**Hang on to your shorts folks, I'm taking these characters for one more spin!**
**Just so you know, I'm working on my own novel at the same time, so I make no promises with the timing of updates**
**Enjoy!**
DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the characters or organizations that may appear or be mentioned in this story, including but not limited to: Winter Soldier/Bucky Barnes, Captain America/Steve Rogers, Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff, Vision, Scarlet Witch/Wanda Maximoff, Nick Fury, Falcon/Sam Wilson, Hawkeye/Clint Barton, Iron Man/Tony Stark, Pepper Potts, Happy, Hulk/Bruce Banner, Thor, Loki, HYDRA or S.H.I.E.L.D.
All other characters however are mine.
Warning: Rating is M for safety.
Chapter Two: Just Another Day
"Kade, target is on the move, black Nissan" Natasha warned.
"In pursuit, standby!"
Her pace increased as she raced along the rooftop, her black tactical attire making it more than easy to blend into the shadows of the night. She pushed herself from the ledge as she approached it, landing gracefully on the next roof and taking off again, trying to keep the black car in sight as it raced down the street below, clipping several vendor carts along the way as bystanders scrambled to get out of the way. She swore under her breath as it took a sudden left turn into a darkened alleyway, forcing her to push her pace even further to get enough momentum.
A familiar surge of energy coursed through her veins and she turned sharp at the corner of the ledge, vaulting herself from the roof. Even in their panicked state, none of the civilians in the street below noticed the woman soaring above them. She braced herself as she neared her destination, coming down hard and forcing herself into a tumble to keep from breaking her legs.
"Shit!" she spat, sounding partially winded.
"What, you don't have them yet?" Natasha mocked over the communication unit.
"You're welcome to come try it yourself, running down a car on foot isn't as easy as it looks" Kade grumbled.
"Well I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you're running out of time. Bogey just went into the hot zone…hostile markers…it's Korean"
"How much time?"
"Two minutes if you're lucky, looks like it's after the car. They take him out we'll never find Huang before he sells off the intel"
"I'm open to suggestions"
"Perhaps I can be of assistance"
Vision's voice on the comm took them both by surprise, causing only a moment of dead air before Kade processed a plan.
"You can actually, get me a visual on the car's location, and get it fast, I'm working against the clock here"
There was another moment of silence before she felt his presence seep into her mind, a trick that was easier than expected for her to adapt to. Vision said it was the link between the stones they possessed that made it easy for them to do, but to her, it was the most convenient ability she had in times like this.
She felt her power surge through her veins like an electric current, teasing at her nerves, her muscles tingling with anticipation; like her own form of an adrenaline high. The rooftop around her faded out of view, and her new surroundings appeared like a haze around her, giving her the sight he saw; a lone intersection…and the car peeling around the corner toward her.
"Thank you" she breathed, as a bright blue light enveloped around her.
For her, it was brief, as if she blinked and suddenly the hazing image that Vision saw was now her new surroundings. Kade glanced around, quickly taking a mental sigh of relief to find this particular street void of any bystanders; even the shops looked abandoned. Tires squealing behind her brought her attention to the side street that the black car came bursting out of, the driver nearly losing control of the vehicle before he straightened out and began speeding toward her.
Kade lulled her head from side to side and rolled her shoulders as she turned to face the oncoming car, bearing a mocking grin, her eyes glowing a bright blue. Her senses were suddenly on overload, and it was as if she could pick up on the fear that surfaced in the driver when she just stood there, unmoving.
She heard the slightest shift of power in the engine, signaling that he had let off the gas; but when he was just a few feet away, it didn't matter. The front end of the car came to stop before the rest of it did, and the force of the speed crushed the back end forward, compacting the engine in a matter of seconds before the rear end had nowhere to go but up and over; dragging the rest of the vehicle with it.
It took no effort at all to take hold of the car, spiraling it end over end over top of her until she felt it cleared enough space, turning her body with the direction of the car and letting it slam back down on the pavement, wheels first. The side windows shattered the moment rubber met road, spraying glass in either direction, cracks spider-webbing across the windshield and rear window. She heard the distinctive metallic snap when the shocks gave way against the force of the landing, the metal chassis groaning against the sudden shift in form.
