After the whole Tori-Holly drama with the file, everything went back to normal... well, as normal as life could be when you're a teenager with superpowers who was experimented on as a child by a Russian psychopath.
I kept the watermelon USB hidden, stashed in the bottom of my massive walk-in wardrobe. Evie, Ben and Tina moved into the Avengers Tower, because the agents, no matter how hard they tried, couldn't find the assassin who killed Tori and S.H.I.E.L.D was concerned that they'd come after me or Evie.
Peter stayed at the Avengers Tower for awhile, occasionally going back to Queens to visit his Aunt May and his flirty Star Wars obsessed friend Ned. We hadn't gone on the Larb date yet, but Peter was promising we'd go soon, booking a table for two at the restaurant.
Nat and I did a lot of mother-daughter-bonding stuff, mainly sparring with one another while telling amusing stories, and occasionally going shopping or bike-riding or stopping bad guys (mainly stopping bad guys). The best day out we'd had so far was when me, her and Evie had gone to North Korea and diffused a bunch of nuclear bombs with a ferret, a walnut and a stick of C4. She'd taught me a bunch of cool stuff too, like how to kill a man with a stick of uncooked spaghetti.
Clint and Bruce had been in deep water when they'd told Tony they'd lost the USB. He'd screamed at them for an hour, which was incredibly awkward for the rest of the Avengers team - especially me, Evie and Peter, who had watched from the shadows and tried not to bolt out the door. Ben knew about our plot to go to Ireland now, which was annoying, because literally every single waking hour he was constantly hassling us about when we would leave. It had been a month since we'd found Holly's file, and, I had to admit, everybody was getting a bit stir-crazy. I'd been cooping myself up in my room, trying (and failing) in vain to crack the Kristoff Agnelsson code, and I knew that Evie was thinking of leaving, because all of her search history on her laptop had something to do with Kinsdale in Ireland.
It was the end of May and the weather was getting warmer. I'd just come out of a power-controlling lesson with Wanda and Evie had just finished a history lesson with Steve. Peter was hanging around with Tony, experimenting on a bunch of new models and Ben had just got back from his new school. We met in my room to debrief on our day.
I was eating a croissant. "How's school?" I asked Ben.
"I'm doing eighth grade work now," Ben boasted, bouncing on my bed. "Even though I'm only eleven, but Mrs Jay says she thinks I'm smart enough. The eighth graders are kinda mean, but still. It's super cool."
"Sounds great, squirt," Evie said, smiling up at him from her spot on my floor. She was flipping through a travel brochure about Galway, the pages well-thumbed.
Peter was hanging upside down on the roof, doing his homework. "Hey, is that Daley's Bridge?" he asked, peering over Evie's shoulder at the brochure.
"Yeah," she responded, holding it up. "That's where Holly was last seen."
I sighed, crumbs shooting out of my mouth. Peter looked at me. "Kira, you can't just keep on ignoring the fact that we need to go and find Holly," he said. "I know you want to spend time with your mum, but seriously, we've been cooped up in this tower for a month now. This is the perfect time for us to leave. If your theory's correct, then this Kristoff Agnelsson could be getting even closer to Holly as we speak. He might even already have her!"
"North Korea was fun," I argued, taking a bite of the flaky pastry. "We haven't been completely cooped up."
"Yes, it was fun, but seriously. We have to find her." Evie looked determined and grumpy.
I looked to Ben for support. "Kiddo? You gonna help me out on this one?"
Usually Ben was my right-hand-man, my Number Two, but he sighed. "Kira the Spy, I think Evie and Peter are right. It's been a month now and even though I get to hang out with Captain America and Ironman and the Hulk it's getting a bit boring. I think we need to go to Ireland." He sat down on the edge of the bed, giving me an apologetic smile.
"We've been putting this off for too long," Peter said. He gave me a little smile. "C'mon, Bombshell. Do it for the Larb?"
I groaned and faced them; three pairs of determined eyes resting on me. "Guys. My mum doesn't want us to find Holly, which is a clear sign that our sister is dangerous. And Nat is always right."
"That's true," Evie said slowly. "But maybe she's just scared."
"Scared?" I couldn't believe what Evie was saying.
"Yeah," Ben agreed. "Natasha is super awesome but even awesome people get scared sometimes. It's just a part of life. I get scared, and I'm awesome."
Peter took my hand. "I think it's time we leave."
I took a deep breath and stood up, pulling him up with me. "Well then, what're you waiting for? C'mon losers, lets go to Ireland."
After we'd eaten dinner (pot noodles like always, because Nat wasn't the best chef), I yawned and stretched, over-exaggerating my tiredness. "You look tired," Nat commented, smiling. "That's weird. You're usually a night owl."
"I had a big day," I yawned, walking slowly over to her door. "I'm super sleepy. Do you want me to stay, or can I...?"
"Oh, yeah, go to bed," Nat looked surprised. "Have a good sleep, kiddo."
"Thanks." I opened her door, smiling gently at her. "Night Mum."
Natasha beamed at that. "Night Kira." She began to shut the door, adding softly, "I love you."
