Chapter 10: What are you?
A/N: Thanx to all you 42 likers and 57 followers, please enjoy this! Don't be alarmed, the rating has changed due to realism and things that are not PG-13 related.
Did it really surprise Sam that after all this time S.H.I.E.L.D. wasn't what it claimed to be? The answer was no, he wasn't surprised. Organizations were anything but trustworthy nowadays. Nothing was pure anymore and whoever did try to make a difference or try to find out what really laid underneath in the roots was always later persecuted. That particular scenario fell upon Natasha, Steve, and this new girl named Kara. Who possesses abilities beyond that of normal understanding. So now H.Y.D.R.A., who had been laying in the shadows since WW2 was emerging. Ready to try and take back its "World", and dominate all who oppose.
Natasha fiddled with the hair brush she had pulled out of her back pocket and stroked it through her straight red locks for a while before an idea popped in her head. She took several baby steps towards Kara who was merely sitting in the chair, her breakfast long gone since she was done eating and the contents dissolving into nothing before they reached her small sized stomach. The girl had a comforting smile on her face and sipped another tall glass of orange juice that Steve had casually poured for her.
She really enjoyed Sunny-D, Sam was just glad he still had his Great Value Brand.
Natasha laid a hand on the Kryptonian's shoulder, the girl didn't need to look back to know it was her friend. Instead she licked her lips of excess juice and let out a cheery moan as the Russian began to brush the portable comb through her even straighter blonde locks. The older woman separating massive layers but was surprised to find no traces of tuff, knots, or curls. Heck this girl's hair was the stuff one would see in magazines, perfectly flawless. There were no traces of grease in her hair and that was saying something considering the girl made close impact with an air missile and didn't even shower this morning. She even smelled clean too.
While Natasha performed her little treatment, Steve went off to explain to Sam the conclusion of what happened at the old base before coming here.
The red head spoke next while brushing the young one's hair.
"So, the question is who at S.H.I.E.L.D. could launch a domestic missile strike?"
Sam smeared butter on a whole wheat bread before looking at Steve who apparently knew the answer.
"Pierce."
"Who so happens to be sitting on top of the second most secure building in the world." Sam eyed Natasha's statement.
"Second?"
"Tony's New Tower is the first, you so much as place a finger on the building when security is at its highest and you explode from all kinds of defense activations."
Steve decided to revert everything back to the subject.
"He's not working alone cuz Zola's Algorithm was on the Lemurian Star."
Natasha stopped what she was doing for a moment to think and continued when she had made up her mind.
"So was Jasper Sitwell."
There was a pause before Steve brought a few fingers to his chin. Jasper Sitwell, of course.
"So how do….three…..of Washington's top most wanted kidnap a S.H.I.E.L.D. officer in broad daylight? And how would you explain to Kara on how to do it using her super speed Nat?"
The girl's stare joined the conversation upon hearing her name through the non-understandable talk of these primitives. Sam took this time to reach for a folder that was inside a side cabinet and walked right over to drop it in front of Steve on the table.
"The answer is you don't." Kara eyed the folder and would have reached for it in curiosity if not for the loud snap that was heard behind her. The two men and alien looked to see Natasha holding the broken brush with an odd expression. She eyed the blonde before shrugging.
"Pepper would kill for your hair line Kara." the spy effortlessly tossed the broken tool in the garbage bin half way from the kitchen. Steve merely focused and grabbed the folder.
"What is this?"
"Call it a resume?"
The former flyer could only hope that THE Captain America was impressed by what he saw. Natasha grabbed one of the files that laid in the folder.
"Is this Bakhmala, the Khalid Khandill mission, that was you?" the red head showed the photo to Steve.
"Is this Riley?"
…."yeah."
Natasha just kept eyeing the other files, but there was something that just didn't add up.
"I remember that they couldn't send in the choppers because of the RPG"s. So, did you use a stealth chute?"
"Nope." He plucked the smaller and darker folder from Kara and gave them to Steve. "These."
Upon opening it the Captain's eyebrows raised up before looking at Sam with a look of impressed.
"I thought you said you were a pilot."
"I never said pilot." the smug on the dark man's face grew a tad bit.
"Alright Sam….if you're gonna get back in we need to know where we can get our hands on one of these things."
"The last one is at Fort Meade, behind three guarded gates and a 12-inch steel wall." The three exchanged challenging looks before Natasha grabbed the photo of Sam in the Exo-7 Falcon armor and handed it to Kara.
"Look Kara, that's Sam." The blonde hesitated for a moment, not sure at all of what was she supposed to grab. It was a very thin piece of material when her palm rubbed on it. She flipped it in between her fingers only to find out that it didn't do anything. It was rather weightless.
"I guess she is a toddler Natasha." Sam crossed his arms while playfully smirking. "She doesn't even know what a photo is."
The spy ignored him and tried to tell the blonde once again.
"Kara look." She steadied the hands holding the image and watched as Kara focused.
"Its Sam."
After seeing Natasha's finger point to the image of Sam on the material Kara's brows rose. It indeed was Sam. The picture showed his tall and proud figure without facial hair but what mostly caught the Kryptonian's attention were the large metallic wings that spread across his back horizontally along with the grey colored uniform he was wearing. Among other things it looked primitive but she had to give it to these inhabitants. They were advanced enough to construct winged armor soldiers. Was that what Sam was? A soldier? Just like Steve but delivered air support.
Kara Zor-El was impressed and amazed.
The humans were taken aback when the mysterious girl quickly stood up from her seat, set the picture aside, and walked completely around Sam. He shuddered when she began to drag her palms across his back, her face contorting into more disappointment.
"Guys what the hell is she doing?!"
The soldier and spy found their voices and let out simple snickers.
"Don't you see Sam?"
"She is trying to find your wings."
It wasn't the best answer but the point had been proven. Sam sucked up the nerves bundling in his neck and washed it with his own chuckle while turning around and tried to calm Kara down with his own hand pats.
"Kara….Kara hold a sec." he smiled casually when the woman did her best to try and listen. "I don't have wings, they're not real okay? It's a vest, an armored vest."
He finished by circling his palms around his pectorals and shoulders. He let out a sigh he didn't know he was holding when the girl's face contorted into realization. The Falcon was glad that the soldier that he admired made another statement from across the table.
