Get Back Up » Quicksilver

chapter five

05 x avengers initiative?

>>

Pietro and I were waiting at the landing pad, both out of costume, by the time Spider-Man and Terra showed up.

"Mini heroes," I greeted with a bright smile, tossing my bangs out of my face as I looked between the two of them. "You can feel free to remove your masks." I watched as they exchanged cautious looks, continuing before either could speak. "Remember how we mentioned SHIELD earlier?"

"They know about us?" Peter asked cautiously.

"They are partnered with us, monitoring potential heroes," Pietro answered.

"You're the only two that have been of note," I said with a slight smile. "So, by all means. Go ahead and lose the masks."

Evangeline took hers off first, her flashing green eyes skipping from Peter, over to me. She cracked a small smile, sliding her mask into her waistband and turning an expectant look to Peter. "Go on, Petey."

"Oh, yeah, because you know, the idea of a secret identity- let's just throw it out the window!" Peter said sarcastically, yanking his mask off his head, revealing unruly brown hair and sharp brown eyes. "Why don't I just toss the mask, and walk around my high school in costume all the time!" he said sarcastically, though I could see the red tinge to his cheeks as he glanced over at Pietro and I.

Evangeline gave him an unimpressed look. "That was your Halloween costume."

His lips tugged down in a deep frown. "Yeah, but- but tons of other guys were Spider-Man, too . . . and the Green Goblin . . ." He trailed off before turning to face Pietro and I again. "You know what, whatever. Hi. I'm Peter Parker. Though apparently you already knew that."

"If you are this upset about us knowing because of SHIELD, just wait until you meet my sister," Pietro smirked.

I did my very best to suppress a smile, and ultimately managed to keep my comments to myself. Evangeline spoke up next, "I'm Evangeline Rushing. Not nearly so bothered by the whole secret agency thing."

"Our turn," I said in a sing-song voice, shooting Pietro a happy smile. "I'm Megan Sinclair, and I have . . . far too many nicknames involving cracks at my height. You'll hear all of them later, I'm sure."

Pietro coughed in attempt to cover a laugh, before clearing his throat and straightening up. "Pietro Maximoff," he introduced himself. "All of my nicknames are from her."

Evangeline waved between the two of us, smiling somewhat. "You two are dating?"

I feigned a gasp, shooting Pietro a mock-stunned look, "Dating? Us? Are we dating?"

Pietro rolled his eyes, though he was still smiling away. "Last I checked."

Peter was grinning now, evidently amused. "I like them," he said to Evangeline before looking to us, "I like you guys."

"Good," a new voice said, and we all turned to see Steve Rogers coming toward us, nodding at the two young heroes respectfully. "Because these two are going to be your trainers."

I shot Steve a fast look, my surprise and slight disapproval flickering across my face for a mere moment before I recomposed myself.

"Captain America," Peter whispered, his eyes wide as saucers.

Steve smiled. "Spider-Man," he greeted, before looking to Evangeline and nodding. "Terra. It's a pleasure to meet you. You can call me Steve."

"Or Cap," I volunteered. "Either one of the two is usually how it comes out with everyone else."

"Yes, thank you," Steve said to me with a small smile, shaking his head.

"It's nice to meet you, Captain," Peter said, stepping forward quickly to shake the man's hand. The effort he put into said handshake was visible. "I'm Peter Parker, and this is Ev Rushing. We are so, so honored to be here."

"And we're happy to have you," Steve said. He turned to look at Pietro and I then. "As I was saying, you two will be training them." He looked back over to the young heroes. "You're both welcome to stay in the Tower for as long as you'd like. It might help with training hours. Of course, we understand you have school, so that'll be taking up a lot of your time."

I watched as Ev and Peter exchanged a look. "I can stay in the Tower," Evangeline volunteered, looking back to us. "I basically live on my own, anyway."

"I . . ." Peter cleared his throat, shifting on his feet, wringing his mask between his hands. "My aunt probably wouldn't like it," he admitted. "I'll just tell her I've taken up a new after school activity, and walk here with Ev."

"All right, sounds like a plan," Steve nodded. "It was nice to meet the two of you, and I'm sure I'll see you around more often," he smiled. "For now, Megan- would you mind if I borrowed you for a second? Pietro, if you want to give our new teammates a tour."

I exchanged a look with Pietro, not bothering to hide my confusion. "I do not mind," Pietro said carefully, before moving closer to me to press a quick kiss to my head. He paused, lips brushing my ear, "It is probably about the training. Relax."

I nodded shortly before pulling away, and heading toward Steve. He waited for me to reach him before leading me toward the elevator.

"You're springing this on me," I stated, not giving him a chance to try and explain himself to me.

"Natasha's still out of the country," Steve pointed out. It was obvious from his tone that he was being very careful in how he chose his words. He glanced down at me, blue eyes portraying clear caution. "Stark and Rhodes found out about that plane," he told me then, pushing the elevator button. "It's worse than we thought. They're asking for my help, otherwise I would absolutely be the one to train them. But for now . . ."

"What do you mean 'worse than we thought'?" I asked as I stepped onto the elevator, looking out at Pietro as he spoke with the two younger kids, watching as they headed off the pad.

"I mean there were three men, and from what Stark dug up out of AIM's records, one of them escaped AIM before we brought them down," Steve said slowly.

"And?" I pressed as the elevator doors closed.

"And . . . let's just say I really hope they're wrong." Steve sighed, and I watched as he rubbed his temples.

>>

[ Third Person POV ]

"We need to begin infiltration," the German man said, flipping a knife in his hands and watching it glint in the dim light. "Kravinoff. We're starting today."

Kravinoff nodded subtly from his position in the room, his hands clasped professionally behind his back. "I will head into the city."

"Take Robbins with you, and use the car," the German ordered lowly. "He is your best escape plan."

"What makes you think I need an escape plan?" Kravinoff asked, not bothering to hide the haughtiness in his voice.

The problem with the three men working together was that they each were used to working alone. Beyond that, though, they were all used to being in charge. Each had a certain level of pride that would not do well to be tested; they were confident in themselves.

But they needed each other for this plan.

They needed to work together if they were going to take out their common enemy - the Avengers.

They'd suffer through.

"Robbins is back up," the German stated, giving Kravinoff an unamused look. "It would do you well not to question my plan. Robbins' presence allows for you to leave whenever you want, so long as you are careful. Or to further . . . mess with them."

Kravinoff nodded shortly. "All right."

"I would suggest leaving now, unless you wanted to be gone over night."

Kravinoff didn't feel the need to answer that. He merely nodded once more, and then turned on one heel, and left the room. At least he'd be getting out of the dusty, dark space.