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ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ᴛᴇɴ: ɪ ʜᴏᴘᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ᴅɪᴅɴ'ᴛ ᴇxᴘᴇᴄᴛ  ᴛᴏ ɢᴇᴛ ᴀʟʟ ᴏғ ᴛʜᴇ ᴀᴛᴛᴇɴᴛɪᴏɴ

❝ ᴛᴏᴜᴄʜ ʜᴇʀ ᴀɢᴀɪɴ ᴀɴᴅ ɪᴛ'ʟʟ ʙᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ʟᴀsᴛ ᴛʜɪɴɢ ʏᴏᴜ ᴇᴠᴇʀ ᴅᴏ. ❞

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                              "WE HAVE TO MOVE QUICKLY," BRENDON SAID AS THE TWO OF YOU HURRIED THROUGH THE CORRIDORS OF THE MUSEUM. "I doubt we have much time left before they get here. Up here."

He began leading you up the stairs, towards the science centre, but his footsteps ceased as the sound of two German voices floated through the air. Brendon gripped your arms and shoved you up the stairs. "Go, get what we need. I'll take care of them."

"Brendon-"

"Go!"

You scurried up the rest of the stairs to the exhibit with a new sense of urgency. You could hear the sound of the two Germans, as well as Brendon's, voices. Brendon was speaking German too; it sounded like they were arguing, but the sounds were too faint for you to properly hear.

Crossing the room, you made your way over to the panelled wall. Knocking against it strategically, you recalled the instructions your father had hidden in the coded message. A couple seconds later, there was a low whirr, and the wall opened up.

You smiled in relief and entered the newly opened section, treading cautiously along the hallway until you arrived at the door you were looking for. It took significantly longer than it should have, considering the abyss was awfully dimly lit.

You noticed that the door had a retina scanner as a means to gain access to the room, and you assumed that the only person who had that privilege was Doctor Ross – it was his facility, after all. But you knew that that wasn't the only way to open the door; the key tucked away in your clutch bag was proof of that.

Nervously chewing your lip, you ran your fingers along the underside of the scanner.

"Yes," you cheered as your slim fingers found the groove of the scanner. You lifted the base plate off, and sure enough, right under the CPU, there was a tiny red button. You pressed it, and a keyhole opened up in the steel door.

Retrieving the key from your bag, you fitted it into the keyhole, turned it, and the door swung open with a comical rush of air.

It wasn't hard to find what you were looking for. The only thing in the room was a metal box on a table in the middle of the space. Stepping forward, you opened the box.

~

"Okay, that was uncalled for," Brendon grunted, as he wiped his mouth, reaching behind him to grip the bannister, slowly getting up onto his feet. He tilted his neck to both sides and rolled his shoulders before taking threatening steps towards the two guards. "And very, very stupid."

As quick as lightning, Brendon swung his arm, catching the taller German with a right hook. The man staggered back, clearly surprised by the force behind Brendon's punches, while Brendon delivered a knee to the gut of the other man.

"Brendon?" your voice sounded through his in-ear.

"(Y/N)," he replied immediately, his focus now on you. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine," you responded, and your bodyguard relaxed a little bit. "I've got it. Where are you?"

"I'm," he started, stopping when he saw the men get up and slowly advance on him, "kinda caught up." He let out a small groan of pain as the first man grabbed his arm and twisted it behind his back.

"Brendon?" you asked worriedly. "What's happening? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he growled through gritted teeth before head-butting the second man who was about to punch him, and wrestling out of the other one's grasp, punching him in the throat. "Get to the second floor balcony," he panted quietly, so that the two goons wouldn't hear. "I'll come get you soon."

~

The Asset, clad in a tux, slowly made his way up the steps of the museum, the Snowflake-powered weapon disguised as a cane. He entered into the gala and stalked over to where the museum owner was.

Outside, all around the museum, guards stood, scoping the surroundings. There was a sudden thwack, and one of them was taken out. Another guard looked down at his colleague, who had a bullet hole in his forehead, and raised his gun, only for him to be shot dead with a bullet as well.

