The crystal shell closed around them right before the next missile hit.
Adam pulled Natasha tighter against his chest and turned his body so the first shock hit him instead. The force slammed his lower back into the crystal he had just created. A hard wave ran through his body, even through the Diamondhead form, and his eyes closed on their own.
The shell shook again and again until the whole world became pressure, dust, and sound.
Adam did not loosen his arms until the shaking started to fade.
Natasha was the first one to lift her head. Dust had settled over her hair, but her eyes were clear. She saw that Adam's eyes were still closed.
Her expression changed for a moment.
She raised one hand toward his neck.
Before her fingers fully touched him, Adam opened his eyes.
"Are you checking if I died or not?"
Natasha's hand stopped.
Adam blinked once, then smiled a little.
"That is actually nice. You were worried about me."
Natasha did not answer.
She pulled her hand back and tried to move away, but the crystal shell was too small. Her shoulder touched the wall almost at once. The space around them was tight, and Adam's arms were still half around her.
Natasha looked at the shell instead of him.
"Can you open this?"
Adam looked around. The inside of the shell was cracked in a few places, but it had held. Outside, everything sounded broken. Metal was still falling somewhere, and the ground kept making low sounds under them.
"Yeah," Adam said.
He placed one hand against the inner wall.
Lines spread across the shell, then the front part broke apart in clean pieces. Smoke and heat came in at once.
Adam stepped out first and helped Natasha out after him.
The place outside was no longer the same facility. The room had collapsed into broken stone, twisted metal, fire, and dust.
Natasha looked around once, but Adam's eyes moved past the damage.
He heard boots, voices, and something heavy moving above the broken ground.
A group was coming toward the ruins.
Natasha noticed the change in his face and understood it without him saying anything.
Adam looked at her once.
Then he hit the Omnitrix symbol on his body.
The Diamondhead form pulled back. His height dropped, and the crystal lines disappeared from his skin.
Natasha's eyes sharpened. "What are you doing?"
"I need a different power."
His body changed into Big Chill. His frame stretched taller and thinner. Cold spread around him, and a faint mist moved over his arms.
Adam moved close to Natasha and wrapped one arm around her waist.
"Hold on."
Natasha looked at him. "You say that too often."
"That is because people keep trying to kill us."
A few seconds later, they flew out of the destroyed facility, passing through smoke and dust instead of the open road. Adam did not fly straight up. He kept low at first, then moved between broken trees and the dark shape of the old buildings.
Adam looked down at her while still watching the sky.
"Are you hurt anywhere?"
Natasha did not answer at once.
Then she said, "Adam, you should not get this close to me."
Adam frowned. "This is not the best time to complain about personal space."
"I am serious."
Her hand tightened on his shoulder.
"I'm a monster."
Adam did not look shocked.
That was what surprised her.
Natasha watched his face.
"You are not surprised."
Adam hesitated.
Natasha's eyes narrowed a little.
"You predicted too many things today," she said. "You knew this place. You knew Zola. Sometimes it feels like you already know what will happen before it happens."
Adam did not answer.
"Do you know about my past?"
If he said no, she would know he was lying. If he said yes, then he would have to explain how. Adam was not good enough at lying to survive Natasha Romanoff asking him questions in midair.
After a moment, he said, "A little."
Natasha's face changed.
She could not move away from him because they were flying, but her eyes stayed on him longer than before.
Adam wanted to say something else, but his attention moved to the sky.
Quinjets were circling near the destroyed facility. Their lights moved through the smoke.
Adam changed direction at once and flew between the darker parts of the ruins. He had phasing, but he could not give that to Natasha. If a shot passed through him and hit her, then his power would mean nothing.
Then Natasha spoke again.
"You know how many people I betrayed?"
Adam did not answer.
"How many innocent people I killed?"
Her voice was steady, but not empty.
"If you know even a little, then you know what kind of monster I am."
Adam's grip around her stayed careful.
"I do not think you are a monster."
Natasha gave a small, tired smile. "That is what people say when they do not know enough."
"I know enough," Adam said.
"From my side, you are one of the people I always wanted to meet."
Adam continued before he lost courage.
"Everyone has a dark side. Some people hide it. Some people are dragged into it. That does not mean the dark side is all they are."
Natasha stayed silent for a moment.
Then her expression changed again.
"You said everyone."
Adam froze inside.
Natasha caught it at once.
"You know about other people too."
Adam realized he had spoken too much. Still, he wanted to pull her away from that word monster.
"Almost everyone," he said.
Natasha looked at him like she was seeing him for the first time.
"Who are you really?"
Adam kept his eyes on the distance.
"One day, I will tell you."
Soon, the lights of the search teams were far behind them. Adam flew toward the location Natasha had sent to Steve earlier. After some time, he saw two figures waiting outside a small house.
Steve was there.
Sam Wilson stood beside him.
Adam landed a short distance away and let Natasha step down.
Steve came forward at once. His eyes moved from Natasha to Adam's Big Chill form, then back to both of them.
"What happened?" Steve asked.
Adam changed back after a green flash and took a breath.
"We found someone you knew," Adam said.
Steve's face tightened. "Who?"
Natasha looked at him and answered before Adam could.
"Arnim Zola."
Steve's expression changed the moment he heard that name.