Fated Marks

Calliope’s POV-

“Will you can dump the bucket of ice water, I’m up.” I said walking into the living room. It took me a bit to put together a good outfit but considering it was supposed to be hot today I decided to go with a maroon crinkle skirt and a white and grey sleeved shirt.

“Oh you look cute today.” Will said.

“I need to do laundry.” I said bursting his bubble.

“I don’t care what she said she’s not getting half of the business!!!” Clint yelled as he walked into the apartment before hanging up. “Why the hell did I ever marry her!?”

“You loved her?” I answered making Clint snort.

“The sex was awesome.” Will added and I kicked his leg under the table.

“At the time it was but it’s not worth the hell she’s giving me now.” Clint said.

“How? Since I’ve moved in I think I’ve only seen her once.” Josh said putting a coffee mug in front of him. “And that was over a year ago.”

“I think I only saw her three times the entire time you guys were married.” I said. “She giving you a hard time?”

“I’m okay with giving her the house I mean I never even got to move in to begin with but there is no way she’s getting half of the business or Lucky.” Clint said.

“She wants custody of Lucky?” Josh said.

“The legal term is ownership and technically she can’t ask for that since your name is the only one on his paperwork and also you adopted him before you two were together.” Will said.

“She’s probably just trying to use him as leverage. Classic Allison move.” I said taking a sip of my coffee.

“What does the gold digger guide book suggest to counter this?” Will asked.

“You can go one of two ways. One you fight her and pay for both your lawyer and her’s vacation homes or you can give her something to make her think she won the divorce.” I said.

“Like?” Clint asked.

“You said she’s been seeing someone for a while right?” I asked.

“Yeah since before we officially called it quits, why?” Clint asked.

“Chances are this guy wants to marry her if he’s stuck by her through all of this and seen her nasty side in the divorce. Offer her alimony. Not a lot just enough for her to be able to afford a lease on a sports car. You’ll pay it for six months, a year tops. I guarantee you she’ll end up married or with a kid making it so you don’t have to pay it anymore before then.” I said.

“You sure because Bobbi always wanted a Porsche and I don’t think she’ll settle for less.” Clint said.

“Oh trust her, Cal’s an expert in negotiating divorces.” Will said. “She got me an A in that class. Speaking of we should get going.”

“Right.” I said taking one last sip of my coffee before standing up to put my dishes in the dishwasher. “Thanks for breakfast Joshie.”

“Anytime sis.” Josh said.

“Clint, it’ll be okay. And if it doesn’t work out the way I said it would I’ll buy you pizza whenever you want until she does get married.” I said patting his shoulder.

“You’ve never steered me wrong Cal. And free pizza for life sounds awesome.” Clint said.

“Hell you’ll probably save enough money to pay alimony.” Will said.

“We still on for later?” I asked.

“Monday night football? Wouldn’t miss it for the world.” Clint said.

“Don’t forget Thor’s breakfast sandwhich.” Josh said.

“Course.” I said grabbing it. “Later guys.”

“Bye.” They said as Will and I walked out.

We turned out in the hall and saw Ms. Robinson walk out of her apartment.

“Morning Mrs. R” Will and I greeted.

“Oh you two we’ve been through this, just Claire. You make me feel older than I already am.” She said.

“Age is just a number.” I said.

“You’re young at heart and that’s where it matters.” Will said.

“Oh you two.” She said blushing slightly.

“How are you feeling today?” I asked.

“Oh you know, just trying to get my steps in before the warden shows up for his rounds.” Claire said.

“Well if there’s anything you need don’t hesitate to ask.” Will said.

“Are you good on your medication?” I asked.

“I’m still good for a few more weeks.” Claire said. “Now get going you two I don’t want you to show up late to class on my account.”

“Bye Claire.” Will and I said before we headed out.

“Have you heard back from that internship you applied for?” Will asked.

“Nothing but the Stark internship is super competitive. People from around the world apply. I doubt I’ll get it.” I said.

“Hey, don’t put yourself down. Cal you’re a super genius. You’re eighteen and you’re a triple major in communications, Computer science, and business administration. You have a perfect GPA and you had professors lining up to give you a letter of rec. I’ll be surprised if you don’t get it.” Will said.

“Well stranger things have happened.” I said.

