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CHAPTER TWENTY
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THE ANXIETY COURSING THROUGH the team's veins was unlike any pressure they had felt before. As S.H.I.E.L.D agents, they all had been in difficult situations with lives at stake, or were forced to make a tough call, but never had there been a more desperate mission than this. World domination would be inevitable in less than 24 hours if they failed. Millions of innocent lives would be blown out in one quick massacre. The world was about to collapse into the hands of HYDRA, and there were only four people on the surface of the earth who could do something about it.
Fueled by the new horror planted in their hearts, Steve aggressively forced Sitwell back down the stairs of the building and the team followed hurriedly. They got into the car and began speeding off to the Triskelion as quickly as they could. The nerves in Emersyn's stomach were unbearable. To think for but a moment about the fate of mankind was terrifying. What began as the death of S.H.I.E.L.D's director spiraled into a conspiracy much bigger than she could ever imagine. The fear inside Emersyn urged her every muscle to leap out of the car and run away. She did not want this role— she did not ask to save the world, that was for the Avengers. Yet, there Emersyn was: a simple S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who wanted to do what was right. Her heart knew she couldn't back down now, not when she had followed her friends all this way and pledged to avenge Fury. All her questions remained unanswered and she had a right to know the truth. Emersyn gazed out the window at the hundreds of passing cars and recognized every person had a life full of love and joy and great potential. She would probably be good friends with half of those people if she knew them. By tomorrow, all of those people could be dead.
Emersyn closed her eyes. All her life she had been searching for a purpose and found it in S.H.I.E.L.D. Now, she had to destroy the organization she dedicated her life to, but her purpose would not fall with it. Her purpose was greater than S.H.I.E.L.D. It was to help others, and she understood that now. Emersyn's purpose was felt in her heart when she saw Steve and was willing to take on the world to just see him smile, or when she shared a laugh with Natasha that made her stomach hurt. Even with S.H.I.E.L.D gone, her desire to help others remained.
Fear gave her two options: to forget everything and run, or face everything and rise. Emersyn would not give in to fear and lose her purpose. She was stronger than that, so she opened her eyes, took a breath, and thought to herself, "Keep on steppin'."
Steve sat in the front with a stern brow and spoke heavily. "Emersyn, how are you feeling? You up for a fight?"
Emersyn replied softly but with a hint of teasing. "You can just say you're worried about me, Steve, no reason to hide it."
He turned his head with a confused gaze. She smiled and explained, "Worrying about me and Sitwell...now this... I'm good, trust me. I appreciate your concern, though."
Steve still seemed skeptical but just shook his head and muttered, "Okay, good." His voice was low with exhaustion and the weight of HYDRA. Emersyn realized any tone of playfulness had been lost. It fell silent for a moment and she could not bear to only have her thoughts for conversation.
"HYDRA will find you, they don't like leaks," Sitwell warned.
Sam shot him an annoyed glance through the mirror. "Then why don't you try sticking a cork in it?" He snapped.
Natasha leaned forward to speak to Steve. "We're cutting it a little bit close here, Insight's launching in sixteen hours."
Steve averted his gaze and looked distantly out the window. "I know. We'll use him to bypass the DNA scans and access the helicarriers directly."
Nat raised her brows. "There's only two ways for this to go wrong."
Emersyn scoffed. "Knowing us we'll find at least fifteen more."
"What? Are you crazy?!" Sitwell blurted. "That is a terrible, terrible idea!"
A sudden thud was heard on the roof of the car. Emersyn looked up and saw a dent of boots in the ceiling. Before anyone could react, a hand came in a flash of movement and crashed through the window. Glass sprayed onto Emersyn and she shielded her face with her hands. At the sound of a desperate scream, she opened her eyes and saw Sitwell be launched out of the shattered window and thrown into oncoming traffic.
"I guess our conversation didn't sit well with HYDRA!" Emersyn exclaimed.
