AN: Here's a long overdue chapter! Hope everyone likes it! I'm thinking about two more chapters and then it's done. J
Alex clutches her backpack to her chest, her knees pulled up tight against her. She's sitting on the ground leaning up against one of the many trees in the woods. She has been wandering the woods for the better part of the day and it is getting dark fast. She can't get the image of Vern lying in a pool of his own blood out of her mind. She takes in a shaky breath and a tear trails down her cheek. She isn't going to cry; now is not the time to fall apart. Whoever had killed Vern can still be out there and coming for her next. A twig breaks and Alexandra's head shoots up. She watches the woods around her, waiting. She hears another twig snap again to her right and she jumps up, throwing her backpack back onto her back and takes off running through the woods. She isn't going to end up like Vern; she is going to get out of here. Alex looks behind her and doesn't see anyone chasing after her. She looks back ahead of her and runs right into a bigger man, falling to the ground. Alex's eyes grow big and she quickly crab-walks backwards, grabbing a stick and jumping to her feet when she's far enough away. She holds the stick, ready to use it as a weapon if need be. The African-American man holds his hands up in a placating manner before speaking calmly.
"Hold on there. We're here to help," the man says, watching Alex warily. Alexandra glances behind him and sees three other men standing a little further back, waiting. Alex narrows her eyes at him, not trusting him. The man continues. "I'm Director Fury. I belong with SHIELD."
"SHIELD? Is that some sort of government thing?" Alex asks suspiciously as her eyes narrow. Fury smirks, slowly putting his hands down. He takes a step forward and Alex quickly takes three steps back, holding the stick tighter.
"Okay, okay. I'm going to reach for my badge," Fury says, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a badge and showing it to her. Alex studies it before glancing back up at Fury. Fury puts his badge away.
"You said you were here to help," Alex says, glancing at the other men and seeing they haven't moved. She looks back at Fury.
"Yes, we are. We can take you back to SHIELD. Give you a home. Teach you how to become a SHIELD agent," Fury explains while keeping his eyes locked on Alex's. He takes a step forward and this time Alex allows him to, listening to his proposition.
"And if I say no?" Alex asks, waiting for the catch.
"Then, we take you to an orphanage and you can find a home that way," Fury says truthfully. Alex thinks about this, not sure if she can trust these men. Her stomach suddenly begins to growl. "We can feed you on the way there."
Alex hesitates but then decides if these men are going to kill her they could've, and would've, done it by now. She lowers the stick and tosses it on to the ground.
"Okay," she says, nodding her head and walking closer to the men. Fury lets out a sigh of relief and motions for her to follow them.
"Our jet is this way," Fury says, leading the way through the woods.
AVENGERS
Alex runs through the woods, crashing through the brush and over fallen logs. She can hear the men behind her, chasing after her; her heart is beating rapidly and she almost trips, catching herself on a tree trunk. She pushes herself off the trunk and continues running, grabbing another tree trunk and swinging herself around it to move in another direction. She hits a root in the ground and stumbles, falling and rolling down a ravine hill. She crashes into a tree, letting out a groan. She hears shouts from above and shoves herself to her feet, feeling the cuts and bruises on her body from her fall.
Alexandra notices a make-shift cave formed by a rock formation a few yards away and she rushes over to it, glancing inside. Not seeing any threat inside it, she crawls inside and waits, trying to steady her breathing. She hears shouts nearby and she listens carefully.
"I swear I saw her go down here," a man's voice is heard nearby. There is an abundance of rustling and grumbling as the men climb down the ravine hill and begin looking around. Alex cups a hand over her mouth to stifle the sound of her breathing just in time before a pair of feet walk by, stopping in front of her. She closes her eyes, willing the men to go away.
"She's not down here. You must be seeing things," the man says to the first speaker. The feet walk away and Alex opens her eyes, forcing her panic down and waiting to see if they come back. After about fifteen minutes of waiting, Alex decides she's safe and a small sob escapes her. She doesn't know what the people want with her but they scare the hell out of her.
"Suck it up Barton," Alex scolds herself quietly before forcing her fear back down and putting a stoic mask on her face. She takes a couple deep breaths and slowly crawls out from the cave, keeping a lookout or any of the men. She doesn't see any and pulls herself completely out of the cave and stands up, looking around her. She decides to climb up the other side of the ravine and move in that direction.
AVENGERS
Tony and Thor had been trudging through the woods for fifteen minutes with no sign of Alex or any of the guys who are after her. They see a clearing up ahead and quickly and quietly make their way towards it. They stop as they approach it, hiding in the trees and watch the clearing making sure nothing of a threat is around. Tony notices the person first.
"Thor," he says, keeping his eyes on the person warily entering the clearing.
"I see her," Thor responds already moving into the clearing. Tony quickly follows him, relief evident in his features.
AVENGERS
"You let them go after Alex and you didn't tell me!?"
Coulson tenses and turns around to see a very angry Johnny storming towards him. Coulson sighs knowing once Johnny found out the Avengers left to go after Alex he was going to be angry. He was just hoping it would've taken a little longer.
"They were in a hurry and it wasn't my call. It was Fury's," Coulson explains weakly, knowing nothing he says will make Johnny relax.
"She my partner! I should've been told! I should be out there with them!" Johnny shouts his jaw tense and his eyebrows furrowed in anger.
