Claire was excited; after spending multiple months on the run and a few extra weeks on bedrest (Wanda's orders), she was happy to finally be doing something that didn't include sitting around whatever place they happened to be staying at. They had left Victoria's Island about a week after she woke up, giving her a chance to rest—though she didn't need it—and to ready themselves for their new lives as nomadic superheroes.
They had been all over, stopping various level threats in various places. Steve had gotten Natasha to use any of her contacts to find trouble for them and even gotten some stealthy S.H.I.E.L.D. tech that Claire didn't understand from Maria Hill—off the record, of course—and used that to analyze threats all around the world. Steve wanted to help all people, but because of his and the team's status as war criminals, he couldn't exactly take on an "Avengers level threat", so he had to settle for the smaller crimes.
The team sat in the stolen Quinjet quiet but ready to go to work. Steve had heard about a group of terrorists that were stationed in Russia that were kidnapping children from their villages. No one had heard what happens to them and they aren't seen from again. The local police and military have tried everything to find this group, but somehow nothing worked; They were good at covering their tracks. So, naturally, Steve decided that they would step in after getting a tip about mysterious activity in an abandoned village in northern Russia from one of Natasha's contacts.
Wanda sat next to Claire, resting her head in her lap, playing with the ends of Claire's red hair. Claire stared straight ahead, her jaw clenched tight and her lips pursed, deep in thought. She was worried about those kids that were taken. When Steve suggested this mission, she was the first to be on board; this specific mission hit home for her, and she wanted to do the one thing that police of Sokovia couldn't do for her. She wasn't going to let those kids down; she wasn't going to let what happened to her happen to them. Wanda sat up and lifted a hand up to touch Claire's cheek. Upon feeling the softness of her skin upon hers, Claire relaxed her jaw and turned her eyes from the opposite wall of the Quinjet and looked at Wanda.
"Are you okay?" she whispered. Claire grinned, thought it didn't reach her eyes; she was still lost in her head.
"Yeah, I'm fine," she lied, still smiling.
"What do you say about lying?" Wanda smirked as she threw Claire's words back at her. Claire let out a little laugh, rolling her eyes. "Seriously, I know something is bothering you; you've been weird since Steve brought up this mission. What's up?"
"This mission...just reminds me of my life. Nobody was able to save me, so I want to be that person to these kids. I just want...to do good. These powers were given to me to be used as a weapon, and I've never really gotten the chance to use them for good. I want to help people; help these kids. Maybe that'll absolve me of my sins." Claire looked down at her hands in her lap and sighed. Wanda placed her left hand over Claire's folded hands, bringing her eyes back to Wanda's green ones.
"You are good. You've done good before, Claire. These past few months, whenever you shifted, you shifted to protect me. That's good, Claire. You're not a weapon, you're not a monster. You're a hero." Wanda gave her a big smile, showing her teeth.
"Cap, we're about ten minutes out," Natasha called from the cockpit. Steve nodded his head and stood up.
"Alright, team, get ready. You have your orders, let's get in and out before the military gets word of us."
Sam tightened the straps of his wings and checked the guns in his holsters. Natasha put the jet on autopilot and walked towards the back standing next to Steve and grabbed a few guns. She checked her wrists, making sure that her Widow Bites were good to go. Wanda and Claire stood up from their seats and readied themselves. Claire's eyes glowed a lighter shade of purple and she let out a low growl, feeling her wolf stir beneath her. Steve looked at her and crossed over to her.
"I don't know if this calls for a code alpha."
"You know how much this means to me, Steve. I'm not just gonna hang back in the jet waiting for you guys to get back."
"I didn't say you should hang back, but if you shift into your wolf, a lot of people could get hurt, and it'll draw attention on us." He handed her handgun. She unloaded it, counting the bullets. "You know how to use these?" She looked up at him, looking right into his blue eyes that held the tiniest bit of humor.
Smirking at him she said, "Aim the long end at the bad guy, right?"
