Heeeeeey, an update in less than a year. Huzzah! Hope y'all enjoy!
Chapter 4: Underground
Pietro did not adjust well to Avenger life.
The first couple days were fine - he wasn't expected to do much besides rest and get the lay of the land. But after Dr. Cho officially cleared him, he was quickly pushed into a busy and detailed schedule. Captain Rogers said it was to get him "back in shape," but Pietro couldn't help but feel like he had been enlisted without his consent. His only consolation was that Laura seemed to be as annoyed by the Avengers and their schedule as he was. The only difference was instead of having to participate in the activities, she was having to avoid them. Captain Rogers wouldn't let her be in the gym when they were working out, or in the simulation room when they were training. In fact, he seemed to be trying to keep her out of any area where the team was in general.
She confessed during one of their late night kitchen rendezvous that she didn't mind it so much. She said she had never been much of a team player, and she was only annoyed because she wanted Widow around in case anything went awry in the complex. Pietro wondered how true it actually was; he still wasn't able to interpret most of her (subtle) signs of emotions, and now she was trying even harder to hide them from him.
When he wasn't with his sister, Pietro tried to hang out with Laura. He wanted to spend time with Wanda, but she was often accompanied by one or more of the Avengers. It wasn't that he didn't like his new teammates, he just had difficulty seeing eye to eye with them. Often times their strategy sessions and training missions were aimed at peace, or rescue. And Pietro respected those missions, he really did. One day, he would be ready to focus on them. But for now, he wanted to focus on taking down the organization that ruined him.
"Mr. Maximoff!" Steve called, snapping Pietro back to the present time. "Something on your mind?"
"Lots of things, Captain." he replied with a smirk, turning away from the observation deck where Natasha and Laura were watching. Steve tried to remain expressionless, but Pietro could see him stiffen slightly.
"You don't want to get involved with X23." he said lowly.
"Strange, I feel otherwise." he snarked back. If there was one thing Pietro hated most, it was being told what to do.
"Maximoff, she's not who she says she is. Whatever she's told you is probably a lie. She's a cold blooded murderer with nothing but a survival instinct." he said. In the short time Pietro had known him, he had not heard Steve talk so negatively about someone.
"That's pretty much what she told me. So what do I believe?" he asked. He enjoyed trying Steve's patience like this.
"Just stay away from her." Steve said. Pietro turned and started walking away. "Maximoff!"
"I'll think about it." he said airily, deciding that he was done with his training for the day. He glanced at the observation deck; Widow looked bored, but Laura was smirking. He wondered if she could hear the conversation through the thick glass.
He dutifully ignored Steve all during lunch, instead listening to Wanda and her stories of how her powers were progressing. Laura and Widow came in, earning a dark look from Steve. Once again, Pietro was distracted, wanting to see if anything went down between them. But Steve just kept an eagle eye on them as they gathered their food, and Laura ducked out of the room once her plate was loaded.
"Just go talk to her." Wanda said in a frustrated tone.
"What?" Pietro said, bringing himself back to the conversation.
"Every time she's here, you get distracted. I may not be able to read your mind anymore, but you're very obvious about your infatuation." she said with a smirk.
"I'm not infatuated with her. Just...intrigued." he said.
"That's how it always starts." she replied.
"None of that. Haven't you heard? Captain America told me I should stay away from her." he said, his words dripping in sarcasm. Wanda perked an eyebrow.
"What did she do?" she asked. "I've never heard an alarming thought from her. Though she seems to be guarded, like she expects someone to be reading her mind."
"She's kind of...killed a few people." he said, though not in a way that sounded concerned. Wanda shrugged.
"So have we." Wanda said. "And Natasha. And most everyone, I think."
"It's weird. He weirdly doesn't like her." Pietro realized.
"Probably a pride thing." Wanda decided. "But you'll never know if you don't go talk to her."
"Even if I talk to her I still may never know." he said. Wanda tapped the table, standing up with her trash.
"Well I have to go work on intel with Stark. What's next on your list?" she asked. Pietro stood up with her, tapping his watch to show his schedule.
