I'd Love to Change the World

You Can't Fight the Friction

After the smoke bombs were thrown through the windows, the chaos that ensued was suffocating. Fury stood up, gun in hand, "Where's the shooter? Find the shooter!" he yelled.

"Which one?!" Tony yelled, pointing out the obvious fact. Since when did the vigilante do something this bold? Natasha frowned but was puled out of her thoughts when an arrow caught her ear.

"Sir!" Steve yelled, "Get down—!"

But it was too late; papers flew through the air and shots went off, an arrow finding its mark in the Captain's shoulder. Natasha gasped then, half flinging, half dragging herself, she crawled to where he'd fallen against a desk. She paused, remembering the mayor, "Steve!" she yelled, unable to see the tall blonde until he slipped behind the desk next to hers, narrowly avoiding another arrow shot their way. They hid behind a desk together as she gave him orders, "Stay with Pierce, don't let him do anything stupid—" He nodded and she turned to look around after he left for the mayor's side, "—where's Tony?!"

Natasha looked over her shoulder to see Tony behind a desk shooting at random from where the shots were originating, Pepper crouched next to him with her hands over her head. He kept looking at her out the corner of his eye and Natasha knew they were safe. She continued her inventory, her eyes searching the safe territory for Maria.

"Tony!" she called and he ducked behind the desk to look at her, "You got eyes on Maria?"

"No!" he called back, shaking his head.

"Steve!" she called, and when she didn't get a response, she peeked around the desk and jumped back, an arrow flying past her nose. "Goddamn it," she muttered, upholstering her gun and cocking it. "Sir, can you hold a gun?"

"Of course I can!" he yelled, pulling the arrow straight out of his shoulder, "Pass me the goddamn glock!" he said and she leaned out quickly to grab the gun that he'd dropped when he'd been shot. Just then, Steve came back around his desk with the Mayor in tow. He made sure Pierce was protected before he stood on his knees, trying to find the arrows' point of origin, shooting whenever he thought he was close.

"Tony! Steve!" She called and they ducked behind the desks, Tony re-loading his gun. She turned her attention to Pepper and the Mayor, "Listen, you're going to go with Captain Fury; go down the hall, get to the elevator, and, if you can, make sure they're okay down in the lab!" she yelled over the gunfire, "you two," she addressed her partners, "fan out! Steve, you go left; see if you can find anyone else who needs help! Tony, you go right, try and find the shooter and see if Drew's team is pinned down over there!"

"What about you?" Steve yelled as an arrow went straight through his computer screen, sending sparks everywhere.

"I'm going to find Maria!" She yelled, and then there was a lull in the fire, "Get ready! Set—"

Suddenly, out of nowhere, an explosion occurred and they all ducked back behind the desks, the detectives covering their respective civilians or captain. "What the hell was that!?" Tony bellowed once the dust cleared.

Natasha realized that she could hardly see her partners, who were only three feet away from her. "Explosive arrows?" Steve asked confusedly.

"Go, go, GO!" She yelled, electing to ignore this and go with her original plan and they began to sprint off in all four directions, Natasha drawing most of their fire. An arrow pierced one of the tubes leading the cold air to the lab, filling the room with mist, which now mixed with the smoke bombs they threw through the window.

"Maria!" She yelled, staying low and searching for her friend, "MARIA!"

Suddenly, someone tackled her. Out of nowhere, three arrows flew through the air just where her head had been. She sat up slightly and blew her hair out of her face. She turned over, expecting to see a familiar face, maybe even Maria, but the form on top of her was too broad and hard. She looked up into the masked face of the vigilante, and was caught off-guard by his piercing blue eyes, the only thing visible underneath the mask.