𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐃𝐔𝐒𝐊

04. 𝗱𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗲 𝗳𝗮𝗹𝗹

ESZTER WAS DESPERATE TO TAKE THE DAMPENER OFF. It was infuriating and is sore with the extra weight on her shoulders and hideous to wear out in public; Eszter never realized how bulky the contraption was until she looked at the mirror, realizing that it draws a lot of attention. But if Tony plans on having her out here, then Eszter expects to have her powers back for the time being.

Pointing to the dampener, Eszter grew impatient. "You gonna . . .?"

There was a bit of hesitancy in Tony's movements as he stared across the lot, meeting Steve's gaze even through the Iron Man suit; he was judging him from far away, and although Tony was already feeling guilty, he feels even worse now that the cat's out of the bag.

"Oh, right," Tony hums. "F.R.I.D.A.Y., unlock Eszter, will ya?"

The dampener beeps before flashing green, the contraption snaps open as a gust of wind cools the sweaty area, relieving Eszter from the hold. Peeling the dampener off, the enhanced discards it on the ground as she stares at it in distaste. Suddenly, the darkness wraps around the contraption before disappearing. Eszter had never felt freer than now.

However, Eszter fails to see Natasha's look, unsure if it was a good call on letting the girl go considering who stood across from them. Tony might've had the same thought because he glances at Natasha, but his suit shielded his expressions from the spy.

As Eszter pulls her gaze up and checked out the people, she was supposed to bring in, the enhanced pauses at the unfamiliar faces. Some were old faces, while most were new faces. She didn't recognize a few of them, but she could recognize the newer people as part of the Avengers. However, once Eszter stared at a pair of familiar green eyes, time had frozen in a split second, leaving the enhanced stiff and breathless. Wanda was standing next to Clint with angry tears in her eyes, glaring across the lot as they burned deeply in to Tony's suited armor. But when they met Eszter's, they soften.

"Uh, Tony? What's . . . what's, uh, what's she doing here?" Eszter stammers, a little puzzled and emotional as she was thought to believe Wanda was somewhere safe.

This was definitely a bad idea. Eszter isn't emotionally trained for this.

Tony could barely look at her. "I didn't know until after we talked," he fails to apologize, hurting Eszter even more. "But I really need you on the field."

Eszter couldn't look away from Wanda, but when she noticed Steve beside her, frowning at the young enhanced. "This isn't what I wanted," Eszter whispers under her breath, eyes wide.

"How about we discuss this after we bring them in, yeah? Great," Tony brushes Eszter aside.

Natasha juts her chin forward. "This is gonna end well," the woman comments sarcastically.

Then, they began to walk forward as Steve's team does as well.

Eszter began to trail behind as she shifts her gaze away from Wanda, staring straight ahead; the enhanced was facing Darcy, mostly known as Ghost. Darcy Carter is one of the suspects they were meant to bring into custody from the gathered intel, so maybe it won't be too difficult to bring her in. Eszter doesn't have any emotional attachment to the woman, but she still feels guilty.

Suddenly, their walking turned into a light jog.

"They're not stopping," Peter voices, a little worried.

"Neither are we."

All together, everyone began to break into a sprint. Eszter wasn't as fast as everyone else, causing her to fall behind Natasha, but the enhanced doesn't break her stride. As they got closer, some of the Avengers took their fight to the sky, leaving a few members to stay on the ground. However, Eszter was impressed to see Wanda levitate herself into the sky, pushing a beam of energy in the wake as it thrusts her into the air.