"Don't you worry Sam, with her they'll be no problem getting those wings…Natasha take her….we'll still be here. Just play it safe."
The red head nodded before grabbing her hoodie that was on a couch not too far from the table and zipped it up to where the hood went over her hair. The Russian pocketed the map that came with the files and popped her neck side-ways in preparation.
"Kara." the young beauty walked up to the redhead in obedience.
"C'mon, I'll need your help if you wanna see those wings on Sam." The human took the alien's hand and they both walked towards the front door to leave.
"Wait wait wait wait!" the alien stopped but only because Natasha did the same first and looked at the flyer.
"I know she's shown to have a display of abilities but you're gonna retrieve my gear using her? I mean we gotta be inconspicuous don't we? We can think of something else."
The black Widow cocked an eyebrow.
"As far as we know Sam she can be of help even if you're too afraid to admit you have doubt. She's capable, and as far as I know she is the power house of this little crusade we are on."
Sam couldn't argue with that tone of voice coming from the deadly woman. Instead he looked towards the super soldier and found a confident look on his face. Indicating that he agreed with Natasha's every word. Natasha walked out the glass door with the girl in tow, her cape fluttered past the hinges of the frame way but didn't get caught.
The two men curiously followed and made it just past the porch to spot the two women standing by the truck. The redhead eyed the map one more time before folding it and pointed up with her finger. The powerful girl didn't hesitate to wrap an arm around Natasha's waist.
"Just sit tight boys, we'll be back in an hour." Sam and even Steve watched in awe as Kara launched into the blue sky at a rapid pace but slow enough to ease the force that was coming down onto the Black Widow.
"Holy…."
"Son ova Gun." Steve finished with a snicker before recovering and looking at his admirer.
"Don't worry Sam. Natasha will be her guidance. Let's head back inside and clean up the place. By the way you're practically out of that Sunny-D stuff."
"I just hope they don't take long."
Sam hoped but it didn't come. It had been more than over an hour since the two Women have vanished into the sky and he was already starting to get slightly paranoid. Lucky for him he had been distracted with cleaning the kitchen table and washing the dishes. But not even that was enough to sooth him. Just who was this Kara figure? He had asked Steve but to his disappointment the veteran only shrugged and replied with "Ask Natasha."
Was the blonde-haired man not freaked out in the least with this strange woman that had tagged along with them? How exactly was he supposed to know for sure that this "Power House," was trust worthy? It was not that he didn't at all. Natasha had proven it by instructing the girl what to do and the Russian treated Kara like she was her responsibility. Not to mention the childish interactions of spoon/fork feeding the young girl and brushing her hair the way a mother would to her daughter.
"Is Kara?" he caught Steve's attention who was scrapping dust off his shield. "In any way related to Natasha Steve?"
The Captain pursed his lips for as second before shaking his head no.
"I doubt it, at first I didn't believe Nat when she told me she just met Kara a couple of days ago. Because that girl has shown to be overprotective with Natasha. When I escaped The Triskellion and met up with her I harshly pinned her back and she came at me while restraining me up in the air. I swear she's got more than an iron grip." He paused to catch his breath.
"But after what has been happening lately I guess she is the only one besides you I can fully trust…and I don't think they're related. She doesn't know where Kara came from but Nat has already grown an attachment with her. Kara is lost. And Natasha understands the meaning of that word clear as water."
"Not to sound judge mental Cap but this isn't like the infamous Black Widow I've heard of."
"Not everything is what it seems Sam…but when all this blows over maybe we can ask Thor."
Their conversation was interrupted when the loud knock of the door rung throughout the complex. Steve was instinctively on his toes and hid over the counter top of the kitchen in a crouch position. He gripped his weapon of choice harder as another knock came but this time much louder and harsher.
Sam, knowing well that he wasn't hunted by S.H.I.E.L.D. just yet took a calm breath and walked to the door. He lifted the blinds and chuckled when he saw Kara and Natasha. His smirk faded when he saw what the redhead had in her hands. The casket containing his Exo-7 gear and another suitcase that could only hold a dismantled 50 Caliber Sniper.
They had done it and nothing was said when he opened the door and the two walked in casually, Kara noticed the redhead struggling with the heavy caskets and took the Exo-7 from her. She followed Natasha's motives and they set them down on the kitchen table that managed to hold the advanced boxes. Sam was lost for words and in a way, also Steve but the latter had to ask.
"Okay….how?"
The redhead nearly grinned.
"All you need to know is that we got it Sam. I'll admit it wasn't easy. The hardest part was getting her to land and guide her through the place…that Super speed of hers is amazing. One moment I was standing near the gates and the next thing I knew I was inside next to her." The women said no more as she twisted Sam's gear to face him.
He wiggled the special key out of his pocket and used it to open the lock. When the vest was revealed he smiled upon seeing his old set of wings. Kara looked from the side of him and admired in awe.
Time to pay Jasper Sitwell a visit.
"Right there Kara." the wind blew through the redhead's face as the two flew high above the streets past the elevation of the buildings. The Kryptonian noticed her friend point to a structure near an area full of populated primitives. If Natasha wanted to be put down then so be it.
When their feet touched the floor of the gravel roof Natasha adjusted her brown jacket and took a kneel to open the case she was carrying since they had left Sam's place. When she opened it, she was greeted with the sight of a disassembled silver polished Barrett M82.
"Thing a beauty, isn't it?" she rhetorically asked the girl who eyed the long-ranged rifle.
Thanks to her years as a lethal killer Natasha grabbed piece by piece starting from the handle and assembled her rifle in its glorious form quicker than an arsenal expert. She licked her lips as the clip was inserted and turned on the laser aim on the side of the scope. All while Kara watched.
The blonde was slightly taken a back when her friend got into a shooting position near the edged. She knew that the human female was a skilled fighter and operative but never had she taken in consideration that Natasha was also an Assassin. Who was she going to kill? Would she kill?
The face Natasha was making answered her question but the girl's conscience was soothed when the Russian mounted her rifle and outstretched a palm while her face remained on the aiming scope. Kara took the hand and was brought closer to the women who mumbled loudly.
"Stay close to me."
Natasha indeed was an Assassin, but not under the jurisdiction of those who wanted them dead.
"Sam is down there, he's chatting with someone who's gonna tell us what's going on." The Black Widow said as she developed a smirk and pulled back the safety switch with her thumb.
