Red meets Blue

Chapter 5: Pietro

I wonder if Cap still listens to 40s music. I bet he was right freaked out when he thawed out. Is Stark talking this slow on purpose? Does he know I can't stand it? Why does Vis keep looking at Wanda like that? How long can one meeting possibly take?

Thoughts running through my brain at a million miles an hour. I'm tapping my leg against the ground and I can tell Wanda's getting annoyed. She's giving me the stop-or-I'll-zap-you side eye but I can't help it. I hate these meetings and especially this room. It's so small I feel like I can't breathe in here.

Not that I'll ever say it out loud, but any tight place reminds me of the Cradle a little too much. More specifically when I woke up, and feeling the lid over me and banging on it and yelling and choking on the gas inside and knowing I couldn't get out and not being able to move...it's just a little much sometimes. A lot of times. I haven't even told Wanda about this though. She just thinks I'm being immature when I complain about the briefings.

Right. Briefing. I turn my attention to what Tony is currently yammering about.

"Just last week, another raid on a mechanics warehouse. This time in Carolina. Next, the third spree killing occurred in Italy four days ago. 15 dead on scene, 6 more injured. Andrew Wright and several other of the best engineers in the world have gone missing over the past few weeks, along with Alejandra Duran, the worlds leading geologist." As he speaks, Tony flips through news clips and headlines on the enormous screen covering most of the wall. A sort of grave tension has settled over everyone and looking around, I see only grim expressions. On everyone except Wanda, that is. She can't stop looking at the clips from Italy. Wait, Clint too looks more upset then the others. He's shifting in his seat, breathing hard and cracking his knuckles. He flinched when the blue light flashed, which is weird because he doesn't scare easily. Something about all this is hitting home.

Making a mental note, I turn back to Tony who has just cleared the screen of all pictures but one of a young woman. He takes a breath before continuing. "Jane Foster. Two days ago, she disappeared from her office leaving no trace."

"Wait...Jane? Like, Jane Jane?" Nat says. Tony nods in assent. "Jesus...does he know?" She inquires after a pause.

"Does who know?" I ask. I hate when they do that. Some of us don't know everything about everybody.

"Thor. Jane is his...they're...well..."Cap struggles to find the words. I decide to spare him.

"Oh, okay. Do you guys think someone took her to get at him?" They all look a little taken aback, but none of them dismiss my question. Their silence answers it. "So you do." I say after a loaded pause.

"It's possible, but we hope we're wrong." Nat says delicately.

"Why?"

"Because the only person who would want to do something like that who knows about Jane is someone we really don't want to be seeing again. Last time he sort of almost annihilated humanity.  So let's hope these are all random coincidences and Ms Foster has taken a surprise vacation." Tony replies. Again, last time, they know who this guy is. But the thought of him is so terrifying that none of them will say his name.

Curiosity threatens to suffocate me, as it so often does, but before I can get some answers JARVIS pipes up.

"Sir, I hate to interrupt however there is a situation in Brooklyn which I believe might require your attention." The polite British voice flows from the speaker. I wonder if anyone else finds it weird that it's Vision's voice too.

"Show me what you got, JARVIS." Tony replies easily, but I can tell he's preparing himself. The screen flips to a live video of a chaotic city street which seems ordinary until a subway train bursts through the middle of the road and charges trough the street. The train smashes through buildings, cars, anything and everything, without the slightest affect on its speed. Almost like it's being dragged by something. A flash of blue light and the runaway train leaps into the air, arching over a working crane and slams back into the street, writhing like a snake.

The shocked silence is broken by Cap's orders. "Clint, take the twins in the jet and stop this thing before anyone else gets hurt. Take Natasha with you, you'll probably need her help." Clint nods, getting up from the table in perfect sync with Nat and gesturing at me and Wanda to follow.

The walk to the jet is silent and packed with tension. I can't help but feel under dressed looking at Nat and Clint's gear. All black with guns and gadgets strapped everywhere. Even Wanda looks cool in her red leather jacket. I'm just here in sneakers and track pants. I look like I belong on a soccer field, not a battle field.

Just before we take off, as we're all buckling up and Clint's flipping switches, Nat places a hand on his shoulder and whispers something in his ear. He swallows and nods back to her, giving her a small smile. Moments like that are what convince me they run this jet with the power of their friendship.

The jet takes off and Clint tells us we'll be at the scene in five minutes. I run my hands through my hair, trying to hide the fact that they're shaking. It's hard to hide stuff from your twin, though. I meet Wanda's eyes and relax a little when I realize she's nervous too. Not as much as I am, considering this is my first time back in the field since Sokovia. She takes my hand, squeezing as hard as he can for a moment before relaxing, like when we were kids. It was our way of telling the other that even though we might be in scared or in trouble, it was okay because we were still together. Kind of stupid, but I still find the familiar action comforting and I know Wanda does too.

I squeeze back, and we don't let go of each other for the entire flight.