CHAPTER THIRTY:
TOP PRIORITY
SALEM QUICKLY TELEPORTED FROM THE hangar and appeared beside her girlfriend, holding her in her arms as Wanda was still trying to get over the pain. Salem glanced up when Vision joined their side, glaring dangerously at the android as if daring him to do something.
But his next words made her relax. "I'm sorry."
Salem glanced down at Wanda who nodded her head before Wanda turned towards Vision. "We are too."
"You did what you thought was right." Salem told him frowning slightly as she remembered Natasha's words, regret filling her body. "I wish it hadn't went down like this."
"Neither do I." Vision agreed making Salem meet the androids eyes before offering him the smallest of smiles. "It's as I said, catastrophe."
The two women couldn't hear it, and they didn't pay attention to it, but Tony and Rhodey were quick to go after the quinjet once it took off. And Sam was quick to fly after them, causing Rhodey to call for backup from Vision. But the android was distracted, too bust talking to the two females he had considered to be his closest friends. It was when his head suddenly turned towards Rhodey and them that the two women noticed.
A beam of light fell from his mind stone as he shot towards Sam who was quick to fold his wings, avoiding the blast only for it to hit Rhodey in the chest. A gasp fell from Salem's lips as she watched the man tumble down, but she couldn't see where he was landing, which meant she wouldn't be able to catch him in time. Tony and Sam both flew down to catch the man, but neither of them were able to make it time. Salem stood up, placing a hand on Wanda's shoulder before teleporting as far as she could until her eyes darted around and she found them. She quickly teleported over.
"Rhodey, oh my god." Salem breathed but a shocked gasp fell from her lips when Tony angrily shot a blast at her. Sending her flying backwards. A groan fell from her lips, a hand moving up to her chest as she forced herself to sit up, glaring at Tony who look at the girl with immediate regret feeling his eyes. But she wasn't hurt. Not as hurt as she should have been.
"I couldn't see him." Salem responded with hurt tears. "I'm sorry."
"Sal―︎" But she teleported away from him before he could say anything else. She teleported away from everyone, kneeling there in the middle of the airport and crying. Agony filled her. She knew what this fight had meant. She knew everything was now going to change. And it hurt her. The only family she had, the only family she ever knew, they had split up. It was like a painful divorce and she only had one side to choose.
Her bones ached. Her body was exhausted from how much of her powers she had used. She was so close to passing out. All of this, she couldn't take it. She couldn't hold it in. She couldn't express her rage. So instead, she cried. And it made her feel weak. But she couldn't help it. She could help but cry until she couldn't anymore. Natasha carefully walked up to the girl, own regretful tears brimming her eyes before she forced them away and stood there beside Salem.
Salem glanced up to the woman before she started to cry even harder, immediately making Natasha kneel down beside her and pull the girl into her chest. Salem held onto her. She held onto her for as long as she could before the people were there to arrest Salem and take her away for breaking the law.
Natasha wiped the tears from the girl's eyes, offering her a small smile before whispering to her, "I'll see you soon." She stood up and quickly made her way away from Salem, hiding from the people that were soon to come after her too.
━︎━︎━︎━︎━︎
Salem sat in her cell, a collar around her neck to keep her from teleporting out of there. She didn't have to be put in a straight jacket like Wanda had, but she was so close to ripping the thing from her neck in order to break her girlfriend out. It was killing her to sit her as Wanda was sitting there trapped inside of a jacket. She stared angrily at the wall, ignoring the fact that Tony had entered.
Clint started clapping his hands. "The Futurists gentlemen! The Futurist is here! He sees all! He knows what's best for you, whether you like or not."
"Give me a break, Barton." Tony told him, walking up to the mans cell. "I had no idea they'd put you in here. Come on."
Clint spits on the ground before turning his head to look at Tony before standing up and walking to the bars of the cell. "Yeah, well, you knew they'd put us somewhere, Tony."