My heart pounded, the feeling of loss already seeping into my bones. "Love you too," I said shakily, clearing my throat and turning away, hiding my face from her as I wiped my eyes.
Once my mother had shut her door fully, I peeked in through her window, sighing in relief when I saw her slumping down onto the couch, glass of red wine in hand. I went into my room and grabbed the blue duffel bag that I'd stashed under my bed, full with clothes and books and things I might need for the trip to Ireland. I closed my fingers over the USB, which I had kept on a keychain that hung around my neck, behind my locket from Tori. Taking a deep breath, I took one last fond look around my room: it may be the last time I'd see it in awhile. Hands slightly trembling, I placed the note that I'd left to Natasha on my bed. I had wrote it last night: it said:
Dear Mum,
I've gone to find Holly. Peter, Evie and Ben are with me. Don't worry about us, we'll be fine. Please don't come after me. I wish I didn't have to go, but I've put off this trip for too long and if this all goes to plan, by the time I return, you'll have another daughter and the truth.
I love you. I'll see you soon.
- Kira
PS: I took some Pot Noodles with me. Sorry.
PPS: Don't let Steve watch the rest of Stranger Things by himself. He gets scared and has nightmares. (Poor little Cap.)
I walked out of my room and turned off the light. The hallway was dark, but comforting: the air smelt like Wanda did when she washed her hair - like cinnamon and apple spice. I breathed in that scent: it might be the last time I ever smelt it. I walked over to the bottom flight of stairs, where I was to be met by the others. Soon enough, I was joined by Evie and Ben, each wearing huge purple backpacks and matching fox scarves. Peter swung by in his Spider-suit.
"Are we ready to go?" he asked brightly.
We all nodded. "You look like Voldemort when you wear that suit," Ben remarked. "No nose."
"How do you know he isn't Voldemort?" Evie asked playfully, poking him.
Peter must have noticed my silence because he smiled at me gently. "Hey, Bombshell," he grinned. "You OK?"
"Yeah," I croaked, my throat seizing up a little. "I'm gonna miss this place. That's all."
"Did you leave a note for Natasha?" Evie asked. "I left one for Tina."
I nodded. "Yup."
"So how are we gonna get to Ireland?" Ben asked as we wandered through the bottom hallway. The strobe lights above flickered.
"That's... a good question," I said, my eyebrows furrowing. Come to think of it, I hadn't really thought of that. I'd assumed we'd get a plane, but I wasn't sure which plane, be it a private jet or an air shuttle. "I'm not actually sure."
"For a genius, that's pretty dumb of you," Evie teased. I scowled at her.
Peter was grinning like a madman. "You good?" I asked him, frowning. "Why are you smiling like that?"
"Don't worry," he said. "I've got it all covered."
With a mighty sweep of his arm to open the front door of the Avengers Tower, we gasped when we saw what lay in the lawn in front of us. It was one of Tony Stark's private jets, sleek and aerodynamic with shiny black paint coating it's massive wings. "So cool," Ben breathed.
Evie ran up to it, laughing. "Tony lent you a jet?" she asked, her eyes bright.
Peter looked uncomfortable, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. "Um, no. I kinda... might've... stolen it... but that's not the point. We have a way to get to Ireland!"
"You STOLE it???" I demanded, gazing in awe at the massive sleek aircraft. "How?"
"Last night," Peter said. Only then did I notice that he had a cut down his cheek, fresh red with blood. "Did you hear Tony this morning? He said that thing about the computers and the airplane and the cat?"
I shook my head, become increasingly concerned as he spoke. "Well anyway, I stole it. It wasn't that big a deal." Peter blushed. "And now we have a plane!"
"THIS IS SO COOL." Ben's eyes were popping out of his head as he climbed into the backseat, buckling himself into the smooth leather chair. "THIS IS A FREAKING SPY MOVIE! AWESOME!"
"Not a spy movie, squirt," Evie laughed. She was sitting in the seat next to him.
"A SUPERHERO MOVIE!"
Suddenly, the lawn flooded with red light. Sirens wailed and a loud mechanical voice boomed: "CODE RED. CODE RED. CODE RED." The lights in the windows in the Avengers Tower turned on and we could see the sillouhettes of the Avengers rushing downstairs. The gates surrounding the lawn screamed shut, massive floodlights turning on and moving around. I swore. Peter grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the plane. We piled in - him sitting in the co-pilot's seat and me in the space where the pilot sat. The controls of the plane were colourful and confusing - I couldn't get my head around them.
"Do you know how to fly a plane?" I yelled in panic at Peter.
He shook his head. "You better learn, because the Avengers are coming!"
They were. They were running across the lawn in all their pyjamafied glory, Tony's metal suit gleaming in the darkness, Wanda's red magic sparkling. I swore again and flicked all of the buttons I could see, the plane jerking forwards. It began to roll down the lawn, gradually picking up speed until it jerked off the ground. We all screamed - we were flying! I screamed the most as we took off into the darkness, out of America and safety and into the inky-black star-strewn sky.
"Mum's gonna kill me." I muttered.