Kinesis
"Alright," Peter said as he placed several books on his living room coffee table. "Books on ergokinesis, aerokinesis, terrakinesis, even one on straight up telekinesis."
"Peter, you are a lifesaver," Allie grinned as she and Bucky sat down on the couch and picked up the books to look at them.
"My inspiration came from that one scene in Carrie," Peter grinned.
"In what?" Allie asked.
"Carrie. You know, Carrie? It's a classic horror movie," Peter looked at them with a dropped jaw. "And it's old!"
"Peter, we're old," Allie rolled her eyes.
"Okay, well, I clearly still have to educate you on pop culture," Peter said dismissively as he looked back to the books.
"I just wish there was an easier way to find out if I actually have any more powers than just these," Allie sighed.
"Well, you did have that session with Steve and Tony way back when, didn't you?" Bucky asked as he flipped through the pages of a book on ergokinesis.
"Yeah, I did," Allie agreed as she picked up a book on aerokinesis.
"You did? Like in a lab?" Peter's eyes flicked up to Allie's.
"Yes," Allie nodded. "It was pretty much the day or so after I'd found myself at the compound."
"And they found a way to look at your powers?" Peter continued.
"Yes," she continued slowly.
"Then that's perfect! Let's do that," Peter grinned.
"Are you sure that you can?" Bucky asked. "I mean the Compound is long gone."
"Well, yes, it is," Peter agreed. "But you are forgetting that I still work with Stark Industries. All I have to do is find a time and facility to use."
"And in the meantime, read these books?" Allie grinned.
"Exactly," Peter grinned in return.
"Then let's get to it," she smiled, opening her book.
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Allie never really saw herself back at an Avengers or Stark complex or compound after she and Bucky had last been at the Avengers Compound wreckage when Steve took the Infinity Stones back to their proper places in history.
Peter had gone through with setting up a day for Allie and Bucky to go with him to a smaller Stark Industries facility that he often used to work on his personal projects. Pepper had Morgan with her as she met the group at the front door and led them down the corridors in the direction of the labs.
Memories of the night she'd first arrived at Compound grounds when she reunited with Steve flooded over her. The moment she had become friends with Wanda that night after she'd read her mind. It may not have been the same corridors or building, but a part of Allie felt comfort in the familiarity of it.
"Alright, so I asked Dr. Banner to join us to help you Peter," Pepper stated. "But Morgan and I can head out so you can work on this."
"Oh, I'm not missing this for anything," Morgan grinned as she stood firmly in front of Allie and Bucky.
"Oh really?" Allie questioned, her lip curled slightly with a grin.
"I've been looking forward to this since I overheard Mom and Peter talking about this," she smirked. "I want to be here to record any big fails you have."
"Are you sure you didn't just birth a miniature Tony?" Allie looked at Pepper who gave her a slight smile and shake of her head.
"No posting it on YouTube," Peter glared at Morgan.
"Of course not," Morgan promised. "Not yet at least."
"No posting it to YouTube," Allie agreed and Morgan shook her head as if they were wrecking her fun.
"Alright, so how did you do this last time that you had to do this?" Peter asked as they walked into the lab.
"I sat in a chair and an A.I. ran tests on me," Allie shrugged.
"Alright. Well then, let's do that," Peter nodded and began to turn on the tech around the room.
Bucky and Allie shared a look as she sat down in a chair that Peter pointed to. It felt eerily reminiscent of when she was observed by Steve and Tony when she'd first arrived all that time ago.
"You know, it is fitting to still have a Stark in the room," Allie sighed as she made herself comfortable.
"Really?" Pepper gave a small grin.
"Yeah, well, Howard was my friend. Tony was a work acquaintance for a while there. And this one's lucky she's friends with my kids," Allie teased as she looked at Morgan.
"I will be teaching them negotiation skills," Morgan grinned.
"As long as you help them pass science class," Allie shrugged.
"That's my job," Peter argued as he turned on the different machines around the chair that Allie sat in.
As the lab seemed to spring to life of its own, Allie waited for the same voice that she had heard through the speakers in the room the last time that she was in the spot that she was in. Instead, a warm and soothing voice rang out.
"Hello Peter," the voice said.
"Hey Karen," Peter replied as if he were greeting someone at home. "We're doing something a bit different today."
Allie and Bucky shared a look before looking at Peter. Peter was too distracted to realize that he was receiving confused glances. He was talking to the voice, machines springing to life in the process. Morgan and Pepper sat in seats across the way, watching carefully as Allie laid her arm out against the armrest and Peter went to work in bringing up holograms.
"Now, Allie, you've said in the past that you have pyrokinesis and cryokinesis, right?" Peter asked, still not looking at her.
"Yes," she confirmed. "Tony's system said that it was a frequency. I can manipulate those frequencies."
