Chapter 34: The Will of the W.I.S.P.

While I had always admired Clint's honest nature (and his often-endearing, if abortive, attempts to surprise me), I also loved his ability to commit. Once he was convinced of something, or even just voted down, that was it; regardless of how he actually felt about an idea, I could always rely on him to get behind it and give it everything he had. When I'd mentioned this to him in the past, he'd simply shrugged, smiled that knee-weakening smile of his, and pointed out that S.H.I.E.L.D. operatives that couldn't work as part of a team wound up dead in pretty short order.

Today was no different. Despite the fear and misgiving etched across his face, he was now Team Keame all the way, and wasted no time in bundling us into the car before setting off for the refinery at an appreciable fraction of the speed of sound. I held on for dear life as we bounced and lurched down the rough dirt track, engine whining in protest, and felt my fingers digging into the armrests until they ached.

"Clint!" I yelled, struggling to be heard above the spinning tires and affronted suspension, "Slow down! Slow dow-"

The rest of my cry was lost to a shriek as the car hit a large bump and almost took off. There was a feeling of weightlessness as we arced through the air, a stomach-churning drop, and then with a bang we slammed down on the blacktop on four wheels at once. With a casual flick of the wheel, Clint brought the car around in a lazy turn and stamped down hard on the accelerator. The landscape blurred.

"Christ, Clint!" I shouted, as I tried to get my fibrillating heart back under control, "Have you gone mad?"

"You said it yourself," he said simply, "We gotta get to Keame."

"Yes! In one piece!" I said, and held up a finger, "And no, Thera, a single piece of twisted, flaming wreckage does not count!"

"I didn't say anything!" Thera protested.

"You were thinking it!"

"We'll be fine, hon," Clint said, "I was trained by S.H.I.E.L.D., remember? Pursuit driving's kinda my thing."

"Well, we'll be able to put that to the test when the police start wondering why we're going over one hundred in a sixty-five!" I yelled, "Slow down!"

Clint grumbled a bit but obliged, and with a faint sigh of relief I watched as the greenery whipping on either side resolved into individually recognisable trees. We were still going a bit too fast for my liking, but I knew from decades of experience that this was as good as I was going to get.

"Thank you, hon," I said, and gently patted him on the leg, "I know you want to get there quickly, but…"

"Yeah," he said, gruffly, "I get it."

"It'll be fine, Clint!" Thera said brightly, "We'll reach Keame in time, Laura'll convince him to hand us the List, you'll kill Pexley real quick, and then we'll all go skipping off to Dr. Strange who'll help me put Laura's brain back together with the neurological equivalents of wood glue and duct tape! Couldn't be simpler!"

"Y'know, I was startin' to think this might all work out until you said, 'couldn't be simpler'," Clint said, irritably, "Now I'm not so sure."

"You wouldn't be suggesting that my brilliantly sketched-out plan could possibly be waylaid by some last-minute, unforeseen complication, would you?"

"Are you tryin' to jinx this?"

"What can I say? I like surprises."

"Forget I asked," Clint rolled his eyes and smiled at me, "Y'know, hon, I was meanin' to say…that speech you gave was really good. Electrifying, even."

"Oh, um…" I smiled back, not entirely sure what to say, "Thanks!"

"I'm not just sayin' that, either," he said, "Sure, you might've been preaching to the choir where I was concerned, but the people around me? I could really see 'em starting to think…and that's not an easy thing to get people to do. Most of the time, they'll double down before they'll admit they're wrong."

"I hope you're right," I said, a little dubiously.

"Even if I ain't, it took real guts to get up there an' go toe-to-toe with Keame, especially considerin' how quickly he took Thera to pieces!" Clint threw a quick look over his shoulder, "Real good goin' there, buddy."

"Please," Thera sniffed, "You know it's bad form for the warm-up act to upstage the main event, right?"
"Oh, you were the 'warm-up act'?" Clint said, "Is that why you let him burn you to a crisp?"

"Ouch," Thera laughed, and then he looked curiously at something in the palm of his hand, "Still, can't argue with the results, I guess…"

Clint turned back to me, " "So I'm thinkin' that if Coop put on that breakfast for you after what you did at the school, you may need to starve yourself in case he throws a full seven-course banquet."

"I can't wait to see his take on lobster," I said, with a brief smile, "Have you talked to him? Or any of them?"

"Yeah," Clint said, "He rang me a couple hours ago. Apparently his phone's been blowing up with all these videos of Vi an' me goin' toe-to-toe. Lila's too."

"Oh, Christ," I said, "How were they?"

"Confused," said Clint, "Confused an' angry. Coop was ranting about how Vi was bein' nice to you just so she could take another crack at me, an' Lila was in tears. I guess she realised a real fight isn't anything like what she's seen in her cartoons."

"Poor Lila," I said, sadly, "So what did you tell them?"

"I told 'em we were fine, and that there wasn't anything to worry about," he said, "And…um…"
"What?"

"I figured I had to defend Vi. Y'know, after she took that dive for us," he said, "So I said that…Ronin was a good person who'd just lost her way. She was doin' what she thought was right, punishin' evil people the law wouldn't touch, an' none of that means she wasn't a genuine friend to you or that she wanted to kill me. I was just… in her way, kinda like when I had it out with Auntie Nat."

"Did they buy that?"

"Lila did, but I'm pretty sure she just wanted to make sure I was okay," he said, "Coop's still pretty steamed, though."

"At Vi?"
"At us," he said, with a grimace, "He said you told him I wouldn't have to fight Ronin, and now it's all over the Internet!"

"Oh, shit; I did, didn't I?" I bit my lip, "I was just trying to be reassuring! I didn't really think you'd have to!"

