Author's Note: Okay, so a little bit of a shorter chapter than the last. Sorry for taking a bit of time to write this but I was finishing the book I was reading.
So this chapter I was listening to Bleachers and BORNS while writing. Just found out that BORNS has a new album coming out next week and I'm super excited. Hopefully it's as good or better than the last one because Dopamine has to be one of my favorite albums of all times. It's crazy how that guy's not more famous. Thanks to Duffie145 for recommending Bleachers. I listened to some of the Bleachers before but not a lot. You're totally right by the way. That guy is amazing and on some songs he even reminds me a bit of Bowie. I'm not really a fan of his girlfriend but I don't have to be because it's his music that I love.
I can also say with almost full confidence that chapter fifty one will contain another look into the life of Emma's parents before she was born. I'm excited to write more about that.
crazyman844:I think the only way Peter could kill him is if it was an accident when he beating the shit out of him or whatever. I'm interested in writing Peter as the one to do it because it would definitely be something complex for his character to deal with. I'm also interested in writing about how Emma would help him cope with that. It's still not a sure thing though and I'm continuing to work out all these scenarios.
alleya02: Emma's definitely not going to kill Rumlow. The three people I'm mainly looking at is Steve, Bucky, and Peter. I'm currently trying to create three scenarios with them individually before picking the best one.
Onlyinitforthestories2: I don't think I'll have Wanda kill him. Emma and Wanda will probably make amends when the others return from Wakanda. She's grown up a lot in the absence of Steve and Bucky. Forgiveness is a part of her now and if she's managed to forgive Tony than I think she can forgive Wanda too and let bygones be bygones.
Spawn Hades: Peter and Emma might get together a little sooner than you think. It's so hard to decide which one will kill Rumlow though. I'm so conflicted and this is the most conflicted I've ever been about anything in writing this story. I'm not sure if I'll have Venom Peter in this fanfiction. If I did than it wouldn't happen for a long time. I've never read any of the comic books, at least not Spider-Man ones, so I wouldn't know where to start. Maybe once the Venom movie comes out I might have a better idea as to how to approach that but for now I don't think that will be in the story. Never say never though. Maybe someday.
Radioactive88: I think Tony would probably laugh or be amused if she said something like that in front of him. I'm actually super excited for the others to return to the story in Part III because they're going to see a much different Emma. They're going to see a flirty and in love Emma Rogers which is probably going to shock the hell out of them. I'm dying to write a scene which Emma says something like that to Peter in front of Steve. It's gonna be so hilarious.
Tony is definitely going to be the one to take credit when Emma and Peter finally get together. Emma will probably roll her eyes and tell him that he's full of shit. I also wanted to show that he is starting to see Peter as a sort of son so he's happy for him but at the same time he has to be protective of Emma because he does care about her but he also promised Steve. I think once Steve and Bucky come back he'll probably revert back to being the cool and laid back uncle. I never really indicated whether or not Tony continued to listen to Emma and Peter but I know he probably let them have their moment on their own. He probably turned away at that moment. Tony was only watching them out of curiosity rather than worry. He knows that Peter wouldn't do anything with Emma. He trusts him.
Steve will grow to like Peter although it might take him some time to get over the fact that Emma will be in a relationship. He always wanted her to have that but he kind of thought it wouldn't happen until she was college age. Bucky on the other hand isn't going to be thrilled about it. He watched Emma grow up and isn't ready for her to be growing up so fast. Bucky had to miss a lot of Emma growing up at the same time too because of the cyro-chamber and being on the run.
Emma-Jean02: Thank you for the kind review! I really wished Emma was in the movies too. Oh well...I'm sure Peter and Michelle will make a great couple someday too. Michelle's cool.
Mika614: In regards to Uncle Ben I think you'll like this chapter. Thanks for the constructive criticism. I didn't really realize that I was even doing that but I'll try to keep that in mind for future chapters. Thanks.
Mcduffie: Deep down Emma is a teenager so she does react to Peter in a somewhat normal way since she's in love with him but at the same time she's kind of afraid of how much she feels for him. It's definitely hard for her but it'll end up being good for her once Peter and her finally admit their feelings to each other.
Well, technically you and I have a similar taste in music too.
I'm in the pacific time zone I think but I update like at one in the morning because I can't sleep a lot of the times. I'm sort of weird because I can only really write at night. I don't know why. Daylight just doesn't really inspire me. I'm almost like a vampire. I go to bed at four in the morning and wake up at noon. That's probably bad for me but I'm still young so I guess I can handle it.
Thank you for listening to Vera Blue by the way! I just found out about her a few days ago and I can't stop listening to her. She deserves to be way more famous.
Hannah: Well, I might not completely check him off the list but I'm definitely checking Clint off the list. I'm still in the process of figuring out the who should kill Rumlow thing. So many decisions.
Anna: You're so nice! Thank you! I definitely don't think I'm one of the best writers on fanfiction because I make a lot of grammar mistakes but thanks anyways. I needed an ego 's going to discuss what really happened to her within Part III. It's getting closer and closer. I think it'll show how far she's come along when she finally reveals what happened to her. It's just been bottled up inside her for too long. Emma and Peter will probably admit their feelings for each other within the next five chapters. Not sure what chapter that'll be yet but it's really not that far away. People are so frustrated with those two, myself included, but this is really hard on the both of them. Peter because he thinks Emma wouldn't feel the same way about him and Emma because she thinks Peter deserves someone way better than her. Anyway...people can calm down a bit because it's gonna happen soon and I'm so excited to write it.
Sorry for not answering all the reviews but I really wanted to get this chapter out to you guys. Thank you and please let me know what you think.
He'd never see them coming.
