11 x group effort
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Everybody met in the room that, reportedly, Stark threw parties in. It was kind of ironic to me, because instead of being dressed up all fancy-like, everyone was suited up in their superhero costumes. (Maybe costumes wasn't the right word, but you know what I mean.)
Despite the fact that I kind of wanted to giggle at Steve's spangly, tight-fighting costume, I kind of felt left out. Because I did not have a costume. Granted, I had had time to change into something more comfortable than a dress (and reclaim my leather jacket, thank you very much) but I still felt oddly out of place.
It kind of helped me feel better given that Pietro was only wearing a jogging sweater, and he wasn't quick to leave my side at any time, so that was nice.
"You think AIM is behind this," Clint repeated, giving Tony a look that suggested he thought the genius had gone nuts. "Didn't they disassemble once you killed their founder?"
"Disassemble, no," Tony shook his head, still decked in the suit. "Go into hiding however . . . big yes."
"You've just been ignoring them this whole time?" Steve asked, giving Tony an incredulous look.
"Hydra was our focal point," Tony defended. "I didn't have time for side projects. Plus then Ultron . . ."
"We're not talking about Ultron," Bruce interrupted, before anyone else could jump in. "Now is not a good time to get into the topic of Ultron."
"He's not wrong," Sam muttered.
From the looks on the rest of the Avengers' faces, they looked like they were more than willing to gang up on Tony, but no one made any move to. I made a mental note to ask about whatever 'Ultron,' was later.
At the moment I really wanted to ask who the green and red guy with the cape was, but ah . . .
"AIM being behind this might actually make sense," Natasha mused, leaning back in her chair. Her sharp green eyes shot toward Steve. "Remember that information we dug up on the Inhumans?"
Steve nodded slowly. "They were paid by an unnamed organization. Could've been AIM."
"Or a cover for AIM," Natasha agreed with a nod. "Either way, your theory's plausible, Tony."
"Thank you," Tony grinned.
"Now that we have come to this conclusion," the green and red man said, looking at me for a moment, "I believe the best course of action is tracking AIM."
"Shouldn't be that hard to do," Bucky muttered. "They destroyed Stark's power source. I'd guess they left behind some evidence."
"But why take out the Tower?" Clint asked. "You got any new weapons we should know about, Stark?"
"The most logical assumption would be that the Avengers are here."
Everyone turned to look at the green and red man, but when I did, I realized he was looking at Wanda. When I diverted my attention, I realized her eyes were glowing that odd red color, and had gone out of focus. My brow furrowed, and I brushed Pietro's arm to get his attention. "What is your sister-" I started to ask, before Wanda spoke.
"There is a team of intruders coming in through the lobby now," she abruptly announced, her face turning hard as she looked to everyone else. "Most of them are these Inhumans which you mentioned, Natasha. As Megan and I faced earlier."
Pietro bristled at that, and I could feel him shift closer to me.
"Are they from AIM?" Sam asked as he adjusted his goggles back over his eyes.
"Indeed," Wanda agreed. "I believe a plan would be beneficial here."
"Well," Tony said, his face-plate sliding down, "there are eleven of us. Ten, if we don't count Bruce."
"I'd appreciate not being counted," Bruce murmured.
"How many of them are there, Wanda?" the green and red man asked calmly. His British accent seemed oddly familiar to me, but I couldn't quite place it . . .
"Thirty," she answered immediately.
"I say we pair up," Steve said. "Tony, you're going to need to stay with Bruce. Try and figure out if you can get an emergency power system set up so that we aren't dealing with these guys in the dark."
"Worth a shot," Bruce agreed, even though Tony sighed loudly, evidently disappointed he'd be missing out on the fighting.
"I would like to stay with Tony and Bruce," the green and man volunteered, and it was then that I recognized his voice.
"JARVIS?" I asked incredulously.
He looked to me with a quizzical face, then smiled slightly. "Ah, Megan. No, I am not JARVIS. I have his voice, but I am very much a different being. You may call me Vision. I am of . . . greater use to Tony and Bruce than JARVIS would perhaps be."
