Chapter 1: Mission Positions

Logan and K were cozied up snugly in bed, entirely relaxed and enjoying the peace and quiet. They were, at the moment, perfectly content. They'd spent the last week since their nuptials in an intense state of mutual worship miles from anyone, or anything.

The only problem was that they would have preferred more time alone. But. Duty called.

To say that Logan was uneasy about the upcoming missions was a massive understatement, but he tried to put it from his mind and instead, he put all his efforts into soaking up every second with her. For the whole abbreviated honeymoon, neither put the other off for anything. It was a solid week of both getting and giving everything to the other.

Truth be told, he couldn't ever remember being so content or so terribly worn out. They'd been sleepily tucked in, and K was drawing lazy designs on his stomach, when they'd heard the SHIELD mini jet fly overhead, presumably to land in a nearby clearing. They shared a look and with a wicked smirk, took advantage and pulled the cover over their heads … just for one last romp.

K frowned and hugged him tightly when the knock echoed on the door. It was pretty clear that he didn't want to go anywhere either, so it took a moment to remember why the hell they couldn't just stay in the cabin. Heavy footsteps at a perfectly metered pace brought the owner's face to mind. Right. Superhero business. Damnit. Logan ignored the knock on the door and instead started kissing his new wife again as the knocker let themselves in.

Fury had warned him that Logan may just ignore any call to action until the very last minute, and to just go in. Bite the bullet. Not that Steve needed a primer in how to deal with Wolverine. But that simply hadn't prepared him.

"Wolverine?" Steve's voice echoed through the cabin. "I really hate to break it up, but you're going to have to get dressed." He heard no response, so he let out a deep breath and he plucked up the nerve to knock on the door to Logan's room. No surprise there that he quickly realized that was a mistake.

"Go away," Logan called out.

"Come back later," K laughed. "Now is not the time."

Steve quickly stepped back from the closed door and shook his head trying not to curse Fury's name too much for sending him in for this particular mission. He left the cabin and decided to pull out the uniform from the mini jet for his old friend. He had also been proactive, and realized that it wouldn't hurt to bring the required clothing that they had gotten for K either.

When he returned to the cabin nearly an hour later, he could hear the couple talking. Having learned his lesson from earlier, he knocked on both the outside door and the bedroom door before he walked in, and even then, he only opened the bedroom door a crack and was sure to not look in the direction of the little couple.

"Logan, I brought your uniform, and something for K. I was going to let you change on the flight, but since I'm going to assume that you're not dressed yet," Steve grinned to himself as he left the statement hanging then tossed the clothes on the floor next to them before again closing the door and waiting for them in the living room. "I'll be waiting out here."

K smiled sadly at Logan as he stood up and started to pull on his uniform. "Such ends a good time," she said as she sat up and picked up the garment bag meant for her. Inside she found a Prada dress in her size with a pair of Louboutin heels. She looked up at Logan for a moment before she slipped the ensemble over the delicate looking La Perla lingerie set that was also in the bag.

Logan watched her dress, not sure if he should frown or leer before he stepped in to zip her up – any excuse to touch her as much as possible before the mission started. K leaned into him and tamed her hair quickly then took his hand and leaned in for a kiss.

She was a bit nervous as he led the way toward Cap, whose mouth was dropped open when he saw her. The dress would have been too short on a taller woman, but for her little stature it simply accentuated her surprisingly long legs and the overall impression was that she looked like she belonged hanging out in Stark Tower.

"Wow," Steve whispered as he openly smiled at her. "I guess this cover will work." Logan slid his arm around K's waist and pulled her close as she leaned into him.

"I know you ain't talking to me, Cap, so you better watch yourself," Logan growled as K turned to him and kissed his jawline. It was clear to Steve that the two of them would have been perfectly fine just left to their own devices. And just like that, he felt even more guilty for pushing the mission on them.

"Sorry, I just –K, I thought you were a blue jeans kind of girl," Steve explained, amazed that she seemed just as comfortable in couture.

"I prefer them," K replied. "But this is what you gave me so, I'm assuming this is the kind of thing Tony's girls wear?" She looked down at the expensive fabric with a critical eye, curling her lip at the hem for an instant before she shrugged and Steve nodded. "I don't mind it too much. But it's not really my brand," she growled, earning a smile from her new husband.

"I'd be happy to cut it off ya," Logan teased.

