"Here,"
Rose looked up, stopped toying with her phone, as Natasha brought her a bottle of fruit juice.
"Thanks"
"Lemme know if you need anything else"
Rose nodded and curled a little within herself and Nat walked off. She walked back into the diner. It was quite late by the time they made it to DC, around 8 PM. Instead, the four decided to have dinner at a small diner in some secluded place and then visit this mysterious friend of Steve's in the morning. While the three got off, Rose insisted on staying in the car and that she wasn't hungry. After some persuasion from both Nat and Clint, she finally relented enough to have some juice.
"How's she?" Clint asked as Nat slid opposite to him
"Still shaken. It's bad, Clint" Nat sighed
Clint took a deep breath, "There's not a lot we can do about it."
"She's thinking whether she should tell Tony or not," Nat added
"She hasn't told him yet?" Steve asked
"She was fiddling with her phone earlier. And if Tony knew, he'd be here. She hasn't told him yet," Nat replied
"I don't think he should know," Steve softly said, earning weird looks from both the spies
"You don't think that Tony should know that his parents didn't die in an accident as he was led to believe but were murdered?" Clint asked
Steve took a deep breath, "It's not that. He should know that. But..."
"Just say that you don't want him to know that the man who took shots at his daughter twice also killed his parents. That man, being your best-friend-turned-killing machine." Nat replied
Steve took a deep breath, "It's Bucky"
"It's Winter soldier." Clint corrected him.
"Neither of the things makes the whole situation better," Nat noted and looked out of the window on her side of the booth and sighed.
"You okay?" Steve asked
"Yeah." Nat nodded
"What's going on?"
Nat sighed so Clint reached to grab her hands in support. "When I first joined SHIELD, I thought I was going straight. But I guess I just traded in the KGB for HYDRA. I thought I knew whose lies I was telling, but...I guess I can't tell the difference anymore."
"They played us, Nat. They played us too well," Clint muttered, "And here I thought I could avoid his mistakes by joining SHIELD"
Steve took a deep breath, "There's a chance you both might be in the wrong business."
Natasha faintly smiled and Clint chuckled.
"I owe you," Nat said
"We both do" Clint added
"It's okay. What are friends for?"
"If it was the other way around, and it was down to me to save your life, and you be honest with me, would you trust me to do it?" Nat asked
"I would now. And I'm always honest."
"And yet you haven't been your honest self in front of a certain someone," Clint chuckled, "you know, pink-haired green-eyed someone."
Steve frowned at Clint, "Can we not talk about it?"
"Hey," Rose slid next to Nat and the previous conversation just got buried.
"Hey," Nat and Clint greeted her
"Thought you were staying in the car," Clint said
"I'll have a lot of time to mope around and mourn. Right now, I have a Nazi Organization to bring down that is running on borrowed time. So, plan anything?"
"We were going to," Nat said
"Have you told Tony?" Steve asked quickly
"Not yet. I think first I need to wrap my head around the fact that what I believed in for the last 22 years just turned out to be a major fucking lie." she folded her arms on the table, "I'll tell him eventually."
The other three shared a look.
"What did you pick up from that computer Nazi?" Nat asked
Rose exhaled, "Don't have my laptop. I'd wager NYX would have picked some serious stuff in the time being. I would check it if I had my laptop."
"We can go to a computer center," Nat suggested
Rose sighed, "NYX is a complex AI. She won't run on any computer. They need to be connected to Stark Servers." she exhaled, "She's still developing. She's not JARVIS."
She inhaled a deep breath, "Zola mentioned some algorithm he made for INSIGHT. Now even if I do get my laptop and NYX managed to snatch that algo, I'll need time to break it through."
"Time we don't have," Nat noted
"Exactly."
"So we need someone who's HYDRA in SHIELD," Clint noted, "Do we have a way to pick?"
"How about the guy who could launch a domestic missile strike?" Steve asked, "they knew our position."
