Girl At War

Avengers Down - 35

**For EdThePro101. Thank you for all the votes!!!**

Being jumpy as she was, Eloyse detected the person long before she saw him.

First she felt him, his blank, cold emotions. She shuddered. Keeping low and close to the wall, she approached the blind corner, the first she'd come upon. She could hear his footsteps now, sharp and quick; the clicking was loud in the white silence of the halls. Eloyse bundled her energy, only to realize her single bracelet had done its thing and randomly tightened again. She almost cursed under her breath, but caught herself when she remembered Shyden at the other end of the comm.

Then the person walked around the corner, and Eloyse forgot about keeping Shyden's innocence intact and concentrated on the threat. She swung her sword, striking him broadside on the shoulder. For some reason, the ambushed man didn't duck or see it coming. He staggered backwards, dropping his rifle-gun. Seeing him reaching for his handgun, Eloyse sprang forward to completely disarm him. She let her sword clatter to the floor, grabbing his right hand and twisting it around, forcing his body to follow. He collapsed with a yell of pain. Eloyse released her hold, plopping down in his chest as she reached over and tugged his gun from its holster. She opened it and let all the bullets drop into her hand before sliding the gun across the floor.

"Better luck next time!" She sang, picking up her sword. When she got off him, she did it quickly, watching for him to grab her ankle and trip her up. He didn't. He seemed stunned, but Eloyse decided she honestly didn't care. He was HYDRA. His vitals were strong, so she didn't care. She moved away from him, her step silent and cautious. There was a flight of stairs, taking her to what she presumed was below ground.

The hallway was getting more populated with doorways, but the quiet emptiness was unnerving. Eloyse knew it was because most everybody was outside fighting her team. She passed rooms that were like her cell when she was a prisoner. She shuddered when she saw the experimentation rooms, horrible flashbacks breaking her concentration. She walked faster.

*Click*

Freezing, Eloyse tensed up. Tt sounded suspiciously like a gun safety being clicked off. However, she couldn't tell if the noise came from her earpiece or somewhere near her. As if on cue, Shyden's voice spoke.

"You good, sis?"

"Not now, Shy!" Eloyse hissed. She knew now the noise definitely came from near her. Shyden held his tongue. Eloyse still didn't move, only slowly turning her head to look all around her. Doorway to her left, and a branch-off hallway behind her to the right. The room seemed more likely; it was closer.

"Drop your weapons!"

Scratch that. They were in the branch-off hallway. Eloyse broke into a sprint, not interested in talking to a HYDRA agent. Several voices shouting after her caused her to nearly double her speed. She risked a hasty glance over her shoulder, and wished she hadn't. At least seven armed, defensive HYDRA agents were headed her way at an alarming speed. Eloyse dug in even harder. She let her sword fall, knowing it was just slowing her down. She hadn't missed that at least four of her followers had brilliantly blue eyes. HYDRA eyes.

"'Bout now I wish I had Damian!" Eloyse panted, darting around a corner.

"Why?" Shyden's laconic reply sounded somewhat amused.

"Because I've got a bunch of territorial puppets after me!"

"Puppets?"

"I'll explain later, ok?"

"Riiight... I'll add it to the list."

Eloyse mentally rolled her eyes. How was she supposed to tell her eleven year old brother that there was a organization of people who stole other people and made them do what the head guys told them to do? And if they said no, they were brainwashed into doing it, and that made them have blue eyes? That seemed rather harsh.