R͟u͟t͟h͟l͟e͟s͟s͟ {Q͟u͟i͟c͟k͟s͟i͟l͟v͟e͟r͟/ A͟v͟e͟n͟g͟e͟r͟s͟}

Chapter 35: Boss

"Alright, this is the plan," Clint said in an instructive tone, "Agents Johnston, Smith, Benson, Allan, Conners, and Kelly," How did he get all those names straight? I would've forgotten them right away, "Since you have all had past experiences together, it only makes sense you guys would work together. You'll be cleaning up after Crimson and Pietro, who will be, you know, doing Crimson's reverse thing," I glared at him. Of course he would put us together, trying to play matchmaker. It made we want to punch him in the face. "Ms. Cadell, your job is to shut down the buildings operative systems, driving Wanda out where Tony and I-"

"That won't work," Pietro interrupted calmly, but with a frown. He looked certain.

"Why not?" Clint asked, a little defensively.

"Wanda always has extra power," Pietro shook his head, "A backup system. Literally and figuratively."

"What's that supposed to mean? Then Cadell here will shut it all off!"

"She'll be expecting something along those lines. Do you really think she'll just walk out of her safe place just because the power went out? 'I guess because my lights turned off, I'll go outside!'" Pietro mimicked with a shake of his head. I raised my eyebrows.

"Do you have a better idea?" I asked coolly, curious.

"If you want to get Wanda's attention, it needs to be something she honestly didn't expect. Like Evgen- Crimson," Pietro corrected himself, "Wanda knows she has powers, but she won't expect them because she doesn't know what they are. If people start becoming in their right mind throughout the building, it will make her both paranoid and scared. She tends to act irrationally when she's scared, so, without giving ourselves away, the best option is to make her think either she's getting weaker, or something about this area is damaging her work. We need to make her want to leave." Pietro finished. Clint seemed a bit hurt to have his plan so casually thrown out the window.

"That... That sounds fine," Clint said hesitantly, "Who do you suggest goes where?"

"That's up to you," Pietro said sweetly, "Boss,"

Clint rolled his eyes, thinking carefully. "I guess we can keep the same groups, you'll know the most about the complex, which will help Crimson get around without being seen, since she's the biggest deal," I felt my cheeks turn red, "Tony and I can work on taking people out from around the perimeter, but not too many. We just want to give her a scare, we don't want to make her suspicious. I feel like the six agents would work best at investigating, so you can probably scout around for ways we can get in and attack Wanda, find her weaknesses. Ms. Cadell.." He hesitated, and looked at her, his expression blank, "Any ideas on what you'd like to do?"

"How about I stay and guard the plane?" She asked calmly.

"That sounds fine," Clint nodded, "Do you approve, Pietro?" He said sarcastically, folding his arms and glancing at him. Pietro laughed a little.

"It's better," He nodded, "But we might have to improvise a little. Wanda has eyes and ears everywhere. This will be a lot harder than it sounds."

There was a tense moment, but everyone nodded slowly. Tony was last to nod, but eventually he did. "Everybody be outside in five," Clint stated, his voice strained. The anxiety had become almost tangled in the air. Nobody knew what to think or expect. Pietro just stared at the exit emotionlessly, mulling all of this over.

"Are you okay?" I asked him uncertainly, touching his forearm gently.

"No," He said, his tone shaky, "I'm about to go out there with Tony Stark and people who have been trying to track down and kill me for the longest time. And, to make it worse, they want me to kill my sister."

"We're not killing her-"

"Yet," He finished for me. " 'The overall goal is to kill Wanda.' Isn't that what he said, back at the meeting? I don't know if I can do that."

I was about to reply with something encouraging, but I automatically knew it would sound artificial and heartless. "I don't either," I finally managed, to say, feeling depressed, "She was just as much a sister to me as she is to you. But she's gone too far. Hopefully neither of us will have to... yeah. I don't know what I would choose." I bit my lip, hard.

"You're cute when you have to make a decision," Pietro said distantly, looking down on me. My cheeks warmed, and automatically I felt myself step back. His gaze drifted off into the distance again. "I don't know what I would choose, either."

He seemed... off. "Um, I have to go get my stuff ready," I said, suddenly feeling uncomfortable.

"Yeah," He said aimlessly back, his voice agitated.

I grabbed my light survival pack. I opened the top, checked to make sure everything was in place, and got to my feet, swinging the bag over my shoulder and climbing out of the plane.

"We're only missing Tony," Clint said, slightly annoyed. Everybody was in their groups already except me, and obviously, Tony. Even Ms. Cadell was out here, and she was staying at the plane.

Tony came out, and I assumed his backpack was underneath the armor he now wore. "I'm here," He said tiredly, "Did you start the party without me?"

"Not a chance," Clint said, rolling his eyes. "Okay. Crimson and Pietro, you can go, since you'll probably get there in seconds." Right. I'd forgotten about the whole running-at-the-speed-of-sound thing. "Just try not break the sound barrier. It might give you away."

"Sure thing, boss." Pietro continued in a mocking tone.

Clint rolled his eyes again, but I could tell he was smiling a little. "Race you," Pietro said daringly, sprinting off in a streak of blue. I smirked and forced myself into a sprint after him. I quickly caught up to him. The whole world was in slow motion, and I was running past it at break neck speeds. It was really incredible. I tried to say something to Pietro, who was running next to me, but my words were instantly pulled backward, making them unintelligible. He shrugged and pushed himself harder.

In mere seconds, I knew we'd probably traveled quite a few miles. I held out a hand for Pietro, signalling for us to stop.

In a halt, we were both unmoving. I quickly caught up to my breath. "Do you think we're close?" Pietro asked, his voice nervous.

"Yes," I said. Something inside of me... I could tell there were people nearby. Their warmth touched me somehow, their voices. "We're very close."

We were stopped at a large, dense bush-like tree, that covered our view of what was in front of us. Cautiously, I peeked through the leaves, and a strangled noise came to my throat. It was the biggest crowd I had ever seen. Thousands, if not millions of people, just a couple yards from the tree.

"Maybe a little too close," I finished in a hushed tone.

Vote and comment your opinion on the Spider-Man (2017) casting. I don't really know what think. I think they're hoping he'll get really hot by 2017, haha.

~Emily <3