So it goes with saying that only things I own with any connection to MARVEL I bought on Ebay or Etsy. MARVEL COMICS & MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE are their own creatures and I have nothing to do with either of them aside from the fact I enjoy reading or watching them, and am grateful for the ability to play in their world. I claim nothing, and I receive nothing for this, expect the pleasure of putting something out into the world.
You can also find this story on ARCHIVE OF OUR OWN under the same title and pen name along with a place to post suggestions.
Don't forget to check out the Photobucket album listed on my profile page too. (My apologies. I didn't realize FF removed the links. I have corrected the problem in what way I can, so for those who like the visual additions, feel free to check them out.)
DAY FOUR
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND TWO
FRIDAY, MAY 4TH 2012
1031 HOURS
CENTRAL PARK ZOO
64TH ST AND 5TH AVE
RUMLOW
As far as aliens go, these things are bullshit. Sure they may have space gliders and energy weapons, but if your 'superior technology' can't manage bullet proof, it's about as superior as a bag of flaming shit.
LUCKY ME! I'm having way too much fun perforating a pack of E.T's with a Steyr SPP, and well, when I walked on the scene and saw the boss' son I couldn't resist taking the grenade launcher we had, and starting the party with a bang.
After it exploded, the only identifiable chunk of the one I shot at was part of its pelvis, and the liquified flesh leaking out of its dented helmet. As for the other two circling Junior, the shrapnel of their buddy that didn't kill them, was quickly fixed by a hail of bullets. Jack may be a quiet motherfucker, but this is a unique opportunity and I know he's having fun out here too.
They're training is crap, at least as far as tactical awareness. I get the feeling these things count too much on numbers and air superiority, because they didn't even notice us until I blew one of them up. That let us get in close. It let the soldier get in close too, and he's making quick work of the two by the pool.
One tries to stab the Soldier, with a knife that looks a lot like one of our's wrapped in its fat fingers. That goes south when he blocks the swing with his left arm, the metal hand digging into the alien's forearm after it stops the momentum. His other hand quickly wraps around the creature's wrist and wrenching the limp down he brings his leg up to drive a vicious kick into the back of its torso.
Its buddy at the pool joins the fray then, realizing something is wrong. It seems to be weaponless because its hands were occupied with something else, but that doesn't stop it from attempting a swing of its own. This time the Soldier's fleshy arm blocks the blow, with just as much ease. Much like before he grabs the creature's wrist, but lets his metal arm wrenches its elbow out of place by yanking it sideways. The damn thing almost drops to its knees yowling pathetically in pain!
The first one is back on its feet, but not for very long when it tastes a metal uppercut to the bottom of its jaw. I can hear the hand sinking it the damn thing's soft under chin before he closes those fingers around its jawbone and tears it right off!
Then the Soldier just twists around, and aiming his fist at the whimpering alien that's trying to stand all the way back up, he cuts its rise short with a right handed punch to the back of its head. The things feet go airborne as it face plants into the concrete! That's not even taking into account the way its limbs thrash as he starts bringing his metal arm down on its ribcage like some sort of biblical Samson, using the jawbone like a hammer! Oh yeah, he's got this.
FRIDAY, MAY 4TH 2012
1032 HOURS
CENTRAL PARK ZOO
64TH ST AND 5TH AVE
DUNCAN AKA ALEX
"Hey boss, how's it going?" I never wanted to get that close to Rumlow's mouth, but I kinda want to remove his tongue now just to shut him up.
He swaggered over to the ruins of a food cart first. Examining the pretzels on the ground for a clean one, and snatched up a diet coke before he came over here, and dropped down into a crouch in front of me. "Ya hungry?"
I can practically feel the scrape of Rollin's barrel against my scalp as I lay there quietly and endure this. I'm short a good leg, I've been shot several times, and I got three STRIKE Agents with their guns inches from my face. Even if I was intact, I wouldn't be able to deal with all of them before one of them pulled the trigger.
"No?" He asks again, shaking the pretzel in my face like I'm a dog. "Its missing most of its salt, I know, but it's almost asphalt free. Ya sure?"
"I'm on a diet." That gets a laugh out of him before he shifts from a crouch into a more comfortable position. Sitting indian style on the ground in front of me as he twists open his coke and takes a swig.
"Yeah..." He spares a glance and a smirk at my leg as he recaps the bottle and sets it at his side. "...I can see the weight just falling off ya. You want us to do something 'bout that?"
FRIDAY, MAY 4TH 2012
1033 HOURS
CENTRAL PARK ZOO
64TH ST AND 5TH AVE
RUMLOW
There's confusion behind the pain and the pissed. "What?" I only ask the question for show. "You were expecting an execution?"
The answer's pretty obvious. HYDRA's not a take prisoners kinda organization. Prisoners can talk after all, and we're not supposed to exist anymore. Can't let that talk happen. But, doesn't mean we never do, and everyone knows that's worse.
"Oh, no. We're not gonna kill ya. I mean we could, we definitely got permission. But death is so final, right? You're done when it's done. I'm feeling generous, and you don't get to be done yet. I'm bringing you back to daddy dearest. Maybe he'll let me make a suggestion or two, what you think?"
He huffs a little at that, sidestepping my attempt at goading a fight out of him. "I think I liked you better that time I broke your jaw."
Even half amputated the dude's a fucken prick. "Yeah." I'm gonna enjoy this so much."Get them zip ties and a road flare." We'll see if he keeps the smirk during that. While they're getting him ready I should probably check on the woman, it's been kinda quiet behind us.
FRIDAY, MAY 4TH 2012
1033 HOURS
CENTRAL PARK ZOO
64TH ST AND 5TH AVE
WINTER SOLDIER
The hostiles were dispatched, now it was time to retrieve the target. She was sinking beneath a layer of dead seals.
