Chapter 27: Running From The Past

"You can't always be strong, but you can always be brave." —Unknown

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IFID HEADQUARTERS

LOCATION: LAGOS, NIGERIA

MAY 3, 2016

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"REMIND again who thought this was a good idea for me to be out in the open?" Aurora questioned through the earpiece, pretending to check herself on the mirror but angled it towards the IFID Headquarters using the enhanced scanning. The other Avengers were in their respective positions as they await instructions from Steve, however, the teenagers' comments gave them a minor distraction on the situation. It was a few days ago when they received intel of a possible heist to steal a biological weapon. And what's worse is that it was hinted to be the Winter Soldier trying to steal it. But Aurora trusted her gut; it wasn't him.

"Because we agreed that if anyone would get caught, I would choose you." Sam chimed in, almost feeling his smug smile through the comms. She tugged the cap lower to shield part of the face, wisps of pink hair fell while strolling along the busy street as cars honked at her for crossing but she just flipped them off. Wanda slightly chuckled at the action which caused the young Stark to be satisfied with herself.

"How sweet," The teenager sassed back in annoyance, placing a small tracker under the garbage truck to follow its tracks. She then leaned against a lamppost shortly after and sent the coordinates to Sam with much distaste. Then she continued with the witty banter, "But if I recall correctly, I didn't get my ass handled by a teenager, and nor did I get caught."

"Enough you two, we need to focus." Steve interrupted calmly, she swore Sam was smirking from the distance but this wasn't going to be forgotten about. Grumbling some inaudible words in Greek, the girl sighed that she was being bullied by an adult. A freaking adult who acts immature might she add.

"Sorry," Aurora muttered an apology, but the point she made was valid. Deciding to continue scouting the premises, her phone beeped with a notification from Tony. Fuck— she forgot that tonight they would fly out to one of his conferences at his old university. Quickly answering back to avoid suspicion, the girl tried to maintain focus as she felt her hands quivering.

"It's alright, now what do you see?" Captain America insisted as he questioned the rest of the team who was quiet on the other line. She stared down at the fingertips turning slowly blue as she breathed heavily that it was happening again. Damn the stupid nerves, clenching tightly, and hid them inside the jacket.

"Standard beat cops. Small station. Quiet street. It's a good target." Wanda shrugged nonchalantly, finishing stirring the tea before taking a sip to seem casual. To normal civilians, the group would have appeared to be tourists from America but others would notice how much they stick out like a sore thumb.

"There's an ATM in the south corner, which means...." Steve chimed in, looking through the curtain from a building nearby. Aurora swerved her head in that direction, observing it as she hummed quietly. Slowly taking out her hands to tuck them underneath her armpit, shaking her head softly to let the pink hair down. The teenager was glad to keep the wig as it distracted her face out of focus, quite vital now that she thought about it.

"Cameras," Wanda concluded solemnly, staring down at her hands cupping the teacup. This only sparked the girl's attention as she followed along the sides to see the surveillance recording approximately one hundred meters.

"Shit— right, sorry Cap." Aurora groaned until she realized her mistake, trying to apologize but it was already said. Instead, she got off from the lamppost to be in position, glancing around for any wandering eyes. A young child appeared beside the teenager silently, surprising her with a wide grin. It unnerved her deeply as if he knew something she didn't, suddenly he reached for the left hand and placed an object inside the palm.

"Both cross streets are one way," Captain immediately spoke and maintained attention to the busy streets. The child stared blankly before crossing the street, she followed his figure before disappearing behind the taxi cab. Searching for any signs until ultimately giving up, curiosity slowly sparked her interest. What an odd interaction— Aurora wondered, inhaling a small breath she opened her hand. A crumpled white strip of paper was inside, hesitantly unraveling it to read it silently.

HYDRA is always watching.

She clenched her teeth so tightly that the young Stark swiftly ripped it into many pieces. Paranoia began to consume her thoughts as she frantically looked around for anything, knowing she couldn't escape from their grasp. However, part of her believed it was all over... turns out she was fucking wrong. At first, she didn't feel the blood dripping down her lip, accidentally biting and tasting the metallic until wiping down with the jacket sleeve. No one noticed her distressed face, her mind taunting her that how stupid and naive she was.

