Bird Set Free | Natasha Romanoff ✓

Chapter Fifty-Six

Aquila Cadman was the first to gasp for air, pushing herself up into a sitting position even though her entire body felt like it was on fire.  

Her eyes quickly darted around only to find herself in the sewer system, daylight miles away. 

"Keira! Clint!" Aquila shouted, shaking them to wake as coughs spluttered from their own mouths. 

"Where are we?" Keira asked into the silence.

"Cap?" Clint asked, his voice echoing off the walls. 

"Oh god, look!" Aquila replied to both of them gesturing down to the Gaunlet that lay beside them, brushing away the stones that covered it. 

"Hang on, wait," Clint muttered, sending an arrow down the dark tunnel to their right. The light attached to the arrow only illuminated the Outriders that had joined them in their dark tunnel. 

"Damn," Clint said as Aquila passed the gauntlet to Keira as the three of them began to run down the tunnel, the Outriders at their heels. 

Water splashed up as the three of them continued to run, unsure if there was even a way out. 

"Alright, I think it's time for plan B," Aquila said, quickly transforming in an instant, flying forward to look for an escape route as Clint shot explosive arrows behind them. 

The explosion went off sending all three of them tumbling across the ground from the blast. Looking back towards the Outriders in horror they watched as the Outriders still leaped forward, teeth bared despite the flames surrounding them. 

Clint attached the pulley system connected to his belt to the roof, wrapping an arm around Keira as the two of them shot upwards, Outriders hurrying after them. 

Aquila needed another quick moment to collect herself after the blast, the eagle's talons ripping into the nearest Outrider before following Clint and Keira upwards. 

Crashing loudly onto the metal grate above, Aquila transformed back as Clint turned over with a yell, holding a machete above his head as the last Outrider fell down below, dead. Keira placing the gauntlet down beside her and Clint, winded slightly from the rough landing. 

Breathing loudly, Aquila rolled onto her back, completely exhausted, her mind spinning with everything that had happened in the last ten minutes.

"Oh, hey. I know you." Clint panted, handing the gauntlet up to Nebula, not wanting to go any further with it. 

"Father. I have the stones."

"What?" Clint asked confused, as Aquila's eyes widened, her leg striking out to kick Nebula. Her breathing stopping briefly as Nebula turned to hold a gun towards her face. 

"Stop." A voice called out, everyone looking over to see a green woman enter the room holding a gun out towards Nebula. 

"You're betraying us?" Nebula asked as the other Nebula came out of the shadows, holding her hands up in surrender. 

"You don't have to do this." The second Nebula stated, the gun snapping from Aquila's face towards the other Nebula. 

Clint and Keira quickly shifted into one corner of the room, Aquila pulling herself into the other. None of them quite knew what was happening but none of them wanted to get involved, their only priority was getting that gauntlet out of there. 

"I am this." The first Nebula stated. Her eyes darting between the two newcomers. 

"No, you're not." The green woman spoke up again. 

"You've seen what we become." 

"Nebula, listen to her."

"You can change." The second Nebula said as the other woman dropped her weapon down. 

"He won't let me." Nebula said, her gun moving towards the other woman.

"No!" The woman cried out in protest as the second Nebula shot the counterpart of herself. 

The first Nebula crashed into the chainlink fence, dropping the gauntlet as a single tear fell from her eye. 

Clint walked forward, grabbing the gauntlet before surveying the scene in front of him. 

"Get that thing out of here," Aquila shouted turning to the Archer. "Keira and I have got it."

Clint hurried down the corridor, clutching onto the Gaunlet, before disappearing from view. 

"Thank you," Aquila said quietly, turning to Nebula and the green woman. 

"This is Gamora." 

"It's nice to meet you," Keira said. "I'm very sorry but we have to get out of here as well."

"Stay safe." Aquila finished, offering a quick smile as the two of them hurried down the corridor as well. 

"I think it might be time for your plan B as well, Keira." Aquila joked. 

"It's already coming. I called it when the first explosion hit." Keira replied, holding the watch on her wrist up. 

"Let's go end this once and for all."

Horror pierced Aquila's heart as she and Keira entered into the clearing. Neither of them could believe that sight that was before them. 

Tony and Thor were discarded across the clearing carelessly. From such a distance neither of them could tell if they were even still breathing. Steve was the only one still standing.

Wielding his shield in one hand and Mjolnir in the other, something that had caused Aquila to raise an eyebrow, Steve stood before Thanos fighting back but it didn't take long for Steve to also be overpowered, knocked down and bruised like the other two. 

It was looking impossible to win as Aquila and Keira hurried around the clearing towards the three of them, trying not to draw attention to themselves. 

Thanos had summoned his entire army, even with the five of them they would still be outmatched by hundreds of thousands.

Aquila watched as Steve slowly staggered to his feet, tightening the strap of his shield around his arm, his eyes meeting with Aquila who gave him a slight nod in return, the same message shared between them. 

They were a team, and they were going to fight until they could fight no more.