moved, throwing herself off the top of the Container she had observed from, and landed with a soft thud beside her Doppelganger.

She silently cast the shield charm to protect them both from the oncoming curse speeding their way.

Gold and red clashed.

The curse bounced off her shield, spinning towards a metal container, where it melted into liquid goo.

Melting Curse.

She wrinkled her nose at the smell.

Steve glanced over at his shoulder, looking at her Doppelganger, the metal goo and her shrouded form.

His eyes widening in surprise, but Holly moved before he could react. As far as Steve would be able to tell another individual had entered the field and for the moment appeared to be on their side.

She cast her own spell, countering the Disillusionment Charm, followed by a curse of her own.

She missed, hitting the container behind them; it exploded, shattering into flying shrapnel.

Holly shielded the Doppelganger and herself from the shrapnel.

"Holly, move!"

Holly knew Steve was talking to her Doppelganger, but that didn't stop her also lunging forward, dropping into a roll as a blast of blue energy fizzled past her.

Chitauri weapon.

Her pulse raced beneath her skin and the battle roared around her. Guns fired, weapons blasted, and Mjolnir flew.

Holly darted out of the way as Mjolnir sped towards her.

It hit the Agent to the side of her, before flying in the opposite direction.

Right, not just enemy weapons she needed to worry about, but she also had to worry about Thor's hammer, and Steve's shield as that spun above her head.

She could taste the lightning on the air, could feel the crackle of energy crawling across her skin.

The control and precision of Thor's lightning were impressive. The way Steve was kicking, punching and swinging his shield was a dance in itself.

Holly scrambled to her feet, darting between the Hydra Agents, and the witches and wizards.

Casting spells.

Spinning and turning.

Bullets turned into flowers, the ground shattered beneath Hydra Agent's feet.

A hand grabbed her injured arm; a fresh wave of nausea turned her stomach. They spun her around with force, causing her head to snap back and she could see hostile eyes burning into her.

As far as the Agent was concerned he had grabbed a shadowed cloaked arm, he couldn't determine much else about her.

Holly raised her wand, non-verbally casting the Breaking Curse, "Dirumpo!"

The Agents arm cracked loudly.

He let go of her, a cry of pain escaping his lips.

Casting another spell, she blasted him away from her. Flying backwards he hit the container opposite with a heavy thump before slumping to the ground.

Holly reached for her wizarding utility belt, pulling out a few Bombtastic Bombs. Activating them with a wave of her wand, she launched them in different directions, before shouting to Steve and Thor to take cover.

The Weasley's Wizard Product detonated seconds later, causing three massive explosions around them. Unlike muggle bombs, the product as an added trick George had tinkered with, not only exploded but created a vacuum in the surrounding area, sucking things into its path, and transporting them somewhere else.

Three Hydra Agents managed to dodge the initial blast but were instantly sucked back into a dark black pit that before vanishing completely.

The products range was only around two-three hundred feet away from the actual explosion, but Holly knew from personal experience just how disorientated they would be, as they fell out the other side.

Thor landed next to her, glancing around.

"There is magic on the air."

Holly wasn't sure why she was surprised that he recognised her but she was.

"I'm dealing with them," she hissed, just as another curse sped her way.

Holly deflected it with ease.

All of the magic user's attention was fixed onto her, and while Holly had faced worse odds than that before, she had fewer restrictions on her than she did now.

Thor nodded, before pushing himself into the air.

Holly darted forward.

Twisting and flicking her wand as she rapidly cast her spells.

Blasting Curse.

Reductor Curse.

Lightning Charm.

Smoke into daggers.

She danced.

Left to right.

Right to left.

Shield Charm.

Parry Charm.

Orbis Jinx.

Breaking Curse.

Shrapnel transfigured into knives flew her way.

Holly shielded.

Fiery ropes sprung out of one of magic users' wands, Holly quickly countered transfiguring them into a large snake, Holly could admit that she had stolen that particular idea from witnessing Voldemort used it.

Regardless of her thoughts and feelings about the bastard, he had known his magic and how to utilise it.

It grew and grew in size, slithering towards the Hydra magical users, forcing them to focus on tackling the snake as it threatened to swallow them whole.

Pain spasmed every time she moved her injured arm, and her heart pounded in her chest, Holly swallowed it through gritted teeth. Giving in to pain now wasn't an option, no matter how much it hurt.

Gunfire roared around her.

