Adina scanned a few bookshelves before she went to talk with Mr. Lee. She hadn't planned on returning her books in order to borrow another book today, although she did have her books with her in her backpack that she always carried around with her.
As she went from section to section, she noticed that the man with the baseball cap appeared to be loosely following her. She wasn't sure if she was just being too paranoid, so she continued on her way to the librarian. While she greeted the elderly man, she discreetly checked her shoulder. The suspicious man was a couple of yards away and was pretending to check out the back cover of a book.
Adina felt that something wasn't right. This time, she would follow her gut instinct. She bid farewell to Mr. Lee and thanked him again for the comic. This may be the last time she sees him. It all depends on the outcome of this situation. Even if she makes it out, she knew she would have to leave this city and not draw any attention to Mr. Lee, lest he gets hurt by association with her.
She walked away from the wooden counter with her head ducked down. She did a quick scan of the library. There were a few civilians, but it was quieter than normal. Adina broke off her path and cut between two long bookshelves as she noticed a bulky white man with blonde hair.
It dawned on her. The man with the hat pulled low over his face was the same man who was flying with mechanical wings in her last fight. She only put this together after seeing the blonde man, since she had not gotten a good look at the bird-like man. It was blatantly obvious who the blond man was, so she could guess his accomplice's identity.
She had seen these two men fight, so she knew she had to get out of there fast. She could take them if she had to, but she would prefer to take the easy route out by escaping.
Adina gaged the distance between her, the door, and the two men. She slowly went down on one knee and pretended to tie her shoe. Instead, she grabbed her knife that was tucked into her combat boot, and slipped it into her coat pocket. She then walked at a normal pace to the door, with her hand in the coat pocket, tightly gripping the knife. She behaved normally, as to not let the men know she was on to them.
She opened one of the front doors and climbed back down the short steps. It was around lunchtime, so the sidewalks were busy, as well as the streets. Adina was easily able to blend into the crowd. She checked her shoulder as she turned the corner of the sidewalk. As expected, the two men were following her. She saw the blond one talk into what appeared to be a comm, and she knew she would soon have more company.
Adina's plan was to lose Captain America and his partner by taking many twists and turns and getting them confused by the mass amount of people. Then, she would take some shortcuts and probably go in areas she wasn't supposed to be in. Once she was sure they were gone, she would immediately get on a public transportation or carjack someone and get far away from this city. She would probably even get out of the country, and continent at that. She would not allow herself to be captured.
As Adina passed another corner, she saw that a red-headed woman in a leather jacket was also tailing her. After a few more minutes of walking, Adina realized she couldn't easily shake these annoying people. She would have to bring the fight to them, then.
She sped up. By this point, they would know she was on to them. There was no more hiding it. The red-head was gaining on her. Adina was done being hunted, and she was ready to take matters into her own hands. She abruptly ducked into an alley and walked further into it. She then channeled her powers and teleported midstride. Now on the rooftop of a tall building, Adina paused a moment before continuing with her plan.
"Cap, the Enhanced is gone. Wilson, we need you in the air."
She glanced over the edge to see the woman in the alley talking into her comm. Adina then walked to the other side of the building, a few yards from the edge. She took a running start and leaped to a shorter building, softening the fall with a summersault.
Right when she went down for the summersault, an arrow whizzed past her, going through the space she was just a second ago.
"I've got eyes on her. She's on the rooftops. I've also got your gear, Cap," the brunette archer said into his comm.
Adina was slowly getting more and more outnumbered. She didn't like her odds right now. She also didn't like the fact that an arrow was just shot at her. With that in mind, Adina teleported right behind the archer.
He whipped his head around at the weird noise behind him, but it was too late. Adina had the advantage and kicked him in the gut. He fell back a few steps and Adina took the opportunity to advance. She attempted a punch, but the brunette man blocked it with his bow. He then went on the attack with a punch to her face. The pair traded moves while Adina gained more and more on the archer. Soon, they were at the edge of the building.