Kadence cocked her head back slightly, picking up on the distinct sound of an approaching aircraft. Swearing under her breath she thrust her arm across, tearing the driver's door right off the side and sending it flying into the front of one of the buildings. She disappeared into a swirl of blue smoke, reappearing beside the car, looking down on the driver; who seemed in hysterics trying to free himself from the jammed seatbelt.
She grabbed hold of his shoulder, enveloping both of them in a bright blue light, leaving nothing behind but a trail of blue smoke. They reappeared atop a nearby roof and she released him, letting him fall to his rear, still in hysterics as he tried to shuffle backward, as if trying to flee from a dangerous monster. Her attention was drawn to the distinct whistle of a rapidly approaching missile, and she had just enough time to raise her hand behind her, bringing up an unseen barrier as the explosion rang out, blowing in shop windows, enveloping the Nissan in an inferno, sending pieces of debris in all directions; some of it bouncing off of her barrier.
As the sound of the aircraft faded into the night, Kade lowered her barrier, her eyes fading back to normal as closed in on her prey. He looked to be in his late twenties, dark hair and light skin tone, bearing common oriental features. The initial fear he carried seemed to leave him as she approached, grinning confidently but still trying to scoot away, spitting out words in his native tongue; words she could understand clearly…and speak just as fluently.
"Do what you want American, I'll never tell you where he is!" he threatened.
"Yes you will" she growled.
"Torture won't work, I'll bite off my own tongue before you'll get anything out of me!"
She let out an amused laugh, reaching down for him too quick for him to fight off, grabbing him by the shirt collar and lifting him to his feet with ease. He struggled for a moment as she brought her other hand up, gripping the side of his face; her thumb pressed into the center of his forehead.
"You misunderstand…I don't need you to speak to get what I need" she smirked.
Her eyes glowed a bright blue, and a look of pure horror filled the dark orbs in his before they too went blue. It took seconds before the images in his head went flooding into her own, rushing past like lines on the highway. Places, faces, entire conversations, sifting through them as if she were rummaging through the database of his brain; at least that's what it felt like to her.
It didn't take long for her to finally find what she was looking for, what he was so desperate to keep secret; what the enemy was ready to kill him for. The blue in her eyes faded, and she pulled her hand away, slowly easing him back to the ground. He was bordering on unconsciousness, his head lulled back, eyes rolling up into his eyelids, groaning pitifully while his arms shifted listlessly like dying snakes, trying for purchase of anything. Kade pitied him briefly, well aware that normal humans had some difficulty enduring her ability to invade every part of their mind.
"Vision, I've got Huang's location, standby for correspondence" she stated.
Her eyes were covered over in bright blue light, and she stood un-moving, seeming to stare off into the distance for several moments before Vision's voice came over the comm.
"Affirmative, converging now" he remarked flatly; his response allowing her eyes to shift back to normal.
"What's the status of the target?" Natasha asked.
"Alive"
"Good. Closing in on your signal now, I know the Chinese Government will rest a little easier knowing he's in custody"
Kade looked down at him, watching him attempt to roll over to his side, still groggy and unable to form even the most basic of words.
"Not like he's gonna put up much of a fight, I think he's still waiting for the world to stop spinning" Kade laughed.
"Huang is in custody" Vision stated over the communication unit, coming out through the speakers of the quin jet.
"And the intel?" Kade asked, not taking her eyes off the navigation monitor, Natasha coming up behind her.
"Safe and secure. The Chinese Government extends their gratitude" Vision answered.
"Yea, I'm sure the prime minister is beyond grateful that his military intel wasn't sold to the Korean's by his own advisor" Natasha remarked, resting her hand on the back of the pilot's seat.
"Just another day on the job" Kade chuckled.
"Very well, I shall return to headquarters, unless you have further need of my assistance?" Vision asked.
"I think we can manage from here, thanks again for the assist" Kade replied.