"I know, hon, but he ain't seein' it like that," Clint said, "He's seein' it as another lie, and…y'know, after bein' Snapped and losing his Aunt, he's terrified he's going to lose us too. He's scared, and it's kinda hard to reassure him when he's just watched a video of Vi smackin' me around with my own damn staff!"

"Hey, you gave as good as you got!"

"Did he bollocks," Thera muttered from the back. I glowered at him in the wing mirror.

"Even if I did, I reckon my stories might've set some…unrealistic expectations," Clint said wryly, "I'm thinking that when all's said and done, we owe 'em a big apology."

"...yeah, I guess you're right," I said, and sighed, "I just hope they don't do anything stupid."

"I'm sure they'll be fine," Clint said, "Maisie's with them, and she seems pretty reliable."

"She does, doesn't she?" I said, wonderingly, "She's grown up so much during the Blip!"

"A fact which has been very clearly noted by your eldest, incidentally," Thera said suddenly. He sounded a bit distracted, and when I turned in my seat to look he was still staring at the palm of his hand.

"I know," I said sourly, "Wait, how did you know?"

"Because I've got eyes, mate," he said, without looking up, "And because I've got teenage nieces and nephews. I've got a pretty good handle on how this kind of thing goes, and your son isn't exactly…subtle."

"Yeah," Clint grinned, "We're a pretty direct family."

"Mmm," Thera said, "Also, it's possible I heard Maisie asking Vi about…well, how to know if a boy likes her."

"What? You mean she's…oh Christ!" I pinched the bridge of my nose, "And she asked Vi for dating advice?"

"I wouldn't go that far, but-"

"So how far would you go? What did she say?"

"Well, you know Vi-"

"I do! That's what I'm afraid of!"

"Seriously?" this time he did look up, and pinned me with a flinty stare, "Do you really think Vi'd mess with a kid like that?"

"Um-"

"Or is it that Maisie didn't ask you?"

"No, it's…" I flailed, "It's because…because…"

"'cause what, hon?" Clint said, and gently touched my arm, "C'mon, it's okay."

"Because I'm not ready for this!" I said, and the words came out in a rush, "I'm not! Okay…Coop? Sure. Remember when we gave him 'the talk'?"

"Yeah. He spent most of it hiding his face in a cushion."

"I've had years to get ready for him, but Maisie? It seems like only yesterday I was tying her shoes and making sure she was getting enough to eat! Now she's suddenly this responsible young woman and I'm really proud of her, but…" I smiled sadly, "...I miss her, too. I miss the way that she and Lila used to play together."

"That's one way of puttin' it," Clint said dryly, "Those two were a menace."

"But it was fun! They were fun! Okay, fine, there were one or two incidents-"

"-I needed a rabies shot, remember?"

"You were fine. That racoon wasn't rabid," I said, "And I know I'm being selfish, but I just want a bit more time, y'know? Even if she's not mine, I…feel like I've missed out."

"'Cause you did. Thanos took her from you, just like he took you from me," Clint gave me a sympathetic smile, "An' she was yours, just as much as she was her mom's. You loved her more than that drunken ass ever did."

"That's a low bar to clear," I said snidely, and settled back with a sigh, "Hey, hon?"

"Yeah?" Clint said.

"Do you think I did the right thing, telling Coop to back off? Maybe I went too far."

"Maybe," he said, "But I got where you were comin' from."

"Yeah, but…I thought I was protecting Lila. What if I was just protecting myself?"

"Ah, I wouldn't worry about it," said Clint, "He's a teenager. Did you ever listen to your Mom when you were a teenager?"

"Sure, when she said something worth listening to!" I said acidly, and saw his expression, "Don't you smirk like that! I'm a fountain of wisdom compared to her!"

"You have your moments," he said blandly, and I swatted at his arm, "But if he's actually interested in Maisie, he's not gonna let that talking-to you gave him slow him down…." he paused, and I saw an evil glint in his eye, "But…you know what might slow him down?"

"What?"

"Well, Maisie's gonna take 'em all to the movies. I heard they're re-running all the popular movies that came out during the Blip, so they might be a while."

"Really? With Nate?"

"Yeah, so it'll probably involve a lot of singin' animals," Clint said, "So…ninety minutes of that, followed by whatever seizure-inducing madness Lila can find at the multiplex. Not even Casanova could work his magic while he's at the mercy of those two."

"Unlucky, Coop," I shook my head, but couldn't hide the smile, "So close, and yet so far."

Thera tittered, and when I looked he was grinning impishly even as he worked, "Yeah, poor Cooper's properly over a barrel, isn't he?"

A pained silence followed.

"Seriously?" I said, finally, "And how long have you been waiting to trot that one out?"

"Roll it out, surely?"

"Thera? I swear, if you keep punning with my son's name, you'll be-"

"-casking for trouble?" his grin widened, "I can do this all day, y'know."

"Not if you want to keep breathing," I growled, "Clint, dear? What's the going rate for a really irritating 'Empowered'?"

"What, Thera? He's pro bono, no doubt about it." Clint chuckled, "Hell, I might even pay you."

"You hear that?" I said, and gave the mystic an arch look, "Still want to 'do this all day'? Or would you rather get out and walk?"

"I'll be good," Thera smiled, and returned to whatever it was he was doing, "Y'know. For now."

The car fell silent, and we hummed gracefully down the road past green forests and rippling grasslands. As hard as it was, I did my best to put my children out of my mind and focus on the task ahead. We needed to get to Keame, and that we needed to talk to Keame…assuming that he even wanted to talk to us. If he didn't, what were we going to do? What were our options? Intimidate him? The man had stared down Ronin even as she'd charged the stage; hell, he hadn't even blinked until she'd brought up Simon and his crimes. Not only that, but I figured he was probably smart enough to have contingencies in place in case someone tried to force him to give it up. The same was true of stealing it; I was sure that Clint, Thera, and Vi could crack his refinery like a nut, but none of them had the technical aptitude necessary to get into the servers themselves. What if they accidentally destroyed the server, or tripped a security system that wiped the file? It would be a disaster beyond all imagining.