To clear up the girl's possible confusion Natasha grabbed the side of Kara's head and the alien slowly leaned in to hear the faint exhale of the spy's hot breath.
"Look." She moved her head from the scope to giver the girl a view of none other than Jasper Sitwell talking to a communicator raised to his ear. The telescopic hole moved elsewhere and landed on Sam in a seat next to a glass table. Kara pulled her head back and looked at Natasha with glowing Blue eyes.
"Yes, use your Eagle Vision, now you understand what I'm looking at." The two resumed with their routine and they watched via telescopic vision and scope. The Kryptonian grabbed her cape to sooth the atmosphere into silence and channeled her hearing try to understand what was coming out of Sam's moving lips.
"Because that tie looks really expensive." The tiny red dot fell on the unknown bald man's dress admire. "And I'd hate to mess it up."
"Kara." she looked to meet the inhabitant's face.
"Go…..go get him." Her friend ushered her eyes towards the Plaza.
The girl only stared back without emotion.
"You can do it." Natasha made the gesture of reaching out with her palm past the rifle and brought her hand in while clenching it. "Bring him here."
Kara gawked her head back and forth between her friend and the man below but quickly grasped the concept. A loud whoosh echoed throughout the roof top indicating that Kara had zoomed away possibly down the building. Natasha didn't even have time to comprehend or lower her rifle from the perch because before she could even blink, Sitwell appeared with Kara grabbing him by the collar. He had a look of absolute shock.
"What the….." he eyed the women who placed the sniper down next to the case. "Agent Roman…"
He didn't get to finish as the redhead grabbed him by his jacket and tore him out of Kara's grasp, tearing his back collar in the process. H.Y.D.R.A. scum was in her reach.
The Black Widow rammed a quick punch into his forehead before spinning him around and delivered a kick to his back just as the rooftop door a few feet away opened, reveling a furious scowling Steve.
This had been planned all along.
The soldier grabbed the weak man's throat and tossed him over his head to another near edge section of the roof. His glasses fell off but didn't travel far.
Kara let the operatives do their business and floated a few feet off the ground to give them space.
"Tell me about Zola's Algorithm." The man's biceps clenched, showing absolute intimidation.
Sitwell recovered and placed his glasses back on while trying to scatter away in a hunched position.
"Never heard of it."
"What were you doing on the Lemurian Star?"
"I was throwing up I get seasick." Natasha would've chuckled from the pathetic excuse that a teenager would make if not for the bald man nearly falling off the edge he was being driven to.
Lucky for his sorry ass Steve caught him by his jacket.
"Is this little play gonna insinuate that your gonna throw me off the roof?" the agent tried to boast but instead it came out like a taunt. "Cuz it's really not your style Rogers."
The soldier frowned and instead threw him into Natasha who didn't hesitate to grab him and lift him of the ground with surprising strength.
"You're right." the man stared into the eyes of someone who had seen Hell and burned in it. "It's mine." She snarled.
Kara watched as the inhabitant they were interrogating was thrown off the structure and he wailed as he plummeted towards his potential death. She was half tempted to retrieve him but watched as Natasha wagged her finger no with a much calmer face while looking at her.
"He is not with us Kara, he's a traitor."
Jasper's screamed ceased to exist as he was brought back up over the building with Sam dangling him by a leg and the sound of the engines in his armored vest blazing though the air. Kara marveled as he dropped him and made a landing while the mechanical wings folded behind him.
The Falcon stood tall and proud with a stoic expression.
They all surrounded Jasper with the exception of Kara who remained in the air to observe.
Steve still didn't look pleased and neither did Natasha.
"Zola's Algorithm is a program for choosing insight's targets!"
"What targets?!" the Captain clenched his fist.
You…..her….Bruce Banner, Stephan Strange…..Erik Selvig….pretty much anyone who's a threat now or in the future!"
A sudden realization came to Natasha. A very brutal and harsh realization.
"Stark isn't one of the targets' isn't he?!"
They all, including Sitwell looked at her.
"He isn't one of the targets….you…..you need him…..he's the hand that feeds ya'll, you people never relied on the government. It was always off of Tony's personal net worth and resources." Steve eyed Natasha and nearly gasped upon the revelation. It was all so true. Ever since S.H.I.E.L.D. was founded it was always Howard who supplied the financial aid during the start of the organization, and to this day Tony has since followed in that category. But this wasn't S.H.I.E.L.D. anymore. It was H.Y.D.R.A. The last remaining Stark was seen as nothing but another Merchant of Death!
The next was unbelievable.
Steve struck Sitwell's ribs with his leg causing the man to barf up what he had eaten at the restaurant a while ago. He received another strike rendering him to double over and cough drastically.
It wasn't over.
Natasha reacted fast and stomped onto the same spot that Steve had kicked, causing a small crack to be heard and the traitorous agent weened like the little coward he was. He tried to place his hands out in surrender but instead got a kick to the head by Sam who was behind him. The Falcon protested in a taunt.
"I'd like to see how tough H.Y.D.R.A. is when they're not being fed money by the World's Smartest Man."
Kara shook her head in shame, whatever this man did he certainly filled her friends with anger.
Steve stood menacingly over Sitwell prompting the hurting man to be on the alert despite the pain radiant in his system.
"Unless you wanna continue getting beat I suggested you keep talking."
"The twentieth Century is a digital b…b…book…Arnin Zola taught H.Y.D.R.A. how to read it." he held his side but none the less stood up. "Zola's Algorithm, evaluates people's past…..to predict their future."
"Who is she and What's her Future?" Natasha pointed up behind Sitwell and the balding man quickly viewed the sky.
The sight was enough to make his knees shake and his spine tingle.
Levitating above them all was a H.Y.D.R.A. target and the destroyer of Satellite BETA with her majestic cape and tight body suit glistening in the high noon light.
"Oh my God…..oh my God….what are you doing here!?...this can't be happening, not now of all times." He turned to Romanoff who was looking at the woman in the sky while pointing at her eyes. Sitwell looked back and threw himself to the ground like a submitting dog when the caped powerhouse's eyes glowed a menacing red.
"She burned down Zola and if you don't answer the question or any of Captain Roger's questions I'll make her burn you to a cinder."
Steve reasoned with Natasha.
