Maya Stark

Chapter 64: Lets get this over with

I stared at myself in the mirror. It wasn't me looking back. It felt as though Zemo was ready for this. He got everything quickly and now I was changed, ready to go spend my night with a bunch of criminals, acting as the biggest criminals' date. Joy. He told me I had to blend in and look older than I am.

I was in a short, skin-tight, black dress. The neckline was low, and it had spaghetti straps. My Scorpio tattoo was obviously visible, but so was the I love you most one. My hand ghosted over it. My head hurt and I felt nauseous. I was already uncomfortable. The dress was tighter and shorter than anything I was really used to, and the fact all my tattoos were visible didn't help.

The worst part was the hair. Zemo got me a wig because we needed to hide the purple, and I swear he smirked when he handed it to me. The hair was short, reaching a little below my chin. It was curly and fiery red. Just like Nat's. He had also given me green eye contacts which were just cruel in my eyes. He did it on purpose. He was still Zemo after all. Looking in the mirror, I felt like she was standing next to me, trying to give me a pep talk.

My makeup was simple. I was barley even wearing any. I wore a silver, diamond-like necklace. I didn't know if the diamonds were real, and I decided not to stress over it. I wore medium sized hoops in my ears and wore high black high heels. I didn't look like me. I looked like her. My hand rubbed the tattoo on my forearm and I closed my eyes. I was holding my moon necklace and ring in my hand. Zemo said people would recognize it which I just thought was ridiculous.

I missed the safety of Nat's sweater and wished I still had it on. There were so many things wrong with this and each scenario was racing through my mind. There was absolutely no scenario where this plays out the way we want it to. And if Zemo touched me, I was going to break his hand, most definitely blowing our cover. Sam walked up from behind me and I looked at him through the mirror.

'I look like her,' I said, taking a deep breath.

He nods. 'Yeah.'

'He did it on purpose.'

'Maybe.'

I sighed and looked at the necklace and ring in my palm. I needed to know they were there with me. Both items held a connection with people who weren't here. They made me comfortable. But I didn't have anywhere to put them.

'I can hold them if you want,' Sam said. 'I have pockets. I mean if you trust me that much.'

I considered it. Sam sounded like he was joking when he said if I trusted him. But... did I trust Sam that much? The ring was always on my finger, it held my suit and represented protection from someone that could no longer be here to do it himself. The necklace showed I would always have someone in my corner, even when everyone else was gone. And Pepper proved that when she let me go see Sam. I hesitated but handed the jewelry to him. He also hesitated before slipping them into his pocket.

'Are you sure you want to do this?' Sam asked. 'I'm sure we can figure something out for you to not have to come in with us.'

'I'll be fine,' I said, nodding. I was determined. 'Let's get this over with before I throw up.'

'Yeah, that's totally reassuring,' Sam said, shaking his head, a smile tugging at his lips.