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The sound of dripping water echoed through the dark and dreary warehouse. The uncomfortably warm and humid air surrounded Astrilde like a plague. She felt naked as she walked through the building, though layers upon layers of armored clothing covered her skin. It wasn't her usual Asgardian armor, instead something Stark had been cooking up. She'd much prefer her armor, but would settle for the extra protection Stark's armor provided.
Not that the armor will help if he sees me. One glance and I'm as good as dead. That cost, she was achingly aware of. Yet, he had forced her hand with the events following the discovery of Ari on earth. It had already been five days since she told Wanda about him, and in those five days, the man had killed several people. Most of which had been innocently working in Avengers Tower or Avengers Headquarters. Astrilde grimaced at the heavy weight of those deaths on her conscious. Even Wanda's assurance that she wasn't to be blamed couldn't ease the blow.
Wanda. Damn, Astrilde was nervous to be near the Scarlet Witch now. After realizing her strong attraction toward the powered individual, Astrilde was a little fearful that her mind would be read and reveal everything. Not that there was anything to reveal. Definitely not. It's not as if she had a crush... or did she?
"Astrilde, keep your eyes open. We just got a heat signature coming in from the northeast entrance," Natasha's voice crackled to life in Astrilde's ear. The goddess jumped, and cringed at the echoing sound her shoes made when they hit the floor.
"Which direction is the northeast entrance again?" Astrilde asked. She wasn't very good when it came to directions, and she wasn't trained to always be aware of where north was.
"Behind you, to your right," Wanda's smooth accented voice responded. Involuntary shivers were sent down Astrilde's spine, but she ignored them. She nodded a thanks to Wanda, though she knew the other woman couldn't see her.
Taking a deep breath, Astrilde slipped behind one of the large pillars that held up the dilapidated warehouse. She leaned against the rough and unusually cold concrete, eyes focused on the northeast entrance.
The sound of a boot hitting a puddle alerted her of the man before she saw him. He didn't seem to notice her hiding spot, thankfully. She didn't dare tell Natasha that she had eyes on him, not wanting to alert him of her position.
"I know you're here, love," Ari spoke, voice echoing. She bristled at the pet name, but didn't respond. She was too busy looking over his appearance anyway. He was more ragged looking, with clear bags under his dull green eyes. He wore a simple Midgardian hoodie and cargo pants, but there were some weapons that were clearly from another world sheathed at his sides.
"Don't engage. I know you're thinking about it, but we're this close to catching him." Astrilde frowned at Natasha's words. There was no plan for the extraction of Astrilde, which was dangerous in itself, yet Natasha expected her to stay a sitting duck. Like bait- which was what she was.
"You know why I'm here," Ari spoke aloud again. He had stopped walking, opting to stand and survey the warehouse. Of course I do. "I won't kill you if you come out now." Bluff. "Ok, maybe I won't kill you either way, but I sure as hell can kill your little girlfriend."
Astrilde bristled, knowing exactly who he spoke of even if she wasn't romantically involved with Wanda. She sated her worry by telling herself that he couldn't hurt Wanda if he couldn't see her. She couldn't hold back her remark when she realized this, however. At least she hid fully behind the pillar before she spoke, hoping he wouldn't immediately figure out her location due to the echos.
"You can not kill anyone unless you can see them, and none of my companions will be outdone by your hand-to-hand combat," Astrilde told Ari cooly, her tone light and airy compared to her heavy emotions. The hand-to-hand combat claim was a pure bluff, but she tried to phrase it as if it were true.
"Are you sure about that? Are you really willing to risk somebody over information you think you know?"
Astrilde didn't believe him. It was one of easiest tricks somebody could use- try to convince the enemy that they were misinformed. She had seen it a million times, even used it herself. Not often- she wasn't the kind of person to lie religiously. She considered herself truthful. She'd rather leave out information than lie about it.
Suddenly, the small amount of light in the warehouse flickered out of existence. Astrilde dropped to the ground, making sure she didn't make any noise. Anything to tell the bounty hunter where she was. This power outage better be part of one of their plans.
Avengers Quinjet; With Third Person POV
"Did she just engage him?" Sam asked, sliding down his Falcon goggles. Natasha, Sam, Wanda, and Steve were in the quinjet, preparing to apprehend Ari.
"It appears so," Wanda responded, smiling despite the circumstances. "I fear we may not have time before this turns physical. Astrilde is not the most patient when it comes to missions."
"Tell me about it," Sam muttered.
"She's just making everybody's job hard while doing so," Natasha responded in a slight murmur, already focused on one of the many computer screens in the jet. Nat had nothing against the goddess, but it was hard to break the habits trained into her by the KGB.
"Yeah. That plan would be really helpful right about now," Sam spoke again, glancing over at Steve. Captain America himself seemed to be contemplating their next move.
"Widow, shut off the power. Falcon and I will intercept him on the ground," Steve commanded, grabbing his shield from one of the seats.
"That's a suicide mission," Natasha reminded him, not tearing her eyes from the computer.
"Good thing I installed that night vision to my suit," Sam stated.
"What should I do?" Wanda interjected, hoping to help Astrilde somehow.
"You're going to extract Astrilde," Natasha spoke, before Steve could instruct the Sokovian to stay back on the jet. Wanda shot the Black Widow a thankful glance, before nodding.
"Power's down for a few blocks. You'll have probably ten minutes before authorities are informed, so you better be quick," Natasha spoke again, glancing at the three standing by the open quinjet door.
"Right. Let's go," Steve stated. Then, the Falcon, the Scarlet Witch, and Captain America headed to help their friend.
