Hello all.
I am sorry it has been so long since I have last updated. I don't know whether it was a combination of things in Real Life, but my attention and focus in writing disappeared and I struggled. Really struggled to find a way back to writing. I tried my hand at writing other things, but outside of one-shots, my concentration levels weren't there.
I want to thank each and every one of you, that has continued reading this story. That have left messages, commented, re-read or reached out on Tumblr. I cannot tell you how much I have appreciated it all. You truly mean the world to me.
I was hoping to have Chapter 14 finished as well before I uploaded this chapter, but I finished editing today and wanted to share it with you, since it has been over a year and I have kept you waiting long enough. So for those of you who are still interested and enjoying this story I give you Chapter 13 - all glorious 25,000+ words of it. I will be hiding for the next couple of days at an undisclosed location and praying that you enjoyed the chapter.
All mistakes are mine (and I will probably end up editing this again over the next few days as something always slips through)
Please enjoy.
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Chapter 13
Hermione stepped out of the fireplace at the Ministry for the second time that day at lunchtime. The Atrium was a hive of activity. The hustle and bustle a constant hum throughout the day. Streams of witches and wizards, both workers and visitors, hurried into the lifts to reach their respective destinations. Others walked more calmly, chatting amongst themselves, wielding the Daily Prophet, trading amiable greetings with one another, or arguing over a new policy.
Hermione found it exhilarating. Holly thrived in the chaos of fights and battles, but Hermione worked best at the heart of the problem, striving for change one policy at a time. It didn't stop her from missing her friend dearly, though. Missing how close they had once been. How they used to meet up every lunchtime.
Hermione didn't hurry. She kept her pace steady, despite the urgent need to speak to Kingsley, and schooled her features, ensuring she gave nothing away to the keen observer as she joined the crowds.
It had been over a decade since the war had ended, less since Holly's suspected death, but that didn't mean the eyes of the Wizarding World didn't watch her. They always watched her. It was only last month, the Daily Prophet had speculated over whether she was divorcing Ron because it had been quite some time since someone had seen them together.
Hermione knew it was one reason Holly hadn't hesitated in her decision in leaving the Wizarding World behind. Her mission was important, and impossible had she chosen to remain connected to the Wizarding World. Not that she could blame her, Hermione wasn't blind to the scars her friend carried with her. Not quite healed scars, at that. She had hoped the time away would give Holly a chance to heal; it hadn't, not in the way she had hoped.
It pained Hermione to admit, because in her mind Holly's healing was of the utmost importance, that for the moment it would have to wait. Though fighting Holly on the subject was fighting a losing battle before she had even begun. Holly would dismiss the possibility she needed time to heal, or even focus on herself until they had answers to the missing children. Until they were safe and they had put a stop to it.
We are one step closer now, at least, even if Holly's revelation highlights more concerns and problems than we had originally thought.
Hermione sighed as the doors of the lift doors opened. She stepped into the elevator and pushed in the floor number of the Ministry of Magic.
"Granger."
Hermione glanced towards the familiar voice, Malfoy, in surprise. She hadn't paid attention to whether anyone was in the lift before she stepped on.
"We both know I've been married for several years, Malfoy. It is Granger-Weasley now."
Malfoy's lips turned up ever so slightly. They weren't friends, would never be friends, but they were no longer the childhood enemies they had once been, much to Ron's chagrin. Hermione knew Malfoy felt the same about Ron. Burying the wand was not something either of them would do with each other. Too much bad blood, but Malfoy had grown since Hogwarts, had grown since the war. And she knew that in large that was down to Holly and Astoria.
"I still can't fathom how you married the imbecile."
"Play nice, Malfoy." She chided. "It doesn't matter that you can't fathom my relationship with Ron. It is our relationship, and anyone else's opinions aren't important."
"Clearly, though I have to say I always thought Weasley would have been after Potter."
Hermione winced at the reminder of that rumour that had spread like wildfire. Everybody had presumed. Speculation at how close the three of them were. What happened behind close doors? They both loved Holly, but it wasn't the love everyone suspected. Then again, they were among the small number that knew about the names written across Holly's heart.
"She was like a sister to him. You know that."
Malfoy hummed in agreement. "She had taste, thankfully."
Hermione's chest tightened. The cost of Holly's deception was high. Wizarding Britain had grieved for her, and some still did. Their grief and guilt still consuming them.
"How is he doing?" she asked. A part of her wished she could ease the suffering of those hurting by Holly's loss. Tell a few more people that Holly was alive, but she dared not. They couldn't afford to make mistakes and while Holly trusted Malfoy and a few others, the more people that knew, the higher the chance others would find out.
"As well as you would expect. He is still currently fucking and drinking his way across Europe. They have promoted him in the ICW. I think they have done it to distract him, not that he isn't good at his job."
Hermione swallowed the wince.
Their relationship had ended before the mission, where it all went wrong. Where Hydra took Holly and her team died, but Hermione had seen firsthand the guilt Blaise had carried with him for ending it weeks before. He blamed himself for the possible emotional impact their break-up had on her. For ending it the way he did. Hermione knew Holly had taken the breakup hard, knew it had eaten her up inside, that she couldn't give Blaise what he wanted, could never give him what he wanted. She couldn't erase the soulmarks that marked her. Could never deny the connection to her soulmates if their paths ever crossed.
They were together for three years. It had started as a mutual attraction with benefits and had grown into a love that everybody saw. Blaise had ended it. No longer able to ignore the fact that as much as Holly loved him and he loved her, it wasn't his name written across her heart. It was enough to make even the most secure person insecure about their love.
Hermione knew it had hurt Holly terribly, even though she had understood Blaise's reasoning. Hermione had wanted to hex the wizard, though Holly had insisted she didn't. Two weeks later everything changed and their entire world came crashing down around them and nothing had been the same since. It wasn't just them that had spearheaded the search for Holly. Wasn't just Kingsley putting every available resource he had into the search. Blaise and Malfoy had used their own influence, their own resources. And for ten long months every lead turned up empty, until Holly had arrived on their doorstep in the early hours, covered in blood and looking like she had been in the fight for her life. Rambling things Hermione hadn't understood. It was in those hours, those moments where their plan had formed, and Holly stepped away from the Wizarding World and submerged herself in shadows. Two months later Kingsley had called off the search and gave a statement declaring that Holly Potter was MIA and presumed dead.
Blaise had never forgiven them. Hermione was almost certain that he didn't forgive them, because he didn't forgive himself.
Overall, the whole thing was a complicated mess, and it was only going to get worse, because eventually Holly would return and from the looks of things she would return with the beat of war drums at her heels.
Silence fell between them. The groans of the Wizarding lift, the only sound filling the lift before eventually it came to the level she needed. Malfoy cocked an eyebrow at her.
"Seeing the Minister."
"I need to discuss the latest bill with him." The lie came easily to her. Hermione wondered whether that said something about her, how easily she could lie these days. Years ago, she wouldn't have dreamed of lying, but her time at Hogwarts, the constant battles they fought each year and the War had taught her that sometimes lying was the only option available, and some truths were better left unsaid. Was that what Dumbledore told himself to help ease the burden he carried with all his secrets. She had admired him greatly when she first entered Hogwarts, she still respected him as a great wizard, but she would never forgive him for what he made Holly endure to ensure she would have what it took to walk willingly to her death and save them all.
"Take care, Malfoy," she said. Stepping off the lift as the doors slid open.
He nodded his head at her, before the doors closed and the lift disappeared into the depths of the Ministry.
Hermione turned on her heel and walked the short distance from the lift to Kingsley's office. There were only three rooms on this floor, Kingsley's office, his Undersecretary office, and a small meeting room reserved for the Minister's use when required.
Hermione bypassed the Undersecretary's office and headed straight to Kingsley's door. She knocked twice, resisted the urge to shuffle on her feet as she waited for his acknowledgment, before pushing the door open the moment she heard his voice telling her to enter.
A chair slid out from behind the desk the moment she stepped inside. Hermione took it, sinking into the comfort it offered. The door shut behind with a soft click, and she felt a trickle of magic run down her spine that signaled the sealing wards were in place. Nobody would overhear them, even if they used every trick in the book to do just that. Two tea cups with saucers floated towards the desk, followed by a teapot that was already steaming. Hermione noted the blue and gold-lined pattern that decorated them. Simple and elegant. Kingsley hated all the fuss that came with his position, hated playing the games that witches and wizard played while trying to guess the motives behind every word said. He excelled at it though, Hermione had seen him in action on more than one occasion, and it was impressive to watch.
She took the cup that floated towards her, and held it steady while the teapot poured itself, before moving to pour Kingsley a cup. Hermione found his office soothing and calm. The wizard before had done everything in his power to ensure his office offered him an inner sanctuary to help him in dealing with the ever moving problems that governed their world.
"Are you well, Hermione?" he asked. Warm brown eyes watching her.
"I am well, thank you. Rose has been having trouble sleeping the last few weeks, but she has settled back down again."
He smiled.
"They like to keep us on our toes at that age. I remember my nieces were exactly the same."
Hermione returned the smile, before she turning serious.
"Fawkes paid a visit."
Four words changed the atmosphere in the room. They both knew who she was referring to. They were careful never to say Holly's name aloud when they were discussing things. Instead, they referenced Dumbledore's phoenix, who did occasionally show up out of the blue, or at least it had done when Holly had been around. The bird had been strangely absent these last few years.
Kingsley's face changed. The friendly demure changing to a more serious nature. It was the expression he wore during the war.
"How is Fawkes?"
"Been better," she answered. "There have been unexpected complications and unnerving revelations."
"Such as?"
"We need to request permission for the Avengers to be brought into the fold."
Kingsley blinked. Giving nothing away in what he was feeling regarding that revelation.
"Explain."
Hermione did. She relayed the discoveries Holly had come across. The discovery that it had been going on longer than they thought. About how well trained they were, about the army Hydra had slowly been growing, and about the connection to Grindelwald, and that Hydra was using their wizard army against the Avengers.
Kingsley was silent. Impassive.
"I will contact the ICW, and I will request archives to give you full access to files in relation to Grindelwald. There is a strong possibility his Grim Reapers escaped justice, Merlin knows Voldemort's followers did the first time round," he said finally.
She heard the unsaid there was probably still some now walking free with no crime connected to them loudly.
"Kingsley, Fawkes wants us to move forward with Excalibur. We need to prepare for war."
He nodded once. Sharply.
"Reach out to the old crowd, get them up to speed that we are facing a Level 10 threat. If Hydra goes to war with us, then I fully intend to have the Wizarding World as ready as I can be, but we are going to have to prepare for the possibility that the Statute of Secrecy will be broken. Beyond the capabilities of Obliviators fixing."
Her heart skipped a beat, and her pulse quickened. The prospect of another war on the horizon was terrifying enough, but the idea that the Wizarding World would be exposed in such away that magic would be revealed to the world at large wasn't something she had wanted to contemplate.
Hermione finished the rest of her tea before pushing herself to her feet.
"I am going to make an official task force, which I want you to lead, Hermione. For the moment we will spin it as an exercise program for the rest of the world, but I will inform the members of the task force that we have received Intel of a possible large-scale risk of exposure, and prepare for the worst." He paused, fixing her with a look. "I will require you to join me in the initial meeting with the ICW. Explain all the information we have gathered and prepare for the Avengers to be brought into the fold. Let Fawkes know that ensuring secrecy until then, will go in favour of them granting that permission. The last thing we want if Obliviators turning up on their doorstep and causing an international incident. I don't believe they will take kindly to it, but the last thing I want is to start a war with Asgard because we have caused injury to Prince Thor."
"I will get right onto that now."
"Have the files on my desk by the middle of next week for potential candidates. I will speak with Atticus about the task force and that you will head it."
Hermione knew that the Head of Magical Law Enforcement would hate the idea that of being blindsided by someone creating the task force without his input. She didn't envy Kingsley that task. Atticus was brilliant at his job, and outside of Amelia Bones who died during the war the best Head they had had in some time, and was actually competent at running the department. She nodded her head before taking her leave. She would head to the Archives department and start requesting some files to get an insight into who could have possibly reached out to Hydra and told them about the Wizarding World.
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If Madoc hadn't known there was an emergency prior to entering the Auror department, he would have done so the moment he stepped onto the floor.
Dawn had yet to break, and the department was at full capacity. His gaze drifted over familiar faces, some recently retired Aurors that had returned for the emergency. When his orders had come through stating it was all hands on deck, his Captain had truly meant it.
Guilt gnawed at him, the knowledge he had on what had transpired and the part he played weighed heavy on him. Yet the bubbling anger was still there, the anger that Witches and Wizards had worked alongside Hydra, had exposed themselves and the Wizarding World. The Avengers hadn't stood a chance against the unknown enemy.
MACUSA may fear the No-Maj world, but they still had a duty to uphold to protect the No-Maj against magical threats. A duty that may of them had forgotten as they looked down their noses at the No-Maj. After all, wasn't that the very reason they had posted him to work alongside the No-Maj police. Had spent the last decade working his way up the ranks to become as high as he could. In order to prevent any magical contraband from hitting the No-Maj streets. To stop wizards and witches from profiting by selling false promises and dangerous magical item because it amused them. Many No-Maj were always looking for ways to get ahead of the game and didn't read the warning label when rubbing the genie's lamp.
Mind you, some Wizardkind didn't exactly read the label with that either.
At the heart of it all was Holly Potter. The Girl Who Lived. The Woman who Conquered. Her name held power, more than she perhaps even realised. Not as dead as the Wizarding World had thought. Very much alive in fact, and had been in deep covert alongside the No-Maj for the last few years hoping to track down Hydra and the missing children
Madoc still needed answers from her. Needed more than muggle-borns had been taken by Hydra, but it was clear to him that she seemed ahead of the game with dealing with a problem that the rest of the Wizarding World didn't seem to know they had made him more patient than he would have been.
