Hello hello! After my considerably and unfortunately long absence, I have returned! Hope you like the new chapter, the tension sure is rising. Thank you to any/all new followers, favourites and reviewers! I am not going to put any translations here because I have used most if not all of the Italian words already, however if you aren't sure on one, you can PM me or go on google translate (because that's where I found them, lol).
Disclaimer: I do not own any Marvel characters, only my OC's.
Chapter 17 - Silent Infiltration
To state that it was cold would be a tremendous understatement. New York was hosting a fierce battle between hail and rain and both pedestrians and cars alike were caught in the crossfire. Undeterred by the harsh weather, however, many still took the streets to perform everyday chores and activities. Much to their misfortune, the sky did not calm, even as the day stretched into the darker hours. For reasons he couldn't remember, Steve Rogers was trekking down the blustery roads that formed the enormous city. As he rebelled against the forceful wind that charged at his front, he bumped into a weaker form. He turned to apologize and suddenly found himself facing a familiar woman with golden locks and tanned skin.
"Maria?" he greeted uncertainly.
She glanced up at the sound of her name and a look of recognition spread across her chilled face. The blonde wore a beige trench coat and black heels. She smiled sweetly at him.
"Hello Signor," she replied.
"Please, call me Steve. Are you alright?" he questioned as his eyes flicked across her shivering figure.
"I am fine, it is just that my apartment is quite far from La Volpe Rossa and I do not own a car," she shrugged, although it could have easily been shivering.
"I live close by, if you want a place to rest out of the cold," he offered.
"Oh no, I could not possibly intrude like that. It is fine."
"I insist," Steve implored, his eyes innocent and kind.
Maria sighed and giggled ever so slightly.
"You are very persuasive, Steve. Bene, I will come," she agreed.
The two then began to fight the whistling wind and spiteful rain together. It wasn't long before they stood in front of the Avengers Tower. Maria had, at first, looked baffled when her companion came to a halt before the building. As he turned to face it, her eyes widened and her lips parted to produce an expression of pure wonder and awe. The man had chuckled and tugged at her hand. They had then traveled to one of the dens, where Maria's coat had been removed to reveal a simple yet seductive black dress, much to Steve's surprise. Draping herself over the warm and comfortable couch, Maria relaxed as if it were her own home.
"Grazie, Steve. It is very nice of you to invite me here. I have to ask, though, this is Avengers Tower, no?"
"So, does that mean that you and your friends from the restaurant... Are they?" she insinuated.
"Yep. Well, all apart from Paige. You might meet them again soon, if they are in a social mood," the superhero chuckled.
As if they had heard his comment, Natasha and Clint walked through the elevator, chatting good-naturedly. They stopped abruptly at the sight of an excited Maria and Steve and their smiles fell.
"Ciao, Signorina and Signor," the blonde greeted cheerfully.
"Maria? As in, Italian-waitress-we-met-last-week Maria?" Clint queried, to which the woman nodded her head.
"It is very nice to see you again, Steve invited me over because of the bad weather," she explained.
"Steve? Can I talk to you for a moment?" Natasha almost growled before yanking the man's hand and dragging him to the corner of the room.
Clint sat down next to the blonde as the two began to argue through fierce whispers.
"What the hell?" the redhead seethed.
"I'm sorry, what exactly am I doing wrong? It was cold, she was tired and shaking, I thought she might want to rest for a while before she continued on her way home," Cap shrugged.
"And in the process, I suppose it slipped your mind that you were inviting a stranger into the home of a billionaire who also has a lot of serious, confidential tech stored here? Let me guess, seeing as it has the name of the team on the side of the building, you had no choice but to tell her our identities," Natasha snarled.
"Calm down! Does she seem like the kind of woman to fake innocence just to sneak her way into a secure building when it's obvious that we would take her out were she to attack us? And how on Earth could she have planned our meeting? It was pure coincidence," Steve justified.
"You don't know that," Black Widow snapped, "We've met this girl once. She could be capable of anything."
Captain America shook his head in disbelief before walking past Natasha and returning to the couch where Clint and Maria were seated. The blonde beauty look up at the redhead and frowned slightly.
"If my presence displeases you, Signorina, I am more than willing to leave. I see I am no longer welcome," she sighed.
"Don't worry, Natasha was just a little shocked to see you," Steve lied nonchalantly.
Black Widow rolled her eyes furiously and stormed out, leaving the three to their polite conversation.
"Do you see this, Strazio?" Antonio boomed cheerily as he marched into the hall where the Dux was eating.
As Strazio, donned in his dragon mask, glared at the older man, he noticed the piece of paper he held. Ushering away the patient servant beside him, the Dux stood up and snatched it from his hand. The letter was written in Italian and the handwriting was fancy and long. It was obviously from his cousin.
"Maria has already located one of the missing children and befriended her allies, the famous American Avengers. Already she has gained their trust and infiltrated their home! What have you accomplished in this time? Lost even more favour within the members of the Familia? Face it, figlio, you are no longer worthy of the title Dux. Stand down and let your cugino take your place," the Dux Prioris demanded.
"Why so little faith, padre? Actually, I have been tending to a more urgent matter than sending a spy out to learn things I already know," Strazio spat, "Elise Javier has been even weaker than usual and Elliot worries, as we all do. She seems to be undergoing a transformation of some sort, or so describes her fratello. Excuse me for caring more about one of our own in a time of dire need."
