Hey there, welcome back to the next chapter. I do apologise for the lastness but I've had some issues submitting chapters to doc manager since Friday. Luckily, it's working now.
It's mission time and the first official one for Astraea. Let's see how it goes.
As always, I don't own Marvel or anything but original plot and characters.
Mission, where?
The next week came, and preparations had been completed for the mission to the Sokovian base. The Avengers' were searching for Loki's sceptre, which hadn't been taken back to Asgard (for some reason) when Loki was taken back there. Apparently, Loki was dead (again!) though.
Two days before they were to set out, Tony called Astraea down to his lab. Puzzled, Astraea turned up to see a shining new Nemesis suit waiting for her. Tony has gone all out with it. The actual suit based a little on Natasha's catsuit, but is in two, separate pieces and more armoured than the Widow suit. It's still black with a matching face mask, but the scale motif on the back has been exchanged for a badge on one arm; the Avengers' logo is on the other. Electric batons hang on either side, along with many pockets for knives. There's a comms unit for her ear and several handy items (string, lock-picking set, small first aid kit, extra ammunition) on her belt. Strong black boots, reaching to mid-calf, complete the outfit: laces up the front, and holsters for knives on the sides. Two handguns can be found on her waist.
For a moment Astraea just stares at it. She'll be better armed and better protected than ever before. It's a suit worthy of a superhero, but Astraea doesn't feel that super.
"You made this for me?" She questions, reaching out a hand to touch it but thinking better of it. "I can't … it's so … wow."
"You have to be well protected if you're going to fight with us." Tony just shrugs and smirks, half-modest. "That other one … well, okay-ish, for an amateur. No good for a real fight though. Luckily, there's a genius on this team."
"Well," Astraea starts to recover her wits, "you'll have to thank Bruce for me." She smiles softly. "It's incredible. Thank you so much."
oOo
Two days later, and Astraea is hugging a worried Madison goodbye. The rest of the team is already suited up – excluding Bruce, who shouldn't really turn green right before flying in a Quinjet.
"Stay safe, Rhea. Don't get shot and … and don't break yourself." Madison wraps her arms around Astraea's shoulders once last time, standing up on her tiptoes.
"I won't," Astraea promises, hoping it'll be true.
oOo
In the 10 or so hours it takes to fly over, Steve explains the plan of attack. They'll be touching down in a woody area, a couple of miles away from the base. It sits close to the capital city of Sokovia, so there's a risk the citizens will be fired upon. The people already hate Iron Man after the fiasco with stolen weapons, and they don't need a reason to hate the Avengers also. Fortunately, Tony has the Iron Legion' – a group of about five suits that can protect the people if it comes to that. Astraea hopes that it won't, but you never know.
Sokovia isn't somewhere Astraea's ever even heard of before, let alone actually been to. It's equal parts exciting and terrifying. But the most part she's left wondering: where the hell even is Sokovia? Unfortunately, it's not even the end of her problems. No matter where this place is in the world, she has a mission to complete.
It's Astraea's first time on a proper mission, and she's honestly scared shitless. For the most part, she'll be working more with Widow, Cap, and Hawkeye, while Hulk, Iron Man, and Thor handle most of the anticipated vehicles. Clint promised to keep an eye out for her, and Natasha told her that getting injured in the field will be some good experience for not to be so foolish in the future.
Astraea's not sure how to answer that.
oOo
As soon as they've landed, Steve runs them through the plan once more before sending them into the snow-covered woods. Tony sets off, flying towards the base; Thor heads off in a similar way. Steve is riding one of the special, on-board motorbikes. Bruce transforms into the Hulk and lumbers into the woods. The rest of them set off on foot, looking to commandeer vehicles if they need them.
Nemesis, Black Widow, and Hawkeye storm through the woods taking out shocked soldiers as they go. They're no match for the three of them, despite the much higher number of enemies.
"I'm going for that car," Hawkeye mutters, gesturing to a grey, armoured vehicle to the north-west of us. Natasha nods and indicates she'll drive.
Clint creeps to a spot with better coverage, firing precision arrows with ease at the soldiers. Blue energy blasts shoot through the trees. Astraea rolls beneath one that nearly hits her head and lashes out at the man who fired it. He goes down like a rock. Natasha makes her move, shooting the driver and clambering into the driving seat.
"Come on, slowpokes," she cries. Nemesis and Hawkeye leap into the car, with Clint standing on a special pedestal on the back.
Natasha hits the gas, and they go crashing through the trees. Another vehicle comes alongside them, shooting at the trio. Clint is shooting arrows in all directions. Nemesis pulls out her handguns, shooting at the soldiers driving beside them. She feels guilty about every hit she makes but pushes it aside. They're in a battle, and Astraea has to focus on winning and working with her teammates. She needs to prove her worth in battle, as well as survive. It's all she can do.