No, I couldn't think like that; we'd come too far to go home empty handed. He was going to talk to us, give us the List…but then what? What were we going to do with it? If Keame, with all his money, influence, and the newly-minted Simon Keame Foundation couldn't make it work, what chance did I have? I had no money, little influence, and a workforce of four people, consisting of myself, an internationally wanted vigilante, a temperamental mystic, and my husband, who treated paperwork like a particularly virulent strain of Ebola.

"I don't see why this is your problem," said the little inner voice, "Days to live, remember? If you're lucky, you'll have just enough time to hand it off to Thera so he can do…whatever he wants with it, I suppose. Don't you think that's convenient?"

…and there was that, of course. Unless Thera came up trumps, my future would consist of spending every moment I could with my family. What could I do but hand it over, assuming that he didn't just take it the instant it was out of Keame's hands? I wanted to believe in him, and the conviction in Vi's voice had been a big help, but that little siren song coming from deep inside was becoming more enticing by the minute.

Maybe Clint had been right all along.

I continued to think as we raced towards Keame's refinery, turning the thoughts over and over in what now passed for my mind. Clint also seemed deep in thought; his expression a rictus of determined concentration as he drove. I rubbed his arm and gave him a reassuring smile, and as I settled back against the soft leather a gentle hum floated through the air from the back of the car. It was quiet, soothing, like a lullaby or a hymn, and while I was pretty sure I'd never heard the tune before it still seemed strangely familiar. Eventually, curiosity got the better of me and I turned to see Thera still staring at the palm of his hand, his brow furrowed in concentration.

"Hey, Thera," I said, quietly, "What're you humming?"

"I'm sorry?" he looked up with an expression of mild confusion, "Oh, was that out loud? I didn't realise."

"What is it?"

"It's an old Order hymn. My mum used to sing it to get us to sleep…or at least I think she did," he looked out the window, towards some distant trees, "It's one of the few memories I have of her."

"Oh," I said, and then followed it up with, "I'm sorry."

"Yeah. Anyway, it helps me focus when I'm working on…" he looked up at me, "...important things."

"Like…my brain?" I said hopefully, "You're working on it now?"

"You thought I'd stopped?" he sounded a little surprised, "It'd be kinda negligent for me to pin everything on Strange pulling a solution out his finely-attired arse, don't you think?"

"Are you getting anywhere?"
"Hah; I'm still trying to work out what 'anywhere' would look like," he said, and I felt a rush of disappointment, "But it's still early doors, and I'm learning loads! For example…Clint?"

"Yeah, buddy?" Clint said.

"Could you tune the radio to, um…" he hesitated for a second, "One-nine-eight longwave, please? Someone wants to say hello."

"I got it!" I said quickly, and turned back to tap away on the car's entertainment system. After a bit of searching, I eventually found the 'AM' option buried deep beneath other, more modern forms of transmission, and then fiddled with the tuning knob until-

"...Inky, Weaponised Independent Subconscious Projection. Response requested. This is Inky, Weaponised-"

"Nailed it!" Thera said, with some satisfaction, "I thought the Eeebie could do that!"

"Hold on," I said, "She's broadcasting from inside my head?"

"Well, that depends."

"On what?"

"On whether you want my next sentence to contain phrases like 'thaumic superposition' and 'non-linear decoherence', or the word 'yes'."

"I think I'll just go with 'yes'," I said, "Can she hear us? And don't say 'that depends'."

"Why don't you ask her?"
"Um…okay," I leaned in close to the speaker, "Hi, Inky! How're you?"

The radio crackled, "All operationally relevant functions are within acceptable limits."

"Oh," I said, "That sounds…good?"

"It is acceptable."

"What a prim and proper lady," Clint chuckled, "What's the deal with that, Thera?"

"Well…" Thera looked uncertain for a second, but then the radio crackled.

"Research has shown that humans are significantly more likely to trust a female voice than a male voice, particularly under high-pressure or time-constrained situations," said Inky, "Considering my primary role is to gather intelligence and formulate tactical solutions for precisely these circumstances, the choice seemed obvious."

"Huh," Clint considered this, "I guess that's why people listened to Nat more than me."

"Analysis would indicate that it is but one of many reasons, Hawkeye."

"That right?" Clint's eyebrows shot up, "Well, you can tell me all about 'em later."

"I shall prepare a list immediately."

"Clint? Please don't argue with my subconscious," Thera said, "I wanted to confirm we could contact Inky because…well, I had an idea."

"An idea?" I said excitedly, and looked over at Clint, "Do you mean you've got a solution?"
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves, Laura," he said, "At best, it's…more of a reprieve. I mean-"

"I don't care; I'll take it!"

"Can I just run you through it first?" He said, in a tone of mild annoyance, "There is a downside. Possibly several."

"Okay…okay," I said, "I'm listening."

"Right, so here's the thing. I've already told you how the Eeebie is slowly wrecking itself, right? Each neural breakdown event damages it that bit more, which reduces the time between neural breakdowns until-"

"Yeah, I remember," I said shortly.

"Good. Just checking," he said, "Well…the main reason why it's breaking down is because it can't handle the load anymore. Shockingly, it turns out mimicking your brain is quite a lot of work."

"Doesn't surprise me," I tapped the side of my head, "There's a lot going on in here."

"Yeah, yeah," Thera rolled his eyes, "So…I was thinking that if we reduce the load on the Eeebie, we could significantly extend the time between breakdowns."

"How significantly?" I said eagerly.
"Significantly enough that the next one might be…ooh-" he looked briefly at his arm, "Tomorrow…ish?"

"Instead of?"