"If I had my way, you'd be out there. Like I said, it was Director Fury's call, not mine," Coulson says calmly as he tries to keep his face soft. Johnny all but growls before scowling at Coulson and turning around, stomping back out of the room. Coulson sighs and looks over at the agent standing next to him. The agent raises his eyebrows and shakes his head before walking away.
AVENGERS
Alexandra walks through the woods, wiping the hair that has fallen out of her ponytail and into her face out of the way. She glances up ahead and notices a clearing and she sighs, wanting to get out of the woods, even for a little bit. Of course, a clearing would make it easier for the guys to spot her as well. Alex pauses at the edge of the clearing and glances around it. Other than being surrounded by woods on three sides and a steep ravine across the way, she doesn't see anything. Warily, she begins walking out into the clearing, watching her surroundings carefully. Stopping, she thinks about her decision and decides to just walk along the edge instead of going into the middle. She hears a noise ahead of her and she looks over, halting in her footsteps. A relieved look appears on her face as she sees Thor and Tony hastily making their way to her. Alex runs towards them, veering out into the clearing to reach them faster.
"Tony! Thor!" she shouts, a relieved smile on her face. Just as she reaches them, Tony notices a group of men enter the clearing. His eyes grow slightly wider seeing them raise their guns. Tony quickly grabs Alex and swerves her around, putting him and his Iron Man suit between her and the guns, shielding her from the sudden onslaught of bullets. Thor propels himself into the air and swings Mjolnir sending it flying towards the guys. Mjolnir crashes into them, sending a handful of them flying. Alex flinches, feeling Tony jolt from the bullets impacting his suit.
Tony turns around when the onslaught stops and points the palm of his hand at the rest of the group of men. He sends a beam out towards them, striking them and sending them backwards through the air. Alex hears a noise behind her and turns to see the Avengers' plane hovering above them. The plane gently sets down and the door opens. Out jumps the rest of the Avengers moments before a horde of men from the group Dark Renegade begin emerging from the woods around them.
"Tony…" Alex says, noticing the men entering the clearing. Tony looks around seeing the men walking into the field, surrounding them.
"Get to your parents, I'll cover you," Tony says, knowing Alex has no weapons to protect herself; her fists weren't going to be very useful against guns. Alex bolts towards the plane, hearing Tony fly into the air and shooting the men with his beams. She sees her mom ahead of her and runs towards her, Natasha beckoning her to run faster.
"Alex, down!" Alex doesn't see the speaker, but she recognizes her dad's voice. Hearing the urgency in his tone she drops to her stomach on the ground as fast as she can, hearing an arrow whiz by where her head just was. Alex looks up and sees Natasha running towards her. She shoves herself to her feet and meets her halfway, Natasha grabbing her and all but dragging her back to the plane in her haste.
AVENGERS
The Avengers fly through the air, seeing a clearing up ahead. As they near it, Clint sees Tony and Thor there, Thor in the sky. He notices Tony shoot his beam at a group of armed men, which is when he notices Alex being shielded by Stark.
"Clint…" Natasha says, seeing the same thing.
"Yeah, I see her," Clint says, bringing the plane down and landing it. Natasha unbuckles her seatbelt and rushes to the back where Steve has already opened the door. Steve and the Hulk exit the plane, followed by Natasha and Clint. The four of them noticing a large number of Dark Renegade men entering the clearing from the dense wood surrounding them. Steve and the Hulk quickly enter the fight, Steve knocking out any man that approaches him. The Hulk leaps through the air and lands on a couple of men, grabbing a couple more and smashing them against each other before moving to the next closest 'bad guy'.
Clint sees Thor fly by and jumps up, grabbing a hold of Thor's hand. Thor brings him to the top of the plane to have a better eye on the proceedings. Natasha notices Alex running towards her and she waves her hand to get her to move faster. Clint sees a man break through the barrier of Avengers and raise his gun towards Alexandra and he reacts on instinct, hoping Alex listens to him.
"Alex, down!" Clint shouts as he brings his bow and arrow up and letting it loose. He sees Alex drop to the ground just before the arrow flies over her head and hit the guy aiming his gun at her in the chest. The guy drops to the ground, dead. Natasha grabs Alex's arm and begins running towards the plane.
"Get inside," Romanoff orders as they reach the plane. Alex scowls.
"I can help," she argues, her stance and face defiant.
"You have no weapons. Stay here," Natasha says again, giving her a little nudge up the stairs before moving towards a group of guys heading in their direction. Alex huffs but climbs up the stairs and into the plane anyways.
AVENGERS
Tony hits a man in the face who has gotten too close to him, turning and shooting a beam at a couple of men charging at him with their guns raised. He looks up and sees Thor fly to the ground, landing and swinging Mjolnir, taking out three men at once. To his left the Hulk picks up a guy and sends him flying into a tree with a crack causing Tony to flinch. Steve is on his left as well but closer, and a group of five guys are approaching him.
"Rogers!" Tony shouts, aiming his palm at his friend. Steve looks over and sees what Tony is doing and raises his shield. Tony shoots his beam at the shield and Steve moves his shield, the beam bouncing off it and hitting the men approaching him as well as a few extras. Tony stops his beam and turns to hit another man getting too close. Steve throws his shield, knocking out a couple more men, the shield returning to him like a boomerang. There is a shout and Tony looks over to see Clint crashing to his back on the plane and being dragged off it by a rope caught on his leg. Tony shoots a beam at the guy on the other end of the rope, sending him propelling into the air and crashing to the ground; but not before Clint slides off the plane.
AN: Please review and let me know what ya'll think! Thanks for reading, following, and reviewing!