~

"Agent Urie," The Director's voice sounded in Brendon's ear.

Brendon was kneeling over one of the guards, delivering multiple punches, until he had knocked him out. "Sir," he replied, out of breath.

"They're here. Get her out of there. NOW."

~

Dashing urgently through the second floor corridors, you made your way towards the balcony, where Brendon told you to meet him.

As you opened the glass door and stepped outside, the crispness of the fresh outside air washed over you, providing a sense of calmness. Inhaling deeply and closing your eyes, you took a deep breath and stepped forward. It was only once you opened your eyes and turned to your left that you realised you were not alone.

"Oh, I-I'm sorry. I didn't know there was anyone out here," you apologised, smoothing the skirt of your dress.

The man blew out the puff of smoke he was holding in his mouth before putting out his barely-smoked cigarette on the stone railing beside him, turning to face you. He had a nice face; sculpted and defined in all the right places, piercing blue eyes, and a dazzling smile. He was exceptionally handsome.

But not as handsome as Brendon.

What? Why would you even think that? You shook your head slightly, trying to rid your mind of that annoying voice at the back of your head.

"No need to apologise," his charming voice spoke as he took a few steps forward. British. Hm.

"I interrupted," you nodded to the dead cigarette behind him.

He waved his hand dismissively. "I've been meaning to cut down. It's an awful habit," he smiled. His smile was contagious, and you couldn't help but smile back. "Forgive me," he frowned, walking even closer to you until he was only a few feet away. "I don't believe we've met. I'm Aaron Ross. And you are?"

"Uh, Snowflake."

"Really? Just Snowflake?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Just Snowflake," you confirmed. Brendon told you to never give your full name to anyone. He even tried to persuade you to go by an alias, but that sounded absolutely ridiculous to you; (Y/N) (Y/M/N) (Y/L/N) was the name your parents gave you. It was your last connection to them, and you were never going to give that up. So you settled on just going by your code name when around people you weren't familiar with.

"Intriguing," he smiled. He cocked his head slightly and gestured to your hand. "May I?"

You nodded.

He gripped your fingers, bringing them up to his lips so that he could plant a kiss on them.

His lips had barely made contact with your skin before they were ripped away, not by Aaron's actions, but rather by your bodyguard's.

Brendon had Aaron pinned up against the wall, hand dangerously tight around his neck, faster than you could process.

"Touch her again and it'll be the last thing you ever do."

Aaron tried to respond, but it came out as a strangled cry due to how tight Brendon was squeezing his neck.

"Brendon," you said, "It's okay, he was just introducing himself."

"Why?" Brendon spat.

"Because I walked in on him during a smoke break," you sighed. "Just... at least loosen your grip. He can't breathe."

Brendon reluctantly did what you asked, allowing Aaron to take in some air.

"I'm sorry," you offered an apologetic grin.

"It's quite alright," he said with a pained smile, voice hoarse. "Can't blame him. You truly are magnificent."

You felt your cheeks heat up at his compliment, while Brendon narrowed his eyes at him, once again applying more pressure than was necessary.

"Please, I mean no harm. Could you let go?" Aaron pleaded.

Brendon snarled at him before removing his hand from Aaron's throat, grabbing your arm instead. "We have to leave. Now."

You knew what his tone implied, and you nodded quickly before letting him guide you out. "It was great meeting you," you smiled over your shoulder at the Brit.

"Likewise," he smiled back. "I hope we meet again soon." You disappeared through the door.

Brendon scoffed. "No fucking way."

~

Agent Smith and his team walked through the secret corridor you had uncovered earlier. Smith stared at the retina scanner of the door for a second, before pulling out a S.H.I.E.L.D overriding system.

The Asset descended the steps to where the owner of the museum was, flipping his cane to the other end, as he got closer. One of the surrounding guards noticed, and pulled a gun on him, to which he responded by clubbing the guard's head in with the cane. Chaos erupted throughout the gala, and all the guests scrambled to get out. The Asset grabbed the owner and flipped him over onto the nearby marble table, knocking him unconscious.

