Retrospect『 avengers au 』

Chapter XI: Ontario - Part I

"We can't just wait around. We have to act fast," Peter blurted, eyebrows furrowed as he stared at the captain in disbelief. "And who knows where their final destination is? What if they're not stopping in Ontario? We have to go now."

"No, Peter, it's too risky," Steve raised his voice slightly. "The tracker says she's in Ontario right now but it doesn't make sense how they could have made it there so quickly. They might have tampered with the system and be somewhere else entirely."

Peter sighed in frustration and fled the room, needing fresh air more than ever. He hadn't felt this stressed since his Uncle Ben was killed and he could feel the anxiety and panic building up. Ariel was a good person and he wasn't about to let some uncertainty about the tracker stop him.

"Pete," Tony called after him in an attempt to turn him around but he had no such luck.

The teenage boy made his way to the elevator and glanced over his shoulder cautiously to make sure nobody had followed. He soon was standing on the asphalt of the landing pad, staring at the Quinjet in deep thought. If only he knew how to pilot something like this, he would just leave and find Ariel himself in that moment.

Arms crossed, mask hanging from his clenched right fist, he sighed quietly and closed his eyes. He hated being a pessimist but ever since he lost his uncle, he can only imagine the worst possible scenario. Was Ariel being tortured? Brainwashed? Or worse? With these thoughts swirling around in his mind, he blinked his eyes open and made a decision. He would just need to find someone willing to-

"Parker! Wait."

Peter's thoughts were interrupted by Clint coming up behind him. The man had been jogging, likely rushing to find Peter before he left, knowing the kid better than Peter expected.

Peter met the older, more experienced man's eyes. "You're not changing my mind. I'm going. We can't wait for Ariel to-"

"I know," Clint interrupted and Peter just now noticed Hawkeye was in uniform and began walking towards the Quinjet. "Let's go."

Peter's eyebrows knitted together as he jogged after him. "What?"

"There's no time to waste here," Clint agreed and they both climbed inside the aircraft once the entrance laid open for them. The man looked back at Peter. "Tony and Steve don't have kids. They don't understand how much more terrifying and serious this would be if it was their own daughter. We need to treat her like family. If it was one of us in her place, we would have left a while ago."

Peter paused for a minute. "Thank you," he said.

Clint glanced back. "Yeah, just get in here before the team sees us."

Peter quickly scrambled in and the entrance door sealed shut. Soon they were taking flight, Clint piloting, and Peter stared at the tower from above, stomach swirling with anxiety.

Ontario, Peter thought, here we come.

》》》

Ariel blinked her eyes open, not remembering much of how she came to be in the room she now resided in. She remembered being grabbed by the female agent who stood before her now, and with just a few words spoken, she was in a trance. She turned her head to the side and stared into the one-way glass window, her reflection showing no emotion. Her eyes were glazed over with a milky white film, her conscience seemingly non-existent.

"Where would you like to start?" The familiar woman's voice caused Ariel to turn her head back, only to see she was speaking to a man who had entered the room. He looked dangerously familiar.

"Prep it and draw blood first. I want to make sure no one tampered with the DNA we altered," the man responded in a lower tone as he pulled medical gloves over his pale, bony hands. "Then take it to the screening room. I want to better understand how it developed Regenerative Healing-"

"She," the woman suddenly snapped, her expression stony as she stared back at the man. "She's a girl, not an 'it.'"

"As far as I am concerned, Angeline, she is a mutant and nothing more. Don't let your relation to her get in the way of our mission," the man returned in a firm tone, his jaw clenched as he stared into the eyes of the agent now known as Angeline.

Ariel's glazed eyes watched the exchange with a lack of feeling or understanding, and simply stayed put in the chair she sat in. She only now noticed the zipties keeping her in place but didn't pay them much mind.

The man stepped towards Ariel, his hands coming up to meet her jaw and tilt her face to the side to meet his gaze. He smiled gently, though it was underlined with a sense of complacency, and he murmured in a dangerously quiet tone, "Welcome home, my love."

》》》

A/N: Thank you, thank you, thank you for reading, it means the world to me you've chosen to read this story!

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Stay safe, wear a mask around others, wash your hands and sanitize! I wish all of you safety.

–Blys♡