redoktober

[redoktober]

James coaxing people out of hiding? Now that was funny. She parted her lips to respond but her gaze was drawn to the light tapping at the window. Redwing had returned, it seemed, and he wasn’t empty-handed. “I’ll be damned,” she stated, “don’t tell Rogers about this. He’ll never get out of his place.”

redoktober :

And there it was.

Natasha was quiet for an instant, the question having rocked her usually-perfect composure. Once she’d completely exhaled for a beat of five, she nodded. “Yeah,” she replied, “I’ve never been one to completely follow regulation. You?”

“Yeah,” he replied, smirking at her comment. Didn’t he know it. “Bucky and I are planning on getting him out of his hotel room for his birthday. The old man needs to get out more.”

[redoktober]

“You are doing something,” Natasha noted and dared to advance on the other, “you’re training. You’re learning to harness your abilities. You’re getting stronger.” The idea of several untrained enhanced assets in the field attempting to take down Zemo made her skin crawl. “There’s a lot of strength in restraint. When he shows his hand, we’ll exploit his weaknesses and he’ll pay for what he’s done. Have faith, Wanda. He won’t get away with it.”

redoktober:

“Staying here isn’t my idea of a good time either,” Natasha effectively countered, “he kidnapped and tortured two of my closest friends, including my partner. He mentally twisted my-” She paused. What the hell did she call James? Boyfriend seemed too passive. “James. It’s been hell and I’d love nothing more than to settle that score, but we can’t move before he shows his hand. It’s the down-side of passive reconnaissance. I’m sorry, Wanda. We have to maintain our distance.”

Closing the door, Wanda sighed slumping up against it. “I know you’re right about it but I don’t want you to be. That’s what makes it worse because I just want to do something.” she said. “You’re better at this, what do you do in times like this? Because I feel like I should be doing something to help.”

[redoktober]

“I’ll take that as a yes,” she clicked her tongue in contemplation, “the most the rest of us got was one of his awful post-battle smoothies, so it looks like you came out ahead. Is that how he roped you into meeting with Ross this morning?”

redoktober :

“We’re all still pissed about Sokovia,” she noted as she returned with a glass in her hand, “just not for the same reasons.” Natasha offered it to Rhodes. “Did Tony ever thank you for stepping in when you did?”

Rhodey took the glass, his lips curving into a smirk. Oh yeah, there was a lot about Sokovia everyone was pissed about. “If by thank you, you mean did he say he’d upgrade parts of my armor? Then yes, he did.”

[redoktober]

“I understand if you don’t want to tag along-... As fun as our past interrogations were,” she stated with a slight upward quirk of her lips, “you can always be the devil on my shoulder.” Natasha gestured to the comm unit in her ear.

redoktober :

Natasha didn’t hesitate and nodded. Clint was more than welcome to come with her, but she understood any reservations on his part. “We need answers,” she stated, “if he did something to compromise Steve or negotiated the earth on behalf of the rest of us, then it’s best we find out now.”

Clint agreed with her. Part of him wanted to go with her, but every time he seemed to confront Loki, it never ended well. “Knowing him, he probably did. I’d, for one, like to know what he’s up to.”

[redoktober]

Natasha was stunned into silence by this revelation. Not only was James not the only Winter Soldier, he had managed to keep this secret from her all this time-… Or it had been forcibly removed from her memory. She stared out the window in contemplation, watching the landscape as it slowly crawled beneath them, and then eventually made her outburst. She swatted him across his natural arm once. The gesture asked him if he was out of his mind before her lips could.

“How the hell could you keep that from us?” she inquired, “If there are others out there with your abilities and the Soviet programming, they’re a security risk. Borders could be breached, governments could be toppled, and all Zemo would have to do is say the magic phrases.”

God, she felt a migraine coming on.

She exchanged a sharp glance with Stark. She’d prefer if he stayed out of it – she trained under James and could disarm another solider if necessary – but she didn’t voice this request. He was as hard-headed as the armor he donned; he wouldn’t listen even if she asked nicely. “This’ll change our extraction plan,” she mused, “if things get messy in there, I think it might be best that we vacate. We can always hunt him down and settle the score, but we can’t take back a single miscalculation.”

Quotes from the past

sgt-barnes:

redoktober:

Leave it to Stark to have contingencies on top of contingencies. Natasha remained silent as he explained the long and short of it and eyed the headphones carefully. They could very well stand between life and death; if James were to be compromised again, he had enough intimate knowledge of the compound to bring them down from the inside. She had to trust his resolve. In the face of imminent danger, James was an immovable force. She nodded once Stark was finished and ran a reassuring hand up James’ arm. It would work. 