“And it’s not like you don’t have a back up to fall back on.” Will said.

“Yeah but importing and exporting goods is really boring. Just a bunch of paperwork.” I said.

“I meant day trading.” He said.

“Well that’s more common sense.” I retorted.

“Speaking of common sense, There’s this guy…” Will started.

“Will no.” I said.

“Oh come on Cal he’s hot, smart, total gentleman.” Will said. “Totally your type.”

“I don’t have a type.” I said.

“Good morrow my fellow students.” Thor greeted.

“Hey buddy, how was your quiz?” I asked.

“It went very well. Your notes were very helpful.” Thor said with a smile. “And I can now play in Friday’s game.”

“We’ll be cheering for you.” Will said.

“Before I forget, your breakfast since I know you probably only had a pop tart before work.” I said handing the paper lunch bag over.

“You are the sunrise after a long dark night, Callie.” Thor said with a toothy grin.

“I bet you say that to every girl that makes you a sandwich.” I retorted.

“Only you.” Thor said with a smile.

“Jane is one lucky girl.” I said before Clint cleared his throat. “Right have to get going, See you in class.”

“Wow.” Will said.

“What?” I asked.

“You two do this every morning and you don’t even notice.” He said.

“Notice what. Thor’s a great friend and a complete gentleman.” I said.

“Oh yeah and he looks at you like you hung the freaking moon. Says things like you’re his sunrise after a long dark night. Face it Cal he’s into you.” Will said.

“He’s an English Lit major with an emphasis in poetry. The guy’s a modern day Shakespeare. And also amazing at football.” I said.

“How can you be so oblivious?” Will said.

“Dude he’s like that with everyone and you have a habit of thinking everyone has a thing for me. You used to think Clint had a thing for me.” I said.

“Yeah used to.” Will said with a snort.

“Come on Love Guru we don’t want to miss our train.” I said.

“Okay but Seriously Cal, this guy is perfect for you. He’s like Columbia’s most eligible bachelor.” Will said.

“Then why would he let you set him up?” I asked.

“Cal you may not realize it but you’re hot. Like smoking hot. I’ve seen at least three guys check you out since we walked out of the building. That’s not even counting Thor. Not only that you’re smart and funny once you let your guard down. You should give him a chance.” Will said.

I sighed. Well what did I have to lose? Worst case I have to sit through a free dinner and make awkward small talk. Best case it actually works out.

“I’ll think about it.” I said.

“That means yes.” Will cheered.

“I said I’d think about it.” I repeated.

Third Person’s POV- A Week Later

Despite the injuries Hayley received and that none of the doctors believed she would make it she had held on. She wasn’t awake but she hadn’t gone into cardiac arrest again.

They still weren’t ready to transfer her to a hospital in New York but the team couldn’t just sit around doing nothing anymore. They had to make their move soon. They had to save Bucky and stop Project insight.

Which brought them to their current predicament. Since the day Hayley went into cardiac arrest the team had taken it upon themselves to make sure there was someone with her at all time but not making anyone stay there longer than a few hours, especially after Clint and Natasha spent three days straight in the room and they lost it on a social worker that tried to talk to them about donating Hayley’s organs. The team had a meeting with Fury and Hill in New York about what they were going to do and how to start taking down Hydra. They all had to be there but no one wanted to leave Hayley.

“Tony.” Steve said walking into Hayley’s room.

“Mh.” Tony hummed not taking his eyes off of Hayley.

“It’s time to go.” Steve said.

“One of us should stay.” Tony said.

“I don’t want to leave either but we can’t keep putting this off. She wouldn’t want that.” Steve said walking closer to Hayley.

“Hill and Fury meeting us at the Tower?” Tony asked.

“Yeah, we still haven’t told them anything and they’re not happy about it.” Steve said.

“Doubt they’ll be happy once we tell them they’ve been working for Nazis for years.” Tony retorted. “or if they’ll even believe us considering Fury still thinks Hayley’s a double agent.”

“With everything Hayley got off of the phone I don’t think he’ll be able to doubt who she’s loyal too.” Steve said holding Hayley’s hand.

“What about him?” Tony said.

“Tony…” Steve sighed.

“He’s a trained assassin that’s tried to kill us. He stabbed Barton and he tried to kill Hayley.” Tony growled.