"We're headed home ourselves, ETA about six hours…keep the lights on for us" Natasha stated.
"Affirmative"
With that, the comm when silent, and Kade went to work programming their destination into the quin jet's computer; activating stealth mode while she was at it.
"So has Jamie picked a sport yet?" Natasha asked casually.
"He's contemplated several, went out for none" Kade answered.
"None?"
"Yea, his excuse being that tryouts and practice would interfere too much with his band rehearsal"
"Heard you had him tested again"
"He's still negative for the gene…his bloodwork however tells a different story"
"What kind of story?"
"His isotopes and cell counts are almost an identical makeup to both Steve and Bucky"
Natasha was silent for a moment, processing what Kade was implying.
"A natural born super soldier" Romanoff sighed.
"Everything HYDRA and the US government tried to accomplish only without the needles and genetic experimentation" Kade mocked.
"So that's why he won't go for sports" Natasha chuckled.
"He thinks it's cheating to have that kind of an advantage…god he won't even go out for track"
"Have you seen Steve run?"
Kadence went silent this time, raising an eye brow as she contemplated.
"I've seen Bucky run…so yea I can see how that would be considered cheating…eh, I'm not gonna push it, no need in drawing that kind of attention to himself just yet, besides he's happy playing guitar, and that's what I want for him. Who knows, maybe one day he'll be a big rock star, and I won't have to worry about it" Kade laughed.
"So you'll just stop being an Avenger then?" Natasha asked, pursing her lips in an amused smirk.
"It's crossed my mind" Kade replied casually.
Silence filled the cockpit, and it was like Kade could feel the disappointment flowing from Romanoff's shoulders.
"Oh come on Nat, you've had to at least considered what you're going to do with your life when we can't do this anymore"
"I've thought about it…but I don't really have a lot of options…given the circumstance"
Kade bit down on her lip, feeling a pang of guilt bounce around in her ribs.
"You do know, that with all the medical breakthrough's they've done in the past several years, I'd bet money that there is a surgery out there that can fix that"
"Possibly, but who says I want one?" Nat questioned.
Kade let out a humored snort through her nose.
"I've seen how you are around Clint's kids, and around mine…it's not hard to read between the lines"
"Well maybe I'm just living vicariously through them…speaking of which, how's the little rugrat?"
"Growing like a damn weed, and she's in a ballet phase, even going to classes now. She wears that tutu everywhere, I swear to god she hasn't taken it off since we bought it"
"Ballet is a good practice, it builds coordination and balance" Natasha advised.
"Well if she's any daughter of mine, she'll need all the help she can get, lord knows I grew up clumsy" Kade stated, flipping an overhead switch to fully engage the auto pilot.
Natasha laughed softly as a soft beeping came from the communication module, the transmission details pulling up on one of the panel screens.
"Please don't tell me that's another missive detail" Natasha groaned.
"Nope, it's an inbound call...from home" Kade sighed.
"Go answer it, I can take the seat"
"…It's on autopilot Nat"
"Get out and go talk to your kids" Natasha snipped, mocking a hostile tone.
Kadence laughed and unbuckled the harness, slipping out from the pilot seat and heading toward the rear of the cockpit, taking a secondary seat and pulling one of the communication modules down, tapping the screen to transfer the call. The screen went black for a brief moment before the picture came up. She recognized the teenager instantly, and there was no way for her to contain the smile that crept up into the corner of her mouth. Even with the lower half of his head shaved, the top still long enough to reach his ears when parted; he still had his father's bearings. From the looks of it, he had the tablet; the view behind him showing that he was parked on the living room couch.
"Hey mom, can you hear me?" he asked, his voice edged with the oncoming of puberty.
"Loud and clear trooper" she replied.
"Really?...trooper?"
"What?"
"Mom, I grew out of that nickname when I was ten"
"Well I could always use the one before that"
"…Trooper is just fine"
"I thought so, why aren't you in bed?"
"Uh, it's only six here"
"…Of course it is…gotta love time zones, what's the stitch?"
