Hello! I'm so sorry for the long wait! I've just been really busy with school stuff. Anyway, I'm not abandoning any of my stories, I just have finals coming up. So in about three weeks finals will be over and I'll be able to update on my regular schedule once again. I'll still be updating, just not as often. I Hope you like this chapter. It's extra fluffy because that's what I do best! Here is where this mission is going to be resolved. This is also going to have a lot of fluff! So anyway, enjoy! :)
(JASON POV)
I was sitting with Charlie. This is painful to watch. Reminds me too much of what happened to Red. Not to mention the fact the fact that he took over my brain not once but twice. I know it wasn't really his fault, but still.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have- I-"
"It's okay Charlie. It wasn't you." I said. He looked away guiltily. I sighed. Red walked in and sat next to me.
"Okay. Charlie, what do you want to do? I mean, you could go to Avengers Tower. Or you could go back to Miranda? It's completely your choice." she said.
"I think- I want to go back to Miranda." he said unsurely. I remember Red used to do the exact same thing. Fear that the choice will be taken away right after. This is too familiar.
"Okay. I thought so. We'll set the plane that way." she said, getting up and tilting her head slightly, indicating me to follow her. I got up and sighed.
"What's up?" I asked her when we were out of his earshot.
"I don't know. I'm so sick of this. It's like an ongoing cycle that never stops. I kind of want to stop now. But at the same time nobody will do it if we don't. So I have no idea. Not to mention we have to go debrief Eddie on all of this. And Aria? What is she going to do after this? And what about-"
"Hey. Calm down. It'll be alright Red. We'll figure it out. Charlie is going home, Aria is an Agent, she probably has other things to do, and debriefing Eddie? Well, it'll take a while, but it won't be that hard. As for us, well, I don't think we can quit even if we wanted to now. It's okay." I said.
"Okay. You're probably right. But I'm just nervous. Like really nervous." she said. She's been acting strangely lately. Ever since we got on the plane really. Overly nervous, panicky, ranting, she's usually not like this at all. Usually she kind of keeps her worries away. Of course, I know when she's worried, but she doesn't really say anything just for that reason.
"I know. It'll be okay." I said.
"Yeah. You're right." she replied.
"C'mon. Let's go see Marlin and Ria." I suggested. We walked into the mission planning area thing where Aria was explaining everything to Marlin and Ria. Those two looked totally bewildered.
They gave us a look that told me that they knew everything now. Or at least, whatever Aria knows. And the look Red gave me confirmed it. "Can you set course for this address? We're taking Charlie home." Jade said to Aria, who nodded.
"So. You know Charlie's girlfriend? Well that was an alias. She works with SHIELD, used to be on field, but after Charlie went missing she went to the desk work. Agent Miranda Ramirez. And she's also my second cousin." Marlin said. I looked in between the picture and him and raised my eyebrow.
"Technically she's a step-cousin but we grew up together so I don't really think of her that way." he explained. That makes more sense. She had long brown hair and looked to be hispanic, starkly contrasting his blond hair and green eyes.
"Right. So at least we'll have friendly face with us. Is she at home now?" Ria asked.
"Yeah. She hasn't gone on a mission in a while. Hardly even an agent at this point." He said.
"Why didn't you tell us earlier that you knew him?" Red asked.
He shrugged. "I had never met him. I just knew his name and some things about him. I had no idea. I thought that it was just common. I mean, there have to be a lot of Charlies with blond hair and blue eyes, right? I don't know, I was kind of worried about what would happen if it was him." Marlin said.
I nodded and then Aria told us that we had landed. We got off the plane and Red and I went first to warn her of what happened and make sure she doesn't trigger anything. Although I highly doubt she could.
We knocked and she opened the door, eying us warily. "Agent Miranda Ramirez?" I asked. She nodded.
"We found him." Was all Red said and then the interrogation started.
"What? Is he okay? Where is he? Does he even remember me?" She asked, her torrent of questions almost passing us by.
"He's- different. But he's fine overall. And yeah, he definitely remembers you. He's still on the plane because we need to talk to you about some things." Red said vaguely.
