Farm Life
After helping put Banner to sleep, Veronika helped Tony bring him to the jet. It drained her a lot from having to put someone so big to a calm and then sleep style she sighed as she sat. putting her face in her hands, same as she had done after Sokovia. Taking deep breaths, she recalled the look in Pietro’s eyes; pain, anger, loneliness, he had his sister, but she could just tell, that isn’t enough for him.
She looked at the dream again and looking below the bed where she saw a boy’s hand she saw the eyes of fear, loss… she felt her heart clench. She always had a soft spot. Maybe it was a weakness, maybe it was foolish. But she cared, seeing this she knew they were just as trapped as she once was.
May is turning 16 within the week she thinks about being trapped for all those years. They had a life at one time…they had it taken from them. She never truly knew of her family but seeing that fear and pain in his eyes…she knew that losing it is the worst thing in the world.
“Hey Barton, you need me to take over?” Tony asked as he neared the head of the jet.
“No, I know where we’re going, we’ll touch down in around 3 hours. You all should get some rest for now.”
“Where are you even going?”
“A safe house.” Clint muttered.
Tony took a seat near Veronika, a tad hesitant but he took a seat. “Are you feeling okay kid?” he asked with a tone of concern. Veronika looked up with a questioning look on her face. “I just thought you were tired, you almost collapsed after helping the big guy. Just checking.” He was genuinely concerned, she chuckled at how quickly his mood about people changed.
“I’m fine, thank you. Just never used that much force on one person before.” She sighed as her head felt like it had spinned a bit.
“Well, we land in three hours, maybe take a nap?”
“I’ll try.” She shrugged, thinking there is no way she is falling asleep like this.
She sat back against the jet’s wall and saw Nat holding onto Steve next to her; they both looked so out of it. They all got knocked down a bit today. She felt bad for them all. Her eyes closed as she thought through the battle. Falling into a semi-sleep she let her head fall to the side.
About what, to her, felt like days she felt the jet shake with the landing. Steve tapped her shoulder gently and helped her up. He gave her a look as he saw her eyes.
“You okay kid?” He tilted his head. “You look tired.” He looked as if he was a dad worrying over his child, for some reason that made her happy?
“I’m fine, just helping with Bruce drained me…” She looked down feeling bad.
“Well then you should get rest as soon as possible. Clint, how much closer to the safe house?”
“Just down this hill actually.” Clint walked right out the jet. Ver smiled, his thoughts betraying his calmness. She walked out the jet slowly, Steve staying close to her as he saw her stumble a few times. They all walked down the hill when they finally saw a beautiful country house.
“What is this place?” Thor asked.
“A safe house.” Tony answered.
“Let’s hope so.” Clint said as if hiding something, he was. “Hey, Honey? I’m home.”
A woman walked out, a pregnant, beautiful, woman in fact.
“Sorry, we’ve got some company, we would have called ahead but you know.”
“This is an agent of some kind…” Tony said to Thor.
Thor quirked a brow as Clint kissed the woman.
“Everyone, this is Laura.”
“I know all of your names,” She looked around as they all waved, but stopped at the girl at the end of the row who was looking around at the toys. “Well, everyone except her. Who is she and when did kids join the team?”
“OH, that’s Veronika, the girl Nat told us about remember. Nat and Steve have been taking care of her, but meet Veronika…what was the last name kid?”
“Preston, It’s Veronika Preston. You have a lovely home and it’s nice to meet you Mrs. Barton. Clint thinks about you a lot.” She laughed.
“Wait, Purple Star Smoke has read his mind and known this whole time?” Tony said. “Okay you need to let us know next time when you find out about a secret wife.”
“Their secret Mr. Stark let them keep it.” She smirked sarcastically. Laughing again at how quickly his mood changed.
“Well anyways, thank you for the compliment on the house, Veronika.”
“No problem.”
Then they heard running come from down the stairs.
