Chapter Four
8 years ago, somewhere in Berlin…
Peter kept his eyes focused on their target. He only wished Hayate could do the same, seeing as they were partners on the "test". Instead, the boy he once thought could be his friend was muttering about not needing a partner.
"I'm sorry, did you say something?"
That earned him a knife thrusted towards his eyes, easily batted away with his own. Peter was used to this, their song and dance.
"Just because you're favored, doesn't make you better than me."
Peter puffed his cheeks out at that. Hayate really sucked, more than his other classmates from Moscow, and many times he had been the outlet for their anger at not being the best.
Moscow had been hell. Peter had lost count of the number of live targets he went through after the third dozen. Several boys they trained with were turned into these targets for underperforming, or if they got too hurt during spars. The survivors had gotten transferred to Berlin last month to work on espionage skills. So far Peter hated them more than anything else he's had to do.
Mainly because Hayate was his partner. If only he had gotten one of the older boys. They were jerks, but they weren't so incompetent, something he despised from his days with Papa.
Their target this time was a balding man with his daughter, both looking the typical German part. She looked about seven, so a year older than Peter and Hayate. Peter wondered if her papa taught her things like Peter's had. Judging from her frilly outfit and the knowledge that the man was a bank teller, he doubted it.
The streets were narrow, uneven in places, and devoid of businesses. Even the apartments above were sparse. Normally people would avoid the route, but it cut off twenty minutes of walking for their target, and that was what made the man perfect for their assignment.
Peter wasn't sure why they had to kill him on the way home with his daughter, but he really cared less than he should. The man broke routine, picking his daughter up from school instead of letting the mother on file do it. It would likely not change the outcome of the night. Again, this didn't matter. The sooner they finished, the sooner he would be away from his "rival".
"Are you in position 7, 8?"
"Affirmative," Peter said into his comm. "The man's daughter is there."
Hayate stayed silent, he knew when to back down.
" You know the rules for such an occasion. Follow the plan. Einleiten".
He couldn't really describe what that phrase did to his mind. It was like he felt he could become anything Hydra needed, in order to complete the mission. As soon as the trigger word was used, he and Hayate were on the ground, walking like friends on their way home from a playdate. They rounded the corner, locking eyes with the father and daughter.
The man- no, their target- smiled kindly as they passed on the narrow street. Hayate bumped into the girl, causing the target's balance to falter in order to pick her up.
"Verzeihung" was all the target had time to say before it was over.
Hayate went low and stabbed the girl in the throat and stomach. Peter went high, vaulting off Hayate like a springboard. He inflicted the same wounds. The bodies collapsed on each other by the time Peter landed and started walking away like nothing happened. Hayate joined him.
But really, in the grand scheme of things, nothing did happen, nothing that mattered. When the local police found the targets, the method of death would point to a serial killer that didn't exist, as all of their fellow recruits completed their assignments in the same manner during the following months, striking fear into the Berlin people. Then, like the serial killer was never there, the murders stopped.
Peter got told he was going to be drafted into the enhancement protocol due to how he performed. It was an honor, he was told. It made his father proud, his new trainer said. The thought made him smile, and something bubbled up inside his stomach. Papa probably had no idea what Peter was doing in Hydra, he was too busy. But maybe, maybe he did. And Peter wanted to make him proud.
Present day, Gijon, with Peter…
There was no way to sugar coat it, Peter was screwed. Hayate, squirming under the rubble, was nothing. The boy was nothing but a sadistic thorn that would be burned.
But a man Peter really did not like, who also happened to be his apprentice's father, kept shooting those insufferable arrows at places he really didn't want to feel them. He rolled away from several bomb arrows that would have hit his skull.
A part of him wanted to just surrender and tell him about Lila. It was the perfect opportunity. No doubt the Avengers had ways to protect her, ways he couldn't. But a larger part, the admittedly more selfish one, wanted to get out of there and continue his plan. Afterall, the Avengers couldn't protect Lila the first time. Why would this be any different?
Then his eyes caught Hawkeyes mid-jump, and he hated how they made his stomach twist. Taking Lila from her family was never his intention. His mission had always been to get her home. His own wants, his own desire for happiness, meant less than nothing.
"Yo," he said, rather lamely while catching arrows, "mind stopping your attempts to kill me? I have Lila."
Peter had never been that great at conversation, much less conversations that were meant to be difficult. Hawkeye's expression twisted into pure hate. Apparently Peter had said something wrong.
"Where the fuck is my daughter, you shit!"
Peter suddenly had Hawkeye lunging at him with a knife. It connected with his shoulder, but Peter used the closeness to his advantage. He jabbed into Hawkeye's solar plexus, and flipped the man over his shoulder.
Hawkeye recovered enough to roll into a crouch, a new knife already being thrusted towards him. Peter stopped it with the knife from his shoulder, wielding it with the prowess he was known for.
"She's getting to safety, as I had to take care of a pest," Peter said while shooting the quiver of arrows with web fluid. It would make it impossible for them to be used again during the confrontation. This was a common tactic when he had previously crossed paths with the archer, and it seemed the man had learned. With a push off, Hawkeye was climbing up a light pole and getting arrows from a bottom pocket of the quiver. Clever, Peter had to admit. Very clever.
