Toxic | Steve Rogers

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Complications

Adora's POV
Soon enough it was time to sit down and listen to what the members of HYDRA had to say, which was the whole point of this thing. I hadn't gotten Steve to fully cheer up yet, which disappointed me.

But I've always got a plan.

There were large tables with creamy, white tablecloths covering them for us to sit at. Tiny name tags where placed, written in fancy script. Steve and I were sat next to each other, on the very end of the table. It felt like we were special guests, to be deployed on a pedestal for all the other guests to see.

Which meant I was nervous.

Nervous that they knew, nervous that we would get caught, and nervous that we wouldn't escape with the Tesseract.

The large room was buzzing with conversation, people laughing and talking joyously. Beside me, Steve was bouncing his knee up and down,.

"You nervous, love?" I asked lightly, resting my hand on his knee, stopping it. He flinched when I did, but he stopped bouncing.

"I'm not" he replied cooly, as I tapped my fingers aimlessly on his thigh. I ever so slowly inched them up, etching small circles as I did. I watched Steve, and he swallowed anxiously, and I kept my hand in place. I walked my fingers up and down his leg, teasing him. He tensed up as I traveled to his upper thigh, squeezing lightly, and rubbing my fingers on the soft material of his pants.

"Welcome all! I am pleased to see so many familiar faces here. I hope that the reason we are here, is to meet the same goal" boomed Malik from upon the platform in front of the mass of tables. Everyone applauded his words, including myself.

"But before we go any further, please enjoy the food prepared for yourselves" Malik finished, bowing and stepping away from the platform. He strode over to Steve and I, sitting down with a smile.

I moved my hand away from Steve, and I could sense a sign of relief and disappointment wash through him. I kept the smile off my face, glancing at Steve from the corner of my eye.

Malik looked suspiciously between us, and I met his eyes boldly. They said mess up, and this is all over.

"So, how do you desire to use the object?" I asked bluntly, not looking away from his piercing stare. It was almost like a staring contest, and eventually he retreated.

He seemed quite surprised at my bluntness, pausing a moment before he opened his mouth to reply.

"Well, that's the reason we are here, to negotiate what will be done with the object" I notice that he doesn't directly address the "object" or what is going to be done. We both knew he wouldn't just give away the precious Tesseract. Malik watches me, his eye revealing nothing when I don't reply.

"My dear" Malik said with a sigh, "You don't understand the complications of this situation. But I think Christopher does, doesn't he?" It wasn't really a question, but more of a statement, a small dig at me, and a hint for Steve.

I don't flinch at his insult towards me, but instead nudge Steve to say something. Steve was unashamedly glaring at Malik.  I could only guess that their earlier conversation had not gone well.

"I do know of such things, but I see no reason as to why the Tesseract is so complicated" Steve said, and the whole room went silent. Eyes turned abruptly towards Steve and I, and Malik's eyes were wide with curiosity and satisfaction. I could feel the worry that had been slushing around in my stomach erupt, like a volcano inside of me.

"So that's what it's called" Malik breathed, and I held my breath. We had just single-handedly undermined the whole mission in one sentence.

Fantastic.

I grabbed my purse from under the table, discreetly pulling out Steve's small shield, and placing it on his lap. He jumped at my touch, taking the metal in his hands.

"How do you know of such a thing?" Malik asked, curiosity edging his voice. I close my eyes, concentrating.

Every single mind in the room went blank. Faces collapsed on plates, and people who were standing fell to the floor. I opened my eyes, sucking in deep breaths. The only sound that could be heard was the sound of the water outside.

I took Steve's hand, leaping out of the chair, with him close on my tail. My effect on the guests inside doesn't last long, because some of the people could be heard chattering to each other, wondering what was going on.

I lead Steve towards the outside fountains, shifting into a different person, any person I could think of so Malik wouldn't find us so easily. We arrived at where the Tesseract was, where several guards were standing guard.

A piece of cake.

I wondered if it was supposed to be this easy, or if this whole thing was a trap. Beside me, Steve pressed the metal button on his shield, and with a clank, it was full size. The guards rushed at us, and Steve met them head on. He slammed his shield forcefully into one of the men, while I attacked another. I took out three men with my mind, and since the other two were distracted by Steve, I paused at the fountain, my fingers inches away from touching the alien artifact. I could hear more guards in the distance.

"What are you doing?!" Steve shouted, while fighting off the new arrivals, "Grab it!" My eyes were pulled back to the gleaming Tesseract, the blue spiraling around inside the prism. I could feel the energy literally pouring off the object in waves, washing over me, and making me stumble back. Without a second thought, I reached for it, my fingers coming into contact with the cold surface.

Not even a second passed before I was thrown back, the Tesseract in my hands, it's blue light seeping through me, and I felt overwhelmed with power.

I could feel my consciousness edging away, and I felt myself vaguely being lifted up, and carried away, my body bouncing.

Darkness took over.