"Pierce," Nat answered
"Who happens to be sitting on top of the most secure building in the world," Steve replied
"Eh, it is not the most secure building in the world. That's Avengers Tower." Rose quipped, fiddling with her fingers
"One of the most secure buildings," Steve corrected and Rose nodded
Clint took a deep breath, "But he's not working alone. Zola's algorithm was on that last mission of yours, Lemurian Star." he looked at Steve who nodded in confirmation
"Sitwell," Steve exclaimed, "He was on Lumerian Star as well"
"Sitwell? He's HYDRA?" Clint asked
"Wait a sec. Who?" Rose asked
"Sitwell. Jasper Sitwell." Nat said
"Uh...bald mousy guy with glasses?"
The three nodded in affirmation.
"He was a part of the Lumerian Star mission. And he is quite a high-ranking SHIELD personnel." Steve said
"Or we can just...you know, Pierce..." she clicked her tongue while miming a gunshot to the head
"Good idea. Let's keep it in reserve," Clint nodded at her, which got a frown from Rose.
"So we snatch Sitwell and make him confess," Nat finalized
"Okay, but query." Rose said, "Well two. First, what if Sitwell isn't HYDRA? Second, none of us can go outside without being caught on camera and enquired or something. How are we gonna do it?"
"What do you mean none of us?" Clint asked
Rose pulled out her phone and scrolled down something, "TRAITOR AND NATIONAL FUGITIVE CAPTAIN AMERICA SEARCH STILL GOING ON. AVENGERS SUSPECTED TO BE PART OF THE PLOT." she passed her phone to Nat, "So basically, now the whole team is suspected of treason and I'd be pretty sure FBI or whatever agency is overlooking this will come looking for us. Dad and Bruce are in France, Thor's in space, and Nat's already blacklisted. So they'll be coming for us." she pointed at herself and Clint.
"We need this guy you know now more than ever," Nat said to Steve, and then she looked at Rose, "And if Sitwell isn't HYDRA, then we get an insider to help us."
"Anyone else in SHIELD who we are sure is HYDRA?" Clint asked, "If Sitwell didn't work, we'll need another guy."
Nat and Steve shared a look.
"Rumlow," Nat replied
"Uh...Rumlow...?" Rose muttered, "STAKE guy?"
"STRIKE team leader." Steve answered, "You helped him in a mission about two months ago."
Rose blinked, "I did?" she shrugged, "Well, I help a lot of people. I don't remember all their names or faces." She chewed on her nails as their orders were kept on the table.
The three thanked the waitress and started eating.
"Yeah got him," Rose muttered, "He wore a plaster around his fingers for three weeks, right? about a couple of months ago?"
"That's an oddly specific detail to remember about a guy," Clint snorted
"I remember it because I broke those fingers of his."
The three looked at her in surprise.
"Why would you do that?" Clint asked
"And Fury didn't say anything?" Steve asked
"Well, I was visiting SHIELD with Mia and I think it was in the elevator or something. He put his hands on me. I told him no, back-off. He didn't listen. I broke his fingers." she shrugged and reached for a french fry from Clint's plate. "Actually I was going to break his hand completely, but that was all I could do in public without attracting a lot of attention. I didn't wanna make a scene." she exhaled, "I told Nick and he did suspend Rumlow for two weeks without pay."
"That's not what is supposed to happen." Steve remarked, "He should have been fired or something. Why didn't you say anything?"
Rose exhaled and looked at Steve, "I'm a woman in the 21st century, Steve. This isn't the first time I've been harassed and it won't be the last. As sad as it sounds. And I'm not the only woman going through that. I can bet my whole estate that Nat, Pepper, Mia, Brit, they've all gone through some sort of harassment at least once in their life. So, it is something we have to learn to live with." she started chewing her nails back.