"Don't forget to pull the trigger," he replied grinning at her. He walked away from her and back over to Natasha. Wanda tapped Claire on her shoulder, catching her off guard. Wanda giggled.
"Can I help you?" Claire asked smiling.
"Don't you even think about leaving my sight." Wanda smiled and giggled as she spoke, but Claire could hear the seriousness in her voice. She didn't speak, but nodded her head, silently promising to stay with Wanda.
Natasha landed the Quinjet in a little field just outside the village where the terrorist group was supposedly hiding. The team split up into groups and started searching the empty village; Sam and Natasha took the left, and Steve, Claire, and Wanda took the right. The three of them walked down many quiet streets, the only sound coming from them were the occasional pack of dogs they saw that ran by them at first glance.
They walked for a while, and Claire was starting to get annoyed. She was really looking forward to bashing a few heads kidnapper heads in. Her wolf stirred, growling quietly. Over the past few months, Claire got on better terms with her wolf, and they started acting more like a team rather than enemies.
"It's okay," Wanda whispered laying a gentle and comforting hand on her arm. Claire's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, and when Wanda gestured to her eyes, she quickly blinked a few times, getting rid of the sudden purple glow. Walking more, the small team came across an empty bar, and Claire walked inside, inspecting the establishment. The place was completely empty, save a few turned over tables, broken glass all over the floor, and a few remaining bottles on the shelves behind the bar.
Marching over to the bar, Claire grabbed one of the bottles, looked at the fading label, and opened it, taking a long swig. Wanda shook her head as her and Steve walked further into the bar. Steve sighed a pressed his fingers against the bridge of his nose.
"What are you drinking?" Steve asked.
"I don't know," she replied. "Tastes like Vodka."
"You don't know what you're drinking, and yet you continue to drink it?" Steve looked as though he had reached the end of his rope with Claire and her antics. She shrugged and took another swig, grimacing as the alcohol burned her throat as it went down.
"Eh. It's probably Vodka cause that's what it tastes like." She again tipped the bottle upwards, taking another swig of the clear liquid. Finishing her sip, she pointed the bottle towards Wanda who shook her head, declining. She took another sip, having already downed half the bottle already.
"Wait a minute," Steve said walking towards her, snatching the bottle away from her. "Why are you drinking this? You're twenty; you're not old enough to drink." Claire snatched the bottle back from him and smirked.
"I am here, pal."
"What did you do your research before coming here?" Steve crossed his beefy arms across his chest, giving Claire a disapproving look as she finished the bottle of Vodka. Letting out a loud burp, Claire placed the empty bottle back on the shelf.
"You're damn right I did."
"If you get drunk or sick, it's not my fault," Steve said turning for the door. Wanda leaned against the bar, staring at Claire with an exasperated smile. Her green eyes rolled as Claire opened another bottle and started to chug it but held an unfamiliar twinkle that neither of them noticed. Claire scoffed at Steve, placing the bottle down on the counter.
"First of all, my core temperature on average is over 100 degrees, causing alcohol to burn up, which means I can't get drunk." She finished the second bottle, which was already half-filled to begin with, and placed the empty bottle next to the first one and grabbed a third. Wanda rolled her eyes at her "excuse" for drinking in the middle of the mission and Steve stopped and looked back at her. "And second of all, I know you are not trying to lecture me Steven Grant Rogers. Bucky told me all the illegal shit you did in the forties."
"I only tried to enlist in the army."
"Yeah, like five times, while lying on the enlistment forms, which is a crime. And if you're so lawful, what are we doing here? Why were we on the run for months? Why are we here in secret without the rest of the team?" Steve sighed and walked to the door. His fingertips grazed the handle when Claire's voice stopped him. "Look, Steve, I'm not judging you on your past or the things you've done. Believe me, I'm the last person who has any right to judge. I'm just saying..."
"I get it," Steve said cutting her off when she paused. "Be outside and ready to continue in five." He left the bar, leaving Wanda and Claire alone.