Holly could hear the clank of metal, as the bullets had pierced enough holes into the three-headed dog that it lost its balance and toppled over.

She cast the Breaking Curse, hitting one of the wizards square in the chest, pain twisted on his face, as he spluttered blood, before crumpling to the floor, unmoving.

Holly grimaced, she had broken his ribs, and it had resulted in them piercing his lungs.

She was no stranger to killing her enemies but that didn't mean she took any enjoyment over it. It was a needless death, a wasted life that had he been given a chance could have become so much more than what he was now.

A scream of rage cut across her thoughts, focusing her attention on a wizard crouched down beside his fallen comrade. Hate twisted his face, and he snarled at her, the only warning Holly received.

The shining red of a curse raced her way, Holly cast the shield charm, eyes widening as the curse flew straight through her shield. She had no chance to dodge before she was convulsing under the Cruciatus Curse.

White-hot knives pierced every inch of her skin. Her head felt as if it was going to explode at any moment. It was intense, all-consuming, all she could think about.

She couldn't shield the bonds from the pain she was feeling, and Holly knew it was pouring through her by the yell that escaped Steve.

Holly gritted her teeth.

No.

She had experienced this before.

She had survived Voldemort casting this curse, and the Wizard that was casting it now didn't have a quarter of the strength Voldemort had.

Holly rolled under the pain, above it, not letting herself panic, not letting herself think of anything but resisting the pain.

Of shielding Steve and Bucky from the pain searing through her veins.

Holly gathered her magic, gathered her strength, drew it inwards, let it crackle under her skin.

Lying in wait as she let her body wither on the floor, as she let out a strangled howl of pain.

The Wizard took a step closer.

Then another, then another.

Wait.

Holly moulded and shaped her magic, poured everything she had into it.

Wait, the darkness purred.

The wizard was towering above her. Wand twisted and pointed at her, concentration creasing his face, a thin coating of sweat covering his brow.

"I'm going to kill you," he whispered.

Holly moved, flicking her wand upward, silently casting the curse, "Adsulto Cordis!", pouring every ounce of magic she had into the one curse.

Her spell flared to life, hitting him in the chest before he had time to react.

He dropped his wand, hand clenching at his chest, pain twisting his face.

The Heart Attack curse doing its work, she allowed the few seconds she could afford to let her body gather the strength it needed to move.

Move, she needed to move.

Today was not the day she would die, and certainly not at the hands of a wizard who was weaker than Voldemort.

Pain spasmed through her body, her limbs shaking, but Holly managed to push herself to her feet, managed to get her body to obey her.

She was shaking, and exhaustion washed over her, but she couldn't afford to lose focus now.

Too much depended on her.

"Holly!"

Steve's voice cut across the reverberating sounds of gunfire.

Holly snapped her attention to her Doppelganger, powerless to do anything as she took a Chitauri blast to the chest, thrown backwards by the force behind one of the containers.

Fuck.

Damn.

Fuck.

Holly had hoped she would be able to maintain the charade of two separate people for the whole of the battle, but with the Doppelganger being 'hit' that wasn't possible. Especially as Steve was battling his way through Hydra Agents and dodging spells to get to her.

With a curse Holly apparated towards the container, casting the smokescreen charm to provide her with cover.

This was the last thing she needed, she couldn't afford to waste what precious energy she had left.

The Doppelganger spell was a useful tool, but it was rendered useless as soon as it was injured due to the fact it would get back up when it shouldn't really be able to do and keep on fighting with giant gaping holes in it, or because on closer inspection one would notice they didn't bleed

The Doppelganger was already trying to get back up, a large hole in the middle of her chest allowing Holly to see straight through.

She cancelled the spell, dropped the shadows and disguise around her, before taking the place of where the Doppelganger had fallen, adding a little illusion of singed clothes for effect.

Steve reached her side just as the smoke from her charm evaporated.

Holly coughed, "I don't recommend getting hit by one of them."

"You're alive."

"That is a matter of opinion," she winced, as Steve pulled her to her feet.

"Are you okay, I felt your -" Steve stopped, his gaze sweeping over him.

"Yeah, I was hit by one of those light things," Holly admitted, "It felt like my whole skin was on fire."

"We have Enhanced on the field."

Holly didn't answer, better for him to think that than know the truth.

"There are more Hydra Agents than I had anticipated, and we don't know where the others are," Steve continued, "Bucky is coming."

Having the brief respite from the fight allowed Holly to focus on the bonds, she could sense Bucky getting closer, which meant Sam would be with him as well.

