Natasha noticed the half sprints between Steve and Chloe on their way to the closest mall. The only reason they weren't able to fully run was because of Seren. For every step that Steve took, Seren only took half of it and he had to pull her the rest of the way. She was having the hardest time staying awake and, most importantly, staying focused on what was happening around them. The sedative had yet to completely metabolize through her system but unfortunately they just didn't have the time to wait it out. Steve wasn't letting her out of her sight and that's what he told Natasha when she suggested Chloe should wait with Seren outside of the mall.
"First rule of going on the run is, don't run, walk," Natasha muttered when it finally became too noticeable.
"Not trying to run," Steve said, keeping an arm tightly around Seren's waist. "If I run in these shoes, they're going to fall and I'm going to trip Seren." He couldn't stop himself from checking the immediate areas to see if anyone was coming their way.
So far, there was no public announcement that they were being hunted but he was no fool, at least not anymore. SHIELD didn't operate by the books as it was and now that they were finally, openly, going rogue, who knew how they would hunt. Anyone could be an enemy.
"Just look ahead," Chloe directed. "I've been on my own plenty of time to know a thing or two about blending in."
"Then stop trying to sprint," hissed Natasha.
"I just want to get to the store quickly!"
Fortunately, they made their way into a Mac store soon enough. Natasha found the first display computer and got straight to work. Steve stepped up beside her and with him Seren. She breathed easily, that much Steve could tell and was fully relieved that it hadn't worsened outside of the hospital. She leaned her head on his shoulder and brought her jacket closer around her. That, Steve noticed as well and it did worry him because Seren hardly got cold. It was part of her Celessian biology; her body temperature operated differently. Conditions had to be on the extreme side for her to be that kind of cold.
"We'll be quick," he murmured to her. She nodded silently.
"The drive has a Level Six homing program, so as soon as we boot up SHIELD will know exactly where we are," Natasha forewarned the group as she readied the laptop.
"How much time do we have?" Steve asked her.
"Nine minutes," Chloe blurted then promptly clapped a hand over her mouth. With her wide eyes, she told the group the answer did not come from her but from the Hivemind.
"They're right," Natasha plugged the USB into the laptop. "Anything else the Hivemind is saying right now?"
"Sort of..." Chloe admitted, "And I can understand them better too. They didn't really speak English to me before and now..."
"What are they saying about SHIELD right now?" asked Steve.
"Run," sighed Chloe. "The Ghost is coming." That was a real motivation to keep working.
"Fury was right about that ship, somebody's trying to hide something," Natasha's findings drew Seren's attention back to the screen. "This drive is protected by some sort of AI, it keeps rewriting itself to counter my commands."
"Can't you override it?" Chloe leaned closer to Natasha.
"The person who developed this is slightly smarter than me. Slightly. I'm gonna try running a tracer. This is a program that SHIELD developed to track hostile malware, so if we can't read the file, maybe we can find out where it came from."
"Can I help you guys with anything?" One of the male employees came up to the group, startling them like a domino effect.
Chloe sprung into action, reverting back to her secretive ways. Years of skills for hiding and secrets didn't just disappear after all. "We're just helping our friends find some honeymoon destinations!" She motioned to Steve and Seren with a joyous laugh to match the story. Then, Chloe threw a direct look at Steve. He better play along for their sake.
Steve deadpanned her for the longest minute until she ultimately won the stare-off and he accepted the lie. "Yup," he said, glancing at the employee. "We're getting married."
Seren also nodded at the lie.
"Congratulations," the employee said to the pair, not noticing a single thing. "Where are you guys thinking about going?"
"Uuh…" Seren would blame her foggy head for her lack of skills at the moment. She looked up at Steve instead, hoping that he was much more collected with the lying thing than her.
Steve had the idea to glance at the screen and thankfully saw the signal tracing to somewhere in New Jersey. "New Jersey!"
"Oh." The employee spent the next moment staring at Steve. For a moment, Steve panicked thinking he was about to be recognized. "I have the exact same glasses!"
"Wow, you two are practically twins," Natasha's sarcasm was lost on the employee, not so much with Chloe who snorted.
