PURE AND TAINTED
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
( i applaud you, sir )
STEVE HAD NOTICED THAT something was wrong with Aline the moment she stepped into the Quinjet, but she had just brushed it off. He noticed that something was definitely wrong when she just stared out the window for most of the ride home, barely bothering to talk to her fellow team members. When she got inside the Quinjet, she headed straight to the mini-fridge in the corner and grabbed a pint bag of blood (which she was thankful for Tony for stocking, but she wasn't quite sure how he acquired it) and sat in her seat.
Aline's mind had wandered back to the pretty Sokovian girl several times now 一 no, not pretty. She was beautiful. But she's HYDRA, their enemy, and she was part of a Nazi organization that was basically hellbent on global domination. But who was she before that? Who was she before the powers came into play, and when she allowed good to flow her heart?
She looked to her right to see Natasha kneeling in front of Bruce, who had removed his headphones. "Hey, the lullaby worked better than ever," Natasha said with a smile. Something was sparking between the two, causing the tribrid to grin. In her opinion, they're rather cute.
"Just wasn't expecting the Code Green," he said sadly.
"If you hadn't been there, there would've been double the casualties. My best friend would've been a treasured memory."
"You know, sometimes exactly what I want to hear isn't exactly what I want to hear."
"How long before you trust me?"
"It's not you I don't trust," Bruce said.
"Thor, report on the Hulk?" Natasha said aloud, her eyes still looking at the scientist.
"The gates of Hel are filled with the screams of his victims," Thor cheered. Natasha turned, glaring at the blond god, while Bruce just groaned and placed his head in his hands.
"I applaud you, sir!" Aline said, leaning back in her chair and clapping sarcastically and slowly. At some point, she had shoved a bendy straw into the pint bag and was slowly drinking. There was something about it that was disturbing but rather childlike and cute.
"Uh, but, not the screams of the dead, of course," Thor quickly said. "No, no, uh... wounded screams, mainly whimpering, a great deal of complaining and tales of sprained deltoids and, and, uh... and gout."
"Hey, Banner," Tony said. "Dr. Cho's on her way in from Seoul, is it okay if she sets up in your lab?"
"Uh, yeah, she knows her way around," Bruce said.
"Thanks," Tony said. He looked at the screen in front of him, speaking to his A.I. "Tell her to prep everything, Barton's gonna need the full treatment."
"Very good, sir," J.A.R.V.I.S. responded.
"J.A.R.V.I.S., take the wheel."
"Yes, sir. Approach vector is locked."
Tony stood up from the pilot's seat and Steve and Thor, both of whom were looking down at the scepter. "It feels good, yeah?" he said. "I mean, you've been after this thing since SHIELD collapsed. Not that I haven't enjoyed our little raiding parties, but..."
"No, but this... this brings it to a close," Thor said.
"As soon as we find out what else this had been used for," Steve said. "I don't just mean weapons. Since when is Strucker capable of human enhancement?"
"Banner and I'll give it the once before it goes back to Asgard. Is that cool with you?" Tony asks the god, and Thor nods. "I mean, just a few days until the farewell party. You're staying, right?"
"Yes, yes, of course," Thor said. "A victory should be honored with revels."
"Yeah, who doesn't love revels? Captain?"
Steve nodded to himself. "Hopefully this puts an end to the Chitauri and HYDRA, so, yes, revels."
When the Quinjet eventually landed, Aline stood up and stretched her tired limbs. She barely moved during the long flight. Once the ramp was lowered, Dr. Cho (who Aline had never had a proper conversation with) and her team quickly took Clint away on the gurney, with Natasha following. Everyone else had left, leaving behind Aline, Steve, and Tony.
"Lab's all set up, boss." They looked to see Maria Hill there, holding a tablet in her hands. According to Tony, after the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D., she had applied to work under him.
Tony swirled around in the pilot chair, and pointed to Steve. "Uh, actually, he's the boss. I just pay for everything and design everything and make everyone look cooler."
"Except for me," Aline said and raised her hand. Now, the pint bag was empty and left beside her. "Mr. Stark, when am I going to get my own suit? I've just been wearing jeans and shirts, and let me tell you, it does not fit the superhero aesthetic."
"Wait your turn, little tribrid," Tony says and gives the brunette a pat on the head. She instantly grumbled about how she'd been waiting for years, but she kept her comment to herself.
"What's the word on Strucker?" Steve asked and Aline trained behind him as he walked alongside Maria.
"NATO's got him," the woman answered.
"The two Enhanced?"
This peaked Aline's interest. She moved her head closer to hear the conversation better, despite the fact that if she stood twenty feet away she'd still be able to hear it clear as day.
"Wanda and Pietro Maximoff," Maria said and passed the captain her tablet. It showed the two Enhanced, the pretty brunette and a similar looking boy with brown hair, at a riot, screaming with the crowd. "Twins. Orphaned at ten when a shell collapsed their apartment building. Sokovia's had a rough history. It's nowhere special but it's on the way to everywhere special."
Aline's heart instantly ached. This girl 一 her name was Wanda, and what a lovely name it was 一 was an orphan, but luckily she wasn't alone. She had her twin brother, but who knows how troublesome their life was...
"What about their powers?" Aline asked.
"He's got increased metabolism and improved thermal homeostasis," Maria said. "Her thing is neural electric interfacing, telekinesis, mental manipulation." Steve looked at her funny, confused as he passes the tablet back. Maria sighs. "He's fast and she's weird."
"Well, they're going to show up again," Steve said as the elevator opened and him and Aline step inside.
"Agreed. File says they volunteered for Strucker's experiments. It's nuts."
"Right. What kind of monster would let a Germany scientist experiment on them to protect their country?"
"We're not at war, captain."
"They are," Steve says and the elevator door shuts.
A/N: can i honestly just say how much
it pisses me off that the writers of age
of ultron had decided to have wanda
and pietro maximoff ((children of a
holocaust survivor & adopted children
of roma parents)) volunteer for a nazi
organization... just gonna let that sink
in for you guys