It was for that reason he would remain silent.
He trusted the knowledge that she was working to combat this crisis. It was why he had agreed to help her look into the wands. It wasn't the only reason; he wanted to bring the people responsible for his men's death to justice.
Silence fell across the room as Captain Edward Roche stepped forward. His gaze swept across the room, ensuring he had the undivided attention of everyone in the room.
"At precisely 00.30 this morning, Guard Butterworth reported Unexplained Activity and a State of Emergency. Following procedure, the area was located where these events happened and a team deployed."
He paused, letting his words sink in before continuing.
"Upon arriving at the scene, we discovered the area seeped with magic, and there was a lingering taint of Dark Magic. However, that was not our only finding. We observed a team on No-Majes on scene, including the Avengers and Damage Control."
Aurors whispered loudly next to him. Each speculation a little more ridiculous than the one that came before it. Madoc listened, and observed, waiting to see what they exactly it was they knew. Was he seen in the area, had they spotted Potter?
"At this moment we cannot determine whether the Avengers engaged with Witches and Wizards. Whether they are aware of magic, or the risk they pose to the Wizarding World."
Roche continued.
"Wouldn't it be safer to just use the Memory Charm on them as a precaution? Regardless of what they have or haven't seen?" One Auror suggested.
Madoc tensed, fixing his gaze on the Auror that had suggested the idea. Auror Francis. A ladder climber, on all accounts, but he was like a dog with a bone when he got a lead. He would need monitoring, to ensure he didn't do anything rash on his own.
"The Avengers are not to be touched unless absolutely necessary. An attack on them brings the wrong attention, and with the Asgardian at their side we can't risk causing an international incident with Asgard. Odin may have little interest in Midgard as it stands. But if we attack his son, he would retaliate," Roche said firmly. "That doesn't mean, however, we won't use the Memory Charm if we prove to President Quahog that they know about magic. We, however, can't rush into an attack against them."
"We need someone to tail them. Try to infiltrate the Tower, see if we can work out what they know."
Another voice suggested.
His chest tingled and his heart fluttered as panic stirred. He couldn't allow someone from the department to tail the Avengers or infiltrate the Tower. They would have no problem in using magic to ensure they gained access and would end up doing more damage than good. He would have to come clean about some information. Give a reason he was already in a perfect position to monitor the Avengers. He needed to get ahead of the problem before somebody else volunteered.
It made him feel sleazy doing so, even more so than his already duo life made him feel.
"I can shed some light on the situation," he mumbled. His shoulders tensing tightly as every eye in the room seemed to turn in his direction. Captain Roche fixed him with an impasse stare that was unnerving and made his voice falter for a moment.
"My No-Maj unit, a member of the Avengers approached the Intelligence Division in relation to an ongoing case they had, that fell into our area."
Madoc took a breath, focused on calming his racing pulse before continuing.
"They suspected a shipment of Chitauri weapons was arriving, with potential buyers on scene. They wanted to prevent from reaching the streets and essentially detain the shipment. The No-Maj team provided surveillance support in the leading days of both locations, and we ensured to keep civilians out of harm's way."
"Did you see any witches or wizards tonight?"
"From my position, I did not see any witches or wizards. I can confirm, however, that tonight's operation didn't go as planned. It was a trap, set by Hydra. There were no weapons on sight other than with Hydra, and as far as the Avengers are aware Hydra had Enhanced individuals."
"Do you know anything else?"
"I'm not yet privileged with further information. However my No-Maj Captain is ensuring the Division works closely with the Avengers to get the Chitauri weapons off the streets."
It was as close to the truth as he could make it. That sounded convincing enough that he knew very little, but also to make him valuable enough of what his position involved that they shouldn't add anyone else to monitor the Avengers.
At least Madoc hoped so.
Roche assessed him. His eyes narrowing as he chewed over this new Intel. He nodded once.
"It's pointless trying to infiltrate them with a new face. Graves, you are already in a position working alongside the Avengers. Continue to do so. Observe and report any mentions of witches and wizards, or magic. I want regular updates regarding any leads they have on their suspected Enhanced individuals."
Madoc nodded. Tension easing from his shoulders the moment he knew they wouldn't try to infiltrate the Tower with someone else. Someone who would not only report Holly Potter the moment they laid eyes on her but also try to arrest her as well.
Madoc didn't see that going down well, and he didn't want to think about the damage that Potter would inflict on the person stupid enough to take her on.
Or the damage the Avengers would cause in protecting her, because she was more than a simple employee to them.
Madoc listened closely as Roche gave out assignments to those around him. Barking orders and ensuring that everybody knew exactly what he expected of them by the beginning of next week. He wanted full reports, and some clue where they needed to start looking for the witches and wizards responsible for the State of Emergency.
He and Potter would need to work quickly if they intended to gain the same information without being noticed by anyone else.
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Holly's head pulsed painfully.
A clear sign she was reaching her limits on how far she could push herself. Her magic needed time to recoup. She needed a time to recoup. She needed sleep, but the likelihood she was going to get it soon wasn't on the cards. At least not yet.
Her arm ached, the dull sickening ache that even with Katie's healing magic easing the seriousness of the injury, was just another way of her body telling her she needed to rest.
She pressed her lips together in a slight grimace as she led Katie and Stark's security guys towards the Medical Wing, doing everything she could to ignore the bright glare of the Tower's lights.
Transition from Sanctuary to the Tower had been fairly smooth sailing, once Katie had agreed that they could move safely both Clint and Jax, and also insisting she accompany them until she was certain they wouldn't relapse.
Holly knew there was a possibility. Dark Magic had a habit of clinging on for as long as it could, and much like a parasite, it tried to worm its way through the muggle bodies and multiple and do more damage than first thought. She knew it had been the right move, the right call to make, and Steve had happily agreed, but that didn't stop her from playing what if with Katie being in the Tower. She may have more confidence in the muggle world than most witches and wizards, but the Avenger Tower was beyond what most muggles dealt with regularly. Stark's technology far more advanced, and then there was Jarvis. The ever watching Jarvis.
Holly swallowed the sigh. Tried to ignore the heaviness that had settled across her body. Certain that it was down to how exhausted she was, more than the hesitation of leaving Katie here on her own.
I need to give her more credit than that. She will be fine.
"This place is impressive," Katie said. As they stepped through the sliding doors of the Medical Wing.
Stark's men wheeled Clint and Jax through, taking them to the two small private rooms they had across the room.
Holly's gaze followed them before she turned to look at Katie. The impressed glint lit up her eyes. Holly couldn't blame her. The Medical Wing was impressive, and she had already looked towards ensuring the clinic could incorporate had some similar elements that would help them achieve even more.
"Yeah, from what I can gather Stark likes his gadgets."
"And with healing the Avengers, no expense spared?" Katie quizzed.
"I think it's more security conscious, not to mention safer should it be anything harmful."
"You mean in case an Alien implants an egg into one of them."
Holly threw a curious look at Katie.
Katie shrugged. "I've seen Alien."
"That is a scary possibility, and I'm not ruling it completely, because Merlin knows there is enough strange things in the universe, but I am pretty sure Alien, is just a film."
"Anything is possible."
Holly snorted, regretting it instantly as a sharp pain ran up the length of her side. She swallowed the grimace as she replied. "You don't have to remind me."
Katie studied her, eyes narrowing. Looking for any sign that she would need a further examination, or whether she would have to push for treatment that Holly had already refused. Holly held her ground, determined to ignore the throbbing pain that seemed to emanate from her entire body every time she moved. Katie shook her head before surveying her new domain for the time she would monitor Clint and Jax.
"It has everything you need, and if it doesn't, I am pretty sure Jarvis will help you gain it," Holly said, giving the subtle reminder that the Medical Wing was monitored.
"I will be fine, Holly. As long as they both remain stable, and I can monitor them for the next couple of days, I will judge properly how long I will need to stay on site or whether I can just do weekly check ins."
"Holly, forgive the interruption, but Captain Rogers requests your presence in the War Room, for the team debrief," Jarvis said. His voice filling the room.
Katie's eyes widened in surprise, but it was the only sign the sudden voice had surprised her.
Holly smiled reassuringly.
"Thank you, Jarvis."
"Of course, Holly."
"Will you be okay?" she asked.
Katie nodded. "I will be fine. Go to your meeting. I expect you to get some sleep today, Holly. Otherwise I am going to drag you up here and make sure you use one of the beds here."
Holly knew Katie would in fact try that.
"I will get some sleep after the debrief." She promised.
Holly hoped that would be the case. Because as much as she hated to admit it, she wasn't sure how much longer she could stay awake before her magic took over for self preservation and dragged her into unconsciousness.
Giving Katie a last nod, Holly left the Medical Wing, made her way towards the lift, which Jarvis had already ensured was ready and waiting for her. She didn't need to press the button to show which floor she wanted, Jarvis had already ensured it would take her to the level where the War room was located.
Holly slipped into the War Room and taking a seat next to Tank. She could feel the weight of people watching her. She knew in her mind that stories were being speculated on who exactly she was and her connection to Sanctuary. Nobody outside the Avengers themselves had been in the room when she revealed her connection to Hydra, but gossip and speculation had a way of traveling. Hogwarts had taught her that. Holly glanced around the room, noting the bruises, cuts, and bandages. Nobody had come away from the fight with Hydra unscathed. Though thankfully a majority of the injuries hadn't been life threatening.
"Is Jax okay?" Tank asked. The concern in his eyes clearly visible.
She nodded her head. "The Doc is happy he is stable at the moment, and she is keeping a close eye on him. The next couple of days are crucial."
He nodded once, falling silent for a moment until he said. "Gossip says, you own that hospital we all got treated at."
Holly looked at him, head tilting to the side, curiously. There wasn't an accusation in his tone or in his eyes. Mild curiosity certainly, though he had made it more a statement than a question.
"News travels fast."
"There is that saying by Twain, 'A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes', I've always found that gossip does that equally well. Regardless whether it is the truth."
Holly shrugged. "The Foundation owns it technically. Not me personally."
"But you are the Founder of the Foundation."
Holly blinked, her lips twitching slightly as she chewed over how to answer. Part of the secret was out. She was a realist; she knew it wouldn't have stayed a secret fully. Not when she had known the security number to the gate, not when those who worked there knew her, but it didn't mean she was going to tell everyone everything. Yet she knew also that other people were listening, though trying hard to look like they weren't.
"I have money. I wanted to do something good with it."
Tank cocked an eyebrow. "So, what you one of those aristocrats?"
"Oh yeah, totally. I'm like 200th in line for the Throne."
His eyes widened. Holly gave a slight smile.
"That is a joke. I'm pretty sure they don't keep track of people that far down the line, but I could be wrong. My Family is old, and it's old money, if that's what you mean by aristocrat, and I don't think I'm related to the Royal Family."
Tank opened his mouth and closed it again. Whatever else Tank may have asked, she wouldn't know as the last few stragglers walked in, followed by the Avengers themselves. Holly met Bucky's gaze, holding it for a moment as she watched his entire body relax, before he looked away first and sat down with his back to the wall and the door in his line of sight. There was a heaviness in the air that pressed down against her. It made her want to shift uncomfortably. Steve stood, bringing everyone's attention to him.
"I think we can all agree that last night was a major cluster fuck. Hydra was ready for us. Waiting for us. They had enhanced on the field, and technology that blindsided us. We lost people. Good people." Steve paused, his gaze glancing across them, as though he was noting every cut, every bruise, every bandage that was visible on those who could attend the debrief. "I know we are all tired, I know we are hurting, and I will do my best to not keep you any longer than I have to. But we need a clear picture of what happened last night, to get a full scope of the events, that will allow us to work out who the enhanced are. After this, you all have the next twenty-four hours R&R. We will start fresh again tomorrow."
Soft murmurs filled the room before falling silent as Steve continued.
"Now, who shall go first?"
Silence followed until one agent started talking. He had been at the site with her, though Holly couldn't quite remember his name. She listened intently as he described what happened, fitting the pieces together as he described the attack that came out from nowhere. Blindsided and fighting an enemy he could not see. A sliver of guilt slid down her throat, settling into her stomach as knots twisted tightly inside her. She met Thor's eyes for a second from across the room and resisted the urge to shuffle in her seat uncomfortably. They hadn't stood a chance. Wouldn't have stood a chance had she not been there. Holly wasn't arrogant enough to think she had saved the day exactly. The lives lost were clear she hadn't; injuries sustained were proof that even with her there; the odds hadn't been stacked in their favour. But without her there, without her magic, and Graves' magic, the causalities would have been worse. The likelihood that the end result would have seen Hydra recapture Bucky and the others dead. After he had finished, another started speaking, following much the same path. Attacked by an unknown enemy that he couldn't see. Didn't matter which site they were at, the outer perimeter, so they could not offer any aid to those dealing with the primary force of Hydra. Eventually it was her turn to speak, to give her part of the puzzle, or at least what she could say for the moment.
"How did you know it was a trap?" Steve asked. His gaze intense. It felt as though he was peeling her defences back with that single look.
"I didn't, not at first. Like everyone else, an unseen assailant attacked me. With one key difference. My assailant had squeaky shoes. It made me realise someone was there before they attacked."
Steve blinked.
"Squeaky shoes?" Hill asked slowly, doubt creeping in her voice.
Holly nodded.
"I could hear something following behind me, but, like the squeak in some new shoes you can get. But there wasn't anyone there. I cleared the containers, hiding behind one of them, and waited. The squeak continued, and I took a chance, aiming my I.C.E.R and hoped for the best. Didn't get a hit first time round, and they had the advantage but I got lucky in the end." She explained, keeping it as close to the truth as possible. "Once I was certain I had hit on point and the threat contained, I sought the others."
