Disclaimer: I do not nor will I ever own any of characters depicted below that you may recognize...they belong to forces higher then me, and I respect them and applaud them for their beautiful creations.


Nearly two and a half months later, and Fury watched the two teams spar in Stark's Training room with a grin.

There was a marked improvement in not only how everyone fought, but in relations. Harper's "pairs" switched every two weeks, and getting the group to separate and forcing them into smaller groups had allowed everyone to bond with each other. The current pairs stood at Avery and Clint, Steve and Jake, Thor and Will, Tony and Harper, Tasha and David, and Bruce and Scott. Each duo fought the others, in an attempt to stay alive.

Eventually, somehow, it was just Steve and Harper that were active, and Tony cheered brightly for Harper, while everyone rooted for Steve.

Despite only using her human capabilities, Harper was more than a match for all of them, and she won so many of these training exercises that everyone was a bit…bitter.

"Destroy Her!" Avery bellowed.

But only a bit.


"Progress feels good." Thor moved to stand next to Fury, and he smiled.

"Progress looks good." He agreed. "How do you feel about Team Two now?"

"They've potential." Thor nodded. "They're bright, and smart, and more than ready to fight."

"So…changed your tune then?" Fury smirked.

"Absolutely." Thor nodded. "Harper is an amazing instructor, and we've all learned greatly from her teachings."

"She still devoting a good amount of time to you all?" Fury asked. Thor smirked.

"Despite her schooling, and volunteering, and working, and internship with the NYPD, and in between her and Jane and all their little experiments and helping Pepper plan her wedding," Thor laughed, "She's here more often than not." Thor narrowed his eyes as he watched her dodge Steve's shield, laughing. "She thrives on the busyness."

Fury nodded. "That she does." He agreed.

"She's doing great, right?" Tony appeared on Fury's other side, and Thor rolled his eyes.

"She's always doing great." Thor retorted. "But this time, I think Steve might take the win." He inclined his head to where Harper crouched, trapped in a corner with a grinning Steve advancing on her."

Tony frowned, then smirked as Harper suddenly reared forward, pausing with an abandoned arrow of Hawkeyes' in her hand and held centimeters from Steve's heart.

Steve huffed, but conceded defeat, and Tony whooped.

"We win!" He bragged.

Harper rolled her eyes, rubbing the wispies out of her eyes. "Says the guy who was the first one out."

Tony shrugged. "And?" Harper grumbled good-naturally, smiling at Fury.

"Well?" She asked, out of breathe. "What do you think?"

Fury furrowed his brow….then he clapped several times.

"Well Done." He complimented, and Harper beamed.

"They were pretty raw," Harper joked, "But I whipped them into shape." Fury, Thor, and Tony moved to where the rest of the Avengers and Team Two waited.

"It's a good thing that you've worked out most of the kinks." Fury held up a file. "Because I have a mission for you."

Will crossed his arms. "For which team?" Fury looked to Harper, who smiled and nodded.

Fury smirked.

"All of you."


"So what's the case?"

"Portland."

Will and Team two rolled their eyes.

"Care to elaborate on that, Scrappy?" Tasha joked. Scottie snorted.

Fury had thrown the file at Scottie, told the teams to suit up, and left them on their own.

Now, an hour later, Scottie, Jake, and Harper wore dark navy Shield uniforms and scoured over the files with Bruce while Clint flew and taught David the basics. David wore black jeans and a white shirt, the long silver necklace around his neck actually his suit in camouflage mode. Tony wore a similar get up, but his suit was camouflaged into a watch.

The rest of the avengers wore their usual uniforms, Will in army fatigues that were an emerald green, and Avery in armor similar to Thor, which the God of Thunder had insisted on. Avery's uniform differed from Thor's in that his cape was a bright sky blue.

"We're talking Portland, Maine, not Portland Oregon." Harper grinned, continuing where Scottie had begun and then abruptly ended.

"While y'all were getting your acts together, Shield was busy taking care of any lingering IAS buildings and agents. Matthews bit the dust,"

Will grimaced, "so the group itself crumpled without their leadership, but Connors division, and Connor himself, has yet to actually be found." Harper held up the file. "Fury tracked all the leads I gave him, and every building was empty. This building in Maine, is the last potential location Shield has."

"And he doesn't think it's empty." Jake finished. "Thus the need for all of us."

"Right." Tony made a face. "Do we KNOW what we're walking into?" He asked.

Scottie grimaced. "That's a nope." He shrugged. "We're going in blind."

"So…what's the plan?" Thor looked to Steve, who thought for a moment, then turned to Harper.

"Harp?" He smiled. "What you got?"

Tasha opened her mouth, but Steve shot her a look, and she closed it.

"Well, unfortunately this base is the opposite of what we usually look for in a secret lair, which is probably the only reason we didn't know about it till now." Harper sighed. "He's in the basement of a 30-story office building located in the heart of downtown Maine."

