Chapter Six
Upon arriving at the base, the agents there helped them immediately. They must have known who the three of them were, because they had given up the coordinates of the helocarrier without question. Moments later they jumped again, Winter collapsing on the floor of the ship, over exerted from the past few days. She barely remembered the sound of medics rushing in, carrying her away to the med bay, before she slipped into darkness. She awoke sometime the next day, both Megan and Dr. Banner running around the room checking their machine thingies. Banner noticed her first, stopping whatever he was doing and walking over to her bedside, "You're awake! It's about time, you've been out for almost 18 hours." Winter went to reply, but only a choke came out. Megan rushed over, grabbing a glass of water from a tray and helping her drink. She drank the whole glass in one swig, and Megan ran off to refill it. "So," Winter started hoarsely, "What happened?" He raised an eyebrow, "We were kind of hoping you could tell us. Natalie and Megan explained to the best of their knowledge, but you're the only one who knows what really happened." Winter nodded, understanding, "What happened here though? After Loki took me?" He shrugged, "Both Thor and I were thrown from the ship. Thor is alive too, by the way," Thank goodness. "When we realized they had taken you, we did everything we could to try and locate you. Everyone has been working together, somehow getting along. Apparently we're calling ourselves the Avengers now." The very thing Winter had been assigned to stop. That mission no longer mattered, she would deal with Hydra later. "The Avengers?" Bruce smiled, almost embarrassed, "Yeah, kind of tacky" Winter smiled, "No, I think it's perfect."
After thirty minutes of both Dr.'s fawning over her, they finally decided she was healthy enough to get up. They were all expected at the bridge for a meeting, so Winter tried her best to hide how sore she was, attempting to get out of the med area as fast as she could. Slowly they made their way, Megan close enough to catch her if she tripped. She wasn't hurt, just exhausted. She hadn't used her powers this much in years, so she wasn't used to feeling this tired. It took ages, but they finally got to the bridge. Everyone was already there, Director Fury, Natasha, Clint, Thor, Steve, Tony, Natalie. Not Phil. Winter pushed the thought aside, Nope, not ready to deal with that yet. Everyone looked up as they walked in, Megan walked over to stand by Natalie, and Bruce walked over to stand by Tony. This left Winter awkwardly in the doorway, all eyes on her. Oh how she wished she could read everyone's mind. Fury spoke first, "I'm glad to see you on your feet." Winter smiled shyly, crossing her arms over her chest, "Thank you, sir. But I'm fine, I wasn't hurt." Fury turned to everyone else, "In case you haven't figured it out, this is Winter." Tony spoke up, "Care to tell us what exactly happened princess? I mean, you were gone for three days, and you were pretty beat up when you… appeared on the floor with your friends, what went down?" She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out, where do I even start? Steve saved her from having to answer, "She looks pretty shaken up, maybe start with something smaller. Winter, do you know where Loki is?" This she could do. "I know where he was when he had me, I doubt he's still there, but you can check it out." Fury nodded, "Good, now why did Loki take you? He could have just used his scepter to make you come on your own, why knock you out?" Winter took in a breath, "He was controlling me during the attack, but I fought it and broke the hold he had on me. He knocked me out because apparently I'm the only one who's ever successfully broken the spell." Clint raised an eyebrow, and she rushed to correct herself, "Well, the only one who's done it on my own." It was Thor who spoke this time, "How did you get him out of your head?" "I'm not entirely sure, when he killed… uh… when he killed Phil I got mad and pushed out with my mind. The connection snapped, and it seemed to really hurt him." "Lucky, I had to have my head slammed into a railing to get him out." Clint muttered, glaring at Natasha, who looked exasperated, "What?! It worked." Winter smiled awkwardly, taking in another shaky breath. "Look, I haven't been completely honest with any of you. I think a few of you know this, but I just want to put it out there. I work for Hydra. Well, I used to. They took me from my family when I was little. There was an experiment involving a drug called Corhtexiphan, and I'm the only one who survived it. The drug augmented my brain, giving me my powers. My main mission was to infiltrate S.H.I.E.L.D. but after what happened with Loki, I realized I've been on the wrong side. I've also been hiding some of my abilities. Everyone knows I have telekinesis, but I also can teleport, control people's minds, turn invisible, and as of last week I can read minds. I'm only telling you this because when Phil died I read his mind. I found out that he's known the whole time I was working for Hydra. This didn't stop him from letting me stay, and it didn't stop him from caring about me. He said right before he died that he believed in me, that I can do great things. If you will let me, I want to fight by your side. I know I can help, and