We jogged to meet Steve, who smiled softly at us all.
'Hey you guys, nervous for your first mission?'
'As long as we have each other, we have nothing to worry about.' He grins at Oliver's strong response. We head up to the helipad.
'Okay, good luck out there, stay safe, and show us what you're made of.' He yells over the noise, as we all wave to him as we sprint to the helicopter.
'Okay, body-cams are on!' Oliver announced.
'Can you guys hear us?' Steve's voice says.
'Loud and clear.' I confirm. 'How many of you are watching?'
'All of us are here.' Clint calls out.
'Awesome, you ready to lose?' Damien directs at me.
'It's not really in my blood, popsicle.' He rolls his eyes, as I lean back.
'So what's your plan, recruits?' An unfamiliar but very formal voice asks. Must've been Banner.
'Damien and y/n are going around the back, me and Ash will get the USB.' Oliver talks in to the mic.
'I haven't even been told what we're doing here.' Damien says.
'Me neither.' I chime in.
'You're taking back a USB stick from a HYDRA base.' Steve informs us. Oliver notices my uneasy expression.
'You'll be fine, M.' Sitting up, I harden my face.
'I'm gonna fuck them up so bad.' I growl.
'That's the spirit.' Stark sarcastically says.
'We're here.' Ash says, speaking finally. Out of the window, the coal-black sky looms above us. The ghostly building looked abandoned, bringing back haunting memories.
'They've always been fans of being discreet.' I mutter.
'Okay, split now, meet you in the Information Room.' Oliver whispers.
'Something goes wrong, just scream you know.' Damien jokingly suggests, before being interrupted by Stark.
'That really isn't a good idea.'
'You got it, Stark.' My voice deadly congratulates him.
Damien and I sprint off around the back, when we spot two guards.
'Just like we practiced right, M?'
'Just like practice.' I repeated.
I start sprinting towards them, when ice lifts me in to the air. Raising my fist in the air, I plunge it in to the ground. The ground shatters beneath me, as the two guards get thrown aside, like rag dolls. I hear hushed whispers from the tower.
'Holy shit...' A voice mumbles.
'M, we got company!' Damien yells, as a sudden chill sets in the air.
'I'm on it!' I call back, sprinting to the noise. Damien was fighting off two men, beating their asses. Out of the shadows, a man with a pistol approached him. His twisted smile sent hateful screams in my head. I whipped the gun out of his hand, and threw him in to the frosty atmosphere.
'We make a good team when we're not at each other's throats.' I admit to him, as we jog to the door.
'You know, you're not too bad.' He sighs.
'Not too bad, excuse me Ice-Cube I just saved your snowy ass!' He laughs at my light-hearted insulted.
'I'll never regret teaching you how to be snarky.' He recalled fondly.
'You're 16, stop talking like Captain Patriot.' I forgot about them watching.
'Captain Patriot? God it's like having a second Tony.' He groaned.
We finally reach the Computer Room.
'What took you so long?' Oliver asked, waiting by the door.
'Kicking evil ass.' Damien replied, as we all entered the dark room.
Oliver snapped his finger, and with a candle in the dark, we slowly sneaked through the eerie room.
'Found the light switch.' Ash whispered, as the lights blared in our eyes.
'Found the USB stick, let's get out of here.' Oliver shouted, when a piercing scream ran out in our ears.
'Don't do it, M. Don't g-!'
With zero hesitation, I ran off in the direction of the noise.
Shouts in my ear piece and in my actual ear just seemed to fade away. I'm not letting someone else go through what I did.
The rusty metal door was all that stood between me and the mystery girl. I hear faint shouts through my ear-piece.
'Don't do it, we'll come back for them!' I inhale and choke out.
'I-I'm not letting someone go through what I did. I'm sorry.'
Ripping the door open, I thunder in to the room. In the middle of the room, was a girl, who looked about 8. She was screaming and crying, locked in to a dentist chair.
I raced to her side, ripping the restraints off of her, when a voice I never wanted to hear ripped through my ears.
'How nice of you to join my latest experiment, I called her after you, Phantom.' I felt a prick in my neck, as an insane looking man stood behind the glass. I shield the girl with my body, and raised my gun and hand. He laughed hysterically,
'Ah, how ironic. I gave you those powers and you threaten to kill me with them? You could never kill me.'
'Oh yeah, come out here and I'll prove it, asshole.'
'You Americans..' He snarled, when I realised the Avengers had fell silent.
The girl's hand weakly placed on mine, when I realised.
'If you let her go, I'll take her place.' I negotiated.
'No, stop y/n!' Bucky cried out.
He hesitated, before slowly exiting his little pod.
'My prized possession, you always were my favourite.' He sighed, the madness tearing through his worn voice. Seeing my chance, I dragged him by his feet towards me. His eyes widened to saucepans, fear glinting in them. His cries echoed through the room, as I crashed my fists in to his skull. No empathy for him, no sympathy for him, no mercy for the wicked.
Finally, he lay there, lifeless and empty. My quiet sobs hitch my breath, as I feel the girls small sobs from behind me. I pick the girl up, the pain in my neck screaming at me to stop.
'We're getting you home. You're safe, we won't let them hurt you anymore.' I soothe in to her ear, trying to cover my grief and fear.
