As soon as the screen was off, Raven turned and sat facing an almost nervous Wade. Her legs straddled his hips as she rested her arms on his shoulders. "Wade, what did you think you were doing? You have a mate that is even willing to have miniature assholes with you. You were stupid to let your mouth run away from you. Do better for the mission. What is the layout anyway?"
As she stood and moved to a seat across from him, he let out a shaky breath that had Loki smirking at him. "I have a feeling this is going to be the beginning of a truly entertaining friendship. I can't promise that any of the others will approve though."
Raven shook her head at the pair before letting a small giggle escape. "Seriously now, what is the mission and how difficult are we talking?"
When her tone changed, both men realized she was getting irritated and settled themselves in. Wade pulled out files and contingency plans for each scenario. Loki kept exchanging glances with Raven who was looking more and more exasperated. When she finally snapped, Loki was nodding with her the entire time. "Wade! No! Saying that you are going to chop off your hand as a distraction for being caught is not a back up plan. If you are compromised, Loki will use his illusions and get you two out of there. I will try and keep focused on getting the kids out. What does the government even want with these kids?"
Wade glanced down before taking a deep breath. "This branch, specifically, has decided to merge with the Brethren of Shadows and Hydra. We need to keep these kids from becoming the future of the Winter Soldier program as well as possible enhanced robots. We need to keep them from becoming me, Logan, your mate, and even you."
Raven's face darkened as Wade continued to speak. If the BoS wanted these kids, she was going to make sure they were disappointed. In her opinion, Hydra was the less concerning but she knew that was far from the truth for many of the others.
"This is to stay between us. Whatever we do, none of the others need to know. Let's go save some kids. Wade, you and Lokes will work on gathering intel and drop anyone who tries to stop you. Any questions?"
Loki smiled widely and asked the burning question. "How many kids and where do we plan on putting them?"
Raven smiled and called Xavier. When she explained the situation, he was more than happy to have a jet nearby ready to take the kids to his school. With all of the major logistics out of the way, the three smiled before preparing for a large battle.
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Sam and Sharon were sitting on their bed, watching a movie when there was a knock on the door. Pausing the movie, Sam opened the door to find his two best friends and the very serious looking Stephen Strange.
"Uh, what's up Doc?" He waved the three inside while Sharon shifted and grew serious as the air became tense.
"What happened?" Sharon was watching the three newcomers very carefully. She may be close with the super soldiers but she didn't dare cross them when they had their mission face on.
"Loki went with Wade and Raven to do some sort of unsanctioned mission. Wade mentioned saving kids but none of us really know him well enough to trust him."
Sharon nodded as she grasped what was happening. Her eyes went wide and her back rigid. "Shit! I am going to kill them." She was out the door before any of the soldiers knew it. Only to have her back in the room and still running. There were two circles of light that kept her running out the door, only to appear in front of her window of her room. Eventually, she stopped running, completely out of breath.
"No fair Strange."
"My mate, who is still not anti-murder, is currently doing a ride along with a mentally unstable mercenary and his own homicidal tendencies. The two only seemed to have met due to your friend. I am not in the mood to be fair. What is going on?"
Sharon took a shaky breath before telling all of the men that they needed to get to the lab. Once there, she used a comm-link to call one of the men from a couple days prior.
When they saw his face on the screen, he looked even more serious than before and it was unsettling. "Mini-Carter, I don't have a lot of time to chat. The Professor wants Storm, Scott, and I in the air in under 20. What is it you need?"
"So, you already know then?"
"Mini-Carter, I really don't have the time to play twenty questions. What do I already know?"
"Logan, it is Raven that you three are meeting. She and Wade are apparently going and trying to save kids. Where do you think those two found kids to save?"
Logan's face paled before a fury seemed to ignite in his eyes. "They better be okay and if Wade gets her back on their radar, I may kill him myself."
There was suddenly an equally angry voice sounding from behind him. "Get in line. Let's go see if we can help." A man could be seen with a contraption covering his eyes as Logan turned to face him.
"Time to move out."
Before they hung up, Sharon and Sam arranged for Redwing to follow the signature of their jet. Bucky and Steve put on their uniforms and met with Sam and Sharon in the control room. All four were prepped and ready if the call came through. Strange was sitting in the corner drinking tea to try and remain calm. He had seen a few outcomes and was not up for telling the others the stats for the mission.
Tony, Banner, Nat, Clint, and Pepper all walked in with concerned faces. Nat broke the silence first.
"Has there been any more contact? Do we know anything?"
Just as she finished her questions, the screen beeped as Redwing showed heat signatures in a building. Bucky flinched when he saw the pairs in small cubes of wall. It didn't take a genius to see that they were people in cells. Two signatures swept through the top floor, one showing a lower body temp than the other forcing Strange to sit up higher.
