Flawed Minds

Chapter Twenty Five

Avengers' P.O.V.

As soon as Tony had his Iron Man suit up and running, he called the Avengers to assemble outside the Quinjet, relaying his plan as the team listened intently. Bucky was uncomfortable, worried about facing Hydra again, but glancing to his right and meeting Nova's eyes somehow gave him the strength to steel himself for what was to come. Steve had noticed their tiny interaction, and suddenly Bucky's insistence on joining the mission made complete sense. He smiled a little, noting that their relationship had come a long way from shouting at each other and fighting in the hallway, finding himself quietly hopeful that Bucky might begin to find some form of peace. Natasha on the other hand was just mentally preparing herself for the mission as usual; she found herself questioning the dangerous possibilities linked to giving Barnes a rifle, but forced herself to trust him, aware of Nova's emotion manipulating abilities. Clint was already in the pilot seat of the Quinjet, ready and waiting.

"And please try your best not to get fried to a crisp," Tony pleaded while finishing up his 'pep talk'. "Some of us have witnessed first hand how well this guy fights and one mistake could have any one of us burnt. We don't want that. Now let's go." Without another question the team filed into the Quinjet, taking their seats as it took off into the air once again headed for that forest. Bruce took his seat next to Clint, focusing on the controls to help distract himself from the mission at hand while Steve and Bucky sat together, discussing the mission and Bucky's concern about Hydra in hushed tones. When the Quinjet leveled out in the air Nova made her way over to Clint in the cockpit, looking over his shoulder at all the dials and controls, giving Bruce a reassuring smile.

"Hey creep," He greeted when he noticed she was watching. "You're finally joining us on a proper mission now, it'll be dangerous. How're you feeling?" Nova let out a little sigh.

"Part of my mind is weirdly calm," She murmured, feeling those emerald eyes watching her. "But part of me is kinda scared."

"I get that- but honestly you're the most powerful person in this jet," Clint's voice was low, almost as though he wanted to avoid being heard by the rest of the team. "If anything happened, if anything went wrong, I have no doubts you could turn everything round in our favor."

"I don't know Clint," Nova murmured, uncertain if his trust in her was justified. "This guy sounds insane,"

"Maybe he is, but you're one better." Clint looked her in the eyes then, affirming his belief in her. "You're a total Wildcard, creep- No one on this planet knows the full extent of what you're capable of, not even you. You have my full permission to go crazy on his ass." He gave her a wink then and she laughed, a little reassured and feeling a whole lot better. She felt that the only thing that would cause a problem was her confidence, but was almost certain that once it all kicked off she'd be ready. Noticing that Steve and Bucky seemed to have finished their conversation, Nova made her way past Nat and Tony to sit next to Bucky. To her, and Steve's, complete surprise, he took her hand into his metal one without hesitation, shooting her a small smile as he squeezed her hand gently causing her to blush. Natasha had also noticed but hid her reaction, finding herself trusting Barnes a little more but still unable to shake the bad feeling that she had, as though something was going to go severely wrong.

"Look alive guys," Steve called out the moment he felt the Quinjet beginning a slight drop in preparation to land. "We've gotta be on high alert, this guy is slippery and we can't let him escape this time." Natasha loaded her gun without taking her eyes off him, her expression unconcerned.

"If he tries to get away I'll stick to him like glue." She smirked before looking over at Tony. "Someone's been suspiciously quiet though. You usually don't shut up, what's changed?" His helmet hid his expression but the faint worry in his voice was audible enough.