Magna's footsteps were lost in the growing rumble, the rising, world-shaking roar from the explosions and gunshots surrounding the helicarriers. She ran to a window and saw the spirals of fire, the injured, the dead—and in a handful of seconds, Magna had rushed from the front window to the back stairs again, eager to get to Rumlow -and also to meet the Falcon character. Up they went, higher and higher; the gyrations of the stairs seemed endless, and all the while the Maria Hill's voice rang in her ear, reminding them that they were running out of time.
Wilson heard doors burst open, quickly followed by the faint sound of Rumlow's hushed voice. He kept his knees bent and movements quiet, wanting the full effect of the surprise element. He was utterly aware that the HYDRA agent was armed, so his fists were his best bet since his handy suit was down. He camped behind a door, and waited. Just as expected, said door slowly opened, and in came Rumlow.
— I'm on forty-one, headed towards the south-west stairwell.
Sam charged towards the other man, using the momentum to land a good one on Rumlow's face, and the gun dropped out of the latter's hands. Then he aimed for his lower region, but the well-trained agent blocked the kick, breaking out of his hold, managing to knock Sam down in the process with a throbbing sensation on his forehead. Rumlow had headbutted him; the brave man noticed and glared at his opponent. Before any of them could make another move, the doors swung open again, this time revealing Magna, skin glistening with a thin layer of sweat.
She scanned the situation, barely glancing at the man on the floor, struggling to his feet. She assumed that was Falcon. Sam didn't recognize the brunette either, yet couldn't help but feel a wave of excitement. She looked angry, she looked strong. Furthermore, the way she glowered at the S.T.R.I.K.E member clearly meant they knew each other. Her muscles flexed with the intensity of her pose as they continued to stare down at each other.
— Rumlow.- she greeted him curtly, almost bored, hand reaching for the knife in her belt. Her movements didn't go unnoticed by the man. Brock cocked an eyebrow. She was trying to distract him, saving some time so that Sam could ease his staggered breathing and stand up. — Down for a little rematch?- her emotions boiled and she felt rage ignite within her.
Upon watching the man nod, she changed her mind, leaving the knife in place and taking two steps forward, to the centre of the fight. There was more than surprise in Rumlow's eyes, there was anger and also a perverted lust: the kind that has its wellspring in enjoyment of others' pain.
Sam was on his feet again at last, behind Magna, chest bouncing with expectation as his eyes darted between the two other people in front of him. She would have no chance if she lunged from this far; Rumlow would finish her before she made the distance. So, she let him come to her.
Textbook. Rumlow closed the distance, running to her and Magna quickly stepped back, only to find herself flattened against the wall. She waited until he was mere inches away, then she moved. Her first blow hit -colliding perfectly on his left cheekbone-, but her second one didn't. To her surprise, Rumlow caught her wrist just before she hit his face. He grabbed her elbow, snapped one hand on her wrist like a shackle, and then twisted. Marga flipped with it, pain shooting up her arm as he shoved her against the wall again.
— Still insufficient, Magna.- he muttered behind her, a smirk of malice twitching his lips. — Just like our training sessions, huh?- he growled in her ear, one of his hands pulling her hair tighter, pressing himself against her to keep her in place. The other squeezed her hands together, tightening his grip to subdue her struggles. — But now I ain't holding back.- she rolled her eyes and flailed her head wildly.
— You mean the countless times I beat your ass? That was you holding back?- Magna took advantage of Rumlow's bragging to stall, hoping Falcon would step up his game a little. — Even when I broke your rib?- she tried stomping on his arm with the sharp heel of her boot, and the man winced, but didn't let go, so she tried again, harder. Rumlow's chuckles suddenly stopped, and Magna's laughter replaced them. — Then it'll feel ten times better when I kick your ass this time.- with all her might she kicked, missing her aim for his private part, yet landing a clean blow to his knee.
