CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE:
TEAR HIMSELF IN HALF
"THERE'S OUR RIDE." CLINT POINTED making the trio run faster. Steve and Scott joined them before Steve quickly yelled for the others and Sam and Bucky were quick to join them as well. The group all ran forward towards the quinjet, they could see it. They were so close until they were forced to stop by a line being drawn in front of them by Vision's stone. They stopped, looking up at the man that was floating above them.
"Captain Rogers." Vision called down to them. "I know you believe what you're doing is right." Tony joined with Natasha, dropping the woman safely to the ground. "But for the collective good, you must surrender now." That's when Rhodey flew in, dropping T'Challa to the ground who rolled and safely landed before standing back up and beside of Tony. Rhodey then landed with Peter joining his side. And Vision slowly lowered himself to the ground.
"What do we do, Cap?" Sam questioned.
Steve stood there for a moment before he said the words Salem hoped wouldn't have to be said. "We fight." And then he moved forward, and they followed him.
"This is gonna end well." Natasha sighed before Tony's side moved forwards as well. Once Steve's team sprinted into a jog, so did Tony's until they were full on running towards one another and the first punch was placed. Salem found herself focusing on Peter, teleporting behind the kid and grabbing onto him and throwing him to the ground and kicking him away before quickly teleporting between the punches and blows, fighting wherever she appeared before she found herself landing in front of Natasha.
"How could you do this to me?" Salem asked, frustrated tears in her eyes.
"I'm doing what I think is right." Natasha told the girl. "I won't fight you, Salem."
"That's too bad." Salem swallowed thickly. "Because I'm about to fight you so that I can have my freedom, and so that my girlfriend isn't used as a target."
"Salem. . ." Natasha tried but Salem let one tear slip down her cheek before she turned into the agent she was trained to be. She teleported beside Natasha, grabbing onto the woman's arm and leg before tossing her away, but Natasha was quick to catch her landing and turn towards the girl. But she didn't fight her. She refused to fight Salem. She refused to fight the girl whom she saw as her daughter. She couldn't do that. But Salem was angry. She was upset. And she kept on fighting. And Natasha was letting her win.
"Fight back, damnit!" Salem snarled, spinning and kicking the woman in the chest.
"I will fight Clint, I will fight everyone else, but I will not fight you, Salem." Natasha shook her head. Salem clenched her jaw as she shook her head.
"What kind of assassin are you?" Salem asked. And she would regret the question. She knew it was harsh. But her words were controlled by her anger. And with a reluctant sigh, Natasha fought back. And to her surprise, Salem could beat her. But then again, Natasha and Clint were the only two to train her. She knew all the moves that one could possibly know. And as Natasha fought the girl, she realized that Salem wanted her to fight back because Natasha could and she could possibly win.
Salem didn't want her to fight back because Natasha was on the opposite team. She wanted to fight because she couldn't stand the thought of hurting anyone else, knowing that Natasha would be the only possibility of not getting hurt because of her. It wasn't until Natasha had pinned Salem to the ground that she looked down at the girl.
"I'm sorry." Natasha said and before Salem could respond, Natasha was being wrapped in Wanda's magic and thrown off the girl and into a nearby truck, making the redhead let out a groan. Wanda was quick to pull Salem from the ground.
"You alright?" Wanda asked her and Salem swallowed thickly as she looked towards Wanda and nodded her head, immediately remembering why this fight was happening in the first place, and the two went back in. Salem looked up, watching as Peter was swinging from web to web. She smirked before teleporting onto his back and quickly cutting his web making them both fall to the ground. Salem stood up and Peter turned to look at her.
"You can teleport?"
"You're a literal spider?" Salem shot back with raised eyebrows.
"No, I'm human."
"Let me see your face." Salem sarcastically smiled, crossing her arms over her chest and cocking her head slightly. The boy just stood there for a moment and she scoffed before disappearing from in front of him, making the boy quickly turn in circles to look for him until he jumped when she suddenly appeared in front of him and punch him in the face and kicked him to the ground. "He really got a teenager? Come on Tony, do better man." She disappeared from the boy and appeared beside of Wanda.
"No matter how long we've been together I will never get used to that." Wanda jumped, causing Salem to smirk.
"Good to know I can still surprise you, sweetheart." Salem smirked before kissing her on the cheek and disappearing again.
"We gotta go. That guy's probably in Siberia by now." Bucky said as he looked towards Steve, the duo hiding behind the wheels of a plane.
"We gotta distract the flyers." Steve continued. "I'll take Vision. You get to the jet."
"No, you get to the jet! Both of you." Sam told the duo. "The rest of us aren't getting out of here."
"As much as I hate to admit it, if we're gonna win this one, some of us might have to lose it." Clint told them.
"This isn't the real fight, Steven." Salem tells the man with a soft sigh.
"Alright." Steve nodded his head. "Sam, what's the play?"
"We need a diversion. Something big."
"I got something kinda big." Scott says, entering the conversation. "But I can't hold it very long. On my signal, run like hell. And if I tear myself in half. . . don't come back for me."
"He's going to tear himself in half?" Salem questioned, glancing towards Wanda with furrowed eyebrows and she just shrugged.
"Are you sure about this, Scott?" Steve questioned the man with concern clear in his voice.
"I do it all the time. I mean once. . . in a lab. Then I passed out." Scott responds which makes Salem raise her eyebrows. "I'm the boss. I'm the boss. I'm the boss. I'm the boss. I'm the boss." He repeated the saying over and over again before Scott was no longer normal sized, but instead he was gigantic. Salem opened her mouth and stared.
"I guess that's the signal." Steve mutters before he and Bucky start running towards the quinjet. Salem kept her eyes on the duo, staying hidden so there was a chance of her being attacked. T'Challa had managed to spot the duo, but just as he was running towards the duo, Clint was quick to distract the man.
That's when Scott's voiced grabbed Salem's attention. "Something just flew in me!" She snapped her attention towards Scott, watching as Vision went right through the man before focusing his attention on the tower right before the quinjet and sliced it with a beam from the mind stone, sending it crumbling down to block the quinjet. But that's when she watched Wanda appear, using her powers to hold it up, making the two run faster as she struggled to hold it up.
And right behind Wanda, Rhodey appeared and fires a sonic disruptor towards the girl. Immediately Salem clinched her jaw as Wanda yelled out in pain making her teleport to Steve and Bucky, grabbing onto them and quickly teleporting them to the quinjet just as the tower finished collapsing.
"I was not expecting that to work." Salem heavily breathed. "I've never done two people before."
"You alright?" Steve quickly asked her and she waved him off with a nod.
"Just dandy." That's when she saw Natasha standing there, making her stand up straighter. Steve and Bucky turned towards the woman who looked between the two for a moment before she shook her head.
"You're not gonna stop." Natasha stated with a sigh.
"You know I can't." Steve told her.
Natasha cocked her head slightly before pointing her hand towards Steve. "I'm gonna regret this." Just before Salem could teleport in front of Steve to save him from the shock, Natasha moved her wrist point towards T'Challa who had managed to make it through the tower before it had completely attacked and was going to secretly attack Bucky. She uses her widow bites on the man and nods towards Steve. "Go."
Steve nods before glancing towards Salem who gave a man a nod before he and Bucky quickly got on the quinjet and flew out.