The Avengers (plus Nemesis) all reach the same point together and leap as one. Cap on his bike; Tony and Thor flying; and Hulk, Astraea, Natasha and Clint leaping through the air. It'd make an epic photo, Astraea thinks, absently.
"Shit." Tony's surprised voice comes after the comms, followed by:
"Language!" Steve shouts it without any hesitation. Astraea can see him whizzing by on his bike, throwing that shield of his that doesn't seem to obey the laws of physics. At all. "JARVIS," he continues, "what's the view from upstairs?"
"The central building is protected by some kind of energy shield. Strucker's technology is well beyond any other Hydra base we've taken." JARVIS' cool tone relays the information to everyone.
"Loki's sceptre must be here. Strucker couldn't mount this defence without it. At long last." Thor's deep voice seems rather pleased to Astraea's ears.
Astraea dives into a small ditch, avoiding energy blasts with Natasha. The Widow launches herself at the soldiers, wrapping her legs around one's neck, and using her weight to pull two down. Nemesis whacks one with her baton, hard enough to knock him out, and kicks at another to break the woman's leg.
"At long last is lasting a little long, boys," Natasha quips, pushing herself up from her crouched position.
Clint agrees with her. "Yeah. I think we lost the element of surprise." He ducks under some blasts, hiding behind various trees to take pot-shots at the enemies.
"Element of surprise doesn't matter if we can't find a way into the base," Astraea adds, dodging blows, and chucking knives.
"Wait a second." Tony's incredulous voice echoes loud in Astraea's ears. "Is no one going to deal with the fact that Cap just said 'language'?"
"I know," Steve says heavily. He directs his bike straight at soldiers driving a truck him. Then, to Nemesis' utter amazement, flips the bike right over his head, sinking it through the metal of the truck. "It just slipped out."
oOo
Astraea is running around, taking out soldiers, with Clint nearby. Natasha was somewhere close, too, but the others were spread out through the forest. The comms unit in her ear crackles with almost constant chatter – Tony is closing in on the base, and Steve insisting they need to get into the base.
Dodging under one blue-ish shot of energy, Astraea dances through the trees, throwing her batons the soldiers chasing her. She has to roll between the legs of another soldier to retrieve her electric baton, and flips over his head, wrapping her legs around his neck and choking him. The man collapses and she springs free. Astraea is about to turn the corner when Clint grabs her arm. He gestures to a bunker Astraea nearly waltzed in front of. She pales and murmurs a quick 'thank you'.
Clint, on the other hand, has drawn an arrow, aiming at the base. Astraea's sure it must be one of those explosive arrows; Clint has a vast collection of various types. Even a pizza arrow, though she's not sure how useful that is. He makes the shot but a silvery blur stops it. Clint hides back behind the tree, and Astraea raises her eyebrows in question at him. Clint goes to take the shot again, but the same thing happens.
The next time, he steps out completely. The same silver blur knocks into Clint this time, flipping him onto the ground. Astraea runs over to help him up. A young man is standing there, about her own age, with a mop of white hair.
"You didn't see that coming?" He asks in a strangely accented voice before speeding off again.
Clint stands up, aiming his bow at the speedster. But as he lowers it, a gun pops up from the nearby bunker. Astraea's ears twitch as she hears the gun step up.
"Clint!" She calls out, arms reaching out to pull him down. But Astraea's not quite fast enough, and the blast skims Clint's side, nearly catching Astraea's leg as she hit's the deck. "Damn it."
Clint moans on the ground, and Natasha flips around, dodging shots and ducking down at Clint's side. "Clint's hit." She pulls off her glove, pressing it to Clint's side. Astraea produces a small roll of gauze and hands it over. Natasha looks up at her and nods. Behind them, the bunker is still active. "Somebody want to deal with that bunker." She calls out.
The Hulk roars his defiance at the bunker and smashes straight through it.
"Thank you." Natasha's voice goes a little sing-song.
There's a load of chatter coming through Astraea's earpiece: Steve and Thor talking about the enhanced, Clint complaining about the hit, and Tony making quips at Steve's 'language' comment. Natasha calls for evac, and Thor turns up a few minutes later. As Clint gets taken away by Thor (with the former calling Thor his 'knight in shining armour'), Natasha announces the all-clear in their area.
Steve's reply sounds a little metallic over the comms. "Then get to Banner, time for a lullaby."
"A what?" Astraea questions, raising eyebrows at Natasha.
"It's a just thing we worked out: calms the Hulk into Bruce." Her gaze softens slightly. "Think the big guy likes me."
Astraea's not really entirely sure what to say to that. "Uh, so I should … ?"
Natasha's rolls her eyes. "Come on, Super-Ears, see if you can pinpoint Banner."
The two of them set off, running further into the woods, following Astraea's hearing. Bruce isn't that hard to find, considering the noise his 'smash' fighting makes and his heavy footprints. Astraea can't decide if Natasha is testing her ability or just using her recourse fully. It stops the Black Widow from having to search longer to find the surprisingly elusive Hulk.
