Alright ladies and gents. This friday I go on holiday to Disneyworld Florida! I'm super excited. BUT I am away for two weeks, so the next chapter will have to wait until after I get home unfortunately!
I hope everyone is enjoying this story and the characters all seem true to themselves! Thank you to everyone who follows and favourites Fiinding Home, and thank you thank you thank you to the people who leave reviews - they are so lovely and really encourage me. I love hearing from you guys!
Anyways. On with the chapter. Apologies again in advance for the wait for chapter 15.
Chapter Fourteen - Civil War
Mikaela holds the jet some distance from the fight, leaving it hovering in the air with the ramp down so she has a good view. So far, only Barton has spotted her - they exchanged a wave and a smile before he got back into the fight. She hid the machine from their technology, but she couldn't cloak the physical jet itself. She has realised her sleep hasn't fixed all her problems - she sadly still has limits.
Stark gave her an earpiece, thankfully, to save her from linking herself in to their communications and using up more energy, but she has also hooked herself in to Parker's new suit - courtesy of Stark - to keep an eye on his vitals and stuff. He's doing a good job of holding his own so far, but the more he does that, the less Rogers' guys pull their punches, and eventually something might go wrong.
Mikaela has to admit, while she has her concerns, the fight is entertaining. It's interesting to see how they use each other's weaknesses against them, having learned them from all their team exercises and missions. She also has never met nor seen a few of these people in action - Vision, T'Challa, Wanda, the guy who goes tiny, Wilson, Barnes, and Rhodes. Wanda is especially impressive; Mikaela often finds herself watching the young woman utilise her abilities in such gracefully powerful ways, in complete awe of her. She hopes this all gets resolved in the end so she can meet Wanda and the others.
She turns her attention back to Parker and watches as Rogers throws his shield at Parker's web, slicing through it. The kid sticks a landing and observes the shield returning to its owner.
"That thing does not obey the laws of physics at all," Parker comments.
Mikaela puts herself in his suit, allowing her to hear the Captain's reply. "Look, kid, there's a lot going on here that you don't understand," he says.
"Mr Stark said you'd say that. Wow," Parker replies, shooting a string of web out that connects to Rogers' shield. He sends another that latches on to Rogers' shins, and pulls on them both, bringing the man down to the ground which Parker promptly drags him across.
Shooting two more webs, Parker propels himself forward until his foot connects with Rogers's face, sending him flying into the object behind him.
"He also said to go for your legs," Parker laughs.
When Rogers runs for his shield, Parker catches both of the man's fists with his webs and uses them to hold him back; until Rogers turns and twists in the air, using the webs against Parker to yank him forwards where he hits the kid mid-air.
As they continue to fight, Mikaela moves the jet towards them a little, accepting that Parker is doing well in the fight, but remembering that the other combatant is Captain America.
Parker swings himself up onto a crate out of Rogers' reach, allowing a breather.
"Stark tell you anything else?" Rogers calls up to him.
"That you're wrong. You think you're right. That makes you dangerous," Parker replies simply.
He jumps backwards and shoots a web out, swinging himself underneath the crate he was stood on. But Rogers jumps into the air and kicks Parker, sending him into the machinery holding the crate above him.
"Guess he had a point," Rogers comments. Then he throws his shield into the other piece of machinery holding the crate, breaking it, and letting the crate fall down towards Parker.
"Fuck," Mikaela breathes, feeling panic blossom in her chest. Her fists clench, ready to fly the jet right into Rogers' fucking face.
But Parker catches the crate, and he holds it.
"You got heart, kid. Where you from?" Rogers asks, as if he didn't just take a huge risk nearly killing Spider-Man.
"Queens," Parker strains.
"Brooklyn," Rogers smirks, before running off.
"Hey, Parker," Mikaela projects herself into his earpiece, "You alright under there?"
"Mikaela?" he asks, grunting. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm awesome."
She frowns down at him, watching the crate get closer to the ground. "Bend your knees and lift or you'll hurt your back," she quips, ignoring the tightness of her chest. A couple of seconds tick by. "Do I need to call in some assistance?"