"Do you think I offended him?" Claire asked looking at Wanda. She shrugged and walked towards the door of the bar, following the Captain. Claire followed after her, leaving the open bottle of Vodka on the bar.
○○○
The eerie silence of the streets unnerved Wanda as her, Claire and Steve walked down them, looking for any sign of a threat. Claire walked with her nose pointed upwards, sniffing the air. Suddenly, she stopped, moving her head from left to right, still sniffing the air.
"You got something?" Steve asked. Claire turned her head to the right, sniffing some more, and let out a little growl. She moved her body to stand in front of Wanda. Her wolf sensed it before she could; the static in the air, the sudden increase in temperature, the crackling that filtered through their ears.
"Get down!" she shouted as she turned and leaped on top of Wanda, covering her with her own body, knocking them both to the cobblestone ground. Steve dropped to the ground and covered his head as a large blue bolt flew past them, hitting a nearby building, instantly causing it to explode into nothing.
Claire's head shot up and looked in the direction of where the bolt came from and her eyes widened. Behind them, a giant black tank rolled down the empty street with armed soldiers marching behind it. The tank fired another blue bolt at the three lying in the street. Claire stood up and grabbed Wanda's arm, yanking her up, and reached over to Steve, doing the same. The three ran into an empty building, narrowly missing the bolt as it hit another building. They ran through the building they were in, running out the back door and into the street. They could hear the tank rolling down the street behind them, firing at the empty buildings.
"What was that?" Claire asked, panting hard. She looked at the other two standing near her. Wanda's green eyes were wide and she was standing tall and rigid. Steve's shoulders were almost slumped as he caught his breath.
"I'm not sure, but it reminds me of a HYDRA weapon."
"A what?"
"Back in the second World War, HYDRA developed these weapons that shot out bolts just like that that disintegrated anything it hit. I thought S.H.I.E.L.D. collected all of it." Claire froze at the mention of HYDRA. She heard her wolf roar in anger and knew her eyes were a bright purple.
"HYDRA? I thought the Avengers took care of HYDRA." She glared at Steve, starting to shake in anger. When Steve didn't answer, she walked back through the building they just ran out of, Wanda following close behind, calling after her.
"Claire, what do you think you're doing?" she asked, stopping the redhead.
"What's it look like? I'm gonna end HYDRA; once and for all." She let out a low and menacing growl as her wolf—with her permission—came to the front of her mind, taking partial control. Wanda grabbed Claire's arm and pulled her back and turning her around but gasped when she saw her eyes. The last time her eyes were that bright, she lost control in the motel in San Pedro. "Let go, Wanda."
Wanda flinched at her low voice growling at her and she retracted her arm. Claire walked past her and back outside, staring at the departing tank and marching army. She growled as her cracked and shifted, transforming her into her wolf.
The hulking mass of black fur skulked towards the marching soldiers, waiting for the right time strike. Suddenly, she leaped onto them, crushing a few unlucky souls as her sharp teeth ripped into the flesh and armor of those around her. Those that survived fumbled for their weapons, but she was too fast for them. She knocked their weapons out of their hands and pounced on them, digging her claws into their bodies, relishing in their painful screams and cried until the street was silent.
Claire turned her big wolf head upwards, listening for anymore incoming threats. She dug her feet into the ground, rubbing in the spilt blood of the men she killed between her toes; she hated to admit it, but she liked the feeling of blood between her toes, especially when it was fresh. A grin appeared on her wolfy face as she thought back to how she quickly ended those men; men who thought themselves above others were so easily taken down by one of their own creations.
She could still see the tank rolling further away, firing in the distance. A loud growl escaped her as she took off after the tank. She soon gained on it and jumped up to the top, ripping open the hatch. Squeezing herself inside, Claire snapped her jaw and swung her claws at the men inside the vehicle of destruction, killing them in her rage. Shifting back to her human form, Claire frantically looked for anything that could stop the tank. Come on, I know there's a switch or lever or button somewhere in here.
