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In some cases, Jean could consider herself lucky. She was a Mutant, yes, but one with a useful ability — skipping between people's bodies to get them to do her dirty work, that and the slight ability she had to move things with her mind, until the pain became too bad and she had to stop.
No, for now, people skipping was much easier, which was how she met her. It was during an incident with Spider-Man, who was becoming more of a nuisance ever since getting the Key to the City. Maybe he had something to prove, or more time on his hands.
Jean's conduit was running, the intel he had seen fresh in Jean's mind, but still she liked to see how far she could get a body away before being forced to jump. She wasn't a cruel person, she didn't want them dead, and Punisher was an asshole to deal with in those situations.
"Stop!" the web-head yelled, grunting and falling to his knees as her conduit started to climb the ladder, "You'll fall!"
And she might, it was raining and she always struggled with ladders in her own body, but Jean pushed on. Spider-Man was kinder than Punisher, he'd catch the body if it fell. He groaned as she kept climbing, staggering to his feet, still injured.
Which was odd. Jean didn't remember hurting the spider, just slipping past him with a little too much smugness, maybe. Was his ego hurt? Could that cause real pain? No matter, she kept going, and clamoured over the roof of the building, running to the edge, where a woman had paused in pulling her curtains across.
"Hey!" the whip of his web, she could feel it on her back, and Jean surged her mind forward. She left the man behind and sank into the building below and right into the woman who was caught off guard. She gasped and fell back, but Jean caught them, and she ran out of the room. There was a smash of glass, a loud "Sorry!" and Spider-Man was after her again.
But Jean prepared for this, too. "Fire!"
She screamed it loud, and grabbed the alarm. The old woman's body rattled a little at the sound, but it worked. Doors opened, Spider-Man started panicking from above, and Jean surged forward again.
She took over another woman who fell a little, immediately noticed by Spider-Man, so she pushed a man on the stairs. He tripped, knocked into three others and they all fell, and Jean slipped into the mind of the young man at the front. She shifted his face into one of fear, and ran with the crowd until they were on the street outside.
"No, no, no! Ack— wait!"
Spider-Man launched out of the door, but he was too late. Jean made sure to meet his gaze, smirking devilishly, and then slipped into the minds of the masses just as he grabbed her borrowed body.
She had gotten away with it, using the body of the runner who had just been passing to jog down the street and away from him. She had to get to her body, she—
A woman stepped out of the bodega up ahead. She had long dark hair, purple sunglasses, and a grin she could spot from anywhere. Someone Jean could recognise anywhere.
She did not hesitate, and slipped into the body of the new Hawkeye, otherwise known as Kate Bishop.
─ ·✶· ─
Jean groaned and sat up from her comfortable chair, scratching her cheek and turning around slowly to the woman she had brought to her hide-out. She stood up and walked over, kicking her boot to no reaction.
Not a surprise considering how much I gave her, she thought, and picked up the knock-out drug on the floor. It was her own compound, which gave her enough time to slip out and back into her body with relative ease.
She went to the kitchen in her garage space and poured a cup of coffee from the pot. While her brain was tired, her body was fully rested due to not being in use, and now she had to perk herself up while she waited for the should-be-avenger to wake up.
Jean dragged her chair out and sat in front of Kate Bishop, just looking at her. She had aged since that Christmas incident, which made headlines — with a small scar through her eyebrow. Jean wondered where it was from, if it had a cool story, or if this woman was simply accident-prone.
Kate frowned, groaning and ready to wake up, so Jean concentrated, bringing a glass of water over from the sink. It touched her hand, and she held it out, just as Kate blinked her eyes open and realised she was handcuffed to a pipe.
"Hey," Jean said, and Kate looked at her with tired eyes which were quickly sharpening. Jean held out the water, and the woman stared at it with distrust. "Don't worry, it isn't poisoned."
Hawkeye huffed and leaned back against the wall, grimacing a little as it made her head spin. "Coming from the person who kidnapped me and brought me to their evil lair, I don't think I'll believe you."