“Incoming”
“DADDY!” A little girl yelled, and Clint knelt to pick her up.
“Hey sweetheart, buddy, how you two doin’?” He smiled at both.
“These are smaller agents?”
“Daddy, did you bring Aunty Nat?” Veronika looked at the woman in question who smiled at the little girl. She’d seen that exact smile when Nat looked at her, it felt kind of bittersweet.
“Why don’t you hug her and find out.”
“YAY!” the little girl ran and jumped into Nat’s arms. Nat laughed. Veronika smiled looking at the kids.
“We’re sorry for barging in like this.” Steve said apologetically.
“Yeah, we would have called but we were too busy not knowing you all existed.” Tony said a tad bit grudgingly.
“Yeah, well about this, Fury helped me set this up when I joined. Kept it off of SHIELD's files, I’d like to keep it that way.” He smiled holding onto Laura lovingly and had an arm around his son’s arm.
Nat tore her attention from everyone and smiled at the little family of four, almost five, and talked to them.
Thor crunched some LEGOS from behind Ver and she looked down at the little toys. She’s never seen anything like it. She kneeled down and started messing with it, examining really. She saw the little girl come up to her.
“Hi.” the girl whispered.
“Hi.” Ver smiled.
“You wanna see my dollhouse?”
Ver tilted her head not knowing what that was really. “Sure?” She stood and followed the girl to the living area, and she saw a miniature house and smiled as the kid showed her everything.
“This is my barbie, my brother ruined her hair but she’s still beautiful, like you are.” She looked at Veronika. That made Veronika smile. She's never really had a compliment, unless you count Pietro’s nicknames, but this from the little girl was a whole new thing. The girl pointed to her scar. “How’d that happen?”
“Lila! You don’t ask that kind of question to someone.” Laura scolded.
“Oh, she’s fine. But uh…” She crouched a little, “I got it because I fell, when I was little and I cut myself,” She lied, probably terribly but the girl seems to believe it.
“It is very cool. You look so pretty.”
“Thank you, Lila, that means a lot…” Ver whispered to the girl with a smile. “I’m sorry but I have to cut this a little short, but I’ll be right back, okay? Then we can play?”
“Okay Veronika!” She smiled and when Veronika got up Lila ran to Natasha.
“Uhm, Mrs. Barton, can you point me where shower and fresh clothes might be?” Ver whispered hopefully.
“Call me Laura, and yes there’s a bathroom and I’ll bring you some clothes Nat’s left plenty here for just-in-case moments. She has a pair and you will have a pair too.” She smiled too, “Come on.” she beckoned Ver to follow her.
Veronika stood in the bathroom while waiting for clothes. When they came, she took them, and perched them on the sink and as she was showering she felt more relaxed. She found some cuts on her, but they weren’t horrible. Mental strain though, that felt insane on her shoulders.
“‘What do you know!?’” he had said about revenge and that rang in her ears.
If only that boy knew. She knew. More than anyone, she knew.
She washed her hair, and face and sighed contently once she turned off the water. Feeling her energy pour into her. Not much but it’s coming. She got dressed and put her hair up and went back downstairs to fulfill her promise to Lila, who was overjoyed. Veronika played dolls, ponies, tea time, then drawing time with Lila, basically some of the most interesting and fun things she’s done since she was a kid…scratch that…best things she’s done since ever.
After about three hours Steve came to get Ver and brought her to the kitchen. She sat next to Nat who gave her a big smile.
“Have fun with Lila?”
“Yeah.” Veronika chuckled. “Lots of fun.”
“You’re really good with her, maybe I can put in a word for you to babysit sometime, you know, when I can’t.” She smirked a little, Ver laughed and shrugged, when a man came into the kitchen.
“Okay ladies and Gentlemen look alive we have business- who the hell is the white haired one?” said a man in a black suit with an eye patch.
“Oh Fury, this is Veronika, she’s a new addition.”
