Heartless

Chapter 17

I was working on a paper for college when Tony ran into my room.

Without looking up, I said, "Tony, what have I told you about barging into my room without knocking?"

"We have a lead on a HYDRA base! Suit up!"

I groaned and looked at the due date on my paper. It was due in two days. "Alright. But it better not be an overnight mission."

- - -

"Report to your stations immediately. This is not a drill. We are under attack. We are under attack." An announcer said over speakers. We were storming a HYDRA base in Sokovia.

"Shit!" Tony said.

"Language! JARVIS, what's the view from upstairs?" Steve asked.

"The central building is protected by some kind of energy shield. Strucker's technology is well beyond any other HYDRA base we've taken," JARVIS said.

"Loki's scepter must be there. Strucker couldn't mount this defense without it. At long last."

Nat and I knocked out some guards and I flicked my hair back. "At long last is lasting a little long, boys." Nat said.

Barton and Kate were shooting at some soldiers. "Yes, I think we lost the element of surprise," Barton said.

"Oh, you think?" Katherine said, dropping to the ground to avoid getting shot.

"Wait a second. No one else is going to deal with the fact that Cap just said 'language'?" Tony said.

"It's not important right now, Tony. We'll talk about it later," I said, kicking a soldier in the backs of his knees.

Steve threw his bike at a truck driving past. "Guys, really? It just slipped out."

"Sir," JARVIS said, "the city is taking fire."

"Well, we know Strucker's not going to worry about civilian casualties. Send in the Iron Legion." Tony ordered. We battled for a few minutes before Barton was knocked down.

A blond kid was standing next to him. "You didn't see that coming?" He said. He ran off with impossible speed. Before Barton could shoot at him, he was hit.

"Clint!" Natasha ran over to him.

Steve was knocked down as the kid ran past him. "We have an enhanced in the field!" He said, jumping up.

"Clint's hit!" Nat said. "Somebody want to deal with that bunker?" She saw Hulk going to the soldiers. "Thank you."

"Tony!" I said, hitting a soldier at the base of the neck, "we really need to get inside!"

"I'm closing in. JARVIS, am I...closing in? Do you see a power source for that shield?"

"There's a pathway below the north tower," JARVIS said.

"Great, I wanna poke it with something." I heard an explosion, followed by, "Drawbridge is down, people."

"And the enhanced?" Thor asked Steve.

"He's a blur. All the new player's we've faced, I've never seen this. In fact, I still haven't."

"Well, that's great. Nat, how's Barton doing?" I said, brushing my hair out of my face.

"He was hit pretty bad. We're gonna need evac."

"I can get Barton to the jet. The sooner we're gone the better," Thor said.

"I'll go with Steve and Tony to retrieve the scepter," I said. "Kate, you coming?"

"No, I thought I would just stand in the cold snow, letting the snow melt into my pants and give me frostbite."

"Alright, then, come on," I said, walking with Steve.

"It looks like they're lining up," Thor said. I turned around. Soldiers were in tanks.

"Well, they're excited," Steve said. Thor hit his hammer on Steve's shield. The force knocked down the soldiers, along with Kate and me.

"Warn us next time!" Kate said.

"Find the scepter," was all Thor said before flying off. I rolled my eyes and brushed the snow off my pants.

"And for gosh sakes watch your language," Tony chimed in. I snorted.

Steve sighed, "That's not going away anytime soon."

Kate and I ran to the base and went in. We found Tony at the computers.

" I know you're hiding more than files," he muttered. "Hey, J, give me an IR scan of the room, real quick."

I walked over to him. He jumped and I placed my hand on his shoulder. "Just me."

"The wall to your left...I'm reading steel reinforcement and an air current," JARVIS said.

Tony walked over to the wall. "Please be a secret door, please be a secret door, please be a secret door," he whispered as he pushed on the wall. The wall moved away. "Yay!"

We walked through the passageway. After walking for a bit, we stopped. In front of us were artifacts from the Battle of New York.

"Guys, I got Strucker," Steve said.

"Yeah, we got something bigger," I replied. "It's questionable." I nudged Tony and nodded towards the scepter.

"Thor, I got eyes on the prize," Tony said.

Suddenly, there was a flash of red light and I saw Tony and Katherine panicking. I saw my parents standing next to me, their arms open. I closed my eyes and shook my head. I walked in front of Katherine and clapped in her face. She slowly returned to reality. Tony was still phased out. I walked over to him and did the same thing.

He shook his head and said, "We gotta get out of here." He grabbed the scepter and tossed it it Katherine.