The controlling grip on her wrist loosened, allowing her to slip out of his grasp. Magna glared at Rumlow as he backed away from her. She lunged out at him hoping to knock him off balance, but he dodged to one side. Matching the woman's speed, Rumlow lashed out and they clashed. Her determination didn't falter, delivering a two-handed attack on him, which he dodged as well. She pursued her attack, and they dueled for a fair while, filling the atmosphere with violence, displaying sheer speed and reflexes.
He dropped to the ground, falling right under her kick. As he fell, he lashed out with both his feet, connecting with Magna's balancing leg. His boot drove directly into her knee. She yelped in pain from the stinging kick, lost her balance and tumbled to one side, trying to divert the energy of the attack away from her knee. She was only off-balance for a second, but that was all Rumlow needed.
He came in a blinding rush, elbowing her face in an effort to knock her unconscious. The hit landed, but she never touched the ground. Slightly dizzy, Magna recovered from Rumlow's block, spinning around and taking a small jump backwards, catching her breath next to Sam. Nursing his bleeding forehead, Wilson scrutinised him as Rumlow stripped his vest away.
— This is gonna hurt.- he warned the two cockily.— There are no prisoners with HYDRA, just order. And order only comes through pain... You ready for yours?- the S.T.R.I.K.E soldier's cocky attitude was promptly flattened.
— Man, shut the hell up.- Sam's voice grunted across the room, ready for round two. Magna crossed her arms and assumed position by his side, shaking her head and making a clicking sound with her tongue.
— He never does.- she sighed, murmuring sourly. The gesture was scornful and full of resentment, triggering Rumlow.
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Magna and Rumlow met again in the middle of the room, and it felt like watching two people weaving an intoxicating dance. The agents fell into a rhythmic flow, their bodies colliding in a blur of motion as they threw in kicks and punches whenever an opening seemed to appear. Rumlow broke the dance. With sweat dripping from his temples, he feigned a double left thrust and quickly reversed his attack by completing a full spin, which Magna dodged gracefully.
She noticed the opening in his defenses and used it, but he deflected one blow, reversed his momentum and dropped to the ground in a crouch. He regained his footing and reengaged with her, shoving her forcefully. A yelp whooshed out of her as her stomach smashed into the hard back of a leather chair. Heart pounding, she turned around and struck again on the stomach the man who had kicked her. On cue, Sam joined the combat, and for a while the two fought hand-to-hand. Magna stood slowly, wincing as she gathered her strength.
Rumlow pulled back, smiling wickedly. Magna and Sam teamed up against him, backing him closer and closer to the wall. The latter's deadly precision allowed him to duck, dodge and deflect each of their attempts. Fortunately, as he focused too much on avoiding one of Magna's kicks, Sam stepped forward and swung his fist like a sledgehammer, lunging again. He used his fist, and swung his arm around at right-angles to his body so as to get every ounce of strength he possessed behind the blow, hitting the soldier squarely on the jaw. The force of the impact all but knocked the HYDRA soldier off his feet. He grumbled in frustration. That only granted them a moment, for Rumlow smoothly regained balance and lashed out one more time, full force.
He moved in for the kill, slugging them with a barrage of punches, any of which could have floored an inexperienced fighter. Within one single swift motion, Brock managed to strike Magna's chest hard, sending her to the floor gasping for air, before focusing back on Wilson.
Sam landed another punch, a left hook that lacked potency. When he followed it with a hard right, Rumlow moved his head slightly and the punch glanced harmlessly to the side of his cheek. In a flash, Wilson's opponent threw another right that came out of nowhere and nearly put the former down again. He was able to make it through the first series of punches by bobbing and weaving, but eventually Rumlow got him, charging nimbly and landing his right hook on Wilson's left cheek.
Suddenly, Steve's coarse, almost breathless voice resounded in her earpiece, startling Magna.
— Charlie locked.- the brunette felt her face sticky with the red liquid dripping from a cut somewhere in head, and her mouth was swollen, tiny cuts all over the surface of her dry lips.
