As the only packages Jak usually got were replacement parts, tools, or cleaning equipment, she was rather excited to have a mystery package addressed to her. Of course, as there was currently an assassin after her and she had no friends outside of the Compound, it was also deeply concerning to have a mystery package addressed to her. But, Mr. Stark assured her that scans had not picked up on anything dangerous inside the large cardboard box so she hoped that meant it was something nice. Maybe she'd won a prize or the government was returning some of her belongings.
"I hate to say it, but it's about the length of a person," Natasha mused, walking around the box, which had been taken from the lobby to the conference room and placed on the table. "Are we sure Bucky Barnes isn't inside waiting to pop out?"
"Scans did not pick up on any signs of life," Vision said, putting Jak more at ease.
"I cannot detect any thoughts inside it either," Wanda waved her hand over the box.
"Any idea where it came from?" Jak asked the room.
"No. The cameras show a currier dropping it off, but the uniform isn't USPS, UPS, FedEx, Amazon, or any other recognizable shipping service," Tony said.
Loki came into the room, followed by Thor, who was dripping wet. Jak hid a smile when she realized that Thor had just paid the price for interrupting her romantic moment. She was glad he knew how to swim at least.
"Care to borrow a knife to open it?" Loki offered her a dagger, but she declined.
"What kind of janitor would I be if I didn't carry a utility knife at all times?" She joked, taking a box cutter out of her pocket. Taking a deep breath, she put the blade to the edge of the box. "Well, here we go."
She cut into the tape holding the box closed and then carefully lifted the lid. Inside was a wooden crate the same length as the cardboard box. It was stamped with big black numbers on the top as well as the words "PROPERTY OF THE FBI".
"What is the FBI sending me?" She wondered aloud.
"Weapons?" Natasha mused, "A box like this could hold a lot of guns."
"I'm not allowed to have guns," Jak replied, "I'm on probation, remember?"
"This is taking forever," Tony groaned, "Just open it!"
"It's nailed shut," she tugged on the lid, "Hold on."
She used her magic to transform her utility knife into a small pry bar and used that to lift the lid. Once it was off, she was met with endless straw and a piece of paper neatly folded on top. She picked up the paper and opened it.
"Oh…" she frowned when she saw the name at the top of the page, "They put my… they put one of my much, much older names."
Loki immediately looked over her shoulder.
"Winnet," he read to the group.
"I thought you went by Ruth before becoming Jaklyn," Steve commented.
"I've gone by many names," she replied, gripping the paper tightly, "I didn't think anyone had a record of this one."
She could feel Loki watching her carefully. He was definitely going to ask about the significance of this name in exchange for her next magic lesson. So far, she'd been completely honest with her answers, but she already found herself thinking of lies or half-truths in regards to this name. Her first name. The name she'd been given when she was born. No one knew that. The FBI certainly didn't have that information. Her mother had been careful not to leave any record of it amongst their things. Perhaps not careful enough, or else why would someone be sending her a note addressed to "Winnet"?
"Read the rest of the note," Wanda urged.
Jak did so and her frown and unease grew with every word. The tone was far too personal. Whoever this was acted as if they knew her and had known her for a long time.
"What does it say?" Tony asked.
"It's congratulating me on getting my powers back," she told them, "And it says that I might be able to use what's in the box to better control my magic. I don't think this is from the FBI."
"We should probably call Woo," Rhodey said.
"Let's see what's in the box first," Tony gestured to the pile of straw, "It's already open, we might as well find out what it is."
Jak shrugged weakly, her stomach pinching with nerves as she shakily pulled away some of the straw. She immediately dropped it again and took several steps back with a shake of her head. Loki moved forward and pulled back the straw to see for himself what it hid. The Avengers all crowded closer and Jak took another two steps back, her hands pressed to her mouth.
"Is that… a skull?" Tony asked, "Shit, this is definitely not from the FBI. Rhodey, get Woo on the line. We need to figure out where the hell this came from. And whose it is."
Jak knew exactly whose skull it was. She hadn't looked at it long, but she recognized the gold tooth stuck in the bleached white jaw.
"Jaklyn, are you okay?" Steve asked her quietly. He was the only person not currently staring at the skull. "Do you know who might have sent this?"
"No," she rasped, shaking so badly that she lost control of her magic and felt her skin begin to glow pink, "But I know who it is."
"Hey, hey, it's going to be alright," Steve grabbed her hand and squeezed it, "Take a deep breath."
She did as he instructed and the glow faded. He held her hand tight until her hair stopped floating as well. Jak felt sick, she wanted to throw up, wanted to run away screaming, wanted to send a magical fireball at the box to burn it. She wanted someone to hold her, but Loki was still investigating the box so she turned to the nearest person and pressed her face into Steve's shoulder to hide the tears rolling down her face.
"It's okay, Jaklyn," he told her, gently placing his hand on her back, "We're going to get ahold of Jimmy Woo and he's going to take care of it, alright?"
"Who the hell would send you a whole skeleton?" Rhodey questioned. They'd uncovered the rest of the contents of the box and indeed found the rest of the bones. "And whose skeleton is it?"
Jak bit back a sob and slowly turned away from Steve's chest to face them. Loki had noticed by now that she was being held by another man, but thankfully was keeping any comments to himself as his eyes glared angrily at Steve. She ignored that, only having the energy to deal with one emotional battle at a time.
"I don't know who sent her to me, but I do know who is in the box," she told them, feeling a bit faint, "It's my mother."
A note from the author: Dun dun duuuuuuuuun!