I want as much as any of you to stop Loki. We're the best of the best, but we are also used to working alone. As far as I know Loki has moved underground, biding his time. Let's not waste the time he's giving us, let's train together, strengthen each other's weaknesses. When Loki re-emerges, we will be ready. As far as he's concerned he has us broken up, and even if we did manage to find our way back together, in his eyes we can't function as a team. It might be difficult, but if we can put aside our differences, work as a team, we will win this war." Everyone was silent, and Winter blushed furiously. She hadn't meant for it to become a speech. Tony laughed, "Looks like we have a new captain, Captain." Steve smiled, "That was one hell of a speech." Natalie and Megan were positively beaming, and Winter laughed, a genuine laugh. The first in a long time. Fury nodded at her, "You guys will start training tomorrow, Winter could use another night of rest. In the meantime we will be looking for Loki up here, you will be updated on any progress that we make." It was a dismissal, and everyone started moving towards the door. Megan and Natalie came over, and Winter smiled, "You guys know where I can get some food? I'm starving." "Are you kidding? I practically LIVE in the cafeteria, it's this way." Of course Megan would have memorized where the food is. Both her friends walked ahead of her, Winter struggling to keep up, motivated completely by her empty stomach. She was glad they weren't helping her, when they babied her she felt helpless and weak, plus she had been through much worse than walking with sore muscles. They finally made it, and some of the other team members had had the same idea. The room was pretty much empty; Natasha, Clint, Thor, and Tony being the only others there. Nat and Clint were sitting at a table, already halfway through their meal. Had it really taken us that long to get here? Tony was taking the seat next to Natasha, and Thor was shoveling food onto his already full plate. The three girls found the plates, and walked through the cafeteria examining their choices. Natalie stopped at the pasta station, she had a weird fetish for any and all pasta. Megan chose pizza, no surprise there. Winter had a harder time, being extremely picky. She settled for a chicken wrap and fries, not exactly healthy, but that was the last thing on her mind. All three plates stacked with food, the girls stood awkwardly, not knowing if they should sit with the other Avengers, or on their own. The decision was made for them, Thor calling out "Winter!" gesturing her to come over, his deep bellowing voice filling the room. Winter took the seat next to him, Megan took the seat next to her, and Natalie sat next to Tony, trying hard not to stare. Winter was too tired and hungry to notice she was sitting with four of the hottest people in the world. Shoving fries into her mouth, she hoped no one would ask her any questions. No luck. "Sooooo" Tony said, dragging the word out, grabbing everyone's attention, "You can read minds?" Winter knew the question was directed at her, but she didn't want to answer, so she took a huge bite of her wrap. Undeterred, he went on, "Because that's cool. Like really cool. A bit creepy, if I'm being honest." Winter hoped one of the others would tell him to shut up like they normally did, but a quick look around showed everyone staring at her, waiting for an answer. With a sigh she put down her wrap, "Yes, I can read minds." There, simple. Not hard at all. But of course, Tony didn't relent, "What am I thinking about right now?" Winter saw Natasha lean over and whisper something in Clint ear, and he held back a smile. Not wanting to know what Nat had said, she ignored them, "Uh I could, but it would probably hurt you." She hadn't meant to make it sound like a challenge, but it had. Tony jut his chin out in defiance, "Do it." With a sigh of resignation, Winter shut her eyes and felt for his presence. She found him quickly, and slipped into his mind softly. Okay, it wasn't very soft, it hurt a lot. She flinched as his memories bombarded her senses. Don't worry about these, find what he's thinking right now. She pulled away from his memories, sifting through his past thoughts instead, until she found the thought he had wanted her to find. She pulled out of his head slowly, opening her eyes. He was sweating, but had an amused smile on his face, "Talk about a violation of privacy." But there was no anger in his words, "I thought you could just hear thoughts like a voice, I didn't know you had to claw through my brain." Winter smiled weakly, "I told you it would hurt." "So what was he thinking?" Thor asked, curious. This time Winter's smile was genuine, "Do you mean the thought he wanted me to find? Or all the others he didn't?" Tony froze, and Winter winked at him, "It's okay, I won't tell." Natasha pouted, "Oh come on! Spill!" Winter laughed, "He mostly thinks about himself, any other time its science stuff or women. His brain is very messy, scattered." Tony huffed, trying to regain his sense of superiority, "The mind of a genius is always scattered." They all laughed, and Winter realized she felt genuinely happy. With everything going on, she clung to the emotion, not letting it go despite the circumstance she was in. This won't last very long, might as well enjoy it.