"Ease up Romanoff, if Zola didn't know anything about her than I doubt he would."
Sitwell used this moment.
"It's true….look I…I may know things alright, but she is not one of them. Ever since the footage of her has been leaked we've been trying to scout and look for her. We got reports that she helped you take down the tact team we sent after you, she incapacitated two of Rumlow's finest from S.T.R.I.K.E. along with four more in that Mall parking lot. And she prevented a lot of things from getting done. That's why Piece said she was a potential adversary…oh God Pierce is gonna kill me!"
Steve caught onto this distress and took the conversation down a new path.
"What is Pierce planning?"
The silent didn't last long as the blonde fired a beam next to Sitwell's foot, causing him to yelp.
"What's gonna happen?!"
The rogue agent swallowed a lump in his throat before continuing.
"The Insight carriers start to scratch people off the list, a few million at a time."
Sam grabbed him by his torn collar and dragged him towards the rooftop door followed by Steve and Natasha, who at this point issued for Kara to come down and they all went down the stairs that would led to the bottom of the building. They had to hurry and act quick if they wanted to leave the place, especially with a young woman sporting a leotard, boots, and cape.
They were off on the high way, casually going the speed limit so they wouldn't get pulled over. Sam had discarded his wings back into its containment box and sat calmly in the trunk. Such a shame that the rifle was left behind on the roof considering it was only purposed as a method of intimidation.
The Soldier and Flyer were up front while the Agent, Spy and Caped girl stayed seated in the back. Natasha sitting in the middle and keeping Kara away from Sitwell.
"H.Y.D.R.A doesn't like leaks." He told Sam from behind.
"Well than why don't you stick a cork in it?"
Natasha kept close to Kara before leaning forward.
"PROJECT INSIGHT launches in twenty hours, we're cutting it a little bit close here."
Steve tried his best not to smirk.
"I know, we'll use him to bypass the DNA scans, and access the Helicarriers directly."
Sitwell did not like the sound of that, especially since he now knew he would be tracked and hunted with nowhere to go or hide.
"What? Are you crazy? That is a terrible, terrible idea...
Romanoff gave him a stern look.
"Or we could just use Kara to tear through the security….."
The glass breaking on Sitwell's side was enough to grab their attention. The doomed human was grabbed by a metallic arm and launched outward into the other lane. He didn't even have time to scream. Jasper Sitwell once honorary S.H.I.E.L.D. agent turned corrupted pawn for H.Y.D.R.A. was no more as his body slammed into an eighteen-wheeler and ruptured into blood flesh and bone.
Natasha didn't have time to see the carnage and could only make out thick black combat boots climbing onto the top that were once by the door. The Russian was grabbed by the blonde and tossed in between Steve and Sam as bullets began to rain down upon Kara, the led pieces caving against her face and scalp while creating loud metal clangs in the process.
Sam saw this in the rearview mirror with wide eyes but put his eyes back onto the road as Natasha rested her boots onto his lap and Steve pulled the emergency break while holding Natasha close.
The car came to a screeching halt with a figure flying forward due to intense momentum. He skidded across the pavement for a while before slowing his dragging by digging his metal arm into the concrete, scraping the gravel, with sparks emitting from his fingers.
All three watched as the Winter Soldier menacingly stood up, but only one watched with anger and realization spawning crimson glowing eyes.
Kara used this moment to look back and sure enough, primitive armored vehicles were coming towards them from behind. The Kryptonian tore through the roof with Natasha and Sam looking back.
"Kara!" but this time her call was ignored.
The blonde rose into the air and slammed her boots into the concrete just behind the car. The enemy approaching by the second. When the black armored Humvee roared as it got ready to deliver the back blow it's mission and driver were dammed as the girl flicked her wrist upon touching the front and sent the metallic behemoth into the air past the grounded terminals and into the empty streets of some other part of the city.
The distraction was enough to cause the Winter Soldier to run up to the car and leap onto the part of the roof that wasn't torn. Although Sam noticed Kara was no longer inside with them he made no choice but to floor it. This intern did not go well as the killer slammed past the front glass and tore the steering wheel from its hinges, rendering no control of the vehicle but the pedals and break.
"SHIT!" cried Sam.
Lucky for the masked killer another Humvee showed up from behind and he jumped onto the hood, leaving a glimpsing eye onto the damaged car.
They were swerving like Hell. And there was no stop to it. Having no other choice Steve grabbed his shield and huddle Natasha into his figure. Any moment now the car would flip, and they had to get out quickly.
"HANG ON!" the soldier grabbed The Falcon and with just the right time, pushed through the broken door, creating a gap between the vehicle that was flipping over and the three that fetal positioned themselves onto each other and the shield. Their guardian angel did not abandon them and the car was caught in one hand along with another grabbing the shield that held the humans by Kara Zor-El.
The tension eased down so much that the incoming traffic slowed down just in time to avoid a massive collision. The Human's did not change their positions but opened their eyes to see they were being held like food on a platter by Kara.
"Natasha, Steve, Sam!"
The Russian smiled even though she was sandwiched between the two men.
"We can do this."
Sam got off her as soon as they were set down on the concrete ground.
"I hope you're right."
When all three stood up next to the alien the Humvee was at halt in front of other civilian cars and they watched as multiple armed men joined the Winter Soldier, who now had a Black Milkor MGL. Kara was no fool to realize these were lethal weapons. The Assassin was here, and his intention was the same as before, destroy all who oppose him, let this primitive destroy her if he dared. The humans noticed that Kara wielded their vehicle in her hand effortlessly as if she was holding a toy raddle but couldn't protest as she laid it down in front of them, serving as a barrier.
She would defend them against these evil inhabitants, she would not leave them to fight a suicidal battle. She showed no fear as the metal armed coward raised his grenade launcher.
Steve, Natasha and Sam couldn't see anything past the broken car but could see Kara standing next to them away from safety. The atmosphere echoed with the sound of a grenade being fired and the girl caught it in her hand before wrapping her cape around herself. There was a rupture of a small boom followed by fire consuming the caped girl. Within seconds it all extinguished and the cape came unwrapped with steam flowing off Kara, not a single blemish on her form.
Their jaws agape and her eyes illuminating, Kara slowly walked towards the killers who if she looked closely some were stiffening from what just happened. The Winter Soldier's posture however didn't change. Instead he mumbled to his men.