"Also as far as firing him is concerned, Nick can't. Rumlow has worked for SHIELD, or HYDRA, for quite some time. He has info. Info Fury can't allow to leave SHIELD." she exhaled, "Anyway, let's get back on topic. If not Sitwell then Rumlow. I don't know about Sitwell, but Rumlow won't come without a fight."
Steve nodded and he took a deep breath, "What about Bucky?"
"We'll think of the Winter Soldier when we'll cross that bridge. Right now, algo and Sitwell." Rose replied
The next morning, around 6.30 AM, the four found their way outside a nice suburban Washington DC house. It was almost too silent, as if the silence before the storm, so they had less time to process everything and get ready.
Steve knocked on the front door and after a few seconds, a black guy opened the door. His eyes wandered on all four people before he looked at Steve.
"Hey, man."
"I'm sorry about this. We need a place to lay low." Steve said
"Everyone we know is trying to kill us," Nat added
The guy took that information for a moment before opening the door wider, "Not everyone."
The four quickly entered and the guy closed the door after them.
"Uh...this is Sam." Steve introduced
"Sam Wilson," Sam introduced with a nod
"You've met Natasha. This is Clint and Rose."
The three waved or nodded at him in response.
"Nice place you got here," Clint looked around the house
"Thanks. I get by," Sam folded his arms
There was a weird silence which Rose broke, "Can I use your bathroom?"
"Uhh..yeah. sure. Down the hall, guest room."
"Thanks," Rose smiled and disappeared down the hallway and into the guest room's bathroom. She freshened herself and then looked at the mirror. Dark circles were starting to develop and her eyes still had traces of redness. Her hair was a mess. And her hand and forearm had dried blood and scabs all over from when she punched the screen. She removed her jacket and sweatshirt and with a wet towel, cleaned herself.
Accidents will happen.
She rubbed and rubbed and rubbed.
They were murdered. It wasn't an accident.
Her breaths started getting shorter and faster as the tears finally made their presence known in her eyes.
He did it.
Her hands trembled but she didn't stop rubbing. She couldn't. Her voice came out as a choked sob but she couldn't stop herself.
And the next thing she knew someone grabbed her from behind and snatched the washcloth from her hand and pulled her into a hug. They pretty much enveloped her tiny body with their arms and pressed them close, not minding the fact that she was clad in pants and a sports bra only. They rubbed soothing circles on her back and whispered things in her ear. One of their hand trailed to her hair where they stroked her scalp in a calm way.
Her sobs turned into chocked cries. She pressed herself into them and cried. Even screamed but it came out highly muffled. But they never let go.
Rose had no idea how much time had passed, but it seemed way too long. Her breaths had started turning normal and her hands weren't trembling anymore.
She sniffed one deeply and pulled.
"Take a few more minutes if you want."
It was Clint. Clint was holding her.
She took a deep breath and pulled herself from Clint's arms and wiped her face.
"You okay?"
She looked over her shoulder, where Nat was.
"I...uh...I gue-guess...I guess," she replied and licked her lips, "I guess, yeah"
"Here. Let me help," Nat grabbed the towel, which had smudges of blood. She wet it under the tap and then cleaned her forearm.
Rose looked down at her arm. She had scrubbed so hard that the skin has turned almost red.
"Hey," she looked forward as Steve crouched in front of her, "I know I'm not the best person you'd like to talk to, bu-"
"I'm okay," she replied, "I'm okay. Okay. I'm okay."
Nat finished cleaning her arm and got up to get her sweatshirt and jacket.
Steve looked at her worried and slightly opened his gesture.
She could fight and kick his arse later. But right now, she needed it. She reached and hugged him tight, something Steve returned.
"We'll find a way," Steve muttered and Rose found herself nodding to it. "You are not alone, Rose. You have us."
Rose nodded again. Steve smiled and slightly bumped her head with his that got a small chuckle out of her. She pulled and wiped her face.
"How did you know?" she asked in a soft voice, as Nat handed her another wet towel to clean her face.
