South Brooklyn, NYC, USA.

Ben's P.O.V.

Pushing his perception and brain process to the maximum, the silver-eyed man felt like time slowed down around him, with Cross flying through the air not far from his own airborne body with brown scales spread all over his body, or at least on the parts he could see. On the side of the boat, or more like the ball of flame that was formerly a boat, a big part of the dock was taken out by the explosion.

A brief thought came to his mind as he noticed the lack of serious injuries on him. 'If we were normal humans, we'd definitely be meatpaste! Thank God I've become a Supe...' Before his train of thought was interrupted by a slight disturbance in his perception's range. 'Fuck! It's coming!' Was the only thing his brain could process while his body instinctively moved to avoid the coming projectile.

Unfortunately, a high-velocity bullet was too fast for him to be able to completely react to. Yet. To be fair, it was already incredible that his brain could register the fact that a projectile like that was on its way to him. He could be proud of himself. Of course, Ben was not really in the mood to pat himself on the back as he could feel both his left arm and stomach pierced by the bullet, breaking some bones while it was going through his arm.

'I made it!' He thought with some satisfaction despite his broken arm and bleeding stomach. No vital injuries! He inwardly exclaimed before Time seemed to resume and the two men fell on an intact part of the dock, rolling for a few feet before stopping briefly.

“Cross move!” The silver-eyed man yelled while standing up as quickly as he could, not slowed down by his wounds at all. Noticing the other man's dazed state, Ben made a decision instantly and dashed to the man lying on the ground with his mind disoriented. 'I won't make it to the water before he shoots again! Fuck!' He thought while devising a plan on the spot to avoid dying from a head or heart shot.

One second. He grabbed the ballistic shield that crash-landed between the two men with his left hand while gritting his teeth from the pain coming from his broken bones. He then 'aimed' it in the northeast's direction, blocking the sniper's vision of his body. He knew that would not be enough to stop the bullet, but it would increase his chance of survival tremendously by slowing down the projectile slightly.

Two seconds. Ben felt a similar disturbance as earlier, prompting him again to instinctively move his body. This time, he tilted his head to the right, but he was not quick enough. Indeed, as his head was still moving, he felt something slashing the left side of his head, leaving a burning feeling behind where a part of his helmet apparently disappeared. 'Still alive! I'm gonna make it!' He fleetingly thought before throwing the broken shield in his left hand to the side and grabbing Cross' right arm with his right hand.

Three seconds. Ben rammed the wooden railings with his left shoulder, the latter still protected by his SWAT gear, breaking the former as if it was made of Styrofoam before swiftly jumping in the water with Cross still held in his right hand. The green-eyed man seemed to come around, but it was clearly too late for him to be able to be of any use in that situation.

Four seconds. The jump took too long as gravity was the only force bringing him toward the water. Thus, what Ben expected actually happened and a third disturbance appeared while he was in the air with almost no possibility of evading. However, it seemed to be Ben's 'lucky day' since the third bullet only grazed his right shoulder, creating a shallow slash on his skin, that would not take too long to heal. Their bodies finally penetrated the cold ocean water.

Five seconds. Instead of feeling annoyed at the 'frosty' temperature, he felt grateful and relieved. 'We're safe now!' He thought while swimming down a few feet before moving toward the shore. Well, he was mostly paddling with his legs since both of his arms were currently unusable, each for their own reasons.

Because some time had passed and they were moving through the water, Cross finally came to and seemed a bit confused at their current situation. Fortunately, the man was similar to Ben, who had an incredible lung capacity and oxygen processing, allowing him to hold his breath for at least one hour if he tried.

Even if Cross only used the oxygen he inhaled in a normal breath, he would have ample time to reach their destination which should only be around a hundred feet away. After signaling his new subordinate the direction, Ben resumed swimming toward the shore with the other man having no trouble keeping up with his speed.

Although it was mostly because of his injuries, Ben still commended the green-eyed man for his performance. Having increased reflexes and body coordination sure helped a lot in that kind of situation. He then shook his head slightly to remove the distracting thoughts from his strained mind and focused on his destination.

As the two were quite close, it only took them around a minute to arrive at Tucker Place, a small plaza that was located between the ocean water on the West and South side, a building on the East side, and the road on the North side. Ben chose that place to leave the water because the building would hide them from the sniper's view. IF he was right about the killer's position.

Of course, after having his body injured three times by the sniper's bullets, he was certain of 'his' approximate location. As for the precise location, someone would have to check it in person. And that was exactly Natalia's mission, not his. His was simply playing the alluring bait. That was it.

'Should I just go to the ambulance over there?' He thought while pulling himself out of the water by using the metal railings before going over it. Cross followed him swiftly, making the two a strange sight with the two tall and muscular men having their respective gears and clothes drenched.

Looking at the other man, Ben noticed the shock in his eyes coming both from the previous life-and-death situation they found themselves in and the extent of the silver-eyed man's injuries. “Are-are you alright?” He asked hesitantly before Ben cocked an eyebrow and responded in a deadpan voice. “Peachy, as you can see.”

