Chapter 16

If I die, Coulson gets my Harry Potter books.

I blink as the thought passes through my head, surprisingly the only non-panic thing as I stare up at an all-sliver, slim, definitely female version of Iron Man and Iron Beta.

She turns her head, the movement startling me into action. I instantly grab my dad and dive behind one of the tables that looks the least like Swiss cheese.

"You fools!" Steel laughs. "You poor, petty fools. I hold the power here. All of it, mine. I am the real hero! I have more honor than these old frauds ever will. I have the brains of Hulk, Iron Man, and Iron Beta combined. I have the strength of Capitan America, the aim of Hawkeye, and the stealth of Black Widow. Why do you need six heroes when you have me? Rise, minions, and follow my command!"

Yeah, all of that is quite unlikely, lady.

I can hear whispers float across the ship, agents scurrying and scuffling like mice inside walls.

Please do not let them go over, please do not let that happen…

"Are you insane?"

I freeze and peek over the table to see the tech I inadvertently saved from my mother earlier standing with his hands on his hips, one foot and hip jutted out in a classic diva pose.

"No, scratch that, I know you are. We do not need or want you here, if that was not clear already. Our heroes are the Avengers, not their washed up, old, insane exes. We will join you the day Capitan America goes to jail for kicking puppies and Iron Man vows never to drink again. Long live Avengers!" he shouts, rallying a cheer from the agents starting to rise around him.

I immediately scramble so that I am crouched next to Steve. "The loyalty is nice and all," I hiss, "but where is our plan?!"

Steve fixes me with an incredulous look. "Again, I do not have one!" he whispers indignantly. "I do not always have a plan! Just…just go and fight and do not die, alright?"

"Right." I agree, taking deep breaths. "Right. We can do this. We got this. We are the Avengers. Earth's Mightiest Heroes. And if we can't save the earth-"

"From my estranged, insane, ex and the mother of my child-" my dad mutters.

"-you can be damn sure we will avenge it." I finish with a nod at my dad, pouring as much determination and nobility into my voice as I could.

"I see why the girls followed you through Australia." Steve mutters with admiration gleaming in his eyes.

I smile. "So who is going to go out there with me and help me kick some iron butt?"

They all grin, and then my dad sticks a hand out from next to me. I stack my hand on his, Clint on top of mine, then Natasha, Bruce, Thor, and finally Steve tops the pile.

"One."

My dad and I awkwardly hug around my bow.

"Two."

Clint and I kiss quickly, hopefully not for the last time.

"Three! Go!" We all whisper shout, priming and locking our weapons and tensing every muscle in our bodies.

We stand and leap over the table almost simultaneously, scattering slightly to cover the entire battlefield.

"Hey! Iron Wacko!" I shout unto the crowd. "Come out come out wherever you are!"

I do not get a response; then again, I was not truly expecting one. So instead I settle on releasing an explosive arrow towards a line of HYDRA agents, turning and walking casually away as I press the trigger.

For a moment, I would imagine I looked a bit awesome. Casually walking away with an explosion blazing the background? A lot of awesome right there.

I am snapped out of my daze by a familiar shield rolling to a stop and clattering at my feet.

"Captain?" I ask over the comms. "Where are you?"

"A little – grunt – busy at the – thud – moment, Beta."

"Oh. I found your shield-"

"Okay." he yelps again and his side of the line goes silent. I gulp but shake myself – he is Captain America, for Thor's sake, he simply cannot be that hurt.

I glance down at the shield before quickly ducking down to pick it up. It's lighter than I expected, and the leather straps are worn but polished at the same time.

I can feel a mischievous smile growing and spreading on my face as an idea blossoms in my head. I clip my bow onto my back, still expanded, as I slip the shield onto my metal arm, flexing my shoulder for a second as I get used to the weight.

I jump onto one of the only tables still upright, raising my vantage point so I can try and find the shield's true owner.

And I do. A flash of blue and red near the northwest corner of the room catches my eye. Unfortunately, I am almost all the way across the room.

A plan doesn't have much time to form, because I soon get company in the form of one of Steel's goons. I quickly remember the shield on my arm and bringing it down in a slashing motion, slicing through the guy's bulletproof vest, then I pull it back and level it against my side, stepping forward to shove the guy off the table.

I then see another agent fighting his way towards me, and I automatically flick my wrist and the shield goes whizzing towards him, his eyes barely widening before he lacks a head. The bloodied shield rebounds off the wall behind him, narrowly missing a few more goons before it is back in my hand.

"Whoa, Cap!" my dad exclaims over the radios. "I did not know you were into decapitating people with your shield."

"Um-"

"The captain is not in possession of his shield at the moment." I cut Cap off as I club a goon over the head.

"Oh." my dad sounds impressed. "Carry on."

I nod even though he probably can't see me and jump off the table, starting to fight my way back through the fray towards Cap.

