Changes (A Prequel to "Through, Together")

Mind Over Matter

In pure, "bad guy's evil hideout" fashion, the old vet clinic that Vision located was situated on the less-than-pleasant side of town. It was on the outskirts of the west side of the city, close to the Medway River. If there was any guessing of whether or not Garrett was holed up there, it became a pretty definitive "yes" when Natasha realized how close to the river it was. That seemed to be a calling card of sorts of Garrett's. He'd tried to kidnap Wanda via river, he'd crashed a helicopter in one, and now this. Apparently the guy had some obsession with being close to bodies of water. She didn't have time to do any sort of psych evaluation to figure out why. Not that she cared. Her goal was to get Steve and put Garrett behind the thickest bars they could find.

Vision and Sam had scouted ahead and found that the place was, indeed, heavily guarded. They reported at least half a dozen armed guards posted around the perimeter with the promise of more inside. Vision was able to identify a centralized location that the power seemed to be running to. It was definitely a cause for concern. They would need to focus their attention there. If Garrett was building some type of weapon, they would definitely want to make sure they disarmed it before things got too loud inside the building. There was no way of telling what it was, though. Not until they were in the room with it. Natasha would need Vision to go in with her. If there was some kind of complicated tech in there, he would be the best bet at figuring it out.

Sam and Wanda would handle the guards outside and clear a path for Natasha and Vision to make their way into the building. This would be a tall order. They needed to apprehend Garrett and all his goons. There would be no getting away this time. Of course, finding Steve was Natasha's priority number one, but she would be sure to bag as many mercs as she could on her way. She has a lot of aggression that needed taking out.

They ditched their vehicle a mile out and decided to go the rest of the way on foot. Vision took to the skies once more, given his ability to fly a lot more quietly than Sam. As always, they kept in contact via the small devices nestled in their ears. Natasha had to admit, it was nice to have the band back together again. She just wished it wasn't for this reason. Any positive feelings brought about by the reunion were easily and heavily outweighed by the worry she harbored over Steve. She would've been content never suiting up again a day in her life if it meant never having to feel this kind of fear again.

"Two guards are stationed on the building's south side." Vision informed them. "Three on the north end, and two between the east and west sides."

"I'll go in loud to the south side," Sam said. "Wanda, you clear the front while the attention's on me."

Wanda nodded her understanding. A bit of red light swirled in her eyes and around her fingers. Natasha remembered the last time she'd seen Wanda use her powers and hoped that they wouldn't see a repeat tonight. If there was some kind of bomb or weapon inside the building, the last thing they needed was to shake the place around. Perhaps keeping Wanda near the north side was their way of preventing that. If she realized that, the woman made no sign of it. She seemed fine with her role in all this. That was good. They didn't have time for doubt.

As the building came into view, Vision descended quietly in line with Natasha and the others, just as Sam threw his thrusters into high gear and zoomed into the air. He left a stream of fire and smoke in his wake as he shot over towards the other end of the building, turning heads and raising alarms as he went. The guards at the front of the building had little time to react to Sam's presence. Wanda, Natasha and Vision jogged into view, and Wanda lifted them into the air in a current of red energy. She pulled two the left and one to the right, opening a path for Natasha and Vision to make their way through the front doors.

Vision went first, turning translucent as he phased through the closed doors. There were some pops of gunfire inside, and then the doors opened, revealing some broken chains swinging from the inner handles. Natasha pulled her batons and ran into the building. What used to be a check-in area was situated in the center of the main lobby, with hallways running off to the left and right sides. The sound of heavy footsteps could be heard approaching from either end.