Chapter 19: Training
Steve's POV
"The rules have changed." I state, walking alongside Thor, Tony on his left.
"We're dealing with something new." Tony adds.
"Well, the Vision's artificial intelligence." I point out.
"A machine." Tony agrees.
"So it doesn't count."
"No. It's not like a person lifting the hammer."
"Right." I turn to them as we continue to move down the walkway. "Different rules for us."
"Nice guy, but artificial."
"Thank you."
Thor takes this moment to speak up. "If he can wield the hammer, he can keep the Mind Stone." We all come to a stop. "It's safe with the Vision and these days, safe is in short supply."
There's a moments pause.
"But if you put the hammer in an elevator..." I say.
"It would still go up." Tony answers.
"Elevator's not worthy." I point out.
Thor chuckles, turning to place a hand on Tony's shoulder, giving it a small shake. "I'm going to miss these little talks of ours."
Tony gives him a small smile. "Well, not if you don't leave."
Thor removes his hand. "I have no choice." He begins to walk forward again. "The Mind Stone is the fourth of the Infinity Stones to show up in the last few years. That's not a coincidence." We exit the building walking out to the grass, I can hear some recruits running above us. "Someone has been playing an intricate game and has made pawns of us. But once all these pieces are in position..." he trails off.
"Triple Yahtzee?"
I look to Thor. "You think you can find out what's coming?"
"I do." Thor answers, coming to a stop once again. "Besides this one," he walks ahead, tapping Tony's chest, "there's nothing that can't be explained."
He turns giving us a smile, before he returns to Asgard via the Bifröst, leaving a burnt patterned circle in the grass. I'm looking down at it, still amazed by the magic of it all.
"That man has no regard for lawn maintenance." Tony says, looking to me. We turn and begin walking the opposite direction. "I'm gonna miss him though. And you're gonna miss me. There's gonna be a lot of manful tears." He pulls a device out of his pocket, clicking it.
I turn to look at him. "I will miss you, Tony."
"Yeah?" He asks as his Audi pulls up to where we are. "Well, it's time for me to tap out. Maybe I should take a page out of Barton's book and build Pepper a farm, hope nobody blows it up." By this point we've come to a stop next to the car, facing each other.
"The simple life." I smile.
Tony turns his head up to look at me again. "You'll get there one day.
"I don't know, family, stability..." I trail off.
"Celeste?" Tony asks, obviously asking if we want the same things.
I remain silent for a moment. "The guy who knew he wanted all that went in the ice seventy-five years ago. At this moment... I don't know if someone else came out. Maybe a bit too soon to tell." I look to him.
"That's fair, you'll figure it out." He turns to get into his car, then turns back to me quickly. "You alright though?"
I look around at the compound around me. "I'm home. And I'll see how everything with Celeste goes."
"I'm happy for you, Rogers. Even if you're still figuring it out. I mean, I've known Pepper for years. And we're finally heading in the right direction for us both."
"I'm happy for you too, Tony."
We shake hands before saying our goodbyes, Tony saying to call if he's needed. I watch him drive off before walking back to the facility. I find Natasha standing alone, looking at the wall.
"You want to keep staring at the wall, or do you want to go to work?" She turns to look at me. "I mean, it's a pretty interesting wall." I try to lighten the mood. We'd had a brief discussion last night about Bruce. Being her normal private self, she wasn't up to getting into it much.
She makes her way over to me. "I thought you and Tony were still gazing into each other's eyes. How do we look?"
"Well, we're not the '27 Yankees." I say, handing her the tablet.
We turn and start making our way towards the training facility. "We've got some hitters." She says.
"They're good." I agree. "They're not a team."
"Let's beat 'em into shape."
We walk through a set of doors onto the landing overlooking the training facility. Rhodes, Vision, Sam, Wanda and Celeste all make their way to the centre of the room, looking up to us.
"Avengers...!" I yell out. "Let's get to work! We're going to go over combat skills. Wanda, you don't have any prior training in that area. Just in case you are ever in a position to not use your powers, you'll need to know how to defend yourself. Romanoff will train you." She nods in response. "Vision, Colonel Rhodes will assist you in that area also. Wilson and Matthews, you're teaming up to spar. You can learn to work with each others talents. In 30 minutes, you four will swap partners. I'll be keeping tabs on you all."
I was watching Sam and Celeste spar with each other. Sam appeared to be holding up pretty well, but Celeste appeared to be going easy on him. Sam obviously saw this as well.
"C'mon Celeste! I think you can do better than that!" Sam teases her.
"Don't wish for something you can't handle, Wilson." She sasses back.
"Bring it!"
And bring it, she did. There was suddenly a wall of ice in front of Sam as he was flying around her. He tried to pull up, but wasn't fast enough, making contact and falling to the ground, landing on his back.
"That wasn't the worst of it, Wilson."
"I gathered that." He groans out, turning his body to try get himself up.
Celeste ran forward as he stood up, leaping into the air and swinging her legs around his neck, pulling him back to the ground beneath her. Something I've seen Natasha do a number of times.
