Rogers dropped some wood into the lit campfire pit inside of the dirt hole we dug out. It crackled loudly for a moment, then quickly died down. There was barely any light highlighting the features of the team, keeping us hidden amongst the stark darkness of our surroundings. A small piece of metal danced around in a circle in my hand as I spun it with my powers.

By now, using my powers seemed better against my self-esteem. I wasn't afraid of what I could do anymore. That was in the past. I was more intrigued of what the alternate future Logan told me about contained and how horrible it must have been. More intrigued by the mere thought of the sentinels, their power, what they stood for. I was just like them. The ability to...mimic powers.

Who I was...that was a different story. My past doesn't define who I am. It doesn't set my future in stone. My past just gives me a starting point on who I am going to be. Whatever wrongs I've committed, I could turn around and do twice as much good to help right it. The pain from my parents dying...that was a piece of myself I left a long time ago. Holding onto it did nothing to benefit me. Cutting ties to ends that only weighed me down only made me stronger. Our lives were already difficult enough; I couldn't let my team drown with me in my sorrows. What happened in Chicago...that was sorrow enough for all of us.

I've seen what the public thought of me. Since I was known as a wanted 'villain', they were afraid. They even named me 'Echo' for my superhero name...Or I mean super 'villain' name. Doesn't sound evil, though. Echoing the powers of other mutants was a frightening deal for them, but I got tired of trying to say I wouldn't use it against any of the innocents. None of them listened, anyway. I set the wood pile on fire and waited until it sprung to life. The flame in my hand flickered out. I wiped my heated hands against my pants and tried to cool off.

Crickets chirped in the soft grass as the birds slept in the trees. Leaves rustled in the wind and the smell of dirt and must hung in the air. The stars in the sky stopped shining, but the moon made up for their absence. It had been a few days since Banner's capture, leaving an unsettling feeling hanging in the air. The group remained quiet and sat around the fire. Natasha put her hands towards it and rubbed them together. Peter ran his fingers through his hair, tangling it all together. I bumped into him on purpose in an attempt to make him smile. It worked, but he pushed me over and started a fight. Steve broke it up while Tony commented on how he always ruined the fun.

Clint scratched the inside of his ear where his hearing aid had been. He took it out and turned it off earlier to conserve power. He waved his hands at us to catch our attention and started using sign language. He moved his hands back and forth and flexed his fingers. Any ideas on what to do next?

Over the course of our disappearance from the public, Barton taught all of us sign language. There were still times where we couldn't say the right word or forgot how to, but things like that needed more time. Being on the run for five months took a big toll on us, but there was no way we could go outside the country. We all agreed not to. We had to prove our innocence, and the only way to do that was to stay until we could convince the public. We just had to figure out some way to tell the people...

Tony watched his hand motions as he signed. He struggled a few times, but got the hang of it. There must be a safe house somewhere near here.

No. Nat cut in, her actions showing frustration. When we put all the files onto the internet, we put all our information out there. Safe houses, history, secrets, everything.

Clint groaned and watched his hands shake for a second. He missed having coffee so much that he was going through withdrawals. He crinkled his nose, which moved the band-aid on it. We'd be lucky to even find one the government doesn't know about.

Peter joined in. Well. We're in Nebraska right now. Isn't there a log cabin that's abandoned or something?

I doubt it. We could probably make our own cabin and probably be done faster than it would have taken to search for a new one. Tony waved it off and almost rolled his eyes. His sarcasm bled through to his sign language, if that was even possible.

Steve considered Tony's fake idea and furrowed his eyebrows. He moved his hands slow enough to make sure he was saying things right. We have two tents we could use until then. It seems like a good plan. Right?

I shook my head. These guys were crazy. Did they know what they were saying? Has madness finally taken over? Guys. Making a cabin? That's going to take more materials than we need.

I think you mean 'have'. Clint corrected me, showing me the right thing to sign. He bent his fingers inwards leading to his palm and moved his hands back to touch his chest.

I went to say thank you, but Peter held his hand out. He listened intently to our environment, searching for something. I put out the fire and froze in place like the rest of the group. Peter put his hand on my arm and tightened his grasp. Something was wrong. He could feel it.

