A/N: Here I am again with chapter 9. I hope you all enjoy it but just before you start reading, a quick warning. To certain people this chapter may seem a bit dark and or violent. The whole chapter is told from Phoenix's point of view so that should give you a clear idea of what to expect. As always, read, review and have fun.
"Damn it she talked!" Phoenix exclaimed, forgetting for a second that she was supposed to be whispering to avoid getting caught. She ducked back behind the reception desk and put her binoculars on the ground near her feet. Next to her were the other four teenagers. Mark, Bella, Josh and Sam.
SHIELD looked like any ordinary building but Phoenix and the others knew that what was in that building was far from ordinary. Their stakeout location was in a spa was across the road from SHIELD where they could monitor it. It was the middle of the night, best time of the day to perform an attack.
The security measures placed on the SHIELD building had clearly been doubled. There were men at the doors and Phoenix could just picture the laser defence mechanisms on every floor. That was going to make things a lot harder, but not impossible.
"Heather must've gone to the Avengers this morning. We couldn't find her in Pennsylvania because she came here," Phoenix clicked her fingers, igniting and then dousing a small flame between her fingers as she clicked. "She betrayed us."
Bella peered over the top of the desk at the building across from them and ducked back down. "It looks bad. Maybe we shouldn't attack tonight. They're obviously expecting us." She looked to Phoenix desperately, begging her silently to reconsider. Phoenix didn't even notice.
"Well then let's not disappoint them," Phoenix spat. "We've still got some tricks up our sleeves that they won't be expecting. We're attacking tonight and we're not backing down. You all know the plan. Get in there, find the Doctor, and get out. Don't wait up for me."
Phoenix missed the exchange between the other teenagers as they glanced around at each other sharing the same look of despair. None of them wanted to be there. Phoenix entering their lives had confirmed their worst fears about themselves. At the sight of a tear drop from Bella's eyes Josh turned to Phoenix.
"When do we get to go home?" he asked, not even bothering to hid the anger in his voice.
Phoenix titled her head in confusion. "Never," she answered like it was obvious. "You have a duty to help Your Master, he saved you, so now you must save him. There is nothing important for you at your homes. You obey Doctor Blake, that it what you must do."
"What about our families?" Mark's voice was almost pleading.
Phoenix's head titled further to the side as a result of the confusion. "They aren't important. We have a job to do."
The other four kids glanced side to side at each other. Mark sympathetically patted Bella's knee whilst Phoenix's head was turned the other way, Bella nodded a silent thank you in response. They all knew exactly what each other was going through, each of them had an equal fear of Phoenix.
Phoenix stood up and looked over at the building across the street, narrowing her eyes as if trying to make a decision. "Alright let's do this now. Sam, take out their security. Everyone else slowly move to the door," Phoenix commanded them, ducking low and moving to the edge of the desk where she could make a quick getaway.
Sam closed his eyes and focused hard. Eventually his eyelids shot open and he gasped, as if he had just preformed an exhausting physical task. The lights were still on in the building but Phoenix knew that Sam had succeeded. She waved her hand at the other teenagers as a signal for them to move.
They crouched low as they walked fast past the glass doors and to the wall where they could be out of sight. There was a doorway on their right that led out into an alleyway. They ducked their heads low as they filed towards it in a single line with Phoenix leading them. They had already kicked the door open when they first entered so all Phoenix needed to do was lightly tap it and it swung outward, hitting them all in the face with a gust of cold night air and the sounds of New York.
"We need to be quick, it's only a matter of time before they find out their security systems are offline," Phoenix peered around the corner of the alleyway at the SHIELD building that dangerously loomed over them. The sight of it shook them all to their core, except for Phoenix of course. She only focused on the mission.
She grabbed Mark and Josh by their coats and dragged them forward, hissing orders in their ears. The boys nodded stiffly, almost shaking with fear, and then Josh's whole appearance seemed to fade until he vanished, and Mark blurred off towards the SHIELD building. Phoenix held up a hand to Bella and Sam, signally for them to wait. Then she sharply moved her hand and motioned to the building, signalling them to attack.
They ran across the street and to the side of the building. Phoenix reached into her boot and pulled out a small silver gadget in the shape of a square. She aimed it at one of SHIELD's windows and pressed the centre. A wire shot out from it and attached itself firmly to a ledge, Phoenix extended the device by pulling out the sides, forming a handle.