She rose from her position and took the seat next to James, her eyes temporarily grazing the landscape below. “Home sweet home,” she mused. After a moment, she pressed her lips together and leaned forward. “Where do you want me?” she inquired to no one in particular.

       Bucky looked up at Tony when he approached him, then the box in his hands. He listenned carefully to his words while he took and opened the box to find those headphones that were supposed to protect him from the words and the programming. The soldier wasn’t really sure, not that he didn’t trust Stark’s technology but there always was risks. Afraidmaybe there was other ways to activate him he didn’t remember. But fortunately it would be the last time he would ask himself that question again. “ Thanks, Tony. At least if we find nothing… there’ll always be those. ” He tried a smile to thank him and looked at Natasha when he felt her hand. A more honest smile crossed his lips only for her. One smile for a hundred words. It was a relief to have her by his side. 

       He watched her sit down next to him, following her own look. He quivered a bit. “ I would not call it home. ” Just a place with a hundred memories, not the happiest, only the short ones with her. James sighed at those, so far away and focused on their task. “ Well, it depends a lot if the place is still alive or not. I can’t tell. Didn’t put a feet in here for decades. If it’s not, well, we’re just here to find information. But if it is… ” He licked his lips, not really wanting to tell them if what he feared was right or not. “ We must be prepared to fight. The place is high so it wouldn’t be a problem for Tony to fly with the suit. I suggest we both stay on the ground and from there… Well, I know you prefer to be on top of the fights, so I’ll take under. ”

       James took a deep breath and decided to go for it. “ There’s… I’m not – sure, but… Maybe they’re dead by now, maybe not. But if they’re here… ” He pressed his lips together and looked up to both of them. “ I’m not the only one. I’m not… the only Winter Soldier. ”

Tony nodded and took a step back. He crossed his arms and gave them a little intimacy. Not to feel like a third wheel or anything, but some pep talk was a good thing.  He was looking out of the window, when James started to bring up a detail Tony did not know about.  He cocked an eyebrow and gave him a vers 111000% done -couldn’t you have said that before   look before sighing. “О Боже”  Tony ranted and went to sit down on his pilot seat.  “  Просто чертовски здорово “

[redoktober]

the-guardian-devil:

Matt smiled and stayed quiet about who he was beating on the lower east side. “You remember the incident of the tunnel of Hell Kitchen ?” It was only about a year ago, it was a rhetorical question. “And the monster of Central park ?” Still a rhetorical question, nobody could forget a dinosaur in New York so he really asked. “I need to read what the SHIELD has about those two incidents.”

“Like I said, it’s important.”

The incidents were both high-profile and forced Natasha to slow her pace. She turned to face Matt slowly and folded her arms over her chest. “A lot of these are heavily redacted,” she stated to gauge his reaction, “but I’m sure you want the originals. Why? What is it that you’re looking for, Matthew?”

[redoktober]

colonelrhodeyrhodes:

“Oh, you know, wanting to know what the Avengers are doing and when we are going to implode. I think he’s still pissed about Sokovia.”

“We’re all still pissed about Sokovia,” she noted as she returned with a glass in her hand, “just not for the same reasons.” Natasha offered it to Rhodes. “Did Tony ever thank you for stepping in when you did?”

[redoktober]

samfalconwilson-avenger:

“Alright, you got a point,” Sam acknowledged, taking a drink of his own beer. “So, have you been to see Cap yet?” There was no point ignoring the huge elephant in the room at this point.

And there it was.

Natasha was quiet for an instant, the question having rocked her usually-perfect composure. Once she’d completely exhaled for a beat of five, she nodded. “Yeah,” she replied, “I’ve never been one to completely follow regulation. You?”

[redoktober]

iron-ic-stark:

“No we can’t. A shame really. “  Tony mused.  “ See , we made it , our legacy will be in jokes , hopefully good ones, although I highly doubt it. “  The man stopped for a second. She made ure to bring back to life, the days in that cabin were their secret , it had been ugly. After the lat 2 years,  Tony considered Natasha to be her right arm, the most trusted person he had in the Avengers.  “Well “  he looked around.  “ we have all the city at our feet.  Pick something you never could do before, and we’ll try to not get arrested. “  Tony joked.

