Chapter two: Battle in the Streets

At first, all they saw was blue. Blue clouds of energy flickering with blue lightning surrounded them, pulling them along. They also felt immense pain, like they were being torn apart into a billion itty-bitty pieces and then reassembled someplace else. Just as they were reassembled, they were struck by color.

All of the blue cleared away and suddenly they were standing in a street. Cars flowed around them like blood in veins, while skyscrapers rose around them like great walls. People gawked at them and the portal of blue energy that floated just above the ground behind them. Standing a distance away was the Black Skull as he regarded them quietly.

"You might want to move," he informed them calmly. "Without the Tesseract providing a constant source of power the tunnel with collapse in a few seconds, taking the machine with it." As if in response to his words, the blue energy suddenly seemed to suck itself inwards, pulling at its edges. Just before it vanished completely, bits of metal suddenly shot from it like cannon fire, smoking and boiling. James and Francis dove to the ground to avoid them.

"I told you," said the Skull with a chuckle. "I must admit, I never expected the two of you to follow me through the portal. The new Captain America and Hawkeye are unexpectedly persistent. Oh well." With that, he pulled his rifle from his back and opened fire.

The pair dove to the side to get behind a pair of cars just as the places they had been standing in before erupted with rubble as bullets tore through the concrete. They grimly listened as the civilians screamed and tried to flee the scene.

"Getting hit with that thing won't be pretty," commented Hawkeye dryly as he eyed the devastation caused by the gun. "That's definitely not your everyday assault rifle. It's got WAY too much power behind it."

"Yeah well, my guns aren't ordinary either," replied James as he swung around and pulled the trigger. The Black Skull rolled away as the bullet shot passed. As he rose, the man yanked a grenade from his pocket and tossed it towards the the pair. Their eyes widened as it burst, tearing apart the road.

James found himself on his back, his entire body throbbing in pain. Through blurred vision he watched Gordon pull up in a, most likely stolen, car. The Skull quickly stepped into the passenger seat and called out the window as the duo drove away.

"I'll leave the clean-up to you. Don't worry, I'm sure... HELP will arrive soon." With that, they vanished around the corner, leaving James and Francis to stagger to their feet.

"Okay, that hurt," muttered the archer. "Make a note: grenades are not nice." Suddenly, they heard crying. The pair spun around to see a car that had been upturned by the blast. Crouched beneath it was a small girl, maybe five years old. Tears streamed down her face as she cowered beneath the metal.

"I'm s-stuck! I-I can't get out! I-I'm s-sc-scared!"

"Don't worry!" Called James as they rushed towards her. "We're going to get you out of there. Just stay calm." He crouched to reach beneath the vehicle. Straining, he slowly stood, lifting the car above the ground. Moving fast, Hawkeye reached under to loope his hands under the girl's arms and drag her out to safety.

"I've got her," the archer informed his companion. The new Captain slowly let the car fall to the ground while the child sobbed quietly into his companion's shoulder. "It's alright, we're going to get you home, don't worry. What's your name?"

"S-Sarah." The two boys smiled softly at her.

"I'm Francis, and this is my friend James. Do you know where your mommy is?" She shook her head. "Well then, we'll just have to find her now won't we?"

"Put the kid down and put your hands in the air," commanded a voice. The boys turned around to see two people standing with their weapons locked on them.

The first was a man with dirty-blonde hair and goggles over his blue eyes. He wore a black sleeveless top with bracers on either forearm. Baggy, dark camo pants were tucked into a pair of black combat boots. In his hands was a bow.

The second was a green eyed woman with just past shoulder-length bright red hair. She wore a skintight black jumpsuit, open at the top to reveal just enough cleavage to be distracting. Hanging from her waist was a utility belt, and she had strange golden devices wrapped around each wrist. In her hands was a pair of pistols.

"You've got it wrong! We're the good guys!" Yelled James.

He scoffed. "Oh yeah, you expect me to believe that little girl did all of of this-" He somehow made a gesture to the surrounding area while keeping his arrow trained on them, "-instead of the two armed guys that obviously know their way around a fight? Give me a break!"

For the first time, the two took the time to survey the area. It was obvious that the Black Skull didn't like doing anything halfway- all of his gear went WAY overboard. The place the grenade landed in was now a large, smoldering crater. Cracks spread out from it like fault lines all over the road. Cars were knocked onto their sides, some flipped completely over, like the one Sarah had been found under. Any windows within thirty yards of the blast had been completely shattered. Several walls nearby were cracked and crumbling. The pieces that had flown through the portal were scattered around, still smoking and adding to the overall feeling of devastation. When the newcomers had arrived, the only people in the ruin were an obviously harmless little girl and two armed eighteen year olds.

The culprit was obvious.

"No!" Shouted James. "You've got the wrong guys!"

"I'll give you until the count of five!" Called the woman. "If you don't surrender by then, we'll take you down. Hard."

"Looks like they aren't listening," grumbled Francis. He glanced at his partner who gave a small nod.

"One."

"Listen Sarah," Hawkeye whispered into the girl's ear. "In a second, I'm going to toss you over to James. He'll catch you, but you'll have to hang on tight to him."

"Two."

"He's going to protect you. When he puts you down, you need to run away as fast as you can. Don't look back, even for a second. Understand?"

"Three."

The girl nodded, her features hardening adorably with determination. The two boys glanced at each other, waiting.

"Fou-"

The woman was cut off as the little girl was thrown through the air. Still spinning from the toss, Francis drew an arrow and fired, rolling behind cover before he could see the result. The clink of two arrows slamming into each other in midair signaled that he'd hit his mark and stopped the other archer's initial shot.