“Ah, yes, the new member. What’s your skill set, Veronika?”
“Uhm, well I have umbrakinesis, telekinesis, telepathy, dream walking/sleep manipulation, lunar manipulation, and can materialize weapons out of stars like this” She lifted her hand which made a dagger and threw it at the dart board Clint was throwing darts at. It burst as soon as it hit its target with a slash.
Nick stared at the dart board. His eye wide. “I like her. Good find I’m assuming Romanoff?”
“Nope, Steve, he picked me up from the street where I ran away from-”
“HYDRA, she was trapped at a base somewhere in New York she escaped and Steve found her.” Nat finished for Ver. She didn’t want anyone to know about the Red Room situation till Nat had a grasp on it too.
“Well welcome to the team Veronika. I expect great things from you kid.”
“Will try my best sir.”
“Well with that in mind. Let’s talk about how we need to get Ultron. The Maximoffs as well, they’re all miscreants. They need to be stopped.”
Veronika shifted at the mentions of their names. She still couldn’t understand the feeling she had for that Maximoff boy but her heart felt pain for him…she just wished she could understand.
“Ultron took you all out of play for a reason. To give him time. What he needs that time for? My contacts say that he is building something.” Fury said as he was from the looks of it making himself a sandwich. “With the amount of Vibranium he took, I don’t think it’s just one thing.
“What about Ultron, can you track him?”
“Oh, it’s easy to track him. He’s everywhere. Guy is multiplying faster than a catholic rabbit.”
Veronika huffed a laugh, from the amount of time she’s lived with Steve and Nat, she knew he was catholic, so seeing him chuckle made her laugh.
“But still doesn’t help us get an angle in any of his plans.”
“He is still going after launch codes?” Tony asked.
“Yeah, but he’s not making any headway.”
“I cracked the pentagon’s firewall in highschool on a dare.”
“Well I contacted some friends at the Nexus about that.”
“Nexus?” Steve asked, confused.
“It’s the world Internet hub in Oslo, right? The place where all bytes of data go through?” Veronika asked the team.
“Exactly, it has the fastest access on Earth.” Banner said.
“So what’d they say he wants?” Clint asked.
“He’s fixated on missiles. But the codes are constantly being changed.” Fury answered.
“By whom?” Tony inquired. A dart flew past his head and he flinched. Clint shrugged with a smirk.
“Parties are unknown.” Fury sighed.
“Does that mean we have an ally?” Nat said.
“Well it means Ultron’s got an enemy. That’s not the same thing. But still, I’d pay folding money to know who it is.”
“I might need to visit Oslo.” Tony said. “To find our unknown.”
“Well this is good times, boss but I was kind of hoping when I saw you, you’d have more than that.” Nat said doubtfully.
“But I do. I have you.” Everyone looked at him. He went on, “Back in the day, I had eyes everywhere. Ears, everywhere else. You kids, you had all the tech you could dream up. Here we all are, back on Earth, with nothing but our wit and our will to save the world.” he looked at all of them. “Ultron says the Avengers are the only thing between him, and his mission. And whether or not he admits it, his mission is global destruction. All of this, all of us, laid in a grave. So, stand. Outwit the platinum bastard.”
“Steve doesn’t like that kind of talk.” Nat smirked.
“You know what Romanoff.” Steve chuckled.
Ver looked between them with a smile. A knowing smile.
“So what does he want?” Fury said.
“To become better, better than us. He keeps building bodies.” Steve said.
“Person bodies.” Tony added. “The human form is inefficient. Biologically speaking, we’re outmoded. But he keeps coming back to it.”
“When you two programmed him to protect the human race, you amazingly failed.” Nat said to the two mad scientists.
“They don’t need to be protected. They need to evolve.”
They all turned to look at Bruce. Questions written on their faces.
“Ultron is going to evolve.”
“How?” Fury asked.
“Has anyone been in contact with Helen Cho?”