"Alright, lovebirds, let's get you two on your missions. Details are in the jet," Steve said with a little smirk. He led the way out, turning with a start when he heard K let out a little squeak, only to find that Logan had scooped her up and was carrying her down the soft path bridal style, and stealing kisses along the way.

Once they were on the jet, K fell easily into her character, looking the part of a well kept woman, her ankles crossed, and her knees tipped toward Logan as she smiled his way. Logan's gaze continued to slip over her, little flashbacks popping into his head from the past few days. But soon enough, he closed his eyes and shook his head then picked up his file to get himself into the right mindset for his mission.

Logan was expected to run point on the frontal assault with Cap that was prepared and waiting for immediate deployment from a SHIELD drop in western Europe. Logan read the briefing report quickly, memorized the maps and was ready to go by the time they were one province over. And since he was done with the critical tactical stuff … he decided it was a good time to memorize her legs.

K had read her file as well, then she'd gone back and read it again twice more. She'd set it down on her lap, and bit her lip as she looked at her hands. "I don't think I can do this," she said quietly. "There has to be another way."

"You'll be fine, K. Just pretend you don't want to stab him," Steve tried for a joke without knowing the context of which she was speaking.

"No, that's not it," she said patiently. "I can't cozy up to him like that. I couldn't let him touch me without wanting to tear his arm off and beat him half to death with it before I was spoken for." Logan smiled and leaned in to kiss her neck.

"So act," Steve said flatly. "I know you can. I've read your files. It's just a mission."

"A mission I had to cut my honeymoon short for," K breathed out at a growl, as she stared at the back of his head with a sudden intensity. Her claws slid out silently, and subconsciously as she glared a hole in the back of Cap's head.

Logan stopped kissing her when he smelled the blood, then watched for a moment before he gently slid his hand over hers. "Sweetheart, no," he said, rubbing his thumb on the back of her hand. "You can't kill Cap."

K blinked for a moment, apparently pushing the fog from her head as Steve glanced over his shoulder at her claws then straightened out and turned back around at Logan's nod, clearing his throat.

Logan slid closer to her and kissed her behind the ear, then nuzzled her neck, in an effort to make her lean into him and relaxed. "I know you don't wanna hear it, but you agreed to go along with this, not that I approve. Just don't let him pull anything. It'll be fine as long as you keep him in line," Logan promised, as he whispered kisses on her neck. "Never again afterward, and I give you my blessings to kick his ass when this is over,"

"Just a week, right?" K asked, leaning into him as he continued. He murmured a Mmm hmm before she twisted her head down and returned the attention to him as Cap took the plane down. Before they knew it, they'd landed on top of the tower.

But, before they exited Steve turned to them both. "Alright you two. You know your covers. No affection from here on out. There is Hydra infiltration in our organization so do yourselves a favor. You are strangers, alright?"

K frowned as their moment broke, but nodded along with Logan. Before the hatch opened Logan stole one last kiss. "For luck," he grinned before giving her a little wink. She smirked at him as the hatch opened. It was something else to watch him as he slapped on his game face. K took a deep breath and decided to try to take it a step further and attempt to avoid Logan. That sounded like the right thing to do if she was supposed to be on Stark's side. Though, as she got to her feet she wondered how long she could maintain that one. Could be fun.

Logan's reputation was well known after all, so maybe she could exploit it a little. Steve led the way out of the mini jet, Logan second, with K following at a little distance. Logan offered his hand to her as she went down the steps, which she took. But at the bottom, she snatched her hand back. He narrowed his eyes at her then chuckled to himself as he realized what her game was. It was so far from her natural reaction to him it set him back for a moment.

In the elevator with two upper level agents, Logan leaned in on her to flirt – just to give her a hard time. See how committed she was to her little ruse. She tried very hard to deny her instincts, and he knew it. Particular from the sidelong once over she gave him - though that really just encouraged him. He slipped his hand over her backside and gave her a pinch.

K jumped and whirled, then slapped him hard, surprising the hell out of him. She was doing her level best to come off as furious and not smile, though the light dancing in her eyes betrayed her amusement to him, and the expression of pure shock on his face was absolutely priceless. Steve gave him a warning look, in spite of his amused grin and to her relief, Logan simply laughed it off and continued on his business, shaking his head to himself. No one could say she wasn't committed. To the discomfort of most of the others in the elevator, Logan lit a cigar before the door opened on the proper floor.

When the elevator emptied, Logan gestured grandly for K to go ahead. She couldn't help but whisper out a 'I'll make it up to you' with a grin as she skittered past him. K followed Steve closely until Tony came out, arms wide before he pulled her into a familiar hug, and kissed her on the cheek. She returned the gesture, unable to stop herself from looking at Logan as she did so.

