FURY WANTED HER ON A MISSION.
Not just her, but Steve, Natasha, and Clint. It was a SHIELD recon mission, one in pursuit of an acclaimed enhanced individual. He was known as Chan Ho Yin and was claimed to have fire powers, or something of the sort.
Sam was skeptical at first.
But the director didn't seem inclined to take no for an answer.
So when Steve agreed, she did too. They'd be working alongside the STRIKE team, one that Clint and Natasha had fought alongside before.
Following Steve out of the briefing and toward the quinjet, Sam could feel a pair of eyes burning into her back. She slowed and gazed around to see a dark-haired man watching her, an interested look in his eyes.
Rumlow.
She remembered Natasha's identification of the man.
He met her gaze with a small smile and she nodded back. But the look behind his eyes made her uncomfortable. The lack of emotion in his smile.
"Samantha?" Steve slowed. "Everything okay?"
"Just perfect."
She hurried to catch up and they boarded the quinjet with the others. It was bigger than most, accommodating to the entire STRIKE team and the four of them. Clint went to the front to help pilot and Natasha settled in one of the seats, sighing.
"Told you Fury'd have you on a mission, Clarence."
Sam rolled her eyes. "Did you see the death looks he was giving, though?
"Fury always gives off death looks."
"I think they were a little darker than usual."
"Definitely darker than usual."
She turned toward the new voice. It was the same man; Rumlow. He grinned and offered a hand, dark eyes gleaming.
"I'm Brock Rumlow, by the way. So what'd you do to piss him off?"
"S-Sam."
He arched a brow. She cursed herself internally.
"Might've been a little rude to the Worldwide Security Council."
"A little?" Natasha scoffed. "That's cute."
"They deserved it."
"Oh, hell yeah. But a little is a total underestimate."
Rumlow chuckled and she shook his hand, surprised at the number of calluses lining his palm. The man's dark eyes searched her own.
"You're the Phantom, right? Samantha Clarence."
"That's me."
He whistled. "I've heard the stories. Pretty damn impressive."
Sam shifted uncomfortably, but forced a grin. She shrugged, brushing past the man and moving over to Steve. "Not really."
Rumlow's chuckle followed her back and she tried to shake off a shiver. Moving to Steve's side, she glanced over her shoulder. Back at the man. He was still grinning.
Steve followed her gaze.
"You met Rumlow?"
"Yeah," she bit her lip. "Thoughts?"
"He's a good fighter, a loyal soldier."
Hearing Steve's approval of the man made her shake off a few more fears. If Steve had worked alongside him enough to trust him... she could too. Still, Sam couldn't hold his gaze.
She looked away and her stomach lurched as they took off.
"Where are we headed?"
"Hong Kong."
"And this... enhanced. He's a threat?"
"Not that we know of, but Fury wants him on record."
Sam gazed at the man. "Record?"
Steve rubbed the back of his neck, shrugging. "They call it the Index. Some SHIELD categorization of all powered individuals."
"You're on it?"
He nodded. She swallowed hard.
"I'm on it?"
Another nod. Sam tore her gaze away and glared out the opposite window, trying to digest the words. She didn't know how she felt about being on record. Her identity, her powers... all out in the open.
"Hey," Steve bumped her side. "I don't think it's a bad thing, Samantha."
"No?"
"It's just to keep track of everyone."
"I'm sure it could be used for a lot more than that."
His brows furrowed. Sam shook her head and tried to brush off the feeling. Her mind spun and she was running on little sleep. Too little sleep.
"Hong Kong, huh? Never been there."
"Where have you been? I know you said you went a lot of places after the war, but... where?'
Sam only grinned, glancing over at her friend. "A little bit of everywhere, Rogers."
"Except Hong Kong."
"Oh, hush up."
He grinned as they settled down, across from Natasha in the quinjet's seats. Steve didn't bother to buckle in, but Sam did. She'd had one too many bad quinjet experiences.
Reaching up, she played with the tags around her neck.
Bucky's.
And Steve's.
Her sleep had been haunted by his words. Steve's words, Sitwell's words, and everything she didn't know. The possibility of Bucky being alive. The possibility of HYDRA rising again. Her sleep was haunted by it all.
So Sam had taken to sleeping as little as possible.
It only worked so well.
Closing her eyes, she rubbed her thumb over and over Bucky's tag and tried not to get lost in her thoughts. Instead, she tried to picture his eyes, his smile. Something she'd forgotten as twenty years hit thirty, hit forty and fifty.
Something she might have once sworn to herself she'd never forget.
Something she'd do anything to see again.
Rubbing her thumb over the metal, the exhaustion from days of not sleeping crashing over her, and Sam fell asleep for the rest of the ride. She didn't remember anything, not until she snapped awake at the sound of the back opening.
Rumlow grinned over, standing near the doors.
"Sleeping on duty, Clarence?"
She offered a small smile. He turned away and it vanished.
"Come on, Samantha," Steve helped her up. He searched her face, taking in the bags under her eyes and ghosts in her gaze, and frowned. "After this, you sleep. I don't care what Fury says."
"After this, I want pizza."
"Then sleep."
"Sure, Rogers, whatever you say."
They moved out the back of the quinjet and she blinked hard against the afternoon light. She'd never been to Hong Kong, and she was surprised at its size. The looming buildings in the background, some as tall as Stark Tower itself.
Steve stepped at her side, following her gaze. His eyes widened too.
"So, where's this Chan Yin?'
Clint moved past them, toward Rumlow. The man checked the gadget in his hand and shook his head, lips pressing together. "Somewhere downtown. Works as a street performer, apparently."
"Fire powers and street performance," Sam muttered. "Not a bad alibi, actually."