"He could potentially be on other floors," Scotty began, "But we've had no other hits on that building, so it's more likely,"

"That the rest of the building is a cover." Bruce added.

"Literally." Jake joked.

"I didn't even know Maine HAD a downtown," Tony whispered to Steve, who chuckled.

"So we have civilians to worry about." Avery concluded. "Which means we'll need civvies."

"Nope!" Harper beamed. "You and Steve will walk right in."

"But," Tasha tried to argue, But Clint hushed her.

"Are we evacuating?" Steve asked. Harper shook her head.

"Only if necessary. You're primary job will be to man the front doors. Sign autographs, look good," Harper smirked.

"That last part, I can do." Avery grinned. "Cap better just focus on the rest of that sentence." Steve rolled his eyes.

"I have the feeling that if this goes bad, the building will be the first to go." Harper began. "So Scott, Clint and I will make our way to the security room. We'll be your eyes and ears. Tasha and Will, Clint will override the service Elevator, and I want you to enter from the back doors and take that down to the basement. Elevator three will be for the quick retreat." Will nodded, and Tasha squinted but agreed.

"Jake, you're on standby." Harper began. "You're on the jet; you'll be our outside force."

"Aye Aye boss!" Jake grinned.

"Tony and Dave will start from the top and run a full scan of the entire building. Stark, you take the north side and Dave the south. Bruce, Thor, there's an underground parking garage right above the basement. Tasha and Will will sneak in stealth mode, but once the alarm is sounded, use your muscle and make a hole. I want you in there and every unfriendly out before they can reach ground floor. After the hole is made, Bruce fall back." Harper threw Bruce a vial. "The last dosage worked well enough, but Dave and Jane think they've worked out all the kinks with that batch."

Bruce caught the vial that would let the other guy take over physically but leave Bruce in control. He grinned. "Got it."

"Thor, once you're in, send Tony the all clear, and Tony and Dave will join you through that entrance. Dave, get Bruce to Jake, run a full scan of the building, and then pick up any strays."

"Got it." David nodded.

"Tasha and Will, take out the first responders, but once your backup arrives, focus on getting as much Intel as possible. Connors is everyone priority, understood?" She sent the group a serious look, and everyone responded with a determined look of their own. Harper grinned.

"Let's keep the building intact, get what we need, and keep everyone alive." She finished.


A few minutes later, and the first combined mission began.

Seeing as Steve was no longer manipulating, it shouldn't go TOO badly…right?

Harper stepped away from the door she'd just unlocked using the security badge she'd swiped from an unsuspecting guard, allowing Clint and Scottie to precede her into the room. Clint moved to sit in front of a computer screen and Scottie took over examining all the feeds. Harper locked the door behind her, checked over Clint's shoulder as he commandeered Elevator three and notified Will and Tasha that he was ready, and moved to Scottie's side once she saw Will and Tasha slip inside.

Scottie eyed 8 screens brightly, switching them over as necessary so each of their teammates was visible.

"Avery and Cap have control of the main floor, and they're keeping the civilians under control. Will and Widow have just reached the base; they're going in." Scotty narrated. "Thor and Hulk, ready positions…..and NOW."

There was a loud crash, but when Steve just smiled and remarked about the demolition next door, the civilians smiled and followed his lead.

"Stark, Navy, Ready for you." Thor spoke over the comms, and the suits disappeared from Scotty's third camera, the outdoor view; so Scottie changed that feed to switch floors every ten seconds or so.

"Hulk's shrunk and been delivered." David, AKA Navy, alerted. "I'm headed back to pick off the stragglers."

"Will, Widow, are you free to focus on Intel?" Harper asked.

A chuckle. "Way ahead of you, boss. No sign of Connors but we're copying all their files."

"Perfect." Clint chuckled, and Harper turned to see the man messing with the elevator so a few unfriendlies couldn't get on." Harper rolled her eyes.

"Can I get a hand over at Elevator three?" Harper asked. "We have some escapees."

"On it." Navy swept in and took them out, and Clint pouted.

"Hey." He complained. "I was playing with those."

Harper snorted and turned back to the feeds. "Cap?" Harper questioned. "Still Alive?"

"I would never dare die on your watch." Steve joked, voice tight. Harper smirked as she watched the man swing his shield. "How we looking?"

"Good on our end." Scottie answered.

"Sweet." Steve grunted. Harper scanned all of the feeds, then her eyes narrowed. She pushed Scottie away from the controls for a moment to change one of the feeds to a close up of the third floor, then zoomed in on a young man, walking hurriedly towards the stair case. Harper frowned.

"What are you doing here?" She murmured softly.

"Whats up?" Scottie asked, a little confused, but Harper didn't answer, instead watching as the young man reached the staircase only to see it blocked by a few security men, chatting.