"I wanted to talk to you and heard you sob. You could have peeled your skin the way you were doing it. The next thing I know, it turned into a panic attack." Clint replied
"Yeah, haven't had those in a while," Rose muttered taking her sweatshirt and jacket from Nat with a "thanks"
"will you be fine now?" Steve asked
"Now that I got the tears out, it's pure rage within," she replied and got up from the bathroom floor.
"Good. Now get out and lemme clean up." Nat said, pushing the men out. Rose chuckled and followed them out and Nat closed the door after them.
She sat on the bed and sighed, "I don't know what got to me"
"Happens to the best of us," Clint replied. Nat came out a while later and Steve got in, followed by Clint.
Rose looked at Steve, who didn't look much affected after every single shit storm they've been through.
"Well, you seem pretty chipper for someone who just found out that their arch-nemesis is alive and their ancient BFF is a brainwashed assassin who killed my grandparents, and basically, you died for nothing?"
"Well, I guess I just like to know who I'm fighting," Steve replied, sitting on a chair.
"Just to be clear, it is not her, right?" Nat asked, jabbing her thumb in Rose's direction. "I mean after everything that happened back at her building"
Rose found Steve looking at her and she raised a brow and smiled innocently.
"I don't think so, no."
"Infighting would be counterintuitive," Rose added, tilting her head, "I can always kick his patriotic arse later."
"Really?" Steve narrowed his eyes
"You betcha," Rose smiled at him
The bathroom door opened and Clint came out, only in his black tank top, "What are we betting on?"
"That I can kick his patriotic arse any day any time," Rose answered
Clint looked at her, then at Steve, then back at her, and then at Nat. She shrugged.
"My money's on Rose, then."
"Thank you for showing your confidence in me, Clint," Steve rolled his eyes
There was a knock on the door and Sam appeared, opening it slightly, "I made breakfast. If you guys...eat that sort of thing."
"So, Steve mentioned that you were part of the US military," Clint asked, sitting on the breakfast table
"Pararescue, yes. Now I work down at the VA," Sam answered
"Pararescue," Rose muttered, before looking at Sam, "Have we met before?"
Sam seemed like he was caught off guard but then shook his head, "I think I'd remember you."
"Then that must be another Sam Wilson, I guess."
"You know a Sam Wilson?" Steve asked
"Uncle Rhodey shortlisted two guys for a military program called FALCON that dad and I made. It was back in the day when we made weapons for the military. That's where I remember the name from."
"Wait a minute." Sam chuckled softly, "Colonel James Rhodes? You are talking about him?"
Rose nodded back.
"I was selected by Colonel Rhodes for the FALCON program with another guy."
"I wasn't wrong," Rose chuckled, "We met when you first tried them out with...uh...R-Riley, was his name, right?"
Sam nodded, "But I don't remember you."
Rose blinked and her hand reached for her hair offhandedly, "I was younger and my hair was a different color. And I wore glasses full time."
"What's the FALCON Program?" Nat asked
Sam got up and returned with a file that he dropped on the table.
"You had it ready, huh?" Clint snorted while Sam just shrugged
"Is this Bakhmala? The Khalid Khandil mission, that was you." Nat looked at Sam, "Impressive."
Steve looked at the photos Nat held, "Is this Riley?"
"Yeah."
"I heard they couldn't bring in the choppers because of the RPGs. What did you use, a stealth chute?" Clint asked, looking over some files
"No. These." Sam handed another file to Clint, who opened it and read it. He then handed the papers to Steve.
"I thought you said you were a pilot," Steve noted
"I never said pilot," Sam replied, "So what's going on?"
The four gave a quick brief of what had happened so far, just skimming on the top.
"So, all of you are wanted, now?" Sam asked
"These two are. We are suspected of helping them." Clint replied
"We could really use your help with this," Rose said
Sam nodded.
Steve looked around the table at his team members and then at Sam, "I can't ask you to do this, Sam. You got out for a good reason."
