Avengers: Peace in our Time

7-Mingling

Maria Hill greeted the team when they stepped off of the quinjet, a tablet in her hands. After the debacle with S.H.I.E.L.D. Maria had gone undercover with Fury for some time before it was decided by them and the Avengers that it would be best if Maria took a position at Avengers Tower. True to form, she had acclimated herself to the new role quite well.

"The lab's ready as you requested, boss" she said as the team approached.

Tony shook his head. "Oh, he's the boss," he said as he pointed to Steve. "I just finance all of this. Make everyone look way cooler."

Maria smiled as she looked at Steve. "NATO confirmed they've captured Strucker. Hydra attempted to wipe their servers clean but Tony grabbed everything before the sweep could be completed."

Steve nodded. "What about the two enhanced? Any leads on them?"

Maria lifted the tablet and taped the screen. Footage of a riot in Sokovia began to play. The camera zoomed in on two people and Steve immediately recognized one of them. It was the girl with the glowing red eyes.

"Their names are Wanda and Pietro Maximoff. They're twins who were orphaned at the age of ten when their apartment building was demolished by a shell."

Steve nodded, understanding beginning to form. "Sokovia...I know it's had its share of problems."

"Oh, that's an understatement. To say it's war-torn and impoverished doesn't begin to describe it."

"Any explanation of their abilities?"

"Hydra's data says Pietro has an increased metabolism and improved thermal homeostasis. As for Wanda, her thing is neural electrical interfacing. Telekinesis, mental manipulation." Steve raised an eyebrow. And she signed. "He's fast and she's weird."

Steve shrugged. "Like I said earlier, I'm sure we haven't seen the last of them."

Maria shook her head. "They actually volunteered for the experiments with Loki's scepter. They're the only ones who survived it. Can you imagine?"

Steve grinned. "Imagine letting a German scientist experiment on you so you can protect your country? Sounds like the damnedest thing to me."

Maria smiled. "The irony isn't lost on me, Steve. But we were at war when you stepped up to the plate. We aren't at war now."

"No," Steve agreed. "But they are."

Dean and Natasha stood near Barton as he lay prone on an operating table. Hovering above him was an updated version of the same device that had been used to repair Dean's wounds after Kazuhiro attacked him. It cast a light across his wound- a deep burn across his abdomen. As the light passed over the area, his tissue was rapidly repairing itself.

"How's it going?" Bruce asked as he walked up to them and had a look for himself.

"He went to Sokovia and all he got was this flesh wound," Dean teased.

Tony laughed from across the lab. "It's just too bad that little toy doesn't fix personalities. So he's still Barton."

Bruce shook his head. "Well that's terrible news, isn't it?" he said as his eyes fell upon Natasha.

"I'm thirsty," Clint grunted.

Tony stood up and addressed Jarvis. "Alright, Jarvis, we've got a few days to give this joystick of doom a closer inspection so get a full read for me."

Jarvis's voice spoke over the speakers in the room. "The scepter is alien. Structural and compositional analysis cannot be completed, as there are many elements that I am unable to identify."