"No," he grinds out.
She sees it lower slightly, but then suddenly it lifts into the air again and Parker dives out of the way before it crashes to the ground. He bends over, his hands on his thighs, sucking in air.
"Woah. Did you see that?" he asks, giddy.
She rolls her eyes, but the corner of her mouth lifts. "Yeah, bigshot, I saw it. Why don't you get back into the fight?"
"I was gonna," he replies defensively. "When this is done, by the way, you and I need to discuss your spy job."
"Nah," she decides.
Before he can reply, the guy on Rogers' team who can go tiny suddenly goes very, very, big.
"Holy shit! Are you seeing this?" Parker exclaims.
Mikaela's face contorts at his question. "No, I can't see the fucking massive guy in the middle of the airport!" she snaps.
The now-big man has grabbed a hold of Rhodes by the legs. He pulls his arm back for maximum swing strength, before throwing Rhodes through the air towards a stationary plane. Parker jumps at the chance.
"I got him!" he calls, shooting a web to catch Rhodes before he hits the plane, allowing him time to slow himself down and turn away, using his thrusters to speed back.
Parker keeps himself attached to Rhodes as he flies back to the big man, hitching a ride. Rhodes sends missiles off at the guy, doing little damage. Parker then attaches a web to the big guy's arm and swings himself around it to gain enough momentum to deliver a powerful kick to the giant's head.
Parker continues to swing around their enemy while the others keep fighting at his feet. The kid finally gains a footing on the giant's back and crawls up him onto the back of his head, and round over the front, peering in through the guy's lenses. When he tries to swing around the other arm, the giant manages to shake him off, dropping him back to the ground.
Mikaela watches him, praying he won't do anything stupid like get stood on. Luckily, he backs away from the giant and observes him, clearly trying to come up with a new plan of attack.
"How can you take down a giant?" he mutters to himself.
"I've got a bad feeling about this shit," Mikaela sighs, frowning. "Don't do anything stupid, Parker. I'm supposed to be watching out for you."
"Oh my God, that's it! You're a genius!" he exclaims. He quickly propels himself back into the vicinity of the fight, calling out to the others. "Hey, guys! You ever see that really old movie? Empire Strikes Back?"
Mikaela is disgusted. "Really old?" she repeats in disbelief.
He starts to swing himself around the big guy again. "You know that part, when they're on the snow planet," he shouts, "With the walking thingies?"
"You mean Hoth and the AT-ATs, you ignorant slut," Mikaela mutters to herself.
Parker wraps his web round and round the big guy's knees, trapping them together. Rhodes and Stark fly up to the big guy's face in sync, and deliver simultaneous blows to his chin that send him stumbling backwards.
"Yes!" Parker cheers. "That was awesome!"
But then as he swings away, the big guy's hand flails out, hitting Parker hard. He loses grip of his web and is sent flying across the airport, crashing through some wooden crates before skidding to a halt on the tarmac.
"Shit. Mikaela!" Stark calls.
"Yup," she replies tensely, already holding on to a handrail while she steers the jet towards the kid's prone body. The suit is reading signs of life still, but that doesn't mean he's unharmed.
Stark has to calm Parker down when he wakes up and immediately adopts the "fight" of the "fight or flight" mode, reminding the youngster they're on the same team.
"Hey, man," Parker pants after realisation dawns on him. "That was scary."
Mikaela lands the jet nearby and quickly descends the ramp, checking her surroundings to make sure no one will attempt to pirate it.
"You're done, alright?" she hears Stark say. "You did a good job. Stay down."
"What? I'm good, I'm fine," Parker insists over the top of him. "No, it's good. I gotta get him back!"
"You're going home or I'll call Aunt May!" Stark threatens.
Mikaela slows from a jog to a walk as she approaches them, ready to take over.
"Dude," Parker complains.
"You're done," Stark commands, flying away.
"Wait," the kid insists weakly. "Mr Stark wait, I'm not done, I'm-" he tries, getting into a crouched position before having to sit back down. "Okay, I'm done. I'm done," he concedes.
