IT WAS NOON when Mal woke up next. Eve was gone, her side of the bed cold, meaning she had been gone for a while. It made sense; Mal had the day off, but Eve didn't. Groaning, Mal reached a hand out for her phone, grabbing it off of the side table. She scrolled through some notifications, a few texts from Eve, and a text from Tony asking if she liked her job at SHIELD better than the one he offered her at Stark Industries. Mal rolled her eyes, sitting up before her phone rang. Frowning, Mal answered it, pressing the phone against her ear.

"Hello?" She asked, slowly standing up from her bed.

"Owens, I'll be out front in ten minutes. Look alive." Fury said simply before hanging up. Mal sighed, groaning again before she threw her phone on the bed. She didn't have time for a shower, so she made due with pulling her hair up into a ponytail and quickly washing her face. Pulling on a fairly new pair of black jeans that Mal had already begun ripping a hole in the left knee of, she decided to grab a simple black t-shirt to go with it. She didn't have much color in her wardrobe these days, besides the occasional purple, green and white. Grabbing her jacket, Mal slid it on before pulling on her boots. After a brief moment of thought, Mal grabbed her knife from under her pillow (a habit she picked up from Natasha), and slid it into her boot. When it came to Fury, there was no telling what was in store for her, and it was always better to be safe than sorry. A honk from outside let Mal know that Fury was there. Grabbing her phone, Mal made sure the apartment door was locked behind her as she left.

Opening the door of Fury's SUV, Mal slid into the passenger seat, slamming the door shut. Fury took off immediately, making Mal roll her eyes

"So, whats up?" She asked when they slowed to a red light. Fury looked over at her, but then his eyes travelled past her. Mal turned her head to look at the officers in the car next to them.

"Wanna see my lease?" Fury snapped, and the officer driving scowled before turning on his sirens and driving forward. When the light turned green, Fury started driving again. Suddenly, a police car smashed into the driver side of the car. The SUV shifted, being pushed up against some poles on the outside edge of the sidewalk. Mal groaned as her head bashed against the window, a pounding ache radiating through her. Another car rammed into the passenger side of the car, making Mal lurch to the side, a sickening crunch followed by pain exploding in her side made Mal yelp.

"Multiple fractures detected." The cars AI informed them, and Mal groaned again. "Recommend anesthetic injection."

"Why is it always the ribs?" She muttered miserably, watching Fury lean over and open the glove compartment in front of Mal. He pulled out two shots, handing one to Mal before he stabbed the other one into his injured arm. Sucking in a shaky breath, Mal pulled the cap off of the needle, before swiftly jabbing it into her side. She winced as the anesthetic surged into her body.

"D.C. Metro Police dispatch shows no units in this area." The AI said, and Fury and Mal both stopped to look at each other. Mal tried not to look as terrified as she felt in that moment.

"Get us out of here." Fury ordered the AI, as all the men around the car began firing. The bullets hit the glass, leaving marks but not shattering it. Mal felt the anesthetic working as the pain in her side slowly ebbed away, but it did nothing to lessen the panic she felt. The machine gun fire pelted against all sides of the car, and Mal looked at Fury nervously.

"Propulsion systems offline." The AI said, showing a schematic diagram of the the SUV.

"Then reboot, damn it!" Fury shouted, watching the bullets hit the car. Mal watched the percentage of the cars armor integrity drop, and her heart went down with it. There was a pause in shooting as men dressed in SWAT uniforms brought out an automated battering ram. They set it down level with Fury's window, and Mal's eyes widened.

"Warning. Window integrity compromised." The AI said, making Mal scoffed.

"Yeah, you think?" She snapped, her hand reaching down to fumble with a lever underneath the seat. She pulled it, letting the seat slide as far back as it would go, before she slid down onto the floor in front of it. This gave Fury enough room to slide over onto the passenger seat, so they were both away from the window.

"How long until propulsion?" Fury asked the computer, and the AI was quiet for a moment. Then, the first hit of the battering ram shook the SUV, tipping it up before it fell back down again. Mal smacked her head against the glove compartment and scowled.

"Window integrity 31%. Deploying countermeasures." The computer said, but Fury shook his head.