Jean scoffed, "Suit yourself. I know your mouth is dry as shit though, but whatever."
She tossed the glass over her shoulder and watched Kate's expression with amusement when something caught it and carried it back to the sink. Her brain throbbed; that was enough for now, and the glass shattered in the sink. Shit.
"And it's not a lair," Jean corrected, sitting back in her comfy chair. "That's creepy. It's a hide-out. Does it bother you?"
"Being kidnapped? Yeah, what do you want from me?"
"No, not that. Does it bother you that you haven't been invited to the Avengers?"
Clearly, it did, as Kate's mouth thinned into a line. "I am an Avenger. Sam Wilson is—"
Jean barked a laugh and gently spun herself around on the chair. "But you're not, like, an Avenger Avenger, you know? The New one. Do they only accept ex-assassins, or something?"
"I'm an Avenger—"
"You're forgotten." Jean frowned as she said it; she really didn't like being mean. "But you're useful to me."
Kate bared her teeth. "Okay, first of all, you suck. And second of all, you don't know anything, so quit trying to be all creepy and let me go before this gets messy."
Jean smiled and held up a small piece of plastic. It was black, about the size of a bullet, and she held it between her fingers. Kate froze at the sight of it, and Jean hummed.
"Seems like you're not completely forgotten about," she mused, and let the device float between them. Kate's jaw was set, and Jean let it levitate there. "I would ask you what this is, but—"
"It's the key to my apartment. I live in a fancy ass building." Kate rushed out, and Jean would believe her if she hadn't already investigated the device with Kate's own hands while in her body. She dragged herself closer with her feet, the wheels of her chair scraping the floor a little, until she was close enough that Kate could almost touch her, if she tried hard enough.
"I would believe you, but…" The device did one final turn, this time from top to bottom, and revealed the bright red A on the bottom. "Those idiots really love their branding, hm?"
Kate thrashed forward, and Jean kicked herself backwards, catching the key with a snicker and standing from her seat, letting it spin out to the side as she grinned and made for the computer on her desk, which displayed a 3D model of the Avengers Tower.
"All access to the personal floor," she hummed and waved her hand to float a needle full of more serum over to Kate, who started yelling and trying to get away, twisting her arm painfully as it got closer. Jean looked at the key once more and placed it on her desk.
"You're more interesting than I first thought, Kate Bishop."
The needle slipped into her neck, and the apparent Avenger groaned, going limp in seconds. Jean sat back in her chair and ran the data from the key through her computer. Sure, the Avengers weren't her original target, but all their intel… that would be useful.
─ ·✶· ─
Jean stood outside the silver building with Kate's key in hand. It was a back entrance, covered in security, which did not move at the sight of her. Clearly, she had the clearance, and Jean walked to the black box sticking out of the wall.
There was a small circle on the bottom right, and she pushed the key inside. Something clicked, and she flinched when a light flashed over her eyes, slowly panning down, and scanning the rest of her face. It beeped twice, and the seamless wall shifted, just as the 3D model had said it would, revealing a back door.
Jean got in the elevator, and it started moving without her say. She had to wonder, who was Kate close to to get this treatment? From her research, the only Avengers she knew were Yelena from the Christmas Incident and Clint Barton.
Maybe she is close with one of the others, she thought as the silent lift came to a stop. One of the guys. She is pretty enough.
The doors slid open, and she was… in. Jean was in the Avengers foyer, in their large space, with low chairs and a hanging screen, a coffee station and a wall of windows. She was in.
Jean looked around and made for the centre console. A tablet lay on the side, and she looked at it. Once again, her eyes were scanned, but this time the screen went red with an error message — INCORRECT CREDENTIALS.
She huffed, not that trusted, then. And she shoved a USB drive into the tablet. It was small, barely noticeable, and would allow her to—
"Kate Bishop…" A voice crooned, and Jean froze, forgetting for half a second she was in another body, before she turned around at the soft voice.
