Hey. If you're still with me at this point, you are dedicated!! Thank you so much. I hit a major motivation crisis, which is why I dropped off the map for a while. I apologize about that. Anyways, enjoy this chapter, and leave a review of you enjoy it!
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The first thing Alex became aware of was throbbing pain in her temple. The second- a low rumbling coming from the floor she was lying flat on her back on. From the bumps and vibrations, it was a fair guess that she was in the back of the vehicle. She opened her eyes but all she could see was the walls of the dark square she was currently confined to. Standing up turned out to be a bust, as a wave of nausea forced her back down before she could even sit up. The zip ties around her wrists didn't help either. She pushed a few breaths out her nose and peered around, focusing on anything to be observed.
She didn't know if she found it more relieving or disappointing that Sam and Tom were with her in the truck. The last thing she'd thought before the kidnapper knocked her out besides 'oh shit' was that she hoped Sam could get away. No such luck. He was standing, back to Alex, near the doors of the, she assumed, industrial box truck. As for Tomen, she had imagined that he made it back to the Residence with no trouble, but of course that hadn't been realistic.
Tom was sitting against the left wall, eyes squeezed shut. His face was twisted in pain, left hand pressed against his right arm. A difficult feat, seeing as restraints were also circling his wrists. Alex squinted through the darkness and quickly saw why. There was a wound on his bicep, a bullet hole, and there was a lot of blood. It streaked down his arm and pooled on the floor. The bouncing of the vehicle probably wasn't helping anything.
Alex tried again to rise, and this time she succeeded. She still felt a little dizzy, so she sort of stumbled over to Tom before collapsing next to him and leaning her head against the wall. His gaze flicked to her for a moment before he closed his eyes again. Alex inspected what she could see of the wound. Angry, red. "How are you doing?"
"How does it look like I'm doing, Alexandra?" He snapped, swallowing. "They shot at me, I guess they hit their mark. At least you're finally awake. Did you have a nice nap," He sneered, then jerked his head towards Sam, who was standing at the doors of the container fiddling with some kind of electric panel. "Maybe you can help him get us out of here, because he certainly isn't making much progress!"
He directed the last part at Sam who spun around immediately, eyebrows knit. Blood was dripping from his nose, and a few drops stained his shirt. His hands were shaking violently, from frustration, stress, shock, probably all three. "I'm trying my best," He shouted. "An hour I've been standing here, while you sit there groaning like a baby! At least I'm trying to do something!"
"We could be out of New York right now," Tom grunted. "I don't care how scared you are, you're supposed to be a genius! Get your shit together!"
Sam rolled his eyes so hard that Alex thought he was passing out for a moment. "Last time I checked, you were personally picked by Tony, too, why can't you help? It's not like that bullet wound is so bad anyways! And I am a genius. This might be a little easier if I could feel my hands. These ties are so tight that they went numb half an hour ago." He held up his bound wrists.
"That's actually a good thing," Alex murmured as she got up. "Not that your hands are numb," She clarified, "But that the ties are tightened. That skips one step."
"Oh, don't tell me," Sam shot her an incredulous look, "You know how to get out of zipties?" He shook his head.
She opened her mouth to retort but bit her tongue instead, taking the pull of the tie between her teeth and tightening it like Sam's. She raised both arms above her head and thrusted downward, the ties breaking easily upon contact. She blinked away the spots that danced around in her peripheral due to the quick motion. "Ta da," She deadpanned when the lights disappeared.
Sam's jaw all but dropped. "You have to be kidding me! Is there anything you can't do? Like seriously, I'd love to know!"
"Do what I just did," She responded plainly.
Sam hesisted. "Will it hurt?"
"Just do it!" She hissed.
He jumped at her tone and repeated the motion swiftly. It didn't work on his first attempt, but with the second, the tie snapped and fell to the ground. Sam rubbed his raw wrists tenderly, glancing back at the panel. "Ya know, everyone is into electric locks these days which is all great until someone tries to short circuit them to break out of the back of a truck. I can't find the right wire, though." He shook his hands, trying to regain feeling, and started digging around in the panel again. "I mean, honestly, are these kidnappers amateurs? They put a known technological genius in close proximity with an easily accessed electrical panel and they couldn't even use handcuffs to disable us- don't get me wrong, I'm pretty happy about it but…"
Alex did her best to tune out Sam's rambling-which seemed to be a defense mechanism-and pressed her forehead against the freezing metal wall, taking relief in the cold. She definitely had a concussion, that she was sure about. Nausea, dizziness, balance issues. Textbook head injury. Sam seemed to be fine, except for his nose. Upon closer inspection, she noticed the awkward angle it was set at. He had dried blood all down his chin and lips that he hadn't bothered to wipe off yet. Tom had the bullethole, obviously, but also looked unnaturally pale. His eyes were squeezed shut again, jaw set. They'd need to clean out the wound and get some bandaging on it eventually.
"Tom," She called quietly, not moving from the wall. Sam stopped droning about the horrors of amateur mercenaries to listen. "You said we've been here for at least an hour, right?" He nodded. "Were you also unconscious but woke up before Sam or I did?" He nodded again. "Okay," She muttered, "Okay, so that means we have no idea how long we've been in this vehicle. Great."
"The Avengers will be looking for us," Sam said, though he didn't sound like he even believed it.
Tom grunted. "Whoever these people are shut down FRIDAY. We're lucky if anyone even knows we're gone."
"That alarm went off, so hopefully they realized something was wrong." Sam paused, fingers hovering over the panel. "That's another thing. These people shut down FRIDAY but they tripped the perimeter alarm? Imagine being so careless that the one thing you absolutely shouldn't..."
She decided to drown him out again. She really didn't care about how competent the kidnappers were at their jobs, she cared that she was in the back of their truck, and his endless chatter was putting her on edge. She gagged once, swallowing the vomit that tried to erupt. A pile of puke on the floor of their confined space would probably make them all sick. Not productive. Instead, she opted to think of Peter, who needed her. Her little brother depended on her for everything. She was the only person he had left. There was Cass, of course, but their cousin could only get so far with him. Alex was alone in truly knowing Peter. If she went missing, if she ended up dead- what would he do? She had to get out of here, for him, and for the Avengers. She couldn't disappoint them, either. Though her current situation was irritating and just the tiniest bit worrying, it could also provide an adequate opportunity to prove herself. To show Earth's Mightiest Heroes that she was more than a weak child. That Clint had made the right choice.
