A/N: Hello, everyone. I'm sorry I'm uploading this on Wednesday, not Saturday. I was actually hospitalized last week because I was sick... I'm better now so don't worry!
Sorry to keep you on a cliffhanger!
I am immensely satisfied when I hear the soft 'ting' of the metal tip on my force field. When the explosion had occurred - thankfully far enough to have left me unhurt and unfazed - I had used the smoke as a cover to hide between the huge metal filing cabinets. The cabinets were a great place to watch the events unfold, so much so that I started to wonder whether they were placed there for that very purpose. I wouldn't be shocked if they were.
The crazy man is at first confused. Although I'm looking at him from behind, I notice his hesitation and bewilderment. He tries pushing the scepter again, only to fail once more. He taps the edge with his tip, finally realizing what is going on. After that, he becomes angry. With a theatrical roar he lunges at the invisible wall, which would surely have impaled Barton had the wall not been there. He does that a couple more times, and then ends up panting from the effort. "What is this?" he bellows at them.
"Another variable in the equation," Tony smirks.
"I suggest you surrender before the situation escalates," Fury says. His tone has a severity and chilling edge to it. I hope the costumed guy agrees, because I don't know what to do next if he doesn't. Sure, I've protected them for now, but they are still incapacitated. But the man ignores him.
He paces around the invisible dome a couple of times, muttering something to himself. He stops in front of Tony. "'Another variable', you said. Another person. A rat," he finally says. The smirk on Tony's face immediately disappears. The man nods. "Yes, I am correct." He surveys his surroundings and I crouch a little lower, trying to make myself smaller. His eyes stop where I am. That can't be good.
A blue ray shoots out from his scepter and I dodge to my left, barely avoiding the toppling cabinet and the ray that has burnt a hole through the metal. But now I'm out in the open. I reach for my gun, only to find that it is not there. My confusion costs me greatly. I manage to dodge a second blast but have to get on all fours. "Watch out!" I hear Barton shout. I look up to see that the man is gone. Suddenly, I feel someone grab me from behind and then I'm flying across the room. I hit the wall hard, feeling my bones rattle. For a moment I can do nothing but slump to the floor. A hand grabs my collar and I feel the sharp tip of a scepter against my throat.
"Remove the shield," he growls.
"You want me to take down S.H.I.E.L.D. by myself? You think that's possible?" The best plan of action is to feign ignorance.
He looks at me with clear annoyance. With his hand still grasping my collar, he briefly removes his scepter and fires a blast at where they are. I've been distracted. Quickly, I raise my hand to strengthen it. The blue light dissipates in all directions when it hits it. But my hand is still raised in the air as a clear sign. I smile sheepishly. "Got me," I say. Smart, I curse him in my mind.
He surveys me up and down, as if really looking at me for the first time. "The rat was a child?" he finally asks.
I facepalm myself. "Is everyone going to say that today?" He shakes his head, to clear away his unnecessary thoughts, I presume.
"Remove it," he repeats.
"Now would be a good time to unleash the other guy, Banner," Romanoff says under her breath.
The sweat glistens on his brow. His breathing is heavy and raspy.
"You ok?" Tony asks, slightly alarmed. The transformation is usually quick, not labored like this.
"It's not working," Bruce finally says.
"Hey, isn't that Loki's scepter? Do they sell second-hand super evil weapons?" I ask to distract the man. With the tips of my fingers I try to find something to knock him out. I can't look and risk having him slit my throat. But it's so hard to lift something without looking at it. It's almost like being blind, having to feel everything tentatively. And the fact that everything is bolted down doesn't help.
He presses the tip a little harder, as if to persuade me to listen to him. As if that's ever going to happen. "Hey, careful," Rogers says, "she's still a kid."
"Try again," Barton says, using Rogers's conversation with the man as a cover.
"Can't you see I am?" Bruce almost shouts, barely refraining himself. He is obviously mad. And the fact that he is still Bruce is a shock to all.
"Tell her to remove it before I kill her," he threatens. Rogers opens his mouth to actually start trying.
I roll my eyes. "Look, we both know you can't kill me. Stop with the façade, all right?" He laughs once.
"Do you seriously think that I can't get rid of you?" he asks. His American accent is starting to slip in, instead of all that archaic English he was using.
"I don't doubt your capability. But if you've 'planned so long for this day' I'm sure you wouldn't risk it," I respond. He is obviously hooked.
"She's trying to stall," Romanoff observes. They all look at the girl pinned to the wall.
"We should help."
"What, you really don't know about me?" He looks at me blankly. With my free hand I dramatically place the back of my hand to my forehead. "The shame, the dreadful shame." I imitate his theatricality. His eyes narrow.
"Alright, kid, fess up. What are you talking about?" Yes, he's starting to use slang. He tightens his grip a little tighter so that I just have a little more trouble breathing.
"Well, if you're that keen on knowing..." I've found an object light enough for me to lift without seeing: a metal chair. Now I just need to raise it up. That's the hard part. "You kill me, that thing," I nod over to where they're all standing, locked into place, "stays forever. And that means you will never get to do what you want."
He takes a couple seconds to comprehend this information. Then, with a frustrated growl, he bangs my head once on the hard metal wall. I let out a small grunt and use all my effort not to drop the chair. I'm not sure whether he was trying to knock me out - smart, if that's true - or whether he was just mad. I highly suspect the latter. "She's right," Romanoff interrupts. "Surrender now and assault will be your worst crime."
"And assaulting a minor, at that," I add.
"I thought you said you were eighteen," Bruce says.
Whoops. "Well, technically, my birthday is next week... I'm kind of in limbo right now." He sighs in response.
"You've got everything to lose and nothing to gain," Romanoff continues. Now I know what she's doing. She's starting her persuasion. And, luckily, he's listening. I use this time to sneak a glance at the chair I've grabbed and quickly raise it higher. The man continues to listen to her before his earpiece gives off a sudden insistent beeping. He rubs his ear and blinks a couple of times, as if coming out of a daze.
"Ah, yes. You shouldn't try that on me. I've programmed this so that if you speak to me for too long, it snaps me out of it. I know your tricks. They don't work anymore."
She looks at him coldly, but I can only imagine her surprise. As far as I know, she's never failed. It only goes to show how much he's really prepared for this. I prefer the bad guys who spontaneously wreak havoc. They're easier to win over. Villains like this, on the other hand, require as much planning to take over as he has put into this.
He rubs his eyes once more and sighs. "Look, kid, you're really killing me here." I'd love it if I were, I think. "I'm getting behind schedule."
Romanoff's eyes light up, like they do when she's managed to find something out. She cocks her head and gives that emotionless expression she has when she's trying to hide her real joy. "You're running out of time. That smoke bomb you detonated, it was a chemical that inhibits Banner. And it's going to wear off soon." I was looking at the man's face while she stated her revelations. It went from annoyance to shock to horror.
At first, he starts to deny it by stuttering a few words. Then, after realizing that he looks like a fool, he thinks better of it. He slowly lowers the tip so that it rests on my chest. "I should have thought of this sooner." He smiles.
There's no time left. I can already see the scepter starting to glow blue. I swing my arm and the chair comes flying towards us.