"Yeah, well, he doesn't know we're coming. Might need someone to talk him down if things get drastic."
Every eye went over to her and Steve. The super-soldier sighed.
"Really?"
"Come on, guys. Only if things get out of hand."
"Fine," Sam muttered. "But someone here is buying me a pizza after this."
A series of laughter rolled through the air. She had managed to shake off all her discomfort with the team at this point, most of them seeming laidback enough. HYDRA being in SHIELD meant she'd barely trusted even the office assistants.
But the STRIKE team didn't seem to bad.
They all got along, at least.
While they were here, Tony was working on breaking into SHIELD's deeper mainframe. Sam had given him her stack of 'possible' files, including the one on the Winter Soldiers. Hopes were, when they got back, there'd be some news.
Or at least a way to dig a little deeper.
They moved into the city.
Despite it all, Sam found herself getting lost in her surroundings. The carrying voices, the sights, the smells. They'd split up to look less inconspicuous. She moved alongside Steve, earning enough stares with his shield and her silver and blue uniform.
"Another hunt for SHIELD," he murmured. "But no closer to anything else."
"Hopefully, Tony will have good news when we get back."
Steve glanced over, smiling at her persistence to remain positive. Sam grinned back, nudging the man's side.
"I'm crossing my fingers, Rogers."
"Ever the optimist."
"Quite the change, right? Someone's gotta be."
They approached the sound of cheering and slowed. Moving through the crowd, Sam came out on the edge of the circle.
A man stood in the middle. Young, with a faint beard, and hat next to his foot. There wasn't a ton of cash in it, but a pretty good amount for a street performer.
She saw the source of the gasps and cheering.
Flames danced up the man's arms.
It was clearly no trick and she wondered how many of the people around them suspected that. Bright, orange glowing flames came from his fingertips and ate hungrily up his bare arms, like they had a mind of their own.
It was an aweing sight.
Sam shifted, shooting Steve's a sideways glance. He met it with a grimace.
Searching the rest of the street, Sam caught sight of the rest of the team. Dispersed on the street corners and standing in the shadows, ready to move if need be. Natasha stood across from them in the crowd, Clint at her side.
Both watched the man with guarded eyes.
Sam knew Clint still had trouble with the enhanced. Since coming out of mind-control by Loki, he'd been on edge. Even if he didn't make it obvious, the man wasn't a huge fan of the powers or anything of the sort.
She supposed she couldn't blame him.
Losing control wasn't fun.
Chan went to switch arms, the flames moving up to his sleeve. Flame caught the cloth and he quickly swatted it out, cursing darkly. The fire went out. Laughter rolled through the crowd, followed by a few boos.
People began to move along. Only a few dropped money into the man's hat.
"Wait, wait—!" Chan cut off as he realized nobody was listening. Instead, he checked his hat, frowning at the sad number of bills.
Soon, it was only Steve and her remaining. Clint and Natasha had moved somewhere out of sight.
The man straightened, studying them.
"May I help you?"
Steve stepped forward. "I'm Steve Rogers. We're—"
"I know who you are," Chan cut him off. His eyes flicked over to her, then back. "I've seen the news. But why are you here?"
"We're with SHIELD," Sam said gently. "Here about your... powers."
Chan tensed. "It's not real magic."
"It is," Steve said. His voice was gentle too. "We aren't a threat, Mr. Yin. We only want to talk."
"I don't want to talk," Chan said. "It's not real. It's just tricks."
Sam opened her mouth and stepped forward, but that seemed to set the man off. Flames erupted in his hands and he retreated a step back. She froze, gazing at the fire, and he glanced at it too. Seeming to realize he had no argument anymore, Chan turned on his heel and took off.
The rest of the team jumped into action.
Rumlow and another man blocked off his escape, forcing Chan to turn and retreat down an alleyway. Sam raced after him, cutting off Rumlow before he could give pursuit. The man had his gun out.
"I've got this."
He paused, fingers tightening around the pistol. Sam narrowed her eyes.
"We're here to talk him down, remember?"
"Yeah, right."
She nodded and raced down the alleyway after the man. It ended after one turn and she found him pressed up against the wall, flames licking his arms and the ground around his feet.
Slowly, Sam raised a hand. "We're not here to hurt you, Chan."
"I've heard that before."
She paused, tilting her head. But he didn't seem inclined to go any further, a dark expression on his face. His fingers clenched.
She was what was coming a second before it did, and dodged as flames raced through the air.
The heat caught her shoulder, causing her to cry out.
"I'm not going to let you take me away," Chan growled. "Any of you."
Sam straightened. A bit unsteadily, one hand clutching the burn marks on her shoulder. The skin was hot. She flickered in and out.
Chan froze.
"We're only here to help," she said. "We're not going to lock you away, we're not going to hurt you. SHIELD would just like to ask a few questions. Make sure we can get to you if someone else tries anything."
His eyes remained glued on her form. Sam slowly lowered her hand.
"I'm powered too, Chan. But none of SHIELD have ever hurt me. They only exist to help."
But even the words, sounding like honey in the air, tasted like poison on her tongue. Because she wasn't sure all of SHIELD did exist to help. And no matter how she worded her sentences, she was lying to the man.
Sam took a careful step forward. "Let us help."
"I— I can't always control it."
"I know," she said softly. "I've been there. But it gets better."
"When?"
She smiled offering a hand. Chan studied it for a long moment before stepping forward, the flames flickering out and the heat in his gaze dying. His fingers were ice old as they took her own.
"Soon."
~ ~ ~
A/N: Agents of SHEILD, anyone? That's what Chan and 'The Index' is pulled from. We're going to get into some Bucky realizations soon, who's ready?