Today, the team had gone out to an official shooting range, hoping the outdoor setting would help Lithium relax enough that she could utilize the deadly needles that could give them an extra edge in battle. Once she could unlock them at will, they would stand a better chance against the twins and Hydra in general.

        They’d been here for hours, and while Lithium had practiced with other weapons, guns and arrows with Widow and Hawkeye’s help, she’d been trying for the needles for the past hour. So far, nothing. Even though she’d tried relaxing, tried firing herself up, tried everything she could think of, she just couldn’t get the needles to extend of her own will. It was frustrating, and while Lithium kept her temper under control.

        “I need a breather,” she told no one in particular before walking off and up the hill, towards the lightly wooded area. Being out and away from civilization was a bit of a blessing, really. The stress was diminished and the air was fresh. It was nice to get away and to be safe with her team.

        Her team. That thought made Lithium smile, even laugh a little. The Avengers themselves were her team. They had her back.

        It then made her immensely sad. Iris had been on her team, been her only teammate, really, for a long while. Lithium missed Copper terribly. Sitting on the peak of the grassy hill, Lithium let her gaze wander down into the field behind the shooting range. It was empty except for the occasional movement of some small rodent like a rabbit or chipmunk. Breathing deeply, Lithium let the silence work its way into her bones aside from when Romanoff loosed a round into a target.

        It was peaceful out here. Nice. It was relaxing and it felt better than the way it had been before. Kept inside Stark Towers, Lithium almost felt like she’d been suffocating, but she hadn’t realized it until now.

        “Hey Lith,” Bucky called out for her softly as he sat down in the grass next to her. “Feeling okay?”

        She smiled a bit as he joined her, glancing over at him for a moment. “Yeah, I’m fine, Buck. Thanks for coming to check on me, though. I just needed a bit of time to try and take it easy. Trying to force it is just making things worse, you know? I don’t know how I’m ever going to access it again, but if I really need to, I guess I’ll figure it out, right?”

        “I’m certain you’ll know what to do when the time comes, Lith. You’re a fighter, but you’re a lover first. I mean, you’re not my lover, but you just love a lot. You know what I’m trying to say, don’t you?” Bucky had become flustered once the implication had been made, even though it wasn’t what he’d meant.

        Lithium’s smile grew a little. “I know what you mean, Buck.” Gently, she kissed his cheek. “Thanks for everything. You guys are like family. I hope I never lose you. Any of you. I just . . . I don’t think I could go through that again, you know? Promise me you’ll always be there.”

        “I’ll try,” Bucky murmured, unable to bring himself to make an actual promise. He knew how dangerous the world was and unavoidable death was. He’d faced it back during the war, and only survived because of Hydra. Survival had come with a steep cost, one that left him with nightmares.

        “Shouldn’t you be practicing your aim, Sniper Boy?” Lithium asked, trying to tease him gently as she gave him a small push on his shoulder.

        Bucky smiled at her half-heartedly. “Perhaps I should, huh? I haven’t worked on my aim in quite some time. Will you be okay on your own?”

        “We’re in the middle of who-knows-where, James. I think I’ll be all right.” She gave him a small smile as he stood up.

        “You’re certain?”

        She gave a breathy laugh then, a bit of sorrow in her eyes to see him go. “Yes, I’m certain. Really. I already put in some practice, and you should, too.”

        “All right, Boss,” Bucky told her, ruffling her hair before he began walking away. Lithium took a breath and turned her attention back to the nearby field as he began to walk away. A figure coming towards them soon caught her attention, and Lithium tilted her head in confusion, eyes squinting against the sun.

        “Buck? I thought Stark rented out the whole place today!” She called out, trying to make out the appearance of whoever was coming towards them. Whoever it was, they obviously knew were the were going. This person didn’t appear lost in the least. Lithium stood up, and Bucky paused from where he was going back towards the range.

        “He did,” Bucky answered as he began walking back towards Lithium. “There shouldn’t be anyone around for miles!” Quickly, he began closing the distance that had come between himself and Lithium, feeling protective when some strange person had appeared where they shouldn’t be.