Natasha caught a glimpse of a gun and looked at Emersyn wildly. "Now is NOT the time for jokes!" Romanoff yelled as she leaped into the front seat with no hesitation and fell into Steve's lap. Gunshots rang through the air and Emersyn scrambled to the trunk of the car, narrowly missing several shots fired at her. Bullet holes landed on the headrests in the front where Sam and Steve had ducked away from. With a piercing screech, the car lurched to a halt as Rogers quickly changed the gear shift to park.
Emersyn was thrown forward and crashed into the seats with a grunt. A man had been thrown off their roof and rolled onto the road, stopping his momentum with metal fingers that dug into the pavement. Sparks flew up around a glinting silver arm that cut through the asphalt effortlessly. Emersyn pushed herself to her feet and stared in shock at their attacker who looked back through cold, dark goggles that held no humanity.
Natasha raised her gun but before she could shoot— a massive force hit them from behind and Emersyn was launched into the seats again. She cried out as her face collided with a headrest and she fell back in a crumpled heap.
Glass fell around her, inflicting many small cuts on her bare skin. Emersyn barely had time to recover before she saw the metal man feet away from them once again. A black armored car had rammed into them from behind and drove them toward their attacker.
The Winter Soldier. Emersyn remembered Natasha's haunting words of the HYDRA assassin who shot Nick Fury. Adrenaline burned through her as she rekindled her desire to avenge him.
Emersyn ducked as the Winter Soldier flipped onto the roof and sent glass flying on all sides.
She was thrown into fight or flight, only acting with pure instinct as chaos engulfed the car. Emersyn scrambled for her gun that had fallen out of her pocket somewhere and began searching under the seats. The squealing of the car's brakes was ear-splitting but had no effect on the stronger vehicle forcing them along. A loud shatter erupted from the front windshield as the Winter Soldier yanked the steering wheel off its axis. Emersyn looked up in horror as Sam's hands gripped air and the car began swerving.
She found the gun and began shooting randomly at the roof in hopes of hitting her target. The Winter Soldier hopped off easily onto the HYDRA car and watched as Sam spiraled out of control. Emersyn was flung from side to side in the back, muttering curses as they were rear-ended again. "Someone do something!" She yelled to the front.
The car ran into a cement barricade, throwing Emersyn against the door. She spat out blood from her mouth and gritted her teeth. There was no way she'd survive this if she didn't get out of the car this instant.
"Hang on!" Rogers yelled as he tried to bust the door open with his shield.
Emersyn knew he could not save her this time. She turned to look at him with a wild, longing gaze and prayed she would live to see those blue eyes again. Steve clung to Natasha and Sam but could not reach her; he stared back at Emersyn in anguish.
A tiny, reassuring smile formed on Emersyn's lips as she grabbed the car door handle and jumped onto the road with all her strength. Steve yelled her name as she tumbled past oncoming traffic but Sam's car was headed towards the barrier and he broke off the door while holding onto the others.
The car flew into the air a moment later. It landed in a shatter of parts and rolled down the highway. If they had stayed a second longer they would have been killed.
Emersyn covered her head as she rolled across the harsh pavement and barely missed the wheels of HYDRA's car. A gush of wind was her sign of life as the traffic blew past and she felt air return to her lungs. Honking horns and screeching brakes overwhelmed her ears, alongside a high-pitched ringing that sent her vision spiraling. Emersyn groaned as she hauled herself to her feet on the side of the road and felt the sting of several scrapes and burns from the asphalt. Luckily, HYDRA had stopped further away, but she had little time to recover. Her eyes made out the Winter Soldier through the smoke who carried a massive firearm. Steve and Natasha were crouched behind Captain America's shield, but Emersyn blinked and a moment later Steve was skyrocketed into the air in a whirl of flame.
She gasped and cried a soft, "Steve!" as he disappeared below the highway.
