Chapter 8
As Mikayla was drifting off to sleep, she heard the door open. She turned her head and saw Thor. "Did I disturb your sleep, my friend?"
Mikayla smiled. "No. Come on in." For being a man with such a significant presence, Thor had learned how to move gracefully and quietly. "Shouldn't you be leaving for the mission?"
"We have a few minutes before we leave. I wanted to reassure you my friends are here to watch over you while Master Barton is away." Thor proceeded to describe the Asgardians to her. "I've also contacted my Jane and friend Darcy. They are on their way and are eager to see you. I'm unsure if our Wakanda allies will be assisting us with the mission. Friend Misty and Lady Pepper will be down later." He placed a giant but gentle hand over her arm. "You will not be alone." Thor leaned and kissed her head. "I am glad you are back, Lady Mikayla. The tower hasn't been the same without you. It's like sunshine has returned to our lives." He lightly squeezed her arm. "I will do everything in my power to bring him back to you. We will see you soon." He turned around and exited the room. Mikayla watched Thor leave, then sank into her pillow and fell asleep.
After dozing for a bit, Mikayla heard what she thought was mumbling. Turning her head, she saw long, strawberry-blonde hair and a smile a mile wide. "Hey, Pepper."
"Mikayla, we're so happy to see you."
"We?" It was then Mikayla noticed who was in Pepper's lap. "Morgan, hey." Mikayla smiled, pleased to discover someone else she hadn't forgotten. "I'd offer to hold her, but" Mikayla held up her bandaged hands.
"It's okay, we understand. Is there anything I can get you?"
"No, I'm fine."
Pepper grimaced. "What is it with you people saying you're fine when you're not? Did you need some pain medicine? Water? A cheeseburger?"
"No cheeseburgers, I'm afraid." Dr. Cho came into the room. "Good to see you awake and alert. Now, tell me how you truly feel." As the doctor talked to Mikayla, she exchanged the empty IV bag for a full one and then took Mikayla's vitals. "If all goes well, we may switch you to a liquid diet in the next day or so. It looks like all the drugs you were injected with have been flushed out of your system. How's your memory?"
"It's back. They didn't take it from me."
"That's wonderful news, Mikayla," Pepper said as Morgan gurgled. "See, even Morgan's happy about the news."
Mikayla smiled. "I can't believe how much she's grown while I wasn't here." 'Translation – I can't believe how much I missed out on.'
Pepper sensed Mikayla's regret and did her best to console her. "You're here now, and that's what's important. Morgan won't know you weren't here, and it's not like you missed a lot. Besides, Tony made sure Friday recorded everything, so you can watch the videos as you recover."
"Let's try to sit you up," Dr. Cho said. "I'm guessing you're tired of laying flat." Mikayla nodded, so Dr. Cho reached down to the bed controls and began raising the head of Mikayla's bed. "There. How's that?"
"Much better, thanks."
"Doctor Cho?" Friday spoke. "Doctor Palmer is here."
"Thank you, Friday. I'll be right there." The doctor turned to Mikayla. "Christine Palmer is the top hand specialist in the area. I'll go meet her and bring her up here." Dr. Cho turned and left the room.
"Nothing but the best for our girl," Pepper said as Morgan gurgled.
"Well, if Morgan says so," Mikayla said. Pepper brought Mikayla up on what was going on at SI. "Amy's been promoted to your old job. You're still part of the department but in an advisory role. Before you say anything," Pepper nipped Mikayla's insecurities in the bud, "it was planned before this happened. Amy hasn't missed a beat. I'm sure she'd love to see you."
"I'd like that," Mikayla said.
The door opened, and the doctors entered the room. "That's our cue to leave, plus it's time for this one to eat." She held Morgan close to Mikayla's face. "Say goodbye to Aunt Mikayla." Mikayla kissed her on the cheek. "We'll be by later for what I'm sure will be good news."
Once Pepper and Morgan left, Dr. Cho approached the bed. "Mikayla, this is Dr. Christine Palmer. Dr. Palmer, Mikayla Barton."
"Nice to meet you, Mikayla. Would it be okay if I unwrapped your hands?" Mikayla nodded, holding them out to the doctor, who carefully removed the bandages. After cautiously examining each hand, Dr. Palmer commented. "They're not as damaged as I thought. We can operate and put in some internal hardware to hold the bones until they fuse back together. I don't normally suggest operating on both simultaneously, but I think it'll be easier on you if we do it that way. If it's all right with you, since we have them unwrapped, I'd like to get some x-rays."