"Dude, Captain America needs my help. There's no better reason to get back in."
"You do realize it is not just Captain America, right?" Rose asked, eating some breakfast
Sam blinked and looked around the table, "Avengers?"
"Better, I guess," Rose chuckled, "Relax. I'm just pulling your leg." She reached and pulled a photo of the FALCON wings, "Where are these babies these days?"
"The last one is at Fort Meade, behind three guarded gates and a twelve-inch steel wall."
Clint and Natasha shared a look,
"Shouldn't be a problem." Clint shrugged
There was a loud hoot and everyone looked at the kitchen window where an owl was perched.
"Arrow?" Rose got up and went to the bird, who hopped on her extended forearm. He extended his foot where there was a small velvet bag.
"We got chips." she pocketed them and opened the window for Arrow, as he flew off, "Let's get us a HYDRA guy"
Rose deepened her breath when the passenger seat door opened and Sitwell got in.
"Stark?" he asked
"Just get in," She muttered and as soon as he did, she locked the doors of the car.
"What is going on?"
Rose didn't reply.
"Stark wh-"
"Shut the fuck up!" she snapped. They heard a knock on the backseat window and Rose saw Sam in the rearview mirror. She unlocked the doors and he got in after she locked the doors again and started the car.
As soon as they were on the road, she did a quick mental probe on Sitwell. Oh, he was HYDRA alright. She looked at the rearview mirror and her eyes met Sam and she gave him a discreet nod. He took out his phone to text Steve that they grabbed the right guy.
She drove until they reached the rendezvous point and she killed the engine.
"We can do it the easy way where no one has to get hurt. Or we can do it the way where someone, that is you, has to get hurt." she looked at Sitwell, "Choice is all yours, Jas"
"What is the meaning of this?" he asked
Rose just rolled her eyes and unlocked the car, "Start walking."
She shared a look with Sam, who walked off to get his wings.
"Try to run and I won't hesitate from breaking your neck like a twig," she looked at Sitwell and made her eyes glow for a second. He gulped.
They walked to the rooftop and she opened the door to be greeted by the three others.
Before anything, Steve grabbed Sitwell and threw him across the rooftop.
"Effective," Rose muttered as the three followed Steve.
"Tell me about Zola's algorithm," Steve demanded
"Never heard of it." Sitwell tried to stand up
"What were you doing on the Lemurian Star?"
"I was throwing up, I get seasick."
Steve forced Sitwell to the edge of the rooftop, but Sitwell just smiled.
"Is this little display meant to insinuate that you're gonna throw me off the roof? Because it's really not your style, Rogers."
"You're right. It's not." Steve straightened Sitwell's jacket and dusted it off, "It's hers."
He stepped aside and Nat kicked Sitwell off the roof. Sitwell pretty screamed as he plummeted towards Mother Earth.
"You didn't even give him the chance to choose from?" Rose sighed and looked at Steve, "Acting before thinking are we?"
"He doesn't speak, you are up for it," Steve replied
"And collateral damage?"
Steve thought for a second, "No limits"
"I like the way you are thinking," Rose smirked
Suddenly, Sam, in his Falcon jet-pack suit with wings, flew-up holding Sitwell and threw him down on the roof.
"You up, Sabrina," Clint patted her back
Sitwell quickly stood up, holding his hands up in fear, "Zola's algorithm is a program...for choosing INSIGHT's targets!"
"Come on! Why does no one let me have a piece of it?" Rose complained
"What targets?" Clint demanded
"Him! Her! All of you! A TV anchor in Cairo, the Undersecretary of Defense, a high school valedictorian in Iowa City. Bruce Banner, Stephen Strange, anyone who's a threat to HYDRA! Now, or in the future."
"The Future? How could it know?" Steve asked
Sitwell laughed, "How could it not? The 21st century is a digital book. Zola taught HYDRA how to read it."
