We have arrived. I shrunk the jet with the help of some Pym Tech. We checked into our hotel. We have one room as the party is tonight and should all go as planned, we'll only be here for one day.
I hacked into the guest list system and added Kate, Peter, and Kamala on it under their aliases.
Kate is Hannah. Peter is Klaus. And Kamala is Matilda.
For the record, Nick provided a list of names for them to pick from and they chose their names.
By the time we got set up, it was time to get ready. I'm wearing a navy blue dress that goes down to the floor so it covers all my weapon holsters that go down to my knees on both legs.
We take a handful of pictures together before we leave.
The only bags we brought into the hotel room were the ones that held our outfits and our weapons.
I shrunk the bags for our weapons and attached them to a single keychain that I gave to Peter to put in his pocket. I have a secret pocket in my dress that I put the jet in.
We arrive at the venue and we're let in without any issues. Acting as the Chancellor's daughter is great! I've got a number of people wrapped around my finger just because of who my "dad" is.
My teammates and I split up to cover more ground. Kate goes to an upper level, Kamala goes to a far corner, Peter goes to the middle of the room, and I'm at the bar.
I'm going to start with talking to one of my "dad's" close friends. Nick said that if I'm lucky, the drive might be in the pocket of the Chancellor's colleagues for safe keeping because it would be harder to get, than if it were in a safe somewhere.
I could easily get the drive right here and now, but I would risk everything so I can't. Besides, I've already clocked a lot of armed people around here which means a possible shoot out if anything goes wrong.
"What brings such a pretty young lady like you to a party like this?" asks my target in German.
Yay! I get to speak in a different language!
"My father allowed me to come," I say in German. "Who's your father?" asks the man. "Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the Chancellor," I say confidently.
"I didn't know he had a child. Let alone one your age," says the man frowning a little. Oh boy here we go. He's starting to get onto me.
"He doesn't tell people about me to keep me safe," I say. And that's exhibit A of me thinking fast on my feet.
"I see. Well, it's a pleasure to meet you. I realize that I don't even know your name yet," he says. "Lorelei." "That's a very pretty name for a very pretty girl." "Thank you, sir."
We make small talk for a while. We switched to English which makes my life a little easier although it's fun for me to speak other languages.
With each new topic, the closer I get to asking about the drive. And no, I'm not going to be like "So, you have any drive with information that you're supposed to protect?" I'll have to be subtle.
I hear in my comms "Lorelei I need help." It's Kamala. I look around and spot her in her corner pacing a little. "Coming," I quietly.
"Excuse me sir, I'll be right back," I say. "Take your time, darling," he says. The man has been flirting with me all night. Gross.
I get to Kamala and say "What's up?" "This cute boy wants me to go get a drink with him! What do I do?" she says.
"You called me over here from the man we need to get the drive from to ask me if you should get a drink?" I say in disbelief. "Yes," says Kamala sheepishly.
"Go get a drink with him. I don't care. I don't mean that rudely. But I'm being flirted with by the man we need to get on our side. So if you'll excuse me. And please don't call me on comms unless it's dire," I say.
"Sorry, Lorelei," says Kamala. "It's fine. You're learning," I say. I squeeze her hand reassuringly and then I hurry back to my target.
He's exactly where I left him. Only he has drinks for us. Oh boy. This just got real.
I can smell something weird in mine. It's a truth serum. His is fine. As he gazes into my eyes, I switch the drinks. Nice try buddy.
I have my eyes on the drinks and we do cheers before I take a sip. Scotch no rocks. Not bad.
Then I hear one of the last things I want to hear on comms. "Over there is my friend Elizabeth. Oh, yeah she's in high school. Yeah, I think she'd be into you. I'll go ask her." Peter Parker, you are about to be a dead man.
"Elizabeth! Come here!" shouts Peter. Oh, now you've done it. A handful of heads turn towards him. I down the rest of my drink in one go so it can't be tampered with.
Rule number one of a party, never leave your drink somewhere and then come back and drink it again later. Just get a new one.
"That boy over there is making quite the scene. And he's pointing at you," says the man. "Oh, is he pointing at me? I didn't notice," I say innocently. "Is your name Elizabeth?" asks the man. "No, it's Lorelei," I say. "Just checking, darling," says the man smiling.
Peter I'm going to kill you.
"Excuse me, but I must use the lady's room," I say. "Yes, of course," says the man. I walk away from him towards the bathroom, and the moment his eyes leave me, I beeline to Peter.
"Excuse us for a moment," I say to the teenage boy he was talking to. I drag Peter away to a secluded hallway.
"What the heck Klaus?!" I say. If I'm about to scold him, I've got to lead by example and use alias names.
"What do you mean?" he asks. "Klaus, what do you even remember about this mission?" I say with a deadly tone with my arms crossed. "That we need to get that drive," says Peter.