Her plan had worked, and she swept his legs out from underneath him, causing him to lose his balance. Before Adina could congratulate herself, the bird-like man came out of seemingly nowhere and dropped Captain America with his shield onto the rooftop.
Right when the archer was about to fall over the side, Adina grabbed the bow he was holding onto, causing him to hang off the edge with her as his tether to the roof. Adina yanked the bow out of his hands and pushed him over the edge. She snapped his bow in two with her super strength and tossed the pieces to the side. Archer down. Three more to go.
She turned her attention to the annoying blond man who just didn't seem to be able to leave her alone. She tilted her head to the left and cracked her neck while she put up her fists, mentally preparing herself to take another agent down.
Before she could fight Captain America, the man spoke to her.
"Listen, I don't want to fight you, but I will if you make me. My friend was in a similar situation as the one you are probably in. I helped get him out of it, and I can help you, too. It doesn't have to be like this," he said, dropping his offensive stance, with his shield at his side, to put her at ease.
Adina wasn't sure if she could trust him. She still lacked that vital information she was going to get from Mr. Lee. She cursed herself for getting herself in this situation. She had very conflicting information on whether this blond man was a good guy or bad. She didn't even trust her own definition of a 'good guy' or 'bad guy. Her future rested on whether she decided to trust this patriotic man or not.
She could've just researched this man on the Internet, but she had decided to trust a random old guy. That was a stupid decision that she wouldn't make again. Adina didn't have time to rely on others. She and only she could ensure her survival. However, it would be nice to have some extra help...
The blond man was still waiting for Adina to make the next move. He could tell she was contemplating his offer. She dropped her fists to her side and grabbed onto her backpack straps, sort of as a way to comfort herself.
Sensing her more approachable attitude, Steve took a slow step towards her, and spoke again.
"You don't have to fight anymore."
"Who do you work for?" Adina finally asked.
"We are the Avengers. We serve to protect people from all kinds of threats, and we can help you, too."
During this conversation, Adina was still aware of her surroundings. She did not drop her guard, so she noticed that the man with the carbon fiber wings had flown back up on the roof, with the archer in hand. She could also hear a faint rattling, coming from the side of the building behind Captain America. It sounded like someone was coming up from the fire escape.
Adina was still unsure what to choose. Did she want a life of running and hiding, or did she want to get help from this ragtag group called the Avengers? She started to rub her right wrist as she grew more anxious.
Her brow wrinkled, turning her face into one of confusion and stress. She took half a step forward and looked like she was about to ask something. What she was wanting to ask will never be known, as in that same moment the person on the fire escape had made it to the rooftop. Or rather, the people had made it.
Adina moved a step to the side to look past Rogers, in order to see who else was there. She thought everyone was accounted for, except the red-head, so there should've only been one person coming up the fire escape.
She saw the red-headed lady walk in her general direction. A man, who was also wearing some sort of leather jacket walked beside her. He looked familiar. He had short brown hair. The sun glared in Adina's face and she saw a glint appear on the man's arm. The man's metal arm.
Adina froze. A look of pure terror briefly flashed across her face before she put on her usual emotionless mask. The Winter Soldier was here. The Winter Soldier, as in the other asset who also worked for Hydra. As in the man who viciously trained her at the base in Siberia. She had not seen this man in a long time. The memory of the last time they saw each other still haunts her dreams.
This meant Hydra was here. Hydra knew where she was. The group of agents, the Avengers, had been with Hydra all along? None of this made sense. Adina started to back up, away from Captain America, who had a confused and concerned look on his face.
"Kid, are you okay?" he asked.
He followed her gaze and looked behind him, where the two assassins were walking towards him. He realized too late that the girl must have recognized Bucky and thought that he was still with Hydra. She must've known the Winter Soldier.
When he looked back, she was running in the opposite direction.
Published: 3/23/22