Ezri was riding in the double-sided with the others the next morning before the sun would rise; Tony stayed beside to remain on the lookout. With Peter on her right, Steve on her left; Sam in front of her with Buck on his side. She could understand Peter's anxious and nervous emotions and tapped on Peter's arm. Peter looked over at her and she smiled.
"I'm loving the new suit; how are you liking it?" Ezri asked, his face quickly beaming.
"Oh, it's amazing! Mr. Stark really did a good job putting it together with some abilities I didn't think was possible." Peter told her.
"You both worked on this, remember? Don't cut yourself short; you're a bright kid…and Stark is pretty good with his tech." Ariel translated for her.
"What about your suit? Is Tony making you one?" Peter asked, looking at the team's setup before looking at hers.
The team wore the same gear from the battle of New York, but Ezri's was different. Ezri wore a dress that came to her mid-calf with slits on both sides and zipped combat boot, with mid-thigh tights. Her black dress had a hood with long black sleeves. It was more revealing than he expected, but she came with her bow and quiver.
Tony had a prototype staff made for her, but Ezri kept that hidden for emergencies, but she would do her best to try it out for him; hopefully, it wouldn't come to that. Ezri had wanted to keep her tattoos hidden as long as possible, her tattoos were not something she was proud of.
"He offered but I'll be okay. I'm not easy to make clothing for." Ezri signed.
"Oh, I didn't know; why is that?" Peter asked, the team listening carefully; Ezri wasn't one to share much.
Ezri took a hard swallow, the team realizing it was hard for her to say but she smiled, nonetheless.
"To be honest, if I have to transform, it's…easier and faster for me with less clothing; especially shoes and pants," Ezri said, feeling a little embarrassed, "but let's not worry about that now."
Peter's face reddened but nodded, his hands fidgeting when he looked down at his hands.
"I'm sorry, I'm just nervous. I've handled robbers and small muggings, but never actual bad guys. I really don't want to kill anyone." Peter confessed.
"And I hope you never do. Remember, you're just shadowing us. Just stick close to us, you would be perfectly safe with us around." Ezri advised.
"What if they get too close?" Peter asked.
"We'll let you know if you can jump in, but you should be able to defend yourself, kid." Clint chimed in.
"Thank you, Mr. Barton!" Peter chimed, receiving a nod and a small smile from the archer.
"I'll be looking out for you too," Ezri signed, "I promise I'll protect you."
"Thanks, you, guys." Peter said with a smile but felt a shiver go up his spine.
Looking around for the cause of the chill, his eyes widened when he locked eyes with Bucky's, his hard stare on him as his jaw clenched.
"You're doing that creepy stare again." Sam warned him.
"No, I'm not." Bucky muttered.
"Yeah, you are." Steve clarified.
The mission was supposed to be simple, get in, survey, and let the team floor hit the enemy. Ezri followed closely beside Clint, hearing Bucky and Peter's steps behind her, but crouched low as they settled on the roof. They had many available rooftops for them, but Steve remained silent on the comms for the moment.
"Remain low and look out for any traces of the enemy. Whisper if you find anything, but let's spread out, but not too far." Clint told them softly.
Ezri nodded, taking out her bow as she went to the left, remaining crouched as she walked almost crablike to the opposite side of their original position. She looked up to see that Bucky lay on his stomach, his sniper gun out and scanning the area on the opposite end of her. Clint was that the far end, Peter crouched beside him.
"Movement on the main building." Nat spoke through the comms.
"I have eyes on three targets, seems to be more based on the shadows." Sam said.
"Any sight on what they're doing?" Tony asked.
"Negative, approaching closer." Steve spoke.
Ezri unhooked her bow, remaining low as she saw the three targets close to her. Bucky saw this and was concerned for a moment but knew she was fully capable of not getting herself caught; he hoped.
"I'm in." Nat whispered before she entered the building in the back, the team waiting nervously as they awaited to hear back from her.
Steve and Clint were starting to grow worried after 30 minutes of waiting when they finally heard her comms back on.
"It's Hydra alright. They're making a serum and testing it on our agents…I downloaded the data; no survivors." Nat said through the comms.
"Damn." Sam muttered, but Ezri frowned.
"Any clue of what they were doing specifically? Tony asked.
"No." Nat said shortly.
Ezri took a deep breath…and took a chance:
"Can…can you get me something from a victim? Anything physically on them?" Ezri signed.
Bucky looked over to her and saw the hesitation, the fear in her eyes, their eyes locked when she looked at him; he knew too well.
"Got it," There was a brief moment of silence, "Done, heading-"
A shot rang from the building, followed by a crescendo of shots being fired, and Desi watched as Steve and Sam charged in. Clint, Bucky, and Ezri aimed as the trio came running out of the building; Sam flew onto the enemies and shot them down.
"They're pouring out, fire!" Clint shouted, releasing his arrows as the enemy.
