Agent Kat

Chapter 26: I'll Fly Away

Kat ran to her room, seeing that the others were already in bed, she quietly entered. She had to leave. If she didn't she'd be putting everyone in danger. Volkov was there for her. He would hurt everyone around her to learn about her strengths and weaknesses.

Since she didn't have any other belongings in the room, she quickly left, making sure to be silent.

She headed towards the training room, hoping to swipe a gun while she was there.

Poking her head into the room to make sure no one was in there, she tiptoed inside. Hurrying over to the gun racks, she scanned for hers. 

There. Number seven. 

She pulled the pistol down, and before she could make sure it was loaded, she heard a creak behind her. 

Whipping around, she aimed the gun towards the sound.

"Whoa!" a male voice cried. "Don't shoot!"

Kat lowered the gun. "Dian, what are you doing here?"

He snorted. "I could ask you the same thing." He leaned against the doorjamb. "It's late. We have to leave on the mission tomorrow. What are you doing in here with a gun?"

She struggled to find a good excuse, so she decided on just telling the truth. "I'm leaving. I can't stay here."

"Why not?"

She sighed. "Volkov wasn't telling the truth. He's smart. So smart that he knew about all of my powers, and was able to manipulate the thoughts in his mind so that I received lies instead of the truth."

Dian straightened and walked up to Kat. "That doesn't explain why you need to leave."

"I'm putting you all in danger. If I stay here, then people will be chasing us from all sides."

He sighed. "I think you should stay. You have friends now. Family, even. We'll protect you."

"I'm getting a feeling that not everyone would feel that way," she said wryly.

He shrugged. "That may be true, but we created a saying around here. Well, not around here, but among our team. Ohana means family. Family means nobody gets left behind."

"That's from Lilo And Stitch," Kat said, smirking. "And I get that. But I'm still not really a part of your team. I never was."

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As Kat left the helicarrier, she could hear Dian shouting after her. 

**

He had told her, "If you leave, I'm going to scream, and everyone will know you're leaving."

"I don't care," she had replied. "I'll just fly away."

Dian had sighed. "Fine. I'm not going to stop you, but just think about what you're doing. Think of the rest of the team. How do you think everyone's going to feel? Especially Leroy."

Kat felt a pang of guilt as she thought of the sweet red-headed boy. "That's the thing. I love everyone so much already... I don't want them to get hurt."

**

She started down the flight of stairs to the deck of the ship, and Dian's and Nova's voices rang out behind her. 

"Kat!" Nova cried. "Kat, you can't leave!"

She turned around and smiled sadly. "I can't hurt you. I don't want to put you guys in danger. This is the only way. I don't want to be the one that everyone has to try to protect all the time. I'm sorry, Nova."

At that moment, Leroy came out. "Kat?" His wavering voice stopped her. "What... What are you doing?"

Kat was at the railing at this time. She could have just pitched herself over the side, and everyone she knew would be safe. But something stopped her. "Leroy... I--I'm sorry. I can't stay here. If I'm here, Volkov will keep trying to bore into me. He'll try to get me, and take me back to the lab. I can't go back there."

She knew Leroy would understand about going back to that place of torture. 

His face was twisted with anger, uncertainty, and grief. "But... The mission."

Kat shook her head. "I'm sorry," she repeated. With that, she hopped up onto the railing, her jacket fluttering lightly. 

The screams behind her faded as she fell. She freefell for a few seconds before snapping her wings out.

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I'll fly away, oh glory, I'll fly away.

When I die, hallelujah by and by. I'll fly away.

The lyrics swam around inside of Kat's mind as she flew away from the helicarrier. She felt tears pricking at her eyes, and she wiped them away. 

Even though she was leaving the life she had loved, even if it was only for a short time, she would always remember Nova's smile, and Leroy's blush. Or the way Dian was always so hilariously arrogant.

As she pondered her time as a SHIELD agent, she didn't even notice the small bullet that tore through her left wing. 

Only when another bullet ripped through her shoulder did she notice someone was trying to snipe her. 

Crying out, she stopped flapping, and began to fall.