I yelp the second we land on the brick highway, barely missing getting hit by a car. Thankfully, the driver has enough common sense to swerve out of the way while the guy behind him slams on his breaks. Barnes and I hop to the side as the driver swerves to miss us. In the other two lanes, one on either side of us, the drivers gun it in an attempt to get by us without having to stop. Realizing which way the traffic is moving, I decide that it's a better idea to run with it. At least then I don't have to worry about if Bucky or I will get hit by a car. That, and I think the both of us just really want to get away from the incredibly angry cat dude.

Bucky looks directly at the traffic coming towards us as I turn on my heel and grab his jacket, giving him a tug so we end up running with the motorists on the road. I can hear more cars swerving behind us and figure that Cap and 'Cat Guy' are close behind. Cars all around us honk their horns as we sprint by them. After all, it's not too hard for two superhumans to sprint past cars going 35 to 40mph. Right?

Bucky picks up his pace and is now dragging me behind him again. I decide to follow his earlier advice of lengthening my strides, but also put more weight on the balls of my feet in an attempt to propel myself further, faster. We run as quickly as we can, dull lights guiding the way in the underground highway system. The brick road beneath my feet is uneven in places, but I manage to stay on my feet. Fear and adrenaline are fueling me now. Plus the will to survive. I mean, I'm pretty sure Claws back there won't blink twice if given the chance to rip me to shreds.

Suddenly a wail of sirens erupts in the tunnel behind us, signaling the police are on our tail. This day couldn't get any more exhausting or worse even if I wanted it to. A guttural, rough German voice shouts 'stand down' in English through one of the PA systems on a police car. I almost laugh. When has a criminal on the run ever stood down when told to by police? Like honestly? Did they really believe Bucky is just gonna come to a complete halt and just be like 'yeah ok guys come arrest me for something I didn't do! It'll be super fun!' Seriously.

I swear on the name of waffles, where do they find these guys?

Screeching tires sound in the tunnel, echoing up to where Barnes and I continue to sprint. I figure the cops are getting antsy and are now weaving through traffic in an attempt to catch up with any one of us delinquents. The sirens continue to wail and the annoying voice continues to demand we stand down. We just ignore it and push ourselves harder to keep ahead of all this mess.

You know, I don't even know what the plan is at this point. I don't know why I'm running with Steve's best friend, I don't understand why 'Cat Man' is trying to kill us, and I don't even know where we plan to go. How do we get out of this underground labyrinth? Where do we plan on going after we get out? Is there another safe house Barnes has around here? Is he really taking me with him? Or is he going to trip me in an attempt to make me a distraction as he gets away? Like? All these questions and no answers, man. I don't wike it.

I hear a grunt and a shattering of glass behind us and decide to take a brief moment to turn and look as I run. My eyes widen as I see Cap on the hood of one of the cop cars -- the windshield of said car shattered. My first thought is the police ran him over. But then again, Steve's known to come up with some pretty crazy ideas. Shaking my head, I turn my attention back to where I'm running. "I really don't know if I want the answer..." I force out around my breaths as I run. "but why are you helping me along?" I ask, my eyes trained solely on the ex-assassin. He doesn't look at me. Instead, his eyes seem to grow harder as his jaw sets tightly.

"I think I know you. You're different." Is all he says before he increases his pace again if that's even possible. I huff and in the corner of my eye, I can vaguely see a black-clothed figure close in behind us. This scares me enough to make me speed up so that I'm running just barely behind Bucky's shoulder. We come up to a car that's moving slow and Bucky releases my hand as he hops up onto the back of it, before running over it. He drops in front of it and the two of us meet again after I dodge the vehicle.

Does he just have a thing for being dramatic or...?

I give a quiet snort to myself. Behind me, the squealing of tires sounds again. The cops must really be getting antsy now...until I glance back and see Steve's now driving the police vehicle.

What the...

I come about an inch away from running into the back of a slow moving car until Barnes thankfully gives me a small tug so I avoid it. I give a small noise of thanks before I decide I better focus on where I'm running and not on whatever stupid stunts Rogers is pulling behind me.

"Sam, I can't shake this guy." Steve says over comms. I begin to wonder what he means.

"Right behind you." Sam says just as a new fleet of police sirens enters the echoing tunnel of traffic. There's a whole force of them -- upwards of twelve at least. All of them are dodging and weaving around other cars in the lanes in an attempt to catch up to us lunatics. Then, in front of us, a police car drives into the tunnel through the exit Bucky and I are about to take.

Looks like we aren't leaving the underground city yet...

I quickly change my direction and pull Bucky along with me as I run through a break in barrels filled with water, directly into the lane of traffic moving opposite of us. I can hear Barnes' shaky breathing beside me as he follows my lead. I know it's not because he's running out of breath or anything because he is a super soldier. No. It's more likely anxiety or fear than anything. I mean we did almost get hit by a police car....not exactly something that'd be considered enjoyable. I hear a sound, much like a car running into something before I hear many tires screeching to a halt. However, blue lights are still reverberating off the sides of the tunnel so I know at least one car is still following us. Whether that's Steve or not is a mystery to me because I refuse to look around and run the risk of falling behind. I just won't do it.