That's the first thing that slipped into Emma's mind as she and Peter stood on the roof of one of the many tall apartment buildings in Queens. It was a couple days after their Star Wars marathon and they were back home. Emma had taken Peter to the gym in Brooklyn the day before so he could test his strength. He wasn't the best boxer apparently but Emma had seen Maximoff box so she knew no one could be as bad as that.
Emma and Peter were currently tending to what Emma liked calling their neighborhood watch duties. Peter wasn't as fond of the term so of course Emma kept calling it that to annoy him. After Tony had given the both of them their suits back they had resumed their crime fighting status as the Viper Assassin and Spider-Man. The two were currently investigating a series of recent robberies in the area. She had received a discreet tip from an informant about a couple of low level armed burglars that were planning to rob one of the upscale department stores in the neighborhood. Of course, there were much nicer department stores in Manhattan but it was clear to Emma that they weren't dealing with the best of the best here.
"They just entered the store, Emma. Should we go in?" Peter asked her but the blonde stood still and quiet as observed the scene below them. One of the men, Alan Fisher, had done around three years at Riker's for armed robbery. He's gotten out on parole early for good behavior and that was only a couple months ago. It didn't take him long to go back to work, now did it? Emma thought to herself, amused by the man's sloppiness. Well, this was what she signed up for after all. She knew that she was never going to be dealing with criminals that were Loki or Hydra level…not in Queens anyways. Toomes was a rarity.
"Not yet." Emma told him quietly and Peter raised an eyebrow at her from under the mask.
"We've got to act soon. They've got guns." Peter replied but Emma didn't seem bothered.
"No one's going to get hurt tonight." Emma said, sounding quite sure of herself and even Peter felt a bit more relaxed at her confidence. He felt so relaxed that he decided to listen to her and wait. Emma watched through her Viper Vision in her mask as the men casually walked through the store but she knew that they had guns they were hiding under their coats. Their thermal heat signatures showed cold spots where the guns were placed on their bodies. Emma didn't know who the other man was and her informant wasn't quite sure either. The other man was older than Fisher and evidently had no criminal record. That didn't mean that he was innocent either…he was just better at getting away with his crimes. Emma's informant had also told her that Fisher's partner was very mysterious as well as something of a quiet man. Her informant said something about how the man gave him the creeps. Good thing Emma never got creeped out.
"This will be simple, right?" Peter asked her and Emma shrugged. The truth was that her and Peter had been tracking this string of burglaries since the beginning of the week. So far there had been three burglaries in the Queens area and all at department stores. Emma and Peter only recently made the connection to Fisher which hadn't taken them long. All they had to do was search for crimes similar to the current ones being committed before looking through the criminal database for perpetrators of those crimes that had recently be released. Fisher was the only one that meet the criteria and the information her informant gave her only confirmed hers and Peter's suspicions. Although...Emma never exactly told Peter about her informant. She didn't think he'd be comfortable with the kind of person her informant was.
"It could go either way." Emma told him. "Just don't underestimate these guys. Remember…we know next to nothing about the other one. Let's play this safe and not become too arrogant."
Peter nodded in agreement. He usually listened to Emma in these instances. They hadn't had much to deal with in the past couple weeks. A couple of car thefts every now and then. Someone had stolen someone's prized poodle the week before. To Peter's surprise Emma had even went so far as to go on a witch hunt for the missing poodle. They tracked down the poodle in about an hour. It wasn't incredibly hard to find the dog burglar since the person posted an ad on Craigslist for the dog. Peter had wanted to laugh at the look on the young college student's face when he walked into his dorm room and saw the Viper Assassin waiting there for him. He didn't even think the guy noticed him until much later. Peter then frowned as something else occurred to him.
Emma must've been very bored if she did something as trivial as tracking down some rich old lady's poodle. He never really pictured her as the kind of person to hunt down dog burglars. As far as he knew Emma hated dogs…well, she hated any kind of pet as it would seem. He remembered Cindy Moon showing Emma a picture of her puppy once and Emma wrinkled her nose in disgust. If anything Peter was amused by the sight because only Emma would be disgusted by something as cute as a puppy unlike most girls. This was why it bothered him that she would go out of her way to find the dog. Peter knew it wasn't because she felt bad for the old lady. He distinctly remembered hearing Emma call her a 'snobbish old bitch' under her breath. No, Emma did it for another reason and he didn't know why. He was still surprised that she had even decided to stay in Queens with him instead of living at the compound full time and being an Avenger. Crime fighting in Queens should've been boring and beneath her but Emma never complained about it…not even once.
Peter was snapped out of his thoughts as they heard one of the men, Fisher, start to shout at a loud volume. Emma narrowed her eyes. It appeared that Fisher and his partner had finally decided to make a move. She would need to think about this very carefully to ensure that no civilian lives got lost in the mix. Emma caressed her gun holster as she normally did before confrontations with targets…or criminals. She realized it was something like a good luck charm for her even if she didn't believe in luck. Tony didn't seem happy with the fact that she carried a gun but it wasn't like she ever used it these days anyways. Emma much preferred close quarters combat to a gun. There was also the fact that Emma was now using her grandfather's shield during these little missions or mini missions, as she liked to call them, her and Peter went on. The shield handled the situation more than well.
"We'll enter the store through the back door. It doesn't look like Fisher or his partner are making any move to barricade any of the other doors." Emma told Peter as she continued to look through the building with Viper vision.
"Isn't that odd? You'd think Fisher would've learned from his old mistakes." Peter replied and Emma just shook her head.
"He's had three successful robberies…he's gotten cocky. Fisher thinks this will be quick and easy." Emma said as both her and Peter walked closer to the edge of the roof.
