Chapter Six
Jade

"I thought you would never arrive," Ross says in a passive aggressive tone as we get out of our car. We're right outside of his office building, he's here with a few other agents to pick the kids up. I expected him to be angrier given the scolding we got on the phone earlier, but this is actually a normal level of hatred coming from him. "You're lucky that no one was killed."

After sticking up to Litvin and hearing what the kids said on the plane, I'm not feeling as shy and timid around Ross. I don't stop myself from saying: "We did our best, sir. We apprehended the children and brought them here, please just take them and leave."

Ross raises an eyebrow my way, pointing a warning finger my direction. "I don't know why you've all of the sudden developed a tongue, but knock it off or else I'll suspend you."

It felt really good to talk back to him, but I don't want to push my luck, especially given what we're about to do. John and Sam haul the kids out of the car and bring them over to Ross. We told them to not be too aggressive or antagonizing, so they're staying silent, solemn expressions on each of their faces, selling their defeat beautifully to Ross. I can tell he buys it, he has a smug grin on his face, filled with triumph.

"Take them away, make sure they don't escape this time." Ross orders the agents standing next to a large black truck. The agents nod silently to him, grabbing onto the kids much more forcefully than we did, practically shoving them through the double doors of the cargo area of the truck. Once the kids are out of sight, Ross returns his attention to us, his grin subsiding. "You three are going back to Denmark to clean up the mess you made, and don't think I don't know where you got those fancy handcuffs, I'm not stupid. The next time you pay a visit to Wakanda without asking permission, you'll be punished."

"We went to Wakanda to find a solution that wouldn't hurt the kids and would stop the destruction they were causing. We achieved both of those goals." I argue, feeling empowered every moment I stand my ground and speak up to him. Every previous time I've faced him I've felt like I was locked in the same cage, the same chains I was in HYDRA, forced to listen to him treat me like a monster, an animal. But no more. I promised myself I wouldn't let Litvin control me by fear anymore and I'll be damned if I let Ross continue to do the same.

Ross scoffs. "You HYDRA agents are all the same. You're willing to do anything to achieve your own agenda, even put innocent lives at stake. You make me sick."

"The feeling is mutual." I respond, and though my voice isn't as firm as I'd like it to be, my point is still made. It makes Ross's mustache twitch, he isn't used to me sticking up for myself, it's aggravating him.

Ross doesn't say anything else, he just stalks towards his car parked on the other side of the truck. Both vehicles start their engines up, so I know it's time we go as well. The boys and I walk back towards our car and start up the engine as well, waiting for the truck to leave.

"I'm proud of you." Sam tells me with a smirk.

John gives me a firm nod. "I can't believe you got the last word, he never lets anyone else get the last word."

"It felt good, really good," I say through a sigh. "I'm sick of letting people like him make me feel inferior. I've been letting him push me around and rule me by my own insecurities, which is exactly what HYDRA used to do, what Litvin did to me. I guess that should have given me a clue that I was serving yet another corrupt government. I think I just wanted to believe that by serving them I was making up for what I had done in HYDRA, that I was repenting, so I ignored all the red flags."

Sam slips his hand into mine, holding onto it tightly. "If those kids turn out to be right, it doesn't change anything. You're still a hero no matter what Ross, the UN, or HYDRA do."

I nod to him. "I know. I'm also pretty sick of blaming myself for what's happened to me, by HYDRA and by the UN. If the kids are right, then I will do whatever it takes to stop them. I will not let another tyrannical government hurt innocent lives when I can do something to stop it."

"Agreed," John says, pointing towards the truck, which has now begun driving down the road. "Lets go find out answers then."

-

When we were in Wakanda, Shuri gave us some Kimoyo Beads to use. One of the uses of these beads is that they can cloak an object, so we have cloaked our car to make our following the truck inconspicuous. We've been following said truck for a couple hours now, wherever they're taking the kids it must be in upstate New York.

The truck begins slowing its pace when we get into Old Forge, New York, so we all speculate that we're getting close to the base. And that is indeed the case, because the truck comes to a stop in front of a metal gate in front of what looks like hospital. The building looks old, the exterior is crumbling, the barred windows are broken, and the paint on the sign on the rotting gate is peeling off right before our eyes. I've been to secret bases before, was held in one for over a decade, and usually they somewhat resemble a base, not a hospital. It's only the bases that they don't want anyone to find out about, the truly secret bases that are shown to be something else. I remember Bucky telling me once that the base he was operated on after his fall off that train looked like a bakery on the outside. It scares me to even think of what evil could be going on in a secret base posing as a hospital, especially if they have the equipment of a real hospital.

The truck driver talks with the guard at the gate, showing him an ID card. The guard nods and presses a button, causing the gate to open. We see this as an opportunity to sneak inside, so we tail the truck and follow it inside, the guard none the wiser thanks to the Kimoyo Bead.

"Alright we're in, what's the plan?" John inquires, his voice sounding distant, his mind occupied on the scene before us. There are tons of trucks parked outside this base, with doctors and heavily armed guards wondering around on different agendas. It's hard to believe the kids are lying now that we see the base ourselves.

"I don't know. They'll probably be taking the kids to the prison cells they described, but the deeper into the base they get, the harder it will be to find them. We can't lose sight of them." Sam responds.

"Having a shapeshifter who can track scents would be very useful right now." John mumbles.

