Chapter Text
The Quinjet landed on a field a few miles outside of an abandoned, rural town in Mexico. It was quiet. The night was dark. Though the moon was high in the sky, it seemed its light almost skipped the little town they were in. No light shined down on them as they exited the jet.
They were all dressed in black. An uncommon occurrence for the most part, but a mandatory part of the mission based on the information gathered before they’d arrived. This mission required the upmost precision and stealth.
First out of the jet was Thor. His long golden locks swayed in the wind as he strutted down the walkway, his new hammer (courtesy of Stark Industries) swinging in his muscly hand.
The Winter Soldier was next. His gun was aimed and ready, his new arm turned to matte mode for stealth’s sake.
Falcon and Spiderman followed after him, both unnaturally stoic and almost unrecognizable in their black suits. The Scarlet Witch followed them and then finally—with a salute back to the pilot of their ship—Captain Marvel.
She pressed the communicator behind her ear. “What’s our status?” She asked.
Black Widow looked down at her Stark pad from the cockpit of the Quinjet, scrutinizing the information they’d gathered over the past few hours from a mixture of drone activity and recorded samples. “The area seems stable. No surges of energy reported in the last seven hours. You should be good, but caution is most definitely advised.” She suggested.
Carol nodded and gave a tense sigh. She had faith in her team but it had been a long time since they’d been out in the field. And never before together.
Unofficially, the world had been on a kind of ‘hiatus’ for the past three years. Super-Villains and Super-Heroes alike had taken a break to recover from the tremendous loss that had been the ‘Blip’. Although half of the universe was restored, it was still hard on everyone. Having to live with the reality that five years of their lives were lost. That five years of their families lives were filled with memories in which they were dead, when in their eyes things had happened just yesterday. It was hard. But they all managed.
It had taken a while for the criminal scene to re-up again. This was the first real Avengers worthy case in a few months. And as much as they didn’t want to be—the Avengers were excited to have something to do. Even if they were walking into such a potentially dangerous situation.
Ten hours ago, a Stark-Tech drone stationed in a medical facility nearly 60 miles away recorded a nearly catastrophic level of sudden electromagnetic energy radiating from this area in particular. The surge had only lasted a total of thirty minutes, but the entire abandoned town had been destroyed with no true explanation. As a result, the Avengers were sent to investigate by the New Accords Council.
They split into groups upon Captain Marvel’s silent signal. Falcon released his wings and grabbed Bucky for an aerial sweep. Spiderman and Thor did a sweep on the West side of the town while The Scarlet Witch and Captain Marvel went about perusing the eastern portion.
The entire town was a mess. A mix of rubble and remains, most of which were years old at least. But as they ventured into the center of the town—where the only remaining building (a hospital) stood— the scanners began to go off. They had been programmed to alert any Avenger to when they were close to an item or area possessing an unnatural amount of electromagnetic energy.
Everyone froze in their places.
Wanda gave Carol a worried look. “Do you think it’s here? Whatever caused the disruption?” She asked quietly.
“I don’t know. But I have a feeling we’re about to find out. Brace yourself.” Carol replied. She clenched her fist. Wanda’s eyes began to glow a hazy red. Her magic danced around her fingers as Carol pried open the hospital doors. Instantly, they both fell back as a wave of the harsh, metallic odor of dried blood and decay escaped the building.
From a few feet away Spiderman gagged. He had to quickly pull up his mask to vomit. His enhanced senses were having a field day with all the horrifyingly familiar scents and sights trickling from the building. Quite literally, as a matter of fact. Carol looked down and at her feet a puddle of dark red blood began to seep from the floors.
“Well..shit.” She pressed the Assemble button behind her communicator. The whirr of the Quinjet stopped as Natasha exited and a few feet away Falcon landed with a slightly dizzy Bucky Barnes. He looked a bit pale from his time in the sky, but he was otherwise unharmed.
Nat stalked over, a concerned look on her face. “What’s wrong?”
“We need extra hands. Just in case. Something big went down here and I don’t want us too far apart until we figure out exactly what.” Carol’s jaw tensed. She was the slightest bit apprehensive to enter with all of her comrades. Whatever created such a massacre was most likely still inside and if it could do that, there was no telling what it could do to them.