Her stomach dropped. She knew this was a possibility, but seeing Yelena Belova, the White Widow, walk down the staircase was the stuff of nightmares. This was the leader of the New Avengers. Highly trained, highly skilled, and someone Jean had quietly idolised for some time.
"I have been worried about you." The woman said, smiling more softly than Jean expected, running a hand through her hair. "Not a single text since noon. I was ready to come and find you."
To have a conversation with her would be a dream come true, and she was really about to do just that. She looked at the ex-assassin's attire — a soft, slightly too big sweater, cargo pants and no shoes, just some socks. The woman reached the final step, and she silently padded over to her.
Jean started to panic a little, sure she was Kate Bishop, but could she become her? She swallowed nervously, but hid the action behind a smile. "I left my cell at home. Dropped it."
Yelena raised a brow and seemed to slink as she walked towards her. Jean's throat thickened, and her tongue became almost numb, and she became like a statue when the blonde touched her fingers to Jean's inner wrist and dragged them up her arm.
"You dropped your phone?" She asked, using her other hand to slide Jean's around her waist, which she did almost robotically, as Yelena's arm looped around her shoulder. They were close now, so close Jean could smell the green tea on her breath. She swallowed as best as she could. Jean had no idea the White Widow was this… Close to Hawkeye Jr.
"Yeah," She inhaled with an awkwardly small smile. "When I was training."
The blonde tutted and tapped her chin. Jean's breath skipped when her finger dragged across her lip. "We trained together yesterday. You must rest, Kate Bishop."
What is happening? "I— you're right."
Apparently, that was… Wrong. Out of character, maybe, because Yelena raised a brow and tilted her head to the side, fingers still playing with the baby curls under Jean's hair.
"Hm, you are listening to me for once. Good." Then her eyes narrowed. "And weird."
Shit. "I listen to you!" She tried to play off with a laugh, but Yelena tutted and shook her head. Jean's hands started to sweat.
"Not usually." Yelena mused. "Normally, it takes some convincing to do that."
"Erm—"
"Cat got your tongue?" She asked, and green eyes flickered to Jean's— Kate's lips. Holy shit, Jean thought. Is she going to kiss me? Kate Bishop?
Suddenly, her tongue was sandpaper. "No, I just…"
Yelena hummed too loudly and interrupted her, head tilting to one side as she sighed and clicked her tongue, seemingly quite concerned as green flicked up to blue. "Let me check."
That was all the warning Jean got before she was being kissed by Yelena Belova. She stared with wide, shocked eyes as the Widow pushed forward and sank into Jean's touch. The deadly assassin she had watched videos of her killing multiple men with ease, softly sighed at her touch, and something inside Jean snapped.
Her eyes closed, and she let Kate's body take over. Let her hands grip at Yelena's waist, pull her close as fingers scrape at her neck and nip at her lip, then push against her mouth with a knee-shaking ease.
She was kissing the White Widow. Well, Kate was, but— Holy shit. Yelena pulled back, and Jean followed for a moment, which made Yelena snicker softly and open her eyes curiously.
"Wow, Kate Bishop." The woman sighed like she was in a daydream, fingers gently scraping at her neck. "You're blushing?"
She was? "I am?"
"Da," Yelena pouted a little. It still blew Jean's mind that this was one of the most deadly assassins in the world, but she managed to pout. "And you were not as enthusiastic as normal. Long day?"
Shit, damn my inexperience. Jean knew she should have practised kissing at some point, but damn, people were boring. "No— I, ah, that was nice!"
That was also wrong, the pout became something more serious, a frown even.
"… Nice?"
"Good!" Fuck, fuck, fuck! "Great, even!"
Yelena pulled out of her grip and crossed her arms. "Kate Bishop, why are you blushing like a high-school kid?" She threw a hand to the side, seemingly disgusted, almost. "Did you forget what we did yesterday?"
