𝐁𝐔𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐅𝐋𝐈𝐄𝐒 | 𝘕𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘢 𝘙𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘧𝘧 [✓]

Ch.3 Test Me, I Dare You

Word count: 1.08k

Nat's POV:

"What's the body count?" Steve asks the A.I.

"32. All dead. No survivors." Friday replies, her voice touched with sympathy.

Vision shakes his head, disappointment coating his golden blue eyes. Sighing, he touches a hand to the Mind Stone, lingering a finger on it for a while. Peter gives in. "What do we do now?"

Thor spins around to eye him, his glance lingering on the boy. "Well, Stark is out with Rhodey, scouting some kind of- of- what is the word?"

"I do believe that words you're looking for is 'installation of a known Hydra base'. You see, Mister Parker, the base has been inactive for years, or so we thought. The casualties seem to all be some kind of- now I seem to have lost the words." Vision's voice is full of pride.

"Emotional and chemical experiments."

Everyone in the room spins round to meet the door. "Wanda!" Peter calls, smiling. She returns his smile and continues talking.

"We were there, Pietro and I. The casualties all had the rememance of the Reality Stone in their blood. Seems Hydra couldn't get enough." She winces as she remembers the horror of her past, and what these people went through. She still didn't seem to understand the need to out people through such trauma, and honestly neither do I, even after everything I've done.

"So, have we got eyes on Barnes?" I ask looking straight at Steve, who seemingly hesitates. "He's with Stark."

"But do we have eyes on him? What if he goes rogue?" I ask again, the lack of a clear answer all ready irritating me.

"He won't. He's gone straight," He tells me and stops, but not before adding, "Just like you."

I hiss under my breath. My past has all ready come up twice this morning. It was supposed to be a good day. I sigh and stand up from my seat. I scratch a hand through the air, taking control of the holographic panel. I swipe open a file, directing it towards the big screen. "If I'm not straight, then I can't have gone straight." I say with a smirk. Everyone but Rogers, Wanda and Peter looks at me weird. They grin, knowing exactly what I mean.

I keep talking, as if nothing happened. "If we strike here, I can get in and out access to their data within the half hour after landing."

Steve swallows. "This is a fully armed, well equipped and newly secured Hydra facility you're talking about, Romanoff. It's not that easy."

"Nothing ever is, yet we make it work." I see his concern. "Cap, we need these files, their plans, to be one step ahead of them. If we don't know what's going on until they kill a population twice the size of Ultron's short reign, then humanity is doomed to half."

He still sits in silence.

"I cannot wait another second if I know more innocent children will die because of this! I can't wait for the bomb to drop and kill those who are exactly the same as the twins: orphaned and vulnerable."

They stare at me, the twins contemplating whether to be saddened or to agree. They both hesitate. I grunt. "Well, if you won't do it, there's autopilot on the QuinJet, so I suppose I can go alone."

"No, Nat. What the hell has gotten in to you?" Steve sighs.

"Nothing. It isn't me that you should be worrying about."

His eyes snap away from me, giving in to my stubbornness. The rest of the crew shift uncomfortably in their seats or of their feet. Only Wanda doesn't seem concerned for me. She nods, thinking through her options.

1. Go with me and find out what the heck is going on.
Or 2. Stay here with the rest of the team, worrying over me.

Wanda says nothing. Only a small voice behind me speaks. "I can go with you."

I spin around to glare straight at Eliza.

"Why? You've just started - and if you get hurt you'll just be-"

"A liability?" She raises a sad brow and I realise how I sounded. I open my mouth to speak but closed it immediately. I should just shut up now. Probably.

But I don't.

"No, that's not what I was going to say-"

"Oh, no. That's exactly what you mean. But I'll go with you any way because you can't be watching the jet as well as dropping a regime from inside and out." She mutters. I blink knowing she's got to be right. I frown.

"Regimes fall everyday, I tend not to weep over that. I'm Russian, or I was."

She looks at me, extending her hand. "I read that file, and I know it wasn't your fault. But I think now, you're just trying to fix that. Hopelessly. Let me come. Let me start again."

I leave her hand floating. I freeze a soon as she mentions the file. Sam scrunches his questioning brow and narrows his eyes. "What file?"

"Not one you need to read, Sam." Steve stands straighter. He's seen that file a thousand times - just like how Wanda has seen my past through Ultron's control. She knows what I've been through (maybe not all of it) but they both do, only Steve maybe a little better. I can tell he feels sympathy for me, but I just don't want it. Pity has never been my friend. I was raised on guilt and remorse. I was built strong. I send him a warm smile any way, deciding that glaring would put him, and possibly Wanda, off being nice to me again.

I turn to Eliza. "We go tonight. Get ready, be ready for 5. I won't hesitate to leave you here. Test me, I dare you."

Wanda raises an arm.

I laugh softly at her. "You're not in school, Wanda. Just speak it."

"I'm coming. I know my way around."

"What if you-"

"See something I don't like? Then I close my eyes, take a breath and get over it. I'm not a child anymore. I can't expect someone to save me if I freeze. I can handle myself." She replies seriously. I nod hesitantly, slightly impressed.

"Will people please stop interrupting me." I murmer quietly.

I look around the room and turn my head finally to Steve. He nods in approval. Pietro steps forward, mouth open. But before get can get a word in, I look at him sternly.

"No, Pietro. Just no."