"Yeah, but not some super-max floating ocean pokey." Tony answered. "This place is for maniacs. This is a place for―︎"
"Criminals?" Clint finished. "Criminals, Tony. Think that's the word you're looking for. Right? That didn't used to be me. Or Sam, or Wanda." He looked Tony dead in the eye at the next name. "Or Sal. Salem, come on Tony. She's been in a place like this once, and you put her in here? You put her in this place that will keep her locked up like she's a monster. Like she and Wanda are both terrible people. But here we are."
"Because you broke the law." Tony simply answered.
"Yeah." Clint scoffed.
"I didn't make you." Tony shook his head.
"La, la, la, la. . ." Clint hummed as Tony continued to speak.
"You read it, you broke it." Tony simply answered. "You're all grown up. You got a wife and kids. I don't understand, why didn't you think about them before you chose the wrong side?"
Tony started to walk away, making Clint stand back up and turn to face him. "You gotta watch your back with this guy. There's a chance he's gonna break it!" He slams his fist against the cell as Tony walks around, stopping for a moment to look at Scott.
"Hank Pym always said you can never trust a Stark." Scott spoke as Tony passed him.
"Who are you?" Tony simply answered before continuing past his cell and to Sam's.
"How's Rhodes?" Sam questioned.
"They're flying him to Columbia Medical tomorrow. . . so fingers crossed." Tony told him. "What do you need? They feed you yet?"
Sam turned to face the man with his arms crossed over his chest and his eyebrows raised. "You're the good cop, now?"
"I'm just the guy who needs to know where Steve went."
"Well, you better go get a bad cop, because you're gonna have to go Mark Fuhrman on my ass to get information out of me."
Tony pressed a button on his device before looking back towards Sam. "Well, I just knocked the A out of their AV. We got about 30 seconds before they realize it's not their equipment. Just look." He showed Sam the photos of the actual man who was supposed to interrogate Bucky. "Because that is the fellow who was supposed to interrogate Barnes. Clearly, I made a mistake. Sam, I was wrong."
"That's a first."
"Cap is definitely off the reservation but he's about to need all the help he can get. We don't know each other very well. You don't have to―︎"
"Hey, it's alright." Sam sighed, shaking his head. "Look, I'll tell you, but you have to go alone and as a friend."
"Easy." Tony assured him. And so Sam told him where the duo were headed. And seconds before the people could hear once again, he stopped at Salem's cell, looking at the girl with a small frown on his face. "Are you alright?"
"From where you hit me with your pulsars or where I'm trapped inside a cell once again, something I never thought I would have to go through again?" Salem questioned, turning her head to look at him.
"I'm sorry, Salem. I am."
"I know." Salem nodded as she stood up and made her way to the door and met Tony's eyes. "And just know all is forgiven, as long as I know that Steve and Bucky get out of that place alive."
"Consider it top priority." Tony told her. Salem nodded her head and forced a small smile before watching as he walked out, not knowing that he would break that priority, and be the reason that Bucky had to get a new metal arm.
Hours passed by. Maybe days, Salem couldn't care less. All she knew was that the memories were starting to pour in all at once of her time of being in a cell, and it was making her hyperventilate. She swallowed thickly, trying to hold her breath only to jump when alarms started going off. That's when she turned her head just in time to watch Steve enter the room.
"Steve." Salem breathed, standing up.
"Let's get you out of there, yeah?" Steve questioned and Salem quickly nodded, watching as her cell was opened and he removed the collar from around her neck. One by one he opened their cells, only for Scott and Clint to stay inside their own, knowing what needed to be done in order to be able to see their families once more.
"Can I at least hug you?" Salem asked, looking at Clint. "I don't know when or if I'll see you again." Clint looked at the girl and nodded his head and immediately she wrapped her arms around him.
"I love you, Sal. Be safe, alright."
She squeezed him tightly before nodding her head. "Always am." She stepped back, allowing for his cell to close once more. And just before they left, she gave the man a two fingered salute and a small reassuring smile. She grabbed Wanda's hand, pressing a quick kiss to her lips before they all ran out of the building, boarding the quinjet, and going into official hiding.
END OF PART THREE!
Guys, y'all aren't ready. You're just not ready for Infinity War. That's all I'm gonna say. I hope you've enjoyed so far, and I will see you in the next part of this book!