Chapter 30: Hello Again, Whitehall

October 3

District Twelve

Although Twelve hadn't gone so far as to declare independence from Marvel itself, it was also certainly true that the district was more or less functioning as its own entity, though it was more of a haven then a country, with Inhumans flocking there to live in relative peace, away from the stares and the painful reminders of what life under the Capitol had done to them.

Black Bolt hadn't asked to become the King of the Inhumans when the Capitol gave him that nickname, nor had he asked so many of the misfits of Marvel to come to his home district, but here he was, rebuilding it alongside his wife, more or less trying to ignore the edicts coming down from the Capitol while Osborn was having his little tantrum.

He had other things to concern himself with, like the coming winter and the very real need for solid housing and warmth for so many of the people who had placed themselves in his care.

Still, he somehow wasn't surprised when an official-looking craft landed in the middle of his district, and he was only marginally surprised to see that one of the Tahiti children had been sent with the group of them.

He almost laughed. Of course it was the one who was deaf. Heaven forbid he be unable to communicate with the people who wanted to imprison him. It was almost thoughtful, something he had never before accused Norman of being.

"You're under arrest," the blonde archer told him with a bored tone that didn't match the situation at all.

Black Bolt frowned at the young man before he signed out, Why?

Clint stared at Black Bolt's hands for a long time, something whirring just behind his gaze before he carefully signed, Don't know.

Black Bolt almost smiled at the honesty — it was refreshing — though one of the men who had come to arrest him prodded Clint with the butt of a rifle and a muttered, "Share with the rest of us, boy."

As Black Bolt watched, the young man seemed to stiffen and wince before his response. "He wants to know why."

"And?"

Clint stared at the man, his response slow and measured. "That wasn't in the orders I got."

The man considered Clint for a moment before he nodded and then turned his attention, and his weapon, back to Black Bolt.

Of course, the advantage of having a district full of misfits and Inhumans was that they were unnaturally quiet. Even as Clint took out his bow to draw an arrow to point Black Bolt's way, several of Black Bolt's citizens crept through the coal-dusted streets, ready for a fight. The moment Clint fitted an arrow, over a dozen people filtered into the streets, silent until the moment they attacked the men who had come with Clint.

Even with the official weapons, it was a fairly one-sided battle, to Black Bolt's advantage. He simply had more numbers, not to mention stealth and a familiarity with the environment — though as Black Bolt pulled back to let them work out for themselves what they wanted to do with the officers that had come for him, he noted that it looked like Clint and the man who seemed to be heading up the operation had disappeared.

With a little frown, he headed home. He was going to need to get in touch with Coulson.

October 5

Inside the Blackbird

The prototype jet that Tony had put together really was amazing — with stealth capabilities and speed that the other jets couldn't touch — but if he had been expecting a big fanfare, he was sorely mistaken. May just wanted to know that it could do the job, do it well, and get them through Osborn's newer security measures.

"Please," Tony said with a frown. "This is me we're talking about. Of course it can."

"Then I'll fly," May said. "It's time to get moving on this." She was already walking past Tony into the cockpit to give it one more inspection as she spoke. "Tell the team for me — and would you hurry them along? Not that they'll need it."

"You know, they are the reason that I had it all prepped and ready to go right now," Tony said. "They're already on the way."

"Of course they are," May said, settling into the pilot's seat.

May didn't have long to wait before the kids that made up the team got on the jet, all of them frowning a bit when they saw pilot seat was already taken.

"Hey, Wade, you still wanna copilot?" Logan asked before he could step in the hatch.

"Yes, please!" Wade sang out, though he stopped for just a moment before positively skipping up to the cockpit. "Mama May! Fancy seeing you here!"

May raised an eyebrow his way. "I thought you all knew I was coming on this."

"Well, not all of us," Wade said, turning her way and resting his chin on the palms of his hands. "You're pretty."

May continued her prep. "Yes," she said before she directed his attention to the matter of piloting. "If you're going to stay, be useful. Tony has those stealth panels installed, and I need you to monitor them."

"Can I push the buttons? I like pushing buttons. And pulling levers. And making lights flash."

May very nearly rolled her eyes as she got them in the air. "I know you know how to pilot, Wade. You can monitor the panels."

