So, here's the next update! I'm doing two today because I proof read the next chapter and this one is incredibly short anyway, so there's that. So far, Bucky is winning for the next fic. Bucky has five votes, Pietro has one, Clint has one, and Loki has one. (If I counted them right.) Someone mentioned that there aren't very many Pietro fics and I know, it breaks my heart. He's definitely going to be in this series, so long as I keep this up. He doesn't have a big part in this fic, but Wanda and Pietro will have bigger parts as time goes on. Of course, I already mentioned that Pietro was alive in this universe I'm creating, so that's not a surprise. Anyway, here's the next chapter!
Eve pursed her lips and stared at the superheroes in front of her, wondering why they were all ganging up on her. Obviously, she knew that they were all going into hiding after the events at the Tower. She wasn't stupid and, after she'd finally wrestled the pain medication away from Natasha's reach, she'd finally gotten the full story. The Avengers were officially going dark, disappearing into the night like shadows only to come out when another world threatening disaster happened. Or, at least, until they figured out who had sold out their location and helped HYDRA break into the Tower.
"You have to decide. Either you and I are going with the boys or we're going off on our own. Either way, you need a place to heal that's safe and we're the safest people in the country at the moment." Natasha informed her. The woman had taken up watch next to her like a silent guardian the entire time she'd been asleep. She'd only woken once to find someone else by her side and Maria had informed her that she had taken a shift so that Natasha could go sleep and shower. It was odd to have the fanatical devotion of an assassin trained on her, but she figured that it was better than having her hunting her.
"You want me to go underground with you? Why? I'm not an Avenger and no one knows who I am." Eve reminded them, unsure why everyone in the room traded long suffering looks, as if she was the stupidest person they knew. It was kind of insulting. After all, she ran most of their missions, it wasn't like she didn't know things. They were just being decidedly vague in their responses, which had little to do with her and more to do with their inherent distrust of, well, everyone.
"After you fell out of a building with Cap and you took out four HYDRA agents, you can bet your ass they know who you are. And if they don't know yet, they will soon enough." Natasha was the one who answered, the two super soldiers keeping their mouths shut. They seemed to both think it was better to let Natasha handle the sweet talking, though she wasn't being very sweet. If she was being something, though, she was being honest, and Eve appreciated that more than honey coated lies put in place to keep her calm. Eve had no doubt that Natasha was fully capable of getting her to go along without telling her anything true. She had chosen to be truthful and Eve appreciated that more than anything else.
"What about my family? Are my siblings in danger?" Eve finally asked after a moment, fighting a small well of panic. Only one of her siblings would be in any real danger. Alan was as safe as he could be and was probably friends with the bastards who were trying to kill Eve, if she was being honest with herself. But Elise was still in school. In New York. In danger.
"There was an agent sent to your sister to warn her. She'll be shadowed, we have a few agents in place around NYU. They've been warned. Maria made the arrangements." Natasha explained. Eve let out the breath she was holding, glad that Natasha didn't mention Alan. No one wanted to think about Alan, least of all Eve.
"So, my options are to go with the Captain and the Sergeant to a safe house at an undisclosed location where we'll just hang around for a couple weeks until the danger dies down or until we figure out where the leak is, or I go with Natasha to a different undisclosed location with a new name and start a new life until she decides it's safe enough to come back." Eve thought it through carefully, wondering what the best decision was. She knew she'd feel better with more people she trusted around. Familiarity was nice. They wouldn't tell her where the hell they were planning on taking her, but she hadn't gotten an answer out of the Captain or Natasha, who was a little terrifying when she started talking about new names, new identities, new hair colors. The Captain was only slightly less terrifying.
Eve had only dyed her hair once in her life. She'd put blue streaks in her hair when she was twenty and she'd regretted it immediately. She couldn't imagine dying all of it and didn't want to find out what would happen if she did. Not only that, but going with the Captain would put her in a position where she could actually talk to him, which would be a good change from the awkward little dance they'd been doing the entire time she'd been in medical. She'd known that he didn't like medical facilities and she knew why, she'd read his file. He'd watched his mother, Sarah Rogers, die in one. But she hadn't accounted for how awkward it would make her in response.
"How long do I have to decide?" She asked finally. Thinking things through was her specialty. She mapped things out, figured out time, danger, variables. If she wanted to make a sound decision, she needed more information, not that they'd give it to her. They expected too much for too little. If they wanted her to be comfortable with the decision she was supposed to make, they were doing a terrible job.
"You have until tonight. You're cleared to be moved tomorrow and everyone else is going to be on their way out in the morning, so we have to go too. The safety of having us all together will diminish as soon as the first person steps out that door." The Captain was the one who spoke this time, blue eyes honest, as if they ever weren't the picture of honesty.
The Sergeant was standing next to him silently, frowning deeply, as if he didn't like any of the options. He'd snuck in the night before and sat with her for a while. She'd managed to convince him to play Rummy with her, which he was surprisingly good at for not remembering playing the game before. He caught on quickly and had beaten her most of the games they'd played. He'd shown up at midnight right after Natasha left and stayed until she'd fallen into a deep, dreamless asleep. She'd woken up the next morning to find that Maria had been back to check in. She'd been the one who had let Eve in on the newest set of plans that were going to disrupt her life.
"I'll think about it. Come back for supper and I'll let you know." Eve informed them, eyeing each of them critically. Steve nodded and so did Natasha, turning to leave. The Sergeant was still staring at her like he had something else to say, so she didn't go into deep thinking mode, instead watching the backs of the other two leave.
"Come with us." Was all the Sergeant said, in a quiet voice, before he turned and left the room.
She wanted to holler after him and make sure he knew that that wasn't fair, but she was pretty sure he already knew that. Somehow, the elusive Sergeant had become something of a confidante to her. He was a little bit broken and she was a little bit crazy, but they got along well and she didn't want to make him think she didn't care about him. Saying no now meant directly refusing an invitation. Well, as close to an invitation as she would get from the Sergeant. It was more than she'd gotten from the other two, who had barged in and told her to choose what she wanted. They hadn't asked if she wanted to go with and the Sergeant hadn't either, but he'd requested she come with him as if there was a choice in the end.
Laying back in her bed, which she was starting to hate, she stared up at the blank white ceiling.
It really wasn't the end of the world if she went with the Captain. Hell, he would probably get sick of her in a few days and find something else to bide his time with. She would have Natasha if things got bad and she knew that Natasha, for all her piss and vinegar, would take her away if she asked her to. The woman wasn't great with emotions, but she was a good woman underneath it all and she wouldn't force Eve into anything. It was just a matter of accepting her fate at this point.
Eve rolled onto her side, curling up and ignoring the slight pain in her head as she decided to take a nap before letting them know that yes, she would go with the super soldiers.