"How about we follow the guards taking the kids inside, then we knock the guards out and steal their uniforms. If we wear disguises we can get the kids back into the truck and get them out of here safely."

Sam lets out a sigh, his eyes glued to the agents getting out of the truck in front of us, moving towards the back where the kids are. "I think that's the best plan we have."

The kids are pulled off of the truck and practically dragged towards a door on the side of the building. We silently slip out of our car and use the other trucks as cover as we follow them to the door. One agent swipes a card through a key slot, which makes a light flash green above the door before clicking open. They all enter inside, and just before the door closes, we sneak inside, and while the agents have their backs turned, Sam hits them hard in the back of the head with his shield, knocking them out instantly. One agent, who just happened to round the corner as Sam did this, says into his coms:

"We have a breach! Repeat, we have-" He's cut off from John punching him across the face and hitting his head against the wall, knocking him out as well.

"So much for stealth." Sam mumbles, latching his shield back on his back, picking up the two fallen agents on the ground. John does the same with the other agent.

I turn my attention to the kids, panic filling me as lights begin flashing on the walls in a deep crimson red. "Do you know somewhere safe that we can use to plan a way out of here?"

Naomi nods, gesturing to the hallway that the agent John knocked out came from. She and the two boys lead us down the hall, but we have trouble coming our way the moment we round the corner. Those heavily armed guards from outside are now charging our way, their guns aimed high, their bullets raining down on us hard. Sam jumps in front of us and covers me and the kids with his shield, I use this cover to send minor explosions their way, just enough to knock them backwards. John has his gun and Sam's gun out and his shooting at the straggling agents.

Naomi points to a door labeled 'lab 45' and pulls the boys inside. Sam and John tell me to get inside as well and get the kid's cuffs off while they hold the agents back. Sam tosses me the keys and I run into the room after them, shutting the door behind me.

"How the hell are we going to get out of here?" Matthew asks as I uncuff him.

"We got out once, we can again." Naomi assures him.

"Last time we didn't have three Avengers." Johnathon points out.

"Exactly," I tell them as I uncuff Naomi. "The agents out there care more about capturing us than you. So what your going to do is run when I say run, and don't turn back."

I uncuff Johnathon and watch the cuffs fall to the ground with a loud clank. All three kids stare at me in confusion, with Naomi clarifying: "You want us to leave you behind?"

I nod. "We'll be fine, what matters most is that you three get to safety." I say, looking around at the lab Naomi has brought us too. It looks like a normal hospital room, but the operating table has thick metal cuffs attached to it, and there are two tables on either side covered in various tools and bottles filled with different shades of liquid. I was in HYDRA long enough to recognize serum when I see it, and all of those bottles are filled with it. I can't risk the kids being captured again, so if getting them to safety means distracting the agents long enough for them to get out, then that's what we'll do.

"After what you've done for us we can't just leave you here." Johnathon objects.

I shake my head, looking them each individually as I tell them: "Yes you can, and when you leave, you three need to stay hidden. I know you're angry, I know you want justice, but fighting will only get you killed. One day that might change, but until that day comes, you need to focus on keeping each other safe. Don't let them win, they win if they capture you, that means they can use you. Don't let them use you."

Matthew and Johnathon still don't like this plan, but Naomi nods firmly to me, grabbing onto both boy's hands. "Thank you, Jade, for believing in us and helping us."

I nod back. "I was just like you once: I was held in a base like this and forced to have powers I didn't want. If I can help you escape the same fate I had, then what happens to me doesn't matter. Our car is cloaked, it's right behind the truck you came in. You should be able to slip out without issue. Now go, we'll cover you."

I open up the door and find twice as many agents as there were before. There's no way all six of us are getting out of this, but we don't have to. We just need to get the kids out. Sam is deflecting bullets and throwing his shield at agents while John continues to shoot at them, but he's running out of bullets. In order to get the kids a window, we need a big distraction. I know just the thing.

"Get behind me!" I yell, waiting until Sam and John are both behind me. They seem to get the idea of what I'm about to do, so Sam covers him and John both with the shield.

I hold out my hands and let the heat rise in me, more than I've let it rise in years. I promised myself I wouldn't use my powers to hurt other people, but if Naomi, Johnathon, and Matthew have any chance a getting out of here, I have to do this. Letting out a yell, I release my tether on my powers, causing the lab we were just in and the entire hallway in front of me to explode, laying waste to everything and everyone in my path. The explosion is so big it knocks me backwards into Sam and John, who thankfully didn't get hit by the blast.

"Honey, honey are you alright?" Sam whispers to me, touching my face gently.

I nod, though I don't feel alright at all. I don't usually feel anything after using my powers, but I think using them at such a high scale has caused me to feel drained. My powers cause me to always feel warm, but right now I feel rather cold. It's like my powers are slowly being sucked out of me.

But maybe it's not because of me using them so much. Sam's eyes widen as they fall onto my shoulder, he reaches forward and grabs onto something lodged in my skin. It's a dart. That can't be good.

Sam jolts as a similar dart hits him in the neck, and I glance to my side to find John hit in the arm with another dart. I try to push myself off the ground but I can't, my arms and legs feel numb, my breathing is growing shallower, I can't move. I watch Sam drop the shield and fall on top of me, his eyes fluttering shut, then I hear another thud, which must mean John has collapsed too. I lift my head enough to see a shadowy figure approach me, but before I can see the person's face, my eyes flutter shut as well, and my head hits the ground.