Grant

Chapter Fifteen-The Hunter and the Hunted

"Grant, no. You can't."

"Like hell."

"You can't go!" Peter swears as my teeth grind together. "Tony's on guard with me tonight, so even if you could come, you'd never get past him. He'd catch you." Tony. A switch turns on in my brain and my mouth splits into a wide grin as Peter shrinks in his chair with apprehension.

"Tony's tech is superior. You're right about that."

Shoot to an hour later and I'm outfitted in one of the extra suits Tony keeps on hand for me. Only his tech can go undetected by his tech, so I can track him while going into ghost mode myself so he'll have no clue that I've left the facility. My movement isn't perfect, but I'm still fast enough in my various forms to keep up with the two of them. I'm an owl for now as I slice through the night following the glow of Tony's thrusters. Thank god he has to go slower to keep pace with Peter because at full speed I would never match his pace.

When Peter lands on a roof, I shift into a pigeon and land a little way away from him as he groans at my presence. "Going to search the area. You keep an eye on the streets for members of our team coming in from their tour." Tony says into coms and shoots off when Peter gives him the go ahead.

"This is the worst idea you've ever had. The worst." He hisses at me as I cock my little pigeon head at him.

"Worse than giving myself up to a maniac? Damn, that's pretty bad."

"This isn't joke, G!" He scolds and sighs as he looks continuously around us as if the target is going to appear out of thin air. "If Tony knew about this-"

"Then he'd skin you both alive and hang you on the wall." Tony's voice is suddenly loud in my ears over coms as his suit rises from the edge of the building. "You thought I didn't keep tabs on my suits? And you didn't even think to turn your coms off. I'd be disappointed in your sneaking skills if I wasn't already burdened with extreme, burning anger, but hey. There's always next time." He crosses his arms and I don't have to see his face to know he's pissed. The pure heat in his tone is more than enough to tell that even without him saying so. I shrink slightly as he turns to me. "Stop being a fucking pigeon." I shift into myself and stand tall even as my burns ache at the shrinking and stretching of skin.

"I had to come." I say and his mask flips open to reveal a very displeased expression.

"Oh, you had to come? Well that makes everything fine and dandy. No." He holds up a hand when my mouth opens. "You can no longer speak until you rid yourself of fucking stupidity. You came. You saw. Now both of you will head back to the facility."

"No." I refuse and Tony's brows rise as Peter tugs lightly on my arm.

"Come on, Grant." He says, but I stand my ground.

"No. I'm not leaving." Tony and I stare off and his mouth opens to no doubt tell me off again before we all hear someone come over coms.

"We've located the target. East, just beyond Bridge Street. Requesting immediate back-up because of the other enhanced in the area." Victory's voice leaks into my ears and my eyes widen at Tony before I vanish. Well, I don't vanish. I just turn into a bat and shoot down the street.

"Grant! Dammit!" Tony shouts after me as I dip and turn around buildings to get to Victory. "Grant's here. Eyes open for the little punk."

"What?" Victory's panicked voice comes over coms and I think I also hear Steve's calming one in the background. The burn on my shoulder stings as I fly, but I'm not sure whether that's because of my rapid movement or because I'm close to the one who gave it.

"Grant, get the fuck away from here." Bucky's voice grunts and growls through the coms as he fights someone. I remain silent as I land on the roof above the action as Victoria, Bucky, and Steve try to get through a line of gifted kids without hurting them. The target is practically shivering with fear or delight as he watches, but then scurries away as they make progress. I'm after him in a second. He sprints down a shadowed alley while ducking and weaving past walls, dumpsters, and other discarded things. I shift into a hyena and weave with him while growling so he knows what's behind him. So he knows who's coming for him. My nostrils flare as I smell his fear heighten and the salty scent of his sweat almost makes me smile.