Hello Captain (Steve Rogers)

Hey neighbor

"And I never want to," Clint said as my twin caught Sarah's leg and threw her, slamming her to the ground directly on her injured shoulder.

"How long are they doing this for?" I asked Natasha as she put her hand firmly on my arm, keeping me from intervening. Sarah got up, shifting back into stance, but keeping her right arm close to her body.

"Ten minutes, or until one of them concedes." Natasha replied, checking her watch. "They're almost done."

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Sarah's POV

Pain shot down my arm as I tried to raise it for a block. That last fall had somehow reopened the exit wound on my shoulder. I could feel warm blood running down the inside of my suit and soaking my tank top. At this point, I knew we didn't have a lot of time left, so I pushed the pain back, going back on attack. I led with my left, not able to get enough power behind my right.

Every blow I landed on Mystique was like punching a brick wall. I knew Steve was solid; I hadn't realized how solid until now. I started a kicking combo, using my momentum to flip me over him and kick the back of his knees. He rolled forward, going right back to his feet and kicking out. I managed to get back enough that it didn't connect as hard as it could have, but it was still like getting hit by a car.

I held on and twisted his foot, attempting to throw him off balance and ignoring the sharp pain that shot down my arm as I moved it. I pulled him forward quickly, shoving my knee into his diaphragm and hearing him exhale quickly. I followed with a hard left and an uppercut only to be forced to block Steve's punch, my right arm going numb for a moment from the force of the blow.

"60 seconds," Maria said from the sidelines and I redoubled my efforts, kicking and punching while sliding around him by drawing on my caporeira background. I wasn't fast enough and he caught me with an elbow to the chest, flinging me back into the wall hard enough to crack the concrete. I landed on my feet as Maria called time, gasping for breath.

Mystique came over and shook my hand. "That was great – you've really improved from the last time we sparred."

"I'd hope so," I groaned, holding my right arm to my side. "That was a couple years ago."

"Sarah, you're bleeding," Maria said as she came up to us.

Mystique studied me with a concerned look on Steve's face before she shifted back to the human form she usually used – a girl around my age with longer dirty blond hair and blue eyes. It was disconcerting to watch her morph and I heard noises of surprise coming from the men behind me.

"I must have reopened it somehow." I looked down to see blood dripping from my fingertips to pool on the floor under my right side.

"Why didn't you say anything?" She reached for the zipper of my catsuit and pulled down the right side of my suit to look at the wound. "We could have done this another day, Evans."

"I didn't want to concede." I said, shrugging my arm out of my sleeve. Luckily, I always wore running capris and a tight tank top under my catsuits because she wasn't going to leave me be until she was satisfied it wasn't serious. The real Steve along with Natasha and Clint came up to us, and I could tell from the expression on Steve's face that he wasn't pleased.

"Was it finally fleshed over?" Natasha asked as she walked around me. "Because this isn't quite the same spot - I can tell from the scarring."

"Yesterday," I answered. "What do you mean - it isn't quite the same spot? It sure feels like it."

"It's close to where the exit wound was - but it doesn't look like you reopened it," Steve said tightly.

"Rogers, take Evans to go get checked out," Maria said. "She can't afford to lose that much blood yet."