Do It All Again
Kitty shut the drapes of Logan’s apartment as Logan and Kurt sat down at the dining table. Kurt took out his watch and turned it on, the mission debrief popping up above them in an orange hologram.
Logan let out a huff and set down his cigar in the ashtray, earning a grimace from Kurt as he inhaled the last bit of smoke while Kitty pinched her nose and waved the smoke away.
“I’d say that stuff will kill you, but you obviously can’t die, so,” Kitty addressed Logan and sat down next to Kurt.
“Eh,” Logan shrugged and then read the debrief to himself before clearing his throat to speak, “The mission’s a simple one, I’ll be talkin’ to our contact you two’ll make sure none of the SHIELD goons interrupt. Once I’m done, Cat’ll remove the surveillance images and we’ll be gone.”
“Who’s the contact?” Kitty asked, still pinching her nose.
“Some kinda former employee of the Power Broker. Says he’s got info that’ll be useful to us,” Logan clarified and then pulled up a picture of the contact. He was a frail guy with big eyes that were somehow emphasized by his little glasses.
“Und ve can trust him?” Kurt inspected the guy with suspicion.
“Yeah, he looks like the type to lie for some cash,” Kitty added, crossing her arms.
“It’s the best lead we’ve gotten in months,” Logan grumbled, “Everything else has just been trouble. This guy says he’d got no connection to SHIELD.”
“Could be lying,” Kurt raised a brow.
“Could be, but we’re goin’ after it,” Logan affirmed and then looked at Kitty who still seemed unsure, “You built me the new watch yet?”
Kitty now matched Kurt with a brow raised, “After the stunt you pulled in Incheon, I should take away your watch privileges.”
“C’mon kid, he broke my wrist,” Logan frowned at her.
“And you didn’t bother to pick it up,” Kitty looked at him with annoyance.
“It was a life or death situation and I didn’t know that they’d find it,” Logan tried to defend himself.
“Oh, zey found it?” Kurt looked intrigued. He hadn’t been told of the events of the previous days.
“Right,” Kitty realized that he didn’t know, “So yeah, they got it and apparently the hackers at SHIELD couldn’t crack it, so they brought it to Riri- you know- the girl who waters my plants when I leave town for missions and she asked me to help her hack it, but she left to go to class and, of course, I got it to unlock and then called Logan for advice. He said to wipe the info and then I did and handed it back to her when she came back.”
Kurt pouted, “Vhy didn’t you call me for advice?”
“You were at work and you weren’t picking up the phone,” She explained quickly, she didn’t want him to jump to an incorrect conclusion and make himself feel bad.
“Oh,” Kurt nodded, “Das macht Sinn.”
“Am I getting a new watch or not?” Logan crossed his arms, now looking thoroughly irritated.
Kitty smirked and then slid a new watch across the table, “Don’t lose this one or I’ll phase my hand through your head,” She warned.
“Gotcha,” He picked up the watch and then put it on. He then stood up and went into his kitchen, “Either of you want somethin’ to drink?”
“Ja!” Kurt sprung up and then joined him in the kitchen, leaving his watch on the table. Kitty yelled a yes for water into the other room and then looked at the debrief as it still floated above her.
She looked at the orange hologram, reading all of the details available. She then looked at the file on the contact, reading what little there was on him. She sighed and then leaned back in her seat, wondering why it was taking so long for them to come back from a kitchen that was a couple feet away.
After waiting for another minute, she stood up and strolled to the kitchen where she found a bottle of soda on the ground pouring out as Kurt ran past her for a new roll of paper towels. Logan’s face was soaked with soda. Kitty cracked a smile as she watched the scene unfold. She gathered that the bottle of soda Kurt had grabbed had exploded onto Logan and then fallen to the ground.