"But I really like pushing buttons."

"Wade." She gave him a look.

"May." He gave her a look in return, but it was certainly a lot goofier than the one she'd used his way.

"Just focus, please. I need to know we're sneaking under Osborn's radar, and I need to know when we get past his security checkpoints so we can hit the ground running. And if you can't do that, I need a different copilot."

"Oh, that's … well that's just not gonna happen, Mama May," Wade said. "The rest of them are all back there going over something called 'strategy'. You're stuck with me."

"Then focus, please," she said with a heavy sigh.

Wade gave her a salute and dramatically turned to face forward, but that only really lasted all of about ten seconds before he started singing.

"At least sing something classier," she said after a moment.

"You have a request?" Wade asked, eyebrows high and a look of pure shock on his face. "Is … is Eminem not considered classy in your neck of the woods? What about 'Rumpshaker' or … or … 'Baby Got Back'?"

"Just… why don't you sing something a little less… try something softer."

He turned to look her way with a thoughtful expression on his face before he held his hands up and seemed to be sizing her up — and started to sing very quietly a familiar tune that she couldn't quite place until he started really getting into the chorus that held some ridiculous falsettos as he sang about his tiny dancer.

She let out a long sigh of long-suffering as she kept her gaze forward. Well, she had asked for something softer. She was sure Skye was having the time of her life back at the manor, with Kate in the radio room laughing at the situation, too.

Still, the singing did let up a little when they got to the border between Seven and the rest of Marvel, and May did trust Stark's inventions to do their jobs — but she couldn't help holding her breath for a long moment until they passed through undetected.

If you're in doubt, Stark says to take it up to 80,000 feet, Skye said over the comms.

May nodded at that and began climbing — just to play it on the safe side. "Any chatter from Osborn's end?" she asked. "We're not seeing anything here."

About you guys? No. There's a patrol that will be headed toward Seven's border — but Coulson set up anti-aircraft to deal with them bothering the independent districts.

"Let me know if that turns south," she said. "And tell Coulson. You know he'll send an army if it looks like the manor and Seven are in jeopardy."

Believe me: he's got squadrons waiting to deploy, and he's on the other line waiting. Just take care of yourselves. We have secret passages and a bomb shelter if it all goes really south.

"I'll check in when we've got Hawkeye," May said with a nod. "Stay safe."

We'll be watching.

May leaned back and shook her head slightly at the response. Of course Stark had installed cameras — just in case.

"You think they wanna see a full moon?" Wade whispered.

"No," May replied shortly. "And neither do I."

"You're no fun," Wade complained.

"I've never been accused of being fun," she replied easily. "You must have me confused with Director Dad."

"Well, seeing as you're like so totally practically very nearly a thing …"

"That's not what's happening here, Wade," she said in the tired tone of someone who had said it too many times.

"Methinks the lady doth protest too much," Wade said in his best District Four impression. "Search thine heart; you know it to be true."

"Right." She shook her head at him. "Wade, we don't have time for this," she said as she tapped the screen in front of him. "We're in enemy airspace. Pay attention."

"Alright, alright, don't get your holster in a wad," Wade muttered. "This is why no one in SHIELD wants to be in SHIELD. As soon as they get an official badge, they lose their sense of humor and enter a no-smiling contest."

"Take it up with the director," May said with a small smirk.

"She has a sense of humor. So far," Wade said sullenly.

May shook her head at that, not about to argue the point, and turned her attention back to flying while Logan and Kurt chatted quietly in the back of the plane about how to get in and out with Clint — and just what exactly they were going to do if they ran into Osborn himself 'accidentally' while they were there, too.

Finally, though, May set them down in the outskirts of the Capitol and turned to the three young men with one eyebrow raised. "I'll be ready to leave the second you get back. Do not stay here longer than necessary," she said, directing the comment more at Logan than anything else.

"Why you lookin' at me? I'm the one with the clean record of getting the job done and getting out fast," Logan said her way with a frown as he finished prepping.

"You're also the one with the record of playing with people who ... admittedly deserve it," she pointed out. "Don't. Just get in, get Clint, get out, and if you see Osborn, just shoot him, alright?"

