Always running from what feels right
To fast, and I didn't know
Then a minute toss the daylight
You're here, no way to let go
Don't look back, when you're holding me
Cause I know what this love was meant to be
One day we're gonna wake up together
You won't wanna go home
We'll find love here together
And it feels so good in my arms
Don't look back, when you're holding me
Cause I know what this love was meant to be
One day we're gonna wake up together
You won't wanna go home
We'll find love here together
And it feels so good in my arms
Together, by Calvin Harris, ft Gwen Stefani, from the album Motion, released in 2014
"You didn't tell me you knew The Wolverine."
Peter told her, aghast that she'd kept that tidbit of information from him. Really, she hadn't: it had just never come up in a conversation. "Hey, Peter, did I ever tell you I met the Wolverine? I tried to kill him after HYDRA tried to use him as an experiment." In the end, though, she hadn't killed him, instead sabotaging Stryker.
She could still remember the punishments she'd gotten for that.
Logan or James or Howlett, whatever he was going by now, was someone she'd been bound to come across, regardless of her "allegiance" with HYDRA. He was even older than she was, and he hated HYDRA as much as she did. She also happened to hate Rogers specifically- though that was not because of anything he'd done recently, more because he'd fought with him in the Second World War.
His exact words, if her memory served her well- and it mostly did, barring a few shaky memories surrounding being frozen- was something along the lines of "self-righteous asshole who doesn't know the meaning of war if it hit him in the head."
"It never came up. We're not too close, but we'd help the other out. He owes me a favour."
"Still. The Wolverine."
She looked at him, leaning against the quinjet which was heading to Canada, right in the middle of the snowy season. It didn't surprise her that Logan was in Canada according to her sources, considering he was born there. Even after almost two centuries some people would try and keep some kind of hold on their homeland.
"Once you get past his short temper and adamantium claws, he's actually quite a nice guy."
Roe told him, adjusting the bracelet draped along her wrist, currently configured to look like a normal watch. Peter still looked somewhere between shock, awe, and being a total fanboy, which was quite endearing for her, having never seen him like that. Snapping her fingers in front of him, the quinjet began to arrive at its destination.
It really was helpful that their quinjets made even long distances fairly short, because while Roe didn't mind travelling, she had other people to see, and unfortunately, she had to go see the Rogues. She didn't want to, but they'd be picking up Tony and Strange on the way back around, to take them back.
Initially, she knew that Tony had wanted them to face justice, but with this unknown threat approaching, they needed to get all their cards laid out. The Rogues were either an advantage or disadvantage, and they needed to figure out what. If they were amicable, they would be forced to sign the Accords, follow orders from others, and accept that they will still have their day in court. If it was disadvantageous, and they decided to stay in Wakanda, then there was an international warrant out for their arrest, and with the world at stake, as cliché as it sounded, they were past caring if Wakanda agreed or not.
After all, with Roe's testimony, they could place T'Challa, as Black Panther, at Siberia when that situation went down, which meant that at the very least, he could be charged with aiding and abetting wanted criminals, and an accomplice to second-degree murder- and Stark Industries lawyers would not sit on their assess and twiddle their thumbs- they would be going for the best sentencing they could.
"Do you think Tony will try and get the X-Men on board?"
That was a big question. The Avengers and X-Men never really intermingled, even though they had overlapping interests. It wasn't that they hated each other- well, ignoring Logan and Steve's beef anyway- it was just that they worked in different circles.
What a life it was when you're "different circles" translated to different specialities. Still, they both owned schools for superpowered kids- and they had established links between the two of them. Roe stood up, moving across the quinjet to stare out of the window and out into the surrounding trees.
"Maybe. It's a big question: though I'm not as naive to believe that we'd all get along, I do believe that we'd come together for the sake of the world. The threat is bigger than the Avengers, bigger than the Rogues."
Peter turned to face her, as FRIDAY announced their arrival. He doubled tapped his chest so his suit went crawling over him, covering him in the red, blue and gold suit that Tony had painstakingly made for him. Roe's own suit recreated the effect, and with a matter of seconds, they were walking out of the quinjet.
"And what do you think about the Rogues?"
