Wanda squatted behind a pile of logs, allowing several drones to sweep over her position before rising to disable them with several targeted bursts of energy. Steve suddenly dropped into cover beside her. "Nice shot. Shots."
"Thank you." She ducked closer to him, under the protection of his shield, as another formation of drones flew overhead, laying down fire. "How many are there?"
"I, uh, I asked Hill to send up everything we had. So…a lot."
"And Sam and Rhodey are grounded?" Vision was still in New York, helping Stark to upgrade FRIDAY while ensuring he didn't also kickstart the apocalypse.
Steve raised his shield over their heads again as the drones circled back around and he managed to hit one. "I thought that would make it more challenging."
"Do we need this much of a challenge?" she shouted over the pinging of rubber bullets against vibranium. "And is that why they are actually firing at us?"
"Hey, everyone has an abort switch if something happens."
"Which you know no one is going to punch unless one of those projectiles causes some serious damage," Rhodey said, collapsing beside the two of them. "Honestly, Cap. I'm all for hardcore training, but this seems excessive, even for you."
It was a tight squeeze for three people under the shield, but they managed to huddle together safely as the drones made another pass. Steve looked somewhat abashed as he said, "We need to be able to function as a team even if our technology has been compromised. We lost all air support in Peru and…"
"…and we did fine," Natasha finished, joining the small group as she leaped over the woodpile. She shot Steve a reproachful look, but asked, "Do we know how the drones are set to track us? Because if it's infrared, we're the biggest target on the map right now."
"Right." Steve seemed to reach out unconsciously to brush a leaf from her hair. "Ideas?"
"Crossfire?" Rhodey suggested. It was much harder to dodge the increasing attacks with four people. "If the drones are focused on us, we can light 'em up and leave the stragglers to the other three."
"That would be a lot easier to set up if we were using comms," Natasha muttered.
"Comms don't always work," Steve countered.
"Right." Natasha glanced around. "Okay, Team Sitting Duck, stay put and stay close to attract the drones. Fire at them if you have to keep their attention. I'll coordinate with Sam and Bucky to set up Team Save Your Asses."
"Nat, wait!"
Steve's cry went unheeded, as she had already taken off into the undergrowth. This was the hardest training exercise Wanda could recall since joining the Avengers. They almost never operated under live-fire conditions, as the risk had always outweighed the benefits. Granted, the bullets weren't designed to penetrate, but they still hurt like hell if they hit you. The sudden decision to shift from safer training methods had been Steve's. She wasn't sure what had brought it about, other than a certain tension he had been carrying since returning from New York and his 60 Minutes interview three days before. She squeezed her eyes closed as she pressed against his side when the drones came back. Steve and Rhodey were both firing, but she couldn't risk an appearance unless she erected an energy shield; she had mastered deflection, but had yet to discover how to produce a shield that allowed fire in a single direction.
She cowered safely under Steve's shield until she heard Natasha shout, "Now!" followed by a barrage of fire.
Within seconds, the only remaining danger came from the wreckage of flaming drones falling from the sky. A speaker mounted on a nearby tree announced, in Hill's voice, "All bogeys accounted for. Report back to base."
Wanda took a moment to breathe before taking Rhodey's hand to help her stand. "Thank you."
"No problem." He turned as the team gathered around them, saying, "I just hope Steve got the urge to kill us all out of his system."
"Does anyone else have bruises that might also have exit wounds?" Bucky asked as ambled up to them, rubbing his side gingerly. "Isn't there something we can use that's not lethal and not painful?"
"Several things," Natasha replied with a pointed glare at Steve. She suddenly looked up as a quinjet whooshed overhead. "We should get back."
Wanda missed both the serious conversation between Steve and Natasha and the chitchat between her other teammates as she focused on jogging back to HQ. She was feeling slightly drained after the morning's activities. She noted that Bucky was trotting beside her, eyes forward. He had a tear in his pants just above his thigh, though he didn't seem to be favoring the leg. "You were hit."
"Yup."
"Are you in pain?"
"Had worse." His breathing seemed shallow. "Be fine."
"Perhaps you should go to the infirmary when we get back."
"Nah. I'm fine. Really."
"You do not have to…"
"Wanda, I'm fine." He flashed her a somewhat pained grin. "Wish we had those paintballs I read about, though."
Sam overheard him and took up the thread of conversation for the remaining distance, extolling both the training benefits and fun of paintball. The idea that the training exercise hadn't been entirely rational was confirmed when Hill met the team outside the entrance to the main hangar. "Stark just arrived."