"Frequencies," Peter thought. "Something extremely specific to you I'm assuming."
"I suppose," Allie nodded.
"I'm here!" a voice sounded from the doorway as a very out of breath Bruce Banner, his sling tightly sitting against his chest as it had everyday following Battle of Earth, made his way into the lab.
"Great!" Peter said as he turned to face Bruce.
"Peter," Allie sighed. "How many more people are aware of this whole experiment we're running?"
"Other than the people you've told and the people in this room? No one," Peter shrugged as he finally looked over at her.
"Okay," she nodded. "Another question, who's Karen?"
"My A.I.," he shrugged. "Technically she's Karen II, the first one was destroyed on that school trip, but, I still just call her Karen."
"So you remade her?" Allie raised her brow.
"Sort of," Peter dismissed the conversation as he walked over to Bruce and caught him up with what was going on.
Bruce had put on his glasses as he stood next to one of the screens, asking Peter questions. Bucky took the moment to walk over to Allie.
"You said frequencies right?" Bucky asked and she nodded. "Something unique to you."
"Yes, I think we just went over that," she laughed.
"Allie, you can't manipulate other people's ice without feeling pain, right?" he continued.
"Right," she nodded. "I couldn't even manipulate Steven's and his was much weaker than what Annika created."
"Maybe the fact that it's frequencies has something to do with that," he suggested.
"Frequencies has something to do with what?" Peter asked as he and Bruce looked over to the two.
"I can't manipulate other people's fire and ice," Allie explained to Bruce. "Bucky suggested that it has something to do with the frequencies."
"That would make sense," Bruce said as he looked at Peter.
"Frequencies so unique that each person's is different? Even with the formula being the same for everyone?" Peter pointed out.
"Except everyone's DNA is unique," Bruce pointed out. "Maybe that's what makes it hard to manipulate."
"I've tried multiple times to manipulate someone else's ice," Allie shook her head. "I can't do it."
Bruce nodded as Allie turned to look at Peter who held a tablet in his hands. Clicking of choices could be heard as the two put their heads together and prepped the scans for Allie. Turning to Allie, she gave Bucky a small smirk.
"You know, with ideas like that, you could be one of the science boys," she teased.
"I know you're making fun of me, but I'd do it," Bucky shrugged.
"Alright, Allie, are you ready for this?" Bruce asked and Allie nodded in response. "Okay. Then we're going to scan for the already known frequencies."
Just as Bruce had said, the A.I. quickly scanned Allie, a hologram appeared close to Peter who looked at it and gave a small nod. Turning to Bruce, he gave instructions for the next scan to be started. Bucky held his breath as he watched the scan. Allie simply sat and waited anxiously for the results.
Eyes around the room snapped up to the new hologram with different readings. Bruce's gaze settled on the hologram with curiosity and focus as Peter began to grin. The two shared a look before acknowledging Allie.
"These are definitely frequencies," Bruce nodded his head as he looked back at the images on the hologram in front of him. "I don't know what frequencies they are, but they're something."
"Which means I do have more than just the fire and ice abilities," Allie deduced.
"Yes," Bruce nodded. "Do you have any idea what these frequencies could control?"
"Honestly? No," Allie sighed. "But I know that if they exist, I should figure it out before they do it first."
"Are you sure that their powers are completely like yours?" Bruce questioned, taking off his glasses.
"The formula used on me was sold on the black market," Allie frowned. "It's definitely the same formula."
"How did it end up on the black market?" Bruce's brows raised in alarm.
"The Power Broker," Bucky settled for a vague description.
"Whatever happened to a normal world?" Bruce muttered to himself before sighing.
"That world hasn't existed in a very long time," Allie gave a small smile. "But, if I can figure these powers out, then maybe, just maybe, we'll be to some form of a normal again."
"Then it's time to hit those books," Peter grinned.
"I'd say you're right," Allie smiled.
"And we'll make sure you have a secure area to train," Pepper assured her.
"Thank you," Allie gave a grateful smile to Pepper.
"So," Morgan started. "No training today?"
"Not until I can figure out what I might be able to control," Allie sighed.
"Well, you won't be alone," Peter said. "I'll find more books about kinetic powers. I'm sure if we work together, we'll find it."
"Two minds are better than one," Bucky mused. "But three's even better. I'll help."
"And as you keep going down this route, I'll help Peter with anything I can," Bruce nodded. "There's a lot of weird in this universe."
"And somehow it never stops getting weirder," Pepper shook her head.
"Thank you," Allie acknowledged Bruce as Peter wrote down the information from the holograms onto sheets of paper.
As Peter finished writing down notes and turned to Allie, Bruce shook hands with Allie and Bucky. Parting from the others, Bucky, Allie, and Peter left the building to make their way back home.
"So, like I said," Peter said as they stopped at a burger joint for dinner. "I can look into finding more books about kinetic powers. I figure I can bring the books over one night and we can look into it more?"
