**Ok, so I changed Kulpan La Inyan, the highly trained warrior, to Kersia. Sorry for any confusion! Comments and likes always appreciated!**
"Oh, you remembered me?" the man chuckled dryly. Eloyse snarled an unintelligible response and shifted as far away from him as she could.
Gauging her reaction, Steve replied accordingly. "What were you doing down here? How come we didn't see you?" he interrogated, his every word full Captain. Maxter smirked.
"I saw you two run past me headed downstairs, and so I followed. You didn't see me, because you didn't look." He smirked. "Fine soldier you are, and fine Kersia-in-training you are." he added for Eloyse. Steve cast him a withering glare, then turned.
"Kersia? What...?"
"A warrior." Eloyse mumbled. "A highly trained warrior."
"Assassin!" Came a corrective shout.
"Also known as assassin." Eloyse rolled her eyes. Suddenly her head shot up. "How'd you know that?" she angrily demanded. Maxter gave her a tantalizing grin, although her back was to him so she couldn't see. Steve saw. He stuck out his tongue in retaliation. Eloyse was muttering something to herself and rocking back and forth. Steve leaned over, ignoring Maxter for time being.
"You ok?"
"Uh hu."
Steve just stared at her, unconvinced. She broke.
"Nobodywassupposedtoknowthat." she rushed out. Then talking slower she explained more, "Malentals aren't allowed to be a Kersia. They're too valuable to waste fighting. They are always kept behind the lines, heavily guarded, in order to heal the wounded." She stopped, but after an encouraging look from Steve, pressed on, "I never wanted to just be behind the scenes. I wanted to fight, to help. One of my parents was a Kersia. They were training me and my brother."
Maxter's voice haunted them again. "You wanna tell your friend how your Kersia parent escaped the life-long commitment to serving their King?"
"No." Eloyse snapped, whirling around. "If these bracelets were loose..." She stopped for breath, glared spitefully at him through the small hole by which they could see each other. He appeared to be caught under an ibeam. He grinned delightedly back.
"Oh, honey. I know what you'd do. That's why," he held up something with a bit of difficulty, "I have this."
Eloyse's eyes widened. She whirled away from the opening and dejectedly curled up in a corner again. Puzzled, Steve peered at Maxter. What he held was barely visible with the faint light, but it looked like a remote.
"The controller for my bracelets." Eloyse despondently answered his unasked question in a muffled voice. "And we're stuck with him."
The maddening voice drifted over again. "Or am I stuck with you?"
*********************
"Shots!" Bucky froze, flinging out an arm to stop Thor. They both listened, heads tipped. The shots were muffled, and echoey, but clearly came from the south side of the ruined building.
"That was near Eloyse!" Natasha urgently tapped her comm. "I could hear it from outside and through my comm too!"
Tony landed near the south side. "Eloyse? Are you ok?"
"Hey, what about me?" Steve's sharp voice across the comms was never more appreciated. Everyone cheered, but the celebration was broke short by Steve's somber announcement. "Somebody else was crushed under the building. They had a gun. Hold on." There was a long moment of silence, "Ok, now I'm fine. But more importantly, he shut off our air supply."
Clint suddenly grinned. "So there's an upside to being trapped with someone who can heal with a touch."
"Barton..." Natasha growled, giving him the evil eye. He shrugged and slunk away. Bucky took off running. He was headed to where the shots seemed to have come from. That was his best friend down there, and he wasn't giving up.
********************
Steve worriedly looked around. They were entirely closed in. The shots Maxter had fired at them had ricocheted all over the small area, hitting Eloyse once, Steve twice, and some smashing against the precariously balanced piece of rubble. It had fallen. Their space was cut in half. The air supply seemed fading. And Maxter had re-activated Eloyse's bracelets.
Luckily, she had acted fast and kept both hands on Steve's arm when he yanked her out from under the teetering slab. With a quick burst of power that was almost painful for Steve, she healed both bullet wounds. An instant later, her power died. Still on Steve's arm was the glowing blue marks. He idly traced them. His shield had been rendered useless by the ricocheting, and Eloyse hadn't had the energy or reflex to raise her barrier before it was over. Sighing, he glanced at the girl again. Her breathing was steady, but shallow. Her eyes were closed. He couldn't tell if she was asleep or dying.
