The next morning, Valencia woke up with a headache, sore thighs and a hangover. She looked around the unfamiliar room and groaned when she saw she was alone. She got out of the bed and found her clothes crumpled on the floor.
The bronzed blonde put on her sweatpants and tank top, not seeing her underwear and bra. She then left the bedroom, wandering into the hall. As she stumbled into the kitchen of the suite, the memories from last night flooded into her mind and she almost screamed.
She had slept with Steve!
Her eyes widened at the thought and she rushed to leave the room. She pressed the elevator button multiple times, praying to every god she knew that no one would see her.
Her prayers were answered when the elevator opened to reveal no one. Valencia ran a hand through her tangled blonde hair, trying to remember every detail of the events that led up to her sleeping with Steve.
Making a sandwich, eating, washing dishes, fucking. Christ she reminded herself of her mother, getting tipsy and sleeping with a national treasure.
The elevator doors opened and Valencia was back in her suite. She walked to her bathroom and washed away the hangover, scrubbing her face and teeth. She ran a brush through her hair, before hearing a knock on her bathroom door.
Valencia opened the door to reveal Maria in her business attire, a blue button down and a matching pencil skirt.
"Morning Baby, did you just get up?" Maria asked as the young woman let her in her room.
Valencia faked a yawn and nodded, "Yeah, I was knocked out last night."
"I bet," The brunette woman said, frowning. "Last night was crazy."
Valencia's eyes widened, "Last night?"
Maria gave her a weird look. "Yeah a kill bot attacking us wasn't exactly good."
The short brunette laughed, "Oh yeah! No that was crazy."
"Mhmm." Maria hummed, squinting her eyes at the girl. "Anyway, I came up here to tell you everyone's meeting the lab in ten."
Valencia nodded, "Okay, I just have to shower."
"Look Val," Maria sighed, putting her hand on Valencia's shoulder, "You don't have to help out. I brought you here for a party, not to save the world."
"Oh Maria," Valencia shook her head, "I wouldn't have it any other way. Besides," The young girl smirked, "It's part of the family business."
Maria laughed and patted Valencia on the back. "You're right about that. I'll see you later Val, I have work to do."
The blonde closed the door behind her pseudo-mother, letting out a relieved sigh. She had almost let the secret of last night out. The bronze girl jumped in the shower, which effectively sobered and calmed her. She walked to her closet in a towel and threw on a pair of jeans and an oversized sweater. She stuffed her feet into some flats and made her way to the lab.
As the blonde stepped out the elevator, she heard her paramour's voice sounding from the room. "What dialect?"
"W-wakanada?" Dr. Banner stammered back.
"Wakanda." Valencia corrected as she joined her friends. "It's in northern Africa. Sorry I'm late." She finished, leaning against the metal table in the middle of the room.
Tony's face blanked as he looked at Steve, "What this guy got out of Wakanda with some of their trade goods…"
"I thought your father got the last of it?" The blonde hero frowned.
Valencia furrowed her brows, "What's in Wakanda?"
Tony gestured to Cap's shield with a frown. "The strongest metal on earth."
"Everyone suit up," Steve ordered, "We'll meet in the jet in ten minutes."
Everyone nodded and sprang into action, going to get dressed, but Valencia hung back. Her hands nervously played with the ends of her oversized sleeves as she nervously tried to think of something to say. "Hey Ste-" She started but was interrupted by the captain. "You're not going."
Valencia groaned and rolled her eyes, her nervousness forgotten. "This again, Steve? I thought we had established that I can handle myself when I helped you takedown Shield? Or did you forget about that?"
Steve clenched his jaw, as he stood in front of her with an authoritative stance. Valencia stared hardly at him, her head tilted up. "You're not going." He asserted, looking down at her through his lashes.
Valencia rolled her eyes before turning on her heel and making a move to walk away from him, but before she could, the hero grabbed her arm. "We need to talk later." He insisted and she nodded at him, her face feeling hot.
Valencia walked out of the lab, and down the hallway, turning the corner. She found her way to the armory where Clint was loading up on arrows. "Hey Clint." She greeted, finding one of Natasha's suits to wear. The archer said nothing in return, continuing loading his arrows like she didn't just speak to him. She furrowed her eyebrows, "Clint?" She repeated, placing a hand on his shoulder. The archer jumped and whipped around to face her, his face calming when he saw who it was. "Clint?" She said once again, and the archer held up his index finger. He slightly turned, grabbing something from the counter and put them in his ears. Valencia's eyes widened in realization, and she would have blushed if her skin was light enough. "I'm so sorry, Clint!" She urged, "I didn't know you were-"
"It's cool, kid." Clint waved her off, before turning back to get his arrows.
Valencia frowned and went into one of the changing areas they had in the armory to try the cat suit on. It fit, though it was a little tight on her bottom, but nothing unbearable. She walked from behind the curtain, and Clint whistled jokingly.
"Look at you! A baby Nat!" The archer teased and Valencia snorted.
"She wishes." The blonde grinned wolfishly before arming the suit with knives and twin pistols. She slid on the boots that matched the cat suit and laced them up. Clint waited for her by the door, and when Valencia was ready they both walked to the jet together.
"I can't believe I didn't know Fury had a kid." Clint chatted, making small talk with the girl. "Who is your mom, if you don't mind me asking?"
"I don't mind," Valencia shrugged, "Rebecca Smith, she used to work under the alias of 'Blackbird'."
