Line of Fire

2x10; what they become [pt. 2]

"Or what?" Aiden asked. He may have sounded teasing, but Mara knew there was more to it than that. There was always more going on with Aiden. "You'll kill me?"

The glow had begun to fade from her skin, but her eyes were still that frightening shade of amber. "I'll certainly give it a try."

~x~

With every swing of her fist, Mara was realizing that this fight with Aiden was unlike any of the others they'd had before. Each one of her blows was directly aimed at her opponent, filled with furious intent. She hurled punches and kicks wildly, abandon thrown to the wind with the knowledge that she could shrug off any stab or shot. Her fighting style was dangerous, but so was she.

This was Crossfire; the infamous Agent Salomon that people had whispered about for the last three years, but hoped never to meet. Crossfire left nothing in its wake and neither did she. There was none of the Cavalry's artistry or Mockingbird's elegance. Her style was pure in its brutality - how graceful could you be when each one of your hits landed with the force of a little over a ton?

Frustratingly, Aiden was still relatively unscathed. He'd faced this side of his former partner before in casual sparring and he knew how to defend against it. Blocking against attacks was useless unless you wanted something broken, so dodging was always a better bet. So was redirecting blows if you had enough time to plan it out.

One particular punch he saw coming from forever away and he pushed outwards with the backs of his forearms, causing her to knock out one of the pillars surrounding them instead. After working with her for so long, Aiden was unsurprised when she managed to take out the whole thing, knocking it to the ground in a pile of rubble.

"Careful, there," Aiden was out of breath, but grinning all the same. "This place is pretty old. Take out a few more of those and you might just bring the whole place down on our heads."

"Not a bad plan, actually," Mara shrugged. She rolled her head around her neck, stretching. "That's the upside of the Extremis virus. I can walk out of here."

Mara didn't give Aiden any time to explain before she was once again attacking him. "Come on," Aiden managed to get out, ducking under a kick aimed for his face. "No love for your former partner."

The SHIELD agent practically growled, burning brighter for just a moment. "You cut all those ties when you tried to assassinate me just now."

"A simple misunderstanding," Aiden tried, but Mara was having a hard time believing it from the guy who was smiling at her while he said it.

"Then let me make this perfectly clear," Mara ground out. "You've made it clear which side you're on and I will not hesitate to take out an enemy agent."

Suddenly, a slight rumble shook the ground and both agents stepped back to assess the situation.

"The hell was that?" Mara asked no one in particular.

"My cue, I believe," Aiden said, giving a mock salute. He took off for the other end of the room and by the time Mara realized where he was going, it was already too late.

Aiden jumped into the abandoned elevator shaft. He disappeared into the blackness only to reappear a second later, grappling hook pulling him up. There was nothing Mara could do but glare after him and hope the anger in her stare was powerful enough for him to drop dead.

A moment later and Mara was truly alone. The anger that had ignited her veins was ebbing away and her blood was beginning to cool. Quite literally too, the glow slowly dimming from her veins and eyes. Mara watched her hands return to normal, shaking like the quiet pulse through the floor.

In the dark corner of the basement, Mara sank to her knees, eyes fixed on her hands and her mouth hanging open.

"Oh my-" Mara cut herself off, voice quiet. "What did I just..."

Crossfire something that Mara thought she'd hidden a long time ago. Apparently that wasn't actually the case. Bile crawled up her throat and tears stung at her eyes but all Mara could do was continue staring. Crossfire couldn't die, no matter how hard Mara tried to kill her.

~x~

Moments after the earthquake started, SHIELD agents began looking through the abandoned theatre for survivors. Before the old theater could collapse, May led several agents to the basement levels. There was a struggle down here, she could see the signs all over the place. The quake might've added to the destruction, but it didn't hide the hand-shaped holes littering the pillars.

May followed the path of destruction through the basement and found herself in a secluded corner. When she listened closely, she swore she could hear the sound of someone breathing. May nearly called for help when she saw a faint light in the dark. It was a glow she could recognize anywhere.

"Agent Arany, we have to get out of here," May ordered over the sound of the building shaking around them. She opened her mouth to say more, but the look on Mara's face stopped her.

"I can't," Mara whispered, eyes wide and unblinking as she looks down at her glowing hands. "I can't make it stop. It feels like I'm on fire, but I can't put it out. I'm burning. Maybe I was nothing but fire in the first place-"

"Mara, stop," May cut her off. Mara only continued to stare at her hands, so May said louder, "That's an order, agent." That certainly got her attention. It wasn't immediate, but she eventually looked up. May could see the fog slowly clear from her eyes. "Let it go."

"I...I don't know how," Mara shook her head. Somewhere behind May, a pillar completely collapsed.

When Mara's head began to dip once more, May cut in. "Yes. Yes, you do," She said. May grabbed a fire blanket from the emergency kit next to the elevator and held it out to Mara. "If you're on fire, then smother it. We need you out there, Agent Arany. There are still agents trapped in the building and if you can help, you might even be able to save some of them. Isn't that why you joined SHIELD in the first place?"

Mara stood, slowly reaching out to grab the blanket. She wrapped it around herself, almost unsure. "I can't go out there," She said. "Not dressed like this."

"Then we'll find you some clothes," May was already walking away. "Come on, agent. We need to get out of here."

She hesitated, but eventually, Mara nodded and followed behind May. "Agent May?" Mara spoke up. The senior agent turned to her and suddenly Mara found herself stumbling. "I...Let's go."