17 x it's personally confusing
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We landed with less hassle than I was expecting. It also wasn't as far of a drop down as I was expecting. It was, however, a landing that took place in a room far too dark for my liking. I felt somewhat better when I heard Vision land soon after me, and saw the glowing gem in his head approaching me around the mass of boxes we had discovered.
"What do you think's in these?" I asked quietly, mindful of the fact that I didn't know how large this space was, and my voice could very well carry.
"Weapons, I'd assume," he replied calmly, passing me and heading toward an open door.
I took a moment, considering creating a ball of light for myself, before resigning myself to the fact that it was probably more ideal to just follow Vision. I rushed to catch up with him, listening carefully for any incoming footsteps or voices as we moved along.
"How do you know where you're going?" I asked then.
"I don't," he answered. "But there wasn't another door, so it seemed the best idea was to leave the otherwise dead end room."
"You know, you're quite sassy for a robot," I pointed out, falling into step beside him. So far there had been no choice to turn . . . but I didn't like this. It could take us forever to find the door that led back to the rest of the ice cold world above us. I paused, then grabbed his arm and looked up at him. "Why didn't we just phase the rest of them down here with us?" I demanded, the question coming out as more of a hiss.
Vision regarded me with moderate surprise, as though I should already know the answer. It was a look that was steadily getting more and more on my nerves. "Because we do not know what we are up against, Megan," he pointed out. "Should we have faced armed men with tesseract enhanced weaponry right off the bat, we could've been faced with injuries . . . or worse. And we still do not know what we are up against. I assumed you understood this was not only to find the door, but to serve as scouts."
I just stared at him for a good thirty seconds. I hadn't thought of that, at all. "We're the Avengers, though," I started to argue, but his shaking of his head cut me off in my tracks.
"You know as well as I do that we cannot be prepared for everything," he pointed out. "But at least this way, we can figure out a few things before we get started."
"Like if Red Skull actually has an army?" I volunteered quietly.
"Exactly." He continued walking then, and I followed after him quickly, batting his cape out of my way in the process.
"Are you trying to tell me we're functioning as scouts because you were worried your team might die?" I whispered.
"No," he said. "I'm telling you we're functioning as scouts because without Thor or Dr. Banner present, you and I -- sans Wanda -- have the highest power levels amongst the group." He glanced at me for only a second. "And I believe you know that I would not risk Wanda's health with this situation."
"Not sure if I should be flattered or insulted," I said slowly, still mulling over what he'd said.
But he waved a hand dismissively, "I was not implying you were expendable, nor was I saying Wanda was helpless. She merely does not yet understand the extent of her powers, and I do not wish to place her in harms way unnecessarily. Especially given you do particularly well with the blatantly unexpected."
"So I should be flattered?" I asked, arching a brow, despite the fact that I knew he was no longer actually looking at me.
He shrugged one shoulder in what I would take as agreement. "If you'd like."
We'd made it through a good portion (at least, what felt like a good portion) of the facility in silence after that. The halls had gained lights, and we'd even come across a crudely drawn map on the wall at some point. It had been enough to give us a sense of where it was we were headed, and as far as I could tell we were very well on our way . . . when a curve ball was thrown into the mix.
And though Vision was right when he said I did well with the unexpected, this was not the kind of thing I had been willing to handle.
One Parker Robbins had stepped into the hall between myself, Vision, and one of the shorter halls that would allow us to bring the Avengers in.
"You got a problem, Mr. Robbins?" I heard a gruff voice ask, down a hall to the right, far out of my line of sight.
"Nothing I can't deal with," Robbins said coldly, his gaze focused solely on me. "Tell Red Skull we've got company."
There was a pause. "You don't want us to--"
"Go. Now," Robbins said flatly. His words were punctuated by the sound of feet marching away, deeper into the facility.
I risked a fast glance at Vision. So they were expecting us, and they did have an army. Good things to know, all of which I was sure he had picked up on by now.
"Now, then," Robbins drawled loudly, bringing my eyes back up to him. "I've been waiting for you to come back around, doll. What took you so long to find me?"
"I was a little busy wondering why you weren't dead," I retorted in a voice not unlike ice. I could see Vision opening his mouth in his periphery, and I shook my head shortly. "No. You go."
"Megan . . ." the android began to argue.
"Uh uh," I shook my head sternly. "Go get the rest of them. I can take him."
Robbins barked a laugh and shook his head in a nearly pitying manner. "Sure you can. But yeah, Christmas man, why don't you get outta here? My boss isn't too worried about your friends, so I see no problem with you bringing 'em in."
Vision gave me one last look, and for a moment, I thought I saw concern in his eyes. But then he nodded -- though I wasn't sure if it was to himself, or for my benefit, before he strode toward Robbins. "You have made a grave mistake," he informed my ex calmly, before bypassing him and heading straight for the door that lay beyond.
Robbins began to laugh in a manner that wasn't much different from a maniac in that moment, the sound sending chills up my spine. I remembered that laugh from the last altercation we'd had -- it was the last sound he'd made before I'd sent him sailing clean into a concrete wall. He interrupted my thoughts, "What, not gonna have another go at me, doll?"
"Stop calling me that," I instructed, already feeling my eyes flash to gold.
He snickered. "You gonna make me? Again? I mean, fat lotta luck it did you last time -- I came back. I'll always come back. It's kind of a thing with me. As long as you're around, I'm going to find you. You should probably get used to it."
"Maybe this time I should just break your neck," I said through my teeth. "Has a bit more of a sense of finality, doesn't it?" This was too personal for me to just push him into a wall again -- no, now he was stalking me, chasing me, leering at me--
It was too personal.
I lunged at him faster than he could've expected, giving him no time to make another verbal pass at me. I latched around his middle and sent us both falling back, before pulling myself up. No sooner could I make another move than had he taken my legs out from under me with a clean swipe of one leg.
I hit the ground, but was undeterred; that is, until I got back up. I was in a low crouch when I realized he had turned invisible, and my heart rate accelerated considerably. "Why don't you face me like a man, Parker?" I shouted, my voice echoing down the hall as I straightened to my full height, my hands balled to fists at my sides.
This time it was I who was tackled to the ground, and this time he didn't let off. He reappeared, and I was about to fight back when I felt something very cold and metallic pressed to my temple. He had a wicked sneer on his face; "Adamantium bullets," he said proudly. "Strongest metal on the earth. Haven't found a thing yet that can bust it." He cocked the gun, his smile ever-widening. "Want to see how a supposedly indestructible girl stands up to it?"
I couldn't comprehend what he was saying -- or rather, I understood, but it terrified my brain into going blank. Adamantium. Strongest metal. Could I beat that? I didn't know, I'd never tried-- I didn't really want to try with my life at stake--
Tears were beginning to blur my sight, when all of a sudden, Robbins was ripped off of me. The lack of his weight came as an immediate relief, though it stunned me at the same time. The trauma of the situation had me frozen in place, when I heard a thickly accented voice speak.
"That's a good way to lose a hand . . . and shorten your life span."