Chapter Text
Chapter 2: Broken Family
Unknown location. Unknown date.
She fell flat on her back, the bamboo stick falling a few feet from her. Above her, a large man shook his head.
“Get up. You wanted this training. You came to me. Get up.”
It took all of her strength to push herself up onto her knees. Her hand was shaking when she reached over to get her stick, clutching it tightly as she moved to her feet. Taking the stance, she fixed her eyes on her teacher. She wanted this more than anything. To be a fighter and defend herself and those who can’t defend themselves.
She was the creator of her fate and this is what she choose for herself.
“I want this.” She snarled, pushing her aching body forward to strike. He moved like water, block her attack with one motion. “I need this!” Ducking down she kicked out one of her feet to his left knee. He lost his balance for a second and she ramped the top of her bamboo stick into his throat.
He choked and dropped his stick, giving her an opening.
Using the stick to balance herself, she raised herself up onto and slammed her heel into his nose. Blood poured out of his nose and she dropped herself to the ground at the same time he hit it.
“I can do this.”
Avengers Compound. May 2017.
Clint bit into the bright red apple as he watched Toni.
The whole someone breaking in had – finally – brought her into the compound for more than ten minutes. The office just off to the side of the living room was light up with holograms of the cameras around the area. Steve stood just a few steps away from entering, watching the short genius as she moved about.
The blonde man looked almost defended. Clint couldn’t blame him for the feeling – Toni had barely said hi to him before going into the office. Barnes, the scary bastard, was lurking in the only shadowy part of the office. His eyes also never left Toni.
This whole thing was starting to creep Clint out.
“Has she found anything?” He called out, laying across the coffee table on his stomach. Steve opened his mouth but Toni’s voice drifted over first.
“ She is right here. And would have said something.”
“Yeah, right.”
He meant it as a joke but from Toni’s shift shoulders and Steve Eyebrows of Disappointment, his tone was off. Again. He was trying to patch things up with Toni – he knows he fucked up. The talk he and Steve had after the whole Raft things was clear.
“That fucking bitch! She just locked up!” Clint wanted to punch something. “And attacked you after Sam sent her as friend! She’ll fucking pay, man, I swear.” Wanda, Scott and Sam were in the front part of the QuinJet while Clint had followed Steve to the back. He was still bruised up and Clint knew those wounds. They were from the Iron Woman armor. He’d seen her fight enough times to know what it looked liked.
He wanted to raise Hell on Stark.
“Clint. Stop.” Steve’s voice was hard, back tense as he washed his hands.
“No, I won’t. She-“
“Clint.” Steve spoke hard. “Toni didn’t lock you guys up. Ross did.”
“She left us there!”
“Natasha sent me a text!” Steve tossed his phone to Clint, arms crossed over his bare chest. “Read it.” Clint scowled but his eyes looked down.
[ From Natasha. 11:47 PM ]
I’m sending the location of the Raft; you’re close by. Toni is going to put it in blackout mood between 1:15 AM and 2:00 AM. You have a forty five minute window. Use it.
Clint’s head shot back up. Toni did this. She sent Natasha to send Steve their location. That meant Toni wasn’t able to get past Ross and decided to say ‘fuck it’. Warmth filled his chest at the thought. She didn’t want to leave them in there. She knew they didn’t belong there.
At the same time, though. . .
“But this doesn’t make up for whatever happened at the bunk-“
“That was partly my fault.” Guilt just seemed to pour out of Steve. Moving past Clint he landed hard on a chair. “I take the blame for it. The entire situation wouldn’t have happened if I had just-“ He paused, rubbing at his eyes. “It’s not my story to tell.”
“You can’t say all of that and not tell me, Steve. She still looks like the bad guy.”
“She’s not!” Steve took a deep breath. “Just. . . Understand this Clint: I was not innocent.”
Clint had called Natasha and she’d meet up with them. She had broken the Accords and Ross wanted her too. Toni had sent her away, knowing it was the only way to keep Natasha out of jail too. Natasha said they both said some things that hurt the other but that Toni had given her a warning to move out now as to not be caught.
Once every few months, Steve would talk to Toni and be near tears. Whatever had happened back then, Steve was right.
He was guilty of something.
Even Barnes looked guilty about something but no one would say anything. Natasha even seemed to know and while she treated Steve no different now, during the first few months on the run she refused to even look at him.
