Ahh, home sweet home. I'm back from Puerto Rico, updating with serious jet lag (I'm so confused, what time is it? Why am I so tired?) but I'm glad I'm home. I missed my room, and my bed, and my wifi (YES!), and the big stuffed dog I sleep with at night (his name is Foo Foolito)

Anyway, I watched Captain America 2 again on the plane, and I don't really think I'll be able to add Zoey in there. Too much shit happens for my little puppy wuppy.

The title of this chapter is from Regina Spektor 'The Call'

I only own my characters

Chapter Nineteen

As you head off to the war

"Good luck, young Zoey." I laugh a little as Thor ruffles my hair. He turns to Madison and does the same to her, "Walk silently, my friend. Stay close to the shadows."

She giggles and replies, "Don't worry, I will. Look," she spins around in a circle, showing off her black clothes, "They won't know any better!"

As Thor laughs, Uncle Tony approaches me. I smile and say, "Fly safe, alright?"

He waves his hand and replies, "Don't worry about me- I've dealt with worse things. And anyway, I've got the suit to protect me. You, on the other hand, don't."

"Yeah, well I'm a super mutant." I snide, smirking. Uncle Tony smiles and says, "Just don't leave me nieceless, alright?"

I nod and we hug. When we pull away, he holds his fist out for a fist-bump, "Good luck." I bump his fist and he looks at Faolan, who's waiting on the outskirts of the departing groups, "And wolf-boy," the mutant looks up, "Make sure she's back by 10."

I laugh and Faolan chuffs. Uncle Tony winks, and then goes to bid his good-byes with Madison.

I turn to say good-bye to the last person. Clint stands next to Natasha, muttering to her, but looks up as I near them. I stop and grin, "Stay safe, Dad."

He snorts and replies, "You too."

Natasha glances at him, and then at the others, "Everybody ready?"

They all nod and separate. I go stand with Natasha, Madison, Steve, and Bruce while Clint goes with Uncle Tony and Thor. The two groups stare at each other for a few moments, unsure of how to depart. Thankfully, Fury walks up to us then and says, "Alright, let's get this over with. Keep in contact with me the whole time and stick with the plan. Flight team, you'd better get going or you won't catch up."

Clint nods and leads the other two towards a group of jets. Meanwhile, Natasha turns around and starts walking towards a large aircraft. With a glance at Fury, I turn around and follow her, the others on my tail.

When we enter the large jet-like thing, I blink in surprise. A bunch of agents are already seated, looking tough and ready for battle. "Maria!" I exclaim, staring at said agent as she walks around the jet, giving orders. She looks up at my call and walks over to us, "Agent Hill, please."

"Right," I nod, and then say, "I didn't know you were the fighting type."

She gives me a small smile and gestures to some seats. We all sit down and she walks away. A few minutes later, the jet starts humming and the pilot announces our take off. Once we're in the air, I glance at Madison, who's seated next to me.

You ready for this? I ask in my mind. She glances at me and replies, No. Are you?

Nope.

I guess we'll just have to be.

Yeah. I shift a little in my seat and secure the knives hidden in the sleeves of my jacket. Do you think we should've asked Natasha how to throw a knife before leaving?

Probably, Madison smiles a little, At least we know archery.

She takes her quiver off her back and re-adjusts the beak-like arrowheads on her arrows. I smirk and take out Nightlock. Running my fingers over the hard metal and cloth, I resist the urge to start playing with it. Next to me, Madison grins and says mentally, That is beyond epic. Clint is the best.

On my other side, Steve asks, "Are you sure you know how to shoot that?"

"Of course I do!" I retort, "Are you sure you know how to… throw that shield?"

He raises an eyebrow and I wink, flashing him a grin. Madison asks, "How are we going to attack? Like, straight forward bazooka or stealth?"

