Variation - W.M.

Chapter 50 - December 19, 2016

"I'm sorry, but what the absolute fuck is this?" I scoffed as I walked into the room after Steve, Sam following behind me.

"The room we're staying in" Steve said, as if the answer was obvious. It was obvious, I had clearly heard the man say multiple times that we were going to the hotel and I had been standing directly behind him as he spoke to the receptionist, gaining the key for the room. That being said, I had sincerely hoped that it would be better than this.

The room was utterly too small, with two queen beds stuffed next to each other, only fitting a nightstand in the space between, the lamp on the stand sporting a suspicious looking stain on the shade. Above the lamp sat a window that barely blocked light as it came through a thin pink curtain and above each headboard was a pair of uncomfortably matching paintings that showed the same image of a boat at a dock.

"I get that it's the room, but I was giving you a chance to change your answer" I grumbled, dropping my bag onto one of the beds before moving to peek around a corner and through the door that led to the bathroom. One look at the grimy tiled floor and ugly pink floral shower curtain made me shake my head in disappointment, moving back to the main part of the room. "So, which one of you gentlemen is taking the couch?" I asked, my gaze wandering to the worn red couch that sat on the wall opposite the beds.

"Seeing as you invited yourself, maybe you should" Sam suggested, although I didn't miss the way he inched towards the bed I hadn't claimed.

"I am a lady, Samuel. How could you possibly expect me to sleep on a couch like that?" I gasped dramatically and he rolled his eyes at me.

"You're the shortest of the three of us, it only makes sense-"

"I'll take the couch" Steve broke in, shaking his head at the two of us as he moved his bag to the furniture. "I'm glad to see you two are getting along."

"Getting along? Us? No way" I scoffed, dusting off the invisible germs on the bedspread before sitting on the very corner. "So what's the plan? We just go get Bucky and force him to stay in this shithole for a night before we head back?"

"We have to find him first. All we know is that he was spotted around here a couple times so we can assume he has set up base here. Our first job is to survey the area near the ATM and find a place to stake out." Steve said, digging in his bag and pulling out a baseball cap and a pair of sunglasses.

"And those are for the costume party later?" I prompted, watching as Sam pulled out the same items from his bag. "I feel a little left out, guys. Nobody told me the dress code."

"It's a disguise. You've never been seen with us before so you don't need one" Steve corrects, pulling on the cap before slipping on the glasses. I blink, looking between the two men.

"First of all I'm angry at how well that works" I grumbled and Steve shrugged.

"People only tend to see the suit."

I hummed, shrugging in agreement before moving to my second point. "But don't you think that a couple of guys clearly wearing disguises are going to seem extremely suspicious to a guy who has managed to stay off the radar for the last two years?"

"She may have a point" Sam admitted and I rolled my eyes, choosing not to pick apart his words and instead focus on the fact that he agreed with me.

"Well unless you have any other ideas" Steve prompted and I hummed, taking a deep breath and focusing on the visible light around us, carefully bending it to change the appearance of the two men.

"Woah, what the hell is this. I feel all warm" Sam shouted, looking down at his body and widening his eyes at the small pale hands he saw. "Why am I white? Why are my hands so small?"

"I wasn't aware you had this ability" Steve said, glancing in the mirror at himself, moving to touch his face. "Did you completely change our forms?"

"It's pretty exhausting and it drains my energy pretty quickly, but it's pretty neat huh?" I grinned, dropping the illusion and rolling my shoulders. "They're just illusions and it takes a lot of focus, so if you go rogue there isn't much I can do. I also can't do anything about your voices since I operate with light and not sound so I'll have to keep you as men. I just wanted to turn you into little girls" I snickered, earning a glare from Sam through the mirror where he was making sure I hadn't completely changed him.

"Well that's great, Ollie. That should make this go a lot faster than I thought. Have you tested anything else out?"

"Invisibility sort of but I'm slowly figuring more things out. You can't tell Wanda about the illusions though, it's part of her Christmas present" I warned and the two held up their hands, agreeing to my terms. I sighed, leaning back onto my bag. "We are going to by back by Christmas, right?"

Steve nodded, smiling at me. "Thanks to your ability we'll be in and out of here in a couple days at most."

I sighed gratefully, not wanting to spend much longer than that in the dingy room. "Alright, let's go kidnap your best friend."