"What's wrong, sweetie, he insult you?" Stark asked her. The sound of it coming from his mouth and directed at her made Logan bite back a growl. She shook her head, her lips parted as it just .. felt so wrong.

"Of course not," K said, though she stiffened up when Stark slipped his hand around her waist and led her away from the low growling Wolverine. Pepper gave them an appraising glare as Tony gestured for K to join her. The group bantered for a bit then the men left the two women alone as they discussed more official Avengers business.

"So, you're the new 'girl'," Pepper said brusquely as the two women studied each other. K didn't know if Pepper knew the plan or not, so she played along until Pepper finally smiled and handed her a long jewelry box.

"I know what the cover is, and it will work, I'm sure," Pepper whispered. "But you guys forgot something kind of important though." She pointed to the box, and waited for her to open it. K frowned but gingerly cracked open the little blue box. She wrinkled her brow when she saw the contents. A long gold chain rested in it. K looked up at her in confusion, her brow drawn.

"Take off your rings," Pepper whispered. "Tony's a jackass but fooling around with a publicly known married woman is out of his range of horrible." She tipped her head slightly and dropped her voice lower "Congratulations by the way. I'm so sorry this is interrupting what I'm sure was a great time."

K's expression fell and for a moment, her entire cover went up in smoke. She didn't want to take off her rings. She just put the damn things on. It felt wrong and she knew Logan wouldn't be taking off his. Still, Pepper had a point. "Thanks," K muttered. "God, this sucks."

Reluctantly, K slipped her rings off and slid them onto the chain. Pepper quickly helped her with the clasp and started to fill her in on everything she'd need to know.

A few minutes later, the three men returned. K followed Pepper's lead and walked towards them in her wake. Logan nodded towards the two women and gave K a smirk as he made to leave but froze when he spotted her hand, his jaw clenched and nostrils flared. It was clear that he liked this stupid mission less and less. K paled when she saw his reaction. She knew he wasn't going to like the ring thing. And there wasn't even an opportunity for her to try to ease his mind before he left.

The next few days were incredibly awkward, Stark worked during the day, which kept him protected being at the Avenger's headquarters as he worked his computer magic there. Or at least, desperately tried to.

Things were more complicated though as they approached nightfall. That was when K had to truly keep her eyes open all while acting the part of a girl that was at the least taken with Tony Stark's looks and money. Not necessarily in that order either, depending on the crowd.

He dragged her along to at least one party a night for the first few days and for all of them, she had to stay close to him. She wanted to backhand him the first time he kissed her cheek, pulling her into his side, and that feeling only intensified when he slipped his hand down to her ass. By the end of the night, it was all she could do to keep her from just snapping his neck.

She was livid. These weren't bad guys he was taking her to see. They were board members and investors. Not even a whisper of a threat anywhere. At least, not the kind that she was sent there to handle. No poisons, bomb threats, or mystical packages. No attempts on his life, limb, or even so much as a parking ticket. There was, nothing.

And by the time that the mission had already started to run past their time frame, it simply compounded K's irritation. She didn't even know what to do with herself by the end of ten days after they had left yet another schmoozing party where one rich jackass or another had tried to cop a feel or say something wholly inappropriate. To make her more irritated, generally it was Tony, and he'd done both within an hour. When the night ended and Tony jokingly asked her to go to bed with him, he said as part of the cover, her patience snapped.

"You're gonna lose anything that touches me from here on out," she growled out low.

He immediately put both hands up and sat back in his seat in the back of the limo. "Come on – it's a big bed. I'll keep to my side," he teased. But K was past even considering the possibility of a joke. That last grab at her ass had her fuming.

"You're not cute. And you're not funny. Touch me again and you won't have to worry about Hydra killing you," she promised.

The rest of the ride back was silent, as Tony obviously realized he'd crossed a line. She didn't even want to be in the room he'd set up for her. It was too close to his, and she didn't want to restrain herself when she woke up and wanted to stab him in the face. Repeatedly. They were barely into his apartment, and she was already in the middle of slipping her heels off as she tried to rein herself in but he just couldn't leave her the alone. Not when he had to defend himself.

"Please, don't be mad. I was only trying to keep up the ruse," Tony said as dropped his keys on the counter. K had managed to keep up a flirty image around people but as soon as she knew they were alone, she'd rather just keep the hell away from him all together.

