"Good morning," FRIDAYs disembodied voice fills your bedroom and you let out a soft groan, "Sorry to wake you. Captain Rogers needs everyone to report to the conference room as soon as possible." At her words the lights in your room come on and you throw your arm over your face to block out the light.
"What time is it?" Bucky grumbles from beside you, and you hazard a look at your clock.
"Six." You frown, "Something must have happened."
"Something's always happening," Bucky's arm slips around your waist, pulling you against him so he can nuzzle his face into your neck. "Let's stay in bed."
"And have Tony turn on the sprinkler system?" You giggle, "You can try that one in your room buddy."
"Oh come on," You feel him smile against your skin, "You don't mind getting a little...wet." His fingers trail down your stomach at his words, sending shivers down your spine.
"Captain Rogers is insisting that you two come down to the conference room immediately." FRIDAY tries again, and Bucky's fingers halt in their path.
"Meddling punk," Bucky mumbles and sits up, "Alright, tell him to stop nagging we're coming." You slip out of bed and toss Bucky a pair of sweatpants while you pull on a t-shirt. Once you're dressed the two of you head downstairs.
The news is playing when you walk into the conference room where everyone is sitting, and you silently take your seat.
"A group of unregistered mutant terrorists calling themselves COBRA launched an attack on several key members of the United States government today, no word on how many casualties as of yet. The FBI has asked anyone with any information on these attacks to please call this number-" Steve turns the channel, "-seems that a number of anti-mutant rallies have started up in major cities including NYC, Seattle, and Los Angeles-" He hits the button again, "Two humans were killed in their home during an anti-mutant rally this evening, increasing tensions between mutants and humans-" He hits the power switch and the screen goes black.
"We've been monitoring this situation for awhile now, but things are escalating quickly. I think it's time we step in before things reach a point we can't return from."
"The government does not want the Avenger's involved in this." Rhodie says sternly.
"We don't have a choice at this point, if we don't a lot of innocent people are going to get hurt," Steve snaps, "We can't just sit by and let it happen."
"We've been over this Rogers. We do not know enough about this organization to launch an attack," Rhodie says without missing a beat, "We don't know how large it is. How many bases they have. We could also make things a whole lot worse."
"Perhaps there's a compromise," Vision offers, "Some way we could ensure that our actions would not be problematic." Someone responds, but your mind is drifting back to Boston and the tattoo on Justine's wrist. The angry cobra, fangs dripping venom. Her anger at the anti-mutant legislation.
"Me," You say suddenly, "I can do it."
Bucky's head swings around and his eyes meet yours, while Steve's head cocks in confusion. "Do what?"
"We need intel on this organization of hostile mutants, I'm an unregistered mutant. I can get in, find out what we need to know, and then we can shut it down."
"No." Bucky frowns, "No way are you going in there by yourself."
"It's not like any of you can come with me, they all know your faces, know who you are. No one has seen me since the robbery and no one knows I've been here. I can tell them I've been on the run."
"I don't like it." Steve shakes his head, "There's got to be a better way."
"There's no way the government could find out that (Y/n) was acting as an Avenger," Rhodie adds approvingly.
"If (Y/n) could gain access to information about bases and numbers it would allow us to make the most informed move possible as to not agitate the situation," Vision offers while Bucky shakes his head angrily.
"She would be on her own, with no back up. If something happens and she was found out…" He trails off with a grimace.
"Not to mention if she gets picked up the government isn't going to believe she's a spy. It'll be shoot first and ask questions later," Natasha frowns, "She'll have to watch her back on both ends."
"She can handle it," Tony says quietly, "It's her choice." Bucky's head swings in his direction now, eyes blazing.
"I can do this," You say, "I have to do this." The second half of your statement is directed towards Bucky, who's mouth hardens into a thin line.
"Alright. (Y/n) will infiltrate COBRA. We need to get your story straight." Steve sighs.
"And change her look up a bit," Natasha says, "No one is going to believe you've been roughing it the way you look right now."
"How are you planning on finding these people?" Sam asks doubtfully, "They could be anywhere."
"There are a lot of mutants out there," You reply, "One of them is bound to know something about this."
You slip on the worn leather jacket you hadn't put on since the night you ran from Chicago and look at your reflection in the mirror. Previously you had been counting on your healthier looks and more expensive wardrobe to hide your identity, but now your hair had been cropped into a rough pixie cut and the clothes on your back were barebones. Sitting on the floor in the living room was a battered duffle bag filled with a few necessities. You had enough cash on you to get about a month's worth of time at an extended stay hotel on the outskirts of the city. Tony had decided that if after that you hadn't found anything you would regroup and try somewhere else.