"Supposedly helping Dr. Banner with research." he said.
"'Supposedly'?" Wanda asked, walking out of the room with him.
"Well I don't particularly want to be there, and he doesn't really want me there. So I think I'll just do us both a favor and find a different way to occupy my time." he explained.
"Uh huh." Wanda said, unconvinced. "Well just don't get hurt. Or do anything stupid."
"I make no promises." he said, pulling her close and laying a kiss on her forehead. She rolled her eyes, shoving him away before turning and walking down the hallway. Pietro made his way outside, figuring he might run in to Laura out there.
Sure enough, she was sitting on a bench in the courtyard, empty plate next to her and phone to her ear. She was speaking in a language he didn't understand; French, maybe?
"I'll call you back later." she said in English as Pietro approached.
"You speak French too?" he asked, sitting down next to her without waiting for an invitation. She eyed him warily (as she often did when he voluntarily entered space close to her), but he didn't think anything of it. She hadn't made good on any of her threats yet, so he figured he wasn't in any real trouble.
"I speak twelve languages." she said shortly. "Where's your task master?"
"I've decided to improvise a bit with today's schedule." he said, leaning against the wall and putting his hands behind his head. Laura gave a short chuckle.
"Going against the machine. How rebellious of you." she said. He shrugged.
"Eh, I'm a rebellious man." he said. "So are we going to France?"
"'We'?" she asked.
"Yes, we. You said I could join you on your warpath." he reminded her.
"I said I would think about letting you come on recon missions." she reiterated.
"Well I assume the first mission is a recon mission, that's just common sense." he said. She narrowed her eyes at him.
"No, we're not going to France." she said. She let out a sigh. "As soon as I get clearance, I will be going to Canada."
"We." he said. She let out a frustrated groan.
"You are insufferably stubborn." she growled.
"How do you get clearance if Captain Rogers is so…?" he didn't know how to finish the question. In the distance, he could hear the bat-bat-bat-bat of helicopter blades.
"Adamantly opposed to my very existence?" she finished for him, giving him a sarcastic smile.
"You said it, not me." he said.
"Well Nick Fury is still technically higher up, and he wants me to get in and get out of here as fast as possible. Also he owes me a couple of favors." she explained, checking her watch.
"And how do we talk to Nick Fury?" he asked. She checked her watch again.
"Listen. I don't know what you think is going on here, but we're not about to go rampaging into a Hydra base and blow everyone up. This sort of thing takes research, and planning, and time. It's not all guns and glory and sweet, sweet revenge. So, you really wanna come with me?" she answered his question with a question. She stood up, staring at him with hard green eyes. She picked up a backpack that he hadn't noticed before.
"You really have to ask at this point?" he continued the trend. She didn't answer right away. The only sound was the beating of the helicopter blades in the distance.
"You have two and a half minutes to get whatever you need before we politely ask for that chopper." she said, pointing to the helicopter in the distance. He smirked.
"And what will I do with the other two minutes and twelve seconds?"
"Beats the hell out of me, Speedy. Better get going." she deadpanned. He sped off, going up to his room and quickly packing a bag for a few days. He really didn't know what he was getting into, but he found he didn't really care. This was the first step towards making things right, and he was ready to jump right into it. Wanda always said his worst trait was his impulsivity; Pietro preferred to think of it as being spontaneous. When he got back to Laura, the chopper was just making its way over them, making her dark hair start to dance in its wake.
"I thought helicopters were made for short distances?" he questioned, suddenly wondering how many stops they were going to have to make for gas.
"Please, you think Stark invents anything that goes short distances?" she replied. The chopper descended, taking its time before touching down in front of them. Fury jumped out, his brows furrowing behind his sunglasses as he saw the two of them waiting for him.
"What do you want?" he yelled as the blades started winding down.
"I need to borrow that." Laura said gesturing to the aircraft. She blinked, as if remembering something. "Please."
"And why would I let you just take this, without any of the protocol that any of the other actual agents of SHIELD have to follow to use our state of the art, very expensive equipment?" he asked.
