Fire and Ice

•40•

They finally pull into the mostly empty airport parking garage, parking a space away from a nondescript white van. Kate isn't going to ask Clint how he got it.

She gets out of the tiny car with the others, stretching out her legs. Bucky stays next to the car, while Sam and Kate walk towards the van. Clint gets out of the drivers side, coming over to hug her. "Kate."

"Hey," she replies, hugging him back. "How are Laura and the kids?"

He sighs. "Disappointed but what can you do? How are you?"

"Fine."

His brows furrow and he grabs her chin, moving her face around. "Those bruises say otherwise."

She swats his hand away. "Will you stop mothering me?"

Wanda, waiting by the van's passenger side door, chuckles.

Kate walks over to her. "Hey."

"Hey," she says with a smile. "Glad you wisened up."

"Is that what I did?"

"Cap," Clint says as they shake hands.

"You know we wouldn't have called if we had any other choice," Steve replies.

"Hey, man, you're doing me a favor. Besides, I owe a debt."

Steve nods at Wanda. "Thanks for having my back."

"It was time to get out of the house," she replies.

"How about our other recruit?"

"He's rarin' to go." Clint opens the back of the van, revealing Ant-Man sleeping across the backseat. "Had to put a little coffee in him, but... he should be good."

The car door slams when Clint opens it, startling Scott awake. "What timezone is this?"

"Come on."

Scott gets out of the van, wide eyes going to Steve. He starts shaking his hand. "Captain America."

"Mr. Lang."

"It's an honor. I'm shaking your hand too long. Wow! This is awesome! Captain America." He turns around, spotting Wanda. "I know you, too, you're great!" He turns back to Steve, squeezing his biceps in amazement. "Jeez. Ah, look, I wanna say, I know you know a lot of super people, so... thinks for thanking of me."

Kate's brows furrow. "Um-"

Scott turns to Kate and Sam. "Hey, guys!"

Sam chuckles. "What's up, Tic Tac?"

Kate fights off a laugh. "Hi, Ant-Man."

"Uh, good to see you," Scott says. "Look, what happened last time when I-"

"It was a great audition, but it'll... it'll never happen again," Sam replies.

"They tell you what we're up against?" Steve asks.

Scott shrugs. "Something about some... psycho-assassins?"

"We're outside the law on this one, so, if you come with us, you're a wanted man."

"Yeah, well, what else is new?"

Bucky finally speaks again. "We should get moving." He talked a lot in the car for a while, until they ran out of things that weren't uncomfortable to talk about, then Steve told some stories Kate had heard before but this time with Bucky's input. They took a short nap somewhere in there, too.

"We got a chopper lined up," Clint says.

Before they can go anywhere, a man's voice comes over the airport's PA. He's speaking in German, so Kate looks to Bucky.