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  THE ROOM WAS DEATHLY silent. Rosalie shook as she tightly hugged her mother's corpse while from above, Director Bates struggled against the magical hold Wyatt had on him. A slow, deep chuckle emitted from Wyatt's chest as he smiled gleefully at Rosalie and Herald's pain. "Don't act so surprised," He shook his head. "Did you really think you could stall me long enough to save her? I thought you were smarter than that,"

Still shaking, Rosalie looked up slowly, anger bubbling slowly within her. "You will die for that," She snarled.

Wyatt merely chuckled. "Oh, Rosie," He flicked his hand, sending her flying across the room, right to Alexei's feet. "It's sweet how you believe that," A yell from Herald caught his attention, It was as if he almost forgot he was there in his pleasure. "Director! Guess whose turn it is now? Any last words?"

Director Bates struggled against his invisible restraints, his tears shining in the dimly lit room. His eyes never strayed from Lily's body. "You...won't...get...away... with this," He spoke in between jolts of pain.

"Aw, but I already have," Wyatt tilted his head.

From behind Rosalie, she could hear a commotion and a grunt. She looked over her shoulder to see Alexei standing with the rocket launcher, aimed directly at Wyatt. The corrupt man was too busy gloating to notice. With a loud bang, the rocket flew towards Wyatt, blowing a hole right through the side of the building. Herald dropped to the ground, Melina, Yelena, Marcus, and Irina, all rushing forward to break his fall.

As the dust and smog cleared, Wyatt was nowhere in sight. A part of Rosalie hoped that the blast had hit him, splitting him into a million tiny pieces, but she knew that wasn't the case. Even before he became corrupt with power, Wyatt never went down easy, or without a fight.

Shaking, Herald crawled to Lily's body, pulling her into his arms as he sobbed quietly. "Oh no...no, no," He mumbled. He kissed her hair lightly, his tears flowing faster. "My love..."

Rosalie's eyes widened. "Herald..." She stood up shakily, Alexei helping her from behind.

The broken man looked up, eyes glassy and wet. "We didn't know how to tell you..." He choked back a sob.

"Does anyone see Wyatt?" Marcus called.

"How could we?" Alexei chuckled. "He has been blown to smithereens!" He cheered triumphantly.

"I...don't think so big guy," Marus stood, brushing the dirt from his pants. "He is not an easy man to kill."

"There is no way he survived that!" Alexei countered, huffing in frustration. Rocks crumbling in the distance caught all of their attention. A pile of rubble sat where the wall had been destroyed, but it was moving. A deep, echoing chuckle encompassed the room as Wyatt rose from the broken stone. Alexei's face dropped. "I take back what I said,"

Wyatt's laughing grew louder and louder, the green smoke returning as it billowed from his hands. Rosalie watched as if swarmed Director Bates and her mother's body, along with Marcus, Melina, Irina, and Yelena. Rosalie felt herself begin to panic but she knew nothing would get done if it continued. She closed her eyes for a moment, steadying her breathing and when she opened them again, she was ready. "Alexei!" She called to the super-soldier. "Got another one of those?" She pointed to the rocket launcher still in his hands.

He smirked. "Of course! Tell me when and I will-"

"Blow him to smithereens?" She finished for him, smirking slightly.

Alexei blushed. "...yes,"

"Great," Rosalie nodded. She grabbed two pistols off of her thighs and cocked them. She cracked her neck.  "Be ready for my signal!" She called to him before rushing into the smoke. She could barely see anything, but she could hear the hushed voices of Melina, Irina, and Yelena, as well as the grunts of Marcus and Herald. She walked slowly, closer to the sounds of pain and she could hear Wyatt, spewing some big villain speech. Rosalie pushed through the smog until it was clear. Wyatt held Marcus and Herald by unviable string, but as she stepped forward, his eyes landed on Rosalie. His lips curled into a sickening grin.

"Rosie! Come to see the show?" His eyes trailed down to her guns and he pouted. "Oh, don't be like that!" With a swipe of his hand, the guns were flung from her fingers and just like Marcus and Herald, she was being dragged up by the invisible rope, but unlike the men, Wyatt merely let her hang. It wasn't her he was after anymore, he didn't need to hurt her. Marcus and Herald squirmed, trying to reach her, but Wyatt kept them separated. "Rosie, how about you pick? Which one of them do you want dead least of all?"

She gritted her teeth. "Screw you, asshole," She fought against her invisible restraints. "No one else has to die!"

"Oh, but they do!" Wyatt countered. "I think Mr. Perfect here should die first," His hand balled into a fist and Marcus began to choke. "He was always a pain in my ass."

Rosalie's eyes widened as she watched Marcus slowly lose consciousness. She shuddered, knowing her plan and what she was about to do was the exact opposite of what Yelena told her not to do: "I know you do stupid things for the people you love," And she was right — Rosalie's plan was downright idiotic, but they wouldn't stop Wyatt any other way.