"Well-"

"The probability of a subsequent neural breakdown event will exceed fifty percent in the next two hours," Inky cut in, "In four hours, the probability will exceed ninety seven percent."

"-soon-ish," Thera said, "And if there's more time between breakdowns, there's more time for us to enact a solution. However, reducing the load means that we'd have to make some, um, hard choices."

"What kind of choices?" I said warily. The excitement had gone, now, and a creeping sense of dread was seeping in around the edges.

"What parts of your brain we…" he stopped, and took a deep breath, "...we stop trying to save."

"What?"

"Yeah, that's about the response I was expecting," he said, "To reduce the load, Inky would have to unlink parts of your brain from the Eeebie and effectively quarantine them. If we find a solution, then maybe we can revive them in the future, but…I couldn't guarantee it."

"Wow," I said, and exchanged a shocked look with Clint, "That's a lot to take in."

"Laura, I'm sorry," Thera said, sincerely, "I wish I had something better to tell you, but-"

"Don't. Please," I said, "Just…tell me what you want to do. You've already worked that out, right?"

"Yeah," he said, "There's lots of options, but I'm leaning towards knocking off parts of your hypothalamus. It's stressing the Eeebie a lot, and Inky can technically take over, so-"

"-so what would that do?"

"You'd…um…" he paused, "You'd lose the ability to feel hungry, thirsty, or sleepy. You'd still be all those things…you just wouldn't be able to tell."

"Now hold just on a second," Clint began, as I felt the dread turn once again to shock, "If you do that, what's stoppin' Laura from dyin' of thirst or exhaustion?"

"Inky," Thera said simply, "That's why I wanted to make sure she could communicate with you, Laura; she'd monitor your vitals and tell you when to eat or drink. When you want to sleep, you'd simply tell her and she'd knock you out on the spot. Inky's good at that."

"Sounds like she'd be managin' Laura's life, if you ask me," Clint's eyes narrowed, "Why'd you pick those?"

Thera hesitated, "Minimal impact. If it turns out I can't revive that part of her brain, then…well, she'd still be able to survive even without Inky. It'd be hard, sure, but doable; adipsia is a recognised condition, and it's… manageable with behavioural therapy. There might be some kind of Stark kit that could help, too…"

"And there ain't any other options?"

"Believe me, I'm redlining my Wisps trying to come up with alternatives, but-" Thera threw up his hands in frustration, "-I'm not a bloody neurologist, Clint! This isn't my area of expertise!"

"I know, buddy," Clint said, and gave my hand a sympathetic squeeze, "What d'ya think, hon?"

"What do I think?" I found myself running my fingers through my hair, "I think…I think…"

My mind spun. Clint was right; it did sound like I was being slowly backed into a corner, and there was no guarantee that this was where it would end. Was that the plan? Would Thera slowly 'quarantine' my mind, bit by bit, and allow Inky to take over every aspect of my life under the guise of eeking out another week or two? Sure, it was hunger and sleep now, but what next? Sight? Sound? Memory? Speech? What would it even mean to be alive in that state? Wouldn't death be preferable to being a-

"Puppet? I warned you," said my inner voice, "Didn't you think it was odd that Thera didn't mention Strange? Like he just said, he's not an expert, so why didn't he think to ask someone who was?"

"...Laura?" Thera said. He and Clint were both staring at me, and Clint's brow was creased with concern, "You okay there, mate?"

"And don't get me started on that 'neural breakdown event'," the voice went on, "If nothing else, you've got to admire the timing. You mention Strange and 'Bam!', your head feels like it's just exploded. What's more, there'll be another one along in a couple of hours if you don't sign your brain over to one of his projections. How convenient, eh?"

I didn't want to believe it, but at the same time…it was strangely compelling. If Nat could use people to achieve her goals, who was to say that Thera couldn't? Maybe he'd be conflicted about it, but that didn't mean he wouldn't do it. After all, what was it that Strange had said about him?

"'A driven, determined individual who genuinely believes what he's doing is right'?"

Right. I'd scoffed at the time, but it didn't seem so funny now. I knew that the plight of the children at the Blip Centre had never been far from Thera's mind, and Poppy's kidnapping had badly affected him. How far would he be prepared to go to make sure something like that never happened again? A scared Thera, particularly one with a newly-awakened paternal instinct, could be just as dangerous to me as Pexley or Miller.

I needed more time.

"I think… I need to think about it," I said, "I've got a couple of hours until the next breakdown, right?"

"No. you have a couple of hours until it's fifty-fifty," Thera pointed out, "But I would really recommend-"

"I know what you recommend, and thank you," I smiled weakly, "It's just all happening so fast. This morning everything was fine, and now…"

Thera's expression was unreadable, "You're right. It's your call, and I'm sorry for pressuring you. Just let me know if you change your mind-"

"I will!" I said, a little more sharply than I intended, "Sorry. I promise you I'll think about it, okay?"

"That may have to wait a bit, hon," Clint said, and nodded down the road, "We're gettin' close."

I turned back to the front to see a tall, black-capped chimney poking up over a nearby hill. As we drew closer, I spotted another through the trees, and then another, and another, spaced at irregular intervals across the landscape. A thin white cloud billowed from the nearest stack, streaming away in the breeze, but the others stood quiet and dormant.

"Looks like a big place," Thera observed, as the car thundered up the hill.

"Biggest refinery in Missouri," Clint said.

"So how're we going to find Keame?" I said, "Are we sure he's here?"

"C'mon, hon, remember who you're dealin' with," Clint said, and winked, "He's here, alright. Either cooped up in his office or in his mansion."

"He lives on site?"

"The Keames always have done. For generations," he said, and leaned closer, "They don't like to advertise it, but this used to be a slave plantation. Y'know, for cotton."

"Really? When did you find out about this?"