Mikaela stands watching him with her arms crossed. "Alright, tough guy. Time to go."
He lifts his head to look at her, then extends an arm. "I need help up," he says.
She grabs his forearm and pulls him to his feet, even going so far as to put his arm over her shoulders to support him as she leads him back to the jet. She gets him to lay down on the seats and puts a couple of belts over him just in case, telling him he'll breathe better without his mask on, no matter how much Stark praises his new suit.
She gets the ramp lifted and heads to the cockpit, trying to use her mutation only to get it flying again. She smiles proudly when it rises into the air, but then she notices something in the distance.
It's another quinjet, racing away from the airport with Rhodes and Stark hot on its tail, and Wilson hot on their tails. Mikaela's smile fades as she watches, feeling her chest tighten again for some reason. She doesn't want to ignore her gut, so she moves the jet forward, following after the group.
Suddenly a blast from Vision's gem misses Wilson and stretches on, straight over Rhodes' chest. When his thrusters stop and he starts to fall, Mikaela knows he's lost all power.
She makes the jet go faster, as fast as it can, until she gets to a point below Rhodes' fall. She runs to the bottom of the jet, past a barely conscious Parker, and opens the ramp again, struggling to see above her.
She glares into the sky, trying her best to stretch her mind upwards. But she can't get a grasp of Rhodes. His suit is completely powerless.
"Mikaela? What are you doing?" a weak voice comes from behind her.
She can see that Stark and Wilson, despite their attempts, won't reach Rhodes in time.
She moves the jet back, and times Rhodes' fall.
When it's right, she takes a running jump and throws herself from the jet, colliding mid-air with Rhodes.
"Jesus, Mikaela, what are you doing?" he shouts at her.
"Mikaela!" Stark yells.
Mikaela looks at the scarred arc reactor in Rhodes' chest, ignoring the way the ground is rushing up towards them. She has wrapped her legs and an arm around his metal suit, and so only has one hand to try fix the problem.
Disconnecting from the jet, she places her palm over his chest and closes her eyes, trying desperately to feel something in the suit.
But there is nothing left.
All she has done is make sure Rhodes will have company in his fall.
"Tony, come get her!" Rhodes shouts, angry, panicked, and scared.
"No!" she shouts, both at him and herself. "I can do this!"
She makes the mistake of glancing down. They have seconds left.
"Fuck!" she bellows, digging her fingers into the broken arc reactor, anger surging through her in a massive wave that bursts through her skin in an immense pulse.
She feels life ignite beneath her fingers and Rhodes' thrusters turn on again, abruptly halting his fall. Mikaela slips from his suit, but he manages to grab a hold of her arm before she separates from him completely. Pain sparks inside her arm and she winces, but when she looks up at Rhodes and the blue light emitting from his chest, she laughs.
"Holy shit, kid!" he snaps, obviously reeling.
He lowers them enough that when he lets go of her, she lands softly on her feet. Within an instant, Stark lands very heavily next to her, his helmet sliding away to reveal an enraged face.
"What the hell were you thinking?" he shouts, grabbing her shoulders.
Mikaela feels dizzy from her success, but for the first time in a while, it's a good dizzy. She can't help but grin up at him. "I knew I could do it," she tells him. "I needed an extreme incentive, just like the last times."
His jaw is clenching and unclenching faster than she can keep track of, the muscles in his face twitching erratically. His eyes are wild with anger and panic, his grasp of her almost painfully firm.
"You scared the shit out of me, kid," he says through clenched teeth. "Don't do that again."
"Don't listen to him," Rhodes says as he approaches them. He gently slaps a metal hand on her free shoulder. "You saved my life, Mikaela. I owe you big time."
Wilson appears from behind them. "I'm sorry," he says. "I'm glad you're both okay."
Stark lifts his palm and blasts Wilson away from them. "Alright. You go take Parker back to the hotel," he snaps at Mikaela. "We need to bring in these assholes." Before she walks away, he awkwardly brings her in to his side for a moment in a metal side-hug, still aggressive in his grip on her.
