Maya Stark

Chapter 92: Karli Morgenthau

'Hey, Sharon,' Bucky says into the comms. 'We're underground. We entered the tunnel on William. Heading south.'

We ran through the tunnels underground and my nerves were spiked. I didn't want to fight Karli. I knew I would have to.

'Looks like they split up here,' Sam said as we got to two different tunnels. Walker took off to the right before any of us could say anything.

'I got it,' Bucky said, and he followed.

Sam and I stood there for a second, staring in the direction the two of them went. Sam motioned for me to follow, and we continued down until we heard whistling. We followed it cautiously.Gunshots. Two of them. Ringing in my ears. Sam and I shared a quick panicked look and turned a corner to see Karli standing over Sharon with a gun. Sharon had a bullet wound in her stomach... I think. And then there was a dead guy. Great. More dead bodies.

'Sam, Maya, stay back,' Karli said.

'So, what's next, huh?' Sam said. 'You kill ten this time, then what, a hundred? Where does it end? Please, let us help you.'

'Don't try and manipulate me,' Karli said. She raised the gun and steadied her hand.

'Karli, don't!' Sharon yelled.

Sam tackles Karli, making her drop the gun. They both get up and Karli picks up a concrete brick, throwing it at Sam. He deflects it with the shield, the brick crumbling to the ground. The sound of the brick colliding with the shield brings me back and I move forward to help.

Karli turns to me the second I get there, and I block her punch with a forcefield. Sam and I were playing defense. Karli kept pushing us back and we kept inching backwards, focusing on staying alive. I deflected almost every hit with my powers. My reflexes made it ten times easier, and I kept in front of Sam.

I got a couple good hits in, and she got a singular punch in. Karli then grabbed a pole. I swear to God, why do these people always have to use poles? She swung it without warning and Sam quickly pulled me behind him, taking the hit with the shield. He flew back a little, clipping me in the shoulder, making me fall down as he slammed into the wall.

'Stay down!' Karli screams. Sam and I stood at the same time.

'No,' Sam said.

Karli did not like that. It seemed to, I don't know, anger her. She is also a lot stronger than she looks. I keep forgetting that part. I put up a quick force field that she body slams multiple, multiple times. It flickers slightly and Sam throws the shield at me, which I use to deflect her next couple punches. When her fist connects with the shield again, I push her back, making her stumble over her own feet. I throw the shield back to Sam, I mean, can't leave him defenseless. I gave him an extra layer of protection by putting energy on the shield as a sort of barrier.

'Fight back!' Karli screams. 'Fight me!' In a particularly hard punch, my energy fizzles out and Sam falls to the ground, the shield landing a couple feet from him.

Apparently, she was still angry. She turned to me, pain in her eyes. She ran at me quickly and threw a punch. I blocked the first one, but her next one connected with my cheek. I lost balance and collapsed to the ground.

I licked my lips, and the taste of blood filled my mouth. My lip was bleeding, again. Of course it was. I looked up and see Karli pointing her gun at Sam. I jump up quickly, my hands ready at my side. Her finger lands on the trigger and my body stiffens as I create a force field in front of Sam. Three gunshots ring out and Karli is the one to fall to the ground. I look over to see Sharon dropping a gun. My hands fall to my side and both Sam and I run towards Karli. Sam kneels next to her, and I stop a little less than a foot away.

'I'm sorry,' Karli whispers up to Sam.

I stand frozen. Karli's eyes close and her body goes limp. My eyes burn. My face screamed in pain. My lip throbbed. Sam looked up at me. He looked almost as bad as I felt. I swallowed the feeling down and looked at Sam. Both of us let out a breath and I turn my head, unable to look at Karli anymore. I let this happen. I always let these things happen.