"What do you want with her?"
Dodge another arrow, stab Hayate as the guy ran off. Hopefully he'd stay away. If so, Peter would remember that stabbing fondly.
"To keep her safe."
They met in a flurry of limbs. Jabs and punches, kicks and throws. It didn't help that Peter wouldn't kill Hawkeye, while Hawkeye was trying very hard to do the opposite to him.
"Bullshit, Spider. Remember our fights? You're nothing but a bloodthirsty monster."
That. That hurt Peter. It was accurate, Peter really was a monster, he didn't care that much about most human life. He had fought Hawkeye multiple times. None of them were too memorable, save for the fact he didn't kill him. Hydra would have loved to have one of their mortal enemies dead, but since each mission had been secretive, the higher ups were just as happy to let the agent live. It would be much better for Hydra's image to kill him in the broad daylight, and strike fear into the world.
He wasn't sure why he didn't end him those times, though. Something always stopped him, no matter how much the man made his life difficult during missions.
Now he really just wanted to go back and smack his past self. Except that it would hurt Lila, of course.
"You know nothing," he said. And that was true. Peter was trying to change, trying to be someone better for Lila.
They were now on the rooftops and attracting attention. He would have to end this, before more Hydra agents- and the Avengers- showed up to join the party. Getting Lila safely away would take precedence over reuniting her family when it was clear Hawkeye was irrational.
Three helicopters and Natasha freaking Romanov appearing mid dodge was just the kind of twist he was dreading. He prayed he would get away, if only for Lila.
With Lila…
She hated this. Following a strange family, hiding in the bathrooms, leaving Peter. She hated it all. Doing suicides non-stop with Mr. Hayate or the other trainers would be better than this. She wished she was home already with Peter. Mommy and Daddy would love him for sure. After all, he was the coolest and nicest person she had ever met. How could they not love him?
Lila had been a quiet child, even before she followed that boy into the Hydra van. Back then, they didn't know she was a Barton, just that she was a stupid girl that wanted to stop a kidnapping. She hadn't seen the money that the adults had exchanged. Lila hadn't known that the boy was raised to be part of Hydra. Like Peter had been. She thought telling them who her daddy was (something she was told never to do) would stop the masked men when they grabbed her.
The first night had been enough to still give her nightmares. They had to fight one another, and she was faced off against the boy. She couldn't remember what he looked like, but he hit hard. Lila used the defense lessons her daddy taught her.
The boy didn't wake up from the fight. They put a bullet in his head to make sure of that.
Peter saved her that day, and promised to protect her. He taught Lila lots of stuff. Some were cool, like learning to run across rooftops and swing from ropes. Other stuff was not cool, like shooting, but Peter made it okay. He was grumpy at first, and rarely talked. He never said anything bad about what was happening either. But Lila noticed that he did care, and soon he was not just her teacher, but the big brother she now relied on.
Now her heart was screaming for her to go find him. But she couldn't, because Peter said to go hide. And Peter was never wrong.
So Lila hid. She split off from the group that never noticed her presence and found a trash can larger than her on the third floor of the stadium. She crouched inside it and ignored the damp paper towels covering her. Compared to some of Hydra's training, her position was safe and comfortable. But Lila had never been more frightened.
Eternity passed. Her mommy always said she was being dramatic when she used to say that about waiting for Daddy to come home, but this time she was serious; the bathroom was silent, save for the distant ringing in her ears and thud-thump of her heart. Eternity passed, then another eternity.
Panic set in; Peter wasn't coming. Hydra had caught him, he died, and now they were going to find her too. Lila would never see Mommy or Daddy again.
"Hey, Bug."
That voice. Lila knew that voice, trusted it more than anybody else's. The paper towels had been pushed aside, and chocolate eyes met her own.
"P-Peter," she whispered. He looked terrible, worse than any other time she had seen him. Never had he gotten so hurt, blood covered his face.
But he was here. Here with her. Peter was back.
Peter lifted her up into his arms, covered her with a different jacket from last time. His shirt felt wet, smelled like copper. Lila didn't care.
"You came back." She snuggled into a hug. Never did she feel like she got enough hugs, especially now. Peter hugged her tighter, and she could feel him move.
"I came back. You know I always do, right?"
She was too tired to speak now, so she nodded. Peter was back. All her panic and strength melted away like when she used to throw temper tantrums. Lila listened to her big brother tell her about where they were going next, falling asleep easily.
Complete.
Hello lovely readers, I'm back. Sorry, lately has been crazy. I'm learning a ton at my new job while taking care of my dad. He needs a new heart valve, and anybody who knows people that have had to go through that knows how tough it is. He's doing alright, but most of my free-time is spent with him. In fact, most of this chapter was written from my couch with him snoozing!
Enough personal stuff, but yeah… so. We had an emotional but fun to write chapter. I hope y'all liked it, writing the POV of Lila was honestly one of the most difficult parts of this story so far. We still haven't seen the whole fight (or even why Clint was on his own) so stay tuned!
For my SHIELD Peter Parker fans, know that I plan to update that soon! This one was just itching to be written today, though, as my week was emotional and I needed to funnel that into something.
Let me know how y'all liked the chapter, reviews feed my coffee-addict soul.