"Correct. And what else do you remember?" I ask. "That we have aliases?" offers Peter. "That's right. Do you by any chance remember mine?" I say.
"Hannah, Klaus, Matilda... and..." starts Peter. "Lorelei!" I say practically spitting venom at Peter. "Oh, God. I'm sorry, Lizzie," says Peter. "It's Lorelei until we're on the jet home," I say. "Yes ma'am," says Peter saluting me. I nod in satisfaction and I leave him and go to the bar again.
"Sorry I was gone awhile. There was a line," I say casually. "No worries, Elizabeth Levina," says the man. "Who's that?" I ask hiding the fear in my voice.
"You. I failed to recognize you until that boy shouted Elizabeth. Then the pieces fell into place, Miss One-Woman-Army," says the man.
He pulls a gun out of his suit pocket and I see the drive almost falling out of his suit pocket.
I pull one of my guns out and at this point, we both have guns aimed at each other.
"Who are you working for this time, hmmm?" says the man. "Surely not the Red Room. You and your traitor sisters destroyed that years ago. Not SHIELD they died. Perhaps HYDRA," says the man. I say nothing.
He takes the safety off his gun and I do the same with mine. The opposing gun is aimed at my head directly in between my eyes. Mine is aimed at the man's heart.
We walk out into the middle of the room and people start screaming and moving towards the exits.
I make eye contact with Kamala and I move my eyes towards some people and then at the exit to signal to her to get people out of here.
Luckily she gets the message and she gets Peter and Kate, who had just come downstairs, to help her.
Once most of the people are out, a number of men in black suits aim their guns at me in a kill circle. Oh this is going to be fun.
The man I've been talking to all night, who I still haven't learned the name of, shoots and I do a backbend and it misses. I shoot at him and I land it on his shoulder. He hissed and everyone rained fire at me. The flash drive drops on the ground and I grab it.
My friends haven't come back in. I'm on my own now.
I go full One Woman Army mode and take down the men with ease. Not kill them, but knock them all out for several hours.
I'm just enjoying fighting and doing so in a dress is even more fun for me. I get shot in the stomach, but I have to keep fighting until every man is down.
The man who revealed my identity is a coward because he keeps hiding behind the other men who have the balls to fight me, the One Woman Army, the Silent Assassin, the Black Widow.
I'm bleeding out fast, but this fight is more important. Yes, I have the drive, but I can't leave until the civilians are safe. I knock out the original man and I stumble my way outside.
"Lorelei!" shouts Kamala. She and our other teammates run to me and I stumble into her arms. Peter picks me up bridal style and carries me away.
We get to a hidden location, I grab the jet from my secret pocket. I make it grow back to normal size and Peter sets me down in the back of the jet.
I stupidly stand up and sit in the pilot seat. The back hatch closes and I fly us away from Germany. I put us on autopilot and lie down on some chairs.
"We should've helped you back there. Then you wouldn't have gotten shot," says Kate quietly.
"It's fine. The civilians are more important. I would rather them be safe than me. They have innocent lives to live. Families to go home to. None of them needed to be hurt. But, me? I'm expendable. I'm a worldwide known assassin. I knew the risks the moment Nick finished talking about the mission. I knew that these missions are intricate and easy to have your cover blown," I say.
"You'll be okay though, right? I mean you have to be okay," says Peter.
"I'll be fine. I've survived much worse than a single bullet wound. Even if it is to the stomach," I say.
Peter sighs with relief.
"I should've come back for you. My powers... I could have made a shield," says Kamala.
"Don't blame yourself. Any of you. I gave you orders. You followed them. That's what a mission is about. It's orders that we're given to follow. Something we need to do. I told you to leave and you did. I would actually be mad if you can back for me," I say.
"Really?" asks Kamala. "Yes. The fact that none of you came back shows that you know how to follow directions," I say. My friends smile.
I call home and let them know to have a medical gurney ready for me. I tell them that I was shot and I'll explain more details when we get home.
I spend the whole ride until it's time for landing trying to stay awake. If I close my eyes, I could die.
I land the plane and the moment the hatch opens, Yelena runs to me. She picks me up and carries me to the gurney and I'm wheeled straight to medical for surgery.
"I should've known you would come back injured," says Yelena. "I'm the one who always takes the bullet," I say. "Touché, but would it be too much to ask for a single mission where you don't come home half dead?" asks Yelena. "Maybe," I say smiling weakly.
"Here," I say as my voice grows faint. I put the drive in Yelena's hand and close it around it.
I'm wheeled through the OR room doors where Yelena unfortunately can't follow me. Everyone wished me luck as I was wheeled away.
They take off all of my weapon holsters and put them in a bag. They remove my dress and put me in a hospital gown.
I'm kept awake until they hook a blood bag up to me. I don't flinch when the needle makes contact. I'm used to it. Then I'm sedated.
I wake up to beeping. I open my eyes and Yelena is sitting next to my bed reading a file as she always is.
