Chapter 20: Smile for the Camera

….

August 25

The Capitol

….

The kids and victors on Hill's side of things kept a close eye on the public events over the next couple of days, trying to see if they could spot either of the missing victors again. The kids in Seven had filled them in on Johnny's appearance as well, so in between their own public appearances, they were putting their best sneak into practice looking through Norman's crowds for any sign of either of their missing friends.

But for all the sneaking and surveillance, the next time they saw Johnny and Jess, the two of them were together — and completely in the public eye — at a big rally. The two of them were never more than two feet from each other, with Johnny's arm over her shoulder — and Jess seemed to be doing most of the talking, engaging members of the press and public alike with how she'd spent years working with Norman Osborn as a victor and talking up his virtues.

And in Seven, the others were monitoring the events as well, ready to comb through for glimpses of their friends and not at all expecting them to be in the spotlight so… blatantly.

"That makes no sense," Bobbi said, frowning at the news footage. "She would never … and it looks like she's just … guiding him everywhere."

"They even match," Jubilee said, gesturing to the screen. "Look — the dress and the tie …"

"Now, that's familiar," Hunter muttered almost under his breath, though not quiet enough that no one could catch it.

"Yeah," Quill said quietly, half his breath in his throat. "So when do we get them out?"

"I think that might depend on who can go and counter their message," Bobbi admitted. "And I'd assume the end of the election."

"So we're just going to leave them like… that… for three weeks," Quill said.

"We couldn't even find them before," Skye pointed out from behind her computer. "Do you really think that now that Osborn has shown his cards it's going to be any easier to find them or get them out? They're under heavy surveillance, and even if we did find them, any attempt to get them out would be broadcast against Hill."

There was a beat of silence as the whole group just turned her way for a moment. "Thank you, Director," Logan muttered.

Skye flushed a bit and shook her head at him. "The point is: we don't know why he's decided to show off who he's got."

"He's pandering for votes," Bobbi said, throwing both hands up. "Why else would he do it? He's getting slaughtered in the polls."

"And he'd get a really big boost if, oh, some kids from Career districts came after him. Or if SHIELD called in a raid. Or if a former Hydra big wig came in," Skye pointed out Bobbi's way. "It's just as much bait for us as it is for votes. He's hoping to make us do something stupid; that's the only way he wins."

"So what do you suggest?" Quill said. "Because there's no way that an ex-royal by marriage is going to do anything but let him scream 'told you so' at the top of his lungs."

Skye shook her head. "Yeah, you shouldn't go. Or Bobbi. Maybe some of the Tahitis…" She trailed off, glanced at Logan, and sighed. "He's still behind. As long as we don't do anything stupid, Hill should still win, and then we can nail him."

"That's assuming things stay the same," May pointed out. She poked her bottom lip out thoughtfully for just a second and then pointed at Logan. "Coordinate with the Line. You'll be in the Capitol tomorrow."

"The hell're you talkin' about? I'm awful in front of cameras," Logan said. "There are witnesses that will corroborate."

"You are amazing in front of the cameras when you have a target," May clarified. "Just go play nice — and destroy Norman Osborn at every turn."

"If you can get him to make the same face Selene made, there's fifty bucks in it for you and a case of beer," Quill said with a grin.

Logan gave him a dry look. "I don't need your money."

"Then two cases of beer," Quill said. "And a promise to have your wife record the exact moment Norman's head explodes."

"Won't do any good," Logan argued. "I've been dragged through the mud since the start of this stupid war."

But Bobbi shook her head at that. "No, every time they tried to do that, it backfired," she pointed out. "Me? They've got my crimes posted over my head, and I have to live with it. You? Everyone hated Viper. You — you've got a POW story, really. Everyone loves a hero." She looked almost apologetic about it. "The stuff that was nationally broadcast... you saving the awesomes; at the fall of Thanos... it's not all mud."

He gave her a dry look for a long time. "So … if I don't chuck more popcorn at you, does that mean I have Stockholm Syndrome?"

