mcutrio

[mcutrio]

Breaking Point (CW) [18]

Breaking Point (CW) [18]

Note: so maybe the accords aren’t this chapter, lol. i’ve had this scene written for a very long time and was actually going to post it as chapter seventeen but it didn’t feel like the right time

Tags: @imaginesofeverykind @buckys-little-monster @kaydeinkf

The next evening, Kat found herself bound to her bedroom, perhaps more comfortable to be isolated rather than threatened and terrified of Steve being within arms reach. However, her simmering anxiety suddenly rushed to the surface the moment he knocked and gently swung open her door.

“Can I talk to you?” He asked quietly.

Instinctively, she scanned his bodies for weapons. “What about?”

“About the past month,” Steve clarified, heaving a breath.

“Seemed like forever,” Kat muttered, squinting her eyes as she recalled the dull cell she was forced to be in.

“I know you don’t like me very much,” Steve began, “but I was just doing what I thought was best for the team, and I think that’s important.”

“Are we a threat to you?” Kat questioned suddenly.

Steve scrunched his brows together and unfolded his arms, “not anymore, no.”

“But we were,” Kat felt the words on her tongue and nodded, clenching her jaw for a moment. “Doesn’t that necessarily mean that… everybody else on the team is a threat? That Bucky should’ve been thrown in the cells alongside us?”

“No,” Steve said firmly.

“So are we not part of the team? How are we any different from anybody else, coming from a path we didn’t choose?” Kat frowned, “I just feel like that whatever we put on the line in order to keep your team together and take Ultron down is all a piss-poor ‘excuse’ for us to be not a part of Hydra anymore.” She heaved out, standing to her feet. She sucked in a breath, almost surprised at the lash of her uncontrolled tongue, but she stood her ground.

“You’re angry with me for not trusting you,” Steve nodded, remaining to not take her words too personally. “But do you blame me? SHIELD and I aren’t exactly on the best of terms… when I found out there were still more working under their nose even after their downfall, I reacted.”

“You’re doing it again!” Kat almost yelled, sucking in a breath. “We were never working under their nose! You’re blaming us for doing something that was never our choice, to begin with. Christ, Steve, if your trust issues are as severe as you claim them to be, you think you’d do a background check on us first, but you didn’t even think twice to invite us onto your ship and, might I remind you, into Clint's home.”

Steve stayed silent. “You helped us that day; you were an ally.”

“But it doesn’t count, right? Because we were brainwashed and held to do things we were convinced were our only ever possible achievements, we’re not trustworthy and deserve to be thrown and locked into a cell, right? No, you don’t know anybody like that, do you? It’s not like we’re able to comprehend morals and make our own decisions, ie keep you alive and fight on your side,” Kat felt a deep, burning hatred towards Steve; one that had sprouted from his distrust and finger-pointing attitude and the horrifying hallucinations that haunted her at night.

“I know that you’ve been through a lot and you were, most of the time, held against your will,” Steve reasoned, “but until I knew exactly who you used to be, I couldn’t trust you. You were a threat to the team because there was nothing we knew to trust.”

Kat felt her arms tense up. “What about you?”

“Sorry? I don’t follow,” Steve responded, confused.

“Aren’t you a threat to the team? A threat to me and my friends? Haven’t you thought about it, Steve?” Kat took a step forwards threateningly, though Steve held his ground if a little more cautious to her hostile behaviour. “I mean come on, we’re treading eggshells around you buddy. If we do one fucking thing that you don’t like you’ll bind our wrists together and throw us in a fucking cell. You’re a predictable senile bastard who’s so far up Bucky’s ass he’s unable to see his own wrong-doings, and how everybody else feels as if they have to abide by some man out of time who used to be a Captain, might I remind you, and still feels as if he can throw around orders and pretend that they’re the right thing to do. Because God’s righteous man would never do anything wrong, would he? What happens if somebody hurts Bucky? Who’s got your back? Who’s really the threat here, Steve? We never lay a finger on you yet we’re paying for crimes we never committed.”

Steve was quiet, unable to think of how to respond. “I never wanted to make enemies with you. I’m sorry you feel this way,” Steve looked down. “But you are his daughter.”

An overwhelming rage overtook her and a hot, powerful feeling ran over her skin like the jolt of electricity, or like her skin had touched a flame. With the movements as quick as a cat, she shot forwards, pinned him against the wall and press her hands upon his chin to slam his head against the wall. Starting at her elbows, a hot flush of fluorescent orange began to spurt, growing and creeping through her veins like a parasite. It looked as if a flashlight was pressed against her skin or like her blood was glowing.

Steve shoved her backwards, to which she rolled and skidded on the ground for a moment before regaining her stance. Kat heaved, her shoulders rising and falling as the glow reached her fingertips. Her hair fell over her face, dishevelled, as Steve became frozen with cautiousness. If it came down to it, she’d overpower him. If it came down to it, she’d kill him.

The Grandmaster stood tall beside an unknowing Steve, a menacing grin on his face.

“Destroy him.”

It was almost as if a switch flipped and the hesitation between the both of them was instantly snapped when Kat lunged for him, though he broke out into a sprint to avoid her attacks. The speed at which the two ran caused havoc in the compound; they burst through and broke down doors and slammed into walls, leaving a litter of debris and smashed glass with every tread.

Mid-sprint, Steve hesitated as he scooped up his shield from the ground. Having gained momentum, Kat threw herself and shoulder-barged the shield that guarded his upper body, pushing him into a wall. She then pulled back her elbow before slamming her fist towards his face to which he swiftly dodged, though his eyes became clouded with fear as he saw her arm buried elbow-deep into the wall, realising that it was a punch with force intended to kill.

“You gotta control this,” he choked out, shoving her backwards, hard, with his shield so that he gained the advantage. Even though the relationship between the two was rocky and particularly bitter, he wanted to believe that she wouldn’t cause him real harm. But, with this new and recently discovered power, he couldn’t be so sure. Even she looked uncertain.

After glancing down at her hands for a moment, Kat shook her head. Letting out an unearthly yell, she swept up a lamp from the dresser table they stood nearby and tossed it hard and fast. However, a sudden net of purple shrouded the lamp, stopping it a hair away from Steve’s face with a non-gradual halt. Tabitha immediately became frozen, watching as Kat turned with a vicious look in her eyes. Though it wasn’t the expression that frightened Tabitha; it was the fluid, orange colour that swam like fire in Kats eyes.

Steve scrambled to a stance before he ran again, which instantly triggered Kat into a strong pace. However, Tabitha threw her arms up in an x shape, forming a webbing of swimming, purple energy that encased Kats' arms. However, she watched in horror as Kathryn’s orange skin seemed to manipulate and dissolve the energy shrouding her hands; almost as if they were a comparable state of matter or force.

Tabitha immediately shot away from the scene, seeking out her friends before she burst through the lab doors, being met with the surprised, confused eyes of Courtenay, Tony and Vision.

“There’s a fight,” Tabitha heaved, “it’s bad, guys.”

“What? Who’s fighting?” Tony questioned, standing straight and becoming directly alert.

Tabitha swallowed. “Kat and Steve.”

“What’s new?” Court shot back, though her humour dropped when she realised that Tabitha was being serious.

“Vision, you know what to do,” Tony said, grabbing his blazer jacket and hurriedly leaving the room, where he was followed by the purple droid. “Come on,” he ushered, urging the two girls out of the room as Vision melted through the walls in pursuit of the brawling pair.

“Fight back!” Kat yelled, grabbing a chair as they neared the kitchen. She slammed it down, hard, though it snapped upon impact with his shield. It was at that moment that she became increasingly tired of her damn shield, so she quickly thought of a way to disarm him by yanking it towards her and then thrusting it backwards, connecting with his face so that he stumbled and she snatched it from his grasp, taking a hold of it in her left hand.

There was a pause as Kathryn felt a rip inside of her; like the voltage inside of her had doubled. She suddenly felt completely torn in two; one side of her was fighting and crawling, scraping at the back of her mentality to escape from the mystical bubble the Grandmaster has formed, whereas the other side was baring its teeth and reaching for Steve, preparing to kill.

With a scream, she wielded her right fist before slamming it to the marble ground, enforcing a crack that spider-webbed outwards and towards Steve, where the force unearthed him from the ground and catapulted him a few feet backwards before he skidded and hit the wall. She stepped forward, lifting up the shield with a sharp elbow.

The sudden clap of thunder in the distance immediately snapped her out of her trance like a slap, and the anger in her face dropped as she stared down at Steve, who held his hands up in defence. The flash image of the Grandmaster with his fingers around Thor's throat caught her off guard, and then her anger melted away into a brief, blissful nothingness. Before she could respond, the team came rushing out to witness the scene though they stood back and watched with held breaths as the weapon began shaking in her hand.

“Kathryn, release Captain America's shield,” Vision stated, standing close to her with a hand reaching forwards.

“Kat please think about what you’re doing,” Tabitha urged, her voice pleading.

She dropped the shield with a heavy clunk and the plasma that ran through her veins melted away, revealing the naturally pale skin underneath. Kat blinked her eyes and the fire morphed to its original grey. Before she could be obtained, she turned out of the room and ran.

Court stepped towards Steve and offered him a hand, to which he grasped her forearm and pulled himself to his feet, still feeling relatively uneasy.

“You alright, bud?” Court questioned, looking as Steve winced when he pressed a hand to the side of his head.

“I’m not bleeding, so,” Steve said after staring down at his hand as he pulled it away, “god, I really feel like my age now.”

“Is that right, grandpa?” Court comforted, before lowering her voice. “What was that all about?”

“I-- I don’t know,” Steve admitted, shaking out of his dazed funk.

“Yeah, we’re gonna need a little bit more than I don’t know, pal,” Tony told him, sucking on his teeth as he stared at the damage to the flooring. “Vision, chase after the psycho feline, would you?”

“I’m in pursuit,” the android responded, morphing through the wall.

“Was that a pun?” Tony breathed. “I’m so proud.”

“She’s not herself,” Tabitha realised, ignoring Tony's remarks. “She’s different.”

“Yeah,” Court scoffed.  “What the heck was all that stuff with her hands? She looked like a fucking glow stick. Bet that’d be great at a rave,” she said, oblivious to the cold eyes upon her.

“She’s stronger,” Steve heaved, holding a hand to the stitch he felt in his side. “Scarier. She was hitting to kill.”

“I can tell from the damage,” Tony scorned, rolling his eyes.

“Yeah, she really had it out for you,” Tabitha swallowed. “I know she doesn’t like you but-- this is different. It’s almost like she was…”

“Brainwashed,” Courtenay finished, rubbing her clammy palms together. “She was in a trance.”

“Someone is definitely behind this,” Tabitha agreed. “Now would be a great time for Thor to visit. Maybe he knows what’s going on,” she shrugged.

“You know he’d be down here at the speed of light if anything serious was happening,” Courtenay grinned.

Tabitha arched a brow. “That was a tasteful pun. I enjoyed it.”

“Thank you,” Court responded.

“Hmph,” Tony shrugged. “I say we just carry on like it didn’t happen.”

“Are you mad?” Tabitha questioned. “She’s clearly unwell.”

“So we keep an eye on her and make sure she’s safe,” Tony offered. “But if there really is someone behind this, there’s gotta be a purpose to it and ignoring it is sure as hell gonna piss on their parade. I’m speaking from experience; don’t challenge them and definitely, do not give them what they want.”

“He’s right,” Courtenay agreed. “Keep her safe and figure out what’s wrong. That’s all we can do.”

Tabitha rubbed her arms. “Okay.”

Kathryn found herself upon the roof in her attempt to escape the situation she had found herself in. She was visibly shaking; even more so in the cold, slashing rain from thunderous, heavy clouds above.

She stared up at the sky, squinting past the rain.

“You know, it’d be really good to see you right now,” she called out. “I don’t even know what I’m doing anymore,” she admitted sorrowfully, feeling a little silly although comforted as she yelled to the storm. “You always seemed so sure.”

Vision merged behind her, though he simply watched and analysed instead of interrupted.

“I almost killed him, Thor,” she breathed out. “He almost died and it would’ve been my fault,” Kat choked, looking down at her hands. “I don’t know what’s happening to me. Maybe I am just as bad as he thinks I am. The Grandmaster said one thing and I-- maybe I should be locked in that cell. I’m scared, Thor. Why aren’t you here?”

“You’re in pain,” Vision said quietly, causing her to turn around in sudden surprise. He held out his hand. “Please, come with me.”

With a final, yearning and hopeful glance towards the sky, her emotions dwindled to nothingness and she followed Vision back into the compound.

#mcu trio #thor x reader #marvel #imagine #marvel imagines

[mcutrio]

Home Sour Home (CW) [17]

Home Sour Home (CW) [17]

Note: the accords will begin in the next part, so that’s exciting :)

Tags: @buckys-little-monster @imaginesofeverykind @kaydeinkf

It’d been a few days since the girls had been released from their cells, and it was if nothing had changed between them and the team. Tabitha and Courtenay grasped onto the idea that Steve just needed to figure out who they were before he could trust them wholly, but it was a little more difficult for Kat to understand. After all, if it were Bucky in the same scenario, would he have sincerely locked him away? She didn’t think so, and she didn’t see a difference between them.

Kat was currently in her room, awkwardly positioned on the floor against the foot of her bed. The curtains were drawn and the lights were off, as she preferred. She’d visibly lost weight; not so much that it was concerning, but enough for her limbs and wrists and fingers to slim down noticeably. The stress and sensation of impending death and catastrophe put her off of her food most of the time.

Between her fingers, she held a small, decorative glass ball as she recalled the memory of the heat that generated from her hands many nights ago. She thought of Steve, how his facade of being America’s greatest hero smothered the brewing vigilante underneath. Kat was aware of Steve’s rage, and that he could do great damage with it if he wished. She wouldn’t entertain his fake, righteous demeanour any longer, knowing that her friends would be in harm's way.

Her hair swayed with her heavy breaths, her fingers elongated and twitching over the glass ball before a warm sensation suddenly swam through her veins. Her skin became fluorescently orange, and the glass ball cracked and burst between her fingers like an egg. She retracted her hands like she had touched an open flame and the sensation melted away from her hands.

Meanwhile, Tabitha and Courtenay chilled out in the lounge room, enjoying the comfort of the plush sofas over the hospital beds and makeshift platforms.

“Damn, I really miss Buck,” Tabitha sighed, looking over to Courtenay after she said her farewells to Peter over the phone. “You’re so lucky.”

Court shrugged. “So are you. It’s just a tough situation right now.”

“Yeah,” Tabitha fiddled with her fingers, wrapping them around the mug of tea in front of her. “I… I think I love him, you know.”

Courtenay snapped her eyes from somewhere off into the distance straight onto Tabitha, who had a sudden flush of pink to her cheeks.

“Woah. For real? I had no idea,” Court said sarcastically, to which Tabitha meekly smiled in response. Court folded her arms and leaned on the table. “I remember a time when I thought we were incapable of love.”

“Hmm, I never thought of it in that way,” Tabitha admitted.

“How so?” Courtenay asked.

“Well… it wasn’t that we were incapable of being loved, it’s just that we would never be in the situation or scenario or have the opportunity to be loved. I think that’s worse,” she sighed heavily, bringing the mug of tea up to her lips. “But I’m grateful for what we have now.”

“Me, too,” Courtenay agreed enthusiastically. “So, have you and Bucky fucked yet?”

Tabitha spat out the tea in her mouth in shock, her throat clenching. “Oh my god.”

“Is that a yes or a no? I’m not getting clear signals here, Tabitha,” Court prattled.

Tabitha glanced over her shoulders for a moment before maintaining eye contact with her friend. “Well, yes, a few times, but--” she uttered, voice low.

Court broke out into a smile and waved her arms, exhaling a noise that was far from comprehensible. Tabitha threw her hand on Courtenay’s mouth.

“Stop it!” She laughed, before lowering her hand and smirking, “don’t want Steve the virgin to hear.”

“Now that’s not very nice,” Natasha purred, grinning as she leaned in the doorway. “But I’m glad I’m not the only one who’s thought about it.”

“Right!” Tabitha exclaimed, outstretching her hand for a moment. “Poor thing. Do you reckon he had game back in the forties?”

“He told me of his few encounters,” Natasha arched a brow, “but he’s only ever chased one.”

“How romantic,” Court said, “is she dead?” She added insensitively.

“Courtenay!” Tabitha breathed.

“Oh, sorry,” she cleared her throat, “are they no longer currently breathing?”

“Better,” Tabitha said, cocking her head.

“Hospitalised, but breathing,” Natasha responded wittily. “It’s quite sad, actually,” she added with a sigh. “He visits her often.”

“Oh, that’d be weird. Is she all old and wrinkly while he’s still in his prime?” Court said.

Tabitha gave her a firm look.

Court held up her hands up in defence. “Sorry, I get it.”

“Love is young,” Natasha uttered, though her voice fell upon her last words, “or, whatever.”

“Heard anything from Banner?” Tabitha questioned, her voice kind.

“No,” Natasha answered flatly, a twinge of soreness to her face. “Guess it wasn’t meant to be.”

“He’s not ready to love if he can’t accept himself. He just needs time, and a good talking to,” Tabitha said. “How about a girls night this weekend to make you feel better?”

Natasha looked confused. “Oh, that’s alright--”

“Come on, it’ll be fun!” Tabitha exclaimed. “We can have junk food and watch movies. Just relax for a bit.”

“Yeah, let’s do it!” Courtenay agreed.

“Alright, sure,” Natasha agreed, a small smile on her face. “When?”

“Saturday night,” Tabitha declared, “it’s pencilled in.”

Meanwhile, Kat recovered from her small episode and sauntered through the sleek corridors until she found Tony nestled away in his natural habitat of the science labs.

“You wanted to talk to me?” Kat said, tracing her finger anxiously over the table as Tony fiddled with an unusual device.

“Yeah,” he put the device down and tugged on his blazer, “I’m away for a public stage appearance this weekend and I was supposed to be hosting it with Pepper, but since her and I…” Tony trailed off, his eyes cast downwards before he forced himself to perk up, “I was hoping you’d like to join me in her place.”

“A public appearance?” Kat repeated, suddenly feeling woozy, “isn’t that a bad idea, considering all that’s gone down?”

Tony sucked his teeth for a moment. “It’ll be good for you. We’re going to be donating a Helluva lot of money to a bunch of aspiring kids, and there’s no better way to wipe your record than charity work. Believe me.”

“Will I have to say anything, or am I purely the arm candy?” Kat asked, brows raised.

Tony pulled a face. “You’ll have a couple lines,” after noticing her expression shift, he grinned. “Don’t worry, there’ll be a holoprompter in front of you.”

“Are you sure about this?” Kat questioned, fiddling with her fingers. There’s nothing she’d want more than to gain the world's trust, as would the other two considering that they’d once put their lives on the line to protect the citizens from Ultron’s wrath, only for them to turn their back the moment the three were announced as former Hydra agents.  

“Of course,” Tony nodded, “you’re not the Hydra monsters they made you to be anymore. You just need to prove that to them. Win their trust over, if you like.”

Kat hesitated for a moment, almost surprised that Tony understood her far more than the righteous soldier ever did. She pondered over what it would be like if he had taken charge over the decision to throw them in the cells over Steve.

“And there’s no better way to do that other than dishing out a load of money?” Kat perked a brow.

“You’d be surprised,” Tony flashed her a grin, “...but then come the accords. Have you made your mind up yet?”

“I think so, but I think I’d like to read it just to wrap my head around it,” Kat nodded. “I’m not so sure about Tabitha though… I don’t think anybody is going to be particularly happy with it, actually.”

“It was easy enough for you,” Tony shrugged. “But it doesn’t matter whether they’re happy with it or not. It’s the law. They sign the papers or hang up their boots,”

“That’s cold,” Kat said with a smile.

“Yeah, well, you’ve got nothing to worry about,” Tony told her. “So, this Saturday night, eight p.m. Wear something nice.”

“Alright,” Kat said. “See you later, Tony.”

“Oh-- before you go,” Tony called out, stopping her in her tracks as she paused in the doorway. She whipped around with a simple ‘hmm?’ of questioning. “Is everything alright?”

“Yeah, of course,” she answered without missing a beat. Her eyebrows pulled together, wondering what she’d done to give Tony the idea that she was anything other than alright. “Why do you ask?”

“No reason,” Tony brushed it off. “Go, leave, buy clothes and makeup or whatever women do.”

Kat smiled. “We both know I could kick your ass and do those things at the same time.”

“Goodbye, Kat,” Tony grinned.

“Later.”

#mcu trio

[mcutrio]

Released (CW) [16.5]

Released (CW) [16.5]

Note: basically a filler chapter, hence the .5, short and kinda boring. can skip but it clears a lot of things up basically. i actually hate this djshdlkdsh

Tags: @buckys-little-monster @imaginesofeverykind @kaydeinkf​

Kat was slumped in the corner of her cell, her eyes remaining closed as her body grew used to the sound of the door clanking open and shut rather than becoming hopeful over the possibility that Steve had come to his senses and would be willing to set her and Tabitha free. However, at the sound of soft shoes tapping across the tiled flooring and Tony clearing his throat, she jerked her eyes open.

He had his hands buried in his trouser pockets and a grave, pinched look on his face. Tabitha perked up herself, leaning forwards towards the clear glass of her cell.

“Just about everyone and their mother is talking about you,” Tony told them, “it’s been a helluva month trying to avoid questions about you.”

“Isn’t that what you do best?” Kat asked, perking a brow.

“Tony, what’s going on?” Tabitha pressed, feeling an uncertain wave of emotions shrouding him. “Is everything okay?”

“Everythings fine,” Tony nodded, “just… gained some perspective this weekend, is all,” he sighed, his eyes drifting aside for a moment. The two girls felt unusual, given the fact that Tony rarely unveiled his vulnerability. However, it was quickly guarded with his snarky smile. “And recently, countries have been agreeing to a new law that they’re trying to pass. The Sokovian accords -- ‘Oversight’.”

Kat and Tabitha exchanged a look through the cell wall between them before staring at Tony again, wondering what these accords were.

“It’s basically the government pulling on the reigns of the Avengers, telling them where and what they need to do if they think it’s necessary.” He shrugged, “it’s something that needs to be done -- and it could clear up your record, if only you agree to sign it.”

Tabitha frowned, “but what if there’s something we need to do and they don’t let us?”

“Then we don’t need to do it,” Tony shot back, nodding at the two before backing out of the room. “Sleep on it.”

Kat pondered over this for a moment, her mind whirring with thoughts. Tabitha caught her doing this and frowned, astounded that Kat, of all people, would even considering allowing the government to control her and her choices.

“You can’t be serious,” Tabitha breathed out, her brows pinching together. “This is insanity, Kat.”

“How?” Kat questioned, looking distant with thought. “It… it makes a lot of sense.”

“I don’t believe you,” Tabitha shook her head, confused. “The Government is no different from Rumlow--”

“Don’t say that,” Kat snapped, eyes hard and cold in response to his name. “This is nothing like Rumlow and you know it isn’t.”

“I know it’s hard to talk about, Kat, but it’s true,” Tabitha reinforced, “the government preach freedom yet require control in order to reach it. Does that remind you of anything?”

Kathryn’s eyes fell to the floor, her expression wavering. She shook her head, signifying she did not have the energy to argue and sat down on the platform that stood as their makeshift beds in the cells. However, it was clear that both girls had made their decision.

Meanwhile, Courtenay lay still on her stomach whilst Helen Cho and her small crew worked their magic with her tissue-regeneration machine that would be spending the rest of the day sewing together the burnt, shredded skin on her back. Peter was by her side as per usual, comforting and humouring her throughout the painful and boring situation. Her hypersensitivity was especially dulled due to the medication she was on, but even then the sensation of her cells forming new tissue felt like someone was knitting her skin together with sharp needles.

“I’m surprised Steve even let you in here,” Court huffed, wincing for a moment as she stared over at Peter who held a box of McDonald's beside her, feeding her fries and nuggets. She tore a golden fry from his fingers with her teeth, especially hungry. “So good.”

“Me too,” Pete admitted, “I heard about everything. Where’s Kat and Tabitha?”

“Locked away in the cells, which is where I’d be if I hadn't jumped in front of that damn bomb and shredded my back,” Court explained, “though I get it, there are cameras, they’re under surveillance twenty-four seven. Steve’s paranoid. Wouldn't you be?”

Peter nodded, offering her a nugget which she dug her teeth into. “For sure. It all makes sense. Until he can, you know… prove whatever you’re saying is true, perhaps having you locked away isn’t too bad of an idea.”