Bucky began to fire, Ezri wasting no time following his order as Peter hid close to Clint; watching in awe as he watched the trio attack relentlessly. The enemies looked around when they saw Peter and his bright red suit, and Clint pulled him down as the enemy shot in their direction.
"Get down kid!" Clint said, looking over to Bucky, who pulled back as he reloaded.
"I'm so sorry, that was my bad!" Peter apologized, but Clint glanced over in Ezri's direction.
Ezri watched as the enemy throw grappling hooks and she took a deep breath when she raised her bow; she would protect Peter, as promised. She shot down each of them, Bucky scrambling to aim at the enemies as they looked in Ezri's direction.
Ezri made an eep as she took off running, avoiding the bullets as Clint and Bucky helped clear them when Ezri headed towards the edge. The rooftop door popped open, and Ezri's eyes widened for a moment before she fought them headfirst with her bow.
Clint and Bucky helped fend them off but as Bucky hit the last enemy, he grabbed Ezri's collar, pulling her down with him off the building.
"Ezri!" Peter shouted.
Steve looked around and saw Ezri falling, and ran towards her, throwing the shield to the brick wall. He ran before jumping, catching her mid-air. Ezri clung onto this neck as they landed, letting out a sigh of relief.
"You okay?" he asked softly.
She smiled and nodded.
"Thank you." She mouthed to him, as she released her arms around him.
"You'll need to head out, their reinforcements are heading your way." Tony's voice rang through the comms, Steve collecting his shield as he guided Ezri towards the others.
Sam had walked out of the building with Nat, taking to the sky as they began to make their way back to the extraction vehicle. Sam was coming down when the enemy shot at him, hitting one of his wings. Sam tried to balance himself but ended up screaming as he crashed down. Trying to steady himself, he crashed behind a stack of crates, hissing as he felt shots of pain throughout his body.
"Hey, guys, I'm down! I need some assistance!" Sam yelled through the comms but was tense when he heard no response.
Ezri heard a crash noise and turned around, panicking when she saw the enemies coming onto the pier, noticing Sam behind the crates. After just crossing the bridge, she took a deep breath…and ran full speed to him.
Ezri pulled out her staff and extended it as she pounced on the first enemy, fending them off as Sam used his pistol on them. The team heard the shots, stunned to see the fight that was appearing behind them, but Steve had his orders to evacuate and with Peter in his care…
Bucky didn't hesitate to run after her, firing at the enemies with Clint beside him, clearing the way for them as Ezri kneeled beside Sam, placing a hand on his cheek as she helped heal him.
"Thanks." Sam whispered before he pulled her down, a bullet scraping her arm.
Ezri hissed but pulled out her staff, extending it as Sam continued to clear the enemies.
"Are you ready to make a run for it?" Sam asked her.
Ezri nodded, gripping her staff before running out. She ran out and swung, deflecting, and defending herself and Sam as he led the way forward, protecting him as they continued moving forward. Steve pushed Peter back as he protected him with the SHIELD, Nat shooting down the enemies beside Clint.
Bucky ran out of bullets and ran forward as Ezri jumped on the back of an enemy, using the staff to pull him back, allowing him to punch the enemy out. He caught her mid-air before he took the enemy's gun, firing them back. The team cleared the area instead of falling back, which allowed SHIELD to come by and secure the location safely.
Ezri had healed everyone one by one, but Buck watched her behavior. She didn't smile, her eyes almost distant but made her way back towards the van. She noticed that the agents were still lingering, and she wanted nothing more than to go back but she didn't want to swim from here with everyone around.
"Hey," Ezri looked over to Sam, who approached her carefully, "I just wanted to say thanks for coming back for me. I really appreciated that."
"I was happy to help. I'm just glad you're okay." Ezri signed, flashing him a small smile.
Sam smirked, before looking around suspiciously.
"Hey, do you want to get out of here and head back to the compound?" he asked, and she nodded appreciatively.
"Good, let's head back, shall we? I'll drive us." Sam said, flashing her a wink as he guided her towards the car. She smiled, feeling his hand on her midback as he approached a black car towards the back with an agent standing outside of it.
"We're going to need the car; can I have the keys please?" Sam asked.
"Yes, sir." The man said, handing over his keys to Sam before he walked off.
"Hey, are you guys heading back to the tower?"
The duo looked back to see Peter and Bucky walking towards them, and the duo looked at each other briefly with a smirk once more.
"Yeah, come on. You can come with us if you'd like." Sam suggested as Ezri opened the front passenger door.
Bucky pushed the door closed on her and guided her back, opening the backseat for her.
"Ladies first." Bucky said and Ezri smiled gratefully, signing him a thank you as he helped protect her head in.
Peter climbed into the backseat with her as they entered the car, heading back to the compound.
"Thanks for looking out for the kid, Ezri." Tony said, slapping a hand on her shoulder and she smiled.
"I was more than happy too, I promised I'd look out for him." Ezri signed as she sat down at their conference table.
The team came pouring in one by one, Steve sitting beside her with Sam on her side; everyone taking a various spot.