"Loki is the cooler one. Who do you suppose they have him working with?" His concern being slightly overlooked by most, knowing the proud pair didn't like their weaknesses being acknowledged.
Sharon responded without turning. "I guarantee that's Wade with him. We need to be careful though, Raven is a force when she believes what she is fighting for." There was a silent pause while all eyes focused on the pair as they slowly moved down, floor by floor.
Suddenly, Redwing spun away and found a new angle. There was a sound that came through the speaker as the little helper slid past an open window.
"Where are the kids?" The male voice was rough and off-putting. It made Sharon cringe but she hoped nobody saw it. Nat's gasp drew their attention to her. "I know that voice. If he is there though, this just became a suicide mission. Get them out of there."
She was trying to get a message through the window when the response caught everyone off guard. "I am not one of your special girls Dreykov. You have no power over me. Plus, let's face it, I am the one you wish you could break. Bring it little sad man."
Everyone was frozen as they heard the clearly pissed voice of the one and only Raven clearly telling a dangerous man that he had no way of breaking her. Bucky and Nat shared an anxious glance while Sharon gripped Sam's hand.
The response was muffled but they all heard the sound of skin hitting skin followed by a laugh. "Ooo, I am so scared. The Russian Rat decided not to run to the sewers again. Now what? More torture, beatings? I don't care. The kids are safe and you will never lay another hand on them."
Just as Redwing moved in place, they saw the circle of women surrounding an older man and a restrained Raven. Suddenly, their team member let out a small chuckle before a bloody smile graced her lips. "Game over Dreykov! NOW!"
Before any of the women could think, a bright red mist covered the entire room. They couldn't see what was happening but instead heard a very angry Dreykov screaming no. Nat was grinning and jumping up and down against an equally happy Banner. "They did it! She gave Yelena the chance she has been waiting for! Clint! The girls are coming home!" Clint was grinning ear to ear while the others slowly began to try and piece things together. If what Nat was saying was true, then this was a huge moment for her and her sister.
Yelena had been placed undercover in the Red Room again. She was to go through all of her Widow training again and while Nat had been against it, Yelena had convinced her it was the only way to free the other Widows. Banner and Stark had worked together with a few other scientists to find a counter-agent for the mind control Dreykov had placed within the girls. They had used Bucky to help tweak and eventually free himself from similar parameters. Overall, it was a huge win for the former assassins.
When the room cleared, Yelena stood in the middle with her own mate pointing an arrow at the ground where a bleeding Dreykov laid in a huddled mass. Standing behind him was a bleeding Raven who nodded at the pair before hoisting the man's arm around her shoulders.
Everyone at the tower stood in silence as they watched Raven drag the man to the window and sticking her head out. She looked back up, leveling her eyes on Redwing. She smirked and then shocked everyone by throwing the bleeding man out of the open window. Redwing followed his descent until it was stopped by glowing green energy. He was lowered gently the rest of the way before a bored Loki rolled his eyes at her. Wade was more than happy to tie the once feared leader up and start hauling him to their jet.
Redwing followed the trio until they weren't in sight anymore. When the camera shifted back to Raven, everyone was floored to see her helping the women who had previously been surrounding her. She was ensuring they were alright, working flawlessly with Yelena and Kate. It wasn't too much longer when she snuck away and back to the basement. She shoved a couple file cabinets away before knocking on a bookshelf. Redwing had followed her downstairs and everyone thought she might be crazy except for Tony.
"No way, come on. Please be a secret door. Please be a secret door." Pepper entwined their fingers as she listened to her soulmate repeat the sentence a few times while the others held their breath in anticipation.
After a few seconds of weighted tension, the bookshelf shifted. It opened to reveal roughly a dozen kids, most were between 9 and 15 by the look of them, but there was a tiny one that an older boy held on to as if his life depended on the well being of the toddler. Upon seeing the pair, Raven reached out for the toddler and hugged the teen. It was obvious they knew each other somehow but nobody could figure out how.
It was at that moment, Raven spoke up. "Don't drop out. School can literally save your life Angel."
He laughed before spreading a pair of wings from behind him. The full feathers were enough to make even the most majestic of birds jealous. Raven simply held the small child and consoling her before leading the dirty, exhausted, and severely traumatized kids out of the basement. If any of the opposing side even glanced their direction, Raven was there, locking eyes with them. She didn't back down and made sure everyone knew that the kids were under her protection.
Redwing followed the group as they made their way through a grove of trees and onto a trail. It led to a small clearing, near a lake. Once there, the kids were greeted by the three matching uniforms of the X-men.