“He’s a brainwashed assassin. He didn’t get a choice.” Steve retorted.

“The rest of us don’t get to pick and choose Cap. You have two soulmates the rest of us only have one and she’s in a fucking coma. A coma that he put her in and that she might not wake up from.” Tony said raising his voice.

“You think I don’t know that? You think I didn’t feel how cold her mark felt or how the breath got knocked out of her like you did? The only difference is that I’ve lost a soulmate before. I know how that feels Tony and now I have a chance at getting one back but I might lose another one to do it. And…” Steve said choking back a sob. “And I don’t know what to do. The only thing I do know is that Hayley asked me to save Bucky. She did all of this to save Natasha and Bucky. So that’s what I’m going to do. If you want to be angry at me go ahead but we have a job to do.”

“You ever think he might not let you save him?” Tony asked.

“Look through the files, if you went through that would you want to be saved?” Steve answered before Tony left the room.

“Hey beautiful.” Steve said tucking a lock of Hayley’s hair behind her ear. “I read somewhere that people in comas can sometimes hear what’s going on around them. I don’t know if it’s true but if it is we need you to wake up. You never stopped fighting before and you can’t stop now. You still need to meet Bucky, the real one. The one that loved to go dancing and going on dates and used to dream about meeting the girl behind the bird mark. You’re our dream Hayley, his and mine and everyone else’s. We won’t stop fighting for you but you can’t stop either. I love you Hayley, we’re going to go finish what you started but none of that matters if you don’t wake up. So get up sleepyhead.”

Steve leaned down and kissed Hayley’s temple before letting go of her hand. He took one last look at his sleeping soulmate before walking out.

“Ready?” Natasha asked.

“Is the jet ready?” Steve asked.

“Clint’s doing the preflight check.” Natasha said.

“Is that a good idea?” Steve asked.

“He knows what he’s doing.” Natasha said giving Steve a glare letting him know to stop doubting her best friend.

“Are you going to…” Steve asked.

“I was here earlier.” Natasha said walking away.

“You think going after Bucky is a bad idea?” Steve asked her. He knew Natasha wouldn’t hold back words.

“The Winter…” She started before she caught the look Steve was giving her. “Barnes went through decades of torture and conditioning. He’s a strong enemy and he’d make a great ally in helping to take down Hydra. He’d also have great intel.”

“But?” Steve said.

“Steve, I know what he means to you but he’s not the same person you used to know. We can rescue him and try to get him on our side but the Bucky Barnes you knew is gone.” Natasha said.

“He wasn’t himself.” Steve said. “You said it yourself he was tortured and conditioned.”

“Exactly. He’s been through hell and that changes you. He’s killed people and he may not remember right now but eventually that will come back to haunt him. How do you think he’ll react once he remembers what he did to Hayley, once he realizes he almost killed his soulmate?” Natasha said.

“So you think we should just leave him with Hydra?” Steve said angrily.

“I’m saying you should be realistic and lower your expectations. It’s going to be a long road to recovery for him and even then he’s probably going to be a shell of the man you used to know.” She said.

Steve didn’t know what to say to that. He knew she was right he just wished it wasn’t true.

New York- A Few Hours Later

“Romanoff, last we knew you were still being held hostage.” Fury said as he walked in to the conference room with Hill behind him.

“I was, I got rescued.” Natasha said.

“How’d you all find her?” Hill asked.

“We didn’t.” Steve said. “Hayley did.”

“You know the same Hayley you accused of being a double agent, a traitor, of manipulating us…” Tony said with a glare.

“This could all be and act.” Fury said.

“She’s in a coma!” Clint yelled.

“Come again?” Fury said arching an eyebrow.

“Before Hayley left she got through a firewall Adler had on his phone. She found intel on the organization Adler was working for.” Bruce said.

“Who’s he working for?” Hill asked.

“Shield.” Natasha said.

“He worked for SHIELD. He was a double agent.” Fury clarified.

“He would be a double agent if Shield wasn’t actually Hydra.” Steve said.

“That’s not possible.” Hill said.

“Jarvis bring up everything from the black box and play the recording,” Tony said.

"Adler, Calliope Chauncey. Born, 1995." A voice said.