"Looked it up," he said, "It's one of the few plantation mansions still standin', actually. It's right at the back of the refinery, so we'll have to try an' make our way through as quietly as we can."

"Or we can just ask at the front gate," Thera suggested, "Why not get someone else to do the heavy lifting?"

"An' let Blacknest know we're coming?" Clint rolled his eyes, "Real subtle, buddy."

"Oh, the Avengers do subtle now, do they? And here I thought you were contractually obliged to blow up everywhere you visited."

"That's rich, comin' from-"

"Perimeter alert!" Inky's voice blared from the speakers, and we all jumped at once, "Thaumic disturbance detected."

"What's that mean?" Clint said, urgently.

"I'm…not sure! That shouldn't be possible!" Thera sounded flustered, "Inky! Recheck!"

"Rechecking…confirmed! I have registered a significant disturbance in thaumic field lines two kilometers away, north by northwest. I am pinging its approximate location now."

"Hold on…" Thera spread his hands apart and stared intently at the space between them, "Well, that's just great, isn't it?"

"Where is it?" I asked.

"The refinery, of course," he said, with a sigh, "Where else was it going to be?"

"Well, what do you think it is? A god? An alien? A…god-alien?"

"You mean like Thor?" Clint said.

"Anything's possible, right?"

"Can either of you think of a good reason why a god, alien or otherwise, would a) come to Missouri, of all places, and b) go to a refinery?" Thera said, "No. It's something else; something Empowered."

"Like what?"
"I don't know! Until now I didn't think there was anything Empowered in Missouri!"

"Could it be Strange?" I suggested, "Maybe he's coming to meet us!"

"Strange isn't Empowered, Laura. He's a wizard."

"I thought those were the same thing."

"Now you're just being rude."

"So what're we gonna do?" said Clint, suddenly all business, "You reckon it's bad news?"

"Well, it's unlikely to be good news," Thera said, "Empowered things rarely are."

"No kiddin', buddy. Should we turn back?"

"Well-"

"No!" I said suddenly, "We're so close!"

"And we might be too late!"

"We don't know that! We don't even know what it is!" I said, and pointed to a small thicket of trees, standing on the nearby hill, "How about we park up there and take a look? We'd be safe there, right?"

"'Safe as anywhere else, I guess," Thera shrugged, "I dunno; it might already have us zeroed in."

"Well, if we're already dead, I…suppose it couldn't hurt to break out the binoculars," Clint conceded, "An' it'd would be stupid to leave without even seein' what it is. Fury might need to know."

"Great!" I settled back, and tried to conceal my growing smile, "Onward, then!"

I could feel the tension settling over Clint as he nosed the car off the road and into the trees, but even so I couldn't help but feel a bit excited. There was something out there, something new, and even if it happened to be an alien-god on the rampage at least this time I'd be in on the ground floor! For once, I'd have a story to tell; a proper one, all my own, instead of just living vicariously on whatever sanitised scraps Clint brought back from one of his ops!

"What's with that grin, Laura?" Thera said suddenly, "Seriously; you remind me of my niece at her last birthday party."

"Oh, it's 'cause we're doin' 'Avenger stuff'," Clint said, with a tight little chuckle, "Turns out she can't get enough of it."

"We're looking through a pair of binoculars. It's bird watching without the birds."

"Yeah, but these are binoculars with built-in night vision," Clint said, with a sly look, "Not that it'd be much use right now, but-"

"We have night vision goggles?" I said suddenly, "Why didn't you say so?"

"'Cause they ain't a toy," he said, "An' we both know you'd end up wandering around the house at night scarin' the kids."

"Not all the kids!" I said, "Just Coop."

He chuckled, and brought the car to a gentle halt beneath a white oak. As soon as the parking brake was on I was out the door and moving towards the trunk, eager to get my hands on some more bona fide Avenger tech. The lid swung open silently at my touch, and I saw Clint's bow and quiver, laid carefully, almost reverentially on a layer of protective foam. Next to them was-

"Whoa!" Clint joined me and quickly snatched up his sack bag, "There's a couple things in there that ain't binoculars, if you get my drift."

"Oh yeah?" I raised an eyebrow, "Like what?"

"Like things that bite back," he said, "If you go rootin' around in there, you might just set 'em off."

"If your driving didn't, I don't see how I could," I muttered, and stood there pouting while he rifled through his equipment. As he did so, there was a faint rattle from the passenger door, and then Thera emerged, blinking, into the dappled gloom.

"Nice afternoon, isn't it?" He said, and then waved his hand idly through the air. With a ripple of thuds, three golden lights burst into existence and immediately formed up in a line before him.

"Okay, Clyde?" he said, and the smallest Wisp bobbed once in acknowledgement, "Get up high and find out what's causing that disturbance. Keep your distance and stay concealed, alright? Until we know what it is, I don't want it to know we even exist."

The Wisp bobbed once again, and then rocketed skyward with a rush of displaced air. The mystic watched it go, and then turned to the remaining two, "Pinky? Blinky? You guys need to go map the refinery. You know the kinds of things we're looking for, and if you happen to find Keame on your travels let me know immediately, okay? Keep him safe until we arrive."

There was a pause, and Thera inclined his head, "Yeah; if you find some, sure. Three cups. Now off you go!"

Pinky and Blinky hovered in place for a moment, as if getting their bearings, and then as one they flickered and flashed off between the trees. Almost immediately, they were lost to view.

"...and now we sit back and wait for the results," Thera leant against the oak with his arms folded, "'Found your binoculars yet?"
"You're cheatin', you realise," Clint said, digging deeper into his sack bag, "You know, back when I was in S.H.I.E.L.D. we didn't have things like magic, or gods, or those Wisps of yours. All we had were our wits, and basic gear like this-"

With a grunt and a tug he pulled a set of sleek black binoculars out of the sack bag and quickly handed them to me, before going back into the bag for another pair.