And Clint saw how Toni wasn’t in the public spotlight for a few months after. A part of him – that still fights to speak and gets him in trouble when it wins – had thought that she was milking it. But during her first public appearance in almost four months, Clint saw it.
The new arc reactor poking out of her dress.
It had been taken out back in 2013. But that was it, plain as day. When Clint had pointed it out, Steve flinched. Clint really didn’t want to think that Steve had something to do with it. After all, the guy had been pining for Toni since after the Battle of New York. But she had been with Pepper and even after the two broke up, Steve wasn’t sure she was interested.
She definitely was, but not anymore.
‘Captain Dad and Iron Mom’ was a joke of the past.
“Wait-“ Toni’s voice broke Clint was his thoughts, shifting himself to stand and move closer. Sam and Natasha appeared out of fucking nowhere, the assholes. “Between 5:48 AM and 5:53 AM, there’s a copy of the five minutes before.”
“What does that mean?” Thank God it was who Steve got the ‘are you fucking serious’ look from Toni. She sighed and brought up two videos. Sam moved closer and furrowed his brows.
“It’s the same. Frame by frame.” Toni nodded.
“Exactly. It was during those minutes that someone sneaked in and put that letter in. Then replaced the footage with the minutes beforehand. Smart, since it was a quiet morning and the wind was barely moving. But it was the shadow of a bird flying across that clued me in on the fact. Hell, they even managed to change the timestamp.” She paused. “I kinda wanna hire them.”
Clint snickered, a large grin on his. He almost fist pumped the air when Toni returned it with a small smile. Closed off, but he’d take it. Steve looked unimpressed and narrowed his eyes.
“Toni, they’re threatening Wanda.”
“They sent a piece of paper with a date.” Toni raised her brow, arms crossed. It wasn’t the letter that had them fucked up, it was the fact that someone broke in. A date isn’t threatening; it was a personal date to Wanda, yes, but nothing that threatened her life.
Steve looked like he wanted to argue but Barnes marched forward and studied the videos over Toni’s head. She nearly jumped and just huffed at him.
“Whoever they are, they’re good at stealth. Having avoided the other cameras and the sensors all together.” Toni sighed leaning on the worktable. Huh. That was the most Clint has ever heard Barnes speak.
It was a little unsettling.
“They know my systems. My codes.” She mumbled, but Clint read her lips.
Steve pushed into Toni’s space but Clint saw the barely there flitch. How Steve paused and took a half a step back. Glancing over, he shared a look with Natasha. After a few moments, she shook her head and turned back to them. Clint turned up his hearing aids so he could hear.
“Are you saying this is an inside job?”
“One,” Toni snarled, “don’t ever imply my employees are traitors . Two, I didn’t say that. I’m not the only tech genius out there – if they try hard enough, work long enough, anyone of them could have figured it out. My tech is good, Rogers, but not unhackable.”
She was glaring and while Steve had taken another step back, he still held her gaze.
“Can’t we just,” Sam slide in between the two heavyweight Superheroes, “try and put up a trap? I mean, this won’t be the last one, right? We have to be able to come up with something to catch them. If not for the letter directly, then for breaking into private property.”
Toni nodded, passed a knowing look to Clint before turning away and past Barnes to grab her car keys. Clint took a deep breath and bit his tongue. “I have a few ideas. I’ll send them over once I’m done with my meeting.”
Steve stepped forward, reaching for Toni’s arm. She shifted out of his grasp and kept walking. “SI meeting?” He called out, moving past Natasha and Clint. A part of Clint wanted to know too. Toni used to – before Ultron, before Wanda – tell them about her meetings. Those days were over, clearly. Her back was still to them.
“It’s my business, Rogers.”
Then she was gone.
“Well, stayed for long than ten minutes this time.” Sam said, walking up to Steve’s side. Steve’s hands were over his face, and Clint saw more than heard the sigh.
“How do I fix this? I fucked up, I fucked up our relationship with her, i-“
“Steve, man,” Clint landed a hand on his shoulder. “The cracks were there. If Ultron hadn’t of happened, this whole ‘Civil War’ might not of happened.” Steve could blame himself but Toni did start it. Steve may have furthered the cracks, but Toni created them with a murder-bot.
“We should have tried to understand better.” Steve mumbled, moving to the couch and laying himself back against it. “Something happened in that bunker when she went in. Before that, she wanted Thor to take it off world for what Loki-“ He glanced at Clint before his eyes moved towards the ceiling.
