The Secret Avengers

If you keep your heart open through everything, your pain can become your greatest ally in your life's search for love and wisdom.

— Rumi

The purple arrow flew straight, erupting into a net, and wrapping itself around the moving target and grinding its gears to a quick halt. The archer turned and released two more arrows, one striking the base of one target and exploding into a hard congealed mess of purple foam. The final target struck and sent out a large electrical shock, deactivating every machine in the training facility.

“That’s enough Kate!” Sam Wilson’s voice bellowed over the microphone. “Before you waste the whole training room.”

“That’s just three little arrows.” Kate smiled from behind her sunglasses. “Clint says I can have the bigger ones later.”

“He’s in the armory right now. He brought you something.” Sam’s voice said.

“Thank you, Sir.” Kate grinned and bolted out of the training facility.

>>>

Three Weeks Earlier

Yelena looked through her night vision goggles, following John Walker as he entered the rundown warehouse on the docks of New Orleans. “What are you up to, John Walker?” Yelena whispered to herself, as a short man with a ruined face stepped into the light under the door.

“Rumlow, you got my package?” Walker asked. His voice was deep and full of malice.

“Yeah, she was easy to get, really easy.” Brock Rumlow laughed. Then he reached back and pulled Valentina Allegra de Fontaine into the ugly yellow light. Yelena gasped softly at the condition of the woman. She was gagged and her normally immaculate hair was loose and falling in weak strands around her face. She had two black eyes, and even from three hundred yards away, Kate could see the fear in the woman’s eyes.

“We also have the money, and the weapons we need to get away with this, Walker.” The voice belonged to a beautiful blonde wearing a long black trench coat and combat boots.

“Sharon Carter?” Yelena’s voice was loud in her own ears, and she watched through the goggles as John Walker’s eyes turned to look at her.

>>>

“This came to the farm, Kate.” Clint handed her a small USB drive and pulled her into a hug. “How’s training going? What is that thing?”

“I’m not sure, maybe it’s from my mom?” Kate answered, pulling out of the hug, and twirling the small device around in her fingers. She looked over at the wall and saw a lone computer monitor. Her eyes looked down at the device again and she walked forward.

“Go ahead Hawkeye, plug her in.” Clint encouraged, then, walked towards the exit. “I’ll give you some privacy.”

>>>

Kate stood in front of the monitor, her fingers trembling as she inserted the drive into the port and waited as the information loaded. She stood there, eyes transfixed on the screen. A large grin broke out on her face as Yelena’s features filled the screen, then it slowly faded as she noticed a faded bruise on the left side of the woman’s face.

“Kate Bishop!” Yelena said with a smile. “I need your help. Just you, none of your other Avenger friends.” Yelena’s voice took on a serious tone. “If you don’t come alone, I will disappear before you even arrive.” Kate’s eyes traveled to the door, then back to the screen. “Please Kate Bishop. I really need someone I can trust.”

>>>

“Sam.” Kate started, taking a deep breath, and trying to relax. “I need--I need a temporary leave of absence.”

Sam’s face froze, his eyes wide. “You are right at the end of your training, Kate.”

“Yeah, I know, but this is important.” Kate stood her ground. “I have three good missions under my belt, and in the last year I haven’t taken any time to myself.”

“I understand that Kate, but…” Sam stopped as Clint put up his hand.

“Sam, she deserves a break. Peter, Wanda, and Vision come and go as they please, and you train her around the clock. Cut her some slack.” Clint crossed his arms over his chest, then jumped as Laura Barton walked in.

“Me and Clint can handle anything that comes up while she is on LOA.” Laura smiled knowingly at Kate. “So, give her a break.”

“Fine. Three weeks, Kate.” Sam sighed as he gave in. 

“Thank you!” Kate smiled as she rushed out of the conference room.

>>>

Kate was folding her uniform and placing it on her bed when Laura knocked on the door. “Come in.”

“Spill it, Kate. What’s going on?” Laura asked as she closed the door.

Kate turned away, hiding her face. “It’s nothing, I just need a break.”

Laura’s hands settled on her hips, “Katherine Elizabeth Bishop. You might be able to pull that on Clint and Sam, but not me.” Her tone softened, “Is your mom, okay?”

“My mom?” Kate asked, giving herself away by her surprised reaction to the question.

“That’s who the drive was from?” Laura asked, surprised by the response.

“Oh shit.” Kate slipped. “It was--it was from Yelena.”

“The Widow? The one that wanted to kill Clint?” Laura almost yelled. “Are you out of your damn mind?”

“She didn’t kill him, she could have and she didn’t. She was being played.” Kate defended. “She didn’t know the truth.”

