Chapter 12
Mortified... That was the first thing Ashley felt when she got up Saturday morning. For most of the night, she had been in a state between awake and asleep. There had been a handful of moments where she had been asleep, but they did not last long when the images from her nightmares started to weasel their way into her mind. Every time that happened, Wanda's arms seemed to tighten around her, even though the older girl was still deep in sleep. Once she was fully awake and alert, the events of the previous night came flooding back.
She had screamed, she had thrown up and she had been carried back to bed by Bucky Barnes.
She groaned at the thought, burying her face into a pillow. Wanda stirred at that, waking up to find Ashley apparently trying to suffocate herself in her pillow. She let out a breathy chuckle as she sat up, running her hands gently through the tangles of Ashley’s hair.
“Morning,” she greeted, a small smile tugging at her lips when it elicited a groan from the younger. “Someone had an eventful night last night…” Another groan. “Do you want to talk about it?”
Ashley turned over, her dull, tired eyes meeting Wanda’s. “Not really,” she mumbled. Her fingers gripped at the edge of the blanket, twisting it between her fingers.
Wanda’s face set into a more serious expression, eyes hardening into a steely gaze as she surveyed Ashley. “Okay, I won’t push for now, but I really do think you should talk to someone. Right now though, I think what you need is a shower and some food.”
True to her word the previous night, Wanda had leant Ashley use of her shampoo and conditioner. It felt so nice to actually properly wash her hair for once. The shower was the perfect temperature, where it was ever so slightly too hot, turning her skin a bright shade of red. It made a very welcome change from the cold showers at school with only a small bar of cheap soap to wash herself with. And no-one seemed to notice if she spent close to an hour in that shower.
As she suspected, the fluffy towels supplied were incredibly soft, and a part of her wished she could take one of the towels with her. Of course she wouldn’t. The Avengers had been nothing but kind to her, she wasn’t about to take advantage of that by stealing some towels. Eventually, Wanda had managed to coax her into getting dressed as ‘the boys’ were in the middle of cooking breakfast for everyone, and yes that included her, she had to be told. After her nightmares the previous night, Ashley felt more than a little anxious, hoping that the whole tower hadn’t heard her screams. She knew of at least two people who did, which meant there was probably more. So, when she finally ventured out of the guest room, she had latched onto Wanda’s arm, feeling safe with her and not wanting to be left alone with anyone else in the tower. Especially as Wanda had promised she wouldn’t push for answers and she couldn’t guarantee everyone else would share the same point of view.
As the two walked into the penthouse together, Ashley couldn’t help but feel a little bit guilty as she looked at her new friend. There were dark circles under her eyes, and despite her best efforts, she yawned every five minutes or so. Wanda led them to sit down at one end of the kitchen table, which was definitely bigger than Ashley remembered it being. Ashley sat on the end, and a few minutes later, a half-asleep Peter stumbled in and sat down on her other side, opposite Wanda.
Breakfast itself was still fairly quiet, with only a few mumbled chatters and some teasing between Clint, Nat and Sam down the other end of the table. Ashley’s stomach churned when the food had been set down on the table, but she nevertheless ate the piece of toast Wanda offered, albeit very slowly. It wasn’t until most of the table had finished their first plates of food (and Steve, Bucky and Peter were moving onto their seconds) that the peace was disturbed in the form of Tony Stark.
When he presented the brand new, as-yet unreleased Stark Phone to her, Ashley had tried to decline it and pushed it back towards him, but Tony had insisted, pulling out the ‘internship’ card as an excuse for Ashley to not turn him down. After that, Tony had disappeared into his lab, while chatter had broken out around the table.
“Wow… the brand new Stark Phone. He must really like you kid,” Sam stated from the other end of the table.
“I thought I was going to test out the latest model.” Clint pouted as he spoke, only to receive a slap around the back of the head by Natasha.
“I’m starting to see why Stark picked a teenager over you brainless idiots.”
While one end of the table bickered amongst themselves, Ashley had turned on the phone and was setting it up with the help of Peter and Wanda, while Pepper and Bucky watched the scene fondly, and Steve and Vision watched with peaked interest. Bruce had already slinked off to his lab to work on his research. The first thing Ashley did on the phone was check the list of contacts and she couldn’t help but chuckle at the entries.
Birdbrain
Brown Recluse
Buckaroo
Capsicle
Jolly Green
Honeybear
Iron Man
Kid Genius
Lady Boss
Legolas
Red Riding Hood
“Who’s Honeybear?” Ashley asked.