"Yelena?" I croak. My voice is dry and hoarse. I'm a little annoyed by it.
Yelena smiles at me and hands me a glass of water. I almost drop it from weakness so she holds it to my lips and helps me drink.
I'm mortified that she has to do this. I hate not being self sufficient.
"How bad was it?" I ask. "It hit an artery. They got it out and patched you up minutes before you would've bled out," says Yelena. I nod.
"How long has it been?" "Few hours since you were wheeled into recovery," says Yelena. That's good. I was scared that I was out for longer.
"Is Nick mad?" I ask. "No. You got the drive. That's what he wanted. He feels bad that you got so hurt doing it though," says Yelena.
"I yelled at Peter," I say quietly. "Did he deserve it?" asks Yelena. I shrug. "He blew my cover. So I pulled him into a hallway and lectured him," I say. "Then he deserved it," says Yelena.
"I was called the One Woman Army by my target," I add. "How did that feel?" "Normal. Like nothing changed," I say. Yelena nods. "Makes sense," she says.
"How long am I stuck in here for?" I ask. "Until you can hold a water glass in your own," says Yelena. "So a while," I say judging my strength. "I think so," she says. I yawn.
"Go back to sleep, baby. I'll let everyone know that you woke up," says Yelena standing up. "Sis, can you stay with me?" I ask softly. "Of course," she says. I move over just enough so Yelena can climb onto my bed.
We cuddle like this and I fall asleep to the rhythm of the machines monitoring me, as Yelena strokes my hair to soothe me.
I'm in my room here at the compound. I'm sitting on my bed reading a book for fun.
"I'm proud of you," says a voice I haven't heard in a very long time.
I look up to see Nat leaning against my doorway. "Nat," I say tearing up. I missed her so much.
She walks over to me and I put my book down. Nat hugs me and it's a very long hug.
"I missed you," I say. "I bet. And you know something? I missed you too. And Yelena," says Nat.
"I'm sorry for going after Clint. I just wanted to avenge you. Do you justice. And where Yelena goes, I go, so even if I didn't want to, I would've anyway just because she was," I say.
"That's water under the bridge. Lizzie, I'm sorry I left you. When I was up there, I knew it had to be me. Clint's family was going to come back and the last thing I wanted was to be the one to explain that Clint died. And then I thought of you. I felt awful about having to leave you, but I knew that Yelena would come back and take care of you. I haven't stopped watching over you two ever since," says Nat.
"It's okay. I knew you did it because you had to. Not because you wanted to. And I've come to peace with that," I say. Nat smiles. "Smart girl," she says.
"I've got good mentors," I say shrugging. "Yelena, Bucky, Nick, Maria, and?" lists Nat.
"You. You and Yelena. And I guess Bucky too. Nick and Maria are great, but they're more your mentors. But I grew up with you, Yelena, and Bucky," I say. "Fair enough," says Nat.
We share a smile. "You like your new team?" asks Nat. "They're great. Kamala, America, and I are really close," I say. "You're a trio. And I'm happy that you finally have true friends," says Nat. "Thanks! I'm happy about it too," I say.
"You should have seen Yelena after you went to your room the day you met them. She was doing her happy dance. And then she knocked over a stack of files and they all got mixed up and she spent two hours sorting them," says Nat.
"So that's what the banging, the annoyed groan, and the everlasting ruffling of papers was," I say. Nat laughs. "It appears so," she says.
"I'm dreaming right? Like this isn't going to happen later like Déjà vu?" I ask. "Yeah. You're dreaming," says Nat. I nod. "I wish this could happen later," I say. "You and me both," says Nat.
"I love you lots, Nat," I say. "Love you more, Lizzie," says Nat.
We do our whistle together and Yelena whistles back. Then Nat disappears.
"They're so cute!" says a voice. "This is perfect blackmail," adds another voice. "They're so close as sisters," squeals a girl's voice. "Shhh you'll wake them!" whispers someone else.
I feel a shift next to me. My eyes flutter open and Yelena had apparently just woken up.
"Told you so!" says America. So she was the one who told people to be quiet. Katy puts her phone away and I'm guessing she was the one mentioning blackmail. Kate had squealed that we're close as sisters. That leaves Kamala to be the one who said that we were cute.
"Thanks for the compliments," I say. "Anytime," says my friends in unison. Then we all start laughing and I press a hand to my stomach as it hurt while I laughed.
I look around the room and see more flowers, stuffed animals, balloons, cards, and many other things that I don't have the time to count.
My friends are crazy. But I love them.
A week later I'm released from the medical wing with strict instructions. No training including punching, no running, don't walk too much, no over exertion of any kind, and a list of others.
Luckily the rules are only in place for a week. Then it's business as usual.
I can't wait to get back into training and get back into the field.
While I'm practically confined to my bed, my friends and sister are with me all day and only Yelena is with me all night.
I wouldn't have it any other way.