"I only play with creeps when I'm alone with no one to traumatize," Logan pointed out.

"And it takes next to no time to stab him anyway," Kurt said, hands on his swords. "We'll be back in no time."

The two boys gave her a look as if she was really being a bit too over-protective before they pulled their masks down and led the charge — ready to get it over with.

The path into the building where Clint was supposed to be, based on Hill's LMD data, was almost eerily clear. They didn't get far into it before Logan was straight up getting creeped, though he didn't voice his opinion on the matter. Particularly when he knew how keyed up Natasha was over the whole thing. He was also keeping in mind the fact that he knew how they forced their outlooks on people, and promise to be quick or not, if they happened to walk in on an active "session" on Clint, he was going to take his sweet time cutting the jackass in charge of it to ribbons.

Still, he had to pause when it was Wade that spoke up. "Anyone else get the feeling that this … is not a good thing?" Wade asked quietly. "Because I have some serious creepy crawlies right now."

"Not now, Wade," Logan said irritably. "We came here for a reason, and we're not leaving until we do what we came here for."

"Actually, you're not leaving at all," Osborn's voice echoed through the halls as the lights came up, suddenly, blindingly bright in their eyes, while Osborn's men filed in around them.

At Osborn's command, the men rushed forward — and so did the kids, who were itching to let off a little steam. Natasha in particular was vicious about the way she blasted through the men, sure to give Osborn a glare from across the room that seemed to say 'you're next' with each shot.

Logan tried to stick to fists and guns and avoid the claws all together — even if he was pretty darn sure that he'd been made. It's not like there were too many people running around at his size and built like him. But that didn't mean he had to make it easier to finger him by using the claws — though with Wade doing his one-of-a-kind katana wield and Kurt dancing through Osborn's men, it was fairly obvious who had come even with the masks on.

The group as a whole was dealing out solid damage, but Osborn's men kept coming, and there was no sign of Clint among them. "Keep your eyes open," Logan called out — more to Wade and Kurt than to Natasha, who clearly had a one-track mind and was punishing the opposition just for being there. No. For keeping Clint away from her.

But it seemed that the Osborn's built-up police force already had orders in place . A group of them mobbed Logan from behind and grabbed his arms — though once he was even halfway subdued, instead of arresting him outright, or wrestling him to the ground, they started by pulling off his mask, which only got a delighted clap and some high praise from Osborn.

With a growl, Logan threw them off and started fighting harder — though it was pretty clear his concentration was shot from how excited Osborn was to see him.

The operative that pulled Wade's mask only did so by jumping on his back and pulling both Wade and himself over backward as Wade tried to fight removing the mask all together. "Augh! They got me!" he shouted, though his attacker did not, in fact have him.

As Kurt turned toward Wade in alarm and deflected one of the soldier's guns, one ran up behind him and hauled off his hood as well. It didn't do much to actually stop the Elf from cutting him across the middle for the offense — but it did let Norman positively ID another without a doubt.

Natasha's focus shifted quickly to hyper awareness once the boys had been unmasked — but even that wasn't enough to avoid it entirely, and she let out a frustrated cry when she too lost her mask — though the man that did it was rewarded for his troubles with a broken nose and a collapsed windpipe.

The group was still swinging when the order went out. "Capture, not kill," Osborn said. "We can use the men once they get a little tune up. Try not to do anything that will show on camera."

Natasha spun his way and fired two shots that missed him by such a fine margin that it was clear that the president was not going to be appearing on camera himself without a very serious comb over to cover the path of hair that had been sheared off by the passing bullet.

When Logan looked up toward Norman, he sucked in a quick breath on seeing the bespectacled man standing behind Osborn's shoulder. He froze for just a moment at the pleased expression on Whitehall's face... before he went into high gear, fighting hard and incredibly efficiently, taking out one officer after another. He was not about to be captured alive and handed over to Whitehall again.

Logan was making good headway — and had started heading toward Kurt, determined to make sure that he too wouldn't fall under Whitehall's spell — when the twang of a bowstring echoed the room and Logan let out a shouted curse that made it clear that he'd been hit. He spun on the spot and made it all of a few steps before a second arrow hit its mark, leaving Logan practically a standing zombie. Another twang and he was wrapped up in netting before he hit the ground, unconscious.

