Calling Captain America

"Well, I hope the rest of the council agrees with your decision. They are listening in, aren't they?" She didn't expect a legitimate answer to her question, which was conveyed by her slowly raising from her seat. She lingered for only a second, an expression of concern flashing across her features briefly before disappearing as quickly as it came. Headed toward the door, she stopped about halfway there and turned to Banner.

"I'm not afraid of conversation either. It takes two to chat. You can express that sentiment to the rest of the team if you like." She was seemingly dissatisfied with her statement as she once again lingered a moment longer. However, she added nothing more and left Banner to his business. She couldn't tell if the evaluation went well or not. She wasn't even certain it was a genuine evaluation. Nevertheless, it was over, which meant there was nothing she could do to change it.

She figured it wouldn't take long for word to get back to Steve that she was free for conversation. And though she still wasn't exactly in a chatty mood, she thought that it was perhaps a good opportunity to take a step toward a positive fundamental personality change. If she wanted to bond with the Avengers - though she was still questioning if she did -, she would have to put forth some effort. So, she found herself wandering back to the penthouse. She hovered around the empty room, alternating between sitting and standing periodically. Biding her time by awkwardly drumming her fingers on various surfaces and extensively examining nearby objects, she was certain someone would meander in eventually.

Or perhaps they were avoiding the room intentionally, knowing that she was there. She inhaled sharply at the thought, mentally scolding herself for thinking that changing their opinions of her would be so childishly simplistic. Just as she stood up quickly to make a break for the safety of her room, she was stopped by the sound of approaching footsteps. She instinctively dropped back onto one of the nearby couches in an effort to look far less anxious. Though she wanted to return to solitary, she was certain sprinting away from whoever was coming wouldn't leave the best of impressions.
 
"So, I heard through the grapevine that you paid Dr. Banner a little visit; something about an evaluation, if I recall correctly."

The suave, confident voice of Tony Stark rang through the penthouse as he made an entrance, flashing Cora a polite smile as he moved to take a seat on the couch across from her. "I hope you didn't give the guy too much trouble. He's gotten better at handling temper issues that he may or may not have had in the past, but you should still avoid stressing him out too much, at least for the sake of not drastically changing his skin tone."

Tony didn't feel any unease from being around Cora, but he was bothered by how tricky a person she was to read. She kept to herself whenever she could, and she provided no tells about what was going on in that head of hers. The fact that S.H.I.E.L.D.- which was apparently a thing that still existed, somehow- had deemed it acceptable to tag along with the Avengers not more than 24 hours after she brought HYDRA to their headquarters was puzzling to him, and he wasn't sure it'd been the right choice.

There was literally no information on record about her other than her name and alias, her actions were all over the place and the only tidbit of additional info he had about her was from Steve, which was that she was another super soldier who, interestingly enough, apparently couldn't die. If she shared anything personal with him, Steve hadn't said, and Bruce of course wasn't at liberty to disclose any personal details she might have given him. There was little that Tony could work with in the way of understanding what kind of person Cora was.

"Also, I'd like to apologize to you about being an asshole before and stuff, but I honestly can't figure out for the life of me what it is you're planning on doing. Escaping, actually helping us, helping us so you can leave... using this as an excuse to try out one of my iron suits- which, no, you can't do. I just- it's puzzling. Brought HYDRA here to kill us one moment, bailed us out in our own base of operations the next. Maybe you just... hate both of us? It's a conundrum that makes my head hurt, so I just going to stop thinking about it."

"By the way, how's the boy scout treating you? He made you want to cave in your own skull yet?"
 
Tony Stark. She couldn't discern whether or not she was relieved that he was the one that entered the room. Out of the pool of potential Avengers to impede on her silence, Stark was arguably the most easygoing. They weren't necessarily on a friendly note yet but they had a far less rocky relationship than her and Barton. Her muscles loosened slightly as she relaxed into a more comfortable seated position while Stark rambled on in his usual manner.

"That's not correct," She remarked calmly with a small shake of her head. Tony had asked a handful of questions but barely stopped for breath, leaving her little room to answer any of them. She held up a hand to prevent him from inquiring further as she was taking her time to clarify. "I did not bring HYDRA anywhere. They followed me, which is different because I was not aware."

"Second, you shouldn't make assumptions, Mr. Stark. Do you know what they say when you assume?" She smirked slightly, reclining onto the couch and crossing her arms over her chest. "There are very, very few people on this planet that I hate, one of whom should be incapacitated for several weeks now. You - sorry to burst your bubble -, the rest of the Avengers, S.H.I.E.L.D. does not rank among them."

"As for Steve, he... is persistent to say the least. I can't fault him for trying his best. He and I just... clash in our personality types, I suppose. In retrospect, I think it's fair to say that that's kind of the point. I'm coping. At my own pace. That's what everyone wants to hear, isn't it? I'm not planning on running back to HYDRA. If I was, don't you think I'd be trying just the tiniest bit harder to collect intel? Or am I trying to use reverse psychology on you now? ...Isn't that what you all think of me? Just a ticking time bomb? A wolf in sheep's clothing waiting to strike?" She scoffed with a small eye roll.

She hated how the idea got under her skin. Perhaps her paranoia was contagious. She was obsessed with motives, always trying to predict who would do what next. The Avengers were the same with her. She could feel it. She could see it. She wanted to trust and to be trusted, but that wasn't something that was done overnight. She wanted friends, a family. She wanted to believe in honesty, trust, sincerity. Letting her guard down felt impossible, but she had to ease into it little by little if she wanted to have even a hope of change. And, if Tony was going to be the beginning of it, so be it.
 
"It wouldn't be unreasonable for us to, no? We have zero record about you other than your real name and the one HYDRA gave you," Tony replied calmly. "We don't know how active you've been in the field, or if you've even been put out in the field at all. There's a lot of assumptions to be made about you, but no actual hard facts." As he stood up and went over to the minibar to grab himself a drink, he continued speaking. "Regardless, that doesn't mean everyone is closed off to the idea that you mean well, though Clint certainly doesn't seem keen on your extended residence. Banner just has a tricky time socializing, Thor has a... different way of socializing, Romanoff seems generally unconcerned about you- do you want a drink?- and Cap... he's always our bright, shining beacon of optimism."

