Serendipity's Interlude (Sequel to The Call)

Resettlement

How's finals for everyone going? I got one left before I can go back to tiktok and texting during classes

A millisecond before I'm even conscious I am inexpressibly angry at Barnes.

My eyes are open and I'm immediately on my feet.

Or, well, tail.

I quickly scan the area around me and see two sets of boots standing next to me. I grab the ones that are still wet and swipe them out from under the owner's feet. Barnes, the man of the hour, lands rather ungracefully on his backside, at which point I grab a fistful of his shirt and yank him closer to me.

In less than a second: I swing, he blocks, I spray water on his face, and punch him a second time while he sputters- as humans do when you attempt to drown them.

"You deserved that!" A voice I recognize as Wilson's shouts from a few feet away.

"I believe I mentioned how I'm not a fan of men who can't keep their fists to themselves?" I remind Barnes, leaning back on my hands in the dirt, absolutely fuming. I know I probably don't look very menacing, but it's hard to when you're glued to the ground, covered in half a million blue scales, and scolding a man twice your size.

"Yeah well I'm not a fan of dames who keep trying to murder me, fish lady," Barnes says, pulling his shirt up to wipe some of the water off his face.

"I'm a fan of chicks who keep trying to murder him," Sam mutters. I twist to look at him. He shrugs and goes back to messing with some type of metal backpack. I turn back to Barnes who hasn't made an attempt to stand back up yet.

"Well get used to it, frankly you're lucky I don't kill all of you right now," I say bitterly. All I can see is Cora's face when she got hit. Cora's face when I found her. Killed by men.

"That settles it," Fury says. I didn't even know he was here. Before I realize what he's doing, he's clipped some sort of... collar on me. It clicks like a lock and beeps three times.

"What the hell is- ah!" I cut my own words off with a small cry of pain as the collar shocks me. It buzzes slightly at my response, threatening to do it again.

"That is how we make sure you don't kill all of us right now," Fury says, crouching down next to me. "Because we all prefer ourselves alive, and I think so does the rest of the human race."

"I don't think it's the best method," Rogers mutters.

"Yeah, well, it's the most effective." Fury says over his shoulder. "You try to sing? Zap. You try to drown someone? Zap. You otherwise threaten the safety of any of my people? Zap." He stands up and whispers something to Steve.

"Do you want to... put some legs on, before we leave?" Barnes asks.

"If you would be so kind as to put me in the water, I gladly will," I say through gritted teeth, measuring each word carefully to keep the song from leaking out. Barnes nods and stands up. He paces around me, thinking.

"Any idea how?..."

"Just drag me over to the edge," I roll my eyes. He nods and hooks his arms under mine, lifting me up off the ground enough to drag me until the open air is right behind me.

"Hey!" Fury shouts from a few feet away. "Don't get any ideas, or zappy-zappy," He motions with his control... box... what's the word... remote. I flex my jaw and nod as I lean back over the edge until I fall off. Moments before I land on the rocks, I manage to use my tail to push myself away from the edge, and I land in the shallowest spot in the water. I right myself, laying down flat under the water. I see Barnes leaning over the edge, watching me. I instinctively call to the water, intending to splash him, but my collar starts to vibrate. After a moment of consideration, I splash at him instead. Like a human. He shakes his head and goes away.