Seven
"So, the plan is to just go in there, and start hacking nuclear launch codes?"
"Yep," Dad said swiftly, not even sparing me a glance as Happy touched down our personal private jet not far from the NEXUS Hub. We moved straight from the jet into a car with blacked out windows, and Dad spent most of the ride muttering to himself, and fiddling with the sleeves of his blazer.
I smoothed out my own deep emerald suit skirt, making sure that the white chiffon blouse was tucked in neatly. My dad had stressed the importance of this seeming like an official visit, and he even convinced me to wear an impractical pair of white heels. Why white?!
We pulled up outside the official looking building, and Happy opened the door for me, helping me out onto the concrete. I gave him a small smile, and made sure my hair was still contained in its elegant chignon.
"Ready?" he asked, sliding his red shades on. He held out his arm, and I hooked my hand into the crook of his arm.
"So ready," I replied, flashing him a teasing grin. He led us into the NEXUS Internet Hub, and a group of people were already waiting to receive us. They babbled excitedly to my father and I, but I just let him handle it, instead running over every decryption and hacking technique I had ever exploited. It had been ages since I had last done any sort of serious computer work, and I just hoped I wasn't too rusty.
We walked into the large room, and on the small circular landing were two computers, each with its own keyboard. Dad and I got set up in front of each one, and I took a small amount of time getting used to the keyboard. Once I got started there would be no room for typing error.
"A hacker who's faster than Ultron?" my dad said, partly to himself, partly to the three lingering employees. "He could be anywhere. And as this is the centre of everything, I'm just a guy looking for a needle in the world's biggest haystack."
"How do you find it?" the blonde woman at his elbow asked in a heavy Norwegian accent.
"Pretty simple. You bring a magnet."
"Oh, I'm decrypting nuclear codes and you don't want me to!" I muttered in a sing-song voice, fingers flying over the keys, eyes glued to the screen. "Come... And... Get me."
I typed away, while my dad used the second computer to scope out the response, and occasionally conduct his own decryptions as far away from me (inside the database) as he could get. I was being shut down almost immediately, although in the beginning I nearly managed to get a couple past him. I sensed a familiar energy, and typed faster, leaning closer to the screen as my eyes tightened.
"He's changing the codes almost faster than you can start typing. He's learning exactly what you're gonna do..." Dad muttered, and something suddenly popped into place inside my head. I made a really risky move, and stopped decrypting in favour of trying to piece the scattered mainframe back together.
"Evie, what are you-?"
"Shh!" I hissed, hardly blinking as lines of text and code scrolled over the screen. After watching the screens intently for a minute, Dad finally realised what I was doing.
"Oh, you little genius..." he breathed, and I smiled absently, finishing the last of my recovery mission with a flourish. I typed a quick message on screen, and waited with bated breath for a response.
'Hello, Jarvis.'
It took a little while, but the two sentences I received back were all the reward I needed.
'Hello, Miss Evie. How was your day?'
After making sure Jarvis was 100% operational, I was quick to check on the state of the team in Korea. I found an avalanche of Korean news articles, and figured out with the help of Jarvis that Clint was heading back to the Tower, Nat was M.I.A, and Steve was stranded in Seoul with the Enhanceds.
I convinced Dad to head back to the Tower, and let me head to Korea to pick up Steve and the two Maximoff's. I walked some ways into the woods once I had waved Dad and Happy off, and activated Tiny.
I watched as the miniscule fighter unfolded into the familiar jet, similar to the Quinjet, but not as bulky, and slightly faster. I headed inside, and the first thing I did was kick off my heels. I then moved to the controls, pulling a set of headphones on, flipping on the engines, and sliding into the plush leather seat.
"Friday, I need you to set us on course for Seoul, Korea, and hook into Rogers' comm. Lock in on his location, and land us in the nearest available space."
"Of course, Evelyn. Would you like to engage top speed?" Friday's cool Irish tones filled my ears, and I forever praised my father for listening to me when I suggested a Welsh or Irish accent for the next A.I. I always found them so soothing.
"Yes Friday. Get me there ASAP."
"Done." Friday's answer was immediate, and I relaxed into the seat, waiting for the minute I could connect to Steve's communicator. We had only been in the air for five minutes before I got a confirmation from Friday. "Mr Rogers is on the line, Evelyn."
"Evie? Thank God. Have you heard from anyone else?"
"Dad left Oslo about ten minutes ago, and he's heading back to the Tower now. I figured out that it was Jarvis who was protecting the nuclear codes, and I managed to piece him back together. I trawled through the Korean news, and Clint's en route as we speak.
"I haven't heard anything from Nat, but Clint and Dad will be on it when they get back. I'm on my way to your location now; ETA 45 minutes. I'm hoping that Friday can connect me to Clint so that I can let him know what's going on. Are the Enhanced giving you any grief?"