"Well, let's show him otherwise." Peter quipped and she knew he had that cute little smirk on his face from under his mask. The teenage boy flung his wrist out and shot a rope of webbing over to the building across from them. He raised an arm out towards her and like she could read his mind, Emma immediately walked over to him. Peter carefully wrapped an arm around her with his other hand holding onto the rope of webbing. He then quickly propelled them down to the ground. This seemed to be a sort of normal occurrence between them now whenever they were doing their rounds in Queens. It was never talked about but then again it never needed to be talked about.
Once they reached the ground, Emma immediately stepped away from Peter and entered what she called her mission mode. Peter followed her as she silently walked up to the backdoor only to notice that it was already opened. A small object held the door open which Emma found suspicious so she took Steve's shield from her back, much like she had seen her grandfather do countless times before, and put her arm through the straps on the inside. This was the first time that she had really been able to use it in action. None of the other stuff that her and Peter had investigated had ever needed the shield. A part of her was excited but the more rational part of her was cautious. She made a motion for her hand for Peter to be as silent as possible. Peter didn't say anything but she knew he got the message. The signals with her hands were something that only her and her father had ever understood, something they only used on missions, but Peter was also becoming privy to their silent language as it would seem.
She tiptoed into the building through the backdoor and immediately knew why the backdoor was propped open. A middle aged woman, who looked to be an employee of the store, sat in a dark corner in the stock room as she trembled in fear, her eyes darting to another door. It was her who had propped the door open. Emma figured that the Viper Assassin and Spider-Man had become known guardians of Queens so it made sense why she knew they were coming. Peter glanced at the woman curiously but followed Emma. He wished that he could say something to make the woman feel better but the clock was ticking.
Emma and Peter carefully crept through the stockroom and finally made their way towards the entrance into the main part of the store. They could both hear a man, Fisher more than likely, yelling as he made his demands. They reached the door and Emma made a signal for Peter to stop moving. He did as requested and Emma looked through the door using her Viper Vision. She could see the thermal heat signatures of Fisher, Mystery Man, and five other individuals. At least three of them had to be employees while the other two were customers. It was almost closing time for most stores in the area which explained the lack of customers. Emma and Peter then listened to what was going on outside the door.
"Give us the fucking money! Everything in the cash register and the safe!" Fisher shouted at the cashier.
"We don't have a safe." The scared cashier uttered. Emma could practically hear the tremor in the man's voice.
"Do you think we're stupid?! Of course, you've gotta safe." Fisher said aggressively. "Now give us the money and I won't blow this lady's brains out." Emma decided that now was probably the appropriate time to make their entrance. Peter gave her a slow nod and Emma did the same in response. Then, as if they were truly in sync, the pair pushed open the door with such force that it nearly fell of it's hinges when it swung open.
Everyone's eyes widened in surprise as they stared at the two crime fighters…all except for one man. Mystery man. The customers and employees looked slightly relieved to see them there but still in fear for their lives. Fisher had a gun pointed at them after all. Fisher then pointed his gun at the both of them, his remarkably calm and quiet partner also pulled out and pointed his gun at them.
"What the fuck are you two freaks doing here?!" Fisher yelled at them. His voice was aggressive but Emma could tell that he was nervous and frightened from his trembling stance as well as the scared look in his eyes. Fisher realized he wasn't getting out of this one. Emma briefly assessed Fisher's partner but saw that the man didn't appear to be frightened in the least. He was older than Fisher, most likely in his forties, but the look on his face was emotionless. His eyes were a haunting gray and Emma felt like she might've seen him before…once maybe. Her mind, however, was otherwise occupied by the current situation as she refused to dwell on the odd man.
"Hey, Mr. Burglar, that's no language for this kind of establishment." Peter quipped as he gestured to the nice store they were currently in. Emma fought the urge to roll her eyes. It was always like Peter to joke around with these assholes. She preferred tactics that were far more terrifying than that.
"It's nice to finally be acquainted Mr. Alan Fisher." Emma saw the surprised look on the idiot's face and smirked. It was obvious that he didn't expect them to know who he was. "Oh, were you not expecting us to know your name? Well, I guess you're not as smart as you thought you were. It was quite easy to track you down."
"Shut up, you fucking bitch!" He shouted at her but Emma wasn't fazed. Peter, however, was very offended as he glared at the man.
"That's not how a gentlemen talks to a lady. Apologize." Peter told the man, his voice was dark which actually kind of surprised Emma. Normally she would've been very excited to see him force the man to apologize but she wanted to cut this short. Darcy had dinner waiting at the townhouse and Emma was starving. The super soldier hunger was relentless.
"That's alright, Spider-Twerp. I don't mind." Emma said coldly as she stared back at Fisher. "Listen here, Fisher, Spider-Twerp and I have things to do so if you'll kindly put down the weapon we'll restrain you and leave you for the cops to deal with." Fisher just scoffed at her…as if she was the stupid one.
"Do I look like an idiot to you?" He asked Emma.
"Do you really want us to answer that?" Peter asked him which caused Fisher to glare angrily at the both of them. Emma wanted to smack Peter upside the head for that one. She thought he told her that they needed to diffuse the tension in situations like this to avoid casualties on both ends. Now here he was going on his merry way provoking someone like Fisher who obviously had a short temper. Emma had provoked him a bit before but she knew that it wouldn't take much to set him off.
"You have a really big mouth, you know that?" Fisher sneered as he kept the gun pointed at them. Emma spared a glance at the other man but his demeanor was still the same. Cold and calculating.
"He does actually." Emma answered as she eyed the gun in her hand. She knew if worse came to worse she could throw the shield up in front of her and Peter but Emma didn't want to risk him shooting any of the other people in the store. "He actually has a really terrible habit of running his mouth all the time. It's kind of annoying at times but what can you do?"
"I'm not annoying." Peter defended as he crossed his arms and Emma raised an eyebrow at him.
"You kind of are." Emma retorted.
"Am not." Peter shot back. Fisher looked at the two heroes in disbelief, not understanding what their problem was.