Suddenly, Sam's troubled expression filled her field of vision. His hand was snaking around her head, and she lashed out and caught it in a viper-like grip. His eyes startled before zeroing in on hers. She gave the slightest shake of her head and he swallowed. Neither of them moved.
"I apologize," He managed. "I forgot… that you don't want me to touch you… it's just that… your head." Sam glanced at his hand, and she hesitantly let go, studying his face. Something about it made her want to trust him, but that was ridiculous. He was Sam, he was annoying and frustrating and aggravating but the way he was regarding her… with concern but no pity… she hadn't seen that look in a long while. She nodded again, but this time it was a gesture of permission. After a moment he touched his fingertips to the back of her skull. She almost flinched, but she'd be damned if she admitted any pain. He pulled his hand away, frowning at it before turning his palm to Alex. His fingertips were stained with blood. Her blood. Great. Now we can all bleed together. What a wonderful opportunity.
Suddenly, Sam stumbled forward, grabbing her arms for stability. She managed not to jerk away this time, instead focusing on Tom who was now in front of the panel. He was fiddling with the wires using his not-shot arm, a smug smile painted across his lips. He'd pushed Sam, and Sam was just realizing this too. She watched fury grow instantaneously in his eyes, launching himself at Tom. Alex moved faster though, throwing an arm around the base of his neck. Not enough to cut off his airway, but enough to restrain him.
He struggled to regain control of his own body, grunting in anger. She put her lips by his ear. "Beat him up later, I don't care," She hissed. "But not now. We need to work together. Fighting is counterproductive."
Sam muscled her off. "Tell that to him." He jutted his chin toward Tom, glaring at Alex. Whatever moment they'd had was gone.
"I merely stepped in," Tom shrugged innocently, though he retained his stupid smirk. "You seemed a little..." His eyes flicked over to Alex for the briefest of moments. "Distracted." He finished. Alex wrinkled her nose at the implication and Sam opened his mouth to retort but Tom continued before he could. "You can both stay in this truck if you prefer, but I'm escaping." As he worked on the wires, blood dripped from his wound.
Alex frowned deeply. Back to the sports bra, she supposed, shrugging out of the Nike jacket Sam had given her in that supply closet. The latter followed her movements, and gasped when she abruptly ripped the left arm free from the jacket. "Hey!" He shrieked. "What the fuck? That was expensive!"
"Oh please, Trust Fund," Tom rolled his eyes. "Can't Mommy or Daddy pay for a new one?"
"I don't take their money anymore," He spit back.
That comment surprised Alex. Sam never acted like the stuck-up rich-kid only child who could have literally whatever he wanted. Never. She smirked at her own sarcasm and set her jaw, trying to keep her thoughts on track. "Regardless, we have more pressing matters than the preservation of your jacket. I'll buy you a new one. But for now," She strode over to Tom, flipping the sleeve around his arm and tying it tight before he could resist, "We need a tourniquet."
Tom's mouth twisted with distaste and pain, but he didn't remove the cloth. He was too focused on touching two wires together. When he did, a few sparks flew before the doors of the truck blew open. He grinned genuinely this time. "Time to go!"
Sam looked around like he was expecting the truck to stop. "Go where? You mean out the back? This truck is going pretty fast. Have either of you ever jumped out of a moving vehicle before?" He asked sarcastically.
"Yes," Tom and Alex answered in unison. They glanced at each other, sharing a look.
"Oh." Sam swallowed. "I meant that as kind of rhetorical question but whatever," He muttered. "Of course you have. So, how do I do this?"
Alex made a quick analysis of her surroundings. Forest on either side of an asphalt road. That was it. "We'll try to land on the grass, it's softer than the road. Do not land on your feet. Hold your arms against your torso, fists under the chin, aim to land on an angle. Don't jump straight out. Once you hit the ground, tuck and roll."
"And please don't pass out," Tom muttered. "Chances are that once we've escaped, they'll start chasing us, and it'll be harder to run if we have to carry you. Assuming that we don't leave you behind."
Sam listened intently to all of her words, and grimaced at Tom's. Alex shot him an 'I will literally kill you' look before patting Sam on the back. "You can do this. Alright. Here we go."
With that, Tom bailed, and they watched him tumble into the grass. Alex waited until Sam jumped to make sure he would before leaping herself.
--
Alex had jumped out of a moving vehicle on exactly three occasions: One time she didn't want to think about, another time she didn't want to think about, and a third time she didn't want to think about. None of those had been fun, and this time wasn't the exception. She was doing it willingly this time, at least. It was like she expected every occurrence to hurt less, but it never did. At least she had landed in the grass. It felt like the skin was literally being ripped off her bare legs, but she wouldn't get roadburn. She squeezed her eyes shut and waited until she'd stopped rolling.
When her body came to a stop, she unclenched and blinked a few times. All that spinning hadn't been kind to her nausea. She flipped onto her stomach and pushed herself up onto her knees, groaning. Every appendage on her body was killing her, metaphorically anyways. She swallowed, coughed a few times, and located the boys.
Tom was already standing, slowly and carefully jogging toward her. He looked as though he might fall over again. Sam was a few feet away from her, looking dazed but otherwise okay. He sucked in a breath of air like he couldn't get enough, sitting up. He immediately flopped back down.
Alex got up on one knee, then the other, then up to standing. She walked unsteadily over to him and offered her hand. He stared at it like it was a foreign object before taking it. She pulled him up and he blinked rapidly. "I didn't pass out," He mumbled.
"No, you did not," Alex gave a short, awkward, burst of laughter. It was like she didn't even mean to make the sound, but it came out of her anyways. Shock laughter. She took a grounding breath, trying to focus. "We need to go." She jerked her head towards the woods just as Tomen got to them.