"So, SHIELD agents right now are going through the files, so it may take some time…how serious were their injuries?" Tony asked, looking over to Nat.
"Probably just a couple of days to gather everything; a week at most on those files actually." Clint stated.
"But, those injuries were unnatural. Some looked normal, nothing physically visible but some of the others had some type of deformity. Those files will help narrow down what exactly is going on."
"I just wish there was a way to see what they saw, what they heard." Steve said, taking a deep breath.
Ezri looked up to Buck, his eyes locked with hers with a knowing look, but it didn't go unnoticed by Nat. She looked at the behavior between the two and knew something was going on.
"What is it? Is there something you know?" Nat asked.
Ezri looked at Nat calmly but was panicking inside as the team looked over at her; she didn't want them to abuse her ability and was more afraid to speak up.
"She can read memories…I remember." Bruce stated, worried about her mental health.
"Can you try to read the object for us?" Tony asked, being thoughtful of what her answer would be.
Ezri shook her head, but Steve's face turned serious. He knew at the end of the day, she knew her limit best and didn't want to push her, but if it could help find the answer faster; to help save more lives…
"I need you to try." Steve told her and she looked at him with a frown; disappointed in his non-support.
"You don't know what you ask; I won't do it." Ezri signed, but Steve grabbed her hand; alarming Ezri.
"That's enough, Capsicle-"
"I know you're scared," Steve interrupted Tony, "but if it could save more agents from the same fate, we need to try. You're a healer; don't you want to save them?"
Ezri's eyes fluttered, tearing up at his words. He was right, she shouldn't be selfish, but she was scared of what the pain would bring her. She would be vulnerable…
"Don't force yourself." Ezri looked over to Bucky, his jaw clenched with seriousness in his eyes.
Ezri let out a deep breath, feeling herself tear up with tears slowly go down her face.
"Guys, maybe we shouldn't be asking this of her…" Peter suggested, feeling guilty even though it wasn't his fault. No one should force anyone to do anything, and clearly it's upsetting her. He didn't like seeing her crying.
"I agree when she's ready. There's no need to rush her." Sam defended her.
"Lives are at risk here." Steve reminded the team.
"And what of hers?"
Steve glared over at Bucky, his eyes now glaring at Steve.
"You need to think of her wellbeing as well." Bucky pointed out.
Ezri didn't want people to fight because of her decision, and stood up, leaving the room. She ignored Tony calling out for her and went to the elevator, leaving the compound altogether.
She let out a deep breath, walking towards the beach when she covered her eyes, letting her tears flow as she tried to calm herself. She would agree to do it, it was in her nature; she didn't want the lives of innocents in her hands but that didn't mean she couldn't hesitate.
"Hey, Ariel."
Ezri wiped her tears when Tony landed beside her, stepping out of his suit.
"I'm sorry I left, I was really tempted to punch Steve right now." Ezri told him.
"I don't blame you, I'm sure he's had many feel that way." He jested, making her giggle ever so softly.
Tony was glad that Ezri was calming herself in her safe place, but she knew that more was bothering her.
"Listen, kid, I'm not going to force you to do anything; don't listen to any of them, but you will always have a voice and an opinion here. So, I have an idea," Tony stated, "there are other Hydra agents we need to do surveillance with."
"Okay?"
"I need to send a few agents to observe two Hydra agents, and see what we can find. Do you want to join Sam on this?" Tony asked her.
Ezri smiled and nodded gratefully; Tony didn't realize how great this was for her.
"I'd love to, thanks Sir Tony." Ezri signed.
Tony smirked, glad to see her feeling better.
"Good, why don't we head back? You can pack a bag and say goodbye to everyone."
"Ready to go?" Bucky asked Ezri, walking her out of the building.
Ezri nodded, smiling sadly.
Bucky didn't want to admit it, but Sam and Ezri were one of the few people that didn't look at him with caution or watch him as if he was going to turn into the Winter Soldier again.
Ezri had said her goodbyes to everyone and was excited to get some space from everyone, realizing how serious the team was but she liked Sam. He seemed fun and was comfortable with him. Sam smiled, holding the car door open as she climbed in, closing it for her before he went over to his side.
"I'll miss you Bucky, I hope to see you soon." Ezri signed before waving goodbye to him as they drove off.
Bucky clenched his jaw; he knew what he wanted to do now.
He charged back into the compound to Tony's lab, ignoring Peter as he faced Tony with a determined look.
"I'll do the program, the arm replacement; everything. But I want to join Sam and Ezri's mission after."
"Why would you want to join their mission, metal man? You're already scheduled to join Captain's mission." Tony told him,
"I don't trust Sam to keep Ezri alive; remember last time? Who saved who?" Bucky reminded him.
Tony pondered this thought, maybe it wasn't a bad idea.
"Can I join them, Mr. Stark?" Peter asked, excited to join.
"Alright, fine, but the program can take a week." Tony advised him.
Bucky took a deep breath, "Fine."