Marvel Imagines

[Pt. 1] A Dangerous Deal (Shang-Chi X Reader)

You've never been more afraid for your life since this very moment.

As the bullet sprays litter the surroundings to your right, causing you to careen instinctively to the left.

"Why in the world are they shooting at us?" You yell over the ruckus, diving behind a nearby parked car, watching as your Partner and fiancé takes his own cover.

"I have no idea!" Shaun, or rather, Shang-Chi, as you'd been so enlightened on your last adventure together - saving the world from evil soul suckers - hollers back in reply.

You work on steadying your breathing, adrenaline pumping through your veins.

Even if we could disarm one of those guys... take his weapon...

"There's too many of them, Shaun!" You point out, reading your Partner's body language as a sign he's contemplating actually attempting to take on these armed men.

"I know, I know," You can almost hear him mumble as he sprints across the chaos towards you, thankfully not getting hit in the process. "So what do you suggest?"

"The only thing I can think of is running."

Your Partner sighs heavily, staring at his lower forearms.

"This would've been a lot easier if I had Dad's rings."

"Tell me about it," You grumble, sparing one quick look out from over the vehicle you're both crouched behind, the bullets no longer ricocheting off of your surroundings.

"I guess that's our cue."

Sharing a tense nod, the pair of you haul yourselves to your feet and take off running down the nearest alleyway, dodging trash bins as you go.

"We headed home?" You pant, beginning to become short of breath, muscles beginning to ache.

"The Rings are there, so that might be a good idea!" Comes the reply, sarcasm quite evident.

The booted footsteps are coming closer now as you and Shaun both skitter to a halt, a sudden chain link fence blocking your path.

"We've gotta go up," You state plainly, eyeing the fence.

It's tall, but nothing you haven't climbed before.

Well, maybe on a good day with no armed maniacs chasing you.

"You first," The man standing beside you nods, eyeing the darkly clad figures closing in on you both with a steady gaze, his stance rigid.

Not bothering to argue, you begin to climb the fence, your boots biting into the chain links with ease, your arms and legs working in sync.

"What the hell do you guys want?" Shaun questions sternly from below you, the men in black tactical gear still coming closer.

Panic begins to swell within you, your gaze eyeing the weapons they hold.

Fully decked out ARs... Handguns on their sides... and are those tasers and grenades? Geez. These guys are serious.

"Your Father died and passed on the Rings to you, did he not?" The leader of the group replies, an accent you can't quite put your thumb on meeting your ears.

"He did."

"And it would seem you do not have the Rings with you, then?"

"What does that matter?"

"We need them. Retrieve them and bring them back here by nightfall three days from now or else-"

The voice pauses, the sound of a single, silenced shot ringing out filling the grimy alleyway and making your ears ring.

But, before you can even react to how much the situation suddenly escalates to, you find yourself crying out in pain, your footing coming undone and your body crashing into the cold, damp cement.

"-You both will wind up with bullets in your heads rather than her shoulder."

The cold voice sounds distant, foggy almost as pain blossoms throughout your entire body, cries of agony falling from your lips.

"Hey, hey, hey," A new, much more comforting tone finds it's way into your headspace, the distant feeling of someone grabbing hold of you and pulling you close barely resonating with your muddled senses. "You're okay."

"Do we have a deal?" The cold, calculating tone muses aloud once more, and through your blurry eyes, you watch as his piercing gaze bores straight into your soul - an absolutely disgusted and outraged looking Shang-Chi glowering up at this evil stranger.

"Fine," He practically seethes, making his way to his feet and shaking the man's beckoning hand firmly, not lowering his glare. "But you can go to hell."

And with that, the sound of many footsteps retreating fills your groggy headspace, leaving you alone on the cold pavement, damp with your blood.

"You're okay, you're okay," A now much more frantic and panicked sounding Shaun repeats over and over softly as he nears you, taking off his jacket and wrapping it around your shivering form, all while attempting to keep pressure on your bleeding shoulder.

"We can't give him the Rings," You croak, voice likely sounding so pathetic - or maybe you didn't speak at all.

Your fiancé seems to pause his frantic movements, almost as if he's contemplating your words over.

"I know we can't," He sighs, gaze resting heavy on you. "But if we don't, we'll be on the run again."

"We've done it once, remember?"

"Yeah, and we didn't get very far."

Groaning and yelping in protest as the man beside you helps you to a sitting position, your eyes squeeze shut, your surroundings beginning to blur.

"Shaun..." You murmur, reaching out a hand towards him as if to steady yourself, trying to save you from the inevitable.

"No, no, no. Stay with me. Stay with me, Y/N!"

"I'm okay, Shang-Chi," You find yourself mumbling with such compassion and assurance that it confuses you slightly.

But you don't have time to ponder it over as your body finally gives in, your mind going completely blank, your surroundings instantly fading to an inky blackness.

And all you can do is float along with it, completely unaware of the danger you and your fiancé will soon be confronted with - regardless if you both fulfill your end of the deal.

A/N: Part 2? Also: who should the mysterious darkly clad tactical people be? Comment your thoughts, please!