God, Jean wished she knew. Her palms itch. Is the tablet done? "Ye—Yesterday?"
"When you snuck away from Sam," Sam, as in the leader of the Avengers, Jean thought to herself unhelpfully. "With the ropes, and that little toy you bought."
Jean needed to leave before she did something embarrassing, like melt into a puddle.
"Little toy?"
Her voice was too high, a squeak even. Fuck! Luckily, Yelena laughed, eyes glaring over as she thought back. "I guess you are right, little is not a good name for it, yes?"
"Oh, yeah, like…." Jean held her hands to the side to demonstrate a large gap. "Huge. Right?"
It was the final wrong thing to say, because the assassin she feared so much slipped back into place, a strange blankness over Yelena's expression, matched with genuine concern. "Kate Bishop, what is happening?"
"Nothing, Yelena Belova." Jean laughed, forcing the lightest sound she could muster. Yelena frowned, and something darkened over her eyes.
"Something is wrong." She stated and pointed at the woman opposite. "What aren't you telling me?"
Jean took a step back, mentally praying the drive had decrypted everything on the tablet. "Nothing is wrong! I've just had a weird day—"
"What is your dog's favourite food?"
Jean swallowed with a breath, smiled, and she shrugged with a harsh puff of air from her lips. "Yelena, what—"
"Tell me."
A drip of fear fell down her spine from Yelena's voice, and Jean once more cleared her extremely dry throat. She had never owned a dog, or any pet for that matter. Not after she first showed signs of her mutation and levitated her whole family in a fit of child-like anger.
But she had watched movies. She knew what dogs tended to like, and figured the trick question before Yelena could pull it out from under her. "Treats, duh!"
The White Widow stared blankly at her for a moment too long, and Jean thought she had nailed it when the blonde dipped her left shoulder down, half expecting her to laugh and kiss her again, maybe, when the woman suddenly spun on the spot and landed a hard, breath-taking kick to Jean's stomach.
Fuck! She flew back and over the couch, rolling unsteadily over her shoulder and onto her back with a loud wheezing grunt, looking up when Yelena launched over it in a dive. Jean yelped and scrambled onto her front to crawl away, when firm legs landed around her back, and an arm wrapped around her neck, pulling her back with the hum of Widow Bites pushed close to her face.
"Who are you?" Yelena almost snarled, and Jean gasped, behind pulled back into a strange, almost cobra-like position, but the other woman. "And where is Kate?"
Jean tapped her arm, and Yelena released enough that she could breathe and roll slowly over onto her back, meeting green eyes. Despite her situation, Jean smirked and grabbed Yelena's wrist. "Right here."
She then pushed forward and rattled into Yelena's head. Kate gasped and sagged back. Jean let her go, hitting her head on the rug. "What the fuck?!" She whined, and Jean grinned at her hands.
"This body is so good, oh! An accent!" She taped her throat a few times, humming as Kate blinked up at her, and realisation quickly sank in. Jean winked and pushed the Widow Bites against Kate's neck. "And you are so attracted to her, dirty thing."
She winked and let the charges off, shifting off Kate just as they made contact and allowed her to writhe at her feet with electricity curling through her. Jean hummed and stepped away, back to her device in the tablet and tapped the screen. Almost done now.
The charge stopped, and she made for the elevator. Kate Bishop was useful, but with Yelena, she could get anywhere she wanted. No one would be brave enough to turn her down, especially if she used the time she had to make a few videos with the White Widow's well-known face.
"Hey!" She turned, Kate had stood, breathless, pissed, and with something shiny in her hand. She raised it, and Jean tsked.
"Are you really going to hurt—" Kate wound her arm back and threw the mug right at Jean. The woman moved to the side, and it sailed through the air, smashing against the wall with a loud thud. She laughed and waved a hand at the other woman. "You missed! I thought you were meant to be the next Hawkeye?"
The dark-haired woman gave a smug smile, way too confident for Jean's liking, as she stood back up and brushed her hair out of her face. "Wasn't aiming for you."
