TFATWS: CHANGE

FLASHBACK: Crossing Paths

WARNINGS: description of violence and blood

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Turkey, 2013 

Y/N woke up on the Quinjet next to Natasha who was intensely studying the tablet in front of her with the mission brief on it. "Hey sleepy head" Nat said without tearing her eyes from the tablet. Y/N rolled her eyes as she stretched slightly.

"Ha ha, very funny, you're not the one who had to go from a mission in Russia to a mission in Japan and then back to the US to debrief Fury and the others about both missions and then one hour later leave for a mission in Turkey." Y/N snapped slightly at her. Nat just laughed before throwing her suit at her to get changed into. Y/N smiled sarcastically at her in thanks before walking off to get changed.

Once the Quinjet landed, Nat and Steve gathered everyone around the screen in the centre of the jet.

"Right everyone, we have two missions today. Nat and I will be leading mission A with the selected agents here" Steve said as he gestured at the screen which showed two separate lists of agents. "Y/N, you will be leading the second mission, just you and Andrew. It should be quite simple, just a location issue. We had a couple of red alerts at certain supposedly secure sites, so we need you two to check if it is still secure. We don't believe there to be any threat, so just the two of you should be working on it." Steve said as he showed them some photos of the map and the areas they would be going to. Y/N and Andrew nodded and then left the Quinjet. Y/N got on her bike and Andrew got on his and they sped off towards the first location.

When they arrived at the first location, Y/N went first, her gun poised up ready for potential conflict. She pushed open the door that was unlocked, and check both sides. She signalled Andrew to go right with two fingers in the air, pointing in the direction he should go. She went right and check the facility. It was an old weapons storage unit and was owned by STARK INDUSTRIES. Tony had decided to leave certain areas still stocked in case they were needed. Many people had disagreed with this, after all, if he hadn't, Y/N wouldn't be there.

She looked in some of the boxes, most of the weapons were still in place. She looked over to the box in the corner. The thin coat of dust was disturbed slightly. She slowly moved over to it and lifted the lid. Empty.

"We've got a missing weapon box." Y/N said as she spoke into her comms, her hand near her ear. She walked over to the cabinet that had a stock list in it. She found the code that was stamped on the empty wooden box that was listed on the piece of paper. She read it quickly. "It was a sonic cannon. It says here that the weapon works by creating a targeted sound wave that induces pain and paralysis in the target. This thing can cause serious damage in the wrong hands."

"Alright Y/N. Check the next location and get back to us. We will check it out after we finish this mission." Steve's muffled voice spoke over the comms. Y/N replied with a "Yes Cap" and then left with Andrew for the next location, being sure to lock up the unit. They drove to the next location. When they arrived, they found a Jericho Missile box that was missing. As they were about to leave, they got a beep from another secure facility. Y/N looked at Andrew with wide eyes. He nodded at her, and they ran to their bikes and made their way to the facility.

When they arrived, the door was open. Y/N went in first, making sure that Andrew covered the entrance, as it was the only way in or out. She made her way into the first room. Clear. The second. Clear. As she opened the door to the third and final room, the metal door was pushed back and swung into her face, sending her back. "Shit!" she shouted. A tall figure emerged from the dark room. She got back on her feet and pulled out her gun. Just as she reached for her weapon, the man threw a punch straight into her jaw. She fell back again. She blinked slowly, regaining consciousness and watching the man who just looked at her for a moment before leaving. She jumped to her feet and ran after the man. She jumped over him, grabbing her neck as she jumped, pulling him down as she landed on her feet. She threw a small metal electric disk onto his left arm. She only then noticed the metal that was in place of a flesh arm. The blue electric sparks flew off of his arm as he tried to get up. She stared down at him as she began pulled the metal from the metal railing that led up the stairs to the exit. She was new at manipulating her powers and they could be unpredictable so they required her full attention. As she looked at the bar that was slowly morphing apart into a baton, the man rose to his feet and grabbed her around the neck. He began to choke her and lifted her off of the ground, walking up the stairs, holding her up as he walked. She wrapped her hands around his hand that was still grasped around her neck and tried to pry his fingers off from around her neck. When that failed, Y/N's senses began to come back to her and she lifted her leg and kicked him hard in the crotch. He dropped her and keeled over with a painful grunt. She took a deep, starved breath before quickly looking at the man on his knees. Y/N quickly kicked him down the stairs and back into the bunker. She jumped down the stairs and sent another kick to his face. He fell back and quickly stood up again, staring at her. He reached to the strap on his leg and pulled out a sharp knife. He walked at her and began to throw slice like movements at her. Y/N dodged each movement expertly before reaching out and stopping him at the wrist. He looked at her and they both stopped. He was wearing a mask over his face and black goggles. The only identifiable feature of his was his shoulder length hair. She swiftly headbutted him before reaching back at the rail to finish morphing the metal. She needed to knock him out for good, and his hand to hand combat was a match to hers if not better (although she would never admit that).