"This is stupid," K growled out. "We need to set some ground rules or someone – meaning you- is gonna end up bleeding." When she stood up, her heels in one hand, she met his gaze and blew her loose hair out of her face.

Tony paused and gave her his most winning smile. He was surprised he'd gotten away with all he had so far. "I think that's probably for the best. I should know where those lines are, after all."

K dropped the shoes and pointed one finger at him. "Do not touch my ass again unless you want to lose your hand. Got it?"

Tony just stared back at her wide eyed and gawked for a moment. "Wait. I have to make it look real," he defended himself. "There are paparazzi, cameras … bloggers – all of them are watching me. I'm just treating you how I treat all the girls I take out. If I don't, it'll be obvious something's up. Just … know that I'm not really enjoying it, alright, princess?"

Her patience was waning fast. "You're not enjoying it," she said flatly, her eyes narrowed to slits. "Wanna keep lying to me again, Stark? Because I swear -" but it was Tony's turn to cut her off.

"That's another thing. Don't call me 'Stark'. My name is Tony. Or – honey, or stud muffin ooh, I'll answer to lover, anything – just don't call me by my last name, alright darlin'?"

A low growl echoed in the room and made his hair stand on end. "That's … one of those invisible lines, isn't it?"

"If you call me that ever again, I will kill you myself on the spot," she promised menacingly.

"Sorry, I thought it might make you more comfortable," he replied, his hands up in a defensive gesture.

"Not from you," she snarled out, her lip curled back to showcase her elongated canines.

"Just. K... I know this is taking longer than planned. I'm sorry, but I swear to you, I'm doing my best. Please, hang in there a little longer. I've almost got it, I can feel it," Tony said, and even the pleading tones in his voice sounded weary to her. "On a totally related note, don't you think that I know better than to honestly or even subversively try to get into your pants for real? If you didn't kill me, your snarling stabby husband would. It doesn't take a genius to figure that out."

That actually got a little smirk from her. Yeah, there might be some truth there, she thought to herself. Finally K let out a sigh and waved him off with one hand. "Tony … okay. I just need some space. To clear my head. I don't know what I thought this was going to be … I should have known." She ignored him as he tried to talk to her, and instead headed to her room to change. She slumped down on the bed as she looked around at the posh surroundings.

Jesus, she thought.What the hell am I doing here? I should still be in the woods, tangled up with Logan. The difference in surroundings was positively harsh.

With a heavy sigh, K slipped out of the party clothes and found something that would classify as sleep wear. Though, not by much. She eyed it critically as she held it up in front of her and finally resigned herself to it as she convinced herself that no one would ever see it as she slipped into the periwinkle silk nightgown – the one item that actually would cover her up a little, though even that ended on her at less than mid thigh. There was no robe to go with it anywhere either.

Just as she'd gotten herself halfway comfortable in bed, with the blanket pulled up to her nose, Jarvis' voice echoed through the door telling her that Tony needed to talk to her downstairs.

"Sonofabitch," she whispered before she raised her voice to answer him. It wasn't the butler's fault after all. "Thank you, Jarvis. I'll be there shortly." She pulled the blankets back and glanced down at the nightgown and groaned to herself. She wouldn't feel comfortable in this with Stark ogling her. Then a wicked thought crossed her mind. Let him look. With a nasty smirk, she finally headed downstairs with a definite screw it attitude. She wanted him to say something to her - anything just so she'd have an excuse to hit him.

But Tony was smart enough to realize that her ensemble was a dare though. He froze as she made her appearance. Her movements were fluid and predatory as she made her way silently to the liquor cabinet. She poured herself a full rocks glass of his best scotch and slipped into the love seat before she pulled her feet beneath her and tipped the glass to her lips.

Tony retrieved the bottle and a glass for himself and sat next to her, though he was silent for a long moment, trying not to do anything that she'd make him regret. "I have something for you," he told her with a flirty tone that he simply couldn't help as she watched him over the rim of the glass.

"This isn't a penis joke, is it?" she deadpanned.

He smiled and shook his head before he reached behind him only to pull out a small touch screen device. He fiddled with it for a moment before he simply handed it to her. "Go on. Unlock it," he directed. "You just swipe … here."

She looked at him like he was giving her a bomb, then gingerly set the scotch down and took the tablet from him. With a final distrustful glance, she cautiously unlocked it as Tony got up and walked away. When the window opened up, Logan was on screen, puffing away on his cigar.

