Picking Up The Pieces

66. Friends

There was a sharp bang as the door to our cell was hit violently, and Amy's wings fluttered in unease. Bang. I heard Amy grunt in pain, her wings beating furiously, and her chain ripped out from the wall. Bang. The door was starting to cave in, the metal bending inwards and dust sprinkling the floor. The girl stumbled over my body for a moment, her black feathers flared to balance herself, before she crouched down next to me and carefully pulled my body in her grasp. From the way she was panting, I knew almost all of her energy had been exerted.

"I've got you," she whispered, nodding a few times and cradling my head. "I've got you." Bang. The door finally caved, flying over our heads, and Amy wrapped her wings around the two of us protectively.

"Is she in here?" My eyes widened at the sound of a familiar voice, whimpering slightly as my body gave a shake. Amy lowered her wings slowly, holding me tight. Steve Rogers stood in the doorframe, his hair grown out an inch or so with a scruffy beard to match. He wore the Captain America suit, but all signs of it representing the American government had disappeared. Now, it was just navy blue with grey and black replacing where white and red once was, the star that used to be on his chest ripped off. "Oh, God... what happened?"

"Who are you?" Amy questioned, shrinking back a bit and taking me with her. I managed to get a small yet grateful smile across my face, a painful act but one I did nonetheless. It wasn't a hallucination. It was real. He was real, here. Steve stepped forward into the room, his eyes scanning the other girl and the black wings that were extended out defensively.

"My name is Steve Rogers," he introduced himself to her. "What happened?" Amy looked down at me, and I managed to give her a look of encouragement. She took a deep breath before lowering her wings, allowing myself to be passed off to Steve.

"She sacrificed herself to save another girl's life, but Hawkes tried to kill her," she explained. The former Avenger noticed the power inhibitor on my ankle and snapped it off, and I gave a wheeze as I felt my powers return to me. "Are you here to save us?" Steve couldn't look away from me, caressing my face with his hand carefully as he examined the bruises on my body.

"I never should've left you alone," he whispered to me before looking at Amy. "There's another girl here?"

"Stacy, but I don't know where she is. I think she'd have a cell like us too." Steve nodded, taking his free hand and pressing it against his ear, where I assumed a communicating earpiece was.

"Sam," he called in. "I found her. It doesn't look good. There's another girl somewhere in the facility. Find her and bring her back to the jet, I'll be there as soon as I can." He looked down at the inhibitor Amy wore as well, on a different ankle than my own. "Can I?"

"Please, I'm not complaining," Amy nodded, and I heard the chink of him snapping hers as well. The girl took a deep breath, closing her eyes as she finally felt the strength she had been locked away from for months. "What's the plan?"

"Get out of here as quickly as possible, that's about it," Steve admitted. "Standard rescue, I don't want to delay getting you two- well, three, out of here. Luckily, we've managed to stay under the radar so far." A screeching siren started to echo throughout the halls, and the lights turned red. Amy covered her ears and Steve hung his head. "... and I spoke too soon. Okay, then." He picked up my body bridal style and stood, motioning with his head for the Elemental to follow suit. "It isn't gonna be easy, kid."

"Trust me," Amy told him with a slight smirk. She lifted her hand with her fist clenched, and from it was wrapped by a complete flame down to her wrist for a few moments before she shook it off. It was sputtering slightly from lack of use, but it was still strong. "I've waited a long time for this."