Color scheme | Pietro Maximoff

Chapter 18

     "Do you know her?" Steve asked, referring to the woman in the picture.

     "No, but I saw her while walking home with Pietro. She was staring at us."

     "That means HYDRA is close to us, we can't risk another attack."

     "We should probably monitor the security feeds. Guess now I finally have a reason to stay up all night," Tony added. Eliza gave Tony sad eyes when she remembered talking to him about nightmares back when she was their 'prisoner'. So much has changed since then.

     "I'll stay up with you. I'm sure I can help in some way," offered Elizabeth.

     "Me too," Steve joined in.

     "Don't you need your beauty sleep, Rogers?" Teased Tony.

     "You're talking to the man who slept for 70 years," Everyone laughed at Steve's response, though Elizabeth was a little confused.

     "How exactly did you stay young after 70 years?" Eliza asked.

     "I was frozen. You didn't know that?"

     "That's why I call him Capsicle."

     "Oh."

     After joking around, the three started paying attention to the feeds. Everything seemed all clear, but they still needed to keep a close eye on the security. Regardless if they were either spies or armed soldiers, HYDRA was nearby. Tony clicked through the cameras and observed every little detail regarding their surroundings.

"Switching between cameras and expecting a bad outcome really makes me think of Five Nights at Freddy's," Eliza randomly commented.

"What's that?" Tony questioned.

"Some horror game I found on YouTube. Apparently there is a VR version of it now."

"Wow, you and Peter would get along really well. You need to meet him one day," Elizabeth nodded her head at Tony's statement, though she had no clue who Peter was.

———

After an hour of searching for HYDRA, Elizabeth decided to break the silence.

"Do you guys mind if I turn on some music? I'm bored."

"Elizabeth, if you start playing musicals so help me-" She cut Tony off by flipping him the finger while turning on Wicked. Tony sighed. "I miss when you were shy," Steve shoved his shoulder in disapproval.

"That's not true. We're glad that you're comfortable with us," Steve countered.

"I'm glad too," Elizabeth said as she walked up behind Steve's chair, and gave him a hug from behind. She froze in that position when she spotted a familiar woman walking past the Avengers tower. Her eyes widened as she pointed out the woman on the screen. "That's her."

"Serious?" Tony asked as he zoomed in on the screen, and captured a picture of the woman's face.

"Yep. Brown hair, middle-aged, same clothes, creepy smile," just as mentioned, a demented smile creeped along the woman's face.

"I'll assemble the team," Steve claimed as he stood up.

"But what if it's a trap. I'm sure she has plenty of hidden HYDRA soldiers guarding her," Elizabeth spoke up.

"Maybe we shouldn't attack right away, but it definitely wouldn't hurt to wake up the team. That way we can at least be prepared," added Tony. And with that, Steve and Elizabeth sprinted down the halls to wake up their friends. Tony of course was in charge of monitoring the cameras. Fears and doubts began to flood Eliza's head as she dashed to Pietro's room. What if there was another attack? What if someone was lethally hurt this time? What if she was kidnapped again? She couldn't afford any of the above. The Avengers were now her family, and she had to protect them at all costs. Though she hasn't had much experience with it, that's what families do.

She would do anything in her power to keep them safe.

She desperately knocked on Pietro's door, shouting at him to wake up. He, ironically, slowly made his way to the door, and opened it to find a panicking Elizabeth.

"What is with the yelling and pounding, возлюбленная? Was it a nightmare?" He tried to pull her in for a hug, but Eliza gently pushed him away and locked eyes with him.

"It's HYDRA. We don't know if they are going to attack, but they're here," the grogginess in Pietro's eyes disappeared when he heard the word 'HYDRA'.

"What can I do?"

"You're fast, can you wake everyone else up? It's not quite an emergency right now, but we still need to be quick. If HYDRA does attack, the team needs to be prepared," Pietro nodded in response, kissed Elizabeth on the forehead, and sped off to wake the others. Eliza darted back to the control room, where she found Tony staring at his computer with a puzzled expression.

"Where did the woman go?" Elizabeth asked Tony, slightly out of breath. She didn't know if it was from either the running or the adrenaline.

"I don't know, she just walked away. But what confuses me is that they somehow got my personal email."

"They what?" Elizabeth asked as she peered over his shoulder. There was an anonymous message containing a link, which was no doubt from HYDRA. "I don't think you should click it."

"Don't worry. I transferred all of the data from this computer to another, and disconnected it from the system. If they hack us, it won't have any effect. The computer's shit anyways, it needs to be replaced."

"Alright, Mr. Billionaire," Eliza joked.

By the time Tony clicked the link, the entire team had made their way to the control room.

"What's going on?" Natasha was the first to ask.

"We spotted a HYDRA leader in front of the tower," Tony answered. "She's gone now, but now we have a new problem. They sent this message, I have no idea how they got my email."

"At least they're keeping it professional," Clint joked. Everyone except Tony gave him a 'shut up' facial expression. "Sorry, wrong timing."

Elizabeth viewed the message closely. It read "Avengers. Though HYDRA has always despised you, this hatred has only strengthened after your continuous collection of our traitors. Expect no mercy."

"Were you able to track where this email came from?" Asked Natasha.

"No, this stupid thing is untraceable."

"Untraceable my ass. Give me some time and I'll crack it."

"Alright, Romanoff. It's all yours," Tony said while backing away from the computer.

Natasha began typing away.

Sorry this chapter was short. But guess what, it's summertime!!!