"There's going to be guards on the outside." Natasha replies, "We'll try to take them out quietly, but it's going to be too difficult to take them all down with stealth, especially if they're expecting us. We're going to strike hard and fast. Meanwhile, you and a few other agents will sneak past the fighting and free the mutants. Hopefully they'll fight with us and not against us."

"And I'll disable to cameras from here." Bruce adds and I nod, "Cool." After a moment, I blurt tremendously, "This is going to work, guys. I just...I just know it will."

They all smile and Steve wraps his arm around me in a small hug. When he does, though, he frowns in confusion and turns towards me more.

"What's in your sleeve?" he asks suspiciously. I blink and stamper, "Uhh…. ya know, just…. my arm."

The super soldier narrows his eyes and I duck my head. He then proceeds to grab my left arm and pull up the jacket sleeve, revealing a hidden knife. His eyes widen and he pulls it out.

"A knife?" he exclaims, "Really? What do you think you're going to do with it?"

"It's backup." I defend, "Ya know, just in case I lose my bow, or I get trapped and I need to slice my way through the crowd." I reach for the knife, but he jerks it out of my reach.

Steve shakes his head and gives me a look of disapproval, "No, they're going to poke you and get in your way. Give them to me, now."

Sighing, I pull up my other sleeve and take out the knife hidden there. I hand it to him and he asks, "Any more?"

Rolling my eyes, I unzip my jacket and give him two more knives.

"And?"

I reach down and pull a knife out of each of my boots. Adding them to the growing pile, Steve asks, "Anything else?"

I stare at him for a few moments, and then sigh again, taking off one of the necklaces around my neck. I give it to him and he glances at it in confusion. After he fumbles with it for a few moments, a small blade peeks out of the teardrop-shaped metal attached to the string.

Wiping my hands, I say, "Done. You happy?"

He silently counts seven knives in total and looks up at me. "No," he replies bluntly, "I'm concerned for your mental health."

"Maybe giving you Assassin's Creed wasn't such a good idea." Natasha says and Steve gives her a look, "You think?"

Smirking, I nudge Madison with my elbow and ask, "You gonna give him your knives, Mads?"

Steve's eyes widen and he exclaims, "You too, Madison? I thought you weren't as mischievous as Zoey."

"You thought wrong, then." Madison says as she pulls two mini blades from the bun in her hair. Then she proceeds to remove knives from her sleeves, jacket, boots, and her belt. Steve sighs, picks up all of the knives, and walks away, probably looking for a trash can.

Still smirking, I lean back in my chair and ask telepathically, Did you give him all of your knives?

Nope. Madison replies.

Me neither. Where'd you hide them?

My quiver. Clint left a couple of knife-slots. Thank God, because they were getting really pokey in my pant-pockets.

Same here, but I don't have any pockets. I still have one in my belt, though.

Madison grins and raises her fist a little. I fist bump her and she says, We are so bad.

Yes, yes we are. I laugh silently.

I wanna be an assassin when I grow up. Like Natasha.

I glance at Madison, I think you're gonna need to know how to kill someone for that.

Eh, I'll learn. Eventually.

"Nightlock." Immediately, Nightlock responds to my voice and turns off. I grin and sling it over my shoulder. Next to me, Madison secures The Jabberjay.

"When are we going?" she asks loudly. Natasha replies, "We just landed. Give everyone some time to get ready."

Madison sighs impatiently, "But if we wait we're gonna start feeling doubt or dread or nervousness. It's like when you're in the waiting room at the doctor. You get butterflies in your stomach and tell yourself it's going to be okay when it's really not and in reality you're pissing in your pants the entire time! See, when you get nervous you start rambling and stuff like I am now and that's why spies have, like, intense training because if they get caught and are interrogated you don't want them peeing and spilling all of your secrets-"

"Madison," Bruce interrupts, "Relax."

Madison takes a deep breath and sighs. I laugh and say, "We also don't want you soiling your pants in the middle of a mission."

"Yeah," she says, her voice quivering in nervousness, "And- wait a minute, where's Faolan?" I blink and look around. The male wolf mutant is nowhere to be seen. "He was with us when we boarded." I say.