"Okay. Come in." Miranda said tensely, opening the door wider. We walked inside and sat down.
"So. What do I need to know?" She asked.
"Well, you have to be careful. He had been brainwashed by hydra, but when we took down their base last year, he had no orders and only specific memories. He hasn't had any opportunity to recover from hen he was kidnapped. He's inhuman, telepathic, and may have other abilities we don't know of. You might want to avoid physical contact and any sudden movements. Also, basically anything will terrify him, even if he won't admit it. He will probably have terrible nightmares, and closed doors aren't really a good idea. And if you get hurt, even just a small paper cut, he'll most likely get seriously concerned." Red informed her, her face expressionless the whole time.
"You sound as though you're talking from experience." Miranda said, analyzing Red's features.
"I am. He's basically been attempting to ruin my life for the past couple of years because we were at the facility together and when I escaped I may have forgotten about him. And that's all hydra let him remember about me. His memories all portray me as a bad guy." She replied tensely.
"You want to come on the plane and see him now?" I said, breaking the uncomfortable silence.
"Yeah." She said, and we walked out onto the plane. We saw Marlin first and he hugged Miranda briefly and smiled warily at us. Then we saw Charlie.
(Jade POV)
Charlie looked conflicted, as though he wasn't sure whether or not to believe this. I didn't believe it. I aimed a gun at Jason's head. Then he just rushed forward and hugged Miranda tightly, and she hugged back.
We left the room, giving them some time. I looked at Jase exhausted. It's around 9 in the morning and we were up all night last night, and the night before that we didn't get much sleep either. I could probably just collapse right here but nope. Can't do that. Miranda and Charlie are here, not to mention Aria.
I don't like new people, they're like variables I don't completely understand. They don't fit into the equation. I hate not knowing how things are going to work out, being unsure of myself. I hate it with a fiery passion. And it makes me slightly paranoid that something is going to go wrong at any given moment, because no matter what, there are always parts of a plan you can't account for, and being a spy just makes it worse because you can never truly know all the possible outcomes.
Never in a million years did I expect to see Charlie again, much less that he would try to kill me. Never did I once think that I had an older sister. I'll get used to it. Whatever. It's fine. Just push it away like I always do. My paranoia is a common occurrence, but usually I just brush it off. So I can do that this time too.
I could feel my eyelids drooping shut, so I snapped them back open. I glanced at Jase who was also consumed in his own thoughts. I wonder where Aria is. I sighed and left to go find her.
I walked into the training area only to find Aria punching madly at one of the punching bags, and there were two broken ones laying against the back wall as though they just flew off the hook. She didn't notice me come down.
"Hey." I said. She stopped and looked back at me, steadying the bag. I grabbed my other bag and put it on the hook. "Try that one. It has a vibranium hook and extra durable material." I said, smiling at her.
"Thanks. Uncle Tony made it for you?" She asked. I nodded tiredly.
"Nice. How are you holding up?" She asked me.
"I don't know what you're talking about." I told her with a yawn.
"You look exhausted." She pointed out.
"I am." I replied.
"You should get some sleep." She said, noticing my exhausted expression. I nodded, too tired to even argue at this point. I went back into the room where Jase was and sat down next to him.
"You don't look too good." He said.
"Well you don't look all that great either." I snapped back irritably. "Sorry. I'm just so tired. But I can't go to sleep yet." I said, sighing.
"Go to sleep. I'll make sure everything is okay." He said.
"But-" he cut me off.
"No buts. It'll be fine. Just sleep before you pass out somewhere." he said.
"You have to sleep too." I told him, noticing a similar tiredness in his eyes. He shrugged.
"I'll live." He said nonchalantly.
"Nope. Either you go to sleep with me or I'm not doing it at all." I said stubbornly.
"Red . . . We can't both go to sleep." he protested although he clearly had no objections.
"Aria can handle it." I said, putting my hands on my hips. He sighed in defeat, knowing there's no arguing with me at this point.
"Fine. But we have to tell her before-"
"No buts Jase." I said, leaning my head on his shoulder. "I'm tired. You're tired. They'll survive on their own for an hour." I told him.