"You are making educated predictions on people's future based on their past," Rose muttered as it dawned on her
Sitwell looked at her impressed and then at Steve, "This one got the brains," and then he looked back at her, "That's why you've been a target for the last 8 years, Stark."
Rose looked at him unimpressed.
"Your bank records, medical histories, voting patterns, e-mails, phone calls, your damn SAT scores. Zola's algorithm evaluates people's past to predict their future." Sitwell explained
"And what then?" Steve asked
"Oh, my God. Pierce is gonna kill me."
Clint pulled out his gun, took out its safety, and aimed it at Sitwell's head, "Don't answer and we will."
Sitwell gulped, "Then the INSIGHT Helicarriers scratch people off the list. A few million at a time."
"And is that everything?" Nat asked
"It's more than you should know."
"You are up for it," Steve stepped back and Clint lowered his gun
"What are you going to do now?" Sitwell asked
Rose stepped in front of him, her eyes glowing bright green. She reached and pressed one had on his head.
"Legilimens," she whispered
45 seconds later, Sitwell fell on the ground unconscious
"You didn't kill him, did you?" Sam asked.
"Pierce was going to kill him anyway. He's a major leak. I just put him out of his misery quicker." she stepped back, "He'll be dead in a few. Let's go. "
"Insight's launching in sixteen hours, so we are running on a time limit here," Rose said as the five drove to Triskelion. This made Sam shift gear and drive faster.
"And how are we gonna get in?" Steve asked
Rose turned around and looked at Steve who was in the backseat, "DNA scans. I got it covered. If my biometrics don't work then fuck it, we are breaking in." she looked at Sam, "Pardon my French."
"It's no big deal," Sam replied
"Then we access the helicarriers directly," Steve said
"We have to get the chi-"
Thud!
"What the fuck?" Rose asked, looking at the ceiling of the car. There was a punch and another, and the third time the ceiling tore off and a metal arm entered.
Steve blocked it with his shield and Sam pulled the brake handle making their attacker fall ahead of them. It was the Winter Soldier.
Suddenly another car smashed into their car and pushed them along. Winter Soldier jumped back onto their car, smashed through the windscreen, and pulled out the steering wheel
"Fuck!" Sam swore
Natasha started shooting at him but the Winter Soldier jumped onto the vehicle behind them, as their car was being pulled off the road Steve and Clint held on to the car doors.
"Hang on!"
"Jump?" Rose asked, looking over her shoulder. Steve, Clint, and Nat nodded and so did Sam.
And at once the four near the doors opened it and jumped out. And then there were gunshots.
Rose, as quick as she could, scampered to her feet and conjured shields in front of them. The bullets ricocheted off of the shield.
"Everyone alright?" she asked, looking over her shoulder
She got four affirmations as Nat and Clint loaded their guns and handed a couple extras to Steve and Sam.
"Guys? Plan? Can't," she grunted, "Can't hold it up all the time!"
The four came to stand behind her
"On 3, lower it," Steve said
Rose nodded, "1...2..."
she pulled down the shield and sent it out in the form of an energy blast which threw the men off their feet and on their arses. All but one. Nat followed that with a shot that hit the Winter soldier right in his eye goggle mask, breaking it.
"Let's go," Rose muttered, "we are outnumbered."
The five broke a dash.
Now, Rose could single-handedly deal with all those bastards at once, but that would require her to spend a lot of her energy. Energy she was saving to blow up the helicarriers. The helicarriers were the priority. she could handle the sons of bitches later too.
The five hadn't made it far when the shooting started again.
Rose ducked a little, trying to dodge. And suddenly someone grabbed her and pulled her down behind a crashed car. She panted and then looked next to her, at Nat.
"Now what?" Rose asked. She felt a tickle on her cheek and reached for it. Great. Now she injured her pretty face somewhere enough to bleed.
"Can you teleport?" Nat asked
Rose looked around and then back at the redhead and nodded.