The room fell silent, uncertain in what to say next, or even what to add. That something as simple as new shoes squeaking gave the game up that something was amiss, was hardly spy worthy or even one to go down in the books. Holly knew sometimes people overlooked the simplest of answers for something more complex and complicated. Thankfully, Tank relayed his part of the equation of the night, mentioning the fact that the hooded enhanced saved him. Holly ensured her mental shields stood strong and her reactions were matching the other agents in the room upon hearing of the Enhanced individual. She couldn't afford to make a mistake with the truth being revealed yet, not until she had the all clear. Despite the urgency in letting the Avengers know about magic and what they were up against, she knew all too well how MACUSA punished those who revealed magic to the Muggle world. Not to mention she wanted to avoid anyone attempting to Obliviate them if she could help it. It wouldn't exactly make them want to trust anything magical if someone tried and failed.
The debrief continued, the remaining Agents giving their version of events swiftly and with a well-practised ease that said they were used to doing this and knew how to keep it on point.
Steve nodded as the last agent sat down. "Thank you. That will be all for now. Enjoy your R&R. Potter, can you remain behind for a moment?"
Tank hesitated a moment before giving her a slight nod as he stood with the others, one by one filing out of the room.
Holly kept her face blank, giving nothing away to the curious eyes that glanced her way as the other agents passed. Romanoff had picked her for a mission before in the past, but aside from offering medical aid with Sanctuary, she had done nothing that warranted special treatment. Not that Holly thought for a moment she was getting any, but she knew how gossip worked, and already enough tongues were wagging with her name, passing their lips. She didn't need that kind of attention, not when it meant more people would pay closer attention. It was one thing for the others to find out about her connection to Hydra, but she couldn't afford for them to find out about her connection to Bucky and Steve. She waited patiently, aware of the others muttering amongst themselves, though she could feel Bucky watching her closely.
"We are going to need the files, you've gathered on Hydra," Hill said. A hint of accusation in her tone.
"I only have hard copies, and they are in my apartment. I can bring them to you tomorrow," she said, keeping her voice even.
"You only have hard copies?" Stark asked, surprise clear in his voice that anyone would do such a thing in this day, an age.
"Paper can't be hacked, and they are secure enough, that nobody could find them. I was 'dead' to the world. That gave me an advantage. Nobody had any reason to look my way. Not until I gave them a reason to."
"Like applying for a job to work here," Hill countered.
Holly met the other woman's eyes, refusing to flinch under the intensity of being thrown her way from the other woman. She could understand Hills point. She had hidden her past from their searches and had gotten a job with the Avengers under false pretenses. It raised a red flag. Especially since the security checks they did were at the top of their game. Then again, with magic added to the mix, magic that could fabricate a whole new life for someone that would withstand any scrutiny, they were at an unfair disadvantage. Hill's distrust was reasonable. Expected even. Holly might want to help them take down Hydra, which she had made clear, but she had her own reasons. Reasons that didn't match theirs. It made her a wild card, and for the woman who had helped command SHIELD, wild cards were dangerous and unpredictable.
And not to be trusted.
"Like applying for a job to work here." Holly deadpanned. Head tilting to the side.
"You lied on your application, and in your interview." Hill pointed out, a frown creasing her brow.
"I omitted details."
"Which amounts to the same thing."
"Not really. I told you I couldn't stand injustice. That I can't stand bullies. I just failed to mention my connection with Hydra, and my desire to see them eradicated from the face of the earth. All things, considered, I would say you want the same thing," Holly said. Taking a moment to gather herself. She could feel her face tighten in irritation. It was uncomfortable. The distrust was something she expected, but that didn't mean she had to take it lying down. Gone were the days where she let others think they could push her around. Her gaze locked with Hill's, and the intensity in the other woman's eyes was hot enough to burn. Holly met her with her own equally unflinching, unimpressed look. She could, if she had to, walk away and continue on her own but her conscious wouldn't allow it. Not now that she had concrete evidence that Hydra was working with Wizardkind. She may have faith in the Avengers abilities that they could hold their own against a certain amount of magic. She knew they wouldn't hold up forever. All it would take was one Killing Curse sent their way and no amount of super strength would help them. No metal suit would protect them.
"It's done. There is no need to dwell on what could have been," Steve said firmly. Stopping any arguments that may have escalated. He was watching her closely, and there was a flicker of something that rippled through the bonds before they snapped shut. "Bringing the files tomorrow is fine. Go home and get some rest."
Holly pushed herself to her feet and left the room, leaving them behind to whatever else it was they needed to discuss. She itched to go home, to the safety of her wards and get some much needed sleep. Tomorrow was going to be another full day. Visiting the wand shops with Graves, and bringing the files to the team, which she knew they would want to go over. But that could wait, wait until she got the sleep she needed and a chance to heal from her injuries.
XXXXX
Steve watched Holly leave. A part of him itched to follow her to make sure she was okay, while another knew he needed to keep his distance. Knew that other things needed his attention, and from the subtle warning that vibrated through the threads that tied them together, it clearly stated she wanted her space. He wasn't sure she knew she was leaking some emotions through the bonds, especially considering how closed off she had been in the meeting. He could feel the burn of Hill's gaze, and was more than aware of the sharp look Bucky threw her way as he slipped out of the meeting room without a word. Steve didn't argue against it, not when he knew Bucky didn't like being in meetings anymore than he had to.
"She isn't telling us everything."
"No, she probably isn't." He agreed before turning his attention to Hill. "But throwing accusations at her, will not make her tell us anything. Whether or not I agree with it, she had her reasons. Just leave it."
"She was with Hydra for ten months. How do we know they haven't found away to turn her into a sleeper agent?" Hill countered. "You put me in charge of hiring people, and ensuring the security of everyone here. Not investigating this further is going against my better judgment."
"Lady Potter, wielded Mjolnir. She is more than worthy to have our trust, even if she has not allowed us to have hers," Thor said, his tone leaving no room for argument.
Steve frowned, Thor's words were like a blow making his spine stiffen, though he was certain that the Asgardian hadn't meant them to sound that way. The truth hurt, though, and it was true that Holly didn't trust them. He couldn't deny that. Guilt gnawed at him. Had they given her a reason to trust them? Had he?
No, if he thought about it. He hadn't. That would need to change. He needed to stop seeing her as though she was intruding on what he and Bucky had, regardless of how broken it is, to stop seeing her as an added complication he didn't ask for. He needed to reach out to her.
"She said she wanted to eradicate them from the face of the earth, kind of hard to argue against that," Nat said softly, glancing at Thor before continuing. "I'm not saying she isn't hiding anything more, but I think we have to give her the benefit of the doubt for now at least."
"Right now, we need to focus on exactly who Hydra has working with them. How they could shield them from our sensors and from our sight. We had an Enhanced on the field that seemed to be an ally, and we have Chitauri weapons lose in the city in the hands of anyone with enough money and desire to buy them." Steve sighed. Rubbing a hand against his temple, as he gathered his thoughts. "We need to focus on that first. The files Holly has, might give us some more information tomorrow that we currently don't have, but until then I want to hear theories."
Nobody spoke.
"Anybody have any ideas?" he prompted further, frustration coursing through him.
"I need to pay a visit to my contact that first provided us with the information with the guns," Nat said coldly. "It's possible they fed him misinformation, which means there should be crumbs to follow at the very least."
Steve nodded. "Take back up with you. I don't want anyone going anywhere alone if we can help it. At least until we have a better idea at what exactly Hydra's next move is going to be."
"I can go with her," Sam offered.
Nat inclined her head towards him, offering both her thanks and acceptance.
"Tony, Bruce, do we have any idea what kind of tech would shield them from our sensors?"
"SHIELD's Helicarriers had retro-reflective panels when they were in the air. Made them hard to see by the human eye," Tony said, absently, "And radar cloaking capabilities, but that made them difficult to detect, not completely invisible. I suppose, if they had someone as smart as me, that they could develop the idea further, but to my knowledge they don't. It would take time to come up with something close to what we saw. And from the files we have seen, they weren't working on anything close to that resembles a device capable of allowing ground forces to be invisible."
"It's possible, they weren't invisible. They could have made the suits they were wearing from retro-reflective material."
Steve glanced at Bruce, the tiredness was clear in his voice as he spoke.
Nat shook her head. "Not with how they were moving, it couldn't. The material used on the Hellicariers was too heavy to be used on in a suit."
"A hand-held device, maybe?" Hill quizzed.
"I will have Jarvis comb through the footage, see if he can pick up on any anomalies that might give us a clue where we need to look. Or if he can see anything that should be there but wasn't. The suit didn't pick up any heat signatures either, so unless they have all suddenly started reanimating bodies with functional brains they have come up with something to counter that as well."
"I will leave it with you," he said.
"Right, yeah, I will get right onto it."
Steve swallowed a retort that wanted to escape his lips. Disappointed with the nonchalant tone in Tony's voice, as he busily typed away on his phone, only glancing up for a moment to ask.
"Are we done now?"
He gritted his teeth, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath before he answered.
"Unless anyone has anything else they want to add?"
He waited a moment, glancing around at them all. Noting each cut and bruise, each bandage that signaled last night had been a hard fight, and none of them had come out unscathed. Not even Thor, silent Thor, who had a faraway look in his eyes, and hadn't said a word other than to defend Holly with Hill. He could see the stiffness in the way Nat was holding herself, cradling one arm to her body and trying to make herself appear less hurt than she was. There was a tightness around her eyes he had learned to read over the years, though she was even worse than he was with admitting she was in pain. She didn't like to show vulnerability even with them, even after a hard fight. Sam looked dead on his feet, and ready to collapse any second. Steve knew with Nat preoccupied with Clint last night, he had checked in with everyone of their team. Got a report of the injuries and the damage that had suffered. Pushing aside his own hurts until he knew every person's injury by heart. Tony was quieter than usual, more withdrawn, anaylsing inward as much as he could. Steve knew, he was currently working out in his head all the scenarios where it went wrong and what they could have done differently, even though his attitude came across as dismissive and uncaring enough that it made his blood boil until he took a moment and really thought about it. Bruce looked like he had been through the ringer, but then transforming into the Hulk never appeared to be a smooth transition, and took its toll on the man in the worst way possible.
Hell, he was weary, bone deep weary. The serum was taking care of the knocks he had taken during the fight, speeding along his healing far quicker than otherwise possible. His muscles still felt stiff. Still throbbed with a dull pain that reminded him he was human. Even if he was in top physical condition, beyond the normal human limits. The serum worked wonders, but even that had limits, and right now he was feeling every punch, every kick that had hit its target.
"Yeah, we're done. We could all do with the chance to rest. We can meet again tomorrow when Holly brings the files in."
One by one they filed out, until they left him alone in the War Room, with his own thoughts. Even now, with them back at the Tower, Steve couldn't find it in him to relax. The urge to debrief and work out exactly where everything had gone wrong, impossible to ignore. Hydra had been waiting for them. Had set the whole thing up as a trap for them. It meant they were more organised than he had expected, and that wasn't a mistake he could afford again.
What was it they always said, cut off one head and two more shall grow back? Pierce was dead. The exposure had revealed Hydra Agents in the governments across the world, but had the 'heads' in power kept themselves ahead of the game and were still unknown entities.
It was clear they were still attempting to get Bucky back under their control, and he had seen the way Rumlow's eyes had lit up upon seeing Holly wield Thor's hammer. Steve was certain nobody outside of them knew of her connection to them, knew that she carried their names carved into her chest as they did hers. But was there a possibility that they knew? Especially if they had held her captive for so long, it wasn't something they would likely to miss, or ignore when seeing. He didn't think she was a Sleeper Agent, waiting for an activation code, but that didn't mean that Hydra had some plan to use the knowledge of her against them.
But they think she is dead, don't they? They think they killed her?
It was a concern that chewed at his insides. He didn't know what Bucky thought of it all. Bucky, who had slipped away the first chance he could get. The bonds were silent, as they often were with Bucky, but Steve was confident that if something were amiss, he would feel it.
Like you did when he fell off the train. When he was with Hydra, the voice of self doubt taunted him cruelly. Guilt slithered through him. Because he hadn't known that Bucky was still alive. He had thought he had died when he fell and, as a result, abandoned him to his fate with Hydra. It was something he couldn't forgive himself for. The time he had out of the ice, and not being able to feel that Bucky was still alive. Or even when Bucky had first fallen off the train, he had been so certain that Bucky had died, had felt the bonds dim, and his heart had shattered. His failure to recognise that Bucky was still alive had resulted in his soulmate suffering for over seventy years, and now that he was free, he was still being hunted.
Yes, he agreed wholeheartedly with Holly's desire to eradicate Hydra from the face of the earth, and it was something he was more than willing to help her with.
XXXXX
Bucky kept his distance. Close enough to lend aid should the need arise, far enough away that only someone with Nat's training and paranoia would realise they were being followed. And even then she wouldn't be able to spot him. He couldn't say Holly was oblivious, like an ordinary civilian. She was checking her surroundings, searching for a tail often, but her eyes never landed on him, and he was careful enough to keep his side of the bonds closed tightly. His heart beat steady, hands tucked into the pockets of his jacket as he walked down the street. He could feel the whirlwind vibrating through the bonds from Holly's side. Her shielding barely there. Something he noticed she wasn't doing as well as she usually did. As though with each step she took further away from the Tower, the more open the bonds became. He couldn't say why, whether she thought that the distance would mute their reach a little, or whether her concentration was slipping. He watched her, eyes narrowing as he noticed how slowly she was walking, how she leaned to one side more than the other. Bucky could feel a heaviness in his side, with every breath he took, as though it were his own. The piercing sharpness, as though knifes were twisting in an arm he no longer had, and shouldn't be able to feel pain in anymore. At least not from the shoulder down, but it was there all the same, as though it was his own and had him flexing metal digits to dislodge it the best he could.