“Are you saying he’s doing the right thing?” Court rose her brow, sipping on the vanilla milkshake that Peter lifted towards her.

He shrugged, eyes widening at her warning tone. “Uh… no? I just, kind of… I understand why he’s doing it. Not that it’s okay though. Totally not cool on Cap- Steve’s behalf. He’s paranoid.”

Court smiled briefly, “it’s alright, I get it. I just wish he had some sort of trust in us. I mean, after everything… makes you feel a bit shitty, you get me? He’s a good friend,”

“Yeah, I know,” Peter felt his eyes twitch with emotion, his stomach feeling nauseous and his skin had felt uncomfortable ever since he heard the news. It was hard to digest that Court and the other two were from Hydra, knowing all the havoc they had caused. He understood and supported her, though, feeling only distaste towards the people who forced her into the lifestyle rather than her on her own. “I… what was it like?”

“What, back in Hydra?” Court asked, seemingly relaxed whilst the very thought of it made her insides itch. “It was hard, it was really hard. It was three days after my fifth birthday that I arrived there. I remember these men in all black just stormed our house, threatened my parents and… the last I saw of them was with guns to their heads. I don’t really know how it turned out for them.”

Peter winced, knowing how hard it was to lose your parents only in a different scenario. “I’m sorry.”

Courtenay, although visibly melancholic, shrugged it off. “It’s okay. I always wanted to go back to them, but… apparently, they did something wrong and I was a debt they owed. Or something. So, I probably shouldn’t miss them.”

“Still,” Peter sighed, “it’s all you knew.”

Before any more words could be uttered between them, there was a sharp beeping that indicated that the healing process was complete. Helen, who had silently overheard their conversation, swiftly disabled to the device and manoeuvred it so that Courtenay could get up. Stretching, Court felt the skin on her back; it certainly felt smooth, but there was a certain tightness to it that made it feel synthetic. Almost like her skin was too smooth. The one thing she noticed is that it wasn’t overly-sensitive like the rest of her was.

Helen suddenly uttered something to another doctor in Korean, and the doctor nodded before hurrying out of the room. A few moments later, after Court had dressed in the plain clothing they’d offered to her, Steve arrived with a file packet in hand.

“Steve,” Court immediately said, exchanging a wary look with Peter before she straightened her posture.

“Courtenay,” Steve nodded, his face blank. “How're the injuries?”

The girl immediate grasped her neck, feeling for a patch of the smooth skin that snaked over her shoulder. “What injuries?”

He smiled a little. “I’m glad everything’s going well. Otherwise, how’d you work out on the field?”

Court frowned, “are you letting us out?”

His smile grew a somewhat sarcastic lilt to the tug of his lips. “Yes; after a meeting with the team, they agreed that a majority vote would be the way to go and things are looking up for you.”

“Okay,” Court nodded, “I’m assuming Stark managed to expose us, huh?”

“That’s what I came here to show you,” Steve said, fumbling with the file in his hands. He handed it over to her, heaving a breath as he did so.

Court opened it, her eyes practically burning the paper in her hands to ash as she gazed at it, hard and heatedly. In her hands was her profile; her ID, her name, her last name.

“Stewart,” Courtenay tasted the word on her tongues, having forgotten it after so many years. “Courtenay Stewart, subject fifty-one,” she repeated. Underneath her blood types and basic characteristic information was the number of experiments she had undergone. One-hundred and fifty-seven were the total, out of an uncompleted two-hundred. On the next page was Courtenay photographed on her first mission, geared up in all black with the Hydra symbol hot on her chest and a splatter of blood on her cheek. On the next page was herself, Kat and Tabitha, all of which were emotionless, strapped with weapons, their arm raised to hail Hydra. On the last page was her WANTED picture, in which she was portrayed as a traitor to Hydra.

“I trust you,” Steve finally said, noticing that she had finished reading the booklet which she slowly passed over to Peter whose eyes were curious and longing.

“And the others?” Court asked.

“They’re okay,” Steve nodded. “There’s a lot missing from Tabitha’s background, but we put the pieces together.”

“Oh?” Court rose her brows.

“Experiments didn’t work,” Steve finalised, to which Court nodded and pressed her lips together, her eyes falling to the ground, “unless there’s something else we’re missing?”

“No,” she shot at him firmly, shaking her head. “Let them out, Steve.”

“Next stop,” Steve smiled, saluting at Courtenay as he left the room. Following close behind was the beefy men who stood guard at the door, who now no longer remained of service.

Tabitha jumped in surprise as the door heaved open not ten minutes later, and she felt her cheeks beam at the sight of Steve, who looked particularly more welcoming than usual. Kat lay on her back and had earbuds stuffed in and didn’t turn to give him attention.

“I know you can hear me,” Steve muttered, noticing the flicker of her eye as he stepped in. She clenched her jaw, her eyes remaining stiff on the ceiling. “I’m sorry that I had you kept in these cells for the past month, but it was the safest option,”

Kat tugged an earbud out, swinging her legs over and sitting upright. “The safest option? Out of how many?”

Steve ignored this and instead turned to Tabitha.

“We get it, Steve,” Tabitha inputted, “just… is Bucky safe?”

“Yes; I had him relocated to Bucharest as soon as you asked. He’s safe, I promise,” he said firmly. “The rest of the team and I are holding a majority vote later. If we think we can trust you… you’ll be let out.”

Kat rolled her eyes so hard that she felt the muscles strain. “What’s changed your mind then, soldier?”

Steve slid their pamphlets through the food shoot and they took them begrudgingly, examining them.

“Kathryn Rumlow, subject forty-seven,” Kat breathed out loud, “Rumlow.”

“Tabitha Frazer, subject forty-six,” Tabitha shot back, feeling tears come to her eyes. “I didn’t know I had a last name,” the booklet curled in her strong, shaking grip and she slid the booklet back towards Steve. “Thank you.”

“It’s okay,” Steve said, just as Vision wandered in carelessly by shifting through the wall. Steve turned, raising a brow.

“They’ve all asked for the girl to be released,” he stated with a nod. “And Tony has requested to see Kathryn. Alone,”

Beyond Steve and Vision, Kat caught a glimpse of the Grandmaster, who waved his hand with a twitch of his finger. The sudden images of her hands around Steve’s throat and a lifeless look on his face had her overwhelmed, but she blinked it away and stepped out of the cell as soon as the door whooshed open.

The sensation of sweet freedom never felt so bitter when she knew she was let out for a purpose.

#mcu trio #peter parker x reader #spider-man x reader #imagine #marvel #fic

[mcutrio]

Locked Away (CW) [16]

Locked Away (CW) [16]

Tags: @buckys-little-monster @imaginesofeverykind @kaydeinkf

Tabitha tossed and turned in her sleep, her skin letting off purple sparks as a sheen of sweat glimmered on her forehead. Asleep, the voluptuous sparks and curls of energy beamed and swam around the room, reaching for something that would reveal the truth to her whilst she slept.

She saw explosions, with people screaming and crying. Ambulances, a booklet, the government, death, and… Bucky, his face, centre of it all.

With a harsh gasp, her back arched in fear as her eyes snapped open and she sat upright, clutching the sheets beneath her as strands of her hair stuck to her forehead and to the back of her neck. Her eyes looked around the room as her heartbeat thudded, her body feeling weak as it gave out to the shudders and convulsions of her dream. It was perhaps about six a.m., given the streams of pale light in the window.

Without hesitation, she reached for her laptop and called Bucky, fearing for his life.

Less than a minute later, he answered, looking slightly gruff and tired though excited to see her all the same. It was mid-noon in Germany, but he’d only just dragged himself out of bed.

“Hey, is everything okay--”

“Buck, listen to me,” Tabitha began earnestly, gaining his full attention as he groaned whilst sitting up in his bed, clearly burned-out and tired. “I-- I saw things,”

“What are you talking about?” He questioned, voice ragged and low.

“I had another vision,” she told him, chewing on her thumbnail.

“A vision?” He questioned before he suddenly remembered what she had told him back in the barn, about how she experienced thoughts towards the future. “What did you see?”

“It’s not good,” she answered, “I think you need to get out of Germany.”

“And come back?” He asked.

She shook her head, “I’m going to talk to Steve about relocating you. I can’t… you can’t stay there, and I want to be sure that you’re safe. I don’t think coming back is an option either. Tensions are high, it’s-- it’s tough.”

“Alright,” Bucky agreed, running his hands over his face, “I just want to come home.”

Tabitha sighed as she felt her heart weigh down. “I know. I want you to come home, too.”

“I’ll be safe,” he promised, “how’s Courtenay?”

Tabitha, somewhat relieved after Bucky swore he would relocate, breathed, nodded and placed a hand upon her forehead. “She’s been asleep ever since they knocked her out.”

“She’ll need somebody there for her when she wakes up,” Bucky said, thinking back to his times of experience with torture. Waking up and recovering alone was always the hardest thing to do.

“Pete’s there and he hasn’t left her side, so there’s no worry there.” Tabitha smiled a little, her eyes flickering up to the timer, realising that they were closing in on their limit. “I should go.”

Buck nodded and pressed his lips together. “Yeah. Talk again s--”

“Wait!” Tabitha suddenly said, catching him off guard as he rose his brows in question. “Buck, I--” Tabitha sucked in a deep breath before making a solemn choice, “I’ll see you soon.”

“You too,” he grinned a little, and then his image shrunk and Tabitha was left to her own silence.

A few hours later, Peter felt a twitch in his numb, tingling hand and his eyes snapped open, watching as Court slowly stirred awake. His limp grasp immediately tightened around her fingers, prepared for her to wake up in a state of shock again. However, she woke up, eyes open and alert, though seemingly unresponsive.

“Hey,” Peter said quietly, voice groggy as he rubbed the sleep from his eye and cracked his stiff neck.

Court’s dry lips parted and she let out a deep sigh, her eyes shutting tightly as a single tear fell from the corner of her eye, dipping over the rise on her cheekbone. Peter felt his lungs cave in as he reached over and smoothed away the tear with his thumb, terrified at the thought of what Court had to go through that was so mentally scarring.

She sniffled and reached for Pete’s hand on her cheek, clutching it tightly.

“I think Steve wants to talk to you,” Peter told her reluctantly. It pained him to tell her this, but it was commanded by the super soldier that he did so. Courtenay nodding in understanding.

“Send him in, then,” she answered groggily.

Pete pressed his hand against her cheek for a final moment before he scraped his chair across the floor and stood to his feet, rushing out of the room and leaving a tense Courtenay unoccupied, which probably wasn’t the best idea given her stable condition.

She stared down at her arms, feeling on edge about the medication that was slowly dripping into her bloodstream though being aware that it was for the greater good. She clenched her fist and slowly lifted herself and propped her scorched back against her pillow before Steve, Kat and Tabitha entered.

“I can’t believe you’re doing this,” Kat grumbled, shooting daggers at Rogers as she folded her arms over her chest. “She’s not in any shape or form to be answering delirious questions, Steve.”

Tabitha seemed more than unimpressed but sighed. “Kat, it has to be said. Whether Court is injured or not, it has to be done.”

Kat frowned deeply, “but--”

“Enough,” Tabitha said firmly, but there was a kind understanding to her voice that made Kat quiet down with all but a harsh sigh through her nose. “Steve?”

“You know I’d love nothing more than to give you three the benefit of the doubt and allow you to heal in peace,” Steve looked over at Courtenay, who had a weary expression. “But this is serious. You’ve hidden from the team that you were former accomplices to Hydra; and as a matter of fact, I can’t state whether I believe you’re still working for them or not. I don’t have a lot of trust in you; as a matter of fact, it’s hard for us to keep you on the compound.”

“Benefit of the doubt?” Kat scoffed, leaning forward with an offended, incredulous expression before barking laughter and leaning back slightly. “You’re an absolute joke, Steve. You live for war; this is your comfort, your solace. You love nothing more than to harass and terrorise and cover it up by saying you defend this stupid country from those very things. Spare me from your outdated patriotic bullshit.”

Steve clenched his jaw. “Are you saying you’re against this country?”

Even Tabitha rolled her eyes at that one. “No, Steve,” she said, stepping in front of Kat so she could have her more polite and calculated word. “We stopped working for Hydra when Natasha released their files.”

“And Rumlow?” He asked, eyes flickering towards Kat, “why weren’t your loyalties with him? How do I know you three weren’t a part of his gang of thugs and were distracting us whilst he wreaked havoc in Africa?”

Court frowned. “Steve, we thought Rumlow was dead,” she spoke up, grasping everyone's attention. She shuffled in her place and cleared her throat. “As soon as we heard the news of what happened in DC… it was like the small, small world we knew had broken away and we were finally exposed to real freedom.”

“Hydra doesn’t believe in freedom.” Steve shot back, almost as if he were accusing the three girls of being on-going Hydra soldiers.

“There’s a blurred line between control and freedom,” Tabitha sighed, “Rumlow believed that by controlling us, we were free. We were fulfilling our lives… there was nothing more to us, outside of…” she twitched her fingers, a purple veil sparking over her palm, “this. And then the moment we got the taste of that very freedom they hoped to demolish, we were overwhelmed.”

Steve frowned tightly. “And Kathryn. Rumlow said he was your father and that he never told you. Is this true?”

Kat unfolded her arms, suddenly feeling a little stiff with emotion. “No, I never knew.”

The super soldier nodded somewhat understandably, “and what’s your purpose? Why did they enhance you?”

The three of them stayed quiet, unsure of what to say in response.

“Well… it’s the same as asking why the military creates nuclear weapons.” Court began, “they don’t create them to use them, essentially… they might create prototypes and test them on an open field, but they’re never created for immediate destructive purposes. Only in preparation.”

“Preparation for what?” Steve frowned.

“You,” Tabitha finished. “Our last mission…”

“We were sent to kill you,” Kat jumped in, “but we made a different call, Steve. So I’d greatly appreciate it if you stopped threatening us with how little you ‘trust us’ now because quite frankly, we didn’t end up keeping you alive and fighting your war against Ultron because we cared about how much you trusted us.”

“And what about what he said about the Winter Soldier?” Steve asked suddenly.

Court and Kat shared a sudden, uneasy glance.

“He’s trying to throw you off,” Tabitha said innocently, “there are no other Winter Soldiers. They had trials and tests… but none were as successful as they were on Bucky. Only one man has the formula to change your mind like that; but he’s gone, off the radar. We think he’s been dead for a long time.”

Steve seemed satisfied with this due to a small shift in his expression. However, his jaw remained clenched as he breathed through his nose. “Until we can confirm your statements… we can’t have you staying on the grounds without being under surveillance.”

“Excuse me?” Kat scoffed, just as the other two girls let out grumbles of defiance and surprise. “Steve, you can’t treat us like criminals. We’ve put so much on the line for you--” as she said this, two men came through the doors, reaching for Kat’s arms.

“If you resist, the consequences will be worse,” Steve said, “I’m sorry… but I have to do this, for the safety of everyone else.”

“What about Courtenay, huh?” Kat spat, allowing herself to be dragged from the room. “Are you just going to lock away an injured girl who damn near sacrificed herself to save you? Huh, Steve? Is that--” she was dragged away from the room and the door shut behind her, resulting in no more words passing through the door.

“Steve, please,” Court nearly choked out, aching for the trust and reconciliation with her old friend. With her spontaneous attitude and sometimes overly-sexual or dark humour, she found it difficult to make lasting friendships and relationships with people. Steve, however, had been understanding and kind, and the two of them had a strong bond. “You can trust us, after everything we’ve done... we never chose to be a part of Hydra. We chose this.”

Steve swayed slightly but didn’t look at her as two other men walked in and stood either side of the door to stop her from ever leaving, not that she’d have the energy to try.

“I’m sorry,” Steve repeated, quickly moving out of the doors without taking a second look back. Court’s eyes dropped downwards, a mile-a-minute thoughts rushing through her mind. It hurt to think that he didn’t trust her, but she didn’t regret jumping in front of that bomb for him. If it weren’t for Wanda, the outcome would’ve been different, and she pondered over how different their current situation would be if it were just Kat and Tabitha fighting for their right of his trust.

Thor sighed to himself, book in his hands as his eyes wandered over the story of the Aether that he’d been read many a time. Slowly, he shut it, the book clapping together with a dull thud before he set it down, his heart feeling a tug of sorrow. He always felt saddened when leaving the team behind, especially because he knew not when he would return. For all he knew, given his lack of knowledge on the infinity stones at that very moment, he could be away for another millennium, long after they’d lived their lives.

Without knowing where his feet carried him next, he wandered through the grounds before he stood at the edge of the rainbow bridge, and then he was beside Heimdall again. The man had a knowing glimmer to his golden, galaxy-reflecting eyes and he smiled at the prince, who did not return the gleeful charm.

“How are they?” Thor asked quietly.

Heimdall’s lip quirked. “How is she?” He corrected.

Thor blinked, before nodding and uttering a quite “yes”.

The omniscient guardian stood tall as his eyes bored through into the galaxy, reaching out and touching the ghosts of souls before his mind brushed against her’s, which felt dark and estranged. He pressed his sword down, stepping forwards to reach further into the causality of her sudden distraughtness.

“She’s unwell,” Heimdall responded.

Thor frowned, “how so?”

Heimdall turned, eyes flashing for a moment. “Her mind has been plagued with the devil's tongue.”

“I don’t understand,” Thor responded.

“There’s part of her soul that I cannot see, nor understand. All I can sense is that an outer force is affecting her well-being and perception of others,” Heimdall explained. “She’s afraid.”

“Afraid of what?” Thor asked, concerned.

Heimdall’s eyes narrowed slightly, “of herself.”

“She might be human, but she is strong,” Thor defended, “will she be alright?”

“For now,” Heimdall answered, looking away, “but I have a feeling something much bigger is coming.”

Meanwhile, Kat and Tabitha stayed confined in plain cells, guarded by men so that neither of them would attempt to escape. Not that Tabitha would attempt anyway, but even Kat suppressed the urge, finding it more defiant to stay still and quiet than to act out. She folded her arms over her chest, pacing the room back and forth.

Less than an hour later, Tony appeared, looking flushed and disgruntled. He frowned over at Kat and Tabitha, though moved towards Kats cell first.

“Oh, good,” Kat huffed, “here to less us out, big guy?”

Tony cringed, “actually, no.”

Tabitha, who had looked hopeful after wondering that perhaps Tony had persuaded Steve to trust them sunk backwards, her back hitting the dull wall. “What?” Kat asked, quietly outraged. “What do you mean, ‘no’?”

“I agreed to let Steve keep you in the compound, for a few days at the minimum,” Tony told her, “it makes sense, he has trust issues.”

“And you don’t?” Kat rose a brow.

Tony sighed, pulling an expression to display how he was fighting an inward war. “I can’t put anyone at risk.”

Kat threw her hands up and slammed them down at her sides again. “You’re just like him, Tony.”

“Give me some credit, kid,” Tony rolled his eyes, “I’ve been pulling up corrupted Hydra files; most of it’s encrypted, but I’ve got the brains. If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t have the patience,” Tony told her, “and once I can spill all the beans to Cap about your whole charade of crimes, he’ll manage to see past it.”

Kat frowned, “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Tony. I’d really rather--”

“Judgement is better than… this,” Tony said, exasperated. “Steve doesn’t trust you because he doesn’t think he knows you. As soon as he does, his temper tantrum will cool down, trust me.”

“And what if I don’t want it to?” Kat rose her brow, voice lowering an octave.

Stark shoved his hands in his trouser pockets. “Well… then you’re in there for a good reason. Don’t make me not trust you either, Buffy. I’m counting on you.”

Tony nodded with finality, his gaze lingering on the cool, white flooring before he turned to leave, his smart business shoes shuffling against the lamination. Kat collapsed to the floor, looking towards Tabitha who sat, distressed and exhausted, on the other side of the glass.

“Just like old times, huh?” Kat nodded backwards, to which Tabitha responded with a huff through her nose and her lips pressed together.

“I never wanted this to happen,” Tabitha mumbled, “what if he never trusts us again? What is Tony going to find in those files?”

“Well… what wasn’t with Rumlow,” Kat swallowed upon saying his name, “is on those damned compromised files. Natasha is too smart for her own good,” Kat shook her head, hands planted either side of her as she drew her knees to her chest. “I’m gonna kill Steve.”

Tabitha snorted. “Like you’d get the chance,” she scoffed.

Kat stared off into the corner of her cell, where she saw the Grandmaster lingering. She had sudden flash images of herself and her two friends with slit throats, with bound wrists and beaten bodies, and at the forefront was Steve. She glanced back at Tabitha, who was oblivious to it all.

“Let’s hope that I don’t.”

#mcu trio #thor x reader #bucky x reader #peter parker x reader #spider-man x reader

[mcutrio]

Fire Burns (CW) [15]

Fire Burns (CW) [15]

Tags: @imaginesofeverykind @buckys-little-monster​

Peter sat quiet and shivering beside Courtenay’s bed, her still body covered with cool-blue and white sheets. Her head was propped up slightly with a soft, clean pillow, her blue hair stark and bright against her pale, sunken face. Before she set off for her mission, she’d announced to Peter that she was going to dye her hair purple in celebration of a successful mission. He wondered if she’d ever touch the box of dye after this, or if it’d remain untouched in her en-suite.

Her lips parted and she sucked in a slow breath. Her eyes opened slowly at first, and then all at once, and she squinted at the fluorescent, white lights. Immediately, Peter stood and turned them off, and instead letting the pale, early evening light filter in through the blinds. Courtenay’s fingers curled against the sheets, her knuckles paling with tension as she felt a spike of adrenaline.

Pete, noticing the increase in her heart rate on the beeping monitor, sprung to action and took one of her icy cold hands in his own.

“Hey, it’s okay. You’re safe,” he promised, his eyes boring into hers. Through narrowed lashes, she looked at her body. The sight of wires snaking in and out of her arms immediately made her throat swell with emotion and she sat bolt upright, her heart rate sporadic, and tore them from her skin. “Court, calm down--”

Not even ten seconds after her heart rate monitor flatlined after she tore the tubings from her arms, Dr Cho and a secondary doctor burst in, prepared for the worst. However, they eased at the sight and immediately pressed her onto her back.

“Courtenay, you need to relax,” Dr Cho said calmly, her lips pressed together. “You’re in pain and you need to rest so that your body can heal.”

“No,” Courtenay struggled out, her voice deep and guttural with fear, “don’t touch me, don’t touch me, don’t touch me--” she breathed, shaking and shuddering and ducking away from the tubings that Dr Cho tried to reinsert.

Once Court felt the tug on her skin, she shoved Helen Cho in the chest, but it was feeble and the doctor merely stumbled back as her eyes widened in surprise. She quickly regained her stance.

“She’s in shock,” she realised, looking urgently towards Peter. “Calm her down, please?”

Pete stood up and clutched Courtenay’s hands, trying to gain her attention as she slurred words of incoherent fear and torment.

“No more, please, please, no more,” she begged quietly. “I can’t take anymore, it hurts, it hurts--”

“Court? Court, look at me,” Peter encouraged, “you have to calm down, okay? For me?” He soothed, though she didn’t listen, tears streaming from her eyes as she struggled.

Helen sighed through her nose, “we can’t wait, Peter. She needs to be still so that she can heal, and if she won’t have the tubing then the morphine won’t be able to control her pain. We have to make a decision here.”

Peter, body shaking as Court thrashed in his grasp, swallowed quietly and nodded.

Dr Cho nodded to her counterpart, holding out a gloved hand. The other doctor reached into the cabinet, pulling out a clean syringe and a bottle of strong medication. After the syringe was filled, it was pulled out with a glimmer as air bubbles were forced out of the tip. The doctor handed the device over to Helen Cho, who placed her free hand upon Courtenay’s shoulder.

Upon noticing the syringe, Courtenay burst into tears, pleading and begging “no,” over and over. However, given the situation, Dr Cho didn’t have much choice and with the restraining hands of Pete and the other doctor, she punctured Courtenay’s arm with the needle and inserted the medication.

Once Court felt a pinch in her arm, she let out an agonized scream.

After about five seconds, her struggling ceased as the energy left her body and she was lowered slowly to her pillow, where her half-opened eyes sparkled with tears and her mouth escaped a final, sore-throated sob before she fell asleep.