"Stark? You alright?" Natasha questioned, even if she was over a hundred meters away, something wasn't right about that. Aurora closed her eyes shut to stop the pain, hands going to her head as if she was being pierced by a thousand cuts. She suddenly fell to her knees, sobbing loudly from the memories that flooded inside.

"NO! PLEASE— MAKE IT STOP!" Her voice cracked, going back to reality as it snatched everyone nearby their attention. Confusion arose as she struggled to maintain her subconscious emotions to find fingers sparking. This can't be happening she repeated to herself in panic, not understanding why this triggered her. Her mind wandered into darkness at first until a figure she thought was long dead appeared.

"Killers don't deserve love nor the happiness you deserve." Her adopted grandfather, Alexander Pierce shouted stoically as he slapped the girl to her senses. She flinched immediately as she stood there, not wanting to give in to the pain. And it happened again, only this time she reacted with a sinister smirk. Images flashed in a split second that changed to a familiar place, Sokovia.

"You think you can hide the truth but they will find out... And when they do, the blood will be on your hands." Ultron taunted with his mechanical voice, eyes glowing red as he gently caressed her face. And suddenly she saw herself facing a large mirror— nothing unusual until her reflection gave the young girl a sinister smile. Taking a step back at the person she once was, Phantom pulled out a dagger before slitting her throat and wrists. No remorse from the reflection but the real Aurora grimace at the scene unfolding. A symbolic gesture for chains... that she was always under HYDRA's control.

"Did you really think you're fooling anyone? Especially yourself?" Her reflection crackled, suddenly lunging forward to grab herself on the throat. Aurora felt her feet dangling and tossed against another mirror behind that shattered into shards. The reflection stepped out to grab a large glass and started to cut along the cheeks, flinching uncontrollably.

"You became weak and useless! Remember that HYDRA owns you! They trained you for one purpose only, to destroy the world." The reflection insulted her, spatting directly on the face. Aurora glared with hatred to be reminded of her past deeds, wanting to finally let go of everything.

"I don't want it. I haven't ever wanted it." The teenager retaliated bitterly, her voice betraying the confidence she had, and became unsteady. Her reflection chuckled darkly at the reaction she got, tormenting further by suddenly changing herself into a younger version. Lifeless eyes staring directly with only an item on the hand, a reminder of her accomplishments for HYDRA.

"Oh, but darling, you can't erase the past... Not even if you so desperately try to forget it." It provoked harshly, walking closer to hand Aurora the bracelet she had long put away. All the charms symbolize the lives she's taken, the girl took pride in but only for now to be filled with shame.

"I know I can't— but I got something I always wanted. A choice and I choose one with no regrets." The young Stark responded firmly, closing the fist to crush the charms to dust. And she could only watch as the reflection lunged forward to attack.

"Stark?" Natasha repeated herself, Aurora jolted forward as she swiftly maintained her balance. She gasped for some air, eyes flickering in all directions... only to find everything normal. HYDRA is really fucking her brain, all she just witnessed was a figment of her imagination, retracting her hand over the lip to find no blood dripping. No pieces of paper were torn in her other hand, rather it was just an illusion.

"I-I'm fine, Nat. Just a bit tired." She insisted calmly, toying with the necklace for a sense of tranquility. Guess after the weekend, Aurora will have a chat with her mother about the new vision or whatever the hell was called.

"Eyes on target, folks. This is the best lead we've had on Rumlow in six months. I don't want to lose him." Steve reminded the team, alerting the girl it was almost time. She breathed through the nose harshly, gathering her emotions to a minimum until getting what they needed.

"If he sees us coming that won't be a problem. He kind of hates us." Falcon commented which caused a small smile to crack from her. In reality, he hated them not her, without Aurora he wouldn't have the position of power the man once had.

"Don't include me on the list, it was you two smartasses," She joked until a garbage truck was pushing its way through traffic, with no regard to pedestrians or other vehicles. Everyone seemed to catch on the news, Wanda observing the young girl closely and her odd body language.

"Sam, see that garbage truck?" Steve called out, observing through the window carefully for clues.

"Got it, Cap. Give me X-ray." Sam acknowledged before seeing his drone and Aurora's information correlate with the analysis. Once finishing calculating he stated neutrally, "That truck's loaded for max weight. And the driver's armed."

"It's a battering ram." Romanoff realized with an unsettling expression on her face.