He smirked and laid down, pulling me with him and snuggling into my shoulder. "If you say so." He said cheekily.
I rolled my eyes at him and cuddled closer to him, finally letting my eyes close. I could feel him smiling against my neck.
"What are you smiling about?" I mumbled, not opening my eyes.
"Nothing really. You're cute when you sleep." He said.
I laughed. "That was so cheesy Jase. So cheesy."
"Well I thought it was Gouda." He said, unable to hold in a laugh afterwards.
"Oh god. Stop. Please. Your puns are terrible." I told him.
"You want to hear another one?" He asked. Before I could say no he jumped right in.
"What do you call a fairytale written by a cow?" He asked. I was silent. "A dairytale!" He said.
"That's so corny, it should be a crime." I told him.
"Then maybe you should call the cobs!" He said, laughing uncontrollably. I smiled wryly.
"You are such a doofus. Oh my god." I said, my eyes open.
"I know. And I'm proud." He said, leaning up and kissing me on the lips. I pulled away after a few minutes and looked at him.
"Okay. As much as I love hearing your terrible jokes, I'm exhausted. Now go to sleep." I instructed. He laughed and did as he was told.
I sighed contentedly, then looked at him and smiled. "What are you smiling about?" He asked me.
"You're cute when you sleep." I said, copying exactly what he said earlier. He laughed lightly.
"I'm not cute." he said.
"You're right. You're down right adorable." I corrected myself. He laughed lightly, not bothering to argue with me. "I love you Jase." I said.
"I love you too Red." he replied quietly, his eyes closing. Mine did as well and we finally drifted off, his arms around my waist and mine around his neck, burying his face in my shoulder.
(ARIA POV)
Miranda and Charlie are about to leave and Jade and Jason are nowhere to be found. I've called their names multiple times but they aren't answering. I mean, the plane isn't that big. I peeked into a mostly empty room to find nobody in there. I went into a few others before deciding to double check the rooms along the main hallway. Maybe they're sleeping.
I knocked, and when I didn't get an answer I opened the door quietly, only to find them fast asleep. They were cuddled up together, breathing heavily, and looked like they weren't going to wake up anytime soon. They looked so peaceful, so calm. I smiled slightly and closed the door, walking back over to Charlie and Miranda.
"They kind of fell asleep, and I don't really want to wake them up yet." I explained.
"Oh don't wake them for us. We'll be fine. I used to be in the field remember? I'm trained and armed." she said, smiling.
I smiled back at her and then saw them out of the plane. I made sure they got in safe before turning back and going inside. I have to think about what I'm going to do from here. I could keep helping them with missions, but I have my own mission to complete. I basically dropped off the map. I know what happened exactly, I can remember it.
I was on a mission to find Thor's kids. He's been keeping them in hiding for a long time, probably Aunt Jane's doing. They're not in any immediate danger, but we have sources that say that some enemies of ours have found out about them. I have to warn them. I remember Artemis and Apollo very clearly. They're the same age as Jade. They both had blond hair and green eyes. I've visited them a couple of times.
That's why they sent me. So the kids will trust me. I hope they still remember me. If not, well Aunt Jane will remember me. They aren't even kids anymore. They're 18. 18! I mean, I can't believe I missed 18 years of my sister's life. I told myself that getting involved in her life wasn't a good idea, seeing as I could literally die any day without warning. And I didn't want her to be traumatized like that so young. I didn't even know she had been kidnapped.
Even if I haven't been in her life at all, I'm still her older sister. I still should've been there for her. I had told myself that I would go back when the time was right, but I never did. Now Eddie is the director of SHIELD, Nat has a child and a little sister, and my sister is 18!
I know she probably bears some resentment against me, but what can I do about it? Maybe after I find the twins I can spend some time with her. Who knows if she'll even want to?
I sighed lightly and decided to call a friend. "Hey Nat." I said over the phone.
"Hey Ari. How's Jason? Jade? You? Is everyone okay?" she asked.
"Everyone's fine. They fell asleep. Finally. Nobody is seriously hurt." I said, almost laughing at her sigh of relief. "Do you not trust me?"
