The Sapphire Spirit | Book One~Captain America: Civil War

C H A P T E R 8

In a few short strides, I was by the elevator, rapidly spamming the "call" button. The elevator doors opened and I quickly stepping inside. I decided to go up. If I could make it to the rooftop I could fly away. As the elevator began going upward, I cursed myself.

Great going, Chloe. Now you're trapped.

As soon as those doors opened, there could be anyone waiting for me on the other side. As the elevator neared the top floor, I got ready to run. As the boxcar came to a stop, the lift doors opened with a small ding and I stepped out. I was on the roof of the Avengers Tower, the very top. Well, not the very top, but the level that Ton uses to take off his suit. That whirly machine thing? Anyone?

I looked around. No one was there. I took a deep breath, trying to remember how to properly fly. I closed my eyes and imagined the energy coursing through me. I felt a familiar rush of power as blue mist snaked from my fingertips, winding around my arms in a delicate yet intricate manner. These elaborate... energy bracelets always came out when I used my powers in any major way.

A sudden shout ceased my concentration. "There she is!"

I whirled around, seeing Tony, Steve, Thor, and Bruce coming from the right. To be honest, I'm surprised he had already awake. I hoped he wasn't too angry about our last encounter. From the left came Natasha and Clint.

"Chloe," Steve's voice called. I turned to look in their direction. "We won't let anyone hurt you, promise. Fury just wants to talk to you, ask you some important questions."

"You mean an interrogation?" I asked defensively. Steve sighed in exasperation.

"Kid, we're just doing what's best for you," Clint said. I switched my gaze to their group. 

My head hurt, flashbacks rolling in. We won't hurt you, the scientists had said. We're doing it for you own good. It's only what's best for you.

"You stay away from me!" I growled, my amber eyes flashing a dangerous blue. Tendrils of blue light snakes up my arms, and blue mist swirled around me hands.

"Chloe, I'm sorry, but Fury does need to talk to you. SHIELD needs to know more about you."

"SHIELD?"

"The Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division. They keep tabs on... enhanced persons, valuable assets."

"You mean potential threats," I said. "That's what they see me as, a potential threat."

"I mean, you did just come from HYDRA." Tony said. I turned to furious gaze on him.

"If you let me go you will never have to hear a word about me ever again. Not so much as a whisper." I pleaded. "If I disappear, SHIELD can't track me. There would be no intel on me and SHIELD would have to reason to go after me. Please."

Steve sighed. "But what if HYDRA gets their hands on you again?" I did a double-take. I already knew I couldn't evade HYDRA forever. Without the proper protection, I was sure to end up back in their clutches.

"I'll make sure I never go back," I lied.

"Chloe."

I paid attention.

"Do you know my story?"

I nodded.

"Well, before I went under in '45, I lost my best friend, James Bucky Barnes. He fell from a moving freight car, down a mountain pass, with nothing below for miles. I thought he had died. When I woke up again, I found out that he was still alive. Only, HYDRA had gotten to him. Do you know who he is?"

I racked my brains, thinking of which agent he could be. I shrugged.

"The Winter Soldier."

My magic almost faltered, the mist dying down a bit, but not enough to become harmless.

"I already lost one friend to HYDRA. I can't lose another."

I stopped. Did he call me a friend?

"I'm sorry, but I can't go with SHIELD," I said. "I don't want to be locked up and treated like a threat. I want to be free. That's all I ever wanted; Freedom."

Tony sighed, about to say something, but I didn't give him a chance. I was already close to the edge of the roof. Taking a few steps backward, I felt the floor disappear from under my feet. I was free falling, tumbling through the air. I heard shouts and yells, along with some cursing; Probably Tony. 

As the air whistled past me ears, I concentrated, feeling energy rushing through me. But this time was... different. As much as I tried, I couldn't produce enough energy to keep me stable mid-air. Even the blue mist I was previously channeling had drifted away, lost, scattered to the winds. I let out a small shriek as I hurled towards to earth, the ground coming closer and closer...

And suddenly I was on the ground, not a scratch on me. Looking up, way, way up, at the top of the Avengers' Tower, I saw the faces of six very shocked Avengers looking down at me.

"What happened?" I yelled up.

"Kid, you can teleport?" Bruce yelled down.

I froze for a second. "Yeah, I guess I can. But, in my defense, I never-"

I stopped mid-sentence when I suddenly found myself in the medical room. Great, I thought. This is going to take some getting used to.

I quickly left the room, looking both ways before crossing the hallway. There was no one there. A few floors above me, I could hear panicked footsteps and shouts. I heard Thor yelling, "Split up! Find her!" This was followed by a, "I call the kitchen!" as well as a, "What, so you have an excuse to raid the fridge?" and a, "Yeah, Tony, grow up!"

I focused on the mission at hand; Leave the Tower, preferably without anymore confusion, and definitely without anyone getting hurt.

I focused on the mission at hand; Leave the Tower, preferably without anymore confusion, and definitely without anyone getting hurt.

I focused, trying to teleport to the main level. I closed my eyes, imagining the lobby, with its plush chairs and full length windows, separating the tower from the busy streets of New York. I felt a change in my surroundings. Opening my eyes, I saw I was in... the living room.

Great. Just great. Why, you may ask? Because the whole motley crew was standing there.

Without waiting for anyone's reaction, I turned tail and fled down the hall. So, the hallway I was running down was long, right? Like, about thirty meters long. Connected to that hallway were more hallways, branching off. I was about twenty-five meters away from the kitchen and living room when two more people crossed my path. They came out of one of the hallways on my left and I had to stop myself from running them over.

One of them was robot, his red metal peppered with silver accents. Though he was wearing civilian clothes, he had a yellow gem embedded in the center of his forehead. The gem's yellow color soothed me, sparkling when the sunlight hit it right. The girl beside him had long brown hair, her clothes mostly black with shades of dark red.

Ignoring them, I step-sided the couple and kept running.