"Hey darlin'," he growled to her with a little smirk. She smiled crookedly in return, happy just to see his face.

K was feeling much better about things after having talked to Logan. He and Steve were running behind too, but had finally started to make good progress. He didn't tell her much other than all was finally getting back on schedule.

She apologized for removing her rings. It was something that had been bothering her terribly, and likely was contributing to her foul mood. But, Logan agreed with Pepper on the matter. It was a part of her cover. Yet he still made a point of showing her that he was wearing his.

The conversation wasn't long at all. It was just a quick back and forth, but it made it easier on her. His smile and the gravelly tone of his voice as he sent his love rang in her ears as she shut down the little device and set it on the coffee table in front of her.

When the room was silent for a while, Tony re-entered and resumed his seat next to her.

She sighed and set her now empty glass down again before she turned to Tony and gave him a hug. "Thanks. That was just what I needed," she told him as he stiffly returned the embrace. He was shocked that she'd be so relaxed after five minutes talking to Logan of all people, let alone in such a flimsy outfit.

"Not a problem," Tony replied as she slipped from the hug and sat back into the chair. "Just wish I could have arranged it sooner."

Logan had just closed down the screen he'd been chatting with K on. He closed his eyes and repeated to himself at least a dozen times that this was only until they got Hydra on the ropes. It shouldn't take more than a couple more days. A week tops. Please, don't go beyond that. He stood up, pulling his cowl back over his head and fiddling with his wedding band under his glove as he stepped out of the van that held all their communications.

Good Lord. I don't know if I'm gonna have great dreams or nightmares about that goddamned thing she's wearing, he thought to himself. She was breathtaking, as always. Unfortunately though it just made him miss her more. He turned towards Cap and Widow, who were waiting for him. The raid tonight would be a big determining factor in how long it would take to get back and he wanted it to go smoothly. All of them did, really, but now Logan felt as if he had a little extra motivation.

Nearly another week passed before Stark came up and took a seat between K and Pepper as they seemed to be enjoying lunch together to tell them the relatively good news. "I think I have the software straightened out, and I'm ninety … eight percent sure that the real issue is that my hardware has been compromised. I thought that might be the trouble, but I was hoping it wasn't," Tony told them as he reached over and stole a blueberry from Pepper's plate and K sat back in her seat, watching him.

"You got a bug in the system? Is it here?" Pepper asked him confused as to how he could overlook it. He should have checked that over a week ago when his scans weren't operating right.

"No, that's the problem. I already looked here three times. It has to be back in Malibu. We leave in the morning, so pack your bags, ladies," he told them both as he tossed a smelly, well worn pair of gloves down between the women.

Steve didn't understand it. They went into it with a clear head. He'd thought it all through. Checked the intel a dozen times or more. But it all went so far south. And so damn fast.

He'd had Logan take point, as always, as they infiltrated the crumbling old German facility. They meant to steal all their data and crash their mainframe. It was a simple run. One that should have been handed to a group with a lot less firepower. And they'd done so many more heavy runs before this one.

The first part of the raid went well until Logan rounded a corner and nearly ran head first into several platoons worth of Hydra agents armed to the teeth. Before he could back off or find cover they lit him up. When Logan found himself nearly on his hands and knees, Steve managed to drag him back, though he did take a few rounds himself before Widow tossed in several smoke grenades to obscure them while they made a mad dash back to their rendezvous point. Steve had carried Logan over his shoulder – the little feral was unconscious and bleeding heavily and Natasha had muttered rapid, soft Russian to Logan the whole way while she laid down cover fire.

How did Hydra know to wait for them there? It wasn't a spot that held a lot of traffic. Were they trying to recover Logan? Kind of sounded like it to Steve, though his German was rusty. What troubled him was that no one had their strategy outside of the three people present. Then it dawned on him. Their computer. He'd have to tell Stark to check the main computers for a problem, because clearly there was a big one and they almost lost Logan because of it.

The next morning, Tony, Pepper and K landed in L.A.. They made their way to his Malibu estate and on arrival, Tony rushed to the computer's mainframe in his basement while the women parted company – Pepper to her office and K, with nothing better to do for the time being, stood looking at the view out the window at the sea.

Happy had already cleared the house, and they'd assured her there was nothing left to do but relax while Tony worked. The breeze was blowing in off the ocean and K filled her senses with saltwater, fish, fresh air and sunshine. She should have known better than to assume it would be clear, even if Tony and Pepper assured her that Tony's AI had the house secured and Happy was on the case. She had to bite her tongue when a woman's voice greeted her with a gun barrel pressed against her temple.

