shards - pietro maximoff

chapter thirteen ; enemies and explosions

"Go to hell, bitch." Dahlia sneered.

"Maximoff, let him go. I'll deal with him." Steve warned, putting a hand on Pietro's shoulder.

He sent Rumlow one last glare before backing off.

The two men engaged in a hand to hand fight, neither one seeming to be the clear victor. They didn't dare intervene, knowing Cap knew what he was doing.

Dahlia winced as Rumlow shoved Steve onto the wall, and grabbed Pietro's hand to distract herself from the fight. Pietro grinned internally but kept his face still for her sake.

"Come on!" He yelled in Steve's face.

"Say it, don't spray it." Dahlia murmured under her breath, which Pietro heard and had to disguise his laugh as a cough.

"This is for dropping a building on my face." Rumlow held up a blade to Steve's cheek, but when Dahlia made a move to stop him, Cap put up a hand, as if to say 'stop'.

Steve pulled the gauntlet which held the knife off, only to reveal another underneath. But somehow, despite the rage that fueled Rumlow's fight, Cap managed to beat him, and before they knew it, he was on his knees in front of Steve, utterly defeated. His mask had been ripped off only to expose a severely scarred face underneath.

"I think I look pretty good, all things considered."

Steve's voice was firm. "Who's your buyer?"

"You know, he knew you," Rumlow manically grinned. "Your pal, your buddy, your Bucky."

Cap visibly faltered at his words. Dahlia's knowledge of who they were speaking of was limited, but she managed to understand what he was saying. The last time they had a run-in with him, a few of the Avengers tried to contact her, but at the time, she was in Moscow, taking down a whole mafia ring. She would definitely explain the whole 'Bucky' situation to the twins later, as she was sure they wouldn't understand what was happening.

"What did he say?" Steve's voice had quieted considerably.

"He remembered you. I was there. He got all weepy about it. Till they put his brain back in the blender. He wanted you to know something. He said to me, 'Please tell Rogers, When you gotta go, you gotta go.' And you're coming with me."

Dahlia's eyes widened as the bomb vest Rumlow was wearing was activated, and they all collectively flinched, sure it was going to explode and kill them all. Dahlia was sure the last thing she would see would be the man in front of them, and the last things she would feel would be Pietro's grip on her hand.

It wouldn't be that bad a way to go, after all.

However, she would never know for sure, because the bomb didn't explode. Well it was about to, but a red circle surrounded it, and it seemed that Wanda, who was standing behind Dahlia, was delaying the explosion, but for how long?

She lifted the ball of red light into the air, but she lost control midway, and it went off on ten corner of the nearest building.

Dahlia's life-saving tendencies sprung into action, pulling Wanda away from the sight of the chaos, and forcing the twins to leave with her— knowing it would only leave more horror behind.