Ashlyn's pov:
Ash would have fought her way out, but Peter had offered her a doughnut and she wasn't one to refuse free food. Ash remained silent the entire ride, ignoring every question the Avengers threw at her. When she felt the jet land she decided to tease them a bit.
"Let's go kid" Said Bucky
"Where are we going, Starbucks?" She put on an innocent smile
"No, we are not going to Starbucks"
"Then I'm not coming" She crossed her arms in front of her chest and huffed.
"What are we five?"
"One of us is, it's not me, I'm fifteen." Bucky looked taken aback by her retort while the rest of the team did their best to hold in their laughter.
"Just get up" Bucky pulled her behind him and walked out of the jet. Ash recognized this to be the balcony of the Avengers tower. Bucky led her to the elevator and clicked on a floor. When the doors opened again he dragged her down the hallways. Ash got annoyed by his grip on her arm and she yanked it away.
"I know how to walk grandpa." Bucky ignored her comment and continued walking down the hall. Finally, they reached a certain room and he took her inside. Inside the very large room was another smaller room made of glass. Inside the glass was a small cell made of metal that Ash recognized as vibranium. Bucky grabbed her arm again and put her inside the cell. He locked the door and walked out so that he was now observing her from outside the glass cage. The rest of the Avengers soon came in as well. Ash could hear Peter filling them in on what he had heard between her and Aaron.
"Snitch" Ash muttered under her breath but she had a sneaking suspicion Peter could hear her by the way the corners of his mouth lifted slightly. Ash thought about Maya and Liam and her team. They were probably wondering where the hell she was. Ash knew there was no point trying to break out of here, she may be strong but she wasn't strong enough to break the strongest metal in the world. Ash decided she would have to talk her way out of here. But that didn't mean she couldn't have her fun while she was at it. The Avengers were all talking amongst themselves but Ash noticed Sam watching her closely. Ash smirked at him and then turned herself invisible. Sam's eyes widened and he started to panic. Ash held in a laugh as she watched Sam yell at the Avengers and point to the "empty" cell.
"Where'd she go?!" asked Clint
"JARVIS, where is Ashlyn?" Tony asked
"It would appear she is still in her cell sir" The AI responded. Ash rolled her eyes, was nobody here good at keeping secrets?
"Show yourself you little chameleon," Tony said in an unamused tone. Ash slowly made herself visible again and the whole team just stared except for Tony who just rolled his eyes.
"That was not funny," said Sam, and Ash giggled
"It was a little funny," Ash said in a matter-of-fact tone and Sam rolled his eyes. Ash sat down on the floor of her cell and waited patiently. The Avengers just stared at her.
"Do you guys have any coloring books or something?" Ash asked calmly.
"Tell you what, you answer some questions and we'll give you a coloring book" suggested Steve. Ash knew they wouldn't let her out without talking and she might as well get something in return, so she nodded. Nat and Steve walked into the glass room and sat down on the other side of Ash's cell.
"Why are you going after Hydra leaders?" Ashed Steve
"Can't a girl do a little charity work?" Ash asked innocently but Nat gave her an unconvinced look. "Just another mission" she added.
"Where did you get that tattoo on your shoulder?" As soon as Nat asked the question Ash's tattoo disappeared. Ash just stared blankly at Natasha who was giving her a suspicious look.
"Apparently Aaron Marshall recognized it to be part of some kind of organization" Natasha added. Ash could sense Nat staring at her almost as if she were trying to read her. Ash sighed, this was not how she planned to spend her Friday evening.
"It's just a tattoo" Said Ash simply
"If it was just a tattoo then a Hydra leader wouldn't have recognized it" Ash remained silent, she really didn't like the direction this conversation was headed.
"Who was Aaron planning on meeting with tomorrow?" Asked Bucky who had now also sat across from Ash's cell.
"The leader," Ash noticed them all waiting for her to continue "of an organization" Ash was really trying not to let anything slip out.
"The same organization that gave you that tattoo?" Asked Nat. Ash whipped her head around to give Nat a death stare. However, her silence seemed to be enough of an answer for Nat as she continued.
"You were planning on meeting with the leader instead weren't you? But they would have recognized you" Ash was once again reminded of the Avenger's mild stupidity. Ash didn't answer however she changed her appearance. Where Ash once sat, now sat Aaron Marshall. Nat nodded in understanding. Ash changed back into herself however this time she was wearing a hoodie and sweatpants. She figured if she was gonna be stuck here a while then she might as well be comfortable. Ash leaned back against the bars of her cell and closed her eyes. She could feel the Avengers staring at her and she sighed. This was going to be a long night.
