Choices || CAPTAIN AMERICA

Chapter 1

LAGOS
I sat quietly at a table of a coffee shop, taking a sip of my coffee discretely. Wanda and Nat were near me but we didn't sit together because we didn't want our cover to be blown up.
"Alright, what do you see?"I hear Steve asking Wanda through the coms.
"Standard beat cops. Small station. Quiet street. It's a good target."She answered.
"There's an ATM in the south corner which means..."
"Cameras."
"Both cross streets in one way?"
"So compromise the escape routes."
"Means our guys doesn't care about being seen, he isn't afraid to make a mess on the way out. You see that ranger over half way up the block."
"You mean the red one? It's cute." I scoffed.
"It's also bullet proof, which means more guns, which means more headaches for somebody."
"probably us." Nat added, completing my explanation.
"You guys know I can move thing with my mind, right?" Wanda asked.
"So can I, darling. Just not all things." I shrugged and took a sip of my coffee.
"Looking over your shoulder needs to become a second nature." Nat said, popping into the conversation.
"Anybody ever tell you, you're a little paranoid." Sam exclaimed.
"Not to my face. Why, did you hear something?"
"Eyes on target folks. It's the best lead we have on Rumlow in 6 months. I don't want to lose him." Steve reminded us.
"If he sees us coming there won't be a problem, he kind of hate us."Sam replied.
"Sam, see that garbage truck? Take it."
After a while, I heard Sam's voice once again.
"The truck's loaded for max weight, and the driver's armed."
"It's a battling ram."Nat said.
"Go now." Steve exclaimed. "He's not aiming the police."Wanda and I stood up and headed quickly towards the IMA.
"Body armor." I heard Steve say."I make 7 hostiles."
"I make 5." Sam said taking down 2 foes. I looked at Wanda and nodded my head to show her we arrived to our destination. I flied into the air and then landed on the ground along with Wanda, who had used her own powers to fly up and land. A hostile was ready to shoot but Wanda protected us with a red energy shield and then used telekinesis to stop the guy from moving.
"Al."She said. I twirled my fingers just like she did -one of the few things we have in common- and threw him towards Sam.
"Sam."I exclaimed. He took him down and landed.
"Four." He said. We walked all together and met Cap.
"Rumlow's on the third floor." Sam informed us.
"Wanda. Just like we practiced." Steve told Wanda and looked at me to make sure I had her back and I nodded.
"What about the gas?" Wanda asked.
"Get it out." He replied and with that Wanda used her telekinesis to lift Steve to the third floor. The gas slowly broke the glass windows and got out in the atmosphere. Since gas was a form of air, I tried to stabilize it and Wanda would put a protective shield around it, just in case anything goes wrong. Together, we lift the gas into the air and tried to keep it there.
"Rumlow has a biological weapon." Cap informed us.
"I'm on it." Widow said. It wasn't that simple neither that hard to lift the gas for me. For Wanda though, it wasn't the simplest thing ever. It's normal tough, since it's her first time on a real and important mission.
"Sam. He's in the main humvee heading north." I heard Cap say.
"I got 4. They're splitting up." Sam said.
"I got the 2 on the left." Nat informed. I sighed and decided to close my com since it was distracting me. We let the gas evaporate, high into the atmosphere and then run towards the location of our friends. I opened my com once again to hear everything that's happening and we arrived just in time to see Rumlow talking to Steve. I looked at the scene worriedly, knowing that Rumlow always has a trick up his sleeve. I inspected him and found what I didn't want to see. He was ready to press a button but before I even thought of my next move, Wanda had it all under control. Red energy was wrapped around Rumlow once he hit the button. Wanda then suddenly lost control and threw him on a nearby building. Once I took awareness of what just happened I gasped and put a hand on my mouth in shock.
"Holy-" I whispered as I heard sirens in the distance. I couldn't get my eyes off the building.
"Sam. We need... Fire and rescue... On the south side of the building." Steve tried to say in shock. He then started running slowly towards the building."We need to get up there."  Wanda fell on the ground. I wanted to comfort her but my words wouldn't help at all. I know what it feels like to screw up on your first mission, but that wasn't entirely her fault. It was mine too but I was still frozen.

Meanwhile, at Tony's expo...