His voice was almost mocking when he briefly described Steve; there was no malice, but it was still slightly mocking nonetheless. "In fact, the two of us even argued about you at one point. He was fully convinced at the time that you played no active part in HYDRA coming here, and he's been quite dead-set on believing you're ultimately a good person. Said he's nervous about how well you're settling in, doesn't want you to feel left out..." Returning to his seat with two glasses of alcohol, he handed the one in his left over to Cora. "I'm guessing he might have the hots for you, but it could just be that he's being his usual goodie two shoes self," Tony shrugged. "He hasn't really shown any interest in that kind of thing, anyway." He paused, taking a quick sip of his drink.

"Now, blonde-haired boy scouts aside, I've heard that you can't die. I'm guessing then that you don't have to be concerned about stubbing your toe against something? Or is that even worse because you can still feel the pain, therefore you're forced to endure eternal suffering? I don't know what the implications of your 'unkillableness' are, so I'm just curious."
 
"There are plenty of hard facts. However, it seems everyone wants to brush them off. Would you stand idly by if HYDRA stormed the Tower and took one of your suits? That's what happened with me. They just didn't expect the suit to fight back. But, they'll be damned if they lose me. I'm sure they'll be back at some point or another."

Cora watched Stark pour drinks and speak about Steve with a mild fixation. How different the two were - in mannerisms, in tone, in attitude. She wondered briefly if she was the only one that did this: studied movements, the way the words formed on lips, how they'd leave themselves unguarded in non-hostile situations. Or maybe they did the same to her when she was lost in thought, as she often was, or when she was too preoccupied with paranoia to see an intent gaze.

Taking the drink from Stark gingerly, she was careful not to make any skin-to-skin contact. Contact was reserved for combat in her mind. It had been a long time since anyone had been a physical comfort to her. It had been a long time since anyone had been any sort of comfort to her.

"I don't really drink," She murmured idly, staring down into the glass. Vague memories of drinking various harmful substances left a bad taste in her mouth. She preferred to only consume thing she had prepared herself or at least have careful watch over the preparation, if possible.

"Steve is too optimistic for his own good. No one can be saved if they don't want to be." It was another offhand comment that had apparently went under the radar as Stark inquired about her 'unkillableness.' The phrase 'eternal suffering' made her slowly thickly and dig her teeth into her bottom lip. Her future was something that occupied her mind quite often and something that she preferred not to discuss. She figured her response had no subtly but she still answered.

"I can feel it. I've gotten more used to pain through repeated... exposure. But, I can feel it," There was a certain quiet vulnerability in her voice, one that had rarely seen the light of day. Steve would probably be jealous that Tony had elicited such sincerity in her. Still, she tried to soften her emotions behind an expressionless face and quiet words. She didn't want to scare Tony away, but, more importantly, she didn't want his pity.
 
Tony kept from speaking for a few moments, her comment on HYDRA's infiltration and her response to his inquiry about her immortality causing pieces to click together in his head until he figured about her what Steve had already learned before. "Guess you still gotta be careful about stubbing your toe, then." He offered Cora a brief smile before taking another sip of his drink. Perhaps it was insensitive of him to make a joke like that right after seemingly touching a nerve of hers, but he didn't want the mood to be completely somber while they discussed the subject of who she had become.

"I guess they wanted to keep you in line, didn't they? Make sure you didn't act up. I mean, if they found out a way for you not to die, why not make it so you couldn't feel pain? Tank through a thousand bullets at once without even flinching?" He allowed himself to acknowledge more of her perspective of things, but he was still mindful of what she may or may not have done in the past. Namely, killing people. People with wives, with husbands, with mothers and fathers... people with children. People who could fight, people who couldn't. People who were innocent, people perhaps less so. Maybe a few people, a dozen... hundreds... thousands. Maybe more. No matter what HYDRA did to her, what she had once done was something he couldn't easily let slip.

"What'd they say you were a part of, at first? What did they end up making you do?" Tony's own voice had become more genuine, more attached to the conversation. A moment later, he made sure to add, "If you want to pass on a question, just pass." If there was any time to find out more about Cora, it was now. It was established by this point that her motivation to fight against HYDRA was real, that she was making no effort to play a long-con game in their favor. But he needed to understand that motivation better. Get a feel for just how much she was in for putting them down for good, if there was a turning point for this or if it had been like this from the very beginning.
 
"I don't know if they figured out anything, T-- Mr. Stark," The stumble offset her only briefly. The use of formalities was more of a reflex among many instilled in her. She couldn't let herself relax completely, no matter how she tried. "If they had it all figured out, I can assure you they wouldn't have put up with me. As I shared with Dr. Banner, they have no tolerance for unnecessary obstacles. With me, everything just sort of.... happened and then I was valuable to them."

"I can't remember most of it," She stated simply as an answer to his last question. "I remember bits and pieces. Mostly... disciplinary action. I imagine that's intentional. But, I can't tell if my memory failure is at their hand or my own. A coping mechanism maybe? But sometimes I can't help but feel like it's all just been... wiped away. I can't even remember if I had a life before HYDRA."

"I don't know if that's better or worse," She added after a brief pause with half-chuckle. They were delving back into the realm of things that she could talk about without flinching, the things she had supposedly 'come to terms with.' Still, if Stark paid close enough attention, there was a twinge of emotion that she tried to hide as she spoke. "I mean, what's less depressing? Having had a normal life and lost it for god knows what reason or being reared into hell? I don't-- I try not to think about the past often. There's no benefit to it. You and I both know I've done some bad things. Similarly, you and I both don't know quite what they are. But, if you knew all I've been through, I promise you whatever all powerful being you believe in has punished me plenty."
 