Kurt frantically grabbed a pile of paper towels and began apologizing as he dried to dry the floor. Kitty swiped a paper towel from Kurt, doused it in water from the sink, and handed it to Logan. He grumbled again and used it to clean his face. Kitty then joined Kurt on the floor to clean the mess. Logan used his claws to pick up the now empty soda bottle and discarded it into the trash before grabbing himself a beer. As he did so, Kitty quickly grabbed a new soda bottle and a bottle of water for herself.
Once they finished cleaning the floor, Kitty held out the new bottle of soda to Kurt. Before he took it, she tapped on the top and then opened it for him. He took it eagerly and then downed about half the bottle.
The trio left the kitchen and went back into the living room. Kurt took his watch from the table and then sat in a chair by the TV. Logan sat on the couch with his beer. Kitty sat on the other end of the couch and swiped the remote from Logan’s hand. She and Kurt argued over what to put on TV and eventually settled on Jeopardy. Logan had dozed off, drink in hand during their brief argument.
A couple hours passed and Jeopardy was no longer playing on the TV. At some point, Kurt had snatched the remote away from her and turned on some documentary about the Avengers. Kitty half-watched as she fiddled with the watch on her wrist. Kurt gazed at the documentary with fascination.
“Do you zink ve’ll ever get a velcome like zat?” He suddenly asked, breaking the silence.
Kitty looked up from the watch and then at the TV, watching old footage of the Avengers returning home after a mission abroad. People held up signs and cheered for them. Kitty smiled faintly and just said, “I have no doubt about it.”
Kurt grinned and then continued to watch the documentary with great interest. Kitty zoned out, watching the old footage of the old Captain America. She put her face in her hand and grumbled.
“Alles in Ordnung?” Kurt questioned, noticing her change in mood.
“Kurt, I have an idea and I need you to tell me if I’m crazy.”
^^^
“Alright, there’s something you’re not telling me and I wanna hear it,” Sam spoke to Bucky.
Bucky stood by the door with his arms crossed. He’d come down to visit with Sarah and her sons and help with the boat while he discussed the trio dilemma with Sam. He looked at him, “What?”
“You were defending the people that we were sent to apprehend. Why?” Sam interrogated him and raised a brow.
Bucky debated giving him a full answer and decided to take the shot, “I think- and this is just speculation- I know them. Or knew of them.”
“Explain,” Sam looked at him with confusion.
“You know how my existence used to be rumored within the intelligence community?” He decided to ease him into it to not spring it all on him at once.
“Yeah, well, look how that turned out,” Sam chuckled.
“Within HYDRA, there were rumors of other programs. The guards that kept watch over my cell would whisper about a program consisting of super powered people. They’d say how the program wasn’t gonna work because the subjects were unruly and difficult to control,” Bucky elaborated, "So they specially selected people in the program to get rid of and kept the ones they could use."
“Like Strucker’s experiments?” Sam questioned.
“Yes, but HYDRA didn't create them. These people were naturally.. enhanced. HYDRA found a lot of them and tried to turn them into agents, but none of them ever saw the field,” Bucky looked at the ground.
“And you think our mysterious trio is from that program,” Sam knew where this was going.
“I don’t think, I know, Sam. That blue guy incorporated HYDRA techniques in his fighting style,” He sighed and ran his hand through his hair.
“You think they’re still HYDRA?” Sam crossed his arms again.
“No,” He shook his head, “I don’t think so. If they were, they’d fight to kill. Believe me.”
Sam nodded and then placed the watch back on the table to switch the topic. He’d retrieved it from Riri a few hours earlier, “So the watch came out inconclusive. No information. What are we gonna do?”
“Hope Claws shows up in another casino,” Bucky shrugged.
“So play the waiting game,” Sam rolled his eyes, “Not exactly practical.”
A buzzing came from the table. The watch lit up orange and blinked a few times. The two men looked at each other and then at the watch as it went off. Bucky picked up the watch and then hit the screen. An orange hologram popped up above them.
Giotchi del titano, San Marino - 11pm Saturday
Diamond Hall, gallery area, bar
Don’t come armed.
Don’t tell anyone.
-A