"Are you two gonna fuck or what?" Fisher asked sarcastically, causing Emma to look back at him and Peter to blush.
"Fisher, you and your partner put down the weapon and we can all walk away from this." Emma told him, a serious expression on her face. She tried to exhibit the same calmness and determination that Natasha maintained in situations like these. It was something Emma remembered Natasha saying to her all those years ago after all.
"What? So I can go back to prison?" Fisher mocked. "I thought the Viper Assassin would be smarter than that but you are a blonde after all." Okay…Emma's patience was wearing very thin with this idiot. Sometimes she missed the days were she just ended the whole thing with a pull of her trigger. It was so easier back then. Oh, well…Emma would just have to deal with it.
"Last warning, asshole. You can make this very easy on all of us or we can do this the hard way." Emma told him, her eyes narrowed as she stared at the trembling man. "It doesn't make a difference to us either way."
"Yeah, just put the gun down so no one gets hurt." Peter told Fisher as well as he tried to be as intimidating as the blonde standing next to him. Emma honestly thought it was adorable when he tried to be scary. "And I mean that in a totally scary and intimidating way like Viper."
"I have an idea." Fisher proposed sarcastically. "How about you two go fuck yourselves?" Emma sighed as she noticed his finger begin to pull back the trigger. It seemed like this guy wasn't the type you could talk down. Fisher realized that he was in a situation that he couldn't simply get out of so he had decided to take everyone down with him. It was just so strange that his partner still remained remarkably calm. The older man still hadn't said anything.
"Everyone get down!" Peter yelled at the other people in the store right before Emma dragged him behind the shield as Fisher fired off a couple shots in their direction. Emma and Peter were huddled behind the shield as the bullets hit the shield. She quickly lifted her head to peek above the shield. Her plan was to run towards Fisher with the Shield and take him down while Peter made sure the occupants of the store remained unharmed. She'd deal with Fisher's partner when she had the first chance.
As Emma prepared herself to charge towards Fisher, both her and Peter were surprised at what happened next. Fisher's partner, who had been aiming the gun at the both of them, then pointed the gun at Fisher. Emma and Peter's eyes widened in bewilderment and before any of them could react, Fisher's partner pulled the trigger. Not even Emma, with all her experience in the field, could predict that this would happen. The sound of the gunshot echoed through the building as Fisher was hit point blank in the head. A couple screams from the people inside the store soon followed after that as they saw Fisher's brains get splattered all across the wall and his body dropped lifelessly to the floor. Emma froze as a memory she thought she had long forgotten came back to her. Her father, Steven Rogers, coming down the stairs just as three gunshots sounded through the air. His brain matter coating the white walls and framed photographs. Emma! Run! Get out of here!
Emma was then snapped out of her memory as Fisher's familiar partner turned to look back at her. She didn't fail to notice how he looked at her and not Peter. Like her reaction was the only one that was important to him. He grinned at her as he still held onto his gun. Emma didn't like the way he was looking at her…like he knew her. Peter still stood in shock, not believing what just happened. His eyes were glued to the lifeless body of Alan Fisher. Emma clenched her jaw as she stared coldly at Fisher's lunatic of a partner. Her hand was on her gun and Emma knew that she was probably going to have to use it today. She always knew she'd use it if she had to but lately she had been hoping that she wouldn't. Emma never wanted to disappoint Peter but if his life was on the line she wouldn't have a choice.
"Spider-Man, get the others out of here." Emma told Peter, snapping him out of his shocked state. Peter was briefly surprised at the fact that Emma had called him Spider-Man. It was the first time she had ever called him something other than Spider-Twerp. Even so, it was enough to snap him out of his shocked state.
"But Viper-" He started to say but she interrupted him.
"Get them out." She repeated, her tone demanding and Peter knew better than to stand there and argue with her. He didn't want to leave her alone with the man but the other people in the store were in grave danger. Someone had already been killed as it was and Peter was still trying to process what had happened. He gave the blonde a quick nod before he started gathering the people in the store and rush them out the back door. Peter spared Emma one last worried look before he decided that she would be just fine. Emma had been in these situations before.
"You don't remember me, do you?" The man asked her once Peter and the others left. She couldn't help but notice that he had a distinctly Russian accent. Stalingrad if she wasn't mistaken. She knew that because Natasha had a very similar Russian accent to the one this man had. Emma's eyes glanced over his face and she was strongly convinced that she had met him before but she still couldn't figure out where. Those stormy gray eyes and Russian accent were incredibly familiar.
"Put down the gun or I'll be forced to use lethal force." Emma said coldly and the man only chuckled at her.
"Look at what the Avengers did to you." The man said as if he were disappointed. Emma was confused but she maintained her composure as she stared him down. "You're a killing machine yet they've resorted you to handcuffing common thieves."
"I'm not going to repeat myself again." Emma told him as she tried ignore what he was saying. The man spoke about her like he was familiar with her and that bothered Emma. Where had she seen him before?
"Your memory doesn't appear to serve you well, Asset." Emma's eyes widened at that name. No one had called her that name since Hydra. Emma hadn't answered to that name in years. Everything then came back to her as she remembered where she knew that man from. It wasn't from one of many of her missions. No, it was from within the base. Images of those stormy gray eyes came back to her. Images of her being strapped down to a gurney by the very man in front of her…of being held down after the injections. He was there. He was part of Hydra.
"You!" Emma snarled as she glared at him, immediately pulling out her gun and aiming it at him faster than he could comprehend. The man barely looked fazed as she drew her gun. It was as if he had planned on her doing that. Peter rushed back into the building in that moment but paused when he saw the scene before him. He tried to find a way to best approach the situation.