"What, night vision gear? Luxury!" Thera said, "Back when I was a novice we didn't have night vision gear! We had regular gear! And carrots! And we spent a lot of time falling in wells - but that's how we liked it!"

Clint paused, "Really?"

"No, it was horrible," Thera shuddered, "I'm amazed nobody broke their neck."

"No, I mean 'Really?' as in 'You really had to go on night-time exercises?'"

"People don't stop injuring themselves just 'cause the sun's gone down, y'know," Thera pointed out, "If anything, they just get more inventive."

Clint snorted quietly and went back to rummaging. While he dug, I turned my binoculars over and over, inspecting them excitedly from every angle. To my disappointment, they were a far cry from the 'Avenger tech' I'd been hoping for. They were light for their size, and felt well-made to the point of being nearly indestructible, but aside from that they looked just like the pair I had gathering dust back home.

"Okay!" Clint said, pulling out a second, identical pair, "You guys go on ahead. I'll be along after I give Fury another buzz."

"He didn't pick up earlier?" Thera sounded worried, "Clint-"

"I know. I'll get through, don't worry."

"I'm almost more worried about what happens when you do. You really think he'll be able to get Strange's attention?"

"Fury can contact anybody," Clint said confidently, "An' it's a damn fool who tries to ignore him."

"Funny you should say that. You got a good idea of what you want him to tell Strange?"

"I'll figure it out," said Clint, "Now scat! He ain't gonna talk to me if he thinks someone's eavesdroppin'!"

With a shrug, Thera caught my eye and pointed off through the trees. I nodded, squeezed Clint's hand, and then set off with the mystic with the binoculars around my neck. The copse itself was tiny; after a brief walk, we emerged on the side of the hill overlooking the refinery, and-

"Wow," even Thera sounded impressed, "Bugger me."

-it was huge. The four tall chimneys we'd seen on the approach had hinted at the size of the complex, but even so I couldn't quite believe my eyes. Spread across the valley before us was a vast, secured facility, surrounded by two layers of chain link fencing topped with razor wire. It appeared to be roughly divided into four regions, each centred around a stack, and consisted mostly of tangled pipe networks, supported by heavy-set scaffolding that rose high into the air. Within the scaffolding, in small oases, stood tall, complex-looking buildings and smoking columns that I could only assume were involved in the refinery processes themselves. Each building had, at its base, another cluster of pipes, which snaked across the brown earth to an array of gleaming tanks, which stood in neatly ordered rows behind deep drainage ditches and heavily reinforced fencing. A little further away, off in the middle distance, the refinery gave way to a simple administrative complex, consisting of several unremarkable huts and a large, glass-fronted building that had 'head office' stamped all over it. Further away still, up on the opposite end of the valley, a grand mansion stood in brightly-coloured gardens, overseeing the entire operation.

"Bloody hell, it's huge!" I exclaimed, "How're we going to find Keame in this?"

"I know Clint wants to sneak in, but I say we ask at the gatehouse," Thera said, pointing to a lonely little building, standing at the perimeter of the refinery, "Or we can just wait until my Wisps track him down."

"How long do you think that'll take?"

"They should be quick, providing they focus," he said, with just a hint of annoyance, "Okay, let's find out what we're dealing with, shall we? Grab your binoculars, Laura, and I'll see what Clyde makes of all of this."

Eagerly, I snatched up my binoculars and looked through them at the refinery, looking for anything that could be out of the ordinary.

"Do you see it?" I said eagerly, "What is it? Where is it?"

"One second. Just need to overlay…there! I see it!" Thera paused, "Or…I think I see it. What is that?"

"What is what?"

"Wait a sec," Thera said, "You see the tall stack with the brown stain running down the side? There's a couple of smaller stacks at its base."

I quickly panned across the refinery, looking hard at the tallest chimneys and their nearby stacks. Three of them seemed pretty clean, barring a light dusting of soot, but the fourth-

"Found it!" I scanned down the rust-red streak and spotted its smaller cousins, standing in its shadow, "Yeah, that's got to be it!"

"Good. It's coming down the road on the right hand side. You should be able to see it in a couple of seconds."

"Down the road? But…" the words died on my lips as a glint of light caught my eye. I refocused quickly, and stared as ice shivered down my spine. Striding down the street was a sleek, powerful-looking thing that immediately put me in mind of a spider. This spider, however, was the size of a small car, and it was clad in rippling, quicksilver armour that shimmered hypnotically in the light. It was fast, too, and as it scuttled forward its articulated legs slammed down on viciously spiked tips, digging hard into the tarmac and leaving a line of pockmarks in its wake. Was it armed? I wasn't sure, but its head was covered in all manner of mysterious antennae and lenses, and protruding from its abdomen was a long, segmented tail crowned with a ring of red LEDs. Was that a weapon? A laser, perhaps? I didn't know, but I was pretty sure that it wasn't good.

"What the hell is that?" I gasped.

"What the hell is what?" Clint's voice came from somewhere in the forest, and with a rustle of undergrowth he was at my side, "You guys found that monster?"

"There's an enormous mechanised spider walking down the road!" I said, and all but rammed my binoculars in his face, "Look! By the stained chimney!"

"Hey! I've got my own, hon!" he said, but took them anyway, "Oh, yeah. I see it."

"'I see it'? Is that all you've got to say?" I said, "It's a bloody mechanised spider!"

Clint gave me an odd look, and then returned to staring through the binoculars, "No it ain't."

"Yes it is!"

"It's got a tail!" He said, "Spiders don't have tails! That's a scorpion."

"Have you ever seen a scorpion that looks like that? It's a spider!"

Thera coughed, "Can we worry about its specific classification later? I'm not sure this is a particularly useful avenue of discussion."

