Panthera

I Had No Choice

Before she could remember more, a sharp pain made its way down her spine from the collar. Her hand went up to her neck to claw at the metal attached until it stopped. After the quick attack, she looked back up to find the metal man gone. Figuring she has been obviously compromised, she picks up her gun and walks away. Before she gets too far though, she turns back to the apartment to find the shadows gone. It was a setup, they knew she was coming.

She grabbed the gun and sprinted her way back the jet only to find it gone. Stopping suddenly to look around, she sees no one before turning around.

Once she turned, she found herself in front of a line of people in strange clothing. Definitely not HYDRA. There are nine of them, clothing ranging from suits like Panthera's to armor. Her eyes scan the line, studying them.

The first person on the farthest right was a man dressed in dark clothes with dirty blond hair and hard eyes. He held a bow to the side but ready to fire if necessary. If you look behind him you would be able to see arrows.

The next is a woman in a tight black catsuit with bright red hair. This would be Natasha Romanoff, a person she was assigned. Her hands at her sides with bars lit with blue lights, most likely tasers. Natasha's eyes seemed familiar but she couldn't pinpoint it.

Right next to her is a dark skinned man with a gun in his hand. Sam Wilson, another target. He wore a backpack, not a normal one though. It was some sort of metal.

Beside him was my true target, the Winter Soldier. His hair was slightly longer and had some stubble on his cheeks. His metal arm shines in the sun as he holds a large gun in her direction.

None other than Steve Rodgers is beside him with a bright shield on his arm. His bright blue eyes stared her down as his jaw sets, ready for a fight.

The man in the metal hovers above Steve with his arm pointed at her with a glowing light shining in a circle.

Next to the Captain is a man in all black. You couldn't see his face because of the same shade black mask. He looked like some sort of cat with his claws showing as he stood with his arms out.

Two men with plates of battle armor placed over their body stood next to each other. One was dressed in silver armor with a red cape and a large hammer in one hand. Light blonde hair cascades down his face which holds a look of focus. The man next to him wore green with gold armor and a ridiculous horned helmet covering the raven hair on his head. He flipped daggers in his hands as he waited with a smirk on his face.

Panthera stood still as half came running to Panthera, the woman with bright red hair like fire reached her first. A kick was thrown that aimed at her stomach but Panthera blocked it with her arm before it hit her.

The two women locked eyes as Panthera struck Natasha Romanoff in the neck. Then grabbed her arm to twist behind her in an awkward angle until she yelled out when her shoulder dislocated. A change in air alerted her to turn but she reached her free hand behind her just as hard metal slammed into her hand. With her hand that was most likely shattered, she twisted her arm which held the metal and brought it down hard on Natasha's head, knocking her out.

Steve Rogers looked at Natasha with wide eyes and then to the shield that Panthera hadn't let go of. He attacked alongside a man with beautiful dark skin with the backpack which turned out to be mechanical wings.

"Oh no you didn't," Sam Wilson said as he looked at Panthera, then to the man who was now charging. "You did not just steal Cap's shield," he spoke with eyebrows raised, successful at distracting Panthera until Steve Rogers tackled her.

He straddled Panthera as he tried to bring his fist down on her face but she blocked it with his own shield just in time. She kicked him between the legs as he wrestled away the shield, knocking them over. Now that Panthera was on top, her boot slid along his arm until it knocked the shield out of his hand. While holding both arms down and using her weight wisely to keeping him down, she took out a knife only to have a sharp pain to shoot through her right shoulder. Instead of stabbing his heart, whatever hit her forced the blade up and into his shoulder.

He screamed out in pain as she let go of the knife and looked at her own shoulder to see a long arrow protruding from her shoulder blade which is no doubt fractured. She looked through the trees to see the man with a bow watching her. Eyes cold as ice stared into the archer's own eyes as she reached behind her and snapped the arrow, regrettably pushing it more into her shoulder. She knew it would snag if she left it and she couldn't pull it out unless she wanted to bleed out.

She turned back around to see Steve wincing in pain but staring in almost awe. Quickly, she grabbed the shield and struck his head with enough force to knock him out for a while. With the same strike, she threw the shield back with a thunk hitting Sam's leg with a crack. Hydra said to take everyone out but they left her so she's not killing anyone. Yet.

With Steve out, she got up and lifted her gun out only to be stuck with an arrow in her other shoulder, trying to stop the arms. 'Smart' was the thought that echoed through her head. She broke the arrow again before lifting the gun up with a small wince as she bit her lip and shot the archer. She didn't kill, just shot his leg to partially paralyze and made him fall out of the tree.

She looked around only to see the pale man with raven hair leaning against the tree looking amused. He seemed to study her and she him before another shock erupted down her spine, this one stronger and brought her to her knees. As soon as it stopped, she looked up to see the man confused. He almost looked like he was flickering, for a second she thought he was. A small crunch of grass was heard from behind her and she turned quickly to see the same man standing with a dagger and a smirk.

"It's very nice to meet you Panthera," he spoke like honey as he flipped his dagger in his hand flawlessly. "I am truly sorry to have to kill you, but I have to in order to be free." He said with surprising honesty. Just as he said that, she felt a pain in her leg and looked to see a dagger. Confused, she turned to see the same man. Panthera was bleeding out and she could already feel the effects of blood loss that she decided to use her abilities.

Excruciating cracks and pops echo as her face contorts into the same panther she was before. Once she was done, she looked at the raven haired man and could see a flicker of fear pass through his beautiful features. Another dagger appeared as she stalked closer, but when she saw the slight flicker, she turned and swiped, landing scratches against the real man's leg. A grunt of pain was all she received in return as she swiped again, landing one on the abdomen. He fell over, his face contorted with pain as she strode to look at his face. She stared at him with her black fur shining as her head lowered and rubbed his face, her way of saying sorry before running.

She climbed a tree and hid in it's shadows as she waited for the others to arrive. It didn't take long because the archer spoke through a device to warn the others. He seemed familiar and it was bothering her.

"So, what's your favorite candy, bird boy?" the teen asked as they both sat on a ledge with their legs crossed.

"Um, Snickers definitely." Clint said with confidence as he snacked on some chips. Crunching loud as it echoes through his head. "Want some?" He asks with his mouth full and reaching the bowl of potato chips to the girl.

"No thank you," she said as she laughed at the grown man in front of her.