Grinning, Claire let out a happy squeal when she found the big red lever that helped propel the tank forward. Grabbing it in her hands, she pulled downward on it. The tank's gears creaked and screamed as the giant vehicle slowed down and stopped. Hitting the big red button next to the lever, the firing of bolts stopped and she could hear the sound of fires crackling in the distance from inside the tank. Claire exhaled slowly through her mouth as she tried to calm down and catch her breath. Shifting into her wolf took a lot out of her, and often left her feeling physically drained. Climbing up the ladder and through the hatch in the roof of the tank, Claire jumped down to the ground, rolling onto her side to prevent injury from the jump.
She walked down the lonely empty street, seeing Wanda and Steve right where she left them. The lurking quiet unnerved her, and Claire felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. Her wolf stirred again, sensing the discomfort in the air. The air turned heavy and warm, like a hot and humid summer day, and it suffocated her as she walked. The heat burned the back of her neck as she walked back to her small group. She paused in the street, contemplating looking back and listening to that little voice that told her to go back.
"Nat, Sam. We're all clear over here. How are things on your end?" She heard Steve ask through the device in her ear.
"We got nothing. We're heading back." Natasha said.
"Copy that. Looks like this was a dead end. We'll meet you where we came in." Claire turned around, and through the trees that lined the edge of the woods in the distance, she saw a bright orange glow. Placing her finger to her ear, she spoke into the comms.
"I think I've got something. I'm gonna go check it out."
"Do you need backup?" Steve asked.
"Not sure, but standby just in case." She ran the rest of the way down the street, running in the direction of the light, shifting back into her wolf to propel her there faster.
"Copy that."
As Claire entered the forest, the thick and burning scent of smoke filled her nostrils and burned her eyes. She whimpered as she blinked to clear away the painful tears. Keeping her head and nose down so to not inhale so much smoke, Claire looked for a scent to follow. It was difficult with the scent of the smoke in the air, but she soon found the scent of people. If this place is on fire, why are there people hanging around here? She walked in the direction of the scent, making sure to keep her head down as she walked. The further she walked, the hotter the air became and the thicker the smoke was. Soon it didn't matter if her head was down or not; she still breathed it in.
Claire froze at the edge of a small clearing when she heard the ear-shattering sound of screams come from in front of her. The light of the fire was brighter, and she could see the source. A large bonfire sat in the middle of clearing, towering at least to the middle of the surrounding trees. Stepping out of the light, Claire hid behind a set of bushes and watched as people danced around the fire, laughing and screaming. The people were armed and shot rounds of bullets into the sky as they laughed. So it looks like our contact was right; they are here.
She quietly shifted back and studied the scene. Two sets of guards patrolled around the makeshift camp, each in a pair of twos. They were armed with machine guns and pistols strapped to their side. She could smell the alcohol from where she was sitting, and the scent mixed in with the smoky scent of the bonfire creating a disgusting concoction that made Claire want to gag. Inside the camp, the rest of the soldiers danced and swore and drank and laughed; enjoying their little party.
She tried to count each man she saw but failed as they kept moving away and out of her vision. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see a large black truck hidden by a tree, with a picture of a white octopus with a skull head and six tentacles painted in an off white color on the side of the van.
"Cap, the terrorist group is HYDRA. I repeat, HYDRA is in the area," she whispered into the comms, hoping she didn't give away her position.
"Are you certain?" Steve asked.
"Positive."
"Alright. Stay where you are, we're coming to you. Make sure your tracker is on."
"Copy that," she said as she pressed a small button on the side of her communication device. "Tracker's on. Hurry, who knows what they're gonna do next."
"We're on our way, hang tight."
"And Claire, don't you even think about doing anything stupid," Wanda warned causing Claire to giggle quietly from her hiding spot.
