HYDRA agent Arnim Zola has captured Grifter, Hawkeye, the Black Widow, and Mockingbird. But if they’re here…
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TEN MINUTES AGO
The moment the security door reached full open, Bobbi’s jury-rigged electricity conductor sent several volts through the doorframe and out into the hall. The front two HYDRA goons took the brunt of the damage, falling back and away.
Bobbi stepped up partially from behind the stack of gurneys the agents had positioned in line-of-sight of the door.
Using one of the Widow’s handguns, she fired at the remaining four goons. Her shot rang true, but the goon’s HYDRA suit had Kevlar padding protecting him.
Clint stood behind a computer stand just to the side the other agents behind the fallen gurneys. He fired off an arrow, striking the wall outside the door near the HYDRA goons.
The arrowhead exploded, engulfing the goons in its blast. Two of them fell away unconscious. Another one staggered back
Shots from the Widow and Grifter removed that man from play.
The remaining goon fired his blaster rifle at the agents, but his shot went wide.
Bobbi’s shot didn’t.
Widow and Grifter stood from cover, their guns aimed at the door. Bobbi dashed to her jury-rigged conductor and shut it down. The electricity around the door faded. As she stood, Clint joined her.
“Clever thing with the door,” he said.
“You know us scientists,” Bobbi replied. “Always tinkering with something.”
Grifter and Widow led the way through the door, the better idea as they wore their SHIELD agent uniforms. Not the standard fare; as special agents, they were allowed a bit of personality.
But it was a lot better against bullets than the evening clothes Bobbi and Clint were still in from their day at the Stane Expo.
Luckily, there were no more bullets coming.
The agents found Arnim Zola alone in the next room, something with a bunch of computer stations. A cable ran from his scanner-head to one of the workstations. The agents aimed their guns and Clint’s arrow at him.
“Unhook yourself, now!” Bobbi demanded.
Zola turned so that his torso monitor faced them. “Too late, agents,” he said, his robotic voice fluctuated in amplitude.
“Should I ask why or just shoot that cable,” Clint offered.
“I’m curious to know,” Black Widow said. Bobbi thought that accent alone would get a man to spill, but, unfortunately, Zola was computer and not man.
“Go ahead and tell us why,” Bobbi added. “It’s supervillain code, right?”
Zola’s monitor cut to static for a moment. A second later, it faded back to the face, though the signal looked like it was failing fast.
“While you’ve been here,” Zola began, “perfect genetic duplicates of you have robbed Stane International of data HYDRA needs.”
The agents looked to one another. This turn of events wasn’t good.
“Those same agents will perform other crimes, destroying the reputation of SHIELD,” Zola said. “HYDRA need only wait, then step in to save the world from itself. Without firing a single shot.”
“Like this?” Bobbi asked a second before she fired her borrowed handgun and shattered the sensor atop Zola’s shoulders.
“Foolish heroics,” Zola said.
“We’re getting out of here,” Widow said. “We will reveal your clones.”
Zola replied with a laugh that extended beyond when his torso monitor winked out.
Grifter unloaded his handguns into Zola’s torso monitor, destroying the thing and, most importantly, ending the laugh.
“So what now?” Clint asked while lowering his arrow.
Bobbi looked to one of the workstations. “We find out where we are, then get back to the general before our already tarnished reps get that much worse.”
To be continued…
Copyright Info
DC Adventures, Copyright 2011, Green Ronin Publishing; Author Steve Kenson. It’s now Mutants and Masterminds, 3rd Edition
Advanced Player’s Manual, Copyright 2005, Green Ronin Publishing: Author Skip Williams.
Proteus Plot, Copyright 2006, Green Ronin Publishing, Author Steve Kenson.
The characters Hawkeye, Nick Fury, Mockingbird, the Black Widow, Arnim Zola, the Red Skull, HYDRA, SHIELD and Captain America are Copyright Marvel Comics
The character Grifter is Copyright DC Comics
None of the characters (or the plot, for that matter) belong to me as this is fan fiction, done for fun and as a creative exercise.