All three checked the kids over and got them into the jet before turning and wrapping their arms around a very tired looking Raven. She returned their affection, tilting her cheek up when Logan ducked to kiss it. Storm held her hands and glared at the injuries. It was Scott who asked the question that she was too scared to form though.
"What happened to you? You were told to be careful. Are you back on the radar? I don't like this. Who put you up to this?"
Logan patted Scott on the shoulder before leaning in close to the other man's ear. "Shut up. You sound worse than a helicopter parent on a camp out. Leave it alone. She is a grown adult who probably has more than a few angry people awaiting her return, right?" Logan turned to face the now pale Raven.
"On second thought, do you three need me to ride back with you? I can help help with the munchkins?"
Before any of the X-men could respond, there was an icy voice from behind Raven. "No can do Darling. You are going to face the childish Midgardians with the pool of death and myself. You will not run, that is my move."
Raven huffed as her shoulders drooped before turning to face none other than Loki. "If I go back, so do you."
Her words made his chin dip slightly before turning around and offering her his arm. Logan and Scott offered her one more hug before Storm wrapped her arms around the younger woman tightly. "Please check in more. We miss you. Now that things are a bit more relaxed for you, I want to be in your life more. Be safe!"
Raven hugged the role model back, fiercely, before chuckling at her. "I make no promises."
Just as they approached the plane, Loki warned Raven that their guest was up and talking before he came to get her. All she could do was sigh at him. Nodding at his words was the only way she knew she wouldn't snap at anyone. Raven was not looking forward to the flight home with one of the most awful men she had ever had the displeasure of meeting. Yelena and Kate stood by the door with a few of their newly freed widows as the pair approached.
"Oh good. Took you two long enough. I thought your friend in there was going to leave without you. I almost took Dreykov off your hands. I still can but it would only be long enough to kill him. These widows would help, so the blame would not be on my shoulders only." The shrug and blunt honesty made Raven smirk while Loki looked perplexed by the young woman. He didn't say anything, just shrugged past her and the others to get onto the ship.
"So, you two coming with us? I know you two are close with Nat and Clint. I am sure the others with you could either get a fresh start or go meet some of Wade's friends." Raven stuck a thumb in the direction of the entryway as she spoke.
"No. As much as I want to get back. I do not trust a bunch of Widows to sit quietly with the man who held them hostage for years on the same flight, do you?" Kate's question made Raven pause.
"Obviously not. I am an idiot, a tired one at that. I apologize ladies. I did not mean to put you in that position." As Raven finished her sentence, one of the women came to stand directly in front of her. Raven recognized her immediately as the one who had hit her when Dreykov got tired. Gulping quietly, Raven stared evenly at the woman before her.
"I am sorry for being the sword wielded by suck an awful man. Please forgive me and don't take this the wrong way, but you would make one hell of a widow. If you ever decide you want to learn more, come see me. I am Kira." The tall blonde stood strong and nodded before turning on her heel and leaving the group staring after her.
"No." Raven shook off the shock she was in at the single word. Turning, she saw she faced both Yelena and Kate. Neither one giving away who had spoken.
"Why no? What is wrong with getting better and being less of a risk to others?" Raven wasn't sure she would take Kira up on the offer but what mattered was the option and not being told what she could or could not do.
She watched the soulmates share a look. One that was so personal, Raven felt she was intruding by simply seeing it. She kept her eyes averted while waiting for an answer, one she wasn't sure was coming. After a minute or so, Kate spoke up.
"We will discuss it back at the compound. See you when we get there, alright Sparrow?"
"Sparrow? Why Sparrow?" Raven shook her head in bewilderment. It was Yelena who answered though.
"Because that is what a beginner to the Widow program is called. We will train you. Natasha may assist as well. I do not know yet. I will see you through though, not some stranger."
Raven instinctively ran and hugged the pair, who reacted very differently. Yelena stiffened and tried to minimize the hug while Kate held their peer a little tighter before releasing her.
"Thank you both!" Raven was ecstatic and barely registered how stiff the spy was. She rushed into the jet and sat in her seat. Redwing attached to the belly of the ship as they took off.
Yelena turned to Kate as the ship lifted and began its trip back home. "You know that both her mates as well as the other bird-brain and Mini-Carter are going to have our skin, right Bishop?"
Kate moved the lean her head on her mate's shoulder before speaking. "It won't matter. If we didn't help her, she would go behind everyone's back and meet up with Kira, who we aren't sure was ever under the mind control. I will not risk any of our members being vulnerable and possibly taken because we were too chicken to help her ourselves."
Yelena smirked at her mate before resting her head on top of Kate's. "Look at who became the mother hen now."
Both smiled before heading towards Dreykov's hideout and hopefully a ride home.