"What's going on?" He asked hesitantly as he eyed the gun in Emma's hand…the gun pointed at the man who shot Fisher. The gleeful look on the man's face didn't make Peter feel better either.
"This man's an agent of Hydra." Emma told him without looking away from her target. "He was there in the base with me. I didn't recognize him at first but now I do." The man continued to smirk at Emma, looking positively delighted from Emma remembering him. Peter was surprised at this information but tried to remain calm. He knew that Emma might possibly kill this man and Peter didn't want that for her. Who knows what that would do to her?
"You're so grown up now." The man told her. It was almost as if he was an old relative that hadn't seen Emma in a number of years. "Although Karpov would be disappointed to you wasting your potential with the Avengers. The Viper Assassin who was trained to kill and conquer." The man then turned to Peter with a knowing smile on his face…a smile that made Peter feel uneasy. Peter had never met a Hydra agent before but he could already tell that most of them must have been lunatics. Emma wasn't lying when she told him that.
"Did you know that this girl, who stands next to you, has the power to take over a nation with just a simple pocket knife?" He said in amusement before shaking his head. "Yet she wastes her potential on thieves and weapon dealers. How sad." Emma gritted her teeth as this man kept talking. He was telling Peter things about herself that she never wanted him to know. Emma only hoped that he didn't continue that strategy.
"What do you want?" Emma asked him shortly. The man grinned at her which only served to piss off Emma even more.
"This isn't about what I want." He said almost teasingly which caused Emma's eyebrows to furrow in confusion. She didn't understand. "This is about what he wants." Emma started to feel her heart race and not like the way it raced when she was around Peter. This was fear. She tried to deny who this man was talking about but deep down she already knew.
"He sent me to tell you a message, Asset." The man told Emma in a chilling voice. Peter glanced at Emma in confusion, not having any idea who this man was talking about, but was surprised see the pale look on Emma's face. Her eyes were wide with…fear? Could she really be fearful? Peter didn't think he had ever seen Emma look fearful before but there was a first time for everything. "He says that it won't be long before you'll be together again. He's a man of his word after all. Rumlow will come for you soon so you can be in your rightful place…with Hydra."
Emma didn't know why she froze the moment he told her that. She thought of Rumlow quite often. Mostly she thought of different ways to kill him but this was different. This wasn't just a nightmare…this was reality. Rumlow had sent this man for her and it occurred to Emma that he obviously knew where she was. How could he not? The Avengers were on the news all the time. Emma hated herself for being reduced to her own fear. She felt weak, damaged, and pathetic all wrapped into one. She didn't know how hard she was breathing…how hard her heart was pounding against her chest as she stared at the man, no longer feeling confident as she always did. Her hand even shook as she fought to keep a tight grip on the gun.
"Hail Hydra." The man smirked at Emma one last time and before anyone could anticipate it, he quickly brought his gun and pointed it at his temple. He pulled the trigger without hesitation, shocking Peter further as the man blew his own brains out. The blood splattered against Emma's face, coating her pale skin and blonde hair in blood and brain matter but the blonde still didn't move. She didn't even move when his body fell limply to the floor much like Fisher had.
"Oh my god." Peter whispered, his eyes wide with horror. Tonight was the first time he had seen anyone die in front of him. Not even Uncle Ben had died in front of him. Peter had seen not only one person die but two. It was more than he could comprehend and he still didn't understand it. He could've prevented it with a simple flip of his wrist but what the man had been talking about made him pause. The man obviously knew a lot about Emma and Peter didn't understand any of it. Peter quickly tore his gaze away from all the blood and dead bodies to look at Emma. Surprisingly the blonde was still in the same position as she stood there staring into space. Her face was dripping with the man's blood as her gun was still pointed in the same direction it was before, only now her hand was trembling. Peter was frightened at the state of her. He had never seen her like that before.
"Emma?" He asked cautiously but she still didn't seem to snap out of her trance like state. Peter waved a hand over her face and still nothing. He was quickly growing very worried for his partner. This wasn't like her at all The teenage boy quickly took off his mask and searched her face to try to find any sign of her in there. It was almost like Emma was in shock.
"Emma, what's going on?" Peter asked her, becoming more and more worried by the second. Still nothing. He swallowed nervously as he eyed the gun in her shaking hand. Peter didn't know whether or not to try and pull the gun out of her hand. In this state, it could be dangerous even trying to do that.
"Emma, please…" He pleaded with her and that seemed to be enough to get her out of whatever trance she was in. Emma blinked her eyes several times before she came back into reality. She eyed her shaking hand in surprise before immediately putting her gun back in the holster. Emma could taste the copper taste of blood in her mouth but it wasn't her own. She immediately glanced over at Peter who was looking at her in concern.
"Are you alright?" Peter asked her and Emma nodded, her eyes still wide with fear. He could even see the unshed tears in her blue eyes. Whatever that man told her really seemed to spook her.
"I-I'm...well, I-I'm not. I'm fine." Emma stammered as she tried to gather her bearings. Her heart rate started to climb down from it's rapidness and she finally started feeling more calm. Not completely but still calmer than before.
"Are you sure?" Peter questioned and Emma nodded before glancing at the bloody scene before them. Out of all the outcomes that Emma had predicted none of them quite looked like this one. Blood all over the walls and floors. Two dead bodies. How did everything go so wrong?
"This is a mess." Emma said quietly as she eyed the two lifeless bodies on the floor. Peter forced himself not to look at them. It was easier if he didn't.
"I don't understand any of it." He whispered softly to her, still horrified by what had happened. "Why would he do that? Kill Fisher and himself?"
"No one understands why Hydra does the things they do." Emma said with a faraway look in her eyes. Peter just shook his head.
"All of this just to get to you? It doesn't make any sense." Peter stated and Emma didn't feel like talking about it anymore. In all honesty she just wanted to forget anything ever happened.