"Well, where is he now?" Madison asks and I shake my head, "I don't know. Faolan!" I call out and Madison hisses, "Shh!"

Shaking her away, I call out again, "Faolan, where are you?!"

A few moments later, said mutant comes bounding towards us. Agents move out of his way as he passes by and skids to a halt in front of us.

"There you are!" he exclaims, "Sorry, I was distracted when we came on and I started talking to come agents a bit away from here. The jet took off and I had to sit with them. What'd I miss?"

"Not much," I reply, "Steve stole our knives."

"You weren't supposed to have them in the first place." I jump at the voice behind me and turn to see the legendary Captain America standing before me, "And I don't want to see you with knives until you're older and know how to handle pointy objects properly."

"Alright," I groan, glancing at Madison knowingly.

Suddenly, a loud voice booms at the front of the jet, "Okay, everybody! File out!"

Immediately, all the agents move towards the front of the plane. I turn around to follow them, but before I can take more than three steps, I feel a tug on my collar and a hand on my hip. Instantly, the thought of all the things in the world that could be touching me right now races through my mind, making me tense up. I swiftly whirl around, out of the person's grip, and reel backwards in a battle stance.

Steve stares at me in surprise. My body relaxes and I let out a sigh of relief, returning to my normal stance.

"Wh-what are you doing?" I snap, trying to calm my pounding heart.

He narrows his eyes and asks, "What are you doing?"

"What do you mean?" I frown.

"What is going on?" Madison, who is standing between us along with Faolan, asks. I look at her and stamper, "I just… ah, you know what? Nevermind."

Before I can turn around, Steve puts a hand on my shoulder. I glance at him and he reaches with his other hand to my hip. I tense up again, but then he takes out the knife hidden in my belt. Oh…. ohhhh….

I grin sheepishly and he raises an eyebrow, "Nice try, Zoey." Putting the knife in one of his many pockets, he puts his left hand on the back of my neck as he leads me after the agents, "We'll have a talk about this later."

Madison and Faolan follow us as we walk towards the front of the jet. Feeling a cold breeze on my face, I assume that the agents are exiting the aircraft. As if to confirm this, the door appears up ahead, wide open.

We walk down the stairs and jump onto the snow. Steve releases me and I shiver, the cold wind cutting right through my heavy jacket. Beside me, Madison and Faolan shiver as well.

"Attention everyone!"

I turn to see Maria standing on a rock, addressing the agents below her. Walking a bit closer, I hear her say, "Team A will go ahead and take out the guards, then give us the signal. Madison!" I glance over at my sister, who's surprised to be called out by Maria, "You're part of Team A. Is everyone ready?" Without waiting for a response, she says, "Get going."

As she jumps off the of rock, a small party of agents break away from the group. Madison and I turn to each other. My step-sister smiles sadly and says, "I guess this is it, then."

I nod, and then rush forward and hug her, "Stay safe, alright? Don't you dare get caught!

"I won't, I promise." she says, hugging me back, "It's you I'm worried about- you're actually fighting!"

"Yeah, but you know me." I attempt to joke, "If I can start a party with a bunch of SHIELD agents, I can survive this."

"I know." Madison's voice sounds choked up and she gives me a hard squeeze before letting go. She reaches up and puts her hand around the locket on her neck. I do the same, rubbing my thumb along the perfectly, hand-made, Asgardian-carved metal. After a few moments, we both drop our hands.

"I'll always be here." she says, tapping her head. Then, she turns around and heads towards the agents in Team A. I watch as they talk for a few moments, and then head out. They trek towards a large mountain in the distance where the Lab is, and I gaze after them until they disappear in a blur of white.

Sighing, I turn back around, worry already starting to prick at my heart. Faolan, who was watching us, pads up to me and asks in wolf, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," I mutter, "I'm fine."