"Because the sooner I take care of business the sooner you never have to see me again?" she offered. The set of his mouth said that reason wasn't good enough.
"And?" he said.
"And you know I'm as good a pilot as Jeremy over there, meaning that you won't have to pay him to take me." she added.
"And?" he asked again.
"And if I crash the plane, then the Professor will cover all expenses and my healing factor would cover any medical costs that may accrue." she finished. Fury stared at them for what felt like hours before letting out a long, frustrated sigh.
"Do not make me regret this. And do not, under any circumstances, tell Rogers." Fury said.
"Like I ever willingly talk to him." Laura said with a grin. Fury was not amused, and chose to signal the pilot and walk away without further discourse. Laura turned to Pietro, jerking her head towards the helicopter.
"Time to go?" he asked.
"Time to go." she responded, walking up to the aircraft. She gave a toothy smile to Jeremy, who quickly passed over his head gear and exited the craft. Pietro thought he walked away a little faster than he normally would. Laura sank into the pilot's chair, bucking the belt across her torso and pulling on the headset. Pietro followed her lead, even though he would be no help at the controls.
"If you're going to back out, now is the time." she said, her voice crackling slightly over the headset. There was no accusation in her voice, just matter-of-fact.
"Let's go." he responded, gesturing towards the horizon. She gave a smirk, flipping a few switches on the dash and pressing a couple buttons. After the few tense minutes it took for the chopper to warm back up, Pietro felt the all-too familiar feeling of taking flight.
The ride was quiet. Laura was an excellent conversationalist in his opinion, but he liked that she didn't feel the need to fill silence. Right now, it helped him focus in his energy. His powers were still a little haywire, just as they had been at the beginning. Like before, the training was helping, but he still needed to mentally bring himself together before he could do anything productive. A couple hours later, Laura dropped the chopper behind some trees, landing softly in the grass. She settled the chopper, situating it to wait until their return. Before exiting the craft, she pulled off her tshirt, and replaced it with a high-tech looking spandex suit.
"I wasn't aware we had uniforms for this." Pietro said, turning away as she changed. Normally women undressing in front of him was a welcome thing, but it didn't feel the same in this setting. He was in his work mode, and the hate fire burning lowly in him would not be smothered by errant thoughts.
"You won't find anything like this with the Avengers." she said, pulling on some black gloves. There were two silver slits in them - he assumed that's where her claws could exit. She had a mask in her hands as well, but she tossed it to the back of the craft, as if deciding that she didn't need it.
"And where are we going, exactly?" he asked, following her out of the chopper and onto the grass outside. There was a cold breeze that cut through his jacket, but otherwise the weather was mild. He could feel his body vibrating, warming him back up.
"There's an old base close to here." she said, setting off purposefully into the trees. "It was closed and destroyed due to an internal error, but I'm hoping we might be able to find a computer that wasn't completely botched."
"I feel like you were part of that 'internal error'." he said. She gave him a knowing smile.
"You're smarter than you look." she said. He didn't know whether or not to take offense, but realized by the look on her face that she was actually joking with him. He wasn't sure he'd heard her make a joke before.
"Even a blind squirrel finds a nut sometimes." he responded in Russian, unsure of how it translated to English. She let out a bark of a laugh, and Pietro felt oddly proud of getting that reaction from her.
"Speedy, you are something else." she said, shaking her head. After that, their trek through the forest was relatively quiet. There was no snow on the ground, so the terrain was more manageable than Pietro thought it would be. Laura actually seemed at ease, melting herself into the surrounding nature. He felt loud and lumbering, following her borderline silent footsteps through the underbrush. Moments like this reminded him of the lengths of her training, and exactly how deep the habits ran.
Before he knew it, the trees dissipated, presenting a run down cement structure half hidden in the vegetation. Laura moved confidently toward it; he supposed she didn't sense anyone hiding in the structure. The spot that may have been a front entrance was covered in rubble, and half the building seemed to have caved in on itself. She ignored the front door, leading him around to the eastern side of the building. Her claws made quick work of the vines over a vent, as well as the top of the vent itself. She slid in first, disappearing into the abyss below. Pietro assumed that he was to follow her - she didn't exactly give him any instructions.