"Elise has suffered these spouts of pain since her birth and her madre endured the agony before her. We need not be too anxious if they are occurring again," Antonio snorted, "Your care may bring forth loyalty from the Javier family, but it makes you look weak to the other families."
"Say what you wish. Nobody cares for the thoughts of a mad old man anymore. It was a mistake to send Maria away as well, as I will soon plant doubt in the others' minds about her betrayal. She was your only chance of a rebellion, but my traitorous cousin will never be welcomed back."
"Whatever you say, Straz. Just know that there will be an uprising and there is nothing you can do to stop it."
Over the course of the next few weeks, Maria slowly slunk her way into the warm and welcome folds of the Avengers. Natasha was still cold and Alexia felt unsure about the waitress but the others soon saw her as a friend due to her seemingly kind nature.
"I can't believe them," Natasha fumed as Lexy, Paige and herself sat in one of the numerous lounges of the Tower.
"She does seem quite nice," Paige reasoned. The woman had decided to stay neutral seeing as she wasn't even a member of the team.
"So did Ted Bundy before people found out he was a serial killer," the redhead grumbled.
"Natasha! I seriously doubt Maria is a killer," Lexy scolded.
"Well, what do we know about her? Does anyone even know her last name? Family? Past? Home? She has invaded our home and yet we don't know anything about her apart from a first name and an occupation," Black Widow pointed out irritably.
"Why don't we ask her then?" Paige suggested as the elevator slid open and Maria, Thor and Tony strolled in.
"Ciao Alexia, Paige, Natasha! Do you mind if we join you?" Maria started.
The redhead's lips thinned and her eyes narrowed, but with no sign of protest, Maria confidently lounged on one of the sofas, adjacent to her least enthusiastic new friend. Tony sat next to Alexia and Thor next to Paige.
"Natasha! Did you change your hair? It looks great!" the blonde grinned. The redhead had recently let her hair grow out a bit.
"Yeah, I do that sometimes," she muttered, "What about you, Maria? Is blonde your actual hair color or...?"
"Oh, sì. Where I used to live, before coming to New York, there weren't many resources to waste. No one in my familia or even community dyed their hair," Maria replied.
"And where was that? Your old community? In Italy?"
"The name is in Italian and is very long. You would not understand," she shrugged, unfazed by the question.
"What about your family? Why did they not follow you to New York?" Paige asked kindly.
"My family is very small. My madre is still alive but I have no siblings and my father is dead. We lived with some family friends after he died. They were very kind, but I wanted to make my own way in the world, so I entrusted my mother to them and came here," Maria continued.
"What's your family's last name?" Lexy queried.
This is when Maria became quiet. The spy was unsure on how much the team knew about the Familia de Superiores, and giving away her last name could be a fatal mistake. Natasha's triumphant smirk frustrated her beyond belief, but, determined to keep up her good-natured façade, Maria only smiled.
"My family name is Al-Allegra, Maria Allegra. Is there anything else you would like to know?" she said testily.
Natasha groaned and stormed out yet again.
"Lady Maria, I apologize on behalf of my friend. She is very distrustful," Thor sighed.
"Well, you didn't tell us much. Natasha has her reasons for being skeptical," Alexia pointed out.
For a split second, Lexy saw something in the blonde's eyes. A flare of irrational, boiling hatred that burned through her pupils and shot through the air at the Siren. At the same rate it had appeared, the glower was gone and Maria was laughing at one of Tony's never ending jokes. Alexia searched the faces of the remaining occupants of the room for a single trace that they had witnessed the passionate scowl. Fortunately, Paige's expression was one of shock and bewilderment, her mouth wide open and her eyebrows furrowed.
"So, Tony, are you still in a relationship with your assistant? I read it in the news a month or so ago. Maybe longer," Maria asked.
A glance was then surreptitiously traded between Lexy and the man. Stark laughed slightly and lowered his eyes.
"No, we broke it off quite a while ago. Are you sure that newspaper wasn't out of date?" he answered hesitantly.
"Hm, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring up a touchy subject. I should not have intruded," Maria pouted.
"It's fine. It was never gonna work out anyway," he sighed, "It actually made things a lot clearer."
"Tony, you are very illusive sometimes," Maria giggled, much to the dislike of Alexia.
"Ok, it's getting late, maybe we should head to our rooms," Paige advised as she saw her friend was about to snap.
"It isn't that late," Tony denied.
"Well, we have a meeting tomorrow, remember?" Lexy added.
"Do we? I do not remember a meeting being scheduled for tomorrow?" Thor declared, utterly bewildered.
"Yes! You do. It's on Tony's schedule anyway. I checked this morning," Paige said exasperatedly.
"I shall leave, then," Maria announced, standing up suddenly, "Grazie, tonight was very lovely."
"I suppose we'll see you soon anyway," Tony grinned.
Maria giggled flirtatiously again, causing Lexy to make an almost silent gagging sound. As soon as the blonde had been ushered out, the light brunette decided to retire and swiftly strutted past the two men, Paige marching beside her. Once they arrived in Alexia's room, Paige turned.
"Ok, what the hell was that about?"
"I have no clue."
DUN DUN DUN... Well not really but still teeennssiiooon ~. If you enjoyed, consider following and favouriting the story. If not, politely review to tell me why not.