Time Unchanging

Chapter 90

The entire team had lost their appetite and thought it best to skip dinner for the time being. Steve and Thor noticed that the traumatic episode had worn Loki and Eva down and took them to their rooms once they were fully in the present again. Once done, they joined everyone else to form a plan.

Bucky didn't like that the twins weren't there and said, "Eva and Loki should be here for this."

Clint replied, "He's right."

Both men knew this would backfire. However, Clint wasn't going to do anything to upset them further after his mess up. If the team felt they needed to be kept out of the loop for now, then so be it.

Sharon, who was acting as the team's SHIELD representative, said, "They would only want to kill her. We can't do that."

Sam looked at his boyfriend and added, "They're right, sha. That's not the answer."

"That call set them back," Steve chimed in, "and we don't know how much."

Thor then commented, "We cannot lose them to their need for vengeance. They cannot know what we discuss."

Bucky stood up and replied, "We have no right to keep things from them. Look at what happened when we didn't tell Evelyn our suspicions. She didn't know to be on guard and was taken."

Clint and Steve hung their heads but Tony said in an annoyed tone, "We get it. You understand them. But they can't go and kill her."

Bucky began to leave the room. "I'm going for some air."

Bucky knew they were right. He did understand Eva and Loki. He understood the pain, the trauma, all of it. No, killing wasn't the road they had to go on, but he knew they had to do something.

Plus, he had a stake in this, too. Nat had teamed up with HYDRA. His tormentors. That alone put her on his shit list.

Instead of heading to the balcony, he went and woke up Eva and Loki. He had them follow him to the garage, where they were least likely to be seen or overheard for the moment.

Once there, Loki asked, "Why did you call us here? We have just had a difficult day."

"Enough, Loki," Eva said, playing with her powers. "Don't act like you didn't read his mind."

Loki gave a small smile. "Fine, but I want to go back to bed."

Bucky adjusted his arm as he grabbed some keys, saying, "We leave now. We won't get another chance."

The twins knew what he meant. Something was happening that they wouldn't agree with in the Compound and he decided to side with them. They gave him matching conspiratorial smiles.

"Let's squash this bug," Eva replied as they got into one of the armored jeeps.

"It's a job, Eva," Bucky reminded, sending a text to Fury before he began to drive.

"One we will take great pleasure in," Loki responded.

They made their way through the streets of New York until they got to the SHIELD building housed there. They went inside and didn't bother with reception, though the woman behind the desk tried to stop them. They shot her a look as they boarded the elevator.

Going straight to Fury's office they all stood before him. Nick waited to hear what they had to say.

"You want a small team to find information on her?" Bucky said, knowing he didn't need to say Nat's name for Fury to understand.

"You three want to do it," Fury said, pulling out paperwork, "sign here."

"What is this?" Loki asked, noticing that Bucky only had to sign one paper while he and Eva had more.

"You two," he pointed between the twins, "agreeing to join the Avengers and to take on any assignment given to you."

"And Bucky's contract?" Eva inquired.

"Just me saying I get first dibs on any info they find on her," said Bucky. "I already signed the other stuff when I was pardoned. I also take on responsibility for the two of you since you both haven't been fully cleared yet."

"This will help do that," added Fury. "Good luck to the three of you. What code names do you want?"

"White Wolf," Bucky said. "I refuse to take the name of their puppet ever again."

"Just my name," Loki replied. "Anything else might cause a stir, but if you do need something," he smiled at Eva, "use Mischief."

Eva took his hand before looking back at Fury and stating, "Just call me the Amethyst Sage."

Fury nodded, pulled out a thin file, and said, "This is all we have. It's a HYDRA base in East Texas. Five guards are there right now, but there are computers inside that will allow us to get more intel for the next mission. Get as much info as you can before they know you're there. We have a quodjet waiting for you that can carry your vehicle in case you need it."

"You had this all just waiting for someone to show up, didn't you?" Bucky asked.

"Not just someone. You three. It took you a little longer than I thought it would, given the situation. Now, get out of here. You got work to do."

They didn't want to risk going back to the Compound for Bucky's suit. So, instead, Eva used her powers to transform their clothes. Loki gave her a proud smile and Bucky gave her an awed look. Partly because of how skilled she had become but also because of the outfit she had conjured up for herself.

"Let's show these assholes who they're messing with," she said.

Then, they boarded the plane and set off on the first of many missions.