Chapter 46: Strucker

"How could you be dating him?! Him! Of all people?!"

Alex sighed and turned to look at Sanjay. She was outside sitting on one of the school's outdoor benches; they shared the same lunchtime.

"Whoever I decide to date is my business." Alex told Sanjay as she covered up her suit's flight calculations. "Why do you even care?"

"Of course, I care! What do you expect me to do when one of the school's brightest minds starts seeing the school pariah?" Sanjay said as he waved his hands on the other side of the bench. "If I don't stop you, then your grades will surely drop by just being near that idiot!"

"Don't call him that!" Alex yelled as she looked at her old intellectual rival. "And by the way, My grades are still the best. My GPA hasn't changed from a 4.912823 at all."

"That's exactly it! If I let you continue like this, who will I destroy at the end of senior year? Surely that oaf will cause your GPA to drop to a mere 4!" Sanjay exclaimed as he looked down at her notes. "What's that?"

Alex felt herself grow angry. How dare Sanjay say all that about Harvey! Getting up, Alex gathered all her materials and stuffed them in her backpack.

"Listen here, Sanjay! Don't you ever talk about Harvey like that in front of me ever again!" Alex poked his chest, causing the skinny boy to back up. "And by the way. That Stark internship you were so happy about getting. It's going to be mine! Because I also applied!"

"WHAT! You said you weren't interested in that internship!" Sanjay said, horrified.

"Guess what? I lied! Of course, I was interested!" Alex said, getting close to Sanjay, completely missing the boy's darkening cheeks. "I just said that so you would let your guard down!"

"How could you!?" Sanjay gasped in shock. "You know Iron Man is my hero! I was born to be his sidekick! I need this internship!"

"Please, like you could ever become his sidekick." Alex mocked as she slipped on her backpack to leave. "And, by the way, Sanjay. Harvey is so much more than what you think he is. So don't go looking down on him."

Alex then walked away from the tanned-skinned boy with a huff. Whatever good mood she was in was ruined, thanks to him. As the bespectacled girl walked, she couldn't help but wonder what Harvey was doing at this very moment.

•••

"RAGH!"

With a swing of his arm, Harvey slammed his fiery chains into an unprepared soldier. The man's head was split open; Blood and brains splattered across the snow-covered field. Spinning in the air, the spirit of vengeance threw a long magma spear through two more of his enemies.

"Fucking hell! Shoot this monster!"

"What do you think we've been trying to do!"

The floor beneath Harvey exploded as he jumped into the air and kicked the soldier who just spoke across the face, causing his neck to snap back in a sickening crunch. Harvey rolled forward to avoid the hail of bullets fired at him, ducking behind a large chunk of wall. Harvey finally used this opportunity to catch his breath.

Looking around, he saw a large chunk of the compound wall destroyed. The fire was spread throughout, whether it be from rubble or trees that caught on fire. Several corpses were on fire as well. Taking deep breaths, Harvey glared at the remaining men behind him. Indeed, if he were to transform into his Ghost Rider state, he would be able to eliminate all his enemies quickly. But that wasn't the point; he had to buy time for his team to accomplish their objectives.

"How are we doing?" Harvey asked his teammates. He had to duck as a hail of bullets tore through some of his cover.

[ "Good news, we found Strucker." ] Natasha said.

•••

"Stop right there!"

Wanda yelled as she used her magic to slam the door closed just before Strucker could escape. The man turned around, giving Wanda a good look at his appearance. Strucker had a monocle over his right eye, and his face was scared. His hair was cut very short. It almost made him look bald. He wore a dark leather combat outfit; over his right arm was a metallic arm extending up to his elbow. Strucker's face contorted into rage.

"Who are you people? Who sent you?!" Strucker yelled as he lowered himself into a fighting stance.

"Baron Von Strucker." Natasha stated as she walked up beside Wanda with her dual pistols raised.

"It seems you know my name. But I don't know yours." Strucker exclaimed slowly.

Wanda stepped forward with her arms raised; her chaos magic swirled intensely around her hands. She glared coldly at the man; her desire to twist the man's neck and end it there swelled in her chest. But she couldn't. The man still held important information that they needed.

"Don't worry, well get acquainted real well soon." Wanda said menacingly.

Strucker eyed them both but then grinned. "I'm sure we will."

"YAH!"

Strucker lifted his red metal arm and unleashed a blast of red energy at Wanda and Natasha. Wanda's eyes widened, and she was pushed away from the blast. Looking up, Natasha stood up and began firing her pistols at the man.

"Get up, Wanda. Now's not the time to get caught with your pants down." Natasha stated as she quickly dashed around a column.

Wanda nodded, swiftly got up, and waved her hands to the side, pushing four shelves away into the wall. Strucker's eyes widened at her display of power. The man then pulled out his pistol and returned fire at Natasha.

Natasha slid to the side and avoided the bullets. When Strucker ran out of ammo, Natasha engaged the man in hand-to-hand combat.

Wanda watched them fight in a flurry of punches and kicks, waiting for an opportunity to help her teammate. Natasha threw a series of jabs and crosses at the man, but Strucker parried and dodged them all. The monocle-wearing man then jumped up and performed a spinning backkick. Natasha ran forward, slid underneath the kick, and spun her legs around Strucker's planted leg. The red-haired agent pulled Strucker down to the floor with a yank.

Natasha then rolled forward away from the man. Seeing her chance, Wanda grabbed Strucker with her magic and tossed him up to the roof. With a grunt of pain, Strucker slammed into the ceiling, not giving him time to breathe. Wanda then pulled him down and slammed him again onto the floor. Natasha flipped over the downed man and grabbed his neck.