Barnes took a hesitant step forward. Natasha gave him a concerned look, which he returned with a reassuring smile. Her hand came out to gently press against his back. Her hand didn’t linger, but she got her point across.
He sniffed the air around the door as he leaned down beside the puddle of blood. Its source being a mangled body that lay a few inches away from the entrance, like its former host had been inches away from freedom but forced away too soon. “By the looks of it, the bodies are about a few hours old. The surge of energy was recorded a few hours ago, right? So that means whatever caused that is most likely responsible for this.”
“This seems like a weapon testing gone wrong. If that’s the case it’s most definitely still in the facility. Which means we need get it out.” Carol said.
“But if it’s a person, they might also still be in the building. And we would be at a major disadvantage attempting to engage them.” Thor surmised in a grave tone of voice. The rest of the team all gave solemn nods.
Carol sighed. “We don’t have a choice. If we linger, whatever or whoever it is could get away. We’ll split up into groups. We need to search this place as fast and efficiently as possible. Whatever information we gather is valuable. Thor, Nat, Bucky: you’re one team. Wanda, Spidey and myself are another. And Falcon, I know you’re probably sick and tired of hearing this but—”
“In close quarters my wings are good for just about shit. I’d be better off as aerial support. I know I know I know.” He gave a roll of his eyes before launching into the air. He was most likely returning to the Quinjet to keep an eye out for any hostile individuals with the help of thermal imaging.
They didn’t waste time entering. Weeks of training kicked in to help them make decisions that were in the best interest of the team as a whole and to their search for the truth in the end. But, no amount of training could have prepared them for the dredges of human depravity. The pits of hell as it were.
xxx
The inside of the hospital was nothing but a series long stark white hallways splattered with blood and bloody handprints. Bodies covered the ground and not an inch of the white floor was spared from the evidence of the massacre. The whole place was right in the vein of ‘super-creepy-abandoned-hospital-that no-one-used-but still-somehow-managed-to-be-so-white-it-was-criminal.’
They all shivered at the images their minds conjured. All the horrible things that could have been going on in this place running through their thoughts. No concrete evidence was found yet, but it wasn’t hard to imagine what the place had been used for. It was small, so after carefully sidestepping the bodies as best as possible and maneuvering through the halls they split into two groups.
One team went into the basement (obviously Thor, Bucky and Natasha because Peter was much too afraid to enter the basement of a scary haunted hospital) while the others surveyed the rest of the hospital.
“If the surge was caused by a weapon, do you think it’s still here? Or did its creators move it?” Bucky questioned. He, Thor and Natasha were warily entering the basement. Bucky’s gun was at attention, as was Natasha’s. They moved in sync, clearing the corners and open rooms for any living assailants. Thor moved behind them, swinging his hammer as he watched with rapt attention, trying to decipher where exactly the weapon could have been held.
“If it’s gone we need to figure out where it is. The electromagnetic surge was enough to level a city easily. And I have a feeling it was just warming up. If someone’s got it wandering around the world right now, we’re fucked until we get our hands on it.” Natasha responded in a gruff tone.
Thor gave a grunt of agreement as he pushed open a bloody door. It opened only a little bit, and was stopped by something hard. From the doorway, the light of several computers could be seen.
“You think that’s the footage room?” Natasha asked.
“There is only one way to find out.” Thor replied, before forcing the door open all the way. A sickening crunch sound resonated through the room as a body was forced against the opposite wall. The god’s strength crushing the decaying skull of some poor idiot between the metal door and concrete wall. Thor winced. “Oops. I apologize to my fallen enemy. I did not intend to desecrate his remains.”
“I’m sure he’ll forgive you big guy.” Nat said with a small smile. She patted Thor’s shoulder as she carefully took a step forward. “Let’s get in and get out before we desecrate any more remains.”
Nat went first. The room was no bigger than a laundry room (it had obviously been the hospital’s laundry room once upon a time) but every wall was covered in monitors. Most of the monitors were either broken or too damaged (seemingly combusted from the inside out) to see much of anything other than carnage. Every room was covered in it, except one room.
