Rapid Love | P. MAXIMOFF

[2] be okay

"When did you get here?" Thor asked as he walked over to observe the scepter. He glanced at her briefly, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion as he took in her attire.

"Tony needed my help," she explained simply, "Seems he's incapable of doing anything without assistance."

"I could have done it on my own," Tony pointed out from where he sat in the cockpit.

Beatrix looked over at him, "So then why did you call me?"

He shrugged, "The banter makes it all that more enjoyable."

She rolled her eyes as she took a seat, kicking her heels off, "What do we know about the enhanced?"

"Hill is looking into it," Steve explained as he sat down next to her. "She should have a file ready by the time we land."

"She couldn't manipulate me," Beatrix explained, resting her elbows on her knees. "She tried to but she couldn't. They didn't try to hurt me either."

"Hmm," Steve replied, "The fast one hurt Barton pretty bad. The girl seemed to have no issue with pushing me down the stairs."

Beatrix huffed, "They're being used as weapons. They probably don't even realize they're working for the bad guys."

Steve frowned, patting her knee in comfort, "We'll find out more when we land."

As soon as the aircraft landed, Clint was the first one taken out, Natasha following behind quickly.

"Lab's all set up, boss," Maria announced as she stepped onto the ship.

"Uh, actually," Tony began as he spun around and pointed to where Steve was, "He's the boss. I just pay for everything, and design everything and make everyone look cooler."

Steve stood up, "What's the word on Strucker?"

"NATO's got him," Maria explained as she started walking. Steve waved for Beatrix to follow and she did so.

"The two enhanced?" he inquired.

"Wanda and Pietro Maximoff," she answered, pulling up a video of the pair on her tablet. "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."

"Their abilities?"

"He's got an increased metabolism and improved thermal homeostasis," she replied as they waited for the elevator. "Her thing is neural electric interfacing, telekinesis, mental manipulation." Steve raised a confused eyebrow and Beatrix had to fight down a laugh.

"He's fast and she can mess with people's heads," Beatrix explained simply, gesturing toward her head and Maria nodded in agreement.

Steve sighed, "Well, they're going to show up again."

"Agreed," Maria nodded as the elevator opened. Steve and Beatrix stepped on as she continued, "File says they volunteered for Strucker's experiments. It's nuts."

"Right," he replied. "What kind of monster would let a German scientist experiment on them to protect their country?"

"We're not at war, Captain," she said pointedly.

"They are."

Beatrix leaned against the wall as the elevator started to move, both her human and AI brain going into overdrive. She pulled up every file she could find on the twins and she scanned through them quickly, having them memorized in no time.

"What's going on in your head there, Bea?" Steve inquired.

"I don't like this," she admitted. "I stand by what I said before. They're being used."

"They did volunteer."

"To protect their country," she replied, "Not to be used by HYDRA. Chances are they aren't even fully clued in on what they're doing."

"You were with them," he reminded her, "What read did you get?"

She frowned, "They were pissed at Tony for sure. What he did is beyond me and it's not all that much of a surprise but..."

"What?"

"They didn't seem bad," she explained with a sigh. "They just seemed angry. And with good reason."

She had always been like this. It was, admittedly, one of the main reasons as to why she wasn't a primary member of the Avengers and just a carry on one. She tended to sympathize with the villain more than she should have.

Then again, maybe with good reason, at least in her mind, seeing as she was once the villain.

Her father was a scientist long before she was born. He was constantly performing experiments and trying to, as he called it, 'make the world a better place.' Only once she was born, one of his primary subjects was Beatrix.

By the time she was ten, she was filled with far too many concoctions to still be considered human. It was where she got her ability to teleport alongside her healing ability. It was entirely plausible that she was capable of more but she refused to find out.

However, those weren't the only things that made her different.

At the age of twelve, her and her mother had gotten into an accident. Her mother had not survived and Beatrix had severe brain damage as a result. Her father, seemingly driven far more mad than he had been prior because of his wife's death, did everything in his power to keep his daughter alive.

Including replacing half of her brain with a computer and any non-functioning ligament with mechanical parts. This was where she got her ability to access the entirety of the internet. Stark updated her hardware frequently and provided her with the ability to protect herself, including but not limited to the shield she creates by tapping her wrists together.

Her father used her newfound skills to his advantage for years. He was a petty thief at first, using Beatrix's ability to jump from place to place for years without getting caught. What were a few gunshot wounds when you could heal yourself? She was inclined to agree to anything he requested because who was she to protest when she was the reason her mother was dead?

He moved on fairly quickly from the petty crimes to more. By the time she was sixteen, she was robbing banks and her kills were up to fifteen. Her father didn't seem to mind the death at her hands and pushed her skills further.

It wasn't until she was eighteen that Iron Man intervened on one of her heists. Her father was shot by a police officer as he tried to escape Iron Man and Beatrix couldn't help but feel grateful for his departure. At least now he could be happy with her mother.

Tony Stark took pity on her, clearly connecting the dots that she wasn't a one hundred percent willing participant. He took her under his wing and she trained somewhat at the Avengers facility in New York. She didn't fight even though she easily could have but she stuck to things like hacking and using her cyborg enhancements to her advantage when needed by the team, only pulling out her other skills to protect herself when necessary.

"Beatrix," Steve said and she looked up to see that the elevator had stopped and the door had opened.

She shook her head, dispelling the remainder of her thoughts, "I'm gonna head to bed."

He nodded, "Not returning to your date?"

"He's more interested in the sports game."

"You'll be alright?"

She shrugged, "Always am, aren't I?"