Claire continued to watch the HYDRA party as she waited until Steve came to her aide. She could take down ever man here, but it was risky; it could go sideways real fast and she didn't want to become a prisoner of HYDRA again. Never again. She watched and listened closely as a large man—probably the leader—started speaking loudly to all the men present, though she couldn't understand him. Of course, he'd be speaking German. The man speaking turned to another man who walked away from the bonfire and over to the hidden truck. She watched as he walked around to the back and opened the doors before stepping in. He emerged a few seconds later kicking out a small handful of children of various ages.
The children were dirty and some had small cuts and bruises along any visible skin. The man led them over to the bonfire and back to the leader. They looked frightened, and they had a right to be. Claire's eyes widened when she saw a handful of men step up towards the children, each roughly grabbing one on the arm and dragging them back to stand beside them and she frowned when she heard a phrase that she recognized, regardless of it being spoken in German.
"Schneiden Sie einen Kopf ab, zwei weitere sollen seinen Platz einnehmen. Gegrüßet seist du HYDRA (Cut off one head, two more shall take its place. Hail HYDRA)." The man raised his fist in the air and all the men around him lifted both hands, holding outstretched and slightly raise, in response.
"Gegrüßet seist du HYDRA (Hail HYDRA)!" the shouted. They all lowered their arms and the first man started speaking again.
"Das Scheitern des Wintersoldaten hat uns sehr beschämt. Aber aufgrund seines Beitrags zu unserer Sache haben wir jetzt eine neue Formel, die eine neue Generation von Soldaten hervorbringen wird. Diese Themen, die neben dir stehen, werden die Empfänger dieser Formel und durch sie werden unsere Sache und unser Wille auf der ganzen Welt ausgeführt (The failure of the Winter Soldier has left us in great shame. But, because of his contribution to our cause, we now have a new formula that will create a new breed of soldiers. These subjects, which stand beside you, will become the recipients of this formula and through them our cause and our will shall be carried out all over the world)." Cheering erupted from the crowd upon hearing the man's words and the children cowered in fear.
Claire's eyes glowed and her wolf scratched at her mind, begging to be let out so she could take care of this before any harm came to the children. She started breathing heavily as her body started to heat up. A low menacing growl rumbled through her as her wolf fought for control. She was about to give in and shift, when a sudden hand touching her startled, causing her to jump. Steve's hand came crashing against her mouth as she stared at him with wide eyes. He moved his free hand to his mouth, placing his index finger against his lips, shushing her before he removed his hand from her. Claire sighed as she looked at the team.
"It's about time you got here," she whispered to them, giving a humorless laugh.
"Sorry we didn't get here sooner," Steve said.
"How many are there?" Natasha asked, looking past Claire.
"I'm not sure. I tried counting, but it's too dark aside from the fire and they kept moving. I estimate more than a hundred."
"What's their goal?" Sam asked as he retracted his wings. Claire turned back to the fire and pointed at the children.
"I don't know because they were speaking German, but whatever it is, it involves those kids. I heard one of them mention the Winter Soldier, so that can't be good." The team nodded as they all assessed the situation.
"So, what's the play?" Natasha asked, sitting on the grass and folding her arms.
"I can easily take out those men, the only difficulty would be their weapons," Claire said as her eyes glowed as if on cue.
"I can take care of their weapons," Wanda said, giving Claire a little smirk. "The rest of you can get the children out of here and can act as back up."
"Sounds like a plan," Sam said, taking out a gun from one of his holsters. They all nodded at the plan and Claire and Wanda ran and stood behind two trees, waiting for the right time to sneak into the camp.
"Alright Wanda, I'll go in first and start taking them out, then you follow me and get rid of their weapons. Okay?"
"Okay." Claire shifted back into her wolf and charged into the camp, ripping the two guards that came her way to shreds. Wanda leaped out from behind her tree and waved her arms, channeling her magic, and flicked the guns and other weapons from the hands of the soldiers. Claire ploughed through them with ease, leaving an ugly mess behind her, but she didn't care. Steve, Natasha and Sam ran in and started grabbing children, pulling them to safety. Wanda ran after Claire, using her magic to take down any men that she missed.
Suddenly, Wanda turned, feeling the familiar static in the air, and dove out of the way of an incoming blue blast.
