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Mexico
The trio had enjoyed another simple, but delicious dinner whipped up by Dr. Banner. Cassie had spent the dinner trying to learn more about Skaar while Kamala bombarded Banner with questions about the other Avengers as she finally put away her professional "team leader" mindset and replaced it with her excited, Avenger-fan personality.
Kate took this all in with her own quiet, slightly socially awkward, but happy-to-be-here, aura.
After deciding that they would leave in the morning, Dr. Banner left to work in his lab and Skaar lumbered off by himself after grunting and bluntly deflecting all of Cassie's questions and attempts to get him to open up, leaving the girls to roam the house or the island as they wished.
Cassie had followed Dr. Banner down to his lab, Kamala left to call her parents and friends, and Kate went down to the ocean, deciding that a walk on the beach in the moonlight was cliche, but it was the best out of a lot of more boring options.
As she walked, her phone buzzed. She saw the name, smiled, and put in an earbud before accepting the call.
"Been a while, partner," she said jokingly.
"Yeah yeah," Clint replied, ignoring the sarcasm. "Fury let me in on your mission. How's it going?"
Kate quickly filled him in on all that happened, starting with her shadowy encounter with Kamala Khan and ending with the addition of Skaar. She added quick summaries of the abilities each young hero possessed as well as her initial feelings towards them, all of which were positive.
"Sounds like a better start than the Avengers had," Clint said finally with a heavy sigh. "It was…rocky."
"Dr. Banner said the same," Kate shrugged. "Was it really that bad?"
"There were moments," Clint answered. "How do you feel about it all?"
Kate thought for a moment before answering. "I believe in what we're doing. I would just like to know why."
"That's fair," Clint agreed.
"Did Fury mention anything to you?"
"Nope, but that's not unusual," Clint said casually. "He doesn't give out information that has been confirmed by no less than three of his sources. I have my own theory on what the problem is."
"Care to let me in?"
"There's a chance a government agency is working on a project that they probably shouldn't be," Clint answered.
"How'd you get that from Fury?" Kate asked. It felt like Clint had managed to get a lot of information from someone he just said doesn't give information until it's fully authenticated.
"He mentioned S.H.I.E.L.D. and history repeating itself," Clint said as if it were the simplest thing in the world. "There were also some rumors that the F.B.I. covered up a project-gone-wrong somewhere in the northeast."
"So we might potentially face off against the government?" Kate asked. "I know they're not always the good guys, but…"
Kate's hesitation didn't come because she had some misguided love of her country or the government. She knew better than most that people with power and authority, who claimed to be doing good, didn't always live up to their outward appearances. However, she didn't know if taking on some rogue U.S. agency would be the best first look at the young hero team.
"I did try to warn you that this lifestyle wasn't easy," Clint said, going back to the tough love that Kate had become accustomed to.
"I know," Kate groaned. "I need to get back to the house. We're leaving for Baltimore tomorrow morning."
"There's something you need to keep in mind, Kate," Clint said, becoming serious. "Government agencies, especially those with too much power and not enough oversight, don't like others messing with their plans. Keep your head on a swivel."
"I'll pass that along to the others," Kate promised. "Have a good night, Clint."
"You too Kate," Clint replied. "Stay safe, kid."
Cassie, Kate, and Kamala had to share a room for the night.
Since Stark had meant for the house to be nothing more than a vacation home, he hadn't wasted a lot of space for rooms. He had added three ensuites, but nothing more. Since Dr. Banner and Skaar took up the first two, the third had been left for the three girls to share.
To avoid the awkward discussion of who had the bed and who had the floor, they all decided to sleep on the floor after finding all the blankets and pillows they could find in the house.
It reminded them all of sleeping over at a friend's house when they were children.
However, their sleep was interrupted by a roar from inside the house as bright lights flooded the room, illuminating the three girls on the floor. Security alarms were blaring from seemingly everywhere as the pounding sound of boots got closer and closer.
"Move! Move! Move!" Someone shouted.
"What's happening?" Kamala asked groggily, rubbing her eyes. The sounds of gunshots snapping in the house woke her up immediately.
"It's too early for this," Kate grumbled, grabbing her bow and slinging her quiver over her pajamas. Cassie suited up next to her.
Within moments, the three girls were ready for a fight.
Kate threw the door open, but before she could take a step, a black-clad soldier was thrown screaming down the hallway as the same roar that had woken them up erupted again, but louder and much angrier.
Skaar charged down the hallway, bare-chested and furious as he waved his broadsword over his head and carried his broken door like a makeshift shield.
"Oh, they're screwed," Cassie summarized, Kate nodding in agreement.
"Let's make sure of that," Kamala said, smashing her fist against her palm as her fists glowed purple.
The three girls ran out of the room and joined the fight in the main section of the house where Skaar was taking on more than a dozen soldiers who were armed with automatic rifles and kevlar vests.