"Mark and Josh should be in position," Phoenix gripped the handle on the device. "When you see my signal, enter the building. I'll draw them away from you and up to the top floors. Dr Blake is being held in an interview room on the second floor. Be careful and watch your backs."
With that, Phoenix tugged sharply on the device and it hoisted her into the air, running the wire back into the device. Wind blew her hair back off her face and glided up her cheeks. She finally came to a halt when the wire ran out and she was at the ledge. Quickly she lifted herself up and kicked open the window. Things were always so much easier when the automatic locks were shut down.
Now safely inside the building she detached the device from the ledge and pushed the handles back into the sides, returning the gadget to its former square shape and slipping it back into her pocket. Feeling satisfied she looked out the window and down at the street below. With her sharp eyesight she could make out the shapes of Bella and Sam waiting patiently.
It was time.
Phoenix turned her head and looked up at the top of the building. She smirked. Then the familiar sound of a weapon being cocked was picked up by her hearing and she turned to face five agents all standing with their weapons at the ready and watching her. She noticed that the room she had found herself in was a basic scientific laboratory that hadn't been used in a while.
And on the bench in front of her she saw the perfect opportunity.
"Get down on the ground now!" one of the agents barked at her. It was a man's voice but she had no time to pay attention to him.
Mark might've been the one that had super speed, but Phoenix could still move pretty damn fast. She sprinted forward and using two hands, propelled herself over the work bench, driving her feet into one of the agent's chests and jumping to the side as he fell. Picking up his dropped gun, she hit another agent over the face with it and elbowed another in the gut.
They didn't seem to be fighting back, which really pissed Phoenix off.
Time was being wasted though. Phoenix had to finish them quickly if she wanted the plan to advance. After tossing one across the room the agents all reconvened across the bench from her now on the window side while Phoenix stood with her back to the door. Not a good move, but a good position to be in for her idea to work.
She moved quickly, turning all of the gas taps on the work bench up to full, filling the room with the noxious smell of gasoline. The agents seemed to realise what was going on and moved to try and turn them off but Phoenix beat them to the punch. She stood in front of the door and held out her palm, blowing the flame towards them.
The explosion could be heard from two street blocks away. The glass on the window exploded outwards and a giant flame erupted from the broken window and into the night air, spreading chaos and panic as people saw the giant plume of fire against the black backdrop of the sky. Seeing the signal, Bella and Sam made for the building.
Phoenix walked casually out of the room as if nothing had happened, the flames slowly fading as they twirled and moved gracefully across her body. The hallway was a blackened mess but it was nothing compared to the carnage inside the laboratory. She just knew that after that noise, the SHIELD boys and girls would come running.
It was fun to watch them run and beg for mercy, but she still had a job to do and if she failed the Doctor then she had no point in life. She just had to get to the basement, but first she had to be sure that the Doctor was clear of the building. Her strike force did have an advantage but they were still incompetent and unwilling. Phoenix didn't like having to rely on them for anything.
It didn't take long for more agents to arrive. Each of them were armed with all sort of weapons they could've used to attack her, but not one even tried. Some even threw guns to the side and took up defensive positions as Phoenix approached. Nothing could've possibly made her angrier.
Did they perceive her as weak?
Did they think that she was harmless?
They were all wrong. All of them. She would teach them what happens when you underestimate Phoenix. They will pay. All of them. Not one member of SHIELD has the right to back away from her challenge, simply because they think her innocent. Not one of them would step up and fight her. Not one. They thought she was nothing. She was not.
She showed them.
All of them.
Phoenix walked over the top of another lifeless body. The walls were splashed with blood and there was a vaguely ominous sense of doom that surrounded the scene. There was no space left to walk on the ground because the entire hallway was littered with the dead and unconscious bodies of all the agents that had dared think she was not a worthy enemy. They did not even bother to fight her.
So she did not bother to show mercy.
Alarms began to ring all around her as the lockdown was initiated, sealing off each level of the SHIELD building. Phoenix smirked. That was the signal that they had successfully gotten the Doctor out of the building. But with the lockdown initiated it would be difficult for Phoenix to get down to the basement.
There was one way though.
