Mia watched as Steve jumped and landed on a railing as he held onto it and raising his arm he shot a small device that landed on the window of the main control room. He then jumped down and Mia came up crouched next to him as he listened in on the coms what was being ordered by Batroc. Mia looked around making sure that the area remained secure and no one tried to sneak up on them. They waited patiently as the other teams in their areas checked in as they came into position.
"Natasha what's your status?" Steve said urgently. "Status Natasha?"
"Hang on!" she yelled into the coms and Mia winced a bit as scuffling was heard on the other end. It took about thirty seconds until she responded. "Engine room secure." and her mic went silent.
"On my mark, three, two..."
Gunfire was heard over coms and both Mia and Steve rounded the corner and went up the main deck as he reeled back his shield and sent it through the glass of the control room. It shattered leaving an opening for the both of them as Steve climbed through first and Mia did second. As she did she looked down to see Batroc as he kicked his leg out and into her sending her flying to the floor. He darted over her and towards the door and Steve rounded about as he grabbed his shield stuck into the metal of the wall and pulled it out. He didn't give her a second thought just went after Batroc.
"Mia rendezvous with Nat, I got Batroc."
"Copy." she said as she brushed the glass off of her and pushed herself up. Sighing she used her powers to scan the ship and finding her way to another control center on the ship not far away she entered the room.
Natasha immediately drew her gun pointing it at her and Mia held her hands up.
"Woah there it's just me."
"Aren't you supposed to be with Steve?"
"You know I was told to meet up with you had you had your radio been on." Mia said walking over. Natasha holstered her gun and bent over as she began typing. Mia noticed a Shield flash drive in a USB port and looked up at the screen. "But this isn't the rendezvous point."
"I'm well aware." Natasha said as she kept typing.
"I take it Fury had a separate mission for you." Mia folded her arms and lent on the desk behind her.
"You know he would have asked you but, you know."
"Yeah you're comfortable with doing everything I get it. However it would have been nice to know. Steve isn't going to be happy."
"He's the least of my worries. I can handle him." she mused with a slight smirk forming at the corners of her lips.
"Hostages in route to extraction. Romanoff and Harper missed the rendezvous point Captain. Hostiles are still in play." Rumlow said as Mia held her earpiece to better hear.
"Nat, Mia, Batroc is still on the move. Circle back to me. Rumlow protect the hostages. Natasha? Mia?"
"Nat, you have to hurry up." Mia said her worry spreading. This was taking too much time and if she had to she would leave the other woman here.
"There's only so fast the data will download Mia. Just watch the door."
Just then the door to the room burst open flying off of his hinges as Steve came barreling in with Batroc under him and he raised his fist and brought it down effectively knocking out the mercenary Mia turned her eyes glowing white as she held her hand up ready to fight. Natasha knowing her subordinate had her back continued to type.
"Well this is awkward." Natasha said and Mia powered down as her shoulders relaxed. Steve looked at both of them and she walked over helping him up.
"What are you doing?" he asked Natasha.
"Backing up the hard drive." she said as she looked at the two of them. "It's a good habit to get into."
"Rumlow needed your help, what the hell are you doing here?" Steve sauntered over breaking away from Mia as he watched what she was doing. His demeanor and voice seemed pretty pissed off.
"You're saving Shield intel." he said as he watched the red files disappear.
"Well whatever I can get my hands on."
"Our mission is to rescue hostages."
"No that's your mission." she said plainly her eyes never leaving the screen below her before the files finished uploading and she took the flash drive out of the USB port before turning to look up at Steve with a smirk. "And you've done it beautifully."
Natasha was now just pissing Mia off. Natasha made to walk by Steve but he grabbed her upper arm and kept her firmly stationed next to him.
"You just jeopardized this whole operation."
"I think that's overstating things." she rolled her eyes.