One of the animals is laying on the fake rock pathway, its chest heaving as it takes its lasts breath before the sound stutters, the ribs expanding one last time before they collapse into stillness. It never even got its tail out of the water, that's how she killed it. What?
The other seals are just masses of floating flesh, and their bodies move easily out of the way of my arms, a nudge sending them bopping toward the other walls of the tank so I can reach her.
The heel of her left foot hooked the rim of the glass wall and didn't sink with the rest of her, so I dip my right hand into the water and grabbed her leg. My hand slid over her thigh before it secured its place behind her knee, the skin itching on contact with her's for a moment before the sensation vanished as I pull her higher. Then my metal one found its place between her shoulder blades.
She remained limp in my arms, even after her nose and mouth broke the surface of the water. That didn't change as I shifted her weight closer to my chest and stepped out of the sunken pathway, or when I laid her carefully on the cement.
She was under the water too long, and hasn't resumed breathing on her own. Deliver alive and unharmed. So my hands shift behind my head, and the fingers unlock the clasps of my mask. Her skin is clammy as I check her pulse and brush her cheek while I pinch her nose. Her lips though are softer than I remember under mine?
FRIDAY, MAY 4TH 2012
1034 HOURS
CENTRAL PARK ZOO
64TH ST AND 5TH AVE
RUMLOW
Jack and his men got Junior, I know this from experience, and the sound of him screaming as the scent of burning flesh fills the air. I'm content to let him handle that problem because I got one of my own.
The sight of him performing chest compressions was pretty self explanatory, and is met with a bit of approval. He had the sense to use his flesh hand for most of that effort, if he used the strength of the metal one he might have crushed her chest cavity like a tin can.
What does have me concerned though is the way his maskless face is damp, and droplets of water are clinging to his stubble as she weakly hacks up water. The bastard went and kissed her! He even has his hand on her back as he holds her on her side to help the water drain from her lungs.
"Солдат." I'm not very fluent in Russian, I know enough to understand it, and I got the basic checklist of commands down. If they let you take the Soldier out, your required to know those. "She's breathing." "Отбой, мы примем его отсюда."
I also know what confusion looks like, and semi consciousness. For good measure I motion Jack over here just in case.
The Soldier had been looking at her, with this unblinking intensity as she wheezed between gasps, and then when I said 'Soldier' that look broke into rapid blinking before he followed my orders and moved back. That's where the semi consciousness showed, from her, in the form of weakly grasping fingers. Aww she's missing his absence how cute. Looks like we're back to the acting for a little while.
FRIDAY, MAY 4TH 2012
1035 HOURS
CENTRAL PARK ZOO
64TH ST AND 5TH AVE
DUNCAN AKA ALEX
I'd like to say I'm happy when Rollins walked away from me, and I am. I'm also pissed and concerned as hell though because I'm still under the barrel of two STRIKE Agents, with a stump cooked to jerky by a road flare, and he's walking toward the two other mass murders that are surrounding her.
They woke the Asset for this mission. That surprises me just as much as it doesn't. I knew she was important, but they woke up the Soldier for her. Her, not some intergalactic terrorist prince, or the tesseract! Her.
They're gonna kill her. HYDRA has some pretty basic policies about gifted individuals. Convert or kill. You either help, or what they learn from your corpse does. She's not going to submit, they couldn't make her do it the first time, so they're going to kill her. They're using him against her.
"Agent Elaine?" I can hear Rumlow talking to her, from where he has put himself between our line of sights. He doesn't want her to catch a glimpse of the fact they barbequed my leg. "I'm with S.H.I.E.L.D, were going to take you somewhere safe."
That line of horse shit makes me want to gag as much as it makes me want to speak but I skip both of those. I'll get shot in the head before I even get a full word out, and that pretty much ends the game. Rumlow's right when he says it's final, but as long as I'm alive there's always the chance to change things.
"This..." His voice keeps talking, as his hand holds itself out toward Rollins. He has a syringe of something in his hand, that he's giving to Rumlow. "will make you feel better."
I don't need to know what it is to know that's a lie. I don't even need to see his smirk either. She knows it too I think. I don't know if its mistrust because she recognizes Rumlow's voice, or just a powerful aversion to needles and their contents, but I can see her struggle to lift her hand and breath out the word no before she appears to gag on more blood.
Shit, is she bleeding internally? The urge to say something almost wins out over self preservation a second before the teams change.
Rumlow suddenly lets out a swearing his and jerks his hand away from her skin like it stung, right before A metal hand wraps around his own. The Soldier is bending his arm backwards,and uses it to stab Rollins in the leg with the needle! It caught Rollins of guard, but only for half a second. Then he made the mistake of swinging on the Soldier.
The Asset stepped out of the way, and caught Rollins arm is it over extended the swing, before he brought a metal fist into the side of Jack's face!
When Rumlow tried to rise from his crouch to help, he only got is far is the feel of a metal elbow grazing the air in front of his nose. He dodged the blow that would have taken his face off is the Soldier spun around, but it threw off his balance, and gave the Soldier a weapon.
While Rumlow fell the Soldier tore his taser rod out of Brock's holster, and following him down, he shoved it between his teeth!
Watching Rumlow foam at the mouth in a electric seizure about made my day, but after the the Soldier took out the last two Strike agents dumb enough to engage him, he pulled the taser from Rumlows mouth and started walking toward me. Oh fuck man come on!
NOTES FOR THE READERS:
солдат. отбой, мы примем его отсюда.
TRANSLATES INTO
Soldier. Stand down, we will take it from here.
SOUND LIKE
Soldat . Otboy , my primem yego otsyuda.
Also for those who look at the Photobucket, yes, there is a Stucky picture, a lot of good inspiration comes out of that, I just substitute in Nora.