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EVACUATION ORDER

"I am someone who did not die when
I should have died." —Anne Carson
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SHIELD Headquarters

Location: Washington, D.C.

April 5, 2014

ALARMS blared throughout the facility, flashes of red and white lights consumed everything in an anonymous abyss. For a moment, silence filled the laboratory as the teenager felt anxiety rise inside her chest in a panic. Heaving deep, uneven breaths as she stared at her surroundings, being devoid of all her senses temporarily due to her recent physical evaluation. Her gaze flickered between the sealed chamber door and the female scientist to make sense of what was happening until the intercom echoed throughout the room.

SHIELD Headquarters were under attack.

Initiating an evacuation order for all SHIELD personnel to leave due to HYDRA's uprising within the facility. Daphne struggled to understand but knew that this wasn't anything good. Straining herself and putting effort into her legs after being nearly exhausted due to draining most of her energy in the chamber. Beads of sweat rolled down her forehead from exerting herself until her knees eventually buckled and she collapsed to the floor. Grunting in anguish, she had no other choice but to use her arms for even a glimmer of a chance to escape.

Desperately wanted to drag herself across the floor towards the chamber door, nearly to her breaking point. The girl muffled her cries, feeling hopeless and her self-doubt started to escalate and cloud her mind. Feeling both physically and mentally unstable, the lights above began to flicker before bursting into large sparks. She tried to calm herself down in an attempt to keep her powers under control, the sensation of the electricity nearly reverberating inside her. Willfully hiding against the door, wanting to drown out the suffocating noise, seemed to purposely torture her.

That was until Daphne was pulled into someone's strong arms, shouting for her attention, but it fell on her deaf ears. Her mind still buzzed from all the chaos around them, her heightened senses on overload to the point of unconsciousness. The female scientist guides the teenagers out of the chamber to a narrow hallway, not wanting to alert anyone of their disappearance. Daphne was once in the darkness but was now brought out into the light, barely glancing at the sky after remaining confined for over two years.

Emergency Evacuation Alert. All personnel proceed to designated safety zones.

The same message was broadcast overhead in a constant loop, meticulously emitting a high frequency that rang in her ears. She tried drowning out the droning voice that played like a broken record. She squinted her eyes from both the bright flashes and clamoring noises, feeling a bit disoriented by everything around her. Her right hand subconsciously clenched on the person's shirt collar, clinging to the fabric like a lifeline. Wanting everything to go away, all the voices in her head seemed to be calling out. 

"Hang on, Daph... we'll be out soon...." Jason murmured to her, still unsure if she could even understand him. She couldn't focus on anything but detecting his steady heartbeat, her head just lightly against his chest since he carried her. Daphne's eyes drooped due to the glaring light that reflected from the windows, eventually arriving at an elevator.

"Come on, we need to be quick," The female scientist hushed, using her ID badge to access the elevator before heading inside. While they were out of danger for the moment, the woman gently grasped the girl's wrist to detect a faint yet steady pulse. Checking on her watch for heart palpitations before injecting something to help regain her strength. Time felt painfully slow as they descended until the facility violently shook and they all fell to the ground.

The emergency elevator brakes were activated as the elevator was momentarily free-falling before the attached cable wires detained it. Groans erupted from them, Jason being the first one to realize that one of the helicarriers had crashed into the Potomac River, creating a magnitude of minor earthquake. Daphne was on the brink of unconsciousness if it weren't for the injection she just received from Dr. Erskine, not to mention that the crash almost jump-started her nervous system by some mere coincidence.

Jason stumbled to cradle the girl against him whilst the scientist pressed a button to open the elevator shaft manually yet to no avail. The longer they stay trapped, the less likely they'll be able to escape. While they knew they had no choice but to attempt opening it themselves, there was nothing they could potentially use. Daphne groaned faintly as she barely managed to whisper to him that she needed to get closer to the panel buttons. Slowly placed her left hand until she felt the cool metal against her palm, harnessing all her energy until the elevator shaft opened.

