Carmine Jewels ║ Wanda Maximoff

Chapter 16 - A Misson Gone Sideways

"Well, all of our heroes are on a well-deserved vacation an-"

"So I don't count? Excuse you, but I fought in New York too." Keira interrupted with a pout. "Here I am, putting my bacon on the line and I don't even get the recognition I-"

She was silenced as Maria put a hand over her mouth.

"First of all, your inner drama queen is showing. Secondly, you were the one who called me, not the other way around." Maria defended herself, but an amused smile was playing in the corner of her lips. Seeing that Keira didn't fight against her hand, she removed it from the blonde and shook her head. "I swear, your dramatics matches those of Stark's."

Keira only rolled her eyes in response. Of course, that excuse was the one that anyone at SHIELD would use if she dared to complain about the mission. Because even if she didn't like to admit it, Maria had a point.

Maria raised an eyebrow when Keira didn't retort and took her silence as a sign to continue. "In any case, we need the intel on that base. We've been hearing some nasty rumors about HYDRA trying human experiments. Trying to enhance humans, making their own variant of supersoldiers. We can't let that happen, it would be devastating if the rumors were true. That's why we need the intel."

Keira tilted her head as she folded her arms over her chest. "Maria..." She said slowly. "We've talked about honesty. And now, I want you to be honest with me, or I'm out." She stayed silent for a moment, letting the severity of her words sink in before continuing, "SHIELD doesn't want the knowledge of enhancement in the hands of HYDRA, but rather their own? Tell me if I'm wrong."

The brunette's shoulders heaved as she gave a great sigh, but no verbal reply came. Because she didn't want to lie again.

Keira bit the inside of her cheek, not at all reassured by this response. Of course, you never wanted the enemy to have the upper hand, but considering SHIELD's history with the Tesseract, what would they do if they gained the knowledge of human enhancement?

"So... You still up for this?"

The mutant considered the matter for a moment. Letting HYDRA keep experimenting on humans was not a comforting thought, however simple the attempts may be. And considering what they had managed with the Winter Soldiers in the past, it wouldn't surprise her if they managed it again.

So, wouldn't she rather have that knowledge in the hands of SHIELD? Well, more so than HYDRA, although the best thing would be if the knowledge just disappeared from the face of the Earth completely. But eventually, she gave a solemn nod in answer.

Rather SHIELD than HYDRA in the end.

❆

Scanning the dense jungle below, she finally managed to spot a patch of land where the trees weren't growing as tightly together, making it a good place to land as any. Normally, she wasn't a fan of piloting the jet herself, but the Equalizers really worked their magic. She didn't even have to try to even out the pressure, the small rubber rings with their internal technology did that on their own. As this was her first time trying them out properly, she made a mental note to send Tony a gift as thanks.

Getting out of the jet, the warm air hit her like a smack to the face. The humidity immediately made her regret her choice of clothing. The fabric stuck to her within seconds, and the baby hairs around her face lay plastered to her skin.

But despite the sweat that was already pearling on her face, the environment was beautiful. A mountain range could be seen in the distance, almost touching the clouds. Trees stretched out as far as the eye could see and there was a constant chatter of wildlife in the air. The flowers were in full bloom, bathing the surroundings in color. However, Keira didn't let the beauty of it all fool her. It could be deadly.