Avengers POV
The Avengers stood on the sand staring out into the Atlantic. Radar had picked up the facility about ten miles out from the coast. Steve glances at Tony again making sure the man hadn't broken off on his own. The sound of the helio above grabs their attention. It lands quickly and Nat and Clint join the group on the beach. They need a plan.
"Guys, what is that?" Clint suddenly asks pointing out towards the water. Tony shut his mask focusing on the moving shapes in the distance. There are three distinct forms coming closer to shore.
"I don't know but the three of them are coming in hot," he tells the group. Suddenly the shapes stop. Steve squints his eyes barely taking in the faces of three young girls. His stomach drops when he realizes known of them are Belle.
"They don't mean any harm," Wanda states her eyes glowing slightly. One of the girls comes closer.
"Belle said you could be trusted is that true?" she asks yelling at them.
"That's the same voice from the phone," Tony states confidently. A realization hits Steve.
"Yes, you're like her aren't you?" he asks them. Instead of answering they head up to shore. Once closer, their tales were visible and identical to Belle's.
"Who knew there were so many mermaids in the world?" Tony jokes but his smile doesn't reach his eyes. The one with blond slightly curly hair raises her hand like Belle drying off herself before doing the same to the others.
"Why don't you just dry yourselves off?" Bruce asks them. The blond whips her head around the look at him.
"Now's not really the time for questions," she snaps in a thick Australian accent.
"My name is Emma and this is Rikki and Cleo," the other blonde states, the one from the phone call. She points towards the sassy blonde and then the brunette. "We're friends of Belle's." Steve instantly felt saddened by this. Not because Belle had other friends, but because in all of their talks she had never once mentioned them.
"She promised to never reveal our secret," Cleo explains making the avengers feel a little better. "We swam around the place. There are three levels and guards stationed just about everywhere."
"Did you see where they are keeping Belle?" Tony asks immediately. The girls all shake their heads.
"If you can take care of the guards, we can wait in the water to help Belle," Emma states.
"Why the water?" Natasha asks still unsure about these girls.
"They will be keeping her in just enough water to keep her in her mermaid form. It's harder to move around that way," Cleo states her eyes looking slightly shadowed.
"How do you know that?" Clint asks.
"This isn't our first run in with these guys," Rikki snaps glancing back out towards the ocean.
"Why didn't Belle tell us?" Steve wonders.
"She would have had to reveal us too."
"Talk is fine but the longer we talk the longer they have her," Pietro states silencing everyone. He steps quickly from foot to foot not being able to keep still. Wanda grasps his arm in silent support. His movements slow.
"Bruce, stay here with Wanda. Tony keep watch from above. If something goes wrong it's up to you guys," Steve commands before turning back to the ocean. They messed with the wrong team. "Let's get our girl back."
It doesn't talk long for Steve, Natasha, and Clint to make it through the guards. Alarms blared overhead, people were shouting but none of it affected them. They were focused on only one thing: finding Belle. Steve breaks away from Nat and Clint at a fork in the hallways. He runs down peaking in the small windows on each door. He notices people evacuating the facility but he doesn't care about them. Finally he peaks into one room and spots a familiar head of brown hair.
"Found her," Steve announces into his com. Nat and Clint both confirm and move to head his way. He steps back delivering a solid kick to the middle of the door knocking it off its hinges. A few scientists scramble out of the room but he barely notices them. He looks around the room taking in the white walls, the scientific equipment, the needles, the blood, and finally the box.
A glass box stood over six feet tall in the center of the room. About a foot of water stands in the bottom but what really draws his eye is the figure lying in the water. Belle is leaned up against the glass on one side of the box. Her chocolate hair hangs around her face. Her arms lie still at her sides. Her golden tail is stretched out in front of her.
Steve races across the room. He rips the door open and steps into the box heading straight for Belle. He bends down so that he is eye level with her. Grasping her face in his hands he checks her eyes. They are dilated and unresponsive.
"Belle, can you hear me?" he asks. Her eyelids flutter but remain closed. They must have drugged her. Fury fills Steve's veins but he knows now is not the time or the place. He slides his arms under her body lifting her up. Nat and Clint run up to him just as he is leaving the room.
"The mermaids are on standby down the hall," Natasha informs him never taking her eyes off of Belle's still form. Steve nods and heads the direction she indicated. They come to an open room resembling a dock with water coming from the ocean. Three heads pop out of the water at their approach.
Together they slowly lower Belle into the water. The other mermaids support their friend carrying her out of the facility and back to shore. The Avengers team head that way as well stopping before they exit.
"Where is Pietro?" Steve asks. A breeze whips him in the face as the speedster in now standing in front of him looking smug.
"We should go," he states. Steve is immediately suspicious but puts it off wanting to check on how Belle is. They head out and back to shore. They are just walking up to the others when a large boom sounds behind them making them all jump. Everyone glances back out to the water noticing the large amount of bubbles around where the facility was located. Steve turns to stare at Pietro who is looking smug.
"What?" the speedster asks holding his hands out. No one questioned him. Honestly, all of them had wanted to do the same thing. Looking around Steve finally notices Belle who is already back to her human form and being looked at by Bruce. Nat and Clint breakaway to talk to the other mermaids while Steve heads to Bruce. Pietro whips by standing beside Belle already when Steve approaches. Tony stands off the side silently watching the doctor work.
"How is she?" Steve asks.
"They've drugged her with a standard sedative. I've put an I.V in to get her some fluids and try to wash the drug out of her body. Now it's just a waiting game as the drug makes its way out of her system. I've wrapped some burns and marks on her arms but there could be more." Tension in the air rises as everyone wishes for revenge.
"Get her loaded up and back to the tower," Steve orders. Clint and Nat head back over with the other mermaids in tow. Looks like they are all heading back to the tower together.
YOU ARE READING
Just Keep Swimming
Fanfiction**COMPLETED** Belle has been on her own for awhile now. She's running from a past she wishes she could forget, and she's hiding more secrets than she can count. She has to hide who and what she is from everyone. But what happens when the Avengers s...