"I agree," He added, pointing toward the slowing truck a ways up the road from them. "They noticed us jumping out, unfortunately."
"Well shit," Sam said plainly.
All three of them turned at the same moment and started to run, if a little irregularly. The foliage was thick and the trees were dense, but Alex supposed that would make it harder for their captors to catch them. As they dodged red maples and patches of poison ivy, Alex announced, "We need to stay together, at all costs." Sam nodded in agreement. Tom didn't, shrugging instead, but she decided that was the best she'd likely get.
It was a little hard to see, it being three in the morning, but there was just enough light for the trio to make their way safely. After months of training with the Avengers, all three of them were in peak physical condition. Sprinting was no problem. Still, she could hear the boots and shouts of the kidnappers chasing after them, and it didn't seem like they were very far away. In fact, it seemed as if they were getting closer. Not ideal.
Sam seemed to notice this too, and started murmuring, "We cannot get caught. We cannot get caught. We cannot get caught. We cannot get caught," Over and over again.
Tommen shot him a murderous look. "Shut up!" He yelled.
That startled Sam out of his stupor, and unfortunately, so much so that he tumbled to the ground. A stray tree root was all it took to lay him flat. Alex and Tom continued sprinting and were already far ahead of him before they noticed he wasn't by their sides. Alex skidded to a halt once she realized his absence, aggressively shaking off Tom when he grabbed her forearm and tried to drag her with him.
"What are you doing, we need to go!" He yelled at her.
"But Sam- we lost him!" She said back. "We can't leave him!" Tomen looked around, also just realizing that Sam wasn't standing with them. Alex scanned the trees with increasing panic. She could definitively hear the shouts of their kidnappers now, and she dropped to the ground, pulling Tom with her, when she saw their flashlight beams pierce through the trees about 30 feet away. She couldn't see Sam anywhere. They probably already had him, they probably-
Suddenly, the boy's piercing shriek echoed through the forest. Alex's eyes widened and she shot to her feet. Without saying a word, she took off towards the source of the sound. She heard Tomen tromping through the foliage behind her. Once she got closer to the men, they noticed the pair, pointing and shouting orders. Running straight at the enemy. What a night this was turning out to be. Just as the first few kidnappers were upon her, she got a glimpse of Sam. One guy had a hold of him, attempting to shove a gag into his screaming mouth, but he was writhing too much for the man to have any success. His shrieks motivated her, and she started to tear through the enemies like a one woman army.
The first guy dropped in one second after she delivered three ounces of pressure to his Vagus Nerve. Out like a light. The second grabbed her wrist, but she countered with a hard jab to the trachea and he was on the ground, gasping for air. The third snatched her by the waist and threw her over his shoulder, so she used the momentum to twist around his body and grab his gun. She clocked him over the head with it, just what someone had done to her a couple of hours prior. The attack had the same effect, instant unconsciousness. The fourth man was a little tougher. It was while she was managing him that the shooting started. The sharp pops threw Alex off, and the guy whipped her to the ground. She rolled, narrowly avoiding a curled fist meant for her face, and flipped onto the man's back. Once she had both her hands on his head it was over for him. Without even registering what she was doing, she snapped his neck.
She was saved from the sickening crunching that would have accompanied the snapping bones by boisterous gunfire. Instead, the man's limp body fell silently. Alex blinked a few times, trying to analyze why he had suddenly gone still. What did I do?
There was no time to contemplate it. A bullet whizzed past her left ear, leaving an overwhelming ringing in her head. She couldn't think, she couldn't move, all she could do was drop to the ground on her knees and clamp her hands over her ears. No noise penetrated her bubble, only the intense whine. From the bullet, she registered vaguely, groaning and waiting for the pain to subside. Once it did, she looked in the direction the bullet had come from. Tomen was standing eight or nine feet behind her, holding a gun with his good arm and not moving. Around him were the bodies of their kidnappers, nine of them, all with a single bullethole in their foreheads. Besides the one she had… killed. Alex looked up at Tom with rising horror, and as their eyes connected, Tom dropped the gun. Alex heard a moan from the other direction and turned to see where it came from. Standing in front of her was Sam, covered in blood.
--
"North corridor, sixth floor, clear," Steve announced clearly into his comm. His hope had begun to dim. Each team of Avengers was searching through their second floor at this point, and there'd been no sign of their kids. Each empty hallway or closet or room was like a punch to the gut. Thor and Bruce had found two men laid out dead on the first floor, which wasn't what they had hoped to discover. The guys weren't Stark Industries employees as far as they could tell from their automatic rifles and uniforms, but even more disturbing, their own guns had been used against them. That left two conclusions: either they had turned on each other, which seemed extremely unlikely, or someone else in the Compound had murdered them. Bruce had also reported spots of blood farther down the hallway, seeming to indicate that another person may have been shot and managed to drag themselves along. Or been dragged away. If that was the case, and if it was one of the kids, Steve didn't want to think about any of the three with bullet wounds.
The assumption made him swallow hard and he pushed the thought out of his mind as he turned the corner to the next hallway. He raised his shield, prepared for a fight, but there was no reason. The corridor was dreadfully, painfully empty, just like all the others. Blue walls, white ceiling and floor, a potted plant here and there, but no teenagers. Steve clutched the leather straps attached to the shield tighter. He could still hear Tony mumbling, even through the helmet, and it was grating on his nerves. Yet, he felt for the man. For his rough exterior, Tony could become attached pretty quickly, and Sam and Tomen were no exception. Steve could tell he cared for the boys as if they were his own, just like with Peter Parker and that kid- Harley. His responsibility. His kids.
Maybe this apprentice program wasn't such a good idea- Steve couldn't imagine willingly putting anyone in this type of situation, let alone a teenager. He was dreading the day he'd start training an apprentice, and he knew Natasha was, too. Thor and Bruce seemed to be waiting for the right person to come along and barely appeared concerned with the entire operation. He just couldn't understand. Clenching his jaw, Steve reflected that the program's immoral functionality was becoming abundantly clear with each passing day.
