Special Touch Part: Three

Chapter Twenty-Ate

You're not your mother.

That same thought had to be repeated about a million times to yourself on the drive up to Maine. Steve was driving, Wanda was sitting in the back with Sam, and you were avoiding the texts Fury was sending you. Happy warned you about letting his calls go to voicemail, but you didn't want to explain yourself just yet and hopefully after this trip, it'd be a lot easier to do so.

"Anything interesting in that thing?" Sam asked curiously, cocking an eyebrow towards the file you held, and you knew he must've noticed it wasn't your first read.

"Banner misread this," You mumbled, "Turns out I'm not related to Redskull or any of those guys, just their groupies."

"What?" Steve choked out, "That was – that was a possibility?"

"Uh, yeah, kind of," You grimaced, and he widened his eyes, putting them back on the road, "But they just sold experiments to him instead and as they evolved...well, you saw Amanda."

"Amanda was one of your parents' experiments?" Wanda asked and you found yourself nodding.

"Using my blood, they altered it enough to create...her, along with her illusionary powers," You sighed, tired of this puzzle, "So, they knew about my abilities because...my mom had them."

"Dark." Sam muttered and you laughed lightly, finding it all ridiculous.

"But good news is," You closed the file, noticing the sign welcoming you into Maine pass as Steve kept driving, "It's only the females, so Cory is in the clear."

"Imagine if Cory ended up being a girl..." Sam trailed off, whistling lowly, and you rolled your eyes.

"Can I see that?" Wanda asked, gesturing to the file, and you handed it over.

"Hey, can we make a pitstop before we get there?" Sam asked, leaning forward, "I need a break."

"We only have two hours left." Steve grunted and you groaned.

"Just pull over." You pointed up ahead to a convenient store.

"I think we should get there before the sun-" Steve started, but Sam was quick to cut him off.

"Just pull the damn car over, Steven!"

Sam's voice was so high and almost shrill that it had Steve swerving the car over, but thankfully it was into the parking lot and he didn't hit anything or anyone, less entertaining, but still.

"Nice parking, drivecicle." You teased when the four of you piled out and eyed the way he had driven over the line in a big way.

"Shut up." He grumbled, heading inside, and the three of you followed suit soon after.

You strolled down the snack aisle while Steve headed for the bathroom and Sam went for the drinks. Wanda was quiet as she followed you slowly, scanning over the choices. You stopped at the chips and when you reached for the Doritos, she was already going for them, so your hands bumped each other.

"Natasha didn't want to come?" She asked after smiling sweetly at the accident.

"Mm, I didn't want her to," You admitted with a shrug, picking a few different bags, "After I told her what was happening, she offered, but I thought it'd be best for one of us to be home in case Bucky needed someone in Wakanda."

"Mature decision." She nodded.

"It's rare, but I do make those on occasion." You smirked, going further down to grab some gummy bears.

"And this road trip is to...what exactly?"

"Hm," You pretended to think, slightly distracted by the m'n'm options, "Well, I was hoping we'd all end up dancing on the hood of an old mustang in the woods, preferably in the nude."

"Okay, don't tell me."

"They think," You kept your voice down, not exactly sure where the beefy dudes ended up in the store, but you were pretty sure Steve was getting gas while Sam was drooling over the Chunkies by the register, "I'm going to 'discover things about my past'," You made a face and waved it off before adding, "But in reality," You pulled out the grenade from your bag and her eyes widened at the sight, "I'm going to blow the place up."

"Is that your solution to everything?" She mused after you pocketed it again, turning to find the rest of your snack needs, "Destroy it all?"

"I'm not curious or even interested in what or why my parents did what they did or why my grandparents did it and so on," You told her casually, walking down the aisle as she followed, "I just want to move on."

"Yeah?" She quirked an eyebrow and you stopped, letting out a deep breath.

"Okay," You confessed, your back still to her so it was easier to admit this, "Maybe I was wondering why they even got into all this with Redskull, the second world war, and even Thanos, but that's only going to bring on the darkness..." You trailed off, glancing over your shoulder at the witch, "...Right?"

"You know about the darkness?" She asked, practically gaping at you in the aisle.

"Uh...what?" You laughed nervously, eyeing her warily.

"Nothing," She waved it off, "Nothing."

"Save it for another story, babe." You teased and she rolled her eyes with a smile.

"Better be the next one." She mumbled, looking straight at the reader, and then she winked at them and the author, making everyone a bit flustered.

"You guys ready to go?" Sam asked, glancing around the store, "Steve should be – oh, no."

"What is it?" You furrowed your eyebrows, following his eyeline.

"Some fans found him," Sam groaned, "Come on, let's go save him from himself."

"I mean..." You held up the car keys, "We could just leave his pledge of allegiance ass here."

"Don't tempt me." Sam pointed to you seriously, making you and Wanda laugh.

You and Wanda piled everything up at the register, waiting for the cashier to ring it all up, while Sam went to rescue Steve who was currently taking selfies with a bunch of teenagers.

"So, the jig is up." Sam announced when you all met outside the car.

"What?" Steve asked him, confusion lacing his voice, and Sam just gave him a 'I'm so done with you' look.

"They're going to tag you, tag your location – you really didn't think this through, did you boy wonder?" You answered for Sam and when Steve looked to the other two for help, they clearly agreed with you.

"Sorry." He mumbled, embarrassed, as you all got back into the seats, this time with you driving.

In less than two hours, you'd be arriving at the Hydra base your mother helped to set up – your family being big fans of the evil organization – and hopefully, it wouldn't leave you feeling more restless and unsure, but with closure and satisfaction.

Because that's how these stories usually go.

...Right?