She looked surprised for a moment before she snorted. "Yeah, that exactly," she said before she waved her hand. "Don't talk about the war. Just tear Norman apart. You have plenty of material to do it."

"Doesn't even have to be an endorsement of Hill," Skye pointed out. "You're not there to say Hill is the best president. You're just there to humiliate Norman."

"If you don't want to, I will," Bobbi told him.

"Keep your Stockholm to yourself," Logan said. "I'm not gonna let you get attacked."

"The security has beefed up since Sam was attacked," she argued. "And I'm not exactly a shrinking violet."

"You'd catch hell if you fought back," Logan pointed out as Jubilee got up and started to leave — looking like she was on a mission.

"We could send America — for the pure entertainment value," Quill said.

"That'll be great," Logan said. "She hasn't gotten to call me a whore on camera yet."

"I'm saying if you aren't going, at least we could send a victor with a working middle finger."

"If I go, you gotta pull the security back," Logan said.

"Why?"

"Couple reasons. Send a message for one. And two: so I can take 'em down and pull out their security passes with Osborn's logo on it. No civilian is stupid enough to come at me knowing I've got claws."

May tipped her head to the side. "Fair enough," she said. "I'll make sure Coulson knows the deal."

"May," Logan called out before she could quite slip out of the door. "How long ago did Coulson put you on this?"

"Which part, Logan?" she asked as she turned back around to face him. "Be specific."

"This part, specifically — the camera bait angle."

"He asked me to do what I could to convince any of you — not just you — to help," May told him frankly, moving a few steps closer.

"So who else have you worked on?" Logan asked with a little smirk.

"Steve and Peggy," May said. "And I had spoken with both Kurt and Tony before things got… to the point they are," she added with a sigh.

"Only one on my list you missed was Bruce," Logan said.

"I'm not sending any more scientists into Norman Osborn's clutches," May pointed out with one eyebrow raised.

"Before Tony got snatched?"

"Before that… yes, I considered it. But he and Jarella seem entirely content not to be disturbed. They purposely removed themselves from this circus act." She paused to consider him. "You don't have to do anything. We can just wait here for three weeks and see how this pans out."

"You don't have to guilt trip," he growled out.

"Oh, yes. You definitely have a history of just doing what I ask you to do — ask, not order — without my having to drag you kicking and screaming into it because it's not what you picked."

"Please, please drag me. I wanna see it."

"See? You can't just say 'yes.'"

"I thought it was implied when you informed me I'd be in the Capitol tomorrow and Jubilee took off to start working."

May rolled her eyes at him. "I want you to say yes. Moron."

"Why would I when you're trying to make me?" Logan countered. "But it's fine. I'll just go be a pain. Been a while since my mission was to make someone look bad and smile while I did it."

"Logan," May said with her eyes flashing. "The only reason you and I are having this conversation is because I want to hear it from you — not anyone else — that you're willing to go. I make it a policy not to let other people make your decisions. Now, you can be a pain because I'm trying to make sure you're a free agent, or you can just go through the rest of your life assuming I'm forcing you into things. Your choice."

He gave her a look and just had to smirk. "Honey, you couldn't make me do anything."

"I'm. Not. Trying. To." May glared at him before she simply shook her head, stood up, and headed for the door. "For the record? It's not funny. What you're doing. It's just frustrating to people trying to help."

"I thought the whole point was to go be contrary?" Logan called to her. "You know you're my favorite old agent."

"I'd hate to find out how you treat people who aren't your favorites."

"Stab them," Quill said without missing a beat. "He stabs them."

May just rolled her eyes before she hit her office and shut the door behind her.

August 26

In the Capitol

"You clean up nice," Natasha teased as she and Clint caught up to a freshly-styled Logan — which got a crooked grin out of Jubilee. "Good work," she added toward the stylist, who gave Natasha two thumbs up as she cracked her gum.