"Fire all at once."
Citizens escaped their cars and ran in the opposite direction as the highway turned into an all-out shooting range. Their intended target only continued her approach as the lethal pellets caved and fell against her legs, torso, and face. By this point she was too close for the Winter Soldier to fire and the surprise came when the caped blonde disappeared from her spot only to reappear behind them and tossed every man, one by one in the direction of her friends.
Steve rolled out from behind his hidden position and crouched with his shield only to see the enemies coming via air toss. His concentration was slightly interrupted when he noticed each of their heads tearing open with blood coming out of bullet holes thanks to Natasha who was using her two nine millimeters from her side of the car/barrier. Their screams were silenced, rendering them dead before they hit the ground.
The masked Assassin turned around to hit Kara with the bud of his highly powered weapon but she stopped his hit mid swing with her forearm and exhaled a breath, sending him flying once again towards her allies.
He smacked the ground with a loud thud, being the experienced fighter that he was, he stood up aiming his weapon at the girl from afar who speed up in front of him in less than a millisecond. She snatched his gun and broke it across her knee, not giving him time to comprehend what had just happened. Kara smiled and stepped back when Steve came up behind the metal armed man and delivered a pan strike with his shield, causing the Winter Soldier to go over the elevated road and down to the streets below.
He smashed on top of a bus that immediately stopped its voyage.
Steve was almost never one to smile when it came down to serious business. But in this particular case he had to thanks to the amazing skills of the woman who crusaded with them over the last few days. Sam came up to them holding his case that he had pulled out from the broken trunk followed by Natasha who was reloading her guns with the extra magazines that were in her boots.
The Black Widow did the unbelievable for the umpteenth time on their mission and pecked Kara's cheek with appreciation and gratitude. The blonde's eyes became full of life for a moment before simply nodding to the Russian.
"You're doing great Kara, keep it up, this is serious."
Sam quickly opened the container and strapped his vest tightly.
"Not bad for Round One ya'll but here comes Round Two." He pointed past them where the discarded Humvee was and sure enough five more were arriving on the scene to help the dazed Winter Soldier below the ground on the roof of the bus.
It was absolutely sickening for Kara. The ones trying to kill them didn't even have loyalty amongst each other. If one was killed the other was simply replaced. With the exception of the human with the cybernetic arm.
Her thoughts were interrupted by Sam.
"Cap what's the plan?!"
The captain made a quick glance downward and then back to his team of survivors.
"Thanks to Kara we're gonna keep it precise and simple. Nat and I will head down to deal with the Winter Soldier, he's dangerous but we'll outsmart him. We got five enemy vehicles approaching as we speak so Sam you'll take Kara and give us air support. If necessary which will no doubt be inevitable kill all who try to kill us and prevent as many casualties as possible, that shouldn't be a problem." The soldier eyed the area of both lanes that were quickly becoming deserted.
Kara tried her best to see past Steve's dialect but the Kryptonian had no choice but to follow as her conscience dictates. She was taken aback when Steve ran to the edge and jumped off followed by Natasha jumping past cement terminal dividers to do the same thing. Sam immediately ran towards the incoming danger to grab two of the automatic rifles discarded by the dead agents, waiting for the perfect moment to take off into the sky as The Falcon.
Natasha's wrist was grabbed and she looked back to see Kara's distressed face. The spy couldn't blame her little friend. She was worried, not for herself, but for her. She didn't want her to go down and aid Steve.
"Natasha."
"Kara I'll be fine, I'll be fine go with Sam." The blonde only stared with creased eyebrows. "You need to be with Sam."
She pointed at the lonely figure who abandoned his pose to look back upon the mention of his name. Kara couldn't fight her resistance to turn and so she did, it was a bad idea for her. In a short few seconds The Black Widow used this time to leap off the high way and rolled up her sleeve to shoot the small grapnel hook hidden on her forearm into the concrete edge. Kara reverted with just enough time to see her friend give her an encouraging smile and disappeared below the bridge. Kara's face grew grim. Her friend was out of her each, she could not be protected. Kara knew from what she has seen that Natasha was more than capable of handling herself. She was just as brutal and ruthless as these savages who were after them. But being the person that she was, the alien's worry could not be shaken off her cape. Only pushed as Sam called out for her.
"Kara c'mon!" he rolled his head for her to join him since his hands were occupied with guns. The girl sped towards him and stood by his side with a distressed face. Maybe this is what Natasha wanted, to aid their recently added comrade who was alone up here with no one to guard his back. There were more enemies on the bridge now than allies.
"We got this, okay we got this." Sam let go of a gun to fasten his lenses before picking it up again. "I know you're bullet proof but I'm sure you know the drill, I got your back you got mine."
It didn't take a genius to know that Kara wasn't listening. This didn't surprise Sam since he was briefed on Kara's limited Knowledge of speaking.
"Just don't screw this up kid, this is only gonna get har…" Kara took off into the air before he could finish and scouted the heavy transporters approaching. Just as suspected the remaining two in the far back across seas of smaller transports stopped and released the armed killers who succeeded by dislodging themselves off the terminals and into the depths of the passage ways below with ropes attached to their wastes. The remaining three however stopped when they finished swerving and occasionally tearing through the smaller cars to get to their intended targets.
The humming sound of Sam's wings could be heard followed by the man calling out to the girl.
"Kara when they get out I'm gonna need you to distract them while I take them out from the…." The Falcon couldn't finish as the girl dived straight into the closest armored metal, caving in the motor and hood automatically. The impact caused the driver's air bag to expand despite the truck being at a complete halt and most of the dozens of men inside who had unbuckled their seat belts jolted in all directions.
"What the hell?!" one black clad burly man in the back screamed. The driver grunted from the broken nose he had but made a fruitless attempt to push the air bag away since the whole sac along with giant shards of glass from the front shield tore off the hinges.
The target who they were told to use excessive caution on was looking at them with no kindness whatsoever.
She grabbed the unnamed driver by his collar and threw him out over her shoulder into the air, chair and everything.
Sam watched the scum soar through the sky for a moment, screaming like a banshee, but focused and took aim with one of his rifles. Unlike Natasha he was rusty, so he had to ignore the sweat developing on his upper brow and the doubt clawing at his heart. But he did it. Three bullets entered the man's neck with the last one going into his upper cheek. He was dead before he hit the ground.