Mikaela reconnects to the hovering jet and sends them massive smiles, astounded that she is still going strong. She lowers the jet back to the ground but makes sure the ramp entrance is facing away from the audience, remembering the unmasked Spider-Man on the seats.
With a final wave at a still-tense Stark, Mikaela skips up the ramp and closes it behind her. She glances at the youngster sprawled out next to her, having managed to unbuckle two of the belts she had put over him.
"Did you try to escape?" she frowns at him, smiling. She can't stop.
She used her mutation to restart Rhodes' arc reactor and she doesn't feel like she needs to pass out or throw up!? She can't fucking believe it. She has waited so long for progress like this.
"You looked like you were about to do something stupid," Parker frowns, exhausted. "Did you jump out the jet?"
She can tell he would be annoyed at himself for not being able to free himself if he knew she had jumped. "No, I didn't jump out of the jet," she lies, walking to the cockpit. "Now lie down and shut up, you need to recover before you get home."
xxxxxxxx
Once Mikaela dropped Parker off with Happy at the hotel, she got a message from Stark that said to meet him back at the Avengers facility outside New York City.
She is still on an all-time high, wondering at the feat she pulled off in Berlin. She replays the moment over and over again in her head, remembering the surge of pure energy that tickled every nerve in her body. The most amazing thing is that she still feels alert and competent, despite having spent so much energy. For the past five months she has barely managed to stay connected to a few cameras and databases without needing to vomit or pass out; but now… she restarted a fucking power source and she is standing upright in a jet that she is controlling with her mutation alone, completely awake and with a completely stable stomach.
This is what she has been waiting for ever since Ultron had a field day in her mind. The pain in her head is the most subdued it has ever been, and she is starting to feel the wealth of possibilities and resources at her fingertips again. It's like her energy surge has reconnected parts of her mind, fixing the broken links of her mutation. She is starting to feel like herself again, and it is glorious.
When she reaches the facility, she uncloaks the quinjet and lowers it onto a free landing pad. With a giddy click of her finger, the ramp lowers itself to the ground, letting in a breeze of fresh air that smells an awful lot like victory.
The facility is huge, expanding over a great expanse of land that is bordered by tall trees to hide them from any passer-bys. There are staff busying about the place, some military-like, some scientist-like, some doctor-like, but none of them spare her a glance.
"Mikaela," she hears someone call out to her.
She turns to see Romanoff sauntering over, a sad smile on her face. "Hey, Romanoff," Mikaela says, smiling back at her. She hasn't been able to wipe her smile off her face since Berlin - Happy was tremendously confused when he saw her.
"You look proud," the woman observes, the smile turning into a smirk. "You should be. You saved Rhodey's life."
"That shit was mental," Mikaela grins. "But the best thing is that I feel totally fine after doing it."
Romanoff frowns gently. "What do you mean?"
Mikaela realises Stark hasn't told anyone about her struggles. "After Ultron, I thought I lost my mutation. But I knew from what I did to the Iron Legion that there was more to my mutation than I had thought. Another instance like that started my recovery, and I could use my mutation again, but it left me exhausted and ill. Stark's had me monitoring Spider-Man for the past five months and even that has been really difficult for me to handle. I can't even tell you how many times I vomited and passed out because I pushed myself too much. But, now, I just used a shit-tonne of energy, and I haven't passed out or vomited once!"
Romanoff quirks an eyebrow. "That is the most I have ever heard you speak."
Mikaela winces. "Yeah, I know the whole excited thing doesn't suit me," she admits. "It'll calm down soon I'm sure."
Romanoff smiles. "You don't need to calm down. You did a great thing."
"Thanks," Mikaela smiles back, genuinely appreciative. For a moment she worries she's spent too much time around Parker's infuriating optimism, but the fact that she's worried tells her that she's not contaminated.
"Why are you holding your arm like that?" Romanoff asks.