"Claire!" she yelled, failing to get her friend's attention. Claire sunk her teeth into the shoulder of a HYDRA shoulder and flung his body into the air towards the trees. The tank lined up, aiming at Claire, and prepared to fire again. Wanda sprinted towards her wolf and standing in front of her, waved her magic creating a large red misty shield. The blue bolt shot from the barrel of the tank and hit Wanda's shield with an enormous amount of force that destroyed the shield and knocked Wanda back, slamming her into a tree.
Claire turned, seeing Wanda's slumped body against the tree and let out a thunderous roar and charged at the tank. Like before, Claire leaped up onto the top and broke through the hatch. Unlike what she did with the first tank, Claire shifted back to her human form; she wanted to make them pay. She stalked towards the four men in front of her who cowered in fear, begging her for mercy. Their pleas fell upon deaf ears as Claire got closer, her eyes a light lavender color. One of them off to her side, trying to be brave, reached for his gun and aimed it at her. She saw the movement out of the corner of her eye and raced over, grabbing the barrel of the gun and pointing it upwards as he pulled the trigger, and speared her claws through his body. He groaned in pain as he choked on the blood rising up in his throat and spilling from his mouth until he dropped to the floor, dead.
The other three looked on in horror, pleading and crying for mercy. Claire looked at them, fury burning in her bright lavender eyes. She shook her head tsking them, her red curls bouncing slightly.
"Sorry," she said as she stood in front of the other three, blocking their only way of escape and her claws elongating. "I don't speak German." And with that, she swiped her claws rapidly against each man's throat, severing their jugular vein. Blood splattered onto her face and clothes as the men in front of her choked on their blood as they collapsed on the floor, creating a large puddle. She soon felt lightheaded as she felt the absence of her wolf in the forefront of her mind and her feet buckled. She stumbled as she lifted her shaky legs onto the lowest rung of the ladder and slowly climbed out of the tank. Steve, Sam and Natasha were already waiting in front of the tank, with Wanda standing and leaning against Natasha. Claire stumbled again and slipped off the roof of the tank, falling straight into Steve's arms.
"You okay?" he asked her as he held her, leading the rest of the team away from the tank and towards the van where they rounded up all the scared and relieved children.
"Yeah, I'm okay." She looked over at Wanda and saw a long gash running across her forehead. "Wanda, you okay?" Wanda nodded her head. Natasha opened the driver's door of the truck and sat Wanda in the driver's seat. Steve put Claire down, standing her back up on her feet and she walked over to where Wanda was sitting and ripped off a long piece of her shirt. She took the piece of fabric and wrapped it around Wanda's head creating a makeshift bandage to help stop the bleeding.
Wanda gives her a small smile, her green eyes dropping from exhaustion. Claire kneeled down, becoming level with her and pressed her forehead against Wanda's carful not to put pressure on her wound.
"I'm so glad you're okay," she whispered.
"Me too," Wanda replied. Claire pulled away and brushed her brown hair out of her face.
"We need to start rolling out," Steve said. "We need to take these kids somewhere safe, and then we gotta get out of here."
"Where do we take them?" Natasha asked, standing next to Steve.
"We could always leave them somewhere safe and send an anonymous tip to the authorities telling them they're rescued and safe?" Sam suggested shrugging.
"That could work," Claire spoke up. "Especially since we don't know where these kids come from, and we can't exactly just go driving around the Russian countryside. It might be our best option."
Steve nodded and the team piled into the truck. Natasha sat in the front passenger seat, while Steve drove. Sam, Wanda and Claire opened the back doors and sat with the kids, helping to calm them down. They drove out of the abandoned town, allowed Natasha to get out and grab the Quinjet, and continued until they arrived into another town. Driving to the nearest police station, Steve parked the truck, got out and made a call to the police informing them of the truck full of kidnapped children. Sam, Claire and Wanda bid farewell to the children, and got on the Quinjet when Natasha arrived, heading back home, at least home for now.