Captain America is known for utilizing the more Frisbee-like aspects of his shield; whereas I use it more like a circular blade, slicing and blocking instead of catching and measuring rebounds.

I duck under a friendly agent's arm and take the final steps towards Cap, slipping the shield off my arm. "Here!" I shout. "I believethis belongs you."

He nods and smiles, gripping his shield as I grab my bow off my back and notch an arrow.

We charge into battle side by side, fighting in a way that we rarely get too.

Not that I have a problem with it. I'm the most distant with the Captain out of almost all my team members; Natasha is an aunt or motherly figure, Bruce is an uncle, Clint and my dad are obvious, and Thor is a big teddy bear. I know Cap, though, and I respect him; I do sort of mirror his position when leading Jane, Betty, Natasha, and Darcy. I know why he does what he does, even though I might not agree with it.

Like, for instance, I know why he just whacked a head off one of Steel's goons. I agree wholeheartedly with that one.

"Duck!" I shout and fire an arrow at the thug that had a gun pointed towards Cap's temple.

"Thanks, Beta."

"Don't mention it." I grin slightly as I help him up.

"Has anyone seen Steel lately?" Clint asks over the comms.

"No…wait. Yes, I have eyes on her! I can see that проклятые, сын змеи суки…"

I listen patiently for the next minute or so as Natasha strings together a bunch of colorful Russian words to describe my mother.

"That's nice sentiment and all, Widow, but you do realize that only Clint and I understand a word of what you just said?"

"I know."

"Okay then." Clint cuts in. "What now? Widow, keep her in your sights."

"We need to disable the suit." my dad offers.

"How?"

"Well…" I consider an idea for a moment. "Iron Man, aren't the suits just big, complex computers?"

"Almost everything is, on a basic level."

"So, if either Hawkeye or I find a decent shot, we can deactivate her with our computer arrows?"

"Right." my dad agrees. "Fire directly at the reactor."

"Got it." I drown out the rest of the conversation as I scan the room for perches.

Then I look up, and a light bulb goes off. For some reason, the dining room ceiling has rafters.

"Cap!" I whirl around. "I need a leg up!"

Steve looks at me, looks up, and back at me again before tilting his shield and bracing.

I back up a few steps, run, jump, and am rocketed suddenly up, up, up…

I quickly use a grappling arrow to secure a hold on the nearest beam, climbing up the last foot before I'm precariously balanced about fifteen feet in the air on a six inch wide beam.

I gulp and turn so I'm crouched on the balls of my feet with a view of the entire room.

A flash of silver tells me that Steel is flying lower than me, about five feet of the ground, and is about three feet away from Natasha, who is tracking her every move.

I slowly notch a computer disabling arrow and pull it back halfway, steadying my breathing and letting my eyes lock on the target.

"We need to get her turned around." I report. "I've got a clear shot on her back right now, but we need the reactor."

"Copy that, Beta." Natasha signs off and then I can see her moving towards Steel, crossing her path and leading Steel in a certain direction, like a cat and a mouse toy.

Natasha loops Steel around so that she's flying with her front towards me. I immediately mentally thank Natasha as I pull the arrow back the rest of the way.

"Taking the shot." I say as I release the arrow, watching as I flies directly towards Steel, grabbing on to the reactor and letting its prongs pierce the suit.

Steel twitches once, twice, and then she begins to fall. I don't really care; five feet won't kill her. Instead, I focus on getting down. I grab another grapping arrow and fire it at the ceiling above me, landing it about five feet in front of me. I fasten it into my bow and lean back, slipping my feet off the rafter and doing a Tarzan style swing over to the crash site.

I tug on my bow at the last second, releasing the arrow and landing neatly on my feet. I quickly join the others in crowding around Steel, her helmet removed.

"She's not dead." Bruce announces as he removes his fingers from her neck. "And she should be waking up any moment now."

I nod. "I have the perfect way to greet her. Can everyone back up and give me some room?"

They all comply even though they have no idea what I'm doing. I put one foot on either side of her knees, taking a regular, old fashioned arrow and pointing it directly at her nose.

"Taylor…"

"I know what I'm doing."

Steel's blue eyes open and I wince – I think I always will, I have the exact same eyes as a madwoman. I quickly recover and internally chuckle as she sees the arrow mere inches from her face.

She draws back with a cat-like hiss. "What are you going to do to me, hero? Go on, kill me. Tarnish your golden reputation."

I shift my grip on the arrow.

"Do it."

I take a deep breath.

"Kill me!"

"No." I loosen the bowstring and lower my bow slightly. "And not because I'm worried about my reputation." I look directly into an identical set of eyes, meeting nothing but madness and confusion. "I will let you live because your life in jail will be far worse than death. My dad was ready, and now you'll get to see just how wrong you were. I might visit, I might not." I shrug and turn on my heel, my footsteps echoing in the hushed room. I pause just as I reach the doors, throwing a look over my shoulder. "You know what to do with her."

I then shove the door open, letting it slam behind me and shake the room.