Chapter 9
The quinjet was warm and extremely high tech. Tony's stealth technology made it unfindable, so they approached the Hydra base with no resistance. After that it was easy to disarm a passing patrol and take the jeep, then a slight glitch with border security alerted the inhabitants to their presence.
"Right it's time to move", said Steve, immediately assuming his commanding role to get the team ready. "Romanoff, Barton, you're going to stay with the jeep. Stark and Thor, you're up top, Stark you have to get inside that building and come back for Maeve once you're inside. For now she can stay with me and we'll take the bike. Banner, this is a code green, so as soon as we stop, you get out and you get angry. Everyone clear?"
There was a general murmur of assent and Steve lead Maeve to the back compartment of the jeep, where they had stored a motorcycle from the Quinjet.
"Nice bike" Maeve commented.
"Isn't it just" Steve replied. The jeep came to at stop and Banner ran off into the trees.
"He doesn't like to change near people" Tony said as he flew into the air. Steve lifted the bike out onto the ground and climbed on motioning for Maeve to get on behind him.
"Keep them away from the bike, any tanks and soldiers, use fire or a knife you can call back. You won't be able to aim with guns here." Maeve put her hands around Steve's waist as she sat in the motorcycle, and as he started the engine she yelled,
"You think I can't aim? Just watch and see old man".
Maeve pulled out one pistol, always keeping an arm firmly locked around Steve's torso. There were two soldiers on the left with snipers. Two shots and they fell like tin men. She had a brief giggle as Tony swore and Steve yelled "language!" Knowing he would never hear the end of it.
As Steve and Maeve sped around a corner past the jeep, there were men everywhere. Soon she couldn't reload, and resorted to fireballs, taking out multiple targets at a time, until Tony was in her ear, telling her to jump, and Steve also said it, since he was going to flip the bike into a tank. Standing on the seat with her hands like vices on Steve's shoulders, Maeve launched herself into the air and was swept up and away by Stark. It was incredible, flying trough the air, twisting and turning as they avoided the energy weapons that had been deployed to stop them. Suddenly, Maeve saw two people stood atop one of the forts battlements. It was the Maximoff twins.
"Tony, drop me here!" Maeve yelled into her earpiece. Then she was falling, fire spurting out of her palms like a miniature jet pack, bringing her safely down to the same wall the twins stood on.
They both looked at her, then the woman shot something red out of her hands at Maeve. She repelled it, and the energy force was something like her own.
"Pretty lights" Maeve smirked, "but they won't help you against me". With that, she summoned a huge ball of golden energy and shot it towards the woman. As she did, the male, Pietro, sprinted towards her but she was ready for it. Ducking under the blue blur that was him, she powered up her buzz batons and stuck both out to the side as he came back towards her. Suddenly she could see him again, clutching his stomach and right thigh where she had shocked him. They both stood looking at her for a few seconds, before Wanda was swept up by Pietro and carried towards her. This time Maeve wasn't fast enough for the pass and the wave of red energy that was meant to manipulate her mind hit her stomach as she half dodged it and blasted her into the air.
"Okay, now I'm mad." Growled Maeve as the speedster came to a halt in front of her as she struggled to her feet.
"That all you got?" He laughed, before he was slammed in the face by a streak of water, knocking him onto his back and freezing him there. Wanda also suffered a similar fate, being backed up to the wall by Maeve's fire and the pinned there by ice shards.
"Cap, I have the twins here, they're in a bit of a... cold situation" she grinned. "What should I do with them?"
"Nothing for now, leave them and get inside to Stark, he's just leaving with the sceptre. And keep safe, there's still soldiers everywhere!" Came his reply.
When Maeve found Tony he was suited up with the sceptre in hand.
"What, were you asleep or something?" He said, but his sarcastic mood seemed dampened and Maeve suspected that Wanda had been messing with his mind.
"You okay Tony? You seem a bit... Off." She said. Tony just handed her the sceptre, picked her up and took off, leaving her with Steve and Thor before heading back to the Quinjet with it.
"Maeve duck!" Yelled Steve, before his shield went whizzing over her head and knocked down a row of men.
"Thanks" she said before flipping over a group and buzzing them with her batons. The next man to approach her was unlucky. Very unlucky. She hooked her knee around his elbow and used momentum to swing herself up and onto his shoulders, before flipping backward and throwing him into a tree, his head cracking against the bark. He slid down the trunk with a groan and didn't get back up.
"Jeez Maeve, you're lethal!" Steve said before throwing himself back into the battle.
A slight break, then out of the corner of her eye Maeve saw a new weapon being carried towards them. It looked like an energy weapon but... different somehow. It was aimed at Thor.
"Thor watch out!" She screamed and launched herself towards him but she knew it was too late. The weapon had already fired and the asgardian was too busy fighting another guy to notice. There was a flash, then Thor was gone. Well, not gone exactly but...
"He's a little kid!" Steve yelped, surprised to see a tiny, blonde, four year old Thor wielding Mjolnir.
"We need to go. Now!" He said to Maeve and she scooped up the child, who yelled shrilly:
"Thor will be back! Unhand me fair lady!"
"Christ, I liked him better when he didn't have a higher voice than me" she muttered as they sprinted back to the Quinjet. When the doors closed, the whole team looked at little Thor (still holding his hammer) and wondered what the hell had happened.
