Broken by the Enemy || Captain America || Book 3

Sneak Peek

But of course, Murphy's Law swiftly reminds me that yes, the entire universe is against me and everyone I care about, because why wouldn't it be?

A few more minutes into the fight, a distinct grunt from what sounds like Clint can be heard through the communication line, momentarily startling me. My concern only grows when I hear an equally concerned Natasha cry out "Clint!"

Barton is good, very good. Few human beings could keep up with Norse gods and super soldiers from World War II. The fact that it sounds like someone landed a good hit on him, enough so that Natasha is slightly panicking, throws me off guard a little.

"Hey, what's going on? Clint, you right?" I put a hand to my ear, slowing my skating down to a smoother, more levelled pace, warily eyeing the towering, tremendous tree line encompassing me from all angles. Something really doesn't feel right. My infinity stone senses are tingling; the mind stone is definitely nearby. If HYDRA has been experimenting on people with it like Thanos did with Adelaide and I...

Addie and I already had powers, and he greatly amplified them with all the stones, as well as left a couple new bonuses, or 'scars' as I like to call them, after Loki removed the stones from within the two of us. My night vision is a pretty straightforward scar, fairly useful as well, but my control over lights in a room is still a little fidgety. Addie seems to be better at that than me, but on the hand, is struggling with her vision manipulation. Because light is the element that grants the sense of sight, she can entirely blind a person at will, yet is still precarious and inept at it.

If all six stones are capable of amplifying our existing powers, as well as bestowing us with new ones – ever after we supposedly removed all remnants of the light and dark stones from within us – then the mind stone, a stone very much capable of mutating DNA and the mind, is certainly competent enough to mutate willing subjects until they possibly, very possibly, have infinite knowledge or some other ability. Even after everything I've been through with these stones, this is all just speculation. When it comes to these cosmic ingots, I still don't have a clue, and HYDRA is definitely dumb enough to screw around with forces they know jack shit about.

Stupid pieces of rock. Stupid Nazi organisation. Stupid purple grape with the nut-sack chin. I'm not even despondent or exhausted by this point, I'm just really pissed off.

Another grunt is heard, this time from Steve. Okay, now I'm definitely on the verge of cutting a bitch.

"Steve?" I force myself to a full stop now, barely paying the four enemies charging straight towards me any mind. All it takes is one thrown out hand, and alarmingly sharp stalagmites of fatal ice impale all hostiles around me. If someone has so much as hurt a hair on his head—

"I'm fine, Lilly. We have an enhanced in the field."

Oh, wonderful. For a moment there I thought it may not be some powerful antagonist coming to destroy us all, that maybe every concern I had just internally voiced would be void. Silly me for thinking that for once the enemy would be simple enough to defeat. Not that I ever underestimate an enemy mind you, no matter how small the threat. If you do, this is exactly what happens.

"What kind of enhanced?" I fall into a marginally more severe battle mode now, Adelaide falling into step besides me as the two of us now sprint side by side. Even she seems sterner, a look that ages a simple, youthful twenty year old girl.

"Fast, really fast," Steve answers.

"Ah, speedster. Aaron-Taylor Johnson, or Evan Peters?"

"What?" Tony pipes in, utterly baffled as a result of his protection by the fourth wall.

"Ooh or Barry Allen, even then that could be Grant Gustin or Ezra Miller—"