Again, Tony was silent for a while after Cora spoke, taking time to absorb the gravity of her words. He couldn't imagine what that had to be like; not even being able to remember a life outside the walls she was confined in for so long. A childhood, friends, family. She didn't recall anything except for what HYDRA put her through, and that put things more into perspective for him. The way she acted when she first met the Avengers wasn't her; it was whatever HYDRA turned her into, the thing they wanted to be. And she didn't have any control over it until she was finally brought away from the only place she could remember being in. Knowing that made Tony more understanding of her perspective. Of how she felt.

"Maybe you're right. Maybe it's best not to spend so much time thinking about it," he told her earnestly. "Good or bad, the past is... in the past. Those things- what HYDRA did to you and what you did under their instruction... they'll probably be a heavy weight on your conscience forever. But you're here now. You're doing something different, something better, and while I'm sure it's daunting to have S.H.I.E.L.D. breathing down your neck..." Tony momentarily glanced at her tracker bracelet as he spoke, "it's still a necessary precaution. They're only just now going to learn some of the stuff you shared with Bruce and I, and the fact of the matter is that you were still an asset of those other bastards at one point. The monitoring stuff is essentially what they do when they're afraid of a potentially uncontrollable power." He downed the rest of his drink, then set the glass down and pointed questioningly at hers as he swallowed.

"Sure you don't want that? Because I'll take it if you don't." Sliding her glass closer to himself, he added, "Also, just call me Tony. It's a little weird to hear you being formal with me when we're basically co-workers at this point. I'm not asking about that, I'm telling."
 
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Cora was far more receptive to Tony's effort at consolation over Steve's. That, however, wasn't to say she was completely comfortable. She still couldn't quiet that voice in the back of her head insisting that everyone was trying to lull her into a false sense of security. She snapped out of her thoughts as Tony asked if she didn't want her drink. Nodding ever so slightly, she reached out to push the glass over to him but retracted it quickly as she saw he was reaching for it on his own.

Everything was so complicated in her head. She wondered if the Avengers felt the same way - if everything she did was analyzed, her motivations considered, her next move determined. Or perhaps everything was simple on their end - that what she said was what she meant, that was she did was how she felt. What did they think of her when she was lost in quiet contemplation?

"Coworkers? That's a funny word to use," She remarked with half a smirk. It was a precise word, a slightly cynical one. You wouldn't called someone you cared about a coworker. They would be a 'friend from work.' But, it wasn't completely divisive either. There was implied cooperation, moderate trust. It was a word that indicated progress. "I don't believe I've been recruited for any sort of job."
 
"Expect me to use it from time to time to give you something to laugh at, then."

"You have. It entails giving HYDRA a good ass-kicking," Tony clarified, sipping the drink originally poured for Cora. "Thought you were the one who said you shouldn't assume stuff." He flashed a smirk back at her; talking with her wasn't that bad. Truth be told, he'd been expecting a bit more sass from her, but that'd probably come with some more time. After all, he didn't imagine that it had gone away completely regardless of her situation now. He hoped it hadn't, at least. He found amusement in trading banter with her.

"The team's working on looking for where the rest of them have scattered off to, and the next time we find something, you'll be joining us for the excursion. It's a good opportunity to get some exercise." In his head, Tony wondered how soon it would be before something showed up on their radar again. The remnants of HYDRA hadn't been easy to track down, and even harder to find was the head of that snake. The person coordinating the facilities in operation- Baron Strucker- had been quite elusive and managed to avoid detection by the Avengers. Even worse was the knowledge that he was currently in possession of Loki's scepter; the more time he spent going unfound, the more dangerous an enemy HYDRA could become to them.
 
"Exercise? Ah, I'm all about exercise," She remarked, seemingly perking up at the mention of an excursion. Although it seemed so, she wasn't thrilled about the prospect of a new workout routine. She was far more interested on getting her feet back on HYDRA soil and potentially tracking down some documentation of her past. There had to be something somewhere about the blanks in her memory. All she had to was get off S.H.I.E.L.D.'s naughty list and get an extension on her leash.

"You know, you're not as much of a conceited, egotistical, self-absorbed spoiled man child as everyone says you are," Cora added after a long pause with a beaming smile that would typically follow a genuine compliment of a high caliber. She couldn't let tony get too used to the timid, mild mannered Cora HYDRA had beaten into existence. Besides, it was just plain fun to mess with him.

"And that's coming from a really good judge of character," She continued with a strong nod and giant smirk, both thumbs jutting toward her chest. If it were Steve, she might've followed up with a genuine compliment. But, she felt that the sarcasm was better received with Tony. If he wasn't already, he would eventually grow accustomed to the sound of her thanking him, despite it not sounding like gratitude.
 
Through a scoff, Tony reared back in his seat and placed a hand over his chest with feigned offense in response to Cora's remark about him. "Gosh, that's terrible of you to say. I strive to be the most conceited, egotistical, self-absorbed spoiled man-child anybody's ever known. I was hoping I'd already live up to that standard, but it looks like I've got more work to do." Placing his hands on his knees, he stood up and heaved out a breath.

"Anyway, I'm gonna split and let you continue your silent couch brooding. Seems like a lot of fun that I'd hate to keep you from. If you ever need help with answering deep, existential questions like why I'm such an awesome person, you'll probably find me in the lab with Dr. Banner as usual." With one more smile and a nod, he turned away and left her to her own devices. His talk with her had been an insightful one, and getting more acquainted with her as a person had been alright. Certainly better than what he initially expected.

They certainly weren't friends yet- hell, he was hard-pressed to call her an Avenger, but there had been something there in the way of casual interaction. Now that he was thinking about it, not even Steve seemed to have reached that point with her, despite all the times he knew so far that he'd struck up a conversation with her. Or at least, tried to. He remembered Cora mentioning that he had been "persistent"; the old man either wasn't easing into talking with her, or he was talking too much. Either way, perhaps he'd have to talk with the Captain and give him a bit of coaching on that subject. Steve was good at heart and Tony would've liked to see the two super soldiers get along a bit as well, but if the former inadvertently pushed his luck, there was a chance that wouldn't happen.

