Chapter 4- Reunion:
Third Person:
Kato didn't wast any time in tackling Moriko to the ground. She couldn't believe that she was back! I don't even care how she was back! The only that mattered was that I have my sister back!
The team seemed surprised and taken back by her actions. I don't care if she is a ghost or zombie or anything. She's back...
She hugged her tightly,
"I thought you were dead... You're alive..."
Moriko started to cry slightly, as did Kato.
"Does anyone else feel like they're missing something," Spidey asked.
"I think that's her sister, Moriko, the one she talked about before," Alex whispered to Axel.
Axel nodded in agreement. Kato, however, suddenly had a mood change. She clawed at Moriko's shoulder,
"You were alive! And you didn't tell me sooner!"
Moriko didn't mind the pain since Kato didn't use the poison in her claws. Kato growled warningly, but Moriko just gave a small smile,
"You need to get meds for your bipolar disorder."
"Not bipolar," Kato growled slightly as she let go from Moriko completely.
Kato stood next to Power Man as her boyfriend in question wrapped his arm around her comfortingly.
"This is Moriko," Kato finally said, "My best friend from childhood... I thought she was dead..."
"Yeah," Moriko said as she rubbed the back of her neck, "I have some explaining to do."
"Yes you do," Kato growled.
"Hey, you have explaining to do too," Moriko said defensively, "Like why aren't you in Brazil? Better yet, who are these guys? well, no, I know who these guys are- everyone knows who these guys are. These guys are heroes. What I mean is, why are you with them?"
"'Cause I am with him," Kato said, standing closer to Power Man, "and because they offered me a position on the team, I accepted... Now you have some serious explaining to do."
"Well, why don't you change the park back to normal," Alex said, "And we can continue this over pizza."
"So," Luke asked, "You're a Forested Angel?"
"Yeah," Moriko nodded, "So besides flight with the wings, I can control nature. It's pretty cool. My whole species is pretty in tune with nature. That's why my parents are... were... part of a whole nature reserve thing."
"Speaking of," Kato asked, "Where are your parents?"
"I don't know," Moriko whispered, "I really don't know... I wish I did and trust me, I've looked."
She shrugged with a smile,
"But what can you do, really?"
Kato just nodded sadly.
"-And I'm telling you right now," Moriko said, "Don't let her get her paws on catnip. She's like a drunken whore on that stuff."
"I am not," Kato protested with a large blush on her cheek.
"Oh you so are, I read the reports from the Facility, curtsey of Iopov's hacking skills, an I am telling you right now, there's nothing funnier than reading the report to which a bunch of scientists agreed to not experiment with catnip on you because of all the sexual reports. You were like a cat in heat, stripped down bare and on all fours- in human form. Naked and ready."
Kato turned bright red at that. Luke's grip around her waist tightened slightly.
"You know," Alex said, a hint of mischief in her eyes, "That reminds me of something really funny. So last week after the whole Hydra invasion thing, Steve was chewing Tony out for some stupid shit he had done during the fight, and says, 'Big man in a suit of armor, take that away and what are you?' And do you wanna know how Stark replied?"
Everyone all looked at her expectantly as Axel burst out laughing. She grinned before answering.
"He ripped off his clothes ans started running around the room screaming 'NAKED!' Now that was some funny shit. You all should have seen Cap's face. I was laughing so hard I would have cried. I think Hawkeye took a picture of him."
Peter looked at her confused.
"Well, why didn't you? Cry, I mean."
Alex shrugged, stiffening ever so slightly.
"No tear glands."
Ava gave her a slightly worried look.
"What happened?"
This time both of the twins stiffened, Alex looking at her eighteenth slice , suddenly not hungry anymore. She set it down carefully, laughing nervously.
"I totally forgot. I promised Steve I would help him with the coffee maker. I got to go."
With that she was gone, and the team turned to Axel expectantly. He rubbed the back of bis neck stress-fully, not really wanting to bring up the painful memories of the past. But they deserved an answer.
"Before we met the Avengers, we, as you know, were made and trained by Ringleader, a skrull, to kill the Avengers. What we never told you...Well...There were five more after us, and...We grew attached- too attached. When we refused to kill them, they were tortured and killed right in front of us. I was too hurt to cry, but believe it or not, Alex was sobbing. You will not tell her I told you this. Anyway, for showing weakness, she had her tear glands taken out and she was the Box for a week."
He visibly shivered at the mention of the Box. It was a room where you couldn't see, hear, smell, or feel anything, and when you were taken out of the room, everything burned. Even the wind, or, for them since their hearing was so sensitive, a flies' wings beat. It was excruciatingly painful, and it was the only thing that the twins feared.
Alex didn't want to remember. She had loved those kids that she was forced to train. She also felt kind of guilty. It was because of her brother and herself that they never got to see the light of day, or the many (ish) bright stars that illuminated the night sky. It was because of they choices they had made. It was their fault.
Oddly enough, she didn't blame Axel, even though he refused to kill them as well, and she also didn't blame Stark for making her join that dojo three years ago, when most of the students and even a few parents had died. Alex grit her teeth, going into the park ad Alex and coming out as her alter ego, Animal.
She flew straight up, at a frightening speed of almost 160, wanting nothing more than to just forget.
To her, the good part about having a photographic memory was also the worst thing: you remember everything.
She sighed as she landed on the roof of the Avengers HQ, and stepped inside.
"Ready to learn how to make coffee?" She asked Steve, who was flipping through a on the couch.
She hadn't been lying when she said she promised to help Steve with the coffee maker. She just needed to get out of there- and fast.
"And that's how you make coffee. If you have any more questions with technology without wanting to be made fun of, just give me or Axel a call," Alex said with a smirk. Steve smiled at her, but it instantly fell.
"What's wrong?" He asked.
Alex shrugged.
"Nothing. Why do you ask?"
She had been careful to hide her emotions, waltzing in with her usual emotionless expression, yet he was able to see right through it. Only he and Axel were able go do that, and it still baffled her. She sighed.
"Some stuff came up at the pizza place and it reminded me of them."
"The kids at the-"
"-No. The kids before them. I...I can't help but feel a little guilty that they never got to see the light of day. Thinking about them sends the sharpest f knives into my heart, and I still don't know how to deal with that."
Steve nodded, knowing full well that she was bad at expressing her feelings. It just wasn't the way her brain was hardwired. She had been raised to kill, where feeling emotions was not allowed. Axel was the same way, just not as bad. He gave her a sad look.
"You know it wasn't your fault-or Axel's."
"I know. By the way, have you seen my red thread? I still have too fix Thor's cape."
He shook his head and her brows furrowed.
"Maybe I left it on the Helicarrier. I'll just fix it up there. See ya."
She turned around and waved before stepping out, the cape folded neatly in her hands.