The room they landed in was dark and dirty, the low ceiling giving it a more claustrophobic feeling. Laura had already had a flashlight on, seemingly attached to the suit. It illuminated the mold growing in the corners, and various pieces of equipment in various states of decay. The equipment did not look current; it didn't match the sleeker technology that Hydra used with him and Wanda.
"When did this place shut down?" he asked as Laura kicked open the rusted door. She paused in the doorframe, thinking.
"Huh, about twelve years ago." she said, her tone suggesting that she was surprised at the passage of time.
The hallway beyond the door was just in the same state as the previous room. The air itself felt moldy, and the walls were slick with precipitation that was slipping in from unknown areas. Laura purposefully walked down the hallway. She spared no hesitance at the different crossroads, didn't even break stride as she led the way down, down, down into the building. Finally, they came to a big, heavy door at the end of a long, narrow hallway. Pietro had no idea how far under the surface they were, but he felt the pressure on his chest. He pushed the anxiety away with the thought that had kept him sane for the past year - all else fails, he could run away. He could outrun anything and escape.
The large door opened up into a large room. The ceiling was higher here, projecting into the above floors. Pietro walked slowly, trying to take in everything. There were catwalks across the top of the room, and miles of cords along the floor. The machinery - which looked large and bulky compared to today's standards. It wasn't dusty thanks to the depth of its location, but he felt the same dampness that was present in the rest of the base. He stopped in front of the remains of a large glass container, most of it shattered across the floor and glittering in the minimal light from the flashlight.
"Come on, we're almost there." Laura said. Her voice echoed through the chamber, emphasizing how hollow it sounded. This was one of the brief moments where her tough facade was broken - if he looked close enough, Pietro could tell that she didn't want to be there. He walked with her to the opposite end of the room, where a small door blended in with the wall. The panel to the right of it might have contained number buttons for a passcode at one point, but had been destroyed in the same violent fashion as the rest of the lab. She unleashed her claws - which still made Pietro flinch - and cut a giant 'X' in the door as if she were slicing through butter. One solid kick, and the door crumbled.
Dust sparkled in the beams of their flashlights, slowly settling on the floor of the room. It looked like it used to be a computer room, but all the electronics had been destroyed. Bits and pieces of wires and motherboards were strewn across the room, cracked and broken. Laura stepped over them without a second glance; she didn't seem fazed by the destruction around her at all. Pietro didn't quite know where to look. He had so many questions about everything in here, but the words stuck in his throat. Obviously Laura knew this base well, and he wasn't sure that he wanted to know why.
Laura pushed aside a large, black box. At one point it might have contained the inner workings of a computer, but now it was an empty, black shell. It groaned as she pushed it across the concrete floor with a strength that Pietro didn't quite expect. She fixed her flashlight on the back of the computer next to it; out of all of the stations, this one seemed the most intact.
"And what exactly are we looking for?" he asked, his voice seeming unnecessarily loud in the small, empty room. Laura flinched at the sound, but didn't look at him. She was still studying the back of the machine.
"If we can find a machine that's still relatively hooked up to the grid, then this handy thing-" she pulled a small, tablet-looking device from a pocket, "-will be able to tell us any points where the Hydra network is connected."
"Seems a little too easy." he pointed out.
"Well, first we have to find a working machine." she said, shoving away the computer she was currently looking at and moved on to the next one. "Then, that machine has to connect to the grid." She ran her eyes across the back of this machine, then shoved it away with a frustrated sigh. "And, if that machine can connect to the grid, there's about a four percent chance that it connects to the current grid." She pulled the last machine away from the wall, and began analyzing it.
"And what about the other ninety-six percent?" he wanted to help her, but had no idea what she was looking for. He had the feeling she wouldn't want to explain it to him.