"Hold that order." The battering ram slammed against the SUV again, jostling the people inside. Mal watched the window integrity drop to 19%.

"Offensive measures advised." The AI said, but Fury was stern with his command to wait. The car was hit again, and Mal's heart began beating rapidly. "Window integrity 1%."

"Now!" Fury shouted, and the center console of the SUV opened up, a small machine gun rising up quickly. Mal quickly got the memo, and raised her hand, firing energy at the window to knock the glass out and send it flying towards one of the men as soon as Fury began firing. Fury shot a grenade out, successfully blowing up the large SWAT vehicle. Mal poked her head out enough to see the vehicles, and raised her hands. Two of the cop cars came smashing together, trapping three injured men between them.

"Propulsion systems now online." The AI said, and Mal glanced up at the schematics of the vehicle displayed on the windshield, almost sighing in relief.

"Full acceleration, now!" The tires began to squeal and Mal turned her attention to the front of them. With a flick of her hand, a police car was flung to the side, out of their way. Fury continued shooting as the car took off, speeding down the street. "Initiate vertical takeoff!" Fury said once they were out of the line of fire.

"Flight systems damaged." The computer replied. Fury lunged back into the drivers seat, groaning in pain as he hit his arm against the door. Mal pulled herself up to sit back in the passenger seat.

"Then activate guidance cameras." Fury demanded. The AI did as told, things flashing across the windshield that Mal didn't pay attention to. She was too focused on the cars chasing behind them.

"Nick, I understand that you may not be freaking out right now, but I'm about three seconds away from shitting myself!" Mal snapped, eyes darting over to Fury. He weaved in and out through traffic, but the police cars stayed right behind them.

"Get me Agent Hill." Fury told the AI, gripping the steering wheel tightly.

"Communications array damaged." The computer replied. Mal threw her head back, groaning loudly. If she used her phone, she had no doubt that whoever was behind this would trace the call and listen in.

"What isn't damaged?" Mal asked, not really expecting an answer.

"Air conditioning is fully operational." The AI supplied, and Mal narrowed her eyes. "Traffic ahead." The computer informed them.

"Give me an alternate route." Fury demanded. The computer responded immediately.

"Traffic alert at Roosevelt Bridge. All vehicles stopped. 17th Avenue clear in three blocks, directly ahead." Fury sped up, rear ending a truck and pushing it out of the way. He then squeezed between two other cars, who screeched to a half. They blocked the street, meaning the cars right behind them couldn't follow. The men got out though, and began shooting at the car. Mal held out her hand, a shield coming up the cover the shattered window and prevent the bullets from hurting her or Fury.

Fury kept pushing through traffic, as Mal held the shield up. Bullets continued to pelt against it. Suddenly, Fury reversed and hit a man behind them, before turning abruptly and pushing a car out of the way to escape. There were two cars left following them now, and one man was leaning out of the passenger window, shooting at them. Fury rammed into the side of the car, fighting for possession of the gun with the man. The other car pushed up against the passenger side, distracting the other man long enough that Fury could pull the machine gun out of his grasp, but the man simply pulled out a pistol.

"I've had enough of this shit!" With a pull of her hand, the pistol flew to Mal's hand, and she let a wave of energy knock the other man away. Looking forward, Mal's eyes widened. "Intersection!" She shouted. Fury slammed on the brakes, and the two police cars kept going, only to be hit with a tractor trailer. Fury accelerated again, turning swiftly.

"Get us off the grid!" He snapped, and Mal frowned, checking the clip in the pistol. It was full, and she clicked it back into place. Natasha said that Mal needed to know how to defend herself without using her powers, which had opened the girl up to the world of punching things and firing guns.

"Calculating route to secure location." Mal didn't let herself relax though, especially when she looked in front of them and saw a single man standing in the middle of the street. He was dressed in all black, with longer brown hair. He held up a gun, firing it. Mal didn't have time to process what was happening until there was an explosion from beneath the car. It flipped, smashing onto its roof and sliding down the road. When it came to a halt, Mal groaned in pain. Everything hurt, and she could see the strange man approaching them. Suddenly, Fury grabbed her, and pushed her down into a hole that she didn't know when he cut. Mal was tired, her body ached, she was bloody and exhausted, but she continued on. She had to.