Unbeknownst to Courtenay, a gathering of team members quietly surveyed her from the one-way window opposite her. The sight was raw and painful, perhaps most especially to Steve who stood, arms folded over his broad chest, his eyes dropping to the ground as he heaved a breath. Tabitha was beside him, her lips parted and her eyes glassy as she analysed the scenario. She had major deja-vu, thinking back to the times of torture when they would be strapped down to sleek hospital beds and injected with serums that would feel like bullet-ants skittering through your bloodstream.

“When this is all over; we need to talk,” Steve said suddenly, his voice flat.

Tabitha didn’t look at him but nodded. “Yeah.”

Kat suddenly stepped forwards, her face pale and tear-streaked. “How is she?”

“She resisted,” Tabitha tilted her head, swallowing, “she was scared when she woke up.”

“They put her to sleep?” Kat asked, voice wavering as she nodded towards an unconscious Courtenay, a seemingly distressed Peter at her bedside.

“Yeah,” Tabitha nodded, voice dropping off.

“The healing process will begin soon,” Tony began quietly, “Helen’s an expert with this stuff, Court will be patched up in no time.”

Kat turned to look at Tony, her face somewhat worrisome considering that Steve had outed the Hydra intel to the rest of the team. However, Tony, somewhat close with the girl, smiled at her forgivingly and leant a hand on her shoulder.

“We all make mistakes, kid,” he sighed, “some are made for you.”

“Thank you, Tony,” the girl wavered before Tony pulled her in for a brief hug, his hand clapping on her back.

Tony pulled away, looking a little estranged. “Your skin is strangely hot.”

“Huh?” Kat sniffled.

“Never mind. Just chin up, kid,” Stark said, holding her at arm's length, “at least your dad was there for you,” he grinned, referencing how he felt that his father was never around.

She let out a weary laugh. “You’re not wrong.”

“We’ll figure it all out,” Tony huffed, “sort the press out, get your files off the record. Steve will come to terms with it, eventually. Just talk to him.”

“Maybe he will,” Kat looked at the super soldier, who spared her a glance through her reflection on the glass pane in front of him before he turned and left the room. “But something tells me he won’t.”

Tony sucked his teeth for a moment. “Until then, just stay on the low. The news is loving you guys if you haven’t noticed.”

“I did,” Kat said matter-of-factly, eyes glaring over to where Happy sat, feet propped up on the table, his eyes staring at the news almost blankly as reports of the girls went live. Upon noticing her stare, he swung his legs down and turned the power off, adjusting his collar awkwardly. She looked back at Tony. “Have a good night, Tony.”

“You not setting down?” He asked, raising his brow, the door in his grasp as he turned to leave.

“Soon,” Kat answered.

Tony nodded, eyes cast downwards before he left and the door swung shut behind him. Kat let out a heaving breath, finally feeling somewhat relieved to be alone. She had a looming shroud of heavy grief and confusion draped over her; like a heavy cloak that she couldn’t figure out how to get out of. Upon that thought, she felt for the necklace around her neck. The chainmail link suddenly became sizzling and scalding hot after a moment of her touching it and she pulled her fingers away, confused. Before she could ponder on it for another moment, Tabitha approached her.

“Hey,” she began, “jury’s still out. We’re screwed,” she briefly laughed, not even sure as to whether she was serious or not. “Steve wants to see us as soon as Court’s better.”

“What, he didn’t even think to stop by and give her some flowers?” Kat mocked, her eyes trailing away back to where she saw Peter gripping Courts hand through the glass shield. “She saved Steve’s life; really. Stupid.”

“I know,” Tabitha agreed, folding her arms over her chest. “Maybe it’ll give Steve some perspective.”

“You have high hopes,” Kat smirked solemnly.

Tabitha elbowed her in the ribs. “Stop giving the man such a hard time. He’s trying his best to hold this team together.”

“I don’t trust him,” Kat admitted suddenly.

“Why?” Tabitha asked quietly. Any other day she would’ve thought Kat ridiculous, but given the circumstances, she’d hear her out.

“He’s so capable of just… throwing us in a cell, locking us up and never letting us see the light of day ever again,” Kat huffed, “and I feel like all of us have to tread eggshells around him just to make sure he doesn’t do just that.”

Tabitha pondered on this. Kat wasn’t particularly wrong; Steve didn’t trust them and could have them held in containment if he so desired, but she felt for sure that after all she and the other two-thirds of the trio had done, he’d at least give them a little credit. Tabitha was stumped for words; she wanted to defend Steve, to say his situation was tough, but… Kat was right. They shouldn’t have to tread eggshells just because Rumlow slipped up and outed them, considering that that wasn’t who they were anymore. For now, she’d be understanding.

“Just… give him a break,” Tabitha shook her head, “what he says, goes. Maybe we should be treading eggshells. It was our life, after all.”

And with that, she left.

Kat took one last, longing stare at Courtenay before she wandered back into her room, locking the door behind her as she did so. She collapsed straight onto her bed, her arms outwards and her hair splayed as she stared blankly up at the ceiling.

Suddenly, she had the feeling she wasn’t so alone.

Unbothered, she didn’t even look at the foot of her bed. “What do you want this time?”

“I was hoping to scare you but that plans foiled,” the Grandmaster sighed, his unearthly voice echoing. After a moment, he hummed. “You don’t think I’m real, do you?”

“No,” Kat answered flatly, “a figment of my imagination to convince myself that I’m probably entirely insane and that this whole ordeal is just another one of my psycho hallucinations.”

“That would be a lot easier to digest, wouldn’t it?” The Grandmaster said, “but I’m afraid, dear child, that I am very much real.”

“Whoopee,” Kat cheered sarcastically, her voice plain and dull. “So, what do you want? Are you here to kill me? To kill my friends?”

The Grandmaster almost laughed. “You know that somebody else is already planning on doing that.”

She felt a jolt of anger at this. “Steve isn’t trying to kill us,” she rolled her eyes, “I don’t like the guy, but… that’s not who he is.”

“It’s not who he wants to be,” the Grandmaster corrected, “but soldiers believe in sacrifice. They practice it daily.”

“What’s your point?” Kat questioned.

“Steve is willing to sacrifice his morality in order to protect Bucky,” he clarified.

“What the Hell is your obsession with Bucky?” She suddenly snapped, sitting bolt upright. “You’re… why are you here? What are you trying to do, meddle? Stupid meddler.”

The Grandmaster merely rolled his eyes. “I’ve placed everybody in the perfect position for this. It’s quite exciting, seeing this all unveil.”

“What?”

“I’ve compelled the team to follow a strict storyline,” the Grandmaster announced proudly, “and while some are a little harder to crack than others, they all eventually follow in pursuit.”

“My friend almost died today you sick--” she picked up a hairbrush from her bedside table and threw it with every inch of energy she had left, though he swerved and watched as the hairbrush indented the wall and stayed there, lodged in the cavity.

“I feel a fire growing within you,” the Grandmaster said, “let it out.”

She heaved, breathless and unkempt, her hard eyes glowing with anger as her fingertips began to slowly turn red with heat.

“Goodbye, Kathryn,”

And with a burst of fluorescent light, he vanished. Kat lifted her scalding hands from the bed, startled and caught off guard by the strings of smoke that rose from her hands. She shook her fingers, afraid they might have caught alight, convinced that the Grandmaster was playing some other sick joke on her. With a frightened glance around her room, she rubbed her suddenly ice-cold hands together before she passed out again.

#mcu trio #peter parker x reader #spider-man x reader #spider-man imagine #filler part #filler

[mcutrio]

Truth Revealed (CW) [14]

Truth Revealed (CW) [14]

Tags: @buckys-little-monster @imaginesofeverykind

A few months later, Tabitha had finally moved past the fact that Bucky had left. It still stung to think about but on the odd occasion, they were allowed to maintain contact, as long as their connections were kept off the grid.

Today was one of those few, rare occasions.

“Hey, how’s Germany?” She questioned immediately, a little cheery.

Bucky looked dull and bored on the other end of the video call. “It’s quiet. Weather’s nice, foods good, but… yeah, it’s quiet,” he sighed, his eyes wandering off to a point on the wall where the wallpaper peeled. “I just wish we could’ve found some place a little less…”

“Bland?” Tabitha offered, folding her arms and leaning closer to the webcam.

“Cockroach-ey,” Bucky corrected with a grin. “I can’t complain. It's isolated, it’s got everything I need. Well, except one thing,” he added innocently.

Tabitha frowned in question, “what’s that?”

Bucky shot her a thousand-watt smile. “You, of course.”

“Well, hopefully, you’ll be able to come home soon,” Tabitha sighed, placing her head in her hands, squishing her reddened cheek against her fist. “Everyone’s been so on edge lately. Especially Kat and Steve. I think there’s something going on between them,”

“What?” Bucky questioned, his voice racing an octave in surprise. “You mean, romantically?”

Tabitha jerked her head. “No! God, no, I just mean… well, they just don’t seem to get along. I don’t think Kat likes him very much; she get’s all weird and defensive around him. Whenever myself or Courtenay try to have a conversation with him she… pulls us away,” she said, eyes drifting down to the keyboard in thought before she looked back up at Bucky again. “I don’t know, it’s probably just paranoia,” Tabitha mumbled, her voice lowering.

Bucky, knowing the deal with the trio of girls and Hydra, nodded knowingly. “I’m sure once it’s all over with it’ll pass. Or, you know, maybe she just doesn’t like him. He’s a hard, righteous pill to swallow,” he joked.

“He’s not that bad,” Tabitha mused, before bursting into laughter at the sight of Bucky cocking his head to the side. “Okay, maybe he’s a little over patriotic. But America is a very small complex world. He’s just a soldier out of time,” Tabitha said.

“So what does that make me?” Bucky asked, a smirk indenting his stubbled cheek, shaded by a khaki baseball cap.

“Well you’re a soldier--”

She was suddenly cut off when Steve burst into the room, looking urgent. She whipped around, staring at the super soldier worriedly, his intense arrival causing instant panic.

“What’s going on?” She asked, pulling out one of her earbuds.

Steve glanced at the hologram screen of a frowning Bucky before he looked back at Tabitha and straightened his posture. “Rumlow’s been caught on CCTV hijacking two Stations in Nigeria. He’s circling and he’s armed with Military grade weapons,”

“Casualties?” Tabitha asked.

“Forty,” Steve answered, swallowing.

Tabitha’s body flushed hot with adrenaline, “so, what do we do?”

“We’ve got to go after him,” Steve said, “you’ve got five minutes. Wear something… inconspicuous,” Steve nodded, turning his back and leaving the room.

Tabitha’s gaze lingered on Rogers before she stuffed her earbud back in and looked at Bucky anxiously, a trace of remorse there, too. “I gotta--”

“It’s okay,” he brushed off sincerely, “go kick ass, beautiful.”

She broke out into a smile. “Thanks so much, Buck. I’ll see you soon!”

The call ended and Bucky’s face zipped away from the screen. Tabitha stood to her feet, wondering what exactly Steve meant by inconspicuous. She eventually decided on a pair of black skinny-jeans, a purple tee tied into a knot at her belly-button, revealing her piercing. She tugged on her knee-high converse and a leather jacket, then joining the team at the quinjet. Kat looked just as plain; wearing ripped jeans and a cropped-vest top underneath a black denim jacket. Courtenay, however, wore her leather trousers, pulled taught with a red belt and accompanied by a matching black vest-top encased with a corset, exposing her midriff. Over the top, she wore a trench coat decorated with blue and red on the hems and buttons. She wore her new shades and improved earphones; courtesy of Kat and Tony. Her guns were strapped to her thighs and knives were stashed in her boots.

“I thought we were going inconspicuous?” Tabitha said, raising a brow at her friends get up.

“I’ve got a plan,” Steve said, allowing the conversation to be shut down as he stormed through the two girls and made his way onto the jet beyond them.  

“What’s with the trench coat?” Sam questioned, adjusting his wrist cuff as he walked towards Courtenay.

The girl looked almost offended, “because trench coats make everything better,” she told him, straight-faced. Upon noticing Sam’s judgemental face, she pulled up her trench coat, “don’t make me thwap you. I’ll do it,” Courtenay joke-threatened, and he held his hands up in defence. With a nod, she dropped the trench coat and allowed it to flow around her legs again.

“Everybody ready?” Nat asked, slipping on a pair of Aviators and taking a glance at Courtenay. “Very subtle, I like it.”

“Thank you,” Courtenay responded.

Nat smirked, “shall we?” She gestured forwards so that the girls and the twins would board the jet. They did this so often it felt like routine at this point.

Everybody strapped themselves down into the seats for taking off, allowing Steve to pilot for the first few minutes of flight before he put it into autopilot mode having inputted the coordinates. He turned back on the swivelling chair, standing to his feet to address the team.

“Nat, Kat--”

Courtenay snickered at the rhyme, though Steve was unphased.

“--Wanda, Tabitha and Pietro; I’m going to need you guys on the ground,” he reported, clasping his belt affirmatively. “You’re going to be our eyes and ears. Courtenay, Sam and I will take to the rooftops, and we’ll be ready to attack whenever you call the shots.”

“What’re we going up against?” Court questioned, kicking her legs up onto the table in front of her.

Steve smiled, “I’m glad you asked,” he said, “you’re learning.”

Court stuck her finger up at Steve with his sarcastic remark, suggesting that she was only just grasping onto the basic skills needed for this type of work.

“We know they have heavy weaponry,” Steve nodded, “we’re not sure if they have any enhanced on the field,” he nodded, looking towards the twins, “but we’ll need to keep our eyes out. We don’t know what Rumlow’s got up his sleeve.”

Kat stared at Steve, her gaze hard and strong on his. Over the course of the few months, she hadn’t seen the grandmaster again, so she was left to assume that it was simply a hyper realistic dream that she had, otherwise she’d drive herself insane pondering over that night. However, she couldn’t help but think that perhaps the Grandmaster and his bag of tricks were a real issue. It was almost of if someone was playing tricks with the trio of girls as it was; Thor was gone, Bucky was gone, Kat was near terrified of the super soldier, and Rumlow was returning… it all seemed like a big, horrible stew that was put onto extra slow-cook, but it was nearing its end.

“Are we clear?” Steve suddenly spoke out, drawing the girl from her thoughts. She nodded slowly, her teeth still clenched as she looked off into the distance. Upon feeling Steve’s eyes on her, she looked down. “Take these,” he said, a handful of earpieces in his palm. Courtenay took them and passed them around, having no need for them herself given Tony’s handiwork on her new and improved earphones that allowed for both music and communication.

“You ready for this?” Court asked Tabitha. The pair were strangely confident, though extremely psyched with the fear of seeing Rumlow again. Tabitha was happy that she felt somewhat calm about the situation, but she had a horrible, irking feeling that it was all about to crumble the moment she laid eyes upon him. He had the power to turn the three girls into a bunch of puppets at the snap of his fingers… or, rather, electrical shocks and impulses.

“Yeah, I think so,” Tabitha nodded, her eyes glancing between the team members. “We just have to take him down. It shouldn’t be hard, right?”

Court shrugged. “I’m shitting bricks if I’m honest,” she admitted with a shaky sigh, rubbing her hands together. “I’m trying really hard to focus but it’s like I can hear and feel everything right now,” she let out another uneasy breath, “it’s all gonna go tits-up, right?”

“Maybe so,” Tabitha squeezed Courtenay’s hand comfortingly. “But we’ve prepared for this. I mean,” she lowered her voice suddenly, “the man trained us. He wanted us to be better than anyone, and I mean, he kind of succeeded,” she let out a laugh, “look at us! We can fight like Nat and talk trash like Sam. I mean, Jesus, you can’t miss a shot. Rumlow and his thugs got nothing on you.”

Courtenay felt a tug of a smile, “thanks, Tabs.”

Two hours later, the team hit the ground in the scorching-hot town of Lagos, Nigeria in a private landing quarter. Kat yanked a black cap over her head, her eyes narrowed as they made their way through the streets. Courtenay scanned the area, her glasses taking in data and information. It was like a second mind for her; although she had a fantastic memory, sometimes the pieces were so all over the place that none of it made sense, given that her brain ran at a million miles a second. The glasses were like her second mind.

“How about a coffee?” Nat rose her brow, nodding at Steve as he took off in a different direction with Courtenay and Sam. Under her breath, she said, “stick to different tables. We’ll have a better chance at spotting them with different angles.”

“I don’t like coffee,” Kat inputted with a smile, to which Nat nodded and lead the three girls into the café. They ordered their drinks, varying from coffee to hot chocolate, and took their seats at different outdoor tables, though Kat and Tabitha decided to stick together.

“Everybody in position?” Steve questioned, voice quiet through the comms and everybody confirmed in response. “Alright, what do you see?”

“Standard beat cops, small station. Quiet street,” Wanda reported. “It’s a good target.”

“There’s an ATM on the South corner, which means…”

“Cameras,” Pietro inputted, leaning over his table as he shot glances towards the street.

“Both cross streets one way,” Steve reported.

“So, compromised escape routes,” Kat said, taking a sip of her drink as she remained shielded from the public eye.

“Means our guy doesn’t care about being seen. He isn’t afraid to make a mess on the way out,” Steve sighed, “you see that Range Rover halfway up the block?”

“Yeah, the red one?” Wanda asked. “It’s cute.”

“It’s also bulletproof, which means private security, which means more guns, which means more headaches for somebody. Probably us,” Natasha added, leaning her elbows onto the table as her eyes narrowed behind her Aviators.

Wanda shot a smile towards Tabitha, “you guys know there are people on the team that can move things with their mind, right?”

“Looking over your shoulder needs to become second nature,” Natasha told her.

Sam, up on the rooftops, smiled to himself. “Anybody ever tell you you’re a little paranoid?”

“Not to my face. Why? Did you hear something?” Natasha joked.

“Eyes on target, folks,” Steve said sharply, “this is the best lead we’ve had on Rumlow in six months. I don’t wanna lose him.”

“If he sees us coming that won’t be a problem,” Courtenay remarked, saluting at Sam from a rooftop across.

“Yeah, he kinda hates us,” Sam responded.

Steve narrowed his eyes, watching as a garbage truck rammed its way through the streets, grazing past cars and narrowly avoiding the pedestrians carelessly.

“Sam, see that truck?” Steve asked, “tag it.”

Sam responded accordingly, commanding Redwing, a hover bot, to zoom through the streets and nestle itself underneath the garbage truck to keep track of it.

“Give me x-ray,” Sam said. His Redwing bot responded by spewing information to Sam who frowned at the results. “That trucks loaded for max weight, and the drivers armed.”

“It’s a battering ram,” Kat realised, becoming alert.

“Go now,” Steve commanded.

“Why?” Wanda asked, sitting up a little straighter.

“He’s not hitting the police,” Steve realised, which is what the team had earlier assumed. Sam caught a hold of Courtenay, shooting off into the distance as they had planned. Steve ran through his building to gain access to the streets whilst Pietro grabbed his sister and ran ahead, a blur of colour following him. Kat and Tabitha nodded to one another, breaking into a sprint through the streets.

“So much for inconspicuous,” Kat huffed, taking in the damage that the truck had caused when it flipped over the basic defence towards the biochemical centre before herself and Tabitha leapt into action, watching as men poured out from within hostile orange trucks.

She reached forwards, her fingers streaming out purple ribbons of energy that swam through the air in energetic coils, disarming the men of their guns and wrapping around their legs like violet snakes. They became immobile as she seeped through their eyes and gaping mouths, triggering their mind so that they collapsed into an unconscious heap on the ground. She retracted the energy, jerking her hands back as the energy coursed through her like a shot of electricity.

“Body armour, AR-15’s. I make twelve hostiles,” Steve reported.

Sam zoomed into the combat, dropping Courtenay down upon the high-platform where she shoulder-rolled forwards, swiping her dual pistols out of her holsters before simultaneously shooting two thugs down whilst Sam kick-flipped another two behind her.

They nodded at one another in conformation.

“We make eight,” Sam reported, fingers pressed against his here as Wanda drifted in from the horizon, landing poised with a gush of red energy around her feet. She paralysed and lifted another hostile.

“Sam!” She yelled, to which he swooped down and slammed his feet into the thug's chest, knocking him on his back.

“Seven,” Sam corrected, sauntering into the middle of combat and pressing buttons on his wrist cuffs, programming Redwing to analyze the buildings for heat signatures and tag the hostiles. “Rumlow’s on the third floor,” Sam reported.

Kat approached two hostiles from behind. She swept her leg underneath the man to the right, knocking him onto his belly before kicking the second man in the jaw and then in the chest with brute force, where he lifted into the air before being slammed into one of the trucks that became indented with his body upon impact.

“Make that five,” Kat said, glaring at Steve as she moved past.

“Tabitha,” Steve called out, gaining the girls attention as she tore through yet another thugs mind, leaving no trace of his identity or his memories behind. “Just like old times.”

Tabitha grinned, readying herself. “What about the gas?”

“You and Wanda work on getting it out,” he nodded, taking off into a sprint before leaping into the air, where he was then projected further as Tabitha surged him upwards and through a glass window on the third floor.

Pietro shouldered past, uplifting and knocking over three more men that approached on the South side of the building. He worked on getting the citizens to safety, ensuring that any rampant bullets fired did not hit their targets.

Wanda and Tabitha worked together, pulling and draining the gas from the building like they’d pulled the plug on a bathtub, smashing the windows as the thick, putrid-smelling gas seeped through the air before they compressed it and released it into the clouds, all the while Kat, Courtenay and Sam fought off the men behind them in defense.

“Rumlow has a biological weapon,” Steve reported.

“I’m on it!” Natasha responded, closing in on her motorbike to the Hydra accomplices that ziplined towards their getaway vehicle, a beefy truck that seemed jacked with weapons and bulletproof gear. Tabitha made her way over, accompanying the assassin as she defended her from bullets and proceeded to disarm men. However, she was caught off guard when Nat was caught by the throat, and she became frozen at the sight of Rumlow clasping his hands around her. Tabitha instinctively reached for him, violet streams pouring into his head. However, she fell to the ground upon feeling an agonizing sensation in her head, alongside the horrifying realisation that she couldn’t affect him.

“I don’t work like that no more!” Rumlow responded, throwing Natasha into the truck through its roof hatch and dropping a grenade on top of her like a ragdoll. He jumped from the vehicle, approaching a collapsed Tabitha before gripping her by the hair and leaning towards her. “Is this how you’re gonna treat me? After all this time?” He threw her aside carelessly as the truck exploded and Natasha fell out, coughing. Rumlow stepped aside and loaded himself into the armoured vehicle beside them, lifting a turret out and shooting explosives towards Steve who leaned out of the building in worry upon hearing Natasha’s vehicle implode.

Tabitha sat in an unresponsive heap, her body quivering as the thought of Rumlow’s hard eyes boring into her left her a speechless, shivering mess, though she brushed of Nat’s concern and lifted herself to her feet.

Steve was catapulted from the building after one explosion, his body smashing into a platform below before spinning like a ragdoll to the ground and collapsing into a heap, where Pietro zoomed past and pulled him to his feet.

“Sam, he’s in an AVF heading north,” Rogers reported.

“I got four, they’re splitting up,” Sam shot back.

Steve huffed. “They ditched their gear. It’s a shell game now. One of them has the payload,” he said urgently. Suddenly, there was a thunk and a blip as a grenade stuck to the curve of his shield. Hurriedly, he threw it up into the air where it exploded out of harm's way from the civilians. However, he felt a sharp pain in his back and he was thrown forwards into a market stall.

“There you are, you son of a bitch,” Rumlow grunted, nearing Steve. “I’ve been waiting for this!” He yelled, upper-cutting Steve and sending him rolling into further markets.

Courtenay broke out into a sprint alongside Kat, who both closed in on the men on the right as Natasha announced she was on the tail to the men on the left. They managed to take their men down and immediately searched their bags and gear, to no avail.

“We’re empty!” Court said, and Sam immediately pulled up his arm to drive Redwing to Natasha’s location, knowing that the men she was after would be in possession of the biological weapon.

“Payloads secure,” Nat reported, having been saved by Redwing interrupting the conflict between the assassin and two mercenaries. 

“Thanks, Sam,”

“Don’t thank me,” he singsonged.

“I’m not thanking… that thing,” Natasha retorted.

“His name is Redwing.”

“I’m still not thanking it.” Nat denied.

“He’s cute; go ahead, pet him,” Sam teased.

Meanwhile, Brock and Steve continued to go toe-to-toe, though Rumlow had the super soldier near cornered with his enhanced weaponry that allowed him to hit with extra strength. However, Steve managed to hit Rumlow in his weak spots from beyond his armoured getup.