"Try to remember the kind of September. When grass was green..." Maria Stark sang as her 9 year old daughter accompanied her on the piano. From the corner of their eye, they saw Howard Stark appear. Tony Stark was sleeping on the couch as his father took away the red blanket his son was covered with, annoyed.
"Say goodbye to your father." Maria told her children. She stopped playing the piano allowing the youngest Stark to hug her father. Howard took her in his arms and kissed her forehead while Tony stood up from the couch with a Santa Claus beanie on.
"Who's the homeless man on the couch?" Howard asked making Alice chuckle.
"This is why I love coming home for Christmas. Right before you leave town." Younger Tony said to his father.
"Be nice dear. He's been studying abroad." Maria defended her son.
"Really? Which broad? What's her name?" Howard questioned his son and with his free hand took off his son's beanie.
"Candice." Tony answered.
"Do me a favor. Try not to burn the house before Monday."Howard said letting little Alice down.
"Okay, so it's Monday. That is good to know. I will plan my toker party accordingly."Tony said.
"Son, you still have to take care of your sister." Tony's mother ordered.
"Where are you going?" Tony asked ignoring the statement his mother made.
"Your father is flying us to the Bahamas for a little get away."Maria answered him.
"We might have to make a quick stop." His father added.
"At the Pentagon. Right?" The young billionaire asked."Don't worry you're going to love the menu at the commissure."
"You know, they say sarcasm is a metric for potential. If that's true, you'll be a great man some day.I'll get the bags."Howard said the last part to his wife and left. Maria stood up, took Alice in her arms and walked to her son. Alice played with some dolls her mother had bought her for Christmas.
"He does miss you when you are not here. And frankly, you're going to miss us. Because this is the last time we're all going to be together. You know what's about to happen."She told her son making Alice listen."Say something. If you don't you'll regret it."She said just as Howard came in.
"I love you, Dad."Tony said to his father causing him to smile a little bit. "And I know you did the best you could." he said addressing to his mother. She kissed his cheek and then Alice's cheek. She gave Alice to Tony and then they both left. The siblings stood there. Looking at their parents leave.

I was sitting on my bed and looked out the window while eating vanilla ice cream. Yeah, I hate chocolate ice cream, I'm that lame. I keep thinking about what happened back there, how I should have helped. She is just a kid while I am a grown woman with experience. I put down the empty box of ice cream and decide to go check on Wanda since we both need it. Once I step out of my room and in the corridor I hear the sound of a man talking. I head to Wanda's room and notice she was watching the news filling me with worry. I grab the remote and turn it off. She doesn't bother to look back at me. I move closer to her.
"Hey." I say sitting down on her bed, facing her.
"I'm sorry." She tells me. I sigh.
"Wanda, don't listen to these things. They are always exaggerating. Do you know how many times they said Brad Pitt and I were a couple?" I joked tried to cheer her up.
"Then turn the TV back on. They're being very specific." Wanda totally ignores my comments.
"Why do you have to be so stubborn?" I mumble to myself and make her look at me. "Look, I should have helped you. It was your first time on the field and I was supposed to be there for you. But all this, it happened suddenly and I wasn't able to make a move. But you did. And if you hadn't, Steve would be severely injured, or worse. I'm the one who should be sorry. It was my job." I finish and hear footsteps coming from the door.
"I should have grabbed that bomb as I'm the leader to deal with it. Rumlow said 'Bucky' and... All of a sudden I was a 16 year old kid again in Brooklyn. People died." Steve says sitting on the bed beside me. "It's on me."
"It's on us." Wanda corrects.
"This job... We try to save as many people as we can. Sometimes that doesn't mean everybody, but if we can't find a way to live with that, next time... Maybe nobody can be saved." He tells her. I turn my head and look at him smiling sadly and take his hand in mine.  I can't bare to look at him. I am so disappointed in myself. Maybe if we had some received some instructions about when to act, all this could have been avoided. Suddenly, Vision appears out of nowhere.
"Vis, we talked about this." Wanda argues.
"Yes. But the door was opened so I assumed..." Vision awkwardly apologizes pointing at the door. "Captain Rogers wished to know when Mr. Stark was arriving."
"Thank you. We'll be right down." Steve thanks him.
"I-I'll use the door." Vision says walking toward the door. "Oh and apparently, he brought a guest."
" You know who it is?" Steve asks Vision.
"The Secretary of State."
"Exactly what we need right now." I mumble once again. I stand up and make my way downstairs.