They walked out, Peter following behind Roe as she led them to where she had a suspicion Logan was. He was fairly predictable, a small cabin out in the woods in the middle of nowhere. With FRIDAY getting an approximate location, and Roe using what she knew about Logan, the areas where he could possibly be were pretty slim.
Plus, Logan wasn't the type to run away from conflict, and would likely charge to meet them head-on if he sensed they were around. And as much as she wanted a spar with her old friend, now really wasn't the time.
Plus plus, for all that he was intelligent, Xavier was seriously bad at keeping two technopathic superheroes out of his databases. Especially two technopaths with many, many AI's at their hands.
Honestly, she wasn't sure how to feel the Rogues. That was really nothing new. They were the epitome of complicated feelings and all that past trauma that she'd experienced. She wanted them to pay, she cared about that a lot- but she also cared a lot about the world. There were people she cared about, and she refused to let all her progress go to waste.
"What is there to say?"
She asked him rhetorically, holding her hand out to stop him once they were fairly deep into the forest. Though there was no hostile intent anywhere near them, she could almost sense Logan, even if it was faded. There was the sound of someone rushing around them, and she was well aware that if she could hear it, Peter could too.
The fact that Logan was even making noise meant that he was in a good mood. Had he not been willing to entertain them, he would have been ghostly silent. They wouldn't have known he was there until either Peter's Spider-Sense rang out, or he lunged. She'd had those claws perforating her before, and they tended to be quite painful- as one would expect, considering they were made out of one of the strongest metals.
Still, it had been some time since she'd seen Logan: around about thirty, forty years or so? Around about the eighties- '82 if she put a number on it. They tried not to cross paths because that usually meant that either HYDRA was going after their experiment again, or they wanted to test their current one.
Usually, it meant her being recalled near death. It was the only way she could get away with him not being back: if the Wolverine had managed to "nearly kill her." And while she still got punished, it was much lesser then had she returned uninjured.
Her mental state had been near catatonic back then: full of instincts, obeying without much thought. She'd never succeeded in catching the Wolverine: but by then, they- they being HYDRA- had given up on their mutant project, after seeing no results. Although she thought, with dismissive emotions and the briefest flash of anger and pain, it didn't stop them from trying to perfect me.
"Rhythm!"
She called out, letting her voice be loud and clear with her usual accent ringing out. If her suspicions were correct, and it was Logan running around, then he'd answer. The nickname had been formed out of necessity than anything cute and cuddly- Logan wasn't into that kind of thing.
She hadn't been either.
It let him know that she was there to either see him or by coincidence. Of course, the same could be achieved by calling out his name, but "The Weapon"- she loathed that name with every fibre of her being because it wasn't her anymore- would never alert her target that she was there.
He had been dubbed "Rhythm" because it was unique enough to not be easily guessed, and it still linked back to Logan. She'd never call him that in a casual conversation: sticking to Logan or Wolverine or James- though he never went by that name any more, for obvious reasons.
"Rhythm" came from "Logarithm" in which "Log" came from. "Log" was shorthand for "Logan". Was it convoluted and a bit of a stretch? Yeah, probably. But it was effective, and the more convoluted it was, the harder it was to guess. Peter nudged her as they waited for the answer, both of them prepared to drop into a combat sense.
"Claws? That you?"
The voice answered calmly, the Canadian accent distinctive. She relaxed as Logan himself walked out, metallic claws retracting back into his knuckles. There was a reason she was called claws… she had made herself imitations of his own claws and used them to fight him with. They didn't retract into her firsts nor were they a part of her, but they were strong enough to stand up to even his own.
That, and she'd been stabbed by his own many a time. "Claws" had also been a substitute for a name, because he refused to call her "Weapon"- something she was intermittently grateful for- and he refused to refer to her as "The girl HYDRA sends out for me when they want me." That wasn't even a joke: and he'd refused to give her a more conventional name.
At least that problem was solved now: considering she wore "Sparrow" and "Roe" like a badge of honour.
"It's me, Logan. And it's not you-know-who business either."