"That is not creepy at all. Why use a firewall when you have a freaky recording." Hayley said.

"I am not a recording fraulein, and I am not an artificial intelligence either." It said.

"And the creepy recording talks back." She answered. "This is not what I was expecting."

"I was once as real as you and your brother fraulein. I may no longer be the man your soulmate took captive in 1945 but my mind still prospers." It said.

"Zola," Hayley said in realization.

"You have heard of me yes?" It said gleefully.

"German Scientist, worked under the Red Skull, had a nasty habit of performing experiments on prisoners of war." She said. "You died in the seventies."

"All true except that I am actually Swiss." It said. "And while my body may have died science found a way to preserve my mind. Stored in two hundred thousand feet of data banks."

"I'm guessing you weren't just a candidate for Project paperclip, you were actually recruited which is how you even had access to the technology you'd need to convert your mind into data that could be stored and processed like this." Hayley said.

"You are smarter than expected Fraulein, they thought I could help their cause, I helped my own." Zola answered.

"And what cause was that because in case that part of your brain didn't get stored, Steve took down the Red Skull and Hydra along with him." She said.

"Cut off one head two more shall take it's place." Zola said

"That's not possible." Hayley said.

"But it is." Zola said. "Accessing Archive."

The screen changed to show a photo of some nazi officer before it changed to show a photo of some American Colonel, Tony's dad, and a young Peggy Carter.

"HYDRA was founded on the belief that humanity could not be trusted with its own freedom. What we did not realize, was that if you try to take that freedom, they resist. The war taught us much. Humanity needed to surrender its freedom willingly. After the war, SHIELD was founded and I was recruited. The new HYDRA grew. A beautiful parasite inside SHIELD. For seventy years HYDRA has been secretly feeding crisis, reaping war. And when history did not cooperate, history was changed." Zola said.

“That’s not possible.” Fury said.

“That’s what she said.” Tony said and Hill and Fury glared at him until the recording continued.

"No, that's not possible. Hadrian, Hanson, Taylor and maybe a few other agents but the entire organization? Someone would have noticed." Hayley said.

"Accidents will happen." Zola retorted showing an old newspaper clipping announcing the assassination of JFK and a photo taken showing the Winter soldier taking the shot before switching to another announcing the death of Tony's parents.

"The Winter Soldier. He's exactly the same now as he was then." She said.

"Hydra's greatest weapon. He will help us bring our new order to life just like he has for the last seventy years." Zola said.

"Seventy? The first recorded sighting was fifty years ago." She said.

"It took some time to break the soldiers minds and put it back together. It was not a perfect reconstruction, requires routine maintenance but he gets the job done." Zola said before the screen changed to show a recording.

Steve sat up to get a closer look at the screen. He hadn’t seen the video himself but Natasha had filled him in.

The Winter soldier was being dragged in by some guards. He was fighting back and he was winning. He punched and kicked. One of the soldiers managed to land a hit on his face making his mask come off. He growled before lunging at the soldier. He looked up at the camera.

"Bucky?" Hayley said recognizing him from the photos Steve had around his apartment.

“Bucky Barnes, your best friend from the forties?” Fury said surprised. “didn’t he…”

"Sergeant Barnes did not perish as the captain so foolishly thought. The Russian sector found him a few days after he fell at the bottom of the ravine. The wild dogs hunted him. Hydra saved him." Zola said.

"You brainwashed him." Hayley said tearing up.

"We liberated his mind from the confines of misconception." Zola said as the video continued playing.

"Restrain him, get him in the chair! He needs to be reprogrammed." One of the Scientists hiding behind the armed soldiers said. 

"Ah!" He shouted as Bucky lunged for him before one of the guards managed to sneak up on him and hit him behind the head. That disoriented him enough for the guards to grab him and restrain him on the chair. He immediately struggled and fought against eth restraints. They shoved something into his mouth before the attachments on the chair started moving. They moved onto the side of his face and onto his skull before there was a buzzing sound and he screamed.

"AHHHH!" he screamed.

Steve shuddered at the sound of his soulmate’s cries. He closed his eyes and looked away.

"No." Hayley cried choking back a sob. "You're monsters."

"HYDRA created a world so chaotic that humanity is finally ready to sacrifice its freedom to gain its security. Once Project insight is complete, HYDRA's new world order will arise. Any threat to our vision present or future will be taken out." Zola said.