A small red laser slowly make its way through the grass and onto my leg. Peter's fingers dug into my skin as he watched the dot follow my leg up to my hip. He twitched like he wanted to make a break for it, but didn't actually move. I heard a small clicking sound, notifying everyone that Clint turned his hearing aid back on and got ready. The red laser disappeared, but we all still held our breaths.

A small canister flopped into the center of our tiny circle.

"Move!" Steve whispered loudly and ran in one direction. It was dark without the fire and all of us bumped into each other. Peter still held onto my arm and dragged me along as he followed Cap. He ran faster than I did, and after slamming into trees on accident, I became even slower. Natasha and Clint tried to help me, but became distracted when more canisters went off nearby.

A haze of dark smoke traveled through the air, flooding the woods and thickening the air. Tony got caught in the middle of it and began to cough. His breathing quickly became labored, causing him to stop. "Go on, I'll take these guys," Tony coughed.

Before we could go back for him, he was already fighting some agents. Steve almost turned around until Peter urged him to go forward.

Tony's voice could be heard in the distance, along with other cries of pain from the agents. "Ha! Got your handcuffs." Electronic weapons sounded off and Tony yelled, "Hey! Watch where you're putting your hands, Handsy!"

For a few minutes as we escaped, I thought about what Tony did. With him being caught in the smoke, he probably thought he'd only slow us down. We could have helped him if he hadn't stopped. He made his decision. We could get him out. We had to.

"Of course we had to get spotted. You had to fight that manager," Steve remarked in a low tone. He focused on running at our speed instead of his own. We sprinted through the streets of a small town and dodged away from being shot by the police.

Peter threw his arms back and forth, using all his muscle and adrenaline to run. He put his hands up in defense for a few seconds. "That was a rip off! Those prices were worse than the ones in New York!"

"It's only because he recognized us. We're kind of wanted by the whole United States Government you know." I rolled my eyes and followed close behind Natasha and Clint. Our surroundings were a blur. The sun shined brightly in the sky without a cloud in sight. The humidity only made it worse.

"Less talking, more running!" Nat ordered and guided us through a back alley.

We all replied in unison, "Yes, ma'am!"

Clint waved his hand at Natasha and motioned her to follow him. Clint turned his hearing aid off a while back. He was running really low on power, but didn't have time to replace the battery. He led us back into the trees of the forest and tried his best to keep us out of sight. Would have worked too...

Peter yelled as a car revved up behind him and crashed into one of the trees. "Guys, I think we have a problem still!" He used some webbing to block the path we came from and continued to keep pace with the group. He threw off the jacket he had on and uncovered the web shooters attached to his wrists.

I tapped on Steve's arm and he nodded, picking me up without a problem with one arm. I faced the trail behind us and yanked the engine right out of the car using my powers. My hands moved with ease and ripped the car part into tiny pieces. Peter high fived me.

A car bum rushed us in the front, causing Nat and Clint to make a sharp turn to the left. Nat held Clint's hand so she could yank him to safety if need be. Peter slid as he followed in the turn and got to his feet quickly. Steve pulled me to his chest, completely turning me around in the process. "Steve, what are you doing?" I questioned, irritated.

"This route is narrow. I don't need you knocking into any trees," he stated sternly and gave me a quick side glance. He appeared concentrated, his hard blue eyes focusing on the nature in front of him. He hopped over a tree that had fallen and continued.

"I need to see behind us..." I rustled around in his arms, trying to get a view over his shoulder. He held onto me tightly and pulled me down as he ducked under a branch.

"You can't right now. Focus on moving forward, not looking back."

I groaned, trying to fight his tight hold. "You're carrying me. I can help..." I stopped as I managed to peek over his shoulder. Peter...

Peter threw webbing between some trees, setting up a trap. He added layer after layer, making sure nothing could come through. A car charged at him, but hit the webbing and got pulled back. The driver revved the engine and pushed on the pedal. Peter's weapons, or as he liked to call them, webpons, ran out of synthetic webbing and shorted out. He threw them off his wrists and to the side, knowing they were useless to him now. The car broke through the barricade after using a lot of force and headed right towards him.