"No, we're clear over here. Thank you, Evie. I'll see you shortly."
"Roger that, Cap. Mana out."
I cut off the comm connection, to find Friday already trying to pin down Clint.
"Evelyn, the comm link is requesting authentication. Shall I-?"
"Use 'Mana', capital M," I replied at once, and a few seconds later Clint's voice was coming over the line.
"Evie, what's the problem?"
"Nothing Clint, just clueing you in. Dad's heading back to the Tower with Jarvis: he was our mystery hacker. I don't have anything on Nat, but I can get Friday on that while I'm heading to Steve. I'm going to pick up Cap and the Enhanceds, then head back to the Tower as quickly as I can fly."
"Great, Evie. I'm heading over East Europe now, so I'll be at the Tower by the time you've got to Steve. Let me know if you get anything on Nat."
"Of course I will. See you later, Hawkeye."
"Baby Stark."
"That nickname..!" I griped under my breath, and I heard his responding laugh before we cut the connection. I put Friday on the task of searching through anything she could get her (figurative) hands on for Nat, before I leaned back in the chair, and tried to get some well-needed rest.
"Evelyn, we are landing in Seoul."
I snapped awake, and yawned widely, noticing the light throbbing in my head. I isolated the source to a pin headache from the chignon, but before I had time to unwind it, the plane jolted slightly, signalling our landing.
I jumped to my feet, and moved to the back of the jet, hitting the button for the door release. The doors slowly cranked open, and I made out Steve and Wanda Maximoff jogging for the jet. I was just about to question the absence of Pietro, when he blurred into being in front of me.
"Stark," he deadpanned, a light sneer on his face. I pulled my hair free of its fancy up-do, before crossing my arms over my chest, cocking my hip to one side.
"Maximoff," I responded just as emotionlessly. Steve and the girl had reached us by this time, and were watching the stand-off with tense eyes.
"Nice toy," he said, eyes flicking over the plane's interior.
"Nice Reebok's," I quipped, glancing down at his running shoes before turning on my heels and moving to the front of the plane, shutting the doors behind the trio.
"At least I have shoes!"
"Mine are $2,000 Prada's, currently sitting five metres to my left." I saw him zip over to said shoes, picking one up and inspecting the brand inside the sole of the high heel. He snorted, unimpressed, before dropping it. I reached out with my telekinesis and stopped it in mid-air, slowly setting it back on the ground. I put the jet in the air, sent a quick message back to Dad to let him know we were on the way, before pushing back slightly from the console.
"I will thank you for coming to collect us, even if my brother will not," The soft, heavily accented voice came from behind me, and I turned around to see Wanda standing there, looking slightly uncomfortable. Steve was sitting on a metal bench taking inventory of his various scrapes and bruises while Pietro sat in a corner, glaring over at me.
"You're welcome. Least I could do, anyway."
"You are Stark's daughter, yes?"
"I am. Evelyn Stark. And?" I wondered, a slight hint of irritation creeping into my voice.
"You look very alike."
"You do. You are... how do you Americans say..? 'Hot'?" Pietro smirked at me, and I scoffed.
"First you antagonise me, now you try to flirt with me. Maybe mood-swings are a part of your powers. Either way, I'm currently in a very stable relationship with a very powerful, very over-protective Norse God. Fast Mexican mice aren't on my to-do list.
"Speaking of: you Speedy Gonzales, still have to apologise for dislocating my arm. It was very painful and still isn't sitting quite right." I rolled my left shoulder for emphasis, and was very pleased when it cracked loudly.
"Then you must apologise for causing my sister harm," he retorted stubbornly.
"Then she needs to apologise for hitting me with that voodoo crap!"
There was a moment of tense silence, before Wanda spoke up quietly.
"I'm sorry using my powers on you..."
"I'm sorry for rifling through your head like that. It was rude, and most likely very painful." I said easily, smiling at the girl. She returned the smile, and then we both turned to look expectantly at Pietro. He huffed, and rolled his eyes, glaring at the ceiling while he spoke.
"I'm sorry."
"Apologise properly," Wanda demanded, crossing her arms firmly. He muttered under his breath, and I made out something like 'twelve minutes older'. "Properly, Pietro!" He glared at her, before fixing warm brown eyes on me.
"I'm sorry for yanking you away, which led to the dislocating of your shoulder. Better?"
"Much." Wanda beamed, and I chuckled quietly, turning around in my seat again. I heard Steve mumbling to himself, but wrote it off quickly, settling down into the seat and closing my eyes.
"Wake me when we get there!" I called out at large, and two voices answered with an 'okay': Wanda and Steve. Pietro stayed suspiciously silent, so I quickly programmed Friday to lock down the cockpit if he did anything shifty. Satisfied with my protected safety, I settled back down, and let my eyes slip closed.