Suddenly, the lights flickered to life and he tensed, glancing quickly at Tony. The man exclaimed, "Eureka!" just loud enough for Steve to hear, helmet melting away from his face. "FRIDAY's back," he stated, and Steve picked up a few sighs of relief from his teammates.
"So then where are they?" Clint's voice carried forcefully through his earpiece. No sigh of relief from him, rather straight to the point. Steve suspected Barton wouldn't experience 'relief' until Alex was safe, standing in front of him. "If FRIDAY is back online, she should be able to locate the kids, where are they?" He demanded.
"Give me a sec," Tony responded, not even bothering to throw a snarky remark about Clint's tone back at the archer. The helmet assembled around his face again and he began jabbering away to the A.I. for about half a minute. The others waited impatiently. "Alright, so bad news," Tony finally said. Steve's jaw clenched even tighter, if possible. "The last locations FRIDAY has stored for them are as follows: Sam was in Gym 2, Alex and Tomen in Gym 1. Since FRI was then disabled, she couldn't track their progress through the building during the blackout."
After a moment, Natasha asked quietly, "Their current locations?"
Steve watched Tony grind his teeth in frustration before answering. "Not sure. Not in the Compound. No trace of them anywhere."
"Well get your super fancy gadgets and find them!" Clint shouted. The man's voice was so loud that Steve winced a little when it came through the comm, invading his eardrums. "Jesus, wouldn't it be smart to have backup systems set in place in case there's a blackout?" His tone dripped with sarcasm.
"I do have systems." Tony growled. "Like you would know anything about them. Until you create billion dollar security systems and learn how to operate them, I'd pipe down, Feathers." Tony very pointedly used the nickname because he knew Clint hated it. In jest, Clint would play along, but if they were in the midst of an argument, it would only provoke him. Steve listened to the conversation with growing concern. They shouldn't be fighting at this moment, but rather united and committed to finding the kids. Yet, the two men were both stubborn as Hell, and wouldn't give even an inch. Before the next response, Steve could clearly imagine Clint's vivacious eye roll. They all saw it regularly.
"There he goes again folks, flaunting his genius!" Clint shot back, imitating a sports announcer. "Even though his 'billion dollar security systems' don't work for shit!"
"I would've had something to work off of if someone had left a few of those bastards on the first floor alive, and we could be interrogating them-"
Clint basically snorted. "Wait wait wait wait wait," He replied incredulously, "Are you implying that it was Alex who shot those guys?"
"You think Tomen or Sam killed them? Please, if it was any of the kids, it was Alex. You can't tell me that you can't see her taking the gun and-"
"Really? Make-us-dinner-Alex, Dance-in-the-rain-Alex? Have you considered that your teen sociopaths might just be-"
"Stop," Steve commanded, so firmly that both men shut up immediately. They had no evidence that the kids killed those men. The two were facing off based on hypotheticals now. "Arguing will not find your apprentices any faster. As for the issue of the dead men, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. For now," Tony was about to pipe up again but Steve shot him a fierce look and he opted for a frustrated huff. "We will finish searching and reassemble in Mission Control. We'll figure out our plan then."
There were mumbles of consent from every member of the team, then Natasha spitting some very angry Russian at Clint, who immediately apologized (To her and not to Tony, he might add). Steve didn't know what she'd said, but he did know what it was like to be on the receiving end of her scolds. She'd really reamed him out once after a mission, and Steve wished to repeat the experience never.
He placed one hand on a seething Tony's shoulder. "I know you're scared, Tony. But we need to remember priorities-"
Tony shrugged his hand off harshly. "I'm fine. Maybe you should talk to Clint instead," He hissed. His nanotech morphed around his body and he shot off down the hallway, wanting to complete the rest of the search as quickly as possible. Steve shook his head. Whenever Tony said he was fine, they could count on him to be at his worst. The thing was, Steve didn't blame Tony or Clint for their arbitrary comments, fear could do terrible things to the victim's mind. Raising his shield a bit higher, he sprinted after Tony.
--
Torso, hands, face, arms. The surface of Sam's body was speckled with dark, striking blood. "Oh my god," Alex whispered quietly, shooting up from the ground a little too fast. Her vision swam and she took a couple of unsteady steps forward, tripping over a body directly in front of Sam. She jerked her head upward after catching a glimpse of it, trying not to look at the man's head, because part of it was gone.
Once she reached Sam, she scanned him head to toe for bullet wounds, finding none. Then why was he covered in blood? His hands were out in front of him and he was staring at the blood like he was attempting to understand what the substance was. His teeth were chattering, a sign of shock and probably due to the cold. Even though it was early May, it was still only about 30-40 degrees, she'd guess. Slowly the pieces clicked into place in Alex's brain. The man laying on the ground at Sam's feet had been shot, and his blood and brain matter exploded all over Sam. But Sam hadn't fired the gun. Tom had.
Pbt, pbt, pbt, pbt, pbt, pbt, pbt, pbt, pbt. Alex jumped, knocking into Sam, as nine rapid bursts echoed through the quiet forest once more. He seemed unfazed by her sudden contact, and just kept staring at his hands. Alex, however, spun on Tom. The psycho had shot all the men a second time. He was leaning casually against a tree and actually had the audacity to tip up the gun and blow off the tip like there was smoke.
"What the hell?" Alex hissed. "They were already dead!"
"Doubletap," He responded, smirking slightly. "First rule of Zombieland."
She grimaced at his movie reference. Alex wanted to scream at him that this wasn't Zombieland, and she would have, if puke hadn't clawed its way up her throat. She keeled over once more and emptied the half digested sandwich she'd eaten for dinner last night into the grass. As much as she hated turning her back on Tom, especially when he had a gun, she had to get her nausea under control. Maybe giving in to it would help. Once she managed to stop heaving, she wiped her mouth with a few leaves and stood back up.
Glaring at Tom, she turned to the other boy. "Sam," she said softly. "Hey, Sam." She grabbed one of his hands and put her own against his cheek, trying to jar something in his brain. When he wouldn't look away from his bloody hands, she physically moved his head to look at her. "It's not your blood. You're not hurt. You're okay."