Mikaela glances down. "Oh, yeah, it's definitely broken," she remembers. "Someone should really look at it."
Shaking her head, Romanoff turns and starts walking back to the main building of the facility. "C'mon, I'll take you down."
They go through corridors and take elevators down to the medical levels, where Romanoff instructs a doctor to take a look at Mikaela's arm. All she has to do is literally look at Mikaela to confirm her suspicions.
"Judging by the swelling and bruising of the upper arm, I'd definitely say it's broken. Your shoulder appears dislocated too," the doctor says. "But we'll get you in for an X-ray to see where the break is and what kind of break we're looking at."
Over the next hour, Mikaela has her arm X-rayed, and a treatment plan set out for her. They offer her painkillers, but she isn't actually too bothered by the pain. It seems the wounds Ultron gave her have increased her pain tolerance, which admittedly could come in handy.
Romanoff sits with her the entire time, keeping her company. While they sit in silence for a lot of it, Mikaela wouldn't have asked for anything else. Until her curiosity sparks.
"So, who got away?" she asks.
Romanoff lifts her head to look at the mutant. "Steve and Barnes," she answers.
"How?"
Romanoff smiles tensely. "I let them. Steve really believes that Barnes didn't set the bomb, and I knew he wasn't going to stop. I didn't want anyone to get hurt."
Mikaela's eyebrows lift in mild surprise. "Fair enough," she nods.
They sit quietly for another moment, until the red-haired assassin speaks up again. "We were all worried about you after Ultron's attack," she says. "We didn't know what he'd done."
Mikaela shrugs. "He tore my mind apart," she explains. "But, without going through that, I think I might not have been able to help Rhodes."
Romanoff nods understandingly. "What doesn't kill you," she recites, smiling, leaving the rest unspoken.
"Where's Banner, by the way?" Mikaela frowns, suddenly wondering.
Romanoff's smile falters. "We don't know. He disappeared after we stopped Ultron. Took off in a quinjet and hasn't been back since."
Mikaela frowns. "Oh. Stark didn't say."
"He's had a lot going on lately. I think he and Pepper broke up as well."
Mikaela's frown deepens. "Jesus, I had no idea. The guy really keeps a tight lid on some things."
"Not when it comes to you," Romanoff smirks. "I can't believe he's adopted another kid after the stress you've put him through. I'm pretty sure it's aged him about ten years."
Mikaela snorts. "He has not adopted me," she denies. "He has employed me. As for the insect," she shrugs, "I reckon Stark will project some daddy issues onto him."
The doctor enters the room again with a clipboard in hand. "We're going to have to do a little surgery just to make sure the bones are aligned for healing."
Mikaela nods at her. "Sure."
"I should probably tell Stark," Romanoff sighs. "Will you be alright?"
"Yeah, I'll be fine," Mikaela assures her. "See you in a bit."
xxxxxxx
Mikaela lays stretched out on a sofa, her right arm in a cast to heal the break. She feels a little out of it after the anaesthetic, but she's utterly content and relaxed.
Vision walks into her line of sight and stares down at her. "I must apologise again for your suffering," he says softly. "If I had not-"
"Please, don't," she winces uncomfortably, waving her left hand dismissively. "This is nothing. It's barely anything."
"Yes, well, it could have been prevented."
"Prevented, shmerfented," she says, waving her hand more. "I'm fine."
"Can I have a minute with the kid?" Stark's voice breaks in, tense.
Vision looks somewhere over Mikaela's head, and then his eyes drop, guilty, and he quietly leaves the room. Stark comes around the end of the sofa, his own arm in a sling.
Mikaela gasps and points at it. "We're twinsies!" she exclaims, giggling.
His mouth twitches underneath the stoney surface. "Yes. You and I are twins," he replies sarcastically. When she just smiles at him stupidly, he shakes his head and sits on the end of the sofa. "You're far more impulsive and reckless than I am."
Mikaela gives him a look. "I would argue against that if I was the one picking the words coming out of my mouth."
"I know what I am," he retorts. "But I'm an adult. I'm allowed to be that way. You're just a kid. You're way more fragile and you should really take better care of yourself."
