Prologue

((A/N: All credits belong to Lin-Manuel Miranda and the other creators and actors of Hamilton the musical.))

SIX YEARS AGO

Eliza's foot tapped anxiously against the floor of the helicopter, which was taking her to a location a mile away from the warehouse that held a huge amount of dangerous drugs that were to be distributed throughout the country. At least, that's what Peggy had said.

Eliza glanced over at her sister, who was sitting sullenly across her. Peggy wasn't usually this quiet on a mission, or this sad. This worried Eliza. Peggy could see the future, meaning that since she didn't seem optimistic about the outcome of this mission, something bad was going to happen. She had already told her two sisters that this was their last mission, and that only they would be able to handle it. Peggy was barely ever clear about anything, but she wasn't usually this cryptic.

Eliza glanced at Angelica, who was staring at Peggy with concern. She was also more silent than usual, and she kept tapping her thigh and checking and rechecking her handguns.

The sisters were all dressed in matching bulletproof and flame-retardant black suits, a similar to Black Widow's from the movies, but more practical, with better protection. Each of them had a different color on their belt. Angelica was red, Eliza blue, and Peggy yellow. Unlike regular FBI agents, they didn't need helmets or bulletproof vests to do fieldwork.

The copter touched down in a field a mile away from the actual location. The Schuyler sisters gathered their gear and climbed out. They raced quietly through the woods to the imposing structure, whose broken windows and chipped paint made it a place where only the most curious -or the most stupid- would dare enter. Just a few feet away from the building, Peggy pulled her sisters behind a tree.

"This isn't going to be a regular mission," she warned in a low voice. "Our goal is to get the two hostages -a boy and a girl. They're important. We can't let them remain as prisoners."

"What do drug manufacturers want with two kids?" Eliza asked.

"You don't want to know," replied Peggy grimly. "If I scream, don't come after me. Are we ready?"

Angelica and Eliza were confused, but still they nodded. They were surprised when Peggy suddenly pulled them into a tight embrace. "I love you so much," she whispered through tears. Peggy's sisters hugged her back, even though they still didn't know what was going on. After a few minutes, they let go and continued their run to the warehouse.

The three of them entered through a large broken window, which led into a giant hall, that was filled with unrecognizable machinery. Above them was a series of catwalks, where men and women were patrolling, carrying guns. There were guards and workers stationed everywhere.

"Spread out," Angelica whispered. "Peggy, where are the kids?"

"In the basement," she replied. "I'll get them. You and Eliza will destroy the machinery and the stores of drugs."

"Got it," said Eliza. "I'll keep in touch with you both." She tapped her temple. Peggy nodded and set off to find the trapdoor, while Angelica and Eliza ran in opposite directions.

Eliza hurried over to a compressor, hiding from a pair of guards who were walking past. She placed her hands on the cold steel and imagined this machine short circuiting, coming to a slow and grinding halt. She felt the components succumbing to her telekinesis. The compressor stopped working. She heard footsteps, probably a worker coming to see why the machine wouldn't move. He turned the corner and saw her. The man's eyes widened. Eliza quickly put two fingers to her temple. I'm not here. You never saw anyone. The machine stopped on its own. The worker nodded. "Never saw...machine stopped. Gotta fix..."

Eliza saw this as her cue to run to the next target.

~~~

Peggy had quickly found the trapdoor and was now making her way down, into the deep underground layers. Here, there were polished clean lab rooms, unlike the dingy machines upstairs that were lit by sickly yellow lamps. The place sent a chill down her spine. Unbidden images came to her mind, flashes of the future: blood on the floor, arm restraints, doctors in lab coats, the beeping of a heart monitor, the feeling of being submerged in water, screams of agony. She fell to her knees, clutching her head, which felt like it was splitting open. It took a bit before she could shake the sights away. She had to keep going.

But as she kept moving, she was even more certain of the future. And it was not bright.

~~~

Angelica was doing very well with the machinery. With her super strength, she just had to find a part that looked important and rip it out. Then she would scamper before she was seen. It was an effective method.

She was worried about Peggy. Usually her sister wasn't this solemn, this resolute. And what she had said about this being their last mission...