A small smile appeared on Parker's face at the embarrassed look painted on Cross' face. Waving his hand to him, he stated. “Don't worry about it. I'll be fine after a few days of rest.” Tapping his earpiece while noticing the doubt on the other man's face, he then started to report. “Here's Grey Knight. I'm currently safe with Cross. I got a few serious injuries from the bullets, but nothing lethal. Tell me you got the guy!”

A few seconds later, a slightly panting Natalia responded. [”Here's Widow. Copy that. I got the sniper but you're not gonna like it.”] “Shoot.” He replied while having a foreboding feeling. His feelings were confirmed when the woman responded. [”He offed himself when I caught him with. I'm about to check, but from the symptoms, it should be a poison pill or something similar.”]

Those words drew a sigh of helplessness from the tall man who muttered to himself. “Fuck...” While rubbing his face briefly, and feeling frustrated. After a second of self-pity, the tall man pulled himself together and asked firmly. “Did you get anything else? Hardware? Documents? Anything?”

Hope was not lost as her next words boosted his previous gloomy mood. [”I got a few things over here. I'll gather everything and bring it to your position. While you wait, you might as well get yourself checked out or your wife will freak out. Over.”] The joking remark brought a smile to his face as he retorted. “Will do. Over.”

He then tapped his earpiece to deactivate the microphone before instructing Cross. “Let's get ourselves checked out.” Nodding his head, the green-eyed man said. “Sure.” Ben then started walking swiftly toward the ambulance parked on the side of the road, where two paramedics were waiting for any injured coming in.

Once the tall man entered their visions, the two seemed like they were seeing a ghost due to his current state. They were however very professional since they only froze for a second before dashing to his side. With their help, he was quick to take off his upper gear consisting mainly of his helmet, a balaclava, a bulletproof vest, and a fitting long-sleeve shirt.

Once they were removed, the paramedics started tending to his four main wounds: his head, his stomach, his left arm, and his right shoulder. The burns were left for the end since they were not too serious. One of them reported. “Sir, there's something... strange with your injuries...” Feeling curious, Ben asked. “What's wrong?” The man hesitated before answering in a serious tone.

“I'm no doctor, but I've been a paramedic for years, and from my experience, you should have died with injuries like those you've got there. And even if you didn't die, you should have gotten a concussion from your head injury, a heavy hemorrhage from your stomach injury, and your left arm should have been completely destroyed at the very least. But instead...”

Shaking his head, the paramedic added. “Forget it. I'm probably wrong.” A smile appeared on Ben's face at his words. “Don't worry about it. I can tank more than most.” The two paramedics then cleaned and bandaged as well they could the hole in the lower part of his upper body before dealing with his left arm.

They set the arm bone as straight as they could before using a temporary cast to avoid worsening the injury. Then they cleaned his head injury and used bandages again before moving to his shoulder for last. The result was Ben looking like he had been in a serious car accident, which was technically not completely wrong. Although in this case, the car was replaced by four high-velocity bullets that were specifically targeted at his body.

'May will be pissed...' He thought wryly before pushing that thought aside, turning toward Cross and asking with a small smile. “How was your first field mission?” Cross hesitated before answering carefully. “It was... Interesting.” That drew a small chuckle from the previously serious-looking SHIELD Agent who said. “It's not every day that you get shot at by an enemy sniper. And it's even rarer that you get to live to tell the tale if you were their specific target AND they succeeded in putting three bullets in you.”

The green-eyed man shook his head at his words with his eyes still filled with shock and disbelief. After a few seconds, the man asked. “Is it something usual?” Now that they were going to speak about something secret, Ben decided that it was time to move from their current location. After all, he did not want other people to hear anything that he did not allow.

Signaling to the paramedics that he felt well enough to move, they let him go after protesting a bit. The only reason why they did not keep him there was because, despite the apparent injuries he sustained, his body seemed to work well enough while his mind was completely clear of any concussion or other emotional shock. They were still baffled about it though.

The two muscular men then moved back to Tucker Place, where no one was present, which allowed them to speak in peace and be easily found by Natalia once she arrived. Two birds with one stone. On the way there, Ben signaled one of the policemen present to get him a jacket of his size since walking around in Brooklyn while looking like a mummy was not something he enjoyed doing.

Fortunately, the man recognized him from earlier at the bank which sped up the process, and a few minutes later, he was standing on the Plaza wearing a random police jacket that came from a random overweight policeman. It was far from a perfect fit, but he had to do with what he had.

Shaking his head the silver-eyed man put his hands on the metal railings with his body facing the Atlantic ocean water he was previously swimming in and said. “To answer your previous question: It may become usual. Maybe not getting shot at by snipers, but dealing with Supes, with each having their respective power, might become... bloody. We may even die from it if we're not careful. After all, it's not a game where you can revive any time you get killed.”

Turning his face toward the other man, he continued. “Here, if you die once, it's game over.” Those words made the other man pensive, prompting Ben to add. “But it's not all doom and gloom. The pros of this life is that you get access to many resources that you can use to both get stronger and ensure your loved one's safety.”

Turning his gaze back from his side to his front, he admired the waves forming and dissipating again and again for a while, before he stated. “In the end, it comes down to making a choice. Just like everything else in life.” Those words were followed by a pensive but comfortable silence between the two men, only broken a while later when Nat's voice reached them from behind.