The man pulled off the glasses that were previously on his face, now cracked from the blow to the head. He clicked his neck from side to side. His eyes fuelled with anger. He walked over to her and punched her in the head twice, almost knocking her out. He picked her up off of the floor and threw her up the stairs and she fell onto the hard concreate floor with a pained noise. He walked up the stairs slowly, showing his power in the moment. She was defenceless. Vulnerable. He grabbed her by her foot and dragged her outside, into the blazing heat. The man with met by Andrew who threw a few punches before the man drew a knife and thrusted it straight into Andrew's abdomen. Just as Y/N began to regain consciousness, she saw Andrew's body fall to the floor, blood pouring from his stomach. She stood to her feet and launched herself at the man again. She pulled the metal bar off of the door handle. She ran at the man and used her body weight to manipulate his body onto the floor. She stood over him and quickly pushed the metal bar into his leg. He screamed out in pain before reaching for his arm and pulling out a knife from the holder. He sliced her right leg, causing her to fall to the floor. She rolled over and tried to reach for a weapon, not knowing her belt was now empty. The man took this opportunity to throw a knife at her hand, pinning her to the ground. Y/N cried out in pain as she looked at her hand, bleeding out over the sandy ground. When she turned back to look at the man, he was gone. She reached to her ear, "Man down, need help right now!" she cried out as she looked from her hand to Andrew and then back to her hand.

"This isn't on you, Y/N" Steve told her when she was being bandaged up by a doctor at the avengers base. "Andrew survived because of you. If you hadn't fought, he wouldn't have made it. That man, whoever he was, would've finished the job."

"He still got away though" Y/N replied, not meeting his gaze. Steve looked at her with a sad expression. Y/N was never good at failing. She took it personally. Tony would say it's what makes her a good fighter; she never accepts defeat. Steve would say it's a major character flaw; she needs to learn when to accept defeat instead of beating herself up about it. Y/N wouldn't say it was either of those things. She would say it's her duty to do her job right, and when she doesn't, she has failed at the only thing she is good at.

Y/N was sat in the meeting room, going through all the files when Nat walked in. "Steve told me you'd be here" she said as she pulled up a chair opposite Y/N.
"I've got to find this man." Y/N replied, her eyes not leaving the files in front of her. "So far, nothing. This man is like a ghost" She said as she flicked through the paper files.

"Maybe you should just leave it for now. You've been doing this for a week now, and not even a single lead. When we get a new hit on similar activity, you will be the first to know" Nat reassured her with a small smile. Y/N looked up from her paper. She knew she was right, but she wouldn't admit it now. Nat left the room and Y/N stared at the paper once again. She would stop tonight.

That was the last time they heard of the man with the metal arm. No more hits similar to the first one. No noise of a lone assassin. Nothing. Y/N pushed it to the back of her mind. She didn't need another thing to worry about. Not now. 

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WORD COUNT: 1794

A/N

I was listening to pov you're on a mission with Bucky Barnes when I wrote this one so I hope you enjoyed it :)

Let me know if you want things similar to this or not. I might write a LOKI inspired book at some point too so let me know if you would like that or not :)