Faolan puts a paw on my shoulder and says, "We're gonna free the Pack. I know we will. They're never going to hurt another creature ever again."

I smile and turn around, sitting down on a snowy boulder. Faolan sits next to me, and together we wait.

And wait.

And wait some more.

At some point, I take out one of the knives from my quiver and start turning it over in my fingers. It's hard at first, but then I get the hang of it. After a few minutes of blade-twiddling, I get bored and simply hold the knife in my hand.

Sighing, I stare at it for a few moments, and then notice a rock on the ground. Getting an idea, I put the knife on the ground for a moment and start packing snow around and on top of the rock. Soon, it's covered in white fluffiness and looks like the beginnings of a snowman.

Ha! Do you wanna build a snowman?

Oh, Frozen.

Picking up the knife again, I hold it by its blade and focus. I aim at the snow mound, and then throw the knife. It soars through the air before landing a foot away from the mound, handle first. Rolling my eyes, I pick it up and try again, to no avail.

So I try again.

And one more time after that.

On my fifth try, I'm about to throw it when I hear a familiar voice say, "Don't hold it by its blade."

Glancing around, I see Natasha watching me on my right. She walks over to me and takes the knife.

"It's a blade-heavy knife," she explains, sitting next to me on the boulder, "So you have to throw it by the handle. And don't throw it like a baseball, or it'll go at an angle. You need to throw straight up, and then down."

I watch her as she demonstrates, holding the handle delicately but firmly, and then pretending to throw it without letting it go, "When your target is at close range, you want to bend your wrist back towards your forearm. When it's medium-ranged, keep it only slightly bent, but when it's long-range, keep your wrist unbent."

Then, the assassin throws the knife, hitting the snow mound dead-center. I blink in surprise and she retrieves the knife, "Now you try."

Holding it like she taught me, I aim and then throw. The knife hits blade-first….behind the rock.

Frowning, I pick it up, but before I can throw, Natasha grabs my elbow, "When you throw, your elbow has to stop in the center while your upper arm continues to throw until it reaches a 180 degree angle. It's kinda like geometry- your arm starts at an acute angle and ends at a straight angle. Here,"

She puts her hand in front of me, palm up, and says, "I'll stop your elbow."

I nod and prepare to throw.

"Also, let go at the last minute." she adds and I aim once more. Narrowing my eyes, I throw the knife, feeling my elbow bump into Natasha's hand. There's a soft clunk and the knife lodges into the snow-covered rock, centered and blade-first.

"Hey, I did it!" I exclaim and Faolan yips, his tail wagging. I had almost forgotten he was here.

Natasha smiles and stands up, "Keep practicing. I have to go talk to one of the agents." With that, she turns around and walks away.

Grinning, I look at Faolan and say, "This is useful." Turning back to the rock, I aim and throw again, hitting the target in the center again.

And thus, for a good half hour, I keep on throwing my knife, Faolan watching curiously. As I do, I expect to grow tired, but it actually doesn't require much energy to throw. I'm about to stop when suddenly Madison's voice enters my head, Hey, Zoey, we're almost done here. Guess what? I got to shoot someone!

She sounds excited, making me laugh a little. Ignoring Faolan's confused look, I reply, Cool. Natasha just taught me how to throw a knife. It's actually pretty easy once you get the hang of it.

Ahh, I thought I'd felt your joy, Madison hums and I roll my eyes.

Suddenly, Faolan nudges me and I look up. My heart lurches as I see Steve walking towards us and I quickly put away my knife. He stops in front of us and says, "We're about to head out, so be ready."

I nod and stand up, walking around in a circle to warm up my numb legs. Faolan does the same while Steve just watches us.

Shaking one leg to the side, I ask, "How far away is the Lab?"

"A few miles," he replies, "We had to land a bit away or they'd detect the jet."

Faolan brushes snow off of his pants and asks, "But aren't they already expecting us?"

"Yeah, but it's still good to have a little bit of stealth."