"Yeah, I wish," the employee said, gesturing to Steve afterwards, "Specimen. Uh...if you guys need anything, I've been Aaron."
"Thank you," Seren said quickly to get the man moving away. He then glared at Chloe. "Not okay, Chloe."
"Yeah, that was horrible," Chloe said, shaking her head. "Seren's got the excuse because she's made some good UCs before, but you? What's yours?"
Steve was even less impressed and instead turned his attention on Natasha. "How are we doing?"
"Shh, relax. Got it," the redhead pointed at the screen. Steve leaned down to see Wheaton, NJ proudly blinking on the screen. Natasha saw his grim expression. "You know it?"
"I used to," he muttered. "Let's go." He plucked the USB out of the computer and stuffed it into his pocket. He gripped his hold around Seren's waist and told her they were leaving. Her feet bumped into each other on their first steps but thankfully she got ahold of herself only a few steps later.
The others were quick to follow behind. It wasn't long before Steve spotted familiar faces around. "Standard tac-team. Two behind, to across, two coming straight at us. If they make us, I'll engage, you take Seren and hit the south escalator to the metro."
"You're mad," Seren was quick to huff. It was the first time she spoke in a complete sentence since waking up. "We're not separating..."
"She's right," Natasha said, much too calm for the situation they were about to possibly get into. There were two agents coming straight towards. "Rogers, just keep holding Seren and in 5 seconds, laugh. In 4, Chloe and I will move to the right. Seren, try to stay awake."
"Natasha, I don't think—" Steve started when Natasha gave him a hard shove on his arm and moved away with Chloe. He barely had time to react when he saw the agents growing closer and just did what Natasha said and laughed like Seren had said something. Immediately after they were in the clear, Steve apologized to Seren. "I'm going to get you somewhere you can rest, I swear."
Seren half smiled up at him. "It's alright, I'm..." She breathed in again like she was about to yawn. "...fine."
Steve thought the opposite. "You're supposed to be resting, taking it easy. And you're still cold." He gently touched her cheek and confirmed it.
"Just my body trying to get back to..." she couldn't help it and yawned that time, "Back to normal."
Steve started pulling his jacket off when Natasha hissed at him to leave it on. "She's cold," Steve argued but Natasha was adamant.
"And we're surrounded and in need of a disguise so leave it on!"
They reached the escalators and quickly stepped on. They were almost out of the building, so close...until Chloe spotted Rumlow on the escalator beside them coming up.
"Dammit," she bit on her bottom lip. "We can't fight on the steps, can we?" They were surrounded in front and behind.
The situation still didn't phase Natasha. "We'll get out," she said confidently. "Rogers?"
Steve was already dreading her next words. "What?"
"Kiss Seren, now."
Steve looked over his shoulder at her like she was insane. "What!? I'm not — we're not doing that!"
"Fine, then we do nothing and they take us all and separate us and I'm sure they would love to get their hands on medicated Seren. What do you think they're going to do to get information out of her? Start with the power dampening cuffs, I'm sure."
Steve hated Natasha for two seconds before realizing she was right.
"It's a tactic," Natasha said.
"Yeah, I know."
"Public displays of affection make people very uncomfortable. So do it. Sure Soul won't mind."
Seren felt the light flick on the back of her head and rubbed it with her hand. Steve hated things even more because Seren barely had a clue about the conversation.
"Just do it!" Natasha nearly snarled.
Steve almost considered leaving the three women to take on Rumlow and his crow on his own. They would maybe have a chance then...
But he couldn't bear the thought of leaving Seren to her chances. Pick the lesser evil. "Seren?" She looked up at him with doe eyes as if to purposely make him feel even worse. He dipped his head and captured her lips in a kiss.
As fogged-up as her mind was, Seren remembered the feeling of his lips against hers and kissed back. In a way, it helped her feel even more lucid and in control of her emotions. When Steve pulled away, the first thing he noticed was that Rumlow and his crew had passed them without so much of a glance in their direction. Then he looked down at Seren and saw her smiling at him. It eased his nerves a bit to see her content. He felt awful for using their love as a tactic and even more knowing that Seren wasn't 100% herself. He would never do anything with her if she wasn't completely lucid and he hoped to God that when she was finally back to normal, she wouldn't get upset about this. It took two years of pining to get her and he didn't want to do anything that would make him lose her.
