I Can't Help It - Steve Rogers

Chapter 30

Rachel sits in the passenger seat as Nat drives through the cold, snowy forest of Sokovia to infiltrate another Hydra base to find Loki's sceptre. Clint stands behind them, firing his trick arrows at the agents trying to stop them from getting any closer to the base. Rachel fires her guns at agents and sends balls of energy at them. Tony and Thor fly through the forest, taking out Hydra agents here and there while Hulk runs towards he base with a roar. Lastly, Steve rides his motorbike through the forest, grabbing an agent on his way and dragging him through the snow. He also throws his shield at agents before catching it and reattaching it to his back.

They reach one of the bases defences and Nat swerves the vehicle. She, along with Clint and Rachel jump out of the vehicle and at the agents on the other side of the defence while the rest of the team makes their way across by themselves. Tony flies ahead to get closer to the base but is stopped by a protective shield. "Shit!" he curses and Steve quickly responds "Language" warningly. Rachel frowns at Steve's response but doesn't get long to think on it when an agent runs towards her. She quickly drops to the floor and swings her leg out, knocking the agent off his feet.

"Jarvis, what's the view from upstairs?" Steve asks. "The central building is protected by some kind of energy shield. Strucker's technology is well beyond any other Hydra base we've taken" Jarvis answers with his analysis. "Loki's sceptre must be here. Strucker couldn't mount this defence without it. At long last" Thor explains to the group as he uses Mjolnir to take out the Hydra agents surrounding him. "'At long last' is lasting a little long boys" Nat replies to Thor's statement after taking out a group of agents. "I agree" Rachel comments as she thrusts her hands towards a group of agents, sending a barrier of her violet energy straight at them, knocking them off their feet. "Yeah, I think we lost the element of surprise" Clint adds, while firing his arrows at the sentries.

"Wait a second, no one else is gonna deal with the fact that Cap just said 'language'?" Tony questions in disbelief. "I know. It just slipped out" Steve replies after flipping his bike into a Hydra vehicle. Rachel chuckles at Steve's excuse before making her way towards him, attacking agents on her way. She throws a ball of energy at an agent approaching Steve from behind him and the agent falls to the ground with a thud. Steve glances behind him and then looks to Rachel. He notices an agent aiming his gun at Rachel and throws his shield behind her, bouncing it off trees before catching it as she reaches him. They share a smile before they get back to attacking the agents surrounding them.

When Clint fires an arrow at one of Hydra's sentries, a blue blur runs past and catches the arrow. Clint quickly takes cover, wondering what that was. Clint prepares an arrow and quickly steps out from behind the tree, takes aim but is knocked off his feet by the same blue blur that caught his arrow. He rolls in the snow with a groan before climbing to his feet. "You didn't see that coming?" a young man with white hair asks sarcastically before running off again in a blur. Clint quickly draws an arrow and aims for him but the young man is gone too quickly for him to release the arrow. With Clint's attention split, he doesn't notice a sentry take aim and fire at him. It catches his side and he collapses in pain and Nat rushes over to help him.

Before Rachel can comprehend what happens, she's knocked off her feet and into the air by the same blue blur. Steve watches the blur run by before quickly catching Rachel before she hits the floor. Rachel grips onto him when he catches her and takes a deep breath. "We have an enhanced in the field" Steve informs the team while placing Rachel back on her feet. "Clint's hit" Nat responds. "Somebody wanna deal with that bunker?" she asks, followed by the Hulk's roars and her 'thank you'.

Steve and Rachel advance on a group of agents, "Stark, we really need to get inside" Steve states as he trips an agent over and Rachel wraps her legs around another agent's neck and swing her legs back to the ground, bringing the agent's upper body down with her. "I'm closing in" Tony replies before questioning Jarvis. A few seconds later, Tony informs them that the protective shield is down and they can enter the base.

Steve uses his magnets to reattach his shield to his arm as Thor lands with his hammer, knocking many agents off their feet with the lightning. "The enhanced?" he asks. "He's a blur. All the new players we've faced, I've never seen this. In fact, I still haven't" Steve replies as the three look around to see if they can catch a glimpse of the enhanced. "Clint's hit pretty bad guys. We're gonna need evac" Nat informs the team as she continues treating Clint's wound as best that she can. "I can get Barton to the jet. The sooner we're gone, the better. You two and Stark secure the sceptre" Thor orders Steve and Rachel as they all watch a swarm of Hydra agents come towards them. "Copy that" Steve responds with a nod.

"Looks like they're lining up" Thor comments as he tilts his head at the line of agents advancing on them. "Well, they're excited" Steve replies before raising his shield. Rachel takes a step back, to ensure she's out of harms way. Thor hits his hammer to Steve's shield, sending a strike of lightning straight to the line of Hydra agents, knocking them off their feet and destroying their vehicle. "Find the sceptre" Thor states before flying off to get Clint. "And for gosh sake, watch your language" Tony adds and Steve sighs. "That's not going away anytime soon" Steve mutters. "I'm afraid not" Rachel chuckles before they make their way into the base.