        “But there’s someone . . .” Lithium’s eyes kept scanning the figure as it came closer and closer, crossing the field with ease.

        “Lith!” Bucky called out. “Let’s go back to the range-! Lithium!” He shouted for her as she began to run, just avoiding his grasp when she took off. “Lith!” He called for her again as he took up the chase, but she’d already begun a full-on sprint towards the new arrival.

        What scared Bucky about this the most was that he recognized them. “Lithium!” He called out, more strained this time. “It’s a trick! Stop!”

        “Iris!” Lithium screamed out the name of the young woman who’d practically been her sister. “ 'Ris! You're alive!” Lithium was elated, pieces of her heart beginning to put themselves together as she rushed towards the blonde woman in the field who never stopped moving towards Lithium. “IRIS!” Lithium screamed again, the distance becoming smaller, smaller . . .

        “Lithium! No!”

        “Iris! I-!”

        “Lith!” Bucky caught her, tackled her, actually, forcing Lithium to the ground just in time to avoid a barrage of miniscule metal pellets that would’ve ripped through their flesh just as effectively as bullets. Just like Lithium’s needles, they shot forth from Copper’s skin, nearly invisible due to their size, but completely deadly.

        Lithium’s breath caught in her throat, and she could feel her heart start to break all over again.

        Copper had just tried to kill her.

        Lithium started spacing out, her vision blurring as the world was lost to her for a few moments. Copper. Iris. Her oldest friend . . . Had just made an attempt to kill her. Lithium went numb for a little while, and seconds later, when she realized what was happening, she got off the ground to find that Bucky had Copper pinned to the ground.

        “Say goodnight,” he muttered. There was simply no way this girl could ever be trusted again. She had to be taken out or Lithium would always be in danger.

        “Don’t!” Lithium shouted, and Bucky paused, but he wasn’t the one she was talking to. In that instant, she had to decide who to aid.

        Copper’s skin was shifting, and another barrage of pellets was waiting to bury itself into Bucky. If Lithium didn’t do something, she would lose James. The team would lose him. The Captain would lose him.

        It broke her heart, and as her eyes began turning red with suppressed tears, needles extended from Lithium’s palm, and she fired them at Copper’s shin.

        They hit, dead center. With a scream, Copper’s skin shifted back to it’s natural, recessive state. Lithium bit her lip, tears pressing against her eyelids.

        ‘It’s not Iris anymore,’ Lithium told herself. ‘You have to protect the team.’

        Bucky stopped, lifting himself off Copper as he forced the woman up, holding her wrists behind her back, now satisfied that she’d been essentially disarmed. Copper glared at Lithium with death in her eyes as she held her right ankle off the ground.

        “Are you all right?” Bucky asked Celeste gently. Lithium nodded slowly. “You know she can’t stay when she’s like this, don’t you?”

        “I know,” Lithium murmured. “I’ll . . . I’ll take care of it . . .”

        Again, slowly, needles began to extend from Lithium’s palm, and she planned to send them straight through Copper’s chest. Hydra wouldn’t morph her anymore. They wouldn’t do any more damage to the amazing young woman that had given Lithium so many good memories. Slowly, carefully, Copper shifted her hand against Bucky’s grip until it rested above her back pocket.

        ‘That’s it. Just remember the good times. This encounter . . . This doesn’t change anything. Iris wouldn’t want to live like this. It’s for the better.’ Still, all Lithium wanted to do was cry at the thought of losing her best friend a second time. Only, this time, she would be the one responsible for her death. “I hope Hydra pays dearly for whatever they did to you,” Lithium told Copper before swinging her hand, the needles flying out.

        Copper gripped the small device that rested in her back pocket, pushing the button an instance before the needles would’ve dug themselves deep into her chest.

        The polarity was reversed, and the needles flew straight into Lithium instead.

        She fell to the grass with a thud, blood staining her shirt as Bucky called for her. Soon, other voices joined his, but they were all blurry shadows as Lithium drifted in and out of the world she’d come to know and reluctantly love, despite the pain it had caused.

        All this time -- all this time Lithium had just wanted to have Copper back. But the reunion was nothing like she’d expected. Hydra had returned her, but at a very steep cost.