A/N: Sorry about the long wait period! Hope you guys like these three chapters :)
Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel, Disney, ABC or the Avengers. Just Sera.
The next morning, Steve and Bucky each had me once in the shower and then I had to get the twins ready. While we didn't officially have a daycare, Fury and Hill were more then happy to watch them while I trained with the rest of the Avengers. Steve was already in his workout gear by 8am, and I saw him walking with Thor and my father. I didn't want to bother them, as I had just said goodbye to Thor and I knew my Dad would be back.
"It's gonna be different around here," I said to Bucky as we waited for Steve.
"Are you kidding? Nothing is ever constant around here," He snorted.
"We have new blood on the team, so to speak, and SHIELD will be a bit more out in the open since it's collapse." I said, as my father waved goodbye to us.
"We're stronger," Bucky said as Steve walked up to us, smiling.
"What's got you in such a good mood Captain?" I said, as he put an arm around my waist.
"I'm home," He said, looking around at our facility.
"You know, home isn't a building to me." I said, before walking up the stairs.
"Where is home to you?" Bucky asked as they followed behind a few paces. Turning and stopping, I smiled, "Home is wherever you two are."
Their smiles widened, as I dashed off to wherever Natasha was this morning.
"Wanna keep staring at a wall or do you want to go to work?" Steve asked her when we found her.
"I mean it's a pretty interesting wall," Bucky quipped.
"Thought you guys were busy making baby number 3," She sassed, walking towards us, "How do we look?"
"Well, we're not the '27 Yankees." Steve said.
"We've got some veterans," Nat said, taking the tablet from Steve.
"They're good, but they're not a team." Bucky said as we walked towards our training center.
"Let's beat 'em into shape," I smirked. As we opened the door, they all stopped what they were doing, either landing, or turning to see us all. I was happy no one was wearing his or her full outfits. Smirking, I looked to Steve.
"Avengers, let's go to work." He said, as I turned on some music.
"First things first. You are all, with the exception of Sam and the SHIELD agents, flabby and in need of a toning up." I said, as lines were drawn on the floor by holographic light systems to resemble a track.
"A mile run. Pietro, human pace." Steve said. Bucky and I started to lead them around the track.
"The next fire fight we face may not be short. Endurance and strength training will be our greatest assets." Steve said, watching us all as we ran. The SHIELD agents, Uncle Rhodey and Sam seemed to be doing well, but I was noticing how Wanda wasn't a runner. I fell back to run with her, keep her motivated. Before I knew it the run was over.
"You will all be learning basic defensive and offensive moves today," Natasha said as we moved to the mats. Natasha and I got into position to demonstrate. She came at me, and I blocked and turned the tides in my favor. She tapped out, and then swept my legs out from underneath me when I stood back up.
"Bitch," I laughed with the team, as she then motioned for Daisy to take the mat. An hour later, most of the SHIELD agents had held their own, but I was going to have to work with Pietro and Wanda.
Taking them both aside I said, "I'm gonna tell you the same thing I told Steve when I taught him modern fighting. "You can't rely on just your powers." Yes, they come in handy, but in close contact you need to be able to disarm your opponent quickly. If you don't, it won't matter if you try to use your powers. They could pull a gun or knife on you and then you're gone. We can work on this separately, away from the team if you want."
"We want to learn with them."
"They already know this. Vision doesn't need to worry about this because he can't get hurt, or killed. SHIELD agents are trained for years to be this good, and because Sam and my Uncle Rhodey were in the military, they have the same training as SHIELD agents. It's you guys that need the practice." I said, as Steve motioned for everyone to pick a partner and start using what Natasha just showed them.
"Will you teach us?" Pietro asked, eyeing how Fitz, Darcy, Jemma and Bobby were watching our group.
"Bobby," I called and her head perked up. Walking over she said, "What's up?"
"Can you keep Jemma out of here? She's distracting Pietro," I said, to which the speedster blushed.
"Well, if someone could clear me for physio already," She teased, before saying, "I will distract her with something science related."
"Thanks Mockingbird," I smiled as she walked away slowly.
"Aye aye Siren," She said, laughing.
"I'm not a mermaid," I said, pouting.
"Nor am I a bird," She said, winking back at me.
A month later, the Twins were showing improvements. Pietro thought before he acted, and Wanda was picking up on how to use her powers at the same time as fighting.
"True focus lies somewhere between rage and serenity." I quoted to Wanda one day. She was in better control of herself, but she needed to learn discipline of her craft.
"That is beautiful," She said as we walked around the grounds, me pushing Callie and Elijah in their stroller.
"A wonderful man I met a few years ago, he spoke those words to me. He has the ability to read minds. Control them if he wanted, but he saw right through my walls of defense. I had just gotten back to work after my mission to kill Bucky/Yasha. I was unfocused on the job to bring in a potential 0-8-4, an object of unknown origin. His own team, came to help us fight the group of people that wanted the object. I was not surprised that they all had powers, but what surprised me is that he helped me in particular. I was struggling with who I was as a person."
