Frostbite

One

We had finally located Strucker and Loki's scepter. Months of searching had finally paid off, but these men weren't going down without a fight. Luckily, we didn't have a problem with giving them a good one.

I was on the back of Steve's bike, trying to hold on for dear life with only one hand. The other was busy taking out anyone who got too close. I regretted that I hadn't ridden in the jeep with Nat and Clint. Steve swerved suddenly, making my shot go wide.

"I think I trust you too much for my own good," I complained loudly, making him chuckle. I glanced back to see most of the group closing back in. We all flew over the embankment lined with traps, and as soon as we were clear, Steve slowed down enough for me to jump off.

I somersaulted and rolled to my feet, ready to go. A new group of Hydra agents came rushing forward. Our group had already started to scatter out into the woods, which honestly worked well for us. I easily sent a powerful blast at the unfortunate souls right in front of me, sending them flying back.

Smiling, I advanced on the rest of them. Snow was covering everything, which made me stronger and required less energy to use the magic. It was amazing.

"Shit!" Tony cursed loudly.

"Language! Jarvis, what's the view from upstairs?" Steve inquired, well out of my line of vision now. I snickered and slammed one of them into a tree, rendering him unconscious.

"The central building is protected by some kind of energy shield. Strucker's technology is well beyond any other Hydra base we've taken," he replied without missing a beat.

"Loki's scepter must be here. Strucker couldn't mount this defense without it. At long last..." Thor growled. A few of the men lined up, firing in my direction. Instantly, I threw up a wall between them and me, the bullets embedding themselves into the ice.

"At long last is lasting a little long, guys," Nat grunted. I ran around my creation, sneaking up from the side. Concentrating on the ground, I forced the existing snow to swirl around like a blizzard. They'd have a hard time seeing now, but I could see perfectly.

"Yeah. I think we lost the element of surprise," Clint joked. Quietly, I ran up behind one and grabbed him by the arm, twisting and throwing him to the ground. Another one turned in my direction, and I hit the ground, tossing snow up into his face and sweeping his legs from under him. I hit him in the face hard, and he blacked out.

The last one turned his weapon on me, and I quickly shunted it upwards, but he was still managing to fire. He snatched it back but caused himself to stumble. Taking the opportunity, I encased his feet in ice so that he couldn't move, and head butted him, forcing him to drop the gun. I kicked it away and left him there yelling in anger.

"Wait a second. No one else is going to deal with the fact that Cap just said 'language'?" Tony scoffed in disbelief. We were closing in on the last of the bunkers. Steve finally came back into view; everyone else was still fighting around the perimeter.

"I know," Steve sighed while jumping off his bike to throw it at a few soldiers driving up to him, "It just slipped out." I jogged up to him and shook my hair, letting all the snow I had gathered fall out.

"You're having a good time," he observed in amusement. I shrugged and said cheerfully, "Gotta love the snow." He smiled wryly and opened his mouth to say something else but was interrupted.

"Clint!" Natasha called, her voice cracking over the comms. Figuring he was hurt, I turned to go help, but suddenly Steve was knocked down by a blur of silver.

"What the hell?" I exclaimed, the blur coming so close that I stumbled back a few steps.

"We have an enhanced in the field," Steve informed everyone while climbing back to his feet. We tore off towards the facility once again, keeping an eye out for the enhanced.

"Clint's hit!" Natasha told us, and a few seconds later asked, "Somebody want to deal with that bunker?" Bruce rushed from a clump of trees and smashed through the bunker easily. They must not be far off.

We came across another group, and we rushed to meet them. I kicked one into his buddy, and Steve tossed his shield at another, letting it ricochet off the tree. I caught it midair and took out the last one, bouncing it off his face. Steve approached, and I tossed the shield back, the magnet on his arm clipping it into place.

"Tony, we really need to get inside soon," I huffed.

"I'm closing in," he replied, an explosion following moments after, "Drawbridge is down, people."

Thor landed next to us and said, "The enhanced?"

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

"Clint's hit pretty bad, guys. We're gonna need evac," Nat informed the group. Hopefully, he would be alright.

"I can get Barton to the jet. The sooner we're gone the better. You guys secure the scepter," Thor instructed.

"Copy that."

"Looks like they're lining up," Thor chuckled, nodding towards a tank and a group of marching soldiers approaching us.

"Well, they're excited," Steve shrugged. Steve lifted his shield, and Thor smacked it with his hammer, the force taking out all of them.

"Find the scepter," Thor called as he flew off towards Clint.

"And for gosh sake, watch your language!" Tony mocked, causing me burst into laughter, but I quickly covered my mouth after seeing the look on Steve's face.

"That's not going away anytime soon," he muttered. We ran the short distance to the entrance of the facility. We climbed the stairs quickly and entered a stone hallway.

"We're locked down out here," Natasha declared.

"Then get to Banner, time for a lullaby," Steve told her. He took his cap off, exposing his face. We kept moving through the facility, only the light from the windows illuminating our path. Steve shoved into a Hydra agent and sent him through a doorway. Strucker just happened to be on the other side.

"Baron Strucker. Hydra's number one thug," Steve admonished. Strucker was all smiles.

"Technically, I'm a thug for S.H.I.E.L.D."

"Well, then technically you're unemployed. Where's Loki's scepter?" I sneered circling to the other side.

"Don't worry, I know when I'm beat. You'll mention how I cooperated; I hope."

"I'll put it right under illegal human experimentation," Steve quipped, "How many are there?"

Suddenly a woman appeared and knocked Steve down the flight of stairs behind him with some form of red energy. Magic. She turned it on me, but I managed to dodge out of the way.

She began backing towards a door, and I quickly chased after her. It banged closed behind us ominously.

"Melanie! We have a second enhanced. Female. Do not engage," Steve panted over the comm, "I got Strucker."

"Yeah, I got...something bigger," Tony muttered, "Thor, I got eyes on the prize." Finally. I turned down the corridor, but there was nothing. The female enhanced was already gone. There were too many halls she could have gone down.

"Damnit," I breathed. There had been a tiny part of me that had hoped she'd stand down so that we could reason with her. She was the only other magic user we had come across. I let the hope that had built up crumble away. We had the scepter; it was time to go home.