Jean turned around and saw what Kate had hit — a now glowing red button, once again marked with the Avengers A. An alarm.
"Oh, you fuck— oof!"
She stumbled as Kate grabbed her, twisting the White Widow's wrist and tossing her around until she flipped and landed on her back. Kate raised her heavy leather boot over Jean's face, keeping her arm pinned against her front.
"Let her go!" She snapped, and Jean barked a laugh.
"You won't hurt her face!"
Kate glared and lowered her foot, shrugging a little. "Not her face, no." And with a whispered "Sorry, baby," she kicked Jean in the stomach, hard.
Jean grunted and shifted to Kate to get away before the pain could blossom. Yelena yelped as Kate's body bent back with the force of her movement, and the blonde rolled into a crouch.
"What the hell?!" She snarled and stood up tall, pointing at Jean with the tablet. "Give her back!"
Jean groaned, running a hand over her face. "I go into you, she tells me to swap, I go into her, you do the same! I can't win!"
Yelena took on a scary look, most likely because she saw the burns on Kate's neck from her own bites, and put two and two together. This woman made Kate feel hurt.
"You are not getting out of here, not with her body. Get. Out."
Jean groaned, "Fine!" And she sank back into Yelena. Kate took a deep breath, but kept her footing, impressive, and Jean rubbed her head. Fuck, this was killing her.
"You—"
"She told me to swap!" Jean interrupted, "She did! Yelena made me swap with you!"
Kate pulled a knife from her thigh holster, and holy shit, how did Jean not know about that?! "And I'm making you swap back!"
Jean scrambled back and grabbed anything she could, tossing it at Kate, who swiped at everything she managed to get close to her. "Alright, shit—!"
Kate threw the knife as Jean left her body, and Yelena caught it with weak, but well-trained hands. She danced it over her fingers, and Jean really wanted to get out of here now. She just needed…
The tablet in Yelena's hands. Fuck. Jean held up her hands as Yelena took a step closer. "Wait, wait, wait! Let's talk about this."
Yelena huffed a bitter laugh, "You made me hurt Kate Bishop, there is nothing to talk about."
"Okay, this is a bruise at best! She kicked you in the stomach!" Jean argued, and Yelena shrugged.
"She knew I could take it."
"For the love of—"
"What on Earth is happening here?" a third voice cut in, English, amused, with a strange hum of power Jean could feel from here. She looked, and was now looking at Ghost, the only member of the New Avengers with a power she could use.
Ava smirked at the sight of Yelena holding Kate at knife point, crossing her arms and tilting her head. "I got the alarm, and I found this. You guys trying out a new kink, or somethin'?"
"Ava—!" Yelena tried, but it was too late. The woman stumbled back as Jean pushed into her, confident that yes, she could get the tablet and find her way out of this hell-hole of a tower—
Wait a minute. Something felt wrong. Very… very wrong. Oh fuck it hurt!
Jean yelled, itching at her arms and falling to her knees as her body seemed to move. Her powers couldn't keep up, but they knew what was happening. This body wasn't entirely whole, it was shifting, over and over and over and —
Agony. Jean screamed and released her hold on the woman's body. It hurt to do it like this, and back in her super secret base, Jean gasped in her body, sat forward and looked around wildly, before falling flat on her desk with a heavy thud. Unconscious, once again.
In the tower, Kate and Yelena scramble back to one another. They are a mess of limbs as they catch each other — Yelena holding up Kate who threw her arms around the other woman in the tightest hug she could muster.
"Kate Bishop, are you okay?!"
"Yeah, I'm fine!" Kate sighed, nuzzling her face against Yelena's hair and kissing her head. "A lil dizzy, but okay."
She then gasped and pulled back, shaking Yelena a little with wild eyes. "Are you?!"
Yelena's smile was bright, this was her Kate Bishop. The way she held herself, the slight dip in her right shoulder, the smile which raised on one side. The light in her eyes. Yeah, this was her Kate.
