The Phantom | Bucky Barnes

Chapter 18

Ellie pressed her eyes shut and slightly shook her head to regain her senses. She looked around. She was on a shore, sat on the countless pebbles. The water was coming back and forth, creating a soothing sound. There was nothing ahead. Just water. No sign of human being around her. Ellie ran a hand in her her hair and massaged her temples as she sighed. She tried to remembered what happened. The last things she remembered was a bright flashing light then nothing. The pounding of her head was slightly subdueing. Images then flooded her mind at the speed of light.

A light then suddenly popped on the dashboard. Ellie pressed the button that corresponded.

"Ellie! Ellie! Do you hear me?!" Steve asked through the communication device. "Backup has arrived. HYDRA is over. You can ejected from the Quinjet. You can have time to-"

"Brother," she smiled.

"It's okay," she reassured. "I have to do it. I save you and you save the world,"

Ellie was piloting the Quinjet away from the docks. The timer of the nuclear bomb was getting close to zero. The blast would be so powerful she would just vanished. Death wasn't scarying her. She would welcome it like an old friend. But her time hadn't come yet. She wasn't done with the living yet. There was things undone she had to finish. There was things she had to put an end to. But she couldn't do it if she was death. Fortunately, the Quinjet being of advanced technology, it was equiped with a autonomous pilote and an ejecting button. So Ellie set the auto-pilot and ejected herself from the Quinjet. She was away enough if the bomb but the wave of energy was so powerful she was catapulted in the lack. The waves then brought her to the shore. So she was still in New Orleans. However, she didn't how much time she stayed unconscious there.

Ellie sighed and got up on her feet with some difficulties. Her body felt like gelatine. She felt quite numb and weak. It would take some time before she recover her full strength and abilities. But right now, Ellie wanted new clothes. Dried clothes.

Now everything was clearer to Ellie. She remembered everything about the latest events. She was sent by HYDRA in New York for a mission. She teamed up with two scientists, Joan Smith and Michael O'Brian, and an agent, Marcus Stanford, to create an update version of the Physiological Enhancenment Serum using Zero Matter, Extremis, and Gamma Rays. But they were discovered by the police and the Avengers then got captured. The team was then the target of the Avengers when Ellie, The Phantom at the time, eliminated Stanford. The Phantom then tried to kill Bucky. Twice. On the second time, she got captured and during her time in the Avengers Tower cell, she got her memories back. Her old life, her brother, her lover, the war, then HYDRA. At the same time the Grim Reaper was sent to fulfill her mission. Ellie managed to escape the Avengers Tower to confront the him but he reactivated the microship (that turned off when the Black Widow electrocuted her) that blocked her memories. She fought Bucky again but Steve deactivated her microship, freeing her from her shackles. They defeated HYDRA and Ellie was willing to sacrifice herself to bring the nuclear bomb (that would open a rift to the dark dimension so HYDRA would be able to get zero matter and use it for their serum) out of the docks. But unlike people thought, she was still alive. Ellie ejected herself and was now on the shore of the Borgne Lack.

HYDRA must not like how the event turned out. Especially Ellie's treason. And HYDRA allowed no traitors. But as she was supposely dead, they wouldn't come after her.

Ellie left the docks and wandered in the city. She still felt quite light headed. She still had troubles walking straight or just realizing what she was doing. Her body felt quite numb and she was extremely tired, but now was not the time to rest. Even in such a state, she knew she had to blend in the crowd. She knew time was not in her favor. The faster she would go undercover, the more chance she would not be spotted by the police. Now that the world thought of her as vanished, she could use it to live not worrying about having assassins on her trail. But even then, she would still look behind her shoulders.