South Brooklyn, NYC, USA.
Ben's P.O.V.
Slamming the door shut, Ben then moved toward the group of agents close by. Before anyone could talk, he commanded. “I'll come with you guys.” The two other agents stayed silent but Clint and Nat had a frown on their faces, with Nat saying. “You can't, Ben. We need someone to stay with your family and Agents 25 and 28 here are needed to take care of the surroundings while Clint and I go in to save the hostages.”
Acknowledging her words, he replied. “I know. But I can take Clint's place and he can stay here.” “No way! I'm not about to let you go in there alone with Nat. I'm not doing it!” Denying his proposition vehemently, he only stopped protesting when Natalia intervened with a question to the silver-eyed man.
“You heard him, Ben. There's no need to switch. Barton will be enough to deal with the situation.” Shaking his head, he argued. “You both said that the hostiles' characteristics are unknown. You've got almost no intel on who they are, how strong they are, and what type of power they've got. In other words, you're going in blind. And you said that Clint will be enough?”
Pausing for a second, Ben patted Barton's shoulder while saying. “No offense, Barton, but you're still a 'normal' human. But not me. I can take much more of a beating, I'm stronger, faster and I heal better. I know you're a better sniper, but the fight will probably take place inside the building.”
As the cold but realistic words left his mouth, Ben could see some anger in the other man's gaze, the latter's hands tightening into fists. Understanding that he might have gone slightly too far with his assertion, Ben was about to explain himself when he was interrupted by Natalia's calm voice.
“No need to be upset, Barton. I'm pretty sure it'll only take you a short time to reach the Novice Level. Plus, in this case, Ben's right. With his Low-level Novice constitution, he could tank a low-caliber bullet and not get hurt. But that's not your case. Remember what happened to Agent 73 when he got punched by that mad Supe?”
Sighing in obvious defeat, the blond man replied. “He was almost cut in two from the punch and died on the spot. I know all that. I just don't like letting the two of you go in there without me. It just feels wrong.” His words reminded Ben of May's earlier in the day, prompting him to say.
“Look, Clint, it's not only because I'm stronger than you. It's also because I trust you to protect my family.” Nodding his head, the other man retorted in a somewhat frustrated but accepting tone. “I know, don't worry about it. I'll take care of them while you go kick some supes' asses. The two of you have fun then! I'll be waiting in the car.”
Shaking her head with a wry smile adorning her face, the redhead woman then instructed. “Alright, boys and girls! Let's sum up what we know. Agent 25, do you have the bank's blueprints?” The brown-haired female agent nodded and said in a formal tone. “Yes, Ma'am. Here.”
Turning the tablet computer she was previously fiddling with toward the two Supes, the latter could see the blueprints displayed on the screen. After a brief examination, the two had a slight frown on their faces. 'Three emergency exits, plus the front entrance. That makes four possible escape points...' The silver-eyed man thought.
Ben then started pondering out loud. “We're only four people, and Agents 25 and 28 can't be sent in for obvious reasons. I'm guessing the exits are locked, so they might not be able to use them, that would only leave the front entrance to cover. They'd see us coming from a mile away though...”
Shaking her head, Natalia explained. “Ben, don't forget that they're at least Low Novice Level, or possibly Mid Novice Level. That means whether there are exits or not wouldn't matter, since they could destroy a brick wall to make one.” When his brain registered her words, the silver-eyed man could not help but chide himself for forgetting to take into account both his new strength and the supposed power of those bank robbers. Speaking of which.
“You keep speaking about Novice Level. What's that about?” Slapping her forehead lightly, she replied in a slightly embarrassed tone. “Right! I forgot to brief you about that. We don't have too much time, so I won't go into too much detail. Once we get to the safe house, you'll learn the rest.”
Coughing once to prepare herself, both Ben and the other two Agents put their entire focus on her next words. “So, the Novice Level is basically the weakest Supes. Low Novice Level Supes are, on average, capable of breaking a brick wall with a punch, while Mid Novice Level can on average break a metal wall with a punch.”
Pausing for a second, she added. “It's only a broad estimation since it can differ depending on many factors, in particular since unlike warrior type, mage, and psychic types can be wildly unpredictable.” Feeling a bit surprised by her explanation, the silver-eyed man asked. “Why does it sound like a Dungeon and Dragon Power system?”
With a knowing smile adorning her face, she claimed. “I said something in the same vein the first time someone explained the whole thing to me and do you know what that man said?” Shaking his head, Ben could not hide his curiosity. “What did he say?” “He said 'Foolish Mortal woman, the universe is stranger and more mysterious than your undeveloped monkey brain can possibly conceive.'”