With the upper hand during the fight, Rumlow had continued using his own slightly improved combat techniques to mantain dominance, throwing Wilson across the room, taunting him. Watching the scene, Magna's temper flared and the S.H.I.E.L.D agent ground her teeth in frustration. She pushed herself up onto her feet, wobbling like a colt taking his first steps. Her hands didn't know exactly what to hold, every inch of her body throbbed with pain.
Their battle was then cut short when Sam and Magna's foe decided to speak again. He jumped onto one of the desks, so he could look down at the bleeding and almost defeated Wilson lying on the ground.
— Don't you even try now, Dávalos.- Rumlow tossed his head again, jutted out his chin, and his lips formed a sneer. The double agent pointed a finger at her dismissively. The condescending tone in his voice infuriated her even more, however her attention was nowhere near the HYDRA man. — You're both out of your depth, here.- he added, searching her dark brown eyes, only to find them focused on Sam's position, paying no attention to him whatsoever.
He was about to taunt her again, but then Magna gasped, catching a glimpse of the final helicarrier heading straight towards them, having been successfully reprogrammed and destroyed in the battle.
— We gotta get out of here...- her voice came out low, almost inaudible as she blinked repeatedly. — We gotta get out of here now!- she shouted, limping closer to Sam and helping him stand.
Right on cue, he spotted the helicarrer that was about to crash into the very same floor they were on out of the window, understanding Magna's urgence. Confused at the scene, Rumlow turned and saw the danger but not until it was unfortunately too late. It crashed straight into the side of the Triskelion, directly behind the arrogant traitor. Magna heard him call her name, but she never looked back.
Using their head start to their advantage, Wilson and Magna took off, trying desperately to outrun the big ship as it ate the ceilings and floorings. Smoke filled up the entire room, debris raining on them as the two ran for their lives.
Sam looked over at Magna, catching the worried look glimmering in her eyes. They were running out of ground to run on, and waiting for them was a drop out of the window. Sprinting away for their lives, Sam spotted the two Soldiers still trapped in the Helicarrier and Magna followed his line of vision.
— Nice to meet you!- she panted heavily, propelling herself as fast as she could.
— Likewise!- he yelled in response, eyes focused ahead as he brought one finger to his comms. — Please, tell me you got that chopper in the air!- Sam cried out, feeling his lungs burning.
— Sam, where are you?- suddenly Natasha Romanoff's urgent tone in immediate response filled Magna's ears through the static.
— 41st floor, north-west corner!- he told the lethal spy, his face turning red and his veins making an appearance. His legs pushed harder and harder as he run, the building caving in behind them and Magna struggled to keep the fast pace.
— We're on it, stay where you are.- Sam heard as they desperately tried to get away from the destruction the Helicarrier was causing to the building.
— Not an option!- he screamed. The two turned back to see the Helicarrier catching up. Sharing a look, Magna and Sam knew that was impossible.
Wilson sucked in air through his teeth, nodding at Magna. She responded by holding on to his arm as they jemped out of the window. They heard metal clanging and concrete unfolding behind them as Fury swerved the helicopter barely in time to catch them. They landed roughly, hitting the platform with a crash; Magna held on to the first thing she saw, but Sam wasn't so lucky and slipped from the other side of the chopper. Fortunately, Natasha broke his fall, pulling him up.
— 41st floor! 41st!- Wilson yelled, berating the pair for almost killing them with the helicopter's blades. Wasting no time to catch her breath, Romanoff immediately tapped into her comms, yelling to Maria on the other end of the line, demanding Steve's location.
— It's not like they put the floor numbers on the outside of the building!- Fury shouted in return, over the noise. Magna tuned out their bickering, her eyes lowering as a fresh wave of exhaustion washed over her. She noticed Natasha's confused gaze as it landed on her face, followed by a hesitant question.
— ... Who is this?
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