"Ha! Get a load of this!" Sam placed a device on Celeste's back, that pulled her off him into the air. She then lit herself into flames, the device melting onto the floor beneath her. "Uh... I didn't think of that."
"You might need to, Sam." I say chuckling as I walk up to him. I pull him up by the hand, Celeste landing next to me, turning her flames down. Next thing I notice is a flash of red, and then a yelp. We all turn to see what is happening.
"Oh, Natasha I'm so sorry!" Wanda rushes over to where Romanoff is on the floor.
"Nope, you're good. No broken bones."
"What happened?" I asked, walking up to them.
"Natasha had a hold of me, and I know I should have tapped out, but I sent a blast out instead." Wanda's eyes were wide with panic.
"Are you okay, Romanoff?" I ask, where Celeste is helping her up to her feet.
"Yeah, nothing I can't handle."
"Celeste?" She turns to look at me. "Maybe you can assist Natasha with Wanda's training? Help her with her powers?"
"I can try." She nods.
Celeste's POV
"Okay, I understand how difficult it is to not use your powers." I say to Wanda. "And you've only had them a short while. I've had mine most of my life, and even I sometimes struggle to not use them in situations like this."
"I just... since having them, I've used them for mostly everything." Wanda says, looking down at her hands.
"As would I, if I had similar abilities." Natasha said, from beside Wanda.
"I can't speak for you, but from what I've witnessed, emotions play a big part in the use of yours. I'm the same." I walk over to her. "You need to practice putting your emotions to the side. Maybe imagine putting them in a box, or remind yourself to not use your powers. Now, you and Natasha will spar again. Anytime you feel the need to use your power, try a way to control them."
I stand to the side, observing both of the women. Natasha is a powerful and well trained opponent. Her many years of experience is evident in the smooth transitions of her body. Wanda is very clearly new to physical combat, her movements awkward in her uncertainty. Natasha knows this, taking it easy on her.
Wanda is in another headlock and begins to panic. I can see her eye colour turning scarlet.
"Control it!" I instruct. Wanda breathes in, eyes tightly closed. She reopens then, the red now gone. "That's good. Now, both of you stand down." They do. "Start over."
Wanda is more confident as the sparring continues. It'll be quite some time before she is on par with Natasha's skills, if ever. But it's training she needs.
"How's she going?" I hear Steve ask from beside me, turning to address him.
"Good. She's learning to control her powers. I can't say she'll never let them get the best of her, it's hard to not let emotion get in the way when fighting, especially for your life."
"I can understand that. Even I sometimes struggle."
There's another blast of red. I turn back, Natasha holding her hand.
"Damn, remind me to never get you mad on purpose." Natasha says, shaking her hand out as if it'll rid her of the pain.
"I'm sorry..." Wanda says, her voice breaking. I see tears in her eyes. She turns, walking away.
Steve moves to go after her, but I put my hand on his arm, stopping him. "Allow me." He nods. I follow after her.
I find her pacing outside on the grass. She looks up at me, obviously hearing the grass crunching under my feet.
"I'm sorry, I just need a minute." I can see tears falling down her face.
"You don't need to apologise, Wanda." I say softly, now standing in front of her. "Since you've gained these powers, it's all you've ever had, like you said. In my time with HYDRA, I was trained in combat for the same reason. You never know if your powers will fail. Steve is only making sure, that if you're ever in that situation, you're able to defend yourself until you can get help."
"I know, I-" she sighs heavily, "I just don't like this feeling of helplessness."
I chuckle. "Oh babes, believe me. I understand." I place a comforting hand on her shoulder. "But it's only the first day. In the last half an hour, I've already seen you progress in a good way."
"Really?"
"Of course! I can see you controlling your emotions, and your body is already getting used to moving in both a defensive and offensive manner. Only time and practice will improve them. When we're training, and in your own time, you just have to practice what we discussed."
"I will."
"I wasn't experimented on to gain my powers, my body just naturally mutated. And I'm not a saint. But we were both used for our abilities and now, we're in a safe environment, with a group of people who only wish to help others. And our gifts can help with that. So the more time we take to learn how to use them, the better our results will be, okay?"
"You're right. Would you..."
"Would I what?"
"Would you be willing to help me, one on one?"
"I'd be more than happy to. I'll help you and in exchange, you can teach me how to cook." I smile.
"I'd like that." She returns my smile.
It's been two weeks since our first Avengers training. For an hour each morning, Steve and I have been training in the gym. I've let my fitness levels drop significantly, which is only detrimental for myself when using my powers on full blast for prolonged periods. Afterwards, Wanda and I have been training together for another hour. She has much more control over her powers and emotions than our first training, and I can see how pleased she is with herself. Natasha has also been joining us, pointing out where she can improve in her footwork and showing her new techniques.
"I think when you and I spar in our training this afternoon, you should try a session with Steve as well." Natasha speaks up from her spot on the floor beside the mat.
