The Ghost [Marvel | Steve Rogers]

Chapter 43

"What?" Pietro's grin only seemed to grow at Bucky's bewildered response, but he didn't get a chance to immediately counter, Sam cutting him off even as his mouth opened.

"What are you getting at, Maximoff," Sam said with barely maintained patience. Steve glanced carefully between the speedster and his oldest friend, concerned what buttons Pietro might inadvertently—or purposefully—push in his apparent quest to get Bucky's measure.

Pushing off from the side of the Beetle to gesture absently around him, Pietro absently waved first toward Lang as their newest recruit joined the group around the vintage car.

"He can shrink really small, which is neat," the Sokovian boy threw out before looking to Sam with another careless gesture, "You, you fly. That's cool. Me, I go really fast; that's better," he turned to Bucky, a smug smirk threatening. "You? I'm not so sure what you do." Bucky glowered at him, though a faint mischievous glint surfaced in his eyes.

"I'm good at killing people," he replied with a quiet snap to his otherwise offhanded tone.

Steve only barely restrained the urge to laugh as Pietro's smirk faltered.

"Hey, just like, umm..." Scott trailed off as he joined the group, finishing zipping up his curious suit as he came to stand next to Sam, his brow furrowing faintly in thought. He finally jerked a thumb back toward the van where Nadine was speaking quietly with Clint. "Ms. Intimidating Blonde, over there." Steve nearly choked on a chuckle of his own as Sam coughed out a poorly disguised laugh. Even Bucky's lip quirked in amusement at how plainly intimidated yet intrigued Lang was.

Not that Steve could blame him, he had to admit, an undoubtedly foolish grin threatening even as his pulse began to thrum happily; she was both intriguing and intimidating and more—sharp and strong, resilient and determined...and passionate beneath her cool exterior...

And she cared about him...maybe even loved him. She had effectively said as much, he easily recalled with thrilling clarity...and the way she'd kissed him before her flashback—that it had prevented them from going too far, too fast was probably a mercy in disguise—certainly seemed to suggest as much...he mentally shook off the distracting train of thought. Not a good time, he silently self-admonished.

Good thing he had plenty of practice tucking away distracting thoughts in favour of focus on the mission when the situation called for it...he certainly had a lot of them today...and some decidedly pleasant for once...

"Something like that," Bucky shrugged off even as Pietro chortled. It was then that Lang seemed to realize who he was surrounded by, blinking and even swallowing thickly, before he cleared his throat. Nadine wasn't the only one who intimidated the man, apparently, no matter how well he was trying to hide it. Especially Bucky, given the not-so-covert way he kept looking back to the former HYDRA operative.

"So, wait, who is she?" Scott all but blurted out after a long, awkward moment. Sam stifled another laugh as he finished with the last fastening securing his wings in place.

"Who, Ryker?" Sam said, "she's The Ghost." Scott swallowed thickly again, eyes widening slightly.

"The Ghost. Well, that sounds...important," Scott said, sparing a quick glance behind him. "Yeah, I don't know what that means," he added once satisfied Nadine was still out of earshot. Steve chuckled.

"She's one of the best assassins and trackers in the world," Steve elaborated patiently, putting their newest recruit's curiosity to rest.

"Yeah," Sam continued, "think a little bit of the Winter Soldier over here," he said with an absent nod toward Bucky, obviously enjoying unsettling Lang further, "plus Black Widow. She and Natasha were trained together, after all." Huh, Steve really hadn't quite thought of it in those terms before. That was actually a rather good way to describe Nadine and her skillset, he considered absently. Lang's mouth formed a silent 'oh' of comprehension, even if he still appeared somewhat unsure. Definitely still intimidated.