verb.
To come or go back to a place or person.
noun.
The firing of a weapon to counter a shooter's shot.
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They recoiled from their pasts, and in doing so found each other.
But the universe isn't kind enough to let a moment of peace last.
It took se...
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I'll intercept the Sceptre on floor 78. Meet me on 14, we can do a handover and get this thing out of here.
Steve's parting instructions echoed through Kat's mind as she jogged up the south stairs of the tower to their meeting point, grimacing as she only saw a 12 emblazoned on the wall of the stairwell as she passed. The elevators were too much of a hot point right now, too much crossover with past Avengers and Strike teams. The stairs were the route of least resistance, and utterly empty for the time being.
"Better hustle, Cap. Things look like they're just about wrapped up here." Tony's voice almost made her flinch as the comms in her ear crackled to life, her hands pausing to grip the rail of the stairs as she looked up through the spiral that led up to the top floor. It was dizzying, but she didn't have to go that far.
"Got it, I'm approaching the elevator now." Steve confirmed, having taken the service elevator up as far as he could before moving to intercept the main one. The elevator the Sceptre would be travelling in.
Cautiously, Kat approached the door of the 14th floor, bracing her shoulder against it as she listened for any sounds on the other side. This was mainly office space for Stark Industries, she shouldn't encounter any resistance here-
"Ugh – Mr Rogers, I almost forgot that suit did nothing for your ass."
Tony's voice in her ear made her hesitate, rolling her eyes as her attempt to listen for danger was interrupted.
"No one asked you to look, Tony."
"It's ridiculous."
"Boys." Kat hissed over their banter, gritting her teeth as her heart thumped erratically, the sense that they had a limited amount of time not lost on her. "Focus."
"I think you look great, Cap." Scott interjected, "As far as I'm concerned, that's America's ass."
"Good lord." She huffed softly, squeezing her eyes closed as she let herself listen for another moment, before cautiously waving her tracker over the electronic lock set into the door, breathing a small sigh of relief as Tony's tech easily bypassed his own outdated security system. Carefully, she pushed open the door to glance down the quiet hallway.
The civilians in the building must have been evacuated at the start of the invasion. Cold cups of coffee had been left on the desks she passed, chairs knocked over in the rush to leave. She wouldn't be disturbed here – Steve could meet her and they could slip down the stairway and out to find Tony and Scott in the lobby without any issue. And then they could return to their own timeline.
"Who are these guys?"
"They are SHIELD – well, actually Hydra. But we didn't know that yet."
Scott and Tony's running commentary from the floors above did little to settle her nerves, her palms beginning to sweat a little more earnestly at the mention of that organisation.
