Rio Takada smiled wryly as the blonde knelt by the injured construction worker out in the middle of the open yard. "Hold still," Fixer ordered as her hands glowed above his pierced leg, "I'll ease your pain first." "That's incredible," the young man blinked, his tanned skin now oddly pale as he looked at the section of re-bar piercing his leg. Katrina van Horn reached out to take the metal pole as the redhead said briskly, "I'm going to need to pull this out if my friend is going to heal you. Brace yourself." "Right," he said weakly then yelled in pain as Kat ripped the metal up and out. Rio's hands glowed again as the blood slowed it's flow, the torn muscles and skin stitching themselves together at a unearthly rate. "There," she said as she let the glow fade, "all done. Just be careful not to strain yourself too much." The worker manager to rise and smiled shakily. "Miss," he said as he looked up to the sky, "I don't know how much choice we'll have." "Got that right," Kat agreed as she followed his gaze. Floating far above the city was a massive ship, a space craft somehow made out of stone that hovered as light as a feather. Only a few hours ago a massive hologram of the Hulk had appeared, revealing that many of the Earth's heroes had exiled him into space and that he was back for revenge. He declared that New York would be destroyed and he demanded that Iron Man, Reed Richards and Doctor Strange be turned over to him. If the heroes weren't turned over, he's ravage the planet. And predictably, people panicked. "Alright," Rio said tiredly as they left the site to observe the sea of humanity fleeing the island, "where to next?" Kat slipped a hand across her shoulders to help support the girl, "Do you need to rest?" Rio pushed her hair up out of her eyes, "I'll rest when we're done." Shortly after the Hulk's announcement Tony Stark went on television and offered a amnesty to unregistered heroes in the crisis, as well as offering a pardon to anyone who battled the Hulk. While neither Kat nor Rio was interested in a pardon neither thought they could walk away from people in need, so they were chipping in where they could. "At least most people have fled," Kat sighed as they stood in a eerily deserted street. A SHIELD copter wizzed by and both women tensed as a officer dropped from the vehicle, his flight pack dropping him gently. "I'm agent Quarterman," the blonde haired man said briskly, "thanks for the help." "Gee, thanks," Rio said flatly, not liking his tone. Clay Quarterman smiled slightly, his expression that of a man who was deeply, truly tired. "Sorry," he said, "we've got way too many balls we're juggling, and if one drops..." "Understood," Kat acknowledged the point without necessarily agreeing with him. Clay puffed out a breath then asked, "We're organizing a team to attempt to confront the Hulk when he returns. We were wondering if you'd join the back-up team...?" "No," Rio cut him off. "She's right," Kat said as Clay tried to continue, "Stark and his buddies brought this on themselves. We'll help evacuate, and if you need help in search and rescue we're there, but we will not help fight Hulk." Clay sighed, running a hand through his hair, "It's not that simple..." "Just consider it payback for all the crap he's pulled," Rio added dryly, shuddering slightly as she remembered the Negative Zone prison. Clay raised a hand, "Clearly we can't make you help us fight, but will you continue to assist in a non-combat role?" "That we'll do," Kat agreed. Clay unclipped a small device from his belt, "Here's a communicator, we're trying to coordinate the activities of heroes in the city." Rio took it from his hand, quickly figuring out it's systems as she said, "Thank you and good luck." "You too," Clay agreed as he activated his flight harness again and took off, swiftly returning to his 'copter and taking off to the next crisis. "Nice piece of technology," Kat conceded, looking over the small black device that fit easily into Rio's palm, "should we keep it?" "Right until the fighting's over," Rio said, "knowing Stark and SHIELD there's probably a tracking device built in." "No, it wouldn't surprise me," Kat agreed. Over the next few hours the two women hurried back and forth across the island, chipping in wherever they could. They evacuated buildings, talked people into leaving and in at least one case helped rescue a treasured pet so that someone would leave. Rio chuckled as they watched another barge full of people leave, "I never knew you could be so... delicate." Kat laughed as she watched the little boy clutching his pet cat. "What can I say," she shrugged, "I have hidden depths." Rio put her hand on her arm as she smiled shyly, "Maybe you can show me them sometime." "I..." Kat blushed, surprised by her flirtatious tone. "Thanks for your help," Ms Marvel said cheerfully as she walked up carrying a cup of coffee for each of them. "You're welcome," Rio sighed, seeing a opportunity lost. "Aren't you a bit big-time to be handing out coffee?" Kat wondered as she took a cup from the woman who currently lead a team of Avengers. Ms. Marvel looked more amused than offended by the comment. "No, not really," she said, "I'm sure if Cap were here he'd be doing the same." "Not a good way to go in a conversation, considering we're anti-registration," Rio noted a little flatly. Ms. Marvel sighed, "Someday, we need to put it all behind us." "Maybe when Furher Stark makes it legal to have powers again," Kat said dryly. "That's a bit much," Ms. Marvel's eyes flashed. "Try spending some time in a power draining cage in the Negative Zone," Kat growled, "it's nowhere near enough!" As they were moving toward each other a black clad figure dropped between them, his spider like designed costume instantly recognizable. "Ladies, ladies." Spider-Man said, "can't we settle this nicely?" "Stay out of this, Parker," Ms. Marvel frowned. "Ah, excuse me?" Rio asked quietly. All three looked at her as she raised a sheet of paper, "Mr. Parker, could I get your autograph?" Spider-Man looked a little startled but he took the pen, "Well, I suppose so." Ms. Marvel looked surprised as she watched him write, "She never asked me for my autograph." Rio looked at her as she answered honestly, "I don't like you." "Ouch!" Kat smiled, fighting back a laugh. "So," Spider-Man asked quietly, "how close are we to the Hulk's deadline?" "Less than a hour to go," Ms. Marvel said as they watched the last barges fly off with the rest of the inhabitants. Nearby, a grey haired firefighter shook his head in awe as he said, "Five million people moved in less than twenty-three hours. I woulda said it couldna been done." As the old chief, Ms. Marvel and the others talked Rio and Kat moved back a bit to spend some time together. "Do you really think the Hulk will destroy the whole island?" Rio asked. "I don't know," Kat admitted as she drank some of her cooling coffee, "in the hologram he had Black Bolt captive... I dunno if the stories are true, but supposedly he's immensely powerful." "And if they could take him..." Rio nodded. "Exactly," Kat nodded. "Then maybe it's time I did this," Rio smiled before she leaned over and planted a lingering kiss on Kat's lips. "You... I...," Kat stammered before Rio kissed her again. Rio smiled up at her hesitantly, "I've wanted to do that for a long time, but..." Kat reached out to cup her chin then gently drew Rio close to kiss her back, "Me too." She smiled slightly, "I didn't want to risk scaring you away." "No chance of that," Rio laughed as she hugged her close.
Back to Opportunities: A Tale of Civil War Index - Back to Non-Anime Fanfiction Shoujo-Ai Fanfiction