t w e n t y - t w o / don't be a nut

"You're late," were Steve's first words. 

Nat rolled her eyes and brushed her hair out of her eyes. "A queen is never late, everyone else is simply early."

Steve nodded with a disbelieving smile on his face. "And what movie is that from?" 

The redhead unsuccessfully tried to hold in the blush that crept up her cheeks, dying them crimson. "Not telling," she whispered, and brushed past him, looking around. "So where's Cara and Wanda?"

"If they were with us, don't you think we'd be able to get out of here?" Sam crossed his arms, slightly annoyed at the fact that she hadn't really taken in their situation.

The whole amount of time they'd spent on the mysterious island now totaled up to be too long in everyone's opinion. If it was possible to get inside the facility and take the girls back, they would have, and would have gotten their asses off of that island in a heartbeat. 

But Skull had kept surprising them from the moment they'd heard about them, and now, looking up at the facility that seemed to have planted itself there, a fist clenched down on each of their hearts, the hope trickling out of them. 

"So...are we going to just sit here and tiptoe our way in, or go totally ape shit on these assholes?" Sam asked, clearing his throat and ending the silence. 

"We'll go quietly," Steve replied, just as Tony called out, "I vote ape shit." 

The two men met each other's eyes and had a silent argument before Steve turned to face the rest of the group who were waiting for an answer. "We're going to do this quietly, but as we all know, we're bound to go...crazy before long."

Nat smirked at his hesitance to swear, but didn't comment on it, just nodded in agreement. "I mean, I'm sure as hell not going down without a fight."

-

Cara bent her head down to her chest. "Anything?"

From across the cell, Wanda shook her head, rubbing her temples in an attempt to soothe her sore, worn out mind. "It seems to be a selective connection. I was able to get inside Steve's head before, but now it's like a black void. I'm stuck inside my own head."

"Can't you get to Pietro or something?" Cara suggested. "I mean, he's your brother."

Wanda's lips were set in a grim line when the teen looked up. "That's not how this works," she said sadly, "it doesn't matter that he's my twin, I still can't get to him. And I don't know why." She looked around the cell suspiciously. "It must have something to do with the structure of this cell. Some type of technology must be blocking the brain waves going in and out."

"Wow," Cara scoffed, painfully impressed, "for a group of amateurs, they're actually quite the opposite."

"I know," Wanda agreed, "I just hope Steve and the others have found that out. And if not, I hope they figure it out soon enough."

-

The plan was this:

Natasha and Peter would go in quietly with Clint, and find the girls, get them out, and then join the fight against Skull. The goal was to keep Peter out of the line of fire for as long as possible. They couldn't have something happen to Cara's cousin on a rescue mission for her.

Besides, Steve had thought, she'd be beyond furious with me if I even let him near a fight. 

But he was useful, he decided, and put him with Natasha, the best spy he'd ever met, and Clint, the most accurate archer in the world, on the most important part of the mission: retrieve what was their's, and hopefully collect more information about Skull that would be crucial to their defeat. 

While the three of them were occupied doing that, the rest of them would spread out around the expanse of the building, waiting for the signal to charge in. You didn't have to look carefully to pick out which part of the plan was calm and which part was categorized as "going ape shit."

"You really think this is going to work?" Scott asked Sam out of curiosity. He was standing in his suit, helmet in his hands. 

Sam didn't face him as he answered in a determined tone. "Of course it's going to work. I follow Steve with everything I've got. I do everything he does, just slower."

Scott nodded, unsure of what that answer was supposed to give him. Confidence? Reassurance? He just wanted to help the great Avengers, the thing he'd wanted to do for the longest time after adopting the alias of Ant-man. And he hoped it would become a normal thing for him; working at Baskin Robbins was starting to get on his nerves. 

He stood quietly after that, his facial expressions betraying none of his anxiousness. He just waited, like everyone else was, for the signal from Natasha. 

-

A little disheartened, Cara tried for a joke. "What did one saggy boob say to the other saggy boob?"

"Excuse me?" Wanda's eyes were narrowed as she looked at her friend, a million questions in her eyes. "What are you talking about?"

"It's a joke, just play along," Cara rolled her eyes. "Now, answer."

"I don't know, what did it say?" The brunette crossed her arms and sat with her back up against the wall, legs stretched out in front of her. 

"If we don't get some support, people will start thinking we're nuts!" Cara snorted, and watched as the pun sank into Wanda's head, her confused expression easing into one of laughter.

"I've got another one," Cara said, not waiting for an answer, "what do you call the ID that belongs to a pair of boobs?"

"What's up with the--nevermind," Wanda brushed her question away, realizing that she wouldn't understand the answer either. "Um, what?"

"Iden-titties," Cara called out softly to her friend, shoulders shaking with the humor that she'd missed so much. She wasn't just sarcastic, she could make up some pretty good jokes, as well. Of course, she couldn't tell them to Steve, as his cheeks would burst with color, despite his attempts to act as if he were completely comfortable with the situation. 

Wanda's eyes were unfocused as she said, "Yeah...that one was...a good one..." she squeezed her eyes shut.

"What, you didn't like that one? That's okay, I've got a lot more. Why does Santa have such a big sack?"

But the pretty girl held up a hand. "It's Steve. I can reach him again."

The remaining line of the joke was forgotten, and Cara scrambled over to sit next to her friend, holding her hand tightly. "You can do it, Wanda, tell him--"

"Stop distracting me," she begged, and leaned her head against the wall of the cell, waiting for the rest of Steve's mind to surround her.

-

Steve was standing next to Tony when he felt it. A tiny intruder entering his mind. For a second, nothing happened, but then Wanda's voice was echoing inside his brain, cancelling out everything else that was around him. 

Steve.

I'm here, he tried to let her know. 

There's something you need to know.

Fear gripped him. What if something was wrong? What if they had been moved to another place, another, more invisible island than this? What if all of this had been for nothing?

But that's not what Wanda said. Instead, her news succeeded in knocking him back a few steps, teetering on his feet. 

Tony grabbed his arm and steadied his friend. "What happened?" He asked, a droplet of genuine concern in his eyes.

Steve inhaled a deep breath, not speaking for a second. When he did, his voice shook with shock that still took over his body.

"It's Bucky," he said, "he's here."

i'm totally in the writing mood it makes me so happy

but my dog keeps scratching on the door and i'm a little pisSED about it