Due to not being able to hover in place, Sam had to quick fly around the area and returned just in time to see Kara rip the entire hood off the titanium enforced vehicle like a can of sardines. The men inside reached for their guns but they all cursed and shouted as Kara grabbed the transporter by the back-left wheel and shook everyone out by flipping it over effortlessly.
Sam could not hide the adrenaline coursing through the veins in his forearms.
"Damn." Surprisingly, The Falcon didn't feel remorse when Kara brought down the truck, on top of the armed men like a hammer. The impact was so hard it cracked the concrete and contorted a small tremor in a faint boom. The blood leaking from the edges was a big sign nobody under the crushed mess would be recognizable. His question about wondering if the girl had seen a battle or a participated in a lethal fight had been answered.
Kara stood in front of the now useless heap of metal with clenching fists. She twisted her gaze with shining blue eyes and took in the expressions of the insolent operatives in the other vehicles. They're looks were described as surprised and uncomfortable.
She smiled wickedly at her heartless adversaries who blindly followed orders. They wanted Steve, they wanted Sam, they wanted to hurt Natasha since the beginning of all this. This was far from over.
The Winter Soldier remembered his strict discipline and shook off the aching creeks developing in his shoulder blades from hitting the top of the bus that already had people evacuating off it and heading for the sidewalks. Just as he suspected, the unknown adversary of H.Y.D.R.A was here. She had been with them this whole time. He pulled his shoulders out of the dents in the metal he was laying on and adjusted his mask over his stubbled jawline.
The adversary was gifted indeed. He had been warned by his superior that she had immense strength to carry and crush cars effortlessly, and she was bullet proof. His inter skepticism didn't take it into consideration at first but after firing a grenade into her and witnessing not so much as a burned hair on her body, he was convinced.
But now he had to change tactics. Intimidation was no longer on his or his men's side. Lucky for the Winter Soldier, his main targets were the only ones he had to truly deal with. But he couldn't risk being detected by the abnormal one of Captain America's group. He had to think quick.
The masked man quickly leaped off the bus and ignored the looks he was getting. He spotted just ahead of the concrete one of the rifles that must have been tossed down here when the caped woman threw soldiers from many of his units to their deaths via head shots. He scattered to pick it up. A full magazine was inside. He just so happened to have a two-spares attached to his belt of the same gun. This in turn caused the innocent people around the area to scatter like ants.
His inner appreciation for a proper weapon was ceased as Captain America without his uniform came from around a car and threw his shield in his direction. The Winter Soldier moved out of the way in the nick of time. The vibranium disk impacted against a fire hydrant and the bus before ricocheting back to Steve's bulky arm. The killer smirked under his mask as he aimed for Steve's legs as soon as the red and blue disk came into its owner's grasp. He was going to incapacitate him.
Or so he thought.
The loud sounds of running boots entered his ears and he looked past below the bridge to see the infamous Black Widow charging head on out of the shadows with one of her pistols aimed at his head. swiftly changed his line of fire and aimed it at Natasha. The spy however, reacted quickly. Two shots bounced off his left arm but one collided dead center of his right lens. The angry burned within him so much that he took this moment to empty his entire ammo clip on the concrete around their feet. All while skidding backwards to distance himself from the bridge and keep his enemies still. The only ones who were anything but still were the people Natasha was howling at to move out of harm's way.
When that was done he turned on his heel and ran.
If he was going to take them down, he would have to distance them from the caped women slash muscle. He ran faster than any of the drills he was put into. After all he had the World's only super soldier after him. When he reached a corner of another street the Winter soldier took this time to steady his breathing and remove his fractured bullet proof lenses. The Black Widow almost took his life. No matter, he would silently enjoy taking hers.
Feeling as though he wasn't far enough the Assassin dropped his shades and headed on, scaring anyone when they saw his attire and weapon.
"Steve, I think your gonna have to go after him alone." She panted while keeping up with the war hero.
"No way, we are doing this together." He was so concentrated on running that he missed Natasha's slowing as she disappeared behind an alley. He was once again frustrated. Just where was she going? There was no time for any answer. The Winter Soldier was avoiding them, and he wasn't going to permit it. Not while the unknown man was running the streets with an assault rifle and potentially injuring countless of innocent people.
Natasha stayed perched onto a rail way as dozens of men, a total of thirty-six, were huddled in a square like formation navigating through the alleys of the once calm streets. This had to be a unit that was trying to outflank them. The Black Widow eyed her prey. The black clad H.Y.D.R.A. scum had their guns trailed on nothing but what was forward.
Natasha couldn't have that. Being outflanked was one thing, but trying to annihilate anything in your path per say civilians just to get to them was unacceptable. She would have to do what she had to do. It was suicidal but it was the right thing to do. No one deserved to get hurt, killed or controlled by these monsters. Her first plan was to immediately jump into the middle and start maiming the men to the best of her skills, but the problem was that she wouldn't stand a chance against that many armed men and even a moron with a low IQ would know that they would shoot her even if it involved multiple ally casualties. They would all kill each other just to see her dead.
After a moment she reconsidered her actions, but they were slightly altered.
The Russian reached into her jacket and pulled out her only weapons disruptor left. It was a sleek black rectangular piece of metal that had a red button and an adjustment disk to detect the number of firearms. The limit was two hundred but after being used the first time the battery would be rendered inoperable for the next sixty minutes. She had one shot. Best make it count.
Just as they passed under her perch the spy activated the disruptor and the digital numbers began to pick up the sensory of their rifles and side arms. A total of seventy-two lethal weapons. Her decision was made as she hovered her thumb over the red button.
"Thank you Pepper."
Within seconds all the men jolted back when their guns frizzed and exploded in sparks right in front of their eyes. The Black Widow leaped off her perch and landed right onto the cranium of a blonde haired middle-aged man who was the one in the very back. She was glad that the only thing that made these guns for hire dangerous was their now useless weaponry. They didn't even have armored vests or tact team helmets. The man's neck broke backwards and Natasha landed with a small back flip before pulling two black serrated bowie knives out of her leggings that Sam had given her before they departed from his place. With the next two that were huddled together and appeared surprised Natasha rolled forward and slit their throats just as they tried to raise their hands in defense. Another rather young-looking man was on his toes and unsheathe a hunting knife from his belt. He brought it down on the redhead but she was faster, she stabbed one of her blades into his incoming downward wrist not even giving him the chance to scream in agony and impaled her second blade into his ribcage only to aggressively twist it side-ways thus giving her control of the stabbed wrist. A hooded gruff individual who was just now recovering from his exploding weapon received a hunting knife into his forehead.