"You're a lifesaver, Daph." Jace humored as he let out a grateful sigh while she faintly smiled before trying to catch her breath. Although the elevator shaft was stuck between two floors, they slowly made it out by crawling out to the bottom level. By then, she was slowly regaining her strength but still needed Jace's support in the meantime.

The small group rushed down the narrow hallway, being cautious of any HYDRA or SHIELD agents potentially lurking around. But when they came across some agents lying on the ground, they noticed their lifeless bodies had blood pooled around them due to the bullet wounds. Dr. Erskine crouched down to retrieve two handguns before handing one to him. The boy seemed hesitant to take the weapon and it didn't go unnoticed by the scientist either. "You know what you have to do, Jason..."

Ingrid exhaled a deep sigh after seeing that Jason was persistent in refusing to grab the handgun. She put one away in her lab coat pocket before approaching him as he held Daphne on his side. Despite them being trained in espionage and combat, they weren't assassins. They were just teenagers who wanted no part in this but rather were forced upon them. Like a mother reassuring a child, Ingrid calmly holds his arm to place the weapon in his palm." "Hey... listen to me. We need to protect her, okay? No one can know about her... about you both."

How ironic that the one who needed protection would be the most powerful of the two.

Daphne glanced between the woman and her friend, who eventually took hold of the handgun. Jace only gave her a tight-lipped smile to conceal his discomfort, attempting not to worry her but she knew better. After being stuck together for years, they couldn't hide their secrets, no matter how hard they tried. However, they quickly realized there was no time to waste and began taking the stairs to prevent any further disaster. Not to mention, fewer surveillance cameras to avoid as the girl merely caused them to malfunction with the wave of her hand.

A silent hiss escaped her lips that thankfully they didn't hear, biting her inner cheek, hoping to blink away the incoming tears. It didn't lessen the pain her body had to endure whenever she would use her abilities. And in times like these, being stuck on one of the top levels of SHIELD Headquarters was a nuisance but they could only tolerate their exhaustion for now. Jason was even jokingly considering jumping off the building into the river, although he also didn't want to stupidly cause his own death.

Time is of the essence they couldn't afford to lose, heading down the stairs as quickly as they possibly could. They were once on the fortieth floor and were now somewhere on the twentieth floor, feeling their legs becoming sore. But at that moment, Daphne stood still like there was an anonymous feeling that she couldn't push away. Albeit one might assume it was paranoia, it didn't stop its nagging insistence that left her in a slight daze. Inadvertently, catching the attention of Dr. Erskine and Jason while they momentarily hold their breaths.

Loud stomps echoed from the stairway as if someone was in a hurry, except the individual headed upwards. At first, they thought it could be other SHIELD agents until gunshots erupted, which left them nearly paralyzed. No one in the group dared to move a muscle as they listened intently, swallowing their own breath. A gruff voice could be heard, definitely a man responding to something about the Council and Alexander Pierce. Daphne sensed dread that nearly overwhelmed her senses, her subconscious insisting it was HYDRA instead.

In that vital split second, Dr. Erskine swiftly swiped her ID badge to the scanner and pushed the teenagers inside. Locking the door behind them while both Jason and Daphne pounded against the door. Clamoring for the woman to open it, coming to the realization of what she was about to do. The female scientist put on a brave face to the teenagers, strategically enabling the door to go on lockdown. Glancing at them through the narrow glass slit as they barely heard her hushed voice, not realizing those were the last words they would ever hear.

Jason couldn't make out the words while Daphne rattled the handle in desperation. Dr. Erskine took out the handgun she had placed earlier in the lab coat, guarding in front of the door to ensure the shooter didn't see it. In an instant, Ingrid fired first and managed to graze the man's shoulder, but ultimately it wasn't enough. The boy clasped his hand over Daphne's mouth the moment more shots were fired. Pulling her away from the glass as they saw blood spatter, silent tears fell down her cheeks.

