Dead Memories

27

Chapter Twenty-Seven

'Where the hell are we?' asked Clint the second he stepped through the dark portal. It was morning, wherever they were, so the change in light was startling for them all. They barely spent any time inside the dark ever-changing space between the two portals. Steve recognized the floating platform from his first visit, but this time there were no stairs leading up or down, and Loki was quick to open a second door, so they could leave. She probably did not want them to linger around in their "hideout" for two long.

So here they were, right by the ocean somewhere (probably) on Earth where it was chilly morning. It also didn't take any of them much time to notice the abandoned buildings towering over them, neither the tall wall that was blocking their way.

'Wait, I know this place,' Pietro said. 'No way, we're-'

'In Japan,' Natasha said, looking down at the map she pulled up on her small GPS. Japan, huh... that was unexpected. Still Earth though, that was good.

'This place looks so haunted,' Clint said, not sounding too excited.

'It's the Battleship Island, it's really tiny... Hashi-something,' Pietro said.

'Hashima Island,' Natasha said, then put her GPS back into her belt.

'What is Amora doing in such a place of ruin and decay?' Thor questioned.

'Hiding with all the other rats,' Loki hissed.

'Okay, let's get the comms up,' Steve said, already putting in his earpiece. Bucky held out his hand, so Steve gave him his spare one.

'You got another one?' Bucky asked, jerking his head in Loki's direction. Yeah, it would probably be smart to be able to keep track of her too.

'Natasha, you got a second earpiece?' Steve asked. She didn't look all that happy about the request, but she didn't argue.

Bucky was the one to take it over to Loki.

'Really?' Loki questioned dubiously.

'If someone spots Amora sooner than you...' Bucky started, and he didn't even need to finish, Loki took the earpiece.

'If there is too much useless chatter, I'm getting rid of it,' she warned.

'Pietro, search for an entrance, be quick and quiet,' Steve instructed. He barely finished speaking when Pietro vanished.

'Okay, so here's how this is gonna go once we're up there,' Steve continued. 'Widow, Vision, and the Twins will stick with Loki.'

'I'm not going to follow her lead,' Natasha stated immediately.

'She's not your leader, she's your tank,' Steve reassured her. Natasha thought about it for a moment, then gave a nod in agreement.

'Thor, stay with Clint,' Steve continued, turning to the two of them more fully. 'The two of you should find the highest spot you can, keep an eye on things from above. I'm with Bucky, we're going to follow the ground team from a little higher up, as quietly as possible.'

Pietro was back with a blur of blue.

'Some stairs, that way,' he reported, pointing left. 'And there's an old harbour in the other direction, but it's really wide and open. Anyone would be able to see us coming. Saw a coastguard boat too, but nobody was on it.'