She pulled out her blood covered blades and ducked when another hooded figure came within her reach. He had tripped and fallen backwards only to have a blade enter his chest and another in his testicles. To ensure his cries remained silent Natasha pulled the one out of his chest and drove it into his throat, leaving his vocal chords in a mush. The next two who had their arms spread apart which gave the infamous woman leverage and she spun her knives to face downward. A blade went into each armpit of the two, she twisted them to make sure she hit the artery to the heart and pulled them out with a gory sound.
The thrill of the kill was on her tongue.
Another two who had slammed into each other from the force of their exploding weapons and received a crouched-women in the middle followed by two blades entering two skulls.
She didn't care who these men were. Nor would she remember any of their faces. They were not worthy. Their burly faces would be covered in their fluids by the time she was done. Oh, she was going be done. But not yet. Slowly, a vast of these men were starting to recover from their unwanted distress, which was why she had to hurry.
Two who appeared to be twins, one balding and one sporting a mohawk with an eyepatch swung their broken weapons at her horizontally. She measly ducked and swiftly dragged the bowies across their throats from below. Their clumsiness, had nothing on the Black Widow.
One bearded man in particular who had been watching from the middle of the slowly deteriorating unit saw this and stomped towards her. The first and only thing Natasha noticed was he was bigger and more muscular than any other. He had the same attire as almost everyone but without sleeves, revealing his hardened biceps. A brute. This would be fun.
But the fun never came as he swung a big fist from the crowd down to her. Natasha simply evaded the attack that came from a mile away and spun behind him to deliver impalement to the spine. She turned around when his eyes rolled to the back of his head from shock and the out of control woman spun her blades in her surprisingly un blood covered hands before stabbing them in an out of the abdomen of a man her height. The stabbings turned into lightning jabs with an unearthly sound.
Wanting now more than ever to be rid of all this filth The Black Widow pulled out and threw her blades into the crowd, barely missing the spitting of the guy's blood in her face and not caring where they landed because she knew they would render somebody dead. When she noticed that the brute she had impaled was impossibly standing up she leaped onto his shoulders and twisted his neck into an ungodly fashion. The giant fell but didn't take Natasha with him. Instead she jumped onto a stairwell in the alley and balanced on the rail with an arm as she pulled out one of her nine millimeters.
Lead entered a good amount of people's heads as they fell. One by one. The ones who recovered even tried to do their best to get their hands on a weapon when they realized their side arm was useless no matter how many times they cocked it.
It was all blinding, it was all quick. Natasha Romanoff had proven once again why she was a human force to be reckoned with. An Independent Woman trained to be a killer but overcame her atrocious thoughts and channeled her viciousness for the greater good. Nobody would hurt her, nobody would control her.
Fuck H.Y.D.R.A. to the pits of hell.
The last man remained, an athletic brown-haired male with a sickening scar across his cheek. He was the one up front with the carnage bestowed upon him. He was down on one knee and tried to do his best to keep his stomach down. All the cut throats, all the stabbed wounds, all the bullets that were launched into his comrades' brains.
All of it disappeared from his concentration when The Black Widow dropped down from her perch. Her figure stood out from the scene since she had no blood on her. She walked menacingly towards him while gripping her so hard her knuckles turned white.
"Fuck you….you bitch…..he'll beat you all…..HAIL H…"
A bullet entered his skull. The life left his eyes and he fell backwards.
It was over, it was done. This wasn't her best work or behavior but she had to do what she had to do. Doing the right thing didn't always mean it had to be pleasant.
She stood there. Left in her own thoughts. She would never be like this in front of her comrades. Because she knew she had people who cared. She had Clint, she had Pepper, she had Steve, Sam, and of course…..Kara. Her lost friend that she had met the night of her boss's death.
In time, they would fix what had been done wrong. And now more than ever. Her team mates needed her. A loud explosion coming from the streets several blocks away got her attention.
"Steve!" the Russian ran out of the alley, leaving the gory scene behind and ran towards the area of distressed cries and combustions.
"Bastard!" Steve muttered from the corner of a car as The Winter Soldier shot a grenade from the bottom of his rifle into a police car, killing anyone inside driving and engulfing the vehicle in flames.
The killer had been toying with him. Since Nat disappeared it had been just the two playing a horribly game of follow the leader. And Steve was not liking this. The masked Assassin had done nothing but fire into civilized areas such as shops and trees and even went out of his way to blowing cars up with the grenades he shot.
But this was his plan.
The Winter Soldier's plan was to taunt the Captain of old while seeking out The Black Widow, he wanted to finish her off first before going after the Captain, he was the only one who could pose a real challenge. So where exactly was the Russian?
Yes, right in his sights.
"Stay out of the way!" the redhead ran as fast as she could as she screamed at civilians to get to safety.
"STAY OUT OF THE WAY" she had to get to Steve. He was alone. She didn't even know how Kara and Sam were holding.
It all happened too fast.
The bullet pierced through the window of the blue sedan and drilled into the flesh near her shoulder and collar. She fell to the floor in a crying heap.
"AAHAHHHHHHHH"
The unnamed man with a black beany cap screamed at the top of his lungs when the heavy Turrent gun he was using did zero to nothing to the caped girl walking towards him. He was the last man standing. The only thing standing since the two freaks in the air had taken out most of the units. Many laid dead on the concrete, few injured. Weaponry was also all over the place topped with all the black trucks ruptured and stacked upon one another.
"WHY WONT YOU DIE!?" his knees trembled when his casket had run out of ammo and the girl stood there stoically. No visible lacerations or bruises.
The next was something he did not expect.
The blonde flinched back, her enhanced hearing acted against her will and picked up the sound of a ballistic being fired off in the distance.
"AAHAHHHHHHHH"
The Kryptonian did not know the cry, but she knew the voice behind it as her eyes widened with absolute fear.
"NATASHA!"
She launched into the sky shaking the very Earth as she blasted off.