"Whatever you need to do, Dr. Palmer. Guess this means I won't be getting bionic hands, then. Tony's going to be upset."
The doctors chuckled. "No, I don't think those will be necessary, but we could always have them on standby." Dr. Cho wheeled the x-ray machine over to Mikayla's bedside. "I know this will be uncomfortable, so I apologize in advance." 'Believe me, nothing compared to the pain from that damn chair.' Mikayla shuddered, remembering those treatments. 'Why couldn't I have forgotten that?'
Everyone thought the shudder was Mikayla's response to the x-rays rather than her memories, so no one responded. "All done." Dr. Palmer gently placed Mikayla's hands on the bed, then quickly reviewed the x-rays. "As I suspected, they're not as injured as we first thought, so the surgeries should be successful. Trust me. They're not the worst breaks I've seen. Let me go back to my office, check my schedule, then I'll get back to you, and we'll schedule the surgeries."
"Thanks, Dr. Palmer." The two doctors left Mikayla's room. "Friday? I need something to distract me. Can you give me a mission update?"
"The team has arrived in Kingston and is approaching the base now."
"HYDRA?" Mikayla asked, her voice filled with hope and trepidation.
"AIM, I'm afraid. If you'd like, I can bring up the view and patch you into the comms."
"Please. It'll be good to feel useful again."
"You're useful, Agent Mikayla. You keep me entertained."
Mikayla smiled. "Thanks, Friday. I love you, too."
"It's my pleasure to assist you in any way I can. Did you want me to tell the team, or did you want to surprise them?"
"Let's let it be our little secret until I see Clint needing to be whipped into shape."
"There are websites devoted to that type of activity." Mikayla laughed as she caught the snarkiness in the AI's tone. "Always good to hear you laugh. Welcome back, Agent M."
"Agent M, I love it!" Mikayla looked up as Friday displayed the scene. "Is that a prison?"
"It is. It appears AIM was using the prisoners as test subjects with less than stellar results. There was a prison break, and the team was there to handle any AIM employees and keep the test subjects from escaping the area. They're expecting AIM to fight back."
Mikayla nodded as she saw the prison come into view. She noticed something approaching Steve. "Cap, on your left!"
"Mikayla? What the hell are you doing here?" Cap swung his arm and struck the thing, creature, whatever it was with the shield.
"Language, Cap. Don't worry. I'm safe back at home. I was bored since there's not much I can do with no hands. I haven't learned how to feed myself with my feet yet."
"Hey, babe," Clint said before releasing a couple of arrows.
"Lady Mikayla, it is good to hear your voice again."
"Everdeen? Did you think we couldn't do this without you?"
"Oh, you could, but it wouldn't be as much fun."
"Welcome back, Mikayla."
"Thanks, Nat. Look out on your right." Natasha looked, then grabbed a widow's bite and tossed it.
"Any update on your hands?" Bruce asked, still in human form on the Quinjet.
"Well, won't be having a Bucky clone – behind you, Barnes." Bucky swung around and clocked something in the head. "Surgeon's calling me back this afternoon to schedule surgery."
"Awesome, Mikayla."
"Thanks, Sam. Any message you need me to pass on to Misty?"
"None that I want you to deliver."
Mikayla yawned. I've had enough fun for now. See you all when you get back." The team quickly said their goodbyes as Friday disconnected the feed. "Friday? Please dim the lights."
"Done. Good night, Agent M." Before Mikayla could respond, she drifted off to sleep.
'The treatments are working,' one of the scientists said. 'I reviewed the research notes. There was some concern because of the stubbornness of this subject.'
'That's why we tweaked the formula.'
'Good, because it's time to give the specimen its assignment. Specimen!' The scientist shouted. 'You have an assignment.'
'Use the words, idiot.'
The man bit his lip to avoid talking back to his superior. 'Caves, nothing, sound, tram, blood, tour, athletes.' The figure sat up and turned its attention toward the voice. 'Are you with us, specimen?'
'I am here,' the figure answered in a monotone voice. 'What is my assignment?'