There was a silence that drifted over the group, a silence that Clint hated. This whole situation was bullshit. Toni was barely talking to them, they were basically on house arrest with a babysitter and someone had broken into the Compound to get a letter to Wanda.
The Avengers used to be mighty, they used to be on top of the world.
Now look at them.
It was enough to turn Clint’s stomach. He threw the apple into the trash. He had lost his appetite.
Sam sat back on the couch, not even watching what was on TV.
He had tried to talk to Wanda, but the rest mist still floated around the edges of her door. It had even wrapped around his wrist to pull his hand from her door. She didn’t want to talk, not even to Steve or Clint. Natasha hadn’t even tried, deeming it useless.
“She’ll come out when she’s ready.”
Three days was long enough to hide. Had she even eaten? Or did she leave her room when the rest of them were sleeping? Sam wasn’t sure but he was worried about her.
“-nderstand.” Rhee walked in, phone pressed to his ear and suit in perfect shape. Black hair was carefully styled, face clean shaved that showed a strong jawline. Sam watched their babysitter for a few moments, but the Korean-American man simply ignored Sam. “Yes. The meeting is still on for 3 PM. I understand.” His words were polite enough but his tone was strained. He mumbled a few more words too low for Sam to hear and then hung up. Running a hand through his hair, he walked by the couch next to Sam. “. . . Is this-“
“Maybe.”
“’Little Einsteins’.” Rhee’s tone gave nothing away. He simply grabbed the remote and turned it off. “I hope the others didn’t forget about our 3PM meeting.” Rhee was a government lacky but damn could he be kinda scary. Dark eyes were blank, as if seeing into Sam’s very soul.
“No, Rhee. No one forgot. Steve and Clint are grabbing Wanda now.” Rhee nodded before leaving the room. Letting out a breath, Sam lifted himself off of the couch and started towards the meeting room. He wasn’t looking forward to another meeting about their parole.
Sliding into the meeting room, he paused when he saw Rhodes, his leg braces fitting from his waist to his ankles. It was sleek and modern looking; very much Stark’s work. A flare of guilt raised up in him, but Sam pushed it down.
Rhodes would give him another leture if he saw the look.
“Hey, Rhodes.” He said softly, moving further into the room. The older man turned and gave Sam a smile that made his heart skip a beat. Rhodes turned fully to him, turning his head slightly up to look Sam in the eyes.
“I keep telling you Sammy, it’s Jim.” Rhod- Jim patted Sam on the shoulder and nudged him towards a seat. “Take a seat, man. The others should be here soon.” Just then, Natasha walked into the room and slide herself into a seat. She glanced at the leg braces before meeting Jim’s eyes.
“You look good, Rhodes.”
Jim’s eyes were soft when he looked at her but only nodded. Jim took them coming back the best; he had spent time post-Ultron with them and had gotten to know them, after all. Sam had missed him something fierce when they were gone and got the welcome home he only dreamed about.
Vision wondered in next, passing by Jim’s chair to sit on his other side. Sam passed him his own smile and Vision returned it. He was more human now than he was last year and his growth was pretty amazing.
Leaning back in his seat, Sam let his mind wonder. While the meeting was mostly about their future with the Avengers, Steve wanted to bring up the letter Wanda got. Her behavior was worrying - even further by the fact that she had been with HYDRA during the date. Sam knew that much, of course, but he didn’t know anything else.
She had joined HYDRA, then Ultron, then the Avengers. The inbetween wasn’t really there and Sam berated himself for just know thinking about it.
Barnes stalked in moments later and sat by Natasha, across from Sam. Sam felt a foot lightly hit his and kicked back. Barnes raised a brow and kicked back. They went back and forth before a smaller foot got between theirs and Natasha was glaring between them.
“Children.”
“He started it.” They both had said and Jim rolled his eyes.
“Well, I’m ending it.” Natasha fired back, eyes narrowed. “You hit my foot.” Barnes moved his chair an inch away from Natasha and Sam moved closer to Jim. She wouldn’t attack Jim - she liked him too much. The other man was like a safe base.
“Is Rhee here yet?” Steve’s voice called out. Sam turned and saw him and Clint as well as Wanda behind them. Her eyes were red rimmed and tears tracks still marked her cheeks. A stab of sympathy went though Sam. That letter really hit Wanda hard and it showed. Her hair was messy, her sweater dress was wrinkled and her feet bare. Might have been worse than they thought - she didn’t even look at Vision. Clint had an arm around her shoulders and lead her to by Natasha. The younger woman and sat between the two spies and Steve moved to sit by Sam.