Sam had come from a vast dive behind the H.Y.D.R.A. scum and shot him straight through the knees, crimpling him as he howled with pain. The Falcon landed directly onto his body with a boot smashing into his neck. Leaving it undetermined if he was dead or alive.
Sam looked back in the direction that Kara had flown. He pulled off his goggles as he recalled the young beauty's only word.
"Natasha, you can't quit just yet.
The spy trembled drastically. She couldn't even remember the last time she trembled drastically. Her heart was beating faster than a sniper bullet could travel. Steve watched from behind a van and his eyes watered upon seeing his friend in such a state. He didn't care about her history, he didn't care about what she had done in the past. Natasha was his friend, and she was quickly bleeding due to her hand now shining a blood crimson. Her lip quivering by the millisecond.
Natasha damned herself for not being able to hide her emotions, but the logic was logic. She was hurt. She was bleeding and the pain like a son of a bitch. At first, she thought it was a graze into the shoulder but judging by the amount of blood leaking out of her she slowly grasped the harsh reality that an artery had been struck. She couldn't even move her left arm.
But she had to stay strong, for Steve, For Clint…..Nick….Phil…..Laura…her adopted nephew and niece….for fuck's sake even Pepper and Tony, the ones who gave her a living even when she didn't live with them….for Maria, her secret lover, one that the world must never know about. But for once she didn't know the outcome of where all of this was going. Would she bleed to death?
Death was just around the corner. The Winter Soldier leaped onto the hood of a car and aimed his gun at the spy, ready to finish off Natalia Alianova Romanoff. She stared at him without fear despite the tear escaping.
"None of you ever got to me…live with that."
Steve's tension went away upon seeing the one manifesting behind the ruthless killer.
The Winter Soldier felt a presence behind him, one that was too close to evade him if he dared to react in self-defense. Sure enough, he did.
He released his rifle into the weight of his right arm and packed all the cybernetic hydraulics into motion, the Winter Soldier turned around and delivered a sickening punch to the Crest of The House of El, the result, a titanic metal clang ringing all over the city block.
The Winter Soldier was taken aback by what he saw. An unfazed woman with piecing red eyes staring into his orbs past his hair. One solid push from this lost child was enough to send him through the air and crash arm first into a heavy brick wall, losing his gun in the process.
Pain. Actual, un-denying, physical pain ruptured through his body. He remembered his mission and stood up with a wobble. But there it was again.
Pain.
But this pain was never in the existence of the universe going to be a fraction of what the last daughter of Krypton ever felt upon being bestowed the last living member of her kind.
The Krytonian's eyes ceased their glow and instead she planted her boots onto the concrete ground.
When she did a massive gentle tremor shook the Earth. One foot was placed in front of the other, and the result was the same.
*****THHUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM********
Another step.
*******THHHUUMMMMMMMMMMMMM********
"How was she doing that?", that, was the question on all three's mind.
No fear was in Kara's eyes as she stepped closer to the man convicted of over dozens of murders.
The Winter Soldier wasn't going to stop now. he would demonstrate that he was a who people claimed who he was. He obeyed orders, and his orders were to kill.
But this adversary. What something that not even he could identify. He went so far as to push through the aching in his back and meet face to face with this young shorter woman.
The silence gave the illusion of eternity. The now empty streets that only had four individuals were waiting for something.
It came.
Even without a firing weapon.
The metal clang rung throughout the streets as the Assassin had his artificial fist in the face of the woman. Who to Captain America and the Black Widow's surprise, didn't even flinch.
He was really trying to show was superior. And so he did.
Wave after wave of assaults and nothing happened. Strike after strike from divine training were no match for this unbreakable walking spirit.
The Alien from another world did not find fascination from this. Why did she waste her time confronting something that couldn't even hurt her? Because this something had harmed someone she had come to care about and trust. The first living being of this world that she met even accepted her as a friend. Something that she hardly ever had.
Now she stood in all her stature, preparing to deliver a message.
The Kryptonian grabbed the primitive's throat faster than his reflexes predicted. Her grip tightened to the point where his oxygen was cut.
"RRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAHAHHAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"
The God like roar echoed throughout the entire City as Kara Zor-El's eyes fired into the sky, creating a massive red light over the atmosphere. The tremoring screech was so loud almost all the windows of the cars and building cracked in symphony. The three humans went so far as to cover an ear.
The Winter Soldier faced judgement when the superior dug her fingers into his artificial shoulder with relative ease and gruesomely yanked his arm out of the socket. The experience caused absolute shock for the killer. The adversary didn't even hesitate to do what she did. His grunts ceased to be muffled as his mask was torn form his face after the caped women discarded the arm. When he was lifted by his scalp Steve stood in silent shock.
That face….it was him.
Steve stood up from his hiding place to observe closer.
"Bucky?"
The Assassin only stared with wound pride at the soldier.
"Who…the hell is Bucky?" had anyone been watching, they would've seen Natasha's surprised face as well but not as much. The unmasked killer looked in Kara's expression. "What are you?"
Kara took control of the situation. She gripped his scalp harder catching his attention, along with everyone else.
"If I ever see you lay a hand on her again….I will kill you!" Steve was just too shocked to do or say anything. His heart was now aching for almost everything. Natasha being close to mortally wounded, Kara demonstrating what she was capable of, and The Winter Soldier was…James Buchanan Barnes.
He fell to his knees as Kara launched him drastically over the buildings. Truly having no doubt he would survive judging by how Kara threw him.
He was lost in thought.
Kara on the other hand turned to face her friend crouched over a transporter. The girl gently walked towards her. With no intention of scaring her whatsoever. She kneeled to her level, inspecting the human female's wound. She was bleeding drastically with her blood the color of crimson. Natasha did not fall blind to the tear that managed to leak out of her lost friend's eye. Being the women that she was she reached with a bloodied hand and dabbed the tear away, smiling a lip quiver in the process. The alien gently grabbed the human and lifted her up slowly. The blood stain on Natasha's jacket was more provident now. Since she couldn't move her left arm, the redhead brought her only functioning one around the caped woman's shoulder and delivered a gentle kiss to her cheek.
"Good Soldier." She whispered to the living embodiment of invulnerability.
"Good Soldier."
A/N: I shed a tear while writing this long one for you all. Thanks a lot for the views and support. Please let me know what you guys think! I'll have the next one up soon I swear.