She tried to imitate the man's arrogant tone when she recounted his words, but she could not stop an amused smile from appearing on her face, breaking the serious atmosphere she was trying to create.
Cocking his eyebrow, Ben commented. “Mortal woman? Really? Is he right in the head?” Shaking her head, she answered. “I thought so at first but... Some things happened later that made me reconsider... He IS an arrogant pick though, but in any case, let's go back to the subject at hand.” Turning her gaze toward Agent 28, a black-haired male, she ordered. “Agent 28, do we have any updates on the hostiles and hostages.”
Nodding his head, the man answered in a tone mirroring his female colleague. “Yes, Ma'am. Command communicated everything to me.” “Sum it up then.” “Sure. First, two swat teams along with around a dozen policemen surrounded the building. Second, as far as we know, only one hostage has been injured. No death for now.”
“Good. Although, it's a shame for that person, at least he's still alive.” Pausing for a second, she added. “We'll definitely need the police's help to stall the two Supes in case they try to flee. Do they know we're coming?” Nodding his head, Agent 28 responded. “Command informed them. We're supposed to be NSA Agents.” Following his words, he handed everyone their respective counterfeit NSA badges.
“Alright then, let's go meet the ones in charge over there.” Trailing behind her, Ben noted her movements halting before she turned back toward them briefly, warning them with a deadpan face. “The three of you be careful. The fact that a bank robbery happens to take place on our route, the day that Director Fury is unavailable and Agent Rumlow gets promoted to a Level 8 Agent is highly suspicious.”
Cocking his eyebrow at what she seemed to imply, Ben inquired. “You think it's a trap?” Shrugging her shoulders, she retorted. “Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. In any case, we need to be extra careful or we might get more than bargained for.” He nodded his head in assent and responded. “I'll be careful.” Briefly gazing at each of their faces, she turned her body back toward the Bank's direction.
The four took less than two minutes to reach the Bank's vicinity. Looking at the terrain around, the silver-eyed man noticed several police cars surrounding the place, with two SWAT vans on one side, the latter having a group of people in uniform arguing with each other.
He was apparently not the only one who noticed them, as the redhead woman's feet started to move in that particular direction. After a few seconds, they were spotted by one of the police officers around. The latter swiftly came to stop their group. “Stop right there! This is a police operation. No civilians are allowed in here.”
With an indifferent face, Natalia replied. “Your boss's been expecting us. Here.” She showed the man her badge, making him visibly surprised. “One second, Ma'am.” Using the radio on his shoulder, he verified her story with his superior, and swiftly let them pass when everything checked out.
With an apologetic face, the policeman said. “I'm sorry for blocking you, Ma'am. You all can pass.” Waving his apology away, the tall woman replied. “You're just doing your job like you're supposed to.” Before her feet resumed their march toward the group in charge. Unlike the woman, Ben took a brief moment to gaze at the young black man in front of him, who reminded him of himself when he just finished basic training with that rookie energy oozing from him, despite doing his best to act like an experienced policeman.
Checking the man's name tag, the silver-eyed man patted his shoulder. “Keep at it, Davis. I'm sure you'll go far in the force.” He then followed his own 'chief', not paying attention to the man's surprised reaction, all the while reminiscing about his younger days. Once the group of SHIELD Agents reached the place with the few people in charge, the redhead flashed both a professional smile and her NSA badge and said in a professional voice.
“Good afternoon, gentlemen. I'm Special Agent Langley, this is Special Agent Cunningham, Atkins, and Miller.” She introduced Ben, Agent 25, and Agent 28 before continuing. “As everyone here knows, we're dealing with Super-powered individuals, which falls into the NSA's jurisdiction. That means I'll be in charge of this operation and I'm asking for your full cooperation.”
While 'Langley' started speaking, 'Cunningham' started observing the expressions of the people present, noting the slight reluctance on their faces when the redhead woman took command over all of those prideful men. Fortunately, they could all read the situation well. They were all aware that unless they had overwhelming firepower, dealing with Supes could become a nightmare for them and their men. Especially since there were a dozen hostages in the back.
“Now that we're all on the same page, I want to know if there's any update on the situation.” Natalia commanded while gazing at everyone present. At her words, the men looked at each other, before one of them advanced and started talking. “We've identified the two robbers. One of them is a petty thief called Flint Marco. He just got out of prison a few weeks ago. From our preliminary investigations, he didn't have superpowers before today. Or at least, we don't have any evidence to prove it.”
“The second robber is called Andrew Cross. He's an employee of this particular branch of The American Bank. We interrogated a few of his colleagues who were off work, and they claimed that he was constantly humiliated by the director, and that might be why he's trying to get back at him by robbing this branch. Again, no evidence of having superpowers before today.”