"Well, if it connects to any grid, that'll lead us to at least one other base. And we chase the rabbit from there until we can find the current operation." she answered, angrily slashing her claws through the last computer. Pietro noticed the way the pieces fell afterwards looked very familiar. She stood in the middle of the room, hands on her hips as she thought of her next move.
"So tell me something I can actually help you look for." he said, bringing her back to his original question. He was fidgeting now, his energy starting to peak. He had prepared himself to run, and yet here they were, standing. Her eyebrows betrayed a hint of her anger at his tone, but she quickly schooled her face back to the calm neutrality.
"If it computer is live, there will be a light in it. Any light." she said shortly. He nodded, taking off back into the large room with the broken glass.
About four and a half seconds into his search, he realized that he might not have made the best decision volunteering for this job. His powers were almost back under control, but the constant starting and stopping as he checked any electronic looking thing was taking a toll on his energy. He made sure to keep everything together while in the same room as Laura, but once he speeded out into the rest of the complex, he let the control waver. The thick stone walls were no worse for wear as he used them to balance himself, though his shoulders were getting a little sore from clipping them and running into them. Finally, he was able to find a computer with a light on, and he could actually run in a straight path back to the lower levels.
"Found one." he said, panting at the exertion. "Two levels up."
"Even a blind squirrel finds a nut sometimes." she quipped with a smirk. He paused as she walked by him.
"Was that...a joke?" he asked, shocked. That was now two jokes in the past twenty-four hours. She turned and looked at him, but her face gave him the idea that she was thinking of someone else.
"Every once in a while, I can actually be kind of funny." she said, turning and walking towards the door again. Her tone didn't betray any offense, so he wasn't sure if he'd hurt her feelings or not. He sped to catch up with her, leading her down the halls to the tiny room two floors up. The screens led him to believe that it was some sort of security room. He pointed to the one small computer in the corner, a faint red light emanating from the back of it. Laura smiled, pulling out her device and setting it on top.
"Is it working?" he asked as she tapped on the screen.
"We're about to find out." she replied, making a couple more taps on it. The screen filled with red numbers, numbers that flew by so quickly that he had to use his speed to read them. After a few seconds, the numbers dissolved and a red grid appeared. There were two glowing points that stayed as the screen was filled with topographical landscape.
"That looks promising." he said. Laura grinned.
"It does indeed." she said, grabbing the tablet and sliding it back into a pocket. "Alright, let's get out of here."
"What, don't feel like moving in? Making this your summer home?" he said.
"You hungry?" she asked, changing the subject as they made their way back to the tunnel that had originally let them in. "There's a tiny truck stop diner about four miles from here. We can make quick work of that if we run."
"We can make quicker work of it if you let me run." he stated. Once they made it to the tunnel, she let out her claws, digging them into the slick wall of the tunnel and climbing out. Pietro took a deep breath, wiping the dust off the bottom of his shoes before speeding up after her.
"You're more than welcome to run ahead. Just tell them that Laura will have her usual, they'll know what to do from there." she said, turning away from the complex and walking away. She didn't look back at it.
"Just let me carry you." he said exasperatedly. He was, in fact, very hungry. And he didn't want to deal with her incessant bantering at this time.
"I'm heavier than I look." she said shortly.
"Then a piggyback!" he said, speeding to her and pulling her onto his back before she could protest. In her defense, she was much heavier than she looked. It slowed Pietro down some, but not enough to warrant him putting her down. She didn't say anything, but he could feel her growl as she held on to him. She got her revenge by pulling his hair in order to direct him to the diner. In less than ten minutes, they were across the street from Al's Place.
Al's was small, as Laura said, but it was clean and warm and welcoming. There were two older ladies in aprons that gave them warm smiles when they walked in. A small family and two separate truck drivers filled three booths along the window.
"Laura!" one of the older ladies called as they walked in. Laura put on possibly the most genuine smile that Pietro had seen from her so far. She actually let the woman put her arms around her and pull her to a close embrace.
"How's it going, Frankie?" she asked softly. She seemed slightly uncomfortable by the contact, but allowed the older woman to rock her from side to side in her joy.
