I don't own anything except any original/own characters and any original plot.

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Chapter 11 - Two Enhanced

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"Remember when we said this was going to be a stealth mission?" I asked sarcastically as I shot at any Hydra agents that were coming near our fast moving Hummers.

I moved to the front to the Hummer, jumping off and into the air. With a small boost from a shield I got over the fence and into the Hydra base. Steve pulled up beside me on his bike, holding out his hand so I could get on beside him. Through the com both of us could hear Tony curse loudly.

"Language," Steve reprimanded, his face grimacing when he realized his mistake.

"Jarvis, how does in look up above?" I asked, holding back a laugh at Steve's slip-up.

"The central building is protected by some kind of energy shield. Strucker's technology is well beyond any other Hydra base we've taken."

"Loki's scepter must be here. Strucker couldn't mount this defense without it. At long last."

"At long last is lasting a little long, boys."

"Hang on a second. Is no one else going to deal with the fact that Cap just said 'language'?"

"I know," Steve sighed, a Hummer neared us, "Jump!"

I jumped off of the motorcycle, somersaulting as Steve threw the bike at the enemy vehicle.

"It just slipped out."

Steve and I went our separate ways to cover the different entrances of the facility. As I was getting ready to jump on an agent something knocked my feet out from under me. I quickly recovered and looked around, nothing. I quickly punched the agent unconscious.

"We have an enhanced on the field."

"People like me? Lovely," I muttered sarcastically. That must have been what knocked me over.

"Clint's hit!"

"I'm on my way," I assured Nat.

Not entirely sure where Clint was, I ran in the last general direction I saw him. On the way there, I knocked out another two guys with hand to hand, and three with a few simple spells. Small drops of what I assumed to be Clint's blood led me to his nearly unconscious form.

"Find out the gender yet?" I asked, trying to draw Clint's attention away from his pain.

"The doctors appointment is tomorrow. Nat's hoping for a gir-" Clint cut himself off with a pained groan when I shifted him, "She's hoping for a girl so we can name it Natasha."

Misty gold sprouted from my hand, surrounding the severe wound. While looking through some of my old spell books a week ago, I had come across a few minor spells that could help injuries that I completely forgot about. Healing an injury entirely wasn't possible and broke the balance of good magic, but speeding up the process, or healing it slightly was a grey area.

"You good?" I helped Clint stand when the spell was finished.

"Yeah, I'm fi- Nope, ow, still bleeding," Clint placed his hand over his wound, "I'm gonna head back to the quinjet. Don't worry, I'll stay out of the fighting."

"You better. I need to get inside to help out. Stay safe," I patted Clint's shoulder, "Your kids need a father."

Trusting Clint to handle himself until he got to the quinjet, I ran off towards the now cleared building. As I was walking up the steps to one of the higher levels, I heard a groan. Turning my head to the source, I gasped and jumped over when I saw Steve, injured at the bottom.

"There's a second enhanced, female. Do not engage," Steve lifted his hand to the com in his ear.

Walking up the stairs, together this time, the glow of a computer caught our attention. Strucker was waiting inside, casually, as if he hadn't been a thorn in the Avengers' side for the past year.

"You're going to need to be faster than tha-"

I punched the man across the face, sending him back onto the table. Shaking out my fist with a wince, I grinned at Steve proudly. He chuckled, shaking his head at my strange pride.

"I've got the scepter," Tony reported.

"We've got Strucker. Let's head home."

~*~

I finished wrapping Clint's bandages, placing them back in the bin before giving him a thumbs up. He smiled in thanks, lying down on the section of seats he had been formerly sitting on.

"Doctor Cho will heal you entirely with her technology when we get back," I stated, before walking over to join Tony, Steve and Thor in their conversation.

"Banner and I'll give it the once before it goes back to Asgard. Is that cool with you?" Thor nodded in response to Tony's question, "I mean, just a few days until the farewell party. You're staying right?"

"Yes, yes, of course. A victory should be honored with revels," Thor cheered merrily.

"Yeah. Who doesn't love revels, Captain?"

"Getting the scepter is a large step in dealing with the remnants of Hydra," I spoke up, "It is actually a good reason to celebrate. Mind if I seal Steve?"

"Go ahead, have your couple time, talk about freedom, or whatever it is you two do."

Rolling my eyes at Tony's words, I took Steve's hand and led him over to a darker corner of the quinjet, away from the others.

"You did great out there today," I grinned, glad to have a moment alone, even if the others were near, "The motorcycle move was quite interesting."

"I'm glad, I thought you would like it."
"Rest assured that I did," I chuckled, "When we get home we could cross another movie off of your list? One both of us haven't seen. What would that call for? Chinese or italian?"

"Italian," Steve chose after a brief deliberation, "It seems more fitting, as a victory meal that is."

"Makes sense. I would love for you to try some food from my planet, but many of the animals and plants here are completely different. It'd just be a sad excuse for a substitute," I sighed, looking out the quinjet window. There was a small ache in my chest, a longing I hadn't felt, well, ever.

"Do you miss Orveon?" Steve noticed my distant look.

"I- I don't think so," not recognizing the feeling I denied the claim, "There's nothing to miss. I talk to my parents and my brother when I can, I still have some books about magic from there. I've been away for so long...Earth is my home now."

"You can call a place you're home, but you can still have roots in other places."

"Since when are you the Great Prophet Falkor?" I nudged Steve's side, knowing it was highly unlikely he knew what I was talking about, "Stories said he once owned the Time Stone, and that was how he made his predictions."

"Interesting," Steve mumbled, confused.

"Just do the Midgardian thing and nod like you know what I'm talking about," Steve did as I said, and I smiled appreciatively, "Maybe instead of learning Earth's culture you should learn Orveonian culture."