Despite this, Rumlow pinned Steve against the wall.

“This is for taking one of my own,” he seethed, a knife shooting out from within is arm-guard as he slammed his fist forward, near missing Steve’s head as it planted straight into the wall behind him instead. Given that Rumlow had his arm stuck, Rogers managed to disarm him of his weapon so that only one arm was capable of keeping up with him, giving him the overall advantage.

Kat and Courtenay arrived in the scenario, pushing gently on people's shoulders to make sure that they were out of the market rather than gathering around to watch the big fight. They became paralyzed with fear upon seeing Rumlow, and remained in market stalls, watching from a distance as they pleaded silently for Steve to take him down. Eventually, with a hard spin-kick to the face, Rumlow collapsed to the ground with a heaving breath and pulled himself to his knees.

The two girls stepped from beyond the shadows to help with the commotion, whereas Tabitha, winded and in pain from her earlier ordeal, grasped a tree for support, listened through her earpiece.

Steve stomped towards Rumlow who unmasked himself, catching his breath. Rogers grasped the straps to his vest, yanking him to attention, though hesitating upon seeing the real damage upon his face.

“I think I look pretty good, all things considered,” Rumlow said dryly.

“Who’s your buyer?” Steve demanded, uninterested in further conversation.

However, it was clear that Rumlow had other intentions, given the glint in his eye as he took a brief glance towards the two girls.

“You know your pal, your buddy, your Bucky,” Rumlow began, coughing, “he’s not the only winter soldier.”

“What did you just say?” Steve questioned, his jaw tight and threatening.

“There’s another winter soldier. In fact, three of your new affiliates are former Hydra weapons,” Rumlow grinned, and a flash of realisation ran across Steve’s face as he shot a sharp look towards Kat and Court, who stood frozen and speechless. Brock then turned back to Steve, grinning. “I trained them myself. But Kat… she was my favourite,” he cackled, “you took one of my own, Steve.” He repeated, making the words that he had said against Steve so threateningly suddenly make sense.

Kat felt her stomach turn to ice upon his words. The horrifying presumed ‘dream’ suddenly made sense, the threat of her parents and why the other two members of her trio seemed to assume that she wasn’t treated as harshly… Rumlow favoured her not for her abilities, but because she was his daughter.

“Turned my own flesh and blood against me,” Rumlow seethed, “I’d never tell her. I was too scared that she’d become attached and live to see the day that I die,” he gurgled, his eyes turning from somewhat fleeting to hard and cold. “It’s only a shame she’ll have to watch you die alongside me.”

At the very moment, Rumlow reached for the button attached to his hip, Courtenay lunged forwards, taking a heat and shock-wave combo attack that had her flung forwards whilst Wanda just about caught the explosion, crunching down the force that had her hands quaking and her mind thundering with pressure. In exertion, she lifted it into the air, though her hands lost control and Rumlow’s body slammed into an office building, exploding three floors upon impact.

If not for the sudden devotion, Steve may have lunged at the three girls in fury, questioning them as his trust in them crumbled in his fingers. However, his concern was elsewhere.

“Oh, my g-” he breathed, eyes wide as he held an unconscious Court in his arms, though stared up at the building. “Sam… we need… fire and rescue-- on the South side of the building. We gotta get up there!”

Pietro, who just arrived with an unstable Tabitha, felt an intense wave of guilt that was shared between himself and his sister who took in the state of the catastrophe with sore eyes and aching hearts, their minds flashing back to how they used to bash the Avengers for this, though now the very thought bled through the tears forming in their eyes.

Kat plucked Courtenay from Steve’s arms, carrying in a way that she did not affect her friend's injuries. Kat’s eyes were pooled with tears as her chin quivered, and she locked eyes with Steve for a moment and felt nothing but an intense, fuming rage, alongside a sharp spike of fear that told her that this man could not be trusted.

#mcu trio #marvel imagines #bucky x readers

[mcutrio]

Two Down [13]

Two Down [13]

Tags: @buckys-little-monster @imaginesofeverykind

“Now that Thor’s out of the picture, how about we play a game?”

Kat froze on the spot, a sheen of sweat bursting out on her forehead as she swallowed anxiously, her body seemingly turning to stone at the sight of him. Her hands turned cold upon the light switch and they hovered at her side, shaking.

“Don’t be so afraid,” the menacing man cackled, “it’s not me you should be so scared of.”

Finally, Kat managed to take in a breath. “Who are you?”

“I’m the Grandmaster, haven’t you heard of me?” The man said, holding his hands out. Upon Kat remaining silent at his question, he leaned forwards. “No?” He then scoffed, followed by a roll of his eye. “You humans are more unbearable than I thought.”

Kat paled, opening her mouth to call out to her friends, though the Grandmaster waved his hand and her mouth become solid shut, unable to utter a word.

“Anyway,” he began, strolling around her room, turning his nose up. “I’ve been watching this mess of a triage you call yourself and your friends, and I have to say I’m surprised somebody as smart and as strong as yourself is unaware of everything that’s going on around her.”

Kat swallowed. “What do you mean?”

“Well, for starters… your friends, they’ve already moved on,” he laughed, “they’re uninterested in the life that I know you remain to cling onto. You allowed yourself to focus on the demigod in hopes that he’d better your life, but you can’t wipe out your past,”

Kat didn’t look him in the eyes, though she began to pace back towards her bed as he approached her, standing tall and menacing.

“It’s branded in you. This life; it’s in your blood,” he told her, a grin on his face. “I suppose Hydra is genetic after all.”

She frowned, “I don’t understand. Why are you telling me this?”

“Because you and I are on the same end of the stick, really,” the Grandmaster stated. “And it humours me to wonder how your team would react if they all found out of your past; of your parents,” he added, a twinkle in his eye.

“My parents?” She asked timidly, stepping back once more and crawling backwards onto her bed, struggling to keep her distance.  

“In time, all will be revealed,” the Grandmaster nodded, “but until then, perhaps you ought to keep an eye on everyone's favourite All-American hero, hmm? He’s particularly sensitive when it comes to Hydra, and he’d give anything to get vengeance upon those who hurt his old friend Bucky.”

“But I never hurt--” Kat was cut off by a bright flash of light and he vanished, and she immediately felt an overwhelming sensation of energy leaving her body, as if pulled by a magnet, and she passed out.

That next morning, Kat and Courtenay turned up at the gym, wondering as to where Tabitha was as she hadn’t met them at their routine time.

“Do you think she’s still asleep?” Courtenay asked.

Kat shook her head, stretching her arms over her chest. “No,”

“And what’s up with you?” Court questioned, “you’re being weirdly quiet. Is yesterday still bothering you?”

“Uh, yeah,” Kat admitted, “and I just had this weirdly unnerving dream,” she added, thinking back to the weirdly vivid conversation she had with the man who called himself the Grandmaster. If it wasn’t for her having woke up in a cold sweat not long after the conversation, she’d be entirely convinced that they’d actually spoken.

“It’s just the stress,” Courtenay reassured her. “I didn’t sleep much, either. I’m sure Tabitha didn’t but still-- where is she?”

Just as she said that Bucky sauntered into the gym and called for Steve, who immediately looked up at him.

“Tabitha’s hanging back on this one,” he reported, “she says she’s not feeling well.”

Although he didn’t look particularly convinced, Steve let it pass considering she’d never missed a training session before. The two girls exchanged a look of concern, and Bucky eyed them knowingly before nodding a final time and leaving the room.

“I’ll partner with you today, Kathryn,” Steve decided, following his words with a sheepish grin. “considering Thor isn’t here. Just go easy on me, alright?”

She felt particularly nervous about this, so much so that her hands became clammy and her breath became short, but she tried her hardest to squish away the feelings as the two of them locked arms with one another, just as the rest of the team did.

Steve’s brow furrowed as his arms clenched with tension, Kat’s grasp becoming a little tighter as her fear began to spike. Her heart thudded at the glint in his eye and she had a sudden, brief thought to the words that thrummed through her head.

“He’d give anything to get vengeance upon those who hurt his old friend Bucky.”

In a fit of her paranoia, she twisted out of Steve’s grasp, snapped his arms apart and punched him solidly in the chest. It wasn’t just a weak punch, either, it held a lot of force that had her arm jerking as she did so. The super soldier flew backwards, slamming into the wall before dropping to the floor with a groan. Kat, panicked, stared at her shaking hands and turned on her heel, leaving the gym and slamming the doors shut behind her.

“Augh,” Steve groaned, his face scrunched as he lifted himself from the ground with the help of Sam. “She did not lie on her resume when she said she was strong.”

Nat scoffed. “You’ve seen her lift cars, Steve.”

“I know,” Steve breathed, holding his chest before regaining his stance. “I was just trying to sound cool.”

“Is this something we should be concerned about?” Sam suddenly said under her breath, “she just totally took you out.”

The three of them turned to Courtenay, who looked just as dumbfounded and concerned as everybody else.

“It’s been a rough few days for her, I think,” Courtenay said, “she’s on edge because of nightmares,” she said honestly, “and I’m pretty sure she’s acting out because she misses Thor.” Court shrugged, the lie seamlessly appearing.

Sam rose an eyebrow, unamused. “You don’t just hit a guy because you miss your boyfriend,” he rolled his eyes, “even if he is a god.”

Before anyone could reply to Sam’s witty remark, Steve urgently pressed his fingers to his ear, his face turning down with concentration. He straightened his posture after a moment and swallowed, his jaw stiff as he addressed the remaining few people in the gym.

“We can pick up where we left off tomorrow. Be at the conference room in one hour,” Steve commanded, gathering Nat and Sam hurriedly before leaving the room.

“What was all that about?” Pietro questioned.

Courtenay followed Steve with her eyes, swallowing. “Something serious, apparently,” she sighed, stretching her arms over her head, “everybody around here needs to learn how to relax. Take a chill pill, grope a stress toy, smoke some weed…”

“It does not seem like something you can relax about,” Wanda responded, looking a little nervous.

Courtenay hummed at this. “Yeah, maybe not. But there could be worse things,” she nodded.

“Worse things? Like what, exactly?” Pietro questioned, cracking his knuckles as they finally began to leave the gym.

“I mean… it’s not Ultron,” Courtenay pointed out.

“She has a point,” Pietro shrugged, looking towards his younger sister who seemed less than amused, though a small smile crept up on her face.

Forty minutes later, everyone had gathered in the conference room and shrouded around the large, metal table. Kat was there before her two friends, who looked at her in questioning. Word had spread around the team that Kathryn had taken Steve down in training, and she looked to be still on edge about the situation. Making a silent promise to herself, Court swore she would have a talk with her about it later.

“We’ve pulled you here to talk about something serious,” Steve announced, his fingers dancing over a tablet. “Crossbones,” he said, swiping across the screen and launching Crossbones’ digital profile up onto the TV screen at the end of the table. “Just an hour ago, he was identified by the Nigerian Police force,” he added solemnly, swiping across his tablet screen again, as the unmasked version of Crossbones was revealed. CCTV footage showed him losing his helmet in a heist, and it zoomed in on his face. It wasn’t the best quality, but the burns, the facial features… it was clear to everyone who he was.

All three girls stayed frozen in their seats, unable to tear their eyes away from the screen as a side-by-side image comparison of Brock Rumlow and his new alias, Crossbones.

“Rumlow has a group,” Steve began, his eyes cast downwards. “A team of unemployed Hydra thugs wreaking havoc in Africa.”

“Motive?” Tabitha questioned quietly.

“For now, it seems to be money,” Steve answered. “Though who can tell what he’s planning to do once he gets enough.”

“Which means that we have to find him, and fast,” Tabitha decided, clenching her fist. Steve looked up at her now, wondering as to why she was so concerned. “Bucky can’t stay here, Rogers. You know it’s not safe for him.”

Steve pondered over this. “Bucky isn’t a threat.”

Tabitha frowned at his response, “and I never insinuated that he was. But if you wait around any longer, I won’t be the only person fighting you on that.”

Steve clenched his jaw. “We’ll find him somewhere safe; somewhere off the radar.”

“Good,” Tabitha answered, relaxing slightly.

“So what do we do?” Pietro asked, folding his arms and tilting his head back slightly.

“We can’t let Rumlow continue with what he’s planning,” Steve nodded, “and I think you were right,” he nodded towards the three girls, who perked up in questioning. “I do believe he’s trying to draw me out.”

“So you’re going right in to kick the hornet's nest?” Court questioned.

Steve smiled. “Precisely.”

“You do realise that dropping yourself at Rumlow feet is exactly what he wants, right?” Kat questioned. “Who on earth do you plan on taking to make sure he doesn’t get a hold of you?”

“All of you,” Steve finalised with a nod.

The team looked amongst each other for a moment, considering the situation. Over the course of the next three hours, they managed to pull together a plan. They narrowed down their search area to Nigeria, though specifically where was the tricky part, considering that Rumlow heists didn’t have a particular pattern. They then planned for Bucky to be shipped off to Germany, Berlin, that very evening. Although Tabitha was sad to see him go, she pushed aside her distress in knowing that he would be safe. At least, for now.

“I wish I could come with you,” Tabitha said earnestly, watching as Bucky gathered his minimal belongings and shoved them into a suitcase.

He paused, a t-shirt in his hand. “It’s not safe for you,” he sighed, throwing in the shirt before slamming the suitcase shut and zipping it up. “I’m not safe for you.”

“Bucky,” Tabitha mumbled, her voice etched with sadness. “You know that’s not true,” she argued gently, placing her hand upon his arm as he stared down, unfocused and melancholic. It was easy to see that he was in distress and didn’t want to leave.

“I shouldn’t have to leave,” he sighed, somewhat angry. He rubbed his forehead briefly before clasping and rubbing his jaw. “But I should, you know, in case Hydra decides to shove my brain into a blender. It’s easier for me to be away from everyone; I’m hidden, and… and you’re not around to get hurt.”

“Rumlow won’t touch you,” Tabitha swore, clenching her hands. “He might try, but he won’t get the chance once we’re through with him. And when that’s over-- you can come home.”

He let out a huff of a laugh before pressing his hand against her cheek, his eyes fading from a frown to a somewhat calm, content gaze.

“Are you going to be okay?” He questioned, somewhat concerned.

Tabitha sighed through her nose and leaned against his hand, taking in the warmth. “I’ll be fine, and you’ll be fine,” she muttered, reaching up and grasping his hand against her face. “We’ll see each other again soon.”

“Yeah,” he answered quietly, his voice low and gruff. He leaned forwards and captured her lips with his passionately, his hand soft yet firm upon her face as the other snaked around her waist, pulling her torso against his. Her heart thudded and pounded, blood rushing to her face as she felt her cheeks turn pink. They separated slowly, both taking a deep breath. “Stay safe.”

“You, too,” she answered quietly, squeezing his hand for a final time before the two of them walked towards the jet that would be flying him off into Berlin. Steve stood by the jet ramp, waiting for his friend. He offered a friendly smile towards them both and then clapped a hand on Barnes’ shoulder.

“You gonna be alright?” Rogers asked, and Bucky nodded with a smile.

“I’ll manage,” Bucky shot at him, grinning before offering him a hug and saying his personal goodbyes. He walked up the ramp, turning to take a glance back at the rest of the team who had gathered, and he nodded at Kat who had steely eyes upon him and Steve.

He then disappeared into the jet, the ramp closing behind him. Steve sighed heavily before turning back to the team, ushering for them to follow back inside. Tabitha lingered for a moment, feeling a deep, heavy weight inside of her that told her that this was the wrong thing to do. However, she ignored this and turned back on herself, playing with the collar of her t-shirt and hurrying back indoors.

#mcu trio #bucky x reader

[mcutrio]

Grandmasters Visit [12]

Grandmasters Visit [12]

Tags: @buckys-little-monster @imaginesofeverykind​

“Hey,” Kat said anxiously, fiddling with her fingers in the doorway to Thor’s room, who was laying his clothes at the foot of his bed, clad in his armour. “So, you’re leaving today?”

Thor turned with a sheepish smile. “I have spent many nights pondering over the dream I had regarding the infinity stones. I can’t leave this page unturned any longer.”

“Okay,” Kat nodded, understanding. A few weeks after they’d eaten Chinese food, they’d managed to spend another night together over Indian dishes, which Thor confirmed was his favourite out of the two. During that night, he’d taught her all about the Infinity Stones; the power they had, where they came from, etcetera. “I wish you could’ve stayed longer.”

“As do I,” Thor agreed, turning and taking Kat’s hand. “But I cannot leave Asgard alone for much longer. I fear something terrible may happen.”

“I know,” Kat sighed, squeezing his hand gently. “Just don’t be gone too long, okay? Besides you and Tony, there’s not much fun around here.”

Thor grinned and kissed her knuckles. “You have my word.”

“I heard that,” Courtenay said, passing the door and shoving Kat on the shoulder, who grinned at her friends feigned jealousy before she set off down the hall again.

“Before I leave,” Thor suddenly said, reaching into his pocket before revealing what looked to be a necklace: red chain with a silver charm. “A gift,” he announced, reaching gently for her hand and placing it in her palm.

Kat looked at it in awe, her eyes sparkling. “I-- thank you, but… what is it made of?”

“I crafted it with the thread of my cloak and with some of my chainmail,” Thor told her, to which she fiddled with the necklace with a sense of pride in her chest. “You’ve given me so much during my time on Earth. I hope it will suffice as a token of my gratitude.”

Kat beamed, her cheeks glowing pink. “I love it; thank you.”

“Here,” he said, taking the necklace from her hands before clasping it around her neck, his hands brushing over her skin for a moment. They’d been close before… but this, the proximity, the situation, the nervousness, Kat wasn’t about to wait for Courtenay to interrupt them again.

The two of them, as if drawn by magnetic force, leaned towards one another at once and connected with a kiss, Thor’s hand immediately pulling her close by the waist as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

“Come on, lovebirds,” Tabitha mocked, leaning in the hallway as she watched the two snap apart, flushed, a smug, grinning Bucky holding her close. “Time to get you off this rock.”

Thor smiled and grasped his Mjolnir, walking out with to be greeted by some of the team who waved their goodbyes to him, before he ventured outside with the company of Steve, Tony and the trio.

“The rules have changed,” Steve stated, making a reference to whether or not someone was worthy of lifting Thor’s hammer.

“We’re dealing with something new,” Tony rose his brow.

“Well… the Vision’s artificial intelligence,” Steve pointed out.

“A machine!” Tony added, which caused Thor’s lip to turn upwards into a smile.

“So it doesn’t count,” Steve suggested.

“No,” Tony confirmed. “It’s not like a… person, lifting the hammer.”

“Right,” Steve agreed, gesturing towards Tony. “Different rules for us!”

“Nice guy,” Tony shrugged, “artificial.”

“Thank you,” Steve breathed.

“Exactly!” Tabitha sighed in agreement. “How can a robot be deemed worthy if that’s all he’s been programmed to do?”

“That’s a good point,” Kat nodded. “And surely it’s just a matter of circumstance. If someone's life is on the line I’m sure the hammer would give it up and let any one of us wield it, right?”

“You’re right,” Courtenay nodded. “It’s all down to context. Right, big guy?” Courtenay teased, elbowing Thor in the side, though wincing and clasping her elbow as it came into contact with his hard, armoured torso.

“If he can wield the hammer, he can keep the mind stone,” Thor argued calmly. “It’s safe with the Vision. And in these days… safe is in short supply.”

Steve paused. “But if you put the hammer in an elevator…”

“It would still go up!” Courtenay jumped in, grinning and sharing a high-five with the super-soldier.

“Elevators not worthy,” Tony grinned.

“I’m going to miss these little talks of ours,” Thor admitted, clapping a hand on Tony’s shoulder.

“Not if you don’t leave,” Tony challenged, grinning up at the god. “I know there are a few people in particular who’ll miss you,” he teased, smiling at Kat who stuck her tongue out at him.

“I have no choice,” Thor sighed, releasing his hand from Tony’s shoulder before venturing forwards again. “The mind stone is the fourth of the infinity stones to show up in the last few years. It’s not a coincidence. Someone has been playing an intricate game and has made pawns of us,” Thor stated, walking out into the open with the rest of the group following him. “Once all these pieces are in position--”

“Triple Yahtzee?” Tony jumped in, taking his shades from his blazer and placing them upon his nose.

“You think you can find out what’s coming?” Tabitha asked curiously.

Thor nodded. “I do,” he said, turning to Tony. “Besides this one, there’s nothing that can’t be explained.”

“We’ll miss you,” Courtenay grinned, pulling him into a brief hug.

“And I, you,” Thor smiled down at her before shaking hands with Tabitha, who nodded at him with validity. The pair hadn’t really conversed much, but there was always an air of respect that the pair acknowledged. Kat pulled him into a sudden, tight hug, her face close to his ear.

“You cannot leave me waiting now,” she breathe-laughed, leaning back and pressing a final kiss to his lips. He stroked her hair and nodded as she stepped back, and he lifted his Mjolnir into the air. A large stream of light broke through the clouds and with a gush of bright, hot, air, all that remained as evidence of Thor’s presence was the scalded grass, burnt in an intricate pattern.

Tony looked down at the sizzling, burnt grass and sighed. “That man has no regard for lawn maintenance,” he sighed, turning and heading for the gravel path with a sniff. “I’m gonna miss him, though. And you’re going to miss me,” Tony then turned to the three girls, “I’m sure you’re all going to miss me, too.” Tony added, pulling out his car keys and summoning his orange Audi.

“I will miss you, Tony,” Steve said sincerely.

“Yeah?” Tony asked, a short shrug following. “Well, it’s time for me to tap out.”

“Tony Stark settling down? I never thought I’d see the day,” Tabitha grinned, folding her arms.

“Yeah,” Tony nodded, “maybe I should take a page out of Barton’s book. Build Pepper a farm, hope nobody blows it up.”

“The simple life,” Court nodded.

“You’ll all get there one day,” Tony nodded, rubbing his chin.

“I don’t know,” Steve cocked his head to the side. “Family, stability… the guy who wanted all that went in the ice seventy-five years ago. I think someone else came out.”

“Hearing you all speak about moving on and living the family life is leaving me a little queasy,” Court smiled a little, “just live the life you never did, Steve.”

“She’s right,” Tony said, opening his car door before nodding at the super soldier, who seemed a little distant. “You alright?”

Steve breathed in the air and grasped his belt before nodding. “I’m home.”

Stark smirked once more before ducking into his car and rolling down the windows, then looking at Steve. “Just keep your eye on these three. Make sure they don’t get too frisky and decide to blow up the place or something,”

Steve grinned. “I will.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Kat questioned, though neither replied. Tony rolled the window up again and shot off into the distance, the car engine rumbling as he left the four behind.

“Right,” Steve clapped his hands together. “Let’s get this team together.”

“How exciting,” Court said, herself and Tabitha following close behind as Kat paused for a moment, looking up into the sky, fiddling with her necklace for a moment, and then finally moving on.

The trio of girls gathered the rest of the team, which consisted of the twins, Sam, Bucky and Rhodey. Steve gave them a motivational speech before they all signed a ‘contract’ of sorts that basically sold themselves away to be apart of the Avengers.

Later on that evening, when eating dinner with the trio, Nat and Steve, Court decided to speak up.

“So, when’s our first mission, team?” Courtenay grinned.

Nat smirked. “I’m glad you asked.”

“Uh-oh,” Kat said, “what’s the dirt?”

“We have some intel that a previous associate of Hydra has started kicking up dust in Nigeria,” Steve added. “We can’t be sure as to who it is, but we’ve got some pretty solid leads.”

“Well, who do you think it is, then?” Tabitha questioned, putting her fork down.

Steve and Nat exchanged a look before Steve stood to his feet and fished out a file packet from his satchel. He placed it gently on the tabletop in front of the three girls, who placed their hands on it curiously before Steve paused them.

“It’s a man with an agenda, that’s for sure,” Nat leaned forwards on the table, arms folded. “Take a look.”

The trio of girls suddenly became hesitant, and Tabitha sat in the middle of the three, gently opened the file packet with Courtenay and Kathryn craning their neck beside her, aching to take a look at it.

The face that stared up at them made their stomachs squeeze tight, and suddenly their appetite was replaced with strong nausea. However, they all caught on to one another's fear, and all feigned as if they’d never seen him before.

Natasha tilted her head and frowned knowingly at the girls. “What, do you know him? You look like you’ve all just seen a ghost.”

“Well, that’s what I thought he was,” Tabitha cleared her throat, closing the packet and handing it back to Steve. “I thought Rumlow was dead.”

