Unforeseen¹

Chapter 31- Visionary confusions

She was with Agent Hill for over an hour. She tried to keep out of the way by quietly sketching in her book while her babysitter was consumed by work on the opposite side of the table. It was something simple: a fox.

Try as she might, she couldn't concentrate. Every trail of thought led her to the encounter with the Superior. Knowing he could break into her dreams twisted her gut. How long had he been doing it? Was it a regular occurrence that she had only just learned of recently?

Raising her hand against him was as effective as a starfish sparring against a great white shark. How could she possibly go against someone like that?

When Agent Hill's phone went off, Jayden's interest was immediately piqued. To her annoyance, the agent noticed and moved out of her hearing range. Jayden surveyed as murmured words were exchanged. Hill glanced at her in short intervals and nodded to whatever was being said on the other end. She attempted to read lips, but her efforts were quickly foiled when Hill turned away. To her luck, she hadn't needed the secrecy, as shortly after the call ended, she was informed that the Avengers' mission was a success, and they were on their way home.

Her relief was cut short when Hill said Clint had been injured during the skirmish. Despite the reassurance that he would be fine as soon as he reached Doctor Cho, she was rigid with worry. The wait until the group's return was excruciatingly long. The silence between each tick on the clock seemed to stretch. Her knee didn't have a moment to rest as her anxiety took control and bounced restlessly.

When Agent Hill announced it was time to go, she practically ran to the elevator. As they descended, Hill turned her tablet. "Ever seen these two before?"

A man and a woman, roughly in their twenties, were within a crowd shouting, their expressions twisted into a sort of rageful determination. She ultimately shook her head. "I don't think so. Why? Who are they?"

"Pietro and Wanda Maximoff. Enhanced twins. The Avengers ran into them on the field."

Her eyes flicked up. "Enhanced? Like they were experimented on?"

"They had different circumstances from you," Hill explained, seeing where she was going.

"Like what?"

"They volunteered willingly," the woman reluctantly disclosed, pressing her lips together.

Jayden's rigid tension dropped. "They- they volunteered?" She repeated airily. "How could anyone- why did they do that?"

"They believed they were doing it for their country."

"That's no excuse!" she snapped, teeth grinding against each other. "After everything, all the-" she broke herself off, glaring at the screen. "And they're the ones to get abilities. What are they?"

Hill shook her head and turned the screen off. "That isn't something you need to know, especially given your reaction."

She frowned, thinking quickly, and made herself relax. "I might not recognise them, but their enhancements instead."

The agent eyed her before relenting with a sigh. "The guy has super speed with an increased metabolism, and the girl has neural electric interfacing, telekinesis, and mental manipulation."

Jayden bit her lip to hide her victorious smirk and shook her head. "Nobody in my lab had anything like that."

"Not surprising. They were Strucker's experiments. They likely never took a step off base." Hill sighed, but then turned to her with narrowed eyes. "Hang on, you told us those who received abilities in your lab all died within a few days."

She rubbed the back of her neck, realising she'd been caught, and released a small, awkward laugh. "I did, didn't I?"

The agent regarded her with a flat look that spanned several seconds before turning back to the tablet.