"Don't encourage her," Logan grumbled, looking sour. "She'll just be worse about it next time." He batted Jubilee's hands away from his tie with a nearly hissed out 'stop it' that had Natasha and May both smirking to themselves. Neither of them had gotten the chance to see these two do this little dance in the Capitol before — and it was clear that it was a bit of a tradition.

But it was something else entirely once they hit the press junket, and Clint and Natasha got to see up close as Logan turned up the charm. It was like a switch had been flipped as he seamlessly went from one person to the next, smoothly undercutting Norman Osborn at the same time he was still somehow managing to make the other victors and especially Tahiti kids look good.

"So are you throwing your support behind Maria Hill?" one of the reporters asked almost eagerly.

"I'm just here to see what they have to say in person," Logan replied. "I'm not necessarily backing anyone."

"Will you be meeting with both candidates, then?"

"If history's any indicator, only one of them would take the time to talk to me," Logan replied.

"And just for clarification, which one are you referring to?" chimed in another.

Logan turned the reporter's way and made sure to shoot her a little smile. "The one that actually fought in the war."

There was a quick succession of flashes as the photographers shot Logan in frame, and Trish smirked to herself. "So what do you say to Mr. Osborn's claims that he was defending his home district his own way?" she asked.

Logan tipped his head and shook his head lightly, though he managed to make it look natural. "All I know is that the kids that went through the Tahiti project spent a lot of time keeping Hydra out of Eight and protecting their citizens. I never saw Norman or any of his hired security in those fights. But I'm sure it was very safe if you happened to live in one of the big towers downtown with Oscorp's logo on the side of it."

"Jessica Drew tells a different story," Trish pointed out, one eyebrow raised.

"I wish I could say I got to fight with Jess more, but I'm sure she's got her own perspective. She was more into the espionage side of things, while I was in the trenches more often than not."

"So she would conceivably know things you didn't," the reporter beside Trish said.

"I'm sure she did," Logan replied, turning her way with a warm smile and stepping a little closer to her so he was sure to give her full attention. "But she was working for SHIELD at the time, using SHIELD's resources — good, bad, or ugly."

"I take it you're no fan of SHIELD's."

"Not the old version," Logan agreed. "But this …" He looked over his shoulder to where, through the crowd, Hill was talking with a different set of reporters. "... is a different animal entirely."

"You think the new leadership is better?"

"I'll have to get back to you," he replied. "But from the limited time I've had with some of their higher ups, it's not the same as it was with Fury."

"So you're not in favor of Osborn's suggestion that SHIELD be phased out in favor of a new police force without the old ties to Thanos' regime?"

"If you want to get rid of all the old ties, it might be smart to see who was pioneering the most dangerous of the Capitol's biotech for them," Logan replied with a little smirk before he gave that reporter's arm a little squeeze, thanked her, and moved down the line.

Clint was a little further out with Natasha watching the whole thing go down and had to elbow her with a laugh. "Who knew he was a natural?" he chuckled.

"Peter Quill," Natasha said with a smirk.

"I always thought he was exaggerating," Clint admitted as he rested his arm around her, still grinning. "Who do I have to pay off to get him and Norm in the same room? Because I will do it."

"You know Osborn wouldn't agree to it."

"I'll kidnap him. See how he likes it."

Natasha shook her head at him. "Clint—"

"It'll be great. There will be squealing tires, the whole nine. And someone will pop up and ask him 'how do you like it'?"

"You're starting to sound like Wade," she said with a shake of her head.

"Hey, I'm not actually going to pull it off. Wishful thinking," Clint said, holding up one hand in a conciliatory gesture. "Despite appearances, I'm not stupid. I know the kids he's got would be in trouble if ol' Norm went missing." He held her a bit tighter. "C'mon. Let's see if we can 'accidentally' run into Norman's faux couple."

August 27

Norman Osborn's Secret Horrible No Good Rotten Lab

Peter Parker was totally entertained.

There wasn't much that he could say was really enjoyable since Norman had locked him and his friends up in his freaky little secret lab besides the fact that he got to see Gwen every day, but watching Norman stalk past looking positively purple definitely had to be a highlight.