"Fine!" I said, "You know what? I'll meet you half-way; spiders and scorpions are both arachnids, right? Why don't we just call it the Arachnid?"

Clint smiled crookedly, "Sure, I can live with that."

"And you know what? I think you've mentioned something about before. In fact, I'm sure you have!"

"I have?"

"Yeah!" I said, "After Patti's party. Didn't her husband tell you that Keame'd replaced all his guard dogs with spider robots? You know, um…oh, bugger…big guy, moustache?"

"Bill?" Clint supplied.

"That's right, Bill! You said he hated them," I said, and shuddered as I gave the Arachnid another look, "You know what? I can see why. It's creepy."

"Yeah, I remember now," he said, and then gave me another odd look, "You know, I think Vi might be rubbin' off on you."

I frowned, "What makes you think that?"

"Can we deal with all that later?" Thera said briskly, "Right now, we've got what looks like an Empowered weapons system on patrol, and that's an issue. Care to cut in, Inky?"

Hughes' phone buzzed suddenly in my pocket, and as I fumbled for it Inky's voice came ringing through the speaker, as clear as a bell.

"That assessment is accurate," she said, "Clyde's high-altitude thaumometry conclusively links the disturbance with the entity, designated 'Arachnid'."

"Yeah, we kind of figured that," said Clint, "So what makes it, uh, 'Empowered'?"

"You are not authorised to access that information."

"You can tell 'em, Inky," said Thera, "It's fine."

"Override confirmed. A comparison of the Arachnid's energy signature with historical battle data shows that it is identical, within allowable margins of error, to the so-called 'Chitauri Blaster' deployed by Blacknest two days ago."

"The one with the mystery power source?" I asked.

"The power source is no longer a mystery. A subsequent review of the data, including the period immediately prior to the weapon's catastrophic overload, revealed that it was powered by an unshielded Arc Reactor."

"You did say that was a possibility," I said to Thera. He nodded grimly.

"The Arachnid has a similar power system, apparently scaled up to meet increased requirements. Scans indicate that there may be as many as eight reactors, distributed throughout its chassis in an unknown pattern."

"Eight? Eight?" Thera said incredulously, "What could they possibly need eight for? Are they trying to power a robot or a small town?"

"The available data provides no explanation as to why so many are required. We should consider it extremely dangerous. In addition-"

"Please don't say 'in addition'," Thera groaned, "It's never good."

"-further, more subtle disturbances indicate that there may be up to another five Arachnids on site. If so, they are currently powered down."

"Really? Well, I've heard enough!" Thera said brightly, and clapped his hands together, "We should leave. Now."

Clint looked surprised, "What, just like that?"

"Just like that."

"No, we can't!" I protested, "We have to get to Keame, Thera! We have to!"

"I'm sorry, but is it possible that you two missed the part about the giant Empowered Arachnid scuttling about on eight knockoff Arc Reactors? And it's five mates?" Thera said, "Do you have any idea how much of a mess even one of those would make if it exploded?"
"Um-"

Hughes' phone vibrated in my hand, "The effect of eight simultaneously detonating reactors is approximately equivalent to three hundred kilotons of TNT. The resulting blast would devastate everything within a seven kilometer radius."

Thera raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, that… is bad," I admitted, "But why would it explode? If it was going to, wouldn't it have done that by now?"

"She's got a point, Thera," said Clint, "Hammer might play fast an' loose with their tech, but even they'd think twice before handin' Keame a walkin' nuke!"

"Unless they didn't know it was a walking nuke…" I trailed off as realisation dawned, "Hold on, Thera. There's something you're not telling us, isn't there?"

"Yeah, I-"

"Is it about the Chitauri Blaster?" I pressed, "That was also powered by one of those…knockoff Arc Reactors, wasn't it? Do you know why that exploded?"

He scowled, "If you would just listen for a second-"

"Was it something you did?"

"Easy, babe," Clint said, soothingly, "You're doin' a Lila. Let him speak."

"You…you're right. I'm sorry, Thera," I said, and took a deep, calming breath, "What did you want to say?"

"That you're right!" he said, "The truth is…I'm pretty sure I caused that 'Blaster to explode."

"Really? But you said you had nothing to do with it!"

"I thought I didn't!" he said, "But afterwards, I had Inky go back over it to see what happened, and-"

"Analysis of the Chitauri Blaster shows that in the moments leading to its destruction, it was exhibiting strong signs of thaumic resonance. The resonant signature matched that of-"

"It was me," Thera said, "It was drawing power from me, and when it drew too much-" he flicked open his fingers in a starburst pattern, "-kaboom!"

"You mean you blew it up jus' by bein' near it?"

"Yeah, I did!" Thera said, "And if I go down there, I think there's a pretty good chance it'll end with this whole area becoming a giant smoking crater! Oh, and we'll be dead."

"How d'ya know it wasn't just a dud cell? Stark's reactors never exploded like that, even when he was fighting Thanos!"

"Yeah, but Stark would've shielded them! You don't go around jamming something like that in your chest without making damn certain it's not leaking anything anywhere!" Thera paused, "And besides, there's another reason why I don't think it was 'just a dud'. Half a million reasons, actually."

"Half a million? I don't follow."

"I think I do," I said, "You're talking about those timelines where Strange saw you fighting Thanos, right?"

Thera shifted uncomfortably, "Um, yeah. Thanos. Exclusively."

"And in those timelines he claimed the Earth was destroyed because you made the…Infinity Stones…misfire…" I trailed off, "Wait a second, are you saying you think Strange was right?"

"Believe me, I wish I wasn't," he said, "But I've never had anything resonate with me like that Blaster did, and I definitely haven't had anything explode in my face just 'cause I happened to be nearby! If it could happen with that thing, then…maybe it could've happened with the 'Stones."

