Past Friends

Part 80: Training Day

It had been just over a week since you became an official member of the team, and you were so excited for your first proper mission. You trained every day, running drills all day long, the other Avengers would pretty much have to drag you out of there to get you to eat and sleep. You were over the moon with joy, nothing could bring you down, not even when you went with Wanda to talk to Pietro again. You worked it out, it was definitely awkward at first but the event quickly faded away as different plans and battle tactics took their place in your mind.

Although you wanted things to go back to the way they were before you knew that wouldn't be possible. You were apparently too valuable to Pietro to lose but it would take time for him to get over his feelings. You didn't want to lose him either, you just started making friends and didn't want to say goodbye to any of them. In spite of that, you did your best to respect Pietro's wishes and distanced yourself from him to give him the space he needed. You also did your best to try and process the idea that you might not be able to be friends with Pietro anymore, or at least not like you were before. You would always be there for him if he needed you but if it was too difficult to be around you then you would have to respect his decision and stay away. Of course, you would still have to work together during training and missions but you would cross that bridge when you got there. 

Luckily for your first mission, you weren't teamed up with Pietro, he was with Wanda and Hulk on the Ground Squad making noise and causing the initial distraction. You were with Clint, Peter, Natasha, Steve, and Bucky on the Infiltrate Squad as it was your job to get into the base and take them down from the inside. This left Tony, Sam, and Vision on Air Squad to draw the fire and fight away so your team could get in without any problems. Well technically it was Clint, Steve, and Natasha who were in charge, giving the orders and you did your best to follow them.

You were really excited and had a tough time staying calm and not rushing any enemy troops the second you spotted them. You felt so cool and badass in your suit part of you wished you didn't have to take it off, like ever. It was the greatest feeling using the enhanced strength and speed the suit gave you to take out bad guys, as well as being hit by enemy fire and not feel a thing. The suit had other features but seeing as you hadn't been training long Tony thought it would be best to keep them disabled. As much as you wanted to try out the suit's energy blasts and smash abilities you knew it would be best to listen to them. I mean if cartoons taught you anything, you had to wait until you were ready, and train to properly use your power or it could lead to disaster. 

The plan was a success, the Ground Squad was able to get their attention and the Air Squad pulled enough enemies away so that your team could get in undetected. You decided to split up, you and Peter would go with Clint while Steve and Bucky would follow Natasha the other way. You made sure your earpieces were linked up with Peter's Suit's onboard Artificial Intelligence Karen so you could all stay in contact inside the building. There was something inside the base that prevented you from communicating with the other Avengers outside but you brought more than just your new suit to the party. 

You had designed a special program and handed everyone two flash drives; one blue and one red. If any of them reached the Control Room or any computer connected to the main system you could enact your plan; you would first insert the blue flash drive to steal any information and store it for later use. You would then insert the red flash drive into another port, to destroy any and all files and shut down the whole facility, unlocking all doors and restoring outside communication. You also handed written instructions to Steve and Bucky so they wouldn't get confused; it had multiple diagrams showing where on the computer you would most likely find an insert port. You knew that modern tech was still a problem for them and although it was relatively simple to just insert a flash drive you didn't want them to get confused. 

So you all went over the plan one more time before wishing each other luck and heading off in your new respective teams. You followed Clint's lead and orders to the letter but found yourself sticking by Peter more often than him. Seeing as you had trained with Peter a lot more than with the others this week you automatically and subconsciously stuck by him. It wasn't long until you heard over the comms that the others found the Control Room but it was heavily guarded. Between the three of them they could probably take down all the agents but it would take time so you, Peter, and Clint hurried off to their location. Unfortunately, you soon find that you had fallen into a trap, as the doors to the room close and bolt shut.

A whole swarm of Hydrabots soon appeared and started firing at the three of you. Clint radios in over the comms, to let the others know what's happening as you try to fight off the bots. You were outnumbered and outgunned you all were struggling to keep up as the Hydrabots kept coming. Out of nowhere Clint was hit and went down hard, he was badly injured and you knew backup wouldn't be able to get to you in time.  You had to get him out now, the sooner the better.

You yell at Peter to hold off the bots while you move Clint out of the line of fire, behind some large metal crates to inspect his injuries. You start to hear voices and you whisper as you grabbed your head "oh god, not now". "Help us please! Someone help us!" you kept hearing over and over again as you see a vision of small children under attack from what appeared to be axe-wielding Vikings. You look up at the Hydrabots and see your reality shift as they turned into the Vikings. You were terrified after Clint went down and struggling to keep it together but as the visions started you felt something new; you felt strong protective instincts and fierce determination kick in. You take a chance, seeing as you had no other option you let yourself be consumed. Clint looks up in horror as your eyes shifted and went all misty as you whispered something to him in a language he didn't understand. 

You shout for the Spider-child to move out of the way as you moved in to engage the enemy but he doesn't understand a word you were saying. Karen was able to translate for him as you moved around the room with such grace and precision, firing Clint's bow with deadly accuracy. Peter notices your eyes and starts to panic but at that moment all the doors opened and he realized Steve, Bucky, and Natasha had succeeded. Peter instantly contacts Tony, streaming what he was seeing directly to him and in turn, Tony sends Pietro in to help. You noticed the doors open and order Peter to get Clint out of there, it takes a minute for Karen to translate but the second he understands he follows your command. Peter soon meets up with Pietro and as he runs Clint to safety Peter gets caught up in the action outside and isn't able to get back to you.

You moved like you never had before, using skills and techniques you never even dreamed of learning. You nimbly dodged oncoming laser-fire, but instead of seeing actual lasers or deadly Hydrabots, you see the Vikings firing at you with crossbows that can instantly reload. Natasha, Steve, and Bucky soon arrive to see you taking out bot after bot with Clint's bow while not taking a single hit yourself. With one final leap through the air, you spin and fire an arrow, the others watch in shock and awe as it connects and goes through multiple heads. You land gracefully, and in one swift motion, you load another arrow and turn back to aim it at the Avengers.

Your face was cold and intense, your eyes still all misty as you see the others look at you not with fear but with worry that they had lost you. You stare at them for a moment as your mind starts to clear and the adrenaline starts to wear off. You start to blink rapidly and shake your head and they see your eyes go back to normal. They call out to you and you turn locking eyes, giving them a soft smile before falling over and completely blacking out.