"If you could not offend my AI," Stark sighed, before seeming to nod (albeit reluctantly). "Yeah, whatever. We'll take Vision. He'll probably be helpful."
"Your reluctant acceptance is appreciated," Vision returned, though there was no edge to his voice.
Bruce was smiling amusedly as the three of them left the room, putting us down to eight. Steve surveyed us for a split second. "All right. Sam, Bucky, you two are together. You're going to need to get to the outside of the building; I want their guards and means of transportation taken out, along with anyone who may try to escape."
Sam and Bucky nodded. Sam looked to Bucky with a raised brow. "Want a ride to the ground?"
"Am I gonna have to break a window to get you out of the building?" was Bucky's retort.
"Unless Megan wants to phase us through, yes," Sam agreed with a smirk.
Bucky thought about it for a moment before shrugging. "Been a while since I broke glass. Let's go find a quieter place, Bird Boy."
He and Sam left in the opposite direction of the others.
"Wanda," Steve continued, "I want you with Natasha. You confuse those that you can, let Natasha knock 'em out. You'll be in the stairwell just before Stark's labs; keep anyone from getting in."
"It would be my pleasure, Captain," Wanda smiled, before looking to Natasha. "Shall we?"
Natasha grinned, flexing one of her gloved hands. "About time you and I had some girl time." She winked at me, "We'll find a way to include you next time."
"No worries," I assure her, before the two of them were off after Tony, Bruce, and Vision.
That left Clint, Steve, Pietro, and myself. "All right," Steve said, "as good of a super-team as I'm assuming you two-" he nodded at Pietro and I, "-would be, I'm going to have to split you up. Clint, Pietro, I want you two to go on sight for Stark's power source. Find anything that AIM could've left behind, then contact Stark and see if maybe there's a chance he can walk you through getting it up and running."
Pietro cast me a look, before sighing loudly. "Guess it's you and me, old man. You know, if we are to get there faster . . ."
"I know, I know," Clint sighed. "Did you want me to ride on your back?"
Pietro scoffed in feigned amusement, but I didn't miss the cocky wink he gave me before he was a blur, and then he and Clint were gone.
Steve smiled demurely at me, as I raised a brow. "You and I, Cap?"
"Front line of defense," he said, pulling his shield off his back and sliding it onto his arm. "I figured it was about high time I actually get to see what you can do, Miss Sinclair."
"If I impress you enough, can I get you to call me Megan?" I asked, following him out of the room.
"You don't have to impress me," he chuckled. "I think I can make that accommodation."
"Great. Because this Miss Sinclair stuff makes me feel fancy. And, if you haven't noticed, I'm not."
"You may not feel fancy," Steve said with a low chuckle to his words, "but I happen to know a certain someone who fancies you."
I stared at his back for a moment, more than baffled by what he'd said. Instead of allowing him to catch drift of that shock, though, I gave an over-dramatic and loud sigh. "Oh, Steve. And here I thought your humor would be better than puns."
"Sorry to disappoint," he laughed, before pausing and looking down at me. "You know, I've just come to realize that . . . the stairs . . ."
"Aren't as fast as my free falling would be?" I volunteered with a small smirk. "Yeah, I was waiting to see how long it'd take you to notice that."
He smiled, blue eyes shining in the red lights. "How kind of you."
I grinned up at him good-naturedly, reaching for his arm and grabbing on securely. "Now, you're not going to suddenly get sick when we land, are you? Because I don't want to be the one that made Captain America throw up."
Steve scoffed. "I jump out of planes for fun. Hit me with your best shot."
A devilish smile crossed my features. "All right, but you did ask for it."
Without further ado, I fully switched to intangible, forcing Steve's body to make the same change. We free-fell fast this time; faster than I had gone when I'd been getting everyone out of the training room. But that was because we had a ways to go before we'd hit the bottom.
In Steve's defense, he was doing pretty well. Especially if you take into account that I enjoy things like free-falling so much that I laugh loudly the whole time.
Though I could've sworn I heard him chuckle at least once before we landed.