"They're not." Sam whispered the phrase so quietly that Alex almost didn't hear him. "They're not okay." He glanced away from Alex for a moment to stare at the man at their feet before flipping back to her. "He shot them. They're not okay, they're dead."
Alex grimaced. "I know, and we will deal with that later. But right now-"
"He shot them!" Sam's voice rose in anger. "You killed them!" He yelled at Tom, charging a few steps forward.
Alex caught him and forced him to halt, her own 5'2'' barricade. She started grabbed his arm and pushed him along in the direction she assumed the road was in. The road meant they could head back in whatever direction they came from, maybe find a city or town. She refused to look at Tom, so the only way she could tell he was following them was his incessant whistling. And the song "Mad World", too- even better. Steam was basically shooting out of Sam's ears, and she had to whisper gentle reassurances to him for a little while before he calmed down and slipped back into a dissociated state. Not exactly what she wanted, but at least he didn't want to kill Tom anymore. Though it took all of her being to not break his nose herself.
Wandering through the woods was not all it was cracked up to be. In such sparse clothing, all of them were starting to numb after 40 minutes out in the New York night. Alex was worried about hypothermia, but hopefully the trio wouldn't be in the forest long enough to achieve that. The mud was atrocious, seeping into her shoes and caking skin up to her ankles. Not to mention the darkness. In the heat of adrenaline, the light from the moon had been satisfactory in order to make their way confidently, but now? Trudging slowly across an uncertain plain, there barely seemed enough. She and Sam had fallen a couple of times. She was still pushing to get him to move, and he wasn't looking where he was going, so when he hit a branch or rock in front of him they both went down. Tom only smirked.
That's why it felt so copasetic when the smug bastard fell off an embankment. He was a few feet in front of Sam and Alex, swatting bushes away from his face, when he suddenly dropped like a stone with a loud grunt, hitting water with a splash. The hidden creek was only seven or eight inches deep so unfortunately, he didn't get completely drenched. Still, Alex offered her hand, which of course, Tom refused. He moved to the other side of the creek and took to wringing out his clothes and washing all the blood off his arm, completely ignoring her. Luckily, the bleeding from his would seemed to have stopped. Sam remained on the edge of the embankment, stuck in his own head.
Alex placed a hand on his shoulder and shoved him down. Twenty minutes of dragging him around and she was done being gentle. She ripped off the other sleeve of the Windrunner and stuck it in the water, letting it soak and wringing the excess droplets out of the cloth. Hoping to perceive some sort of acknowledgement, she scrubbed his face with it, blood flecking off. She avoided his broken nose, but cleaned off the blood staining his upper lip and mouth that had dripped from it initially. Halfway done, she paused. Nothing. Eyes, empty.
She sighed. "Drawing," She said simply. "You asked me if there was anything I'm bad at back in the truck. I can't draw."
It took a moment, but Sam whispered, "Seriously?" Alex smiled a bit, relieved that she finally broke through. She had tried saying anything and everything in the last forty minutes to elicit a reaction, but of course the only time he actually responded was when she admitted to being bad at something. He rolled his eyes. "The wide world of skills and you're terrible at drawing?"
"What can I say?" She shrugged. Then it slipped out before she could stop, "I guess my parents just didn't think it was a useful skill…" Alex trailed off at the end, realizing she had made a mistake. She shouldn't have said that. Hopefully, with his shock, he would just ignore the comment.
"What do you mean?"
No such luck.
Alex was about to snap at him, for no good reason. It wasn't his fault he was asking a question about her slip up. Still, he was moving dangerously close to a nerve. But when she opened her mouth to snap, she found his eyes filled with tears, trembling like a raindrop that could pop at any moment. Oh God. She couldn't have him crying, not now. If she shut down on him, she may as well bomb the dam herself. Time for some tweaked explaining that she really didn't feel like doing.
"What do you mean?" Sam repeated. "A useful skill?"
"My parents," She started reluctantly, "Wanted my brother and I to learn things that would help us survive." That was one way of saying it, anyways. "Drawing was fun. It was extra. Not needed."
"That's harsh," Sam grimaced. Alex just shrugged and moved to cleaning his hands. "So you never did anything fun, then?" He asked when she didn't continue. "No going to the movies or out with friends or school dances?"
"Home schooled for most of my life," She responded. "And no."
"What about archery? That's not exactly a modern survival skill."
"Archery is the one thing that I got to choose. The one thing that they didn't force upon me. That's why I love it so much."
Sam leaned back, obviously a little more relaxed, and regarded the sky. "Your parents were that oppressive and you never tried to rebel or anything? I mean, I ran away from mine twice when they wouldn't let me buy a Lambo. And yes, I know how that sounds, and I'm not proud," He added when Alex's features contorted, incredulous. "Believe me. I'm a spoiled brat, blah blah blah, old news. What about you?"
She was quiet for a moment, taking his arm and scrubbing it. "My brother was an amazing artist."
"You mean, 'is'?" Sam raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, that's what I meant." Whoops. "Anyways, he drew a lot when he was younger and managed to hide it from Mom and Dad. I was pretty terrible apart from it not being allowed but he… was excellent." She smiled nostalgically, recalling long-buried memories. "He used to do these caricatures, really silly, to make me laugh, but he could draw beautiful landscape portraits, too. They were only ever done in pencil or pen because we didn't have colored markers or pencils or crayons in our house. He drew in secret as much as he could. But Mom and Dad caught him once…"
"And…?" Sam prompted.
"And the fallout was enough to scare either of us from rebelling in little ways like that ever again."
Sam frowned and Alex could practically see the questions bubbling up. She shouldn't have tried to explain anything. He was an inquisitive person, he would just keep pushing her until he got answers. "Well, what did they do?" He asked. "Take away his sketchbook? Hide it on top of the fridge?"
"Something like that," She muttered.
"It was worse? Did they scream at you?" He grinned. "Did they put you in time out?"
"Shut up," She hissed. "You don't know what you're talking about." She finally finished scrubbing the blood off his body and threw the sleeve-rag down roughly.
