Temper in Red *Editing*

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Four

"How do you not have your powers?" Steve hissed at me under his breath as we both made our way onto the jet, finding everyone else already on board, ready to go.

"It's fucking HYDRA Steve, what can't they do is the better question!" I glared as him before making my way to the empty seat next to Pietro, my blood practically boiling in pure annoyance.

"You okay?" I glanced across the jet to find Bruce glancing between Steve and I, as was everyone else. No one was blind to the tension between us.

"Peachy." I muttered sarcastically.

"Falconeri." Steve said my name, his voice hard.

"Rogers." I mocked him.

"They deserve to know." He ignored my childlike behavior, clearly in no mood to be joking around as Clint flew us towards Sokovia.

"Wait, what?" Stark furrowed his brows in confusion. "What don't we know?"

"When HYDRA had Falconeri they tested on her." Steve informed everyone, ignored the hate filled glare that I was sending his way, silently wishing that I could reduce him to just a small pile of ashes in that very moment. There was a reason I had kept this a secret from the others, from him. I didn't want to be questioned, I didn't want to be looked at as though I were weak or broken, because I wasn't. While I may not have my powers there was still no doubt that I would be fighting alongside all of them, just because I didn't have my mutation at the moment didn't stop the fact that I was a fair shot when it came to guns. "They found a way to take away her powers."

"They didn't take them away." I spoke up, correcting him as I saw the surprise fill everyone's features. "They simply smothered them. Think of it like they keep hitting the snooze button, not wanting to wake up and go about the day, a lot like Stark the morning after a party."

"I take offense to that!" Stark glared at me.

"Why didn't you tell us that before?" Clint asked me from where he was sitting in the pilot's seat, already flying us off towards Sokovia. 

"If I remember correctly, everyone on this team has their own secrets." I pointed out, looking around at everyone. 

"Yeah, but your secret was supposed to be the fact that you were still alive." Stark snapped at me.

"Do not yell at her." Pietro said before I could retaliate myself. I could feel my eyes widen slightly as he and Wanda both got to their feet, as if they were prepared to take Stark out in that moment. I knew that they still, and always would, hated Stark, blaming him for the deaths of their parents when they were younger. I was sure that they wouldn't hesitate to use Stark's harsh words towards me as an excuse to hurt him. None of the others knew of the bond the the three of us, mainly Pietro and I, had formed while I was captured by HYDRA. 

"He's right." Bruce spoke up, trying to ease the tension filling the jet. "We need to focus on Ultron right now and getting Romanoff back."

"Ultron knows we're coming. Odds are we'll be riding into heavy fire, and that's what we signed up for." Steve sighed, following Bruce's suggestion and getting us all back on track. As he spoke he looked around at everyone, all of us having gone quiet. "But the people of Sokovia, they didn't. So our priority is getting them out. All they want is to live their lives in peace, and that's not going to happen today. But we can do our best to protect them. And we can get the job done, and find out what Ultron's been building. We find Romanoff, and we clear the field. Keep the fight between us. Ultron thinks we're monsters and we're what's wrong with the world. This isn't just about beating him. It's about whether he's right."