"Are you serious?" said Clint, incredulously, "'Cause they're the Infinity Stones! Y'know, source of infinite power? Clue's in the name, buddy."

"I know that! Some of us got to experience their power first hand, remember?"

"So why're you comparin' them to some jury-rigged rifle that Hammer's hawking to mercenary groups? 'Sides, the only way Thanos could destroy the original Stones was by usin' their own power against 'em! How'd you feature in that, eh?"

"The Arc Reactors're based on an Infinity Stone, right?" Thera said, and looked at me, "The Tesseract, as I recall."

"That's what I'd heard," I said, and looked to Clint for confirmation. He nodded.

"Well, people say that my Goddess is the one who got the whole 'Empowered' thing started, but nobody actually knows how she did it - plus, those Stones have been known to move around…" Thera spread his hands, "Wouldn't it be interesting if me and that Arachnid down there turned out to be distant cousins?"

"Interestin'?" Clint laughed derisively, "You mean 'completely insane', right?"

"And which part of this whole sorry debacle isn't?"

"You ain't got any proof! All you've got is an exploding Hammer Industries saturday night special-"

"-and the half a million visions of a time-travelling wizard who, might I remind you, is so convinced of said visions that he kind of wants to bin me in some kind of transdimensional prison!"

"Guys!" I said, loudly, "This isn't helping! Right now, we need to get inside that refinery and find Keame so we can get that List! We can worry about who's related to whom later!"

Inky piped up, "My cerebral cohabitant is correct-"

"Thank you, Inky!" I said, "Hold on, what-"

"-and fortunately, while you were pontificating I was able to formulate a tactical solution."

Thera and Clint shared a rueful glance, and then Clint coughed, "Yeah…maybe we were gettin' a little carried away. Let's hear it."

"From further analysis, the Arachnid appears to be patrolling in a low-power mode, on a route that leads away from the main thoroughfare connecting the gatehouse to the administrative complex. As long as it is not antagonised, we should be able to slip through without impressing resonant charge within its power systems."

"And if it is antagonised?"

"Based upon prior experience with military automatons, it will likely switch immediately to a high-power combat mode. If all reactors are engaged, the area within which it can inductively couple will expand to cover the entire facility. Escape would be impossible, and catastrophic failure would likely occur shortly thereafter."

"Kaboom," Thera said, "So how do we stop it being, y'know, antagonised?"

"Additional data is required."

"You know, when you don't know it's okay to say 'I don't know', Inky," said Thera, "Is there a risk that it could pounce the instant we enter the refinery?"

"Additional data is required."

Thera gave the phone a flat look, "Now you're just saying that to annoy me."

"Listen, Thera," I said, "Even if there is a risk, it's one we've got to take! You know what's at stake here!"

"Laura's right, buddy," Clint agreed, "If I backed down every time there was a killer robot or an unexploded bomb on the loose, I wouldn't be where I am today!"

"I get it, but…" Thera ran his fingers across his hat, "I was given direct orders by my Goddess to keep you safe!"

"And you did!" I said, with a quick, sidelong glance at Clint, "C'mon, the whole world must've seen what happened in St. Louis by now. Vi's an internet sensation!"
"She's even better known than me," Clint said sourly, "Did you know one DJ called me 'an unidentified member of the public'?"

"Yeah, Vi's pretty good at playing to a crowd," Thera chuckled, and then sighed, "You're not going to back down, are you? You're going down there no matter what I say."

"That's right," I said bluntly, "Feel free to stay up here and watch, if you want."

"Even if I told you that Inky might be able to set that Arachnid off all by herself?" He said, "As long as she's in your head, you're as much a liability as I am."

"Same answer. You know what's at stake."

"Hah. Didn't expect anything less," he said, "You know what? I'm pretty clearly outvoted here, and I also didn't want to have to walk home, so…"

"You're in?"
"How can I say 'no' to such bullheaded stubbornness?" he said, and blew out his cheeks, "Yeah, I'm in. Inky? What's our next step?"

"I would recommend approaching the gatehouse," said Inky, "If you enter the facility through an 'approved' route, it is less likely to draw the attention of the Arachnid."

"An' possibly bring Blacknest down on us!" Clint said, "Isn't there another way?"

"With regards to the potential Blacknest presence, a situation appears to have developed within the gatehouse itself."

"Oh, yeah? What kind of situation?"

"Pinky has direct visual contact of two individuals, one of whom is dressed in a Blacknest uniform. He is unconscious and restrained."

"Wait, what?" Thera exchanged a surprised look with Clint, "Gimme a mo'!"

"A brief analysis indicates that he was rendered unconscious by a single strike to the chin," Inky said, as Thera's fingers danced in the air, "Given that the other individual is now wielding what appears to be a military-issue weapon, I surmise that he is the most likely culprit."

"Oh, yeah, I see. That guy got proper sparked out, didn't he?" Thera winced, "Not hard to see why, either. The other guy is…c'mon, Pinky, back up a bit…a bit more…yikes, the other guy is huge! What the hell're they feeding him?"

"You seein' any of this?" Clint asked me quietly, and I shook my head, "What're you lookin' at, Thera?"
"Nothing much," Thera said, "Just some guy built like a brick shithouse with the world's best moustache, standing over a mercenary who's probably going to be drinking through a straw for the next couple of months."

"Big guy? A moustache?" I said, and Clint gave me a sharp look, "Greying hair, too? Maybe…getting a little thin up top?"

"Good guess," Thera said absently, "Hey, you know what? I think I recognise that mercenary! He's that arse who damn near choked you to death back in St. Louis!"

"We're going," I nodded to Clint, who turned away and started heading for the car, "We've gotta get down there. Now."

"What?" Thera frowned, "Wait, what's going on?"

"That man down there? He's a friend," I said, "And if he's punched out someone from Blacknest, then we need to find out what's going on!"