"Of course not! You destroyed my favorite doll!" she said, bringing that up again. I rolled my eyes affectionately.
"Need you really bring that up every single conversation? We were 3!" I exclaimed, laughing.
"You still did it. You cut her hair! What did she ever do to you?" she protested. She loved that doll. She cried for a whole day.
"Oh grow up. Anyway, I need some advice." I said.
"What's up?" she asked.
"Well, I feel kind of guilty for not being in Jade's life at all. You know what I mean? I just- I don't know how to fix it. I can't go back in time and fix it." I said.
"Don't worry. Jade's usually pretty forgiving. As long as she knows you regret it, she'll be fine. And she will know. I mean, as long as you never try and hurt somebody she cares about, she'll care about you. You may never be as close as she and Juliana are, but you two can still get close. Just talk to her." she said.
"I know. But I feel like it's kind of douche-y for me to just come into her life right now and expect to know her when I wasn't there for her when she was younger." I said.
"Just don't act douche-y. Don't expect anything. Just say that you want to try. Be real with her." she advised.
"Okay I guess. I don't know. I'm kind of- nervous. Oh lord. Why am I nervous? I'm never I'm not a mom. BUt I get what you're saying. Thanks Nat." I said.
"Riley! Nina!" she called. "Sorry. The girls are crawling around in diapers. Give me a minute. I'll call you back." she said, hanging up. I smiled.
(JASON POV)
I woke up before Red did and glanced at her. She looked so peaceful. I smiled. Her hair had fallen out of the ponytail at some point and was everywhere, including her face. Then she woke up, looking at me groggily and then choosing to close her eyes again.
"Go back to sleep." She mumbled.
"Red, we should probably get up now." I said, moving some of her hair out of her face.
"No. Cuddle with me." She grumbled, pulling me back down next to her. I laughed lightly.
"Red, we have to go debrief Eddie." I said, getting back up and standing. She groaned before turning onto her other side and closing her eyes again.
"Come on! Or I'll tickle you." I said, grinning. She snapped up and glared at me.
"I don't like you." She grumbled.
"Nah. You love me." I said cheekily. She rolled her eyes at me and pulled her hair back into another ponytail.
"I can't believe you woke me up." she grumbled again. "I mean really. I was sleeping so well! You couldn't have let me sleep for only a few more minutes?" she asked.
"Sorry. We had to get up though. Otherwise we won't be able to sleep tonight." I said. She looked away.
"I doubt we'll get any anyway." she muttered. I sighed. She's probably right.
"Well we can try. It'll be fine. C'mon, we landed a while ago." I said. She nodded tiredly.
"I'm going to wash up. I'll be there in a few minutes." she said. I nodded and went into the living room area where Marlin was sitting on the couch.
"Hey." he said, looking at me.
"Hey. Are you okay?" I asked him. He looked at me shocked.
"How did you-"
"I can feel your emotions." I said simply. He nodded.
"I'm mostly fine. It's nothing really. I'm just worried. My niece was diagnosed with a basically fatal illness. I asked Ria if she could start looking for some possible cures, but she said it might take a while. She's only 6, and my sister is freaking out right now. She quit her job because they wouldn't give her a break so she could stay home. So she's staying with our parents now and I'm sending money home for her to help with the treatment fees. I'm just really worried about them. My sister's ex husband left her a while ago. Took most of her money and took off. So she's a single mom too. I don't know." he said. I felt a pang of sympathy.
"It'll be okay. If you want, I can ask some of my friends to help. They're geniuses. Maybe you've heard of them? Dr. Dianna Fitzsimmons and Dr. Robert Banner? And their parents? They'd be more than glad to help." I offered. He smiled gratefully.
"Thanks Jason. I wish I could do more for them. I kind of want to go back and stay with them, but I can't. I have to keep making money to send it back." he said.
"I get it. A lot of times I want to go home, but we can't not yet. We agreed to do this and nobody else will if we don't. Sometimes you have to make sacrifices to do what's truly best." I said.
"Yeah." he said. Then Red walked in.