“So did we,” Steve sighed, seeing past their fear. “But he’s been cooking up something ever since the incident in Washington. This isn’t an accident; he’s trying to draw me out.”

Kat rubbed her arms. “Then don’t go after him.”

Natasha frowned. “Are you… serious? That could lead to catastrophe, maybe even another uprising from Hydra’s remaining employees. He’s already killed over ten people and hijacked enough corporations.”

“I mean, send somebody else to go looking for him,” Kat defended, “if he’s what you want, don’t give yourself to him.”

“You’re probably right,” Steve clenched his jaw, “but this isn’t anybody else’s fight; it’s mine. I can’t let him hurt anyone else.”

“Alright,” Court answered cooly. “So, what, do you know where he is?”

“We know he’s been to Nigeria, considering the increase in reported hijacks, weapon transportations, all from a man, or men, going by the name of Crossbones, and we’ve just been left to assume it’s Rumlow, considering his background regarding operations of this type,” Natasha said, arching a brow. “But we’ve had similar cases dotted around the continent. We can’t be so sure as to where he’s going to hit next. He’s… all over the place, like he wants us to know he’s there, but he’s not exactly making himself easy to find.”

“So what’s our play?” Tabitha asked, chewing her thumbnail anxiously.

“Well, as soon as we can form some sort of pattern regarding his buyers, targets of interest and general location, we’ll be able to get some sustainable leads.” Nat nodded. “For now, we’re keeping our distance, making sure security is tight with the authorities,” she sighed, “otherwise, there’s not much else we can do.”

“But when it comes down to it, we were going to ask you three to help us take him down,” Steve nodded, “and maybe the twins if we think they’re ready.”

“Okay,” Tabitha nodded, tapping her fingers on the counter before standing up. “We’ll sleep on it. Tell us if anything else turns up, though.”

“Sure,” Steve agreed cooly, “have a good night.”

“You too,” Tabitha shot back, retreating back into the sleeping quarters before dragging both Kat and Court into her room by their shirts. “This is bad.”

Court shut and locked the door, clearing through the clear glass before pressing the button that made it an opaque white. She turned back to Tabitha and Kat, who both looked so panicked that they seemed only a hair away from a breakdown.

“This is… really bad,” Court began, wringing her hands together as she practically felt all blood rush straight to her head, making her feel dizzy and unsteady on her feet. Court and Tabitha didn’t particularly interact with Rumlow; he merely gave the orders. Kat, on the other hand, knew him more personally, considering that she was one of the few who was under his watchful eye from the very beginning. “What are we going to do?”

“Maybe… maybe we should leave,” Tabitha started, though shook her head, “no, no, that won’t work. Oh, god. What about Bucky? He can’t stay here, not with Rumlow on the loose.”

Kat pressed her hands to her mouth for a brief moment before containing herself. “Okay, okay, calm down. Maybe it’s not as big as we think it is.”

“Easy for you to say, ‘star pupil’,” Court scoffed, her fear getting the best of her as it transferred to anger.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Kat questioned, eyes wide.

“It’s true,” Tabitha nodded, “you were always his favourite. Always treated the best. He never hurt you.”

Kat rubbed her neck, feeling a slash of pain run down her back at the memories of the abuse. Sure, it might not have been on the level that her two friends had experienced, but it was enough to take its toll.

“He hurt all of us,” Kat protested, eyes watering. “We can’t let them know. We can’t let them find out-- the team will kill us.”

“Rumlow will kill us,” Court snapped. “We’ll just have to go with Steve and Nat if and when they ask us to. The only chance to ensure that he’s actually dead is if we do it ourselves.”

“You’re right,” Tabitha agreed with a nod, her eyes throbbing violet every now and then due to the resurfacing of emotional trauma. “You’re right. We’ll have to kill him ourselves.”

“No, we can’t! We’d have no chance!” Kat swallowed, “this is Rumlow we’re talking about. What if he-- what if he threatens us? What if he kills our friends? What if he tries to turn us against everybody? What if-- oh, god.”

Tabitha frowned. “He won’t get the chance.”

“He’s trying to draw us out and you know it,” Kat seethed, her voice firm as she ran her fingers through her hair. “Maybe he has his agenda over Steve… but he has to know. There’s no other reason for him being so obvious, so blatant… he’s trying to draw all of us out, if not just the three of us.”

“There’s no way he could know,” Tabitha said.

“I don’t know,” Courtenay struggled, sitting on the end of Tabitha’s bed. “I mean… of course he knows, Tabitha. He’ll have seen the news on Sokovia. We were on TV! He’ll know what we’re doing, at the minimum.”

“He’s after us, then,” Tabitha hummed, biting her thumbnail. “If we’d have just gone through with the mission--”

Courtenay jerked her head back, offended. “You’re seriously going to turn tail and run when we get even the slightest whiff of Rumlow?”

Tabitha’s face crumpled and tears began to fall from her eyes. “I-- I’m just so scared, after everything he did… I don’t think I can bring myself to face him ever again.”

The other two began to become watery-eyed at the sound of her broken voice.

“I know, Tabitha, I know,” Kat sniffled, bringing her friend into a tight hug as she began quivering with tears. “We’ll get through this, I promise,” she swore, swinging her arm around Courtenay, too, as the three of them fell to the floor, terrified, crying, and worried for their lives.

After a few moments, they managed to calm down. All three of them were too petrified to sleep on their own, but Kat ensured that she would be fine as Peter ventured over to stay with Courtenay through the night and Bucky welcomed Tabitha in. Neither of them opened up about anything, but their partners were there to ensure that they would sleep well.

“Hey, I came as soon as I could,” Peter breathed, looking particularly red in the face for having tried to be so quick to arrive. He clambered through Courtenay’s window who pulled him in, her body feeling heavy and exhausted from her tears. “What’s wrong, sweetheart?”

Courtenay shook her head, unable to respond. “I can’t, Peter.”

“That’s okay, darling,” Peter nodded, seemingly timid and quiet. “I bought some stuff, to try and cheer you up. You might not tell me what’s wrong, but I’m here for you,” Peter reassured her before he reached into the plastic bag he’d brought with him. Inside was a tub of Chunky Monkey ice cream, two spoons, the Star Wars: Clone Wars movie and a big bottle of Cherry Coke.

Courtenay held the ice-cream in her hands, finding herself tearing up over how golden-hearted Peter was. She knew that, no matter what happened, Peter would always be there, supporting her, being kind to her, and being a shoulder for her to cry on. She loved him more than anything for that.

Meanwhile, Tabitha gingerly knocked on Bucky’s door, feeling ashamed and emotionally exhausted from the events of the evening. It broke her to know that Rumlow was still alive and still a threat, but it broke her even more to know just how much of an effect he’d had on her life.

Bucky, looking half-asleep, opened the door and squinted at the light from the hallway, looking as if he’d just dragged himself out of bed. Tabitha smiled sheepishly at him, her eyes bloodshot and glassy looking. Immediately, he perked up.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” He asked, sounding concerned. She quivered and he stepped to the side, opening the door a little further. “Here, come on in.”

She thanked him quietly, stepping into his room where he flicked on the lamp at his bedside table before patting the empty space next to him on the bed, his covers dishevelled. Tabitha collapsed beside him on the bed and lay on her back, staring dead up at the ceiling.

“So, are you going to tell me what’s gotten you all worked up, or…?” Bucky questioned, running his fingers through her hair. She paused, her whole body freezing, her breath held tight in her aching lungs before she exhaled raggedly and her eyes began to pool up again. “Oh, baby girl. Please tell me what’s wrong,”

Before she could get a word out, she felt herself choking out sobs and then she was pressed against him, heaving out so much pain after having held it in all this time. Her nightmares, the horrors of her past, the total, empty void of her past that seemed to suck every ounce of energy from her body whenever she thought about it.

“I can’t do this anymore, Bucky,” she finally breathed out, her voice hoarse from her crying. He frowned with concern, brushing aside the strands of hair that stuck to her tear-tracked cheeks.

“Can’t do what?” He asked, trying to gently coax it out of her.

She held her breath once more, almost as if she were forcing her body to stay quiet before suddenly all of the truth came spilling out. She told Bucky everything; where she’d come from, who Kat was, who Courtenay was, all about Rumlow and the decision they’d made in the end that ultimately defiled their orders.

“Breathe, baby girl. Breathe. It’s okay; you’re here with me right now, Rumlow isn’t here, he can’t hurt you anymore,” he reassured, holding her against him, offering as much physical and emotional support as he could. His heart nearly shattered to pieces at her words, having known none of what had gone on with the trio. “I won’t let him hurt you.”

Kat, who had been lingering in the hallway, heard her friends sobs die down to quiet nothingness and she finally dragged her own heavy bones back to her room. She shut the door behind her, then reaching for the light and turning it on.

She turned back to face her room, where she saw a tall man, cloaked in blue, red and gold standing ahead of her with a menacing, mischievous grin on his face. His getup and overall vibe gave Kat the idea he wasn’t from around here. 

“Now that Thor’s out of the picture, how about we play a game?”

#mcu trio #bucky x reader #thor x reader #spider-man x reader #peter parker x reader

[mcutrio]

Bar Night [11]

Bar Night [11]

Tags: @buckys-little-monster @imaginesofeverykind​

“You awake,” Thor smiled, standing at the foot of the bed in new clothing as Kat groaned to herself and rubbed her eyes. It took her a moment to adjust before she remembered that they were watching a movie before everything turned to blackness, meaning she must’ve passed out halfway through.

“Augh, good morning,” she greeted, running her fingers through her hair and cracking her neck. “God, I have the worst neck ache.”

“I did try not to disturb you in your slumber,” Thor smiled.

“About that,” Kat sat upright, “I’m so sorry I fell asleep, I totally didn’t mean to--”

“It’s fine,” Thor beamed, “you are quite peaceful when you sleep.”

“As opposed to when I’m awake?” Kat groaned, rubbing her tired eyes before standing up and snatching her phone. “I am starving.”

“As am I. Fortunately they’ve already served breakfast,” Thor announced.

Kat brushed her fingers through her hair, realising she must’ve missed the morning call for breakfast. “Shall we go, then?”

“We shall,” Thor agreed, gesturing for her to leave first.

The two rejoined the rest of the team, and Tony immediately pulled his shades down onto his nose as he paused, staring at the pair with an incredulous, humoured expression.

“And what have you two been up to, then?” He questioned, the lilt in his tone showing that he already had an idea of what he thought they’d been doing.

“Sleeping,” Kat shot back, grabbing a cereal box before he could say anything else. She sat herself down between Tabitha and Steve, who immediately turned to her and smiled.

“A win,” he repeated quietly, and Kat socked him in the shoulder so much so that he dropped the bagel in his hand, though he daresn't say a word to her as he stifled his laugh.

“Is everyone coming out tonight?” Nat suddenly questioned, taking a slug of coffee.

“Out?” Kat asked, confused.

Tabitha swallowed a bite of toast. “Yeah, the other night when you were busy with Thor we all decided that we were going out for drinks tonight.”

“Alright,” Kat said.

“So… as I’m not hearing any screams of protest, I’ll take that as a yes,” Natasha smiled, putting her mug down on the marble counter.

“What’s on the agenda today, bestie?” Court shot at Steve, who seemed unfazed by the nickname she gave him. Though confused at the terminology, the two girls decided not to question Courtenay upon it, just as the super soldier seemed to be doing. What Court says, goes.

“Spar day,” he nodded. “I think it’s time we get some combat training in, especially for the twins. They’re inexperienced.”

“When you’re as fast as I am there’s no need for fancy punches and kicks, Mr Rogers,” Pietro grinned, biting down into a green, shiny apple. “And my sister can move things with her mind. You’d never get a hand on her.”

“It happens, trust me,” Tabitha’s brows shot up as she poured more orange juice into her glass. “It’s better if you’re both prepared. Who knows how effective Strucker’s experiments were, anyway? What if your powers are only temporary?”

“Then you will not need us,” Pietro argued, causing Tabitha to roll her eyes.

“All I’m saying is that learning how to punch your way out of a situation is a good idea instead of just relying on your… powers,” Tabitha explained.

“She’s right,” Steve agreed. “Be ready. Training starts in twenty minutes,” he finished, dumping his plate into the sink before leaving the room.

Kat rolled her eyes before looking at Thor, who had his usual plate of pop tarts in front of him. “Did you hear? You’re partnering with me for sparring.”

“Oh, yes. It was my idea,” Thor told her nonchalantly.

Kat was taken aback. “Oh, okay then.”

Tabitha stood to her feet after slamming her empty cup of juice down. “Right. Better get ready then. You coming?”

Court, Kat and Bucky followed close behind, the rest of the team finishing off their meals. They separated into their designated rooms whilst getting ready, though Buck followed Tabitha.

“What are you doing?” She questioned, noticing he had followed her inside as she rummaged through her drawer for workout clothes.

He came up behind her, wrapping his hands around her torso as he lay his head on her shoulder. “Nothin’… keep doing what you’re doing.”

“It’s hard when you’re holding me like this,” she smiled, plucking his arms from her waist and turning to face him,  pressing a kiss against his lips immediately. “Save it for later, gosh.”

He smiled against her cheek, placing a kiss there quickly before stepping back from her. He cleared his throat after flushing from the close proximity, then promising that he would see her later as he left to go change.

“Hurry up, Tabs,” Court said, knocking her door a few minutes later. Tabitha tied her hair up into a ponytail before bounding out, grinning, being greeted by her two friends.

“I’m ready, I’m ready,” she breathed, cracking her fingers. “Let’s go.”

Kat tucked away her mobile as the three of them walked, turning up last to the gym as per usual. Steve, waiting for them somewhat impatiently, clapped his hands together to grab everyone's attention as he started the session.

“Grab your partners,” he said, watching as everyone shuffled to their designated partners. Courtenay was teamed with Tabitha, the twins with one another and Kat with Thor. “Now follow me,”

Steve demonstrated the jab-jab block grapple pattern he wanted them to follow and then would allow for free-form sparring to see what everyone was capable of. The experienced ones in the team were able to execute the simple task easily, while Pietro and Wanda lagged behind before perfecting their form.

Afterwards, the partners were ordered to ‘take down’ one another, and whoever was first successful would be the ‘winner’ despite that there was no real reward other than pride, perhaps.

Thor stood over Kat, having knocked her on her back.

“I think we’ve proven who’s stronger,” Thor teased.

Kat then twisted her legs around his feet so that he fell to the ground, too.

“Call it a tie.” She smirked.

Meanwhile, Tabitha and Courtenay stood solid, locked arms, unable to move the other. With their equal training, they found it difficult to outsmart their opponent, though eventually, Courtenay twisted her elbows until the pain caused Tabitha to fall to her knees, though she disabled Courtenay’s locked knees until they were both on that mat, too.

“Good session today, guys,” Steve said after another hour of sparring, “I expect you to be better tomorrow.”

They all filtered out of the gym, immediately running for a shower. As soon as the trio had showered, they ordered themselves a few pizzas for lunch, so that if they decided to drink lots later that night, they had a full stomach to do it on.

“Do you ever think about the others?” Tabitha wondered out loud, her eyes dragging over to Courtenay as they dug into their mozzarella pizza.

Kat’s expression deadpanned as she realised what her friend was hinting at before she nodded. “All the time. You?”

“Yeah, it’s hard not to,” Tabitha agreed, placing her slice down back onto her plate and rubbing her hands on her jeans. “How are we the only ones that survived?”

“They weren’t as friendly with the ones who didn’t cooperate,” Courtenay said.

It was horrifying, really. Though the girls worked together, there were many times in their life that they were separate. They were teamed together when they were ten years old, and they honestly had no idea how they would work in the world without one another. Before that, they were trained in physical combat, where the strongest out of the bunch were plucked from the academy and used for experimentation. It was exciting for them at the time because it was seen as an honour and taken with great gratitude, but now they see that they were mere puppets in a far bigger show than they’d ever thought could’ve been booked.

Courtenay was one of the few who was taken from her family. Usually, you were born into the business or taken as a first-born from a family who required protection or weapons in exchange. Both Kat and Tabitha were part of this ordeal; they had no idea who their parents were, but they knew that they were of importance. But Courtenay’s parents owed a debt, and because of her situation, she was one of the few who did resist, which resulted in a far more inhumane form of training.

“I wish I knew my parents,” Kat sighed, where a solemn Tabitha agreed with a quiet nod as she took another bite of pizza.

“I wish I didn’t, sometimes,” Courtenay added quietly. “It’s hard to think about.”

“There has to be a reason that they let us live, don’t you think?” Tabitha wondered suddenly. “Surely they know where we are, and what we’re doing. I can’t ever imagine that escaping their grip would be as easy as it was, yet here we are; unscathed. How does SHIELD not even notice? Hydra was compromised.”

“Well, with Rumlow dead, there’s not much that they have on us,” Kat nodded, “we were kept off of the files, right? He’s basically the information bank.”

“Yeah, so SHIELD couldn’t get their paws on us,” Courtenay said. “It’s funny; we worked under their noses for so long. What if they find out?”

“I don’t think they will, honestly,” Tabitha shrugged. “Hydra is dead. That’s not our life anymore.”

“But it was,” Kat pulled her knees to her chest. “I mean, it’s a big ordeal. We used to work on the opposite end of the stick and preach that freedom was the world's ‘greatest lie’. That’s everything that SHIELD fights for.”

“But as soon as we got a taste of that freedom, our opinion switched,” Courtenay finished. “Surely our decision speaks louder volumes than where we came from, who we worked for. Right?”

And while it was mundane and somewhat melancholic to think about their past, where they had come from, and their rash decision to help the Avenger’s rather than kill them, they knew that better things were to come. You can only go up after human experimentation, after all.

“Right, instead of all this talk, how about we get dressed for tonight?” Tabitha finally added.

Kat, through a mouthful of pizza, agreed. “Yeah, you’re probably right.”

“Time to get fucking wasted,” Courtenay whooped, standing to her feet. “I don’t know about you guys but I was a little underwhelmed with the alcohol from that party the other week.”

“Unlike you, we don’t intend to get absolutely fucked every time we have a drink,” Kat grinned.

Courtenay put her hand on her hip. “It helps drown out the voices, love.”

“You sure that’s not just you talking to yourself again?” Tabitha smirked.

“Shut up and get dressed,” Court shock back, shooing the two girls out of her room so that they could all change.

When the three of them were ready, they walked out to the main entrance of the headquarters where they found their vehicle waiting. They’d be driving with Bucky and Steve whilst everybody else carpooled with either Tony or Nat. Tony had reserved a few tables in a bar for them to hand out in; it was a private, secluded and somewhat extravagant, but it would do for a social outing.

“This place is fancy,” Kat commented, digging her hands into the pockets of her leather jacket. Tony took them all to their private booth, where they had their own bar, own servers, own privacy. It seemed a little much, but nobody was about to complain.

“First round's on me, kids,” Tony smiled, pulling out his wallet.

“Are you doing this out of the kindness of your heart or just taking another opportunity to flash how rich you are, Stark?” Kat teased, taking a seat in one of the booths, besides Thor and leaving a seat beside her for Tony to take after he ordered the drinks. Soon, he returned, a waitress close behind him with a serving of shots. “Oh boy.”

“Down the hatch, team,” Tony said, just as everyone scooped up their shot glass, clinked them together and took them back with a grimace. Thor and Steve shared an Asgardian concoction, considering there was nothing else that would get the pair drunk.

“Eugh, gross,” Tabitha complained, wiping her mouth. “At least get something that tastes nice, Stark.”

“If it tastes nice, it's not strong enough,” Tony cheered.

“True that,” Courtenay agreed, standing to her feet. “More.”

Tony spun his finger around in the air, gesturing for another round. Within the next twenty minutes, the team had drunk about three or four shots each, giving them all a decent amount of intoxication to be slurring incoherent yet hilarious nonsense to one another.

“So, can you like, take control of animals and stuff?” Bucky questioned, his eyes slightly lazy looking.

Tabitha pondered over this for a moment, clinging to his arm. “You know, I had never thought of that. That’s such a great idea, let me do it right now--”

“Hey, take it easy,” Kat hiccuped, pressing a hand to Tabitha’s shoulder to ensure that she stayed seated and didn’t take control of any stray cats.

“Shhhhh,” Tabitha swatted Kat’s hand away. “You can’t tell me what to do anymore,” she slurred.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Thor grinned. Smiling seemed to be his go-to expression, even when he was particularly confused.

“Let me tell you, buddy,” Tabitha began, slapping her hand on the table. “Back when we used to get trained by--”

Courtenay suddenly leaned forwards, feigning that she had accidentally knocked over her drink that went sloshing over onto Tabitha’s jacket, who yelped in surprise.

“Oh, gosh, oh… no, I’m so sorry,” Courtenay spluttered, humorous expression lingering underneath the fake, apologetic one.

“Gross, Courtenay. It’s everywhere, why did you do that?” Tabitha pouted peeling off her jacket after dabbing it down with tissue.

“You’re getting a few stares, Lady Courtenay,” Thor announced, lifting his glass and gesturing towards a prestige looking bundle of people who kept shooting stares at the rather loud Courtenay, who was laughing away to herself.

“Who’s staring?” She snapped, turning around and locking eyes with the people across the room. They must have recognised her, or at least someone in their group, as they cleared their throats and looked away, feigning a smile. “Oh, no. They’re not getting away with this. Thor! Back me up.”

“What--” Kat began, though she was cut off as Thor and Courtenay stood to their feet, going over and starting a row with the other table. Tony immediately put his face in his hands, shaking his head.

“Why do I ever try and do something nice for the team?” Tony questioned with a groan. “You’re an embarrassment to my dignity.”

Courtenay and Thor, across the room, over flipped a table and caused the slurry of rich people to jump from their seats with a yelp. Thor laughed in appreciation and the pair high-fived, but it wasn’t long before the disturbed bar members from outside of the secluded area sauntered in, unimpressed. Thor and Courtenay nodded at one another, grabbing chairs.

“Oh my God, are we seriously just going to let them do this?” Kat stumbled, her brain a little fuzzy as she faded to and fro with sobriety, trying to focus on the duelling pair.

Tabitha raised her hands, shooting purple flashes of energy towards a glass that came flying towards the team, stopping an inch or two from Steve’s face. Tabitha then twisted her hands and pushed them outwards, flinging the drink back over towards the bar fight.

Suddenly, someone pulled out a gun, causing Courtenay to back up with her hands raised. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a flash of red and her over-the-top demeanour melted and she broke out into a grin.

“Hey! What’s going on here?” Spider-Man asked, crawling in from the skylight after webbing aside the man's gun. “Get outta here, guys. Scoot.”

The man who had pulled out his gun snarled towards Spider-Man, smashing his glass down on the ground before he turned to leave, the rest of his group following. Spider-Man lingered on the ceiling for a few moments, ensuring that they had left before he gently dropped to his feet and waved at the team.

“Hey, guys,” he said, his voice instantly familiar to the team. Tony looked at him, eyebrow raised, and a smug grin on his face. Spider-Man instantly coughed into his hands, his voice changing. “I mean, uh, hey. Sorry about the trouble.”

“It’s okay,” Courtenay beamed, almost swooning at the sight of him. Peter might not even try and keep his identity hidden at this point because it became aware to most of the team-- minus the confused, air-heads of Steve and Bucky --just who this masked figure was.

“I should-- I should go,” Spider-Man suddenly said, appearing particularly awkward as he rubbed his hands together before backing away slowly, making his way to the door. “I’ll uh-- I’ll send a friend in!”

Not five minutes later, Peter appeared. It was embarrassingly obvious that he was Spider-Man, and just how he had remained to keep his identity hidden this entire time was incredible. Courtenay slung her arms around him immediately, burying her reddened face into his neck as he patted her back.

“I can take care of her,” Peter announced with a soppy grin, nodding towards Kat and Tabitha who eyed their drunken friend warily. “I’ll make sure she’s back later on. Come on, Court. Let’s get you sobered up.”

“What a sweetheart,” Kat sighed, watching as he practically dragged her out of the bar as she clung onto him. “What was all that about, anyway?” She questioned, turning to Thor who looked particularly dazed, an intoxicated glint to his eye.

“A night of drinking is not a night of drinking without a good fight,” he beamed.

“Alright, sure,” Kat shook her head, pinching the bridge of her nose.

Bucky suddenly nudged Tabitha in the side and leaned to whisper as soon as she sprung to his attention. “How’s about we get out of here?”