"So we hold out until they get here?" she asked.

"We do what we can."

Holly nodded.

"Are you okay to carry on?" Steve asked, concern filling his eyes.

"It takes more than that to keep me down," she smiled reassuringly.

He nodded.

The two of them moving as soon as he let go on her hand.

Gripping an I.C.E.R in her left hand and her wand in her right, Holly open fired at those firing at her, as she followed behind Steve. Casting Stunning Spells to keep up the illusion it was nothing more than her gun.

A startled yelp forced her attention to the sky, where Thor was currently struggling against chains, as they wrapped around him and pulled him to earth.

The three remaining magic users, focusing on Thor.

The Prometheus Curse.

Chains strong enough to hold an Asgardian.

Strong enough to hold a Titan.

Fuck.

Holly ran.

Sprinting across to where Thor was straining and struggling against the chains that anchored him to the floor, unable to break them, unable to swing Mjolnir which, might - just might, have the power to break the curse.

A metal hand slammed in front of her, blocking her route - Holly looked up at the contraption that the magic users had transfigured and conjured. Taking a leaf out of her idea, containers melded and shuddered together and grew in size as they levitated into the air to form a giant.

A fucking metal giant.

Its arm caught her as it swiped, throwing her back, away from Thor, until she hit metal with a thud.

"Oww," she groaned, damn it to fuck.

The giant slammed its foot down, missing her by centimetres as Holly managed to dive out of the way.

She could hear the echoes of voices shouting, could see Sam swooping overhead, dropping Bucky into the middle of the fight.

Holly darted out of the way of another fist smashing the ground.

The giant's attention fixed on her.

She rolled, dropping her I.C.E.R and wand in the process.

The giant advanced, Holly scurried back away from it.

Scrambling back her hands searching for anything she could use as a weapon. Her fingers grazed over the tip of something.

She reached for it, gripping tightly and swung it round with all the force she could muster.

Thinking it nothing more than a stray metal pipe amongst the debris.

Electricity jolted up the length of her arm.

A wave of power crashed through her ripping apart her shields until it reached her own swirling vortex of energy and merged and swirled and churned.

Energy crackled along her skin, and the hair on her body stood to attention from the static.

Lightning hurled itself out in front of her, hitting the giant in the legs.

Holly stared, wide-eyed at the realisation she was holding Thor's hammer in her hands.

Mjolnir hummed to her, and for the first time ever, she could hear the song on the Hollows coursing through her.

Holly swung Mjolnir upwards, defending herself from the oncoming container, batting it away as if it was a Bludger and she was a Beater.

Not hesitating for a second and surged by the boost of power coursing through her veins Holly lunged forward. Hitting one of the giant's legs with all the force she could muster.

The power of a storm was at her fingertips, and the wind howled in response, ripping around the giant until it was struggling to stand.

She smacked and whacked, breaking apart the limbs until it lost its support and crumbled to the floor.

Holly spun on the balls of her feet, swinging Mjolnir around to hit another container away from her, before hurling another bolt of lightning towards the magic users.

Breaking their concentration and realising Thor from the cursed chains.

Thor wormed free of the now powerless chains and stared at her wide-eyed, she was aware of Steve looking at her, and Bucky and Sam and even aware that for a brief moment the battle seemed to have stopped and everybody was staring at her.

Gathering her will, her own magic and the might of Mjolnir she could feel the energy growing in strength before she let threw another bolt of lightning directly towards the Hydra Agents.

It missed them, by seconds as one they disappeared.

The telltale signs of a Portkeys activating whisking them away.

All that remained were those too injured to activate their Portkeys or those that were dead.

"Lady Potter," Thor said softly, drawing level with her.

Holly looked up at Thor, her eyes widened as she met his gaze, uncertainty wiggling its way to the front of her mind.

"I didn't mean to," she said softly.

"You are worthy to wield Mjolnir, do not fear that. Mjolnir would not have allowed you to lift it had you not been."

Holly acknowledged the statement with the barest of nods, she could hear what he was saying, but she wasn't sure she understood it.

She lifted Mjolnir up, passing the hammer back to Thor, grateful when he took it off her.

She expected for the power currently coursing through her to lessen, to dim, but it remained steadfast as if it was all her own power she had been wielding and all Mjolnir had done was give her full access to it.

And wasn't that a terrifying thought in itself.

"Kenneth?" Steve asked as the others approached.

