Chapter Eleven
Out of all the things Lainey had ever done, this had to be the most stupid. At least, that's what Clint said. He said that she had been reckless, irresponsible, and selfish. And this wasn't going to happen ever again.
He laid it on so thick, that by the time he was finished, Lainey was in tears. When she snuck off, she hadn't even thought about how scared Laura must've been when she couldn't find her or how upset Cooper and Lila would be when they found out she left. She just didn't think.
All she wanted was her mother. She was so afraid of something happening to her, that she let her fear blind her into doing something she wasn't supposed to do. And now her mother was missing and there was nothing to do but worry about her. It wasn't rational, but she blamed herself. First, she should've told everyone about Ultron the first go around, and then she should've just stayed back at the farm. Maybe Natasha was missing because of her.
The thought alone made her tears flow faster. There was nothing anyone could say or do to make her feel any worse than she did now. What if she never saw Natasha again? She couldn't lose her mama. It would break her.
She'd do anything if it meant that Natasha would come home safe.
"How long have you been sitting here?" Steve made his way over to the ten year old with two other people. A boy and a girl. Lainey had never seen them before, so she naturally assumed that they were the Maximoff twins that everyone was talking about.
"I don't k-know." She shrugged.
It was an honest answer. As soon as they got back home, Clint had sat her down on one of the stools at the bar and told her not to touch anything and stay put before he left the room. She didn't know how long ago that was. Lainey just assumed that this was another one of those 'timeouts' that she'd get whenever she did something that was against the rules. And it wasn't like she didn't deserve it.
"S-Sorry." She sniffled and wiped her nose with her sleeve, watching the girl make a face both of disgust and sympathy.
"Are you?"
"Y-Yes."
"Glad to hear it." Steve watched her for a moment with a stoic look on his face. She had scared the daylights out of him when Clint told him that she was with them. He was terrified of the thought of anything happening to her. So of course he was angry. But, she was sorry, and it wasn't like he was going to hold this mistake over her head. She had enough to worry about. "Come here."
Lainey hiccuped and allowed him to lift her up into his arms, basking in all the comfort he was giving her. She was glad he wasn't too angry with her. She needed his hugs now more than ever. Her head rested against his shoulder as her eyes studied the twins beside her and Steve. "W-Who are they?" She asked, pointing as she lifted her head once again.
She knew who they were, but it was always nice to be introduced.
"Don't point, it's not polite." Steve tapped her hand. "This is Wanda and her brother, Pietro. They're gonna help us. Do you want to say, 'hello'?"
"H-Hi." Lainey wiped her eyes and waved at the two. "You're twins."
"We are." Pietro smiled.
"This is Natasha's child, yes?" Wanda asked Steve.
"Yeah." He nodded, setting the child down on the ground now that she had calmed down. "She's Natasha's."
"You're pretty." Lainey's hand found one of Steve's belt loops and latched on.
"Thank you. So are you."
"Thank you." She turned to Pietro and gave him her attention. "Are you fast?"
"I'm the fasted in the world." He smirked. "I will show you sometime, yes?"
"Yeah."
She would love to see him in action. She watched Road Runner cartoons and he was fast. Pietro couldn't possibly be quicker than he was, could he?
"But for now, have you seen Uncle Tony?" Steve asked the little girl.
"Uh huh." She nodded. "He's in the lab with Uncle Bruce and Uncle Clint is gonna find Mama."
"Okay. Stay here and don't move." He instructed, picking George up from off the counter and handing him to her. Of course she hadn't left him back on the farm. He went everywhere she went. Just like her and her mother. "I mean it."
"I'll stay here, I promise."
If she promised, then she meant it. Lainey never ever broke a promise. She always made sure to keep her word, because she didn't like it when people always made her promises that they didn't take seriously.
"Alright, I'm trusting you to do that, Buddy. We're just gonna have a little talk and then we'll be right back."
"Can I watch tv, please?"
"Go ahead." He smiled as she ran off to the couch and turned the television on to her favorite show.
"She will be alright, alone?" Wanda asked, following Steve as he lead them to the lab.
"She'll be fine. She's got her monkey and she's distracted right now. Nothing to worry about with her."
And he was right. Lainey, true to her word, stayed right where Steve left her. Her feet were propped up on the ottoman and George sat snugly on her lap while the television played 'Curious George'. She watched that show every single time she was allowed to watch tv. Everyone in the Tower had gotten used to hearing it in the background or watching it right along with her. Out of everyone, Clint was the one who actually enjoyed watching it, too. Lila loved the show, so he was used to seeing it play.
Unfortunately, Lainey's quiet time was interrupted when lightening came down from above, causing the lights to flicker. It wasn't storming outside, and even if it was, there was no way the lightening could get inside and do all of that. So it only meant one thing. Thor was back.
The child grew curious and slid off of the couch to look through the glass window in order to see what was going on downstairs. There was a purplish looking man with a yellow stone in his head. She had never seen him before, but he must've been good because no one was looking to fight him.
And he had picked up Mjolnir. That had to count for something.
"But I wanna go, too!"