"I'll meet him," Steve replied, clenching his jaw hard enough to crush a normal man's molars.
Natasha hung back as the rest of the team disappeared to take a break from their rough morning. Wanda waved Bucky away when he glanced at her. "Go get an ice pack if you will not see Dr. Cho." He rolled his eyes but nodded. Entering the hangar, she watched Steve and Natasha.
He paused before approaching the recently landed quinjet. "You think I'm gonna cause a Code Green?"
She smirked. "I think you might whip it out and start pissing on stuff to mark your territory."
"Who am I, Freckles?"
"I'm just trying to remind you how ridiculous it is to think that you've got anything to worry about."
"Noted."
"Seriously, though." Natasha pecked Steve's cheek. "You're adorable when you're jealous."
"I'm not jealous. I just want to make sure that he knows I'm not and I've got no reason to be."
She rolled her eyes. "I'll get the yardstick."
"Not the way to reassure me."
"Idiot. At least take your helmet off." Natasha gave Wanda a pointed look as she walked off toward Ops. "Keep an eye on things for a few minutes for me."
"Sure," Wanda agreed with a smile, thought she wasn't sure she could keep the promise. She wasn't even entirely sure she knew what she was agreeing to. Although she certainly knew how to unleash the Hulk, there was no proof she could control him.
Steve didn't acknowledge her as he approached the descending ramp of the quinjet. Tony Stark appeared first. "Cap, always a pleasure, even if you've just wrecked a batch of training drones intended to last for a year. Not very sporting of you to use real bullets when the poor guys only have rubber ones."
Crossing his arms over his chest, Steve replied, "Make them better if you want them to last."
"Right." Stark pulled his hand back unshaken. "Guess I don't have to mention I brought Bruce along."
A man so dissimilar to his alter-ego peered down from the jet, causing Wanda to do a double take. She'd completely forgotten how unassuming Dr. Bruce Banner was. She nearly missed Vision's quiet greeting as he passed her. Banner emerged only on Stark's insistence, moving as if every step was taken through a minefield. He shook Steve's hand weakly as he stepped off the ramp. "Captain. Congratulations."
"Dr. Banner," Steve replied with matching stiffness. "Thank you."
"Relax, children," Stark said with forced cheerfulness. "Sure, it would have been nice if Steve had told us himself so we didn't have to learn it from Laurie Boothe, but kudos. We're all happy for you. No reason to make things weird. Hey, Maximoff."
Wanda nodded in response, matching Steve's level of reticence. She still wasn't overly fond of Stark and she didn't know Banner, but she knew the Hulk's capabilities. This was no time to let her guard drop. She stood behind Steve, still taking cover behind his shield even though it was on his back.
"Well, if the pleasantries are over…" Stark huffed with annoyance, but strode toward the entrance to the base. "You guys haven't moved the research labs, right?"
"Stark." Steve's tone was enough to stop all activity in the hangar. He lowered his voice, but still maintained that hard edge, "Is Banner in control? Because I can't allow anyone into the base that isn't…"
"I won't go near Natasha, if that's what you're worried about," Banner interrupted.
Steve bristled. "I'm not worried about her, but I don't know how the other guy handles rejection."
"I don't think…"
"Yeah, nobody around here does," Natasha interrupted. She walked up to Dr. Banner with her hand extended. "It's good to see you, Bruce."
After a pause, he took her hand and shook it. "You too."
"Everything going okay?"
"Pretty much. I've been staying busy. Um, congratulations on your engagement."
"Thank you. Are you going to be with us for a while?"
Stark interrupted the exchange, "Long as it takes to finish the project we've got cooking. And everyone can stop giving me that look because it's not AI related, unless you count Vision's occasional input. It's not even a weapons thing!"
"Then what are you doing?" Steve asked.
"Ask nicely and I'll tell you. What's the magic word?"
Banner spoke up, "We're trying to develop a practical alloy that will rival vibranium."
"Well, we won't keep you boys from your science fun any longer," Natasha said, walking away. She gave Steve a long kiss as she passed him. "Mmm. Lunch?"
He shot a final angry glance at Banner before following her. Wanda was on both of their heels when she heard Banner say, "Tony, really? I just wanted to meet the dog…"
The argument that had started outside the hangar had continued into the galley, enlightening Wanda about the reason for the tension between Steve and Dr. Banner. She'd had no idea that Natasha had had a brief romantic relationship with the latter. It was shocking and piqued her curiosity in uncomfortable ways. She wanted to ask so many intrusive questions. For once, the distraction of a lover's spat was a good thing. She was able to listen to Steve and Natasha's sniping with some amusement, since she knew (psychically confirmed, though she would never admit it) that it came from a place of love.