“Sure,” Tabitha agreed, downing the rest of her vodka and coke before shimmying out of the booth and following him. At this point, the team didn’t think to question them, far more focused on the damage that they had-- or, more specifically, that Thor and Court --had caused.

“I’m sorry about that,” Tabitha rubbed her nose, the night air of New York particularly cold. “She tends to get a little over excited when she’s drunk.”

“Yeah, I figured,” he laughed, throwing his arm over his shoulder as the pair aimlessly wandered through the streets. Any other day, Tabitha would probably feel particularly anxious to be walking around the streets at this time of night. However, with Bucky by her side, she felt confident. “She’s got a good heart, though.”

Tabitha hummed at this. “Yeah.”

“Peter seems to bring out the best in her,” Bucky thought. “It’s funny. He’s the timidest, most awkward boy I’ve met in my life. And she’s just… she's..."

“A lot?” Tabitha suggested with a laugh.

“For lack of better word, yeah. She’s very loud,” he shrugged.

“Well, she turns to mush whenever she’s with Peter,” Tabitha thought over the times in Hydra, how her friends had been treated. “He’s one of the few things that have ever loved her, you know? It’s the same with all of us. Before, we…” Tabitha took a deep breath. “Never mind.”

Bucky froze, having stopped under the dim, flickering light of a lamppost. He pressed his hands to Tabitha’s shoulders.

“You can talk to me about anything, you know that, right?” He encouraged.

Tabitha looked away, anxious. Was she really about to do this? Was she really about to tell him everything?

“Where we came from wasn’t a very nice place,” Tabitha finally said. “They didn’t treat us all that well.”

Bucky frowned, thinking back to his own time at Hydra. He suddenly thought back to his conversation in the farm house, remembering how she seemed to forget a huge portion of her life. Perhaps it was for the best.

“I’m sorry.”

Tabitha looked at her hands that became alight with purple flames before she clenched her fists. “It’s okay. It doesn’t seem to affect me as much. There’s this big, empty hole where all of the pain should be.”

Bucky frowned. “Coping mechanism?”

“Yeah,” Tabitha scoffed. “Almost like my brain programmed itself to forget everything that happened.”

“Is that a good thing?” Bucky asked.

“I don’t know if I’d rather remember or if I’d rather never know,” Tabitha sighed, running her fingers through her hair. It pained Bucky to hear her talking like this, to be sharing the same feelings that swarmed his own mind. “Sometimes I hear them… Kathryn and Courtenay. They cry in their sleep, or they don’t sleep at all. What happened to them that seemingly flew right over my head? Am I wrong for not feeling the same way?”

Bucky could feel his throat swelling with emotion and he swallowed, pulling her into a strong hug as he felt a supernova of emotions explode in his chest as he let out a mere, ragged breath, holding Tabitha close.

Meanwhile, Kat had repositioned herself to sit on one of Thor’s legs as the team laughed away, the spirits having been lifted as Sam took it upon himself to do some Karaoke. Of course, being the fanboy that he was, decided to sing some Marvin Gaye, ‘Let’s Get It On’.

Kat pulled out her phone, laughing away as she filmed the entire fiasco, drunk Sam still managing to hit every note and lyric, if not with a little extra passion. The team, heavily intoxicated at this point, all joined in on the song, and though Steve and Thor stumbled over the words, they managed to pick it up after Sam’s third round.

“Alright, I’m pooped,” Natasha yawned, her eyes bloodshot. “I think it’s time we get home, huh?”

Kat, although thoroughly enjoying herself, agreed. She had to make sure that Tabitha and Courtenay got home safe. Tony slapped down the money he owed for the drinks, and everybody shuffled out of the booth. Happy chauffeured everyone home (requiring multiple trips back and forth from the bar and back to the HeadQuarters) but he didn’t complain.

As soon as Kat got through the doors, she just about tripped over before she was caught by Thor, who smiled at her drunken form. She wasn’t particularly sure if she’d tripped on purpose or if she was genuinely clumsy, as her subconscious was screaming for her to throw herself at Thor anyway.

“Are you alright?” Thor questioned, holding her as she remained mid-fall, gazing up at him with reddened cheeks. She broke out into a smile, her mind fuzzy with the remaining buzz of alcohol before she cleared her throat and nodded, standing up straight.

“Get her to bed, Thor,” Tony grumbled, rubbing his eyes. “And leave her there.”

“I had no other intentions, my friend,” Thor rolled his eyes.

“Will you make sure Court and Tabs get home safe?” Kat whispered, worrisome although exhausted at the same time.

“Of course,” Thor reassured her, which instantly made her relax.

Eventually, Thor managed to coax Kat into bed, where she almost immediately fell asleep. He flipped off the light and retired to his own quarters, tip-toeing as to not wake anyone else. He checked quickly in Courtenay’s room, who was already there, asleep. About forty minutes later, Tabitha and Bucky crept back into the HeadQuarters, giggling and shushing one another, evidence that they’d had a few more drinks after their emotional conversation.

“Shhhh!” Tabitha ushered, clasping a hand over her mouth as Bucky knocked over a lamp before snatching it quickly, stopping it from hitting the ground. “You’re sooooo clumsy.” She laughed, holding onto his arms.

“I don’t know why you’re holding onto me then,” Bucky hiccuped. “If I fall we both  fall.”

The moment he said that his foot caught on a stool in the living room and himself and Tabitha fell into a heap on the floor, laughing their asses off, though they froze and lay flat-down, side-by-side as they heard somebody walking past.

“Hello?” Happy called out.

Tabitha breathed out in relief, peeking out over the sofa with a grin on her face.

“Freeze!” Happy yelled at the sight of her.

“Calm down, Happy! It's just me!” Tabitha reassured, waving her arms before pulling Bucky up beside her. “And Buck!”

Happy grimaced. “Whatever you’re doing, don’t make a mess.”

Tabitha opened her mouth in shock as Bucky doubled over laughing. “We weren’t doing anything! We tripped!” Tabitha denied.

Hogan rolled his eyes. “Get to bed, children.”

“Okay Happy,” Tabitha hummed, a childish, smug smile on her face. “You heard the guy. Get to bed!”

“That’s where I was trying to go until this stool got in my way,” Bucky exclaimed, pointing at the stool. “I don’t even know where it came from. Tackled me out of nowhere!”

“Well let’s go before he gets his stool friends to back him up, ‘cause then we’d be in big trouble,” Tabitha said seriously. The pair then stumbled to bed, parting ways, though not without a kiss on the cheek first.

Finally, Tabitha collapsed onto her bed with a content sigh to be actually wrapped in the bed covers. However, her mind continued to race as she thought back to her conversation with Bucky earlier. Her heart jumped with happiness at how understanding and comforting he was with her, though she remained feeling emotional giving the topic they’d stumbled upon. Drained, she eventually found herself falling asleep.

#mcu trio #bucky x reader #thor x reader #spider-man x reader #peter parker x reader #marvel #imagine

[mcutrio]

Movie Date [10]

Movie Date [10]

Tags: @buckys-little-monster @imaginesofeverykind

That next day, Kat and Thor found themselves awkwardly attracted to one another. The situation that had taken part the day before left them feeling somewhat strange whilst talking to one another, especially given that their relationship was nothing more than mere strangers, or rather… coworkers. They got along well, their powers complemented one another, and though they may agree that one another was attractive, it wasn’t particularly a relationship that either of them had considered pursuing. Tabitha and Courtenay, in a whirlwind of both new found and old love, perhaps got a little too swept up and found themselves dragging Kat along in the drift.

However, she was willing to go along with it. For as long as she would last within the team, as much as she already seemed to be dwindling, she decided that she might as well have some fun with it.

She met Thor in the kitchen and dropped a Chinese menu pamphlet in front of him, spinning it so that he could read it.

“Now this right here is pure heaven in your mouth,” Kat announced, tapping the leaflet with her hand. “And as sad as it is, you have a much larger meal selection considering you eat dead animals. But… if we’re going to show you what food to eat, then this is where to start.”

“Right,” Thor said, looking at the pamphlet and flicking through it for a moment, “what, so you just summon them with this special code and they arrive at your residence with the food?”

“Something like that,” Kat nodded, grinning at his naivety towards earth and mobile phones. However, he wasn’t particularly that far off, which humoured her the most. “And once we’ve tried enough food to feed a small village, I’m sure I can throw in a couple lessons on cell phones and the like.”

“Cellphones?” Thor questioned. Kat lifted her mobile. “Ah, the devices you and your friends can’t seem to look away from. What’s so interesting about them?”

“Uh… it’s like an all-knowing book that also allows you to contact friends?” Kat shrugged, unsure as to how she should explain it to him.

Thor almost laughed. “I find that hard to believe.”

“You come from a world that we had no idea even existed, Thor. Why is it that a mobile phone has you stumped?” Kat shook her head, scrolling through her contacts. “We’ll catch up on this. For now, decide what you want to order later tonight.”

“A feast,” Thor mused, skimming over the words as Kat pulled up FaceTime and called Tony, who was nestled away somewhere in one of his science-tech rooms.

“What do you want, Buffy?” Tony questioned, flipping up his eye-guards.

“I have a proposal to make,” Kat began, reaching for the notepad that she had doodled on out of boredom only to spit out a couple of neat innovations.

Tony rolled his eyes. “Kat, we’ve already been through this. Bruce and I are together, and there’s nothing you can do to change that.”

“Whatever, laser-brain,” Kat rolled her eyes, lifting the notepad to show Tony her sketches and well-thought out tech. “I think we both know that Court’s glasses are in dire need of an upgrade. Her focus has been getting worse; she’s been complaining about hearing electronic white-noise, too. Stops her from sleeping at night.”

“Oh, for sure,” Tony nodded, “bring your doodles down to the lab and Bruce and I will give it the once over, though I’m sure I can concoct something to help her out.”

“Awesome,” Kat nodded, “speak later.”

“Ciao.”

Just as she pocketed her cell phone and notepad, Steve appeared from beyond the doorway with a somewhat calm, somewhat on-edge smile.

“If you’re here to lecture about me skipping out on training sessions, I--”

“No, that’s not why I’m here,” Steve smiled. “I’ve been thinking a lot recently, and you’re right. The training is fairly pointless for an individual like yourself, which is why I’ve found a sparring partner that might actually be able to keep up with you.”

“The only person who can even measure up to me is Thor-- oh, right, fantastic,” Kat nodded, sucking on her teeth and placing her hands on her hips. “You know, Steve, I never pinned you as the cupid type. Why’s everybody so obsessed with the idea of him and I, anyway?”

“You both deserve a win,” Steve teased, before becoming serious again. “But seriously, I think this could be good for you. You’re good with combat, though you could get even better. Think about it; what happens if Hulk decides to make an appearance, and this time not for the better? We can’t always rely on Thor, considering he has a Kingdom in outer space to run.”

“Alright, Steve, I get it,” Kat silenced him, though nodded with a smile. “You had me persuaded at Thor,” she joked, shooting finger-guns at him. “See you tomorrow morning.”

“I’m counting on it,” he shot back.

Meanwhile, Tabitha seemed persistent in teaching Bucky how her PlayStation worked, and though the assassin may be skilled and knowledgeable of many platforms of technology, he was completely dumbfounded when it came to gaming.

“I just don’t understand how I-- just how do I make it go,” he complained, turning the controller over in his hands incessantly. “And why is this man just walking-- oh, there he goes, off the cliff. Who the Hell is this guy?”

“His name is Sam Drake; and it’s not his fault, you controlled him to walk off!” Tabitha laughed, snatching the controller away from him before he caused the team to lose.

Courtenay’s character, Chloe, came bounding round the corner and a chortle of laughter could be heard from her room as she witnessed Bucky’s failure before Tabitha took control again.

“Let me show you how it’s done,” she said, cracking her neck. Bucky was completed phased out, unable to comprehend the game as Tabitha and Courtenay managed to pick up the win between themselves, even after the rest of the team had left the game considering how confused the Sam on their team appeared to be. “See? It’s not that hard.”

“I don’t understand how you ever had time to practice this stuff,” he grumbled.

“What do you mean?” Tabitha frowned, “we had plenty of free time, you know. When we weren’t on missions… this is what we were doing.”

“Living the life, huh?” Bucky grinned. “But, yeah, video games aren’t for me.”

“I’ll make a gamer out of you, just you wait,” Tabitha insisted.

“Alright. Let’s make a deal,” Bucky offered, to which Tabitha held her hands out, gesturing to appeal to her. “If I play through this whole Uncharted thing, I get something in return.”

“Oh, yeah, like what?” Tabitha mocked.

“I don’t know,” he shrugged, though a grin remained stretched on his lips. “I’m sure we can figure something out.”

Tabitha caught onto his tone and socked his shoulder. “Don’t be so dirty.”

“I actually didn’t say anything. These are your words, not mine,” he grinned, turning to face her.

“Oh, is that right? It didn’t cross your mind for just one second?” Tabitha irked.

Bucky made a noise, telling her that he had, in fact, had his mind stuffed somewhere in the gutter.

“I knew it!” she laughed, leaning back onto her elbows.

“To be fair, you were thinking it too,” Bucky negotiated, collapsing onto his back before turning to look up at her as she propped herself up beside him. “Right?”

“Shut up,” she laughed, hand upon his face, feeling the stubble beneath her palm and fingertips.

“So you were?” He teased, “look, I’m just trying to have my point proven here--”

Tabitha cut off him off with a firm kiss, one that had been well-earned after their days of tension after their first one. She retreated with a smile, smoothing her thumb over his cheekbone as the two lay, breathing quietly, staring at nothing but each other.

At that moment, Tabitha's phone buzzed with a notification. She pulled it out from her back pocket and inspected the screen, seeing a text message from Kat that she’d shot into the group chat of herself, Tabitha and Courtenay.

1 New Message From: Original Three

Kat: don’t want to alarm you guys or anything but thor and i are totally eating chinese food in his room rn !!

Tabitha: no way, really??

Courtenay: see this is why im the greatest friend, i swear. This is all because of me and you better name your first child after me

Tabitha: dibs being the godmother

Courtenay: that’s fine, i wear the pants anyway. Ill make a fuckin fantastic godfather

Kat: he’s currently gorging on prawn crackers so im sneaking a text any chance i get because HOLY SHIT IM SO NERVOUS

Tabitha: chill its just thor!

Kat: that’s the whole point! It's! Just! Thor!!!!!!!

Courtenay: just be yourself and all that jazz, i mean he thinks ur hot when ur fighting and you look pretty sweaty and gross then so. Can’t really mess up now can u

Kat: thanks, very comforting

Tabitha: seriously, though. Just be yourself. Maybe a little nicer because you’re a grumpy little shit but yeah, be yourself.

Courtenay: make a move before he does

Kat: HE JUST SAID HE’S NEVER EATEN IN THE BEDROOM AND I ALMOST LAUGHED BC THAT SOUNDS SEXUAL

Tabitha: that was your chance to make a move, kat. Please tell me you used it to your advantage

Kat tossed her phone aside to avoid detection as Thor, face-full, grinned over at her, seemingly in an even happier mood than he was before.

“I’m really glad that this is happening. You know, you really need to consider your life choices,” Kat laughed, “perhaps when you return to Asgard you should make Chinese food a thing?”

“No, no, I definitely agree,” Thor grinned through a forkful of chow mein noodles. “My friends would enjoy this thoroughly!”

Kat eyed him suspiciously, looking at the metal trays that he had managed to finish. “Is that your fourth tub?”

“Of much more to come,” he winked, taking another bite.

“Where does it all go?” Kat laughed sincerely, her face pink with her fullness and contentment.

Thor flexed his arms. “I cannot let my mortal form grow weak, for there is a lot to sustain.”

She laughed again, leaning her head on her hand. “If anybody from earth said that, I'd think they were insane.”

“Do you not think of me in that way?” Thor asked.

Kat, pressing her lips together to suppress her smile, shook her head. “No.”

“Then what do you think of me?” he asked, his voice noticeably softer this time.

Feeling a surge of confidence, she traced her hand over the pattern on his black shirt. “I think that you are…”

“Yes?” Thor encouraged, eyes sparkling as she lifted her head, dangerously close now.

“I-- I think that--”

Her voice stuttered with the proximity of the two before they suddenly jerked apart in surprise, the door slamming open with an excitable Courtenay bursting in.

“Hey, guys! Oh, am I interrupting something?”

Kat stared at Courtenay with a look of confusion, a surge of desperate annoyance on her face alongside it.

“Oh no… I am. I heard that there was Chinese food, you know, and I just couldn’t resist…” Courtenay edged forwards, taking a small bag of Chinese fries and backing out of the room again. “Again, so sorry…“

Finally, Courtenay left and shut the door behind her. Kat rubbed her forehead, feeling a mix of shame and agitation, though holding it all in and scooping up her laptop that she’d brought in earlier to play music whilst herself and Thor ate their food.

“How about a movie?” She offered.

Thor's expression deadpanned, telling Kat that he was unsure of what they were, too.

“Moving pictures? A bunch of actors and actresses portraying a scenario?” she offered, trying to see if that would lure any understanding out of him.

“Oh, like theatre?”

“Yeah, sort of,” she agreed, realising with relief that she was somewhat getting through to him.

Kat pulled her laptop between them, booting up a movie she thought that the two of them would be interested in. Their lives were exciting enough that plenty of action-movie plots were dull, so she settled with Jurassic Park as she was sure that Thor had never seen dinosaurs before. However, after the battle in new york, and even Sokovia, she wouldn't be surprised as to what hid away up in the galaxy.

Thor wasn’t particularly subtle now that two two had had some time together, and he threw his arm around her shoulder and held her close as they watched the movie intently. Although he was partially confused, he found himself enjoying the moving pictures so much so that he didn’t immediately realise that Kat, exhausted from her full belly, had fallen asleep on his side.

He almost didn’t know what to do, in fear that he would move too abruptly and wake her from her slumber. He shut the laptop and placed it on the floor, lying still on his back. He was hardly tired, though he daresn't move. Instead, he looked down at the practically unconscious figure next to him, wondering where their relationship now stood. It was apparent that the two of them were near kissing until Courtenay interrupted, and he was certainly leaning towards it. He felt a great deal for her; he respected her in battle and in normality, though the two were one in the same for her. It was… odd.

With a smile, he clicked the lamp off by his side and closed his eyes, holding her tighter against him as he, too, fell asleep.

#mcu trio #marvel imagine #bucky x reader #thor x reader

[mcutrio]

Home [9]

Home [9]

Tags: @buckys-little-monster @imaginesofeverykind

“We’ve had our time to celebrate. Now it’s time for you to show us what you’ve got; what you’re able to offer to the Avengers, to the world,” Steve began, clad in athletic wear in front of the newest additions to the team as Natasha stood beside him. “Today, we’ll start with muscle endurance and basic cardio.”

Kat popped her bubble gum and folded her arms. She could bench-press a truck without breaking a sweat, so whatever Steve had in store for her had her unamused.

“Rotate through the gym equipment, twenty minutes per set,” Steve said. “Good luck.”

Kat resisted the urge to roll her eyes as she seated herself upon a Peck Deck beside Tabitha and Courtenay, who managed to comply without much struggle.

“This is stupid, don’t you think?” Kat asked, breezing through the session.

“Easy for you to say,” Tabitha breathed, “you’ve got super strength.”

“Nothing super about it,” Kat stated, “but I’m getting real tired of Steve treating us like we’re kids. If he had any idea--”

“What was that?” Steve spoke up, nodding in her direction. She stared him out, waiting for his next words. “Good. Get back to work.”

“He’s acting like he’s a teacher,” Kat scoffed under her breath, keeping a steady eye on the super-soldier. “This isn’t the army barracks, you know?”

“Yeah, deadset,” Courtenay agreed. “But he means well. Some of us need the training,” Court huffed, lifting herself from the station once the twenty minutes were up. “I appreciate that he’s trying to help us.”

“No, I totally get that,” Kat answered with a nod, lying down on the bench-press pads. “But treating us like we’re preschoolers is unnecessary.”

“It’s because he was a soldier,” Tabitha said, adjusting her grip on the bars. “This is all he knew, right?”

Kat desperately wanted to say something about how he wasn’t a soldier anymore, that this wasn’t 1945 nor was she about to act like it was. This session was completely unnecessary for her and, with the agitation and paranoia of Hydra hanging over her head, she was irritable and on edge.

Kat collapsed on the bench-press backrest, seeing no use in what Steve was doing. Was it a test? She couldn’t be sure.

“Screw it,” she sighed, throwing aside the weights, grabbing her duffel bag and heading for the exit.

“Where are you going?” Steve questioned.

Kat turned back to him. “To do something that’s useful. You know how strong I am Steve, so I don’t exactly know what you expect for me to gain from this.”

He smiled. “Initiative. Well done.”

Kat rolled her eyes, “Sure, whatever,” she stated, slamming the gym door shut behind her.

Nat, at Steve’s side, rose her brow. “You’ve got your work cut out for you.”

Steve smiled in the general direction that Kat had left. “I’ll make it work.”

Later on that day, when the rest of the team had completed their training, Court and Tabitha stumbled into Kat’s room who was idly typing away on her phone, uninterested in anything else.

“What was with you this morning?” Tabitha questioned, stretching. “There wasn’t really any need to be rude to Steve. He’s just trying to help.”

“I know,” Kat groaned. “But I’ve just… last night, I was thinking about the very reason we tracked down the Avenger’s, to begin with. It wasn’t to help them. It wasn’t to become part of their super-parade. We were sent to kill them.”

Court frowned. “I said this way back on the farm, Kat. We’ve made our decision now.”

“Maybe so,” Kat’s eyebrows furrowed together. “But I can’t help but think that Steve doesn’t see our potential. If we wanted to, we could easily take the whole team down.”

Tabitha scoffed. “Rubbish. There’s no way we’d manage that.”

“Are you sure?” Kat asked incredulously. “I’m stronger than all of them combined, you can move things just by thinking it and Court, you don’t miss a shot. What chance have they got?”

“Why are you saying this like you’re about to go through with it?” Tabitha questioned, folding her arms.

“I’m not!” Kat defended. “I’m just saying that Steve’s so up his own ass that he’s unable to see what we’re capable of--”

“Sounds like you’re threatening him a little bit,” Court said, sitting down on the bed next to Kat. “Just take a chill pill. He’s trying his best, you’re trying your best. Maybe we just need a break.”

Kat swallowed and eyed the two girls in front of her. “You can’t tell me that you’re not afraid that he’ll come for us, right?”

“He’s dead,” Tabitha snapped. “You saw it, we all saw it. Rumlow is dead.”

The three of them all heaved a breath upon her words. They’d all heard and seen the news; the fall of SHIELD and the uproar of Hydra. At this point, they’d barely made their place in the world, completing only small missions and heists right under Fury’s nose that would ultimately lead to the corruption of the business he’d built.

“It’s hard to accept the fact that we’re safe.”

“Maybe we’re not,” Tabitha shrugged, “but this is the best place for us right now.”

“And what if Rumlow is actually alive? What if he comes and he targets not just us, but the ‘team’ that we’ve become too attached to?” Kat exasperated. “Everyone around is in ultimate danger, whether that’s because of Rumlow or if it’s because of us. But this isn’t their fight.”

“Sokovia wasn’t our fight!” Courtenay snapped, “but we made our choice. We can’t turn back on it now.”

That struck Kat into silence, though she soon nodded which was followed by an uneasy sigh. “We’ll just have to be prepared.”

“Always,” Court nodded, her voice noticeably quiet and calmer now before she sucked in a breath. “Right. Get out of your gym clothes, you rat. Food will be soon.”

“And I’m cooking,” Tabitha announced.

“Oh? What’s the occasion?” Kat asked, perking up a bit.

“To new friends,” she announced, mocking Tony’s words from the other day.  “It’ll be ready in an hour. Don’t sulk in here, alright?”

“Sure,” Kat agreed loosely, though she couldn’t help but smile.

About twenty minutes later, Tabitha found herself being the only one in the kitchen as she made use of the expensive tools and overpriced luxury ingredients to cook enough chicken alfredo and bread rolls to feed a small village, alongside a vegetarian dish of pasta and sauce for Kat.

“Something smells good,” Bucky commented, sauntering into the kitchen as the rest of the team argued over a menacing game of Monopoly in the room next to them. “Didn’t know you could cook.”

“There’s a lot of things you don’t know about me,” Tabitha smiled upon his presence, dropping a pinch of garlic powder into her sauce mixture, then tapping her fingers on the marble counter to the thrum of the playlist she’d put on. Bucky merely hummed at her words.