Just then movement was heard as all three of them turned. Batroc was running towards the door as he pulled the pin to a grenade and threw it. Mia's eyes widened as she turned but Steve just hit it with his Shield. He grabbed Natasha and dove through the window to the next room but Mia didn't have enough time. Her eyes glowing white hot she braced herself with her arms over her face and suddenly when it went off her body went rocketing through the remaining windows and into the opposite wall to the room Steve and Natasha were in. She groaned coughing as the dust settled a bit. Having been knocked in the head so hard she winced as flashes erupted behind her eyes. Fire. White hot fire and debris circled around her as a memory swept her body. Fear settled in as the feeling of a building coming down on her wracked her body with pain. Forcing her eyes open she then saw Steve rushing to her.
"Okay." Natasha breathed heavily her back against the wall. "That one's on me."
"Ya damn right!" Steve said helping Mia to her feet as he helped her out of the room and through the fire.
Once making their way back to the jet Steve helped Mia sit as he buckled her in. He wiped her hair back from her face and placed his hand on her cheek as he lightly held her straight. She was a little dazed still from having been knocked so hard but otherwise a few cuts and scrapes here and there she looked fine.
"Hey you alright?" he asked and she nodded.
"I'm gonna be sore tomorrow." she winced as she rolled her shoulder. "I didn't have enough time to guard myself fully or brace for impact."
"I'm so sorry I didn't have enough time to grab you."
"I'm less breakable than Nat is. It's okay." she said wincing again as she moved. "I don't know if I broke a rib or not though."
"Just sit tight okay we will be back to base soon. Did you know about Nat's mission?"
"No. I was just as surprised as you were. I was following your orders though I found her and stuck with her."
"At least someone did." he said his teeth gritting a bit and letting his hand fall.
"Strap in." he heard the pilot say and he sat down next to her as he pulled his harness on. He stared at her as her head seemed to droop a bit forward.
"Stay awake okay?" he said to her as he nudged her shoulder. "You got knocked hard. You might have a concussion."
"Oh great more brain damage." she scoffed. "Does Shield have life insurance? I should look into getting a policy with all the crap that happens to me on missions."
"Yeah, probably would be beneficial." he said smiling a little but weakly. He was still worried and the circumstances weren't funny at all. He was still very angry and upset with the situation and with Natasha. He was only glad that they succeeded in their mission.
Once back to DC Mia was whisked away to medical as she was admitted for a concussion and a hairline fracture to two of her ribs. The doctors told her that she would most likely be healed by the end of the week with how fast she regenerated due to her mutant genes and the concussion was minor and would have no long lasting damage. After being discharged she limped back to her quarters and quickly stripped herself of her uniform and headed for the shower. She ached all over and the warm water loosened her muscles a bit. Her hands felt around her ribs and she winced slightly.
She definitely had experienced more pain before, having been shot, stabbed and otherwise strangled but this pain was more annoying than anything. As she stood there she closed her eyes as the flashes from being knocked by the grenade came back. She felt the scream rise in her throat but she suppressed it. Memories. Her memories of the explosion were back. Sighing she turned the water off and stepped out wrapping a towel around her and walked back into her room. Natasha was sitting on her bed, still in uniform as she then looked up at Mia.
"What do you want?" Mia asked walking over to her small closet area and pulling another uniform out. Dropping the towel she pulled her undergarments on and then slipped the new uniform on as she zipped it up. Her hair wasn't damp, just twisted up so she pulled it down and let it fall down her back. Turning back around Natasha had stood up and looked at her with an unreadable expression.
"They told me they discharged you. Are you alright?"
"Concussion and fracture to the ribs. Nothing I can't handle." Mia said stiffly.
"I'm sorry."
"I'm not the one you should apologize to."
"I do though. I jeopardized the mission. You got hurt because of it."