The pain wasn't his. It was Holly's. It made him realise how good she was at hiding it, because prior to watching her when she thought of herself unobserved by others, she hadn't once shown that she was in pain. He could push a little through the bonds. Unnoticeable, as long as he was careful, and siphon off some of her pain. Taking it as his own and easing her burden. Sharing through their connection so she didn't suffer needlessly alone.
He had done it for Steve before now, back in those days that were fuzzy and blurry, except for the certainty that Steve had come close to death more times than he cared to count.
He didn't though, didn't take her pain away from her. Didn't want to invade her privacy anymore than he was by following her. Bucky wanted to respect her boundaries, and the bonds were something she had willingly opened to them unless it was by accident, or offering her own comfort.
He had a feeling that if he were to do it, she wouldn't like it, not without her knowledge.
There was a heaviness in his chest. Bucky itched to approach her, to offer his arm for her to lean on.
He dared not.
He kept his position, kept his distance, kept his pace steady and his stride purposeful. Watching her. Watching everyone else, watching those who glanced her way with more than a passing interest, more than a glance towards someone you found attractive. Watched the body language and for those who paid too much attention, those who followed for too long, for those who kept their distance as though tailing her. He didn't see any, didn't see any sign of tail, any sign that anyone was following besides him. But that didn't mean he would turn back now. He had to make sure.
If anybody asked, he would say it was for her protection. It wasn't exactly a lie; it was for her protection. With Hydra out in force, they needed to be extra careful, take extra precautions and it gave him peace of mind to ensure she arrived home safely, especially as she had stubbornly refused to take a car.
Though it wasn't the only reason.
There was a deeper reasoning behind his actions. A reason he didn't dare look at too closely, less it makes him break the nearest thing to him. Knotted emotions tightened like barbed wire, pulling inside him. Hydra had held Holly prisoner.
His body quivered, and blood roared in his ears.
The thought of what they had done to her made his blood freeze. An icy rage slithering through him. He didn't know the details. Didn't need to know them. He had seen the harrow look in her eyes when she had spoken about it. It left a bitter taste in his mouth and a tightening in his chest, because Hydra had already tainted him and Holly didn't deserve that too. Didn't deserve whatever they put her through.
Bucky wanted to see blood. Wanted to see Hydra's blood, and he was more than happy to spill it.
The Soldier surged forward inside of him, riding his anger to push to the surface and wrestle for control. Coldness seeped through his body, deadly and silent. Bucky could feel his agreement though, and knew that if he gave in, he allowed the Soldier to take control. He would hunt Hydra down to the ends of the earth.
It was tempting. Though it terrified him how easily he could fall back into the monster they had made him become.
He clenched his jaw. Teeth grinding as his muscles tensed. Pushing it all down, shoving the Soldier as far down as he could. His breath catching in his throat and his heart pounded painfully against his chest.
It took an effort to gain control of himself. To focus on his task at hand and not give in to the desire to seek Hydra and tear them apart.
His vision became clearer, and he could continue in watching Holly. Ensuring her safety was paramount. An icy determination coursed through him, turning his rage to something more practical. Hydra would not get its hands on her again. He would make damn sure of that. Even if it meant tearing apart anyone who dared to try.
She stopped at a store, and he waited patiently across the street, leaning against a lamppost, ensuring it obscured as much of him as possible so it would be difficult to make him out with just a glance. People passed him by, barely glancing his way, but he couldn't stop himself from pulling at his baseball cap, ensuring it covered his face. He wasn't famous like the Avengers, but for a short time they had blasted his face on the news, and he would rather not draw attention to himself if he could help it. Would rather avoid the panic and terror as people attempted to flee from him.
Five minutes after leaving the store, Holly entered her apartment building. Bucky made quick work reaching the roof of the building opposite hers. It was a perfect sniper position and something that would need to be assessed further in the future. Bucky made a mental note to raise his concern. But for now, it gave him a clear line of sight into her apartment. He counted the seconds slowly between her entering the building and finally opening her apartment door. He didn't intend to stay long, not now that he had ensured she had safely reached her home, but he hesitated for a moment. A voice in his mind telling him he needed to ensure that they did not attack her in her home, that nobody was lying in wait. At least from here he was closer to offer aid.
So he waited, watching for a little longer, trying not to feel the slither of guilt that curled up in his stomach. That said, he was invading her privacy. When Holly started moving towards her bedroom, he moved, satisfied nobody was lying in wait. He may have followed her home, but he was no Peeping Tom, and the last thing he intended to do was watch her undress. At least not without her knowledge or consent. He paused in his step, his thoughts catching him by surprise. Aware that the hair on his arms and nape of his neck rising, at the thought, at the flutter of excitement, the idea stirred in him. Not new, but not something he hadn't felt in such a long time. Was it he was interested in the possibility of one day being able to watch her undress with her consent? Bucky wasn't blind, he couldn't deny that Holly was attractive, but he wasn't sure he was ready for that or at least he didn't think so, and yet it seemed his thoughts had betrayed him, because there was a stirring of something in him, a stirring that said, yes, he would be interested. And wasn't that frightening? He hadn't sexually been with anyone, man or woman, for seventy-five years?
A part of him wanted Steve. Wanted him so bad. Wanted things to go back to the way things had been between them. Would always want him. But another part was terrified that if he did, he would slip. That he would end up hurting Steve, killing Steve. That wasn't something Bucky could live with.
He couldn't risk it with Holly either. Holly who was awakening things in him that he hadn't felt in such a long time for anyone outside of Steve.
It wasn't a risk he could take.
For either of them.
XXXXX
Holly couldn't say how long she slept but, it was dark outside her bedroom as her consciousness dragged her back into the waking world. She had slept peacefully thanks to the Dreamless Potion and the Painless potion she had taken. Holly had no desire to relive the memories her confession would have pushed to the surface. She may not have told the Avengers everything, but she had told them enough for them to scratch at the box she placed them in.
Usually though her mind resisted the Dreamless Potion, and often she woke after only gaining a few hours' sleep, though tonight she had slept. She knew that the reason she had slept for so long was down to her magic, pulling on every reserve she had in order to recoup.
Holly stretched slowly, noting the aches and pains as her body protested over moving. Her muscles were stiff, sore, but she had healed, a combination of sleeping and her magic working well its magic on her body. It wasn't Asgardian level healing, but the magic that ran through every fiber of her made her far more durable than muggles.
Didn't stop her from feeling all the pain, though.
Satisfied she had full movement, she slipped out of bed, her eyes noting the glowing green numbers of the clock on the nightstand. It was just after five in the morning, and by her estimation, she had slept for fifteen hours straight.
Thank fuck she had returned to her apartment, and the safety of her wards offered her. She hated how vulnerable she could be when her magic forced her body into an unconscious state so she could heal.
Her stomach rumbled loudly. Reminding her she hadn't eaten since Friday lunchtime, having not stomached anything too heavy before they left to intercept the shipment. Holly had made sure that on her way home from the Tower she had bought the ingredients she needed to make plenty of pancakes. Healing, especially with the help of potions or magic, left her ravenous.
Her feet padded softly on the floor as she made her way down the hall to the kitchen, lifting her bag off the side from where she left it. She opened it up, and pulled out her Weasley jumper, which she quickly pulled on, before searching further into her bag and pulled out the small trunk she was looking for before she placed it on the ground at her feet. Holly hadn't wanted to admit she had the files on her yesterday. She had wanted the chance to return home and get the rest she needed. Something she knew she could only do behind the safety of her wards. Plus, she had no reasonable explanation that would make sense why she would have brought the files to the Tower in her bag, when her bag looked to carry nothing.
Holly waved her wand towards the kitchen, casting the spells she needed to get the tea brewing, and ingredients mixing to make the pancakes, before unshrinking the trunk. It grew quickly until it reached its actual size. It reminded her of her old school trunk, at first glance, except this one had she had purchased had multiple compartments, which contained everything she needed to live off grid indefinitely, if she ever wanted to.
Holly ran her thumb along the surface until she felt the familiar pinprick that sampled her blood. It ensured maximum security on her belongings by only allowing herself to open it. She set the settings on the side to signal the second compartment was accessible before clicking the brass coloured latches open. The second compartment on the trunk was shallow compared to the other compartments and was where she stored the files neatly in a row. Like all magical things, with the undectable extension charm the compartment was far larger that it should have been and resembled a muggle filing draw more than anything else. Deep enough to contain the files she wanted storing but more accessible that the compartment she stored all her books. Charms were in place on each file, ensuring that pieces of paper didn't fall lose when closed and that they remained within the appropriate file. Holly had learned whilst working in the Auror office, she hated a messy filing system. It was the one thing she truly appreciated order with.
She pulled out the files she had gathered on the children, along with the overall reports sent from others, carefully taking away anything that connected the pieces of paper to the Wizarding World. All the reports on the children were magic free, and it was only down to the lists that the Wizarding World had that connected them together. The next batch of files she pulled out were the files she had salvaged from the compound that had held her, along with others she had made and collected the last few years regarding Hydra and their movements. Holly hesitated over the last file she had, chewing on her bottom lip before finally pulling it out. Running a hand over the cover, where 'Top Secret' stamped clearly at the top like one would expect from a spy film, next to the Hydra symbol. Dead centre in neat black typed letters was 'Project Morrigan'
Blood roared in her ears, her heart pounding against her chest. There was a thickness in her throat, and she was finding it difficult to swallow. Her fingers tapped against the file as her mind raced with thoughts.
Her file.
It was thicker than the other files she had. Detailing every single thing Hydra had done to her. Every slice of a knife, every injection, every electric shock. Hydra wrote it all down, reporting how she responded, how her magic responded, how quickly she healed, how far they could push, until eventually her body gave up. There were other things in there as well, other experiments, other horrific details of things nobody should ever have to endure.
Right until her death. At least what they think was your death.
She had lost count of how many times she had read it, how many times she had lost herself to the words, while she desperately tried to shove back the memories that clawed their way to the surface. But even then, even with what she could remember, there were missing pieces. A blankness. An empty void.
Holly wasn't sure she wanted to remember it all. Wasn't sure she was brave enough to remember it all.
She closed her eyes and focused on her breathing and calming her racing pulse. On ignoring the shaking in her hands as she held her file.
Just breathe. You remember how to breathe.
Holly wasn't sure she wanted to hand her file over to the Avengers. She wasn't ready to share everything, but she knew they would ask.
Maybe you could just give it to Bruce. He would have more of an understanding of some things they did to you. More of an understanding of the experiments and everything else.
She could do that, maybe. But no-one else.
Nervously she nibbled on her bottom lip, as she put her file onto the pile on the dining room table, closing her trunk and locking it before she could change her mind and hide it away again.
The kettle hissed, letting her know it was ready and bringing her out of her thoughts. She stood, moving to the kitchen to pour herself a cup of tea, and grabbed a plate from the cupboard, as the pan flipped the pancake on its own accord, before slipping it onto her plate. The jug floated into the air and poured more mix into the pan as it settled back down onto the hob. Holly grabbed a knife and fork, drizzled maple syrup across the pancakes, before cutting into it as she took a sip of her tea.
Another flick of her wand and the Wizarding Wireless Radio came to life, playing a soothing melody of the Enchantress Waverly Young, whose voice was powerful enough to paint the melody as clear as day across her apartment. It was one thing Holly loved about listening to Enchantresses. Their magic lay in the power of their voice, and they could bring to life the images their lyrics described. Waverly, a favourite of hers, often gave voice to old ancient songs, where the power and magic lay within the earth and elements. There was something beautiful about seeing the waves dance across the ocean as moonlight glistened overhead.
Four cups of tea and seven pancakes later, Holly finally felt ready to tackle the day ahead. She cancelled the spell, making the pancakes and set about cleaning up after herself. Even now, years later, Petunia's voice whispered in her mind about a tidy home, and while she usually used magic to perform the mundane tasks now, her own way of pushing back against Petunia's voice it was still early enough that she didn't mind doing it without magic and it gave her something to focus on besides her own thoughts, since she had some time before she was due to meet Graves at eight, and nobody expected her back at the Tower until later this afternoon.
Once she had finished in the kitchen, she boxed up the files, ready to take to the Tower, before heading to the bathroom. Holly allowed herself to spend a decent amount of time under the scorching water. Easing the last aches and pains that lingered in her body, before she forced herself out and started getting ready.
Holly dressed in high-waisted crocodile-embossed black jeggings that had a shiny finish to them. Practical to wear in the muggle world. That was smart enough she could wear to work, but was something she could also get away with wearing in the Wizarding World as well. The pattern wasn't quite the same as Dragon Hide, but it was close enough that it would convince passing eyes. She wore a long red pleated waist shirt dress and added her wizard utility belt to finish. Holly would wear her mid-length black dragonhide jacket on top that would help her blend more into the Wizarding World without standing out too much in the muggle one. She left her hair loose; the curls drying as she got ready, which came to below her shoulders and styled it in a way that would keep her scar covered. Though for added protection, she put some make-up on, ensuring it wasn't as noticeable. It was a carefully constructed illusion, without being obvious that she was attempting to hide too much.
Holly grabbed her bag before leaving, double-checking she had the wands in question, and some cash on her, so she could buy a couple of drinks for the two of them before leaving her apartment behind.
Holly gripped travel cups in each hand, waiting patiently for Graves to show up. It was a little before eight, but she had itched to leave her apartment as soon as she was ready to do so. She hadn't been waiting long when she spotted him walking towards her, striding purposefully and completely at ease in the muggle world. Though Holly supposed he had been working with muggles for a while now, he had to have a certain level of comfortability walking in their world, or he wouldn't have been able to do his job.
He looked tired, and the muggle suit he was wearing was askew.
"I have coffee." She greeted, passing him his coffee.