There was something amusing, despite the seriousness of the topic, referring to HYDRA as "You Know Who." It almost demeaned the seriousness of them, but even that was better than referring to HYDRA as "HYDRA" out in the open. Logan flicked his eyes between the two of them, never wavering or even seeming unsure. He was full of that confidence that was distinctly Logan, and it couldn't be mistaken for anything different.
"What are you doing in Canada?"
He asked her gruffly, looking at her with stern eyes as he came a little bit closer, but not too much so. It was still tentative as he fixed his gaze on the quiet Peter, flicking a hand over to where he stood.
"Who's the boy?"
"My boyfriend."
She answered, and admittedly, she enjoyed the surprise that was on his face. Some days, she couldn't believe it herself, and even as Logan scrutinised the two of them, eyes narrowed.
"I got out of HYDRA. I go by Sparrow now."
Okay, so maybe that wasn't the most tactful of her. She's still getting used to tact, alright. But his face- which was priceless, she'd never seen the Wolverine shocked- told a lot, and she flashed a small and shy grin at her… what was he? An acquaintance? Ally? Friend?
"We're here looking for you."
She told him, and he raised an eyebrow, looking at the two of them with an intriguing look. He came closer until they were a few feet away, standing opposite one another.
"This is curious. Not many people come looking for me. Come on- we can talk out of this damn cold."
"Hold on there for a minute- Earth's basically about to participate in an intergalactic war?"
He sounded in disbelief, and honestly, Roe couldn't blame him. The wooden hut he'd led them to was modest, but did a surprisingly good job at keeping the warmth in. While it wasn't subzero, she remembered Peter's weakness to the cold- so if she was subtly shifting the atmosphere around him, then it was for his benefit, not hers. And if Logan noticed, he wisely didn't comment.
Even she was in doubt, wondering if she'd lost the plot. After all, "The Time Stone talked to me" wasn't exactly normal, even in the terms of Avengers. She'd been lucky that she'd been believed: she didn't want to be sent to a psychiatrist on top of her therapist. It had taken her a while to get used to her and to actually hold a conversation, instead of answering every question and gentle probe as though it was a command.
Of course, there were some things she couldn't shake, such as secrecy, and keeping certain things to herself. So, in a way, by healing her and helping her cope, they removed any inhibitions she had about telling them everything.
Peter nodded, crossing his arms and doing well to hide his fanboy status, despite how he had been on the flight. Noticing the shiver, she gently increased the climate around them, the exercise a fine practise in her control. It wasn't often any more, for her powers to be used so subtly, and she was all too aware that if she wasn't careful, Peter would be a bit too war, flames licking at his suit. She'd rather not test how fire-proof his suit was.
"Yes. We're trying to gather defenders- people who will fight to defend the earth."
Peter explained with a very serious tone, highlighting the fact that they weren't just two innocent teenagers. They were serious about the threat, and the only reason why Roe and Peter had been sent instead of the X-Men or Tony was because of the relationship between Roe and Logan- tentative, but favourable.
Logan wasn't all too keen on the X-Men, and Roe didn't know his views on Tony.
"A threat too big for the Avengers? Or whatever you call yourselves now. Never thought I'd see the day."
It wasn't aggravating or aggressive at all, the way Logan spoke to them. Honestly, Roe was surprised he'd not sworn or blasphemed once yet. Her last experience with Logan was where he swore like a soldier.
Being reminded that the Avengers had split up still affected Peter, evidenced by both his flinch and the slight flash of pain in his eyes. She clenched his hand, squeezing it and trying to soothe him, and again, Logan, with eyes like a hawk- or more accurately, wolverine- didn't miss it either. Hopefully, it proved to him that yes, the former weapon of HYDRA could reform- even if she was anything but a model.
"Still the Avengers. Just… reformed."
The look Logan gave her was guarded, but he was going to hear them out. He pressed his hands on the table doing a very good imitation of "I'm sceptical but convince me". Which was fine, because Roe was nothing but a good convincer, used to it by now.
"So, what do you know about the Infinity Stones…"
Author's Note
Thank you for all the support, and I'll see you next time!- I'm starting at university for the first time tomorrow, and I need an early night.
See you next time!
~Cait