“That would be Rhodey,” Pepper answered, sighing deeply as she put a hand to her forehead. “Tony has quite the penchant for nicknames.”
Ashley simply nodded and allowed Peter to guide her through the apps on her phone. She was already planning on spending some time between studying later that day to have a thorough look through the phone, but Peter had insisted on downloading a bunch of apps including YouTube, Reddit, Instagram and WhatsApp. Apparently the last one was particularly important so that Ashley could join in a group chat with MJ and Ned, but given her last conversation with MJ, she wasn’t sure she wanted to take part in that.
It was about an hour later that Ashley realised what the time was. She had been having fun with Peter, Wanda, Pepper and the others, but it was nearly eleven o'clock and she had to get herself across to Hell's Kitchen in the next hour. There was a part of her that didn’t want to go. Within the last hour, she had found herself growing more and more at ease, to the point where she no longer felt the need to cling to Wanda. She felt safe in the tower with them and she could delude herself into thinking that her nightmares could only ever be that. That there wasn’t anyone actually hunting her and possibly everyone close to her, putting them in danger.
But despite feeling relaxed in their presence, she had to let the facade shatter. She didn’t really want to go and meet Matt, Foggy and Karen in the bustling streets in broad daylight, but if she didn’t do it now, Matt would definitely find her later and possibly when she least expected it. He had a way of knowing things and tracking people, which definitely scared her a bit. She also couldn’t deny, she wanted to know if Matt had managed to find anything on these people hunting her down.
So, she bid a hasty goodbye to everyone in the tower, stopping by the lab to pick up her things and say goodbye to Mr Stark. She thanked him again (more than once) for everything he had done for her in the past week, before rushing out to start her journey to Hell's Kitchen. With her sudden rush to leave, Pepper hadn’t been able to call Happy to give her a ride, and while several of the Avengers had offered to give her a lift, she had politely declined them all, assuring them the walk would probably help to clear her head. The Avengers had made her promise to message every single one of them when she had met with her friends though.
The Manhattan streets were bustling with people. Kids were running across the streets, weaving between the cars blocked up in typical New York traffic and the crowds were full of eager Christmas shoppers – it must have been five or six weeks leading up to Christmas. As Ashley made her way through the clusters of people, she felt at ease in the knowledge that she was practically invisible to all these people. She was just another faceless character.
It was five to twelve when she arrived in the cafe. Matt, Karen and Foggy hadn’t arrived yet, so she found a booth in the corner, setting herself down and taking her now rather heavy backpack off her shoulders. Mr Stark had insisted that she take the laptop and the tablet with her and use them to help with her school work as well, as they had ‘light years on the ancient artefact she had borrowed from school’. So, not only did she still have her school laptop in her bag along with her school books, she also had the shiny new laptop and tablet provided by the whimsical billionaire. Ashley rolled her shoulders back, hissing at the ache and picked up the cafe menu, lazily browsing the drink choices as she waited for the others to turn up. She certainly hoped she didn’t have to wait long as the cafe baristas were starting to give her some disdainful looks. A second later, one of them came over to her table.
“You need to go up to the counter to order,” she stated, eyes roaming up and down Ashley's dishevelled appearance.
“I’m just waiting for my friends.” Ashley's voice was quiet, and the barista had to strain to hear her.
“Either order something or get out,” the girl snapped. She began impatiently tapping her pen against her cheek, eyes staring down menacingly. “This isn’t a homeless shelter.”
A second later, the bell above the door rang and Ashley sighed in relief when Karen, Matt and Foggy came through the door. As the three of them, Matt being guided by Foggy (for the sole purpose of keeping up pretences) made their way to Ashley, Matt turned to the barista. “Excuse me, what did you just say to my friend here?”
Of course, Matt had heard the conversation from outside. Ashley groaned and reached out to tug him down into the seat beside her, before he could threaten the girl. “Matt, just leave it,” she hissed at him. He sighed but decided to drop the issue. The girl walked back towards the counter; mouth curled up in a snarl. Once she was gone, Karen and Foggy sat down opposite and both gasped in horror when they caught sight of Ashley's face. Karen reached forward, tucking Ashley's hair behind her ear and taking Ashley's face in her hands, turning her left and right to survey the damage.
“What is it?” Matt asked. He had sensed something was wrong with Ashley with the way her left foot hovered above the floor, occasionally tapping the ground but never fully resting on it.
“She's got a very nasty bruise on her face.” Foggy advised him. “What happened, Ash?”