Natasha laughed and shook her head. “It’s your birthday, not mine,” she countered, “and, besides: seeing you get arrested would be one hell of a birthday gift for me.” The last part was accompanied by a wink and an implied jail-break (naturally). “What about you?” she asked, facing him directly, “What’s something Tony Stark - the man who has everything - always wanted to do but couldn’t?”

[redoktober]

shootstraight-nevermiss:

“As far as I’m tracking, he is. Unless Thor did something with him that we don’t know about yet. You gonna talk to him?”

Natasha didn’t hesitate and nodded. Clint was more than welcome to come with her, but she understood any reservations on his part. “We need answers,” she stated, “if he did something to compromise Steve or negotiated the earth on behalf of the rest of us, then it’s best we find out now.”

[redoktober]

colonelrhodeyrhodes:

“I’m trying to cool off after the meeting I had with General Ross this morning.”

Natasha visibly scoffed and tilted her head. “Then maybe you need a drink,” she suggested light-heartedly, “what’d he want?”

[redoktober]

onceupona-cxpt:

         Steve appreciated the momentary silence. It gave him a minute to prepare for the conversation in his head. Natasha was notorious for bringing light to things that needed attention. He admired that about her: where most would stay silent and just avoid the subject, she took it upon herself to get things back to a normal vibe.

                         He managed a smile at the question. 

                    Even if he didn’t want to particularly answer it.

          “As much as I’m sure you’re wanting an answer for that, Nat.                              I can’t say I have one for you.                                    I don’t really know.”

Natasha inhaled slowly through her nose and sipped the hot water to keep from opening another point of inquiry. She didn’t want Steve to feel like he was being interrogated. Her capacity to befriend others was limited given her extensive history of false identities, but she considered Steve among the limited few. She had to know.

Seeing him smile was encouraging, even if he danced around her question. It was impressive to see him hold himself together, given that he’d been forcibly ripped from his own life twice.

It seemed he was in good company.

“Can’t say that I blame you,” she replied, “but you know better than anyone that I’ll keep trying.” She lowered the cup onto the saucer and stopped then, studying the slightly unkempt man. She pressed her lips together and angled her body to face him. She wanted to apologize, to welcome him back, to give him hell and everything in between but wasn’t able to coherently voice any of them. “What do you need?” she inquired instead.

[redoktober]

shootstraight-nevermiss:

Clint took a breath and nodded. “Yeah, I know, not exactly the most reliable of sources….but you got to admit the timing is weird.”

“Yeah,” she agreed, her eyes flitting from side to side as she processed the revelation, “since when does Loki not have an agenda?” She paused. “He’s still in his cell?” she inquired.

[redoktober]

didnseethatcomingpietro:

“With this? You know I don’t really need a gun, right?”

She shot him a look that effectively communicated where her next few shots were going to go if he didn’t get with the program. “Thirteen hostiles,” she called out.

[redoktober]

samfalconwilson-avenger:

Sam looked around and nodded with a deep chuckle. “Yeah, something like that. Although I don’t know if it’s possible to have a level head around here. Y’all have some insane shit going on around here.”

“We just sent a falcon to go retrieve pizza,” she offered in counter-point to his statement with a sly smirk, “I think you’ll be fine.” Steve suddenly reappearing, though-... That was something else entirely. She tipped the neck of the bottle back and sipped at its contents thoughtfully.

[redoktober]

shootstraight-nevermiss:

“But it makes no sense! How is it one minute he’s just laying there and then Thor tells us one thing and he just….wakes up?”

“Clint, you’re shouting,” she gently reminded him, her eyes fervidly glancing from one side to the other in the event they were being monitored. She leaned in and caught her partner’s eyes. “It’s complicated,” she began, “just like everything that followed an actual Norse God falling out of the sky. Thor’s source on this was Loki, right?”

[redoktober]

loki-masterofchaos:

“I’d say to let me go , but that is something falling under  want and not need. “ Loki replied.  “I need my eyes, but those you cannot give me back. “ he stated.  “ I hear you mortals have something called… audiobook ?  Someone reading the novel , right ?  Can you give me one of those ? To pass the time ?”

There was a beat of contemplation before she nodded in compliance. “I can do that,” she replied, “is there anything in particular that holds your interest?” It would be easy enough to obtain a throwaway phone with the app on it, she reasoned, and he was being cooperative. She’d just need someone in IT to disable any incoming and outgoing communication capabilities.