"Graaah!"

Wanda saw Natasha's glove unleash a torrent of electricity into the man. After the man passed out, Natasha grabbed his hands and tied them together.

"Where do I get one of those?" Wanda joked as she walked up to her teammate.

"This old thing? I'll get you one after this." The red-haired woman grinned and stood up.

[ "Guys, we went through the entire compound and found no other children or captives." ] Amy's voice rang through their earpieces.

"And the children you found?" Wanda asked as she grew worried.

[ "Pietro brought them to the quintet; I'm currently with them. I'm doing the best I can to heal them." ] Amy said. [ "But he's out. He exhausted himself after running through the entire compound." ]

"Understood. We have Strucker captured." Natasha informed the team. "We're coming to you."

Wanda lifted Strucker with her magic, but she started to feel tired. She probably only had enough strength to carry the man back to the quintet before she became unable to move.

"Harvey, What's your status?" Natasha asked as she led Wanda towards the exit, weapon in hand. After a moment of silence, Wanda felt herself grow worried.

"Harvey?" Wanda asked quickly. "Harvey?!"

RUMBLE

Wanda and Natasha looked up at the ceiling. The entire compound just shook, almost as if an earthquake had struck the area. Turning to each other, both women started running to the exit.

Wanda felt fear build up in her chest. Something was wrong!

"Harvey, hang tight, we're heading your way!" Natasha yelled as they turned a corner.

[ "N-No! Get Strucker to the jet!" ] Harvey finally spoke. Wanda felt a wave of relief as she heard his voice.

"What's going on up there?!" Wanda asked as she turned to look at Strucker as she dragged him behind them in the air.

[ "The Abomination is here." ]

•••

Harvey saw the giant yellowish-green monster standing fifty feet from him. The Abomination looked different from the image he saw in the newspaper all those weeks ago. He now had greenish scales covering his body. Spikes stood out more prominently throughout his body. A pair of spiked fins were attached to the sides of his head.

"You look different." Harvey stated as he saw the gamma-powered man walk towards him.

"I feel different." Abomination smiled. "Stronger, faster."

"You should be on the RAFT; how are you here?" Harvey asked as he, too, walked towards the Abomination.

The monster laughed as he flexed his muscles. "It seems like Strucker has friends in high places."

Harvey's eyes grew wide at the implications of that statement. Not only did Strucker have powerful allies in Sokovia, but even in the United States?! What exactly was going on?

The two stopped when they were a dozen feet apart. Their sizes were comical due to how different they were in height. Abomination chuckled in amusement and peered down at him.

"Do you think that with those puny weapons, you'll be able to stand a chance against me?" The gamma monster asked.

"Don't worry about me." Harvey said as his skull ignited on fire.

"Worry about you."

•••

"Pietro! Are you okay?"

Pietro turned to his sister as she walked into the quinjet. A passed-out Strucker was floating behind her. The speedster nodded and looked down to his aching legs. He usually wouldn't be exhausted after just running around a compound this size, but when he saw the poor state of those children, Pietro lost focus of his breathing and exerted more energy into his run than he needed.

"I'm fine, sister. Just tired." Pietro said. "That him?"

Wanda smiled and nodded at him; he noticed her face covered in sweat. "Yes, that's him. I'm going to go lock him away."

Pietro nodded and saw her walk to the plane's small holding cell. Natasha walked up to him and smiled; she crouched and held his shoulder.

"You okay, kid?" Natasha asked in a calm tone. Pietro nodded and forced a small smile.

"...I'll be fine." Pietro answered. "It was... a lot."

Natasha nodded, squeezed his shoulder one last time, and stood up. She walked over and helped Wanda properly lock Strucker away; she even gagged his mouth and pulled a bag over his head. Once they were done, both women turned to look over at the four children sleeping peacefully on a small inflatable bed.

"How are they doing?" Wanda asked in a silent voice.

"Better. Just getting some much-needed sleep." Amy said from beside the children's bedside. She was holding a hand over the kids; a sphere of golden energy covered the children.

"How many didn't..." Natasha began to ask but stopped herself.

"...Too many." Amy closed her eyes and looked down. "I should have done something."

Pietro grimaced and closed his eyes. Of course, Amy was beating herself up over this; she was an angel who helped those in need. She must feel like a failure for not acting before it was too late.

"It's not your fault." Natasha said; she then turned around to the captured Strucker. "It's his."

RUMBLE

"Another one, what's Harvey doing?" Pietro asked in worry. "Is he still fighting?"

Natasha grimaced and nodded; she walked over to the quinjets controls and deployed a small drone. The drone flew off in the direction of Harvey. "He's currently fighting the Abomination. An individual who can go toe to toe against the Hulk."

"Is there nothing we can do?" Wanda asked worriedly. "There has to be something!"

"I'm afraid not. We can't take on that opponent as we are now." Natasha said gravely. "Wanda is basically on her last legs, Pietro exhausted himself, Amy is too focused on helping the kids, and I can't fly the quinjet to offer air support. We could endanger the children."

"As much as I hate to say it, we have to hope Harvey can take on the Abomination and win." The SHEILD agent regretfully said as she turned to the monitor showing the drone's feed.

Pietro gritted his teeth in frustration. He felt so useless! He could be out there helping his friend, but he stupidly wasted all his energy because he couldn't focus.

Pietro was too deep into his loathing that he didn't notice Wanda sneak out of the ship.