"Well it's been a minute since you've been here. Your dad was in here just a while ago, heading back south with a whole gaggle of kids. I was surprised when you weren't with him." she said, pulling her by the wrist to a booth in the corner. Pietro noticed it was just in sight of the exit, but not exactly noticeable at first glance.
"Yea I uh, had to move for work for a little while." she said vaguely, sitting down on the side of the booth facing the door. Pietro sat across from her, pulling the menu out from behind the condiment holder. There was a large list of burgers on the front, then sandwiches and desserts on the back.
"And who's your friend here?" she asked with the same tone of voice that grandparents often used when trying to subtly ask about significant others. He turned and gave her a smile, but decided against letting out any of the sarcastic answers that ran through his head.
"Just a friend from work, nothing to write home to Logan about." Laura said, giving Frankie a stern look. Frankie held her hands up in mock defense.
"Hey, you know your secrets are safe with me. You'll have your usual, then?" she asked. Laura nodded, and Frankie turned to Pietro. "And what'll you have, sweet thing?"
"Uh," he faltered for a moment, not used to strangers using terms of endearment with him. Laura grinned smugly at his discomfort. "Mushroom swiss, please. Three patties."
"Oh, and the friend has an accent!" Frankie remarked with a grin, raising her eyebrows at Laura. Laura dramatically rolled her eyes, and the older woman looked back at Pietro. "Fries and a shake, darlin'?"
"Um, yes please." he said quietly. He hadn't had this level of scrutiny since his initial visit to the Avengers complex.
"You got it. Hold tight, kids, it'll be right up." Frankie sauntered away.
"So you're on hug-basis around here." Pietro remarked.
"If you come here more than once, you're practically family." she said shortly, pulling out her phone. He tried a couple more times to make conversation, but he got more of the same - short answers and no eye contact. He finally resigned himself to silence, accepting this as another one of her moods. He didn't fault her for it. After all, after what he and Wanda had to deal with, after all that they had done, he understood how things can suddenly crash down. He had his own dark moments, darkness that crept into his heart and threatened to suffocate him. If Laura wanted to have a silent meal after spending some extended time in a Hydra base that she was obviously very familiar with, she was more than entitled to it.
The mountain of a burger that Frankie brought him was one of the most delicious things he'd ever had the pleasure of enjoying. He was glad to have taken the detour before heading back to the complex, even if he would probably have to explain his long absence to Captain Rogers.
After they finished their meal, Laura seemed to be in better spirits. She finally put her phone away - she'd had it in front of her for most of the time - and looked at him again. She opened her mouth to say something, but stopped, looking past him toward the door. She ducked her head down to hide.
"What is it?" Pietro asked, his heart rate spiking at her reaction. He went to turn around, but she grabbed his wrist roughly. His eyes snapped back to her, but she was looking across the diner at Frankie. Frankie somehow understood Laura's look, and Pietro could hear her behind him, directing the new patron to a booth the opposite direction from them.
"We have to go. Now." Laura said lowly. She pulled a fifty dollar bill out of her bag and dropped it on the table.
"What? Who's here? What's happening?" Pietro asked quickly.
"In a minute." she said. She slid out of the booth, keeping her head down. He assumed he was supposed to follow her.
"Laura?" a male voice called from across the diner.
"Keep going." Laura said lowly. They were almost to the door. Pietro heard footsteps behind them, as well as Frankie trying her best to distract whoever it was Laura was trying to avoid.
"Laura!" the man called again, catching up to them just as Laura pushed open the door. Laura stopped, the cold air rushing past them into the warmth of the diner. He turned to see a handsome blond man, his hand on Laura's shoulder. Laura was frozen. The man didn't look sinister, but who knows what kind of people she had come across in her life.
"A friend?" Pietro asked.
"No." she said lowly, which made the man's face fall. Pietro was immediately defensive. "This is Warren. My ex."
Ooohh, whatever will happen next?
Thank you to JackieOh and AltaStark for your wonderful reviews!
Please take a moment and let me know what y'all think of this new chapter! Thank you so much for reading.
-XM