so bad guys can't see me bleed

•tape seventeen•

"You got eyes on that side, Red?" Sam asks me while we stand on opposite ends of the apartment complex roof.

"Yeah," I say, looking around while I sit with my legs dangling over the edge.

"Do you seriously have Eminem playing on a Walkman right now?" Sam asks.

I glance down at my Walkman, which is playing Eminem's Lose Yourself. "Uh, no?" I clear my throat as I see government cars driving on the road. "I got eyes on them," I tell him. "They're heading your way."

After a moment, Sam says, "I got eyes on them too. Watch out, Cap. German Special Forces, approaching from the south."

"Understood," Cap says.

"There's more coming," I say, seeing a couple more cars drive in the direction the others did.

"They've set the perimeter," Sam says. Then a moment. "They're entering the building."

"Shit," I say, seeing the officers star to make their way to the roof. "They're getting on the roof," I say. "We're compromised. Sam, get your ass over here before I have to jump off this bitch."

"On it," he says, his wings coming out as he jumps off the building. A few seconds later, as the officers are getting onto the building, Sam comes around. I jump off the building and land on his back, and we fly around the building. "Five seconds. Three seconds. Breach! Breach! Breach!"

Not even a second later, shots are being fired, windows are being smashed open, and explosions are going off.

We make it around the building again when we see someone jump out of the apartments and onto the next building over. They roll and grab a bag, standing up as they start running. Another person jumps on them, making them both fall to the ground.

"Cap, you still inside?" I ask.

"Yeah, I'm working on it."

"Sam, backtrack," I say into his ear.

"Backtrack? Why?"

"Just do it."

He backtracks in the air and does a circle, going back into the direction he was originally going. When we're close enough to the other building, I jump off Sam's back and land on the roof of the other building.

Sam starts to freak out as he goes around the building one more time. I do a superhero landing and internally groan as it hurts my knees.

"Sam, southwest rooftop," Cap says as I go invisible and start for the two people on the roof. "The one Cher just jumped on."

"Yeah, but who's the other guy?"

"About to find out," Cap says. "Cher, make sure your out of the way."

"Go for it, Star-Spangled Man with a Plan," I tell him, getting out my sword. I hear him fall onto the roof behind me as a helicopter rounds the corner.

The person on top of the soldier puts his hands near his face, and some sort of claws come out of his fingers.

"Wolverine?" I ask, then gasp and become visible, stopping and turning to Cap. "Freddy Krueger?"

"Not the point, Cher," Cap grunts while the two in front of us start to get shot at. The bullets reflect the other man's suit while he turns his head to the helicopter. "Sam."

"Got him," Sam says, hitting the end of the helicopter with his feet and making it go down.

The soldier gets the—panther?—off him and grabs his bag, jumping over the edge of the roof. The panther follows after him, jumping off the edge too.

Cap starts running and jumps after him too. I huff and run after him, jumping too.

You know that really annoying question 'if your friends jumped off a cliff, would you do too?' That one? Yeah. Well, my answer is either 'I'm the friend jumping,' or the one word answer of 'yes.'

I hit the ground and tumble, running after Cap while cursing about how much I hate running.

I see the soldier jump through something else, then the panther does too.

"Did these bitches just jump into oncoming traffic?" I ask into my earpiece while Cap is jumping in front of me and I follow in suit. "How the fuck do you people run so damn fast?"

Cars with flashing lights and police sirens chase after us. An officer starts yelling for us to stand down before Cap jumps onto one of those cars' windshields. It smashes and the guy comes to a stop. Cap tosses the windshield to the side and throws the driver out, getting in the car himself.

"Cher, I'm opening the sunroof. Get in," he says, starting to drive the car. I get to him and jump on the back of the car before jumping in through the open sunroof.

We swerve around other cars, trying to get to the soldier before the panther can. I hear something thud against he back of the car and glance back, seeing the panther hold on.

"Houston," I say, closing the sunroof, "we have a problem."

Cap speeds the car up and starts jerking it, but the guy doesn't budge. "Sam, I can't shake this guy," Cap says.

"Right behind you," Sam says.

"We are so fucking dead," I say as Cap starts running into other police cars. The solider hops over some barrels, so Cap turns us and makes us run into them as we continue to chase him.

A guy comes at him with a motorcycle, so he grabs the handle and pushes the guy off. All while the motorcycle is in the air, he flips it around and gets on it before driving away.

"That was actually pretty cool," I say, earning a glance from Cap.

What? It was cool. I'm not lying.

We keep swerving around cars. The panther jumps off the car and hops onto others, going to jump on the soldier. Before he can get there, the metal hand is wrapped around his neck. The soldier throws him backwards, making the bike go sideways. He puts his hand down on the ground to keep himself up, and the metal makes a screeching noise against the road as he kicks the panther off him.

He gets the bike upright, and the panther jumps on Sam, who is flying by us and trying to get him off.

"Cap, I think that's a bomb," I tell Cap in a monotone voice as the soldier throws something up and it sticks to the wall. The wall explodes down onto the ground a second later, and the panther jumps after him. "Told you."

"Cher, get out of the car," Cap says to me, opening his own door.

"What?"

"Get the hell out!"

I open my door and we both jump out of the car and run as it starts rolling behind us. We get to the soldier and the panther, and the panther is standing over the soldier. Cap grunts and tackles the panther onto the ground.

I get out a sword and point it at the panther as the two get up.

They both stare at each other and glare while Cap and I both stand semi-in front of the soldier. The police sirens keep going off, and all the cars come to stops around us.

An Iron Man suit, Rhodey's suit, drops down near us and stands up, putting his hand out to get ready and shoot if he has to. "Stand down, now," he says to us.

"Fuck you, Rhodey," I tell him, putting my sword away while Cap does the same with his shield.

"Congratulations, Cap. You're a criminal."

The officers around us start shouting and coming over to us, pointing their guns. They put the soldier on the ground and cuff him while Sam walks towards us with his hands in the air. The panther, Cap, and I all do the same.

Cap and I get cuffed. "Ask me on a date first," I say to the guy, earning a glare.

The panther retracts his claws and takes off his helmet.

"Jesus," I mumble when I see T'Challa.

"Your Highness," Rhodey says.

One of the officers behind me goes to take off my mask, so I move my head away. "Uh-uh, buddy boy. I'll say it again, the mask stays on. Keep your hands to yourself."