He was pretty much cackling and giggling to himself as he hit the labs, which of course had Miles raising an eyebrow. "What's with the good mood?" he asked.

"You clearly haven't seen Normykins this morning," Peter laughed.

"Ah, no. I try not to have anything to do with the Ugly Proprietor of this Establishment."

Peter chuckled at that before he spread his arms out as wide as his grin. "He is. So. Mad."

"What about this time?" Simmons asked without looking up.

"Logan's handing him his butt on national television," Peter told them.

Miles and Gwen looked up in surprise, but Simmons almost looked like she would break into laughter. "Oh no," she said. "What is he doing?"

"The better question, oh better half of Fitzsimmons," Peter all but sang to her, "is what isn't he doing."

"That bad?"

"That good." Peter grinned delightedly. "Practically accused him of being a coward, not to mention the digs at his old ties to the Capitol…"

"So, lay it out for us, Pete," Gwen laughed. "How mad is he?"

"So mad he could match Kate's shirts," Peter said, nodding as he tried to think of more descriptors. "So mad… he's like a giant purple train with steam coming out his ears."

"Tea kettle pitch?" Miles offered.

"Higher," Peter said.

"With just a touch of 'curses, foiled again'," Gwen said with a little giggle.

Peter touched his index finger to the side of his nose. "Yes. That exactly."

"It's a shame we haven't a way to pirate the footage," Simmons said with a badly executed innocent expression.

"Oh yeah. So shameful," Peter agreed, pulling off the innocent expression a little better before he broke into a laugh and whispered, "Show you after we finish up here," and gestured to their most recent project — one that they were all actually eager to work on.

The idea was simple enough. Miles had somehow managed to figure out their location, and from there, it was just a matter of relaying that information . And that was where Peter's idea came in. He and Gwen could program it into the security cameras around Oscorp that any time one of the awesomes came up on facial recognition, a message would flash on the cameras.

Osborn probably wouldn't notice it with everything else that was going on, and Gwen's job was to bury it in lines and lines of code so that he definitely wouldn't notice it.

Hopefully.

The group of spiders and Simmons quieted down a bit as they put their heads together, getting deeper into the project as they went. If all went well ... they'd be out of there in no time.

August 28

Press Junket Before the Debates

Earlier in the day, someone had released a nasty little unauthorized bio that not-so subtly smeared Logan and the bulk of the other victors, seeming to put a bit of a divot in the good work Logan had done the nights before.

But Hill's team had their own little ammunition in place to deal with that. As they prepped to hit the red carpet of sorts, Logan and Jubilee had a much calmer, less grumbly prep session that ended with a final tie check and a quick, friendly hug that happened to be caught on camera — and that happened to set the tone for the evening — totally countering the crap that Osborn had tried to leak.

"How come you weren't this much fun the last time we did this song and dance?" Trish couldn't help but ask him as they headed for the press junket and he offered her his arm.

"There are probably a dozen different reasons, but they all boil down to I just wasn't in the mood," Logan replied.

"Just my luck," she said, shaking her head, though she didn't seem too incredibly put out, all things considered. She was, after all, enjoying a huge ratings boost. Though when they arrived at the party planned for the night before the debates, both of them were a little surprised to see that there was some kind of excitement going on over in Norman's camp.

"Oh, now there's a face I haven't seen in too long," Logan said with a little spark of trouble. "If you're up to getting through the crowd, I think I'd like to know where Tony's been hiding out. Pepper misses him."

"Lead the way," Trish said, looking delighted.

"Hold tight," Logan said before he simply started plowing his way through the crowd. It was a neat little trick he could pull off, since the irritated or insulted people he pushed out of his way very quickly changed their tune with a little smirk and a quick "thanks for moving fast."

When they got within a pair of guards that were not-so subtly trying to keep a little protective bubble around Tony, Logan smiled an honest grin as one of them reached out to take his arm to lead him away — and he got a quick hold of their wrist and quickly nailed a rather painful pressure point as he pulled them out of his way to get right up to Tony and rather gently rest a hand on his shoulder.