Wade was closest to Logan when he went down and heard Kurt shouting instructions to "get him out," so with a complicated little twirl, he sliced through two guys and headed for Logan, ducking seconds after a twang echoed and alerted him to the arrows that would have stuck him if he hadn't moved.

Natasha let out a noise that was pure frustration when she saw Clint easily fitting arrow after arrow to shoot at the group of them — though not, she noted, at her. It was enough of an opening that she could lob a flashbang his way to get the arrows to stop, but not quite enough to get her to him with as many people as there were in the way, not to mention the fact that Logan needed to get out.

So with Clint temporarily blinded by the flashbamg, Wade seized Logan, dragged the net off of him, and hoisted him up with an exaggerated noise and a muttered, "It's a really good thing more of you isn't metal."

Natasha kept up the cover fire along with Kurt as Wade hauled Logan out. When it was clear that the forces following them were getting thicker, she lobbed all of her grenades their way — and not just the flash bangs. After the first frag grenade went off and took out a few of them, they backed off substantially, and she finally got around to calling May on her comm.

"We need to leave fast," she told her. The three of them still running for all they were worth.

"I can get us in the air as soon as you get here — or do you need backup where you are?" May replied, already sounding concerned.

"No," Natasha shouted. "We're almost there — just make sure the hatch is open."

"Do you have what you came for?" May asked.

"No," she ground out through gritted teeth. "It was a trap."

There was a pause on the other end before May said, "I've got the hatch open. Whenever you're ready."

She didn't answer May, and they were only another minute or two out, so when they got there, May had only to keep out of the way and start the vertical lift-off as soon as Natasha had one foot in the door and the others were more or less collapsed on the floor.

"It's going to be rough getting back out again," she told Natasha. "Make sure Logan's strapped in, and be ready for a rough ride."

Natasha simply nodded at that and got into the copilot seat. "What else is new."

Howlett Manor

A little while after the team had landed in the Capitol, everything had gone dark, and for the past hour or so, Skye and Tony had been scrambling trying to get it back. Tony was swearing up a blue streak as he muttered about how he had purposefully built cameras and other failsafes into the plane for just this kind of thing, while Skye was muttering about blackout devices — and Kate was just watching with wide eyes and baited breath to hear about whether or not the team was even going to make it back.

In fact, the only intel they were getting was from the feed Skye had hacked in the Capitol, though that wasn't helping Kate's nerves either, and Skye had already thrown her left shoe at the monitor when they announced that some of the "Tahiti program children" had been arrested.

"Maybe they're just gloating prematurely," Kate muttered half under her breath after a long several minutes of watching Skye and Tony rush back and forth.

"Then why can't I find our feeds?" Skye muttered back, nearly bashing the keys as she worked faster.

"I don't know, but that's got to be it, because I don't … I don't want to do this without Kurt," Kate said, wide-eyed and with her chin on her knees.

"Hey… if they're too high up, the video feeds won't work," Tony said. "So … maybe they're over 80,000 feet."

Kate glanced up at Tony and tried to pull back her panic. "Right. Maybe that's it," she nodded, still watching both him and Skye try to get the feeds back, half an eye on the Capitol reports as they came in.

Nothing is confirmed yet, but there are rumors that at least three former Tahiti program members were taken in. None of them are reportedly the Tahiti members who claimed to have been kidnapped by the president's orders, and they are reportedly among the older members, not any of the younger group, such as Miles Morales, one of the children who claimed to have been press-ganged into service.

"That … doesn't sound ... I don't like that station," Skye said with her nose scrunched up.

"We ... we have to find them," Kate said, looking slightly panicked.

"It's just uncorroborated unless we hear it from Trish," Skye decided.

Kate paused but had to nod at that. "Alright, yeah. Trish would give it to us square…" She leaned over to change the channel, where Trish was reporting that there were only rumors and repeatedly maintaining that until arrests were confirmed by the police force, this was not real news and she would be focusing on President Osborn's overtures aggression on the borders with Seven, thank you very much.

