𝙼𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝙼𝚊𝚗𝚒𝚙𝚞𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 ~ Steve Rogers

A Perfect Team ~ 2

Eva, indeed, does not stay put. After a few minutes of waiting, impatience gets the better of her, and she decides to venture further into the streets of New York. It's the middle of winter, and the sun is beginning to set. Across the street, she notices a vestibule.

"Well, if I'm starting this new life of mine, I need all the cash I can get," she mutters, swiftly crossing the road to enter the vestibule. Finding it empty, Eva sighs deeply. "Great, now what?" Her head begins to ache again, prompting her to turn to leave just as a group of masked men enters. Evangeline curses under her breath and quickly hides in a darkened corner, partially covered by an ATM. It doesn't take her long to discern exactly what these men are up to.

"See, this is why I hate New York," she hisses to herself, watching as the bank robbers commence their heist.

She observes them using specialist tools to detach the ATM machine furthest from her off the wall, grabbing whatever contents are inside. "Guess that's one way to rob a bank," she muses, strangely becoming comfortable as she continues to watch. Unbeknownst to her, the vestibule door opens to her right, and she only notices when another masked figure appears, keeping himself shadowed and undetected as he crouches down, also observing the bank robbers. A frown creases her forehead upon seeing who it is.

"Oh, it's about time, Spider-Man," Eva hisses, and his suit's eyes narrow, accusingly towards her.

"I told you to stay put. How have you even managed to get yourself tangled up in the middle of a bank robbery?" he questions, his tone a hushed whisper to match Eva's, both cautious not to be caught by the robbers.

"Oh, yes, like I've planned this," Eva's eyes roll right back to Peter, and he straightens up to prepare.

"I honestly wouldn't know at this point, where it comes down to you, Eva," he sighs resoundingly.

"Are you seriously accusing me of robbing a bank right now? I'm not even wearing a mask. You fit in with these thieves more than I do right now," Eva retorts right back, also straightening herself up, her voice gaining intensity.

"Eva, chill. It was a joke," Peter raises his hands up, signaling her to keep quiet.

"Well, I honestly wouldn't know at this point, where it comes down to you, Peter." Her voice is quiet but no longer a mere whisper, her glare pointedly directed at Peter Parker. This grabs the attention of the bank robbers, and they turn to look right over at Eva and Peter's direction. Instinctively, both Peter and Eva step back, her hands now up just like Peter's as they attempt to exit the vestibule.

"Okay, that was my bad... I'm just going to head right out—" She points to the door with a wince, and Peter sighs lightly as he steps forward, aiming his arm to shoot his web at the ready.

"Eva, just keep quiet!" he hisses and directs his web at the closest guy, bringing him forward to knock him out with the first punch. He jumps to the ceiling to grab hold, ready to swing-kick another, and the men now charge towards him.

"Quiet? What's the point in that now? They all know we're here," Eva continues on the sidelines, arms now folded as she leans against the back wall, observing.

"Peter," Eva adds. Peter, now upside down on the ceiling, turns his head back to her, his eyes narrowed. "What, Eva?"

He turns his head back around just in time to be punched right across the jaw by one of the men. Eva cringes and looks away briefly as she witnesses this before shaking her head, "I tried to warn you." She utters back to him. Peter still has his feet planted firmly on the ceiling.

"You're really not helping here!" he shouts at his friend, and Eva scowls at his remark.

"Since when was I here to help? You've got this," she adds, attempting encouragement, arms still crossed, observing casually.

Suddenly, one of the men pulls out a device and shoots it towards Spider-Man. It locks Peter in place with a force field, suspending him in the air with nowhere to go.

"Okay, maybe you haven't got this," Eva says, unimpressed.

"Eva! Will you just get out of here already!" Peter yells back, primarily focused on freeing himself from the force field. However, the man controlling the device swings it towards the wall, causing Peter to collide with the glass window. The impact leaves a substantial crack as his body thuds onto the bank floor.

Once again, Eva grimaces as she watches Peter hit the ground. "Oof! You okay? That's got to hurt," she comments, still rooted to her position on the sidelines. Unaware, she doesn't notice the bank robber aiming the device directly towards her. Peter, however, quickly notices and leaps back to his feet.

"Eva, move. NOW!" He yells from across the room. The machine whirs, and Eva's eyes go wide.

"Oh hell no!" She mutters and swiftly lunges out of the way, thanks to Peter's warning. The man holding the machine loses control of it as he tries to redirect the force field towards Eva. The beam starts to rip through the building's exterior, causing the glass windows to shatter, a small explosion, and money from the ATMs flying everywhere.

It takes a moment for Eva to get back to her feet and dust herself off. She peers out through the broken windows to assess the damage. Steve Rogers is on the other side of the street, walking towards the vestibule. "I think you're in trouble, Spider-Man," Eva gestures towards Steve coming into view. Peter, quickly back on his feet after incapacitating the guy with the machine, looks in that direction, the money still falling lightly around them. His eyes widen, forgetting that Steve was a couple of blocks away, also looking for Eva as he asked.

"Shit."

Peter rushes to Eva's side, urgency in his movements as he glances at Steve approaching.

"We need to go, now!" Peter urges, grabbing Eva's arm as they make a swift exit from the vestibule. The chaos they inadvertently caused behind them is evident – shattered glass, scattered money, and a lingering sense of mayhem.

As they step onto the street, Steve's expression shifts from curiosity to stern concern. "What happened here?" he demands, his eyes narrowing at Peter and Eva.

"Long story, Cap," Peter replies, glancing around as if assessing their escape routes. The street, now disrupted by the aftermath of the failed heist, is not an ideal place for explanations.

Eva, ever the quick thinker, interjects, "Peter found me, and these guys started causing trouble. Spider-Man tried to stop them, and, well, things got a bit out of hand."

Steve scrutinizes them both but seems to accept the simplified explanation. "You both need to come with me before the cops get here. We'll sort this out at the compound," he orders, and they fall into step with him.

As they navigate through the city streets, Peter exchanges a concerned look with Eva. They've inadvertently drawn Captain America into their mess.