“It’s nice, you know?” Bucky said, finally.

“What’s that?” Tabitha asked, stirring the pot.

Screams from the other room of ‘you’re cheating!’ and ‘go to jail!’ could be heard, followed by an agitated Thor saying ‘I don’t understand!’ and the pair shared a laugh.

“That,” Bucky nodded. “They might sound like they’re murdering each other but they’re being, you know, normal.”

“Hmm,” Tabitha considered this. “As normal as the Avengers can get, anyway.”

“You’re not wrong,” Bucky chuckled. “It’s been too long since I’ve been able to experience this.”

Tabitha nodded. “Yeah, me too.”

There was a quiet pause of tension before the timer on her phone blared, causing them both to jerk in surprise before she quickly shut it off and turned back to the pots on the stove, switching the gas off and beginning to serve the food into a large dish and then set up bowls around it. She then grabbed beers and poured wines for the team to grab.

Courtenay skidded into the room upon hearing the alarm.

“Does that mean foods ready?” She questioned, eyeing the dishes. “Oh, good. I’m starving. Peter! Kat!”

The two she called soon arrived, alongside the rest of the team who all moaned in gratification and wailed about how hungry they were after a day of hard work. They filled their dishes and grabbed their bread rolls before all collapsing into the lounging room again, where the competitive mood dwindled down to a homely feel.

“You know, maybe I could get used to this,” Kat decided, taking a bite of her food. Her voice was low so that she didn’t interrupt the barking laughter from the team, and Tabitha smiled to herself. “It’s not too bad.”

“I swear you turn into a different person when you have something to eat.” Tabitha smiled.

Kat shrugged. “I get hangry.”

“How about a Star Wars Marathon?” Courtenay suggested, pulling the box set from within her jacket.

Kat looked at her with raised brows. “Okay, I’m seriously concerned as to where you’re hiding this stuff.”

“Oh, God, get the nerd out of the room,” Tony rolled his eyes, pressing his hand to his forehead.

Courtenay scoffed, pushing the first disc into the DVD player. “Says the one who created an element.”

“At least my achievement is worth something,” he shot back with a smirk.

“Ooh, Court. Need some ice for that burn?” Kat chortled.

Thor laughed at this, clutching his side as he did so. “That humours me.”

The rest of the Avengers stared at him, unamused.

“He’s the best to tell jokes to,” Tony grinned, pointing towards the god. “He’s never heard any of them before.”

The team managed to get through A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back before they decided it was enough of Courtenay narrating it, and her and Peter sharing two, big dorky grins as they mouthed the lines to one another. Tony was the first to call it quits before she could start up the third movie.

“I had a feeling you were going to do that,” Natasha grinned.

“I hate to say it but I was actually having a great time,” Sam admitted with a laugh.

“That I didn't have a feeling of,” she added, raising her brow at Wilson.

“Now I’m going to leave. Have fun, children,” Tony remarked, lifting himself off of the plush couch he’d sunk into before retreating from the room.

“I’ll clean the dishes,” Kat decided, grasping the plates in her hands. The moment she left the room, Court whispered something in Peter’s ear before the two of them leaned towards Thor with grins on their faces.

“So, Thor…” Courtenay began.

“Yes?” Thor responded, beaming innocently.

“When are you gonna hit that?” Court asked.

Thor jerked his head back in confusion. “Sorry? I do not understand--”

Nat rolled her eyes. “She’s asking when you’re going to make a move on Kat.”

Tabitha, who was against Bucky’s side with his arm thrown around her shoulders, grinned at their words and looked intently towards the god, wondering what he was about to say. Thor, for once, seemed stuck for words. Nervous, almost.

“Oh my god, he’s blushing,” Sam almost rolled his eyes before he leaned over and slapped Thor on the shoulder. “Come on, man. I thought you were supposed to be a god!”

“I know not what you’re speaking of,” Thor denied. “Lady Kathryn and I work well together.”

“Oh, you sure do,” Court laughed, turning back to Peter. “Come on, Parker. We can finish the movie marathon elsewhere if these losers don’t want a part of it. Night, nerds.”

“You’re going to watch Star Wars, no?” Pietro shot back, teasing her for the insult she used against them, given the fact she was about to watch the well-loved sci-fi movie. Wanda, who was mostly quiet through their interactions, laughed beside him.

“Watch your words, Sonic boy,” Courtenay warned, pointing towards him before leaving the room along with her box set and her boyfriend, possibly the two most important things to her.

Kat returned, rubbing her hands down on her trousers. “Oh, Court’s gone?”

“Mm-hmm,” Tabitha answered, her lips pressed together as she resisted the urge to laugh, given the heavily awkward atmosphere that Kat had unknowingly walked into. Bucky was in a similar situation to the girl attached to his side; he had looked away towards Steve, whose face was steely and impressively nonchalant given how amusing he found the situation.

“What?” Kat asked, freezing as she noticed the look on everyone's faces.

“Oh, hey, Buck! Remember that thing I needed to show you? Yeah, let me show you now,” Steve suddenly said.

“What-- oh! Yes, I remember,” Bucky shot up to his feet. “Let’s go. Show me the-- the thing.”

Kat frowned, confused.

“You two!” Tabitha suddenly said, staring at the twins. “How about you show me how your room decorations are coming along?”

Before Kat or Thor themselves had anything to say, the rest of the team eventually followed before they shut the lounging room door behind them and vanished.

“Well, that wasn’t totally weird,” Kat decided, “is there something going on? Did they leave you here on purpose, or--”

Thor merely shrugged in response.

“Well, goodnight, I suppose,” Kat sighed, walking past him. However, she felt herself walk slam into a wall of purple energy that flared out in front of her upon contact. She poked it, then looked towards the glass door where she saw her scheming friend laughing to herself, hands raised as she created the energy field that prevented Kat from leaving. Tabitha then pointed at Thor and gave a thumbs up, proceeding to keep her hands raised. “Never mind.”

“They’re not going to let me leave until I, quote, ‘hit that’ unquote. I believe that was their phrasing,” Thor told her, completely unaware of the meaning of the words.

Kat turned, mouth wide, and shot daggers at Tabitha who quickly moved away from the clear door, Bucky hot in pursuit.

“Who said that?” Kat asked innocently.

“It was Courtenay,” Thor answered.

“I thought so,” Kat nodded, cracking her knuckles before sighing in defeat and collapsing on the couch. “Oh, she’s gonna get it.”

“Snitches get stitches, Thor!” Courtenay’s voice boomed through the speakers.

“Oh, great, they’re listening to us, too,” Kat frowned, glancing around the room for cameras though finding nothing of the like. She flipped her finger off in a general direction and sighed. “Well, I guess we’re not going anywhere. Did you enjoy tonight?”

“The food satisfied me,” Thor nodded. “Though I did not understand your cardboard game of… buying houses, and getting imprisoned…“

“Yeah, that’s Monopoly for you. And Tabitha is a great cook You enjoy the food down here? Is it anything compared to the royal feasts in Asgard?” Kat teased.

“I’ve not had much to try, I must be honest. But perhaps you could show me,” Thor rose a brow, a subtle smile.

“Sure,” Kat agreed enthusiastically. “We can start with Indian, or Thai or no, Chinese! Oh, do you mean like a date?” She rambled on, before finally realising his hidden meaning.

Thor laughed and dropped his head a little. “No, not the fruit. Like courtship.”

“Same thing, Thor,” Kat grinned, feeling heat rise to her face. “But yes, of course, like courtship.”

“Cool now kiss.”

Kat glanced around the room, “shut up, Court.”

“Ok.”

“Right. Sweet,” Kat breathed, the clear anxiousness between them making her feel far more awkward. She tapped his shoulder as she stood, beaming. “Talk to me about this tomorrow?”

“You have my word.”

“Alright,” she breathed, turning and leaving the room. The moment she left the room, she set off in pursuit of Courtenay, whose room was being peeked in on by Tabitha and Bucky.

“Do you hear those noises?” Tabitha chuckled. “What the Hell are they doing in there?”

Kat listened in, frowning at the groans she heard before she burst into the room, expecting something scandalous, though found herself interrupting a reenactment of the iconic Anakin and Obi-Wan battle between two nerds. They froze in place, eyeing Kat suspiciously.

“You interrupted!” Courtenay groaned. “Now we have to start again. Peter! From the top--”

Tabitha shut the door, almost having hoped that they had walked in on something else. They went their separate ways, eventually retiring for sleep and readying themselves for the seemingly eventful days to come.

#mcu trio #thor x reader #bucky x reader #peter parker x reader #spider-man #imagines #marvel

[mcutrio]

Tabitha, Courtenay’s and Kat’s party wear. 

Tags: @buckys-little-monster @imaginesofeverykind

#mcu trio #clothes

[mcutrio]

Revels [8]

Revels [8]

Tags: @buckys-little-monster @imaginesofeverykind​

Once the war on Sokovia was over, the Avengers were shipped off, bloodied and bruised, back to the new Avengers Headquarters that was located in Upstate New York. Given the fact that the trio of girls had nowhere to go, Tony offered them residence within the building alongside the rest of the team, in which they were eternally grateful. Over the next week, they bought clothes, decorated their rooms and settled into the Headquarters until it finally felt like a place that they could call home.

On one particularly morning, Tony seemed happier than usual.

“We defeated Ultron,” Tony began, standing ahead of the team as they ate their breakfast, “Tonight, we celebrate.”

“I hope that this time, my friend, there are no metal monsters,” Thor grinned, rubbing his mouth free of crumbs from his plate of pop tarts.

“The only metal monster’s gonna be me in my suit, buddy,” Stark winked, causing a handful of the Avengers to roll their eyes in sarcastic disgust, though Thor barked with laughter. “Consider it an… enrolment party,” Tony patted Court on the back, as she spooned cereal into her mouth, causing milk to slosh from the spoon and back into the bowl. “A celebration to victory and to new friends.”

“Thanks, bud,” Court responded, raising her brows as she tapped his hand off of her shoulder, proceeding to eat her cereal and tap away on her phone with her free hand.

Tabitha bit into a slice of toast. “What if we don’t like parties?”

“Then you’ve never been to a Tony Stark party,” he shot at her, pulling a face. “You are not pulling out on this one.”

“Cool,” Court said, turning off her phone and placing it besides her now empty bowl. “A room filled with arrogant rich assholes. I think I’ve had my fill, Stark.”

“Whatever, Adderall.” Tony rolled his eyes. “You need to learn how to have fun.”

“Oh, I have fun,” Court shot back. “You just don’t understand my sense of humour.”

Tony pulled a face at her, brushing her comments away. “So, what do you say, team?”

“It’s been well earned,” Steve shrugged, “revels.”

“Revels, my friend!” Thor grinned, leaning back into his chair, thinking back to the last party that the Avengers had shared. Kat rolled her eyes, smiling over her fork as she dug it into her plate of toast and scrambled eggs, her eyes catching his for a moment as they smiled between themselves.

“What, like the chocolate?” Courtenay perked up.

“No, like the-- you know what? Never mind. Just… make yourself presentable,” Tony waved her away.

“Sure thing, boss.” Court grinned, sharing a wink with him before snatching her mobile up and leaving the room, along with her unclean bowl behind.

“Hmph,” Tony scoffed, looking down at the bowl before at Kat. “What about you, Buffy? You’re coming along, right?”

Kat crossed her arms on the table. “Couldn’t pass up on that offer.”

“Then it’s settled,” Tony clapped his hands together, “tonight. I expect to see you all there-- including you, cyborg!”

Bucky, who was silent for the entirety of the interaction, laughed quietly to himself and clenched his metal fist that lay pointedly on the table in front of him. Social interactions weren’t exactly on his list of favourite things to do, though he’d make an effort.

Later that evening, Courtney switched between band t-shirts, huffing and sighing about what to wear.

“What about a dress?” Tabitha offered, holding out a black one towards her friend.

“Come on, Tabitha,” Court flipped her freshly-dyed blue hair behind her shoulders. “You know me better than that.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Tabitha sighed, folding the dress over her arms as she watched Courtenay turn this way and that in the mirror, inspecting her clothes. “At least put a blazer on.”

“Ugh, fine,” Court said, fishing out a red blazer to throw over her Metallica band t-shirt and black, ripped jeans. “How's this?”

“Better,” Tabitha grinned. “Now would you please help me with my outfit?”

“What’s the stress?” Kat asked, cross-legged on the carpet in front of the floor length mirror, swiping eyeliner over her lid. “You never usually get worked up about dressing up.”

Tabitha clenched her shaking hand at her side. “Well maybe there’s someone there that I’m trying to impress.”

“Right, Bucky.” Kat laughed, “god, you two are so obvious. Have you hooked up yet?”

“No, in every sense of the term, no,” Tabitha responded. “Look, he’s a good friend, okay? That’s it for now. I don’t even know if he’s up for romance?”

“Why not?” Court asked, tugging on her red blazer.

“Because he’s like… I don’t know, I just feel like after his whole ‘Winter Soldier’ fiasco that he’s not really into the dating scene, you know?” Tabitha shrugged, pushing her fingers through her hair. “But he’s so sweet, I feel like I could talk to him for hours.”

“Well, every man has his needs,” Kat shrugged nonchalantly, fixing up her eyeliner.

Tabitha kicked Kat in the side, causing her hand to slide away and almost create a disaster with her makeup. Kat turned to her with a facial expression that would mirror that of a person who had just plucked a child from her arms.

“Why don’t you just look into his head?” Courtenay suggested.

Tabitha grimaced. “You know I don’t like doing that-- that’s an invasion of privacy, and I’m sure he wouldn’t be too happy,” she sighed, “anyways, I’m sure I’m not the only one dressing to impress tonight, right?” Tabitha teased Kat.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Kat questioned, pulling her head back in faux disgust and questioning.

“You and Thor,” she sing-songed, a mischievous grin on her face.

Kat scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Don’t be delusional. He’s a friend.”

“Alright, whatever you say,” Tabitha sighed, “now at least help me pick a dress. Which one?” She asked, holding up a black, knee-length dress in her left hand and a body-con, shimmery violet dress in the other that twinkled blue when she spun it in the light.

“The purple one,” Kat nodded.

“Yeah, definitely.” Courtenay agreed, fixing her hair into half-up half-down space buns. “Alright, I’m done. Have fun getting ready,” Court said, slipping on her Adidas shoes.

“Where are you off to? The party doesn’t start officially for another hour.” Kat asked.

“It’s always better to get sloshed before the party starts,” Court grinned, waving before clicking the door shut behind her. “Later, losers!”

Kat rolled her eyes, gluing her lashes on and slipping onto her outfit; a mix of a rose-gold halterneck top and a pair of comfortable, black trousers, paired with a gold watch and nude heels. Tabitha smoothed down her purple dress, pulling on a pair of simple black high-heels and tugging on a black bomber jacket.

About forty minutes later, they were ready and they both made their way into the main bar and lounging area, where they located Tony and Natasha amidst the crowd of early stragglers to arrive at the party.

“Look at you two, huh?” Tony spun around, holding a scotch on the rocks. “You actually cleaned up nicely.”

“Thanks,” Kat half-laughed, unsure as how to take his backhanded compliment.

“Can I get you two a drink?” Natasha asked, a blankness to her eyes. Everyone knew of her infatuation with Bruce, and now that he had left she had a certain blandness to her attitude.

“Yes, thanks,” both Kat and Tabitha said, nodding at the agent as she smiled quietly and stepped towards the bar, returning later with two pink martinis.

“Hey, Widow,” someone called out, looking utterly unfamiliar to Tabitha and Kat. “What’s up?”

“Hi Sam,” Natasha smiled, hugging him briefly. “It’s good to see you.”

“Yeah, you too,” Sam grinned, turning towards the other two as Steve followed close behind. “You’re the girls who fought in Sokovia, huh?”

“And Courtenay-- but yeah, that’d be us,” Kat greeted, shaking his hand.

“Nice to meet you,” Sam nodded, turning back to Steve. “You been hiding these from me?”

“I’ll be honest, I didn’t know they existed until a few weeks ago,” Steve smiled. “But they’re a part of the team now.”

“Hey, have you seen Bucky?” Tabitha asked tentatively.

Steve broke out into a grin. “He’ll be here soon.”

Meanwhile, Courtenay reached out of her window, grabbing Peter’s hand as he snuck into the HeadQuarters. He landed with an oof onto the floor and Court cursed him, pressing a finger to her lips to shut him up.

“Shh! Someone will hear you,” she laughed.

“I can’t believe I just did this,” Peter said frantically, turning his head to the window he had vaulted through, “god, I feel like I’m fifteen again.”

Court smoothed down his shirt before pulling him into a hug, squeezing him tight.

“It’s good to see you again,” she grinned, pulling back for a moment.

“Yeah, it's been too long,” he agreed, running his fingers through his hair.

“So, what’dya say we go introduce you to those Avengers, huh?” Courtenay asked, tugging on his hand.

“You can’t tell them who I am!” Peter outcried, exasperated.

“Relax, bug-eyes. They’ll have no idea who you are,” Courtenay reassured, dragging him from upstairs down where the party had begun. “Just act like, totally chill about the situation.”

“Chill? O-okay, I can do chill,” Peter sworn, though Court rolled her eyes before taking him by the hand and tracking her way to where the party was.

“You’re finally here!” Tabitha beamed, pulling Bucky into an instinctive, brief hug before leaning back and clearing her throat. “What took you so long?”

“To be fair, I’m only a few minutes late,” he defended, causing her to grin.

“Sure. I was just wondering if you whether you were going to show up or not,” she shot back, holding her half-empty Martini suddenly a little lighter. “I feel totally uncomfortable here.”

“What, not your scene?” Bucky asked, leaning on the bar beside her.

“Is it yours?” She scoffed.

“It used to be,” he shrugged, “guess I’ve had bigger things to worry about since then.”

“Well, as long as you’re enjoying yourself,” she shrugged, knocking back her drink before reaching for another. “Gotta give it to him, though. Stark knows how to throw one Hell of a party,” she decided, her eyes wandering around the room as she saw new faces, familiar faces, old faces…

“Sure does,” Bucky nodded, tipping a beer bottle against his lips. “Say, why don’t we dance for a bit?”

Tabitha laughed. “Not enough alcohol in the world.”

“Oh, come on,” Bucky grinned. “It’ll be fun!”

Considering things, she finally sighed, placed her new drink down and agreed, following him through the crowd as he took her hand. He seemed so unbelievably confident, like this was exactly where he was supposed to be.

“Cute,” Kat nodded towards Bucky as she conversed with Thor and Steve.

“Are they in courtship?” Thor questioned.

“No, but they should be,” Steve sighed, drinking his beer as he watched the two laughing together. Out the corner of his eye, he spotted the twins and nodded back at Kat and Thor. “I’ll see you two later.”

After a moment of silence, Thor spoke up.

“I have to say… you look rather wonderful, out of your fatigues,” Thor smiled. Kat paused, glancing at him to ensure that he was speaking about her, and she felt herself blush.

“Well, I could say the same about yourself but you tend to look just as good in your armour,” she laughed.

“I don’t care much for Midgardian fashion, but you wear it well,” Thor winked, lifting his glass as Kat clinked her glass against it, a strange feeling in her chest as she smirked at him.

“Are you flirting with me?” She questioned.

He frowned, “why, is it not working?”

“Hmm.” Kat grinned.

Meanwhile, Bucky held Tabitha close, spinning her round carefully before bringing her flush against his chest.

“Oh,” she swallowed, her eyes doe and her cheeks pink as she looked up at him, a grin on his face as he stared down.

“You know,” Bucky began, mouth next to her ear. “You're a really good dancer.”

She smiled to herself. “Or maybe I just have a particularly skilled partner.”

His hand moved down from her back to her waist, his eyes not leaving hers as he watched them sparkle in the dim mood lighting.

Holding his breath, he leaned against her and pressed his lips upon hers, his eyes shutting upon the impact.

“Oh, nice,” Courtenay mumbled, fist bumping Peter as the two of them dug into a bag of Revels, sitting on the stairs and watching the two dancers.

Tabitha tore away first, mostly surprised about the situation she was in. Bucky grinned at her as she stood breathless, her cheeks flushed pink before she broke out into a smile and pulled him down towards her again, having to reach even in her heels to meet his lips given his tall stature.

Courtney, mouth full of Revels, interrupted the pair.

“Hey, guys,” she grinned, holding the packet out towards Tabitha as she looked at her friend, a little disgruntled given the fact that Court butted in. “You want some?”

“No thanks,” Tabitha shook her head. Bucky nodded, leaving the two of them to be by themselves as he made his way towards Steve. “Look, we’re kind of in the middle of something--”

Tabitha’s words were cut off when she noticed the man who clung onto her free arm, looking particularly anxious and out of place. Courtenay grinned, throwing another Revel into her mouth.

“Have a good night, Tabs,” Court winked sarcastically, disappearing into the crowd with Peter on her arm.

“What the Hell just happened?”

A few hours later the party had dwindled down to soft, background music and the Avengers, given that the guests had tired themselves out and resided home. Tabitha sat next to Bucky, an overwhelming urge to be in contact with him given the shift in their relationship. Kat swung her legs over Thor’s lap whilst Peter sat, timid and quiet next to Courtenay though more relaxed since he’d had something to drink.

"Alright, I got an idea,” Tony announced, standing to his feet and placing an empty beer bottle on the sleek coffee table centred between the team. “Truth or dare!”

“What are you, twelve?” Natasha laughed.

“I know how to have a good time, Widow,” Tony retorted, spinning the bottle. The game continued for a few fairly bland questions before it eventually landed on Tabitha, who had seemingly skipped out on most spins.

“Truth or dare?” Tony asked mischievously.

Tabitha rolled her eyes, unamused. “Truth.”

“Ooh! I got one,” Courtenay jumped in, “I have always wanted to know this. Lights on or lights off?”

“What? I don’t get it,” Tabitha said, frowning. Her confused response caused the team to laugh at her innocence, though within a moment it finally hit her. “Oh! Um…“

“Come on. Lights on, or lights off?” Court pressed.

“Off? I guess.”

“Boring,” Court stuck her tongue out.

“What, are you saying you’d have lights on?” Kat scoffed.

“I liked to be able to see what I’m doing,” Courtenay said, causing an already awkward-looking Peter to flush even more before he hid his face in his hands. “No light whilst bumping uglies is a recipe for a disaster.”

“Does this girl have any filter?” Sam asked.

“No,” Pietro laughed.

“I don’t mean no lighting,” Kat explained, “some mood lighting but--” upon hearing Thor clear his throat, she stopped herself. “--okay, we’re off topic. Let’s leave it at lights off, alright?”

Tabitha rolled her eyes before reaching and spinning the bottle, where it then landed on Courtenay who seemed thrilled with the ordeal.

“Truth or--”

“Dare!” She yelled.

“Alright. Let us go through your phone,” Natasha said, holding her hand out. “There has to be something important on there if you can’t seem to take your eyes off of it.”

Courtenay handed her phone over to Nat, where Sam and Tony peered over her shoulders, grinning down at the device.

“Who the Hell is Wade?” Nat asked, confused. “I’m FaceTiming him.”

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you--”

Within less than two rings, Wade answered, grinning at the screen as he waited to see his best friend on the other end. However, in fear of seeing Black Widow, he threw his phone across the room with a shriek and the device landed with a thunk.

“God, Courtenay. You could’ve warned me! You made me drop my croissant!” Wade said, scooping up his phone again, this time wearing his mask. “That’s Tony Stark.”

“Uh, yeah,” Tony nodded, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “Who are you?”

“I’m Pooldead. Wait, no-- that’s not right. Fuck! I just made a fool of myself. Its Deadpool,” he corrected.

The evening continued with scandalous dares, unearthed truths and rap duo between Courtenay and Kat who impressed everybody with their word-for-word recital of ‘Anaconda’.

“Well, as fun as this night has been, I think I’m gonna head to bed.” Kat said, tapping Thor’s shoulder in appreciation for being her foot rest as she swung her legs down and stood up. “Night everyone.”

“Yeah, I’m off too,” Court said, pulling Pete with her. “Night.”

“I suppose I should go too,” Tabitha decided, smiling at Bucky and grasping his hand before she walked off and dropped his grasp, though his gaze remained on her as she walked away.

“How long has that been a thing?” Pietro asked, almost as if he were disappointed.

“Long enough, pal.” Steve finalised.

Eventually, the team all retired to bed, though some were unable to sleep given the thoughts that ran through their heads, considering the changes in relationships that had occurred throughout the night.

