The Girl with Wings and a Metal Arm || Avengers Fan Fic

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Fury looked at an old picture of his co-worker, Alexander Pierce. He stared at it, really hard and tried to think about what had made him the way he was today. Finally he spoke. "This man declined the Noble Peace Prize. He said, 'Peace wasn't an achievement, it was a responsibility.'" Fury dropped the vintage photo on the table. "See, it's stuff like this that gives me trust issues." He looked directly at Natasha, signalling to the others that she couldn't be trusted fully.

"We have to stop the launch," Natasha said, feeling pressured into looking trustworthy after all that had happened.

"I don't think the council is accepting my calls anymore." Fury opened a black box beside him. Inside were three, blue, computer chips. 

"What's that?" Sam asked.

Agent Hill responded. "Once the helicarrier's reached three thousand feet, they'll triangulate with insight satellites, becoming fully weaponised."

"We need to breach those carriers and replace their targeting blades with our own," Fury added to the plan.

"One or two won't cut it. We need to link all three carriers for this to work. Because if even one of those ships remain operational ... a whole lot of people are going to die."

"We have to assume everyone aboard those carriers is Hydra. We have to get past them, and insert these server blades and maybe just maybe we can salvage what's left-"

But Steve cut in, furious at what he was listening to. "We're not salvaging anything. We're not just taking down the carriers, Nick, we're taking down SHIELD."

Fury became angry, trying to fight for his just and right cause. "SHIELD had nothing to do with this."

Steve bit back. "You gave me this mission. This is how it ends. SHIELD's been compromised, you said it yourself. Hydra grew right under your nose and nobody noticed."

"Why do you think we're meeting in this cave?" Fury paused. "I noticed."

"How many paid the price before you did?" 

Fury looked away, ashamed of himself for not doing anything sooner. "Look, I didn't know about Barnes or the girl."

"Even if you had, would you have told me? Or would you have compartmentalised that too?" There was a stare off between Fury and Steve. "SHIELD. Hydra. It all goes."

Agent Hill spoke up. "He's right." She stared into Fury's eyes. They were broken. He was heart-broken to hear he was losing SHIELD.

Fury looked at Natasha for help, but she just gave him a long stare, meaning she was agreeing with Steve and Hill. Fury looked at Sam, to see if even he would sympathise with him. "Don't look at me. I do what he does, just slower." Sam's joke pointed at Steve sent Fury's world crashing at his feet. He himself knew it was the right thing to do, but he just didn't want to admit it.

Fury chuckled a little, something very much unlike him. "Well," he said. He paused, trying to tell himself that it was for the good of everyone. "Look's like your giving the orders now Captain."

---

Steve wondered outside, trying to catch some fresh air before he was going away on his mission - to bring down Hydra and SHIELD. He needed time to think. About Bucky. About the mission. About the girl. Who was she? She looked so young to be doing whatever kind of work Hydra called it. Did she volunteer herself or was she made to like Bucky? Steve wanted to help her get out of the hole she was in, just like he wanted to help Bucky. He stood at one side of the bridge and pondered over everything. Flashbacks of Bucky in his childhood came flashing back to Steve. He couldn't let Bucky go, he had to save him. And he had to do the same to the girl. 'I'm with you till the end of the line pal.'

"He's gonna be there you know," Sam said, walking towards Steve.

"I know."

"Look, whoever he used to be, the guy he is now, I don' think he's the kind you save. He's the kind you stop." Steve tried not to let the words affect him. 

"I don't know if I can do that."

"Well he might not give you a choice. He doesn't know you."

"He will," Steve said defiantly.

Sam paused for a while. "We know everything about him. But what we don't know is anything about the girl with wings. What are we gonna do about her?"

Steve turned round so he faced Sam. "I asked Natasha, in case she knew anything about her. She knew about the Winter Soldier." Steve paused. "Nat thinks she's a teenager. She doesn't look any older than that. She thinks the girl is trained the same way as Bucky, like a partner almost. From the way she could fight, it almost seemed that way today."

"But why send her out? I know she has wings and an advantage in the air, but surely they'd send somebody more experienced."

Steve looked at Sam with sad eyes. "That's the thing. Nat thinks she is experienced. The only time Nat can think of her is when she killed the Stocking family with Bucky in 2011. She left a mark behind. From then on she's probably killed more."

"How does she put up with it all?" Sam couldn't get his head around it.

"Maybe Hydra is making her. Maybe she does it of her own accord. Nobody knows her real identity or name. She doesn't even go by a name."

"So she's a threat we'll take out?"

"No. She's just a girl. If she's tangled in Hydra's web, we need to set her free and let her live her life again."

"You realise that's almost impossible?"

"I know." Steve paused. "Gear up. It's time."

"You gonna wear that?"

"No. If you're gonna fight a war you've gotta wear a uniform."

---

Cosima curled and uncurled her toes. She looked around her. She remembered this room, but why didn't she remember much else. She remembered her wings (who would forget them), her name and what she had done in the past. She remembered nothing else. It was like a couple of years had been wiped off her life.

A bolt twisted in the door of the room. She became a little nervous. Whoever these people were she needed to trust them. They would know who she was and why she was here. They were trustworthy.

She hoped.