The figure was handed several photos. 'You know who they are. Your job is to terminate them. We've left you the memories of their weaknesses. How you handle this is up to you. The only requirement is the archer will need to be dealt with last. You'll have one week. The time starts now, specimen.'
'And make sure you don't get harmed. We'll heal your injuries, then send you back out on missions. You are our specimen, and we own you.' The figure nodded and then left the room.
Mikayla's mind was working overtime. She could picture everything as if the events were happening in real life. Her eyes flew open, all she saw were lights flashing, and the only sound she heard was someone screaming; it took her a few minutes to realize it was her, but she couldn't stop. Mikayla didn't hear Friday summoning Doctor Cho and the team over her screams. "Mikayla, it's Doctor Cho. Can you hear me? You're in the medical wing in the tower."
"No, no! Don't make me! Kill me! Don't make me kill them! I can't do it!" Mikayla's gown was getting soaked with her sweat and tears.
The door opened, and Clint came running to Mikayla's bedside. "What happened?"
"I'm guessing a nightmare. Before you ask, I can guarantee you no one's been in here other than her."
Clint nodded. He sat down next to Mikayla, immediately rubbing her temples. "C'mon, babe. I'm here. You're safe in the tower. We've got this. Come back to me, Mikayla." Clint repeated the statements several times while continuing to massage her temples. Mikayla finally stopped screaming, her voice becoming hoarse, but she continued sobbing. "You with me?" Mikayla nodded. Clint pulled her into a comforting hug. He held her until she stopped crying. When he released her, he kept a hand on her face. "Want to talk about it?"
"No," Mikayla rasped, "but I need to." Clint understood. He knew she needed to get it out so whatever it was wouldn't torment her anymore, and wouldn't have control over her again. Mikayla took a deep breath and then began. "The dream. It seemed so real. They kept calling me specimen. The chair and the drugs worked. I was like a zombie. They gave me a mission, told me if I got injured, they'd heal me and send me out on missions again." Mikayla took a deep breath, then bit her lip and closed her eyes. "I was supposed to kill all of you, saving you for last. I saw how it happened, too. I strangled Natasha. Somehow, I was able to push Mjolnir through Thor's body and crush his ribs, causing them to pierce his heart and lungs. I ran a sword through Steve, tore off Sam's wings, and watched him crash to the ground. I shot an EMP arrow through Tony's suit and caused it to explode, and I did the same thing with Bruce. I ripped Bucky's arm off and impaled him with it. Then, I, I, I, stabbed you with an arrow through the throat." After talking about the nightmare, Mikayla's energy was sapped, so she fell back into the pillow. "Clint? They used words to control me. Could there be some still planted? I know everyone said the treatments didn't work, but the scene was real. How can I know they still aren't controlling me?" Mikayla began hyperventilating.
"Hey, hey, listen to me. As soon as we're through with debrief, I'll bring everyone up here so you can see for yourself we're all okay. I'm sure Doctor Cho can reach out to the Wakandans to confirm there's nothing in your brain that's not supposed to be there."
"You left debrief for me?"
"Babe, you were screaming and panicking. You're damn right I left."
Mikayla sniffed. "How did the op go?"
Clint knew she was deflecting, but he understood. "We rounded up all the test subjects and took the AIM employees into custody. Seems like the quality of Hammer's employees have taken a nosedive, not that I'm complaining."
"Anyone get hurt?"
"Nat may have broken a nail, but that's about it."
There was a knock at the door. "All clear?" Steve opened the door and stuck his head in.
"Better now that I know everyone's here and okay." Mikayla looked over at Clint and nodded. "It's okay."
Clint kissed her forehead. "I'll be right back. Want me to have Friday turn the TV on to help keep you occupied?"
"Please."
"Friday? Please turn on Expedition Unknown." The TV flickered on, giving Mikayla something to focus on so she wouldn't spiral out of control again. Clint walked out to the waiting room, where he knew everyone would be. Looking around the room, he found the team in various stages of nervousness. Tony was angrily pacing back and forth, obviously trying to figure out what he could create to make Mikayla better. Bruce had come in behind Dr. Cho, so he already knew. Sam and Misty were sitting next to each other, Sam holding Misty close and quietly murmuring to her. Steve was standing next to the door, ready to dash into Mikayla's room as soon as possible. Natasha was closely inspecting her cuticles. To anyone else, it would look as if she was bored. Clint, however, knew she used the gesture to refocus herself.