"Okay, so…you remember Benji right?"
"The drummer, yea"
"Well, his family is going down to Virginia this weekend to Kings Dominion, and he wants to know if I can come"
"Have you talked to your father about it?"
"Yes" Jamie answered quickly.
Kade raised an eye brow at him questionably, seeing as he quickly averted eye contact the moment he answered.
"…No" he corrected shamefully.
"Well then you know what happens next" she quipped, tossing her eye brows.
"Oh come on mom, just this once"
"You know the rules, no decision is made-"
"Without both parties present, I get it, DAD! MOM WANTS TO TALK TO YOU!" Jamie shouted, leaning his head back on the couch.
Kade flinched against the sudden abuse on the volume, pretending to check her ear for stability.
"Could you yell a little louder, I don't think they heard you on mars" she mocked.
"Real funny mom" Jamie grumbled.
She shrugged him off, laughing softly as she heard approaching footsteps, and then his voice coming in from nearby.
"I don't mind that you wanna talk to your mom, but I still see trash that should have been taken out an hour ago" Bucky stated.
"Really Jamie?" Kade warned.
Jamie sighed heavily, and the image got shaken as he apparently handed the tablet to Bucky.
"Thanks dad…nice hair by the way" he grumbled, heading off into the kitchen.
It took a moment before the image was straightened out, and the camera was pointed at her husband, who had taken Jamie's previous seat. A warm smile caressed her features, and it was returned equally; but she kept quiet when she noticed his usual tied back hairstyle was decorated with various frilly hair pins.
"Hey babe, how's China?" he asked.
"Exhausting, though the food here isn't half bad…when you have time to eat it anyway" Kade laughed.
"I hear ya. Everything alright?"
"Everything's fine, it was just brought to my attention that Jamie wanted to go to Virginia this weekend with a friend and his family, what's your vote?"
"That's a negatory"
"Uh-oh, what'd he do?"
"Well for starters, he brought home an F on a history test last week"
"I thought he said he studied for that" Kade grumbled.
"I thought he did too…and secondly, his teacher called today, saying he and two other boys, one of them being Stark's, skipped class yesterday to sneak off to a robotics convention" Bucky finished, sounding less than amused.
"No it is, you want to tell him or should I?" she asked.
"I think I can handle a fourteen year old"
"If you say so…" Kade laughed, finding it harder to conceal the humor in his hairstyle.
"…how's Constance?"
Bucky let out a heavy sigh, raising his eyebrows as if to establish some form of dignity.
"The princess is patiently awaiting the return of her noble king…for tea" he grumbled.
"Got suckered into a tea party again huh? Well at least you dressed the part" she laughed, going into a fit of giggles.
He cocked his lips to the side, mocking that he wasn't amused with her antics.
"Oh you're a riot Kade, when are you coming home?"
"We're flying over the Pacific now…" she replied, settling out her laughter.
"…should be about six out, seven at the most"
"I'll leave the light on for you" he stated, unable to hide the loving smile that crept across his face.
"I love you" she remarked.
"I love you too"
With that, she disconnected the call, leaning back in the seat and nibbling her lip softly; not bothering to hide a smile of her own.
It was nearly midnight before she pulled the Edge into the driveway, parking it alongside his Camaro. She was surprised when he offered to sell it and get a more family friendly vehicle, but she refused to let him; she enjoyed riding in it as much as he did. She climbed out, groaning softly as she stretched her tired legs, more than ready to get a hot shower and some sleep.
She walked up to the front door, smiling to see the porch light shining bright, just like he promised. Quiet as could be, she unlocked the deadbolt and pushed the door open, peeking around the darkened house as she closed the door behind her; taking a brief moment to key in the activation code on the alarm before moving toward the stairs.
The stairs creaked softly under her feet as she made her way to the top, gently setting her duffle bag on the floor and tip toeing to the room on the far right, slowly pushing the door open to look down upon a small bed jutting out from the opposite wall. With the help of a pink filtered night light she could see the mass of blonde hair sprayed about her pillow, sleeping soundly, still clutching the same stuffed monkey she was given on her first birthday; though now it was missing an eye bead and had a makeshift tutu strapped around its midsection. An assortment of toys lay strewn about her floor, and the tea table next to her bed was still decorated with the evidence of her father's loss of dignity.