#mcu trio #bucky x reader #peter x reader #spider-man #imagine #marvel #thor x reader #thor imagine #bucky imagine

[mcutrio]

Final Battle [7]

Final Battle [7]

Tags: @buckys-little-monster @imaginesofeverykind

“Woah,” Kat breathed, her eyes opening after waving away the dirt and ash from Thor blasting open the rock wall. Above her in the vault was one of the few Chautari beasts that wreaked havoc upon New York, and as menacing as it was, it was an incredible sight. “Banner-- get to Romanoff. Thor and I will scope out the area.”

“I got it,” Bruce responded, stepping tentatively behind the two.

“This place is creepy,” Kat blinked, her eyes adjusting to the dim light. “Strucker’s been a busy boy, huh?”

The sudden sound of metal churning and cogs whirring caught their ears and they turned, though were sent to the ground with a whoosh as a metal figure blasted past them. Before it could turn back and shoot them down, however, Kat reached for it and punched a hole through its chest, sparks flying upon impact. She looked over at Thor with panicked eyes, watching as four or five more came from within the vault.

“Guys?” Tabitha called out, her hands shaking as she pressed her fingers to her earpiece, watching Ultron’s robots unearth themselves from the ground. “We’ve got company.”

“Get off the bridge!” Wanda demanded in front of her, ushering the citizens to get to safety before creating a pulsing, red shield that defended them from shockwaves and blasts that the robots sent, only to be forced to the ground whilst Tabitha used her powers to tear them in half. She helped the young girl up, pushing her forwards so that they could make their way to the midst of the battle, where Pietro stormed through bots and Clint shot them down with arrows.

However, they were brought to an immediate halt when the ground began violently shaking beneath them, and they instinctively grabbed cars and telephone poles in an attempt to stay upright.

“This looks promising,” Kat said, stepping forwards as she looked over into a pit that seemed to go on forever, like an abyss. Thor ceased following her as the ceiling began to churn, and the pair looked up above them as the metal core began to throb with blue lights and seemingly lift the ground above it up into the air, casting streams of daylight onto them before large chunks of earth began falling down.

“Thor!” Kat yelled, her hands covering her face to protect it from the cascading rock and debris.

The god of thunder shielded her, lifting his hammer in an attempt to create an air pocket as they were helplessly buried beneath the earth.

Courtney stopped dead in her tracks at the perimeter of the rock, watching as the city broke away from its country and was lifted into the air. Steve caught her arm, keeping her steady on her feet.

“Do you see the beauty of it?” Ultron said, his voice echoing between each of his bots, “the inevitability… you rise, only to fall. You, Avengers, you are my meteor, my swift and terrible sword. And the earth will crack with the weight of your failure. Purge me from your computer's, turn my own flesh against me; it means nothing. When the dust settles, the only thing living in this world will be metal.”

The Avengers who occupied the city were quick to respond to Ultron’s threat and continued to fight off the army of metal who seemed preoccupied with nothing other than taking the team down.

Suddenly, a metal bot smashed into Steve’s front and catapulted him into a car, only to be taken down a moment later by Court who shot six bullets straight into its eyes.

“Cap, you got incoming!” Tony reported.

“Augh, incoming already came in.” Rogers groaned, taking Court's hand as she lifted him to his feet. “Stark, you worry about bringing the city down safely. The rest of us have one job,” Steve threw his shield, taking down four bots. “Tear these things apart. You get hurt? Hurt ‘em back. You get killed? Walk it off.”

Bucky, ripping the head off of a robot, felt a surge of static surrounding him as he looked up to watch another one of Ultron’s minions smash into a purple orb that surrounded him. The moment it vanished, he looked over to Tabitha who held her hands in his direction, nodding at him.

“Did you not hear me the first time?” She grinned, sending a shockwave out towards three AI’s who fell to the floor as she fried their circuits. “Watch your back.”

Bucky laughed, crushing another bots face in his hand.

“It’s kind of difficult when--” he let out a huff of air as he stomped on a robot, “--you’ve not got all of this going on,” he mimicked the hand gestures she would make when using her powers and she laughed.

“Just be thankful that I saved your ass; again,” she grinned.

Meanwhile, Kathryn and Thor managed to remove the rocks surrounding them, and with one another there to help, they were in the open again.

“Do you require a forewarning, fair maiden?” Thor questioned sarcastically, spinning his hammer at his side with a smug grin.

“You shut your mouth,” Kat shot back, pointing towards him before grasping his side and squeezing her eyes shut. “Okay; go-- oh my god.”

Before she knew it, she was up on the bridge, swaying on her feet as Thor and Cap helped a woman whose car had tilted and fell from the flying city, and then grappled and uplifted another green car.

“You can’t save them all,” one robot said, approaching Steve with red eyes only to be impaled with his Shield that he tore out afterwards with his magnetic wristband, to which the robot flew off. “You’ll never--”

“You’ll never what? You didn’t finish!”

Court turned with a knife in a robots chest, beaming at the sight of Kat just as Thor dropped the green car behind them, landing atop it with a thunk.

“What, were you napping?” Steve joked, following Thor as he moved into the thick of the action.

“Yeah; where the Hell have you two been?!” Court asked, exasperated as she, without looking back, swung her arm around and stabbed another bot in the head.

“Got buried under tonnes of rock,” Kat cracked her knuckles before booting a robot in the chest, catapulting it into a building a few yards away, “just the usual.”

“Ah,” Court grinned, sensing the sarcasm. “Well, it’s good to have you here.”

“It’s good to be here!” Kat exhaled, lifting a car over her head and throwing it upon a handful of robots, watching them crumble underneath the weight with sparks and wires flying.

Thor was upper-cutting one bot before propelling himself into the air, spinning around and shooting back the minions that came towards him. One of the bots smashed into a truck, which exploded upon impact and created wider devastation for the bots.

“Showing off, now?” Kat retorted though he had no time to respond before Ultron came whizzing past, grabbing the god by the throat and shooting off into the distance. “Oh.”

Meanwhile, Tabitha and Bucky stood back to back, taking down whatever approached them and not allowing the other to take a hit. It was exhausting, but they eventually cleared out their area.

“We’re all clear here!” Bucky reported.

“We are not clear! We are very not clear!” Steve said back, drop-kicking his shield into the torso of a bot and watching it falter to the ground in pieces.

“Get your asses over here then!” Kat heaved, unearthing a telephone pole and using it to take out Ultron’s minions as if it were a game of baseball.

“We’re coming to you,” Clint stated.

And then with the further help of the twins, Hawkeye, Tabitha and Bucky, the team were able to clear the area until they had an open window to get civilians to a safer area whilst the next wave of robots set off again.

“The next wave’s gonna hit at any minute,” Rogers said. “What’dya got, Stark?”

“Well… nothing great, maybe a way to blow up the city,” Tony responded. “That’ll keep it from impacting the surface if you guys can get clear.”

Courtenay paused, her shoulders heaving with heavy breaths as she placed her hands on her hips, listening to the conversation intently.

“I asked for a solution, not an escape plan,” Rogers pressed.

“Impact radius is getting bigger every second,” Stark retorted, no lace of hostility to his tone, “we’re gonna have to make a choice.”

“Fuck,” Courtenay cursed, her hands trembling as she made a rash decision, pressing a button on the side of her glasses and watching as the call icon appeared in front of her eyes. “Come on, pick up, pick up, oh my god, Peter!”

“Hey, Court-- how's the big fight?” Peter asked casually.

Courtenay swallowed. “Peter, I-- I don’t think we’re gonna make it out of this.”

Peter paused, hesitant. “W-what?”

“It’s… the city, it’s flying, and the only way to stop it from doing any more damage is if Stark blows it up and if he blows it up then we all die and then--”

“Hey, hey, calm down. Take a deep breath,” Peter ushered, though there was panic evident in his own tone. “You’re going to make it, alright? Don’t be talking like that.”

“Oh, Peter,” Courtenay felt herself crumple as a tears fell from the corners of her eyes. “I’m not, I-- this is it. There’s nothing we can do.”

“Please don’t say that,” Peter cracked, his voice wavering. “You know I can’t do this without you.”

“I wish I’d have been able to spend more time with you,” Courtenay panicked, “because now it's all coming to an end and I regret not being able to speak to you in person and oh god this is awful.”

“Please,” Peter begged, “it can’t happen like this.”

“I-- I’m so sorry,” Courtenay swallowed back her emotions, “as little time as we got to spend with one another, just know that they were the best times, okay? You’ll remember that, won’t you?”

“I promise, Courtenay,” Peter sniffled, “I love you.”

Meanwhile, Kat shielded her eyes while staring over the horizon, Tabitha and Bucky by her side. They were all speechless, empty and exhausted, unable to muster up the courage to address the situation at hand, as they all realised that this… this was probably it for them, for all of them.

However, with a sudden surge of wind and the sound of battering turbines, a quinjet large enough to support the whole city appeared, and the crackling sound of Fury’s voice overriding their comms spoke out loud and clear.

“Glad you like the view, Romanoff,” he said, “it’s about to get better.”

Courtenay’s hand covered her mouth, and she let out a relieved sob.

“Peter!”

“What?”

“I might-- Jesus, I might make it,” she choked, “please stay safe.”

“What, Courtenay--”

She ended the call, unable to muster up the courage to say ‘goodbye’ or ‘I love you’, in fear that it would be her last.

Tabitha grinned, her fingers intertwined with Bucky’s who exchanged a facial expression similar to her own as their hair whipped backwards from the strong wind currents.

“She’s dusty, but… she’ll do.” Fury said.

“Fury, you son of a bitch.” Steve grinned.

“Ooh, you kiss your mother with that mouth?” The director snapped back.

“This is SHIELD?” Pietro asked, an unmistakable smile on his face as he squinted towards the sun.

“This is what SHIELD’s supposed to be.” Steve nodded.

“This is not so bad.” Pietro decided, watching as carriers were ejected from the aircraft and transported to the city so that people could mount them and be flown to safety.

“Let’s load ‘em up!” Steve commanded, turning back into the city to gather the civilians up, the team following close behind. They ushered people out of the safety of buildings and back onto the streets, where they bustled hurriedly towards the carrier ships.

“Go!” Kat hurried, encouraging people by pressing them forwards.

“Thor, I got a plan!” Tony yelled.

“We’re out of time,” the god of thunder responded, his voice husky with urgency. “They’re coming for the core!”

“Rhodey, get the rest of the people on board that carrier. Avengers? Time to work for a living,” Stark rushed.

In a quick moment, the rest of the team had gathered at the core, smashing away any approaching bots that set on a straight path towards the drilling device. They gathered around it in a protective circle, eyes and hands focused on nothing but the opposition.

“Romanoff? You and Banner better not be playing hide the zucchini,” Stark said.

“Relax, shell head. Not all of us can fly,” she shot back, a yellow-truck crashing down the street as the rest of the Avengers were left to assume that it was her. The moment it arrived at the church she bounded out, seemingly calm. “What’s the drill?” She asked.

Tony pointed towards the core. “This is the drill. If Ultron gets a hand on the core, we lose.”

The Hulk stormed into the church, smashing away a stray bot as the team turned to face Ultron who hovered, looking smug despite his metal features.

“Is that the best you can do?!” Thor yelled, poised for attack.

Ultron let out a deep laugh, lifting his hand to summon an army of bots that came with his gestural command.

“Oh, dude,” Kat cussed.

Steve huffed and glared over at Thor. “You had to ask.”

“This is the best I can do,” Ultron said, outstretching his arms to present his handiwork. “This is exactly what I wanted; all of you against all of me. How can you possibly hope to stop me?”

“Well, like the old man said,” Tony began, looking over at Steve. “Together.”

Tabitha, Court and Kat shared a confident look, nodding at one another. Hulk let out a mighty roar, almost that of a battle cry, and the swarm of robots came storming for them all, some flying, though most sprinting and climbing.

Everyone released every ounce of energy they had; hitting and kicking and shooting, whilst Tabitha exerted purple flares from her hands and tore the bots apart mentally, crushing and distorting their metal bodies with her mind. Kat beheaded robots with her bare hands whilst Courtney pulled her minigun off of her back, unleashing a hailstorm of bullets that both pushed the bots back and ripped their vibranium flesh apart.

Vision and Ultron battled above them, slamming into one another in a flurry of fists before Vision blasted a golden surge of power from his gemstone onto the AI, pushing him out of the church and onto the ground. Thor and Ironman moved to either side of Vision, blasting lightning and energy bolts towards him as he struggled against the force.

Courtenay turned her minigun, hammering the bullets down onto him with a borderline psychotic grin on her face.

“Yeah, take that, bitch,” she laughed.

Ultron, struggling to his feet, waved his arm about. “You know, with the benefit of hindsight--”

But before he could finish, Hulk lunged forwards and catapulted him into the sky. The handful of remaining robots followed after him, realising that accessing the core was not an option.

“They’re trying to leave the city,” Thor realised, twisting his hammer in his hand.

“We can’t let ‘em, not even one,” Tony panicked, “Rhodey!”

“On it. Oh no, I didn’t say you could leave! War machine, coming at you!” Rhodes laughed, though he was caught off guard at the sight of Vision, who was entirely new to him. “Okay, what?”

“We gotta move out. Even I can tell the air's getting thin,” Rogers commanded, nodding towards the rest of the team who were heavily-breathing and winded. “You guys get to the boats, I’ll sweep for stragglers, be right behind you.”

Clint looked towards the drill, “what about the core?”

“I’ll protect it,” Wanda volunteered. “It’s my job.”

“Nat-- this way,” Clint encouraged.

“I’m coming with you,” Bucky decided, nodding towards Steve.

“It’s not safe,” Rogers denied, “stay put and make sure everybody gets on the boats securely.”

Although hesitant, Barnes nodded, taking off with Kat and Tabitha. Bucky and Tabitha joined Nat and Clint in the car whilst Kat ran and jumped beside them, landing with a thunk ahead of one of the carriers whilst Nat sprinted off to take care of Bruce.

Without Nat, the other three loaded themselves onto the boat, remaining on their feet whilst they ensured that the civilians were strapped up and ready to leave safely.

“Costel!” One woman yelled, fear in her tone.

Clint immediately perked up at her words, looking out for any stragglers in the town.

“We were in the market,” the woman added, clutching her arms to herself as she panicked, a stream of blood dribbling down from her eyebrow. “Costel!”

Clint, upon spotting the stray boy, sighed to himself and took off into a jog before any of the others had a say in it. Pietro watched steadily, his eyes narrowed and focused, making sure danger was kept at bay.

“Thor, I’m gonna need you back in the church,” Tony reported.

“Is this the last of them?” Thor asked Rogers, watching another four pedestrians rush into the carrier.

“Yeah,” Steve answered, breathless. “Everyone else is on the carrier.”

“You know, if this works, we maybe don’t walk away,” Tony said.

“Maybe not,” Thor stated, opening his mouth though his words were cut off abruptly by the jagged sound of an overhead jet pummeling bullets into the Hulk, who roared with rage.

Clint turned, the young boy Costel in his arms, and held his breath. Making a decision, he turned his body. Pietro, upon realising what was about to happen, rushed forwards.

“Pietro!” Tabitha called out, her fingers brushing against his arm as he shot forwards and into the line of fire. Instantly, she lifted her hands, pushing a forcefield forwards and feeling the breath leave her body as she repelled the force of the bullets.

Once the jet vanished, Tabitha relieved her mind of the pressure and fell to her knees, catching her breath and swallowing as she stared through the ash and the rubble. She felt a wave of relief swarm over her as she watched Pietro and Clint haul the child out from the bus he toppled over as a form of cover.

Steve helped them get into safety and Pietro, his face pale with fear and his side bloodied with a gunshot wound, fell into a hug with Tabitha who had made a last minute decision that had, ultimately, saved his life. The two, although partially strangers, sobbed.

They all finally settled into the carrier, though Thor shot off into the air to get to the church as Tony had requested. Moments later, Wanda appeared, looked as fear stricken as he brother.

“Pietro!” She yelled, snatching him into a hug, “I felt it, I felt you d--”

“It is fine,” Pietro reassured, clasping her face, “she saved me,” he nodded towards Tabitha, hunched over with exhaustion, and smiled weakly at the younger twin who had nothing but gratefulness on her face. “We are safe.”

“Oh, it’s been a long day,” Clint complained, collapsing back into three, free seats whilst holding a wound on his side.

Once the carrier doors were locked securely, it set off into the air and headed for safety. From the window, Kat watched the crack of lightning meet the core, and suddenly the city of Sokovia was nothing but lumps of rock that fell into the water below.

And despite their incapability to save Sokovia, they saved the people.

#mcu trio #thor x reader #bucky x reader #peter parker x reader #bucky imagine #thor imagine #peter parker imagine

[mcutrio]

Sokovia [6]

Sokovia [6]

Tags: @buckys-little-monster @imaginesofeverykind

Kat cracked her gloved knuckles, sitting with her elbows on her knees. She was clad in a breathable, grey vest-top, black cargo pants and a pair of hefty combat boots with two pistols strapped under her shoulders. Tabitha pulled on a violet body-suit with shorts and knee high Chuck Taylors whilst Court tugged on a cap to go with her Nike sports-bra and shorts combo, not forgetting her high-tech shades and earphones as she holstered two guns on her thighs and strapped her minigun over her back.

“No way we all get through this,” Stark said, folding his arms. “If even one tin soldier is left standing, we’ve lost. There’s gonna be blood on the floor.”

“I’d be disappointed if there wasn’t,” Court inputted, her fingers mashing against the keys to her Gameboy. “Yeah, fuck donkey kong,” she cursed, raising eyebrows. She looked up, raising her brows, and cleared her throat. “I mean, Ultron. Yeah, fuck that guy.”

Steve, brows raised, turned back to Stark. “I got no plans tomorrow night.”

“I get first crack at the big guy,” Tony decided. “Ironman’s what he’s waiting for.”

“That’s true; he hates you the most,” Vision inputted, sauntering past. Tony followed him with his eyes, offended.

Bucky, rolling and clenching his hands, walked over to Tabitha who had just pushed her earpiece in.

“It’s gonna be a tough fight,” he announced, heaving a breath as he took a seat next to her on the quinjet where the team had gathered.

She cracked her neck and grinned. “It’s nothing I can’t handle.”

“I know that,” Bucky nodded, smiling to himself. “I just can’t help but wonder why you feel like fighting with us. You came out of nowhere with--”

“Hey,” Tabitha grabbed his hand, “I’m not letting Ultron get away with this. I get outsmarted enough by that idiot,” she shot a glance towards Courtenay who continued to mash away at her Gameboy, “so by no means am I ready for Ultron to do it, either. Besides, there are some people I want to look out for.”

Bucky nodded quietly, his eyes dropping to see what she had placed her hand upon. Unknowingly, she had grabbed his metal hand. Sensing his hesitation to her touch upon his artificial limb, she held it tighter.

Meanwhile, Kat and Thor bickered whilst walking up the ramp to the quinjet.

“I’m telling you, Odinson, I’m stronger,” she shot at him, flexing her arms. “They might not look like much but when I get my hands on those robots--” she mimicked tearing their heads off “--easy.”

“By all means, prove yourself to me,” he challenged, “lift my hammer!” Thor laughed, holding it out towards her. She grabbed it instinctively, though let out a yelp when it dragged her arm to the ground with a thunk. Scowling, she proceeded to punch his arm playfully, rolling her eyes at his bark of laughter as he continued following close behind.

“How's the focus, Harley Quinn?” Kat asked Court, elbowing her in the ribs.

“Decent levels right now,” Courtenay responded, lifting her hand to check for adrenaline shakes. Upon being satisfied with the controlled shivers, she fished into her shorts pocket and retrieved a pack of bubblegum. “You want one?”

Kat looked at her incredulously. “Where on Earth are you finding all of this stuff?”

“I’ve got all sorts of goodies in all sorts of places,” Court winked, though paused, “wait, that sounded dirty.”

“Thanks, but I think I’ll just stick to the gum for now,” Kat grinned, placing a raspberry flavoured piece in her mouth.

“Everybody boarded?” Stark asked, cracking his knuckles as he spun around in the pilot seat.

“Yes, sir,” Court said, a mischievous smirk following.

“Alright, here we go,” Tony said, buckling himself up and readying the quinjet for take off. A few minutes later and they were in the air.

Kat rubbed her sore ears from pressure change, glancing out one of the windows.

“Is there something bothering you?” Thor questioned.

Kat turned around, “yes, I’m angry and not talking to you.”

“Why ever not?” Thor asked, taken aback as Kat fought the urge to laugh.

“Because you tricked me with your Mjolnir and I’m angry about it,” she sighed, folding her arms over her chest.

“My what?” Thor frowned, though a grin crept up on his lips.

“Your Meul-Nyeh, your magical lightning-summoning hammer thing,” Kat shrugged.

“You humour me,” Thor laughed, clasping a hand against his stomach as he did so.

“Buckle up, everyone,” Tony said, “Cap’s winding up a motivational speech.”

“Thanks, Stark.” Rogers smiled to himself, sarcasm in his tone.

“No problem, buddy.”

Everyone sat down in their respective chairs, waiting to hear what the super soldier had to say.

“Ultron knows we’re coming,” Steve announced, standing in the middle of the quinjet with his hands clasping his belt. “Odds are we’ll be riding into heavy fire. Now that’s what we signed up for, but the people of Sokovia… they didn’t.” Steve added, watching as Pietro swallowed upon hearing his words. “So our priority is getting them out. All they want is to live their lives in peace, and that's not going to happen today. But we can do our best to protect them-- and we can get the job done. We find out what Ultron’s been building: we find Romanoff, and we clear the field. Keep the fight between us,” Steve breathed, looking down at his hands. Everyone was deathly silent, hanging onto his every word. “Ultron thinks we’re monsters. That we’re what’s wrong with the world. This isn’t just about beating him. It’s about whether he’s right.”

“We’ll make sure we can evacuate everyone out of the city,” Steve decided, clasping his helmet on securely as the jet door opened with a swoosh. “Thor, Kathryn; you two figure out what it is that Ultron’s been building and if there’s any way to shut it down.”

“I got the church,” Tony slammed his mask down, “that’s where big boys gonna be.” He announced, shooting off into the air in an orange streak.

“You might want to hold on tight,” Thor smirked, grasping ahold of Kat who rose her brows at him in questioning.

“Excuse me?”

And with the lift of his hammer, her hands were wrapped around him as if her life depended on it. Once they landed, she nearly tumbled on her feet.

“Some forewarning would’ve been nice!” She yelled, bending over and catching her breath.

“I believe I told you to hold on tight, did I not?” Thor shot back, tapping his hammer against his palm.

“Jeez, whatever,” Kat groaned, pulling the sleeves of her bomber jacket up to her elbows. “Let’s get this over with, shall we?”

“Ladies first,” Thor said smugly, gesturing for her to go first.

“I was going first anyway,” Kat smiled, her eyes taking in the building that Tony had told her was where Strucker had been casting experiments on patients with Loki’s sceptre; prisoners, mostly, but there were two volunteers who were, coincidentally, the only survivors. She walked up the steps and kicked the front doors in.

“Banner, hey,” Kat greeted, nodding at the Dr who had transported here earlier. “Any sign of Nat?”

“No; she’s gotta be underground,” Bruce nodded, “Tony said there was a vault underground but I haven’t been able to access it.”

“That shouldn’t be a problem,” Kat cracked her neck, “Thor? Care to do the honours?”

“I was going to anyway,” Thor teased, swinging his hammer.

Meanwhile, Tabitha and Wanda stood at either end of the city, using their mental manipulation to get the people in their homes to grab minimal belongings and leave, hoping to get most -- if not all -- citizens to safety.

Court, Steve and Bucky ushered people out of their cars due to the fact that the traffic was far too busy for anybody to get out in time. Pietro sped off to get the authorities attention in the hopes that they could speed up the evacuation process, given that the citizens of Sokovia weren’t particularly fond of the Avengers themselves.

One way or another, they were going to save Sokovia.

#mcu trio #marvel imagines #bucky x reader #bucky imagine #thor x reader #thor imagine

[mcutrio]

A little montage to give you a visual idea of the characters. (Annoying gradient glitch in the second clip that I can’t fix). HD please!

Tags: @buckys-little-monster @imaginesofeverykind

#mcu trio #marvel imagines #video edit #marvel video

[mcutrio]

Tabitha, Courtenay and Kat’s attire. 

Tags: @buckys-little-monster @imaginesofeverykind

#mcu trio #marvel imagines #outfits