"Well, let's go." she said, leading the way. When Ria and Aria joined us she trailed back to walk next to me.
"Call Robert. They're available right now." she said, not explaining. I shrugged it off. Obviously she knows what we were talking about.
I pulled out my phone and called him. "Hey Robert. Can I ask you guys for a favor?" I asked.
"Hey Jason. What do you need?" he asked.
"Well, our friend's neice was diagnosed with a fatal illness and we need a cure. Do you think you guys could try?" I asked.
"Of course man. Just send us blood samples, stuff like that. I'll talk to Dianna and get back to you." he said.
"Okay. Thanks." I said, smiling.
"No problem." he replied. I grinned and we hung up. We walked into the Hub and got curious glances from all the other agents there.
We walked up to Eddie's office while Ria, Marlin, and Aria went somewhere else. We scanned our cards and walked inside.
"Hey Jason, Hey Jade." He said as he saw us walk in. Nat walked in almost right after us and tackled us both in a giant hug.
"Are you two okay?" she asked immediately.
"We're fine Nat." Jade said, smiling. "How are Riley and Nina?" she asked.
"Oh they're great. Nina mises her 'bubba' and Riley misses 'Aunty Jay'." she said, mimicking them. I grinned. Nina calls me 'bubba', for what reason I have no idea, but it's adorable. It's weird though. My little sister is 17 years younger than me.
"Ehem. Nat, I kind of have to debrief them, can we hang out after? My dad will kill me if he finds out. And believe me, he'll find out." Eddie said.
"Oh you're no fun." she muttered, kissing him on the cheek and leaving. I grimaced. My sister is MARRIED. MARRIED. Ugh. I like Eddie and all, but still, ew.
"You're so immature." Red whispered to me. I laughed.
"It's weird! And so- not Nat-ish." I whispered back.
"What? Being married is 'not Nat-ish?'. Please. Relationships are very not me-ish, but am I in one? Yes. In case you hadn't noticed." she said, grinning.
"EHEM. Debriefing." Eddie said, looking at us slightly confused.
"Right. Right. Okay, so when I was kidnapped, there was someone else there, Charlie Martin. When I escaped, I kind of forgot to get him out as well. He's a telepath, stronger than I am. He was brainwashed and used a weapon for Hydra. When we blew up the facility and everyone in it, he had no orders. For him, all he remembered about me was that I was the reason he was like that and decided to get revenge. So he's the guy that took over Jase's brain when we were 15. He took over Aria's brain, causing her to go to Alaska to lure us there, knowing you would send us. I wouldn't be surprised if he had controlled your mind as well at some point in this process. He took over Jase's brain in an attempt to hurt me more, but failing, as I know all of his strengths . . . and weaknesses." she said with a small smirk. I nudged her.
"That hurt you know." I informed her. She laughed.
"I do know. Anyway, then somehow he got onto the plane and we broke the brainwashing. We found his girlfriend, Agent Miranda Ramirez, and she took him home. Also, Aunt Wanda is a terrible person. I also know for a fact that she wasn't under mind control. That's a whole different story though. Not necessary information." she said.
"Okay. Anything to add Jason?" Eddie asked.
"Nope. She pretty much covered it all." I said. He looked at us weirdly.
"What aren't you two telling me?" he asked. We grinned simultaneously.
"Nothing!" we said, smirking.
"Mmkayyyyy. Well, you guys can go." he said. We laughed and walked out, before bumping into Aria, who was next to Captain Rogers.
(JADE POV)
Oh I have some words for my dad. A whole lot of words. And he knows that too. I grabbed both of their arms and dragged them elsewhere.
"Okay. Now that we aren't in any immediate danger. WHAT WERE YOU THINKING? Not telling me about my older half sister who happens to risk her life on a daily basis! My god. WHAT WAS GOING THROUGH YOUR HEADS? OH THAT'S RIGHT. NOTHING." I shouted at both of them. Aria looked at me shocked.
"Calm down." she said.
"Oh calm down? You want me to calm down? What if one day you didn't make it hmm? Then what? 'Oh, by the way Jade, you have a sister we never told you about and she died.'. I will not CALM DOWN." I said.
