Readers Assemble!

Race Against the Clock (Detective!Sam Wilson x partner!reader)

(Detective AU! Several time skips)

"Wilson! Y/L/N!" Chief Fury barked from his office. You and your partner exchanged a glance. That tone was never good. Either you and Sam had done something wrong or there was trouble...big time. Slowly, the two of you made your way into Chief Fury's office. "Yeah, Chief?" you asked as soon as Sam closed the door behind you.

"We've got a problem. Two soldiers have been taken hostage...kidnapped for ransom." You narrowed your eyes in confusion. Surely, if they were soldiers, then this was a job for the military police. As you were about to say something to that effect, Fury turned his laptop around to faced you. You could hear the barely audible gasp that came from Sam. On the screen were two men you instantly recognized. Captain Steve Rogers and Sergeant James Barnes. Two men that Sam had served with before becoming a detective.

You stared at the screen, watching these two brave men fight against their restraints. You couldn't pull your eyes away until a gravelly voice started speaking. "If you wish to save your heroes, you know what I want. I expect you to bring me the remaining Infinity Jewels by noon tomorrow." Even without seeing the culprit, you knew who it was.

"Thanos," you and Sam growled out at the same time and Fury nodded. Thanos had been trying to steal a priceless set of jewels, the Infinity Jewels, for years. He'd only been slightly successful, having gathered half the collection of six jewels. Now it seemed he had stooped to the lowest of lows to get the rest. Bribing the police.

Without a word, Sam stormed from Fury's office. You cast a glance at your chief, who looked like he was going to explode any minute, before following after your partner. "Wilson!" Sam ignored you and grabbed his jacket. He was out of the building before you had time to grab your gun from your desk. You followed him out "Wilson!" He still didn't stop. "SAM!" The use of his first name finally made him pause.

"Go back inside, Y/N. I'm going to find them." You rolled your eyes. You hated when he acted cliché. "Not happening, Sam. I'm your partner. That means I've got your back, no matter what." Sam frowned a little. "We're not doing this by the book," he muttered so only you would hear him. You shrugged. "Like I said, no matter what. I'm going to help you bring them back. They're my friends too." Sam finally smiled a little and nodded. "Good. So where to, partner?" Sam thought for a minute. "We're in a race against the clock. I'm going to see Peter Quill and his gang."

*time skip to 3AM. 9 hours remaining until deadline*

"And you're sure about this?" Sam asked. Gamora nodded. "I am. I was part of his inner circle. I know all his hideouts. He'll be in one of these two places. I swear it." You and Sam nodded. There wasn't time to get to and check both places together. The only logical thing to do would be to split up.

"No way. I'm not putting you in any more danger," Sam declared. You shook your head. "We don't have time for this, Sam. If Thanos was in this city, I'd agree. but he isn't. He could be in one of two places on opposite ends of the country. We have to split up. And you're not putting me in danger. I am. It's part of my job." He opened his mouth to argue, but you shut him down.

"No, Sam. This is what we're doing. It's the only way and I'm done talking about it." Peter stifled a laugh, but stopped when he earned a glare from Gamora. "We'll come with you. That way you both still have backup." Sam looked at Peter. "I can't let you do that. You're our C.I.s. We can't risk you." Peter gave you a look and a smirk. "He doesn't listen very well does he?" You shook your head and laughed a little. "We're not asking. Drax and Rocket will go with you. Gamora and I will go with Y/N."

Sam sighed and put his hands on his hips. "Why do I feel like I just lost control of the class?" You gave him a pat on the shoulder. "Because you never had control in the first place. Now, shall we?" At their nods, you split up and went in search of the notorious Thanos.

*2 hours until deadline*

Sam signaled to Drax. The large man nodded and busted down the door to one of Thanos' hideouts. Sam had to admire the man's pure, brute strength. Rocket had his strengths too. Weapons and explosives, mostly. The man was a genius. In another life, they would have made good cops. The only reason they weren't in jail was because the whole Guardians gang was full of informants and Sam needed them on occasion.

Gun raised, Sam entered the building. It was quiet. Almost too quiet. No one on the first floor. Or the second. Or the third. Or the basement. This place was empty. "Detective!" Sam followed the sound of Rocket's voice. He found him in what appeared to be some kind of office. On the desk were blueprints. "A bomb...a small one. Enough to do some damage. Maybe a fatality or two. But not enough to bring down a building." Sam nodded.

"What is he planning on doing with that?" Rocket frowned as he shifted to a second set of blueprints. "Uh-oh." Sam looked at the address on the blueprints. He felt his heart jump to his throat. "Y/N," he whispered. He whipped out his phone and dialed your number.

Meanwhile, across the country, you were about to infiltrate Thanos' second hideout. Your approach was more subtle than Sam's. You were going to sneak in rather than break in or blast your way in. If Thanos was in there, you wanted the element of surprise. "Come on, Quill. You gotta move faster than that," you encouraged. He glared up at you. "Do you know how long it's been since I picked a lock." Gamora groaned.

"This is getting us nowhere," she said, pushing Peter out of the way. Your phone started ringing. "Yeah, Sam?" you answered in a hushed tone. "Y/N! Get out of there! There's a-" Before he could finish and before you could stop her, Gamora kicked in the door. The blast blew you all back and you felt your head hit the ground. You were still conscious, but the world around you was suddenly blurry. Still, there was no time to waste. You had to get Steve and Bucky out of there.

"Gamora!" Peter cried, making you wince. You managed to make out his figure clutching onto someone. Gamora. "Is she?" Peter sniffled. "S-She's gone." Shakily, you crawled over to him. "I'm sorry, Peter." He laid Gamora down. He grabbed your gun from your belt. "Peter!" Without paying attention, he ran inside the building.

On shaky legs, you got up and followed after him. You couldn't let him go in there alone. It didn't matter that the world was spinning or that your vision was slowly fading into black. You had to save Peter. And Steve and Bucky, if they were still alive. You had to do your job. You didn't have to follow Peter far. After searching several rooms, he finally stopped. In front of you were bruised and beaten Steve and Bucky. As soon as you saw them, you couldn't help but smile. But it didn't last long as your world went black.

*time skip. I did warn you XD*

The first thing you heard was the beeping of machines. Then you heard soft voices all around you. You tried to open your eyes and groaned a little. It was too bright. "Hang on, Y/N." You heard someone shuffling around for a moment before they told you it was safe to open your eyes. The harsh lights had been turned off in favor of a lamp near you. Sam's face hovered over you.

"Thank goodness you're okay," he mumbled. "Am I? I feel like I got ran over by a tank." Sam chuckled. "Well, maybe not yet. But you will be." You nodded. You let your eyes wander around the room and you realized you were in a hospital. Everything instantly came flooding back to you and you gasped.

"Steve? Bucky? Peter?" you asked in a panicked voice. Sam placed a hand on your shoulder. "They're fine. A little beat up, but fine. We got 'em. The local police showed up in time." You relaxed a little. "And Thanos?" At that, Sam frowned. "He got away, but the FBI is hot on his trail. He'll be behind bars soon. I can't wait to be there when they catch up to him." You sighed, suddenly tired again. "Rest up, Y/N. I need my partner back in action soon." You laughed softly and started drifting back to sleep as you felt Sam slipping his hand into yours.    

(a/n: This book will now be marked as Complete and new Avengers fics will be posted in Readers Assemble! Book 2. Thank you to every one reading, voting, and commenting!! And thank you to those who request! Without those, I'd not have as much to write!)

EDIT: AVENGERS ASSEMBLE BOOK 2 IS NOW POSTED!