"So what if I don't like having him here? He can be dangerous. Besides, how would you feel if Peggy came to stay with us here?"
"Flattered that an elderly woman would want to sacrifice the comforts of an old-age home for the austerity of a military base?" Natasha replied, setting her tray down and taking the seat beside Wanda as Steve took the chair across from them, next to Sam. He, Rhodey and Vision immediately ended their conversation to listen as well. Freckles was under the table, begging each of them for handouts in turn and seemingly unaffected by the situation topside.
"I would hardly call Avengers' HQ 'austere.'" Steve took a bite of a thick sandwich to emphasize his point, though he now had to speak through a full mouth. "Besides, we're talking about seventy years ago versus two years ago."
"You're being an ass."
"I'm not…"
"A super-attractive, preposterously hot ass, but an ass nonetheless."
Sam thoughtfully sipped from a cup containing a thick greenish juice. "Lady's got a point, Cap."
Natasha snickered while Steve looked genuinely affronted. "Whose side are you on?"
"Aren't we all on the same team here?" Sam countered. "Plus you nearly got us all shot this morning because you've been pissed since you saw Banner on Sunday. Sorry if I'm coming down on the side of smokin' hot reason." He winked. "We don't all appreciate the same asses."
Natasha shook her head. "You get drunk one time and force a guy to cop a feel…"
"I am so glad I stayed in New York on Sunday," Rhodey said with a sigh.
"And you still haven't shared any details about your date, so unless you're ready to spill…"
"Nat, you're one of the best spies in the world. Can't you get all that information without interrogating me?"
"I'm respecting your boundaries. She does have a clean criminal record, though." She looked around the table as all eyes landed on her. "What? I'm just being a good friend. There's already a Russian spy corrupting Captain America. Imagine the outcry if War Machine was compromised too!"
Steve reached for Natasha's hand to give it a squeeze, in spite of the fact that she was laughing along with the rest of the team. To distract from their moment, she asked the other guys, "Where is Bucky?"
"Dude took a couple of those rubber death pellets to the body. He said something about lying down with some ice packs before Steve makes another attempt on our lives."
"Better me than Hydra." Steve was still toying with Natasha's fingers across the table. "I'll talk to Hill about that paintball stuff, though."
After a moment of silence as everyone returned to their lunches, Vision said, "If you find it amusing, Mr. Stark has lately been concerned about a potential bald spot."
The table burst into raucous laughter. They were still there forty minutes later, joking and talking, when Steve suddenly stood. "Alright, everybody."
He was met with a collective groan from everyone but Vision, who was quick to excuse himself to aid Stark and Banner in the lab. Steve shrugged. "If that's how you want to use your afternoon off…"
"I do not require…" he trailed off as he realized everyone else was now considerably happier. "Ah."
Wanda patted his arm as she walked past him. "It is okay, Vision. At least you would not have felt pain if hit by a rubber bullet."
"It still sounds terribly unpleasant. Sam assured me that Agent Hill kept Freckles inside during the training session to prevent him from being injured." He looked toward where the dog was sitting at Steve's feet. "Shall I take our friend for a walk before I go to the lab?"
"Sure, if you want."
Vision snapped his fingers, attracting Freckles' attention, which had already been on him at the word 'walk.' "Come, boy." He smiled and petted the excited dog now bouncing around him. "Would you like to come with us, Wanda?"
"I am somewhat tired from training this morning."
"Of course. You should rest. Come, Freckles."
She watched as the pair disappeared around the corner before heading in the direction taken by a different pair. In her eagerness, she almost overtook Steve and Natasha, discussing their obvious plans for the afternoon off as they walked into their quarters. She approached the door across from theirs as soon as they were gone. Bucky answered on the second long buzz. "Hey."
"Hi. You were not at lunch so I wanted to check on you."
"Oh. Thanks."
She waited a beat for him to offer more, but had to prompt, "So how are you feeling?"
"Right. Sore." He rubbed a spot on his side. "Good call on the ice."
"I should have brought you a sandwich or something."
"Nah, I'm good."
Wanda felt a jolt as Steve and Natasha kicked off their afternoon across the hall with a shower. "Oh! Can I come in?"
She was pushing past him before he could agree to the idea. Or say no. Once safely inside, she realized that 'safely' may not have been the adjective she was looking for.