"Go now!" Rogers commanded, Aurora being near the street she started to run her way towards it. The traffic wasn't doing any better as it started to pile up on an intersection, blocking her path at a halt. Seeing that she would waste time going around, she started to climb on the cars and jump along to maximize the time. Many civilians yelled at her but she had to focus on the mission, not long after arriving she found the compound infiltrated with armed soldiers.

"The guard station is destroyed, guys. No civilian casualties yet." Aurora declared through the comms, using her mind control on some soldiers approaching her before manipulating their minds to knock each other out. Soon after, Sam and Steve arrived to investigate their surroundings, Captain taking down several soldiers.

"Body armor, AR-15's. I make seven hostiles." Steve replied, adjusting his shield until he took note of some empty vehicles.

"I make five," Sam reported after taking out two on the rooftop. Suddenly, Wanda arrived into the courtyard and blocked their bullets with her energy field. She got one soldier within her control and lifted him upward as she called for Sam, catching him with one of the wings to strike unconscious. Falcon answered in a smug smile, "Four."

The teenager used her glasses to scan the vehicles, one still occupied with soldiers. Meanwhile, Sam's drone flies by to search for Rumlow before stating, "Rumlow's on the third floor."

"Wanda, just like we practiced. Rory, you're coming with me," Steve asserted firmly, the girl nodding her head in understanding.

"What about the gas?" Wanda questioned, standing beside the other two members.

"Get it out." He replied, the Scarlet Witch used her powers to start gathering the gas while Aurora created a portal for them to enter directly through the window. She created a force field and hit one soldier sneaking up behind, Steve grabs a soldier and pulls off their gas mask.

Unexpectedly, one open fire forced the two members to hide behind a pillar. He throws his shield and bounces off the soldier before hitting him against the wall. Detecting no one else nearby, they ventured inside the building where the debris is. Going through a laboratory partially destroyed, the vial was missing in the display glass. Steve lifted his arm to press the comms closer in the ear as he declared, "Rumlow has the biological weapon."

Natasha witnessing soldiers escape through a zip line, she zoomed closer and jumped off the motorcycle to hit a soldier. She takes out some through hand-to-hand combat, not realizing Rumlow is behind her. He grabbed the woman by the collar and dragged her to an armored vehicle. She tried to electrocute him with a Widow bite to find it ineffective through his thick armored suit.

"I don't work like that no more." Rumlow taunted, the rest of the team hearing his voice through the comms. Steve signaled her to follow his direction and headed towards the balcony, Aurora knew Natasha could handle her own as she was determined to get payback from the man who once was her mentor.

However, the former HYDRA agent attacked them with a gun grenade, Steve reacted swiftly by shielding Aurora as the force blew them against the wall. She coughed lightly before he helped her up to put distance between the next attacks. Creating a force field big enough for both of them, until the last blast threw them out a window and towards the exterior building. Feeling the intense pain of her abdomen after landing against the truck's windshield, groaning at the constant reminder of her other injuries.

Why do I always get hurt?" She grunted harshly, forcing herself to ignore the pain and keep moving. Noticing her scuffed combat boots and dirty pants, she just wanted to stop playing a tag game. Standing to see the vehicle driving away towards the downtown area, Aurora called M.A.T.T.H.E.W. to search where Rumlow was located.

"Sam. He's in an AFV heading north," Steve called out to him, not pleased with the fall but they nodded to each other silently. They started running as her A.I. finished an analysis where the vehicle crashed on a busy farmer's market. Sam was the first to arrive and scanned with his goggles the soldiers running away.

"I got four, they're splitting up," Sam revealed with Natasha soon after riding through the crowd with the motorcycle. She ditched it again and started to cross on the hoods of cars, deciding to head in a direction.

"I got the two on the left," Natasha confirmed as she sprinted through while Aurora decided to search for casualties. Steve came forward to find a vest lying on the ground, announcing to everyone, "They ditched their gear. It's a shell game now. One of them has the payload."

Someone throws a bomb at Steve, sticking on his shield which he reacts by throwing in the air. The bomb detonates safely away from civilians, however, Rumlow comes up behind Captain America and punches him in the back. The man barked out, "There you are, you son of a bitch. I've been waiting for this!"