We come to a place where the roof above us opens up, letting light in. It's much like one of the holes in the middle of the city Barnes and I jumped through to get down here in the first place. In front of us is a man on a motorcycle. He's not slowing down and is making no move to change lanes. I begin to fear he's going to run Bucky and me down. However, what James does next surprises me immensely. He grabs one of the front handle bars of the cycle and uses his natural hand to shove the motorist off his bike. Then, using his metal hand, he flips the bike into the air so it turns to face the direction we're running in. While it's in the air he jumps up and swings his right leg over the seat of the said bike, before it lands on the ground with him revving it, taking off.

While he's busy stealing a bike, I continue to run forward, although I look back to watch this all happen. My first thought is he's going to zip right by, leaving me behind. Panic erupts in my chest at the thought because I really do not want to be left to my own devices. Because I mean I'm terrible at making decisions. If it were up to me, I'd probably sleep all day, you know? Yeah. I'm a terrible leader, man.

I watch as he flies by before looking over his shoulder. One corner of his mouth quirks upward and I almost begin to dread what's running through his mind. Nevertheless, I continue to run forward. He positions himself in front of me before he suddenly slams on the breaks. I'm briefly startled but have enough common sense to hop into the air to avoid running straight into the back of it. I manage to land sitting behind him, frantically grabbing onto his backpack and jacket before he lays on the gas. My hands are shaking, my eyes are wide, and my heartbeat feels out of control. I'm incredibly glad he didn't leave me behind and also I'm minorly proud I managed to hop on the back of a motorcycle without hurting myself. Wind begins to rush past my ears and pulls my hair into billowing waves behind me as Bucky floors the motorcycle. The experience is almost as exhilarating as experiencing Pietro's superspeed. My lips pull back into a broad grin at the thought. The cars headed towards us all slam on their brakes as they swerve out of our way before they let loose on their horns at us. I give a chuckle. I almost feel like I'm in a James Bond movie, with James.

Ha, I'm so funny.

Suddenly, I feel the bike begin to tip to the side and my heart leaps into my throat until I realize Barnes is just cutting through the barrier so we'll be moving with traffic again. That's much safer. The one police car that's managed to follow us thus far is still behind us and now that I'm not running for my life I can look behind me. And surprise surprise, it's Steve Rogers driving with an angry cat clinging to the back of the car.

"Does this cat dude just not give up? Like good heavens." I grumble with a scowl as I continue to cling to James. He's weaving between the lanes, so every so often the bike leans. Eventually, I get used to the motion and begin to anticipate it before I lean with him.

You know, after all of this is over, I might want a motorcycle...

I hear a new sound enter the tunnel, like an open engine roar. I turn just slightly and can see Sam's entered the underground system with his Falcon wings engaged. I briefly smile until I see cat man jump onto the roof of Steve's stolen car, then the hood, before he jumps forward.

"Barnes!" I shout as he turns to look before lifting his hand and catching the cat guy by the throat. I duck, pressing my face against the side of Barnes as I feel my right arm get clawed by emo Hello Kitty. "Crap." I grumble. His claws cut straight through my flesh without resistance. I don't feel any amount of pain due to how sharp they are. The actual pain is from my muscles being torn open before being assaulted by the whipping air. I grimace at the almost instantaneous surge of blood that begins to soak my arm and the surrounding fabric of my sleeve. The fluid is a deep, angry looking crimson. Actually, it almost looks black it's so dark.

Pietro's gonna be pissed.

I hold onto Barnes tighter with the hand of my injured arm before I jerk my other arm back, digging my elbow into the cat man's abdomen. It barely dislodges him, giving James an opportunity to lift the suited man towards the wall of the tunnel. It's obvious he's trying to ram him into the wall. However, this panther's got other ideas. He lifts his feet up and pushes off the wall while Bucky continues to hold onto his throat. Due to the change, the bike quickly tilts to the other side and the two of us almost completely tip into the road. Bucky manages to release the cat guy just in time to use his metal hand to steady the bike by allowing his hand scrape against the road. Bright red and orange metal sparks fly from where his hand is on the pavement. I grunt and hold my palm parallel to the road before releasing a burst of energy. This seems to get us back upright. Meanwhile, Panther has managed to dive over my head before grabbing hold of the back of the bike. He then climbs up onto the back of it where I aim my hand at him and release a burst of energy into his face. Thankfully, it's powerful enough to knock him off. Steve narrowly avoids running him over while Bucky manages to fully stabilize the bike. He revs the engine and we take off again, free of the extra weight of cat man. Bucky reaches back and pulls a metal sphere out of the side of his backpack before throwing it onto an overhead beam of the tunnel. I don't even question it. As we pass under it a loud eruption sounds, signaling an explosion. I hear crumbling behind us and know immediately that the beam is collapsing. It'll be a roadblock to anyone following us. It'll provide a means for us to escape.

A shaky exhale escapes me as I rest my forehead on the back of Barnes' backpack. A feeling of relief washes over me. A large burden feels like it's lifted off my shoulders. I finally feel like I've done something right by being able to have Barnes' back as I'm sure he's not used to it anymore.