There was no time to react before a shower of bullets rained upon her. Emersyn ducked behind a car and recovered someone's lost pistol from the ground. She shot aimlessly at blurs of agents before sinking to the ground and heaving for air.
Emersyn pulled her hair behind her ears and gritted her teeth to prepare for the firing squad in front of her. Natasha and Sam were ahead ducking behind cars and doing what little they could to effect the agents attacking them.
Emersyn peered around the car and shot at HYDRA but to no avail. They were creeping closer to Sam, who was hiding and did not attempt to fight back. Emersyn realized he had no gun and she made a run towards him, firing as she went. The onslaught of bullets didn't scare her, the Winter Soldier did. He was targeting Natasha with a large weapon that seemed to have cannons for ammo. She knew Nat could take care of herself, but the presence of Nick Fury's murderer was unnerving. Before her was the man who eliminated the most powerful and experienced man in S.H.I.E.L.D. and who frightened the most fearless agent Emersyn ever knew. She had heard enough of Nat's stories and seen for her own eyes what the Winter Soldier was capable of. He was a walking weapon with unfeeling eyes enclosed behind a mask. The trigger of his gun was pulled without hesitation, and his victims were killed without emotion. Emersyn found it hard to believe there was a man behind all that armor.
Focusing on the current moment, Emersyn shouted for Sam and threw him a pistol as she leaped behind a car. They were crouched behind a shattered window with their only option being to retreat further into the sea of crashed cars. Nat seemed to have distracted HYDRA's fire away from them, so Emersyn had time to reload her gun.
Sam thanked her for the weapon and aimed at one of the agents. She wasn't sure how much experience he'd had in the field so Emersyn asked, "You done anything like this before?"
Sam's response was to shoot two agents straight in the chest.
"That's good," Emersyn noted as she fired around the car.
They remained in their position trying to catch the agents unprotected as they attached hooked ropes into cars to propel them down onto the road below.
"You still mad about me slamming your door, now?" Emersyn yelled above the gunfire.
Sam chuckled. "I don't think HYDRA has an insurance policy!"
Emersyn ducked out of the way of a machine gun's bullets. "So, is that a yes or a no?"
Sam crouched next to her and shot her an exasperated glimpse. "I'll get back to you if we survive this."
Emersyn nodded and said, "I'll go right, you cover me."
Sam cocked his gun and replied, "Yes, ma'am."
Fully trusting in a man she just met, Emersyn appeared from around the car and ran full sprint at the Hydra agents and looked down the barrel of their guns with no fear. The Winter Soldier had become preoccupied with Natasha, so Emersyn dove headfirst into the fray. She was relieved to see several agents fall from Sam's shots— her plan would work. Emersyn caught a glimpse of an agent with a clear shot at her and grabbed a fallen man under his arms to use as a shield. She ran toward the bullets with the dead agent taking the full force of the blows. Once Emersyn was close enough she slipped her gun from behind her shield and shot the attacker in the gut.
Sam had appeared from behind her and dealt with two more agents. Emersyn sighed in relief and gently dropped the now mutilated HYDRA agent to the ground. "Thanks, pal," she said, dusting off her hands.
Her eyes scanned the highway for any more threats but found only Sam. Emersyn walked toward him with an impressed smile. "Not bad for an Air Force guy."
Sam seemed mildly offended. "What, you think all we do is fly planes?"
Emersyn shrugged. "I don't know, don't you just call each other names and think the world revolves around you, like in Top Gun?"
Sam gaped at her. "You are not allowed to critique that movie, miss James Bond."
"Hey, that is a compliment." She cocked her pistol. "Secret agents do it best." Emersyn heard gunfire below them and peered down to see Steve getting fired at on multiple sides by agents. She hit one straight in the back and watched him crumple to the ground with a smile. "See?" She turned to Sam cheekily.
In turn, he also took out one of the agents in a single shot. "I can do that too, Trigger."