Tank shook his head, "He's dead, multiple lacerations. He bled out."

Holly's guilt twisted and turned, weighing down on her.

She hadn't been quick enough, damn it, she hadn't been fast enough.

Steve nodded his head, a solemn look crossing his face.

Holly glanced at each face. Those that were here had made it, battered and injured, but they had managed to survive.

"Hydra got away, with the weapons," Sam noted.

"There were never any weapons here tonight. The sale had already happened," Steve answered, "It was a trap from the start."

"What about the others?" Bucky asked, "We need to presume it wasn't just here that was a trap."

Steve nodded, "We need to get to them now if they have the same numbers, and whatever Enhanced was on the field, then we need to back them up."

"Where exactly did the enhanced come from anyway? And who the hell was that hooded figure, they seemed to be on our side, but they vanished pretty quickly."

Holly shared another look with Thor, but both of them remained silent.

"Questions we can ask later, but first we need to move. We can call Damage Control from the van," Steve ordered, "Daniels and Lowe stay here to watch the site, the last thing we need is for a civilian to wander in and no doubt that the police are on their way."

With that final order, they moved out, the six of them moving quickly, yet still cautiously through the remains of the Terminal. No doubt that a lot of damage had stacked up overall.

Holly just hoped that Graves was able to hold out until she got there because if one thing she was certain off, those magic users with Hydra had training, serious training which meant more of the Wizarding World had to be involved than she first suspected.


XXX


Clint drew his bow.

He eyed the shadows.

They eyed him back.

At least that was the impression he was getting.

Narrowed eyes scanned the area.

He was jumping at shadows.

Yet Clint couldn't shake the feeling that there was something there. Hidden from sight, shrouded in shadows, but every now and then he caught movement and the shadows seemed to blur and shimmer.

"Nat, are you there?" he called over the radio.

Crackling was the only response he received.

Something was wrong.

Unease settled over his shoulders, pressing down heavily and the hair on the back of his neck stood to attention.

His gut twisted and tightened and years of experience on missions were guiding his instincts and raising red flags with every step he took.

It went beyond the echoing sound of gunfire ahead of him. Shooting that had him leave his perch and attempt to manoeuvre his way through the twists and turns of buildings, warehouses and containers to reach his team.

Thick fog rose with each step he took.

Impossible as it was.

It dulled his senses, made him jumpy, and Clint could admit, completely lost.

"Nat. Stark. Banner?" he called again.

Whispers responded.

Clint spun on the balls of his feet.

Nothing was behind him.

Hushed sound of movement snapped his attention back to the front.

Empty.

He was alone.

Yet, shadows blurred past him with speed.

Again and again.

Clint turned, and spun, and turned, trying to track them as they zoomed past him.

Never touching him, but close enough for him to feel the whoosh of air as they passed.

A laugh cut through the silence.

His whole body tensed, he drew his bow, the muscles in his arms straining as he held the position.

Arrow waiting to fly the moment he released the string.

His heart took a beat.

And again.

And again.

Nothing happened.

He eased back his arm, letting the tension slip and took a step forward.

Shadows shot forward, darting over him as if they were pieces of cloth, swirling around him.

Clint shielded his body as much as they could, the coldness seeping into him.

Whispers tickled his across his ears, and the all too familiar sound of Loki rang through him.

I can take control whenever I want.

You couldn't stop me.

You are weak.

Human.

I am a god and you should kneel before me.

Ice cold hands seemed to grip around his heart, squeezing tightly.

Clint found it difficult to breath, difficult to think, to focus...to anything but remember.

When he hadn't been Clint anymore, but rather an observer in his own body, and no matter how loud he screamed nobody could hear him.

No.

No. No. NO!

It wasn't Loki.

Loki wasn't here.

Whatever was happening, somebody was trying to get into his head, mess around with what they had no right to mess around with. A shiver ran up the length of his spine.

He was stronger now; he wouldn't allow himself to fall into that void where he couldn't control himself.

The shadows moved, faster this time, moving closer to him. He could feel the disturbance in the air as they passed him.

He took another cautious step forward, arrow in place, just waiting for him to draw back and let it fly.

You can't save them.

You can't save yourself.

The voices whispered.

Clint ignored them, confident that they weren't real, that it was just a game someone was playing with him.

Glancing upwards he shot another arrow, letting it sink into the container side, securing itself into place with extra extending hooks, before using the wire attached to it, to climb up the side of the three containers.