None of which did anything to protect them from the hulkling, who was surprisingly skilled despite the red mist that surrounded him. To Kate, who was a skilled swordswoman herself, she could see just how well Skaar combined his natural power and speed with great technique.
The three heroines were not as efficient as their green friend. They were great fighters—Kate took down soldier after soldier with her wide variety of trick arrows while Kamala threw men around with her enlarged fists and Cassie surprised several gunmen with her smooth transition from tiny to normal, taking them down with a few moves before shrinking again.
Their problem was that they had never fought together before that moment. There were more than a few times when their inexperience hindered them. Kate's arrows flew perilously close to Cassie whenever she changed size to attack a soldier. Cassie's size changes were also hard for Kamala, who would focus on her next opponent and be surprised whenever her new teammate appeared out of seemingly thin air.
It was a messy fight that was a painful lesson for the trio that they needed a lot more experience fighting together before they were ready to take down any serious bad guy. Human soldiers with no powers were one thing. Supervillains or other enhanced individuals would mop the floor with Cassie, Kamala, and Kate.
Skaar was drawn outside the house, and after the rest of the soldiers inside were dealt with, the three girls followed, their mad dash stopped as they found the former gladiator surrounded by soldiers with a helicopter hovering in front of him, a sniper leaning out the side.
The hulkling was growling like a wounded bear, his eyes searching for any sign of movement—any sign of his next threat. Before he could make his move, the sniper made his.
Skaar howled as the bullet pierced his tough skin and lodged in his shoulder above his heart. He stumbled back, but swiftly recovered and seemed to be angrier than before, if that was possible.
As soon as he was hit, the other soldiers opened fire on him, trying to take advantage of his wounded state. Cassie and Kamala ran to help him as Kate dealt with the helicopter. She tapped the dials on her bow as she made the arrow she wanted before drawing and taking aim at the area below the spinning blades.
As always, she hit her mark and the acid head ate away at the metal, bringing the helicopter down as it stumbled like a drunk out of the sky and crashed on the beach.
By the time she turned her attention back to the others, they had dealt with the soldiers. Any who were still standing ran back into the trees, dragging their friends back with them. Skaar roared and charged after them, but his father, in Hulk form, appeared out of nowhere and grabbed him by the arm, stopping him.
"It's over!" He snapped firmly. "It's over, Skaar."
Skaar growled and tried to break out of his father's grip, but Dr. Banner wouldn't budge. After a few tense moments, Skaar settled down and his father let him go.
"He was shot," Kate said as the trio went over to them. "Skaar, are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Skaar grunted, tossing the broken door away before sticking his fingers into the wound and pulling the bullet out with barely a flinch. The three girls, on the other hand, all looked away.
They had seen a lot, but they weren't prepared for the gruesomeness and utter callousness Skaar treated his injury with.
"Let me see that," Dr. Banner said, taking the bullet and wiping the blood away.
It was unlike any bullet any of them had ever seen. It was shaped like a typical sniper round, but there was a small antenna sticking from the butt of it, emitting a green beeping light. The head of the bullet was open like vents and covered in dark green blood.
"What the hell," Cassie muttered. "It looks like…"
"Like it's transmitting," Banner confirmed grimly. "I'll examine it tonight. Right now, you four need to leave. We don't know if those soldiers were here for us, you, or everyone."
"Skaar, let's go get your ship," Cassie suggested.
"Fine," Skaar grunted, stomping off with Cassie in tow. As the two left, Kate and Kamala continued the conversation with the doctor.
"Where were you?" Kamala asked.
"When Stark built this place, he set up a ton of security measures. He didn't like it when people touched his stuff," Banner sighed, rubbing his face as he walked towards the house. He jerked his thumb at the burning helicopter. "Nice work, by the way."
"So you knew about the soldiers as soon as they got here and you didn't tell us?" Kate frowned.
"They surrounded the house. I didn't know until I heard shooting back here," Banner shook his head as he went down to his lab.
"So what are you going to do while we finish our mission?" Kamala asked.
"I am going to find out who the hell shot at my son," Banner answered. "Then I'm going to call Fury and compare notes."
"Is there anything we can do?" Kamala asked.
"Be safe and finish your mission," Banner replied. "Don't stay anywhere for too long and be cautious about what you say."
"Clint said that Fury is suspicious of a possible rogue government agency," Kate said helpfully. "Do you know of any?"
"I've always treated the government with suspicion," Banner said with grim sarcasm. "I'll know more later. Right now, you both need to get out of here."
"Stay safe, Dr. Banner," Kamala said, hugging the green giant.
"You too, Kamala," Banner said, patting her on the head before shaking Kate's hand. "Hawkeye."
"Goodbye, Dr. Banner," Kate said with a sad smile. "We'll see you later."
"I'll have tacos ready," Banner promised.