Angelica tried not to think about that. As the unofficial leader, it was her job to keep everyone safe. And that was exactly what she was going to do.

~~~

Eliza was making good progress and had only gotten trouble from a few guards when suddenly she heard Peggy in her head. Eliza! Tell Angelica to come down to the basement, now. I found the kids, but we're encountering trouble!

Eliza took a look into Peggy's mind and saw the scene from her point of view. Two children were in front of her and when she looked back, she saw armed men following them. Peggy paused to fire her guns at them, then kept running.

On it, Eliza promised, then turned her attention to Angelica. Ange! Stop what you're doing and go help Peggy. She's found the kids, but they're being chased.

Okay, Angelica replied. Will you be okay on your own?

I'll be fine, Eliza said, now hurry!

Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Angelica running to the trapdoor. Some guards caught sight of her. Eliza mustered her strength and made a machine she didn't recognize fall on top of them. She could feel Angelica giving her more power, another perk of her sister's ability. Angelica looked back to grin at Eliza before she slid into the trapdoor, out of sight. Eliza raced away. Now the drug dealers had definitely been alerted to the sisters' presence.

~~~

Peggy was not having a good time. One of the kids, Phillip, had an injured leg, and he had to be supported by his sister, Theodosia. Peggy was behind them, covering their tail and taking care of any thugs who came their way. But she had been wounded and she was running out of bullets. Still, she had to keep the children safe. This was her mission. And she was going to finish it.

They hurried through a few more hallways and climbed up a ladder to a higher floor. The group was just turning the corner when they ran into Angelica.

"Oh, thank god," Peggy mumbled. She turned her attention to the frightened children. "This woman is with me, okay? She's going to help you. Theo, you have to do what she tells you, okay?" The terrified girl nodded. "This one is wounded," Peggy told her sister, gesturing to Phillip.

"Okay," Angelica said, then stooped and picked the boy up and slung him over her shoulder, and took Theodosia by the hand and turned back to where she had come from. "Let's go."

Peggy didn't move.

"Peggy...we have to go. Come on."

Peggy finally found her voice. "You go. I'll hold them off."

"What are you talking about?" Angelica was dismayed. "Peggy..."

"Go. You can't spend any more time here. I know what I'm doing. Go!"

Angelica looked like she wanted to object, but she ran.

Peggy turned to face her enemies, who were getting closer. She stood stoic and resolute. It would all come as she had seen it. She just needed Angelica, Eliza and the children to get out alive. She was afraid of the future. Even though there wasn't one for her.

A squadron of gunmen came out from around the corner. Peggy was ready for them. She would go down fighting.

~~~

Angelica and the children had just reached the main floor when they heard a piercing, gut-wrenching scream from below. Angelica halted, her breath catching in her chest. She remembered Peggy's warning. If I scream, don't come after me. She stifled a sob. "We have to keep moving."

"Is she dead?" Theodosia asked with wide eyes.

Angelica wasn't going to lie to the girl. "I...I think so. But we have to keep moving. It's what Peggy would have wanted." She grabbed her gun and shot two guards coming at them. "Come on."

~~~

Eliza was on the catwalk fighting three men at once when she heard the scream, a sound of pure agony that broke her heart. She knew it was Peggy's within an instant.

Eliza pushed one guy off the catwalk and kicked another in the chest sending him off as well. She shot the last one in the head and kept moving. For Peggy.

She saw Angelica running for the exit with two children who couldn't have been more than ten. That put her more at ease. Now she just had to follow her sister.

She ran in the same direction, but someone grabbed her leg. It was a big burly man, and he had a lot of friends with him. She immediately began to fight, putting in all of her training and utilizing her enhancement, but after a while someone behind her gripped her arm tightly and stabbed her in the neck with what felt like a taser. The electric shock went through her entire body and Eliza fell to her knees. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Angelica hesitate. Go! Now! Eliza told her. She didn't wait to see if Angelica obeyed her.

Eliza put her hands on the floor of the catwalk and tried to feel the building, to feel its very roots. The wood and steel holding it together. She envisioned it breaking and combusting.

Someone came at her, but she shoved them away with her telekinesis. She returned her attention to the structure and put every ounce of her strength into making it collapse.

The catwalk began to shake. Her adversaries were thrown off balance. And then it all began to fall apart.

Damaged machinery exploded. The catwalk crumbled. The men and women yelled as they fell to their deaths. Eliza managed to hold on, but lost her grip and hit her head hard on the railing as she fell off the broken catwalk. The last thing she heard before she succumbed to darkness was her sister's screams in her head.

ELIZA!

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