"Why is that?"
"All my life I had known only one parent. I was still recovering from my mother's death when I discovered who Tony was to me. Even with two years of getting to know him, I never told him I loved him. Natasha had it right. Protect your heart, don't let it cloud your judgment. But Professor Xavier knew what I was hiding from myself. I had to trust my heart, let it guide me, and only then could I know peace in my turmoil. I was lost, motherless, fatherless until recently, and above all, isolated. That made me pull stupid stunts on missions, because I had nothing to lose."
"The only thing that helped me escape was dancing." I smiled fondly.
"Dancing?" Wanda asked, a smirk on her face.
"It helped keep me in peak physical condition, and helped me focus my mind. Natasha taught me ballet, and I learned the rest on my own."
"You've never told anyone, have you?" She picked up intuitively.
"The only three people that knew, are Natasha, Professor Xavier and my mother."
"And now you. I trust you Wanda. A lot more than I've trusted anyone in a long time. Excluding my husbands." I said, bumping into her shoulder lightly.
"I would like to learn, from you," She asked, and I knew she had found her focus.
"So I generally pick songs that have a punch of emotion behind them. Songs about heartbreak, family, love, anything to get your emotions flowing." I said turning on a particular song. She listened. We were both in light work out gear, and I had brought her a pair of ballet slippers that would fit her. I had locked the door, and made sure no one was getting in before I had started talking.
"What do you feel?" I asked, as her eyes closed.
"I don't know." She said, as I noticed a tear hidden beneath her lashes.
"Instead of striking out in anger, make your movements reflect your feelings. Move with the rhythm of the music, and no move is wrong. This is about you. Just pretend I'm not even here," I said, leaning up against the wall.
"I just, don't know how to move." She said turning to me.
"This isn't about thinking."
"I can't clear my head." She said, huffing. Observing her for a moment, I noticed how much she reminded me of myself. Smirking, I changed the song. Her head lifted with the first notes, and I knew she needed a little push.
"Okay, we do this my way." I said, standing beside her. She backed up, and I said, "Follow my steps." Quickly showing her a few moves, and starting the song over, I stood beside her.
"Together." The movements we made started off small, gradually getting more confident. She noticed how the song made her feel, and I knew she was getting into it.
"That's it," I said, showing her another move.
"Like this?" She asked, copying me perfectly.
"Exactly!" I said, showing another, and she matched it. Looking at her, I threw a fake punch and she blocked it effortlessly. Getting more realistic in my movements, I could see she was confused, but kept blocking.
"Can you block my kick?" I said, moving to give a roundhouse. She blocked, and pushed my leg back down.
"Okay," I said, realizing she was getting the hang of it, "Now we put that to music."
"Why music?"
"Natasha told me one things she used to do, was think of a song she used to dance to in the Red Room, when she was fighting. It kept her focused, kept her agile."
"I used it and my fighting improved. For whatever reason, it just felt better to hit whoever wasn't following the song in my head," I chuckled, "But it will help the fluidity of your movements. There can't be a hesitation."
"Okay," She said as the music started again.
"Ready?" I asked, slowing down my movements. She saw every opening I allowed, and moved to counter several times. Nodding as we moved, she moved to strike me and I feigned left slightly.
"Good form," I said, taking her arm to show her. She grinned, and I did a backflip away from her. Her eyes widened and I knew I had found that line. Would she cross her own boundaries?
"Try it," I said, slowing my movements down for her. She tried, reaching back, but fell onto her butt.
"Trust me, it took me months to master the gymnastics involved in fighting. I have a feeling you will pick up quickly though." I smiled as I got into a defensive stance and motioned for her to come at me. We continued our dance fight, and soon enough we were both drenched in sweat.
"Great job. You're a natural. You picked up a lot of stuff quicker than most agents."
"I feel better." She smiled.
"I'll give you the code to the room. Only Natasha and I know it right now." I panted lightly.
"I'd like that." She laughed as we grabbed our water bottles.
"Sera, where are you?" I heard Steve say through my comm sitting by my regular shoes.
"I'm with Wanda. Do you need me?" I asked, after putting it in.
"We have an problem." He said, making me take a look at Wanda and run up to the control room.
"What happened?" I said, looking at the destroyed wings sitting on my table.
"Someone with shrinking capabilities just got through our defenses. Destroyed Sam's pack, and took some prototype from storage," Steve said as Sam shook his head.
"I don't even want to talk about it," Sam sighed as I smirked.
"There is only one man with that kind of tech. And he happens to have been one of my professors." I sighed. Taking out my phone, I scrolled through until I hit Dr. Hank Pym.
"Sera, I'm in the middle of a project."
"Hank, I could have gotten that prototype for you. I live in the facility you just had your guy break into."
"I'm sorry Sera. We were on a time crunch."
"Need some backup for the job?" I asked quietly, noticing no one was listening in.
"Actually… I may." He chuckled.