Tony and Skye kept working — scrambling, really — to find something new as Kate settled in to watch the reports about Osborn's attempts to force Seven back into the country, though not one resident there had cast a vote either way in the election.

Kate was starting to relax — since Trish wasn't touching the arrests and was instead talking about how the rest of Marvel was fine letting Four, Three, and Seven be self-determined states — when Trish paused and seemed to listen to her earpiece for a moment. The blonde reporter took a small breath before she turned back to the camera.

Breaking news update. It has just been confirmed by the president's official police spokesman that two male and one female former tributes were taken into custody today. Their identities have not yet been released, as police want to confirm their identities through bloodwork and other tests. When that happens, their names will be released, along with details of their arrest.

"What about Logan?" Kate asked quietly, glancing toward Skye. "They didn't say a thing about… about any victors."

"Maybe they're saving that for once the DNA comes back," Tony said off handedly. "He really ticked off Osborn; he might not want to say anything until it's already confirmed."

"Or maybe he's still at large and can bust our friends out on the way to breaking Osborn's face," Kate muttered hopefully.

"That would work too," Tony agreed with a little nod, though Skye looked more irritated as she doubled down her efforts.

Kate nodded, watching Trish's broadcast with rapt attention — though not a one of them had expected it when May's voice finally broke through on the comms, all things considered. "We're coming in. Medical for one."

"If we can hear her, we can see her," Skye pointed out before she snapped her fingers Tony's way. "Do something. I'm still … looking."

"Yeah, I got it, I got it," Tony said quickly, his fingers flying over the keys before finally, they got a visual — and to their immense relief, everyone on the team was there. But Clint wasn't, and Logan was unconscious.

"What happened?" Skye asked over the comms.

"It was supposed to be a trap," Natasha replied shortly, and even through the distance of the cameras and comms, they could hear how ticked off she was. "I'm pretty sure Clint was firing tranqs. The orders were to capture, not kill."

"That explains our unconscious Wolverine," Skye muttered to herself.

"We were outnumbered, so we had to retreat, but we're going back as soon as we regroup," Natasha continued with venom in her tone.

"We'll need more intel before you go out," Hill said over Tony's shoulder. "Be ready for a full debrief when you get in."

"You'd better meet us in medical, because as soon as Logan's cleared, we're gone."

Hill rolled her eyes. "Yes. I'll meet you in medical." She flipped the mics off after that and let out a sigh.

"She's just a little bit keyed up," Kate supplied unhelpfully.

"Well, if she pushes too hard, she'll find herself tranquilized in medical."

"Yeah… don't do that."

"I'd really rather not," Hill admitted. "But I'm not about to lose one of our operatives that already had to deal with brainwashing in the line of duty."

"You know that's half of why she's so upset, though," Kate pointed out. "She's been through it."

"And why she wants Logan to go too," Hill said. "Both of them are a overly sensitive about it."

"It's kind of a fair thing to be sensitive about," Skye pointed out.

"Yes," Hill said in an almost flat tone. "I'm sure it was very traumatic."

"Gee, don't smother them or anything. You're just dripping with honey over here," Kate grumbled.

Hill let out a weary sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose for a moment. "They are professionals. Assassins. Both of them — well, all three of them if you count Barton. It's obviously an occupational hazard."

"Hey, Skye, remind me to tell me best friend to change careers when we get him back," Kate said, though her gaze was on Hill. "Maybe something less dangerous, like lion taming."

"Kate," Hill said. "I don't want them going through it any more than you do. I just think it might be smarter to get someone in there that hasn't been compromised in the past already."

"I'd volunteer, but…" Kate gestured at herself.

"I know," Hill said with what passed for a smile. "We have plenty of operatives that can handle the job. You know that."

"And you know those two will be out there looking no matter who you 'officially' send out," Skye pointed out.

"Unless I can get Barton and the others back before Logan's ready to move," Hill pointed out.

"So, who do you want to send?" Kate asked.

"Believe it or not," Hill said, "Agent Morse has asked to be part of the rescue mission."

Kate and Skye glanced at each other as Tony asked, "Bobbi? But isn't she… you know…? I thought she retired?"