"What would I do without you?" he whispered, leaning over and brushing back the hair from her face.
"Probably die..." her soft voice was unexpected, and carrying a hint of humor. Her eyes slowly opened, and the dark brown still sparkled. She sized him up, "Actually, you might die anyway."
Steve's eyebrows went up. Eloyse weakly laughed. "Just kidding. But honestly, it's no good for you to worry." She gave him an encouraging grin. Steve swore under his breath and turned away. Peeking a look at her, he saw her eyes were closed again. He gently thumped his head against the rubble behind him.
What had she wanted to come down here for anyway? All she said was that it was important. He should have told her no, it was too dangerous. He sighed. Even to his enhanced body the air was getting worse.
He pressed the comm, finally replying to the volley of conversation that had been going on. "Hey, guys?" He broke through a heated argument between Thor and Tony. "We need out of here. Soon."
"Right." Tony's voice sounded incredibly cheerful, "We got that tracker working, and it seems you both are very buried."
"Oh man!" Steve facepalmed, rolling his eyes, "Got anything else to tell me?"
"Umm..... nope! I'll keep you updated."
Steve dozed in the hours that passed. He could hear his friends scraping away far above him. Maxter hadn't made any noise for a long time, and Steve figured him dead. Eloyse was fading in and out of consciousness, occasionally talking in a delirious manner. The ricocheting bullet had struck her low on the left side, and according to her, it was still in there. Steve was too shy to check if she was right.
The only light in the place had been created by Eloyse, and evidently it depended on her. It had been rather bright until the shots were fired; now it was a wavering dim. Steve frowned. He picked up Eloyse's hand, rubbing his thumb over the bracelet. It was cold, gray metal, an inch wide and a quarter inch thick. It snugly fit her wrist, pressed against her skin. He fingered it, wondering how it came off. Eloyse suddenly moved, restlessly pulling her hand away from him. Her eyes flickered open, staring dully at the ceiling. Eventually she shifted her gaze and glanced over Steve. He automatically made eye contact.
"They're coming." Eloyse spoke barely above a whisper. Steve nodded. They both listened in silence. The scraping and thumping from far above was getting nearer. And good thing, Steve worried. The puddle of blood beside Eloyse was still slowly growing, although Steve had tried to stop the bleeding.
Eloyse had returned to staring at the ceiling, her eyes glazed and listless. Steve scowled. He tried starting a conversation to take her mind off the situation.
"You ever been hurt this bad?"
"No."
"Ever been from home this long?"
"No."
"Ever seen a war? ....or battlefield?"
"Once."
"Any family know where you are?"
"No."
"Your horse ok?"
"Probably not."
"I'm not helping, am I?"
"No." Eloyse wanly smiled to show she appreciated the effort. She turned her head away. Steve sighed.
*******************
"Is that them?"
At those words, Bucky excitedly pushed Tony into a domino-style fall, toppling Natasha, Thor, and Clint all at once.
"What them?" he demanded, peering into the hole they'd excavated. Clint dragged himself to his feet, grumbling indignantly. Natasha was the one who answered.
"The light. Look hard, you can see a light shining up. Very faint."
Bucky stared intently into the rubble. He abruptly lit up. "I see it! What else can be down there but them?" He began jerking out concrete and tossing it aside. Eagerly, the rest of the team pitched in. Tony, thinking aloud, estimated they would reach the stranded victims in less than an hour.
It took over two hours.
They rescued Eloyse first. When Steve handed her up, he grimly stated, "She lost a lot of blood, and there wasn't much air either." Tony whisked her away. Thor and Bucky dragged Steve from the little hole they'd dug. Clint and Natasha happily stood back, watching the two best friends greet each other.
"What the..." Bucky softly touched the glowing blue on Steve's arm. "What's that?" he asked in wonder.
Steve grinned slightly. "That's evidence somebody's got more potential then we first figured them to have." Yet despite the happiness, there was an underlying anxiousness in everyone. "Where'd Eloyse go?" Steve asked, breaking away from the enthusiastic Bucky.
"Tony took her." Thor replied. He was tossing his hammer up and catching it again. Steve nodded.
"Let's go." he said quietly.