~0~
After finding a modest car, the trip to New Jersey was on. Natasha and Chloe had climbed into the backseat, leaving Seren the passenger's side. Almost as soon as they had taken off, Seren had fallen asleep. She slept soundly for an hour and woke up with a much better face — a more lucid one.
"Good morning there, sleeping beauty," she heard behind her. It took her a few minutes to realize it was Natasha in the backseat. She had made herself comfortable by propping one leg between the driver's and passenger's seat. "How we feeling?"
Seren rolled her eyes and looked up ahead towards the road. "Fine," she said, her voice raspy. "Don't you ever put a sedative in me again. I will make you regret it."
"Oh, she's fine alright," Natasha concluded.
"Lay off," went Steve. He reached a hand out to take Seren's and gave it a gentle squeeze. "How are you feeling?"
Seren heard the heavy concern in his voice and glanced at him. "Much better, I promise," she said. "Stop worrying about me, please." She was a lot more cozy with her and Steve's sweaters on and definitely better rested.
"You were poisoned on my behalf," Chloe spoke up when she leaned forward. "Worrying is all we can do. I'm sorry Seren. I'm...I'm so sorry."
"Chloe it's fine. Just...no more lies, please. And no more sedatives," Seren added in a harder tone. She looked back at Natasha and Chloe. "Are we clear on that one, ladies?"
"Yes, ma'am," Natasha gave her a mock salute.
Seren breathed in and exhaled, taking a moment to finish waking up. Her eyes started flickering around their scenery...which wasn't much. "Um...where exactly are we going? And when did we get into a car?" She turned her head in Steve's direction. "You don't have a car."
"Ooh," Natasha started smirking. "That's because he stole it. Golden boy stole a car."
"I did not—"
"I'd love to know where Captain America learned how to steal a car."
"Yeah, that'd be nice to know," Chloe joined with her own smirk.
Steve playfully rolled his eyes at the pair. The question was out of the topic but since it was making Seren smile as well, he'd go along with it. "Nazi Germany. Happy?"
"No, kind of lame, actually," Chloe said bluntly.
"Wasn't looking to impress you, Chloe. And we're borrowing, by the way. Take your feet off the arm rest, Natasha."
"Sorry, Dad." Natasha snickered with Chloe. "What does Mom have to say?" She nodded over to Seren who seemed very focused on the road. She may have been trying to piece together the last couple of hours of the day. "Hm, space girl is in space."
Seren blinked and looked back at Natasha with a scrunched nose. "Shut up, Natasha." She then pushed Natasha's foot off the armrest and brought her left arm over it instead. "I may have been in and out but I know you've been messing with Steve."
"Oh, of course you'd remember that," Natasha rolled her eyes.
That time even Steve had to smile. He side-glanced Seren for a brief moment and saw her smiling at him too. "I got your back," she winked at him and his heart swelled in that moment.
"Yikes, you might be grounded," Chloe whispered to Natasha.
"Been there done that," Natasha said dismissively. "Might as well keep going. I've got another question." She smirked immediately when they heard the collective groans from Steve and Seren. "What? You don't even know what I was going to ask."
"It's because whatever you're going to ask is probably going to be none of your business," Seren promptly said.
"Ouch," Natasha brought a hand to her chest. "Guess you're still mad about the sedatives?"
"Oh no, I loved being sedated against my will in the place I fear most."
"Well, next time don't have a mental breakdown. And by the way, if you don't answer my question...you're basically answering it."
Seren shook her head. "I regret meeting you."
"Love you too," Natasha said with a grin. "So, the question?" Seren groaned. "In the mall, neither of you seemed very uncomfortable kissing on the escalator. And you," she pointed at Seren, "weren't even half awake then."
"Don't remind me," Seren heard Steve's quiet mumble. She looked at him curiously.