"Jade. Relax. That's exactly why we didn't tell you. We were going to tell you when you were 14 but after everything that happened your mom and I decided it wasn't a good idea to give you anything else to worry about." my dad explained.
"Oh! That makes it all better! Everyone is worried about me! Well I don't care. Let me make my own choices!" I said.
"Jade. I'm still your dad. Regardless of what you go through, where you go, how mature you think you are, you're still just a kid. You're still my kid. And I want to keep you as safe as I possibly can. I haven't done a very good job of that, and you'd think being Captain America that would be no big deal, but it's difficult. Your mom, Aria, and I just want the best for you. Nothing else." he said.
I looked at him. "Okay. I'm sorry." I said.
"It's fine Jade. We just worry about you because we care. Everyone does." he said. I hugged him.
"I love you dad." I said. He hugged me back.
"I love you too Jade." he said. Suddenly it felt like I was 7 again. A little kid with no idea about the world and all of its terrible dangers. The little girl who was all about family, forced everyone to eat dinner together, made sure my parents were okay after missions, made them breakfast in bed on their birthdays, and was the most excited girl ever to teach her sister how to read. I miss it. I miss it a lot.
I will not cry. I will not cry. I will not cry. Oh great, I'm crying. I'm CRYING. I don't do crying. Or at least that's what I tell myself. In reality I cry a lot. I kind of want everyone to be here. I want my mom and Juliana here too. My dad stayed silent, for which I was grateful. I didn't want anyone to tell me it's all going to be fine. Because it's not. It's really not.
I pulled away and wiped my eyes. "Thanks." I said. I know I've drawn myself away from them a lot, but I just want everything to go back to the way it used to be. (A/N: Think of the lyrics from Heart Attack by Demi Lovato. "The feeling's all lost from my lungs, I'm burning I'd rather be numb, and there's no one else to blame" Sorry, it just popped it my head. AND ONLY THOSE LYRICS. The rest of the song doesn't really fit.)
I smiled at him wryly. "Anyway, I should probably go find Jase before he eats all of the chocolate in the building." I said, remembering how there was chocolate bars in the cafeteria. I wouldn't put it past Jase to steal them all.
"Yeah, you should probably do that." he said, laughing, remembering the one time we got chocolate coins in the tower. Between the two Smith siblings all of it was gone in 5 minutes. I think that should be a record somewhere.
I walked over to find him and NAt both devouring a chocolate bar each. I grinned and sneaked up behind him, quickly grabbing the bar from his hands. He whipped around and was about to punch me before he realized who it was.
"Give it back." he said.
"How many have you had so far?" I asked him, ignoring his demand.
"You know I'm taller than you right?" he said, getting up. I telekinetically moved it up so it was almost touching the ceiling and smirked.
"Yeah, I know. So answer me. How many have you had so far?" I asked. He growled slightly.
"nine." he muttered.
"What was that?" I asked.
"Just give me my chocolate bar!" he protested.
"No."
"Red!"
"No."
"But-"
"The answer's still no." I said. He tried jumping up and would've gotten it too if I didn't move it. He groaned.
"RED! Just give me the chocolate. Please?" he asked, giving me puppy dog eyes. I rolled my eyes.
"No. You're going to be on a sugar rush for the rest of the week not to mention how badly your stomach will hurt." I told him.
"I don't care." he replied stubbornly.
"Well I do." I said simply. He glared at me lightly.
"Fine. I'm not talking to you until you give it to me." he said. I laughed and he glared harder.
"We'll see about that." I challenged, tossing it in the garbage. His eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
"How could you?! THat was perfectly good chocolate right there!" he said, putting his hand on his heart. I rolled my eyes. Definitely on a sugar high. I glared at Nat.
"You let this happen? Are you trying to make me go insane?" I asked her. She laughed.
"Hey, who am I to stop him? I've had 18 already." she said. I rolled my eyes again and grabbed Jase's wrist, pulling him away from the cafeteria.
He looked at me with those terrible puppy dog eyes again. "I thought you loved me." he said.