"Alright," she pulled out her phone and opened the voice recorder app.
Nat pressed play on a certain recording and Rose grabbed her and the two apparated.
They appeared below the bridge.
"Too many civilians," Rose muttered.
Nat looked at her and Rose knew what to do.
There was a blast on the highway above them and they shared another look. Few more loud clunks and they knew the Winter Soldier was looking for them. There was a gunshot that was too close to their comfort which had them running again.
Rose did a quick sonorous, "Get out the way! Terrorist attack!"
The crowd on the road looked at them and once they realized the active shooting they parted like the red sea. The disturbance around her was too much for her to focus and apparate again.
Rose heard a grunt from next to her and she turned to spot Nat behind her and slowing down.
"Fuck," she muttered and ran back to Nat.
"Nat?" she asked and then noticed motion. She raised her arms to block an attack from Winter Soldier just in time. She twisted her body around his metal arm and then kicked him square at the chest. He skidded back a little and then looked at her.
Rose breathed hard and looked at him, hand and eyes glowing.
"We have a score to settle," she muttered. She was going to drag this out and make him feel pair with every fiber of his being.
He positioned his gun and started taking shots and she was ready only for Steve to jump in front of her with his shield, blocking all the gunshot.
"The hell, Rogers?" she asked
"Nat." Steve grunted, "I got this."
Rose exhaled angrily and then rolled her eyes, but didn't argue. She turned and ran back to Nat, who was beginning to stand up, pulling them both behind a car. She turned her over and spotted blood on Nat's jacket.
"Shit," she muttered
"What's it?" Nat asked but Rose didn't reply.
Her hands trembled. She did not know how to heal a gun wound!
"Rose!"
"Okay, okay," she muttered, tucking some of her fringes behind her hair. Loud thuds and grunts were going on behind her. The blood was oozing, so it most probably hit an important artery or something. Shit! Was it on her left shoulder? God, she hoped the bullet hadn't hit the subclavian artery.
Nat grunted again.
"Hey, hey." Rose quickly said, "take it easy."
She looked behind her where Steve was actively fighting Winter Soldier. Clint was engaged with some SHIELD/HYDRA guy. She couldn't spot Sam, so he had to somewhere above them.
She cannot apparate them all like that. They needed to get out and Nat needed immediate medical help.
Nat turned and crouched on her knee.
"You are shot!" Rose whispered
"Yeah, later," Nat grunted wincing with almost every movement. "We need to get them out of there."
Rose stood up, supporting Nat, "Not like this, I can't." she looked back at Nat. she knew the Russian was running purely on adrenaline now.
"Grenade,"
Rose followed Nat's view and spotted a grenade.
"I got it." Rose quickly replied and easing Nat to the ground, looking at the grenade.
"Accio," she muttered
Her eyes flashed a bright green and the grenade zoomed into her hand. She looked up to see Steve getting his arse kicked.
She handed the grenade to Nat and ran and swiped her feet under Winter Soldier, making him fall. But he jumped back easily and tried to punch her. But she dodged and punched him in the chest and did a roundhouse kick at his face. He looked back at her, blood appearing at his lip. His face was bare except for black eyeliner or something smeared around his eyes.
She knew that face. Recognized it from years ago. And she wasn't going to hesitate again.
They both stood there, the tension building up. But before Rose could do anything, there was a soft clinking sound.
she looked down to see a grenade roll forward from under her legs toward the Winter Soldier. And then someone pounced on her just as the grenade exploded and smoke spread everywhere.
Damn, her head hit the asphalt hard. She looked up, groaning. Steve had pushed her away.
Suddenly there were sirens around then. The two quickly got up to their feet and Steve got his shield only to be surrounded by HYDRA agents, led by the bitch faced Rumlow.
"Drop the shield, Cap!"
Rose's eyes flashed.
"Whoa. Take it easy, Stark. On your knees! Get on your knees! Both of you! Now! Get down! Get down!"