"Crap!" Spider-Man yelled and sprinted in our direction.

I hit Steve in the shoulder and attempted to get on my own two feet. "Steve, let me go! I need to help Peter!"

Rogers turned around for a split second, watching as Peter got tackled by some agents in heavy armored uniforms. Others had their guns pointed at him and made sure he didn't retaliate. Steve kept pace with Nat and Clint. "As much as I hate to say this, Lilly, they've got him. You can't help him."

I wanted to yell, scream, hit someone, tear something apart, anything. The plan was to get whoever got caught out of jail, but our numbers were only growing smaller. He was supposed to be there to help. He was supposed to be there to comfort me at night...I was supposed to be there for him. He stayed up with me during the nights I couldn't sleep. He'd tell me stories of the little things he'd do for Gwen, or the bonding time he had with Aunt May. He told me about Uncle Ben and how great he was. I comforted him when Peter became upset or had a nightmare. We were there for each other.

And now he was captured.

Natasha, Steve, Clint, and I storming a government jail to retrieve the others? Seemed unlikely. The jail must have the best of the best protection. Of course, I could be wrong. The government could underestimate us and what we were capable of. The only thing to do was hope for the best.

Clint took position in the back with me after Steve set me on my feet. He saw the look on my face, instantly knowing what I was thinking. "Lil, it's a bad idea to go back," Clint said soothingly. He turned his hearing aid back on and became fully aware of his surroundings.

"Yeah, well, aren't we all full of bad ideas?" I asked.

"You have a point there," he agreed and cracked his knuckles. He stretched his arms out in order to pump himself up.

A car pushed through some bushes and drove straight towards us. I panicked and threw my hands out, creating a blue portal. The car rushed into it and came out the other end, which I placed in the middle of the air. It fell over thirty feet to the ground; all four tires popped, leaving the agents stranded.

"Quick thinking, Parker," Steve commented as his fist came into contact with an agent's nose.

The agents slowly started to surround us and get the upper hand. Clint pulled out a small item from his pocket and unfolded it, making a medium sized usable bow. He arched his arms over his head and released the arrow he had grabbed from the quiver hanging on his back. The government agents behind us cried out in frustration and panic, stalling them long enough to let us lose the majority of them. A giant smile plastered to Barton's face out of sheer pride in his work as he spoke up, "Net arrow. Handy in situations like this."

An arrow that released a net? Getting pretty fancy, Barton.

"You know, Clint, I appreciate your ridiculous arrows right now," Natasha admitted to him in slight appreciation. She saw two guys come up on her side and kicked one into a tree. She head-butted the other one and sent him to the floor unconscious.

Steve uppercut someone in the jaw and knocked others over with his shield. One knockout, two knockouts, three knockouts, four. The list kept running on and on, but we were sure not to kill anyone. We didn't want to be wanted for actual murder that was our fault. Clint took hold of someone and launched them into another agent. He stuck his foot out and ducked to avoid a punch, allowing the girl to miss and trip over his foot when she went too far. She fell into another person and both crashed onto the ground. I grabbed a hold of one's gun and used it to hit them in the temple. The gun shot off by accident, and I realized it didn't contain real bullets, but was a stun gun. I quickly took it out of the person's grasp and used it on three others, sending them into a short, nap-like state. More agents trailed behind us.

"Look away, guys! It's about to get bright," Hawkeye called out to us and threw an arrow to the ground. We stayed on track and pushed forward. A white light beamed from the arrow and a sharp noise sounded off, ringing in our ears. The group of agents behind us became disoriented and stopped in their tracks, unable to see anything. "Flashbang arrow. Pretty sweet, am I right?"

I almost let out a chuckle, "That's got to be one of the most useful arrows you have right now. I mean a boomerang arrow? Really?"

He nudged my arm and nearly pushed me into a tree. "Hey, it comes back to you. It's super effective and allows me to reuse it." Steve hushed both of us. In order to lose the agents, we needed to go into stealth mode. Daylight wasn't going to help us this time.