The Shadow [a marvel fanfiction]

Age of Ultron: Chapter One

"Nat go faster!"

"It's—a little hard—with all these—"

Nat swerved around another group of trees. Marie shot another soldier and ducked under the return fire. Clint stood next to her, firing arrow after arrow at the HYDRA soldiers. Marie jerked to the right as Nat turned the wheel sharply. She barely avoided a low-hanging tree branch.

Marie lost count of how many HYDRA bases they had invaded in the last six months. They chased down leads and paper trails about Loki's scepter; anything they could get their hands on. They had been largely unsuccessful (well, aside from taking down the remaining HYDRA minions) until Sokovia.

"We've got an-another car in-in-incoming!"

A mounted machine gun twisted towards them. Thor crashed into the jeep, taking out the gunner before flying to the watchtower. Steve sped past on his motorbike. He dragged a HYDRA soldier through the snow behind him. Thor and Tony blasted a second jeep and the Hulk took care of the rest. Nat slammed on the breaks as they approached a wooden barrier.

The Avengers burst into the HYDRA compound like total bad-asses.

Marie leapt off their now-destroyed vehicle and somersaulted through the snow. Icey flakes stuck to her hair as she stood and whipped around. Her knee jammed into the gut of a HYDRA soldier. Her bo staff cracked against another soldier's skull.

A gun fired and Marie flickered. The bullet passed through her black, whispy form. She reappeared and slammed one end of the staff into the offender's thigh. A flick of her wrist sent electricity jolting through their body.

"Shit!" Tony shouted over their comms.

"Language."

Marie didn't hold back her snort. Good old Steve. She followed Clint, swiping soldiers off their feet and telekinetically averting their shots. Her fingers flexed with unused energy. This was it. They found the scepter. There was no way they were wrong this time. She bet Sam a pretty penny on this base. It had to be here.

A bunker fired a series of heavy rounds at them.

Marie and Clint ducked. The latter pressed himself against a tree while Marie flattened herself against the snowy bank. Her red fingers dug into the snow.

"Take care of that gun, will you?" Clint muttered, knocking an arrow and firing at the group of men sprinting towards them. Marie grit her teeth. Her hands tingled. She pushed herself into a crouch. Focus it. Channel it.

Marie stood and vaulted over the snow bank. She landed heavily on her feet and threw her arms in front of her; pressed tightly together and pointed straight down the barrel of the machine gun. A crack of energy rushed from her body and the gun exploded.

The bunker split perfectly down the middle.

Marie blew out a breath and grinned. "Bingo."

Tony suggested the move after marathoning Avatar: The Last Airbender a few months back. Unfortunately, her bo staff wasn't strong enough to handle the force of it. Only Steve's shield could deflect it without breaking, but even he skidded back when she blasted him.

"Loki's scepter must be here. Strucker couldn't mount his defense without it," Thor said. A distant metallic clang sounded over the comms. "At long last."

Marie shot at several soldiers as she weaved her way between trees. She ran into a group of armed soldiers. She mentally ripped the assault rifles from their hands; a flick of her fingers and they flew backwards.