Natasha looked toward Steve from the back seat.
"Insight launches in sixteen hours," she said. "We are cutting it close."
Steve kept his eyes on the road ahead. Sam was driving, and Sitwell sat near the door with his body stiff. The man kept looking outside like every passing car could be carrying Hydra.
"I know," Steve said. "We use him to bypass the DNA scans and get straight to the Helicarriers."
Sitwell turned at once. "Are you insane? That is a terrible idea."
He did not get to finish.
A metal hand punched through the side window and grabbed him by the collar.
The glass burst inward. Sitwell screamed as the hand dragged him out of the car.
Adam knew this moment was coming.
For one second, his body wanted to move. He could have tried to grab Sitwell. He could have used Echo Echo's sound to shake the attacker above them. But he did not.
'Sitwell has to die here.' Adam thought.
It was a cold thought, and he hated how clear it was. If he saved Sitwell, the whole path could change too much. Right now, the timeline still had to move in the same direction.
His real target was Natasha.
Steve would protect Sam. Adam knew that. Steve would react fast enough. But Natasha was beside Adam, and this time he could change her part.
Adam hit the Omnitrix symbol.
Green light flashed inside the car, and Echo Echo's form collapsed. Diamondhead's power covered him before the next bullet came.
Adam's hand moved toward Natasha.
Crystal spread from his arm and curved around her shoulder. It moved down along both sides of her body, slipping between her waist and the seat. Then it climbed higher, forming a rough shield around her head and upper body.
Natasha looked up as the crystal closed near her.
Gunfire came from above.
Bullets hit the crystal with sharp cracks. Small pieces broke off and flashed across the back seat, but the shield held.
Winter Soldier kept firing from the roof.
The sound inside the car became heavy and sharp. Natasha's eyes stayed open behind the crystal, but she did not panic. Adam could feel the shield taking each hit through his own arm.
Steve reacted.
He grabbed the emergency brake and pulled it hard.
The car jerked. Winter Soldier slid forward and dropped from the roof.
The force threw everyone forward.
Adam pushed one hand out and caught Natasha before her body hit the front seat. More crystal grew from the back seat and locked around her like a support frame.
It was not only to stop the fall.
Adam knew what was about to hit them from behind.
He pushed the crystal lower, around the seat and near her ribs, trying to make the force spread away from her body. It was rough, but there was no time for anything cleaner.
The rear impact came a second later.
Another car slammed into them and pushed them forward. The whole vehicle shook. Natasha's gun slipped from her hand and dropped near her feet.
Ahead of them, Winter Soldier stood in the road.
Their car rushed toward him, but he jumped and landed back on the roof.
Natasha reached down for her gun.
At the same time, Winter Soldier smashed through the front and tore out the steering wheel.
The car lost control.
Natasha caught her gun and fired upward.
The shots forced Winter Soldier back. He jumped off their car and landed on the vehicle pushing them from behind.
Everything happened too fast after that.
The car tilted toward the side of the bridge.
Adam held Natasha with one arm. With the other, he forced more crystal out. It curved around her back and over her head, but it was not complete yet. He did not have enough time to make a perfect shell.
He lifted his leg and kicked the side door.
The door burst open.
The car was already being thrown off line.
Adam jumped out with Natasha.
They hit the road hard.
The crystal around Natasha grew as they rolled. It tried to close into a round shell, but the speed was too high. Pieces broke away again and again as the crystal scraped against the road.
Adam forced more out each time it cracked.
The rough shell finally slowed them in the middle of the road.
Adam pushed himself up and looked at Natasha.
"Are you okay?"
Natasha was still adjusting from the shock. Her eyes moved past Adam before she answered.
Winter Soldier was standing ahead of them.
There was a grenade launcher in his hands.
He fired.
Adam saw Steve lying not far from them.
There was no time to think.
The blast hit near them and threw Adam and Steve off the bridge.
Sam and Natasha moved behind a car at the side, using it as cover before the next shots came.
Below the bridge, Steve crashed into a bus.
Adam hit the roof of a truck that was already moving toward the same mess. The truck slammed near the bus as the impact drove pain through his body. At the last moment, he had tried to spread a thick crystal layer over his skin. It did not cover everything, but it took enough of the hit to keep him conscious.
He rolled across the metal roof and slammed against the side.
For a second, all he could hear was the ringing in his head.
Adam could still move.
He could become Way Big right now. If he wanted, he could make this whole fight end in one ugly moment.
But that would break too much.
'Save Natasha as much as I can.' Adam thought. 'Stay in her eyes. Keep the main line moving.'
Those were the only two things he could allow himself to chase right now.
Being a hero here would feel good for a few seconds. The consequences would come after that, and Adam was not strong enough to carry all of them yet.
So he stayed down for one breath longer.
Then a system window appeared in front of him.
[Congratulations]
[Major hostile attention has locked onto your presence]
[Reputation EXP has increased]
[New Alien Slot Unlocked]
Adam's eyes focused on the final line.
[Alien Slot 05: Lodestar]
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