He probably needed to learn how to more effectively use those wonderful things known as "jokes".
 
"And here I was under the impression you liked me or something," She called after Tony with a quiet chuckle as he strolled out of the room. For a moment, she sat in silence before she broke it with another soft chuckle and a shake of her head. Part of her was begging to analyze the encounter, break it down into bit-sized pieces to reveal the master plan. But, for once, Cora brushed off that nagging part of her mind.

Just as Cora was about to push herself off of the couch and retreat back to the safety of her room, another Avenger waltzed into the room. Her conversation with Tony had put her in a funny mood. It felt as if some part of her that had been buried for a long, long time had been dug out and woken up.

"Ms. Romanoff, I've just had the most wonderful idea," Cora remarked, springing onto her feet. "Do you enjoy cooking? We really should all eat together, good for morale and all that. I mean, the positive psychological effects of sharing a meal are significant for team building. Plus, I can't remember the last time I've cooked. I've only just remembered really enjoy it. Imagine all together. Like a family."

There was something about that word that just sucked all the air out of her. She tried her best not to look like she had just been hit by a ton of bricks. Swallowing thickly, she recollected herself and forced a smile onto her face. The genuine excitement had quickly dissipated and left her only with the false happiness the Avengers had already seen countless times.

"I suppose that is a bit of a silly idea," She added quietly as if she were a young child whose excitement had only been hostility and frustration. "Hardly practical. I mean, who would do all that cooking? I couldn't. They'd probably think I was trying to poison them."

She let out a breathy chuckle, scratching the back of her neck. "Besides, I don't even know if I can cook. Imagine if I burnt all the food. No, it was a silly idea."

She shook her head, starting back toward her room. Just like that, the excitement was gone. She felt like a foreigner intruding among friends again, out of place and unwanted. She hesitated in her footsteps to turn back to Romanoff and embarrassedly add, "Let's not mention this to anyone, shall we?"
 
"Not a smidge!" Tony called back with a quick smile, disappearing into the lab upstairs.

--

Left, right jab, roundhouse kick. Natasha pulled away from the pads Steve held up and lowered her fists to her sides, her skin glistening with sweat and her breaths deep. She'd been training for a little over an hour total, in part with the Captain, and she felt now that it was due time for her to relax a bit. She hardly ever missed a beat, spending most moments sharpening her abilities when she wasn't spending time with the other team members scouring for the remnants for HYDRA. It was what she knew best, the routine she always followed. Every now and again she'd give it pause because she remembered that she could, but damned if that routine ever became unbroken.

"Finally taking a break, huh?" Steve joked with a small smirk, which Natasha returned as she went to pick up her towel and dry herself off with it. "You're one to talk, with all the coordinating with Hill about active HYDRA sites around the world."

"Well someone's gotta be the driving force."

"Even driving forces won't maintain the same pace forever." Stepping off the mat and slipping on her shoes, she asked, "Want to come get a drink with me?"

"Ah. I think I could use some time with one of the bags."
"Suit yourself."

Entering the elevator, Natasha travelled up to the penthouse. She didn't usually have alcohol in between training sessions, but she felt differently about that today. She wanted to have something stronger for once, away from the usual taste of cool water. She expected to have some solitude and drink alone, but when the elevator doors opened and she strode into the room, she found that Cora was already present there, lounging on one of the couches. Interesting of her to be here, Natasha thought, and not holed up inside her room. She opened her mouth to greet her but was already beaten to the punch, surprised by a much more enthusiastic Cora than usual. She spoke about an idea of the team cooking and eating together, how it would bolster their spirits and bring them together as a family. It was an unusual thing to hear her talk about, and even she seemed to realize it the moment after she said it. For a split-second, it seemed as though she regretted letting the words slip past her lips.

However, Cora made a quick recovery and, as though to expand on Natasha's lack of a response, decided that the idea seemed "silly". She put forth all the things that could go wrong with it, and laid it to rest just as quickly as she conceived it. Natasha turned to watch her take her leave, pausing midway and looking back at her before asking her not to mention the incident to anyone. "For what it's worth, I think your idea sounds like fun," Natasha said, offering a gentle smile before continuing onward to the minibar. As expected, Cora fully warming up to the Avengers wasn't going to happen overnight, but it was nice to see that she apparently had already begun to. Natasha supposed that one of the guys- Thor, maybe?- had finally managed to direct her towards the right track, so she was now at least open to some more interaction with the team.

Some progress was better than none at all.

--​

SEVERAL MONTHS LATER... ​

--​

They stood absolutely no chance. They were taken completely by storm.

Natasha, Clint and Cora travelled by jeep through the Sokovian forest blanketed with snow, the latter two opening fire on attacking HYDRA soldiers while Tony flew beside them. Thor made quick work of a watchtower and dispatched of the surrounding troopers, Steve passing by via motorcycle and launching one into the trees before bouncing his shield off of multiple more in his path. Thor, Tony and the Hulk cleared out a tank; more soldiers were cast aside, paths intersected, and they all leapt out past the line of sandbags and Czech hedgehogs that would not bar them further passage. The Avengers had come again for HYDRA, and this time, they'd be put down for good.

Now, if only Tony were aware from the start of the barrier shielding the fortress ahead.

"Shit!" he swore as he collided with it, veering off course and searching for an alternate way in.

"Language!" Cap berated through comms, sparing a quick glance to his left to see if there were any hostiles nearby. "JARVIS, 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."

"Loki's scepter must be here," Thor responded, taking care of another wave of soldiers. "Strucker couldn't mount his defense without it." Calling back his hammer with a lift of his hand, he stepped off to the side and let it collide with a trooper behind him, calling it back again afterward and gripping it in his hand. "At long last," he murmured to himself. It was about time that this moment came; more than anyone else on the team, finding the scepter was of utmost importance to him.

