Unspoken

Twenty-Three

Clint sat with the team, having lunch together. It had been three days since he saw her, and he wanted nothing more than to go back. Being at her place, surrounded by peace, it was perfect. He pushed his food around his plate, lost in thought about her.

'Wow, who died? You all look miserable as shit..'... Everyone's heads whipped around, seeing Mel stand in the doorway. Clint saw that she had her nanomask on, and the contacts in. He understood why, she wanted to keep her real identity a secret for now.

'Well, we've been waiting for you. I had it a week, damn I lost that bet..'... Tony gestured to the empty seat on his left, and she walked over, dropping to sit as she looked around.

'The fuck are you all taking? Seriously? You're all hot and gorgeous..'.. She winked over at Romanoff who choked on her food, and the others chuckled... 'I get that you all have questions, so let's get that out of the way first..'.. She reached over, and took a slice of Buckys pizza off his plate and sat back.

They all took turns asking their questions, and she answered each one honestly. She wasn't going to lie to them, she would be honest with whatever they wanted to know, except for a few things. Things, that she hadn't put on the drives that she gave Matt and Tina, that they didn't even know.

'Is Murdock still alive?..'.. Romanoff smiled at her, pushing away her empty plate.

'For now, he has his uses..'.. She smirked... 'I need a lawyer to do all the paperwork that I can't be assed to do..'

'So you and Barnes are definitely related?..'.. Wilson asked her, looking between the two of them.

'Yep. So bear that in mind the next time you want to tease him about anything. I'm not above slapping you..'.. She grinned down the table at him, seeing him gulp. A few others chuckled at her words.

'How come my magic didn't work on you?...'... Maximoff frowned at her, and she noticed Laufeyson frown too, knowing that he was trying.

'You were not the first test subjects with the scepter Miss Maximoff..'.. Her eyes flicked between the twins... 'All and any experiments Hydra wanted to do, Ace was their first subject, to make her better..'

'You speak as though Ace is separate from you. You are the same person, are you not?..'.. Laufeyson tilted his head to her and she took a deep breath.

'In the way that you are the same as the one who caused the battle of New York, destroying lives. The same as Barnes is the soldier, need I go on?..'.. She fixed him with a stare, and he shook his head.

'How the hell did you get into my system?..'.. She chuckled at Stark, and patted his shoulder.

'I was in there over a year ago, I never left. I had to make sure that one..'.. She nodded to Barton, noticing he was silent... 'Was safe..'

'Why? If you don't mind me asking..'.. Banner stuttered.

She sat forward, interlocking her fingers on the table as she looked around... 'You're all heroes. Ones who would sacrifice the one to save the world, right?..'.. She saw the looks from them all, and focused on Barton, who watched her... I'd sacrifice the world to save one..'

'You love him that much?..'.. Rogers asked.

'Its not love captain, but survival. Love is a foolish notion, a concept created to placate people..'.. She looked across at him, as he was sitting next to Barnes... 'If Hydra finds out, that he is the reason they could not not break Ace, they will take him and use him to control her. There's nothing Ace won't do to ensure they don't hurt him. That includes taking the lives of everyone else here..'

She felt them all shift uncomfortably, on edge at her words... 'Why do you think I want to take them down? Not for what they did to Tessa, or Ace, but to protect this world. His life means more than anyone elses..'.. She sighed... 'Hydra believed that experiment with the scepter failed. Ace gave up some control to them, so they wouldn't find out..'

'What can you do?..'.. Stark peered at her, and she could hear exactly what he was thinking.

'More than what Miss Maximoff can do. And before you ask, no, you cannot run tests..'.. She smiled at him.

'Why me?..'.. She could hear him before he even spoke, and she turned to Barton at the other end of the table... 'Why me? Why am I so important to you? You say you don't love me, fine..'.. She could see he was getting worked up... 'Tessa did. You told me so yourself, so why after all this time, do you even give a shit about me?..'

'If anything happens to you, if you die, the world dies too. You are the reason both Tessa and Ace fought so damn hard, and I will not let that be in vain..'.. She leaned forward... 'You die, the world will burn..'..

'You're the same fucking person Tess!..'.. His chair skidded back as he stood, angry, startling the others around him... 'I don't give a fuck what you call yourself, you are and always will be Tess. I'm not playing this game with you..'.. He stormed out of the room, and she rolled her eyes.

'Hes quite dramatic..'.. She chuckled, sitting back and folding her arms.

'You just threatened to kill us, and basically the whole world, so yeah, he has every right to be dramatic..'.. Romanoff scoffed at her.

'You think I was threatening you?..'.. Mel frowned at the woman... 'No, I was warning you. You have a mole, and Hydra already knows I'm alive. They know, what you know. It won't take long for them to connect the dots between me and him..'.. She nods to where Barton left... 'I've already got my girls and their children safe. Ace took you all down last year, so who will stop her, when Hydra comes and takes him?..'

'Wait, what? What do you mean we have a mole?..'.. Rogers was on alert.

Mel took a deep breath... 'Can someone get the drinks in, going to need one?..'.. One magically appeared in front of her, and she smiled, nodding to Loki... 'Thank you. Now, you have a mole. One who made a deal with Hydra to hand me back over on one condition...'.. She picked up her drink, and drank it in one... 'That they have my firstborn child. One whose father, is a super soldier too..'.. Her eyes flicked to Rogers... 'You kind of threw a spanner in the works, after they found out you were banging my gramps..'.. She saw the shock in both men's faces... 'Though, that's not going to stop them from what they have planned for me and you..'

'What the fuck!..'.. Barnes said, disgusted... 'Who? Who am I killing?..'

Mel chuckled at him... 'Oh, they're already on my hit list, don't you worry. But you need to stop talking about me, in front of others. And hide away everything you have on me..'.. She looked at her watch, pursing her lips... 'In fact, your mole will be arriving shortly, and I have to go..'.. She stood up, and the others got to their feet, clamouring for answers.

'Look, I'll be back tomorrow, but for now, you need to lock everything down, including Barton. Don't let him out of your sight, not for anyone, or anything, is that understood?..'... She fixed them all with a stare, and they agreed... 'Good, now as much as I hate to even say this..'.. She rolled her eyes... 'Mr Laufeyson, your talents are needed. Care to join me? A little mischief and chaos?..'

She saw him grin wickedly, and came to her side... 'I will never say no to that. What do you have in mind?..'

'Teleport us to my bar. We have much to discuss..'.. She linked her arm with his, and nodded to Stark, before removing something from her pocket and tossing it to him... 'The proof is on there. There are many things people can call me, but a liar is not one. Be on alert, and protect him, the world depends on it..'

With those words, she turned to Loki, nodding at him and they disappeared in front of the others... 'That all sounded very ominous..'.. Bruce looked over to Tony, who was staring down at the drive in his hands.

'Romanoff, Rogers, Barnes, Wilson. You lot keep an eye on Barton, he doesn't go anywhere without at least two of you. Wonder twins, Vis, Thor, you lot keep track of those in and out of here, watch the compound. Bruce, you're with me. Let's go find out what we're dealing with..'.. Tony nods to them all, and heads off for his lab, with Bruce in tow.

😘