You run your fingers through your hair and turn around. Bucky's sitting on your bed, his back to you and you sit next to him, setting your head on his shoulder.
"If anything happens…"
"I'm coming back Bucky," You tell him softly, "I'm going to come home."
"Okay," He presses his lips against your hair, "I trust you."
"Good," You turn, capturing his lips with yours, "I'll miss you."
"I'll see you soon."
You've been scoping out the place for over an hour waiting for someone to exit or enter the building but you'd had no such luck. You were starting to thing this lead was even phonier than your last. You had been out here for a little over three weeks with nothing to show for it besides a black eye and a split lip after an attempted mugging. The other guys were probably eating through straws right now, so there was that.
You kneel down, keeping your eyes on the doorway, but let your mind wander back home. You wondered what they were all doing right now. Tony was probably in his lab, Bruce too unless Natasha had dragged him out-maybe they were all in the living room watching one of Sam's classic movie picks. Most of all you wondered what Bucky was doing. When you would see him again. God-what you wouldn't give to be curled up on the sofa next to him, a bowl of popcorn on your lap.
The door swings open and you soundlessly rise to your feet. A man dressed in black leans against the wall, pulling out a pack of cigarettes. You slip around the wall, approaching him confidently. Wordlessly, you lean on the wall next to him. You raise your hand towards his half raised cigarette and snap your fingers, igniting a little flame atop them.
"Need a light?" You ask, putting on your most sultry tone. He puts the cigarette to his lips and you bring the flame to it. The firelight illuminates a dark tattoo on his wrist; a cobra. Bingo.
"Thanks gorgeous. Something I can help you with?"
"I think maybe you can. I'm looking for a certain organization who I believe may have a similar agenda to my own."
"And that is?"
"A mutant overthrow of the current governing body," You say conversationally, "It's time for change."
"Hmm, now that does sound interesting. I think maybe there is someone you should meet. Why don't you come with me and I can make the introduction?"
"Perfect, lead the way."
Your heart is pounding as the door slams behind you, leaving you in a dimly lit hallway. You follow behind him, memorizing the path the two of you take. Finally you enter a large warehouse area, and your eyes widen as you take in the scene. At least two hundred mutants are crowded into the area, some on sleeping bags, others crowded around flaming barrels for warmth. You immediately understood their unfortunate living conditions as all of them had some kind of physical mutation. These were the ones who couldn't hide in plain sight.
"Come on, the boss will be back here." He pushes aside a tarp and you walk through. Sitting around a table are several people, talking amongst themselves although they immediately quiet as they turn around and see you. You barely notice as your mind can only focus on one thing; the woman sitting at the head of the table; Justine.
"(Y/n)?" Her eyes widen, "I thought-I saw you on the news-I thought for sure you had been caught."
"I saw you get shot. You were dead." Your words are barely a whisper, "I saw you die."
Her hand pulls her shirt over to show you the scar on her chest, just above her heart,"I survived." She stands up, engulfing you in her arms, "I knew someday you would find me again," She whispers in your ear, "I knew one day you would see things my way."
"What do you know about the Mutant Registration Act?" Justine asks once the two of you are alone in your office. You try and remember what's public knowledge versus the behind the scenes information you had gained from the Avengers.
"Just what everyone else does, I guess," You say carefully, "The government is requiring mutants to register, and are implanting a microchip so they can be tracked."
"That's true, but what the general public doesn't know is the dirty little secret hidden in the microchip." Justine pulls out a manilla folder and holds it out to you. Mouth dry you take it and open it, in front of you are several paper schematics of the microchip. How she got a hold of them you had no idea, but laid out in front of you on paper instead of the 3D model in Bruce's lab are the same designs.
You shuffle through the pages, glad they gave you time to decide how to play this. You pretend to look back and forth between the two models. Even without the 3D schematic the kill switch is obvious to you, but you're not sure if that's just because you know it's there. Justine is looking at you expectantly so you set down the folder and point to the secondary layer behind the tracker. "This shouldn't be here," You say, narrowing your eyes, "What is it?"
"It's a kill switch," Justine says gently, "With a press of one button those government bastards could kill every single one of us-that's registered of course." You twist your face into a mask of shock, and she nods grimly.
"You're lucky you never registered-guess some of my ranting from back in the day must have stuck."
"I only wish I would've listed to you sooner," You shake your head, "Maybe together we could of done something about all this." Justine sets her hand on top of yours, and your eyes dart from the cobra on her wrist to her face.
"Together, we will."