Within the hour Tony found the bug in his system and fixed it. His armor would be ready to use as soon as JARVIS had rebooted and scanned them. Tony came upstairs to tell K her job was done feeling jovial.

"You're never going to believe this," he said as came around the corner, grinning. "Not only did I get the bug out, but there was a inhibitor generating field that I got…. Out, too," he finished – simply staring at Viper who was behind K with a pistol jammed against her head.

"Oh good. You found our little toys. I've been waiting for you for weeks," Viper informed him with a venomous smile on her face. "Who is this little bird? She's positively adorable. I'll bet she does anything you want doesn't she? She looks like the type that's eager to please."

K's control over her temper was slipping fast. Tony could almost feel the growl that was ready to slide from her lips just by seeing the expression on K's face. He put up his hands as he tried to buy just a little bit more time.

"Does it really matter who she is, Viper? We've been having a little bit of fun. If you weren't such a poisonous crazy type, I'd extend you an invite to join us," Tony deadpanned in hopes that K wouldn't totally lose her cool. Especially since Tony was still helpless as his armor prepped itself. To his relief, K waited. She'd seen only Viper, and with the inhibitor now off, she could at least figure out how the woman got a drop on her. But she could also smell that there were men - outside. No one else was in the house. But there was no way that Lady Hydra herself would be caught unprotected. K watched as the toxic woman leveled the gun at Tony's head. Now was the time.

K moved like lightning and as she spun, she pulled the gun from Viper's hand and dropped the magazine out of it as she drew it down in an arc to pistol whip the green clad vixen, promptly knocking her to the ground.

Viper pulled out a second, hidden gun from her boot and shot K until the chamber was empty as she scooted backwards in a desperate attempt to try and gain some distance between them.

But when Viper saw K continue on unphased, she rightfully panicked and threw her darts at the furious brunette. She hit her in several places, but K didn't look as though she was prepared to slow down. She took two more steps towards Lady Hydra then suddenly and dramatically wavered. She only made it another few steps … barely a little closer when K's vision began to blur. She dropped the pistol involuntarily as her hands went numb and she swayed a little. She locked her knees to keep upright and on seeing how the various poisons and venoms hitting the little brunette, Viper smiled.

"There is only one person I know that could have taken a dosage like that and made it more than one step," Viper said with a concentrated no nonsense tone as she rose to her feet. When she was two paces away, she reached out to delicately examine the wedding rings around K's neck. "Pretty jewelry. But it doesn't match your clothes at all. Who are you girl?"

When K couldn't answer as the venom hit her nervous system, Viper smiled wider. K shook her head in an attempt to clear it as Viper openly watched her. The worse K looked, the more Viper grinned. To make matters worse, K's anger was on a back burner as she tried to keep hold of herself and remain upright. She still had a job to do.

Tony was whispering under his breath for the AI to hurry up when Viper stepped forward and slid her hands into K's hair. She gently cradled her head while she stepped close to her. Without a moment's more of warning, she gently leaned in and kissed her. Viper's intention was of course, administering another venom to her already overloaded system. And as that poison took affect, K halfway raised her arm brushing Viper's side, and drawing a grin from the woman as she broke her poisonous kiss.

"How sweet you are. I don't often kiss women," she purred out with a bemused smile as she brushed the hair from K's face, inspecting her closer. Before the toxin could fully take effect, K suddenly popped her claws in Viper's abdomen.

Viper's eyes popped open in equal parts shock and pain. K met Viper's gaze as she managed to twist her wrist before her claws retracted on their own. Instantly, blood was seeping from her mouth. The two women crumpled to the ground, their eyes locked and Viper's hand still entwined in K's hair.

K smirked at the bleeding woman in front of her as Tony rushed in and pulled the two of them apart as he barked out for his computer to call for assistance from the Avengers while he applied pressure to Viper's wounds.

As much as K liked the idea of her bleeding out on the spot, the Avengers, like the X-Men, preferred to have their criminals taken to justice. The last thing K heard clearly was the AI voice as he announced that the armor was finally ready, and the perimeter was armed. She drifted off into the intense burning pain racing through her body. Her breathing became very rough while listening to the sounds of Tony's armor attaching itself to him. And beyond that, Viper gagged and struggled to breathe, choking on her own blood while the sounds of gunfire and small explosions rang out in the distance.