Steel Hearts

- 6 -

While Steve and Sam left to steal his old uniform from the Smithsonian, I stay at the dam with Maria until they get back.

"Remember that project we were working on last year?" she asks me when I sit down at the table next to her, Fury now asleep in his bed.

"Yeah, trying to amplify and stabilize my powers?" I question, massaging the knot at the base of my neck.

"Well, I took the liberty of having something made for you. Stark helped."

The next thing I know, an all-black one-piece suit with dark violet-colored stitching running up the seams is sitting on the table in front of me along with a black tactical belt and knee-high boots with the same violet-colored details.

"Figured if you're going to help be a hero, you need to look like one," she smiles at me, reaching in her bag once more, "Oh, and one more thing... These..."

Silver comes into view, metal forearm cuffs, as she sets them on the table.

"They're made of adamantium, a virtually indestructible steel alloy. It should be able to boost your powers and if you knock them together hard enough you could probably create a sonic boom."

My jaw falls to the floor, shocked, "Adamantium is ridiculously expensive. Maria, how did you get a hold of this?"

"I called in a few favors," she smirks at me, "Go put it on!"

I smirk at her, grabbing all of the pieces and slinking into the next room. Slipping on the suit, fingerless gloves, boots, belt, and arm cuffs before rejoining her. Steve and Sam standing near her with their backs to me.

"What do you think?" I ask, letting my hair go from the braid it was in into soft waves on my back. The three of them turned around to face me.

"Damn, girl. Who gave you the right?" Sam asks with a smirk on his face.

"Whatever," I roll my eyes, dropping my civilian clothes on the chair I had been sitting in. Even though he's still unhappy with me, I can feel Steve's eyes boring into me; brushing it off I take the chip Maria is holding out for me, "Alpha?"

She nods, handing bravo to Sam and Charlie to Steve. 

✪  ✪  ✪

Steve debriefed before we left. Luckily, the dam wasn't far from the Triskelion so walked. Nat was going to pose as a councilwoman and infiltrate the council meeting to keep an eye on Pierce and access one of the high-level computers; dumping all of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s secrets onto the internet, therefore, dumping HYDRA's as well. Maria was going to monitor the status and update us frequently from inside the building.

Steve, Sam, and I all got the glory of getting shot at.

"Ella," Steve stops briefly as Maria and Sam keep walking, grabbing my arm to stop me as well, "If we fail, I need you to put force fields around all three carriers to keep them from shooting civilians."

"I was already planning on that," I tell him, meeting his eye with a brief smile before jogging to catch up to Sam and Maria who had just passed over the hill, calling over my shoulder, "Oh and Steve? Don't die. We've still got a date to go on!" Earning a grin from him as he shakes his head, also jogging to catch up to the rest of us.

All four of us were able to sneak in through the emergency stairs, avoiding detection from S.H.I.E.L.D. agents as we climbed them with ease to the security floor. Maria and Sam raise their guns, ready to shoot if needed. Steve nods and I press a button on a sonic emitter to blast through their earpieces, thinking it was the dish, causing a man to swipe his card to open the door.