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MAL AND EVE walked closely together, the former keeping her head down, but it was hard to hide when she was in her sleek black suit with purple lines of color running down the sides. Her gauntlets, that were a gift from Thor, were strapped securely around her forearms. Mal wasn't necessarily hiding, knowing that it wouldn't make much of a different anyways.
The girls were currently sneaking around in the employee access gate that goes into the engineering labs. Things were going smoothly, with Mal being able to duck past other personnel to avoid being caught. Then, they got to where they had to slide their ID badges across a scanner to allow them access to the lab. Eve scanned her ID without any problem, and despite her best efforts to sneak in behind the other girl, Mal was stopped by one of the guards.
"Scan your ID please," She said politely, nodding towards the scanner. Mal sighed in defeat before lifting her head to look at the guard. After a moment of recognition, the guard pulled out her gun, the three others on duty following suit. "Agent Owens, on your knees, now!" The guard demanded, knowing that there was a manhunt out for Mal and Steve. Suddenly, the intercom crackled to life, before Steve's voice began flooding through the system.
"Attention, all SHIELD agents – this is Steve Rogers. You've heard a lot about me over the last few days, some of you were even ordered to hunt me down. But I think it's time you know the truth." Steve began, and the guards faltered for a moment, confused at his words. "SHIELD is not what we thought it was, it's been taken over by HYDRA. Alexander Pierce is their leader. The STRIKE and Insight crew are HYDRA as well. I don't know how many more, but I know they're in the building. They could be standing right next to you." Eve backed up closer to Mal as the guards all looked at each other. "They almost have what they want: absolute control. They shot Nick Fury and it won't end there. If you launch those Helicarriers today, HYDRA will be able to kill anyone that stands in their way, unless we stop them. I know I'm asking a lot, but the price of freedom is high, it always has been, and it's a price I'm willing to pay. And if I'm the only one, then so be it. But I'm willing to bet I'm not." Steve finished, before the intercom cut off. The female agent stared Mal down for a few moments before lowering her gun. Slowly, the other three did as well.
"Kick his ass for us, Owens," She said sternly, before her eyes wandered to behind Mal. A group of HYDRA agents were advancing in behind them. "Owens, Reyes – get to the lab! Stop those Helicarriers!" She shouted, and Mal pushed Eve forward, the two running towards the lab as gunshots echoed behind them.
As they reached the entrance, Mal stopped, looking back behind her. She could still hear gunfire, meaning that the agents were still alive. Inhaling sharply, Mal turned to Eve and handed the girl her ID badge.
"There's a safe beneath the false floor in the bottom left cabinet of my desk. Scan my ID to open it – there's a gun. Take it, and if someone comes at you, take them out." Mal commanded, taking a step back away from Eve.
"Mal, what are you doing?" Eve asked, frowning in confusion.
"They're fighting for us, Eve. I'm not about to let any Agent of SHIELD die when I could clearly help them." Mal explained, her eyes flashing green. She knew that Natasha's cover was probably blown by now, too, and she had to get up there.
"Go get 'em," Eve said, her voice softening for just a moment. Pulling herself together, she nodded at Mal before disappearing into the lab. With a deep breath, Mal swiftly turned on her heel, running back towards the agents who let them through. When the HYDRA agents were in sight, Mal immediately threw her hands up, a blast of energy sending one agent flying backwards.
"Owens," The female agent from earlier greeted in surprise from where she was ducked behind cover. "We got one agent down, another wounded, it's not looking too good." She said grimly, looking at Mal, who had ducked down next to her. Another wave of gunshots whizzed above their heads, and Mal sighed, closing her eyes. With her powers, she reached out with her mind – something she had been practicing with Natasha in training.
It was almost like being able to see the energy of a person, rather than their physical body. Her powers gravitated towards a persons' energy, allowing her to sense them, and find their general positioning. Mal wasn't very good at it yet, but she needed to find out how many HYDRA agents were out there.
"There's eight men out there," Mal said after a moment, looking towards the agent next to her. Mal faintly recalled her name being Diaz, after greeting her on so many mornings when she went into work. "Diaz, I need to know you've got my back." Mal said firmly, staring Diaz in the eyes.
"I'm with you, Owens." Diaz said seriously, and Mal nodded, her eyes beginning to glow a vibrant green. Mal stood, turning to face the enemy agents, a green-tinted shield forming in front of her as she held a hand out. Diaz followed, standing up behind the shield and firing several shots at one of the opposing agents.
"Get to your wounded agent, I'll cover you!" Mal commanded, and Diaz nodded, lowering her gun and sprinting for her injured friend. The shield followed Diaz, covering her from the gunshots aimed towards her. "Alright, I've had enough of this." Mal spat out through gritted teeth, before shooting her hands apart, green energy flowing from both hands. The guns flew from the hands of all the agents, clattering to the floor, discarded. With a burst of energy, all of the agents flew back, knocked unconscious by the blast. "I have to get to Romanoff," Mal informed Diaz, who was pressing her jacket against the wound in the other agents shoulder.
"Owens, wait," Diaz called before Mal could turn away. "Take my ID badge. It'll get you through security scans without any problems. Ever since they declared you and Cap as enemies of SHIELD, they stripped your security access. They're up in Pierce's office." Mal nodded in thanks, before turning and sprinting to the elevators. She would finally come face-to-face with Alexander Pierce.