"You think I'm ready for that?" Wanda asks before taking a drink from her bottle.
"If you're able to take Celeste and myself down, I think it's only a natural progression."
"But Steve is so strong..." Wanda says unsure.
"He is strong, and surprisingly quick for a man of his build. But he'd be someone you can learn a lot from." I state.
"My sentiments exactly."
We made our way out of the training room, walking down the halls. A young woman walks up to us.
"Miss. Romanoff, would you mind checking this paperwork?" She hands a clipboard to Natasha.
"Why do I get all the paperwork to sign?" She whines.
"I'm sorry, but I wasn't able to find Captain Rogers." Steve has said on more than one occasion how much he detests paperwork.
"That's okay." Nat signs the paperwork, handing it back to her. "I'm just kidding."
"Well I'm going to prepare lunch. Celeste? Are you helping me?" Wanda asks me.
"Oh yes! Pasta today!" Wanda has done a good job teaching me how to cook, even if I do say so myself.
"Yes, but not a creamy one." I pout slightly at this. "Not a good a idea to mix cream with exercise."
"Yes, throwing up when being held in a headlock after you've been flipped around like a rag doll, is not ideal." Nat adds.
"Good point."
"But homemade basil pesto is fine!"
"That sounds amazing...!"
"Buon appetito!" I say, placing the bowl of pesto pasta in the centre of the dining table.
"This smells amazing!" Sam says, handing the bowl to Natasha so she can start serving herself.
"Only because Wanda was there to instruct me." I smile over at her.
"You're doing well, Celeste!"
"Yes, I don't burn water." I giggle.
"Wouldn't it just boil...?" Rhodey says.
"I was joking. And I wouldn't be able to let water burn anyway." I throw a small flick of water at him from my hands.
He jerks back in surprise. "I'll never get used to the idea that there are real people with real superpowers. Didn't realise I lived in a real life comic book." He says, plating up his own serve.
"Not really an idea, but more of a fact." Sam says.
"This is true." Steve says, grabbing the bowl of pasta.
"This is so good!" I say, after I swallow a mouthful of pasta.
"Modest." Natasha giggles jokingly.
"Oh, let her have it!" Sam says, moaning. "This is so tasty!"
"Yeah, it's more than I can do..." Steve says, giving me a wink. I feel my face flush.
"Enough of that." Rhodey says.
"Of what?" Steve asks turning to him confused.
"Your flirting." He responds.
"How was that flirting?" Steve asks.
"We all saw that wink, Cap." Nat teases.
"Whatever..."
"Wanda's training is coming along well." Steve says, his hands in his pants pockets as we walk outside of the facility. We had just finished dinner and decided it would be nice to get out and have a walk, just the two of us.
"She is." I reply, feeling proud. "She did really well when you and her were sparring together, even better than I imagined."
"Definitely. Imagine what she'll be able to do in a few more months."
"Probably best we start letting her train with her powers. If a mission comes up like you say is likely, she'll feel more comfortable with more practice using her powers in combat." I say, looping my arm through his.
He looks down at me. "You're right. We'll start that next week, after the weekend we have off."
"Do you have any plans for the weekend?"
"Well... I was thinking we could do something together."
"Oh? What would that be?"
"It's probably a bit late to organise a trip to DC, but I thought it might be nice to go to a museum in the city? Could go in for lunch before or after?" He suggests.
"I think that sounds like a wonderful idea." I smile as I lean into his side.
"Then let's do that, maybe Saturday?" I agree, it's Thursday now.
"Can we relax in the morning?" I ask, he's learnt over the last few weeks, I'm not a morning person. Our morning training sessions are what get me out of bed, mostly just so I can see a sweaty Steve wearing a shirt that shows off his glorious muscles.
"Yes," he laughs, "so let's head in for lunch first."
We've both stopped, turning to each other. We hadn't had a moment to ourselves like this since before we started training. I reach a hand up to his face, feeling the beginning of stubble. We lean in together, but are interrupted by a beeping.
"Damn." He huffs, pulling away slightly and reaching into his pocket. He pulls out his phone, frowning as he reads the screen.
"What is it?" I ask, slightly worried from his reaction.
"We have a mission." He says looking back up to me.
I nod. "Okay, then let's get back in there."
We make our way back inside, to the meeting room. We walk in to find everyone already there.
"Okay, now that we're all here, let's get through the details of this mission." Nat says, walking up to the screen in the room. "Seems our friend Klaue hasn't lost any business since Ultron. He's been sighted in Mexico. Doing some dealings with the Cartel. So let's get on the jet, and make our way down there. We can discuss more on the jet."
"Okay, we'll be leaving in 5 minutes. Let's get going." Steve says, leaving the room.
I walk over to Wanda, who was looking a bit nervous. "You ready for this?" I ask.
"Yeah. Just a bit nervous." She breathes.
"That's fair, but if we can deal with Ultron, we can deal with Klaue. Hopefully this time, he won't get away."
"Hopefully."
"Let's suit up." I say, heading to our quarters so we can get changed.