He froze, and turned. Harper gasped when he faced the camera, then she growled.

"Harp, what is it?" Clint asked, but instead of answering, Harper ripped open the door and ran out.

With a muttered curse, Clint stood to follow, but she was long gone by the time he reached the doorway. He moved back into the room.

"Scottie, find her," He demanded.

Steve, on his feed, froze. "Harper?" He asked. "What's going on?"

Scottie tapped away madly at the keys, and Harper appeared on the third floor, striding angrily towards the boy she'd recognized from the feeds. He'd yet to catch sight of her.

"Hey!" She bit out, catching his attention. "That's mine." She pointed to the notebook the boy held tightly in his hand. "Give it back…now."

"Harp?! Who are you talking to?" Steve demanded, absentmindedly hitting one of his opponents in the face with his Shield.

The boy on the screen shook his head madly, and Harper, eyebrows furrowing, took a step forward.

The boy yelled something, probably "Stay Back!" But Harper took another step forward, and the kid drew a gun out of his pocket, and without even giving another warning, aimed and pulled the trigger.

Harper was thrown back from the force of the gunshot, hand coming to cradle her stomach, now spilling blood.

People began to scream and a few men rushed forward to rip the gun out of the boys hand while a young woman in the crowd ran forward to help Harper.

Scottie whirled away from the cameras with a shriek. "I'm calling the cops." He spoke up.

Clint shook his head. "The civilians will have already done that. Where's the nearest hospital?"

Scottie shook his head. "St. Mary's." He answered, face ashen.

"Team, fall back, dress down. Then find your way to St. Mary's" Clint ordered.

"What happened?" Steve demanded. Harper's comm had gone silent the second she'd hit the ground… and Steve was panicking.

"Fall back!" Clint demanded. "Retreat!"

"What's going on?" Stark demanded.

Clint grimaced and looked to Scottie. "Harper is down!" He finally said.

"I repeat, Harper is down."


"What was she doing?" Steve paced the hospital waiting room furiously. "What was she thinking?! Everything was under control and then, what?" He turned to Clint and Scott.

"She saw something on one of the feeds." Scott shrugged, face ashen. "She saw something, and then she just…bolted."

"She saw that kid." Clint snapped. "That kid from the first Manhattan Project event. The kid who betrayed her, who was with Connors when they dosed her."

"But she doesn't remember that second part." Tasha spoke up. "She probably still thought he was a good guy."

"She wasn't flipping out about the kid though." Scott spoke up. "She was more worried about this, uh, notebook, that the kid was carrying."

Will shot Team Two a look. "A green notebook?" He asked slowly.

Scott nodded. "She tried to get it back from him, but he wouldn't let her have it. Then he shot her." Scott grimaced.

"What was in the notebook?" Thor asked.

"That notebook has pretty much her entire life in there." Avery answered slowly. "It has all her ideas and theories on several different projects."

"Including the DNA serum?" Bruce guessed, and Jake nodded.

"Wonderful." Tasha growled. "Did she get it? Did anyone?"

"I did." Detective Morris stepped around the corner, the notebook in his hand. He gave it to Tasha, who took it, relieved. "I caught the case," He looked at Steve.

"Uh…Ok." Tony made a confused face. "Who are you?"

"Detective Morris, NYPD." Morris introduced. "Harper interns with me at the department." He focused on Steve. "I was the first one in the security room, caught the last few glimpses of you guys leaving the scene." He nodded. "I made sure to erase you all." Morris smirked a little impressed.

"You took down a secret lab underneath right under 1,000 people's feet, and the only thing people know about is a random shooting on the third floor?" He shook his head. "Nicely done."

Steve shrugged. "You catch the kid?"

Morris nodded grimly. "We got him. How's Harper?"

Steve shrugged. "We don't know yet, the doctor hasn't-"

"Harper Kennedy?" The Avengers snapped to attention, as a harried looking doctor with blood on his coat stepped towards them.

"Yes?" Steve stepped forward. "I'm her father." He confirmed. "How is she?"

The doctor grimaced. "She's in very critical condition, Captain." The doctor began. "She's in desperate need of a blood transfusion. We don't have much time, are you aware of if your blood type is compatible to her?"

Steve winced, but before he could admit to not knowing, Detective Morris stepped forward.

"We have the same blood type." He spoke, "I'll donate."

"You have to be positive," The doctor warned, "We don't have the time to test it, so-"

"She's my biological daughter." Morris interrupted. "I'm sure."

The doctor sighed in relief and moved forward to grip Morris' arm. "Good, come with me." As the doctor dragged Morris away, he shot the Avengers a shrug.

Everyone looked to Steve, who was stunned.

….."What?!"


I said Morris was important? This is what I meant. Yep.

Next chapter up next Wednesday!

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~CLC~