Agent Smith managed to override the alarm system, and he entered the room and rushed to the box on the table. Opening it, he realised it was empty. "It's gone."

The Asset perked up and he snarled, throwing the owner off of the table before stalking down the steps and out of the museum.

~

Brendon had managed to get you out of the building unscathed and the two of you were now running towards the black SUV that stood waiting a couple of blocks away from the museum.

You were greeted by Agent Coulson, who handed you a jacket and opened the door for you. You climbed in, but Brendon didn't.

"Coulson will get you back safe. I'll meet you at HQ," he explained, picking up on your confusion.

"What are you gonna do?" you questioned.

"There's no way they're gonna stand down without a fight, and they know that I never leave your side. If I stay and fight, they'll assume you're still somewhere close by. That'll give you enough time to get out of here."

You nodded in understanding, still frowning slightly. Brendon moved to close the door, but you stopped him. "Brendon?"

He looked at you expectantly.

"Be careful."

For a moment, he opened his mouth and furrowed his eyebrows as if to say something, but changed his mind, simply giving a curt nod instead.

Coulson handed Brendon a few rounds of ammunition, and he shoved them into his belt. "I have something else for you," Coulson said, walking to the trunk to retrieve the item.

Brendon's eyes widened once he saw what it was. "No, I-I can't. I'm not-"

"Director's orders." He held it out to Brendon, who gulped and hesitantly took it.

"I'm not worthy. He'd probably freeze all over again if I wielded it."

"The Director seems to think you are, so that's gotta count for something. Besides, I'm sure you'll need it."

~

As the crowed continued to scatter outside, The Asset marched out into the streets, using his weapon to blast the police cars that had shown up.

The crowd was in hysterics, every person hurrying to find cover or a way to get out of the danger zone.

"Shut up!" The Asset demanded, yet no one listened.

He sent a blast from his weapon up into the air, causing a shower of energy to rain down over everyone, making them scream in terror. They all stopped in their tracks.

"Where is she?" He clicked his tongue as he manoeuvred through the sea of people. "Come out, come out, wherever you are, (Y/N)," his eyes scanned over every single face, looking for you. "Or do you prefer 'snowflake'?"

There was total silence all around. "No? Okay. Well, if you won't come out voluntarily," he lifted his weapon up, "I'll make you come out. You," he pointed to a young boy in the crowd, "stand up."

The boy did as he was told, lip trembling as his mother let out an anguished cry.

"Are you willing to let an innocent child die to save yourself, snowflake?" He got no reply. "Well, then," he raised his weapon again, about to strike, but just as he did, Brendon emerged from the side of the crowd, knocking the weapon out of the assailant's hand with Captain America's shield.

From above Brendon, a quinjet arrived, and S.H.I.E.L.D agents began descending.

"Drop the weapon, and stand down," Brendon commanded, voice as hard and cold as ever.

Like lightning, The Asset ran for his weapon and sent a blast of blue at the quinjet; Agent Hill manoeuvred it just in time, allowing Brendon rush forward and strike the assassin. They began to brawl. He flung Brendon to the ground, and Brendon once again tossed the shield, but the assassin simply swatted it away and knocked Brendon down.

He pointed the weapon at Brendon's head. "Give her up."

"Never." Brendon flipped over and kicked him in the head. The assassin grabbed him and flipped him over.

"Damn it," Agent Hill exclaimed into her comm from her pilot seat in the quinjet. "This guy's too fast. I can't get a solid hit."

Suddenly, as swiftly as a shooting star, a metal object flew down from the sky and blasted The Asset crudely to the ground.

Iron Man touched down before standing up and aiming one of his hand repulsors at the assassin. "I'd give it up, if I were you."

The Asset slowly put up his hands in surrender.

"Smart guy."

"Mr Stark," Brendon greeted from beside Tony.

"Agent."

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