Sam made a face, almost like he was hurt, before a snarky mask overhauled his features. "Aw, you're gonna get super sensitive all of a sudden? Excuse me for wanting to know more about you," He scoffed. "I should've known you'd clam up."
"Whatever," She rolled her eyes. "The only reason I told you that stuff was because you completely disconnected. Now that I'm finally through to you, here's what I have to say: Get your head in the game. This has been a terrible night, but you can't go blank on us. We need you to be able to defend yourself. And try not to trip again," She sneered. Sam crossed his arms and glared at her. Okay, that last part may have been a little jerky, but if he hadn't have tripped they probably would not be in this situation right now. Tom was still sitting on the other side of the creek, shivering hard. The water probably made the air one thousand times colder. Even her hands, which had just been immersed, were completely numb, which was not a positive sign. She rubbed her temples. They absolutely ached. We need to get out of here and back to the Compound. She located a tree with low enough branches that she could climb easily.
She walked over and stopped at the base, turning to the boys. "I'm going to climb and see if I can find the road." They nodded, and as she began to climb, congregated at the bottom of the tree. Alex had always been a proficient climber. Her small figure helped. The weaker branches could hold her weight easily, but she also felt at home the higher she went. Plus, climbing was uncomplicated, hand over hand, foot over foot. Once she was mostly out from under the canopy of leaves, it became easier to see. Halfway up the tree, she could already glimpse a source of light from an area with no trees, probably the road where they had come from. It was due North. She guessed the light was produced by the abandoned trucks, since their drivers were all dead. Oh Jesus.
Alex was just fine standing on a branch one moment, but in the next, the world turned upside down. It started spinning all of a sudden, and before she knew it, she was free falling. She should have grabbed for a branch, she felt her fingers graze a few, but she didn't. She opened her eyes and stared up at the starry sky, leaves rushing past. The fall felt longer than she was sure it actually was. She had the fleeting thought that maybe she was flying, but then she hit something solid.
It wasn't the ground, she didn't hurt enough. What she'd fallen onto was moving, a mess of what felt like arms. She turned her head to the left and right there, almost nose to nose, was Sam. On the right was Tom. They'd caught her. She was lying in their arms. "Oh, hi boys." She struggled out of their arms as quickly as she could, despite Sam's protests, and dropped onto the ground. The dizziness was still persisting. "That was a rush." She put one hand to the ground and curled the other over her stomach. "I think I'm going to barf. Again."
"Oh my God," Sam muttered, kneeling next to her. Apparently he was over their earlier interaction. There were tears in his eyes again, and Alex wasn't sure if he even knew they were there. "Are you alright? As soon as you said you were climbing up there, I knew it wasn't a good idea. You're dizzy from the concussion, you shouldn't have-"
"Stop blubbering, she's fine," Tom interrupted. "Did you see the road?"
"Yeah, I did," Alex replied as Sam deflated. "And I think the trucks are still there. "It's straight North. We should go." Tom started walking off without a moment's hesitation, so Sam and Alex had to scramble to catch up.
--
"No no no no NO!" Tom screamed, slamming the dashboard of the truck. "There are no keys!" He yelled to Alex and Sam, who were standing outside.
"Did you look everywhere?" Sam asked.
"Of course I did!" He snapped.
"Move," Alex instructed. When Tom only looked at her incredulously, she grabbed the front of his shirt and yanked him out of the driver's seat, taking his place. She ignored his, 'What the fuck' and scanned the truck. Nothing, nothing, nothing… there. Right next to the accelerator, embedded in the floor, there was a panel, almost impossible to see. The only thing that alerted her to it was the tiny square outline it left in the floor of the truck. She leaned down to inspect it, finding it slightly ajar. She ripped the cover off of the compartment, dug inside, and lifted out a pair of car keys. She held them up to the boys triumphantly. "Appears you didn't look hard enough, Tom."
He scoffed and tried to grab the keys, but she pulled them away. "Nuh-uh, I found 'em, I get to drive."
"What are you, like sixteen?" He rolled his eyes. "Please. Do you even have a driver's license?"
"Mmm… no?" She had to think about it for a moment. "I knew how to drive like a professional by the time I was eleven, so I've never really found it important. But I suppose I should get one sometime," She shrugged. "Now get in the truck."
They disgruntledly yielded to her, Sam muttering something about how 'of course she could drive' blah blah blah on the way to the passenger side. Honestly, when is he going to stop being shocked about these things? The boys slid in next to her, Sam sitting on the center console and Tom in the passenger seat. It was a tight fit, but roomy enough.
As she started up the truck, Sam rubbed his face, choking back a sob. He tried to do it inconspicuously, but Alex and Tom both heard. Whereas Alex chose to ignore him, Tom did the opposite. "Why don't you just fucking cry already, you big baby," He snapped, and turned toward his window. He laid his head on his hand as if he was going to try and sleep. Awesome, She thought. I hope he does, I won't have to listen to him any longer, God.
Sam just curled his fists, probably trying his hardest not to beat the living crap out of the asshole.
"Yay, roadtrip," She whispered, making use of the built in GPS the truck had. She typed in the coordinates for the Compound and set off.
--
The Avengers were gathered in Mission Control, the room they normally used for briefings. Thor, Natasha, and Clint were gathered at the screen reserved for aerial drone footage placed on the left wall, scanning the broadcasts. As soon as he'd been able, Tony had sent out a volley of drones, hoping that one might catch a glimpse of the kids. So far, nothing. An hour and a half and they had nothing. Bruce and Steve were sitting across from Tony, who was anxiously tapping away at a tablet, communicating with security to make sure they hadn't seen anything helpful. They hadn't. Whoever had broken in to the Compound had to have professional training. It was extremely difficult to work around his security systems and never before had FRIDAY been totally knocked out. A new message from security came through, and he clicked to open the file. It was a photo of four employees, cleaning crew maybe, and they were all dead. Bullet holes. Tony shifted in his roller chair, shaking out another tremor that hit his good hand. They always started up when he got anxious like this.
"Let me," Bruce reached for the tablet. "Let me handle this."
Tony was about to protest when Steve snapped, "Stark." It was clear in his perfect, piercing eyes that if he did not surrender the tablet now, Steve would personally rip it out of his grasp. He grumbled and tossed the device at Bruce, unable to contain his frustration.