"We need to call Tony. This went south very fast and the police will be here soon." She said as she changed the subject but Peter was still worried. Everything that happened tonight kept replaying in his mind over and over again.
"He knew where you were, Emma...where you were going to be. How?" Peter said softly and Emma locked eyes with him.
"I don't know." She uttered even though she knew that was a lie. Hydra was never going to let her go, were they? Emma was foolish to think otherwise. All these years she had felt safe in that tower with Steve but she had been living in a fantasy world. It was only a matter of time before Hydra felt safe enough to come looking for her. It seemed like that day was coming faster than she ever could've imagined.
"So beautiful…just like your mother." Emma heard him whisper into her ear just like he had that night. She shuddered as she could practically feel his hot breath against her face. She turned the faucet on and immediately began washing her face of all the blood. Her and Peter just arrived at the compound a few minutes ago. Emma excused herself to go wash up but in reality she just wanted a couple minutes to herself. Now was not the time to get emotionally compromised and she needed to collect her thoughts before going back out there to face everyone.
"We'll be together again, Margot." She started scrubbing her face harshly as she tried to drown out the sound of his voice with the sound of running water. Her heart was pounding against her chest and Emma felt like she could barely breathe.
"Don't cry. The pain won't last long…I promise." Emma scrubbed so hard that the bar of soap was crushed in her hand and her nails dug into the palm of her hand, drawing blood. The soap was a mushy mess in her hand but Emma barely noticed as she held onto the edge of the sink for dear life. Her breathing was heavy and Emma felt like he was right there in the room with her. She could practically smell the sweat and musk…his hands all over her as he groped every part of her body. Emma could almost feel the humiliation that she had felt that night as well.
She suddenly felt sick as she looked at herself in the mirror. Tears were streaming down her face and her face was red from the fierce scrubbing. Is this what she had been reduced to? Letting Rumlow have all this power over her? She didn't know why she always let him do this to her. Every time something like this happened she was reduced to the same sniveling, stupid thirteen year old girl she used to be.
When would this ever end?
"So who's the guy?" Tony asked, sounding relaxed but anyone who knew him knew he really wasn't. All the Avengers plus Emma, Peter, and Maria Hill were all seated in the meeting room of the compound. It was a debriefing of Emma and Peter's mission gone south. Emma pretended to ignore it but she knew everyone was casting glances at her when they thought she wasn't looking. Especially Peter and Tony.
"Ivan Volkov. Age forty four. Born in Stalingrad, Russia." Maria reported as one of the holographic screens came up, showing a picture of the Hydra agent dressed in uniform. "KGB agent and also apparent Hydra agent."
"And you knew him?" Rhodey asked Emma as he gave her a curious look. Emma maintained her composure as she hesitantly nodded.
"I didn't realize it until I saw him. He was never one of the ones who trained me. I just saw him a few times around the base." Emma answered as the others listened to her intently. Peter watched the blonde carefully. There was something not right with Emma. Usually the blonde was so calm and collected but now she just seemed tense. It was something that man said to her. The name that man said to her perhaps…Rumlow? Who was Rumlow?
"What did he say he wanted?" Tony questioned and Emma looked up at him, a conflicted look in her eyes, before she finally exhaled and answered Tony.
"Something about the Avengers wasting my true potential and Hydra being my rightful place." Emma answered as she brushed off Volkov's message with a mere shrug and unimpressed look. "The usual Hydra bullshit."
Peter stared at Emma as he waited for her to mention the name Volkov said. He waited for her to mention the fact that someone by the name of Rumlow was looking for her. Yet she never did. Emma just stared back at him as if she were daring him to mention the name. Peter wanted to tell the truth but he was torn. The way Emma was staring at him indicated that she didn't want him to tell the others. The only question was why. Peter swallowed as he kept his mouth shut and stared at the holographic screen.
"So he partners up with some random burglar so he can get your attention?" Rhodey asked although it sounded like he was actually trying to try to make sense of the situation. "All of that trouble just so he could give you a message before killing Fisher and himself? This is insane."
"This is Hydra." Emma replied shortly. What she was saying was true. Hydra didn't work like any other organization they had experience with. The people sitting around her in that meeting room had no idea how Hydra truly worked. Not even Steve really knew. The only people who understood the way Hydra worked was her father and herself. Maria eyed the blonde briefly before bringing the attention back to the screen.
"NYPD just sent us the ME report. No drugs in his system or anything." Maria told them and Tony scoffed.
"So that was him on a good day? Hydra's all kinds of crazy." Tony quipped.
"NYPD's ruling this as a murder suicide." Maria said, ignoring Tony's snarky comment. "Our only question is what does this mean for the future? How quickly is Hydra picking up the pieces from Sokovia? How many people are in their ranks? Who's in charge?"
"We all know Karpov, Strucker, and Pierce are long gone so who's left?" Rhodey said as he looked around the table.
"The doctor is currently in prison, is he not?" Vision inquired and Maria nodded.
"Dr. List is currently imprisoned at Raft." She answered.
"So that just leaves Rumlow." Tony uttered and everyone turned to look at Emma. Peter's ears perked up at the name. Rumlow…Everyone else seemed to know whoever that was. It seemed like Peter was the only one who was currently out of the loop.
"Last time Rumlow was seen was in Lagos. He was working with a bunch of mercenaries then." Maria said before continuing. "Rumlow might not even be working for Hydra anymore. The last time we encountered him he sought revenge against Cap, Wilson, and Romanoff for D.C. None of that was really political in the least. It was all revenge to him." Emma knew that Maria could be right about that. Rumlow was always in it for himself but she also knew if Rumlow really wanted he would use Hydra as a means to get to her.