“I didn’t dodge quick enough.”
“What about your foot?” Matt asked.
Ashley scowled. Damn him and his super senses... “Sprained my ankle when half a build fell on me.”
Matt huffed out a brief laugh, shaking his head. “You’re showing me up, kid. By all rights, it sounds like you should be dead.”
Ashley simply shrugged in response. Foggy and Karen got up and went up to place drink orders for the four of them, Foggy keeping his promise of mint mochas for him and Ashley. While they were gone, Ashley's new Stark Phone dinged from the pocket of her hoodie. She pulled it out and found that a group chat had been set up which she had been added to.
Kid Genius invited you to the group chat: Gucci Gang
Iron Man: Kid, do we need to have another chat?
Kid Genius: No Mr Stark L
Kid Genius changed the name of the group chat to Do It For The Vine
Iron Man: Pete!
Lady Boss: Ashley, did your friends meet you?
Tony's Favourite: Yes they just got here.
Tony's Favourite: Why is this my name?
Iron Man: That’s a great question... Nat??
Brown Recluse: lol
Ashley chuckled to herself and put her phone down, but the little action hadn’t gone unnoticed by Matt. Despite the new injuries, Ashley seemed happier than she had been in weeks. If that was Stark's doing, then maybe the guy wasn’t so bad after all. Perhaps even worthy of a fruit basket delivery in thanks. He smiled as he replayed the sound of that soft laugh – high-pitched and almost musical. There was a warmth coming from the girl beside him and he couldn’t help but bask in it. That was the moment Matt had realised he would do anything for her; anything to ensure her happiness.
“New phone?” he asked her just as Karen and Foggy sat down. Karen passed him a black coffee and a few packets of sugar, which he quickly deposited into the coffee. So, maybe he had a bit of a sweet tooth, but not so far as to get one of the ridiculously sugary drinks that Karen was usually sipping in the office when she decided not to risk making coffee herself for them.
Foggy stared at the phone in Ashley's hand, mouth hanging open in shock. “That hasn’t even been released yet. They only leaked the concept photos online last week. I didn’t think Stark had actually finished it.”
Ashley blushed shyly. “Mr Stark asked me to test-drive it. So, I’ll need your numbers again.”
Foggy jumped at the chance to hold the phone and was quick to add his number to her contacts. “What is with the contact names? Capsicle and Jolly Green?”
“Is that supposed to be Captain America and The Hulk?” Karen asked as she prised the phone out of Foggy's fingers so she could input her number again.
“Yeah... Mr Stark likes nicknames.”
Karen passed the phone back to Ashley. “I’ve put mine and Matt's numbers in there for you.” Ashley thanked her and took a long sip of her drink. It was just as good as she remembered it being the other day and it instantly stopped the shivers she hadn’t realised she was experiencing. With the internship now official, maybe now she could get herself a coat to help her survive the winter.
“Moving onto business then,” Matt announced, pulling his laptop out of the satchel he had perched on his shoulder. He opened up a bunch of documents, flicking through them with the braille reader. “I contacted an... acquaintance of mine. Karito are a group of Japanese terrorists. Their roots date back to the second world war. They were set up by the Japanese government and aided both Japanese and German forces, most notably Hydra. But Hydra never acknowledged them as on a level playing field.”
Of course, Ashley knew all about Hydra. She had read about Hydra and how they created the Winter Soldier. Matt continued to recite from the documents.
“After the fall of Red Skull, Karito took over a lot of Hydra's research. They stayed in Japan and the surrounding area until about twenty years ago, when they were reported to have been spotted in America and Europe. Most of the files have been redacted, but Wade has it on good authority that they were dealing in genetic mutations and enhancements, but-”
“I'm sorry, Wade?” Ashley interrupted, voice slightly raised. “You actually turned to the one person you've sworn to avoid. The one person you made me promise to never interact with. The first time we met, you gave me a whole lecture on why I should avoid Deadpool. Now you’re working with him?”
Matt simply held up his hands defensively as he waited for her to finish. “Hold on, for starters, I am not working with him. What I said before still stands, he's dangerous and I don’t want you to cross paths with him. But he had the information we needed.”
“What did it cost?”
“Ten chimichangas.”
“Ch-Chimichangas?” Ashley exchanged confused looks with Karen and Foggy. “Are you sure this guy is as dangerous as you’re making out? He seems... childish.”