He remembered just eight hours prior to this situation, Sam and him were tinkering in the lab. It was normally where they spent the most time together, and Sam really shone in that setting. He reminded Tony of a young him, but less playboy-ey. That was surprising, considering Sam's reputation, but if there was one thing Tony understood, it was the media faking drama for their magazines. The tabloids painted him as a player, sleeping around, a rarely-serious party boy, but Tony found him to be the exact opposite. The young man he knew was extremely dedicated to his work and inventions, intelligent and passionate. True, he could be abrasive or insensitive at times, but Tony was aware that he was trying to work on that. And when his softer side came out? It was heartwarming to say the least. Once, Morgan had wandered into the lab wanting to build something, and Sam had happily indulged her for hours. The best part about Sam, though, was his fervor. The expression on his face when he held up a functional, completed invention was enough to give Tony a major burst of pride, even on his worst days. His hair would be messy from working for hours, the bags under his eyes prevalent, but that light in his eyes? The goofy, lopsided grin that was so different from the perfectionist one he gave the cameras? In those moments, it was like Sam knew that he did okay. Like he was proud of himself. Like he could be himself. And that's all Tony wanted for him.
So why then, did Tony use that moment in the lab eight hours prior to tell Sam he should practice more on that Godforsaken parkour course? The kid had been having trouble with that torture device ever since he'd gotten here, and Tony had told him to practice more. And for what? Tony wasn't able to complete that course, and he probably never could have, even when he was younger. Even Steve, gymnastics master, usually had trouble making it to the end. The only ones who made the obstacles appear simple were Clint, Natasha, and now Alex, which was to be expected. When FRIDAY set off the alarm, when FRIDAY had shut off, he had been in Gym 2, with the course. If Tony hadn't suggested Sam practice last night, he may have been safe with them in the Residence. He may have been sitting across from Tony now.
"Sir, you have incoming." FRIDAY reported. "A large tractor-trailer truck approaching the front gate. The thermal scan reads that there are three individuals currently residing inside."
Tony wasn't Pietro Maximoff by any standard, but with how fast he slid over to the large touchscreen covering most of the right wall, he may as well have been. Tapping the screen to show a larger rendering of the truck, he asked, "Can you identify the individuals, FRI?" When she responded that she couldn't, he frowned deeply. "Okay. Okay," Tony rubbed his chin in thought. "Have security force the three out of the truck, and if it is the kids, bring them here. If it's not… check their credentials, obviously." As FRIDAY took the order, he glanced back at his teammates. They gave nods of reassurance. Everyone except Clint of course, but Tony didn't have time to worry about him right now.
He swiped the screen to a live recording of the front gate, via security camera. The tractor-trailer came to a stop about 10 feet away, and security closed in. They held their guns carefully, but not like they would use them, conscientious that they didn't know who was inside the truck. When nothing happened for a few seconds, Tony scrubbed a hand over his face, anxious. Then, the driver side door swung open and Alex stumbled out. She seemed unsteady, but conscious enough. When a few guards stepped forward to intercept her, grabbing her arms, she jerked away and turned back toward the truck. Tomen stepped into view of the camera, Sam after him. The guards must have explained what was going on, because the three nodded and followed the commander of the security team into the Compound.
"They're bringing them to you, Boss," FRIDAY announced. As Tony turned back to his team, he noticed both himself and Clint slump forward in relief, the tension leaking out of their shoulders. Steve's jaw relaxed a bit, and Natasha leaned against the wall casually.
"They're alright," Bruce muttered and Thor let out a belly laugh, releasing all the nervousness he'd been feeling that night.
"Looks like s'not as bad as we thought, yes?" He grinned. Tony didn't dare to hope. They couldn't be completely fine, right? Unless his luck had suddenly changed, the kids likely would not be 'alright'.
The room lapsed into silence. It took a couple of minutes for the apprentices to arrive, but when they did, Clint and Tony both rushed forward.
Tony made a beeline for Sam and Tomen, reaching Sam first. He inspected the kid. An obvious broken nose, but no cuts, no bruises. A little out of it, but that was to be expected. He was definitely in shock and probably had some kind of concussion. Tony placed a hand on Sam's cheek and patted in a fatherly way, trying to offer some form of reassurance. Tomen was standing behind the pair, sulking. He seemed very alert, but his face was dark. Tony moved to stand in front of him and reached for him. "Are you okay?"
"No," Tomen snapped, moving backwards.
"What happened?"
"Why don't you know? I was the one who froze my ass off for an hour in the goddamn middle-of-no-where-woods. Don't ask me!" Tomen turned away, arms crossed.
"We focused all of our energy on finding you," Steve came to his defense.
Tomen spun on the captain. "But you didn't, did you? We made our own way back, didn't we?"
The Avengers collectively grimaced. It was true. They had failed to locate the teenagers when it mattered most.
Out of the corner of his eye, Tony saw Clint touch a gash on Alex's forehead, and she sucked in air through her teeth, emitting a little hissing sound. She was standing with Clint, his hand on her shoulder. She had her arms wrapped 'round her stomach, and appeared to be doing all she could to hold herself together. She wasn't crying or shaking, but Tony recognized the sound of shallow breathing, no matter how quiet she was trying to make it.
All eyes turned to her, and her grip on herself tightened. "I… we…" she trailed off, and closed her eyes, sucking in a deep breath, before continuing. She gave them a play by play of the night, the pit in Tony's stomach deepening with each sentence.
Finally when she looked like she was going to be sick, Clint shushed her. "Okay," he murmured, folding her into his arms, stroking her hair. A fatherly gesture. If Tony tried to do the same with Tomen, the boy would probably hit him. Clint closed his eyes briefly. "That's enough. It's okay." Alex shuttered.
Steve grabbed a tablet off of the large table they'd been sitting at and pulled up a picture of the dead men Thor and Bruce had found in their sweep. "You mentioned the men chasing you," He commented. "Did they look like this?" He held up the tablet for her to see.