"Trigger?" Emersyn repeated. "What is that, some sort of weird nickname?"
Sam kept his eyes on the agents below and fired at another one. "You seem to like it."
Emersyn followed his gaze and shot at the same man. "The trigger?" She repeated as the HYDRA agent collapsed. "Yes, I do. It solves a whole lot of my problems in an instant."
Steve finished taking out his attacker and glanced up at them in gratitude. Emersyn thought she noticed relief in his eyes when he found her and an uncontrolled grin spread onto her lips. Sam smirked at her reaction and Emersyn gave him a wink.
"I'm gonna go put this trigger to good use." She said as she used one of HYDRA's ropes to slide down onto the road below. Emersyn held her gun at the ready while she hurried through the smashed cars and debris. She only had to follow the billowing smoke and gunshots to find Natasha and Steve. Civilians were scattered on the streets screaming and running; as soon as they saw Emersyn sprinting they continued fleeing.
A single gunshot was heard in the distance that sent Emersyn's hair spiking. She quickened her pace and hoped that the bullet had found the Winter Soldier and not her friends. To her dismay, the shining metal arm shone brightly in the sun with its fingers clasped tightly on the trigger of a gun. Emersyn did not know his target but wanted it to be her before he could shoot. She pushed away her fear and let that recklessness Steve always warned her about take control.
"Hey, Optimus Prime!" Emersyn yelled. As soon as the Winter Soldier turned to look at her, she landed three bullets— all blocked by his metal arm. She groaned in frustration, "Are you kidding me?" and mentally prepared herself to do hand-to-hand combat with a metal fist. She jumped on top of the hood of the car and looked up just in time to see the Winter Soldier's arm come soaring toward her.
Emersyn ducked and dove towards his legs to knock him off balance. She needed to be on the same level as him, but it was a clumsy move. Emersyn fell on top of the Winter Soldier's legs and quickly rolled away before he could kick out.
She took advantage of her opponent's vulnerability and fell on top of him with her knee driving into his chest. For any other man, the breath would have surely been driven out of him, but to Emersyn's surprise, the Winter Soldier barely reacted and landed an aggressive punch to her jaw.
She fell to the side and gasped out in pain at the sting. The left side of her face felt numb and she struggled to see from her eye. The Winter Soldier was quick to his feet and Emersyn saw a blur of metal come racing toward her again. She narrowly missed a fist to the temple but instead received it on her shoulder. Emersyn collapsed with so much force she dented the car. Blood spurted out from her mouth as she choked for air. Never had so she taken much force from a punch; it was like bricks were dropping onto her body.
Emersyn's good arm came up in a weak attack at the Winter Soldier's gut, but he held stopped her fist with his palm effortlessly. She winced at his crushing grip and tried to writhe out of his grasp, but the Winter Soldier held firm. Emersyn gasped for release as his fingertips were leaving bruises; she could not free herself.
A moment later he flung her off the car and onto the pavement below. Emersyn crashed awkwardly and skidded across the road, tearing up her exposed skin. She hissed in pain at the burns and looked up at the Winter Soldier. He towered above her with no pity; his body language was robotic and cold with no emotion for the victims that fell under his unfeeling arm. That grip could choke the life out of her in an instant; the imprint of his hand was forged into her wrist.
Emersyn raced to her side for her gun in a craze of fear and desperation. For an instant her eyes met her opponent's and they both froze with their hands hovering over the holster. It was a duel.
Emersyn's instinct took control as she reached for the gun without hesitation; the hours of sweat in practice of drawing a pistol quickly, shooting and shooting again, all her years at S.H.I.E.L.D... could not have prepared her for this.
The Winter Soldier shot first.