"'At long last' is lasting a little long, boys," Natasha lamented out loud, gunning down an oblivious turret operator to her left. Metres behind her, Clint fired an explosive arrow into a bunker shooting at his position and called out, "Yeah, I think we lost the element of surprise."

"Wait a second, no one else is going to deal with the fact that Cap just said 'language'?" Tony inquired.

"I know," Steve responded lamely, approaching an incoming jeep full of soldiers. Flipping forward off his motorcycle, he threw his vehicle at the one in front of him, taking it out along with the hostiles on it. With a heavy breath, he muttered in addition, "Just slipped out."
 
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"Maybe some of us are offended by your expletives, Tony," Cora remarked teasingly in defense of Steve's commentary. Of course, she had heard exceptionally worse during her time with HYDRA, but she, similar to Steve, refrained from such. Still, it hardly affected her in anyway. She just liked giving Tony a difficult time.

"We working on that shield? I mean, I enjoy punching HYDRA soldiers as much as the next guy, but we do have a mission here," Cora chuckled slightly as she landed a solid punch to the jaw of a solider. She flipped backwards onto the shoulders of another approaching from behind, using the forward momentum she swings the second solider around in the first which gives her ample reach to finish them both. A neat little trick borrowed from Natasha.

The past few months had consisted of some heavy bonding for Cora and the Avengers. They were by no means the best of friends, but they had come a long way from the first time Cora stepped foot in the place that was quickly becoming her new home. Her days were mainly spent with Steve, whether training or chatting. During the nights, however, she typically found company in Tony. They apparently had a similar insomniac tendency.

Both budding relationships were completely platonic. It had never even crossed Cora's mind that her relationships with any of the Avengers had even the slightest possibility of being anything more than friendships. She still had that peculiar sense that perhaps their interest had ulterior motives, but she wasn't certain that they were still exploitative in nature. While she had been constantly preoccupied with the idea in the beginning, it was more of an afterthought now, a lingering sensation after interaction that could be easily brushed off.

Besides, now was not the time for any of that. She was far more concerned with the task at hand. Months of routine training were finally put to practical use. Whether it was the fact that she was out in the field or that she was finally against HYDRA, she was almost afraid to admit how good this felt.

"Tony, give me a lift and we can storm the front lines," She offered as she combated another solider. A stray gunshot clipped her shoulder, causing her to return fire with a vengeance. She wasn't typically a fan of guns, but she couldn't knock the convenience. She returned to her initial opponent, taking to close quarters once again.

"If you want," She added breathlessly. "Otherwise, I'll have the time of my life out here."
 
"Working as fast as I can. It gets a bit tricky when you've got a dozen guys shooting at you," Tony quipped in response to Cora's question, focusing for now on evasive action and attempting to gradually slip into the outer areas of the fortress, which hadn't been blocked off by the shield. Moments later, he received a verbal notification from JARVIS updating him on the situation. "Sir, the city is taking fire."

"Well we know Strucker's not going to worry about civilian casualties. Send in the Iron Legion."

As the battle raged on outside the fortress, a squadron of five automated drones were sent to separate sections of the city nearby, attempting to keep citizens present out of harm's way. Unfortunately, the drones' presence- and by extension, the Avengers'- was not received kindly by everyone; but Tony didn't know that, nor did he currently have the time to worry about that.

"Tony, give me a lift and we can storm the front lines. If you want. Otherwise, I'll have the time of my life out here."

"Someone's enthusiastic. Promise to leave some baddies for me, and we're good," Tony replied to Cora over comms, taking out another anti-air turret before circling back around the complex's perimeter to travel to her position. Touching back down in the frosty woods, Tony fired a repulsor beam at a trooper's back and launched him toward Cora, allowing her to plant a solid kick to his sternum and redirect him the other way before he hit the ground. "Please keep your arms and legs inside the ride at all times," Tony joked as he stepped behind Cora and wrapped his arms around her waist, boosting them both up into the air and back towards the fortress. On the way there, Tony heard Cap and Natasha pipe up on comms with some alarming updates.

"We have Enhanced in the field."
"Clint's hit!"

So now they were a member down, and had a hostile with superpowers out trying to dismantle them. Great. Still, that didn't mean they were going to lose this fight. Too much counted on their victory here. Dropping Cora off in one of the fortress' outer sections, he flew back up into the air and continued with his assault.

While making efficient and lethal work of a group of hostiles with his shield, Cap grunted out, "Stark, Cora. We need to get inside."

"I'm closing in," Tony told him calmly, his armour absorbing the impact of a repurposed Chiaturi cannon as it sent him toward the ground. Smoothly gliding forward on his feet, he fired his repulsors at the two troopers in front of him and blasted them over the railing behind them. As he did the same to a third, he asked, "JARVIS, am I... closing in? You see a power source for that shield?"

"There's a particle wave below the north tower."
"Great, I want to poke it with something."

Taking off again, he fired two repulsor beams at the building in question to no effect and then launched a missile beneath it, destroying the power grid and causing the shield to immediately come down. The team now had their way in. "Drawbridge is down, people." Meanwhile down in the forest, Cap called his shield back to his left forearm with the electromagnets attached to it, and Thor smacked his hammer down against the ground to incapacitate a group of troopers who were none the wiser. As Steve arrived to join him, the Asgardian asked, "The Enhanced?"

"He's a blur. All the new players we've faced, I've never seen this. In fact, still haven't."
"Clint's hit pretty bad, guys," Natasha notified the team over comms. "We're gonna need evac."

"I can get Barton to the jet. The sooner we're gone, the better," Thor told Steve. "You, Matthews and Stark secure the scepter."

"Copy that." As they conversed, a tank and several HYDRA soldiers made their approach towards them. Tilting his head and narrowing his brows curiously, Thor spun Mjølnir sideways in his hand and spoke, "Looks like they're lining up." As Cap lifted up his shield towards Thor, he replied, "Well, they're excited." Thor slammed his hammer down against the shield and sent a shockwave with the initial sound of a church bell rippling through the hostile ranks ahead, obliterating the tank and knocking aside the foot soldiers. "Find the scepter," Thor urged Steve, being met with an understanding nod before taking off into the air to go get Clint.