“Not yet,” Jim answered, glancing at his watch.
Sam leaned over to speak in Steve’s ear.
“Should she even be here? She still looks torn up.”
“I know.” Steve mumbled back, blue eyes locked on Wanda. “But we all need to be and this way, she can tell Rhee in her own words.” Rhee had wanted to speak to Wanda alone but Steve insisted they all be with there. Which was why it was going to take place after this meeting.
“Good, I don’t have to track anyone down.” This time , went unsaid. Sam saw Steve frown and started to open his mouth, but Rhee cut in. “We’re going to start-”
“Where’s Toni?” Rhee raised a brow.
“She had a prior engagement.”
“Important enough to miss another meeting?” Steve pushed but Sam a hand on his arm and shook his head. Steve could complain all he wanted about Toni missing the meeting, but it would fall on deaf ears. They had been told, by Toni herself, that she wouldn’t be around all the time anyways. She didn’t live at the Compound and she was a full member of the Avengers. Herself, Vision and Jim were the only ones.
Besides, if the news was right the past year, she’d been working with the Fantastic Four. They had signed the Accords and were working double time while the whole Avengers thing was being sorted out.
“That is for Dr. Stark to tell you.” With a flick of his wrist, holograms appeared. It was a hint that the conversation was over. Wanda mumbled something and Sam saw Natasha nudge her and give her a look. The younger woman quieted down and just looked blankly at the screen in front of her.
“This is the one month check in and just to make sure everyone understands their position.” Rhee really sent shivers down Sam’s back and he’d faced the Winter Soldier. Damn. “The house arrest where you six aren’t to leave the Compound unless with myself or an approval from the Council. The therapy, however, is something only two of you have gone to. That is a requirement if you wish to be fully reinstated as Avengers.” Sam understood why that would be a requirement - and he agreed with it. He was happy with his own therapist, Dr. Julien Rose, and Barnes seemed brighter after his own sessions.
Steve and the others were more hestated.
“I’m waiting to hear back from Toni. I sent in a request the other day.” Clint said, leaning back in his chair. “I’d prefer to have the therapist I had before.” Rhee nodded.
“We saw your request and the Council agrees. Dr. Stark sent me the information this morning and you and I will go over it later today.” Clint nodded, glancing over at Wanda. She had been the most outspoken about not wanting to see someone. Sam had talked her into seeing someone but after this whole letter thing, Sam wondered how far back he was with it. “Ms. Maximoff?” She didn’t even look at Rhee.
“I do not wish to see someone.”
“It’s not up in the air for talks. This is a requirement. The Council wants everyone to be at the best mentally.” He placed the hard look to not just Wanda but Steve and Natasha as well. “The mental evaluation with many of you was concorning when you first got back. In three months when we have the four month update, the Council needs to see improvements.”
She tensed a lot a more, shoulders nearly to her ears as she curled in on herself. There was for nothing more a moment before she gave a jerky nod. And while Rhee nodded, he didn’t believe her. Sam could see it on his face. Rhee gave the same cool look to Steve and Natasha. Steve shook his head.
“I don’t think-”
“This is long overdue for you, Captain.” Rhee stated. “You should have been seeing someone when you came out of the ice. That’s not your fault, that’s the fault of SHIELD. We’re trying to fix that. Mental health now and days isn’t viewed the same as it was during the 30s and 40s.” Steve still look unconvinced but Barnes sighed loudly.
“You’re going, punk.” Steve’s head snapped up and Sam blinked owlishly at Barnes before turning to Steve. The blonde looked more relaxed and a little happy - some tensen he had before was gone with the old nickname.
Steve gave Rhee a jerky nod. “I’ll look at the therapist you sent but I can’t make any promises.” That was as good as it was going to get. Steve would usually talk to Sam, but Sam was too close and biased. He needed a third party; someone who wasn’t involved in their lives.
Rhee turned to Natasha but she spoke first.
“I sent in a name with the Council this morning.” Rhee’s lip twitched into almost a smile. Sam squinted. Did he even smile? Like, could he grin at all?
He really doubted it.
“Moving on then. How is the training going, Colonial?” Jim sat a little straighter.