She scanned the image for a moment, and everyone held their breath. She finally swallowed. "Yes. Yes, that was them. But not the ones that were chasing Sam and I. We took down six men but we didn't kill them. They must have recovered quickly because we saw them later."
"I killed those two," Tomen spoke up, ambling over to the table and taking a seat in a rolling chair. Tony turned on him. The boy had said it so flippiantly, like it wasn't a big deal. He opened his mouth and then closed it, searching for the right words. He glanced at Steve, but he looked at a loss as well. Tomen noticed the exchange. "What?" He asked. "They were chasing me, so I killed them. They fucking shot me by the way, thanks for noticing." Tomen gingerly removed his hand from his right bicep, revealing a bullet wound there. For God's sake. Tony scrambled over. "Why wasn't he brought to the infirmary straight away, FRIDAY?" He demanded.
"You ordered that the apprentices be brought here, Boss."
"I know what I said, but why-"
"Wait," Alex said loudly, staring at Tomen. He stared back. "You mean to tell me that eight wasn't enough? There are two more?"
"Excuse me?" Natasha asked. "Eight more? Of what?"
"Dead men," Alex answered, still death staring at Tomen.
Bruce shifted uncomfortably. "You told us you outran them in the woods and got back to the trucks before they did."
"Yeah, that's what I said," Alex confirmed, "But it's not the truth. I don't know why I felt I should cover for him, but I did," She spit, pointing at Tomen. They were locked in a staring contest now.
"What really happened? He killed eight men in the woods. Shot 'em, right in the head."
"What?" Tony asked faintly. He didn't want to believe that.
"Yup, no hesitation. I had already disabled some of them and he still murdered them in cold blood!" She yelled, pushing away from Clint in her anger. He tried to comfort her but she shoved him off, moving closer to Tomen. "They didn't need to die."
"They would have killed us in a heartbeat," Tomen growled. "I did us a favor." He stood up from his spot at the table.
Steve stepped towards them and held out his hands amiably. "Okay, you two, let's-"
"They could have been brought back here," Alex interrupted. Steve tried to butt in again but she kept going. "We could've interrogated them and found out what they wanted, and going trigger happy is no excuse to-"
"You're in no place to judge though, are you, Alexandra?" Tomen spit, and Alex didn't argue. Tony glanced between the two, wondering what he meant. Tomen propped his arm up on the edge of the table and continued. "You're perfectly content to mount your moral high horse when it's convenient for you. Making me out as the bad guy. You did the same thing as I did tonight."
"I didn't kill ten people," She hissed.
"Right, only one! Like that's so much better! You're such a saint!" He threw his good arm up in the air.
The Avengers drew a collective breath. Natasha shifted to a different foot and pushed off the wall, obviously uncomfortable. The argument was getting out of control, they were bashing each other over sensitive topics. If Tony didn't do something, they'd never be able to reconcile. He started to walk toward Tomen at the table, but Alex beat him to it.
She cut Tony off as she crossed the room and slammed a hand down on the tabletop next to Tomen. He had no choice but to fall back down into his chair and she loomed over him. With the clarion bang, Tony glimpsed Bruce placing a hand over his mouth, nervous but not willing to stand and interrupt this explosion. Tony made eye contact with Steve, his eyes concerned but hesitative. He realized that they all needed to see how this would turn out, which was why he stayed back at that moment.
Alex was still a few feet away from Tomen when she hit the table, but Tony noticed him visibly flinch. Something in her demeanor was like he'd never seen before coming from the girl. "When you killed those men, you knew what you were doing. And then you shot them a second time, when they were obviously already dead. The decision to kill that man, for me, was not conscious," She announced clearly. "In the heat of the fight, it just happened. It was an accident."
With the last second she leaned down closer to Tomen 's face and he snarled. "There's no way you can snap someone's neck without meaning to, you delusional bitch!" He reached up with his left hand and slapped Alex across the face.
Her head snapped to the side and Tony and Clint both gasped. She didn't stumble backwards. She didn't cry, even though Tony could see a red mark appearing on her cheek where he had struck her. Her stance didn't change. She only slowly turned her head back in Tomen's direction. There was one second where it felt like time absolutely froze, everything happening so fast and so slow at the same time. Then, before any of the Avengers could react, Alex grabbed Tom's arms and threw him onto the ground. She dropped and shoved a knee into his chest, pinning his wrists to the marble floor with her own hands. "If you ever," She growled, "Lay your hands on me again, I will put you in a hospital bed. Do we have an understanding?"
Tom swallowed. He was obviously stressed, but he looked murderously furious. "Like you could." He smirked angrily. "I'd love to see you try."
She opened her mouth to answer, but instead closed it, lips growing a small smile. Without a word, she jammed a finger into the bullethole in his right bicep.
Tomen screamed, and continued screaming. She only seemed to be pushing deeper, with no signs of stopping. Steve launched forward, but he was across the room, and she now had both hands on his right arm, which left his other limb open to shoot out and wrap around her neck. She choked and released pressure on him. He flipped her onto her back, knocking the wind out of her. She gasped for breath, grabbing his thumb connected to the hand around her neck and bending it back at a sickeningly unnatural angle. Tony heard the pop.
Clint and Steve raced to the kids, finally unfrozen. Tony couldn't say the same for himself. It had all happened so fast. Clint shoved past him, snatching Alex up once Steve dragged Tom, who had curled up on the floor when she dislocated his thumb, to the other side of Mission Control. His hand had only been around her neck for less than four seconds, but he must have hit pressure points, because Alex was hacking painfully. She was on her knees with one palm braced against the floor. Her other was held up towards Clint, a clear message: Don't touch me.
Tony shook his head, heading towards Tomen for a second before remembering he had another apprentice. Sam? Where is Sam? Tony had completely forgotten about the kid in the midst of all the chaos. A pang of guilt stabbed his heart as he did a 360. He found Sam near the doorway to Control, crouched against the wall. His arms were wrapped around his torso, he looked too pale, and he was sobbing violently. Tears streaming down his face, hiccups, shallow breaths, the full package.
"FRIDAY," Tony ordered, "Get some medics and stretchers down here right now."