"And for gosh sake, watch your language!" Tony teased through the comms. Dropping his head, sagging his shoulders and sighing, Steve muttered to himself, "That's not going away anytime soon."

Crashing through windows into the building, Tony hovered in the air and watched with amusement as hostiles inside tried to gun him down with standard-issue assault rifles. "Guys, stop, we gotta talk this through," he jested as he locked onto then fired shoulder-mounted projectiles at them all at once. "It was a good talk."

His remark was met from somewhere in the room with a wounded, "No it wasn't."

Advancing further into the building, Tony snuck up on Dr. List- who was making an attempt much too late to delete the files HYDRA had on hand at the facility- and shot him down with a repulsor blast as soon as his arrival was noticed, before stepping out of the suit and ordering, "Sentry mode." Approaching the computer List was previously operating and downloading the files on it after stopping their deletion, Tony said, "Okay JARVIS, you know. I want it all. Make sure you copy Hill at HQ." Observing two Iron Legion bots rounding up HYDRA soldiers, Natasha notified the team, "We're locked down out here." From within the complex, Steve responded, "Then get to Banner. Time for a lullaby."

After finishing up with the computer, Tony looked around the room and mused aloud, "I know you're hiding more than files." Then, to JARVIS, he said, "Hey J, give me an IR scan of the room, real quick."

"The wall to your left," JARVIS replied as soon as the scan finished. "I'm reading steel reinforcement. And an air current." Repeating "Please be a secret door" three times under his breath, Tony pushed against the wall and found that it was, in fact, a secret door. "Yay!" Happening upon a passageway that led to a lower level of the facility, Tony looked over his shoulder once to make sure he wasn't being followed, then continued on his way.
 
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"Promise not to drop me this time and maybe we can call that a deal," Cora teased then rolled her eyes as Tony objected to ever having dropped her. After a brief flight, she found herself on her own again. She made quick work of any HYDRA soldier that stumbled into her path. She was on a mission and she'd be damned if she let this opportunity slip from her grasp.

It wasn't long until Cora made her way into an area of the facility that many of the HYDRA soldiers had already evacuated. It was an older wing that didn't hold much of their recent technology and information and, thus, didn't hold much importance in the eyes of HYDRA. This base was reminiscent of many Cora had been in and she felt like she was walking through her memories. It was amazing how eerily similar some of the HYDRA bases were.

She could feel her heart begin to race as she stepped further into the depths of the base. As if it were a reflex, she reached out behind her, seeking any form of physical comfort. After a moment of realization, she scoffed at herself and pulled her arms in close to her chest. It was the little things like that that made her notice how quickly she had changed. She was allowing herself to feel increasingly comfortable with being vulnerable. As much as she could've used the support, this was something she had to do alone. She had to be the first to know. She had to have control over what was done with the information.

Many of the rooms she passed sported placards that read "Testing Room #103" or "Holding Room #118." She strode quickly past these as she had no interest in reliving any more of her nightmares. It wasn't until she saw a placard with the word Archives engraved into it that her pace slowed. Despite this, she reminded herself that she had to be quick and thorough. She might never get a chance like this again.

As she approached the door, she shut off her comms. No distractions, no interruptions. Stepping inside, she was surprised by how small the room was. Boxes and filing cabinets overflowing with papers lined two of the walls. Against the third was a chair and desk, scattered with papers as if one of the boxes had simply been dumped out on it and a handful of papers snatched in a hurry. Scanning the room over and over, she took a moment to inhale deeply and brace herself.

As soon as she decided herself prepared, she began searching the room ravenously. She had to find something, anything, everything. If she had the time, she might've paused to reflect on old photographs of others similar to her, smiling with their HYDRA cohorts on either side or compared the experimentation of others to her own memory. How many others had they tricked into the same situation, only to push them past the point of no return? Ironically, they were the lucky ones.

Having no luck with the boxes, she briefly expressed her frustration by kicking and stomping through the pile she had quickly created of aged medical records, audio transcripts, and reports. Just being in a this facility was reminding her of past frustrations, ebbing away at her emotional stability. She settled herself, reminded herself of the mission, and turned her attention to the desk. The papers scattered around it were of minimal interest to her. They were about the newest experiments, though the most important ones had been picked from the bunch. She grabbed a handful of the most useful-looking ones to return as an excuse for her disappearance. Better than returning empty-handed.

She then returned to her personal mission, rummaging through the desk drawers. She was beginning to believe that it was a lost cause until she tugged on a locked drawer. With little fanfare, she picked the lock and slid the drawer open. She kneeled in front of the drawer, sitting back on her feet as she began to sift through the familiar papers. Her movements slowed once again. Her whole body felt like it was made of lead and tied down by cement blocks. It was difficult to breathe as if the air had been sucked out of the room.

Despite having found what she was looking for, there was no happiness in her demeanor. What would be the good news? That she had a family, a life before this? Or that she knew nothing of the outside world? Her entire existence could be summed up in a folder of paperwork, a binder of medical reports, and a journal, simplified and boiled down into quantifiable data. This was something that she had wanted so desperately but, now that the time was here, she wasn't certain she was ready.

Peering into the drawer, it all suddenly came back. So vividly and so intensely that she thought she had awoken from a dream back into her old life with a start. She tried to sit up but restraints around her wrists prevented her from doing so. They were made from some sturdy fabric that dug into her skin, leaving marks she knew would last for a few days. The world around her was dark. Shadows upon shadows left her guessing about her surroundings. She wanted to call out for help but her voice was quiet and raspy and her throat felt raw at the attempt of speech.

She tried to kick her legs, but she found that similar restraints held her ankles to the metallic table she lay on. Curling her fingers around her wrists restraints she searches desperately for any way to release them. Her entire body ached and every muscle she tried to use burned. Uncontrollable tears were beginning to well up in her eyes. She wanted to scream for help. She wanted to kick and punch and fight. She couldn't remember but by the state of her body, she was certain that is what she had been doing for days. Or had it been weeks? Or months? Everything before this moment was blank.