The blonde pulled her close and hugged her as hard as she could, head buried against her chest, racing heart thundering. "Da, I am so good."
"Oh my god," Kate moaned and hugged her just as hard. "I was so worried!"
"Yeah, I'm fine, by the way!" Ava called from the stairs, dragging herself arduously to her feet with a sarcastic thumbs up. "Thanks mate."
"You are always fine." Yelena scoffed, and the thumb became a middle finger, and Ava reached their floor.
"At least it's good to know my body is incapable of hosting a demon," She mumbled, scratching at her ear. "Or whatever that was."
"Not a demon," Kate told her, arm over Yelena's shoulder and tucked firmly to the blonde's side. "I think she was a mutant, or something?"
Just then the elevator dinged, and they looked as John walked in, a paper bag under his arm, pulling his sunglasses off with a small, blissfully unaware smile. "Hey, what's a happenin?"
Yelena shifted back into Avenger-Leader mode, and stepped forward, crossing her arms with a perfectly disappointing expression. "You know the alarm means emergency, right John?"
He blew a sound dismissively from his lips and shoved his glasses into his hair, fishing his cell from his pocket and waving it at them. "And I got here as fast as I could."
"With beers?"
He nodded, the glasses clinked in the bag. "I'm watching the game with Bob."
"The game?"
"Yeah, a new one just got released. Zombies and stuff. Our streamer is going live soon." He then took a deep breath, and let out a loud shout of — "Bob!"
Immediately feet were rushing from upstairs, and Yelena turned with disbelief as she patted them down. "Coming, coming, coming!"
Her eyes rolled so hard she was worried they would get stuck. I bet Sam doesn't deal with this.
"Oh my god," She groaned, hand on her face and dragging it down miserably. "You are all useless."
"Hey!" Ava shouted, "I expelled the mutant by just existing!"
"Mutant?" Bob asked as he passed her and she nodded.
"Yelena, Kate and I were possessed by a mutant."
"Oh, cool." He brushed his hair behind his ear. "You win?"
She raised a brow and faced him, waving a hand in front of herself. "Do I look possessed to you?"
Bob hesitated, grimacing almost, "Sometimes? Yeah?"
Ava's jaw clicked and she spun on her heel to march to the kitchen, no doubt for her neck cup of tea. "Watch your stupid game."
"It's not stupid, actually!" Bob told her, hurrying down to join John, who was getting ready by the couch. "It's fun!"
Yelena sighed softly, but nodded. "That is good news, Bob."
A finger touched her elbow, and she turned with the familiar guidance to face Kate, who frowned and ran her thumb along Yelena's jaw. The blonde couldn't resist, and tilted her head to the side to rest in her palm.
"Come on, let's go to the med bay," Kate asked her, smiling when Yelena kissed her palm. "I want to look at your bruises."
Yelena made to answer when a bark of laughter moved past them, with a steaming cup. "Yeah, make sure to close the door, huh?" Ava snorted. "Some of us have super hearing, so."
Kate flushed a little, and Yelena glared at her teammate. "Ava—"
"Oh, there was a weird thing in the tablet," John told them, holding the device up. "I pulled it out."
"What was it?" Yelena asked, and he shrugged.
"I don't know, gum, I think." he flicked it away, and it digitigrade from the strength of his fingers. "Ava, you joining?"
The woman sighed and hopped the couch to join them, stealing some of Bob's blanket to throw over her legs. "Why the hell not. It's either this or hear those two bones again."
"Oh my god," Yelena took her girlfriend's hand. "Come on, Kate Bishop."
Kate waved at the others, happily allowing herself to be dragged away. "Bye, guys!"
"See ya, Kate!" They all called back, and John flicked away the error message on the screen, which read — TRANSFER INTERRUPTED. DOWNLOAD FAILED.
Some people are simply born lucky, that much is true. But when Jean read that error message, waking up hours later with a killer headache, she felt far from it.