Natasha's pov:
Nat watched closely as the girl laid back against the bars and closed her eyes.
"Why do you care about this organization?" Asked Bucky. Ashlyn's eyes shot open and Nat saw her unusually bright green eyes. Even though Nat had just seen them a few moments ago she was still shocked at how bright they were.
"They pissed me off," she said simply. The girl closed her eyes again and sighed. "I'll take that coloring book now."
---(time skip)----
Nat was sitting with the Avengers in the living room. They had given her a coloring book and since then she had refused to talk anymore. Now they watched the TV which was showing the footage of her cell from the camera that was in there.
"She hasn't tried escaping yet" Sam reminded them.
"Maybe she realized she can't, she can't even make a dent in those bars," Tony said proudly.
"Why is she even here? If she's getting rid of Hydra leaders then shouldn't we just let her do her thing?" asked Pietro
"She's here so we can do this, JARVIS runs facial recognition please," Tony said.
"Running facial recognition, this may take a few moment sir"
"What do you think this organization did to piss her off?" asked Bucky
"Other than give her that tattoo, I'm not sure," said Nat
"When the Hydra leader said that she was one of them she got really angry and said that she wasn't one of them anymore. Do you think that's where she learned to fight?" Asked Peter
"It's possible, but does that mean there's more of them?" Asked Clint
"If we let her go then she will get rid of the problem for us," Said, Sam
"We can't just let a child go kill some random bad guys," Said Bucky
"Why not?" Said Sam. Bucky glared at Sam and Sam glared right back.
"Ashlyn Riley, father unknown, mother is Katherine Riley, Ashlyn was put in an orphanage the day she was born, Katheryn died of cancer a few years later, Ashlyn's trail goes cold until five years ago where it was reported that she ran away from the orphanage. There is nothing else about her sir." The AI stopped talking and the whole room went quiet.
"No way..." said Steve in disbelief who was staring right ahead of him
"What is it?" asked Nat
"There's absolutely no way," Steve said again
"What's wrong?" Nat asked again but Steve just kept staring in disbelief at the TV, which now showed Ashlyn walking in circles around her cell.
Steve's pov:
"What's wrong?" Asked Nat but Steve just kept staring at the girl, now walking in circles around her cell. How could he not have seen it? Now that he looked closer it was so obvious. He should have seen it earlier.
"I- I knew her mom... I knew Katherine" Steve said blankly. Everyone in the room was now staring right at Steve who put his head in his hands.
"It's so obvious, I don't know how I didn't see it earlier" Steve took his head out of his hands and looked around at his team, who were all staring right back at him. "Ashlyn looks just like her. I don't know how I didn't see it."
"Wow wait a second, what do you mean you knew her mom?" Asked Bucky
"I met Katherine a long time ago, She was dating some jerk who left her when he found out she was pregnant. We started dating-"
"WAIT! You're telling me you dated this sociopath's mother?!" Shouted Tony. Steve ignored him and continued the story
"After she gave birth to Ashlyn she... didn't think she was ready for a kid so she put Ash in an orphanage. Katherine worked as a nurse and after a time she started to miss her daughter. When she went back to the orphanage to get her back they told her that Ashlyn had died..." Steve looked down at his hands. He could still remember the day that Katherine had told him what the orphanage had told her, she had been so heartbroken. "Katherine was then diagnosed with a disease and she died a few years later" Steve finished. Nobody in the room moved, not even Ashlyn moved as she sat on the floor of her cell staring into space. Finally, Sam spoke
"Well, clearly she's not dead." He said, pointing to the TV screen.
"Why would the orphanage say she was dead if she wasn't?" Asked Wanda
"Maybe she faked her death?" suggested Clint
"How could a baby fake their death?" Nat said, giving him an exasperated look.
"JARVIS, what orphanage was Ashlyn admitted to?" Asked Tony
"There are no files containing that information sir"
"Well that's definitely a red flag," Said Tony who looked very confused.
Steve looked at the girl in the cell. He couldn't believe it, he could not believe that the daughter of Katherine was still alive and that she was an assassin that killed people for a living. Nat suddenly voiced the question that Steve was beginning to think
"Do you think she knows about her mother?"
"No, remember the first time we talked to her? She didn't even know her last name" Said Sam
"Should we tell her?" Asked Steve
"I think you should," said Nat, and Steve looked up at her. "You knew Katherine, even dated her. She'd want you to be the one to tell Ashlyn" Steve didn't respond but only nodded.