Kade stifled a soft laugh and quietly backed into the hallway, shutting the door and turning for the door on the left, using an equal amount of stealth on that one as well. The computer screen on his desk did enough to illuminate his room, giving view to a mass off different posters pinned to his walls; most of them being band posters and tour promotions. She spotted him on the bed next to the wall, sprawled out across the entirety of it, belly down, breathing deep and hair in all directions; his blanket draped loosely over top of him. His clothes basket was overflowing, and articles of such made up for most of his floor, save for the corner with his desk; a guitar propped up against the closet door.
She lived for this. This was the reason she became an Avenger, so that there was a chance she could protect their future. It was rough, being away from home, sometimes weeks at a time, but they always alternated; one of them always stayed behind. Thoughts surfaced in her mind again, regarding the conversation she had with Nat on the ride home. Would she really have to wait before retiring her Avenger status? Considering her skill set, she'd be able to land a job as a software engineer before sundown. Have a 9-5 job, be home every night and every weekend, maybe even join the PTA, and gossip with the other moms, wouldn't they just die if they knew she had seen Captain America with his shirt off…or maybe that she was married to the Winter Soldier.
Kade closed the door just as quietly as last time, shrugging off the thoughts of pretending to be that normal, and headed down the opposite hall; grabbing her bag along the way. She crept into the master bedroom, instantly spotting him asleep in bed, belly down and breathing deep; no doubt where Jamie got his method of sleep from. She rested her bag near the door as she closed it behind her, treading softly around the bed and toward the bathroom; closing that door behind her as well.
She arched her head forward, letting the shower pulsate against the skin between her shoulder-blades, rolling her shoulders to loosen the aching muscles, water cascading down the length of her toned body. Even now time held hardly any claim on her, proving that she and the soldiers were gifted with slowed aging; which she discovered came in handy whilst trying to raise two kids and carry on as an Avenger. Her antics, however, were not without consequence, and she found solace and relief with a hot shower on more than one occasion, especially on the more complicated and covert missions; the kind that usually garnered less than optimal sleeping arrangements…if sleep was to be had at all.
Home was where it was best. The bed was always comfortable, the water was always hot, but more importantly, it was where her family was…it was where he was. Kade had become so distracted by her thoughts, she didn't even hear the bathroom door open, nor notice when the shower door came open either. It wasn't until she felt the cool press of metal fingertips graze up her back and around her shoulder that she was aware of his presence.
Kadence hitched her breath, feeling her skin tingle where his fingers had been, her muscles come to life in reaction to his touch; damn it all she loved coming home to this. She relaxed her shoulders, straightening her body, and feeling that rush of excitement when she found herself pressed against his bare chest; suddenly aware of his own excitement that was steadily rising up behind her.
"Hey you" he whispered softly, bringing his chin to rest on her right shoulder.
"Hey" she answered, turning her head just enough press her lips against his; feeling the stubble of his day old beard.
Her blood went hot in seconds, and that heat was tracing its way across every inch of her body, searing underneath her skin, making the water feel like it was going cold; whether it was or it wasn't was no longer an issue. She turned toward him, barely breaking contact to wrap her arms around his neck, her heart hammering against her ribs when his hands trailed lazily down her back until they reached down just below her buttocks, taking a handful and hoisting her up with ease.
She let out a surprised squeak, giggling softly and wrapping her legs around his waist, her breath stolen in her throat when her back was suddenly pressed against the cold surface of the shower wall, his lips finding hers in a dominating seal, then just as quickly, he was inside her. Her giggling was instantly replaced with hushed moans, biting her lip as he took her, gentle yet possessive. Nails made trails across his back, teeth found purchase on her pulse. It took a great deal of effort for them both to keep quiet as they made up for lost time, and neither had difficulty sleeping by the time they made it to the bed.