[ It happens like this: in the split-second between her being thrown to the ground and being shot, her ability flickers to life for the first time, inherently defensive and driven by the spike of adrenaline that comes with fight or flight (and her body is screaming to run β it's why her implant sends the message it does) and the desperate, innate surge of self-preservation. The soldier takes aim and her torso hidden by the vest changes, transforming into pure and solid titanium as her body braces for a second, more fatal blow. For anyone else, it would have been.
But the soldier shoots Peggy point blank and the bullet blows open her vest, revealing a blue glow and ricochets, deflected by the second layer of organic armour more unstoppable than the first. The force of the bullet is like a freight train to the chest, knocks the air clean out of her, immobilises her in the precious next seconds that follow. Before the soldier realises she's still alive, Markus draws his focus and the floor bottoms out beneath her, she drops next to Cain, and she has no breath to groan as the landing jolts her aching bones.
It's all a blur after that but she knows they're running. Running, running, bullets pinging off Markus' shields as they make their escape, she's dizzy from the lack of air, and then there's the clear swooping sensation of falling again and she thinks, distantly, that she's passing out but β no, they're actually falling: through Fitz's portal, a yawning maw in the middle of the stairwell. And then they land, storeys below their pursuers, a whirlwind as they keep up the pace, another portal and another until β
They're clear.
They're clear and just as darkness encroaches on the edges of her awareness, her diaphragm finally releases and Peggy jolts back to life with a ragged, desperate gasp for air, groaning when it stretches her aching ribs with the effort. But she sucks in another hungry breath then coughs, blinking back the spots in her vision. ]
I'm all right, [ she wheezes against Cain's shoulder, grasping at it to get him to slow down and stop, already shifting to slide down off his back. She repeats herself, stronger and steadier even as she catches her breath: ] I'm all right. Put me down, I can β I can walk.
[ And her knees will buckle when she gets to her feet, but more out of shock that she can even manage to do so than grave bodily injury. Because there is none: she's fine. Her vest isn't but she is. Peggy pulls off her mask and looks down at herself, pressing a hand to her chest, then up at her boys β because this is a mission and they are her boys for the duration, running point or no β and repeats again, voice faint with confusion, pain, wonder, question: ]
no subject
But the soldier shoots Peggy point blank and the bullet blows open her vest, revealing a blue glow and ricochets, deflected by the second layer of organic armour more unstoppable than the first. The force of the bullet is like a freight train to the chest, knocks the air clean out of her, immobilises her in the precious next seconds that follow. Before the soldier realises she's still alive, Markus draws his focus and the floor bottoms out beneath her, she drops next to Cain, and she has no breath to groan as the landing jolts her aching bones.
It's all a blur after that but she knows they're running. Running, running, bullets pinging off Markus' shields as they make their escape, she's dizzy from the lack of air, and then there's the clear swooping sensation of falling again and she thinks, distantly, that she's passing out but β no, they're actually falling: through Fitz's portal, a yawning maw in the middle of the stairwell. And then they land, storeys below their pursuers, a whirlwind as they keep up the pace, another portal and another until β
They're clear.
They're clear and just as darkness encroaches on the edges of her awareness, her diaphragm finally releases and Peggy jolts back to life with a ragged, desperate gasp for air, groaning when it stretches her aching ribs with the effort. But she sucks in another hungry breath then coughs, blinking back the spots in her vision. ]
I'm all right, [ she wheezes against Cain's shoulder, grasping at it to get him to slow down and stop, already shifting to slide down off his back. She repeats herself, stronger and steadier even as she catches her breath: ] I'm all right. Put me down, I can β I can walk.
[ And her knees will buckle when she gets to her feet, but more out of shock that she can even manage to do so than grave bodily injury. Because there is none: she's fine. Her vest isn't but she is. Peggy pulls off her mask and looks down at herself, pressing a hand to her chest, then up at her boys β because this is a mission and they are her boys for the duration, running point or no β and repeats again, voice faint with confusion, pain, wonder, question: ]
I'm all right.