The next day Winter felt infinitely better. Muscles still slightly sore, she groaned as she got out of bed. She couldn't complain though, she hurt a lot less than she had yesterday. She pulled on her combat uniform, everyone was meeting to train together at 9:00. A quick time check revealed she had forty five minutes to eat and make her way to the training room. Winter grabbed her USB and her dagger, not knowing if she would find the weapons in the training room acceptable. She pulled her hair into a ponytail, rinsed off her face, brushed her teeth, grabbed her keys and left the room. After a few minutes she made it to the cafeteria. She quickly loaded her plate with bacon, eggs and potatoes, before finding a seat by herself. She hadn't recognized any of the other agents in the caf, and wasn't exactly feeling up to making friends. Her stomach was in knots, and though she was hungry, she had a hard time forcing herself to eat. Her nerves were going crazy, worry about Loki and his plans spoiling her appetite. She eventually finished her breakfast, and cleared her spot before walking towards the training room. Megan and Natalie wouldn't be training with them. As helpful as they were, this was too dangerous for them. They were of much better use here anyways, and Winter was relieved they wouldn't be in too much danger. She had lost Phil and Dianna, she couldn't lose anyone else. She finally found the right door, and she pushed into the room confidently. Everyone else was already there; Thor, Natasha, Tony, Steve, and Clint. Winter being the sixth person, they had enough people for three pairs of two. Everyone picked a partner; Thor and Natasha, Tony and Clint, and Steve with Winter. They agreed to alternate partners after every break, to learn each other's fighting patterns. Everyone found a space in the room, and Winter walked with Steve to an unclaimed section of the room. Everyone had agreed not to use weapons today, just hand to hand combat. They could fight with their weapons and powers tomorrow, today was just focusing solely on learning everyone's techniques. Without so much as a nod, Steve came at her. She ducked under his arm, avoiding a punch to the face. She spun around him, turning and kicking out at his back. He turned, almost as fast as she was, and grabbed her foot in the air. He spun her, throwing her off balance, dropping her leg as she fell to the floor. He aimed a kick at her side, but she rolled away, standing a few feet away from him now. She charged first this time, aiming a punch at his gut. He dodged, and as she passed him he landed an elbow to her side, causing her to gasp. They were fighting pretty seriously, but if either got hurt the other would stop immediately. He hesitated, not sure If he had actually hurt her, but quickly shook it off when she aimed a punch at his head. They were pretty evenly matched, though she could tell he was stronger than her, letting her keep up with him. Time passed quickly, both of them sweaty and out of breath in no time. Everyone broke off for a fifteen minute break. Winter downed half her water bottle, before sitting down. She looked around. Everyone else seemed to be in the same state, exhausted but not hurt. The only one with a visible bruise was Tony, who was probably more used to fighting in his suit. The fifteen minutes passed quickly, too quickly, and before Winter knew it, she was standing across from Thor. This should be fun.
Four hours later Winter was exhausted. She trudged to the cafeteria to grab some food. Eating quickly, she dreamt about the amazing nap she would take when she got back to her room. Before she finished, Natalie and Megan walked in, grabbing plates of food and sitting down with Winter. Both made a face as they sat down, but only Megan voiced what they were both thinking,
"You smell horrible," she said, wrinkling her nose. "Yeah well you try fighting against the Avengers," Winter replied, smiling. "It's so sweet that you get to do that!" Natalie said, a friendly jealously in her voice. Winter laughed, "It's cool until Thor lands a punch to your stomach. I swear I almost threw up on him." Both girls laughed, making Winter smile. She really loved these girls. Her happiness became heavy, and she remembered just how exhausted she was. "Anyways, sorry to ditch you when you just got here, but I need a long shower and an even longer nap. I'll see you two later." They both nodded, saying goodbye. Winter trudged back to her room, not making it to the shower before her head hit the pillow.