It looked to be an elaborate holding cell of some sort, with two very different contraptions inside. One was akin to a metal straight jacket, with a muzzle attached and a leash that kept the prisoner from straying too far from the wall. The other was essentially an industrial plastic box. Clear handcuffs were attached to the far end and probes were sticking out facing the handcuffs to keep the prisoner in place. Both prisoners were no doubt in pain for the majority of their ‘stay’. The sight of such involved methods of ‘damage control’ made Bucky nauseous .
“Maybe the weapon isn’t a machine after all…maybe it’s a person. Or more than one person.” Bucky whispered. He shivered as a familiar fear and discomfort hit the bottom of his stomach. The skin above his left arm twinged.
“If so, there has to be footage of them. The people responsible wouldn’t have left them unattended.” Nat supplied. Both Bucky and Thor nodded in agreement, then set about the arduous task of looking for the tapes.
As it turned out, the budget for the facility was mostly spent on security— not storage. The tapes were under the monitors, in a box that was easily accessible with a few well placed pulls from a metal arm.
There were two columns. One marked with the title X-23 and the other with X-27.
Natasha held the most recent entry of X-27 up to the light. She gave it a once over with a curious gaze. “Should we play it?”
“I think we might have to.” Bucky reluctantly admitted.
“It might give us valuable insight into whatever we’re up against.” Thor admitted. They all shared a troubled look. Bucky had to hold back sudden nausea at the thought of what they would find. They all took a seat reluctantly. Whatever they found would not be quick. They would most likely be a while.
The most recently available was from about two years ago. All of the more recent entries were missing, (which Bucky suspected was the work of X-27 and/or X-23, if they really were people). Natasha pressed play hesitantly.
Almost immediately, the tape began with a shot from the inside of the cell. A woman was locked in the industrial box. Her cuffs looked tight enough to cut her, the probes were on and actively causing her immense pain but no-one payed her any attention. All eyes were too focused on the scene unfolding in the middle of the room.
A metal table had been wheeled inside and for the moment was surrounded by men and women in lab coats. Bucky’s eyes strayed back to the woman. She was wearing an overly large navy blue jumpsuit of some kind. It was littered with cuts and bloodied patches. She looked haggard, though her face was not clearly seen enough to make an I.D.
Suddenly, the sea of white coats parted and the figure on the table was revealed. It was a young girl, around five or so. Her hair was dark and her skin slightly tanned under the bright lights. Two long claws extended from her knuckles. She was under anesthesia—luckily—but clearly the sight of such an enhancement made the older woman sick.
She tried to yell. She fought against her restraints as hard she could to no avail. Green light flicked between her fingers. Her hands twitched as she let out a guttural yell. A metal table went flying, knocking over a number of the ‘doctors’ who’d performed the procedure, surrounded briefly by the same green light that flickered between the woman’s fingers. She looked shocked for a moment, then devastated at the elated looks on the doctors faces. The video ended.
No-one spoke for a few moments. Bucky hesitantly spoke up. “I think we need to see the one directly after this entry, if possible. It could help us determine what we’re up against.”
“You’re right. Natasha, play the next please.” Thor said gravely. Nat obliged, though Bucky could sense the curdling of her blood as the scene opened with the woman, unconscious on an operating table. The little girl was in the cage beside hers, muzzled and practically vibrating with rage. It was unclear exactly what they were doing, but it involved blood transfusions and several other unfamiliar but painful looking procedures. Halfway through the surgery, she woke. Whatever her powers were, they affected the anesthetics. A fact which seemed to only spur the scientists on. Under the harsh light, her gaunt face was clearly visible. Bright blue eyes were opened wide with fear and pain. That green light flickered behind her iris and around her hands. The metal instruments that had been used to probe her went flying. In retaliation, the scientists sent a shock of electricity through the cage of the younger captive.
The anguished cries of the young girl, coupled with the fear, exhaustion and rage in the older girls’ face were the final straw. Natasha shut it off abruptly—or attempted to. She only succeeded in pausing it on a frame of the young woman’s face.
Thor grew pale. Bucky and Natasha shared a worried look. “You ok there big guy?” She asked.
“Rewind the tape 10 seconds and pause.” He demanded quietly. Natasha silently complied and paused so the monitor displayed the pained face of the young gifted woman. His stormy blue eyes grew both weary and sorrowful.
“Do you recognize her Thor?” Bucky questioned. He nearly threw up at the thought of one of Thor’s friends being held captive by these monsters.