"Now, Alexei!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, hoping he could hear her through all of the smoke.

"Huh?" Wyatt tilted his head towards her. There was a loud bang and a glow of yellow and orange headed straight for them. Wyatt was almost too late — he lifted his hands, forming a pale blue shield around himself, and in doing so, dropped Rosalie, Marcus, and Herald. Rosalie broke her fall in a summersault. The blast still flung Wyatt through the same hole in the wall. Now, it was Rosalie's turn. She couldn't give him time to stand or react. As the smoke dissipated, she could hear the shouts of Yelena as she ran towards the crazed man, pulling a grenade out of her pocket. She pulled the pin, diving into Wyatt, taking him down by the waist. He looked up at her, disoriented.

"See you in hell," Rosalie spat. Just before the grenade could blow, she took off running in the opposite direction and her eyes connected with the teary ones of Yelena. "I love y-" Her yell was cut off by the explosion and everything went black.

THREE DAYS LATER

  What happened? Rosalie knitted her brows as she slowly regained consciousness. She blinked in the bright lights of her hospital room, trying and failing to open her eyes. "Careful, Agent Mai," An unfamiliar voice said. "Take it slow,"

"W-Where am I?" She said, her hoarse and painful. She clutched her throat and winced. Squinting, she just managed to see the familiar white walls of the hospital.

"Washington General," The man answered. "You've been out for three days," Rosalie looked up at him, confused and disoriented. "There was an accident at the CIA headquarters and you were caught in the explosion." He clarified.

"Oh," The memories began rushing back to Rosalie. She suddenly remembered that Yelena was there, Melina, Marcus, her mom. Her eyes began watering. "I-Is everyone okay?" She stuttered.

The nurse smiled at her softly. "They are, thanks to you. They're all waiting. Would you like to see them?" Rosalie nodded vigorously. "Okay, okay. I'll be right back." He jogged out of her room and the knot in Rosalie's stomach grew.

When she caught sight of Yelena, she practically burst into tears. The blonde rushed forward and scooped her arms around Rosalie's back, careful to avoid her bandages. "You idiot!" She huffed, pulling away, eyes red and puffy. "I said nothing stupid and that is exactly what you did!"

Rosalie dropped her head. "I'm sorry..."

Yelena's face softened. She sat on the edge of the hospital bed, taking Rosalie's hand and squeezing it. "I might be angry about what you did but...it worked,"

"Really?" Rosalie's head snapped up, eyes wide.

From behind, Melina stepped forward. Rosalie hadn't even noticed she was there. "Wyatt is dead, thanks to you."

"And as far as we know, so is the Darkhold," Another new voice — Marcus. Rosalie's eyes lit up at the sight of him. He looked much better when he wasn't turning blue. "You did good, Rose." He nodded.

Rosalie's cheeks darkened from the attention. "You blew him to smithereens!" A loud booming voice broke through the silence as Alexei jumped over to her other side. "I am..." He stopped to sniffle, wiping an invisible tear. "So proud of you!" He ruffled her hair lightly.

"Oh, stop," Rosalie chuckled, shaking her head. "Yelena is right — what I did was stupid and I could've died." She shifted, her body aching all over. She looked down and from head to toe, she was wrapped in bandages. Melina quickly grabbed a mirror, handing it to her. Rosalie looked at herself, stomach dropping. Her once clear and clean skin was scared, her left eyelashes singed off and a few bald spots were littered throughout her hair. Her eyes began to water.

"Rosie," Yelena cupped her cheek, forcing her to look. "Don't cry. You are beautiful."

Rosalie sniffled. "I am?" She had a hard time believing it.

"Yes," Yelena emphasized. "And so brave and so strong. Let these scares remind you of all the good you have done."

Marcus stepped forward. "Lily would be so proud. When she mentored me, all she would talk about was you and how proud she was of you," He stopped at the foot of her bed, eyeing her softly. "Thank you for saving me."

Rosalie was fully crying now. It was all so much — the pain, the joy. "D-Don't thank me," She choked. She frantically wiped her falling tears as Yelena gripped her thigh for comfort. "Anyone would have done the same."

"But we didn't," Irina finally spoke. Rosalie smiled at the sound of her voice. "You did what none of us could."

"You all make it sound like I'm some sort of superhero or something," Rosalie chuckled. "I'm not Captain America by any means."

"I'm sure Steve would argue with that," Yelena chuckled. Rosalie agreed — he would be so proud and it made her heart flutter.

A silence fell over the group as now a question hung in the air. Rosalie cleared her throat. "What now?"

AUTHORS NOTE
annnnd that does it for this portion of the story! That is the entire first subplot finished omg. Thank you for all the love and support and stay tuned for Infinity War!!