"That makes the most sense," Allie agreed as her phone rang.
Excusing herself to the side for a moment, she saw Sam's contact appear on her screen. Answering the phone, Sam's greeting was brief.
"Listen," he said. "They're asking for us to come in with the team."
"Really?" Allie asked and she knew her face had shown her surprise when she saw both Bucky and Peter raising their brows at her from their seats. "Did they say why?"
"Honestly? Not really. I assume it's a formality more than anything."
"I see," Allie nodded. "When do we need to go in?"
"Next Tuesday."
"That'll be easy enough to do," Allie sighed. "Alright. Well, if I don't see you before, I'll see you then."
"Tell the cyborg he can't glare at anyone during the meeting," Sam's voice had a grin to it.
"Oh, we're still calling him a cyborg?" Allie teased.
"He won't kill me for calling him a nickname. You will."
"You're right. I would. But don't go thinking your special because I'd kill him too," Allie grinned.
"Alright, well, I'll see you then," Sam laughed.
"See you then."
Walking back to the table where Bucky and Peter sat, Allie simply smiled at the two.
"I hope you two are ready for a first official team meeting," she smirked.
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"We should have a team name," Peter said as the group walked through the halls of the government facility that they were called in to on a chilled Tuesday morning.
"Team name?" Allie raised her brow.
"Well, yeah," he nodded. "You guys were in the Howling Commandos, then there's the Avengers. We need a cool name."
"You're way too into this team thing," Sam shook his head at Peter.
"I'm just saying that it wouldn't hurt to have something to call ourselves," Peter shrugged. "We could be the Icicles, or the Firecrackers, or-or the Snowmen." The group stopped and looked at him with looks of disbelief. Peter sighed and gave a shrug. "It's not my fault that you people are no fun."
"If we name ourselves, we're not making puns about my powers," Allie sighed.
"Okay," Peter shrugged. "What about Repairers."
"Or, and this is just a suggestion, we don't call ourselves that," Sam quipped back.
"Keep trying, Peter," Allie gave a small smile as she held back a gentle laugh.
"Well, excuse me if I'm trying to make things feel less life-or-death," Peter huffed as they arrived to the meeting room.
As the group made their way in and sat down at the table, they each knew that all eyes were on them. Allie had pulled together a team that almost seemed like a ragtag team. An Avenger retiree, a witch that was on thin ice with the United States government more than she ever was on good terms, the formerly brainwashed puppet for Hydra, the kid that shot webs from his wrists, the bird-man no matter what his uniform looked like, and the former medic. It seemed that the Rogers siblings had always had a knack for pulling together that kind of team.
"So," an agent asked as the faces around the room took in the group. "This is the group you chose?"
"I wouldn't have it any other way," Allie shrugged.
The government officials exchanged glances, but no words were uttered in disagreement. Instead, each person that sat at the long table leaned forward, engaged in the moment. Allie and the others listened to questions that the officials had, primarily about if they knew any more about the instigators from the ordeal.
Allie looked at Steve before she recounted the story of what had happened at the party, omitting any mention of Sharon's involvement and Steven's powers. She wasn't keen on the government prying into her child's life. It was bad enough that the condition for her pardon from the government sat upon the idea that they could call her in to help at a moment's notice.
"Are you sure that you can actually catch her?" an agent questioned. "This is how many times you've been faced with her and been unsuccessful?"
"With the formula being sold on the black market, there's no way that Annika is the only one out there with these powers that's not known by the government," Sam argued in Allie's defense.
"And with that probability, she could lure us to them where I can stop her," Allie bounced off of Sam's statement.
"But how can we guarantee that you'll be able to do that?"
"With all due respect, Senator sir," Peter began. "I don't know if you've ever seen Allie put her mind to something, she gets it done whether it's the way you want her to or not."
"I feel complimented at the same time that I feel a little like I've been thrown under a bus with that description," Allie looked over at him.
"I just mean that she won't let Annika win this," Peter continued.
"And you all feel equipped to handle this?" a senator questioned.
Eyes fell upon each member of the team who quickly nodded their heads in agreement. There was no hesitation to their commitment to the team. As all eyes fell upon Steve, Allie knew the small crease he had in between his brows. He'd had it more than once when they were young and he was deep in private thoughts. Even with the small crease in his forehead, Steve looked between the faces and let his eyes settle on his sister before taking in a deep breath.
"Yes," Steve confirmed with a nod.
"Good," one of the senators said. "Then let's set some expectations for this team."
As the agents and senators around the room laid out a clear guide for what they wanted from the team while they were searching for Annika and when they'd captured her, Allie couldn't help but look over at her brother. He didn't seem fully focused, something that wasn't like him at all. It was as if his body was present, but his mind was somewhere distant.
Something was off and she knew it.