"And you've pretty much been inseparable ever since the, uh, incident with the cyanide...does that mean you guys are like..." Natasha drifted her finger between the two in question, "You know, finally...?"
Chloe snorted. "If not, I'm going to throw myself out this window because it'd be ridiculous at this point."
"So poetic, Chloe," Steve remarked. "If we say 'yes', does that mean the conversation is over?" Steve looked at Natasha through the rearview mirror.
She smirked. "You wish."
"Back off," Seren cut in. It was her who held onto Steve's hand now. "And Chloe, if you throw yourself out the window, I'm prepared to leave you there. So quit it."
"Yes, mom," Chloe dutifully said. She then leaned forwards between their seats and smiled at the pair. "But I am happy about you guys. It was about damn time. Sorry my chocolates ruined it for you guys."
"We're good, Chloe, thanks."
"Seriously about time," Natasha groaned and shifted in her seat. "The last time Seren dated anyone was, what? Never?"
Seren's face fell flat at the jab. "That is not—"
"And we all know the last time Steve kissed anybody was in 1945!"
"Hey!" Steve frowned.
Chloe laughed at the pair. Natasha had something to say for everyone.
"Am I wrong?" Natasha challenged them with the proudest of smirks. "Seren could probably tell us. Does he need more practice?"
"Natasha stop talking," Seren pulled herself into a better sitting position, her hand never letting go of Steve's. Suddenly, she felt like she didn't really need two sweaters on. It wasn't that cold anymore.
"I'm hearing a 'yes'," Natasha glanced at the giggling Chloe. "What do you think, Winters?"
"Chloe Rose Winters, you better watch what you'll say," warned Seren.
"I'm not going to say anything bad," Chloe said, her eyes drifting towards Steve who was carefully watching her through the rearview mirror. "But everyone needs practice."
"Chloe!" He groaned. He should've seen that coming. Whenever she and Natasha got together on the same side, he paid hell for it.
"Leave him alone," Seren scolded them. She tugged on Steve's hand a bit, earning a brief glance from him. "You do not need practice. At all." Steve didn't say anything but his face was flushed as he drove.
"Oh, so she knows for sure," Natasha's smirk widened and nudged Chloe who burst into laughter.
"I would not blame you if you dropped them both off on the road," Seren said to Steve while the pair behind them went into a fit of laughter. "Seriously. Wouldn't say a word about it."
"I'll just be patient," he said, much kinder than what Seren thought they deserved from him. "One day, they'll be in our shoes."
"Oh, hold on there," Natasha stopped in the middle of her laugh, "You will never get the chance, Rogers. Maybe Winters might."
"Oh c'mon," Steve rolled his eyes.
"She might get you there," Seren said too. "I've known her forever and I've never known about her having a date."
"Me neither," Chloe agreed.
"I don't have time," shrugged Natasha.
"I would've thought it had something to do with the lies that working for S.H.I.E.L.D. usually brings." Steve didn't mean that as a jab for any of them. It was a simple truth he learned over the course of his 2 years with the organization. Even if he had considered the idea about moving on from Seren, which he didn't, having to explain his work to someone outside of S.H.I.E.L.D. was more than challenging. Even if he had dated someone within S.H.I.E.L.D., their schedules would never be aligned. It was a lost cause on both sides. Which was why he was prepared to do anything and everything to keep Seren with him.
"Nah, that's the least of the issues there," Natasha said, cutting Steve's thoughts short. "The truth is a matter of circumstances, it's not all things to all people all the time. And neither am I."
"That's a tough way to live." Steve glanced at Seren who'd gone quiet, even Chloe as well. He hated their circumstances. Each of them had been torn and rebuilt for S.H.I.E.L.D.'s use. For a split second, just a split moment, he wondered if S.H.I.E.L.D. falling was the worst thing that could have happened for them...
"It's a good way not to die, though," Chloe murmured. She knew firsthand what the way of her life entailed. Never finding anyone to connect with, not even revisiting people she had established relationships with. It was too dangerous for both sides.
"My experience is that it's kind of hard to trust someone when you don't know who that someone really is," Steve said.