Emersyn died— or at least she thought she did. Her eyes squeezed shut at the blasting sound of the gun that she had heard so many times. Sometimes it was a blessing, and other times a nightmare. It brought relief during a tough mission when she defeated the enemy, but it also filled her with the greatest fear when it came through Nick Fury's phone when he died. She thought she was surely going to meet the same fate. When no pain struck her, however, Emersyn squinted her eyes open and was expecting to see heaven or something like that. Instead, Steve was in intense combat with the Winter Soldier, dodging fists and blocking bullets with his shield. Emersyn breathed large gasps of air as she collected herself and looked next to her in shock. A bullet hole was implanted in a car's door only a foot away from her face.
"Emersyn!" Steve yelled. "Get out of here!"
She jerked her attention back to the fight and shakily got to her feet. Emersyn ran around the car and found Natasha slumped against the door on the other side.
"Nat!" She exclaimed and crouched down to meet her.
Romanoff looked up with drooping eyes filled with pain. Her face was blackened from dirt and a red mark stained her jacket on her shoulder. Emersyn's eyes found it and narrowed. "Are you shot?" She asked.
Nat raised a brow and mumbled. "Yes, help me up."
Emersyn gave her a pistol and replied, "No, you stay here. Sam'll come get you." She took several encouraging breaths to rejuvenate herself before turning away. "Hang in there."
Emersyn ran back out to fight and saw the Winter Soldier holding Captain America's shield. She sprinted with light steps to avoid being heard and caught Steve's eye as she approached the HYDRA agent. As a distraction, Rogers made a run toward the Winter Soldier while Emersyn tackled their opponent to the ground. The two were on top of the assassin in an instant. The shield clattered to the ground as Rogers and Emersyn threw punches to the Winter Soldier's exposed head. The HYDRA agent rolled away and drew a knife that Steve quickly blocked. Emersyn had a free moment to recover the shield and knocked her opponent in the jaw. He fell backward but somersaulted to his feet.
With reflexes as fast as lightning, Steve charged toward the Winter Soldier and threw his hits with perfect precision. Both were an equal match; their movements were fluid and sharp without any restraint. Where the Winter Soldier attacked, Steve blocked and redirected his weapon, and when Rogers had the upper hand, the HYDRA agent quickly recovered. Emersyn did not even know where to jump in because the intensity of their movements was far too fast for her to compete with.
Rogers managed to land a punch straight into the Winter Soldier's jaw and did not waste his opportunity to strike again. He delivered a forceful kick that sent his opponent flying backward. Before the HYDRA agent could regain his footing, Steve jumped with both legs driving into the man's chest.
Still, the Winter Soldier was only immobile for a second. He quickly swung back at Rogers with the metal arm and gained control again.
Emersyn crept from behind and kicked the back of the agent's knee before he could strike Steve. Then, in his moment of weakness, Rogers flipped the Winter Soldier onto the ground, but Emersyn was knocked off her feet as the opponent lashed out with his legs. When she scrambled back up, his metal arm was enclosed around Steve's neck and began choking him.
Emersyn kicked hard at both the Winter Soldier's knees and he fell to the ground, releasing his grip on Steve. With one swift movement, he swung his metal arm and smashed it into Emersyn's nose before she could raise a finger to protect herself.
Her body collapsed against the pavement, driving the breath from her lungs and she wrestled for consciousness as black dots began to swarm her vision.
Her attack on the Winter Soldier freed Steve to gain the upper hand, and the sound of metal against metal filled the air as they fought.
Emersyn felt like someone had deflated her lungs and was pushing her further onto the ground. She could not muster enough strength to raise herself and her nose was bleeding profusely to clog her airways. Tears streamed down her cheeks that she blinked away to try and see how Steve was doing. Wracking coughs shook her chest so she could not stand. When she tried to swallow, a metallic taste filled Emersyn's mouth and she spat blood on the ground in disgust.
The sounds of the fight encouraged her to rise and gather whatever strength she had left. Emersyn tried to ignore the hot pain in her nose and wiped the blood away from her lips. As she regained her breath, she managed to pull herself up and stagger towards Steve. Emersyn faltered, however, because he was standing still, gazing at the Winter Soldier with an odd glaze over his eyes.