Mikaela rolls her eyes. "You're only giving me this lecture because I jumped out of a plane without a parachute."
Stark glares at her. "Why'd you say that like it's a ridiculous reason?"
"Uh, because it is," she retorts. "Rhodey would have died if I didn't jump. You and Wilson weren't going to catch him."
"You couldn't have known that."
"It wasn't worth the risk," Mikaela counters.
Stark watches her. "What risk? You don't know him. As far as I know, you two weren't fans of each other."
Mikaela's face contorts in confusion. "First of all, I had no ill feelings towards Rhodey. And, secondly, the risk was that you would lose your best friend," she replies, shrugging. "I thought that if I could prevent you from enduring that grief and pain and loss, then I better try my damn best."
Stark's body tenses and he looks away. His free hand fiddles with his sling, anxious or irritated or both. Then he looks at her again, sharply. "And if I had lost both of you?" he mutters.
Mikaela stares at the floor for a moment. Then she blows air out of her mouth harshly, making a "Pfffft" noise. "It wasn't a possibility."
"Okay, you act all confident now, but I saw your face, Mikaela. There was a moment that all I saw was panic, because your first attempt to fix the suit didn't work. You thought you and Rhodes were both going to die," Stark snaps.
Mikaela pouts at him with a frown. She has to admit that he isn't wrong. "Better to die trying than not try at all," she says after a moment, absolutely chuffed with herself for coming up with it. What a solid argument.
"You need to stop," Stark hisses. Mikaela recoils, astounded that her line didn't persuade him. "Your life is worth more than you think it is. You need to stop risking it like this." Those wild, angry eyes of his are back, and burning. "Like it or not, there are people who care about you, Mikaela, and you have to take that into consideration before you do all the stupid shit that you do."
Mikaela sinks into herself. "Did you do that in New York?" she asks pointedly.
His jaw clenches. "That was different. The whole city would have been destroyed if I hadn't taken the nuke through the wormhole."
"Yeah, well, I was sure a whole lot of shit would be destroyed too if I didn't try to stop Ultron. And I knew that this rift between you and Rogers would only get worse if Rhodes died in the conflict, so I stepped in," Mikaela explains.
Stark looks down into his lap, lifting his free hand to rub at his forehead. Mikaela knows he is beyond stressed with this whole thing, and with Pepper and Banner, but she hates it when he doesn't understand her perspective.
"Involving you in this was a mistake," he says quietly, shaking his head.
"I survived, didn't I?" she frowns.
"No, I didn't-" he cuts himself off, frustrated. "I'm not talking about that anymore."
"Then what are you talking about?"
He sighs, looking down at his feet. "This is hard for me." Mikaela stares at the side of his head, confused. "Watching you risk your life like that is hard. For me." He looks upwards and shrugs, his lips pursing. "I don't know why. But I have a harder time watching you almost die than anyone else."
Mikaela lays there for a moment, processing his words. Fuelled by her anaesthetic-induced softness, she tucks her legs into herself and pulls her upper body up against the back of the sofa. Once she is sitting upright next to him, she leans into his side and drops her head on his shoulder. He tenses for a few seconds, but ultimately decides to go with it, and leans his head on top of hers.
The next thing Mikaela knows, she's alone on the sofa again, wondering if that even happened, with a serious Romanoff in her face.
"Where's Tony?" she hears herself ask in a small voice.
"He went to the prison they're keeping the others," Romanoff replies, sounding uninterested and aggravated. "I have a favour to ask."
Mikaela frowns, sad now that Stark has left her. "Okay."
"When this is over, Cap is going to want to break everyone out of the prison. I'll need to go into hiding with them," Romanoff explains. She takes a deep breath. "I know you and Tony are close. But if we asked you for help, in terms of a prison-break and-"
Mikaela scoffs. "Of course I'll help you. I didn't take a side in this. And Stark probably wouldn't want everyone in that place anyway."
Romanoff gives her a small smile and a nod, and then she's gone.