“He is,” Matt deadpanned. “But that’s part of the problem. Anyway, about thirteen years ago, they disappeared. There was no trace of them in America or Europe. It looks likely that SHIELD took care of them. According to Wade, word is that Fury ordered the complete decimation of anyone linked to Karito after they took out two of his best agents. That was nearly fourteen years ago. These agents had foiled their plans to create an army of super soldiers. Apparently, they somehow infiltrated Hydra and stole Winter Soldier secrets, with the intent on creating their very own race of super soldiers to wage war with the West.”
“So, what are they up to now? And what do they want with me?”
“Wade seems to think they’re experimenting with mutant DNA splicing. Apparently, some of the mutants underground have gone missing. It was never reported of course, but Wade has been keeping his ears to the ground and some of his contacts have brought it to his attention.”
“I suppose it’s a comfort to know they’re not trying to kill me... just seriously maim, kidnap and perform experiments on me.” Ashley shuddered at the thought. “That's cool, I guess.” Her mind started reeling at the thought. Her breaths came out short and sharp. Even if she stopped patrolling, these people were watching her. They knew where she was and who she had been with. She couldn’t bear the thought of putting more people in danger. The residual happiness from that morning had been replaced with a cold dread that turned to ice in her veins. She couldn’t face putting Tony, Pepper and the others in danger because of her. Even if they were the Avengers.
A warm hand encased Ashley’s ice cold one, pulling her out of her spiralling thoughts. Karen was gently shushing her, reaching her other hand up to wipe Ashley's tear-stained cheeks. “We'll figure this out, find a way to stop them. We won't let them hurt you.”
“I-It's too dangerous for you to be around me. I have to leave...” She tried to climb over Matt so she could run, but he wouldn’t budge. He held onto her arms, holding her still. “Let go! Matt please!” she begged, openly sobbing now. “You can’t get hurt.”
As her sobs broke down, she fell into Matt's arms. He hesitated for a second before drawing her in close. “I’m not letting you run away. Just continue about your normal life, but cut out the patrols. I'll contact some friends and arrange patrols around the city. We will find them and put an end to them,” Matt assured her.
Matt already had the beginnings of a plan forming in his head, and it had started with an ‘anonymous’ tip-off he had arranged for Deadpool to put in Captain America's path, because if anyone was going to know about Karito, it would be him. He had analysed the Captain's running patterns, so with a bit of luck, Wade would intercept him and Bucky tomorrow morning and share the tip. Of course, when he had explained the plan to the red and black clad mercenary, he knew that there would be nothing anonymous about Wade's delivery. But as long as it didn’t link back to him, then it didn’t matter. He hoped that if multiple people came forward with concerns over Karito, the Avengers might take them as a series threat.
The second step of his plan came in the following days. After a long day at the office, he had returned home briefly to change into his Daredevil gear before going on a long patrol, making sure to check in around Midtown as well as Hell’s Kitchen. Once he had donned the red suit, he pulled out his mobile phone. “Call Tony Stark.”
He wasn’t one hundred percent convinced that the man would pick up. Would he even still have Matt's number? But on the fourth ring, he was met with an answer. “Murdock... This is a surprise.”
“Stark, I need to call in a favour.”
“And what makes you think that there is any chance I will accept?” Tony's voice was full of snark as he spoke.
“For starters, I’ll owe you a favour.”
“Tempting, but no.”
Matt clenched his jaw to stop himself from getting angry. “Trust me when I say we have a mutual interest in this. It concerns your little arachnid protégé.”
There was a long pause. “Go on...”
“I have reason to believe that Spider-Man might be in danger. Someone out there is targeting mutants and enhanced individuals. A friend of mine was attacked last week but managed to get away safely.”
“What exactly are you proposing here?” Tony's voice didn’t have the same bite to it that it did at the start of their phone call.
“I need to find out who they are and take them down before they can hurt anyone else. But I’m going to need as much help as possible. What I’m asking is for you to keep your ear out and if you hear anything, call me. It also might be worth putting a tail on Spider-Man to keep him safe. I know he's just a kid, Tony. You may also want to ask Fury if he knows anything...”
“And Pegasus, as she is apparently going by? I assume that is the ‘friend’ you are referring to.”
“I’m handling that one.” Matt answered shortly.
“You know who she is, don't you?” Tony did not get an answer. “I’m not sure I approve of her taste in mentors...”
Matt chuckled dryly. “I concur.”
“We’re in… I’ve just got one question for you.” Matt waited patiently for Tony to continue, but even he had to agree he was completely floored by what came next. “How did she really get that bruise on her face?”