Rumlow attacked Steve with a power punch from his new suit, many civilians running away to avoid being caught in between. The teenager urged them to escape as she found a way to help him, but the fewer casualties the better. She hears Sam and Natasha bickering about his new drone, but she needs to concentrate on how to help him. Captain was still fighting against the former HYDRA agent with neither having the upper hand until Rumlow pins him against a wall.

"This is for dropping a building on my face," He taunted Steve, a large blade extended from one of his gauntlets. He aimed for the face however, Rogers dodged it to hit him on the ribs to pull the right gauntlet out. That didn't stop Rumlow from using his other one to slash him, that's when Aurora used her energy to prevent him from getting closer.

"Hey! Why don't you pick on someone your own size!" Phantom called out fiercely, dropping her hands to glare at her old 'mentor'. The man faced the girl with a burst of crazed laughter, both approaching closer towards the center.

"Well, well. Look who decided to show her face after so long," Rumlow crackled loudly as he prepared himself with the other blade, enjoying that he finally had a chance to get his revenge from her.

"I was never hiding you bastard!" She stated as she took out her dagger, daring each other to make the first move. She expertly flipped the dagger around her hands until settling comfortably on the palm.

"Now why don't we find out what makes a Phantom bleed?" He hissed as the man lunged forward, fortunately, she counteracted the blade with her own. Rumlow kicked her away towards the ground, piercing the blade near the head but she kept moving away just in time. When he got the upper hand, she slashed his chest only to cause minimal damage.

"This is going to be fun," He commented as he raised the blade but Steve grabbed his arm to pull the gauntlet off. Captain then used his strength to kick him meters away, crashing against some outdoor furniture.

"Thanks, Steve," She thanked him once he came closer, Rogers extending his hand to pull her hand swiftly as they saw Rumlow looking defeated on his knees. They walked within earshot and witnessed him remove his mask, revealing a scarred face that made her slightly uncomfortable. It was probably after the Battle at the Triskelion.

"I think I look pretty good, all things considered." Rumlow humored dryly, Steve remaining stoic as he gripped the suit tightly.

"Who's your buyer?" Rogers questioned seriously, not wanting to spend another moment without a lead.

"You know, he knew you. You pal, your buddy, your Bucky." He cracked a large smile, surprising the two super-soldiers at the name. They both swiftly stared at each other in confusion, Steve trying to process the information.

"What did you say?" Steve said in a wisp statement, not wanting to believe his word.

"He remembered you. I was there. He got all weepy about it. Till they put his brain back in a blender. He wanted you to know something. He said to me, 'Please tell Rogers. When you gotta go, you gotta go.' And you're coming with me." Brock continued to feign a solemn expression until he uttered the last part. He activated his bomb vest, Aurora tried to reach forward but as the armor ignited harder Wanda arrived. She contained the blast with her power, Rumlow grimacing the pain in agony as she lifted him into the air.

Nevertheless, the blast was too powerful as she felt her slowly losing control, the explosion finally imploded nearby a medical building. It devastated a few levels as the fire continued to expand progressively. Wanda stood there in shock, hand quivering over her mouth as she saw the scene unfold. Aurora approached her as she tried to assure her friend it wasn't her fault, but the pleas fell to silent ears.

"Sam... We need... Fire and Rescue... on the south side of the building. We gotta get up there." Steve insisted to him, screams bellowed from above as the fire continued to spread. Seeing she couldn't just stand there, Aurora took off levitating herself towards the opening of the burning building.

"Matt, search for any survivors." She demanded as the thick fog covered the level. Desks and chairs were destroyed by the fire, as she tried to regulate airflow while struggling to see clearly through her surroundings.

"Kid, come back down. Rescue is coming," Sam remarked through her earpiece, but she shook her head in disagreement. Covering part of her mouth with the black cap, she remained moving to find any structure points that could be catastrophic.

"No, I'm not leaving something I haven't finished." She asserted as the mirror beeped, flipping it open to see the layout of the building. About five floors were caught by the explosion with the upper levels not having an escape route, making a quick decision to check everywhere.

"Miss Hunter, there are two trapped in the far right corner. Fire and Rescue will arrive approximately in five minutes. I advise you to wait," M.A.T.T.H.E.W. declared coolly, Aurora was busy navigating through and moving debris to find them.