"Who do you want us to be, then?" Natasha quirked her eyebrows upwards. It was clear she spoke on behalf of herself and Chloe. No matter what happened, Seren was already on another level for him that made it pretty hard to be mistrusted.
"I'd be good with some friends."
Natasha couldn't help snort at that. "Well, there's a chance you might be in the wrong business, Rogers."
"Or maybe the business was wrong all this time," Steve countered. All the time there could've been something wrong with S.H.I.E.L.D. and nobody noticed. His first thoughts went to Seren who, for as long as she remembered, had given all her time to the organization. Now she was probably being hunted by them like a criminal. They turned on her so quickly, like her work had meant nothing to them.
He glanced at Seren but she was no longer looking at anything. She fell asleep somewhere along the conversation. He squeezed her hand and focused on the road.
~ 0 ~
The sun had gone down by the time they reached the military base where they would supposedly find something linked to the USB.
"Seren, you should stay in here," Steve stood by the passenger door hoping that he could convince her to stay in the car where it was far warmer.
"Not happening," she repeated for the third time and promptly hopped off the car. She'd taken a nice long nap, that was enough. She did, however, zip up the oversized sweater on her to the top.
"Where exactly are we?" Chloe had followed Natasha a bit down the path. It was too dark to make out specific details besides it being a base.
"I don't know," Natasha shrugged. "But this is where the file came from."
"So did I," Steve admitted. He shut the passenger door behind them and walked forwards with Seren. "This camp is where I was trained."
"Really?" Seren's eyes widened. She raked the base over with a new light. "Has it changed much?"
"A little," Steve mumbled. That was an understatement. He could see himself running down the path, barely keeping up with the other soldiers, otherwise failing to be the perfect soldier. There was much to remember from this place and half of it wasn't good.
"This is a dead end," Natasha declared with a heavy sigh. She was walking around with a tech piece she'd taken earlier in the day. "Zero heat signature, zero waves, not even radio. Whoever wrote the file must have used a router to throw people off."
Steve came to an abrupt stop when he noticed a building ahead of them. Seren gazed at the building but couldn't make out what was wrong with it. "What is it?" she eventually had to ask him.
"Army regulations forbid storing ammunition within five hundred yards of the barracks. This building is in the wrong place." He took off for the building and unlocked it with his shield. He went right on in and only then wondered, for a split second, if he'd just led them all into a trap. Thankfully, it turned out to be a S.H.I.E.L.D. office.
"These look old," Chloe noted from the leftover devices she saw lying on the desks, along with a few computers. There was a heavy dust collecting over the tops.
"Maybe this is where it all started," Seren made the conclusion. It had to be because by now S.H.I.E.L.D. was more than modern with its architecture and technology. There was no use being old school about anything.
They left the bullpen to cross a room with familiar-faced portraits hanging on the wall.
"There's Stark's father," Natasha pointed to one of the men's portraits.
"Hm, they don't look alike," Chloe shook her head.
"Who's the girl?" Natasha pointed to the only women of the three portraits.
Seren glanced at Steve when the question was made. She squeezed his hand as much as she could. She wasn't all there yet with her strength but Steve appreciated the gesture. He preferred, though, not to answer Natasha. He turned with Seren and walked down the room, passing by several bookshelves along the way.
Chloe suddenly stopped when she felt a jab in her head. Her light groan pulled the others towards her.
"Chloe?" Seren looked to the woman.
Chloe had grabbed her head as a few images rushed through her mind. It was blurred but if she was seeing correctly, she might save them some time.
"Is this what's been happening?" Seren glanced back at Steve and Natasha.
"They've never seen," Chloe dropped her hands and took in a breath. Her eyes flickered past them to a specific bookshelf. She left Seren and walked past the others. She stopped in front of the special bookshelf and cocked her head to the side. "If you're already working in a secret office...why do you need to hide the elevator?" She glanced at the trio, clearing her throat and gesturing for someone-oh-someone to move it.
Steve came up beside her and indeed noticed the strange space between the bookshelf and the next. "You just saw that in your head right now?"