"Thanks," he mumbled in passing, taking a gulp.
Holly sipped her drink, giving him a few moments of peace.
"Right, shall we?"
"Are you sure you're up to it? I'm not going to lie you look like you could use some sleep more than anything."
"No rest for the wicked," he said, forcing a smile, before the facade slipped away.
He sighed, taking another sip of his coffee before moving off. Holly followed at his side, the two of them moving through the sea of people with surprising ease.
"I've cast a privacy charm, and something that gives a slight nudge to the No-Majes to not bump into us."
"Useful trick."
"It has its benefits."
"I know it's not any of business, but how are you doing?"
"The situation has frustrated my Captain. Especially with how close the Avengers were to the magic. They might not have much to say about No-Majes but they are aware of the Avengers."
Holly smiled tightly. "They are hard to miss."
"Exactly. The moment they are visible, camera phones are out and people are recording, and with it the risk of exposure increased. This world, now, everyone has a camera, instant access to the rest of the world. We are both more connected to each other as much as we aren't. New York, seems to have attracted many Enhanced Superheroes over the years, and Villains as well."
He took another sip of his drink.
"They wanted someone to infiltrate the Tower. Find out what the Avengers knew."
Holly's eyes widened. Her chest tingled as adrenaline shot through her body. Dread pressed down against her skin.
Why hadn't she thought of that possibility? Of course, they would want to see what the Avengers knew before they Oblivated them.
"I told them that the Avengers had approached my division requesting assistance on intercepting a shipment of Chitauri weapons. I explained my men were keeping civilians out of harm's way and that I essentially saw nothing magical, but I did hype up that we would continue to work with the Avengers to get the weapons off the streets."
Tension eased from her body.
"They want you to report back to them. It's smart, that way we ensure nobody else tries to infiltrate the Tower." She mused aloud.
"It was the best I could come up with, but I figured it was safer to reveal some truth and keep everything else hidden, than to say nothing."
Holly took a sip of her drink, nodding her head in agreement.
"You did the right thing."
"I will have to give them something." He pointed out.
"At the moment the Avengers think its just Enhanced individuals. Like you said though, with them involved, cameras get pointed, videos recorded. The world is getting smaller," Holly said. "Witches and Wizards working with Hydra makes it even smaller."
"Merlin knows what MACUSA is going to say about that when they find out."
"I've reached out to some contacts that are communicating with the ICW. Problem is, we do not know who is working with them."
"And that's a problem."
"It doesn't make things easy." Holly agreed, absently, taking a sip of her drink. "So, where exactly are you taking me?"
Holly knew New York didn't have an Alley, like Diagon Alley tucked away with all the magical shops. She knew there was a section of Broadway that Muggles didn't know existed, that put on the magical shows for people to enjoy. She knew that the Library here had a hidden entrance which led to magical texts that were accessible to anyone with the permit, but when it came to other details of the magical world in New York, besides knowing where MACUSA was located she was unaware of what else was tucked away in New York.
"You will see. Originally we only used to have four main wandmakers in America. Though I am aware a new wandmaker has recently gone into business. We have one shop in Chicago. We have another shop in New Orleans, and another is in Mississippi, which is less shop and more a workshop attached to their house. In New York we have Johannes Jonker and the newer wandmaker."
Holly couldn't imagine getting her wand from anyone but Ollivanders. She knew there was a second wandmaker in Diagon Alley, but everyone stated Ollivander was of the better quality, and a witch or wizard needed to have faith in their wand as much as they did with their magic. Not that the wand she was using now wasn't exactly from Ollivander's and it still made her magic sing.
"So, I have to ask, why did you start working for the Avengers?"
Holly glanced at him from the corner of her eye. Trying to judge why exactly he had asked that question.
Choosing her words carefully, she answered, "Hydra captured me and held prisoner for ten months, when I first started investigating the missing muggle-borns. Rather than return to the spotlight, I stayed gone, and the world presumed whatever they wanted about me."
She paused, taking a sip of her drink, ignoring the look Graves was giving her.
"For the last few years I have been following every breadcrumb, every hint of the children being taken and what they planned to do with them. Hydra though, its used to working in the shadows, hell it was hiding in a super secret intelligence agency for decades and nobody had a clue. But with SHIELD's fall, my leads started drying up. I figured, the Avengers were the best bet in finding something I could use with Hydra."
"They are more likely to find something, compared to other government agencies," Graves said.
"Have MACUSA mentioned anything in relation to Hydra, I know back in the day Grindelwald had a connection to the organisation, but I have to admit history is not my strong suit."
Graves grimaced. "There were some concerns, but nothing that would lead me to believe they know more than they are letting on. MACUSA has always had a complicated relationship with the governments of the No-Majes. SHIELD was never amongst the list of agencies who know about the Wizarding World, but there were worries that with their technology and advancements they would find out sooner rather than later. Especially with Loki attacking New York. It took everything we had to keep our wards up under the attack of the Chitauri, and the Chitauri slipped through one or two areas. Thankfully, we dealt with them quickly and we repaired the damage, but everyone was waiting for the other shoe to drop."
"I wasn't aware that the Chitauri weapons could penetrate our wards."
"There were multiple hits over the cause of the invasion, it weakened them considerably enough that they could fly straight through in the end. Every location had multiple teams of Aurors and Ward Masters working tirelessly to keep them up, not to mention other witches and wizards offering aid and support."
"The likely hood of us surviving an invasion for a longer period doesn't exactly seem likely. The odds weren't in our favour."
"It depends on the location. New York has a series of nexus points in our warding system that draw strength from each other, but if one came under fire constantly, it would have a ripple effect. I can't say wards are my area of expertise, but I have always been told its like removing a pin in a wheel. It effects the overall performance."
Holly chewed over the information Graves had shared with her, she wasn't aware that the Chitauri weapons had pierced the wards, even if had taken multiple shots, and she hadn't been aware of how close to exposure the Wizarding World had been during the invasion.
"You said you mentioned the shipment of Chitauri weapons and the increase on the streets, didn't you?"
"I have. They will take precautions in ensuring the ward masters are on standby. "
"From what I can gather any faction of organised crime that can afford them, will have been offered, and considering who some people I know that call New York home, that is a worrying amount."
Graves looked at her, his eyes narrowing.
"I live in Hell's Kitchen, I've run into a few unsavoury individuals."
He snorted. "Hell's Kitchen, I can't say the rest of the cities No-Majes police force are great, but Hell's Kitchen precinct is as corrupted as you could imagine."
"Comforting."
"Tell me about it. I may work with them, and I consider my men as part of my family. I know the Wizarding World isn't perfect but I don't understand how the No-Maj higher ups haven't done something yet."
Holly gave a sad smile. "We are just as corrupt. The powerful often want to keep the power to themselves and forget about everything else. Regardless of whether or not they have magic."
"I can't argue against that, but I know after You-Know-Who's fall, you and your supporters took your time to root out the lingering corruption before rebuilding."
"I just rounded up the remaining Death Eaters," Holly shrugged. "Even now I'm not sure we got them all. I don't think we ever will. There are always going to be those that hold the beliefs that muggle-borns are dirt and that muggles need to be ruled. They might not be as vocal but they are there."
"We don't live in a perfect world."
"No, we don't. But I think we, as in Wizardkind, need to remember our roots. The muggles may have proclaimed us as rulers throughout history but we were protectors, guardians foremost. And in that we are failing terribly."
Graves looked at her in surprise. "You believe in the old stories then."
"I've met Thor, Graves, hell you've met Thor. If that doesn't give some leeway to the old stories and the old ways then I don't know what does. And not the old ways that purebloods sprout off about. Perhaps its not just the fact that old families are inbreeding too much that is weakening magic, maybe we have turned our backs for too long on the world we were meant to protect. A world we swore to protect and we are losing our connection to our magic because of it."
Graves met her gaze. Holly couldn't fathom what he was thinking. She wasn't naïve; she knew that there would always be those who wanted the Wizarding World to stay in the shadows, just as there would always be muggles who hated anything that didn't fit the norm in their blinked view of the world. The Dursleys had taught her first hand what fear towards magic could look like, and the years of crossing paths with muggle-borns across the world who suffered the same fate if not worse than she had by those who couldn't handle that their children were different. It was one of the primary reasons she had started the foundation; she wanted to protect and help those who were had no one because of their magic, because they were different, because their families hated them. But once the foundation started, she couldn't just stop there, not when so many people were suffering. Holly knew she couldn't save the world in that way. There was too much that needed fixing. Too much injustice and cruelty and hatred and every other evil thought that could exist. But she could do her part in trying to help heal and make it fairer and equal. There were days she wasn't sure the Foundation was even scratching the surface of it all.
"We're here," Graves said, breaking eye contact and glancing up at the building they were standing in front of. Holly followed his gaze. She wasn't sure what street they were on, had foolishly not been paying that close attention as he led her through New York.
The white brick building was thirteen stories high, pristine and glistening in the sun. Gold framed double doors declared the entrance, and her nose was catching the scent of familiar smells that were out of place in the muggle world. A sign hung above the door declaring proudly, 'Ebbingdales Wonders for Wizards - Magic on Every Floor'. The muggles seemed oblivious to the both the building, and people coming in and out through those double doors.
Holly smiled to herself. Even now, after all this time, she was still discovering the wonders of the Wizarding World, and despite all the darkness she had seen that could hide in the shadows and underbelly of the world she belonged to, her enjoyment never ceased. Her excitement was still the same as it had been when she was eleven years old.
"New York has a magical department store?"
"Everything you could want or think about needing, can be found here. Of course there are one or two other places tucked away in the city as well. And there is the Underlane where the less savoury items can be bought, but everything else is here. All neatly inside, and it completely blends in with the No-Maj world."
"I love magic."
Graves chuckled, catching her by surprise. She wasn't sure she had heard him laugh. Not that either of them had much to laugh about with their few interactions.
"Well, lead the way, Auror Graves. I will let you do the talking and follow your lead. The less attention I bring to myself the less likely I am to be noticed as anything more than a trainee."
Graves stepped towards the door and opened it, holding it open for her to step through. Holly felt the ripple of magic across her skin as she did, and while bricks didn't move out of the way, like the entrance to Diagon Alley. Stepping inside the department store was very much like stepping into a whole different world. The place was vibrant, and energy coursed through the air in away that only ever happened when magic coated every inch of the place. Her gaze swept across the first floor, taking in every sight she could see. A sea of colours greeted her, along with pixies darting overhead in all different directions. A quick glance at the layout that was placed just inside showed there were three floors below street level as well. The ground and first, was where the clothing was, Wizards and witches' robes, school uniforms, hats and accessories. They dedicated basement levels to the Apothecaries, and Potions shop, along with a clinic that offered medical assistant before taking them to the hospital located just outside of New York.
"We want the fourth floor. That is where one of the wand shops is, and where most of the shops catering to school supplies can be found. It should be fairly quite at the moment."
"Good. You said its where one of the wand shops is? Where is the second?"
"Not in the department store. Its tucked away in Harlem."
Holly nodded, following behind Graves as he walked further into the store.
It wasn't busy yet. There were customers, but they did not pack the floors to the brim, and some stores stood empty. They passed a tearoom that was decorated in a pale yellow with green decorations. A couple of witches filled tables, chatting away as they placed their orders, dressed in witches' robes, with feathered collars and handbags. It was such an ordinary scene, unfolding in front of her, a little snippet into their lives. A sense of nostalgia filled her. How long had it been since she had just walked into a magical district? How long since she had met Hermione on her lunch break or had breakfast with Ron before he went to help George in the shop. She hadn't noticed before, too focused on her task, but she missed the Wizarding World terribly, missed the normalcy of it all. While she had grown up in the muggle world, and despite having parents that were magical, she had more in common with the muggle-borns than she did with Wizard Kind. She had a comfortableness in the muggle world, could move through it, and embrace it as though she belonged. She missed magic, missed using it every day, missed submerging herself into the world she belonged to.
"Are you okay?" Graves asked. His face was serious, though she could pick up the concern in his eyes.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just been a while since magic has surrounded me."
"I don't think I could do it. I mean, I know I work with the No-Maj covertly, but I don't think I could walk away from everything and live without contact with the Wizarding World."
"Desperate times, call for desperate measures. And it's always a surprise what you're willing to do, how far you will go when you need to."
"The wand shop is just up ahead."
Holly noted the bookstore, making a mental note that when she had the chance, she would come back and visit the store. She may not have had Hermione's passion for research, but she loved learning magic, and discovering things she didn't know.
Graves led her to a store tucked away in the far corner on the fourth floor. A sign hung overhead declaring 'Jonker's Wands' and without even stepping into the shop, she could already see the rows and rows of wooden boxes tucked away on shelves. Magic hung heavy on the air, heavier than anywhere else in the department store, it seemed. Untapped potential for the young witch or wizard waiting to find their wand.
Graves walked towards the counter. Holly browsed casually at the shelves, carefully avoiding touching any of the boxes.
"Can I help you?"
Holly turned, ensuring she had a view of the entrance to the shop and the counter. An elderly man had stepped forward from the shelves at the back. He was short, with thinning grey hair and a single spectacle pressed to his left eye. His accent was thick but not one she recognised enough to place. He did little more than glance her way before fixing his attention on Graves. He didn't quite have the mysterious factor that Ollivander had, but there was a weight to his gaze, as though he were peeling back the layers and looking right into the soul of the person in front of him.
Graves smiled.
"Hello, Jonker, how are you doing?"
"Auror Graves, what a pleasant surprise. I haven't seen you since your mother brought you to my shop. You didn't end up with one of mine though, did you."
"No, my personality matched Quintana more."
"Ah, for force and elegance. Quiet right, quiet right. He hasn't got long left with that one. Mark my words," he tutted to himself, "What can I help you with. Last time I checked you were working covert amongst the No-Maj."
