Chapter 4: Left or Right
Kate rubbed her eyes as she got out of bed, apparently she got her wish and managed to get a few hours of sleep. She looked around and everything seemed to be the same. She had no idea when Sam and Barnes were going to show up, only that they would. She didn't know whether she was dreading their arrival, or looking forward to it. What was she going to do, why are there no good choices in these things.
"Morning sleeping beauty" Wanda said noticing she was up "come on we've got some good news"
Wanda pulled her out of bed and gestured for her to follow her. They walked up to John who was speaking with an older general, only he was wearing a strange black costume with red and white stripes on the abdomen. "Oh hey girls, this general Phillips" he said introducing him
"Wow, didn't know you had a costume" Kate said, she looked to Wanda who seemed just as surprised
"Oh right, this is my costume, I'm US Agent" John said in a slightly embarrassed voice
"You might not be captain america anymore, but you'll always be one of my best men" General Phillips said saluting John
"I guess we need to wear our uniforms" Wanda said, she did some of her magic gestures and she was suddenly in a gorgeous red leather costume with a crown on her head. Kate looked back at her bag and decided she put hers on later.
"Well then let's get to it" General Phillips said "one of our men on the inside found out several suspicious new arrivals entered Madripoor earlier this week, three of them were women, and two of them blond caucasian women with a russian accents" he handed Kate two files, one for each woman.
"Ok so we'll have to investigate both, one of them has to be Yelena" Wanda said "should we split up"
"No, that never ends well" Kate spoke up. "We need to stay together" she said in a more authoritarian voice "Yelena's supposed to be great at disguising herself so we'll need Wanda and her mind powers to make sure it's her, and there is a chance she might trust John so he'll need to be our spokesperson, and I can find a way around her while you two are talking and catch her off guard"
They both nodded, they both seemed genuinely impressed by Kate's plan. Kate clapped her hands "ok let's go". Kate quickly went to the bathroom and changed into her purple jumpsuit. She looked in the mirror hoping to see the same girl who fought beside Clint. She didn't. She saw a darker version of that girl, the one who fought to help her family and fought beside her idol and friend, now fighting for revenge. All she could feel was disappointment; coming from whether that it had come down to this, or that she was here she didn't know.
She exited the bathroom and the tent, the three of them would have to approach the city on foot since most vehicles were blown up on the bridge. She looked at the bridge, it was strangely magnificent for being in such a crime filled city. "Excuse mame" one of the soldiers said approaching her "I was told to give you these" he said handing her a quiver full of at least seventy arrows. She wrapped the quiver over her shoulder and prepared and took another look at the bridge, there he was. Wilson was now standing on top of the bridge looking in her direction before flying away, as if just to remind her of her choice. As if she needed to be reminded. She walked over to John and Wanda and they started their march.
"NO" Wanda harshly said, as they walked down the bridge into Madripoor
"I'm being serious" Kate said in a highly defensive tone "there really in no denying it"
"Your insane, you can't actually think that" Wanda said in a frustrated tone
"John back me up here" Kate said calling for support
"No, Wanda is a hundred percent right" John said in a frustrated and angry tone "Frozen is so much better than Tangled"
"Pffft I can't even take you guys seriously" Kate said brushing them off
"Hey when you compare 'Let it Go' to 'When will my life begin' it's no contest" Wanda defended
"Can we at least agree Tangled was way better than Frozen 2" Kate rebounded
"Oh definitely" John agreed
"Can't really argue with that" Wanda said
They continued walking and eventually made it to the other side, there was a gang of ruffians standing in between them and the city. Most of them were carrying guns and clearly meant business. Kate gestured to the two largest members of the gang and shared a glance with John. one of the members approached, obviously the spokesperson "Hello there, we apologize for the inconvenience but a certain toll is required to enter the city"
When they got close enough Wanda quickly twirled her fingers causing all their guns to explode, John punched one of the large ones in the stomach and threw him to the ground, and Kate shot a taser arrow at the other large one causing him to pass out.
"May we pass," Kate asked before all the gang members scattered and let them walk by.
The city wasn't as she expected, she was expecting a war torn and ripped apart city with broken windows and flaming cars. But Madripoor was in very good shape, and was actually kinda stunning. It had a clean futuristic aesthetic that she couldn't help but admire. There were a ton of skyscrapers, all lit up with different colors. Kate had been worried they would stand out in their costumes but everyone in the city was in some crazy getup or noticeable clothing, it actually made what they were wearing seem normal. There was a large holographic countdown hovering over the city, it was set to 1 day 13 hours and 10 minutes, the amount of time left until the new year. They even ripped off Times Square's ball, there was a cheap knockoff standing atop one of the larger skyscrapers.