A couple of minutes later, I hear Maria's voice call out into the rising wind, "Alright everybody, that's the signal. Let's head out!"

Then, in one mass, we all start our trek towards the mountain where the Lab is. I walk next to Steve and Faolan, my jacket clutched tightly around me as the wind picks up. At first, the journey is pretty easy, despite the snow in my boots. We walk and walk, the sun beginning to sink behind the horizon. Then, clouds start coming in and the wind grows stronger and stronger, blowing snow with it.

I yelp in surprise as a snowflake lands smack-dab in my eye. Faolan looks back as I rub it out and presses beside me as I continue. My hair flaps, flutters, and curls wildly in the gale, heavy and wet from the snow. Cold seeps through my clothes and into my bones, making me shiver.

Zoey, are you alright? You're not feeling too happy. I hear Madison's voice in my head and reply, Sort of. Just cold and miserable. I really hate snow now.

Yeah, she says, I'm feeling it a bit too, but I'm hiding with one of the agents in a small cleft. It's kinda awkward.

I inwardly laugh and she asks, Are you almost here?

I glance up, seeing the mountain only a bit closer, Um, I think? Can you see us?

A few moments later, she responds, Um….I think?

Shaking my head, I speed up to catch up with Steve, who's a little bit ahead of me now. "Brr!" I shiver once I'm at his side, "It's so cold! How are you warm in that thing?"

Steve glances at me and replies, "I'm not exactly toasty. We're almost there, though."

"Good," I sigh, my breath billowing in front of me. I keep walking next to him, matching his pace to make sure I don't slow down even though my legs are aching. For a moment, I wish I have some super-soldier serum like he does. I mean, I do have my mutant strength, but this is coming from someone who just got shocked with a gazillion bolts of electricity. By the time the mountain comes fully into view, I'm out of breath.

Suddenly, all of the agents stop. Hearing some commotion up ahead, I turn to Steve and ask, "What's going on?"

He lifts his head a little, trying to see above everybody. I raise an eyebrow. Seriously? The man is already taller than most of the people here!

A few moments later, he turns back to me and says, "Let's go to the front." Grabbing my arm, he proceeds to half lead, half drag me through the crowd all the way up to the front.

We come in time to hear Maria saying, "...guns ready. The entrance is at the other side, so now we have to rely on stealth to sneak in. Stick to the plan everybody."

With that she turns around and starts walking more carefully along the mountainside. We follow her, copying her stealth. As we do, I notice the agents beginning to spread out and I realize we would stand out if we walked together.

Steve nods to me and then walks off, leaving me alone. I glance over my shoulder to see Faolan rolling in the snow.

"What the-?" I start, but then realize what he's getting at. When he stands up again, he's covered in snow and blends into the ground. Glancing down, I grudgingly do the same, hissing as the little white monstrosities somehow find their way to my skin.

Standing up again, I slink towards Maria, catching up to her quickly. When I'm by her side, I mutter, "Where are the others?"

Glancing at me, she replies, "They'll come out once we've started fighting. Get ready, though, we're almost at the entrance."

Nodding, I take my bow off my back and bring it up to my mouth. I whisper, "Wake up." and it instantly responds to my voice, turning on and humming to life. So cool, so cool, so cool, so cool! Smiling, I grip it with one hand while stalking forward, a few feet away from Maria.

The trek around the mountain is slow, what with us trying to be quiet. It feels like every step in the snow is as loud as crunching dry leaves. Eventually, the wind dies down a bit and I can see a road ahead. As we near the entrance, though, I can't help but notice the lack of cars. Inwardly shrugging, I assume that they're just kept inside of the mountain.

When the entrance is right in front of us, Maria stops and glances over her shoulder, "Everybody ready?" Without waiting for a response, she turns back around, "Let's get this over with."

Raising her gun, she slowly leads the way into the large fissure in the mountain, her slim frame instantly swallowed up by the shadows. A few agents disappear after her, but I hesitate. Reaching behind me, I grab an arrow, lock it in my bow, and then walk into the darkness.