Clint seemed to pause for a moment before turning to Valencia with wide eyes. "Your mother was 'Blackbird'? As in, took down the legendary Agent 'Blackbird' to get the name? The agent that the women in the Bond movies are based off of?"
The blonde laughed sheepishly, "I don't know about all of that, but I guess…?"
The archer shook his head as they walked into the jet, "You have to let me meet her."
"Meet who?" Natasha's voice greeted them on the jet.
"Val's mom is 'Blackbird'." Clint surmised, his eyes still wide in shock as he sat down next to the redhead.
Valencia rolled her eyes and sat opposite of them, "Nat, please tell Clint that it's not a big deal."
"I wish I could Baby," Natasha smirked, "But your mom is a legend to agents."
Clint nodded eagerly, "I heard she once took down an entire platoon with just an empty automatic."
"I heard she's the reason the Berlin wall got knocked down." Natasha retorted, with a smile.
"I heard she made S.H.I.E.L.D. change their safety protocol because she hacked their systems and stole all their files in two minutes flat! With a broken hand!" The archer informed the group.
"Your mother sounds like a strong woman." Thor added to the conversation, the grin on his face wide.
Valencia rolled her eyes, "I doubt most of this is true…"
"But it is!" Clint insisted, "In fact, they say she took down a whole army, pregnant with a broken leg and a corkscrew."
Valencia snorted and Nat laughed at Clint, shaking their heads. "Now that's totally not believable!"
"I heard she slept with Tony Stark!" A voice added to the fables and Valencia stopped laughing, rolling her eyes when she saw Tony walking into the jet. The man of iron wasn't wearing his suit and Valencia figured he would put it on in the jet.
"She was known to indulge in risky behaviors." The blonde deadpanned, scooting away from him as he sat next to her.
"Like mother, like daughter. We've got time, how risky are you feeling on a scale of one to me?" Tony smirked as Valencia scowled.
"That's enough Stark." A commanding voice boomed through the jet and as Steve walked into the aircraft. Bruce followed shortly after, and when everybody was settled into the jet, Clint took off.
They arrived in Wakanda in two hours, the flight filled with the sound of Valencia laughing from all the stories Clint was telling her about her mother. Everyone else on the ride seemed to be somber, preparing themselves for what they were about to face.
Cap split the team up, placing them in different positions around the cargo ship. He, Stark, and Thor would confront Ultron on the ground, while Clint, Natasha and Valencia watched from up above, just in case a fight would ensue.
Valencia watched as Ultron stood with two other humans. One was a girl with long brown hair in a red dress, and Valencia could see how intense her red eyes were from her place at the railing. The other was a boy with silver hair, his eyes were blue and wild, as a matter of fact, everything about the boy looked wild. Their voices echoed through the facility, a slight accent tilting their words.
In a blink of an eye, Ultron and Stark were fighting. Valencia hopped to her feet and prepared herself to fight, checking her surroundings. She looked down the railing where Clint stood, firing arrows at the henchmen down below.
Arms seemed to come out of nowhere and wrap around Valencia's throat, constricting her airway. The blonde bent her knees and flipped the man over the railing, making him fall to his death. Valencia coughed and tried to catch her breath only for another man to come from behind her and try to grab her. She bent down again, blocking his arms and danced around him, kicking him in the back and over the railing. The sound of gunshots ran from the hallway behind her and she put her back against the wall as the footsteps got closer. A man with a machine gun turned the opposite way Valencia was facing and the blonde jumped on his back and covered his eyes with one hand while pushing the mouth of his gun down with the other. The man screamed and idiotically fired his gun, shooting himself in the foot. He dropped the gun and flipped the young woman off of him making her fall in front of him with a groan. Thinking quickly, Valencia grabbed the machine gun and pointed it upwards, shooting the man in the head.
Finally being able to breath, Valencia kicked the man off the side of the railing and exhaled deeply, leaning on the gun. She against the wall once again and shot at every person that came through the hallway opening.
Hearing a grunt, Valencia turned to the left of her to see Clint shocking the girl in the red with an arrow. "I've done the whole mind control thing, I'm not a fan." The archer quips before a silver light comes out of nowhere and pushes Clint into a glass room. "Clint!" Valencia yells as the silver-headed boy picks up the girl. His icy blue eyes glare at Valencia, making the bronze girl pause, before he disappears, seemingly into thin air.
Valencia blinks and runs to Clint, helping him up. "Who's ever standing we gotta move!" Clint says into his earpiece as he leans on the blonde girl. Valencia hears no responses in her own headpiece and looks at Clint worriedly when she sees Natasha sitting on the steps.
"I got Nat, you find Cap." Clint urges, rushing over to the redhead.
The blonde nods to him and runs down the stairs, searching the area for Steve. Once she gets to the ground floor, she sees the hero laying on the ground, groaning. The blonde
runs to her captain and falls to her knees, her hands on his face.
"Steve?" She whispers, patting his cheeks. "Steve?" She gets nothing in response so, Valencia reels her hand back and slaps his face, hard. His eyes snap open and stare up blankly, not looking at the woman beside him.
"We can go home?" He mutters, and Valencia furrows her eyebrows.
"Steve?" She whispers once again, and his blue eyes finally look at her.
"Valencia? But how…?" Steve stammers and the blonde shushes in him, stroking his hair.
"It's okay, Steve." She coos softly, her hands trying to soothe the sadness away from his face.
Steve clenches his eyes shut, and one tear rolls down his cheek. "I want to go home." He murmurs almost inaudibly and Valencia's heart aches for him.
"We'll go home, Steve." She coos, "I'll take you home."