The S.T.R.I.K.E. Commander stared down at the woman with a humorless laugh, pointing his weapon at her. Recognizing who it was, a wide smirk appeared on his smug face before mocking her. "Dr. Erskine. How fitting... your great-uncle must be very proud of you...."

"Even so... he died doing what he believed in... against men like you." Ingrid retorted as she was resting on the wall near the door, bleeding profusely from the abdomen. Grunting in pain but refusing to let fear consume her, knowing she'll meet the same demise as her great-uncle did in World War II.

"Fuck HYDRA, Rumlow." In those final moments, Dr. Erskine fired onto the scanner to prevent him from entering the floor. Only he realized what happened when he kicked away her handgun before shooting her in the chest.

"Rookie mistake...." Rumlow spat at her, moving Ingrid's limp body to try unlocking the door. Knowing there was a reason, she intentionally shot at the scanner to prevent him from entering. The teenagers were crouched in the corner behind the door, doing their best to remain quiet.

Daphne silently cried in Jace's sleeve, feeling the door violently rattling until it eventually stopped. Rumlow took one last look inside before deciding to go back to his original mission, heading towards the Council. The footsteps faded away and the boy took the chance to escape despite her initial shock. It was futile to stupidly believe Ingrid Erskine would survive such a wound. She only saw a glimpse of how the blood pooled around the woman's body before being forced to move forward.

Daphne knew that she would have a lot of regrets... one of them was not saying a proper goodbye.

They ran across the large vacant room, office chairs sprawled out with files everywhere on the ground. The second aftershock occurred as two helicarriers collided and crashed alongside the building. Managing to reach the other stairway and hurried down the steps, not bothering to turn around until they got to safety. Everything that had happened felt like an instant blur, so little time to grasp anything until it was too late. In spite of being fatigued, they never once stopped running even if they had no sense of direction. 

Jason had an iron grip on Daphne's hand, silently promising himself not to let her go. Everyone she knew always seemed to put their lives on the line for her just because she was special. A scientific breakthrough that could revolutionize humanity based on what they learned from this strange phenomenon. Not that it mattered much when the government had other plans in its secret agenda. By then, the teenagers reached the main floor, and they were swarmed by SHIELD personnel running towards the exits.

No one questioned the teenagers' presence nor bothered to care when the building was going to collapse anytime soon. They stood out like a sore thumb, cluelessly following the crowd since they were never permitted to leave the laboratory. Yet when the last helicarrier sank into the Potomac River, chaos erupted around them. People pushed and shoved for a way out and despite Jason's best efforts to keep them together, she slipped through his fingers. He immediately tried reaching out for her as she did the same but was separated by the crowd.

"Daph!" Jason shouted to her, both avoiding the ongoing stampede. Stumbling their way back together, their fingers barely touched until someone knocked the boy down.

"Jace!" Daphne cried out but her voice was drowned out by all the commotion. Although she was nearly dragged out of the facility, the girl wanted to turn back to find her friend. Her tear-stained eyes darted towards where everyone else had escaped, thinking he was still inside.

Without hesitation, she ran back in hopes of searching for Jason. Moving her way towards the doors, nearly stumbling over her own feet. Ultimately, the last impact occurred, SHIELD Headquarters began to collapse right in front of her eyes. Barely dodging the oncoming debris, people bumping against each other to survive. Daphne nearly made it until an unsuspecting gas leak caused an explosion, sending her flying backward and slamming her head against the ground. Struggling to gain consciousness as all she could see was the facility into flames, before succumbing to the darkness.

And there was nothing she could do.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

I really hope you like the chapter and I know it started off strong but it'll all make sense soon! I'm so excited about this fic, you guys have no idea! So comment, vote, or tell me if you're excited as much as I am. Until then everyone and take care!