He needed higher ground, and hopefully, the mist and the voices would stop.

His head cleared the moment he reached the top, moving past the mist and into clean air.

Clint took a deep breath, soaking up the weight that had lifted the moment he reached higher ground.

Whatever had been responsible for making him feel what he was feeling was restricted to a specific area.

And wasn't that interesting, the fact that whatever was happening could be localised to a particular area.

The fear that had gripped him so tightly only moments before eased its grip allowing him to find his inner calm and focus on the task at hand.

The Comms were still down, he had no way of contacting any of his team, but now that he could think clearly Clint began to run through the possible solutions to the problem at hand.

He had spent years as a SHIELD agent, he had the training, this wasn't his first mission, he was in control of himself.

He continued his journey of moving through the site, using the containers as his walkway and avoiding touching the ground any more than he needed to.

Clint did not want to fall into that particular pit of despair anytime soon.

The sound of gunfire was louder now, and Clint realised closer than he had thought.

The fog, whatever it was, messing with his senses and disorienting him.

Picking up his pace, he sped across the tops of the containers jumping and leaping across them.

Clint drew to a stop dropping to the roof of the container as bullets sped past him. He could see Nat, pinned down behind a container as Hydra Agents fired at her.

Jax was to the right of him, using his sniper rifle in an attempt to even the odds in their favour, and the odds were stacked against them.

He could make out some of their support team, each taking their own position, but couldn't see any sign of Stark or Banner.

Taking the opportunity when it presented itself, Clint pushed himself forward, keeping as low as he could until he was in a higher position so he could fire back at the Hydra Agents.

He took precious seconds to mark out his first target before taking aim and letting the arrow fly.

With quick succession, he fired again and again. Moving constantly to make it harder to target him.

He could see the ground below, could see the Hydra Agents. The familiar blue energy of the Chitauri weapons sped through the air, along with multi-coloured lights that Clint couldn't determine where they came from.

But he could see the damage they caused.

Containers exploded shooting out shrapnel. One of their guys spontaneously caught fire, the agonising scream piercing the air as he dropped and rolled in an attempt to put the flames out.

Clint couldn't believe what he was seeing.

Hydra had Enhanced on the field, but actually pinpointing them down was impossible as was the possibility of what they were actually capable of.

Telekinesis?

Pyrokinesis?

His pulse raced, thundering beats of his heart pounding against his chest. The fight unfolding in front of him.

Aim, fire, repeat.

Aim, fire, repeat.

Aim, fire, repeat.

Failing wasn't an option. This was his job, keeping the world safe from the likes of Hydra and those that would see harm befall it.

The roar of an explosion rocked the container he was standing on. He leapt off the top of it, firing his own explosive arrow head towards Hydra Agents.

He let his arrow fly.

Yellow light hit him in the chest.

Searing pain spread through him like wildfire.

Blood in his mouth as he took an agonising breath, spluttering with a wheeze.

Something was worming around inside of him, ripping and shredding.

He was falling, falling and he couldn't soften the blow.

Darkness pulled at him, the sound of Nat's voice a distant echo, before he knew no more.


XXX


"CLINT!"

His name exploded out past her lips as time seemed to slow.

Natasha watched him fall, powerless to do anything but watch. The yellow energy shot had hit him, had clearly injured him enough that he couldn't do anything but fall.

The ground rising up to meet him, except Clint seemed to be slowing down in his fall, as if something was forcing him to slow down until he hit the ground softly, rather than with a splatter.

Natasha let out a cry of outrage, letting her rage burn through her as she sprung out from her position. A gun in each hand she opened fire on any who got in her way.

Cutting a bloody path, she shot her way across from one cover to the next. Reloading her guns in a smooth transition, before continuing to fire again.

This had been a trap from the get-go.

There were enough Hydra Agents here to take them down with ease, and that was before she included whatever Enhanced were on the field.

Natasha ran forward, jumped at the nearest Hydra Agent, wrapped her legs around his neck, and swung around, flipping him over.

Moving quickly, she lashed out.

A kick.

A punch.

Flinging her Black Widow bites at two more as they moved to intercept her.

She kicked, spun, punched, ducked and rolled.

Meeting agents, blow for blow.

Punch for punch.

Arms twisted.

Bones cracked.

Natasha didn't stop.

She didn't stop as Stark blasted his way across to them.

She only drew to a stop when she reached Clint; Graves was by his side, putting pressure on Clint's wounds.

She had no idea when he had arrived.