"That's why I am here. I was working on an incident that turned out to have some involvement from wizards, wasn't able to apprehend the wizards in question, but we disarmed two of them. I was wondering if you would look at them to help identify who made them. It would make looking for them in the permit office a lot easier."
"Whispers have reached my old ears that there was an incident the night before, even heard murmurs those No-Maj superheroes were involved in something as well."
"You know I can't comment there."
Jonker huffed, muttering to himself about the youth of today and what the world was coming to before finally agreeing.
"Let me have a look then?"
Graves nodded his head, and Holly stepped forward, pulling the two wands out of one of her pockets and placing them on the counter before stepping back.
"New partner?" Jonker questioned.
"Trainee," Graves answered, "You know they each have to do a six-month stint in covert operations."
Jonker blinked before picking up the first wand. From Holly's best guess they were both about the same length as her own holly wand had been, but she couldn't recognise the wood, or the core, the way Wandmakers could.
Jonker scrutinized it, flicking into the air so an array of colours exploded in the air. Subtle, not volatile. She could remember the many attempts she had with wands that had resulted in explosions. They watched and waited as Jonker went through various tests before picking up the second wand and repeating the process.
"I can tell you, they aren't mine. Missing the mother-of-pearl, and the cat hair. And they aren't Quintana's or Beauvais, or even Wolfe's. Both of them are yew wood, powerful, have a leaning to a certain pathway of magic, though you can't really blame the wood for the choices the wielder makes. They have different cores. One is a Dragon's Heartstrings, which leans more to our European counterparts. They favour the dragon heartstrings, but the other. The other is a magical creature I would never have thought to have used before is a Chimera hair."
He tutted to himself, quietly. "Dangerous. Volatile. But powerful, only the bravest would attempt to gain such a core."
"So no inkling to who could have made them?"
"You might have luck with Crawford in Harlem. He is fairly new that I have not yet become familiar with his craft yet. Though there is always a second option. One you will not like."
"They're unregistered."
"Which means they either came from a different country and have chosen not to register their wands, or someone has set up shop in Underlane, selling wands. I can't say how much luck you will have there in finding that particular shop if that is the case though."
"I will try Harlem first, and move from there. Thank you Jonker."
"My pleasure Auror Graves, I've always liked you. You 're not as stuck up as the others."
Graves laughed. "I will take that as a compliment, Jonker."
They said their goodbyes, though Holly merely nodded her thanks, refraining from speaking. She hadn't expected it to be as easy as going to the first Wandmaker and having the answers, but she had hoped they would at least have a little more of a clue to where they needed to start looking.
"How bad is Underlane?" She asked as they exited the department store.
"It's like any underbelly in the Wizarding World. Criminals, and the likes, those who have no problem in cursing the No-Maj because they feel like it. There is a nest of vampires there, and hags."
"So not exactly Auror friendly."
"No, not Auror friendly, and I would be reluctant to go in there, even with a small team. There are dangerous people there, who have no problem in spilling blood."
"I don't think we are going to have much of a choice, Graves."
"No, and that's what I am afraid of. Let's make our way to the wand shop in Harlem. We won't go to Underlane today I want to try to gather as much information as I can before we venture there. Might take a week, little longer."
Holly nodded. She could understand Grave's hesitation, could even sympathize with it. It was better to be prepared than not to be prepared.
"Are you going to be okay going there?" he asked her.
"Don't worry about me Graves, I have been in places like that all over the world, I know how to play the game, and my bite is just as vicious as theirs can be," she said, schooling her features and giving him a look she had stared down Death Eaters and worse with. She had more than enough blood on her hands from the last few years alone. She had done things she would never have contemplated in doing before Hydra took her, and would do even more if she had to.
Graves broke eye contact, looking over the sea of muggles around them.
"Come on, let's go and see Crawford."
Holly nodded in agreement, walking alongside them as they headed to the nearest place they could Apparate.
XXXX
Holly stepped off the lift as the doors slid open, and onto the Avenger's communal floor of the Tower, biting down on her irritation at the complete lack of information that visiting the wand-shops had resulted in. She had arranged with Graves to meet in a weeks' time, giving him the chance to gather information before they stepped into Underlane. She had hoped that she would have walked away with something more. Peering around the three boxes she was carrying piled on top of each other so she could actually see where she was going. Jarvis had informed her she was to report straight to the Avengers levels when she had entered the lift. Next to her, Tank whistled as he followed behind her. He had offered her a hand after catching sight of her struggling on his way down to the main operations floor after seeing Jax, and was currently carrying four boxes with an ease that have her envious over how long his arms were and how easily he made it look.
"I still can't believe you brought these from your apartment."
Holly huffed. "I treated myself to a taxi."
"Don't you have a car?"
"In New York, you seriously don't want me on the roads. I was a late learner, and I won't claim I'm the best driver, or even the most confident. It's safer for everyone, if I drive as little as possible. I have always preferred a bike, which if I had one here wouldn't exactly be practical."
"No, I don't suppose it would be with this many boxes. Why exactly are you bringing them up here, and since when have you scored a pass to come to this level?"
Holly shrugged. "I just follow orders."
She didn't want to admit she had already been up here before.
"Something tells me you aren't one that usually follows orders of others."
Holly didn't argue. She couldn't, not really, not when she had always been the person others looked towards to lead them.
"I do when they make sense." Holly shrugged. "Blind faith isn't something I do anymore."
"I can understand that," Tank murmured. Carefully placing his pile of boxes on the dining table, his gaze wandering curiously as he took in his surroundings. Holly doubted it was what the rest of the world pictured when thinking about the Avengers got up to after they saved the world. Holly knew what it was like to live with the expectations of others and never matching up. Merlin knows she never did. She never fitted into that perfect image of 'The-Girl-Who-Lived', and she sure as hell didn't with the 'Woman-Who-Conquered' titles they threw her way. Even after the War and she was the heroine of the story, there were still those who dragged her name through the mud because she didn't behave in the way they expected.
"I should probably get back down to the Main Operations floor, before Hill wonders where I am."
Holly smiled. "Thanks for the help Tank."
"No, problem Holly." He smiled in return.
Holly watched him walk towards the lift before she focused her attention on moving the boxes until they were all in a line together. The bonds vibrated softly, instinctively picking up that Bucky was close, hidden from sight, keeping his distance, but lingering on the edges. It surprised her at how quickly she was coming to distinguish the difference between them through the bonds, after all she had only been working alongside them for two weeks now, and it wasn't like any of them had fully opened up the bonds that tied them together and strengthened them.
"You might as well come out you know, I know you're there."
"I didn't want to make anyone uncomfortable."
Holly snorted in amusement.
"We are intruding in your space, Bucky. You live here. This is your floor, you shouldn't have to worry about making people feel uncomfortable here."
"Are they the files?" Bucky asked, blue eyes catching her gaze as he moved out of the shadows and walked towards her.
"It's all I have."
Though she knew Hermione had gathered more information herself as well. Throwing herself fully into research mode the first chance she got. Holly didn't voice that little nugget of information aloud, especially as she only had the cliff notes version and had yet to read over it herself. It highlighted some interesting connections that the Wizarding World had with Hydra back when Grindelwald was fighting for power and Hydra first made its presence known with the Nazi's.
"How are you?"
"I'm fine, slept for fifteen hours, so all energised now. But considering Hydra made a play for you, shouldn't I be the one asking you that?"
Holly looked at him, studying him closely, noting the tiredness in his eyes, the worn, drawn out look across his face that made her chest tighten uncomfortably. Guilt was eating him up inside. His memories were swallowing him whole. She could see it clearly before he schooled his features to a mask of indifference. Refused to show weakness, to show vulnerability, or how much he was hurting. The tiredness was still there, but somehow Holly knew he wouldn't submit to it until his body forced him to and considering the serum that ran through his veins, that could be days.
"They will always try to and get me back. I'm their weapon, and they will never stop, and I am afraid of what will happen if they do."
"You aren't theirs. You never were, Bucky. But I can promise you, they won't ever get their hands on you again. No matter what it takes, no matter what I have to do. I promise you Hydra will not take you."
Their gazes connected, blue on green. The rest of the world seemed to slip away. She could see surprise in his eyes, could feel it pulse through the bonds as a mix of emotions not her own filled. Surprise, doubt, fear, warmth, hesitation, as though he was unsure whether he could believe in that promise and relief. Relief mixed with something else she couldn't put into words, couldn't name. She lowered her mental shields a fraction, shared her support, her reassurances, and her promise. Her magic unfurled, spreading through the bonds like electricity, and Bucky's eyes widened. Uncertain what he was feeling, but soaking it up all the same. Her magic soothed his aches and pains he refused to acknowledge and gave him a source of strength to draw on, even if it were only for a moment. Easing the tiredness and the weariness that clung to him like a second skin. Holly pulled back slowly, not wanting to jar him at the sudden loss of her magic.
"Everything okay?" Steve asked, appearing from the hallway that led off to their personal rooms.
"Yeah, Stevie, everything is okay." Bucky answered. His gaze never left hers, though. Holly couldn't feel anything from him. She had tightly wrapped her mental shields around her.
"I have the files you've asked for."
Holly broke eye contact with Bucky, looking over his shoulder to see Steve and Sam making their way towards them. She knew Stark was busy in his labs doing Merlin knew what, but she didn't know where Natasha was or if she would join them.
"You asked, and so you shall receive." Holly said, glancing at the boxes of files on the table.
"Shit, I wasn't expecting this many."
Holly glanced at Sam, concern shining in his eyes as he looked at the boxes.
"Hydra has been busy. These three boxes are the latest cases, from the last couple of years at least. And the rest are the names of children I have found missing before I started investigating. Some of them are ten to fifteen-year-old cases, but they matched the same pattern to the more recent ones. The latest one that I have found, is actually in New York."
"So whatever they are doing with the children, they are still doing it. Even with a majority of their resources from SHIELD gone," Steve said.
"What exactly are they doing?" Bucky mused.
Holly opened the nearest box and pulled out a bunch of files. "These are what I grabbed from the compound they held me captive at. I can't say I got everything, I wasn't exactly thinking straight and I kind of wanted to make sure the whole place burned to the ground, but it should show some of what they were doing."
She handed over the stack to Steve, who started laying them out on the table.
"Is your file here?"
Holly hesitated, wanted to deny that she had even saved her file, except she had wanted to know every single they had done to her. Even if she couldn't remember it all, even if she had buried some in a chest deep inside her, she dared not open because of the consequences if she did would reign fire down on everyone she crossed paths with. She could remember the scent of burning flesh, could remember how easily she had killed as blood coated her skin and death wrapped itself around her. What she could remember frightened her more than anything, because in that moment, she could see herself becoming so much worse than Voldemort. Drunk on power, with revenge burning in her soul and a desire to cause as much destruction and pain as she could to those that dared hurt her, dared to take from her. She had been lost in a sea of grief, a grief that even now lingered on the edges of her consciousness. What could have been? What should have been? Even if it was all unconventional circumstances that had led to that result. Her pulse quickened, her heartbeat roaring in her ears.
Kill. Rip. Destroy. Burn.
And there it was, that other presence that had made its home deep inside, that warned of danger and threatened to kill, stirring wrestling for control as the memories that birthed it surfaced. It had ripped its way out of her as she had screamed, surrounded by the dead in a mass grave she had crawled over. Used and discarded. Because they thought they had killed her, but they hadn't. Or maybe she had died again, and something else had crawled inside her.
Don't think about it.
"Holly?"
Bucky was at her side, close enough that she could feel his warmth, but not touching.
"You need to breathe, Holly. Can you do that?"
Her magic wrestled for control, the other clawed upwards, reaching for her carefully woven second layer of her mental shields. Shields she had worked hard on keeping it in rather than anyone out. The chest inside her rattled.
She breathed.
Give me a minute." She whispered, her voice trembled and fuck did she hate that.
She closed her eyes and breathed. Gathering every ounce of will she had, and shoved it all down, shoved the memories, the emotions it all brought to the surface and that other back into its chest, strengthening the wards she had wrapped around it so clearly. Holly pictured black vines rapidly growing around it, tightening before she pushed it under layers of ice and fire, keeping it so far out of reach.
The tightness in her chest eased, her pulse slowed, and she could feel her regain control over the whirlwind of magic inside her until it settled calmly.
She opened her eyes, three pairs of eyes watching her intently.
"Sorry."
"You don't have to apologise. I shouldn't have asked," Steve said gently.
"I do have my file, but I'm not ready to share it with you."
Steve's gaze locked onto hers, his blue eyes softening with concern.
"I can understand that. It will take time for you to trust us, and perhaps we didn't get off to the best start with ambushing you with the contract."
Holly snorted. "You know I wouldn't have tried to work alongside the Avengers if I had known, if I had known the names on my skin belonged to both of you."
Her eyes darted between the two of them, guilt slithering through her. "It complicated everything. I understand why you did it. With Hydra out there and any other person clambering at the chance to claim fame or to get close to the Avengers, I can understand, the reasoning behind it. It wasn't personal."
"I won't push that we read your file. But can I suggest Bruce does? At least so we can have a better idea of what experiments Hydra performed on you. Get an idea if they tried giving you their botched up attempt at the serum that the Centipede Project had developed," Steve said.
Holly paused. She had been considering giving it to Bruce to work out exactly what all the chemical compounds they had given to her, but she hadn't thought about the possibility they had injected her with a botched attempt at the super soldier serum.
"Maybe." She agreed.
Together the four of them each started unpacking the boxes, and dividing the files into locations and years. It was strange looking at the files with other people, letting their eyes roam over her carefully gathered information and intelligence, along with her own notes and thoughts. At least what she could for the moment.
"Holly, this must have taken you ages."
Silence fell and Holly's brows pinched thoughtfully before she answered.