"Mini Cap, you're being awfully quiet during all this. What's your take on it?" Tony asked her, genuinely curious to know her opinion. Emma realized that she had been staring into space for a couple of minutes before lifting her head up to look at everyone. They were all staring at her expectantly and suddenly the room felt very hot. She chewed on the inside of her cheek as she forced herself to come up with an answer.
"Hydra always lands on their feet. Don't underestimate them." Emma said vaguely.
"Did Volkov not mention anything else?" Maria asked her. "He didn't say anything about Rumlow?" Peter waited yet again for Emma to tell them about the person Volkov mentioned. Especially since the Avengers seemed to be very aware of who this person was. However, Emma didn't say anything and Peter wanted to know why that was.
"No. He just told me Hydra wanted me back and then blew his brains out." Emma answered confidently, forcing herself not to look at Peter. She really hoped he wouldn't sell her out. "Like I said before…it's the usual Hydra bullshit."
"You know you're safe here, right?" Tony asked her softly as he stared at her. Emma suddenly wished that she was anywhere else but the meeting room. She felt suffocated in that room as everyone worried over her well being. It made her feel even worse about the situation. "Hydra's not going to get you."
"I know." Emma said shortly. Thankfully Tony didn't seem to find her behavior that out of character. Maybe it was because he was distracted by this new development or maybe he just didn't know her as well as he thought he did. Tony's attention then went back to Maria as the former Shield agent started talking about potential Hydra bases around the world. The blonde returned her gaze to the center of the table as she drifted between thoughts. What was this going to mean for her? How far was Rumlow going to go? Emma honestly didn't want to know and she didn't even want to think about it. She felt Peter's gaze on her and she knew he had a million questions. Emma just didn't know if she was ready to answer those questions yet.
The meeting ended only a short time later. It was a school night so Happy was going to drive Peter and Emma back to the city fairly soon. They were waiting for Happy to bring the car around towards the front of the compound as they sat on the front steps. It must've been just past midnight by now. The two teenagers were sitting outside in the dark, staring up at the night sky. Like always, it was never the same as the sky in Russia. The night air was cold and brisk since it was November now but somehow the cold didn't bother Emma. Both of them were staring at the stars but their minds were on different matters. Emma looked away from the sky and looked at Peter. She knew tonight had been a blood bath and a lot more than what he was used to seeing. This was the first chance she had to actually dwell on the traumatizing experience Peter was facing.
"How are you doing?" Emma asked him softly, her blue eyes full of concern. Peter had a troubled look on his face as he looked back at her. She suddenly wished she could make him forget everything he had seen.
"I think I'm fine considering everything." Peter admitted before looking down at his hands. "I just can't…well, I can't process what I saw. It doesn't make any sense."
"It never does." She said as she tried to comfort him. Peter locked eyes with her as he tried to understand something about the blonde girl sitting next to him.
"How do you do it? How do you handle seeing stuff like that?" Peter asked her and Emma's mouth suddenly felt very dry. She tried to come up with an answer but it was harder than she thought. In all honesty Emma hadn't really thought about how she dealt with stuff like that. She dealt with it because she had to.
"I didn't at first but Hydra didn't tolerate anything else so I just learned to deal with it." Emma told him honestly. It was the first honest answer she had given anyone that night. "It's called compartmentalization. I just push it to the back of my mind and move on."
"That sounds hard." Peter whispered and Emma smiled sympathetically at him.
"It's not for everyone. I didn't have any other way to deal with it so I was forced to find a way." Emma explained and Peter understood her somewhat. Hydra forced her to kill people and there wasn't any way out for Emma. A part of him wished that he could go back in time and save her from the clutches of Hydra…save her from everything she had to do there but it was just wishful thinking.
"I wish you hadn't seen it." Emma told him honestly and Peter looked back at her. The look on her face was genuine and full of sympathy. "You didn't deserve to see that."
"Well, we all knew that I'd have to see it eventually anyways. This is what the job is, right? Lots of death and people getting hurt. It was inevitable." Emma knew that was just Peter trying to look tough. What he had seen really bothered him.
"Sometimes missions just go wrong. Volkov wanted to die and there was nothing we could do about it." Emma said as she tried to comfort him. "If we had been smarter we could've tackled Fisher and maybe tonight would have had a different outcome." Something occurred to Peter in that moment and he suddenly felt the need to share a part of himself with Emma that he had never shared with anyone before.
"Did I ever tell you how my Uncle Ben died?" Peter said suddenly and Emma gave him a curious look. She didn't know much about Peter's deceased uncle. All she really knew was that his uncle had died about a year ago. He was a victim of a mugging gone wrong.
"A mugging, right?" Emma answered and Peter scoffed.
"Something like that." Peter whispered to himself before continuing. "It was about a couple weeks after I'd gotten my powers. I was so arrogant…I could suddenly do all these things that I couldn't do before." Emma listened to Peter intently as he shared a more tragic part of his life with her.
"I was going to use my powers to join the football team. Impress Liz among other things…just the typical stupid teenage stuff." Peter admitted, seeming a tad bit embarrassed. He wasn't sure what Emma would think of him once he was finished. "I thought I was invincible and could do whatever I wanted. Uncle Ben noticed that I was acting differently and he tried to get me to see how stupid I was being." Tears welled up in Peter's eyes as he remembered his late uncle.
"I just laughed at him and snuck out of the house. Eventually I came across this man…he robbed a couple bodegas." Peter told her as he continued. Emma could tell that this was something that haunted him and she wanted more than anything to comfort him in some way but she knew Peter needed to finish his story. "I just watched him run past me even though I could stop him…I told myself that it wasn't my job." Peter sniffled a bit as a tear escaped his eye.
"That man, the one I let get away, would also be the man who killed my uncle." Peter confessed sadly. "My uncle who was just trying to do the right thing by stopping him." Emma, felt tears in her own eyes, as she stared back at the devastated looking teenage boy. She immediately reached over and placed her hand in his, giving his hand a comforting squeeze. It was something Peter had done with her weeks ago when she was also sad.
