Chapter 5

We will be together again soon. Remember who left the most lasting mark.

May POV

It took everyone a few moments to register what was on the piece of parchment paper. I was the first one to snap back – namely when Felicity's breathing hitched, then she slumped over into my lap. Once I dragged my eyes from the note, I saw a second piece of paper that was crumpled on the floor.

I steeled myself remembering the words emblazoned in my mind. Most would be confused by the meaning of those words. Other than Felicity, it was only Natasha, Bobbi, Daisy and I who knew what that note was in reference to, and my god would there be blood if anyone else found out about the letters etched into her hip. There was no place on earth either of those two could hide if I had anything to do with tracking them down. Between her sisters and I, Felicity was one very protected girl. At least, she would be as soon as we had a plan and she had helped her father reinforce the security protocols around the tower. I will make this place a fortress, or drag everyone to one of the many S.H.I.E.L.D bases hidden around the world. I looked over the other women's faces as they came to terms with the contents of the note that Felicity had seen, my eyes flickering down to the one now in my hands. Stepping away from the group of kids I considered family, I made my way into the kitchen to read the second note, though this one wasn't a note. It was the schematic of Stark Tower and a photo of Felicity from before they took her the first time, her hair not blonde yet she looked happy, the haunted looks wasn't yet in the forefront of her mind - she looked happy, like the Felicity she was in the years after she found her family. Taking a deep breath I sent a message to the adults in the tower, asking them to meet me in the avengers briefing room in 15 minutes before walking back to the huddle of girls that were now holding onto a now semi-conscious Felicity.

Felicity POV

Remember who left the most lasting mark.

The words seared through my head again as I snapped back into reality and pain shot down to my hip where the faded letters sat. Harsh red scar tissue against the white flesh of my hip bone, a permanent reminder of the hell that was endured during my capture. Since news of their escape had gotten out the scar had been emitting a dull throbbing pain, but since reading the note the sheer force of pain had been what caused me to faint. It was back again, harsh against my heartbeat, slightly out of rhythm. My breathing had to slow soon before I passed out again. Catching Natashas eyes I silently asked where May had got to, but the look I got in return told me that this wasn't the time to be asking questions, this was time for me to be fussed over - as much as that was going to be a pain, I knew that I must endure it for the sanity of my family, so I allowed them to steer me towards bed, and for the first time in almost four years I slept sandwiched in the middle of my family, with Uncle Clint standing watch at the door.

May's POV

After Felicity came too, it was apparent to me that she was allowing herself to be looked after for the sake of her sisters. She was led over to her bedroom Sandwiched between Bobbi and Natasha, Daisy and Clint each flanking their sides and they took up positions that were all too familiar with this family, surrounding the member that was going through the most pain. Throughout their entire childhood I had watched them take up these positions. When Daisy was bullied at school, when Natasha had broken her arm, when Bobbi came back from her first mission. The last time I remember walking in on the four of them sharing a bed with Clint keeping his watchful eye over the sisters was when they had first got Felicity back from those bastards. It had been almost three weeks before any of them were able to sleep alone again, and another month for that to last the entire night. Watching them now was a harsh reminder of their current situation, and was all it took to snap me out of my nostalgia and remember that I had called a meeting.

"Clint, I'll fill you in when I'm back," I stated, who just nodded in response, hand clenched on the bow he carried by his side. "I'll come up the second elevator on my way back, let Jarvis know to tell you - I don't need to be recovering from another arrow wound at the beginning of a battle."

Exiting Felicity's floor took a moment, with a final look back at the room that was being guarded by Clint, and no doubt Daisy, Natasha and Bobbi all pretending to be asleep.

Stepping out of the elevator was like stepping into a warzone. Sound erupted from all areas as I made my way towards the holotable and placed both notes on it. All it took for the sound to stop for a moment and then immediately begin again was the upload of the notes.

"ALRIGHT!" was what it finally took to break through the testosterone in the room, returning to my usual volume I answered the first question which I knew was at the forefront of everyone's minds. "She is upstairs with Bobbi, Daisy, Nat and Clint. She's sleeping and I will not allow the testosterone in this room to break the soundproofing. You all need to listen."

I could tell by the looks on everyone's faces, particularly Oliver Queen's, that they were not happy with this arrangement, but I managed to steel myself and directed my attention to the note that was projected in front of me next to the schematics.

"Stark, When was the last time that the security was updated in full - are these accurate at all?" Maria questioned from the corner of the room.

"These are from before the last overhaul, which was only a few days ago thank goodness," He answered after taking a look at them closely, "However there is an issue with the basement door that I didn't fix, Jarvis, have these prints down there for when the meeting ends, I'll fix it as soon as we are done here."

"We need a plan for going after these guys" Oliver choked out, almost like he was restraining himself and speaking through clenched teeth, "We can't just sit here and rely on electronic defences -we need to be taking action against these bastards" He continued becoming more erratic with very word he spoke.

"We need more information Mr Queen. We can't run at these guys guns blazing, it's what they expect." Stated Fury, effectively shutting Oliver down, "These two sons of bitches require intellect to go up against, you seem to forget that we've done this particular dance before. We need Felicity to help as well because genetics or not she is a Stark, and she deserves to be a part of any plan that we come up with, she doesn't take kindly to being told what to do, and she will not be complacent. She knows what makes these bastards tick and we will need every punch of brain power that these guys have got to even stand a chance of bringing them in."

Oliver looked like someone had just kicked him in the gut when Fury finished speaking, I don't think he is used to not being the Alpha male in the room.

"I say that we regroup in the morning when we've got all of our players here, and we can make the decision with Felicity of how to proceed"

The nod that made its way round the room was the only conformation I needed to excuse myself and head back up to Felicity's room to check on everyone and relieve Clint of the watch. "I'm heading back up - no one bothers her until she's in the communal space tomorrow, got it." I said sternly to the others in the room as i headed for the private elevator and signalled to Jarvis to let Clint know of my imminent arrival. Stepping out to see everyone in the same positions as when I left allowed some of the anxiety residing in my chest to ease up, as I signaled for the archer to come sit and continue the watch in tandem from the couches as it was obvious to me that he wasn't going to sleep at all anytime soon. I relayed the events of the meeting to him and while he tried, couldn't keep a straight face at the description of Oliver's misfortune of being on the wrong end of Fury's affection. Then we took up the positions to continue the watch, only a few hours remained until Felicity usually woke up, so we each chose a side and settled back into surveillance positions, Clint with his hand on his bow, and me with a hand on my knife.