¹ Strength of the Mind || Marvel Cinematic Universe

17|Truth or Lies

Kiara set herself down with her suit still operational, right in the center of the ruins of the top floors of her home and she looked around.

Kiara's helmet came off quickly and she heard rumbling of a few engines and she looked around at the sound, totally, rather completely unsurprised at the sight of the twins on their own motorcycles, complete in S.H.I.E.L.D uniforms with longbows and quivers on their backs.

Behind them she could see a good many unmarked black cars and at the sight, she thought knew the plans that Director Fury might have for the two of them. Which presumably means it would be the twins taking turns in order to watch over her effectively.

"So, you two are basically just a pair of glorified, weapon-wielding sitters for me?" Kiara asked as she hopped out of her suit and it closed up, as it followed her down the stairs and so did the twins.

"If you want to think of it that way, then sure. But we are just doing our jobs, which are currently to protect you..." Hunter had said the wrong thing and Kiara glanced at him with a small shake of her head.

"Does just "doing your job" often include lying to the people who were duped into thinking that you were actually interested in being friends with them, Barton?" Kiara's tone was icy and cold as she spoke the question and Hunter noticeably winced at that, and he sighed and lowered his head a little.

While Hickory was more silently affected, that is, if she was affected at all by the words and Kiara stared at her.

"We didn't want to hurt you, but we did, boo hoo. Suck it up kid, because the world isn't fair and it isn't going to change anything for you." Those words hurt and Kiara was looking down at the floor now, as her shoulders were starting to tremble and Hunter turned to look at Hickory, who seemed to not understand either of their reactions. "What?" Hickory asked in confusion.

"I will be up in a minute for our mission briefing with Director Fury and Natasha. We clearly, very clearly need to talk through a few things." His words left no room for arguments or complaints and Hickory left the room lab without questions.

As soon as she had gone up the stairs and was out of sight, Hunter locks the door as Kiara had her head bowed and staring at the blueprints of her ideas for new suits. "Look, I-"

"Has she always been... robotic like that?" Kiara asked and even her voice was shaking, as she looked at the prints on the table and Hunter walked over, and he looked at the blueprints.

"Not before we were recruited by S.H.I.E.L.D to be agents. The only way my dad agreed to it, was that they had to wait a few years more... at least until we graduated to recruit us. But the next day, I find out from my mom that Hickory ended up dropping out of High School and joining S.H.I.E.L.D and to keep her safe, Mom insisted that I would do both. It was a stressful four years." Hunter said as Kiara was nodding a little bit.

"Would you do it all again, Hunter, if you had a chance to go back?" It was a hard question as Hunter was thinking about it.

"I think that if I had the chance to go back, that I would do it all the same... except for maybe giving up the Olympics." Hunter said and Kiara rolled up the blueprints, as she tucked them away into the bucket of prints in the bin nearby. "Would you do this all again, if you knew where it would lead you... to being CEO of a massive company?" He asked and she looked at him, nodding a little.

"Yeah, I am pretty sure that I would do it all again. After all, it made my old man a slightly, very very slightly, better person." Kiara said and Hunter laughed a little, as he nodded at her words. "Is your name, really Hunter Barton?" She asked and he nodded at the words. "You didn't use a alias." She noted.

"Nope. I like to keep it realistic. That way if I had to go through security,... then I could get through with my ID." Hunter pulled out his wallet and she raised her eyebrows, and he casually tossed it through the air and she had to jump off of the table to catch it.

"Hunter Barton, 19. Is your sister's name actually Hickory then?" Kiara asked and Hunter laughed a little, as she was shaking her head.

"Nah. It's a nickname that we gave her. She ate hickory everything for a long time. Her real name is Montana Barton. Not that she likes to be called by it, but that's her name." Hunter said and she raised her eyebrows at him.

"Like the state?" Kiara asked and Hunter nodded. "Your sister is named after one of the most prominent hunting states and you are named Hunter... do your parents have a sense of humor or something?" She asked.

"My dad does, mom... not so much but, it really all depends on the sort of situation..." Hunter heard his name called and he grunted under his breath. "Duty calls. Try to stay out of trouble, all right?" Kiara shrugged as he took off up the stairs and he quickly disappeared out of her line of sight.

"Is this all Director Fury's ideas or are you guys here on your own accords at the moment?" Kiara asked and she had a full welding mask over her face to protect it from the sparks and the potential for fire, so her voice sounded echoed and partially muffled by the metal.

She directed that question to Hunter and "Hickory" also known as Montana Barton, who were both looking like polar opposites at the moment in terms of temperament, in particular to the twins.

"Both, if you need to know. Director Fury was the one who ordered us to watch out for you, so that is what we are doing. Also, we have nothing better to do at the moment and Coulson is supposed to be watching your dad. But there is something that is telling me, he will fail miserably." Hunter knew them too well by now as he walked over as Kiara shut off the tools and pulled the mask up, so she could breathe properly again.