“Everyone is in perfect shape. They work well together as a team, Agent Rhee.” He glanced at Wanda. She completely ignored him. “I had brought up my only issue - Wanda seems to think her powers are enough and doesn’t understand why she needs to learn how to fight hand-to-hand.”
Rhee nodded once again. “Ms. Maximoff, we talked about this. It’s good to have a set of skills, but keep thinking about what if’s. ‘What if someone had a way to bind my powers?’ or ‘What if someone has an immunity to magic?’. The the training in other skills will help you.” He waved a hand at Natasha and Clint. “You have two of the best teachers in the world. Use them.” His voice left no room for an argument, though Wanda looked like she wanted to put one up.
And did.
“I am strong - my powers are strong.” She shook her head. “Me learning how to use knives is a waste of time. And I refuse to use guns .” She spat the word out like a curse, arms moving to cross under her chest. Rhee sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. Sam would feel bad for him but there was a reason no one else had wanted his job.
Jim had said anyone who was asked turned it down flat. Rhee signed up for this.
“Colonial Rhodes is your commanding officer. If you all get reinstated as Avengers, he will be team leader. If he says for you to learn hand-to-hand or training with weapons, you will do it .” Sam shifted. While they knew about that change, it was hard to swallow. They were so used to Steve’s style of leading, he wasn’t sure how well the others would take Jim taking the helm.
Wanda’s face pinched but Jim spoke before she could.
“That’s final, Wanda. I need to know you have all points covered. I need also need to know the level of control with your powers. I know we did the bare minimum when it came to training before but we’re not doing that anymore.” His eyes were soft on Wanda and she reacted better to that than Rhee’s cool gaze. “Before I submit anything to the Council, I want to make sure we’re all at our best physically and can have each others backs.”
The Sokovian woman relaxed her arms before placing them on the table. She and Jim stared at each other for a moment before she nodded. “Alright.”
Rhee made a few notes before putting his hands behind his back.
“The only other thing I was to reinforce is this: you six are on thin ice. While America is happy to have you back, the rest of the world is not. Germany, Romania and Nigeria have expressed their displeasure most of all. Even if you were to be put on the roaster for the team, if a country doesn’t want to let a certain member in, you will not be be on that mission.”
Steve stood, one hand formed into a fist.
“And if we’re needed?”
“There’s a reason this is a team, Captain. And we can’t force ourselves into a country or into a conflict. Doing so will be seen as an act of war on America’s part.” Rhee’s eyes narrowed into a glare and Sam just realized - Rhee was the same height, if not an inch taller, than Steve. While a little slimer, the man did have a strong built.
It made Sam wonder why exactly Rhee wanted to this job instead of being an Agent.
“If people are in danger-”
“You did not care about that when you collapsed tunnel on civilians.” Steve looked away, shame covering his features. Barnes, too, held the same look. Even though Sam had come in late into that fight, he still shift uncomfortably. Over a dozen had been injured, one member of the Task Force dead and a little girl who had to get her legs amputated.
Sam really wanted to know how Stark got them home.
A silence covered the room, an uncomfortable that spoke its own volume. Last year as a shit storm and they all knew it. They played everything wrong. There were better ways to handle everything. America may have forgiven them but the rest of the world?
They might only be working inside the US while others take international issues.
Already Iron Woman and The Vision had been called out twice since they’ve been here. One was in Japan, something about a sea monster. The other up in Norway and a wizard. The world as a whole trust Iron Woman to do her job. It showed in everything.
They were barely allowed out of the Compound but she was taking on international jobs to protect people. She had stayed and saw the Accords though and stood with the people.
No wonder they loved her as they did.
Steve sat back down and Sam patted his shoulder. “Anything else, Agent?” Rhee stared hard at Steve before swiping his hologram again.
“Ah, Dr. Stark just sent out an email. She talked to someone about putting up protection spells around the Compound.” All heads shot up and got into their own emails. Right there, Sam opened it.
Dudes,
Got a wizard to agree to do some magic on the Compound for protection against our little fox.
We’ll be by tomorrow.
Never Yours (expect for Honey Bear, always yours),
T. Stark
“She knows a wizard?” Steve’s brows furrowed and he frowned. Sam watched with a raised brow as Jim simply grinned. Rhee removed the holograms expect for his and Wanda.
“Speaking of the Compound, Wanda - about our said little ‘fox’ and their letter.”
Wanda visibly flinched.