Steve held up his hands and Rose's eyes glowed more intensely.
"Get on your knees! Down!"
Rose noticed that Steve wasn't engaging. Okay. So, plan changed?
Rumlow kicked Steve's leg and Steve kneeled down, with a grunt.
"Don't move."
Rose heard a gun cock next to her head and she too kneeled, not lessening her glare on Rumlow.
"Put the gun down. Not here. Not here!" Rumlow barked
Whosoever was holding the gun next to her head lowered it. And then more men came and grabbed them both.
As the smoke cleared, Rose saw Nat, Clint and Sam too got captured. The five were put in a large prison van of sorts. Rose quickly tried to make it next to Nat. If she couldn't heal the wound the least she could do was control the bleeding. But their captors forced her down with the gun; one of them aiming for Nat and telling her to sit down, opposite to Nat.
"Would it be too bad if I mind-controlled these fuckers to shoot themselves?" Rose muttered in a low voice.
"I don't see the problem," Clint muttered back
"Me neither," Sam added softly, though he did sound a little confused.
She looked at Steve, who looked miles away.
"Cap?" she asked
He looked at her, "He looked right at me like he didn't even know me."
"Hate to be that person, but told you so," Rose snapped.
"How's that even possible? It was like seventy years ago." Sam asked
"Zola. Barnes' was captured in '43," Rose looked at Steve for a quick second, "Zola experimented on him. Not sure exactly what they put him through, but it helped him survive the fall. They found him and made him what he is today."
"None of that's your fault, Steve," Nat said
Rose looked at Nat in worry. The former Russian was going a good job in hiding that she was still slowly bleeding, but Rose knew better. Nat was in pain and she knew it.
"Even when I had nothing, I had Bucky," Steve added
"Steve," Rose slowly began, "We get it. Your BFF tried to kill you. No big deal. We don't have time for your sob story." Steve frowned at her but she just rolled her eyes, "My priority is not your broken heart but the fact that Nat is still bleeding." and she glared at the guards, "Can I at least put some kind of pressure not that before she literally bleeds out?"
Clint quickly looked at Nat. And by the way, the blood was there, he knew the damage was pretty rough.
"Can we get a doctor? We need to control that blood." he spared a quick glance at Rose, "Let her do something"
Suddenly one of the guards pulled out an electric rod and neutralized the other guard and knocked him out. The guy removed his helmet.
Rose blinked, surprised.
"Ah. That thing was squeezing my brain." Maria Hill exclaimed, throwing away the helmet. She checked them all over and then looked at Sam, "Who's this guy? "
"Hill?" Rose asked
"Hey," she muttered, "Barton, Romanoff. Stark, driver. We are getting out of here."
Hill led them to a secret facility where a man greeted them readily.
"GSW. She's lost at least a pint." Hill told the man
"Maybe two," Clint added, still putting pressure on the wound as he supported her.
"Let me take her." the man said
"She'll want to see him first."
Rose wasn't someone who was easily shocked. But Nick Fury almost shocked her. And she would have been shell shocked like the other four were, had she not known the man in front of her for the last 20-something years of her life.
"Of course you survived," she muttered and then raised her voice, "Good to see you, Nick"
Four heads turned to her in surprise.
"You knew?" Clint asked
"Knew? No. Had a teeny tiny feeling? Yepp. It just didn't sit right with me when Nat said someone got a hit on him. Winter Soldier is trained. But this is Nick Fury," She smirked at Fury and raised a brow.
Nick rolled his eye, "About damn time you made it here, then."
Here ya go.
I won't be updating for another while b/c I am getting crushed under college work. The same goes for my other stories as well.
And I have noticed the lack of reviews. Is this not good enough? OR am I not making this interesting enough? I'm only asking this because I get 2 reviews per chapter only. And I can't improve unless I get feedback. Reviews boost my confidence. So, a little help here.
Other than that, you know the drill.
Ciao