She approached the lift door and looked the steel up and down carefully. With the lockdown they would be enforced shut with extra clamps, but metal could burn. Phoenix began with her hand at the top of the lift doors, burning it and slowly tracing her hands downwards as she did. It was only a small flame, but it burned strong.
Within a minute the metal began to creak and weaken under the influence of the fire. After growing impatient, Phoenix stopped burning it sooner than she should've and tried to open the lift with brute strength. Clasping a hand on each side of the doors, she strained to pull them apart.
Eventually a gap formed and Phoenix stuck her right hand through and pressed her shoulder against the gap, putting a foot against the left side of the door. With a sudden burst of strength, the lift opened wide enough for Phoenix to get inside. Muscles straining, she squeezed through the gap.
It was near pitch black inside the shaft and the minute she entered Phoenix discovered that she had no room to move and if she took one step forward she would reach the bottom floor at lot faster and harder than anticipated. The maintenance ladder was across the shaft from her and if she wanted to reach it she would need to jump at least six feet.
Simple really.
With a hand on the lift doors Phoenix pressed herself up against it and tensed her legs, crouching down slightly so she could achieve better propulsion. A run up would've been best, but Phoenix didn't need it. Her heart rate began to beat faster, but only slightly. She inhaled a deep breath and focused on the ladder.
As she exhaled she launched her body forward, letting go of the doors quickly. She felt her body hit steel and jammed her foot into the rungs to stop herself from falling. Quickly she clutched the handles as she nearly tipped backwards. Pressing her face against the rusty metal, she smirked.
Now she had footing, she could get down. With a downwards glance Phoenix noticed that it would be a long climb before she reached the bottom, and she was on a time sensitive mission. It was imperative that she reach the basement and complete the mission before they managed to override the lockdown.
With another self-respectful smirk, she let go of the ladder and fell backwards.
The feeling of falling is both exciting and terrifying. Most people are afraid of when they hit the bottom, and while they fall there is nothing to keep them from stopping. The rush of adrenaline and the wind rushing up her cheeks and blowing her hair behind her gave Phoenix a brief feeling of euphoria. She wasn't afraid of falling, she was barely afraid of anything.
Quickly she removed the small long and thin cylindrical object from her pocket. She pressed the bottom and a small parachute billowed from the top suddenly, slowing her fall. The parachute was only roughly five feet in diameter, meant for small spaces. It did the job fine though and landed on top of the lift itself. In an event of a lockdown, it would always go straight to the bottom floor.
Surprisingly the hatch was easy to pry open and that's when Phoenix realised that the lockdown had just been overridden. Moving much faster, she lowered herself into the lift and opened the doors with ease. The lockdown was defienetly over because she couldn't hear any more alarms.
Heart rate rising quickly, Phoenix sped down through the basement in search of the place that Doctor Blake had instructed she go to if he was ever taken in by SHIELD. It was all a part of the master plan. She was determined to complete her mission, so with no time for detours, she ran in the right direction with her feet hitting the ground like clockwork.
She discovered the mainframe and got to work, searching through for the file. It was encrypted but the Doctor would know how to break into it. Once all the information was downloaded onto the small memory card Phoenix yanked it from the mainframe computer just as she heard footsteps and shouting in the distance.
Finally they had found her.
Quickly she ripped out her false tooth and shoved the memory card inside. She tasted the awful metallic flavour of blood spurting from the back of her mouth as she had just yanked out what was supposed to be her back molar. With the memory card inserted she spat blood out of her mouth and pushed the false tooth into place, effectively hiding the card. Now it was time for the second important step of her mission and that required her to wait patiently.
Blood continued to drip from her mouth as she stood there. As the twenty or so fully equipped Agents rounded the corner and came face to face with her they raised their military grade assault rifles. Finally they decided to point their weapons at her. It only took a hallway full of dead bodies.
Her lips stained with her own blood, Phoenix grinned at them, flashing red dipped teeth. Slowly she put her hands behind her head and got down to her knees. They paused for a second, and then one walked forward and handcuffed her. Another got down, directly in front of her face and began to explain her rights.
Rules and regulations of course but as the second agent finished talking, she spat blood into his face and laughed as they pulled her up and began to drag her away.
Now the rest of the plan rested on Phoenix.
If only they knew how naïve they were being.
SHIELD was going to burn.