"I have had little else to do for the last few years. I focused all my energy on this."
"There isn't a logical pattern, here. Children ranging from eight to thirteen, though most of them are under eleven. And a few younger than that. They come from different locations, backgrounds, ethnicities."
Sam sighed in frustration, rubbing a hand across his temple, as he picked a file at random and started to flick through it.
"I mean sure, kids from some families with money, they are names I can recognise, old cases, that were on the news and there was more of an effort in searching for them. But the others, it's like they have been forgotten, or erased."
Holly couldn't fault his logic. Sam was on the right path, some of the families had been Oblivated after their children had been taken. Easier to stop the search before it began if they couldn't remember. Others were killed.
"Maybe they have. I mean, Hydra has a lot of tech at its fingertips. Maybe they made it easier by making people forget."
Holly glanced at Bucky, noted the tightness around his eyes and his clenched jaw.
"Not to mention infiltrating the police divisions. When SHIELD was still operational, they had a lot of power, that buffer may have disappeared but they are still going to have connections."
"This is going to take a lot longer to make sense of this."
"I helped put many people into positions of power, because it furthered Hydra's goals." Bucky said, quietly.
Holly glanced up at Bucky. But his gaze locked on the file in his hands, refusing to look up at anyone. She caught Steve giving him an intense look that she couldn't quite read until Steve turned his attention her way. Gazes meeting and for a moment she had perfect clarity into what Steve was thinking. He hated how Bucky blamed himself for how Hydra used him; he held her gaze a fraction longer before turning his attention back to Bucky.
"That wasn't your fault, Buck. You didn't have a choice."
"I know... but I did it."
Holly's chest tightened painfully. She could hear the pain in Bucky's voice. She tried to swallow, but her throat was dry. What Hydra had done to her didn't compare to the decades of torture he had endured.
"It isn't you, though," she whispered, her head tilting to the side. "It's just one part of the whole. The rest is up to you."
Bucky glanced at her, the intensity in his eyes threatening to consume her, before he turned to look back at the file again. Holly shared a look with Steve before returning her own attention back to the file.
"I think I found something here," Sam said. Breaking the growing tension.
Holly knew he had done it deliberately. she could see that Sam was just as good at reading people as Natasha was. It might come from different reasons, but he saw the truth in others, even when they weren't prepared to see it in themselves. Directing both Bucky's and Steve's attention on to him he flicked through the file he was currently reading.
"It's not much, but it mentions a name, a Daniel Whitehall."
"His name is on a few files, that I have seen," she said, her legs bounced under the table.
"That name sounds familiar. I'm sure I have read it somewhere when Nat dumped the files on the Internet." Steve frowned. "Jarvis, can you cross reference Daniel Whitehall with the files we have on Hydra?"
"Of course, Captain Rogers."
"I have found one reference to a Daniel Whitehall, Captain." Jarvis informed them, moments later.
"It is the new identity given to, one Doctor Werner Reinhardt, after his realise from SHIELD in 1989."
Both Steve and Bucky stiffened, eyes widening and their mouths slackening.
"That's not possible."
The hint of alarm in Steve's tone was clear to hear.
"Why?" Holly asked with a frown. She tensed as she fixed her gaze on them. Waiting for an answer as to why that name had created such a reaction from them.
"Because Doctor Werner Reinhardt was a part of Hydra in the 40s, he was a high-ranking officer of the Nazi Schutzstaffel," Steve answered.
Holly blinked.
"The SS." Holly said slowly, uncertain she had heard him correctly.
Both Steve and Bucky nodded.
"So how the hell is his name on the files, now, even if he is using a pseudo-name? He would have to be almost a hundred?" Sam asked baffled.
"Unless they found a way to prolong life."
"Well, that isn't exactly comforting. I am going to hazard a guess that he was in SHIELD's custody before it was SHIELD. What was it called again?" Holly mused.
"Strategic Scientific Reserve," Steve answered softly. A longing look crossing his face before he squashed it.
Her gaze darted between the three of them. There was something in the way he had answered, and the look on his face, and the silence that seemed to surround all of them. Not to mention the tension coiling through Bucky. She was missing something. Holly shoved the thought to one side. She didn't have time to over-analysis everything, and could she really say it was any of her business in the long run? Steve didn't owe her any explanation he didn't want to share. Neither did Bucky.
"Right, and then SHIELD formed around that and he stayed their prisoner. Jarvis does it say why he was released?"
"I believe the files say it was because of medical reasons."
"On whose authority?" Steve asked, his voice hardening.
"Alexander Pierce."
A growl sounded from Bucky, catching her by surprise. His shoulders stiffened and his rage battered against her mental shields through the bonds they shared. His face though was cold, calculating, eyes hardening as though someone else in that moment had stepped forward and taken control.
The Winter Soldier.
A part of Bucky, and yet also completely separate. Holly could feel his rage as if it was her own, but there was an underline of fear as well. Fear that was drowning him.
Alexander Pierce had been the man that had pulled the strings of the Winter Soldier for a long time, the man that had controlled everything. Holly knew he had every right to be angry, every right to feel his fear and let out the Winter Soldier. The part of him that hadn't been allowed to feel. Only ever focus on the mission.
"Buck." Steve said. The warning clear for all to hear.
Bucky turned towards Steve, his gaze fixed on him, his body coiled ready to spring. Steve shifted in his seat, preparing himself for a fight. Holly could see it all.
Holly acted, not hesitating for a second, despite a voice inside her saying she was caring too much, and that she would be the one left out in the cold. Alone and empty when all was said and done, because Bucky and Steve had always been just the two of them, until her name come along to the mix. In that moment it didn't matter, nothing mattered. Blood roared in her ears, her heart pounded against her chest. Something pushed her into moving. Something she could not stop.
Her hand reached for Bucky's right hand, Steve's eyes widened in alarm.
"Holly..." the concern was obvious in his voice, as was the alarm, and a chair scrapped across the floor, signaling that they were moving.
Holly paid it no attention, let it fade to the background. All she was focusing on right here, right now, was Bucky. Bucky, who had pulled her out of her own panic attacks. How could she possibly leave him to face his own demons alone?
"Bucky, I'm going to touch your hand now, and I want you to focus on my voice. Can you do that for me?"
Her pulse was steady, her voice calm. To think less than an hour ago, she almost lost herself to her own demons. Maybe, just maybe, fate knew what it was doing, pairing them all together, enough that they could see and recognise the brokenness in each other.
His head turned to face her. Hardened blue eyes stared at her. Although it was Bucky's face, Bucky's eyes in that moment, Holly knew it wasn't Bucky that was staring at her. The intensity was different, the coldness biting, and a burning hatred that had her voice catch in the back of her throat. It wasn't for her, but the moment their gazes locked, she could feel the full weight of it. It made her change tactics.
Licking her lips, Holly said. "When I was twelve, me and my friend missed the train to our school. We decided, in the heat of the moment, to drive ourselves to the school rather than waiting for an adult. I think we panicked, and knew how much trouble we were going to be in if we weren't there. So we took, my friend, Ron, his dad's car, and we attempted to drive it to Scotland. It didn't end well, with two twelve-year-olds at the wheel."
Holly smiled at the memory.
"We were in so much trouble when we did eventually arrive at the school, had scared Ron's parents by being missing and the car gone, and the school, and the authorities. We had two solid months of detention, along with the threat that we would get expelled if we stepped out of line again. Not that the threat really stopped us."
Bucky didn't respond, but she got the distinct impression he was listening to her. Just as she knew that Steve and Sam were. She could see the light in Sam's eyes as he nodded encouragement, as though he understood exactly what she was trying to do. Steve just looked at her in surprise.
Absently, her thumb gently rubbed against Bucky's hand. He didn't stop her, didn't move at all. Just watched and listened quietly.
"That year, wasn't exactly my best year, lots adventures, though come to think about it every year I had an adventure. My other friend Hermione, didn't speak to us for an entire month after, though she forgave us."
She launched into story after story, carefully removing the magical elements as best she could. She told him how the three of them did a chemistry experiment in a disused girls' toilet, which had moderate success with only a slight mishap. How they sneaked into a rival house's common room and set off a few pranks. She told him about meeting Sirius for the first time, about sneaking out of school. About how she became the youngest player in the school to make a house team, and that her father had also played the sport and that in her sixth year she became Team Captain. She spoke about the prank war that happened in the third year between her school house and their rival, and how it went from one simple misunderstanding to the entire school getting involved, until the Professors stepped in. She spoke about the castle she called home, the secret passageways and hidden nooks and crannies that held hidden secrets.
Holly couldn't say when exactly he started relaxing, when the rage pulled back, or when he had moved his hand from hers and started stroking her arm, as though he found the action itself comforting.
"Hey, you okay?" she asked, meeting his gaze with her own to see that the hardness had softened, that the coldness had withdrawn back to the depths of his mind.
"Thank you," he said. His voice hoarse.
"You don't have to thank me, Bucky. It was a perfectly natural reaction all things considered."
She could feel the weight of the others watching them, and she was certain Bucky could to. Especially by the way he shifted in his seat. He pulled his hand back and pushed himself to his feet.
"I need coffee. Anyone else want one?"
Unanimously they muttered their yes, and Bucky busied himself in the kitchen.
Feeling a weight pressing down on her, Holly glanced towards Steve. A warmth filled his eyes and understanding shining.
He muttered softly. "Thank you."
Holly nodded before turning her attention back to the file she had been reading.
"So, we have a name Daniel Whitehall, but what exactly does that mean for us, and where do we go from here?" Sam asked, turning the attention back onto their task and away from Bucky slipping back into the persona of the Winter Soldier.
"It's something we can start tracking at least, Jarvis. Can you start cross referencing Daniel Whitehall, please? I want to see if we can narrow down a location to the right Whitehall at the very least," Steve said firmly.
"Well, we are definitely going to need more eyes on these files as well. At least until we can get them uploaded anyway," Sam added, his brow creasing as he read the file he was reading. "Banner, we need Banner. There is a lot of medical stuff here that I can't keep track of, but from what I can guess they were experimenting on these kids."
"The question is, why these kids?" Steve asked.
Holly avoided looking at any of them. Guilt wiggled inside her and she hoped that Hermione and Kingsley could fast track, getting them permission so she could bring them up to speed. They needed to know what they were going up against if they faced off with Hydra again, and the likelihood of that happening was pretty fucking high. Bucky approached, carrying four mugs.
"Thank you," she said, as she took the cup he offered her.
"It's hot chocolate."
She smiled. "One of my weaknesses. Chocolate - the cure to all."
"Thanks, Buck."
"Well, lets get stuck in then, see if we can make any heads or tails of this. Jarvis, can you request Bruce, Nat and Hill to join us, please. We need more eyes," Steve asked.
"Of course, sir."
He sipped his drink before turning his attention to her.
"You know this material best, Holly. Where do we start?"
"The Hydra files give an insight into what they were doing at the compound. What experiments they were doing on the kids, the failures and the successes. Bruce will have a better understanding of the chemical concoctions used than I will. I just know it was bad," Holly said, before taking a sip of her drink. "The other files are on the children. What little information I could gather from the investigations done, if they were. I have a couple of files of people I discovered that were working with Hydra, either knowingly or unknowingly that you may not have, along with some contacts across the world. But since the fall of SHIELD, everything has gone quiet, until the other night."
"Okay, we can work with that. It's somewhere to start, as is Whitehall."
XXXXXX
The sound of heels clicking on the floor echoed loudly through the warehouse. Brock's eyes narrowed as his gaze moved toward the footsteps. Nimueh's sleek form moved in his direction. Two wizards at her back. Not that Brock thought for a second that she needed them, but the witch liked to keep up appearances, and they were her loyal bodyguards.
A smirk crept along her red lips as she looked at him. There was a heat in her gaze that Brock was confident enough and male enough to recognise for interest, and while he could say he found her attractive. He wasn't stupid, and he had no intention of letting her sink her claws into him anymore than she already had.
Laughter filled her eyes, as though she knew exactly what he was thinking, and he mentally scolded himself for his carelessness. He still, even with eight months of working with them, hadn't fully wrapped his mind around what the magic users were fully capable. Truth be told, they were just a means to an end for his revenge. He could feel Jack's tense beside him, picking up on the tension in the air, and not sure whether he needed to have his back, or watch him play the game that Nimueh clearly wanted to play.
"They've arrived," Nimueh said. The amusement dancing in her eyes not matching the bored tone of her voice.
Seconds after her announcement, his men crackled in the radio that four SUVs had pulled up.
He would not ask how she knew. She would probably have given him 'magic' as an answer, and he supposed it was that.
Brock counted the seconds in his head, keeping his face clear of emotions and his hand close to his gun. He did not know who Nimueh had set up the meeting with, but he had prepared for any eventuality. Even for the Avengers to show up. His fight with them, and the failure of the mission, was still too close to the surface, his energy spiked, ready for another attempt. But as much as he was blood-thirsty, nobody would ever accuse him of being a hothead.
The warehouse door slid open, Brock straightened, his body coiled and ready. He was surprised at the sight of a woman dressed in a white suit striding towards them, men in tailored suits followed closely behind. Bodyguards. He eyed them up, assessing their threat level with a scrutiny he had honed over the years of leading STRIKE and working with SHIELD. No, this party was not what he expected at all.
"Ms Smith, I have to say your choice of venue is somewhat to be desired," the woman said.
He hadn't realised that Nimueh's surname was Smith, or was it just a cover, a show she was using for the world to see while hiding underneath.
Nimueh smiled. "We can't all have board rooms and Corporate Companies to hide our dirty deeds, Alexandra Reid, but then again the Hand likes to live in the shadows doesn't it."
Brock could see that Nimueh's words affected Alexandra Reid. He made a note of the name in case he needed it in the future, though she was far better at hiding it than most.
Reid gave a sardonic smile.