A few moments later, my eyes adjust to the dim light and I see Maria and the other agents climbing over the entrance gate. Walking towards the gate, I try to reach up with one hand, my other occupied by the bow, but I'm too short.

"Damn," I mutter, looking around. Steve walks up to me and locks his fingers together, "Here, I'll give you a boost." Giving him a grateful look, I put one foot on his hands and manage to haul myself over the fence. Plopping down on the ground, I wait for the rest to climb over and then walk towards the other agents, who are glancing around in confusion.

It takes me a moment to realize that there is nobody in here except us. No scientists, no nothing. I see the Lab in the distance, along with the training grounds behind it. There aren't any planes or jets either.

Frowning, I wonder aloud, "Where is everybody?"

Natasha glances at the shadows surrounding the fissure and replies, "They wouldn't just leave. Maybe they're hiding in the Lab?"

An agent who is close to said building shakes her head and says, "The lights are off."

"Well, these lights are on." Maria says, gesturing to the lights on the roof of the cave, "So somebody must be here."

We all fall silent, looking around. Natasha seems to be suspicious about the shadows, staring at them intently. I keep my arrow locked, but my muscles are lax. Glancing at Faolan, I ask, "Can you smell anything?"

He shakes his head, "My nose is so cold, I can barely feel it."

I blink and take a sniff, but my freezing nose can scarcely pick up the strong, vile scent of the Lab. Knitting my eyebrows, I turn to Steve, who looks equally confused.

He glances around, and then starts towards the Lab, "I'm gonna check in there."

"But the lights are off," I tilt my head, "It's like nobody's in this stupid cave!"

The super soldier partially turns around, "Yeah, but-"

His response is drowned out as I notice a shadow moving behind him. My sensitive ears hear a faint scraping, and then a low growl. My eyes widen and I yell, "Look out!"

Steve whirls around just as a large Cat Trap leaps towards him, razor sharp claws unsheathing on his fingers. He opens his mouth, midleap, to bite him, but thankfully Steve raises his shield and slams it into the mutant's head.

There's a loud clang and the Cat Trap slumps to the ground, groaning. Suddenly, all of the shadows start moving and I tense up. Hundreds of Cat Traps step out of the darkness, tails lashing, claws unsheathed, and teeth glinting.

The agents immediately form a back to back circle as the mutants surround us. I feel Steve and Faolan brush up against me and stare at our enemies, wide-eyed. Then, I see a familiar face in the crowd and watch as Cathal, the biggest Cat Trap of all, steps out and grins ferally down at me.

"Hey, Zoey." he says casually, his voice sounding like a growl, "It's about time you showed up. We've been waiting for hours." He glances at the rest of his kind and they all copy his grin. Turning back to me, he continues, "But, hey, what do you expect from a mutt?"

The Cat Traps behind him laugh, sounding more like hyenas than mutants. I narrow my eyes and glare bravely up at him, "You can expect your asses to get kicked!"

Cathal smirks and says, "We'll see about that." Glancing over his shoulder, he snarls, "Cat Traps, attack!"

Guys

Guys

Guys

Mentally prepare yourself for the cliffhanger next chapter. It is the biggest one yet. It's like the... not so climaxy part of the story because I'm pretty sure my teacher would say the climax was when Zoey attacked Fury but I'm saying it's the climax because shit happens and it's like OH MY GOD! And you all are probably going to hate me but I'm going to make a joke that I've been waiting FOREVER to say so it's gonna be alright.

*takes a deep breath after long explanation* Alright, so what did you guys think of this chapter? Also, the last one too, because FanFicVaporeon was the only one who left a review. Well, except for me and a Guest who left a flame...

So yeah, shout out to FanFicVaporeon. He/She is awesome!

Please review!

-Periwinkle Skittles (whoa, I was about to sign off as Flaming Crow. Oh the changes in life...)