"How?" I asked.

"We have the algorithm to select our targets, Shield will give us the means to take out any threats." Zola said displaying a rough blue print of some sort of flying ship with some pretty big guns. "It is a shame you will not get to see it Fraulein, but by then you shall be to dead to see it. Farewell."

“Project Insight?” Fury said.

“You heard right.” Thor said finally speaking up.

“Project Insight is still months away from completion. One hellicarrier’s done but with out the other two it can’t synch to the targeting satellite at least not yet.” Hill said.

“Which is why now’s the best time to stop it.” Bruce said.

“The council will never go for this. They built this in response to New york so we’d never be caught off guard again.” Fury said.

“Well the Secretary of Defense is the Head of Hydra so the project’s already failed on that account.” Tony said.

“What?!” Fury and Hill exclaimed at the same time.

“That’s how Adler was recruited to Shield and managed to climb the ranks.” Natasha said. “They were hiding in plain sight and they’re not the only ones.”

“We don’t have a specific list of Hydra agents but we do have the name of the mole.” Steve said. “Brock Rumlow.”

“Rumlow?” Hill said. “How do you know?”

“How do you think Hayley found me?” Natasha deadpanned.

“They could have been…” Fury started.

“Give it a rest already!” Tony snapped. “There is solid proof. There are files and videos proving SHIELD has been doing Hydra’s dirty work since the day it was founded. We have the link between Adler and Pierce. We have videos where Pierce himself debriefed Barnes. What else do you want?!”

“SHIELD is Hydra.” Fury said. “And Pierce, is the head of Hydra.”

“Yes.” Natasha confirmed sliding a file over to him.

Fury opened the file and read through it. he read every mission report that had Alexander Pierce’s name on it. Once he was done Fury put the file down on the table leaving it open to the first page where there was a photo of Pierce.

“This man declined the Nobel Peace Prize. He said, "Peace wasn't an achievement, it was a responsibility." See, it's stuff like this that gives me trust issues.” Fury said.

“We have to stop the launch.” Natasha said.

“I don't think the Council will agree with you.” Fury said. “Even with all of this they still think a preventative measure is what we need to prevent another invasion.”

“They also thought nuking Manhattan would be a good way to prevent aliens from invading the rest of the world.” Clint retorted.

“Their opinion isn’t important, we just need to know where you two stand.” Steve said.

“Rogers If I was Hydra do you think I would have bothered to put together this team?” Fury retorted.

“Are you going to help us defeat them?” Thor asked.

“Project Insight needs to be stopped. I can’t do anything from the inside without arousing suspicion. They can’t know we’re coming or they’ll launch the one hellicarrier they do have.” Hill said. “The targeting system only works the way it’s supposed to once the Helicarriers reach three thousand feet. There they'll triangulate with Insight satellites becoming fully weaponized.”

“They may not be completely weaponized but they can go up in the air and do some serious damage. We need to breach those carriers and replace their targeting blades with our own.” Fury said.

“One or two won't cut it. We need to link all three carriers for this to work, because if even one of those ships remains operational a whole lot of people are gonna die.” Hill said.

“We have to assume everyone aboard those carriers is HYDRA. We need to get pass them, insert the server blades, and maybe, just maybe, we can salvage what's left...” Fury started.

“We're not salvaging anything.” Steve interrupted. “We're not just taking down the carriers, Nick, we're taking down SHIELD.”

“SHIELD had nothing to do with it.” Fury defended.

“You gave us this mission, this is how it ends. SHIELD's been compromised, you said so yourself. HYDRA grew right under your nose and nobody noticed.” Steve said.

“Except the person you accused of being a traitor.” Tony said.

“Well I’m doing something now.” Fury said.

“How many paid the price before you did?” Steve deadpanned. “SHIELD, HYDRA, it all goes.”

“He's right.” Hill said. Fury turned to Tony.

“Don’t look at me, He’s the boss. I just pay for everything, design everything, make everyone look cooler.” Tony said.

“Everything goes.” Natasha said in agreement. Fury looked around and everyone nodded in agreement.

“Well... Looks like you're giving the orders now, Captain.” Fury said. “Where do we start?”