I walk back to the helicopter, still clutching on to the girl. The door ripped open, as my hearing finally settled down. The Avengers were practically screaming at me through my earpiece, as several shouts came from the helicopter.
My eyes felt cold and dead, as I watched the now asleep girl in my arms. Ignoring the trios concerned and furious lectures, I place her in my seat. Slumping on the floor of the helicopter, I let myself listen.
'... that was so reckless, you could've been killed, or turned against us!' Oliver lectured, as Stark and several other voices joined in.
'Kid, you don't get to choose who comes with you. If that girl was a hoax, you would have fell right in to their trap.' I sigh, before speaking, my hoarse voice silencing them.
'If that had been one of you guys, I would've done it. If it was a S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent, I would've done it. If it was a civilian, I would've done it. I don't leave people behind.' We finally landed back in the tower, and in the silence, I drop out of the helicopter.
'If you need me, just follow the trail I leave.' I walk to the edge of the tower, and flip on to my back. I fall backwards, flipping every now and then. An inch to the floor, I slow myself down. Thank god they injected things that made me more resistant, I would have been dead long ago.
Stars were nowhere to be seen, as the 3am New York air filled my exhausted lungs. Winds whistled and howled as they swerved round the brick corners.
'Please, sir, I don't have any money!' Across the street from me, a kid with olive skin and black hair was pleading with a man.
'I don't care! Hand me your stuff, now!' The man screams. I tap my choker, which activated my mask and sent an alert to Oliver. It was a soft piece of black material that covered my lower face. I sprint across the road, and roll over the bonnet of a car.
'Excuse me , sir, put the damn gun down.' I growl, holding my own gun. The man squeaks.
'I-It's a fake! I'm sorry, okay!' He spins, and attempts to run away. I hold my hand out, holding him in place.
'Not so fast, just gotta do something.' I handcuff him to a lamppost, with a note:
You're welcome.
'Are you an avenger?' The boy asks. I laugh softly,
'I'm a new recruit, what's your name kid?' His mouth opens at my white eyes.
'N-Ned, Miss.' I pat his shoulder.
'Call me Marionette. Listen, i need you to do something for me. If anyone asks where I went, just say these exact words.
I'm visiting an old friend.'
Ned smiles and nods, as I turn and make my way to my destination.
Finally outside the door, I knock rapidly. The grand double door opens, as I'm greeted with a familiar face.
'Hey Wong!' I smile.
'Y/n? What're you doing up at this hour?' He asks, letting me in.
'I need to talk to Mr. Strange.' I plead with Wong, who looks in to my (eye colour) eyes and sighs.
'Well, just like you, he's still up in his study. Come on, then.'
'Thanks, Wong.' I hug him, and he quietly laughs and leads me to the study.
'Stephen? Your little friend is here!' A distant voice replies.
'Send them in.' I look at the dusty books as I walk past, all of them holding at least a century's worth of knowledge.
'Oh, y/n, it's you. What're you doing here?' He asks, his cloak wafting behind him. He stood over a table, holding a sharp, rusty object.
'I need advice, Mr. Strange.' He turns to face me, and folds his arms.
'What's wrong?'
'Do you know Tony Stark?' I ask. He exhales at the thought of him,
'Yes, why?'
'Should I trust him?'
He looks down and thinks for a second.
'From how I saw him, he hides a lot. If you can somehow earn his trust, he is very much a powerful ally. He means good, y/n. Tony just has a very icy, arrogant layer you have to get through.' A knock comes from downstairs. I beg him
'Please Mr. Strange, can you sneak me out?' He rolls his eyes, and goes to answer the door.
'Only because I prefer you to the rest of them.'
'Thank you!' I wait upstairs, from a spot that allows me to see the door and the entrance. Strange opens the door, as 9 people stand behind the huge acre entrance.
'Can I help you?' Strange sarcastically asks.
'Looking for a kid, apparently she visits here often?' Stark leads the pack, as he bluntly answers.
'What kid, Stark, the spider one isn't here.' Peter interjects at the mention of his alter-ego.
'T-That's me.' Strange nods his head slightly.
'I haven't seen anyone around here.'
'Then you won't mind if we take a look?' Oliver asks, as Strange hesitates before answering calmly.
'Fine, just don't touch anything.'
Crap. The Unforeseen guests search the room, as I crouch upstairs with Strange's cloak next to me. I named it Cloaky. Every now and then Strange glances up at me to check if I'm still there. It was all going well, until Wong wandered back in the room whilst chirping.
'Where'd that y/n go? She was always a good one, we should teach her so-.' He realised what he had said was a mistake, as Bucky quickly called out to me.
'You can come out now. We know you're here.'
Strange looks up at me, before sighing.
'Come on, kid.' I turn to cloaky, who tugs to the stairs. Annoyed, I get carried down the stairs by cloaky.
'Thanks.' I whisper to the red cape, who immediately returns to Strange. Steve says, curious.
'Are you a Sorcerer or something?'
'I am, she's got potential to be a great one.' Strange answers, smiling at me encouragingly. Wong was talking happily to Peter and my little group. He gestured to me, as he nodded.
'Ok, let's go home already.' Stark says irritated. His hands go to push me out, when I call back to Strange.
'We're still on for Wednesday, right Mr. Strange?' He chuckles and starts to exit the main entrance to go upstairs.
'Sure thing, kid.'