"Beyond the fact that she and Barton have a history? She'd be an impressive choice to go in," Hill said. "She was a top-notch operative and she's also an expert in that particular field. She could start on Barton before they even land. But that on its own would be precisely why Logan and Romanoff do not belong on the team." She gave Kate in particular a look. "After everything that's happened, Logan especially doesn't need to be there when Morse starts working."

"Who are you sending with Bobbi?" Kate asked. "Because I know you're not sending her in there alone."

"Of course not," Hill replied. "I was looking at May, Hunter, and Mack."

Kate glanced at Skye, who looked annoyed as she admitted, "It's a good team."

"And so far, high-ranking SHIELD agents outside of Coulson are not on the arrest warrant list."

"So far," Skye repeated.

The sound of the jet coming in echoed the room as May took the plane right overhead on her way to the landing site. "Yes. So far," Hill said. "And they're ready to move if need be. After I get my debrief. I want to know what went wrong."

"Well for one thing, it was a futzing trap," Kate pointed out as she rushed to be where the action — and Kurt — was, right on Hill's heels. When they got to the jet, Wade was carrying Logan, and Kurt wasn't far behind them, though it looked like May was more or less keeping an eye on an increasingly agitated Natasha.

"Take it to medical, Romanoff," Hill called out. "They have drugs to counteract the tranqs. I want to hear from both of you."

Natasha let out a huff as she jogged to catch up with Wade, looking furious and ready to go right back into the fight as Hank got Logan set up on the counter-drugs in an IV. "It was a trap," she bit out HIll's way as soon as the former AD arrived at the lab. "Osborn had dozens of men there, and Clint — and there was a man there in glasses I didn't recognize, but he wasn't a soldier. He might have been involved in the rest of it." Natasha let out a noise of distaste. "It wouldn't surprise me if he's our man, the way he was grinning when Osborn unmasked us."

While Natasha spoke, Kurt let out a sound of relief as Logan opened his eyes and blinked around the room blearily, looking obviously disoriented the more awake he tried to be.

"Bobbi can fix him," Logan said suddenly. "Just … gotta get him out."

Hill looked honestly surprised as she turned his way. "That's… an interesting endorsement. I'm not saying I disagree..."

"Whitehall was with Osborn," Logan said simply.

Hill's eyebrows shot up, and Natasha swore in Russian for almost a full minute before she turned Logan's way. "That was Whitehall?"

Logan nodded quietly. "The creep with the glasses. He's a lot nastier than he looks — at least, if you're restrained."

Natasha's lips were pressed together, and it looked like she was a step away from losing her temper before she took a deep breath and turned to Hill. "When are we going back out?"

Hill let out a slow breath. "We need to know where he's doing his work," Hill admitted.

Natasha let out another little noise in the back of her throat. "Then I'll find it," she said, her gaze on the door out of the lab.

"I've got a few ideas," Logan said. "If you can wait a minute."

"Talk fast," she replied.

"I can't think clear enough yet," Logan replied. "Just gimmie a minute. I know the kinds of places that creep likes to go."

"Good. Give me parameters, and I'll have Clint's position in a second."

"Forget it; I'm going with you."

Natasha smiled almost fondly his way. "Of course."

"I got a few things in mind for that jackass — and no one is going to take that."

Natasha nodded seriously. "You get him; I'll take care of Clint."

"Yeah," Logan agreed, though in his head he was already planning out an alternative escape route so Natasha and Clint could go home while he took his time.

"I'm not comfortable with just the two of you going," Hill said. "You'll need Morse and one other at the least."

"I've got a pilot in mind," Logan said as he leaned his head back and closed his eyes.

"We'll let you know when we have a position," Natasha said with a sharp nod Hill's way.

Hill frowned Natasha's way as Simmons came by to check Logan over again. He grabbed a hold of her arm and gave her a little smile. "Can you give me the fast track, please?"

Simmons almost smirked his way. "Logan, you are almost always on the fast track as a default rule."

"Yeah, but I know you can give me a little boost so I can get out of your hair."

This time, she broke into a little smile, delighted that he had, in fact, learned from all the times he'd been in medical with her. "I'll see what I can do."

He gave her a genuine smile for that one, knowing exactly how to get her to work faster in his favor. "Please, darlin'. I'd be grateful."