Long lashes seeped with blood across his chest.

Deep wounds.

Clint needed to get medical aid.

They needed help, and they needed it now.

As if answering her prayers, lightning hit the ground with a crack, Hydra Agents thrown into the air by the sheer force of impact.

A glance over her shoulder made the tension ease at the sight of Steve and the others.

Holly, rushed to their side, dropping to her knees as she shared a look with Graves, hands pressing down on Clint's chest.

She was the only one they had that had some basic medical training.

"Go on, I've got this," Holly said firmly.

Her tone leaving no room for argument.

Not that Natasha tried, she had to trust that Holly could keep Clint alive, long enough for Hill to get more help to him.


XXX


"What the hell was he hit with?" Holly hissed at Graves, ignoring the fight continuing around her, as she pressed her hands to Clint's chest.

"Heart Exploding Curse. But it was poorly cast," Graves replied.

"Fuck, he should be dead. I have no idea how much damage has been done with a poorly cast one."

Holly gathered her magic and poured it into Clint's body.

"Emantur Ligna!" Holly whispered, not having the focus to cast the spell non-verbally.

Her magic coursed through his body, searching for any and all damage it could find, mending what it could.

Holly was no skilled Healer, but if she could repair as much as she could and place the Stasis Charm on him, then she would be able to keep him alive long enough to get somebody who was skilled to heal him.

She stretched her senses, getting a read on where precisely needed the most healing. Graves was right, the Curse while poorly cast should have exploded his heart it had instead caused tears in the arteries in the heart.

His blood flow was slowing down and the flutter of his beats getting steadily slower and slower, and the tears were preventing oxygen-rich blood to reach the rest of his body.

It was beyond her ability to heal, all Holly could do was force her magic to beat for his heart, pumping the blood round and providing the much-needed oxygen Clint needed.

"Habitus!" she whispered.

A silver light gathered at her hands, spreading until it covered Clint completely.

"The Stasis Charm."

Holly nodded.

"It will keep him alive long enough for the mending charm to do what it can and for him to get a better-qualified healer."

"Potter, none of our Healers will treat him without Obliviating him afterwards."

"I might know someone who will help, but we need to get him out of here sooner rather than later," Holly answered.

Her magic was keeping his heart beating, was keeping him alive, and the Stasis Charm would keep him like that, holding him on the brink between life and death.

Holly refused to let him die.

Refused to let anybody else die.

An explosion to the right of them caught her attention, Holly threw herself on top of Clint to shield him from any shrapnel.

A scream catching his attention.

Holly glanced up she could see Jax impaled by a large piece of a metal container, cutting through his tactical gear at his waist.

Fucking hell.

"Keep pressing down on his wound, he is going to stay the same until I break the Charm and I'm not doing that until I have a Healer in the room, but Jax needs my help."

Graves nodded, taking over from her position as she moved her way across to Jax.

A simple flick of her wrist cleaned her from Clint's blood before she knelt down next to him.

Holly didn't dare remove the piece of metal from his gut, not while they were out on the field, but she poured what little magic she had left into his body, keeping him alive as another flick of her wand produced clean bandages to pack around the injury, to slow the bleeding down.

From her senses, she could tell there was a lot of internal damage, more than she could fix.

Healing took its toll on the Healer and Holly had used a lot of magic already, not to mention her own injuries weakening her already.

He was looking at her, Holly couldn't tell if there was fear in his eyes or acceptance.

Could he feel that he was dying, sense it?

Did he accept that he was dying?

Could anyone truly accept it?

Holly had accepted it once, had welcomed it with open arms even.

But that was under different circumstances.

Jax's lifeblood was covering her hands, and Holly could taste death on her tongue, on the air.

It wasn't happening today.

She refused to let it happen today.

Damn it, you will live, Jax. You will live.

The Hollows pulsed through her, humming to her will.

Holly dug deeper into herself, gathering everything she could and directing the magic into Jax and into Clint, their lives pulsed within her, in her fingers and in her soul.

They were both fighting to stay alive, and Holly was doing everything she could to help them.

"Just hold on. A little longer, I just need you to hold on a little longer," Holly whispered.


XXX


I do not have any medical knowledge other than what I have seen on medical dramas or can be found on the internet. Apologises for any mistakes made.

I do not own any of the spells used. Those that you recognise are from Harry Potter, others are words translated using goggle translate and a Latin dictionary, and some may have been used in other stories that I have read over the years either published work or other fanfictions.