"Where you been, Stark? Pepper's gettin' lonely," Logan said with a smirk that was pure show.

Tony looked surprised at the fact that Logan had managed to get there before he broke into what had to have been the first honest grin he'd had all night, despite the schmoozing he'd been doing up until then. "Caught up in a project," he said.

"I'll bet," Logan agreed. "Must be something else to keep you away from your redhead."

"Oh yeah," Tony said, nodding. "It's gonna be big. And probably surprise a few people."

"You're good at that," Logan said with a nod, though he glanced down to Tony's hands quickly and narrowed his eyes the slightest bit, doing his level best to keep what looked like eye contact while Tony talked about how groundbreaking his new project was — all while signing rapidly. Logan took a moment, but he knew he wasn't going to get everything, so he did Trish a favor and stepped a bit closer to Tony, nearly side by side with him — to clear the sightline for Clint.

To most of the crowd, it looked like Tony was simply overly animated with his hands, and to Logan's credit, he didn't draw any more attention to it than was necessary.

When Tony's handlers started pushing to get him moving, Logan made sure to shake his hand — and the two of them leaned close as Logan was sure to speak loud enough for anyone paying attention on Tony's detail. "I'll get you out myself, if I have to, Stark," Logan said low before the two of them stepped back and Logan raised his voice. "I'll make sure Pepper knows."

"Thanks. I know how she worries," Tony half called out as he got moving.

Trish, in the meantime, looked positively delighted. "I didn't know you two got along so well. This will blow Jameson's reports about Tony still being scared of you out of the water," she said, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

"I never had any problem with Stark," Logan told her.

"Clearly. You two seem to get along well — and do you get along with Pepper, too? That sounds almost cozy."

"Everyone gets along with Pepper," Logan said. "Only people that couldn't like her are pure evil."

Trish grinned even wider. "You know, it's nice seeing two old friends disagree in political matters and still be friends. I can work with that."

Logan gave her a crooked smile. "Well, he can be wrong and I can still get along with him."

"Well, as I understand it, Stark Industries and Oscorp have dealt with each other long enough, you can't really blame him," Trish said.

"No," Logan said, shaking his head. "It takes a long time to turn around outdated business practices. Give it time. Tony's a forward thinker."

"You think he'll turn around on his support?"

"Maybe not right away," Logan said. "But give him a chance to stretch out. He's still learning to juggle Stark Industries on his own."

"Not quite alone," Trish corrected him. "Pepper Potts, remember?"

"They haven't had much time for meetings lately," Logan replied. "I see her more often — and she's workin' hard."

"Maybe you'll be invited to the launch of whatever it was he's working on."

"Oh, I'm sure I will," Logan said. "One way or another."

After that, most of the evening went about as expected, with most of the focus either on Tony as the latest supporter for Osborn's campaign or on Logan and the way he and the other victors were clearly nothing like the smear campaign suggested they were. So when Trish left, she was overly excited in general about the prospects for her nightly show — and Clint almost immediately filled her vacated spot, though not actually on Logan's arm, just halfway leaned over with wide eyes.

"You catch all that?"

"No. Parts of it, but not all of it," Logan admitted. "Why do you think I moved?"

Clint nodded at that, though he looked honestly mad as he and Logan headed back to where they were staying. "Well, some of it got jumbled. He's got the basic signs, but I have no idea what he was trying to say for parts of it. I think there was something about a program and some machines, but it got lost in translation."

"He was gettin' nervous toward the end," Logan said, nodding. "Honestly thought he was gonna hug me to start with."

"There's no telling with that guy," Clint said with a dry smirk that didn't last long as he shook his head. "But he was real clear on Katie being with Osborn. That much he didn't stumble on. Spelled out 'collateral' because I don't think he knows the sign for it."

"And we gotta play nice instead of stabbin' him in the face. Go figure." He shook his head with a completely irritated expression. "I hate being right sometimes."