Laura’s eyes widened. “You’ve been talking to her, haven’t you?”

Kate balked, her eyes opening wide in surprise. “Y-Y-Yes.” She sputtered. “I haven’t heard from her in a while, and this came out of the blue. Sh--She asked for my help, just me, no one else.”

“Your help? With what?” Laura asked pointedly.

“I-I don’t know.” Kate answered quietly, staring at her shoes.

Laura stared for a split second, then took a breath as the memories of an argument with Clint about another Widow came to mind. “Oh. Now I see.” Laura nodded knowingly as her demeanor changed. “Be careful. If you need something, you call me. Understood?” She moved closer to the young woman. “Me. No one else.”

Kate’s eyes came up slowly. “Laura?”

“Clint defended Nat, the same exact way, Kate.” Laura said, her eyes misting slightly. “He said from day one that she was never the person everyone thought she was. But his feelings for her were not quite the same as yours are for Yelena.”

“What are you talking about?” Kate asked, feeling as if she needed to defend herself.

Laura coughed to cover a laugh. “You’ll see.” She removed a small device from her watch and walked over to Kate, clipping it to the small necklace she wore around her throat. “If you get yourself in trouble, tap that, and the cavalry will show up.”

“I’m not going to get in…” Kate started but stopped as Laura cut her off with a wave of her hand.

“Clint says that every time he goes out on a mission.” Laura smiled. “Don’t take your uniform, there’s a tracker inside. And take the bow that Clint gave you, not the one you normally use in the field.” She smiled at the look on Kate’s face. “Take my word for it. Okay?”

Kate nodded and hugged Laura tightly.

>>>

New Orleans, 36 Hours Later

Yelena stood at the corner, watching as Kate exited the yellow and black Camaro she had driven down from New York. “Hello, Kate Bishop.” She stood there for twenty-five minutes, watching the corner room she had reserved, smiling as the curtains parted from the right and the small bedside lamp was turned to its dimmest. “Very good, Kate Bishop.”

Black boots clicking on the pavement, Yelena made her way towards the lobby of the hotel.

>>>

Kate settled in on the large, overstuffed King Size bed and leaned back, raising her arms above her head, stretching and yawning. She tensed as she heard a knock on the door.

“Room service!” A gentle, southern voice called out through the door. “Your dinner!”

The hairs on Kate’s arms stood up. “I didn’t order dinner?” She whispered under her breath, reaching out and grabbing the collapsible bow that Clint had gifted her when she joined the Avengers.

She heard the key enter the reader, and slid slowly off the bed, snatching an arrow from her quiver, squatted down, notched it and drew back on the string.

The door slid open silently, but no one was there. Kate held her breath, waiting. She heard the wind whisper and held her place. The tennis ball bounced off the frame. Her fingers released the arrow quickly, another shaft taking its place as the ball was stuck to the doorframe.

“Very good, Kate Bishop.” Yelena’s voice sounded as a sleek black boot stepped around the frame and her fingers trailed along the arrows shaft. “You’ve been practicing.”

Kate’s eyes opened in confusion as Yelena entered the room. Normally the blonde dressed in a style that the young archer could only call eccentric. Lots of bright colors and loose fits. Tonight, she was wearing a business suit in black, with a small tie knotted in the collar of a blood red shirt. Her hair was hidden under a long black wig, and her makeup was heavy, nothing like the normal natural look she normally wore. 

“Cat got your tongue, Kate Bishop?” Yelena smiled.

Kate stood up; her eyes locked on Yelena’s. She stuttered as she attempted to speak, “Y--you look so-so different.”

“This old thing?” Yelena’s smile grew. “Someone is looking for me, and I needed a disguise.”

“Yelena? What the hell is going on?” Kate breathed out.

“Do you have a few hours, Kate Bishop?” Yelena responded. “We could order dinner. I’ve heard they have excellent macaroni and cheese, and multiple forks.”

Kate’s head dropped, and she started to laugh. “You are never going to let me live that down are you.”

“Never, Kate Bishop.” Yelena smiled back, a glint of promise reflecting in her dark grey eyes.

>>>

The Docks of New Orleans, Warehouse Number 13

“Val!” Sharon Carter whispered harshly. “Wake the hell up!”

Valentina’s head lolled back, falling back in the chair she was tied to. Sharon gently took the woman’s face in her hands watching with relief as hazel eyes fluttered then opened slowly. “You know?” Valentina licked her dry lips and tried to smile at Sharon’s confused look. “Nick is going to kill you for this.”