"Negative, I'm not waiting when I can help." She retorted, the others called for her to come back but she muted the earpiece. If there's one thing she's always done— is never listen to anyone. Some yelps were heard the more she got closer, finally seeing a young man and woman struggling for something.

"Help is on the way, what's your name?" Aurora questioned calmly as she noticed a trail of blood from the lady's leg stuck under the large desk. He tried lifting it himself but it weighed a ton on just one side, the girl crouched down to examine.

"I'm Charlie and this is Tasha. She's trapped, ma'am." A young man croaked as the dog continued to worsen. She instructed him to cut a part of his plaid shirt so that it can be wrapped around her wound. She gave Tasha a thick piece of wood to bite because it was going to hurt like hell.

"On the count of three, we will take it out. Ready?" Phantom directed to which he nodded, both in position to lift it off as she began to count, "One, two...."

Before saying three, they lifted it high enough to wiggle the leg out, demanding Charlie to pull her out of the way while she carried it. Immediately he wrapped the leg tightly enough to prevent further blood loss, Tasha spits out the wood. They carried her by the arms as the group searched for a way out close to the windows. M.A.T.T.H.E.W. notified that the lower levels were already evacuated with no one inside, she just needed to find Sam or Steve below.

"Hold on to me, it'll be alright," Aurora reassured them, knowing she couldn't ignore the team for long. Turning the comms on with voices overlapping as civilians left the building, still haven't heard from the youngest member in the group.

"Sam! Incoming to your east side," She shouted, Natasha, upset with the girl not obeying orders but understood her motive. Falcon shortly arrived above with a neutral expression however, his body language said a different tone.

"You're in some serious shit, kid," Sam commented, causing her to grimace at the lecture she might receive from Steve or Natasha. Instead of dreading the thought, she told him to go first but insisted his colleague go first.

"Don't worry, you just need to reach out," Aurora stated as she signaled Falcon to come closer. The woman stubbornly refused as she stammered over her words, staring down at the long drop before backing away further.

"I-I'm afraid of... of heights," She revealed, shaking violently and clinging onto the girl for comfort. Charlie placed his hands on the shoulders to gain her attention, telling her to breathe.

"Just focus on him and reach for his hand," The man said, at first she didn't utter anything until staring at Sam nearby with his hand outstretched.

"I-I can't." She retaliated nervously, Charlie kept repeating to Tasha she could. After a long minute, she finally nodded as the fog almost blinded their sight. Aurora continued to carry her weight as the relief aid volunteer reached to barely touch Sam's fingertips.

"Almost there...." Sam called out, suddenly the building began to shake and she slipped out but Falcon managed to grab her safely. Sighing content that they landed safely, Aurora gestured to him with a small smile for his turn.

"You did good," Phantom complimented him proudly, seeing that he wasn't that much older than her. Charlie could only stare as he walked closer towards the window, Sam finally coming back for him. She checked from another angle of the building, seeing some gas leaking from the north side.

"Sam, the building is going to explode again," Natasha noticed the leaks from the ground, landing on her shoulder, Fire and Rescue just arrived at the scene. An aftershock surge caused the two of them to stumble back towards the raging fire. Charlie exclaimed in great terror as she desperately found something sturdy to hold, a large electrical wire was hanging and she gripped it tightly. With her other hand, she grabbed the man's wrist just as the level crumbled near his body.

"I'm slipping!" Charlie cried with fear, his upper body being supported by what's left of the floor. His sweaty hands seized her support while she simultaneously used her strength to pull in the clear. Everyone from her team yelled for Aurora's name as Sam struggled to find a clearing.

"I got you! Keep holding on!" She shouted, hearing a sudden snap of the wire coming out of the wall and dropping them a few feet. A piece of glass slit her arm, hissing at the intense pressure to save him but she too was losing grip. There was no doubt what crossed his mind, the thought of death was so vivid that he almost couldn't believe it. Her hand continued to hold around half the hand until getting to the fingertips, using all her strength to get a better grip.

And it happened.

He slipped out of her hand and down towards the fire below— everything happened so fast. His fear, his facial expression said it all as he was swallowed by the raging flames. Tears welled up at the reality, she killed him. Someone needed her help and she couldn't save him... this feeling of emotional pain caused a greater sensation than she ever felt before. Someone she barely knew but recognized he could have lived a long life.

HYDRA was right... she was becoming weak.