"Well tell you what, once we get the kids out of Osborn's little roundup, you can stab him anywhere you want," Clint promised. "Problem is going to be finding them, since Osborn's not in Eight. So it's not like we can waltz up to Oscorp to find Kate — maybe the others, but if she's with him…"

"I'm sure Skye'll dig hard now that she's got a solid target," Logan said. "And as soon as I get outta this monkey suit, I'll let her know."

Clint nodded, already looking like he was ready to go. "As soon as we get those kids out…" He trailed off and shook his head. "Right. One step at a time. Political assassination after everyone' safe."

"Right. And I think you need to tell Skye exactly what you saw, because I know I missed the good stuff."

"There were a lot of 'hurry up's in there. He repeated himself a few times."

"Tell it to the tablet," Logan said. "I'm sure she's waitin' for details."

Clint nodded at that and zipped off to go find Natasha as they headed back, glad at least for some good news and forward progress, even if it wasn't as solid as actually getting everyone back yet.

August 29

Osborn's Capitol Suites

It was early morning by the time all the sweet-talking and press stuff was through for Tony, but Kate was up and pacing all the same. It had been disconcerting enough when they'd been moved from wherever they had been kept before — black bags again — to the Capitol, but going from relative privacy in the room by Tony's lab where she could be miserable on her own to having to share a suite with Norman Osborn was probably the most jarring part of the whole experience.

Tony had told her that he figured Fisk was in league with Osborn, considering the project he was working on, but it really was something else to be stuck with the guy whose fault it was that she wasn't with her Elf and not be able to do a thing about it. Because, as he'd reminded her, they still had no idea where their friends were — Peter and the rest of them. And so like Kate knew she was being used against Tony, the missing friends were a threat over her head.

Though on the other hand, Osborn hadn't said anything about not childishly flinging wads of paper at the back of his head. Which she had done until he got annoyed and had her removed to a different room — but it was worth it just to let off a little steam.

When the door opened, she half expected to get dressed down again for 'childishness' but instead, she was relieved to see that Tony was back, and she didn't hesitate to rush over and hug him. "How'd it go?" she asked, honestly concerned about him.

"I think … it went … well," Tony said, looking a bit shell-shocked at the turn the night had taken.

"Yeah?" She looked him over and frowned. "You alright?"

"Well, I did everything Norman said I had to … and then one of your teammates came up and made friendly past my guards."

"Which one?" Kate had to ask, already sure of the answer but hoping it was Kurt anyway.

"The one that apparently knows how to get the press eating out of his hand," Tony said. "Quill was right. Holy crap. He had Trish Walker on his arm all night too, letting her record whatever she wanted. Great. Freakin' move."

Kate broke into a huge smile at that and practically bounced on the balls of her feet. "I'm sure she had the same look you do," she couldn't help but tease. "Last time they were together didn't go so well."

"Oh, no… she looked like the cheshire cat that ate the mouse. Norman is hot." Tony was grinning over it.

"He's not mad at you, is he? For talking to him?"

"Oh, no. He's mad at Logan for breaking his guards on camera and not getting caught. And nuking the bad press he tried to put out … And just … all of it."

"That's our Wolverine," she said with a fond smile before she couldn't stand it anymore and had to ask: "Well? What did he say? What did you say?"

"We kept it oddly about small talk, but I managed to sign. I don't know if he caught it. He didn't sign anything back, but … I think he might have stepped out of the line of sight for one of the others." Tony frowned a little. "I'm sure it's on video. It has to be."

"Well, if Clint was there, we're golden," Kate said, giving Tony's arm a reassuring squeeze. "Thanks," she added as she had to hug him once more. "Even if it didn't work … thanks."

"Logan said he'd come get me himself," Tony said quietly. "I think he guessed about the mic."

"He's gonna put a target on himself," Kate said with a frown.

"Unfortunately, he's also very good at that," Tony pointed out.

"Always has been," Kate agreed before she dropped into a seat and let out a sigh. "And now… I guess we wait."