Carmine Jewels ║ Wanda Maximoff

Chapter 30 - Tick Tock Goes The Clock

Topaz couldn't really say she was surprised when Hawley kicked councilman Singh out of harm's way. It was the small things that had told her that something was off about the councilwoman. But she wasn't allowed to act upon suspicion without proof.

The councilwoman punched Pierce straight in the face before swiftly throwing an electric disc at the nearest agent, who went down spasming. At the same time as Hawley threw Pierce's gun at the throat of another guard, Topaz broke free from her frozen state and moved into action. Hawley had been really effective in her takedown of the guards, already having floored all of them by the time Topaz was face to face with her. 

"I don't wanna hurt you, Keira, but I will if you don't back off." Hawley warned in a low voice, her fists raised, and jaw clenched.

Topaz, who had picked up a gun from one of the fallen soldiers tilted her head slightly to the side with an amused smile on her lips. "You? Hurt me? Don't think too highly of yourself now." She chuckled, copying the older woman's stance, although it was clear that this wasn't really Hawley.

The councilwoman could've never performed those moves, but somehow, Topaz felt like she had seen those moves before, in a distant time. But she couldn't place the familiarity. Behind Hawley, Pierce was smirking, confident that the mutant would be able to take down the woman without trouble.

And since Topaz held no affection for the woman in front of her, she fired her gun without hesitation.

It was lucky that Natasha knew all of Keira's tells, or she might not have dodged the bullet in time. Her eyes widened in shock, disbelief written all over her, or rather, Hawley's features. To keep the fight short, she quickly threw three electric discs that simultaneously attached themselves to both of the blonde's arms plus in the middle of her chest.

The electricity ran through Topaz's body and her knees buckled as her whole body collapsed. The gun clattered away from her, and she had no way of getting rid of the discs, as they had launched themselves onto her biceps, making it impossible for her to control her hand movements.

Satisfied with her work, Hawley straightened up, her gun pointing directly at Pierce, whose smirk had faded away the second that the mutant had fallen to the floor. Through her pain, Topaz managed to raise her gaze to Hawley, who slowly raised her free hand to her temple. Her face glitched for a second, and that's when it dawned on Topaz. It was a Nano Mask.

"I'm sorry." The woman said to Pierce, her voice blending between Hawley's and her real one. With one swift motion, she pulled off her mask, revealing her true identity. "Did I step on your moment?"

It was none other than Natasha Romanoff. The Black Widow.

Pierce's face displayed nothing but shock. His whole security detail, including a mutant, had been downed by a single woman. And he knew that his chances of succeeding were becoming slimmer by the minute, he wasn't stupid. But he still had one ace up his sleeve, unbeknownst to Romanoff.

Without lowering her gun, Romanoff picked up another gun from one of the fallen guards, handing it over to councilman Yen. He looked a bit confused at being given a weapon at first but quickly aimed at Pierce, who raised his hands into the air.

He hadn't given up completely yet though. His phone lay on the desk, still unlocked, and he glanced down at it, trying to figure out a plan to reach it without getting a bullet hole in his chest.

Since Pierce was held under gunpoint, Romanoff moved over to the computer. She quickly began tapping away at the keyboard, which was the only sound in the room apart from Topaz's groaning. Natasha had turned up the intensity of the Widow Bites, hoping it would knock the mutant out, which would've been a kinder fate. But apparently, they were only strong enough to keep her immobilized.