"It seems you have me at a disadvantage. You know more about me than I do about you, and well, I know a lot more than most."
"I have a proposition for you," Nimueh said. Ignoring the probe at exactly who she was. "I know what lies underneath this city. I know what you seek. I don't particularly care about the whys but I can tell you I have some readily available to you. All I need is for one of your fellow founders to distribute my product along with hers. You can even have fifty percent of the profit."
An eyebrow raised, he could see a tightness in Reid's expression.
"And why should I believe you?"
The anger was unmistakable, as to was her caution.
"I thought you would say that. Consider this my gift to you. A sample of what I can provide you."
Nimueh signaled to the wizard at her back, who stepped forward, carrying a wooden box that looked big enough to hold a rifle in it. Brock doubted it was a rifle.
The wizard stood in front of Reid and held it so she could open it. Her eyes widened, unable to conceal her surprise or the excitement.
"Is that...?"
"A dragon bone, yes. Part of the wing I believe."
Brock stiffened. Dragons, dragons, were fucking real.
"Where did you get this from?"
Nimueh smirked in amusement. "That is my business, but let me say there is more where that comes from and I can give it to you. Of course, I can easily take my business elsewhere if you have no interest in distributing my product."
"Why exactly have you come to us?"
"I am well aware there are other drug dealing operations I could go to. None, however, have the same level of efficiency that the Steel Serpent has. I know my product would be distributed safely, and protected, and I can assure you it wouldn't interfere with the Steel Serpent side either. In fact, it might even boost sales."
"Fifty percent of the profits."
"Fifty percent of the profits, non of the manufacturing costs, just the distribution."
"I will have to speak to my fellow founders."
"Of course. Take the bone as a gift, take some of the product. Think it over, but I will need the answer in twenty-four hours. Otherwise I go elsewhere, and you will have to dig for bones."
Reid said nothing further. Merely took the package and a small box of the product that Nimueh wanted on the streets. Brock has his men monitor the movements outside, ensuring that no surprises lay in wait for them for when they left.
"If they want the dragon bones so much, what makes you think they won't attempt to get the information out of you, or betray you to get to the bones?" Brock asked. He couldn't believe that he was using the word dragon so casually, and if they existed, what else was out there?
"They can try, but I assure you they wouldn't get within the same area as the dragons if they tried. Nor will they ever be able to follow me. As powerful as the Hand is, there strengths do not lie in the same direction as magic."
"Why fifty percent?"
"I have little interest in the profits, the return with fifty percent will go back towards manufacturing it, and that's it. The deal had to be enticing enough for them." She turned to look at him "Besides, I just want the chaos that follows when Third Eye hits the streets in a far larger capacity that it already has."
"Why exactly are you pushing to sell this drug if you aren't interested in profits? What exactly does Third Eye do? It's not cocaine, or heroin or any other drug I am aware of."
Nimueh laughed softly.
"Oh, my dear Rumlow, you ask a lot of questions don't you. Third Eye does exactly what it says on the label, it opens the third eye in those who use it, and gives them a glimpse of the truths that lie in the world. We will fill the city with the sounds of their screams soon enough and nobody will pay any attention to what we are doing."
"I want the chaos that is going to follow when the streets are filled with those who have taken Third Eye," she added, stepping closer to him. She ran a single finger down his face, and it took everything in him not to flinch. "Now, I believe you have a mole you want to check in with, don't you? Be a love, and find out exactly what the Avengers know about our attack, and the masked magic user, or what they are planning to do next. I hate it when we haven't been provided with the relative information correctly."
Brock felt a sharp pain scrap down across his cheek, her nail breaking skin, and making him bleed. She smiled at him, a sickly sweet smile, before turning on her heels and walking away from him. His eyes followed the sway of her hips as much as he hated it, because even though he knew she was dangerous and someone he definitely wanted to avoid in anything but a professional capacity there was a something magnetic about her that had him not thinking straight.
"You all right?" Rollins asked, stepping him forward.
"You ever get the feeling that we don't know the full picture here?"
"Want me to see what I can find out?"
Brock appreciated he didn't even have to voice it to his second in command. That Rollins just knew.
"Be discreet. I have a call to make, and then I want us the fuck out of here."
XXXXXX
Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.
It was a good philosophy to have, an excellent strategy. It paid to know what one's enemies were doing, how close they were to finding him, what they were planning next. It was why he had disguised himself so well, had shielded himself from those who sought him, and tucked himself away in the last place they would expect him to be.
It gave him the perfect way he could observe his enemies safely.
All in the name of strategy. Not boredom.
Then again, perhaps he was lying to himself, because Loki could admit he was bored. Earth, while full of delights, was boring to one such as him. Especially since he was doing everything in his power to keep a low profile. Shielding from Heimdall and his all-seeing sight. Staying low in order to not attract the attention of his brother and his band of misfits.
His brother, not his brother.
It meant he couldn't have the fun he had so often indulged himself in over the centuries. Couldn't use his talents to sow his misdeeds and watch the humans scramble over themselves to work out why their lives were taking a turn for the worst.
He could admit, at least to himself, that his more colourful misdeeds over the years had been because of boredom He would even go as far as saying it was safe to say that boredom and him did not mix well, and his search for relief was usually at the expense of another. Of outsmarting and outwitting those who believed themselves too smart to fall for his trickery. How often had he entertained himself by proving that he was in fact the more intelligent, the smarter one overall? He could admit that not every endeavour was successful, not every trick a success, but a majority of them were.
It was why he had turned his attention to his current endeavor, and so far it seemed to working splendidly.
Loki had spent his time observing his mark. Spent weeks learning his habits, learning his mannerisms, before he finally made his move. It had surprised him at how easy it was, masquerading as a lowly human, a man desperately attempting to prove his worth to the Avengers, in order to gain the upper hand, to gain the knowledge he needed. He had expected something more, if truth be told. But the mortal had been no match for him, and easily subdued, though he Loki prided himself on not killing him. One never knew when he might become useful again.
Slipping past the daily security tests was a breeze in a park. The lie detector child's play for one such as him. Though he could appreciate the paranoia of the Avengers had by having their employees regularly checked. Loki had waited until the man had at least started working with them before taking his place. Pointless wasting his energy in becoming the human, when the man had done splendid in his job interview and been offered straight away, without his interference.
Lying was second nature, and came to him as easy as breathing. The actual test, the genuine test, had been Thor.
His brother, not his brother.
And yet, Loki was pleased to see. Even then he had remained unnoticed, undetected. But then Thor had always been easy to fool, and now that he had found away to hide himself more securely from Heimdall's sight, none should suspect that he wasn't who he was saying he was.
It had all been about ensuring he picked the right human to masquerade as, and he had chosen splendidly.
It had been going wonderfully as well until she had shown up.
Potter.
That was her name, Potter. The girl with magic running in her veins. He had felt it the moment he had come into contact with her; it hung heavy in the air around, carrying the scent of long forgotten things and ancient times, with death and ice, fire and creation all neatly bundled together until the world around her vibrated and his ears rang. Loki knew she was aware of her magic, knew that she belonged to the Vǫlur, her magic too tightly controlled for her to be anything else, but he wondered if she knew how much power she had at her fingertips.
Power that was as untamable as any firestorm. Did she know she had the power to shake the foundations of the earth and rain fire down on them all? From the way she acted, he doubted it, and that made him curious and cautious.
Who was this Potter, and why was she there?
And how exactly was her presence going to affect him?
He had tested her in the gym, only slightly, not enough to raise suspicion from either her or the Avengers that he was anything more than a soldier, and her magic had reacted as he had expected, razor sharp and pinged to tear him apart the moment she gave the command, the moment she gave the thought. It had moved to her whim without her even noticing to, though rather than using it she had opted to take him out the physical way. Her magic waited to cut him into a thousand pieces, as though he were nothing more than a mere annoyance.
It fascinated him. Just as much as it angered him, that a mere mortal, whether consciously or not, would even dare to think she had the power to destroy him. That he would be beaten so easily. He was a God and had it not been for the Beast that was equally uncontrollable he would had grounded this world under the heel of his boot.
As interesting as it would be to teach the magic wielding mortal exactly who he was and why she should show him respect, caution forced him to watch and see.
So he was content to watch, watch and wait and see, and offer his peace, because the metal armed man who tasted like death looked at him in away that made him give pause. Except this time, the moment their hands connected, she had felt something he had not prepared for. He knew the exact moment her magic tasted his, the way her green eyes crinkled and her brow creased, and for a moment it was almost as though she was peeling back the layers and he couldn't do anything to stop her from invading his mind. Invading like the void invaded.
So he took a step back and waited.
One thing he enjoyed about working in the Tower, whispers spread like wildfire in the Tower, the full breakdown of what had happened with the confrontation between the Avengers and Hydra he didn't know, but the whispers that reached his ears as he stepped out the van offering support was interesting. Not to mention the smell of magic, the lingering scent of ozone that clung to Potter's skin, a smell he knew originated from Thor's hammer, a hammer he could not wield. And then the interwoven pattern Potter had tangled herself in, keeping the pulsing beat of life that was both Barton and the second human, hovering on the brink of death and holding them there until something more could be done. He had seen nothing like that before, not even with his mother working magnificent feats of magic.
It had been both beautiful and terrifying that a mere mortal could wield such power, which brought the question to light.
Was Potter human? And if she wasn't, then what in fact was she?
The Sanctuary she had later led them to, a closer step to her world, and more magic users, and a higher chance of exposure had been a risky move on her part and a greater risk of discovery for him, but still he had remained undetected by those who see him dead or imprisoned.
And so it left him to ponder just what he was going to do about Potter?
The distinctive sound of his phone ringing brought him out of his thoughts and back into the dimly lit living room, the human he was masquerading as claimed as his own. He knew it wasn't the phone the Tower had given him, that lay silent on the table he had discarded it on earlier. No, it was coming from somewhere else, somewhere hidden in the apartment as though they had forgotten it.
Loki pushed himself to his feet, irritation flickering through him. That such a mundane thing would cause such an annoyance, as he listened hard to work out whereabouts the ringing was coming from.
His search took him to the bedroom, to a draw in the wardrobe hidden beneath neatly stored black socks. He picked it up; the screen glaring to life as it rang, a single name clear on the screen.
A slow smile twisted on his lips as he answered the phone and held it to his ears.
A voice he didn't recognise barked in his ear.
"What took you so long?"
"Apologies, for the delay."
"I don't want to hear your excuses. I want a report. You fucked up with your information. The mission didn't succeed."
Loki cradled the phone to his ear, amusement flickering through him.
"I was not aware of all the facts. I hadn't been presented with the information that the Avengers had requested outside help from the Intelligence Division."
A growl echoed in his ears.
"That's not what I am talking about, and you know it. They had a masked Enhanced on the field."
"A surprise to them as much to you," He answered smoothly. It had been a surprise, but Loki was certain he was the only one that suspected on exactly who was behind the mask. The magic that had coated the air tasted far too much like Potter's magic. Though he supposed that could have been down to her healing her mortal comrades. More than anything else.
"And what about the girl who can wield Thor's weapon."
Loki tensed, noting the interest in this Rumlow's voice. He didn't like it. Mjølnir was not to be wielded by mere mortals.
They weren't worthy.
Like you, the dark voice of the void whispered through him. Loki pushed the thought aside, refusing to give the void any room to crawl back into his mind. Never again would he be used like that. Never again would he allow himself to be subjugated by another.
Choosing his words carefully, Loki answered. Giving enough to satisfy curiosity but ensuring he kept some information back. Potter was too interesting to have her fall in the wrong hands, despite the danger she presented.
"A new recruit. I've trained with her. It will take me time to find out more information."
"Do it. I want a report by the end of the week."
"Of course." He agreed, amused by the impatience in the mortal's voice.
"Hail Hydra."
"Hail Hydra," he mumbled in agreement.
The line went dead, and Loki smiled to himself. Now wasn't that interesting. Hydra, the enemy of his brother and his merry band of men were searching for so tirelessly and they had a mole amongst them.
Fascinating.
The possibilities were endless with this opportunity, one he fully intended to exploit.
But first, he had business to discuss.
Loki walked towards the door of the second bedroom in the apartment, opened the door, and stepped inside.
Wide eyes greeted him, but the hate that shone in them was unmistakable. A snarl curled around the gag that covered his mouth, and a body strained against the restraints that tied them to the bed.
Loki smirked. "Well, somebody has been a bad boy, haven't they. You are going to tell me everything you know about your deal with Hydra, Williams, and I might just think about letting you go."
Using a trickle of his power to show the mortal he wasn't to be trifled with, he twisted his magic to slam the door behind him.
Fear filled Williams' eyes, and Loki couldn't stop his smirk from widening.
"Now, shall we begin?"
XXXXX
Notes:
Thank you for sticking with me and continuing to read this story after so long. I can not tell you how much it means to me. Despite my lack of writing, this story hasn't left me in the last twelve months, and frustration has been firmly fixed at my own lack of writing.
But I am here and back to writing this story.
I am currently working on Chapter 14 now and hope that I will be able to post it by the end of June or first week of July. It is a beast of a chapter, even longer than this one, and it is going to take time editing it once I finally finish it.
Now the comments I have received have asked a lot, or speculated, or hope that the magic reveal is coming soon. I can confirm that it will be in Chapter 15.
So it will look like:- Ch 13 (which has just been posted) Ch 14 (which I am working on) and Ch15 (where magic is revealed).
As it stands at this moment, I have 18,560 words written for Chapter 14. I'm not quite half-way when it comes to the scenes that will be involved in Chapter 14. I am estimating that the word count will be between 28,000 - 35,000 possibly longer, as a fair warning.
So Ch14, and Ch15 - will finally be the magic reveal.
Thank you once again for sticking with me and this story and I hope you continue to enjoy.