“Fury doesn’t know you are here.” Sharon hissed. “And neither the hell did I.” Sharon reached behind her and grabbed a small bottle of water from a table and popped the top. As she poured a small amount into the woman’s mouth. “Maria heard about something going down and I was the best candidate to go undercover.” She patted the woman’s cheek. “Want to tell me what the hell you are doing here?”

“Nick sent me in to watch Walker.” She coughed, a few specks of blood showing up on the floor. “After Sam gave up the shield, he was…” She took a deep breath. “Concerned.” She looked up at Sharon. “I thought you had gone bad, Powerbroker?”

“Aunt Peggy would come back and kill me, then bring me back and kill me again.” Sharon almost smiled. She stopped talking as Val’s eyes went wide and turned, catching Rumlow’s fist in her stomach.

“Sharon!” Valentina screamed, catching a backhand from Rumlow across her cheek, throwing her to the ground, still tied to the chair. Her head struck the floor, bounced once, and she fell still and silent.

Grunting and trying to catch her breath, Sharon got to her feet. She raised her hands up and quickly shot a flat-handed strike, catching her attacker directly in the back of his neck, snapping his head forward, and allowing her to drive the heel of her combat boot into the back of his knee. Avoiding her instinct to inflict pain, she instead concentrated on short, powerful attacks driving the man back, pushing him up against the wall. She was about to throw another punch when a large metal disk connected with the back of her head, driving her to her knees.

“Damn, Rumlow! Letting this woman kick your ass?” John Walker laughed loudly, attaching the black, silver, and red shield to the magnetic holder on his back.

“Two against one?” Sharon slurred as she tried to stumble to her feet. “Not a fair fight.”

“Sharon Margaret Carter, Agent 13, prior to your disappearance into the Madripoor underworld you were considered for the role of Captain America, and most recently the supposed Powerbroker, if it weren’t for our abilities, I would absolutely agree with you. You’d probably wipe the floor with us.” Walker smirked.

“Bullshit!” Rumlow laughed as he brought his fist down on the back of Sharon’s neck, watching with a laugh as she collapsed to the floor, unmoving. “We should kill them both.” The man known as Crossbones sneered.

“With the information we could get from them. you heard her, she works for Maria Hill and Valentina has something to do with Fury.” John Walker answered in a smooth, calculating tone.

>>>

Kate sat at the table in her hotel room, going over the photographs and handwritten notes that Yelena had gone over with her. She rested her chin in the palm of her hand, looking over at the bed, where Yelena was stretched out, sleeping peacefully. Kate’s eyes fell to the yellowing bruise on the blonde woman’s freckled cheek and her hands clenched into fists. 

“I can feel you watching me, Kate Bishop.” Yelena smiled, without opening her eyes. Yelena’s fingers rested on her cheek and Kate saw her wince as they encountered her cheek bone.

Kate made her way to the small kitchenette and pulled a dishcloth from a drawer and reached in the freezer for three ice cubes. She wrapped them in the cloth and walked towards the bed, taking a slow shaky breath. She sat on the edge of the bed, smiling as gray eyes blinked open. “This might sting a bit.” She slowly moved the wrapped ice towards Yelena’s cheek and rested it softly on the spot. A smile came to her lips at the look of relief in the other woman’s eyes.

“Thank you, Kate Bishop.” Yelena smiled, then patted the other side of the bed. “Get some rest, Kate Bishop.”

Kate yawned and stood up. “Yeah, I’ll--uhm--yeah. The couch, I’ll make up the couch.”

“Nonsense.” Yelena smiled sleepily. “There is plenty of bed.”

Kate’s mouth went dry, but she nodded and grabbed some sweats and disappeared quickly into the bathroom. When she emerged fifteen minutes later, Yelena was snoring softly. She crawled into the bed. “Sleep tight, Yelena Belova.”

“Sweet dreams, Kate Bishop.” Yelena smiled between snores.

>>>

Washington, DC 

“I need you in New Orleans by tomorrow. This operation is classified Level 7.” Maria Hill spoke into her secure phone. She paused for a moment as the voice on the other end rose. “I know you guys have only been working together for a few weeks, but dammit, I have one operative and they have been out of contact for three weeks.” She paused again as the voice rose to even higher levels. “Now, put your team together and get there. Yelena is on the ground somewhere, but she is radio silent.” She took a deep breath, let it out. “Call me as soon as the wheels hit the ground.”

She unlocked the door and stepped in. Her hand slid down to the back of the table as her keys jingled into the wooden bowl, producing a small black pistol. She slid off her uncomfortable heels, feeling the carpet under her feet, and made her way towards the back of the townhouse.