"What did you do?" Emma asked him softly. Peter shook his head as he wiped the tears from his face with his other hand. He knew Emma was trying to comfort him but he just wasn't sure if he deserved it.
"I wanted to kill him…to avenge my uncle. Make him pay for what he did." Peter told her, sounding ashamed of himself. "When I finally found him I realized that it wasn't what Uncle Ben would've wanted. The man was pathetic…miserable. He begged for his life and I remembered what Uncle Ben used to say."
"What was that?" Emma inquired curiously and Peter swallowed as a small sad smile came over his face.
"He used to say 'with great power comes great responsibility'." Peter answered before he further explained. "I have the power to do good and killing that man wasn't going to bring my uncle back. So I turned him over to the police instead."
It was quiet for a moment after Peter finished telling her about his uncle. She went over everything he told her and realized that he was a far better person than she could ever be. The thing was that Emma never knew if she could ever let go of what Rumlow did to her parents and not to mention what he did to her. Peter had become the bigger person and let the man who murdered his uncle live. Was there a person who was as full of light as Peter? Emma wasn't sure. He was the best person she knew and Emma never wanted that to change. She never wanted him to know the horror that came with taking lives. Emma wanted him to stay innocent forever.
"The man that Volkov mentioned…the one the others were talking about…" Emma trailed off hesitantly as she prepared herself to tell Peter about Rumlow. "He's the man who murdered my parents." Peter stared at her in shock. Questions about the mysterious person named Rumlow had been going through his mind all night. Their hands were still entwined as Emma practically clutched his hand for dear life in order to tell him this. She was going to need all the support she could get even if Emma wasn't going to tell him the whole story. No one knew the whole story and Emma didn't want anyone to know the whole story. Not even Peter.
"He came to our house…blew my father's brains out on the stairwell." Emma said, her voice monotone as she recalled the memory. It was a memory she had hoped to forget but she knew the most distinct memory of her parents would always be the one of their death. She couldn't remember her mother's perfume or her father's smile but she could remember what their dead bodies looked like. "My mother screamed at me to run but I was stupid. I hid under the kitchen table."
"My mother and him fought for a while. She almost killed him too but at the last minute he took a broken piece of glass and slit her throat." Emma said as she remembered all the blood as well as the smirk on Rumlow's face...that very same wolf like smile. Peter stared at her, horrified by Emma's recollection of her parent's death. It was such a gruesome sight to see for a four year old…for anyone of any age. "I watched as all the blood pooled out of her. He took me from the house and I saw them lying there. Four year old me begged them to wake up and save me from this horrible man but they never woke up. In the first few weeks that I lived at the base I cried for them at night but no one ever came."
"You see, I don't think I can let that go, Peter." Emma confessed as she looked back at him. He held her gaze, not saying anything at first. "He took them away from me. I was forced to see him at the base…forced to be trained by him, knowing what he did to them." Emma didn't mention what else Rumlow had done to her but that was really for the best.
"That's okay, Emma. I understand." Peter said softly but Emma shook her head.
"It's not okay. I just…I want to be a better person, Peter, I really do but it's hard." Emma told him and Peter just listened to her. He knew that he'd never completely understand just how hard it was for her but he could try to understand. "He took everything away from me and I know I might not feel better when he's gone but it's not fair that he gets to live and they don't. He took them from me. I could've been normal if they lived…I could've had parents who loved me if they lived."
"Hey, it's nothing to be ashamed of, Emma." Peter replied, trying to get her to see that he didn't mind her point of view…that he understood that she had been through a lot. "You went through a lot and I don't judge you for feeling that way. How could I?"
"You'd be okay with me killing him?" Emma asked doubtfully, not believing him. Peter sighed.
"I don't believe in killing people but I'd understand it if you did…I wouldn't think any less of you for it." Peter said honestly and Emma stared at him. She didn't understand him sometimes. How could he be okay with that? How could he accept that about her? Emma didn't get it. All those questions threatened to leave her lips but Emma didn't fell up to asking them. She was tired and all she wanted was to sleep but at the same time she was terrified to sleep. Emma knew that after tonight she'd definitely be seeing Rumlow in her nightmares again. The blonde finally forced herself away from those thoughts as she tried to think of literally anything else.
"Thank you." Emma murmured and she slowly leaned her head against his shoulder as they sat there in the darkness. Peter leaned his face against the top of her head and wished that they could stay like that forever. After the long night they had this was just what he needed. Suddenly everything he saw wasn't as terrifying as it had been before. He even felt hopeful with Emma there next to him.
"I'm sorry about your uncle." Emma whispered a moment later. "It wasn't your fault. I like to think we live in a Godless world. Only good people like your uncle die and the rest are allowed to live without consequences. It's senseless and cruel." Peter listened to her and felt comforted by her words. Ned always said that he didn't understand Emma and thought her to be cold and unfeeling at times. Peter's best friend never meant it in a mean way but in an observational way. However, Peter knew none of those things were true about Emma. She hid it well but she was a kind and compassionate person deep down. Peter thought he was lucky that she showed that side of herself to him.
"I'm sorry about your parents." Peter whispered back to her. "I wish you didn't have to live without them. You deserve happiness, Emma…all the happiness in the world." Emma wanted to say that he was wrong about that…that she didn't deserve any of that but she just kept quiet. They sat there in a comfortable silence as they waited for Happy to return. He never even asked why she lied to the others about Rumlow and Emma was thankful for that. Someday he might ask her but he cared enough to let that topic go to rest for now. Emma just didn't know what she'd say to him when he finally asked her why she lied. In any capacity, however, she knew that she couldn't tell him the complete truth.