six months later...

         Lagos, Nigeria. Why am I here? To be quite honest, I don't remember getting here in the first place. When I fell asleep last night, I was in my bed at the new Avengers Headquarters and then, I suddenly woke up on the hovercraft without a clue where I was. I shoot up from the hard metal surface, my eyes shooting around to see the Avengers just talking and doing their own thing. How many times have I said I don't want to be a part of this? Groggily, I push myself off the floor and I cautiously stand up, not exactly knowing what's going on.

"Care to explain why I'm here?" I ask, my voice projecting loudly, causing everyone to turn around. "Because I'm most definitely not an Avenger."

"We have a lead on Rumlow and this would be the perfect time for you to be a part of a mission," Steve states, confidently, and I roll my eyes.

I sigh, "I've been on plenty of missions with and without all of you. I'm not like you guys, how many times do I have to explain that?"

"Look, I know Clint retiring took a toll on you, but he's taught you everything he knows. You're one hell of a shot and without him, you're the next best thing," Nat cuts into the conversation and the mentioning of Clint's retirement makes my heart sink, but I understand why he decided to leave and I respect him for it.

"Then, what the hell is Crossbones up to this time?"

"He plans on stealing a biological chemical weapon from the Institute for Infectious Diseases," Steve informs.

"Time to make things interesting"

***

           The streets are crowded with everyday civilians and as the other four are examining the streets from a small cafe and the rooftops, I decided to stay in the streets. I know that they're going to be headed somewhere fast and since I'm here, I have a good chance at catching them, but with a little help from a skateboard that I stole from some teenager. It's a little strange, but I was tempted and now, I practically own a skateboard that I don't know how to ride.

"Sam, you see that garbage truck?" Cap says the through the earpiece. "Take it."

         Soon after that's said, the garbage truck zooms past me without looking at its path ahead. Multiple civilians throw objects at the moving vehicle, angered by the driver's reckless driving. Moments later, Sam's Red Wing flies underneath the truck to examine what's inside. Being the careless person I am, I start trailing behind the truck, intrigued by why it's in such a hurry.

"The truck's loaded for max weight, and the driver's armed," Sam says and that's when we come into play. "Avalon, stay with the truck, alright?"

"I'm on it"

           Cruising down the street behind the truck, the concrete vibrates my legs as the skateboard propels me forward. The buildings besides me turn into a blur and my only focus is what the hell is going to happen once this truck stops. Out of nowhere, the driver jumps out of the truck as the Institute for Infectious Diseases comes into view and I jump off the board and my body tumbles to the ground. A groan escapes my lips as I pick myself up off the ground and the entrance is completely destroyed. Two yellow trucks quickly make their way in and once they're stopped, groups of armed men hope out and I swiftly grab the bow from my back and I load it.

"Can I be granted permission to kill every damn one of them or do I just stay back and let you guys do all of the dirty work?" I say through the earpiece, a smirk forming on my lips as I notice the amount of sarcasm laced within my tone.

***

          Rumlow and his men escape into the open air market, near the Institute, and they all scattered off into different directions. One of the men has the chemical weapon in their possession, but the thing is, which one? Nat and Sam take off to the left and to the right. I, on the other hand, run straight, ushering the people to get out of the way because they're being threatened by danger. My eyes scan the area as I run through the market, but I don't see any of the men. Man, I really wanted to take one of them in a fight.

"Avalon, watch out!" the voice of Steve Rogers comes out of nowhere, and before I can do anything, a strong hand is gripping me by the throat before evidently, being thrown to the ground, several feet away.

The air gets knocked out of my lungs. Gasping for breath, I can't seem to properly inhale without feeling suffocated.

"не сегодня (Not today)," I say to myself, instinctively, as I push myself off the ground to face whoever threw me.

          Before I can even take a step, Cap is standing in front of me, protecting me from the one and only, Crossbones. If we weren't in this situation, I'd step out of the way, but I'm tired of being thrown every time I try and protect others from these harmful men. Steve is tense, his shield is positioned in front of his body while his free hand loosely around my wrist. Breathe, breathe, breathe. Don't show fear; it'll show your weakness. The two were fighting before they encountered me and quite frankly, I wish I wasn't in the middle of this. Steve and I walk over to Rumlow, who is on his knees, and roughly, Steve grabs Rumlow by his uniform.

"Who's your buyer?" Steve asks, demandingly, in need of an answer.

He looks at Steve, amusingly. "You know, he knew you. Your pal, your buddy, your Bucky."

           My body freezes as the name rolls off his
tongue. Steve's figure tenses and instinctively, I place my hand on his shoulder, to act as a reminder that Bucky is still out there. Just not here.

"What did you say?"

"He remembered you. I was there. He got all weepy about it," Rumlow begins to speak again and his gaze darts to me. "But he also remembered her. He kept stating that he wouldn't kill you.. Over and over again. I could change you back into the monster you've become and I'd make him watch as you kill him."

A sudden laugh escapes my lips. "I'd never kill him. I'd kill you," I fire back.

Rumlow's eyes widen like he's recognized something he hadn't before. "If I didn't know who you were, I'd think you're in love with him," he says, the words cutting deep into my skin like knives. He's just trying to get into your head. I fumble back a bit and my heart aches.

"But that was until they put his brain back in the blender. He wanted you to know something. He said to me, "Please tell Rogers, 'When you got to go, you got to go.' And you're coming with me," and in an instant, he presses a button on his suit and he bursts into flames, but Wanda uses her powers to contain the fire. With her lack of control, the fire hit the building and chaos started.

Everything happened so fast and we weren't quick enough to stop it.

But I'm not here; my head and my heart are somewhere far away from here. Maybe Rumlow was right about something. Maybe I've let that damn soldier steal my heart.

a/n - hello!!!! coming at you with another update omg!!! alright let me know what your thoughts are on this chapter (; enjoy! - kenzie