The Winter Soldier had been unmasked and was staring back intensely. Emersyn caught his swift reach for his weapon and cried out hoarsely, "Steve..! Look out!" She tried to jump in front of Rogers as the Winter Soldier pointed his gun at his dazed opponent.
A rush of wind announced Sam's arrival as he flew toward the Winter Soldier and knocked him away. Emersyn stumbled to Steve's side and looked at him in confusion, trying to read his expression.
"Steve?" She croaked. Her wild eyes turned back to the Winter Soldier who raised his gun again. Emersyn snatched the shield out of Steve's limp arm and held it up to protect them.
A loud whoosh of air came from behind them as Natasha fired at the Winter Soldier and sent the cars surrounding him up in flames. Emersyn whipped around in relief and smiled gratefully at Nat who let the launcher clatter to the ground from exhaustion.
Steve remained open-mouthed and motionless, fixed at staring where the Winter Soldier had vanished in a cloud of smoke.
Emersyn had never seen him like this. Steve was always quick and attentive, never losing his focus or temper. Whatever had struck him was enough for him to let his guard down and even be shot. If not for Sam and Natasha, Steve would've let the Winter Soldier win.
Emersyn prodded him uncertainly but he made no response. Sirens wailed in the distance and were soon approaching. She spotted several armored cars roaring towards them and jumped into action as panic began to churn in her stomach.
"Well, if you aren't giving orders..." Emersyn mumbled under her breath. "Sam!" She yelled. "Can you fly Natasha out of here?"
The Falcon stared blankly at her with eyes admitting defeat. Emersyn narrowed her brows and turned to Natasha. "Come on, we gotta go!"
Romanoff merely tried to balance against the car. "Nat?" Emersyn asked desperately. When she received no response, she turned to Steve and pulled on his arm to lead him away. "Come on, Steve! We need to go!"
Rogers did not even look at her, but let his arm fall limply to his side.
"What?" Emersyn gasped. "We give up?" She threw up her hands and looked around at her friends who stood motionless. "They— we can't just-" she protested to deaf ears.
Her wild eyes took in the mass of agents hurrying towards them, all armed with guns. She didn't let that frighten her. Despite the throbbing pain in her head and her muscles screaming for release, Emersyn exclaimed, "Come on, Steve, we can take them!"
The leader who had been so daring and determined through their whole journey now stood dumbstruck with no will to fight. What had changed in the last minute of their lives? Emersyn looked into his blue eyes that used to always return her gaze. Now, they held no warmth and focused on nothing.
Agents surrounded them, yelling and ordering their surrender. Guns threatened the group on all sides and men forced Natasha and Sam to their knees. Emersyn clenched her jaw as she recognized Rumlow coming toward them with handcuffs. He struck Rogers to the ground and another man held a gun to his head. Emersyn was holding back every muscle from attacking Rumlow and his team. To think she was once a part of those agents, a part of HYDRA, was both terrifying and infuriating. If events had played out differently, it could be her hands clasping the cuffs around Rogers.
Emersyn obeyed the agents' rough orders and allowed herself to be manhandled as they tore her away from Steve and forced her into the back of a truck. She kept staring into Rogers' eyes, waiting for him to return her gaze, but he remained lost in whatever trance had taken hold of him. Emersyn buried her head in her hands once she was locked away. They lost, and it wasn't some heroic downfall or a grand sacrifice of their freedom. They lost willingly, and she couldn't understand why.
a/n
Zero editing 💀 writing this at 11 pm
This was fun! Writing this fight scene is so hard man. I was trying to incorporate Emersyn with the Winter Soldier but while also not making her seem super weak haha. She helped out... ish.
Anyway thanks for reading and the support as always! I'm in LOVE with the new cover omg 😍 and Sam and Emersyn banter is so fun hehe!
Lmk what u think!