"One step at a time," Steve's comparatively larger hand found mine, rubbing small circles on the back, "I don't even understand hoverboards yet."

After another hour on the quinjet, spent chatting with the others and resting in small intervals, we arrived back at the Avengers Tower. Maria and Doctor Cho were waiting for us as we landed.

"What's the word on Strucker?" Steve asked, walking alongside Maria and I.

"NATO's got him."

"And the two enhanced?" I spoke up. The two had intrigued me. While Steve could be considered enhanced, there weren't any other enhanced humans I had heard of that weren't involved in the mystic arts.

"Wanda and Pietro Maximoff, twins. Orphaned at ten when a shell collapsed their apartment building. Sokovia's had a rough history. It's nowhere special but it's on the way to everywhere special."

"Their abilities?"

"He's got increased metabolism and improved thermal homeostasis. Her thing is neural electric interfacing, telekinesis, mental manipulation. He's fast and she's weird."

The three of us stepped inside of the elevator. Steve and I pressed our floor while Maria pressed one of the tech floors. It was where she had set up shop and normally worked.

"Well, they're going to show up again."

"Agreed. File says they volunteered for Strucker's experiments. It's nuts," Maria shook her head.

"Right. What kind of monster would let a German scientist experiment on them for their country?" Steve asked sarcastically, obviously referring to himself.

"We're not at war, Captain."

"They are," Steve and I stepped off on our floor, avoiding eye contact with maria as the doors closed again.

"You got a but heated back there," I stated, pulling up few Italian restaurants nearby that did takeout.

"Maria has good intentions, but she doesn't understand, not like I do. Outside countries could look at me and think the same thing everyone else does about those kids."

"We'll work things out Steve, maybe they're a Bucky type situation. You never know," I reassured the man, placing an order with a restaurant. One of Tony's interns would bring it up.

"You really think we're going to find him?" Steve sat down on the couch, mindlessly fiddling with one of the remotes.

"I know we will. When I shifted into you, it was like he was Bucky Barnes again. He saved my life, I'm sure of it," I plucked the remote from his hand, "Let's do something fun, Disney maybe?"

"Disney would be nice," Steve nodded in agreement.

"What about...Brave? It looks interesting, and the main characters hair kind of reminds me of a style Nat used to do."

"Go for it," Steve pulled my close, kissing my temple.

~*~

An hour and a half, some tissues, and pasta and breadsticks later, we were at the end of the movie. Staying close to each other on the couch, we idly watched as the credits rolled up the screen, enjoying the music playing in the background.

I was surprised at how much I related to the film. The main character wanted to change her fate. One action sent her into adventure. But, in the end, her bond with her family strengthened. Mine was fraying, threatening to snap if pressure was applied to it.

"Steve, what's it like to be masforn- er, homesick, sorry."

Steve gave me a curious look, but told me all the same, "It's this ache in your chest a longing for the feelings you had when you were last there. You're constantly thinking about it. Are you homesick?"

"You've already asked me that," I chuckled, no humor in my tone.

"You asked me what it felt like. You've never felt it before, but you think you might be. So, are you homesick?"

"I think I am, I don't know. It's weird. I've never missed home, I wasn't meant to stay there and rot on a throne. But, I do miss it. I miss our moons, and my family. Atreya, I even miss the warblers."

"Maybe you can talk to your family more, fix up your relationship. It's a good first step."

"You're right," filled with a new form of determination, I jumped off of the couch, "I'll call them to tell then I miss them, and that I want to visit in the next year or two!"

"That's the spirit! While you're doing that, I can handle the dishes. Go, call them."

"You're the best, love you," I pecked Steve's cheek, rushing off to grab my tele-pad. It was one of the few things from my planet that travelled everywhere with me. Taking a seat on the edge of the bed, I ran a hand through my hair, detangling it a bit, "Hixt Ejo ke Gysk."

The pad flashed for a few moments, sending the signal out to my homeworld. After a short wait, the blank screen blossomed with color, revealing my parents.

"Byph," I greeted cheerfully. I then noticed the servants carrying different things behind them, "Fah hew todst?"

"Oru," Mom answered shortly, "Kar hew yulm?"

"Oru, oru," I assured, "Vuzt hew."

"Vuzt hew," my parents ended the call abruptly.

Sighing disappointedly I set my pad on the dresser. They were royals, they were always busy. Being upset about them not being able to talk was illogical.

"Hey," Steve leaned against the doorframe, "That was quick. How'd it go?"

"They were busy, probably preparing for a celebration," I thought over what time of the year it would be back home, "I think the celebration day for Atreya is coming up," I ran my hands under my eyes, "I just thought they would make some time, just a little bit. I guess I really have been away for a long time if I thought that."

After I laughed humorlessly, Steve sat down on the bed next to me. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders, pulling me so I was facing him head on. I looked down at my hands, attempting to hide my quivering lip. Cupping his other hand under my cheek, he guided my face up.

"I was so excited to talk to them about visiting home again," I broke down, my arms wrapping themselves around Steve's torso, "I haven't heard their voices in a year and they just shut me down."

"It's okay," Steve trailed his fingertips up and down my back, trying to soothe me, "Everything's going to be alright."

"This is a stupid thing to cry about. I haven't even worried about my home since I left and now I'm crying over a small inconvenience."

"You've never felt homesick before, this is new. Besides, it's okay to cry. Feeling like you can't isn't logical," Steve soothed, his voice low and hypnotic, "Don't punish yourself for things you can't control."

"Thank you," I hugged Steve just a bit tighter, enjoying everything that made him, well, him.

The string connecting me to my family was frayed, and would either break or strengthen in the future, but there were more strings in my life. I had made new connections on Earth, a new home, new family. Even though Orveon still called out to me, I was feeling a little less homesick.