"How are we doing today, my pet?" A heavily German-accented voice rung out from the darkness, startling her from her concentration. The words danced in front of her eyes, bobbing up and down in waves as if she could see the vibrations caused by them. They swirled and rolled inside her head causing a ringing in her ears. The ringing grew louder and closer, the sound becoming deafening without interruption. The German man was saying something else, talking to another person. Her head lolled to the side, trying to locate the source of the voice but only making out the shadows of two men before a bright light blinded her.

"Are you ready to comply, my love?" She felt her head be repositioned by gloved hands and again she tugged and shook and fought against the restraints weakly causing a rattling that competed with the ringing to fill her head. People were speaking again. Though she knew it to be English, the words had no meaning to her and were simply empty sounds. When the noises stopped and she opened her mouth to speak, she was interrupted by a sharp pinch in her arm. A burning sensation rippled through her body as every one of her muscles contracted on its own.

She squeezed her eyes shut and when she opened them, she found herself in the archives once again. She was gripping the sides of the drawer so tightly that her knuckles were white, a cold sweat running down her temples. Panting, she couldn't bring herself to do anything but stare at the papers in the drawer.

Suddenly, the sense of impending doom dissipated just as quickly as it appeared. She was in motion once again, snatching the file folder and journal from the drawer and tearing away from the room. She needed to leave. Now. She'd walk back to Avengers Tower if she had to. She'd do anything to run away from this living hell and to have to comfort of privacy again.
 
Swiftly, quietly, she stalked through the halls of the building, keeping to the shadows at every turn. She had all the power she needed, and it would not go to waste. She wouldn't be daunted by the people who stormed through the fortress walls, wouldn't show weakness by turning the other way and running. The Avengers were here, in her present sanctuary, and after a long time coming, she had the opportunity to chip away at them. She understood that dismantling them was no simple task, they were too powerful to take head-on. However, their minds were left undefended, vulnerable to her work. Like dogs, she'd condition them to her liking.

Then let the pack eat each other up.

A thud, and then a voice sounded from down the corridor. "Baron Strucker. HYDRA's number one thug." They cornered him; the Captain did, as it soon became apparent to the twin. Something more to work with.

"Technically, I'm a thug for S.H.I.E.L.D."
"Well then technically, you're unemployed. Where's Loki's scepter?"

From the shadows, she slowly emerged, her irises bleeding red as she fixated her gaze on the unaware Captain. Her fingers curled, itching to work her magic, though not to kill him. Just to distract him, for now.

"Don't worry, I know when I'm beat. You'll mention how I cooperated, I hope."
"I'll put it right under 'illegal human experimentation'. How many are there?"

Now next to the Captain, Wanda thrust a palm toward his chest and hit him with a surge of energy, sending him tumbling down the steps behind him. He took almost no time at all to recover and got back up; Wanda briefly cast her eyes on Strucker, knowing that he would not escape from this. The facility was lost, and HYDRA had fallen. In this particular place, her work was done. The Captain bounded back up the steps, but he wasn't quick enough to catch up to Wanda; stepping- practically phasing- backward towards the open exit, she slammed the double doors shut in an instant without so much as lifting a finger. She turned around then, and continued moving through the complex to her next destination; there was still more she'd yet to do.

Over comms, Steve said, "We have a second Enhanced. Female. Do not engage."

"You'll have to be faster than-" Strucker began speaking, but the Captain wasn't interested in hearing his drivel. Kicking his shield up, he kicked it again and sent it slamming into Strucker's chest, calling it back to his right forearm with the electromagnets as the HYDRA leader collapsed to the ground.

--

"Guys, I got Strucker."
"Yeah, I got... something bigger."

Entering a massive sublevel of the facility, Tony discovered where HYDRA had been repurposing Chitauri tech, and saw that they were also developing something else. Sentries, which appeared to be an odd off-shoot of his Iron Legion drones.

"Has anyone run into Cora? I haven't been able to raise her on comms," Natasha piped up.

"I'll check for her on my way back," Tony replied, right before something else caught his eye. He found Loki's scepter several paces away, kept in an electric containment chamber. The thing the team had come here for in the first place. "Thor, I got eyes on the prize." A satisfied smirk curled at the edge of his lips, and then he felt... strange, his eyes momentarily gleaming with crimson. It was as though something ominous was present with him. Turning around, he was startled by the suspended and supposedly deceased Leviathan suddenly soaring through the building and collapsing its walls, exposing him to space. Empty space. Lowering his gaze, Tony then found himself face-to-face with his team laid out on uneven ground, amongst other unidentifiable bodies strewn about. The sight was horrifying to behold, and he couldn't for the life of him understand what was happening.

Shallow breaths from the Hulk ceased to be, multiple spears driven into his back. Natasha stared emptily at him. Cora, of all people, was among the bodies and unmoving next to Thor's feet, a gaping hole in her chest where her heart was supposed to be. Steve's shield was broken in two pieces next to him, and Tony became compelled to go to him and check for something, maybe a pulse. He jumped as Steve unexpectedly woke and grabbed his wrist, frozen in place as he croaked out, "You... could've... saved... us." Steve went limp again, but this time his eyes remained open and unseeing, blood streaming from his left nostril. Tony pulled his hand away, defeat weighing heavily on his conscience, and he heard the Captain's voice continue on in his head. "Why didn't... you do more?" Tony's attention was then pulled by a bright light appearing before him, and he looked up in horror at what was present: a wormhole- another wormhole- and beyond it, Earth.

It was a second Chitauri invasion.

With a start, Tony pulled his head upward and sweat poured down his forehead, snapping out of his vision and looking around himself. The Leviathan was still suspended as it was supposed to be, and the scepter was still there in front of him. He stared at it for a second, clarity quickly coming to him. If what he saw was what could become of his team in the future... then it was up to him to make sure it never happened.