With the pistol up she made her way to the study and noticed the doors closed. “Dammit!” She hissed to herself. The pistol came up, and in her most commanding voice she called out. “Whoever you are, stand down!”

The massive oak doors slid open, revealing a powerfully built black man in all black. “Is that any way to greet an old friend from work?”

“Nick?” Maria smiled, then lowered her weapon. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“You are sending a team into New Orleans.” He spoke quietly. “Val is there.”

“What in the hell is Val doing in New Orleans?” Maria snapped, shoving her way past her former director. “Did you get nervous when Sam gave up the shield, or did you just want to make sure that Walker had a babysitter?”

“Walker was one of the best special forces soldiers in the world, but without a stable command 

structure, he was worthless.” Nick looked over Maria’s head, out the window. “Sam never should have given up the shield.”

“Well, he’s leading the Avengers now, and the shield is safe in his hands.” Maria said, pulling a large pile of files from her desk drawer. “Now it is up to me, and my Secret Avengers, to clean up the damn mess.”

Nick turned, “That’s what you and Pepper came up with, the Secret Avengers?”

“Shang Chi, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Zemo, Nightcrawler…” She stopped at Fury’s raised eyebrow.

“A mutant?” Fury asked with curiosity.

“We don’t use the same heroes all the time. It's more of taking what we need when we need it.” Maria admitted, looking up from the files.

“And who is your field commander?”

“The all-knowing Nick Fury doesn’t know?” Maria laughed. “The Black Widow. Yelena Belova.”

Nick balked, then nodded. “Good choice, though I'm surprised it isn’t Agent 13. You two are awfully close.”

“Sharon is very important to me, and we both agreed that our relationship was more important to both of us, than her working in the field with me in command.” Maria admitted with a slight pinking of her cheeks. She looked up into her former commander’s eyes. “I haven’t heard anything from her in three weeks.”

“Steve and Nat had all sorts of faith in her. I’m sure she’s fine.” Nick said, placing a hand on Maria’s shoulder. With a deep sigh he added another statement. “Besides, those two psychos will believe they can use her as a source of information.”

Angry blue eyes looked up at him. “They hurt her, and they will regret it.” The anger cleared and she stared hard at Nick Fury. “How did you know Sharon was there?”

Nick ignored the jab and headed towards the kitchen. “Got anything to eat in this place?”

>>>

John Walker sat in the office of the warehouse staring at the image of the two women in the cell, three floors underground. “Why you two?” He stared for a few more moments, then lifted his phone and dialed a number he had memorized years before, then put it on speaker as the owner answered.

“What do you want, Captain America?” The voice was nasally, with a heavy Sokovian accent. “I am busy.”

“Running from the Avengers? That’s what you call busy, Zemo?” Walker bellowed into the phone. “And I am not Captain America.”

“Ahh yes. You are Valentina’s lackey.” Zemo laughed.

“Not anymore, Zemo.” Walker snapped, his anger rising quickly. “I need a few of your Thunderbolts.”

“That’ll cost you, Walker.” Zemo laughed into the phone. “You don’t have…”

“Three point five million for every member of the team you send me, Zemo. Digital transfer as soon as they step foot on American soil.” Walker sneered.

Zemo’s sudden intake of breath sealed the deal. “Done!”

>>>

Kate was awakened by a deep sigh from Yelena’s side of the bed. Rolling over she began looking for trouble. She stopped when her eyes fell to Yelena's face, and the tears running down the woman’s cheeks. She didn’t speak, she simply put her palm on the other woman’s arm.

>>>

“Your girlfriend’s awake, Yele.” Natasha’s voice was teasing and full of mirth, just like when they had been children in Ohio.

“She’s not my girlfriend, Tasha.” Yelena smiled, nudging her sister on the shoulder, and resting her hands on the tabletop where the plans to the warehouse that currently housed John Walker base of operations. “Can we get back to planning this?” Her hand waved over the tabletop.

“Not till you admit that you called her for more reasons than just because you needed someone who could watch your back.” Nat’s voice was all around her. “You like her Yele, there is nothing wrong with that.”

“Stop it Tasha.” Yelena whined. “We need to get those two out of the trouble they have gotten themselves into. Again.”

“Yelena Belova!” Natasha stopped moving, looking at her sister with smiling eyes. “It’s been a year. TELL! HER! HOW! YOU! FEEL!”

>>>

Yelena’s eyes popped open, and she found herself staring into the soft, sleeping features of Kate Bishop. She took a deep, calming breath and was about to roll over when Kate’s fingers tightened on her wrist. “Very well, Kate Bishop.” She whispered, and with her free hand pushed a loose strand of hair off the young woman’s face.