"Better me than you. Honestly Nat, I can take a worse beating than you. I'm glad Steve was around to shield you when I can't. I know you had your orders. That's what being a soldier and an agent is about. Following those orders. But when those orders interfere with your comrades safety you need to fill us in. Secrets I know are your forte. If you don't want to reveal them no one can make you, but I wish you would have at least told me. I am supposed to have your back and I can't have your back if you don't let me know what to look out for or hell what you're even doing."
"I know."
"I don't think I can trust you anymore." Mia said honestly. Natasha's eyes widened for a moment before her expression returned to that one of finality.
"I see. No you're right. You don't have any reason to trust me. I'll see you. I'm glad you're okay." Natasha brushed by Mia and out the door and Mia clenched her jaw as she turned looking at where her friend had exited. If she could even consider Natasha a friend anymore.
Meanwhile up on the upper floors of the Triskelion, Fury sat in his chair at his desk his hand propped up to his temple as he lent on it. He stared out the window at DC below and Steve stomped in.
"You just can't stop yourself from lying can you?" he accused as he came to a halt at his desk.
"I didn't lie." he said. "Agent Romanoff had a different mission from yours."
"Which you didn't feel obliged to share."
"I'm not obliged to do anything." he said rather annoyed.
"Those hostages could have died Nick."
"I sent the greatest soldier in history to make sure that didn't happen." he said turning in his chair now to look at Steve. "I also sent the most powerful mutant the government has at it's disposal to double make sure that didn't happen."
"Soldiers trust each other that's what makes it an army. Not a bunch of guys running around shooting guns. Mia almost died because of that break in trust." Steve bit back.
"Last time I trusted someone I lost an eye." Fury rose from his seat coming to full height as his hands braced on his desk. He was slightly lent forward almost like a wolf staring down it's prey. Steve wasn't about to buckle though. "Look I wasn't about to make you do anything you weren't comfortable with. And as it is I know Mia wasn't comfortable with a lot of my decisions either having confined her mostly to the base. I have barely got her on board. But Agent Romanoff is comfortable with everything."
"I can't lead a mission when the people I'm leading have missions of their own."
"It's called compartmentalization. Nobody spills the secrets because nobody knows them all."
"Except you." Steve scoffed.
Fury closed his eye for a moment taking a deep breath before standing straight. He looked tired as if he had a lot on his mind lately. Which he did. That didn't pass Steve's notice.
"You're wrong about me. I do share. I'm nice like that." he said almost as if he was offended. "Follow me."
Fury rounded about his desk as he headed for the elevator and Steve followed along, albeit reluctantly. Once inside the scanner pulled Fury's info.
"Insight Bay." he ordered.
"Captain Rogers does not have clearance for Project Insight." the computer said scanning Steve as he stepped in.
"Director Override. Fury, Nicholas J." he said leaning on the railing watching the doors close.
"Confirmed." the computer said as the elevator began to descend.
"You know they used to play music." Steve said as he inspected the elevator.
"Yeah. My grandfather used to operate one of these for forty years." Fury chuckled a bit his one eye also inspecting the elevator. "You know grandad worked in a nice building and got good tips. He'd walk home every night with a roll of ones stuffed in his lunch bag. He'd say hi, people say hi back. Time went on, neighborhood got rougher. He'd say hi, and they would say keep on steppin. Grandad got to grippin that lunch bag a little tighter."
"He ever get mugged?" Steve asked listening to the story. Fury let out a genuine amused laugh at that.
"Every week some punk would say "What's in the bag?"
"What would he do?"
"He'd show em." Fury said simply. "A bunch of crumpled one's and a loaded twenty-two magnum."
Steve nodded as he then looked to his side a bit noticing the Elevator was reaching it's destination and Fury pushed himself from the railing.
"Grandad loved people. but he didn't trust them very much." Fury faced the window as Steve finally noticed exactly what was being revealed. As the elevator kept going what came into view was rather frightening.
A hanger, larger than imaginable filled with hellicarriers armed to the nines with every weapon imaginable.
"Yeah I know." Fury said. "They're a little bit bigger than a twenty-two."