"Are you going to turn into my grandmother now?" Seren asked. "That's basically the future you're seeing."
Steve started pulling the shelf to the side. Chloe watched intently for the secret elevator to show. "I hope not," she answered Seren's question in a mumble. "I don't see myself as being a wrinkly alien. No offence." Seren chuckled. She could always count on Chloe to bring a smile out of her.
The group went into the old elevator that brought them down into an even older room. The computers were, as Chloe said them, prehistoric.
"This can't be the data-point, this technology is ancient." Natasha couldn't find one modern-looking computer in the room, much less any computer with a lit screen. She drifted towards what seemed like the main computer and noticed a USB port on the desk. There wasn't much to do besides plugging in their USB computer came to life shortly afterwards.
'Initiate system?' blinked in and out on the screen.
"Are we supposed to type 'yes'?" Chloe raised an eyebrow at it.
Natasha went in and typed 'yes' on the computer. "Shall we play a game?" she asked in an odd tone when the computer started turning on completely. She whipped her head in Steve's direction. "It's from a movie that…"
"Yeah, I saw it," he said, pointing to Chloe for reference.
"Rogers, Steven. Born, 1918," started a heavily accented male voice. It froze everyone in their tracks as it kept going, the camera on top of the computer screening everyone. "Soul, Seren. Born 1986. Romanoff, Natalia Alianovna. Born, 1984. Winters, Chloe. Born 1989."
"It's some kind of recording," Natasha presumed, only for the computer to talk at them in return.
"I am not a recording, Fräulein. I may not be the man I was when the Captain took me prisoner in 1945, but I am."
Seren raised an eyebrow at Steve. "You two know each other?"
Steve was just about making the voice when the screen switched to show an old photograph of Dr. Arnim Zola. Steve stiffened at the sight of the man. "Arnim Zola was a German scientist who worked for the Red Skull. He's been dead for years."
"First correction, I am Swiss," Zola said. "Second, look around you. I have never been more alive."
Chloe wouldn't admit how freaky it was that now every single computer in the room was whirling with life...but it was.
"In 1972 I received a terminal diagnosis. Science could not save my body, my mind, however, that was worth saving on two hundred thousand feet of data banks. You are standing in my brain."
Chloe looked down at the floor and promptly steped out of the marked square.
"How did you get here?" asked Steve who couldn't be more baffled by the scene.
"Umm..." Seren scratched the side of her head, drawing Steve's attention. "My grandmother told me about that. It was Operation Paperclip after World War II. SHIELD recruited German scientists with strategic value."
Steve's expression was incredulous. After everything that Zola helped do, they just brought him over like nothing?
"Yeah, I wasn't fond of the idea either..." Seren said, reading his expression.
"They thought I could help their cause. I also helped my own," Zola said with a malicious tinge to his words.
Steve couldn't be sucked back into the past. No matter what, he was here and things were certainly not related to HYDRA anymore. "HYDRA died with the Red Skull."
"Cut off one head, two more shall take its place."
"Prove it."
"Accessing archive." Zola brought an old footage of the Red Skull followed by the original founders of S..H.I.E.L.D. "HYDRA was founded on the belief that humanity could not be trusted with its own freedom. What we did not realize, was that if you try to take that freedom, they resist. The war taught us much. Humanity needed to surrender its freedom willingly. After the war, SHIELD was founded and I was recruited. The new HYDRA grew. A beautiful parasite inside SHIELD. For seventy years HYDRA has been secretly feeding crisis, reaping war. And when history did not cooperate, history was changed."
"That's impossible, SHIELD would have stopped you," Natasha said but she heard Chloe's light gasp on the side.
"The moles..." she whispered.
Seren heard it and shook her head. "Natasha's right, it's impossible. Somebody would have noticed. They would have...they would have—"
"Accidents will happen," Zola said, and Seren's confidence faltered when Zola showed them a series of photo clippings from the Starks' accident. HYDRA was behind it, along with many other 'accidents' around the world. It plummeted when Fury's death came up next.
Seren started breathing heavier. "Somebody would have — nobody noticed?" She felt awful, filled with guilt, that she had worked for tuese people. How did she know that none of her missions had ever been for HYDRA's cause? She didn't.
