Alone Together

Chapter 11

Chapter 11

You have no idea how much you mean to me. What the bloody hell was that supposed to mean. I groaned in frustration, my head was still muddled by the fog that Pietro seemed to create. Not only was I confused by everything that had just happened, I was also angry. Angry with myself for letting Pietro distract me while a fight raged on around us. Angry over the fact that Clint had gotten hurt when I was supposed to be fighting alongside him. Angry because I could no longer deny the fact that I had feelings for Pietro Maximoff.

I sighed as I landed in front of the ship; I had more important things to worry about then a schoolgirl crush. The atmosphere onboard the ship was full of tension: and when I saw Clint I quickly figured out why. A rather large chunk of flesh was missing from his side and I could tell that he had lost a lot of blood. But he wasn't the only one who looked shaken up; Tony was being unusually quiet. I allowed my mind to reach out to his, and I immediately knew that he had encountered Wanda on his quest for the scepter. She had planted seeds of self-doubt in his mind as she showed him his greatest fear. It was understandable, he had seen all of us dead and he was at fault; that was enough to cause any sane person to doubt himself.

Bruce also looked worse for wear; the code green had taken quite the toll on him. It always amazed me how a person could possess the strongest weapon in the world yet shied away from conflict, hating the monster within. From my place next to Steve I watch Natasha and Bruce interact. For someone who was always encouraging me to follow my heart, Nat sure seemed to have trouble following hers.

"Thor report on the Hulk," Natasha's voice brought me out of my inner musings. "The gates of Hell are filled with the screams of his victims." Steve and I both blanched at Thor's response; that was not the kind of answer you gave to a man who hated hurting people. I might have grown up in a cage but at times it seemed like Thor was the one who had, his social skills were worse than mine. After receiving a harsh glare from Natasha, Thor quickly tried to undo the damage he had created. "But not the screams of the dead of course. Wounded screams. Mainly whimpering, a great deal of complaining, and tales of sprained deltoids, and um gout."

Bruce did not seem comforted by Thor's report as he buried his head in his hands. Steve and I exchanged an amused look as Natasha set about trying to console Bruce. Not much was said after Thor's blunder, Tony only spoke up once and that was to have Nat contact Helen Cho, the scientist who could help heal Clint.

Once we arrived back at the Avenger's tower, the team quickly dispersed. Thor, Tony, Nat, and Bruce quickly took Clint down to the lab where Helen was waiting so she could begin his skin regeneration. Steve and I were the last ones off the plane, and I could tell that he had something to ask me.

"You knew who those enhanced were, didn't you Liliya?" Steve's light blue eyes watched me intently as we walked off the plane. I sighed, "Wanda and Pietro Maximoff. Twins, orphaned at ten when a shell collapsed their apartment building. Sokovia has had a rough history." Steve gave me a knowing look. "Their abilities?" He questioned me. "He has an increased metabolism and improved thermal homeostasis. Her thing is neuroelectric interfacing, telekinesis, and mental manipulation." From the look Steve gave me I could tell that he had no idea what I had just said, "He's fast and she's weird." He nodded his head, "Well, they're going to show up again."

It was my turn to nod as we stepped into the elevator, "Agreed. They... They volunteered for Strucker's experiments. Its nuts." Steve gave me an amused smile, "Right. What kind of a monster would let a German scientist experiment on them to protect their country?" I snorted, "We're not at war, Captain." "They are."

Steve was right. The more I thought about it the more similarities I could see between the two situations. Both he and the Maximoff twins had volunteered to undergo testing in hopes of helping their countries. All they wanted to do was end the war.