Things were not going Lainey's way. Being that she managed to sneak onto the quinjet, Clint wasn't taking any chances on her doing it again, so he called Maria and asked her to watch the kid until they got back.
She wasn't too happy about being left behind.
"Lainey, it's too dangerous. You're not coming."
"But I want to!" She bounced on the balls of her feet very petulantly. But Clint knew that it was only because she was worried about Natasha and wanted to see with her own eyes that the woman was alright. "You have to let me go!"
"No, Alayna." Even so, he needed to remain firm. This wasn't the time to give in just because he felt bad. He'd just be putting her in danger if he allowed her to tag along and it would make him incredibly irresponsible.
Lainey whined and stomped her foot, giving him the angriest look she could muster. If he wasn't letting her go, then she'd find someone else to ask.
"And don't you go asking Steve." He caught onto what she was doing while he packed his quiver full of arrows. "He's just gonna give you the same answer."
Just because it was true, didn't mean Lainey had to like it.
The child just huffed and continued to glare at him. Clint turned his attention back towards her and knelt down to meet her eyes. "Honey, I'm not doing this to be mean to you and I'm not doing this because I'm upset. I know you're worried about your mother. I am, too. And I'm gonna find her. But I can't help her and worry about you at the same time."
"But I wanna help." Her bottom lip quivered.
"And you can."
"How?"
"By staying here where it's safe with Maria. I know Mama wouldn't be happy if she saw you with us, would she?"
"No."
Natasha would be livid if she saw her in Sokovia with them. And Lainey didn't even know how she was going to react when she found out she snuck away from the farm. Maybe she was actually better off staying home.
"So it's for the best. Cheer up, kiddo. I'll bring her back home, I promise." He held his pinky finger out for her to link hers into before he moved them both in a circle to solidify the deal. "Be good, okay?"
"Okay." She gave him a tight hug. "Be safe."
"I will."
As luck would have it, Lainey did make it to Sokovia. It turns out, Ultron had the entire city up in the air. All the civilians were still there, and the Avengers were running out of time to get them out.
Maria had been watching closely on her tablet just incase something were to go wrong, and immediately called Fury in for a favor. Even though S.H.I.E.L.D. was a thing of the past, that didn't mean they'd stop helping people.
"Hey, Pimyn." Fury looked at the girl with his single eye. "I have a job for you to do. Follow me."
Pimyn was his special nickname for Lainey. Though, she didn't think she could classify it as a good kind of special. It stood for 'Pain In My Neck'. Anytime Fury had to babysit Lainey, he'd act all annoyed and bothered by her presence, but really he was glad for her company. He enjoyed having her around when she wasn't bouncing off the walls, or riding her scooter indoors.
Usually, he didn't let her touch anything, but today was a different kind of day. With all those rogue robots out there, Fury needed all the help he could get. He wouldn't give her a hard job, just something to keep her busy and aid at the same time.
The helicarrier was huge. Even bigger than Lainey expected. So she made sure to keep the pace with Fury as she walked behind him.
He led her to a control room where there were many people sitting and staring at monitors. Lainey was in awe of all the technology around her and was curious to know what job each and every person was doing at their own specific stations.
"Take this." He picked up an earpiece and put it in her ear. "I want you to listen."
"I'm not leaving this rock with one civilian on it." She heard Steve say.
And it seemed like Natasha agreed with him. "I didn't say we should leave."
"Glad you like the view, Romanoff." Fury winked at Lainey. "It's about to get better. Nice, right?" He referred to the helicarrier. "I pulled her out of mothballs with a couple of old friends. She's dusty, but she'll do."
Fury momentarily took the comm out of Lainey's ear, so she didn't catch what Steve said in response, but it must've been something she shouldn't have had to hear.
Adults.
"Now that kind of language isn't for the ears of a child."
"A child?"
"Hi, Mama!" Lainey giggled, more than happy to know that she was alright. Clint had kept his promise just like he said he would.
"Alayna Romanoff, this is not funny and when I get my hands on you—"
"—It's all Uncle Nick's fault!" Lainey pointed at him even though the other two adults couldn't see her. "He brought me here!"
"Fury, I swear, I—"
"—Altitude is 18,000 and climbing." Maria interrupted the little squabble with a fond shake of her head.
"Lifeboats secure to deploy." A specialist spoke timidly. Lainey recognized him from the Triskelion. She saw him in passing a few times and it was nice to see that he wasn't Hydra. "Disengage in three, two..…take 'em out."
"Mama, you called me Romanoff." Even though they were in a serious situation, Lainey could not possibly let this go.
"What?" Natasha pretended to be absolutely oblivious.
"You gave me your last name."
"I did?"
"Yes! 'Cause you were mad at me."
"Well, I'm still very upset with you, Alayna Romanoff. I heard about you sneaking onto the quinjet and I'm not happy about it. So don't get too excited."
There it was again. Alayna Romanoff.
And she loved the sound of it.
Alayna Romanoff. Alayna Romanoff. Alayna Romanoff. Alayna Romanoff. She could repeat it all day long.
It was perfect.
"Who told you? Uncle Steve?" She pouted.
"Who told me?" Natasha scoffed. "That's what you're concerned about?"
"It was Cap." Tony snitched.