"HYDRA created a world so chaotic that humanity is finally ready to sacrifice its freedom to gain its security. Once the purification process is complete, HYDRA's new world order will arise. We won, Captain. Your death amounts to the same as your Life; a zero sum."
Steve heard enough and perhaps it was more anger than logic but he smashed the computer screen with his bare fist. He looked down at Seren beaide him, her eyes filled with angry tears. She was taking the news much like he was. He suspected that the only reason her powers hadn't manifested yet was because her health wasn't completely healed.
It didn't help that only a minute later Zola's face popped up on another screen beside them. "As I was saying…"
"What's on this drive?" Steve demanded to know.
"Project Insight requires insight. So I wrote an algorithm."
"What kind of algorithm?" asked Natasha. "What does it do?"
"The answer to your question is fascinating. Unfortunately, you shall be too dead to hear it."
The entrance doors started closing, making the group whirl around in panic. Steve threw his shield at the doors, but he was a second too late. They were trapped.
Natasha got a ping on her device. "We got a bogey. Short range ballistic. 30 seconds tops."
Steve turned to her. "Who fired it?"
"S.H.I.E.L.D." Natasha reread the device to make sure she was right even though she knew she was right.
"S.H.I.E.L.D..." Seren's voice was stark quiet, resigning herself to the horrific things she learned today. S.H.I.E.L.D. turned its back on her and the rest of her friends so easily. The anger she felt was rising and rising...
"I am afraid I have been stalling, Captain. Admit it, it's better this way. We're both of us...out of time."
"Shut up!" Chloe snapped at it.
"You, however, will be an asset that sadly had to be decommissioned before you were ever useful."
"Excuse me?"
"Nope!" Seren wasn't going to let that thing anywhere near Chloe.
"Over here!" Steve called to them after spotting a small opening on the ground.
"No, I want to know what that means!" Chloe struggled with Seren who was trying to pull her towards the opening.
"Chloe!" Seren groaned. "Not the time!"
"Time is what I've lost because of this!"
Natasha hurried over to them and helped Seren pull Chloe away. Eventually, the blonde gave in and ran with them.
"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon!" Steve ushered them down first before jumping in himself.
"I don't see this ending well," Chloe said with a body stance ready for impact.
"Did you see it?" Natasha sighed.
"No, I just know."
Steve raised his shield above them just as impact happened, or blasted who knew. They were rocked in the hole and even when Seren tried to use her own powers to create an extensive shield, it wasn't enough. Her strength already wasn't what it should've been. In the end, it was Chloe who managed to help with a radiant blue shield above them.
When everything stilled, Chloe brought down her shield. She managed to push Natasha's body from her side. They had crashed heads one too many times and now they were both groggy.
Steve pushed the chunks of cement out of their way to climb up. "Everyone okay?"
"Yeah," Natasha cleared her throat and shook her head multiple times to shake off the grogginess.
"Me too," Chloe said, rubbing her temples.
Steve waited for Seren to agree and quickly grew concerned when she didn't say anything. He stopped pushing cement out of their way and looked around. Seren had fallen against the crummy wall and was unconscious. The absolute last thing she needed was a concussion of all things right now!
"OUT!" Steve yelled. "LET'S GO!" He couldn't get to Seren until he helped Chloe and Natasha out of their hiding hole. Only then he was able to reach Seren's body and pulled her to him. They were only just able to make it out before the STRIKE agents arrived at the site.
A/N:
This chapter was fun to write ngl. Chloe and Natasha are just two big kids at this point xD. Fun fact, today is Seren's birthday! Nov. 1st! Happy birthday to her and I'm sorry for all the trauma I've put you through (and will put you through), love you!
So it seems like I just can't get my notifications working again no matter what I do. I've changed emails twice and I still don't get notifications because my email is apparently logging it as junk despite there being nothing in the junk file? It doesn't make sense.
P.S. As always, I have an AO3/Wattpad account under "noblecrescent" and a tumblr account under "saiilorstars" if you'd like to follow :)