They made their way to the first of the two women, they figured they'd try the closest one first. This woman was under the name Dinah Lance, Yelena was obviously going to be using a fake name after Kate gave her name to the news. They were currently on the subway network heading for her building.
"Ok she's in Apartment 4D" Wanda reminded "you can get up through the fire escape, don't attack until you get the signal" she said creating a small ball of her red aura
"4D got it," Kate said, getting her bow ready. So this might be it, I guess she had made her choice "Wanda" kate blurted out "what would Clint tell me to do" and it was said, there was no taking it back
"What do you mean"
"Would Clint say I should kill Yelena, I really need to know" Kate asked, now that she asked she was trembling for the answer
"Umm yes" Wanda said clearly trying to dodge the question
"Wanda please, this is serious" Kate said, she sounded like a terrified little girl
Wanda's face practically melted, what Kate said definitely got to her "No" she said in a low and sorrowful voice "if he knew you were going to Avenge him, he would tell you to turn around and try to move on". Kate didn't respond, but truthfully any answer would make her disappointed in one way or the other. "But you asked the wrong question" Wanda continued "you should've asked what Clint would do, if Yelena had killed Natasha or me or you then Clint would be the first one to go after the her" Wanda said with a proud smile
"That's… surprisingly inspiring" John added
A strange thought entered Kate's mind, honestly she felt selfish for not considering it earlier "John, do you actually want Yelena dead" Kate asked curious how he would respond
"Well she is a wanted criminal" he said in a joking tone. Kate gave him a look that cut deep and made him become serious "No of course I don't, she wasn't just my teammate, she was my friend. She did a lot to help me with…"
"Don't" Wanda said, cutting him off "I'm sorry but I'd rather not know, it's way easier to do a job when you don't know the enemy as a person". Kate thought how she did kinda know Yelena as a person, it wasn't her choice but she did come to her and tell her about her life. Wanda was right though, Kate couldn't see Yelena as a heartless monster no matter how hard she tried, all she saw was a human being.
The train started to slow down "this our stop" Kate said getting up
Kate, John, and Wanda were standing at the lionel apartment building where the first potential target was. The mere thought that Yelena could be close sent shivers down Kate's spine, she wasn't ready for this but had to suck it up. "Ok I'll climb up the fire escape and wait for you to give the signal" Kate said, shooting an arrow at the fire escape ladder, knocking down.
"Right, what's the signal again" Wanda said causing Kate to glare at her "hey I'm just messing with you" she said before they went through the front door
Kate climbed up the ladder, she would've been tired if not for the adrenaline going through her as she got closer
"Howdy neighbor" someone said, nearly giving Kate a heart attack. She turned to see Sam Wilson now in his Captain America suit , she couldn't deny it was pretty impressive. "Ok so here's the plan once Wanda and John are at the door you shoot an explosive…"
"I'm sorry did I miss the discussion where I agreed to help you" Kate said in a disrespectful matter, she had to admit that was low
"Kate you're a good person, I know it, Barton knew it, you don't want to stoop to Yelena's level" Sam said
"You think I don't know that" Kate blurted out "but I can't just do nothing, Clint meant a lot to me"
"It's not to late, you can stop Yelena and do the right thing" Sam said in an inspiration voice "if you want to do the right thing, shoot an explosive arrow right behind Yelena sending her toward John and Wanda, that way both target are in the same place and if the three of us move fast enough we can catch them before either knows what happened"
Kate contemplated this "I'm not stabbing Wanda in the back"
Sam held his breath but finally spoke out "then we don't need both, Yelena is enough" Sam compromised "I'll see you when this is over" Sam said in a strangely trusting yet threatening tone. He flew off and landed on the next building over
Kate dreamed of hanging out with the Avengers all the time as a kid, she never thought it would be this complicated. She continued climbing until she reached apartment 4D
"John" a female voice from inside the apartment. Kate looked through the window, it was her.
Yelena was standing by the door, she had her hair up in a ponytail and was dressed in a plain white shirt and jeans. The plan seemed to be working, Yelena didn't seem on edge or afraid of John.
And there it was, Wanda's signal. Kate laid out her arrows, she took a good long look at them. She had an explosive arrow, if she wanted to help Wilson. But she also had a normal arrow, Yelena was standing there unprepared to attack without armor. It would be so easy. She remembered that Clint would do the same for her. Clint, the guy who refused to kill a random mobster lady. Clint, the guy who gave up Christmas to save the life of a stranger. Clint, the guy who wouldn't even punch her in the face when she was dressed like a supervillain.
Kate chose her arrow, pulled it back, and aimed. "I'm an idiot," Kate said, releasing the arrow and watching it land behind Yelena's feet.
BOOM!