"Tony!"
"Thank you!"
"This is S.H.I.E.L.D.?" Pietro completely ignored the whole lot of them while looking at the destruction of the rogue robots.
"This is what S.H.I.E.L.D.'s supposed to be."
"This is not so bad."
"Pietro?" Lainey's little voice crackled in his ear.
"Little Mouse?"
"M'not a little mouse." She muttered. "Can you help me run away from my mama?"
"I'll see what I can do...…Little Mouse."
"I am not a little mouse!"
"Now you see what I have to deal with." Wanda's Sokovian accent entered the conversation.
"Let's load 'em up." Steve instructed.
"Sir, we have multiple bogies converging on our starboard flank." Maria informed them.
"Show 'em what we got." Fury smirked.
"You're up."
Lainey skipped over to Maria and looked over her shoulder to see what she was looking at. It was all just a map with a bunch of dots on the computer screen. It wasn't all that interesting to say the least, but it did get the job done.
She could actually see some of the dots disappear as Rhodey and Tony took out the bots as best as they could.
But she would much rather stand with Fury and give orders. That was a lot more fun.
"Number six boat is topped and locked." The specialist said. Lainey was doing her best to remember his name. She thinks it was Cameron or something. She wasn't sure. "Or, uh, or stocked..…topped. It's uh…..it's full of people."
"Incoming!"
A shriek left Lainey's throat as two of the Iron Legion crashed through the window ready to attack. Cameron(?) violently flinched away and covered his head, looking on with horror evident all over his face.
Maria and Fury quickly took action, whipping out their guns shoot at one of them, though bullets did nothing on metal except stall it.
The other robot was roaming free and looking for its prey, so Lainey thought fast. She snatched one of Fury's knives from his belt, holding the handle between her teeth, and slid underneath the robots legs, ending up behind it. It made the perfect opportunity to jump onto its back and confuse it.
Her legs wrapped tightly around its waist as it thrashed in an attempted to get her off, but before it could do anything to put anyone else in danger, Lainey took the knife out of her mouth and sliced the wires in its neck, successfully disabling it.
Once its lights went out, it dropped like a sack of potatoes, forcing the girl to break her own fall by landing in a somersault before hopping back up onto her feet.
And it looked like Fury and Maria took care of the other one. So there was nothing to worry about now.
"Here's your knife back." She held the blade. Allison had taught her to always hold the blade if she was going to offer it to someone she knew that she could trust.
She knew everyone in the room was looking at her, completely confused as to how on earth a ten year old girl had managed to take out a deadly robot without coming out with a single scratch. But they didn't know that she had been trained, and trained well.
"Alayna, have you been playing with knives again?" Lainey could practically see the annoyed look on her mother's face. "What have I told you about that?"
"Romanoff, when were you going to tell me that your daughter had her own skillset?" Fury cocked a brow. "I don't like finding things out this way." He took his knife and put it away safely.
"Oh, Alayna."
"Sorry, Mommy." The girl put the innocent act on and dialed it up to 100. "I just wanted to help."
"Mmhmm."
"Shouldn't you be off saving the world or something?" Fury quipped.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah."
"That was fun!" Lainey fist-bumped the older man. "She's so mad."
"Little Miss? I can still hear you."
"Oops."
"Mama! Mama!" Lainey squealed when she saw the woman walking her way.
The redhead looked a little beat up and she had a slight limp, but she was no worse for wear. And she was still in one piece, that's all that mattered to Lainey.
It had been a very eventful day. The Iron Legion and Ultron had been defeated, and the people of Sokovia had been saved and were now riding on the helicarrier with them. Sokovia was gone, but they were safe. Lainey supposed it could've been worse, but she wasn't sure. She couldn't imagine losing her home this way. It was frightening.
Natasha smiled at her and wasted no time lifting her up as soon as she was within reach. "Oh, I missed you."
"I was worried about you, Mama. But Uncle Clint said he would find you. He promised." She smiled back, playing with the woman's hair before squeezing her tightly. "I was scared something bad was gonna happen to you."
"Well, you don't have to worry anymore. Uncle Clint found me and I'm safe."
"Mama." Lainey sighed contently. "Don't leave again, okay?"
"I'll do my best, Honey. I can promise you that. But sometimes, I might not have a choice."
"Cause people need your help?"
"Right." Natasha nodded, glad that Lainey understood that her job was important.
"Okay." Though, it was a reluctant understanding. "I killed a robot today."
"I heard." The redhead smiled. "Fury told me about it. He said you did very well."
"Does that mean I can train?"
Natasha sighed and squatted down to Lainey's height. The girl had been hounding her about training for a long, long time now. And at first, it was completely out of the question. But Lainey actually seemed to like it. It wouldn't be fair to her if Natasha didn't let her use her talents from time to time.
But she wasn't going to be doing any spying or avenging any time soon. That was a line she would not cross.
"Yes."
"Really?" The way Lainey's eyes lit up, one would think Natasha had just hung the sun, the moon, and the stars, just for her.
And if she asked her to do so, Natasha wouldn't even hesitate. She'd give this little girl anything to make her happy.
She was so happy to be home.