“I do…Her name is Darcy. Darcy Lewis. She was my friend.”
xxx
“It’s a mile or two walk from here to the motel. Do you think you can make it?” Darcy asked, glancing down at the bare bleeding feet leaving stains in the grass. Laura looked up at her with a determined stare.
“I’ll be fine. I can heal fast, but you can’t. Will you be alright?”
“Eventually.” Darcy admitted. She shifted to avoid agitated the wound on her stomach, but only managed to choke herself with the collar forced around her neck. She coughed and they paused for a few moments for her to attempt to adjust it. A flash of sympathy burned in Laura’s dark eyes. She didn’t often allow herself display such emotions regularly, but it was clear she was worried. “I’ll be fine until we get there kid. Just keep your eye on the prize—ok?”
Laura nodded. She took Darcy’s hand and they continued on the journey to freedom. Through a patch of forest and onto the side of a road, until they could rest at a motel nearby. They were exhausted, injured and more than a little overwhelmed but they continued to push.
There was no other option.
xxx
Thor still stared at the visage of his lost friend for nearly ten minutes after revealing his connection to her. Nat and Bucky were exchanging worried looks behind his hunched back and trying to coax the god into answering their several concerned questions, but it was of no use. He was transfixed.
Up until the exact moment he wasn’t. With a cry of anguish he shot up from the fold up chair and punched a hole in the wall of the footage room. He avoided destroying the tapes of what appeared to be Darcy’s captivity (for even in an impaired state of mind he knew enough to know not to do something so reckless and childish. Destroying the only evidence of her captivity would prove to be nothing but a waste.)
“Thor, are you sure it’s her? For all we know, the person on those tapes is a clone or her sister.” Bucky cautiously questioned. He knew deep down that his suggestions were bullshit but he pushed on in an attempt to calm Thor’s rage. They all needed to be in the right frame of mind to complete this mission and—most likely—face Thor’s friend and her charge.
“Darcy was an only child! And if it is a clone, then that suggests whoever was behind this assignment was given access to her DNA to create such a clone! Those bastards! I’ll kill them for what they’ve done!” Thor roared, his mouth practically foaming. His chest heaving as he paced back and forth like a caged animal to gain a semblance of composure.
“Alright, take a few deep breaths Thor. Keep your head in the game. We’re still on a dangerous mission in which one slight misstep could mean life or death.” Natasha chastised with a firm hand on Thor’s heaving chest. “Let’s say for the sake of argument that the woman on your friend Darcy. What does that change exactly? If she was the woman on the video, she is capable of creating an electromagnetic surge powerful enough to wipe out a town. The video we watched today indicates that she has only had her powers for two years ,which means she’s most likely unstable and a major liability. No matter her relation to you, she needs to be apprehended.”
Bucky could see that she was attempting to lessen the blow of her words with a softened tone. It wasn’t working. The god only grew more frantic at her words.
“Then remand her to my custody at the Avenger’s compound! If she’s such a powerful being then she can be an asset to the Avengers Initiative. A greater asset than the potential loss that is awaiting the Initiative if I leave it.”
Bucky choked back a surprised gasp. “You’d be willing to leave just to ensure she returns to the compound?”
“Not just her— it is clear she’s attached to the child in her care. Her as well.” Thor stated. He raised his eyebrow in defiance.
“Thor. You can’t just—” Natasha tried.
“I can and I will. She has been most likely kidnapped, held captive and tortured for Norns know how long. She is one of my closest friends. I will not allow you to force me to abandon her.” Thor yelled. It was clear there was no getting through to him at the moment. Bucky and Natasha shared a look and silently came to an agreement.
“Fine. I can make no promises though. I’ll talk to the Accords council and see what I can do. For now, all any of us can do is finish this mission to the best of our ability.” Natasha replied with a sigh.
Thor nodded and tightened his grip on his hammer.
They began to make their way out of the footage room and just as Thor’s foot crossed the threshold, the communicators beeped.
“Uhhh guys.” Spiderman’s voice sounded into the comm. “We found something super interesting but kind of mysterious. It’s a tracking device. Apparently for the weapons with the labels: ‘X-23’ and ‘X-27’. Meet us in front of the hospital ASAP.”