James reached out with his left arm to catch the girl and pull her tight against his body while his right swung his gun around. He let off two shots towards the woman as he rolled behind cover. In his peripheral vision he watched as she did the same.

"Dang, if only I had my shield," he muttered to himself.

"It couldn't be helped," said his partner from nearby. "It was supposed to be a stealth mission. The shield's handy in a fight, but it's too bulky for use in close quarters and it limits movement."

He went quiet as an arrow appeared in the space next to his head. Hawkeye rolled out from behind the car he had taken shelter behind to find another spot, unleashing an arrow of his own towards the unknown archer as he did so, which passed through the empty air as his target ducked. Just as he slid behind an upturned taxi, bullets rippled across its surface as the woman opened fire.

James sent the redhead diving out from behind the pickup she was using as a shield as he fired a bullet that tore through it like paper. Ducking behind a ruined wall as an arrow flew passed him, he spied a sewer lid that had been knocked up from the blast. He caught Hawkeye's eye and nodded towards it before glancing back at the woman. Francis nodded in conformation before loading two arrows onto his bow. Leaping out, he launched both perfectly, causing the assailants to duck behind cover.

Using the distraction, James ran out towards the lid. Flowing through the movements, he tossed his gun up into the air, swung Sarah into his right arm, and kicked up the lid. Catching it, he swung around a flung it towards the woman. Seeing the strike, she leapt into the air and out of its flight path. In mid leap, she heard the twanging of a bow. The world seemed to slow around her as she watched Francis's approaching arrow and knew that there was no way to dodge in midair.

A split second before it hit, another arrow appeared, slamming into it and lodging it into the ground.

"Keep your eyes open, Tasha!" Yelled her partner.

James cursed as he switched Sarah back to his left and caught his gun. "There goes that plan," he muttered before moving behind a wall.

Hawkeye had just pulled back behind the taxi when he heard a thunk turned to see an arrow lodged into the metal, beeping as it lit up with a red light. His eyes widened and he sprinted away just as the arrow exploded, knocking him from his feet and to the ground. He wasn't getting back up.

"Hawkeye!" Exclaimed James, causing the unknown archer to hesitate. James narrowed his eyes as he surveyed the situation. He quickly turned to the girl. "I'm going to have to let go of you for a second. Get on my back and wrap your arms around my neck and your legs around my waist." She hurried to do as he said. He unholstered his second gun and took a deep breath.

He swung around the wall and opened fire as he sprinted across the open ground. The two assailants ducked down to avoid the rain of bullets. As he approached his comrade, he slid his left pistol back into its holster, continuing the movement of his hand to grab hold of Francis's limp form. Moving fast, he ran back behind a car that lay on its side, the roof facing outward.

He laid Hawkeye up against the car and tried to shake him awake. "Come on buddy, wake up!" He hesitated before deciding the situation was dire enough to use his trump card. He took a deep breath and yelled in Hawkeye's ear. "IT'S YOUR ANNIVERSARY AND LAURA WANTS HER PRESENT!"

Francis shot awake. "Where's the nearest meat market?!"

"Good to have you back my friend," said James with a grin. " I could really use the help."

Hawkeye rubbed his head with a groan. "What happened?"

"You were knocked out and I had to get you to safety. Unfortunately, now we're pinned down. We have to retreat and get out of here. Meat? For an anniversary present? Seriously?"

"It's Laura," he responded with a shug. James had to admit, he had a point. "And I don't think retreat is an option." Francis was staring straight behind them. James turned to follow his line of sight and stared at a brick wall, only a couple of yards behind them. They couldn't pull back, and their way forward was blocked by a pair of deadly assassins.

They were trapped.

"Guess we'll just have to make our stand here," said James, calm despite the circumstances. "Sarah, I need you to get down. Keep low, okay?" The girl nodded and laid down on the ground, squeezing her eyes shut tight and covering her head with her hands. The redhead glanced at his partner as he once again upholstered his left gun, checking to ensure both were fully loaded. His partner nodded. As one, the pair stood up and prepared to fire.

Only to be stopped by a shield.

It was an all too familiar shield that slammed into the car, causing the duo to dive to the sides to avoid getting nailed in the face. It was round with a red and white target board pattern, the bullseye a blue circle with a white star.

They followed its pathway as it moved with frightening accuracy into the hands of its master. It was a man with a dark blue helmet emblazoned with a white "A" that extended down to cover his nose, leaving the bottom half of his face bare. Sapphire blue eyes sparkled between the eyeholes. His outfit was dark blue and clung tightly to his body. Three silver stripes extended over his chest, intersecting with the silver star that sat in the center of his chest. Slightly baggy pants were tucked into black combat boots. His hands were covered in gloves that matched the boots.

Captain America had arrived.

The archer and the woman moved over to his side, watching the boys intently. "You're late Rogers," said the redhead calmly.

"I was eating lunch," he replied with a shrug.

"Wow, what an excuse! That totally makes up for it!" She rolled her eyes.

The Captain turned towards the boys. "So... You want to give up now?"

Francis surveyed all of them, his eyes lingering on the archer. If this was the original Captain America, then he had to be the original Hawkeye. He glanced to his partner who was flickering his gaze between the Captain and the redhead, most likely the Black Widow.

"Well now, this changes everything," he whispered to James. "I can honestly say that I have no idea what is going on here. What do you want to do?"

The boy was quiet before he answered back. "We don't know what's going on, so for now we watch and wait. We'll do the only thing we can do." The two shared a nod.

As one, they reached forward and let their weapons fall to the ground.

End Chapter

Ok so I want a popularity poll. WARNING: WINTER SOLDIER SPOILERS AHEAD! I want to know if anyone wants this pre-Winter Soldier so that S.H.I.E.L.D. is still around. Please review!