"Um, I don't want to sound insensitive or anything … " Astraea falters under the weight of the Widow's gaze, "but, uh, don't you have a tracker or anything on him? So, you can find him again, after a battle, I mean." Her voice trails off into silence.
"You wanna go near the Hulk with a big-ass needle?" Astraea shakes her head at Natasha's words. "I didn't think so. Plus, the tracker would probably also be present in Bruce. The government could hack it and track him. I don't trust the government with that kind of information, nor do I want Bruce to have to deal with people being able to always find him. Sometimes you just need to get away."
They lapse back into silence and find Bruce as the Hulk a few moments later. He was just milling around, seemingly with no real cause. Natasha gestures for Astraea to keep back, but steps forwards slowly herself.
"Hey, big guy. The sun's getting real low." Natasha's voice is low and soothing but laced with something more. She kneels before him, placing an ungloved hand into his. The Hulk scowls initially but soon softens his gaze and begins to transform back into Bruce, stumbling away as he does so. Natasha watches him go.
Like someone becoming a baby again, Astraea's thoughts are tumbling around at the weirdness of it all. I've never seen anything so odd or so fascinating. How on earth does all of that green fit inside an average sized man? And how do those trousers still manage to fit a guy at least ten times bigger than Bruce?
oOo
Once back on the jet, the Avengers tidy up and sit around having small conversations. Natasha is trying to reassure Bruce about the Hulk. From the way she tells it, anyone would, and should, believe that the Hulk – that Bruce is a hero. But Bruce still doesn't look very convinced.
"Thor, report on the Hulk?" Natasha turns to Thor, who is quietly conversing with Steve opposite the other two. Astraea hovers someone in between, unsure of how to act.
"The gates of hell are filled with the screams of his victims." Thor smiles slightly, as though he is approving of his fellow warrior's actions. Astraea cringes internally – while Thor may mean well, Bruce is taking it that way, given his groan.
Natasha's glare might just be the most dangerous thing in the room because Thor tries to backtrack quickly.
"Uh, but, not the screams of the dead, of course. No, no, uh...wounded screams, mainly whimpering, a great deal of complaining and tales of sprained deltoids and, and uh... and gout."
Astraea facepalms, literally. That had to be one of the worst attempts at backtracking, but Bruce is smiling a little at the attempt. Steve was just looking up at the ceiling, amusement all over his faces.
The conversations resume again, but Astraea can't focus on them. She's thinking about Clint, injured because she wasn't quite fast enough to stop him from getting hit. She was right there! And Astraea still couldn't manage it. Sure, it's not the worst thing she's seen happen, but this is a teammate, not some random gang member who's made far too many wrong choices. This is someone she actually cares about, even if they've only interacted a few times and the first time was after being kidnapped. There's a sort of, almost, fatherly relationship there. Clint is a man, probably in his forties, so Astraea is young enough to be his daughter. He was keeping an eye on her in the battle, but she still wasn't quick enough to help him.
Astraea sits down, barely listening to the others making party plans. There's a shuffling sound as Natasha sits beside her.
"Hey there, Super-Ears. You're looking a little glum. I'm not really the best person for comfort and shit like that, so I'll be straight with you. You're all upset about Clint getting shot when you were stood so close, weren't you?" Astraea nods slightly, eyes on the floor. "That's happened to me more times than I care to remember. He's a lovable idiot who risks himself to give second chances and to protect. I know all about how that guy's brain works. Don't worry about Feathers, he's survived plenty worse than this before. Don't sweat it, okay?"
Astraea's brain must be feeling a little sluggish because she can only mumble a quick 'yes'. But there's something that sticks out in Natasha's words. 'Risks himself to give second chances.' She gets the feeling that Natasha wasn't just talking in general; she meant herself. Looks like there's more to Black Widow than most of the world know, even after the data dump last year. She wouldn't put it past JARVIS being able to pull sensitive files before the world could get their hands on the information. Keeping safe the secrets of the Avengers. Maybe.
Well, there you go. Successful mission.
I placed Astraea with Natasha and Clint for a few reasons. Mainly that they're likely the most experienced with having trainee 'agents' out on the field with them. Plus, they (Natasha especially) have the most similar fighting styles. They're hand-to-hand ground fighters. I know this is also kinda Cap's area, but I don't feel Astraea would suit Steve, what with the motorbike bit.
With regards to the time for the flyover, I reasoned it wouldn't take the Quinjet as long as a commercial plane to fly to Sokovia. Of course, Sokovia doesn't exist, so I just shorted the time it takes a commercial aeroplane to get to countries about the region of Slovakia, Hungary, and Romania.
But, I hope you've enjoyed this. Please let me know your thoughts.
Again, I'm sorry that an error with doc manager prevented me from uploading this early. Thankfully, it's been resovled so we're all good now.
Until the next time,
Look-for-the-miracles