From a corner unseen, Pietro joined his sister and observed Stark outstretch a hand. "We're just going to let them take it?" he asked quietly, to which Wanda responded only with silence and a wide grin as she watched Tony move forward, his right gauntlet soon flying into the room to attach itself to his hand before he spun on his heel and grabbed the scepter. Yes, they would just let the Avengers take it.

It would lead to their destruction.

--

CALLING CAPTAIN AMERICA
AGE OF ULTRON​
 
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For Cora, the ride over on the Quinjet was more comparable to her first rather than her recent. She felt terribly on edge. She wanted to pace circles around the Avengers, try to dispel all her nervous energy. But, she couldn't draw too much attention to herself. So she simply sat a small distance away from the group, hugging her sacred files to her chest as she bounced her leg up and down. She had slipped into the front of her suit before regrouping with the team. She felt like she was carrying something forbidden and dangerous. She couldn't let anyone know until she had devoured every last word.

She had handed the papers about the enhanced to Steve as soon as they had met back up. Being far too occupied with her new intel, she barely even bothered to give an excuse for her disappearance beyond the papers themselves. But, the concern was quickly overtaken by the excitement of having Loki's scepter under control.

So, here she sat, silently staring at the floor of the Quinjet as the world kept on spinning without her. She would smile and nod if anyone glanced in her general direction as if she were a part of the conversation but her mind was completely absent. She held everything of value to her in her arms now. Her mission was successful, but it was no cause for celebration. The Avengers carried on with little concern and Cora, unsurprisingly, suffered in silence.

--

Cora was the first to spring off the Quinjet as soon as it landed. Nearly in a full sprint, she skidded around corners until she found herself safely hidden behind closed doors. The anxiety of the Avengers finding out about her new secret dissipated, but it was quickly replaced by a new anxiety. Or perhaps it was excitement? She tossed the folder and journal down on her bed before climbing onto the bed beside them and sitting crossed-legged.

Her hands were shaking as she reached toward the file folder. Her fingertips were within fractions of an inch of flicking the damned thing open when she retracted her hand suddenly as if the cardstock had sent a jolt of electricity through her. No. Not yet. She wasn't ready. This was the kind of thing where there was no going back to the before. She had to make her rounds, say her goodbyes. It was going to be a new kind of a death, one far more painful than any she's experienced before.

Hopping from the bed, she delicately slid the paperwork under her mattress. She wanted to take it all in, how it was in the before. If this was where she was going to start remembering things, then she'd be damned if she didn't remember it well.

She knew the Avengers and Company were going to be in and around the lab, keeping an eye on Barton mainly. Or so she believed. That was why it caught her eye that Tony was toying with their latest requisition. Or perhaps there was another reason her eye was drawn to him. Nevertheless, she strolled over to him and poked her head through the hologram he seemed so thoroughly enthralled by.

"Why the long face, cowboy?" She questioned with a mock pout. She was trying her best to act her new kind of normal. No one had to know this was her funeral.
 
For once, Cora was no longer the centre of attention for any of the Avengers. Not even Steve, even though he immediately caught on when she regrouped with the team that something was off.

After she handed off files to him of the two Enhanced he encountered earlier and briefly explained that they were the reason she'd been gone longer than usual, he asked her once if she was alright, acknowledging her curt smile and nod before going to stand next to the scepter. There was a poignant air of victory over its reclamation, knowing that both HYDRA and the Chitauri would be kept from posing threats again to the world at large. There was an agreement between Tony, Thor and Steve that the scepter would stay in the lab for a few days so it could be looked over before it was returned to Asgard, then that would be the end of it.

Later that day, only Bruce was made aware of what Tony actually planned on doing with the scepter.

--

"Why the long face, cowboy?"
"An engineer tends to be stern-faced about his work until it's done. Good thing you're here to pep me up a bit."

Tony flashed Cora a momentary smile- for a moment that lasted almost too long, before turning his attention back to the vibrant blue hologram in front of him, swiping through the small glass tablet in his hand. Bruce had left just a couple of minutes ago after the two of them had a discussion about what was to be done with the scepter, and Tony had continued to observe his findings in the meantime. Truthfully, it hadn't been a surprise that Cora had eventually come to visit him; since their first real conversation with one another months ago, they went on to converse with one another more often and soon became friends against all initial odds. If she wasn't hanging around with Steve- thank God the Captain actually found a way to talk comfortably with her- then she'd be with him more often than not. They even began entertaining each other's company in Tony's room during the night as of late, learning early on through their hangouts in the penthouse that they had a similar habit of not getting a lot of sleep.

Cora had become a brighter person than she was when she first arrived at the Tower. She got along with the team much better, even managing to get by with Clint, and she'd been a lot more energetic about working with them and being in their presence. However, with her being here now, it'd just struck Tony that she seemed different while they were on the Quinjet away from Sokovia. She hadn't been acting dissimilar to her first few months with everyone, keeping to herself and not saying a word. Also come to think of it, she had particularly bad history with HYDRA, and after several excursions with the Avengers to other HYDRA facilities, she suddenly went missing during their raid on Strucker's site and took longer than anyone else to regroup. Had she been let out too frequently? Had she seen or remembered something that was better left forgotten?

"I should've asked you the same thing, while we were on the jet," Tony remarked, sparing Cora a brief look before again returning his gaze to his tablet and the hologram. "You seemed far away. Daydreaming about something. I thought you moved past silently staring at a wall until it melts long back. Anything you want to share?" When she remained silent for a few seconds, he temporarily halted his work and turned so he was fully facing her. He didn't want her feeling like he wasn't focusing on her. "I remember that you and HYDRA were never really on good terms, and all those trips that we took you to, to neutralize HYDRA cells... I hope you didn't face too much pressure, and, if you're having any now, you can talk to one of us. Well maybe not Thor, because you know Thor, but you know what I mean. I'm here. We're here, if you need any of us." Briefly pausing and averting his gaze, he went back to the hologram and sighed under his breath, "I imagine I'm sounding a lot like Rogers, now."
 
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